Embossing With House-Mouse & Animal Antics at Simon Says

front of tag 

(photographed with flash)

close-up of image

back of tag

close-up of flower - the Perfect Pearls shimmer

of the dark green petals is just visible

close-up showing texture of dry embossing

plus shine/sparkle of heat embossed heart edge

(click on images to enlarge)

Some form of embossing is the requirement for House-Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge 87 & this week Simon Says.....Animal Antics. I have used both dry & heat embossing on my tag & although my mice are somewhat dormant I hope that they still qualify me to enter them for the latter challenge.

The tag was made by sandwiching a length of ribbon (from stash) between two embossed (Cuttlebug Tiny Bubbles) labels (Nestabilities Labels 17). The edges were distressed using Pine Needles Distress Ink & some of the embossing on the front also sponged with the same ink.

The image (House-Mouse Designs Spring Crocus JSHM009) was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black onto a smaller size of the die-cut labels & coloured using Derwent Artists Pencils with paper stumps & Sansodor. To produce the shiny sparkly heat embossed edge on the image panel I used Pine Needles for the distressing & VersaFine Olympia Green to anchor the embossing powder (Stampendous Rainbow Crystal) more securely prior to heating.

On the back of the tag the edge of the punched heart (Woodware) was heat embossed in the same way. I had some white flowers in my stash which I coloured with Pine Needles Distress Ink & Perfect Pearls mixed with water & allowed to dry prior to layering with a green spotted flower (Prima) & a brad (Dovecraft).

Bildmålarna Rooster

Bildmålarna stamps have kept appearing in my line of vision over the past year & though I saw the physical stamps at the NEC last November I had other priorities at the time so made no purchase. This Swedish company's images have beguiled me again & this time I decided to investigate their blog. Finding that they run their own challenges & coming across some Bildmålarna stamps in the UK at Bunny Zoe's Crafts whilst buying some birthday presents for a friend this project is the result.

Bildmålarna Challenge 4 is to make a box using a Bildmålarna image. I have a little Scor-Buddy so headed off to the  Scor-Pal web site in search of something suitable. Seeing the instructions for a little Favor Box I decided it would be the perfect container for a Cadbury's Creme Egg (here in the UK chocolate eggs are exchanged at Easter). The result was so much more accurate, quicker & easier than when using a ruler with pencil & bone folder/ball tool that my husband suggested I get myself the full size Scor-Pal.

The rooster image was the perfect fit for my heart punch, but every time I use this punch (despite umpteen punchings of foil) the result has an obvious nick in the edge. My eye alighted on a neglected Tim Holtz Distressing Tool (I've never got on with distressing apart from the inking type) & I had a go - a few false starts but I'm really rather pleased with the result after inking my carefully "distress tooled"  edges. You might even see me doing this again!

front view

close-up of image

close-up showing distressing detail 

close-up showing metallic twine & distressing detail

back view

close-up of tag

side views without & with chocolate egg

(click on images to enlarge)

Recipe
Stamp Bildmålarna Rooster (image).
Inks etc... Memento Tuxedo Black (image), Aged Mahogany Distress Ink (inking scored & cut edges of patterned paper), Vintage Photo Distress Ink (distressing tag & heart).
Colouring Derwent Artists Pencils with paper stumps & Sansodor.
Cardstock Kraft from "stash".
Paper Forever Friends Santa's on his way..... A4 Paper Pack.
Punches Woodware (heart & tag), Fiskars (plier hole punch for small holes to thread twine through).
The red metallic twine is from "stash".

Challenge Entered
Bildmålarna Challenge 4

Embossing The Sketch With New Sugar At The Forum

front of card

close-up of image

angled photo showing:

 sparkle of ring on girl's finger & dress trim;

texture & shine of emboss resist panel

close-up showing dry embossing

& emboss resist panels

inside of card

close-up of stamped swirl

(click on photos to enlarge)

The Sugar Bowl Challenge is celebrating its second birthday with Challenge 50 - a sketch by Marlene with the optional theme of "Embossing" whilst the All Things Sugar Nellie Forum Challenge 33 is to use NEW STASH. I rotated the sketch 90 degrees clockwise & used both dry (the embossed diagonal lines of the main matting panel) & heat embossing (the emboss resist technique where the image is heat embossed then sponged with ink & buffed to a shine). My new stash is the stamp & the Memento Grape Jelly inkpad; I also coloured the image with my new Derwent pencils & used a white card blank (Craft UK Ltd) from an unopened packet that I'd bought at the NEC in November. The colours used are those of the CR84FN10 Challenge.

Recipe

Stamps Sugar Nellie Leanne Ellis Tell Me Something (image), Artemio Ref 10001038 (swirls of embossed resist & inside of card).

Inks etc... Memento Tuxedo Black (image) & Grape Jelly (swirl on inside); VersaMagic Spring Pansy & Pretty Petunia (sponging embossed resist); Dusty Concord Distress Ink for inking some cardstock & paper edges; VersaMark watermark stamp pad & Stewart Gill Ultrafine Embossing Powder (embossed resist).

Colouring Derwent Artists Pencils with paper stumps & Sansodor, Sakura Stardust Pen, Letraset Fine Line Drawing Pen.

Cardstock Assorted violet in various finishes, aqua & green from "stash", Craft UK Ltd white card blank.

Paper Moondust violet for inside from "stash".

Punches Woodware (corner rounder, leaves, circle & scalloped square).

The flowers & brad are from a Hot Off The Press Citrus Creative Kit, the adhesive ribbon is Anita's Pastel Flowers & the pearls are from "stash".

Challenges Entered

All Things Sugar Nellie (Paper Craft Planet) Wk 33 - NEW STASH (see above)

The Sugar Bowl Challenge 50 - Marlene's sketch + theme: Embossing 9see above)

CR84FN10 Color Challenge - Lavender, Aqua, Yellow, Green

A New House Mouse Snuggled in Warm Colours

front of card

close-up showing image panel - the paper piercing 

of the black scalloped edging is just visible

close-up showing texture on black corners

close-up showing sparkling outline

of crocus corners

inside of card

close-up of message panel

(click on photos to enlarge)

I erroneously believed that the House Mouse images would be difficult to colour until I saw Joanna Sheen's House Mouse colouring video where she pointed out that the shading is already marked out by the stamp. My stamp sheet arrived yesterday morning & as I'd had a "filling the bin" exercise trying to compile a project for the CR84FN colour scheme I started again with my mouse. Colouring is normally a bit of an ordeal (& I know it will be until I've got my teeth into those colouring classes) but I thoroughly enjoyed colouring this mouse. Restricting myself predominantly to the specified colours of yellow, peach & light pink, the rest of the card wouldn't come together easily either so by the time I was happy with it I had missed the CR84FN9 deadline. The crocus corners, message panel & the mouse image were all stamped onto peach cardstock although it appears yellow in the photos. 

Apart from being a "New Beginning" for me (not only a new stamp but a new style of stamp & coloured using my new Derwent pencils) the card would be suitable for a New Home or, with the symbolical associations of the crocus, a Spring/Easter card. 

Recipe

Stamps House Mouse Designs Spring Crocus JSHM0009 (image), Elusive Images UDLSP0021 (corners & message panel). 

Inks Memento Tuxedo Black (image), Distress Ink (Worn Liptsick) for inking some paper & cardstock edges. 

Colouring Derwent Artists Pencils with paper stumps & Sansodor, Sakura Stardust Pen.

Cardstock An assortment of colours in various finishes & textures from "stash".

Paper Nancy Watt Collection from Making Cards August 2008.

Punches Woodware (circle & scalloped circles),  EK Success (black scalloped corners, Swirl Flourish ), Fiskars (ornate corner edger).
The pink pearls & gems are from "stash".

Challenges Entered
House Mouse & Friends Challenge 86 - New Beginnings (see above)
Simon Says.....New Beginnings (see above)

Santa's Elves at the NEC

Santa sent his Elves with me when my decoupage crafting friend Julie (a Quilter - she's a whizz with any kind of sewing/needlework but Quilting is her speciality) & I went to the NEC last November. Santa was so delighted with what his Elves brought back for him to put down the chimney & Julie (without whose driving there would have been no trip) so amused at how I could get utterly absorbed in the Derwent stand & a box of pencils that this post came about, initially at Santa's request.

So, the full set of 120 Derwent Artists Pencils. These, as far as I understand, are the British equivalent of the USA Sanford Prismacolor Pencils. Both have wax as the binder & according to Gildow & Newton's "Colored Pencil Solution Book" the Derwents differ in that: they are of medium hardness rather than soft; the lead & pencil diameters are slightly larger (1mm max);  there is no blender pencil;  they are sold presharpened.  I sat last night happily making myself a colour chart.

(click on photos to enlarge)