Saturday 16 January 2016

Challenge time with Laura's Loft- "Resist Technique"


CHALLENGE TIME


Welcome to my project inspiration for this month's challenge. The theme was a technique based one, "Resist".
I decided to go with using the way embossing powder resists watercolours.
This is what I came up with:
Cut an A7 card (5" x 7" ) from blue cardstock (or use a premade one). Stamp using random combinations from My Favourite Things (MFT) Party Patterns set and a Paris Dusk blue Memento Ink pad.  Using some Strathmore cold press watercolour paper (I tried on normal card and it doesn't look as nice) stamp and emboss some more of the set using a clear embossing pad and white embossing powder such as Wow's Opaque White Superfine. You'll also need an embossing tool. 
Let it cool a little, then dampen the paper with a brush or mister. Then drop in some watercolours. I used some Cotman pans and tubes, but you could also use Brusho powders or Distress Inks. Let dry. Cut into rectangles and mount onto white card rectangle cut slightly bigger. Stamp a sentiment in the blue Memento ink (I used on by Papertrey Ink). Mount some of the same blue you used for the back ground and adhere to the card using foam pads.

So now it's YOUR turn. Yes, you! Right there! Your turn to join in and have some fun, maybe try something new.

The challenge runs for TWO weeks and you can enter on Laura's blog HERE. The winner will be announced two days later.

You could win the 1st prize

 and kindly donated by Avery Elle the 2nd prize


to spend on goodies all for yourself (well, you can share them with me if you really really want to :))

Here are some more of the compadre's pages if you would like some more inspiration!



Friday 15 January 2016

Fantasy cards

I'll admit it, I'm a huge fan of the fantasy genre... Lord of the Rings, Eddings, Jordan... I wish there were more stamps around of non-cute dragons, unicorns and so on...but finding any proved hard, so I decided to use my trusty Silhouette machine to make a get well card for fellow fantasy lover I know. The dragon was cut from yellow cardstock, then sponged using Tim Holtz's round blending tool with distress inks in shades of orange and red. Spritz with water and blot. Then I over stamped with Papertrey Ink's Brushed Off set and Tim Holtz's Cracked and Specks set to finish the look.
Some gold thread was wrapped around my fingers and adhered under the dragon. I ripped some paper with writing on it (a dragon summoning scroll perhaps?) and stuck that to a red A2 card. Then the dragon and thread was placed on tip.

Wednesday 13 January 2016

Valentines Project for Coffee and Cat lovers, with Laura's Loft.

A little extra project for you this month, because I love you all.
I am using the same sets I used for the blog hop earlier this month, so that you can how easy it is to achieve some variety in your work using the same materials. 

Cut some hearts from white cardstock using dies or a Silhouette/ Cricut machine. Using Distress Inks in shades of red and pink stamp the brushstroke from My Favourite Things (MFT) Abstract Art set along the side of it. Use a black gelly roll to mark on some faux stitch. 
On a white A2 card, stitch some lines of black cotton thread (or use a stitch stamp, or draw lines as previously). Make them different lengths. Arrange hearts in a pleasing manner and adhere.
Stamp the cat from Newton's Coffee stamp set by Newton's Nook using black Memento Ink. Watercolour as you wish. I used watercolour pencils, but you could use Distress inks, paints or Kuretake Clean brush markers too. Fussy cut. Adhere to card. Stamp sentiment. Draw on some dots using Liquid Pearls in Rouge.  


Thursday 7 January 2016

Laura's Loft Hop and Shop- Love Grows Here


Have a peek at Robbie's work here if you missed it!

Valentines Day....would could be more romantic than staring at your loved one over a cup of hot steaming coffee, right? Maybe it's because the temperature just dropped and it snowed today, but I couldn't help but be inspired for my Valentine's project by the thought of a nice hot cup of... well your choice...cocoa, coffee, tea, mulled cider.... 
So without further ado:
I cut a blank white card with a heart aperture using my Silhouette machine. You could also use dies or hole punches to get a similar effect. 
Using My Favorite Things Abstract Art collection I stamped brushstrokes down the side of the card using Distress Inks in Festive Berries, Barn Door, Fired Brick and Picked Raspberry and Memento Inks in Lady Bug and Rhubarb Stalk or any shades of red and pink you prefer. Draw a line around the aperture using a black gelly roll if you wish. 
On separate card stamp the cat with coffee cup from Newton's Coffee set by Newton's Nook using black Memento Ink pad. Colour with markers or pencils (I used Prismacolor pencils). Fussy cut.  For the inside using Rangers Round Mini Ink Blending Foam and some Distress Ink in Festive Berries to soften the outside of the heart. Over stamp with the coffee beans from the Newton's coffee set using Vintage Photo Distress Ink. Stamp the sentiment in Memento black ink.

And the envelope designed to match. The process is the same. I then used my Lettermate template and a Black Gelly Roll to address it. 

This months fantastic prize package!


WRMK Heatwave Pen Starter Set, WRMK Next Level EF "Gemstone", LL/DCB Sequins "Garden Splendor" & VT Enamel Dots "Autumn"


How to enter the blog hop giveaway: 
TO ENTER:
There are several ways to enter and the more comments you make in the different social media outlets, the more entries you earn! It is required that you comment on each blog in the Hop.  After that, you are encouraged to like, and comment on our Facebook page, tag on our Instagram post and pin on Pinterest, as well as share on your own pages. The participant with the most entries wins the fabulous prize package! How cool is that!?!

CHRISTMAS STAMPS AND DIES are 45% off!! Stock up now :)
Also order over $75 and get $10 off, code $10off75



Stop by and have a look at Sue's LOVEly creations here.... (sorry for the pun. No not sorry really)


In case you are lost here is the complete hop:
5. Heart of Craft ← you are here!
6. Sue T
7. Kim


Small print! For competition T&C's please see Laura's website. Some products in this post have been provided for use by Laura's Loft but all views are my own!

Wednesday 6 January 2016

CAS-ual Fridays with Laura's Loft.



Today I am helping celebrate the release of some wonderful dies from Cas-ual Fridays, available from Laura's Loft


I will be using the two sets Tag Buddies and and Friendly Flowers Fri-dies which are so much fun!
For this release I decided to experiment with some mixed media for a change. Start by die cutting your tags and flowers multiple times from white card stock (I used Michaels' Recollections). You'll need lots of the flowers especially!
Use some of Tim Holtz's tissue tape on the tags. Then smear some Distress Paints onto a craft sheet (I use Teflon cooking sheet). Mist very lightly with water, then smear your tag through it. I used Salty Ocean, Picked Raspberry and Seedless Preserves. Mist slightly again. Let dry, or if you are impatient use a hairdryer or embossing tool to carefully dry it.  Use Ranger Transparent Medium applied with a spatula through Studio 490's Polka Dotty stencil across the bottom left corner and let dry. This will take a while, so move onto the flowers while they dry. Colour the white card using the Ranger Round Mini Ink Blending Foam and Distress ink pads to match the paint colours you used. Spritz with water, blot and dry. Over stamp with lettering from Tim Holtz's Urban Grunge set using a Grape Jelly Memento pad and Ink Splodges from MFT's Abstract Art set using a Rose Bud Memento ink pad. The construct the flowers. Some of them I bent sharply along the centre of each petal to give a more star like shape. Others I used embossing tools or Heartfelt Creations flower shaping set to make the petals curl and become a rounder shape. Experiment and see how many combinations you can make!
I picked out some details using Ranger's enamel accents in white. Let dry and assemble flowers using your adhesive of choice.  Using Distress ink pads in Dusty Concord, Vintage Photo and/or Walnut Stain, ink the corners of your tags to darken them and increase the contrast with the flowers.
Use the Dusty Concord to stamp butterflies from Close to my Heart (Find Your Style) and Clearly Besotted stamps on the tags. Assemble and let dry. Meanwhile cut some ivory cardstock 0.25" shorter than a base purple card. Ink the edges with Antique Linen Distress Inks and adhere the panel to your base card. Arrange the tags in a pleasing manner and stick them on. Voila, pretty floral mixed media tags. You can buy some of my favourite Distress Ink pads from Laura's Loft. I warn you they are addictive though!