Mum's Love with a watercolour background

Did you see this Mum's Love card I made for this week's Stampin' Up artisan blog hop? I really have fallen in love with this set and have enjoyed using it again and again with a different look each time! Here's another idea:

This time I used my large aquapainter to splodge Marina Mist and So Saffron inks over a panel of watercolour paper to create a background. One of the plants was stamped over the top with black Stazon ink and coloured with markers.

I love the texture of the water colour paper and the colours are making my heart sing - Marina Mist, So Saffron, Pear Pizzazz and Calypso Coral!

BUY THE SUPPLIES TO MAKE THIS CARD NOW!
Click on any item to be transported to my online shop!

Mother's Love Photopolymer Stamp Set ...	Marina Mist Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	So Saffron Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95
Subtles Stampin' Write Markers £23.95	Watercolor Paper £4.50	Aqua Painters £12.95

My shop is open 24/7 so you can buy Stampin' Up products from me any time, day or night.

If you have any queries, or prefer to speak to me, I'm happy to help.

You can contact me by email or phone on 01280 820593.

I know that some of you have been worrying about our little cat Tuppence after she'd been ill and then had to deal with the arrival of our puppy. Well the truth is...

... life is very, very tough!

Have a lovely weekend won't you. I'll be back on Tuesday and Crafting Clare's Paper Moments will be spending the week in bloom!

Sheltering Tree faux pointillism tutorial - Stampin' Up artisan blog hop

It's Thursday, and time for another fabulous blog hop organised by Stampin' Up's crack team of artisans! You're in for a treat this week as some of the artisan designers have sneak peeks of some new and exciting products to show you!

GOING A BIT DOTTY!
I've had to contain my own excitement sadly, as my box has been delayed, but hey! it gives me the perfect opportunity to talk you through a card I made with a faux pointillism background using Sheltering Tree. Come and see:

What do you think? Would you like to know how I made it?

Okay! So, I mounted the blossom image from Sheltering Tree, inked it up with So Saffron ink and stamped my panel. TIP: Stamp off once before adding colour to the panel at first, then add more intense colour where you need it, at the bottom and round the edges.

This stylised plant from Mum's Love is gorgeous isn't it?! I used Mossy Meadow ink to stamp it over the bottom half of my panel.

This leafy in-fill stamp is perfect for adding a bit of foliage. I used a lighter green, Wild Wasabi, so that it receded into the background a little.

I coloured my plant heads in with a Tangelo Twist marker. This fabulous colour is great for adding a lovely pop of colour! When I stamped the plants, some of the stalks ended up 'floating' so I used the Mossy Meadow marker to extend them.

Sponging ink around the edges of the panel really draws the eye into the centre! I always chop my Stampin' Sponges into quarters and staple a piece of coloured card to them so that they act as handles and so that I can see at a glance what colour ink it's for.

All it needs is a sentiment... There! (I'm in love with the gorgeous ribbon fonts in the Butterfly Basics stamp set!)

I hope you've enjoyed my faux pointillism tutorial and that I've encouraged you to get artistic with Sheltering Tree.

And if you've stayed with me, bless you, because I know you're dying for some sneak peeks! Off you go and check out the excitement with Allison Okamitsu!

SHOP FOR THE SUPPLIES TO MAKE MY CARD NOW!
Click on any item to be transported to my online shop!

Sheltering Tree Photopolymer Stamp Set £22.95	So Saffron Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Mossy Meadow Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Mother's Love Photopolymer Stamp Set ...
Wild Wasabi Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	2014-2016 In Color Stampin' Write Markers £11.75	Butterfly Basics Photopolymer Stamp Set £21.95	Jet Black Stazon Ink Pad £5.95

My shop is open 24/7 so you can buy Stampin' Up products from me any time, day or night.

If you have any queries, or prefer to speak to me, I'm happy to help.

You can contact me by email or phone on 01280 820593.

Spring seems to have been interrupted by a load of wind and rain here in the heart of England! Eva is not remotely concerned by this - walkies is walkies whatever the weather! She always comes back with pretty little crimped ears when we've been walking in the rain. I come back looking as if someones stuck some colourless candy floss on my head!

See you tomorrow,

Mum's Love note cards - Stampin' Up artisan blog hop

Hello and welcome to this week's fabulous Stampin' Up artisan design team blog hop! This week each member of the team is using the beautiful Mums Love stamp set and I'm really excited to see what my team mates have come up with!

HOW MANY STEPS IN TWO STEP STAMPING?
Mum's Love is one of Stampin' Up's fabulous two step stamping sets - which means that you can stamp an outline with one stamp and colour it by stamping over it with a solid version - like this:

I love the arty look you get from these two step stamping sets. Do you see how the flowers look sketched and the colour looks as if it's been dashed in with a paint brush? And using the speckle image from Gorgeous Grunge just adds to the artistic look!

The two step stamps don't have to be used in this way though and it's interesting to see the different looks you can get by using just the outline...

... and colouring by hand. Here I went for an intense, precise look with Stampin' Write markers but there are heaps of different things you could do with it:

• watercolour with an aquapainter and ink
• colour with ink and a blender pen for an airbrushed look
• leave as an uncoloured outline over a colourful background

Those are just off the top of my head!

Two step stamping sets can be used in a different way again by stamping just the solid stamps:

It's gives a 'painted' look again, but softer this time.

I stamped all these cards onto the gorgeous suede-feel Naturals Ivory card stock, sponging them first with Soft Sky and Wild Wasabi inks. A circle was cut into the panel with a 1 3/4" circle punch ready to hold the sentiment. These were stamped on Very Vanilla card stock and cut out with a 1 3/8" circle punch before attaching.

I hope I've inspired you to try Mum's Love, with all its possibilities. Now, there's plenty more inspiration from the rest of the team - just click the button below to see what Allison Okamitsu has come up with using this fabulous set!

BUY THE SUPPLIES TO MAKE THIS CARD NOW!
Click on any item to be transported to my online shop!

Mother's Love Photopolymer Stamp Set ...	Soft Sky Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Pistachio Pudding Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95
Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	2014-2016 In Color Stampin' Write Markers £11.75	1-3/4" Circle Punch £15.50	1-3/8" Circle Punch £14.25	Gorgeous Grunge Wood Stamp Set £21.95

My shop is open 24/7 so you can buy Stampin' Up products from me any time, day or night.

If you have any queries, or prefer to speak to me, I'm happy to help.

You can contact me by email or phone on 01280 820593.

Boys really are a different species aren't they (or specie as my youngest son used to say!) Last week I collected him from a fun-filled evening where he and a group of friends played 'army manoeuvres' in the woods. "How did it go?" I asked as he hopped into the car. "It was brilliant!" he said fervently. "I got kicked in the woods!" It turned out that this wasn't the highlight of the evening however. The boys had done further activities inside and "I got taken out on a stretcher!" said my son with great satisfaction.

I'd like to wish you all a very happy Easter and hope you'll join me next week for another great Artisan Design Team blog hop and more crafting fun :)