Christmas is Coming

Jo has picked the theme this week over at Stampotique Designers Challenge and she has gone with 'It's a Wrap' Whether it be gift tags, ribbon or wrapping paper she has challenged us to make some form of Christmas wrapping.
I started with a wooden box and started by coating it in gesso. I then put Distress stains on my craft mat and dragged the box through them. This gives it a really nice tattered finish.
Global Warming and Stringed Lights were stamped in Cobalt Archival ink and clear embossed.

I added some buttons, gems and a little bling (its Christmas!!) The 25 are grunge board and they've been stamped with Fax To Wolfgang.
I love my snowman's eyes, they are 'pieces of eight' that came all the way back from Disney in Florida quite a few years ago lol.

Heart Vine has been stamped around the sides, and the ribbon is seam binding that has been dyed in the same Distress Stains.
Please join in with your Christmas wrappings and you will be in with a chance of winning one of the $30 guest certificates.
Thanks very much for looking x

The Magic Of Christmas

The challenge this fortnight over at Tag It On  is Magical Mystery and has been dreamed up by Monique. For her ingredients she has chosen 'a little magic, some mystery, and a little fairy dust'.
Well what could be more magical than Christmas!
I've used a Crafty Individual stamp, and then stamped again and cut out the main image. This has been triple embossed with kaleidoscope embossing powder. The backgrounds are a page from an old hymn book, and some pearlescent  card that's had the ink, spritz and flick treatment.
Please join us at TIO and make us a magical mysterious tag, using at least one real stamp.
I'm also entering this into the Crafty Individuals challenge which is Festive Sparkle oOOPs it turns out that this isn't a CI stamp - if anyone knows who it is by could you please let me know lol.

Thanks very much for looking x

Stampotique Designers Challenge 75 - Use Paint

It's time for another Stampotique challenge, and our very talented host Libby has asked us to use paint in our creations.
I've used a mixture of Paper Artsy fresco paints for the background, and Perfect Pearls mixed with a little water to colour the vines and the top section.
The border from Femme Collage has been stamped across the top, and the face stamped onto tissue paper, then triple embossed, and put in the freezer to crack.
The washi tape (tape measure) has had a light wash of the same pink as the background but this really does not show up too well.
The fleur de lis has been painted in Ver Day paints and sprayed with the magic solution.
Please join in with our challenge for your chance to win a $30 gift certificate to spend at the Stampotique store.
Stamps used can all be found at Stampotique Originals
Femme Collage
Hutchings
Heart Vine
Vintage Script

Thanks very much for looking x

Stampotique Nature Challenge

Yep it's Wednesday again, and time for another challenge at Stampotique. Nellie is our hostess, and she has chosen Nature.
I inked a couple of tags in Distress Inks, then overstamped with my favourite Vintage Script stamp in plum Archival.
Jo's dragonfly stamp has 
had it's first inking, together with her Grass stamp.
These have then had a fair bit of frantage enamel and glass glitter scattered over the top to catch the light a little.
I've also stamped the dragonfly in acetate and  Clearly for Art film which has been heated and moulded.
The Dragonfly Verse has been stamped onto vellum and torn around.

I've torn around some Paper Artsy waxed craft paper and stamped the text stamp again, then crumpled and swiped with black ink then heated until the ink seeped into the paper.
Please join in with our challenge over at the Stampotique  blog. There are very few rules, but please make sure you read them first.
Thanks very much for looking, and hope to see you over there x
Stamps used:
Vintage Script
Dragonfly
Dragonfly Verse
Grass

Beware Spiders!!

The very talented Silvia has chosen the theme this week at Dragons Dream Tag It On, and she has picked 'Handle With Care'.  The ingredients are something fragile, an animal and a warning.
This really had me thinking, then I noticed some of my Halloween stamps that hadn't gone away. This led me down the path of spiders web - fragile check. Spiders - animal check, and a warning. Well if spider venom isn't a warning I don't know what is!
I started with Distress Inks in purple, orange and blue, then stamped my web stamp all over. I sprinkled various embossing powders over the top to give it a more realistic look, then stamped LOTS of spiders.

This is how it looked before the top layer of acetate was added.
I stamped more spiders on the acetate and the spider venom warning.
A bit of ribbon and a brad to finish, and all done. 
I found this great fun to make once I knew what I was going to do.
So please join us in making a tag using Silvia's ingredients, then we can come and take a look.
Thanks very much for looking x

Had a Bit of a Play

I've had a bit of a play over the weekend, and this is what I've come up with. 

The background is watercolour paper that has been painted with red and yellow Ecoline inks. As this was just a play day I sprinkled rock salt onto the wet ink to make it a bit more interesting. This has then been stamped with a mixture of Stampin Up stamps.

The next layer is a sheet of music paper that has been sprayed with ink through an A4 stencil. I've also added some Frantage to the top corner.

Next came the postcard layer. This was sprayed with coffee (loving the smell) then stamped with a combination of Stampotique, Darkroom Door, and Tim Holtz stamps.

The Moulin Rouge has been stamped onto the same Ecoline coloured paper, and the chipboard  Eifel Tower has been coloured with Metallic Distress stains and overstamped.

I made a brad with my Build a Brad kit and a Darkroom Door stamp the was stamped onto black card then embossed in white. 

Fifi Frantage is a Kanban stamp. She's been coloured in Prisma pencils then had the full Frantage treatment with embossing enamels, glass glitter and mica fragments

I'm entering this into the following challenges.

Frilly and Funky 3 in a row, I've gone with the ink sprays, metallic distress stains and chipboard.

Fashionable Stamping musical.

Simon Says Stamp and Show Inspiration Francaise 

Pan Pastels Make an embellishment - brad 

It's nearly time for I'm a Celebrity - it's one of my guilty pleasures lol.

Thanks very much for looking x

Woo Hoo I'm Embossing With The Stampman

I'm very excited as Jill from the Stamp Man has asked if I would like to join her design team. She has such a talented team, and I feel very honoured. The theme this month is Embossing, and here is my piece.

One of my loves at the moment is Frantage, so this is the route I have taken.
The Shirtwaists have been stamped with a mixture of Detail Gold and Aged Marine embossing powders,  onto card that I have sprayed with coffee. This smells sooo good, especially when I heat it up to melt the EPs. It's been coloured with Prisma pencils then  the Frantage glass glitters have been added with a glue pen.
The layer beneath is Kanban Kandy Core that's been put through the Grand Calibur with an A4 mask. This has then had a good old sprinkling of Frantage Embossing Enamels.
The American seam binding has been dyed with spray ink, and I mopped up all the embossing powder on my heat mat so this has also dried into the ribbon.
The chipboard dress form has been coloured with Metalic Distress Stains, then I set to work with the frantage. There's a mixture of colours, and glitters and mica flakes - ooh love all that sparkle!
Just matted onto Bling card, with a torn edge and more of the detail gold, and under that some Kraft card stamped with a mesh stamp.
This was so much fun to make, and I'm really looking forward to getting to know my new teamies. 
Please pop over and join us - any form of embossing is good, and thanks very much for looking x

Oh Hang It!

It's the turn of Sam (and Poppy - the cutest dog in the whole world, along with Harvey) to choose the theme for this weeks Stampotique challenge, and they have gone with a hanging decoration. Well it's now November, and you can't move in the shops for leftover Halloween and... Christmas!

So Christmas it is! I've gone with a couple of small canvases and painted up the backs with the gorgeous Paper Artsy fresco paints. I've stamped the frames with Stringed Lights and embossed with silver EP.
Global Warming, Oh Tree, Great Moon and Jo's freebie star from Craft Stamper have all been stamped onto shrink plastic and coloured with Promarkers. I love shrink plastic, especially now I know it comes in black and white and not just clear.
The usual bit of bling around the frames and on the tree, then I just added the snowflake to join it all together.
This was great fun to make though it is now soooo cold in my conservatory/craft room that it really does feel like Christmas.

This is a better guide to the colour, I really must brush up on my (non -existent) photography skills.

I know Oh Tree isn't just for Christmas, but it is perfect for it.

Please check out all the other wonderful hangings on the blog, then join in with your own. 

Thanks very much for looking x

Please link DIRECTLY to your creation, not to your blog and include the challenge # behind your name (any not linking directly to your creation ANDinclude the challenge # will be deleted and not eligible for prize).  We ask that if you have comment verification turned on, that you would consider turning this on and doing comment moderation instead.  

Please use the link in the left sidebar to link up your challenge showing us your "Hanging Decorations".  

**Change to Stampotique submission rules:  You will now have until the first challenge of the following month to submit your entries-we will only have one Inlinkz per month (at left sidebar of blog); so today marks the start of the challenges for November and it will run through the close of our last challenge for November on December 4, 2012 at noon ET**