Lavinia Stamps March 2020 Creative Challenge "A Forest Gathering"

On the first of every month, Lavinia Stamps announce a new theme for their "Creative Challenge" which runs from the 1st to the 25th of each month.  The theme for March 2020 is "A Forest Gathering".

You can enter the challenge up to five times a month.  If your name is randomly drawn after the 25th you will win £40 of vouchers to spend on lovely Lavinia goodies.

This is a sample I made for the challenge.  I started by creating the background sky and ground base using three shades of Distress Oxide Inks:  Antique Linen, Tumbled Glass and Twisted Citron.  I masked a circle off for the moon and darkened the edges by using Versafine Clain "Morning Mist" lightly around the edge.  I added a little touch of yellow to the middle of the moon too.

I then started to stamp the images.  The first ones were the "Celestial Tree" and the "Skeleton Tree Scene" stamped in Versafine Clair "Morning Mist" grey shade of ink.

I then stamped the large tree trunk on the left hand side using the "Tree Root" stamp stamped in Versafine Clair "Acorn", a mid brown coloured ink.  I needed to extend the tree trunk so had to mask areas several times to get the look I wanted to achieve.

Using the same brown ink, I stamped the "Tree Branch" a couple of times. I then used a selection of Distress Oxide Ink colours to paint the tree (Gathered Twigs, Peeled Paint, Walnut Stain and Ground Espresso).

I decided to add a little stream running from behind the tree to the right hand corner.  I used three shades of Distress Oxide Inks to create this:  Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean and Stormy Sky.  

I added darker green for grass on the river bank using "Mowed Lawn" Distress Oxide with a paint brush to create tufts of grass. I also added touches of "Stormy Sky" to the top and side of the sky area to pull the eye into the image.

Next I moved on to stamping the animals, starting with one of the crows from "The Crow Set" using Versafine Clair "Nocturne" black ink.

Using Versafine Clair "Pine Cone" a darker brown coloured ink, I stamped the animals in the foreground "Whimsical Hares", "Pipin" and the hedgehog part of "The Wallace Family".

I then used Versafine Clair "Shady Lane" to stamp the "Meadow Grass" at the bottom of the image.  I stamped the "Mini Slender Mushrooms" in Versafine Clair "Pinecone" ink.

Finally, I added touches of white to highlight areas using a white Posca Pen.  I used a green fine line pen to add long tufts of grass too.

Lavinia Stamps February 2020 Hochanda TV show sample - set 2

Lavinia Stamps will be appearing on Hochanda TV on Friday 7th February at mid-day and 3pm, with a selection of stamps and accessories demonstrated by Amanda Branston.

For the background of this card, I have used Colorbox "Artichoke" green ink brayered onto a gelli plate.  I have then sprinkled diluted 'Orange" coloured Brusho from a fan brush which has created the speckled look.

To enhance the colour of the sky, I added some "Broken China" and "Chipped Sapphire" Distress Oxide Inks.

Once the background was dry, I used the torn edge of a piece of copy, dragging ink (Versafine Clair "Morning Mist" grey ink) over the edge to create the landscape in the background.  I used a circle to mask the moon area and edged it with the same ink.

I stamped the "Celestial Tree" in the background using a grey ink (Versafine Clair "Morning Mist").  Making the trees lighter gives the impression of depth to the image.

Using Versafine Clair "Pinecone" dark brown ink, I stamped the hare, which is part of the "Whimsical Hares" stamp set.  Using the same ink, I stamped  the baby hedgehog, which is part of "The Wallace Family" stamp set.

Using Versafine Clair "Nocturne" black ink, I stamped the "Wild Poppies".  Using a white Posca Pen, I edged the hare and hedgehog in white.  I added a little bit of shimmer to the edges of the poppies using a Sakura Gelly Roll pen.

Lavinia Stamps February 2020 Hochanda TV Preview Sample - Set 2

Amanda Branston, representing Lavinia Stamps will be on Hochanda TV on Friday 7th February at mid-day and 3pm, with a selection of stamps and accessories.

I have used a 6" gelli plate to create the backgound circle, using Colorbox Inks (Artichoke and Grape colours) brayered on to the plate and then splashes of diluted wet tuquoise Brusho, sprinkled with a fan brush.

I created a mask using copy paper to protect the white edges of the circle, by drawing a 6" circle with a compass and then cutting the middle out, this left me a "window" in the middle.  I then used a removable Herma to keep the mask in place over the gelli plate image.

I decided that the whole image needed more depth in colour, so used Distress Oxide Inks with a blending tool.  I masked off a circle area where I wanted the moon to be. For the sky area, I used Tumbled Glass, Broken China, Blueprint Sketch and Wilted Violet.  For the ground area I used "Mowed Lawn" Distress Oxide Ink.

Using the torn edge of a piece of copy paper, I created the landscape by dragging Versafine Clair "Morning Mist" grey ink along the torn edge, I also edged the moon before removing the mask.

I then stamped the "Celestial Tree" using two Versafine Clair inks (Nocturne and Morning Mist"), using the darker one for the foreground and the lighter one for the foreground, which gives the perspective of depth.

I stamped the hare, which is part of the "Whimsical Hare" set using Versafine Clair "Pinecone" which is a dark brown ink.

Using Versafine Clair "Nocturne" black ink, I stamped the "Wild Poppies" and the "Mini Slender Mushrooms".

I used a white, red and orange Posca Pens to add little dots of flowers on the hillside,  I used a pencil to ground the hare and a black fine line pen to add some tufts of grass too.

Lavinia Stamps February 2020 Hochanda TV Sample Preview - Set 2

Lavinia Stamps will be on Hochanda TV on Friday 7th February at 12pm and 3pm with a selection of stamps and stamping goodies, demonstrated by Amanda Branston.

This is a sample I have made for the show.  I have used a background created on a gelli plate using a Colorbox ink called "Grape" brayered on to the gelli plate and removing most of the colour so there is just a touch of lilac/grey then splashing some turquoise coloured Brusho lightly onto the plate using a fan shaped brush.  

Once the background was dry, I staped the "Celestial Tree" in two shades of Versafine Clair ink (Nocturne and Morning Mist).  I then created the landscape by dragging ink over the torn edge of a piece of copy paper.

Using the Nocturne and Morning Mist inks again, I stamped the "Whimsical Hare", the "Wild Poppies" and the "Berry Leaves".

I inked the edges of the card and the areas around the tree using the Nocturne ink.  I decided I wanted a bit more blue, so added some colour using a Distess Oxide Ink in the shade of "Salty Ocean".

I used white and blue Posca Pens to create the light coming up from the hill side.  I added some subtle sparkle to the card by using a silver glitter Signo Pen around some of the foliate and dots in the sky for stars.

Lavinia Stamps February 2020 Hochanda TV Show Sample Preview - Set 3

On Friday 7th February at 12pm and 3pm Lavinia Stamps will be on Hochanda TV with a selection of stamps, inks and other stamping products demonstrated by Amanda Branston.

To make the circular background, I have used a 6" gelli plate with two shades of Colorbox Inks (Artichoke and Grape) brayered onto the plate.  Using a fan brush I have lightly splattered wet Brusho paint and also some water to get the mottled look.

I started by stamping the "Celestial Tree" in the background using Versafine Clair "Shady Lane" green ink. Then using the same ink and a torn piece of copy paper, I created the landscape beneath the trees.

I used Versafine Clair "Nocturne" black ink to stamp the "Forest So Green" sentiment, the "Large Fairy Chain" and the "Creeping Vine" around the bottom of the circle.

Using a white and orange coloured Posca Pen, I added the flowers to the grass in the foreground.  I also added some gold shimmer to the dancing fairies using a Sakura Gel Pen.  I also added a light dusting of "Holographic Moon Dust" glitter.

New Baby Card, using Lavinia Stamps

My friends became Grandparents recently, so I made a card for them.  I used the stamps that I knew were her favourite Lavinia Stamps.

I created a background using assorted colours of Distress Oxide Inks.  For the sky area, I used Antique Linen, Tumbled Glass and Stormy Sky.  For the lower area, I used Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn and Peeled Paint.  I used the swooshing and a paint brush techniques to fill the area.

I used an assortment of Lavinia Stamps to build up the image, starting with "Sacred Spells" script stamp, stamped in Versafine Clair "Morning Mist" grey ink.  Using the same ink, I created the landscape lines by dragging the ink across the torn edge of copy paper. 

I stamped the "Celestial Tree"  in Versafine Clair "Shady Lane" green ink then the "Midnight Meandering" in Versafine Clair "Morning Mist" ink.

Using Versafine Clair "Nocturne" black ink, I stamped the "Large Owl", the "Tree Branch", "Pipin" the baby hare, the "Fern Heads", the "Willow" and the "Mini Slender Mushrooms".

Finally, I added white highlights to areas using a Posca Pen.  I stamped the sentiment on the front of the card using a "Personal Impressions" stamp called "Double Sayings".  The sentiment I used inside the card is a stamp I have had for many years by Inkwell Stamps.  Both sentiments are stamped in Versafine Clair "Nocturne" black ink.