Jewelled Butterfly Stamp from Carolines

I loved this stamp when I saw it on Carolines Blog.  Caroline had used a similar one  on a card she had entered into our challenge on CD Sunday and I just had to buy this one as well as  the one she had used.  This is my first play with it using it stamped on 140gsm parchment paper.
After I had stamped it I embossed the tiny circles from the back, painted the almond shapes on the front using PCE No: 3 (Pergamano felt tip pen).  Then on the back I scribbled with Faber Castell pencil No: 115 (Dark Cadmium Orange) and then spread it with Zest (spreading medium) to an even coat.  Then I embossed the painted almond shapes from the back which makes them lighter and 'pop' out.
I just took out the wings without the feelers and body and made my own parchment body which I attached using Perga Glue.  I then decorated the body with self adhesive Kanban half  pearls (my favourites) to look like a segmented thorax.  Then finished off with stamens (from stash) as feelers .

Hope you like it.  I had fun making it and perhaps you might like to have a go - it is really very easy. The colour combinations could be endless.  I want to stamp it on to rainbow parchment paper to see what effect I get.

Fan - pattern by Gilly Howe

Gilly's pattern has two sizes for this fan and this is the larger one.  I made the smaller one some time ago.  I just felt the need to sit and do some gridwork and there is a lot of that in this pattern.  The finished size is almost 10" across and 5.5" high excluding the tassel.

CD SUNDAY - Butterflies

For this weeks Cd Sunday Challenge I have used 2 different papers from the Cd that comes with the Japanese Pattern Source Book Nature 2.  I cut the butterflies out  from the second sheet and attached them  strategically to the first background sheet and added sticky pads to raise the wings. The bodies are pearl oval beads and Chinese crystals for the heads.
There seems to be a series of these pattern books (Amazon - I think) and the papers are gorgeous.  It was my friend Debs who introduced them to me.

Thank you all for joining us with our Birthday Celebrations.  As Jenny said on our Blog  this week, we do look at your Blogs whilst we are there.  Last week I found the image from Karen's Doodles via a Blog and also bought some stamps from Carolines. Both things used on your cards.

Looking forward to visiting your Blogs.
xx

Digi Stamps and parchment

Anne from Card Challenges and my fellow teamie Jenny pointed me in the right direction on Karens Doodles to download a freebie design  that Anne had used and I just felt that it cried out to be used on parchment. This is what I have done with it as a 'first go'.

I haven't finished it completely as I intend to do a better one with better embossing and better shading with the pencils - esp on the basket. It hasn't any depth at the moment.  I used my Faber Castell Polychromos pencils for the colouring.
I want to do it again more carefully and add a good border.

Lilies - Workshop Project

This is my finished project that was set by Dorothy Holness at our recent Parchment Festival.  I have called them Lilies because they look like them to me and they were unamed.  I learned so much about colouring properly on parchment from Dorothy and of course from the other experts we were lucky to have over that weekend.

I loved doing this and have enjoyed this afternoon just adding a little here and a little there to finish it to what I hope would be acceptable to Dorothy. An incredible teacher and you just want to please her.

I still have to mount this -  but I may just keep it in my portfolio as is.

It's our 1st Birthday on CD Sunday.........................

and to celebrate we are offering a first and second prize in our Challenge this week and all you have to do is make a BIRTHDAY CARD - and we all need to make those so this is an easy peasy challenge. You just need to make sure that you have used a CD somewhere in the making of the card and that you also tell us which one you have used. You could use one for the complete card or for a tiny part of it such as the sentiment. As this is OUR special prize-giving challenge we on the Design team will choose the winners ourselves so as Jenny said on the Blog - please Wow us with your creations.

Here is my offering but unfortunately I am 'exempt from taking part' as they say.

I used Carol Ann's Studio - Glitz 'n' Bitz CD for the BP. Lace and ribbon from The Art of Craft and I had the stitching pattern already. I thought the single candle very appropriate.

Report on the Parchment Festival

Now that I have recovered from our fabulous festival I can write this little report.
I have had the most exhilerating and fun 3 days that I have had for some time.
Debs arrived on Thursday, late afternoon. Plenty of time for chat and a leisurely supper before we checked and rechecked everything we needed for the workshops on Friday. Our first workshop was with Kanny using colour pencils on black parchment. We learned how to use transfer paper and how to use white pencil as the base before going on to use layers of colour to create the most beautiful flowers. Orchids on this occasion. Kanny is soooooo talented. Her work is awesome and she is such a delightful person as well.
The afternoon session was with Dorothy Holness. I have had the privilege of having lessons with Dorothy before and I knew that I was going to enjoy every moment. Our project was to trace the image (flowers) with pen and ink and then colour using polychromos pencils on the back and the front. Then to emboss parts of the flowers to show shading and then bring it all to life. I have nearly finished this project and will post it when I have completed it. I must admit to being pleased with what I have done so far on this one and felt more at home with this kind of project. We don't all like the same disciplines and this was more in my comfort zone.

The Festival itself was on Saturday and we had a ball. I can't remember when I last talked so much about anything and everything parchment and other stuff. I met so many lovely people and we talked about how to do crosses, use a star tool, make flowers, removing greasy marks from parchment and even down to exactly which hand cream I use which doesn't mark the paper and where I get my tool stands from. So much I can't remember it all. Many of the show goers were ladies (and gentlemen) that I have met at previous shows and it was like seeing old friends again.

The second day of workshops was on Sunday. The first was with Tina Cox and she was as enthusiastic and as bubbly as ever. We learned so much abouting painting techniques on parchment using mostly felt tip pens and a very fine brush. My picture is almost finished but then there is a gorgeous grid border frame to be done before it is all finished and that may take me some time.
The last workshop was taken by Dorothy again who was standing in for Linda Williams who sadly couldn't make it at the last minute. Dorothy did a magnificent job of teaching someone elses designs and project which just goes to show how talented our designers are.
This project was awesome and I really - for the first time - felt that I was getting somewhere with my colouring on parchment. I am including a scan of the image at it's current stage but there is so much more to do. You really do learn patience in this craft along with all the other techniques.

There are several more stages to go through on this including adjusting the colouring on the face, and this is before attempting the border and finishing touches. The work is still attached to the pattern.

CD Sunday - A Song in my heart

The stitch and bead pattern is a purchased download pattern from Stitching Cards. The base card, BP and tag all printed from Carol Ann's Studio CD-10 Adorable Hearts 1. The words were stamped with alphabet stamps and the blue heart button from stash.


Well done to Janet for winning the draw last week. I hope you enjoy using your prize digi stamps as much as we did.

It will be a special week for us next week so please keep an eye on our site for further details.

In the meantime I look forward to seeing some great cards on our theme of 'A song in my Heart'.

Sarah Kaye - from Mettemusen site

SOLD AT THE FESTIVAL
I printed out and painted this little one some time ago but I think I must have over embossed the border I used as it all seemed to buckle. I didn't want to waste all that work so I 'took out' the image using a fine stamp edge tool and using Perga Glue just on the very edges have fixed her to a new border frame. If you add the smallest amount of Perga Glue you will find that it doesn't show through the parchment.
The border I have used is one by Florence Holmes - one of her 'need to think about' ones. I had already fastened the frame to the base card with Perga Glue again so this time the beads are sewn on just for decoration.
For the base card I used a backing paper from a Carol Ann's Studio CD printed directly to a matt linen A4 card.

CD Sunday - Someone Special - sponsored by WhoopsiDaisy Designs

I printed out one of the images generously given to the design team by our sponsor WhoopsiDaisy and coloured with Promarkers and glittered the wings. I then cut it out and glued to a scene I made using MCS.
The name drawn out of the hat will win 4 sheets of Digi Images from our sponsor.
So in the words of that old and probably, by now, boring adage - 'You have to be in it to win it'.
We always look forward to visiting your blogs and personally I am in awe of the amazing talented crafters there are in 'Blogland'.

If you read our Blog you will have seen that it is our 1st Birthday this month and we will be having a special challenge with prizes - so there are two chances this month to be a winner.

(p.s.It is also my Blog 1st Birthday this month.)

Spring Butterflies and Lace

This is a little 5 x 5 card made using Debbees CD - Spring Butterflies and Lace. This is from Folder 16 and the card is the 'tile' printed direct. I then printed one of the toppers twice in parchment. The first layer was embossed with a sun tool and then the second layer was used to make the 3D butterfly. I embossed the wings and then cut it out. The body was made using a couple of long beads for the body and two small rounds for the head. It was then mounted on to blue mirri card and then to a pink mirri card mat. The sentiment comes from a Carol Ann's Studio CD and the little tiny parchment flower I made. The pearls are from Kanban - my favourites when I am not colouring my own.