PaperArtsy Guest Post: Kraft and Black

Yesterday, I had another guest spot on the Paperartsy Blog. Pop over and have a look at what I've been up to.

And don't forget to take part in the challenge too, to win stamps!!

Stealing an idea!

Today I needed to make a fiftieth card for a male..... I know! complete lack of inspiration.

And then I just happened to look at today's ShowCASe on Less is more and I saw this card (click on the link to see it) And that was it. I was inspired, so I immediatley tootled off and made my version of this card.

The numbers are banana frog stamps stamped with nougat fresco paint from PaperArtsy. I also used the script from PaperArtsy, again with the nougat paint, in a masked strip. I don't know who made the happy birthday but I use it alot.

While I was at it I also needed a 12th birthday card for a boy, and used similar techniques to create a totally different card.

ATC challenge at stampotique

It's not too late to enter the Artist Trading Card Challenge at Stampotique. I made mine using some of the new Alic in wonderland stamps

Kraft for Kids

 The theme at the Kraft Journal this week is Just For Kids. I decided to post this gift bag which I made from a kraft coloured A4 envelope for a new baby gift tag. The stamp is Lili of the Valley.

The image is coloured with pencils.
This was part of a set including the card from my last post. I've also included a picture of the bag when it was full. you can also see what was in the bag. a leopard print baby hat made with stylecraft safari chunky leopard

We Three Kings for the happy daze blog

As Christmas rapidly approaches, I find the need for quick and easy cards gets more urgent.

Here's an easy one made with one simple stamp from stampotique.

I have coloured the card with pencils, highlighted with glossy accents. I have also used some gilding flakes to accent the bands around the crowns. I finally finished with some gold cord.

Another Fancy Way to Present a Voucher

I've previously presented my scroll box as a way of presenting a printed out amazon voucher, but this year I decided I needed a new method.

This is also for the gift challenge at the Kraft Journal

This is what I believe is called a "Z-fold" The A4 sheet of paper is folded into thirds to make a DL size (in a z) and then the other way.

two pieces of card are cut (8cm x11cm) and the corners rounded. One of these will be the front and I concentrated all of my decoration on this. I used tea dye distress ink around the edges with cut n dry foam and then stamped in the same ink with a selection of PaperArtsy stamps and a rub-on message.

Check how the fold opens so that the front of the fold is in the front left hand corner of the certificate. Fold up the certificate and then attach the front and back pieces.

The certificate should now unfold and fold easily, just by pulling apart the covers (it's quite clever)

I kept the back very plain

The finished item easily tucks into a card


or can be presented as a gift.

more kraft with Rogue redhead

I just don't seem to be able to stop using these new Candy Kisses stamps on kraft card, they just seem to work so easily on it.

These are just stamped in brown and coloured with pencils, with a touch of glossy accents and stickles glitter glue to finish

Kraft tags with Rogue redhead

I decided to make three quick and easy tags with the quirky new Candy Kisses plate from Rogue Redhead (they have a new website, check it out) The bold simple designs are prefect for simple colouring styles, such as colouring with pencils on kraft card.


I also used the background from the relish reading plate with tea dye ink to produce a soft background image. I did this by covering the image with a torn scrap of post-it note, inking up the stamp and gently pressing the card onto the stamp, to get a faint uneven background. I love this effect as it takes away the starkness of a plain background, yet does not detract from the main image.

Christmas with non-Christmas stamps

You don't always have to buy special Christmas stamps to make your Christmas cards. Sometimes you just have to look at the stamps you have in a different way. This general tree from Stampotique, can easily be made to look wintry with simple colouring, and the addition of white flower soft or glitter. The tiny bird from Jo Capper-Sandon's range can easily be made to look like a robin redbreast with the appropriate colouring



all stamps are from , I made this for the Happy Daze challenge (where you can purchase your stampotique stamps)

Stella and the dragonfly

This is my piece for the little black dress challenge at Happy Daze. Anyone who has visited my blog will know that my little black dress technique is pencil colouring on kraft card and using my home made stamp positioner to combine stamps to make one layer cards.

I've used these techniques with some of my new favourite stamps from Jo's new collection from Stampotique available from Happy Daze in the UK
Stella and dragonfly are both fantastic stamps to use individually, but combined I think they create something quite magical.
To achieve this effect, stamp Stella first, then create a stella mask from a post-it note, use a stamp positioner to make sure that the dragonfly is in the correct place and stamp the dragonfly.
colour with pencils, and add the quote also from Jo's collection.

late...for a very important date!

The theme at the Kraft Journal this week is to be inspired by movies, books or songs. Now, of course it had to be Alice in Wonderland, and as it also had to be the pencil colouring on kraft card technique (of course) which means an excessive use of white, well that means that it has to be The White Rabbit!!


and he's perfect for belated birthday cards!

the stamp is from non-sequiteur and was one of the first stamps I ever got.

By The Seaside for Happy Daze

I made this piece for this month's challenge theme beside the seaside.
I've made a really simple piece using starfish and words by Jo Capper-Sandon for Stampotique, and mesh from Scrolls Work.

I finished it with a scrap of blue vellum, a scrap of sandpaper and a few dots of liquid pearls

I am also entering this for The St Luke's Charity challenge (Oh I do like to be beside the seaside) and a last minute entry to the Kraft Journal's anything goes challenge.

a rogue in my garden!

On the rogue redhead blog, Shar has challenged us to use pencils on kraft. ahem, hello!! how am I supposed to resist that one?


So I have made my card using Shar's stamps from Rogue redhead designs (relish reading plate) to make this card, which is also for The Kraft Jounal's "a walk in my garden theme"

The trick I use to achieve a sepia effect on kraft card, is to stamp the image in brown (versafine vintage sepia) and to make the images stand out, I always make sure I include white somewhere in the colouring.

To enhance this card I've added some touches of summer flower soft, it goes so well with this technique

Remember Rogue redhead stamps are now also available from StampDiva

This year's batch Christmas Card??

Every year I do a couple of designs for cards that I will be able to batch make (usually in late november). I think this is this year's first design. It's quick, uses minimal materials that are easily replaced, and is perfect for batch making.

The Stamps are all from Jo Capper-Sandon's range at stampotique, (available from Happy Daze in the UK) stamped in brown versafine on kraft card, and coloured with coloursoft pencils. the berries are highlighted with Glossy Accents, and the knotted ribbon is glued on.

This is one of my favourite ways to use ribbon, and so is my second entry for this week's Less is More Challenge. I have also entered this for the Kraft Jounal's Christmas in July theme.

teacher's card

It's that time of year.. The Teacher Card.

Of course I've gone for my favourite technique. You'd have thought that I would have been bored of colouring on kraft card with pencils by now, but absolutely not. The effect still seems really magical to me. The way the kraft takes colour is just amazing. On this one I have tried to keep a sepia effect throughout by only using neutral colours, except for the red highlight of the apples. I've also highlighted the apples with sepia accents, just to give a bit of lift to the card.

The stamp is from Sugar Nellie, and was a Craft Stamper Subscription gift ages ago.

I'm entering this for The Kraft Journal's favourite things challenge, as this really is made up of my favourite things in crafting at the moment, pencils on kraft card and one layer cards.

Hanging heart for Happy Daze Challenge

I've made another piece for the current challenge, "Dangly Things". This extremely simple card shows that to be eligible to enter your artwork doesn't necessarily have to include something that actually dangles, just a stamp of a dangly thing will suffice.
In this card I have dangled Jo Capper-Sandons heart from hearts cubed from Tree, also by Stampotique.

I've used a stamp positioner (actually lego corner and clear packaging) to position the heart accurately on the tree, and coloured with pencils on Kraft card.

floriculture scrapling

I had a little bit of Kraft card left over, from trimming down a card to a square, so I made this Scrapling from stamps on the floriculture plate from rogue redhead designs. I stamped the sentiment,masked it with torn post-it note, stamped the flower, coloured with colour soft pencils.

Finally, I added a few dots of sepia accents.

feelin' fruity!

The theme at PaperPlay Challenge is "fruity" I made this get well soon card, using The frantic Stamper's own range of stamps for the grapes and the script, the words were from a clear stamp set that I also got from the Frantic Stamper Website.

I took my favourite pencil on kraft card technique one step further, by stamping the leaf onto another piece of Kraft card, colouring and mounting with 3D foam.

did someone say brown?

you know if a challenge has brown in the theme, there's no way I'm going to be able to resist digging out my Kraft card. So as soon as I saw the challenge at Crafty Individuals, I had to take part, especially as my brand new Crafty Individuals stamps were just sitting there on my desk.

really easy card, stamped in sepia versafine, coloured with pencils, added some ultra fine flower soft, a ribbon and some sepia accents to the bird... done!

If you have this months Craft Stamper, I've done a similar technique in the gallery (animal theme, colours brown, blue and cream)

getting edgy...

The challenge at CAS-ual fridays is "getting edgy" i.e add an interesting edge to you Clean and Simple projects.

I was making this tag for the rogue redhead blog for next week, and I was sat there thinking, hmmmm it needs something at the edge. I had just been contemplating adding some sepia accents to the flowers, so it was there to hand, and I wondered, "what would it look like as an edging" so I ran a thin line around the edge and then smudged it with my finger (on purpose, lol).

so that's my interesting edge. The stamps are Rogue Redhead floriculture plate, and I have used pencils and kraft card (as usual)

I guess this is another one for the kraft jounal's summer theme too.