Bah! Humbug! #29 - Paper Tearing

This week's challenge was an interesting one as I haven't tried this technique very much. I decided to make it obvious I had torn the papers and so chose to use three complimentary but quite different Papermania DPs.

I tried tearing christmas trees but was hopeless so resorted to stamping them and embossing with a sparkly green EP. The ribbon was my spot prize from Bah! Humbug! a few weeks ago. To accentuate the edges, I mounted it all onto a cherry red base card.

Thanks for visiting my blog and do please feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate them all and find them very encouraging.

Crafty Ann's Challenge #20 - Lazy Hazy Days of Summer

I can almost imagine myself lying on this beach, dipping my toes into the crystal clear water .... In my dreams!

For this card I have used Crafty Ann's Tropical Beach digi stamp and also Crafty Ann's Square Flower Frame #2 as well as a paper from her Mottled Stone Collection No.3.

The image is coloured with Sakura Glaze pens and for added texture the sandy beach is embossed with Sparkle N Sprinkle Beachcomber Tex EP (wonderful for sand and gravel texture}. The sea is embossed with Ocean Spray EP and the sky with Skylight EP.

The frame was printed out onto 160gsm shiny paper previously printed with the Mottled Stone DP and cut out and mounted onto the image with foam pads.

The flowers were decoupaged for added height and the whole was mounted onto a piece of purple pearlescent card which had been embossed with a script embossing folder and run through the Cuttlebug.

I do hope you like my card and look forward to you joining us in this fortnight's Crafty Ann's Challenge.

CD Sunday Challenge - Meow!

Peerless Designs Cat's Whisker was the inspiration for this card. I used a ribbon, tag and main image from the CD. The backing paper is all my own work - honest! I used I Brake For Stamps music background and coloured it with DI Tattered Rose and Antique Linen with Walnut Stain around the edges. It is all mounted on a cream base card that has been coloured around the edges and I couldn't resist adding the fish bones charm.

Thank you for visiting my blog and I do appreciate all your comments.

Bah! Humbug! #28 - Christmas Scene

For this week's make I decided to make a scene from scratch and started with a piece of 160gsm white paper 4.25 x3.5 inches.

I masked the moon and stamped the cottages and masked them. Tore a post it note to the shape of the horizon that fitted with the cottages and then sponged around the moon with pale yellow and then sponged the sky with SU Nearly Navy. I re-used the post it note to form banks of snow in the foreground and very lightly sponged them with the Nearly Navy. After that I added the trees, bushes and deer and highlighted some areas with white gel pen and clear Sakura Stardust pen. Stars were put in the sky with white gel pen.

When the mask on the cottages was removed I added some thin black detail to take off the whiteness and also sponged some yellow and navy on the moon when the mask was removed. The sentiment embossed directly onto the base card is by Elusive Images.

I am very lucky living where I do, I see sights similar to this every night from my lounge window. I hope you like my scene, I always love making pictures like this - that's what got me into rubber stamping as I can't draw for toffee! Please feel free to add a comment, they are always appreciated.

Rainbow Lady's Challenge #113 - Enjoy Life with Oranges and Lemons

I have made a 4x4 page for a change this week and had great fun getting very messy with acrylic paints and embossing powders.

The background is made by painting two layers of acrylic paint separated by a layer of pva glue. The pva glue dries at a different rate from the top layer of acrylic thus causing the crazing and splitting revealing the bottom layer of acrylic.

I have used 4 different EP's black, yellow and two shades of orange and four open daisy type stamps for a bit of variety.

Thanks for dropping by and feel free to leave a comment - I appreciate them all.

DragonsDream TIO#48 Say it with Numbers

I had great fun making this tag - primarily because I had no plan in mind when I started and it just sort of evolved.

Rubber stamps are by Elusive Images and Clarity. I used chipboard numbers from a pack I bought about 2 years ago and never used. Distress Inks - Broken China, Faded Jeans, Stormy Sky and Black Soot. Silver detail EP was used to highlight some of the numbers embossed with a cuttlebug folder. Silver eyelet to complete the tag.

Hope you like it and please feel free to leave a comment - they are much appreciated.

CD Sunday Challenge - Looks like Summer

Just a simple card for this week's challenge but it has taken me all day to make!

I have had a heck of a job getting the eyelets in the right place and I still didn't succeed entirely! I gave it my best shot anyway. The delightful image is from Gwyneth Windsor's CD Pandora's Box and it is mounted onto the Fleur de Lis pendant die. I used string to lace through the eyelets.

Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by. Please feel free to leave a comment - I love reading them all!

Bah! Humbug! #27 - Christmas Stockings

I had no stamps of Christmas stockings or digi stamps so I have used a topper from White Christmas by Rob Addams together with a backing paper from the CD. Glitter glue has been used to enhance the punched corners and a shiny tartan ribbon finishes the simple card.

Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by. Please feel free to leave a comment, all are appreciated.

Rainbow Lady's Challenge - Lavender and Lace

I took this challenge literally as I am very fond of both!

I made my backing paper using a paper doily as a mask and spraying Sticky Fingers mica paint in Lilac. The image is by Joanna Sheen which was coloured with markers and then given a good coating of Flower Soft in lavender to the flower heads. I accented the foliage with Glossy Accents. A paper punch softened the edges of the focal images and lace was added to complete the card.

Thanks for stopping by and do please leave a comment, all are much appreciated.

Crafty Ann's Challenge #19 - A Cliff Richard Song

I have used Crafty Ann's wonderful sofa digi image for this easel card and the song that inspires it is a 1972 hit from Sir Cliff - You've Got A Friend.

The backing papers are from Ivory Cats CD by Joanna Sheen. The animal stamps were free from Craft Stamper (dog) and Paper Inspirations (cat).

The footstool that acts as a stopper for the easel card was drawn by me and took me most of the day to get something that looked half decent!

Sir Cliff has released well over 1000 songs during his career so you will have a lot to choose from. Come on! Join us in the fun and take part in this week's challenge over at Crafty Ann's Challenge Blog

I look forward to seeing what you can come up with.

DragonsDream TIO #47 - Shabby Chic

I wanted a look of overlaying layers of muted patterns and fabrics that is the signature of this style of interior design. The couch and chair are Louis XV style. The stamps are by Elusive Images (Brocade) and the furniture courtesy of The Graphics Fairy. The images were stamped onto shiny card and coloured with a waterbrush and dye inks to give that faded look.

I hope you like my interpretation of this week's challenge and I look forward to reading your comments - which are always appreciated.

Rosiedees Challenge #75 = Burgundy, Pink and Cream

The roses are cream, sponged and stamped with pink and accented with stickles. The sentiment is from Creative Expressions.

Thanks for stopping by and do feel free to leave a comment.

CD Sunday Challenge - Kind Thoughts

I love poetry so whenever there is an opportunity to introduce some - I am there!

The poem is by Henry W. Longfellow and just about says it all. The backing paper is from Cottage Gardens by Joanna Sheeen and features delphiniums which are in bloom just now. I used irridescent lavender and key lime Brilliance ink to sponge the text and added prima flowers spritzed with Sticky Fingers Violet and Lilac inks. The centres are lavender Pearlidoodles.

Thanks for stopping by on this wet and very windy Sunday afternoon. Please feel free to leave a comment, all are most welcome.

Rainbow Lady's Challenge #111 - Triple Treasures

What a lovely challenge! My chance to wreck a baking tin and burn myself!! As I don't have a melt pot YET I had a go at making an ATC using some chipboard as a base. Could I find my heat proof silicone mat? Long tweezers? No, of course, hence having to use the baking tin and getting it covered in UTEE and a slight burn on my finger!

I covered the ATC in 3 layers of clear UTEE, heating from underneath to get a glassy finish and then added a couple of layers of Moon Glow Two-Toned EP in Hollyberry Red/Gold. I used an image from Summer in the Orient from The Stampman and pressed this into the EP when still hot.
When it had cooled, I used Perfect Pearls Antique Gold to define the high spots and also sponged a little Black Soot DI on some of the raised areas.

The two-tone EP has given an interesting effect as some of the colours have separated and the background looks the colour of carnelian.

Thanks for stopping by and please leave a comment - all are very much appreciated.

Bah! Humbug! #26 A Special Friend

For this week's challenge I have used a photo of my special friend, Finn, my Fell Pony galloping down through the snow to have his breakfast. The photo was taken in March this year. If you look closely in the top left, behind the red gate you can see Finn's field companion Jeffrey the tup.

Each year, for the past 9 years, we have sent Finn's breeder Heidi a photo of Finn and a Christmas card - guess what she is getting this year!

The frame around the photo is from Crafty Ann's and the holly and berries are coloured with Sakura Stardust pens and then accented with Glossy Accents. The backing paper is my own design in shades of blue and silver, cuttlebugged with the holly folder.

Thanks for stopping by and please feel free to leave a comment - all appreciated.

Stamp Addicts Retreat #1

Over the next few days I will post pictures and a bit of explanation of the varied items we made at the 2010 Stamp Addicts Retreat in Milton Keynes in early June.

The pink wedding cake centrepiece is still a work in progress as I haven't yet put it all together but we made all the parts and coloured all the pieces whilst on the retreat. We all made some pretty realistic roses to go on top - which particularly interested me.












The mirror was the biggest project we completed. First the frame was coloured with acrylic paint, I did mine a distress gold but others used bright and bold colours. We used distress inks, coloured pencils, alcohol inks, UTEE, shrink plastic and acrylic pieces to decorate the frame. I was particularly interested in the image transfer process we used (see bottom right) I used a photo of John and with the considerable help of Judikins Tranz It! transfer gel medium, successfully transferred the inkjet photo to a piece of ecoboard. The mirror looks very lovely to my eyes and took a full day to complete!


This is a lovely little card and was a pleasure to make. It is stamped in brown archival ink onto glossy card and then, using a waterbrush, tinted with distress inks. The outside of the images were waterbrushed with Weathered Wood to create a shadow and tiny dots were randomly stamped too to draw your eye into the picture. The mount is made from complementary distress inks sponged lightly onto more glossy card. The affect is soft and gentle. Unfortunately, I had spent up at this point and did not buy the delightful rubber stamp by Judith.

Stamp Addicts Retreat #3

Here are a few of the cards we made. I haven't posted all of them because some I still haven't completed and others I am not keen on - not my style.

This is my very first easel card and I am amazed I haven't made one before. They are so easy to put together! As you may not know, I am a big fan of animals so I like to use them whenever possible! Ain't he cute?

The next two cards use a very simple technique of stamping over a block stamp. This highlights the image and lifts the image off the page. We used brush markers to "thump" colour onto the stamp for some variation.



The card with the pears on was quite easy to make and I think it is very attractive. However, I do not think I would eat pears quite as green as mine!

I managed to come home with all the fruit stamps together with one or two more! he he

Stamp Addicts Retreat #2

Examples of my newest favourite technique! Ladies and Gentlemen I give you Air Dry Clay! Kids play, like plasticine - roll it out, press it into anything that will leave an impression or use Judikins Clay Squishers, cut it out with cookie cutters, flatten and leave to dry overnight. Next day you can colour with Perfect Pearls, paints or, as in this case, metallic Stazon Platinum. It is cheap, there are many colours and it satisfies the crafter who wants instant (almost) results.

Butterfly was made from vellum painted with mica paints.

The background for this card was made with acrylic paints in a similar colour range and paint dusters. I enjoyed this technique as it was the first time I had used paint dusters. I like the control that you have with the colour and the softness of the finish - no harsh lines. The main image (a venetian building) was highlighted with chalk pencils. I think I may treat myself to some of these soon, they really pack a punch.

I also had a very brief time painting and decorating a wooden bangle with acrylic mica paint and metallic stazon. I apologise for the obvious painting errors inside the bangle but it was finished at the very last minute.

Caroline's Digi Flower Challenge

These lovely flowers are digi downloads from Carolines Rubber Stamps and she has challenged members of the Creating Rainbows forum to come up with some card ideas.

I printed out the flowers on vellum, as they are much easier to cut out and the colour shows through to the back, rather than the plain paper I would normally use. I moulded the petals to look like clematis and thought a trellis background would show them off.

I originally intended to use the MS Deep Trellis Border punch but halfway through punching last night the handle broke off so no punch! Instead I used my MS Deep Border Daisy punch, lining up the design and punching both sides of a strip of brown card which I also inked with Walnut Stain DI.
It makes a very ornate and decorative trellis. The foliage is punched with part of a Stampin Up Bird punch. Backing paper is by K and Co. Sentiment by who knows!

Hope you like my card and please feel free to leave a comment. I do appreciate you taking the time.

DragonsDream TIO #46 - Inchie by Inchie

I have learned a valuable lesson today. I saw the challenge and immediately set about making a tag which I was very pleased with. However, when I re-read the instructions Frankie had specified that the inchies should cover the tag and mine did not. So I had to make another and this is it.

The colours used are copper, shabby shutters and dried marigold. The stamps are by Elusive Images. The background stamps are by Clarity (floral flourish) and my latest favourite, a crackle stamp by Judikins that we got in our goody bag at the very good Stamp Addicts Retreat last month.

Thanks for dropping by and remember - read and re-read the challenge criteria - it is surprising how we often get the wrong end of the stick!

Feel free to leave a comment, all are appreciated.

CD Sunday Challenge - Just for You

Thought I would have a change from pretty cards and do a slightly sinister one for a change.
The image is from Baby Love CD from Joanna Sheen. I embossed the card behind the image with black and mounted it onto a piece I had stamped with the spiders web from Lavinia Stamps. The final layer is stamped with a crackle stamp from Judikins. I have used DI Shabby Shutters and Old Paper.

Hope you like it - I had fun making it! Please feel free to leave a comment, they are most appreciated.

Bah! Humbug! #25 - Less is More

I have used my new Christmas themeplate from Crafty Individuals for this tiny 4 x 4 card.

I cut an aperture with Labels One nesties and stamped the image on a separate piece of card and mounted it behind. The tree and baubles were decorated with Sakura Stardust pens and sparkle beautifully.

I do hope you like it and please feel free to leave a comment - all are appreciated.

Rainbow Lady's Challenge #110 - Art Deco

A lovely challenge this week and it has given me the opportunity to use this Oyster stamp that I have had for ages and never used.

The image was stamped and embossed in black and then coloured with Memento Desert Sand for the background. The detail was coloured with Marvy brush markers.

The brown backing paper (looks grey here) is by Gina K and the flowers by Floradoodles.

Thanks for dropping by and please feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate them all.

DragonsDream TIO #45 - 3D Metallic Mode

I have had great fun making this week's offering and got extremely inky into the bargain!

This tag is mainly made of embellishments made of alu tape and alcohol inks mounted onto a base which has been stamped, inked, cuttlebugged and dusted with Perfect Pearls.

I think there is alot of mileage in using alu tape (DIY kind) as it is quite strong, flexible, takes alcohol inks really well and can be punched. If you are very careful, you can unpeel the backing and stick it down onto another surface. Burnish it with your finger and it will take on the shape of the surface beneath. The stamps used are butterfly (MS) birds and branches (Stampin' Up) and flowers (Woodware).

Thank you for stopping by and please feel free to leave a comment as I appreciate them all.