UK Stampers are doing Sunday challenges!

I know there are a lot of challenges out there, but it never hurts to have another choice! UK Stampers is now doing a challenge each Sunday, and the challenge is being set by Efemera, otherwise known as Gail, whose work you will have seen in last month's Craft Stamper. We have done two challenges so far. The first was to make something with your oldest and newest stamps. I used the bright card I made for my friend Vicky as the example of my newest stamps (those Inkadinkado flowers), and the top photo here is what I made with my oldest stamp, the Personal Impressions snowflake. I bought it in 1998, and used it originally to make that year's Christmas cards, before putting it away and forgetting about it. Using it again, on the triptych ATC, made me realise how pretty it is, and I may even use it this year for my cards!
The second challenge was to make two Oriental-themed tags, one in colour and one black and white. I found this really challenging, as I don't really 'do' oriental, even though I have a gorgeous set from Non Sequitur. I started by making some stamped paper, then I got so inspired by it that I made a little origami box! (The design for this is from CraftTV Weekly, although I made it smaller this time. Here is the last one I made) I then remembered to make the tags, and I quite like them. I think the black and white one is better, and my Husband likes the red. You decide!

Colour: ATC- alcohol inks, Stazon, silver embossing powder, Tags- Distress Inks, Vivid inks (to colour paper), Brilliance, Perfect Pearls (brushed on and made into a paint), watercolour pencils
Stamps: ATC- Personal Impressions, Non Sequitur, Tags- Non Sequitur, Judikins
Other: Japanese paper, free origami paper downloads from Canon, red card, gold card.

The kimonos were created by paper piecing, using the origami designs. The origami downloads were printed out at half size, so that the proportion was correct for the kimonos, and the Japanese paper was embossed with clear embossing powder to make it go transparent to give the look of a screen.

Circle Journal at UK Stampers.

This is hello and goodbye to my first circle journal. For those who don't have a clue what I'm talking about, the idea is that you work with a group of people who each creates a journal and then it gets sent from person to person until it eventually comes home, full of other people's artwork. This one has the clever idea of sending an unmounted stamp around with the book, for people to use as a starting point. My stamp is from Non-Sequitur, and I chose it because it's an interesting image for people to play with, but I won't struggle without it for ten months!
The journal itself is handmade. I made the cover using traditional book-binding methods, then used my Bind-it-all to hold the inside pages together. The cover paper was made using the craft mat/water/Distress Ink technique (using Vintage Photo and Aged Mahogany) then stamped with a Judikins cube. I added pockets to the cover and first page, one for the 'rules' (and contact info), and the other for some tags. I love tags and have chosen to ask participants to make one as a sign-in. I can't wait to see all of the fibres etc at the top when it's complete, it'll be so textural.
I did the first page before sending the journal off and I thought I'd get the Oriental thing out of the way by doing it myself (the stamp is from an oriental plate). The red is painted with Hot Cinnamon H2O, and the text stamp is Judikins.
So far, one other person has completed their page in my book, and I love it! I was trying not to peek, but I knew it was on Photobucket so I couldn't resist. It's completely different to mine, and has a clever quote too. I have the next person's journal, and will be completing my entry soon. It has tags and envelopes to decorate, so it should be fun!

Scrapping some photos!

I have taken so many photos over the last year or so, and every time I download them onto my laptop I think "That will make a great layout!". Of course, I tend to spend my craft time stamping, as I just love playing with inks, but I have finally bitten the bullet and done a page. And there is stamping on here, honestly!
This page is in the 8 1/2 x 11" landscape format, to go in my new Papermania album. The cardstock is Bazzil, and the patterned papers are Junkitz and Basic Grey. The chipboard letters are Making Memories, painted with orange acrylic paint then stamped with my Judikins circles cube. I had to paint over the stamping with a couple of coats of acrylic, then I added Glossy Accents to make the balls effect. The metal letter brads were black inside the letters, I used a Sakura Stardust pen to go over the black, and used a punched heart over a 'v' (I figured it wouldn't be missed!). Anything else was from my stash, which I really have to use before I get anything new!
I enjoyed doing this layout. I have always struggled a bit with 12" x 12", as it is not an instinctive shape to design around. After all, most magazines, books, and paintings are rectangular! I can see myself doing some more pages soon, I have got a whole album to fill!

Think Monday, Think ATC- Loving couples

This week's Think Monday, Think ATC challenge is 'loving couples'. How could I not use this stamp? The original of this is beautiful, but Marina from Cherry Pie has really caught the passion in her rendition for this stamp. Thanks Marina!
The border and text were computer generated, the main image was stamped in black Versafine. The Cherry Pie heart was reverse stamped in Versamark, using the flat plain square from Judikins' 'Carol's Cube' (ink up your stamp, stamp it onto the square, then stamp the square onto your paper. Voila, your image is reversed!). First it was heat embossed with gold detail powder, then I used Versacolour Cardinal Red direct-to-paper over the whole image, poured on clear embossing powder, then heated it. I don't know how this works, but the original embossing comes through the colour! Then I cut out the heart and glued it in position, and mounted the whole thing on black card. Oh, and the lips were coloured with Sakura Stardust then Glaze pens.
If anyone loves fonts, as I do, then check out Dafont.com. There are hundreds of amazing fonts in all different styles, perfect for the finishing touch for your projects. And they're free!

Wednesday Stamper- Polka Dots

I am a little later this week with my entry for Wednesday Stamper, but here it is. I love looking at other peoples work, as it gives me ideas and inspiration, and so far there are 72 entries! I have seen some of them already as I have been browsing blogs each day, but I think I may have to settle in with a hot drink and look at the rest. I don't want to miss anything!
This card was inspired by a baby book Dan has, and uses a photo that Rein posted on her blog for people to play with. Thanks, Rein! She has challenged people to use this image and post the link to her blog, so this card fulfills two challenges.
The spots were stamped with a Judikins cube which has four sizes of solid spots. The larger spots were stamped in Stazon onto a white card, the smaller spots were stamped in various colours of Brilliance and Versamagic onto black card, then translucent buttons glued over the top. The writing was added to the photo using Paint Shop Pro before printing, (my handwriting isn't arty enough!), and the little tag was cut using a Sizzix die, then I drew the tiny heart.
Thanks for the challenges!

Second of Four...

This card is for my Dad. I wanted to put a sunflower on it, as it is a flower that has some happy family significance, but I do think the card is a little bit feminine! I think that's partly due to all of the white space; if I hadn't left it so late to make this card I may have re-mounted it on a darker cardstock. However, I know it will be appreciated, and I've now got a whole year to think of a better design!
Both the flower and the square frame are from Judikin's 'Carol's Cube', which is one of those useful stamps that can be utilised in a lot of different ways. I stamped and embossed in white, first doing the flower, using a mask cut from a post-it-note (making sure there was some of the sticky on the part I was cutting out), then stamping the frame. The image was coloured with watercolour pencils, using a wet brush touched directly to the pencil tip. Then I added a length of ribbon, and...that's it! A really simple card, for once!