Purple Postcards

These are three postcards that I made for a swap on KCUK.
Butterflies.
I coloured the background with a Marvy ink pad and stamped butterflies over it using Distress ink and Brilliance , I'm not sure who made the stamps, I also stamped butterflies on to a piece of torn mauve tissue paper and attached it to the card. I stamped the main image, by Crafty Individuals, on to some white card with a Marvy ink pad and attached it to the card with some brads. I embossed the edges with some tropic violet Cosmic Shimmer UTEE
Life's a Beach.
All the images are by Crafty Individuals. The background is coloured with a Marvy ink pad. I stamped the beach huts on to some striped paper, cut them out and attached to the card. I stamped the main image on to some mauve tissue paper and attached to the card. I stamped the seagulls and words directly on to the card. Lastly I embossed the edges with tropic violet Cosmic Shimmer UTEE.
Birds of a Feather.
The background is coloured with a Marvy inkpad. I stamped feathers [Hero Arts] on to the background with Brilliance. The bird flourish is by Elusive Images and I used Distress ink to stamp it with, then I attached a few jewels to the image. I stuck some tissue tape to the left hand edge. I stamped the bird postcard image [Crafty individuals] on to white card with Distress ink and coloured the card with the same ink. The little flying birds and the words were stamped directly onto the card. The last thing I did was to emboss some tropic violet Cosmic Shimmer UTEE onto the tissue tape.

Creepy Lane

As Halloween is fast approaching I thought I had better blog my hanging.
The stamp that I've used are:
Lost Coast Designs, Ma and Pa and the crow.
Stampotique, the kids and the cat.
Hero Arts, the pumpkin.
Cherry Pie Art Stamps, skeletons, flying witch, owl and branch.
Woodware, boo.
Inkadinkado, Creepy Lane.
The spiders and web are die cut.

I started of by painting the frames black, when this was dry I covered it in Eco Green Crafts glue then I painted the frames mauve and the roof orange. I dried it with a heat gun to get the crackled effect. The paints I used are Eco Green Crafts acrylic.
I coloured some white card with Distress inks and stamped Ma and Pa and the kids onto it. I took out the colour in their faces with a water brush. I stamped all the other images on to card, cut them out and stuck them to the front of the frames apart from the moon, this I stuck to the back of the frame. I made the words by putting a narrow strip of card through a Dymo and highlighted the letters with a white pen.Close up of Ma and Pa.
Close up of the kids.

Falling Leaves

I started by sticking some die cut leaves [Sizzix, Tim Holtz tattered leaves] to a piece of mount board then covered it with some sticky backed aluminium and then went round the edges of the leaves with something pointed to give them more definition. Then I covered the whole thing with a black dabber and wiped of the excess before colouring it with Stazon ink, then I stuck this to a piece of mount board that I'd painted black.
The tree and birdhouse are from Crafty Individuals. I painted the tree black and added some gold foil then attached it to the mount board. The birds are some chipboard shapes that I had, I painted them and the birdhouse gold, I used jump rings to attach the birdhouse so that it was dangling.
The leaves at the bottom are some die cut leaves that I've had for years. I melted some UTEE in my Meltpot and dipped the leaves in and coloured them with Stazon. I attached them with silicone glue and stuck in some bits of wire that I'd twiddled round a pencil.
I used some wire for the hanger. The leaf with the words on is a piece of metal coloured with Stazon and then I attached it with a piece of wire so that it's dangling.
Close up of the leaves.

Chunky Alphabet Book G H and I

G is for Glamour Girl.
The stamp I used for the background flourishes is a Darcies stamp. I'm not sure what make the stamps are that I used for the main image and words. I stamped them onto white card and matted them onto black card. I added some gems for a bracelet and a ring and added gems all around the edge of the page. Wish I'd signed my name in a different place.
H is for Hitchcock.
I stuck a strip of tissue tape [that I was never going to buy, not ever lol] to the top and bottom of the page, then I stamped Alfred [Cherry Pie Art Stamps] onto a piece of card that looks like a film strip and then stuck this across the middle of the page. The words are out of an old dictionary. Last but not least I attached a metal H to the page with a couple of brads.
I is for Ice Cream.
I used a Xyron Design Runner for the words, it took me a few attempts to try and get them straight, this was the best I could do. I stamped the background with a stamp by Pink Cat Studio and I coloured the edges of the page with distress ink. I embossed the three ice creams [Personal Impressions] with a shimmery embossing powder and coloured them in with Promarkers, after cutting the images out I spread Stickles over the ice cream, when this was dry I stuck them to the page with silicone glue.

Butterfly card

For this card I edged a white card blank with some distress ink and stamped the images [Eco Green Crafts] in the same colour. The butterfly [Eco Green Crafts] is stamped onto a piece of mountboard that I'd brayered with some Eco Green Craft acrylic paint. I punched some holes in the corners and added the rivets and then threaded some ribbon through before attaching it to the card.

Too Many Shoes

I made this card for my friends daughter.
The image is by Docrafts and I coloured it in with Promarkers

Shades of Blue Twinchie

I used Distress ink to colour the background. All the stamped images are by 7gypsies. The watch face and spinner were attached with a brad and the cog is attached with some wire. I curled the ends of the wire round a pokey tool.

Hallowe'en ATCs

These are the ATCs that I made for KCUK's Hallowe'en swap.
For the background I brayered some Eco Green Crafts acrylic paint. The pumpkin is a Hero Arts stamp that I coloured with Promarkers and covered with Glossy Accents. The cobweb is by Inkadinkado. The spider girl, spider and head are by Stampotique and the rest of the images are by Cherry Pie Art Stamps. I coloured the spider with Promarkers and added some red gems for it's eyes. The red stuff that's supposed to look like blood is a gell pen.

Life's Lesson

I had some good news last week, I had won the Creative Expressions Card of the Month Competition. For the competition we had to make a card using the Eco Green Crafts products and Creative Expressions stamps. I brayered some Eco Green acrylic paints onto some card for the background and matted it onto a black card blank. The stamps I used are from the Vintage Family sheet. I stamped the main image onto some white card and wrapped some randomly coloured metallic thread around it then matted it onto some black card and attached it to the background then I stamped the quote onto the background. I stamped the butterfly, cut it out and attached it to the card, then added some black gems to the corners.
This is the prize I won, Sam Poole's latest Christmas Stamp sheets so I have no excuse now not to start making my Christmas cards.

Recipe Tag Challenge Week 34

I joined UK Stampers a couple of weeks ago and decided it was time to join in with the challenges.
The ingrediants for the recipe challenge week 34 are

Paint
Material
Embossing Powder

This is what I came up with. I painted a white tag with Ecogreen Crafts acrylic paint [rose], then stamped the dress form [Darcie's] and the paper pattern [Clear Art Stamps] over it. I stuck a couple of scraps of card that had been embossed with the Cuttlebug dots embossing folder onto the tag. The pattern piece was stamped onto some tissue paper, cut out and pinned to a piece of material then attached to the tag. The words [Darcie's] were stamped and embossed onto a scrap of card. I embossed the edges of the tag with Cosmic Shimmer UTEE [sunrise pink] then cut a strip of the material and tied it to the tag.

Altered Notebook

I watched Julia Andrus demonstrating the crackled paint technique at Ally Pally last weekend, and decided to give it a go. I had a plain notebook that I decided to alter. The paints I used are Ecogreen Crafts acrylic paint, I seem to be using them a lot lately. I started by taking the cover off the notebook and painting it with the colour blueberry, when it dried I spread Green Glue over the top, then when this was tacky I painted over it with the colour clam shell and painted a bit of white card at the same time. I got a lovely crackled effect when the paint dried. I then went over the paint with a bit of distress ink, broken china and wild honey. I stamped the butterfly onto the bit of card that I'd painted and used a corner punch to make the notches, then I wrapped a bit of gold thread round the card and matted it onto some black card. I stuck a bit of tissue tape and a bit of paper with words on to the notebook cover before adding the image.

Chunky Alphabet Book D E and F

D for dragonfly. For the background I coloured some white card with distress inks and randomly stamped the small dragonfly[Stamp Bug]. I don't know who makes the large dragonfly but I stamped and embossed him on to some card and coloured him with Sakura pens and then spread Stickles over the wings with my finger. I stamped the sentiment[Artistic Stamper] on to some velum and attached it to the page with a couple of dragonfly brads.

E is for eyes. For the background I used a piece of card that I'd made ages ago, I think I used a mask and sprayed glimmer mist over it. I stamped the eye chart [Stampers Anonymous] to one side. I stamped the main image [Paper Artsy] on to some of the background card, triple embossed it then mounted it onto some black card. The only embellishment I used are the gold brads in the corners.
F is for family. For the background I coloured some white card with distress inks and stamped the leaves [Elusive Images] with the same coloured ink. I stamped the main image [Creative Expressions] on to some card and covered it with acetate and attached it to a metal frame. I stamped the sentiment [Creative Expressions] onto some velum and attached it with some brads. The F is a large silver brad.

Wish You Were Here

I made this card for a cut up a stamp challenge, no we didn't really have to cut up a stamp but had to cut out part of a stamped collage image. I chose the Crafty Individuals seaside postcard stamp and cut out the lovely lady and the words. For the background I brayered some Eco Crafts acrylic paint onto white card, I was really pleased with the effect that I got. I embossed the orange card using the Spellbinders Impresserbilities Sea Scape template and my Epic Six machine. I embellished the card with some blue cord and a starfish charm.

Take Flight

For this project I used a Crafty Individuals canvas board with a frame and coloured the frame with Viva Inca Gold. I coloured the canvas with Eco acrylic paint and then stamped the birds in the grass [Paper Artsy]. I then spread some Viva Ferro along the bottom of the canvas to hide the bottom of the stamped image and sponged some Viva Inca Gold onto it when it had dried. I stamped the birds and leaves [Paper Artsy] onto some gold metal then embossed the images and coloured them with Viva Inca Gold, then I then cut them out and attached them to the frame.

Linda's Deco Pages

I made these pages a few months ago for a deco book swap, the problem I have is trying to remember what I used. The pink one I know all the stamps were by Elusive Images and the inks are distress inks. I cut the leaves out of some leafy lace
I have no idea what make of stamp I used for the main image. The background stamps are by Elusive Images and stamped with distress ink. I added some lace, ribbon and sticky backed pearls.

Fun Swap

For this swap we were sent 2 jigsaw pieces to make something with, this is my effort.
I coloured the background with Ecogreen Crafts acrylic paints and the edges are embossed with Cosmic Shimmer UTEE. The stamps I used are Paper Artsy's Flora and Fauna set 4 stamped onto white card. I coloured the images with Sakura glittery gelly roll pens and a water brush to thin them out. I cut the images out and stuck them to the jigsaw to give a 3D effect.

Chunky Alphabet Book A B and C

I've joined in a Chunky alphabet book swap on KCUK. We're doing 3 pages a month. These are my first 3 pages.
A for Art. I used distress inks to colour the page. The stamps I used are Mona Lisa by Lost Coast Designs, background words by the Stamp Bug, ART by Catslife Press and the brushes are by Serendipity. I triple embossed the ART domino.

B is for Bird. The stamps that I used on this page are, background feathers by Hero Arts, birds on a wire by Artistic Outpost, the other images are by Elusive Images. I stamped the main bird onto copper metal and embossed the wing and tail.
C for Cirque. I love these stamps, they are by Katzelkraft. All the images were stamped onto white card and coloured in with Promarkers. I dabbed a little bit of glitter glue on to the balls.

Girl's Best Friend

I stamped the diamond background onto some blue sparkly paper, cut round the diamond edges then stuck it to a white card blank. I stamped the main image onto some of the blue paper and cut out the dress and gloves then I stamped the main image onto some white card and stuck the blue dress and gloves onto it. I stuck a few gems to the image and card.
The diamond background is by Stampers Anonymous, but I have no idea who made the other stamps.

Memories Tag

I made this tag for a memories tag swap. I chose this Crafty Individuals stamp because it took me back to childhood holidays in Clevleys, we always had a couple of visits to Blackpool and I have photos of me and my sister sat on donkeys on Blackpool sands. I put a sun and umberela on the tag, the sun did shine but mostly it rained. When it rained mum and dad always took us to Woolies to buy a game or my favorate, a colouring book and crayons. I put some Flower Soft on the bottom of the tag for the sand.

Steampunk Pendant

I made this pendant in May for a friends birthday. I put a memory frame onto an Artistic Stamper cogs stamp and poured melted Cosmic Shimmer UTEE into it. When the UTEE cooled down I attached metal cogs and a few gems to it.

May Birthday Card

I made this card in May, there's not a lot to say about it except that the stamps used are by Stampotique and the images were coloured in with Sakura pens watered down with a water brush.

Blogging Again

On Saturday my friend Alison reminded me that I hadn't posted anything on my blog since May so I decided that it was time to start again.
There's not been much crafting done since May, my daughter left home at the beginning of June so June was spent shopping, decorating and sitting in an empty flat waiting for deliveries while she was at work.
July and August weren't very good months, my husband had to close his business of 20 years so he and my son are out of work, my father-in-law was rushed into hospital and has been very poorly but thankfully he's now on the mend, then my mother-in-law passed away.
Life is getting back to normal again apart from DH and DS being at home, I've started getting inky fingers again.

Coasters

I bought these coasters from a charity shop for a few pennies. They're a lovely size, nearly 5" sq.
I decorated them using emulsion paint, handmade papers, stamped tissue paper and a bit of gold paint. I didn't decorate them in any particular order, just painted and glued as I went along until I got the desired effect. I finished them of with 3 coats of varnish. The main stamps I used are by Crafty Individuals.

Fun Swap

For this swap we were given what I thought was a piece of felt to make something with, it turned out to be absorbent lint that's used to protect urine samples in the post. All I could think of was to make some flowers and use them on a hanging. I wish I had thought about splitting the lint to make thinner flowers as the ones I made were a bit thick.
I stamped some cream card with a lace stamp by the Artistic Stamper and edged it with some distress ink and some Brilliance galaxy gold. I stamped the Crafty Individuals image on to some plain material and then frayed the edges, I also stamped some swirls on the felt flowers. I made the flowers using strips of sari ribbon and organza ribbon using a brad to attach it to the felt flowers. The top was edged with some lace flowers and some beads and the hanger is some sari ribbon.

Another Challenge Card

This card was made for an Embossed Stamped Card challenge.
The background is a resist background that I made last year, I embossed it with a Cuttlebug embossing folder. I stamped the Crafty Individuals flowers on to some dotty paper with Distress Ink and embellished the card with a bit of ribbon, some black gems and a peel of.

Sketch Challenge

I made this card for a sketch challenge last month.
I used a baby wipe to colour some white card with Distress Inks then I stamped the image with black Stazon, the stamp I used is by The Artistic Stamper. I mounted the image on to black card. I wrapped some thread round some yellow card and mounted it on to black card then I wrapped some black ribbon round a strip of orange card and attached a black flower with an orange brad.

Deco Pages For Nicki

These are the two pages that I made for Nicki in the swap on KCUK, her theme is the alphabet. The backing paper I used for the eyes page is from the Once Upon A Time range by DCWV. I coloured the edges with distress ink and stamped letters of the alphabet over it. The eye chart and eye stamps are by Stampers Anonymous and the sentiment is by Paper Artsy. I stamped the images on to white card and coloured them with distress ink. The last thing I did was to add some alphabet brads.
Again the background for the blossom page is coloured with distress ink and I stamped letters of the alphabet over it. The stamped images are by Elusive Images and were stamped on to white card and coloured with distress inks. I stuck gems on to the end of each petal and on a couple of corners of the page and added some alphabet brads.

Fantasy Tags

I belong to a tag swap group on Facebook and the theme for the latest swap is fantasy, these are the tags I made.
I bought a Faerie Poppet die cut decoupage kit a few years ago and decided to use it for the swap. The background papers are from the kit and I also added some pink wrapping paper that's covered with lovely silver embossed butterflies. I painted parts of the tags with emulsion paint and stamped swirls around the edges, then I stippled clear embossing ink around the edges and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer UTEE. The decoupaged fairies went on next, I love these fairies they're so cute, lastly I added some sari ribbon to the tags.

The Juggler

I was pleased with the way this card turned out. I wasn't sure if the beads on the wire would work and hope that the ends of the wire stays stuck in between the card.
The stamps are by Character Construction and I coloured the images with Promarkers. I wanted the beads to move from hand to hand so I threaded them on to some wire and stuck the ends of the wire to the arms. The background paper is a Graphicus Guild paper. I embellished the card with black pom poms, some flowers and gems.

Easter Card

I used a Martha Stewart punch to edge a piece of green card and attached the stamped image to it. The stamp I used is by Flower Soft and I coloured the image with Promarkers.

Bonjour Madame

I love the Mannequin Cafe stamps by Character Construction, this is my first attempt with them. The Eiffel Tower and Arc De Triomphe are by Invoke Arts, the rest of the images are by Character Construction.

Grunge

This is an ATC I made for a KCUK Grunge swap. I coloured the background with distress inks and painted some broken china Distress Crackle Paint in one corner. The swirly background stamp is by Creative Expressions and the chequered background stamp is a Stamp Bug SSP Guild stamp. The main stamp image and sentiment are by Stampotique. I edged the ATC with some arctic black Cosmic Shimmer UTEE.

Blue Challenge

These are two cards I made for a blue challenge. The image is by Darkroom Door and the colour is shades of blue by Marvy Blending Blox. For the butterflies I used a Martha Stewart punch and stamps. I spread Distress Stickles over the image and butterflies on the top card unfortunatly the photo doesn't show how glittery it is.

Corset

I really enjoyed making this for Lynne, it was for a corset mingle on KCUK. I stamped some pink roses on to some cream card and then embossed it with a Cuttlebug embossing folder. I coloured some white lace with pink Glimmer Mist and used it to edge the corset, then I added some pearl beads and some roses. The rose stamp is by Clarity Stamps.