And here is Colton (Part 2)

 And I am back with my second post! (Post 1 is here.) Here is Colton, also a newly released Polka Dot Pal from Barbara Sproatmeyer one of the Artist/Illustrators at Whimsy Stamps! 

So this is Beau's brother Colton who in honour of her decorating his Studio has decided to do a portrait of her! His currently creative influence is mainly Van Gogh, lol.

He is coloured with polychromos with a few spots of white posca pen. It's not essential to use a white pen for highlights but it really makes them pop!

Here is what the stamp set looks like in he shop:

And here is a close up of my version:

Everything but the sentiment and the room are parts of the stamp set! There are so many cool items to build up a scene or even a background paper to match him! I was tempted but went with a sploshy 1980s colour themed paper as I had for Beau. (Using distress inks and HA AC026 Brush Strokes Stamp Set.)

I added a sentiment (in Courier New Font) on afterwards because I couldn't make up my mind what occasion I wanted to use him for! So this sentiment is removable at the moment! Thought this would be a cute birthday or Valentines sentiment. Do you know what song it's from?

Loved the challenge of making up a pair of cards, feel really honoured that Barbara let me play with her new stamp sets! The scale of real stamps is often much smaller than I print digital stamps so I had to think carefully how to cram in as much detail as possible, luckily Barbara's stamps are drawn beautifully and are a pleasure to use.

Thanks for joining me on this release day! Make sure to check out all of Barbara's super stamps in the Whimsy shop and why not check out her blog where there is often inspo and a giveaway to take part in! Win win!

Beau and more later....(Part 1)

Sharing a pair of cards today featuring two of the newly released stamp sets from Barbara Sproatmeyer! She is one of the artists/illustrators at Whimsy Stamps and Beau (and later Colton) are two new Polka Dot Pals released today! Both with an artsy vibe!

Here is Beau, she has spent all day decorating her brother's (Colton!) art studio. I like to invent a little narrative as I colour. I know, it's bonkers. There is a clue to the geographical location of this studio within the picture!

Apart from the sentiment, masking tape and room background all of these stamps are part of the set! Just tonnes of options for creating a decorating or painting scene with them. I was spoilt for choice.

Here is the full stamp set:

And here is my creation close up:

She is on kraft card and I coloured her with polychromo pencils. I added a few touches of white posca paint and white gel pen. Sentiment made on the computer and is Mister Sirloin font.

I didn't have a background paper that I liked so I made one! I used distress oxides also on kraft paper and then cut down to size. This is one of my most used Hero Arts Sets, Brush Strokes AC026.

Bling was from the stash, and I am really happy with how she came out - adding a smear of paint on her face really made me happy with her!

Thanks for joining me for this post, in a couple of hours I will post part 2, Beau's brother Colton! Why not check out Barbara's blog to see her makes with the new releases next?

Hero Arts Stamps :)

I admit, more evidence of me hoarding stamps and not using them!! This is a lovely stamp from Hero Arts called "Friends" (CG111) and I've had it ages, but never played with it. I tried it several ways and this turned out the nicest, but I think it deserves some more fiddling with. In the background I have used a couple of stamps also from Hero Arts from a set called "Brush Strokes" (AC026) and distress inks.(Seedless Preserves, Shaded Lilac and Worn Lipstick) I was going for a one layer card but ended up decoupaging the flowers and colouring them with copics and then added a bit of bling too. Shhhh,, I just can't help myself ;) 

Painting Cards

Had in an order for two "Arty" themed birthday cards for the same person. Tried two new designs with this in mind.

The first, on Kraft Card, was created by masking off an area of the card using post-it notes and then applying media directly to the card. I had a go at heat embossing a cowslip stamp and then layering on gelatos and pastels after. My edges weren't super tidy so I added strips of ribbon either side. 
Greeting stamped directly onto card, whilst " Grandad was printed and matt&layer'd on.

Had a go at this design using some Hero Arts stamps from there Stamp Your Story Brush Strokes set. The colours are all distress inks. I paper-pieced the brushes and added them after.


Made a really cheerful card, which is great for a man's card, they can tend to feel a bit solemn.

p.s. Cowslip Stamp was also a Hero Arts Cling Stamp called Elegant Weeds.