Say Hello To The Wallace Family

 

     This month's optional twist at The Paper Funday is 'Family', this is the Wallace Family by Lavinia Stamps. Did you know a group of hedgehogs is called an 'array'?

     The main image panel was started with a leaf print taken from a media plate onto water colour card. I like smooth card but there is less buckling with watercolour card when using paint or fluid ink.

     Using a stamp press the Wallace family were stamped with Versafine ink three times to get a good coverage.

      A little black pencil under each hog grounds them before a light dusting of Distress Ink across the bottom of the panel adds a hint of green. There is a narrow black mat layer to make the hogs pop but when put over a plain white card blank it didn't look right, so using the same Distress Ink I stamped around the edge of the card blank and blended the edges too.

     The image panel was then put on foam tape before being added to the lightly decorated card blank. A greeting was needed but it had to be something simple. A single layer die cut looked alright but I wanted it raised, this one has no room to add foam pads so I cut it out four times and glued the layers together to form a 'chipboard' like greeting.

     The Paper Funday is an anything goes challenge but we always have an optional twist, this month it's 'family', so pop over and join us with your papercraft creations whether they're family or not.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Dream Valley - #269 Four Legged Friends

Simon Says Stamp - Masculine

Critter Crazy - #62 Anything Goes with a Featured Critter

Stamping Sensations - Anything Stamped/option Flora or Fauna

Dead Gorgeous Kitty

 

      And now for something completely different, this month's project for The Paper Funday is all about almost Halloween. I say almost because it's not something we really celebrate here, but I do have a friend that loves all things black, purple and fantasy so this is for her.

      

      To make the coloured hexagon I used a stencil from Crafts Too that fits in my stamp platform and a few Distress Oxide inks.

      I cut a small circle in Stix2 masking sheet for a moon and placed it within the hexagon before starting to ink the shape. I started with the palest colour around the moon, working out with darkening shades of purple, I used a touch of grey at the bottom to add a bit more depth to the shape.

      

       Once the stencil was removed I stamped a tree branch by Lavina Stamps in Versafine black coming in from the side. I searched my stash for a tiny bat stamp but couldn't find one, something to go on the wish list.

      The cat skeleton is an old die by Sheena Douglass cut in black card twice, I then stuck both cats together to make him a bit thicker.

      When I put it onto a black card blank it looked a bit too crisp around the edges so before sticking it down I went all the way around with a Memento grey inkpad, then I touched a little grey ink onto the moon and that was that.

      The Paper Funday is an anything goes challenge but we do have an optional twist, this month it's Halloween or Purple, please come and join us with your spooky makes.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Crafting Happiness - #116 October colours Purple, Black

Crafty Calendar - Halloween

Just Us Girls - #604 Halloween

The Paper Players - PP561 Spooky

Wildlife By The River Of Creativity

 

     I'm trying something different for this month's River Of Creativity, we may be a multi craft challenge but that doesn't mean you can't enter with a card project. So if you are making your Christmas cards you can join us as long as it has a wild animal on it.

     This trio started as a splodge background using Distress Oxides. I like making a few of these splodge backgrounds in a nice long, messy play session, no two are ever the same, even when using the same colours.

     To add a little sparkle to the background I used pearl mica water instead of just water when spritzing the inks, I have found that this means I can tip the stamp platform around mixing up the inks with no need for a brayer. You do need a heavy weight card so it doesn't buckle when wet or better still watercolour card, although that can be harder to stamp on than smooth.

     Tartan seems to be popular this year so I searched through my stash and found one that picked out the ink colours perfectly, more by luck than judgement. 

      I stamped with Versafine Black using Lavinia Stamps deer and trees, the beauty of a stamp platform is silhouettes are no longer hit and miss, these images were stamped three times to get a nice dark coverage.

      When I cut mat layers I am very frugal, why use a complete layer when a wide border will do, I can keep the inners for another project.

     Although each card has a similar background I wanted them to be noticeably different. The first one was cut as a stitch dot square, mounted on a thin black mat, then on top of the tartan layer using foam tape, with the tartan flush to the card. To finish off I used a white gel pen to add highlights, mixed results with this, then a few tiny silver peel off stars.

     The second one I cut with a stitch dot circle, matted on a black layer with foam onto the tartan layer that was die cut in the corners with a snowflake pattern. To keep the curve element I used a corner punch on both the tartan and the card blank.

     I have been admiring the eclipse cards popping up in blogland so decided to give it a try. The main panel was again cut with the stitch dot square but then die cut with a bauble die. I then cut four plain card layers with the same bauble and stuck them together to make a thick mat. I wanted to add a little sparkle so I coloured the edge of this thick mat with a silver Sharpie, followed by a silver glitter gel pen, then I stuck the top layer on.

      As the bauble was raised I chose to mat and layer all the other pieces without any foam tape. This image has a small Father Christmas and reindeer stamped in the sky and to finish it off I used a white Posca pen to add the snowfall.

      All three cards are 7x7 inches so will either be a large letter or hand delivered. It was challenging to make them all appear different while using the same stash and it adds three cards to the box ready for December.

      Please come and join us at River of Creativity with anything you have made, including cards, that features wildlife. 

I would like to enter these cards in the following challenges:

Christmas Crafts All Year 'Round - Something beginning with S or T

Sparkles Christmas - #129 Flora / Fauna

Jingle Belles - Snow

CraftyHazelnut's Christmas - #152 Anything Christmas

The Holly and Ivy - #102 Anything Christmas

Merry Little Christmas - #39 Anything Christmas

Peace On Earth Christmas - #1 Anything Christmas

Autumn Hare

 

     The new challenge has started over at The Paper Funday, this month it's an Autumn theme.

     This started life as an experiment with a mixed media plate and some dye inks, I can't remember which inks as it was a few months ago. I make several of these pieces and keep them handy for backgrounds on future projects.

     The Lavinia Stamps silhouettes really make a great picture on this type of background, especially for me as my colouring in isn't all that good. I stamped the branch, fairy and hare in Versafine black ink a few days ago and left it to one side. After looking at it again I realised all it needed was a few autumnal falling leaves, these were stamped in Distress Oxides.

     The hardest part was then to find mat layers that would pick out the colour of the leaves. I found a pearl orange, a mid brown and an antique gold to use before finally putting it on a kraft card blank. It has no greeting so it can be used for a nice little 'hello, how are you?' card.

     The Paper Funday accept any project that fits the theme as long as it's made with card or paper, it doesn't have to be a greeting card, it could be a gift box or a scrap layout, whatever it is we'd love to see it.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Sweet Stampin' - Lots Of Layers

Gem Of A Craft - #18 Anything Goes

Use Your Stuff - #430 Anything Goes

Crafting Happiness - #111 Anything Goes

Castles In The Sky

 

     I do seem to be carrying a bit of a theme through most of my River Of Creativity projects, it wasn't intentional but I do love dragons. Our theme this month is 'One Earth', a bit of a stretch maybe but this is my dragons earth.

    

     Using the Lavinia Stamps Fairy Orbs I stamped on white card, this was following an idea I had seen on their FB page and I'm very sorry to say I can't remember who to credit for this idea.

     The castle is an Encaustic Wax stamp that I have had sitting in my stash for years.

     Once the castle was stamped and dry I used a fine micron pen to draw lots of tiny circles to join up the orbs, it took an hour or so but I really wanted to try this idea and I think it was worth it.

     Once I had drawn all the circles I die cut a circle in masking sheet and covered the card with it so that it would make a moon just behind the castle towers.

     I chose three shades of lilac/purple to blend around the castle, trying to avoid colouring the orbs if possible. The advantage of using Distress inks was I was able to bleach out the colour with a water brush where needed.

     When I was happy with the colour coverage I used a spritz bottle and my hand to flick water across the card to make marks. I also used a white Posca pen to make tiny specks on the card by tapping it with a rule to make it splatter.

     Using the same pen I added some white lights to the castle windows. Then it was time to add the dragon, another Lavinia Stamp, using black Versafine.

     A thin black mat around the card frames the image and helps pick out the stamping. It was a little tricky finding the right shade of purple for the wide mat layer. I didn't want to colour it with inks as I wanted a solid, plain colour that wouldn't distract from the image.

     Finally it all went on a white layer, ending up 8x8. It won't be a card, I'm keeping it as a picture. I might try another one sometime but right now it's happily sitting above my desk until I decide how to frame it.

     If you have a project that you think will fit our loosely based theme then please come and join us at River Of Creativity, we would love to see your creations. Remember it doesn't have to be papercraft, it can be anything you have made yourself with any materials. 

I would like to enter this project in the following challenges:

Addicted To Stamps and More - #411 Make Your Mark

Ike's World - #147 Anything Goes/option Animal

Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes Aug3

Crafting Happiness - Anything Goes

Challenge Up Your Life - #138 Circles

Country View - Monochromatic

Learning To Fly

 

     It's our second challenge at River Of Creativity, this month our theme is Parent and Child. We accept any hand crafted project as long as we can see how our theme has inspired you.

     I have been watching some very inspiring videos online by Eileen Godwin, her use of stencils to give just a hint of colour to the background really caught my attention.

     To begin this card I stamped the mushroom by Lavinia Stamps in Versafine black. Before getting a stamp press silhouettes were a bit problematic, but now it's so easy, if you miss a bit then stamp it again.

      To make sure my moon was kept perfectly clean I die cut a circle of Stix2 masking sheet and placed it so it would appear to be behind the mushroom.

     With the mask in place I used a stencil, some Distress Oxide in Lilac and a blending brush to colour my background.

     I only coloured part of the area through the stencil, I kept lifting it up to peek underneath and check it was where I wanted it to be.

     Once the Distress Oxide had dried off I stamped the large dragon in the air and the baby dragon sitting on top of the mushroom, looking at his Mum.

     The mushroom was grounded by adding a small shadowy area at it's base with a coloured pencil. The sentiment is also a Lavinia stamp, stamped in Versafine black.

      The image panel was trimmed to fit a 6x6 black card blank but it needed a tiny splash of colour to bring it all together, this was when I started searching my stash for the right piece of card or paper. After what felt like hours I gave up and used a purple pearl marker to colour the edge of a white card mat, once under the image panel it looked perfect, just a hint of purple to match the background.

      River Of Creativity is not just for cards or mixed media, we would like to see any hand crafted project that fits your interpretation of our theme, please come and join us.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Shopping Our Stash - #446 Gnomes / Mythical Creatures

2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes With A Critter

A Bit More Time To Craft - #141 Anything Goes

Who Let The Dogs Out?

     This is a group of cards made and sent to some of my crafting friends, we were due to meet up but like most things Covid put a stop to that.

     The backgrounds were made with Distress Inks and a Splatter stamp from Inkylicious, I've made lots of these as every time you make one it's different and so easy too.

     The silhouettes are all Lavinia stamps, I've not got a lot of the fairies, just a few small ones, but I do have lots of animals. These are actually wolves not dogs, but I don't think that matters very much. Having a stamp platform has made using silhouette stamps SO much easier, at least now when I miss a bit I can go back and stamp it again in exactly the same place!

     The greeting is an old Woodware stamp, I love the font, then layered with a black mat to pick out the silhouettes and the cards were finished. 

     During this pandemic I have watched many more craft videos on Facebook and Youtube than I would normally have done, I am grateful to those people for keeping us entertained and enthused at such a stressful time. I have learned quite a lot too, making a batch of backgrounds when the mood takes you and keeping the run off/tidy up bits for die cutting to name but a few.

I would like to enter these cards in the following challenges:

The Fairy and The Unicorn - Anything Fantasy

Crafty Catz - Anything Goes

Pearly Sparkles - Animals/Birds/Insects

TGIF - Cats and Dogs

Moon Gazing Hare

 

     This is a birthday card I made for my friend, she loves hare's and fairies. I was so engrossed in making it I forgot to take any photos of the process, not that you need them as I'm sure you can see just how easy it was.

     It started with a square of white card, a large toadstool stamp and Versafine black ink. I have to say having a stamp platform has revolutionised my work, I can stamp a silhouette with confidence now, safe in the knowledge that if I miss a bit I can stamp again in exactly the same place.

     I then die cut a circular mask for the moon and placed it partly over the top of the toadstool. With the moon masked I used a stencil, a couple of blending brushes and some Distress Inks to create a subtle background in the centre of the card. This technique was picked up from the amazing Eileen Godwin.

     With the mask removed I stamped the fairy, the two small toadstools and the hare with Versafine black ink. Once dry I used a watercolour pencil to add a touch of yellow to the fungi and a little shadow beneath the hare and the toadstools to ground them.

     The sentiment was added, again in black, there is no reference to a birthday so she can frame it to add to her growing hare collection.

     A little thin black mat layer before going on a white card blank sets off the stamping. The final touch was to add some Stardust Geli glaze to the fairy's wings, just enough to catch the light but not to over power the image.

     I didn't know that a moon gazing hare is an ancient symbol of growth, abundance and good fortune, rather nice for a birthday card.

     

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Animal Friends - Hare / Rabbit

Country View - Silhouettes

Just Us Girls - #574 Animals     Chick of the week

The Fairy and The Unicorn - Anything Fantasy     Top 3

Shutter Card Fairy

     This was made using the new Shutter Card die set from John Next Door, it's not as complicated as it looks....honest. John has made a video on how to put this card together, which you can find here.

     The background was something I already had sitting in my 'to finish' pile, it's a stack of part made experiments. The coloured area was made using Distress Oxides and a 'Splatter' stamp from Inkylicious, the stamped seed heads and fairy are all Lavinia Stamps.

     To add extra effect I used the new Poppy Heads die set, adding DS adhesive sheet to black card then cutting two seed heads and adding them to the stamped ones.

     The image panel was mounted on black and then on to white card, this was trimmed to fit once the front panel was cut so that they would be equal once assembled.

     Using a sheet of patterned card and two square dies I cut the front aperture. To make anything other than the rectangle that comes in the set the only thing to remember is the height of the shutters, as long as they are able to open through the aperture it can be any width you choose. The shutters are added individually so you can put in as many as you like, I chose two for this card.

     The shutters have a stencilled pattern in pink on the back to look pretty when open. I've also cut a couple more seed heads to go on the outside and a tiny butterfly. The banners are in the main die set, as are the words, these are cut in silver mirri and then a black top one with the words cut in. To finish I added a couple of die cut corner decorations, also a JND die.

Materials List   (available from your local craft shop)
JND198 - Shutter Card die set

JND177 - Poppy Heads die set

S57262 - 3D PVA Glue from Stix2

Lavinia Stamps - various seed heads & tiny fairy

Inkylicious - Splatter Circle XL  

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes

Inkspirational - Frame It

Creative Fingers - Anything Goes

A Bit More Time To Craft - Anything Goes

Winter Wishes

      As it's getting closer to Christmas I've been trying out some new, to me, techniques. Colouring through a stencil isn't new but it is when you use one of the new blending brushes from Crafts Too, they really are amazing little brushes for stencil use.

     I chose three shades of blue Distress Ink to go through my Sweet Poppy stencil, being metal they are nice and heavy but the soft brush is still perfect for getting into all the little bits. I also followed Lucy's tip about using a magnetic sheet under my cardstock to stop the stencil moving about...thanks Lucy.

     The moon is masked with some of Stix2 masking sheet die cut in a circle and tucked under the stencil. I also masked off all around the stencil because I wanted a wide white border.

     The stag is a Lavinia stamp, stamped in Medieval Blue VersaFine Clair. I used a stamp platform so I was able to stamp him three times to get a very dark image.

     The Winter Wishes was cut with some Tim Holtz dies and backed with some silver paper, using paper rather than mirri card means there is no lump under the words.

     I went through most of my blue card stash to find the right shade, I even tried the VersaFine pad, but it just wasn't quite right until I went over it with an alcohol marker.

     Matted onto the blue layer and then onto a white 7x5 card blank it's still thin enough to go as standard post, which if you're sending out a few helps keep the cost down.

     Not Just Cards is exactly that, not just cards, you can join us with any project you have made. Please pop over and take a look at all the inspiration from the DT and our lovely challenge participants.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

ABC Christmas - V=Vixen (deer)

CraftyHazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas

Crimbo Crackers - Anything Christmas

Merry Little Christmas - Anything Christmas

Allsorts - Winter Scene or Snow

Lavinia World - Anything Using A Stamped Image

Oh Christmas Tree

     Trees are the optional theme for Christmas At Sweet Stampin' this month. I dug a few things from my stash and began to play around with various trees, settling on a traditional looking Christmas tree.

     Inkylicious have a rather nice splatter plate but as I wanted to make smaller cards for posting I managed to get their newer Mini Splatter, great for a 5 inch square.
     Using Distress Oxides Jeans & Spruce I made the background by inking up the plate, then spritzing it with a little water containing pearl mica powder, before stamping it onto my card base.
     Using a Lavinia Christmas tree I stamped it with Versafine Olympia Green.

     I wanted to use a red pearl card to cut the word Christmas but I couldn't find any, so I made my own. Using the small spritz bottle of water with pearl mice added I sprayed my red card very lightly.
     Once dry I cut the word with a Tim Holtz die but as it's rather thin I left it in the die, dabbed the glue on the back of the card and then placed it on the background and gently poked it out of the die. I found this much easier than fighting with it, I also did this with the word Merry, it made sure the spacing was perfect as well.
     This card was so easy to make I decided with time running out that I would batch make, creating my own background means they are not all the same.
     Please pop over to Christmas At Sweet Stampin' to see all the DT inspiration, then come and join us with your project.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

The Holly and Ivy - Anything Christmas

Unicorn - Christmas/Winter

Dragonfly Dreams - Christmas/Winter

CraftyHazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas

Curious March Hare

     Some of you may know my thoughts on rabbits, so it's a good thing this one is a hare! These stamps are gorgeous and being silhouette they are perfect when you've made a special background.

     Another background made with the amazing splodge and Distress Oxides, Picked Raspberry, Shaded Lilac and Broken China on white card.
     I stamped the hare, tree branch and fairy in Versafine black and set it aside for a few days while I had a think about mat layer colours.
     I die cut the image with my largest square die and then used a punch to take off the corners, I was going to cut this one out as a circle but I hadn't used a large enough piece of card.
     A little Broken China around the edge knocked back the white a little before going on a black mat layer. At this point I decided it was a bit too open in the bottom left corner and as I didn't want to add a greeting I went for some flowers instead.

     I found the perfect card to mat the next layer but as I only have a couple of sheets I though it would be good to cut out the centre and keep it for another project, once layered up you can't tell it's missing!
    To stay with the colour theme I die cut some tiny flowers in lilac card, shaped them and added them to the tree branch, with a tiny purple gem in each flower my card was complete.
     This one will sit in my card box until required, only then will a greeting be added inside.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Cardz 4 Galz - March Hares     (Spotlight winner)

Die Cuttin' Divas - Cherry Blossom or Pink

Addicted To Stamps - Spring

Christmas Shanty

     Is it really a month since the last card post for Christmas At Sweet Stampin'? Where is the time going?

     This one is another Lavinia Stamps image called Shanty. It has been stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa on Kraft card, black was too harsh on Kraft.
     The snow is texture paste dabbed on and a little iridescent glitter added before it dried, sadly that doesn't show up n the picture. The tiny snowflakes and small drifted snow areas are drawn on with a white gel pen.
     Lamps and windows should have a glow about them so they are coloured with a yellow alcohol pen.
    Keeping it fairy simple it was layered with a white mat, then straight on to a Kraft card blank. The greeting is stamped and embossed in white to keep to the colour pallet.
     There is a lot of inspiration from the DT over on the blog to get you in the Christmas spirit so please pop over and take a look, it's never too early to make your cards.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Sparkles - Vintage  (hope this qualifies)

The 12 Months Of Christmas - Anything Christmas/optional brads/buttons/bows

CraftyHazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas/optional Father Christmas

The Holly and Ivy - Anything Christmas

Splat Cat

     I know, another splat card, I can't promise not to post more but I will try and show some other work too....honest. This one is for a friends special birthday, let's just say it's a bit of a Saga and today's the day, it was delivered last night so it's alright to post now.

     Using my stamp platform and my splat stamp I inked up with Distress Oxides, spritzed with water containing pearl mica powder and stamped.
     A lot of my friends are cat lovers, as am I, so it just had to be one of Lavinia's silhouette cats. As he seems to be looking up, a tree branch with a tiny fairy squatting on it completed the picture.
     A little colour added to the edge after rounding the corners knocked back the white and a black mat layer makes the silhouettes stand out.
     A gorgeous lilac Stardust card layer was added before going on to a white card blank to finish off. There is no greeting on the outside as I felt the image was enough on it's own, there is a short message inside but that's staying a secret.
 

   


 Another of our group has made the cake so I have made a small needle felted cat to go on top. By the time this is published the cake will be gone, but hopefully the cat will have survived. This little fellow is my third felting project so he's quite basic, if I progress with felting I hope to make another cat or two.
   

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Show Us Your Pussycats - Anything Goes/St.Catricks Day

   Little Red Wagon - Animals

Dream Valley - 4 Legged Friends

Media Plate Cat

     Having made so many cards with the gorgeous splat stamp I thought I'd try and get the same, or at least similar, effect with a media plate. I discovered two big differences, one is the obvious crisp edge of a media plate is nothing like the random edge of a splat and two is the less obvious type of acrylic that the plates are made of.
     Inks on the media plate tend to pool in small blobs unlike the splat but all is not lost. By adding a layer of Versamark on the media plate to begin with the inks bobble much less and a very similar effect to the splat can be achieved. The other thing to remember is that while the splat holds moisture well, the media plate does not, so only spritz the inks once or twice at most.

     So for this card the Versamark was applied to the media plate once placed in the stamp platform, then a layer of Distress Oxide Inks. A minimal spritz of water to get the inks moving and then the platform was shut on to the card. As previously mentioned it is sometimes best to shut the card onto the stamp so the ink doesn't run off the media plate or stamp.
     The water used on this card had some pearl mica in it so there is a subtle sparkle to the stamped media plate shape, unfortunately it doesn't show up well in this picture.
      These backgrounds are so pretty in there own right, they need very little else to go with them so silhouettes are perfect. I have several cards to make for next month which means the cats are most definitely out of the bag.
      A simple black mat layer was enough to make the stamping stand out but when I tried it on a white card blank the image panel seemed to fade, the answer was to use a Kraft card blank which keeps the image panel as the focal point. A tiny addition in the corners seemed to finish it off completely. There is no greeting on the front as I didn't want to take away from the image.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Show Us Your Pussycats -  Furrything Goes

613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes/ optional Use A Critter

Sparkles Monthly - Include An Animal

     

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

     I am pleased to say that I am now a member of the Design Team for Christmas At sweet Stampin', which means that at least once per month I can bring you a festive project. Please don't groan, I know it's only February, but if you start now you'll have everything sorted by December!

      I have used the splodge stamp quite a few times recently but that's because it's such a great stamp for backgrounds, especially with Distress Oxide Inks,it's from Inkylicious.
      The inks were dabbed direct from the pad across the stamp, then spritzed with water to make it all run and blend a little before being stamped on to good quality card. The card needs to be quite thick as the moisture will make it buckle a little.
      Once dry I used a white paint pen and tapped it hard while holding it over the image, this made lots of tiny white stars. The large star was stamped and embossed in silver.
      The stag is a Lavinia Stamps image stamped in Versafine black, using a stamp press really helps with silhouette images as you can go over them several times to get a perfectly solid black image.
      I haven't added a greeting to the outside of the card as I feel it doesn't need it, plus I have some friends who like to frame their cards and adding a seasonal greeting would limit when they could display it.
      Please pop over to CASS to see all the lovely DT inspiration, I'm so happy to be part of this team and looking forward to having lots of Christmas cards and decorations made before we reach December.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Christmas Crafts All Year 'Round - Carols and Songs
Winter Wonderland - Anything Christmas for Eileen
The 12 Months of Christmas - Anything Christmas, optional penguins
CraftyHazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas, optional cute
The Holly and Ivy - Anything Christmas

I've Got My Eye On You

       Just before Christmas a crafting friend showed me how to make some amazing backgrounds with a 'Splatter' stamp, I loved it so much I had to get the same stamp, now I've gone splatter crazy!

      This stamp, from Inkylicious, has the ability to hold colour without beading, allowing all manner of colourful backgrounds. For this one I used Distress Oxide inks with a touch of Brilliance Lightning Black on the outside edges, a spritz of water and a bit of a tilt round to mix it up before stamping on white card. This was stamped using a stamp platform, I also found that sometimes it's better to close the bottom onto the lid so the colourful inky background stays put.
      Once dry it went back on the stamp platform so I could add Simmi, the gorgeous eye stamp from Lavinia. A platform is a must for silhouette type stamps as well as anything large, if you miss a bit you can re-ink and stamp again. This was embossed in black gloss to help keep the pen colour used on the eye within the lines.   
     The Iris was coloured with watercolour pencils and the white of the eye was done with a white Sharpie. Small gems have been stuck along the eyebrow pattern to add a little sparkle.
     I used a large square die to cut the image panel, then I rounded the corners before going around the whole panel with a little Broken China Distress Ink. A simple black mat layer framed the image before going on to a wider blue layer on a white 7x7 card blank.
     This splatter measures about 5.5 inches, so it would have gone on a smaller card if I hadn't added a couple of layers, but as it just about goes as standard post then I'm happy with it. There will be lots more of these backgrounds, it's so much fun playing around with colour combinations and no two are ever the same.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Watercolour Wednesday - Anything Feminine Goes
International Art & Soul - Make Your Own Background