Ink spot

First Magazine Article For a While!

2012-01-29T07:54:00.000-08:00

I just thought that I would share my first magazine article that I've had in a while...I have a 4 project, 3 page spread (pages 12, 13 and 14) in the 3rd Edition of Creative Stamping.

I've used the "U Mount Creative Expressions Rambling Rose stamp set" together with several Spellbinder's dies for the projects.

Creative Stamping is a relatively new, quarterly magazine for stampers and is published by Practical Publishing. The magazine is sold exclusively through craft shops and you can find your local stockist "here"

Butterfly Blue

2012-01-26T07:30:00.000-08:00

For the next month the Creative Expressions Design Team have been sent the "Eco Green Stamp set Garden Chic". I used the lovely butterfly stamp and the tiny sweetpea stamp for this card. The butterfly reminded me of those large blue butterflies that you see at Butterfly farms. I painted the wings with pearlised blue paint and once dry I coated the whole butterfly with glossy accents.

I would like to enter this card into the following Challenges:

"Crafting for all seasons - blue and white"

"Paper Pretties - Blue, Black and White"

"Simon Says Stamp = Anything goes"

"Stampavie and More- Blue and White"

"Creative Card Challenges - the colour blue"

"Lollypop Crafts - Wing it"

Farewell Wendy Veechi

2012-01-20T00:03:00.000-08:00

It's time to say farewell to Wendy Veechi's stamps and hello to a new set of stamps that arrived this morning from "Creative Expressions". So I am going to show you my last piece using "Wendy's stamps", having said that I can tell you that I have loved using these stamps and I am sure that I will find plenty of opportunities to use them in the future.

I fancied having a play with glassine paper but I haven't got round to ordering any yet..so I decided to experiment with greaseproof paper out of my kitchen draw instead. I can report that greaseproof paper doesn't react like glassine paper, but it does make some lovely vintage looking roses!

I stamped the lacy background onto greaseproof paper using versafine olympia green. I tried to heat set it with my heat gun, but it didn't want to play ball. So I placed a piece of paper over the top and then ironed over the top. This gave a surprisingly good image on the paper (reversed of course), and looking at it I decided that this would make a good background layer for my card. Ironing solved the problem with the heat setting on the greaseproof paper so I cut out several layers using the Spellbinders rose creations dies.

One of my matted background layers was the previously mentioned "scrap" from the ironing experiment, another of my layers was stamped and heat embossed with clear ep before being sponged with aged mahogany distress ink...(not sure what was going on, but for some reason my aged mahogany came out green? don't ask, I think my craft mat had green ink on it that I couldn't see. This is a card that evolved in every way....ie things didn't come together as expected and some happy accidents worked out rather well.

Once the card was stitched and assembled I sprayed the whole thing with gold mica powder. Overall effect was very green, gold and shimmery.

I would like to enter this into the following challenges:

"Crop Stop - Distressed, vintage or shabby chic"

"Delightful Challenges - distressed vintage"

"Inky Impressions - Any shape but square"

"Going grey with scrap creations - Die Cuts"

"The Stamping boutique - Die Cuts"

"Stamp and Create - Anything goes"

"Artistic Stamper - Vintage"

"Emerald Faerie Garden - Green and Gold/yellow"

Beautiful Landscapes.

2012-01-19T08:11:00.000-08:00

On Monday morning my daughter was in such a rush to catch the school bus that she forgot her PE kit...a few mins later the phone rings..."Mum can you bring my PE kit into school for second period?" So I defrosted the car and off I went chasing the school bus. Normally this is really annoying, but on Monday I didn't feel quite so cross because the frost and the soft morning light was lovely. I just had to stop the car on the way home to take some pictures! These were taken in Wichenford.

With such lovely views I do feel quite privileged to live in the country and with this in mind I decided to set a landscape theme for the next "Tanda Teaser". I have used a mixture of stamps for my sample card, but they are mainly Tanda. First I punched out a circle from a post-it note and used it to mask the sun, then used some ripped paper with distress inks and cut and dry foam to build up the landscape. I used some indigo blu stamps to stamp the fir trees on the hills again using the ripped paper as a mask so that some of the trees looked as though they were the other side of the hill. Once I was happy with the background I removed the mask from the sun and then used the clarity stamp and weathered wood distress ink to stamp the clouds around the sun.

Then I used the foliage stamps, Tanda and Lavinia with Versafine inks in, Olympia green, Spanish moss and smokey gray.

I stamped the sentiment in Olympia green in the centre of the card. The compass was made using some thick card that I die cut, painted gold with eco paint then stamped and triple embossed with clear embossing powder. I had planned to stamp the compass into the hot ep, but it didn't work as well as I wanted it to, hence this was the next best thing.

I printed out a small section of a local map in sepia tones and folded this so that the location was legible on the front. This was then mounted onto the card and a piece of raffia was tied around the card so that the bow was positioned on top of the map.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

"Cupcake Craftroom - Anything goes"

"Anything goes- anything goes at anything goes"

"Crafty Sentiments - Anything goes"

"Crafty Cardmakers - Anything goes"

"Make it Monday - anything goes"

"Truly Madly Crafty - Anything goes"

"Smudgy antics - masking"

Hidden Messages

2012-01-15T13:33:00.000-08:00

Here's my next "Creative Expressions Design Team piece" using the wonderful Wendy Veechi stamps. I made a template with heart shaped petals to open out to reveal a hidden message, bearing in mind I made this last week and only saw the latest Craft Stamper afterwards it's a bit spooky....hidden messages and all that! Ok a bit different, but hidden all the same.

The dotty and stripy papers were from the Treasury in Kidderminster, I bought them for another project...but then decided to use them for this instead...best laid plans and all that.

I used the lacy Wendy Veechi stamp to stamp the heart shaped petals and the sentiment (first time I've used this particular stamp). All stamping and distressing has been done in distress inks. Metallic and bling elements are in the form of brads. The pointy finger....is from the Just rite Cling set. Greetings from Paris. The leaves were die cut using the Spellbinders foliage die.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

"Moving Along With the Times - Spots and or Stripes"

"Pixie Dust Studio - Put your heart into it"

"Southern Girls - show us your Sparkle"

"Simon Says Stamp - Spots and or Stripes"

"Anything goes - anything goes"

"Everybody Art Challenge - shabby"

"Incy Wincy Designs - vintage"

Have Faith

2012-01-11T04:46:00.000-08:00

This is my latest Tanda Teaser card (live until next Wednesday). I wanted to challenge everyone to something different, I had realised that up to Christmas I had, sort of, got stuck in a rut with lots of colour themes for the Teaser....not sure how that happened, but I will try to make up for it over the coming months! The idea of the Teaser is to share something that represents some sort of faith, not necessarily Christian, nethertheless, my card does have a Christian theme, I made it for my husband's Uncle Joe in Canada. The stamps were from Tanda Stamps, the Background paper was from the Treasury in Kidderminster. To get the word effect I used a simple resist technique using clear embossing powder and then sponging Chipped Sapphire Distress ink over the top. All in all a quick and simple card to make.

I would like to enter this card into the following Challenges:

"Crafty Card Makers - No floral embellishments"

"Make it Monday - anything goes"

"Stamp and Create - Anything Goes"

"Truely Madly Crafty - Anything goes"

"Addicted to Stamps - Colour Blue"

"Dream Valley Challenge - anything goes"

Hearts and Flowers

2012-01-10T03:19:00.000-08:00

Well we are into another week already! Where did the last one go? No Blogging how bad am I!

So I had better share this week's piece for Creative Expressions. This will be the Valentines card for my husband, his favorite colour is purple, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that he doesn't see my blog between now and Valentines day! At this point I have to apologise for the photos...even with the biggest south facing windows in the middle of the day I had to use flash for these, so they are not brilliant, but you will get the idea.

I kept some of the packaging from some books and DVD's that were ordered over Christmas and decided to use them to make a tag card. The base tag was cut out of the card board and then painted with Sand Eco Paint. When this was dry I stamped it with the Wendy Veechi (Sentimental Art) lacy background stamp in Blue Violet Archival Ink. I distressed the edges with dusty concord and edged it with Krylon pen.

The sentiment was stamped in the archival ink onto cream card, cut out with a spellbinders die and then distressed with distress ink and gold eco acrylic pain.

The Hearts and Cherub were cut from the same cardboard using a Tim Holtz die that I got for Christmas. The cherub was painted gold and then stamped in black with a fine crackle stamp (another Christmas pressie. I painted the hearts in Eggplant acrylic paint (2 on both sides) and sprayed them with gold cosmic shimmer mica pigment. I also sprayed the base card and the die cut sentiment at the same time. Once dry I punched a small hole in the two double sided hearts. I triple embossed the three hearts and the cherub. I then turned the two punched hearts over and coated them with glossy accents. While these were drying, I died a piece of Seam Binding with Dusty Concord distress stain and allowed this to dry.

When everything was dry I tied the seam binding around the top of the tag, threaded the punched hearts onto the ends and tied a little knot to secure them. Some punched cream vellum leaves and a couple of lilac paper roses complete the project.

I would like to enter this tag card into several challenges as follows:

"Cards for Men - Must be Masculine - Recycling"

"Smudgy antics - No Cute - Recycle something"

"StampsRus - What you got for Christmas"

"Fashionable Stamping Challenges - Anything goes using your new stash"

"Penny Black and More - Love and Hearts"

"Dream Valley Challenges - Anything goes"

"2 Sisters - Anything with wings"

Hope you all have a wonderful crafty week!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-03T04:19:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year and Thank You to everyone who left me comments over the last year. It is always lovely to get feedback on crafty makes.

We've been doing a far bit of travelling up and down the country over the holiday season so things have been rather hectic here. I've still got to find homes for the new stamps, dies and inks that I had for Christmas! Hubby has proclaimed that the study needs to be decorated....this means relocating my stash and everything else in the room..not sure where it is all going to go or how I will be able to keep the cards coming...here's hoping that I can have the dining room table exclusively for my stash.

I did manage to have another play with the new Wendy Veechi stamps from "Creative Expressions". These stamps have a lovely vintage feel to them so they are perfect for a vintage/shabby chic theme. For my card I have used Spellbinders dies and distress inks (old paper, Victorian velvet and aged mahogany). The flowers were made using hand made paper that I had stamped with the lacy background stamp. The ribbon is seam binding, dyed using Victorian velvet distress stain.

I would like to entre this card into the following challenges:

"Sentimental Sundays - Anything goes, must include a sentiment"

"Truly Madly Crafty - Anything goes"

"Make it Monday - Anything goes"

"Craft Your Passion - Anything goes plus distressing"

"Cup Cake Craftroom - Anything goes"

"Artistic Stamper - Vintage"

Rose Tinted

2011-12-22T05:15:00.000-08:00

I should have posted this yesterday, but as you might know if you read my blog, things have been a bit more manic than usual. I am more or less sorted...the alarm has been fixed, the new washing machine works brilliantly, the plumbing under the utility sink is fixed, the new printer will print (not how it's supposed to, but at least it will print) and we can make phone calls although we still need to program the phone....

So now I just have to sort Christmas!

This fortnight the Tanda Teaser is "Rose Tinted". I've had enough of Christmas cards now....got them all made and posted so I'm happy not to make another one for quite a few months! I did realise after I'd posted that I seem to have set rather a lot of colour challenges recently so I'll have to make sure I do something different next time!

My card is single layered. I have used Tanda stamps, Aquastamps (available from Tanda) and my Dune dots stamp (available from the Treasury in Kidderminster). I used stamped the padlock first then masked it before sponging distress ink over an acetate mask that I made using a spellbinders die.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

"Make it Monday"

"Corrosive Challenges - Anything but Christmas"

"One Stitch at a Time - Anything goes"

"Sparkles Forum - Anything but Christmas"

"The Crafty Pad - Anything but Christmas"

This is probably the last blog post that I will make before Christmas, so I would like to wish everyone who has visited my blog and especially those who have left comments a Happy Christmas and to say Thank you for your support and encouragement!

I hope to see you in the New Year!

New Stamps and New Beginnings!

2011-12-22T03:25:00.000-08:00

We received our latest stamps from Creative Expressions last Friday and they are gorgeous! I've not had any Studio 490 "Wendy Vecchi" stamps before, but this Sentimental art set is fabulous. The main stamp is a lacy design and is perfect for square cards and the quotes are all very usable!

For my first DT piece I have made an easel card for one of my College friends. Her birthday is right at the end of December and I thought that as it is on the cusp of the New Year it might be nice to make her card into a little present too, namely a desk calendar. I chose the quote..."A perfect day is waking up with a purpose and retiring with a dream for tomorrow" as I thought it fitted the calendar theme perfectly. For stamping and distressing, I used Frayed Burlap Distress ink and Pumice Stone Distress Stain was used to dye the seam binding.

The flowers were made using Spellbinders rose creations (and some wrapping from some flowers that I'd kept), Spellbinders Foliage dies (grey mulberry paper) and the quote was mounted on card cut using the Spellbinders small labels die.

I am entering this into the following challenges:

"Corrosive Challenges - Anything but a Christmas card"

"One Stitch at a Time - Anything goes"

"Sparkles Forum - Anything but Christmas Card"

"The Crafty Pad - Anything but Christmas"

"Die Cut Dreams - Make a Date"

"Stamp and Create - Vintage"

"Try it on Tuesday - Anything goes"

Bon Voyage Tag

2011-12-11T00:12:00.000-08:00

Hi, I'm not at home at the moment so I'm mobile blogging...I've come down to mum and dad's to see how they are doing. Sitting in bed burning the midnight oil trying to catch up with a few things and I am scheduling this to go live later this morning!
this Tag is my next DT piece using the Bon Voyage stamp set by Just Rite available from Creative Expressions. Paris makes me think of all things elegant, so I wanted to create something elegant to reflect this. I kept the colours muted and the lines simple. The dies that I used are from Spellbinders.

The ribbons are seam binding that I have coloured using Weathered Wood and Pumice Distress Stains. You cannot see it in the photos, but these inks seem to give the seam binding a rather lovely shot appearance.

I would like to enter this into the following challenges

"Totally papercrafts - anything goes"

"Cute card thursday - Anything goes"

"Cooking it up with katie - Anything goes"

"Inky impressions - must use ribbon"

"Die cuttin divas - tags, tags and more tags"

"Papertake Weekly - anything goes"

"Lawnscaping - tags or treat bags"

Keep Calm and Carry On!

2011-12-10T00:56:00.000-08:00

Good advice in the lead up to Christmas me thinks and certainly kept me going this week! Had a bit of an interesting/challenging week...everything (not everything obviously but lots, you know what I mean!) seems to have decided to pack up, or go wrong, at the same time..the washing machine (beyond repair!), the printer (just as I wanted to print out address labels for our Christmas cards, the pipe work under the utility sink (I took it apart to plumb a new washing machine in and couldn't get it back together again), the telephone and thanks to a jobs worth at the local cinema my daughter's birthday treat.

It was her 15th birthday on Wednesday and we decided to make the most of Orange Wednesday and go to see, My Week with Marilyn. The girl selling the tickets refused to sell us tickets....I'd gone flat out all day (Wednesday is my shopping and errand day so I was only just back to the house when she got home from school)to make sure that Sarah got her birthday tea and a homemade chocolate birthday cake before we went out. I was not impressed! OK I can understand them challenging a child if they are with other kids, but when they are with their mother! It was suggested that we should go home and come back with id....I said that that was pointless as this would take an hour and the film started in 30 mins! She wasn't going to back down...so we left. Luckily there is another cinema in Worcester, the Odeon. They saved the day! We got to see the film and hour later. Having watched it we all agreed that we didn't understand why it had been given a 15 certificate...We saw Breaking Dawn on Monday that was a 12a and much more graphic.

Ooops that seems to have turned into a rant...what this blog post is really all about is the card and key ring I made for my daughter's birthday. She is really into the whole Keep Calm and Carry on thing, so when I saw this on a stamp I had to have it for her Birthday card! Can't remember who's stamp it is at the moment though! I've used triple embossing to make what looks like and enamel sign and attached this to a piece of handmade paper that I had stamped a union jack on and then embossed it in Tim Holtz's brick embossing folder. The Union jack was an Indigo Blu stamp and I coloured it by adding distress ink stains directly onto the stamp, a technique that I had not tried before, but it worked! The flowers and leaves were all made using handmade paper and spellbinders dies.

The key ring was made using a stampboard square, and then triple embossed in the same way as the "enamel" sign.

My daughter was thrilled with her card and key ring, and my other daughter wants a keyring too.

I would like to enter this into several challenges:

"Totally paper crafts - anything but a card"

"Simply Create too - Embossing"

"Art Impressions Stamps - try something new to you"

"Cooking it up with Katie - Anything goes"

"I break for challenges - vintage"

"Papertake weekly - Anything goes"

"Crafty card makers - Heat embossing"

"Stamp and create - Vintage"

Green and Gold

2011-12-07T01:24:00.000-08:00

I've just posted the next Tanda Teaser over on the Tanda Blog...can't believe that those two weeks went sooooo fast! The next challenge is to use Green and Gold as your predominant colours...Christmassy but it doesn't need to be..

For my card I have used Spellbinders dies, Tanda stamps (Tanda Christmas set 2), artylicious paper from Seasons Greetings, Distress ink and Copic Markers. The snowflake was from the Treasury in Kidderminster, I triple embossed it with clear ep and glitter.

I would like to enter this into the following challenges:

"Kaboodle Doodles - Christmas Colours"

"Make my Monday - Seasonal Add some glitter"

"Polly Craft - Christmas Fun"

"Stamp and Create - Vintage"

"Truely Madly Crafty Challenges - Christmas Images and coloures"

"Addicted to Stamps - Must use a stamp - Christmas Card"

Altered Shower Cap Packaging

2011-12-05T00:40:00.000-08:00

For this week's "Creative Expressions DT piece" I have decided to alter an envelope that I bought back from Ragdale. This first picture is almost a "before" picture...it's actually my first attempt which ended up as a reject. The card was quite shiny and hence a bit slippy so my stamping was a bit off, I was a bit more carefull second time round!

It did have a shower cap in it but I have decided to turn it into something special...

It would now be perfect for a gift card/token. The stamps I used are from the JustRite Bon Voyage set and the JustRite Paris set. When I looked at the Bon voyage stamps on the website I saw the Paris set and thought that they would work really well together.

I have used both stamp sets to decorate this envelope.

This project seems to fit with the following Challenges:

"Divas by Design - anything goes"

"Paper Crafting Journey - Anything Goes"

"Southern Girls - Ribbon Madness"

"Bloggers JFF - Anthing but a card"

"Challenge up Your Life - Packaging/box"

Easel with a Twist

2011-12-03T05:47:00.000-08:00

Just thought I would share this card with you as it fits several challenges atm. The card is for hubby's aunt. It's her birthday on Monday, but I think I am safe to show it as she doesn't know about my blog!

Basically this is perfect for her as she is an excellent cook and makes all the special birthday cakes and wedding cakes for the family. The stamps are from Lili of the Valley (except for Dune Dots which is exclusive to the Treasury in Kidderminster). Colouring has been done using Copic Markers and distress inks. The jam jar, umbrella and jam have been coated in Glossy accents and some glitter has been applied on the icing sugar. The flowers were made using Tim Holtz tattered florals die and the leaves were made using a Spellbinders foliage die.

This fits with 6 challenges as follows:

"Delicious Doodles - Hairy Legs"

"Glitter Fairies - Easel Card"

"4 Crafty Chicks - Birthday"

"Some Odd Girl - Show us your easels"

"Stampavie and More - Easel cards"

"Lili of the Valley - Anything but a Christmas card"

Goal!

2011-11-30T01:42:00.000-08:00

I just thought that I would show you a man card....never an easy card to make! This is the card I made for my husband's birthday....He is a football (soccer if your're American) referee in his spare time so Football is always a good place to start..only problem is that he has probably had at least two cards from each football themed stamp that I have already. So I had to find a new image. I found this Momanning image and downloaded it from her site. Hubby's fav team is the Blues or for the uninitiated...Birmingham City. So my footballer is coloured in blue. The papers were all from the Treasury in Kidderminster...(About a Boy series I think), the rosette was made using a Tim Holtz die and the tab was a Stamp'in Up punch. The image was coloured with Copic markers and distressed with Distress inks.

I would like to enter this into several challenges as follows,

"Birthday Sundaes - Must have Birthday Sentiment", some of the paper had got a bit neglected at the bottom of a pile of offcuts.

"Here come the boys - Cards only, must be masculine for the man in your life"

"Marks finest papers - Make it masculine"

"Alphabet Challenge - V is for Vibrant"

" Delicious Doodles - Hairy Legs"

Pretty in Pink!

2011-11-29T08:59:00.000-08:00

Hi There. I 've just got back from a lovely break at one of the best Spa Hotels in the UK, now another 3 days behind, but it was a nice break all the same!

Before I left I made this Pretty pink key ring as my next Creative Expressions design piece. I didn't quite have this in mind when I started...I was thinking of making a pendent using the Eiffel Tower image from the Just Rite Cling stamps that we are demonstrating this month, but when I went through my stash my ideas changed and this where I ended up. My girls are now fighting over it so I guess it's a hit.

The fob is made from Stampboard. This particular piece was already coloured and ready to go....an aborted previous project...well you know what they say about crafters! I do remember that it was coloured using Color Box chalk inks as these stay where you put them when you heat emboss over the top. I stamped the postage stamp and the corner flourish in Jet Black Archival ink (again this will stay in place when embossed). Using a cropadile, I punched a hole in the top corner and inserted an eyelet before Triple embossing with clear embossing powder. To get a really smooth finish I like to use the normal powder rather than the coarser powders more usually used for this technique.

I have attached a small loop of distressed silver chain and then attached pearls and crystal beads to add a bit of sparkle.

I would like to enter this into several challenges as follows.....

"Fussy and Fancy - Make a gift not a card"

"Samuel Taylor's - December Challenge, anything goes"

"Creative Inspirations Paint - Anything but a card"

Just For You!

2011-11-24T00:29:00.000-08:00

This month it's a bit different for the Creative Expressions Design team, this time we've been given the "Bon Voyage set from JustRite Stamps". These stamps are designed to work in conjunction with Spellbinders dies. I haven't got the perfect die for this set, but the lacy oval die seems to work reasonably well.

For a change I thought I would make something other than a card...hence...a pillow box..loads going on here...The box was made using card that I'd stamped and distressed using, stormy skies, black soot and weathered wood. I used a strip of designer paper that I stamped and distressed as per the main box. The label was stamped with Chipped Sapphire Distress ink (For You was from the rambling rose u mount set). The flower and leaves were die cut using Spellbinders Rose Creations and Foliage dies. A silver brad, a bit of silver krylon pen and some glossy accents finish the project off.

Oh almost forgot...fusible fibres and gunmetal stickles also got a little bit involved too..

I would like to enter this into several challenges as follows:

"One Stop Craft - Colour Challenge Blue"

"Rogue Redhead Designs - Dress Down, one designer paper"..you can't see it very well, it's the band wrapped around the pillow box, but I promise it is there!

"Squiggles and giggles - anything but a card"

"Fussy and Fancy - Make a gift anything but a card"

"Pile it On - Anything with a P...P for Pillow box and Paris"

"Hooked on Crafts - Punches and or die cuts"

"Lexi's Creations - No straight edges"

"My Craft Spot - Hand made flower power"

Keeping it Simple!

2011-11-23T01:09:00.000-08:00

Seriously, I need to keep things simple....Christmas is galloping towards us and I still need to make loads of Christmas cards! So I decided that one layer might be the answer....sounds easy but I have to say that it took a few experiments to get it right, but once you get the correct colour balance etc....you're off....serious batch process to create something that still looks pretty good. I still need to make the inserts but I am feeling pretty smug as I almost have enough Christmas cards done...a bit of natural wastage in the last year or so, so the address list has got smaller.

For both cards I stamped the holly stamps in Versafine Olympia Green, the berries and other red stuff is stamped using festive berries (one of the limited edition Distress inks).

On the Merry and Bright card I've dusted the berries with glitter to add a bit of frosty sparkle. Serious glitter attack...I'm covered in it....the kitchen counter is covered with it and now I think it just might be an added ingredient to this weeks bread batch...so we will all be sparkly on the inside! LOL!

I'm entering this card into several challenges

"Make My Monday - Christmas with flowers/foliage or snowflakes"

"PanPastels UK Challenge - Frosty and Bright"

"Quirky Crafts - Clean and Simple"

"2 Sisters- Let it Sparkle"

"Allsorts - One Layer Card"

"Phindy's Place - Christmas Cards"

"Wags and Whiskers - Christmas theme"

Oh and I should have said that these cards are for the current Tanda Teaser over at "Tanda Stamps Blog"

More Gilding!

2011-11-20T01:43:00.000-08:00

Since discovering Indigoblu's Flitterglu I just can't seem to leave it alone! This time I used their gilding flakes too....how yummy does their Yorkshire Dales look on green pearlised card. For this card I have used stamps from Sam Poole's Stylish Christmas stamps, available from "Creative Expressions".

I've gone a bit to town with the old Spellbinders dies and distress inks too!

I would like to enter this card into a few challenges....

"Our Daily Bread designs - Baubles, bells or anything hanging"

"Fabulous Friday - Die cuts"

"Floweret - Christmas"

"Phindy's Place - Christmas cards"

"Wags and Whiskers - Christmas"

and last but not least here one for Zoe, Neet and Von over on "Just for Fun" where the challenge is to use you fav technique.

Not Just for Christmas!

2011-11-15T15:50:00.000-08:00

These stylish "Creative Expressions" Christmas stamps by Sam Poole are certainly not just for Christmas! Having been on a whistle stop tour over the last couple of weeks, I totally forgot to make my brother's anniversary card....realised that I was a week overdue! Plus he lives in America so that's probably another week overdue by the time his card arrives! Feeling very guilty!

This card started as a Coke can...I annealed it in the flame on my gas hob to get the pattena and then embossed and pierced it. The beads are coke can too..just cut into strips and rolled up.

I finished the card off by stamping the swirly flourish around the edge.

I'm entering this into 4 challenges:

"House of Gilli - Monochrome"

"Crafty Cardmakers - Recycle"

"Critter Sketch Challenge - Monochrome"

"My Partner in Crime - Use any Freebie"

For this last one...my stamp was "free" as I am on the design team for Creative Expressions and of course the coke can was recycled.

Two's Company

2011-11-15T11:20:00.000-08:00

Hi there I just thought I would share this anniversary card with you. I made it for my mum and dad's 50th Wedding anniversary hence the golden, champagne colours. The image was stamped in black soot distress ink and coloured with copics. The flowers and leaves are Tim Holtz dies and the lacy borders were punched with a Martha Stewart punch.

I'm entering this into the following challenges:

"Cupcake Crafts - Two's Company"

"Penny Black - all creatures great and small"

"Stamptacular Sunday - Punch it"

"Lili of the Valley - Creature Comforts"

"Cuddly Buddly - feature two little characters"

Oh a little tip...you know one of those well I tried it and it failed...you see the numerals...well they were cut using Tim Holtz Vintage Market....I then coloured them with gold Krylon pen....then coated with glossy accents...guess what they turned green...great if you want a verdigis effect but I wanted gold...so the numerals you see here were coloured using gold eco green pure gold acrylic paint...Glossy accents don't turn this green!

Rustic Charm

2011-11-14T10:54:00.000-08:00

For my next card using Sam Poole's Stylish Christmas stamp set, from Creative Expressions, I have gone for a rustic theme.

The traditional reds and greens of Christmas lend themselves to a rustic treatment and what could be more complimentary than brown paper and natural raffia. Ok the brown paper is really card that looks like brown parcel wrapping. I shall send this card to one of our North American friends or relations because they know what a Cardinal is. We don't have cardinals over here, but I remember seeing them when we lived in the suburbs of Philadelphia and I have to say they are quite stunning.

I have used Gilding flakes again as per my last card, but have left off the glitter. The Poinsettia spellbinders die and the raffia have added a really rustic feel to the card that I am quite pleased with....and guess what...there is no restriction on the thickness of a card when you send it abroad...unlike sending internally! Not yet anyway!!! so result!

I an entering this card into three challenges...

"Samuel Taylors Challenge - Christmas Cards"

"Gingersnaps Challenge - Raffia"

and

"CCEE Stampers - Three different shapes on your card"

A Little bit of sparkle!

2011-11-11T09:13:00.000-08:00

As I type this I am sitting in the reception of a hotel in Madrid....The travel bug really seems to have bitten lately, only problem is that nothing is getting done at home and blog posts have been few and far between....I'm having to schedule this one so that I can add the photos later....They are on my laptop at home...so with any luck this should appear some time on Friday afternoon with pictures! If not the pictures should come soon! I just spent an hour or so working on the toppers for our family Christmas card for this year and I have discovered that Ranger Stickes do not travel by plane well.......I had my own glitter fountain! I guess for some reason the pressure had built up inside the tube on the flight and then hadn't equalised itself since. A bit hairy when you are sitting in the reception of a posh hotel and crafting on antique inlaid table!

Well enough of that and onto my next card using Sam Poole's wonderful Stylish Christmas stamp set. I was really happy to receive these stamps from Creative Expressions, they are so versatile, as you will see if you visit any of the other design team blogs. I have a bit of catching up to do!

For my card I used the Robin, the flourish (how fab is this stamp....certainly not just for Christmas! ) and the Noel stamp. I also used a brand new product, Flitterglu from IndigoBlu. I'd had these guilding flakes for absolutely ages and ages, but I didn't really like any of the products that you used with them, consequently they tended to just sit in the drawer, as these things do. Until now that is!

You will be seeing quite a lot of gilding flakes from now on. What's even better is that the technique works really well with these Creative Expressions stamps.

For my card I used Fliterglu directly on the robin stamp and stamped this onto red card. The gilding flakes are then patted over the stamped image before being rubbed off and buffed. I used the Fliterglu on the flourish stamp but instead of flakes I used fine bronze glitter to make a background. Noel was stamped in Aged Mahogany Distress ink and distressed around the edges a bit. The robin and the layer under it was cut out using a Spellbinders die.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

"Chrimbo Crackers - Must be Christmas Make it Sparkle"

"Dutch Dare Card Challenge - Punches and dies"

"Forever Friends - Must include an animal, something old, something new"

"Inky Impressions - Glitter"

And last but no means least,

"Ruby's Rainbow - Something with wings"

I'm starting to panic now.....it's been several hours since I applied the Stickels and they are no where near dry...I'm supposed to be getting a taxi in an hour's time! EeeK!

Traditional Red and Green for Christmas

2011-11-09T00:17:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post....by the end of this week I will be another 5 days behind, perhaps things might get a bit more sane next week! Fingers crossed!

Card was made using Tanda stamps, Copic Markers and Distress Inks.

Serious Catching Up To Do....

2011-11-03T15:02:00.000-07:00

Sorry been awol....go away for one week...and so I am now soooo behind.....

Just spent a week in the Canaries. Sunrise on the way out was better than the picture...The weather was fab and the pool was great but trust me it really took your breath away when you got in.....hence I left it till about 4pm before getting in....got to swim almost everyday though...so pretty chuffed with myself.

So on Monday when I got back I was really looking forward to the package from Creative Expressions containing the latest set of stamps....then I got a call....come to the Treasury on Wednesday night....new product.....strictly need to know only....going live at the NEC today....how could I resist?....see if you can find it at the show...2 mins if that into the demo...I'm like....I've got to have it NOW! It works perfectly with these latest stamps....but you will have to wait till later....I haven't finished my card yet using this product....so instead I'm showing you the card that I had planned in my head all the time I was away.....

I used Weathered wood and Broken China Distress Inks and turquoise stickles to make this card.

I'm entering this card into three challenges....

firstly

"Shelly's Images - Monochromatic plus ribbon"

secondly

"Crimbo Crackers - Must Be Christmas"

and thirdly

"Stamp Insantity - Chilled out blues"

An experiment........

2011-10-23T07:57:00.000-07:00

Ok so this a little experiment....I 'm not where I usually am and I am relying on an iPad and a very, very dodgy wifi to do this. Hubby got me an iPad for my birthday in the summer....really it was a pressy for the family to take away on holiday or out when we are away from home.....so there's me trying to learn what I can do with the thing.....so can I post a blog from this thing? I started this before I left home by saving the picture in a draft post, so now I'm adding the text.

It looks like it's going to work, but I have no idea how to put links in, and not sur the wifi here is up to it!

My card is the next Tanda Teaser, Sepia tones....this is the first of my Christmas Cards this year and uses the Tanda Dot and strip Christmas set.

My next Christmas card here is very likely to be made using the Stylish Christmas set from Creative Expressions.....my fingers are seriously itching I have to say! Probably the only reason I want to go home!

Watch this space.......

I've Started but Haven't Finished!

2011-10-23T07:30:00.000-07:00

In my last post you will have seen that I have started a book to catalogue all my ink pads, inks, paints etc......I've now managed to do the pages relating to my distress inks.

So now I have gone from this....

To this......

I grouped the inks into colour groups and then arranged them so that the shades got deeper as I went down the page. I used the fabby vintage date stamp from the Creative Expressions Vintage Typewriter set to stamp each colour. I added the codes ri for re-inker and ds for distress stain after the name so that I know what I have in my stash. Still got quite a few re-inkers and stains to get, so hopefully this will mean that I don't double up on any accidentally.

It wasn't until I had done this little exercise that I realised how lovely these colours are together! I'm sorry the photos don't do the colours justice.

Something Useful!

2011-10-17T15:42:00.001-07:00

For a while now I have been thinking that it would be a good idea to start cataloging my stash....how many times have I bought something I forgot I already had....and how useful would colour charts be instead of the scraps of paper that I currently use or loose in the corners of my handbag?!

Well this is the start of it...not sure how long it will take to complete, I know that I won't have it ready in time for the NEC in November, but at least I've started. So far I have made the front cover using the Vintage Typewriter stamps from Creative Expressions.

My local picture framer gave me a small pile of mountboard offcuts for free...So this was the start of my cover. I made a background by repeatedly stamping the typewriter in Weathered wood distress ink, masking as I went. This was distressed around the edges using Chipped sapphire distress ink. I mounted this layer onto dark blue card and stitched the two layers together with a zigzag stitch.

I stamped the typewriter on cream card in chipped sapphire and heat embossed in clear and then cut it out. I also stamped the typewriter keys in versamark and then heat embossed in clear before inking with weathered wood, stormy skys and chipped sapphire. I also stamped the typewriter in silver stazon on black shrink plastic, allowed it to dry, cut it out and then heated it to shrink it.

I'm thinking that once I've got some pages in my book I will decorate the book rings with lots of fibres....I love fibres, but I think that it will be difficult to add pages with fibres in place..hence waiting for a bit on this one.

Having checked out the feline playful blog I reckon that this will fit three challenges.....

namely..

"Fashionable Stamping challenge, Anything but a card"

"The Crafty Pad - Monochromatic"

"Stamptacular Sunday - Must use a stamp, You choose"

Tanda Teaser - Packaging

2011-10-13T09:41:00.000-07:00

Hi, just a few mins to put together a post on the "Tanda Teaser". For the next fortnight the theme is to use packaging somewhere on your project. For my card I used the Spellbinders cogs dies to cut cogs out of fruit juice cartons. I then coloured these with alcohol inks. The inks used were distress inks and the banners were cut using the Tim Holtz die. The motorcycle and the crackle are Tanda stamps. The sentiment was stamped using individual letter stamps.

Having just checked out "the Feline Playful blog" I have seen that this card can be entred into two challenges.

Firstly "Just for fun - use something from the kitchen">

and secondly "The Southern Girls Challenge, slugs and snails something for the men/man in your life"

Where does the time go?

2011-10-11T09:18:00.000-07:00

I really wish I knew the answer to this one! Before you know it, it's next week already! I seem to keep loosing days, last Saturday I had to take my eldest daughter to an open day at Reading Uni. I was supposed to watch my youngest row in the Stourport Head on the same day but couldn't be in two places at once so had to rely on a friend to bring her home.

This week I'm taking two days to go and see my Mum and Dad and try to help them sort a few things out. Dad still hasn't had a biopsy on the tumour in his stomach and seems to be getting weaker and weaker by the day. He's been offered a day a week in a hospice to give mum some respite and a wheelchair seems to be on the cards soon too. Not sure he's ready to accept either of these though.

So that's three days taken out of my week...still trying to fit all the other things that have to be done in so I guess that's why I haven't found a moment to blog or blog hop!

Luckily I have managed to have another play with the Vintage Typewriter stamps from "Creative Expressions." This week my creation started off with some black ribbon that reminded me of typewriter ribbon. I decided to stamp the hugs and kisses stamp onto the ribbon using "Pearl Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabber." I was going to position the ribbon to make horizontal stripes across my card but then decided that this wasn't going to work. Instead I used four strips of the ribbon to make a grid. I then stamped the hugs and kisses stamp randomly in Black Soot Distress ink in the centre, masking the ribbon where necessary. This was then matted and layered onto pink then silver then the white base card. The typewriter was stamped in Black Soot Distress Ink and heat embossed in clear ep before being cut out and mounted in the top left hand corner of the card. To balance the Typewriter I glued three white rose buds onto the bottom right hand corner with a pink ribbon.

I'm entering this card into three challenges, I'm sure there are more if I had time to look! Anyway, here goes.....

"Let's ink it up - Think Pink"

"Sentimental Sundays - Must include a sentiment, anything goes"

"The Crafty Pad- Vintage" My colours might not be vintage, but the image is so I hope this counts!

I hope you're days aren't as hectic as mine at the moment!

Thanks for looking!

A Bit of Shabby Chic

2011-10-04T06:05:00.000-07:00

Last week I received my order from Creative Expressions which included the Rambling Rose stamp set. I wanted to combine it with the Vintage Typewriter set that the Creative Expressions Design Team are working with this month. For my next sample card, I wanted to make a really pretty and feminine card and the roses were perfect for this.

Firstly I stamped the rose corner onto 14cm x 14cm cream card in pumice stone distress ink. I also stamped the large leaves in pumice stone on another piece of card. The tag was cut from the same card and stamped again in pumice stone using the sentiment from the typewriter set and the small rosebud from the rambling rose set. The typewriter was stamped on the same cream card with frayed burlap distress ink and then heat embossed. The sentiment was then stamped in pumice stone. This was then cut out.

I coloured the roses and leaves using faber castel pitt pastel pencils and sansodour. I covered the leaves in glossy accents allowed them to dry then cut them out. The base layer was distressed around the edges using pumice stone.

Next I made a green strip of vellum punched with a Martha Stewart punch with a strip of cream vellum over the top. I stuck these onto the square base and stitched around the edge and across the vellum strips. I glued the ribbon over the top to hide the glue holding the vellum down. the typewriter was stuck over the top of the ribbon, the tag was tied onto the ribbon and the leaves tucked in behind the bow and tag.

At this point if felt I needed a little something at the top of the card. An off cut of ribbon and a smokey brad did the business in the top right hand corner balancing out the tag at the bottom. The whole thing was then mounted onto a 15cm x 15cm brown card.

I'm entering this card into several challenges....

"Let's Ink it Up - Think Pink"

"Paper Sundaes - Lots of Layers"

"Sentimental Sundays- must include sentiment and sewing or stitching"

"Crafters Companion - Cards only pink and green"

"Die Cut Dreams - Brown, Pink and Cream"

Save the Date with Creative Expressions Vintage Typewriter Stamp set

2011-10-02T07:57:00.000-07:00

Well, while I've got some internet I thought that I would try to catch up with some of the cards I've been making and been unable to blog! I have been busy crafting honest!

This is my next card using the "Creative Expressions Vintage Typewriter set". As you can see I'm still using up the ink sprayed watercolour paper! I just got the round the corner Martha Stewart stamp and couldn't wait to use it. I have a Tim Holtz mask that is similar and thought that the two would go together well...haven't had time to try this theory out yet though!

For my card I stamped the date stamp in aged mahogany distress ink and heat embossed it.

The rosette was made using seambinding coloured with distress inks and the letters were from the keypad background stamp. I decided to leave the stamp whole and just punch out the letters I needed. The finishing touch was a bit of stickles to give a bit of sparkle.

I am entering this card into the following challenges

"Sparkles Forum - Something that sparkles"

"Stamptacular Sunday - Must use a stamp, Autumnal colour photo inspiration"

"Artistic Stampers - must use a rubber stamp - Autumn Colours"

This week I received my order from Creative Expressions, so I have been playing with my new stamps making more cards....I will be blogging these over the next couple of weeks. I think I need to set up a facebook account as it doesn't look like I'm making anything over on the Creative Expressions facebook page at the moment...need to pin my eldest daughter down to show me what to do. LOL!

Hot, Hot, Hot and an apology!

2011-10-02T02:20:00.000-07:00

Firstly, I have to say sorry about the lack of blogs this week....our internet has been awful, just when you think that you might be getting somewhere you get disconnected...I spent ages trying to get onto the internet last night and a whole long list of other peoples wifi came up...some of it protected and some not....My eldest was trying to get the internet on her phone the other night and actually managed to get onto someone elses wifi and not ours..Didn't work for me though (they are still unprotected but the signal is so bad it wouldn't connect)..I'm wondering if we have some internet virgins just signed up to broadband in the village and this is effecting every ones speeds...I know we are not the only ones feeling the effect, as my friend who lives just outside the village has been having the same problems.

It's steaming hot here in Worcestershire.....I had no idea that it was going to be like this when I set the last Tanda Teaser..Honest! This fortnight the Teaser is just add a bit of warmth...the idea being that you use warm colours on your card. I've used a Spellbinders die to cut a mask then used it to stencil a block of colour (I think I used wild honey distress ink). The Tanda Hotel Vendome stamp was stamped in coffee archival ink. I added a few gilding flakes and a bit of cream ribbon tied in a bow. This is quite an orange card so I think it will count for "Gingerloft's current colour orange challenge"

Thanks to the mask this is almost a single layer card, but then I mounted it on a pearlised brown card and then onto a base cream card, hence giving a framed effect.

Another Vintage Typewriter

2011-09-26T04:43:00.000-07:00

I am loving this vintage typewriter stamp from creative expressions so you will just have to forgive me for using it all over again!

I started making this card last week just after my Black and White clean and simple card. I had made a couple of cards using some water colour paper that I had spray inked in yellow, orange and red and had some left over so rather than waste it I thought I'd use it with the Typewriter.

However as you will see it was very similar to my last card and I left it on the side all week thinking about how I could make it different. Then it came to me...go for 3D and add some wire and beads to form the roll bar. So whilst the layout is very similar, the colour, texture (ribbons. wire and beads) and depth of the card (decoupaged and heat embossed) do give it a different look. If you click on the closeup you will be able to see the wire between the two layers, I added two matt black beads to the wire to look like the little rubber rollers.

The typewriter has been stamped in Aged Mahogany Distress Ink and heat embossed with clear ep.

The vintage subject matter allows me to enter this card into two challenges,

"Fashionable Stamping Challenges, No digi allowed - Vintage"

"Gingerloft - Vintage or Distressed"

Thanks for looking!

Aqua, white and glitter

2011-09-23T14:07:00.000-07:00

The next challenge over on "the Lili of the Valley challenge site" is aqua, white and glitter. The glitter is not obvious on my card but it is on the stole...promise!

Vintage Typewriter

2011-09-20T08:17:00.000-07:00

My next set of Creative Expressions stamps was waiting for me on the mat this morning so much of today has been spent mounting them and cutting them out. This month I have Sam Poole's vintage typewriter set to play with. A bit nostalgic for me as I did a secretarial course before going to college and for one of our classes we had to use typewriters like these. We did have electric typewriters as well but we had to learn on the old ones too. I guess this was just in case we ended up working for a company that wasn't so up to date.

For my first card using these stamps, I have kept things really simple. I love the way that the paper on the typewriter is sized so that the text stamps in the set will fit. I decided that I wanted to do a very simple card and thought that a thank you card would be the perfect thing....sometimes we all need a quick Thank you card and you can't get much quicker than this one.

I stamped the typewriter and sentiment in Ancient Page on smooth white card stock. Then I punched the spiral holes down the edge with an SU punch. I layered this on black card and then mounted this onto a square white card. I did play around with some black and white ribbon and paper clips, but decided that the card really didn't need anything else.

Sometimes less really is more.

I would like to enter my card into several challenges:

Alphabet Challenge "Quick and Simple"

Corrosive Challenge "Punches/and or Dies"

One Stitch at a Time "Punch it"

Sentimental Sundays "Monochromatic, must include a sentiment"

Stamptacular Sunday "Just Saying"

Silver and Blue

2011-09-14T00:09:00.000-07:00

The next Tanda Teaser is to use Silver and any shade of Blue for your project.

For my card I stamped the heart panel (Tanda Romance set 2) in Versamark and then heat embossed with silver ep. I then painted over this with turquoise brusho ink. I used the same ink to colour some hand made paper (for the tag) and a short length of seam binding. (The seam binding takes the water based ink just as well as alcohol inks....it just takes a little longer to dry).

I cut the stamped panel out and mounted it onto hand made paper then I wrapped the seam binding around this and tied a bow at the front. This was then stuck onto a DL card. The sentiment was stamped using Tumbled Glass distress ink.

The tag was embossed using the divine embossing folder and the numbers were cut from mat silver card using Tim Holtz Vintage Market die. Having cut out the numbers I covered them in glossy accent before sticking them onto the tag.

I made this card for my next door neighbours....it was their 25th Wedding anniversary a couple of days ago. I would like to enter this card into the "Stampin' B's - Anniversary Challenge"

Sunday Day Trippers....

2011-09-11T08:39:00.000-07:00

This is my next Ethel and Murray creation using stamps from Creative Expressions' witty, Wrinkles don't Hurt plate.

I used chipped Sapphire Distress ink to stamp the image and to distress the edges of the circle and label. The dies were all Spell binders dies. The patterned background paper was actually made using a huge background stamp that I found recently...it is soooo big that it hangs over the edge of my largest acrylic block, but it still seems to stamp out large enough for a 5 x 5 inch card! Exactly what I need.

The colour, the check, the simple lines and the sentiment all give this a very humorous masculine feel.

With that in mind I would like to enter it into several challenges.......

"Fairy Fun Holidays - Masculine"

"Just Add Ink - White and one other colour"

"Stampman - Monochrome"

"Clearly Inspired - Patterned Paper"

"Corrosive Challenges - Funny or Punny

A Sketch

2011-09-05T08:31:00.000-07:00

I haven't done a Lili of the Valley Challenge for a while so I thought I should make an effort this week. This week's challenge is a "Sketch". For my card I used Copic markers, Tim Holtz dies, Brusho inks, embossing folder, Martha Steward punches glossy accents and accent beads.

The flowers, handmade paper and the seam binding were all dyed using Brusho ink.

The sentiment was mounted in a die cut taken from a fruit juice carton that was coloured with alcohol inks and triple embossed.

P is for Pastels

2011-09-05T08:17:00.000-07:00

Over on the "Alphabet Challenge Blog" P is for Pretty Pastels. This gives me the chance to enter my next Ethel and Murray card....Ethel has had another purple rinse. For my card I used Spellbinders oval die, Spellbinders tag die and various punches. The image of Ethel was coloured using Copic markers.

Wrinkles Don't Hurt!

2011-08-30T14:47:00.000-07:00

I have to apologise.....I've been on holiday....the Wifi in the hotel was totally appalling, the last blog post I did took ages to do and crashed several times in the posting so I kind of gave up and decided to wait untill I got home....our internet is pretty bad here too but not as bad as last week in Cornwall!So this is my third card using the Ethel and Murray stamps from Creative Expressions....and it just happened to fit in with two challenges....The winkled background was paper scrunched up and inked with distress inks...using tanned colours..(the inspiration for the background came from the sentiment)..Ethel was stamped in frayed burlap DI then water coloured before being covered with a layer of glossy accents....the flowers were left overs from some that I dyed/stamped and made up ages ago when I was making some sample cards for the Treasury. The ribbon was also a remnant from some sample cards I made for Patty.

So the challenges I am entering this card into are...

"365 Cards Wrinkled"

"Bearly Mine, Flowers, flowers, flowers"

Holiday!

2011-08-21T09:01:00.000-07:00

The sun is shining here in Newquay, we've just been for a walk across the beach and through the rock pools.

My youngest seems to like it here...she even wants us to buy a place and come here every weekend....

My eldest is complaining that it's cold (typical, she's not happy unless she's complaining)....

I think it's lovely though! >
DH has found a pub showing Sky sports and has camped out there for the afternoon so he's happy.

The girls have just decided to go down to the beach and have left me to make the most of the Wifi here in the hotel. You have to pay, but you get a voucher for the same amount in drinks and snacks so it works out OK in the end....only problem is I keep losing the connection....just found out that I had lost everything I'd typed and have started again from scratch!

These pictures were taken this afternoon.

Yesterday I was looking for some challenges to enter my next Ethel and Murray creation into and holidays seemed like a good theme. For my card I have chosen Ethel looking glamorous on her sunbed. She reminds me of my late Grandma....do you remember the pink and purple rinses? Well that's what inspired this card.

I coloured Ethel using Copics. ;The background paper was some scraps left over from some sample cards made for the Treasury in Kidderminster...I thought they looked a bit like the tiles you would find around a swimming pool.

I've found three challenges that I would like to enter with this card......

My Sheri Crafts Challenge - "Vacation"

Stamping for the Weekend - "Holidays"

Sew Many Challenges - "Summer time"

You will not believe the problems I have had trying to post these links.....
>the internet here is really bad, so the copy/paste doesn't want to play ball...worked fine yesterday! So if they don't work I apologise and will try to fix them later.

O is for only 3 embellishments

2011-08-20T03:48:00.001-07:00

Hi,

Just seen that the new "Alphabet Challenge" is O is for only 3 embellishments. I initially read this wrong....I was trying to read of my ipad (recent birthday pressie from my hubby) screen in the sunshine yesterday and thought that the challenge was zero or 3 embellishments..Today it is raining on the edge of Dartmoor so I can actually read my computer screen....a change of plan was needed....

I was going to show you my next Ethel and Murray creation with no embellishments..ho hum will have to find another challenge for that one.

In the mean time I can share a card using a digital download from Charmed Crafts. My 3 embellishments are 2 flowers and one ribbon. The flowers were made using Tim Holtz tattered florals die and handmade paper from Ikea. A bit like the string in the last post I haven't been able to get any more of this paper, but it does make the most beautiful flower embellishments...basically I cut loads of layers...screw them up and then sponge distress inks over them...in this case I have used Victorian Velvet Distress ink. The image has been stamped in Black Soot and coloured using copic markers. The background was stamped using my dotty stamp and sponged in Spun Sugar. The background papers are from a V&A set from Papermania, I think.

Other equipment used....Spellbinders dies...Martha Stewart Punch....SU punch....

The other day Zoe told me about a blog that has a summary of loads of Challenges called "Feline Playful" I've just been over there to check it out and realised that I can enter my card into four more challenges....so here we go.....

Fussy and Fancy - "3 or more of your favourite embellishments" , these flowers and gingham ribbons are my fave embellishments at the moment!

Crafty Ann's - "Scallops and or Fancy Borders", think my Martha Stewart punches get me in on this one....

Card Makin' Mamas - "Pink" - This card is predominantly pink...

Crafty Catz Weekly Challenge - "Pink and Brown" ...pink already mentioned...brown gingham ribbon and brown glittery brads as the flower centres.

Thanks for looking.....off to look for some challenges to enter my next Ethel and Murray card for "Creative Expressions"

Tanda Teaser - Monochrome

2011-08-17T01:20:00.000-07:00

Hi just popped on to let you know that the next "Tanda" Teaser is Monochrome. My card uses Tanda stamps, spellbinder dies, my Dotty Stamp (exclusive to the Treasury), and Distress inks (Weathered Wood and Stormy Skies).

I punched holes and inserted eyelets using my Crop a dial and used white parcel twine from Ikea....not sure if you can still get it as they didn't seem to have any wrapping stuff last time I was there. The background for this card was done using the compass mask from Tim Holtz and Weathered wood distress ink.

Just a quick reminder!

2011-08-16T14:47:00.000-07:00

Just a quick reminder.....the current "Tanda Teaser" , Ribbons and Bows ends tomorrow morning when the next Teaser goes live...so if you have the time to pop over we look forward to seeing you there.

See the Tanda Teaser for the details of stamps used. I used distress inks to stamp and colour the images and glossy accents on the main image....which was stamped on card die cut using nesties. The ribbon was from fantastic ribbons.

First card for Creative Expressions and a couple of challenges.

2011-08-15T13:48:00.000-07:00

So here we go....my first stamps arrived from Creative Expressions on Friday morning together with the official agreement....I'm thinking, ooops...I'm going on holiday very soon, this is not going to look good...so I've spent the weekend and today working on samples so that I can schedule posts while I'm away! Not going far (because of Dad, but won't be online most of the time and not sure all my crafty stuff would fit in the car with two teenage girls and all their luggage!)

So drum roll please....here is my first card featuring Ethel and Murry.

I would also like to enter my card into two challenges....
namely

"the totally gorjuss round and round challenge"

plus

the "Navy and one other challenge from the alphabet girls"

The one other is silver for the brads and the Krylon pen.....

I can't help but think of Dad with this sentiment....he's all there up top...just moving a hell of a lot slower!

This is a really simple card...all you need is the stamps...nesties...white and navy card...a couple of brads.... and chipped Sapphire distress ink....maybe a bit of glue...some foam and a paintbrush...

Sue
x

Bitter Sweet?

2011-08-09T15:21:00.000-07:00

Good news.....I got a place on the Creative Expressions Design Team!!! Looking forward to seeing Patty at the Treasury tomorrow coz she told me to go for it! Big hugs all round!

I spent the weekend with Mum and Dad....and a memorable 5 hours (on Saturday) sat on the M25 between junction 9 and 8 trying to get to the demo day at the Craft Barn. We finally got to junction 8 at 7pm...the on board computer said our average speed was 3mph..and since the engine was switched off for most of that we could have walked there quicker! well maybe not mum....she did say that the enforced inactivity helped her feet and they didn't hurt the next morning. Needless to say we missed the demos (I was so looking forward to seeing this Andy Skinner guy). Dad was pretty distressed when we got back...we had only planned to be 3 hours max. But at least mum got a break...not the sort you would choose but still a break.

So onto the bad news..Dad was supposed to have his biopsy today in London...he's been waiting for this since the New Year...it didn't happen. The doctors thought that he would either have a cardiac arrest on the table or tonight at home and die..so they wouldn't take the risk. I'm glad they didn't because the good news is I still have my Dad!

They have agreed to try again mid September if his salt levels are OK, that way Dad will hopefully see his 50th Wedding anniversary and my Brother is flying from the States so that we can have a little celebration. I need to think of a really fabulous desert...he's not up to going out so I told mum I'd do desert. Any ideas?

Sue
x

Relax!

2011-08-01T12:19:00.000-07:00

Creative Expressions are doing a monthly challenge and the idea is that you use their stamps, other than that anything goes...I think that Tatty Button counts so I am entering this card into the "August challenge". For my card I have used Tatty Button and the button stamps...in addition to this I have used my dotty stamp, the running stitch from Tanda mini stitches set and the brick border from Tanda Architectural elements.
Tatty, the wall and the buttons were all coloured using copic markers....a serious amount of masking before using the distress inks (Weathered wood and Pumice stone) and the dotty stamp....then glossy accents on Tatty's lips and the buttons

I spoke to Dad today and he is a little better, he says he doesn't notice the difference but Mum has so fingers crossed.

3 days left to join in with the Tanda Teaser!

2011-07-31T13:05:00.000-07:00

Thank you for all your kind comments, private messages and phone calls re my Dad. He has had a bad week but has rallied a little this weekend. My brother is going to fly over from Boston to see him and I will be going down to stay with them next weekend. Needless to say blogging has taken a bit of a backseat lately.

Crafting has still been happening though....still need to make all those birthday cards etc....so, as I haven't blogged the last "Tanda Teaser" ,this is a little reminder that if you want to join in the teaser runs until Wednesday first thing. You just have to use acetate somewhere on your card. As well as acetate I used coke cans...cut out using spellbinders dies and coloured with alcohol inks. Over on the "alphabet challenge site" M is for Metal this week...so this card counts, but as I had blogged this card previously on the Tanda site I thought I should probably blog one I've just made...

My Brother in law will have been married for 10 years in August, I was going to do a gooey lili of the valley anniversary card until I checked out what the gift was supposed to be for 10 years...turns out it is tin or aluminium.

Bit of a result there so their card is a metal fest....two coke cans and one tomato puree tube, some alcohol inks, embossing folders, Tim Holtz dies and a bit of glitz and hey presto! Metal Fest!

So how do you say good bye to your dad?

2011-07-24T17:52:00.000-07:00

?

He's still here, but he's going down hill fast. He has a biopsy booked for 9th Aug..results a week later. Surgery is not an option apparently.
sue

K is for Kitty

2011-07-19T02:41:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post as I should be doing other things, but I just couldn't resist this challenge on the "Alphabet Challenge blog" For this card I used a Clarity stamp and distress inks. I think the "Purr fect day" stamp is penny black. I used various punches and some papers from ages ago...I've almost finished them, which is a shame as they were so useful.

Sorry about the picture quality, the light wasn't very good when I took this.

'Creative Expressions Calling Card Challenge'

2011-07-12T03:54:00.000-07:00

Phew, I had an idea in my head but wasn't sure how it would turn out.....there had to be an ATC somewhere and the theme was "Calling Card". This morning when I was checking the blogs I follow, I noticed a technique using alcohol inks demonstrated on You Tube by Andy Skinner. I thought that this would make a good background for my Calling Card. So out came an ice cream container, some alcohol inks, some water and some atc size white card. So could I get the inks to work like Andy?....Nooooo! They just stuck to the side of the tub and refused to coat the card.

So onto plan B! Basically the above technique should work something like marbling, so I had a rummage around and found the marbling inks that I bought when my daughter was doing her GCSE art exam. A few drops of blue and purple on the surface of the water did the trick! A quick blitz with a hairdrier meant that I was ready to stamp.

Calling cards have a certain nostalgic quality so I wanted to use some vintage images, the Tanda retro stamps fit the bill and I stamped them in black archival ink, the words were made using the Tanda Mack alphabet set. I chose these as they suited the era of the girls with their bobbed hair.

So this atc triptych is my entry for the "Creative Expressions Calling Card Challenge" ....

One great thing about marbling is that both sides of the card get coated..result! This is the back of the atc triptych.

Helloooooo

2011-07-11T14:39:00.000-07:00

Ooops! haven't posted here for ages! Sorry,I just had to prioritise the Tanda Blog when time was short.

Quick update so far...Em has had to postpone her op date...she wants to be able to swim on holiday, but apparently if she cancels the date she was given, government rules say she has to go back to the gp...to be referred back to Dudley hospital to get another date....how ridiculous is that! She isn't an urgent case so the op date had been already deferred since the original consultation...no fault of Ems that the dates now fall in the time when all families with kids are looking at going on holiday and postponement takes it outside what is permissible?!

Dad is getting weaker by the day, and mum hasn't been well too...so they are struggling... apparently the hospital cannot get the right size needles for biopsy dad needs..this has been going on since the beginning of Jan....where are the government guidelines on this?!

Creative Expressions are looking for new design team members...so I thought I might just have the weekend to prepare for this...then...DH has a serious nose bleed....we ended up in A&E on Friday night!!!!...Not a good time to hit A&E!...DH had to stay the night as they couldn't stem the flow...I got to bed at 2am...and obviously didn't sleep..then back up to hospital in the morning. Had to leave him there as I'd promised to do my bit for the village gala painting faces...DD2 rowing Sunday morning...loads of washing to do....where did the weekend go? Now can I get something made to fit their challenge and get it posted by 5pm?....maybe/maybe not

Today I made a card for one of our nephews and thought I would share it...just had to play around with Tim Holtz dies and fruit juice cartons! thanks to Meikoningin for the juice carton tip....for some reason I don't seem to be able to paste her link here...but if you go to the tanda steampunk teaser challenge you will find her in the comments. Her work is fab so you really should visit!

I decided to enhance the metal effect by triple embossing my juice carton embelishments, this added to the thickness, helping to enhance the effect.

Hello!

2011-06-07T13:41:00.000-07:00

Hi Folks!
Not blogged for a month! I have been keeping up with the Tanda Teasers though over on the Tanda Blog...

Good news....DD1's lump is a "breast mouse"....not dangerous at this stage but still advisable to remove..provisional date for removal is late July...might be later....if we go on holiday she wants to swim...so watch this space...

Tanda Take and Make is more or less organised for Saturday...we have star guests coming from Yorkshire and the South Coast so I feel very honoured! We are going to be making some one layer cards...(Thank you Lesley for your feed back!) with the Tanda Locks and Keys set amongst other cards.

Magazine submission using Tanda Mac stamps is live....in creative Cardmaking Issue 29...page 70...see image on the left.....

Please note that there is an error on page 34...they got the credits completely wrong!

This was mine!

Other reasons for not blogging....

2011-05-04T14:45:00.000-07:00

Ok so I said that there were some good reasons for not blogging much recently...think I should come clean!

I had been working on a couple of magazine submissions...but then...total freak out moment...DD1, 17 year old, finds a lump over Easter where there shouldn't be a lump. Seem to be spending a fair bit of time in hospital atm. Looks like (and fingers crossed) the lump is benign but they want to get it out fast just in case...just waiting for the op date now.

Blogging may be a bit sporadic...but watch this space.
sue
x

Tanda Teaser....and news of a win!

2011-05-03T02:35:00.000-07:00

I'm late again posting the latest Tanda Teaser on my blog....I do have several good excuses for this, promise....

With all the excitement about the royal wedding I decided to set a Wedding related Teaser. My main image was a Tanda stamp, stamped in Pumice stone distress ink (one of my fave colours). This was layered onto a scalloped nestie that I had stitched tea dyed cotton lace onto. The background papers were purchased from the Treasury. Overall the colours have giving this card a vintage feel.

I had been admiring some of the Magnolia tag dies, but the thought of spending more money put me off. The tag on this card was my way of getting the same sort of effect, not quite as pretty but pretty enough.

I know I did promise some more pics of Wisley, but you will have to wait a bit longer for now. I seem to be spending all my time at the moment watering the garden...I can't remember when we last had rain and the wind has been so strong that even well established plants are wilting. It looks like the weather might change by the weekend so I am going to make the most of the time I have today in the veg patch...

Oh I almost forgot....I had a lovely surprise at the weekend. My entry in the Sir Stamp a Lot monthly challenge won first prize! It was lovely to get some good news for a change.

Well I'd better get back to my digging!

Sue
x

Wisley Photos

2011-04-22T14:14:00.000-07:00

No crafting in ages....been down to see mum and dad...went up to London (things are changing all the time!!....The Shard....OMG!...HUGE or what!!!) and spent some time at Wisley...

Posting pics of Wisley atm...prettier than London! Dad came to Wisley with us..it was a huge effort for him..he spotted a fellow volunteer and she didn't recognise him at first...gut wrenching!

Any way hope you enjoy the pics....

BTW... the orchid exhibition is on... well worth the visit! will post pics of this too soon!...

LOTV Happy Birthday Challenge

2011-04-15T14:48:00.001-07:00

this This week's challenge over at Lili of the Valley" is to make a birthday card. I have just made this card for a certain little niece who's birthday is today. I just hope it didn't get squished in the post! I used the fairies on tiptoe stamp coloured with copic markers, a touch of glossy accents on the flowers and wand and a little clear star sakura pen on the wings and skirt. I've used my dotty stamp again to help with the distressed edges. The butterfly was from the Artylicious CD Rom Butterfly Bliss, and having coloured my fairy, I realised that I didn't have any lilac background papers in the house! Luckily the trees on the Artyicious Essence of Nature CD Rom have worked. The flowers were made using handmade paper from Ikea (Every time I go there now I am looking out this paper as it makes fabulous flowers, but they seem to have stopped doing it!) The flowers are cut using Tim Holtz dies, scrunched up, distressed with DI and then a little shimmer added with pearlised medium. The dies are new, they are from Spellbinders and I got them from the Treasury in Kidderminster this week. They are so pretty I couldn't wait to use them. They have so many gorgeous dies out at the moment it is really hard to choose...I ended up getting two dies and then going back the next day for some more.

White and Silver, Tanda Teaser

2011-04-13T14:00:00.000-07:00

The Tanda Teaser for the next fortnight is White and Silver...a colour combination that can only lead to the most elegant cards/projects. We already have a beautiful entry from Zoe mounted on acetate... For my card I used the Tanda Mack set 1, Tim Holtz dies, eco paint, glossy accents, silver card (looks black in the piccy) vellum from an advert wrapped round the news paper and ribbon. This also ties in with the alpabet challenge that runs until Friday. White and one other colour. So if you don't make the "alphabet deadline" , maybe you can make ours.

Peach and Green with LOTV

2011-04-11T16:39:00.000-07:00

This week's challenge over on "Lili of the Valley" is Peach and Green. Possibly an unusual and difficult colour combination, but luckily it fit the papers that I was playing with when I was trying to replicate the flowers that Patty showed me, that ultimately led me on to the floaty skirt..see previous post... My card is for my next door neighbour and good friend....she's the blond, I'm the brunette. It's her birthday today and this is her card. Coloured with Copics, and distress inks. Edges of flower and leaves distressed with chalk inks. Dies are spellbinders and Tim Holtz. Punch is Stampin' up. Lili of the valley stamps of course! apart from my dotty one that is..and lots of distress inks and glossy accents .

Fashion and Ladies

2011-04-10T12:54:00.000-07:00

Perfect challenge for me at the moment from "Sir Stamp a lot challenge blog"....next door's daughter's birthday is next week. She is a fashion design student at Birmingham Uni so this is the perfect theme for her birthday card....I am totally assuming that she doesn't have my blog addy so she shouldn't see this before I post the real thing next door!! There's a long story behind this card...and it took ages to make...dies/punches from all over the place, eco acrylic pants, backing papers from the treasury a few custom stamps. Patty showed me a fun way to make flowers with a reverse pair of tweezers and I thought I could use this to make a floaty skirt that would go well with my recently purchased Tim Holtz dummy die....this is the result. Just need to make a box to deliver it in now!

White and one other colour

2011-04-09T15:20:00.001-07:00

The Alphabet challenge this week is W for white and one other colour...had to think about this one...have something planned for a future teaser but didn't want to use it now....so I'm doing white and blue...the stamps are from Graphicus..the card perfect for a moody teenage skater boy! LOL!

Stamped with black soot distress ink and coloured with Copics.

Just been speaking to Zoe tonight (11/04/2011)....and she has just told me about another challenge that this card fits....so I am entering this card into "Crafty Cardmakers Spotlight Teenage boy challenge"

There doesn't seem to be anything about back linking in the rules so I hope this is OK!

Tanda Teaser - A Little Bit Retro

2011-04-06T00:44:00.000-07:00

Sorry I'm late again posting this on my personal blog....Last Wednesday I set a Retro Teaser on the "Tanda Teaser Blog". I used the twisted easel card with backing papers from the Treasury in Kidderminster. The stamp is from Tanda. I made a little vellum envelope and popped a tea big inside before tying it up with a bit of ribbon. Ribbon, lace and trims were also from the Treasury. I've also used my dotty stamp, again available from the Treasury.

Lots of Layers!

2011-04-05T00:26:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Zoe, I have just seen that the April Challenge over at "The Artistic Stamper Blog" is Layers. I've just made this card for a friend who's perfect present would be another hen! Best of all I did use a Chicken wire background stamp from the Artistic Stamper on one of my background layers. The main stamp is from Crafty Individuals and this has been coloured with copics. Not sure that the colouring is brilliant, but it did the job, will probably use watercolours next time as I think they will be more subtle. Other stamps used are my dotty stamp, LOTV (sentiment) and Paper bag studios. The layer stamped with the chicken wire and Paper bag studio grungy stamp (have no idea what it is called) is brown parcel paper, the next layer up is some handmade paper that I made in a class over 10 years ago....it just resurfaced in my pile of stash! All four layers were stitched together and the raffia tied around before being stuck to the base card. The eggs were coated in glossy accents to give a bit more interest. The punches were from Stampin' Up. Edges have been distressed with distress inks.

PS...Just seen Zoe's simply square card for the "new Crafty Individuals challenge" and thought this fits the square theme too!!! How lucky is that!? Unusual for me to do two challenges in one.

Mother's Day

2011-04-04T02:00:00.000-07:00

Morning, I hope all you mothers in the UK had a great day yesterday! I know I had a lazy day...tea and breakfast in bed, a big bouquet of flowers and treated to dinner in the evening. I was going to do a bit of gardening but we had a massive hail storm complete with thunder and lightning in the afternoon that put paid to that! Maybe gardening gets done today if things brighten up a bit.

Well being the day after I can share the card I sent to my mum, this also happens to fit in with the Challenge on "Really Reasonable Ribbon Challenge Blogspot" The Challenge was to use ribbon together with punches or dies.

For my card I have used ribbon, Martha Stewart punchs, Stampin' up punches, a Spellbinders die and Tim Holtz tattered florals die. The main stamp is a Leanne Ellis stamp coloured with copic markers and distress inks. The sentiments are LOTV and a custom stamp from Tanda. The Dotty stamp is my stamp available from the Treasury.

V is for Vehicles and a little story or two!

2011-04-01T14:37:00.000-07:00

V is for Vehicles is the latest challenge over on the Alphabet challenge blog...I'm spoilt for choice as I've been making loads of cards that fall under that category over the last few days....all with Tanda stamps...but I'm saving those for future Teasers....well they are teasers...what can I say! LOL!

So I will just have to share this card....it's a digital download from Charmed Crafts.... for the boy next door who just passed his driving test! Images are coloured with Copics...backing papers are Papermania...I think?!

I have fond memories of being driven around London as a very little girl in my would be God mother's VW Beetle.("would be" because I was never Christened and she would have been my godmother if I had if you see what I mean)..she was Canadian and so was the Beetle.....we got a lot of very shocked looks from other drivers....surely this little girl couldn't be driving!!! it was a Hoot!... LOL!!!

That just reminded me of another funny story! This awesome lady took me to see Swan Lake at Covent Garden....we had seats in the Stalls and as I was only little...I took a cushion to sit on....in the days of the IRA the security guards were not going to let me take the cushion into the auditorium because it might have been a bomb....I got quite upset! I told them that there was absolutely no way that I was going to sit on a bomb and they were stupid to think such a thing....they let me though with my cushion. The ballet was magical...I still enjoy ballet to this day.

Punch it with Lili of the Valley!

2011-03-29T15:00:00.000-07:00

The challenge for the last week over on the Lili of the Valley Thursday challenge blog has been Punch It!

I just made this card with a new Martha Stewart round the corner punch...I really wanted to get the flowery one, but decided that, practically speaking, the leafy one would be more universal in that it would be OK for guy cards as well as girly cards.

The tab was also a punch, namely Stampin up, apart from this dies were Tim Holtz and Spellbinders nesties. Colouring was with Copic markers and distress inks and stamps were Lili of the Valley and my dotty stamp. Papers were from the Treasury.

U is for Up In The Air

2011-03-28T05:39:00.000-07:00

Over on the Alphabet Challenge Blog the challenge this week is "U is for Up In The Air". I thought that the new swinging Tatty Button stamp would be perfect for this. The image was coloured using copic markers. The papers and dotty stamp were all from the Treasury. The sentiment was a custom stamp from TandaStamps.

Gilding the Lily

2011-03-16T13:33:00.000-07:00

The latest Tanda Teaser is called Gilding the Lily...we've had a few difficult teasers over the last month so I thought it would be good to do something a bit easier....hence just to use a bit of gold somewhere on the project....I guess I went a bit overboard...gold ep, gold card and gold glimmer mists!

The beautiful lady is a download from the Craft Stamper web site..the stamp is from Tanda and the colouring is done with distress inks......bit of lace and a bit of machine stitching and voila!

S is for Stripes

2011-03-15T15:26:00.001-07:00

Ok so the stripes are very subtle, but they are there...along the bottom of the card....

This was a birthday card for my youngest daughter's friend this weekend.

The main stamp is from Inca...the dots are my dotty stamp...see previous posts....

Background papers are from the Treasury in Kidderminster.

Seam binding dyed with alcohol inks.

Back to Front Tanda Teaser and R is for Ribbons

2011-03-05T09:13:00.000-08:00

Hi,
As usual things got a bit hectic this week so yet again I am late posting my Tanda entry on my own blog...It is over on the Tanda Blog if you want to join in.

I'm not going to go into too many details because I am going to be showing people how to make this card at a workshop on 26th March at The Treasury in Kidderminster. If you are interested in coming please phone Pat on 01562 510203. We will be making two other cards as well.

For this card I used distress ink (Black Soot) and copic markers, but for the workshop we shall be doing something slightly different.

I was very happy to see that this week's Alphabet Challenge is R is for Ribbon as I have used a whopping great big ribbon on my card! So I'm hoping that they don't mind me entering their challenge too! Fingers crossed.

Q is for Quotes and Sayings

2011-02-27T03:41:00.000-08:00

This week's challenge on the Alphabet challenge blog is Q is for Quotes and Sayings. Over the last couple of days I have been busy with the water colours, makes a change from Copic markers! When I was at mum's last week I watched a dvd on painting with acrylic inks and paints....whilst not watercolours I did think that I fancied getting back to splashing a bit of paint about. I even bought myself a tube of Payne's Gray. Having said that there wasn't a lot of splashing about on this card!...there is Payne's gray though!

Last week I managed to make a trip to the Craft Barn....I have been wanting to go there for ages and last week I was practically driving past the door soooo I dragged the girls in kicking and screaming....the youngest was pleading with me not to spend too much time in there, but then the eldest realised that she could get loads of stuff for her art and graphics...so guess what...we ended up buying more for her than me....I did get a couple of Tim Holtz dies, some alcohol inks, a Martha Stewart round the corner punch and a crafty individuals stamp. I am pleased to say I have used everything I bought except for the stamp...(will use that later today probably) and the alcohol inks.

The stamps I used for my cards are from Paper Bag Studio and my dotty stamp of course! I really like this stamp and actually ended up making two cards, slightly different colourways, but very similar.

Circles

2011-02-25T08:15:00.000-08:00

This weeks challenge over on the Lili of the Valley Challenge blog is circles. This stamp is supposed to be a baby boy stamp, but I think it's great for very little people too! So this card is for my little nephew, Josh.

I've had the papers for ages...can't remember who they are by. The image was coloured using copic markers.

Tanda Teaser and Fave Colours

2011-02-19T05:23:00.000-08:00

Sorry I've been a bit tied up hence the lack of blog postings...so I'm sorry if this is going to be a bit of a long post...but please read on.

Firstly a bit of info on the current Tanda Teaser.....this is a sample card that I have made for the Treasury in Kidderminster. I used distress inks (Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint) to sponge the backgrounds using a Tim Holtz compass mask. The boot prints were stamped in Frayed Burlap, the crackle in Pumice Stone. The boot prints were given a wet look by using glossy accents. The compass was stamped in archival ink and then coated with glossy accents. The map was printed out from the computer, folded and stuck under the compass. Raffia was tied around the card to finish it off.

The next challenge card to show today is for the "LOTV Thursday challenge". This week it is favourite colours. The card I'm entering for this is one I've just made for my Mum.

Blues and Greens usually make up my fav colours, but I was really happy with the blues and cream/browns on this card. The stamp of course is LOTV Love Grows. Mum and dad are both keen gardeners and their birthdays are days apart so I actually made his and her's cards using this stamp in different colour ways. Dad's card is a bit more masculine of course.

The flowers on mum's card were made using Tim Holtz's tattered floral die, the tab was an SU punch, the papers were from the V&A inspired collection, the border punch was of course Martha Stewart and the colouring was done using copic markers.

O is for Orange

2011-02-11T15:14:00.000-08:00

This week's challenge on the alphabet blog is O is for orange...not a colour I normally go for, but just by chance Patty gave me some pretty fabby papers to make some sample cards for her. Orange just happened to predominant on a couple of the papers and I thought they went well with this new stamp.....a bit Bratz perhaps, but I reckon that they would appeal to the early teen market..I hope so coz DD2's friend is getting a very similar card for her birthday this weekend!

I've used distress inks for stamping (black soot and spiced marmalade), copics for colouring....the hydrangeas were coloured with distress inks and stamped with my dotty stamp....see previous post.

Stamps and papers are all available from the Treasury....again see previous post for details.

Tutorial, How to Use my New Stamp!

2011-02-05T07:20:00.000-08:00

As mentioned in an earlier post I have been working on a new stamp. Since making some sample cards for the Treasury in Kidderminster, Patty has said that she could sell the background stamp that I used over and over again. Unfortunately we cannot find the stamps any more so Patty asked me if I could design one to do the job. After a couple of weeks this is what I came up with. By using different parts of the stamp you can create different effects....

So how do you use the stamp..firstly take your main image..I have used a digital download from charmed crafts, cut out using nesties and then sponged around the edges with weathered wood distress ink.

I inked up the dotty side of the stamp with weathered wood and started to stamp around the main image.

I repeated this until all the edges were stamped.

This is the final result and the card is now ready to be assembled.

Alternatively by using the opposite side of the stamp you can get a totally different look. I took a plain piece of card and Pumice Stone distress ink.

I inked the wavy side of the stamp and then stamped repeatedly so as to build up a series of hills. As the stamp is transparent it is very easy to position the hills to get the desired effect. To get the best effect don't ink the whole stamp at once.

Once you have got the desired effect you can stamp your other images over the top. Here I've used Grove of Trees from Sir Stamp-a-lot.

This dotty background stamp is only available from "The Treasury". So if you fancy getting your hands on it you will need to ring Patty on 01562 510203.

The stamp measures approximately 8cm x 4cm and will cost you £3.75. Please note that it doesn't come with a Clarity handle.

Just for Fun...Heart felt wings

2011-02-03T13:25:00.000-08:00

Zoe and friends have set up a new challenge...."Just for Fun" and that is all it is supposed to be...go check out their blog.

I really wanted to support them in their first challenge, but couldn't commit...too much going on here at the moment, but...couldn't believe my luck....it's a long story....

My eldest wanted something to store her ear ring studs....couldn't find anything anywhere....so mum gets creative...two heart frames from Tando sandwiched with wire mesh..bit of eco paint and croco...few more bits and pieces...just getting on with it and eldest arrives back from work early..it was supposed to be a surprise pressie for her 17th birthday on Saturday..ho hum so she's had her pressie a bit early! She's loaded this one already and wants another...makes it all worthwhile doesn't it!

If you look closely the wings are Em's ear rings....wings and dragonflys! Jammy or what..hope it counts!

Sue

Share the Love over on the Tanda Teaser

2011-02-02T00:06:00.000-08:00

As Valentines day is coming soon I've set a love theme over on the "Tanda Teaser Blog". However, it is more general than purely Valentines as I know that not everyone has a partner. So the idea is to make something to give to someone to show that they are loved.

For my card I used the Tanda beyond alphabet set (kept whole to use as a background stamp)...pinched that idea from the talented Sheila Oliver"
I stamped in versamark onto water colour paper and heat embossed in detail silver ep. I then painted over the whole thing with brusho inks.

The chipboard V was triple embossed with moonglow ep and holographic glitter, and then layered onto mulberry paper. If the V is like a comet, the comet's tail was cut from some more inked watercolour paper and the letters were then stamped onto it so that together with the V it formed the word "Valentine". The scroll border is a Tim Holtz die. I chose the colours as they are my hubby's favorites.

I also made a card for my eldest daughter to give to her boyfriend....I'm actually happier with this one than the first, but it doesn't use Tanda stamps....just an inca stamp that I've had for ages.

The stamped image is coloured with copics and then distressed around the edges with weathered wood distress ink....

....oh now there's a thing....actually I've used a custom Tanda stamp....can you see the dots? Do you remember Field of sky and Sand by A Stamp in the Hand..I've been using them on the sample cards I made for the Treasury in Kidderminster and, as a result, Patty has had numerous requests to sell them in the shop. We have searched the internet and cannot find them so we think they were discontinued. So Patty asked if I could draw something similar, not the same obviously for copyright reasons. Well it took me a couple of weeks to get it right, but I'm really pleased with it especially as I can get a hilly effect from one side of the stamp and the dots from the other. Andrew is producing 30 polymer stamps for Patty to sell in the shop. I have no idea how much she will charge for them or when they will be ready, but watch this space....

Sorry about that....lost the plot a bit there! LOL! So back to the card. I coated one of the hearts with glossy accents to give it a bit of dimension. I also like the professional finish it gives a card. The image and co-ordinating card were cut out using spellbinders nesties. The ribbon is a wired sheer ribbon from fantastic ribbons...I will have to get some more of this one next time I go to the NEC!

Just spotted the challenge over on the Tuesday Taggers blog" and as their challenge is to feel-lurrvvvveee I thought I would share this second card with them. This week's challenge winner will win a prize donated by One Stop Card Crafts" so why not have a go at two challenge's in one!

Bit of a mammoth post there!

Hope you can join in with the Teaser over on the Tanda Blog!

Sue
x

Party Challenge on the Polka Doodles blog

2011-01-30T09:01:00.000-08:00

I just found the Polka Doodles blog and challenge site. Having glimpsed a bit of the Polka Doodles show on Create and Craft the other day I thought the stamps looked interesting. I had to go out so decided to record the show on sky plus and thought that I would watch it while I did the ironing today......unfortunately it only recorded the 7 mins that I had seen as it seems to have decided to cancel itself the moment I walked out of the room...I'm just hoping that the show gets repeated as the colouring technique looked really interesting.

Anyway...I saw that this weeks challenge is Party Time! As it looks like you can use any stamps I thought I would join in....can see me having to get some Polka Doodles stamps sometime though! My card uses the LOTV It's my party stamp...so I hope this counts! The papers are from Papermania and the flowers are made from Tim Holts Tattered Floral die. The image is coloured with copic markers and distress inks.

Thanks for looking!

M is for Men

2011-01-29T05:12:00.000-08:00

Over on the Alphabet challenge blog the challenge for the week is M is for men. Always a tricky one!

For my card I have used a Wild Rose stamp, stamped in DI Black Soot and coloured with copics. the ribbon was from Stampin Up and the papers are wild asparagus. The Happy birthday stamp is from Tanda Stamps. I used some glossy accents on the beer glass to give the card a bit of dimension.

Pink and Brown Tanda Teaser

2011-01-19T00:53:00.000-08:00

The next Tanda Teaser is a colour challenge. I needed to make a card for one of my daughter's friends who has just had a little girl. She's not into pink so a classic pink girly card wouldn't do...so I thought add a bit of brown and a bit of grunge and this is what I came up with.......The teddy (Tanda baby and toddler set) is coloured with copic markers, distressed with distress inks and layered on mats cut out with spellbinders dies. The flowers were made using Tim Holtz tattered florals dies cut out of handmade paper from Ikea, scrunched up and distressed. The backing papers are from the V & A Inspired collection. I added a little more dimension to the card by coating the heart with glossy accents. Looking forward to seeing what everyone else makes of the Teaser over on the Tanda Blog!

Sue

Hand Made Embellishments and Another One!

2011-01-18T13:09:00.000-08:00

I have just realised that the next Tanda Teaser goes live tomorrow and I haven't even posted my version of the last one here on my blog.....So this is a quick post to give some details.....

For the card I used a mixture of stamps by Tanda, Paperartsy and Lost Coast designs. The main image (Tanda) was coloured with copics and distressed with distress inks. The flower was stamped with Paperartsy stamps and cut out with their matching dies. The flower centre was made using a bottle top, stamps, seed beads and UTEE. The die cut flowers and leaves were coloured with distress inks, curled to give depth and the edges of the petals and leaves were brushed with versmark and heat embossed with gold embossing powder.

In the last couple of days I have made a card for my husband's cousin who has just got into dress making. Her birthday is on Thursday, but I am sure that she doesn't know of my blog so I think that I am safe to post her card here.

I got the Tim Holtz tattered floral dies just before Christmas and have been looking forward to using them to make some embellishments....Here I used Tim Holtz stamps on tissue paper with pumice stone distress ink. I was trying to get the effect of using pattern pieces. I layered them up, scrunched them and used buttons to make the flower centres. The main image on the card was stamped in black soot distress ink and then coloured with copic markers. Art Journey sewing stamps were used to make the background with pumice stone distress ink.

The next Tanda Teaser goes live tomorrow so watch this space!
Sue
x

Manic few days crafting...loads of mess...a few cards made!

2011-01-16T13:45:00.000-08:00

I had a long chat the other night with Zoe....trying to decide whether to colour or not to colour... I decided to colour in the end and I can report that I am very happy with the result...cannot share atm though as it will be a Tanda Teaser card in about a month's time...the card itself is winging it's way to Canada as we speak..well I hope it is! So watch this space!

So I've spent the last few days making cards trying to give myself a little buffer. Jan/Feb is totally manic for birthdays. DH has been away but quite horrified by the state of the kitchen counter and the dining room table on his return...have spent most of today just putting everything away...clearing the decks ready for a mammoth crafting session while he is away next week!!! So far I've covered all the birthdays in Jan...just need to knuckle down and sort Feb's birthdays out!

So what am I going to share now.....Firstly "Lot's to do challenge blog" has set a brayering challenge this week.

Hilda is a friend of Zoe's and Zoe is a friend of mine so I just thought it might be nice to support Hilda in her last Lots to do Challenge and wish her luck in the future! For this card I have used a LOTV stamp...it's more pretty than cute. The brayering was done onto an embossing folder as per "Angelnorth's instructions".....Hope this counts!

Secondly, I'm joining in with the "LOTV wings challenge" ...I've been having a good play with the Tim Holtz tattered floral dies...totally love them... and you will see that I will be using them regularly!...just need to go back to Ikea for more hand made paper!! This card is an emergency card...hence no sentiment....it's on stand by for one of my girls coming home saying I need a card for my friend tomorrow!...you know the problem! LOL!!!

Bye for now
Sue
x

Bad, Bad Blogger!

2011-01-12T00:57:00.000-08:00

Over a month since my last blog posting, I haven't even posted the Tanda Teaser on this blog from last week! (It is over on the "Tanda" Blog though if you want to join in). Just don't know where the time went over Christmas. Well I do, my Dad spent Christmas in Hospital, we thought he was going to die on two occasions, so much of Christmas was spent running backwards and forwards between Epsom and Worcester. I have some amazing photos of the M25 in blizzard conditions and drivers playing snowball on the slip road of the M3 because they got stuck on the slope. A truly memorable journey and one I don't want to repeat in a hurry (40 miles in 5 1/2 hours and ended up where I started)!

Dad is now home. Everything the hospital tried to bust his clots made him bleed out from an ulcer that has been caused by a tumor the size of a golf ball. The tumor is a new complication and inoperable so we are waiting for the biopsy result and the resulting case conference to find out what if any chemo drugs might work. In the meantime, mum is doing her best to feed him up. He got very weak in hospital not helped by the fact that they were unable to cope with his food allergies. We are just hoping that we hear something soon, and that it's good news for a change!

Oops got a bit off track there....was supposed to be posting my entry into the latest "LOTV challenge" ....only a few hours to go. I spotted the challenge, a sketch, last night and thought I would have a go...cannot believe that I was in the top 3 the last time I entered...fingers crossed they like this one too.....

I used Lazy Afternoon, stamped in Distress ink and then coloured with Copics. I split the stamped image between two layers of my card to fit the sketch. As the little man was reading the paper before dozing off I used a section of yesterday's front page as my horizontal band...(this is a print of a scan as the real thing will yellow with age). All the circles were cut out using nesties. the background paper is from the Hampstead collection by Papermania.

hope to post a few more things over the next few days....make up for lost time!

Happy New Year everyone!

Sue

All Wrapped Up!

2010-12-08T12:07:00.000-08:00

The next Tanda Teaser is all about wrapping up our special pressies! My sample is a box that I made to wrap a pressie for Zoe...I was hoping to give it to Zoe personally at the Bubbly Funk store opening last weekend. Unfortunately due to weather it didn't happen so I have posted (Posted vie Royal Mail that is) said pressie...just hoping that it doesn't get squished on the way!

Box and tag were stamped using my Klimt swirly block from Tanda using pearl-X and stickles. A pretty paper rose and raffia bow with a little bit of Kryon pen just finished the box.

Hope you love it Zoe!

Sue
x

Baby It's Cold Outside!

2010-12-07T10:51:00.000-08:00

Well it's been really cold here for the last week or so...today we had beautiful ice crystals coating everything...and just as the sun began to disperse the freezing fog that has enveloped us for the last couple of days...I saw this....had to stop the car and take a few piccys!

Enjoy!

These photos were all taken today from Holt Fleet Bridge just a few hundred yards from my house..it was minus 5 degrees Celsius at lunch time! Very cold but also very beautiful!

Here's hoping things warm up for Thursday as I need to travel south to see my Dad, who has been in hospital since last Tuesday and is now very fed up!

Sue
x

Snowpeople!

2010-12-06T06:52:00.000-08:00

I just spotted that there is a Snowpeople challenge over on the "Gingersnap Creations Blog" Perfect timing there as I have just made some sample cards for Patty at the Treasury in Kidderminster.

The last lot of sample cards were a great success and stamps and papers have been selling well as a result. Here's hoping that these cards do the same thing!

The snowmen stamps were from Impression Obsession, sentiment stamps were from My Sentiments Exactly, papers from Clover.

I stamped the images in distress ink and then coloured them using copic markers. The snowflake punch is from Kars and I used the tiny clear Glints as centres. Glitter and Glossy Accents also had a part to play.

All the materials used to make these cards including the Copics are available from Patty at "The Treasury"

A Few of My Favourite Things

2010-12-05T01:29:00.000-08:00

I just found a Challenge site for Lili of the Valley fans! And this week's challenge is a Few of My Favourite Things.....LOTV stamps are certainly amongst my favourite stamps at the moment and having just stocked up at the NEC I had to join in with this challenge.

My stamped image was stamped in distress ink and then coloured using copic markers. My favourite things in this are, of course, the stamps, the copic markers, ribbon, Glossy accents, distress inks, SU punches and Martha Stewart punches.

F is for Foliage!

2010-12-03T04:25:00.000-08:00

This week's challenge over on the alphabet challenge is F is for Foliage. I made this card using Bloom & Grow papers from My Mind's Eye. The stamp is from Lili of the Valley, stamped in distress ink, coloured with copics and then distressed around the edges with distress inks. I used glossy accents on the roses and apple to give a bit of dimension.

The larger flowers were made by punching out 2 large flowers, 2 medium flowers and one small flower (2 medium and 1 small for the smaller flowers). I snipped into each flower to form the petals and then I used an embossing tool to curl the petals. The flowers were then stuck together and a dab of glossy accents was used to form the flower centres with gold accent beads.

Now for the important bit, the foliage....My foliage was die cut from one of the designer papers in the pack. I've been putting glossy accents onto small parts of my stamped images for a while now and I really like the enamelled look that it gives so it was just an extension of this idea to cover the leaves in glossy accents. I'm really pleased with how this looks, note to self...need to get some more glossy accents!

Make a Decoration over on Tuesday Taggers

2010-11-29T06:46:00.000-08:00

I saw over on Zoe's blog that Tuesday Taggers challenge this week is to make a decoration. I was chatting to Zoe the other day about shrink plastic and then I remembered the project that Jo Firth-Young did with my Christmas tree stamps featured in the Dec 08 edition of Craft Stamper. I've been thinking about trying the new metallic Stazon with shrink especially on the black, so this was the perfect opportunity. Unfortunately I cannot show you a black Christmas tree as I managed to shatter it by using a crop-o-dile to make a hole after I'd shrunk it....not a good idea! I can report though that gold Stazon works very well on black shrink plastic.

For my glass minders I used the frosted shrink plastic and my Klimt style tree stamp from TandaStamps. I used the gold Stazon, which interestingly enough went a sort of brassy colour when shrunk...(on the black it remained a lovely gold). I also discovered that it is not a good idea to splat your shrink to flatten it as some of the gold transfers across onto your acrylic block leaving a slightly mottled effect...well I know for next time!

Now did I own up to having bought a lampwork bead starter kit at the NEC? Well it has been sitting waiting for me to open the box and my fingers have been seriously itching! Having bought some vermiculite at the weekend, I finally opened the box because I thought that it would be nice to make some beads to use on my glass minders.....so the beads you see in the pictures are my first attempt at lampwork.....I'm just waiting for some more bead release to dry on my mandles so that I can make some more!!! It's pretty tricky, but I am quite pleased with what I have made so far...not managed to make a pandora style bead yet as I don't seem to be able to get a nice round shape yet....I guess I will just have to trawl the internet for how to videos.

E is for Embossing on the Alphabet Challenge

2010-11-26T07:27:00.000-08:00

The Challenge on the Alphabet challenge blog this week is to have something embossed on your card....I made my card for my neighbour's son who is mad keen on music...He is an excellent drummer and has just made it into the final 40 in a national drumming competition. My embossing is the music on the tag. Not very obvious in the photo, but trust me it is there.

The image is a Mikey digital download from charmed crafts, coloured with copic markers and distressed with distress inks. The papers are from the Hampstead collection from Papermania.

Ladies Only Tanda Teaser

2010-11-24T01:30:00.000-08:00

The Tanda Teaser this time round is called Ladies Only! Of course men are welcome to take part, it is just that the cards/projects need to feature Ladies. For my card I used a mixture of Tanda stamps and Paperartsy stamps and dies.

The centre of my floral embellishment is made from a bottletop filled with a stamped image of the lady's eyes, accent beads and UTEE. Inks are distress inks, papers are Graphic 45. The ribbon was from Fantastic Ribbons.

D is for Doodles

2010-11-21T13:45:00.000-08:00

Over on the Alphabet Challenge this week it's D for doodles...so this is my attempt...the card was for a certain little niece who thinks that she is getting a pressie every time she sees us...brought about by the fact that she is the eldest girl in the family after my two girls...so of course...every time my girls grow out of something...it gets passed on down to Mia...Hence where's my pressie!

Stamp is Gorjuss girl coloured with copic markers...backing paper was from the new Essence of Nature DVD from Artylicious.

Peace!

2010-11-19T08:32:00.000-08:00

This week's Tuesday Taggers challenge is called Peace, Joy or Love...I've been playing about with our family Christmas card for this year and this is my final version.... I decided to follow the less is more approach in the end. The Bethlehem stamp was stamped in black stazon onto watercolour paper then coloured using Prussian Blue watercolour, I then used sakura clear star to colour the star.

C is for Cats!

2010-11-13T00:20:00.000-08:00

If you read my blog yesterday you will know that I just make a load of sample cards for The Treasury, my local specialist craft store in Kidderminster. If you live anywhere nearby you should definitely drop in...Patty has the Range and Hobbycraft on the doorstep, which are fine if you want what's available everywhere else, but for the really good stuff and the unusual she is really worth the visit. I've also noticed that she is charging less than Hobbycraft for her metallic stazon!

One of the sample cards that I made for Patty features a little girl holding her cat...so it's perfect for the Alphabet Challenge this week...C is for Cats...

The stamp is from Wild Rose Studio. I've coloured it using...you guessed it, copic markers with sakura clear star to provide a tiny bit of subtle shimmer...The papers are Jinkitz...Stamp, embossing folder, papers and punches are all available from The Treasury...(01562) 510203.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend and getting lots of crafting time!
Sue
x

Sporty card and NEC stash

2010-11-12T12:44:00.000-08:00

You can tell I'm a bit behind...it's Friday a whole week after my day out to the NEC and I'm only just posting a piccy of my stash!

Well here it is finally....mainly Lavinia stamps, Paperartsy stamps and Lili of the Valley stamps. The Lavinia calendar full of inspirational pictures was free cos I spent some money there! I've been wishing and wishing that I had the Tim Holtz tattered floral dies, but unfortunately no one had any in stock...so I've put some on back order. My Wizard will not take these big dies so I just had to buy the Big Shot..not pictured....it's sitting under the hall table atm...still trying to think of somewhere to store it...you might just notice that I also got some other dies so that I can try out my big shot in the meantime...I've wanted those flourishes since they first came out! I also splashed out on a starter kit for making lampwork beads...fingers are seriously itching on this front!

Now for the Tanda Teaser...this fortnight sees a sporty theme so my card is a little guy playing football...the main image is a Lili of the Valley stamp, but the footy boots and the star player stamps are from Tanda. As usual the image was coloured using Copic markers, and distressing was done using distress inks.

So why am I so far behind? I've been doing a favour for my friend Patty who runs The Treasury in Kidderminster..she was feeling a bit low last week so I offered to make some sample cards for her...I dropped them into the shop yesterday and she put them up next to the stamps I used. The samples have gone down really well and the stamps and backing papers are selling really well....Patty was really happy today! I've got some more sample cards to make for her now! I'll post one of the sample cards here tomorrow..it fits in with the alphabet challenge which is good timing!

Catch you tomorrow!
Sue
x

Quick Hi!

2010-11-07T16:01:00.001-08:00

Sorry to say there hasn't been much blogging going on here....been away..been a bit unwell and just got a new addition to the family....well those are my excuses!

So I thought I would post a few piccys....did want to post a piccy of the stash that I got at the NEC on Friday, but seem to have saved the pic somewhere other than I should have...still looking!

In the mean time I'm posting pics of Prague...a simply beautiful city and one of the new addition to our family...a baby hamster...still no name....might just end up being called pie...short for cutipie!

will try to blog soon...promise...just been a bit manic....

Sue
x

Funky Feathers over on the Tanda Teaser

2010-10-27T00:37:00.000-07:00

It's Tanda Teaser time again and this fortnight's challenge is to use feathers somewhere on your project/card. This card came about from an extension to the fairy workshop that I did just over a week ago at the Treasury in Kidderminster. I used black feathers and silver skeleton leaves to make the skirt. The bodice and background were stamped in versamark using Tanda Klimt stamps and then brushed with silver Pearl-Ex mica powder. The bodice was cut using a template that I had drawn myself. I added a crystal to the bodice to give the card a bit of bling....happily this allows me to enter it in the "totally gorjuss sparkle" challege...hope all the linking works as this is a scheduled post!

Z for Zig Zag

2010-10-22T13:40:00.000-07:00

This week sees the end of another alphabet with Z for Zig Zag. I just splashed out on my second Martha Stewart border punch and realised that it would be perfect for this challenge. I've used it for three projects today, but I can only share one of them tonight...the other two are for upcoming Tanda Teasers.

So my entry for Z for Zig Zag is the box that I made for a Birthday present for one of my daughter's friends. The present was...you guessed it, a necklace.....