THE MALE ROOM #204 - FLORAL

Our challenge for you this month at the Male Room is Floral.  Tricky don't you think sometimes for male cards.  Well hubby was sitting next to me in our craft room and I asked him what sort of floral he would like as a male.  Straight away he said thistle and I was delighted when I remembered I have a thistle stamp that hasn't been inked in a while!  I love it when a plan comes together!

My thistle stamp is from Studio Light and is simply called Thistle.  I used some watercolour paper for this card. I stencilled an old Tim Holtz stencil first which is the German text one in Versafine Portobello ink.  I then stamped over this with Versafine Nocturne and added a colour wash of Fossilized Amber and Iced Spruce around the image.  I used Tim Holtz Villainous Potion Distress Ink for the thistle heads and Forest Moss for the leaves.  The sentiment is from a Tim Holtz Ideaology book. 

ADDICTED TO STAMPS AND MORE #505 - DIE CUTS/STENCILS

Welcome back to another challenge at ATSM - die cuts and or stencils.  I've been in Christmas mode for a while now - it's my favourite season to make for and I don't seem to be able to stop once I start so it's another Christmas offering from me.  I used the moon mask stencil from Lavinia Stamps to start off with.  I love these sticky stencils - I find them great to use.  I stuck it to my watercolour paper then used Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Inks in Salty Ocean, Chipped Sapphire a touch of Dusty Concord and Black Soot.  I added a Tim Holtz dot stencil over the top and used some Cosmic Shimmer Sparkle Texture paste through the dots.

I used a very old stamp and die cut set from Tim Holtz for the trees. The stag is from Tim's die cut set Darling Deer and I cut him out twice and layered him to give him more depth.  I coloured him in with Distress Inks and layered some more Cosmic Shimmer at the bottom.  The sentiment is from one of Tim's Ideaology Christmas books. 

Mr Frostie Tag

I'm playing along with Mr Frostie stamp set by Tim Holtz.  I started by using the small snowman and teh snowflakes from the set on some tissue paper to make my own background collage paper.  I also added some extra winter words by Tracy Evans.

Once it was dry I added some spritzes of Tim Holtz Distress Spritz in Broken China and added some extra touches of blue in the form of Distress Crayons in Juniper Berry.  I stamped and cut out the larger image of Mr Frostie and coloured him in with the Juniper Berry, Yuletide and Frozen Fog.  I wish these colours were in inks and not just in the seasonal Distress Crayons.  I cut out some extra snowflakes from die cuts from my stash and added a few little Tim Holtz ideaology pearls.  The sentiment is from the same set.

I'm adding this into the following:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Masculine - using Tim Holtz 

Crafts Galore Encore - AG 

Simon Says Stamp Wed - AG 

INSPIRATION STATION #79 - REMEMBRANCE

I hope you are inspired by our image this month at Inspiration Station.  It seems at this moment in the world we need to remember more than ever.  

I started off my card by using a stencil by Tracy Evans Boutique Designs and then added some Fossilized Amber Distress Oxide and some Black Soot.  I added some extra stamping with words by Alison Bomber.  The poppies are an old stamp by Tracy and I stamped them onto some tissue paper and coloured them in on the reverse side.  This enabled them to be vivid against that muted background.  The extra sentiment is also from Alison Bomber at Paperartsy.  

This card could also be used as a sympathy card.

I'm adding this into the following :

SSS Wednesday - AG 

We Love Stamping - AG 

Allsorts - AG 

Festive Friday - Red, Black, Poppies - Armistice Day 

Krafty Chicks - AG 

MOVING ALONG WITH THE TIMES - WINTER WONDERLAND

Welcome back to another challenge at Moving Along with the Times where our theme is Winter Wonderland. 

My little scene includes stamps from Tracy Evans Boutique Designs with the trees and the background words and the hare and the toadstools from Lavinia Stamps.

I simply used torn photocopy paper to create my snowbanks and then stamped the trees in various colours and heights.  The sentiment is an old one from my stash - I added some glitter to the snow with a Spectrum Noir sparkle pen and then splattered over some white ink for snow. 

I'm entering this into the following:

We Love Stamping - Christmas 

Stamping Sensations - Christmas 

Peace on Earth - wintery scene 

Girlz Creative Christmas 

Carlin's Cards - White Christmas 

Merry Little Christmas - AG 

LOVE TO CRAFT - CHRISTMAS MAGIC

Welcome back to another challenge at Love to Craft where we love to see what has inspired you to create over the past few months. 

I recently purchased one of the new stamps from Lavinia Stamps from their new collection - I chose this cute little mouse stamps Pipspell although a few other Lavinia stamps did fall into my basket lol!

I was inspired to create this card by Lisa Taggart.  I love how she created the branches and I used some Tim Holtz Stamps for the tree and the foliage.  I think the addition of the white ink really makes them pop.

I used some of Tracy Evans Boutique Designs little baubles to hang from the tree.  They were coloured in some handmade inks my daughter bought for me a few years ago - they have a gorgeous sparkle to them.

I created some snow banks for the little mouse and added some footprints in the snow.  The bottom left has the Winter Magic stamp embossed in white embossing powder.  I also added some stars with a mini star stamp from Lavinia.   The sentiment is from Tim Holtz Mr Frostie set.

I'm adding this into the following:

Dream Valley - a card for a child 

Inspire Create - Christmas 

Stamping Sensations - Christmas 

Girlsandtheart - Magical 

A perfect time to craft - AG

12 months of Christmas 

Critter Crazy - AG 

Merry Little Christmas - AG 

Mix It Up - AG 

PEARLY SPARKLES - SNOWPEOPLE

Our challenge this month at Pearly Sparkles is snowpeople - snowmen, snowwomen, snowkids - I think you get the idea.  I have recently purchased Mr Frostie from Tim Holtz - I loved it last year but it was sold out so I was delighted to be able to get it this year and to be honest I can't stop using it.  I think I'm already boring Instagram with images!

I used the snowflakes from the set to create the background using the watercolour stamp technique.  Add ink to the stamp then spritz with water to give a soft image.  I added extra touches of ink in Salvaged Patina and Salty Ocean and scribbled a border around the outside.

I used an image from Tim Holtz from one of his large Collage Strips and I loved the way this couple were standing behind the snowman.  It fit the sentiment from the set perfectly.  I stamped Mr Frostie separately and cut him out - I added some Cosmic Shimmer Sparkle Texture Paste to the snowman's body which makes him sparkle but sadly it doesn't show on the picture.  To finish off the card I added an old Tim Holtz snowflake. 

ROBINS AND MICE OR BOBBY AND PIPSPELL

I'm loving playing with some new stamps from Lavinia - and why I hadn't spotted this gorgeous robin stamp Bobby before now I'll never know.  

I used some watercolour paper to create this scene - masked off to circles just with some paper and used Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Stormy Weather, Chipped Sapphire, and Dusty Concord to create my sky.  I added the Tree Branch from Lavinia and some branch leaves in Iced Spruce and Brilliance White ink.  I stamped the robin on the branch and coloured him in with Prismacolor pencils. 

I used some Pastels to add some colour to the mouse.  The lanterns were coloured in with Mont Martre glitter pens. I added the gorgeous Winter Magic stamp in Versafine Twilight and added some star stamps in the white ink.

I'm adding this to the following:

Inspire Create - Christmas 

Peace on Earth - Christmas mood board - trees 

Rudolph Days - Christmas 

Alphabet - N is for night 

Creative Moments - things with wings 

Outlawz Festive - Christmas 

ADDICTED TO STAMPS #504 - ANY OCCASION

Welcome back to another challenge from ATSM and we would like to see your Any Occasion projects.  

I'm showing a tag recently created when I couldn't sleep.  Crafting really helps when those nights strike and it's so peaceful in the craft room I can lose myself for hours.

The background of the tag was already made - it features the mosaic stencil from Tim Holtz which is one of my favourites.  It's hard to see as I've covered it nearly completely but I can see snippets of it.  One of the things I've really got to try and learn to do is to leave some white space or open space.  I'm trying to remember this but I always seem to forget lol!

I added some extra background stamping with stamps by Alison Bomber. The leaves were in my stash from a previous play with Tim Holtz Leaf Fragments dies.  I added some extra pieces of Ideaology as I wanted this dapper Paperdoll man by Tim to have something to sit on.  I'm learning to try and tell a  story as I've seen Alison do - so he is waiting to open his parcel which he has signed for and marked as received.  The Ideaology pieces show a registered letter and signatures and I added extra stamping with the signature and a stamp from Alison with Albin Foertl's name.  The sentiment is from Tim Holtz and I white embossed it on to some black card - his surprise will be whatever is in his letter!  Extra stamps were from Creative Expressions. 

I love the way Alison says she can't use a sewing machine - neither can I and I'd love to be able to add all those threads I see around craft land - but like Alison I resort to a pen around the edges.

I think this tag would look great on a present as the gift would be the surprise. 

I'm adding this into the following challenges:

Little Red Wagon - not a card 

Ellibelle - Wednesday - AG 

Paper Funday - AG 

We love 2 Create - AG 

AUTUMN BLESSINGS

I've torn myself away from the Christmas projects I've been making to refocus on Autumn - time enough for Christmas but I always get impatient!

I have this leaf mask by Lavinia Stamps that I haven't used much - I tried doing a press on the gel press of it but wasn't overly impressed with what I got.  I used it anyway and put the mask on top and used some Tim Holtz Distress Inks to add some extra details. 

I added some extra Lavinia silhouette stamps to add to the scene.  The sentiment is from Altenew 

I'm adding this into the following:

Unicorn Challenge - Autumn 

Double Trouble - 3 colours of autumn, 2 images - 1 stencil 

Outlawz - October Poem 

Inkspirational - seasonal

TGIF - seasonal autumn 

Just us girls - moodboard 

GEL PRESS FOLIAGE

The challenge over at The Paper Players is Clean and Simple Foliage.  I don't really do CAS as I love to throw everything at my projects lol!  But.... in my stash I found some fern prints I had done over the summer with the gel press and some Tim Holtz paint.  I wasn't sure what to do with them and thought they would be perfect for this CAS challenge.  I've used both the positive and the negative of the gell prints and layered them on alternate colours.  I haven't made them into cards as I'm going to frame them.  The sentiment is from Tracy Evans 

I'm adding them into the following

Paper Players - CAS Foliage 

The outlawz challenge - not a card - these will be added to a frame 

Simply CAS - AG 

Crafty Chicks - CAS 

Ellibelle Garden Party 

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - CAS 

OH CHRISTMAS TREE

I'm playing with another Tim Holtz stamp set Watercolor Trees - inspired by the sketch at Sunday Stamps.

I used Peeled Paint Distress Oxide for the middle tree for its base and spritzed the stamp with water to give a watery effect.  I used Twisted Citron for the other two trees.  For the layering I  used Versafine Shady Lane and Tulip Red for the decorations.  I used Versafine Portobello for the pots and left them without colouring them.  I added the sentiment twice as per the carol to fit in with Sweet Stampin Challenge.  A touch of Wow metallic silver sparkle along the edge finished off the card. 

I had to be firm with myself to leave this card somewhat CAS and not fill in all that background!! 

I'm adding this into the following

Sunday Stamps - Sketch 

Peace on Earth - mood board - christmas trees 

Allsorts - Traditional Christmas Colours 

Inspired by Song - Christmas Carol 

Mr Frostie Tag

I've recently treated myself to Tim Holtz Mr Frostie stamp set - I spotted it last year but it sold out really quickly.  I've been having loads of fun playing with this set some examples of which are on my Instagram account and others will be in DT challenges later on.  Today though I had a play with Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge to use more than one stencil.

Easily done for me.  I started off my background by using a snowflake stencil I had in my stash.  I then added some Tim Holtz Speckled Egg embossing powder.  I then added a layer of Chipped Sapphire Distress Oxide and cleaned it off the embossed pieces.  A spritz of water over the top gave the speckled effect.

I then used a Tim Holtz stencil which is quite old called Dot Fade - it's number is THS006 so shows you how long I've had it.  I used some Cosmic Shimmer Sparkle Texture Paste over the top just using my fingers to push it into the tiny holes.##I cut out a Tim Holtz Die Cut Flurry with some sparkly paper and just added half of it to the tag.  Mr Frostie was stamped and cut out and added with dimensionals.  I used the Tim Holtz Distress Crayons in Frozen Fog and Juniper Berry for the snowman.  I love these colours and wish they were in inks as well as the crayons.

I stamped and embossed the sentiment three times and added the two to the top and an extra one to the snowman.

I'm adding this into the following:

Simon Says Stamp monday - use more than one stencil 

Simon Says Stamp Wed - Christmas 

Neglected Stuff - My Tim Holtz embossing powder - eek I always forget it and go for white 

We love 2 create - AG 

Inkspirational - seasonal 

12 months of Christmas - snowfall 

AUTUMN TAG

It's been one of those sleepless nights so the best thing to do is craft.  I wanted to make a tag to play along with Tag-along challenge and their theme is Autumn.  Right up my street. 

I dug out some old Visible Image stamps I haven't used for a while - Nuts About Squirrels and Totally Toadstools.  I think that toadstool is one of my favourite fungi stamps!  

I created my background using Salvaged Patina Distress Oxides and Frayed Burlap with a touch of Black Soot and Walnut Stain around the edges.  I then stamped the larger toadstool and coloured it in.  I then masked it off and added some extra mushrooms around the base.  I stamped the log and added the small squirrel and an extra squirrel on top of the toadstool.  I included some of the lovely acorns at the top of the tag.

Extra stamping came from Tracy Evans with the ants (yuk I hate them but thought they would go well here ) and some background word stamping.  The Sentiment came from Waffle Flower - Fall Greetings set.

I'm adding this into the following:

Tag Along - Autumn 

Creative Fingers - AG 

Outlawz Festive Friday - Autumn 

Craft Rockets - Autumn 

Ellibelle - From the Garden 

Critter Crazy - AG 

Stamping Sensations - Autumn

MEADOW CARD

I was just having a play on a scrap piece of watercolour paper - creating some little squares of three different Distress Ink - Iced Spruce, Frayed Burlap and Rusty Hinge for an autumnal feel.  I then added some stamping in the squares from Alison Bomber. I added a leaf made from a book page with Tim Holtz Leaf Fragments die.  I stamped the word meadow on to some calico.  The sentiment is from an Altenew set called Autumn Bounty.  The background is a leaf stencil by Creative Expressions. 

I'm adding this into the following:

CardzforGuys - Autumn 

Unicorn Challenge - Autumn 

Inspire Create - Autumn 

Stamping Sensations - Autumn 

We love Stamping - Autumn 

Outlawz - October Poem 

Craft Rocket - Autumn 

ADDICTED TO STAMPS #503 - BIRTHDAYS

Welcome back to another Birthday challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More.  I've used a gorgeous stamp by Tim Holtz together with the co-ordinating stencil which came in the mini pack.  

I started off by smooshing some Fossilized Amber Distress Oxide onto the cardstock together with a touch of Iced Spruce.  I then used the stencil and the same Fossilized Amber to create the background.  The flower was stamped and embossed once the background was all dry and I used Tim Holtz Watercolour Pencils to colour it in. The sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp set Wild Birthday which I was gifted by SSS.

I'm adding this into the following:

Hearts Quest - Birthday 

DD Triple - Blossom 

Lets Create - AG 

Krafty Chicks - Birthday 

We love stamping - AG 

THE HOLLY AND IVY - #193 ANYTHING GOES

Welcome back to another challenge at Holly & Ivy.  I've used an old Tim Holtz holly stamp for my border on my card - using the watercolour technique.  Ink the stamp up with Distress Ink and then spritz with a touch of water before adding it to the card stock.  I used Festive Berries and Peeled Paint. It gives this lovely watercolour feel.  The sentiment was embossed in Green SU embossing powder and coloured in with the same Distress Ink of Festive Berries. 

INSPIRATION STATION CHALLENGE - #78

I hope you are inspired by our image above for your dose of Inspiration Station this month.  Don't forget to tell us what elements you chose from our above picture for your project.  

I realised I didn't have any pumpkin stamps in my stash and treated myself to two new sets.  The one I used for this card is by Altenew called Autumn Bounty.  Although it is more geared to the American market as it has a lot about Thanksgiving on it which we don't celebrate here in the UK I fell in love with the pumpkin image and the set also has a lot of other sentiments and words I can use.

I started off my card by using some masking tape around the outside of the front of the card and used an old stencil with some Tim Holtz Distress Oxides to create the background leaves.  I then stamped the image and coloured it in with Tim Holtz Watercolour Pencils. The colours are a lot richer than they appear here in the picture. I used one of the word stamps from the set.