Prismacoloured Poppies

Hi there!

This is the card I actually meant to post on ABNH the other day lol, but thats ok.

I'm entering it into the Hero Arts August challenge. It's CAS (its only one layer other than the gems) and I used the bottom right-hand sketch as inspiration. I flipped the image so the 'strip' was on the left hand side and instead of patterned paper, I did it with the flowers, then shifted the sentiment over a wee bit. Couldn't bring myself to stamp right onto (or over) those flowers.

First I stamped the HA Friend Definition using Memento Toffee Crunch ink, then the flowers in Tuxedo Black. I coloured them in with Prismacolour pencils and added a soft white outline all around the image, it helps to make the flowers reach up off the page a bit more.
Next I stamped my sentiment and added the gemstones, before adhering the whole lot onto a white cardbase!

Oh! and I wanted to mention something, the Prismacolor pencils that are in the big 72 pack, are MUCH nicer and 'more heavily pigmented' (they show up on the page better) than the smaller packs. I'm not sure if they're all made the same way, but these seem waxier too--which makes for better blending. So if you can, save up and make the investment in the big set--its so worth it! (I've linked the correct set below :))


I think I'll be making this card a few times over, I really love the effect.

Thanks so much for looking!

Crafty hugs

Linda xx

InLinkz.com

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Inspired By...Joy Taylor Day 5 (final day *tear*)

Hello again friends!

Today is the last day that I'll be bringing you cards by the UH-MAZING Joy, but you can always find more of her fantastic creations on her blog or on the several design teams she's working for.

Today's card wasn't really inspired by one particular card of Joys, more so all of them! Her "standard" techniques and the style she tends towards are what really make her cards not only super pretty, but very "Joy" and really unique.  I love that I can always spot a card by her when I see it.

So today's card is using the techniques/products that she uses often and that I consider to be the real 'basis' for her style;

• Kraft cardstock
• White inked background
• Glitter (has anyone noticed her recent love-affair with glitter?! Girl's got talent :))
• Butterflies. (When she uses a butterfly on a card, it practically flies off the page I think! So vivid and brilliantly coloured).

So here is my card that I made just yesterday, encompassing all of the favourite things I love most about Joy's signature style:

 Whenever I see Joy's cards, I always think "How does she match up all her colours so well?!" It's true, she has an amazing talent for using uber vibrant colours on a simple/muted background, but the coloured accents she chooses are always perfectly matched. *sigh* oh to be such genius.

I coloured the HA Heart Winged Butterfly with Copic Markers after stamping it in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and cutting it out. Then once dry, I used a tiny-tipped glue pen to run a really small amount of glue around the inner 'hearts' of the butterfly's wings and then added some dark aqua glitter.

The tag behind the butterfly is from Papertrey Ink and was embossed over using the HA Envelope Background Stamp (another of Joy's faves I think!) and clear embossing powder, to give a tone on tone look.

To do the glitter strip along the bottom, I used a technique I saw on Papertrey Ink (Nichole Heady's blog I think...) where you just run your tapegun (ATG or snail etc) in a strip and then pour glitter over the top as you would embossing powder. It's amazingly easy and SO effective. I can't wait to try it again.  I've seen Joy use this technique a couple of times recently--it really brings an extra layer of prettiness to the card.

I love this card so much that I'm off right now, to go make a few more in different colours :)

Well as I said above, this is the last day I'll be showcasing Joy's work, but I do hope you'll come back in a few days when I'll be moving onto another SUPER talented lady who inspires me constantly too!

A big thank you to Joy for not only inspiring me with every card she makes, but just generally for being such a lovely lady :)

See you again very soon my friends--

Take care

Linda xx

Inspired By Joy Taylor Day 1

Hello!!!

You've all heard me rave about Joy Taylor, but just in case you're unaware of who she is or how amazing her creations are, click over to her blog RIGHT NOW!!

I'm so excited to be presenting these cards that were inspired by the magical Joy, that I'm just going to jump right in--

Are you all sighing with me?! I mean seriously, it's almost ridiculous how pretty this card is!!

Here is my little offering in 'homage' of the magnificent original:

I'm such a huge fan of kraft paper lately, I can't get enough of it!

The flower is from Hero Arts' Flower Corsage (CG287). I just stamped half the stamp in versamark and heat embossed it in white, then cut it out.

I coloured it using Copic Markers, using a light pink first, over the whole image, then 2 'subsequently' darker pinks on the inside of each petal to give the impression of depth/shadow.

Here is a closer image of the flower:

The doily die is from My Favourite Things (quickly winning the race to MY favourites list! Great dies at that company!)

Now, I don't have the Papertrey Ink Picnic Plaid Impression plate (embossing folder) so I did my embossing on the kraft background, by hand.

I just turned the kraft cardstock on an angle (so that the two diagonal corners were lined up) on my Martha Stewart Score board, then ran my 'stylus' down the scoreline and then continued every 1/8 of an inch for 4 'stripes'. I then skipped a 1/2 inch and started again. When I had finished the entire card front, I rotated it 180 degrees and did the same going the other way (Hope that makes sense--let me know if you want to see a tutorial!)

It's a slow process to do it by hand, but not difficult. You just have to be careful and precise.

Here is a closeup of the embossed effect:

I think it looks great.

I then finished the card with a few Joy-ish gemstones (coz that's what she would do *wink*) and stamped the sentiment from HA in Memento Tuxedo Black ink.

So there you go! There's card 1 in the series! I do hope you like my little take!

Be back here tomorrow for the next card :)

Take care and please feel free to leave me a comment, I'd truly love to hear what you think.

*hugs*

Linda xx