Look Into My Eyes....

At Stampotique this time Kaz has chosen birds and buttons as her theme. At first I thought they would all have to play without me 'cos I don't have any bird stamps,  but then I remembered Wee Owl... phew!
My background is a mop up page on some cartridge paper and look - white space!! not often I leave any of that!
My tree has been stamped in coffee archival, then painted in cappuchino Perfect Pearls mist.
Wee Owl has been stamped onto a scrap of the paper, then my clear button (stampin' up) has been glued over the top. The button holes match his eyes perfectly. Did I know this in advance - was it perfect planning- of course (not).
The words are Timmy stickers outlined with a black Pitt pen, and that was it, all done. Very less is more for me, but I like him just the way he is.
Head on over to Stampotique for lots of inspiration, and the chance to win a $30 certificate.
Thanks very much for looking and have a fab weekend x

Compendium Of Curiosities .....

Over at Studio L3 Linda has chosen

Technique 14: Guilded Kraft Glassine

A Compendium of Curiosities, Vol. 2, page 39

Sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique

I've been rubbish at joining in these challenges, so it was time to get my bum in gear and make something.

You know the rules, no details or Linda would have to kill me, but I can say that I used Stream and Pool as my inks and very beautiful they looked too! 

My stamps are by Stampotique, and Prom Queen is all ready to go to her er Prom!

So a technique by Sir Tim, and a $25 gift certificate up for grabs from the wonderful Funkie Junkie herself, why would't you enter!

So get yourselves over to Linda's and have a go!

Thanks very much for looking x

Fifty Shades Of Grey

Made you look, made you stare...
No it's not THAT fifty shades of grey (which I have not read by the way but I don't know how much longer I can resist) this is Alice's version.
My Tag It On team-mate May has chosen 'Following Alice' as her theme, and the elements needed are Alice, the rabbit, and a situation - plus at least one real stamp.
Alice's bottle wasn't marked drink me, so she knew that she wouldn't shrink, but it was marked 50 shades of grey (in very scruffy writing) so that should have been a bit of a give away about what would happen to her - and judging by the White Rabbit's shifty expression - he did it!!.
The background is a combo of Dylusions in fuchsia and yellow, then masked and a light spray of lime over the top. The usual mix of text stamps and silver paint and the background was done. The foliage was punched from various Basic Gray and Prima papers.

The Alice, Rabbit and Mushroom stamps are all by Stampotique, and have been stamped in black Archival and coloured with Twinkling H2O's. My but it's been a while since they've been out of the box, but they work as well as ever. 

Alice has been coloured with Prisma pens in a mxture of greys - she really should learn to stay out of trouble!
Please pop on over to the Tag It On blog for loads of inspiration then get stamping!


I'm also entering this into the 
Anything Goes Challenge which is Anything But Square, and
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Hey Girl.
The Stampman - Summer Colours/Anything Goes
Thanks very much for looking x

London Calling...

The challenge over at Artful Times is A trip to Europe on a tag. So with this in mind I've gone to a very shabby looking London. I've had enough of the clean and shiny Jubilee type London, so though I would grunge it up a little.
I've started with some craft card and torn a tag shape. All the stamps are by Artistic Outpost, and are a mixture of the Loverly London and London Underground plates. I've just randomly stamped the words in blue, black and red and embossed. This has then been sprayed through a Special Touch mask with Perfect Pearls mist in Capuchino.

It's not looking too shabby at this stage but worse was yet to come lol. I stamped the Union Flag twice in red and blue, then assembled and ripped it a bit around the edges, screwed it up, then sprayed with the capuchino mist. The soldiers have just been stamped and torn around and edged in red and blue. 
It was so nice to be able to take it outside to photograph - no rain today - it's a bit gusty but that I can put up with.
I really enjoyed making this so thanks very much for the challenge.
I'm also entering it into 
The Artistic Outpost July Referral - anything goes, and 
Fashionable Stamping - Let's Get Messy and Inky - check - did that!

Hang On....

Jane over at Stampotique has chosen the theme of Sentiments for this fortnights challenge. 
I've chosen Jo Capper -Sandon's World of Her Own as mine, and embossed it in silver on to black card. A bit of Frantage around the edges, and I've stamped Jo's freebie from Craft Stamper onto shrink plastic, and coloured with silver and gold Krylon pens.
Jo's moon has been stamped and filled in with French Text, and embossed with silver and white.
Stella has been coloured with Prisma pens, and just sits upon the moon.
This was the easy bit done, next came the photographing - I tried it inside - too dark. Outside - too windy, under the car port - under the car port - too messy a background. I finally ended up in the greenhouse - the finished photo has been very carefully cropped lol.
Thanks very much for looking, and head over to the challenge blog for lots of fabulous inspiration x

It's Steampunk Jim But Not As We Know It

Over at Dragon's Dream Tag It On, my teamie Monique has chosen Considering Steampunk as her theme, and her recipe consists of fantasy, inventions and Victoriana.  I love steampunk, but I always seem to go down the same route of browns and dark greens, so this time I thought I would have a change. 
I started by stamping and embossing the ScrollsWork stamps in white. Then added lots and lots (and lots) of distress inks in yellows and blues. Then I just went a little mad with various smaller background stamps, clear embossing powder, and the odd spritz of bleach to add a bit of contrast. The muslin has been cut into a strip and had blue and yellow ink dabbed on it, then a spritz of the bleach again.

My lovely lady with the rather odd taste in clothing/iron work/household pets, has been Frantaged with blue mica flakes and old gold and white embossing powders. The rivets are cut from a Spellbinders die in PaperArtsy card on metal, then painted with black acrylic which was then rubbed off again, and finished with Frantage glass glitter in blue and green.

More of the Verday paints and patina topped with a little glass glitter. The pocketwatch face has been coated in glossy accents and look - no thumb prints for once. I actually made this tag over a few days. Each time I thought I had finished, then I just kept throwing something else on lol.

Another rusty old butterfly - I'm really liking these paints and patinas and did I mention my fondness for the glass glitters??
The quote is by Leonardo da Vinci and says
'For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return' Well said Leo, I think this sums up Steampunk rather nicely.
I really enjoyed making this girlie steampunk tag, and luckily I'd now run out of room or who knows what else would have been on it.
Please pop over to TIO and see my teamies wonderful creations, then come back with one of your own.
I'm also entering this into the following challenges:
Sir Stampalot - Crafty Passions - ink and anything Frantage at the moment.
The Craft Barn - Frantage
Tando - Texture
The Stampman - Bling It On
Simon Says Stamp And Show - Layered
Lets Ink It Up - All Girls


Thank you very much for looking x

Christmas In July

I guess resistance was futile, with so much Christmas around I have finally made a Christmas card! 
The image is from The Stampsmith, whose challenge is to use Summer colours. That would be grey then, and the colour of water streaming down the garden - bitter moi - oh yes!
This weeks Pan Pastel challenge is to use ice cream colours, so for my background I've used orange, lemon, green (pistachio) and my favourite pan of the moment - magenta, so that would be er blackcurrant :o) I've put it over some embossed card and die cut with a Go Kreate die.

I've used the sketch from Sparkles Christmas Challenges to give me a kick start. I find these really useful when I've not mad a card for a while.
The flowers are by Prima, and the lace is from Stampin Up. 
Making Christmas cards when Wimbledon is still on seems very strange, but I enjoyed it.
Thanks very much for looking and enjoy the tennis. I know I should be shouting for Andy Murray, but I've got a soft spot for Roger so I just hope it's a good game x

You've Been Framed

Over at The Altered Alice the challenge this month is red white and blue.
I started by gessoing then painting my little frames with Dylusion paints. I then stamped them with the tiny stamps from my Cherry Pie Art Stamp plate.
Note to self if I ever do this again, you can unscrew the little attachers before you start painting - this would have made cleaning them up soooo much easier lol.

Alice has been coloured in prisma pens.

The Queen has been stamped onto some text paper.

More prisma's for Tweedledum and Tweedledee.

Do you like my beautiful display stand, it started life in the kitchen as a mug holder, then made it's way into my craft room for me to hang my scissors from. I have about 6 pairs but could never find any, so mug tree to the rescue lol.

Head on over to The Altered Alice for lots more of the red, white and blue.

Thank you very much for looking x

Femme Fatale

 The design team over at  Stampotique are challenging us to think outside the box this fortnight, and create something different to our usual. This seems very harsh to me as I love my comfort zone thank you very much, and see no good reason to leave it lol. So, casting said comfort zone well and truly adrift, I had a rummage around in the top drawer, and right at the back, in an unopened box (why do I do this??) were some microscope slides  and slide mailers. So, never having done this before, should I just do a single one - no of course not let's start with a double, Doh!
I started by painting my mailer in bronze VerDay paint, then spraying with the patina solution to make it go all green and speckled, great effect on chipboard - not so good on your breakfast toast. This has then been over stamped with French Text.
The slides were put side by side then stamped with the Femme Collage in black stazon. I stamped the stamp again on acetate so that the patina would show through, then again on Paper Artsy metal card.

This is the outside, stamped onto the metal card again. I've stamped the 'femme' again on black with silver for a little bit of contrast, and a portion of the Beauty stamp.
This teeny thing took me hours to make, but it was fun, and it does look very nice IRL. As Neil said, another for the 'what are you going to do with that pile'. It's our wedding anniversary in the next couple of weeks, 30 years (all medals gratefully accepted and well deserved) - he may not make it lol.
I'm also entering this into Hels Sunday Stampers challenge which is 'silver'  Mmm David Essex ..... anyway have a great Sunday - Spain to win the footie tonight, and thanks very much for looking x