Enchanted Doors Postcard by Darkroom Door

 Another set in the new Postcards range by Darkroom Door is Enchanted Doors. There are 6 captivating images of doors from far away places.

I decided to create a journal page with one of these images:

I created the background using the large Brick Wall stencil and some texture paste, then painted over this with grey acrylic paint. I then dry brushed some white paint over the top, and stamped images from the Gothic Arches Stamp Set.

I backed the door image with pages from an old book and some cotton gauze, then added some subtle text (French Script Texture stamp) and the coffee cup stain (Coffee Stain Eclectic stamp).

I finished the page off with a wax seal stamped with a postmark from the Montmartre Stamp Set. I simply created a puddle of hot wax, then pressed the stamp into it after inking it with Versamark ink. I then rubbed some gilding wax over it to bring out the detail.

Thanks for looking!

Darkroom Door's Journal Lines stencil

 Among Darkroom Door's latest release are a couple of stencils dedicated to journaling. I used the Journal Lines stencil to add some journaling to the front of a couple of cards. 

The backgrounds for both of these cards were created with Darkroom Door stencils and a gel plate; the small Wildflower Stencil for the card above, and the large Circles Stencil for the card below:

I stamped the birds on the orange circle card, then placed the Journal Lines stencil over the piece. I used a pencil to trace lines onto the background:

then wrote the words (happy birthday to you, over and over) using a permanent marker. I then erased the pencil lines:

I look forward to using this stencil in my art journal, in my planner, and even on envelopes!

Thanks for looking!

Large Honeycomb Stencil from Darkroom Door

 I had a play with Darkroom Door's new Honeycomb stencil and created a set of bee-themed cards:

You can see the stencil at the bottom right of the photo. Not only does it have the hexagon grid, it also has some solid hexagons, which helps create some interesting blank spaces within the pattern.

I mixed some Fossilized Amber Distress Ink reinker with some texture paste to make it yellow, and spread it in patches over the stencil onto a sheet of white card. When the texture paste dried, I cut the sheet up into pieces that would fit the front of a C6 card.

I stamped the Postcards Texture stamp with Distress Oxide ink, then used the sentiment and bees from the Buzzing Bees Stamp Set with some black ink. I then stitched a partial border with black thread before adhering to some coordinating patterned paper then onto a card:

This was a fun afternoon project - a set of cards to gift to someone I know who loves bees and the colour yellow.

Thanks for dropping in!

Viva la Flora Postcards from Darkroom Door

I was very excited to see a new product by Darkroom Door that features Rachel Greig's beautiful floral  photographic images. The new Darkroom Door Postcards contain 6 images per pack, and are printed on a nice thick card that will withstand some pretty punishing mixed media techniques.

I have used a postcard from the Viva la Flora pack as a card front, adding some machine stitching and some embossing:

The postcards made excellent sturdy bases, and the images are just wonderful. I went really bright with my colours which stand out brilliantly on the black and white:

The sentiments are from the Warm Wishes stamp set, and the backgrounds are Abstract 06 and the Daisy Delight Background stamp.

I'm even tempted to decorate the front of one of the postcards and send it through the mail! 

Thanks for looking - have an arty day!

CASE me a Christmas Card Challenge

 The lovely Michelle Lupton has her annual challenge running again. 

This year she's hosting a bunch of cardmakers from around the globe, and our challenge is to case one of her creations from her blog.

Michelle's take on one of my cards can be found here. 

This is the beautiful card I chose. You'll find it here on Michelle's blog:

What I loved about it that made me want to case it:

• the colour scheme is awesome
• love the repetition of stripes of colour
• love the subtle glitter effect on the word JOY

Here's what I came up with:

I used Waffle Flower's Nesting Circles dies (there are heaps of circles in this set!), and the words are from an old Simon Says Stamp die set.

While I had everything I needed out, why make just one card when you can make five? Here we go:

The Merry Christmas stamp is MFT, the ink is Catherine Pooler's Skylight and I used Altenew's Transluscent Pearl embossing powder over the top of it for just a touch of sparkle.

The card above uses a Paper Rose Studio stamp set together with a Pinkfresh Studio die.

^The leaf dies and the stamp are from Paper Rose Studio.

...and last but not least, the deer head and the word 'merry' are Paper Rose Studio, and the Christmas die is an old Simon Says Stamp.

Michelle - thank you for once again including me in your annual challenge! A showcase of cardmaking talent from around the world is just what the soul needs after the year we've all had. Check out all of the amazing artists on Michelle's blog:

https://handmade-by-michelle.blogspot.com/

I love Michelle's blog - it is one of the most inspiring places on the internet.

Thanks for dropping in everyone!

Darkroom Door Small Lavender Stencil

I adore stencils! They are so versatile and can be used with any number of media.

The new Small Lavender Stencil from Darkroom Door is no exception. Here's a card I made using a sponge and some Distress Oxide colours:

I used a round blending tool to apply Bundled Sage through the whole stencil, then used a Detail Blending Tool to apply first Shaded Lilac then Wilted Violet ink to the blooms.

In the background (before the stencilling) I stamped the Gazette Background stamp then the Coffee Stain Eclectic stamp using very pale Old Paper Distress Ink:

The sentiment comes from the Warm Wishes stamp set, and the frame is one of the Lots of Labels stamps.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Darkroom Door Number Jumble Stencil

Hiya! Hope everyone is well in isolation.

I made some time to play with the new Number Jumble Stencil from Darkroom Door this week.

Here's what I made:

This is texture paste through the stencil, then various washes with watercolour made with Distress Ink. I stamped the French Script Texture stamp with Archival Violet ink, the sentiment is from the Thank You Sentiment Stamp and the frame is one of the  Lots of Labels stamps. Here's a close up of the background:

This next card has a very bright acrylic paint background, made by scraping a small amount of paint across the cardstock with a credit card. I coloured some texture paste with purple acrylic paint before applying it to the background through the stencil:

I finished the card off with the Happy Quote stamp and some neon orange stitching:

For this next card, I created a sponged background with Distress Oxide inks, then applied embossing paste through the Number Jumble stencil and sprinkled some Lime Tinsel embossing powder and heating to melt it. The quote on vellum is the A Thousand Miles Quote stamp.

 Lastly, I sponged some Iced Spruce Distress Oxide ink onto the centre of some cardstock, then sponged quite heavily with the same ink through the stencil:

The sentiment is one of the stamps from the Simply Circles stamp set, surrounded by a round label from the Lots of Labels stamp set.

Thanks for looking!

Darkroom Door Cascading Stars Stencil

I had a play with the new Cascading Stars Stencil from Darkroom Door  - love that it has the smaller stars as well as the big one at the bottom.

For this first card, I sponged some Dylusions paints onto a kraft card. To fill the background a little more, I lifted the stencil off, dried the paint, then put the stencil back onto the background in a different position to give me more stars. The word is from the Whimsical Words stamp set:

For this second card, I sponged some Distress Ink through the stencil over a watercolour background The stamps on the card are from the Home Sweet Home stamp set: 

 And for this last card, I sponged some Distress Oxide ink through the giant star (it spanned the width of the card!), and with the stencil in place, stamped the Starry Night Background stamp with the same ink. The rest of the stars came from the Stars stamp set, and the words from the Dream Big Sentiment stamp. A little silver paint spatter completes the card:

Here's a tip: spray the back of the stencil with a little low tack spray adhesive (you might be able to find some 'stencil spray'). This will stop it moving around while you are working through it.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Number Medley by Darkroom Door

The second I laid eyes on the Number Medley stamp set from Darkroom Door, I knew needed it!

I make lots of masculine cards and am always on the lookout for interesting images to add to backgrounds, and this stamp set fits the bill nicely.

I wanted to see if this set could also be used for feminine and gender neutral cards, and the answer is a resounding YES!

I've used it on this thank you card to create a collage of numbers in the background:

I used a mixture of the thin, handwritten ledger with the more bold number run and the big round number 8 to give the big bold Daisy Eclectic stamp somewhere to sit:

I then added some matching ribbon and a sentiment from the Simply Circles stamp set, and finished it off with a sprinkle of enamel dots:

Sending lots of crafty love to everyone around the world who is doing the responsible thing and staying home while the COVID-19 storm passes. I hope this card has added a little sunshine to your day!

Open Sea by Darkroom Door

Well hello!

I grabbed a few moments to create a couple of cards using the new Open Sea Quote stamp from Darkroom Door.

This first one is stamped onto vellum with StazOn ink, and incorporates the Fishing Net Background stamp with some images from the Sail Away stamp set.

Of course, being a sea-themed quote, I couldn't resist making one with blue colours:

I created a background using Couture Creations Alcohol Inks on Yupo paper, then stamped on the reverse with StazOn ink. The result is reminiscent of swirly ocean and dreamy white clouds:

Thanks for stopping by!