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An out of date road atlas provided plenty of options for the map-based sets - I've gone local for three of them (Tynedale, Northumberland castles and coast and Newcastle upon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!

Well done!

My nephew has just finished Year 1 at primary school and got a really good report for the end of the year, being graded well above his age in the national curriculum subjects (maths, science and literacy). Perhaps more importantly, he's trying hard in everything - bless him! I thought I'd send a "well done" card to add to the encouragement my brother and sister-in-law give him.

As ever with kids' cards, I struggled a bit  and this is nothing like the initial plan but I think it's OK!

The cheery little monster is mounted on foam pads for a bit of dimension and I doodled on and around the stars.

I used a white insert on this one - I often write with a gel pen if I do a dark card base but I thought my handwriting would be enough for a six year old to cope with without adding extra complications!

Stamps: Monsters Ink by Technique Tuesday

Paper: Black, white, orange

Ink: Graphite Black Brilliance by Tsukineko

Other: 
Small star squeeze punch by Fiskars
Typset die by Tim Holtz/Sizzix
Copic markers
Gesso and dry wall tape
Copic fineliner
Uni Posca white pen
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

Net of wonder

We're doing one of our occasional postcard swaps on Bubbly Funk. Our theme this time was "summer" and I made a card for Kathy. I've gone totally flat with a single layer on this one. Kathy's originally from one of the towns on the beautiful Northumberland coastline and I know she has a soft spot for the sea so that's the way my mind went - something cooling and soothing on a hot summer day.

My "net of wonder" actually held onions just before I set off to the craft room - lol! I quite liked the idea of having the shells quite regimented and the pattern that you might expect to be more rigid (the grid of the net) being more fluid so I let it "drape" a bit before taping the edges down and sponging over it. Yes, I did cut masks for all the shells so that I could sponge ink without affecting them and yes, I have kept the masks in case I want to do something similar in future! It's actually a very easy shape to cut so it didn't take too long.

I've given the shells a touch of subtle colour with some pale Copics and even more subtle touch of glimmer with a Spica glitter pen.

Stamps:
Antique Engravings by Hero Arts
Sentiment from Seaside set by Crafty Secrets (retired)

Paper: smooth white

Ink: 
Graphite Black Brilliance by Tsukineko
Tumbled Glass Distress ink by Ranger

Other:
Copic markers
Clear Copic Spica glitter pen
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

Hopping with Paperbabe

Some of you may know Kim Costello's name and style from her lovely work in Craft Stamper magazine. Kim's launching her very own range of Paperbabe stamps and she's invited a few stampy friends to help her celebrate with a hop featuring the debut collection.

I got my hands on the DesignAKnit set for a play. There are lots of stitch patterns (as well as some individual stiches, pompoms and sentiments) in the set. Each border style stamp represents two rows of knitting and because they're clear it's easy to line them up and repeat stamp to build a background. 

I made a beanie hat gift card holder using the wide rib stamp for the main part and a double stitch to make the edging. There's a little eyelet "hinge" under the pompom so the top part of the hat lifts to reveal a gift card underneath. Kim's offering cut files for many stamps in this debut release but I decided just to cut freehand round the stamped pompom. It's quick and easy since it doesn't need to be perfect!

The base for this is a 5" circle which means the stamps are not long enough to go all the way across but again, it's really easy to line them up and the pattern repeat is designed for easy repeated stamping so you can have any width you like!

While I was at it, I thought the chunky stocking stitch stamp would be perfect for some ombre stamping on a really quick and easy card. I used four different inks, stamping twice with each one to make my graduated colour panel. I stamped off for the little accent on the sentiment strip so the ink colour was not quite as intense.

As well as the DesignAKnit set I've been playing with, the debut releases include Tree Hugs and Ribbed Background. MayLeeDee is available as a digital download. Check out the projects on the rest of the hop to see all the images in action or see everything here in the shop!

There are prizes on offer if you hop along with us

• 1 winner of the TREE HUGS SET
• 1 winner of the DESIGN A KNIT SET (as used here)
• 1 winner of the RIBBED BACKGROUND Stamp
• 1 winner of the MAYLEEDEE DIGI
• and ONE GRAND PRIZE WINNER will receive THE ENTIRE RELEASE for JULY!

That's a LOT of chances to win! Here's who's hopping today:

Kim Costello

Chris Dark (DT)

Amy Wanford

Kath Stewart

Sandie Dunne

Joanne Allison (you are here!)

Dawny P

Kim Dellow

Paula Whittaker

Simonne Clay

Tricia Tilly

Paperbabe Stamps

Winners will be announced on the Paperbabe Blog on the 12th July - you have until the 10th to hop with us, just leave comments as you go so you can be entered into the draw!

Supplies:
Stamps: all from BuildAKnit by PaperBabe Stamps
Paper: smooth white, bitter chocolate
Ink: Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Cranberry, Currant, Raisin, Pitch Black)
Other: eyelet (to hinge the gift card holder), wooden button (to accent the card)

PS - I didn't forget about the Hero Arts draw from a couple of posts back, I just forgot to announce the winner here, sorry! Viv's name was first out of the hat and the stamps have gone to live with her.