Published in March Craft Stamper!

It has been a while since I have had anything published in a magazine, and I was very chuffed when Katie asked me if I would like to do Stamping Contrasts in the current ( March ) issue of Craft Stamper.

All the designers used the Swirls, Splats and Dots A5 die sheet from The Artistic Stamper, and I have only briefly seen the magazine (waiting for my copy to arrive) , but the creations are just gorgeous!
Here is one of my pieces, ( apologies for the awful photo, which I took as they were being packed up to be sent off...always at the last miniute!!LOL) If you fancy making this , then all the ingredients are in the magazine article.

Off now to get stamps moulded for Stamperama, coming up fast next Sunday 12th February!
Have a very creative day
Hugs

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!

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!*