Take Time to Smell the Flowers.........

This is a canvas I made a little while ago with a combination of Dylusions Stamps and Sprays.  I gotta say that I just love Dyan Reavely's stamps.  They are quite quirky and stamp beautifully!

Firstly, I created a background on the canvas by spraying through masks and building up some layers.  I then stamped the edges with the stamp set "Around the Edge DS006" with Jet Black Archival, highlighted with gold Promarker and coloured the bottom green to mimic grass. I also stamped the small leaves from the same set onto the canvas on the sides and then onto white card which I coloured with promarkers, cut out and using Pinflair Glue Gel adhered to the canvas.

From the sets "Tallulah DS004" and "How does your garden grow DS008"  I stamped the flowers (multiple times), body, and head onto white card and coloured with Promarkers and the wings on to Angelina film sandwiched with Angelina fibres, cut out, arranged and adhered onto the canvas with glue gel, layering up the flowers to create depth and dimension, until I was happy with the composition.  I then used glitter glue to highlight the flower centres.

This project was great fun to make an I was really happy with the finished article.  I'll have to have a go at making another one of these, I think.

What a lovely pear......!

I had lots of fun making this piece.  I had not long ago bought myself some new crafty stash and wanted to have a play!  I had invested in some new stamps, tissue wrap and Indigo Blu Flitter Glu and was excited to put them all to the test.

I had a chipboard frame so I thought I would line the background with a bookpage that I had stamped with my new Dylusion background stamps in Fired Brick D.I. and a lovely new pear stamp that I found in the reduced bin which I embossed with black glitter embosing powder and coloured with Distress Inks.

The frame I covered with Tim Holtz Tissue Wrap and stamped with a harliquin and script stamps using Flitter Glu and gilding flakes.  Well, I've got to say I am now a total convert!  I loved it and it was so easy to use, yet gave a fabulous finish!  I just LOVED it!  I then attached the frame to the back with tissue tape and made a tissue tape flower with a button center and cut some tissue tape covered grungeboard into leaves to embellish the frame.  Everything was given a final spritz with Perfect Pearl Mist in copper and edged with a black promarker.

Simple but effective!

A Bird in the Hand...............

I love altering things.......in fact I think now I rarely make a card except for family, friends and class projects.  My heart now lies with off the page and it's here that I feel most comfortable.

This project came about when I found an old lozenge style tin and thought to myself I could make something beautiful out of this! It took a while for the complete idea to form in my head but once it did it was surprisingly easy to make.

Firstly I coloured the time with alcohol inks.  I then stamped a Tim Holtz collage stamp on gloss card, which I had previously coloured in the same alcohol inks as the tin, in Jet Black Archival Ink and cut in to fit the recessed area on the lid. Once it was adhered to the lid, the stamped imaged was outlined with squiggly lines in black Enamel Accents and glitter glue and left to dry.

As embelishments, I die cut a Grungeboard bird fromTim Holtz's Sizzix bird cage die and some leaves from a die cut Grungeboard sheet that I had covered in tissue tape and coloured with inks and Inks Gold in purple.  I then coloured a paper flower with the same Inka Gold and attached them all to the tin.

I have to say this has become one of my favourite pieces, I really love how it turned out.  Hope you do too.  Thanks for visiting my blog.

Grungy Birthday Wishes

Today it is my lovely husbands, "ehem, cough cough........." 45th birthday, bless his greying cotton socks! LOL! We have all got ourselves organised and brought the pressies (even the 5 year old), the cake's about to be made and I'm all but started the requested birthday meal of beef wellington, god help me I hope it turns out ok, I've only made it once before!
So for this birthday I made him the card above with some of my favourite products.................in fact who am I kidding apart from the spellbinders dies used for the plaque, they are all from Tim Holtz and Ranger. 
Some lovely patterned paper layered with cardstock embossed with the "Bingo" embosing folder, sanded and spritzed with Perfect Pearl mist, black gloss card die cut with the "Umbrella Man", black enamel accents for rain drops, spellbinders labels die and Tim Holtz stamp.  And to finish it off some Ideology embellishments.
Happy Birthday darling, ..................Hope you like your pressies and card! xxx

"My House, in the middle of the street, My House......"

Recently, I made a canvas using Caludine Hellmuths two steps stamps. They come in two sets, one is a foam set that stamps brillantly with either inks or acrylic paints, and gives a solid image and the other is a clear acrylic stamp that gives the line detail to compliment the solid image. 

I love Caludine's style which is very retro, which comes through in all her work and I just love all of her stamp sets! In fact I had been trying to find an excuse to pull them out and have a go of my new stamps when I was struck with inspiration! I had a canvas board to use and I thought this set would make the perfect house warming gift!

Firstly, I coloured about 2/3 of the canvas board with Distress Stains to create a sky background, painted the bottom third with tan paint for the path. I then stamped the foam stamp houses, sun and "pebbles" with acrylic paint waited for it all to dry and then over stamped it with Archival ink in Jet Black.
I then repeated the process with the houses and sun on stickyback canvas, cut them out and layered onto the canvas board with glue gel. I die-cut the fence from painted sticky back canvas and using glue gel again adhered it to the canvas either side of the middle house.
I tried to recreate that retro feel by using bright colours to compliment the style of the images. I think I managed to achieve this.
I am going to enter this piece into The Artisitic Stampers monthly Challange at http://theartisticstampercreativeteam.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/may-challenge-spots-and-stripes.html, which this months theme is "Spots and Stripes".  I definetly think it fits the theme and I really enjoy entering different challenges so I can see how other people interpret the themes set by the designers.  I find it helps the creative juices flow.  I love The Artisitc Stampers design style and hope I do well inthe challenge!



Bunting Mad...

Just a quick entry tonight as I am shattered!  It has been a hectic day at work and with meetings following, it would all be easier if I could just start to sleep properly!  Aaarrggggghhhh.................!

Well, they always say you feel better after a good aaarrrggghhh!  Now I do! lol!

This is a card I made with my Stampin'Up stash and it is one that always brings a smile to my face.  Which I think is a good thing seeing as it's a birthday card!lol.

I think that it is the paper that makes is so appealing, it so nice, bright and happy. I can't help but feel better looking at it.  It's such a simple card to make too. Just cover a card blank with patterned paper, put a triangular piece at a jaunty angle with a little twine attached to each side, punch a decorative circle and a slightly smaller one of white card to fit inside it.  Stamp the birthday cupcake two-step stamp and embellish it with chunky glitter.

Stamp the sentiment in the bottom right hand corner, and , voila!

Happy Birthday!
As this is such a bright card for me, which makes a change from my usual colour choices, I thought I would enter it into Simon Says Stamp "A Kaliedoscope of Colour" challenge at http://simonsaysstampandshow.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/simon-says-stamp-and-show-kaleidescope.html.  It is so unusual for me to make such a clean bright design and in fact I really enjoyed making it and love how it looks finished.  So think I will have to try and incorporate this style into my crafting more often.
Thanks for stopping by and taking to the time to look at my blog.

A Stitch in Time

It has just recently been my best friends birthday and this is the card I made her.  She is a keen patchworker and when I saw this die from Tim Holtz I just knew I had to use it in a card for her!

I used the Tim Holtz "Vintage Shabby" paper stack and layered a sheet, which had been altered with Kaiser Kraft rub-ons - not something I use often, on some dark brown card and then on a kraft card base.  I embossed some tan co-ordinations card with the sewing theme embossing folders and layered on an embossed piece of dark brown card.  I die cut the dress form and cotton reel from wood effect card enhanced with glossy accents, layered with a stickyback canvas body section the had been stamped with measuring tape, wrapped some tape ribbon around the reel and then adhered to the card with glue gel.  I then embellished wth flowers, a button and scabble letters.

I really hope she likes this card as she is such a great friend, we have known each other for so long and I love making cards for someone who appreciates them as much as she does. I am going home on holidays in May and she is coming to visit so I look forward to spending time with her and giving her, her birthday present!
I also decided to enter this card in one my favourite challenges and that is Sunday Stampers run by Hels Sheridan at http://pinkleart.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/sunday-stamper-week-203-little-red.html.  This week the theme is Little Red Corvette, with red the colour feature of the week. Fingers crossed!

Wishes

At the SECC Christmas Hobbycraft Show in Glasgow, I succumbed and bought IndigoBlu's Flitter Glu with no high hopes for it working very well, based on past experience with these types of glues.  However, I am wrapped to be able to say that it is every bit as good as they say and I was so happy with it that I haven't stopped using it since!  Hence the above piece of artwork.

I was walking around Ikea one day and saw this black mirror for sale for just over a pound and the brain went into overdrive! Oh, the things I could do with that I thought! So I bought it, took it home and attacked it with flitter glu, gilding flakes and the gorgeous IndigoBlu poppy stamp set. I then embellished it with Tim Holtz Butterfly stamps and a sentiment, a spellbinders butterfly die cut from embossing metal and some adhesive gems.

It was all sealed with a coat of Spray'n'Shine to protect it and give a nice shiny finish and voila!