4 cards - 1 stamp set - Simon Says Stamp One With Nature

Another week has gone by, crafty chums, and now we're into the end of September. As is always the way, the weather in the UK has been quite sunny - with showers in between. My tomatoes have started to ripen finally and the apples are rosy-ing up on the trees. Almost jam time!

I got a bit carried away with one of my new stamp sets from Simon Says Stamp - One With Nature. I started out by using my inks to make just one card, but then decided I'd try out different inks and watercolour media. In the process it reminded me why I like some of the things I have more than others.

This is quite a long post with lots of pictures, so sit back and put your feet up :)

1. The Original Card Concept - Ranger Dye Ink

I love these stamps - they feel a bit retro, so I went with what I think are '70s colours (I was born in the 70s and don't remember much until the early 80s, so please forgive me!) - and stamped the background before offsetting the outline image. I then simply stamped the sentiment in the middle with Black Tie ink. It's so simple it hurts!

I did a little blog post way back in April about my wondering which inks to buy and I plumped for Ranger Dye Inks. I still really love them as they give great coverage and can be purchased for a reasonable price in the UK. I have found though that the colours are quite limited, so I'm hoping they may release some more in the future.

2. The Original Card Concept with Memento Inks

Here it is again, but this time with my Memento Inks, which I had purchased very early on, but have never really got on with. I'm learning that not all inks are the same and these I find don't give as good coverage. I have worked out, however, that instead of dabbing the ink pad onto the solid stamp, if I smear it, it doesn't come out so splotchy on the card. 

3. The Watercolour Version - Inktense Pencils

Ahhh, my beloved Inktense Pencils. I've been watching lots of Julia Altermann's (of Just-One-More-Card) videos on YouTube. She is full of great advice on using coloured pencils, including Inktense, and I have found that her tip of light layers works well. It does take time to colour with these, but I think the results are worth it.

I've used Tim Holtz Water Colour Card stock and Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink for this one.

4. The Watercolour Version - Spectrum Aquas

Again using TH Watercolour Cardstock and Jet Black Archival Ink. This time I'm using my Spectrum Aquas. I love these too, and they take less time to colour with than my Inktense. They also do washes beautifully. I like to use them by scribbling them first onto an acrylic block then picking them up with a wet brush.

Here they all are together. I simply rounded the corners and adhered them to a Kraft card base, also with rounded corners, with some fun foam.

[Supplies: Simon Says Stamp - One with Nature; Neenah Classic Crest 110b cardstock; Hobbycraft Premium White Cardstock 300gsm; Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Cardstock; Ranger Dye Ink (Cheese Puff and Lily Pad); Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink; Memento Dye Inks (Cottage Ivy and Tangelo); Derwent Inktense Pencils (0240 Sienna Gold, 0250 Cadmium Orange, 0260 Burnt Orange, 0300 Tangerine, 1400 Apple Green, 1500 Field Green, 1510 Beech Green, 1520 Hooker's Green, 1530 Felt Green, 1550 Spring Green); Spectrum Aquas Floral, Primary, Essentials (Lime, Bud Green, Leaf Green, Meadow, Moss, Olive, Terracotta, Marigold, Orange); Fun Foam; Dovecraft Kraft card 5x7; double sided tape]  

You'll notice I haven't used my coloured pencils - didn't have time; or my Zig Clean Color Real brush markers - still not liking them; or my Copics - because I didn't have enough in the right colours! So last night I bought some more Copics and I am planning to start my Online Card Class for Copics during the upcoming 30 Day Colouring Challenge (more information on Kathy Racoosin's blog in due course). I'm not doing it alone - I will be doing it with Aileen from Colour and Sparkle - it's so nice to have a crafty friend to learn it with, and with the wonders of the internet, the fact we're on opposite sides of the globe doesn't matter! We'll be posting as we go :) 

I thought I'd also link my first card up to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - No Designer Paper - haven't entered a challenge for a while!

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you've enjoyed it and found it helpful. Thank you too for your kind comments. They do really make my day. Wishing you all a fabulous weekend :)

My first shaker card!

Hello everyone, hope you're looking forward to the Bank Holiday weekend - those in the UK, at least! 

Tonight I'm bringing you my first ever shaker card. I have tried these before, without much success. Now I'm not saying it's perfect, but it does work and half the sequins aren't on the floor. I think I need a bit more practice, so this is hopefully the first of a few. No doubt a splurge on some nice sequins will be required - #impoverishedhappycrafter :)

  
I've made it using some of the new things I received the other day in my haul. It's a basic 6x6 card blank with a piece of Lawn Fawn Let's Polka as backing. The shaker part is a nice grey from my Papermania capsule collection, die cut with the new Lawn Fawn stitched squares - they cut beautifully - filled with some sequins from Hobbycraft. I need some Pretty Pink Posh! 

I wanted to see the backing paper through the shaker box, so it is backed with acetate to contain the sequins before attaching to the card - did I mention before that usually they end up on the floor? Some time looking at how to make shaker card videos might be well spent over the next couple of days.

The set is Mama Elephant Up and Away, stamped in various Memento dye inks, coloured with Derwent pencils. The balloons are coloured using my metallic Caran D'Ache, with a bit of Wink of Stella and glossy accents. The fox is hanging on with some red baker's twine.

I'm just so happy it worked, I had a lot of fun making it.

Thanks for reading, enjoy your weekend!

Musical notes

Morning! It's another lovely day here in W Yorkshire, baby is asleep and I've the cards I made yesterday to share. I have two occasions to make cards for. One is for our singing group leader who set up the group a year ago, and has done loads of work with us, and the second a birthday card for my future brother in law. Both were made pretty much in the same way and after some inspiration from Nichol Magouirk (the frame) and Pops (white on white).

Here they are:

After watching Nichol's video, I took my stitched edge rectangle dies and cut the frame using two of the dies from white Bazzill textured card stock. I then cut the inside panel from white card and stamped the musical notes (they are Twinchies from Inkylicious, but I can't find them on their website - I got them at a show) in various colours with Memento and Ranger Dye Inks, adding a little glossy accents to them. I then put some musical washi tape around the outside of the card base, added foam tape to the frame and stuck it on, adding the middle with double sided. I reckon it would have been easier the other way around, but I only thought of that later!

The words are both Clearly Besotted, happy birthday and thanks. I die cut them with double sided tape attached, a great tip for making it easier to stick down once you've cut them. I added a little green gem to the dot for the 'i', because I always lose it when I peel it out, it is so tiny!

Thank you for reading, hope you have a great weekend :)

Ranger Dye Ink

Hello there. I posted a picture of two new Ranger Dye Ink pads on Instagram and was asked for my thoughts about them, so I thought I'd do a little blog post.

One thing I have found difficult as a new stamper/card maker is deciding on which inks to buy. There are several different brands and types that look good from blog posts, but I haven't been able to decide, partly due to cost. 

I have been using two black dye inks (Memento Tuxedo Black and Ranger Archival Jet Black), and several VersaMagic Dew Drop chalk inks for a while. The latter I really like, but I wanted to try more colours with dye inks, and I went with Memento dew drops as they are a manageable price for me at the moment. I wasn't terribly keen on the results and felt it may be down to my lack of experience as a stamper.

I had seen Jennifer McGuire's video on inks for beginner stampers, and I liked the look of the Ranger Dye inks. On an unexpected trip to my local craft shop on Sunday afternoon I noticed they had them in and so I bought two as a trial.

I haven't used them on a card yet, but I did do a bit of comparison stamping with my Mementos and you can really tell the difference. The stamps are Clearly Besotted Mrs & Mrs and Bookworm sets. My apologies for the picture quality, I still need to get a decent camera sorted.

The images stamped with the Ranger Dye are clear and crisp, with minimal blotchiness and missing spots, compared to the Mementos. The colours too are sharp, bright and vibrant, which is what I like about them. They also feel much smoother on the card and they definitely make it very easy to get very good quality results as a beginner. The other interesting thing is they smell much nicer than the Mementos. I have no idea why, but for me that makes a difference too!

I shall keep the Mementos and see if I continue to use them as I like to have a variety of colours, but the Ranger Dye Inks have really impressed a novice and I shall be investing over the next few months in more colours from the range.

Thanks for reading! Please do leave me a comment if you have any other ink suggestions :)

With sympathy

I was really quite saddened to hear of the sudden death of Jonathan Crombie, who played Gilbert Blythe in the Anne of Green Gables mini series I loved. It was a big part of my early teens and me and my sisters watched it whenever we could. That and a difficult day on Friday, has left me in a little bit of a somber mood, so I made a very simple sympathy card.

I'd also like to enter it into challenge #119 over at CAS(E) This Sketch. The cards up there are so good, but hey ho, I like to give things a go!

I started with a white card blank and simply stamped the rose in Memento Lady Bug, the little leaves under the rose in Versa Magic Hint of Pesto and the stem in Memento Cottage Ivy. The stamp is the free set from Simply Cards and Papercraft issue 133. Honestly, I've used this so often, I wonder why I buy stamps at all? I then coloured them in with my Derwent Artists pencils. I never realised how much I enjoy colouring. It is so therapeutic.

The sentiment is from Clearly Besotted Sweet little sentiments set stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black onto some red paper and cut out with my Clearly Besotted Long Flag die.

Thanks for reading. I hope your day has been good. The sunshine came along here this afternoon so we had a play in the garden.

Butterflies and colours challenge 2

This is the other card. I enjoyed doing it because it's bright and reminds me a bit of minimalist block paintings a la Mark Rothko and others.

As with the previous card, it's a card blank, again using the butterflies from my free Clearly Besotted stamp set from Simply Cards and Papercraft issue 133. The background is from the Papermania capsule collection, background in yellow with red and blue blocks die cut from the Memory Box Stitched Rectangles. The butterflies are stamped again in Memento Dandelion, Bahama Blue and Lady Bug onto white card stock adhered to the card with foam pads.

Thanks for reading again - enjoy the weekend!

Butterflies and colours challenge

In a bit of a blog hop at the start of the week, I discovered House of Cards Challenge. I loved the colours of this month's challenge, so I thought I'd give it a go. I ended up doing two cards, the first of which I thought I'd enter. Challenges are new to me, but I'm constantly amazed at how different crafters interpret the brief. Such variety.

I adore the colours. It said to me: Simple. Primaries. Bright. 

It is simply a white card blank (14.75x10.5cm) stamped up with butterflies from my free Clearly Besotted set from Simply Cards and Papercraft issue 133. I stamped them using Memento dye inks - Dandelion, Bahama Blue, Lady Bug. I also die cut a small piece of yellow cardstock from my Papermania Capsule collection with my new Memory Box Stitched Rectangle dies. I did a bit of overlap stamping, so the butterflies are half on the yellow and half on the white. The panel was then attached with foam pads. The butterfly in the bottom right hand corner is stamped in all three colours - a bit of selective colouring from each pad, which is not that easy.

Thanks for reading, have a great weekend!