Sunday 18 March 2012

Happy Day!

Happy Mothers’s day!!…I’m having a lovely pamper day, a break from the renovating the cottage, eating lots of yummy (and bad for you) stuff and of course crafting. YAY!!

This has meant I have actually had proper time to have a play with Less is More’s challenge of masking…naturally my fingers itched to use stamps but actually masking and stencilling is one of the easy ways to make cards without spending anything at all.

So it was back to the felt pens and daubers for this one

S1052510

Using a knitting needle punched through paper onto a soft mouse mat, created the torn circles. I keep a pot of buttons and coins on my desks as they make handy guides for projects that need small circles. I created three bushes on my tree for Allsorts “three in a row” challenge

           S1052501  S1052502

I then drew a flower pot and using “bog standard” tracing, repeated the design three times to create different elements of the pot.  The layers of colour were created by mixing colours together, then rubbing the ink over the masks, working from one side to build up light and shade. A final bit of texture was added to the tree by stippling the darker shade on with a piece of packing foam. The stalk was added on after the leaves and pot, masking the area required with post-it notes.

         S1052503 S1052505

I did find the dauber created a very subtle shade through such a small gap, so I used an off-cut from a Memory foam insole to get the ink into the gap which worked extremely well.  To finish I grounded the pot with a little bit of shading (masked with torn paper. The greeting was part of a much larger message on a recycled Birthday card.

CONFESSION: I cant even call it a school girl error as I think a school girl would have been more careful!! but I was so eager and gleeful in my extra crafting time I carelessly  wrenched the mask off my card, which I had diligently attached with masking tape…..you can guess what is coming …….there was …a hideous little tear on the side of my card. I had even de-tacked the tape on my p.js (yes I was crafting in my jammies…how decadent is that) but there it was …mocking me…oh well I like matting white on white…so no massive harm done.

After amazing, fabulous Eggs Benedict (cooked by Katie and James…and waited on by hubby Steve). It was straight back to the craft room for another version of the topiary tree. This time with the safety net of creating the elements separately, then decoupaging them onto the card. The message was from the same recycled birthday card but this time it was cut from the inside and pleated to create a banner.

S1052516

I have only now had the chance to post this, I have spent the rest of the day with Katie and Steve. We have turned an old kitchen shelf into a house sign for the cottage(using my cricut to cut out some lettering)….. we needed a new sign as the old one was attached to the front porch….which got into a fight with a Concrete Mixer Lorry on Tuesday…the mixer lorry won!!! ……and we have all just cuddled up and watched “One Day” with tea and a packet of crunch creams.

Red heart My wonderful mum died 16 years ago and today is always overshadowed by not having my daughter Gina here (I craft in her bedroom, so it is a  special place for me) but I am lucky and privileged to have had them in my life.

Red heart to my loved ones….Thank you for this special day,

Smile……and to you all who visit ….thank you for popping by and putting up with my ramblings. …..I hope you have had a lovely day.



27 comments:

Maribel said...

I love, precious.

Suzilou said...

What a gorgeous card and great technique. Sounds like you have had a fab day :)

Loli said...

Hola Diane, fantastic tutorial, clever idea and gorgeous card.
A hug from Palma

Fiona said...

Fantastic card, so innovative. Gorgeous colouring/shading too. I too am missing my Mum today, first Mother's day without her.

cathi139 said...

wow, what a stunning card, absolutely faboulous. Thanks for sharing how you made it
Cathi from Germany

Chrissie said...

This is simply terrific Diane... you have gone to so much trouble to make this, but it has certainly paid off, the tree looks amazing and the shading on each 'ball' is wonderful!
A great card and a brilliant rescue too!
Thanks so much
Chrissie
"Less is More"

Sarah's Little Snippets said...

Oh this is brilliant Diane, love the shading! Thanks for sharing how you made it :) Sarah x

Scrapmate said...

An amazing couple of cards. Thanks for sharing the instructions. Wow a lot of work. I love your idea of punching out circles with a knitting needle to get that jagged edge.

Sue said...

Oh My Word!!!!! the way you have made these cards is Amazing. I just think the are fab!!!!!!

Sue said...

Oh and I have so got to have a go at making one in that way my self. Thank you for sharing.

Wishcraft said...

Oh this is fab! Such a clever design, love it :o) Lisa x

Margaret said...

Fabulous card Diane and what an ingenious way to make the stencil for the topiary tree - brilliant!
Margaret x

Viv said...

Such a great card Diane & love how you made the 'tree' parts ,thanks for the little tutorial too :) Viv xx

Jenny said...

Your card is just fantastic Diane, I love shading with inks through masks too. Typical problem with the tape...I do that too :0( still you got round it brilliantly as I would expect you too :0)
Love your special thoughts about Mothers Day...its a day of thinking and reflection as well ((hugs))
Jenny x

Suze Bain said...

Wow, I am so impressed! Your colouring of the topiary is fab. Sounds like you had a lovely day yesterday. xx

Nicola said...

Beautiful creations Diane, love your creativity!
Thanks for entering our Three in a Row challenge over at Allsorts this week and good luck!
Hugs Nicola xxx

Aileen said...

Love your created tree. So clever. x

Andrea said...

Wonderful idea!!!

Mandi said...

Your card is nothing less than sensational Diane
Soperb in every way
So golad you had a lovely day

Thank you very much
madni
"Less is More"

Beryl K said...

Wow this is amazing
Beryl x

lada_vl said...

Clever and original tutorial and beautiful card!

Debs said...

Stunning card and a fab technique - thank you for sharing the details :o)
Thanks also for playing along with us at Allsorts this week.
Good luck.
Debs xx

Chaosmaus said...

Very Beautiful!

Vicky Hayes said...

Your stylish topiary is just wonderful Diane and you rescued the card brilliantly! I'm glad you had a lovely mothers day, even if it is tinged with sadness.

Victoria said...

Stunning colouring and a great idea!

Jo Street said...

Stunning card Diane, and I love that you've showed us how to do it too (like me). Sounds like you had a lovely day being decadent crafting in you jamies (I'm jealous)!
Jo x

V.S. said...

it's just amazing!!!! and when i saw how u made it... i am totally flattered!!!!!!!!! SUPER!!!!

Post a Comment