Five Christmas Cards For June!

Good morning!!!!

Well, we are half way through the year and yes, the "C" word is getting closer!!!!

As promised, here is my offering of five Christmas cards for June as part of my New Years Resolution.

Here they all are so that you can take a closer look.

Again, all similar but all slightly different.  I enjoyed messing around with this adorable stamp by Impression Obsession.

The horses have been stamped using distress oxide inks - I must admit to completely experimenting here.  Some of them I left them at that, others I have spritzed and let the oxides move a bit - loved all the results so kept the lot!!!

The backgrounds are distress ink mixed with a little bit of glycerine to make a nice blend of the ink.

Peace on Earth is a stamp from Clarity Stamp - it's one of their word chains.

Mat and layered on mirri and white card.

I must admit, I particularly like the two that have been sprayed with water, I think they look beautiful and ghostly.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed your visit today, soon be Christmas!!!!!!

Month 6 - mission complete.

Thanks for stopping by,

Leanne x

By moonlight bright, On a secret night..............

Good morning!

I have been having so much fun just recently jumping from one style of stamp maker to another - and I love them all!!!!  It's nice to try different styles don't you think?

Here is my offering for the June Lavinia Stamps challenge of "A Hidden Fairy".

I had to get my head around this one as masking was involved and I needed it in a certain order!

Firstly I stamped the little fairy acorn house in black archival and I knew that I was going to stick a further image of it straight over the top so I then stamped the two fairy wings on top of it and then masked the fairy wings

The next step was to stamp the trees four times in total across the page in watering can archival. Then it was The Green Man / woodland king that was stamped on and just his eyes were masked over.

The background was then put on with diluted Spectrum Aqua Markers (I've been having lots of fun with these pens lately, they are so versatile, they really are). The moon was added and shaded in a bit with some hickory smoke distress ink and the flowers and grasses stamped down at the front with the sentiment.

Masking fluid was all rubbed away.

The fairy wings were shaded in with the hickory smoke distress ink, the woodland kings eyes were shaded in too.

Finally I stamped the acorn house on a separate piece of Sheena stamping card, shaded it in with the same aqua markers that had been used across this project, cut it out and attached it to the card, now leaving those wings looking like they are tucked in behind it.

Mat and layered in white and burgundy card stock.

There, I wanted this to be a woodland scene with The Green Man overlooking the goings on, incharge of his woodland.

Oh, nearly forgot, I added the little mouse stamp too!!!  He looks curious doesn't he? - What's that fairy doing hidden behind the acorn house? - Perhaps she's just simply doing that...hiding!?

Hope you like what you've seen today,

Thanks for stopping by,

Leanne x

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

Lavinia Stamps Facebook challenge - " A Hidden Fairy":-

http://laviniastamps.com/june-challenge-a-hidden-fairy/

The Artistic Stamper - "Winged Things":-

http://theartisticstampercreativeteam.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/junes-creative-challenge-winged-things.html

Craft Stamper June Take It Make It Challenge:-
http://craftstamper.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/take-it-make-it-challenge-june.html

A Love of the Sea...........

Good morning!

Well, I'm off on my hollybobs very soon and if this doesn't put me in the mood, nothing will!!!!!

I've had another play with the free stamps that came with Creative Stamping magazine AND I LOVED IT!!!!

This card started with me stamping the lighthouse island, unusually for me I masked it off using a post it note.  I worked on the sky next by stamping the clouds with gesso and allowing it to dry.  Have you guessed what I did the clouds with yet?????????  Shall I show you?????

Yes! The large heart from this Leonie Pujol stamp set!!!!

When the gesso was dry I could paint over the top of them with some diluted distress inks and then I added some fluffy stuff around the tops - can you see, they are the tops of the hearts!!!!

The sun was added using a mask and the yellow went on with a makeup sponge.

The waves were stamped in front of the light house, the sea painted in and then the waves highlighted with a white pen.

The rock on the right doesn't exist!  That's me with a piece of torn paper and a smoothie and some distress ink! - but it gave my lovely seagull somewhere to rest didn't it?

The boat was stamped and if you look closely I have added some hearts down the side of the boat too (these were from another Leonie Pujol stamp set).

The heart shaped rope is another stamp in this free set which has been shaded in with distress ink and cut out.  

The blue mat was stamped with lots of lovely hearts and The Love of the Sea stamped with my Clarity alphabet - this did come out a bit wonky but I liked it so I stuck with it!!! - The sea is a wonky place you know!!!!

Finally I stamped the sentiment of Let Your Dreams Set Sail.

Black mats in-between.

There, Cornwall here I come! Can you sense my love of the sea? I tell you, it's not as big as my two Goldren Retrievers' love of the sea!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope you've enjoyed your visit today,

Thanks for stopping by,

Leanne x

I would like to enter this in to the Country View Challenge of "Hearts":-

http://countryviewchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/june-2017-hearts.html

Craft Stamper June Take It Make It Challenge:-

http://craftstamper.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/take-it-make-it-challenge-june.html

Learn from the past, Live for the good times, Hope for the future.................with Visible Image.

Good morning!

I've been trying to have a play with my new Visible Image stamps a little bit each week and this week I've concentrated on the open door stamp from the Ahead of our Time set.

The background here has been produced with the use of distress inks with a splash or two of Creative Expressions Pixie Powders.

I then stamped the bowler hat man in the centre with versafine black onyx and two images of the unwinding clock.

Now, with all the dreadful goings on here in the UK over recent weeks and months I thought I would work with a little bit of hope on this make.  I stamped "past" and "future" from the Ahead of our Time set and "Good Times" in the middle from the Visible Image No Regrets set.

Three opening doors were then stamped individually on to some white card stock and I produced three panels to fit inside the doors which I coloured with distress inks.  I used the birds from the Ahead of our Time set and stamped on each panel "Learn", "Live" and "Hope" from the Visible Image Time after Time set.  The panels were then glued on to the doors and the doors glued on to the card above the relevant sentiment.

My intention all along was to produce a card to reflect on recent tragedies here in the uk -

We "learn" from the past, we "live" for the good times and we all "hope" and pray for the future and for all the families that have been so dreadfully effected.

I hope that you like this piece of artwork,

Thanks for stopping by,

Leanne xx

I shall share this make on the Visible Image Facebook page and enter this piece in to the Stamps and Stencils current challenge of "Words With Meaning":-
http://stampsandstencils.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/words-with-meaning.html

"Pack Up Your Troubles"...........(in your old kit bag and smile, smile smile!)........

Good morning!

Here is the other make that I made for Father's Day (you'll find the card from myself to my husband James on Wednesdays post) - this time it's the card that I made for my children to give to Dad last Sunday (Father's Day).

Now, James is super keen on militaria and the history of WWI and WWII and he loved this card!

I have made this card from the stamps in the Creative Expressions set "Pack Up Your Troubles".

I started off with a distress ink background and have added a Chocolate Baroque crackle effect stamp all over it - had to stamp it a few times to cover the area as the card is larger than the stamp!

I then stamped the soldier, then all the medals,  the plane was next and is a second generation stamp to put it nicely in to the background.  The sentiment was stamped on and finally "Blighty" twice, nice and pale on that background too.

Mat and layered in black and white.

James was quite impressed with this one and was more intrigued as to how I'd got hold of such brilliant stamps! - They are out there and available from Creative Expressions!

Hope you like this one and thank you for stopping by today,

Leanne xx

Happy Father's Day Husband...........

Good morning!

I'm sharing a make with you today that I made for my husband James for last Sunday (Father's Day).

James has a love of old American trucks (but he was quick to point out that this is a right hand drive truck????😕!!!!!). - I never noticed when I was working with it???!!!!!

Although this looks layered, this card is indeed a one layer card (all on one piece of card stock and mat and layered at the end of the make).

I started by stamping the lovely truck (Darkroom Door) and I have coloured that in with diluted distress inks. When I was happy with this middle section and it was completely dry, I masked it off with a masking sheet and then worked on the background with distress oxides.

This card is a perfect example for you to see the transparency of distress inks compared to the opaqueness of distress oxides, you can really nicely see the difference between the two - ( and how nicely they work together on a project).

I removed the masking sheet from the truck section and stamped my sentiment and "Husband" on there.

Mat and layered in black and white.

James loved it (even though he did notice it was a right hand drive truck!!!!).

Thanks for stopping by today, hope you've enjoyed your visit,

Leanne xx

You only live Once, make it Count............

Good morning!

Well this one is certainly looking at you isn't it!!!!!

This card started life as a square of black card (unusual for me).  Of course, I only have one eye on the Vision Inkognito stamp set so I went about reversing it with the use of my brayer so that I got two eyes!  The eye was reversed using perfect medium and the usual stamp stamped with the perfect medium too and then clear embossed.  I then stamped all the little cogs all over the black card in perfect medium as well and clear embossed those too.

I then used some Distress Oxides to put that lovely smokey background on.

If you look closely I have also stamped very finely with the cracked stamp that is also in that Visible Image stamp set (Time After Time set).  

Some gold gilding wax was gently rubbed over those embossed cogs to make them shine.

I stamped the sentiment on to a further piece of black card and embossed that in white and edged with the gold gilding wax and attached to the card at this stage.

The small clock face was stamped and gold embossed on top of this sentiment panel and then some of the small cogs that had been stamped out and embossed in gold and cut out were applied to the card too.

The eyes were highlighted with a white pen and then the large clock was stamped with the two wings (in the same stamp set), cut out and attached using a double layer of black foam tape to give it good dimension.

Mat and layered using white, gold and black card stock.

Happy with that! - You should see the state of my hands, - black, gold gilding wax and covered in glue - nothing strange there then!!!!!

Hope you've enjoyed your visit today,

Thanks for stopping by,

Leanne x

I would like to enter this in to the following challenge:-

Try It On Tuesday - Steampunk/Mechanical:-

https://tuesdaytaggers.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/steampunkmechanical-6th-june.html

From The Past..........To The Future with Visible Image........

Good morning!

I'm sharing a make that I had great fun with using the new Ahead Of Our Time stamp set at Visible Image.

I have taken some photo's along the way for you to see how it came together gradually.

The masked image of the black hat man. (At this stage I had coloured the other side of the card stock with distress oxides - hence the nice big splodge at the top! - I wasn't worried about this as I knew it wouldn't be there when I had finished!

Distress inks added and the inner part of the black hat man now stamped up and shaded.

Nothing like ripping up your artwork!!!!

Tumbling figures stamped and set with clear embossing powder.  I then fussy cut them out.

Mat and layered in black and white and all elements attached.

Hope you've enjoyed your visit today and that I've inspired you with further ideas of how you can use your Visible Image Stamps!

Thanks for stopping by,

Leanne xx

The Country Life...........

Good morning!

I'm sharing a make with you this morning that I have made for a friends birthday and yes...... he is a farmer!!!!!! (It just had to have a tractor on it!!!!).

I just love this stamp set by Sheena Douglass (The Country Life set).

I have started with a square of Sheena Stamping card and I used stencil tape to mark off the area in which I wanted to work (to leave a nice clean top and bottom of card).

First thing was to stamp that lovely tractor in black archival ink.  I didn't mask it as I didn't feel that I needed to.  I then put in those hills at the back with some green Momento ink and then a blue adirondack applied with a nice soft brush for the sky.

I then took my time painting in the tractor with diluted Spectrum Noir Aqua Pens.  

Now, Philip won't mind me saying this but he's not the tidiest farmer and so I wanted this tractor to look like it was an old one, just left in the yard like a lot of his old engines are!!!!!!! So I have stamped flowers and weeds all around it looking like they are growing through it!!!! He'll know what I've done!!!!!

Finished by stamping Happy Birthday and The Country Life underneath.

Mat and layered.

I think he'll like this!

Thanks for stopping by today,

Leanne x

I would like to enter this in to the My Time To Craft Challenge of "Down on the Farm":-

http://mytimetocraftchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/challenge-347-down-on-farm.html

Somebunny Loves You!!!

Good morning!

Here is my offering for the current Rubber Dance June Colour Challenge.  I JUST LOVE THIS STAMP SET!!!!  Perfect for Easter but perfect all year round too!

Rubber Dance asked this time for us to follow a colour swatch:-

So I have used Spectrum Aqua Markers of Dessert, Sea Green and Peacock Blue.

This card started life as a piece of 6 x 6 Sheena stamping card and I scribbled the aqua markers on to my glass mat and sprayed with water.  Then I have swooshed the card in to the inks and then enhanced when dry with a smoothie.

I then popped the gorgeous rabbit (Bonny Bunny by Rubber Dance) right in the middle and lifted some colour from him with water.

I stamped the carrots in black archival and painted in with the aqua markers and then stamped the small carrots directly with the aqua markers and painted in with them again.

I finally painted in the rabbits face with the aqua markers leaving some light areas where it was needed.

Edged with the blue on a smoothie just to darken those edges a bit.

Mat and layered with a sea green colour card stock that surprised me how well it went when I found it!

Hope you have liked your visit today,

Thanks for stopping by,

Leanne x

I would like to enter this in to the rubber dance June colour challenge:

http://rubberdance.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/rubber-dance-june-colour-challenge.html

For you............Sister

Good morning!

I am joining in with the fun at the Allsorts challenge today "use 2 or more dies" and the Stamping Sensations challenge of "use your favourite stamp".

Well, there was no shadow of a doubt which stamp I was going to choose as my favourite - The face from the Stampers Anonymous Classic Favourites!  I've used this face time after time and it lends itself to a huge array of backgrounds and colour schemes so here we are with another version of it!

A couple of weeks ago I also purchased the Memoirs Of A Lady stamp from Inkylicious as it is a reversal of this one from Stampers Anonymous with a collage background so here we are with both of them reflecting off of each other - perfect!

I have taken a photograph of the "ingredients" for you:

The Stampers Anonymous set, a new die set that I won in a competition recently and the Inkylicious Memoirs Of A Lady stamp.

So back to the project at hand!  Started with a distress ink background and stamped the Memoirs stamp on the right hand side, this gave me an idea of where to place that lovely large face on the left. Memoirs is stamped with Archival Watering Can (I needed it to be "quiet enough" to sit in the background and the large face is stamped with Archival black.

The flowers are from a set by Hobby Art and I masked the large face with paper and stamped the flower around the face again with Watering Can ink and then stamped the flower again twice on a further piece of card stock, coloured with distress inks and set aside for now.

I used the flower to stamp the flower on the right and then turned it around and stamped again to form a whole flower before I stamped a slightly different flower in back over the top and coloured again with distress inks.

The two bands across this piece are from the Tim Holtz Alterations Sizzix set - On the Edge that I won in a recent competition.  The bottom band is actually the waste part of it! - I coloured with distress ink and stamped the flowers on there too.  The top band I have cut twice so that both sides are deckled - coloured in the same distress inks and stamped "For You......Sister" - I thought this card would be perfect for my husbands sisters' birthday that is coming up in July.

Attached the die edges and then the cut out flowers over the top with 3D glue gel.

Mat and layered in matching colours, a nude pink and brown.

I loved making this card with my favourite stamp (I do have so many favourites really but this one just out shines all the rest!).

I hope you enjoyed your visit today,

Thanks for stopping by,

Leanne xxx

I would like to enter this in to the Allsorts Challenge - "2 or more dies":-

http://allsortschallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/week-419-use-at-least-two-dies.html

Stamping Sensations - "Use your favourite stamp":-

http://sirstampalotchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/june-use-tour-favourite-stamp.html

I Live In My Own Little World, But It's OK...They Know Me Here............

Good morning!

Thanks for joining me, nice to see you!

I've been playing this weekend with my new Visible Image stamps from their new release on Friday.  This unwinding clock is from the "Ahead Of Our Time" set.

I wanted to be a bit different and I could see a snail shell with this clock?!!!  So a snail it became!

I have created my background with distress inks and then gold embossed the unwinding clock.

For the snail body I used the sentiment "Create Your Imagination" - seemed very fitting as it was my imagination that saw a snail after all!!! (This is me set - Visible Image).

I then drew the rest of the snail.

I added the sentiment "I live in my own little world but it's okay....they know me here"in black versafine ink - I LOVE THIS SENTIMENT!!!!

I then masked the snails shell (or clock!) and stamped the tall grasses (large tall grass set Visible Image) and the birds again from the new Ahead of Our Time set - these are a second generation stamping.

I then worked on a second background that I made and stamped the clock again but this time after gold embossing it, I have cut it out like a spiral and then attached it to my card with sticky pads and some 3D glue gel in the centre to keep it spiralling outwards/upwards.

A little ink around the edges and mat and layered in black and white.

I enjoyed this very much!

Thanks for stopping by,

Leanne x

I would like to enter this in to the Visible Image Facebook challenge of "Dimension":-

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.1048260865304352&type=1

With Love............

Good morning!

It is with sadness that I have made this card for the last challenge that Chocolate Baroque will be offering.  I have loved this challenge but sadly, all good things come to an end at some time or another don't they?

So, I had to work with a colour swatch which was:

A lovely choice of colours that lend themselves to each other beautifully.

Here is how I got to it.  I started by just playing really with some Spectrum Aqua markers, glycerine and a sponge!  I also added some white drawing ink in to the mix and loved the effect that I got.

I then went on with my hills and then the flowers which have been coloured in with diluted aqua markers.  The butterflies have been coloured in with the new distress oxide inks.  The butterflies went on next and finally the sentiment.

I appreciate that the sentiment of "With Love" looks completely on the wonk - I can assure you that it is completely straight here at home!!! - I am working with a new phone and depending on how I angle it, sometimes the sentiments can look a little wonky or even blurry - I'm doing my best - the phone is more sensitive than I ever am!!!!

The antenna were just too fiddly to cut out so I decided to stamp the main image of the butterfly first in black versafine and then stick the cut out butterfly on to the top to give it perfect "feelers"!!!!!

Thank you to Lesley and all at Chocolate Baroque for a great challenge blog and I really hope that you will be able to bring it back to us some day - it will be missed....

I would like to enter this in to the final Chocolate Baroque colour swatch challenge:-

http://chocolatebaroquechallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/challenge-thirty-five-end-of-era.html

Thanks for stopping by,

Leanne x

I'm featured in this Month's Craft Stamper Magazine - and a closer peak at last months published piece..

Good morning!

A sneak peak for you today of my piece of artwork that is published in this months Craft Stamper magazine - can't see much? - no, you're not supposed to be able to!!!!  To have a better, full size look at this you'll need to obtain your copy of this month's Craft Stamper magazine that went on sale on Friday (2nd June 17).

I am on page 56 with a card entered for Summertime Sunsets.

You can buy your copy of the magazine at -  www.craftstamper.com to buy subscriptions, www.mags-uk.com.

I can now show you a full sized version of my card that appeared in last months magazine in the Rainbows and Roses section (page 59).

I am delighted to have been chosen to appear in Craft Stamper for two months in a row!

Remember to get your copy of the current magazine to see my sunset scene!

Thanks for stopping by today,

Leanne x

..... Always be a mermaid!

Good morning!

Well here I am with an offering that I have made for the current Try It On Tuesday Challenge of "Feathered Friends".

Now, I have a huuuuuge love of Cornwall so I went down the road of thinking of feathered friends? - seagulls! Well, they may well not be everybody's friends, I'll give you that - but they are to a mermaid!!!!

So here I have developed a lovely, coastal scene by using the free stamps that came with Creative Stamping magazine.

How useful are these - they are excellent!

So I built up my scene by firstly stamping the mermaid, then stamped the waves along with the seagulls and masked them all off with drawing gum.

I then applied some gesso to the sky and dried it off. Once dry, I could apply (from the top of the page downwards) some adirondack ink with a clarity brush for the sky, then came down with the sea.

When I was happy, the drawing gum was rubbed away and the images coloured with diluted distress inks and then I finished the mermaids tail with a Spectrum Noir clear overlay pen.

There, you can see the shine from the beautiful clear overlay pen.

I finished by stamping the sentiment and adding the boat for them all to look out at, some birds in the sky and applying some colour around those posts that the birds are standing on.

Mat and layered.

I would like to enter this in to the Try It On Tuesday challenge of "Feathered Friends":-

http://tuesdaytaggers.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/feathered-friends-23rd-may.html

Hope you've enjoyed your visit today, nice to see you!

Thanks for stopping by,

Leanne x

Thinking of you.............

Good morning!

Well, I've been having a play with my Crafty Individual stamps and this card is part tribute to my wonderful blogland friend Sandra (who became one of the Crafty Individuals design team members this week) and part entry in to the My Time To Craft current sketch theme challenge.

I have to admit that I have had a new phone this week and I'm still trying to get used to it and the camera on it is very sensitive so bear with me!!!!

Right, so, the sketch that I had to follow was

but you know me, I can't just follow that sketch, that wouldn't be enough for me! No, I had to turn that sketch in to something else!!!!!

So, I started with a piece of square Sheena stamping card and a die cut circle of the same card - both white.

I attached the circle to the square with some repositionable spray adhesive so that I could work straight over the top of both pieces.

I stamped the beautiful house and then extended the wall at either side of it in sepia versafine ink, then covered it in drawing gum.

I then used a clarity stamp brush and blended some green dye ink down across the front of the scene. Next was the sky, which I have used an adirondack stonewashed ink pad and an Inkylicious stencil to colour the sky and form those lovely clouds.  A sun/moon mask had been added and once that was removed I coloured the sun in with a make up sponge and yellow dye ink.

The next step was to add the extra trees in the background, straight over the top of the drawing ink and then I rubbed that drawing ink away. I then water coloured everything in using diluted dye ink pads and stamped the grasses/flowers right at the front of the scene in green dye ink, first and second generation stamping.

I then stamped the grasses on the right hand side (three grasses have been stamped) to match the sketch.

At this point of course, the circle of card was still attached to the back square but now they had to part company.

I used a Tattered Lace circle die to cut the lovely decorative black circle so that I could back the artwork and mounted these on to foam pads to raise it away from the rest of the scene, being careful to ensure that everything lined up (sorry, can't get that to show greatly on a photo!).

I then added the flowers on the left to match the My Time To Craft sketch and I added the butterfly - just because I could really and I thought that it balanced the piece beautifully!

I stamped "Thinking of You" in the centre and then added the text box with "With Love" to also match the sketch.

Mat and layered on white and black mats.

Well, hope you've enjoyed your visit today, I don't often do detailed scenes but I really enjoy it when I do!

A message for Sandra - well done you!

Thanks for stopping by,

Leanne x

I would like to enter this in to the My Time To Craft challenge of Sketchy Time:-

http://mytimetocraftchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/challenge-326-sketchy-time.html