Friday Focus on Crinoline

It's my turn to share a Friday Focus over at Frilly and Funkie and today I'm focusing on Crinoline, which if you've visited before, you'll know I use rather alot of ! 

 On this card I've made a Crinoline snowflake using a Tim Holtz Snowflake Rosette die. I've added a shrink plastic snowflake to the centre and a bead.

For this card I've stamped onto Crinoline and used it as the background layer.

For the details of how I've used the Crinoline hop over to the Frilly and Funkie blog.

Light in the darkness !

EDIT: We've got a slight technical hitch at the moment on the Frilly and Funkie main blog, but if you try later you should be able to leave us your project for the current challenge. 

We've come round to the next challenge over at Frilly and Funkie and this time the lovely Rebecca has chosen the theme of 'Light in the darkness' and here's what Rebecca has to say:

Create with 'light' in mind.  Think candles, bulbs, lanterns, menorahs and all things that brighten this time of year.

I had to give this one some thought as candle or lantern stamps don't feature in my stamp collection ! The stamp I used is a Katzelkraft stamp that I've had for years. I covered the card with Tarnished Brass and Antique Bronze Metallic Distress Stains and I've spritzed it with water and blended the two colours together, then stamped the candles with black Archival ink. I mounted the candles onto a Nestability die cut that I've blended Wild Honey DI over. The vertical panel is stamped with a Christmas script stamp then I've blended Fired Brick and Barn Door DI over. The background has been stamped with a Stampendous swirl stamp, then I blended DI over it and rubbed embossing ink around the edge and sprinkled gold EP over it.

The poinsettia is made using the Tim Holtz Tattered Poinsettia and I've embossed it using a Cuttlebug EF. I made the stick pin and used an alcohol ink pen to colour the stick. The ribbon is seam binding and I've dyed it using Fired Brick Distress Stains.

Do make sure you hop over to the main blog and check out the rest of the DT's fabulous work.

Merry Christmas !

I am slowly ploughing my way through all the New Home, Birthday and Christmas cards I need to make. I can definitely say I am now in a Christmassy mood ! We went to the Festive Fair at the NEC yesterday and now I have a 2 foot Santa standing on the hearth ! So, here's one of the cards I've made, this is one that I plan to make several of as it's quite simple to put together and time is definitely of the essence !

I stamped the background with the gorgeous Crafty Individuals swirl stamp and embossed it with gold EP. I then blended Aged Mahogany, Barn Door and Fired Brick DI over it. The vertical panel is stamped with Olive Archival ink and the stamp is an Elusive Images stamp.

The Poinsettia is made using the Tim Holtz Tattered Poinsettia die. I've used a Katzelkraft music stamp and stamped randomly over the flower and then blended DI over it. The gold swirls are made using the Festive Garland die and I've used gold EP over them. The centre is was covered with Glossy Accents and then sprinkled little gold balls over it. The sentiment is from the Tim Holtz Mini Holidays stamp set and is cut out using the Wonky Rectangle Nestabilities. The ribbon is gold May Arts crocheted lace.

I'm entering this card into the Crafty Individuals challenge with is Festive Sparkle.

Home Sweet Home !

It's time for the next challenge over at The Fashionable Stamping Challenge and the lovely Yvonne had chosen Home Sweet Home. This challenge is really well timed for me as I have 4 new home cards to make at the moment, so here's the first !

I wanted to use bright colours for this card as it's for my one of my niece's and she's definitely not a pastel kind of girl ! I used Dried Marigold and Spiced Marmalade DI for the background. I stamped the large flower with Spiced Marmalade and the smaller one with Peacock Feathers and used a little Brushed Corduroy around the edge. I've used a Darkroom Door stamp set for the centre panel and stamped it lots of times in different directions and then blended Peacock Feathers and Ripe Persimmon DI over it. I did a little spritz and flick and then mounted it onto some black card.

The house shape is cut using the Tim Holtz Artful Dwellings die and I've embossed it with the Cuttlebug Distressed Stripes EF. The numbers are cut using the Vintage Market die and I've used Metallic Distress Stains to colour them. The centre panel is stamped with another Darkroom Door stamp and I've cut it out using a Nestability. The crocheted lace is by May Arts and the ribbon is seam binding, which has been dyed using Peacock Feathers re-inker. I stamped the house, which is also from the Darkroom Door set, with black Stazon onto shrink plastic and attached it to the bow with a small link ring.

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 fantastic work.

I am entering this card in to The Artistic Stamper challenge which is Anything Goes. 

Chipboard and Metal !

It's time for the next challenge at Frilly and Funkie, and this time the lovely, talented Marjie has chosen the theme of chipboard and metal. Here's what Marjie has to say:

This week we're looking for two elements on the project of your choice.  We want to see chipboard and metal.  It can be purchased, homemade, or faux.  You can use branded chipboard pieces or cut up a cereal box... choose items from the hardware store or simple household metals like staples or paperclips. Ranger's foil sheets would work too. The options are endless! We want you to be creative and can't wait to see what you share with us.

I've made this card for my sister to give to her eldest daughter. I started with the background and blended Milled Lavender DI over white card stock and then stamped an Elusive Images stamp in the same ink. On the piece of Crinoline I used some Crafty Individuals stamps and stamped them using black Archival ink. I used the Tim Holtz text stamp from the Papillon set and blended Dusty Concord and Seedless Preserves DI around the edge. The main image is an Indigo Blu stamp and I've stamped it with black Archival ink and cut it out by hand.

The heart is made from chipboard and is from a Chippies set, which I've sanded, painted with white acrylic paint and then stamped with a Katzelkraft text stamp. The gorgeous lock is by Melissa Frances. The dress form is wooden and I've also painted it with white acrylic paint and stamped it with the same text stamp as the heart. I've used Tim Holtz Foil Tape for the zig zag, which is made with a Cuttlebug embossing folder. I've used alcohol inks, and acrylic paint on it and then rubbed black Stazon ink across the top. The beautiful lace is form Linda's Funkie Junkie Boutique.

Make sure you hop over to the main blog to check out the rest of the DT's fabulous work.

Pretty in Pink !

I'm busy making birthday cards at the moment as I have quite a few family birthdays just before Christmas. You would think by now I would be organised and have them made so I can concentrate on Christmas......mmmmm well maybe not !

I started with the background and blended Tattered Rose DI over some white card. Then I screwed the card up into ball and carefully unfolded it and use Victorian Velvet DI and rubbed it over the top. It highlights the creases in the card created from screwing it up. Then I ironed it flat and stamped the flourishes and text which are Katzelkraft stamps. I stuck some Tissue Wrap to some white card and die cut the doily using the Tim Holtz die. The gorgeous cage is a Poppy die and I've stamped the french text over it and blended some DI around the edges. I've slipped the text in between the cage bars, which is made from a Crafty Individuals stamp as is the Just for You text.

The main image is a Katzelkraft stamp and the word Paris is an Elusive Images stamp. The gorgeous brad is a Marah Johnson, and if anyone knows where I can buy these I would love to know as I can't find them anywhere ! The little ticket is also a Crafty Individuals stamp and the beautiful lace is from Linda's Funkie Junkie Boutique, which has a 10% sale at the moment so well worth hopping over there.

I'm entering this card into the Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge which is Inspiration Francais and the Our Creative Corner which is to make your own background. 

It's been a beautiful day today so we've managed to get out and about and enjoy the gorgeous Autumn colours that are still on the trees. I hope you've all had a wonderful week end too !

Frilly & Funkie Step x Step

It's my turn to share a Step x Step over on the Frilly and Funkie challenge blog. I always have alot of birthday cards to make at this time of year so I thought I would kill 2 birds with one stone.

You'll find all the details on how I made this card here.

Colours at VSC !

It's time for the next challenge at the Vintage Stamping Challenge and this time we're looking for some colour ! In particular the colours we would like to see are red, green, blue or purple. Now if you can combine all of  these colours in your work that's great but we're just as happy to see one of them. Which is a good job as I was having a blue phase when I made my card !

I thought this little guy was quite sweet on his sledge and he gave me the impression he was whizzing down a snowy slope which gave me the idea of creating some snowy hills in the background. I used a torn piece of paper and a piece of artist's sponge then sponged Iced Spruce and Salty Ocean DI over the edge of the paper. The little snowflakes are also stamped with Salty Ocean DI. I used the advert stamp from Tim Holtz's Mini Holidays set and did some second generation stamping on some white card and stamped the word Postcard from the same set with Cobalt Archival ink. I covered some white card with Tim Holtz Tissue Wrap and then used the Doily die and blended some DI over it. For the background I used a stencil and Iced Spruce and Salty Ocean DI again. I also stamped some snowflakes from the Mini Holidays stamp set using Cobalt Archival ink and stamped some white dots using white acrylic paint and a Wendy Vecchi stamp.

The main image is a Flonz stamp and I've painted him using Distress Markers. The sentiment is from an Artistic Outpost set and is cut out using the Movers & Shapers labels die. I dyed some seam binding with Faded Denim Distress Stains and I also dyed the hemp I used to tie the bow and added some little crystal beads.

I hope you get chance to join us for this challenge and remember there is the $20 voucher up for grabs to spend in the Flonzcraft online store for the winner.

A little bit of music !

It's time for the next challenge over at The Fashionable Stamping Challenge. This time the lovely Esther has chosen the theme of Music. I've taken the opportunity to make another Christmas card as it is fast approaching and so far I've only made 4 cards !

I used an Elusive Images stamp set for the background and stamped 'Deck the halls with boughs of holly' and 'Tis the season to be jolly' using Olive Archival ink and doing second generation stamping. I then blended DI over the card and did some Spritz and Flick. I tore a piece of a page from an old book that had no text on it and stamped on it using on old favourite Christmas text stamp, but I don't know the make of! The lovely cottage is from the Artistic Outpost stamp set called Midwinter. I added a little stickles to the cottages roof.

The holly leaves, branch and berries are all cut using the Tim Holtz die and I've coated them all with Distress Rock Candy Crackle paint. I stamped the music onto some shrink plastic cut it out and shrunk it. I stamped the text onto the twill tape using Olive Archival ink. The numbers are cut from white card using the Tim Holtz WordPlay die and I've blended DI over them and then painted with the crackle paint too.

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

Emboss it !

So where did October go ? I can't believe we're into November already, which also means it's the next challenge over at The Stamp Man. For the next month we want to see embossing, this could be dry embossing or heat embossing, or both !

I received the December edition of the Craft Stamper magazine earlier this week and fell in love with the free stamp. I stamped the background using this stamp and Archival Vermillion and Olive inks. I've used a Sizzix snowflake EF and blended Festive Berries, Evergreen Bough and a little Gathered Twigs DI over it. I've then sprinkled a little gold EP around the edge to add a little shine. I used an embossing diffuser for the main panel and stamped santa in the centre.

The holly leaves have been cut using the Tim Holtz Holly Branch die. I stuck Claudine Helmuth's sticky back canvas onto some Grunge Paper, cut the leaves out and then embossed them with the snowflake EF. I've then rubbed Evergreen Bough DI over them and also sprinkled a little gold EP around the edges of the leaves.

I hope you get chance to join us for this challenge.