Dictionary Challenge Last page!

[Edited to include photo and video of all the pages together]

Yesss made it to the end!
The last letter was an easy one with lots of options and no twist!

Once again I chose my word after choosing my stamp... a magazine freebie set called Oriental Garden which I have never inked before (my new item).

So I give you Pagoda!

I simply stamped the pagoda and the Cherry blossom branch in black dye ink, adding colour with watercolour pencils. And of course I added the definition and letter to finish off the page.

I think we (all the bloggers who have made it to the end) can pat ourselves on the back! I'm looking forward to look at the completed project and re-discover my pages. So pleased I did it, it's such a lovely online community and I want to thank all the visitors to my blog who left comments throughout the year.

This year the Craft Barn has a different challenge and you can read all about it here.

The finished pages in video:

 

and in picture:

 

Thanks for coming by,
Also entering the SSS Monday, Penny Black and more, Allsorts, That's Crafty and SSS Wednesday challenges.

All things spring

Time for a new challenge at Vintage Stamping Challenges.

Our theme this month is All things spring and I am showing you a late Easter make using the Animal Landscapes border 01 by Flonzcraft. This set has 8 different borders of which I used 2 for this  simple scene I framed with an old aperture card.


This is what I did, step by step:

I marked lightly where my oval aperture would lay on a piece of white cardstock and stamped my rabbits and poultry in black ink. Note that the rabbits are stamped in a downward curve, a benefit of using polymer stamps as they can be curved.

I had to do this first so I would know where to shade my hills next, using masks and several shades of inks from yellow to green. You can use standard paper to create hill masks, indeed the feathery line of torn paper can be a bonus, but here I used an adhesive release paper. It's very smooth and acts like a silicone mat for the ink.
For the sky area I created a sun mask with a circle die and applied blue ink fading it towards the horizon. I then removed the mask and applied a little bit of yellow on the sun.

I lined up my cardstock behind the aperture and measured where I needed to cut my panel to fit.
Once glued in place I added the sentiment stamped in red ink.

I hope you will join us for this spring theme at Vintage Stamping Challenges, you could win a $20 voucher to spend at Flonzcraft, our lovely sponsor. Your make doesn't need to be Vintage but will need to showcase some stamping (rubber, clear, foam etc...) but NO digis.

Thanks for coming by,
  I am entering the Craft Barn and the SSS Wednesday challenges with my spring make.

Lots of layers

Update as of 13/03

Apologies to all fans of our Vintage Stamping Challenges, we seem to have technical difficulties in bringing you the latest challenge. Be sure we are working to resolve the issue and hope to resume normal service ASAP. Please bear with us!

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When  my teammate at Vintage Stamping Challenges chose Lots of Layers as the March theme I thought yeah... stash busting ! Of course I could have layered stencils and stamps but using up some of my excess paper make me feel virtuous. I chose a freebie pack that came with a magazine. The colours were a bit too pastel for my liking but associated with the kraft cardstock they immediately looked more "adult".

My focal image is the Dancing Girl by Flonzcraft, fun and chic at the same time. (You can also get her as part of this full sheet). She is simply stamped with black dye ink on one of the paper from the pack.
Once stamped, I die-cut the notebook edge (MFT) for optimum placement.

If you look closely at the photos you'll see the papers are only stuck by the middle and that leaves me free to distress or curl the edges, which I decided not to do in the end but if I change my mind...
The technique is very simple and the card is quick to assemble, all the papers are cut as rectangles of decreasing sizes and stuck together. But I did spend an awful long time pushing paper to decide in which order they should be layered!

A few die-cuts for embellishments from Core'dination White wash (I'm using off cuts only, stash busting...)
There you have it LOL!
I hope you are inspired by what the Design Team made and join us over at Vintage Stamping Challenge, you could win a $20 voucher to spend at Flonzcraft, our lovely sponsor. Your make doesn't need to be Vintage but will need to showcase some stamping (rubber, clear, foam etc...) but NO digis.
Thanks for coming by,

Splatters & Drips background

Despite my paper mountain, I like nothing more than making my own background, which is why I chose Splatters and drips for the latest Vintage Stamping Challenge.

I had  no plan when I started and I have been entirely led by how my drips turned out...  I found them mesmerizing and couldn't bear to touch them:

I used my rock paper (made of rocks but also plastic as I found out) which is completely impervious to water. It has a slight grainy texture and this is what creates the patterns in the colours as the paint settles in the dips of the paper. To make my drips I used acrylic inks (Izinks).


I stamped my Fifties Girl and thought about paper piecing her to make her stand out from the background, but first, I tried painting some white over her dress to see if that would be enough.

Not quite, but I liked the effect of her coming out of that background and this is how my sentiment was born. It's supposed to be humoristic and I really don't know if it is or not!

I hope this inspires you to drip & splatter paint with abandon in the interest of Art and come and show us at Vintage Stamping Challenges . You could win a $20 voucher to spend at Flonzcraft, our lovely sponsor,  and your make doesn't need to be Vintage... it just needs to showcase some stamping (rubber, clear, foam etc...) but NO digis.
Thanks for coming by,

Also entering the Country View (Make your own background)challenge

New Year, New stash

Don't you love January... After Christmas and crafty sales there is new stash to be tried and played with, yeah!! Hence the theme of the Vintage Stamping Challenges this month.

My new stash is the Tonic Studio Twined Lily Square Die set, although the Flonzcraft stamp I used is also on its first outing. It's  Drinking Tea, also available in the Art Nouveau Silhouettes sheet. Don't you love the oh so delicate details?

I die-cut my frame twice, once with black Core'dination and once with white cardstock, using the white inside for my stamping.
For the backing I used a Melissa Frances 6x6 paper and inked the edges with Distress inks.
A punched border from pink dotty paper (Martha Stewart) and an ivory ric-rac die-cut provide a bit of a colour contrast whilst a sheer ribbon bow adds that finishing touch for this very feminine card.

I hope this inspires you to pull out your stamping stash and to show us at Vintage Stamping Challenges what new supplies have excited you. You could win a $20 voucher to splurge at Flonzcraft, our lovely sponsor,  and your make doesn't need to be Vintage... it just needs to showcase some stamping (rubber, clear, foam etc...) but NO digis.

Thanks for coming by,

Also entering the Live & Love Crafts, Allsorts, Stamping Sensations, Penny Black and more, That Craft Place  and SSS Monday challenges.

Winter Trees

We have reached the final challenge for this year at Vintage Stamping Challenges  and I wanted to make something different, something a bit theatrical, a grand finale for Christmas. And the theatre box was born...

In my box I was trying to create the impression of looking through trees to the lit window of a house on that special night. I hope I have succeeded!

My lit window is the Girl with Bird stamp, from Flonzcraft also available in a large stamp sheet full of silhouettes.









I die-cut round apertures of increasing sizes in each of my panels and decorated them with die-cuts:
* stars: Papertrey Ink (centre of Snowflakes)
* Tree branches, Deer and Christmas tree: Memory Box
I cut the tree branches and Christmas tree from a piece of watercolour paper on which I had tested Brushos, not very successful as a background, but I loved the variegated look it gave the die-cuts. Quite pleased I saved it from the bin...

Hop over to the Vintage Stamping Challenge blog to see what the rest of the DT has made this month. Join us in showcasing some winter trees for the chance to win a $20 voucher for the Flonzcraft shop.  Remember your make doesn't need to be vintage but it does need to have some stamping (rubber, polymer, foam...), no digis allowed!
Thanks for coming by,

Also entering the Country View Crafts -Create a scene, Memory Box, Crafty Sentiments, Craft Stamper and That's Crafty challenges.

Traditional Christmas

With Halloween behind us the next big event in the crafting calendar is looming large. So at Vintage Stamping Challenges we are concentrating on Christmas, and have chosen Traditional Christmas as our challenge theme this month.

For our Traditional Christmas theme I immediately thought of Graphic 45 and pulled out a few papers from an old collection (including the sentiment).
I used this sweet image from Flonzcraft, our sponsor, and stamped it in black (dye) ink on a very smooth card.

I added some Core'dination cardstock for matting and die-cut the mats to add interest without further bulk.

All layers have been inked all around the edges to give more of a Vintage look and my main image has had the Distress ink treatment (Antique Linen and Walnut inks).

Hop over to the Vintage Stamping Challenge blog to see what the rest of the DT has made this month. Join us in creating a Traditional Christmas make for the chance to win a $20 voucher for the Flonzcraft shop.  Remember your make doesn't need to be vintage but it does need to have some stamping, no digis allowed!

Thanks for coming by,

Also entering the Bunny Zoe's Crafts, Penny Black and more, SSS Wednesday Challenge challenges.

Brrr!!!

It's October and Autumn is truly upon us, flamed coloured leaves are falling and it's getting cold and windy over here. I feel like my Flonzcraft Girl with dog (also available as part of this full sheet) who is bearing the brunt of those nasty gusts that blow the remaining leaves off the trees, although not so elegantly!

This month's theme at Vintage Stamping Challenges is die-cuts and I pulled several of my dies to create a background for my Art Nouveau silhouette:

• 2 sizes of  Spellbinders labels (image and mat)
• leaves (Joy crafts)
• Jumbo rick rack (Papertrey ink)
• Notebook Edge (My Favorite Thing)

I used some designer papers from Prima and HOTP adding some machine stitching with a multi-coloured metallic thread (the TIMI challenge at Craft Stamper gave me the idea).
The leaves have been coloured with Gelatos or copper powder (plus vinegar for a verdigris effect!) to highlight the raised areas.

The brown mat for the image has been embossed with a Tartan X-cut folder for some added texture.

Hop over to the Vintage Stamping Challenge blog to see what the rest of the DT has made this month. Join us and Use your die-cuts for the chance to win a $20 voucher for the Flonzcraft shop.  Remember your make doesn't need to be vintage but is does need to have some stamping, no digis allowed!

Thanks for coming by,

Entering the Stamping Sensations, Craft Barn, Papermilldirect, Country View Crafts and SimonSaysStamp challenges.

Come and play

Time for our challenge at Vintage Stamping and this month it's my turn to choose the theme. I created a game of Tic Tac Toe just for you!

The rules are simple, you must chose 3 elements in a line, either vertically, horizontally or diagonally to feature in your project.

I chose the last vertical line, namely People, Metal and the colours blue and brown.

I reverse-stamped the gentleman with the bowler hat from the True Gentleman, then stamped him normally to pretend my gentlemen are in conversation. I wasn't too happy with the reverse stamping I had done with the brayer because so much colour was lost in the process it looked too pale, so I stamped the image on a separate piece of paper and transferred it with gel medium.

The Swirl is part of a large flourish stencil by Tim Holtz through which I applied Bistres powders in Blue and Brown on a watercolour panel. The gentlemen were protected with masking liquid during this process.

To finish I added eyelets, I still have lots from when they were all the rage - was that more than ten years ago? - and I am yet to finish a single pack!

I hope you find the Tic Tac Toe grid inspiring and that you will join us over at Vintage Stamping Challenges,  you could win a lovely $20 to spend at the Flonzcraft shop. Remember your make doesn't need to be Vintage but it does need to have some stamping, NO DIGIS allowed!

Thanks for coming by,

I am entering the Penny Black and more and Craft Stamper TIMI   challenges.

#35 Gone Shopping

This month as a lot of us are away on holiday relaxing with limited or no craft stash, Vintage Stamping challenges is having an Anything Goes theme, easy isn't it!


I chose to pull out my 50's Girl with attitude, at least this is what I call her, as she makes me feel positive.
I also used the small image of the 50s lady's legs from the same set.

In a Mixed media mood I combined paints, crackle medium, embossing in Vanilla and Blueberry (WOW powders) for my background.

To stamp my 50's girl images I used waterbased markers and then coloured them with pencils.

I'll admit I took a lot of inspiration from a previous make that I currently use as my phone screen saver. It brings a smile to my face when the phone is activated to see the "Gone Fishing" sign.
You've got to get your fun where you can....
Anyway, I think of this tag as the female equivalent and I might even swap it with my Gone Fishing screen saver!

If you are on holidays, enjoy your time off and don't forget you can enter our Vintage Stamping Challenge with any make, as long as they have some stamping- no digis allowed!

I am entering this tag in the We Love 2 Create, and  That Craft Place challenges.

Fireworks

You may get a sense of déjà vu with this page full of hot sunny colours but no,  it's not last Vintage Stamping Challenge piece but one I made for the July theme of Holidays and Travel.

There was no definite plan at the beginning and I let the page evolve as my focal image sparked my imagination when it made me think of summer nights fireworks.

 

My first layers on the page are from a Gelli print session, not particularly successful because of the texture of the paper so I added some more paint directly with a brayer.

 

I added some stencilling with Vanilla paint through stencils made with dies (Circles - Papertrey Ink, Twirly Circle - Memory Box) then, using the bump technique[1], overlaid orange Gelato. The twirly circle made me think of Catherine wheel, reinforcing the fireworks idea...

 

Finally I added some blue texture paste through a Crafters Workshop stencil and directly with a palette knife.

 

The focal image, available here and also as part of a full sheet of silhouettes,  has been stamped on glossy photo paper, a scrap for previous experiments, with dye ink. I tried Versafine but dye ink gives a better result.
I then sprayed water over the whole image and sprinkled some Brushos powders in orange at the top and black at the bottom to give a sunset feel.

What will YOU make for our Vintage Stamping challenge? Join us and you could win a lovely $20 to spend at the Flonzcraft shop. Remember your make doesn't need to be Vintage but it does need to have some stamping, NO DIGIS allowed!

Also entering the Tando Creative and the Craft Stamper challenge.

 

 

 

 

[1] The bump technique is applying a second stencil layer over the first one, in a different colour and slightly offset from the first.

Hot Sunny Colours

I am hoping from hot sunny weather to go with the colours of our Vintage Stamping Challenges this month, after the wash out that May was!

The first image that came to mind was a sunset, sunsets are so much more beautiful and "hot" in the summer. Then I went through my extensive collection of papers, aiming to use some of the neglected ones, and found this, one of a kind, hand made piece, perfect for the theme.
Put them together and voila...

I created the background with inks on white card and overstamped with the Girl Reading Book image (also available in a fantastic value full sheet of silhouettes) in Versafine Onyx Black.

With this riot of colours I needed some black for balance so I added a die cut frame and embossed my sentiment with Gold EP on black card.

I can just close my eyes and imagine myself reading outside in the setting sun....

What about you? What do you imagine when you think about Hot Sunny colours? Come and show us at Vintage Stamping Challenges and you could win a $20 voucher from our sponsor, Flonzcraft.
Your make doesn't need to be Vintage, but it must follow the theme and have some stamping.

Also entering the WOW Embossing powder challenge

Shabby Chic Challenge

My followers will know that Shabby Chic and I have a troubled love affair so when Karen chose Shabby Chic as the theme for the latest Vintage Stamping Challenge I was delighted and terrified in equal measure!
Still what an opportunity to choose a different kind of image to use on my make and I just had to get this Two Neko Princesses stamp from Flonzcraft.

The image is coloured with alcohol markers. The papers, a mix from Melissa Frances and other magazine freebies, have been distressed with Snowcap paint dabber and a stencil, had the Frantage treatment (not Shabby Pink but Aged Rose) and a smear of pink Gelatos. I sewed them on the card base rather than gluing them.

For embellishments I picked some die-cuts (Prima Doily, Spellbinders Label, X-cut ticket and a freebie Flourish) and added flowers (Trimcrafts), for which I made a pearl beads centre and distressed with the Snowcap paint dabber again.

What do you think, have I hit the Shabby Chic target?

Why don't you join in at Vintage Stamping Challenges and show us your Shabby Chic style! There is a $20 voucher from our sponsor Flonzcraft to be won if you do... and remember that your make doesn't need to be Vintage, although it must have stamping as the main focal point.

Thanks for coming by,

I am entering the card in the Penny Black and more challenge.

Handmade flowers

Time for a new challenge at Vintage Stamping. The theme this month is Hand made flowers and there are plenty of choices in methods to make your blooms.

I have chosen to use 3 punched flowers, removing 1 petal for the first layer, 2 for the next and 3 for the last layer. The left-over petals make up the centre with layers 4 and 5.

The dancing couple, champagne glasses and champagne bucket all come from the set Woman of Fifties from Flonzcraft.

After stamping the couple in Versafine I coloured their hair using watercolour pencils and the lady's dress with diluted gold acrylic ink over the pencil shading.

Do come and join us in creating hand made flowers, so much cheaper than shop bought! As always, you don't have to create a vintage project, but you DO have to include stamping though - no digis allowed. Our lucky winner will receive a fab prize of a $20 voucher from Flonzcraft so don't miss out on your chance to win!
Go on and hop on over to the Vintage Stamping Challenges blog and see all the DT’s work for more inspiration.

Thanks for coming by,

Olde Worlde

Welcome to the new challenge at Vintage Stamping Challenges where I chose this month's theme, Olde Worlde. Think Victorian era, chocolate box houses or villages, engravings, Steampunk... any thing older than a century!

I pulled my Flonzcraft True Gentleman set and stamped the "older" of the 2 gentlemen with Versafine as well as the top hats, for which I'd prepared a mask, on a piece of ivory cardstock. I tore and distressed the panel before affixing to a brown mat.

For the background I started with a piece of patterned paper which I inked with various distress inks, a piece of baking parchment (loooong story) embossed with a folder and wet embossed (Walnut stain ink + Frost embossing powder).
I added a border made with textured paper which I coloured with Walnut Distress ink and added 2 screw-shaped brads.

For embellishments, as my faithful readers will know, I love to make my own, so I created a "seal" using a postmark stamp and gold wax adding it over some multi-coloured threads.

 

I created a metal frame for my silhouette portrait also from the True Gentleman set.



I am enjoying this set very much and I find it invaluable for those difficult masculine cards!

Hope I have inspired you to join us! You don't normally need to create a vintage project but this month vintage is definitely an option considering the theme! Remember that you DO have to include stamping - no digis allowed. Our lucky winner will receive a fab prize of a $20 voucher from Flonzcraft so don't miss out on your chance to win!

Go on and hop on over to the Vintage Stamping Challenges blog and see all the DT’s work for more inspiration.


Challenge : Stamping Sensations