Wild, free, and light as a feather.

Hi everybody

Jill here, and this week I'm bringing out my inner hippy...

...using the gorgeous Boho Vibes from Reverse Confetti.

I absolutely adore this set.  It is so effortlessly cool and has a real laid back chilled feel to it.  I also love a set that has encouraging or positive messages as oppose to just your standard greetings.

I wanted my card to reflect the 'free and easy' feel of the set so kept things very simple and, hopefully, with a natural fluidity to my design.

I started by stamping out my feathers, first with the the centre image then masking off as I stamped each other feather either side, then stamping out my sentiment across the top. I then used masking fluid to cover my feather design so i could get a really nice soft watercolour wash across the background.  

I used Distress Inks as my watercolour medium using the same palette to colour my feathers (once the masking fluid had dried and been peeled away) but without nearly as much water so the colours were much more vibrant and intense. 

Once my design was dry I added a bow of natural twine to keep the design fresh and organic and there you have.

I really hope you like it and makes you want to reach for the flares and flowers and get on down to the sounds of the sixties :)

As always, everything I used is linked below so be sure to have a peep.

See you next week.

Jillx

I'm sorry for being late, but more importantly...did I miss the cake?

Hi everybody.

Jill here, and this week, I've got the sweetest way to say sorry...

Using the adorable 'Friends For All Seasons: Fall' from Wplus9.

As card makers it's the moment we all dread isn't it?  Missing a loved one's special day.  Well this set from Wplus9 is the perfect way to say sorry and send a belated card...and how can anybody stay miffed with a critter as cute as this delivering your message?

My card was very simple to make.  I cut an aperture form a piece of cream card using My Favorite Thing's Scalloped Circles and stamped my scene onto the centre piece.  I reached for my favorite colouring medium, my Zig Clean Colour Real Brush Pens but...and this is borderline weird...used them WITHOUT water.  Yup, I literally use them pretty much every time I craft but had never coloured with them without the addition of water!  And boy oh boy have I been missing out!  Now I'm a megafan of watercolour, always have been always will be, but it was such an eye opener to see how they work on their own.  So bright and vibrant and blend so beautifully.  So now I love them twice as much :)

I stamped out a second set of the balloons so I could have them coming out from the aperture and adhered using foam tape to give them some dimension.

My sentiment is a sweet belated greeting and is from the same Friends For All Season set.

I actually stamped a few of the wee stamps from the set, the hearts and stars, across my background and clear heat embossed for a tone on tone effect but, sadly, my poor photography skills have done the details an injustice.

As always, everything I used is linked below so if you need a 'go to' apology in your stash, be sure to have a peek.

See you next week.

Jillx

Making New Friends Under the Sea

Hi everybody,

Jill here, and this week I'm enjoying my first fling with the store's newest addition, Flora and Fauna.

Using their oh-so-sweet Under The Sea.

It is so exciting to see a new company in the store, especially one that grabs your attention because all their sets float your boat!  I just love their style, so sweet and whimsical.  They are also unlike any thing else within my collection which makes it even better!  I have my eye on a ton of their sets that I now want.

I started my card by stamping out a few of the waves onto watercolour card stock and clear heat embossing, then washing some blue inks across it creating an emboss resist background.  I then stamped out all of the elements from the set I wanted to use and coloured using my Zigs.  I fussy cut my fun characters leaving a white trim to emulate the look I would get from matching dies, and coloured around the edges in a pale blue so they would melt into the background better.

I then stamped some of the coral and seaweed across the bottom of my card.  When it came to building my scene I really wanted my beautiful mermaids to come right forward and have some movement to them so made a couple of little acetate hinges to attach them to the card.  It's obviously hard to portray in still pictures, but they actually dance and wiggle as if frolicking in the sea! 

I finished by stamping the simple sentiment straight onto my panel.

I'm really happy with how this card came out, and can't wait to play with some more of their gorgeous goodies! 

As always, everything I used is linked below so be sure to stop for a peek.

...Now if anybody wants me I'll just be over here making a space for what will be my new Flora and Fauna collection :)

See you next week.

Jillx

Partying with Birthday Buddies

Hi everybody,

Jill here, and this week I'm partying with some old friends...

...using Paper Smooches Birthday Buddies.

This set is from way back when and is still absolutely amazing.  It is Jam packed with fun-filled characters and cute punny sentiments all in a cool quirky font.  It was an absolute pleasure to be reacquainted with these brilliant Birthday Buddies.

I started my card by stamping out all of the characters I wanted to use from the Birthday Buddies set and coloured them brightly using Copics. I then fussy-cut.  I also stamped out, coloured and fussy-cut a ton of balloons from Paper Smooches Hullabaloo set to use as a fun colourful backdrop.

I then used my Peek-a-boo die from My Favourite Things to cut my panel and built up my scene behind it using wet glue and foam adhesive to give dimension.

I then matted my panel onto a piece of patterned paper and mounted onto a card blank.  My sentiment is from the Hullabaloo set which I stamped onto a balloon and added a string.

I embellished with a cluster of ribbon tabs and flags to tie the whole design together, and there you have it.

I really hope you like it and it inspires you to give some of your older sets a fresh outing.

As always, everything I used is linked below.

See you next week.

Jillx

Sweet Seal Smooches.

Hi everybody,

Jill here, and this week, I've got some sweet smooching seals...

...using the adorable new Sealed With A Kiss from Lawn Fawn's latest release.

I am going to repeat myself for the millionth time...but I LOVE these small sets that Lawn Fawn release.  The price point and value for money are unreal, like cheaper than you would pay for one card from the high-street!  Unbelievably amazing.

As soon as I had this set in my hands I knew I wanted the sweet little seals having a sneaky smooch in front of a pretty sunset...so that's what I did.

I started with my background using inks as watercolour and washed a variety of colours, (yellows, pinks and blues), across my panel to create a pretty sunset.  I then cut the sun and a couple of clouds from Lawn Fawn's Spring Showers from a piece of card and (the sun, partially) from my background, coloured the sun, and in-laid them back in.  I then stamped my elements out for my main scene from Sealed with a kiss with the ice block from Avery Elle's Brring On The Joy, coloured using my Zigs, and fussy cut.

I stamped my sentiment from the same set straight on to my background and clear heat embossed.

I then built up my scene using foam tape to add dimension, mounted onto a pale blue card base and there you have it.

I can't say enough good things about Lawn Fawn, and especially their uber affordable mini-sets and this. THIS, in my opinion, is one of the best EVER, I mean look at their little faces!  Adorable.

As always, everything I used is linked below so be sure to have a peek.

See you next week.

Jillx