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

Dum And Dee's Excellent Adventure

Wonderland's all very well and good, but we all need a change from time to time, so Alice and Co have had a day out in Old London Town (cue Phantom Raspberry Blower - you had to be there lol)
The monthly challenge at The Altered Alice is 'Going Postal', so I've made a postcard to commemorate their visit.
My card has been Pan Pastel'd in blues, magenta - lurve this shade, and greens. The stamps are a mixture of Clarity (that's the ATC sized postage stamp top right), Tim Holtz (postcard) Cherry Pie (all of the Alice stamps) Kanban (London and the cancellation stamp). The main image stamps are Creative Journey and Artistic Outpost.
You can imagine the state of my craft room with this load of stamps out, and the bin in overflowing... I wanted to do this on glossy card with a brayered background, but after getting smudgy fingerprints on 5 or 6 I gave up and reached for the Pans. I love the crisp image Versafine gives, but I always smudge.
Check out the amazing artwork at The Altered Alice, and thanks very much for looking x

Alice Comes Out Of The Closet

I tend to stalk challenge blogs for a while before I pluck up the courage to join in, and this time the unlucky victim has been The Altered Alice

which celebrates all things Alice in Wonderland. The challenge this month is to use hearts. I've used a chipboard box that I got as part of a set from The Range and painted it with white acrylic. The heart and crown stamps are from Cherry Pie Art Stamps and I've had these for a couple of years now but  have hardly used them.

I covered the lid in various tissue and washi tapes, then decided that I would rather have acetate in the middle, so cut it out with a craft knife. I may as well have used a knife and fork for this - an expert with a craft knife I am not! I stamped some acetate from the same stamp set and stuck it to the box lid, then embossed the edges to try and cover up the mess I had made in cutting it out :o)

This is the inside of the box, again using the Cherry Pie stamps of Alice and the Queen of Hearts.

And this is how it looks altogether, in real life you can see the Cheshire Cat up a tree grinning down on them. I really enjoyed making this even though it's another of those 'what are you going to do with that' thing lol.

Thanks very much for looking x

Mmm Not Somewhere To Spend The Night

I know I said I was through with Halloween, but that was the cute side, this is just downright spooky...
I could never understand why on films people went into graveyards, in the dark, (and always in the fog) what good did they ever expect to come of it lol.
For my spookiness I've used stamps from a Cherry Pie set (love these) a Stampendous cobweb stamp, and one of Tim's trees. This is one of my 'go to' stamps, along with his flock of birds.
The stamping has been done in black versafine, and the card just coloured with Black Soot distress ink. The bat started life as silver, but I coloured him with the Ranger black enamel accents.

I've been practicing my reverse stamping with the railings on the bottom right. The card railing is Tim's Picket Fence die, and it's all being supported by the small easel die which is fab, I can see myself getting a lot of use out of this one!
I'm entering this into the following
Gingersnaps - Black and grey
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Show one colour - any colour
Craft Room - Black and white
Tando Creative - Spooktastic


Thanks very much for looking x

It's All Change - Well Simon Said To Alter It!!

 I have always loved looking at altered art on other peoples blogs, but it's something I've never had a go at myself, so when I saw in advance that The Stampman were going to have a Altered challenge I thought it was the perfect time to have a go!
So my weapon of choice was this,

it's a cutlery tray from a discount store. Why I couldn't have started with a wooden spoon I don't know :o)

I sanded and painted with black acrylic paint, then sprayed inside and out with purples and orange glimmer mists. It's the first time I've persevered with the glimmer mists and I'm now a convert!
Now came the small task of filling it - again why not a wooden spoon!!.
So I made some atc's, microscope slides, and then my new Alteration dies landed with a thud on my mat, so these were used immediately :o) on Coredinations card, and sanded.
The inks are a mixture of distress and dye, and a wee bit of embossing has gone on as well.
It's by far the most adventurous thing I've ever made. I'm officially the slowest crafter in the world, and this has taken me days  weeks, but I've really enjoyed watching it come together. Though as my DH says 'What are you going to do with it??'  Men!!
The stamps are by Artistic Outpost and Cherry Pie.
The images are by Itkupilli and Moonlight Journey
I'm entering this for Stampman's Altered challenge
Lot's to Do - Alter it
Sunday Stampers - Paint it Black
Simon Says Stamp and Show Sanded/Distress.
Theme Thursday - Dark Gothic/Halloween
Thanks very much for looking - I'm going to tidy up the conservatory now 'cos it looks like we've been burgled (again!!)

Curiouser and Curiouser

Here is my entry to this weeks (this is where I get my piece of paper out so that I do my link correctly) Saturday Workout challenge, which this week is Embossing Resist. I really like this technique, but my Versamark pad is sooooo filthy I really must get another one.
There is a great tutorial posted on the SaWo site, I am going to try the one with Brasso - Yes that's right, the cleaning stuff and Yes I will have to buy some first :o)
I've coloured my mountboard with lime green dye ink, then given it a quick blast to dry it off completely. Then I've stamped my Cherry Pie Alice in Wonderland stamps. (That damned Chubby Brown song keeps going through my head - you know the one
'Who the .... is Alice. Thankfully I can remember Smoky's original so I'm telling myself to think of that instead - 24 years eh....)
Ah yeah, stamped the Alice stamps with dirty Versamark, then embossed in clear embossing powder. I've brayered a Big and Juicy pad over the top, and gone round the edge in a deep blue.
Thanks for looking, and have a fab Sunday. xx

If Happy Little Bluebirds Fly...

Here is my entry to this weeks Sunday Postcard Art challenge, which is 'Over The Rainbow' My poor little caged bird is longing to be free and fly away over the rainbow.
The bird and cage are from Cherry Pie, and the tree and flying bird are by Tim Holtz.
The background has been watercoloured on watercolour paper, so is a bit bumpy, then embossed with sparkly embossing powder.
This was my first attempt at using a stamp positioner (to get the bird in the cage). This makes perfect sense in theory but a lot of caged birds ended up in the bin lol.
Thanks very much for looking x

Alice's Complete Makeover

I received my new Alice In Wonderland stamp plate today from Cherry Pie, and I had to have a play straight away. The challenge at Wednesday Stampers is Fashion, which made me think of those Complete Makeover programmes. I always wondered what would happen if they looked into the mirror and though Ugh! I recon this is what Alice is thinking as she looks into her mirror, although I think that shade of blue looks rather fetching.
The mirror is from Google Images, and the background is dye inks. The blotches are where I have drizzled glue and then wiped away. How inventive I hear you say - no I spilt the glue I reply, so I had to keep going lol.
A little bit of German Scrap, and the words are from a label maker.
I really enjoyed my little play, and thanks for looking x

Just Dreamy....

This is my entry to this weeks Thank God It's Friday challenge which is 'Dreams'. Every time I think about dreams, this beautiful Cherry Pie lady comes to mind. She has such a wistful expression, I don't know if she's happy or sad.
The canvas background has been painted with lots of acrylics, and over stamped with the swirly Stamp Camp stamp. I had inked it up in black, but the stamp actually removed the paint from the canvas and showed up what had been painted on underneath. I think this looks quite nice so I am claiming it as my own brilliant idea lol.
The sentiment is from Elusive Images and has been printed on tissue paper.
My lady has been coloured in with ProMarkers.
The smaller grungy stamps are also Cherry Pie and have been painted with Ranger dabbers.
Thanks very much for looking and have a fab (and hopefully sunny) weekend x

Spring Is In The Air

As it was Mother's Day today, I managed to sneak away for an hour to make a card. I've had these Elusive Images stamps for quite a while, but they were still sealed in their plastic bag. I seem to be in an inky mood lately, so again no fancy papers or embelishments. Looking at the photograph I notice that I still worship at the alter of wonky cards, but then I think that straight lines are very overrated lol.
I think my card fits in with Hels' challenge at Sunday Stampers which is Diamonds, and also Stamp Something's which is Think Spring.
The background stamp is by Cherry Pie, and has been stamped with a Big and Juicy ink pad. The bird stamp has been inked with an Adirondack which I have had for years and it's still going strong. The quote at the bottom is from Serendipity.
This is the first DL card I've made for ages, and they used to be my favourite. Isn't it strange how things come and go?
Thanks very much for looking xx

Fly Me To The Moon

The challenge today over at The Sunday Stampers is Under The Moon Of Love. Well of course I'm old enough to remember this - I've even been known to do the funny little dance if I've had enough to drink :o). The main image in an Inca stamp from the bottom of the box, and the words are by Cherry Pie. The star is a piece of grungeboard which has been painted and embossed.
This ATC is mark 2 - the original went in the bin. I even got as far as scanning it before admitting that I just didn't like it!
Enjoy what's left of the weekend and thanks for looking xx

The Sunday Stampers - Words

'His name is Leo and he dances on the sand'
Mmm , maybe not... apologies to any Duranies out there :o)
Here is my effort for the Sunday Stampers this week. The theme is 'Words', and as I'm in a taggy mood I decided to make another.
I painted said tag with pink and lilac crackle paints, and blended them together with er... my finger. I'm sure there a blending tool available on some web site, but my finger was nearer!! It seemed to be quite a thick layer, but it hasn't cracked that much.
The da Vinci and little squares stamps are by Cherry Pie Art Stamps, and they have been inked with various distress inks.
The Artist stamp is by Tim Holtz. I roughed up the edges with his paper distresser, and inked up with yellow distress ink. It's finished off with a thin layer of Mod Podge to blend the colours in a little more.
I realy enjoyed this challenge, hope you like, and thanks for looking xx
http://pinkleart.blogspot.com/2008/04/sunday-stampers-week-14-its-only-words.html