JOFY likes it!

Last week I took possession of one of the latest Jofy stamps, Jofy90.  I had admired other peoples work which showed a very large flower but couldn't find the stamp, and then I realised the stamp was five individual petals as the flower when put together is too large for a single stamp.  Once I realised this my order was in straight away and my fingers itched until I was able to sit and play with it.

I thought I'd just do a simple flower to start with just to get the feel of the stamp.  Wow is it large!  Like all Paperartsy stamps it is real quality to use.  I made a background on 7 inch Clarity stencil card using iced spruce and weathered wood distress inks. 

The background is far more textured than in the photo - I had a choice in the photo between background or foreground and couldn't have them both!  I stamped the flower on watercolour card that had previously had black soot distress ink washed over it.  Because of the texture of the paper I had to colour in the solid black areas and use my white gel pen for highlights.  The circles are Decoarts neon pink that I have had for ages and never used. To pull the background and foreground together I stamped another Jofy stamp in neon on the background.  I matted onto black to frame the work.

I posted this on Facebook and Jo herself said she liked it  - my cup runneth over!

I'm going to give this card to my daughter for her upcoming birthday as she's always had a thing for neon pink.  Fingers crossed that by July 4th I might be able to give it too her in person.

Starting on Christmas in June

Another meeting that needed a displacement activity last night, so I continued with my use of the Crafter's Companion layering stencils and made some Christmas cards.  Again I used the Timeless Lilies stencil but this time turned it into a poinsettia.  I had to move the stencil around to make another leaf for balance, but this was easy to do.  I stencilled straight onto the card blank so very easy for batch making cards, and cheaper to post. 

The sentiment is an old one from a magazine which I stamped in Watering Can Archival as I wanted something softer than black. 

A lovely time getting inky fingers

Yesterday I had a lovely time in an online class run by Maxine Payne at Maximum Crafts.  Maxine runs these by Zoom monthly and sends you the kit needed before each class.

Yesterday we used the Crafter's Companion layering stencils.  I had the Timeless Lilies and the Perfect Peonies stencils.  Both were easy to use but with the Lilies stencil I got a better finish by using the stencils in a different order than suggested.  I used a mixture of Distress Inks, Distress Oxides and Izinks.  My hands looked like I'd had a wonderful time when the class finished.  Happy Days indeed.

After the class in the evening I had a rather boring Zoom meeting to attend, so continued stencilling through it as a displacement activity whilst listening to a lot of boring speakers.  I reached up to the shelf in front of me for my Peeled Paint Distress ink and pulled the whole unit and 64 inks down with an almighty clatter.  I certainly had everyone's attention.  Whoops!

I haven't added sentiments to the Lily cards yet as I'm waiting to see what I use them for.

Catching up with the past!

I couldn't think of what card to do next and after much deliberating involving coffee and cake I decided that I would have a go at working through the pile of crafting magazines that are on the one day pile.  I've started with Creative Stamping Issue 67, so goodness knows how old this is!

In the magazine Tracy Evans is a guest designer and as she is someone whose work I admire I have followed instructions for one of her cards and am very pleased with how it has come out.  I haven't put a sentiment on it as I will be using it as a notelet to an old friend whose husband has just been admitted to a care home from hospital.  In these scary times she is obviously very worried by this. 

Starting Over

When I started this blog I had great hopes and plans for keeping it up to date and posting regularly.  Ha! Life certainly leads in you ways you didn't plan to go and hence I've only played with the blog, but know I feel well enough and have enough time to get going again.  SO.... here I am :)

This card used a PaperArtsy stamp set by JOFY.  (JOFY93) that I bought for an upcoming art journal workshop and I fell in love with it straight away and had to use it.

Very easy background of Tumbled Glass and Broken China distress inks, with main stamp and sentiment in Versafine Onyx Black.  Coloured in with pencils and hilights added with Sakura gel pen.  I then added the background stamps to add depth and texture and sprayed with an old shimmer mist spray that I've decanted into another bottle.  Unfortunately or fortunately the mist blobbed rather than misted but I like the end effect very much.  I know I shall be using this stamp set a lot in the future.

More finishing off

Following on from earlier post two more plays using structure paste.  The first is a book using another Stamperia mould and lots of glue, and the second a good old Ikea mirror and a Clarity stencil.  The mirror was going well until I realised that I hadn't checked which was the right way up.  Cue lots of swearing! Fortunately the paste wasn't dry and I was able to scrape it off and leave an interesting texture behind.  Aaaagh!!!  But all's well that ends well as some clever chap once said. 

Birthday Books

I've been playing around with altering things this last week.  Lots of stencil and structure paste and various paints, glues and waxes to finish.  I'm now at the finishing stage of a few things and am pleased with how the majority are turning out.

I have two birthdays this week for young people and have altered the books below for them instead of sending a card.  Both are Stamperia moulding creme and moulds.  Very easy to use the moulds but an absolute devil to stick to anything.  I eventually found that Mod Podge and being held in place for ages worked.  Even the trusted Cosmic Shimmer didn't hold these babies. It could, of course, be the heat but as everything else was drying super quick I don't think so.  But hey, first world problems...

There's lots I would do differently next time (next time???) but for a first time of using the product I quite like them.

Now to sort some buckets out..