Alcohol Ink Birthday..

Hey,

Last day of January already! This month has flown by.

I have enjoyed blogging this month, I have stuck to my 'no pressure' attitude of 2019 and it's made me relax and post a bit more!

Today's card is a fun one.

I LOVE alcohol inks and we did a fun class with Cheiron last year.

Lisette bought me a bunch of new colours for my birthday and so I had a play and created the fun background you can see.

I stamped over it using archival ink and added a happy birthday die-cut.

It felt a teeny bit flat against the black card blank, so I added some glitter paper and that made a huge difference.

I have loved the discovery of metallic alcohol ink mixatives, they add such nice touches and shimmers to these alcohol ink pieces.

Cx

Alcohol Ink Techniques..

Hey,

A few weeks ago I did a fun Alcohol inks class taught by Cheiron and it really helped me to understand how to use them a bit better.

I made this little set of backgrounds and I played with the alcohol ink lift technique too.

They came out so well! So bright and varied - but heavy on the pink, as I love how bright that always is with these inks.

I made the four fun cards that you see in the main photo. The one bottom left is what you get after you do the alcohol ink technique and then stamp it off. It finally worked for me!

My supplies clockwise from top left -
30th Card - The Ink Road stamps, MFT Banner die, Misc number dies (gift from Cheiron)
HB Card - Tim Holtz stamps, Stampin' Up die
Thanks Card - Lawn Fawn scripty thanks die
Alpaca Card - Taylored Expressions stamps and dies, Hero Arts swirls background.

Jennifer Mcguire has a few cool videos on these techniques if you are interested.

Cx

Be the Sunshine...

Hey!

Happy Friday.

Can't believe it is nearly July!!

This year is flying by.

Showing you a couple of cards I made recently using some newish goodies from Unity Stamp Co.

The main card today made me smile a lot! I sent it to a friend who, like me, loves a large glass of wine!! She saw the humour which is good.

I love this second stamp set, the image is gorgeous and I love the sentiment that comes with it.

I love the idea of being the sunshine..I have need to embrace that thought this week!

Have a great weekend, I am off to craft class tonight and then will be playing at my desk, gyming and sorting out my closet this weekend.

Cx

Creative Chick Classes..

Hey,

Happy Monday to you!

I had a great weekend. Lisette and I went on a mini roadtrip to Conneticut, to attend x2 Jenn Shurkus classes at the Papercraft Clubhouse.

We had a ton of fun, eating, shopping and creating.

It is always awesome to be taught by Jenn and play with the super cute Lawn Fawn stamps. Jenn always mixes up the sets and that helps me to remember to do the same with my stamp sets. I am getting better at it, but a reminder is always great!

It was my first time at the Papercraft Clubhouse. Tracie and her team are AWESOME and they had an off the hook clearance section, so there was a fair amount of spendy spendy..

Here are a few of the cards close-up.

If you haven't done a class with Jenn before, check out her blog to see if she is coming to your local store, even if Lawn Fawn cards aren't your style, it is SO worth it, for all the great things you will learn from Jenn.

Cx

Pinata Birthday..

Hey,

Happy Friday and welcome to March!

As I am heading to the Papercraft Clubhouse this weekend with Lisette to make Lawn Fawn cards (taught by Jenn Shurkus).

I thought it would be fitting to post a little Lawn Fawn card I made for my Nephew's birthday.

I love the Lawn Fawn Year Seven stamp set and thought I could make a fun card for Otis using it.

I die-cut an oval out of the centre of my white panel and then stamped all the fun pinata bits over the white panel and coloured them in. I used a mix of Promarkers and Spectrum Noir glitter pens.

I then stamped, coloured and cut the pinata and suspended it from my white panel using clear wire thread.

I mounted the whole panel onto a teal card blank and when you wiggle the card, the pinata moves, in my mind giving the illusion of the pinata bits falling out - no? Ok.

Anyway, have a great weekend, I know I am going to.

Cx

Katya - INKED..

Hey,

Happy Friday.

I've had a pretty awesome social week this week, work has been tiresome, but that happens right.

The fun continues tonight with the Craftgang at class with Cheiron.

I made today's card about a week ago, using my April INKED subscription stamp (Katya) - you get a stamp every month and I prefer this to Cardkits, as I really have no need for all the paper, ink etc. Great idea by my new fave company The Ink Road.

I love this stamp, the girl looks so chilled out.

The whole card was a pretty simple make, watercolour Katya, stencil some dots, stamp a large sentiment by Paper Smooches and add some clear droplets for fun... boom done!

Hubby leaves for London later, he will be going straight to MY parents..so I am a teeny bit jealous, but I have fun Memorial Day weekend plans, so I'll be too busy to be jealous LOL.

Cx

Craft Classes..

Hey,

Happy Friday.

So last Sunday I did two classes with Cheiron.

I love doing classes, sadly none of the craftgang were there, but I coped ;)

The first class was all about Distress Oxide Ink techniques and how to use them. Because they are so different from regular Distress Inks I haven't loved them.. but the class really helped me and now I am itching to own more colours LOL.

I love all of the cards and we used a variety of techniques and products: water stamping, smooshing, spatters, distress glaze resist, stenciling, watercolouring..

So much fun and I got to meet some fun new peeps.

The second class was a mixed media class and we made this amazing tag -

Don't be fooled by my photo these new tags from Tim Holtz are 8x14inches - ridiculous!!

This was so much fun to make, again tons of techniques and I love it, it's so far out of my comfort zone. It's going to be a gift for someone...

Have a great weekend, I will be mainly at my desk and packing up my winter clothing as Summer has officially arrived here in NYC.

Cx

Tiddly Inks..Octopus Anniversary...

Hey,

Happy Saturday.

I had great fun last night at class at The InkpadNYC taught by Cheiron, great to be back with the craftgang and out and about.

Today I wanted to play along with the current Tiddly Inks challenge - Love.

I coloured their awesome Octopi My Heart stamp using Zigs and an aquabrush (and it counts as Day 4 of the 30 days of colouring).

I thought it would make a superb anniversary card, so I fussy cut out the image and stamped my new fave freebie anniversary sentiment (gift from JT).

The background I made using distress inks and a recollections stencil. I think it looks a bit like sea.

I love this stamp, it is going to get overused, it is such a joy to colour and I'm pretty pleased with my card too.

It is purely accidental that I have posted two Octopus cards in a row...

Cx

Holiday Extravaganza...

Hey,

Happy Monday.

I had a great weekend and I am really not mentally ready for work this week, I want to continue my fab weekend LOL.

Saturday's class was awesome and as you can see from the collage today we made A LOT of cards - 22 to be precise. I love it when Cheiron teaches, she is so talented and I always learn something.

To see them in more detail, go to Instagram and search #theinkpadnycextravaganza

Fun times.

We used a lot of items that were new releases, so that was very cool and meant my wallet took a beating..

I especially liked all the new releases by Neat and Tangled and several of those fell into my basket..

Including the set used to make this card -

His arms die-cut so that he can hold things - AWESOME idea..

I also won this great Concord & 9th set, which I am very happy about as I had added it to my wish list, but was planning on sacrificing it's purchase on Saturday to buy my friend a gift instead :)

Here is the card we made in class using the set -

I really love that giant Joy stamp with the slightly smaller die-cuts, lots of possibilities here.

It was a great day, love hanging out with the craftgang and learning new things. I had to really try not to buy too many Christmas / Holiday related stamps, as my Christmas card making is officially complete LOL..

Cx

Weird Christmas..

Hey,

Hope you are having a fun weekend so far.

I had a hoot yesterday at class, it was so much fun, hanging with the girls. Lots of makes to be photographed and blogged about - later in the week.

Today I am showing you a card that I made using my favourite Unity Stamp Co. set.

It's called 'Carlee's Christmas' and I really only bought it because of the 'You're weird I like that' stamp!

I love the main image though and it makes a superb Christmas card for a special friend.

I coloured the image with Zig Clean Color brush pens and the die is by Spellbinders, I inked the edge to help it blend with the beautiful card blank (by American Crafts) a bit better.

The little bit of bling at the top is stunning in real life and was a birthday gift from a friend in New Zealand..love a long distance craft gift.

Cx

Concord & 9th Class...

Hey,

So FINALLY a week later, I have got round to writing this post about the class I went to at The InkpadNYC last Tuesday.

Taught by my friend and mentor Cheiron we used Concord & 9th stamps and dies..Which of course led to a whole new batch of purchases :)

The main card today sums up the little 'lady squad' that we have at the Inkpad..These ladies have been so awesome to me, encouraging me, inspiring me and supporting me on my craft and personal journeys..

We are having our first group playdate on October 15th, so look out for the no doubt hilarious post that will follow that day of boozing, eating, gossiping and crafting!

We made a whopping 6 cards in class!!! It was fierce...

Here are the other 5 in no particular order -

Aren't they gorgeous and despite us all making the same thing, no 2 cards were identical, which is cool.

I bought the You're My Person (has the gang stamp..) and Eat Cake and Celebrate sets..I really want the Wildflower set that we used on the 'Thank You' card.

Cx

WOYWW #366..Learning and Laughing...

Hey,

Happy WOYWW to you!!

It is that time of the week when we pop over to join our leader Julia at her blog Stamping Ground for the global desk nosy.

She is still recovering from her op, so Lunch Lady Jan is still hosting us and doing a marvelous job.

My desk is a teeny bit dull after the excitement of the last 2 weeks.. Just my computer, my sippy cup, glasses, die pokey tool and a little pile of paper, cards and dies at the front of my desk. This little pile is something I am working on for a swap with Scrapbook Lynne...a fellow desker..

On Sunday I went to a great class taught by the one and only Dina Wakely (swoon), she is my new crush, she is awesome, hilarious and a great teacher.

Class was fun, as I sat with Cheiron, Jamey and Lisette (an unexpected surprise). I love these ladies, they make me laugh (out loud and a lot!), make me a bit braver in class and are just all round fun..needless to say margaritas and Mexican food followed...

Below is a little collage of my pages from class (and a pic of Moi and Dina)...

Here are a couple of pics of my finished pages, so you can see them in their entirety. We cut windows, so you could see each spread and Dina taught us a whole load of techniques, some of which were new to me..Like rubbing off paint using a baby wipe through a stencil - and my mind was blown!!

Warm spread, using 3 warm paint colours (pinks, oranges, purples)

Cold spread, using 3 cold paint colours (blues, greens, greys)

I'm off to London on Friday for a week, so no WOYWW for me next week - I schedule my posts when I am in London, it's easier that way.

See you all later for a nosy.

Cx

Hearts around the globe...

Hey,

Hope you had a good weekend...

I had a fun filled action packed one!!

Friends from home were here in the City and then I had class with Cheiron and two of the InkPadNYC class family (Jamie and Ava) - taught by the astounding Dina Wakely..she makes me want to swoon!

More about that later in the week.

Today I have a little card that I made for the Unity Stamp Show'n'Tell group challenge over on Facebook. Its a fun group and it's nice to see what others do with the stamps I have.

This time it was an itty bitty challenge - so use an itty bitty stamp - I chose the fun Hearts around the globe..its pretty new and I am LOVING watercolouring it right now..

I kept it simple and used a Hero Arts sentiment, so it can be sent to a friend with a gift.

Cx

Class makes...

Hey,

Hope you had a good weekend.

I had a nice one, chilling with Hubby and attending class at The Inkpad NYC on Friday, taught by my good friend Cheiron.

I love her classes they are fun - there is a regular crowd of ladies and they are great to be around.

I love the cards we made in this class, the main photo was my fave card from the evening. Here are the rest.

So much fun to make, we used pastes, paints, inks, stencils, multi-matt medium, markers, stamps and a few paper based items.

It was great on my table, we were very collaborative and helpful, it was a nice fun way to spend Friday after a crazy week at work.

I also managed to empty my wallet in The Inkpad - but in my defense there were a lot of great things on sale as well as full price items, alongside class discount :)

Cheiron and I will be seeing each other again in two weeks when we do another road trip to Jenn Shurkus' Loft Art Retreat - cannot wait!

Cx

Cheiron's Ranger Christmas Class..

Hey,

So I am now in London hanging with my folks. So for the next week my posts will be scheduled.

Finally I am showing you my makes from the class I did with Denise at The Inkpadnyc. 

Cheiron was our teacher and as ever the cards we made were gorgeous and fun times were had by all - even my non-crafty Denise had a blast.

My cards aren't in order of make!

The main photo is my fave, partly because of my amazing bow (yep praising myself). The white void at the top is because I messed up the red stamping, but I liked it so left it as it is.

We heat embossed the die-cut Believe and in real life its really shiny and lovely.

The next card, took the longest, but is so beautiful I actually don't know if I can bear to give it to anyone...

It was technique crazy and really stretched us all. We had to fussy cut the Deer, so you can imagine how long that took. The trees are this awesome technique of stamping in white first, then in green, but dropping the stamp down slightly.
We were supposed to tear the white snow, but I wasn't feeling that..not precise enough :) Yes I got teased for that..so I cut mini snow hills instead!

The card above was the easiest one of all and believe it or not that gingham background was a stamp!!!

I love the simplicity of it and I have used the layout a lot in the last 2 weeks to make more Christmas cards.

Our final card is a beauty, again I might have to keep it, so I can gaze at its beauty..

The silver background Cheiron had already embossed for us, same with the blue background, but we spritzed it and dried it. All our colours were so different, I really like using mists, but I get so messy, I need to fashion a spray booth..

The snowflake we heat embossed and the greeny/blue bling, we created that colour using some alcohol ink..

It was such a fun night - as always, I love hanging with the girls (Anna, Cheiron, Lisette, Jamey, Ava, et al) at The Inkpad classes..finally some NYC craft buddies, how nice is that!

Happy weekend everyone.

Cx

Friends with techniques...

 Hey,

So I loved class at the Inkpad a few weeks ago, I really wanted to try out some of the techniques Cheiron taught us and I also felt that the Gelli plate needed an outing.

I also wanted to use my new Mama Elephant stamps and die (bought at the Inkpad), to make a few cards for some of my friends.

Here are the four cards that I made -

They were a lot of fun to make.

Card 1 - Technique used - ink onto a stencil (Stampin' Up), spritz with water, flip over onto your paper - EEK!! 

Card 2 - I used a gelli plate here - first time - love the result. Stencil is by 

Card 3 - Technique used - apply stain through a stencil (Hero Arts) and then spritz with water and dry.

Card 4 - Technique used - apply white distress paint through a stencil (Simon says stamp), using a dabber. When dry blend ink over the paint for a resist.

I used a lot of  things, as you can probably tell... Ranger distress inks, stains and paints. Bling by Simon says stamp and papermania. Card blanks by American Crafts. MFT stitched oval and rectangle dies.

So much fun to make and a really great first outing for my new Mama Elephant stamps and die.

Cx

Simon Says Stamp - August Card Kit...

Hey,

Following on from the fun class last Friday, I thought I'd try a couple of the techniques alongside my SSS Aug cardkit.

I am super pleased with the end result.

It was also very easy to make.

I started by die-cutting a piece of Ranger watercolour card, using a MFT stitched rectangle die.

I used clear embossing powder to heat emboss Summer onto my die-cut piece. This formed the anchor for all the other items.

I used the blending technique that Cheiron taught me on Friday and coloured the panel using 3 colours of distress ink - Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade and Peacock Feathers. It actually turned out well..I still need practice..

To finish off the card, I stamped Hello and used the sunshine die, both of which came in the cardkit. I also stamped a sun (see him peeking in) using a weird thank you stamp I have...

I wanted the inked panel to be the hero, so kept the backing paper simple, but with enough detail for the inked panel to pop.

I am looking forward to more playing with this fun kit.

Cx

Inky, painty tag making fun...

Hey,

Hope you are all well.

It's been such a busy week already.

Hubby and I spend the weekend just outside Philly to visit some good friends that have just moved there from the UK - it was a surprise for him, as he didn't know where we were going.

I also did another card class at The Inkpad on Friday - with Cheiron as our teacher, she is so awesome! It was also great to connect with a few people I had met before (Lisette you know I am talking about you!)

We managed to make a whopping ten tags!! Using all different Ranger items and techniques. We used stains, paints, inks, markers, sprays, stencils, stamps and pastes.

The main photo shows two of the ten tags - on the left it is a new technique for me, ink up the stencil, spritz with water and then flip it onto your tag - eek! It works and is stunning. The one on the right is a translucent paste resist which I have done before.

Here photos of the rest of my tags..

These tags, all used Distress Paint Marbling - I've done this before and its fun, put the colours onto your craft sheet, spritz and then smoosh your tag through the colours..awesome and easy and look at the varied results.

These were fun and new to me - aging a piece of metallic card stock, clever. The green tag was made using sprays, blending them and using different colours to create an aged look.

These 3 are so colourful. The first one uses texture paste thru a stencil with spray inks over the top - cool and easy. The second tag, used a spray ink for the background and then stains for the edges and the stamping..stamping with stains BLEW MY MIND. The third one uses white distress paint thru a stencil, which when dry, resists the ink, see the letters showing thru?! Amazing.. This is also where Cheiron taught me how to actually blend...so easy, but I need practice.

Final tags!! I love the second one way more than the first one, but that is because I didn't listen... The second one uses rub-ons and then the smooshing technique to add colour. The lady is stamped on after. LOVE this, need more rub-ons now, normally I dislike them.

Fun times. I love doing classes at the Inkpad. If you are based in NYC you have to do a class there. You should also check out Cheiron's blog, she is so super talented.

Cx