Playing with Calligraphy

I felt like practicing dip pen calligraphy the other day, so copied some calligraphy quotes from Pinterest. 

I used my trusty 'Blue Pumpkin' nib (the Brause No.361 nib or 'Steno' nib) along with an ink reservoir which I took from a Brause Bandzug nib. This increases the time I can write for without re-dipping, by loads. This nib doesn't create lines quite as fine as the popular Brause 66EF nib, but to me it's a much more reliable, smooth nib.

Love wet ink!

Papertrey Ink Cat & Smooched Distress Ink Birthday Card

The third card I made yesterday features a cat die and stamp from Papertrey Ink.

I made the background panel by 'smooching' Distress Inks. To do this, I put a few dabs of ink from the pad onto a non-stick craft sheet, spritzed it with water, and then lifted up some of the ink with a clear acetate sheet. I then dabbed the ink down onto my white cardstock.

I liked doing it this way (rather than just rubbing the white cardstock directly into the ink) because it gives you greater control with where you put the ink, and you can see what's going on.

I did this four times with four separate inks: Festive Berries, Picked Raspberry, Spiced Marmalade and Mustard Seed.

For the cat, I die cut white card, stamped the cat on it, then stamped the cat two more times on patterned paper, and cut round one for the whole body, and another for just the head which I attached with foam pads.

 For the 'Happy Birthday', I put wide double sided tape from Elizabeth Craft Designs onto black cardstock, and die cut it with a Paper Smooches Birthday Words die, and stuck them down, along with a couple of sequins.

I coloured a piece of white cardstock with Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink, to create the orange border, then stuck this with foam pads to a pink card base.

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Karen Burniston Cake Pop Up Birthday Card

So I actually managed to make three cards during my crafting session today... (I also made three different curries for dinner - it's been a cards 'n' curry kind of day!) Anyway, for my second card, I used one of Karen Burniston's brilliant die sets, the Cake Pop Up set.

I cut the pop up cake die into some gorgeous My Mind's Eye Jubilee Collection Mint Julep patterned paper with foil hearts, and cut my own shapes for the three cake layers. I used the middle candle support to attach the top cake layer to, and added a larger candle from the Gift Card Accordion die set.

I used the scalloped dies in the set to add icing to the cake layers, and added an extra layer which I had trimmed down, to the top of the cake stand, for dimension.

I used the 'Celebrate' die from the Flourish Gift Frame die set, and one of Karen's older Sizzix dies for the curly borders.

I added sequin trim (from Stampin' Up), and blended on Festive Berries Distress Ink around the edges of the card, which the foil hearts on the patterned paper resisted beautifully.

I then added a string of bunting at the top of the card.

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Tim Holtz Distress Ink, Mixed Media Thinlits & Craft Asylum Butterfly Card

I finally set aside some time for crafting today (I have so much Fire Fighting studying to do), and thoroughly enjoyed myself! I bought some Tim Holtz products this week, and had my first go at blending Distress Inks... SO much fun!

I blended an orange/red/pink background first of all, using Festive Berries, Spiced Marmalade and Picked Raspberry mini ink pads. (I bought four of the Distress Ink Mini Kits, and bought another eight individual mini pads, to get the colour range I wanted, plus two storage tins.)

I squirted some water from a mini mister into my hand and dropped it into the background to create some texture on it.

I cut another white cardstock panel with one of the Mixed Media Thinlits dies, and coloured it by blending Cracked Pistachio, Tumbled Glass and Peacock Feathers.

I layered the above two cardstock layers onto a third layer which I coloured with Walnut Stain, for a narrow border.

I bought enough Mini Ink Blending Tool foam pads so that each ink has its own, which I store in the bottom of the ink pad (they fit perfectly).

I cut some white cardstock Sizzix Craft Asylum Meadow Butterfly parts, and had a lovely time blending ink on them! Highly therapeutic!

I cut some turquoise cardstock leaves with Paper Smooches Foliage 1 dies, and layered them underneath a couple of butterflies.

Here are the ink colours I chose...

I absolutely love the vibrant colours of the ink, and the way they blend!

Finally, I added the word 'Hello' from Tim Holtz's Handwritten Celebrate Thinlits die set.

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