Tracy Evans "Feed Your Soul TE57" Pansy and Fern Artist Trading Card

This is my second Artist Trading Card (ATC) using the fabulous pansy stamp from Tracy Evans Boutique Designs.

In the background, I used some lilac/purple coloured ink left on my blending brush through the Tracy Evans Boutique Designs "Tiles SS37 Stencil".  Deliberately making the colour heavier fading the colour out to the left and the top of the card.

Using Versafine Clair "Avocado" green ink, I stamped the ferns by Tracy Evans "Fern TE3" stamp set.  On a white piece of card, using Versafine Clair "Morning Mist" grey ink, I stamped the pansy, which is part of the Tracy Evans "Feed Your Soul - TE57" stamp set.  I coloured the pansy with Derwent Inktense water colour pencils, fussy cut the shape and glued into position.  Finally, I added three dots of white Ranger Enamel Accents and some touches of a black fine liner pen.

Traacy Evans "Flora and Fauna - TE53" Artist Trading Card

An evening play session, making this Artist Trading Session (ATC).  I used two Distress Oxide Inks painted on to a central band of the card and then stretching the colours from top to bottom by dragging the paint brush.  The two shades of ink I used are:  Crushed Olive" and "Saltwater Taffy".

I used Versafine Clair "Nocturne" black ink to stamp the flower on to the card.  I then stamped it again on a piece of white card, painting it using a brush with a Derwent Inktense pencil.  I then fussy cut the image and glued it into position over the original stamped flower.  The flower is part of the Tracy Evans Boutique Designs "Flora and fauna - TE53" stamp set.  The sentiment (also stamped in Nocturne), is from the same stamp set.

Finally, I added some dots of black pen and then some larger dots of white Ranger Enamel Accents.

 

Tracy Evans Boutique Designs "New Beginnnings - TE4" Artist Trading Card

For this Artist Trading Card (ATC):  Using a white card base, and Versafine Clair "Morning Mist" grey ink, I stamped the base text which is the Tracy Evans "Background Elements TE11" stamp.  I then inked the edges and dragged Versafine Clair "Warm Breeze" and "Avocado" inks down the length of the ATC.

On an off cut of white card, using Versafine Clair "Warm Breeze" ink, I stamped the flower and then the bird (in Versafine Clair "Nocturne" black ink), both these elements are part of the Tracy Evans "New Beginnings - TE4" stamp set.  

I fussy cut the shape and glued it on to the prepared ATC base.  I added more colour to the flower using a pastel pencil and a yellow Posca Pen, finally adding dots of black Ranger Enamel Accents to provide depth to the background.

"Strength" Artist Trading Card

I've returned to my box of collage bits and bobs to make this Artist Trading Card (ATC).  Using a piece of blue card for the base, a section of an embossed card and patterned papers.  I've added white dots to the plain teal coloured strips and a Hobbycraft stamped flower, coloured with Distress Oxide Inks (Dried Marigold, Carved Pumpkin and Ripe Persimmon).  Finally adding a word sticker staying "Strenth" and three dots of black Ranger Enamel Accents. 

"Hello my darling" Art Stamps Flower Artist Trading Card

This is my cheerful Artist Trading Card (ATC), for today, using a piece of yellow card for the base, I added some torn strips of text from a book and two strips of orange Washi Tape on the two long edges of the card. I then used a red Posca Pen to splatter paint across the surface.

Using Versafine Clair "Nocturne" black ink, I stamp leaves and a flower from the Hobby Art Stamps set called "Abstract Flowers -CS175D" on to white and green card.  I fussy cut the shapes and glued them on to the ATC.  Finally adding a word sticker saying "hello my darling" and dots of white Ranger Enamel Accents.

"Grow" Artist Trading Card

It's a misty grey start to the day here, so I have made a bright Artist Trading Card to lift the mood.

Starting with  a piece of bright orange card for the base, I used Versafine Clair  "Nocturne" black ink to stamp the Funky Fossil Designs "Vintage Script" stamp.  I then used torn pieces of white and orange patterned paper and glued into position.

I added a red banner through the middle and covered it with a strip of Funky Fossil Designs Washi Tape. then a this strip of yellow patterned paper.  In the middle strip I stamped the word "Grow" in Versafine Clair "Nocturne" black ink.

Next, using Versafine Clair "Green Oasis" ink, I stamped the plants/pots which are part of a Hobbycraft clear set of stamps.  Finally, I rounded the corners of the ATC and then added some white dots of white Ranger Enamel Accents.

Die cut flowers Artist Trading Card

I found myself up in the craft room and decided to make another Artist Trading Card (ATC).  I like that they are a quick make and a small area to fill.

I used some pink and white patterned washi tape to cover the card base, then used some narrow stirps of white card and glued into position. Next I added some torn pieces of text from an old book, adding some gold dots to those areas using a gel pen.

On a white piece of card, I die cut the two flowers, no idea what the die is called, it may have come with a magazine.  I then coloured the flowers with Ditress Oxide Ink, using Mowed Lawn, Squeezed Lemonade and Ripe Persimmon and glued into position.  I added some black dots with a Posca Pen then added the Tim Holtz "Idea-ology" word sticker saying "delight", finally adding a few dots of black Ranger Enamel Accents.

Paperartsy Kate Crane KCM013 Artist Trading Card

I'm enjoying making these little Artist Trading Cards, it's handy as it uses up some of the small scraps of papers I've saved for that "just in case I need them moment"! 

I've used an off-cut of a Funky Fossil Designs patterned paper for the yellow background, stamping the Paperartsy "Kate Crane KCM015" stamp in Versafine Clair "Verdant" lime green ink.  I've then used the Paperartsy "Kate Crane KCM001" stamp with Versafine Clair "Warm Breeze" ink.

Next, I tore a section from an old hymn book and covered it with "Mermaid Lagoon" Distress Oxide Ink, then glued the torn section on to the ATC.  I rounded the corners of the card, then edged the card in Versafine Clair "Warm Breeze" ink. I then splattered black and white Posca Pen across the surface of the ATC.

Using Versafine Clair "Nocturne" black ink, I stamped the Paperartsy "Kate Crane KCM013" branch stamp.  I then stamped the same image on a piece of white card.  I fussy cut the white leaves and glued them into postion on the ATC.

Finally, I added a Tim Holtz "Idea-ology" word sticker, saying "discover" and added some white dots of Ranger Enamle Accents.

Crafty Individuals Floral Tag

 

Undecided what to make, I opted for a little gift tag.  I used Versafine Clair "Morning Mist" grey ink to stamp the central floral image, using a Crafty Individuals cling rubber stamp, which I think may have come free with a magazine, many years ago.  I coloured the stamped image using Derwent Inktense pencils, applied with a paint brush.

I then used "Weathered Wood" Distress Oxide Ink though the Tim Holtz / Stampers Anonymous "String Stencil - THS103" on a plain white tag,

I mounted both the tag and the central image on to grey coloured card, then used foam pads to mount the central image on the tag itself. Finally adding some dots of white Ranger Enamel Accents.

52 Week Mini Art Card / Tag Challenge 2026 - Week 20

 

The Crafting Niche 52 Week Mini Art Card/Tag Challenge 2026:

This is a weekly challenge. I provide you with a prompt/theme each Sunday morning through out the year.  The challenge is very relaxed.  You can do as much or as little as you like.  You can create cards, tags, Artist Trading Cards (ATC's) or index cards, the choice is yours. You just go with what ever is in your head at the time.  You can stamp, get inky, use patterned papers, texture, embellish it is all down to you.

There is a dedicated private Facebook Group, with a lovely bunch of people who are already sharing their makes from previous challenges.  You can find the group by clicking this link.  I'd love you to join in. 

The prompt for Week 20 is "Paint Blowing".

Starting with a white tag, I lay a Tracy Evans "Wild Flower" stencil on to the card and applied Pebio Drawing Gum through the gaps using a paint brush.

Next, I put five colours of Elements inks on to my glass mat,  The colours I used are: Lemon Drop, Sundance, Russet Orange, Blue Atoll and Dark Denim.  I added a little water to a fan shaped paint brush, dabbed it into the ink on the glass mat and then splattered the paint from the brush over the tag, by tapping the brush.  I then quickly used the Tim Holtz air puttfer, not sure what the actual name is, to blow air and spread the ink towards the edges of the tag, you could also use a drinking straw to do this. I did this with all of the colours, using a heat gun to dry the ink between each colour.

Once completed, I wafted the heat gun over the surface to ensure it was fuly dry, before using the Frisk "Maskaway" eraser.  If you don't have one, you can use a finger tip to erase the masking fluid.  

Finally, I added a few pencil details and grounded the flower, using some remaining ink on  a blending brush.  I added some dots of Ranger White Enamel Accents to break up the background colour a little too.

The 100 Day Project 2026 - Day 19

Today, is Day 19 of the 100 Day Project 2026.  A challenge where you spend a short time each day creating, using the mediums of your choice.  Mine is 4x4" card, using collage, stamps and stencils.

For my Day 19, I used a gel plate print for the base, with circle designs on it.  I then used the Funky Fossil Designs "Coffee Stains Stencil" with Versafine Clair "Blue Belle" ink to create the circles.

I cut some black broken circles from a Dina Wakley collage paper set and glued into position, going over the surface with a green pastel pencil to add a bit of colour.

I added some black fine liner marks around the circles and on the edges of the card, adding Dina Wakley swallow from a collage paper set and a couple of Tim Holtz Idea-ology word stickers.  Finally adding some dots of white Enamel Accents.

The 100 Day Project 2026 - Day 10

Today is Day 10 of the 100 Day Project 2026.  A challenge where you spend a short time each day creating, using the mediums of your choice.  Mine is 4x4" card, using collage, stamps and stencils.

For my Day 10, I've used small pieces of patterned papers, a couple of pieces of Dina Wakley collage papers and a Tim Holtz "Idea-ology" word sticker, along with some dashes of white Posca Pen and gold gel pen along with dots of Ranger Enamel Accents.

Funky Fossil Designs Beauty in bloom bokeh card

Some time back, I fell in love with a stamp set by Funky Fossil Designs, called "Beauty In Bloom", I bought it, but because I was living in the caravan with minimal craft supplies, decided not to use it till I was in my own craft room.  That time has arrived and this card is the result of my first play.

I decided to keep the design simple by using the Funky Fossil "Bokeh builder stencil" with the ink that was on my blending brushes to get a very light look of colour.

I then used Versafine Clair "Nocturne" black ink to stamp the Funky Fossil "Beauty in bloom" and sentiment from the same stamp set.

I used a pink and green colouring pencil from my Derwent Inktense set, applying the colour to the flowers using a paint brush.  Finally, adding some dimension with some dots of Ranger Enamel Accents in white.

52 Week Mini Art Card / Tag Challenge 2025 - Week 6

The Crafting Niche 52 Week Mini Art Card/Tag Challenge 2025:

This is a weekly challenge. I provide you with a prompt/theme each Sunday morning through out the year.  The challenge is very relaxed.  You can do as much or as little as you like.  You can create cards, tags, Artist Trading Cards (ATC's) or index cards, the choice is yours. You just go with what ever is in your head at the time.  You can stamp, get inky, use patterned papers, texture, embellish it is all down to you.

There is a dedicated private Facebook Group, with a lovely bunch of people who are already sharing their makes from previous challenges.  You can find the group by clicking this link.  I'd love you to join in.

The prompt for Week 6 is "Love"

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For my Week 6 "Love" tag, I used a plain white tag for the base.

I used Versafine Clair "Medieval Blue" ink to stamp the large and small Lavinia Stamps "Hummingbirds" off the edge of the tag, but with their beaks close to each other.

I used a Lavinia Stamp "Moon Mask" with "Sky Blue" Ranger Archival Ink for the spotlight area in the centre of the tag.

I then used ink left on my blue blending brush to give a hint of colour through the Lavinia Stamps "Leaf Trellis" stencil to the top left and bottom right of the tag.

Next, using a ruler and a black fine liner pen, I drew some vertical lines through the centre of the tag. I then used Versafine Clair "Medieval Blue" ink again to stamp the word "Love" which is part of the Lavinia Stamps "Live the life" stamp set.

Moving on to the finishing touches, I used the "Mint Leaf" Derwent Inktense pencil, applied with a paint brush to colour the wings of the birds.  Once dry, I then added "A Wink of Stella" over the top of the colour to give a lovely subtle gold shimmer.  Finally adding a few dots of black Ranger "Enamel Accents".

52 Week Mini Art Card / Tag Challenge 2024 - Week 34

The Crafting Niche 52 Week Mini Art Card/Tag Challenge 2024:

This is a weekly challenge. I provide you with a prompt/theme each Sunday morning through out the year.  The challenge is very relaxed.  You can do as much or as little as you like.  You can create cards, tags, Artist Trading Cards (ATC's) or index cards, the choice is yours. You just go with what ever is in your head at the time.  You can stamp, get inky, use patterned papers, texture, embellish it is all down to you.

There is a dedicated private Facebook Group, with a lovely bunch of people who are already sharing their makes from previous challenges.  You can find the group by clicking this link.  I'd love you to join in.

The prompt for Week 34 is "Hot Colours"

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This is the tag that I have made for the Week 34, with a prompt of "Hot Colours". Starting with a white tag, I secured the Clarity Stamps "Squiggly Round Stencil" over to the left side of the tag using low tack tape.

Then I graduated four shades of Ranger Archival Inks, using blending brushes from left to right.  The colours I have used are Carnation Red, Cactus Flower, Tiger Lily and Buttercup.

I used Versafine Clair "Nocturne" black ink to stamp the Clarity Stamps sentiment (part of their "Quotes Set 1 - One Day At A Time" stamp set), in the middle of the tag.

Finally, I mounted the tag on to red card and then added three dots of black Ranger Enamel Accents.

Funky Fossil "Surf's Up" Textured Card

I've been playing with Ranger 'Opaque Matte Texture Paste" through the "Petal Burst" stencil from Funky Fossil Designs to make the background of this card.

Once dry, I used Ranger "Paradise Teal" Ranger Archival Ink to give the raised area a blue tint, circling the blending brush from the centre of the raised design outwards.

I then used "Jet Black" Ranger Archival Ink to stamp the surf figure, which is part of the Funky Fossil Designs stamp set called "Surf's Up".  There were a few lower gaps between the raised areas that did not get any ink, so I used a black pen for those, to get a more solid image.  Finally adding some dots of white Ranger "Enamel Accents".

Happy Birthday Card (Stencilled background) Card

This background has been in my "Ditch or Do" box for at least a year, as I was trying out a texture pastes.  Today I decided to use it for a birthday card.

Sadly, I didn't write on the back of it what I used, so this is a bit of guess work regarding the inks.  For the colour, I used "Twisted Citron" and "Mowed Lawn" Distress Oxide Inks through the Funky Fossil Designs "Micro Dots" stencil.  I then used a metallic silver texture paste through the Funky Fossil Designs "Between the cracks stencil".  This ended up quite raised, maybe I should have used a little less, but it's called "texture paste" for a reason !

I used "Monarch Orange" Ranger Archival ink through areas of the Funky Fossil Designs "Brick Wall 2" stencil.  Then I used wet glue to add the die cut "Happy Birthday" sentiment.  After mounting the piece on black card and then on to a white card blank, I added some dots of black "Ranger Enamel Accents", to add a bit more texture to the card.

Floral Card

Continuing my stash busting efforts, I found a small off cut of a gel plate background in my box of "ditch or do" goodies.  It only measured 11 x 7 cm, but I had fortunately had the foresight to jot down on the back what I had used to create the background.  I'd used "Mulberry" Element Ink, brayered on then splattered with white, lemon and purple Brusho paints.

I decided to break up the colour a little more by adding splatters of purple, black, lemon and white Posca Pens.

Using a wet glue, I added some white die cuts which I had never got round to colouring, if I remember correctly they're from a Sizzix/Tim Holtz thinlits die set called "Wildflowers" or something similar. Finally, I added a few dots of white Ranger "Enamael Accents".

Tiffany Johnson Creative #100daysartplay Challenge - Day 99

Today is Day 99 of the Tiffany Johnson Creative #100daysartplay challenge - it also happens to be the penultimate day too, with an "Anything goes" theme.  For my last but one challenge make, I have gone all out grunge!

I started with an off cut of patterned paper then used the Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous "Shifter Layering Stencil - THS127" with "Shadow Grey" Ranger Archival Ink.

Next, I used the Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous "Doodle Art 2 Stencil - THS142 with "Seafarer" Ranger Archival ink.

For the music score, I used the Stampers Anonymous "Butterfly Melange" stamp set with Versafine Clair "Chianti" dark red ink.

I decided the tag needed some warmth so added touches of "Orange Blossom" Ranger Archival Ink to the top left and bottom right.

I then used "Cobalit" Ranger Archival Ink through the Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous "Strings Stencil - THS004".

I added three sections of typed text, torn from a yellowed old book.

Next I used Versafine Clair "Twilight" dark blue ink to stamp the bird, sentiment and scrolls, which are all part of the Sizzix/Tim Holtz "Love You 660190" stamp and die set.  I used the same ink to ink the edges of the tag, then mounted it on to a piece of kraft card.  Finally, adding some dots of black Ranger "Enamel Accents".

Tiffany Johnson Creative #100daysartplay Challenge - Day 90

Today is Day 90 of the Tiffany Johnson Creative #100daysartplay challenge.  This week I am working with inks.

On this tag, I have stamped using a stencil.  I used the Tim Holtz / Stampers Anonymous "Bouquet Layering Stencil THS143", dabbing four colours of Elements Inks direct on to the stencil.  The colours I used are:  Russet Orange, Lime Punch, Confetti and Violet Chalk.  I spritzed the inked stencil with water, then turned it on top of a cream coloured tag, smoothing the surface to ensure a reasonable coverage of ink.  

My stencil print actually turned out a bit patchy, so to fill the gaps, I used the same colours of inks with the Tim Holtz / Stampers Anonymous "String Layering Stencil THS103".  This added an extra layer of colour.

I used a sentiment from the Tim Holtz / Stampers Anonymous "Phrases 2" red rubber cling stamp set, stamping in Versafine Clair "Monarch" purple ink.  I used the same ink to edge the tag too.

Finally, after mounting the tag on to a piece of card, I added a trail of white Range Enamel Accent dots across the surface of the tag.