Dictionary Challenge Letter I

Welcome to my latest entry to the Craft Barn Dictionary challenge!

The letter is I and there are no twists. Plenty of choice... and that was the problem! I was mulling over and the only thing that came to mind was "indecision"...  but I couldn't decide!

Finally, in a reverse illustration process, I selected the stamp I have been wanting to show you for a long time, and picked a word that I could use with it.

Don't you think that cottage is lovely? Apart from all the logical reasons why a thatched cottage isn't entirely practical to live in, it would be my dream home.... one can dream!

This is one of the Art Stamps by Imagination Crafts, and I inked it with markers. This is the most difficult part of this project, since when inking you are looking at the mirror image of the actual stamp. Thankfully, being transparent, if you turn over the acrylic block you can check what you've done.
I did lose a bit of the definition, and it's my fault for using different types of markers with a different drying rate. Obviously you won't do that mistake!
My favourite markers for inking rubber stamps are the Zig Art&Graphic because of their soft and flexible tip, which doesn't get damaged like standard fibre tip pens do. I can't recommend them enough.

And, as usual, the definition and the letter, stamped on the Cottage's door, complete the page.

Doing this just reminded me how much I love these photo realistic stamps and want them all!
Thanks for coming by,

Bibi's Birthday

Today I am guesting on the Rubber Dance blog after winning the October challenge with this make:

I'm showing my virtual Birthday card for Bibi, which is following this month's challenge theme and colours.




Come and see how I did it on the Rubber Dance blog,  I give you my watercolour tips!

I hope I will inspire you to enter the challenge with a stamped creation. The theme is optional and there are 2 chances to win this month so don't delay!!

Thanks for coming by,
Also linking to the SSS Monday challenge (3 sentiments).

In the mood for dancing

Today on the craft Barn blog, I am showing a card inspired by the roaring twenties and Charleston.

OK, I didn't actually have any dancing girls to stamp so used these "ladies who latte" instead. I like to think they are discussing their evening plans, outfits etc... for a wild night of dancing.

The iconic music of that period is a piece by James P Johnson, who composed many hit tunes including the theme song of the Roaring Twenties film, "Charleston" which debuted in 1923 on Broadway. You can listen/watch here.

See you on the Craft Barn blog to see how I made it!
I am entering the TIMI Craft Stamper and SSS Monday challenges

Alcoholic Angel

The latest challenge at Paper Artsy is on the theme of alcohol inks. I don't play enough with them although they are wonderful so I pushed myself to create something.
I loosely followed Helen's post but I had to replace the Yupo by glossy cardstock when I couldn't find it!

I was a bit surprised at how much the glossy cardstock absorbed the inks (it shows at the back) and it took a long time of adding inks and alcohol before I got the same sort of effects Helen achieved.
Next time I will choose colours that are closer on the colour wheel, instead of this complimentary red and green scheme (blame it on Santa) which is easily transformed into mud colour.
Apologies for the lacklustre photo I'm using my phone and indoor lighting.

The star stamp is JOFY Mini 06, which I have stamped with white pigment ink and embossed with WOW Pearl Blue embossing powder.
The Pearl powders are translucent and combined with the white pigment ink give a semi-opaque look that doesn't totally obliterate the background. I wasn't entirely satisfied and decided I needed to get some of the stars, at least, to show up a bit more. I heated the card again and sprinkled white detail embossing powder on and around the stars, obtaining a flurry of snow in the process.

The sentiment is from the All Occasion Sentiments #4 set (Uniko Studio) stamped and embossed in the same way.
In this next picture I'm trying to show you the Blue Pearl effect (excuse the lightbulb's reflection):

The card called for a bit of something in the sky and That's Crafty gave me the solution with their "Angel" challenge theme. I finally used this lonely angel in my stash and gave it the alcohol ink treatment before hanging him from silver cord (hence my title...).

Thanks for coming by,
Also entering the Uniko Studio and WOW embossing powders challenges.

Tag-A-Thon Part 4

Today another batch of Christmas tags but in a very different style to Saturday's offerings.

My base were already tags... received last year, where one side had the handwritten message and the other side was blank. I cut identical tag shapes from scraps of Graphic 45 Christmas Emporium 12x12 paper and die-cut Merry Christmas from the middle.

I placed Double sided tape behind the patterned paper tags, making sure to at least cover the die-cut space.

I cut the Merry Christmas die 3 times again, this time using scraps of white paper, 2 from glossy and one from standard cardstock.

Taking off the protective paper from the doubles sided adhesive, I then placed the patterned paper tag onto the handwritten side of the base tags adding the white die-cut into the "holes" to complete the inlaid technique.

The explanation sounds a lot more complex than it really is, I'm sure you get the idea just by looking at the photo. The great thing about this design is using up scraps...

Will there be a part 5 in my Tag-A-Thon?  Possibly... I'll just see how the mood takes me, so watch this space...
Also linking to the Tagplorations hop and the SSS Monday challenge.

Star of Thrift, Tag-A-Thon Part 3

Welcome to my second DT creation on the theme of Stars, chosen by Rachel for November, at Country View Challenges and the 3rd instalment on my Tag-A-Thon...

Stars and Christmas for some reason go hand in hand, so my tags today are for Christmas.

I did something similar in the past (see here) and not only enjoyed it but also relished the thought of using up supplies that would have finished in the bin. I made Christmas tags for the many (now I'm being hopeful) presents we will have to wrap in December.
And yes, I know the tags will end up in the bin soon enough but at least they will have been USED!

These are the supplies I had gathered at the start of my crafting session.

Transparent Texture medium (Ranger), Grungepaste (PaperArtsy) , glitter and Perfect Pearls to mix in with the pastes and a new star stencil from Creative Expression.

Smaller stencils are great if you want to use them in different areas on a project without disturbing your previous work (ask me how I know...). They are also cheaper and take less space... perfect excuse to buy more!

In the photo the offcut of watercolour has already been stencilled and you can see there was already some colour on it but I didn't mind.

I decided to use powders and selected green and red (for Christmas) Brushos and my favourite Infusions Stormy Violet and Golden Sands.
I use a small brush to pick up and distribute the powders. I changed the colours as went along so I would get different looks.

I adapted the shape and size of my tags according to the placement of stars and colours to minimize any waste. You can see top left the bits that didn't make the cut. Not much waste there...

If you have a tag die, by any means use it but I used the 45 degree angle markings on my paper trimmer.

Next I added some stamping and in keeping with the thrifty theme I only used "free" stamps. They are all from Craft Stamper. I do keep them all and although I don't use them often I do use them. For a start, their smaller size make them ideal for tags.
The more recent ones are acrylic and like all acrylic stamps, they need a light sanding before they'll accept dye ink [using pigment inks, chalk inks or Crafter's inks they work fine].

I took a lot of convincing before taking sandpaper to my stamps so I am including a demo below.
On a scrap piece of paper I stamped an acrylic stamp that I had never used before. Not very good! These stamps being so small I took the stamp to the sanding block and rubbed it a few times in all directions.

I stamped again with red ink on the scrap piece and black on the back of one of the tags and you can see the difference. (click on the photo to get a bigger image) The effect is more pronounced in solid images.


Here's my tip of the day... Now remember I'm talking acrylic stamps NOT high quality photo polymer stamps which take the ink fine either after a few uses or a rubbing with nothing harsher than an eraser.

So both kinds being clear how can you tell the difference? These are my clues:

- high quality polymer stamps stain easily with dye inks, whilst most inks wash off acrylic stamps easily with water and washing up liquid including Archival ink.
- polymer stamps tend to yellow quickly whilst the cheaper stamps keep their slightly blueish tinge.
- acrylic stamps are not as "clingy" as the polymer stamps after a few uses.

I guess  should show you the finished tags too, especially if you've made it this far!

All that remains is for me to encourage you to enter your starry creations, thrifty or not, in our Country View Challenge.
See you soon for the next instalment of my Tag-A-Thon...
Also linking to the Tagplorations hop, Stamplorations, Fashionable Stamping, Penny Black and more and Stamping Sensations challenges.

Tag-A-Thon Part 2

Another day another trio of tags... this time my background papers are all different but the stamps I used, tag stamps to stay in the theme, are all from the same set,  appropriately named "Tags Time"(Viva Décor). [The set was part of my prize for winning Nefertiti's Halloween challenge]

I let the background paper decide the size and shape to a certain extent and only followed the stamp outline for the middle tag.

From left to right: acrylic inks background, Brushos and Wilted Violet Distress ink, butterflies stamped with Brushos (see yesterday's post) .

I hope you will tag along (ah ah!!), see you here tomorrow,
I am linking to the Tagplorations hop and the TIMI Craft Stamper the challenges.

Tag-A-Thon Part 1

I have been working on several projects behind the scenes for future DT posts but, at the week end, I grabbed some time to play...

Serendipity gave me my cue, the combination of Stamploration Holiday TAGploration challenge and receiving my prize from Nerfertiti for winning her first challenge with this piece:
I won't reveal too much but "tags" featured heavily in the assortment of crafting goodies...

I tend to hoard scraps of paper, card, and unused die-cuts that result from any serious crafting sessions. At some point, my scrap mountain becomes unmanageable and needs sorting out.
One way I have done that in the past is to create tags, with only one firm rule: no cutting into a new sheet of paper/card etc..

So far, I have managed to create 3 trios of similar cards and today you get to see the first one:

The butterflies background was created by stamping Crafty Individuals Butterfly plate (CI-231) with Brushos for this project:

I cut the background into the tag shapes by using some of Nefertiti's blank tags as templates.

The yellow Core'dination is the waste from die-cutting some Stitched Rectangles. You'll observe how small the central scrap really is!

For my tags I used the Wishes from the Tim Holtz Celebration Sentiments words set, For You from Occasion dies and the With Love is a magazine freebie. They were already cut, one in black  the other 2 in white and I coloured these with a black alcohol marker.

Whenever I cut small dies I always do more than I need, for instance cutting spares in scraps of white card. It's a good idea to have already cut pieces in both light (ivory/white) and dark.
Then, when you need the motif in a hurry, they are ready to be used as is or can be coloured to match your project with a marker.

I will be back very soon with a second instalment...


Also entering the Stamplorations Theme& Sketch (my 3 are my layers), Tagplorations hop and Allsorts challenges.

Thrifty Snowflakes

Lots of Christmas cards to make... lots of expensive supplies!
Fear not, I have found a supply I didn't even consume during the making of this card. So I can still use it for many other cards!!!

To read my tutorial you will have to pop over to the Craft Barn, but you can see the first card I made here:

Hope you will enjoy the step by step!

Clocking on

                 JUST A QUICK NOTE: HAVE YOU ENTERED THE CRAFT BARN ZINI GIVEAWAY YET? Hurry up it finishes tonight... Good luck!

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Yes it is time to clock on to the latest Craft Barn Dictionary challenge. My word was suggested by the Allsorts challenge, via one of the DT make which used the Gorjuss White Rabbit stamp. I have this stamp and as I hadn't inked it yet, I thought... serendipity!!!

I stamped all images with black dye ink and coloured the girl with alcohol markers. I finished the colouring with pencils.
The set comes with 2 "empty" clocks and a set of hands. I used the hands on one clock to show Alice is an hour late and stamped a few other clocks without any hands at all... thereby marking UNtime!

As usual, I added definition and letter.

Well another CAS (or very nearly) dictionary page! I hope it's OK anyway...
Also entering the Polkadoodles, Craft Stamper and Colour Crazy challenges.

Lucky Star

November is here and we have Stars in our eyes... at least for the Country View Challenges theme, chosen by my teammate Rachel.

With the end of year approaching, it is a good theme to kick start the making of the biggest haul of cards of the year. But before I get to that, I decided my starry make would be about a star much closer to home.

I made my base card with half a sheet of black cardstock folded in two. The background is brayered with a multi colour inkpad (Kaleidacolour), is in fact the left over from another inky session... Well I didn't want to waste all this ink and, as it turns out, it is quite usable.
I stamped the Jofy Mini 06 with Memento black ink on the background and when dry I lifted the colour with a water brush from the stars.
I added some shine with iridescent medium (Winsor & Newton) but if you have a Wink of Stella glitter pen or similar would be ideal. And whilst I had the medium at hand I also splattered some, because as any crafter knows, you can't have too much shine...
I added white highlights on the "bubbles" with the Graphmaster Acrylic Paint Marker.

A black and a white "Lucky" die cuts (Sizzix Thinlits - Handwritten Celebrate by Tim Holtz) and a handwritten sentiment with the white marker pen finishes the card.

When the iridescent medium catches the light, the shine is suddenly revealed:

Come and join us with your Starry makes at Country View Challenges, you could win a £20 voucher.

Thanks for coming by,
I am entering the SSS Monday Challenge and Paper Artsy challenges.