Flying By...

We had friends that we've not seen in person since 2018 stay over this week and we're all board games fans so always play a game when we're together.  Our favorite game at the moment is wingspan so we taught them that.  So birds are on my mind today and that inspired todays make - a sweet little rainbow of birdhouses using the new birdhouse line stencil from Newton's Nook.  If you've not seen this range of stencils (we had a break from Newton's so if you're new to us you might have missed this family run brand) then it's a great concept - 3 lines on a single stencil, just move the lines and line up the etched marks of the previous line and you build up a great image as easy as 1, 2, 3!

This is made even easier now with the Waffle Flower grip mats - I used the 8.5 x 8.5 to "grip" my card and the stencil so much easier to get crisp results without getting inky, needing spray glue or tape!   I would add a note of caution - go steady when removing the stencils from the mat, particularly if they are thin and delicate as the mats really do grab them so peel gently so you don't crease or break your stencils.

I went with a layer of brown for the stands and roofs but you could make them all differnt colours if you prefer, then I went with a rainbow theme for layer 2, and finally black for the birds and the "holes".  My black was a bit wet so bled through but I just tidied up any rough edges with a fine liner.  I used Waffle Flower's shader brushes in size 1 and size 0 for the ink blending - they work perfectly on small detailed stencils like this.

I decided to add a simple layer of patterned paper to the top and bottom to frame the birdhouses and for a sentiment I wasn't sure what I'd use the card for yet so went with something open ended so I can put anything inside when I'm ready.  I spelt this out myself with my little letters stamp set - I actually have it twice on purpose - I do this with a few small alphabet stamps and then it makes it much quicker to spell out your home made sentiments.

Check out the rest of the "line" stencils from Newton's Nook - I'll be back with the Christmas Tree version soon too!

NEWS FROM THE STORE

• Newton's Nook is now live

• The Greetery's Harvest Fest Collection is now live in store

• We've got a big box of Altenew to open and process which we'll do as soon as we can - it has the latest items in it as well as some new to us ink colours and a few of the available restocks.

• Waffle Flower Crafts have a brand new folk themed Christmas release on Tuesday - its beautiful and we think will be as popular as the postage collection - again we have it downstairs to open - we hope to get it on in time for release.

• Concord and 9th have just sent retailers their new release details - we'll be ordering this week so hope to have it a few days after release day (always on the 9th of the month)

• Mama Elephant have a big release coming up on the 15th - we hope to have that here in time for release but there is a slight issue on shipping we need to get fixed first.

• MFT have released 5 new stamps by their new designer - we will be getting them but they will come with the September general release - this may be delayed due the bad weather in Florida as MFT had to close for a few days last week.

That's all the news for now.

Happy Crafting.

Tara