Sunday Stampers wk 313 - Friday 27th June 2014

Good morning Friends,

Aaah thanks so much for all your lovely comments about my desk! I've got to admit I was a tad pleased with it, though I took the photos on a bright day (even though I waited until evening) so most of the 'distressing' doesn't show. I loved working with the Annie Sloan Chalk paint, it is really beautiful to use. It was really hard work over several weeks - goodness after one session I was so stiff the next day I could hardly move to begin with, but thankfully my back held out, so those sport therapy sessions must be doing some good!

Some of you asked if I am using it yet....sadly no :( - there are still items in the summer house that don't belong there..e.g garden furniture (I keep telling Tom he has to find another home for it). I had hoped to get in there to sort it all out this week, but I've been busy with craft commitments and now, today the weather has changed! I'll get there soon and post another final photo.

This week the uber talented Hels Sheridan set the theme of including green in our Sunday Stampers creations for her weekly challenged. For full deets click here and take a look.

My creation this week is a Fairy Door card, again using Lavinia Stamps. A lot of crafters don't seem to like green on cards; when Julia Watts did her demo for Amy's shop a few weeks ago, she told us that she gets a lot of negative comments when she posts cards with green on, but I actually like green a lot.

Now I promise you there is green on this card, it just look more yellow  in the photo!

This is an 8x8 card blank, matted and layered in black-green-black. To create the inked background I used a brayer and the following inks and colours:

Distress: Mustard Seed, shabby shutters (green!), squeezed lemonade, Ripe persimmon, dried marigold, worn lipstick

I then used the following stamps: Lavinia: Fairy Door, path, bunnies, vine leaves, stars

Lindsay Mason Designs: mushrooms

Phill Martin for Creative Expressions: sentiment & butterflies

The tree stamp comes 'bare' and the little leaf stamp is included for you to stamp as you wish. To stamp the leaves I used Versafine Spanish Moss ink (green!). I stamped the vine leaves around the edge using Versafine black ink, but I shadow stamped by stamping each time on copy paper before stamping on the card.

To finish I used Seedless Preserves distress ink with a water-colour brush just to give a colour wash and a 'grounding' for the tree and dotted a little glitter here and there.

I stamped the sentiment on white card and cut into a banner shape, inking the edges with Shabby Shutters, distress ink.

For the inside:I used black card for the base and inked the edges of white card with Shabby Shutters. I stamped two pixies by Lavina, as well as the tree. The sentiment is from LOTV

This fairy door  stamp really made me want to make a real Fairy Door, so I looked for ideas on the internet and was amazed to discover that they are really 'big'...my five minutes research lasted an hour and I have now started to decorate my own. When I met my friend for lunch a few weeks ago, I mentioned this and she said that she had been wanting to make one for ages...now she isn't into craft, but she made one and posted it on Facebook last week...it's fabulous!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Love and hugs,
Carole X

Sunday Stampers 311, You Gotta Friend - Thursday 12th June 2014

Hello Friends!

Thank you so much once again for all your comments over on Sam Poole's blog on Tuesday, glad you liked the stationery set, I had fun making it - but it was the 'packaging' I enjoyed most! I would also like to welcome my latest follower, Annie Sharland..thank you Annie for choosing to join my blog friends!

Well we've certainly picked a lovely week to have off work! I had two days on my own - crafting (of course), yesterday we went into Cirencester for some lunch and a wander (I have more 'Hare Trail' photos to share soon). Today I went into work for a meeting whilst Tom waited in for the annual gas check and we have just had a kitchen designer come to measure up, let's see what he comes up with!

Tomorrow we are going to the Three Counties Agricultural and Country show at Malvern...to be honest I think we both like going so much for the poultry show...don't tell our girls... but it's a great day out!

My card for this week's Sunday Stampers challenge set by Hels Sheridan..click here for deets..is another of my Lavinia Stamps demos for our workshop next week. Hels set the theme of friendship and I think this stamp says it all...it could be for a best friend or a loved one, in fact I made our anniversary card using it last year.

I first of all created the background using a brayer and these inks: Distress inks - Ripe Persimmon, dried marigold and Adirondack, Sunshine Yellow. I created the moon by making  a mask from a die cut circle; I also moved the mask slightly across the moon to create a shadow. Once I was happy with the background I stamped the fairy couple in front of the moon and stamped them with black versa fine ink. I then stamped the image again on a post it note to create a mask, stuck the mask over the image and used the tree trunk stamp to stamp across the width of the card, providing a seat for them to sit on.

I used the vine leaf stamp (I find this such a useful stamp) to create a frame and then across the bottom of the card stamped "The Butterfly Field', a stamp by Phill Martin for Creative Expressions, another lovely stamp. All the additional butterflies are also from this stamp set. To finish I mat and layered on white and black card and added some stickles glitter, especially to the wings and grasses.

Inside the card I stamped this sentiment from Indigo Blu and added some butterflies and toadstools to follow through the mystical theme. I then matted on to black card.

Thank you so much for stopping by and do leave a comment, I love to read them,

Love and Hugs,

Carole X