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

It's Halloweeeeeeeennnnnnnn

The theme this week over at Stampotique is funny Halloween, and has been chosen by my teamie Astrid. Every year Halloween is getting bigger over here, so I had to join in.

My background has been made by using stamps, distress inks, stencils and sprays.
The houses are Tim Holtz dies and have been painted with Verday Paints and sprayed.
The fence has been made by stamping 
Roc's Stacked Boxes onto canvas and turning it onto it's side.
Kitty is wearing a nice hat which is cut from a piece of ribbon, along with the spider which is dangling over wee owl.
This was great fun to make and I hope it arrived safely with my niece and nephew.
Stamps used
Crow Line
Tree
Vintage Script
Kitty
Halloween Cube 2
Wee Owl
Stacked Boxes
Halloween Cube 1

I'm also entering this into the Pan Pastel Halloween challenge, and Fashionable Stamping Halloween/Halloween Colours.

Thanks very much for looking x

Isn't She Lovely, Isn't She Wonderful...

Linda at Studio L3  has us turning to page 59 this week in Tim's Compendium of Curiosities 2 , and that means that we're doing the Alcohol Ink Resist Technique. As Forrest Gump would say 'That's all I have to say about that' 

The ones on the left and bottom have been made using Tim's technique, and the one on top has been painted on the back with silver and purple acrylic paints. Whoops forgot to say that they are all glass microscope slides. They have been stamped with Stampotique Crow Line, and Halloween sets 1&2.

So, slides need a mailer to keep them in...

Here's the front, using the same images. The mailer has been inked in distress stains then had loads of UTE and Frantage powders and glitters applied.
Happy Daze stock both Stampotique stamps and the Frantage range.

This is the inside, with the slides in situ. IRL you can't see the glue so much (well I can't, but then again I can't see anything so much ) It's all been painted in silver acrylic, then stamped with more Stampotique stamps. My bats have been coloured in Dylusion ink in Graphite - I love this but I don't think you can get it anymore, so I'm quite mean with it!

And the back - my pretty is a combination of a skull from the Halloween cube, Prom Queen, and the lovely new Flying Heart. This and the Heart Vine are two new stamps by Roc Nicholas and I love 'em! Don't know why but I was whistling Isn't She Lovely all the time I was messing with this lol. Again lots of UTEE and Frantage, and a healthy dollop of Tim's Rock Candy Crackle. 
I had great fun making this and to me that's what it's all about.
I'm entering this into the following challenges. 
Studio L3  Alcohol Ink Resist
Pan Pastels - Altered/Recycled
Craft Room - Alter It
Happy Daze - Something Wicked This Way Comes
Thanks very much for looking x

Misty Autumn Glaze

There's a new round of recipe's going on at Dragons Dream, Tag It On and Elizabeth has chosen the theme of Misty Autumn Glaze, which means mists (either mica or dye etc), Autumn colours and a glaze. 
I started off with Dylusion mists in orange, yellow and a touch of old leather. The text stamp was then stamped in Archival plum, and clear embossed.
Next came quite a thick layer of Rock Candy Crackle glaze, so while this was drying I got on with the mice - so not like me to plan ahead lol.

When the crackle was dry I went over the top with Pumpkin Stayzon.
The mice have been stamped on vellum, and coloured with yellow and brown Pan Pastels, and cut out.
The smaller tag was coloured with Starburst Stains stamped in black, then oversprayed through  sequin waste with Perfect Pearls mist in Pearl. The usual VerDay treatment for the butterfly and job done.
It feels like ages since I made a tag for TIO as those that were posted while I was away were made before I went.  Phew try thinking that three times quickly!
So please join in with us this fortnight, you just need to use at least one real stamp, follow the recipe and have lots of fun.
I'm also entering this into the Pan Pastel challenge which is to use Autumn/Fall colours. 
All of the stamps used are by Dimension Fourth.
Thanks very much for looking x

Christmas In July

I guess resistance was futile, with so much Christmas around I have finally made a Christmas card! 
The image is from The Stampsmith, whose challenge is to use Summer colours. That would be grey then, and the colour of water streaming down the garden - bitter moi - oh yes!
This weeks Pan Pastel challenge is to use ice cream colours, so for my background I've used orange, lemon, green (pistachio) and my favourite pan of the moment - magenta, so that would be er blackcurrant :o) I've put it over some embossed card and die cut with a Go Kreate die.

I've used the sketch from Sparkles Christmas Challenges to give me a kick start. I find these really useful when I've not mad a card for a while.
The flowers are by Prima, and the lace is from Stampin Up. 
Making Christmas cards when Wimbledon is still on seems very strange, but I enjoyed it.
Thanks very much for looking and enjoy the tennis. I know I should be shouting for Andy Murray, but I've got a soft spot for Roger so I just hope it's a good game x

Curiouser And Curiouser

The challenge this fortnight over at Stampotique is twins, so you need to use the same image twice. So a bit like football, my card is a game of two halves. 
I started by stamping Mushroom Forrest in the middle of a piece of card then tearing it down the middle. One half was then stamped and coloured with bright Pan Pastels and Prisma pens, and the other with various shades of grey.
It's really strange just colouring in greys, and really quite depressing lol, but I like how this side turned out.
I'm also entering this into the Pan Pastel challenge, which is anything goes.
I can't believe England has just lost on penalties again - where was David Beckham when we needed him lol.
Bed time for me now - work in the morning.
Thanks very much for looking x

Dum And Dee's Excellent Adventure

Wonderland's all very well and good, but we all need a change from time to time, so Alice and Co have had a day out in Old London Town (cue Phantom Raspberry Blower - you had to be there lol)
The monthly challenge at The Altered Alice is 'Going Postal', so I've made a postcard to commemorate their visit.
My card has been Pan Pastel'd in blues, magenta - lurve this shade, and greens. The stamps are a mixture of Clarity (that's the ATC sized postage stamp top right), Tim Holtz (postcard) Cherry Pie (all of the Alice stamps) Kanban (London and the cancellation stamp). The main image stamps are Creative Journey and Artistic Outpost.
You can imagine the state of my craft room with this load of stamps out, and the bin in overflowing... I wanted to do this on glossy card with a brayered background, but after getting smudgy fingerprints on 5 or 6 I gave up and reached for the Pans. I love the crisp image Versafine gives, but I always smudge.
Check out the amazing artwork at The Altered Alice, and thanks very much for looking x

It's Birdie Time

Over at Artful Times the challenge is Birds. My bird is a combination of a couple of Paper Artsy plates, and he's been coloured in Pan Pastels. The birdhouse is corrugated cardboard which has had most of the top layer removed, then roughly painted in white acrylic. 
The clock face has been cut in Kandi Kore, embossed, then sanded and inked around the edges.
The acetate on the back has been stamped with another of the PA stamps. 
Sorry for such a speedy post, but it's 11 pm and I'm up for work very early in the morning.
Thanks for looking x

Madame Butterfly

For this fortnight the recipe at Tag It On as chosen by Helen is A Symphony of Flowers, and she would like to see 'a pinch of greenery, buttons, and a butterfly or two' Of course we also need at least one real stamp.
Sooo I was very methodical in making this. First of all I gathered my colours and stamps (I usually just ink a background then wing it from there but not this time) The stamps are a mixture of Hero Arts clear stamps, and B Line Designs, and I have to say they have all had their maiden inking and have passed with flying colours.
The background is a mix of orange and yellow Pan Pastel (surprise!!) then I've used a stencil around the edge and gone over with magenta PP. The receipt has been stamped in Versamark then gone over gently with PP, and the butterfly has been Flitter Glued then had Indigo Blu leafing flakes over the top.
My flower heads have also been glued then sprinkled with glass glitter, and my flower buttons have been stamped with the same receipt stamp. These have been threaded with linen thread. For some reason buttons without thread creep me out - weird eh!
If you're thinking that you've seen (or done) butterflies like these recently, that because these two started life on a Tim Holtz 12 tags of 2012. They stayed there for about a week, then fell off! Never one to throw anything away I rescued them from the bits and pieces box and thought they looked rather swish on here.
Please join us over at Dragons Dream- Tag It On, and show us yer tags.
Thanks very much for looking x

Hey Dude!

A real quicky post tonight as we are having the kitchen plastered (hurrah) so I'm on tea making duty. Goodness knows why 'cos I never drink the stuff, I'm definitely a coffee gal (on the hour every hour would suit me fine :o) 
My tag is for this weeks Pan Pastel challenge which is sports. I can't say that this guy looks like a sporting hero but he's all I've got! As you can see he's had a little too much sun so he's definitely not from around here.
I've used Pan Pastels in blues and yellows/orange for the background, the gone over with versamark on a very old but still favourite Cherry Pie circles stamp. Back over with the pastels and it gives a lovely finish. My dude is by Tanda - I love this stamp and should use it more often. The palm trees are a little clear stamp, and I've glazed the trunks and coconuts with glass gel. I've had Agadoo do do in my head since making this, something to do with pushing pineapples and shaking trees....  I'm now gently banging my head against a wall to make it stopppppp...
I really enjoyed making this, so dig out your sports stamps and head over to the Pan Pastel blog.
Thanks very much for looking x

Not Quite The Little Mermaid...

I've always thought of mermaids as sweet kind creatures that came to the aid of sailors (a bit like dolphins) until I saw the latest Pirates Of The Caribbean film, and I now know that they are bad... very bad! 

With this in mind I made a journal page for the latest Stampotique challenge, which is 'Families' I've used Smumanha and Smushallaum (spellchecker has just had a nervous breakdown lol) as these are definitely evil twins!
For the background I've used Pan Pastels and Versamark ink. As it's a Stampotique stamps only challenge I've also used bubble wrap, plastic, bottle tops and an old credit card.
The words are courtesy of Hall and Oates and are printed onto Safmatt (click on the picture to make it bigger)
The seaweedy bling in the corner is  glass glitter and microbeads.
This looks kind of sinister but I quite like it.
Check out the Stampotique blog for lots of inspiration.
Thanks very much for looking x

Hello Hello I'm Back Again!!

....and what have they done to Blogger while I've been gone!! Honestly one week off with a poorly computamabob and everything changes!

This is in my Moleskine, and hurrah I've got past page 1 and it's all still intact. The background has been made with Pan Pastels, using just 3 colours 'cos I havn't got many. The old me would have put a 'yet' on the end of that, but having looked round a Uni with my youngest on Saturday I'm on such a spending ban, and I think I really mean it this time. Not only will he come out of it thousands in debt, but Neil and I may have to sell body parts too!!

Anyhoo, I've used my new Stampotique Alice stamps on this (don't get me started on how long it took Parcelforce to deliver these) lots of stencils for the flowers and leaves, and Pink Paislee rub on's for the silvery bits.

I'm entering this into the following challenges

The Altered Alice - Splendidly Dressed

Stampotique - Oodles of Doodles

Pan Pastels - Add A Flower 

Thanks very much for looking x

By The Sea

Oh no, it's that time of year again, and I need a guy card!! This was going to be a square card, but it slowly evolved into a rectangle. The squares have been coloured with blue and yellow alcohol inks then stamped with archival. The stamps are a mixture of MSE, The Stampman, and Kanban. I've heat embossed the ship wheel - phew, this really makes the AI's smoke - maybe not a good idea lol. All matted onto some Bazzil Bling, so lots of lovely sheen, and a bit of bakers twine to finish. The background paper has been distress rolled at the edges to give it a 'treasure map' feel. Ta da that's that done for another year lol.

I'm entering this into the following challenges

Fashionable Stamping - Nautical

Pan Pastels - One For The Boys

Let's Ink It Up - Distressing

I now have to say goodbye to my computer for a week, I've got a CD stuck in it and it needs to go away for repair. I know life goes on but....:o)

Thanks very much for looking and enjoy your Sunday x