Dragonflies

Good Morning everyone

I dug out an old aall&create stamp set with these fab dragonflies on.  I stamped them in a dark purple ink and the card bases are also a dark purple not black -difficult to get good photos with all the grey days we had.

DL cardblank made from deep plum cardstock.  I stamped the images onto white card with versaclair 'monarch' ink.  These are A5 stamps so i decided which area i wanted and die cut with a stitched edge DL die.  I then added some light stencilling with oxide inks - cracked pistachio & shaded lilac and adhered to the card front.  

I stamped the dragonflies again, watercoloured with wink of stella pens, cut out and decoupaged onto the base image with glue gel.  Glossy accents added to the bodies and some white pen highlights to finish. 

You can just about make out on the right of the wings but the wink of stella pens give the most amazing shimmer in real life

Version 2 using the 2nd dragonfly stamp in the set

and version 3 i went with green wink of stella pens this time for the wings and pink for the body and spiced marmalade & salvaged patina oxide inks for the stencilling 

sadly again all the shimmer does show

Items Used:

aall&create stamps #230 'On dragonfly wings'

Various stencils

Distress oxide inks - cracked pistachio, shaded lilac, spiced marmalade, salvaged patina

Kuretake wink of stella pens

DL stitched edge dies

Dark plum cardstock

White super smooth cardstock

Pebeo white pen

Thank you all for popping by. Emmax

Id love to enter the first card in the following:

https://www.stampingsensations.uk/2024/05/may.html - anything goes option

https://cardsgalorechallenges.blogspot.com/2024/05/may-2024-crafts-galore-encore-challenge.html

https://2craftycrittercrazies.blogspot.com/2024/05/challenge-86-anything-goes-with.html

https://lovetocraftchallengeblog.blogspot.com/2024/05/ltccb-80-anything-goes-ltccb-79-winner.html

Paperminutes - https://paperminutes.blogspot.com/2024/05/paperminutes-845-insekteninsects.html

 

Dragonflies

Good Morning everyone.

So far this year in my personal life its been very stressful with one thing and another but in my craft life ive been very lucky to have won several challenges.  One such win at https://www.welovestamping.co.uk/ was a set of stamps by aall&create of these beautiful dragonflies so this was my first try with them.  There are 2 A5 stamps in the set but here i chopped the images down to fit slimline cards as i wanted to give them acetate wings that hung over the edge of the cardbase.

This shows them both together, on the right hand side one i used alcohol inks on acetate for the wings and on the left one i used glitter on the back of the acetate, very hard to photograph the sparkle it has

I made my slimline base card from white card.  I then took a piece of white card and sprinkled on brushos and pixie powders for my background, once completely dry i stamped the image, cut down so that the main dragonfly was centre and attached to the base. 

Taking a piece of acetate i inked with alcohol inks in yellow and red, once dry i stamped on the opposite side with stazon ink....I actually only used scraps of acetate and keeping the stamp facing upwards i placed the acetate on the wing areas of the stamp and rubbed over the back to get the image on the acetate - doing it this way just saved waste as i only wanted the wings.  I then cut out the wings and attached to the base, just adding a touch of tacky pva in the centres.

I stamped the bodies again onto white card, coloured with pixie powder - i used one that is gold but when i light hits it has a red hue.  Cut out and glued to the base to finish.

In hindsight maybe i should have used white behind the photo but i think you can see most of the wings

Version 2, made the same way using the 2nd stamp in the set.  This time i took plain acetate and stamped the wings, i then covered the back of the wings in tacky pva and used sizzix biodegradable glitter.  This was a slow process as i used 3 colours, gold, orange and red and not to contaminate them I did one at a time and let dry, being on acetate it took hours to dry, so patience was needed - i was pleased with the end result.

Trying to catch the sparkle this glitter has - in real life it is amazing😁  This technique is ideal for recycling acetate packaging as you only need small pieces and both the stamping and glitter hide any marks it might have

Items Used:

aall&create stamp set 'on dragonfly wings' #230

Brusho's - turquoise

Cosmic shimmer pixie powder - peacock, mango

acetate

CraftUk smooth white card

Tim Holtz alcohol inks 'red pepper, sunshine yellow'

Sizzix biodegradable glitters 663876, 663870 & 663878

Thank you all for stopping by once again. The reroofing is going slow as they have had to remove asbestos from the porch.   I hope you all enjoy the Easter weekend, Im planning to meet up with one of my brothers and his family so looking forward to that.  Hugs Emmaxxx

Id love to enter the following:

http://sirstampalotchallenge.blogspot.com/2022/04/april-i-love.html   .......I LOVE creating colourful backgrounds and stamping, well lets face it I just love crafting, its my very happy place😀

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http://mytimetocraftchallenge.blogspot.com/2022/04/mttc-479-theme-is-springtime-insects.html

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https://2craftycrittercrazies.blogspot.com/2022/04/challenge-61-anything-goes-with.html

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https://thesisterhoodofcrafters.blogspot.com/2022/04/slimline-cards.html

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http://lilredwagon.blogspot.com/2022/04/challenge-649-3-of-something.html  - 3 dragonflies

 

Hello there fungi

Good Morning everyone

I had this brusho background matted onto black then white in my pile of phd's (projects half done!) for a very long time, a couple of years at least!  As i was going through the pile again this fab pink ink stamp was sitting on the side and i thought it would be the ideal background for him. 

6x6" card.  I stamped the fungi stamp onto the background and 2 of the extra dragonflies from the set, i stamped them again onto white card, along with the mini mushrooms and then watercoloured them all with oxide inks and cut them out.  Using glue gel i decoupaged the main fungi.  I just glued the smaller character into place and added just the cap to the mini mushroom to the left.  

I added some purple pixie powder to my craft mat and added a little water to turn it into a mica paint and used to colour the wings of the dragonflies and add a little to the leaves. I then added the extra wings to the dragonflies on the base.  Not easy to show the amazing shimmer it has when the light hits the mica. 

Stamped sentiment die cut into an oval to finish

Just  a close up of the wee chap.  Hopefully this card gave a big smile to the recipient and brightened their day.

Items Used:

Pink ink stamp - Shitake happens

Sentiment stamp

Square die

Brushos - leaf green

cosmic shimmer Pixie powder - purple

Distress Oxide inks

White card - CraftUK ltd

Black card

Thank you all for stopping by once again. Ive had a hectic week with one of my own cats very poorly, then a stray cat turned up in a very poor state of health, so been to the vets every day this week so far. A new cooker delivery on Tuesday but the electrician supposed to fit it was in covid isolation...hopefully today the cooker will be connected so we can have something half decent to eat - just as well we have the microwave to at least have had something hot to eat as its been so cold!  Why is it you can't just speak to any customer services on the phone anymore.....you spend ages pressing this number and that and in a queue, finally get to the front of the queue 40mins later to be told they aren't taking phone calls so try their web chat to only be then able to type in 10 words at a time to try and explain the issue!   Still on a positive i do believe my mojo is returning at last as i had a good session with the gelli plate so lots of backgrounds to craft with now.  I hope you all have a good day.  Hugs Emmax

Id love to enter the following:

http://ttcrd.blogspot.com/2022/02/anything-goes-february-1st-2022.html

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http://cardsgalorechallenges.blogspot.com/2022/02/february-2022-crafts-galore-encore.html

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https://lovetocraftchallengeblog.blogspot.com/2022/01/ltccb-65-winner-top-picks-ltccb-66.html

 

Dragonflies

Good Morning everyone

Today is a set of cards using up offcuts of white pearl card i had after making  batch of Christmas cards.  I decided to cut them into small hexagons and dug out my much neglected embossing folders.

After die cutting and embossing lots of little hexagons I dug out lots of other little snippets to build up the 3 layers of the dragonfly, then found some papers to match.  I then die cut more pearl card into my shaped base card and layered on the paper and stamped the greeting. I lightly inked the embossing with black soot distress ink to help it stand out a little and added them to the batch with foam tape.

My dragonfly doesn't show up well in the photo but the base layer in black card, then pink/purple and the top layer is some of my green alcohol inked mirror card so it catches the light nicely. 

Gems to finish.

Version 2, my dragonfly is green base layer, then orange brusho card and then the green inked mirror card on top

and version 3.  This card is smaller and using smaller hexagon, i used a offcut of pink/purple backing paper and layered the hexagons on top, trimming any overhang.  My dragonfly has black glitter base layer, then green inked mirror card and the top layer is brusho ink card. Die cut sentiment and gems to finish.

Items Used:

Sue Wilson triple layer die - dragonfly

Stitched hexagon dies

Various embossing folders

Katzelkraft stamps - everyday quotes KTZ206

 

Thank you all for stopping by.  I hope you have a good day.  Hugs Emmaxxx

Id love to enter the first card in the following:

http://pixiescraftyworkshop.blogspot.com/2021/10/pixies-snippets-playground-challenge-415.html  - snippets used for all the hexagons and each dragonfly layer

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https://creativecraftinguncles.blogspot.com/2021/10/22-males-go-feminin.html

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http://craftycreationschallenges.blogspot.com/2021/11/november-challenge-427-anything-goes.html

In the garden

Good Morning everyone, i hope you had a good weekend - boy did it rain!

DL card (approx 4x8")  I cut a scalloped edge (yep its not very even/straight - i blame the heat when making it😀) I then got stamping with my paperartsy flower stamps & carabelle Zinouk in the garden to create a scene.  I added a little water colour and doodled in some ground for them to stand on.  I wanted the middle sunflower to have a longer stem to when i stamped it i didn't ink the very end of the stem so i then took a fine liner pen to extend it to make a nice tall sunflower.  I stamped some dragonflies.  

I splashed some of the inks i used to colour my images onto the background too - i know im doing that alot at the moment but for me personally it just softens all the white without having too busy a background.

I then stamped the flower heads and zinouk onto white card, i then watercoloured the heads with wink of stella pens so they have a lovely shimmer.  I then cut the coloured flower heads out, using a craft knife to cut around the inside design part, i then used glue gel to decoupage them over the ones on the main panel.

I cut Zinouk out and left her uncoloured so she stands out in a bright colourful garden, i gently curved her to add shape and attached with glue gel.  I did give her more of a smile with a fine liner pen as she is a bit moody otherwise😀

You can see the depth on my flowers better here, i added a piece of paper similar colours to those on the front to the inside after cutting it with the scalloped edge die.

Items Used:

Paperartsy stamps Zinskiart ZA38

Carabelle Stamps SA60158 'Zinouk du jardin'

Lavinia dragonfly stamps

Clearly besotted sentiment stamp

MFT scalloped edge die

Wink of stella pens

CraftUK smooth white card

Ombre pattern paper

Thank you for all stopping by once again.  I hope its a good week for you. Hugs Emmax

Id love to enter the following:

https://creativefingerschallengeblog.blogspot.com/2020/06/challenge-189.html

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http://seizethebirthday.blogspot.com/2020/06/seize-birthday-193-watercoloring_18.html

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Blue Dragonfly

Good Morning everyone, i hope you are having a good week and keeping cool. 

When i saw the Sue Wilson triple layer dragonfly die it flew straight into my basket😀.  This is its first outing.  Id made the dragonfly up from little snippets of paper and card to make sure the dies cut ok and he was sat on the side for many weeks.  I then joined in a sketch challenge with friends and decided it was time he got a new home.

5x7" Ivory cardbase. I finally found some patterned papers that toned in with the blue/green of my dragonfly.  I layered the papers up onto navy cardstock. On all the panels i rounded all the corners except the top left one - just for interest.  I stamped the sentiment onto ivory paper and die cut into a circle.  I cut the fishtail banner from a piece of the inked card i used for the dragonfly.  Blue gems to finish.

A close up on the dragonfly, the bottom layer i cut from blue glitter card, the middle layer from navy blue pearl card and the top layer from some card i had previously inked with distress oxide inks in salty ocean, evergreen bough & lucky clover. 

Items Used:

Sue Wilson triple layer dragonfly die set

Simon says sentiment stamp

MFT fishtail banner die set

Spellbinders circle dies

WRMK corner chomper punch

Poundland paper pad - 

B&M glitter card

Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks

Blue self adhesive gems

Thank you all for stopping by once again.  I hope you all enjoy the rest of the week and have a great weekend.  Emmax

Id love to enter the following:

http://lilredwagon.blogspot.com/2019/06/challenge-503-much-ado-about-nothing.html

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Wirework fun

Good Morning all, i hope the week is going well.

Today i am sharing my first attempts in wirework using craft wire.  This is a very soft aluminum wire with a coloured coating.  Ive often admired wirework and then my mum bought me some wire so decided to just go for it.  No tools other than basic pliers and wire cutters.  Just made it up as i went along - so without patterns.  Taking photos of wire is almost as bad as mirror card - so difficult to get true colour. 

This dragonfly is my 3rd attempt, 1 & 2 are below.

Red & gold craft wire.  Approx 8x8" in size.  I just winged it here, and i know technically dragonflies have 2 sets of wings but i didn't want to hide all the candy twist 'body' as rather liked that.  Its just a case of wrapping the wires, i added a lovely big bead for the head and then a few iridescent beads on the wings to catch the light.  I can't say its a quick craft and takes many metres of wire, but i could sit in the evenings and 'play' 

This photo shows the true colour better and the beads, one of the wings

Showing the body detail and that lovely bead for the head.  I worked in a loop on the back so that it can be hung up, maybe at a window.  Catching the light.

The candy twist tail.  He has already flown to a new home. 

Now onto my first attempt, a stylised rose

Red & Copper wire for the rose and green for the stem, head approx 3x3" in size

For my first attempt i was chuffed with the rose head, not so on the leaves but below shows how i improved on that for my 2nd attempt

my 2nd attempt, this time blue and silver wire for the flower, i also added a lovely blue glass bead to the centre of the flower.  Much happier with the leaves on this 2nd one.  I think like most techniques we learn and hopefully improve for next time.

Close up shows the bead too, approx 4x4" rose head

I really enjoyed this so definitely think i will be doing some more, hopefully improving each time and just learning how the wire works and handles.  I used mostly 2mm & 1mm here, the 1mm is definitely more malleable.  And the good thing about this craft is i don't need lots more stash - well other than a few beads - just as well as think that would drive the family potty going by the size of my papercraft stash😀

Thank you for stopping by and all your visits and comments last week.  Enjoy your weekend.  Hugs Emmax