Just for You

Here's a sneak peak at my card for Creative Studio's. Please pop over if you get the chance. Hope you like it, and thanks very much for looking x

I Believe I Can Fly

It's the fabulous Arwen's first time to be hostess over at Stampotique and for her challenge she has chosen wings. Here's what she says.

Wings have something mystical for me. Angels have wings, fairies, my favorite animal: the bat :) Love and positive feelings give wings. Today I would like to see what gives you wings. I am very curious about your creations.

Here's my MDF tag.Lots of layers of paint, pastels and stamping on this one which equals one very happy bunny making it.

I started by painting my tag very roughly with Silks paints.

Next came lots of stencilling and stamping. I've used 

Vintage Script (of course, don't I always)

Journey Collage - another favourite

Hutching's - it's a favourites day out lol

Next came more stencilling with my uber sparkly metalic PanPastel's through a leaf stencil. The copper and golds are to die for.

Jo's Great Moon was stamped onto book paper and Stella was coloured with Prisma pencils.

Her wings are from Big Bee and have been stamped onto vellum.

The quote is part of World All Her Own

Here it all is again with her wings on straight lol.

Janet's Trees and Bushes have been painted and layered.

This was such fun to make, thanks very much Arwen. I hope you will join in with our wings theme and remember NO DIGI's :-)

I'm also entering this into the PanPastel challenge which is Anything Goes, and

Fashionable Stamping Tag Along.

Hope you like it, and thanks very much for looking xx

Tag Along For PaperArtsy and Artistic Outpost

The wonderful Ellen Vargo is over at PaperArtsy this week, and she's been wowing us with her colourful abstract paintings. I tried to follow her day 2 technique to add to my tag book.

I pretty much followed her colours and instructions and all was well until we got to here.

I love this way of creating a background and will certainly use this technique again.

Next came the book pages and stencilling. I tried the Autumn Fire fresco but it didn't show up too well, so I went over with Cinnamon on two and Claret on the other. A bit bold I know but I liked it.
Then came my disaster, I stamped the Artistic Outpost images with my usual Versafine, but I think it's dried up a little. They didn't show up at all well but I couldn't  just stamp over. My middle tag was fine 'cos I used a Brilliance inkpad instead. So not wanting to be beaten, I stamped the images again on PA tissue paper (and before you beat my door down it was my last sheet so the pressure was on) 

They are not what I had hoped for but sometimes things don't go according to plan (I don't normally blog these though lol).
All the stamps used are by Artistic Outpost, from the Typography, Whimsical Melange, French Flight, and Birds of a Feather plates, and I will try them all again when my new Versafine arrives :-)
I'm linking these to the PaperArtsy challenge and also Artistic Outpost Anything Goes challenge. 
Hope you have a good weekend - I'm going to visit my sister and it's into London for us so happy days :-)
Thanks very much for looking x

Be Strong and Grow

Here's a little look at my latest Creative Studios piece.
If you get the chance, please pop over and take a look.
Hope you like it x

Brrr....

We're continuing the theme of stars this week at Stampotique, and I've made a little stary ATC.

I stamped Brrr... onto black card and embossed in white, then I stamped the stars from Design Cube and embossed in a white and silver mix.
Brrr... has been coloured with Prisma pencils along with the border around the edge. The frosty bits are glass glitter.
As always there are 2 $30 gift certificates for the lucky winner of the draw this month, so please join in the fun.
Hope you like my chilly ATC, and thanks very much for looking x

Live, Laugh, Love

It's been ages since my IndigoBlu stamps have come out of their box, so while Neil was watching the football I had a play. Their current challenge is to use your favourite IB stamp. Although they have many beautiful stamps, this was an easy choice for me 'cos I have this Script Background. I really don't want to count up how many script stamps I have, and they are ALL my favourites :-)
I've stamped Clematis Flourish onto white card, and again on vellum and covered with gilding flakes. I've just cut the flowers and birds out and layered. The sentiment is from Live Laugh Love. 
I'm also entering this into the Country View Crafts  challenge which is monochromatic. You are allowed black and white, and I've chosen shades of gold for my colour.
Hope you like it, and thanks very much for looking x

It's Hearts and Butterflies for PaperArtsy

The lovely Alison (aka Butterfly) is guest designer at PaperArtsy this week, and she has made a gorgeous hanging for our inspiration (here), and this is what I have come up with.

I started with a plaque from the MDF man and painted it in the same colours of Fresco paints that Alison used.
I then stamped and embossed the sentiment from Darcy 01. I thought the background looked a little bare, so I stamped the words from the Ding and Dong plate in gold and clear embossed. I had my usual problem with the wonky stamping. I do have a stamp positioner but it seems that it wont work if I leave it in the box lol. I then stamped the same stamp in coffee archival and clear embossed again.
I painted some book pages in reds and reds/greens, and stamped the butterfly and heart from the Darcy plates.

I added a touch of Frantage embossing powders in gold and green to finish off.

I enjoyed making this and will definitely try the 'blob and stipple' way of painting again.

Enjoy what's left of the weekend, and thanks very much for looking xx

Shoot For The Moon

It's the lovely Sam's turn to pick the theme at Stampotique this week and she has chosen stars. 
I don't know one person who doesn't enjoy looking at the stars. Stars fill us with a sense of fascination and wonderment. Earliest societies mapped and traced stars. The speed of light is 186,000 miles per second and because stars are so distant, many of them millions of light years away means we look in to the sky from the distant past. Therefore I am inviting you to use stars in your creation this week, as the main image or as an accent. I can't wait to see what you make, have fun!
I've made a stary piece for my Stampotique chippie album.

 We've both chosen the oh so cute Hazelheart, and given her a falling star, I've not copied Sam honest, you must be channelling crafty ideas through the rubber lol.

I've started by giving my chippie a coat of lumpy gesso (it's very old and the conservatory is flippin cold) I've cut the moon and stars with a Tim Holtz die and used the waste as a stencil for the pastels. I'm loving the new metallic pans, I've used silver and gold here.

Next I stamped and embossed Fax To Wolfgang and cut out with the die. It was then gone over with Versamark and the gold and silver PanPastels were dusted over the top, then edged around in black.

I used France's Design Cube around the edges - everybody NEEDS this stamp, it is SO versatile.

Shoot For The Moon has been stamped directly on the chippi, I practised about 5 times. perfectly straight, then as soon as I go for it I do it wonky!! I don't know how I do it, just lucky I guess :-) This is why I don't often stamp directly to my project.

Hazel's been stamped and cut out (I wonder why) I've coloured her with Prisma pencils, and honestly she hasn't got a five o'clock shadow I just need to practise with my shading lol.

So I hope you can join in with our challenge and remember the rules :-)

IMPORTANT REMINDER:

Please read ALL RULES on the linkz page before linking your creation.

If you didn't follow the rules posted, you may have been deleted.  

Feel free to relink your creation with the correct information for a chance to win.

*No digi stamp creations please*

I'm also entering this into the PanPastel challenge which is 

Anything goes or Silver Lining.

Hope you like it, and thanks very much for looking xx

Time To Soar

Here's a little look at the hanging I've made for Sam Poole's Creative Studios. Sam will be on Create & Craft this Saturday at 11 and 4 with her fab new stamps.
Hope you like it, and thanks very much for looking xx

A Little Bit Cleaner and Far More Simple

The lovely Joanne Wardle has popped back to PaperArtsy  with one of her clean and simple cards. I decided I need to practice after my fiasco with the masking tape earlier, so here's my card of lurve....

I stamped the heart from Darcy 01 straight onto the card  along with the sentiment.

Then I coloured the edges of the heart, the zip, and the doodly bits with Prisma Pencils.

I then stamped the heart again and painted with London Bus, cut it out in 2 pieces and stuck on top of the original.
I love how it looks coloured with paints instead of the usual inks.
I've had great fun playing along this week, but now the iron is calling (literally it's hissing steam at me lol)
Enjoy what's left of the weekend, and thanks very much for looking x

Don't Forget Me....

The fabulous Helen Chilton is visiting over at PaperArtsy Towers (she's the lady who through the powers of telekinesis managed to get a packet of Portfolio pastels to fall into my online shopping basket) I did pay for them so we're not into organised crime lol.
She's made another colourful pastel piece, and here's mine.

I loved getting the portfolio's out again but I don't know if my sewing machine was as happy, I had to clean his needle afterwards :-)
I've used various text stamps, and the main image is from HP1207.
Hope you like it, and thanks very much for looking x

Clean and Simple (or smudged and sticky) for PaperArtsy

It's a new school year over at PaperArtsy, and the fabulous Clare Lloyd is 'Miss' this week. Her day 3 make is CAS, and here's my interpretation

This is made in pretty much the same way as Clare's except I had to use some washi tape to cover up where the masking tape took the top layer of the card off. I wouldn't mind but I'd stuck it on my t shirt 3 times and there was hardly any sticky left lol.

I do love Bruiser Bird, you really wouldn't mess with him would you?  All the stamps are from JOFY 15, and I've painted SM15 with London Bus, Hey Pesto, Toffee, and Cinnamon.
It's finished off with some more washi tape for the sentiment along with some original Sue doodling.... yep this is as good as it gets :-)
Hope you like it, and thanks very much for looking xx

Thinking of You

Here's a little look at my card for this week's Sam Poole's Creative Studio's.  Hope you like it, and thanks for looking xx

Something New For Stampotique

It's the lovely Kaz's turn to host our playdate today over at the Stampotique Designers Challenge, and she wants to have a nosey at our stash, and see if we got anything new for Christmas. Well as I chose my own present this year, the answer was yes :-)

When the Tim Holtz Distress Paints first came out I avoided them. I didn't want them, didn't need them, and most of all didn't want to get sucked into yet another 'can't live without' product. Then I went on a Ranger technique course run by Kaz Hall and she used these and I must admit I did fall for them a little, so thank you very much Santa for bringing me some.
I won't bore you with the details of how these are done, 'cos most of you will already know, and if not the techniques are in Tim's book and I'm sure his Creative Chemistry courses (which I really must sign up for). 

For this one I've used Oh... Tree
Row of Numbers
Crow Line
and French Text

This one is using
Journey Collage
and A Heart

And finally Medium Bee
and Beauty Verse

So now I have two pages done of my tag book. I'm still loving the first one with 
Rootie Toot
Henny Penny
Superhero
Superhero Text
Cat Family
Dog Family

This was a great challenge Kaz, thank you.
Now for the rules... they're really simple but very important, real stamps only please not digi images, and please put the number of the challenge you are entering when you link up, for example this one is SDC130. If you don't your entry will be deleted, and no one wants that.
So get your stamps out and join in, as always there are 2 $30 gift certificates for the lucky winners each month.
Hope you have a fab week, and thanks very much for looking x

A Heart Cluster For PaperArtsy

At PaperArtsy Towers Leandra's been a film star again on YouTube. I really enjoyed Day 3 which was a painted cluster. I'm not going to go into details because Leandra does it perfectly here.
I started by tinting the paste and arranging my bits and bobs.

I love my little cat, I made it in a mould with Plaster of Paris and it reminds me of my sadly no longer with us Princess. Most of the other stuff is jewelry bought in the sales and broken up.

Next a few coats of Bora Bora was painted on. I'd added the grungboard 2014 by this stage. Boy does that stuff hold water!

Added some Beach Hut, South Pacific, and Toffee and a fair few wet wipes.

Next came the Treasure Gold in silver, copper and sapphire. I'm still a bit heavy handed with this but I'm getting better. I was using the wrong brush (a stiff one) but now I've changed to soft and that's loads better :-)

This is my favourite bit - it's the best one of the colour too. We havn't had sunshine for days here but we're lucky in that we havn't had floods either.
This was great fun to do and a lot easier than I thought. The paint dried really quickly and I love the TG over the top. It picked up the texture in the Grunge Paste too. It's amazing how just using the proper soft brush can make such a difference.
I have to go and take down Christmas now - I hate taking it down, but it's only 353 days till next Christmas - ok shoot me now, I deserve it lol.
Enjoy what's left of the weekend, and thanks very much for looking x

New Rubber Time

Here's a sneaky look at the new Sam Poole Creative Studio's stamps.  They are really lovely - they could almost make you believe Spring is coming lol.

Hope you get chance to take a look xx

Happy New Year!!

Well it's goodbye 2013 and hello 2014, and more importantly it's Wednesday and time for a new Stampotique Challenge with our brand new (and some not so new) design team :-). Our first challenge of the year is Anything Goes, and to see in the new year, here's a calendar page for January.

I started with a background using Pan Pastels and stencils.

I love the new metallic Pan Pastels - Mmm shiny!

Time for some stamping now. I've used 
Row of Numbers,
Vintage Script, and
Design Cube
There's also Jo's Dandelion Duo in there, stamped in white acrylic for the snowflakes.

So time to cover it all up again lol. You can just see Jo's Star peeping out, this was free in Craft Stamper a couple of years ago and is such a fab stamp.

Here's the guys in a little more detail. There's 
Tree
Whisker Monster With Sign
Brrr...
and Toto who will always be my teamie Sam's glamorous assistant Poppy to me!

It's a nice gentle introduction to our challenges this year so please join in. As always no digi stamps please - rubber rules!

I'm also entering this into the Pan Pastel Challenge Anything Goes, and I'm linking into Kate's 2014 Calendar.
Thanks very much for looking and have a very happy and healthy 2014 xx