Two for the price of one!

Hopefully these will be my last couple of DL cards as I have ordered some more 7"x7" cards bases, which are my favourite size 😁

Todays cards are made on very similar principles but in different colour schemes.  

The first card includes my beloved Pippin from Lavinia Stamps, who is sat on my favourite mushrooms.

For this card I used a diamond shaped stencil, again one I made myself!  I shaded through the stencil with the Adirondack inks,

Sunset Orange and Pesto, with the make up brushes.  Then stamped Pippin and the mushrooms, stamped the sentiment (also by Lavinia Stamps and then did some blending around the outside of the card, layered up on black cardstock and hey presto, another simple card!

My second card used exactly the same principles, but this time I used the Cranberry and Lemonade Adirondack inks.  These were

blended in the same way as the card above, using the lighter colour at the centre of the card.  I then stamped with the Lavinia Stamps Starburst and the Fairy Foragers with Versamark Nocturne and used Phill Martin's clear embossing powder.  This made the black appear more vibrant, which looked really nice against the cranberry ink.  I then blended more of the cranberry around the outside of the card and stamped the Faerie Spells wording in Versafine Morning Mist (second generation)

This is the finished card, I hope you like it!  I have a tedency with most of my cards not to put a sentiment on them as they are suitable for any occasion and I can just grab one when I need it 😉

I hope everyone is keeping safe and will be back shortly with some more creations  - hopefully with something a little different!

Until then, please stay safe and be kind.

Ginny x

Another DL!

I hope everyone is keeping well and staying safe.

I said I was going to try and use the DL cards, so here is another one!  I used the same template as before, but this time I used them upright on the card.

I used Adirondack inks in Raspberry and Sail Boat Blue, which is a really lovely bright blue!  Once again I applied the ink with the make up brushes.  I thought it would be nice using the colours without blending them too much and alternating on the 3 panels.








Once I had done the shading I used a black pen on the inside of the template to enhance the shape of the coloured panels.  I then stamped with some of my Lavinia Stamps - the new Tree Hive set, the Mini Berry and the Rory and Darcy set.  These are all quite small stamps so fit perfectly on the coloured areas.



The card was then layered on black cardstock before fixing to the card base.  I am currently using either Crafter Companion black centura pearl or Phill Martin's black cardstock.  Both are really solid and give the card substance.

Anyway, I hope you like the card and I will be back soon with another card I have been working on.  I seem to be living in my craft room at the moment, but am really enjoying my time experimenting with colour.

Until next time, please stay safe and well.

Ginny x

Dream, Inspire, Love

 I hope everyone is keeping well, we are in such strange times at the moment.  

Wow, what a weekend!  Despite the lockdown the weather has certainly made it a bit easier to cope.  Just to be able to get out in the garden and relax in the sunshine was amazing.

The one bonus of self isolating is that it is giving me plenty of time in the craft room!  I have made a number of really simple cards which can be used for any occasion, so be prepared for the onslaught 😀

I have almost run out of my square card bases so have got some DL cards, but to be honest I found it quite difficult to come up with ideas for them, as they are such an odd shape.  I have challenged myself to use them as much as I can!

For this card I made my own stencil out of mylar by cutting into it with a die 3 times and then shaded each element with Adirondack Oregano and Sunset Orange with the brushes and then traced around the inside of the shapes with a gel pen.






I finished by stamping the Dream, Inspire, Love stamps from Lavinia Stamps in Versafine Clair Chianti, which is a really lovely burgundy colour.

I finished by layering the card up on black cardstock and hey presto, a really quick and simple card.

I hope you like it!

I am off to go and see the ponies now - they are a neverending job but I wouldn't be without them.

Until next time please stay safe and well.

Ginny x

Stargazing

I hope everyone is keeping well in these uncertain times.  Hubby is still working hard at the local hospital as he is a medical engineer and is spending his time working on ventilators 😔

Todays card is the stargazing rabbit.

I was working on another project and did not have any coloured cardstock so decided to make my own with some Izink spray inks I bought a few weeks back!

Well I got absolutely filthy doing this!!!  I used red, yellow and orange inks and sprayed them on the cardstock and then gently blotted the card with kitchen towel.

I enjoyed doing this more than I thought I would and have to admit I am tempted to do this again, but I do need to get myself a big box to spray inks in, as this ended up all over my craft table, ink pads and just about everything else I had around at the time.

Once the cardstock had dried I used a Sweet Poppy Stencil of the stargazing rabbit and inked through this with Versafine Clair

Nocturne ink, applied with a smoothie.  I applied a number of coats as I wanted this to be a dense black, which would work in contrast to the orange/red/yellow mixture.

I decided to keep this card really simple as I felt the colours speak for themselves and I loved the contrast with the silhouette.



As I had a small piece of card left over I made another, much smaller, card.  Again I kept it really simple, which suits the Lavinia Stamps perfectly.

I hope you like the cards I have shared and will hopefully be back soon with a bit more inspiration.

In the meantime, I hope you all stay well and thank you for taking the time to visit my blog.

With love and crafty hugs (from a distance!)

Ginny x

Just Bee You!

I hope everyone is coping well with the lockdown situation at the moment and not suffering too much.  I am finding it quite hard as am used to being outside all the time with the horses and it all feels so surreal.  Hubby works for the NHS so is very busy at the moment, and pretty stressed too, so I am spending more time in my craft room than normal lol 😉

This is another of the designs using the Bee Friendly stampset from Hobby Art!  I can't believe I have not used this set before this week as it is so versatile and I have really enjoyed the colouring in!

I chose to work with Distress Inks and used Abandoned Coral, Tea Dye and Hickory Smoke, applied gently with the make up brushes again.  I stamped the main images in VersaFine Clair Nocturne, which gives a lovely sharp image.

First off I stamped some of the honeycomb stamp on the base layer of the card,  just around the outside as I was going to place the topper.  I also used the hickory smoke distress ink to distress the borders so that it gave a slightly worn look and remove the starkness of the white card.

I also stamped the #savethebees in the corner.

I then worked on the topper, by stamping the bee and flower.  These were coloured in and also distressed the white cardstock with the hickory smoke and tea dye again.  I did the colouring in of the bee and flower with the Zig Clean Colour pens.

I layered the white cardstock onto black to make it pop, and then layered the topper onto the base with foam pads to make it slightly more dimensional.  I hope you like the final result!

I wish that everyone keeps well in these trying times.

With love and crafty hugs.

Ginny x

Home Is Where the Heart Is

Life is very surreal at the moment!  I am very lucky right now as I can at least get out of the house twice a day as I have ponies to care for and they take up a couple of hours a day, so at least I can get out for some fresh air.

It is also allowing me plenty of time for my crafting and getting to practice things I am not very good at - and in this case it is using a brayer!

I really enjoyed making another card with Lavinia Stamps - can you tell they are one of my favourites!  

This card used a number of Lavinia Stamps, as follows:

Forest Temple

Wild Hares Set

Tree of Dreams (the branches only)

Whimsical Wisps

Wild Poppies

Home is There the Heart Is

Single miniature Heart

The colour scheme I chose was Colorbox Dandelion and Jade, which I brayered onto cardstock, doing half and half.  I have found that it is best to use a really light touch with the brayer and build the colour up slowly.  I am sure I will improve with time but I was quite pleased with the result this time.

I stamped the temple and wording in Versafine Clair Twilight and then added the rabbits, I also wanted to put something on the top of the temple so added the branches from the tree of dreams stamp.

I then added some highlights using gel pens, silver on the hares and a muted rose colour on parts of the twines on the temple.  I added some quickie glue to the trees and used the blue moonstone glitter, which was quite subtle.

Finally I added the single miniature heart in chianti, which I love to add to the sentiment.

I know I would love to live somewhere like this 😉

Thanks so much for dropping by.

Stay safe everyone.

Sending love and crafty hugs.

Ginny x