More cards and some new stencils

Here are a few more cards which I haven't posted about.  Above is one for a friend who appreciates animals and...

... a pun or two...or more.  I really like the stamp set I used here, which is by Josh Griffiths' Beyond Stamping range.  His animal stamps are so cute.

I added a final pun on the back!

This one was for a friend who really likes the slowing drawing patterns I make.

This was for my niece and I tried out a stamp which had lots of images on it, by Lynne Perella for Paper Artsy. Lynne Perella's stamps are full of collaged images and detail.

A ruby wedding anniversary card for one of my sisters.

A card for my mum-in-law's birthday, with a die cut heart which I watercoloured.

Another friend's birthday and some lino cut stamps from Clarity Crafts, again watercoloured.

Here are the new stencils I treated myself to. I like the retro feel and I think these geometric patterns will work well, especially for men's cards, which are always trickier.

They are rotating stencils, which means you apply the first colour, then rotate 90 degrees and apply the second and so on until you have the four colours.

This one is my favourite so I tried it first.

This is what it looked like once I had finished applying the inks and then it became this...

...a birthday card for a friend's daughter. I saw the idea when the stencils were being demonstrated and knew I needed to make my own version!

I really enjoy making cards and getting inspiration from others. There are so many talented people who generously share their skills and ideas.   (The only trouble with this hobby is that there are too many lovely stamps, stencils and dies out there and news ones coming all the time!)

Index Card a Day (ICAD) 2023 - Weeks 8 and 9

The final weeks of ICAD 2023 came round so here are my interpretations.  Above are: Note to Self; Topiary; Weathervane; Museum (two of our local museums).

Yahtzee (I remember the adverts and knew this was a game - after asking Google, it was described as a game using five dice); Lemon or Lime; Winter.

The final week's offerings were: Bird (using a collage of various bits and pieces); Illustration and Peaceful (my favourite piano concerto to listen to)...

...Filigree and Mosaic.

It has been enjoyable but I'm not sure whether I shall take part next year.  We'll see.  On to the next project which is the Inchie Challenge with Amy Maricle from 7th-16th August.

Artful August Challenge - in January! Week Four to end

Here is the final week (and a bit) from the daily challenge I did in January.  'Person' was a gel plate printed background, then masked shapes and Payne's Grey acrylic paint with white dots. This is a technique I have done before, but it's a good one.

For 'Shape', I knew I wanted to cut a shape into the page, so with a bit of advice from Chris, I did this.   I die cut shapes from painty papers and  made this colourful page.  You can glimpse a future page through the rectangle window.

'Type' was made using some interesting font stamps from my stash and a typewriter stamp from Visible image.  

I used some of my own stamped 'Tissue' paper as the background and added shapes in translucent paint.

'Botanical' was inspired by a page from a flower book which I made into the pocket.  

Inside the pocket I added a card.

I used stamps and embossing powder to demonstrate 'Resist'.  

I went with a vintage feel for 'Travel', just using stamps and ink. 

I enjoy creating 'Drip' and it's something that I use in my art journaling too.  This one used sparkle watercolour inks.

Two of my favourite books made up the background for 'Book' - 'Persuasion' and 'The Secret Garden'.

'Vintage' meant I could look through my many digikits and find some suitable images.  I added an embossed frame and a snippet of material with a button.

The back of the journal was covered with an alcohol ink gel print.

The front was stamped and had a die cut title added.

Finally, the inside cover was stamped and the prompts list was added.

This was such an enjoyable project to do during January and I may well look out for it again this August, for January 2024!
 

A new project and some cards

I don't really need any more projects, but I have been increasingly drawn to junk journals and ephemera journals so decided on a bit of a whim to make a junk journal and tea-dye some copy paper.  This was the first time I had attempted such a thing and I got some interesting results.  The purply patterns came from the baking tray I used - it is an old one and the coating is starting to come away.  Where the paper touched the metal, these patterns emerged. 

I also got a range of colours, which I was pleased with.  The sound of the paper is rather nice too - all crinkly!  The junk journal will be an 'as and when' project - the fun will continue in making things to go in it - pockets, journal cards, tucks, bands etc.  Currently,  I would like some illustrations from some of my favourite books as a child - Alice in Wonderland, The Wind in the Willows, Winnie the Pooh, the Secret Garden, Beatrix Potter, but I have a feeling the journal will be a mix of all kinds of things I like - there won't necessarily be a theme as such.

I have also been making cards for various occasions - the one above was for my colleague at work who needed some happy mail.

This one was inspired by the season...

...and this was for my very clever nephew.

This happy sun was for a family friend who is 102 years old!

This Christmas card is winging its way across the sea to South Africa.  Sadly, it won't get there by Christmas - my last letter took four months to reach the recipient!

As well as cards, my art journal course, my watercolour journal and my junk journal, I  would like to do some sewing and have just got a very nice pinafore pattern which I am going to try out shortly.  So much to do - I love it!

Latest cards

My card making has continued and I like to take photos of the cards so that I can remember what I did and what worked.

I do like Clean and Simple cards and these are sometimes the most difficult to make successfully.  Inky fingers can be a big problem!

I have been using my dye inks/Distress inks a lot, both for backgrounds... 

more backgrounds...

..and for focal points.

There have been mainly birthday cards but the occasional anniversary one too.

Florals have been a go-to choice.

Whether die cuts are used...

...or just stamping.

Just some of my most recent cards - I am definitely improving and becoming more confident. I need to start on festive cards next, so that I am not rushing around at the last minute!

Index-Card-A-Day (ICAD) challenge 2021 - weeks eight and nine

As promised, here are the final week of the ICAD challenge for this year.  Above is Typography (a definition, stamping and inks); Blur (another photo from a Christmas market of the Dodgems); and Ice Cream Sundae (inked background and magazine collage, which I really enjoyed making).

Then there was: Botanical (stamps and inks); Translucent (watercolours), Tendrils (inked background and die cut leaves) and Encyclopaedia (vintage encyclopaedia pages inked around the edges and a definition).

For the final week, there was Sea Anemone (inked background and gel print collage) and Improvise (printed definition on a gel print patchwork background).

Pocket (inked background and pocket with a die cut tag inside); Mix Tape (some of the songs on my Amazon playlist over an inked and stencilled background) and Forward (inks and stencils with a definition).

I really enjoyed the challenge again this year and found lots to think about from the prompts.  I also re-discovered my inks and have been using them a lot since then too.