Baby card

I needed a baby card and wanted to use this vintage pram stamp.

The pram was stamped with Memento Sweet Plum ink. I layered it on a piece of paper stamped with a definition stamp and it just happened to be so that the pram fit perfectly between the words ‘hello’ and ‘smile’. The background is embossed and sanded Core’dinations cardstock and the same embossing folder was used on the vellum piece. The sentiment was stamped with Versamark on vellum and embossed with a puffy embossing powder.

Thank you for visiting!!

Supplies: Inkywings pram stamp; Hero Arts Dictionary Greeting CL479; Little Yellow Bicycle word stamp; Memento Sweet Plum; Hero Arts Soft Blossom shadow ink; Sizzix embossing folder; Spellbinders Labels 17; Core’dinations Ranger Dusty Concord cardstock; MM heart brads; Imaginesce rhinestones; Ranger puffy embossing powder.

Deer Christmas

Here’s a card for Card Patterns #143. Here’s the sketch:

Here’s my card:

Lately, I haven’t used patterned paper much in my cards, but I wanted to use these pretty Christmas papers. The deer and snowflakes were stamped on the text paper with Coffee ink. I recently got a new set of Christmas stamps from Artistic Outpost, one of them is this cute deer stamp. The deer was coloured lightly with coloured pencils. The row of birds and snowflakes were stamped with the same ink on the striped paper.

Thanks for visiting!

Supplies: Artistic Outpost Frosty & Friends, Snowy Woods, Blue Bird stamps; MME patterned papers; Archival Ink Coffee; Derwent coloured pencils; Martha Stewart border punch; twine; Kaisercraft rhinestones.

Watercolour Tree

Hello! This has been a busy week, I haven't had a chance to stamp as much as usual. Today, I have something a bit different (for me at least). A few days ago, I had to wait for someone in a mall for a while. I wandered into a bookshop and to the shelf with art books. I ended up getting a book by Geoff Kersey about watercolour techniques, because I thought it had some nice ideas for my scenic stamping. There are lots of beautiful nature scenes in the book. Then I remembered a tree I painted with watercolours in school and on a bit of a whim I got a set of watercolours too (there is an art supply shop close to the bookshop). I use watercolour techniques with my Distress Inks a lot and I wanted to see what the difference would be and how watercolour paint could also be used to create backgrounds etc. The book I got has a section on painting trees, and since I love trees, I thought I would give it a try.

Here’s the result:

I kept the clouds and background fairly similar to the example in the book, but my tree ended up looking different. I first sketched the tree. The sky was done with two washes on wet paper. The leaves of the tree were painted with a dry brush technique and then I painted the trunk and the branches. The foreground and the fence were done last, adding a bit of extra texture with dry brushing on the grass. I had fun mixing different shades of green and brown, just a little bit of extra of one colour makes a major difference.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you weekend is wonderful!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:
Surface: Daler & Rowney Watercolour paper
Paint: Daler Rowney Aquafine watercolours
Pencils: Derwent sketching pencils.

Wish upon a star

Hi everyone! Here’s another Christmas card, based on the song ‘When you wish upon a star’, but the Swedish translation, which goes ‘Do you see the star up in the blue?’ I stamped the title with alphabet stamps in the snowy meadow. I thought the comet stamp worked well for the star in the song.

The scene is done on glossy cardstock and coloured with dye and pigment ink. First the cabin was stamped with Jet Black ink and then more trees were stamped to the side of the cabin to full up the forest. Even more trees were stamped behind, using blue ink to create some depth. The clouds were stamped with Denim ink, and so were the Comet and the Milky Way. Blue inks were sponged on the scene leaving quite large areas the white of the paper. Highlights and snow were added with a white gel pen and finally white pigment ink was applied as mist, around the legs of the doe, in the forest, above the clouds and here and there in the sky. The branches were stamped in the foreground and on the edges in both black dye and white pigment ink.

Thank you for visiting!!

Supplies: Stampscapes: Cabin with Fence 144F, Pine Row 150E, Doe 229A, Comet 236E, Sedge Filler 251C, Cloud Cumulus 018E, Milky Way 058E, Tree Duo Lg. 068B, Prickly Branches 272G, Crooked Limb 097E; Hero Arts letter stamps; Adirondack: Aqua, Stonewashed, Denim, Mushroom, Espresso; Jenni Bowlin Spice Tin ink; Archival Jet Black; Colorbox Frost White; Kromekote glossy cardstock.

G is for Grateful

Here’s my layout for How Much is Too Much challenge #185 – Thankful. We were challenged to do a layout about thankfulness and to use:

3 foam embellishments
4 colors of cardstock
5 buttons
6 stickers (non-alphabet)

I hope you will play along with us! Check out what the rest of the team did on the blog.

I always enjoy doing layouts about thankfulness. Here's it is:

I used some photos of the little one and me and a bunch of stickers about gratitude. At first I didn’t know what stickers to use, since I hardly have any stickers which are not alphabet stickers. I love the 7Gypsies word and quote stickers, so I decided to use those. I tend not to use the big ones in the sets since I often struggle to use things that feel too ‘ready embellished’ for me, I like being able to alter everything a bit. The sticker was adhered to cardstock, die cut with an On the Edge die and inked a bit with Distress Inks. The remaining 5 stickers came from the same and another set of 7Gypsies 97% complete stickers. For the cardstock, I used four colours Core’dinations Kraft core, love the look of them embossed and sanded. The four pieces were die cut into 8 hearts and I used different embossing folders for each one.

The only foam embellishments I have did not at all fit with the colours of the layout, so instead I die cut three birds from brown craft foam. They got little nests made out of cheese cloth. I also used a bunch of bird stamps on the layout since there were lots of birds at the river where the photos were taken and because I love birds.

Supplies: Artistic Outpost, Crafty Individuals and Beeswax bird and tree stamps; Core’dinations Tim Holtz Kraft Core cardstock; Tim Holtz Sizzix Heart & Wings, Bird and Brackets On the Edge dies; Archival Ink Coffee; Cuttlebug and Sizzix embossing folders; MME patterned paper; 7Gypsies 97% Complete stickers; Panduro felt hearts; cheese cloth; buttons.

Frosted Aspens

Today I have a blue winter scene to share. I love this Frosted Aspens stamp, it gives an immediate snowy feeling to a card.

The scene is done on glossy cardstock and coloured with dye and pigment inks. The Aspens were stamped twice with Adirondack Denim and then the pond was stamped with Stonewashed. The scene was coloured using a Colorbox Stylus Tool with the following inks: Aqua, Stonewashed, Stormy Sky, Denim, making sure to leave most of the Aspens and the pond the white of the paper. Stars were added with a white gel pen. White pigment ink was sponged over and under the trees, and Leafless Limbs was stamped with both blue dye and white pigment ink as a foreground. A grass texture stamp was stamped with white ink here and there to add texture.

Thank you for stopping by!

Supplies: Stampscapes: Frosted Aspens 218G, Buck Lg 009B, Leafless Limbs 052C, Tall Grass Sm. 254B, sentiment; Adirondack: Aqua, Stonewashed, Denim; Distress Ink Stormy Sky; Colorbox Frost White; white gel pen.

Wispy Skies

Today I have two scenes to share and a very fun technique. Kevin Nakagawa from Stampscapes did this cool winter scene on pearlescent paper (here's a tutorial). Yesterday I remembered that I had one sheet of opal pearlescent paper and decided to play around with some wispy skies. When I started making cards, pearlescent papers were very popular to use, but I haven’t used it in many years. I bet I have more of them somewhere. I ended up doing two cards. The photos don’t do justice to these cards, they look nicer in real life. Here they are:

Dye inks were applied to the paper using a Colorbox Stylus tools in a random wispy manner. I angled the tool to get some harder lines and really liked how those came out. One of the tricks with this technique is not thinking too much about the end result. I used Adirondack Pitch Black on the black & white card and Adirondack Denim on the blue card. Archival Jet Black was used for the stamping and liked how the ink sunk into the paper underneath the pearlescent shine.

The black and white card was splattered with white acrylic ink to create a snowy feelings, I also added some of the ink using a paint brush. On the blue card I used a white gel pen to add a few highlights. Here are two close-ups to try to capture the shine:

Thank you for looking! Have a fabulous weekened!

Supplies:
Black & White card: Stampscapes: Lakeside Cabin 147G, Reeds 068D, Pine Tree 196F, Crooked Limb 107E; Adirondack Pitch Black dye ink; Core’dinations Opal Pearl card; Daler & Rowney Acrylic Artist Ink white; Colorbox Stylus tool.

Blue card: Stampscapes: Lakeside Cove 049G, Pines and Rocks 195G, Reeds 068D; Core’dinations Opal Pearl card; white gel pen; Colorbox Stylus tool.

Christmas Village

Thanks everyone for the nice comments I got on yesterday's card. This card is for CardPatterns #141 and for the Hero Arts November challenge (colour combo and bling theme). Here’s the sketch:

And this is the colour combo:

Here’s my card:

I stamped the village with chalk ink and softly coloured the houses with pencils. Stickles were added to the roofs and to the stars in the sky. I thought the round tags looked like baubles, they were die cut from patterend paper, stamped and then coated with Glossy Accents. The green cardstock was embossed and sanded. The baubles came out a bit dark on the photo, they are a brighter pink in real life, very similar to the pink in the colour combo.

Thank you for stopping by!

Supplies: Hero Arts stamps: Snowing Village CG396, Typewriter letters CL492, Sending Holiday Cheer CL464, Tiny Flakes CG387; Hero Arts chalk ink Cerulean; Tim Holtz Sizzix Tiny Tabs & Tags die, dots embossing folder; BasicGrey patterend papers; Derwent coloured pencils; twine; Core’dinations cardstock; snowflake brad.

Snowy hills

When doing winter scenes, I tend to reach for my blue inks, but here I wanted to try something else. The scene is inspired by a Stampscapes idea card by Linda Selymes, called ‘Winter Walk’. Here's my card:

The scene is done on glossy cardstock and coloured with dye and pigment inks. First the fence and the cabin were stamped with Jet Black ink. The Soft Hill was stamped twice with Memento London Fog and the Pond was stamped with the same colour. I really like the way the pond looks like an ice and snow coloured collection of water. The Sedge Filler was used with London Fog to add texture to the areas that were still empty. The trees, stones, stumps and hikers were stamped with Jet Black. The scene was coloured very softly, with the inks listed below, leaving lots of areas the white of the paper. The darker inks were used very sparingly, basically only to create shadows, a border and to colour the cabin. Snow and highlights were added with a white gel pen. The branches were stamped in the foreground in both black and white and the Tall Grass were stamped with white pigment ink all over the scene to add texture, also to the sky.

Thank you so much for visiting!!

Supplies: Stampscapes: Leafless Limbs 053F, Spruce Tree 077C, Hikers m/f, Oak Tree Sm. 177B, Sedge Filler 251C, Shack 246B, Soft Hill 278F, Pong 279F, Fence 289D, Old Fence 293C, 3 Rocks and Grass 299A, Stump Lg 311B, Stump Sm. 303A; Tall Grass Sm. 254B, Prickly Branches; Memento: London Fog; Adirondack: Aqua, Juniper, Stonewashed, Pebble, Slate; Archival Ink Jet Black; Colorbox Frost White; white gel pen; Kromekote glossy cardstock.

Winter children

I have another brayered card today, using the same technique as this card. It is a winter version of an autumn scene I did a while ago, using the same silhouette stamp.

The scene is done on glossy cardstock and brayered with dye inks. First, the moon was masked and then Memento Summer Sky was brayered over the cardstock. Then the following inks were applied to the card: Adirondack Stonewashed, Memento Danube Blue, Adirondack Denim, always leaving some of the previous colour showing. For the ground, I used torn pieces of paper as masks and brayered the inks on top to create subtle heaps of snow. After removing the mask from the moon, I sponged a bit of Summer Sky on top of it, because it looked too white. The Pine Bough was stamped at the bottom of the card in both black ink and white pigment ink. Dots were added with a white gel pen and the ‘halos’ around the dots with white pigment ink.

Thank you for stopping by!!

Supplies: Hero Arts stamps: Three Winter Trees K5255, Musical Walk F5468, Big Pine Bough K5242, Merriest Christmas Wishes CG377; Adirondack: Stonewashed, Denim; Memento: Summer Sky, Danube Blue; Colorbox Frost White; white gel pen; Kromekote glossy cardstock.

Christmas Bird

This card is for Stamping A to Z (T for Tim Holtz and Y for yellow). I wanted to try doing a Christmas card with yellow.

The background was made by applying Distress Stains to my craft sheet, misting with Perfect Pearls and water and then dipping watercolour paper into it. It was stamped with a text stamp. The bird and birdcage were die cut from grungepaper – the paper for the cage was covered with text paper first. The cage was inked with Distress Stain Antique Linen and Walnut Stain and misted with Perfect Pearls and water for shine. The bird was painted with crackle paint and when dry covered with Distress Stain Walnut Stain and misted with Perfect Pearls. The eye was done with black Enamel Accents. The patterened paper behind the bird cage was coated with Rock Candy crackle paint and then inked with Walnut Stain. Finally, the fragment was coloured with Stream, Sailboat Blue and Silver alcohol inke at the back and stamped with Stazon on the front.

Thank you for visiting!

Supplies: Hero Arts stamps: Holiday Background CG324, Basic Lowercase Letters LL188; Tim Holtz Sizzix Caged Bird die; Distress Stain: Mustard Seed, Antique Linen, Scattered Straw, Walnut Stain; Distress Crackle paint Broken China, Vintage Photo, Rock Candy; Distress ink Scattered Straw; Alcohol ink: Stream, Sailboat Blue, Silver; grungepaper; Tim Holtz patterned paper; fragment; Kaisercraft rhinestones, old text paper; DMC floss.

Silver Tree

Another Christmas card today. This card is for Stamping A to Z on Two Peas (T for Tim Holtz).

The snowflakes were clear embossed on watercolour paper and Distress Stains were applied in a streaky fashion on top. The snowflakes resist the stain. Finally, Perfect Pearls mixed with water was misted on the cardstock to blend the stains slightly and to give shimmer (doesn’t show on the photo). The tree was die cut from grungepaper, painted white and covered with silver glitter. The sentiment was stamped with Faded Jeans on watercolour paper.

Thank you for stopping by!

Supplies: Tim Holtz Stamper’s Anonymous stamps Snowflakes and ticket; Tim Holtz Sizzix Branch Tree die; Distress Stain: Tumbled Glass, Stormy Sky, Faded Jeans; Distress Ink Faded Jeans; Making Memories glitter; Glossy Accents; grungepaper; Kaisercraft rhinestones; lace and ribbon.

Colour Splash Christmas

Hi everyone! This card is for The Play Date Café #106, which is a colour splash challenge (black, white and orange). Here’s the inspiration board:

I almost made a card with an orange car, but I really need to work on my Christmas cards, so I did a Christmas card instead.

I just got the background stamp, love it. It was white embossed on black cardstock. The tag was stamped with Memento Tangelo and the snowman was inked with Versafine Onyx Black, masking off the nose. Then the nose was inked with a Tangelo marker. The buttons were coated with black Enamel Accents (I smudged it a bit and tried to cover up with a white gel pen, not very succesfully).

Thank you for looking!!

Supplies: Hero Arts stamps: Holiday Background CG324, Smiling Snowman CG364; Memento Tangelo; Memento Tangelo marker; Ranger black Enamel Accents; BasicGrey stickers; twine; gauze, google eyes.

Owls and hearts

I needed to make a wedding card. This card is for CardPatterns #140 and for Hero Arts November challenge (bling theme). Here’s the sketch:

And here's my card:

I used the same embossing folder on the Core’dinations background cardstock and on the white cardstock. The owls were stamped on watercolour paper and coloured with Distress Inks (Antique Linen and Victorian Velvet), misted with water and Perfect Pearls and applied with a paint brush. The white areas were painted with Perfect Pearls and water to give a subtle shine (hard to photograph). I painted the embossed white cardstock with the same mixture. The cream cardstock was coloured with Distress Stain Antique Linen and misted with Perfect Pearls and water. The two chipboard hearts were painted white and coated with Distress Stickles. The sentiment is from a stamp that says ‘I love books’, but I only inked up the ‘love’ part.

A close up:



Thanks so much for visiting!! Have a wonderful weekend!

Supplies: Hero Arts stamps: Heart Owls D5302, I Love Books ST506; Sizzix embossing folder; Distress Ink: Antique Linen, Victorian Velvet; Distress Stain Antique Linen; Distress Stickles Victorian Velvet; Stickles Diamond; Perfect Pearls; Versafine Onyx Black; Victorian Velvet Core’dinations cardstock; watercolour paper; twine.

Golden Trees

Today, I have a brayered card, which is quick to make. I recently got this Stampscapes Three Bare Trees stamp and had this image of them gold embossed. Here’s the card:

The scene is done on glossy cardstock and brayered with dye inks. First, the trees were gold embossed and then Memento Summer Sky was brayered over the cardstock. After that, the moon was masked and I brayered another layer of Summer Sky. Then the following inks were applied to the card: Adirondack Stonewashed, Memento Danube Blue, Adirondack Denim, always leaving some of the previous colour showing. For the ground, I used torn pieces of paper as masks and brayered the inks on top to create subtle heaps of snow. Dots were added with a white gel pen and the ‘halos’ around the dots with white pigment ink.
Because the trees were embossed, the areas around the branches didn't pick up quite as much ink from the brayer. I liked the way in which it gave a snowly feeling to the trees.
Thank you for stopping by!!

Dankie vir die kuier!

Supplies: Stampscapes Three Bare Trees 268G, sentiment; Adirondack: Stonewashed, Denim; Memento: Summer Sky, Danube Blue; Archival Jet Black ink; Colorbox Frost White; white gel pen; Kromekote glossy cardstock.

Harvest Moon

I made this card for a swap, with the theme Harvest Moon. I have only seen a real harvest moon once or twice and wanted to read up a little bit about it. The harvest moon is visible low on the horizon and therefore looks bigger, it also appears orange or reddish. The harvest moon got its name because it was seen to help farmer’s to be able to continue harvesting later in the evening. Inspired by this, I used a large moon stamp and coloured it orange.

I also added some orange into the rest of the scene, but kept the larger part of it in grey scale. The scene is done on glossy cardstock and coloured with dye inks using a Stylus Tool. The stamping was done with Archival Jet Black ink, Adirondack Slate (moon), Memento Tuxedo Black (grass – gives a more grey impression than the Jet Black ink). The grass was stamped in first to second generation images. I wanted to create the impression of quite long grass. Mist was added with white pigment ink and highlights with a white gel pen.

Thank you for visiting!!

Supplies: Sutter stamps: Old Barn F-1647, Homeward Cowboy Small E-1294, Mirrored Country Fence G-1469; Stampscapes: Cloud with Raising Moon Lg. 198G, Prickly Branches 272G, Oak Branch 203G, Reeds 067B, Plant 101A; Adirondack ink: Peach Bellini, Slate, Bottle; Distress Ink: Black Soot, Spiced Marmalade; Memento Tuxedo Black; Jenni Bowlin Chicken Feed; Archival ink Jet Black; Kromekote glossy cardstock.

Happy?

Here’s my layout for How Much is Too Much challenge #184. The challenge is to mix up different patterns (stripes, flowers, dots, stars, etc.), and more specifically to use:

- Eight different patterns, none to match the holiday
- The word happy
- Any holiday picture and embellishments. (Embellishments can match the holiday)

I hope you’ll play along with us! Check out what the team and our fabulous guest designer for November, Shaunery, did on the blog. Here's my layout:

I enjoyed mixing different patterns and used lots of different ones on my layout. I used grey, black, blue and red papers and cut them into tags of two sizes. The tags were distressed a bit and then stitched to the page to form borders at the top and the bottom. They were also embellished with a bit of subtle stamping (so subtle, it is hard to see on the photo). I used a fun photo of me and my sister and the tip of the tail of the dog fleeing the scene. The title translates ‘Happy?’

Journaling: A Christmas Eve photo which didn’t turn out as planned. I appear to be angry as a bee. My sister is more interested of removing decorations from the tree. And Kasper, the dog, fled the scene so that only his tail is visible in the photo.

I didn't feel like using lose glitter yesterday, so Stickles was a quick and much less potentially messy solution:

The chipboard letters were painted white, coated with Glossy Accents and then with white flock.

Thanks so much for stopping by!!
Supplies: Hero Arts Classic Fabric Design CG245; Artistic Outpost and Stampelboden stamps; 7Gypsies, Tim Holtz, BasicGrey, Jenni Bowlin, October Afternoon and Scenic Route pattered paper: Tim Holtz Sizzix Tag & Bookplates and Tiny Tabs & Tags dies; Hambly screenprint; BasicGrey chipboard letters and chipboard shapes; Stampendous white flock; Tim Holtz tissue tape; Versafine Smokey Grey ink; Pumice Stone Distress Ink; Adirondack Slate; Platinum Stickles; Glossy Accents; white and red acrylic paint; Panduro velvet hearts; twine; lace; Imaginesce pearls.

Stamping A to Z: Altered Book

At the beginning of October, I got an email from Jamie at Two Peas in a Bucket asking if I wanted to be a guest designer for their Stamping A to Z event. I was so very happy and honoured. Two Peas has been my home on the internet for a long time, it was where I posted my first layout online more than five years ago and I have met so many friends there. Of course I said yes! Here's the post on Two Peas, and here's my gallery post.

My letter is ‘X’, as in ‘X-acto knife’, a basic papercrafting tool. It was one of the very first tools that I bought and I use my x-acto knife on almost every project. I wanted to do something I hadn’t done before using an x-acto knife, and decided to do an altered book with two deep niches. The book was turned into a Christmas decoration. Here's the final result, on the inside:

I took some step-by-step photos while I was busy (but forgot to take photos of all the steps unfortunately), so I thought I would use both those and the final photos to explain the process.

The Base: I divided the book into two (about 150 pages on each side) and glued the pages together with multi-medium. The gel was applied to the edges of the pages, making sure to get some in between the pages especially at the front and at the back. The book dried overnight under a very heavy book and with wax paper in between the two blocks and between the blocks and the covers to prevent them from sticking together. I measured one window on each side and marked them with a pencil. The the two niches were cut with my x-acto knife, using a metallic ruler as support at the beginning. After about two or three cuts, I didn't need the ruler any longer.

I cut out about 6-8 pages at the time. It is easier with a sharp blade, I changed blades before cutting the second window. This is a close up of the second niche. After I cut it, I noticed that the line just above the niche is about stamps (although postage stamps). I love such little details and it was a total coincidence. I covered up most of the text with gesso, but left 'stamps' showing.

The edges and the corners were tidied up with a small craft file and then the gel was applied to the edges. Again, the book dried overnight underneath a heavy book. Now it was ready to be embellished.

The pages: The flourish, woodgrain and snowflakes were embossed with clear sparkly powder. Then the pages were covered with a light coat of gesso and a moist cloth was used to wipe the gesso off from the embossed areas. Gold embossing powder was applied as a border around the whole spread.

Platinum Stickles was applied to the edges of the pages (where they had been glued), to almost give the book a gilded look.There was almost too much glitter, so instead I used Distress Stickles Antique Linen on the edges of the big window and Rock Candy on the small window, creating a more subtle effect. Crackle paint was applied as a frame around the big window and ink around the smaller.

Left-hand page: The house was stamped on a piece of watercolour paper which had been coloured with Antique Linen Distress Stain. The roof was stamped a second time on patterned paper. I used my knife to cut out the windows and to cut the door so that it opens (the word ‘love’ is stamped on the inside). Mica is used as windows and I also added some lace curtains. The people were stamped on shrink plastic and shrunk to form a little family. The fence was die cut from grungeboard and coated with crackle paint. Glossy Accents and white flock were added to the fence. Enamel Accents is also used as snow on the roof. Mica flakes were glued to the base of the scene as snow and cotton wool was used as smoke. The frame was stamped on acetate and I used my knife to cut out the centre (I wanted the little scene to be touchable). The background of both niches was created with blue shades of Distress Stain and misted with Perfect Pearls and water. I used different Christmas sentiment stamps and a stamp with Swedish Christmas songs.

The branch was die cut from grungepaper, painted with crackle paint and when dry snow was added with Enamel Accents and white flock. The bird is die cut from mica.

Right-hand page: The trees were stamped five times (the blue tree on cream paper, the brown tree on the same paper as the house). They were folded in the middle and glued together.

The deer was stamped on modeling film, coloured with alcohol ink, heated and shaped and then coated at the back with Stickles. Mica flakes were added as snow. The heart was die cut from mica.

Here's a close-up where you can see the depth of the niche better:

The covers: The covers were originally black and yellow. They were painted with gesso.

After sanding them lightly, the covers were coated with Distress Crackle Rock Candy. Cool stuff. I applied an uneven coat to increase the texture. When dry, Weathered Wood Distress Stain was applied on top in a patchy fashion. You can see the results here on the back:

The panel on the cover is sticky-backed canvas which was die cut and coloured with Antique Linen applied in stripes. I wanted the cover to be flat, so that the book can be stored in a bookshelf when it is not displayed.

The spine was coloured with Antique Linen Distress Stain, sponged with Walnut Stain Distress Ink and stamped with Stazon.

And here's a close up of the glitter on the edges:

Finally, the covers were glued to the blocks and left to dry overnight. Here's a photo of the book from the top:

Thank you for visiting and for looking at this long post!

Thank you so much Two Peas for asking me to be a guest designer at Stamping A to Z!

Supplies: Hero Arts stamps: Snowy Tree CG370, Tiny Flakes CG387, Fabulous Flourish S5449, Enjoy the Season CG210, Starry Sky S5448, Winking Reindeer H5457, Two Houses CG182, Plaid Person G5500, Polka Dot Person G5499, Three People LP204, Designer Woodgrain S5208, Simple Frame S5324, Christmas Reindeers CL540, Magic of Christmas CL462, Merry Christmas Trees CL459, Holiday Sayings CL343, Sending Holiday Cheer CL464, Sparkle Clear: Merry Always CL252, Many Dots CL519, Basic Lowercase Letters LL188; Tim Holtz Stamper’s Anonymous Mini Holidays, Mini Holidays 2; Stampelboden Christmas song stamp; Distress Stain: Antique Linen, Weathered Wood, Faded Jeans, Tumbled Glass; Distress Ink: Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain; Jenni Bowlin Brown Sugar, Spice Tin; Archival ink Coffee; Stazon Jet Black and Timber Brown; Versafine Onyx black; Ranger Alcohol ink Ginger; Ranger Multi-Medium Gloss; Glossy Accents; Distress Crackle Paint: Rock Candy, Vintage Photo, Antique Linen, Picket Fence; white and black Enamel Accents; Stickles: Antique Linen, Rock Candy, Tarnished Brass, Platinum; Perfect Pearls; Hero Arts Sparkle embossing powder; Ranger Seafoam white EP; Judikins Super Gold EP; gesso; Tim Holtz Sizzix Ornamental, On the Fence, Branch Tree, Heart, Bird & Cage dies; Ranger shrink plastic and sticky-back canvas; Stamper’s Anonymous Modeling Film; Stampendous Fun Flock; Tim Holtz grungeboard, grungepaper, tissue tape; BasicGrey Nordic Holiday and Basics patterned papers; mica and mica flakes; Imaginisce rhinestones; acetate; gauze; old book; lace trim; pompom.

Distress Stain cards

I played around some more with Distress Stains yesterday, they are so quick to colour with. A few days ago Godelieve posted a stunning tag where she used Distress Stain to colour fall leaves on a tree. I thought it was such a clever idea and wanted to try it out. I decided to do a similar card as this one that I did some weeks ago, only using Distress Stain instead of misted Distress Ink applied with a paint brush, just to see how different it would turn out.

A fun thing with this technique (and any inky watercolour technique) is that the results are somewhat unpredictable, so you will never get the same look twice. Colouring with Distress Stains is so quick, I ended up doing two cards.

I first stamped the tree with Archival Jet Black on watercolour paper and then pounced the Distress Stains as leaves. On the first one I let the colours blend a bit more when I pounced the leaves, on the second on the blend a bit less. For the ground, I just swept the stains over the cardstock in wavy stripes. The brown lines were applied with a paint brush, using Vintage Photo stain.

Supplies: Stampscapes: Leafless Limbs 053F, Reeds 068D, Flock 112A, Duck Treio in Flight 123A, Doe 229A; Distress Stain: Aged Mahogany, Wild Honey, Mustard Seed, Rusty Hinge, Spiced Marmalade, Vintage Photo; Ranger Archival Jet Black; watercolour paper.

While I was busy, I wanted to do a wintery card too. It is also for Stamping A to Z on Two Peas. Here’s the result:

The winter scene was stamped on watercolour paper with Archival Jet Black ink. The sky was pounced with Distress Stain, blending them more than I did on the tree. The ground was swept, just as on the other cards. Some jewels were added as stars/snow.

Thanks so much for stopping by!! Have a wonderful weekend!

Supplies: Hero Arts stamps: Winter Scene K5524, Sending Holiday Cheer CL464; Distress Stain: Tumbled Glass, Weathered Wood, Stormy Sky, Faded Jeans, Chipped Sapphire; Ranger Archival Jet Black; Tim Holtz Sizzix dots embossing folder; Core’dinations Stormy Sky cardstock; Imaginisce jewels; Panduro velvet hearts.

Music Christmas card

Here’s a quick card made for this week’s Card Patterns sketch. Here’s the sketch:

The card is also for Stamping A to Z on Two Peas.

I had this piece of watercoloured paper for a while. When I have used Distress Inks on my craft sheet, I often mist them and smear scraps of watercolour into the mix when I am finished. In that way, I don’t waste any ink and the pieces often look interesting. Not one looks like the other. I particularly liked this piece and decided to use it as the main element on this card. A few snowflakes were stamped on the piece and I used strips of Swedish Christmas songs left over from another project. I wanted to background to be subtle, so the music stamp was embossed on dark brown cardstock with glittery black embossing powder.

Thanks for visiting!!

Supplies: Stamper’s Anonymous snowflake stamps (Mini Holidays); Hero Arts Music Background CG222; Stämpelboden Christmas song stamp; Distress Inks: Peeled Paint, Shabby Shutters, Pine Needles, Forest Moss; Zing embossing powder; Versafine; BasicGrey patterned paper; Hero Arts string; mini staples.