Anything Goes!

Just had chance to have a play and made my Inchies and ATCs for the UK Stampers Forum swaps on Facebook.   For both, the theme is Anything Goes and you would think this would be easy but I find it too wide, dither for a long time and then eventually make something.  I guess you can never please everybody with a definite theme but it would save me dithering !!

So for the Inchies I have used the same floral stamp from the Inkadinkadoo Special Occasions set, inked in six different colours and clear embossed them.  I dug out my box of Twinkling H20s and painted them.  I'm sure we all buy too many colouring mediums but you can't beat H20s for their shine.  Well they shine in real life - you can just about see it in the photo!!

For the ATCs the background is a mix of Citrus Lime and Peacock Green spray inks and I've gone for a more autumnal feel.   I've inked card in a mix of greens, browns and oranges, clear embossed my Oak House Studio Leaves and then inked over the top to show off the veins etc.  They are just cut out and some typed words added.

I did actually make these yesterday but the sky went dark and orange.  This morning was just the same but the sun has now come out so I could take the photos.  Hope you like and thanks for visiting.

Elaine xx

October Pheasants

Here is my next postcard for The Craft Barn's Twelve Month Challenge which is based on Sara Coleridge's poem The Months.   The month is October and the two lines are about nuts and pheasants.

Another thought provoking one as I don't have any pheasant stamps and I didn't want to do another blue sky/green grass scene.  So clip art saved the day and I printed off this one and cut him out.  Just think a pheasant strutting about in the long grass inside a walled garden.   I've inked through a brickwork stencil with Amber Clay and Creamy Brown Chalk Inks, cut grass out of some green and inked card and finished with the poem. 

Not very technique laden and no stamping but I hope you like. Thanks for visiting and your comments - they are always much appreciated.

Elaine x

Kettle Courtyard

Not much papercraft and stamping to show you today but I have been busy.  Now if you are anything like me ....well I like colour and pretty things and can spend hours in a stationary shop etc.  I have hoards of coloured card from Papermilldirect in every colour of the sun and I also love beads as they are so shiny.

I decided I really ought to use some of it and so have just opened an Etsy Shop.   It's called KETTLE COURTYARD - one because my surname is Kettle, secondly I like alliteration and thirdly I hope it will be like walking around a courtyard of different shops ..... so some jewellery, some handmade cards, some mixed media art and some target art.   Here's a selection so far:

Turquoise Spike Earrings

Gold Spike Necklace

Tiger's Eye and Topaz Crystals

Purple Jade and Glass Pearls

Aim is the Key

Some of you may not know but I've been a target shooter for 28yrs - I like to think I might get better at it one day...    So the targets have been shot, the bullet cases used and perfectly safe and I've just added motivational words.

It's early days but I'm hoping to get more goodies made to put in my shop. Please take a walk around the courtyard and tell me what you think.  Here is the link  KETTLE COURTYARD.

Many thanks

Elaine  xx

Shooting on the Moors

Here's my next postcard for The Craft Barn's Twelve Month Challenge based on Sara Coleridge's poem - for September we can add a shooter if we want.

Well I had a good think about this one and decided I had to use my Whitby Abbey stamp (from Crafty Individuals) - I love this stamp mainly because I've been doing my family history and my family were here in the 1760s!!    Also I'm a target shooter so had to include a shooter - I just used clipart again, printed him on the card and then cut my postcard round him.    The background is just blended inks with added purple heather on the moors and I've stamped a few bushes and trees in the foreground.   As ever it's finished with the two lines of the poem for September.

Hope you like and thanks for commenting - it's much appreciated!

Elaine xx

Harvest Time

Here's my August postcard for The Craft Barn's Twelve Month Challenge based on Sara Coleridge's poem The Months.   Not only do we have to include the two lines from the poem but also a tractor......thank goodness for clipart!!

The scenic background is created using Distress Stains - Salty Ocean, Mowed Lawn and Wild Honey - and I've just used a small tree stamp for the field hedge and beech tree.   I printed out the tractor, sheaves of corn and the words and then just added them.  It probably took me half and hour in total but a week or so to get started!!

I can't believe we are in August already - that's 8 months of postcards already so I thought I'd add the first half of the year.  Not only does it prove I like doing scenes, but also I'm stuck with blue, green, red and yellow!

Anyway thanks for visiting and leaving a comment - it's always nice to know someone is actually reading this!

Elaine xx

July Swaps

Well I've had chance to do a little more crafting.  I've joined in the Inchie and ATC challenges on the UK Stampers Forum Facebook group - both themes are 'Anything Goes' for the July swaps.

 

I do enjoy making inchies - maybe because it's a challenge to find things to fit.  I ended up buying a job lot of Inkadinkadoo Inchie stamps off ebay so I now have plenty of small scale stamps.  The first is a set of 6 Inchies using some Birthday stamps, stamped in black and then coloured with pink, red and yellow markers.  

The three ATCs I've made as a set but you don't have to.  I started by colouring card with a selection of spray inks and then stamped the Punky Flower stamps (Chocolate Baroque) with Deep Purple Archival.  I've had this set a while but only used 2-3 of the stamps so thought the rest needed to be inked.  I've just added words printed from the computer in an old typewriter style font.

That's two posts already this month - I'm doing well!!   Thanks for visiting and for leaving comments - they are much appreciated.

Elaine xx

July Postcard

Well I've just finished 58 exams over the last 7 weeks and now I'm playing catch-up - trying to get to the bottom of the ironing pile and doing some crafting too!  Here's my postcard for The Craft Barn's Twelve Month Challenge based on Sara Coleridge's poem - for July we have to add a gillyflower.

For the Apricot part of the poem I went for an apricot background - a mix of Citrus Yellow and Citrus Orange Spray inks.   It seems a gillyflower belongs to the stock family so stocks, carnations or wallflowers.  I decided this art nouveau style flower looks like a carnation (Punky Flowers by Chocolate Baroque) so I've stamped it with Onyx Black Versafine and clear embossed it.  I've added bricks to the background so if you don't think this is a carnation then at least call it a "wall flower".  I seriously couldn't fit in the showers so ignored that bit!!

Hope you like and thanks for visiting ....you are always welcome.

Elaine xx