Creating with Stencils by Skull and Cross Buns

Hi guys

At the weekend I had a little creative session playing with some of the large stencils available at Skull and Cross Buns, you can find the whole range, here.

First up is the Mermaid Scales Large Stencil.  I wanted to emulate the shape of a mermaid without actually using a mermaid image and wanted to keep my card clean and simple too...

I started by using a landscape die to cut some curved edges from some scrap card which I used to mask off the shape of a mermaid tail.  I then blended with three shades of Distress Oxide ink.  Once happy with the blend I placed the scales stencil over the top and blended through with silver pigment ink.  The silver shimmer can be seen clearer in the next photo...

To finish, I removed the masks, shaped the sentiment to follow the curve of the tail and stamped in black.

Materials used:

• Die: MFT - Snow Drifts
• Ink: Distress Oxide - Wilted Violent, Mermaid Lagoon, Peacock Feathers; Versa Color - Silver; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Stencil: Skull and Cross Buns - Mermaid Scales Large Stencil
• Stamp: Skull and Cross Buns - Quirky Sentiments

Challenge entries:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

STAMPlorations - Summer CAS Card Challenge

For my next card I used the Brick Pattern Large Stencil.  I wanted to create some light and shade, a 3D effect, with the bricks so I used the shifted stencilling technique and I'm so pleased with the result...

I started with some sandy coloured textured cardstock and began by stencilling with a neutral shade of Distress Ink.  I then blended through the stencil with white pigment ink but before doing do I shifted the stencil very slightly up and over to the left.  This left the shadow of the darker ink in the lower right corner of each brick.  I stamped some foliage silhouettes in the bottom corner and added some shadow to these also by shifting the cardstock very slightly in my MISTI and using second generation stamping to create the shadow effect.

To finish, I stamped the sentiment in black and heat embossed the heart in gold to add an accent.  The panel was then trimmed down and adhered flat to a white card base.

Materials used:

• Coloured Cardstock: Bazzill Basics - from an assorted pack
• Stencil: Skull and Cross Buns - Brick Pattern Large Stencil
• Ink: Distress Ink - Pumice Stone; Hero Arts - Unicorn; Versa Color - Charcoal; Versafine - Onyx Black; VersaMark
• Stamps: Skull and Cross Buns - Quirky Sentiments and Brush Hearts; Clearly Besotted - Simple Silhouettes
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Metallic Gold Rich

Challenge entries:

Sweet Stampin' Challenge - Keeping it Neutral

Alphabet Challenge - L is for Leaves

And for my final card I inked up the Speech Bubbles Large Stencil.  I kept this one pretty simple with some graduated blending...

I inked through three different speech bubbles from the stencil using Distress Inks, concentrating the colour on one side to add some dimension.  The sentiments were simply stamped in black and the cluster of images die cut to create a central panel which was then popped up on 3D foam.

Materials used:

• Stencil: Skull and Cross Buns - Speech Bubbles Large Stencil
• Ink: Distress Ink - Mermaid Lagoon, Festive Berries, Twisted Citron; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Stamps: Skull and Cross Buns - Quirky Sentiments
• Die: MFT - Inside and Out Diagonal Stitched Rectangles

Challenge entries:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Stamp It On

Just Us Girls - Challenge #456 - Celebrate

STAMPlorations - Summer Theme & Sketch Challenge - Anything Goes

Thanks so much for visiting today.  And if you have a few minutes free, please do pop over to the Skull and Cross Buns website for a browse :)

Muse Challenge #281 - Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful

Hi guys

The designer rota is back with me for this week's Muse challenge. 

For this card I've used a gorgeous stencil by Sarah Gray of Funky Fossil Designs, you can find her fabulous collection of stencils over at her Folksy Shop, here.  I've loved this one for ages so had a little shop the other day, and so glad I did. 

This design is also quite different to most things I have in my stash and I really enjoyed creating something different.

Here it is...

On a panel of white cardstock I began by blending through the stencil with purple, blue and black Distress Inks.  I then made a big faux pas! I wanted to add some sparkle so spritzed some Cosmic Shimmer Mist before removing the stencil.  I completely forgot that Distress Inks would react with this, hence some bleeding of the ink in her hair.  I don't think it looks too bad so decided to go with it anyway :)

You can see the shimmer much better in the photo below...

All that was left was to create the sentiment, half of which I heat embossed in silver, then popped the panel up on fun foam.

Materials used:

• Stencil: Funky Fossil Designs - Elegant Lady
• Ink: Distress Ink - Chipped Sapphire, Wilted Violet, Black Soot; Versafine - Onyx Black; VersaMark
• Stamps: Uniko - All Occasions Sentiments #6
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Metallic Silver
• Accents: Cosmic Shimmer Mist - Pearl Mist

Challenge entries:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

STAMPlorations - Summer CAS Card Challenge

Thanks so much for visiting today, and I hope you'll find some inspiration from my card and play along at Muse this week :)

Happy Little Stampers September 2018 CAS Challenge

Good evening

I hope you've had a wonderful weekend.

Can you believe it's the beginning of yet another month so that means it's time for the new challenges over at Happy Little Stampers!  I'm here to announce the new CAS challenge so I'll get straight to it.

Here's this month's cue word...

Our winner for this challenge will receive a $20 coupon to spend at the shop! Check out all the details HERE.

IF YOU USE STAMPS BY HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS AND YOU ARE OUR RANDOM WINNER, YOUR PRIZE WILL BE DOUBLED!

Ok, onto my Design Team card, and I've chosen the Dandelion Wishes stamp set to use here, dandelions are certainly wild in my garden!

I started with a die cut rectangle for my top panel and also die cut a circle aperture.  I laid this onto my card base and marked in pencil where the aperture would be so I knew where to ink blend.  Before starting the blending I cut a small circle to use as a mask.  I then blended a night sky using Distress Inks and inked up the 'ground' by using a post-it note and swiping downwards using a black ink pad.  I remove the circle mask and then stamped the single dandelion stem.  To finish, I stamped the sentiment onto the top panel and popped it up on fun foam.

Materials used:

• Dies: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Double Stitched Rectangles; Hero Arts - Circle Infinity Dies
• Ink: Distress Ink - Salty Ocean, Dusty Concord, Seedless Preserves, Picked Raspberry; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Stamps: Happy Little Stampers - Dandelion Wishes

Challenge entries:

Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #307 - Make your Mark (ink sponging)

STAMPlorations - Summer CAS Card Challenge
AAA Cards - CAS Game #123 - Sketch
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

There are lots of ways to use this cue word, and don't forget, the challenge will run for the whole month so there's plenty of time to play along and link up.

Less is More Challenge #379

Good morning

Apologies once again that it's been two weeks since my last post.  But, I can happily say this is the first of a few shares over the next few days.

Of course, as it's 8am on a Saturday I'm here to announce the new challenge over at Less is More and today we have a Colour challenge for you.  We would like to see...

And we have a great new sponsor for September...CAS-ual Fridays Stamps!

At CAS-ual Fridays Stamps, we've been creating clever, stylish and sorta sassy designs in beautiful Colorado since 2012. All the stamp and die sets you'll find here were personally dreamed up and designed by owner Michele Gross - just a little glimpse of the fun stuff happening in her head! With new designs released throughout the year, and regular jaw-dropping inspiration from our amazing design team, you'll want to visit often so you don't miss a thing.

Let us inspire you! Follow us on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Blog

So, please do play along in our September challenges for a chance to win this great prize!  And they are also offering a great 20% discount with the code 'lessismore'!!

Ok, just the one card to share with you this week, and I had to choose one of my favourite ink colours for my plus one...Peacock Feathers!

I started with a panel of white cardstock and stamped the large rose image off the edge.  As this is such a beautifully detailed stamp I chose to use colour in my background instead.  So, next came the time consuming part, cutting out masks to cover my rose and leaves!  It was worth it though because I love the final result.  I placed a stencil over the masks and faded out the ink blending from the corner upwards.  I die cut the panel using a stitched rectangle and then stamped the sentiment flag before popping the panel up on fun foam.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Honey Doo Crafts - Roses are Red; Clearly Besotted - Flag It
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black; Distress Ink - Peacock Feathers
• Stencil: MFT - Fishnet
• Die: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Double Stitched Rectangles

Challenge entries:

Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #307 - Make Your Mark

AAA Cards - CAS Game #122 - Use a Stencil

STAMPlorations - Summer CAS Card Challenge
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Please do pop over to the main Less is More challenge blog, here, where you'll find lots more inspiration from my fellow teamies.  And don't forget, the challenge runs for two weeks so plenty of time to play along :)

Less is More Challenge #378 - Sketch 24

Hi there

Another fortnight has passed and it's time for a new challenge over at Less is More.  And we're back with a challenge we've not done for a while...it's a Sketch challenge for you.  Here it is...

STAMPlorations continues as our fab sponsor for the month of August so please do play along to be in with a chance of winning the monthly prize!

I've having a busy time at the moment so I've just the one card to share with you this time, using a stencil from our sponsor...

On a panel of white cardstock I added masking tape to create four squares as per the sketch.  I then blended with three shades of Distress Oxide ink to create a sunset effect.  I then laid the floral silhouette stencil over this and blended through with black ink before removing the masks.  Next I die cut the 'hugs' twice from white card and once from black glitter cardstock, then stacked these up to add dimension.  The panel was then popped up on fun foam.

Materials used:

• Ink: Distress Oxide - Squeezed Lemonade, Spiced Marmalade, Abandoned Coral; Distress Ink - Black Soot
• Stencil: STAMPlorations - Bloom Silhouettes
• Die: Lawn Fawn - Scripty Hugs

Challenge entries:

STAMPlorations - Summer CAS Card Challenge

Thanks so much for visiting today, and please do check out my teamies' creations over at the main LIM post.

Muse Challenge #278 - Happy I Do Day

Good afternoon

It's a new week at Muse challenge and it's my turn to be your designer.

I recently purchased a new mini stamp set from Clearly Besotted's August Release called I Do Day and really wanted to ink it up, and as wedding season is in full swing I thought this theme would be ideal for this challenge.

Hopefully you can find some inspiration from this one such as the apricot colour, monochrome design, white embossing, florals, wedding, roses, etc.  This was quite a quick and easy one to make too.

Here it is...

I wanted a soft colour to go with this pretty roses stamp and found this unusual apricot colour in my stash.  It's not a colour I use often but I thought it would be lovely and soft for a wedding theme.  I stamped the roses four times, at different angles around the edge of the panel in VersaMark ink and then heat embossed in white.  I then stamped and heat embossed the sentiment (also from this stamp set) also in white.  I popped the panel up on the card base using fun foam.  The sheen from the embossing can be seen better below...

To finish I adhered a scattering of co-ordinating sequins, from two different sets of shaker mixes.

Materials used:

• Coloured Cardstock: Bazzill Basics - Assorted pack
• Stamp: Clearly Besotted - I Do Day
• Ink: VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White
• Sequins: Little Things from Lucy's Cards - Pearl Necklace and Peach Schnapps

Challenge entries:

STAMPlorations - Summer Theme & Sketch Challenge - Anything Goes

STAMPlorations - Summer CAS Card Challenge
Cards in Envy - Somthing New (new stamp set)

I hope you can gain some inspiration from my card.  The challenge linky will be open for a week :)

Thanks so much for visiting.

For a Crafty Friend

Hi there

Yes, three posts in one day!  Just catching up and sharing some recent makes.

This was the card I made for my fabulous crafty friend, Sarah of Sazzle Dazzle Crafts who celebrated her birthday on Thursday.

My starting point was the colours, I just knew I had to use aqua/turquoise/teal shades as these are her favourite colours.

Here's what I did...

This was my first attempt doing the ghosting technique with Distress Oxides and it worked like a dream!  I blended three shades of Distress Oxide ink onto a panel of cardstock and then fixed a stencil in position before spritzing with water, lifting the stencil and blotting with a paper towel.  Afer adhering the panel to the card base I then die cut the friend sentiment three times, twice from white cardstock and once with white glitter cardstock and adhered these stacked up together to add dimension.  The happy birthday was then heat embossed in white onto a strip of dark grey cardstock.

The sparkle from the white glitter can be seen clearer in the next pic...

Materials used:

• Ink: Distress Oxide - Cracked Pistachio, Peacock Feathers, Salty Ocean; VersaMark
• Stencil: Studio Katia - Mandala
• Die: Pretty Pink Posh - Hello Friend Script Dies
• Stamp: Altenew - Beautiful Lady
• Embossing Powder: Altenew - Pure White
• Glitter cardstock from stash

Challenge entries:

STAMPlorations - Summer CAS Card Challenge

Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes - With Toppings option - Water (ghosting technique spritzed with water)

Thanks so much for visiting, I hope you're having a lovely weekend :)