Christmas Joy

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

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

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

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!

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

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 RangerClear 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

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

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!

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

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...

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

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 penCorner Chomper by We R Memory Keepers

Thanks for stopping by!

Over the rainbow

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

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?

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

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

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

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?

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

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!

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!

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!

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!

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

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!

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

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!

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

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

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

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!

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

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!

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

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...

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!