Ambrosia and Iron

Winter's butterflies

2012-01-16T11:16:00.004+01:00

It's challenge time at Tando Creative - our theme this month is "Ice White" and there's a photo for inspiration. You can check it out here if you'd like to play along and be in with a chance of a lovely prize in a random draw of all players.

I used an ATC base - the chipboard is perfect for this as you need a thick layer of gesso and a lighter weight base tends to buckle with the moisture and weight of it. Once I had a thick layer of gesso, I spritzed my stamps with water to help them release and stamped to leave textured impressions. I left if overnight to dry and then added a couple of extra snowflakes heat embossed with white powder so that there are both debossed and raised snowflake impressions.

I took inspiration from the silver pot in the picture and used silver for the sentiment. I didn't have an appropriate stamp so to get the words I wanted, I printed on an inkjet printer and quickly covered with detail embossing powder.

Glass glitter around the edges and a white rose finish it off.

Stamps:
Grunge Flakes (Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous)

Paper:
Chipboard ATC (Tando Creative)
Cryogen White (for sentiment strip)

Other:
Gesso
Versamark ink
Detail white embossing powder
Detail silver embossing powder
Inkjet printer
Deko Ice Glitter by Efco (Crystal)
Rose (Wild Orchid Crafts)

Thanks for stopping by!

In the abstract...

2012-01-12T16:10:00.008+01:00

I tend to be a fairly neat and tidy crafter (finished product-wise, not process-wise!) with a leaning towards the figurative when I choose stamps for a project. Throughout 2012, we're having a monthly challenge on UK Stampers and for the first one, I decided to go a bit more abstract!

Salamanda is hosting and for January she has asked us to create a wall hanging using material from old clothes, metal, tissue paper and stamps. No new purchases allowed, only stash you already own.

I used a piece from an old pair of jeans for my base (about 20cm x 16cm) and stamped randomly with some numbers and circles. I glued scrunched up tissue paper down one side and when dry I painted with acrylic paint and then rubbed a tiny bit of Rub n Buff over to highlight the texture.

The bubble border was stamped and then coloured with acrylic paints (all of which have been in my stash for at least a decade!).

I embossed metal from a drinks can and stuck it to mountboard scraps for stability and weight. I used gesso and acrylics to colour it and then rubbed most of the colour off for a shabby look. I cut up the piece and then stitched the three separate chunks to the base with florist's wire. The metal washer and stud were ones prised off something in the past - so long ago I forget what! - and stored in my "useful bits" box.

I stuck a strip of mountboard across the top at the back for stability and then added a coiled wire hanger to finish.

Stamps:
A&P Numbers (Ma Vinci's Reliquary)
Bubble Border (Lost Coast Designs)

Ink:
Versacraft by Tsukineo (Midnight)

Paper:
Mountboard
White tissue

Other:
Denim from old jeans
Metallic turquoise, metallic blue and silver acrylic paints
Rub n Buff by amaco (Silver Leaf)
Drinks can metal
Metal washer and stud
Drink Me embossing folder (Couture Creations)
Florist's wire
Crop a Dile
Rubber washers (used as circle stamps)

Thanks for stopping by!

New Year Numbers

2012-01-10T10:32:00.005+01:00

Happy New Year everyone!

A new year means a new monthly theme for the postcard swap on UK Stampers. I missed the last couple of 2011 so I was pleased to get time to make something for the first swap of this year where our theme is numbers.

I chose to make the numbers a focal point and focus on the year since it's just starting. I'm a bit of a font geek and I absolutely adore the style of these - the maker actually found a box of old stamps at a flea market labelled "Grocery Sign Marking Kit" and used the impressions, including imperfections, to make new stamps.

Extra numbers feature on the tape measure and Roman numerals of the clock face.

I heat emboss the numbers and then coloured the card with Distress Stain and overstamped the tape measure with dye ink so the embossing resisted it. I sponged over the clock mask and then added the lady using Versafine so that I could bleach the face area. Happy accident was that the bleached stain took on a pinkish tone. A slightly less hapy accident was a streak of stray bleach. Keeping the "embellishment opportunity" philosophy in mind, I stamped some crackle texture to camouflage it! Finally, I used metallic pencils to add a bit of silver and purple to the image.

Stamps:
A&P Numbers (Ma Vinci's Reliquary)
Tape measure from Hardware set (Crafty Secrets)
Retro Women Set 2 (Tanda Stamps)
Crackleglaze background (Indigo Blu)

Paper:
Ivory mountboard

Ink:
Versamark by Tsukineko
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Weathered Wood, Black Soot)
Tim Holtz Distress Stain by Ranger (Weathered Wood)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Detail white embossing powder
Timeworks mask (Tim Holtz Alterations)
Bleach
Ferby Metallic pencils by Lyra

Thanks for stopping by - hope your numbers are all lucky this year!

Christmas Joy

2011-12-22T13:03:00.006+01:00

The December challenge over at Tando Creative is "Winter Festivals" - whether you celebrate Christmas, Hannukah, Yule etc or just the beauty of your surroundings at this time of year.

I combined a wavy twinchie and a medium sized wonky tree to make a little festive brooch. The twinchie has been painted black, beaten up with an embossing stylus and coated with Rub n Buff. I painted the tree with pearlescent acrylic paint and then added a garland of hot pink microbeads with Glossy Accents. Silver microbeads add more texture at the base.

I made the sentiment piece by melting a little UTEE on a non-stick sheet and pressing a stamp into it and "antiquing" with some black paint. I glued it in place to finish the piece off.

Supplies:
Wavy Twinchie and Wonky Trees grab bag (Tando Creative)
Black acrylic paint
Rub n Buff by Amaco (Silver Leaf)
Siver UTEE
Sentiment from Season's Greetings stamp set (Technique Tuesday)
Microbeads (hot pink and silver - acrylic nail art supplies)

If you're doing last minute crafting, why not enter the December challenge and be in with a chance of winning a prize?

Thanks for stopping by, hope you have a wonderful Christmas!

Hippo Birthday

2011-12-19T10:36:00.005+01:00

I needed a birthday card for a wee boy so I took Kathy's December sketch from the Sketch File as my starting point. It's a fairly loose interpretation - I treated the embossed word blocks as four of the five strips in the sketch and added the recipient's name as the fifth.

I did try putting a circle behind the hippo but it looked better without.

Stamps: Heloise Hippo (High Hopes)

Paper: Red, white, navy

Ink: Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Typeset decorative strip die (Tim Holtz Alterations/Sizzix)
Copic markers
Tracing Wheel
Corner Chomper (We R emory Keepers)
Birthday embossing folder (Cuttlebug)

Thanks for stopping by - hope your Christmas preprations are all under control!

Tim Tag 9

2011-12-13T11:25:00.004+01:00

Part of the festive season run up for many papercrafters these days includes Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas. I haven't been playing every day but I've had a go at the odd one or two. Here's my take on Day 9's tag.

I used Tim's double embossed technique for the background and the idea of a festive light source for the focal point and changed just about everything else! As my colours were darker, the whole thing was in danger of looking a bit dour so I added some torn cardstock snow layers to the base and kept my wording white rather than black.

I hand cut some holly leaves and spiky fronds to make a festive foliage arrangement for the top of the lantern and added a silk ribbon bow and some gems for a pop of red.

The lantern itself was coloured black with a marker and then had the tiniest scraping of Rub n Buff added to give it an antiqued metal finish. A tiny bit of gesso snow finishes the top.

Supplies:
Chipboard lantern from Lantern Set (Tando Creative)
Perfect Paisley Scrapblock stamp (retired CHF)
Typeset alpha die (Alterations/Sizzix)
Tim Holtz Distress ink (Peeled Paint, Fired Brick, Vintage Photo)
Cuttlebug die cut ornate corner
Rub n Buff (Gold Leaf)
DCWV cardstock
Copic markers
Gesso
White cardstock
Glamour Dust glitter
Glossy Accents

Thanks for stopping by!

White Christmas

2011-12-09T16:20:00.007+01:00

Glenda Waterworth is hosting a "white Christmas" challenge on her blog with a great prize up for grabs. For each entry to the challenge, she's adding £1 value to a gift voucher to spend on Chocolate Baroque stamps - check out the blog for full details here.

I was in the mood to play with some polymer clay so I've taken a completely left-field approach here and made something white to give as a Christmas gift - hope that's within the spirit of the challenge!

I had some fun trying out something new with this - making a mould from a stamp to get an "outy" rather than an "inny" on my finished piece. When you press a stamp into polymer clay you get depressions where you would have ink if you stamped on paper. With this technique, you press the stamp into some scrap clay and bake it and then use that to make the textured impression on your finished piece. I pressed mine into white clay, cut it out with a cookie cutter and then baked it over a dud lightbulb to get a dished shape on the finished piece. You need to add a little "platform" of clay inside so that there's a flat surface if you want to add a brooch back when you do this but you could also make a hole and use it as a pendant piece if you wanted.

I spritzed some Glimmer Mist on and let it pool in the crevices. I think the finished piece has a bit the look of something you'd see on ornate plasterwork ceilings!

Materials:
Nature's Paisley stamp set (Chocolate Baroque)
Sculpey Premo polymer clay
Glimmer mist (Antique Brass)
Clay tools (acrylic roller, cookie cutter)
Brooch back

There's nearly a week left to have a play if you fancy joining in with the White Christmas challenge - remember the more players there are, the bigger the prize pot for the random draw! Details here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Let it snow!

2011-11-23T09:44:00.006+01:00

It's challenge time again at Tando Creative. There's an inspiration board to work from this month with blues and browns.

By this time last year I think we were already thoroughly sick of snow but as it's unseasonably mild at the moment, I thought I could risk a snow-themed project without causing the horrors!

I've inked the white board of the frame with Brilliance and stamped the snowflakes on the chocolate brown backing with the same ink. A stamped and inked wavy domino is attached with jump rings for the sentiment and a cheery snowman finishes it off.

Connecting smaller shapes together is a fun way to use chipboard and lots of the pieces in the Tando range share measurements in one direction or the other so it's easy to coordinate.

Supplies:
Karen's Frames - Gothic Arch and Wavy Domino (Tando Creative)
Compliments of the Season stamp set (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Dancing Snowman stamp (CHF, retired)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Sky Blue)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Vintage Sepia)
Coloured pencils
Jump rings
Crop a Dile

If blue and brown tickles your fancy, there's still a week left to enter the challenge and be in with a chance of winning a lovely Tando prize (you get to pick the goodies!) - details of the challenge are here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Dragonfly dreams

2011-11-17T09:00:00.004+01:00

Carol's been doing a class on the Tando Creative Online Classes blog over the last four weeks. I've played along but, of course, I've done it my own way! Carol used the six inch square frame, mine is the one that's about 88mm square.

As I started out with a smaller frame, I've simplified quite a lot to avoid a very "busy" finished product. I used a lot of Carol's class techniques for the various elements, though (and added a bit of "me" as I went along!).

The basic frame preparation is just as outlined in Carol's first session - I chose not to heat the paste to make it bubble though.

Week 2 and I started to go off piste a bit! I did the basic technique with the stand (although I used a large background stamp rather than a swirl) and sort of followed the background insructions. My main difference was that I sponged gesso through my mask and chose a much smaller scale pattern (the sequin waste mask) to go with my smaller project. I only partially outlined some of my sponged dots.

Week 3 was easy for me - Carol made lots of fab embellishments but I decided the smaller frame couldn't handle very much so I just made the dragonfly! As I wasn't doing all the inchies and fragments etc (actually this frame is not wide enough to take them) I decided to add some extra textural interest by doing the beaten metal effect around the top right. To achieve this look, just bash the heck out of the chippie with an embossing stylus and then very lightly apply Rub n Buff.

The final week brought all the elements together. Again, I simplified and just stamped onto my prepared background, added a little bit of white gel pen to the plant's flower heads and attached the dragonfly with some florist's wire so that it floats free of the frame.

Supplies:
Square frame with stand and Bug Set 1 Sml (Tando Creative)
Sequin Waste mask (Tando Creative)
Plant from Nature Plate 1 (Indigo Blu)
Sentiment from retired CHF set
Crackle stamp
Black and green acrylic paints
Rub n Buff by Amaco (Silver Leaf)
Pearls (coloured with a Copic marker)
Perfect Pearls (Forver Green, Forever Blue, Patina Green)
Opalite inks (Orchid Ice and Cypress Frost)
Versafine ink (Onyx Black)
Distress inks (Tumbled Glass, Brocken China, Bundled Sage)
Inkssentials white pen by Ranger
Clear embossing powder
Gesso
Florist's wire

If you fancy having a go at you own version, all of Carol's instructions will stay up on the blog so we'd love to see you any time! Thanks for stopping by!

Silver snowflakes

2011-11-15T13:46:00.004+01:00

Once again I'm hosting the challenge in the Crafty Secrets member forum over at Splitcoast and this week we're using pins in our projects.

I've gone for a dramatic look by heat embossing silver snowflakes on black and adding a framed sentiment. The felt die cut poinsettia came from a garland that was remaindered in a local supermarket a couple of years back - I'm still snipping the odd one off and using them!

Stamps:
Christmas Joy (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Black
Cryogen white
Silver

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Crimson Red)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Antique Linen)

Other:
Detail silver embossing powder
Felt die cut poinsettia
Spelldinder dies (snowflake and Labels Nine)
Pins
Rub n Buff by Amaco (Silver Leaf)
Pearl
Tracing wheel

Thanks for stopping by!

Sweet bee

2011-10-18T10:15:00.000+02:00

It's my turn to host the challenge in the Crafty Secrets member forum over at Splitcoast Stampers. I'm asking people to go back to their ABCs - in stamper language that means Anything But a Card.

I made this little vintagey lavender sachet, stamped with the branches and bee and a touch of colour added with Copics. Cotton curtain lining makes a good base to stamp on for this kind of thing - close woven and smooth but inexpensive.

My experience has been that Copics don't stand up well to washing but for this kind of project that won't be washed, it's a quick and convenient way of adding colour. You do need a light touch though as the ink tends to travel along the fibres of the fabric.

I added some vintage lace, mother of pearl button and a seam binding hanging loop to finish it off.

Stamps: Queen Bee (Crafty Secrets)

Ink: Versacraft by Tsukineko (black)

Other:
Cotton fabric
Copic markers
Vintage lace
Vintage button
Seam binding
Lavender

Thanks for stopping by!

Boo!

2011-10-15T08:00:00.002+02:00

Our theme this month for the Tando Creative Challenge is "spooktastic" - why not come and play along and be in with a chance to win the prize this month (details, including a link to the rules to be eligible for the draw are here).

I think mine is probably more cute than spooky but it's Halloweeny either way!

I used a cut down Tetrapack (the brick shaped sort, not the square section one), painted it black and cut a window in the front. Using vellum in the window means it can be used as a lantern (battery operated tea light is safest since there's paper involved!) or you could fill it up with Halloween treats and use it as a gift bag. I embossed the spider web and accentuated it by using a white Posca pen on the back of the raised lines.

I used an embossing stylus and "drew" grooves in the pumpkin then added darker color there to accenuate the texture. I added a bit of acetate coloured with a black Copic behind his features so they show black in daylight but let light shine through if you use it as a lantern.

Supplies:
Pumpkins Small (chipboard by Tando Creative)
Empty Tetrapack carton
Black spray paint
Vellum
Webbing embossing plate by Fiskars
Copic Markers
Chipboard letters
Florists' wire

Thanks for stopping by - we'd love to see some of your spooktastic creations in the challenge if you have chance to play before the end of the month!

Birthday bird

2011-10-14T15:42:00.007+02:00

I haven't played with the Daring Cardmakers for ages and seeing as I also wanted to make a card for this week's Crafty Secrets member forum challenge at Splitcoast (theme of Mother Nature) I decided to roll the two into one. Pushed for time though so I went with a one layer, clean and simple creation.

This fat bird was the reason I bought my first ever Crafty Secrets stamp set and I still love him! With this kind of minimal treatment, I think he makes a card that would be good for those tricky masculine occasions we never know quite what to do with!

A bold sentiment, a bit of ink sponged over some skeleton leaves and a tiny touch of colour with a couple of Copics is all that's going on here.

Stamps:
Bird Notes (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)
Say it Loud (Waltzingmouse Stamps)

Paper:
Smooth white

Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Espresso)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Bundled Sage)

Other:
Copic markers
Skeleton leave
Corner Chomper

DCM's dare is sponsored this week by The Ribbon Reel - pop over for a chance to win a prize!

Thanks for stopping by!

Bad dream...

2011-10-05T08:00:00.004+02:00

October's theme for the postcard swap on UKStampers is Halloween.

Now I'm not a Halloween person and have a grand total of ZERO Halloween stamps. I didn't want to miss a month of the swap though so I decided to improvise by mixing stamps I did have with other stuff and found myself well out of my comfort zone with this!

I had an Itkupilli digi collage sheet and remembered that it had a skull on it. I made the happy discovery that it also includes a bat and while messing about with the two images in Photoshop it struck me that I could combine the two for spooky flying skulls. I printed them onto heavy paper and again on regular copy paper to cut out and use as masks.

I used a punched circle to mask the moon and then sponged inks onto the paper, first just as a background layer and then over a torn "cloud" mask. I sponged a little more ink on after removing the moon mask to tone it down a bit. Stamped tree, barbed wire and sentiment finish it off - I'm sure the "dream" definition is more commonly used as encouragement to indulge in positive thoughts but I thought it could fit a bad dream, too!

Stamps:
Tree branch from Nature plate (Indigo Blu)
Dream definition from Sarah's Choice plate (Indigo Blu)
Barbed wire from Hot Topic plate (Green Pepper Press)

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Weathered Wood, Dusty Concord, Black Soot)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Steampunk Vintage Clip Art sheet by Itkupilli

If you fancy having a go at a Halloween postcard why not come over and join us? You can see what other people have been making and post a picture of your own card for the swap here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Glittering celebration

2011-10-02T18:15:00.006+02:00

I just managed to squeak in an entry to the "Stash Buster" competition on UK Stampers. The idea of the series of challenges is to use items from your stash that are often overlooked and the first item we were asked to use was glitter.

I fall fairly and squarely into the category of people who rarely remember to use glitter. In fact I don't have a big stash of it as I don't get sucked in to buying it but the few colours I have are mostly ages old!

I bought this fun Bubble Border stamp a while ago and haven't got round to inking it up so I thought I'd bring it in to play with this challenge. I used a Quickie glue pen and added turquoise ultrafine glitter and Glamour Dust to some circles (some coloured in first to give extra intesity to the glitter colour).

The sentiment is from a fun set which has some key words in the large, eleborate font and then lots of little additional words and phrases in the small, plain font so you can build your own sentiment.

Stamps:
Bubble Border (Lost Coast Designs)
Say it Loud (Waltzingmouse Stamps)

Paper: Smooth white

Ink: Versafine by Tsukineko (Deep Lagoon)

Other:
Memento markers by Tsukineko (Summer Sky, Bermuda Blue)
Turquoise ultrafine glitter
Glamour Dust
Quickie glue pen
Corner Chomper by We R Memory Keepers

Thanks for stopping by!

Over the rainbow

2011-09-21T08:05:00.002+02:00

My turn to host the challenge in the Crafty Secrets member forum at Splitcoast Stampers this week (here). We're taking inspiration from the Wizard of Oz, either by going over the rainbow (using at least three completely different colours) or drawing on the movie's icons (red shoes, yellow brick road, wicked witch of the west etc) as project themes.

I chose the colourful option and used chalks to make a freehand rainbow on the image panel and used the same colours around the edges of the card base, too. Chalks are often neglected around here and it's fun to pull them out for a play every now and again!

Stamps:
Vintage Silhouettes (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Neenah Classic Crest

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Chalks by Pebbles Inc
Silk ribbon
Vintage buttons
Sewing machine and thread

Thanks for stopping by!

Forever Autumn

2011-09-16T08:00:00.004+02:00

It's time for a new postcard swap on UK Stampers - Effie has given us the theme of "autumn" for September's swap.

I'm really not managing much crafty time at the moment so a postcard was perfect for me to squeeze into a half hour of inkiness.

I think a shaped card can have more immediate impact so as time was limited and I wanted to make an impression quickly, I die cut some ivory mountboard for my base. I stamped the bill of sale twice (easy to mask with the straight edge of a Post-It note to give the impression of layering) and then added the crow in the corn, the harvest baskets and some leaves coloured with Copics. A bit of Vintage Photo inking round the edge and I called it done.

Stamps:
Autumn Leaves (A Little Bit Sketchy line from Sheena Douglass)
Fall Harvest and Can it (CHF, retired)

Paper:
Ivory mountboard (freebie offcut from a framing shop)

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Vintage Photo)
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Espresso)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black and Vintage Sepia)

Other:
Copic markers
Tim Holtz Alterations die (Baroque)

Why not come and join us if you fancy getting a lovely handmade postcard in with your usual bills and junk mail? As usual, it's a low-commitment swap, just make one postcard and you'll get one in return so it all it costs you is a bit of time and the price of a stamp. Your card must include some stamping and be capable of going through the post without an envelope but other than that you can create anything within the theme. See what people are making for the swap here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Say what?

2011-09-12T08:00:00.001+02:00

The chipboard speech bubbles from Tando Creative are great fun to use with character stamps to have them "say" the sentiment on a project and provide a touch of dimension at the same time.

This is a birthday card for a boy celebrating his seventh birthday - very simple with just a stamped image and the chippie speech bubble coloured with a Copic marker and stamped with the birthday greeting. A bit of inking through the smallest holes on the sequin waste mask finish off the image panel and the chippie. I couldn't resist a little Kaz-style doodling for a border.

Speech Bubbles Small (Tando Creative chipboard)
Sequin Waste mask (Tando Creative)

Little Guy and So Happy stamps (CHF stamps - retired)
Versacraft Spring Green ink
Brilliance Graphite Black ink
Copic markers
Copic Multiliner
White and black card

Thanks for stopping by!

Autumn harvest

2011-09-08T08:00:00.001+02:00

It's challenge time on Tando Creative and this month's theme is Rustic Charm. There's a prize on offer - the winner can choose from this fab list!

I cut one end off a large journaling block and inked it in green. The rest of the block is inked in two shades of blue with a torn paper "cloud" template. I turned the green piece around and stuck it down as the ground for the tree to sprout from.

The twigs are gathered from my garden and tied with raffia at the base. Stamped apples and a tag hanging from a branch finish off the tree and the whole thing is finished with a "rusty wire" hanging loop. Always keen to make use of what I already have rather than buy new supplies, I used florist wire coated with Vintage Photo Distress embossing powder to make the rusted wire.

Supplies:
Large journaling block (Tando Creative)
Autumn Harvest and School Primer stamp sets (both CHF, retired)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Tumbled Glass, Broken China, Bundled Sage, Vintage Photo)
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Espresso)
Copic markers
Natural raffia
Tags Trio dies by Spellbinder
Twigs
Florist Wire
Distress embossing powder (Vintage Photo)

Rustic charm is perfect for autumn projects - why not check out the details of the challenge here and come join us to be in with a chance of winning the prize!

Thanks for stopping by!

Play until the sun goes down

2011-09-05T08:00:00.001+02:00

I've been so busy with work just lately I've had very little time for crafting or blogging. I was feeling a little stir-crazy though so I made time for a bit of inkiness on Friday!

The current challenge in the Crafty Secrets member forum over at Splitcoast Stampers is being hosted by Cyntia and she's asked us to use orange on our projects.

I've made a sunset by sponging inks through a hole cut with a Nestie for these delightful silhouetted children to play in - even the dog is joining in and having fun before somebody shouts "Time for bed!"

The figures in this set are separate so you can change up the look of the group by putting them in a different order, repeating some or missing some out. I think it's a really sweet little set.

I added sparkle to the sunburst above their heads with a Spica pen.

Stamps:
Vintage Silhouettes (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Smooth white
Black

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress by Ranger (Mustard Seed, Spice Marmalade, Fired Brick, Antique Linen)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Spica glitter pen (red)
Nestabilities by Spellbinder Large Circles
Silk ribbon
Stick pin
Tracing wheel
Score- It
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas ornament

2011-08-16T10:40:00.004+02:00

I'm hosting this week's challenge in the Crafty Secrets member forum at Splitcoast Stampers and I'm asking people to use squares in their projects.

I've opted to use the square as my card base and added another to my stash of Christmas cards.

This is one of those projects that looks better in real life than you can manage to capture with a photo! The ornament is coated in glitter above and below the banner area and the little gems to represent lights on the tree really do glow if you catch the sun right! Those are things that tend to show with movement I guess and a still photo leaves it to your imagination to fill in!

I like to do "all one stamp set" projects sometimes rather than pulling in stuff from several sets and/or makers - it makes you focus on how versatile the elements of a set can be! I used four of the stamps in the set here - the elegant ornament, the separate sentiment banner that fits on to it, the snowflake for subtle background pattern and the fir sprig to build up the overhanging branch at the top.

Stamps:
Christmas Joy (Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Cryogen white
Dark red
Gold

Ink:
Versamark by Tsukineko
Versafine by Tsukineko (Olympia Green)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Antique Linen)

Other:
Detail gold embossing powder
Glamour Dust glitter (Crystal)
Gems
Memento marker (Cottage Ivy)
Wire
Foam dots
Gold gel pen

Thanks for stopping by!

Time for tea?

2011-08-12T08:11:00.001+02:00

The theme for the August postcard swap on UK Stampers is tea time. As usual for this swap, postcards need to be posted "naked" so no bulky embellishments or bits that might get damaged or ripped off under the gentle ministrations of Royal Mail's finest.

I went for a retro look. I thought repeat stamping the tea cup in muted shades had a bit the feel of 50s kitchen textiles which went well with the Tanda lady stamp. I didn't want to fiddle with cutting a mask so I stamped the cups first, stamped the lady and then bleached her face and hand to get rid of the teacup outlines. She's coloured with Copics (carefully since I'd stamped with Versafine!). For a bit of glamour, she has a touch of Copic Spica glitter pen on her lips !

A vellum overlay with a bite cut out of it is stiched over to throw the lady into the spotlight and the whole lot is stuck to a second piece of card so the back is tidy.

Stamps:
Retro Women 2 (Tanda Stamps)
The Cafe (CHF, retired)

Paper:
Cryogen white
Vellum

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Tumbled Glass, Bundled Sage)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx black)

Other:
Copic markers
Copic Spica glitter pen (red)
Sewing machine and thread

Why not come and join the swap if you fancy a bit of happy mail in with the bills and junk? It's not a big commitment - just make one card and you'll get one in return. Details here.

Thanks for stopping by. Is it time for tea, yet?!

Enjoy the journey

2011-08-10T10:38:00.005+02:00

Embracing wrinkles is not something that comes naturally to many a 40-something but it's exactly what Marcy asked us to do for a recent challenge in the Crafty Secrets member forum at Splitcoast Stampers.

I had fun scrunching, twisting and generally abusing a piece of kraft cardstock to get it really good and wrinkled. I then brayered Latte ink over it to produce a nice leathery-looking piece to use as my background for a little collage.

I think this little boy grew up with an interest in natural history - he has a leaf skeleton, a fossilised seahorse and a star in his collection of treasures. The seahorse has been in my collection of random embellishments for an age - I made it from paper mache in a mould.

Stamps:
Journey and Artsy Banners (both Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Kraft and Cryogen white

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukinkeo (Vintage Sepia, Onyx Black)
Adirondack by Ranger (Latte)

Other:
Vintage photo (unknown maker - still using up stuff from my 2009 Secret Santa parcel from Caroline!)
Paper mache seahorse
Skeleton leaf
Star nailhead
Sewing machine and thread

Thanks for stopping by!

Go wild with Tando Creative!

2011-08-08T08:00:00.011+02:00

The challenge for August on the Tando Creative Challenge blog is to Go Wild! With a prize up for grabs, why not let your own creative juices run wild and play along with us? The theme is totally open to your interpretation and you don't have to use Tando products on your entry (although if you do you'll get a double chance in the prize draw).

Kaz, Karen and Angela have already shared some fab samples with us and this week Carol and I are going wild too. You can see Carol's project as well as this one of mine here.

I haven't quite decided what this is destined to be! I might make it into a mini book cover and then again I might just give it a little stand and have it on a shelf.

I started with a sheet of the Tando greyboard which is really sturdy. I gave it a spritz with water to help the embossing along a bit and ran it through my die cutter in a Texture Fade folder. I used acrylic paints to give it the appearance of baked earth - the plains of the Serengeti, perhaps! Dark brown was rubbed all over the sheet, making sure to get well down into the embossing and once that was dry I used a sand colour over the top, keeping it just on the higher spots.

The leopard and map of Africa are stamped onto plain white cardstock, cut out and stuck over the base. The leopard's head is raised along the top edge on foam pads for some dimension.

Stamps:
Leopard profile (CHF, retired)
Map from Safari Set 1 (Tanda Stamps)

Paper:
Tando Creative greyboard sheet
White cardstock

Ink:
Adirdonack by Ranger (Espresso)
Distress ink by Ranger (Vintage Photo and Black Soot)

Other:
Copic Markers
Tim Holtz Texture Fade - Cracked
Acrylic paints

Thanks for stopping by! You can check out all the details of how to play along in this month's challenge here - we'd love to have you play along!

Jackpot!

2011-08-01T17:58:00.005+02:00

It's Week 26 at Less is More and because there were five Saturdays in July we have a "lucky dip" challenge this week - Feeling Fruity.

I had some die cut squares out on my desk (because I'd been cutting apertures for a project rather than cutting the squares themselves) and I thought they'd make a good basis for a "fruit machine" card teamed up with some cherries and a simple sentiment. Does this kind of fruit machine exist anymore? I remember there being one in our local chippie when I was a kid!

I put the squares back in to the die and ran a fine line marker around the inside, stamped and coloured the cherries and then stuck them to the card with foam pads over a strip of black card as the "winning line" to anchor them.

Stamps:
Kitchen Classics (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets) plus sentiment from a HOTP set.

Paper: smooth white, black

Ink: Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other: Copic markers, Nestabilities by Spellbinder, Crop-a-Dile

If you like to play with chipboard and masks in your papercrafting, why not check out the new Tando Creative Challenge - you have a month to play, there's no requirement to use Tando products on yor entry this month and there's a prize up for grabs so it's well worth a look! You can find the details of the theme and the prize here.

Thanks for stopping by!

March of the Penguins!

2011-07-29T06:00:00.007+02:00

Hello, welcome if you've arrived here by way of Michelle's blog on the Shady Tree Studio blog hop! If you didn't come that way and you'd like to follow the hop then back up to Shady Tree Studio where it all starts and find out how to be in with a chance of winning one of the eight sets of stamps up for grabs!

I love the penguin that features in the new Naturally Christmas set! If you've seen the movie March of the Penguins, you'll probably remember what an endearing sight it is to see a whole horde of penguins all stoically making their way across the snow and ice. I thought it would be fun to recreate that "en mass" experience on a pop up stage card!

The penguins are quite tall so I added some torn card stock snowbanks towards the front of the stage to fill in the space (if your taller pop up items are too near the front they'll hang over the edge when the card is flattened down for mailing). The penguin at the back is raised up on a torn cardstock hillock so he gives some variety to the height of the group, too.

I wanted the trees to have taller trunks so I didn't ink up the end of the trunk before stamping so that I could extend the lines with a fineline marker.

The back of the card is lined with a piece that has snowflakes embossed using a Fiskars texture plate and I sprinkled glitter around the feet of each penguin and along of the joins where the snowbanks meet the base of the stage.

To keep the card closed, I created a belly band using the checkerboard border and a sentiment from the other new set being released today - Homespun Holiday. The checkboard lines up easily to extend it right across the band but if you're worried about it, just make sure the join comes where you want to place an embellishment or other element (the cut out penguin in this case).

Stamps: Naturally Christmas and Homespun Holiday sets by Shady Tree Studio
Paper: Smooth white, black
Ink: Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Other: Copic markers, Threading Water edge punch, Fiskars texture plate, Glamour Dust glitter

The lovely Carla is the final stop along the way, I'm sure she'll have something wonderful to share with you on her blog at Paper Pastorale. Hope you've been enjoying the new stamps so far along the hop!

Beary Merry Christmas!

2011-07-28T12:00:00.001+02:00

Sorry to have been missing in action - I've been busy with work and with crafting that I can't share with you yet!

We're nearing the end of the month so my time as Shady Tree Studio's guest designer is almost over. The new sets are released on 29th and the cute bear on this gift tag is in one of the sets. I've gone for a Polar bear look by adding just a tiny hint of shading with a warm gray Copic and otherwise leaving him white - quick and easy. He looks great as a brown bear too!

I decided he needed a little extra protection from the winter chill so I've stolen the scarf - it really belongs to the snowman from this same stamp set! I paper pieced it onto one bear's body and then cut out a second head and mounted it over the top of the scarf on a foam pad. I cut a paper fringe to add to the end of the scarf, too.

Stamps:
Naturally Christmas (Shady Tree Studio)

Paper: DCWV mat stack (stamped with a text background stamp)

Ink: Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black), Distress by Ranger Tumbled Glass

Other:
Copic Markers (Warm Gray 1, Black, Pale Pink)
Detail white embossing powder
Inksessentials white pen by Ranger
Threading Water edge punch by Fiskars,
Eyelet
Baker's twine
Nestabilites by Spellbinder

Thanks for stopping by! I'm playing along with the Shady Tree Studio blog hop tomorrow - it will start on the STS blog so do drop by if you have the chance - there will be a chance to win stamps!

Love is the key

2011-07-18T12:59:00.004+02:00

I needed to make an anniversary card so I took advantage of Splitcoast Stampers' Featured Stamper challenge yesterday to give me a kick start. The featured Stamer was Teri Anderson, a very creative stamper and sweet lady to boot! Teri has lots of great inspiration in her Splitcoast gallery and I chose this card as my starting point.

I stamped the heart portion of a Crafty Individuals collage stamp in two different reddish shades, cut them out and arranged them on the card base. The sentiment is stamped directly onto the card and a scored line just anchors the whole thing and stops it being too top heavy. Once again, the Scor It made my job easy in creating a line with a break for the point of the heart as the project is face up on the board so you can see where you're scoring.

Stamps:
Heart from a Crafty Individuals collage stamp
Sentiment from Key Expressions (CHF, retired)

Paper:
Cryogen white

Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Craberry and Watermelon)

Other:
Corner Chomper
Scor It

Thanks for stopping by, hope the week is a good one for you!

Jolly Holly!

2011-07-14T12:00:00.003+02:00

I'm playing with Shady Tree Studio stamps again today for more Christmas in July.

This little gift card holder gives the Holly Jolly set a contemporary look just by using a slight twist on traditional colours with a lighter, brighter green than your usual shade for holly and hot pink in place of red.

There's an image of a potted holly in the set - I coloured and cut out just the bow from that to add to the base of the wreath.

I finished off the inside by stamping the holly border along the top of the pocket that holds the gift card in place (you can just see it peeking out on the left side of the photo).

Stamps: Holly Jolly set plus sentiment from Embrace Christmas (Shady Tree Studio)

Paper: Cryogen White

Ink: Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Espresso)

Other:
Copic markers
Inkssentials gel pen by Ranger
Corner Chomper
Scor It
Foam tape

Thanks for stopping by!

Nature's masterpiece

2011-07-12T12:10:00.004+02:00

A very simple design today but I think it's quite effective. I used white embossing powder for an emboss resist and then coloured the central bit with a touch of Copic marker (I think that bit is called a pistil but I'm no botanist so please don't take my word for it!).

A simple Nestie cut frame is raised up slightly on foam tape and mounted over the card front. I thought the sort of gallery feel to the framing went with the sentiment.

Stamps:
Emerging Hibiscus (CHF, retired)
Motivational Centers (CHF, retired)

Paper:
Cryogen white

Ink:
Versamark by Tsukineko
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Peeled Paint)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Olympia Green)

Other:
Detail white embossing powder by Stampendous
Nestabilities by Spellbinder
Foam tape
Copic marker

Thanks for stopping by!

Let it snow!

2011-07-09T12:00:00.000+02:00

I'm joining some old friends this month as Guest Designer with Shady Tree Studio's Christmas in July event. Nancy, owner of STS, used to design stamps for CHF and some of her DT are old buddies from my days on the CHF team. Thanks for inviting me along this month, Nancy!

In the run up to this year's release, we've been making some projects with stamps from the 2010 Christmas release. The Just Believe set has a lovely naive feel which is perfect for pairing with kraft!

This clean and simple, one layer design would be suitable for mass mailing as it's totally flat so there's no risk of having to pay extra postage. Quick and easy to make too with no need for any specialist tools - you could whip up a batch sitting in front of the TV!

I simply stamped the snowman, added the border by hand with a fineline marker and stamped the sentiment. Slightly wobbly framing goes with the homespun charm of the image so no need to worry about trying to draw perfectly straight lines!

Colored pencils (Prismacolor or equivlent) work beautifully on kraft cardstock as it tends to have a bit of "tooth" to it so you get good coverage of white for your snowman. I added a tiny bit of shading down the back of his body and head with a brown pencil. The snowflake is stamped repeatedly around the outside and a few white gel pen dots fill in the flurry.

Stamps:
Just Believe stamp set by Shady Tree Studio

Paper:
kraft (mine is a chopped up file folder!)

Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Espresso)
Pigment ink by Clearsnap (Frost White)

Other:
Drawing pen by Zig
Prismacolor pencils
Inkssentials gel pen by Ranger
Corner Chomper by We R Memory Keepers

Thanks for stopping by! The DT girls have been posting projects all week on the Shady Tree Studio blog if you fancy a bit more Christmas in July!

Red, white and blue

2011-07-07T10:17:00.004+02:00

The theme for the postcard swap this month on UK Stampers is red, white and blue.

It's impossible not to think of flags with that combination but I decided to try for something other than the star spangled banner or our own Union Flag and settled on the French flag instead.

The blue and red sections are just ink swiped directly from the pad onto the card. I used alpha stamps to add bleu, blanc, rouge to the three sections ("blanc" was done with Versamark and clear embossing powder) and then overstamped with a scripty stamp in Antique Linen. A bit of Antique Linen sponging helps to bring out the clear embossing a bit more, too.

Stamps:
French Mail and Artsy Banners sets (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)
Just My Type alpha stamps (Ma Vinci's Reliquary)

Paper:
Smooth white

Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Stonewashed, Red Pepper)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Antique Linen, Fired Brick)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)
Versamark by Tsukineko

Other:
Clear detail embossing powder

Sorry I forgot to announce the winner of the random draw for the papers earlier in the week. The winner is Janice! I'll get them sent off to you soon, Janice.

Thanks for stopping by!

Fishy thanks

2011-07-02T15:32:00.005+02:00

It's colour challenge week at Less is More and the challenge is "shades of blue" - right up my street since I tend to gravitate to blues and greens.

We met up with a friend on our recent holiday in Potugal and he gave us some wine and olive oil from his own vines and trees. We drank the wine while we were still away but we managed to get the olive oil back in one piece in a suitcase! We've just opened the bottle and so I wanted to send a thank you card.

If you've been to Portugal, you'll know there are basically two national foods - salt cod and sardines! So I thought a little shoal of sardiney fish swimming in a sea of blue would make a good thank you.

I scribbled three blue markers onto an acetate sheet, spritzed with water and pressed on to my card. Then I did the same technique as I used on yesterday's card for the fish and finished with a stamped sentiment.

Stamps:
Under the Sea (Darkroom Door)
Sentiment from retired CHF set

Ink:
Memento markers by Tsukineko (Bahama Blue, Danube Blue, Paris Dusk)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Bleach
Acetate sheet and Mini Mister to create background
Corner Chomper by We R Memory Keepers

Thanks for stopping by!

Colour me summer

2011-07-01T18:03:00.004+02:00

The challenge this week in the Crafty Secrets member forum over at Splitcoast Stampers is to focus on the colours of summer treats. I do like to take my Crafty Secrets stamps beyond the obvious vintage look sometimes so I've gone for a clean and simple, one layer card with a graphic feel to it.

I've opted for orange, watermelon and lettuce for my colours: fresh fruits and salads - yum!

The colour blocks are just "stamped" by inking up my smallest acrylic block, spritzing with water and then pressing it directly onto the card blank. The starfish were stamped with Versafine and then painted with bleach to remove some of the colour - Versafine doesn't react with bleach so your stamped image retains its detail.

Stamps:
Seaside set plus sentiment from Mini Memories (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Smooth white

Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Sunset Orange, Watermelon, Lettuce)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Thanks for stopping by - hope you have a great weekend!

You hoo!

2011-06-29T08:00:00.007+02:00

I haven't played along a with a challenge at Less is More for a while and thought it was about time I put that right.

This week's challenge is a sketch. I sat down with a fairly literal take on it in mind and ended up with something completely different! The idea of the sketch is still there but the three evenly sized and spaced circles have transformed themselves into a family of three owls!

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to win blog candy from the Craft Room as they launched their own challenge blog - thank you Julia! - and these Hero Arts owl stamps were part of my goody bag. Cute aren't they?

They're stamped on kraft and have just a bit of colour added with a Copic marker and their eyes done with a white gel pen.

Stamps:
You hoo owls (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bitter chocolate and kraft

Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Espresso)

Other:
Sewing machine and thread
Copic markers
Corner Chomper by We R Memory Keepers
Inkssentials white pen by Ranger

Giveaway!

Also in my goody bag was this 6x6" paper pad by Kars. Now regulars to my blog will know that I really struggle with patterned paper. Whatever I do with it takes an eternity and I'm rarely happy with the outcome. With that in mind, I asked Julia (owner of the Craft Room) if she'd mind if I gave the pad away - better that than have it sitting feeling lonely in a drawer! They're nice bright colours and funky patterns - some designs have a glittered version as well as the printed one.

So, if you'd like to offer the papers a new home, just let me know in a comment on this post and I will draw a name at random. Let's say comments before midnight (UK time) Sunday 4th July, shall we?

Thanks for stopping by!

Advice to the Young

2011-06-28T08:00:00.005+02:00

There's a competition over on UK Stampers at the moment with a lovely stampy prize - why not take a look and see if you fancy joining in? You can find all the details here.

Entries have to include at least two items from a list of six ingredients (ribbon, lace, fabric, pins, glitter, vintage photo) and be in a vintage style.

I sat down with no idea at all what I was going to make except that I knew I fancied making a ribbon rose. I started by colouring a length of white silk ribbon with a Copic marker to make my flower. I then faffed and fiddled without much joy until I started looking around the craft room in search of new playthings and spotted a little frame that has probably been in my box of bits for a decade or so! I suspect it was in an IKEA multipack but I wouldn't swear to it.

I dyed the frame with my Espresso ink pad and then applied some gold Rub n Buff with a stiff bristled brush to give a shabby, hit and miss kind of finish before gluing a length of lace along the bottom.

I stamped clock faces and text onto a piece of card and popped that into the frame, leaving the glass out. The little girl is from a printed sheet that Caroline gave me in my "secret Santa" advent package back in 2009! The ribbon flower and a couple of pins finish the embellishment cluster. The sentiment is stamped onto a strip of cardstock and then curved.

It took a while to come together since I was working with no clear idea of what I wanted to achieve but I'm quite pleased with it!

Stamps:
Time to Stamp (CHF, retired)
Artsy Banners (Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Cryogen white

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Milled Lavender, Dusty Concord)
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Espresso)

Other:
Natural wooden frame
Silk ribbon
Lace
Pins
Rub n Buff by Amaco (Gold Leaf)
Vintage photo (unknown maker - thanks to Caroline though!)

Thanks for stopping by!

Rise and shine!

2011-06-22T10:01:00.004+02:00

I'm hosting the challenge on the Crafty Secrets member forum over at Splitcoast Stampers this week and I'm asking people to use checks on their projects. Lots of possibilities with this one - gingham ribbon, punched squares of paper, plaid paper or fabric...

I chose to stamp my checks by repeat stamping the border pattern from the Farm Chicks set to cover the paper. The fact that they're clear stamps makes this easy as you can see exactly where to line up for continuous coverage! I stamped two piece with the checked pattern and then overlapped them, trapping short pieces of raffia into the join for "straw" and stitching across to secure them.

I used the "Cock-a-doodle-do" sentiment so this could be a simple "hello" card or it could be used to congratulate somebody who's just achieved something to crow about!

I do like to make a project with a single stamp set and minimal other "stuff" from time to time - it's very satisfying!

Stamps:
Farm Chicks (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Simply Smooth

Ink:
Adirondack by Ranger (Espresso)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Vintage Photo)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Satin red)

Other:
Copic markers
Natural raffia
Sewing machine and thread
Foam tape

Thanks for stopping by!

Crepe flower

2011-06-20T12:34:00.006+02:00

The July/August issue of PaperCrafts magazine is available now and has a whole section dedicated to handmade embellishments which features this card of mine (the Asian Hello card on p.51). The flower is made from simple punched circles of crepe paper, finished with a glue dot and microbeads for the centre.

Crepe is lovely to work with for this kind of project as it shapes beautifully just with a little gentle stretching and if you sponge colour on the edges before you strech you get pretty, delicate "stripes" on the petals.

Stamps:
Wildflower (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Cryogen White
Heavyweight white crepe

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Spanish Moss)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Victorian Velvet)

Other:
Memento Maker by Tsukineko (New Sprout)
Glue dot
Micro beads (these are ones sold for nail art, any will do!)
Foam tape

There are lots of lovely ideas for handmade embellishments in the issue as well as other great projects, well worth checking out!

Thanks for stopping by!

Summertime...

2011-06-17T18:26:00.003+02:00

Hello all, I've been off on my hols in Portugal for a couple of weeks so a summertime project seemed perfect to get me back to stamping on my return!

I'm combining two things here - this week's challenge in the Crafty Secrets member forum at Splitcoast Stampers which is to make something with a summertime theme and this month's postcard swap on UK Stampers where the theme is "seaside".

I've stuck with the classic 6 x 4" postcard size and kept it pretty flat as the swap requires it to be a "genuine" postcard that is posted with no envelope.

The background is watercolour paper spritzed with a mix of water and a couple of drops of Stonewashed reinker (this is one of the few Adirondack colours that does separate into its constituent colours when mixed with water - I like the tonal variation) and overstamped with shells, starfish and sand dollars, some masked to create overlap. The focal image is stamped on Cryogen White and coloured with Copics.

I punched holes with a slot punch for the strip and the sentiment panel to feed in under the image. A doodled frame and some wonky stitching finish it off before the whole lot is stuck to another piece of Cryogen White so the back is flat and light-coloured for writing on.

If you like to get some happy mail in with the bills and junk, why not pop over to UK Stampers and join in with the postcard swap - it's not a big commitment, just make one card and you'll get one back from a randomly-drawn swap partner.

Stamps:
Seaside set (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Watercolour
Cryogen white
Bitter chocolate

Ink:
Adirondack by Ranger (Stonewashed, Denim, Espresso)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Antique Linen)

Other:
Copic markers
Oval Nesties by Spellbinder
Sewing machine and thread
Slot punch by Making Memories
Zig drawing pen
Inkssentials white pen by Ranger

Thanks for stopping by!

Birthday flowers

2011-05-30T14:46:00.005+02:00

A birthday card with some happy, sunshiney colours today to compensate for the dreary weather!

I seem to have a thing about teeny tiny bits of bling - I've been using the tiny gems intended for acrylic nail art for quite a while now and have just added the pearl variety to my stash. The tiny ones in the row above the sentiment are only about 1.5mm across!

This flower lends itself so well to the technique of embossing the outline and then flooding ink into the petals that I'm in danger of never doing anything else with it!

Stamps:
Petite Posies (Technique Tuesday)
Sentiment from Birthday Centers (CHF, retired)

Paper:
Cryogen white
Bazzill bling (Petty Cash)

Ink:
Versamark by Tsukineko
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Spiced Marmalade pad and reinker, Mustard Seed reinker)

Other:
Detail white embossing powder by Stampendous
Micro pearls (acrylic nail art supplies)
Tim Holtz Alterations Retro circles embossing folder
Corner Chomper by We R Memory Keepers
Scor-It
Foam tape

Thanks for stopping by!

Unmasked!

2011-05-26T08:00:00.001+02:00

Tando Creative have just introduced a new product - masks. As soon as I handled one of them I thought "Ooooh, I bet this is thick enough to make an embossed impression" and I was right! Of course they work beautifully for their intended purpose as masks but I do love finding ways to put my stash to work for multiple purposes so I was pleased with the way this worked out.

I laid some white core card on top of the Random Circles mask and ran it through the Big Shot with an embossing mat. (So for the "sandwich" that was mask laid on the first clear plate, card on top face up, embossing mat and second clear plate on top of that.)

A light sanding to expose the white core and the addition of some stamped circles, brads and a wide chocolate brown mat and I had a quick masculine birthday card.

Supplies:
Random Circles mask by Tando Creative (Tando stockists listed here)
Ornamental Beauty stamp set (CHF, retired)
Sentiment from a HOTP set
Adirondack ink by Ranger (Espresso)
DCWV white core card
Cryogen white card
Bitter chocolate card
Fiskars squeeze punch (large circle)
Small circle punch
Large brads

Thanks for stopping by!

Beaten metal

2011-05-25T08:00:00.006+02:00

Somewhere in a box, I still have a copper spoon for a tea caddy that was one of the first things I made in metalwork classes at school - I've always loved the beaten metal look you get from that repeated tapping with a hammer to shape the piece.

I haven't been back to metalwork class though - just playing with chipboard again! Apologies for the fact it's a Christmas project but I've had this idea in my head since first seeing the book plates at Tando Creative and the only way to get it out of my head was to make it!

I covered the book plate with Rub n Buff and then gave it a good clobbering with the fatter end of my embossing stylus to leave little indentations all over it.

I stamped the sentiment on an oval of cardstock trimmed to fit the back of the plate and then added a thin layer of glitter for a bit of festive shimmer.

The stamped Santa is cut out and attached to one side of the frame and the other is finished with pearls (the larger central one covering the hole that would usually be used to attach the book plate to something).

Supplies:
Chipboard book plate (Tando Creative)
Holly Jolly Christmas and Season's Greetings stamp sets (Technique Tuesday)
Adirondack ink by Ranger (Espresso)
Versafine ink by Tsukinkeo (Satin Red)
Copic markers
Deko Ice glitter by Efco (Crystal)
Pearls (including tiny ones for acrylic nail art)
Cryogen White cardstock
Rub n Buff by Amaco (Gold Leaf)
Florist's wire

This is the last of the technique pieces that Carol and I have been doing over the last couple of months - do pop along to the Tando blog to check out Carol's piece too if you have the chance.

Thanks for stopping by!

Time for chippie

2011-05-18T08:00:00.005+02:00

It's Wednesday so it must be time for chipboard again and I've done a time-themed piece today. Do pop over to the Tando blog if you have chance and check out what Carol has been up to as well!

We decided to focus on melty stuff this week and I opted for UTEE. My initial plan was to melt a load in a wee pan in the oven (I don't have a Melt Pot) but in the end, I was seduced by the ease of the triple embossing technique so went with the heat gun instead! The thickness of the Tando board makes this a breeze as it just doesn't warp with the amount of heat you end up subjecting it to and provides a nice sturdy finish for the piece.

I'm afraid the glass pebbles and metallic finishes made this nigh on impossible to photograph but I hope you get the idea!

My twinchie for the top of the hanging has three layers of silver UTEE on it and I pressed a stamp that had been dusted with Perfect Pearls into it while still hot to make an impression on one side of the shape. I hope the detail shot shows up the texture and the colour variation from the Perfect Pearls.

The random oozy blobs were done with a hot glue gun and once the glue had set I added some Rub n Buff for a sort of molten metal look. Finally, I added a glass pebble (the sort sold to put in vases) with a stamped clock face stuck underneath it with Glossy Accents.

The inchie had the same treatment with three layers of UTEE and I used the clock face stamp again while it was hot. There's a little black acrylic paint to pick out the texture and some more hot glue blobs and Rub n Buff.

Another glass pebble with a stamped word behind it finishes the bottom of the piece. I made a little wire "hammock" for it - it's just florist's wire used for all the connections here.

Supplies:
Twinche and Inchie (Tando Creative - stockists can be found here)
Inchie Style and Tiled Scallops backgrounder stamps (both Cornish Heritage Farms, retired)
Silver UTEE
Perfect Pearls by Ranger (Copper)
Hot glue gun
Rub n Buff by Amaco (Silver Leaf)
Black acrylic paint
Crop-a-Dile by We R Memory Keepers
Florist's wire
Glass pebbles

Thanks for stopping by, hope time is being kind to you!

Paint job

2011-05-11T08:00:00.001+02:00

It's Wednesday so that means it's Tando day for me and Carol. Do pop over to the Tando blog if you have time - Carol's piece is gorgeous!

We're concentrating on paints today. I used mine to create texture by painting a heavy layer of gesso onto my journaling block and stamping into it with a background stamp. It's best to spritz the stamp with water first and be sure to wash it straight away after stamping, the gesso will stick! You get the texture of the brush marks left in the "open" parts of the stamp which works well with this sort of background design.

Once the gesso had dried I added a layer of crimson acrylic paint and when that was almost dry, dabbed gently with a baby wipe to take off some of the paint and highlight the texture.

I've added stamped images, punched stars and some gold Rub n Buff around the edges to finish.

Stamps:
Le Cirque 3 (Graphic 45)

Paper:
Chipboard journalling block by Tando Creative (Tando stockists can be found here)
Cryogen white
Le Cirque (Graphic 45 - a piece sent by Effie when I bought the stamp set from her - thanks Effie!)

Ink:
Adirondack by Ranger (Espresso)
Vintage Photo Distress ink by Ranger

Other:
Gesso
Crimson acrylic paint
Rub n Buff by Amaco (Gold Leaf)
Prismacolor pencils
Squeeze punch by Fiskars (small star)
Spica glitter pen (gold)
Glossy Accents

Thanks for stopping by!

Birdy birthday

2011-05-09T11:48:00.004+02:00

It was my dad's birthday yesterday - hope you had a lovely day, Dad!

I used the challenge in the Crafty Secrets member company forum at SplitcoastStampers as a kickstart to make him a card - we were challenged to do some watercolouring this week.

I chose to use Distress inks as watercolours on my image panel. The deep brown background layer is Cryogen White cardstock that has been spritzed with multiple layers of walnut ink - it gives a lovely mottled, almost leathery look.

I'm much happier with the actual card than with the photo of it, I just couldn't get the richness and delicacy of colour to show well no matter what I tried!

Stamps:
Bird Notes (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)
Swirl from Mini Memories (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)
Sentiment from Kinkade Birthday Expressions (CHF, retired)

Paper:
Cryogen white
Hot press watercolour paper

Ink:
Stazon by Tsukineo (Timber Brown)
Distress ink by Ranger (Antique Linen, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain, Peeled Paint - as watercolours, Tumbled Glass)

Other:
Walnut ink (crystals dissolved in water in a mister bottle)
Natural raffia
Fancy brad (Making Memories)
Tags trio dies by Spellbinder
Sewing machine and thread

Thanks for stopping by!

If he ruled the world...

2011-05-06T12:38:00.008+02:00

We've just done another postcard swap on UKStampers. Our theme this time was "spring" and our cards had to include some stamping and be posted as genuine postcards, no envelope or other protection.

I stamped my bird and coloured him with Copics and then gave him a gold heat embossed crown since he has designs on ruling the world, apparently!

The leaves were done by sponging ink over skeleton leaves and then pressing an inked leaf over a few of them as well. The lyrics are handwritten and finished with a few stamped notes.

Stamps:
Bird Notes and Altered Art (arrow and notes) - both Crafty Secrets

Paper: Smooth white

Ink:
Adirondack by Ranger (Espresso and Lettuce)
Versamark by Tsukineko

Other:
Copic markers
Detail gold embossing powder
Zig drawing pen
Skeleton leaves

We're having another swap for May - theme is "beauty" this time around. Why not pop over to the UKStampers forum and join in if you fancy a bit of happy mail in with the bills and junk?

Thanks for stopping by, have a lovely weekend!

Butterfly dreams

2011-05-04T08:00:00.002+02:00

It's Wednesday again - how did that happen?! That means that Carol and I have been playing with Tando chippie again and this week we've been slathering on the gunky stuff! Do pop over to the Tando blog if you have time and see what Carol has made too!

My gothic arch was covered in Terra and then heated to make it bubble as it dried. I added a pewter metallic acrylic paint over the top and tapped a couple of colours of Perfect Pearls onto the wet paint before spritzing with water to make sure it was fixed. I hope you can see the texture - it has a great organic quality about it!

I made "micro mosaics" on three inchies by covering lightly with Ferro and then laying a piece of plastic canvas over the top and squidging (technical term) more Ferro on top. When you lift off the plastic canvas, you get tiny raised squares left behind. Once it was dry, I added a little Perfect Pearls to some areas. I stuck them in place and then trimmed the outer two at an angle to match the sides of the arch.

My butterfly is stamped on vellum and coloured from the back and I've done a metal tape over Dymo label tag attached to a bow with a big pin. The point of the pin is safely embedded in the thick chippie! I coloured white seam binding with a couple of Copics and spritzed with Glimmer Mist so that it all toned with the base of the project.

A couple of skeleton leaves and some beaded wire along with a square brad finish off the top.

Supplies:
Gothic arch and inchies (Tando Creative - Tando stockists listed here)
Altered Art stamp set (Crafty Secrets)
Brilliance ink by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Copic markers
Terra by Viva Decor (Greek)
Ferro by Viva Decor (Graphite)
Perfect Pearls by Ranger (Patina Blue, Patina Green)
Pewter acrylic paint
Glimmer Mist (Antique Brass)
Seam binding
Pin
Dymo label maker
Aluminium tape
Florist's wire
Crop a Dile by We R Memory Keepers
Skeleton leaves
Beads
Square brad

Thanks for stopping by!

Feel the heat

2011-04-27T09:46:00.004+02:00

We've had some lovely hot weather over the last week or so and Carol and I decided to take the lead from that and apply some heat to our Tando technique pieces this week with some heat embossing. Do pop over to the Tando blog to see what Carol's been up to, too!

I chose an ATC to work with and used the emboss resist technique.

The sentiment and flowers were embossed with white powder and then I flooded each petal area with watercolour and used a drop of reinker to colour the background before sponging over some sequin waste with a second shade of green. I also "stamped" a couple of leaves by pressing an inked-up skeleton leaf on there.

Stamps:
Petite Posies (Technique Tuesday)
Sentiment from CHF (retired)

Paper:
Chipboard ATC from Tando Creative

Ink:
Versamark by Tsukineko
Adirondack by Ranger (Lettuce and Pesto)

Other:
Detail white embossing powder by Stampendous
Pink watercolour pencil
Sequin waste
Skeleton leaf

The beauty of the white lined board for projects like these is that you get a really solid base that doesn't warp at all when you apply heat for the embossing and your colours go on true without any priming - gotta love something that lets you stamp and go!

Thanks for stopping by!

PS - have you seen the new Andy Skinner stamp line? Andy's new to the world of stamp designs and has just had his first sets released by Personal Impressions. There's a competition running on his blog with a fab prize, why not check it out?

New nest!

2011-04-25T12:20:00.008+02:00

I needed a quick new home card last week - this is what I came up with.

The kraft card base came from a huge rigid envelope that was supplied with the calendar we got for our kitchen this year. Obviously we weren't sending it anywhere so I chopped up the envelope for crafting :o)

I love coloured pencils on kraft cardstock and I thought it would give a nice look to the eggs in this nest - a quick and simple card, appropriate for a spring move of house!

It's a small one layer card (10.5cm square) with just a touch more interest added by embossing a frame for the image with a Nestie.

Stamps: Nest and sentiment both CHF (retired)

Paper: Kraft

Ink: Adirondack by Ranger (Espresso)

Other:
Prismacolor pencils
Nestabilites by Spellbinder (Large Square)

Thanks for stopping by, hope you're all having a lovely Easter weekend!

Make an impression!

2011-04-20T08:00:00.007+02:00

Carol and I decided to dry emboss our Tando chipboard for our technique pieces this week. Do pop over to the Tando blog to see what Carol has made too!

I have two projects to share with you, a little jewellery piece one at one end of the size spectrum and a notebook at the other!

The domino pieces are a nice scale for jewellery, being 1" x 2". I put this one in the Cuttlebug Jamara folder, lining it up against the bit of the design I wanted before I closed the folder and ran it through the Big Shot. I ran it through a couple of times for good measure but you don't need to do anything special to get a good embossed impression.

I coated the piece with Rub n Buff and then with acrylic paint to accentuate the design. I wiped most of the paint off and then dabbed a little more RnB over the high spots.

The bail to thread the chain through is, believe it or not, a piece from a video cassette! I dismantled an old one a while ago to see if there were any "useful" bits and pieces in there. A little Krylon pen to key the surface and then a little RnB to match the pendant et voila! If you wanted it silver it would be good to go with no effort at all.

Materials:
Domino chipboard by Tando Creative
Jamara embossing folder
Rub n Buff by Amaco (Gold Leaf)
Acrylic paint (Raw Umber)
Divided tube from an old video cassette
Krylon pen (Pale Gold)

At 7" x 5" the notebook is less detailed but lots of fun to work with! As it's bigger than the embossing folder I turned the folder sideways to emboss the top part then turned the whole lot around and embossed the bottom part. Adding a band across the design hides the "join" in the embossed areas.

I then used a technique I saw a while ago on somebody's blog but I'm afraid I can't remember whose - let me know if it was you and I can pop a link in!

Wax pastels are soft enough that they lay colour down really easily on the raised part of the embossing. I used several shades of blue and green for this. You then add gesso over the whole surface and leave it to dry thoroughly. Gently sanding back the gesso exposes the colour and gives a shabby, weathered effect. I sprayed mine with some matt sealant to make sure the colour wouldn't rub off and the notebook would stand up to being handled.

I covered a piece of cardstock and a Dymo strip with aluminium tape, "tarnished" it with some black acrylic paint and stamped a fountain pen before adding a couple of screw head brads that have been in my stash forever!

I don't have anything like a Bind it All or Cinch, for the few projects I do that would need it it's not worth either the expense or the storage space. For something like this, I just punch holes with a Crop a Dile and use a coil from an old notebook (use the covers of the old book to line up where to punch holes in your new cover).

Materials:
Chipboard sheet from Tando Creative
Tim Holtz Texture Fade (Retro Circles)
Wax pastels
Gesso
Dymo
Aluminium tape
Black acrylic paint
Pen from On the Desk stamp set (CHF, retired)
Stazon by Tsukineko (Jet Black)
Screw head brads
Krylon Matt spray sealant

Thanks for stopping by!

Birthday poppies

2011-04-19T12:13:00.005+02:00

I'm sharing the birthday card I made for my mum today - happy birthday Mum!

I'm also hosting the challenge at the Crafty Secrets member forum over at Splitcoast stampers and I'm asking players to use something pearly on their projects. I've used a pearlescent cardstock and lots of little pearls along the top of the lace trim.

This is a slightly larger size than I usually do at 7" x 5" but the poppy stamp is substantial enough to carry it. I coloured and cut out the third poppy head so that I could make it overlap the tip of the sentiment panel.

Stamps:
Poppy plus sentiment from Sweet Kids set (both Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Cryogen white
Dark red

Ink:
Adirondack by Ranger (Espresso)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Antique Linen, Vintage Photo)

Other:
Copic markers
Vintage lace
Pearls
Nestabilities Labels four
Sewing machine and thread

Thanks for stopping by!

Masquerade!

2011-04-13T08:00:00.007+02:00

It's my turn to host this week's technique piece on Tando - do pop over and see what Carol has been up to as well!

We decided to play with masking this week and I decided to go less stampy and more grungy than usual!

I chose one of the journaling block shapes to play with - these are a nice size for a little hanging or a piece of shelf art like this one. I cut a circle from cereal packet with a Nestie to put behind the block and make a stand for the piece, too.

I spray painted my piece black, then used some Tim Holtz masks and sequin waste and sponged silver acrylic paint on there. The sentimenbt was stamped and heat embossed and then I added some cogs, little clock hands and a stamped clock under a glass pebble. The edges and some of the paint were sanded for a more distressed finish.

My dad looks out for stuff like broken printers and cameras for me on trips to car boot sales and the like - they're a good source of little cogs and wheels and although in the case of printers the parts tend to be plastic, you can always treat them to a coat of acrylic paint or Rub n Buff for a metallic finish if that's what you're after.

Stamps:
Time to Stamp and Inchie Style (both CHF, retired)

Paper:
Chipboard journaling block by Tando Creative
Cereal packet

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Timeworks masks by Tim Holtz
Sequin waste
Cogs
Clock hands
Brad
Glass pebble
Rub n Buff by Amaco (Silver Leaf)
Silver acrylic paint
Nestabilities by Spellbinder (Large Circles)

Thanks for stopping by!

Yellow Rose

2011-04-12T17:52:00.004+02:00

I'm combining challenges again today. I hadn't come across the Copic Creations blog before but saw it in a post Sandy made on the Crafty Secrets blog because they are sponsoring this week's challenge. I decided to pair up their challenge to use your favourite Copic technique with the Crafty Secrets member company forum challenge at Splitcoast Stampers this week where Darlene has asked us to use yellow.

I don't really have a single favourite technique so I settled on doing something I haven't done for a while and gives an effect I love - combining Copics with coloured pencils. You get speed and vibrancy from the Copics and then control and depth by adding extra detail with pencils.

I've use the large stamp from the Crafty Secrets Rose set ( this is a 5" square card so you can see it's a good sized image) and added the little wording stamp which has the English and Latin names.

I think yellow roses symbolise friendship so this would be a nice card to send to a special friend for just about any occasion.

Stamps:
Rose set (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Smooth white
Radiant paper pad (Heartwarming Vintage by Crafty Secrets)

Ink:
Adirondack by Ranger (Espresso)

Other:
Copic markers
Prismacolor pencils
Sewing machine and thread
Silk ribbon
Pearls

Thanks for stopping by!

Birds of a feather

2011-04-06T08:00:00.002+02:00

Carol and I had fun last year doing a series of technique pieces with Tando chipboard. We thought we'd have another play for 2011 so over the next few weeks we'll be revisiting some of the 2010 products and techniques and throwing in some new ones, too!

We decided to start simply with some colouring on the white lined board. I've used an inchie, a twinchie and two dominos to make this little wall hanging.

The surface of the board is smooth enough that it takes a detailed image easily, even stamping with a dye-based ink and not resorting to Versafine! Sponging ink around the edges of the piece is also easy as the ink goes on smoothly for a nice graduated effect.

Perhaps most importantly for many people, Copics work well directly on the board - yay! I blended three shades of brown on the bird's breast and belly as well as on the single feather image. The eggs have a slightly deeper blue shaded in at the base, too.

Being nice and sturdy, the board is also easy to handle for fiddly jobs - I added Dymo label words to a domino shape, covered with aluminium tape and burnished over to get the raised lettering to show through. A little acrylic paint and a light sanding and you're done.

I punched holes in all the pieces with a Crop a Dile and wired it all togther with some twigs in between. Spring may not have sprung with full convinciton yet but maybe this little hanging will encourage it along the way!

Stamps: Bird Notes (bird and feather), Farm Chicks (egg) - Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets

Paper: Inchie, twinchie and domino shapes by Tando Creative (Tando stockists list can be found here)

Ink:
Adriondack by Ranger (Espresso)
Distress ink by Ranger (Tumbled Glass)

Other:
Copic markers
Dymo label maker
Aluminium tape
Acrylic paint (raw umber)
Crop a Dile
Twigs
Florist's wire

Thanks for stopping by!

The red shoes

2011-04-03T16:49:00.008+02:00

Being the first week of the month, we're back to a colour challenge on Less is More - this week it's a touch of red.

I had an immediate idea of which stamp I wanted to use but didn't get chance to do it yesterday. When I saw Paula had used a Wizard of Oz theme I almost changed tack but the stamps are new so I really felt it would be rude not to ink them up, right?

I've had a couple of cards published recently using Crafty Secrets stamps and they have a brand new rewards program which means you're in with a chance of claiming a $30 gift certificate for a published project - I chose the new Wizard of Oz set as part of my reward program spending, thank you Sandy and all at Crafty Secrets!

The shoes were stamped on red and again on kraft and then paper pieced. I used a Spica pen to give them some shimmer and the bows have had the Glossy Accents treatment. Other than that it's a couple of punched circles, a stamped sentiment and some tiny acrylic nail art gems with a doodled border - all done!

Stamps:
Wizard of Oz (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
White
black
red
Kraft

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineo (Onyx Black)

Other:
Squeeze punch by Fiskars (large circle)
Nail art gems
Spic glitter pen (red)
Glossy Accents by Ranger
Copic fineliner (to doodle the border)

Thanks for stopping by!

Imagination

2011-04-01T18:19:00.005+02:00

I'm taking part in a bookmark swap over on UK Stampers. I'm making a bookmark for Jill who is a reasonably new member of the forum so I checked with her to make sure I could make something to her tastes! She likes reading fantasy novels, doesn't like pink and is into the grungier style. Hope I managed to make something that fits the bill!

I started with two pieces of canvas photo paper and a piece of cereal box cardboard sandwiched in the middle. The front has Dymo lettering, a stamped word, lettering cut from an old book page and Tim Holtz masks along with stamped butterflies and ink sponged through sequin waste. I doodled around the edges of the masked lettering, just because the mood took me that way!

The back just has the butterlfies and sponging. The whole thing had a quick spritz of Krylon matt finish to make it more durable and ensure there won't be any risk of ink transferring onto book pages!

Stamps:
Vintage Butterflies (CHF, retired)
Word from Key Expressions (CHF, retired)

Paper:
Canvas photo paper
Cereal box

Ink:
Distress ink by Ranger (Tumbled Glass, Stormy Sky)

Other:
Dymo label maker
Old book page
Tim Holtz Alterations masks (Ransom Alphabet)
Metal loop (Creative Impressions)
Sequin waste
Corner Chomper by We R Memory Keepers
Krylon Matt Finish spray
Copic Multiliner

Less is More Week 8

2011-03-30T16:42:00.007+02:00

It's recipe or sketch time at Less is More - Chrissie and Mandy have given us a sketch to play with this time around. It's a DL card, tall and slim (for our friends in North America - it's roughly equivalent to taking two thirds of a letter size sheet and folding in half; the sort of size you'd get for a business letter or bank statement!).

I used the same Technique Tuesday set I used on Friday as it was still out on my desk. The original plan was just to use the flower in the place where there's a circle on the sketch but it looked just a tad out of scale so I ended up creating a little group and breaking over the boundaries of the card. No colouring though and this flower is a really easy shape to cut out so it was still a fast card to put together.

The embossed area at the bottom has just a hint of colour - I brayered Bundled Sage ink onto my folder before running it through the Big Shot.

Stamps:
Petite Posies (Technique Tuesday)

Paper:
Cryogen white

Ink:
Adirondack by Ranger (Espresso)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Bundled Sage)

Other:
Embossin folder by Provocraft (Victoria)
Copic marker (to colour the brown strip and the pearls)
Pearls

I always find this shape card looks much better in real life than it does in photos - maybe it's the proof that not everything long and lean is photogenic?!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sunshine flowers

2011-03-25T13:49:00.004+01:00

We've had a few sunny days this week - enough to bring the daffodils out in profusion! So this week's "free for all" challenge at Splitcoast Stampers felt like one to join in with since the theme is "hello sunshine". I went for a "hello" card in sunny colours.

I just got this little set as a gift (thank you Laura!) and love this sketchy flower! I used a technique that makes for a really fast way to colour something like this - just heat emboss with either clear or white powder and then flood each area with a drop of reinker on a wet paintbrush. The colour will spread out to the embossed lines and you'll get some natural variation going on with no effort at all!

I thought the delicate skeleton leaves would provide a nice textural contrast to the bold lines of the flower. I have a stash of neutral coloured ones and just use a Copic marker to get whatever colour I want for a particular project.

Stamps:
Petite Posies (Technique Tuesday)

Paper:
Cryogen white
Kraft

Ink:
Versamark by Tsukineko
Distress ink reinker (Spiced Marmalade)

Other:
Skeleton leaves
Clear detail embossing powder
White detail embossing powder
Pearls
Corner Chomper by We R Memory Keepers

Thanks for stopping by, hope your day has plenty of sunshine!

Little reader

2011-03-23T16:30:00.006+01:00

I'm combining challenges again today - Effie is providing a fortnightly sketch over on UKStampers (this is number 6) and in the Crafty Secrets member forum at Splitocoast Stampers, Marcy has challenged us to layer up our images this week.

Here I've layered the hands onto the book, the book onto the little reader and the little reader onto the stack of books (so four images all together). I used scraps of card between each layer so there's a little dimension but not too much. Perhaps it's because I have always been an avid reader myself that this is one one of my favourite stamps ever!

There's a lady in my area who runs a little enterprise called "What Katy did next". She sells lots of recyled stuff aimed at the crafter - one of the things she does is rescue pages from books that are not fit for resale through charity shops etc and puts them together into packs of 50 assorted pages. You could get anything from Beano album pages through sheet music and atlas pages! My pack had quite a few children's story book pages and I've used one of them here. I rubbed gesso onto the page with my finger (using a Nestie as a stencil) and doodled a border round it to create a little "story world" for him.

Mats and decorative strips are all coloured with Copics to match the colours I used on the image.

Stamps:
Story of Me (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Old book page
Smooth white

Ink:
Adirondack by Ranger (Espresso)
Distress ink by Ranger (Vintage Photo)

Other:
Copic Markers
Tim Holtz Alterations die by Sizzix (Brackets)
Vintage buttons
Gesso
Nestability by Spellbinder (used as stencil)
Zig drawing pen
Sewing machine and thread

Thanks for stopping by!

Little boy birthday

2011-03-22T14:12:00.005+01:00

The challenge on Less is More this week is for a clean and simple masculine card. I seem to be always in need of little boys' birthday cards so I decided to go "young masculine" for this one!

The punched out letters are coated with Glossy Accents to give them a nice domed finish and the black dots anchoring the orange strip are actually the waste from die cutting tags that have a hole at the top. I added a dot of Glossy Accents on those too.

None of the boys I send cards to are really little monsters but I do love this crazy little character for kids' cards!

Stamps:
Little Guy (Cornish Heritage Farms, retired)
Old Book alpha stamps
Word "birthday" from HOTP set

Paper:
Kraft
Black
Orange
White

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite black)
Versacraft by Tsukinkeko (Spring Green)

Other:
Copic markers
Small circle punch
Corner Chomper by We R Memory Keepers
Glossy Accents by Ranger

Thanks for stopping by!

Golden Santa

2011-03-17T08:27:00.001+01:00

I've combined a couple of challenges today - Hazel's Christmas challenge this week is to "go for gold" and I used the sketch from Splitcoast Stampers' regular Wednesday challenge. I did a mirror image of the sketch provided as my Santa needed to face into the card to look right.

My background piece was made by sponging ink onto milky white cardstock and then dragging the edge of an old credit card over an ink pad and onto the panel. I used some variegated metal leaf to make a random frame round the Santa image and rubbed some Rub n Buff wax over it to blend the colours a little and make it a bit more subtly golden rather than very bright in-your-face metallic! As it is, the golden splodge combined with the glitter framing made it very difficult to get a decent photograph.

The sentiment is embossed with white powder onto a piece of metal from a tomato paste tube cut with a Spellbinder die and aged with a Copic marker and a little more Rub n Buff.

I was aiming for a bit random and worn with the glittered border but I'm not sure that it doesn't just look a bit slapdash- ah well!

Stamps:
Noel 2 (Paperartsy)
Sentiment from Season's Greetings (Technique Tuesday)

Paper:
Cryogen White

Ink:
Adirondack by Ranger (Espresso)
Distress ink by Ranger (Vintage Photo)
Versamark by Tsukineko

Other:
Detail white embossing powder
Rub n Buff by Amaco (Gold Leaf)
Copic markers (Santa is slightly tinted with Eggshell, Pale Cherry Pink and Warm Grey 1)
Easy Metal by Eberhard Faber
Tomato paste tube
Fancy labels dies by Spellbinder
Sewing machine and thread
Spica glitter pen (red and green)
Fine gold glitter

Thanks for stopping by!

Take flight!

2011-03-15T13:43:00.006+01:00

I'm hosting the challenge this week in the Crafty Secrets member forum over at Splitcoast Stampers. I've asked people to Take Flight and use anything on their projects that can fly!

I went a little bit quirky today – the lady is cut out from one of the vintage advertising images in the Earthy Paper Pad and I stamped the butterfly wings from the Altered Art set for her to try for size. I stamped Dream/Imagine/Beautiful randomly over the background and sponged over a clock mask as well. After stamping I decided I wanted to accentuate the word Believe so I went over it carefully with a Zig fine point drawing pen.

When I make a shaped card like this I like to get the full shape on the front so I make a card base by putting the fold of the blank just inside the top cutting edge of the die and then cut a separate piece and stick it over the top so it covers the fold.

Stamps (all Crafty Secrets):
Altered Art
Believe
Mini Memories

Paper:
Earthy Paper Pad (Heartwarming Vintage)
Cryogen White

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Adirondack by Ranger (Espresso and Latte)

Other:
Copic markers
Timeworks mask by Tim Holtz
Nestabilities by Spellbinder (Labels 1)
Rub n buff by Amaco (Gold Leaf)
Zig drawing pen
Foam pads

Thanks for stopping by!

Off the edge

2011-03-13T17:45:00.011+01:00

It's one layer week at Less is More and the challenge this time is to stamp off the edge of the card.

I didn't find this too challenging as it's something I quite often do with CAS designs - either off the edge of the card itself or off a panel if it's not a one layer project. I think it helps to avoid the "floating in nothing" problem and often creates a sense of movement, too.

I stamped the balloon off the edge and masked it, then masked off the square and sponged ink over a torn piece of paper to create a slightly cloudy look to the sky. I ran a marker round the inside edge of a Nestie to create the fine borderline - the Memento markers are good for this as they have a nice firm, fine nib as well as the brush one.

Stamps:
Hot Air Balloon (unknown maker - if you recognise it, I'd love to know!)
Sentiment from Ornamental Beauty set (CHF, retired)

Paper:
smooth white

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite black)
Distress ink by Ranger to sponge the sky (Tumbled Glass)

Other:
Copic markers
Nestie (used as template)
Memento marker (Tuxedo Black)

Thanks for stopping by!

Swallow song - Less is More #5

2011-03-10T07:46:00.003+01:00

I learned something about myself this week - I really, really don't work well with pastel colours! This week's Less is More challenge is a colour one, being the first week of the month and we've been asked to use pastels.

I lost count of how many projects were consigned to the circular file* before I finally made something I felt I could show anybody else! Deciding to go for a healthy dollop of black mixed in with the pastels was the only way I could remedy the situation.

I used chalk in blue, pink and mauve to make a softly dawning sky on some white card and then stamped my birds and sentiment over the top. I added just a touch of grey marker to the birds' breast feathers.

Unbelievably I'm out of black card so the mat here is white card with a black marker run round the edge. I popped the panel up on a bit of foam tape, just to add a little depth.

I don't think I've ever used this sentiment from the set before and I confess that the proofreader part of me struggled with it as it contains something I often correct in other people's work! It's something that is passing into more and more common usage though so I suspect I'm fighting a losing battle. (For those of you of a less nitpicky disposition: there's a plural word being used as a singular - "a child" is singular and therefore it can only be "he has forgotten" or "she has forgotten". We'd have to be talking about the plural "children" for "they have forgotten" to be correct. The use of "they" is an attempt to make it gender-neutral but grammatically it's just wrong!) In the end, I allowed the lure of using a song-based sentiment with a bird image to win out over grammatical squeamishness!

Stamps:
Tree swallow silhouette and sentiment from Mother's Day Centers (both Cornish Heritage Farms, retired)

Paper:
Smooth white

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Chalks by Pebbles Inc
Black and C1 markers by Copic
Foam tape
Spray sealant by Windsor and Newton

Thanks for stopping by!

* for those who have never come across the expression, "consigned to the circular file" means it hit the waste bin/trash can

Retro circles Santa

2011-03-09T12:11:00.006+01:00

Hazel's Christmas challenge is up to week 10 already - eek! This week she's asking us to use embossing on our cards (dry or heat embossing, either is fine).

I think this Santa has a rather retro feel so I've teamed him up with the Retro Circles embossing folder and a brighter green than your average Christmas card for a funkier feel. Baker's twine makes a candy stripe edging and the larger circle is coated in glass glitter for a super sparkly finish.

Photographing the shimmery cardstock was a bit of a nightmare this morning - we have glaring sunshine interspersed with fierce snow showers here in Northumberland. Definitley not the weather for March!

Stamps:
Holly Jolly Christmas and Season’s Greetings clear stamps (Technique Tuesday)

Paper:
Bazzill Bling (Petty Cash)
Black
Simply Smooth

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Satin Red)

Other:
Copic markers
Texture Fade embossing folder by Tim holtz/Sizzix (Retro Circles)
Scor It
Baker’s twine
Circle punch by Fiskars
Deko Ice glitter by Efco (Crystal)
Foam pads
Double sided adhesive tape sheet

Thanks for stopping by!

Cherry Hello

2011-03-04T11:03:00.007+01:00

It's Lori's turn to set the challenge over in the Crafty Secrets member company forum at Splitcoast Stampers. Inspired by the approach of St Patrick's day, she's asked us to use green on our projects.

I used the cherry stamp to make a pattern at the top of my card base with a pale green ink and then sponged a little for a green haze! My green panel is Bazzill Bling so it has a bit of a shimmer in real life. The brown at the bottom was coloured with a Copic marker as I didn't have any cardstock in the colour I wanted.

This is a cute little size - 4" square.

Stamps:
Kitchen Classics set plus sentiment from Mini Memories (Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Smooth white
Bazzill Bling (Petty Cash)

Ink:
Adirondack by Ranger (Espresso)
Memento by Tsukineko (New Sprout)

Other:
Copic markers
Gingham ribbon
Edge punch by Fiskars (Threading Water)
Tracing wheel
Corner Chomper by We R Memory Keepers
Tags Trio dies by Spellbinder

Thanks for stopping by, hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Art Journey Challenge

2011-03-03T08:39:00.001+01:00

I saw the latest Art Journey challenge on Paula's blog and thought it would be a fun one to play along with. It's been set by Jo and is called "You used WHAT?" - the idea being to use something you wouldn't usually use as part of stamping or inking your design.

My entry is just for fun, not for the prize draw since although my stamp is an Art Journey design it's the cover-mount freebie from Craft Stamper Magazine (March 2010 issue).

I used a piece of netting from a produce bag (Christmas-time tangerines, I suspect - it was a bit I saved in my "might be useful" stash of stuff!). I taped it to my cutting mat to stop it moving around while I sponged ink over the top of it to make my background piece.

I added some starfish and used alpha stamps to stamp the word "dream" along one edge, added a swoosh of colour with some watersoluable pastels and then added the image of the girl (coloured with a mixture of Copics and the same pastels). The top left corner is raised up on foam pads.

A couple of lines of wonky machine stitching and a collection of gems, jump rings, washers etc finish it off. The grey cardstock for the mat is a soft pearlised/metallic one, not sure if the photo really shows that up. I really must remember not to use that silver thread again though - I lost count of how many times the top thread snapped while I was doing this and no amount of twiddling with the tension made any difference!

Stamps:
Craft Stamper magazine freebie (designed by Art Journey)
My Type alpha stamps (Ma Vinci's Reliquary)
Starfish from Seaside set (Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Black
Stardream pearlised (I think this is the Quartz colour)
Smooth white

Ink:
Distress ink by Ranger (Tumbled Glass, Stormy Sky, Chipped Sapphire)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Netting bag
Neocolour II Watersoluable pastels by Caran d'Ache
Copic marker
Sewing machine and silver thread
Mother of pearl button
Washer
Jump rings
Gems
Irridescent "bubbles" (2mm no hole glass bead)

Thanks for stopping by - if you have Art Journey stamps, I'm sure the team would love to see what unusual objects you can find to create with for the challenge.

Shabby ink storage

2011-03-02T08:38:00.002+01:00

I've been playing with my Tando ink storage cabinet - had it for a good while and had only got round to spray painting it so it was still looking a bit unloved.

I decided to go for a shabby look (on the grounds that it won't matter if I get it messy while crafting!). I've kept the decoration flat so that it's practical and I can stack stuff on the top if needs be. As you can see - there's room for lots of pads and Distress reinkers fit into the little compartments at the sides.

I sprayed the outside black and the shelves with Glimmer Mist. I made partial impressions with a background stamp and then used white fine detail embossing powder. Once I'd melted the powder, I brushed a little thinned down gesso over some areas to shabby it up even more.

I spread Viva Decor Ferro in a few patches and once it was dry I rubbed over very lightly with some silver Rub n Buff to highlight the texture. I used the same silver on some chippie letters that I coloured black with a marker and stuck them down the side to spell "inks".

It's mounted onto the side of a cupboard in my craft room so the side with the wording is facing out into the room.

You can find the ink pad cabinet and other storage solutions on the Tando retail site {here}.

Stamps:
Chintz backgrounder (CHF, retired)

Ink: Versamark by Tsukineko

Other:
Black spray paint
Glimmer Mist (Coffee Shop)
Chipboard letters (Maya Road)
White detail embossing powder by Stampendous
Rub n buff by Amaco (Silver Leaf)
Ferro by Viva Decor (Graphite)
Gesso

Thanks for stopping by!

Welcome Little One

2011-03-01T08:59:00.003+01:00

The March/April issue of the American Paper Crafts magazine is available now. One of the featured sections is for baby cards in non traditional colours (no pink or blue!). I was delighted to have this card accepted for publication (it's on p.58).

This little chap is from a set called Journaling which also includes a little snippet of script style writing, the word Journal and an ink bottle but I think he makes a cute baby card and the little leaf motif is perfect as a design on a "quilt".

The sentiment is computer generated using Edwardian Script and Courier New fonts and changed to match the colour of the Espresso ink I used for the stamping (R:67 G:52 B:49 is a pretty good match if you're trying this).

Stamps: Journaling set (Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Sugar Daddy (Bazzill Bling)
Cryogen white

Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Espresso)
Distress ink by Ranger (Antique Linen)

Other:
Sewing machine and thread
Computer generated sentiment
Scor-It
Silk ribbon

Thanks for stopping by!

Three squares

2011-02-27T13:28:00.006+01:00

The Less is More challenge this week is asking us to use three squares on our cards - details here.

I found this one really difficult! I had differently sized die cut squares scattered round the desk, tried turning them to make diamonds, overlapping to create "movement", I pressed a Distress ink pad onto cardstock three times - nothing looked right!

I'm still not quite convinced by this but I've decided it's probably the best that's going to happen after that much experimentation - lol! I stamped the little square frame three times in black and then added the flower head in magenta, turning the stamp so the flower is at a different angle in each frame. Lots of white space and a little bit of black for "pop".

Stamps:
Inchie Style (Cornish Heritage Farms, retired)
Sentiment from a HOTP set

Paper:
smooth white
black

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)
Chalk ink by Clearsnap (Dark Peony)

Thanks for stopping by!

Pound Shop Pretties

2011-02-25T16:00:00.008+01:00

It's Daring Cardmakers day again and today's dare is asking us to use Pound Shop (or dollar store) finds. I hope I'll be forgiven for using Pound Shop stuff that was already in the house rather than making a trip for the dare!

I needed a thank you card and this is what happened - several Pound Shop elements going on here and hardly any stamping - unusual for me!

The card base itself is Pound Shop - my local one has packs of rigid "envelopes" that are perfect as sturdy card bases if you chop them up and nobody would ever know it wasn't sold as kraft cardstock.

The pearls came from The Works and if I remember rightly were a pound per sheet - there were the two sizes of round pearls, pointed ovals and a couple of shapes made out of tiny pearls (hearts and stars - I'm unlikley to use those but the sheet was cheap enough not to worry about it)

Quite a while ago I bought a black scrapbook (again, my local Pound Shop) thinking that black paper is always useful. However, I then discovered that the paper quality is absolutely rubbish so I tucked it away as something to find a use for later!

To make the leathery panel with it here, I scrunched it up and generally abused it until it had a nice surface texture and the fibres had broken down well. Then I spritzed it with a couple of Glimmer Mists and some walnut ink and let it dry. I used a piece of tape sheet (another Pound Shop buy!) to stick it to some cardstock for stability and then whip stitched the panel to the card base.

Stamps: My Type alpha stamps (Ma Vinci's Reliquary)

Paper:
Kraft (rigid envelope, chopped up)
Black (kind of sugar paper texture)

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Walnut Stain and Vintage Photo)

Other:
Pearls (The Works)
Paper flowers
Tim Holtz Alterations die (Elegant Flourishes)
Corner Chomper by We R Memory Keepers
Glimmer mist by Tatered Angels (Copper and Antique Brass)
Walnut ink
White embossing powder
Sequin waste
Rub n Buff by amaco (Gold Leaf)

Thanks for stopping by, have a lovely weekend!

Red and green Christmas

2011-02-22T12:48:00.005+01:00

I'm just sneaking in for this week's One Layer Wednesday challenge. Susan is hosting this week and she's sprung a Christmas card on us this time. The challenge is to use red and green stamping on a white or cream base.

I used Cryogen White cardstock which is a milky white with a subtle shimmer, two shades of green Distress ink and a red. The square is simply the Distress pad pressed directly on to the card base - I love the slightly shabby, weathered feel you get from doing this.

I had a terrible time getting a photo of this - everything looks yellower than it really is but none of the corrections I tried in Photoshop looked right either so I decided to call it a day in the end!

The card is 4.25" square.

Stamps:
The Pines (Cornish Heritage Farms, retired)
Sentiment from Season's Greetings (Technique Tuesday)

Paper:
Cryogen white

Ink:
Distress ink by Ranger (Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint, Fired Brick)

Other:
Paper piercer
Corner Chomper by We R Memory Keepers

Thanks for stopping by!

Hello spring

2011-02-21T15:50:00.007+01:00

Sadly, it's trying to snow here today but spring is the theme for this week's Less is More challenge (details here) so I'm continuing to hope that the weather will turn soon!

Spring flowers often have a particularly delicate and fragile quality about them, don't they? Crocuses, snowdrops and the lovely bulb flowers (with the exception of the somewhat sturdy-looking tulip!).

I made a scrapling today (a card made with the bit you trim off a standard sized sheet when you want to make a square card). This paper white narcissus is from an old Stampin' Up set called Long Stemmed and I think it's really pretty. I've used kraft on kraft layering and popped up the panel on some foam tape to avoid the ribbon bulging through the card. I punched a hole either side of the stem to thread the ribbon through.

Stamps:
Long Stemmed (Stampin Up!)
Setiment from Mini Memories set (Crafty Secrets)

Paper: Kraft

Ink: Memento by Tsukineko (Bamboo Leaves)

Other:
Inkssentials gel pen by Ranger
Prismacolour pencils (green and yellow)
Green gingham ribbon
Foam tape
Tags Trio dies by Spellbinder

Thanks for stopping by!

Steampunk

2011-02-20T12:57:00.007+01:00

I haven't played a Daringcardmakers challenge in ages - it's steampunk this week and as that's something I've never attempted, don't have the stamps for and is a million miles from the clean and simple style I've gravitated towards recently then obviously I had to have a go! I threw in an extra challenge for good measure as well - Pammyjo has challenged us in the Crafty Secrets member forum at Splitcoast this week to add something "glassy" to our projects.

I had lots of fun doing this but I'm not sure it's really me - it took forever and I'm still not convinced that the outcome isn't just a bit jumbled rather than really being steampunk eclectic! Constructive criticism from steampunk afficionados more than welcome!

I did two "glassy" things...

The bird is stampe on acetate with Stazon and then the wing portion coloured on the back and gessoed to make it opaque. I cut out the body and then overlaid it onto some card stamped with a stamp that shows the workings of a watch. So I have a transparent bird belly with clockwork innards. The bird legs are stamped directly onto the base card.

I added Glossy Accents to the goggles of the man (who is printed from a public domain graphic from Karen's Whimsy)

I used a hundred and one things here but I'll do my best to list most of them for anyone interested!

Stamps:
Crafty Secrets sets (Bird Notes, Artsy Banners, Journey, Hardware)
Retired Cornish Heritage Farms sets from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad line and Vintage Ledger Scrapblock
A&P Numbers stamps (Ma Vinci's Reliquary)
Vintage pointy finger stamp (from a flea market box of stamps)
Radiating dots stamp (unknown maker)

Paper: Smooth white

Ink:
Versafine Onyx black
Stazon Jet Black
Distress ink Weathered Wood and Fired Brick

Other:
Fiskars squeeze punch large circle
Gears die by Ellison Thin Cuts
Silver UTEE
Black acrylic paint
Vintage image from Karen's Whimsy
Glossy Accents
Acetate sheet
Gesso
Silver gel pen
Copic markers
Timeworks mask (Tm Holtz Ideology)

Thanks for stopping by!

Simple Blossom

2011-02-16T09:00:00.006+01:00

Who's ready for spring?!

The challenge at Less is More for the second week each month is to make a one layer card. The theme this week is to use a flower or a tree. I guess I could argue either way on this since it's blossom on a tree branch!

This is one of the first stamps I ever got. I bought it unmounted on eBay and all the seller could tell me was that it came from an American supplier called Susan Cotes who had a "spare time" business making stamps. I lost track of it for a while but remembered it when thinking what to do for this challenge and hunted it down! It's a nice size for this kind of clean and simple design - this is a 5" square card so you can see it's a substantial stamp.

I found some other oldie but goodie stamps in the process of locating this one so I'm sure they'll be inky soon, too!

One last detail - this card is a great example of why I'm very happy I decided to get a Scor It tool rather than something like the Score Pal. Because you score over a ridge rather than into a groove it means your card is face up on the surface when you make this kind of decorative score line. That means you can score up to the image and stop because you can see exactly what you're doing :o)

Stamps:
Cherry blossom (Susan Cotes)
Bon jour sentiment (Alluring Impressions)

Paper:
smooth white

Ink:
Adirondack by Ranger (Espresso)

Other:
Copic markers
Inkssentials white pen by Ranger
Scor It
Corner Chomper by We R Memory Keepers

Thanks for stopping by, let's hope the blossom on the card is a forerunner of the real thing appearing on our trees soon!

Reindeer games

2011-02-14T09:48:00.006+01:00

Hazel's challenge this week over on Craftyhazelnut's Christmas challenge is to feature a creature on your card.

I chose this elegant reindeer and gave him a snowy landscape (torn cardstock) to leap across on this teeny weeny card (it's a 3 inch square). The stamp set has one snowflake stamp and the dot but I used a separate sentiment set and that also has a snowflake so you can mix them up to create a bit more variety.

The antlers are beautifully delicate but would be a nightmare to cut out so I stamped the reindeer first on the card base and then stamped again on a scrap of cardstock and cut him out, chopping off the antlers. The head and body are raised with a scrap of cardstock underneath for a tiny bit of dimension with the hooves stuck directly to the card base.

Stamps:
Holly Jolly Christmas and Season’s Greetings (Technique Tuesday)

Paper:
Kraft (actaully a file folder chopped up)
Cryogen white

Ink
Adirondack in by Ranger (Espresso and Latte)
Colorbox Pigment ink by clearsnap (Frost White)

Other:
E35 marker by Copic
White pencil by Prismacolor
Detail white embossing powder by Stampendous
Corner Chomper by We R Memory Keepers
Nail art gems

Hazel is celebrating lots of visitors to her personal blog with some blog candy - she'd love it if you stopped by to say hello. You can find the details here.

Thanks for stopping by, hope your week is off to a great start!

Something fishy...

2011-02-12T14:37:00.006+01:00

Jennifer is hosting this week's One Layer Wednesday challenge and she's asked us to use two image stamps and nothing else - no sentiment, no embellishments. Full details here if you'd like to play along!

I struggled a bit to decide on what images to use and eventually settled on this beautifully detailed fish and the bubbles stamp from the same set.

I swooshed ink onto the card base directly from the pads and then added just a few tiny streaks with a watercolour crayon. Rather than colouring the fish with a marker (allowed under the challenge rules) I removed colour with bleach - I'm sure that's in the same spirit! Versafine ink is unaffected by bleach once it's been left to dry fully (maybe because it's an oil-based ink?) so the detail of the fish remains clear. I used an opaque white pen on the eye, just to make it stand out a bit more.

Stamps:
Under the Sea (Darkroom Door)

Paper:
Smooth white

Ink:
Distress ink by Ranger (Tumbled Glass and Broken China)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Bleach
Neocolour II water soluble crayon by Caran d'Ache
Inkssentials white pen by Ranger
Corner Chomper by We R memory Keepers

Thanks for stopping by, have a lovely weekend!

Less is more

2011-02-08T13:28:00.007+01:00

There's a new challenge blog on the block for those of us with a bit of a thing for the Clean and Simple style. Less is More has just launched and the first week of each month is a colour challenge. The very first combo is black, white and pink.

I'm combining challenges today - the member company forum challenge for Crafty Secrets over at Splitcoast this week is to use punches. I punched small circles from cardstock stamped with the script stamp and various images from the Artsy Banners set. I alternated the ink colour for foreground/background. The little hello is from Mini Memories and served as the perfect sentiment in terms of size and style!

I didn't want to mat the circles but I did want to define the edges so I ran a Copic Multiliner round each circle once it was stuck down.

Stamps:
Artsy Banners (plus sentiment from Mini Memories) - Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets

Paper:
Smooth white

Ink:
Versacraft by Tsukineko (Cherry Pink)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Copic Multiliner
Squeeze punch by Fiskars (small circle)
Corner Chomper by We R Memory Keepers

Thanks for stopping by, do check out Less is More if you fancy a clean and simple challenge!

Inchie Tiles

2011-02-07T13:45:00.006+01:00

My hubby and his sons share an interest in wine so when we needed a birthday card for son #1 recently I thought some "trattoria tiles" might do the trick. The inchies are cut from scrap mountboard with a Cuttlebug die and stamped while pushed up close together and then inked around the edges and slightly separated when sticking them down. Inking the edges just gives them a bit more depth, I think.

Try asking at your local framing shop for offcuts of mountboard - they'll often give it to you free or very cheaply. Most mountboard is white on the back so it doesn't matter what colour the front is if you want a white surface to work with, just flip it over.

Two step stamping is fun and it makes for a very quick card - no colouring or shading to do! I stamp a positioning sheet on vellum and keep it in the case with the set so I don't even need to do that step each time I use the stamps.

Stamps:
Gorgeous Grapevine (Stampin Up!)

Paper:
Kraft
Smooth white
Dark red
Mountboard

Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Raisin, Currant, Lettuce and Pesto)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Vintage Photo)

Other:
Cuttlebug die - square
Cuttlebug embossing folder (Victoria)
Scor It

Thanks for stopping by!

One layer Santa

2011-02-03T19:08:00.009+01:00

I've combined two challenges for today's project - this week's One Layer Wednesday is a recipe and I'm dipping in to Craftyhazelnut's Christmas challenge for the first time - week 5 is to include Santa on your card. The idea of the challenge is to spread out your card making over the whole year, hence the Christmas card in February!

One Layer Wednesday calls for a border stamp (or stamped border), an image and some bling. I wanted to team this Santa up with some gingham so I used a background stamp for the border as that's what I had - I just used a piece of paper to mask off the top of the card while I stamped it. I'd already stamped and masked Santa. I struggle with bling so as Susan said glitter would count I opted to glitter the furry bits of Santa's hat with chunky glass gitter.

I'm glad I opted for a brighter green than is usual for a Christmas card - I think it gives this a fun retro feel that goes well with the style of the Santa stamp.

Stamps:
Holly Jolly Christmas and sentiment from Season's Greetings (both Technique Tuesday)
Fine Gingham backgrounder (CHF - retired)

Paper:
Smooth white

Ink:
Versacraft by Tsukineko (Spring Green)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Copic markers
Copic multiliner
Deko Ice glitter by Efco (Crystal)

Thanks for stopping by, have a lovely weekend!

Perfect Together

2011-02-02T11:10:00.006+01:00

Paper Crafts magazines produces several special issues each year. Currently available is Stamp It! Techniques. Designers were asked to submit projects featuring one of several popular stamping techniques (paper piecing, heat embossing etc). This card was accepted for the masking section and features on p.56 of the magazine.

Masking was probably the first technique I encountered that made me squeal with excitement. I still get a childish thrill every time I peel away the mask and see the way objects are built up into little scenes! So here, I have a single shaker pot stamp - it was stamped first on the right, masked and stamped again on the left. Once the mask is peeled away, the object you stamped second appears to be behind the first one. The S and P are separate stamps so you can do those as finishing touches.

The instructions printed in the magazine are not quite what I wrote with my submission since they say to "mask with cardstock". Cardstock is not the best choice of material if you're making a mask - you want something thin (Post It notes are ideal) so that your stamp makes proper contact at the edge of the mask and you don't end up with a halo of white space around the image you stamped first. Of course there might be occasions where you want that slight blank space but if you want the effect shown here, choose something thin to make your mask.

I also stamped the lace edging directly onto the card base and just coloured underneath with a black marker - saves the fiddly cutting out!

Stamps:
Kitchen Classics (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Cryogen White
Radiant paper pad (Heartwarming Vintage by Crafty Secrets)

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)
Time Holtz Distress Ink by Ranger (Antique Linen)

Other:
Memento markers by Tsukineko
Labels Eight Nestabilities by Spellbinder
Scor It!
Sewing machine and thread

Thanks for stopping by!

Hippo birthday?

2011-01-31T17:43:00.008+01:00

I've had one of those days where crafty stuff hasn't quite come to fruition because I'm waiting on a couple of things for the "perfect" finishing touch! So I decided to revist the One Layer Wednesday sketch (featured in my last post) for another quick card so that I felt I'd completed something at the craft desk today!

I've done a mirror image of the sketch this time because Heloise Hippo needed to hold the balloon in her raised hand. I drew the string freehand with a Multiliner pen. I did actually stamp and colour her around the fold in the card so there's a bit of interest on the back, too!

Because I used light colours and didn't do a lot of shading (which made it quick) the Copics don't show through to the inside, either. I'll keep this one in reserve for when I need a kids' birthday card in a hurry!

Stamps:
Heloise Hippo (High Hopes)
Balloon from Spring Chicks and More (CHF - retired)
Border from Artsy Banners (Crafty Secrets)
Sentiment from HOTP set

Paper:
Smooth white

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Distress ink by Ranger (Fired Brick)

Other:
Copic markers
Copic multiliner

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a heart

2011-01-26T15:28:00.006+01:00

The challenge this week in the Crafty Secrets member forum over at Splitcoaststampers is to "have a heart". I started off with the little heart from the French Mail set stamped in to the banner triangles and built from there. The heart frame was a last minute addition after the card was "finished" but not looking quite complete somehow!

The wording is pulled from the same stamp I used to stamp the base card, I just snipped out the individual words, with"childhood" in red and the rest in Espresso.

A change of pace from the clean and simple projects I seem to have been doing of late!

Stamps:
Artsy Banners and French Mail (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Cryogen White
Deark red
Homemade Image and Journal booklet (Crafty Secrets)

Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Espresso)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Satin Red)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Antique Linen)

Other:
Sewing machine and thread
Chipboard heart frame (Crafty Secrets)
Rub n Buff by Amaco (Gold Leaf)
Copic marker (to dull down the part of the picture outside the frame)

Thanks for stopping by!

More than words...

2011-01-24T13:34:00.006+01:00

Susan is hosting this week's One Layer Wednesday challenge and she's asked us to use more than one sentiment and NO image stamps on our single layer creations - details are here.

I had fun finding lots of examples of the word love in my stamp sets (some were the single word, some needed selective inking from a longer phrase), then used alpha stamps to spell out LOVE in bigger letters and used selective inking on the word your to stamp YOU in red. It really could have done with being just a fraction further to the right so I added a red dot to extend the visual impact of the word - I think I succeeded in rescuing it!

Embossing the card front with a Nestability provides some definition for the stamped area without creating clutter or breaking the rules for a one layer card!

I think this would make a good masculine Valentine or anniversary card.

Stamps:
My Type alpha stamps (Ma Vinci's Reliquary)
Various CHF and Crafty Secrets sentiments

Paper:
Smooth white

Ink:
Versfine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black, Satin Red)

Other:
Nestabilities by Spellbinder (Large Square)

Thanks for stopping by!

Just for You

2011-01-21T10:57:00.003+01:00

I made a second card using the black, white and one other colour scheme set for the recent Inchie Inklings challenge.

This pretty aqua shade is one of my favourites from the original DCWV mat stack and I thought the Retro Circles embossing folder would go well to pick out the little background swirls on the inchie stamp. This is a really quick and simple project - took me longer to sort out the thread in my sewing machine than anything else!

Stamps:
Inkadinkado Inchie Stamps Flowers
Sentiment from a HOTP set

Paper:
smooth white
DCWV

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Tim Holtz Texture Fade folder (Retro Circles)
Sewing machine and thread

Thanks for stopping by - hope you have a lovely weekend!

One layer Wednesday - bare tree

2011-01-18T14:22:00.009+01:00

Yes, I know it's Tuesday - I'm six days late rather than a day early! I haven't played in the One Layer Wednesday challenge for a while and thought it was about time I put that right. Jennifer is this week's hostess and she's challenged us to make a one layer card featuring a bare tree.

I found a stamp I forgot I had (me? too many stamp? never!) - I'd tucked it into the case with the Lovely as a Tree set, obviously thinking that any time I reached for the trees in the set, I might consider this one too.

I got some Neocolour II water soluable pastels for Christmas -thanks Mum and Dad!- so I've had my first little play with them here for a swoosh of sunset colour. A stamped sentiment and a few hand drawn details (the birds and the grounding for the tree) finish it off.

Stamps:
Tree by Stamps Away
Sentiment from Journaling set (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Watercolour

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukinko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Neocolour II water soluable pastels by Caran d'Ache
Corner Chomper by We R Memory Keepers
Copic Multinliner

Thanks for stopping by!

Parisian Chic

2011-01-15T17:59:00.007+01:00

This week's challenge in the Crafty Secrets member forum over at Splitcoast Stampers is to use some of the new stuff we got for Christmas. The Jamara embossing folder and Tumbled Glass ink were both under the tree for me this year. And although it's not newly acquired, I've never used this particular shape label die from the set so I guess I could count that as new, too!

I combined my two new items by inking the negative of the folder here to get colour in the low bits and leave the raised bits white. I find it works best if you brayer the ink onto the folder (less splotchy than if you tap the pad directly onto the plastic).

Stamps:
Sew Special (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)
Haute Couture (Cornish Heritage Farms - retired)

Ink:
Adirondack by Ranger (Espresso)
Tim Holtz Distress by Ranger (Tumbled Glass)

Other:
Cuttlebug embossing folder (Jamara)
Fancy Labels die by Spellbinder
Copic markers
Vintage lace
Flat back pearls
Silk ribbon
Sewing machine and thread
Tracing wheel

We watched the Chanel biopic Coco Before Chanel on DVD last night - maybe that's why Parisian chic came to mind today (not that she'd have approved of the corset, of course!).

Thanks for stopping by!

Little wishes

2011-01-11T17:12:00.004+01:00

There's a new challenge over at Inchie Inklings: black and white plus one colour. I like to play along with these when I can and I managed a card for this one today.

It's a very simple design but I liked the idea of using the texture to represent the seeds drifting out from the dandelion clock with the little gems for a touch of fairy dust to help those wishes along!

Stamps:
Inkadinkado Inchie Stamps Flowers

Paper:
Black
White

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Texture Fade Embossing folder
Copic marker (to color the mat to match the gems)
Acrylic nail art gems

Thanks for stopping by!

Vintage riches

2011-01-05T15:27:00.005+01:00

I'm trying to get back in to a bit of crafting and blogging but being hampered by damaged fingers - ouch! This card took ages and to top it all it's one of those projects that looks so much better in real life and just refuses to photograph well! Never mind, I decided to share anyway so that I could wish you all a Happy New Year!

This week's challenge in the Crafty Secrets member forum at Splitcoaststampers is to use up some leftovers. If you're a regular visitor you may have realised I don't use patterened paper very often so most of the leftovers on this project are things other than paper!

I did sacrifice a 3.5" square of my favourite ever Crafty Secrets paper that I've been carefully hoarding, having tucked it back into the stack after being trimmed off an earlier project. I then restricted myself to things that were lying around on my desk, some made as experiments or intended for other projects and then not used in the end, others just offcuts of trimmings etc (and yes, my desk is very messy - lots to choose from!). Even the dark red cardstock has some trial stamping and embossing on the back of it! I stamped on the biggest flower with the same script stamp as the little plaque to tie it together and used Copic markers to alter the colour of flowers and brads etc where necessary!

Stamps:
Artsy Banners (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Dark red (Paper Mill)
Radiant paper pad (Crafty Secrets)
Scrap mountboard (cut with a Cutlebug square tag die)

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Vintage Photo)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Sewing machine and thread
Crystal chain from broken necklace
Paper flowers (including one coloured with Glimmer Mist)
Cog die cut
Snowflake punchie
Brads
Brass star charm
Silk ribbon

Thanks for stopping by - I hope 2011 brings you big highs, small lows and boundless creativity!

Pinwheel ornament

2010-12-15T14:43:00.004+01:00

Inspired by Lisa Zappa's tutorial (here) I made this little pinwheel ornament for a challenge with the theme A Song in the Air.

The border is stamped with the music and small pennant stamps from the Artsy Banners set and I used the triangles to guide my score lines rather than measuring out on my scoring tool as Lisa does in her tutorial. Robins about to burst into song keep with the musical theme and make this a quick and easy project as it's a printed image so no tricky colouring involved!

Stamps:
Artsy Banners (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Ivory
Christmas Creative Scraps (Heartwarming Vintage by Crafty Secrets)

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Vintage Photo)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Silk ribbon
Copper jingle bells
Squeeze punch by Fiskars (large circle)
Circle cutter by Fiskars
Scor-It
Gold thread

Thanks for stopping by!

Rejoice!

2010-12-01T09:00:00.003+01:00

I'm creating along with Creative Belli Challenge again for the second of my projects as Guest Designer with them this month - thanks for asking girls!

The challenge for this fortnight is to use stuff beginning with R. I'm boosting the Christmas card stock again with this one - I like to stretch my stamps by using ones that are not designed to be festive and giving them a little Christmas makeover! The word Rejoice is from a stamp set called Rose (can I count it twice on the "R-ometer" do you think?).

I managed quite a few Rs here:
Red
Ribbon
Rejoice
Rub n Buff
Rhinestone
and if it's not too cheeky - rounded corners!

I used Rub n Buff over the raised parts of the embossed panel and rubbed some along the edges of the matting strip to make a rich gold border.

Stamps:
Rose (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Red
smooth white

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Crimson Red)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Antique Linen)

Other:
Rub n Buff by Amaco (Gold Leaf)
Flowers by Prima
Brad by Making Memories
Grosgrain ribbon recyced from packaging
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder (Textile Texture)
Corner Chomper by We R Memory Keepers
Nestabilities by Spellbinder (Labels Four)

Thanks for stopping by!

Something old, something new...

2010-11-17T09:00:00.002+01:00

I'm delighted to be joining the Creative Belli Blog with a couple of Guest Designer projects this month. The first is for the current challenge... Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.

As I need to boost my stack of Christmas cards I stuck with a festive theme.

Old: the DCWV white core card has been in my stash for five years or so and the square crystal brad is probably not much newer!
New: the stamp set is a recent release and one of my latest acquisitions
Borrowed: the layout is from a sketch on Kathy's Sketch File and I borrowed a tool from the world of sewing (a tracing wheel to do the piercing round the image panel)
Blue: cardstock for the snowflake panel and crystal brad

I used several of the smaller stamps from the set to create the background directly onto the card base. The glittery strip was done with a piece of double sided sticky sheet with glitter pressed on top and then I think the rest is self explanatory!

Stamps:
Christmas Mail (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Kraft
Smooth white
DCWV white core

Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Espresso)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Antique Linen)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Crimson Red)

Other:
Cuttlebug embossing folder (Ice Crystals)
Deko Ice glitter by Efco (Crystal)
Double sided tape sheet
Tracing wheel
Copic markers
Silk ribbon
Crystal brad

Thanks for stoppping by!

Vintage and modern

2010-11-12T15:40:00.005+01:00

I'm taking part in a Christmas ornament swap over on UK Stampers.We can specify whether we would like traditional or modern colour schemes and then we make an ornament for each person in our group. A couple of people in my group wanted modern colours and the rest opted for traditional. I tried for a basic design that would work either way and came up with these microscope slide ornaments.

The traditional colour scheme ones have a vintage feel with copper tape, vintage buttons, a bit of wire work and a jingle bell and bow to finish. The backs are textured with a Cuttlebug folder rather than being a second glass slide.

The modern colour scheme ones are a bit more "disco"! I combine pink and aqua for the stamping and then added glitter, bugle beads and a star shaped gem as finishing touches. Silver thread tied through a second short row of beads at the top provides a hanger. Again, the back is textured with a Cuttlebug folder but it's silver this time - I used aluminium tape stuck to a piece of card and used a strip of the same tape to seal the edges of the ornament.

Stamps:
Christmas Mail (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
White

Ink:
Adirondack Pool and Clearsnap Chalk ink Pink Pastel (modern design)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger in vintage Photo and Versafine by Tsukineko in Crimson (traditional design)

Other:
copper wire, glitter, buttons, Superglue, bugle beads, gems, Textile Texture embossing folder, Krylon leafing pen in copper and silver, silk ribbon, jingle bell

Thanks for stopping by!

Watercolour Poppies

2010-10-29T17:55:00.004+02:00

This glorious stamp is from the final set sent to me recently by Sandy of Crafty Secrets - aren't these poppies beautiful?

Because the stamp is so detailed (it's big too - this is a 5" square card) I've gone for a simple layout again and just added some textural interest by ruching silk ribbon onto a pin.

I used inks to do the watercolouring - I laid down a complete layer of Spiced Marmalade first and then used Fired Brick over it, aiming to get some of that "glow" you get when the sun shines through poppy petals. The blue is done with just one colour - Adirondack Stonewashed tends to break down to give purplish and turquoisey tones when you add water. I like the tonal variety it gives so I often end up using it for a background wash like this.

Stamps:
Poppy (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
140lb hot press watercolour paper
Black

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx black)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Spiced Marmalade, Fired Brick, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain, Bundled Sage, Peeled Paint)
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Stonewashed)

Other:
Sewing machine and thread
Silk ribbon
Pin

Thanks for stopping by, hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Dear Santa

2010-10-26T13:19:00.005+02:00

I'm sure this little girl has been nice this year, even if she does look just a little nervous of sending her letter to Santa! She's just too sweet-looking to have been naughty, don't you think?

I have to say that the "Dear Santa" is the teeniest, weeniest stamp I have ever seen! It stamps beautifully though and fits the space on the envelope perfectly. You could personalise your card to the recipient though by handwriting their initials (or name if you have tiny writing and a fine nib pen!) on the envelope instead.

I happened to have both "Artsy Banners" and this Christmas Mail set out on my desk at the same time and noticed that the snowflake would be a great fit in the scallop border (this is the small version of each, the large snowflake fits equally well in the larger scallop). You could stamp the flake in a punched border, too.

I used a Copic in one of the reds used to colour the little girl's coat to colour the matting strip so that I got a perfect match.

Stamps:
Christmas Mail and Artsy Banners (both Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Smooth white
Kraft

Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Espresso)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Antique Linen)
Colorbox pigment ink by Clearsnap (Frost White)

Other:
Copic markers
Flowersoft (Polar white)
Cuttlebug embossing folder (Ice Crystals)
Nestabilities by Spellbinder (Classic Ovals, large)
Tracing wheel
Corner Chomper by We R Memory Keepers

Thanks for stopping by!

Heart's Treasures

2010-10-21T18:22:00.004+02:00

One of the stamp sets Sandy was sweet enough to send me from Crafty Secrets recently was "Artsy Banners". This is a great selection of mix 'n match stamps but of course me being me I started by reading the text that makes up the border stamps! I can't manage to read the script one (used as a background here by repeat stamping it) but the typewriter style one is made up of some lovely quotes. I decided to pull one out and use it as a feature of the design by snipping out the individual words and sticking them down.

The vintage photo of the child is one that came in my secret Santa package from Caroline last year so I'm not sure of the source - I think it was probably part of a Bubbly Funk kit.

Stamps:
Artsy Banners (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Smooth white
Kraft
Black

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Vintage Photo, Victorian Velvet)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Vintage photo print
Pin
Pink grosgrain ribbon

Thanks for stopping by!

Snowflakes!

2010-10-15T09:41:00.004+02:00

Tando Creative has some wee chipboard shapes that are perfect for using to decorate the advent calendar they have but also cute for other things! I used the tiny snowflakes (approx 30mm cross each flake) to make these little hanging ornaments. The chipboard is sturdy enough to handle easily and give them a little weight but still looks really delicate with the detailed design.

I simply painted the flakes with gesso and then added a clear dewdrop in the centre and tiny gems around the points of each flake. I decorated both sides (clear gems on one side, pale blue on the other) so they can be used on a display that can be seen from all sides.

The hanging threads (simply glued on with a dab of Glossy Accents) come out of a point on some flakes and the centre of others so they'll hang at different
angles. I think they'll look really pretty hanging from a bare twig come Christmas time.

Here's a closer look at one:

Supplies
Christmas minis (Tando Creative - see here for Tando stockists)
Gesso
Clear Dew Drops
Acrylic nail gems
Glossy Accents (as adhesive)
Silver thread

Thanks for stopping by!

The monsters are coming!

2010-10-13T10:46:00.005+02:00

It's my nephew's birthday today - Happy Birthday Josh! I always struggle a bit with cards for kids and this took waaaaaay longer than it should have done but I got there in the end.

The little monsters are mounted on foam pads for a bit extra "movement" and dimension.

Stamps:
Little Guy (Kim Hughes Collection from Cornish Heritage Farms, retired)
Sentiment from a Hot off the Press set

Paper:
Smooth white
Orange

Ink:
Adirondack dye in by Ranger (Espresso)
Versacraft by Tsukineko (Spring Green)

Other:
Copic markers
Cuttlebug embossing folder (Traffic Jam)
Foam pads

Thanks for stopping by!

Eek - it's pink!

2010-10-11T16:46:00.005+02:00

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month so it was inevitable that one of the challenges I try to get involved in regularly would involve the use of pink. I am probably the least pink person on the planet but I decided to give it a go for the Crafty Secrets member company forum challenge over on Splitcoast Stampers.

Sandy Redburn (owner of Crafty Secrets) was very sweet recently and sent me some new stamps to play with. Four new botanicals sets were released recently and I had the rose and poppy ones in my package. They're beautifully detailed and remind me of the PSX stamps that so many people mourn the loss of.

I stamped my rose on kraft cardstock and coloured with Prismacolor pencils. I love the look this gives and don't remember the technique often enough - I always have fun when I do this!

I decided to keep everything else simple as the image is so detailed so the panel is simply machine stitched onto the card base and then I added the sentiment on a tag with a little ribbon and a pin. The ribbon was coloured with a Copic marker to match the rose (it's a much better match in real life, dodgy light in Northumberland today!).

Stamps:
Rose (medium set from Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Kraft
Black

Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Espresso, Latte)

Other:
Prismacolor pencils/OMS/Stump
Sewing machine and thread
Silk ribbon coloured with Rose Red Copic marker
Tags Trio dies by spellbinder
Pin

Thanks for stopping by!

UK Stampers header competition

2010-10-01T15:42:00.007+02:00

UK Stampers is one of the forums I like to visit. There's a header competition running at the moment to choose a new banner for the forum. There are a dozen entries to choose from - if you're a forum member why not pop over and vote for your favourite on this thread? (You'll need to be logged in to see all the entries and cast your vote.) Voting closes on Sunday so you still have a couple of days to decide.

My entry uses

Stamps:
Retro women (Tanda Stamps)
Alphanumber backgroundr (Cornish Heritage Farms, retired)
Not My Type alphabet stamps (Ma Vinci's Reliquary)

Paper: Cryogen White

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Dusty Concord)
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Pool)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Spray can lid
Bubble wrap
Dymo label maker
Copic multiliner

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!