Hope Your Day Shines People

Pretty, pretty, pretty!!!!

Basically cased from the Hero Arts new catalogue. I am so pleased I stamped this up because it looks really cool IRL!

I have used Hero Arts stamps throughout, Colourbox Chalk Inks and Bazzill cardstock. I stamped, sponged and cut out a flower and attached it over the main flower with a button and string.

Please note I put the sentiment on a tilt...Yep...right away from my comfort zone....I almost didn't. I was sitting there with the DSFT on the back, moving it horizontally and then tilting...back to horizontally ....back to tilting. Aren't I a woosss?? I do not do crooked very well, so it is a major achievement that tilting won the day!

I have to say, it is brilliant to actually stamp something! Wooooo Hooooo!!!!

Hi all, Miss Me?

Card is closed up here.

Card is fully opened here.

This is the back of the card.

Regular followers of this blog must be wondering if I have fallen of the face of the planet???

No, but I have not had a functioning arting area for quite some time and the hubby and I have been renovating. Enough said!

I found this partially completed card when I was moving all my junk....aka...stamping stuff, to its new abode, and finished it off this afternoon.

MFT stamps are the focus but the flourishes belong to Kaiser, I think. I have used Kaiser papers throughout (with the paper piecing as well!). I tackled the back feature with all different sizes paper punches and added Kindy Glitz to the flourishes. A little grosgrain ribbon and it is complete. I love to make cards which have different orientations and this one has turned out quite well, I am thinking.

Tomorrow and Saturday morning my kitchen is being put in. The old air con has to be removed from my new art studio and bricks replaced...coz it was a box air con, and then my new (split system)....very quiet, air con has yet to be installed. Basically, most of the stuff is in the room, but there is no rhyme nor reason to it. And as those who know me well can attest to...I am finding that quite the trial! I will have time from the weekend on to set things straight and to get back into serious stamping. Shell is not much fun when her beloved stamps and stuff are beyond her reach!!!!!

Out of Action

Just a quick note to say I will remain out of action for probably another week. I am in the processing of cleaning my house after the big wet and whilst doing that I am moving all my art stuff to another room to set up there. Have to get a new air con set up in there as well....must see to have my creature comforts,as they say!

This will all take a bit of time, but will be so worth it in the end...more space...airier...pretty purple walls...did I mention MORE SPACE???????

I shall return....soon!

House Mouse Tailors

Hello there,

Still on autopost!

Today, I would like to share a House Mouse card. I have made this ahead of time for a Secret Sister commitment I have with a Yahoo group I belong to.

I WAS going to use my new Janome Sew Mini....but by the time I got to that stage, it just wouldn't work, so I bailed and did faux stitching instead.

I think I just may be over the colouring in stage for now!

Quick and Easy Flowers

Iam auto posting here, just in case it fines up...You will not see me for dust then, as I have a pile of cleaning and painting to get through.

This card utilises some embellishments which came with a magazine my g/f Cheryll gave me the other day. Instead of hiding them away, probably never to be seen again, I decided to get them on a card!

And here it is! The sentiment is by Hero Arts.

Pearlescent Ink Work 2

And here is another one.

This time, instead of using the ferns as a mask, I have actually sprayed the fernery itself and then stamped them on the cardstock.

I love the finished product and is super pearly IRL.

I have added a Hero Arts sentiment and a trio of SU wee medallions to add interest.

What do you think of Pearlescent Inks?

Pearlescent Ink Work 1

Afternoon all,

I tried so hard to get the beautiful sheen to come up in the photo! Maybe clicking on the image and getting it bigger will help seal the deal?

I have had these backgrounds keeping my background drawer company for quite a while, so decided to see what they would look like with an image on top.

From what I can remember we added Pearlescent Inks to spray bottles, added water, raided the garden for ferns and leaves and used them as masks. Finally, we sprayed the inks over the top. Let dry and then removed the fernery. Helen Brown was so lovely to share this with us and Grace McAndrew was really gracious in allowing us to destroy her garden!

The new Hero Arts Silhouette Grass was so suitable. I think it turned out great. You can still see much of the wonderful b/g AND also be able to enjoy the image. I did hesitate ...lots....coz i was dead scared of ruining my pretty b/g piece, but in the end, gritted the teeth and away I went!

(The little sentiment comes from a SU set.)

Oh So Happy

Hello everybody,

Today, I would like to share a Penny Black image...so cute. The technique for the day is Prisma Colouring with Odourless Mineral Solvent. It is a bit time consuming, but good to fill in the time when need be.

I love to work with the solvent as it smoothes the pencil out so you don't see any rough lines....very cool.

I have managed to get outside between the rain spurts in order to try for better light. The forecasts are not favourable for us very mouldy lot. Normally, I love the rain! This time around, however, it seems to be never ending. If I could just get a day or two in the middle of it, all would be so much better!

Purple Flowers

Again, the light is less than perfect as the trying conditions continue! I love this colour combination...but then, I love purple! Should have seen me impersonate a contortionist trying to get this photo taken without shadows and dark bits happening!

Colourbox Chalk ink, Hero Arts stamps and a Cuttlebugged background piece and Voilà!. Done!

Enjoy your weekend people!

Paint Chip Flowers

I have to apologise for the quality of photos taken for the last little while. Our light is quite woeful at the moment. It is very dank and gloomy and this is the best I can do under trying circumstances!

Again, I have used some of the new Hero Arts stamps, in the flower and the sentiment. The background was made using an old Amazing Creation block stamp and various Colourbox Chalk ink pads.

And to finish off, I have stamped on a brown paint chip, which fulfils my second challenge for Ladies Ink this month...use a paint chip! Not quite monochromatic since I used a white layer, but almost!

Heading for the weekend. I have one boy on the road today so am hoping he arrives in Rocky safely! The roads are wet and dangerous, so I am going to be in worry mode until he texts he is there in one piece!

Little Birdie 4

A simple format, but one which draws the eye. This is the last of the little bird from Hero Arts for a while. I have enjoyed playing with this stamp, but need to explore some of the others also in the set! All the deets are the same as the previous three days.

It is still raining here and is totally depressing! I have my dungeon...aka...my art room (hubby named it the dungeon and his favourite people who live in there ...his words!....the dragons!), all closed up....so I can keep the dankness out of the card. Soggy card would not be a good look!

We have been working on the kitchen...The tiles are down and now we await the plasterer, who I believe will not be visiting for another fortnight! I cannot clean the walls and paint until the rain buggers off, so now I am at a standstill!

Maybe, just maybe, that will mean I can sneak away to do some stamping!

Little Birdie 3

I have continued on just using the materials which were out on my work table. Repeat stamping with India ink and watercolouring using Tombow markers and an aquabrush. All stamps are by Hero Arts.

If you haven't already gone and checked out the new Hero Arts catalogue for 2010, then I would totally recommend a little visit. It is online...but beware...there is plenty to be tempting the pocket there!

Little Birdie 2

Here is another using the Hero Arts bird and sentiment. The dots on the outer edges are also a Hero Arts stamp from a few seasons ago. The circle layers were, of course, made using the Nesties and Cuttlebug. I so love those two items. They make stamping and card making such a breeze! I have coloured the same as yesterday...an aquabrush and Tombow markers watercolouring.

Little Birdie 1

I received some gorgeous stamps from Hero Arts recently and this little fellow (and sentiment) belong to one of the clear stamp sets.

I stamped in India Ink and watercoloured using an aqua brush and Tombow markers. The layers were made using the good old Nesties with the Cuttlebug, with the scalloped edging being achieved using the SU border punch.

A Serviette Card!

Hi all,

Here is a serviette card....NO stamping is on this card at all, though I did ink the edges! I have stamps which use the same images, but I needed to do a serviette card for an upcoming swap. The white layer has been Cuttlebugged using one of the new super sized embossing folders which are wonderful. I wish ALL the folders were this size! For those wondering, I have used the freezer paper method for the serviette.

Have a good one!

Love Owls

Hi all,

I received a shipment of Hero Arts stamps yesterday and aren't they just fantastic? If you want some excellent eye candy, they do have their current catalogue online.... http://www.heroarts.com/products/2010Catalog.cfm

If in Australia, I am a retailer of Hero Arts.

This card features one of their new stamps....the little lovey dovey owls. Aren't they the cutest? The branch they are sitting on is also HA, but one which I have had for ages. Same deal for the sentiment too.

I did use a Krafty Lady cloud template with Colourbox Chalk ink to lightly sponge some sky into the background. I used a reverse mask to get the colour (also Colourbox Chalk ink) onto the owls, and Tombow markers directly onto the branch to gain its colour. The sentiment is stamped in good old StazOn Black. I added some grosgrain ribbon, flower diamantes and some glitter to to the hearts.

This card also fits my Blogging Group challenge for this month...namely making a lovey dovey...oops...Valentine card without using even the merest whiff of red! Done and done before the 14th too...Brownie points for me!

Valentine

Hello all,

Here is a Valentine's card made as a commitment for a group I am in. I had a choice of what I could incorporate, so I chose the hearts and the colours found on a playing card.

The main image is an Outlines stamp which I have stamped and embossed in black on red and on then on white cardstock. This has to be done multiple times as then you cut out all the layers. Using thin DSFT I then layered them all. The thin DSFT is best as the work doesn't become too high and awkward looking...or maybe I should say...cheap looking!

I highlighted bits and pieces using H2O's and put the little greeting down the bottom with the aid of Nesties and the Cuttlebug!

Update on my kitchen...Ready to tear my hair out!....I am having trouble with splash backs if I choose not to have tiles. I did find a deadly red tile...did all the maths and then the bloke says...sorry, not available....Why, I ask, is it then on display? The only other option is glass....and truly, I need to win lotto for that! Back to the think tank to see what we can come up with. Suffice to say, I will be cooking on the dining table for at least 8 weeks...Yay!....NOT.

Busy Busy Busy

Hi people,

Just popping in to say we are busy renovating. We have spent the last few days pulling out our old kitchen. Today, I am off to select paint and to finalise the specs for the new kitchen. So, the next few days will see me at the other end of cleaning gear and a paint brush, yes, but unfortunately not of the art variety!

Flowers by Six

Good afternoon all,

Just a simple card for today. I have used a SU stamp as the feature stamp and stamped it multiple times using a variety of Brilliance inks....They are so pretty IRL with that gorgeous sheen to them. I have added pearls to the centre of each flower and also stamped the wording in Brilliance. The maroon card REALLY is that dark!

I am busy trying to finalise details for my new kitchen so I can give the go ahead to the people who are building it for me. It is actually quite traumatising to go through all this..... So many little details...I just want it done already! We are going to pull the old kitchen out this weekend, I hope...as we have to paint the walls, tile the floor and see if anything is rotten and needs replacing...all that boring stuff....Read: Michelle doesn't like these details...she just wants to see a pretty kitchen appear!

Anyways, I will try and keep up with the flow here. See ya around.

All About Christmas

Alrighty, this brings me to the last in my series of ATCs. Last, as I do not have one single Mexican or American Indian stamp to do the remaining ATC.

This one is destined for November. The main image is by Lucy's, the sentiment by Hero Arts and the gold embossed background stamp is by Stamp It Australia. I have used DCWV card which I have sanded to get that stressed look. The Lucy's bells have been coloured with Prisma pencils and smoothed and blended with odourless mineral solvent.

Ok...I will be heading on back to regular sized artwork no...you all sigh with relief!