A beautiful end to April

Good morning, despite the weather taking a down turn, we have reached the very last day April. And what a beautiful April it has been, it started with my birthday at the beginning. We enjoyed a taste of summer in the middle as well as Jack's 1st birthday and special family time together. I also love being  back outside working in my garden studio.

 Mother Nature has woken up and the sun when it shine has real warmth.

 So on this very last day of April I am able to share something very exciting....my very first DT project made using one of the brand new May stamp release sets from Visible Image. I have oooohhhed and ahhhed at this amazing new release and I will be sharing lots of makes with them over the coming weeks. If you would like to see the whole of the release do have a look here. There are 6 fab news stamp sets including some brilliant words set and also 8 gorgeous new stencils. They are all on pre release so if you want to get your order in now they will be delivered to your door immediately after their release on May 11th.

Your local stockests will also be receiving them very soon.

So first of all....drum roll..  I would like you to meet...

 Mr Hummingbird from the wonderful new life is beautiful set.

This gorgeous inky hummingbird is certain to take the stamping world by storm.

For my fist make I wanted a very striking inky background. I took out my alcohol inks, from yellows through to amethyst and added them to Yupo paper using a felt and blending tool.

I wanted a real glow behind him so I kept the centre fairly plain and used yellow and orange hues.

This is a quick snap taken in my studio showing the gradual build up of ink on the Yupo paper.

I kept my design fairly simple as I wanted the background to show off Mr Hummer.

Here he is;

and some close ups.

The words are as they say, just "beautiful". I distressed the edges and added some ink to make them pop.

The little circle accent stamp works so well with the image. I can see me using this a lot on other makes too. 

Here is one last full shot.

***EDIT I have been asked about ink not drying on Yupo paper on the VI friends Facebook page.  Yes it is a real challenge to get any ink to dry..I have tried everything and the one which is most likely to dry is Ranger Archival if you heat set it. However I don't like to take the risk and for this card I used Versafine Black Onyx ink which I then embossed with black embossing powder. This gives a gorgeous sheen too. HOWEVER beware when heating the Yupo as it is not that heat stable. You need to heat quickly and move your heat gun around and even off the paper so as not to risk melting your background. I hope that helps?***

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges;

The Artistic stamper birds/bees

Love to craft 3/3 anything goes

Lil patch of crafty friends 2/3 anything goes

Simon says stamp Wednesday anything goes

Sweet stamping 1/3 circles

Crafty catz 1/3 anything goes I have also gone with the optional twist of using purples and mauves
Try it on Tuesday Nature's beauty

All the Visible Image links can be found here;

Visible Image group page on Facebook. Our friendly Group can be found here ...it would be lovely to see you. You can add work to the "Show and Tell" album where one randomly chosen winner each month wins a £25 coupon to spend on the website.

The main Visible Image Facebook page is here; there are weekly stamp giveaways...open world wide!

And the shop web site is here; where all these gorgeous stamps and stencils can be purchased. 

You can also follow via:

 Pinterest

Twitter

and

 Instagram

There is also a Visible Image/MISTI blog hop running at the moment.

 All the details are here but you need to be quick as you need to hop and leave a comment on each of participants blogs by midnight tonight. You might even be the winner of the Visible Image $50 coupon and could then treat yourself to Mr Hummer and lots of other goodies over on the website!. Good luck if you enter....the winners will be revealed on the Visible Image and MISTI blogs tomorrow.

 Thanks so much for stopping by and for all your very kind comments. I would also like to extend a very warm welcome to my newest followers. Enjoy the very last day of April, I am back again in the morning with my first post in May.

Bye for now,

Jane x

Visible Image and Misti blog hop and giveaway!

Hello and welcome to the Visible Image and MISTI ( My Sweet Petunia) blog hop! 

I am delighted to be taking part in this amazing event which is a collaboration between the 2 design teams. If this is your first visit to my blog, can I give you a very warm welcome. Remember to leave a comment on everyone's blogs as
2 lucky commentators will win either a $50 spend at My sweet Petunia
or a $50 voucher to spend at the Visible Image Website. Visible Image ship their gorgeous stamps worldwide. I have added links within my post which take you to the website to show the stamps I used.
 Another exciting piece of news is that today is new release day and there are fabulous brand new stamps and stencils being launched...don't miss out..do have a look at the website here.

I love creating with different media making backgrounds using different card types. I find that the MISTI is perfect for stamping my Visible Image words and images to surfaces which either have a "tooth" to them or are quite slippery as a stamping surface. In the past it would been quite difficult to add stamping to finished watercolour surfaces or glossy card stock. The MISTI makes this much simpler. There is no slipping and if the image needs reinking due to the tooth of the card this is no problem as the stamp and card stay firmly in place within the MISTI.

I also enjoy adding colour to and using parts of the fabulous Visible Image sentiments. Again the MISTI makes this so much easier. Occasionally I make very small batches (no more than 6) of the same card design as I sell at a local vintage Tearooms. Also repeat border look very cool around a card.  So for the hop I am sharing how to repeat a design and how to add an even border to cards.

These are the 3 finished cards I am sharing for the hop.

First I made some inky backgrounds and allowed them to dry thoroughly. I used everything from white card stock, black card stock, kraft, glossy paper and watercolour paper. I used alcohol inks, distress inks and distress oxide inks for my media.

 In my post I will take you through a step by step to show you how I made this single design which was used for all the backgrounds and on all the paper types.

I made 6 cards in total but I have chosen my favourite 3 to share with you today. Some of my process photos show different backings inside my MISTI but they were all made in exactly the same way.

I used 5 1/4 x 5 1/4" square pieces of card which were then matted and layered up into 6" by 6" finished cards.
First I stamped and embossed the brilliant Visible Image What really matters time quote stamp

centrally but left enough space underneath to stamp a 2nd sentiment I had chosen to use.

Visible Image stamps are such top quality, thick photo polymer stamps and so well etched that it is very easy to get a perfect impression on just one closing of the MISTI lid. The grid on the lid makes it very easy to line the stamp up accurately.

Underneath I stamped and embossed, in a different colour, the "live in the now and make every moment count" stamp from the
somewhere in time stamp set. There are so many sentiments to use on this sheet, they are all individually pre cut stamps; you could choose your own favourite.

The see though and gridded lid of the MISTI made straight placement underneath the larger sentiment very easy.

I then placed the cogs stamp from the somewhere in time stamp set across one of the corners and stamped and embossed. I placed a piece of scrap paper underneath the card to absorb the ink where I was purposely stamping slightly off the page. This always give a better effect.

Leaving the stamp in place on the lid I opened it up and rotated the card around 90o. I repeated the stamping and embossing of the cogs until all 4 corners were complete. 

I then moved the stamp to the blank part of the border between the embossed corners  and repeated this process, turning the card 90o each time.

 You will see that to finish off I also stamped and embossed the tiny springs from the somewhere in time stamp set. They are very easy to stamp by hand and I just stamped 3 times around the sentiment. 

So then I had 6 versions of this card design all ready for Dotty's vintage Tearooms where I sell my cards.

 So here again are the 3 cards I am sharing today after matting and layering them up.

This one, using Kraft card,

the second using glossy card stock with alcohol inks

and finally one using black card stock with distress oxide inks. It's fun how very different they all look despite their design being identical. I hope I may have inspired you to think of a single design and make a small batch of unique one of a kind cards. 

Remember there are prizes to be won just by leaving a comment here and on the other participating designers posts. I would also be very interested to hear if you have a favourite of the 3 I am sharing?

This is the list of all the participants in the hop;

Veerle Moreels

Ilina Crouse

Lisa Taggart

Jeanne Streiff

Sharon Traynor

Kia Gibson-Clapper

Becca Cruger

Ceal Pritchett

Pauline Butcher

Giovana Smith

Josefine Fouarge

Chris Dayton

                    *****Jane Tyrrell ****you are here

Stephanie Severin

Tenia Nelson

Janine Tinklenberg

Elisa Ablett

Dina Kowal

Heather Mitchell

Kyra Sanders

Lynn Good

Susan Wymer

Lanette Erickson

Joan Bardee

Aga Baraniak

Judy Rozema

Eileen Godwin

My Sweet Petunia

Thank you so much for stopping by. All comments must be left on the DT blogs by 11.59 (midnight) on 30th April. Winners will be posted on the Visible Image and My Sweet Petunia blogs on Tuesday 1st May.

Good luck!

Bye for now,

Jane x

(Next on the hop is Stephanie  )


You can also follow Visible image on;

Facebook

 Pinterest

Twitter

and

 Instagram

1st birthday celebrations

On Saturday we celebrated our darling grandson Jack's first birthday. It was such a lovely family occasion, it's always so good to all get together and the birthday boy was the star of the show sporting his new Cath Kidston shirt.

As always I am on cake making duty and as Jack is far to young to have a favourite charactor my daughter thought it would be fun to make something with tools on. His favourite toy is a wooden tool bench with tools which have fun faces. So out came my my fondant icing and my cake decorating equipment and I started to make the tools and some bright stars for decorations.

I made a personalized red tool box out of icing as a focal and to sit a few of the tools in. 

I made everything from saws to pliers, files, spanners and screwdrivers and added fun little eyes to everything. 

Here is the completed cake which I then had to carefully transport to the party.

Jack adores a little rainbow zebra charm my Hb bought me for Christmas and will take any opportunity to try to grab it from Nanna. 

 and yes bless him he was sporting a black eye from a birthday fall poor lad! 

Here is the cake in place with my daughter and Daisy's lovely cupcakes in the background.

And this is Jack with Mummy, Daddy and Daisy getting some help blowing out his very 1st birthday candle.

There was even time at the party for him to ride his little wooden trike around

and to enjoy his first ever piece of Nanna's birthday cake.

My card today is obviously his birthday card I made.

 I used one of my fave baby stamps made by the sadly no longer trading Ladybug Crafts Ink. I'm sure my friend Kerry will smile when she sees it. I coloured it with Promarkers and decoupaged the baby and duck.

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges;

Passion for Promarkers celebrations
That's Crafty 2/3 circles
Crafty Catz 2/3 anything goes
Love to craft 2/3 anything goes
The ribbon girl 2/3 anything goes
Lil patch of crafty friends 2/3 anything goes
Simon says stamp Wednesday sparkle and shine
Crafty Hazelnut's patterned paper challenge anything goes

Thanks so much for stopping by today and happy Wednesday. Our hot weather has been and gone but it's so good to have days which are so light and cheery. We are racing through April now, just 5 days left!

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x

Blooming and growing

Things really are blooming and growing around here. The recent hot spell caused an explosion of gorgeous blossom around me.

and the wildlife on the ponds were sunning themselves at the top of the waterfall.

Today is my weekly dose of design team inspiration for Visible Image stamps. I made a card using
the fab

Bloom and Grow stamp set

 You might have seen my card as it was published in the March edition of Craft stamper. I made a "baby plant" card. 

The background is a blend of green distress inks.

I stamped the fingerprint in brown archival ink and then black embossed the baby on top. I coloured in the flower with white and green gel pens.

I stamped the sentiments onto inky mop up card and cut them into leaves and a stalk. I distressed the edges by rolling them slightly and then using a distressing tool.

Here are some close ups.

and one last shot.

This is such a unique baby set and the words work so well with other stamps too. 

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges.

Creative Inspirations 3/3 springtime

Card Mania 1/3 spring

Crafty Catz /3 anything goes
Love to craft 1/3 anything goes
Time out 1/3 spring

All the Visible Image links can be found here;

Visible Image group page on Facebook. Our friendly Group can be found here ...it would be lovely to see you. You can add work to the "Show and Tell" album where one randomly chosen winner each month wins a £25 coupon to spend on the website.

The main Visible Image Facebook page is here; there are weekly stamp giveaways...open world wide!

And the shop web site is here; where all these gorgeous stamps and stencils can be purchased. 

You can also follow via:

 Pinterest

Twitter

and

 Instagram

 Thanks so much for stopping by and for all your very kind comments. We had a such a fab Saturday celebrating our Jack's 1st birthday and I will be back in the next couple of days to share his cake and his card. 

Enjoy the warming sunshine.

Back soon

Bye for now

Jane x