Guesting at HLS Watercolour Challenge

Evening all.

Another late evening post from me. This time it's to say that I'm guesting over at the HLS Watercolour Challenge this month. I love to watercolour so I was so pleased to be asked to join in this time.

Here is my card

The optional theme this month is rainbow.

For my card I decided to use a rather busy all over botanical stamp that came free with a mag a couple of years or more ago which featured roses. However for the rainbow twist to work I decide to leave the flowers blank and colour the spaces in between. 

I stamped the rose panel with Versamark on MM paper using my Misti and embossed in white EP.

Using my Zigs I blocked in some colour in a rainbow effect, then spritzed it with water to blend.

When dry I trimmed the panel down and mounted it on a black base, adding a white embossed sentiment and a die cut that my buddy Sarah gave me at the HLS retreat last year which I coloured black with a Copic pen.

So thanks for stopping by, check out the rest of the team here for even more watercolour goodness!

The saga of our access track continues with a new twist today. After weeks of free flowing water down it courtesy of heavy wagons crushing the old drain, the #Railtrack contactors decided, without telling us, to dig up the track and lay some new drainage pipe this afternoon. Hurray you may think but as they didn't tell us they were going to do it we couldn't use it to go out. Good job I nipped to Sainsbugs when I did just before lunch. Al was supposed to be going to a friend's place to survey ready for a new shed, so when he thought they had finished he leapt into the car only to be told it would be another 15mins before he could use the track! Just typical of the contactors, a law unto themselves. It was a good job that we have access to the main road across the field. After all the work there was still water coming down the track when he returned some time later, Hopefully they will return to finish the job!

I'd like to join in over at:-

Anything Goes

Botanical

Foliage and Flowers

Flowers Everywhere

Paper Players Sketch

Good morning folks.
It's time for a brand new challenge over at Cardz4Galz.
This time our theme is -

FAIRY NICE

Here is my take on the theme.

I've used this sweet fairy from LOTV. I'm not that big of a fan of fairies so she doesn't get much of a run out really! I usually like to use a sketch if I can and the latest from the Paper Players really had me scratching my head. In the end I used up some of my DP from the scrap box and a bit of a die cut I found in another box of bits! I cut the fairy out after I coloured her with Copics to match the DP, and replaced the original stamped grass that was too small with some Copic coloured scrap cut with a MS border punch where I also stamped the greeting. As well as the Copics I also added some hi lights with my newly acquired metallic pens courtesy of my daughter who gave them to me instead of a card on Mother's Day. Sensible girl!

After I assembled the card I realised that the purple flowers that were my inspiration for my colour choice had disappeared under the circular panel! There are a couple of smaller ones just visible towards the bottom!
For more fairy inspiration check out the rest of the team here.

I'd like to join in over at -

ATSM Photo

Well over here in the UK, the clocks have been put forward, so I shall hopefully be in the land of nod when this post to announce the start of a brand new challenge at ATSM goes live!
Edited - The dog had other ideas!
This week it is our photo inspiration and for my card I've been pretty literal!

Here is this week's photo.

See what I mean?
My card is pretty CAS using the blue splashes and butterfly as my inspiration.
To start, I took a piece of MM paper and placed it in my MISTI. I stamped the STAMPlorations butterfly with Salty Ocean DI then gave it a generous spritz with my water mister. I wasn't too bothered about the splodging that resulted, in fact that's what I was aiming for. I inked it up again this time with Blueprint Sketch DI and repeated. With a straw I then blew across the puddling ink to create the fine lines and splashed some of both blue inks over the panel. When completely dry I stamped the same butterfly and sentiment from the new release from STAMPlorations with Blueprint Sketch DI. I was able to layer up the different images because my stamp was always in the same place thanks to my Misti. You could do it without it, but I guess you would get a slightly off edge effect unless you are A1 at lining up your stamp!
When dry I cut my panel down a little and adhered it to my base card.
Please stop by the rest of the team here for more fab inspiration.

Joining in over at-



     

Frame it

Good morning crafters.

Hope you made the most of the fantastic weather over the weekend as, as the Easter break approaches the weather is set to get a tad wet especially around here. 

When I took the dog out on Saturday it was great to just stand on the top of the hill behind the house and gaze out across the fields towards the Staffordshire moors, the Welsh foothills and the Wrekin, sun glancing off the hillsides, absolutely wonderful. I am so lucky to be living in this glorious English countryside. I actually spotted 3 female pheasants through the lounge window walking up the track on Saturday but the light was fading fast and my attempts at capturing them on camera failed dismally!

So how appropriate then that the theme for this week's challenge at Cardz4Guyz is -

IN THE COUNTRY

Here is my card using LOTV's 'In the Country' stamp.

Not quite Max and the hubster but not far off!

Over at LIM their theme is Use a Frame so I decided to incorporate a frame around my Copic coloured image rather than place the image on the surface of the card.

The top panel was made by cutting out a rectangle with a die to reveal the image below, before embossing it with a Tim Holtz EF. On the original stamp, the fence continues into a brick wall so I used this brick EF to frame the image. A happy birthday was stamped to finish off.

So that is it from me, for more inspiration check out the rest of the team here.

I'd like to join in over at:-

With Deepest Sympathy

Good morning all.

There's been a bit of a drop in temperature these last few days. All I can say is that at least it isn't raining!

Over at Cardz4Guyz, we have a brand new challenge for you.

TREE/S

Wasn't sure where to go with this, spring popped into my head along with Christmas but as it makes my daughter cringe when she sees Christmas cards on my blog so early in the year I daren't go there again so soon!

So here is my take on this week's challenge.

I know it's not the sort of card you make on a regular basis but as I have none in the stash I thought I would make a sympathy card.

The tree stamp is one I picked up at Port Sunlight last October from the Chocolate Baroque bargain bucket.

It reminds me of the oaks I can see from my bedroom window, solid and full of strength.

I stamped in Versamark then embossed with white. The coloured background panel was made using the acrylic block technique. You add marker to the block and then spritz with water and stamp, trying not to splash outside the required area! A bit of a wiggle and then remove and leave to dry, love the water look it gives. A Crafters Companion sentiment in London Fog Memento ink was stamped and the top panel trimmed with a rectangle die before mounting flat on the base card.

I'd like to join in over at -

Close to Nature

White Embossing