So Satisfying...

I've been doing a fair bit of masking lately, and I'm finding it super satisfying to peel away the paper to reveal the clean images underneath. It got me wondering about what other people find enjoyable while they craft. Is there something you find particularly appealing?

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Lovely Lilies

I tried something a little different with this one and masked off the main image before inking and stamping the background with the same lily to pull it all together. I fussy cut the sentiment for a bit of extra dimension, then added a few tiny butterflies to finish.

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Just A Little Bot

Does your family have a "birthday season", when celebrations pop up every couple of weeks? Ours hits in March and April with ten birthdays in a row, including a couple that are on the same day. It's a joyful stretch filled with cake, birthday dinners, laughter... and, of course, lots of handmade cards! 

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Tutorial - Add Some Clouds

Here's a fun way to add some clouds to your beautifully inked sky.

1. Start by adding colour to your background with water based inks. I've chosen all the colours of a sunset, but you could choose all blues for a lovely sunny day, or even dark colours for a night scene. 

2. Scrunch up a damp paper towel or baby wipe and press into the inked paper. The more you press, the more ink that will be lifted, but take care not to overwork the paper or you may find it pills and tears.

Although I didn't use any, you could add a little white pencil to really accentuate the clouds.

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Adding Detail

Do you background?

I often see beautiful cards that feature a wonderful stamped and coloured background that coordinates perfectly with the focal image. Oftentimes, it's achieved with masking or fussy cutting to add extra elements. I tend not to add much of a background to my cards, even though I love how it looks (pure laziness, I think), but today I decided to flex my creative muscles a little further than normal.

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Play Day!

Do you ever have those days when you just want to play with paper? Cutting, gluing, folding, mixing and matching? I do, and I also wanted the paper to be bright and happy so I could create a cheerful birthday card for someone special.

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Happy Accident

Believe it or not, the background on this card was largely a mistake. I was attempting to add a very subtle inked edge around the white cardstock, but didn't realise just how juicy my ink pad was! The only solution was to double down by adding more ink and a few random word stamps.

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