Send In The Clowns

Hello there, a very quick and somewhat late post from me after a very busy weekend with the details of our new challenge this week at Make My Monday with the theme chosn by Joan which is Circus.

I had a bit of a struggle with this as I have no stamps to fit the theme and then fortunately remembered I had a lovely vintage pierrot girl from the Graphics Fairy so she came to the rescue with a rather electic card which I hope you like.

I printed her out and added her to a cream mat then covered my card blank with some paper from the Polka Doodles Bonbon Belles CD which I scored with a bone folder to add texture before attaching to the card.
I then added a red card border trimmed with pinking sheers to add interest before sticking the image on. I finished off with some bunting from the Polka Doodles Cherryblossom Lane CD and added a stamped sentiment by Flonzcraft.
As you see, simples!

Hope you have a great week and see you again soon, hopefully with news of my promised CANDY which has been delayed as I've been so busy.
Hugs,
Fliss xx

The Dance Of Life

Hello folks, hope you're having a good week so far. I'm here today with the first of quite a few projects you'll be seeing over the coming week which all feature hearts - no guesses why that is lol
Today's project is a shabby chic, vintage style card which uses some of my favourite colours for vintage creations - burgundy and beige with of course, loads of texture.

The main vintage image on my card is from a collage sheet called Dance by June of Dezinaworld - some of you may remember June's hacking problems of a while back which forced the closure of her online store but I'm very happy to say that she's now in the process of rebuilding the store which you can find HERE. Well worth a look as there are already some gorgeous collage sheets there.
I made a background paper using Glimmer Mists in Vintage Pink, Emperor Gold and Olive Vine on beige card and then stamped on the flower (from a set by Time To Stamp called Glamour Girls from the Craft Fairy) with Crimson Red and Spanish Moss VersaFine inks. I then die cut the heart shape with a large Go Kreate die set. I inked the edges with a burgundy VersaColor ink pad.
I embossed a square of beige parchment card with a Papermania embossing folder then distressed the edges with an emery board and my fingers. I did the same with a slightly larger square of burgundy textured card and layered these to my card blank with some beige rose patterned lace.
I printed out the roses (from a rose postcard - The Graphics Fairy) in 2 sizes and cut them out. I stamped the sentiment (Penny Black 3641F full of life) with the crimson ink on beige card and cut this out.
I assembled the card as you see using both double sided and foam tape for depth.

I'll be back tomorrow with my project for That's Crafty - cue more hearts!
Hugs, Fliss xx

Some challenges for my card:
Sugar Creek Hollow -  Romantic Love
Deep Ocean Challenge - Love and Lace
Top Tip Tuesday - Let Me Call You Sweetheart
Crafty Cardmakers - Vintage Love

Love And Life

Hello everyone, hope you're having a lovely week and have the gorgeous sunshine we have today, it really does feel like Spring is on the way at last.
My thoughts at the moment are with my lucky daughter Sarah who's currently in Cape Town with her friend Lucinda as they won a short internship with South African clothing company Woolworths with the fabulous designs they both did for a prospective fashion collection. It's apparently really hot over there so I'm wishing I could be there too!
I have a card to share today that I've made for the current challenge over at Sugar Creek Hollow which is to use the photo of your choice and make a vintage, prim or shabby chic style project. My card came about when trawling through my photo collection and finding one my daughter took last year at a friend's wedding. As 2 more of her friends are getting hitched this year, I decided on a wedding one.

There's actually only one bit of stamping on here unusually for me as most of the detail comes from embossing as I didn't want to distract the eye from the gorgeous vintage postcard I found in my Graphics Fairy collection. It had a space on just perfect for the Penny Black sentiment which I stamped with Vintage Sepia VersaFine ink. I inked the edges with brown after trimming the postcard with rounded edges.
I covered the card with a piece of ivory card embossed on one side with a Papermania rose pattern folder. I added a cream panel embossed with a Papermania floral folder and swiped with Galaxy Gold Brilliance ink.
I added a little cream crochet lace just below the centre then added a hyacinth blue mat trimmed with a corner rounder and a rose corner punch. I added some Laura Ashley ribbon across the centre and then stuck the postcard on top. A butterfly finishes off the card.

Here's my inspiration photo which is some flowers from one of the reception tables.

I'll be back tomorrow with details of the new challenge over at Polka Doodles and I think you'll like this particular one!
Hugs, Fliss xx

Victorian Romance At Make My Monday

Morning folks, Monday is here again so we have a new challenge for you over at Make My Monday. We're continuing with Suzanne's February theme of Romance and this week would like to see your creations inspired by Victorian Romance.
My card for this challenge was inspired by Victorian Valentine cards which quite often involved flowers and bright colours.

As you can see, my card is quite bright and the colours I chose came from the gorgeous cherub image which came from the wonderful Graphics Fairy.
I made my own background paper by partially embossing a square of pale lilac parchment card with a Papermania embossing folder and then swiping blue ink over the raised areas. I sponged the same ink on the flat side panel and stamped on a tiny Anna Griffin flourish with a darker blue ink.
I cut a large heart shape out of red card and embossed this with the same folder. I added the cut out cherub image and some roses from the Dezinaworld flower set. I inked the edges of the roses with dark purple ink.
I made a greeting panel with a Marianne Design die cut heart, adding a further rose and a computer generated sentiment which I cut out round the letters and then inked to soften the colour.

Don't forget that we have a wonderful sponsor this month in Marianne Design and here's a reminder of the gorgeous prize on offer.

Challenges for my card:
One Stop Craft - Create Your Own Background
C.R.A.F.T. - No Designer Papers (I made my own background)
Ruby's Rainbow - Vintage
Sisterhood Of Crafters - Valentine

Thanks for looking and have a great week.
Hugs, Fliss xx

Send In The Clowns

Good afternoon folks, I hope you're having a good week so far. I'm here today with another just because piece of artwork which is a little different. It came about because I saw the gorgeous lady Pierette image on The Graphics Fairy's fabulous site and immediately wanted to make something with her. Judy Collins started singing in my head and this collage was the result.

As you can see, the image is really beautiful. I printed her out and cut her out then decided to add wings. The gorgeous butterfly that I used for these is from June of Dezinaworld's fabulous Butterfly PNG set which I love because it's so versatile. I printed the image out on beige parchment paper and cut the wings out.
I then made a balloon using this rather jolly clown face also from The Graphics Fairy. I simply printed it out and drew the balloon shape by hand and cut it out and added a red string.
I assembled the pieces on the pretty dotty paper from the Polka Doodles Paper Boutique Volume 3 CD printed on to beige parchment paper and glued to strong card.
I then altered a plain wooden frame by painting it with antique white acrylic paint and stamping on a checkered design by Polka Doodles from the Wonderland set with various Palette and Stazon inks. I then dry brushed with more of the white for a soft look. I added computer generated text coloured with inks and stamped then dry brushed.

Bye for now,
Fliss xx

Song Bird Collage

Hello folks, hope you're all having a good week so far and don't know about where you are but on the UK South Coast I woke up this morning to 5 degrees and it's still October!!! Brrr! Woollies and thick socks on today.
Before I show you what I made today, I want to say a very big THANK YOU to the Design Teams of both Paper Play and Moving Along With The Times as they kindly picked my Autumn Floral Wreath which you can see HERE for their Top 3. I can't tell you how pleased I am!

I now have a little "just because" collage to show you, as in just because I felt like it!

My collage started out as many of mine do with a piece of recycled grey board which came from the back of a pad of accountancy paper. It was A4 size and I cut it in half. I then inked just the edges with Vintage Photo Distress ink.
I then took a piece of vintage music score (my incredible value Mikado score again) and added the large Tim Holtz flourish mask after tearing the edges. I sponged on Tumbled Glass, Stormy Sky, Dusty Concord, Victorian Velvet and Worn Lipstick inks before removing the mask.
I stamped on some flourishes from the Viva Decor My Paper World Floral Embellishments clear stamp set with Chipped Sapphire DI.
I printed a beautiful bird with lilacs image from The Graphics Fairy (thanks Karen!) on beige parchment card then stamped on the same flourish with Versamark ink, clear embossed it and sponged on some pink ink. I added the image to a mat, partly embossed with the Cuttlebug Textile folder and partly stamped with pink ink and a tiny flourish stamp.
I added pearls and a flower altered with Copics together with the sentiment from Paper Artsy Hot Pick 1005 to finish.

Happily, I found some challenges for my creation:
Try It On Tuesday - Taking To The Skies
Heart Song Inspirations - Flowers And/Or Felt
Incy Wincy Designs - Recycle (the backing for my collage is recycled grey board)

Bye for now.
Fliss xx

Up Up And Away

Hello and welcome to this week's challenge at Make My Monday. We're continuing with the September theme of Steampunk chosen by Cath and this week the added extra is to use some Metal on your creation.
Although I do have a few metal embellishments, I don't have any metal sheet in my stash so I decided to improvise and here's the result:

My collage started off as a frame mount which I stamped all over in black with the Artistic Stamper cogs stamp. I then inked over the top with Wild Honey, Vintage Photo and Spiced Marmalade Distress inks and I have to admit I added a little too much of the orange - my only excuse for this is that I was shouting at the TV in annoyance at the time as I was watching the X Factor auditions!!!
I then embossed a piece of aluminium foil backed with card with the Cuttlebug clockworks folder and coloured this with Olive Green, Midnight Blue, Timber Brown and Jet Black StazOn inks.
The glamorous lady is by The Graphics Fairy and her fabulous top hat is from the Steampunk 3 Collage Set by the lovely June of Dezinaworld. I cut these out, rounded them out with a large embossing ball tool and added them with foam tape.
The gorgeous hot air balloon that you see here started off as a fabulous pencil drawing by my daughter Sarah (studying a Fashion degree) which she drew to make a bookmark and matching card for her Dad for Fathers Day. I altered the size a little to fit my collage then added colour with Distress inks, cut it out and embossed it with clear powder to add some definition.
The finishing touch is a Dymo text label.

I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with for this challenge as the entries for the monochrome challenge were just fabulous. For inspiration, look no further than the challenge blog as the other DT ladies have come up with some stunning creations!

I'm entering my collage in the following challenges:
Creatalicious - Anything Goes
Papercraft Star - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp - Song or Film Title Inspired (Up Up and Away)
Gingerloft - Vintage or Distressed
Quirky Crafts - Anything But A Card
Scrappy Frogs - Vintage
Linking to The Graphics Fairy Brag Monday too.

I'll be back on Wednesday with a tutorial for Make My Monday for the current theme of metal.
See you then!
Fliss xx

Monochrome Steampunk Collage

Hello everyone on a very wild, windy and wet Monday, I think the hurricane leftovers have now reached Sussex so I don't think I'll be going far today!
Being Monday, we have a new challenge for you over at Make My Monday. Continuing with the September theme of Steampunk, this week we would like you to create a Monochrome project which I think suits steampunk very well.
I'm definitely addicted to this type of artwork now so expect lots more over the next few weeks! The piece I made for this challenge is a favourite with my hubby who loves the airship in particular. I shall be raiding his books soon as he has quite a lot with vintage engineering diagrams.
Here's my effort:

You may need to click on the pic to see the full detail as I couldn't fit a very large photo on without cropping part of the collage.
Ingredients Used:
Airship - Creative Expressions
Buildings - Crafty Individuals
Cogs and Gears - The Artistic Stamper
Elaborate Clock - B Line Designs
Victorian Gentleman - The Graphics Fairy
Pocket Watch - Vintage Feedsacks
Inks - VersaFine Vintage Sepia, Distress Inks in Vintage Photo, Frayed Burlap, VersaColor Umber, Sand Beige
Promarkers in brown shades

Using the Vintage Sepia ink, I stamped a row of the buildings on white card and then stamped the airship at the top left. I coloured the images with a mix of Distress inks and VersaColor inks then added detail with Promarkers. I stamped the cogs and gears at the top right corner, stamping with the Vintage Sepia ink, stamping a second time without re-inking the stamp.
I stamped the B Line Designs Time stamp with the sepia ink, coloured with inks, cut this out and fixed in the top right corner before trimming the excess.
I printed out the gentleman and pocket watch images having first altered the colours a little in Photoshop to give them a sepia tone. I coloured them with Distress inks and cut them out.
I added some detail to the sky by cutting a cloud style paper template with 2 sizes of scallop scissors  and sponged on some clouds with the Sand Beige ink.
I finished off as you see, adding a little propeller to the gentleman's hat made by stamping part of the airship and cutting it out.

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed making this and I'll also enjoy looking at your creations. Do pop over to the challenge blog to see the other DT samples as they're fabulous.

I'm entering my collage in the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp And Show Some Steampunk (How about that for timing!)
The Stamp Man - Monchrome
Just For Fun - Timeless Vintage
Paper Play - Use 2 Or More Stamped Images

I'd also like to say hello and welcome to Julia and all the new ladies from the Fashionable Stamping Challenges who have all joined my blog.
Have a great week.
Fliss xx

Steampunk ATCs

Good morning everyone, another week is here already and I hope you all had a good weekend whatever the weather threw at you - very hit and miss in Sussex with both rain and sunshine.
We have a new theme for you over at Make My Monday and this month it's Cath's turn to choose and the theme is Steampunk. Each week there is a new theme under this heading and this week we would like to see some ATCs - being small this will hopefully start you off gently.
I was both excited and apprehensive when I saw this theme as it's a style I very much admire but I had yet to take the plunge and create something. My craft space is currently covered with cogs, gears and all things machine like, much to my hubby's delight - he's been very enthusiastic about my creations which is a first!
As I couldn't quite decide what to do, I ended up with 3 little pieces of art which I hope you like:

 

Ingredients Used:
Glamorous Lady - Time To Stamp, Buildings - Crafty Individuals, Globe - The Graphics Fairy, Gears - Cuttlebug Clockworks, Ink - Wild Honey, Vintage Photo and Frayed Burlap Distress inks, Promarkers

Ingredients Used:
Weather Forecast stamp - Paper Artsy, Flying Boat - The Graphics Fairy, Ink - Tumbled Glass, Stormy Sky and Vintage Photo Distress inks, Martha Stewart border punch

Ingredients Used:
Balloon - Dezinaworld, Airman and Globe - The Graphics Fairy, Cuttlebug Clockworks folder, Ink - Wild Honey and Vintage Photo Distress inks, Promarkers

I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with and do pop over to the challenge blog as the Design Team have a lot of gorgeous inspiration for you.

I'm entering my creations in the Paper Creations Ink Challenge - Vintage or Distressed Look.

Have a good week,
Fliss xx