Christmas is Coming (ish)

 Good morning and a very happy Tuesday. I don't know about where you are, but it's starting to feel very Autumnal here, so before you know it, it will be Christmas!  Today I'm over at the Ink Art Designs Stamping Playground with my trio of Stampotique Christmas cards. I love Stampotique's Christmas range, there really is something for everyone, from the cute to the headless snowman, and Dot has an amazing range here. I'm typing this all in the dreaded New Blogger, so if you see words but no pictures or vice versa just pretend that you've not noticed 😂.

Ok, the first picture is in, and I've found all the old buttons that I used to click, so it's looking good!

I started with a sheet of A4 black card and gave it a thin coat of gesso, then I brayered these 2 shade of pale blue Fresco paint. The white blobs (snowflakes) have been applied directly from my new touch up paint. It's from Lidl and it comes in a tube just like the old fashioned pump whitener. What can I say it was 79p so I had to try it and it's perfect for what I wanted it for.

I couldn't use white again, so I've used pink for my stencilled snowflakes - much better than the yellow stuff! I've also added in some text in a dark blue.

Skinny cards seem to be all the rage at the moment. Back in't day when I wor a lad we just called them DL cards, but for today I'm going to be up to date and call them 'skinny' So the background was chopped into 3 and sewn onto my base cards.

This is my first one, I really like the snowglobe and you could put anything you like in there, not just for Christmas.

This is one of my favourite Kate Crane stamps, though I must admit I did put the two dots in for her eyes. That is where my drawing ability ends and I did have to practice first on a dummy face.

And finally, my favourite. Anything with these 2 guys on is going to be my favourite! The sentiment has been stamped onto acetate as the card underneath is so textured.

And here they are again, all together. I hope you like them and that you join in with us over at the stamping playground. As always the theme is 'anything goes' as long as your main focal point is from a range that Dot sells in the store.

I'm entering my cards into the ABC Christmas Challenge where the theme this month is S for snowy and T for Tinsel. My cards are all very snowy.

 Thanks very much for looking and have a great day x

More Complementary Colours For Country View Crafts

Good morning and happy Wednesday. For my second piece for the Country View Craft's challenge, I am using 2 pairs of complementary colours, red / green, and blue / orange.

I chose some of my favourite PaperArtsy stamps by Tracy Scott and started stamping, then I made a mess and started all over again!

So, background take 2! I just need to choose my complementary paints.

If I had to pick a favourite colour it would be Beach Hut, but I have to say I've not yet come across a PaperArtsy Fresco that I didn't like! 

So after much tongue sticking out (yes I really do, I'm such a child), my background is painted.

Then I chopped it up and layered it all onto black card.

I've stuck it all down again with foam tape so it's one to be hand-delivered otherwise it will have to be parcel post! For some reason I seem to have changed the original orientation - luckily I don't think it makes a difference.

I hope you like it, and that you join in with our challenge - remember that you must use complementary colours - that's the whole theme of the challenge.

Take care and have a very happy week x

Christmas Is Coming!

Good afternoon and a very happy Tuesday. Just a  quick post from me today to share the MDF pieces that I made for Lisa Horton's shows on Create and Craft last week. They are all fabulous designs, and importantly, take anything that you can throw at them (including half a pot of texture sand paste that I used to cover up the mess that I'd made)

All of the mediums are from  DecoArt, including the multi media range, glass paints, and good old Snowtex.

For this one I've used lots of lovely glass paint on to acetate, I would normally put the smooth side to the front, but I wanted the texture to show. The frame has been covered with gilding flakes.

This is such a sweet frame and you get 2 in the set, so that means 2 of these gorgeous deer. For this one, I've used DecoArt Multi Media paint and lots of Snowtex.

Now this one, oh my life what hasn't it had on it! I wanted to do a distressed metal effect so put lots of rusty effect colours but it looked awful! I'm a bit out of practice with the old rust effect and some of my teamies had done this and theirs looked wonderful. No way could I let mine stand next to theirs lol. So I took my Deco Art Texture Sand Paste and gave it a very good coating. It would either cover the multitude of sins or it would all fall apart! I then walked away and left it overnight. I hardly dare look the morning after but it was still standing and it looked rather well! You could still see little glints of the silver showing through which looked quite icy so all was well. I added little touches of watery blues and silvers which sat nicely in the crackle from previous layers. The candle is for display purposes only, I couldn't get a battery one, but now The Range is full of them bless 'em!

Now this one is for people of a certain age! Who remembers 'the test card and some music' This was such fun to do and what's a TV ariel for if not to wrap tinsel around! It's also a great size to use as a shadow box, so fab and functional, just like me 😉

All of the MDF is available from Create & Crafts - and there's a 4 x Flexi-pay offer at the moment - just saying! It will also be available directly from Lisa soon, and it's free p&p on orders over £30.00

Take care and have a very happy week x

Have A Jolly Time

Good morning and happy Wednesday. I'm having a change of scenery today, my son and his partner have gone away so we are cat-sitting for a few days. I've been having a play with my Crafty Individual stamps for my DT piece for the Ink Art Designs stamping playground.  I set myself a bit of a challenge, I wanted to make a Christmassy canvas using non-traditional Christmas stamps, so here it is.

I started by making a colourful background with paint and distress inks.

Then added some stars and circles through a stencil.

Just ready now for my Crafty Individuals stamps. The background is CI 514 Paid in Great Britain, and the wonderful puffin is by Alice Palace. The Christmas hat is from the Katzelkraft accessories set, and they can all be found here in Dot's store. 

The red and the purple made my eyes bleed a little at first, but now I'm quite liking the combo.

I hope you join in with our challenge over at the stamping playground, just use any stamps from the ranges that Dot stocks.

Take care and have a very happy month xx

Happy Days

Good morning and happy Tuesday. Can you believe it's September already, how did that happen! We went into lockdown in March, spent 6 months in April, and now it's September - never mind, at least it will be Christmas next week!

A new month is always a new challenge at Country View Crafts, and this month the lovely Evelyn has chosen Complementary Colours. It's a good job that I checked my colour wheel as I thought this meant colours next to each other, but it actually means the opposite! So I started with yellow which is my favourite colour, and the opposite is violet, so here we are.

I started by making a drippy oxide background on my canvas board in yellows and purples.

 Then I stencilled some white acrylic paint through a Tim Holtz layering stencil.

 I wanted some stars for my background, so I made another background using the same colours and used a sizzix die for the stars.

Then it was just a case of stamping the Crafty Individuals stamp, once onto the canvas, and again onto the paper so I could pop up the tickets, and we're all done.

This was such fun to make, and so different knowing that I could only use certain colours, but it's something I will definitely do again. So dig out your colour wheels and join in with us!

Take care and have a very happy September x

Don't Make Me Kill You

Good morning and happy Monday, I hope you had a great weekend. Today I'm over at the Ink Art Designs Stamping Playground with my Humanoids.

These are such a fun set, very quirky and perfect (I think) for the dreaded masculine card.

I started by making my background. This is Brusho's in black and gray. My card was very wet so I squidged it onto another sheet, so now I have two.

When I took my stamp set out I realised how alike my colour palette was. When they design packaging it's always done to make the images look good, so I hoped that I was onto a winner!

I added some background stamping with Stampotique stamps, and stencilled some texture paste stars.

Then I stamped, cut (yawn) and coloured my Katzelkraft Humanoids.  The only problem was, they didn't look right on my 8x8 card, so time for plan B (by which I mean, time to come up with a plan B)

So I chopped up my 8x8, and also used my 'squidge' piece for the front. The sentiment is one of my favourites from Lost Coast/Carmen's Veranda.  I can really relate to this sentiment!

Here it is opened up.

I teamed it with some bright yellow card on the inside, and I'm really happy with the result.

A massive range of these stamps can be found here in Dot's store, and she still has an offer on all Visible Image and Darkroom Door, and selected Lavinia stamps, so check it out and grab yourself a bargain.

Take care and have a very happy week x

Under The Same Moon

 Good morning and happy Wednesday! So today we are due to have, in no particular order, sunshine, showers, thunderstorms, more sunshine, wind, and lightning strikes - it can only mean one thing, the English Summer! Actually, this is a Yorkshire Summer, although there is no snow forecast for today, but never say never!

So before you think you've inadvertently clicked into a weather forecast, I'd better show you the page that I've made for the Ink Art Designs Stamping Playground! 

I have literally hundreds of Stampotique stamps, and no way could I chose a favourite, but Take Your Time is certainly in my top 3. There's just something magical about these two brothers (in my head) standing together with no words needed.

I knew exactly how I wanted my page to look-(this is not going to end well is it...) Not a card today, a 'just for fun' piece. I brayered my main background in Fresco's, and also made a rather nice mop up sheet.

And then disaster struck. I put a moon in the top corner with my gelli plate, and I think I must have let it dry for too long because when I lifted it up, it took bits of the paper with it. As you can see, it wasn't toooo bad, but of course, I tried to make it better. -  you can see where I'm going with this can't you...

So a plan B was needed and I put in a new moon. The inside ring has been cut from my mop up piece. I also stamped Take Your Time and coloured with watercolours.

And here we are all done. The sentiment is another Stampotique stamp.

Have I mentioned today how much I hate the new Blogger, if not, consider it done now!!!!!!! and breathe.....

A whole range of Stampotique can be found here in Dot's store.

Dot has an offer at the moment in the store. All Visible Image stamps have been reduced by 10-15% and selected Lavinia stamps have a 10% reduction, so it's the ideal time to go shopping!

Thank you very much for looking, and have a great day, whatever you are doing x

Surf's Up Dude!

Good morning and happy Wednesday! It's time for my second pieces for our Beside The Sea challenge at Country View Crafts, and this time I've gone for one of my newest, and one of my oldest stamps. 

 I made a very simple beach background with my PaperArtsy Frescos and a brayer.

And these are my old stamps! They must be at least 15 years old but I just love the surfer guy.

 This is my newer stamp set. It's by Art By Marlene, and the sentiment is by Visible Image.

And here's my Dude, what's not to love lol.

I hope that you like them, and that you join in with our fun challenge. Take care and have a great month x