Backgrounds

I'm going to do some background techniques with my class tomorrow, including my favourite direct-to-paper with overstamping. I have some new class members who haven't done any card making before, so I've tried to make it fairly simple to begin with. This sample shows the first outing for my new Hero Arts Antique Brocade stamp, which I think is destined to become much loved. I stamped it over paper sponged with Versamagic inks. The girl and butterfly images are from Crafty Individuals' Miniatures Books "People & Places 2" and "Butterflies & Flowers" respectively. I used the huge butterfly from the Elusive Images "Patchwork Butterfly" plate as a background on the base card, and the sentiment is from the same plate.

Next week it's half term, so I'm going up to stay with my daughter & family in Dumfriesshire. Lots of playing and babysitting planned, so I'm not likely to get much time for challenges, or even blogging. There'll be room in the car to take one box of supplies with me in the hope of managing to make a few cards. The question is, what will I be able to conjure up from only one box of stash? Now there's a challenge, if ever there was one!

The winner!

The time has come to draw the winner of my blog candy earrings.

Mr. Random.org chose No. 7, who is.......

CRAFTIMAMMA (Lesley)

Crossing all your fingers and toes must have done the trick, Lesley, so congratulations! If you'll email me your address, I'll send them off to you straightaway.

A Bear

The theme for this week's Tuesday Taggers is Teddy Bears, with a lovely prize on offer sponsored by The Craft Barn. Now, of course I don't do cute, but this week I just had to rise to the challenge. I want to introduce you to my bear. He was given to me when I was born, and has been with me ever since (a long time!).

Here's a picture of him (and me) in his youth. [I've just noticed that the lace on the edge of the gown I'm wearing in the photo is remarkably similar to a Martha Stewart Zig Zag edge punch design!] My bear was very smart then, with a beautiful golden coloured coat and soft brown paws, and inside him he had a musical box which played the tune of "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf"! That long ago ceased to function, unfortunately, and nowadays he's looking a bit worse for wear.

I can't remember what I used to call him when I was little, if indeed I ever gave him any other name than teddy. But now, he's very definitely Fred Bear!

Anyway, here's the card I have made in his honour. I only have a few bear stamps, but this one seemed very fitting as not only is it a very traditional style of bear, by PSX, but it's also one of my oldest stamps. To show him off I coloured him with Promarkers and set him in a Nestabilities frame against some My Mind's Eye paper, embellished with a Martha Stewart punch, a few Prima flowers and some ribbon. The sentiment is by Rubber Stamp Tapestry.

My old bear's glory might be somewhat faded now, but I'd swear he's still got a twinkle in his eye!

Sir Stampalot Special Challenge

Here is my entry for the Sir Stampalot Special Challenge, hosted by Brenda. The challenge is to celebrate Sir Stampalot's relocation to new premises, and so the theme is "Moving", which is open to interpretation.

My card has two "moving" elements. Firstly, the main flower picture has been moved from its original location by image transfer, and secondly, inside the card there is a pop-up.

For the image transfer I used one of my own photos. With my graphics programme I altered the colour and toned down the background, and then printed it out on to photo-quality inkjet paper to give a good clear print. I'd never tried image transfer before, so I followed the instuctions given in the February 2010 issue of Craft Stamper. I did the acrylic paint method, which was very easy and worked a treat. One might ask why I didn't just use the original photo! Well, I wanted to try image transfer, and also I wanted the softer look which the method provides. And, of course, it was a way of interpreting the theme. I was very pleased with the result.

The background was splattered with ink and stamped with a flourish by Crafty Individuals. A Hero Arts butterfly and word by Inkadinkado completed the front of the card. Inside I used the Hero Arts Dandelion frame, more Hero Arts butterflies, grasses by Elusive Images from Graphicus and a sentiment stamp which I've had so long I can't remember who it's by!

A bit different, and blog candy!

Just managing to scrape in again for this week's Tuesday Taggers, where the challenge is to use a jigsaw piece in your artwork. I puzzled over it for some time, and then decided for a change to make some earrings. Long time ago, before I started cardmaking (ie. about 20 years ago!!), I was into jewellery making, but haven't done any for ages, so this project has definitely used old stash! The two pieces I used to make the earrings are from a real old jigsaw which was destined never to be made up again as it had many pieces missing. I've no idea what the picture was, as the remaining pieces were given to me in a plastic bag, but I'd guess it was an old countryside scene. The colours were quite dark, so first of all I painted them with a white Ranger Acrylic Dabber. Next I coloured them with Brilliance inks and overstamped with my current favourite Hero Arts flourish stamp. The backs and edges were covered with a black Promarker. I gave them a top coat of clear embossing to protect them before making them up into earrings.

They are displayed on an ATC stamped with the same Hero Arts flourish. The words are by Inkadinkado and Papermania, and the tiny butterfly is also by Inkadinkado. The butterfly jigsaw piece was made with a clear peel-off sticker over an image from the latest Crafty Individuals Miniatures book: "Nature's Beauty".

I didn't have a recipient in mind when I made them, so I have decided to give them away as Blog Candy. (I hardly ever wear earrings!) If you'd like to win them, please leave me a comment, (or even better, become a follower if you are not already, though that is optional!) before next Monday, Feb 8th. Mr. Random.org will choose the winner. Please note, if the winner does not have pierced ears, I can change the fittings to suit.

Now I'm off on Brenda's blog hop (see my previous post for details).

Special Challenge and Blog Hop!

On the first of  February, Brenda will be organising a Special one-off Challenge and Blog Hop! The main prize will be "mega" candy - not just any old candy, but a really serious piece of kit! Not only that, but as well as the main challenge prize, there will be runners up prizes and a Blog Hop with prizes to be won at each stopping point. Brenda will be giving sneak peeks of the prizes over the next three weeks, so hop along to her Blog to get all the details.

There will even be prizes for spreading the news, so to get yourselves in the draw for those, just put the links in your own blog - see Brenda's for what to do. The more people who join in, the more fun it will be!

(This post will - or should, if I've done it right! - stay at the top until the 1st of Feb, so please scroll down for new posts in the meantime.)

Tuesday Taggers 19 01 10

The theme for this week's Tuesday Taggers is "Leftovers". I've only just started doing their challenges, and didn't know about saving things from Christmas for this week's, so I hope this will count.

I've made a card for my younger grandson for his first birthday next Thursday, and apart from the lettering, it's made entirely from the packaging from a set of children's reward stickers. Very plain and simple, but the bright colours will appeal, and he loves animals, so I think he'll like it.

Here's the original packaging:

And here's the card:

I think I'm safe posting it now - I don't think he'll be reading my blog before next Thursday! (Although [proud grandma alert!] he has been walking since he was 10 and a half months old, can say quite a few words and does great impressions of sheep and lions!)

PS. Is anyone else unable to see their followers at the moment? Since yesterday Blogger Dashboard tells me I have 39, but on my blog there's just a blank space where they should be. And I can't see anyone else's. I've had a couple of new ones today - thank you and welcome to my blog, but I can't see who you are! Please leave me a comment and say hello, so I can come and visit you!

PPS. When adding my entry to Tuesday Taggers I inadvertently put the wrong link in Mr Linky, & had to post another saying ignore the previous one. Hands up all those who looked at it anyway!

Allsorts Challenge Week 35 - Brown and Pink

Really had to think about this one, as brown and pink is not one of my favourite colour combinations. A bit too sickly for my taste. So I opted for scenic rather than soppy, hoping it might tone down the sweetness a bit.

I managed to use up a bit of old stash - the Stampbord, which I bought a few years ago and never did much with. I don't know why, it's brilliant for stamping on. I've got 64 small squares put away somewhere to make a chess board - if I ever get round to it!

Anyway, the background on the Stampbord is done with alcohol inks, and then overstamped with Versamagic. The border is a Martha Stewart punch, and the greeting by Craftwork Cards, mounted on a Nestabilities scallop circle. Stamps by Stampscapes (lake scene, heron, small rushes and birds on brown background), Clarity Stamp (trees on brown background), Art Impressions (flowers bottom left) and Craftwork Cards (rushes top right).

Tuesday Taggers

Here's my entry for this week's Tuesday Taggers. It's 10 minutes to the deadline, so details to follow!!

..........

Well, I think (I hope!) I made it in time! The theme for this week was "Tag it with birds".  I'm pleased to say that all the materials on this tag are from my bit box! The background's done with alcohol inks, all stamps are by Crafty Individuals.

Allsorts Challenge Week 34

The Allsorts challenge for this week is a sketch, by Emma. Since I still had the Hero Arts flourish stamp out on my desk, I thought I'd use it on this card too. This time I stamped it on glossy card with Versamark ink, which then resisted the Distress Inks I sponged over it. The four printed paper panels are old stash (very old! - from Provocraft pre-Cuttlebug!) and the butterfly, which I thought echoed the leaves in the flourish rather well, is Elusive Images from Graphicus. The sentiment is computer generated and cut out with Nestabilities frames. I coloured the punched flowers and leaves with Promarkers.

Well, that's two challenges in two days I've completed! It's unlikely I'll be able to keep going at such a rate, but I mean to do as many as I can.