Lavinia Stamps Books Birthday Card

How can I be a Grand Mother to a thirteen year old, is the question I am asking myself.  Surely she is still a little girl running round the garden looking for fairies? That's how I think of her, but she is actually a beautiful and very tall girl, who will be celebrating her thirteenth birthday this week.  She is a real book worm and devours books within a very short time, so I decided the birthday card needed to be book related.

Fortunately, Lavinia Stamps came to the rescue as I have their book stamps in my collection.  I stamped the books in Versafine Clair "Morning Mist" grey ink.  The stamps that I used are:

• LAV970 Miniature Books 
• LAV958 Book Of Lost Words
• LAV962 Cures and Curses
• LAV964 Fairy Handbook

I then partially painted the background using "Victorian Velvet" Distress Oxide ink, leaving the top left corner white, so that there wasn't an over load of colour. I then painted the book spines using other Distress Oxide Inks.  The colours I used are:

• Blueprint Sketch
• Mowed Lawn
• Scattered Straw
• Picked Raspberry
• Salvaged Patina
• Wilted Violet

Once dry, I then added touches of gold gel pen to areas of the spine and used a 2B pencil and a paper stub to add shadows below the books.

I used Versafine Clair "Nocturne" black ink to stamp the sentiment,s aying "Birthday Girl" which is part of the Waffle Flower "Over sized Hello 271309".  I then used the Lavinia Stamps "Numbers LAV797" stamp set with Versafine Clair "Morning Mist" grey ink to stamp the numbers one and three, colouring them in "Salvaged Patina" and "Wilted Violet" Distress Oxide Ink.

in the bottom left corner of the inside of the card, I used Versafine Clair "Nocturne" black ink to stamp the Lavinia Stamps "Book Of Spells LAV959" stamp, then used Versafine Clair "Morning `Mist" grey ink to stamp the stars using one of the Lavinia Stamps "Mini Stars".  

A Crafting Niche "52 Week Mini Art Card / Tag Challenge 2026" - Week 45

 

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 45 is "In Profile / Silouette"

This is my Wek 45 tag, "In Profile / Silhouette.  I started by using the Tracy Evans "Circular ST6" stencil with two shades of Ranger Archival Ink, Garden Patina for the bottom and Cobalt for the top area, leaving the central circle white.  I then added a few strokes of a blending brush that had a bit of black ink remaining on the bristles to darken the mood a little as it looked stark against the background.

I used Versafine Clair "Nocturne" black ink to stamp the bird, which is part of the Tracy Evans "Create A Garden TE66" stamp set.  The flowers are from the same stamp set and are stamped in first and second generation stamping also using "Nocturne" black ink.

Finally, I added some white dots to the sky, using a Posca Pen and printed out the words "Moonlit Blackbird" and glued into position.

Lavinia Stamps "Christmas Pud LAV1089" Artist Trading Card

I had a little move around of things by my craft desk and came across a book page that I think i had used spray inks on.  I decided to use the piece up on an Artist Trading Card (ATC), ending with this little ATC.

I used Versafine Clair "Nocturne" black ink to stamp the Lavinia Stamps "Christmas Pud LAV1089" and thier "Holly Tree LAV1090" stamp.  I then stamped them again on to a piece of white card.

I then painted the images on the white card using Distress Oxide Inks.  The colours I used are: Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, Mowed Lawn, Rustic Wilderness and Lucky Clover. I fussy cut the shapes and glued them over the stamped image on the ATC.  I used a red Posca Pen to colour the berries, a white gel pen for highlights, a 2B pencil, paper stub and black fine liner pen for shading.

Finally, I added a word sticker saying "joy" because for me Christmas food is always joyous.  finally, inking the edges of the ATC using "Shady Lane" Versafine Clair ink.

Penny Black "Farm Fresh 40-834" Artist Trading Card

 

This is my Artist Trading Card (ATC) for the day,  I have used Versafine Clair "Sand Dune" beige coloured ink to stamp the Penny Black "Farm Fresh 40-834" slapstick cling rubber stamp.  

I then painted the stamped image, using four shades of Distress Oxide inks Dried Marigold for the jug, Mowed Lawn for the grasses and Shaded Lilac and Wilted Violet for the lavender.  I used "Pumice Stone" Distress Oxide Ink for the background colour.  Shading the stamped image using a 2B pencil and a paper stub, finally adding a word sticker saying "pure and simple".

Lavinia Stamps "Winters Halo LAV1100" and the hare Artist Trading Card

This is my Artist Trading Card (ATC) for the day.  I used Versafine Clair "Shady Lane" green ink to stamp the new "Winters Halo LAV1100" stamp off the edge of the ATC. I then used Versafine Clair "Acron" a rich brown ink to stamp the hare, which is part of the Lavinia Stamps "Wild Hare Set LAV608" stamp set.

I used "Sky Blue" Ranger Archival Ink to colour the sky, then using the torn edge of a piece. of paper, created the green landscape behind the hare, using "Prickly Pear" and "Leaf Green" Ranger Archival Ink.

Next, I added a line of trees in the distant, using Versafine Clair "Morning Mist" ink to stamp the Lavinia Stamps "Tree Scene LAV219" stamp set. I used Van Goch Pastel Pencils to add colour and detail to the scene, finally adding some gold gel pen to the branches of "Winter's Halo".

Lavinia Stamps "Stag LAV218" Seasons Greetings Card

I seem to be on a roll with these Christmas scenes at the moment.  I used "Shadow Grey" Ranger Archival Ink through one of the Lavinia Acetate Circle Masks to great the moon.

Using Versafine Clair "Fallen Leaves" a dark brown ink, I stamped the Lavinia Stamps "Stag LAV218".  I then used two shades of Versafine Clair Inks (Nocturne and Morning Mist" to stamp the Lavinia Stamps "Large Red Pine LAV591" and "Small Red Pine LAV592" stamp.

I created the landscape by using more "Shadow Grey" Ranger Archival Ink, along the edge of a piece of copy paper.  I then added colour to the landscape and to the tag by using Van Goch Pastel Pencils.  Finally, using Versafine Clair "Nocturne" black ink to stamp the sentiment, which is part of the Simon Says Stamp "Tiny Words - Christmas" stamp set.

Tracy Evans Boutique Designs "Poppy TE39" Artist Trading Card

This is my Artist Trading Card (ATC) for the day - a clean and simple design, reflecting and remembering those fallen.

I used two shades of Versafine Clair inks to stamp the poppy.  Using "Nocturne" for the stem and leaves and "Morning Mist" for the flower head.  I used "Candied Apple" and "Black Soot" Distress Oxide Inks to colour the poppy.  Using a 2B pencil and paper stub for shadows and a black fine liner to pen to draw the wavy line round the edge of the ATC.  Finally adding a word sticker saying "silence".