Dabbing it here, dabbing it there...

...paint and paper everywhere (sorry, you probably need to be British and have had Victorian era music hall songs pushed at you during your education for that!). It's Challenge Chicks day at Cornish Heritage Farms and today's challenge focuses on Adirondack paint dabbers. I'll confess right now that I own the sum total of one dabber (Snowcap) but it's probably the nicest acrylic paint I've come across so even without the aid of a crystal ball I see more in my future. The paint is thick and the foam dabber top makes it easy to apply to your stamps. To continue with the theme of the opening song... unlike father papering the parlour, it's definitely not going to go everywhere, it's very easy to control. The only word of caution is that it's best to clean up your stamp promptly as the paint does tend to dry quickly on there and it's easier to remove before it dries. I've not yet found a white ink that I'm really happy with the coverage of so for me, this white dabber seemed like the perfect choice to do a white-on-black card. I also used it to paint the chipboard letters. The pointing finger is a sticker; you could also use a dingbat font to print out and cut round yourself. Raising it on foam pads lets you overlap the finger tip and the chipboard lettering a little. Stamps: AlphaNumber backgrounder (Cornish Heritage Farms) Ink: Adirondack Paint Dabber - Snowcap Paper: Epic Laid Black (Prism) and smooth white Other: chipboard letters (Maya Road), sticker (Office Daisy Dots by Heartwarming Vintage/Crafty Secrets), foam pads Other DT members playing along and finding lots of lovely uses for Adirondack acrylics are: Julia Kim Kristine Lisa Silver Sherrie Thanks for stopping by today, I appreciate you taking a slice out of your day to visit my corner of the web!

Use your talents

Kathy has set this week's DCM challenge, she'd like us to use this quote on our cards in some way:

Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.

Henry Van Dyke

I had this image in my head straight away - I measured the size of the journal block stamp and printed out the quote from my PC into a box that size then used a stamp positioner to stamp over the top of the writing. I masked the block and stamped with two background stamps then sponged various inks over the woodgrain. I added a little bit of pencil colouring on the bird, a touch of white gel pen to hightlight some of the swirls and a drop shadow with a Copic. Two antique brass jumbo eyelets finish off the rustic look. I spritzed with Glimmer Mist too but that's really hard to pick up with the camera so you'll have to imagine the subtle shimmer, I'm afraid!

Hope you're enjoying using your own special talents today, thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Journal Box, Wood grain and Spanish Script backgrounders (all Cornish Heritage Farms)

Ink: Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Antique Linen, Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain)

Other: Prismacolor pencils, Copic marker, extra large eyelets (We R Memory Keepers), Inkssentials white pen by Ranger, Glimmer Mist by Tattered Angels (Antique Brass), PC and printer

Live Life Wisely the DCM way

Now there's a mantra we could probably all use from time to time: live life wisely! This week's challenge over at Daring Card Makers is a sketch. Here's my take on it...

When I cut my piece of twill tape for this card, it curled over at the end and I decided I liked the effect so I stitched it down in a way that let it keep right on curling!

My only change to the sketch was to tilt the rectangle at a slight angle as straight didn't really seem right with the slightly grungy feel of this. I've roughed up the edges a bit too (I just use scissors held in a V shape to do this).

Stamps: Journal Box, Time to Stamp, Aged Sheet Music Scrapblock™, Spanish Script Backgrounder (all Cornish Heritage Farms)

Ink: Adirondack dye ink by Ranger - Espresso and Latte

Paper: Prism Suede Brown dark, smooth white, ivory hammer texture

Other: blending chalk, cotton twill tape, extra large eyelet (We R Memory Keepers), sewing machine and thread.

TFL! Hope you liked it :o)

It's Challenge Chicks day!

It's Challenge Chicks day at Cornish Heritage Farms and today's challenge is to use Adirondack inks. I love these inks and my colour selection is growing perhaps a bit more rapidly than my wallet would like - the news that they're launching a range of pigment inks to coordinate with the existing dye-based ones might not be good news for the budget!

This adorable collage stamp is a new release from the Rummage Bin line at Cornish Heritage Farms and will be available tomorrow. She looks so dejected, all dressed up in her pretty frock, you have to hope that she's right and her prince really does show up some day!

I brayered Espresso ink onto the rubber to stamp the image and then used other ink pads to watercolour her (if you don't have reinkers you can just squish the lid of your pad down onto the felt and when you open it up you'll have a little pool of ink you can use with a brush). Her skin was coloured with pencils to give it a smoother, slightly more solid look. I just sponged a bit of ink onto the background so that the colouring keeps the focus on the little girl.

As little girls often seem to have a collection of 'treasures', either in pockets or in a special box, I added some eclectic bits and pieces as embellishments on the card.

TFL! Hope you enjoyed your visit today.

Stamps (all from the Rummage Bin line at CHF):
Someday My Prince Collage
Swirls from Beautiful
Clocks from Time to Stamp

Paper: Scrapblock Layers and smooth white

Ink:
Adirondack by Ranger (Espresso, Latte, Raisin, Cool Peri)

Other:
Lyra Skintone pencils
Gold gel pen (scribbled on to plastic and used as watercolour for her crown)
Vintage Buttons
Vintage lace
Waxed linen thread
Square brad

Lots of the CHF girls are playing today, why not check out some more uses of these fabulous, vibrant inks?

Alli
Becky
Dawn
Jennifer
Julia
Julie
Kim
Kristine
Lisa Silver
Michele
Val

Santa's Lap!

It must be something about the unseasonably cold weather and the nights starting to draw in - I keep wanting to make Christmas things!

I love this Santa stamp and wanted to make something with a bit longer life than a Christmas card so that I can bring him out each year! The canvas is 8" x 8" with torn cardstock stuck at top left and the gold circle painted directly onto the canvas with acrylic paint. I stamped Santa and the little boy onto smooth cardstock and coloured them with Prismacolor Pencils then cut the image out and stuck over the gold circle. I wanted to retain the artist's initials though so I inked just that part of the stamp and stamped directly onto the canvas before I stuck Santa into position. I used the edge of the inkpad to apply a little ink directly under the image to ground it a bit.

Here's a little bit of trivia for you: this image originally appeared as a cover for the Saturday Evening Post in 1923. The SEP enjoys iconic status in America and is the subject of many a fond recollection (it stopped publishing in 1969). The artist for this image was J C Leyendecker.

I dusted off Mr CraftRobo (he's been a little neglected since I discovered stamping) and cut the word Christmas in a nice cursive font. I added some Glossy Accents to give a raised finish. The word merry is chipboard letters that have been inked and dry brushed with gold acrylic paint.

I guess everything else is obvious, lots of ink and sponging, some Prima flowers and a brad. The red velour fabric is tacked onto the frame with small nails to hold it in that kind of ruched way.

If you have a computerised cutter that uses gsd files and you would like the welded word Christmas, just send me a message and I will happily send you the file for your personal use.

TFL, hope you enjoyed your visit today.

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Stamps: Santa's Lap (Saturday Evening Post line), Aged Sheet Music Scrapblock™ (Cornish Heritage Farms)

Ink: Fired Brick, Antique Linen and Vintage Photo - Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger, Vintage Sepia and Onyx Black Versafine by Tsukineko

Paper: smooth white

Other: 8x8" canvas, Prima flowers, crystal brad (Making Memories), Prismacolor and Lyra Skintone pencils/OMS/stump, velour fabric, white satin ribbon, chipboard letters (Maya Road), metallic gold acrylic paint

Tools: sponge, Craftrobo

Vintage Christmas

Sorry, I know it's still a bit early for Christmas projects but I had this idea in mind since first seeing this set of stamps (Winter Vintage Signage) and I managed to grab some time over the weekend to have a go.

Instant vintage appeal with modern materials!

I rolled thin sheets of polymer clay and stamped the images into it with Brilliance ink. I chose Sculpey Premo as it's a very durable clay so even though they're thin (I used a pasta maker on Number 1 to roll my sheets) the ornaments should stand up to being bumped around in a storage box for most of the year!

I stamped the designs first and then used a stamp positioner to stamp the frame around them. The stamps sink into the clay slightly (so don't press too hard!) and give a slightly carved or engraved feeling to the words and images.

The clay is soft enough that it's very easy to trim to shape with a craft blade, just trim a little outside the edge of the frame. If you're going to have a go at this, I recommend making holes for your jump rings or wire before you bake as it's not easy to make them later (yes, ask me how I know *rolls eyes*). If you're using an oven you use for food, it's best to make a 'tent' of foil over your polymer clay pieces as they bake, just to make sure you don't get any vapours from the clay condensing on your baking surfaces later.

I used Copic markers to add touches of colour to the ornaments and then sponged Timber Brown Stazon ink around the edges and very lightly in the centres to tone down the white clay and give them a bit more of a vintage look.

I used jump rings and some wire to make hangers so that I can hang them from my Christmas tree or maybe even a bare wintery branch in a vase.

TFL!

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Stamps: Winter Vintage Signage (Cornish Heritage Farms)

Ink: Graphite Black Brilliance, Timber Brown Stazon (both by Tsukineko)

Other: Sculpey Premo Polymer Clay - white, Copic markers, jump rings and wire (jewellery supplies)