'Tis the season

I haven't played in the Splitcoast Stampers Mixed Media challenge for ages so I thought I'd get a Christmas card done using Birgit's challenge to go bright.  I've used pigment ink, dye ink, glitter and sequins to add bright colours to my card - the green glitter and green stars are a better match in real life, it just proved impossible to get them matching on a photo.

It was only after I'd finished that it occurred to me the only stamping is the sentiment which is unusual for me!

I punched the stars in a sheet of acetate and used it as a stencil to sponge on green and pink inks and then doodled round them with both black and silver. The fancy lattice die cuts are stuck onto double sided tape sheet and the glitter burnished into the sticky apertures.

Stamps:
Sentiment from Miracle of the Holidays by Hero Arts

Paper: smooth white and black

Ink:
Brilliance Graphite Black by Tsukineko
Shadow ink Mint Julep by Hero Arts
Adirondack Raspberry by Ranger

Other:
Fancy lattice die by Spellbinder
Fiskars squeeze punches (small and medium star)
Hot pink and mint green glitter
Silver gel  pen
Black fineliner
Sequins
Double sided tape sheet
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

Ombre challenge!

It's time for a new challenge on the Craft Stamper blog. As there are several projects in the January issue featuring an ombré look we'd like you to explore ombré on your stamped project this time.

I made a quick one layer card using the technique described by Sylvia Blum on pp.6-8 of the magazine. I just used low-tack tape to mask off my strip to adapt the technique to a single layer rather than using a separate piece of cardstock.

It's a "new home" card but my stash didn't yield a sentiment in a font I liked with this look so I went with a "congratulations" sentiment and I hope the keys will convey the "on your new home" for me!

I think the grauated colour helps to create a sense of movement, not only pulling the eye in the same direction as the sentiment but also going with the "moving" theme for a family getting a new home.

Stamps:
Keys from Antiques by Cornish Heritage Farms
Sentiment from Say It All by Hero Arts

Paper: Smooth white

Ink:
Adirondack ink by Ranger - Stonewashed
Distress ink by Ranger - Faded Jeans, Chipped Sapphire
Brilliance by Tsukineko - Graphite Black

Other:
Scor-It
Corner Chomper

You'll find lots more lovely samples and all the details of how to enter here on the Craft Stamper blog. The winner gets the chance to have the project published in an upcoming issue of the magazine as well as a prize of some great Kate Crane DVDs - we'd love to see your entry!

Little monster

I needed a light and flat card (it needs to go trans-Atlantic) for a young man celebrating his seventh birthday. None of the kids I send cards to are really little monsters but he probaby comes closest!

He's certainly not the tidiest of children so what started out as a very clean and crisp design (just the lettering and the monster) looked a bit too tidy somehow. Once I'd added the splotches it seemed much more "in character". Being able to stamp them gave me a sense of still being in control though!

Stamping individual letters might seem a bit of a pain but I like the bigger format for the sentiment and the fact you could do any wording you liked. I gave mine a sort of "ombre" shading to go with the funky lettering style and deliberately didn't try to stamp on a straight base line.

I used Glossy Accents to give the eyes some sheen and dimension and rounded one corner for a casual feel. The inside of the front is lined with plain paper to hide the bleed-through of the Copics that's pretty much inevitable when you add shading as it tends to soak the cardstock.

Stamps:
Monsters Ink by Technique Tuesday
Brush Strokes by Hero Arts
Journal Letters by Hero Arts

Paper: Smooth white

Ink: 
Brilliance Graphite Black by Tsukineko
Adirondack Sunset Orange by Ranger

Other:
Copic markers
Corner Chomper
Glossy Accents

Thanks for stopping by!

Notecards

I made some notecard sets for last week's sale at the new village hall...

There are six cards in each pack (two fish, two seahorse and two scallop shell) with a variety of sentiments on the front so they'd make a good selection for people to dip in to whenever the need arose. I thought they'd make nice little gifts and indeed, a lady who who was about to pay for one set then said "Oooh, I'll have two more sets I think, they'd make lovely gifts" without any prompting from me!

These are simply stamped with just a hint of Copic colouring on the images (very pale and very light-handed so there's no bleed-through on the single layer cards). I die cut a square in a piece of acetate to use as a mask and sponged on the ink for a block of colour. Acetate's great for this as it means you can see exactly where you're positioning the mask's aperture in relation to the image and the edges of the card.

I sold enough stuff that I was able to put just over £40 (my profits) into the village hall fund which was good. The fair seemed busy most of the day, with Santa's grotto doing a particularly brisk trade!

Stamps:
Under the Sea by Darkroom Door (fish and seahorse)
Antique Engravings by Hero Arts (scallop shell)
Say It All by Hero Arts (mixed sentiments)

Paper: Smooth white

Ink:
Pearlescent Chocolate Brilliance by Tsukineko
Blue-toned dye inks (Distess Salty Ocean, Adirondack Stonewashed and Pool if I remember rightly)

Other:
Copic markers (Eggshell and Cool Grey 1)
Cello bags and sheer ribbon for packaging

Magnetic

We have a brand new village hall for our community and at the end of the month we're having our first ever craft fair. I've agreed to do some bits and pieces for a friend's stall and these fridge magnet sets are the first things I've made.

Click any photo to enbiggan!

I used glass cabochons and various paper ephemera cut with a circle die and stuck with Glossy Accents. I tidied up the backs with some acrylic paint and strong magnets were epoxied on once everything was dry.

An out of date road atlas provided plenty of options for the map-based sets - I've gone local for three of them (Tynedale, Northumberland castles and coast and Newcastle upon Tyne) and done a London set as well.

A local business sells paper packs made up of pages salvaged from books that are past being sold as complete items (because of damaged bindings, kids' crayon scribbles etc). I used sheet music from one of those packs for two sets.

You might recognise the patterns on the other sets in this photo if you look carefully - they're the insides of "security" envelopes (the sort that contain bank statements etc - the patterns stop people reading through the envelope). I managed to find five different patterns for these. I think these were my hubby's favourites!

And finally I did a couple of cartoon sets. Denis the Menace came from the same ephemera pack as the sheet music and I had a Doctor Who magazine lying around that came from a charity shop so the cartoon strip from that got used here.

Packaging posed a bit of a challenge until I hit on the idea of cutting strips from the lids of soup tins and sandwiching them inside some cardstck - hey presto, magnets will stick no problem! I think they'd make nice little stocking filler gifts.

Profits from anything I sell will be going in to the village hall fund, it's such a great resource for the community to have that I  think a little support as it gets going is in order!

Thanks for stopping by!

Mists and mellow fruitfulness

...and not much blogging! I don't seem to have managed very much crafting to share just lately.

We've just had one of our occasional postcard swaps on Bubbly Funk though (the forum has moved!). We took inspiration from autumn this time and I made a card for Nicky.

I used a Sheena Douglass Paint Fusion stamp set but used them just like regular stamps rather than using them as a guide for the sort of folk painting they were designed for. I had a go at "borderless" colouring - I was pleased with the leaves but not quite convinved about the berries!

I added a bit of "texture" with a crackle stamp and that was it - completely flat for "naked" posting.

Nicky says the PO franked both sides - sigh. We've had very few mishaps with our postcards so I guess we should expect the odd one every now and again!

Stamps
Sheena Douglass Paint Fusion - Berries
Indigo Blu  - Crackle Glaze

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress by Ranger - Antique Linen and Tumbled Glass
Versaine by Tsukineko - Onyx Black

Paper: smooth white

Other:
Copic Markers
Uni Posca white pen

I got Dina Kowal's Borderless Watercolouring tutorial a while back and that inspired me to have a go (although obviously I didn't watercolour). It's a nicely presented, photo-rich tutorial if you're looking for a good guide from somebody who knows her colouring onions!

Happy birthday human

This is a card for a young lad and it needs to go transatlantic so it's light and flat although I did raise the speech bubble up with a bit of silicone glue.

Because the colouring bled through the cardstock I added a sheet of paper inside to cover that up (it's stuck to the cardfront so it's pretty much invisible).

I drew the bubble and the trail leading up to it by hand as I didn't have a suitable stamp. My drawing skills are limited but I can just about stretch to an abstract blob!

Stamps:
Monsters Ink by Technique Tuesday

Paper:
Smooth white

Ink:
Graphite Black Brilliance by Tsukineko

Other:
Copic markers
Corner Chomper

The card made DH chortle, hope its recipient likes it too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Lost for words

Time for another postcard swap on UK Stampers. Our only constraint this month is "no words".

I had a bit of a Darkroom Door fest on this one and it just sort of grew without any real plan, hence the fact you can see the background through the butterfy wings as there's no masking going on or anything - I decided to just go with it! I think it's probably OK for a late summer vibe!

Stamps (all Darkroom Door)
Woodgrain background 
Carved Flowers
Wings
Foliage

Paper: Smooth white

Ink:
Pumice Stone Distress ink by Ranger
Onyx Black Versafine by Tsukineko

Other:
Diarylide Yellow and Orange Pan Pastels
Blue, Intense Blue and Olive Green pencils
Uni Posca white pen
Krylon Matt sealer

Deadline for swap entries is the 25th of the month so if you fancy a low commitment swap that gets you some handmade happy mail (just make one card to get one card in return) why not come and join us?

Thanks for stopping by!

Clearly - Take It, Make It!

We're already on challenge number four over on the Craft Stamper blog -  where does the time go?! For this challenge, we'd like you to combine your stamping with some acetate. Kim Dellow uses acetate two ways in the Double Take feature on pages 46 and 47 of the September issue - you could use her projects for inspiration or you could decide to use acetate in a completely different way, it's up to you!

I decided to revisit the Oriental Laquer technique that featured in my article from the August issue of the magazine.  I stamped the  branches on the acetate, flipped to colour on the back with Silkies and gave the whole lot a liberal dose of gold ink and Perfect Pearls before layering onto black cardstock with some double sided tape sheet.

I thought a clean and simple layout would suit the delicate images so the 'laquerware' strip is just mounted between two scored lines and it's finished with a stamped sentiment.

We'd love for you to join us in the acetate challenge - there's a prize on offer from Sprinkle of Imagination and the chance of seeing your project in print for the winner! Check out the blog post for all the details of how to play.

Stamps:
Foliage by Darkroom Door
Say It All by Hero Arts

Paper:
White
Black
Inkjet transparency sheet

Ink:
Graphite Black and Galaxy Gold Brilliance by Tsukineko

Other:
Persian Velvet Silkies set by Imagination Crafts
Gold Perfect Pearls by Ranger
Double sided tape sheet
Scor-It
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

Tag - you're it!

I was delighted to have a couple of projects accepted for the PaperCrafts Holiday Cards and More special issue and even more delighted to discover today that Cath (PaperCrafts Trends Editor) has picked one of them to show on the Moxie Fab blog to highlight the gift tag challenge!

Here it is! I haven't seen the issue yet but apparently it's on p.98. The lovely sentiment (it's from the Waltzingmouse Stamps Compliments of the Season set) makes a perfect centrepiece for a chalkboard style and this is a really quick and easy tag to make since it's a single stamp and no complicated colouring or cutting out!

If you're trying to get ahead with Christmas crafting, do check out the Moxie Fab blog this week for challenges and some inspiration from the publication. All the posts based on this Holiday Cards and More special issue are here. There are copies of the special issue to be won if you fancy playing along with the challenges.

Thanks for stopping by!