UK Stampers Challenge 50

Here's my entry for this week's challenge on UK Stampers The theme is G for Graffiti and it gave me much food for thought. I decided to go for something in the true spirit of graffiti as it also gave me a chance to try out the plate of grunge backgrounds that I bought at Newbury from the Craft Fairy. I'm so glad I got these stamps as I can see that they're going to be really useful for all sorts of things-just the sort of thing I like!

I made the tag myself from white card and gave it a rounded top. I stamped on the brick background and cracked paving in VersaFine Smokey Gray ink. I stamped the Art Impressions Manhattan Skyline at the top in Onyx Black.

When all the ink had dried I got to work with some Distress inks (Scattered Straw, Spiced Marmalade, Fired Brick, Vintage Photo, Faded Jeans, China Blue and Peeled Paint) and sponged until I was happy with the colour combination.

I then doodled on the brick wall something that means a great deal to me-art does rule OK!!!
I then added the graffiti word which was given to me by my elder daughter who, when hearing that I was doing something with a graffiti theme, said she had just the font on her computer.
I inked the word up with Distress inks and cut it out. I then stuck it on with tape just at the ends so that it stood out from the tag a little. Finally, I stamped on a further grunge background at the base of the tag in the grey ink.

Larrie's Lambanana ATC Swap

These 3 atcs are for the July Technique Swap hosted by Larrie. I decided to use up some of the scraps from my hand decorated background paper box.
Face the Music is made from a piece of altered music score, treated in the same way as my watercolour crayon technique from an earlier post. The background is embossed with the Cuttlebug Allegro folder and coloured with Broken China Distress ink.
Rough Diamond is made from a piece of watercolour crayon paper and over-stamped in black with an Impression Obsession stamp. The background is embossed with the Cuttlebug Diamond in the Rough folder and coloured with Mustard Seed and Fired Brick Distress inks.
Paintball is made from a piece of glossy photo paper (Tesco Value) coloured with alcohol inks in Purple Twilight, Wild Plum and Sage. The background paper is embossed with the new Cuttlebug Herringbone folder and coloured with Peeled Paint Distress ink.
A rather wacky but very enjoyable swap.
Fliss x

Hobby Art Stamps Cards

I designed these cards for a class I taught last weekend using some of the new Hobby Art stamps.

The blue and orange card uses the insides of envelopes and I have found that even if the envelope is rather crumpled, this disappears when you emboss it using a Cuttlebug folder. I stamped the orange envelope paper first with a Hobby Art flourish stamp and embossed it using the new Victoria folder. The white square was embossed on one side with the Frills set of borders.

The blue and purple card uses scrapbook paper, one Anna Griffin and one unknown. The corners are punched with a Woodware punch and the butterfly was cut from an old illustration book I found (a real bargain at £2.50 with over 300 butterfly coloured sketches).

The orange and cream card has a manila tag embossed with the Cuttlebug Textile folder, a panel stamped with the Hobby Art Shakespeare Sonnet stamp and an orange embossed panel. The flower has been stamped on orange, peach and white card and pieces cut out to layer up. The white leaves were painted with Olive Vine H20 paint.

My Vintage Heart

This is my entry for the Sunday Challenge on UK Stampers the theme of which is V for Vintage.

I made my own tag in an arch shape from textured card and scribbled on gold leaf with a Krylon pen. I painted over the top with several layers of watercolour paint and removed the excess with a baby wipe. I stamped the tag with some of the squares from a Magenta cling set with Memories art print brown ink.

I made a heart template and cut out a thin card heart. I covered it with pressed pansies and trimmed off the excess when the glue dried.

I stamped the Elusive Images Gibson Girl in VersaFine Vintage Sepia ink and coloured her with Prismacolor pencils. I cut her out and glued on a pressed daisy.

I stamped the words with the VersaFine ink and Hero Arts letter stamps. I inked the cut out words with Tea Dye Distress ink. I assembled the tag using some Laura Ashley Love Song Harmony sticky ribbon and a butterfly cut from an old illustration book.

I added a copper brass stamping at the top and some wire as a hanger.

Fliss x

A Life On The Ocean Wave

I made this card for my father in law's birthday as in common with all the men in my hubby's family, he likes anything to do with the sea.
The background paper was made using Tim Holtz's compass mask on light blue card with coffee acrylic paint. I then stuck the square to a blue card blank.
I added a torn piece of map and topped this with a piece of recycled corrugated packaging painted in various shades of blue acrylic paint with touches of copper and antique gold. I stuck on a picture of the ship from Master and Commander, from my hubby's book about the film and shrunk on the copier. I hung sea themed charms from the bottom of the panel.
To finish I added a favourite line about the sea, generated on the computer.

Old Fashioned Girl for Cheryl

I made this atc for Cheryl as she kindly agreed to swap her beautiful Mask atc with me.
This atc has quite a few techniques on it. The background is watercolour paper which has been scribbled on with a Krylon gold leafing pen. I then painted over the top with green and yellow watercolour paints. When dry, I sponged the paint off the gold leafed areas with a baby wipe and stamped on it in black Memories ink using a Hobby Art flourish stamp (I was partly responsible for Chris designing this particular stamp after nagging him for more background designs lol)
The heart is card cut from a paper template I made and is covered in dark red pressed bougainvillea petals. You just glue them on all over with a clear drying glue and trim off the excess round the edges when it's dry. I love the soft textured look of the petals.
The girl is stamped. She's part of a Crafty Individuals stamp as is the title. The pieces are coloured with Prismacolor pencils.

Quilling-My First Attempt

I made these atcs for Larrie on Trimcraft's Technique Swap and the one for this month is quilling. As I've never done it before, I was rather nervous and got off to a bit of a shaky start. I wasn't happy with the background of the first one so set it aside while I made the second one which was the blue floral spray. After this I felt a lot more confident so redid my pink flower and then made the dragonfly followed by the butterfly. The backgrounds of these atcs are all recyled, 2 using the backing paper from the qulling papers and the other 2 were cut from an old copy of French Vogue and coloured with Distress inks in Shabby Shutters and Spiced Marmalade.
Although the technique is fiddly, I really enjoyed doing it once I got going and will be doing more in the future as I like making my own embellishments and the quilled flowers could add just the right finishing touch to my stamped creations.

27th Anniversary

Today my hubby Andrew and I have been married for 27 years. It doesn't seem like it though as the time has simply flown by since we had our 2 daughters. Claire is now 20 and Sarah is 18 and sometimes it seems like it's only yesterday that they were little.
I made this card for Andrew to celebrate. It's not too fussy as he's not keen on anything too frilly.

The heart was cut out from some paper I decorated. I scribbled on watercolour paper in several colours of leafing pen (copper, gold and red shimmer). I then painted the paper with watercolour paints in deep red and pink. When it was dry, I rubbed a baby wipe over the top to remove the paint from the gilded areas. I then stamped on a design made from 9 squares chosen from a set of Magenta cling stamps in black Memories dye ink. Please note that you cannot use solvent ink such as StazOn for this as it takes off the gold leafing.

I then stamped the same 9 square design on white card in the black ink. I used a 12cm square and trimmed the edges with deckle scissors. I stamped a border of squares round the edges of a deep red 15cm square card.

To finish, I edged the heart with the gold leafing pen and added a greeting and a brass stamping in antique copper which I glued in place with Diamond Glaze.

Recycling Extravaganza 4

Here's my most unusual item. It's intended as a present combined with a card for any girl, young or a little more mature, that loves a bit of bling.
The circular centre piece on the card is detachable and can be hung up in the recipient's bedroom.
It is made from the top of a yogurt pot and a silk flower from an old arrangement was glued in the centre. When this is dry, all you do is add a puddle of Diamond Glaze (Judikins) all round and then stick in an assortment of buttons, beads, sequins etc. You then sprinkle tiny holeless beads (Accent beads) and glitter all over, pressing slightly into the glue. Leave overnight to dry and then tap off the excess glitter.
I then coloured it all over with purple alcohol ink and pierced a hole at the base to thread an old dangly earring through.
I pierced a hole at the top and tied the finished piece to a looped brad pushed through a large card embossed using a Cuttlebug. You need to use strong card or make a double card for this to support the weight.
You can also do this technique with a Pringle lid but it will need to be scaled down a bit.

Recycling Extravaganza 3

Here's a card I made using a tag made from a piece of plastic packaging which origanally contained jewellery from M & S. It's a lovely colour and a great shape when cut down a little so it's much too good to waste.
I cut it into a tag shape and stamped a flourish design all over in purple StazOn ink. I added a stamped image on glossy card, coloured with Distress inks and tied some ribbons cut from t shirts (used to keep them on the hangers in the shop) through the holes at the top.
The background card was cardboard from a cereal box which I painted with acrylic paints and then stamped and embossed. The card base is stamped around the edges with my favourite little Anna Griffin stamp. I added jewels to finish.

Recycling Extravaganza 2

Here's my next offering which involves the use of a really pretty paper bag which I was given when I bought something from a craft shop a while back. I quite often find that craft shops use lovely bags and it seems only right to use them for something crafty.
I used my favourite flourish stamp by Tim Holtz to add a little extra pizazz and made a card and an atc with the front of the bag.
The card also uses a piece of painted corrugated card packaging and a label from a sweater I bought at my favourite designer discount store.
The atc has an old earring swinging at the base of the stamped image.

Recycling Extravaganza 1

Managed to get some new techniques finished at last. They all involve recycling which is really important to me. I think in these difficult times it's great to save some money and with a bit of ingenuity you can make some really lovely things using recycled stuff.
Here's my first contribution which uses the insides of envelopes which I always have a large variety of as the patterns inside are so pretty.
I have stamped on some of the envelopes to add interest and embossed others with Cuttlebug folders. I have also stamped images on some and cut them out. The cut out flowers have also been stamped with a script stamp before cutting them out.
The envelopes also work well with decoupage as shown by the lovely Hobby Art Butterfly Jewel stamp which looks great in shades of blue.

Purr-fect Birthday

I made this card for my niece Lucy's birthday tomorrow. The background paper is in my favourite blue and purple using the watercolour crayon technique from an earlier post.
I cut an oval shape out of the paper to be economical (if you cut where you're going to place your main image, you can use the cutout on your card or save for another).
I cut an oval purple card mat and a white one which I stamped the same open flower on in purple ink. I stuck all the ovals together and then added a cutout image-my favourite Hobby Art cat stamp-she's called Daisy and I think she looks like the cat who's got the cream.
I finished the card with a silk flower, some grosgrain ribbon and a computer generated sentiment.

Precious Things

I decided to enter the current challenge with a book about the things that are important to me. It took a while as I made the whole project from scratch.
The pages are made from thick white card cut into arch shapes. I then stamped on each one using my Millefiore technique and a similar layered stamping technique.
I then added photos, stamped images, titles and sayings. I finished it off with embellishments and some computer generated text as I'm not that keen on hand writing it.

Leaf Collage Card with UTEE Panel

Here's a card that I made with a similar UTEE panel. The card itself is embossed on one side with the Cuttlebug script folder and inked with copper ink.
The foil panel was also embossed with the same folder and then altered with alcohol inks in terracotta and cranberry.

UTEE Encapsulated Collage

I promised to post this project for Lisa on Trimcraft who wants to know what you can do with UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Powder).
Although this is quite an advanced technique that I have devised, it's actually really easy when you know how. It just requires a little patience.
The collage was inspired by some glass pieces with leaves embedded in them that I saw in a gift shop whilst visiting Corfe Castle last month.
Here's what you do to make it:

1. Cut a piece of mountboard to the required size. Turn it to the white reverse and rub with 2 or 3 toning inks.
2. Stamp on leaves in first light green and then a darker green. Stamp on a different leaf in copper. Finally stamp on script at random in dark green ink. Allow to dry.
3. Ink the entire panel with clear embossing ink and emboss with ordinary clear powder. Repeat this once more.
4. Stamp further leaves on beige parchment paper and emboss with copper powder. Sponge with Adirondack dye inks in Butterscotch, Terracotta and Cranberry for an Autumn look.
5. Cut the leaves out and arrange in a pattern on your panel. Stick on one leaf with a glue stick and set the others aside. Again cover the entire panel including the leaf with clear ink and sprinkle with UTEE. Heat to melt the powder. Repeat this step twice more with the remaining leaves in your chosen arrangement.
6. I have also added gold flakes for interest. To do this, add them with the last leaf, after you have put the clear ink on.

Recycled ATCs

Not a lot of stamping here but I decided to post the ATCs that I made for Larrie's altered/found art recycling technique swap as recycling is close to my heart and there will be more coming soon as a lot of my stash to re-use is much too big for ATCs.

South Stamp Show 16 May

Last weekend we had the South Stamp Show here in Worthing. It is organised by my friend Helen Jones who is married to Chris Jones of the Hobby Art rubber stamp company. Chris's sister Jenny is a regular on Create & Craft TV at the moment and a few of the cards that I have made with Hobby Art stamps have actually appeared with Jenny.

I met up with some of the members of the Stamping, Scrapbooking and Papercraft Guild (SSP Guild) at the show for a good natter and some ATC swapping. It's really great to meet people face to face when you've only talked online. I've put a photo here that was very kindly taken with my camera by Becky's lovely hubby. In the photo from left to right are Alison, Becky, Mickie and me. I'm hoping to meet up again at the Newbury show in July. Hopefully see you soon ladies!

Acrylic Resist Canvas

I decided to experiment a bit more with the technique and used it on a canvas board which I find a lot easier to use if you want to stamp on it. As the canvas board is sturdy, you don't get the dippy bit in the middle that is hard to stamp on.
I painted the canvas with 2 coats of white gesso first and then with a coat of cream acrylic paint. I stamped a rose design from a Paper Inspirations clear set all over in the Ranger embossing ink and then added a little pink and then gold embossing powder in places before coating the piece with the Satin Pearl powder. This gave the roses a slightly different look. I then painted baby blue acrylic paint over the top and when dry, removed the paint as before with baby wipes.
I mounted a photo of my mother on gold card which was first embossed with a border design on one side, using my Cuttlebug. I cut a piece of fabric larger than the mounted photo and stamped the roses all round the edges in dusky pink ink. When it was dry, I stitched beads in the centre of some of the roses.
I finished my canvas off with braids and fabric roses. I added a gold heart to the photo which was embossed and stamped into. This is because my lovely Mum did have a heart of gold as she always put others before herself and would do anything to help anyone.

Acrylic Resist Projects

I made quite a few sample pieces of the acrylic resist technique to try out different colour combinations and stamps. I was glad I did as I got a few surprises. The most surprising was the dark brown paint used under dusky pink paint. To my astonishment, the embossing turned a rich blue colour! It looks great though, so I set myself the challenge of making cards from all my samples.
There are quite a few! So keep on scrolling for the instructions on how to make the paper-but beware-it's addictive!