A Very Challenging Challenge...

The challenge this month at IndigoBlu is to make a one layer card. This really is a challenge to me as I tend to add layers (mainly because I can't stamp straight) Also with a one layer card there is bound to be some white space - eek how scary is that! Anyway, here's my one layer card.

 I started by sprinkling some red, blue, and yellow Brusho's onto some damp card, adding water, and then blowing through a straw. Then I ......no wait a minute -  that was it!

The crackle stamp from the Alice in Wonderland plate was stamped in gray, and the sentiment is from Poppy Meadow

I wish I could say that I did this, but the Brusho's do it all by themselves :-)












I'm also entering this into the Lisa B Designs challenge which is to use Brusho's
Hope you like this, and thanks very much for looking x 

Capture The Magic

Good morning from a very wet and windy Pontefract. Did you get snow yesterday? we did where I was working, and hailstones for about 5 minutes then the sun came out again lol. Anyways it's Stampotique Wednesday, and the fabulous Sam has chosen the theme this week of Polka Dots, so I got in touch with my girlie side (I normally keep her well buried) and came up with this.

 I'm afraid the teddy was thrown out of the cot a couple of times with this one. I kept die cutting the layers to make a hole for 3 In A Round (minus the 3) so that Roc's Bunny could jump through, and like a muppet I centered it all up, and then it was in the wrong place! It took a couple of these for me to realise that the hole isn't in the centre of the card doh!
 I suppose I should have kept that to myself lol.

My Purple and red flowers are made from polka dot washi tape that's been stuck to card.

The other flowers are from patterned paper.

Bunny has been paper pieced. I really love this stamp, it makes me smile everytime I use him. 

I hope you play along with our dotty challenge, remember there are gift certificates up for grabs, and this means Stampotique rubber!
Hope you like mine, and thanks very much for looking xx

Really!

The challenge at Tag Along this week is 'girls', and as Mr Postman (cue for a song) has just delivered me a yummy set of new Dylusions stamps, I had to play along. So here are my girls.

I think she has a little bit of attitude lol.

Crazy hair day... this was my first tag, the other two are the mop -up's

The Queen Bee...

And sewn onto a jumbo tag to make another page for my tag book.
I like my girls even more when they are all together.
I'm on my way to work now, so enjoy your weekend, and thanks very much for looking x

Nichely Does It

Hi, the current challenge at PaperArtsy is niches. I've been really short of time lately, but wanted to have a play, so here's mine

Yes I've actually cut into my Chatsworth paper, (it was sad but it needed to be done) :-)
The arch is a TH die, and the flowers and bottles are all Paper Artsy and have been stamped onto shrink plastic. They may look a bit wonky, but believe me these were the best of the bunch lol (the bottle necks were a nightmare for sticking to itself)
Gotta go, lots to do, and I'm working all day tomorrow (boo).
Enjoy the sunshine, and thanks very much for looking x

Spring Into Spring

Hi, sorry I'm a day late, but real life is definitely getting in the way at the moment lol. The theme at Stampotique this week has been chosen by the lovely Valerie and she wants to see a spring in our step.
"In my town, there is still snow on the ground, but I'm hoping that if we keep thinking "Spring" really hard, that Spring will arrive! To encourage the arrival of Spring, I'd like to see you actually use springs or something that makes things spring up off your project!"
Here's mine, (there are lots of photo's but I'll keep the words down :-)  )

I've been folding books again, this time I folded every page, so it's a bit like the lanterns we used to make as children.

I stamped some images and started to colour, then realised it would take days to colour as many as I wanted, so I sprayed some backgrounds (yep I started stamping before I remembered the photo lol)

Stamped and cut out, by this time I never wanted to see my scissors again! Time to add springs so I set about coiling wire. My first ones were on quite thin wire, and I found that instead of being springy my guys were definitely droopy, so off they came and on with the thicker wire.

If I thought cutting was bad, try photographing a swinging book, in a breeze, with Stampotique bad boys who's only aim is to avoid the camera!

Stop Swinging!!!!

Round and round....

Different tree but still swinging, I blame the Flying Pig, he seemes to be the ring leader, and Romek keeps trying to make a run for it...

Anyway you get the idea 
Lots of stamps used here
Flying Bird
Flying Pig
Birch Tree
Wicked Witch
Dog Cube
Flying Monkey
Bunny
Upward Bound
Birdy Up
Owlseeyou
Paris Lamp Post
Romek and last but not least
Skull Balloons

I'm also entering this into the following
Mixed Media World use bright colours
Craft Stamper -colour
Pan Pastels -  anything goes

I hope you join in with our challenge, please 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.

....and no digis!
If you've made it to the end, congratulations and thank you - now you can get on with the rest of your life :-)
Thanks very much for looking xx

I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles

It's the fabulous Magda's turn to host the Stampotique challenge this week, and she has chosen circles. Here's what she has to say.
 I like using shapes in my projects especially circles. They can give interesting effects on projects depends in what way they are used. I would love to see circles on your creations. How you will use them, depends on your imagination. 

Here's my postcard.

I started with 3 colours of DecoArt Americana Multi Surface Satin paint.

Carefully applied :-)

Then a second coat, and stamping with Splattered Mug and Splatter Circle.

I credit card swiped quinacronine gold and magenta onto some card and stamped Screaming Bunny, and paper pieced his tongue and ears.

His bubbles have been stuck one, by one, by one, by oh dropped that one, by one, by blob of glue in hair, by one, by time for chocolate....

Unleash Yourself has been stamped, and this time I was careful with the painting :-)

Neil's asked why I've 'started sticking everything in books' Really simple, everything I make except for the odd card gets thrown into a big box in the corner. Once a year (or whenever I get sick of it) the big box in the corner gets thrown into the big bin outside. Bit of a waste, and lets face it crafting is not cheap! So now although things wont get 'used' at least it will be kept and not just get bashed about and then binned!
I hope you get chance to join in with our challenge this week, remember there are 2 $30 gift certificates up for grabs for April's lucky winners.
I'm entering this into the Craft Stamper colour challenge, Mixed Media World's use bright colours, and Pan Pastels anything goes.
 Hope you like it, and thanks very much for looking x

Read All About It

I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the top three in last months IndigoBlu challenge, and I've been invited to make a piece for this months 'off the edge' challenge. You can find the challenge here http://indigoblublogchallenge.blogspot.com/2015/04/challenge-26-top-3-inspiration-off-edge.htm
I've had the Yorkshire Evening Post plate for ages, so decided it was time for an inking.

 I started by painting all of the slide mailer in cream acrylic, then dragging it through some watered down distress paints.
I stamped the inside with the grungy stamp from the plate.

I did the same with the outside, making sure to keep the layers of paint very thin. I've learned the hard way that the cardboard mailers don't stand up very well to wet paint.
These were then stamped with the vintage adverts. These are BIG stamps, so 'off the edge' was easily achieved.

I coloured some of the images with Distress Markers, and stamped the ink stains again with brown archival.

Same again on the other side.

I stamped my man about town onto card, then stuck him to my slide with glossy accents.
I was really pleased with how this turned out as I'm very hit and miss with my mailers (I tend to end up with a soggy painted mess)

Thanks very much to IndigoBlu for having me play along, and thanks very much for looking x

Playing With Paint

I've recently joined the Deco Art Blogger Outreach Program and have received some fabulous paints from them. It's also made me realise how many of their wonderful products I have in my stash already. I've been having a play today, and made a masterboard which I've turned into tags.

I started with lots of Multi Surface Satins, and Media paints and a water spritzer and dragged the paint around with the end of a paintbrush.

Added some stenciling with the fab Media paint sprays, and some Dina Wakley stencils, and a little background stamping with a Stampotique text stamp.

A little bit more Dina Wakley stamping, and that's my grungy masterboard all done.

Now to chop it up...

I stamped the Dina stamp with the DecoArt Gesso.

Then overstamped in Archival ink. This looks really nice, some of the colours have come through the gesso, and also show through the ink.

More DW stamps, the main image has been stamped in black gesso. This is the first time I've ever used black gesso and I love it, it's just so - black! A white stabilo pencil to outline the words, and  I dabbed around the edges with quinacrinone gold (one of my favourites).

Same again, with green gold around the edge.

Bit of a pattern forming lol this one has quinacrinone magenta around the edge - another of my favourites.

And all together for another page for my tag book.

I'm entering this into 

The Mirror Crack'd challenge, make and use a masterboard, 

That's Crafty which is grunge, grunge, grunge, and Stamps and Stencils first challenge which is anything goes.

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

Sing Me A Song

I had a proper play over the Easter weekend with my PanPastels. I've had them for ages now, but have never really gone beyond the dust and dab stage. This is what I came up with.

I wanted to try some stamping and colouring, so I started by putting some blues and greens down on my watercolour paper, then stenciling through my Paper Artsy stencils.

Some more stenciling, then lots of stamping using PA stamps, Versamark and PanPastels.

Next I wanted to try colouring, so I scraped a bit of the PP's into their lids and added a little water.

My silver and gold had had a rough time in transit so had quite a lot of breakage. I used some of this to make quite a thick paste.

They paint on really nicely, and the metallic have a beautiful shimmer, just like a real metallic paint. 

As I was in an experimental mood I wanted to tint some Grunge Paste rather than colouring it when it was dry.
A little paint goes a long way lol.

Apparently it's just like icing a cake (no of course I can't ice cakes!) I just spread it on with a palate knife then made 'bark like' marks with a cocktail stick. I added Onxyite Treasure Gold when it was dry.

You can see the painted PP's here.

And the metallic ones...

Then the sun decided to come out so I took another photograph just 'cos I could.
I'm entering this into the Pan Pastel challenge, Spring Colours,
Paper Artsy which is Grunge Paste,
That's Crafty gold and silver,
and the new challenge blog Stamps and Stencils anything goes, and
Art Journal Journey where we need to illustrate a poem or quotation.
Hope you like it, and thanks very much for looking x