Crazy tulip

 It started with a crazy daisy card, and the story continues .... with a crazy tulip.

Making the background was really fun. I had bought embossed cards and one of the cards came out of the package with pretty severe damage. It was clearly visible on both sides. So I deciced to use this card for something entirely different ..... I colourized the card with my Inktense pencils, sprayed some water on it and put a white piece of mixed media paper on it, and pulled it off immediately. I had no idea what to expect, but it worked like a charm ... great background in 2 minutes. 

I used Memento and Versamagic for the background stamps. I then stamped the tulip and border, and masked the tulip before adding the other flower stamps. I did some masking inbetween as well. I colourized all the flowers and the border with Derwent coloursoft, this was so much fun to do! 

Now it was time for the finishing touch ... I added golden dots to the border. 

Stamps:
- PaperArtsy Eclectica EDY11 (used in the background)
- PaperArtsy Eclectica ELB23 (tulip, border, background)
- Katzelkraft KTZ192 - Les whimsey fleurs
- Katzelkraft KTZ195 - Les fleurs dingues

Challenges:
- Stamping Sensations - April challenge: AG & spring mood board
- We Love Stamping - APril challenge: Spring or AG
- Simon Says Stamp Blog - Wednesday challenge: Anything Goes

Thank you for watching!

An outstanding actress

What comes to mind if the theme of the challenge is 'feminine'? Audrey, swirls and vintage ....

I started with stamping and masking the Audrey stamp. I had set my mind on using the birdcage somewhere in the background. My first idea was to stamp it with black or blue ink, but I changed my mind. Too overwhelming. So I used versamark instead. I added the swirls  and colourized all the white parts with my Inktense pencils. 

My eyes fell on this Katzelkraft sentiment and I didn't need to think twice, it was a perfect match!

Stamps:
- Audrey: Stampinback B206
- swirl: Home Impressions - Grungy plate HI28
- birdcage: PaperArtsy - Hot Picks HP1004
- sentiment: Katzelkraft KTZ204 - Be Batman

Materials:
- PaintOn Lisse
- Versafine black
- Versamagic Sahara Sand and Ocean Depth
- Inktense pencils (baked earth, Dark Aquamarine)
- cardstock

Challenges:
- We Love Stamping - March Challenge - Feminine

Thank you for watching!

The spell

Every once in a while, I promise myself to make a quick and easy card. You know, like the ones you see in tutorials and youtube vids. Ready in 5 minutes. For some reason, I will always end up making the most time-consuming cards ever. Sounds familiair? 

I spend half of my weekend on this card. Idea after idea popped up, so what was meant to be a CAS card with a very stylish daffodil, turned into the not-CAS-at-all-card pictured in this post. 

I stamped the daffodils (so far so good), masked them and stamped my other daffodil stamp and masked them as well. I stamped the bird and masked it. I used a white pencil to add a border around the parts I had previously masked. I used Derwent coloursoft but other wax-based pencils of even crayons can be used as well. 

I stamped the blossoms with versamark and allowed them to air dry before colourizing the entire background with Inktense pencils. Adding the water was like magic, blossoms kept popping out! And now you can see why I added the white border .... there is a subtle highlight around the flowers and the bird. 

Last step was to colourize the flowers and bird and add the sentiment. 

Stamps:

- daffodils: Chocolat Baroque, spring bird - daffodil

- bird: Katzelkraft KTZ151 les piafs

- blossom: Stampinback sheet 142

- sentiment: PaperArtsy - Eclectica EDY11

Materials:

PaintOn (white), purple cardboard, Archival (black), Derwent coloursoft and Inktense, Versamark.

Challenges:

- Stamping Sensations - March Challenge - Spring

Thank you for watching!

Flowers to celebrate

I like to have some birthday cards in stock, just in case I (or someone else) need one and don't have enough time to make it. In the last quarter of the year, I have a lot of birthdays (and other activities) but very little time. So I end up making nothing else but Christmas cards. By the end of the year, my supply of cards is usually close to zero. This is my first birthday card of 2024, and there is a lot more coming!

I have recently bought some gorgeous stamps, now it was time to put them to good use. First, I stamped the little flower heads in the corner (PaperArtsy Jofy 63) and masked them. I then stamped and masked the swirl (Chocolate Baroque - Butterfly flourish swirls) several times with versamagic. I stamped the flowers (PaperArtsy) in the foreground and masked them. The next step is to stamp the bold flowers (PaperArtsy). and the sentiment (Stampin'Up, blooming with kindness) with black Versafine. I colourized the flowers with Derwent coloursoft pencils. I also splashed little drops of Inktense on the card to make it more playful.

Challenges:

- Beautiful Blossoms Challenge - Anything floral goes with optional mood board #13

- Beautiful Blossoms Challenge - Happy 1st Birthday Beautiful Blossoms Challenge, theme Birthday and/or Anniversary.

Thank you for watching!

It is a butterfly

 I love butterflies, and I love butterfly stamps! I use the smaller ones more frequently,, you can easily add a little butterfly to your card to make it more playful, or to fill an empty spot. Well, the possibilities are endless! Now it was time to use on of my 'biggies'!

This time I started with one of my brand new stamps, one of the flowers from PaperArtsy Jofy 63. I inked the stamp with one of my purples, inked another stamp with the other purple and putted this stamp on my new flower stamp. Yes indeed, the kissing technique. It makes it look like there are shadows on the flowers, don't you think so?

I stamped the butterfly (Stampinback SB077-833) and colourized it with Derwent coloursoft pencils. I made the background with Inktense pencils, I made the small dots by scratching the top of the pencils with my fingernail and letting the tiny pieces drop on the card. I used my mini-mister to spray some water over it.

Now it was time for the last step ... adding the sentiment. Another new stamp for me, it was also in the grabbag I mentioned in an earlier post. I stamped it with black Versafine and added highlights with a white gelly roll.

Challenges:
- We Love Stamping - January Challenge Something New

Thank you for watching!