Sing loud!

Here is the card I made last night for my grandson. The first thing he did when he got to our house was sing We Wish You a Merry Christmas extremely loudly!

The little boy is a Molly Blooms stamp, "We Wish You..." is an Indigo Blu stamp, and "The Best Way...." is a Kaisercraft stamp. The verse is die cut with a Spellbinders speech bubble, the panels of paper are die cut with Spellbinders too, the spotty paper was a freebie and the music paper is from a Craftwork Cards pad. The image is coloured with Promarkers and Stickles Ice Diamond on the fluffy bits, and finally some ribbon from Crafty Ribbons.

Can you tell what it is yet? By the way he said he liked the box best and played inside that for hours!

Challenges entered:

Ike's World - Santa is coming (28th Dec)

Die Cut Divas - warm and cosy (Dec)

LOC - #109/110 Anything goes (1st Jan)

ABC - X for xtreme (Tues)

Papertake Weekly - last ever challenge Let it Snow (Tues)

Love to Scrap - #68 anything goes (3rd Jan)

Cute Card Thursdays - #405 anything goes 

Passion for Promarkers - Mega Christmas Challenge (5th Jan)

That's Crafty - anything goes (11th Jan)

Creative Card Crew - #103 Anything goes (12th Jan)

Oddball Art - Winter or Christmas (14th Jan)

Polkadoodles - anything goes (15th Jan)

Digi Chooseday - anything goes (19th Jan)

Carousel - altered art.

I posted this photo of my partly painted Carousel ages ago, last year anyway. It is a Kaisercraft Carousel that came in white, or off white anyway. I thought it was just crying out for the big white spaces round the edge to be decorated, and I started it - but other stuff got in the way and it stayed on the floor under other stuff until yesterday. I had a kind of life changing moment, which is described in the previous post!

This is the carousel on my desk right now. I can't turn it due to the stashberg next to it, so the next task is to sort that out a little, and I have the pink "Stuff Bucket" which was in that spot before. I went through that and moved a lot of stash over to the carousel, and already I can find it better and organise it better. I found stuff I forgot I had and haven't seen for a long time as well as a couple of mystery objects!

I got my stencils out and "Air Brush" marker spritzer and my Promarkers and Graphit markers and got to work. The stencils are all Creative Expresions ones. I love poppies, and airbrushed them in two colours. I think I need to add a butterfly somewhere, a charm or a stamped one maybe.

This panel has birds on overhead wires and I overstamped with Visible Image feathers, birds and a saying, it is hard to read the saying which didn't work well but it says "free your imagination". You can see the spritzer in the organiser.

This was the first panel I did last year, I didn't have the spritzer then so I used Cut n Dry foam to dab it, then over stamped it with the cogs.

I love this stencilled effect, I used a Graphit turquoise marker to air brush this one. Needs something else.

 Raindrops, I will have to find an umbrella to add!

Finally part of a scene, just the houses.

Then I painted round the rims with some Plaid Folk Art Acrylic paint in burgandy, it doesn't go right the way inside the drawers. The rest of the paint is either by Indigo Blu or Paperartsy. I painted two coats of burgandy then this morning doodled on it with gold Permapaque pen, which was one of two pens I chose with a gorgeous Stampendous stamp as my prize from the Woodware challenge I won.

I think there is more to do to this, more to add to the stencilled panels, more doodling and those drawers look a bit bare now don't they? I am thinking of adding brass charms maybe to the panels.

I have entered the following challenges:

Anything but a card - #38 repeating patterns (Sun)

Allsorts - masking and stencilling #272 (Sat)

Pan Pastels - #20 bold and bright (14th Sept)

Through the Craft Room Door - Anything goes (Aug 25th)

Stamping Sensations - anything goes (Aug)

Visible Image - anything goes with a Visible Image stamp (Aug)

A Quirky fairy reminder

All you need to join in the challenge and win some digis is a Fairy or two, and one or more three items from Doris's fairy ring above. I used Fairy Constance (from our lovely sponsor - Crackerbox Palace) coloured with Promarkers, and from the fairy ring I picked Stars (also from Crackerbox Palace), a sentiment (by Cherry Pie Art Stamps) and sparkles, my sparkles are Flitter Flakes on the stars (first time I have used them and I need more practice), and the holographic silver layer behind the starry card. 

You can get a 10% discount at Crackerbox Palace just by entering our challenge! So what are you waiting for? We need some fairy fab makes now!

This card had twinkled into the following challenges:

Creative Fingers Challenge blog - anything goes (Fri)

Come and Get It - Fairy Fantasy (Sun)

Open Minded Crafting Fun - things with wings (28th June)

Charisma Cards - sparkle and shine (Thurs) 

My Time To Craft - DL it (27th June)

Fussy and Fancy - things with wings (monthly challenge winners 4th July)

Splatters here, splatters there....

I made this card for the Take it Make it Craft Stamper challenge, sadly I looked at the Inlinkz closing time, and not the date in the post, and the Inlinkz is still open for a few days despite the winners just being announced.

So I thought I would show you it anyway. The multicoloured card is a result of me "painting off" my brush after painting the organiser that I still need to finish. I added splatters to it with some runny rose pink Fresco paint, the other paints used were Fresco by PaperArtsy and some English Cottage Acylics paint by Indigo Blu. The bird is an Indigo Blu stamp called Take Flight coloured with Promarkers and cut out by hand and I tried not to position it so it looked like it was creating the splatters! I die cut my large panel with Spellbinders A2 card creator biggest size rectangle and die cut the fancy lattice to go on top as a frame, this is a tricky one to attach, I wonder if it was Spellbinder's mistake that it cuts out the middle too? When looking at demo's on the card creator dies I see that every presenter shows the lattice dies then quickly puts them down and demo's a different set! If anyone knows of any examples of cards using the lattice dies I would love to know.

You could attach the lattice using brads, or do as I have done and use glue dots but put something over the top to hide them.

I cut out some flowers with a Joy Craft die, from the multicoloured card and decided to use the negative too, it is too good not to.

The burgandy leather effect card is splattered with Alcohol inks, a couple of colours of mixative, copper and pearl.

I added some teal ribbon, and some Card Candi by Craftwork Cards. Hoping someone will love this card.

I have entered the following challenges:

Allsorts challenge blog - anything but Christmas (Saturdays)

Artful Times - Die cuts or punches. (also max 5 challenges allowed)

Pan Pastels - anything goes (Sundays)

Stamping Sensations - free and easy (December)

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenges - make your own background

Happy New Year and a few cards

This was my last attempt at Craft Stamper of the Year, and this round was Indigo Blu. Having learnt my lesson from the previous round where I only bought one stamp that proved hard to use, for this round I bought a set called Wild Meadow and a Sunflower stamp and I had the freebie small butterfly from Craft Stamper magazine. I also bought black stamping card from Indigo Blu, as previous winning entries had used 3 or more elements from the sponsor. I actually got this one in a day before the closing date, or maybe it was hours as I was up to the early hours of the morning finishing it because we were leaving for Devon the next day. I stamped onto the black card with Brillance and the pad has three colours of blues and greens, and then heat embossed with crystal pearl powder, and I trimmed this and mounted it on some gold card then onto the card blank, I think I left the image a little long, however I had been stamping and practicing for hours and forgot to make it a little shorter and had no time to do it again. I stamped the sunflower onto white card several times and coloured them with Promarkers and Trias, then cut and decoupaged the images so each layer gets a little smaller, and I stamped and coloured the butterflies in the same way. I painted over the sunflower and butterflies with artists irridescent medium to give it shine, and finally I stamped the sentiment onto parchment paper and die cut it, edging it with the same brown ink I used to stamp it. I actually bought stamps to complete the last round but ran out of mojo, so got nowhere! I love the stamps and I am sure they will get a lot of use.

This card was also for Stamper of the Year but the round before Indigo Blu, which was sponsored by Crafty Individuals, and I have a lot of their stamps, however this all went horribly wrong! I started by trying to glue book pages together to make an altered book, but it was clear I wasn't doing it right and I didn't have time to look for the instructions - again this was the last day! So I carried on with the book theme and used a page from the book which is about a beautiful garden outside a house window, and I cut a window into the middle and used a Sizzix cut and fold window die with the top part hidden. Inside the window I stamped and embossed the bird cage and some blue birds. Outside I stamped branches and birds, and then went to grab the flower stamps - it wasn't until I had spent some hours colouring them in that I realised I had grabbed the wrong make of stamps for the flowers, I had stored Graphicus (Chocolate Baroque) stamps on the same sheet and the Crafty Individual stamps were right next to them - whoops! Again with no time to redo the whole thing I had to just finish off with some Distress walnut coloured ink painted onto and around the page, which is mounted on Kraft card on a lighter Kraft card blank. Oh Dear!

Christmas Eve make, delivered to a neighbour at 11:30. I was making quick cards by this time, and this was the Crackerbox Palace santa and sleigh stamped onto linen effect card which was embossed with the snowy village and I added Ice Stickles to highlight that image. Crafty Ribbons of course, and by the time I got to Boxing day and still making cards I had refined this a little but didn't take more photos so I need to make some more so I can!

This was inspired by the Crafty Ribbon DT, and used up some short ends of ribbon. I only had one of these card blanks left but I am sure I can reproduce this in some other way with the tools I have! Ribbons are Crafty Ribbons except for one tiny bit, black and silver which is Papermania. I sprayed the card blank with bronze Glimmer Mist and added a star and some wooden ornaments, and this was for Shaun.

Not a card, this is an insect hotel and was one of my Christmas pressies!

The Quirky Crafts challenges will begin on 6th January for 2013, and the winners of the last challenge will be announced then!

Kraftin Kimmie challenge

Please excuse the photo, it is on my workbench, and I am trying to beat the deadline of midnight in the USA to enter this card in the Kraftin Kimmie challenge, make your own background! I was going to make a different background then came across this stamped card that I had done a few weeks ago and I thought it went well with Poppy. I made an easel card, and I am not sure that I am happy with the inside being so plain, I might stamp it yet.

 Also entered in:

One Stop Crafting Challenge - anything goes (Saturdays)

The Crafty Pad - anything goes closes today

Two new cards, new stamps and dies.

First of all a baby boy card, using a Quickutz sheep die and DCWV papers, ribbon from Crafty Ribbons, punched edges with Martha Stewart punch, and Baby die cut with Sizzix Doodle with Dazzle Sizzlet alphabet which I think is perfect for this card. Squares die cut with Spellbinders Nestabilities Squares and scalloped squares.

Next card is stamped with my new Indigo Blu stamp set, using Brilliance on black card which is heat embossed with glittery powder, butterfly coloured with Promarkers, some chiffon polka dot ribbon from Crafty Ribbons and finally a label cut with my new set called Blossom Tags and Accents, and sentiment from my new Unity Stamps set called Blossom stackers which coordinates with the new die set, and I am looking forward to using them together properly soon.

This is the inside of the card, and I spot some ink that shouldn't be there so it could become another butterfly soon!

I have entered the following challenges:

Second card in Joanna Sheen Autumn colours challenge ends Thurs 25th Oct

One Stop Craft Challenge blog Saturday challenge - heat embossing 

Craft Stamper of the Year - Round 3 entry

Now that the winners are published for round 3 I can show you my entry, which again didn't get anywhere!

The sponsor was Imagination, and I didn't have any of their stamps so set off to find some. First hurdle when I got to the web site the company had closed for a couple of weeks and I needed it to be here before then, so googled to find someone else selling them. I found some, and I picked just one large stamp called Echinacea which really appealed to me. I was being frugal, not working now so I try not to spend as much as I was on craft stuff.

Anyway I had an idea and, once the stamp arrived, I spent a week or more stamping images on card and acetate and I wasn't getting a good image. I don't know if the ink pads are drying up, or it was just me, I tried different inks, I tried brayering the card onto the stamp. I also bought some Imagination paints to use on the acetate but when I tried them the effect wasn't good, maybe I need to gen up on their use.

So with only a day to go I changed from trying to stamp and use images on card and acetate to stamping into  melted UTEE. I got the melt pot fired up and melted some Hot Pink UTEE, then poured it out and stamped into it. I then applied some Mica powder to the center of the flower. I used a Kraft frame which I think is paper mache, and was brown Kraft colour (why is it called Kraft I wonder). I painted the frame with white gesso then applied alcohol inks to it with an applicator, the ink mix I can't recall now, it included a mixative. I stamped over the frame with the free Indigo Blue butterfly. Then I die cut first some DCWV paper with a scalloped inside, and on top of that a Kraft frame which was stamped with a Wordsworth quote stamp and I finished off with a few of the butterflies stamped and coloured slightly.

I am pleased with it, there are issues I am not happy with, like the frame center not being square so it was impossible in the time I had left to get the frame to fit, and the UTEE not being totally even in thickness though that is hidden by the frames. With more time I might have found a solution to the not fitting problem!

Looking at the winners I see that they all used more than one Imagination product, they probably got their entries in on time and not at 1:30am which was an hour and a half after the deadline, but I did have to put up with numerous power cuts that evening which didn't really help.

I bought more Imagination clear stamp sets at the Exeter craft show, which is the first place we went on route to Torquay last weekend. When I was looking I didn't see these online, for 3 sets it was a little more than it cost me for this one stamp, and I might have got on better with them.

 I didn't spend as much as I have in the past at craft shows, I could have easily spent more. I bought a set of punches I had wanted last time but they had sold out then, some Kraftin Kimmie stamps at £2 each, bargain,   two Memento Ink pads which I was ripped off on, they were 50p cheaper on the next stall I came to with them, and nobody else was selling them for £4 so I picked the wrong place to buy from. I also bought a larger than usual embossing stencil, some envelopes, some beads to use on crochet flowers (though the first ones I was sold might be too small, I did tell them what I wanted it for but then came across the wholesaler's stall where I was told that wasn't the ones I needed, I bought some larger ones I have been using - so another rip off). I also bought some cheaper than Pinflair non smelly silcone like glue from Spike the punch magician, which is where I got the punches and bargain stamps!

I nearly bought either a Scor-pal or Martha Stewart scoring board, both were at good prices, but I didn't do it in the end. I was really finding the plethora of pretty dies confusing, everyone has jumped on that bandwaggon, I know if I am seeing a good price on Spellbinders or Sizzix but I really didn't know if the prices on the other dies around were cheap or not. Looking when I got home I don't think they were any less than normal. I also saw some Just Rite stamp sets that are designed to go with certain Spellbinder sets, this is another exciting development that stamp companies seem to be taking up, Hero Arts with Sizzix, Just Rite and Unity with Spellbinders and who knows who else. I resisted buying any, though it was hard to resist, I have just received a set of Unity Stamps from the US and bought the Spellbinders set to go with those and got a really good deal on that!