Fun With Lavinia Stamps!

I put some pale pink glitter on a jar (above) that I had sprayed with glue.  I stamped on some wooden tags I had bought from the $2 Shop, and then carefully stamped the (Lavinia Stamps) words on them.  The tags are about 1 3/4 of an inch in length. I used Versafine Clair Nocturne ink as it doesn't run or blend on the wood.  I used hot glue to add the flower and tags to the glass jar.  Once it was finished I placed a small red candle in the jar.  Looks very pretty at night!

I used another LS called "Simmi" on the card above.  I had made the background using my gel press.  I stamped the eye and the flowers and then carefully added some Diamond glitter to the eye.  It looks way more sparkly in real life.  The flowers have some gold shimmer on them too.  I coloured the eye with some "Mermaid Lagoon" coloured Distress Oxide ink.  I inked up a tiny paint brush to do this.

Above is another Fairy rom LS.  I used a LS stencil around her, hard to see as it is very pale.

Above is "Mooch", and he is sitting in a Christmas Bauble looking at a star!  I used a new Poppy Stamps stencil to make the Bauble.  I used a pale blue ink pad to brush over the stencil, and added a light layer of yellow over part of the image.  I LOVE this stencil and am a wee bit obsessed with it right now!  It's such an easy stencil to use, and you can make a card with it in minutes.  Unfortunately the glitter on these cards doesn't show up very well.

ON the card below, once again using the Poppy Stamps stencil, there are a couple of happy mice dancing!  The mouse on the left is Tango and the one on the right is Moo!  The fairy is Tia.

My last card for this post is Kernal the fox.  I was experimenting with some embossing powder that is used for snow.  It is chunky and you carefully drop some on the card and then heat it from underneath the card.  Once it starts to melt you can then heat it from the top.  It's fun stuff to use!

Below are some wooden stars and a tag from the $2 Shop, and once again I have stamped the three small LS words on to each star.  I'm not sure how I will decorate them, maybe some glitter, I'm not sure right now.  Once decorated I will re-post them.  I will use them as gifts, and sell some as well.

Thanks for dropping by have a SUNSHINE day!  Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

 

Lavinia Stamps: Mimsy and Mooch, Plus!

 

The card above is about 5 1/2 by 7 1/2 inches.  There's a lot of stamping on there and it took me the best part of two days to finish it.  It also has lot's of sparkly stuff on it which can't be seen on here:-(  I made the lavender coloured background using my gel press.  I used my brayer to put some lavender coloured Distress Oxide ink on the gel press, then I lay the card on top of the gel press and run my hands over it get the ink onto the card. I then lightly sprayed the card with water to give the background a kind of bubbly/snowy effect. I stamped the mages once the card was dry.

The card below is another Lavinia Stamps card, using the feather stamp as a Christmas Tree.  I added some random drops of Nuvo Crystal Drops to the tree to give it some colour.  "Pippin" sits next to the tree, looking up at the star!  I'm not sure if you can see but I have also sponges some pale coloured circles over the card.  A nice quick and easy Christmas card which could easily be made in batches.

Below is "Mooch", another LS. I used an LS stencil around the image using Distress Oxide inks.

My last card is "Mimsy", done in the same technique as the card above.  Both cards are clean and simple.  The stenciling is a bit pale on these photos, as they are in reality.

Happy ANZAC Day to all my NZ and Australian readers!  I hope you have had a great day!

Thanks for dropping by, have a SUNSHINE day!

Remember to always be your authentic self and shine bright each and every day!

Lavinia Stamps, "Simmi".

After watching a Lavinia Stamps video and learning how and why "Simmi" was designed, I understood how to stamp/decorate the stamp.  Below is my version of "Simmi".  I used some Nuvo Crystal Drops which give a raised impression.  The blue back ground was done using some Catherine Pooler stamp pads and inks.  I added some water droplets because these ink pads are water reactive and the water droplets give a nice effect. I used water colour pencils for colouring the eye.  To me, this is the sort of card you want and need to touch because of the raised effect of the Nuvo Drops.

Below is a tiny card I made this morning.  I used small size Lavinia Stamps for this card.  The whole card measures about 2 1/2 inches by 3 1/4 inches.  I stamped on 80lb Neenah Solar White card stock, and mounted it on some Crushed Curry SU card stock.  What you can't see on this card is the sparkly clear gel pen I used on some of the stamped images.  You also cannot see the yellow chalk pencil background I did. Darn that flash on my camera!  I really enjoyed making this smaller card, and there's quite a lot going on in it.  I think I will stamp more mini cards!  Inside the card I wrote, "Two people

                                         one table

                                         two cups

                                   friendship".   Something I wrote awhile ago.  Inside the gift that went with this card, was a bar of scented soap, and the wrapping had a beautiful picture of two 1950's style ladies sitting at a table drinking cups of tea.  The recipient and I have, over the years, sat down together and consumed copious cups of tea and solved many world wide issues! (Maybe we should work out this issue with Russia attacking Ukraine). She will totally understand the words I wrote, and why I sent the bar of soap.  I bought the same soap for myself as well.  While it has a perfume, it isn't over powering, its very subtle and to me, smells like a pretty, lightly perfumed garden.  (I am a dreamer, and a hopeless romantic!)

Thanks for dropping by, have a SUNSHINE day!  Remember to always be your authentic self and shine bright each and every day!

Two Lavinia Stamps Cards Plus!

The top card is not a Lavinia stamp, but the card was based on an idea I got from watching a Lavinia Stamps video. I'm not sure where I got the deer stamp from.

These two cards, above and below both use Lavinia stamps.  I stamped the ladder (above) upside down!  It was one of those days!  I used chalk pastels and water colour pencils for colouring on the card above. The card below has "Mooch" the cat stamped on.  Another Lavinia stamp.  All these cards have some sparkly clear gel pen on them.  Can't see it on here?  Me neither, but it is there!

Thanks for dropping by, have a SUNSHINE day!  Remember to always be your authentic self and shine bright each and every day!

Sunday's Sesame Snaps and A Quick Stamping Tip!

 Below are the Sesame Snaps I made today.  Really yummy and so quick!  You need 1 cup of Sesame Seeds an half a up of Maple syrup.

Put the Sesame Seeds into a frying pan and toast them, keep stirring or they will burn.  This takes around five minutes.  Then pour in half a cup of maple syrup and keep stirring constantly until the mixture starts to thicken.  After the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes or so, pour into a flat dish lined with baking paper.  I grease the baking paper as this helps to stop the mixture sticking to the baking paper. With a wet spatula flatten out the mixture until it is fairly thin.  While the mixture is still hot, slice it into squares with a wet knife.  The wet spatula and knife stop the mixture sticking to them.  It takes around 12 minutes from start to stop and tastes delicious!  Leave to harden for about ten minutes. While the mixture is warm it will be chewy.  Once it hardens it will still be chewy as well as crunchy. So that's the photo of it below!  Have fun!

                                                     

The photos below show how to make clouds for your cards.  I used a piece of ripped paper towel and a Distress Oxide stamp pad in the colour "Stormy Sky" for the first colour.  I used a soft brush to carefully brush the ink onto the card, making sure I started on the paper towel and brushed away from me. I kept moving the paper towel and only brushed small areas of the card at a time.  Once I had finished with that colour, I did the exact same technique using another Distress Oxide stamp pad in a darker blue, "Faded Jeans".  For a stormy sky you could use pinks and purples.

It was a challenge to get decent photos of this because if there was too much light everything looked faded.  Not enough light and it was too dark.  I did my best and this is what I got!

Ok. thanks for dropping by, have a SUNSHINE day!

Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

New Lavinia Cards!

The card above has lot's of sparkle on it in real life.  I used a clear glitter pen for this.  All of these cards are made with Lavinia Stamps. I wish you could see the sparkle on this card!

This card above, has a reflection but it is very hard to see as it is very pale.  I was experimenting with this card!  The bookmark has some pale colours brushed on, but once again, hard to see.  The words are a stamp from Suzanne Canon, a professional Calligrapher I know.  It says, "I came. I saw. I loved".

The background on the card above was made using my gel plate.  Once again, I was 'experimenting'! Some of the backgrounds I made were ok, some left me thinking!  These stamps are all Lavinia Stamps. The Fairy on the card is called, "Bella".

I made the sun, or moon, using my circle gel plate, and yes, I wasn't sure what I was doing, but I like the end result.  I am not sure if this card above is finished or not?  The jury is still out!  There are a few clear glass drops on this card as well.

Tis card above makes me giggle!  Two merry mice having fun with a witches hat! I used a word stamp from one of my Snarky Cats sets. These mice know how to have fun!

 Once again I made the background on this card with my gel plate. I think I used two different coloured Catherine Pooler stamp pads and added some water drops on top before I pressed my card onto it.  There are a few clear glass drops on the card.

Once again I have had more issues with my ear being blocked:-(  It really wasn't fun, as it made me feel nauseous as well as my balance not being good.  Today I am fine!  My ear has unblocked itself (again) late yesterday.  I really couldn't do much crafting because of the nausea.  On top of that, my reading glasses have broken.  I have an old pair I am using, but they really aren't strong enough.  What is really frustrating me its, my optometrist I go to can't fix them, they have to go to a special place to be fixed.  Unfortunately I can't get there as it isn't close by, and it isn't on a bus route.  So I am going to my local $2 Shop today to buy a pair of their glasses!  

Ok, thank you for dropping by!  Have a SUNSHINE day!  Remember to always be your authentic self and shine bright each and every day!

Lavinia Stamps Storage Tip!

I had seen some storage folders for either Lavinia Stamps, or any photo polymer stamps, but they were fairly expensive. As well as that, when you bought new stamps you would need to buy extra pages for the folder which meant another cost. I got "crafty!" and I purchased 3 meters of some 26 inch high acrylic I found in Geoffs Emporium (anyone in NZ will know this place), and made my own pages, to fit inside some plastic sleeves I had.  The acrylic cost $5.50 a meter, so it cost me $16.50.  After cutting the acrylic to size, and rounding the corners on each piece, I then adhered my Lavinia Stamps to the page.  Directly on to the back of the page, and behind the stamp image, I used doubled sided sticky tape to stick the actual picture of that stamp to the back of the image. I put each acrylic page into a plastic sleeve and then into a folder. This way I can easily see which stamp I want to use.  The above photo shows the pages and the photo below shows the folder I made.  I just add another page as needed and I have plenty of acrylic left over for lots' more pages!

This photo below shows the roll of acrylic I bought.  I checked the cost of the acrylic sheets in other shops, but Geoff's Emporium was by far the cheapest option.  You can stick any acrylic, or photo polymer stamp to the sheets.  I still have more pages to do and might do larger pages this time.  I have plenty of empty folders with the plastic sleeves in my stash!  Geoff's Emporium has been around for many years, and they have all kinds of interesting things for sale.  Lot's of over stocked products and tons of things for making craft stuff. And really cheap prices! I have been going there for around 35 years!  They have everything from nails and screws to paints and brushes, card stock, all kinds of stuff.  You can get lost in that place!

 I have had a few health issues over the last 4 weeks or so, but hopefully I am on the mend again now.  I do have some more cards to post, but that will be in my next post! We have just (this morning) gone off Daylight Saving, so it was nice to get an extra hours sleep this morning!

Romeo didn't think so and still woke me at 6 am, which yesterday would have been 7 am!

Thanks for dropping by, have a SUNSHINE day! 

Remember to always be your authentic self and shine bright each and every day!