Forest Ferns

Good Morning everyone

Its the first friday of November so time for a new challenge over at Creative Artiste where the theme is anything mixed media goes, using at least 3 different mediums.

I found this lovely fern moulded frame in the charity shop years ago, now the urge came to finally turn it into something else. I decided to go with a forest theme with the ferns, fungi and wood nymphs.  The middle inked panel is like a light emanating from deep in the woods drawing you into the magic within😁

Frame size approx 9x7" (19x23cm) 

See below for how i painted the ferns & frame.  I then printed out some digital fungi at different sizes and adhered among the ferns and to the bottom right of the aperture.  I added to mini tim holtz paper dolls sitting on top of the smaller background toadstools and used a bigger paper doll and added some green holographic acetate wings to him and adhered him to the front of the picture as my little forest nymphs. 

I felt it needed something red/orange in the top left corner to balance it but none of the toadstools worked and i found this orange/red acetate butterfly in my stash which fit perfectly. 

You can just about make out the light hitting the holographic wings here - in real life they really do sparkle

The glass isn't removeable so i covered that first to protect it.  I then coated the whole frame in black gesso.  Then i got layering up various green paints, starting with the darkest ones first and getting lighter with each layer.  

My last green layer was a very bright almost yellow green just added where the light would naturally hit the leaves.  Then i added a light touch of gold cadence dora paint to give a little subtle shimmer and coated the whole frame is glossy mod podge to help seal and protect it. 

I added green and yellow alcohol inks to the back of the glass to give the effect of dappled sunlight through the leaves, keeping it almost free of ink where i wanted my quote to go....here i just used a felt pad to lightly dab the ink.  As you can't remove the glass the only option was to stamp my quote onto white card and add it behind so I didn't want the ink obscuring it too much. 

This is one of my favourite quotes.  Its from Inkylicious and an oldie but goodie. 

And this is how it started out with an old gold finish

Items Used:

Inkilicious stamp 'forest quote'

Toadstool digitals 'Mixed Media Toadstools' from Double Helix Digitals on Etsy

Tim HOltz paper dolls

acetate butterflies

Cadence Dora paint

Folk art matt acrylic paints

Tim Holtz alcohol inks

Mod podge glossy and matt

 Hop over to Creative Artiste to join in, anything mixed media goes - atc's, cards, journal pages, 3d projects, wall art, small or large, everything welcome as long as you mixed your mediums 

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Trust the weather to turn cold with a bitterly wind the week we are having the heating replaced so wrapped up like mummies to keep warm and then we now have a giant hole in the ceiling where the electrician fell through - oh what fun.  It might have been comical if it hadn't been 9.30 at night and I then had to sort him out and the mess....Plus the reason he fell through is because it was all soaking wet from a water leak from the team that installed the system the 2 days before!   My MS is really complaining now sitting in the cold!    So with the mess that has created im so glad i did box everything possible up, far easier to clean a plastic box than all my craft stash and decorative tatt.

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Id love to enter the following:

https://mixitupchallenge.blogspot.com/2026/11/miucb-86-anything-goes-optional.html

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https://paper-rocks-scissors.blogspot.com/2026/11/november-22-challenge.html - used scissors to cut out the toadstools which were printed onto paper

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https://www.simplyellibelle.com/2026/10/i-spy-with-my-little-eye-autumn-in.html

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https://tuesdaytaggers.blogspot.com/2026/10/make-it-magical.html - magical wood nymph

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https://daranddiane.blogspot.com/2026/11/double-d-textures-challenge-2026.html - textures - the moulded ferns are very tactile and deep, along with the glossy shiny finish of the acetate and wings

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https://tolanythingbutacard.blogspot.com/2026/10/the-outlawz-anything-but-card-november.html - anything goes option

 

WLS Nov #1 - Christmas Critters

Good Morning Everyone

Its the first sunday of November (scary!) and time for a new challenge over at We Love Stamping where the theme this month is 

CHRISTMAS CRITTERS

So time to get those last Christmas cards made.  Ive used a reindeer stamp which is within an arch so it made sense that i used my very old and much loved crealies Arch dies with it.  I also decided i needed to use some of the pile of backgrounds ive made over the years.

I first dug through my box of inky offcuts for pieces for the reindeers which has given us a rainbow of reindeer - but then these are magic reindeer with their wings ready to lead Father Christmas through the night sky🎅

Approx size 5x7" Card base die cut using Crealies XL arch dies.  

I stamped the image with dark blue ink onto the background and the piece for the reindeer.  The background i die cut into an arch, i added white posca pen to the stamped details and a grey alcohol marker for some shading.  Then put the panel through a dotty embossing folder for some falling snow. 

I fussy cut the deer from the 2nd stamped image and gave it some vellum wings by stamping just the wings onto white vellum, cutting them out and adhering behind the body.  I then adhered the reindeer flat onto the base image leaving the wings unstuck to add a bit of movement. 

I raided my luxury card stash and found this beautiful gold holographic went perfectly with my golden deer for a mat layer.  Woodware sentiment stamped onto white using the same blue ink used to stamp the image and added across the front. 

 I used a hole punch to punch to circles from the offcut from the blue background and adhered these to the sentiment strip, they give a faux gem look but match the colours perfectly and are totally flat for posting.  In the past i have done this and added glitter or glossy accents to them but in this case as my background is very blingy i left them plain. 

Just a close up, sadly as usual the photos don't show the beautiful shimmer of the mica powders in the background and the reindeer, well or the holographic either.  When the light hits the card it really does dance and sparkle.

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I made a batch of these for Christmas making a good dent in my pile of backgrounds and inky offcuts.

The reindeer is a scrap of paper I'd marbled years ago using the shaving foam technique - fun but oh so messy! As the marbling has pink in it i matched it with a blue brusho background which has flecks of pink pixie powder in it.  Matted onto ombre glitter card which went really well with the reindeer. 

Another marbled scrap for the deer, this one had flecks of green so picked a brusho and pixie powder background with touches of green

This is more traditional deer colour, the brusho background had this lovely section of pattern so i stamped the reindeer to encase it, giving it a mane like appearance which reindeer do get.  It also has a soft orange hue so i used orange satin card for my mat layer, which is beautiful but looks rubbish on the photos.  You would think with all the amazing technology these days we could get cameras that actually pick up on sparkle, shimmer and shine😁 

Items Used:

 Stampendous Laurel Birch 'Reindeer Spirit' #LBCP006

Crealies XL arch dies

Woodware Sentiment stamp

Sizzix swiss dot embossing folder

Brusho powders

Cosmic Shimmer pixie powders

VersafineClair Ink 'Medieval Blue'

White posca pen

Grey Alcohol marker

Various holographic, glitter & satin cardstock

CraftUK white hammered card

Papermania vellum

We have this amazing two red robins prize this month so hop over to We Love Stamping to join in with your stamped projects

Id love to enter the first card into:

https://jinglebellesrock.blogspot.com/2026/10/while-shepherds-watched-their-flocks.html

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https://addictedtostamps-challenge.blogspot.com/2026/10/challenge-529-any-occasion.html

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Pumpkin Kitty

Good Morning everyone

Today im sharing an autumnal card.  It started life as a 6x6 sheet of full on orange glitter card with a printed jack O'Lantern pumpkin in the middle.  Ive teamed it up with printed paper from a different brand and the cat and flowers from a 3rd brand to make my card for a friend who loves her garden, cats and pumpkins.

6x6" black card blank.

I cut the pumpkin out of the middle of the orange glitter card and matted the beautiful paper onto it and added to the card front.  I adhered the pumpkin to the middle with pinflair glue gel then arranged the cat and floral spray after cutting them out - also added with pinflair glue gel.  The colours from the floral spray cut from the Ciao bella papers goes perfectly with the background paper from 13arts.  

Usually i don't leave a white border around anything i cut out but in this case I felt it needed it to help it stand out from the background otherwise the black printing of the cat and black flowers would have melded into the dark pumpkin.

The chat sticker was in a halloween chit chat book from Tim Holtz and fit perfectly to finish.

My friend has ragdoll cats so the complete opposite of this little black kitty who looks like my little Suki. In the UK it is still mostly considered lucky to have a  black cat cross your path....which is just as well as where I live 85% of cats are black.

Its a shame the photos don't show the amazing colour and shimmer of the orange glitter paper and pumpkin as it really is full on sparkle.  

This is how the pumpkin started, its a very very sparkly all over orange glitter paper which was too much for me, so I cut out the pumpkin in the middle and used the rest of it for matting my patterned paper onto...the cat image hides the face and gives it a totally different look and feel.  I was given a few sheets so don't know the brand but they are a few years old now. 

Items Used:

13arts 6x6 paper pad 'end of summer'

Ciao Bella junk journal 'The witch's grimoire'

Glitter pumpkin paper - brand unknown

Tim Holtz halloween chat sticker

Black card

Id love to join in the following:

  

https://inspirationstationchallenge.blogspot.com/2026/10/inspiration-station-challenge-october.html - cats on pumpkins insp.

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https://allsortschallenge.blogspot.com/2026/10/challenge-851.html

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https://lovethoseprettypaperspart2.blogspot.com/2026/10/love-those-pretty-papers-october-2026.html

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https://inkspirationalchallenges.blogspot.com/2026/10/inkspirational-challenge-379-visual.html

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https://www.simplyellibelle.com/2026/10/ellibelles-garden-party-no-20-anything.html

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https://timeoutchallenges.blogspot.com/2026/10/challenge-324.html

 

Skull & Cross bones

Good Morning everyone

Today im sharing a fun Halloween project made for a crafty friend who loves the season. I do love letting my imagination run wild, its such a therapeutic treat from all the normal themes we do month after month which i do enjoy but its nice to sometimes just throw the rule book out and create something totally different.

This started out as an idea for a cardboard skull ive had for years, to make it more realistic i added texture paste and paint and then while deciding on where to go next i was also making my witches shadow box and found these big plastic bones which were the perfect size for this skull - they were always too big for my other projects so to find a use for them is another bonus - keep anything long enough and it comes in perfect😂

Approx size:8x6.5"

See below for how i did the skull.  I die cut white card for the base of my plaque and matted a smaller oval die cut from orange mirri card, to soften the mirri so not so in your face i die cut an oval the same size from this lovely holey handmade paper and then tore the edge in places to make it less perfect, this I adhered over the orange mirri.  The mirri shines nicely through all the holes in the paper and the paper gives a softer feel than full on mirri card.

I added plastic eyes behind the skull and adhered the skull into place using pinflair glue gel.  I then added the 2 bones below.

To finish i used lots of tim holtz halloween chat stickers.  Ive had this book for at least 10yrs and only use one or two a year so wanted to use several here. The one at the top of the plaque reads 'days and nights has thirty one' and the one under the bones reads 'skull and cross-bones' and all the other ones are kind of random

I first added grit texture paste to the cardboard skull (left pic), the paste is blue but i knew it would be covered with paint, in places i just added dabs of normal texture paste, filling in some of the teeth so his smile isn't so perfect.  Once dry I got dabbing on matt acrylic paints in off whites, grey and beige, randomly stippling the colours. I forgot to take a photo of it before, but it was just flat white card so im chuffed with the outcome, its amazing what a bit of texture paste and paint can do.

Items Used:

Skull - that's crafty

plastic bones - ebay

plastic eyes - the works

handmade paper

orange mirri card - hunkydory

CraftUK white card

XL oval dies

Tim Holtz ideology halloween chat stickers

Rich Vintage texture paste #5110 'Mavi-egean blue'

White texture paste

FolkArt matte acrylic #420 'linen' #515 'vintage white'

Andy Skinner matt chalk paint 'cool mint' & 'ice blue'

Id love to enter the following:

https://crafterscafeblogchallenge.blogspot.com/2026/10/335-anything-goes-optional-no-cards.html

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https://halloweencraftsallyearround.blogspot.com/2026/10/spooktacular-october-challenge-1.html

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https://twooldbatshalloweenchallenge.blogspot.com/2026/10/october-2026-mid-month-reminder.html

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https://craftrocketchallenges.blogspot.com/2026/10/challenge-141-autumn-andor-halloween.html

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https://neglectedstuff.blogspot.com/2026/10/neglected-stuff-october-2026-challenge.html - skull, bones and chat stickers are all 5+ years old

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WLS Oct#2 - Shades of Autumn

Good Morning everyone

Time for some mid month inspiration for We Love Stamping where the theme is

SHADES OF AUTUMN

I decided i wanted to use the same stamp as my first card of the scarecrow and i also had a few wheat stems left from this Wheat wall hanging that i wanted to use.  This is a very unusual one layer card for me, with just the wheat added, so to add interest Ive die cut the front of the card on a jaunty angle 

Card Size approx 6.5x5.5" (16x14cm) from A3 cream linen card

I used my MFT scalloped edge die to cut the front of the cardfront at a nice angle, I then worked out how much i wanted to the right for the wheat before cutting that back edge to size.  Corners rounded to tie in with the scalloped edge.

I first stamped the scarecrow, pumpkins & birds into place to build the scene with my ombre ink pad which has beautiful autumnal shades in it.  I then made myself a small leaf stencil using a mini leaf die and some scrap card and very lightly inked through with the same inkpad, i kept these light as only wanted a hint of falling leaves in the background.

I stamped the sentiment with dark brown ink and then arranged the wheat stalks.  I built up a sheaf of wheat to the right on what is essentially the inside back of the card.  I then had 3 left over which seemed a shame to waste so added them around the scarecrow so it looks more like he is stood in a field.....

Showing it closed flat

Showing it stood open, i used orange paper for the insert and cut at the same angel as the front, autumn sentiment stamped in dark brown. Its from a very old magazine freebie set of stamps which is one of my most used, all autumn themes  Sentiment reads

'Every leaf speaks bliss to me, falling from the autumn tree' 

How i made my 'stencil' just used the smallest leaf dies i had and scrap card

Just showing it before i added the wheat.

Going by all the birds around him he isn't very successful😁  Growing up on a farm for a while they used a bird scaring gas 'gun' when had freshly tilled fields, i don't know that it worked that well on the birds but it always gave us humans a heart attack, minding our own business when suddenly a massive bang goes off.  Called a gun but didn't shoot anything, was just designed to make an almighty massive bang to scare the birds, but they only came back a few minuets later - birds aren't stupid.....its like all the tactics used to scare seagulls around here - well they soon work out a plastic hawk isn't moving...like an old fashion scarecrow - as it doesn't move the birds know its not scary.  On the farm 'gally baggers' work the best - just old bags tied with string to fences and posts which move around in the wind and as the wind gets into the bags they make a horrid noise and the light hitting the plastic tricks them into thinking its eyes, as they keep moving it keeps the birds away...of course only any good if you get alot of wind

Items Used:

Studio light stamp set 'pumpkin' #SL-ES-STAMP877

Studio Light Stencil set 'Leaf background' #SL-ES-MASK372

Clearly Besotted sentiment stamp set 'seasonal sentiments'

MFT Xstitch rectangle die

Stitched fishtail banner die

Kaleidacolor ink pad 'Cappuccino delight'

Versafine Clair Ink 'Fallen Leaves'

FolkArt Acrylic paints

We have this fabulous prize for the lucky winner so to be in with a chance of winning hop over to We Love Stamping

I hope you all enjoy the rest of October as we head into school half term, halloween and the clocks going back then it really will be heading into winter.  Emmax