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Sunday 27 February 2011

The Stampsmith Challenge - Travel

 Here is my entry to the latest Stampsmith challenge which is travel.
All of the stamps are from the Stampsmith's  Parisien plate. They've all been stamped onto shrink plastic, then attached to card which has been cut out with postage stamp scissors.
 I made a tiny keyring with keys and bead chain. I had to attach the shrink plastic with jump ring 'cos although I'd punched holes before I shrunk it, they were too small to put the bead chain through.                
These are lovely stamps to use, but then I love anything with a French feel.
Thanks very much for looking x

Saturday 26 February 2011

How Does Your Garden Grow

The challenge this week over at Stampotique is faux barnwood which is a technique demonstrated by the Technique Junkies. I've tried this before but never had much luck, but this time I used my Eco Green acrylic paints and I'm very happy with the results. These paints are really creamy and a little goes a very long way and a lot makes a right old mess! The base colour is blue patina, and the top is butternut.
I've then stamped the garden flowers background stamp directly over the top. I've stamped and cut out the medium bee and the flower girl, and coloured her with DI's. I've also covered her hair/petals with glossy accents. I've had to bring this into the sitting room to dry, 'cos last week I left an ATC in the conservatory and it was so cold that it cracked.
The rub-on's are Basic Grey - I LOVE Basic Grey, but rub on, (in my best Michael Caine voice) You're Having A Larf ! They did not want to rub off at all!!
I really like this stamp, it's pretty without being sickly cute.
I enjoyed this challenge, it's always nice when a plan comes together :o)
Thanks very much for looking x

Attack of The Killer Bees

Was it Joan Collins that 'stared' in this lol. This bee reminds me of the Father Ted joke about  small and far away - my bee is normal size and the background is far away! Go on watch it, you know you want to..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25N-4zrk390  This is my entry to the Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge. This week it's stripes, and if you look at Bruiser the bee, you'll see his stripes. (A tentative link I know but I'm sticking with it) My puzzle piece has been alcohol inked, then stamped with Tim's birds, and the Stampotique grass stamp. The background has been stamped with Paper Artsy stamps in Archival ink, and wiped away before dry. Bruiser bee is by The Stampman, and the sentiment is Paper Artsy. I couldn't resist adding Wendy Vecchi's spider - almost as tall as the grass - again its far away.....
A very enjoyable challenge, and thanks for looking x

The Stampman Challenge Curls and Swirls

I've had some texture paste for a while now so when I saw The Stampmans's curls and swirls challenge coming up it seemed the perfect time to try it out.
The wooden frame cost a pound, so you can guess where I got it from. It's been gesso'd and painted with an aqua paint dabber for the bottom coat, the Dylusion's teal for the top coats. I love this paint 'cos you can still see what's underneath.
My swirls are Golden texture paint put on through a stencil, then sprinkled with ultra fine glitter while it was still wet.
I didn't know what I wanted to put inside the frame, but once it had been painted it seemed to scream Christmas.  So to shut it up I cut up a sheet of my Websters Pages and stuck onto the corners. The stamped image is from Hampton Art and has been stamped onto the centre of the Websters paper, and very lightly watercoloured.
This is my first attempt at painting a photo frame, and I'm quite pleased with it. Just need to put it somewhere safe now for Christmas.
Thanks very much for looking and have a great weekend x

Sunday 20 February 2011

Steampunk ATC's for the Stampman Challenge

I've fianlly got round to making my Steampunk ATC's for this months Stampman challenge.
When I first saw steampunk I did not get it at all, and I didn't like it, but it's really grown on me, and now I still don't get it but I DO like it... a lot.
Here are my efforts, the stamps are a combination of Scrolls Work, the Artistic Stamper, and 7 gypsies. The watch parts are from e-bay, and the chipboard cogs are from Eco Green.
I hope whoever gets mine likes it, and thanks very much for looking x

Friday 18 February 2011

Last Push Friday - Again!


I made a resolution to not leave my Christmas cards to the last minute this year, but it seems like I fell at the first fence. I really wanted to enter Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge last week as it was downloads, and I'd got this fab couple of sheets from Art From The Heart last year. But as usual I left it too late...
BUT this weeks challenge is 'creatures' so I'm still OK :o) My apologies for the rubbish photo but I've tried it all over the house and this is the best I can do.
The backing papers are all AFTH, and the card is 8x8. The sentiment is printed on Safmat and says 'To the rest of the world we are a normal family' Definitely one for my sister next Christmas.
I'm also entering this into Winter Wonderland's challenge which is 'It's begining to look a lot like Christmas', and Sketch Saturdays sketch challenge.
Thanks very much for looking and have a great weekend x

Thursday 17 February 2011

Just For Fun Challenge 3 For The Wings of a Bug

You know when you get an idea and it all comes together and everyone lives happily ever after - no me neither except for this tag. The JFF challenge this week is Wings of a Bug, and I was struggling with that part, but THEN postie brought my new Stampotique stamps, one of which is a butterfly/moth.
I wanted to do a nice bright background, so I used my favourite Dylusion paints in red, yellow and green. The stamps are from Scrolls Work and Paper Artsy, and I've stamped with bright Stazon's.
My grungy dude (do we still say dude lol) and the quote below him are from a Paper Artsy plate. I did him once then realised I'd cut his arms off when I tried to stick his wings on :o)
I really enjoyed making him, so thanks very much for the challenge, and thanks for looking x

Simon Says Stamp And Show Us A Tag

It's tag time over at Simon Say Stamp And Show, it's always nice to make a tag as I've run out of people to send cards to lol.
I used Dylusion paint to create my background, then stamped over with a polka dot stamp. I used a Prima Moulin Rouge stamp to create a bit of a background texture.
The papers are also Prima Moulin Rouge and they are gorgeous, it really hurt to tear one up :o)
The Eifel Tower is from Craftwork Cards, and I covered it in masking tape, stamped with the same background stamp, and added a bit of brown ink.
Thanks very much for looking x

Sunday 13 February 2011

It's All Hearts

I've been wanting to try cutting an aperture into a card with my nesties for a while, so today I decided to give it a go. I stuck the Basic Grey Eva paper on first, then cut through the folded card with 2 sizes of nesties (I don't know which one it is, but one is from the bigger set for the Grand Calibur. It didn't quite cut through cleanly, and if I did it again I would put the cutting die next to the front rather than the back.
I put some acetate into the window to give the card some strength. The Art Journey stamps have also been stamped then layered onto more BG papers, and I've added some to the inside for strength.
I love acetate cards, but it's such a pain having to tidy up the inside.
I'm entering this into the Art Journey, The Stampman, and Basic Grey, which are all 'hearts' challenges.
Thanks very much for looking x

Her Royal Majesty The Queen....Stampsmith Royalty Challenge

My husband and I ....  :o)
Well it's a cat so 'nuff said, as a kitten she was a princess, now she's the queen.
The base kraft card was cut with a Tim Holtz die, and ribbled. It's years since this has been used, but I like the effect.
The pink layer is from Craftwork Cards and has lovely foiling. I got it in a goodie bag and everything matches beautifuly.
Princess (from the Stampsmith) has been coloured using the 'caught in crystal' technique using floor polish, glitter and alcohol inks. I've added an extra layer to the remainder and cut out her crown and the corners from this.
Her Royal Majesty stamp is from Scrolls Work Stamps, and I can see me using this loads.
The ribbon (which is actually brown and white so does match lol) is also from Craftwork cards.
Thanks very much for looking x

Sunday 6 February 2011

Lovin Ink Craft Retreat

The girls at Lovin Ink are offering 2 FREE places on the


Lovin Ink CRAFT RETREAT on 25th - 27th March 2011


at Bolton Abbey, North Yorkshire  together with some fabuous blog candy.
Wing your way over to check it out (but I hope it's me that wins lol) x

Breaking Us In Two Just For Fun Challenge 1

No I'm not in a bad mood with Neil (well no more than usual :o) it's just that I've been listening to the brilliant Joe Jackson on YouTube, and this is one of my favourites. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C-xazgqpPc. This is for the first challenge on the new Just For Fun site, and the theme this week is Heartfelt Wings.
My usually loving couple are from Paper Artsy, the wings are a Heidi Swapp clear stamp, and the arrow is from Scrolls Work Stamps.
The wings are stamped on Core-dinations, with That Special Touch Of Gold embossing powder, then  embossed through the Cuttlebug. Finally I sanded it all down to reveal the core. It seemed a real shame to sand the gold embossing 'cos it really was like liquid gold, but I quite like the 'shabby chicness' of it now.
The red glass heart as also been gold embossed in patches, just to take the shine off a little.
If you play the song to the end, you'll see that they get back together (he must have appologised lol), the bird flies home, and they all live happily ever after SO I'm also entering this ino The Artistic Stamper  challenge, which is love.
Thanks very much for looking x

Friday 4 February 2011

There's Mighty Queer Things Going On In This Town....

It's time for the Stampotique challenge again, and this time it's turquoise and orange using Stampotique only stamps. I must confess the only times I've used orange it's been a disaster, but hey...
This is one for my 4x4 collection, so I covered my mountboard with some Basic Grey in turquoise. I've used Dylusion's paint for the bottle top rings, and stamped 3in a round on more Basic Grey.
The quotes are also from Art From The Heart, and I think it fits in perfectly with the orange and blue town :o)
Thanks very much for looking x

Aaaahh Where Did Friday Morning Go!!!

So, the washing's unwashed, the house looks like we've been burgled, and here I am sat at the computer :o) This is my entry to The Stampman's Oriental challenge. I'm not really a fan (no pun intended lol) of oriental, so all this stuff is really old (when I bought whatever was 'in' whether I liked it or not) I do quite like this stamp, it's by Stamp Camp and they do the best background stamps, and they're HUGE!  The backing papers are from an old C&C set when it was POTD. I've coloured my ladies in alcohol ink, but you can't really see 'cos of the photo 'cos we've had no sun for weeks apart from when I've been at work. -  If I knew where to find emoticons there would be one of me jumping up and down looking very angry 'cos I've SO had enough of living in the dark!
Rant over (phew)... the tassel is from Joanna Sheen, and my favourite bit is the brad - made it miself yer know (ok with the help of the papermania brad maker). This is a terrific set and really easy to use. You get the punches and the sticky bits, and lots of brads - love it!
For far far better examples check out the Stampman site.
Thanks for looking and have a great weekend.