No girls!

Gosh what a concept! Crafty Boots challenge had me a little foxed on this but this is what I came up with..

 I used a craft card tag and a harliquin stencil to do three layers of colours with acrylic paint, brown, blue and white. Tumbled glass distress ink round the edges and a bit of vintage photo around the bottom edges.

I saw the lovely Lin Brown distress a name plate at the PaperArtsy stand at Ally Pally on Saturday and was inspired. I used a light blue acrylic then darker splodged on the top and sanded a bit away. I used a bit of distress ink round the edges not as graet as Lin's but I had a try.

The Fixed price man (nice concept) stamp was from Ally Pally from who I thought was rubber necker stamps - can't find the link to who I thought thay were. They sell lots of different stamps just cut up and unmounted, he appealed.I realised that I needed to stamp him on something different as the background was so dark. I choose white card and lightly distressed him with Vintage photo. The phrase the eyes see everything was from Mini 02 I masked the top of the stamp, thanks to Hels S who reminded me how to do this! I stamped another Paperartsy mini 56 at the top and then decided that some watch parts donated by a friend would sit beautifully in the circles. The name plate had an off cut of paper  and the watch hands jazzed it up. The brads I suspect may be woodware? I did n't noticed I had one screwhead and one phillips head, opps.

Thanks for the challenge Crafty Boots!!
PS - sorry about the sidewise photo's.. I have been having some trouble with blogger...

Nautical

Inspiration was lacking for this challenge tag.. Nautical, ships, anchors, pirates etc.. I raided my stash to find something suitable. I did find brass and silver buttons with ships and anchors but could get there on that. I remembered a lovely stamp I bought a pier and dug it out only to find I had 2! The one I used in the end is from a Crative Expressions set.

 Sorry I couldn't get the pictures to turn round!! The background is Tumbled glass distress stain, blue acrylic paint dots through a stencil and Vintage photo gently distressed round the edge. I then stamped the pier, a mistake really as when embossing it stuck to the distressed edge (I forgot to heat it to set it) the result was a little heavy and messy but I actually quiet like it. The buttones were found in my stash and the flousih is a sissix one. The phrase Time and Tide comes from Paperartsy clocks stamp set. I have two of these and find I use the particular sets alot! I did add a little rock candy sparkles to the flourish and finished off with some wide Stampin up ribbon, a piece of silk off cut and tied it all round with a little blue ribbon. Red, white and blue!

I've entered this in the Nautical challenge for Crafty Boots and Fashionable Stamping Challenge.

Believe in yourself

The Tando Creative Challenge this month is Yellow and Green and I was surprised how hard that was as I don't really use those colours much but this was the result.I struggle with making things that aren't for people and this was made with my God daughters Birthday. She's 18 now and launching into the last sprint for A levels and looking at Universities. I have been lucky enough to visit a couple with her and a have been thrilled to see how this beautiful baby has turned into a fabulous young woman!

I used Distress Inks in Mustard seed, bundled sage and of course Vintage photo. The Stamps were from PaperArtsy and my first one from La Blanche. I emboosied the toadstool with Judikins Black detail embossing powder. It really gives very clear detail. I loved the quiet peacefullness of the boy reading. The flower is a Prima flower which I dulled down with a little ink. The key and clock hands are from steampunk.

Artful dwellings

I purchased Tim Holtz's Artful Dwellings and had been wondering what to do with it when along came my Brother-in-Laws birthday so I thought I'd go for a" boy style" something..

I cut grunge board pieces and covered the pieces in K&Co Architectural Column printed flat paper that I had picked up at Hobbycarft for 29p a sheet, a bargain! I used Woodware double sided adhesive sheet as it made matching all the pieces up easier although it would have been easier to stick the paper onto the board and cut everything together.. next time. I used the Creative Expressions "that special touch" Mika mask Large Polka and Rangers Perfect pearls mist in Turquoise.

I have the pieces a rough wash with dusty concord and tumbled glass distress stains. I wiped it off to get a soft mix of colour. I stamped phrases and ticket and hand in jet black staz.I used steampunk clock and clock hands. The button was from an ebay aucion win of metallic buttons. The ticket was attached with a Tim Holtz memo pin. I decide to turn it into a hanging using the handle from a Starbucks bag and added a little silk off cut in turquoise. I used Paperartsy Clocks 3 stamp set and Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Steampunk & Good Thoughts.

Mothers Day too....

For my Mother in Laws mothers day tag I knew she would appreciate something hand made. I haven't used the Paper Artsy Hot stamps 1109 and thought I'd have a go doing flowers in a vase, which turned out to be harder than I expected! A friend has said practice.. I was not too good at that.

I used a acrylic white paint as a resist with a spotty stamp then used tumbled glass and wild honey distress stains. I stamped the flower and bottles in Jet black Staz on and the phrase in Turquoise Staz on. To give the bottles some shine I used glossy accents. The flowers I ink painted with Ripe perimission distress ink. A little silk off cut finished it off.

Butterfly's & backgrounds

I have been a bit more organised looking at blogs and thought I'd like to try Tim's March Tags of 2012 mosiac butterflys and also loved the idea of Simon says Stamp Background. So off I went.

The Background  was created by stamping some flowers (99p foam stamp form hobbycraft) in jet black Staz On. Then embossing a white Hero Arts Stencil flower. I aplied colour using Distress stains in Spun Sugar, Wild Honey and Tumbled glass. To finish off the background I used a key mask, this I don't think was effected (but I tried).

The butterflys were made using Tim Holtz tutorial but with the stash I had so  Woodware double sided adhesive sheets and Colourful Thoughts silver jewel enamel embossing powder. I am very pleased with the effect. I added the  Sizzix die word  "inspire " as thats what Tim's blog post did! I loved making the butterflys and they were just so much fun!

I'm also going to enter this into the Craft Room Bling and Glitter/sparkle because as I looked this morning it fits the challenge so well, even though I didn't set out to be sparkly, that how it ended up!! Hope that's OK.

Mothers Day - "Love is the thread that binds us together!"

Sewing is a theme that runs through our family. My Nan was a seamstress and I spent many a happy hour sittiing playing with buttons and scraps from her rag bag. My Mum sews too and I learnt from her and Nan so when I looked at my stamps and revisited the Sam Poole, Vintage Sewing, Creative Expressions stamps. I thought that would be the theme of Mum's Mothers Day hanging. Its red, black and white as Mum has a rather modern  kitchen in these colours and could stay up all year.

I started with an off cut of mount board and starightened it into a square (waste not want not, my Nan would approve!) and then rummaged through my papers to find something black and white that would show through a colour wash. I settled on spots! Og how I love spots and stripes and together is always good as well.. I then used a red acrylic paint roughly round the edge. On the right I used a flourish stencil and thicker white acrylic paint to get a resist.

To satmp I used Staz on Jet black, using the sentiments in the corners. To make the flowers I used the Paper artsy grunge flower 2 & 3 and Tim Holtz Sewing room die. The twine is butchers twine, a little thicker and with a slight gloass, I love it! The body form was lightly inked with vintage photo and fired brick and the cotton inches tape wrapped nicely round it. All finished off with the red handle from a paper bag as a hanger.. can't resisit a bit of reuse! Mum's loves it so I'm pleased.