Hi, Friends.....
I noticed a few days ago that Lost Coast Designs was having a "Let's Fly" theme for their challenge blog. Hmmm....I have just the stamp. But could I get a card made before the gates closed????? Wasn't sure. I decided to give it a try. It is a "challenge", after all. Right?
The lovely Jo Avery sent me this beautiful Lost Coast Designs Christmas chickadee stamp some time ago (THANKS, Jo!!), but I had never used it....so it was lying there brand new just waiting to be inked. It's totally gorgeous but I was a bit intimidated by it. For one thing it was wood block mounted so stamping was going to have to be close to perfect first time.....no do overs! Also, it is a large image which compounds the difficulty in getting a great image with no chance to try again.
I decided to give it a try. Oh, dear....fail, fail, fail. I tried several times with paper on top of inked stamp and inked stamp on top of paper using a variety of cardstocks. None of my impressions was perfect. Some of the actual images looked pretty good, but I had stray ink marks here and there. Oh, bother! (This is what I get for trying to make a card the day before a challenge closes!!! Eeek!!)
I soldiered on, though, and colored Mr. Chickadee (Mr. Tit, to you Brits and Euros!) He was looking better as I got him colored. Then I got brave and decided to splatter him with white gesso....so scary!! But it helped. (Note to self: When you have stray ink marks.....add tons of stray ink marks to distract the eye. lol...)
I actually painted over some of the larger ink marks with the gesso, as well as some of the parts of the bird that are supposed to be white. Then, throwing caution completely to the wind, I decided to splatter him with some Walnut Stain Distress Ink also!! I hadn't ever tried splattering with two different inks before....new technique! It worked.....I liked him even better!! "Hey!" thought I, "this card might actually be okay in the end!"
I distressed the edges of the image and the vintage looking Christmas papers I had picked out. Then I threaded a touch of gold trim through some red ribbon. A little sprig of holly sequins finished up my card. What do you think?
Supplies used include:
Lost Coast Designs - Megan's Christmas Bird stamp (wood-mount)
Versafine Ink in Onxy Black
Spectrum Noir Alcohol Markers
Gesso
Distress Ink in Walnut Stain
Scraps of patterned paper, ribbon, and holly sequins from my stash
Hope you liked my card. I am delighted with how it turned out. Glad I stuck with it!
❤
Janis
Thank you for the honor of entering this card in the following challenges:
1. Lost Coast Designs Challenge #135 - Let's Fly!
2. Word Art Wednesday Weeks #525 -526
3. ABC Christmas - A is for Anything Goes Christmas
4. We Love Stamping January Challenge - Anything Stamped + Opt of Wings
5. TFJB Challenge - Out with Old, In with the New (I used a new-to-me technique and a "new" unused stamp and some very old patterned papers)
6. DL.ART January Linky Party
7. Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge #576 - AG Christmas
Fabulous card. Love the image and the details.
ReplyDeleteValerija xx
Worth persevering, your card is lovely
ReplyDeleteKathyk
Beautiful card! I love the vintage feel of that gorgeous stamp, and the gesso adds so much! Not sure if you know this but you can take the rubber off a stamp block and use it with a stamp positioner - I've done that to all wood-mount stamps I've accumulated over the years.
ReplyDeleteHi, Leslie.....thank you for your sweet words. I have thought of unmounting my wood block stamps. I hesitate to do that to this brand-new stamp, though, because the wood block is so gorgeous with this bird illustration. Thank you for the reminder, though. That may end up being the fate of this gorgeous stamp.
Delete<3
Janis
What a beautiful image Janis! I love the vintage look you've created with your splatters. Looking at Leslie's comment above, I remember being a die hard wood mount girl! I have only a few now and have taken them off the blocks and given them the EZ Mount treatment! Vicky x
ReplyDeleteI am moving in that direction fast, Vicky! I have the EZ-Mount...so it isn't like I am not set up to convert them. Juat resistant, for some reason! I might start with particularly troublesome ones to get my feet wet, so to speak. Thank you for your sweet comment.
Delete<3
Janis
That's a cute image and you really worked wonders with it.
ReplyDeleteWow!! How beautiful! I think that little damages are the best way to obtain the perfection!! LOL LOVE how it looks!!
ReplyDeleteI'm here again with my DT hat! You have done a fabulous work with that beautiful chickadee stamp, love the vintage feel of the whole creation!! Well done! Thanks for joining us at We Love Stamping January challenge!
DeleteBeautiful card!
ReplyDeleteAs you rightly say, it's all about the challenge and you pulled this one off beautifully and a super vintage feel, many thanks for sharing with us at We Love Stamping January challenge.
ReplyDeleteB x
Thanks for playing along with Lost Coast designs challenge. You made a lovely card.
ReplyDeleteThis turned out fabulous!
ReplyDeleteAwesome card! I love how you used the ink and paint splatters! I like how your card is festive and vintage looking at the same time! And the chickadee is so pretty!
ReplyDeleteWonderful card! I really like the splatters! Thank you for joining us at the Funkie Junkie Boutique
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that you didn't give up because I LOVE this vintage, distressed card design. The chickadee image with that string of lights and the jaunty top hat is wonderful. The addition of spatters and the red lace ribbon with gold trim laced through takes it all the way to spectacular!
ReplyDeleteGlad Mr. Chickadee finally got to see some ink! Your card turned out wonderfully. Thanks for joining us at The Funkie Junkie Boutique challenge. =)
ReplyDeleteThis is beautiful, and the stamping looks perfect to me! Thanks so much for joining in with us at Lost Coast Desings, and have a very happy week, Sue xx
ReplyDeleteWonderful card! That chickadee with that hat is just too cute! Thank you for joining the Funkie Junkie Challenge!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful distressed vintage chickadee card! Lovely embellishments! Thanks for playing along with The Funkie Junkie Boutique Out with the Old In with the New Challenge!
ReplyDeleteIt is a beautiful stamp!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing with Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge!
Well, I would never have known because I think it looks awesome. A beautiful stamp and a beautiful result. Gorgeous with the distressed edge and grungy background. Thanks for joining the fun at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity. Hugz
ReplyDeleteBeautiful card!
ReplyDeleteThanks for playing at the ABC Christmas Challenge!
Helen x