Clarity Deerscape Card

I always have a favourite and this is November's.

It's my version of a card that Barbara Gray taught at her workshop at the Harrogate show. Fortunately it ended up a lot better than the one I did at the show!

Dad bought Mum and I tickets and although we had a brilliant time, my artwork was a complete disaster. If it could go wrong it did and I was so embarrassed!!!! So when I got these stamps to make samples with I wanted to show that I could do it.

To make it different to Barbara's version I added the reflection and put the words in the moon.

The invention of the Splodgemat has made reflections much easier to do. All you have to do is stamp onto the mat and then you can lay the paper onto that image to reverse it. It's then easy to line up the clear Clarity stamp to complete the reflected image. In this instance I used the brayer though, as I preferred the results I was getting with it.  I have the wider 6" one, as well as the regular size, so I was able to fit the whole image on it.

I think it's always worth having a play when you do things like this. I tried first and second generation ink for the Deerscape and the same with the brayer and Splodgemat for the reflection. You can then decide which you like best for that particular project.

To do the water I got out my Ink Dusters and tried to get lines when I was dragging the ink across. I think this gives a nice watery effect.

The inks I used are Adirondack Eggplant and Espresso.  You brayer the hills in Eggplant, then go over them very lightly with Espresso at the end. The creates an almost misty effect. You want hardly any ink on your brayer for this. As Barbara says, "You can always add more ink but you can't take it away". Someone should have said that to me at Harrogate!  :-)

Lynne
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Sepia Log Cabin in the Woods Card

The first version of this picture was done in colour but I thought it looked too similar to the other Log Cabin card I'd made. Mum had the idea of doing it in sepia.

I used the coated Clarity card and it's all done with an Espresso Adirondack dye ink pad.

Like the previous card, I started off with the cabin and then stamped everything else. The sky was brayered using my Splodge mat and then spritzed with water and blotted to give a snowy effect.

I used the coated Clarity paper to make the background. I originally bought it as a cheaper option to practise my brayering on, but it's also fab for using for backgrounds.  I randomly applied the Espresso ink to it with an Ink Duster and brayer before I spritzed it with water and applied scrunched up cling film.  Once it had dried I stamped the snowflake from the Lesson 14 set all over.

If you looked closely at the group shot I previously posted, you may have noticed that the topper was on wonky.  The foam pads stuck so quickly to the coated card and I couldn't move it. I was frightened to pull it off incase I ripped the card and ruined all that work. Luckily Dad came to the rescue with a clever idea (apparently he's used to fixing Mum's mistakes!).  I went into the kitchen and sharpened a long knife. I protected the sides with some copier paper (so that I didn't scratch the coated card) and then just cut through all of the foam pads. Simples! I was then able to stick it back on straight with some Pinflair. I should have just used that in the first place!!!!!!

I've since tweaked the colour version and made that into a card too. I will post that on here too.

Peace on Earth is stamped onto a Spellbinders Ribbon Banner die cut and it's all finished off with some Glamour Dust for a bit of sparkle.

Lynne
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Log Cabin in the Woods Card

I have used the Clarity Sprucescape stamp so much and I was very pleased to see the little Log Cabin joining the collection. They work so well together.

I started off by stamping the Log Cabin and built the scene around it. I'd love to be sat next to a roaring log fire in that cabin. It looks so peaceful.

The sky was brayered in blue using my Splodgemat, then I added a couple of other colours to give it a grey snowy look (I really should write down exactly what I use but I keep forgetting).

The snow was done with an Ink Duster and copier paper. I like the subtle effect that they give.

It was looking a bit bare so I added the deer from the Deerscape stamp and some Glamour Dust to finish it off.

It's matted on some Coredinations card that has been embossed with the Bricks and Bark M-Bossibilities folder and then sanded.

Lynne
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Poppies Card for Remembrance Day

It's Remembrance Day today, a time of year when I feel so thankful for what I have. Hubby and I are off to a Remembrance Day service and I wanted to share this card with you. I just love the sentiment and I thought it was perfect for this card and today.

Stamps by Clarity.  Poppies cut on my Cameo.  Leaves are from a spellbinders set.  Corner die is a Sizzlet.  Embossed background is done with a Grand M-Bossibilities, Garden Lattice.

Lynne
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A Card for a Dear Friend

For this card I've used the Clarity Meadow Dance stamp and the new Deerscape. They fit together perfectly to make one long image. Now, I have to say that fullscreen on my 27" iMac this card looks a right mess but in real life the marks of embossing powder are not quite so noticeable.

I very rarely use black embossing powder, as even with a dusting of anti-static powder and carefully brushing away stray bits, there are always some little specks that remain elusive. They are especially hard to spot on the Centura Pearl card. However for this card I decided it was the only way to get the effect I wanted. The stamp is so stunning on its own that I wanted it to really stand out. For this reason I also kept the background very simple.

I brayered the background first using Adirondack ink pads and my Splodge mat. Once I had done that I used a sponge to add a bit more definition to the top of the hills.  Then I stamped and embossed the main image.

I did try it with black ink and clear powder first as if you do end up with any stray bits of powder, being clear, you can't see them. However on the Centura Pearl card that I was using it looked really grey. It was hard to get a decent photo of this but I think you can see the difference. It is even more noticeable in real life.

The border is the edge of a Spellbinders Persian Accents die.

Lynne
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Two Little Ducks Bingo Card

Here's one of my cards using the number stamps from Lesson 13 of In the Classroom with Barbara Gray.  I'm not quite sure where the idea came from but this is what I came up with.  :-)

It's a good job that Mum and Dad were here when I was planning it. Being a crafter, rather than a bingo player, I was thinking of the bingo cards that you get as embellishments. As with a lot of craft things they are American. I didn't realise that British ones are different. 

After a quick Google  I found out what they should look like and set about drawing the grid on my computer. I sized it to fit the number stamps and luckily it was just the right size to fit on an A5 card.

Nigel made me smile when he was showing it on TV.  He came over all nostalgic as apparently he used to be a presenter on a bingo channel.  I bet he was a laugh on that!

Lynne

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Monochrome Clarity Winterland Card

Decisions, decisions!  Which card should I blog first?  In the end I thought I'd just do them in the order they appear in the group shot.  Simples!

I got the idea for this one from the shape of the Winterland stamp and I sized the card to fit it. The stamp is just over 10.5cm wide but I rounded each panel down to 10.5cm, so that it was easy to score on my Hougie Board. Once I'd done that I cut the slope so that it would finish just above the Nestabilities shape at the bottom. Then it was just a case of adding some details.  

The sheep are from the Remountable Farm set and the geese are from the Remountable Village set.  

I created the snowdrifts with a Post-it note cut to shape and an Ink Duster. I decoupaged a couple of the sheep to give the card a bit more dimension, then finished it all off with some sparkly Glamour dust.

On the show there was a gorgeous card shown by Annie Mehew. She had done a beautiful winter scene with the same Winterland stamp and the little labrador that I have on my Handmade by Lynne Hammond stamp (it is available as a separate stamp in the Remountable Home set). Anyway, I wish I'd thought of doing it. It looked so cute! I think it will be making an appearance on some of my Christmas cards. Thanks for the idea Annie.

Lynne
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