Flower Power

Good morning and happy Bank Holiday. In traditional style it's very cloudy here, but at least it's not raining.
In between watching the F1 race, and the Barnsley match (well done lads) I made this.

Rubber Dance stamps have a colour challenge for May.

 I don't have any of their fabulous stamps (yet) but I do have the colours. All the paints and mediums are from Deco Art.

The blue and pink are the Americana Decor chalk paints that have been used neat and also mixed with tinting base. 

My three ladies are all on Tando arches.

There's also a Tando stencil in the background that's a mixture of the Americana Decor in Promise and Tinting base. The crackle is Crackle Glaze that's been rubbed over with Patina Antiquing Cream.

Here the stencilling is neat Escape A D and the crackling has been rubbed over with English Red Oxide.

So another day off today - hopefully without too much sport!
Have a fun day, and thanks very much for looking.

The Best Is Yet To Come

Hi and happy Bank Holiday Weekend. It's been a day of sport here so no-one noticed that I was MIA. This is what I've been doing.

I've been practising the techniques I learned at a recent Karen Hayselden class. I had a lot of fun and still need a lot more practise but I think it's sport again tomorrow....
This is for the Tando Creative challenge, Things With Wings. I've also used one of their mini stencils in the corner. These are fab, lots to room around the edge to keep my dirty fingers on.
I'm also entering it into the SSS Wednesday challenge which is Anything Goes.
I hope you have a fab weekend, and thanks very much for looking x

Curiouser and Curiouser

Good morning, it's a bit of a special day today over at the Stampotique blog. I'm not actually a fan of the films, but I do like the stamps, so here's mine.

Everyone's favourite rabbit.

I wouldn't dare!

Gotta love that smile.

If you would like to play along link your Alice creations to our Facebook group.
Have a fun weekend, and thanks very much for looking x

Wot No Black!

Good morning and yep Wednesday has come around again. This week the challenge at Stampotique has been chosen by the lovely Sam and it's a real toughie, 'cos there's no black allowed. Here's what she has to say.

"The first thing I usually do after choosing which stamp I'm going to use is to reach for my black inkpad. So I'm challenging myself and you to make anything you fancy so long as there is no black ink or paint etc. Have fun!"

Seriously Sam, have fun without my black ink pad, how's that gonna happen! Here is what I made

My tags started life as a gelli plate print.

Much stamping and embossing later (in blue and brown) I love Kassa's Herbert Hare. There's also Mash Up and Happy Camper Text.

Here we have Dora Doodle Dolly, Oodles of Doodles, Beauty Verse, and Cracks.

And for the final tag I've used Fishbone, Circled Circle, and Barcode Text 2.

Now it was just time to sew them to my base tag. I had black thread in my machine, so I took it out and changed it to pink, then sewed the tags down. Only then did my daughter tell me that I'd sewn them to a BLACK tag!!

 I wouldn't  have twigged to this day if she hadn't pointed it out! But,  by the magic of cropping I just have my 3 tags :-).

So put away all the black - yes even the tags, and join us in our challenge. It will be harder than you think, but fun.

Have a great week, and thanks very much for looking x

What Lies Beneath...

Last month I was lucky enough to win the Tando Creative challenge, and part of my prize was some skulls. I've been dying to use these ever since, so when That's Crafty had a Friday 13th challenge I knew that they would be coming out.
All of the paints and mediums used are by DecoArt.
Lots of pictures coming up so I'll keep the words down :-)

The 'coffin' is an old wooden domino box, that's been painted with black gesso. This side has the Andy Skinner skull stencil that's had crackle glaze put through it then painted with a mix of Quin gold and transparent yellow oxide.

The lid has been been stencilled with the same colour mix, and the stamps are by Sheena Douglass. 
Do you like Basil - he's a fox skull that my dad found about 15 years ago, and my son's had him ever since. He still has most of his teeth though they have had to be superglued in over the years lol.

This is the reverse of the lid, again it's a Sheena die and stamp.

This is the other side. The 'blood' is DecoArt red chalk paint.

The hand prints have been stencilled with texture sand and painted with a Quin Gold and Transparent Yellow Oxide wash.

This is an Andy Skinner stamp that's been stamped into texture paste and rubbed over with Metallic Lustre.

And this is what started it all off. This is my Tando skull that's been painted with crackle paint. The background is another Andy Skinner texture stamp.
This was such fun to make, and who knows what may end up inside - certainly not the dominoes.
I'm also entering this into the Lost Coast Designs Half O'Ween challenge.
Have a fab week, and thanks very much for looking x

Happy Birthday To You

Lost Coast Designs are having a Blogiversary, and a giveaway to celebrate. Go check it out (I'm such an enabler) xx

A Long Time Ago...

Good morning and happy Wednesday. It's time for a brand new challenge at Stampotique, and today Kristen has chosen circles. Here is what she has to say.
I love to use circles in my projects, so this week, I am challenging you to get creative and show us what you can create with circles in your project!
Here's mine

All the paints and mediums are by DecoArt. I cut some circles and used a stencil to make a geli plate background.

So circles - check.

Now for some stamping, I've used Spiraling Out of Control in the background.

And Design Cube on the 'moon'

All good movies need a star, so here we have Screaming Bunny as The Narator. I think he looks rather dapper in his silver space suit :-).
I had such fun making this (can you tell lol) and hope you join in too.
Have a fun week, and thanks very much for looking x

Adventure Awaits

I had a fab day on Saturday at a Kassa Hayselden class using all things Tim.

This is what we made.

I had a really fun day and got to meet lots of lovely people in the flesh rather than just in blog land. I also came home with a rather long shopping list :-)

Have a great week, and thanks very much for looking x 

Always Believe...

Hi and happy Friday 13th! This is my second piece for the Country View Crafts  'use a stencil' challenge.

All the paints used are by DecoArt.

Lots of painted and stencilled layers with Deco Art Media paints. then stamping with a Stampotique text stamp. 

And finally a splash of colour with Portfolio pastels and a JOFY stencil. I love this colour, it just makes me happy!

My Girl is a Paper Babe stencil and the corresponding stamps.
She's been coloured with DecoArt Media paints, with lots of the Quinacridone colours in her hair.
She's been outlined in the blue Portfolio just because I like it lol.
It's the first time that I've used these stencils and stamps, but I did enjoy it. They really make you think about where you need to put things, but they are easy to use.

I love this sentiment!

There's still lots of time to enter our challenge, so get out your stencils, and if you haven't already, please join in our blog hop for a chance to win a Big Shot bundle.
Have a great weekend, and thanks very much for looking xx

Soft Kitty

I was lucky enough to win last months challenge at Lost Coast Designs, and part of my prize was Happy Cat.
He arrived today and this is what I made with him.

I really think he should be re-named Smug Kitty lol.
The background is a gelli plate print, and smug kitty has been stamped onto card that had been painted with neon and metallic paint sticks.
I'm entering this into the Lost Coast  splash of neon or bright colour challenge.
Have a fun week, and thanks very much for looking x

Pretty Woman

Hi and happy Wednesday, this must mean it's time for another challenge at Stampotique.

This week Arwen McCullen is our hostess and she is challenging us to Scribbles, here is what Arwen says about this challenge:

"I want to see scribbles in your projects this week, that can be by hand or by stamp, just add some scribbles."

Until the Mixology course with the lovely Kate Crane this would have scared the living daylights out of me, but Kate showed us how to scribble - with style!

All the paints and mediums are from the DecoArt media range.

This is a technique that Kate showed us so I won't go into detail - try and take the class it's such fun.

Here we have paint and stencilling. You can just see Karen's Dora Doodle Dolly poking her nose out - she was stamped after the card had been gessoed, the covered with masking fluid.

Time for some stemping, this is Carol's flower (small) one of my favourite stamps.

Time for the fun now, lots of scribbles with my white Posca pen.

There's also stamping with Text Block 3 and Mesh.

Here's Dora Doodle Dolly once she's had her masking fluid removed. She's been coloured with pencils.

There's more scribbles

Smile is obviously in love - I hope Dora doesn't break his heart...

Just a few bits of washi tape to finish. As a non doodler this was great fun to make, so thank you Kate.

I hope you get chance to join in with us and have a scribble.

Have a fun week,and thanks very much for looking x

Secret Garden

This fortnight PaperArtsy have a mono print challenge, which encouraged me to get out my very neglected gelli plate.
This is the ghost image from a print I pulled.

There are Fresco paints in blue and green, with Paper Artsy stencils. I liked it very much so I left well alone and walked away (not like me).

It's just finished off with a bit of stitching and the Secret Garden stencilling in black gesso.

I'm entering this into the PA Mono print challenge.
Have a fun week, and thanks for looking x

She Was Happy

Yesterday I had a play with my gelli plate. I've had it for about a year, and yesterday was the second time that I've used it. I did have fun though, and this is what I made.

I used lots of bright Fresco paints here and PA stencils. The yellow layer was a bit of a happy accident, I put the paint on the plate but forgot to put the stencil down before the card doh! Still I like a nice bit of cheerful yellow!
I'm entering this into PaperArtsy's monoprint challenge.
Have a great week, and thanks very much for looking x

A Tag Trio

What a gorgeous day today has been, loads of sunshine, and all day to do as I like (that's what happens when you get up at 6.30 and you're ironing by 6.40. I've been playing with my Andy Skinner stencils and stamps and DecoArt paints. This is what I made.

The tags are made on gelli plate backgounds.

Lots of black gesso and white embossing powder.

More stencilling and stamping.

And stamped and stencilled eyes - spooky eh!
I really enjoyed making these, it's good to have a play.
I'm entering these into the That's Crafty challenge Go Figure.
Have a great week, and thanks very much for looking x