Kind Thoughts

Wendy has set the Tanda Teaser this week, and she has chosen "Kind Thoughts" as the theme. I bought the angel Gorjuss girl a while ago and thought that it would work perfectly for this challenge.

The card is based on a Craft Stamper sketch challenge from a while ago and uses papers from the new Artylicious cd rom Decadent Brocade. I stamped the image in black impress and then coloured it using the cool grey promarkers. I started with the palest grey first and worked my way up to the darkest shade. The Sentiment is from Tanda Christian Set 1 that I have embossed, in a cuttlebug folder, after stamping.


Sue
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Tanda Teaser Tick Tock!

This week's Teaser has a time theme....the clocks go back on Sunday and clocks and watches seem to be so popular at the moment.

For my sample card I made the background using distress inks and clock stamps from Stampin' up. The main image on the card was stamped in Stazon using the watch stamp from Tanda background set 1. This was stamped onto a tomato puree tube (I ran it thought the wizard first to get it completely flat) and then cut it out and embossed it using ten seconds studio tools.

My Stash form the Artisan Show

Sorry guys I've been a bit busy what with starting my new job and visiting Artisan at the weekend. The feedback about the show has been good, several people commented that they preferred it to the NEC which was nice to hear.

The high point of the show for me was meeting the wonderful Leandra Franich. I managed to sneak myself in to her workshop. Leandra showed us how to make fabulous metallic look beads using the ferro texture paints, acrylics, glimmer mists and precious metal paints. First of all we had to coat the beads with a smooth layer of ferro paint, this was then stamped into and left to dry. While they were drying we smeared more ferro paint onto chipboard tags and stamped into it to get more texture.
The tags were for us to practice using the acrylic paints/precious metal paints and glimmer mists until were happy with the resulting colours so that we could then decorate the beads in the same way. I chose to do my fav colours blue/green and copper. Once the beads had dried we made them into ear rings...my eldest daughter has just had her ears pierced and has been eyeing them up and pleading!

The photos don't do these justice as in real life they are very rich and shimmery. The workshop really inspired me to make something for my desk at work...so if you keep checking the Craft Stamper blog over the next few weeks you might just see what I made. There won't be any peeking here until then though!

So what did I buy...well obviously some Steel ferro, Copper croco, acrylic (black, sage and tropical water) and precious metal paints (blue azure and copper)! Then I got a couple of mdf blanks to paint them on, some more beads (teardrop shape this time) and the paperartsy stamps that I had on my wish list...and a few more to be honest! I also managed to get hold of some grungepaper and cut and dry foam, I've been itching to have a play with this since seeing the patchwork bag in craft stamper...I have another project in mind though..watch this space. Then finally but not at all least I found some beautiful stamps from Chapel Road Artstamps. Sue if you're reading this....you now have a stamping shop "Snazzys" just behind the Renault building in Swindon....she stocks these lovely stamps and loads and loads of inkpads...oh I forgot to mention I bought a few of those too!

There were a few things on my wish list that I didn't manage to find so I will just have to go to the NEC as well....LOL!

The next Tanda Teaser is....."Russet and Gold"

We have got a little out of sync this week as Wendy has asked me to post the teaser this week, if all is well, she hopes to be able to post her challenge next week instead. So this week I have set a colour challenge...the leaves are just starting to turn here and we will soon be in for a display of russets and golds, so I decided to choose this as my colour challenge. I had an anniversary card and a wedding card to make this week so I have designed them with the colour challenge in mind. Both cards began in the same way, namely I stamped and embossed the main image from TandaStamps in clear ep on russet, pearlised card stock. Using the darkest gold interference paint in the USArt Quest pallet I painted the inside of the hearts and then I used the paler gold interference paint for the rest of the image. (Unfortunately interference paints do not photograph particularly well, the pale gold looks silver in these photos!). Both stamped images cut out, then matted and layered with gold and bronze card.



For the anniversary card I stamped a swirlly flourish stamp from Art Impressions (available from Sir Stamp a Lot) all over a DL sized card made out of the pearlised russet cardstock. I then brushed the stamped image with brilliant gold pearl-Ex and fixed it with hairspray. The edges of the card were also dusted with Pearl-Ex. The sentiment was stamped in the same way as the main panel, edged with copper krylon and affixed with brads.





For the Wedding card I used the same matting and layering but this time I used a cream DL card. I stamped and dusted Pearl-Ex as before but used my Klimt swirly borders down each side of the main panel. Again the sentiment was stamped and painted in the same was as before.

I hope that you will find time to enter the teaser on the Tanda blog this week and look forward to seeing all your lovely artwork!

Suex

New Job, New Stamps and Z is for Zebras!

First let me apologise, this might be a bit of a long post...I've been busy this week and this is the first chance I've had to update my blog. Some of you who follow the Tanda forum will know that I had a job interview recently and that I got the job. This was my first week. So what's the job you may ask.....only Editorial Assistant working on Craft Stamper Magazine...my favourite magazine!! Everyday is like Christmas, boxes of lovely, lovely artwork arrive and just have to be opened. I have to say the contributors are really talented! For obvious reasons I cannot tell what I have seen, but trust me, there are some real treats in store over the next few months!



My other big news is that Andrew has launched my new stamp sets over on www.tandastamps.com

Town, Village and Garden Elements are all A6 size and Architectural Elements is A5. Originally designed with the craze of making and trading houses last year in mind, the sets work well together for a lot of different occasions too. This card was made using a sentiment from the Garden Elements set and the doors, brick border, and topiary from the Architectural Elements set. Feel free to click on the picture to see it in more detail. Other samples can be seen in my gallery over in the Design Team Album on the Tanda website....Andrew and Tanya have elevated me!


And finally....we've reached the end of the alphabet this week. I wonder what Linda will think of next to keep us all busy!

For my Z atc, I used the group of Zebras from the safari judikins cube on the background. The Z was stamped in black stazon using a Tanda stripes stamp and then triple embossed with clear embossing powder.

So now the set is complete I just need to work out how I'm going to frame it up and which little nephew is going to get it!

This is what the total set looks like at the moment.......


Click on the piccy for a larger view.

Got to go now...I'm off to the Artisan show at the weekend so I need to write my shopping list!

Sue
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Y is for Yo-Yo

This week we have got to Y in Linda's alphabet challenge. With hindsight I probably could have done Y for yellow, but as these atc's are going to end up on the wall in a little boy's room I thought yo-yo might be more appropriate.

The yo-yo stamp was a custom stamp by Tanda, I stamped 3 yo-yos using the masking technique and then coloured them with copic markers. The Y was coloured in pale blue colourbox chalk ink and then I used the Tanda polka dot stamp in wisteria colourbox chalk ink. I distressed the edges of the Y with the wisteria ink and then triple embossed it.

Sue
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Tanda Teaser 117 - "Text It!"

Another week has gone by and it's my turn to set the Tanda Teaser this week...so I've gone for something a bit hip....my daughter is really into texting her mates and book text seems to be pretty big in card making atm...so the Tanda teaser this week is "Text It!" I saw a really great tutorial over on splitcoasters ,over here,

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/results/7a7c6a8c87d3843c6d5e11bf6ea8fcf7/


This gave me the inspiration for my card....

For my card I stamped the text stamp from Tanda Valentine set 1 repeatedly in black stazon on text and graphics card from Staples (I still cannot bring myself to rip up actual books!). This was then covered with a couple of layers of gesso and allowed to dry. Once dry I stamped Jane Daffern's romance stamp in versamark and heat embossed with clear ep. I swiped yellow and lilac colour box chalk inks over the image and then removed the clear ep using copier paper and a hot iron. I cut the image out and matted it, using tiny lilac heart shaped brads, with gold card and a layer of acetate over the top..the acetate gives the card a professional finish and works really well with this technique. The finished card is an anniversary card for DH....It's our anniversary on Thursday..so I hope he's not reading my blog!!!

Whilst, to keep things simple, the challenge is to use text (not just a sentiment) on your card...I hope you try out this technique as it is really fun to do!

Have fun!
Sue
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X is for Xmas!

Linda's alphabet challenge has now reached X....and I'm afraid that the only X that I could think of using my existing stamps was Xmas! So I coloured my chipboard X with green colour box chalk ink and triple embossed it. The background stamp is from the After the Gifts set of stamps by rubbadubbadoo. You cannot really see it in the picture, but it has given the atc a distressed look. The foliage stamps around the edge were from a Tapestry set (stamped with VersaColor ink pads) and the tag was cut using a spellbinders die and coloured with a copic marker.

Just two more letters to go...

Sue
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In the Wild

This week is Wendy's turn to set the teaser and she has decided to set a "Wild" one....well I've been really, really busy with samples for some new stamps that Tanda will be launching soon, and some projects for Katy Fox, at Craft Stamper, so my card for this week's Teaser had to be a really quick one...

I can't believe how quick this was...just one impression with the Zebra stamp from the Judikin's cube, matted on a black mat (embossed in a cuttlebug folder), matted on white card (stamped with Stripes from Tanda background set 2 in black archival ink) set on a black 14cm x 14cm card and finished off with a black ribbon....simple or what!

I hope you all find time to join in with the teaser!

Sue
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Ooops, almost missed W is for Web!

Wow Linda that two weeks went quick! My atc is W for Web, The web is a Tanda stamp, I cannot remember where the spider came from. The card is coloured with copics and the W was coloured using colourbox chalk inks before being stamped in black stazon and then triple embossed.

Got to dash...I'm making samples for Andrew at Tanda this weekend.....he has some more stamps coming out soon so watch this space....can't wait to show you what I've been upto!

ttfn
Sue

Monochrome Madness!

Hi there....sorry things have been a bit quiet around here lately...just a bit busy with family stuff..etc...etc...

Anyway enough of the excuses! This week it is my turn to set the Tanda Teaser and this week I've decided to do monochrome....not a good time for me...another sympathy card I'm afraid..but I'm hoping that Tanda followers can produce some monochrome stuff in colours other than black and white to cheer me up!

Looking forward to your take on the Teaser!
Sue
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Tanda Teaser - Holiday Fun!

Hi there, it's Wendy's turn to set the Tanda Teaser this week over on the Tanda Blog and this week she has chosen the theme "Holiday Fun". For those of us with children of school age this week sees the end of the summer holidays, but I guess some of you, without school age kids, will be jetting off to warmer/drier climes and making the most of lower fares! May I wish you Bon Voyage!

My card this week uses a stamp from Tanda advert plate 3 and the wish you were here stamp from Tanda Postage set 1. The main image was stamped in Black archival ink and then water coloured using the works pearlised paints. The background was made using the nautilus stamp by Clarity stamped repeatedly in weathered wood. These have then been water coloured with a little pearlised paint and then hi lighted with stickles. The shells were found on the beach a couple of years ago.

I hope that you will find time to join us over on the Tanda Blog and forum, and that you enjoy this challenge!
Sue
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Tanda Teaser - Floral Fantasy!

I'm keeping it simple this week over on the Tanda Blog, so I hope that lots of you will join in with the teaser! I made this card for my Mum and Dad's wedding anniversary today. So just in case they are reading this...."Happy Anniversary"....I believe that it is also Lesley and Ed's wedding anniversary today too....so "Happy Anniversary" to you too!!!!

The card itself is very simple, just stamped in Archival ink and then watercoloured. The "flower" centers were then dabbed with stickles and the whole thing layered up with card cut using nestibilities. The Dogwood stamp is from Tanda Stamps Flower set 1.

I hope that you will find time to join in with our fun over on the Tanda Blog and Tanda Forum!
Sue
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V is for Van

As a child of the 60's and having trendy daughters who think that VW Camper Vans are really cool, I couldn't resist this flower power inspired atc! The camper van stamp is by Inkadinkado and the flowers and dotty circles are by Stamp'in Up. The Van, V and label were all coloured with Copic markers. The paper flowers were spray inked and painted in a pearlised medium to give a bit of shimmer. The flower stamps on the background were painted with glossy accents and then sprinkled with glitter.



Enjoy
Sue
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Tanda Teaser - Gatefold Cards

Wendy's teaser this week is to make a gatefold card. Sorry Andrew this isn't using Tanda stamps....I'm still trying to catch up with the garden etc....everything went wild while we were away and it's taking a while to get it all back under control!


I made this card for one of my nieces, she hasn't had it yet but, as she is still very very young, I don't think that she will be visiting my blog anytime soon so it should be safe to blog it! The stamps are from Judikins. The stage curtains were hand drawn and painted using H2O's. The dancers were stamped in purple StazOn and then water coloured using the Works pearlised watercolours.

Enjoy
Sue
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U is for Umbrella

Not far to go now...I cannot believe that we are already up to U! I guess that this is pretty apt considering the weather this summer! The raindrops and the umbrella are custom stamps from Tanda. The atc has been coloured with copic markers and then the raindrops were filled with glossy accents with a tiny bit of glitter. The U was coloured using colourbox chalks and then triple embossed, dark blue glitter was dropped into the hot ep at the last minute.

Sue
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Tanda Teaser - Tag It!

This week's Tanda Teaser is to use a Tag somewhere on your card. As I have been away/rather busy over the last month or so, I have decided to do a "here's one I did earlier" card. You can tell I grew up with Blue Peter!

I used the Artylicious, Butterfly Bliss CD to print the double sided background for the card. The front of the card was made using an image from TandaStamps Advert Plate 4. I stamped this in black StazOn onto very heavy weight white card and then watercoloured it. I punched holes in the corners and then fixed the watercolour with acrylic varnish before triple embossing the image so that it looked like one of those old fashioned signs.




For the inside of the tri-fold I used various stamps. For the tags I used the Tanda Travel stamp set 1 and Postage set 1. The other stamps on this side are from PSX and Sir Stamp-a-Lot.

I hope you enjoy this week's Teaser!
Sue
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T is for Tree

For this week's letter I have used a tree stamp from Crafty Individuals. The background was painted first using my old watercolours. The tree was then stamped over the colour wash in black impress. The hedge at the bottom was stamped using the tips of the branches down the edge of the tree.








The chipboard T was coloured using colour box chalk inks and then triple embossed with clear ep. A tiny bit of orange glitter was dropped onto the hot ep and then on the final heating I dropped some metal leaves into the ep. The leaves were punched out of a coke can that I had annealed in the flames of my gas hob. A little bit of fun recycling going on there!

enjoy!
Sue
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Forever Friends!

It's Wendy's turn to set the challenge this week and I'm not at home! If you read this at the correct time it means I've managed to find an internet cafe in Turkey! I'm writing my blog posts before I go and saving them as drafts so that I can publish them when I am on holiday. From my experience last year I couldn't read the Greek blogger so I thought if I was a little organised before I go, I would just need to click on the orange button to post....I hope it works!

After everything that has been going on over the last couple of months I am now a little behind with the teasers and I have to admit that this is one I did earlier, quite a bit earlier. The card uses one of my fav PSX stamps and is coloured with pearlised watercolours from the Works.

The saying just reminded my that my mum introduced me to her "old friend" the other day and the emphasis was very much on the old. I said that she must be a very good friend, not realising that the lady was actually 92....she didn't look a day over 60! She sounds like a truly amazing woman, having survived the Holocaust and getting a Phd in Physics, in those days women didn't ususally get to study Physics! Truly a remarkable lady!

I hope to catch up with you all when I get back from my Hols!
Sue
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And So We Come to S is for Spider

When I first saw the stamps by Lavinia, at the NEC back in November of last year, I fell in love with them and you can be sure that I will be collecting them in the future.

For my S is for Spider atc I have used the tiny slender mushrooms and the weeping willow leaves from Lavinia stamped in Stampin' Up basic grey. The grasses are from Sir Stamp-a-Lot and the spider is a little custom stamp from Andrew at Tanda. The image has been coloured using copic markers. The chipboard S was coloured with colourbox chalk ink and triple embossed with a tiny bit of glitter.

The set is coming together well now and I'm really pleased with how it's looking. Here's the set so far......




Enjoy!
Sue
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