Daring Ideas...

This week Suzanne Czosek is the guest designer at Paper Artsy and she has challenged us to use metal.
I started by painting and stamping and distressing my arch, then covering most of it up with the metal lol. The PA metal on card stamps so nicely, and I love not having to back it up first. I stamped and clear embossed the stamps from Ink And The Dog, Clocks 1, and Squiggly Ink Crowns & Castles 4, then painted with Sky, Beach Hut and Limelight. I then sanded back in places to let the silver come back through and I'm really pleased with the result. 

I just need to set up a standing order to Paper Artsy Towers then they can drip feed me Fresco Paints, and stamps, and paper, and more stamps and.... hey, this is my hobby and no-one ever died of too much rubber or paint whereas jogging is really bad for the joints :-) That's my excuse and I'm sticking firmly to it.
Thanks very much for looking xx

Don't Worry... Be Happy - SDC 85

Kaz is our hostess this week and she wants us all to get happy.

"We all have our problems in life, but life is short and we should all find something to put a smile on our faces as often as we can. So whether you choose 'happy' as your theme, your word or you use a technique that makes you smile, show me your little bit of HAPPY!"

So what makes me happy ?? well that's easy, lots of colour and yeah OK a little bit of sparkle.

I coloured my dictionary page with Pan Pastels in yellows, blues and greens. I stamped everything in black Versafine and gave it a quick blast with the heat gun. I coloured the shrooms with Prisma Colour pencils and sparkled the bees up a little with glass glitter.

This fits in perfectly with the dictionary challenge over at the Craft Barn. This fortnight the letter is C, so I've chosen colourful.

Stamps used 

Abstract Foliage,  Tiny Bee,  Mushroom Forrest, Spiraling Out of Control.

So go to your happy place and show us all at Stampotique what makes you happy.

All of the stamps are available from Stampotique Originals 

Thanks very much for looking x

Would You Like To...

Swing on a star ... 'cos the challenge this week at Pan Pastels  is Seeing Stars, and at The Stampsmith it's Recycle.
I'm recycling an old dictionary that's been in my craft room for ages. I must admit I do tear pages out occasionally so it was feeling very unloved.
I gave it a couple of coats of gesso as it was dark blue and shiny, so not the best of surfaces to apply the PanPastels to. 
I covered it in shades of blue, then randomly stamped one of the postcard stamps in blue archival. 
The sparkly texture paste was put through a stencil - I need more practise at this as I have a few blobby looking stars but never mind.
The happy couple have been stamped onto glossy card and framed.
My unloved book will be given a new lease of life as I've just discovered the dictionary challenge at the Craft Barn that I want to join in with. I just need to win the lottery now as there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day, so work will have to go!!
Thanks very much for looking xx

Advice To Sons - Paper Artsy Style

Like the rest of the crafting world I'm loving everything about the guest designers on the Paper Artsy Blog. This week it's been Linda Cain giving us the inspiration, and this is my version of her first tag.
I've used just about every colour of Fresco Paint that I own on this tag. It looked a bit grim and over cooked till I sanded it, then WOW all of the colours underneath came through as if by magic. I love the dabbing with foam technique and am really enjoying the tutorials.
I can't wait to see who's up for next week!
Thanks very much for looking x

Grungy Pan Pastels

This weeks theme over at Pan Pastels is nature. I've been using my Paper Artsy stamps quite a lot lately, and knew I had some nice nature plates in there.
I wanted to use the pastels as much as possible, so I set myself 2 challenges, just use the pans, and however bad it gets, no throwing it in the bin!
The first part was a lot easier to keep then the second!! I gave the background a coat of white paint to start with, then started with the pastels. I've never used an eraser before with the pastels, but they really do rub out the bad bits lol. This made for some interesting re-building of the background. I'm not altogether happy with this, but I am glad that I hung in there rather than just binning it like I usually do :-)
The 'petals' has been stamped in Archival onto hessian tape to cover  up a bit of a 'whoops', and I've gone around the edges with treasure gold to give it a bit of shine.
So I've learned that Pan Pastels arn't just for pretty, they are pretty fine at grungy too!
I can't believe that last night's snow is melting away, better watch out for the floods lol.
Thanks very much for looking x

Join The Love Train...

The theme at Stampotique  this week is love, which fitted in perfectly with Roni's February technique of Faux Speckled Graniteware Enamel.
I've used Daniel's Hearts and Heart Vine in my background, and the chipboard has been cut with Tim's dies, inked, and embossed.
Roni has just done her September pennant, so I've got lots of catching up to do lol.
Thanks very much for looking x

Oops I Did It Again..

Over at Dragons Dream Tag It On, Tracy has chosen the theme of Dress To Impress. The team have done some beautiful subtle tags.... and here's mine :-)

The recipe is a dress or dressform, an embossed impression, and some bling.
Ok maybe not so subtle, infact the queens face is making my eyes bleed, but I did enjoy making this.
The stamps are a mixture of Stampotique and Dylusions, and they've all been coloured with Distress Markers.
I'm also entering this into the Altered Alice challenge, which is anything goes, and the Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge 'what are you known for'. I hope I'm known for not taking myself too seriously.
Please pop over to the Tag It On blog and check out the gorgeous inspiration, then Dress to Impress us and show us a tag using at least one real stamp.
Thanks very much for looking x

Another Pastel Play

I've really enjoyed playing along with this weeks Paper Artsy challenges, and here's another tag made with my kiddie pastels. The colours arn't quite as scary IRL but I had to scan this as the flash kept bouncing. 
I've used some of my old and well loved stamps as well as some that have never seen ink.
I've learnt so much this week so that's one New Years Resolution that I've had great fun keeping.
I can't wait to see what's on the agenda for next week :-)
Thanks very much for looking x

Come Fly With Me

Preferably somewhere warm 'cos it's flippin freezing here... not so much in the way of snow, but it's just SOOOOO cold. My Artistic Outpost stamps have been feeling a bit neglected lately so out they came for a play. I'm having to bring everything into the living room/lounge/sitting room (I've just read a thread on this and it turns out I'm Northern and working class - who knew lol) in from the conservatory 'cos it's too cold for Captain Birdseye in there!
I've used stamps from the Charles and Amelia plate for the background, and also from London Underground to make the newspaper background. Fly has been covered with Brushed Pewter Distress Stain, then sanded and inked in DI.
I'm entering this into the 
Artistic Outpost January referral - anything goes 
Frilly and Funky  Follow Your Muse - mine always leads me to my stamps and inks
Fashionable Stamping Planes, Trains and Automobiles.

In my Living Room I have a 3 piece, and sit on a settee (which my son calls a sofa :-) We eat breakfast, dinner and tea and I drink coffee from a mug. What would Hyacinth Bucket say lol x

Pass The Pastels

I'm loving the challenges on the Paper Artsy blog, and the tags that Helen Chilton have made this week have been stunning. I've made mine with water soluble pastels from the Early Learning Centre. My children are now 22 and 19 so you can guess how old they are :-). I blended them with a baby wipe and am quite happy with the result. I sponged Snowflake paint through a stencil, and then 'bumped' with Zesty Zing and Autumn Fire.
The Lynne Perrella (LPC004) have been stamped on acetate. I love Helen's tip to paint the faces in white on the reverse, but my favourite idea of hers is to use paint chips scraped from a craft mat - brilliant!!
I'm also entering these into The Artistic Stamper's challenge which is to use your favourite stamp. My favourite stamp changes daily, but for today it's the LP strip stamps.
Thanks very much for looking xx

New Year Resolutions at Stampotique

Hi there!  Jane here from the DT and I get to host this week's challenge!  We all make New Years resolutions..and I make many!  I am asking you to use your New Years resolution as your "inspiration" this week on your creation "Stampotique style".  It can be any!  Just keep it in mind when you create your card, altered object or journal pages.  One of my resolutions is to learn as much as I can about art journaling and that includes "letting go of insecurities".  I want to take pictures and record my life's events, paint when I feel the need and journal about what ever I feel.  I think Stampotique stamps go hand in hand with art journaling so why not?  Get going and show us your stuff!  Have fun!

I have made 2 resolutions this year, one is to use up what I already have, and the other (and much more fun one) is to learn new things. I see products in blogland that look amazing, rush out to buy them, don't really learn how to use them, so bury them at the bottom of my stash and have a little sulk!

So when I was going through December's Craft Stamper and saw Kate Crane's amazing article on Pan Pastels I knew this was the perfect chance to get to grips with them.
Kate showed us how to blend and use stencils... Journey Collage  is also my new favourite stamp :-)

She covered stamping with pastels and using moulding paste.... Fabulous, Daniel's Hearts and Abstract Foliage are my new favourite stamps :-) :-)

This is the moulding paste in the corner applied through a stencil then dusted with the PP's All of the stamping had been done in Versamark then gone over with a sofft tool and the pastels.

Kate also showed us how to make plaid with the pans. This was great fun even though straight lines seem to be a push too far for me.
By the way Hug Monster, Give Self A Hug, and Row of Numbers  are my new favourite stamps....
These were all made with only a few colours of PP's as they blend so well together, I used Turquoise, Phthalo Blue, Phthalo Green,
Permanent Red, Diarytide Yellow, and Orange. 
So a huge thanks to Kate for the fab tutorial, I had a lovely afternoon just playing, and to me thats what it's all about.
So please join us at Stampotique Designers Challenge and show us your New Year Resolutions.
I'm also entering my tags into the Pan Pastel Challenge which is New Year/New Technique.
Thanks very much for looking x

January Blues

I've been following Roni's  blog for ages, she has some amazing techniques to share, and she always does a calender. This year each month will be in the shape of a pennant. 
The technique for January is alcohol inks and felt. I must confess I had to cheat a little and use funky foam too as only one of my dies would cut felt.

This is how it looked with just the AI background. The big blue snowflakes were stamped with the die cut felt, and the other two were the funky foam. They looked so nice after they had been coated in the AI that I added them to the finished page.
The silver snowflake is a Christmas ornament that has lost its tie, and the stamp is Brrr from Stampotique.
A huge thank you to Roni for showing me this technique, it's one of the very few times that I've used alcohol ink and not thrown it in the bin :-).

I'm entering this into the Happy Daze challenge which is re-cycle. The backing to this is packaging from Amazon, and the snowflake fell of the Christmas tree lol.

Head over to Roni's to see her amazing calender, and thanks very much for looking xx

You've Got To Paint It Paint It!

The uber tallented  Michelle has been showing lots of lovely examples of Paper Artsy  goodness over the past week, and the challenge is to use this to inspire you.
I started with one of PA's papier mache hangers, and painted in shades of yellow and blue. I tried to follow Leandra's   corner, corner, side method, but the more I tried the worse it looked. In the end I painted over the top with Snowflake and started again. I tried not to over think it, and with the help of Beach Hut and Limelight ( I LOVE the translucents) I'm a lot happier with the result. 
The Paper Artsy stamps around the edges have been stamped directly on the base, and the silhouette and chessman quote have been stamped onto PA tissue paper and stuck down with matte medium.
The bird is a viva decor stencil which has been embossed is gold.
I really enjoyed this, and I can't wait for the future challenges.
Thanks very much for looking x

The Weather Outside Is Frightful...

This week the challenge over at the Stampotique Designers blog has been chosen by Astrid, and she wants us to use die cuts or punches.
I've die cut Tim's cabinet cards and coloured with distress inks. Maria's the Weather Is Changing has been stamped directly onto the background (this bit always scares me lol)
My favourite vintage script stamp has been stamped in water, and perfect pearls. I've also used a teeny bit of gilding flakes on the frame.
Under The Parapluie and Rainy Day have been stamped, coloured with watercolour pencils and cut out. They also been sprinkled with Shaved Ice to add a bit of texture. This is the first time I've used Rainy Day and it's such a sweet stamp.
Please join in with our challenge, link it up, then we can come and have a nosey. Don't forget there's also a chance to win a $30 gift certificate.
Snow has been forecast here for the weekend so who knows, we could all be under our parapluies!
Thanks very much for looking x

While Dragons Dream....

It's time for another challenge over at Dragons Dream, Tag It On, and this time the team has chosen While Dragons Dream. So it's in with the mythical animals, a night sky and a clear moon.

My two main images are by Stamp Camp and have been stamped over a distress ink background. My bubble stamp is from Cherry Pie.
It's been finished off with a little white posca pen, and a liberal sprinkling of ultra fine and glass glitter.
I know this is stretching the 'mythical animal' a little but hey that gives you permission to do the same.
Please check out my teamies tags then join in with your own. Don't forget to use at least one (but the more the merrier) real stamp.
Thanks very much for looking x

Tim's Tags 2013

One of my New Years resolutions was to try and join in with Tim's monthly tags.
I've stuck to the recipe where I could and winged the rest (another NY resolution - total craft spending ban and to use what I've already got.) There's nothing like having a son at Uni to focus the budget lol.
I really enjoyed making the ribbon, although there was a little panic as my Timmy stamp was for December. I had to use some tiny calender stamps for the January 13.
It was great fun to make, and the time flew by - it was daylight when I started and pitch black by the time I'd finished :-).
So looking forward to February, another tag, and it's a month closer to Summer.
Thanks very much for looking x

Happy New Year !!

SDC81: Journal Cover or Page, Diary or Calendar Page

Happy New Year!  Stampotique is thrilled to start off 2013 with the start of another successful year of challenges.  We will continue to do weekly challenges this year with random winners chosen on the first challenge of the month for all those that participated throughout the month.

First, we want to take a few minutes to express our gratitude for our customers as well as all our fans.  We would not be here today if it wasn't for all those that love Stampotique and are there to support us.  Our Design Team is one of the greatest teams and we appreciate all that they do for Stampotique creating unique designs each week to share.

We bid two of our long time designers farewell in 2013, Kate Crane and Jo Capper-Sandon will be missed on our team, but we know we'll continue to see some fabulous designs from them using Stampotique.  We made the tough decision not to replace these two fantastic designers, but we do look forward to sharing 11 new guest designers with you this year.  You can see our first one, Kristen Catalano here and read more about her.

So, to kick off 2013 Stampotique is challenging you to create a Journal Cover or Page, Diary Page or Calendar page.  

So this is my calendar for 2013, it's going to work to hang in my broom cupboard office.

It's a 6x6 piece of chipboard that's been stencilled with Ferro, then painted with Paper Artsy paints and Treasure Gold.

This gives a lovely finish to stamp over, and I've used 

Hanging Hearts, French Text, Vintage Script, Karin, Twinkie and my best girl Marci.

For my first attempt I stamped the guys onto tissue paper 

which I thought was OK, but these guys need to be more vibrant. No problem, do them tomorrow I thought, but the New Year brought with it the Winter flu virus :-(. Put this together with Neil hobbling around on his crutches  - (he tore some ligaments just before Christmas coming to meet me from my train so yes it is all my fault ) and we made a very sorry couple lol.

Anyhoo I stamped again and coloured in and I much prefer it.

I hope 2013 brings you everything you wish for (as long as they're nice wishes) and thanks very much for looking x