Totally Dotty

Posted: July 15, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: AALL & Create, Foiled Fox store, nesting squares, Penny Black, The Foiled Fox, totally dotty stencil, Waffle Flower | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Yes, the stencil used for this card is called ‘Totally Dotty’! I mean what else would you call it? It is a large stencil from AALL & Create sent to me by the Foiled Fox so I could do totally dotty things with it. I blended inks through it for this card but I have also blended paint through it on gel prints and will no doubt use it with alcohol inks and art journals as well.

I blended wild honey, picked raspberry, salty ocean and evergreen bough distress inks through the stencil with blending brushes then, when I lifted it, blended more ink to soften the stark white background. This is a technique I’ve seen the blending wizards use.

Such a colourful background called for a contrasting sentiment so I stamped in black on white then matted in black using Waffle Flower square nesting dies. Nesting dies definitely cut down on the mistakes I make in creating very slim mats for panels. Did you see I added enamel dots; not a common embellishment for me but the water splatter just didn’t make enough impact so shiny black dots to the rescue. Make sure you pop over to the Foiled Fox blog and online store to be inspired and delighted. (Yes, there are affiliate links used in this post, no extra cost for you but a bonus to me!)

Cornflowers

Posted: June 20, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: AALL & Create, cornflower, Foiled Fox store, The Foiled Fox | Tags: , , | 7 Comments

I have cornflowers growing in my garden but they are still quite small seedlings so no signs of flowers at this stage. I am hoping they will bloom some time this summer. Meanwhile I’ve been stamping some, in blue of course. I had blue cornflowers in my wedding bouquet and flower crown so they are quite special to me.

I’ve teamed up with the Foiled Fox to bring you this post and it is wonderful to be collaborating with them again. The stamps featured on today’s cards are from AALL & Create; the set is called ‘Cornflower‘ and includes two flower stamps and two sentiments.

I’ve stamped the solid cornflower stamp repeatedly to create these two cards using a couple of techniques to make the flowers look different. The stem on the stamp is thin and bendable so I was able to make the flowers lean left or right and even have a wiggle in the stem! I inked the petals with both prize ribbon and salty ocean distress inks, spritzing the stamp before pressing it on the hot pressed watercolour panel so the inks blended. I also did some second generation stamping to get paler impressions of the flowers.

You might know that I love typewriter font so I was very happy to see a couple of word stamps in a slightly distressed typewriter font. I added them with versafine clair nocturne ink because it is such a crisp reliable ink. Thanks for dropping in; I hope you will go and check out the wealth of inspiration on the Foiled Fox blog and have a browse around their lovely online store while you’re there. (Naturally this post includes affiliate links, feel free to use them.)

Sparkle With Us challenge

Posted: March 1, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Challenges, Gilding Flakes, Swirling Wings, The Foiled Fox, Triple Banner | Tags: , , | 4 Comments

It’s time to put on your sparkly shoes, my friends, or at least your sparkly embellishments! I have teamed up with The Foiled Fox for a sparkly challenge that starts now.

I might have got a little bit carried away in choosing sparkly elements for my card. There is not much that doesn’t sparkle on this one. You can follow my lead and pull out all the sparkle or you can choose to feature just a little sparkle. Either approach will qualify you to enter the ‘Sparkle With Us’ challenge.

I used some lovely shimmer cardstock from The Foiled Fox and a whole bunch of gilding flakes. I know they can end up all over the place but I love the textured look of gilding flakes. Because there is some creasing and overlapping there is a lot of variation in the gold of the flakes. I also used gold embossing powder for my gold on gold on gold sparkly card. There are some step by step photos on the Foiled Fox blog so make sure you click on over.

I am excited to share some more sparkly inspiration over the next few weeks and hope to see your creations in the challenge gallery: you can get there by clicking the frog below.

Sparkly Supplies

Stamps: Penny Black banner sentiments set

Dies: swirling wings, triple banner die set

Cardstock: shimmer antique gold, neenah natural white,

Also: stick it adhesive, gold gilding flakes, gold embossing powder

Simply Irresistible Winners

Posted: July 5, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: Challenges, The Foiled Fox | 5 Comments

 

The Simply Irresistible Challenge I co-hosted with The Foiled Fox wrapped up on Friday but then Canada Day and Independence Day happened so today is the day to announce some winners. I have featured our three winners below but make sure you check out the announcement on The Foiled Fox blog for more details.

Thank you to everyone who participated. The best part of any challenge, I think, is the inspiration that comes from all the entries. There were cards with embossing covering just about the whole layout and others where embossing added a subtle and effective background or highlight. There was silver, gold, black, white and clear embossing and a range of mediums applied to ‘resist’ it.  I know it is a common thing to combine challenges and many of our participants did; that just makes you extra clever in my opinion.

It was a difficult task to choose three winners but we narrowed it down by looking for original ideas, technical skills and eye catching details. In no particular order the winners of $50 gift certificates from The Foiled Fox are:

Rosali, whose geometric quilt style card was the perfect choice for the emboss resist technique. I love the way the colour is trapped in sections and draws the eye toward the sentiment.

Congratulations, Bonnie, your card is so beautifully balanced and coordinated, with a small perfectly placed embossed panel to frame your white flower.

Pam, your bold black, white and green colour scheme caught my eye immediately and your smooth blended background is a gorgeous example of the emboss resist technique.

Below is a winner’s badge to display on your blog.

 

Even though we hadn’t planned it, we really wanted to highlight one more card, so please check out Hilary’s lovely emboss resist creations here. Both The Foiled Fox and I felt they were worthy of an honorable mention.

Thank you again for participating, we had fun and might just do this again one day!