Mockingbird Hill for Sheena Douglass.................

Good morning!

Today I'm sharing a card that I made for Sheena Douglass's recent Mockingbird Hill collection show.

I was so thrilled to see my card on the television for the first time and shown too!!!!

This one is made from the "Our House" set which is a stamp (a huuuuuge stamp) and very large matching die.

I have coloured the house with Aqua Markers used as water colours (diluted on my glass mat) and the back ground was done using distress ink for the hills and the trees have been stamped with several colours of Aqua Markers direct to stamp.

A few painted on sprigs of grass and a smokey chimney and I was done!

I thought this had an old farmhouse feel to it (well, that was what I was trying to achieve anyway!!!).

Thanks for stopping by today,

I love to read your comments, it's nice to know what others think of your work and makes it all worthwhile!

Leanne xx

Five Christmas cards for August!!!!

Good morning!

Here I am with my offering of my five Christmas cards for August!

I've taken some photo's of them in pairs and closer for you:

This a layering technique that I saw on the television a few weeks ago and thought it was really nice especially when you use a tree stamp as it can make one tree stamp turn in to a complete forest!!

On to a distress ink background I started to stamp my first trees ( I think this is a Clarity Stamp tree) in a very pale colour, I almost couldn't see them on the paper.  I then went on with a slightly darker blue, a third darker blue and then one in a bold colour which I covered in clear embossing powder too so that it stood out from all the rest.

Added some snowflakes and the sentiments.

Didn't take that long to produce these and I loved it as it was so inky!!!

So, new years resolution - month 8 mission complete!!!!

Thanks for stopping by today,

Leanne xx

A Little Wish...............

Good morning!! Well this is rather jolly don't you think!!!

A couple of weeks ago I bought a new set of stamps from Polkadoodles and I got in to a right inky finger mess making this one!!!!

This card started as a piece of watercolour card stock which I used Spectrum Noir Vintage Hues sparkle pens to blend the background with.  I then took the colour back out of the flowers just using water and coloured the images in more vibrantly with the same set of sparkle pens.

I have used some acrylic paint on a roller to go around the edges and finished off by highlighting here and there with a white pen.

Mat and layered on black and a white layer that I coloured in using the same colour sparkle pen as I had used on this design.

Very messy on the fingers but great fun!

Thanks for stopping by today,

Leanne xx

Good Friends Are Hard To Find, Harder To Leave And Impossible To Forget......mid month reminder at Penny Black and More.........

Hi there!  It's mid month reminder day over at Penny Black and more for our challenge this month which is "All Creatures Great and Small".

Here is my piece of inspiration, I have used Penny Black 30-419 Happy Wishes for the sentiment, 30-261 Natures Friends and 40-356 Woodland Wonder (the trees and bushes at the edges).

I was pleased with this one as it looks so peaceful - I want to be there!!!!  

The trees and bushes at the sides I have double stamped and just slightly off set with two different colours to give them depth and movement.

Hope you like all the lovely little creatures both great and small......

Come along and join us at Penny Black and more challenges

http://pennyblackatallsorts.blogspot.co.uk

there are prizes to be had for the winner!!!!!!

Please remember that the main focal image of your design must be a hand stamped image, no digi images please.

Thanks for stopping by, good luck!

Leanne xx

Remember the past, Live for today, Dream of tomorrow........

Hi there, well, this one's a bit striking don't you think?!!!!!  I love it!!!!!

OK, where on earth did I start with this one, oh yes, with an old dictionary page, a very old dictionary page - rather tatty and fusty!!!!

The first thing that I did was to blend some Spectrum Noir sparkle pens down the page (I've used the vintage hues set here) so I went from a rustic red, through an olive green down to a biscuit colour and dried it with a heat tool.

I then stamped Buddha in black versafine and clear embossed over the top.

Having stamped the image again on a masking sheet and cut around it, I covered Buddha with the masking piece.

I then stamped lots of falling leaves around the head and stamped the sentiment at the bottom in versafine ink.  A stencil has been used with some gesso for the white leaves that you see behind Buddha.

Removed the masking sheet from the face and darkened the edges with fired brick distress oxide ink. The edges of the page were already torn and tatty so I wasn't worried about making this worse when I darkened the edges with my blending tool - it just added to the effect!!!

Attached to a black mat.

I thought that the image popped rather well and although I wanted to "lose" a lot of the dictionary page around the main image, it has remained well on the face.

Hope you like this one, a bit different!

Thanks for stopping by,

Leanne xx

A Thing of Beauty Is a Joy FOREVER.....

Morning folks!!!

I've done this card for inspiration on the Sheena's Ink-ettes Facebook page (a group page for everything Sheena Douglass) for this months challenge of "birds".

The background is a distress oxide one which was followed by some of Sheena's stencils, some hand doodling and if you look more closely some stencilling with feathers (from my cockatoo - Daisy) - DON'T PANIC, SHE WASN'T HARMED TO PRODUCE THIS CARD!!!!  I simply collect the larger feathers from the bottom of her cage when I clean her, disinfect them and away I go - free feathers!!!!

Lots of Sheena's stamps on here and the leaves at the front are one of her stencils which I have inked and cut around.

I finished off with a couple of Daisy's feathers that I spritzed with ink and attached for a more "bird like" feel.

The Hibiscus flowers have been finished off with a clear overlay sparkle pen which is pretty near impossible to pick up on camera but I've had a go for you 

Mat and layered on deep plum, white and black card stock.

If you would like to join the Sheena's Ink-ettes Facebook page, just click the request to join and we'll let you in and you can catch up with all things Sheena!!!

Oh, and say hi to Daisy!!!

                    

                                               

Thanks for stopping by today,

Leanne xxxxxx

"Queen Bee"......

Good morning!

I've had a play for the new challenge over at Cards in Envy - their new challenge is insects or bugs so here I am with bees!!!!

I have used a selection of the stamps in the Craft Consortium Tell The Bees set and a honeycomb pattern stencil which I have used gesso through. The queen bee has been stamped, cut out and stuck back on to give her a tiny bit of depth along with her friend to her right.

You will also notice slight hints of a crackle stamp in the background (Chocolate Baroque) and I finished a few of the honeycombs off with a slight touch of Imagination Crafts starlights.

This was quite fun to make and notice how I have moved some of the bee stamps to try and make it look like the wings are moving and fluttering so fast like little bees wings do!

Do go over and join them at Cards in Envy, remember that the card that you produce must be flat enough to fit in an envy envelope.

Hope you like this card,

Thanks for stopping by,

Leanne xx

New Challenge at Penny Black and More - All Creatures Great and Small........

Good morning!

It's a new challenge over at Penny Black and More today and the new theme is " All Creatures Great and Small".  Do go over and check it out, there are prizes to be had too!!!

My design for this challenge has been made using the Penny Black 40-312 Sunny Pair, the sentiment is the 30-419 Happy Wishes set, the beautiful butterfly is the 40-099 Soft Wings and the floral background border is 40-100 Fanciful.

I started with a piece of Sheena Stamping Card and painted it with black gesso.  I then popped a layer of weathered wood on there (letting each layer dry completely in between).  When this was dry I painted on two lovely shades of purple and very light blue chalk paint and watched it crack before my eyes!!!!  Sealed then with Decoart Matte Medium. This formed my background and I was ready to start!

I stamped the Sunny Pair first with black versafine and topped it with clear embossing powder to set it. I've painted in the lovely sunflowers with some acrylics. The floral border was then stamped at the edges, just lightly so that you could see that it is there but subtly in the background.

The butterfly was stamped on to sheet music and stiffened by backing it onto very thick black card stock - I glued the sheet music to the black card with Americana Decoupage glue. Cut out the butterfly and painted it lightly with the same chalk paints but this time diluted down a touch.

The sentiment of Happy Happy Wishes was stamped with the Versafine ink and set with clear embossing powder.

Mat and layered on to a lovely periwinkle that I found, white and black.

I enjoyed making this one and I just love the quality of the stamps!!

I hope that you will join us at Penny Black and More this month and good luck!!!!

Thanks for stopping by,

Leanne xx

Imagine & Believe......... and some amazing news!!!!

Good morning!!!

A quick share with you this morning, this was a bit of fun that I was having using my inks.

A complete mix of stamps on here but I achieved what I was aiming for  - GHOSTS!!!!!

I wanted the whole piece to centre around the ghost ship so the pirate had to look like he was a ghost and the skulls had to look spooky too!!!

Lots of loose ink on this one, a great make for masculine card, plenty to look at and let your imagination run wild!!!



I also have some amazing news to share with you - I have been invited to join the Sheena Douglass Design Team!!!!!!! Imagine the pace my heart was going at when I received an email asking for a conference call to be arranged!  - and then the hour wait for the call!!!!! It was a long hour I can tell you!!!!

This will be so exciting and I'm sure it will keep me very busy.  I am looking forward to my new challenge very much and hoping that you will all share the new journey with me.

Thanks for stopping by,

Leanne xx

Hello there! - Guest Designer for Rubber Dance Stamps!!!!

Good morning to you! Hope you're having a good week?

I was chosen as the DT's pick last month over at Rubber Dance Challenges and was very kindly asked by Susanne to be their Guest Designer for the start of their new colour challenge today which is  a photo inspiration and colour challenge of green, rust and magenta.

Please join us at Rubber Dance challenges for your chance to win some fantastic Rubber Dance stamps! - I did it, and I won - so you can too!!!!!

OK, this is the piece of artwork that I came up with for my Guest Designer spot.  I had great fun with this one and the quality of the rubber stamps is superb.

I have used the "Hello There" stamp set and I have used the giraffe head three times (in line with the photo inspiration of the challenge), I have placed them at the same height and placing as the three closed water lilies on the photograph.

I stamped the giraffe head in black onyx versafine and then covered them in drawing gum to protect them while I made my usual inky mess!!!!

The basis of the background is distress stains (rusty hinge and peeled paint) which I have diluted on to my glass mat and swiped the card through.  

I have then used a combination of Rubber Dance stamps from the Antique Botanicals set behind the giraffes.  These were stamped in coffee and fern green Archival inks, versafine imperial purple and have been coloured in using distress inks and a white pen.

I have also used a stencil with distress oxide (wilted violet) on there too.

Three flowers from the Antique Botanicals were stamped and cut out, coloured in and placed at the front to give me some depth.

 A bit of doodling with a fine black pen and matt and layered on white and deep plum card stock - I have smudged some wilted violet distress ink on to the white layer.

I hope that you like what I've produced for Rubber Dance - I adore their stamp range and often join in with their challenges - why don't you give it a go - you could win yourself some Rubber Dance stamps and produce lovely pieces of artwork too!!!!

Good luck!!!

I would like to express my thanks for the entire Rubber Dance team for choosing me as their pick last month, to Susanne and Bibi partularly for being so helpful.

Thanks for stopping by,

Leanne xx