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.

Promises to keep

Here’s a card for the Play Date Café Challenge #105. Here’s the inspiration board:

At first I wanted to have an acetate card base (because of the glasses in the photo), but then I found a piece of Core’dinations cardstock that fit the peach colour very well, so I used that instead.

The cardstock was sanded and then embellished with dots of Enamel Accents. The focal stamp was stamped with chalk ink on kraft cardstock.  I added some highlights with a white gel pen. I love the image of Santa and the snow together with the quote, it comes from an Artistic Outpost stamp set called Snowy Woods.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies: Artistic Outpost Snowy Woods stamps; Distress Ink Tattered Rose; VersaMagic Aegean Blue; Core’dinations whitewash cardstock; Ranger white Enamel Accents; DMC floss; twine; mini stapler; Kaisercraft rhinestones.

Small Star

I have been busy with a project that I can share yet. Instead, here is the fifth of my scenic stamping cards that Stampscapes has printed as an idea card. Here's the first post about this.

It is a winter scene done on glossy cardstock (4” x 6.5”) and coloured with dye inks and pigment inks.

Sometimes, I like to just look through the Stampscapes sentiment sheets and then one of the quotes is sure to inspire a scene. This winter scene was inspired by the pretty sentiment about the small star shining in the darkness. All the stamping was done with different shades of blue ink. The scene was colored with blue dye inks starting with the lightest one and gradually building up darker layers. By keeping the scene a monochromatic blue, the wintery feeling is enhanced. The Grass Texture stamp was stamped with both blue dye ink and white pigment ink to create texture on the snowy meadow. Without the texture, the meadow might have looked a bit flat. The stars were drawn with a white gel pen and the focal star was highlighted using white pigment ink. At first, I drew only one star, but it looked too lonely on the clear sky, so I added others, but kept the one bigger. White pigment ink was applied to the clouds in thin layers. The branches were stamped with that same ink to create a frosty framing of the scene. A stamp positioner was used when stamping the sentiment, to ensure that it was straight.

Thanks so much for visiting!!

Supplies: Stampscapes: Frosted Aspens 218G, Buck Lg. 009B, Cloud Cumulus 018E, Crooked Limb 097E, Prickly Branches 272G, Grass Texture 208D, Ducks in Formation 027A, quote from Scenic Sentiments Sheet #2; Adirondack ink: Aqua, Stonewashed, Denim; Distress Ink: Stormy Sky, Faded Jeans, Black Soot; Jenni Bowlin Soap Powder; Memento: Danube Blue; Archival ink Cobalt; Colorbox Frost White; glossy cardstock.