Monday, November 12, 2012

Look mum, no ink...

Well, just a smidgen then... Good morning and many Blogful greetings to you all! It's Monday (yes, again) and so I'm in the house with my piece for Simon Says Stamp & Show. This week we want to stretch your artful minds and get you all get stamping without ink. These days there is such an abundance of sprays, stains and paints, you'll be spoilt for choice.
Years ago, I tip-toed into the crafty world when I decided to make my own Christmas cards and although I now love to create in a whole range of styles, I still love designing a card. My inky time is indeed precious with my little Ruby in top gear, so a card gives me just enough space to play and dabble.
l wanted to make a male motivational card which is not as easy as it sounds. Fishing boats or mountains weren't quite the look I wanted so I decided to go with foliage ad Autumnal colours so as to still be able to create an artful card.
I seem to have oodles of Design Papers in my craft room and even though I've long passed the 'dare not snip' phase, there are still piles of them in residence. I took a piece from my Retro Grunge pile and jazzed it up with foliage stamp from the Floral Tattoo set which I still really love. I stamped with gesso which gives that extra bit of texture.
I used a piece of Cut' N Dry foam to apply the Gesso to may stamp to get even coverage and so as not to overload the stamp which can happen if you just press it into a blob of paint. REMEMBER TO WASH YOUR STAMP IMMEDIATELY! Otherwise, it's bye-bye stamp... I stamped and aged the sentiment and then added a few Tattered Leaves also cut from scraps of the same paper stash. I stamped the leaves with words to make them stand out from the background, edged them with ink and curled them a little for movement.
 I layered them all up with an old torn book page and set it on a Kraft base. If I'm not sewing... then it's often string! So parcel string and a Philosophy tag it was to finish off.

So, there you go, that was my male card and inky fun for this week. Do take a look at the great inspiration over at the Design Team Blog and join in with the fun. We are on the hunt for our Top Three Artists and there's this great $50 voucher... Hmmm, just in time for Christmas!!!  Have a good week wherever you are. Thanks for popping by. Sarah


15 comments:

Helen said...

Great card, and I love the colours.

Candy C said...

Sarah...your card is so pretty! All of the layering of papers and torn edges is so rich and beautifully done. Love the leaves with the partial stamping on them as well. Great idea. <3 Candy

Redanne said...

Hi Sarah, your card is so perfect for a man! I had a little giggle over your stash comment about not cutting into papers, I regret that I am still at that stage - must be more adventurous. Great idea to not use traditional inks too, now that is a real challenge. Your card is fabulous. Crafty hugs, Anne x

Craft Addicts - Tracy Evans said...

Hi Sarah, I love your card it has a real rustic feel to it. Love the stamping with Gesso, very striking in the background set against the rustic tones. Lovely layout too. I particularly love the stamping on the leaves too. Big hugs to you all. Tracy x x

Janny Jager said...

Great card Sarah with beautiful colors.
Greetings Janny

Hettie said...

Gorgeous Sarah. I saw this over at SSS and wanted to see it again. Well done you.
xx

Anonymous said...

beautiful! love the textures :)

Sandra said...

Beautiful card, Sarah! So happy that you've decided to make your own christmas card years ago, and came into the crafty world! Hugs, Sandra

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

Gorgeous!!! The colors are fabulous, and I love your techniques for no ink.

Tracey said...

Love this monochromatic card Sarah! Great idea to stamp with gesso....i will have to give that a try :)

email: Steph@SimonSaysStamp.com said...

I'm loving the texture from stamping with gesso! Clever idea! This card is not only perfect for a masculine recipient but also the autumn season! :)

*mwah*
Steph
Simon Says Stamp!

Sophie said...

Sarah, das ist eine wunderschöne Karte.

xx

Marjie Kemper said...

Beautiful card, Sarah! Love that random text stamping on the leaves.

Claudine said...

Exceptional card! I love everything about it.

Words and Pictures said...

The gesso stamping looks gorgeous, and I love that layer of distressed book text - altogether yummy!
Alison x