Getting inky with Brenda

Good morning, Brenda here with our mid month inspirational post where the each month one of the Design Team creates some work and the current challenged is to share a technique that is new to them, needless to say mine is a messy one but is fun to do.

Before I move on to my tutorial, myself and the team would like to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and thank you for all the wonderful work you have shared with us in 2017 and look forward to seeing you again next year.

I have no idea if or what the name might be for this technique and I am sure it's not a new one, but I actually came across it by accident one day when I inadvertently let a piece of printed paper land on a sticky background that was still wet. When I tried to lift off the paper I noticed that some of the print had adhered itself to the background so I had a play and rather liked the look so this is how I find it works best.

Start by creating an inky background, in this case I used Bristol cardstock and oxide inks, but it works equally well with with Brusho, Dylusions and other background mediums.

Next take a couple of pages form an old book..................do make sure they are 'appropriate'...........I did one a few weeks back, sent it off as a TV sample only to discover later that the printed content was not really 'viewer friendly'...........the TV presenter and crew had a laugh but it's made me more aware since!!

Tear the pages into small pieces and arrange on the background randomly and have a bone folder or ruler to hand along with a dries clear glue such as Indigo Blue Slap it On...............I experimented as the regular Slap it On didn't work as well as the Super Thick version which gave a much better adhesion and transfer. You need to work quite quickly here so best work on the pieces of paper one by one, giving a good brushing of glue to the base card and over each piece, then burnish with the bone folder or ruler edge several times and peel away the paper to reveal the print.

It doesn't matter if some of the paper remains as it all adds to the randomness of the piece and of course some of the print picked up will be the reverse but as it's a background it all adds to the interest.

Now you have your finished piece ready for stamping and on this occasion I used it with Chocolate Baroque stamps. I know it looks a messy process but that's all part of the fun and once stamped up to a finished piece gives an interesting and different look

Exactly the same process, just with different coloured inks. When I have spare time I like to make up a batch of backgrounds ready for stamping up at a later date........helps no end with rush TV deadlines!

Many thanks for taking a peek and hope you will give it a try.

December - Winter trees and flowers

Welcome to our  December challenge where this month our theme is...................

********Winter Trees and Flowers********

Lots of options here and I am sure many of you will find the theme fits in very nicely with your Christmas card making, so we look forward to seeing what you create. But please can I remind you we are a stamping challenge so must see a stamped image which reflects the theme as the focal element of your artwork , this means:

Stamping must be the central point of attention and interest

We have a super prize for this months winner plus there will also be a second prize for our runner up from Stix2 who offer a range of craft adhesive and glue based products, die cuts, card blanks and envelops  all especially for hobby crafters.

We are pleased to welcome Sue as this months Guest Designer..........

And a wonderful offering from the Design Team, thank you girls......................

Brenda
Using white A5 card blank from Stix 2

Dora


Joan

Lynne

Marlies

Pinky

Sally

Sandra

Tracy

Viv

Happy crafting everyone.

You can enter up to three creations but please note: If we do not comment on your entry it will be because it does not follow the theme, qualify under our rules, or because we are asked to sign in or provide additional data to comment on third party hosts particularly Instagram, Facebook, Splitcoast etc. We do not want to be rude but we do want to be fair to those who do follow the rules.

An InLinkz Link-up

November winners

Good morning, it's the 1st of December which means we are into the Christmas month and the advent calendars have started their countdown to the big day.

It is also the day to announce the winners of our 'One layer Christmas card' theme, one lots of people seemed to struggled with and sadly some lovely creations had to be overlooked as the temptation to add a layer or two was clearly too much of a temptation for some. But there were some stunning entries and having counted the DT's votes I can announce that our winner is............

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Linda in Canada

We were really drawn to the peaceful winter scene

Huge congratulations Linda, please mail me so I can send your prize.

Followed by..................

Alison

A beautiful Christmas floral wreath

There is also a small prize for you Alison so please mail me with our full name and postal addy.

And our Top 3..................

Julie

Really atmospheric

Lynn

A super Winter scene

Helen

This one really brings a smile 

Well done to you all, please collect our Top 3 badge to display on your own blogs.

I will be back on Sunday with our new theme.

The Northern Lights with Lynne

Following our current challenge for the Design Team, this months sees Lynne trying out a new technique and she has created a glorious sky depicting the Norther Lights or to give them their correct title the Aurora Borealis. I will hand you over to Lynne to tell us how she created it................

The current mid-month challenge for our DT is to try something new. Living in the north of the UK gives us the chance of seeing the Aurora Borealis, if conditions are favourable, and since we moved up here a few years ago I have been lucky enough to see them just once. I follow the Aurorawatch UK website, which sends out alerts when there is the possibility of aurora, and last week there was a red alert, meaning that there was a very good chance of seeing some if the skies were clear! Unfortunately not from here, though, as it was too misty.

However, it reminded me that I have been meaning for ages to have a go at the Northern Lights technique, so that is my something new for this month.

I had a look at a few tutorials, and learned that there is more than one method of producing the effect, using various colours of card for the background. The one I decided to follow was by Emma from Inkylicious, and you can see her video here. This uses black card. Mindful of our one layer theme this month, I worked directly on to the base card (after quite a few practice attempts!). 

I didn't get the sweep of the aurora quite how I wanted them, and I think less would have been better (got a bit carried away!), but I'm reasonably happy with the final result as a first effort. I made my own landscape stencils, all stamps are by Inkylicious. It was a fun (not to mention messy!) technique to try, and I'll certainly be having another go!

Thank you so much Lynne, I am sure we will be reaching for our inks.

November - One layer Christmas cards

Good morning and welcome to our November challenge and this month we are challenging you to create.........

********One Layer Christmas Cards********

By one layer we mean your artwork must be stamped directly onto the base card, definitely no matting and layering.

Please can I remind you we are a stamping challenge so must see a stamped image, sentiment or quote as the focal element of your artwork , this means:

Stamping must be the central point of attention and interest

On to our prize and this month we have a super Tote Bag collection from Tattered Lace plus an extra prize from them for a second winner...................

Tattered Lace is home to a range of beautifully delicate and detailed craft products, including the successful Tattered Lace Dies and Embossing Folders, designed by Stephanie Weightman.

We are pleased to introduce Leanne as our Guest Designer this month with this lovely tone on tone creation............

And here is the inspiration from the Design Team, thank you for all your lovely pieces of artwork teamies..............

Brenda

Dora


Joan

Lynne

Marlies

Pinky

Sally

Sandra

Tracy

Viv

We do hope you will enjoy this months theme.

You can enter up to three creations but please note: If we do not comment on your entry it will be because it does not follow the theme, qualify under our rules, or because we are asked to sign in or provide additional data to comment on third party hosts particularly Instagram, Facebook, Splitcoast etc. We do not want to be rude but we do want to be fair to those who do follow the rules.

An InLinkz Link-up

October winners

October's theme produced some wonderful Autumnal creations and we would like to thank all of you who joined in to make it a really enjoyable month for us all.

As a team we all enjoy creating for this time of year and seeing so many warm and rich creations our task of voting for our favourites was probably a little harder than usual. But the votes have been counted and I am pleased to announce that the winner of the £25 store voucher from Stamp Addicts is........................

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Sue

Warm Autumnal colours and a Fairy made for a winning combination

Huge congratulations Sue, please mail me with your full name and postal addy so I can arrange for you to receive your store voucher.

Gerrina
What a fabulous technique to bring the lovely AI stamp to life

Congratulations to you as well Gerrina as there is second prize for you so could you please also mail me.

And next our Top 3................

Elaine
Teasels in all their Autumn glory


Abi
The resist stamping really brings this to life


Christine
Great textures and rich Autumnal colours

Well deserved recognition, please collect our Top 3 badge to display on your own blogs.

I will be back on Sunday with our new challenge so please do pop back then.