playing with browns

Bit of a hodgepodge of reasons for this one.. hubby had a clear out a few days ago and there were 3 fabby cream brocade buttons that just had to be snipped off before the waistcoat went to the recycling. Those ribbons got me thinking.. I've never done an image card in nothing but my favourite brown tones so there was 2 things I wanted to do with it. Then on KennyKs challenge blog the theme is pocket cards and I havent really done one of those either. Next came a thread on one of the forums about feeling guilty about buying stash.. well I'd just sorted out my markers and had a pang of guilt of having a full set of polychromos that have been used so rarely I've not even needed to sharpen the flesh tones. So here we have it.

Kenny K image coloured with just about every brown, yellow ochres and orange polychromo there is. My own nested shape cut with scal, vanilla grosgrain ribbon and ornament stamp & retired papers from SU. MS & SU punches, and flowers from wild orchid.

I'm entering this one in to

Kenny K Crafty Girlz - pocket card
Truly Scrumptious - buttons and bows
Totally Gorjuss - punches or dies
DYSU Challenge - yellow, orange and brown
PixiedustChallenge - monochromatic card in favourite colour.
paperpretties - no markers

pinkink 2

I thought I was cutting it dead fine or a tad too late with this one for the pinkink sketch challenge. Then I looked again and they're a fortnightly challenge so I could have spent a few minutes longer getting it just right (d'oh lol)

Rockstar papers, su & ms punches, su sentiment and music note wheel, perfect pearls, wild orchid flowers and the tilda I started to colour on my copics versus spectrum noir pens post.

She's coloured with copics, with bg & yg shades.

spectrum noir versus copics

I decided in the fairness of testing the spectrum noirs against the copics I'd weight things in favour of the spectrum noirs just in case my dislike of crafters companion was influencing me. To weight things I restricted myself to bg01, bg05 and bg09, all in the same blending family but the 3 most extreme to blend together. I already know that bg01 is going to be a lot darker than the spectrum noir 171 or 178 and I'll get less of a highlight. In normal usage (and if I had them all lol) I'd have used a bg000, bg02, bg05, bg07 & bg09 to get maximum shading.

This time I'm using stampinups whisper white paper and because I coloured side by side it allowed the ink to totally dry between shades. Not a single bit of bloom so I'm a lot happier with the results.

Technique wise I went with more of a flick motion and along the lines of the flick hair video on colour me copic blog.

On the left is the spectrum noir in 178 and the right is the copic bg01








The pic hasnt shown it very well but I added some 171 to get a more graduated effect before adding some 68 midtones then some 65 for the darkest shadow. I've used bg05 for the copic midtone and bg09 for the darkest. I havent attempted any blending, just laying down the colour.






I've used the midtones to blend the darker shades, both images show just how large a difference there is between the mid & lighter colours.







This time I've gone back over with the lighter colours to blend mid to light.

In real life there is still more blending to do and it needs more dark on both images.




The spectrum image has been gone over twice more with dark, medium & light and I had to use a lot more ink/blending strokes whereas the copic only needed a few more light touches.

It could be my imagination but the lighter spectrum colours seem to bleach out the darker colours more than copics do.

I'd probably use either image if I'd paid more attention to proper highlight placements.

Will I buy more spectrum noirs? Nope, not unless I've had a chance to play with other colours and find the colours blend more naturally.

Spectrum noir 2nd impressions

First testing finished. I did try using light medium, light, dark, medium, light method but that was sooo bad I have up and went to dark medium light blending.



Photo is better than the real life image where the difference between the light and medium shade is extremely harsh, specially on the arm and hat. I wouldnt use this image even if the ink hadnt have bloomed.










Using 65



Adding in 65 and blending over about 1/3rd of the darker shade.







Added in 171 , again blending over about 1/3rd before adding some more 65 and blending that in to the 68 again. You can really see the harsh lines between the 171 & 65.








I've gone back over again and tried harder to blend the 3 shades together. The ink seems a lot juicier than my copics and promarkers and even on neenah and leaving a minute or 2 between colours you can see where the colour is blooming across the edges.




2nd impression... not impressed. These pens are being marketed as easier to blend as they've been put in to blending families but if I had to make a recommendation I would say to add a shade in between 171 and 65 as there's just far too big a difference between light and medium. It's probably the same as using a bg11 copic with a bg15. With a lot of practise they're probably going to be ok but these arent pens for those with the attention span of a gnat (me sometimes lol) and those that expect to pick up a pen and turn instantly into a virtuoso artist.

Will practise some more... back later lol.

spectrum noir first impressions

First thought was ooh these are chunkier than I thought they'd be. They're even chunkier than the promarkers and feel quite uncomfortable in my small but really pudgy hand, not just because they're larger but being square they dont sit as well. Pen thickness is a personal thing though so I'm not going to mark them down for that.

Nice to have a pen that doesnt roll off the desk though. Nib wise the nibs are not far different in size to the promarkers.






The colours on the pen lids don't appear to go together. I did a first test swatch and it could be my eyes but I would say there are 2 distinct colour tones, one being more of a greeny sea turquoise the other a petrol blue turquoise.

There are light, mid and dark tones in each trio although at first glance it's hard to see which light shade goes with which colour way, looks very much as though you could get away with both as 178 is decidely lighter than 171.

I've got no gripes or whinges about the coverage and once the ink is down I don't think anyone would ever know which brand of pen had been used.


For those used to copics way of numbering (letter denotes colour family, first number the tone and the next numbers the strength of colour with 0 being the lightest) the numbering system on the spectrum noirs is going to drive you loopy. There seens to be no obvious pattern to the numbering. Like copic sketch the number being onthe lid will be handy when hunting in a case but not so great for those who want to keep them in a drawer.

Off now to do a real test with a couple of stamped images.. now which stamp shall I chose lol.

crafters companion spectrum noir pens

There's been a slight buzz in a couple of uk forums about the launch of new alchie pens from crafters companion. Same sort of pens as copics and promarkers but a lot cheaper and they will be refillable although at the time of writing this there's no idea about how much or when the refills will be available. As we speak I've got a set of turquoise pens winging their way to me. As soon as they're in my grubby mitts I'll do a side by side test.

Now I'll admit to being dubious about them, not because I'm a copic girl at heart but because everything I've ever bought with crafters companion logos has been poor quality or badly thought out. Just a few bad buys have been

ultimate embossing gizmo, flimsy cheap construction that's had issues with hinges and the ruler. The cutter is worse than an old rusty stanley knife. The embossing channels are too chunky which leaves misaligned gatefolds and leading edges.

Sticknspray, marketed for coating the back of ums and claims made that it could be enough to hold the stamp up to 60 times... I was lucky if it held a 2nd. Claims were also made that it would hold posters.. nope doesnt do that for me either.

watercolour paper.. claims on tv about how good is was for blending watercolours. Came last when I tested it against other watercolour papers. Even the cheapest of the cheap from whsmiths was better.

cds, first flower fairy cd was horrendous, pictures printed pixellated and the fairys all looked as though they needed a razor up and down their legs. Later cds have had misaligned images and missing files. As we speak several months on and a patch for the fairyopolis cd still hasnt been sent to people waiting.

There have also been complaints about their trimmer not being very accurate or easy to use but I havent tried it myself.

Anyways I'm off to stalk the postbox.. hopefully the postie will be here soon and I'll post back what I think of them.

blue green xmas

Not sure about this one, I've combined paper salon papers with SU baja breeze card stock stamped with a snowflake and embossed in white.

Baja breeze seam binding, sentiment from perfect punches set and wild orchid flowers mixed with branches from the SU bird punch and some stickles. All of the papers have been distressed along edges and matted on some deep brown pearl card which again has been distressed.

The sugar nellie (after getting Clint the Cowboy as a whimsy stamp last week when in fact he's a kraftin kimmie leads me to believe my memory isn't what it was lol) which I've had for yonks is stamped on neenah and coloured with bv0's & bg10's with touches of e30's and e0's.

Layout is from sketchnstash challenge blog
and the theme is winter blues from Sweetstamps Blog

New challenge blog

Not sure how I found it but Pink(ink) Sketch Challenges started off this week and I had to have a play with their first ever challenge.

Sadly the card is a bit too blingy to get a decent photo but in real life it's quite subtle even though there's lots of metallic silver and glitter.

Image is from CC designs and it's her first inking. I've used wow silver tinsel ep and watercoloured her with pretty in pink, bashful blue and so saffron markers from SU with a medium flesh watercolour pencil. There is a hint of perfect pearls painted on to the showflake skirt.

Backing papers are a mixture, the snowflake rows is from a dcwv pad but the other 2 are using stamps, powders, bashful blue & pretty in pink ink & cutndry pads on white card.

Diecut snowflakes from glitter card, some pastel glitter mizhuhiki cords, sentiment & punch from SU. Everything is backed with elegant eggplant card stock.

Is my mojo back?

Not sure if my mojo is back for good but while it's visiting I'm making full advantage of it lol. Good timing tho as I have a list of cards I need to make this week.

This one is a thankyou card for one of hubbies friends. Not your typical thankyou image but Trevor hosted a cowboy & indians camping weekend party for about 150 people. It coiincided with the Newbury show... beer or stamps?? bit of a no brainer for me stamps won hands down lol. Shame though as everyone had a fantastic time.

Back to the card, I've used a new whimsy stamp on neenah card and coloured with copics. b93,95,97 b39 c3, 5, 7 e000, 00, 02, 43, 47, 49yg11, 63, r46, bv29 & y17 Layout is from Truly Scrumptious although I've taken liberties with it.

Papers are predominently from SU Elegant Soiree (my most favourite papers of all time) with a strip from dcwv rockstar. Very vanilla & soft suede cardstock, su lattice embossing folder, nesties and a sentiment from SU.

New card

Monday is my sons girlfriends birthday and she's pretty much a rockchick so another new Kenny K stamp was just perfect for the occasion.

I've used sketch 147 from cupcake challenge blog with what else but rockstar papers which have been grunged up a bit with weathered wood distress ink. The nestie is my own cut with scal and again grunged with weathered wood and a hint of bundled sage. Sentiment from SU and cut with one of their punches. Black pearls to create a flourish and a bow tied from some material I had in the cupboard.

The image is coloured with copics and cased from the header of Kenny K challenge blog which was coloured there by Cheryl Valader. She's cut out by hand and I've tipped the edges with bv29 before lifting her with some 3d tabs.

Must admit I'm chuffed to bits and over the moon with the image as it's my first non binned attempt using deep reds and greys. Huge long list of colours, sorry. r32, 35, 37, 46, 59. C0, 1, 3, 5, 7. B00, 02, 05, 63. yg11, 91, 95. Skin is e000 & e00. Hair, e08, 29, 31, 33, 35, 37

Anniversary card

It was our wedding anniversary on Sat, gulp 23 years..

This is the card I made for hubby.

Quite aptly the papers are from a pad called Love Letters and I teamed it with a wonderful stamp from Mo Manning. She's coloured predominently with rose carmine watercolour pencil with naples ochre for her hair, stickles to her skirt & scarlet & juniper wc pencil for the flowers. White card ran through a papermania embossing folder and coloured with blushing bride ink. The sentiment is one that came with the stamp and is mounted on bravo burgundy card & cut with a punch from SU. Wild orchid roses and sections from a marianne die to finish. I was quite pleased with how it came out, specially her hair because when I first met hubby I had bleached blonde hair which was in a very wild 80s curly bob.

Kenny K bday card

I love having new stamps and my good friend Noreens birthday gave me a good excuse to ink up 2 of my newest purchases. Couldnt have been timed better as as KennyK challenge blog is having an anything goes challenge and celebrating it's 1yr bday with a blog hop.

The girl is one of Kenny Ks fab images and she's coloured with watercolour pencils. The blue background is a new 6*6 backing stamp from impression obsession which resist embossed on white card then grunged up with several blue distress inks, predominently faded jeans.

Wild orchid roses and SU seam binding tinted with faded jeans ink, 2 whimsy stamps to make the sentiment, scrap of basic grey paper, label 4(?) nestie and a guitar charm to finish.

Daughters bday card

My mojo is still on walkabouts but with the help of a layout from truly scrumptious I did manage to come up with this one for my daughters birthday.

Shape is my own design & cut with scal. Distress inks bundled sage, tumbled glass and dusty concord. Elusive Images flower heat embossed with silver wow sparkle ep & coloured with wild wasabi & elegant eggplant markers. Some very old paper adventure papers with silk card embossed in a bug folder. Border of baja breeze card punched with the SU decorative border punch, misc sentiment stamp and numerous pearls all mounted on some elegant eggplant cs.

July Playday

Get me being all organised lol.

Next Bristol playday will be July 10th and everyone is welcome to join in. Just email me for details.

In honour of that great crafters tradition of Christmas in July guess what the projects are going to be all about at next months playday??

Yep.. xmas lol.


In the main we're going to be focusing on building scenes using inks, sponges and scrap paper masks. If anyone is brave and wants to risk a brayer they're more than welcome to, personally I prefer my daubers and blusher brushes.

These are 2 samples I made using Lovely As A Tree and Welcome Christmas. I brushed perfect plum and pacific point ink across the top of some a4 white card which I'd masked with some torn paper. The trees were all stamped over the edge of the mask.

Mounted on basic black then white ran through a dot embossing folder. Very simple and quick card.





I didnt actually intend to make 2 cards but once I'd stamped the children & sleigh from welcome christmas on the last card I realised I had a good 3 inches that were too good to waste. I added another sleigh image and got my trusty knife and ruler out to hack it into 4 squares.

Mounted on perfect plum card with white card ran through an inked snowflake embossing folder. Strip of whisper white satin ribbon and a dangly sentiment made with the word window punch and a few jump rings.

All of the other samples I took with me can be found on my SU blog but I will add a few here over then next couple of weeks.

If it werent for 2 craft shows coming up I'd be wishing it was the 10th already ;o)

Playday yesterday

Hopefully everyone had a fun time at playday yesterday. The main project of the day was milk cartons from a5 card and a holder to fit 4 of them. Got to say there were some beauties made by the end of the day, with Sandra being the first to finish. Must admit to being gobsmaked at Sandra finishing first as she normally lags at the back with Kay. Could it be that Kay sitting on a different table had something to do with that???? lol.

This is my original sample and used gold pearl card very lightly embossed in the SU lattice folder with cream & soft suede cardstock. I've used a border punch to decorate the carton & holder with a SU wheel & crumbcake ink. Crumb cake taffeta ribbon (I'm hoping we get it back in the catty in Oct) and a triple embossed "button" from the new button embosslit folder. Nesties for the handle and 4 baby wooden pegs to finish.





This rather bashed about sample was made using the same measurements but with increasingly longer pieces of card. Stamped with a few colours with one of the hostess sets and windows from the label punch. I didnt really go to town with the decoration on this one as it was just to show you can make them any height using the same template. It's now destined for the bin but I'm going to be rescuing the lil SU paperclips first. They're one of those embellies that I find too nice to use lol.

Paint fusion sweet peas

This is one I made just over a week ago for a friends birthday. Nothing more than Sheenas paint fusion sweet pea stamps with the rose leaves. Painted with system 3 & go green acrylic paints. Card has been brushed with distress inks and mounted on marina mist card with a sentiment from SU. Must admit I was chuffed with this one.

I'm still about

I think the fallout from hubbies accident took a bit longer to arrive than he did... I tend to go a bit quiet when I'm stressed and my mojo goes flying out the window.

Still he's back at work now and hopefully we'll be back to normal footings soon and hopefully my mojo will return as well.

In the last 2 months apart from playday projects I've barely looked at my stash let alone made anything much. This was made a few weeks ago for my buddy Angies birthday. My favourite stamp set Just Believe with very vintage wheel on cream & soft suede cardstock. Huge amounts of tearing and inking with softsuede ink, some splodges from the spritzer tool, crumb cake ribbon and get me... a quilled rose!! Not often I do distressed but Angie loves distress techniques.

April Playday

What a fab time we all had at the first of the big Bristol playdays on Sunday. Huge thanks for coming ladies, you've got no idea how chuffed I am that you all came and that everyone enjoyed themselves. Be great if everyone that wants to could email me a pic of the bookcard they made & I can add them all on here to see what a bunch of talented crafters we all became that day.

General consensus seems to be that playday should be a regular event so I've booked the community centre again for next month and as long as it's popular it's going to be the 2nd Sunday of every month.

So next playday is April 10th, 10am til 4pm at the Filwood Community Centre, Knowle Bristol. Cost will be £3 to help cover the cost of hiring the room and you'll need to bring a basic cardmaking kit, cutting mat, scissors, sticky stuff and card/pretty papers. I'll make a more precise list but please don't be worried if you havent all the tools needed as between us there's always plenty to share.

There are tea & coffee facilities in the room and lunch wise if everyone can bring a plate of something for a pot luck buffet. This time tho.. not quite as much ladies.. there were only 19 of us but I bet we could have fed 60 lol.

All are welcome, you don't need to be a stamper and you don't need to have any experience of card making or scrap booking. The ladies are very friendly and of mixed experience so there's always someone willing to lend a hand and help newcomers.

This is the main project we'll be making. It might look difficult but it's quite quick & easy to make. The most difficult part is deciding what colours and embellies to use lol.

Also on the menu is a technique "class" making and using paper masks (not the facial variety lol) and hopefully we'll all be going home with a stamped scene card.

Baby Book Card

Here's another sample of one of the projects for Sundays Bristol Playday.

Quite timely as hubbies niece is holding her babys Christening party in the same building and I'll be able to pop in with the card afterwards.

Image is from LOTV and has been water coloured with SU markers.


Papers are all from Nanas Nursery paperstack and I was dead chuffed to finally find a use for the giraffe. I've cut away along the pattern and used it to make a flap for a tag which has a lovely poem.

Cardstock is retired SU colours and I've used a couple of MS border punches and crushed velvet distress ink.

Big thanks to Tracy for having the patience to make the booties.. they're only an inch long.




These flowers are the vintage beaded roses from Joanna Sheen and I've used scal to cut some flourishes which I drew in inkscape.








I'm entering this into the challenges at

Dream Valley Challenges - New Beginnings
Everbody Art Challenge - Baby
Oldie But A Goodie - For A Baby
IncyWincy Designs - Pastel Colours

Blog Candy

I've just realised that the wedding card I posted last night is the 300th project in my gallery at the docraft forum so to celebrate I'm offering some blog candy

On offer is a two step stampin set from StampinUp, Good Neighbours. A pad of 6*6 designer series paper 3 and a bottle of my all time favourite glue, Tombow multiuse.

If you'd like to be in with a chance of winning the candy you need to do a few things...

Post a link to this post on your blog, become a follower and leave a comment.
Afraid this is only open to peeps in Great Britain.

The draw is now closed. Thanks to everyone that's entered, left comments or became a follower.