Creative Team call out!

Have you got a better way of saying I am looking for STAMPERS who like to make ART? If you think you have got what it makes to join us at THE ARTISTIC STAMPER and be on our CREATIVE TEAM, then email me a little bio, with a link to your ART.
In the meantime Lucy, one of our team, has started a blog here. Do go and say hello, she would love it!
I have just uploaded on the website some new stamps from Karantha these are fab , pods and flowers and seeds, very versatile, and a great price.

I have made a rainbow card from the seeds and flowers stamps. This is my entry for the Gingersnaps Rainbow Colour Challenge
I used inks that haven't seen the light of day for years and which worked perfectly- Colorbox. I brayered the background with Florist which is multicoloured, and then direct to the stampbord, I used Topaz, Sky Blue, and Old Rose. I had forgotten how wonderful these inks were, and I got an ENTIRE set years ago in 1992 when I co-wrote a book on rubber Stamping called Discover Rubber Stamping.
I put all the stampbord together and then stamped the flowers and Seeds with Archival black, dried off with a heat gun, and then spaced them out equally on the card. I did learn one thing while using these inks with Stampbord. Even though I heat dried them , and then stamped on top with Archival, I hadn't heat dried enough and I made a mistake, so I washed! the stampbord under water and the inks came off! Re-usable stampbord! I then more carefully heat dried them before stamping on top. I think if the piece was going to be handled, I would clear emboss or cover with Glossy Accents.

Hopefully it will fulfill the challenge :)
Happy Creating

Family Values

This is a piece I made absolutely ages ago, and sits on my desk for my coffee mug! I used a round piece of Stampbord , and Kuretake Alcohol inks and the Family Values stamp inked in black. I liked the way it appears worn. If you do do a piece like this and use it for your coffee, then I would suggest varnishing it, to protect it. I have stampbord on offer at the moment, so if you want to get some while stocks last , now is your opportunity!

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!

Mini Canvas

Sitting enjoying the sun streaming through the window, I sat and comtemplated what I should indulge in making today. Someone asked where I get my inspiration from, and I have to say it usually from the components I have around me.
 I always have by my side, a black Stazon inkpad, a black Archival, and then whatever flavour of the month inkpads! This month it is Archival True Blue and Cobalt. There is always a bottle of Glossy Accents, and at the moment I have my metallic dabbers. I am addicted to these and use them whenever I can. So a piece of stampbord, and a small mini canvas got the gold metallic dabber treatment, and were left to dry. I dab them on thickly to get some texrture.
I then inked directly on top of the gold dabber on the stampbord with the true blue archival inkpad. It seemed to turn green.I then stamped on top in black Stazon with my favourite texture mat -chintz.
It did need a little lifting, so inked the same part of the stamp onto a piece of Ten Seconds Stusdio Appletini metal, and cut out the flower. I layered all the elements onto the mini canvas, and gently bent the flower to look flowery!

The picture does not do it justice at all, as you cannot see the background :(

Domino Jewellery

My first love has always been and always will be making jewellery. Often when I see an opportunity to make something I can wear or give to someone to wear, I will  turn it into a brooch or a pair of earrings.
Here are a couple of pieces that I made ages ago, and dug out of their hiding places to show you.
The first one is a regular plastic domino that has been coloured and edged with alcohol inks, and then stamped on top with black Stazon using the little girl from the Garden Plate. I then put a brooch back on it.

The second piece is made similarly, but using a domino piece of Stampbord. It has the daisy from Botanical Plate 1 stamped on to it. I edged this piece with white paint dabber. Again this has a brooch back on it.

These are not complicated pieces to make, in fact so simple, they take a matter of minutes, so are a great idea for a birthday or just a gift!

Big Blog Candy Give-away

It is very quiet in my house today, everyone is stil asleep, and I am sitting here at my desk blogging! I promised myself I would try to have time for myself, but it has become addictive, so here I am again with a little piece of artwork I made but didn't show. Just a reminder that the blog candy featured HERE, is on offer until 1st January when I will choose a winner. You need to post a comment or become a follower until then to be in it to win it!
 I silver uteed the Father Christmas on an Oval Stampbord, and then layered him on piece of card I had alcohol inked red with a bit too much with silver. It has tendency to take over if you use too much.

I rather like this piece now, but at the time wasn't sure, so if you would like this piece of artwork, then all you have to do is comment. I will choose a winner when I next blog . Don't forget to comment to win the massive blog candy too!

Have a quiet Sunday....

4th Day of Advent

I am sitting here surrounded by Christmasy stuff , and all I can seem to make is tags! So today I have made an ornament using an oval piece of Stampbord, and Bronze Utee, and the infamous Father Christmas. I stampede into the Utee with Stazon, and edged the Stampbord with a bronze Krylon pen. Nothing I am making is hard , and if you want detailed instructions just email me. I then hung it on a Christmas ribbon which was in Tesco's Bargain bin!!

The winner for Day 3 is Sian. Congratulations!

Please email me to let me have your snail mail address.

By the way in case you are wondering I am choosing by Random Integrator, and from the followers and comments. So if you comment and are a follower, you get a double chance of winning!

By the way there is more blog candy on Hels' Blog too...see here

See you tomorrow with more goodies.

On the drink again! or more alcohol ink techniques.....

Since I have had my blog, I have made much more artwork than I ever did, and this week I planned a project using alcohol inks, limited edition stamps on promotion, and the Stampbord blocks. It was all planned in my head, and then I had a phone call from Calvin which set me thinking....

He asked about the new Tim Holtz masks, and we got talking, and one thing led to another, and the complicated masking project that I had in my head suddenly got easier! I remembered about the batik technique using clear embossing powder, and wondered how it would work with alcohol inks and Stampbord. It works beautifully!

I started with this piece, using the new simple swirls on gold paper, embossed them in clear and dabbed alcohol ink over the embossing. Then I laid a piece of paper or you can use kitchen towel, on top of the artwork, and using the iron on a high setting I ironed until the embossing powder had been removed. I didn't move the iron too much, but it did take a couple of goes! You can see the effect really well.

Then I moved onto a smaller version of what I eventually wanted to make. This is an ATC sized stampbord, and I did 2 versions. The one with alcohol ink had a lighter layer of green and yellow underneath, and then I embossed on top. Then you layer again on top after embossing with more alcohol ink. When the embossing is removed, you get a lighter colour , not white, as in the one with distress inks.

                                    Distress inks Pre-Ironing           Distress inks technique

Stampbord ATC with Alcohol ink and embossed on top

The residue from ironing ( I love this piece)

Finally I made the bigger version, but I am not totally enamoured with it, but it was good experiment in embossing, and the use of alcohol inks!

Stampbord Block with Alcohol inks and Batik

I do hope you like the technique and although it is not a new one, has endless possibilities.

Hot off the Press!

New Stamps! Designing stamps is always a pleasure for me, and I absolutely adore these new ones! I had such fun making them-swirls, flourish frames, flourishes of all shapes and sizes. New today are more cute and gorgeous Stitchels, buzzy bees, and bugs, a  wonderful dragonfly, and more minis! I am planning to use some of them on a Weekend challenge which is happening on Crafts by Carolyn Forum, and I started last night by making an impromptu keyring with stampbord, distress inks, and one of the new swirls. Have not got a clue how many projects there are , so am going to work my way throyugh them slowly, and have a bit of me time!
Here is the key ring

I will upload more as I make them...*she says hopefully!*

Canvas Time

Or should that be Christmas time? This was a piece I designed for a workshop last Saturday. It was the first piece that I did after I broke my arm, and wasn't totally sure about it. There are chipboard pieces on it, with silver utee, Stampbord with alcohol inks, and the the background is done in alcohol inks too!
I shall put the project onto the website, so you can make it if you like. What you can't smell is the cloves and cinnamon stick wrapped in wire. Makes it smell so Christmassy!

Alcohol ink Tasters

The rain has set in, and all hopes of a BBQ have been dashed , so not feeling very creative, I looked through some of the stuff I have done in previous times, and came across 2 small pieces of stampbord that I had alcohol inked and stamped on. This background technique is one of my current favourites , and I feel a need to get them out again. Stampbord provides a perfect background for them, as it is very smooth. The one with the face on is a stamp I have had for years by Stamp in The Hand, and this is a tiny part of it, and the passion and pattern are from

my range.

Hope you like .....

4 Day Extravanganza

Just to celebrate the Bank Holiday here in the UK, we have a 4 day extravaganza on The Artistic Stamper.
If you spend £25.00 you can get 10% off your purchases and postage & packing FREE!
Check out the new stamps, grungeboard,chipboard, UTEE, mica paints, stampbord and all the altered bits and pieces you know you need!!!
Just for a taster I have added one of Hels's gorgeous pieces of artwork


Happy Bank Holiday Weekend