Embossing Lace

One of the new stamps out this week, is a large A6 size lace stamp which I thought I would show you with the Queen's gold embossing powder. In fact, all of the lace stamps heat emboss beautifully. I heat embossed it with the gold on a piece of chipboard, and then smooshed over it Spun sugar distress ink, and wiped off all the excess with a kitchen towel. Then I used grungeboard butterlies and dragonfly again using the Barn Door direct to the grungeboard, adding a  bit of Rusty Hinge to it for depth. The grungepaper rose I made using the same lace stamp ( oh joy , think this is my new favourite stamp!) and gold embossing it, and then using the same technique of wiping over it with Barn Door distress ink.

 The grungepaper likes embossing, but curling the paper needs to be done carefully to avoid cracking. The butterfly was overstamped in Archival black using part of the lacy border stamp. An ideaology pin was added to the centre and filled with Glossy Accents. The Dragonfly has a bead chip just in the centre. The letters and leaves are from the Grungeboard Nature set.

Don't forget to comment as you could be in for a prize of one of the new Alice stamps!
Have a creatively good day!

Dib Dab dob!

I know what a terrible title, but I was wondering did you get them out and try them.. the dabbers that is? Here are the two final tags, and we start with the letter T for wood effect. This is one of the techniques I learnt while at Ranger, and it is fab for distressed looks, and backgrounds and in this case a tree.
With a dragging movement flick your chosen colour dabber across the tag using up, down movements. Do not fill the whole tag, just random swipes. Allow to dry.
Take a darker colour distress ink, and ink over all the tag. Mist with water a cloth or paper towel, and wipe all over the tag. The distress ink will be removed from where the dabbers are, and voila! you have a wood effect.
I stamped the tree and birds over in the same colour distress ink, and the T was coloured in with the same colour dabber and highlighted with distress ink.

Fo rthe final letter E I used a gold dabber, and just stippled it all over the tag. Add more a nd build up the layers to create a fab hammered look. This is my attempt at Halloween, and the skulls come from the Mini Grungeboard. In fact all the grungeboard is covered in silver dabbers, and the skulls with black dabber. E for eeek???? lol

I have had great fun showing you these techniques, and if it has inspired you I am happy!

Have a Creative Day!

Red & White

Over on Arty Girlz blog challenge the theme this week is Red and White, so I made a card in what else! red and white!

I embossed the glossy card in my Big Shot, and used the Harlequin Texture mat for the top half in Distress ink. Then I covered the Mixed Minis Grungeboard alphabet in distress inks, and some of them I white crackled. I have found that the crackle paint gets lumpy and hard to use the nearer the bottom of the bottle it goes, so am going to try spritzing into the bottle to see if that makes a difference. Will let you know. The little heart has Worn lipstick distress stickles on it, and the wings are crackled.

Girls, thank you for the challenge, I am beginning to like blog challenges as they stretch my creativity!

More Black & White

This time I made an ATC for a friend, and also for the Arty Girlz Challenge which was to make an ATC. I think I have just scrapped in my the skin of my teeth :).
It was very simple, and just used my faithful papers from Black Market, and of course grungeboard. I covered the grungeboard in Snow White Dabber, and then stroked Black Adirondack ink over it. So easy, and so effective.

Don't forget the One World , One Heart giveaway at the top of the oage, and of course the Valentine's giveaway too, so please do leave a comment and be in it to win it :)

Happy Inking

40th Birthday Card

Today is a friend's 40th birthday! and I made a card! Well me being me, it is a card with a difference! She didn't want any presents, so I incorporated the pressie into the card. Often I will go out of the house to wander down our small town to get inspiration, and think! So, I had a wander and went to a couple of shops to try to find inspiration. I visited one of my favourite shops Heselden Hats , where Teresa, the owner sells hats amongst fabulous finds! I often come away with a carrier bag full of great stuff. Yesterday was no exception. A FREE bag of little handmade envelopes, some handmade paper envelopes, and a bag full of broken jewellery bits! All for £1.50! Heaven!

So did I get inspiration...? no, but I did get an idea, and I made a Black and White card using Grungeboard Numerals, Thickers letters and a piece of Stampbord!

I used black and white Papers for the background ( don't ask me who as I have no idea!) , and I used Snow Cap dabber on the Grungeboard, and then swiped Archival Black ink over them, and the thickers letters too! For the stampbord, I ultra-thicked it in white , and then using black stazon, inked the girls into it while the Utee was still hot. You get the faces in relief. One of my favourite techniques. I actually added a brooch back to the Stampbord, and attached the brooch through 2 large holes onto the front of the card.

Voila!

Full of Beanz!

I am a little late tonight with this blog post, but have been out all day craft shopping, and came home lots of new ribbons , paper and more bits! I did spend last night creating a pencil/pen holder using Ten Seconds Studio metal, and grungeboard letters, and of course the infamous Beanz tin! This is for the challenge over on the Objet D'art too.

As it is late and the keys on the keyboard seem to have a mind of their own, I will update the post tomorrow with details of how I made it, but for the meanwhile here are some pics....

I had great fun making this, even though I now have plasters on most of my fingers! I will give you instructions on how to make it tomorrow.

Happy Creating

13th Day of Advent

Well it is pouring with rain outside and very cold and windy, and the best place to be is indoors by a roaring fire curled up on the sofa with a book! However I am in front of the computer typing this, and feeling a little chilly in my office which has draughts from the Arctic blowing through the windows!
 Yesterday's winner is

SHAZ!

 Congratulations! and please email me with your address so I can send off your stickles to you.
The blog candy alert today is a new yet to be released Stitchels rubberstamp called Cedric. He has to be one of my favourite snowmen, and if you spend over £15.00 in my shop you can get him free too! This is a special only for my current customers and blog readers!

In the spirit of Christmas I made another card today, which I used Crafty Individuals Christmas Papers, and grungeboard which I did run through my Big Shot on an embossing plate( which failed miserably ) and then distress inked them and added gold Stickles to decorate.

 As usual leave a comment , and if you are not a follower become one.You have to be in it to win it!
Keep warm.

8th Day of Advent

I cannot believe that it is Monday already, and today I have another chipboard tag for you. This time a very simple one using Grungeboard Swirls from the Dots Elements pack, and purple distress ink background. I also used the full Merry Christmas from The Christmas Geetings 2 die sheet. I highlighted the dots with some stickles.

All the elements are available from The Artistic Stamper. Hels has some fabulous blog candy to give away too here.

Finally the blog candy winner of the gorgeous Stitchel bee stamps is

Gayle

Congratulations! Please email me your snail mail address so I can send you your candy.

See you tomorrow and more details of what the Blog candy on Christmas Day will be !

6th Day of Advent

Thank you for all the posts yesterday, you have had a much longer time to post, as I was away yesterday, so without much further ado, here is Thursday's winner, and yesterday's winner too!

                                                      Lucia   &   Max
Congratulations! Please email me your snail mail address, so I can get you your blog candy asap!

Today's piece is a mini canvas that I made for my challenge blog Objet D'art which you can find here. It is a fortnightly challenge blog, and hopefully will make you work out of the box, and create something you wouldn't normally do. This week Karen from Scrapz has showcased her talents!
I used a mini canvas and Crafty Individuals Christmas papers glued on to it. Then I used the bookplates from the Elements Grungeboard, a Junkitz Sticker, and distressed inked the small Reindeer from Seasonal Grungeboard. I gold stickled his antlers! The bookplate was attached using the washers and long bards from the idea-ology line. The "Christmas" Stamp came from Christmas Greetings 2 ( a long forgotten stamp of mine).

Reindeer Canvas

Keep watching, you never know you may be the next winner!

Day 5

It's another 20 days to Christmas Day, and another 20 pieces of artwork and blog candy to go! I am out all day today in London seeing my gorgeous daughter at one of her plays she is working on, so the blog candy choosing will wait till tomorrow, or if I am feeling up to it, later tonight!

I am chuffed that you like what I am doing, and I have tried to change the ideas everyday. I am not one for cards, but prefer other mediums. However I will slide a card or too into the days...

Here is today's offering,another simple tag ( do you think I am hooked on these?) This time it has distressed ink background in old paper and frayed burlap. This time I stamped one of my Swirls on the background, and the Grungeboard tree is distressed in pine needles. I used a set of icicles decoration for the ornaments, and glued them on with Glossy Accents. I gold stickled the Grungeboard Star.

Keep posting and following, you have to be in to win!

Christmas Advent

I thought it would nice to celebrate Christmas this year by giving away Advent blog candy EVERY DAY until December 25th! This will be a stamp or "stuff" or an inkpad or absolutely anything, and on Christmas Day it will be a BIG load of stuff, just for you!
So for just leaving a comment or becoming a follower, and if you can please link my blog candy advent giveaway on your blog today and every day up until Christmas day, you get the chance to win some blog candy. You might even win twice!
I have planned an alternative Christmas artwork for every day too!
Here is the first one.

Day 1

This is a large Chipboard tag with Distress inks, lightly spritzed, stamped with a Christmas Stamp sentiment, and a small Grungeboard Holly, decorated with Ruby Slippers Stickles.

So, just leave your thoughts, and be in it to win!

New masks and Grungeboard

I should have been doing the washing and ironing and general housework, but I got sidetracked by the new products by TIm Holtz this morning, and decided to have a quick play.
I used our chipboard tags, and at first thought I will try alcohol inks with the mask. Errr wrong, it didn't like them, and the ink leaked under the mask, as well as the mask sticking quite badly to the inked paper! Will have to work on that technique!

Then I tried the same stencil with distress inks, and I liked this technique ( note to oneself, must invest in more colours!) This is using worn lipstick, and old paper. I also used The Artistic Stamper swirls in the background. The stamp is one of Tim Holtz's and the sentiment is for a friend of mine.

Finally I made Christmas style tag, using distress inks, pine needles, and worn lipstick, and the snowflakes from the new grungeboard-Seasonal. I also stamped the Father Christmas from Victorian Christmas 3.The gold is Krylon pen, and I inked the snowflakes with distress inks, and then wiped over with the Krylon pen. Did do a bit of sanding but probably not enough.

Now back to the mundane things in life- ironing, cleaning, and washing!!

Happy Stamping!

ATC Folder

I came across some A5 size glossy folders last month in my local stationers, and as they were shiny, I immediately thought of alcohol inks, and a workshop I was about to take. Bingo! there was my second project! I alcohol inked the outside, by dropping alcohol inks and blender onto a non stick craft sheet and swirling them with a stick, then laying the shiny side down in the inks. it gave the appearance of clouds, and I did the back too. Then I used the artist's plate, and added the pens, paintbrush and pencil to the front. and the ruler across the top. Finally I added Grungeboard alphabet, and a bookplate inside. I did cover the inside with paper and matched the pens etc on the inside, cutting up between the stamps to give a nice effect.

By the way, if you pop onto my Objet D'art challenge blog you can enter a competition!

Happy inking!

Grungy Jewelled Tin

Finally I got around to using the Tim Holtz Grungeboard...

Recipe:

Take one medium sliding tin,Alcohol inks , Distress inks, Grungeboard Dots elements, little jewels, Gold Krylon pen, and a lot of patience.

Method:

I alcohol inked the tin with red, and green inks from Kuretake, and gold from Ranger, and allowed to dry. Then I cut up some of the scrolls from the elements, and then inked them with spiced marmalade distress , spritzed them to cover scrolls, and highlighted with frayed burlap and a touch of gold pen.

I then glued them onto the lid and bottom of the tin, and attached coloured jewels around the edges and randomly on the top.