My Craft Room

I've just noticed that there's a new series of Through The Keyhole on ITV tonight. I used to love that programme, I wonder what the new version will be like?

Why is she talking about TV? I hear you ask. Well, I've just updated my Craft Room page after my recent tidy-up. If you fancy a look through my crafty keyhole you can either click here or on the tab at the top of the page.

Here's a sneaky peek.

Wasn't this morning's show with Barbara and Leonie good? They both looked liked they were really enjoying themselves. 

If you read my post when I blogged this card you'll know why it made me laugh when Leonie forgot to remove her Post-it. 

If you didn't, here's a quote from it "I wanted it to look like the puzzle isn't completed so I had to mask off one of the sides. You can just wipe away the ink, but I always seem to miss a bit so I use a mask. I cover up the bit I don't want inked with a Post-it and remove it before I stamp - that last bit is very important !  Guess who's forgotten to do that on more than one occasion?  lol".

If you missed it before, the full post can be found here.

I'd better get my posts for tomorrow finished. It's the start of a new challenge on the Clarity Stamp Challenge blog and I will also be sharing my samples from this weekend's Clarity shows.

Lynne

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Sew Safe ATC

Just a quickie today. The theme for this ATC was "Arts and Crafts" so I thought I'd have some fun with one of the Bunny stamps.

Much to my delight, the bunny's paw was the right height to grab hold of the needle. I was sat in my craft room planning a design around this when in comes Hubby. He picked up the thimble and stuck it on her head saying that it was her "sewing safety helmet". Apparently she grabs the needle with both paws and headbutts it through the material. I thought it was really funny and just had to use it. We are as bonkers as each other!

I hope it makes you smile too.

Stamps Used

Bunny 5

Remountable Haberdashery Set

Camelia

Lynne

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House Mouse Gelli Print Card

I've been very busy and my craft room re-organisation is thankfully now complete. Everything is neatly stored away and I have some more workspace, so it should make things a lot easier. I even did some DIY (I have a huge blister on my finger to prove it!). I must get some photos taken and update my craft room page before it gets messy again!

Here's something a bit different today - House Mouse. Since I became a Claritystamp fan, and then Design Team member, my poor other stamps have been somewhat neglected. I am still a huge House Mouse fan though.

The idea for this came from one of my Claritystamp samples - I was looking at my Faith, Hope and Clarity card and thought that the Double Bubble Gelli print looked a bit like holey cheese!  Cheese - Mice - House Mouse - Perfect! 

I started off with a base layer print of Buff Titanium acrylic paint. I then added various shades of yellow and orange to create the second Double Bubble layer. Hopefully the end result is cheese-like.

I then set about finding which of my stamps would fit in the various apertures. This was a bit of a task as most of my stamps were larger than the holes. I managed to find something to fit them all though.

Then I needed a centre piece. I thought that the Gouda birthday cake stamp would be perfect. Unfortunately it's not one that I own but I know a woman who does - my Mum and she very kindly posted it to me. Thanks Mum.  x

I coloured it in with ProMarkers to match the Gelli print and cut around it as close as I could (I didn't want to cover up too much of the background). I then stuck it to some brown card and cut around that to leave an even border. I stuck it on with some Pinflair glue gel to give it some dimension.

It's not too long until the weekend and it's going to be a busy one. In the Classroom with Barbara Gray is on Saturday on Create and Craft TV, then there's two Claritystamp shows on Sunday. Sunday also sees the launch of a new challenge on the Clarity Stamps Challenge Blog. If you haven't yet entered this month's you have until 8pm on Saturday 31st Aug to get your entry in and be in with a chance of winning a £50 Claritystamp voucher.

I guess I'd better get writing some more posts..........

Lynne

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Frosty in his Winter Wonderland

Morning, I've got a busy day ahead. First job is go to the Post Office with my samples for the weekend's shows, then I'm going to have a nice walk with Maya, before coming back to tackle my craft room. I usually have a tidy up when my samples are finished but this time I'm going the whole hog - total re-organisation. I made a start over the weekend and it's now at the point of no return. I have to do it today as I'm off to York tomorrow and I need to know how many new storage boxes I need. That should keep me motivated!!!

This is the last of the cards that I made for Maria's Clarity Take 2 show. It's very similar to these Christmas cards that I made last year but I thought it would work well with the Frosty stamp.

The base card is embossed with a Spellbinders Winter Wonders M-Bossibilities folder. I then inked the trees with Memento Cottage Ivy and the snowflakes with a pale blue. When that was dry I went over the inked areas with a Versamark pad. I added some Wow! Clear Sparkle powder to that and heat embossed it. This gives it a lovely sparkly finish.

I did a similar thing with the stamped trees - I stamped them first in Cottage Ivy and then stamped over that with Versamark before adding the Wow! powder. 

The blue on the snowflakes and the sky is darker in real life - it doesn't really show up in the photo.

The verse is stamped on vellum so you can still see the trees through it. I ripped it, following the line of the stamp, and wrapped it around the card.

Simple and quick but I love that folder and Frosty looks quite at home in his Winter Wonderland.

Stamps Used

Large Frosty 

We Wish You

Trees from the Remountable Christmas Tree Set

I hope you all have a lovely week.

Lynne

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Through The Warehouse Windows

I hope you're having a lovely Bank Holiday weekend. Hubby is away diving today so I'm going to spend the day in my craft room. I have two more cards to make for next weekend's Clarity shows, then my samples are all finished. I can't wait to share them with you - as always there are some fab new stamps.

Anyway, back to the cards I can share. This one was actually made as a German sample, but as I didn't put any words on it, it also made an appearance on Maria's Clarity Take 2 show.

My favourite thing to do with the Window stamp is to decorate the front of the card like a living room. I did that on my Christmas Living Room card that Maria based her demo on and my Clarity Window Cards (the Summer one of these was also on this month's show). However this time I challenged myself to think of something different.

I liked the idea of two windows, side by side, with a scene following through but then I thought why not do them on top of each other? I thought this would work particularly well with the Christmas stamps.

Then came the problem of decorating the front which gave me the brick wall idea - I'd recently bought the Clarity brick stencil for my Gelli plate and though that would be perfect.

I started off by creating the Gelli print, masking off two blank areas the size of the windows so that they would be paint free. I blended various colours on the Gelli plate to give a nice aged brick effect.

Then I set about creating the scenes.

Father Christmas and his reindeer for the top......

.......... and a snowman and robin for the bottom.

I was really pleased with this when I'd finished it, I excitedly took it to show Hubby and his first words were "Why is it snowing in your house?". Dad also said something similar when I emailed him the photo. Men!

This is why it's now called "Through The Warehouse Windows". I love it though and as I've said before "It's art, I can do what I like". 

Stamps Used

Window

Stamps used in the scene from the Remountable Christmas Set

Stencil Used

Brick Wall

Lynne

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Snowman Couple Christmas Card

Most of the time I don't even notice the adverts on TV but last Christmas I totally fell in love with the John Lewis one. It's just adorable (for any readers who are not in the UK, or who just didn't see it, it can be watched here on YouTube) and I never get fed up of watching it.

So when I got the Clarity Snowman stamp I just had to create my own snowy couple. This is another thing that the Splodge Mat has made easier. You stamp straight onto the mat and then put the card on that to pick up the ink. This leaves you with the opposite version of the stamp and you can then position the normal one next to it. I use second generation ink for this so that they end up a similar colour.

To create the frame around the edge I masked off the central panel with Post-its and brayered down from the top. This gives me a nice graduated colour. To co-ordinate with that I stamped the snowflake in 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation ink as I went down the page.

I wonder if he will be buying her a new scarf this Christmas?

Stamps Used

Large Frosty The Snowman

We Wish You

Tree from the Remountable Silhouette Christmas Tree Set

Snowflake from Lesson 14 Winter Wonderland Set

Lynne

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Christmas Living Room Card

Oops, I thought I'd finished all my cat cards but I just realised that one snuck on this too. Sorry Maya.

Wasn't Maria's show fab!  I really enjoyed her demos and I especially loved the peeping snowmen. So cute!

I was so pleased that she liked my samples and was really touched when she asked if she could use this card as the basis for one of her demos. I love what she did with it.

Normally I spend quite a while planning my cards on copier paper, so when I come to making the real thing I know exactly what I'm doing. This was made in a bit of a hurry though so I just went straight into it. Scary!

I started by stamping the window and the Christmas tree into place. I then masked off the whole of the window and set about a spot of decorating. Normally I would mask off the tree too but as I was in a rush I thought I'd just ink over it and cut another out and stick on top later. I went over the card using an Ink Duster and Adirondack Cranberry ink to take away the white and then used my new mini Camelia stamp (3rd generation ink -blotting twice on copier paper first) to create the wallpaper. For the carpet I used the same ink with an Ink Duster until I got a colour I liked. You can tell that Maya's not there as there's a distinct lack of muddy paw prints. The wrapping paper is still on the presents too!

Then it was time to do the window scene. I cut a mask to cover up the window frame and a couple of tiny ones for the handles, then stamped the snowman in place. He's then covered up so that the trees can be stamped. After that I added some blue ink with a sponge to add a bit of shadow.

It was lacking something though, so I had the idea of adding the cat. Unfortunately when I stamped it you could see the lines from the window through it. So I stamped it again on some white card and cut it out. I went around the cut edges with the chisel end of a black ProMarker, to take away any white bits that were showing, and stuck it into place. I didn't need to worry about the whiskers as they were already there from the stamped version underneath.

I actually rather like the effect that this gave and you don't have to worry about masking off the cat like I would have done if I'd planned it. It also worked well for the tree. That was stuck on the same way after I'd coloured it with ProMarkers. A touch of glitter adds a bit of bling.

Maybe I should just go with the flow more often!

Before I go I just want to say congratulations to Jo Rice on joining the Clarity Team.  I look forward to seeing what you create.

Stamps Used

Christmas Window

Mini Camelia

We Wish You

Large Frosty

Outline Christmas Tree

Remountable Silhouette Christmas Trees

Large Black Cat

Letter Box Set

Lynne

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Moonlit Cat Card

This is the last of my three cat cards. It was made for one of Maria Simms' Clarity Take 2 shows - Barbara Gray fans will probably be able to guess when I made it!

Yes, it was just after Lesson 17 (Toadstool and Hares) where Barbara showed us how to do the large moon and dark sky. I thought it would be the perfect background for this scene. If you would like to see how it is done you can watch the video of Barbara here on the Create and Craft website. 

The brick wall is a Spellbinders M-Bossibilities folder - Bricks and Bark. I used the textured side of the card for the wall and the reverse, smooth side, for the terracotta pots. Don't forget to stamp the ferns before you emboss the wall!

It's a very simple card but I rather like it. 

Well I hope the cat lovers amongst you have enjoyed my three cat cards. Maya's a bit worried that they have taken over though so here's a photo of her looking particularly gorgeous for all the dog lovers.

What are all these cats doing on Mum's blog?

Maria Simms' next show is on at 11 am tomorrow (21st Aug) and I will be back after that with the first of the samples I made for her.

Stamps Used

Small Cat Back

Large Fern

Bird and post from the Remountable Garden Set

Lynne

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Dare To Be Different

The title says it all really.

The obvious thing to do with this Clarity Cat stamp is to stamp it in black, so you get a black and white cat. I like to try and think of different things to do though and that's how this card evolved. My pink cat certainly stands out from the crowd - it is good to be different!

It's a really simple card to make. I just masked off the central panel, stamped the lettering and masked that, then stamped the Fern in Adirondack Wild Plum ink and brayered over it. 

I then removed the masks and stamped the cats using the same Fern stamp to add some pattern to the pink one. The black ones are done in Archival Ink to give them a really solid black colour.

It was made back in June for Maria Simms' Clarity Take Two show. Don't forget she's on Create and Craft again this Wednesday (21st Aug) at 11am. I was busy yesterday making some samples for the show and there are some fab new stamps that Maria will be demonstrating.

Stamps Used

Small Cat Front

Large Fern

Letter Box Set 

Lynne

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The Dreams of a Kitten Gelli Print Card

I'm definitely a dog person but my blog is going catty for a while - the next three cards I have to show you feature Clarity cat stamps.

This is the first - it's a birthday card I made based on one of the lessons from the last In The Classroom With Barbara Gray show. 

I'm going through a bit of a black phase with my Gelli prints at the moment (I love it as a base print that you can then add colour to, plus it works really well with silhouettes stamped in black), so I thought I'd see how it worked with this design. Well, I rather like it. It's surprising how different the same thing can look in different colours. It's also a great way to make a card if you mojo is lacking - just find an old card that you've made and make it again in a different colour.

I did the Gelli print a couple of times to see what effect I wanted.  In the end I picked the palest one, where I'd taken more paint off on the first print, as I thought the ink would show up better on it. I don't yet have the Juniper Adirondack ink pad that Barbara used so I used Bundled Sage Distress Ink with Stonewashed Adirondack to sponge on the extra colour.

I also used the Bundled Sage to stamp the verse as I wanted it to be quite subtle.

A few co-ordinating mats cut with my Perfect Layers rulers complete the card. Hopefully the recipient is a cat person.

Stamps Used

Lesson 18 - Birdhouse Set

The Dreams of a Kitten

Stencil Used

Leafy Swirl

Lynne

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Faith, Hope and Clarity Card

I have to give my Dad the credit (or the blame) for this one.

When he first said "How about Faith, Hope and Clarity?" I was like "Oh Dad!" but then when I thought about it I decided that I rather liked the idea. Thanks Dad.  x

As it's all about Clarity I thought I'd incorporate as many different Clarity stamps as I could. The Double Bubble stencil and my Gelli plate were perfect for this.

It created a print with lots of little apertures that I could fill with different stamps.

The Gelli print was done in two layers. The first was made using pale turquoise acrylic paint and an alphabet stencil to imprint a pattern into it. Then I used a darker turquoise and the Double Bubble stencil to create the top layer with the apertures.

The images were stamped in Black Archival ink through the apertures in the stencil.

To finish off the background I added some shading around the edges with Peacock Feathers Distress Ink.

I created a typical Clarity scene in the O of Hope and again used Peacock Feathers Distress ink around the edge.

I hope you like it. I was really pleased with this one. I've since done another version that I really want to share with you but it's for a birthday later in the month so we will have to wait a little while.

Stamps Used In The Main Image

Hope Frame

Faith from the Remountable Celtic Set

Clarity stamped with the Letter Box Set

Forest Ridge

Deer from the Remountable Winter Wonderland Set

Stencils Used

Double Bubble

Lynne

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Celtic Good Luck Card

Using the Celtic Heart stamp to make a 4 leafed clover was an idea I had after I'd finished making this month's samples.

I had to give it a go though, so I made this quick card just to show the idea.

I stamped the heart out 4 times on some lovely bright green card and cut them out. I then used a black Sharpie pen to draw a stalk and cut that out too. Once assembled I think it looks like a 4 leafed clover.

"Good Luck" is stamped on the same green card and some black card cut with Spellbinders Lattice Accents finish it off. 

Stamps Used

Celtic Heart from the Remountable Celtic Set

Good Luck stamped with the Letter Box Set

Oval frames around Good Luck from the Number Set

Lynne

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Leafy Swirl Jigsaw Card

I used a couple of the In The Classroom With Barbara Gray stamp sets on this card - The Jigsaw, which is the stamp for Lesson 20, and the Leafy Swirl set from Lesson 19.

The colour scheme is based around the Tim Holtz Summer set of Distress Inks - Picked Raspberry, Mowed Lawn and Salty Ocean.

I began by creating the Gelli print, leaving a clear area in the centre for the jigsaw stamp. I used the masks to section off each piece of it, like I did for my Deerscape Jigsaw Card, then added the colour with an Ink Duster and a make-up sponge.

I also went over each piece with a crackle stamp to add a bit more interest. Once that was complete I masked the outside of the jigsaw off and stamped the Leafy Swirl over it in Black Archival.

To add some colour to the frame I randomly brushed the Distress Inks through the Dotty Wave stencil. It was still missing something though.

I don't normally use a lot of flowers and embellishments on my cards but I think they really finish this one off. I used my Tim Holtz Tattered Florals with some Spellbinders leaves to make them. Luckily I had one blue brad that was the perfect colour for the centre!

It took a while to get there but I was really pleased with how this one turned out and I love the colours - Thanks for putting that set of ink pads together Tim.

If you want to watch what Barbara does with this clever Jigsaw stamp the lesson will be on Create and Craft TV at 11am on the 31st August. I'll certainly be watching.

Stamps Used

Large Leafy Swirl

Small Leafy Swirl

Jigsaw - Lesson 20

Large Crackle 

Stencils Used

7x7 Leafy Swirl

Dotty Wave

Lynne

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Faith, Hope and Love Celtic Knot Card

My samples for Germany are in the post and should be with Clarity today. I now have a couple of birthday cards, an ATC and my next project for the Clarity Stamp Blog to make before the next lot of stamps arrive. That's the plan anyway! My 6 x 6 Gelli plate should be here soon so I am sure that will feature heavily.

Anyway, back to the cards that I have made. For this one I chose the heart design that is part of the Remountable Celtic set. They complement the Hope Framer perfectly.

I stamped HOPE in black Archival ink so that I could then stamp and heat emboss the heart knot over the top in gold. I used a sponge to colour the heart in with red Distress ink. The rest of the card is coloured with Old Paper Distress Ink.

The celtic border was bought from the Silhouette Store. It was cut out of vinyl on my Cameo. I like using vinyl for such intricate designs as it cuts really well and is already adhesive.

I found some tartan ribbon and card in my stash to complete it.

Stamps Used

 Hope Framer

Remountable Celtic Set

Lynne

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Deerscape Jigsaw Card

I thought I'd start with this card as it was one of my favourites.

It uses the new Jigsaw stamp that is for Lesson 20 of In The Classroom With Barbara Gray. It's a fab stamp and the masks that come with it enable you to do lots of fun things with it. 

I've not cut anything out here, it's all done with masking.

I wanted it to look like the puzzle isn't completed so I had to mask off one of the sides. You can just wipe away the ink, but I always seem to miss a bit so I use a mask. I cover up the bit I don't want inked with a Post-it and remove it before I stamp - that last bit is very important !  Guess who's forgotten to do that on more than one occasion?  lol

I used a combination of Post-its and the masks that come with the set to mask off the area around where I want to work..... 

.....I then created the image. I kept the design really simple as there were already enough things that could go wrong with this card!

I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut the background card into a jigsaw. At first glance it just looks like a sheet of green card but when you look closer you can see the jigsaw pieces. I did think about inking the edges but decided against it as I wanted it to be subtle, keeping the focus on the stamping. 

A few brads, some bakers twine and a Gandhi quote finish it off.

Stamps Used

Deerscape

Forest Ridge

Be The Change

Lesson 20 Jigsaw Set

Lynne

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August's Clarity Samples

What a brilliant weekend it's been. I've picked up so many ideas and I can't wait to try them out. Barbara's demos were fab and it was lovely to see so many of the DT's samples and the viewers' homework. It always amazes me how different everyone's cards are.

Hubby has very generously treated me to the smaller Gelli plate (although he doesn't know it yet!) so I can't wait for that to arrive. I have an idea for one of the prints we did in the lesson yesterday and want to see if it will work.

These are the five cards that I made for the shows.

The Jigsaw stamps for Lesson 20 are so clever. I really enjoyed using them and can see them coming in handy for all sorts of occasions, a bit like the Stamp stamps. The masks that come with them make life so much easier - I wouldn't fancy having to cut them all out by hand!

The Hope set is another in the series of large "O" stamps. They are another versatile one to have and one I enjoy playing with - Faith, Hope and Clarity is my favourite!

Quite a few of my cards from previous shows were also shown. They have all been blogged already and can be found by scrolling back through my posts.

As always, I will be blogging them all individually over the course of the month. I have also been busy making samples for the German Clarity shows. I'm really pleased with a couple of them and look forward to sharing them with you. I also have a couple left that I made for Maria's Clarity Take 2 shows. It should be a busy month on Lynne's Crafty little Blog.

Happy stamping,

Lynne
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In The Classroom With Barbara Gray - Gelli Printing.

I have been looking forward to this lesson for a long time and I wasn't disappointed. It was such fun!

I moved everything downstairs into the dining room as it's so hot upstairs. Hubby had the job of popping upstairs for me if I'd forgotten anything but he was soon sacked. Quite frankly, he was hopeless! As with most things, it was much easier to do it myself. I then had a bit of a panic when I realised I didn't have the birds from the kit but I managed to find them and rush back downstairs to catch up.

I have the 8 x 10" Gelli plate so I improvised a 6 x 6" aperture from a bit of Doeflex. I put it on top of the plate at the last second, just before I took the print. It worked well as a temporary solution but I have decided that Hubby's going to treat me to the smaller one.  My large one needs a friend!

I got some dark paint in the middle of this one but I quite like it.

This one's my favourite. 

This one smells lovely! I think I had more paint left than I was supposed to but I really like the effect.

Those are my efforts. It was a challenge doing it live but I so enjoyed it. I will probably have another go at them and take my time.

I'm now looking forward to tomorrow's shows to see what else Barbara has in store for us. I will also be sharing my samples from this weekend's shows.

Stamps Used

Lesson 19 - Leafy Swirls

Lesson 18 - Birdhouse Set

Stencils Used

Dotty Wave

Leafy Swirl

Lynne

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Gelli Print Clock and Stamping in a Circle Tutorial

It's time for a new challenge on the Clarity Stamp Challenge Blog. This month's theme is "Animals" and I've made a Gelli print butterfly clock.

I'm no "Clock Lady" (our very talented DT member Karen Claire) but I really enjoyed making this. It's always fun to try something new.

I bought the IndigoBlu clock kit at the GNPE Harrogate back in March with this idea in mind but I just didn't get around to making it. The animal theme finally gave me the kick up the backside that I needed.

I started off by covering the MDF base in some gesso and followed that by a couple of coats of cream acrylic paint. Then the fun began - I thought I would be brave and Gelli print straight onto it.

The first layer uses the Trellis stencil and Raw Sienna paint. I then went over that with Oxide of Chromium Green and the Ocean Swirl stencil. To finish off the base I added some Distress Ink around the edge.

The stamping is done in Black Archival ink and the butterflies are coloured in with Distress Ink which I sponged through an aperture. Some gold ink was added to the butterflies' thoraces at 3, 6, 9 and 12pm.

The second hand is a really garish red colour which didn't go at all with the rest of the clock, so I coloured it with some gold Alcohol Inks. I applied it quite roughly so that some of the red still shows through. This gave a really good colour match to the Raw Sienna and it now blends in really well.

Stamps Used

Butterfly from the Remountable Best of the Classroom Set

Happiness is a Butterfly

Stencils Used

Trellis

Ocean Swirl

Stamping in a Circle Tutorial

At school I was more at home in a Maths lesson than an Art one. I think that probably shows in my style. Anyway, it sometimes comes in handy and I haven't needed to buy a gadget to do it.

I started off with a piece of 12 x 12" card and drew lines from corner to corner. This is an easy place to start as you don't have to measure anything.

As I'm making a clock I then mark every 30 degrees.

This gives me 12 equal sections.

I then worked out where I wanted the butterflies on the clock and drew a circle that diameter.

This is how I want the butterflies to line up.

I transfered the marks where the circle crosses the 12 lines onto a piece of paper the same size as the circle and use that to mark the points on the clock. I am aiming for the bit where the antennae meet the body to hit the mark on the clock, giving me 12 evenly spaced butterfly "numbers".

Whilst I am doing this tutorial I thought I would also explain how I stamp in a circle when I want this wings to meet. I used this technique on this card.

It's exactly the same as before, although once I've marked the sections at 30 degrees I would added a dotted line in between at 15 degrees. I can then slide the stamp up and down the main line until the edge of the wings hits the dotted lines.

I then draw a circle at that diameter and they all line up perfectly.

I know with a clock you could probably place them by moving the hour hand around and marking it, but this technique is accurate, great for card making and it appeals to my inner geek!

I hope you enjoyed my project and tutorial.  I look forward to seeing what everyone else creates. The rest of the DT have done a fab job. Don't forget that there's a £50 Claritystamp voucher for the winner. It's chosen at random so everyone has a fair chance. 

Congratulations to the winner and the Top 5 of the "Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside" challenge. Your cards are fab and it's so lovely to see them all.  

Lynne

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