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

Discover....

Good morning!

A change of scheduled post this week as I've made this card as my contribution to the current Cards in Envy challenge of "Black and white" and I want to get it entered! - Cards in Envy is my absolute favourite challenge blog!.

I know that you automatically think of die cutting when you think of black and white but of course, I'm a stamper! So here is a stampers version of black and white!

I have only used white Sheena Stamping card, a black Momento ink pad, white structure paste, black gesso and an amber illustrator marker for the whole card which was fun.

So, from my blank piece of stamping card I stamped my focal image of the wonderful balloon in black Momento (Bee Crafty Art Stamp).  From there is was to concentrate on my background which has been done by simple wiping the ink pad across the page from both directions, pressing and drawing that ink pad inwards.  I just stamped some of the clouds from the main image (being careful not to catch the basket) and extended the clouds a little bit both sides.

The birds are from Lavinia Stamp.

Then structure paste (white) was pressed through an Indigoblu dinky stencil and some black gesso through another stencil (which was a great big swirl and I've used on a small portion of it).

The sentiments are cut down from some art journalling stamps by Indigoblu.

I then highlighted those with a bit of colour as the challenge suggested with an amber illustrator marker.

Another masculine card! Wahay!!!

Mat and layered with black and white card stock.

I would like to enter this in to the Cards in Envy challenge of "Black and White":-

http://cardsinenvy.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/black-white-card-challenge.html

Hope you've enjoyed a lesson in black and white today!

Thanks for dropping by today,

Leanne xx

An Oriental Thank You.....

Good morning!

A quick mid week post again this week. This is a postcard that I have made for Sunday Postcard Art's theme this week of Oriental.  Shall I let you into a secret?.......I don't have many Oriental crafting items at all!!!!!!! So this is how you "make something out of nothing"!!!!!!!

I started on a piece of 6 x 4 inch Sheena Stamping Card and blended my sky down from the top with distress inks and my ink dusters.  I then met that sky with hills inked with torn paper until they met, leaving a nice bright bit of sky just over the hills.

The trees were stamped in black Momento ink (Inkylicious) and the oriental grasses (the only oriental stamps I'd got!) were stamped across the front and falling in from above. These stamps are from Chocolate Baroque.  The small pagoda was hand drawn with black india ink (this is what we call improvising!).  

Trees and leaves were coloured using distress ink and the moon was done using Pebeo Decocreme paint.

Stamped my sentiment of thank you (Chocolate Baroque) and the birds (Inkylicious).

Edged with distress ink.

There!  How to produce an oriental scene with very few oriental tools!!!!! (Think I got away with it - don't you?!!!). I'm glad I did because I do like Sunday Postcard Art, it makes you stretch the imagination and I hope that by doing that to me, I inspire others.

Thanks for stopping by,

Leanne xx

Sometimes in the winds of change.................

Good morning!

Well, this card has been made from the heart really.  Tomorrow I shall close one of my businesses (a very large local pet shop) due to Pets At Home having moved in to the town last March where from it has been removing my customers ever since!  Not too much of a drama as I've obtained planning permission for a change of use so what was a lovely independent pet shop with full animal licence - it will now be flats! - Thats the local council for you!!!  So, after 30 years of trading in our family and although it is sad, I think I'm ready to let the hard work go now and take the rental income instead and so this card was made while I thought to the future really.  

I must admit, while my mind was a bit elsewhere, I did forget to take the photo's as I went along but I'll talk you through it as always.

I think you can see from this artwork (or at least I can) that my mind has been unsettled for a while as I had to make some rather large decisions.  The air is stormy, the colours quite dark and the sentiment was perfect.

I started with my usual piece of Sheena Stamping card which had been sprayed with some bister spray inks and left to dry.  I then turned the card until I could see how I could get my stamped images on there and looking right.  So I then stamped the man and the tree (both Clarity Stamp) in black Momento ink.  I grounded them both using a piece of torn paper and some sponged distress ink.  Using the same torn paper and distress ink I added the hill in the distance.  The clouds have been done by just smoothing over some gesso gently and then enhancing with a soft charcoal pencil.  The grasses at the front are from Inkylicious and I just had to ensure that they were leaning over in the same direction as the wind was blowing!  

The final touches are a few spots of water, just dripped from my fingertips and the colour removed with a piece of kitchen towel and the shadow put in with the charcoal pencil from the mans legs with some white pen to highlight around him and the tree.

A sad time for me and my staff at Pettifers Pet Shop in Rushden, Northants.  (I do have other businesses) - this was a much loved shop but too smaller fish to compete against the larger chain.  At least with the rental income from the completed flats, I won't have to get out of bed to earn the same income. - Do you sense bitterness? - yes, do you sense sadness? - yes, do we pick ourselves back up, brush ourselves down and carry on and make the best of what we have got - YES WE DO!!!!

"Sometimes in the winds of change - we do find our true direction",

Thanks for stopping by,

Leanne xx

May All Your Dreams Come True......

Good Morning!!! I've been having some fun with some of my Chocolate Baroque stamps this week!

I took my usual blank piece of white card stock and stamped my mushrooms - aren't they fabulous? (for mushrooms!!!!).  I then masked them over with masking fluid and then ironed on some crumpled up wax paper - straight over the top of the masking fluid.  I then blended on some colours (chosen for the Chocolate Baroque challenge 26 colour palette) and it shows up the wax that has transferred beautifully.

Here you can see me getting there! I have now painted in the mushrooms using the same inks diluted with water and stamped my Chocolate Baroque sentiment of "May all your dreams come true!".

This card will go to one of my daughters friends who is going to start University - she will address it to a "fun guy" - fungi - mushrooms????!!!!!!!!

Quite happy with this one and it was really nice and relaxing to do with the blending and colouring in.

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

Chocolate Baroque challenge 26.

http://chocolatebaroquechallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/challenge-twenty-six.html

Words 2 Craft By - A Single Step.

https://words2craftby.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/w2cb-32-single-step.html

Craft Stamper - Anything Goes.
http://craftstamper.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/take-it-make-it-challenge-september.html

Thanks for stopping by,

Leanne xx

Secrets are hidden.............

Good Morning! Thought I'd have a go with my Lavinia Stamps this week.  I just love the mystical feel that they have. I've produced this card with the theme of autumn colours for the Lavinia Stamp challenge this month.  Can you tell where the secrets are hidden??????

The first step I took was to stamp the largest toadstools and seed pod and mask them with drawing gum.  Then I used the wax paper technique to give the whole piece of card some texture and resist.

I then brought in my autumnal colours with distress inks and momento inks - sponging them all over. Then I coloured the seed pod and toadstools with alcohol pens.

I finished off by stamping my little animal friends and the fairy and her dandelion heads and added some glitter to the toadstools and around the seed pod and dandelion heads.

Where do you think the secrets are hidden???? Well, my guess is that they are going up with the dandelion seeds as she thinks of them........

I would like to enter this in to the Lavinia Stamp challenge - Autumn Hues.

http://laviniastamps.com/lavinia-stamps-monthly-creative-challenge/

and Fantasy Stampers challenge - Sunshine Colours.
http://fantasystampers.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/challenge-70-sunshine-colours.html

Hope you like this one,

Thanks for stopping by,

Leanne xx