Who Wants Candy!!!

 THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED

THE WINNER WILL BE POSTED LATER TODAY

I'm back again with my second post of the day with a subject I know will please you that has come about as I finally have all the bits for the candy I promised after reaching 500 posts on Christmas Eve. I took advantage of some of the free postage on offer to order some of the things as we don't have much left in the way of craft shops left locally due to the recession and I really wanted to share some vintage style goodies which I'm sure you all know how much I love.
I'm sure you're champing at the bit to see what I have for you so here's the pic:

Here's what I have included:
Papermania shaped chipboard album (I find these really great for wall hangings)
Pack 8 x 8 kraft card blanks
Pack 6 x 6 white front step card blanks
Pack 6 x 6 kraft front step card blanks
Pack 6 x 6 7 Gypsies Global paper
Couture Creations World Map embossing folder
Kaisercraft Madame Boutique clear stamp set
Kaisercraft Botanical clear stamp
Graphic 45 Curtain Call 2 cling stamp set

Please leave a comment below if you'd like a chance to win and please feel free to put the pic on your blog to spread the word if you like. You have until 31 January to join in and I'll make the draw on 1 February.
Thank you all for following my artwork and for leaving me such lovely comments.
Big hugs and good luck, Fliss xx

All Of A Flutter

Good morning folks, hope you all had a lovely weekend. It's time for the next challenge over at Make My Monday and it's the last of our January Nature challenges, This week we would like to see your creations with Butterflies And/Or Dragonflies which is why we're all of a flutter lol.

I'm down in the meadow again with my card which also features my use of natural kraft file dividers for crafting as they're so much cheaper than kraft card.
I stamped the wild flowers (The Stamp Bug's Alpine Flowers UM016 and Alpine Meadow UM017) with Memento inks in shades of green, pink and purple. I then over stamped with versamark and embossed with white detail powder.
I stamped the butterflies (Hero Arts) with brown ink, coloured with pencils and cut them out. I assembled the card as you see on a Craftwork Cards scalloped card blank. Simples!

The Design Team have created a beautiful array of samples to inspire you so do pop over for a peek. Hope to see you there as the theme is sure to be a popular one.

Challenges for my card:
Crafty Catz - Things With Wings
Crafting When We Can - Something NOT Intended For Crafting (file dividers)
Quirky Crafts - Make A Scene

Have a great week.
Hugs, Fliss xx

Make It A Guy Thing With FSC

Morning folks, it's time for another strut down the catwalk over a Fashionable Stamping Challenges and I can't believe how fast the last 2 weeks have flown by. They always say that time flies when you're having fun but in my case it was tax paperwork so definitely not fun!!!
The challenge for this fortnight is to make something for the men and boys in your life with a theme of Make It A Guy Thing. Lots of scope with this one, especially with a certain romantic day looming up very fast.

As you can see, I decided to go vintage for my creation, largely as my new Creative Expressions Vintage Games set deserved an inking up.
I made the background paper by sponging with Wild Honey and Vintage Photo Distress inks, stamping on the playing cards and numbers with Aged Mahogany, then tearing the edges to distress them. I attached the paper to an 8x8 kraft card blank.
I next made a panel which I inked with my largest acrylic block and my Easy Inking Technique using Scattered Straw ink, then stamped on the squares with Vintage Photo. I tore the edges and inked them with Gathered Twigs.
I made a further panel using the Papermania Triboss squared folder and inked this with Wild Honey, Vintage Photo and Fired Brick inks.
I stamped the chess pieces repeatedly along a strip of white card, inked this with Fired Brick , added detail with Promarkers and cut out along the top. roughly following the line of the chess pieces.
I stamped the man from Paper Artsy Man Of Numbers Plate 5 with Archival Coffee ink and the life text from the games set with the same ink. I cut these both out.
I assembled the card as you see, adding a stamped and gold embossed crown to finish.

The Design Team have once again excelled themselves with a fabulous array of masculine creations so do hop over for a look and prepare to be inspired!

Challenges for my card:
Craft Your Days Away - Distressing
Drunken Stampers - Use Something New
Patties Creations - Embossing
Stampin' For The Weekend - Embossing
Mark's Finest Papers - Cards With At Least 4 Layers

Thanks for looking,
Fliss xx

Time To Fly

Hello everyone, hoping that you're all having a good weekend so far. Also welcome on board to a few new followers, lovely to see you all and will try and pop over very soon to say hello.
This is a very quick post as we had unexpected visitors this afternoon and my crafting time was cut short as a result.
I have a card to show you that is for my return to creating for the Sunday Stamper challenge which is celebrating its 4th birthday this week. Many congratulations to Hels and a big thanks for her continued inspiration. This week's theme is Eyes and I guess my entry just about qualifies - I did try and do something else but couldn't make the image stamp properly (I'm suffering from a night out last night lol) so I hope this is OK.

The background paper here was made using Vaseline resist technique with a Tim Holtz flourish stamp and Distress inks in Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade and Fired Brick.
The image is by Lost Coast Designs and I stamped the panel on Judikins Krome Coat card. I decided not to add colour as I wanted impact.
I finished off with a flower coloured with Promarkers and added a brass stamping flower in the centre.

Hels has generously offered candy for her followers and challenge entrants so if you'd like the details hop on over. There's also a pic on my side bar if you scroll down a little.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Hugs, Fliss xx

Easy Inking Technique

Hello folks, it's time for another tutorial from me which is somewhat overdue I think as it's an age since I last did one.
You won't believe how easy this one is and how versatile it can be and there are quite a lot of pics so you might want a coffee before you start reading.
This one came about because last year I was really inspired by Sir Tim's patchwork inking with ink blending tools and wanted to pass this on to my ladies at a class. As I don't have that many ink blending tools and didn't want them all fighting over them, I improvised with fun foam blocks on Kling-On and it worked really well.
This got me thinking as I love making my own backgrounds (as I'm sure you know!) and wanted a way to create a larger inked area. I managed to drop a rather inky acrylic block on scrap paper and inspiration struck!

Easy Inking Technique
You will need:
A selection of acrylic blocks
Very smooth white cardstock
A selection of Distress inks
Some soft cosmetic sponges

STEP 1 - Add ink to the block by tapping all over and press, inked side down on your card. Remove the block and immediately rub gently over the inked area. As the ink is still wet, the ink will spread over the card.

STEP 2 - Repeat the above step until you have the colour required. I usually do 2 coats and the result will be a shabby chic inky panel. The reason that I specified smooth card is because if the card is very matte it will tend to be more absorbent and the ink will not spread around as much. It still gives a great effect though.

STEP 3 - Stamp a design on your inked panel. I have chosen a large corner design here and stamped on one side only. If you want a completely decorated paper you could turn it and stamp the other corner.

STEP 4 - A bit of Blue Peter here with a panel I made earlier lol. This one has a pretty sprig design stamped around the edges with the same colour ink as the panel and gives a pretty delicate look.

STEP 5 - Another idea here using a small square block to make a pretty patchwork panel with Crushed Olive and Wild Honey Distress inks. In this case you will need to sponge each square as you go to ensure that the earlier squares don't dry out before you sponge them.

STEP 6 - This panel uses a long rectangular block with Crushed Olive and Stormy Sky inks and will make a lovely addition to a masculine card I think.

STEP 7 - A very different idea here as the same technique can be used to make a quick inky panel to stamp on. In this case, I inked all over first with Scattered Straw and then added Crushed Olive at the bottom with Peeled Paint on the very edges of the block. I then added Mustard Seed to the rest, following up with Spiced Marmalade then Worn Lipstick at the top. I inked more heavily round the edges with the pink.  I used 3 different sponges so as not to contaminate the inks.

STEP 8 - Here's the panel stamped with some Penny Black grasses. A lovely watercolour effect background.

Here are some cards made with the technique so you can see the finished results.

Both the cards feature papers made with different sized acrylic blocks so you can adapt what you make very easily to suit the card layout. Some of the square blocks make lovely patchwork pieces by simply cutting each square out. The floral panel on my bird card started off as a Shabby Shutters inky panel was stamped all over with a floral sprig using first Crushed Olive then Victorian Velvet.

I hope you've enjoyed this and I'm sure you will see that there are loads of possibilities so do let me know if you make something.
Hugs, Fliss xx

A Love Affair With Chocolate

Hello folks. I hope you're all having a good week so far. We have sunshine here at last after early rain and a big hailstorm. My workload has at last become manageable and I've had time for a bit of crafting.
I have a tag to show you which was actually inspired by the Go Girly theme over at Sugar Creek Hollow this week and to me there is nothing more girly than a love of chocolate combined with my favourite roses.
I've made a tag with the gorgeous vintage Chocolate Lover stamp by The Stampsmith combined with their beautiful rose background stamp.

I made my own large tag and inked this up with Victorian Velvet Distress ink and then stamped on the rose background with VersaFine crimson ink.
I stamped the image panel with Archival coffee ink and cut this out leaving a narrow white border.
I stamped a rose border with a Judikins bolio stamp using the coffee ink and deep rose card. I added this across the centre of the tag and embellished with inked rose lace and pink pearls.
I added rows of braid, lace and pearls at the base of the tag and tied lace through the hole at the top. I then added the image panel with foam tape and finished off with a German gold scrap butterfly.

Challenges for my tag:
The Stampsmith January challenge - TSC26 Tag Art
Sugar Creek Hollow - Go Girly

Before I go, I'd like to say hello and welcome to all my new followers, it's lovely to have you all on board and if anyone hasn't yet seen I have candy, you still have a few days left to enter.
Thanks for looking,
Fliss xx

Flowers and Leaves

Good morning everyone, Monday is here again and I don't know where the year is going as it's disappearing so fast at the moment.
We have a new challenge for you over at Make My Monday. Continuing with my Nature theme for the month, this week we would like to see your creations with Flowers and Leaves. As you will see when you look at my card below, the leaves could be as simple as blades of grass.

I decided to go for a walk on the wild side this time with a meadow in mind as I love seeing the wild flowers on countryside walks.
I've also used a new technique to make the background papers and add colour to the image panel by stamping colour on the card using inked up acrylic blocks. I'll be doing a little tutorial on this in a couple of days as you won't believe how quick and easy it is to make an inky background.
Supplies used:
Stamps:
Paper Artsy Hot Pick HP1005
Crafty Individuals Elements CI 206
Hobby Art Butterfly BU16A
Inkadinkado Sentiment 97635 Round Frames
Distress Inks : Shabby Shutters, Crushed Olive, Bundled Sage, Forest Moss, Mustard Seed, Scattered Straw
Cuttlebug Daisies embossing folder
Prisma pencils

Challenges for my card:
Let's Ink It Up - Anything Goes
2 Sisters - Embossing
Challenge Up Your Life -Thanks

Do pop over to see the Design Team makes as they're incredibly varied this week and you're sure to be inspired.
Thanks for looking,
Fliss xx

Polka Doodles Sketch Challenge

Good morning folks, it's Friday again and time for a new challenge over at Polka Doodles which this week is another sketch by our head doodler Nikky and it's also our stashbox stamp week which means we use non Polka Doodles stamps with Polka Doodles elements. The theme is to make a birthday card.
Here's the sketch

My card is another owl one as I really love these and took the opportunity to use a gorgeous and very cute Tattered Angels stamp.

All of the papers I've used are from the Pretty Sweet CD as the shabby look combined with some lovely vintage colours are a perfect match (I think) for the little owl.
I stamped the owl with Memento Rich Cocoa ink on white card and decided not to colour him as I wanted more impact. I cut the panel out with a Nestabilities label die and added a paper mat cut from the next size die. I inked the edges with Crushed Olive and Vintage Photo Distress inks.
I made up the card following the sketch and finished off with a sentiment from the Back To Nature CD cut out with the Papermania square parenthesis die set.

The Design Team have again risen to the challenge and created a great variation of cards so do hop over for a look. You have until 12 noon on Sunday 29 January to enter and good luck.

Now for some challenges for my card:
Crafty Purple Frog - Anything Goes
Moving Along With The Times - Things With Wings
Whimsical Wednesdays - Anything Goes
Lollipop Crafts - No Embellishments
Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes

I'm very sorry to have been neglecting you the last couple of weeks and hope to catch up soon - my days with 8 hours of figure work should be finished by the middle of next week or at least I hope so!
Hugs, Fliss xx

Creating A Scene

Monday is here yet again folks and January seems to be flying by! I hope you all had a lovely weekend and managed to fit in a bit of crafting.
We have a new challenge for you today over at Make My Monday and continuing with our monthly theme of Nature, this week would like to see you Create A Scene.
I have to admit I struggled with this one a little as I couldn't find my Artistic Outpost Serenity set which would have been perfect for this one (note to self - craft room tidy up necessary!) and had to improvise.

I decided to use this gorgeous sleepy owl stamp by Blue Moon which I love as those little cuties look so sweet and fluffy. I stamped them with VersaFine Vintage sepia ink and coloured them with various brown Promarkers. I then cut out the panel with a nestabilities die and inked the edges with Crushed Olive Distress ink.
I made a background with a piece of pale green textured look paper which I first stamped with a brick wall stamp using Stazon Dove Grey ink then sponged with Frayed Burlap and Wild Honey Distress inks. I sponged the top half with Tumbled Glass and Stormy Sky.
I stamped fern sprays from the Penny Black Enjoy Life clear stamp set with VersaFine Olympia Green and Spanish Moss inks and assembled the card as you see.

The Design Team have come up with the most fabulous scenes so do hop over for a look and be inspired.

Challenges for my card:
Craft A Scene - Anything Goes but Create A Scene
The Cheerful Stamp Pad - Birds Of A Feather

Have a great week,
Fliss xx

Butterflies Or Bugs

Good morning everyone, hoping you're having a lovely weekend so far. We have sunshine here but it's freezing at the moment and very windy too.
I'm here today with the brand new challenge over at Fashionable Stamping Challenges and this fortnight we'd like to see you strut your stuff with creations showing Butterflies And/Or Bugs.
I was so pleased to see this as it gave me a chance to ink up my gorgeous new Stampsmith stamp called Butterfly Kiss and I absolutely love it as it's my favourite vintage style.

I stamped the image with VersaFine Imperial purple ink on Judikins matte krome coat card and added some colour by painting with various Distress inks when dry.
I made a patchwork style background by embossing 2 squares of olive green card with a butterfly embossing folder. The other 2 squares are some scraps of paper from the Polka Doodles All Around & Everywhere CD that I had in my scraps to use up.
I assembled the card as you see, adding some floral lace, a stamped butterfly (Crafty Individuals) and text which is part of an Inca stamp I've had for ages.

The Design Team have made some fabulously inspirational and varied creations so do hop on over for a feast for the eyes. You have a fortnight to enter your creations and hope to see you there.

I'd like to enter my card in this week's Sugar Creek Hollow challenge which is Embossing.
Thanks for looking.
Fliss xx

Vintage Or Retro Style

Good morning folks, before I give you the details for this week's challenge over at Polka Doodles, a quick apology from me for my lack of commenting lately. This is because it's that nasty time of year again with the tax deadline looming so I have a mega pile of book-keeping and accounting work at the moment which has left very little time for crafting, let alone commenting. It will hopefully be back to normal the week after next.
I've chosen the challenge theme this week at Polka Doodles because my younger daughter will be 21 years old in a few days. She's studying for a fashion degree and really loves vintage and retro fashion and has just had a fringe cut inspired by a photo she found of Francoise Hardy.
This is why the theme is Vintage or Retro Style.

I chose the gorgeous sewing themed elements from the Sundae of Seasons CD and printed them out on beige parchment card (Southfield Stationers) for a vintage feel. I cut out the dress form and pin cushion and die cut the text with the Papermania doorplate die set. I inked the edges of the text panel and added a pink button.
I covered the 8 x 8 kraft card blank with rosebud paper from the Pretty Sweet CD with Paperchase kraft paper photo corners then added a layered central border of papers from the same CD. The striped one is die cut with a Papermania scalloped edge border die. I added floral lace to embellish.
I then made an embossed panel with kraft paper recycled from the inside of a roll of Christmas paper (to my complete delight all the papers had a piece of this instead of a cardboard tube) embossed with the Cuttle bug roses folder and the corners rounded with a punch.
I finished off as you see, adding pearls to the pin heads to make them look more realistic and then added numbers from the kraft alphabet on the Double Sprinkle of Kraft CD, resized to fit the card.

Challenges for my card:
Moving Along With The Times - Spots And/Or Stripes
Simon Says Stamp - Spots And/Or Stripes
Incy Wincy Designs - Vintage

I hope you like the challenge and can't wait to see what you make.
Fliss xx

Animals With Make My Monday

Morning folks and hope you all had a lovely weekend. I'm here to bring you details of the new challenge over at Make My Monday which continuing with the January theme of NATURE, this week we would like to see ANIMALS on your creation.
I decided to make a card with a favourite animal as we have 2 adorable (mostly!) grey Netherland Dwarf bunnies.

My card features another of Craftwork Cards cute Warren stamps of which I have several as I couldn't resist them when they produced a limited edition last year. I stamped him with VersaFine vintage sepia ink and coloured him with Prisma pencils. I cut the panel out with my new Papermania square parenthesis die set.
I made a background paper sponging with Distress inks to colour and as you can see had sunset in mind. I then stamped on some grasses from the Penny Black Enjoy Life clear stamp set with VersaFine Spanish moss.
I added the panels to a card blank covered with Polka Doodles kraft textured paper and finished off with some butterflies from the Penny Black set coloured with Prisma pencils and a Hobby Art stamped sentiment.

The Design Team have come up with some very varied designs to inspire you so don't forget to pop over for a look.

Challenges for my card:
Dream Valley Challenges - Anything Goes
Gingerloft - Anything Goes
Paper Sundaes - Saturated Colours

Have a good week and thank for looking. Don't forget I have candy and do leave me a comment on the post if you'd like a chance to win.
Fliss xx

Sketch And Colour Challenge At Polka Doodles

Morning folks and hope you're all OK after all this nasty weather we've been having and anyone affected by the gales has my sympathy.
I'm here today with news of our first challenge over at Polka Doodles which has been chosen by our head doodle dolly Nikky. She really loves her sketches so the challenge is both a sketch and a colour one. The sketch follows and the additional twist is to use shades of GREY for your creation.

As Nikky chose a grey colour theme, I decided on a masculine card and if you pop over to the challenge blog, you'll see a great variety of creations by the Design Team which are sure to give you some inspiration.

I chose one of the great images from the Pretty Tuff CD and printed out the black and white digital stamp together with some grey background paper.
I coloured my image with Promarkers in all the shades of grey I have in my collection (2 ice greys, 3 warm greys and 4 cool greys) using Satin, Blush and Dusky pink for his hands and face. I coloured his hair with Warm Grey 2 and Pastel Beige. I then added some detail with Prisma pencils. I was very pleased with the textured effect on his hair which was achieved with a white pencil.
I assembled the card as the sketch using text paper in shades of grey from the Not For Girls CD, a sentiment from Pretty Tuff and an oval panel embossed with the Papermania brick wall folder and inked with Pumice Stone Distress ink.

You have until 12 noon on Sunday 15 January to enter and hope to see you there.

A few challenges for my card:
Pixie Dust Studio - Monchromatic
Inky Impressions - Anything Goes
The Craft Garden - Monchrome
Through The Craftroom Door - Monchromatic
 
Hugs, Fliss xx

The Stamp Man 3rd Annual Awards

Hello folks, hope you're having a good week so far despite the somewhat iffy weather.
After much thought I'm taking part in The Stamp Man's 3rd Annual Award event with a project I did in February 2011.

It's the most unique thing I've made so far as it included a hand drawn figure which as a stamper, I was really nervous about, but I really like the end result so decided to show it again here.

This is the canvas I made for the Gingersnap Creations Spicy Supply Challenge using Coffee Filters. In my case, I used natural coffee filter papers which I dyed with Neocolor 11 watercolour crayons and then stamped on to make the skirt for my figure. As the paper is almost fabric like, it was very easy to gather up with thread. I made the top with more plain dyed filter paper and added a cross hatch design under the saying which is my absolute favourite by Tim Holtz.
The canvas was painted and sponged with Golden fluid acrylics and then stamped on in places. I assembled the piece as you see with a profusion of plain and printed flowers and some decorative brads.

Thanks to The Stamp Man for once again hosting this great event and allowing us to reflect on and revisit our creations from 2011.
Hugs, Fliss xx

Birds and Nature

Good morning folks, I'm slightly late here with my post for the first challenge of 2012 over at Make My Monday as I had a struggle to get up again (it seems that the older I get, the longer it takes to recover from a late night - groan!)
It's my turn to choose the theme for this month and I decided on a favourite of mine, NATURE, with the challenge for this week being to include BIRDS on your creation. A nice easy one to start off the year and hopefully welcome after all those Christmas themes.

I've chosen to use my brand new Hero Arts bird collage stamp which I stamped on Judikins matte chrome coat card with Memento Rich Cocoa ink. I then coloured the panel by sponging with various shades of Distress ink. I find that if you sponge a light colour all over first (I used Scattered Straw), the rest of the colours blend in really well. I then trimmed the panel using a corner rounding punch and cut out round the left edge. I added the panel to a mat of deep green card also trimmed with the corner punch and embossed in one corner.
I then made an embossed panel using my new Papermania tri boss leaf folder and didn't realise until I used it what the tri boss bit means. If you look at the panel which I inked with Shabby Shutters, Crushed Olive and Forest Moss Distress inks, the embossed leaves are actually double embossed so that the leaf veins stand out really well. A very clever touch Docrafts! I added the panel to a deep green mat.
I made a panel using my favourite Distress Ink Grunge Background Technique (this was inspired by watching Tim demo a few years back - he's in fact so inspirational that just watching him sparked off a load of new ideas). I used Shabby Shutters, Bundled Sage and Crushed Olive and stamped on a leaf sprig from the Hero Arts real flowers set ( a real favourite from my collection) with Bundled Sage. I then assembled the card as you see.

I've also donated the prize for this month and the winner will also be a future Guest Designer so hop on over for all the details plus lots of fabulous inspiration from the Design Team. Hope to see you there!

Challenges for my card:
Paper Sundaes - Something Old (leaf stamp & technique), Something New (bird stamp & embossing folder)
Secret Crafter - Anything Goes
Card Crafters Circle - Anything Goes
Paper Creations Ink - Die Cuts And/Or Punches
Simon Says Stamp & Show - Something Old, Something New (see above)

Thanks for looking and have a lovely day with hopefully the sunshine we have here today.
Hugs, Fliss xx

Monochromatic With Stampalot

Hello there, I'm back again a little later than intended as I managed to sleep rather late this morning and had a bit of a struggle getting out of bed (don't suppose I'm the only one though!). Hoping you all had a lovely time last night whatever you chose to do.
My post is about the January challenge for Stampalot, so generously sponsored by the lovely Janice and Andy of Sir Stampalot. You may remember that I was lucky enough to win the October challenge and received an awesome amount of food themed goodies as the prize so I have to say that you really should enter if you haven't as I never expected to win but as they say, you have to be in it to win it!
The challenge theme is Monochromatic and I've been lucky enough to be invited to be the Guest Designer for the challenge. I chose shades of purple and in fact used to use the colour so much that I was known as the Queen of Purple at stamp club.

I made my own background paper as usual using a flower stamp from Hero Arts Real Flowers clear stamp set, stamped in layers first with Milled Lavender Distress ink, then VersaColor Lilac and finally Sweet Plum Memento ink. I trimmed the right long edge with a Papermania border die.
I stamped the dress form from the Inkylicious Corsetiere clear stamp set with VersaFine Imperial Purple ink on lilac parchment card and cut this out. I die cut a shaped panel from the same card using the Tim Holtz Baroque die, inked the edges with lilac and purple inks then embossed with The Tim Holtz Textures Fades damask folder.
I stamped the corset, price, tape measure and advertising from the stamp set with the Imperial Purple ink, stamped small flowers from a Rubber Stamp Tapestry set on the corset and cut this out. The remaining items were cut out with the Papermania Doorplate die set and the new Papermania tags and labels die set.
I assembled the card as you see, adding stitching down one side of the backing paper with purple floss and finishing with velvet ribbon, floral lace altered in colour with lilac ink, a silk flower and button.

Challenges for my card:
I Brake For Challenges - Vintage
Everybody Art - Anything Goes
Stampin' For The Weekend - Anything Goes
The Artistic Stamper January Challenge - Vintage

Thanks for looking and thanks so much to the Stampalot Design Team for the great honour of being this month's Guest Designer.
Hugs, Fliss xx

New Year, New Stash

Happy New Year folks and hoping that 2012 is a fabulous year for you all with good health and time to do all the things you want to.
We have a new challenge for you today over at Fashionable Stamping Challenges and the theme for the fortnight is New Year, New Stash. A perfect opportunity to have a play with some of those new crafting goodies you hopefully received for Christmas.

My card is made using a favourite technique of mine to make the background paper, my Distress Ink Grunge Background Technique which you can find a tutorial for by clicking HERE. I used Distress inks in Crushed Olive, Mustard Seed, Tumbled Glass and Peeled Paint then stamped with Forest Moss. The stamps used are from the Papermania Urban botanical print set.
I cut a panel out of the paper with my new Nestabilities die set then made a frame with 2 sizes in the set and some green card which I embossed with a Sissix Tim Holtz Texture Fades folder.
I stamped my new Magenta cling butterfly panel with Olympic Green VersaFine on a white square card blank and coloured first with DIs then added detail with Prisma pencils. I stuck the aperture paper on the card to leave the butterfly panel showing in the frame.
I added a cut out butterfly (Kaisercraft C5794 Bonjour) with VersaFine Smokey Gray and coloured with Prisma pencils and finished with a sentiment from the same set inked to tone in.

The Design Team have made some fabulous creations to inspire you and we hope to see you there.

Challenges for my card:
4 Crafty Chicks - Something New
Charisma Cardz - Anything Goes
Dutch Dare - Your Favourite Things (Butterflies and making my own papers)
Fabulous Friday - Something New
Glitter Geeks - Brand Spanking New
The Squirrel & The Fox - Something New (All the stamps & the Nestabilities die set)

Thanks for looking.
Hugs, Fliss xx

Polka Doodles Stamp Club Kit

Hello peops, hope you've had a lovely Christmas and sorry for my lack of blogging lately. It's been very busy here with Christmas and family stuff so I've hardly had any spare time.
I have just a quick post here to tell you Nikky's exciting news about the brand new Polka Doodles stamp club kit with stamps, papers and a lovely project magazine which is being launched soon. For the full details please click HERE.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year and great 2012. I'll be back soon and will have details of some candy for you in the New Year as I hit 500 posts on Christmas Eve and want to celebrate.
Hugs, Fliss xx

Merry Christmas Everyone

Hello everyone, just a quick post from me in the middle of a baking marathon to wish you all a wonderful Christmas and all the very best for 2012. Hoping that you have a great time tomorrow and manage to get some time to yourself over the holiday.

Hoping also that you all get some lovely pressies and hopefully some new crafting stash for the new year.

Hugs, Fliss xx

Seasonal Tags

Good morning everyone on a cold and frosty day. Hope your Christmas preparations are now in full swing. Mine are finally getting there as we put the decorations up over the weekend and my girls did the tree so the house is looking a bit more festive. I now have to make a start on the dreaded h.......k to make the house ready for visitors - not looking forward to doing this!
I'm here today with the final challenge for 2011 over at Make My Monday and continuing with the Seasonal theme, this week we would like to see a Tag. This could be just a tag as I have done or something with a tag on it - the choice is yours.

Apologies for the slightly chopped looking pic, I had to use the scanner because the light was really bad.
My tag was inked up with Old Paper, Bundled Sage and Shabby Shutters Distress inks and I then stamped on an Artemio text with Forest Moss DI. I embossed the background with clear embossing powder.
I then used a small Penny Black music score stamp (Clearly in love stamp set) in black ink on buff card, stamping repeatedly to form a background. I tore this out and adhered to the tag. I added a small scrap of antique gold card left over from die cutting a scalloped rectangle.
I finished off with a die cut bird (Marianne Designs) cut out of kraft card and then inked with Distress inks to turn him into a robin. I felt he needed an eye too so added one with a fine black Sharpie pen.

Full details of the challenge and some gorgeous inspiration from the Design Team can be found over at the Challenge Blog.

Challenges for my tag:
Gingerloft - Winter or Christmas
Craft Your Passion - Things With Wings

Have a great week and just a quick note that this post is number 499 so there might be some Candy in the pipeline soon!
Hugs, Fliss xx

Paris In Springtime

Morning everyone on a very cold but bright day. We had minus temperatures for the first time this Winter last night - brrrr!
I'm here today with news of the next challenge we have for you over at Fashionable Stamping Challenges the theme of this being Travelling Around The World and the Design Team have covered a fair bit of it with their gorgeous creations.
For my inspiration I decided to look forward to a favourite time of year when the new greens start to appear and set this in a city I still have to visit and which is at the top of my wish list - Paris.

I chose to make a tag this time and made my own from chip board as I needed quite a large one for the main stamp I wanted to use. The gorgeous collage stamp (Hampton Art Diffusion Passport) has been in my collection for quite a while and this seemed the perfect opportunity to ink it up again. I stamped it with VersaFine Imperial purple on parchment card and added colour by sponging with various Distress inks. I then tore the panel out.
I painted my tag with acrylic paint and then added colour with my recently acquired Pan Pastels. I'm really pleased with the lovely chalky matte effect you can achieve with these. I then stamped on a favourite flourish with Memento Pear Tart ink.
I stamped the Hero Arts tulips on tissue paper with Stazon Olive Green ink and then sponged with Pear Tart and Lilac Posies Memento ink. I cut them out quite roughly. I stamped the B Line Designs Eiffel Tower with the purple ink and cut this out.
I assembled the tag as you see, adding the tulips with a glue stick. I really like the slightly misty look you get by stamping on tissue paper. I finished off with some antique copper letter tiles.

The Fashionettes have made some stunning creations to get your creative juices flowing - much needed after all the Christmas preparations I think! You have until 31 December to enter and if you pop over to the challenge blog, you'll find details of the gorgeous prize from our sponsor Marina of Cottage Crafts and of the first challenge for 2012.
Hoping to see you there.
Fliss xx

Through The Window

Morning peops, it's Friday again and I can't quite believe it's only just over a week until Christmas and I haven't yet sent out my cards or finished my Christmas shopping - eek! This is mostly because I'm up to my eyes in figure work and VAT returns - yuck!
I'm here today with all the details of the final Polka Doodles challenge for 2011 as we're having a much needed Christmas break. The challenge has been chosen by Daniele and she would like to see a Window or Aperture on your creation. In my case this turned out to be a frame attached with foam tape although it's actually quite hard to see this in the photos.

All of the elements on my easel card are from the Magical Winter CD set and I made a frame to fit the front of the easel with some of the pretty dotty paper and my circle cutter. I attached this to the front of the card with foam tape and set the toadstool house in the frame. I added Woodware Fluffy Stuff on the house and the frame edge to give a snowy effect and glittered it a little.
I added the cute elf to the outside of the frame then covered the base with the dotty paper and finished off with a lovely sentiment panel and some snowflakes punched from various glitter card shades. And that's it - done!

Do pop over to the challenge blog as there's some gorgeous inspiration from the Design Team and also details of the CANDY on offer to some lucky entrant of this challenge.

Challenges for my card:
Crafty Purple Frog - It's Cold Outside
Delightful Challenges - Anything Goes
Meljen's Designs - No Rectangles
Paper Play - Christmas
ABC Christmas Challenge - Anything Christmas Goes
Crafting For All Seasons - Christmas
Divas By Design - Christmas

Have a lovely weekend.
Hugs, Fliss xx

Fantastic News

Hello folks, I'm back again with another post because as well as my hubby's birthday card which I have to show you, I had a phone call from my younger daughter Sarah (in the second year of a Fashion degree at Kingston) to say that she and her friend Lucinda are the winners of a competition run by the South African clothing company Woolworths. This means that in the Spring next year they will both be jetting off to South Africa for a few weeks. To say that she's excited is an understatement as she's been running around shrieking and jumping up and down! Isn't this just fabulous, I can't tell you how proud and pleased for her I am.
It's her Dad's birthday too and here is the card I've made for him:

Andrew loves anything nautical and has loads of books on the subject so I decided on another card made with my trusty Aspects of Design nautical stamp set from The Stamp Man which gets a lot of use as most of the men in my husband's family love the sea.
I made a background paper by stamping blocks of colour with various Distress inks in blues and greens and then stamped on a B Line Designs time stamp in opposite corners with black ink.
I stamped the ship collage on grey card coloured the circular element and round the very edge then cut it out. I stamped the map on ecru card and cut this out.
I assembled the card as you see, adding a greeting made with a Dymo machine.

Challenges for my card:
Corrosive Challenges - Anything but Christmas
Stampin' Sisters in Christ - Birthday Card
Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
Totally Papercrafts - Anything but Christmas

Have a great week,
Fliss xx

Tie A Red Ribbon

Morning folks, sorry about the title but that song popped into my head (you know the one I mean about the yellow one lol). It's Monday again and I can't believe how close it's getting to Christmas, really must get my cards in the post!
This week's challenge at Make My Monday, continuing with the December theme of Seasonal, is to use Red Ribbon on your creation so my inspiration is another Christmas card.

I've used a favourite Magenta stamp for my card which although not meant for Christmas is very good for seasonal cards with the music and berries. I stamped with VersaFine black and inked the panel then added detail with pencils and Promarkers.
I covered the card with Polka Doodles papers then added some scrunched red ribbon and a stamped, die cut and inked sentiment (Polka Doodles Christmas kit) finishing with the bird panel.

The Design Team have made some gorgeous and very varied cards to inspire you so do pop over for a look and hope to see you there.

Challenges for my card:
Card Makin' Mamas - Christmas
Raise The Bar - Christmas
Stampin' For The Weekend -  Christmas
2 Sisters -  Christmas
One Stop Craft - Traditional Christmas Colours
Dream Valley - Christmas
Paper Sundaes - Anything  Christmas
The Squirrel & The Fox -  Christmas

Have a great day and hopefully I'll be back later with more Of Tim's tags and also my hubby's birthday card as it's his birthday today.
Fliss xx

Tim's Tags Day Six

I'm back again folks with my second post for today and have the day 6 tag to show you. This one took an absolute age as the painting bit was really difficult owing to the embossing folders I chose to use not having Tim's. I also have to say it came out very grungy and certainly a bit more than I expected so you'll have to let me know what you think - I'm still not sure about the end result.

I used the Alterations Texture Fades Bingo /Patchwork folder and the Cuttlebug holly folder. I didn't have the metal so adhered aluminium foil to glossy card and embossed then painted as Tim did.
I also didn't have a suitably sized metal adornment so made my own by gluing metal flowers to a silver glitter card wreath cut out with Nestie circle dies. I also trimmed the outer edge with deckle scissors.
I finished off with a piece of vintage torn lace.

As before I'm linking this up to Tim's blog 12 Days of Christmas Tag 6 and again to Inspiration Emporium for all things Tim.

Have a great weekend,
Fliss xx

Tim's Tags Day Five

Happy Friday everyone and hope you have better weather as we have today. The wind finally went and I woke up to glorious sunshine this morning although it's very cold. I'm hoping it stays like this over the weekend as the last few days haven't been that great.
I've got another improvised tag to show you but before I do that I just want to say how sad I am to have heard that we've lost the lovely Sarah Lawrence, the very talented lady behind Crafty Notions, her company that produces Karantha stamps, gilding flakes and the gorgeous inky sprays. I was lucky enough to meet her on several occasions and admire her beautiful stitching creations so will miss her a lot.
I'm still somewhat behind with my tags but here's number 5:

Improvisation list:
Art Impressions snowflake instead of seasonal reflections stamp. I'd also like to say if you haven't done Tim's technique for this yet that a stamp with bold lines is required as I tried one with fine lines and you couldn't see the resulting image very well.
I didn't have the die either so used a Martha Stewart hydrangea punch and Woodware leaf sprig punch to make my wreath which is set on a backing of hessian (burlap) cut out with Nestie circle dies.
I finished off with some copper letter tiles and a simple ribbon at the top.

I'm linking this up to Tim's 12 Days of Christmas Tag 5 and also Inspiration Emporium where you can buy the supplies and link up your tag for a chance at some lovely prizes.
I'll be back a little later with tag 6 and wish you happy crafting in the mean time.
Fliss xx

Tim's Tags Day Four

Afternoon folks from a very chilly, wild and windy South coast. We've got sunshine again but the wind is so strong it's really cold. Hoping you're all having a good week so far and I'm here with the next of my versions of Tim's 12 Days of Christmas Tags Day 4 which I really enjoyed making as the techniques on this one are messy but great fun (I have very blue fingers at the moment lol).

Improvisation list:
I only had the Picket Fence Distress Stain so used Broken China and Tumbled Glass DI re-inkers and ended up with quite a similar effect although brighter
The snowman has Weathered Wood and Stormy Sky Distress inks instead of the stains used by Tim
The numbers were made with a strip die, inked, stamped and Glossy Accents added
Punched snowflakes from kraft and glitter card as no border die and my punch wouldn't go through the plastic packaging I have
Thread and silver weave ribbon as no tulle

I think I enjoyed this one the most due to the techniques as it's a while since I used crackle paint and I loved the background even without all the Distress Stains. I'm linking this up over at Tim's 12 Days of Christmas Tag 4 and if you haven't seen the original it's a must!

I'm also linking to Inspiration Emporium which is worth a visit for Tim's supplies.

Thanks for looking and happy crafting,
Fliss xx

Tim's Tags Day Three

I'm late, late, late here with my third tag as boy, did I have a struggle with this one! I don't have anything Tim used and must have gone back to the drawing board at least 3 times before I got something I felt reasonably happy with.
It's been really chilly here and I think I must have brain freeze lol but here's my finished tag.

Improvisation list:
Text stamps - large (Inkylicious) smaller (Penny Black)
No Embossing Folder as nothing suitable
Woodware holly and leaf sprig punches and Sissix flourish die for foliage
White tag inked with Old Paper and Tea Dye Distress inks after stamping
Extra additions - paper roses, metal flower charm

Quite a simple tag in the end but I think I like it like that. I left off the twine as I couldn't make it look right.
If you haven't seen the original gorgeous textured tag and some great inspiration for making Christmas crafted items in bulk, click on Tim's 12 Days of Christmas Tag 3 and prepare to be amazed.

I'm also once again linking this to Inspiration Emporium where there are great prizes on offer and Tim's supplies available.

Have a great day and happy crafting.
Fliss xx

Glitter Glitter Everywhere

Good morning folks on a very cold and frosty day but the sun is shining so it's lovely. Being Monday and also the first Monday of the month, we have a new theme for you over at Make My Monday which as it's December is Seasonal Anything Goes with a plus. This week's plus is GLITTER so those of you still making those Christmas cards like me will love this one.
My offering this time is rather clean and simple and something we all need when we're short of time - simple to make too.

I chose this lovely Penny Black silhouette stamp and stamped with VersaMark ink on kraft card and heat embossed with Wow Puff White embossing powder. I then glittered some areas with various Stickles.
I set the panel which I die cut with a Papermania set on a mat of white glitter card. I covered my 5 x 7 card blank with a piece of torn edged kraft patterned paper from the Polka Doodles Magical Winter CD set and added a greeting stamped with the Practical Publishing Polka Doodles Christmas kit clear stamp set with brown ink on buff card, coloured with pencils and cut out with a Papermania label die.
A very clean and simple card.

The Design Team have made some fabulous glittery creations for for inspiration so do pop over for a look.

Challenges for my card:
Addicted To Stamps - Christmas Card
Come and Get It Challenges - Anything Christmas
Hybrid Chick Card Caravan -Make It Sparkle
Bling It On - Christmas
Emerald Faerie Garden - Christmas Non Traditional Colours

Have a great week.
Fliss xx

Dressmaking, Corsets, Accessories

Good morning folks, I'm a little late with my post for the new challenge over at Fashionable Stamping Challenges today as we went to the pictures yesterday evening and I clean forgot to schedule my post. The film we saw was the new Hugo film which is a family film and we were attracted to it because of the steampunk look of the trailer. If you're a fan, it's well worth going as the clockworks are just astounding.
Anyway, enough waffling and on to the challenge which this fortnight is all about Dressmaking with Corsets and Accessories as an additional option in your stamping. As many of you will know, this is dear to my heart because my younger daughter is doing a fashion degree and my family background had included sewing - I was taught to sew and knit by my dear great aunt and have sewn all my life.
I chose to make another wall hanging so without further ado, here it is.

My creation began life as a piece of recycled grey board which I painted with antique beige acrylic paint. I then stamped a rose border from a Judikins bolio which was given to me by a dear friend using VersaFine sepia ink.
The remaining stamps all come from the Creative Expressions Vintage Sewing stamp set and I stamped a piece of background paper using the fabulous textile square with Victorian Velvet, Frayed Burlap and Crushed Olive Distress inks. I tore the edges and added this to the panel.
I added an embossed and inked sewing pattern panel (Tim Holtz Texture Fades), the mannequin panel from the stamp set inked and coloured with Promarkers and a panel stamped in the same way as the background paper cut out with the Tim Holtz Baroque die. The tape measure is stamped and coloured with Mustard Seed Distress ink. The thread reels are also stamped and have threads wound round them.
I finished off with a mannequin cut out with the Tim Holtz Sewing Room die with lace and a taper measure ribbon bow added and various buttons and sewing charms. Lace was added to the base.

I hope you can join in with our challenge and please remember that we must be able to see some stamping on your creation to be eligible for the prize and top 3. Do hop over to see the Design Team creations too as they've really excelled themselves on this one.

Challenges for my creation:
2 Sisters - Punches and/or Dies
Craft Your Days Away - Buttons or Bows

Have a lovely day.
Fliss xx

Tim's Tags Day Two

Hope you're all having a good weekend so far folks and I have my second tag for Sir Tim's 12 Days of Christmas Tags to show you. This time because I had to wait for our lovely sunshine to disappear to get a good pic as I didn't finish the tag until late last night.
I again had to do loads of improvising which I think has largely been caused by the fact that my Christmas supplies only get seasonal use so I try to do different things year on year to make my purchases last as long as possible to get the value out of them. As a lot of the supplies on the tags are new this year, that's why I don't have them as my craft purse is unfortunately not bottomless lol

Improvised supplies for this tag:
No Kraft Resist so used vintage music score dry brushed with white paint then stamped with holly (Papermania) and Christmas (Inkylicious). I also sponged on Shabby Shutters and Crushed Olive as I felt more colour was needed.
Snow make using a splatter stamp and white paint.
Deer is thick card rather than canvas and was inked with VersaColour Sand Beige, Umber and Cocoa
I added a bell and a holly garland made from punched holly sprigs.
I tried to use hessian at the top but it disintegrated on me! Ribbon used instead.
I added a little plaque made with a Craft Stamper free stamp (December issue)
The bottom border is a Martha Stewart punch with blingy ribbon added for some glitz.

To see the gorgeous original tag and all the instructions please click on Tim's Tags 12 Days of Christmas Day Two to be transported over.
I'm also linking once again to Inspiration Emporium which is worth a look if you haven't yet done so as there are prizes on offer.

I'm off to work on Day 3 now which will be even more of a challenge as I have none of the supplies!
Happy crafting,
Fliss xx

Tim's Tags Day One

Afternoon everyone, I'm here at last with my first tag for the wonderful Tim Holtz's 2011 12 Tags of Christmas which I managed to finish just before the light went so I could get a reasonable photo.
I'm a little late with mine as I didn't have any of the things used on this one so had to do mega improvising which made me scratch my head a little lol.
Here's the finished result which is not quite as embellished as Tim's gorgeous tag but I'm quite pleased with it anyway.

My improvising list is as follows:
Stormy Sky Distress Ink on the tag as no kraft core cardstock
Cuttlebug Snowflake folder
Pine cones made with a Marianne Designs flower die set (which was inspired by Tim's beautiful roses)
Foliage made with Sissix flourish die and a Woodware holly punch.
No Noel die so Basic Grey chipboard letters and a Papermania label die

If you haven't yet seen the gorgeous original if you click on my link Tim's 12 Days Of Christmas Tags 2011 Day One, you'll be transported over to be wowed.

I'm also linking this to Inspiration Emporium and many thanks to Terry for this. Do visit if you do the tags as there are fabulous prizes up for grabs.

Thanks for looking and hope you decide to have a go too as I think the best fun is to be had when you haven't got the supplies.
Fliss xx

Secret Element Christmas Card

Good morning everyone, I'm typing this post on a very wet and windy Thursday evening as I'll be sitting in the hairdressers when this post goes live. I'm really hoping the weather is a bit better too.
It's time for a new challenge over at Polka Doodles and this week Team A (which includes me) will be giving you some inspiration. We've split into 2 teams to save challenge entrants having to trawl through a gazillion creations to reach the link tool.
This week's challenge has been chosen by Enfys and she would like to see a creation with a Secret Element suitable for a child (or in my case a teenager). I chose to make something suitable for my nephews who are in their later teens.

 

All the elements on my card are from the Magical Winter CD set and I chose the cute penguin together with papers in colours suitable for boys (or girls who don't like pink!).

I assembled the front of the card in layers as you see, adding a little glitz with navy glitter card. I covered part of the inside with the same backing paper and made a pocket to tuck a gift card in (for game and music mad teenagers) and added a cut out penguin with foam tape.

I finished off with a central border of dotty paper and a sentiment from the CD, leaving room either side to write a message to the recipient. As you see, very simple!

Challenges for my creation:

Fab 'n' Funky - Anything Goes

Divas By Design - Anything Goes

Dream Valley Challenges - Sparkle

Thanks for looking and have a great day,

Fliss xx