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Good morning and happy Tuesday. Yesterday I had so much to do, a birthday card to make (for today!) and lots of DT work, so here's a tag that I made instead...

PaperArtsy are hosting a fun challenge 'Baked Texture' and I love my embossing powders, so the birthday card can wait!

 I started with a greyboard base tag as I knew that I wanted to throw the kitchen sink at it. There's lots of embossing powders and glass chips on here. It's been overstamped with Seth's criss-cross stamp from ESA02 

All of the stamps can be purchased directly from Paper Artsy or here at Country View Crafts.

Next I embossed one of Seth's Wood Chips 

 and stamped with the corresponding stamp from Seth03.

Then I melted some powders on my heat mat and stamped into with another of Seth's stamps.

This is how they all look together. This was so much more fun than making that card, but guess what I have to do now!

Have a very happy day, and thanks so much for looking x

Just Keep Swimming

Good morning and happy Tuesday. I'm over on the Rubber Dance blog today with my happy fishes.

There are a lot more photographs over there showing how this was made, and I'd love it if you would join me.

I've used 

Fish Diet
Fish, Swim, Love and
Something Fishy

As always all of the stamps can be found here in the shop, and for free worldwide P&P on all orders of 15 Euros and above, just quote SDFreeShip at the checkout.

Have a lovely day, and thanks very much for looking x

Goddess

Good afternoon and happy Saturday, I hope you are enjoying your weekend. We have a new challenge over at Lost Coast Designs called Hard As Stone, and this is what I've made.

Stamps Used
Winged Girl
Antique Text Border
Mystery, Eternity, Hope, Goddess

There are more photographs here over on the Portal, and I'd love it if you would pop over, and then join in - there is rubber to be won!

Have a lovely weekend, and thanks very much for looking x

Girls Just Wanna Have Sun

Good morning and I hope you have that Friday feeling! I'm really happy to be sharing my second Sun, Sea, and Sand project for the Country View Crafts challenge. You may remember my first piece was one side of a MDF tag. This is going to be an album cover as it's the same size as the giant 10.5 inch Ranger tags. Anyway, here is the other side.

I started by painting and stencilling my giant tag with DecoArt Americana Premium Acrylics. I really do like these paints, I love how they mix and layer. I'm afraid I don't have any photographs as I just went with the flow. I'd finish, then come back and add a bit more, then a bit more, until I forced myself to walk away lol.

I'm a teeny bit in love with these new Art By Marlene stamps from Studio Light. These stamps are huge, they are such fun to colour, and easy to cut out, so that ticks all my boxes! She's been coloured with a mixture of watercolour pencils and Distress Markers, then clear embossed to give her a bit of protection.

The words have been cut out with a Tim Holtz strip die, and we're all done. I really enjoyed making this (apart from the time that it went in the bin when I thought I'd overdone it a bit), but the beauty of these stamps is that you can be a bit wacky and it still looks OK, and if it makes you happy - job done!

There's lots of time for you to join in with our challenge, so anything  sun, sea, and sand/holiday related is perfect.

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

I See You Baby...

Good afternoon and happy Thursday. Those PaperArtsy people have a fun new challenge - 'baked texture'. Now I don't have many of Seth's embossing powders, but I do have plenty of Frantage, AND a new set of stamps to play with.

These are my memorydex cards with an assortment of Frantage EP's

I love these new Zinsky stamps, they just make me laugh! 

It's still been really warm here today, but no sun at all. It's been nice to get in my craft room again - it's the conservatory so it's been pretty much out of bounds for the last few weeks!

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

The Handsome Hedgehog

Good morning and happy Wednesday. We're halfway through our monthly colour/theme challenge over at Rubber Dance. I've gone with the 'nature' theme with my Handsome Hedgehog.

I've used a 'The Crafters Workshop' stencil and lots of texture paste and Brusho's.

Here's our really cool mood board.

There's still loads of time for you to join in, so I hope to see you over there.

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

A Fishy Diet

Good morning and happy Sunday. I'm over on the Rubber Dance blog today with my Simplicity Sunday piece. 

These new stamps that Melina has designed for Rubber Dance really crack me up. This set is called Fish Diet.

I hope that you can join me over on the blog where you will see lots more inspiration from my team mates. 

There's also lots of time for you to join in our monthly challenge.

Isn't this a fabulous mood board - I'll be back later in the month with my inspiration piece.

As always the wonderful Bibi is offering free worldwide P&P on any order of 15 Euros and above, just by quoting SDFreeShip at the checkout.

I'm adding this to Dot's Aughust challenge at Ink Art Designs as all the stamps are by Rubber Dance. 

Have a lovely weekend, and thanks very much for looking x

Fish Diet

A Slide Mailer For Lost Coast Designs

Good afternoon and happy Monday. Here is my second make for the Anything Goes challenge over at Lost Coast Designs.

There are lots more pictures here on the portal, and I'd love it if you would join me over there.

Have a happy day, and thanks very much for looking x

New Stamp Release At Rubber Dance

Good morning and happy Saturday. It's a really good day over at Rubber Dance - we have new rubber! 

I have the Friends Fur-ever stamp set, and this is what I've made.

Please pop across to the blog to see loads of fabulous inspiration, and remember there's free worldwide P&P until 11th August.

I'm entering both of these into my teamie Dot's challenge at Ink Art Designs. 

Have a wonderful weekend, and thanks very much for looking x

Under The Sea

Good afternoon and welcome to my second post of today. Lost Coast Designs have a brand new challenge starting, and it's a nice easy one - Anything Goes.

I started by stamping the Seahorse and the large Journaling Letter Guide onto some smooth card with Distress Oxides, and smudging whilst the ink was still wet. This works better with some colours than other but all the blues are fine. I used a mixture of colours on my stamp, which is really easy to do with a stamping platform.

 Next I blended some Tea Dye DO onto the page and splashed with water.

I added some more stamping with the text from Leonardo's Accessory Set, and some stencilling top and bottom. For the words I stencilled in Tea Dye, then 'bumped' it with some DIY filler 'cos I know that this absorbs some of the colour, and it dries really quickly.

To finish off I added some sequins (of course) and stamped the Carmen's Veranda Compass Square and the Eternity from Mystery, Eternity, Hope, Goddess onto some velum and stitched it into place. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with it yet, but I could add it to a card blank if I wanted.

I hope that you join in with our challenge, there is rubber up for grabs for a lucky winner.
I'm also entering this into the Simon Say Stamp Wednesday challenge, which is Make Your Own Background, and Simon Says Stamp Monday which is Wild Things.

Have a wonderful August, and thanks very much for looking x

Beside The Seaside, Beside The Sea

Good morning and happy Wednesday. It's a new month, so lots of new challenges will be starting, and Corrie has picked a fun one for Country View Crafts - she's chosen Sun, Sea, and Sand - a Summer or holiday themed project. Now in the UK Summer doesn't guarantee sun, but what an amazing year we've had so far, and I think there's still more to come!

A couple of months ago I went to a doodling class as it was something that I just couldn't do. I'll never be the worlds best doodler, but at least it doesn't terrify me now lol. I cut a huge black tag then doodled a border with my white pen.

Then I stamped my lovely lady, then stamped her again and embossed her costume in sparkly red embossing powder. This is how I look in my beach kit - oops my Pinocchio nose just hit the computer screen! Next I had to find her a head - these are Dylusion stamps lol.

When everything was finished I stuck it to the back of a chipboard tag - I'll show you the front later in the month!

I hope you join in with our fun challenge - remember you could win a voucher to spend in the store.
Have a lovely August, and thanks very much for looking x