Chocolate Baroque Doodle Bird

Hi, I'm home again but unfortunately too busy to do any crafting other than I DT work, so since I messed bu the picture in a post last week,  I have put it right today.

I have been collecting Alcohol Inks for sometime, but realised that I never use them, so I had a play when making one of my DT cards.....

I used  glossy card and three colours of ink and just moved them about.  It's very interesting because you never know what the result will be!

Then I stamped the bird with Stazon on and embossed with a clear embossing powder.

The acrylic tag was coloured in the same way.

The flower is a Crealie, and the leaves are part of the bird on a branch (minus bird) from Marianne Creatables. I also embossed the panel with a mask from Creative Expressions - Ivy.

Quite a busy and colourful card for me - obviously I felt in a purple mood!

Cuttlebug Script embossing folder

One of the things I like doing is to make my own embellishments, mainly because it gives me the opportunity to experiment and mess about!

I made this tag by embossing a piece of silver mirri card with the CB Script folder, then changed the colour with  alcohol inks.  The stamp is from Creative Expressions Birds which, of course, I triple embossed.  Only a wee postage stamp, but just enough to finish off my tag.   A case of less is more!

This is how I used the tag....

A simple, but effective card using alcohol inks to enhance and give life to the embossing.

I recently made this decorative jar to celebrate the 1st Anniversary of  WOYWW and have been asked how I did it, so.......

It started life as a very plain plastic jar that was given to me as a freebie.

What I did:  Using two coats of Alcohol Inks in Pitch Black, Mushroom and Raspberry I inked the jar.  Unfortunately AI doesn't like to be photographed!  Shame because the finish is great giving a rich and luxurious colouring.

I cut 2 bands with a Joy Craft border die and stuck them to the jar with difficulty using just about every glue I had.  And, in the end with very sticky fingers I managed it!  AND, more importantly, they have remained stuck!!  

Next a Label 4 die cut from gold mirri card and coloured with AI. 

The flower looked daft stuck on the lid, so not to be thwarted I glued them to the bottom where there was a convenient dimple.  All I needed then were some metal flowers and a dragonfly dusted with glitter glue and pearl drops to complete my to piece to celebrate Julia's amazingly successful WOYWW.  Thanks Julia for all your work over the past year - it's been fun!

What will I do with my little jar?!?!?!  Originally I thought I'd fill it with the names of all the WOYWWers on week 52, but now it's standing on its lid, I'm going to fill it with sand and it will become a ...... pretty paperweight!

PS: If you are wondering what WOYWW is all about - you will find a link on my sidebar.

Nestabilities - Stamping - Distress and Alcohol Inks

Monday again and my card today is one that you might have caught a glimse of last week if you had a nosey round my desk last Wednesday! (WOYWW).
This is a special card that I made for Andrea - I really enjoyed doing this because Andrea has been really helpful and encouraging - and she is the reason why my crafting skills have improved and also who is to blame for getting me into stamping, and distress inks, and alcohol inks - where will you take me to next I wonder???!!!???

The borders I cut with the Spade Borderabilities. 

I cut two different papers at once.  From the top brown one I pushed out all the small pieces and....

added them to the main front DP to give a two tone effect for decorating the inside of the card. 

The image, another from Chris Dark, I coloured with promarkers, die cut with the Label 4 die, inked the edges with 2 shades of distress ink  and then triple embossed. 

The mat is cut with the next size up Label 4 die out of silver mirror card.  This I coloured with alcohol inks (Lettuce, Black and Mushroom) and then  embosed with the Script folder.

The chipboard letter started out  pale blue in colour, but with the same AI treatment this was easy to change.  Then  with a bit more triple embossing it looked the part.  You'd never had guessed it was anything other - blue what blue? 

Have a good Monday.

Tippy Thursday

Hi all, how are you today? I hope well and warm, for although the sun is shinning it's very cold out there on this frosty morning.  Nice to look out on whilst you craft!

As crafters we are luck that there are so many ways in which we can occupy ourselves, so what are you doing today?  My passions at the moment are collecting distress and alcohol inks and cosmic embossing powder, and promarkers, and stamps - some passion - how exciting !!!!  But, what can I do with them?  How to get the best use out of my new goodies - or will they sit on the shelf like other things I have just had to buy because I liked them, and wanted them, but not actually needed them! So, I have been looking at my new goodies and thinking okay you wanted them - what are you going to do with them???!!!???   

So........Distress Inks....
1:   I was introduced to these about 3 months ago by the very talented Andrea as an excellent way to colour images to give a watercolour effect. This started me off!
2:  You can also ink the edges of your card or image.
3:  You can change your base card colour to make sentiment/tags to match your decorative paper.
4:  You can use Cut 'N' Dry foam to make mottled backgrounds on which to stamp. Messy, but I like it!
5:  You can stamp with them and then emboss - but you do have to be quick to do this!
If you use these inks for other things...please share with me.

Alcohol Inks
Again messy and you need an heat proof mat and an applicator - but wonderfully satisfying!  Great, different results every time you use them. 
1:   You can make beautiful motttled backgrounds on which to use your stamps
2:   Colour mirror board or cardstock and then emboss with a embossing folder - great for matting
3:   Use to give texture and interest on various surfaces
4:   Use on acetate
5:   Use on metal - jazz up boring tins!
6:   Use on grundgeboard and probably more others I've yet to discover!

Stamps
Look at your stamps - what can you do with them? Do you get full use out of a stamp? Can you use the image in a different way? Can you take a small image and make it appear bigger? Yes, you can....

This stamp is an inchie, but it looks bigger!

I have just stamped on cream card, die cut with a Nestie square, embossed the edge with an embossing pen (felt lazy), shaded with distress inks to match my DP, then triple embossed.

The embossed effect with using the Cosmic shimmer embossing powder makes photography difficult, but you can see the glossy shine look from triple embossing and also from the embossed swirls (stamped with DI).

The mat was made again with cream card and die cut with the next sized Nestie then coloured and textured with Alcohol ink.

So my tip today is to do something with your new things instead of shelving them - I hear so many say "oh I have that and I have never used it!" Open the cupboard and see what you have there that you've not used for an age (or at all!!!)....like my Perfect Pearls for example!!!  But I'm working on them!

Back soon.... have a good play.