Hedgehugs

Another quick card to send off to one of my daughter's friends this week:

All supplies are Lawn Fawn... with a little Doodlebug Baker's Twine.

Cards for the Front Lines

I am a proud aunt to a nephew who is a new doctor, and he loves giving out my doctor & nurse cards as thank you's, birthday cards for coworkers etc.  And I am happy to make them.  If you're home like me, with time on your hands - consider making a card to send to someone who's out there helping to keep us all safe & healthy.

 All of the images are from Art Impressions - the Proud Nurse Set, and the Get Well Set that you can find at Michaels or here on the Ai website.

 Papers are all older Close To My Heart ones that I have in my stash.

 Everything was coloured with Copic Markers on Cryogen cardstock,

 I managed to make 2 of each! 

Watercolour Wednesday & a challenge

I am combining two challenges from the Papercrafter's Workshop from this week - to use a circle, and to use a bunny on your project.  I am also casing Kendra's amazing bunny wreath from the Watercolour Wednesday video on the Art Impressions blog:

 Kendra's was a little different - a smaller circle and fewer colours.  I put my own spin on it by creating more of a scene in the middle, and since my masking fluid was clogged up, I just went with a wreath of plain greenery.

I stitched my scene to some green cardstock with my sewing machine, and added a few white sequins.

How you bean?

I adore this Lawn Fawn stamp set... and just got a holiday filler add on set(Christmas cookies instead of jelly beans).  I made this for one of my daughter's friends who just got into law school:

This is one of the original Perfectly Plaid papers from Lawn Fawn, I'm almost finished the paper pad!  You can get your supplies for crafting from the Papercrafter's Workshop who will ship to you, or prep a curbside pickup:

New Art Impressions Bible Journaling Stamps!

We are launching new Art Impressions Bible Journaling stamps today!  I had fun making three projects, showing the new 5270 Columns Set:

I started by die cutting the largest of the new Bookmark Dies out of Canson XL Watercolor Paper.  Using Tombow Dual Brush Marker #N55 Cool Grey 7, I coloured the urn from the set, and stamped it in the lower left corner, and again on scrap paper.  I cut out the scrap image, and masked the urn.  Using my Stamp Positioner, I coloured only the bottom 1/4 of the large column image in #N55, and stamped it slightly higher and to the right of the urn.  Next I coloured only the top half of the column, and because these are clear stamps, I was able to match it up to the other half of my image, creating a much smaller column.  I stamped a second urn on top.  After more masking, I stamped the full column image behind the others, also in #N55.  With a damp #1 paintbrush, I pulled out the colour from the lines, keeping it where the shadows would fall.

Using the two trailing greenery images from 5126 - WC Foliage Set 4, I stamped them with #177 Dark Jade, having them trail out from either side of the urns.  I used the rose image from 5258 - Flower Set 4 and stamped it several times in #493 Reflex Blue, and touched everything with my damp paintbrush to bring out the colours.  I added several of the feathery greenery image in #126 Light Olive to my pots.  I added a pale wash of #493 to the background.  The Bookmark Dies include several small images, so I diecut a feather and cross, and added them to my bookmark along with some Baker's Twine.

My second bookmark and card are painted in the same method, with the same supplies. *More details on my blog!

Knitting project for Francis

I haven't shared any knitting on here in forever!  I'm not quite as prolific a knitter as I used to be, but I still usually have a project on the go at all times.  While I was on vacation, I knit this little hat & booties for a coworker, but baby Francis decided to show up early, before our shower at work:

And then of course, just days later, the library has closed and we are all social distancing... not sure if I'll be able to get these to Francis while they will still fit!  I'm just glad that he & mom are doing well, and are home safe.  And yes - I was the ONLY person in the Cayman Islands knitting beside the pool...

Something Yellow.

Today's challenge on the Papercrafter's Workshop fb page is to "make something yellow".

It's not a colour that I reach for very often!  These are more images that I stamped last summer with my niece, Allie.  All of the stamps are from The Greetery, and are stamped with Distress Oxide inks.  After fussy cutting everything out, I added a little depth of colour with my Copic markers.  I used 4 Distress inks (Orange Marmalade, Wild Honey, Squeezed Lemonade and Clover Meadow) to do an ink blended background over this MFT brick stencil.  The lemon & sentiment are both adhered with pop dots.

The Workshop is offering shipping of online orders, as well as parking lot pick ups while we're all social distancing - you can find their website here!

Oopsie Daisy

Another card for the Papercrafter's Workshop challenges this week - yesterday's challenge was to do something floral!

This was an image that I stamped last summer with my niece... both the flower stamp set (Oopsie Daisy) and the jar (Just Mason Around) are from The Greetery, and both were stamped in Distress Oxide inks.  I pulled out the image today and added some shading overtop with my Copic markers, defining the flowers, and adding some shadows to the whole image.  I stitched the image to some aqua cardstock with my sewing machine, and used 3D adhesives to adhere it to my gingham base.  Check out the Papercrafter's Workshop on facebook and play along with the challenges!

Let's Toast!

Yes, let's.  I have been trying to carve out some crafting time all week, and finally got SIX cards made from the fun Let's Toast set by Lawn Fawn.  I had stamped them up weeks ago, gradually colouring the images, and finally putting them all together this week:

Yes, that little piece of smiling toast pops out of the toaster when you pull up the tab.  The inside sentiment on this one reads "You're the avocado to my toast"

Now for a couple of pop tarts... Inside sentiment is "I love you with all my tart"

Sentiment is simply: "Happy day"

This one isn't interactive, it's a remake of one that I gave to my husband for Father's Day.

And another pop tart card.  I have a couple of coworkers, and a nephew who is a doctor on the front lines right now - all people who I feel like sending a little love to in the mail.  I am playing along with the first two challenges from the Papercrafter's Workshop this week - the first is to mail a card, and the second was to make something with 'food' in it.

Latest Watercolor Weekend

A quick card today for the latest Watercolor Weekend, using the harp image from 5199 - Praise Instruments Set:

 Using my Tombow Dual Brush Marker #992 Sand, I coloured just the harp strings (as I wanted them to be a lighter tone, and then used #969 Chocolate to colour the frame before stamping it onto my Canson XL Watercolor Paper just left of center.  I scribbled #947 Burnt Sienna onto my palette, and painted it onto the frame, leaving some white areas as hightlights.

 With #565 Deep Blue, I stamped the daisy bunch from 5074 - Bible Flower Set, multiple times in different spots around the harp.  Then with #249 Hunter Green and the small sprig in the same stamp set, I added greenery in and around my flowers.  I touched everything with a damp #1 paintbrush to soften the lines, then I pulled out a few of the colours to ground the harp, and add a background of #565.  The sentiment is from 5130 - On The Sparrow Set, stamped in Onyx Black Versafine Ink.  I die cut my scene using a 5062 - Rounded Rectangle A2 Double Stitched Die, and used pop dots to adhere it to a deep purple mat, and onto my card base.

Make sure to check out the Art Impressions blog on Saturday, to see what Dot & Tricia have to share!

Signs of Spring for Watercolor Weekend

We're still enjoying wintery weather around here, but I decided to paint up a spring scene for this week's Watercolor Weekend on the Art Impressions blog.

 Using the Wellies from the 5194 - WC Shoe Set, I inked them in Tombow Dual Brush Marker #565 Deep Blue, stamped the image on scrap paper and then reinked it with #N45 Cool Grey 10 before stamping it on my Canson XL Watercolor Paper.  I masked the boots, and then stamped the large watering can from 5012 - WC Wishing Well Mini Set in 565/N45, positioning it about 1/2" higher so that it would appear to be behind the boots, with the help of my Stamp Positioner.  I used a damp #4 Paintbrush to soften the lines, and pull out the colour, keeping it concentrated in the areas that would be shadowed, or darkest.  Using a pencil, I sketched in where I wanted my polkadots to be, and with my #905 Red marker, I coloured them in, and touched them with a damp brush.

 I used 4 of the flowers from 5008 - WC Flower Set 3, and after masking the boots, I stamped them with #245 Sap Green on the stems/leaves, and coloured the blooms in #933 Orange, #755 Rubine Red, and #905 Red.  I added the ferns from 5126 - WC Foliage Set 4 coloured in #249 Hunter Green. To create the cobblestones, I masked the boots and watering can, then inked up the image from the retired Market set (I liked the design of it, but you could use 5018 - WC Cobblestone Set!) in N45, using my Stamp Positioner to get it just right.  I used a damp paintbrush to pull out the colour, and picked up #565 from my palette to add in shadows on and around the boots and can, and in between the cobblestones.  I used my #126 Light Olive marker directly on the paper to add in the grass, tucking little bits of it in between the stones.  I picked up #443 Turquoise from my palette and painted in the boots, going carefully around the dots, and keeping the front of them white to indicate that they're shiny.  I used the same blue to paint in the sky.

My scene was cut out with 5062 Rounded Rectangle A5 Double Stitched Dies, and matted with a dark brown.  I picked some patterned paper to show off the blue of the boots and used some bright orange thread to zigzag stitch the papers together with my sewing machine onto the base.  I used a sentiment from 5136 - WC Sentiment Set 2 and stamped it with Versafine Onyx Black Ink onto some watercolor paper that I die cut with the small tag from 5132 Tag Stitched Dies, and added a Baker's Twine bow.

New Art Impressions - Part Two!

I hope you saw the new Watercolor stamps released on the Art Impressions blog last Thursday... because the WC Design Team is helping to release 4 more sets this week.

Along with the Large Shops and Large Cottages, are two accessory sets, and I am featuring 5264 - WC Decorative Post Set.  It works perfectly with other stamp sets in the Ai Watercolor line, so I started by inking up one of the doorways from 5015 - WC Hobbit Door Set using Tombow Dual Brush Marker #565 Deep Blue, which I stamped onto scrap paper.  Without cleaning the stamp, I inked it up again in #969 Chocolate and then stamped it onto my Canson XL watercolor paper.  I chose one of the birdhouses from the Decorative Post Set, and using my Stamp Positioner, I inked it up in #565/969 and stamped it beside the stone walkway.  I scribbled #158 Dark Olive onto my palette, and picked it up with my #4 Paintbrush, painting a wash of green to suggest the grassy hillside, and defining where the path would be.

We also have a new Flower set releasing today: so I chose the spiky stemmed flower from 5258 - WC Flower Set 4, coloured the stem in #249 Hunter Green, and the bloom in #606 Violet, stamping it around the base of the birdhouse, and on the other side of the path.  (I used another of the images from the set, and stamped it behind them, but they got lost a bit in the scene!) I chose the tiny dotted flower image from 5009 - WC Mini Flower Set, coloured in #757 Port Red and added them to my floral cluster.  With the small grass image from Foliage Set - 4051, I stamped it in #158, around the flowers,  beside the door, and over the mound of the hill, to define it's shape.  With a damp brush, I softened the line of the grasses and flowers.  I picked up #757 from my palette and coloured in the birdhouse, and picked up #969 to paint the roof and the wood frame around the door.  I picked up #992 Sand and painted in the walkway.  I used #493 Reflex blue to paint the round door, and added a little more water to it, to paint in the sky.  After die cutting my image with a stitched circle die, I used my Misti to position the sentiment from 5136 - WC Sentiment Set 2, and stamped it in Versafine Onyx Black ink. 

 The card is 5" square, and after matting the circle with some purple cardstock, I adhered it to the base with pop dots, over a pink organdy bow.  A few sequins add some sparkle.