My House of Memories - The Stamp Man Challenge

Hi, this is my last post of 2011!!!  Having spotted the new challenge over at The Stamp Man, The Stamp Man Awards - Your Favourite/Best Project from 2011, I just had to join in with a project I made in my early blogging days.  There's a £30 prize in the random draw, and 4 runner up prizes.  2011 is the year I started blogging and the project I'm entering is one of my very first altered projects (possibly the first!) - it is also one that is very dear to me, and also to my mum as it hangs proudly on her wall.  You can view the original post, from May, here.

A bit of background to my project:  earlier this year my lovely uncle passed away, after losing his battle with cancer.  I wanted to do something special for my mum's birthday so I decided to decorate/alter this house shaped curio box.  As my uncle was into fishing in a big way, he lived in New York for many years, and was married to a wonderful Japanese lady, I tried to symbolise these parts of his life in this project.  All of the photos I used on this were taken by me when I went to stay with him and his wife, about 25 years ago.

The box was painted with acrylic paint, and a little crackle accents and metallic gold rub-on added here and there.....

 .....the papers used for the backing were from the TH Shabby Chic Collection, and a little DI on the edges.

The cotton reels were coloured with DI and some twine wrapped round, and a little sewing machine charm sits behind one of them, although not visible.  The photo of the boat was his own boat which he went out fishing on (I caught a few fish on that boat when I was there!) .....

.....the photos have all been mounted on TH fragments and a few sea themed charms are covered with gold mixative.....

.....a fishing hook from the £1 shop was attached to the top recess and the sentiment "live the life you've imagined" attached.....

.....some japanese elements added, such as dps covered with fragments, and a little kimono (left), and a heart (middle).  An angel on some cord was also attached (middle) and another japanese heart and a photo of my uncle and I (gosh, I look young!!!), topped with a fragment (right).  The words "love", "cherish", and "family" were attached to the front of the box in various places.

Stamps used were from Tim Holtz and Creative Expressions.

I hope you like it.

Maria x

Portrait of a Lady - Craft-Room Challenge DT Project

Hi, hope you all had a wonderful Xmas!  It's time for our next challenge, over at Craft-Room Challenge, already - Anything Goes.  By the way, the entries into the Die Cuts and Punches Challenge were gorgeous!  There's a £10 voucher to spend at Craft-Room, to be won in the random draw and as usual we will choose a top 3.

I decided to make a picture using one of the new Stampsmith stamps my o/h got me for Xmas, and an MDF collage frame I picked up at the HSNW festival in October, as a gift for someone:

Close Up

Showing a bit of sparkle

I painted the frame first, using chalk emulsion, stamped the CI flourishes in Stazon, then sealed it all using wood balsam, which has given it a lovely subtle shine - a technique I picked up from Paula over at Ephemera's Attic (thank you!).  Next, I cut some green pearlised card to sit in the centre recess of the frame, first wrapping some ribbon decorated with glittered circles around it.  I stamped the image, from the Stampsmith, in Stazon onto glossy card, mounted it onto black glossy card and just added some gems across the top of her dress, and onto her hat.  I glittered some roses and attached them behind the image.  The sentiment was stamped in Versamark onto glossy card, then embossed in WOW White Twinkle embossing powder and attached to the bottom of the frame.  To finish, I added some large black gems across the top.  Hopefully you can see some of the sparkle on the 2nd and 3rd picture.

Do check out the rest of the projects from my talented team mates over at Craft-Room Challenge for inspiration as they are truly wonderful!

I would like to enter my picture into the following challenges:-

The Stampsmith - Shimmer, Sparkle and Shine
Creative Inspirations Paint - Anything Goes
Mark's Finest Papers - Anything Goes
Stampotique Designers Challenge - Shimmer, Glimmer, Glitter, Glitz
My Mum's Craft Shop Challenge - Anything Goes
Stampin For The Weekend - Anything Goes

Have fun, and I look forward to seeing what you've created.

Maria x

Merry Xmas to the Bump?

Hi, I've finally managed to make something!  My daughter has been quite poorly over the last couple of weeks (but is tons better now) so not had chance to make or post anything apart from my DT card, which thankfully I'd made quite early.

A couple of weeks ago I was asked for two Xmas cards for "the bump"!  It's definitely a first for me, making a card for an unborn baby!  Anyway, the only suitable image I could think of was a digi I bought a while ago from Funky Kits.  Here are the cards I made:

As I'm running waaaaayyyy behind now, they had to be quite simple.  I used some backing paper from the TH seasonal paper stack, and stamped some script onto it (Andy Skinner - Simply Angelic).  I then used some of the images from the paper stack (music etc).  After printing the digi, I went over it in Old Paper DI, then around the edges with Frayed Burlap.  I coloured the hat with a little Festive Berries DI, went over the colour with a clear Spica pen, then added some Ivory Flowersoft for the bobbles on the hat.  Sentiments printed on my pc, and some raffia to finish..  Done!

I would like to enter my "Bump" cards into the following challenges:-

Gingerloft Challenge - Christmas
2 Sisters Challenge Blog - Kids Christmas (will this count?)
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes for Christmas
Mark's Finest Papers - Make a Christmas Card
Raise The Bar - It's beginning to look at lot like Christmas
Stampin' for the Weekend - Christmas!!!
The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop - Christmas with a Bow
Crafts and Me - Christmas
The Sisterhood of Crafters - Christmas

Hope you like it!

Maria x

Die Cuts & Punches - Craft-Room Challenge DT Card

Hi, it's time for another challenge over at the Craft-Room.  There were stunning entries of hand made flowers in our last challenge (check back next Tuesday for the top 3 and random draw winner).  The theme for the next fortnight has been chosen by the talented Nikki, who has chosen "Die Cuts and Punches".  There's a £10 voucher for Craft-Room Online Shop to one lucky winner in the random draw and, don't forget, there's some blog candy up for grabs as well!

I decided to go with my Cricut for this challenge, as I don't use it nearly as much as I should.   I used one of my favourite cartridges, Forever Young:

I used a DP for a change :-) although not sure where from, and edged it with Victorian Velvet DI.  For the two black outfits, I cut two out from some white card and put them to one side for a later date, and set to work on the negative:  I coloured it with a pale pink chalk ink, overstamped it with a Darkroom Door background stamp (Damask) in a darker pink chalk ink and backed it with some black card and mounted it on some darker pink card which has been border punched at the top and bottom.  I added a little punched flower with a dot of black enamel accents at each hip.

Next, I cut another, slightly larger, outfit from white card and a silhouette the same size from black card.  I coloured the outfit with the darker shade of pink chalk ink, adhered to the silhouette, and added ribbon and gems around the waist.  I cut the umbrella silhouette in black and the top part from white, colouring with the same chalk inks as before and then used a thin paintbrush to add the detail with the dark chalk ink to show the sections.  I cut the sentiment "Style", coloured with the pale pink chalk ink and then sponged over with the darker shade.

For inspiration, check out the fabulous projects by the rest of the Design Team!  I really enjoyed making this and can't wait to see your creations.

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:-

Ladybug Crafts Ink - Bingo (Middle column)
Crafty Cardmakers - Use it 3 times

I hope you like it.

Maria x

For My Other Half

Hi, as it's my other half's birthday today, and he's very supportive of my creating, I thought I'd make him his very own wall hanging :-)

This one is definitely out of my comfort zone but I wanted to do him something a little different.  It was hard to photograph because of the UTEE but I hope you can see the detail behind it.:

I've used A5 mountboard, all inks are Jenni Bowlin, which I only bought last week and not used before - I have to say I love them!  Most of the stamps I've used are by IndigoBlu, but one is from PaperArtsy and one is a freebie Craft Stamper cover one.  I've done quite a bit of masking on this with the balloons and faces, the cars, and the clouds with eyes, there's a few layers of clear UTEE on the balloons and the eyes, and still lots of blue ink on my fingers :-)  My other half is a bit of a stickler for timekeeping (which isn't a bad thing!) which is why the guy is chained to the balloon with the clock face. 

Stamps used are IndigoBlu Brideshead and Back to Nature plates (from Craft-Room), PaperArtsy Femme Plate 3 (Fruit Pixie) and Craft Stamper Freebie Hot Air Balloon.  The Sprocket Gears are TH.

I would like to this wall hanging into a few challenges:  Crafty Cardmakers are looking for Heat Embossing,  Stamps R Us would like us to Emboss It!, and the Samuel Taylor Challenge have a theme of Anything Goes (and they are offering a fabulous prize of Kasiercraft Mini Albums and a Jillibean Soup 6x6 Paper Pad!)

Hope you like it, and have a great weekend!

Maria x

A Box of Flowers - Craft-Room DT Project

Hi, I can't believe how quickly two weeks go - it's time for another challenge over at Craft-Room, and such beautiful entries we had to our Postcard/Travel theme, making it difficult to choose a top 3!.  Our new challenge, of Handmade Flowers, has been chosen by the extremely talented Hazel.  For one lucky random winner, there will be a £10 voucher to spend at the Craft-Room Online Shop and, as usual, we will choose a top 3.  Check out the challenge website for full challenge rules.

This is my project:  a box of flowers, which is based on a little window box:

The flowers were made from white cotton coasters with a lace trim, from the £1 shop (pk of 12).  They were dyed and spritzed with various colours of Perfect Pearls mixed with water, and Distress Re-Inkers. The circles were doubled over then rolled up and stitched in place, and I dropped a pearl  into the centre of each. I then added some leaves cut with Marianne dies, adhering with glue.

The box that they sit in is made from an oblong deep edge canvas painted with cream acrylic paint, turned upside down so that the flowers sit in the recess, and two different types of lace trim added.  The glue I used throughout this project was Art Institute - it's a new one to me but is brilliant for sticking lace down as, once dry, you really can't see it.

The sentiment is from Paperartsy and stamped in Coffee Archival ink:  two different distress inks on white card, then pressed onto a wet baby wipe (because I couldn't find my spritzer at this point!) and dried with a heat gun.  It resulted in a lovely weathered look - accidentally!  A little metallic rub on around the edge to finish.

Distress Inks, Perfect Pearls, Archival Ink & Art Institute Glue from Craft-Room
Canvas and acrylic paint from Dunelm Mill

I really enjoyed making this and putting it together, I hope you like it.  Do check out the projects by the rest of the team as they really are beautiful.

I'd like to like this project up to Creative Inspirations Paint - Anything But A Card, Crafty Bloggers Network - Something Other Than A Card, and also, if I qualify for them, The Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - Borders and  Flowers, and Fussy and Fancy Friday Challenge - Make A Gift / Anything But A Card.

Enjoy your week.

Maria x

Ribbons & Lace Wall Hanging

Hi, Friday at last!!!  I always think that Friday is the best evening of the week, because there's a full weekend to look forward to!  I decided a few days ago, that I'd like to enter The Stampsmith's current challenge of Ribbons & Lace, so I've made this 6 x 4 wall hanging, using one of my extremely limited collection of Stampsmith stamps:

Stunning 1940s pin-up model, actress, and icon Veronica Lake has been stamped on cream cotton/linen (with Archival Ink), which has first been sprayed with a home-made mixture of Perfect Pearls (Biscuit) and water, to give the fabric a subtle glimmer.  I've attached to a piece of cut-to-size chipboard (with strong glue at the back) then added a little netting underneath, to one side, then mounted onto some torn white lacy-patterned vellum, which has been inked lightly with DI Old Paper (unfortunately, the pattern doesn't show up very well in the photo).  The main mountboard base is inked with DI Old Paper and sprayed with the same PP mix, and stamped with Old Letter background stamp (from Craft-Room) by Hero Arts in Versafine Smokey Gray. Offcuts of blue ribbon and lace added, and cream broderie anglaise which I've frayed along the bottom.  The blue flower is made of twisted ribbon with a few tiny pearls added, and the letter tiles spelling the word "Veronica" have been threaded onto narrow sheer ribbon and tied at each end, before securing in place with a little strong glue.  I've added pale blue ribbon across the hanging and tied in a bow to one side, and used some of the same ribbon to hang.  An odd earring pushed through for decoration, and a star - because she was one!

In addition to The Stampsmith challenge, I'd also like to enter this into:

Crafts and Me - Shabby Chic/Vintage
Addicted to Stamps - Pearls and Lace
Gingerloft Challenge - Lace, Fabric or Felt
Moving Along With The Times - Ribbons & Bows

Ok, now I'm off to finish another couple of projects.... thanks for visiting, and have a lovely weekend!

Maria x

A Xmas Gift from Craft-Room!!!

Hi, I'd like to let you know about this beautiful Indigo Blu stamp plate that's up for grabs at the Craft-Room Challenge, for one lucky winner!

It's quite simply a big thank you from the Craft-Room Challenge's sponsor, Craft-Room Online shop!  How nice is that!

All you need to do to win this fabulous stamp plate is head over to the Craft-Room Challenge, for full details of how to enter!  This candy will run until 24 December and the winner will be announced on 27th December.

Good luck!

Christmas in Black & White

Hi, just one more Christmas card to share with you for now, using the same Penny Black stamp as last time, but in white twinkly ep with just a hint of silver, which ended up absolutely everywhere (not so clean & simple after all!).  I'm not sure which I prefer, white or gilded.

A closer look

I have stamped both the image and sentiment in VersaMark and embossed in WOW White Twinkle embossing powder, then mounted onto some black glossy cardstock.  I have punched a hole through the top and some white ribbon threaded through (I've seen Marie at Dolly Daydreams do this on one of her cards for decoration and it looked great, so I thought it might work as a little reinforcement for my tent cards) and added a clear gem to finish.

I would like to enter this into the following challenges:

Moving Along With The Times - Let It Snow
Crafters' Companion - Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow
Creatalicious Challenge - Christmas and Make Sure It Sparkle
Glitter Fairies Challenge Blog - Non Traditional Christmas (no red, green or gold)
Crafts and Me - Simples
Oldie But A Goodie - Let It Snow

That's all for now, I hope you like it!

Maria x

Silhouettes for Less Is More

Hi, I didn't plan on posting anything else today, however I've just seen the new Less Is More challenge theme of Silhouettes and wish I'd uploaded Dasher a little bit later in the day!  Ah well, never mind.  Here is my entry for LIM:

A close up of the colours in the gilding flakes

I've used the gilding flakes again, which I must say I'm becoming very fond of, and the stamp, from Penny Black, is one I acquired last Christmas with a magazine subscription.  I mounted the image on a home-made green tag which I cut too small for a different project.  I decided to leave the tab peeking out the side (although I'm not quite sure why!).

I would also like to enter this in Wags n Whiskers challenge as they are looking for Christmas Themed projects at the moment.

Bye for now

Maria x

A CAS Christmas

Hi, now I've started my Xmas cards I'm feeling a bit more motivated to carry on.  I've decided that clean & simple is the way to go because; a) CAS cards look elegant (I don't generally do CAS but everyone else's look elegant), and b) as they take less time (I'm presuming) therefore I'll get more done!

Here's the first couple I made using Stampin' Up's Dasher - this is the only SU stamp I own, and he's kicking off my Xmas collection with some gilding flakes which I bought at Port Sunlight in October - they contain the most beautiful metallic colours, such as blues, greens, coppers, golds, oranges, etc. :

A tent card

A close up to try to show the colours

and one of the others:

A side opening card

I used Indigo Blu Flitter Glu with the gilding flakes - the Flitter Glu gives a lovely, clean finish.  It's the tackiest stuff I've ever used - I nearly couldn't get the lid off, lol (I must be less messy in future).  The sentiment is stamped and gilded in the same way, and a hole has been punched and some ribbon threaded through and tied.

Get Creative are asking for cards made using just two stamps, so I am going to enter my cards into their challenge, as I've used the same two stamps on each card.  I'm also going to enter the Really Reasonable Ribbons' current challenge of CAS Christmas plus Ribbon, and PanPastel are looking for Fireworks/Exploding Colours in their current challenge so I'm entering before it closes, as my gilding flakes have the most beautiful, bright, shiny colours.

I hope you like them - there will be more gilding flake creations making an appearance over the next few weeks, of that I'm certain!

Maria x

At Last - Christmas Cards

Well, tag cards - close enough!  Hello!  As Christmas is almost upon us (or it feels like it!), I thought I should make a start, so I've made a couple of cards for the other two finance ladies I work with - they will be pleased, as they never got one at all last year (I was sooo late)!!!

I made these tags using Tim H's technique highlighted in the 12 Tags Of Christmas 2009, Day 7, and featured at Studio L3 last week - thank you Linda, I've not seen the 12 tags of Xmas before!  I really wanted to play in this challenge, but was too late unfortunately.  I've used the same technique on both tags, detailed step-by-step in the link above, however I used acetate to make the mask and sprayed a little stick n spray on back, as I don't have the proper TH mask sheets.

Tag Card #1

After stamping the image, I stamped flourishes with acrylic paint, added lighter shades of DI, masked main image and added darker shades of DI, stamped background text then blotted acrylic flourishes with damp tissue.  I stamped the sentiment with Versamark and embossed in a gold metallic.

Tag Card # 2

Both tags have been mounted onto Kraft cardstock which I've cut to size and inked the edges.

The main image is from  Crafty Individuals, the background scrip/text stamp is from an Andy Skinner set called Simply Angelic from the Craft-Room, and the flourishes are from La Blanche.

I'd like to enter the following challenges:

Card #1:   Do You Stack Up - A Splash of Blue,  The Artistic Stamper - Backgrounds,
Tando Creative Challenges - Blue and Brown


 Card #2:  Art Impressions Stamps - Red, Green & Metallic, Card and Scrap - Traditional Christmas Colours, The Artistic Stamper - Backgrounds

I'm off the mark at last (apart from making the envelopes!)!!!

I hope you like them.

Maria x

Another Postcard!

Hi, a very short post tonight!  I've promised my daughter that we'll sit down and watch a film together tonight so I'm racing to get everything done that I need to, including scheduling this post.

In keeping with the Craft-Room Challenge, here is the other postcard that I made over the weekend:

I used DIs on the cream patterned oriental background paper, then some further DIs through masks.  As I'm really starting to enjoy stamping onto tissue and layering onto my project (I can see lots of benefits to this!),  I stamped the building, sentiments and six flowers onto tissue then carefully layered them on using Ranger Glue & Seal Matte (I love this stuff!), arranging three flowers in opposite corners.  I coloured the flowers with Worn Lipstick DI and added some gems (not too sure about the gems).  The centre image has been stamped in Jet Black Stazon onto previously alcohol inked glossy card - the background is pale pink/purple but this doesn't show up too good in the photo - then matted & layered twice and adhered to the postcard.

Stamps are by Paperartsy (Ink & the Dog) - Asian Plate 4

I'd like to enter this into The Stamp Man Challenge Collage/Collage Backgrounds, Happy Daze Challenge - An Explosion of Colour, and Let's Ink It Up - Favourite Technique.

This is a lot more colourful than my usual projects as I love very soft & muted colours, but I hope you like it!

Enjoy the rest of the week!

Maria x

Travel/Postcards - Craft-Room Challenge DT Project

Hi, such fabulous entries into the Father/Male challenge over at the Craft-Room Challenge, however it's onto the next one already!  That was a quick two weeks!

The theme for the next fortnight has been chosen by the very talented Debi and it is "Travel/Postcards".  There's a £10 voucher for Craft-Room up for grabs in the random draw and, as usual, we will pick a top 3. 

I was bit thrown by this challenge as I don't really have any travel stamps as such.  As tempted as I was to jump in the car and head down the M60 to Hobbycraft, I decided to try to be creative and use what I already have - a challenge in itself, lol, and that's what it's all about (i told myself bravely)!  This is what I came up with:

and this is how I made it:

Using a collage style paper from GCD Paris Nights as the first layer, I mounted it onto a piece of chipboard to make it easier to work with.  I then added some Old Paper DI then, using a small amount of cream acrylic paint, swiped inwards from the edges to give it a bit of a faded look, and also to pick up some of the linen effect of the paper.  I stamped the car directly onto this, and then stamped the guy with the brolly, the champagne label, the harlequin pattern and "enjoy the journey" onto tissue paper, which I adhered using Ranger Glue & Seal Matte.  I tried to position Brolly Man looking at the Eiffel Tower.  I then cut out a few pieces off the same collage paper and added this on top.  I also stamped a little quote, again onto tissue paper, which says "artistically altered", and positioned this on top of the car, and a little cream broderie anglaise to soften the look a bit.  I tissue taped a bulldog clip and positioned at the top.

I did make another (completely different) postcard, but will save that for tomorrow!

Please check out the samples by the rest of the team for inspiration as they are truly stunning.

I'd like to enter this into Squiggle Stamps - Anything But A Card, The Culture Shock Challenge - Umbrellas,  & Deep Ocean Challenge - Vintage.

Have fun, and I look forward to visiting you.

Maria x

"Thru the Window" in Coffee & Cream, with a hint of dark chocolate!

Hi, thankfully the weekend's here at last!  Friday evenings are the best, when you've got the whole weekend to look forward to!  I'd like to share a door hanger with you, which I've made over the last couple of nights and would like enter it into the Fashionable Stamping Challenge before it closes, as I love the theme of their challenge at the moment.

I wanted to try out some Mica Tiles which were a bargain buy many moons ago, but I really didn't have a clue what to do with them, so I decided to have a play and see what I could create, and this is what I came up with:

The door hanger was painted in brown acrylic then swiped over with cream acrylic.  I stamped the text in Timber Brown Stazon, sealed with Ranger Glue & Seal Matte, then added a little of various distress inks with Cut n Dry.

For the image, I covered white cardstock with Antique Linen Distress Ink and stamped the image using Timber Brown Stazon.  I coloured it with neat distress re-inkers (I sooo love colouring with these!) in various brown & cream shades.  I wanted to try and create an illusion of "night time outside" and depth so I added a very small amount of distress ink in the window area with a cotton bud, then placed a piece of Mica Tile over the image and went around the area I wanted the tile to fit into with a pokey tool, to gently break it in the right place.  Once this was done, I adhered it using glossy accents.  It's finished off with a silver star charm alcohol inked in shades of brown, some lace, and various bits n bobs in different shades of brown or cream.
Rubber Stamp from Crafty Individuals, Distress Inks & Alcohol Inks from Craft-Room, Door Hanger from Wilkinsons

I would like to enter my door hanger into the following challenges:-

The Fashionable Stamping Challenge - Coffee & Cream with a Hint of Dark Chocolate
Addicted To Stamps - Shabby, Shabby Chic, or Vintage
Come and Get It - Anything Goes
Stamps and Fun = Creativity - Vintage
Bearly Mine Challenges - Anything But A Card
Creatalicious Challenges: Distress Your Edges
Whimsy Inspirations Challenge - Monochromatic
Crafty Individuals Challenge - Winter Wonderland

Thanks for visiting, and have a lovely weekend!

Maria x

Craft-Room Challenge - Father/Male

Hiya!  Beautiful Black & White entries last week over at the Craft-Room Challenge - as always it will be so difficult to choose a top 3!  However, it's time to move onto the next challenge, the theme of which has been chosen by the very talented Mervi, and the theme is "Father or Male".  As always there will be a Top 3, and a random winner will be chosen to win a £10 voucher for spending on goodies at the Craft-Room Online Shop. 

I'm sure I'm not alone in struggling when it comes to making a card or project for a guy!  In the end, I chose to make a paperweight for my brother's upcoming birthday in December:

I used the wooden block from an old mounted rubber stamp (which I will now need to mount on EZ mount!), and painted it a couple of times with brown acrylic then, once dry, a layer of the amazing Eco-Green Glue, then a layer of cream acrylic.  I used a heat gun (from a distance) to slowly dry it and it crackled!  This is a technique that I don't have much luck with!!!  Once dry, a layer of Glue & Seal Matte, then the CI image & sentiment were stamped onto tissue then laid onto the wet glue, and brushed over with more Glue and Seal.  A couple of further coats of G & S , then I coloured the image with neat distress reinkers, added a cog with attached word tiles and a zipper pull coloured with a bit of alcohol ink (to make it look a bit rusty).  I went around the edge of the block with a little frayed burlap, then a little metallic rub on.  My aim was to make it look as aged and old as possible!

I chose the image because my brother always looks after my springer spaniel Jack when I go on holiday - Jack adores him and follows him everywhere!  I hope he likes it, because if he doesn't, he's getting nothing else!!!

Eco-Green Paint, Cog, Alcohol Ink and Distress Re-inkers are from Craft-Room, Stamp is from Crafty Individuals and Metallic Rub On is from Happy Daze.

I did enjoy making this and that crackle is definitely a challenge for me!  Check out the projects by the rest of the Design Team for inspiration as they are fabulous!

I am entering my paperweight into the following challenges:-

Fashionable Stamping Challenge: Coffee and Cream with Dark Chocolate
StampsFun=Creativity: Vintage
Stamps R Us Challenge Blog: Masculine
Addicted To Stamps: Shabby, Shabby Chic or Vintage
Pan Pastel UK:  Distress It
Stamp, Scrap & Doodle: Monochromatic
Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Anything Goes
Moving Along With The Times: No Girls Allowed

Have fun, I hope you like it and I look forward to visiting you to see your fabulous creations.

Maria x

Hanging Tag Card

Hi, it's been a busy week, but found time to make a tag this morning for Get Creative Challenge No 10.  This is Marie's challenge of  "Embossing".  After my copy of Craft Stamper arrived on Friday, I had to try one of the techniques as I thought their results were stunning, and I have never done this technique before (despite having a large amount of embossing enamel that someone gave me!).  I made a hanging tag card:

I sloshed (and I do mean sloshed - salt & pepper springs to mind, lol) some blending solution on a piece of glossy card, then a couple of alcohol inks and then blended with a little more ink on the tool to cover the white parts. I cut to size, then stamped my images (Crafty Individuals & Andy Skinner) using Stazon Jet Black.  I then covered in Versamark, embossing enamel & heated 3 times.  I then matted & layered, reheated a little bit and stamped Dare to Dream (LOTV), although I did press a bit too hard when I did this.  I attached a piece of black card to the back and scored a little from the top, then added a white mat on which to write your sentiment.  A couple of black gems and a black trim to finish, and some cord to hang (no surprise there!), so it can be used as a decoration as well.  I do like the result of this and will certainly use my embossing enamel again!

As well as Get Creative, I'm going to enter this into the following challenges:-

Dream Valley Challenges - Anything Goes (#19)
Praire Fairy Fridays - Heat/Wet Embossing (#64)
Crafty Sentiments - No Designer Papers

Hope you like it.

Bye for now, Maria x

Veronica Lake

Hello.  A short and sweet post this evening (my posts are getting way too long!) - I thought I would share this very quick, and fairly clean & simple, card I made today, after a day of mounting stamps and sorting out craft stuff (it's getting a bit untidy!):

I bought the stamp from Ebay ages ago, but I think it's a Stampsmith one - I thought maybe it was Lauren Bacall until my other half googled it and found out it's Veronica Lake.  The champage label and sentiment are by Indigo Blu (from Brideshead plate) and have been masked, then over-stamped with the background stamp (Lost Coast Designs).  For the background stamping I used Versafine Smokey Gray and the image is stamped in black Memento.  I coloured just her lips in Fired Brick (I nearly gave her an Elvis lip by mistake, lol).

Lost Coast background stamp & Indigo Blu Brideshead plate are both from Craft-Room, Veronica Lake photostamp could possibly be from the Stampsmith.

I'm entering it into:

The Squirrel and The Fox - One For The Girls
One Stop Craft Challenge - No Designer Paper
Moving Along With The Times - Vintage (#119)
Pollycraft Challenge Blog - Girls, Girls, Girls

Have a great week.

Maria x

Black & White - Craft-Room Challenge DT Project

Hi everyone!  What wonderful Feline projects we had in the last Craft-Room Challenge!  Good luck to everyone who entered.

However, it's time for another challenge, and this time the wonderfully talented Kim has chosen the theme of Black & White.  There's a £10 voucher to spend in Craft-Room up for grabs in the random draw and, as usual, a top 3 will be chosen.  Check out the full rules here.

I love black & white, but when it came to my project, my mojo did a bit of a disappearing act.  My first idea was scrapped (you know how it is!), and then I thought of the new Lost Coast ballerina stamp that I'd not yet used.  I decided to make her a bit festive and gave her some Christmas wings (from the Andy Skinner Simply Angelic set) and thought she would look nice dancing in some snow.  This is how she turned out:

I covered some white card with Black Soot DI, stamped her in Versamark and embossed her in snow white embossing powder - I also used this for the words.  I then masked her and stamped the wings then embossed them in Wow White Sparkle.  I used a versamark pen on the bottom (for the snow) and also embossed in the Wow powder.  The stars are done with a Quickie glue pen and Jones Tones glitter and white sparkle Lustre rub on around the edge to give it a bit of a misty look.  I decided not to make this into a card (surprise surprise!!!) so I used the Black Soot again and covered the edges of Tando 6 x 6 Chipboard, then mounted my project onto it.

Not content with stopping there, I had an old wooden 3d box frame that I no longer use and it just happened to hold 6 x 6, so I gave it 2 coats of white acrylic paint (99p from Wilkinsons!).  Thinking it was a bit too plain, I used another Lustre Rub-on (black - Midnight Sparkle) and went over the frame with it on my finger, lightly at first, dragging the paste/cream from the corners outwards and then all over.

Nearly there ...

Then I added a little of each of the following, here and there:  Ranger Crackle Accents in clear rock candy, Paper Artsy Fresco Finish Metallic Glaze, and clear Distress Stickles, then a little more Midnight Sparkle rub-on - these have given it a nice sheen and a subtle twinkle, but it doesn't really show up in the picture.

Finished!

I'm happy with it now :-)

Ballerina by Lost Coast Designs, Andy Skinner "Simply Angelic" wings, Tando chipboard & Black Soot DI all from Craft Room, Wow embossing powder from Wow website, frame from Asda (many years ago), Jones Tones Glitter from Lavinia Stamps, and lustre rub-ons (kit 4) from Happy Daze.

I can't wait to see all your entries - the possibilities are endless - so check out the rest of the Design Teams projects for inspiration.

I'm also going to enter this project into the following challenges:

The Fashionable Stamping Challenge - Anything But A Card (#6)
Incy Wincy Designs - Recycle (the 3d wooden box frame)
Ooh La La Creations - Let It Snow (#91)
The Corrosive Challenge Blog - Flying Things (#135)
Bling It On - No Patterned Papers
Little Claire's Designs - Christmas (#14)
Saturday Challenge - White Plus One Other Colour - my other colour is black (#156)
Happy Daze - Christmas or Halloween

Maria x

Lost Coast Dancer Silhouette

Hi, this is a very short post (for a change :-)) as it's way past my bedtime!  This is one of the stamps that I bought from Port Sunlight - it's by Lost Coast Designs, and I thought it was beautiful when I saw it (I'm quite pleased actually, as Craft-Room is going to stock a few of the Lost Coast stamps).  As my card stash has gotten quite low, I need to replenish it a bit so thought I'd make a card with this stamp:

The plain background has been covered with Tattered Rose DI, then overstamped with Darkroom Door Damask background stamp in Versafine Smokey Grey.  The background to the dancer is just in Tattered Rose.  I stamped her in Versamark then embossed with Wow embossing glitter in black twinkle, then went around the edges of the image with more Tattered Rose and a little Black Soot.  The "fabulous" sentiment is also embossed in Black Twinkle directly onto the background (can't remember who it's by, but from QVC quite a while ago).  I then mounted both the background and the image onto pearlised grey card, then black.  I cut the black card blank down a little, width ways, so that it was narrower than the image/background - just for something a little different.  I then punched a hole in the top and tied some black ribbon.

I'm going to enter this card into the following challenges:-

Papertake Weekly - Get in Shape (use 3 different shapes)
Tuesday Throwdown - Think Pink (#70)
Crafty Cardmakers - Anything Goes (#53)
Creative Inspirations Paint - Embossing
Wags 'n' Whiskers - Handmade (I made my own pink/grey background paper)

I hope you like it.

Maria x

Ella Bella

Hi

What a dully and rainy day it is in Manchester!  Perfect for crafting though :-) so I thought I would share this card with you, which I've made today.  Having received my order from Julia at Craft-Room yesterday, I was itching to try out this new stamp which I've bought, Ella Bella - this was definitely a "have to buy" stamp for me, lol.  I also went to the Happy Stampers Festival at Port Sunlight yesterday and bought far too many goodies, gilding flakes being one of them - which I also had to try out!  Put these two together and this is what I came up with:

Now, I've never, ever used gilding flakes before but having seen the samples at Port Sunlight, I just had to get some - I'm lovin' them already!  I used FlitterGlu to stamp the image onto black card then put the gilding flakes on.  I then went over the image with a scoochy sponge (a very rough sponge) to take the excess flakes off.  The sentiment is a LOTV one stamped directly onto the card blank, which I also used the gilding flakes on.  I mounted the image on to grey pearlised card then put onto a black card blank.  And that was it!  I to kept the card very simple so that the image was the focal point.

I'm quite pleased with how it's turned out, so I hope you like it - I'm going to enter it into the following challenges:-

Secret Crafter- Anything Goes, as long as it twinkles (does this come under "twinkling"?)
Mark's Finest Papers - No Designer Paper (#76)
The Sisterhood of Crafters - Use a Silhouette Stamp
Ladybug Crafts Ink - No Design Papers (#40)

Maria x

Felines - Craft-Room Challenge DT Project

Hello there!  I'm back from my holiday in Crete, and raring to go (well, I'm getting there).  I had a fantastic time, and even made friends with the little lady in my project!  After a fantastic response to our last theme of Anything Christmas, it's now time for a new challenge over at Craft-Room -  for the next fortnight our theme will be Felines, as chosen by our extremely talented DT leader, Zoe. There's a £10 voucher to spend in the Craft-Room Online Shop to be won in the random draw, and we will also pick a top 3.  Full rules are available to view here, and don't forget to check out the the samples made by the rest of the team, as they're fantastic.

This is my project - my first scrapbook page (I'm trying to remember when I last made a card!!!).

I don't generally scrapbook, but decided it would be nice to try it out and do something nice with my holiday photos, and I just couldn't resist starting it off with this beautiful little lady.  She is about 5 months old and lives with her brother (and owner!) in one of the apartments where we stayed - both kittens were born blind but it didn't seem to be a problem whatsoever for them, and they had such beautiful and gentle natures.  It was amazing watching them play together  - you would swear they could see! 

She tried to share my sunbed on a regular basis ...

made herself comfortable ...

very comfortable ...

and then chilled out!  Isn't that what holidays are for?

The papers used are DCWV, the frames are inked up with Fired Brick Distress Ink, and the little captions with Scattered Straw - inks available from Craft-Room.  Sentiments have been done on the PC, apart from the main glittered one which is from a DCWV border.  The starfish are from Crete (yes, I even found a craft shop in Crete, lol)!

I can't wait to see the entries for this challenge, as I absolutely love cats (I have four of my own!), and hope you enjoy making yours as much as I did mine! Good luck!

I'm going to enter this project into the following challenges:

Crafty Boots Challenge - Zoo or Animal
Gingerloft Challenge - Orange
Inspire Me Fridays - Anything Goes (#26)
Cute Card Thursday - Animal Crackers (#184)

Maria x 

Another Vintage Tag

Hi.  I'm still on that sunbed, lol! 

This is another tag I've made:

The background was done the same as the last tag - I love how each one is so different, yet with the same colours.  The torso was stamped on TH Shabby Chic patterned paper then cut out, inked with Tattered Rose and Pumice Stone around the edges.  "Fabulous" stamped in Timber Brown Stazon, some dangly trim and TH tissue tape added to the bottom of the torso (and the bottom of the tag) along with some sparkly gems.  The sentiment has been mounted onto some alcohol inked glossy card and, along with the word strip, is by HOTP.  Some frayed cotton twisted with a TH pin through, and some dyed rose trim, to finish.  Tag, rose trim, and tissue tape from Craft-Room, but I'm not sure where the torso stamp is from.

I'm hoping to use these tags on altered books, at some point in the future.

Hope you like it.

Maria x

A Vintage Tag

Hi, this is a very short post as it's scheduled.  Hopefully I'm lying on a sunbed at this moment in time, topping up my tan, on the beautiful island of Crete :-)!

This is a tag I've made using Distress Stains, which I've not used often:

I've used Walnut Stain, Antique Linen and Spun Sugar Distress Stains on the tag, then sprayed it with water, swooshed it about, then dried it with a heat gun.  These are the only three colours I have at the moment, lol!  The image is a transparency from a sheet that someone gave me, so I'm not sure where it's from - I've layered it onto some paper so that it stands out a bit.  Text stamped on the background (Timber Brown Stazon), roughed up the edges then went around them with a little antique gold rub on.  I've used alcohol inks on a small offcut of thick glossy card and stamped "escape" in Timber Brown Stazon.  Some dyed seam binding twisted round with a TH pin through the middle and a few gems attached to the pin.  Some liquid pearls, a heart and a Dream ticket to finish, with some frayed broderie anglaise along the bottom.

Tags, inks, distress stains and seam binding from Craft-Room Online shop.

Hope you like it.

Maria x

Vintage Christmas Hanging - Craft-Room Challenge "Anything Christmas"

Hello again, it's time for another Craft-Room Challenge - the weeks are flying by and it will soon be Christmas!  The Home Decor entries were stunning - it will so tough picking a top 3!  This time, the challenge has been chosen by the lovely Julia, and the theme is "Anything Christmas" -  I'm sure that you're all ready to start (if you haven't already!) on your Christmas cards & projects so this is a perfect time for this theme.  There's a £10 voucher to be won in the random draw, and a top 3 will be picked - check out the "Pesky Rules" here and above all, have fun!!!

My DT project for this challenge is a little wall hanging (yes, another wall hanging, lol!) "Counting the Days to Christmas":

The idea is to simply tick off the days to Christmas.

I've used some chipboard, cut to size with a craft knife, for the two pieces and covered them with paper from Papermania "Silent Night" collection.  I've inked the edges with some Old Paper and a little Pumice Stone DI, and some gold metallic rub on.   The background to the image, sentiment and calendar part are also inked in Old Paper as a base colour - on the main image, I've also used Weathered Wood for the sky.  The Crafty Individuals (CI-254) image is stamped in black Stazon and the buildings are coloured in neat Distress Reinkers Antique Linen, Frayed Burlap and Weathered Wood.  I've used a little Jones Tones glitter on the stars, then matted the image onto some cream cotton which I've frayed around the edges, then the image, sentiment and calendar are matted onto black, finely corrugated paper/card.  The calendar is attached to the main piece with black ribbon, and I've used the same ribbon to hang it, and a little metal snowflake to finish.

All inks and chipboard are available from Craft-Room Online shop.  Sentiment and calendar are done on pc.

I hope you like it.

I'm also entering this into the following challenges:

Bows and Berries - Glitter
Gingerloft Challenge - Vintage or Distressed

Maria x