Hello there.

Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday’s blog is always blue, 

and it’s looking a little overcast over Will’s Mum’s house, 

so let’s look at some cool clouds, and take a little look at a rather superb new stamp, which is being launched on Create & Craft on Sunday morning, when I shall be joining my friend Nigel May,

 for 2 hours of live arty crafting.

You have to agree, this new Claritystamp is rather special.

Stamp it onto a piece of A5 Theuvacard, using the 

Watering Can Archival ink pad

I like it as a change to black. It’s a really lovely grey.

Trim the card an inch at one end, and then start laying in the clouds with our ingenious Clarity Cloud Mask.

De-tack it if you are using the mask for the first time, by laying it on your apron or jeans before laying it on the card. Mine has virtually no tack left – which is just the way I like it!

Here’s how:

Load two Clarity Stencil brushes with ink, 

one with Antique Linen

one with Weathered Wood, 

Get rid of plenty of the ink off the brushes first. Maybe if you are feeling frugal, even start another background piece with the ink, so as not to waste it. The point it, you don’t want much ink.

Lay the cloud mask down near the top of the page, and gently sweep or brush along the cloudlines with one of the brushes. 
Use a make-up sponge to drag the ink which is on the plastic mask into the clouds here and there, to add depth.
I went from top to bottom with the Antique Linen first, then went back through the gaps and filled in the blue-grey clouds. 
Stop before you get to the bottom, leaving room for the land.

Tear across a sheet of copy paper for the land area and place it. 

Add a layer of Antique Linen with your brush.

Try and avoid brushing through the tree. 

If you do, and the landline is visible through the trunk, 

then touch it up with a grey Promarker or lead pencil. 

How does she know these things?!

Add another layer with the Weather Wood Brush 

further to the bottom.

Now for a flash of blue.

Use the blue brush with a third  colour: 

Broken China Distress ink pad

In long sweeping movements, brush from left to right across the card. You can see I added more blue behind the tree. 

All I did was brush from right to left only for a while; 

the depth builds up by itself.

Next comes Will. Or was it Don?

Our weally very clever Men & Boys Wheelie Stencil.

Dial in Will, and attach him where you want him.

I used a make-up sponge and the colours in front of me 

to push ink through the stencil aperture.

The Watering Can ink is ideal for adding shade to his back. 

Run a black Micron pen on the righthand side of the images, 

the tree, the birds and Will, to accentuate the depth.

Mmm… Hope fits. We all need hope.

Wordchain No.6  

Now add some foliage along the top.

This lovely branch stamp is on the Sunday TV show too. 

Drag the chisel end of a grey Promarker or Spectrum Noir pen around all 4 sides, to frame it.

Mount on white square card. 

Hope you like it. 

Hope we don’t need an umbrella today either!

much love,