A die-hard hero...

Hi there,

I'm sharing a card I have made for the challenge going on over at the awesome A Blog Named Hero, which is 'Die a little', and here are all the deets...

A blog named Hero

And here is my card...

I started by stamping, and heat embossing in clear powder, this gorgeous 'Leaf and Floral background' by Hero Arts.  I then used Distress stains in Mustard Seed, Peeled Paint, and Spiced Marmalade to cover my background, and spritzed with water mixed with Mica powder to blend and give some nice shimmer.  I then took my 'Stitched butterfly' die from Lil' Inkers, and die cut three butterflies from my background, I also did this with a another piece of white card, so I could paper piece my die-cuts ( the absolute beauty of this technique means you get two cards for the price of one!  Bonus :) ) - so here's my 'other' card ...sounds kinda sordid LOL.

My sentiment is from the Hero Arts 'Friends' set.  I stamped it on Kraft card in Versmark ink, heat embossed using Ranger's 'Black Sparkle', and matted onto a trim of black card to make it 'pop'.

I finished my cards with a simple embellishment of two 'Wood effect enamel dots' from Freckled Fawn and there you have it.  A simple but effective card I hope you agree.

I also did the same design, but with a different colour palette and a few changes, so I thought I would share these with you also.

I hope you like them all.  As always, I would love to read any comments.

Thanks for your time.

Jillxxx

Simon Says Sparkle...

Hi there,

I'm going to share a card I made for the always awesome, Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, which this week is 'Make it Sparkle'.

Also this week, Simon Says Stamp, are showcasing the incredible, Neat and Tangled, who I LOVE, so a total double whammy of fun for me this week!


And here is my design...

 

Sparkle...you either love it, or you hate it...and I definitely fall into the 'love it' category!  I have no problem with being a little over the top, life's to short to shy away from glitter I say!!  

I started with my DCWV 'Twinkle stack' and chose my two feature colours, I went with a delicious full on sparkle silver, and a more subdued gun-metal.  I cut my gun-metal sheet with Lawn Fawn's 'journal card' die, and heat embossed Neat and Tangled's 'My favourite'  (one of my favourite stamps ever ever ever) in silver embossing powder on the front.  I used Cosmic Shimmer's 'Gunmetal' glitter paste over a Studio Calico 'Falling Star' mask to give added sparkle and texture to the background.  I added a few gorgeous shimmery ribbons as little flags and tabs, and kept it very simple (three layers of glitter is quite enough to have going on, even for me haha) by embellishing with a few little sparkly gems.  

And there you have it.

I really hope you like it and would love to read your comments.

Jillxxx

Mama Elephant, Up and Away in watercolour...

Hi there,

Today I'm posting a card I have made wih the awesome Mama Elephhant stamps, for their amazing blog challenge, which this month is 'Watercolouring and birthdays', and all the details can be found here...


Mama Elephant August blog challenge

So, it's fair to say, "My name is Jill and I am a watercolour addict", LOL!  Serious though, I often worry, is it time I 'walk away from the watercolour'?, ...but I just can't break up with this technique.  I love it more all the time, it looks awesome, is soooo versatile, and the results you get in next to no time...well, need I go on?  So yes, I am out and proud and going nowhere!!!

And here is my card...

I made this card for my friend who lives over the other side of the world in Austrailia! 

I started by die-cutting my cloud shapes from Mama Elephant's 'Landscape Trio's Creative Cuts', for the background, and watercolour washing them using Distress Inks (Tumbled Glass and Broken China).  Although it doesn't show up too great on the pictures, I added interest, and a more 'dreamy' feel, by adding Pearl White mica powder to my Ink.  I then stamped out this incredibly cute little monkey image, and the balloons, from the 'Up and Away' set, and coloured them using my distress inks and a water brush;  again, adding interest by mixing mica powders with my colours.  I then stamped out my sentiments from the same Mama Elephant set, and also an old Hero Arts sentiment to make sure it was obvious it was for a birthday (coz the ballons weren't enough of a give-away, right?), onto vellum, and cut them into thes little cute banners.  I knew I wwanted my card to be really dimensional, so decided to cut a front layer with an aperture, using Lawn Fawn's 'journal card' die, to really give it depth.  I tucked my little banners in the side to keep everything neat and sweet and added my little fella and his balloons to the very front.  I stamped the balloon string onto acetate and cut them out to make it look like he really is just floating along with his balloons, (nothing weird about a monkey floating through the sky on a bunch of balloons surely?), and there you have it.  I have added a few 'progress pics', to give a better idea of my process.

I love Mama Elephant, and I love watercolour, so really enjoyed playing along with this challenge and really like how my card turned out.

As always, I would love to read your comments.

Thanks so much for popping by.

Jillxxx

Family love...

Hi everyone,

Just want to share a card I have made for the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge, which this week is 'In The Family, and you can find all the details here...

simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge

Now, to me, family isn't defined by biology, it is defined by love, and here is my entry...

I decided to use some supplies I hadn't used in a loooooong time - my alcohol inks!!  So my background is a mix of Blue, Pool, Yellow and Gold alcohol inks, with a tag coloured to match in distress inks.  I then stamped both the background and tag using this lovely sentiment, which sums up my thoughts on family to perfection, using Sheena Douglas's 'Only word's, Through the rain' stamp set and over-laid them so the stamping would match up whilst giving dimension.  

I decorated the card using some vellum and an EK Success 'Doily' border punch, some twine and sequins.

I've gotta say, I really enjoyed making my background with the alcohol inks, and have been inspired to experiment a little further with them.

Thanks for stopping by, please feel free to leave a comment.

Jillxxx

All of me...

Hi there,

A post with a bit of a difference today.  The awesome folk over at, Make The Day Special, have put out a call for a new member of their design team!  Well, that would just be my dream come true...and you've gotta follow your dreams, right?  So it took me about a millisecond to decide I would be brave and apply.  All they are asking is for you to email them a link to a post on your blog which best illustrates your crafting style.  Sounds simple doesn't it?  So I started looking through my blog for my best example of me right now...and that's where the problem lay.  As I'm sure is  the same with most of us, my tastes change daily, my style ever evolving, something I was happy with a week ago, no longer seems to be 'just right', there's always something I would want to change and improve.  So my answer to this conundrum?.....this post.  Who am I right now, today?

I am all about techniques with my inks, I fall more in love with watercolour every day, embossing paste is my new partner in crime,  the simple beauty of vellum is never far from my mind...and my stamps...Oh my, my beautiful stamps.  All these things, mixed and jumbled together, pretty much sum up who I am, right now, here, today.

So heart on the sleeve time it is... This is me....

...the loud, slightly crackers, brave, bold, unashamedly bright, strong and confident side.  

...the quiet, calm, relaxed, chilled, reserved side.

...and the organic, earthy, tough, rough, and rooted side.

So one set of supplies, three cards, three ways, to represent my different sides.

I have used the same distress inks (Peacock feathers, Mustard Seed, and Picked Raspberry), the same gorgeous Hero Arts 'Flourish' stencil (bought from Make The Day Special - obviously), the same Cosmic Shimmer 'Frosty Dawn' texture paste, the same banner form Mama Elephant's 'Bloomsies' set (I think you can guess where from), the same sentiment from Lawn Fawn's 'Chit Chat' (...Take a wild guess) and the same 'Stitched Butterfly' die-cut set from Lil-Inkers (aaaand yes...also purchased from Make the Day Special :) ) with a little added extra of a Spellbinders die, various sequins, and some coloured twine from American Crafts.

So yeah, they are all me.  Ask me again in a week or two, and the results would probably be completely different.  But that's half the fun surely...life would be boring if we spent it stood still.

Now to cross my fingers, scrunch up my eyes, and pray for a dream ending...

Wish me luck!

Oh my...I only went and got published!

Hi everyone,

I've got some very exciting news to share with you all...

I got a card published in the August issue of Craft Stamper magazine :) :) :)

I answered a call that was put out over Facebook inviting people to apply for their cards to be published as part of their 'Ready, Set, Stamp' feature.  The theme to follow was, 'Words Words Words', there was a colour theme of Royal Blue, Turquoise, and Yellow to follow, and the card had to be able to be recreated in 20 minutes....and my entry was chosen to be featured!  I was over the moon - I LOVE Craft Stamper and just thought it was such an amazing honour!

And here's my piece in the magazine, and the card that was featured...

I would love to think that this could be the first of many and be the beginning of an amazing crafty journey...a girl can only dream, right?!

Tag you're it...

Hi everyone,

I'm back with a piece I made for a brand spanking new challenge.  It's called tag you're it, and I read about it on the delightful Jennifer Mcguire's blog.  The clue's in the title really, it's based around tags, although other projects are accepted.  The idea is to take inspiration from the guest designer's project/tag, and use that inspiration to design your own. This is only the 2nd ever challenge and you can find all the details here...

Tag you're it challenge #2

The guest designer for this challenge is the absolutely, ridiculously, awesome Laura Bassen, and here's Laura's tag...

And here's what I came up with...

I took my inspiration from the graphic background and the delicious juicy colours used on it (although mine didn't come out quite as vibrant).

I started by stencilling embossing paste, in various colours, onto my manilla tag, using the Ranger 'Dina Wakley Plastic Canvas' stencil.  I coloured my white embossing paste using Distress Inks in Mustard seed, Spiced Marmalade, Barn door, and Picked Raspberry.

I then used the same Distress Inks to create a watercolour palette, and pulled a piece of card through it to give me a perfectly matched coloured card to stamp on,  and did the same with a couple of different greens (Evergreen Brough and Pine needles) for my foliage.  I then used the awesome 'bloomsies' set from Mama Elephant, (which I LOVE and know I am going to use sooooo much), and stamped, and cut out, my sentiment and a selection of flowers and foliage.

I also die-cut Spellinders 'Medallion seven' out of vellum as another refernece to Laura's tag, and also , I thought it would look pretty cool as an anchor point for my background.  I then constructed my pieces around it, aiming for a kind of 'posie' look.  I finished off with a few clear gems, a tie of twine, and a little strip of ribbon. 

And there you have it.

I really hope you like it, wish me luck.

Jillxxx