Pink! I did say that this last pair of leaves were going to be more colourful and pink is (a tint of) the complementary colour for green, making it the obvious choice. It is also a colour that I have grown to love — not so much the baby pinks though they do have their… Continue reading Monstera leaf pair #3
And this is my absolute favourite of all the Christmas cards I've made so far this year. Another thing that nearly went in the bin but ended up working out really nicely. I thought I'd have a go at doing a snowman on kraft card, after all, white stands out on kraft, whereas on white… Continue reading Snowman on kraft
I liked the black background against the green and the clear embossing on the last pair of leaf panels I made, so I thought I'd have a go at a more subtle version with one of the other Brusho/stencil attempts. Once again, I used the stencil as a mask, covered the Brusho with Versamark and… Continue reading Monstera leaf pair #2
I was catching up on blog feeds and YouTube subscriptions and there was a project that used Brusho, I don't remember exactly what it was, but it got me thinking about whether it was actually possible to use water-activated pigment powders (like Brusho and PaperArtsy Infusions and various other brands) with stencils without making a… Continue reading Monstera leaf pair #1
This is one of the two Christmas dies I bought for this year's cardmaking; I do like border sentiment dies and there is enough detail in this one that the rest of the design can be fairly simple. I divided the card into three sections: sentiment, trees and snow. Because I was going to make… Continue reading Field of Christmas trees
In an effort to make Christmas card making as low stress as possible, I picked up the Winter Flurries Collection from Polkadoodles — four stamp sets, four stencils and a lovely pack of paper (some of which isn't overtly Christmassy). And that, along with a couple of dies that caught my eye, is all I'm… Continue reading Snowman and stars
YouTube videos are a great source of inspiration, whether it's the finished image that sparks the imagination or just the techniques used. Combine that with your own supplies and a sprinkling of other ideas and you end up with something unique to you. It was the process as much as the end result in this… Continue reading Golden ivy
I wanted to make something, but I didn't want to have to think about it too hard. I didn't want to have to contemplate colour blends or even basic palettes. So I reached for a handmade background from my stash — a nice mottled blue-green piece — and a flower stencil. Roses are red: grab… Continue reading Stencilled roses
My first art journal page. I've always avoided art journalling, much the same way I tend to avoid written journalling, but if I view it as a space for play and not for "baring your soul" then it could be an interesting experiment. This was inspired by a YouTube video that, of course, I cannot… Continue reading Now is the time
Valentine's Day. We don't make a big deal about it but, as a cardmaker, I could hardly miss the opportunity to make a card for my other half. I spotted this digi the other day while browsing through The Paper Shelter's large catalogue of images (so many lovely digis; I restrained myself and only… Continue reading Barber shop Valentine
Another month, another cute image from Gerda Steiner to colour. This time it's a panda sitting atop a pile of hearts, just in time for Valentine's Day. To avoid them all merging together into one big red pile, I used three different pinky-red blends for the hearts. I also added a bit of sparkle and… Continue reading Panda in love
I want to get more confident with layering paints and other colouring mediums, so when this post went past on The Crafter’s Workshop blog earlier this year, I thought I’d have a go at replicating the style. I didn’t keep track of the exact supplies I used. The colour came from acrylic paints, the white… Continue reading Mixed media tags
This technique gives gorgeous results. I am always looking out for interesting ways to use my stencils and this one is very satisfying. The background is definitely the star here. Most important tip for using gilding flakes: close all the windows and do not sneeze! They are incredibly light and will go everywhere given the… Continue reading Gilding flake swirls
I like foil and I like stencils, so how could I not pick up a pot of Deco Foil Transfer Gel when I saw one of my regular shops had it in stock. Rather than just grab a random stencil and quickly try it out, I thought I'd do a more thorough test with a… Continue reading Test: Deco Foil Transfer Gel
The bonus lessons for the wrap-up day of the Clear and Sheer card class were on shaker cards. I’ve made a few shaker cards in the past, but I’ve always used acetate for them; it had never occurred to me to use vellum, so I had to give it a go. And I really like… Continue reading Vellum shaker
Crafty Rat 