A Faerie with Butterfly Wings

Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well this week.    

I'm back with another Faerie Dreaming in a garden.   It's a place that I like to be.    I've used stamps again by the fabulous Chocolate Baroque company. 

I sprayed  Dylusions Inks (Lime, Peacock, Blue & Green) on the background, using water colour paper.  I also used templates, molding paste and Viva Inka-Gold.  When the molding paste was dry I sprayed it with Blue Dylusions Ink.   

When the background was dry, I stamped & embossed the Faerie & Dream with Black.   I highlighted the wings using a water brush & Dylusions Inks and covered them with Glossy Accents to create more dimension.   (see close-up photo below) 

Chocolate Baroque Stamps:
The silhouette Faerie is from the Gossamer Wings Set
Dream is from the Artistic Expressions Set (I use this set a lot !)

Crafters Market Templates:
Mini Zinnia TWC143S
Mini Flower Frenzy TCW157S

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day !
Shirley

Heart of Lights

Hi everyone !   I hope you enjoyed your weekend.  We 'enjoyed' a lot of dreary, rainy weather with more to come.

I'm back already with another Christmas card created with Designs by Ryn's stamps.    I've used her very cool Heart of Lights for this one.    I think this design is also amazing as she hand-drew the Light "wires" into a Celtic Heart !  Brilliant !

The background was again created using the wonderfully vibrant Dylusions Inks.   I hope these bottles never run out as I'm using them a lot !  I'm trying to 'mop' the excess on my craft mat onto random sheets of Watercolour paper to use for other backgrounds or tags.

For this card I used, Lime, Green, Peacock & Pink Inks.   I used the Circle Explosion (TCW278S) stencil with the 'ghost' technique.  It is like a ghost as you can barely see it, but the effect is there.  I have a lot of stencils (already) but I gravitate to the same ones.  

I stamped & embossed the heart & the quote (Impression Obsession C3505 Miracle) with black.   I coloured the lights with Pink Dylusion Ink and my handy Ranger detail water barrel brush.  I used a silver glitter gel pen to highlight the 'wires' of the heart.     I added holograph glitter to the lights and then glossy accents over each one which added sparkly dimension which you can see on the close-up below.   I also used some pink holograph glitter border stickers from  my 'sticker-stash' as they 'matched' the lights.  

And if you get a chance, stop by Eileen's and Miranda's Blogs who also design for Ryn and always have beautiful creations posted.    Ryn's Face Book Page also has a great gallery of Inspiration !  

Well that's it for today.   Thanks for your visit and enjoy your week!
Shirley

The Miracle of Christmas

Happy Weekend Everyone !    It's cool & misty here this morning, a cozy day to stay inside :)    

I received a few more of Design by Ryn's Celtic Stamps to work with !   Her Celtic designs are beautiful and I'm fascinated that she hand-drew the knots.    I created this card using her Celtic Star 3 along with the Celtic Star Set.   I decided to make them into Christmas Ornaments.   It's a little difficult to get a good photo as the Smooch Inks have a sheen that isn't showing and the photo is a little dark.  I tried to adjust the lighting and this is the best that I could do after several attempts at photographing this card.

I created the background blending Smooch Inks (Pool, Ocean & Kiwi, my favourite colour combo).   I over stamped the background using one of the smaller stars in the Celtic Star Set with Colorbox Gold & then Harbour Inks.   You can see the reflection of the gold from the light in the close-up below.

I stamped Celtic Star 3, one smaller star from the Celtic Star Set and the Quote (Impression Obsession - C3505) with Colorbox Harbour Ink and embossed with Clear.   I blended Shabby Shutters and Broken China Distress Inks over and highlighted the knots with Distress Markers.  I carefully cut them out, added some ribbon and layered as shown.

Spellbinder:  S4-322 Grommet Tags.

If you get a chance, stop by Eileen's Blog and Miranda's Blog who also design for Ryn and always have beautiful creations posted.    Also Ryn's Face Book Page has a great gallery of Inspiration !  

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your weekend !
Shirley

A Twinchie for Halloween

Hello everyone, this is a quick post.

I'm participating in the "Show us your Spooky Stuff"  Halloween Challenge at Show us your Twinchies Challenge Blog.  This could be my only Halloween Creation this year.   I enjoy looking at Halloween cards and designs, but I only own one Halloween stamp which was too large to use on a 2 inch by 2 inch Twinchie.

I have a little funky house stamp, one of the free ones with Craft Stampers magazine.  I decided to try to make it into a 'haunted house'.

This is a simple Twinchie.  I used Pan Pastels for the background and coloured the house with 'halloween' colours using Prisma Pencils.    I doodled in a few bats and a funny-looking ghost.   

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Halloween !
Shirley

A surprise from Marja & Fall Gardens at Sunrise

Hello there !

We are enjoying what I call 'Indian Summer' but my husband says it's not hot enough.  Whatever !  We are enjoying such beautiful colours and some nice warm days !

Last night I went for a little walk to pick up our mail and found a package from the Netherlands.    A friendly & talented blogger friend, Marja at Marja's Stamping Addiction , whose work I've been admiring for the past year sent me a surprise !  

I'm a lucky lady !   First is a gorgeous bookmark.   Marja stamped the lady with her own homemade stamp and drew in details.  You can see she is a talented artist !   I love this style and was SO excited to receive this !

And that would be a big surprise already but she also sent a piece of her encaustic work that I admired at her Blog.   I was excited over it as I felt it was a piece of beautiful artwork and not a card to send out.    I've  been recently introduced to encaustic art (just looking, not doing) by an artist friend and then to receive this from Marja I am thrilled !   

Thank you again Marja, special gifts from a talented lady !  If you have a chance it's well worth your time to check out her work at her blog.

Yesterday morning as the sun was rising I noticed how it made the tops of our trees in their Autumn glory 'sparkle'.  Nature is so beautiful.   I ran out with my camera in my PJs to take some photos and I've included a few here.

 view from my craft room window

When we moved to our home, there was barely grass growing with zero trees & plants.  Many years later and we have a mini forest !   We are enjoying the gardens as they mature.

Well that was a longer post !  Next one is short with a little Halloween Twinchie !
Thanks for stopping by and have a great day,
Shirley

A Dancing Faerie with Water Droplets

Hello again !   I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.  I had such a wonderful afternoon yesterday out in the gardens cleaning up plants & raking leaves.    It was sunny & 14 degrees (Celsius), perfect for working.   The fall colors are still beautiful.   After a few hours of work I was inspired to come in and work on a card using Designs by Ryn's stamps.

I used Ryn's popular Water Droplets stamp along with one Faerie from her Dancing Faeries Set.    The water droplet design is amazing,  I can understand why this stamp is flying off Ryn's shelves !

I'm joining the All Sorts Challenge this week as their theme is "Autumn Colors".    There are great designs by the DT at this site ! 

I started with spraying Dylusions Inks on the background.  Next I added more ink using the Mini Flower Frenzy stencil from Crafters Workshop.   I also added a little white acrylic paint.   I stamped the Water Droplets with Midnight Colorbox Ink & highlighted with a white gel pen.   The quote (from Kaisercraft Life Sentiments set) was stamped with Black Stazon Ink.  

I embossed the sweet Dancing Faerie onto the background with black.   I used Ranger's fine water barrel brush to color in the Faerie with Dylusions Inks.    I sprayed a little ink on a plastic lid and just dipped the brush into it and then added water while coloring.   I dabbed some of the ink off with a paper towel while wet and then added more for the shading.   I added water to her arms & legs and again removed some of the Dylusions inks with a paper towel.  (resulting in a similar effect as using bleach).

If you get a chance, please visit Eileen's and Miranda's blogs to check out their beautiful designs using Design by Ryn's stamps.   Also Ryn's Facebook Page offers lots of inspiration !

Designs by Ryn's Stamps:

Dancing Faerie Set CM-M10

 

Water Droplets CM-T3

Thanks for your visit and enjoy the rest of the weekend !
Shirley

Thank you Maria !

Happy Weekend !

I received a wonderful package from Belgium today !    The very talented Maria was giving Scary Halloween Tags away to six lucky people and I was one of them ... yay !    She sent more than the Tag.... everything is so beautiful, I'm thrilled to receive these :)   She also sent a couple of tags with the stamped images, ready to be colored and worked with, kind lady !   You will find her beautiful designs here at her Blog.   Below are photos of what I received.



Scary Halloween Tag & Beautiful ATC

In this close-up you can see the coating on this tag, it really is gorgeous (& scary) !!!  The spiders are embossed,  there is glitter under the coating....

Back of the Tag - Looks like wood, great painting & coloring of image !!!

ATC - Beautiful lady- awesome stamping & inking, very much Maria's 'style' !

Thank you Maria !!!

Have a great weekend,
Shirley 

Wedding Cards with Roses

Hi everyone,  Hope your week is going well.   I've had a very busy week, but it's all good !

I'm posting a couple of easy cards (almost identical) that I created for two different Weddings.

Stamps:
Penny Black- 2185K  The Look of Love (Rose)
Impression Obsession - Cover a Card CC043 Roses
Kaisercraft - CS917 Wedding (sentiment)

Spellbinder:  S4-202 Deckled Rectanges Large

I stamped Cover a Card-Roses with Versafine Black Ink on White Cardstock.     I used Tombows directly on the Rose stamp, misted lightly with water and stamped onto white card stock. I used Versafine again for the sentiment.    I layered as shown with matching ribbon & pearls.

I stamped the rose a 2nd time after misting again (and not adding more colour) and created a lighter version which is on the card below.

    
Well that's my two Wedding cards.  Thanks for your visit and have a great day !
Shirley

Less is More with One Layer & Wings

Hi everyone,

I'm back already as I have a card to enter into this week's Challenge at  Less is More.  It's One Layer week with the theme of "Wings".

I recently purchased a few Faerie stamps from  Lavinia through their on-line store.  I decided to use Tree Goddess "Luna" for this card.   I love this design and thought she would look good on a clean & simple card with a 'moon' behind her.     However these Faerie stamps work well with 'scenery' background that are shown at their gallery on their website.   Beautiful designs !  

I embossed the Faerie with black and used a piece of cardstock with a circle cut-out for a mask and blended Scattered Straw and Wild Honey Distress Inks to create the moon.   I coloured her wings and the few clear areas on the tree trunk with co-ordinating Distress Markers and added holograph glitter.   "Dream" is from a Kaisercraft set - Life Sentiments.    These colours make me think of Halloween.  

Thanks for your visit and have a great day,
Shirley

Stylized Trees by Ryn

Hello everyone, I hope you had a great weekend.   I had fun attending a papercraft show with my crafty friends - I have a few more stencils & stamps to add to my growing collection :)    I also took a fun workshop with Christy Riopel where we created an inky mess working with stencils & spray inks. 

I have more Christmas Cards to show today.   All of these easy cards using Design by Ryn stamps feature her Stylized Tree set (CM-C12).   I love the movement in the versatile tree designs.   The smaller tree in the set is also great to over-stamp on  backgrounds.

The  Stylized Tree on the above card was embossed with Gold along with Ryn's Snowflakes. I blended Evergreen Bough Distress Ink around the tree & background. I found a couple of metal corner charms in my stash and added them for a little 'glam'.

I created the above card for Ryn a long time ago, but haven't shown it on my Blog.  The Stylized Trees were embossed with gold.    I also applied Versamark Ink (using the pad) around the border of the white card stock and embossed with gold.  I blended a little green DI around the tree that was popped up and layered as shown. 

I created the background on the above card with Pan Pastels -  I'm still learning & playing with them.   I stamped the Stylized Tree with Midnight Colorbox Ink and the small doves from Ryn's  Silhouette Dove Set with Memento Grape Jelly Dye Ink.    I must have rocked the stamp slightly and managed to get a little extra ink below the tree. I didn't want to do the background over again and decided to just 'go with the flow & let it go' :)     It's hard to see, but I created 'snow' using a glue pen and extra fine holograph glitter.

I embossed the Stylized Tree on the above card again with gold along with the sentiment from Penny Black's - Christmas Cheer clear set.   Next I blended Shabby Shutters Distress Ink around the page and then stamped with Ryn's Sea Bubbles Set to create 'snow' texture around the parameter of the background.   I used the small bubble stamp with Brilliance Gold which is hard to see along with Shabby Shutters & Scattered Straw Distress Inks. 

If you have time, please stop in at Eileen's Blog and at Miranda's Blog where you will find beautiful work using Ryn's stamps.   You can also find lots of inspiration at Ryn's Facebook Page.

Thanks for your visit and have a great day.

Shirley



Angel of Joy

Hello everyone !

I'm back with another Christmas card and I used stamps from Chocolate Baroque again.     This one was created using their now retired stamp set 'Angel of Joy'.  She is a large stamp & I think she is beautiful !  

I'm entering this card into the Out of Hat Creations challenge #28, as the current theme is 'create Christmas card or tag' before it closes today.   The Design Team create beautiful work !

Stamps:  Chocolate Baroque - Angel of Joy & Snowflake Flourish sets.
Spellbinder Die: S4-322 Grommet Tags

I used a snowflake from the Snowflake Flourish set and stamped on purple card stock with Brilliance Platinum Planet ink for the background. 

The Angel was embossed with black on watercolour paper and coloured with my Tombows using a brush & water.  I used a Versamark pen on her wings and front panel of her dress & embossed with Kaleidoscope powder to highlight these areas.   I embossed 'Joy to the world' with dark purple and blended Milled Lavendar and Dusty Concord Distress Inks on the Die cut.   I layered as shown, added some silver holograph border stickers & ribbon.

You can see the glitter embossing a little better on the photo below.

Thanks for your visit, it's appreciated !
Have a great day,
Shirley

Art Jounal Page - Fall

Hello everyone !    I hope you had a great weekend, we enjoyed some time checking out the Fall colours.  I took a bunch of photos and added a few at the bottom of this post.

I'm sharing another Art Journal Page that I created using the Fall colours as an inspiration.    I'm still learning and it's a busy page for me,  but it's about Fall !   I added Sunflowers as I thought their bright colours co-ordinated with the background.   We used to grow them in our previous garden and loved to watch Blue Jays hanging onto them while eating the seeds in the late summer/early Fall.

Stamps:
-Miraculous Art (Miranda) available at Inkerbell Stamps, Netherlands -  Zonnegroet set (Large Sunflower & leaves).
-Impression Obsession - H8466 Hydrangea Leaf - large leaf in background
-Designs by Ryn- Forest Floor 1 CM-F12 & Mulberry Leaf CM-F8 (used in background)
-Chocolate Baroque- Artistic Impressions (perfect size for Art Journals)

Templates:
- Crafters Market- Mini Chicken Wire & Ranger/Dylusions - Luscious Leaves

I started by adding Distress Inks with an Acrylic Block (sprayed with water) & Dylusions Inks on the background.  I added texture in layers using Acrylic paints & Distress Inks with the templates.  I stamped the leaf images with Distress Inks.  After adding DI to the large leaf, I sprayed a little water before stamping.    I drew a few flowers with a white gel pen.

The Sunflower was embossed with black and coloured with Distress Inks and Markers.   I thought that 'Gratitude & Beauty' were a good choice of expression for Thanksgiving weekend. 

And here are a few photos of the beautiful Fall scenery around the country side.

Well that's all for this evening.
Thanks for your visit and have a great day !
Shirley

Fall colours with Acorn Faerie & Leaves by Ryn

Good Morning !   I hope your week is going well.    Fall has arrived here bringing gorgeous colours !

I received more beautiful stamps from Designs by Ryn to work with.   Her stamps are high quality & deeply etched which gives crisp images every time.    They are also great to use with other mediums besides ink & paper.    Visit Ryn's Website or Facebook Page for information and/or inspiration using her stamps.

The first card below features her Acorn Faerie who is so adorable with her leaf dress & wings and the sweet squirrel handing up an acorn top for her hat.   I also used some of Ryn's awesome leaf designs that can be used to create texture on backgrounds.

Update Friday, Oct 5th.   Miranda of Miracle Art Inspirations has just posted a gorgeous card using Ryn's Dancing Faerie set.   Miranda who is Guest Designing for Ryn is a talented artist, & card designer.  You won't be disappointed if you take time for a visit at her Blog to see her beautiful work.  Also if you get a chance, hop over to Eileen's Blog who also designs for Ryn to check out her beautiful work as well !

I'm entering this card into the following two Challenges:

• Creative Moments Bloggers Network Challenge - the theme is Anything Goes, this is a new challenge site
• Crazy 4 Challenges  - Challenge C4C156 the theme is Leaves.  

The background was created with Dylusions Inks (brown, red, orange, yellow) and then over stamped using Ryn's Forest Floor CM-F12 Stamp and Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

I embossed Acorn Faerie CM-M12 with Brown on Watercolour paper.   I coloured her with Tombow markers and edged around the die cut with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  I added holograph glitter on her leaves & shoes.     I layered on cardstock as show and added ribbon & a leaf charm.  

Spellbinder Die:  S4-347 Labels Twenty-three.

The next card below was created with both Mulberry Leaf CM-F8 and Forest Floor 1, CM-F12 stamps.   The sentiment is from Impression Obsession - C3534 All Seasons which pretty much describes how I feel about Autumn :)

I used Dylusions Inks again for the background, this time with Green, Orange & Red.   I over stamped the background using the two leaf stamps & Vintage Photo Distress Ink.     I embossed the sentiment with brown and blended Spiced Marmalade & Aged Mahogany Distress Inks around it.   I used Vintage Photo on the green Die cut label.  Orange rhinestones & red ribbon are the finishing touches.

Spellbinder Die:  S4-202 Deckled Rectangles Large

Well that's all for today !   Thanks for your visit & enjoy the rest of your week.  

Shirley

Snowflake Ornament

Hello everyone !  Fall is here so I'm in the mood to keep making Christmas cards.  I've been busy working on card samples for Helen of Crop Circles as I'm assisting her this year at her Pot Luck Christmas Card event.   We are using some gorgeous Penny Black, Hero Art stamps & more.   I'll post some of the cards at some point.

This morning, I'm posting another Christmas card.  I used Chocolate Baroque's beautiful Snowflake Flourish set which includes many stamps for endless creations.  It was on my 'wish list' for at least a year and finally I have it !     For this card I used the Snowflake background, Ornament & sentiment. 

I embossed all images with dark purple (Eggplant by Adirondack).   I used Milled Lavender, Victorian Velvet & Peeled Paint Distress Inks to blend colour onto the images.  I also used a Distress Marker and glitter on the Ornament snowflake. 

Spellbinder Die:  Labels Eight

I'll be back soon with a Fall card using Design by Ryn's Acorn Faerie, it's so cute. 
Thanks for stopping by and have a great day !
Shirley