WOODWARE - Masking

Well I am first up this week for the Woodware challenge. Between the lovely weather and the Commonwealth games it has been a challenge this past week to get into the craft room!! But hey ... who's complaining!! The Scotland team are doing fantastically well so far.
When I first started rubber stamping, masking was one of those techniques where I thought "Wow ... that's amazing". So that inspired me to go back to basics for this week's project.
For this children's card I used an old stamp designed by our own Francoise - Patch Elephant. And for the background I used another set of Woodware stamps also designed by Francoise "Retro Jungle".

I stamped the elephant onto a piece of white card stock and also onto a post-it note. I embossed the main elephant with clear embossing powder. After cutting out the post-it elephant I laid that on top of the main elephant and stamped all the jungle elements on top. When you remove the post-it the jungle looks like it's behind!! 

Then I used the bigger leaf from the jungle set to make a background and also for the birthday sentiment. And a few green nail heads to finish off.
My colleague has a little boy soon to be five so I think this will be perfect for him.
I think this could be an interesting week on the Woodware challenge blog to see everyone's ideas on masking. 
Have a good week.
Siobhan x

WOODWARE - Mixed Media - Summer or Body Beautiful

This week's challenge at Woodware is an interesting one ....mixed media. This an area I would love to do more on. There are some amazing mixed media artist out there and I always feel my efforts are so mediocre that I rarely show anything I have tried. But as I had t o come up with something this week I have used paints, inks, stamps and stencils to make a canvas panel.

I started by covering the my narrow canvas with acrylic paints. I used some soft blues and greens and put a few spots onto a paper plate and spritzed with water. Then I applied them with my fingers remembering to cover the edges as well. Then I used a piece of burlap and a text stamp to create a bit of texture.

As the theme I chose was summer I pulled out a selection of oriental stencils (all Dreamweaver). I used parts of them with ink pads to create my little Japanese garden scene.

Oriental Summer Garden 

The sentiment is from Stampendous. I also stamped the sides of the canvas with a scroll stamp.

The edges are finished off with gold. For this I mixed some gold Pearl-ex powder with a little water to make a paste. I applied this with my finger along all the edges. It helps frame the piece and gives a lovely shimmer.

I also made up a spray with interference gold Pearl-ex and sprayed the whole panel lightly. Sadly you don't see the lovely soft shimmer in the photographs.

The die cut dragonfly also had interference Pearl-ex applied to the wings.

This photo is just to show the stamping done on the sides of the canvas panel.

So that's my attempt at a mixed media piece. I am so looking forward to seeing what the other girls come up with this week. Visit the Woodware blog to see them all.

I hope you are all enjoying the fine weather this week. It's too nice to be at work!!

Siobhan x

Woodware - Sketch Challenge 36

Time for this month's sketch challenge at Woodware. This is the sketch we were given to work with :

So a nice simple sketch this week. I have stuck very much to the sketch. I used a beautiful long stemmed rose stencil from Dreamweaver (LL375). In fact it was one of the first Dreamweaver stencils I bought way back in 2002. 
I stencil embossed the rose onto some canvas paper to give some texture. Then I added colour with sponges and ink pads.

I don't think you can see the canvas texture on the photo very well, but it does make it stand out a bit more than being on a flat, smooth card.

I added some simple layering and sentiments to finish. My husband does not like fussy cards, so I think I will keep this for our next anniversary. He will probably wonder what on earth is going on ... as we don't normally give each other anniversary cards!

Remember to visit our challenge blog for lots of great ideas from the other girls.
Siobhan x

WOODWARE - Poppies ...... as we remember

Our July Retailer is Linda who runs LLinda’s Craft Shop in Laneham, North Nottinghamshire. LLinda’s is a shop full of inspiration and with regular paper crafting workshops. Linda is one of the talented bunch that qualified as Certified Dreamweaver Teachers earlier in the year. Llinda’s Blog will give you a glimpse of the goings on in the shop. You can find workshop details, directions and much much more on LLinda’s Website. As this is an important year of remembrance the theme that Linda has chosen is

The Poppy….as we remember 

Woodware like to involve their retailers in our challenge blog. And as a previous shop owner I remember how important it is to support your local retail craft shop. Buying on- line is all very well but nothing replaces the pleasure of being part of the crafting community that naturally forms as part of a good craft shop. Linda has chosen a theme that is obviously close to her heart. And here is my take on her poppy challenge.

I have used my two most favourite techniques for this card. First a background of blended dye inks then distressed with a few flicks of water. The poppies come from a clear set from Artemio which I think is called "Meadow Flowers". I used brush markers to colour directly onto the stamp and then spritzed with water to mix the colours. I used a mask of torn paper to sponge black ink along the base of the card to look like the ground.

The words come from a Woodware set that Jane designed with grasses on it. I thought the words were just perfect to finish off the card. 

I don't know about you but I watched a lot of the programs over the D Day celebrations earlier this summer and was just in awe at some of the stories I heard and just how many young men lost their lives. It really does make you think and appreciate what we have now.

Remember to take a look at all the other gorgeous poppy creations on the Woodware blog.

Siobhan x

WOODWARE - Card in a Box

I must admit I was filled with dismay at this week's challenge from Woodware. I am not known for making dimensional cards. So I had to go on to "Splitcoast Stampers" to see if I could find a tutorial on how to make these cards that fold flat but then pop up to make a box filled with flowers!! My friend Linda had shown me one she made a while back and so I knew what was expected. I used Dina Kowal's excellent tutorial (click on the Splitcoast Stamper's link above and it will take you straight there.
Well I have kept mine quite simple and have chosen a wedding theme as most of the other girls on our DT had chosen flowers for their boxes. And I actually enjoyed making it!!

The main image is one of my favourite Stampendous stamps "Happy Couple". I have added a bit of colour to the stamped image and of course some crystal glitter for her dress.

The sentiment is another Stampendous stamp which was released as a Christmas stamp. But I thought it worked as a wedding sentiment too. The bit you can't see says "and friends that care".

And yes!! It does fold flat and will fit in to a C5 envelope. 

Now that I have made one I might make it again for different occasions. 
Thank goodness it's Friday. Hope you all have a good weekend! Shame we won't be watching Andy Murray in the men's final at Wimbledon. 
Siobhan x