Entomology and Exciting News...

Hi folks, it's been wall to wall blue sky sunshine in my neck of the woods over the weekend but don't be fooled into thinking it's SPRING because there's an arctic chill in the air and I suspect Winter is not about to release her icy grip just yet. It's been perfect weather for crafting up a storm in the cubbyhole and I'll have lots of makes to share with you over the next few weeks with the fabulous new 2018 releases from Tim Holtz and Stampers Anonymous. Today I'm sharing a card I made for Creativaton 2018 with the fabulous ENTOMOLOGY stamp set which will be shipping to a store near you NOW.

I tore a panel of Distress Watercolor card to be slightly smaller than the 7" x 5" card blank I had covered with Idea-ology Cork Textured Surface and applied a light random watercolor wash of Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I stamped the script sentiment from Entomology with Frayed Burlap Distress Oxide and Botanical Background partially inked with Peeled Paint, spritzed with water to create a little bit of oxidation and dried.

I stamped the insects with Black Soot Archival, re-stamped the large fly...looks like a Calliphora Vomitoria or Bluebottle to me on to a scrap of Distress Watercolor card, coloured with Candied Apple and Fossilized Amber Distress Oxide re-inkers using the Ranger Detailer brush, cut out and fixed over the original image with 3D foam. I coloured the bodies of the ants in the same way.

I stamped the "Handle With Care" image from the Mail Art stamp set shipping in February with Candied Apple Distress Oxide ink and used the same ink to create splatters on the background. They do say that any insect that has red on it's body should be handled with care but surely that doesn't apply to the very cute ladybirds that inhabit my garden over the summer and earn their keep feasting on all the nasties.

Love them or loathe them...insects are everywhere. Did you know there are more insects on the planet than any other species. There has never been an insect census but it is thought the figure is up in the Quintrillions...no surprise when you read that there are over 300 million species of insects which include bees, wasps, flies, dragonflies, butterflies, termites, ants and beetles and 300,000 species of beetles alone. A thought that you might want to put to the back of your mind if you have a phobia of all things creepy crawly. I don't, but I am relieved that they seem to prefer living outdoors most of the time.

And now that the zoology lesson is over it's time for some exciting news. Woohoo I've been invited to participate in a very special CREATIVATIONS 2018 - TIM HOLTZ BLOG HOP AND GIVE-AWAY with a group of very talented crafty friends who will be sharing some of  their new product samples from Creativation, up close and personal. The blog hop goes live this Friday February 2 at 7.00AM PST, that's 3.00PM if you're in the UK and 4.00PM in Europe, so make sure you make a note on your calendar, you don't want to miss it.

Hugs Kath
xxx