What The ELF!...

The challenge this week at Stampotique has been chosen by Valerie, and she's asked us to  Focus on Flowers. This is the perfect opportunity to use Janet's new Sunflower stamp.

This is a MDF tag that's been covered with copy paper stamped with French Journal Page and Garden Block and painted and stencilled.

Next I stamped Splattered Mug in white acrylic.

The Sunflowers have been stamped onto acetate, and coloured in glass paints (thanks Carol :-) 

Now the scary part, the stamping of the words straight onto the tag ! I've used Altered Alpha and Typewriter Alpha Not the straightest stamping in the world but never mind. I only noticed the ELF when in was finished lol.

This was great fun to make Valerie, thank very much for the challenge.

I hope you'll join in with us, just remember to link up correctly, and no digi images.

I'm also joining in with Simon Says Stamp Monday's challenge, which is Not So Mellow Yellow

Hope you like my tag, and thanks very much for looking x 

I'm Tagging Along

The challenge this week at Tag Along is pin up's.
Here's mine

This is a panpastel background, with stamps from Elusive Images, Art Journey, and Bombshell. I really enjoyed this Carol, thanks for the challenge x

New Beginnings

It's been ages since I've had a play with my Wendy Vecchi stamps, so I've put that right today.

I started by painting my plaque and stamping with various background stamps.

Next came some stencilling with Fresco paints.

The sentiment was stamped and embossed (a little too near the bottom lol)
Then the fun began making the flowers and leaves. I tried Wendy's archival re-inker technique.

I like this very much and will definitely try it again.
I'm entering this into the Country View Crafts  challenge which this month is New Beginnings.
Hope you like it, and thanks very much for looking x

Happy Families

Good morning everyone, it's a beautiful sunny Wednesday here and I'm delighted to be hosting this weeks challenge. I'm sure that every crafter has had that block where their mojo has packed it's bags and gone on holiday. I know I've sat and looked at a sheet of card and had no ideas at all. One way I've got to get over this is just to decide what size or shape I want to make. So I pick a card or a tag, or in this case a postcard. Postcards are great fun and it's amazing how much you can get on a 6x4 (inches) area. So this week I would like you to make a postcard.

Here's my Instagram inspired Stampotique family gallery.

I started by making some inky spritzy backgrounds and then stamping the frames from Daniel's Calender Cube.

On more inky squares I stamped the guys.

They're all smiling inside....

Poor Toto looks like he's been photobombed by Magda's Night.

Lot's of cutting and sticking and we have the happy family photo :-)

I've used

Bla Bla Bla 

Calender Squares Cube

Flying Pig

Smitten Moustache Monsters

Kitty Squad

French Journal Page

Night

Happy Happy Happy

Flying Monkey

Toto

Bella

Cat Family

Teddy

Rootie Toot

I hope you'll try and join in with my challenge, and remember there's a chance to win a $30 gift certificate for more Stampotique goodies. Have Fun!!

Thanks very much for looking x

Same But Different Take 2

Good morning everyone, today I have three cards made with what is becoming one of my favourite techniques. At PaperArtsy Jo created a masterboard, and she has returned this week to show us what she made with it. I must admit mine had been sitting in a box untouched by scissors/trimmer trembling at the thought of being cut up. But now, thanks to Jo, here it is 

This was such a relaxing way to craft, just an inkpad and a box of coloured pencils :-)

Just a bit of layering and making some buttons with the leftover bits.

I really like how Lin's words look with the bright colours. 
In fact I enjoyed myself so much I did it all over again.

The challenge at IndigoBlu  this month is Spring Blossoms, so I've made another masterboard. This time though I've stamped the different flowers with the beautiful Wendy Vecci inks. I think these work really well with the blooms from Live Laugh Love.

I've just added a few little highlights with black and white pens, and the sentiment is from the same sheet.
I know I'll use this technique again and again so thanks so much Jo for the inspiration.
Have a very Happy Easter, and thanks very much for looking x

I Know I'm Late But I'm Coming To The Party

Good morning, you can certainly tell that it's the lead up to a Bank Holiday, 'cos it's SO cold and grey that Neil decided it would be a good time to strip the walls and decorate. So while most people are having a relaxing weekend we're knee deep in wallpaper paste - somebody save me!! Anyhoo Tim Holtz has made an amazing tag for April, and I was determined to play along, so here's mine.

I pretty much had the ingredients so followed Tim's instructions 'cos it was the techniques that I wanted to learn. I was so happy just after stage one - who knew that tissue tape, Distress Paint and Distress Ink looked so wonderful together. That was the problem, I didn't know. I've got the stuff but don't know how to use it all properly, so I've finally got around to signing up for Tim's Creative Chemistry! I know everyone did it years ago but I always said I didn't have time, bla bla but that bit of paint, ink and water did it, so I'll be making lots of tags (in between making cups of tea and finding wallpaper rollers etc)
The ladies over at A Vintage Journey are asking for Spring Flowers as the theme for the challenge this time, so while I'm against killing birds with stones, it did seem a good idea to combine the two :-)

Here's my pinecone flowers edged with a bit of white paint. The butterfly has also been splattered with the paint.

I've also been playing with some crinoline that I got from the Funky Junkie ages ago and never took out of the bag.

It's really difficult to get a decent photograph, but I'm very happy with what I've learned and can't wait to start on the 101.
Have a very happy Easter, and thanks for looking x
Edit thanks very much Jenny for pointing me in the direction of Frilly and Funky where the challenge this time is Flights of Fancy x

Drip Drip Drop Little April Showers

When the lovely Carol chose the theme for the challenge at Stampotique this week she must have been channeling the weather forcast because I think we are going to have plenty of these this weekend. Here's what she has to say

" I love the early months of the year and to me I only have to hear the month April and instantly in my head the song from Bambi is playing, and I am now humming, drip, drip, drip, little April showers, so use water, rain and April showers as your inspiration this week" xx

So here's to April showers 

Not that album again I hear you groan. Well yep I'm afraid so because this is the one think that I started that I may actually finish!

This has the usual PanPastel, background with lots of inking and stencilling I've used Text Block 3, and the wonderful Raindrops by our very own Magda.
Don't you love these  Sunflowers by Janet Klein?They are having rain dripped on them from her Noage stamp.

They've been painted in Pebeo Fantasy paints. It's the first time I've tried them out so they're a little wobbly lol.
Drip, Drip Drop comes courtesy of France's new Typwritter Alpha which has already had lots of use. 
I've outlined some of the drops with the Pebeo outliner and filled with Glossy Accents.
The clouds have been stamped onto washi tape, blobs of Glossy Accents applied for more rain, and the usual border to finish.

So I now have another double side - you see I will finish this - maybe- someday :-)
Normally I have a favourite out of the new release stamps, but honestly this time they are all brilliant, I could have had them all (just give me time lol)
I'm entering this into a couple of challenges, PanPastel  still has a theme of Pretty Shabby Chic, and Fashionable Stamping is to use your favourite technique. Mine has to be my pastel, stencil and stamped background.
I hope you like my page, and don't forget the blog hop (post below) for the chance to see and maybe win some of the fab new release stamps.
Thanks very much for looking x

We're Having A Blog Hop

It's that special time of year again when the new Stampotique stamps hit the store, and we're having a blog hop to celebrate. 

f you are a fan of our Facebook page you may have already gotten a sneak peek of some of the new images we are excited to be releasing today.  We hope you will join us for the blog hop to see a variety of those images.

There are lots of new images from our favorite stamp designers and we are proud to welcome one of our newest stamp designer, Magda Polakow, whom you have seen tons of her fabulous creations here as part of our design team.  We think you will find a few stamps that you can't live without.

Join us through the blog hop for your chance to win some random goodies-we will be randomly drawing two winners for a $30 gift certificate for Stampotique stamps at the Stampotique online store.  The new stamps should be available over there now.

Also, make sure you hope all the way through for an exciting announcement on our Stampotique Designers Blog for an additional chance to win some goodies and some additional recognition as an artist.

You should have arrived to my blog from Gez Butterworth, if you did not arrive from there you may want to start the hop at the Stampotique Designer's Challenge blog.   When you are finished visiting my blog you will want to hop on over to Magda Polakow

Have fun hopping, we will be pulling the random winners of the blog at our next challenge on April 23, 2014.

This is made with the very lovely Verdette which is one of Janet Klein's new designs. She's perfect for paper piecing isn't she. I've also used France's fabulous new Typewritter Alpha for the smaller letters in vogue and the price 2/6 eh, that's going back a few years lol. The rest of the lettering is stencilled. I've also used France's Barcode and Barcode text. I did stamp the Barcode upside down but never mind eh :-)

You now need to hop on over to Magda's blog, and if you get lost here's a list of where you need to go.

Roc Nicholas

Valerie Wilson

Kaz Boughton

Sarah Anderson

Corrie Herriman 

Carol Fox

Astrid Stulemeijer

Kay Wallace

Kathi Rerek

Coby vanWilligenburg 

Nellie van Leeuwen

Janet Klein

Sam Read

Arwen McCullen

Kristen Catalano

Claudine Criner

R.Maria Sabina

France Papillon

Tanja Kewel-Neef

Jackie Payne

Kim Howard

Gez Butterworth

Sue Davies (you are here)

Magda Polakow

Stampotique Designers'Blog

Have fun!

Use A Pen For Stampotique

The incredibly talented Magda is our hostess this morning at Stampotique so over to her :-)

I always have a pen or pencil with me. Always with notebook full of drawings and doodles. I'm sure not only me! I would love to see a pen in your project. It can be a drawing, doodles or simply some journaling. It might be even a single word. I'm looking forward to see your entries for this challenge!

So here's another page in my chipboard book

The background has been built up with PanPastels and lots of Stampotique stamps (of course :-)  ) The main image is a whacking great Jo Capper Sandon Large Butterfly. This has been stamped onto some alcohol inked gloss paper and also some bendy acetate.

Next came lots of tissue tape highlighted with a white Posca pen, Jo's Papillon Script has been covered in Glossy Accents then put to one side to dry - see no thumb prints this time :-)

The little wooded butterflies have stamped with Fax To Wolfgang

There's quite a bit of height to the butterfly now so goodness knows if the book will shut, but never mind lol. Now time for my border, it's black and white Posca pens - I'm so happy that I've found (to me) the perfect pens - they just go over anything!

On the background I've used

Text Block 3

Vintage Script and

Spiralling out of Control

I'm also entering this into the latest PanPastel challenge, which is Pretty Shabby Chic.

Please join in with out pen challenge - usual terms and conditions, just link up and tell us the challenge number - in this case it's SDC 142, and of course no digis.

I hope you like my page, and thanks very much for looking x

Bear Hugs

This is a sneaky peak at my card for Creative Studios. It's my last piece this week so huge thanks to Sam and the rest of the design team for having me :-)

Have a fab weekend and thanks for looking x

Great Uncle Ferdy Is A Very Famous Cat

Over at Stampotique Nellie would like to see a little bit of humour. Mmm well I take my art very seriously darlings so would like to tell you a true story instead. This is the tale of Nerd Cat's Great Uncle Ferdy.

Now due to serious science programmes Like the Big Bang Theory everyone knows that physicist Erwin Schrodinger had a theory about a cat. You can see it here. What they don't know is that he had a real life cat Ferdy on whom he wanted to test his theory. Being rather a nerdy cat there was no way that Ferdy was risking one of his nine lives by getting in the box.
Schrodinger never did test his theory, but Ferdy went on to have a very lucrative career on the after dinner speech circuit before settling down with Nerd Cats Great Aunty Maureen, and the rest as they say is history :-)

I've used Nerd Cat  and Livres in the telling of this tale. Now it's your turn to  play along and show us your funny side. I hope you like my tag, and thanks very much for looking x