A bit of embossing and some happy faces

Morning Peeps, it's time for our new challenge at Allsorts and this week Annie is challenging us to use either wet or dry embossing on our work. Our sponsor is the Sizzix.

I tend to heat emboss an awful lot of my stamping, not only do I like the sheen from it gives but if I am going to colour in it gives me a good edge to stop me going over the edges.......a regular occurrence as something of an unnatural colourist.

Both of my shares are Chocolate Baroque samples, the top tag was cut twice from heavy cardstock using a TL die and stuck together to create a firm base for the inks. My starting point was to pain the whole tag with a light brown acrylic paint, the a coat of crackle graze followed by a coat of cream acrylic paint. I then randomly stamped a Rose and script image and heat embossed with detail copper and also added some stencilling. The UTEE piece is just a random blend of UTEE crystals which I melted on a craft sheet and then stamped into with the Rose image. The three little hearts were stamped with the same script and embossed with detail clear to give them a bit of a sheen.

This set of cards and matching box are all TL dies, one of my favourite die sets from 2016. The Spring flowers formed part of a recent CB show on Hochanda and are all stamped with versafine and heat embossed with detail white powder , then coloured in with Spectrum pencils and matted and layered in coordinating cardstock.

Last week the girls 'Sussex Cousins' came to stay with their Mum and Dad - aka one of our son's and DIL. Pictured above are from left Cousins Prince and Luka along with Daisy, Holly and Poppy to the rear. Luka is a rescue from Cyprus, apparently they have a large number of Hungarian Viszlas abandoned over there, they are bought for hunting and then just abandoned when the season ends and an English lady Vicar living there tracks them down and re-homes them, mostly in the UK.

My team mates have all come up with different embossing takes on the theme and you will find them all over at the challenge blog.

New Trio sets from Tattered Lace

Hello Peeps, I hope your week is going well.

Tomorrow sees the launch of lots of new Tattered Lace goodies and lucky me has been playing with them for the last couple of weeks and today I can share a few with you.

The new Trio sets are so clever, each set has three dies, a small embossing folder and there are stamps as well. Needless to say I have been in my element with so many flowers to play with and quite a few have been given the inky treatment, plus I have also done some colouring in.........I know shock horror..............using the new Nursery Rhyme stamps along with the matching dies.

I used the Sophie (leaves) and Kirsty Trio sets on the top card, as soon as I saw the latter set it yelled out Poppies to me, but to be fair it makes so many flowers including lovely Pansies. Both the background, Poppies and leaves have been given the Dylusion and Mica spray treatment along with some masking and grunge paste.

I have used several of the Trio sets on this one, Emma, Kirsty, Sophie, Rebecca and Nicola and a Pan Pastel background. The sentiment is also Tattered Lace which I cut down into two parts

Little Bo Peeps from one of the Nursery Rhyme stamp sets, I masked the sheep to create a flock............might make it easier for her to find them as well !! The flowers are made from the Rebecca Trio set

A fairly simple matted and layered card using the Tractor die and With Love from the Get Started set which was POTW recently

I cut these flowers from felt and the dies cut through it perfectly with just one run through the e.bosser. It doesn't show up too well on my photo, but I was really surprised to find the felt picked up the pattern from the embossing folder really well

I used the Rebecca Trio set to make the roses, Sophie the leaves and dipped them along with Butterfly Wondrous into UTEE, shading all with Pan Pastels

Thanks so much for taking a look today and I hope you get time to see some of the programmes.

Blossoms

It's time for a new challenge at FlonzCraft Vintage Stamping Challenges where our them is Summer Blossoms, what a lovely easy one as we all love our flowers. And as it's Monday I also have my Prickly Pear and Nicecrane DT shares.

For my top card I have used a number of FlonzCraft stamps, Etched Rose and leaves, Buttertfly trio, small butterflies sheet and Floral Butterfly corner and sprayed them all with Dylusions before cutting out and decoupaging. Graphic 45 DP and TH weathered clock cut from Coredinations.

I am again entrering the Butterfly Bingo Challenge (after totally messing up yesterday's one - need more practice) and following the line of Butterflies, Dies and DP.

This one is probably the most difficult card I have ever had to make, when my latest DT package arrived from Prickly Pear I looked at this sentiment and lovely as it is wondered what on earth I could manage to do with it.

Using: GG1096 Loyal Companion

After thinking about it for a few days I decided I would make a card in memory of my lovely Buffy. The design and colours of the card, little UTEE fob and glazed flowers were inspired by Pere Lachaise in Paris, for those not familiar with it, it's the largest cemetery in Paris set on a hill with views of the City where many famous people are buried .......Sarah Bernhardt, Chopin, Colette, Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf to name a few........although it is a cemetery it is unlike most and more of a tourist attraction with beautiful marbles, many flowers and ornate glazed photos to commemorate those buried there.

Finally my Nicecrane share is another using the elegant A Dream of Fair Women design sheet........can you tell I really like these, along with Graphic 45 DP's, a bit of paper folding, ribbon and flower.

Happy Monday all.

Things with Wings

Happy Saturday Peeps, time for a new challenge at Allsorts and this week it's my turn to be the host and I've chosen the theme 'Things with Wings'.................. it's no secret I like my flutterbys and fairies and I thought the theme would brighten these dull winter days.

I've made another of the threefold cards which I shared a couple of weeks ago, this one just has a different die across the top................. it's actually quite easy to create this effect, you just place the die onto each panel and secure with low tack tape and place on the cutting plate so that only the top element which you want cut is on the is on cutting plate............. in other words the majority the card is over the edge of the plate.

I have randomly stamped over all three panels using Tim Holt distress ink Victorian velvet, tea dye and vintage photo and Tim Holt papillion stamp set.

I stamped the butterflies the second time and cut out and use gems for their thorax. 

The mannequin die is a new one, I've looked at its ages but was not sure if I would actually use it, but now I've got it I really like it and I especially enjoy dressing it up this which I did with some fine cotton, lace and gems

On another panel I used the TH bird on branch die and some eyelets and pink seam binding to join the three panels together.

The rose was made from plain white paper which I stamped with a music text, inked lightly with tea dye and punched out five, five petal flowers with a 1.78 punch and after assembling the rose dipped into clear UTEE which gives a lovely glassy feel.

I also dipped the leaves cut from a spellbinder die into the UTEE and then embossed a little copper powder round the edges.

Sounds like a bit of a long drawn out process but it's not really as bad as it sounds I think it worth the little extra time it took me to create it.

I really hope you'll join in the challenge this week, I love coming round to see all your entries and always enjoy the diversity of the way in which people interpret themes, that's what makes crafting such fun.

Some more nice and inky work

I thought I would share the projects I prepared for the class at Stampalot last weekend. I know most of the girls have shared their makes on their own blogs, so thought I had better enter into the spirit of things and show mine. And of course all the stamps and papers etc., can be purchased from Sir Stampalot.

The top card and close up above uses the lovely technique that was in the March edition of Craft Stamper...........as soon as I saw this I just knew it had to be a class project. It's a bit of a lengthy process as it takes time to dry in between each process so the girls on Saturday made it over the course of the day between other work.

You use watercolour card and spritz three times with diluted TH distress refill ink......we used worn lipstick, peeled pain and brushed corduroy, allowing each layer to dry before adding more. Next a smearing here and there of Bead Gel, not a lot otherwise it won't take the stamping........this is the part that takes longest to dry. Finally you rub gold acrylic pain over the dried bead gel and as soon as that is dry you are ready to stamp with stayzon........silhoutte stamps give the best result for the main images......here I have used Hero Arts wild flowers and some Penny Black ones ramdomly stamped in the background.

A long procedure, but a very satisfying result. The strip of finished card is cut into three, some score lines, pearls, a button and twine added to finish the card.

For this one we used Memento inks and Glimmer Mist dazzling diamonds to create a background, then stamped Penny Black 4182K Butterfly Suite and coloured with Aquamarkers. The base card is stamped with Hero Arts Music using TH wild honey. The DP is one of the new Scribble Scrabble designs. The flower was made using TH tattered floral die, scrunched up and dipped into UTEE.

My final card used another stamp from Penny Black 4183K Sparkle and Hero Arts S5264 Antique Flower Background stamped onto the side of the base card. The flower was stamped and coloured with Aquamarkers three times to cut out and decoupage and the cut out petals inked with versamark frost, spritzed with Glimmer Mist pearl and moulded into shape before layering up. The DP is Kaiser.

A special lady

Debs is hosting the challenge at Allsorts this week and has given us the theme of "for a Special Lady".

It's all a bit special for me with this one as it was the first entire card I created following my enforced craft and blogging retreat and I admit I was thrilled to have actually completed a whole card that I was passable happy with........I know little things and all that, but I so missed being involved in all things crafty.

The image is one I bought at Stamperama by B Line Designs, the company is totally new to me but I just loved the romantic image called Travellers.....I think they are in Italy.......just my romantic notion because it's where I most love to be.

I stamped the image with versafine black and embossed with detail clear, then masked the image and sun and brayered the sky with Adirondack dye inks and coloured the images lightly with Copics. The swirl is Hero Arts S5449 and the sentiment Hero Arts CL278 which I thought was perfect for the title of the theme. Finally I scribbled a freehand line around the image and added some swarovski crystals.....yes this does mean the card will be used for someone special........ flowers and punched leaves. This also fits the following challengres:

Craft your Days Away - For a special lady

Scrapbook Sisters - Anything goes

Crafts and Me - Anything goes

And this is my very last DT piece for Stamptacular Sunday having decided to step down..........much as I have loved working with all the girls, something has to give.

A pretty basic creation because it's such a beautiful stamp that it does not need much embellishment so as not to detract from the beauty of the picture. The image is Magenta 15276N stamped with Versafine black and embossed with detail clear, then coloured with Copics. I used a piece of mount board for stamping so that I could cover with several layers of UTEE to give a lovely glazed panel. This is also for the following challenge:

Delicious Doodles - Floral Fantasy

Glazed roses

Agancy staff at work again to let you know it's the lovely Emma's turn to host the new challenge at Allsorts and she has would like us to make our own flowers, right up my street this one.

Due to my enforced non blogging I have failed to thank a few peeps for passing awards on to me so before I forget yet again, can I thank Kay, Pat and Tracy and apologise it's taken so long. I do hope I have not missed anyone, if I have don't be afraid to remind me.

The main image is one of the gorgeous new Sara Burrier stamps from Crafts and Me, which I stamped with versafine back, embossed with detail clear and coloured with a mixture of Aquamarkers and Copics. I stamped the wings a second time, coloured, glittered and decoupaged.

The DP is a really old piece in my stash and no idea of the make, but it matched the colour I used on the fairy perfectly. I made three roses from the reverse side of the DP and dipped them into UTEE to achieve a lovely glazed finish and the border is Martha Stewart double loop punch. This is also for the following challenges:

Scrapbook Sisters - Lace and Pearls
Flutterby Wednesdays - Open with wings
Southern Girls - Brads/gems/dewdrops
Daring Cardmakers- Pound shop favourites (the tiny green flowers - I bought them and wondered for months what they would match - until I made this card)

Next fo this weeks new theme at Stamptacular Sunday - "You've been Framed". I have created another frame card very similar to the one I posted a couple of weeks ago but used a different shaped Nestie, but still using linen cardstock as the texture is good for this technique and after cutting the aperture stamped all over with Magenta 14315-0 using verasamark and embossed with detail clear.

I then folded repeatedly......mountain folds work best here and brayered randomly in all directions with Big and Juicy Spice..........this is the one exception where brayering works well on matt cardstock until the resist stamping shows through.

The sentiment is good old Penny Black 2695J Dance. I made a rose from a piece of plain paper which I stamped with Hero F5042 Leaf Flourish, which I then dipped into UTEE, exactly the same as the card above and added some punched leaves shaded with the same B&J.

I love these glazed roses and if any of the girls due at my next class at Sir Stampalot see this, you will be playing with the melt pot and making these.......regardless of how my body is acting up, I am determind not to miss out and will be there keeping a watchful eye over proceedings. This is also for the following challenges:

CCEE - Distress your papers

Paper Play - Lets get sentimental

Some odd Girl - Hnadmane embellies (the rose)

Stamping B's - Use a flower

All about the sentiment

Hello everyone, seems like ages since I was last here......and I'm not really here now..........thank heavens for daughters and granddaughters who make wonderful secretaries and in typing this make it possible to post my DT work, which thankfully were all made weeks ago and in my picture file waiting to be used.

That's the thing about having something like MS, you tend to constantly plan weeks ahead just in case. I know some of my fellow DT members think I am paranoid working so far in advance, but the last few weeks prove exactly why I do that, it sort of becomes a way of life.

So three weeks now and not a single new card, but I did do a bit of colouring in this week. With the help of one of my 'secretaries' who inked the stamps, I managed to stamp them, she heat embossed the images, then I did a bit of colouring.......I'm still unable to grasp by Copics properly, but managed to watercolour as you don't need to be as exacting with that.

Now for the challenges and it's my turn to host the theme at Allsorts this week and I would like you to focus on the sentiment in "All about the Sentiment".

My DT card combines a bit of allsorts......oh dear what a pun....... the frame was created with a Nestie using linen cardstock.......the texture is good for this technique and after cutting the aperture I stamped all over with Magenta 14315-0 using verasamark and embossed with detail clear.

I then folded repeatedly......mountain folds work best here and brayered randomly in all directions with Big and Juicy Hydrangea..........this is the one exception where brayering works well on matt cardstock......until the resist stamping shows through and all those folds give a really different effect where they pick up the ink.

The sentiment is good old Penny Black 2695J Dance. I made a rose from a piece of blue DP which I dipped into UTEE to achieve a glassy effect and added some punched leaves.

And this weeks challenge at Stamptacular Sunday is "Lovin' from the Oven". I confess to freaking a bit as this one as apart from a PB stamp with a birthday cake along with some hedgies, I seem to have nothing remotely associated with food.....wine yes, fairies yes and flowers by the the bucket load but nothing foody.

So I made a little acetate bag and filled it with ginger fairing's.....homemade mind you..........and decorated it with a card to match. The circle floral stamp is one of the 2011 release from Hero Arts S5141 Floral Wreath, stamped with Memento black, coloured with Copics and Stickles added to the flowers centres. The tab on the bag was cut with Nesties and the card cut with a Marianne die.

Before I go......or should I say 'we' go, thank you all so very much for your warm and sincere messages, mails and cards I have received. Although I can't visit you all individually and say thank you, I really hope you will see this and know how much I appreciate all your kind wishes.

New Year, New Home, New C&C programme

Hows everyone today then ?

The weather is turning decidedly cold here again and we are still getting frosts every night, so winter looks set in for a bit longer yet.........I just don't do cold and can't wait for Spring.......if for no other reason so it's a bit lighter and brighter and I can get some decent photos of my work.

I have a few shares today and need to remind you that there are still a few more days to join in the Stampalot Blog Hop, lots of fabby prizes on offer and some fabulous DT work on your way round. Also don't forget the new Stamp Addicts show on Create and Craft at 2pm tomorrow........another of my sample cards further down.

My first share is a New Home card I made for one of our sons and his partner who have just moved......literally two days before Christmas, nothing like a rush and tear....blame the solicitors who always push things to the last possible date. Although the colours might not be what I would choose personally, they are colours I know they like which is the most important part.

The sentiment is computer generated and set into a frame cut with Nesties and stamped with Hero Arts F5042 Leaf Flourish using TH stormy sky. The DP is Crate Paper which was beautifully glittered in one corner, so I cut it to make the most of the pattern and get it into the bottom left corner of the card. The two flowers were made using a Cuttlebug quilling set and after I assembled the flowers, dipped them in clear UTEE making them glass like. If you look closely you will see the cream ribbon is crinkled up......this was intentional.......I gave it a few blasts with the heat gun to create the effect. This card is for the following challenges:

Try it on Tuesdays - A new beginning

Simon Says - New beginnings

Creative Card Crew - As above

Creative Cottage - Something New

My second card card used one of my favourite stamps from Crafts and Me - Eternity . I created an oval by masking and sponging with TH stormy sky, sage and marigold, then stamped the image with verafine and embossed with detail clear. I coloured the image with the same inks and Copics for the hair and skin. The DP is American Crafts, swirls cut from grunge paper using a TH die and the flowers coloured with Copics to match. The sentiment is an unmounted one....you all know that means I don't have the foggiest who made it. This is for the following challenges:

Crafts and Me - Paper tearing

Flutterby Wednesdays - Open (they also have a Blog Hop this week)

Scrapbook Sisters - Anything goes

By the Cute and Girlie - Bling it on

My final share is another of the cards I made for Friday's new Stamp Addicts C&C show using the Da Vinci sheet from JudiKins. I stamped with versafine majestic blue and embossed with detail clear, punched a border with Martha Steward cornice punch from Magnolia DP and cut a couple of the keys out and tied with cord. This card is for the following challenge:

Bee Crafty - What's New (the stamps)

Moving Along with the Times - Ring our the old ring in the new ( new stamps)

Feels like snow

Hello everyone, how you doing ?

Is it cold or what, don't know about the rain they forecast, feels more like snow here so someone must have left the Fen gate open again....for those of you not familiar with the Fens, it's very flat and when the wind blows we know all about it. In the spring and summer we get the 'Fen Blows'.......the soil being so light here, it literally lifts off the ground in a good wind and blows like a dust storm and many a newly sown crop has been lost that way. When we get winter winds it's cold, it is verrrrrrrry cold. I could drivel on for England couldn't I ?

Dining room done, hall work in progress, slowly goes it but it's nice to have one room almost done and dusted. There were a few hairy moments on the ladder, but hubby stayed close and left me too it as he knew I was determined to do it. The body's not so sure of the wisdom today though and nothings working very well and I may just let someone else do the next room. But I think sometimes I have to do these things just to prove to myself I am not a total write off just yet. And I am really pleased with the room, I love the colours and now itching to get the new dining furniture in......I will share piccies when we get there.

My first card card is a but of indulgene again with Sweet Pea Fairy of the Night, stamped and masked to create a moon, then coloured with Copics. The glittered spotty DP is My Minds Eye and I embossed the bottom piece of bazzil with a new butterfly folder I bought at the NEC. I added crystal glityter the the fairies wings, some flowers and a pin which was silver so I coloured it with Copics to match. This card is for the following challenges:

Simon Says - Sparkle

In a Sweet Pea Dream - Flowers

My second cards one of my really quick and simple ones using a lovely Clarity Christmas stamp which I stamped with versafine black, embossed with detail clear onto a piece which I misted with Glimmer Mist timeless lilac then masked to I could ink the centre of the large letter using brilliance inks. Next I sprayed with Crafters Companion iridescent spray and sparkle and when dry stamped with one of the sections of Judikins Christmas cube. The DP is Cosmo Cricket. This card is for the following challenges:

Tuesday Taggers - Peace, love, joy

Fab 'n Funky - Forget me not (the cube stamp)

Anything Goes - Let it snow

Ladybug - Christmas sparkle

Me, like fairies ?

I woke up at 5am sneezing, by 8am it was a full blown cold and by lunchtime I look like Rudolph.

Must be something to do with the rumour of decorating, so I decided not to go into the office today and take it a bit easy with some craft. And has that been slow going, just one card completed, one finished from yesterday and a sample from stock, so here they are.

A couple of easel cards as I have a bit of a glut of them right now thanks to the one and only puppy from hell, Daisy. I had all my nice new cardstock from the NEC laid out on the sofa in my craft room.......200 cards and envelopes in total.........in comes Daisy fresh from the stables with hubby and literally launched herself onto the sofa, muddy pawmarks everywhere. Dog's don't do sofas in our house, lets fact it, if they did we would be the ones sitting on the floor.

So the only option I could see to salvage some of the ruined cards was cut off the muddy fronts and assemble some easel cards. In fairness to Daisy, the ruined ones were in the minority, but think she learn a hard lesson there. And for you peeps, a few more easels to come still......but I do love the shape so not too fussed if I am honest.

The top card is sheer indulgence with another of the new Sweet Pea Stamps from Crafts and Me (link on sidebar) called One and Only Heart. Isn't she the sweetest ? She is stamped with versafine and embossed with detail clear, then masked so I could add a sun.........I know I am a bore but all fairies need a moon or sun in my fantasy world. I decoupaged her glove, flower and heart, coloured with Copics and glittered her wings and the heart. The DP is a really old piece from my stash, the two white hearts are made with glittered card using an Martha Stewart punch, the border another MS punch and feathers and a based pin used to embellish along with some roses and beads. This card is for the following challenges:

Crafts and Me - Glitter

My Time to Craft - Rhapsody of Roses
Flourish Timeless Tuesday - Glitter

My second card, another of the reassembled easel cards stamped with Hero Arts CG179 aptly named Rose Background and coloured with Twinkling H20's. The sentiment is Hobby Art GR1353, such a lovely sentiment, stamped with versamark and embossed with detail clear. The bottom section is Magnolia DP, Tim Holtz Bigz swirl dies and two roses made from plain purple paper and dipped into hot UTEE to give a lovely glazed finish. This card is for the following challenges:

Tuesday Taggers - Gold, silver and purple

Anything Goes - Embossing

My final share today using this lovely little Sarah Kay girl, whose name I'm afraid I don't remember........my biggest problem with unmounted stamps as there is no wood block with the details to remind me. She is coloured with Copics and mounted onto a pretty embossed circle using the Magnolia die. The DP is My Minds Eye, a MS punched border and some punched flowers.This card is for the following challenges:

Fab 'n Funky - Going round in circles

ABC - Holidays (Christmas, Thanksgiving etc)
For Fun - Dry embossing
Scrapbook Sisters - Christmas colours

Thank you and challenges

Oh wow, where do I start, yesterday was a fabulous day at Sir Stampalot and I can't begin to express how thrilled I was to meet so many of my lovely blog buddies and to be able to put faces to names. And of course not forgetting all of those I already knew who also popped in to say hello. At the risk of offending anyone by missing their names I am just going to say a huge thank you one and all for taking the time to come, many travelling quite a distance from places such as Nottingham, Norfolk, Yorkshire and Hampshire.

I would love to have been able to spend more time chatting and talking crafty with everyone, but unfortunately the popularity of the day just did'nt allow as we were kept on your toes from start to finish. And if the queues in the shop were anything to go by there is are an awful lot of new crafty goodies being played with today.

I have one card to share with you today which is for this weeks Penny Black challenge which has the theme Christmas for the Girls and Stamping for the Weekend which wants to see Red, Green and Gold. I don't really have a 'girly' PB stamp so have gone for he more sophisticated female approach and made an easel card .......these seem to be popping up all over blogland so thought it was time I made one.

My image is Penny Black 3768K Christmas Montage, stamped with Brilliance Red, Thyme and Gold, distressed round the edges and covered with two coats of UTEE. Another of my roses that were very popular yesterday (using a 2" punch for those of you that saw a demo) and surrounded by punched leaves and pearls. The bottom border was punched with Martha Stewart embossed scallop, the greeting is my favourite Christmas sentiment this year Penny Black 3995F Ornamental Script and DP is K & Co.