Woodblock Wednesday November 2024.

 Time to pull out those woodblock stamps and play along with Amy Tsuruta with her Woodblock Wednesday challenge.  

I chose to use a Penny Black stamp - Brush Rose.  I used Zig Markers to colour the stamp and spritzed with water and stamped.   I used the scripty stamp with some gray ink to randomly add stamping.  Added some gold splatters and some gems.   I die cut a red sentiment (a Paper Rose Happy Birthday Chunky die) backed with some vellum.  

Had a lot of fun making this one.   Got a busy weekend ahead... babysitting on Saturday morning, doing some Christmas shopping in the afternoon, getting the house tidied for my family who arrive next weekend.  Presents to wrap, ironing to be done, names to stitch onto stockings.... never ending!

                  

Woodblock Wednesday.

 Time for Amy's monthly challenge - Woodblock Wednesday.

I had got a few stamps out that needed some love - a few Christmas ones and a couple of others.

I used a scripty stamp from a New Zealand based company - Rubadubadoo and a flower stamp from Penny Black.  I stamped the scripty stamp with Memento Toffee Crunch and did 1st and 2nd generation stamping with the flower.   I cut it with a Gina K Master Layout die and used the Toffee Crunch ink to blend around the edges before stamping the little sentiment from a House Mouse set.  I matted the panel onto a mustard coloured layer before adding to a square base.  

Now to make some more cards using those woodblock stamps I got out.

Stretch your stamps 2... Homework

Note  - long post....

I'm taking part in the Online Card Class - Stretch your stamps 2.  Heaps and heaps of ideas and inspiration.. but not a lot of time to do homework.  The other night I spend the whole evening making different backgrounds... Days 1 and  2 were using background and reverse background stamps and trying different techniques.

I white embossed a Hero Arts background and then used water colour paints to do a wash.  I then took some chipboard letters and coloured with black copics and then covered with Glossy Accents and finished with a little sentiment from Winnie & Walter.

Using the left over bits from the background I made a second card.

I then took a Rubbadubbado reverse stamp and some distress inks to make a background that I cut up into one inch squares. 

This is a 4"x4" square card.  The sentiment is from one of the newer Winnie & Walter sets. 

Day 3 and 4 was all about sentiments and alpha stamps.  I've only managed one card from these two days...

Can't say this was one of my favourite cards... my letters ended up all wonky and then when I finished the pinky letters didn't stand out, hence the highlighting with the black pen.  And then I went a bit overboard on the sequins... oh well can't win them all!

Day 5 and  6 used Line Art stamps to try different ideas.  I have to say this card is a favourite - 

Using an all time favourite Hero Arts Poppy stamp, I used Laura Bassen's idea of "cropping" your stamps.    I coloured the stamp with Distress Markers and Marvy Markers.  I then overstamped the Kaisercraft sentiment and embossed it.  Took a little stripe of PP and added it down the side. 

Thanks for sticking with me to the end.  I'm enjoying this class and can't wait for next week's class.  

Inspiration at its best....

Last week I was struggling with getting a card made.... simply no mojo so for my trip to stamp group on Saturday, I decided I need to have some inspiration.  So I popped into the Flickr groups I belong to, and some of the blogs I visit regularly to supply me with some.... and boy did I find plenty......
so first off I was inspired by the very talented Dustypenny ( aka Joy Ott). This card she made (here) inspired me to make this:

I started by sponging the one side of my base card with Old Olive distress ink and over stamped with a grid stamp by Rubadubado and then all over with Hero Arts Envelope stamp ( fast becoming a MUST USE stamp) For my focal panel I use a piece of water coloured paper I had made. I started by stamping it with a script stamp ( again by Rubadubado) in tea dye distress and then used Forest Moss to stamp the Hero Arts Leaf Cluster.   I used Joy's idea of lace and a flower along the bottom of the panel.  I used a punch to make my own flower in a matching colour and added the lace leaves 

For my next inspiration,  I used this card (here) from the Penny Black blog. It was made by Denise Marzec .  She used some of the new PB papers called Field of Irises.   Here is my take on the card

I made my pp by distressing some white card with Dusty Concord  and Shabby Shutters distress ink.  I then used some inspiration from Jill Foster.... flicked water drops onto it.  Jill is the Mistress of this technique.  I then stamped Hero Arts Dandelion Frame in the Dusty Concord.   I stamped three Hero Arts butterflies ~ two onto the distress card and one on white card.  I fussy cut them and layered onto the card.  I finished with a sentiment by Hero Arts and some gems.  

I love that there are so many many talented and wonderful crafters out there who provide us all with inspiration and I thank them all....... what a great way to get the creative juices running again.  I feel it is very important to acknowledge someone when you have used their card for inspiration.  It only takes a moment to say thanks for the idea, inspiration, concept etc.  I know I am happy that someone thinks my work is good enough to copy, inspire, challenge or whatever but sometime it can be disheartening if you see some has taken your idea and used it without acknowledging where they got it.....


Hope the rest of the week is good for you all... it's almost the weekend.  We have such a busy one... a 21st birthday party on Saturday evening and a family dinner on Sunday evening. 

A happy end to a sad week.

Yesterday was our grand-nephew's first birthday - a happy family event after a sad week in which his parents had to attend two funerals... one for his Mum's aunt and one his Dad's grand-dad. So it was a great day when both sides of Nathan's family celebrated for a good reason. The two cards here are what I made for him from his big cousins Emma & Kieran. Both were quick cards because as usual, my two asked at the last minute for me to make them cards.

Nicola ( Nathan's Mum) made this wonderful cake for his party. All the cakes were banana cakes. I think she did a wonderful job. Emma, of course, took some cup cakes down to Hamilton as well. They were cookies and cream flavoured and very yummy. All in all it was a wonderful occasion and Nathan was a good little boy and behaved himself. He is adorable.

Well thanks for looking. I've got a couple more posts to do later.

That Darn Cat...

For the second time in as many weeks this little ratbag bought in vermin... yes Snoopy bought in another mouse early yesterday morning. About 6.20am I heard him racing up and down the hall but couldn't be bothered getting up as it was too early. Heard the son get up about 6.30 and unusually go into the kitchen, got a rubbish bag and went out again, poking his head round our door shortly there after - to ask how he got blood off the carpet.... and to say he's disposed of the half eaten mouse.....ugh!!!! Better him than me though.

Snoopy actually belong to our daughter, but lives with us. She got him 3 years ago for her 20th birthday from her then boyfriend.... (partner now not so keen on cats) He is really a cat with character. He is rather large cat, who as well as being a hunter/gatherer is also a bit of a kleptomaniac..... yes that's right, he is a "cat burgler".... a bit choosy as he has only decided to take stuff from one household. On a regular basis he arrives home with swim togs, rash shirts, caps, dolls and toys etc, all from the neighbour across the driveway from us. So once a week I will take an assortment of bits and peice back to Natalie - and she knows if the kids togs are missing, they'll be at our house. (PS Have tried to show him pics of jewellery but no avail, he's only keen on the other stuff. ) I think Emma named it well as he really is a snoopy cat. As a kitten he was into everything. Love climbing into boxes, cupboards, anywhere he shouldn't have been. She had thought about calling him Nosey but decided on Snoopy. Hubby calls him "the dog" as Snoops follows him around all day on a Saturday when he's outside doing his gardening etc.

Photo of him isn't the best, but today we had a lot of sun and he would'nt sit still for me. Thank goodness for the nice weather as I had all that washing to catch up on. Got 4 loads done, but the downside to all that washing is now I have a whole heap of ironing to do and I've only just caught up on the last lot. I HATE ironing, so do my crafts stuff instead and then end up with about 2 weeks worth to do at one time.

Today is Good Friday so have had a peaceful day. My son and his girlfriend have headed off for the weekend so Peter and I are "Darby & Joan" for a few days. I managed to get the housework done, while he surfed the net looking for accomodation for us when we go for our trip to Australia later in the year. We are going to Cairns in Sept as he has an "old Farts" rugby tournament and then we will spend some time up there. As the weather was so lovely I decided to go for a walk. One hour later I got back after going over the cliff path to the next bay and then walking up and down the hills back. Felt really good so didn't feel guilty about doing a card before cooking dinner. Yesterday I had been to Spotlight and got some felt which I cut with my Cuttlebug into flowers. I have never done this before so was pleasently suprised how well it went. I stamped then with a HA stamp - Old French writing. I used a real mixture of stamps on this one. The flourish is by Inkadinkadoo and the grid by Rubadubadoo ( a NZ based stamp maker)
I used a nestibilty to make the oval scallop and white embossed the sentiment from HA CL129 Anytime Messages. I liked how the felts went so will be making a few more of these to have as ebellishments. As I used the sketch from CPS I have linked it to their site for the challenge. I love this sketch and think I'll be using it again and again.

Well I have one more card to finish off before tomorrow. One that has been commissioned by my gym instructor for her friend's 50th.
Hope you all have a lovely Easter and may God Bless us all at this time of hope and joy.
Thanks for stopping by and reading this rather long post... take care