June's Without Words Challenge

I decided to set myself a personal challenge whilst preparing my sample for you......

A while ago I was blown away by my dear friend Barbara, AKA Forgotten Scraps who has been creating some amazing pencil work on balsa wood and I thought it was high time I had a go myself!!

So here is my first ever balsa wood colouring

for our 

Summer Holidays challenge:

Whimsy Stamps/Wee Stamps - We love you bunches

Balsa Wood

Caran D'Ache Luminance and Pablos pencils

Winsor and Newton Professional Fixative
Chalk ink

If you wish to give this a go yourself here are a few hints....

Firstly, your inked image will bleed, don't panic - it is advisable however to use a lighter ink i.e. not black, that way your pencil stands a chance of covering the areas that bleed badly!

Secondly, it is recommended that you use pencils with softer leads such as Luminance, Pablos or Prismacolor - hard leads will dent the balsa wood and produce ruts on the surface.

Thirdly, seal your pencil work with fixative.

Our wonderful sponsor this month is

Crafters Companion

So for your chance to win a £10 voucher to spend in store please post your 

"Summer Holidays" images HERE

Bring on the summer sun!!!

Last Wee Stamp GDT post

Hello again, yes as the post title says this is sadly my last post

as a Guest Designer for Wee Stamps!

 

 

I thought I'd finish with a zingy orange and teal combo,

ooh and I had a blast with that auburn hair!!!

 

Supplies

Rowan Fairy - Wee Stamps

Copics

Shinhan Touch Twin

DP: Mabel paper pad by My Minds Eye

Ribbon/Lace/Flat backed pearls from stash

Victorian Corners die - Tattered Lace

Fabulous Flox die - Memory Box

 

Now may I remind you that should you like what you see and want to treat yourself to one of Sylvia's adorable images they are available in both digital and rubber.

 

Once I've dropped my son off at University today and caught up on a few things normal crafting activities will resume - and yes that does mean blogging - so watch out peeps I'll be popping by to say hi soon!

 

 

Crafty Hugs

Wee Stamps Release Day

Woo hoo, today I finally get to share with you all one of Sylvia Zet's

new release!!!

 

Just look at these adorable ponies....

 

 

I decided to use pencils on kraft this time - I love the way the darker background makes the colours "pop"

 

SUPPLIES

Beau & Bashful - Wee Stamps

Caran D'Ache Pablo & Faber Castell Polychromos pencils

Kraft Card

Spellbinders dies

DP - Cappella paper pad by Basic Grey

 

The ponies are available in both digital and rubber - how great is that!

 

Hugs



Another Wee Post

Hello there, I am back today with another adorable image by Sylvia Zet

 

I have been sneaking in to the studio over the last few days,

an hour here and there.......

......it felt so good to get my colouring mojo flowing again!

 

 

I decided to jump in with both feet and kick start my creativity with a

"no lines" colouring - I loved every second!!

 

SUPPLIES

Winter Wonderland - Sylvia Zet for SCACD

Copics

Shinhan Touch Twin Brush markers 

Coloured pencils

DP - Frosty Christmas by Lili of the Valley

Various snowflake dies

Flat backed pearls from stash

 

To add a little texture to the background I used Isopropyl alcohol and a natural sponge - I know it's not too clear but if you look carefully at the image above you can just about see the subtle texture this technique creates.

 

Thanks for dropping by, apologies that I have not been doing the same of late - normality is on the horizon so fear not I'll be visiting your blogs soon!

 

Hugs

 



Wee Stamps Guest Designer

Oh yeah, you read it right

I am a Wee Stamps Guest Designer for September

 

time for a happy dance me thinks

 

Thankfully I had the foresight to get my DT work done before harvest started, which was a

good job really as I have managed only a couple of hours colouring since!

 

So without further ado here is my first creation

 

SUPPLIES

Holly - Wee Stamps

DP: Bear Necessities by Lili of the Valley

Dies by Memory Box & Cheery Lynn Designs

Copics

Ribbon & pearls from stash

Chalk ink

White gel pen

 

and here is a close up

 

My favourite part has to be her face, I kept the eyes simple, yet realistic and gave a little blush to her cheeks, well she is sitting on a branch covered in snow, poor dear! 

 

This is the digital version of Holly, for those stamping purists out there you'll be glad to hear that she is also available in rubber, please see below for more details.

 

I will be back later this month with more creations,

in the meantime you can find Sylvia's adorable images here:

Wee Stamps (digital)

Whimsy Wee Stamps (rubber) 

(and Whimsy Stamps stockists worldwide)

 

 

Crafty Hugs

Think Pink

Crafting for all Seasons

has a very special challenge this month

"Think Pink"

 

in memory of their founder

Dawn

who sadly lost her battle with cancer earlier this year

 

I was fortunate enough to get to know Dawn through

our mutual love of crafting

 

Supplies

Friendship Ties - Sylvia Zet for SCACD

Copics

Pencils

Spellbinders die

DP from stash

 

Challenges

Anything Goes - Shaped but not Square

Cuttin and Stamping - Shaped cards

Die Cutting Divas - Over the rainbow

Sweet Stamps - Spring

Through the Craft room door - Anything goes

 

Cancer touches all of us at some part of our lives

I have family members who have beaten it, others who sadly like Dawn were not quite so fortunate

and a dear friend who is currently battling it for a third time!

 

So please join in this very special 

Crafting For All Seasons Challenge

 

 Hugs

Without Words February Challenge

Over at Without Words this month our challenge is:

 

I LOVE TO LOVE

(reds, pink, sentimental and romance)

 

Now if you are going to enter our challenge please do not forget that all entries have to be

CLEAN and SIMPLE

as well as follow the theme set for the month

 

As you can see from my example CAS does not have to mean boring and bare!!

Yes you can add a sentiment

but please leave off the gems, big bows, layers of DP's, die cuts and doilies

 

Our lovely sponsor this month is

and they are kindly offering a

£10 voucher

for the winning entry!!

 

 

so go on, let your beautiful hand coloured image be the focus

after all you have probably spent hours colouring it!

 

 

SUPPLIES

Ruby by Wee Stamps

Copics

Polychromos and Pablos

Nestabilities

DP - Crafters Companion, For someone special

 

CHALLENGES

Allsorts Challenge - #192 Lets get cute

Catch the Bug - Anything goes

One Stop Craft - Anything goes

Sweet n Sassy - Valentines Day/Love

Sweet Stamping Challenge - Love it all around

 

As always thanks for visiting my blog today

Hugs

Deep Ocean Challenge

My dear friend Franz kindly asked me to be a guest designer for todays challenge at

Deep Ocean Challenge

 

The theme is an easy one

"Anything Goes"

 

I have been itching to get some ink on this little cutey from Sylvia Zet - her images are always an absolute pleasure to use.

 

I used Copics with a few pencil additions on her hair and skin, oh and to get a softer sky I used a combination of B0000, B000 & W00, then dabbed a natural sponge sprayed with Isopropyl alcohol over it to give a delicate dappled appearance.

 

Bits and pieces used today:

Winter Wonder by Sylvia Zet

Whimsy Holiday ticket sentiments stamp & die

Memory Box Crystaline border die

Craft Creations paper - Snowflakes on white

ribbon from stash

Copics

Pencils

Chalk ink

 

Challenges:

Craft your Passion - Hip to be square

Incy Wincy Designs - Anything goes

Catch the Bug - Anything goes

Anything goes Challenge - #77 Animals

Delightful Sketches - Winter Holiday

 

Aiming to be back later in the week so until then.... 

 

Crafty Hugs

Sunflower yellow.....

I think Mother Nature has got a tad confused of late,

we have had so much rain that the bottom

of our garden is turning into a pond!

So I wanted to create something bright and summery

to make up for it.

Isn't she adorable and what is even better is that she comes free with the current Papercraft Essentials magazine, how cool is that!!

SUPPLIES:

Sylvia Zet Exclusive Stamp

Papers - My Minds Eye, Stella Rose - Mabel

Memory Box border die

Dienamics swirly die

Mini Doily

Flat backed pearls & ribbon from stash

Sewing Machine

Chalk Inks

and yes you guessed it ....oodles of Copics

CHALLENGES:

Bearly Mine - #41 Anything goes

Deep Ocean Challenge - #29 Welcome Summer

Oldie but Goodie - Summer Holidays

Sassy Cheryls Challenge - #121 Summer

Sweet Stamps Blog - #71 Patriotic or Summer

Try it on Tuesday - Anything goes

Cooking up with Katie - #98 Lace and a sunny flower

Crafty Creations Challenge - #176 Embellish it

Creative Inspirations - #169 Anything goes

As always thanks for dropping by my blog today

Crafty Hugs

Happy Birthday Copic Europe

The guys at
COPIC MARKER EUROPE

are celebrating their

1st Birthday

SUPPLIES:

Free Wee Stamp Image from Copic Marker Europe

Papers - Fizzy Moon Celebrations

Circle dies - various

Sewing machine

Copics....

If you have not already done so why not hop on over to

Copic Marker Europe

to join in with their birthday celebrations!

Crafty Hugs

Spring is in the air

Oh the post title is sooo inappropriate, I am currently looking at a snow covered garden!!

Any way, lets think warm thoughts and spring mornings because......

the MAKE IT CRAFTY CHALLENGE is:

"Spring Colours"

Now I had rather a lot of fun with this particular card as it's a combination of my two favourite mediums: Copic and coloured pencils, in other words a "hybrid"

I know I've said before that I don't tend to use pencils on Copic suitable card because its smoothness causes the pencils to smudge (oh boy the Australian themed card did until I sprayed it with fixative)

However, I would say I have found that adding pencil to Copic work smudges less, I guess the Copic ink gives the pencil something to adhere to - and I am loving the results I can achieve.  But please note, I use Copic first, then add pencil - doing the reverse may cause your Copic nibs to pick up pencil residue and over time lead to them having to be replaced.

Hair is an ideal area to benefit from the finer detail that adding a little pencil can achieve, not to mention grass and in this case the toadstool - try it for yourself and I'd love to hear how you get on.

I would recommend investing in a can of fixative to save your artwork smudging once complete - I use Winsor & Newton Artists' Fixative for pastel, charcoal and pencil which works brilliantly, but for years I used the students "budget conscious" alternative - a can of hairspray!!!

I loved seeing all those beautiful red entries and cannot wait to see what you guys create for this challenge which can be posted HERE where you will also find some lovely projects created by my fellow teamies.

In the meantime I'm entering this into the following challenges:

All that Scraps - Anything goes

Crafts and me - Use a new image

Crafty Creations Challenges - Swirly Whirly

Crafty Purple Frog Challenge - Flowers

Moving along with the times - Cute Critters

Crafty Hugs