It's a blue christmas

Hi folks, thanks for tuning in.... another christmas card from me this week courtesy of those gorgeous christmasy stamps from IndigoBlu. 

For this creation I decide to use the stunning 'Winter Wonderland' stamp. This is a gorgeous silhouette image of a beautiful wintery scene but included the most intricate details.

I'm still in my "blue period" which worked perfect with this stamp. 

I started by spraying Sleeping Beauty and Aladdin IndigoBlu English Cottage Artist Acrylic paints on to IndigoBlu Perfect Stamping card.
I did this with two pieces of card, one to stamp on and one for the background. This is fast becoming my favourite technique with the paints as the outcome is different every time. 

I stamped the Winter Wonderland at the bottom of the smaller piece of sprayed card with FlitterGlu and used the stunning Morris Dance Mega Flakes to create a gorgeous shimmery scene. I then stamped offset over the top of it with Stazon Midnight Blue ink to create a shadow. I stamped Snowflake Lace with the same ink at the top of the card. 

I used a piece of black card as a mat which I edged with the Chocolate Box Mega Flakes then layered it on to the second piece of sprayed card. I distressed the edges of the base card to create some texture then finally matted on to a black card blank. 

You can find all of the products I've used here or use the link at the top of my blog to go direct to the IndigoBlu website.

You can also check out the IndigoBlu blog for more fabulous inspiration and join in with the current IndigoBlu challenge blog. Links for both are at the top of my blog. 

Thanks for popping by.... toodles for now. 

IndigoBlu Challenge Blog - Challenge #20

Hi folks, there's another wonderful challenge going on over at IndigoBlu Challenge blog at the mo so I thought I'd share some inspiration.

For challenge #20 the challenge is to follow a sketch, and here it is...

Simple enough...

So here is my take on the sketch challenge...

I went with a travel theme for this one using the IndigoBlu Map Background A6 stamp and the 'Wish You Were Here' A6 stamp. I also used the Itsy Bitsy Backgrounds stamp set. 

I started by making the background colour on the card base by spritzing IndigoBlu English Cottage Artist Acrylic paint on to IndigoBlu 300gsm Perfect Stamping card. 

This is fast becoming one of my favourite ways to colour card. The paints can be mixed with water in a 1 part paint to 4 part water ratio in to spray bottles. The are fantastic as the colour doesn't mute when added with water and the consistency of the paint gives perfect coverage. 

I chose Hot Cocoa, Wimberry Pie and Park Lane paint. I wanted to create a background using the Air Mail colours but adding a bit of oldie antiquey-ness.

I used the same colours on two other pieces of smaller card. 

When I was happy with the base card colour I started to stamp. I stamped the Map Background on to the larger piece of card and folded it up like a map would be. I distressed the edges of the card and added a few tears and rips then inked around the edges with Vintage Sepia Versafine. 

I stamped the 'Wish You Were Here' stamp on to the smaller piece of card and inked it with Imperial Purple Versafine.

I added the zigzag lines stamp from the Itsy Bitsy Background set on the edges of the base card and 'Wish You Were Here' piece.

I added some jute string across the centre of the base card and tied a second length of jute string at the edge with a triple knot. 

Thanks for popping by... 

Tag!!! It's Distressed!

Hi folks, I got to have a little play this week and thought I'd get back to what I love best.... a bit of distressing!!!!

I got out the fab IndigoBlu paints and started to have a little fun.

I love these paints!!!! The IndigoBlu English Cottage Artist Acrylic Paints are so versatile. They can be used in so many different ways which is why I love them so much. 

They are a water based flat matte artist quality paint, pigment rich and is fast drying so great for those eager beavers and acid free so no stinky smells. They can also be used on fabric too!!

They can be used with a little water and put in a spray bottle to be used as a spritzer. As they are of such a thick consistency and super pigment rich the colour isn't lost when added to water.

I am completely addicted to using them as spritzers. Which is exactly what I did for this creation.

Here is what I did....

I started with an 8 X 8 square of white IndigoBlu Perfect Stamping Card. I am completely in love with this card. 

It is such good quality and perfect for this technique. It holds the paint perfectly on the surface of the card and doesn't soak in or make the paint go murky like other cardstock. 

I mixed all the paint in to different bottles to a one part paint to four parts water ratio. And started spritzing.....

I used Park Lane, Townhouse Teal and a smidge of Peppermint Tea drying the layers in between. I tend to keep my heat gun going while I'm spritzing and randomly switch between each colour. I keep the heat gun approx 12" directly above the card so it doesn't 'blow' the paint in different directions. 

When I was happy with the background colour, out came the stamps! I chose Square Peg Round Hole and Itsy Bitsy Backgrounds to work with. I didn't really have a plan for the next part, I just used the stamps randomly with Stazon Gothic Purple, Vibrant Violet and Midnight Blue until I was happy with the layout. 

I then coloured a tag with the paint using the same method and stamped it with the Umbellate stamp using FlitterGlu and adding the gorgeous new Chocolate Box Mega Flakes which look like they are good enough to eat. So scrummy!!!

I then swiped the Phat Foam with the FlitterGlu on around the edges of the base card and adhered the flakes to create a border.

I used some cream hessian ribbon which I coloured with the Stazon ink along the centre of the base card and adhered the tag using foam tape.
I tied some purple satin ribbon on the other side and swiped over it with the blue ink. 

Thanks for popping by...