Precious

Grungy Monday this week was alcohol inks as shown by the one and only Mr Tim Holtz,for once I thought I would be ok with this as I do have lots of alcohol inks and have played about with them on and off over the years, the technique was the easy bit as once I had done the background I had trouble with stamping with the archival ink! kept getting blurry images however after ruining several pieces finally managed to stamp something and make this tag.The little girls are Paper Bag Studio and the word is Art Journey. I 'm also putting this on Sunday Stampers - words and Simon says stamp and show which is also words.

edited later!  I have realised I linked to the wrong Tim Holtz technique but I can't get onto the correct one! I've given up trying for now and will try again tomorrow, think blogger is playing silly B's again as my followers have gone walkabout once more !

edit 2: I've had another go and think I've linked to the right one this time !

TicTacToe

Another vintage card for Sugar Creek Hollow , their challenge this week is to pick three items in a line from a tic tac toe chart and as always on their challenges it must be vintage,shabby chic or primitive. My three items are buttons/flowers and distressing. I wish I had not used one of these shaped cards but I bought a pack of 50 for some reason at one of the shows and I keep thinking I must use some of them. The papers and image are all from Graphic 45 Domestic Goddess papers.

Clean & Simple.

Well I played about with the Less is more sketch and ended up tipping it on its side, hope that does not disqualify me ! I had been making flowers for another card and decided to use them for a clean and simple card for a few challenges.

Dutch Dare - clean and simple
4 Craftychicks - clean and simple
Moving along with The Times- clean and simple

Giving it a go !

Every week I look at the Grungy Monday blog and think I would love to do the tags but I don't have very much Tim stuff especially all the ideology, although I would love to have it all ! Anyway this week I though well I think I am going to have a try with whatever I can find, I used an old Basic Grey paper to cover the tag and make the pocket. I don't have any dabbers so used some acrylic paint left over from folk art painting days, think I might have been a bit heavy handed with it as it was quite hard to get it off the embossed areas but it worked reasonably well, also had a go with a strip of core dination paper in the dymo which did work but it hardly shows on here. The little tag was made with my new London stamps from Artistic Outpost  and some masking and layering, coloured with distress inks, chipboard label and heart and some ribbon dyed with alcohol inks. Oh I almost forgot to include the link to Tim's blog !

Hats ?

Had a nice messy play about tonight making this tag. It started out going to be a tag about hats but it sort of transmogrified into a steampunky type of thing. The man with the top hat had a bit of a steampunk look about him, he is dreaming of his next invention while his lovely lady companion is hoping for romance , this lovely couple are from my new Artistic Outpost stamps, I hesitated for a nano second about ordering them and blow me the other set were sold out! am on the wait list for them though. Think this tag fits a few challenges so here goes

Simon Says Stamp And Show - show some metal
SundayStampers - Hats
Just For Fun - Steampunk

Yet another masculine card

Although I usually quite enjoy making cards for men ( yes I know thats strange !) I was really not in the mood for it tonight but needed a card for tomorrow so had to get the old mojo cracking. While I was rootling about looking for something I found a load of very old Tsukineko embossing pens in lots of very bright colours, they must be at least 8 years old and surprisingly I found they are all still in good working order, I used the Poppy Red one to colour and emboss the motorbike and its lovely and shiny ! The stamp is a Papermania that I have had for some time and never used, the papers are from my G45 scrap box and the roadstrip is from Making cards magazine. There are still a few masculine card challenges about so I am putting it on them
Tuesday Throwdown
Craftuscrazy
Dreamvalley challenges
Dutch Dare

Friendship

I'm having a real problem with this post! everytime I start typing I get a message saying Internet Explorer is not working and it then logs me out! I started to post this last night but them my sister phoned from California and we nattered on until after 1am ,I'd much rather talk than do anything else!  I started this little canvas ages ago and it was going to get sent to someone but I never finished it off and obviously didn't get it sent either so last night I finished it off and decided I would post it on the Crafty Individual challenge blog.  A friend made me one of these little canvas birthday cards which gave me the idea for this one. The stamps and paper on the front are all CI but the one on the inside page of the back is Stamp Camp ( I think !) 

Butterflies

Don't know quite why this picture is so wonky but I don't know how to straighten it so it has to stay!
When I started making this card I had in mind I had seen quite a few challenges for things with wings and butterflies but now I have been looking for them and can't find any except the Stampman one which was what I originally saw. The blossom stamp is from a Stampin Up set and it makes lovely backgrounds as well as a focal point, its a lovely set to use. The butterfly is from Ecogreen crafts. I am sending this card to a friend who is in hospital and very ill, she is not in a local hospital so can't go and see her so sending this instead.
edit: Cazro just told me the St Lukes challenge is still open so I'm entering this on there now. Thanks Carole.

Marie returns in disguise

Had a bit of fun tonight making an altered doll for craftroom challenge. The legs were a freebie from Dezina world and Marie's face is from Jardim Das Borbolitas, thought I would send her back to Paris in disguise.
Edit: Friday..  taking Netty's advice and putting this on the Three Muses challenge which is Paris Postmark

Air Mail

Been one of those days again when nothing I tried to do seemed right.  Babs is finally back from her long holiday (lucky B) and came over today.  She wanted to try the layered stamping from Hero arts blog so we had a play with that, even though I have done several cards with it before it just didn't seem to look right today, I think it was probably the colours I was using but I was trying to do the technique without using Victorian Velvet and Spun Sugar, don't know why I am so drawn to them as I am not a pink person normally. Anyhow tonight I thought I would have a play with my new Andy Skinner stamps as I had bought them last week and then I could not imagine what I was going to do with them.They have ended up rather in the background collage bit though you can just see the Dirigible one behind the mans shoulder  and of course the wording is from that set.  Sunday Stampers challenge this week is for Steampunk so am entering it on there although I'm not too sure this is reallySteampunk ?

Enjoy the ride

I needed to make a very quick card tonight just to send a note to somebody so combined that with making a one layer card for Less Is More, this week Chrissie and Mandi are asking for a one layer card with a frame, I've just sponged a circle with distress inks, stamped the little fellow on his bike and the sentiment in the corner, I stamped the sentiment with distress ink so its not as crisp as it could be but hey ho I quite like this card and that doesn't happen very often !

Doilies

Another card for Sugar Creek Hollow challenges , must be vintage,shabby chic/primitive and this week we are asked to use doilies. I have had a packet of these pretty heart shaped ones for a while so chose to use one of them, the rose heart image in the centre is from Jardim Das Borboletas.

Pirates

I have a load of Artistic Outpost stamps and love them all, however I did decide not to get the Huck Finn Set as I thought it was an essentially American theme HOWEVER, a friend lent me her set of stamps this weekend and I have totally fallen for them ( feel a need to buy coming on !!) I love the wording and these two little boys dreaming of being pirates , did a bit of masking on this card and added a little colour with watercolour paints. Think there may be a couple of challenges it will fit so off to look now. Found a couple asking for masculine themes so am entering this on Craftuscrazy-masculine theme or colours and Dream Valley challenge which is also masculine theme

On the wild side

I have had this leopard stamp from Impression Obsessions for years and it very rarely gets used,I find it quite hard to work with as although it stamps beautifully I struggle as to what to do with it once I've stamped it. I saw that My Time To Craft challenge asked for wildlife  so thought I would give it another go.  haven't got much crafting done this week. Thursday we had a lovely day at Whitby,the sun shone for us too ! and yesterday some friends took me out, first on what is probably my last visit to the Stampman at Skipton and then to some open studio exhibitions at Thornton In Craven, saw some fabulous book making and other paper craft work ( I felt totally inadequate after seeing such stunning work !) also some stone carving and stained glass work, wish we had had time to visit some of the other studios in the area all open this weekend. We also had lunch at the Copper Dragon Brewery at Snaygill, well worth a visit. Today was back down to earth with laundry and grocery shopping.

where have they gone again !

See my followers have disappeared again ! hope you are all still out there. Has anyone else lost theirs again, what is going on with blogger ?

Red Flowers

A quick post tonight as have to be up early tomorrow so had better not be playing about on here for so long.  This poppy card is for Make My Monday challenge of Red flowers, think there is also one on Sir Stampalot which is a photo of poppies for inspiration.

Grace is Three

Go for the sunglasses to look at this card, bright or what !  Its for one of our Great Grandchildred, Grace, who is three today. Image is a free Molly Bloom stamp from a magazine, I bought the papers ages ago in a fit of madness because I thought they were sweet and then when I got them home I did wonder what ever I was going to do with them, anyhow thats some of them used up.  I have been messing about with Netty's acrylic paint backgrounds, apart from the first ones where I forgot about spraying the paint with water (duh !! ) there are some interesting results , I do like the crackle effect, I did try to rush the drying with a heat gun but the surface of the photo paper started to bubble and the paint was disappearing fast so have had to be patient and wait for them to dry naturally.  I have also started to make a bunch of atcs as I seem to "owe" swaps to everyone again, just cut up a few sheets of inky background papers from the never ending file of them and stamped some backgrounds etc ready for adding more bits and pieces, inspiration about nil tonight so off to bed and maybe I'll be more creative tomorrow ? or not !

More vintage

I thought I knew just what I wanted to do when I started to make this card but didn't quite work out the way I planned. The lady in the image was originally facing the other way and it didn't look right with her on the other side of the card so scanned it and mirror imaged it, the scan managed to turn the turquoisy greenny colours in her dress blue which was  a bit annoying, anyhow the rest of the card is pink and green which are the colours on this weeks Dutch Dare photo inspiration challenge.         Sugar Creek Hollow challenge is as always vintage, with paper flowers,lace and bling, now I don't really do bling so haven't much in my stash, the flower centres are some jewelry findings with pearl brads in them and just added the pearl headed pins.. 

Feeling Blue !

Well its the first time I've done the Less Is More challenge on the first day, I'm usually struggling in on the last day. I had already got a lot of blue inks and bits and pieces out from my last cards so went ahead and did a blue card, two colours of blue CS and all stamped with Chipped Saphire Distress Ink, flowers coloured with it too.The little sentiment is from Craftwork cards and that was inked with DI too. All stamps are Stampin Up.

Sailing ship

There seem to be a lot of challenges around this week for Father's day or masculine cards which, for some odd reason< I quite like making. I don't have a Dad or Grandad anymore to make cards for so just gone for a male theme.  Background is done with antiquities wheel from Stampin Up,Shipping wording from Aspects Of Design, the other piece and the ship are from Artemio,all stamped with Chipped saphire DI or Versafine sepia.Now for the hard bit, it takes me ages to do all the links,I'm sure there must be an easier way than how I do it ! I have just seen that I have three new followers,welcome to my blog and thank you so much for following me !

Stampman - male
Stampingscrapping challenge-male
Here come the boys- Fathers Day/Male
Simon says stamp - Fathers Day
Easycraft projects-Dad
Craft your days away- Fathers Day/special man
Sweet Stamps - Masculine
Lexi'screations- Fathers Day/Male

Found all these challenges through Brenda's blog, thanks Brenda, lots of new places for me to look

Shopping Mall

Another vintage type card, I love these two ladies from a Crafty Individuals stamp, think they are having a good gossip ! I was looking at Brenda's blog the other night and saw the lovely book she had done for Gingersnap  as a designer, the challenge on there is At the mall, well this is my vintage take on a shopping mall. Its a copy of an old book page and was an actual shop in Knaresborough,North Yorks, just added some vintage paper, distress inks and a couple of bits from another CI stamp plate,I wish I had not added the pink gems at the top corner but they are well and truly stuck so had to stay.There were also a lot of challenges listed on Brenda's blog so am off to see if any of them are still open.

1. Papercrafting journey   - anything goes
2. Paper sundaes              - vintage/shabby chic
3. Dream valley challenges - stamp something
4. Gingersnap Creations - At the mall