Happy Scene of Christmas - On Stage Melbourne swap 2015

Our first On Stage Local event in Melbourne, November 2015.
I wish I'd had more time to prepare myself...& more sleep too. It can get tricky when you're working full-time and have a family.  But I did get about 20 swaps made...better than none I guess.
One of the only stamp sets I managed to get from this seasonal catalogue was Happy Scenes, so I thought I'd better put it to use.

Stamps: Happy Scenes & Oh,What Fun.

Card Stock: Basic Black, Whisper White, Tip Top Tuape & Envelope paper.

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Bermuda Bay, Tempting Turquoise, Pacific Point, Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive, Mossy Meadow, Always Artichoke & Memento Black.

Tools: Hearth & Home Framelits, ¾ Circle punch + Decorative label punch.

Extras: Dotted Lace Trim, Silver Metallic Thread, Crystal Effects & Dazzling Diamonds.

Techniques: Masking & Sponging, Colouring with Markers (trees), 3D Crystal Effects (Christmas lights).

Stamps: Happy Scenes & Oh,What Fun.

Card Stock: Basic Black, Whisper White, Mint Macaron & Envelope paper.

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Bermuda Bay, Tempting Turquoise, Pacific Point, Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive, Mossy Meadow, Always Artichoke & Memento Black.

Tools: Hearth & Home Framelits, ¾ Circle punch + Decorative label punch.

Extras: Dotted Lace Trim, Silver Metallic Thread, Crystal Effects & Dazzling Diamonds.

Techniques: Masking & Sponging, Colouring with Markers (trees), 3D Crystal Effects (Christmas lights).

I had made one white version because I had not cut enough black windows, yet had a spear white window handy. After I put this one together I decided I actually liked the white one better but I'd forgotten to add the Christmas Lights.

Sponging the Happy Scene.

Stamp image onto Whisper White cardstock with Memento Black ink.

Stamp the same image on to a post-it note to create a mask. (be sure to stamp over the stick portion of the post-it note)

Cut the post-it note along the horizon of the image. (you should get a bit of sticky under both the land & sky portions). Here I have just added an extra bit of post-it note because my mask was a bit short.

Next stick another post-it note to a piece of cardstock and punch out a 3/4" circle. (the cardstock makes it easier for the punch to get through the post-it note with a clean cut)

Stick the 3/4" circle to the sticky edge of the post-it note to allow you room to feed it back into the circle punch while still hanging onto it

.

Punch off roughly half a portion of the circle, This creates the crescent moon shape.

Peel off the post-it note crescent from the cardstock and place the moon mask in the sky.

First colour for sponging, Daffodil Delight.

Start by inking the sponge (I press the sponge firmly onto the ink pad).

Then tap off the excess ink onto scrap paper  (this helps eliminate the grainy texture).

Softly sponge the daffodil delight ink around the moon ( it helps to follow the shape of the moon to avoid ruining the mask).

Next colour Bermuda Bay. Ink up, tap off and again softly add the colour around the moon. Start with a wide large circle, gradually bring it in closer to the moon, slightly over lapping the yellow. You may need to use a smaller circular motion to bring the Bermuda Bay into the crescent side of the moon.

Next Colour, Tempting Turquoise. Same as above, ink up, tap off and use soft circular motion. I always find it easier to work toward the colour I'm about to overlap.

(Remember, you can always come back and add more colour)

Next colour, Pacific Point. Same as above. Ink up, tap off & soft circular motion.

(In real life you can see the colours starting to build up a nice intense depth, yet still softly glowing around the moon). 

Last sky colour, Elegant Eggplant. Same method as above, ink up, tap off and sponge in soft circles.

This colour really brings depth to the inky night sky.

Sometimes if I want to get a really nice blending of the colours, I will go back over the whole thing in reverse, so the lighter colours fill in any tiny gaps the darker colours may have left behind. You can skip this step if you like, but I think it works better and almost always go back over with the lighter colours (except the yellow in this case).

Remove the moon mask.

Remove the land mask.

Add the other part of the mask to cover the sky.

I started with Old Olive for the grass (because it doesn't snow at Christmas time in Australia, I'm doing a green grass land), I didn't bother to tap off the excess ink for the land, just ink up and sponge straight on using a downward sweeping motion. 

I couldn't just use one green now could I? :)

I sponged Mossy Meadow around the bottom and edges using a circular motion.

I figure the moon would shine down on the lighter patch of grass. 

Remove the sky mask.

To colour the trees green, I used an Old Olive Marker on the tops and the side I thought the moon should shine on. (Brush on in a flicking stoke motion) 

I also added a little to the horizon line and the shadow of the tree. (This is useful to fill in any spots missed while sponging)

Next colour, Always Artichoke. this green is darker than Old Olive therefore can fill in the rest of the trees nicely. (I didn't have Mossy Meadow in a Marker, or I would have use that instead)

Sponging colours: Sky- Daffodil Delight, Bermuda Bay, Tempting Turquoise, Pacific Point & Elegant Eggplant. Ground- Old Olive Mossy Meadow.

They are all just a little bit different.

To create the Christmas lights around the window I just added some tape to the back, took off one side at a time, and wrapped the silver Metallic Thread around it. Once the window was adhered to the card front, I then dabbed little dots of Crystal Effects over the sliver thread, then sprinkled with Dazzling Diamonds. That looked good at first, but as it dried I think the glitter flattened it out, so I added another dot of Crystal Effects on top for the 3D Effect.

Shari and myself taking some happy snaps.

70th Birthday card - Fish in the water

I was asked to do a 70th birthday card for a man who liked fishing... so after thinking about it for a little while I remembered seeing a card my friend Katrina had done several years ago using gel and glitter.

Here is my version of the gel & glitter underwater theme card.

I didn't have any hair gel in reach, but I did have hand sanitizer, so that's what I used instead. (Although I think that hair gel might have been better because it's thicker than hand sanitizer).

Note: The stamped, embossed fish are behind the plastic bag of glitter & gel, not in.

Stamps: Back to Basics Alphabet, By the Tide & Hardwood
Cardstock: Baked Brown Sugar & Whisper White
Ink: Memento Black, Baked Brown Sugar, Soft Suede, Pacific Point Tempting Turquoise, Wild Wasabi, Smoky Slate, Blushing Bride & Versa Mark
Framelits: Circles
Embossing Powder: Silver & Clear
Extras: Linen Thread, mini Brads, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, snap lock bag & gel

The glitter seems to settle to the bottom after a while, but when you squish a little it stirs back up into the scene. Keep in mind when adding the glitter it's best to start with just a little bit...you can always add more, but it's not so easy to take it out!

These pictures were taken in the sun light. Here you can see that I've cut the middle fish out & stuck over the other two, this give more of a 3D effect.

This card is fun! You just can't help playing with it, because the bubbles & glitter move around when you squish it... you just want to squish it more.

Perfect Peacock & Blendabilities

I had seen something on pinterest that made me want to try this, although blendabilties on dsp isn't ideal, I'm still glad I gave it a go. This card did get a mixed reaction from the people who seen it.
 Colours: Coastal Cabana, Daffodil, Delight Old Olive & Pumpkin Pie

Colours: Coastal Cabana, Daffodil, Delight Old Olive & Cherry Cobbler. + Dazzling Diamonds.

Colours: Coastal Cabana, Daffodil  Delight & Old Olive. + Gold Glitter

Colours: Coastal Cabana, Daffodil, Delight Old Olive, Night of Navy & Wisteria Wonder.  + Dazzling Diamonds.

I guess I was think along the lines of albino peacocks when I did this one, not to mention the vase full of beige coloured peacock feathers on the counter of a shop I had been in recently (which kept playing on my mind till I had got it on paper). I was going to water colour this image because I had stamped it onto Sahara Sand  card stock instead of Whisper White, but then I realized I had stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink, which of course will bleed with watercolouring (you can see my little experiment with the butterfly in the bottom right hand corner - the natural is Blendabilities & the blue is water colour).
Colours: Blush, Natural, Nude & Ivory. + White gel & Chalk Pens.

The red phoenix version. I was hoping for a bit of flame effect in the tail, I don't think I quite got there, but the gold glitter looks great in real life.
Colours: Coastal Cabana, Daffodil, Delight Old Olive & Cherry Cobbler. + Gold Glitter.