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!