Altered Wooden Stamp Block

Happy Monday everyone and hope you all had a good weekend and managed to get some crafting done.
I've been doing some altering using a wooden stamp block as the base. I took the original stamp off some time ago and put it on Ezimount as the block was much too big for the stamp and made positioning very difficult.
As the block stands up well by itself, I decided to make a double sided piece of artwork for variety.
I'm entering it in the following challenges, both with a theme of altering or recycling:
Allsorts Challenge and also Tuesday Taggers Challenge

 Ingredients Used:
The Lady with Veil photo stamp came from Ali Crafts-she's called Maude and is by Stampsmith ( thanks to Sally for letting me know the make are due here).
The Lady with Roses I've had for a while and can't remember the make but will add if I can find it.
Rose by Time to Stamp, Ornate Shape by Artemio
Ranger Distress Inks-Victorian Velvet, Scattered Straw, Mustard Seed, Peeled Paint, Worn Lipstick, Spun Sugar and Vintage Photo
Stewart Superior Palette inks-Belle Rose, L'Amore Red, Boudoir Blush, Black
Vintage Pink Glimmer Mist 
Cuttlebug Folders, Victoria, Textile, Organic Flourishes Borders
H20 Paints in Rose Gold and Gold Dust
Flowers and Roses
German Gold Scrap
Martha Stewart Lattice Border Punch
Acrylic Paint in gold
Coral Accent Beads
This is actually quite simple to make. The Cuttlebug embossed panels were sponged with the Distress inks and then spritzed with the Glimmer Mist. The stamped panels were stamped with the Palette inks and then sponged with Distress inks.
The photo stamps were stamped on semi gloss paper with black ink and sponged with Distress inks to colour when dry.
The rose lady panel was stuck to a slightly larger panel of double sided adhesive film and Accent Beads added to make a frame.
The veiled lady was stuck to a panel embossed at the base with one of the organic flourish borders. This side was finished with flowers altered with the H20 paints.

The Rhythm Of Life

Hope you're all having a good start to your weekend.
Before I show you the card I've just finished, I want to say hello to a few new followers that have joined my little band recently. Thanks to you all and I hope you'll like today's creation which is a vintage style card, my absolute favourite style to make.
I'd like to enter my creation in the following challenges as I think it fits the theme nicely:
ABC Challenge with a theme of Q for Quotation
Gingersnap Creations Challenge GC46 Spicy Supply Challenge-Frosting
One Stitch At A Time Challenge with a theme of Vintage
And Lots To Do Challenge also with a theme of Vintage (thanks to Hilda for letting me know about this one as I managed to miss it in my reading list)

My image is by the lovely June of Dezinaworld from her beautiful Dance collage sheet. I printed the image out, cut her out and inked the edges with a blue grey ink to make her stand out. I then rubbed gently on the reverse with an embossing ball tool to round the image out.
I inked the edges of a white oval with VersaColor Topaz ink and stuck the lady on with foam tape. I matted this on a larger oval after rubbing the edges with Vintage Photo Distress ink. I then made a pretty border with pearls and gems (it took a little while but I felt the end result worth it).
I made a panel using my Twist on Resist Technique with copper metallic ink, pearl embossing powder, Dried Marigold and Peeled Paint Distress inks and Olive Green Stazon ink (see my side labels for the tutorial on how to do this as it's easy when you know how!) The stamp I used is by Impression Obsession-Solid Florals CL124 clear stamp set.
I made a narrow panel embossed using the Cuttlebug Textile folder, rubbed it with Vintage Photo ink and then sprayed it with Vintage Pink Glimmer Mist. I added cream crochet lace and a pink fabric rose plus my text which I generated on the computer and over-stamped with a music score using Topaz ink.

Polka Doodles Sketch and Colour Theme Challenge

Good morning everyone, hope it's bright and sunny where you are as I woke up to it this morning after a mixed day yesterday. As it's Friday, we have another great challenge for you over at Polka Doodles and our host for this week is Nettie. She has given us a fabulous sketch and would like you to use Black & White plus One other colour on your creations.

After much thinking, I decided to go for a floral theme, having rummaged through my Polka Doodles stash for some inspiration (my mojo went into hiding due to another dreaded Vat Return!). I came across the black, white and green flower Stackies from the Back to Nature CD and that was that.

I chose to use just the black and white flowers and cut some out. To go with them, I chose some gorgeous green dotty paper from the new Paper Boutique CD Elegant Bag Collection which I felt went very well with the dotty flowers.
I stacked up my flowers on a scalloped oval mat cut using the Nestabilities Large Scalloped Oval Set and embossed with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder. I added a further mat cut from some gorgeous glittery white funky foam which I found in my local craft shop (it's actually intended for children and is by Craft Planet so I guess I must be a big kid at heart lol).
I rounded the corners of my green backing paper and added a black border made using the Martha Stewart daisy edge punch and put a piece of white crochet lace across the centre to soften it. I stuck the floral panel on and finished off with a gingham bow, some green gems and a sentiment from the Heritage Collection of the Back to Nature CD.
If you haven't yet seen Nikky demonstrating on the TV, she will be on Create and Craft next Wednesday 31 March. Check out the Polka Doodles shop for full details. It really is worth having a look as Nikky does a really fabulous demo.
Also don't forget to take a look at the other Design Team gorgeous creations. There is a link list on my side bar.

AiFactory Challenge 29-An Easel Card With Lace

Morning everyone, it's time for the next challenge over at AiFactory and this week we would like to see an easel shape card in any variation you like and to use some lace on your card.
The Design Team are all lucky enough to have been given one of Mia's absolutely gorgeous Ella images to play with and this time Ella looks really cute as a ballerina. There are 2 different poses and the lucky winner can choose one of these as the prize. Here's the one I was asked to use:

I really enjoyed creating with this particular image as it brought back memories of my younger daughter doing ballet. She danced from the age of 4 and did all the exams, shows and so on and only gave up last year as she couldn't fit it in with the long hours required by her Art Foundation course.
Here's what I made:

I was particularly pleased to be able to use one of my own papers on this card as it went perfectly with the lovely Papermania Rose Garden paper I decided to use as I wanted a pink and green colour scheme.
I made my easel card out of bright pink card and added a square of pink and green Rose Garden paper. I used some of this on the card base with some of the matching border strips and some pretty pink crochet lace. I used a mixture of pearl and gem brads to help the easel front stand up.
My own paper uses my Twist on Resist Technique (see side labels) and I used my favourite rose stamps (MCS216 Stenciled Flowers by Clearly Inspired) with white embossing powder, Worn Lipstick Distress ink and Palette Lavendar Sachet solvent ink (this is like Stazon).
I printed Ella out and coloured her with Promarkers then put her on a white circular mat, sponging green ink around the edges. I then added a scalloped pink circle made with a Nestabilities die and finally a green circle.
I finished off with some roses altered with watercolour pencils and glitter and a computer generated sentiment.
I hope you can join in with our challenge and do take a look at the other beautiful DT creations-there are links on my side bar.

Once Upon A Time

Hello everyone, today's post is a card I have actually made for the Gingersnap Creations GC47 challenge with a theme of  Copper, Ginger or Rust as they're celebrating their birthday at the moment. I then realised that it just about fits Hels Sheridan's Sunday Stampers challenge for this week-Anytime At All (or in my case Once Upon A Time lol).
Here's what I made:

I was a bit challenged by the light today so I've put a close up view as well as it was a bit difficult to see the little clock in my main photo.
Stamps Used:
Crafty Individuals CI-190
Hobby Art Diamond Background DC1921D
Inks: VersaFine Toffee, Adirondack Butterscotch and Terracotta, Encore Copper, Brillance Cosmic Copper, Stazon Olive Green
Clear and Copper Embossing Powder
Copper Foil
Gold Scrap Border
Lumiere Super Copper Paint
K & Co Clock Face Embellishment
Cuttlebug Diamonds in the Rough Embossing Folder
The diamond background was made by stamping repeatedly with copper ink and embossing with copper powder. I then sponged the Adirondack inks on to obtain a gingery colour.
I embossed a rectangle of foil and a rectangle of cream card with the Cuttlebug folder. I rubbed Olive ink on the foil and copper ink on the card. I then embossed the card panel with clear powder.
I stamped the little girl image with the Toffee ink on cream card and coloured her a little with pencils. I trimmed the edges with pinking shears and also the foil panel.
I altered the gold scrap border with the copper paint. I assembled the card using a mix of double sided tape and foam tape and attached the dangling clock and a small butterfly (a Small Copper from my book).
Thanks for looking.
Fliss x

An Award, Dezinaworld and Easel Cards

Hello everyone, this is going to be a marathon post as I have several things to share with you.
Firstly, my lovely friend Fiona of Made in a Muddle very kindly gave me this great award a couple of weeks ago and as I've been very busy, I've only just got round to sorting it out.

I'd like to pass this on to the following 5 friends who as well as being very supportive of me, also create the most lovely, inspirational work. If you haven't seen their work yet, do pop over and have a look.

 Sally 

Cheryl

Liz

Chris

Brenda

Thanks so much ladies for all your wonderful comments and help which mean such a lot to me.

Next I have a project to share with you that I made using June at Dezinaworld's fabulous free digital stamp from last Wednesday which is a beautiful Oriental jar. In keeping with the oriental theme, I made a screen using a pre-made screen card from my craft stash.

I covered the screen with K & Co pale green crackle pattern paper and inked the feet with Brilliance gold ink. I than added panels and images from June's Art Freebies blog, having altered the Chinese script paper to fit. I coloured the jar with Promarkers and then sponged on some blue pigment ink to draw everything together. I finished off with punched flowers and butterflies.

Finally as promised last week, I have some easel cards to show you, these 2 being the first I ever made just over a week ago when I taught a class in making them.

The paper used on the butterfly card is by Trimcraft (Wild Blossom). The butterfly is the new Papermania Build A Butterfly and was coloured by sponging with Ranger Distress inks in Fired Brick, Vintage Photo, Broken China and Dusty Concord.

The paper used on the rose card is by Papermania (Exquisite). The gorgeous rose stamp is by B Line Designs (from LB Crafts) and was stamped on pale pink paper with VersaFine Smokey Gray ink. It was then coloured by sponging with Worn Lipstick and Spiced Marmalade Distress inks with Peeled Paint on the leaves. I stamped it 3 times and layered it up. I added pearls, crochet lace and a sentiment by Penny Black (Blossom by Blossom 2832F). I also added a black border trimmed with the Martha Stewart Arch Lattice edge punch.

Thanks for looking.

Fliss x

Laugh-Sunday Stampers Bits and Pieces Challenge

Hello from a very wet Sussex afternoon as it's raining hard at the moment.
I'm here with my entry for this week's challenge over at Sunday Stampers set by the lovely Hels Sheridan and the challenge theme is Bits and Pieces (probably showing my age now but I'm singing it in my head lol).
This gave me the chance to get out my bits and pieces box of the leftovers from my many experimental techniques over the last 12 years since I started stamping (yes, I have been doing it that long so you can tell I'm addicted!) and here's what I made with them. There's also a photo of all the bits in progress so you can see it really is a bits project.

I decided to make a piece of wall art and used a piece of mountboard 20cm square as the base.
My bits and pieces are made by loads of different techniques including stamping, embossing, direct to paper inking, painting, distressing, metallic marker marbling and the most unique which was accidental as I discovered when playing with Stewart Gill paints, which remain tacky for quite a while, that you could add foil to it without using glue. This gives a really opulent effect.
I chose bits in my favourite shades of purple, turquoise and green with copper for added interest and just let the creating go with the flow-the best way to do things really!
When I was happy with the arrangement, I glued all the pieces on and added a complete contrast with some monchromatic stamping. I made a panel on thick card with my favourite Paper Bag Studios Laugh stamp which I triple embossed with clear powder. I then stamped up a lot of the little images from the Inkadinkado Girl Stuff 98777 inchie clear stamp set. I cut these up and glued some at random on my decorated square along with the embossed panel and a couple of multi colour embossed leaves from the bits box that went with my colour scheme perfectly.

Polka Doodles Sketch Challenge

Morning All, woke up to a very misty morning today so I hope it's better where you are-it's probably because I have the hairdressers first thing and will now have frizzy hair if it's still around when I come out!
It's time for the next challenge over at Polka Doodles and this week's theme is a sketch by our head doodler Nikky and she would like you to use blue and brown on your creations.

You can flip the sketch any way you like but Nikky would like to see all the elements overlapping or interlocking.
This gave me a lot of food for thought and as the colours are brown and blue and it was my brother's birthday last Sunday, I decided to make a card for him.

 I chose to use the Mr Twitty section of the new Paper Boutique CD and printed out the decoupage sheet. I used just the front sections, cut them out and layered them up with foam tape.
I used one of the matching backing papers and a couple of the scalloped embellishments. I then printed out a tree and branch from the Back to Nature CD as I thought it would be a slightly different way to use that sketch! I cut these out and embossed them using the Cuttlebug Distressed Stripes folder for a textured look. I also embossed the scalloped square.
I assembled the card as shown in the photo, adding a few decoupaged leaves and a sentiment that also came from the Back to Nature CD. It's great how you can use elements from all the CDs with each other, giving you even more versatility.
Do have a look at all the DT creations-there are links on my side bar and have a go at the challenge if you can. All entries have to be in by 12 noon on Sunday 28 March and please don't forget our challenge rule that you can only combine your entry with up to 9 other challenges to make a total of no more than 10.
I only mention this as I quite often see the most beautiful creations but can't count them in as there are too many challenges involved.

AiFactory Challenge 28-Making A Scene

Morning everyone, it's Thursday so it's time for another challenge over at AiFactory and the challenge this week has been set by Erin.
She would like you to make a scene as your project plus you mustn't use any ribbon (this one caused withdrawal symptoms in a DT member who's ribbon mad lol).
If you're uploading to any online galleries, then please use keyword AIF028. Please have your entries uploaded by midnight EST next Wednesday.
The prize will be the gorgeous little pirate and treasure chest set that Mia kindly gave all the Design Team to make their projects.
We have a guest designer this week, the lovely Julie Whitehead and she's made a fabulous card so do pop over and take a look.
I chose to make a 3D card with mine to fit the make a scene challenge.

I made a frame to fit the front of the card blank I made up and then used a circle cutter and a craft knife and ruler to cut out a cave shape.
I used marbled paper as a background on the card itself and used 2 different sizes of circle punch to make "rocks" out of grey marbled card. I stuck more of these to the frame and then stuck this to the card front with foam tape.
I coloured the pirate and treasure chest with Promarkers, cut them out and stuck the chest inside the cave and the little pirate (hope you like his freckles!) on the frame.
To finish off, I added branches made with my recently acquired Sizzlits Flowers, Branches and Leaves set (from my friend Chris and it came in very handy for this!) plus punched flowers and some jewels and pearls for treasure.
Hope you can take part and do pop over to see the DT creations which are fabulous-the links are on my sidebar.
Fliss x

Coming Up Daisies PDCC 20

Hello Everyone! Managed to get another post done at last after several really busy days. I've made an entry for this week's Play Date Cafe challenge which has been set by the lovely Jules and it's her last one as she's off to pastures new and exciting.
Here's her inspirational photo:

I just adore these lovely soft colours and lilac and green is a favourite of mine. I taught a class yesterday in making easel cards, which neither I or my ladies had done before and I'm completely hooked on them. I'll be posting the ones from the class later but couldn't resist making another for the challenge.

All stamps used are by Hobby Art:
 Daisy Medley FL1943F,  Ornate Flourish DC1840D, Butterfly BU1915D, Loveliest GR1602D
Inks: VersaFine Smokey Gray, Spanish Moss, Ranger Distress Dusty Concord
Cardstock: Lilac, Pale Green, White
Paper: Papermania Rose Garden
Daisy Corner Punch Woodware
Stickles Crystal Glitter Glue
Green Velvet Brad
Scallop Scissors
Score Board
Watercolour Pencils
Most of what I have done is obvious from the photos but I will just pass on a quick tip for making easel cards really easy. I made mine from 2 sheets of A4 card and trimmed one down the long edge to 15cm. All I did then was use my score board to score lines at the half and gate A4 lines on the board and fold. I then cut a piece from my other A4 sheet to measure 15cm by 14.8cm. Not quite square I know, but it makes it much easier to find the centre on the easel bit of the card.

Bird Song for RSS Challenge 16

I'm taking a well earned break for a short time in the middle of doing a VAT Return (you can probably guess what I'd rather be doing lol) to show you my finally finished piece of artwork for the latest Ready, Steady, Stamp Challenge. This is along with the very sad news from Isa Norris that this might be the last one as the number of entries has dropped and the team are not sure if they can carry on due to this. I really will be sad as I love this challenge which always makes me think outside the box, and I hope makes me create my best pieces of artwork.
Here's the challenge:

I have thought outside the box here as rather than put a frame on my artwork, I've actually used a blank frame to make it and here it is:

The frame I used is one of the Papermania Bare Essentials range. I painted the inside sky blue and the frame leaf green using acrylic paints. I'd already decided to break out my new Artistic Outpost stamps so this is why it ended up these colours. The stamp set I used is called Serenity and the colours requested by the challenge fit the set perfectly. I stamped the tree scene inside the frame using Brilliance Pearlescent Olive ink and stamped the larger swirly image all round the frame in the same ink. I then stamped the Harmony and Symphony text on the frame in black, followed by more stamping with the swirly image and black ink for a layered look.
I next painted a piece of thick cardboard packaging with lighter blue and green paints and distressed it a little with black ink. I stamped the bird song image on white card in black and stuck this to the pale blue/green panel. I then stamped the smaller swirl round the edges in the olive ink.
I stamped a bird from Crafty Individuals CI-248 in black and coloured it with pencils. I then cut out the image and fixed it to the panel with foam tape. I fixed the panel to the frame with glue and stacked foam tape.
Finally, I made a flower by punching and cutting out circles of white card which I stamped first with the swirl design in olive ink and then with the serenity text in black. I sprayed them with water and scrunched them for a shabby look and fixed them together with a brad. I stuck the flower in the right hand corner to finish.

Polka Doodles-My Challenge

Morning everyone, it's Friday so it must be time for the next challenge from Polka Doodles and this week it's my turn to set the challenge!
I've chosen the theme of a milestone Birthday or Anniversary because my elder daughter Claire is 21 today! She's a long way from us at the moment as she's in Japan on her year abroad as part of her degree. As the university she attends has a break at the moment, she's traveling around sightseeing with 3 friends and is in Kyoto, the old capital of the country, today.
I had to think really hard about her card because she really doesn't like pink and pastel shades, still being in a slightly Gothic phase. She loves red and black so the perfect choice is the gorgeous Ladybird, Ladybird Collection from the latest Paper Boutique CD which has loads of beautiful shaped cards for you to make.

As you can see the elements make up a card which has a fantastic back view as well as the front one if you choose to use all the elements provided and you can add as much detail as you like.
I printed out the A5 size sheets for back and front (there is a choice of A4, A5 and A6 ready coloured or black and white for you to colour) and cut out all the various layers. I then assembled the back and front using foam tape and attached them together at the top with the tab provided.
I added the number on both sides using some of the Alphies from the Back to Nature CD with 2 of the shaped elements from the decoration selection of the ladybird collection. As a final touch, I added gunmetal pearls to the eyes.
You could easily add extras such as glitter on the flowers or jewels to the flower centres or maybe glitter around the body edges. The choice is yours!
Don't forget to have a look and see the gorgeous creations of the rest of the DT. There are links opposite on my sidebar. Have a go at the challenge too as I'm sure you all have those special cards to make.
Fliss x

AiFactory Challenge 27-Clear and Simple

Calling all crafters, it's now time for the next challenge from AiFactory which this week has been set by Laurie of Clearly Delightful Designs. Laurie's challenge is to use something clear on your creation, such as clear embossing, acetate, Glossy Accents, cracked glass technique etc and/or clear embellishments and to keep the design simple with the focus on your main image.
Laurie very kindly gave the DT some gorgeous lilies to play with. There are 4 in the complete set which is on special offer of $5 at the moment and the lucky winner will receive this as their prize. I was asked to use the beautiful Calla lily, to my great delight as it grows in loads of gorgeous shades. The colouring on mine was inspired by 2 glowing colours called Pot of Gold and Sunrise and here is my card.

There are several photos here so that you can see firstly that I have used acetate on the card and secondly to show a little more detail.
I printed my lilies out on smooth white card and after trying out several colouring methods, settled on a favourite, my much used Ranger Distress inks (no surprise here!!!). I started colouring in the centre, gently sponging with Mustard Seed. The lighter lilies, I then sponged with Dried Marigold, finishing with Spiced Marmalade on the outer edges. The stronger colour lilies just have the Spiced Marmalade.
I then added details with paintbrushes. I used a fine brush with Fired Brick to get the fluffy look on the stamens. I used a wider brush with Worn Lipstick to colour the curled petal edges. The stalks were sponged with Peeled Paint.
I attached some Basic Grey Ambrosia paper inside a Craftwork Cards acetate card wrap to make the card blank. I stuck the darker lilies on the backing paper and the lighter lilies on the acetate card front.
I finished it off with a label greeting from the Basic Grey paper pad with a Hero Arts sentiment stamped in the centre.
The other lilies in the set are Lilies of the Valley, Easter Lilies and Mariposa Lilies and you will find examples of these by hopping over to visit the other DT members. You will find all the links just opposite on my side bar. It's worth a peek for some truly awesome creations.
Thanks for looking and hope you can join in with the challenge.

Floral Canvas

Morning everyone, hope it's sunny where you are as we have sunshine here although it's still cold.
I'm here with my entry for the latest Play Date Cafe challenge which also has lovely sunny colours

I've chosen to make a canvas (really loving doing these at the moment) to showcase the best photo of my dear Mum who is no longer with us except in our hearts and memories. As it's Mother's Day here on Sunday, I thought it the ideal time to make something to remember her and as she loved Spring with the lovely daffodils and pansies, I've used pressed flowers in my creation.

I

I painted a canvas board with several coats of lemon yellow acrylic paint and then stamped on some flourishes in white and deep yellow acrylic paint to add texture.
I printed out the photo and cut it out leaving a deep border. I then put this on a mat of black to leave a narrow border.
I glued pressed pansies all round the photo first as the flowers are quite translucent and it helps to layer them up a bit. I then glued on daisies, violas and so on to frame my photo. Slight artistic licence on the colours here as working with natural materials meant a tiny bit of green and purple crept in lol.
To finish the canvas, I added a butterfly cut from my trusty vintage book of butterfly illustrations, one of the best bargains I've ever found as it cost me £2.50 for 300 illustrations!
I'm also going to enter this in the current Simon Says challenge as they want Mother's Day or Girly creations and are trying to get over 400 entries. Hope this is OK for it.

Country Girl At Heart

Morning from a very sunny and cold South Coast. Wish the weather would start to warm up as it's freezing down here and woke up this morning to -1.5 yet again although it's lovely and sunny!
Just popped on here with a cowgirl tag made with a lovely free digi stamp from the lovely June at Dezinaworld. Each Wednesday now, she kindly posts a new free image for her followers and if you make something and let her know, it's entered in her Spot Prize Challenge for a chance to win one of her fabulous collage sheets. Do go and have a look as the collage sheets and also her new mega background pack are just beautiful. There's quite a few examples on my blog made with these so if you're interested there's a label on my side bar.
Here's what I made:

I printed out the image on to white card and coloured her with pencils-a mix of Prisma and Luminance 6901 by Caran D'Ache. I then did my favourite trick of sponging lightly with a mix of VersaColor pigment inks and Distress inks to soften the pencil colouring and draw everything together.
I made my own tag with a rounded top out of thick white card and then embossed just the top using the Cuttlebug Kimmy Luvs folder. I inked the embossed hearts with denim blue and then sponged sand beige in between. I made a patchwork look using rectangles of decorated paper from the brand new and gorgeous V & A Collection available from Docrafts stockists. This beautiful paper is based on the V & A quilt collection and has a linen finish. I drew faux stitching on with a brown fine liner.
To finish the tag off, I printed off the text and drew round it with more faux stitching then cut it out. I added punched hearts as an embellishment.

Polka Doodles Wings Challenge

Morning everyone, it's Friday again (don't know where the time goes at the moment!) so it's time for another Polka Doodles challenge. This week's challenge has been set by Brenda and the theme is WINGS plus she would like to see some stamping on your creations.
I decided to use part of the Heritage Collection from the Back to Nature CD which has the most beautiful pastel shades.

I printed the gorgeous butterfly stampie on to lilac card and cut it out leaving a narrow border. If you leave a border it will give a lot of stability to the narrower parts of the design as this butterfly is very flourishy. I decorated the image with gunmetal pearls.
I covered a square card blank with a piece of pretty matching butterfly themed paper. I then stamped a white strip of card with one of the dotty flourishes from the Polka Doodles Daisy Doodles stamp set in VersaColor lilac ink. I inked the edges with the same ink.
I made a conrasting border with black paper, trimmed with the Martha Stewart Dot Scallop edge punch and stuck this to the decorated card blank. I then stuck the flourish strip in the centre.
To finish, I added the butterfly using foam tape and a sentiment from the Daisy Doodles set stamped on lilac card.
Be sure to look at the other DT members blogs, there is a list on my sidebar, for more examples and more especially as we have 2 new DT members from this week, Dee and Stacey, and you'll find their blogs listed too. Do pay them a visit to see their gorgeous creations.
Fliss xx

AiFactory Challenge 26 - Blue, Bling and a Bow

Morning everyone, it's time for this week's challenge over at AiFactory and the challenge is to include the colour blue on your creations along with some bling and a bow so it's the signal to hunt out those ribbons and some glittter, jewels etc etc.
The DT were all given a gorgeous image by Mia called Trinity which has 2 slightly different shape variations and I love it so much that I've got quite carried away and made 3 cards with it, all using different materials.

This first one is the most arty. I printed the image out on glossy photo paper and coloured her by sponging her with Ranger Distress inks. I mounted the panel on a piece of corrugated card painted with blue and bronze acrylic paints. I made a background using an AiFactory Hina Tattoo image printed out on white parchment card and sponged with Broken China Distress ink. I added a piece of copper metal foil embossed using the Cuttlebug Textile folder, sponged with blue, green and black StazOn inks. A chiffon and fibre bow and a faux coin border finished my creation.

This second one is much simple and more modern, I printed the image on white card and coloured her with Prismacolor pencils, sponging a little blue ink around the image. I cut her out with mini scallop scissors, mounted the panel on black card and trimmed her with the same scissors. I used background paper from the Daisy & Dandelion range, trimming one edge with the Martha Stewart Daisy Border punch. I added jewels to the flower centres and a black dotty bow to finish.

This last one doesn't have a bow as I thought it would be too much. I printed the image out on inkjet acetate and mounted her on a piece of inked glossy photo paper. I added a little extra colour to the reverse of the image with Promarkers before fixing to the inked paper with brads.
I made a background by spraying photo paper with Glimmer Mists in blue, pink and purple and edged the panel with blue glitter border peel offs. I added Dovecraft Retro Floral brads at the bottom and used the matching paper as a background.

Countryside Canvas

Hello everyone, I hope you're having a better day than me as I lost precious hours today after my washing machine decided to flood-the joys of a Dyson as when it works which is most of the time, it's fantastic, but when it goes wrong, it usually does it in the most spectacular manner!!! Just as well my washing machine is in an outside room as the amount of water was incredible. Fortunately, I think the cause was not the machine, but a blocked drain which is much easier to fix!
Anyway, enough of my woes and on to my latest creation which has been a work in progress for several weeks now and I finally finished it today just in time for this week's challenge at Lots to Do which is-a canvas! Here's my finished piece:

This came about because I fell in love with the new Crafty Individuals stamps and decided to make something a bit more permanent than a card. I recently bought some square canvas boards and wanted to make use of one, plus some Stampbord squares I've had for some time. The stamps are slightly smaller than the squares so I made a border with one of the border stamps which came free with my order (every time an order arrives Jean and Malcolm always include a generous amount of small free stamps!!). The stamped images were coloured with Distress inks and detail added with coloured pencils.
The canvas itself is painted with green and blue acrylic paints and sprayed with Olive Vine Glimmer Mist (my current favourite). I then stamped on some flowers and sprigs by Inkadinkado. The little butterflies are also by Crafty Individuals and were coloured with pencils.
Stamps Used:
Crafty Individuals CI-262, CI-263, CI-239
Inkadinkado 97623 Garden Delight