Wednesday 30 September 2015

Brushos and Glossy Cardstock + Video Tutorial

Hi there everyone! I had such a wonderful response regarding my technique using Brushos and Glossy card stock that I have made more and made a video tutorial for you to try this technique for yourself :)




Here are the cards I have made and all the details are in the video.












Thanks so much for popping in xx



Monday 28 September 2015

Brushos and Salt

Good morning all. I hope you have enjoyed or are enjoying your weekend.

Yesterday I played with watercolours and salt. I've been meaning to try this technique for a while now.

For my first attempt I used watercolours and rock salt. The background has turned out quite different and I will post what I make with that later. The next one I used normal table salt which gave a very different effect but I think I may have had the paper too wet. Back to the drawing board with that one.

Finally, I thought.. why not use salt ITSELF on my card. Here is what I came up with -


I started by creating my background using Brilliant Red, Orange and Black brushos. I LOVE these colours. For the large panel I combined the Red and Orange and then made a smaller panel with the black.

My next steps were -

* Once the panel was dry, I coated it with gloss gel
* I sprinkled the table salt all over the panel
* Sealed it all in with a gloss spray sealant
* Die cut the word Happy from my black panel
*Cut a small strip and embossed Birthday in white.

I adhered the Happy and Birthday strip with glossy accents. With everything on the bottom panel, this was the best way to get them to stick properly.


Here is a close up of the salt -



I have used one of the sentiments from the HLS Bold Birthday Sentiments set.


I would like to enter my card into the following challenges -

613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes
Just Add Ink - Add your 3 favourite colours
That Craft Place - Mixed Media Anything Goes


Thanks so much for looking xx



Monday 21 September 2015

Happy Little Stampers Blog Hop

Hello! We are so excited today because Happy Little Stampers is having a blog hop to celebrate the First Release Stamps!


Join in the fun and hop along because there are 5 prizes to be given away. The grand prize for one lucky commenter is the entire release!

You should have come to my blog from the Happy Little Stampers Blog. If not, that's ok. You can hop through in any order but make sure not to miss any.


My first card is using the Mixed Christmas Sentiments set. Perfect for any style of card making!





"Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly". This sentiment that I have embossed in gold is perfect for my little holly cluster.





My next card uses a very simple piece of off cut from a brusho piece I had created. I then stencilled over the top with embossing paste through a stencil. I popped up my die cut trees with the sentiment.





Next up is the Bold Birthday Sentiments

I used a Mini Mister (available at the HLS shop). I combined a ink from a reinker and water to create my own ink spray. I sprayed directly onto the front of my card. Once dry, I stamped the sentiment and added black sequins and Rhinestones (available from the HLS shop). I love pink and black together :)




My next cards use the Big Bold Numbers set which is perfect to combine with the Bold Birthday Sentiments set :)

I used some DP for the background and then stamped with Memento Luxe ink. I die cut the 't' and 'h' and popped them up with little foam squares cut down to size. Next I added a heap of Rhinestones.



For my next card I stamped the Happy and 21 and then die cut my panel with the 's' and the 't' and a few stars so I could have my glitter paper showing through the negatives. Another great way to combine the two stamp sets!




Last but not least is Butterfly Birthday

I created my background by using the Acrylic Block Stamping Technique. I inked up my block and wet it using my Mini Mister. I also created my splats using the acrylic block (you can see my tutorial HERE). I stamped my butterfly onto a piece of scrap watercolour paper that I had already inked up and fussy cut it out. It has been popped up with foam tape. The Pearls (available at the HLS shop) were the finishing touch :)



Using distress inks, I covered my panel and then misted water onto a stencil (a gift from Loll) and pressed it onto the paper. My 'ghosting' technique didn't work so well for my first time but I actually really loved it in the end. I inked up a snippet of card stock with the same Distress Inks, stamped my butterfly and fussy cut it out. I've popped it up with foam squares. More pearls on this one :)



For this card, I placed my stencil on on my piece of watercolour cardstock and then pounced my versamark pad all over. I then embossed with a clear powder. Using brushos in a paint tray, I added the colours with a brush. I also embossed the sentiment onto a piece of vellum.



Here is a recap of the products that I have used from Happy Little Stampers.







I hope you have been inspired by the new release stamps from Happy Little Stampers. Next up is Loll!

Happy hopping! 








Sunday 20 September 2015

NBUS #5 Mystery Winner!

With 500 entries in her NBUS challenge, Darnell certainly knows how to hold a challenge!

Congratulations to Darnell for holding such a wonderful challenge that encourages us to use our NBUS. I certainly enjoyed taking part.

Now that the challenge has closed, I have drawn the winner from the comments who will receive a mystery prize from Happy Little Stampers.



Drum roll, please!

The winner chosen by random.org is


Congratulations Jenny! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog and leaving your comment. Much appreciated.

You have won a mystery prize from Happy Little Stampers. Please email me at kyliepurtell@gmail.com to claim your prize :)

Butterflies Galore; Mixed Media; Gelatos; Brushos

Hi there everyone. I had the case of the missing mojo lately but yesterday I retreated into my craft room and came up with six, yes SIX cards. I am happy to say that the mojo seems to be back.

I tried quite a few new techniques to me as well so that was fun! Another thing I attempted where colours that I don't usually use.


WARNING: You may get butterfly overload with this post ;)


Card #1


This card was created using Brushos straight onto glossy cardstock. I hadn't tried this before and I loved how easy it was. I sprinkled my brushos onto the paper then used a HLS mini mister to activate the crystals. I stamped the butterfly onto a snippet of left over card and fussy cut it out. The butterfly and sentiment are from the HLS Butterfly Birthday set.

I would like to enter this card into the challenge at


Southern Ridge - Favourites (My all time favourites are brushos and butterflies)
Simon Says Stamp - Favourite Technique



Card #2


Now this is a new to me colour. I NEVER use green but the green brusho is amazing. See all the other colours that come out once the crystals are activated? I really love this card. This was made using the same technique as Card #1. Once again I have used the HLS Butterfly Birthday and mini mister for this card.

I would like to enter my card over at

613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes (no option this time)
Little Red Wagon - Try Something New



Card #3



For this card I kept with the glossy cardstock but used Alcohol Inks and blending solution. I squirted a small amount of alcohol ink onto my craft sheet and added a little blending solution. I then smooshed my cardstock into the ink. I then took a stencil and placed it over the panel and with a blending tool and some fluid, I pounced it all over the stencil. I created a smaller panel with left over colour to stamp my butterflies and fussy cut them out. Once everything was dry, I stamped the sentiment from the Bold Birthday Sentiments set.

I would like to enter this card over at


Through the Purple Haze - Happy Birthday



Card #4


Another card using the same technique as Card #1 and #2 but this time more colours that I never use. This is a combination of orange and lemon brushos. They made this beautiful background. It is so much fun to see all the different outcomes when using brushos.

I would like to enter my card over at

Scrap and Craft - Butterflies
Cards and More - No DSP


Card #5 
(are you sick of butterflies yet?



Another use of alcohol ink using the same technique to pick up my colour as Card #3. Once I had smooshed my panel into the ink on my craft sheet, I also added some undiluted ink straight onto the panel to give it a more darker and vibrant look. Another fussy cut butterfly and sentiment from the Bold Birthday Sentiments set.

I would like to enter my card over at

The Artistic Stamper - Things with Wings


Card #6
What? No butterfly?



This card was really fun to make. On watercolour card, I used sticks of gelato to colour in the panel. I blended them a bit with my finger and then used a wet paint brush to blend even further. I stamped the sentiment and then added some gloss bead gel through a stencil for some extra interest and sparkle. The brightness and vibrancy of these colours are amazing in real life. 

Allsorts - Sparkle
Pencil Cases - Bright


If you have stuck with me right to the end, thank you! I hope you have enjoyed my post.


Thanks so much for looking xx






Tuesday 15 September 2015

HLS Challenge Reminder

Hi there everyone. I have a quick reminder card for you to encourage you to join in over at Happy Little Stampers.

We have three challenges throughout the month. I have made another Christmas Card using the word provided for the current challenge -



It is a bit of a shame that this card didn't photograph as well as I would have hoped. 

I die cut my wreath then covered it with embossing ink using a dauber. It was then covered with shabby white embossing enamel. The effect is so pretty!

I also embossed the sentiment which is from the HLS Mixed Christmas Sentiments

My holly is die cut from gold glitter card. The card is quite sparkly.


Here are the challenges we have for you this month







I hope you will play along! Thanks so much for looking xx


Tuesday 8 September 2015

NBUS Challenge #5 - HLS is sponsoring!

Hi everyone! I am very excited today for a number of reasons.

It is the start of another NBUS challenge hosted by the amazing and brilliant Darnell of djkardkreations. We all know about this challenge and love it!

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I am a sponsor of this challenge and was honoured that Darnell asked me to be a part of this :)

If you don't know or haven't participated in this challenge before here is a little something something about our hostess:

Like most crafters, Darnell found she was purchasing new product faster than she was using it, especially when she put it away and then forgot about it! So she coined the acronym "NBUS" to stand for "never-before-used schtuff" and every time she used a virginal item, she called it NBUS on her blog djkardkreations.
The NBUS acronym caught on in Blogland and now you'll often see crafters comment that they used a "NBUS" product on their creation. To thank her followers and to encourage others to use their NBUS, Darnell started her challenge in 2014. This current challenge is the fifth NBUS Challenge and it runs from September 8-18, 2016.

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I am offering 2 stamp sets of your choice from the Happy Little Stampers shop if you are one of the winners of Darnell's challenge.

If you have already purchased stamps from me, you will be given the option to check out the New Release stamps that will be available in the next few weeks!


If you comment on my blog, you will go into the draw for a MYSTERY PRIZE


Last weekend I went on a bus tour to visit local craft shops. We all had so much fun and of course I now have lots of NBUS to share with you :)


My first card combines HLS Butterfly Birthday with an Emboss-it Dabber (NBUS) and Shabby White Embossing Enamel (NBUS)



My next card uses something that has been on my wishlist for some time now. Gelatos!

Using HLS Butterfly Birthday once more, I applied the gelato stick directly onto the stamp. I misted it with a little water and pressed it straight onto my watercolour paper. Once it had dried, I added some more gelato using a wet brush straight onto the stick and then onto the paper just to define the outline a little more. Then I misted a little more water over the butterfly to allow the gelato to run down the panel. 

To create my small specks of pink, straight from the stick again I took a wet brush and once loaded with some paint flicked it over the panel.

I added some liquid pearls but squished them down with my finger to give them more of a grungy look.



My next card is using gelatos again and I went CRAZY this time. You should have seen the mess I made but I had a lot of fun.

To begin with I slapped (and I mean slapped) some gloss gel medium all over an already sized piece of cardstock. 

Once it was dry, I used the gelatos like regular crayons and just coloured randomly over the dry gel. I used my fingers to blend and spread the colours. 




Then I did something really crazy. I scrunched up the whole panel and opened it back out again. It was looking very cool!

Because I didn't use water with the gelatos, you only had to touch the panel and you would end up with colour over your fingers - back to that later.

I used a chevron stencil with ink and a sponge down the left hand side. Next I used the Big Bold Birthday set from Happy Little Stampers in Archival Ink straight over the top .

The stamping was never going to look perfect because there was a lot of texture on the panel. I do like how it turned out, though :)


I am hoping you can see the texture!

Now, remember I said that the colour would just come off if you touched the card? I grabbed a can of glossy sealer and sprayed the entire panel. This was perfect for this mixed media card. It sealed in all the colours and made everything even more vibrant.

I hope you have enjoyed my post today and have encouraged you to get out that NBUS and join in with Darnell's challenge.


Here is a recap of the products I have used from Happy Little Stampers:

Butterfly Birthday     Bold Birthday Sentiments    Mini Mister / Spray Bottle (20ml)



Thank you so much for popping over. Don't forget to have a chance to win a mystery prize then you must comment on my blog.


Thanks so much for looking xx