Another Male Card

I've made another male card using the X-cut Horology range - this time some of the dies which make up into various pocket watches (a tad fiddly to do) and some of the other elements such as background paper and words - also the rest of the piece of kraft card embossed with the cuttlebug cogs.

I hope none of you are having any serious roblems with the relentless rain and wind which we seem to have with us today and threatened for the rest of the weekend. Let's hope that the New Year with bring something good when it arrives!

Steampunk Butterfly

This card uses the actual butterfly from the set this time (you may recall I made a card withs the rose stamp from the set).  I started by colouring some card with Glimmer Mists and once dry the butterfly was stamped in black and clear embossed before cutting it out - the body was cut out separately and layered.  Background paper was Tim Holtz vintage shabby with some overstamping and the trellis was cut using a Spellbinders die.  The cogs were cut from the same misted card; glitter brads were added to the centres and some copper was rubbed over the embossing. The cogs were cut with X-cut dies and the flourish was a Marianne die.  Sentiment was produced on the computer and punched out.

Male Birthday

When I spotted the new Docraft Creativity magazine with this wonderful free stamp as a give away I thought how good it would be for male cards. I'm not entirely sure but I think this type of globe is called an orrery or maybe an astral globe - perhaps someone clever might be able to put me right on this? What I should have done was do my research before writing this post!!

I stamped three times and embossed, then cut out some of the elements to layer.  There is a great new collection of Horology items with a steampunk feel  which makes them suitable for making these often difficult cards.  The background paper is from the same range, but the embossing folder used is one I already had although there is a new one from Docrafts with clocks and cogs as well as other exciting folders and new dies (very tempting). The embellishments were cut using a new die set which has a selection of cogs but I must say they were a bit fiddly to remove from the dies when cut despite using silicone paper with the kraft card. The sentiment is one lying around on my work space which I'd stamped a while ago and not used but it seemed to just fit nicely with the rest of the card. I now have a little pile of die cuts to make up a pocket watch - again a bit fiddly to deal with but hopefully they will appear on another male card very soon.

Seasonal Wishes

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all my blogging friends and followers a Very Happy Christmas and a Prosperous and Healthy New Year.  Very many thanks for all your support and wonderful comments throughout the past year.  I hope you are all ready for the big day and that the horrible weather we've had forecast doesn't interfere with your celebrations.

This image was produced very quickly using Craft Artist

Steampunk Rose

When I saw these  Steampunk Butterfly stamps from Chocolate Baroque I just knew that a set had my name on it!  This card is made using the unusual rose which I love, a corner stamp and also another one which has been used on the background (a fragment reminscent of a rose window).  The main image coloured with Coloursoft pencils was stamped twice so that I could layer up the flowers and leaf; the background was a piece of watercolour paper inked with Distress stains and Adirondack ink, overstamped with the fragment and silver mica powder brushed on before the ink dried.  Pewter WOW embossing powder was used on the rose and on the corners. The main image and the metallic effect piece were cut using  Stampin' Up framelits dies (Sizzix).  A Tim Holtz embossing folder was used to produce the metallic piece which was a scrap of card with aluminium adhesive tape applied (bought from the DIY store).

It has been raining relentlessly here all day - and probably most of last night too, so I made the weather an excuse not to go out but stayed in to play with my new stamps.  Much more fun!!

Technique Tuesday

I was invited to take part in the Technique Tuesday challenge and there is a tutorial over there for this faux tile technique - follow the link to see it and also the work by their design team.  I used another Elusive Images stamp (now Chocolate Baroque), some Tim Holtz vintage shabby background paper and die cuts using up the other half of the Top Note piece which I cut yesterday and also a lattice Memory Box die. The sentiment was produced on the cojmputer and is layered onto an X-cut tag shape also die cut. I can see lots of potential for this idea and will probably be using it again as I'm sure it can look very different depending upon the stamps used.

Make My Monday

This is the final challenge for this year at Make My Monday because they are having a couple of weeks off - well deserved because they have worked hard to bring us some very interesting challenges.  This time they've given us a bingo card choice and I went with the diagonal line of  PATTERNED PAPER, FLOWERS AND WORDS.

The background paper is from a Prima script pad and the die cut piece of patterned paper is a scrap using the Top Note die from Stampin' Up.  The main image is a stampe I've had for a long time but which remains a firm favourite - from Elusive Images (now of course Chocolate Baroque).  It was stamped twice and the daisies were cut out and layered for dimension, colouring done with Distress Inks and Coloursoft pencils.  It is nice to be making something non seasonal for a change and once past the longest day on Friday, hopefully we can start to look forward to the Spring.

Z is for ZIA

For anyone who doesn't know, ZIA is Zentangle Inspired Art - Zentangle is a registered name reserved for the genuine article.  My final tag for the alphatag swap just had to be this because I so enjoy drawing tangles and anyway I was at a loss to think of anything else for which I had something to use which came from Chocolate Baroque.  If you are interested in the  Art of  Zentangle there are several books and also suitable pens available on their website.  I simply stamped the words (Choco Baroque stamp) and then drew some tangles around them before sponging the edges of the tag and adding a ribbon.

Make My Monday

Having completely missed the deadline for the Make My Monday challenge last week I was determined to get my card made in time for this WHITE ON WHITE Christmas card theme.  I used a piece of seasonal music backing paper - Papermania I think from a few years back and then embossed a tree using a cuttlebug embossing folder.  A piece of ribbon and a simple sentiment from chocolate Baroque stamped in grey and there it is - the adornments on the tree are in reality clear irridescent but they look pink on the scan, however we did have the option of adding one colour so maybe this will be OK. Do follow the link and take a look at the lovely cards from their design team.

Noel

How often is it that a card I'm in the middle of working on actually fits a challenge by chance - not often I can assure you but today seems to be my lucky day because this one fits not one but two challenges. I thought it was time I started on a few special Christmas cards (late I know) and when I looked at Hels Sheridan's blog this morning NOEL is the theme of her stamping challenge this week so that one fits and also this week the Make My Monday challenge is to use a favourite flower.  I'm using a bit of licence here because I wouldn't say the poinsettia is my all time favourite but it certainly is my favourite for this time of the year; throw in a bit of steampunk and there's another favourite.  I just hope I'm in time posting for last Monday's challenge.

I started off by colouring some white card using Distress stains (Aged Mahogany and Antique Bronze) and I also did another piece of card using Victorian Velvet and Aged Mahogany to use for the background and sentiment.  The stamps used are from Chocolate Baroque Steampunk Christmas set which I just love and the flowers were stamped onto the card with metallic stain included, embossed with gold powder and cut out.  The NOEL was stamped onto the plainer card and I overstamped the background with poinsettias and snowflakes. All that remains now is to make a nice insert and that is one of my special cards ready to send off - a few more to go so will have to get a move on!!

Would you believe I missed the post for Make My Monday - will definitely have to do better this week

I'm Still Here!

I've been very bad about posting on my blog recently and I really will try harder but sometimes 'things' just get in the way.  I've managed to complete my last two tags for the alphatag swap which has been going on all year and much as I've enjoyed taking part, I am really glad to be down to the final two letters of the alphabet - they were becoming more difficult towards the end.  This one is Y for Yuletide and I've used a lovely tree stamp from Fat Robin set by Chocolate Baroque, stamped onto the background and also stamped onto coloured card, cut out and layered for dimension.  The background of the tag was achieved using Pine Needles Distress ink and Pewter Distressed stain on a glass cutting mat, lightly spritzed with water and then 'mopped up' (technical term!!) with the tag - some stamped snowflakes were added using the same colour ink..  I also did the same with some spare pieces of card and stamped the trees onto that and embossed with silver powder.  Despite searching through my vast collection of stamps I was unable to find one which had the correct word on it so resorted to using Frosty font on the computer.  A piece of matching dyed ribbon was added and that's the 'Y' tag ready.

Huge Blog Candy

There is a huge offer of blog candy from Crafty Individuals - a cool £150 worth no less.  Just check out the picture to see it all and then follow the link to visit their blog and read all about it. I'm definitely keeping my fingers crossed!!

Make My Monday

At last I've actually managed to make a card this week - is it really Thursday already?? This week is the final one on Make My Monday with an autumn theme and we have been asked to use supplies - RIBBON AND BUTTONS.  Backing paper is an odd piece which I thought was just right, sorry I can't remember where it came from as it was in the oddments box along with the scraps of card used to complete the rest of the design.  Stamp used was a freebie from Craft Stamper ages ago, coloured with Copics; ribbon was a matching scrap and the flowers and buttons were Papermania ones, also bought ages ago. I won't get much done at home tomorrow either because it is our craft group meeting and then we are going out for a pre Christmas lunch - this just happens to be a restaurant within the local craft shop so maybe some retail therapy will be on the cards too.

Art Deco

This Art Deco lady stamp came free with the Docrafts Creativity magazine and of course I just had to have the deco embossing folder which went with the range - such a shame really that the stamps weren't sized so that the images fitted nicely into the frames!!  I had to resort to cutting the embossing through the middle and adding a strip of black card so that the image didn't completely hide the top and bottom of the frame.  That said I do quite like the effect of the black strip so nothing lost.  For some reason the scan has brightened the yellow colouring on the dress whereas in reality it is a more muted gold shade which tones well with the backing paper.

Make My Monday Autumn

The Autumn theme continues at Make My Monday and this week they want us to use some vellum.  I came across this image on Joanna Sheen's Royal Horticultural Society collections CD.  It was printed onto both card and vellum and I've also used a strip of the matching backing paper on top of the main background of Prima paper.  The vellum was torn across and then layered onto the topper.  Edges of the papers were sponged with Cranberry Adirondack ink and the ribbon was also dyed using a pool of the ink spritzed on a glass cutting mat - fingers now an interesting shade so I really should remember not to get dye inks all over them!!  A simple stamped greeting finishes off this card.

I'm hoping the relentless rain eases off later because I  have to venture out to post off a birthday card today if it is to reach its destination on the correct day so it will be a case of donning waterproof footwear!!

X is for Xanadu

I was determined not to fall back on the abbreviated form of Christmas for this tag - I really don't like it at all but of course this posed a problem of just what to use for this letter.  I trawled through the dictionary to no avail and then someone suggested Xanadu as a possibility so of course I had to read the poem to remind myself of what it contained.  Fortunately some of the words made me think of this image from the Moonlit River set of clear stamps by Chocolate Baroque so that is what I've used.  Image was coloured using Polychromos pencils with the addition of some clear Sakura glitter pen.  The poem in general conjured up images of tropical forests as would be seen in paintings by Rousseau so I added some stamped and cut out leaves (also from CB) and a butterfly which was a stamp given away with Craft Stamper.  Thanks to Florence for suggesting the word Xanadu to me - aren't online friends wonderful??  If you want to read the poem it can be found easily online - just Google the word and you can also find images of paintings by Henri Rousseau in the same way! I will have to get my brain working on Y and Z now for next month - ideas are forming though so watch this space.

W is for Wisteria

It is time to be posting off the two tags for November and then just two to make and post for next month and I will have a beautiful collection of 26 'swaps'.  I won't be too sorry to reach the end of these swaps because while I've really enjoyed making the tags and of course receiving some in exchange, there have been months where it has been a fight against time to get them done and some months severe taxing of the brain cells to fit stamps etc to the letters..  Luckily I have the Chocolate Baroque Wisteria Lane stamp set so that was an obvious choice for this month and I added a die cut picket fence along with a stamped and decoupaged bird bath from another older set of CB stamps to complete the Wisteria 'garden'.

I realise as I'm typing this that the Sunday Stamper challenge this week is on the theme of BIRDS so I will enter the tag into that one as well.

Stitching

The autumnal theme continues on Make My Monday blog and this week the topic is STITCHING - REAL OR FAUX.   I've employed a bit of artistic licence here and gone with the mellow creamy browns of the season and I'd say this Wellington Bear from Papermania has reached the autumn of his life!!  A touch fanciful maybe??  I went for the faux stitching with a stitch stamp from Creative Expressions - keep meaning to actually stitch onto a card but just don't get around to it somehow. Background and various layers are all Papermania papers and there is a layer of decoupage on Wellington (I try to keep cards fairly flat these days because of the postage costs.  Often people won't buy a card if they think it will incur extra postage.  There are some great Design Team cards on the MMM blog - well worth a visit.

Floral Theme

The theme this week on Addicted to Stamps and More challenge is FLOWERS  so not too difficult to find a floral stamp in my collection.  This stamp comes from Crafty Individuals and is a favourite of mine because it lends itself to all kinds of techniques.  This time I've chosen to go back to a technique I've not used for ages using alcohol inks with acetate and tissue paper.  Originally this involved using a particular liquid floor polish which if I recall was often difficult to come by and the whole technique was a bit messy and took ages to dry.  This time I used Glossy Accents which dried a lot more speedily.  The finished panel was trimmed and mounted onto  black card; backing paper is from Prima and has been overstamped with a flourish stamp (Chocolate Baroque) in green;   black card was embossed using a Cuttlebug folder, then spritzed with Green Glimmer Mist; the butterflies were stamped onto some of the green background scraps using a free stamp from Craft Stamper, cut out then sprayed with Goosebumps.  A greeting and a few pearls and that's it - a floral card.

Acomplete change in the weather - after yesterday's beautiful sunshine it is very dark and lashing with rain!!

Special Request

Good Morning all - a beautiful sunny morning with blue skies, albeit a bit chilly due to frost overnight, but it is definitely good to see the sun.

I received a request from a friend to make a birthday card for her husband who is a keen amateur artist and I agreed because I knew there was an image on one of the My Craft Studio discs featuring an artist.  Unfortunately my memory didn't serve me too well as the 'artist' was actually a female one called Violet!! However there is a companion disc with a character called Alfie so with a bit of editing and playing around within the programme I was able to produce a male artist and of course I could include her husband's name on the greeting and on the insert so hopefully she will think this card suitable. Backing papers are also from the same disc and I added some pen squiggles - the paint tube and palette were cut out and layered for dimension.

Flying Crane

I often seem to end up with pieces of background paper cut to size for a card and then in the end not used. I always do a sort of 'dry run' with my layouts and sometimes decide that certain elements aren't quite right so they get put aside.  The paper here is one such piece which I was determined to use so I started with that and then stamped the crane and dragonflies onto card from the bits box, cut out with a Stampin' Up Sizzix die - the stamps are from a clear set by Chocolate Baroque. As this die is quite large all that was needed was a greeting popped onto one of the smaller die shapes, a corner and a few gems. It is a lovely sunny morning at the moment, hopefully it will last because I'm being taken out today to see the seasonal display at a garden centre - always impressive and I think lunch out is the plan too so that has to be good.

Make My Monday Challenge

We are onto a new month of challenges at Make My Monday and this time the theme is AUTUMN and the first thing they want us to do is 'use our supplies' - KRAFT AND STRING.  I've used some Tim Holtz Kraft resist card, sponged with Distress ink as a background.  A Sizzix (SU) topnote die cut has been partially embossed in a cuttlebug embossing folder using one of the wonderful Sizzix embossing diffusers to leave an oval shape un-embossed so that I could stamp the branch.  Another small tag shape was cut using a Sizzix die and onto this I've added a posy of Sizzix tattered leaves and branches cut from distress-inked watercolour paper with a hand cut swirly pine cone (sort of) and some stamped acorns. I'm afraid I was in such a hurry to take a photo of the card before the light disappeared that I haven't left time for the glue to dry on the pinecone but now it has dried of course there is no white streak in the middle!!  The leafy branch and acorns are stamps from Stampin' Up Touch of Nature set.  Some string tied around and a greeting and there it is. 

Do pop over to Make My Monday to see the inspiration from the design team and maybe even take part in the challenge - there is a prize on offer which has to be a bonus!

A Bingo Card

I think I might just be catching up a bit although there is still some of the dreaded housework staring me in the face this morning.  The people at Addicted to Stamps and More have given us a bingo challenge this week, where we can chose three items from a line to make a project.

I selected DIES, BIRTHDAY AND FREE (embossing) to make this card.  Background paper is from Prima, the main image is a digital stamp from Just Inklined, punched out with a Stampin' Up punch and popped onto an embossed frame by Sizzix (SU), I die cut a Top Note shape,  embossed, sanded and inked to show up the detail.  The swirl was a Marianne die cut from a scrap of spritzed card (forgotten what it was spritzed with now as it was from the bits box), as was theSizzix dragonfly.  I used a few odd bits for the flower embellishment and to die cut for the sentiment.

Now I really must step away from the computer and press on with the h****work - excuse the rude word!!

A Late Owl

And why is this owl late you may be asking - well he was destined to be coloured with markers and made into a card for the challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More but unfortunately I completely missed the boat. Hopefully I can get something made in time for this week's challenge which is a 'bingo' card.  The owl is a stamp from Joanna Sheen and as suggested has been coloured using markers - a mixture of  Promarkers, Flex markers and Copic.  The image was cut out with Sizzix dies, backing paper is from a set of freebies given with a magazine, daisy border was cut using a Tonic punch and as I couldn't bear to throw away the 'waste' daisies, some of them have been used.  Corners were a die from Whimsy Stamps.

I hope you are all having a good weekend despite the horrible weather - lashing rain today after a cold but bright and sunny Saturday but the sun is at last trying to break through today as well so fingers crossed.

Make My Monday

Hopefully I am just about in time to post this  for the final French themed challenge on Make My Monday. The topic this week was feminine romance so I hope this anniversary card will be OK.  The week as usual seems to have flown by and I must admit I was struggling to find anything different in the way of something suitably French.  Eventually I came across this background which was a download I've had for ages and had completely forgotten about (also no idea where it came from now either - sorry).  I added a die cut swirl and hearts using Marianne dies, added a bit of overstanping and finally a stamped and punched 'postage stamp' together with a greeting.

Again I've been missing from blogland much of the week and I really will try harder to keep up and also keep in touch with my favourites.

Quick and Easy Bag

I must apologise for my lack of blog posts towards the end of last week - somehow time just seemed to disappear - they say time flies when you're having fun and it is so true!!  I managed to visit most of my usual blogs and hopefully left comments on the majority but a few may well have slipped past my notice - sorry.

Today I have a stitching project to show you which was produced as a sort of 'teaching aid' because I dug out some instructions for a 'quick and easy bag' to pass onto a friend who has recently become hooked on patchwork and quilting; had acquired a sewing machine and wanted to 'play'.  I suggested maybe making one of these as a way of getting used to the machine without just stitching onto odd scraps of fabric.  However when I read the instructions I felt that they weren't perhaps quite as clear  to a 'new' stitcher as they might be so thought the best way would be to make up a bag to a certain stage so that I could actually show her how it was constructed.  I knew that once I got home with the half finished one I should immediately complete it otherwise it could join my collection of UFOs (unfinished objects) although I prefer to call them WIPs (works in progress) - a much more positive name!!  I decided the outside was a bit plain so quickly added a sort of flower appliqued onto one side - a definite bit of artistic licence here and it keeps reminding me of a fried egg now but never mind it is bright and does match the lining.  The bag is roughly the size of a black plastic carrier from M & S (the sort you get when you buy underwear or anything not food) and folds up easily to tuck into my capacious handbag ready to fill with goodies when I go to the shops.  I often set out with just my handbag thinking I probably won't buy anything much but items have a habit of jumping into my basket when I'm not looking - it would be so rude to throw them out again wouldn't it?  At least now I won't need to have a plastic carrier for my purchases.

I'm thinking of making another of these bags because while I was out today I saw a gorgeous cushion in the shape of an owl so 'stored' the design in my brain until I got home and have made a quick sketch because I  think it would make a wonderful applique design - just need to stop waffling on the computer and get stitching again.

Simply Stampin' Sketch

The challenge this week on Simply Stampin' is to follow a sketch which I have to say is usually a favourite with me and some very interesting layout options crop up from time to time - just have to remember them when inspiration is lacking!!  I'm afraid I don't know the source of the papers I've used as they are from the 'bits' box (still using scraps where possible), The stamp is from SU Aviary set with a little swirl of leaves from Sweet Summer.  Framelits labels dies were used for the image, Scalloped Edgelits die for the border strip and Sizzlits Lots of Tags and an SU punch for the sentiment. Do take a look at what their Design Team have shown us for inspiration this week by following the link.

Make My Monday Challenge

There is still a French theme going on at Make My Monday and I'm rapidly running out of French themed 'things' so good thing there's only one more week!  This time they are asking for TRICOLEUR namely to include red, white and blue.  I had a piece of watercolour paper which I'd used at a recent marbling workshop - not particularly successful this particular piece but the colours were right and I was going to sponge and overstamp it so used it for a background here.  French themed stamps are from Chocolate Baroque Paris plate, the small text is En Francais stamp by Stampin' Up and the swirl from SU Everything Eleanor set.  The flowers are also from Everything Eleanor and the leaves from French Foliage (SU).  Sentiment was stamped on a scrap of the background paper and cut out using a Crealies die and flowers were mounted onto Spellbinders die cuts.

Addicted to Stamps Challenge

The challenge on Addicted to Stamps this week is to follow a sketch which they have provided -  following a sketch is an excellent way to lay out a card if you are ever stuck for ideas and this one was quite straightforward.  Background paper is from My Minds Eye; I embossed a piece of Core-dinations card with dots for one of the layers; the image is a stamp from Stampin' Up Faith in Nature set; the swirly frame was cut with a Lea'bility die and that's it really - a simple card for a simple layout.  I hope you all have a good weekend - feeling quite autumnal (ie chilly) this morning but the sun is trying to break through.

V is for Vintage

Did I mention that the tag swap at Chocolate Baroque seems to be more difficult now we are getting to the end letters of the alphabet?  I decided eventually to go for a fairly obvious one here and chose VINTAGE - using the Haberdashery stamps. The dress form was stamped onto a scrap of patterned paper and cut out so that I could layer it.  Background is again from Tim Holtz vintage shabby collection overstamped with smaller stamps from the set.  Of course I had to add a piece of cream lace from my trimmings scraps and made a dimensional flower with some of the backing paper using a Studio 490 stamp. Only four more letters to go now and I will have a beautiful and varied collection of twelve tags by the end of the year.

The Lost Twinchie

The twinchie which I thought I'd lost when Craft Artist shut itself down wasn't in fact lost after all.  When I opened up the programme this morning it asked me if I wanted it to try and recover the unsaved work - how great is that?  Here is my third twinchie - a steampunk sort of Halloween - I hope you will pop over to see what their Design Team have made for this fun challenge.

For a Friend

Have you ever spotted a 'must-have' die or stamp on a blog, purchased said item, only to find that it is much larger or smaller than it appeared??  Well that was the case with this lovely Marianne die set - much larger than I thought but at least it didn't need the addition of too much to turn in into a special card with a simple stamped sentiment from Stampin' Up. If you are wondering, this is a six inch card.  I made the roses using a Creative Expressions embossing folder and cutting out the individual flowers to manipulate and layer - a bit fiddly but something which can be done easily while watching TV. The leaves were made using a Crealies die and of course cut from some of my scraps.  Backing paper is from a Prima pad - love their designs.  Not the best photo but the light isn't brilliant at the moment and the flowers are too deep for a good result using the scanner.

Twinchie Time

Time for a new challenge on Show is Your Twinchies blog and this time they are asking for some two inch square pieces of art with a Halloween theme. The first one was stamped using an owl on pumpkin stamp from a set of the new clear stamps by Chocolate Baroque.  Unfortunately I had to chop off the bottom of the pumpkin to make it the right size - thought that would be preferable to chopping the head off the owl!!  The second one was produced on the computer using Craft Artist software.  I did have a third one in the making on the computer but the programme crashed  and closed down so I lost it with no time to make it again at the moment.

Fleur de Lys Take Two

Two posts in one day, but I just had to go ahead and make a more appropriate card for the Make My Monday challenge.  Backing paper is again from Tim Holtz Vintage Shabby collection but with more obvious french text; the same Cuttlebug fleur de lys embossing folder using Coredinations blue card sanded to reveal the kraft core.  I remembered I had a Spellbinders fleur de lys die set as well so I cut out some kraft card to layer the Arc de Triomphe image (stamp from Chocolate Baroque). Next time I have the bright idea of covering more than one challenge at a time I will try to ensure that my brain is properly in gear before I start!!
At least I have another card  to pop into my 'cards suitable for men' box.

Double Challenge

A tenuous French connection  from me this week for Make My Monday.   They are asking for FLEUR DE LYS to be included and I was so busy trying to make a card that would cover two challenges that I realise now the rest of the card isn't actually French - doh!!!  I will maybe make something else  more appropriate  before the week is out  but in the meantime I'm posting this anyway.  The other challenge is from Hels for the Sunday Stamper challenge and she is asking for metal to be a part of the project along with some stamping.

Background paper is from Tim Holtz vintage shabby collection (actually there is  french text on this but you can't actually see much of it!!).  The FLEUR DE LYS piece was core-dinations card put through a Cuttlebug embossing folder, the metallic layer is adhesive metal tape applied to card and run through a brilliant embossing folder from Tim Holtz (just couldn't resist this one when I spotted it).  The winged hat is a stamp from Chocolate Baroque Steampunkery, the tag is a bit of recycling using a label saved (as you do) from something I'd bought with the addition of some computer text. Some metal embellishments and there it is, a card covering two challenges albeit very loosely for MMM but it does at least have FLEUR DE LYS!!

U for Umbel

Well it's tag time again for the swap at Chocolate Baroque; we are coming towards the end of the alphabet and these last few letters are proving to be the most difficult, particularly when it comes to working around which of their stamps (or other products) will be appropriate.  For 'U' I finally settled on UMBEL which I'm sure you know is the name for the flower head of such plants as cow parsley, Queen Ann's lace and so on.  Fortunately I have Elusive Images (now known as CB) UA4SP0176 which is a stamp set with lots of grasses and meadow plants.  The tag background was made using a technique from Tim Holtz called marbled distress - combining Picket Fence which is a white distress stain with other colours on a craft mat and 'mopping' them up - a technical term!!  Some pieces are more successful than others with this technique but most can be used so a fun thing to try.  I then stamped some of the grasses in matching distress ink and once thoroughly dry the flower was stamped with white ink and embossed using white fine detail powder.

Addicted to Stamps and More

The challenge this week at Addicted to Stamps and More is for a CAS (clean and simple) card with lots of white space and minimum embellishment and this is my second attempt at achieving a result without any unwanted 'splodges' or fingermarks!!  The stamp is from Penny Black coloured using Flexmarkers, Promarkers and a touch of Copic.  The sentiment is from a lovely  set of butterfly stamps by Clearly Besotted and yes I have resisted the temptation to load this card with butterflies - so far anyway...LOL !! However I couldn't resist stamping the image twice, cutting out the daisies and layering for some dimension.

Birthday Card

From time to time I get unusual requests for cards and this was certainly a new one for me.  It is for a young lady who is reluctant to leave her 'teens' behind hence the sentiment - she wants to be TWENTEEN rather than twenty!!  The stamp is from Papermania. coloured with pencils, backing paper is from Funky Hand and a Crafts Too embossing folder has been used.  The sentiment was of course produced on the computer and cut out using Spellbinder dies.  I hope it fits the bill - handbags and shoes -  should do it!!

Scraps

My quest to use up scraps is ongoing and I'm still trying to reach for the bits boxes every time I make something although sometime, particularly for challenges, I have to break into new pieces of card or paper which of course makes more scraps!  This card was made entirely from oddments of  Stampin' Up papers and bits of plain card for the die cut ornate corners (Marianne die).  I was forced into a bit of tidying yesterday to find enough space to work on my desk which made realise what I already know really - that I do not need to buy any more crafty goodies!! I wonder how long it will be before I hit the 'buy now' button again or visit my local craft shop.

Make My Monday Challenge

The challenge at Make My Monday this week is still on the French theme and this time they are looking for FRENCH VINTAGE  which I must say needed a bit of thought to come up with something suitable but I think I got there eventually.  Background paper is from Tim Holtz vintage shabby collection and fortunately there is French text on some of the sheets.  Image is a stamp from Crafty Individuals, a Sizzix top note die was embossed with Creative Expressions floral embossing folder, swirls were a Marianne die and the flowers and piece of lace from my stash.  I typed a few french words on the computer and cut them up to make the little 'tags' - spellcheck didn't like these!!  I had a lovely inky day yesterday which, considering the relentless rain, was a pleasant way of spending a miserable dark day - now I have to tidy up a bit so that I have space on my desk to work on some more ideas for using up the stash.

I see that the talented Hels Sheridan is on TV later with some wonderful new products so I've set it to record and must try hard not to be too tempted into adding to my stash!!

St Luke's Charity Challenge

This month the challenge on the St Luke's Charity blog is to produce a simple Christmas card with lots of white space - those who know me will realise I don't normally go for minimalist but here it is. I stamped this Michael Powell image (Papermania), coloured it with Flex markers and Copic pens, popped it onto a textured white card and added a stamped greeting.- all of which I managed without any grubby marks on the white space - I must be improving!!  There are some  great examples from their design team if you take a look at the blog.

Haloween Challenge

Although I don't normally do much when it comes to Halloween I am taking up the challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More - as you may have guessed that is their theme for this week.  It would have been so rude not to take part this week because I was lucky enough to be chosen for the top spot last week - thanks everyone.

I was tempted recently to try the new clear stamp sets produced by Chocolate Baroque and chose the Batty Owls set, not really for the Haloween stamp particularly but for two really nice owl ones in the same set. Not used them this time but I have incorporated another owl onto the background where I've used paper printed from Essence of Nature CD and overstamped with some Nature Swirls stamps which just goes to prove how well Chocolate Baroque products can be combined using items old and new.  I made masks to produce the effect on the Batty panel using distress inks.

Make My Monday Challenge

This month on Make My Monday the theme is to be FRENCH and for this first week it is PARIS.  I decided to go for an autumnal look and yes I know that traditionally it is 'springtime in Paris' - I'm thinking outside the box here!!  Backing paper is from Prima and has been overstamped with some images from Chocolate Baroque Paris plate; the postcard was made from a scrap of kraft card and the Notre Dame image (both CB also) stamped on a scrap of watercolour paper which had been used to 'mop up' some Distress stains from a glass mat. Leaves and corn etc were cut from another piece of inky watercolour paper using a Tim Holtz Sizzix die and the sentiment was cut out using a neat die from Crealy.  There are some great French themed cards from the Design Team so well worth a look.

Vintage Travel

The theme this week on Make My Monday is VINTAGE TRAVEL and I've managed to keep up this week and actually complete a card before the time ran out.  Apologies for missing the last two weeks of this challenge but time has been flying for me.  Backing paper here is from a wonderful script pad by Prima (almost too nice to cut into) and I've overstamped with stamps from Creative Expressions; the tickets and embellishment are also CE stamps.   The main image is from a set of vintage transport stamps by Tanda - a bit of Cuttlebug embossing and some tied twine and that's it - vintage travel which could be an 'any occasion' card suitable for a man.  I almost forgot to say that apart from the piece of Prima paper everything else on the card was made using scraps from my bits boxes.

Addicted to Stamps Challenge

The challenge on the Addicted to Stamps blog is on the theme of Spring (well it is that season 'down under') even though it is autumn here.  I've gone for spring-like colours on this card and incorporated a twinchie which I'd made for a challenge using a Papermania Urban stamp - I felt had to be used rather than left lying around so I've combined it with a butterfly die cut from X-cut and I must say that poking out all those tiny butterflies took an age, but it is a pretty die so maybe worth the trouble.  The embossed panel was made using co-ordinations card in a Crafts Too folder, backing paper was a freebie from a magazine.  I added a sentiment and a scattering of butterflies cut out  using an embosslits die (Sizzix) from Stampin' Up. Take a look and see what the design team have given us for inspiration on this theme.

Christmas Angel

Before I put my quilling things away I thought I'd make this little angel which of course had to be turned into a seasonal card.  Backing paper is from my stash, the ornate oval was cut using a Sizzix die, the white oval  embossed using Cuttlebug Swiss dots.  Marianne dies were used for the poinsettia.  This card ceretainly qualifies for Judith's Forgotten Friday challenge in one respect because I dug out a box of peel-offs to find one suitable as a chain for the bauble (Stampin' Up punch shape).  When I think back at just how I used to use peel-offs pretty well all the time and now I can't really remember when I last even looked at them and believe me I have a vast collection!!

Quilled Snowflakes

I treated myself to another quilling workshop yesterday with Jill of Jills Quills and you can see pictures of the morning session on her blog, no photos of the afternoon - that's a relief!!  The theme was seasonal and we were making snowflake designs and popping them onto small cards thoughtfully provided by Jill.  I can see that with the techniques we were shown there must be an endless variety of snowflakes which could be produced using various permutations.  I managed to complete two in the class and completed the third one when I got home.

The weather has taken a turn for the worse and this morning is very dark and dreary with steady rain so a good excuse to try a few more snowflakes or maybe even some holly or a christmas tree because were were all given some extra seasonal patterns and ideas - thanks Jill.