Wanderlust 2017

I recently signed up for a year long online art class called Wanderlust, run by Everything Art. I'm no longer a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and have really missed the focus that that used to give my crafting, so I thought regular, themed classes might fill the gap nicely. And so they have.

A recent class encouraged us to work BIG, with multiple layers of paint and collaged items. I'm used to working in an A4 size journal, but for this class I dug out an old canvas board and had at it! I enjoyed the process sooo much. And I'm thrilled to be finally producing some kind of recogniseable faces (with major guidance from Jane Davenport's excellent Drawing and Painting Beautiful Faces book).

I also did this super class by Kate Crane, making brayered backgrounds and using up offcuts from gelliplate projects.

I can't recommend Wanderlust enough, and there's still time to sign up - check out Everything Art's website

cute fawn christmas card

Here's another card using the Kitsch Christmas stamp set by Avery Elle & the O Christmas Tree stamp set by Concord and 9th. I  think they work together so well.

I used the Cable Knit embossing folder from Stampin' Up!'s 2016 Holiday catalogue to emboss the circle. It gives a very deep, textured effect - it really looks like a jumper, I love it!

Lots of cutting done using my new Scan n Cut. I must say, I've moaned a bit about it in previous posts, but it does cut the deer, bells and holly like a dream. You can set it to cut with a broder round the stamped image, but I set it to cut with no border and you can see that it's absolutely bang on the line.   

 

It cut the glitter card quite well - I had to increase the blade depth to 7 as the card is quite dense, and even then it took two repeat cuts to go all the way through, all the way round, but it took less than a minute and i got a crisp and even cut.

 

A very kitsch Christmas

I do like this fawn stamp. It reminds me of an image painted on a cot from when I was little. I'm not sure if it was a cot that I slept in or if it was a toy cot I had. Or whether it even was mine or I just saw it & coveted it. But anyway, it reminds me of that.

All the stamped images apart from the tree are from the Avery Elle Kitsch Christmas stamp set.

I just love its 60s retro vibe. I coloured all the images with Pro Markers. I'm not an experienced Pro Marker-er, but I think they turned out pretty ok. 

The Christmas tree stamp is from the Concord and 9th stamp set O Christmas Tree.

Each of the stamped images was cut using my new Scan n Cut. It was what can best be described as a learning experience!  It loved cutting the images from the Avery Elle set, as they are all nice, clear line drawings. It cut every one of them without an argument. 

However, I only had about a 60% success rate with the Christmas tree from the Concord and 9th set. It scanned them all OK, but for some reason it simply would not recognise some of the images when it came to converting them to a cutting file. I did try repositioning those images elsewhere on the cutting mat, and for a few this did the trick, with it recognising them on a 2nd or 3rd scan. But some it simply would not pick up. Having looked at them I can't see why. To my eye they appear the same as the images that cut OK - same ink colour, and a clear, unsmudged impression.  I guess it's to do with the detail on the branches of this stamp - miniscule variations in my stamping that the eye can't detect but the scanner can. I expect that the more I use the Scan n Cut, the more I'll be able to predict which stamps it's likely to "get on with" better. Awkward little bugger.    

The label is one the pre-set shapes that comes with the Scan n Cut machine. Why, yes, I *did* use it on yesterday's project too. Why, yes, it *is* the only one I really know how to use at the moment.

I am very pleased with this card though, and the strength of the machine is that I stamped and cut out the individual elements in large batches so I can now go & make multiple copies quite quickly.

I bought both stamp sets from the UK, from Seven Hills Crafts, which has a great selection of stamps and dies from US designers.

hot air balloon thank you card

 

I made this card with my newest baby - a Brother Scan n Cut! I've had it a couple of months now, and while I seem to have mastered cutting out stamped images pretty well, the more advanced design functions are still way beyond me.

For this card I used the Scan n Cut to cut out the centre of the postage stamp. It also cut the stamped balloon image out too. I re-sized the label, which is a standard image which comes with the software, to fit the size of the postage stamp and cut that too. I also cut out the card blank too. Well, why not?

It really does cut out stamped images very crisply and cleanly, and as I have a bit of arthritis in my hands it's great for that alone. That said, I'm rather less impressed with some of the other features. I can't get it to create an even and centred faux stitched image no matter how hard I try. I've followed Mel Heaton's very clear Youtube video to the letter and also re-calibrated the machine multiple times, but I still get a wider margin on one side than another. I'm also getting an uneven cut, with theleft hand side of anything I cut pretty much always needing two cuts to go through the card, no matter what the blade depth or how thick the card. I'm told that this is a known issue among other users, but so far there's no fix for it, which is a bit annoying.

Hopefully I'll post more in due course.

 

Punched Santa Hat

If like me you're making a start on your Christmas cards, the Foxy Friends stamp set (141549) is perfect for making fun, cartoonish cards & here's a way to make a santa hat using the co-ordinating Fox Builder Punch (141470).

As you can see, one of the elements the Fox Builder Punch punches out is his bushy tail. 

Slide a strip of red card into the punch where the tail appears & punch (cutting your card to size & positioning it carefully will mean you don't waste card by punching out elements you don't need). Trim about 1/3 off the narrower end of the tail. 

Then punch out a small  scalloped circle in white card (I used the retired 3/4" scalloped circle punch by Stampin' Up! - if you don't have one you can use a plain circle punch or just cut it freehand). Take the white punched piece and punch into it again to create a scalloped crescent shape. Trim the edges to fit the red "hat".  

I used a small round circle from the Owl Builder Punch to punch out a bobble in white card - look around your punches & dies to see what you've got that will make a small circle, or just cut it freehand.

Assemble the pieces & glue in place et voila - one festive fox!

If you like the Foxy Friends stamp set and coordinating Fox Builder Punch, you can buy them as a bundle (142326) and  save 10%.

Foxy Friends stamp set & punch

Picture (c) Stampin, Up!

I received the Foxy Friends stamp set & Fox Builder Punch this week & have been having a play around with them. 
 

Its a multi step stamping set (and the punch only works with certain elements)  so I really recommend looking on Pinterest & searching for images of how other people have used it when you start out, as the range of animals you can make can be a bit overwhelming.  I made a few horrors that wouldn't have looked out of place in South Park (I'm talking about you, badger with death rays coming out of your eyes). But after a bit of experimentation I worked out which pieces work best to make particular animals. So far I've made a convincing fox, cat, raccoon, badger and skunk (for nothing says "Happy Birthday" quite like a skunk). I think a wolf, a beaver  and a squirrel are do-able but I haven't perfected them yet. 

You'll really want to buy the stamp set & the punch to get the best out of each. Buy them together as a bundle and save 10%. 

Moroccan Owl - how to

I posted a card made with the Owl Builder Punch & Moroccan Nights stamp set a few days ago. I said that you can section out the large patterned mandala stamp to make a feathered breast for the owl. Here's a quick how-to.

Stamp the large mandala stamp 3 times -  twice in the same colour for the eyes, & once in the colour you want his feathered breast to be.

Punch out the very centre of two of the mandala stamps with a small circle punch or die to make the eyes - I used a 3/4 inch punch, but you could go smaller if you want.

Position the breast section of the punch over the outer portion of the mandala stamp. Move it around a bit until you see the feathers "appear", then punch.

Punch out the whites of his eyes & a darker pupil & cut in the pupil with a little v shaped notch. Colour the heart in orange or punch from orange card. Punch the body in darker card.

Layer it all up - the breast on the body, then the beak. Layer the pupils over the whites, & the whites over the patterned circles & glue in place. Finally, position the completed eyes where you want them & glue in place.

And you're done!

I really like the texture this stamp set adds to the owl builder punch & I hope you do too!