WOYWW #524- The After the Mudbath Edition.

Because it was. We had rain every day, at least once.This is what the fields looked like- and this was higher up the hill, where at least the water had drained away! A few acres of straw were put down every night, but it was a losing battle, to be honest.
Given that it normally looks like this:












 No idea how big the Festival area is, but the crowd capacity is 110,000! And most days were
a sell out.

  But, we are here to make our regular appearance at Julias place, The Stamping Ground, for this weeks desk visits.

We hired an off road mobility scooter for me, which did make the world of difference. Not only didn't I have to wade through mud- except for the toilets!- but it meant that we could get around the whole site, as there is not only music, of course there are multiple sound stages, but lots of sellers of clothing & other goodies.





Like discontinued lines of New Rock boots!

Which sort of followed me home. 😇
 

 So very little crafting has been done, and won't be for a few days yet, as tonight we are driving up to Manchester to see Metallica.

Two wedding cards have been made, a former work colleague had asked me to make her one in pink, white & silver a couple of weeks ago, then contacted me last week and asked if I could make two for a neighbour of hers. For this weekend, as she needs to post them! Fortunately, they could be the same as the couples didn't know each other, and it could be the same as the one I'd already made.


 I've just got the inserts to print now
 and they're done. She emails me what they want inside, as it's in Polish, so I can just copy & paste!

Later this week there will be another post with some cards, made using Paperbox cardstock. They contacted me some weeks ago, and asked if I'd be willing to do a post with cards made from their cardstock, and they sent me an assortment of pearl card & paper.

There was a purchase or two- I have a reputation to uphold-😎, this time from Hobbycrafts, which is most unusual. I wanted some darker colours of fun foam, as I like to use that to create dimension in cards & sentiments sometimes, and the pack I'd bought has pretty much all pastel colours. Following a bit of Googling, it seemed that Hobbycrafts had a wide range of colours, and at 50p a sheet, not expensive either. They do indeed have a huge range of colours, and finishes too, I saw a glitter finish, and a marbled one as well.





 I also spotted a pad of Tim Holtz Small Snarky Stickers, and had to get that.

 Which just leaves.................And Finally.............





















EDIT.
 I'm so sad to say I have some tragic news to share.
Yesterday, Erika Phillpott, who sometimes posted in WOYWW as Sumbunneh, passed away.
 I've added here the message her husband Ian posted last night:
I’m so sorry everyone but now I’ve spoken to the families and some friends I now have to give you all some very bad news. Erika’s condition has deteriorated significantly and neither surgery nor chemo are an option. She has been moved to end of life care as she is no longer responsive to input from me or the nurses. She said something to me yesterday, the last words she was able to speak but it wasn’t until today that I put the pieces together. It was her telling me her soul was leaving her body. Please all just join me hoping for a swift and painless end so she can move on to be with her dad.

This was followed by this message this morning:

It’s with the heaviest and most broken heart in the world that I have to tell you all that my darling Erika lost her battle and crossed peacefully to another life yesterday evening. Myself and her wonderful nurse were at her side as she fell painlessly and peacefully to sleep.
It was her specific wish that only I was there during the darkest days leading to this. She wanted everyone to remember her how she was during her life and not how she was in those last few days. I take some relief in that her passing came quickly and she wasn’t stuck looking out and unable to communicate for an extended period. I firmly believe that those last words she uttered to me on Monday were as her being left. Those words will stay with me forever.
You will forever be in my heart, my wife, my bear my everything.

We were lucky enough to be befriended by her,  and we 'met' at first on FB thanks to our mutual love of Visible Image. We met her in the flesh at a crop, and at Ally Pally. To those who didn't know her, she was warm, lovable, friendly to all. She had a huge heart, and shared her love with everyone she met. Our hearts go out to her other friends and family, and most especially to Ian, we simply have no words to say how sad we are.

To all our friends, those we've met & those we haven't, you are as dear to us as family. We love you all, and if you take anything away from this, let it be to tell the people in your lives that you love them. Regularly, daily. Because in the space of one week, we have lost Erika. We don't know ever, when we may see or speak to someone for the last time.

When Get Well isn't the right sentiment.

Wasn't easy finding the right title for this post, to be honest. You want to send someone a card to show them some love & support, but Get Well just isn't the right sentiment. Maybe because it's going to be a long road to recovery, maybe they will be coping with something for the rest of their life. You can always use sentiments like 'Thinking of You', or 'Just for You' but I really liked these sort of motivational ones I used from Inkylicious. They're big enough to need little more than matting, and maybe a backing paper, like these.

 The cards are 'notecard' sized- that is,4⅛ x 5⅞,( 10.5x15 cm).
   This is half an A4 sheet, and depending how you cut your cardstock achieves a different orientation of card. If you take a sheet of A4 and cut it across the width, that gives you either a sidefold portrait card, or a landscape top fold card.

 Cutting the length of the cardstock gives you either a topfold portrait card, or a landscape sidefold one.
 These cards are made using the top fold portrait orientation.












Often, a different orientation will suit your card better, or even make the same card look entirely different.

  All backgrounds have been done with Alcohol inks on Yupo, with the addition of some foil pressed onto the 'sticky' areas where the ink spreads out. A good You Tube Video from KWerner on this technique HERE











 All the stamping was done using Versafine Clair Nocturne, which alone will NOT dry on this surface.
You could use Memento,or Archival which will.
 I added clear embossing powder, then heat set it. To do this you need to really let your gun get hot before starting to heat your project, keep the gun moving and stop as soon as it's raised. You may get a little bending of the Yupo, but sticking it down with DST, or Tape Roller cures that.


 The stamp is called Always Remember, by Inkylicious.


 I die cut it with a Stitched Rectangles die with rounded corners, and then die cut the two next sizes up from toning cardstock.





 I matted onto the first layer, then added a layer of fun foam to the back before matting onto the second layer, then added the whole topper to a card base I'd covered with a toning paper from my DP paper mountain!
 Then I rounded the bottom corners to match the panels.
 I finally added a few sparkly gems with a dab of Glossy accents, just adding 3 or 4 to each one.








I then used a different stamp, also from Inkylicious, called Live Life.

Yet another set of Christmas Cards.

So it's yet another set of Christmas Cards, 2 in each colourway, so 4 cards altogether.
 For starters, I masked off  the centre section of a piece of square card, roughly 5"x5", using some torn copy paper.  For the Blue and purple card I used Broken China, Tumbled Glass & Mermaid Lagoon blue D I's, with Dusty Concord and Shaded Lilac purples to sponge between the torn edges of the copy paper.
These were left to dry out thoroughly, as I wanted to heat emboss the lettering, but didn't want the Embossing Powder to stick to the sponging as well.

For the red/green card, it was Shabby Shutters and Mowed Lawn, along with  Candied Apple and Festive Berries.
  
 The Christmas Words stamp is by Visible Image, and on the blue/purple card I used Salty Ocean to stamp with. I generally find on all but the most porous of cardstocks, Distress Inks are wet enough to emboss with, and if in any doubt, I tap clear embossing ink on the stamp first, then the coloured ink, and that works just fine. Barn Door was used on the red/green base.
In both cases, the masks were replaced so the word stamping was only visible on the sponged areas.
 Both were heat embossed using WOW! Clear Hologram Sparkle Embossing Glitter. They were now matted onto a matching cardstock, then attached to the card front with DST.
 I'd cut some Christmas trees out, using the Tim Holtz Woodlands die set, and one of these was added to each card front with a Zig glue pen. I lay an acrylic block on top of each, and left them to set overnight.

The snow effect on the branches was created with White Opal Liquid Pearls, with Glamour Dust glitter sprinkled over the top.
Final addition was another Tim Holtz die, Holiday Words Script 1, using Merry Christmas cut from white card for a white on white look.
 I think the Snow Words stamp has been retired now, but you could substitute any words stamp, or indeed use a few small stamps, mixed with some snowflake stamps.
 You could even use the words die to cut some words from fun foam and make your own word stamp- just remember to cut them out back to front.

So, I'm now up to 21 cards finished, and I have the fronts for another 10 on my desk.

Using those Shadow stamps.....

Three cards made with the Fun Foam shadow stamps, accompanied by some lovely sunshine coming through my blind!
Very easy Clean & Simple cards- shadow stamps, a post-it mask, Distress Inks, an image & a sentiment.

I moistened the foam stamp with a baby wipe before each inking- it gives a much more even ink coverage.

The first circle was stamped with Spiced Marmalade, and I stamped a mask onto post-its with the same inking. I cut out 3 or 4 post-its together to give me some spares. I also cut just inside the stamped shape, so I could position it without getting a 'halo' around them when I stamped the next one.

 
The second circle was coloured with Mustard Seed.

Mask removed- that worked quite well, lol.












Replaced the mask again to add the third circle, in Rusty Hinge.
                                         









 All three circles stamped.
 I found a Penny Black image to use as the focal point, and stamped this in Gathered Twigs.










Then added a sentiment at the bottom.












    Creating the second card- First (masked) circle was Barn Door, top one Rusty Hinge,Bottom one Spiced Marmalade.
Then I added a smaller circle at the bottom with Mustard Seed.    

 The same Penny Black image, this time curved slightly on the block, and another sentiment, using Gathered Twigs again.

  Something to be aware of with Fun Foam stamps- they have a VERY low profile on an acrylic block, and its way too easy to get ink on your block & not realise it. You can see the yellow on this one, which I tried- and failed- to hide with the sentiment.  I found it wisest to wipe all around your foam stamp with a baby wipe/piece of kitchen roll, then hold it over a white background to make sure you can't see any ink on it. And to wipe your fingers- DI is very wet, and transfers off them.

     The third card, using, from top to bottom, Mustard Seed, Scattered Straw, Spiced Marmalade & Rusty Hinge. Theres a bit of a smudge of darker ink on the second circle down. That was caused by re-using the post-it mask too many times! Even though I cut out 3 or 4, I used at least one of them too many times. I think this is a one time use situation.

I did try heating the larger foam circle first to see if it helped give a smoother surface,but not the smaller one. Looking at the circles, I can't see any difference. I found they started to curl a little, and pressed it flat with my fingers. Big mistake! The heat softens it, and your fingers leave indents. If you look at the second couple of pictures, you can see where I practised stamped first, and you can clearly see the dents left in the surface. I reheated it, and pressed it between two acrylic blocks to smooth & flatten it.                          

Supplies:
 Distress Inkpads
Fun Foam/ Shadow Stamps
Baby Wipes
 Penny Black 'Ascent' 3139K ( Link goes to Penny Black UK suppliers list)
Word stamps are VAP Stamps, I think via Dovecraft. I bought them as a box set of about 20, a few years ago.

 

Making your own shadow stamps

I've seen mention before about making your own stamps from Fun Foam, and you can get this stuff really cheap. I know I've seen it in The Works, and I've also got it from our local Poundland. I think there's about 10 sheets to a pack, and they're usually A4 size.
 I cut myself some circles, and scalloped circles, using Framelits dies through the Cuttlebug.
I lay the dies onto the A plate, C plate stack, then the foam, then my B plate.
I also did some Hexagons, and some Large Labels, both Nestabilities dies.

Then I had a thought. What if I ran them through an embossing folder? So I did.
This is the Tim Holtz Woodgrain folder. I recall reading that you could heat it with a heat gun and stamp into it, to get a reverse image stamp, so I heated it for a few seconds first. I also tried it without heating, and I don't really think it made a huge amount of difference to the impression either way.
Next I tried cutting out some circles from the embossed sheet.

You also get a choice of embossed or debossed stamp, as it comes out double sided!


Now I was curious to see how it would stamp.

I stuck it to an acrylic block- I meant to use repositionable tape, I picked up the wrong one- but it cleaned up ok. Its better to put the tape on the block, it doesn't go onto the foam very well.











I inked it with DI, Salty Ocean all over, then Chipped Sapphire around the edge.


Typically with DI, it gave a grungy, faded print.
Then,I made a useful discovery. I cleaned the stamp up with a baby wipe, and it was still damp when I re-inked it. This made the ink go onto the stamp better. Just out of interest, I stamped one print after another. I got a total of 11 prints, each slightly more faded than the last, out of one inking.

Now I went into full embossing mode, lol. This is a Darice folder, Brick Wall, and I think I will cut this one into squares & oblongs.

This is a Tim Holtz folder, brickwork. I also discovered that if you aren't happy with how its embossed, if you heat it, or re-heat it, you can take the design out, then re-emboss.



I did that with these Hexagons I embossed in a Honeycomb folder.
When I started this, I embossed the sheets first, then cut them out. I wasn't sure if embossing them after cutting the shapes would cause them to distort. I found that depending on the die you are using, you may get a light outline around your shape. This happened with the Honeycomb folder I cut up with Hexagons. So I reheated them, then re-embossed the cut out shape.

 Good news is that the shapes don't distort when embossed.











 Using Fun Foam in embossing folders through a Cuttlebug requires some trial & error.
Mine would not take the normal sandwich for an embossing folder with card, plus some Darice & Tim folders are thicker anyway, and already require a bit of re-jigging. And some foam is thicker than others!
The sandwich that worked for me is:
A plate
C plate,
 Embossing folder with foam
 2 or 3 sheets of cardstock shim

So I gave the stamping a go- I wiped the stamp first with a baby wipe, to moisten it, then added the ink. DI Mustard Seed & Spiced Marmalade again.

I think I was a bit heavy handed with the Spiced Marmalade, so tried it again adding it with a sponge this time.

Another experiment with how many prints I could get. This time I got 10 from a single inking.

 A quick try out with a different combo- Adirondack Raspberry & DI Dusty Concord. Sponged on the edge colour again trying to avoid any hard lines, and this seems to work best.

5 nice prints, and I would have got 2 or 3 more paler ones.
 I've been thinking that if I coated the foam stamp in Clear Embossing ink, or Versamark first, then added colour, I would be able to heat emboss it. And I think that if I heated the foam up, then let it cool before inking, I'd get a smoother surface.
Something to try out next.

Supplies:
 Darice embossing folder, Honeycomb
Darice embossing Folder, Brick Wall
Tim Holtx texture fades folders, Woodgrain & Bricked, which comes as a two-pack. (I could find it on Amazon, at a silly price, but there have to be other stores that have it)
Fun Foam/Funky Foam
Dye inks.