Quick Head up..

Just a quick note to say I’m not currently posting on this site and haven’t been for a while…

Sorry… 😦

I’m using Blogger again, so you can find my play results over at Inky Fingers

Look forward to seeing you there – if you’ve not already hopped on over 🙂

Cath

xxx

VISION…

Just a simple journal spread… coming from where I’m at right now…

I’d like to enter this into the Landscapes of the Soul challenge over at Art Journal Journey

Back soon… thanks for looking.

Cath

xxx

CIRCLES AND SMILES

I love using circles, though I have made myself have a break from them for a while, but the current challenge over at TIOT is Circles, so I have a good excuse to use my stencils!

This one is made with Distress Oxides and a couple of my favourite Paperartsy stamps.… the flowers were watercoloured with the Oxides, too.

…as is this one, though I’ve added white paint circles over the top…

I made the one above with the Addicted to Stamps challenge of ‘Make Someone Smile.’

I think this one would also fit into both categories, made with the same stamp, but a very different background, stencilled with Distress inks.

More circles, but this time coincidentally. Again, I used Distress Oxides to make the background.

I’d like to enter the first card into the challenge at Try it on Tuesday,

and also the ‘Anything Goes’ challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.

I’d like to enter the second card into the Addicted to Stamps Challenge, Make Someone Smile.

See you next time!

Thanks for looking.

Cath

xxx

One of those weeks…

It’s definitely been one of those weeks here… with two broken phones – including the second one smashing when I dropped it, while paying my shopping bill in Tesco with it – and the one I’m using now doesn’t take SD cards, which is a real problem for me because most of my ‘stuff’ is stored on my SD!

I’ve really been out of sorts with trying to fix/cut down sims to fit, then my laptop wouldn’t charge – eek!  And to top it all, on the day I had a really important appointment, the buses were on strike and I had no other way of getting there…that bit’s not over yet because it looks as if I’m going to have the same problem on Monday.

Watch this space

Last weekend, my nephew from New Zealand was here with his partner and so that he could go out with my son and his wife, I was the babysitter – I think I got the better deal.  We only arrived home at 3am, and Sunday was a busy day, so all in all, stamping time has been seriously limited this week.

Fortunately, I had spent a lot of time in my Craft room last week, playing with tree stamps and I did get a bit more done today, though nothing too taxing.

I was playing with the row of trees from ‘Lovely as a Tree’ (SU) and tried to vary it a bit, especially after watching a couple of PB videos – they’re SO inspiring!

I also made a couple of Scraplings, while I was putting these together – I have a hard time throwing away scraps of beautiful card, so they suit me perfectly.!

Spot the (non) deliberate mistake on this photo – a scrap from my Cropadile got in on the act!

I made these a while ago, but haven’t yet blogged them…another Scrapling!

A mess about with a media plate…

…and another leafy card, using a gorgeous PB stamp.

I still have more to share, so I’ll be back in a day or two, technology allowing.

Thanks for looking.

Cath

xxx

Sentiments in Focus…

All last week, I was inspired by an Allsorts challenge to ‘Use Sentiments as a Focus’. Although I’ve missed the challenge (long gone – duh!), I’m going to blog the cards I made because it’s something I don’t do a lot of. I do always like to use an inspirational sentiment but it’s rarely the actual focus of the card and I generally start with an inked background, so it was fun to do things differently for a little while.

The first two are simply stamped in Versamark ink on watercolour paper, then embossed with white EP and painted over with watercolours.

This one was stamped around the edges of glossy card in Versamark (for a resist effect), then sponged over with Distress inks. The sentiment was stamped in the centre – still on Autumn!

This is a Media plate background I played with a couple of weeks ago, adding bits of gold leaf to the flowers and around the edges, using a Quickie Glue pen.

The final card is stamped on a background I made by mopping up remaining Distress inks and adding a little more colour where I thought I needed it.

This last one is just a card I made for a friend who isn’t very well… it’s made with Distress Oxides on watercolour paper, using Lavinia stamps again…. must admit, this is one of my personal favourites!

I’d like to enter this one into a few ‘Anything Goes’ challenges.

Creative Fingers

Inspiration Destination

and

Creatalicious (with optional background)

I’d also like to enter it into the ‘Show us Your Stamps’ challenge on

Frilly and Funkie

Thanks for looking.

See you soon!

Cath

xxx

Wish upon a rainbow…

I did intend to upload some stuff earlier in the week, but firstly my laptop was playing up, meaning I had to reset after reset then reset again – ending up with undoing all changes and getting me back in…grrr!  THEN my phone screen kept disappearing  

But I’m here – for now – and ready to upload some rainbows.  I really have had so much fun with my inks lately, and it’s been so exciting to experiment with Oxides!

My first is another Birdie card – this time for my brother. I’m sure you’ll be seeing many more of these because I have a box full of them, coloured, cut out and ready to use – as and when I need them!

This is just a journal background, firstly before spraying…

…then after spraying…

…then after sprinkling with rock salt and more water … always great fun! I prefer it in the second photo, I think.

This one’s just smooshed with Oxides, spritzed and stamped, then brushed with water. After drying, I stamped the edges with a stamp inked in Versamark ink, then sprayed, to take off a little colour.

This one isn’t made with Oxides, but it’s still a rainbow, so it fits in with my title!

The ‘shrooms’ are very autumnal, so I’d like to enter it into the Autumn challenge at

Sweet Stamping Challenges

and the Autumn Glory challenge at

Stamping Sensations

PLUS the Forever Autumn Challenge at

Crafty Stampers Challenges 

Thanks for looking!

See you again soon, all being well…

Cath

xxx

FUN, FUN, FUN…

I’ve had so much fun over the last few weeks, playing with the Distress Oxides – they blend so well and make such beautiful, muted and multi-hued backgrounds.

Firstly, I’ll show you the leaves from the post before last, stamped with oxides instead of Distress Inks. I think I only used two or three colours, but I love the depth of colour you get with these inks. I think I still overstamped with Versafine ink (crimson red) before clear embossing.

These two are very quick backgrounds I made at the same time, with the same two inks, adding a little of another color after spritzing.

Another simple one…using just two colours.

I’d like to enter one or more of these into the ‘Anything Goes’ challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More Challenges… and into the ‘Anything Goes’ challenge on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog.

I’ll post more in the next few days…

Just found out I made the Top Five at Allsorts Stamping…woohoo!  Thank you so much for choosing my card. I’m honoured

Thanks for looking

Cath

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More Autumnal Stamping

I think I’ve been bitten by the ‘Autumn Bug’…

I sorted through some of my stamps and found loads with an Autumnal theme, so I just played around. 

Some of my favourite pear stamps (I have a few…).

I stamped this one in Distress inks, then moved the inks around a bit again, finally going over the word ‘Pear’ with a couple of Tombow pens, then dampening with a paintbrush – I kind of wish I hadn’t bothered but it’s not too bad.

The words on this one are stamped in Distress inks, then the pears were masked and watercoloured with Distress Inks.

I really do need to learn to take more care when photographing – in future I’ll try to make sure they’re straight!

You can’t see the background card, which is a very pale green – sort of eau de nil shade – very delicate..

Next time I’ll use three pears – the ‘rule of three’ definitely works better – these two just look lonely…

Here, I’ve used the same stamp as I did on the first one, but stamped in Versafine, then clear embossed on a green, yellow and blue background. I added a little colour from my Distress ink pads for the pear.

This is yet another large leaf – I should perhaps have mentioned that the cards in the last post are 6 inch square cards, as is this one. I inked the stamp with Versamark first, then added colour from a few different Distress inks, finally clear embossing.

This is the same leaf, stamped with Distress Oxides.

There are more, but I think that’s enough for now, hehe  

My program seems to have lost some of my previous posts, so I hope they’ll be there when I publish.

I’d like to enter the first one into the Autumn Stamping Challenge at Crafty Cardmakers.

Thanks for looking.

Cath

xxx

Autumn Leaves…

I love leaves… REALLY, really love leaves and especially at this time of year!!!

So, I’ve been playing with some old (VERY old) stamps I found in my leafy collection and a bit of watercolour.

Firstly, I tried my old way of stamping them – they’re big stamps – inking them up with a few colours of Distress inks and placing the paper on top. I then pulled out the colours with a damp paintbrush – damp because anything more than that completely takes out the detail.

Here is the first one after stamping…

With the second one, I thought I’d try overstamping… BAD idea! I didn’t manage to line it up correctly, though I suppose it looks watercoloury… is that a word???

So, I went a bit rash and decided to mount the stamps…

I stamped the images exactly the same way, but then overstamped with Versafine ink and embossed.

I’m much happier with those results

I’ve photographed them side by side, so you can see the difference.

I’ve found another two large stamps, so I’ll try them next…

I do have another couple of Oxide cards to share, but I’ll do that another day. I also made a Baby Congratulations card for my niece in New Zealand – well outside my comfort zone! I developed a new respect for you die cut users when I kept having to redo bits of this…

I’d like to enter the leafy cards into the following two challenges:

Allsorts Challenge is ‘Feels like Autumn’

and

Crafty Cardmakers is also Autumn.

Thanks for looking.

Cath

xxx

Inky playtime continues…

I’ve been playing some more and having a great time

This is my background after sponging Cracked Pistachio and Wilted Violet:-

This is the same background after spritzing with water, then stamping with a background stamp first inked with Versamark, then sprayed with water.

I hope you can see the colour changes and blending – it doesn’t show as realistically on my monitor!

This one is sponged with Picked Raspberry (NOT Oxides) and Peacock Feathers Distress Inks.

This is the same two colours in the Distress Oxides – yes, I’m having a Lavinia Stamps day – sponged then sprayed with water and heat set. Then I spritzed water through a stencil and dried off with paper towel. The white pen is a bit too much, so I’ll remember that…

As you can see, the colours are more muted – very different from the standard DIs. I really like the variation in colour that spraying with water creates.

This one is just a rainbow of colour. Again, I spritzed with water, let it drip a little, then heat set and stamped first with the stamps inked with Versamark and sprayed with water, then with Versafine black, clear embossing afterwards.

The overstamping is done with Standard Distress Inks in matching colours.

I used Candied Apple, Spiced Marmalade, Fossilised Amber, Twisted Citron, Peacock Feathers and Salty Ocean.

See you soon… off to play some more.

Thanks for looking.

Cath

xxx