Owl Post

Good evening, peeps and here I am, back again with another sample using stamps from the lovely Sheena Douglass and they're from her latest collection 'A Little Bit Magic'.

There are absolutely no prizes for guessing where the inspiration for this one came from!

Do you think this could actually be Hedwig flying in with some post for Harry Potter?  Sadly, I think I got too much light reflecting off the Luminarte H2Os because it really does look better 'in the flesh' but to see it (more or less) like that, you'll need to tune in to Create and Craft on Thursday (only two more sleeps away!) at 9.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. (yay! they finally published the times!!).  You really won't want to miss this collection because it's truly fabulous with so many wonderful images - I shall certainly be watching and recording and I hope you will too - see you there!

Hugs

The fairies are out!

Good evening, peeps!  I'm just popping in with the promised sneaky peek of some more of the images from wor Sheena's new 'A Little Bit Magic' collection.  I've brought in one of the fairies from the Hidden Fairies stamp plate because it just seemed to fit so well.

This one is watercolours and H2Os - the H2Os are perfect for the moon and where the moonlight catches the toadstools etc. but it's very hard to see that from the picture.

The shows featuring these stamps are on Thursday but C&C are still keeping quiet about what times they're on but I'll keep you posted as soon as I know when they are.

Thanks again for looking today and I'll be back again tomorrow with something completely different.

Edit

It has been suggested that I add step-by-step instructions so that you can make this card if you wish, so here goes!

1. Cut a piece of Centura Pearl Card 6" (15 cm) square - you will be working on the matte side of this card, not the shimmery side.
2. Decide on the size and positioning of the moon, mine just happens to be the same size as a pot of Body Shop Body Butter!   Draw around the chosen utensil very faintly in pencil then do the same on a Post-it note to make a mask, making sure that your pencilled circle extends into the sticky area of the Post-it, cut out the mask carefully and place it over the drawn circle on the card.
3. Stamp the toadstools and the leaves in position with Stazon Dove Grey.  You will need to make about 4 masks of the leaf on the sticky area of Post-it notes - I used only the smallest of the two leaves on the plate.
4. Mix a suitable night time sky colour from your watercolour palette (I think I used Ultramarine and Black) ensuring that you have enough to cover the entire area of sky since it's almost impossible to mix the same colour twice if you run out of paint part way through!
5. Working around the mask over the moon and the toadstools, wash over the sky area with clean water only on your brush (I seem to recall that this is called 'applying a glaze' in arty circles!).  Aim for the sky to extend about two thirds of the way down the piece of card.  Straight away apply the wash of blue whilst the card is still wet (another glaze!) trying to keep the colour as even as possible.
6. Mix a slightly watery green (remember that moonlight makes colours look washed out) and use the same water first and colour second routine, as above, to create an area of ground in the lower third of the card, avoiding using this colour on the toadstools and leaves.
7. When the first layer of colour has dried slightly, mix a purplish grey from your watercolours and create some distant, misty hills on the horizon.  Now let the card dry completely, which won't take long.
8. Whilst the paint is drying, (you won't want to watch that because it's not very exciting!) you can spray the H2Os with water to prime them.  I used Buttercup, which I think comes from the Springtime set, a pale coral colour and Iridescent Gold in this picture.  If you don't have a pale coral pot, you can always mix some red with the Buttercup, H2Os mix together easily just like the watercolours.
9. Remove the mask from the moon and paint the area with the Buttercup H2O and shade it around the lower part with the coral.  Once this is dry, you can create a few clouds with a slightly stronger mix of the dark blue watercolour that you used for the sky.  Use your brush in a circular motion to do this, fading out the paint at the edges and drawing out the sides to a point.
10. Paint in the toadstools and leaves.  Add some of the Iridescent Gold to both of these, just try to imagine where the moonlight would touch them.  I found it easier to use a cocktail stick to create the white spots on the toadstools because it was easier to control than a brush.  When this paint is dry, stamp in the vines in Forest Moss Distress Ink.
11. The fairy (link to the set above) was stamped in with permanent black ink but it's not completely opaque over the H2O moon - solution? paint over the body and hair of the image with black paint but I didn't paint over the wings so that they still had a shimmery quality.
12. Finally, I stamped the fairy dust from the Hidden Fairies stamp set with thick Pewter H2O paint and I distressed around the edge of the picture with Chipped Sapphire DI.
13. The card is completed with matting and layering with white and navy blue card and finished with Cheery Lyn dies and some organza ribbon.

I do hope you have a go at this one, it's a great card for girls of any age.

Hugs

Sneaking another peek

Good evening again, peeps and it's that time of day again - the time when I get a moment to sit down in front of the lappy and show you some more of the lovely designs from wor Sheena and it's the wonderful and new 'A Little Bit Magic' collection again.

The central image here is from the Enchanted Doorway plate and the thrush is from the Honesty plate.  I did step back in time a little and use the hawthorn branch from the Seasons Branches Set because it just seemed to fit so perfectly with the thrush on his hawthorn branch.

Just simple watercolours for this card onto Crafter's Companion Watercolour card, which is great to use.

I'll see you again tomorrow, peeps and thanks for looking today.

Hugs

A little more honesty

Good afternoon, peeps!  Actually, it's good crafternoon as Dean always says on C & C because that's what I'm doing today - pretty much like most days, come to think of it!

Anyhoo, here's one I made earlier - last week in fact:

This one features Honesty of a different kind, the flowers that were in the background of yesterday's card rather than Honesty, the lady being the main feature.  The background of the central diamond is created with H2Os painted over streaks of emulsion paint.  As you can see, when it's dry the emulsion paint acts as a resist and I really like the effect it produces.  After stamping the Honesty flowers with Dove Grey Stazon, I painted them, not in their entirety but leaving a little of the background showing through, with Pebeo white, heavy body acrylic paint.  The corners of the diamond are stamped with one of the stamps from wor Sheena's Ageing Beautifully Stamp Set and embossed with gold detail EP.  The addition of two Spellbinder squares cut in half from some gold card, a chocolate boxy bow and we're good to go.

I do hope you'll be tuned in to Create and Craft TV on Thursday 22nd to see the lovely Sheena demonstrating these wonderful new 'A Little Bit Magical' stamps.  I'll let you know the times as soon as I know them.

Thank you for looking at today's sneaky peek and I'll let you see another of the designs tomorrow.

Hugs

A Little Bit Magical

Good evening, peeps and what a lovely evening it is here in Yorkshire - I do hope you're enjoying a spot of the same.

So, what's magical you ask?  Well, it's wor Sheena's latest set of stamps and they truly are, I have to tell you!  They really do inspire and you can see them all on Sheena's shows on Create and Craft TV on Thursday 22 August - I don't know what the times are but I promise to keep you posted on that.  In the meantime, here is one of the cards I've made so far ready for the show:

This lovely lady is called Honesty and there is a lovely stamp of the flowers once they've gone to seed (we used to call them 'Moon Pennies' - do you remember that?).  Hopefully you can see an echo of the outline of this stamp over the Luminarte H20 background.  The rose corners all also on the same A5 sheet and, this time, I've stamped them onto heat resistant acetate with detail gold EP and painted the roses and leaves from the back with Luminarte Primary Elements.  The rose corners with their thorns made me think of the fairytale of Sleeping Beauty where the thorns grew up around the castle to protect her and that was the inspiration for this card.  Yes, I know it's sad and I should get out more but that's what it's like in Diane's World - I'm sure you understand really! Lol!!.

Anyhoo, I hopes you like it and I'll see you again tomorrow with another sneaky peek and thanks for looking at this one.

Hugs

The sun'll come out tomorrow!!

So sang Annie in that well known musical and isn't it wonderful to be able to say that with confidence?  YAY!! Summer is truly here and I'm looking forward to tomorrow not just to see the sun but also because wor Sheena is on the telly!

Yes peeps, she'll be here with lots of inspiring demonstrations and you'll be able to see all the wonderful samples that the new Inkoids have been creating as well as us older hands, of course!  The shows are on at 1.00 p.m. and 7.00 p.m.  on Create and Craft TV.  I know that's slightly different from my last post but I've taken the times from the latest schedule posted on the C & C website.

Here is another sample I made using the Fantasy Fusion paints I'm now addicted to and this time applying them to a really cheap glass vase, again from that well known Swedish department store:

I painted the roses with colours from the Neutrals set of paints but dipped into the Cool set for the green leaves.  The photograph doesn't really do it justice (but then my photos never do!), it's so much better IRL.

Thank you for looking today and I do hope you enjoy the shows tomorrow, I know I will!

Hugs

It's a Fantasy

Good evening, peeps!

Wot's with the title of this post then?  Is it this weather?  the stuff we've all been fantasising about through the long, cold Winter.  No, it's the paints I've been using for the latest projects for wor Sheena's TV programmes next Tuesday 16 July at 1.00 p.m. and 7.00 p.m. if the times aren't rescheduled.  The paints are by Pebeo and they're called Fantasy Prisme and Moon and I can tell you that I'm really in luurrve with these paints!  I just want to go on using them.  Here is one of the projects:

All you need is one of those cheap square mirrors from that well known Swedish Department store and a set of these paints to totally transform it.  I can tell you that the paints do all the work, all you have to do is drop them into the lines that you've traced over the stamp image - it couldn't be easier.  I've no doubt that wor Sheena will be demonstrating exactly how it works on Tuesday so don't forget to set the record button if you're outside enjoying the sunshine and I'll see you there!

Thank you for looking and I'll be back soon with another sneaky peek!

Hugs

 16 July at