Lavinia Stamps Druid's Inn Welcome to your New Home Card

 

Hi everyone 😀

Today I am sharing a mixed media Welcome to your New Home Card that I made for my niece and her partner who have moved into a new home and were having a Housewarming Get-together to celebrate.  

This is also my card for the following Challenge:

• Crafty Catz Challenge #694 - Anything Goes with Optional Twist of Make Us Smile.  My card did make the recipients smile so I hope this qualifies for that part of the Challenge.  Click on the underlined link to take you to the Challenge.

Anyway, into my card:  I looked in my stash for anything that I could use.   I don't think I have ever made a Housewarming Card and I was quite stumped 😐  The only house types of stamps that I had were really only suited to someone who was retiring to the country and they looked too old-fashioned for people in their 20s.  And then it hit me:  I had a Lavinia stamp called Druid's Inn which had a door on it so I decided I could make a whimsical scene instead.  I can honestly say that this is one of the HARDEST cards I have ever made because it was really taking me out of my comfort-zone and using products that I have never used before.  However, as my year is all about challenging myself with new techniques and styles of card, I was up for the challenge and was very determined to keep going despite nearly binning it at one stage. 

I have a pad of 8" x 8" Lavinia Dreamscape Papers and picked one of the sheets that was quite light as I knew I wanted to able to have a moon in the scene.

Firstly, I stamped The Druid's Inn using Versafine Clair Fallen Leaves which is a lovely brown ink.  I stamped the two hares using Versafine Clair Nocturne then left the paper to sit overnight so the images dried and didn't smear once I started adding my colouring mediums.

I have never coloured on these Dreamscape Papers before and it isn't watercolour paper so I had to be super-careful with how much water I added.  For the Druid's Inn:  I coloured it using multiple products:  Faber-Castell Watercolour Pencils in brown tones + black, an Albrecht-Durer Watercolour Pencil in the colour Indian Red, Kuretake Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers in the colours Mid-Brown 065 + Dark Oatmeal 066 + Red Ochre 604.  I added white highlights using a White Gel Pen and Titanium White Pan Pastel.  This is my first time using Pan Pastels.

To make the moon, I diecut a circle from acetate in the size I wanted using my Big Shot and Lifestyle Nesting Circles Dies - then placed that where the moon was going to be and lightly sponged around the edge with my Ink Blending Tool using Weathered Wood Ranger Distress Ink.

I sponged underneath the hares to ground them using the Weathered Wood Ink then added some shadow behind them where they would be casting a shadow from the light of the moon.  I used a White Gel Pen to add highlights to the hares but smeared it with my finger to make it look more natural.

I used ALOT of stamps to add the foliage and mushrooms.  Some were stamped with Versafine Clair Twilight - others with Rainforest and Fallen Leaves.  Some are 1st generation - some are 2nd or 3rd generation.  I again used my White Gel Pen to add some highlights to the mushrooms smearing them to again make them look more natural.

I stamped some text on the LHS and RHS using Versafine Clair Twilight Ink in 1st and 2nd generation then went around the edges of the card with the same ink.  I darkened the edges a little more with Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink.

To brighten the moon, I added Mont Marte Lemon Yellow Pastel Pencil and Titanium White Pan Pastel.  This was also my first time using a Pastel Pencil.

I used a Sunshine Yellow Posca Paint Pen to add yellow to the window so it looked like the lights were on and casting light on the vines of the tree and on the stones below it.  I added dots here and there around the images using other Posca Pens in the colours Light Pink, Metallic Pink, Apricot and White.

I drew a red heart between the hares using a Red Fine-Point Sharpie then added Candy Cane Stickles to make it sparkle.

Of course, the card needed MORE glitter and it's amazing how much it brightens your card and makes it more special; it just seems to come alive somehow.  I added dots of glue using my Quickie Glue Pen around the moon then just added dots here and there around the scene - then sprinkled on some Bellbird PaperArts Diamond Glitter.  It's just a shame that you can't see it on my photo but it does look lovely. 

Once I had finished the scene, I ran it through my Big Shot with fresh plates and a couple of shims to flatten it which worked surprisingly well.

I added some coloured cardstock layers to the scene using Kaisercraft Ivory, Forest and Cinnamon and trimmed the ivory to 1/16" and the others to 1/8" using my WRMK Perfect Layers Guides.  I then glued it to a White Card Base using Tombow Mono Multi Glue.

Finished size is 5-7/8" x 5-7/8" or 149mm x 149mm.

Phew, that was a marathon!  Thanks for sticking with me if you got this far - and for visiting my blog today!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Lavinia - Leaf Creeper LAV742, Slender Mushrooms Mini LAV151, Quirky Mushrooms LAV413, Forest Mushrooms Mini LAV564, Berry Leaves LAV577, Druid's Inn LAV572, Wild Hares Set Small LAV614, Uniquely Creative Longhand UC1832

Ink:  Versafine Clair - Fallen Leaves, Twilight, Rainforest and Nocturne + Ranger Distress Weathered Wood

Designer Paper:  Lavinia Dreamscape - Colourburst Collection 8" x 8"

Accessories:  Big Shot, Acetate, #4 Round Paintbrush, Pan Pastel - Titanium White, Mont Marte Lemon Yellow Pastel Pencil, Faber-Castell Watercolour Pencils - Brown Tones + Black, Albrecht-Durer Indian Red Watercolour Pencil, Kuretake Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers - 065 Mid Brown + 066 Dark Oatmeal + 604 Red Ochre, Posca Paint Pens - White + Sunshine Yellow + Metallic Pink + Apricot, Red Fine-point Sharpie, Candy Cane Stickles, White Uniball Signo Gel Pen, Quickie Glue Pen, Bellbird PaperArts Diamond Glitter, Ink Blending Tool + Domed Pad, Square White Card Base, Kaisercraft Cardstock - Ivory + Forest + Cinnamon

Dies:  Lifestyle Nesting Circles (retired)

Lavinia Stamps Scene-Scape Fairy Couple Card

Hi everyone 😄

I am really enjoying trying new techniques and different styles of cards as part of my New Year's Resolution of getting out of my comfort-zone.  Today I am sharing a card that really took me out of my comfort-zone and I absolutely loved creating it.

I have watched many, MANY Lavinia Stamps You-Tube videos by Tracey (the owner and creator) so based my card on Tracey's style:

This is also my card for the following Challenges:

• Splitcoaststampers - Free for All Friday - F4A791 - Use more than one stamp set

• A Perfect Time to Craft Open Challenge - April #4-2025 - Anything Goes

I used a Lavinia SceneScapes background called Star Dust so this made things alot easier than creating my own background.  I love that you can build on something that has done the hard work for you and particularly, if you want to make a quicker card.  This is another thing on my list to do:  create backgrounds and learning to drive my Gel Press.  I have seen Tracey make some amazing backgrounds using her Gel Press so I can't wait to have a go!

First up, I stamped the Tree of Courage (LHS tree) using Altenew Obsidian (Black) Pigment Ink then the Tree of Hope (RHS tree).  The tendrils hanging from both trees are from the Tree of Courage set and were stamped using Versafine Clair Monarch Ink.  I then stamped the Fairy Couple in Obsidian Ink.

The foliage along the bottom is numerous Lavinia Stamps:  Slender Mushroom, Mini Forest Mushroom, Fairy Buttercups and Lavender.  Some were stamped in the Obsidian Ink using 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation - others were stamped using the Monarch Ink - again 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation - which was to add some depth to the scene.

I ink-blended around the whole scene using Monarch Ink and darkened the 2 bottom corners and along the base using Obsidian ink.

I used my Gold, Yellow and White Posca Pens to add dots on the bottom half of the panel then added more dots using an Anko (KMart) brand Purple Paint Marker to match the Monarch Ink used on my card.

I added dots of glue using my Quickie Glue Pen and sprinkled on Gold Glitter and waited for it to dry - then added more dots of glue and sprinkled on Diamond Glitter.  The image looks very sparkly in real life.  Here is an angled photo to give you some idea but you can't really see all of the sparkle at the same time:

The image panel was glued to Kaisercraft Amethyst Cardstock with an 1/8" border using Tombow Mono Multi Glue - then onto Black Cardstock with a 3/16" border.   I know the black cardstock doesn't look black in the first photo but trust me, it is.

Lastly, I glued the panel to a White Card Base.

I didn't add a sentiment as I didn't want to cover-up the scene but my intention is to use it as a Birthday Card.

Finished size is 4-7/8" x 4-7/8" or 123mm x 123mm.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Lavinia - Tree of Courage LAV657, Tree of Hope LAV658, Fairy Couple LAV029, Slender Mushrooms Mini LAV151, Mini Forest Mushroom LAV564, Fairy Buttercups LAV375, Lavender LAV093

Designer Paper:  Lavinia Scene-Scapes Star Dust

Ink:  Altenew Obsidian Pigment, Versafine Clair Monarch

Accessories:  Ranger Round Ink Blending Tool + Foam Pads, Tombow Mono Multi Glue, Quickie Glue Pen, We R Memory Keepers Perfect Layers Guides, Posca Pens - Gold + Yellow + White, Anko (KMart) Purple Paint Pen, Superfine .008 Light Gold Glitter, Bellbird Paperarts .008 Diamond Glitter, Kaisercraft Cardstock - Amethyst + Black, Square White Card Base

Lavinia Christmas Cards Number 2 and 3

 

Hi everyone 😀

Here are two more Christmas Cards that I made this year - which are essentially CASE's of Karen Telfer's card from the Lavinia Stamps YouTube Channel.  I did add some of my own touches to it so it isn't exactly the same.  It was really just trying something new to see how it worked out when someone else has already done the hard work.  You can click on THIS to see Karen's card video. 

For the first card, I used the same Distress Oxide inks that Karen did and for the second card, I chose some different ones.

I used Lavinia Multifarious White Cardstock to make the background and added some white copy paper to mask off the area for the snow.  I blended Distress Oxide Inks in the colours Seedless Preserves, Spun Sugar and Wilted Violet using my Ranger Round Ink Blending Tool.  Once I was happy with the blend, I splattered on some water then dried it with my heat-gun.  For the tree background, I stamped various Lavinia Stamps:  Tree Scene, Small Fairy Fir Tree and Fairy Fir Tree 2 - some are 1st generation stamping - others 2nd or 3rd - using Altenew Obsidian Black Pigment Ink.

I removed the snow mask then dried off my panel.  I used a Powder Bag on the sky then stamped the Lavinia Mini North Star using Versamark Watermark ink and added some Ranger White Detail Embossing Powder that I added some Bellbird Place Diamond Glitter to - then heat-set it using my heat-gun.  I bought a big jar of this glitter when the store 'Bellbird Place' used to go to Craft Shows but they are no longer in business.  

I stamped the bunny - Lavinia Pipin Mini - and the word 'Hope' which is from the 3 Blessings set - using the Obsidian ink then dried it off so I wouldn't accidentally smear it.  I used a White Posca Pen to make the snow then added tiny dots of glue with a Quickie Glue Pen and sprinkled on some of the Diamond Glitter for some lovely sparkle.  I coloured under Pipin with a Grey Pencil just to ground him. 

Lastly, I went around the image with my Ranger Blending Tool with a mix Seedless Preserves and Shaded Lilac.  Because I didn't have any matching cardstock for matting the main panel, I made my own using a mix of Seedless Preserves and Shaded Lilac - and then matted that onto white cardstock.  All the layers were glued together using Tombow Mono Multi Glue.  

And now, here is the next card with a different Distress Oxide Combo which is one I came up with as I was feeling brave:

This colour combo is:  Wilted Violet, Shaded Lilac and Tumbled Glass.  The card is otherwise the same process as the first one.  I also made my own matting cardstock layer using Wilted Violet then layered that onto a white card base.

The cards are so pretty and sparkly in real life.  Because the weather was so dreary, the photos are a little dull but I had no choice because I needed them for Christmas Day.  Oh well! 

Thank you Karen Telfer for the inspiration.  I wasn't very confident initially with making the blended ink background and doing the stamping because I am not used to doing that sort of thing - but once I had done a couple of backgrounds and was happy with how it turned out, I made a bunch of cards.  Karen's video was so easy to follow and she is very encouraging so I urge you to watch the video and have a go yourself.

Thanks for visiting my blog today.

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Lavinia Tree Scene LAV219 + Small Fairy Fir Tree LAV489 + Fairy Fir Tree 2 LAV492 + Pipin Mini LAV581 + 3 Blessings LAV673 + Mini North Star LAV707

Ink:  Altenew Obsidian Black Pigment, Versamark Watermark, Distress Oxides - Wilted Violet, Seedless Preserves, Spun Sugar, Tumbled Glass, Shaded Lilac

Designer Paper and Dies:  None

Accessories:  Heat-gun, Lavinia Multifarious White Cardstock, White Copy Paper,  Powder Bag, Ranger White Detail Embossing Powder, Bellbird Place Diamond Glitter (retired), Tombow Mono Multi Glue, Quickie Glue Pen, Posca White Pen, Ranger Round Ink Blending Tool, Grey Pencil

Lavinia Stamps Christmas Card #1

 

Hi everyone 😀

I have been super-busy in my Craft Room the past few weeks making Christmas Cards and will share them over several blog posts.  

This is one that I made for my Mother:

To make my card, I first masked off the top section on a piece of Lavinia Stamps multifarious card with blue painter's tape so I could ink-blend my background.  I used my Tim Holtz round ink blending tool to blend Distress Oxide inks in the colours Wilted Violet, Shaded Lilac and Tumbled Glass.  I removed the tape then heat-set it using my heat-gun.

I stamped my Lavinia Stamps Tree Branch using Altenew Obsidian Black pigment ink.  This ink is my favourite for stamping silhouette images as it gives excellent coverage.  I heat-set the image so I didn't end up smearing it as I am such a clumsy person no matter how hard I try not to be 😏

I added some White Puffy Paint which I bought a few weeks ago from KMart (Australia).  It came in a pack of 12 colours for $9.00.  I heated it and watched the magic as it puffed up to look like snow.

I masked off the card again around the ink-blended panel and splattered the panel using a White Posca Pen and heat-set it because I would smear it for sure!

I stamped the sentiment which is from a set by Lavinia Stamps called Seasonal Words then added various silver glitter cardstock diecut/punched snowflakes of various brands.  I have a container full of punched/diecut snowflakes ready for my cards as I do multiples when I make them.  I added tiny Silver Couture Creations rhinestones to the snowflake centres.

I rounded the RH corners with a We R Memory Keepers 1/2" Corner Chomper then added the panel to a card base and tied on some silver twine.

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas!  We had a hot Christmas lunch with my brother and family - and my mother was there for a little while as she is 93 and in full-time care and very frail.  I am not sure if she really knew what was happening as she was very mixed up and not making much sense.  It was nice to be together as due to distances, we don't see each other very often.  The weather was very, very wet and dreary - it rained ALL day which is very unusual for our typically hot Summer in Melbourne.  I feel sorry for anyone who planned for their Christmas get-togethers outside - but being in Melbourne, we are known as "4 seasons in one day" and it can be wet in the morning, very hot by lunchtime, very windy and stormy at 3pm and freezing by 7 pm.  You never can tell and the weather forecast is really only a guideline of what "might" happen!

Thanks for visiting my blog today and for your support throughout 2023!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Lavinia Stamps Tree Branch LAV506 and Seasonal Words LAV838

Ink:  Altenew Obsidian Black pigment, Ranger Distress Oxides in Wilted Violet, Shaded Lilac and Tumbled Glass

Designer Papers:  None

Accessories:  Lavinia Multifarious cardstock, silver glitter cardstock (stash), White Puffy Paint (KMart Australia), heat-gun, blue painter's tape, silver twine, White Posca pen, Couture Creations silver rhinestones, Ranger round ink blending tool

Punches:  Martha Stewart Snow Flurry edge (tiny snowflakes), WRMK Corner Chomper

Dies:  Various brands (for larger snowflakes)

Halloween Card using mostly Lavinia Stamps

 

Hi everyone 😃

Happy Halloween to those of you who celebrate it!   Quite a few homes around our neighbourhood have had their decorations out for quite a while now - but being in Australia, it is certainly not as big as it is in the USA.   I have never seen SO MANY Halloween decorations in the stores this year though - it was mind-boggling!  We put up decorations today as I don't have alot and certainly nothing terrifying for the little kids and had quite a few groups come trick-or-treating - but gosh, it was freezing outside and only 9 degrees Celcius with a high wind-chill factor........brrrr 😬

Today I am sharing a card that I made for my daughter and I had SO MUCH FUN making it as it took me out of my comfort zone.

This is also my card for the following Challenges - click on the underlined link to take you to the Challenge:

Splitcoaststampers - Technique Lovers Challenge TLC973 - Night Sky

Crafty Catz Challenge #656 - Anything Goes with Optional Twist of any 4 Legged Critter

To make the background, I grabbed some Ranger Watercolor Cardstock and used the smooth side.  I diecut a circle from 3M Post-It Craft Paper using a Lifestyle Nesting Circle die and my Big Shot so that I could mask off the moon.  I then wet the cardstock and sprayed various Dylusions Shimmer Sprays, Ranger Distress Oxide Sprays and Kaisercraft Kaisermist Sprays.  I dried the cardstock using my heat-gun and re-did the spraying till I was happy.  I removed the moon mask and sprayed water in just that area then sprayed some Antique Linen Distress Oxide spray and just let the colours bleed into each other then dried it with my heat-gun.  I was so pleased with how the moon looks - like it is glowing.

I watered down some Jo Sonja white acrylic paint and splattered that over the background using a fan brush and did the same with Jo Sonja pale gold acrylic paint.

I used my powder tool on the background then stamped the Lavinia Sacred Tree using Altenew Obsidian (black) pigment ink then heat embossed it using Ranger Black Super-Fine Detail Embossing Powder.  Because I wanted some sparkle, I first separated some of the black embossing powder and mixed in some Bellbird Place Diamond Glitter and it worked a treat.  I knew that I had some black sparkle embossing powder somewhere - but do you think I could find it?!  But tonight, it was in the drawer where I had been looking:  go figure!!

I then stamped the Lavinia Grass Silhouette and heat embossed that as well then sponged some of the black ink around the bottom of the cardstock and heat-set that with the same sparkly embossing powder.

I stamped the Lavinia Bat Colony over the moon and again heat-embossed it.  The owl is from a Hero Arts/Scrapbook.com Greetings collaboration set.  The spider and sentiment are from the Hero Arts - Happy Halloween CL353 set.  I drew a line from the tree branch to the spider using a Copic Black Multiliner in size 0.3.  

I WISH you could see the sparkle - it looks amazing in real life!  

I sponged some of the Obsidian ink around the edges of the card which really made a difference to the scene.

Once I had finished the panel, I glued it to some Core-dinations purple cardstock and trimmed it to 1/16" using my WRMK Tool - Layers Guide.  I glued the purple cardstock to some Kaisercraft Black Glitter cardstock and trimmed that to 1/8" - then popped the card front onto a white card base.    

Thanks for visiting my blog today!  

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Lavinia - Sacred Tree LAV437 + Grass Silhouette LAV680 + Bat Colony LAV558, Hero Arts - Happy Halloween clear set CL353 (spider and sentiment), Hero Arts/Scrapbook.com collaboration clear set Greetings (released 2019)

Ink:  Altenew Obsidian (black) Pigment

Designer Paper:  Kaisercraft Black Glitter Cardstock

Accessories:  Sponge, heat-gun, Ranger Super-Fine Detail Black Embossing Powder EPJ37392, Bellbird Place Diamond Glitter, Dylusions Shimmer Spray Inks, Kaisercraft Kaisermist Spray Inks, Ranger Distress Oxide Spray Inks, Ranger Watercolor Cardstock, WRMK Tool - Layers Guide, Big Shot, 3M Post-It Craft Paper, Other Cardstock - Core'dinations Purple + white card base, Jo Sonja Acrylic Paint - Titanium White + Pale Gold, Fan brush, Powder Tool, Copic black multiliner 0.3

Dies:  Lifestyle Nesting Circles