ink smooshing

Leafy Birthday

I decided to put one of my gel plate backgrounds to use with this card:

The background was created using acrylic paints and a leaf stencil, onto which I also sprayed some Distress mica stain, add some dribbles of water, held the paper up to allow some drippage, and then let it dry.

I notice the mica stain seemed to resist the acrylic paint, so you can still see some leaves in the background.

The leaves are from a new Tim Holtz set, and the yellow parts are from an ink smooshing session, and that panel used to die cut the base leaves.

I decided to use red for the inner leave detail to really make them pop.

The sentiment is a foiled strip.

I am glad I was able to photograph the shimmer and shine of the distress mica stains.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge – happy birthday

Color Throwdown – red, yellow, green, white

Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends – anything goes

We Love 2 Create – anything goes mixed media

Creative Artiste Mixed Media Challenge – anything goes mixed media

Crafting Happiness – anything goes

AAA Birthday challenge – anything goes birthday

Here Is A Place To Start – anything goes – option trees and/or leaves taken

It’s Snow Day………

Hello. I was proud to be the winner for the Christmas Craft Creations May 2023 challenge, and therefore offered a Guest design Team spot for July.

This is the second card I created for the half-way reminder post.

I used a panel of dark blue card stock, and the same embossing folder from Simon Says Stamp as my first Guest DT card, then gently rubbed a white pigment ink pad over the top to highlight the snowflakes.

Whilst that was drying. I die cut all the elements I wanted to use from the ‘Santa’s Workshop’ die set from Spellbinders, then arranged them all as you see.

The lighter blue panel is ink smooshed and then die cut. The hills and sentiment die cut from silver glitter card.

We are half way through the challenge, so you have plenty of time to join us with your ‘anything goes‘ Christmas creations. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Craft Rocket – Christmas in July

12 Months Of Christmas – anything goes Christmas

Country View Challenge – 4 legged friends

Sparkles Forum Christmas – Christmas and include gold

Get Creative – Christmas in July

Peace On Earth – anything goes Christmas

Merry Little Christmas Challenge – anything goes Christmas

Hello Friend

A change in craftiness with this card – I wanted some messy crafting:

I started by creating the background panel. This is a Spellbinders stencil from a recent class, and I masked off the centre oval shape, then ink blended the two Distress Inks that you see. I added some brown around the edges for some darker contrast.

I then ink smooshed a couple of card panel – Distress Mixed Media Heavystock – with darker browns on one panel, and lighter browns on another. Once they were dry I used the Tim Holtz ‘Merry Moose‘ die, as I haven’t used him for quite a while. I wanted to enter a challenge where the theme was ‘deer’ – and then had to Google if a moose was a deer or something quite different – thankfully, a moose is part of the deer family – phew!

A simple white foiled sentiment to complete the card.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

FarmQuest – deer

Just Us Girls – hello

2 Crafty Critter Crazies – anything goes with a critter

Crafty Animals – anything goes with an animal

Here Is A Place To Start – anything goes

Hey Chick….!

I have a fun card to share today:

The colour scheme is for one of the challenges I am entering, and as soon as I saw that yellow was in that challenge, I thought of chickens. No idea why – I don’t have chickens – but I remembered this Tim Holtz layering die set so I started from there.

I die cut the chickens from several shades of yellow card stock from Heffy Doodle. The egg was from the same Tim Holtz die set, and created using Lost Shadow Distress Oxide, and ink smooshed onto Kraft Heavystock. I loved how the oxide gave a mottled and chalky effect.

Once all the layers were glued together I decided I wanted to create a scene, so I ink blended Salvaged Patina Distress Ink and used a Lawn Fawn cloud stencil, and for the grass I used a Pinkfresh Studio green ink and a Lawn Fawn grass stencil again.

I also wanted a speech bubble and suitable sentiment, so I searched the Color My Life app and it came up with the speech bubble from Lawn Fawn which is meant to be part of a reveal wheel, and the sentiment from Stampin’ Up.

I die cut that stencilled panel with a stitched rectangle and adhered flat to a white card base.

I stuck down the two chicks and the sentiment with 3D foam, and wasn’t going to add an egg (I made three altogether) but decided to put it on at the last minute. In hindsight, I think I should have left it off the card. It kinda looks like the chick is sitting on a stone……..anyhoo. Hindsight is always 20/20….I think it’s cute and fun anyway.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Color Throwdown – celery green, yellow, aqua

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – things with wings

Crafty Catz – anything goes – option of celebration not taken

Daring Cardmakers – feathers or something feathered

Stencil Fun – stencils – option of patterns

Birthday Cocktails

Hello everyone. Cardz 4 Galz has started a new challenge. Dawn is hosting this time round, and she has chosen the theme of ‘cocktails’. Here is my card:

I die cut the Pinkfresh Studio deco frame, leaving the inner part intact. Onto that piece I used a Lawn Fawn stencil to create some pink interest, then also used some glitter paste for a little sparkle.

Whilst that was drying, I die cut the MFT dies – from several sets – to create the cocktail glasses, inner drink from an ink smooshed panel, and also the garnishes – which were extremely fiddly – but satisfying once completed.

Once layered, I played with which garnish to go with which drink, stuck them all together, then had a play with placement onto the now dry stencilled background.

The glasses were stuck down with 3D foam, then sentiment stamped and added, and then I decided to add some additional sparkle with these coloured sequins I found in my stash.

I also added some glossy accents to some of the garnishes.

I hope you can come and join us in your cocktail themed creations. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Allsorts – anything goes – option to create your own background taken

Seize The Birthday – birthday and alcohol – drinks or inks

MFT Stamps Challenge – colour challenge

AAA Birthday – birthday with multiple layers

Stencil Fun – stencil – option patterns

It’s Your Bird-day

Some messy in smooshing play this morning with Distress Oxides and Distress Sprays, in order to create this card:

I used the two pink Distress Oxides you see in the picture to create two panels from which I die cut the Simon Says Stamp bird. I layered the darker and the lighter pink to create some dimension.

The background is a Simon Says Stamp embossing folder, which I cut down and layered with a black panel.

The branch is die cut from an ink smooshed panel too – using Rusty Hinge Distress Ink – and the green branches are from yet another ink sprayed panel using Rustic Wilderness. The branches are from Gummiapan and Charlie and Paulchen.

The sentiment is from the Spellbinders Advent Calendar from last year, a debossed sentiment, which is difficult to see in the photo – better in real life – but here is a close up:

I’m trying out a way of photographing my cards to try and make them appear better. The card is raised on a Distress Ink pad to create some shadow, and I have added three of the items I used to make to card – a triangle as it were…I’m not sure if I’ve got the hang of it yet, but I’ll keep trying…..

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Color Throwdown – pink, rust, green

Festive Friday – three items from the list – bird, birthday sentiment, embossing folder

Creative Fingers – anything goes

Cut It Up – die cuts and something starting with ‘B’ – bird, branch

‘Tis The Season…..

The new Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge has now gone live, and the theme is always ‘anything goes Christmas/Festive‘. Here is my card:

I had quite a bit of messy fun creating this card – ink smooshing, die cutting, ink blending – and I like the outcome.

The background panel is a piece of ink smooshed card stock, with pink and blue Distress Inks, and when that was dry I used a Pinkfresh Studio background die.

I adhered that whole panel to the card base, then turned to the die cutting…….

The two critters are from Tim Holtz, and each piece die cut pout of an ink blended or smooshed panel. If I didn’t have the colour I wanted, I created one.

Before adding each layer, I did some more ink blending on them to make them different. All the brown pieces are from the same panel, but I ink blended a darker brown on them to create different shades – the antlers for instance.

The sentiment is also from Tim Holtz, stamped onto the same brown smooshed panel, cut out, then ink blending.

I adhered all of them with 3D foam.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Jingle Belles – Christmas and card stock – no patterned paper

Creative Fingers – anything goes

2 Crafty Critter Crazies – anything goes with animal as main focus

Crafty Animals – anything goes with an animal

My Time To Craft Christmas – Christmas and something beginning with ‘R’ (red, reindeer)

Merry Little Christmas Challenge – anything goes Christmas

Flying By To Say Hello….

I had a play with new – and some not so new – items and created this card:

The hummingbird die is part of a Spellbinders/Bibi Cameron class last weekend. We created a total of three cards with the hummingbird die set, which also comes with some large lilies. I understand these die and their add-ons will be released next month. In the meantime, I have been playing….

I changed my mind several times with this card. I first die cut the hummingbird and all the layers with some lime green and yellow card stock – to match the colours of a current challenge – but decided the image was too flat, despite the layers.

I decided to create my own yellow and lime green card by ink smooshing Twisted Citron and Squeezed Lemonade Distress Inks, and then using those two panels to die cut the bird layers. The only decision to be made was which colour for which layer – but I like how this turned out.

The background panel was created using a piece of light blue card stock, a a Sizzix 3D embossing folder. I thought the blue was too even, so I then took the Hero Arts Unicorn White pigment ink and gently – so very gently – swiped it across the piece of card. The white highlighted the most raised areas of the embossing, and I was much happier with this look.

I cut down that panel to be slightly smaller than an A2 card base, adhered it with 3D foam, and then attached the bird – also with 3D foam.

The sentiment is from the add-on sentiment stamp set from the same release.

I also added some light blue iridescent sequins – three slightly underneath the wings of the bird, and three below the sentiment.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge – emboss it

Color Throwdown – pale blue, yellow, lime

2 Crafty Critter Crazies – anything goes with an animal as main focus

Crafty Animals – anything goes with an animal

Triple B challenge – birds, blooms, butterflies – any or all

Cardz 4 Galz – use vellum

Hello once again. The new challenge at Cardz 4 Galz has gone live, and Billie A has chosen the theme of #Vellum’. Use vellum on your girlie creations. Here is my card:

A took a piece of vellum slightly smaller than an A2 card base, and put it through a Spellbinder embossing folder. I then ran that through my Xyron machine, and attached it to the white card base.

I die cut the Gina K Designs feathers from a yellow ink smooshed and splattered card panel, ran them through the Xyron machine too – and stuck them down as you see. I then took some gold and black metallic paint and splattered.

Whilst that was drying, I die cut the word ‘enjoy’ three times, and stuck the layers together. I then stamped the two extra words, and cut them at a jaunty angle.

The larger word was adhered directly onto the dry vellum panel, with the two smaller words adhered with 3D foam.

I hope you can come and join us with your creations using vellum – there are so many ways to use this product. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

A Perfect Time To Craft – anything goes

Die Cut Divas – anything goes with a die cut

Give A Crafter A Cookie – yellow as main colour

Love To Craft – anything goes

Mix It Up – anything goes – option distressing


You’re How Old……?

Hello there. Cardz 4 Galz has started a new challenge. Caz has chosen the theme of ‘Clean and Simple’. Here is my card:

I chose a Heffy Doodle image, stamped then coloured with Copics, and die cut with the matching die set.

I then die cut a circle into white panel, added a piece of previously created ink smooshed card behind the aperture, and then added the image so he was poking his head out of it.

The sentiment was stamped and cut into a strip, adding as you see.

I hope you can come and join us with your CAS creations. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Crafty Calendar – add a sentiment

AAA Birthday – anything goes birthday

Here Is A Place To Start – anything goes

Love To Craft – anything goes