Friday, May 30, 2014

Fun Birthday and Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2014 - May


You won't be surprised to read that I've been playing with Distress Inks again.  I inked the cloud stencil (TCW) with Tumbled Glass, Broken China and Stormy Sky, spritzed and laid onto my card base, with the lower portion masked off so that I could add some Salty Ocean and Antique linen for sea and sand.  Added some splashes of water for a ..erm, water effect, and some stamped images from a magazine freebie set.  The sentiment is from the new release at Winnie & Walter.  I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Just Add Ink - watercolour

Winnie & Walter - Join In To Win

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

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Continuing with Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2014, here's his tag for May:


The idea is to use all those bits of TH ephemera that you're holding on to (which assumes that you bought some in the first place).  Actually I have some of those genuine nibs somewhere in my attic from my pen and ink drawing days.  But they're in my attic.  So I used what I had to hand.  I love the shadowpress panels but the sales blurb mentions that they are specifically for use in just about every machine bar Cuttlebug.  Anybody tried them in a Cuttlebug?


A pale imitation of the master's, but it's all about having a go.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Taking Flight


There's a new challenge on the blog, hosted by my lovely teamie Shery, owner of STAMPlorations.  The challenge blog is called The Mixed Media Card Challenge and it's aimed at a bit of a gap in the challenge market: more messy than CAS, with a focus on using mixed media.  Oh, yes please!  Shery's having a design team call so I thought I'd throw my hat into the ring.


I used the colour scheme from the latest ColourQ challenge:


And some stamps by Magenta where they are having an Anything Goes challenge.


The clear stencilled card panel was a leftover from the Online Stencilled class.  I watercoloured some Evergreen Bough and Shabby Shutters over it, then used a fan brush to drag some extra colour over the Shabby Shutters and added splatters to the Evergreen Bough.  Stamped the images onto spare card and splodged some colours on (Ripe Persimmon, Dusty Concord, Shabby Shutters, Evergreen Bough) and cut them out.  That was when I decided to stitch them - would probably have been easier before fussy cutting.  The sentiment is from STAMPlorations Sentiment Builders: Happy.

Monday, May 26, 2014

Musical Anniversary


I was asked to make an anniversary card, and the inspiration came from this photo at Fusion:


I die-cut the hearts from a piece of card that had got the embossing/spritz treatment.  I don't think I've got any music background stamps but guess what, I've got a (NBUS) music embossing folder, so I made a background panel by swooshing Distress Inks, spritzing and this time embossing.  The banner is from the new Winnie & Walter release, The Big The Bold and Extras, and the words are from The Big, The Bold and The Happy.

I'm also entering this into Shopping Our Stash where it's their three-year anniversary, so the theme is birthday or anniversary cards.


Sunday, May 25, 2014

Birthday Brights


I'm still playing with embossing folders and Distress Inks.  It's a great way of using those forgotten embossing folders languishing in the depths of your stash.  I don't think this folder ever got near the Cuttlebug, but it's enjoying a new lease of life.

So this is for two challenges:

ColourQ



Curtain Call Pyjama Party


The hat image is from Tim Holtz, the sentiment is from Hero Arts, and the streamers are hand drawn. Hmmm, I think I should make a streamer stamp with my NBUS stamp maker...

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Happy Birthday, Vicki!


This is my second post of the day.  Click here for Winnie & Walter Premier of Scenery: Big Bang Bling and The Big, The Bold and Fun.

Today we're giving a big shout out to STAMPlorations teamie Vicki whose birthday was on Thursday.  I decided to case this card of Vicki's.  Lots of splats and a big happy.


Quite often Vicki will use luxurious satin ribbons and bows across the top of her cards, so I added one too.  Can't see it?  Here, take a closer look.

I'm entering my card into Time Out Challenge #6 where there's a photo inspiration:


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Some things you might be interested in:

STAMPlorations sketch challenge is still open till 30 May, and the monthly challenge (stamps and flowers) is still open till 31 May.

Craft Stamper Take It, Make It challenge is still open until 28 May - carve a stamp from a potato (don't forget to include real stamping as well).

I'm being featured at Fascinating Fridays this week.

And you'll see me popping up as guest designer in a couple of places next month :)

Winnie & Walter Premiere of Scenery: Big Bang Bling + The Big, The Bold and Fun


Welcome back to the red carpet for the last day of the Premiere of Winnie & Walter's third release.   So how about a little journal for your holidays?  When we go on Big Trips I usually take a pocket-sized notebook to scribble the day's details in - where we went, what we saw, what we spent(!) and this set - The Big, The Bold and Fun - is just perfect for making a little faux leather notebook.  The cover is actually made from kraft paper, treated with glycerine.   Hopefully this link will take you to a  YouTube video by Sheena Douglass on how to create faux leather (if the link doesn't work, just search for Sheena's Faux Leather Technique on YouTube).

Look at that fabulous lining fabric!
I made two books at once (saves getting messy twice!).  And I made a new word - funshine!




The other set premiering today, Scenery: Big Bang Bling, is full of sequinny goodness.  I used Brilliance inks to create a cascade of sequin images.  The sentiments are all from The Big, The Bold and Fun.


I stamped these pinwheel sequins in Distress Inks (surprised?) and I like the grunginess of them.  I added Wink of Stella to the "shine" sentiment.  To be honest, after coveting a WOS pen for so long, I'm not all that sold on it - maybe it will grow on me.  But I am sold on these lovely stamps ;)


Oh look, more bunting, this time paired with the sentiments from The Big, The Bold and Fun (birthday comes from The Big, The Bold and The Happy).


I love this big word!  I  heat embossed it in white and sloshed some Distress Inks over it, letting the colours blend, then added some camouflagey colours across the base.  Goes so well with the sentiment, don't you think?


And for my final effort, I've used the adventure sentiment again, this time stamping with spritzed Distress Inks (of course) then I dragged a wet brush across the base of the letters, just catching the colour.  I love how it spread and pooled.  Do amazing things is from The Big, The Bold and The You.  'Things' is actually made up from 'everything' (with 'every' masked) and a masked 's' added at the end.

Pop over to Winnie & Walter's blog to see what Chaitali and the Talent have made with these fantastic stamps.

So now it's over to you to do amazing things with the new Winnie & Walter release.  I hope you have as much fun with the stamps as I have, and I want to thank Winnie, Walter, Julie and Shay for allowing me to play with their new release!

Friday, May 23, 2014

Winnie & Walter Premiere of Bubble Talk + The Write Stuff: Picture Perfect


Welcome back to the red carpet for the Premiere of two fun sets from Winnie & Walter.  Today it's Bubble Talk and The Write Stuff: Picture Perfect.  This first card mixes both sets, using the bubble and smile! from Bubble Talk and the camera and symbols from The Write Stuff: Picture Perfect.  The symbols are great for adding little accents and patterns.


For this card, I created a background by scribbling some Caran d'Ache Neocolour crayons onto the card base then diluting with water.  (Don't tell anyone, but I still prefer Distress Inks!)  I stamped the bubbles in black onto spare card then stamped the words in corresponding Memento inks.  The happy birthday is from The Big, The Bold and The Happy.


What do you get when you take a starburst, a sunshine and a heart?  Flowers!  The symbols are all from The Write Stuff: Picture Perfect and teamed with the sentiments from Bubble Talk.


As I was stamping off the speech bubbles for the second card, it occurred to me that on their sides they looked a bit like cartoon characters.  So I found some stick-on eyes, punched some more hearts out from my painted strip and added the words (happy anniversary is from The Big, The Bold and The Happy), and a little red heart from The Write Stuff: Picture Perfect.  Today is actually my 39th wedding anniversary.  Do you think if I leave this tag lying around, DH would get the hint and attach a present to it?


And finally, a photo frame card especially for Winnie and Walter!  I inked up the frame with, yup, Distress Inks, then spritzed and stamped, and cut out the centre of the frame.  Stamped the words and phrases randomly over a card base then swooshed the colour over them.  The frame is popped up on foam tape at the sides and bottom, but open at the top so that I can change photos.  But Florence is so gorgeous, I might not want to swap the photo out!

Go have a look at what Chaitali and the Talent have created over at Winnie & Walter, and I hope you'll come back tomorrow for the final day of the Premiere!

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Seize The Birthday - With Toppings


Welcome back to Seize The Birthday!


We have an optional topping this week of tags.


I used one of the techniques from the Online Watercolour Card Class for my tag, and topped it with a Tim Holtz balloon, coloured with Distress Stains.  Stamped a few rows of Happy Birthday and added some baker's twine.

I'm entering this into Seize The Sketch - too much of a stretch-a-sketch or not?


Come and join us and add your birthday project to the challenge - with or without topping!

Winnie & Walter Premier of Parentville Extras + The Big, The Bold and Extras


Hello, and welcome back to my little Guest Star spot at the Premiere of Winnie & Walter's third release.  On the red carpet today is Parentville Extras and The Big, The Bold and Extras.  For my first card, I stamped the solid flower images from Parentville Extras in spritzed Distress Inks, then overstamped the flowers with the line image.  The sentiment comes from The Big, The Bold and The Happy.  I finished the card off with a little stitching and some baker's twine.


I stamped some extra flowers and leaves when I was making the first card, and cut them out leaving a white border around the images.  I stamped the banner onto a square of white card, still using the Distress Ink mix, then stamped the outline banner in black and added the sentiment.  "Day" comes from The Big, The Bold and The Happy, the other words are from the The Big, The Bold and Extras. I painted a border on to a larger square of white card then layered everything up and added a few sequins.



This time I stamped the line images in Distress Ink then pulled the colour in with a water brush.  Splodged a bit of Distress Ink onto the background, added a few sequins and layered on to a scalloped mat.


This card is so outside my comfort zone!  It took me forever to make it, and I messed up the top row of stitching on the pocket, so I had to trim down the white border and re-stitch.  I didn't want to take any risks with the collar, because everything was already stuck down in place, so I used a piercing ruler to make the holes and hand-stitched the collar.


Believe it or not, this card was inspired by the May tag for Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of 2014 where each element sits on its own panel.  The similarity ends there!


A sweet little card for a mum-to-be, with a mummy heart and a baby heart.  Awww!


Another mum-to-be card with a background made from an embossing folder print, the hearts cut out and popped up, with a bit of thread behind them.

Head over to Winnie & Walter to see what Chaitali and the Talent have created, and I hope you'll pop back tomorrow for a look at the next Premiere!

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Winnie & Walter Premier of Scenery: Rectangled and Triangled


I am beyond thrilled to be Guest Star for Winnie & Walter's Third Release (my prize for winning their Playdate #1 challenge).  I've been having so much fun playing with their new release stamps, I couldn't stop at making just one card to showcase, so grab a cuppa, sit back and enjoy the versatility of Scenery: Rectangled & Triangled.

When I see a row of triangles, I see banners, and I love the effect when they're stamped and spritzed using Distress Inks.  I used Spiced Marmalade, Seedless Preserves and Picked Raspberry (although forever in my head it is Pickled Raspberry after I misread it the first time).  I've paired this card and the gift tag with sentiments from The Big, The Bold and You.


Here's another version using the outline triangles and the individual patterned triangles.


For this one I used the scribbly rectangle with Worn Lipstick, Crushed Olive and Shabby Shutters, swooshed a piece of card through the inks and punched out a folk heart, and made a sentiment from The Big, The Bold and You and The Big, The Bold and The Happy.


Another rectangle using Crushed Olive and Shabby Shutters, sentiment from The Big, The Bold and You.


For this card I made a background by repeat-stamping the three-triangle stamp, and used The Big, The Bold and The Happy for the sentiment.


I used the some of the individual triangles to make some flowers and leaves.  The sentiment comes from The Big, The Bold and The Happy.

Well, I hope I haven't bored you, and that you'll pop back tomorrow for another Pemiere!  In the meantime, if you haven't already come from there, pop over to Winnie & Walter's blog to see what my co-Guest Star Chaitali and the Talent have created with this fabulous set.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

An Abundance Of Flowers


There's an abundance of flower challenges this week, so I thought I'd slosh some Distress Inks across some flower images.  The image is from Penny Black 3817K Tigress (discontinued, I think) and the sentiment is from 30-103 Wishes.  Bit of sloshing, bit of splatting, done!

I'm entering it into:

Less is More: Flowers
The Paper Players: CAS Floral
Fusion: photo inspiration
One Layer Simplicity: Fabulous Flowers and
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Botanical

I've had my head down for the last couple of weeks (you'll see why tomorrow) but I'm looking forward to catching up with you all soon :)

ETA: Im also linking up to CASology: Flower.  Thanks for the prompt, Ardyth!

Monday, May 19, 2014

STAMPlorations Sketch #12


We've a new sketch challenge for you at STAMPlorations.  Our guest designer for this challenge is Debbie aka Indy.



I made the panel by colouring the deboss side of an embossing folder, and I was going to leave it at that then changed my mind and embossed it too.  Because I didn't emboss it straight away, the colours had time to spread, so it's a much grungier effect than colouring and embossing in one go.  My sentiment is from the new Sentiment Builders: Happy set and the splatter bar image is from Holiday Artsy.

Pop on over to the STAMPlorations blog to have a look at what Debbie and the Design Team have created, and join in the fun!