Welcome to my crafty blog. Today’s card uses a Claritystamp that I first came across a number of years ago, on one of the annual retreats led by Barbara Gray. Clarity have re-released it, and I picked the set up in the recent members’ sale. I thought it would make a great masculine card, and have used the colours from this week’s challenge at CAS Colours and Sketches

I don’t have the exact Stampin’ Up! colours, so went with the nearest from my stash – Adirondack inks in ‘mountain rose’, ‘meadow’ and ‘terracotta’. I found another of my inky mop-up backgrounds in the right shades, and so started by stamping the trees onto it, using Archival black.

The pre-cut mask that comes with this stamp set is absolutely invaluable for colouring in the image. I masked off the outer part of the stamp, and then added all the individual pieces, so I could remove one or two at a time to infill each area. It takes a little time to get all the bits of the mask lined up, but it’s well worth it.

I then used the ‘meadow’ and one of the little dotty stamps from the set to fill in the tree canopies, blending the ink at one side using a make-up sponge. I used another of the texture stamps to add ‘terracotta’ ink to the ground area, and then stamped the ‘mountain rose’ along the tree trunks, blending in some of the ‘meadow’ as well for more shading. Once done, I trimmed the card down, leaving a border around the stamp outline.

I finished by stamping the sentiment in black on a small piece that I’d trimmed from the background, and then edged both pieces with a black Sharpie. They then sat nicely on a 5×7 card blank.

Thanks for dropping in. Only a few days to go now before the first step of the lockdown restrictions lifting in England. I’m hoping to be able to meet my crafty buddy in person on Monday to sit on a bench under the trees in the park and have a coffee. Let’s pray for sunshine!