Tracy Evans Boutique Designs "Feathered Friend TE49" Hen Artist Trading Card

 

This is my Artist Trading Card (ATC) for the day. In the background, I created a very loose looking yellow gingham grid using "Chrome Yellow" Ranger Archival Ink.

I stamped the hen, which is part of the Tracy Evans Boutique Designs "Feathered Friend TE49" stamp set, using two shades of Versafine Clair inks:  Strawberry red and Acorn brown inks.  I then used Versafine Clair "Acorn" brown ink with second generation stamping of the branch round the edge of the ATC.  The branch is actually the tree from the Tracy Evans "Silhouettes" stamp set.

Using a red Posca Pen i drew the berries, adding a touch of white gel pen to each berry I grounded the hen using Versafine Clair "Morning Mist" grey ink, topped with some Van Goch Pastel Pencils.  I used the pastel pencils to edge the card too. I also added touches of a black fine liner pen to various areas.

On to a white piece of card, using Versaifne Clair "Strawberry" red ink, I stamped the words "Just Hatched", which is part of a Papertrey Ink stamp set called "On the farm".  I cut it to an arrow shape, glued into position, added a touch of "Chrome Yellow" Ranger Archival Ink on to the sign to tone the white down, finally adding a black edge, using a fine liner.

Lavinia Stamps "Starmoth" Card

For this card, I started by masking off a circle within the square card to work within, to ensure no ink went on to the edges. I used two shades of Distress Oxide Inks for the background colour, using Saltwater Taffy on the edges and Shaded Lilac in the middle.

I then stamped the Lavinia Stamps "Starmoth" using Versafine Clair "Morning Mist" grey ink.  I actually stamped it twice as I wanted more depth of colour, but not as strong as black.

Using Versafine Clair "Nocturne" black ink, I stamped the crow, part of the Lavinia Stamps "Poe & Noctis" stamp set.  Using the same ink, I stamped the rat, part of the Lavinia Stamps duo stamp set called "Ragword & Strawson".

Retaining the mask/stencil position, I then stamped the Lavinia Stamps "Raventhorn" bramble round the edge of the circle using Versafine Clair "Morning Mist" grey ink.  I used the same ink with a small blending brush to darken the edges of the circle.  I then used "Morning Mist" again with one of the Lavinia Stamps "Hill Masks" to create the ground scape area.

Using some lilac/purple ink remaining on my blending brush from a previous project I applied the colour through the Lavinia Stamps "Baroque Flower Stencil, either side of Starmoth. Finally, I moved on to adding colour and detail to the scene using a selection of Van Goch Pastel Pencils, assorted normal and glitter gel pens.

A Crafting Niche "52 Week Mini Art Card / Tag Challenge 2026" - Week 34

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 34 is "Summer"

During the summer months, Rosie our dog likes to swin in the sea, so my tag is about 'Dog walkes by the sea".

I used a plain white card, cut into a tag shape.  I then used a Wow! Clear Embossing Ink Pad on the Inkylicious "By The Sea - Waves Stamp Set", coated the ink with Wow! Clear Gloss Embossing Powder and then heat set using a heat gun.

I then used "Shadow Grey" Ranger Archival Ink though the Inkylicous "Scenic Mountain Hills Stencil", adding touches of a dark pastel pencil for extra details

I gave the sky a light covering of "Sky Blue" Ranger Archival Ink.  I then painted the sky, using two shades of diluted Distress Oxide Inks:  Tumbled Glass and Speckled Egg.  For the Sea, I used three shades of diluted Distress Oxide Inks.  The colours I used are:Salty Ocean, Mermaid Lagoon and a tiny touch of Mowed Lawn.  For the sand, I used two shades of diluted Distress Oxide Inks:  Tea Dye and Wild Honey.  I added extra colour to the sand using a pastel pencil.

Finally, I printed out the words "walkimg the dog on the beach", cut it to size and glued into position, then added a touch of diluted "Tea Dye" Distress Oxide Ink to tone the white down and make it look less obvious.

Lavinia Stamps "Blackthorn Chapel" Card

For this card, I used a background I made a few weeks back using a selection of spritzed Element Inks. Using white Pan Pastel and a Lavinia "Moon Mask" I created the moon.

Using Versafine Clair "Nocturne" black ink, I stamped the Lavinia Stamps "Blackthorn. Chapel".  I then greated the landscape using the Lavinia Stamps "Hill Masks" using "Mermaid" and "Dark Denim" Element Inks.

I then used two Lavinia Stamps stencils:  "Baroque Flower Stencil" and "Distressed Chequerboard Stencil" with "Flying Fig" and "Mulberry" Element Inks. I masked off the edge of the hills and stamped the Lavinia "Ancient Chapels" using Versafine Clair "Morning MIst" grey ink.

Then using Versafine Clair "Nocturne" black Ink, I stamped "Pipin" the hare and the branches from the Lavinia "Tree of Courage" stamp set and some branches from the Lavinia "Foliage Set". Finally, I coloured areas using Van Goch Pastel Pencils, white gel pen, a fine liner and Posca Pens.

Funky Fossil Designs "Winter Wonderland" Misty Artist Trading Card

Rummaging through my prepared background file, I came across a small section of a gel plate background, made some years ago using Pan Pastels through a couple of stencils by Funky Fossil Designs, if memory serves me correctly I used "Lovely Leaves" and "Peony Panel" stencils.

Using Versafine Clair "Twilight" dark blue ink, I stamped the trees, birds and "calm" sentiment, which are all part of the Funky Fossil Designs "Winter Wonderland" stamp set.  I created the ground, using the same ink and the torn edge of paper.

To create the mist, I used a finger dabber with Hero Arts "Unicorn" white pigment ink,  I had to apply several layers of dabbing to get the strength of "mist" I was looking for. I finished adding touches of white gel pen to the trees and the birds.

Tracy Evans Boutique Designs "Take Flight TE9" Moth Trio Card

For the base colour of this card, I used three shades of Ranger Archival Inks, masking off sections as I coloured them with a blending brush. The shades of ink I used are Paradise Teal at the base, Garden Patina in the middle, Aquamarine next and then a band of white card at the top.

I then stamped the background, using Versafine Clair "Twilight" dark blue ink to stamp the central image, which is part of the Tracy Evans "Take Flight TE9" stamp set.  Using second generation stamping and the same ink, I stamped the script text, which is part of the Tracy Evans "Magnolia TE43" stamp set.  I then stamped the magnolias in the two opposite corners using "Twilight" again.  The magnolia is part of the same stamp set too.

On a plain white piece of card, I stamped the moth, which is part of the Tracy Evans "Flower Power TE37".  I used three shades of Versafine Clair inks for the moth.  The colours I used are: Charming Pink for the top moth, Dahlia Purple for the middle moth and Purple Delight for the lower moth.  Finally, I added a few touches of black fine liner pen and some black Posca Pen splatters.

Fungi Treasure Artist Trading Card

On my way to the exit of my local Tesco store, there is a charity book table, where you can take a book for a donation of 50p.  This little book "A Field Guide To The Mushrooms & Toadstools of Britain & Europe".  It's a fab little book, with lots of great images, which I thought I could use for collage and my Artist Trading Cards (ATC).

I cut a picture of fungi from the book and glued it into position on a Brusho background, cut to ATC size. I used the Lavinia Stamps "Pibbles" stencil with Versafine Clair "Green Oasis" ink.  I then drew round some of the pebble shapes with a black fine liner.  while the pen was out, I also added line detail to the fungi.

I then added some white dots of Posca Pen in between the pebbles, circling them in a red fine liner pen.  I then added some small red dots to the background too, along with a line of scratch marks round the top left edge of the ATC.

I added a small snail to the bottoms of the ATC, stamped in Versafine Clair "Fallen Leaves" brown ink, with touches of a gold gel pen. The snail is part of a Tracy Evasns stamp set called "Love Grows Here - TE65".  Finally, I added a Tim Holtz "Idea-ology" word sticker saying "treasure".