Lavinia Stamps "Bumble" and "Hum"!

I used a couple of the new Sun Bloom release stamps from Lavinia Stamps for the card above. Both the flowers and the bumble bees (Bumble and Hum) are new, oh as well as the words! The bees wings are glittery, which you cannot see on here. I used a clear Wink of Stella pen for that. The silver card is glitter card, but it isn't showing on here. Oh and by the way... watch how you say "Bumble and Hum", because if you're not careful, it quickly becomes "Humble and B*m"!! Lots of us are getting it round the wrong way! Don't blame me if you get it wrong!

The Hydrangea card above is STUNNING in real life!! I used an embossing folder with black card first. Then I used Craft Artist Fusion FX Special Effect Ink Pad in purple/blue pearl. I then used the same brand of ink pad, but in pink/grape pearl for the centers of the flowers. These inks are amazing, especially on black card! I also used the Christmas Green ink pad, same brand as the other two ink pads, for the leaves. I first saw these last year, but wasn't sure I would use them. However when I saw them at the recent Paper Craft Show, I decided to get them. They are iridescent, especially in the light or the sun. To apply the inks to the embossed image, I actually used cotton buds. It was easier than a brush or sponge because the cotton bud is smaller and got into the small embossed bits easily.  It did take awhile though! But was so worth the effort! I hope you can see the iridescence a bit in the photo.

I used a Clarity Stencil for this card above. I'm not sure if I like it or not?! I'm still in incredible pain and can barely move because of the pain. My Doctor isn't sure if it is Polymyalgia or Fibromyalgia at the moment. He has also taken me off one of my medications incase it is that causing such awful muscle pain. If the pain persists he will send me off to a Rheumatologist for tests. In the meantime I am trying to carry on with my art, but sometimes I just can't do anything. Even picking up a cup of tea hurts. Maybe I will just make a pot of tea and put a straw in the spout and drink it like that, lol! Getting dressed is a challenge, so if I am in too much pain, I stay in my pajama's all day! I think there should be an International Pajama Day every year! Okay, so enough of my aches and pains. Thank you for dropping by! Have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

Chocolate Baroque - "Gypsy Rose"!

 

I'm struggling to create anything at the moment, due being in a lot of pain from Fibromyalgia. This is the worst I've had the muscle pain ever and it is stopping me from doing pretty much anything right now.

Having said that, I have managed to create this! Another Chocolate Baroque stamp, called "Gypsy Rose". (About 5x5 inches in size) In real life she is very sparkly! Her necklace has flat back coloured gems on it. She didn't quite turn out how I wanted, but I can live with that!

I went to a two day paper craft show over the weekend, and bought this stamp plus some other bits and pieces. It was a struggle and I have paid for it as I am now in worse pain than before. I did dose up on pain medication before I went, and then again during the event, but it was a challenge. It's a once a year event, and I wasn't sure until Friday morning (1st day of show) if I was actually going to be ok to get there. I only stayed a couple of hours, then bumped into a lady I knew from years ago, who kindly drove me home! Luckily she lives close to where I live. Although it was a small event, it was really great! I met up with some of the vendors I had gotten to know from buying online from them. I had a great time in spite of the pain I was in, but I was VERY happy to get home and sink into my nice soft padded swinging chair with a cuppa! The show was only about 15 minutes from where I live, but instead of mucking around on three buses, I chose to get a Taxi. Because I am registered with the Bind Foundation, I have a Total Mobility card which means I only pay 1/3 of the Taxi fare. So it wasn't expensive at all.

When I went back to the show the next day, I called the same driver. He was quite friendly and we 'discussed' the perils of the World today, and how things have changed so much and not always for the better! I had the same driver coming home from the show. But yeah, it was two very exhausting (but happy!) days, and I can't wait to do it all again next year! Hopefully I won't be in so much pain then. I have an appointment with my Doctor this Tuesday, to see what  can take for the pain. It stops me from sleeping at night, which means I am not fully rested the next day. I have trouble getting dressed because of the pain. It has been a bit depressing at times because there are times when I  just have to rest and get off my feet a lot. Oh to have a nice heated spa pool.... (Did you hear me Universe?!)

So I haven't done much creating this last week, but I am still here! And I WILL get back to my artwork eventually! I sound a lot better than I really am in reality.

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

"Chocolate Baroque ".

Here's a  picture I made yesterday. I used a Chocolate Baroque stamp - Winter Dawn. The sentiment is from Inkylicious. It's two separate stamps. I used a 5 1/2 inch square sheet of Multifarious card stock from Lavinia Stamps. I drew a frame around the card using a black pen. Then I used some circle mask negatives and lightly brushed on different coloured Versafine Clair ink pad colours, and kept moving the different sized masks until the inside of the square was filled. I used my stamp tool to stamp Winters Dawn. I addedsome small black dots randomly, to some of the circles. Then I added some glitter to the circles. The smaller 'orbs', and her hair both have clear glitter gel pen added to them for some extra sparkle. You may be able to see the sparkle better in the photo below.

I like the Chocolate Baroque stamps because they are 'open' and don't need a lot of colouring. Thanks for dropping by! Have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

 

Stencil and Stamp Card.

For the picture above, I used a Visible Image (I think)  stencil of a sunflower stencil in the bottom left corner of the card. I had masked off the edges to make the area I was stamping on a bit smaller. I wanted a border around the image, if that makes sense! "Astrid" has some sparkly clear gel pen though her hair. Sentiment and image both Lavinia Stamps. A fairly quick and easy card for today! It is SOO cold today. It was 3c degrees when I got up at 6.30 am. I switched the heat pump on asap to warm up a bit! A beautiful sunny day, clear blue sky, but oh-so - cold out of the sun.

Damn Winter - go away!

This is "Romeo-Valentino" in the pic above. He' been asleep and had a little blanket (a fluffy pillowcase!) over him. He woke up to get some nibbles and took his blanket with him! I thought it looked like he was wearing a cape, lol! Thanks for dropping by! Have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine right each and every day!

 

Fun With Ceramic Tiles!

The ceramic tile above measures about 2 1/2 x 2 inches square. I used Versafine Clair Nocturne ink to stamp with. It took several days to completely dry, and because this ink is oil based, you can see a 'shadow' around each o the images. I quite like the effect! I need to spray it with something to protect the images.

These next few images are of some clear glass (?) tiles that I have written some positive words on. I used Posca pens in different colours to write the words. 

I sat the tiles in the sun to dry, luckily today was a nice sunny day! (Free Solar Power!)

The photo below is of some Vinyl wall paper sheets I found at the Resource Center. They are quite large, about twice the size (plus) of an A4 sheet of card. Oh, and very heavy!  They were stapled/nailed together in a 'book', so out came my screw driver and I managed to remove the staples and nail things and remove each page. I now have a stack of these Vinyl pages to create with! I think I can even sew them if I want to!  

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

 

"Mideela" Lavinia Stamps.

I made the card above by first creating an abstract background. I brushed on different Versafine Clair ink pad colours. (the new colours) Then I stamped "Mideela" the dragon. I've had him for awhile but this is the first time I have used him. He measures close to 3 1/2 inches high and spans about the same width wise. I occasionally buy a stamp that I either have no idea how I will use it, or it may be a stamp I am not really keen on. Now I know that sounds weird - why buy a stamp I don't like? But never the less, it's something I do! "Mideela" was a stamp I liked but, at the time, had no idea how I would use him. Once I had done the background, and stamped "Mideela", I matted it on to some black card. I'm happy how it turned out, and I had fun creating this card! And that's what it's all about, enjoying what you do!

I made the cad above using another Clarity stencil, with different sized circles cut out. The flowers (Garden Poppy), and sentiment  are both Lavinia Stamps.  The card looks a bit pale on here, but in real life it is much darker. My apologies for that!

Ok, so what the heck are these two "things"?!

Good question! They are that fuzzy thing I mentioned in the previous post, that I got from the Resource Center, that I clean/dry my stamps on! They are on a thick piece of card stock, which you may be able to recognize in the second photo...or not! Ok, that's it for now! Thanks for dropping by! Have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!