Bee Happy - Hello Bluebird

Hello!

I have a new card for you today featuring Bee Happy by Hello Bluebird Stamps.



First of all I ink blended my background panel using Distress Inks in Peacock Feathers and Mowed Lawn.  I distressed the panel by splashing water droplets over it and then blotted them up a few seconds later.  Next, I prepared my top panel.  I chose a die in my collection to cut an offset opening - anything will do but circular shapes work best in my opinion.  I then repeatedly stamped a small floral sprig from the Springtime stamp set.  I used a couple of toning shades of Memento Inks to achieve this.



I backed the top panel with dimensional foam tape and positioned it over my panel to test where the buzzy bee trail would be stamped.  Removed the panel, stamped the trail and then actually adhered the panel.



On Bristol Smooth cardstock I stamped the images from Bee Happy.  I watercolour painted them using the following colours.  Kuretake Zigs in Pale Yellow 055, Yellow 050, Light Green 041, Dark Gray 095, Haze Blue 302 and Light Pink 026.  Also used were Tombow ABTs in 991 and 062.   These images were then die cut and applied to the scene with 1 or 2 layers of dimensional foam tape.

I used a little Wink of Stella to glitter up the bee's wings and the honey in the pot.  I stamped the sentiment on a strip of toning cardstock and also adhered it with foam tape.



The final touch was the application of Nuvo Crystal Drops in Duck Egg Blue.  I kept these drops close to the focal point of the card to keep the attention right where it is needed!

Thanks for stopping by to read today - I hope you make something pretty today!

Nicky x

VW Bus - Purple Onion Designs - Design Team Announcement!

Hey everybody I have some exciting news to share with you today .... I have been invited to join the Purple Onion Designs Design Team and I can't wait for all the creativity that lies ahead.

I've got a cute card for you today that seems quite fitting for the occasion and it features the incredibly sweet VW Bus and Trio of Balloons by Purple Onion Designs as illustrated by Stacey Yacula.  The scene also includes the Stacked Luggage with Bird stamp that nicely compliments the bus.



This is one of my slimline cards (use my search feature to find more) the finished dimensions of which are 8 1/12 x 3 1/2 inches with my panel cut to 8.2 x 3.2 and you can make this from one sheet of new cardstock with only a slim strip left over making it very economical and those strips are great to keeping for sentiments!  Envelopes for this size of card can easily be sourced by searching for slimline, invitation, #9 or size 9 envelopes.



I started by masking off an edge around my panel and then using Clarity Stencil Brushes I delicately ink blended using Distress Inks in Spun Sugar, Squeezed Lemonade and Dried Marigold which is a favourite combo of mine.  I finished by squishing a little Picked Raspberry onto my acrylic block and then spritzing a little water into it and then using a paint brush I splattered a few times to distress the background and then a few more times after that just with water alone.  This all makes the background so soft and dreamy.



I removed the mask and set the panel aside whilst I stamped my images onto Bristol Smooth cardstock using Ranger Archival Ink in Potting Soil and that I then watercolour painted using the following colours.  Kuretake Zigs in Warm Gray 900, Beige 072, Mid Gray 096, Bright Yellow 052, Light Carmine 021 and Haze Blue 302.  Also used was a Tombow ABT 020.  All images were then fussy cut out - nothing too complicated here but I did use a craft knife for in between the balloon strings!  

I decided on my exact layout and stamped my three sentiments with more of the Potting Soil Ink then applied dimensional foam tape behind the bus and balloons and applied them to the scene.



The final touch was to delve into my substantial sequin stash and find a variety of toning sequins which I glued using Ranger Multi Medium Matte.  The panel was attached to the card base using my Scotch Tape Runner and my card was complete.

Thanks for coming by to read today!  I'll be back very soon with new inspiration.

Nicky x

Sweetheart Owl and Arbor Valentine's Card - Purple Onion Designs

Hello!  I have a sweet little watercolour painted Valentine's card to share with you today using product from Purple Onion Designs I have always enjoyed using the stamps illustrated by the talented Stacey Yacula.



For this card I used Clarity Stencil brushes to delicately ink blend the background using Distress Inks in Tumbled Glass and Shabby Shutters.  I then die cut the panel for some simple interest to give it the faux stitched edge.



On Bristol Smooth cardstock I stamped my arbor stamp three times and also the sweetheart owl and the two little birdies using Ranger Archival Ink in Potting Soil.  Needing more hearts to place in the vines I stamped just that part of the owl stamp several times.  Everything was watercolour painted using Kuretake Zigs.  Colours used for this card are .... Beige 072, Oatmeal 064, Mid Gray 096, Light Pink 026, Light Green 041 and Carmine Red 022.



Points were highlighted with a Uni-ball Signo white gel pen and then I set to work fussy cutting out all the images.  It was super fiddly but totally worth it because I wanted a great deal of dimension on my card.  Once cut I adhered them to my background panel with either a single or double layer of dimensional foam tape.  I flecked in the grass by hand using the Zig in Light Green again.  For the sentiment, I curved it on to my stamping block and stamped with the Potting Soil ink again and added two little exclamation points by hand.



To complete the 'dewy garden' look and feel I pulled out some water droplet embellishments and dotted them around glueing with Ranger Multi Medium Matte since it dries clear and adheres strong!

Hope you enjoyed my card, thank you for coming by the blog to read today.

Happy crafting!

Nicky x

Pretty Pink Posh New Release Blog Hop!

Hi everyone!  Welcome to my blog and thank you for hopping along to see what the Design Team and other guest designers have created using products from Pretty Pink Posh's new release which you can now buy!  Birthdays are always fun and Pretty Pink Posh is turning 5 and therefore a birthday card seemed appropriate!



My card today puts the irresistibly cute Cupcake Critters front and centre, I grouped them all together for a fun party feel.   I started by delicately ink blending my background panel using a Clarity Stencil Brush and Distress Ink in Spun Sugar.  This panel was then stamped with the happy birthday sentiment using Ranger Archival Ink in Potting Soil.  The panel was adhered to the 110lb Neenah white card base.



Using Bristol Smooth cardstock I stamped all of the images from the stamp set and then I watercolour painted them using the following colours:-

Kuretake Zigs in - Light Gray, Mid Gray, Beige, Oatmeal, Gray Brown, Light Pink and Carmine Red.

Tombow in colours - 243, 969 and 020

Can you tell I'm a mint chocolate chip fan?

I highlighted some areas with a Uni-Ball Signo white gel pen then die cut each image and adhered them into place using two different thicknesses of dimensional foam tape.  The final touch was to make it a truly 'Posh' card by adding some sparkling jewels from the Pretty Pink Posh extensive collection which I couldn't live without!




































Happy crafting everyone - hope you're inspired and please keep scrolling for details and offers and to find the next blog to hop to!

Nicky x




Now please hop along to the next talented blogger:-

Pretty Pink Posh blog
Laura Bassen
Eloise Blue
Melody Rupple
Nicky Meek (you are here)
Cathy Zielske
Dana Kirby
Amy Rysavy
Suzy Plantamura
Wanda Guess

Puddle Play - Hello Bluebird

Hi!  I have a slimline card featuring all the cuties from Puddle Play by Hello Bluebird Stamps. 



A slimline card gives you so much more 'real estate' to work with to build your scenes and get all those characters and elements in that you love!   Finished size is 8 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches.  Panel cut at 8.2 x 3.2 inches.  Envelopes for this size are easily sourced and are called slimline, invitation, #9 and size 9.



I used a Clarity Stencil Brush to ink blend my gray background using Distress Ink in Weathered wood.  I die cut the clouds without stamping them from the stamp set and ink blended them too.  I stamped some of the water splashes upside down to become raindrops using Memento Ink in Fog.  I backed my panel with craft foam and applied it to the card base.  The craft foam backing means that your card makes it through the postal system in much better shape especially when you have embellishments such as I have on this card.



I stamped my images using Ranger Archival Ink in Potting Soil on to Bristol Smooth cardstock.  I watercolour painted the images using the following colours.  Kuretake Zigs in Gray Brown 094, Bright Yellow 052 and Light Pink 026.  Also Tombow ABT in 020.  I die cut all the elements and highlighted some points with a Uni-ball Signo white gel pen.  I decided on a layout then adhered everything using dimensional foam tape - making sure all my characters were interacting with one another to tell a story.



To finish out the card I stamped the sentiment with the same Fog ink onto a sentiment strip and backed it with foam mounting tape and adhered.  Embellishments needed to be water droplets and so I used 4 different sizes to add some fun dimension to the card.

I hope you like this encouragement card and feel inspired.

Thanks for stopping by - happy crafting!

Nicky x

Floral Hearts - Pretty Pink Posh

Hello!  Pretty Pink Posh has a new release available for purchase tomorrow (January 8th) and I am happy to be able to share this sneak peek of a gorgeous new stamp set called 'Floral Hearts' that is great for Valentine's Day and well beyond.



Using my Misti I stamped the open heart images (there's another closed heart design in the set).  I used Distress Ink in Antique Linen and stamped very lightly since this is all you want with no-line watercolour painting.  I painted my images delicately using just three colours of Kuretake Zigs.  They are .... Light Green No.41, Light Pink No.26 and Pink No.25.



The painted panel was kept really simple and adhered to the card base.  Next, I took a pre-prepared skinny sentiment strip and stamped two of the sentiments with Versamark Ink and heat embossed in Gold.  I trimmed them to size and applied them with dimensional foam tape behind them.

I was going for super sweet and simple and decided no further embellishment was needed.

Thanks for coming along to read about this card and I hope you treat yourself to this mini stamp set.

Nicky x

'And Then' Sentiment Set - Avery Elle

Hello everybody!  I'm sharing a card using the new And Then  sentiment stamp set from the most recent Avery Elle release.

Since the sentiments in this set are slightly chunky/oversized I decided I'd do a larger than normal card and I'm pretty much addicted to 'Slimline' cards right now.  The finished dimensions are 3 1/2" x 8 1/2", so cut an A4 panel of cardstock at 7 inches then score and fold in half (4 bar).  My panel was cut from the remainder of the sheet and is sized 3.2" x 8.2".  These cards fit a standard 'slimline' envelope which is easily found in online searches.



I ink blended my panel using Distress Ink in Mermaid Lagoon.  I then took a couple of different stencils that I had and used different sized circles from each, moving it about and ink blending using White Pigment Ink to create a bubbly or bokeh affect.  I stamped the sentiment with black archival ink and dotted in a few spots using a Uni-Ball Signo white gel pen.



On Bristol Smooth cardstock I stamped my images from Swans and watercolour painted them using Kuretake Zigs.  I fussy cut the images out and adhered them using foam tape for dimension.  I backed the panel with white craft foam and stuck it to the card base.



The final touch was to draw the ripples of water around the swans again using the Uniball Signo White gel pen.

Card complete!  Thanks for coming by today, I'll see you next time .......

Nicky x