BRAYER TECHNIQUES

I have been working in the yard today, waiting on my 13 yards of mulch to arrive, however a couple of hours ago there was a big thunderstorm and torrential rain, which brought me inside - so I thought I'd go up and make a card.  

I just got another two cards published in the Vamp Stamp News e.article this month. This month's article is all about brayer techniques.  Have to say I hadn't done brayering in a while and it is such a quick and easy way to make striking backgrounds.  On reading the article, I also learned a couple of new techniques that I hadn't done before, one of them is the bouncing brayer technique!

That is the technique I used in my card today - the rain made me think of rainbows, and this is what I came up with:

If you want to know how to achieve this look, you can find instructions in the article.

Here are the two cards that were published.  The first one uses rubber bands and the second uses the brayer three times. Full instructions for both are also in the article.

I hope you'll give Vamp Stamp News a look.

Thanks for stopping by, 

Shona

DID SOMEONE SAY CICADAS?

Well, we were warned they were coming!  I got back from taking Gillian up to the school bus this morning and came back and took a closer look!!!

"Yep, That's what I thought it was!"  YUCK!!!!!!

Oh sorry, what was that, ..... you want a closer look?  OK, here you go!

Look at the googly eyes!!

Now, have a look at that tree trunk!

.... and remember the Prom pictures are being taken in this yard in 10 more days!  

(Since posting this, I've had a few questions as to what they are.  If you want the quick synopsis, here it is.  They are the 17 year Cicadas.  Yes, the very same thing happened seventeen years ago.  My Dad will attest to that!  While we were building the patio out back they would land on his shoulders and "scream" in his ears!!  Fortunately, all they do is come out of the ground, crawl out of that shell thing and then find someone (another Cicada) to mate with.  Then they die!  What a life, right!)

Well, apart from making me feel a little bit grossed out and itchy, it did get me in the mood for making a "bug" card.

Now isn't this more acceptable?

OK, excuse me, I'm off to sweep thousands of carcasses from the driveway!

'Till next time,

Shona

SENDING YOU A SMILE

Hi there,

Well I've got Hydrangea on the brain right now.  I just cut back the big bush, by the patio, a couple of weeks ago, just as the new growth had started to emerge.  

I put the cuttings into a bucket of water along with some Butterfly Bush cuttings that I also took.  Now I've got a jungle in a bucket!!

I'll leave them a couple more weeks to get some roots established, then I'll be potting them and bring them on over the summer, to be planted up at the church in the fall.  I've got a lovely shaded area that will be a perfect home for them!  I can't wait till next Spring.  Of course, it may not work out as planned, but the good thing is - it didn't cost me a penny!

Anyway, on to my card:

Using some Hydrangea designer paper that I didn't even know I had, with the Hydrangea image from the new Sparkle N Sprinkle Spring Florals set, I stamped on to blue cardstock, added another "Amanda" flower, some ribbon and Waterscape Glitter, and here is what I came up with:

Click here, if you need the full directions.

OK, going back out to work a little bit more in the yard.  Gillian was asked to Senior Prom (although she's a Junior) and they want to take the pictures in our back yard!  Needless to say, I've got a lot to do out there in just two weeks!!

'Till next time,

Shona

HOG HEAVEN

Happy Monday everyone!

Here's another card that I did for the "At the Beach" theme, using the Pigs on Parade Stamp Set. It has a few fun images to choose from!

The image is colored with Copics and the backgrounds are swiped with Memento inks.  The base is edged with Sparkle N Soft - Blissful Blue and Sparkling Sands!

Complete directions can be found right here.

Have a great day!

Shona

AT THE BEACH BLOG HOP WITH SPARKLE N SPRINKLE

Welcome to the latest Sparkle N Sprinkle Blog Hop.  Today we are getting in summer mode with our beach theme!  You're at the penultimate stop in the hop if you came by way of our very talented technique lady, April!  If you didn't, you may want to start back at the beginning of the hop at the Sparkle N Sprinkle home, then leave a comment on each of the designers' blogs, to be eligible for all the prizes that are up for grabs.  

I did four different projects this month, but I'm only showing you two for now!  

I absolutely love the new Silhouette Set 493.  If you did our last month's hop, you'll recognize it.  I also used it for the Sketch Challenge for May. Make sure you check out the challenge this month, you have 'till the end of the month to enter.  This set is so versatile, just by changing the colors used, you can get an entirely different look every time.  So this time I made a beach scene using the Silhouette set and some watercolor crayons.  I stamped in brown StazOn instead of black, to make it look more natural.  Adding a little Florida Beach Glitter here and there, and some Sparkling Snow glitter for the waves, to give it a little bling, like the sun was reflecting off the water.

For the inside of the card, I incorporated some stamps from another set - 403 By the Seashore:

You can find complete directions in my gallery here.

For my second card, I decided to use some Beach Glass Mudd Puddles, and yet another "beachy" set 404 - Ocean Treasures.  I colored the shells with Copics and stuck them to a piece of 2 1/2" Tear-ific Tape.  I then applied Sparkling Sands Sparkle N Soft to the remaining exposed tape, to give the look of the shells lying in the sand:

I used one of the Tide Embossing Folders, that SNS carries for my "waves".  You'll find complete directions here for the above card.

Stop by in the next couple of weeks and I'll have the other projects posted.  

Now it's time to hop on over to the ever-inspiring Brenda to see what she has done with the beach theme.  

Have a great day!

Shona