Lots of challenges & a DT Call!

There be lots of spooky themed challenges around this week and I dont normally do Halloween except one which I've already done but I won some digis over at Stitchy's the other week and I just HAD to use this one!  She reminds me of my littlest DD Molly who's going her first proper halloween party tomorrow in fancy dress ahhhh!

There's also a DT call over at Bearly Mine Designs which closes on 2nd November.  Donna does lush printable papers, many of them free!  I've got one of her CD's which is used often as its fab!  For this card I've used papers from Bearly Mine Designs, go check them out!

I've used an image called Can I go too? which is coloured with promarkers.  I've used a glue pen and ultra fine gold glitter on the sparkly bits, distressed the edges wth scissors and ink and stamped swirls from a paper artsy stamp plate (Hot Picks 1005)
All of the papers are Bearly Mine Designs and I've hand sewn silver cobwebs on the bottom of the easel.  I looked everywhere for a spider but couldn't find one (plenty of real ones mind lol!) so made this little guy out of Makins Clay.  Its actually glow in the dark clay as I have one huuuuuuge packet of normal clay which I dont want to open yet and a small pack of glow in the dark!  I've painted him in acrylics but his eyes still glow lol!

Right, there are sooooo many halloween challenges around this week that I'm going to be entering into quite a few so bear with me!

Fairymoon - Sketch & Halloween
Tuesday Taggers - Deep Purple Halloween
Penny's - Black, Purple & Orange
Crafty Little PLace - Spooky
One Stitch at a time - Celebrations
Wild Flower Patch - Halloween
Stamp Insanity - Halloween
Paper Playtime - Halloween
Pixie Dust Studio - Halloween
Ai Factory - Halloween
Dutch Dare - Halloween
Paper Play - A haunting we will go
Crafty Catz - Halloween
Corrosive - Halloween
Daring Cardmakers - Trick or Treat
Aly's Sunday Challenge - Distressed


Next up is another pink creation (I'm liking my pinks lately eh!)  I used this image earlier in the week as part of a veeeeeery complex digi design but wanted to do her on her own too as she's just too darn pretty to be part of a crowd!  She's called Ice Princess and is by Stitchy Stamps.  I'm never qquite sure if she's wearing a hat or if its her hair, it doesn't matter either way and I quite like to give her a hat :)

This one is again coloured with promarkers and used the gold glitter, have added hot pnk iridescent gems, mother of pearl coated pearls, sparkly lace (I need more of that!)  The stopper is a load of crystal gems and a button and all the papers are from Bearly Mine Designs (Designer Extreme 3) with some distressing around the edges with pink distress ink.

Would like to enter into...

Sketch & Stash - Sketch
Incy Wincy - Lace & Pearls
Totally Papercrafts - Bling it on
Lexi's Creations - Birthdays
Moving along with the times - Card for a child
Paper Pretties - Square cards
Papertake Weekly - Sparkly & Bright


Thank You muchly for looking!

WOYWW

I've been AWOL from WOYWW for a few weeks mainly because I forget to take a photo and generally I don't do much crafting on wednesdays so I remembered to take a pic last night instead!
If you're wondering what WOYWW is then pop over to The Stamping Ground - Its where us crafters can have a virtual rummage around other crafters workspaces, spy on what they're making and see some must have items on the desk hehe!

I'm back on my hob again lol!  The craft room is just too cold for me and I've kinda grown use to crafting standing up.  I also use the halogen light on the hob to flash my designs under so I can see where needs sparkles :)

This week I'm painting!  I bought these at Port Sunny from the Artistic Stamper (I'm really fighting the urge to not type @theartisticstam which is their twitter name!)  You'll find them here. 

 I've painted with acrylic daubers in aqua, pool, sailboat blue and black and thats the paint done at least!  Oooh hiding at the back there is a stamp not released yet lol!
Here's a close up of one of the frames.  I absolutely love black over blue, its a firm favourite!

I'm sure there are others like me who don't like painting with brushes, I prefer to finger paint, never grown up I guess!  So look out for these over the next few weeks as and when I get time to work on them, they're actually a present to the house as I don't keep much of what I make so these are a treat for us :)

Crafts and Me - Make a Christmas Gift

The challenge this fortnight over at Crafts & Me is to Make an Xmas Gift with Gina being our hostess for this one.  I decided to make a candle for this one and opted for 2 Hannah Lynn xmas designs (I love Hannah's stamps!) so have used Wintergreen Wishes and Candy Cane Angel both available here at Crafts & Me 

I'll do a little tutorial along the way in case you've never made an altered candle before :)


Step 1 - Stamp your image onto a piece of tissue paper.  I find the tissue paper they wrap clothes and flowers in best.  Experiment with your mediums for colouring, some look good others not so good. Chalks work very well.  For this I used promarkers as I've never used them on tissue so wanted to see how they performed.  Colour your image in as normal, use a shade or two darker than you normally would, add sparkles with sakura stardust or sparkly gel pens etc then cut around your image.



Step 2 - Place image onto your candle then use a piece of wax paper, wrap this tightly over your image and use a heat gun to gently melt the wax.  If you have neither you can use greaseproof paper and a hairdryer, its the melted wax that holds it in place.  Allow to cool for a few seconds and remove the wax paper and there's your image :)

Decorate as required :)  To secure the ribbon I used gem brads and made a hole with my pokey tool first.  I also added glitter to the top of the candle by gently heating it, adding glamour dust and gently pushng it into soft wax then heated again to seal it in.  Enjoy!

Would also like to enter into...

Sweet Stampin challenge - Anything but a card
ABC - G for Glitter
The Crafty Pad - Christmas
Craft your passion - Glitter & Sparkles

Digi Plus

Its DIGITAL PLUS over at Crafty Cardmakers for the next 2 weeks and we're sponsored by the very crazy Stitchy and Eiglas! 
I started with the Fairy Tree House by Make it Crafty which I've spied a couple of times and wanted to have a crack at as its soooo complex!  Next I added Ice Princess by Stitchy Stamps.  I absolutely love this stamp and NEED to do the big version of her!  I wanted the scene to be fun with little fairies peeping out from lots of places so I added some Fae Away and Butterfly Love fairies also by Stitchy Stamps, can you find them all?  I've resized, flipped, merged and had fun!  The challenge at Crafty Cardmakers is to do something other than just print & colour.  Digis are very versatile and you can get a lot out of them so I hope you like the challenge and what the girls have made :D

Images are coloured with promarkers, sakura stardust pens and white gel pen.  I've added stickles glue around the edge of the card which is also coloured with distress inks.  Added glamour dust just to make sure it was sparkly enough :)  Have used sticky gems and mother of pearl coated flat back pearls, sentiment again from Stamping All Day and papers are again from the Daisy & Dandilion range.

Would lke to enter this into...

One Stitch at a time - Celebrations
Stamp Something - Digi
Karber Monthly - Fantasy
Flutterby Wednesday (2nd entry)
Meljens - Anything Goes

Eeeek! Cards for Men at The Stampman!

Jill does lke to scare us a bit over at The Stampman challenges and this fortnight is MENS CARDS aaarrgh!  I thought should I pull a sickie, I've been run over by a bus or something but gave myself a good kick and set to work!

Recently I've been playing with triple embossing having been asked to demo it at Port Sunny which is actually Jills demo but she was engaged elsewhere so whats a girl to do but oblige!  A customer wanted to see how it was done so I showed her and they are fun to do especially with yummy Moonglow embossing powders!  Jill's also got these fab chipboard tiles in the shop which are perfect for triple embossing so I started with one of the tiles, added a green pigment ink for the base and triple embossed with Moonglow Adobe Fire embossing powder.  I've inked up the dragonfly stamp which is from Aspects of Design 03 Botanical plate with gold brilliance ink and pressed into the tile.  The background paper is from.... I have nooooooo idea lol!  I got it in a swap I think!  The panel is a fab stamp called Stone relief border which just looks great on any colour background, been playing with that one lots this week (and its HALF PRICE!)  I stamped it onto Moonshadow Ethereal Emerald which is one of my favs!
The rusty looking nail heads were black, I didn't have any gold so I splodged them with a gold acrylic dabber and also used that on the edge of the tile.

See Men's Cards aren't so bad eh!  I did keep it simples and for any occasion as the tile and moonshadow background provide enough visual appeal (in real life!)

Hope ya come an join in over at The Stampman challenges x

Praying Angel

I luuuurve this stamp from Lost Coast Designs called Praying Angel. I think she's quite versatile in that she can be used for birthdays, christmas and general greetings and I look for that in stamps I buy.  I spied her at Port Sunny and had to have so this is her first outing and one of many I imagine!
I've stamped onto a background I made with cosmic shimmer mists in peacock green, purple violet & Angel Mist and bleached out her wings.  The sentiment is from a huge stamp by Stampendous called Dream Text which I've actually cut down into individual sentiments as its easier to stamp.  Background is papers from Crafty Individuals and  papers are the Hero Arts stroky stamp the Fabulous Flourish stamped with versamark and brushed with moonglow powders.

Would like to enter this into..

Gingersnap (Random Redheads) - Arches

New Hannah Lynn Stamps and a tutorial

My turn to show you one of the fab new xmas images by Hannah Lynn which are released for sale next week only at Crafts & Me.  This one is Candy Cane Angel - Aint she pretty!  For the first showing I decided to do the colours pretty much as the original are but you can choose what colours you like for this kind of image.  I've made a tealight candle card which is really easy to make and make a nice little gift especially if you use scented candles Mmmmmmm :)

For the hair on Candy Cane Angel I used a promarker in cool aqua just around the edges of the lines and a few random strands here and there then used the blender pen to spread the blue out so there's no harsh lines.  To make it super duper sparkly use a sakura stardust pen in clear.  As its a large area you will usually get streaks so roughly colour in an area and before it dries use your little finger to smudge the pen in, this spreads the sparkle and loses the lines.

I've used a white gel pen to add highlights and lines and some stickles glitter glue on the fur.

To get the glow around her (If you want to!) I used lime zest roughly around the edges then cool aqua for the rest, coloured over with the blender pen to merge them and when still wet I added sky blue towards the outer edge.

I love how she turned out and she's an easy one to colour which you can also experiment with the colours too for more contemporary rather than traditional colours.  She'll be available next week but you'll have to be quick as all the DT are after the full set!

Also entering into...

Papertake Weekly - Sketch (I realised I'd put the tabs in the wrong place so void it girls if its not valid)

ABC - F for Flowers

Charisma - More than one fold

Flutterby Wednesday - Open Week

Gingersnap (Spicy Supply challenge) - Versamark (Gold flourish is versamark and pearlex)

Stampin' Royalty - Ribbons

Christmas Stampin - Colour Inspiration

Penny's - So long as it flies

Thanks for looking :)

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TUTORIAL - TEALIGHT CANDLE CARD

To make the tealight candle card you'll need a piece of A4, some tealight candles, some ribbon & a little imagination :)

There are some points to remember if you want to adapt this design and that is the size of the tealights.  To add 4 you'll need to cut your card at least 15.5cm high, to add 3 would be about 11.5cm.  Its important to remember to cut your card as close to the size of the tealights lined up as if your card is any more/less they'll stick out or rattle around!

OK I've made one with 4 tealights in so I've cut a piece of A4 lengthways to 15.5cm and trimmed it to 27.5cm wide. 

Score at 1cm, 3cm, 7cm and 9cm, this is the box bit they sit in.  I've made a very light score at 13cm (or you can draw a faint pencil line) This is just a guide to line your box up straight - don't score it!

Decorate the area which will be the candle holder how you wish, I've used a Hero Arts fabulous flourish stamp with versamark and gold pearlex and cut out a panel in the widest section (between the 3cm and 7cm score lines)  You could use circle cutters, flourish dies or anything you like to do this but remember the cuttlebug is only 15cm wide so you'd have to improvise!

Decorate an extra piece 4cm x 15.5cm.

Once decorated glue the 1cm flap with a good quality adhesive and line your box up with the faint score line (or pencil mark) as shown previously and glue it down.  Glue the back of your extra piece and slide this into the base of the candle holder.

You should be looking something like this now :) 

Make up your card as normal, mine is 15.5cm by 14.5cm and glue this onto the base of the tealight card.  Wrap a length of ribbon around the tealights and you're done :)

Halloween at Crafts and Me

Its a spooky theme over at Crafts & Me this fortnight and we're wanting to see your halloween creations.  For ths challenge I've chosen Exotic Halloween by Ching Chou Kuik available at Crafts & Me here.   She's coloured with promarkers and I gave her black har with purple streaks though its not showing up too well and added sparkle with sakura stardust pens.  The background I made with cosmic shimmer mists in peacock green and purple violet (The camera is pcking up the blue mica) and overstamped the blackbird from a paper artsy stamp sheet.  The corners are black peel offs with a black diamond gem.  The ribbon is actually a really deep purple though t looks black lol!  The stick pin I made myself :)

Hope you can come and join us over at Crafts & Me!

Also like to enter into...

Passion for Promarkers - Purple, green, orange & black
Artful Inkables - Embossing (Black panel)
Gingersnap - Gothic

Lexi's Creations - Spooky

Stamp Insanity - Trick it or treat it
Wee Memories - Halloween
By the cute & girly - Spooky
Fussy & Fancy Fridays - Halloween
Creative Craft - Trick or Treat
Everybody Art - Halloween

Spotlight on Fancy Folds at Crafty Cardmakers

Its another spotlight challenge over at Crafty Cardmakers and this fortnight we are looking at Fancy Folded cards.

I'd started seeing these centre step easels around blogger but for the life of me couldn't find one when I needed to look at one so after much searching and a little help from a friend I found one on Sandy's blog, seems she had the same trouble finding one too so made her own!  Its really really easy to follow and so quick to make, Sandy's made a template you can print out or in my case I just followed the instructions which were so easy. I've used a new image by Hannah Lynn called Kathleen available at Crafts & Me and I coloured with promarkers and sakura stardust pens.  Papers I just picked up at a show on saturday and was itching to use them, they're by Crafty Individuals.  I've used a couple of 1" square stampboard coloured with starburst stains and I've stamped & embossed a swirl from a paper artsy stamp plate and scratched out highlights.  The little pearls are hot fix and are a mother of pearl colour and the sentiment is from Stamping All Day.

I'd also like to enter this into...

Totally Gorjuss - Not a square
Gingersnap - Inchies
Craftalicious - Anything goes
A spoonful of sugar - Sparkle & Shine
Polka Doodles - Own embellishments (Stampbord)
CRAFT - Shaped card

Thanks for looking :)




Its another lighty up one :D

Time for another challenge over at The Stampman and this time we are doing AUTUMN.  I love love love autumn cards, so many rich colours to use :D

For ths one I decided to play with my lighty up easels and have found an easier light to use, one that is widely available so I've used a battery powered tealight candle, totally safe and its like a little flame flickering :)

The image I've used is one of my all time favourites and is Celestial Dreams by stamp oasis which you will find here at The Stampman.

She's coloured with promarkers and sakura stardust pens, the stars and moon are gold and silver glitter.  Background is dcwv and the panel is starburst stains used with a cuttlebug (jules jewels) and swiped over lightly with a gold reinker (as I couldnt find my metallic rub ons!)

The flower is made with starburst stains and I've used a circle die to cut holes in the centres to slot the tealight candle through also cutting a hole in the base of the card and securing it there so you can switch it on and off and change the battery :)

This will be at Port Sunlight tomorrow as will The Stampman so hope to see you there!

I'd also like to enter into...

Passion for Promarkers - Recycled (I don't think the candle was intended to be stuck on a card he he!)
Pocket Full of Posies - Autumn Leaves
Magical Mondays - Back to nature
Charisma - Autumn
ABC - Easel cards
Craftalicious - Autumn
Stampin for the weekend - Autumn
Secret Crafter - Easel

The Stampman Blog Hop!

Ooooh its all exciting!  Its another STAMPMAN BLOG HOP!  If you're in the right order you should have landed here from Michelle (Midnight Crafter) if not jump to the start of the hop which you will find here.

We are running it alongside our regular challenge which is to Alter something.  You don't have to take part in the altering challenge to do the blog hop but Jill has put an extra big prize on the blog to entice you to have a go at it :)

Onto the hop, the destructions are below:
To qualify for a prize you will need to do the following.
- Display The Stamp Man Challenge blinkie on your blog (if you have a blog), simply copy and paste the code to your sidebar.

- Create a post about our blog hop with a link back to our challenge blog

- Leave a message on each blog you visit, if you do not leave comments at each one, you will not be eligible for the prize. If you don't have a blog you must put your full name in your comment.
There is a letter on each of the blogs, once you have worked out the anagram leave a comment in the relevant post at the end of the hop with your answer (these are moderated so you won't be able to peek lol!)

My letter is M so make a note of that!  I created mine using a couple of coats of gesso, sanded it down then dried starburst stains Tibetian poppy teal onto it with a heat gun, stamped the smaller fairies randomly then cut out one of the larger fairies which is embossed with moonglow embossing powder, added lots of bling bling too and painted the edges with black acrylic paint.  I used....

ASPECTS OF DESIGN 59 - STARBURST FAIRIES which just happens to be the prize you could get from my blog whoop whoop!
Your next stop on the hop is Lisa (Sparkle & Stamps)  Don't forget to leave me a comment before you hop, good luck!
The blog hop is open until 9pm GMT Thursday 7th October.  Good Luck and have fun!

Wow what an honour!

I got a bit of a surprise on Saturday!  As some of you know one of my techniques is featured in the November issue of Craft Stamper Magazine using the promarker blender pen.  It wasn't due until the New Year so I had no idea it was going to be in this issue so that was a big surprise.  Even bigger was that my subs copy was a bit late so I had no idea it was on the front! 
Its a gorgeous stamp designed by Tracey Coates you can get here at The Stampman.  There is also a web extra over at Craft Stamper using the same technique with regular skin tones here.

And if that wasn't thrilling enough I got a tweet off my lovely teamie Lisa who attended the Artisan show over the weekend and she sent me a photo of their show guide and knock me down with a feather, here's my design right on it!  OMG what an honour!  WOW!

I think like most if not all newly publshed designers I have a lot of self doubt, I'm my own worst critic.  OK I'm not newly published, I was published a while back but the experience was not good so I never pursued going down that road again however I have to say that Katy Fox from Craft Stamper is fab, really encouraging and forgiving and I've been very pleased with the way the articles are written and presented :)

Right-O onto other news!  Crafty Cardmakers new challenge has just gone up and this fortnight it is Step away from the square!  Before you start hyperventilating come and have a look at what the girls have done for the challenge and challenge yourself as thats what we're all about!  They've made some excellent samples for you!  I'm playing next weeks spotlight which will be fancy folds which is totally and completely out of my comfort zone so best get cracking on that one!

Final note if you've not already joined in, The Stampman have a blog hop open until Thursday which you will find HERE.  Loads and loads of prizes to be won too!

You may have also noticed a bit of an absence from me lately, its not because I don't love ya anymore, I am doing stuff lol!  Its Port Sunlight Show on Saturday so I've been busy tinkering and fiddling to decide on what demos I'm doing and have a couple of new ones for you to try.  Want to transfer your favourite photos and stroky papers onto canvas?  Pop along to The Stampman stall in the corner of the main hall and we'll show you how you can do this easily!  I'll also be doing some starburst stains and/or moonshadow demos too :)  Pop along and say hello to Jill, Ian and myself and we'll also be giving out ATCs for you to take home and stroke :)  If you have any to swap that would be awesome as I'm an avid collector :D

You'll know its me by the funny coloured hair, mystic violet and pink!