Tic Tac Toe anyone?

It's time for the next challenge over at Frilly and Funkie and this time the lovely Linda, and owner of Frilly and Funkie has set the task of playing Tic Tac Toe !

It's quite simple just choose a line from the grid vertically, horizontally or diagonally and make sure you use all 3 elements in your project ! As I've not got round to obtaining the Metallic Distress Stains yet, which I need to rectify! I chose the line of lace, crackle paint and buttons.

I started with the background and stamped the snowflakes from the Artistic Outpost Sleigh Ride set with white acrylic paint. Once dry I then blended Iced Spruce DI over the top. The borders are made using the On the Edge Snow Flurries die and I've used more Iced Spruce DI and also stamped the snowflakes with the same ink over them.

I cut the centre panel from some thick cardboard using the Vintage Cabinet die. I then painted it with white acrylic paint and used the Paper Artsy Crackle Glaze and mixed the colour for the top coat. When it was dry I then stamped over the crackle using an old Rubber Stampede text stamp and also the pine cone stamp from the Artistic Outpost Midwinter stamp set. The main image is from the Sleigh Ride set and I've cut it out using a Nestability. The tag is stamped with another stamp from the Sleigh Ride set and I've added a little wooden Prima button.


I do hope you get chance to join us for this challenge and make sure you hop over to the main blog to check out the fantastic work of the rest of the DT.

Halloween or Halloween colours at FSC

Well that's another 2 weeks done and dusted ! That also means it's time for the next challenge over at The Fashionable Stamping Challenge. For this challenge the lovely Meggymay has chosen Halloween or Halloween colours. Now, I'm not a big fan of Halloween but I do love the colour combo associated with it.

First of all this must be the hardest project I've ever had to photograph ! I guess taking a photograph under artificial light is never easy but this time it takes the biscuit ! Anyway, I decided to make a little book to write down all the notes on products I 'need' and ideas for future projects. I've used mount board for the covers, and first of all I used a stencil and spread Viva Terra, which is a textured pasted, over it. Once it was dry I then painted the covers with black arcylic paint. I've loved seeing the projects that Lin Brown has been making with Liquid Leaf. I don't have any of that so I dug out my Viva Precious Metal paints and using some wet 'n' dry foam I gently rubbed some over the raised areas. I painted some along the edges of the raised areas too, to highlight them. I also rubbed some paint around the edges and then mixed some Fresco Finish paint to create the colour purple and sponged it over the top of some of the paint.

I painted a piece of crinoline with watered down Fresh Finish paints and once dry I stamped the word 'notes' with Plum Archival ink. I've used a piece of wadding behind the crinoline so that it was padded. The butterfly is made using the Mini Butterflies die and Tim Holtz Foil Tape. I've done some scribbling over it and then used alcohol inks. I glued a small piece of florist stub wire to the back of the cog so that it would act as a buckle and threaded some dyed seam binding through it. 

For the back cover I left it with just the stencilling and you can see the paint effect a little better as well.

I hope you get chance to join us for this challenge and make sure you check out the fabulous work of the rest of the DT.

Friday Focus on Filigree Metals

It's my turn to focus on one of the products that Linda sells in her fabulous Funkie Junkie Boutique. I picked the gorgeous Filigree Metals this time.

So if you head over to the Frilly and Funkie blog you can find all the details of this tag there.

Anything BUT a card with a twist !

Hello everyone ! It's time for the next challenge over at Frilly and Funkie and this time it's my turn to choose the theme for the next 2 weeks.

So, without further a do, this is what we want to see Anything BUT a card with a twist, which is you must include somewhere to hide something, this could be a flap, an envelope, a pocket or even a gift box with something inside ! Let your imagination run wild ! And don't forget, have fun !

I decided to make a gift box which just perfect for a small pair of ear rings for one of my niece's who has just turned 21. I made the box from white card stock and then used acrylic paint to age it. I then made panels for the sides and top of the lid. I 've used Distress Inks and then stamped with Archival Sepia ink using stamps from the Artistic Outpost Birds of a Feather set. I glued a Filigree corner just around the edge so that the little card would slot into it. The sentiment is from a Wendy Vecchi stamp set. The gorgeous lace is crocheted lace from Linda's Funkie Junkie Boutique.

I made the rose from a Paper Artsy Grunge Flower die and sprayed it with Perfect Pearls Biscotti mist.

I made another little card to go inside the box along with the earrings and stamped it again using Archival Sepia ink.

I hope you get chance to join us for this challenge and do make sure you hop over to the main blog to check out the rest of the Frilly side of the DT's fabulous work ! 

Another birthday !

Well that's another week end that's zoomed by ! The weather's been beautitful so I've not spent much time indoors so not alot of time for crafting. The card I'm sharing is one I made last week, it's an order for my sister to give to her eldest daughter.

The card is an 8 x 8 size which I have to admit I'm growing to love! I've used lots of Crafty Individuals stamps to create the background and the left panel. I took part in the Last Days of summer challenge which meant I got a 25% off code, so it would have been rude not to use it ! I've used a combination of Antique Linen, Scattered Straw and Seedless Preserves DI over the background. The side panel has been made using the Crafty Individuals little ticket stamps and I've then used a stencil over the top and sponged Seedless Preserves DI over it. The hinges are made from metal and they are the ends of the lock from the Tim Holtz Hardware die. I've used the nylon tip tool to create some texture on them and then used black acrylic paint over the top. The key is also cut from metal using the same die and given the same treatment. The numbers have been cut from metal using the Word Play die

The main image is another Crafty Individuals stamp which is so lovely I didn't want to do much with it. The filigree metal flower is from Linda's Funkie Junkie Boutique and the button layered on top is from an old jacket.

Shades of Autumn/Fall

I am very late with this post, after a very busy week at work I got completely mixed up with my dates and thought this challenge was next Sunday ! So this project is for the new Fashionable Stamping Challenge which starts today which is Shades of Autumn/Fall.

I started with the background and blended lots of DI over some white card then I stamped a Wendy Vecchi lace stamp with Rusty Hinge DI and brushed Perfect Pearls Rust over the top. You can see the sheen in the photo. I stamped around the edge with a stamp by Indigo Blu using the same technique. The vertical panel is made using Crafy Individuals stamps  as is the main panel. The dress form is also a Crafty Individuals stamp and I've used Distress Markers to water colour it.

The main image is a Flonzcraft stamp and I've cut it out using a Nestability and blended several different colours around the edge finishing with Gathered Twigs. The ribbons is seam binding that I've dyed with Distress Ink. The flower is cut from Kraft Glassine Paper, I've then screwed them up and when opened out I've rubbed Rusty Hinge DI over it. The button is from an old jacket and the scissors are from stash of embellishments I've bought from Linda's Funkie Junkie Boutique.

Make sure you check out the fantastic work of the rest of the DT on the main blog. I hope you get chance to join us for this challenge.

A different kind of tag !

Happy Wednesday everyone ! It's time for the next challenge over at Frilly and Funkie. This time the uber talented Anita has set our task and here's what Anita has to say:

I love making tags and there is sooo much you can do on a tag, BUT sometimes I need a slight change up. This fortnight show us a tag, BUT alter it somehow. Change it's shape, cut it up, add several to make a book, flip it upside down, whatever, just don't let us see a regular tag. Repeating..."No regular tags this fortnight!" Let's see how creative you can be, AND use Autumn or Halloween as your theme.

So I decided to make a tag book ! The front cover is made using the Spritz and Flick technique and lots of Distress Inks. The stamps are from Artistic Outpost Birds of a Feather set. The bird cage is stamped onto Grunge Paper that I've blended DI over and then cut out. The large flower is cut from Kraft Glassine paper using the Tattered flowers die and I've screwed the flower up and then rubbed Walnut Stain DI over it and added a hitch fastener to the centre. The book is closed with a toggle button.

For the second tag I tried the technique that Anita shared recently using Ink Refresher and Perfect Pearls. I stamped over the top using a stamp from the Tim Holtz Mixed Media set. The pumpkins are a PaperArtsy stamp that I've painted using Distress Markers. I've used the Tim Holtz Autumn Garland die for the leaves. The sentiment on the small tag is from the Artistic Outpost Flower Market stamp set.

This tag is one I made a couple of weeks ago with this project in mind. Lots of Fresco Finish paint and stencils. The details can be found here.

The last tag was sprayed with Dylusions Pure Sunshine and then I've blended DI around the edge. The tree was stamped using Olive Archival ink. The leaves are cut from Kraft Glassine paper using the Tim Holtz Tattered Leaves die. I've painted some of them using Fresco Finish paints, dried them and then screwed them up again. I used some stencils and paint for the background.

I hope you get chance to join us for this challenge and do make sure you hop over to the main blog and check out the rest of the DT's fabulous work.

New Challenge at The Stamp Man

Hello again, this is my second post today ! It's a day of changes as over at The Stamp Man we're moving to a monthly challenge starting on the first of the month. The challenge starting today is Butterflies, bees and bugs. Make sure you hop over to the main blog to find out all about the new look and also check out the rest of the DT's fabulous work.

The card I'm sharing with you today is a birthday card for a friend whose birthday is tomorrow. I started with the background and used a stamp from the Tim Holtz Fabulous Flourishes set and stamped with white acrylic paint. I then used Picked Raspberry, Peacock Feathers and Seedless Preserves DI and blended it over the top and then wiped over the top with a damp piece of kitchen roll. I then blended more of the same colours onto white CS and stamped it with the text stamp from the Tim Holtz French Marketplace set and the used Peacock Feathers DI to stamp the honeycomb from the Mixed Media stamp set.

The butterfly stamp is also a Tim Holtz stamp which I've stamped over the top of the text. The flower is made from Crinoline using the Mini Tattered Flowers die and the centre is from the Ideaology Foliage.

I hope you get chance to join us for this challenge and as it's open for the month of October you've got plenty of time !

VSC's first challenge !

Happy Monday everyone ! Today is a little different in as much as this is the first day of a brand new vintage challenge called Vintage Stamping Challenges. We are sponsored by Flonzcraft who have a wonderful assortment of vintage style stamps as well as many others and who are also giving away a $20 prize each month to spend in their store. For the first challenge we've picked a really easy one which is Anything Goes and you've got a whole month to enter !

This is a card I made for my other half's birthday a few weeks back. I sprayed a piece of white CS with Dylusions sprays then stamped it with a Paper Artsy dotty stamp. I used an Artistic Outpost stamp and Olive Archival ink for the text panel and I've punched down the side using a Stampin' Up punch.

The main image is a Flonzcraft stamp and I've stamped it onto Speciality Stamping paper then masked it off and stamped over the top of it. I blended some DI around the edge and added the filigree corners. The little black bird was stamped onto black shrink pastic, cut out and then shrunk ! A bit of corrugated cardboard and Burlap to finish.

I hope you get chance to join us for our first challenge and make sure you hop over to the main blog to check out the rest of the DT's fabulous work.