UK Stampers Sunday Challenge no. 3- Inchies

This is my entry for last week's Sunday Challenge. Here is what we were asked to do:

Sunday Challenge no3

The Olympics are in full swing so this weeks challenge is to create a set of 9 inchies with games as a theme...use gold, silver and bronze somewhere on them....Upload your finished challenges to the blog
Happy stamping

I haven't made a set of Inchies for ages, and was stumped for a while, until I cut out a piece of 3" x 3" cardstock and remembered that you don't have room for much on an inchie! I didn't have any really sporty stamps, so ended up using the ball (from a cheap set of baby stamps) and the word 'play' from an Inkadinkado set. I was slightly smug about the idea of tearing the red-coloured white paper to get the white stripes for the Union Jack flag- it's nice to be pleased with yourself every once in a while!

Stamps: Inkadinkado, Unknown (bought from 'The Works' bookshop!)
Colour: Distress Ink, Brilliance, Perfect Pearls (the balls are coloured with it for the medal colour theme), Versamagic
Other: Text from the computer

This week's challenge is up here, and it's easy to join UK Stampers to play- wherever in the world you live. Isn't the Internet great?!

Present For a Friend- 2 of 3

This is a present I gave to my best friend and scrapping buddy, Vicky. She has started to commute by train recently, so has suddenly got time to read more. I did a challenge where we were asked to make bookmarks, so I made this bookmark for Vicky, then did the card to go with it. The card uses my three most favourite stamp sets- one of the PaperArtsy Squiggly Ink plates, my new Inkadinkado Scribble Flowers, and the Elusive Images sayings plate.

Colour: Distress Inks, Silver Paint Dabber, Versafine, Stickles
Stamps: Paperartsy, Elusive Images, Inkadinkado, Crafty Individuals (On bookmark)
Other: Silk dupion, laminating pouch, Cosmic Shimmer embossing powder, Papermania gem brad, watercolour crayon background paper.

The flowers were made in the same way as on previous cards, by stamping onto the crayon background paper and cutting out. The bookmark was made by laminating a torn piece of silk dupion fabric, then stamping and heat embossing on the outside of the pouch. I used a silver Paint Dabber in places for added effect- I my do my Christmas cards in the same way, as it looks like a frosted window!

Birthday Cards- Inspired By...

...Sid and Jo!
I tend not to enjoy card-making at the moment, as I am finding it hard to reconcile my arty-farty, distressed side with the need to make pretty things for people who nothing about my hidden nature! I am quite pleased with these, though, as they have been made using arty and interesting techniques, even though they are essentially cute and pretty.
The first card features Robin Beam's Bandanna technique. Sid did a great step-by-step tutorial, which is on his blog, and he challenged me to have a go. I don't have a lot of solid image stamps, so I tried it with these Inkadinkado scribbled flower stamps, and I love the effect. The card is for a friend's nine-year old daughter, and I think she will like it, especially as I bedecked it with Stickles!
The flower on that card, and the flowers on the second card were made using a technique from Craft Stamper magazine last month, which was from Jo Capper-Sandon. The idea is that you scribble randomly on watercolour paper using water-soluble crayons. I used my ancient set of Caran D'Ache here. Once you have scribbled, you spritz with water, then use a straw to blow the colours around until you have an effect you like. You can keep adding colour and water until you are happy with the finish. I tried this on two different kinds of watercolour paper. The top flower was from a really heavy textured paper, and the effect was very bold. The colours didn't mingle very well. The second card is from the second try (which I remembered to photograph before cutting!), and is on a much smoother finished paper. I was much more able to create a blended effect. In both cases, I stamped in black and cut the flowers out.
Thanks for the inspiration and great tutorials, Jo and Sid!

Stamps: Inkadinkado (flowers), Heidi Swapp (sentiment)
Colour: Caran D'Ache watercolour crayons, Brilliance, Versacolour, Versafine, Ranger Inkessential white pen
Other: Ranger Stickles, braid from my stash.

This morning I have had a huge session cropping and sorting photos of things I have made. I will have lots to show next week! Bye for now!

July's ATCs- Metal

With this month's theme, I was initially excited, as I could use my favourite technique with the metal foil/Cuttlebug/Paint Dabbers, but then I was stumped! In the end, I made up the metal pieces, then coloured the ATCs, and just stared at them for an hour. My dear husband had recently bought me a set of sentiments stamps from Elusive Images (not the usual verses, but much more interesting), and I realised that three of the verses were not only appropriate, but the right size! Whoever gets these ATCs will think I had been drinking, though, as the stamp I use on the back for my details is upside down; I changed my mind about which way they looked best after making them (obviously before putting the verse on LOL!). Whoops!
The bottom photo is a close-up of the effect on the metal- bling, bling!

Colour: Distress Inks, Paint Dabbers, Glimmer Mist, Moonshadow Mist, Versamagic (on vellum)
Stamps: Elusive Images (verses), Crafty Individuals, Inkadinkado, Cherry Pie
Other: Vellum, Metal tape, Prima flowers, heart punch, old book page, Ranger crackle accents

My Final CJ Entry

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

This Month's ATCs

The theme for this month's ATCs over on UK Stampers was 'Incorporating a tag', and I actually started these with two weeks to go before the deadline, as I was feeling inspired. Not like me at all, (the early start, not the inspiration!) as I usually find that time pressure helps me to work. However, I found once I started that I was *really* inspired, and took my time over these. I am really pleased with the outcome; I really feel that I expressed myself artistically, and I can't believe I made them! Let's hope it wasn't a fluke ;-)
I even made a slide show, so all of the hidden details can be seen:

Colour: Distress Inks in Broken China and Vintage Photo, Versafine, Moonshadow mist, Silver detail embossing powder, Cosmic shimmer lustre pearl embossing powder
Stamps: Paperartsy, Inkadinkado, Crafty Individuals
Embellishments: Star gems from Hobbycraft, Turquoise gems by Pebeo, pins, beads, wire, and ribbon from my stash
Other: Sizzix originals tag die, Sizzlits mini-tags die, Making Memories metal sheets (used to make mini-tags), Vellum from Lakeland, Silk dupion from Fabric Land, Vintage paper from old book
Thanks for looking!

Canvas Tag Swap

These three tags are for a swap I am in on UK Stampers. I haven't joined in with any swaps recently, due to other commitments. I signed up for this one with only a week and a bit before they were due back. Well, I was inspired by working on the canvas, and I did the tags the day I received them. I was supposed to do two, but got carried away and did three! As you can see from the photos I basically used the same design for each one, but I used different techniques on each. I have added the 'recipe' below each photograph.


Stamps: Crafty Individuals (Flower), Paperartsy (Swirls), Stampin' Up (Bird)
Colour: Distress Inks re-inkers sprayed on using mini-misters, Moonglow moonshadow mist, Versafine Sepia, Sakura Stardust pen used with waterbrush, Twinkling H20's, Distress Inks (for stamping swirls)
Embellishments: Meiflower butterfly, Embelliscrap swirl.

For this tag, I sprayed on the colour and dried with a heat gun, before spraying with the Moonshadow mist and drying again. I stamped the swirls for the background, then sprayed with a matte acrylic varnish. I stamped the flower onto tissue, then attached to the tag using the same spray varnish, smothing it down with my fingers. I coloured the flower with the Stardust pen and H20s, sprayed the embelliscrap with the Moonshadow mist, and added the bird and butterfly.


Stamps: Crafty Individuals and Paperartsy, as before
Colour: Ranger Alcohol Inks, Moonshadow mist, Perfect Pearls, Versafine Onyx black, Distress Ink (sprayed), Sakura Stardust pen
Embellishments: Lampshade trim from my stash (I've had it since the '70's!), Star jewels from Hobbycraft

This tag was coloured with alcohol inks before spraying with the moonshadow mist. The alcohol inks really make this bead up and form tiny droplets, which give a great sparkle when dry. I then stamped the swirls in Versamark and added Perfect Pearls in copper and gold. The flower image was stamped on a piece of white card which had been sprayed with Distress Inks and Moonshadow mist, and the flower head was coloured in with the Stardust pen.


Stamps: As above plus Inkadinkado butterfly stamp
Colour: Adirondack Paint Dabbers, Distress Inks, Moonshadow Mist, Brilliance, Sakura Stardust pen, H20s
Embellishments: Lace, coloured using H20s, button from my button box

This final tag (actually the first one I made!) was coloured using Paint Dabbers, before spraying with the Moonshadow mist. The swirls were stamped with Distress Inks, and the flower done as before, except the flower head was coloured with H20s. I stamped the butterfly using Brilliance, then went over it with Stardust pen.

The Moonshadow mist is a walnut Ink with Mica powder added, and the one I have is a turquoise colour. It is good to add an antique look, but really comes into its own when sprayed over a toning colour, as in the tags here. It probably doesn't show well on the photos, but I will try to take some better photos at the weekend, so you can get the full effect!

Last month's ATCs- Wings and Crowns

I know a lot of stampers love wings and crown images, but this is my first time playing with them. I found it really challenging, just because there are so many great examples out there. I feel that I haven't tried to be really 'individual' with these, but it was quite relaxing to know where I expected to go with this theme.
All three ATCs use free collage images, and it had to be children for me, as they are little angels (awww!) The first uses printed vellum over a stamped background (that Anna Griffin stamp again), and Anna Griffin butterfly wings. The second is on a sparkly card, and uses the new Paperartsy Christmas stamps (don't you love that swirl!) heat embossed in white. The last one uses an Inkadinkado flower stamp on the background (in Brilliance ink) and for the wings, heat embossed in gold. Thanks for looking!

Better Late Than Never.

These are three ATCs I made for a swap at UK Stampers. The theme was 'image transfers', and I had originally started with an Autumnal theme in mind with this background here. For various reasons, this didn't happen (yet- I still plan to complete this!) and I found myself with limited time, having to do these ATCs with no clue as to what to do! I had a catalogue of beautiful rose images to play with, and no inspiration. But somehow, it all came together, and although I could do better, I think these are OK! They are quite textural, rather than detailed, but do fit with my idea of faded images.
I started with cream hammered card-stock, and stamped the flower (Inkadinkadoo) in Brilliance Inks in Pearlescent purple and crimson, plus a pink pigment ink. Then I coated the card with Windsor and Newton Matt Medium ( which is a gel medium) and added some torn pieces of cream mulberry paper for texture. Then I added my cut-out rose images (from David Austin's rose catalogue, the pictures are beautiful and I can recommend their roses!) to the coated card, face down, and burnished them hard on the back. I then left them overnight to dry, and in the morning rubbed the back with a wet finger until all of the paper came away and I was left with a transparent image of the roses. The transfers were better in some places than others, which fits my idea here, but I will practice for next time! I decided to coat the piece with a gloss medium as it gave the transfers a better finish, then I stamped my Hero Arts script stamp in Ancient Page Sandlewood and distressed the edges. I used Brilliance Crimson on the edges, and finally sprayed with a matt varnish to take the shine down a little.
I think I was surprised at how transparent the transfers actually are, with hindsight I would have been a bit more careful with where I used the Brilliance Crimson, as it overwhelms the images a bit. It was an interesting technique to play with, but I need to experiment more and plan better.
If you want to see some good examples of image transfers, try Carrie and Julie's blogs, they both really know how to work with this artform!