I'm Not Slacking Off...

... I'm in the middle of a couple of projects that require lots of drying time between stages!

UK Stampers ATC's for October- Newest Stamps.

I realise these photos all seem to be taken at a really odd angle, but since these ATCs were all painted with a mixture of Perfect Pearls, Cosmic Shimmer and Stickles, I wanted to show the effect. My newest stamps at the time the theme was set were a set by ISC, which you may have seen on many other blogs- that face stamp is so beautiful that lots of stampers have it and use it well! It was nice to play around with effects, and I deliberately kept these simple, using straightforward stamping for a change! Don't worry, though, I have signed up for another CJ at UK Stampers, so expect to see me get carried away at least once a month!

Colour: Versamagic, Versafine, Cosmic Shimmer powders, Perfect Pearls (both used as paint), Stickles, Aurora ep, Stazon
Stamps: ISC
Other: Vellum printed with script (used for butterflies)

Art Raffle October- Dark

I'm afraid you're going to have to use your imagination with this one, but this is a gorgeous sparkly altered matchbox. It looks more speckley than sparkly in these photos, but this is Glimmer Mist over black gloss card with clear embossed CD pieces, so you can picture how lovely it is when you hold it in your hand and tilt it into the light. It is also my Art Raffle piece for this month, where the theme was 'Dark'. When I Googled dark, Googling being the main way I try to clarify my thoughts on a theme, it came up with images of dark matter, and being a bit of a science geek, I was really inspired! If you don't know what I'm on about, try it yourself! Select images, put in 'Dark', and prepare to admire :D

Colour: Glimmer mist, black ep, silver detail ep, clear ep, Ice Stickles, Sakura Stardust pen, Stazon, black paint
Stamps: Cherry Pie
Other: Matchbox, black gloss card, PVA glue, old junk CD.

I cut the old CD with my dear husband's kitchen scissors, and although the corners were sharp, the edges weren't. The coating did flake off a little, just at the edge. The heat embossing was a bit of experiment, as I wasn't sure if the CD would melt or not- especially as I use the UK's version of the white Ranger heatgun, which is hot, hot, hot! It was fine, though, and stood up to two coats of the ep. This acts as a lens, and magnifies the rainbow effect. I think I may have to make some jewelry next...

Happy Birthday to Vicky!

It was Vicky's birthday yesterday, but I actually gave her this on Tuesday. This is a mini-file box, 6 1/2" wide by 5" high, and it started life as mountboard, coloured cardstock, and an A3 sheet of watercolour paper! Craft TV Weekly had this as one of their webisodes, and I knew straight away that I wanted to make one for Vicky as a present. Naturally I wanted to get really inky, so I made the patterned paper with the watercolour/craftmat technique (clear embossing first to create the white pattern) and stamped it to within an inch of it's life. It is not a project to make in a hurry, but I am so pleased with the result that I may make myself one if I ever get the time!

Colour: Vivid inks, Glimmer Mists, Versamagic, Versacolour, Brilliance
Stamps: All Paperartsy
Other: Bazzill and SU cardstock, mountboard, watercolour paper, lots of PVA glue, velcro for closure (the magnet I tried to use wasn't powerful enough), Making Memories ribbon buckle.

Diane's blog challenge

Diane from UK Stampers has put a challenge on her blog this week, and since I needed to make a card for my lovely Sister-in-Law's birthday, I decided to use the challenge to inspire me.
Here it is:

So, the challenge is that I'd like to see YOU make a card like the one in the other post. A maximum of two stamps, one colour of ink, one colour of embossing powder (can be the same or a tonal one). No pre-printed background papers!

It sounds so simple until you get going- just one colour of ink?! I usually use half a dozen! And then what do you do with the embossing powder? My solution was to use a Brilliance green ink, which dries on anything (with a little help from the heat gun), and to use the ep to do an intaglio effect. I like to think it looks a bit like fossilised leaves here.

Colour: Brilliance, Aurora embossing powder
Stamps: Paperartsy (panel), Cherry Pie (fern)
Other: Transparency, chipboard (for the intaglio) and white card- one layer was coloured with the ink, the other with the ep.

The closing date for this challenge is 25th October, and the prize is excellent. Thanks for the challenge, Diane!

Sunday Challenge No11

Credit crunch?...........
It's all over the news and in the papers.
This weeks challenge is to create a little something using credit cards, well not you proper credit cards but gift cards, you can pick these up free from most places. Lets see what you can make with them!
Happy stamping

I'm sure this is a shock to anyone who comes here regularly, but I have done and photographed this week's Sunday Challenge a whole day before the new one gets posted! I am stunned, too :D. Dan has actually napped three times this week, leaving me time to get on with my crafting commitments. Don't ask about the housework, though, I'll do it tomorrow, I promise!

Colour: Versamagic, Versafine, silver ep, Stazon, Paint Dabbers, gesso
Stamps: Limited Edition
Other: gift card, old book page, coke-can metal, mulberry paper, sanding block.

I am fascinated with the look of etched metal at the moment. I don't have the time to experiment with a new technique (yet), so I decided to try and recreate the look by using silver ep on metal, then rubbing white paint into the depressions. For this piece, I also decided to use rust coloured paint, to give a more distressed look. I am quite pleased with the overall effect, and will definitely keep playing to see what else I can achieve.

Little Art Doll for a Swap

This is my first attempt at a shrink plastic art doll, so please be gentle with me! I think it's mostly OK, but I am not pleased with the face. I do like it from behind, though- do you like the grungeboard wings? It's such great stuff to work with. The tassel skirt was inspired by an art doll by Linda Baldock, although with hindsight I should have been more generous with the fibres. Oh well, you live and learn!

Colour: Versamagic chalk inks, Stazon, Stickles, Sakura Souffle pen, Versafine, Aurora embossing powder
Stamps: All Cherry Pie
Other: Prima flower, Grungeboard wings, wire, Lucky Squirrel shrink plastic, gem