The Greatest Thing You'll Ever Learn....

This time the challenge over at Dragons Dream is The Thorn Birds. I have no stamps of anything Australian, so I've taken it a little more literally, and gone for thorns and birds :o) I've had a play with my Ecoline Inks and created a background on water colour paper using a gold Krylon pen as a resist. I've overstamped with black archival with stamps from Kanban and La Blanche. My 'thorn bird' is actually a Christmas stamp by Inkadinkado and has been stamped onto velum and embossed in Winter Wonderland. The quote is from the Nat King Cole song and reads 'The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return'

  Quite ThornBirdish I thought (who wouldn't love Richard Chaimberlain)..  click on the picture to make it bigger.

I'm also entering this into the Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge which is to create a hand made background, and

The Sunday Stampers, which is Birds.

Nearly time for Hawaii 5 0 now and it's just getting dark :o)

Thanks very much for looking x

Oh When The Saints Go Marching In

No I've not turned into a Southampton footie fan, it's just that the challenge this month at Happy Daze is 'Music'

I've used both of Tims cabinet card dies to cut the shapes . The base paper is from the Basic Grey Indian Summer collection which can be found in the Happy Daze shop. The stamps are Hampton Arts and I've stamped these three times and sandwiched between each layer. The top paper is from one of Tims stacks. I've edge in Ranger silver acrylic paint which can also be purchased from Happy Daze. The treble clef has been cut from a clear stamp, and I've embossed one with a 'special touch' metal embossing powder. WOW I love this stuff!

It's quite a thick piece so I've covered the sides in musical washi tape. For once I've actually made what was in my head - well close enough, so that has to be a bit of a first. Thanks very much for looking and enjoy what is left of the weekend (and the brighter nights hurrah!!)

Bedazzed!

This time the challenge at Gothic Arches

is 'bedazzled' The background has been coloured with a white Posca pen then the Tim stamp has been stamped with gold acrylic paint. The lovely lady is an old Elusive Images stamp, as is the mask. The lady has been coloured in Prisma pencil, and the mask has been dotted with glass paints.
Some warmed up organza ribbon (I love how this crinkles with a blast from the heat gun) and all done.
I really enjoyed this one, so thanks very much for the challenge.
Thanks very much for looking and have a fab weekend x

Another Chunky ATC

The Artistic Outpost referral challenge this month is Spring Punk. After looking up what this was, here's mine :o) I've used a chunky atc and covered it with the recent Kanban POTW Kandi Core card. I really like this, the colours are a bit bright but they emboss and sand beautifully. All stamps are from Artistic Outpost and are from the Steampunk and Paris Exposition sets. Following Tim's February tag I had to get some of the honeycomb paper - the trick really is to follow the lines lol. I've gone round the edges with washi tape to neaten them up a bit. These are some of my 'go to' stamps.  The charms are mainly Tims.

For the top I've used Whitewash card. It's one of those 'had for ages but never used' items that I will be using a lot more of in future. I know my 'balloon's' a bit cheesy, but I like it :o)

I really enjoyed making this, I think I've got the chunky bug!

I'm entering it into the following challenges

Artistic Outpost - Spring Punk

Fashionable Stampers - Bingo. I've gone for the vintage, distressing and metal work line.

The Stampman - Vintage.

Thanks very much for looking x

Why Is It Snowing On My March Tag??

I love that Tim is doing his tags monthly now, and here is my very version of March's tag. I found myself lacking in the background stamp department, and with my spending ban still in place it was time to improvise again lol. The tag has been cut with green Core-Dinations card in green, and embossed with the A4 'Special Touch' leaf mask. The result was amazing I LOVE this mask , everyone needs it, - no more embossing folders for me! I didn't have the embossing powder that Tim used, so the next nearest think was Winter Wonderland EP which did a very nice job thank you very much. I enjoyed the mosaic technique I have one of those sticky sticks that came with some gems and it really made the job easier. It's finished off with a spray of Perfect Pearls in er Pearl, hence the snowy look :o) As the challenge this week at Simon Says Stamp and Show is anything goes this is my entry. There's $50 on offer and if I won that no way would it be breaking spending ban rules:o)

Thanks very much for looking x

 

Oh Oh More Alice

Like the White Rabbit I'm very late today for everything!! It's my own fault I put it all off till the last moment then have a mad rush to cram it all in lol. That resolution I made about putting inserts in cards straight away - wish I had stuck to that. Not letting the ironing build up till it's the size of the Nation Debt... Mmm must try it. Soooo here's a very quick post about my tag. Alice book page - no I didn't tear it I photocopied it - is that legal??  Distress inky background and Dimension 4th leaf stamps, then Graphic 4 Halloween in Wonderland papers and red hearts from a Cherry Pie art stamp.  This is for Frankie's challenge at Dragons Dream as this time the theme is Alice in Wonderland.

Thanks very much for looking, got to wrap my Mums birthday present now - where did I put it....

Are You Dreaming Of Rabbits???

Is the question being asked by Alice's therapist who I think looks remarkably like Dr Bunsen Honeydew  of The Muppets fame. If you look back through my blog you will see that I spent a lot of my childhood watching the Muppets lol .
The challenge this time over at The Altered Alice is The Best Butter as in the colour buttery yellow. My journal page has been painted in various shades of yellow with Eco Green and Dylusion paints. It was well gesso'd first as I've taken the plunge and bought myself a Moleskine, so I am now officially trying this art journaling lark :o). I've used my favourite Cherry Pie Alice stamps together with Stampotique. I don't know where Dr Honeydew is from but he's a clear stamp and I love him. 

Thanks  very much for looking and check out The Altered Alice where there's lots of brilliant  real art. Have a fab weekend x

It's time to play the music
It's time to light the lights....
Click it, you know you want to lol

Flown The Nest

The Gothic Arch Challenge this time is Flown The Nest.

I've done an image transfer onto some sticky backed canvas for the birds eggs, and the Tin Holtz bird has been stamped onto tissue paper. The William Blake quote is a TPC stamp.
My little eggs have been stamped onto glossy alcohol inked card and stuck down. They look a bit bright in the photograph, and I would love to see the bird that came out of the red eggs, but everything needs a splash of colour - well it does in my world lol.
I really enjoyed making this - just need to tidy up now!
Thanks very much for looking x

Simon Says....

.... Stamp and show us your Idea-ology so here is mine. I've wanted to do a chunky ATC for ages, so when DH kindly 'offered' to saw me some bits of wood, into the garage he went lol. I covered the wooden block with sticky backed cork first, and then Graphic 45 paper. This was then inked and sprayed through masks and finally sanded. Because of the cork although it looks rough as a bears bum it's actually peachy soft lol. I've used mainly Tim Holtz stamps, - in my mind it was going to be Steampunk, but it ended up just the old guys.

I really like how the sanding has aged the papers, it's something that I've done to Core-dinations paper before, but never regular DP. I shall definitely do it again though.

This was the maiden inking for the nibs stamp, and I love the little penny farthing charm that came from Art From The Heart. 

This is my favourite ever bird charm!

And finally.... the rosette. Oh how I struggle with these, but I do now run a line of tissue tape on the underside and it does help to stop them from tearing. Thanks for the tip Tim :o) I was going to add some of the Foundation feet for the ATC to stand on, but then I realised that I had stamped everything in the wrong place Doh!

I really enjoyed faffing around with this, and I'll make some more if I can get DH back in the garage :o)

Thanks very much for looking and enjoy what's left of a very wet Sunday x

Gothic Arches Challenge - Music

The challenge over at Gothic Arches this time is music. I hope this counts as an arch, it's actually a Cabinet Card die cut with the bottom cut off! The stamps are a mixture of Hampton Art and some clear stamps that I got from Doncaster Stamp Magic. They are clear stamps but they stamp beautifully. 
Thanks very much for looking x

Way Hey I'm On Time

March is here at last, to me that means that Spring is on it's way (snow tomorrow  then lol) So the first of March means time for a new calendar page over at The Katherine Wheel, and yes I was ready with hours to spare :o). The background was sprayed with pale blue Glimmer Mist, then I used my new A4 leaf mask (it's gorgeous and my new favourite - I'm so fickle, no loyalty to my old favourites lol) I've sprayed over the mask with Purple Pansy GM, and it looked so nice I wanted to stop there. I really do love inks and masks.

The corner stamp is a Cherry Pie that I've had for ages and always come back to, and the border and chickens are both Dylusions. I've used Art Journey's Umbrella Girl - March winds - get it lol, and painted her in Inkydinks.

For the first time I've stamped this in my A4 journal rather than just loose, so now I have to keep going with it. I can honestly say that this is the first time I have got to page 4 without ripping pages out and throwing it to the back of the cupboard so thank you Kate for the inspiration (and the DVD) lol.

See you next month when it will all be filled in and a new page created - well we can all dream :o)

Thanks very much for looking x