UK Stampers Sunday Challenge no. 7- Pirates!

Gail likes to do interesting themes for her challenges, and this week's was no exception!

Sunday challenge no7

Did you know that the 19th of September is International Talk Like A Pirate Day?.............
Well it is!This weeks challenge is to create something with a Pirate theme...It could be an eye patch, a hat (which you could wear on said day!) or something simple like a card or an ATC..Upload here on the blog or post a link
Happy stamping!

It took me all week to think of what to do for this, but in the end it was a shop window display that inspired me!

Colour: Glimmer Mist, Stazon, Distress Inks, Paint Dabber, Versafine
Stamps: Rubadubbado (map), PSX (alphabet)
Other: Thin leather thong, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Lucky Squirrel sanding block, Grungeboard mini, Redicut gems, 3D Jean corner embellishments.

I was originally going to do the Bandanna technique for the background, but I was inspired by a recent post on Glenda Waterworth's blog. She had been playing with white core card, embossing folders and Glimmer Mists, and so I cut out the white-core card stage and just used plain ol' white card! The red colour is Glimmer Mist, then I sanded, then inked the pattern with Stazon, and sanded again. There you have it, textured Bandanna!

Two Tags

I may moan about making cards, but I can't say the same about tags- I love making them so much! Maybe I should make some tag-like cards LOL! These are for two kind cyber-friends, who both sent me something and saved me from spending money unnecessarily- thanks, Sid and Sarah. I hope you enjoy the little packages I sent back!

Colour: Glimmer Mists, Distress Inks, Versafine, Cosmic Shimmer mica powders, clear and aurora ep, Ranger white pen
Stamps: Cherry Pie, Paperartsy, Rubadubbado, Elusive Images
Other: Manila luggage tags, old book page, acetate, eyelets staples, ribbon and fibres, all from my stash, Cuttlebug embossing folder.

The dragonfly is part of the stamp sheet I bought last weekend, after swearing I would not buy any stamps! But after spending half an hour with Paperartsy's Leandra Frainch, I couldn't resist any longer! Now I just need a melt pot... :D

A Photo of a Card I Made

I haven't really shown a lot of cards recently, as I am usually pretty dissatisfied with the results. They are OK, but not really 'me'. Well, this one is different, because I am actually quite pleased with it! I realise it isn't complicated or technically brilliant, but it's true to my style and I knew my Mum would like it, too. Whew! I hope I can keep it up, as I have nine children's birthday cards to make, and four more adult birthdays, too. I am finding time for fun stamping, too, but you will have to wait a couple of days before I can show anything else, as it's in the post, going to the recipients!

Colour: Distress Ink, heat embossing
Stamps: Elusive Images
Other: silver card, free patterned paper (I can't remember which magazine!)

UK Stampers September Inchie Swap- Numbers

This is what I made after my mammoth creative effort on the butterfly was over- nice and simple, a set of inchies for another swap (we are busy bees over on UK St!). The theme was numbers, so I did a number background, and because I'm currently surrounded by books which teach you to count I did a visual representation of each number, plus wrote the numbers in French! (Told you I can't do simple LOL!)

Colour: Vivid dye ink, Glimmer Mist, Woodware liquid pearls, black pen
Stamp: Free from Simply Stamping magazine
Other: Redicut gems

UK Art Raffle September Entry- Wings

You know when you have one of those simple ideas that aren't simple at all... that happens to me all the time, and this project was an especially good example! This is my entry for this month's UK Art Raffle, where the theme is 'Take Flight'. I *love* my butterfly stamps, so I was more than delighted to make something this month, and I wanted to do something really original. My husband had received some computer bits and pieces, and they arrived wrapped in this silver, translucent, thin plastic, and I immediately hid it in my altering drawer, as I knew it would be great to stamp on. This project seemed like the perfect chance to try it, so I coloured it with a Sharpie and stamped on it, then glued it to a thick piece of acetate which came from my dishwasher tablets box. It was then I decided to add some Glossy Accents, in fact a *lot* of Glossy Accents, and each bit took a day to dry! So finally, after a week, it's finished, and I will actually be sad to see it go. I just wish I could take a better photo (I have been trying all day!) because in real life, it looks as though the wings are made of liquid.

Colour: Stazon, Sharpie pen, Brilliance
Stamp: Cherry Pie
Other: Beads, letters cut from my old book pages, findings from a necklace, cocktail stirrer, acetate and silver foil from my household waste

Once it was finally finished, I felt a bit lost, but then I made some other things for swaps, so I'm back in business again!

UK Stampers Sunday Challenge no. 4- Leaf Tags

Gail did it again, and issued a challenge which, well, challenged me!

Sunday challenge no6

Summer is nearly over and the leaves are starting to fall.........Make 3 tags, each must be leaf shaped and use the colours of Autumn....other than that anything goes!
Post your challenges here on the blog or post a link.
Happy stamping!

I did this on Saturday night, as always- I tend to do my swap/card commitments first and do challenges if I have the time. It was fun creating something just 'because', and I have ended up with three little embellishments which I am sure to use. I also used this challenge to experiment with some different techniques, which is always useful!

Colour: Distress Ink, Glimmer Mist, Paint Dabbers, Embossing Powders, Brilliance, Versafine
Stamp: Cherry Pie leaf stamp
Other: Japanese newspaper (base for first leaf), alcohol inked background (base for second leaf), funky foam (base for third leaf), eyelets, raffia, leather thong, ribbon, all from my stash.

The top leaf is heat embossed on paper, the second is made by using different colours of powder on top of clear UTEE, and moving the colour about with the heat gun before pressing the stamp into the hot goo, and the third is funky foam, painted with Paint Dabbers, heated, stamped into then heated again for the curl. I *love* my heat gun :D

Altered Board Book- Next Page

My altered board book is still happening, in with all of the other projects I have ongoing. This is the third page I have done, although it is the second in the book. I am working from both ends towards the middle, to make sure I don't make a mistake with the layout!

Colour: Paint Dabbers, Versamagic, Ranger white pen
Stamp: Daisy Bucket (a RAK from Jean, thanks hun!)
Papers: Crate Paper, and some bits from a pack I got in France
Other: Brads (coloured with Paint Dabbers), chipboard letters from Lakeland's sale, Ellison Block Party alphabet

I have other projects on the go, but I am using copious quantities of Glossy Accents, so each stage needs a whole night to dry. Grr!