ADDICTED TO STAMPS AND MORE - #520 DIE CUTS AND/OR STENCILS

It's time again to get the diecuts or stencils out and have a play  with us at Addicted to Stamps and More. 

I've chosen to do a New  Home card - you never know when you might need one of these in your stash.  I started by colouring the cardstock with Distress Ink Vintage Photo and then added some texture paste through a brick stencil. I coloured the paste first with Re-inker in Distress Ink Walnut Stain and added extra ink around the edges.  

The die cut is a very old Tim Holtz one - Sizzix Bigz Die Window Frame which I've had such a long time and it rarely gets used.   I created the scene using some old Clearly Besotted small stamp.  The letters were cut out with Tim Holtz die cuts Alphanumeric Tiny Type Lower 664407.

BIRD JOURNAL

I have been creating a bird journal with some of the lovely papers by Sam Poole Designs which I downloaded from her Etsy account.  It was my first time trying this and it was very pain free and great that I now have these papers I can print over again.  However, my recent page threw a curveball. Those of you who know my work will know these really aren't my colours.  I don't do a lot of purple.  My apology is to Sam as these are not the colours she chose - however, my printer is running out of ink and this is what it gave me.  I didn't want to just discard them so pulled on my big girl pants and created with purple tones.  A bit of a shock but I survived.  I had to grunge it up with some black to recover lol!

Extra stamping with the quote is by Sara Naumann for Paper Artsy.  This quote is by Victor Hugo and is from her stamp set ESN22.  It fits the page perfectly and is a reminder to me creating my journals that I can create this type of art which I'm finding so much more fulfilling than cards.

All other examples of this book so far are on my Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/the_welsh_crafter/

I'm adding this into the following challenges:

Heart's Quest Lovable Quotable 

CRAFT -AG 

Creative Inspiration AG 

Tuesday Taggers - flying high 

Polkadoodle - AG 

Creative Fingers - AG 

ADDICTED TO STAMPS AND MORE #519 - ANY OCCASION.

We are back with another Any Occasion challenge at ATSM.  I need cards in my stash as I run a RAK group on FB where we send cards out to each other - we are based all over the world and it's so nice to receive hand made cards.  This one will probably be winging its way to someone this month.

I started by using the new wall stencil by Tracy Evans Boutique Designs using Tim Holtz Distress Oxide in Pumice Stone and Hickory Smoke.  I then used her dog rose stamp from the set Dog Rose and Butterfly.  I stamped it first then cut out the extra flowers to add dimension.  I coloured them in with Prismacolour pencils.  The leaves along the sides are an old stamp I'm not sure where from.  I added some ephemera pieces and the sentiment embossed on black cardstock. 

CREATIVE ARTISTE MIXED MEDIA - #127

Back to another month's creativity with Creative Artiste Mixed Media challenge - As a gentle reminder to be considered as one of our monthly winners you must use at least 3 different mediums on your project. 

I'm sharing another one of my tags from my tag book.  I think I may nearly be finished - I have completed 8 tags which is 16 sides and it's all looking quite bulky now - I do have 2 spare tags but I'm not sure whether to add them to the book. Once I'm finished I will show you all the tags complete.

I always add some white Gesso to the base of the tags - even though they are a thick kraft card I need to know it can cope with all the extra mediums I'm going to throw at it.

I added some Paper Artsy paint in Seaglass  and then went over it with some Texture Paste and a stencil.  I added some stamping from Alison Bomber and Bipasha BK from Aallandcreate in Versafine Pinecone.

I die cut some of Tim Holtz Funky Nature dies and inked them in Ground Espresso.  The butterfly is a free paper from Shawn Petite and I added some extra stamping to her wings.  I cut her on to some harder cardstock to give her some more strength and added some cheesecloth under her antennae.  There are extra papers and stamping underneath and then I used a sentiment from Craft-0-Clock which is just perfect for me as I tend to look back not forward.

I'm adding this into the following:

Paper Rocks Scissors - used everything bar rocks! 

Hearts Quest Tags 

Triple B Butterfly 

Daisy Chain Challenge - not square 

Let's Craft and Create - Use a sentiment 

Allsorts - from the garden 

Ellibelle from the garden 

Tag Along - text added to the butterflies wings and the ribbon beneath

INSPIRATION STATION #86

Welcome back to Inspiration Station and a lovely summery image for you for June.  I'm actually nibbling on some strawberries grown in my garden at the moment.  The weather has been far too hot in the UK over the past week - we are not kitted out for the heat in our homes - luckily my craft room is a bit cooler so I can escape it.

I was wondering what to do for this month's inspiration for you when I suddenly remembered a very old Clearly Besotted stamp set I have which must be over 5 years old. How do we as crafters do that?  We suddenly remember something we have in our stash from years ago. The set was called Simply Scrumptious.

I even found that I had the matching dies for the wreath and the strawberries which was a miracle!  I created the background with an old SU stencil to re-create the weave of the basket.  I then used a Lavinia Stamps stencil mask for the inner circle.  I stamped the wreath and used the die to cut it out.  I added various Distress Inks for the various greens.  I stamped the strawberries and used the dies to cut those out too.  

I also then remembered another little Clearly Besotted stamp I had of the strawberry mouse so she had to be included, the set was called Feeling Fruity and I thought the sentiment was just perfect. 

PEARLY SPARKLES - #120 MAKE ME SMILE

Welcome back to Pearly Sparkles challenge #120  - we want to see things that make you smile.  I had recently been playing with Tim Holtz sparky cats and decided to create another card.  They do make me smile and this card is going to a friend who always brightens my day.

I smooshed some Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Vintage Photo, Candied Apple, Peeled Paint and a touch of Twisted Citron.  I did some faint background stamping.  The cat was fussy cut and added with a cut out bottle of the milk.  

MOVING ALONG WITH THE TIMES #190 - FAVOURITE STAMP, DIE, TOOL

Welcome back to MAWTT and oh wow I found this challenge difficult.  How on earth could I choose a favourite stamp.  I have so many that are my go to and use all the time and then there are the ones I love but don't use often and then there are the ones I'd forgotten I'd loved!  

In the end I had to choose this lovely Robin stamp by Tracy Evans.  Robins are my favourite birds and I love this version of him as a scruffy little bird.  I've shown a couple of examples here to see the versatility of this little stamp.  All the extra stamps are also by Tracy Evans.  

ADDICTED TO STAMPS AND MORE - #518 BIRTHDAYS

Welcome back to our Birthdays Challenge at ATSM.  It's been a while since I used my Tim Holtz Snarky cats stamps and thought they needed another outing.  I've done this one as a wobbly card just by layering some paper behind the cat.  I've also given him some wobbly eyes! 

The background was created with a gel press and some Tim Holtz paint in Vintage Photo.  I then added extra stamping and some stencilling and some white splatter.  The balloon is on a dimensional but not a wobble.

I'm adding this into the following challenges:

Hearts Quest Birthday 

Girlz make guy cards 

The paper players - masculine 

Dragonfly dreams - masculine 

Crafty Calendar - for the boys 

Girlz and the art of letters - b for Balloon 

Krafty Chicks - Birthday 

Dream Valley challenge - four legged friends 

No Sew Journal with old book pages

I've been making a couple of these No Sew Journal using old book papers. I saw a video by Amity Bloom on You Tube how she had made them and thought they looked fun and so quick to do.  Here's one I'm sharing that is in it's early stages.

This is how the journal starts its life.  An old book page which is folded at the top half to create the 'V'.  This can also be either stuck down or left as an extra pocket. You can add as many pages as you like depending on how big you want your journal to be.  I tend to decorate each page before gluing them all together. 

I've then used the lovely new papers from Sam Poole which I downloaded from her Etsy site.  This was my first time attempting a download and it was surprisingly easy.  And I now have all these lovely images to play with.

I used some of Sam's old stamps which I had when I was on the DT for Creative Expressions.  It's a shame Sam doesn't do stamps any more so I'm glad I still have some. 

Of course I just had to add some of the eggs I'd recently stamped with Tim Holtz stamp set Bird Feather. I shared a lot of them on Instagram.

I'm adding this into the following:

Simon Says Stamp Monday - things with wings 

Creative Crafters - AG 

Creative Inspiration 
Ellibelle's Garden Party - from the garden 

Dream Valley - all creatures 

We love 2 create - AG 

Love those pretty papers 

Addicted to Stamps and More - Christmas

We are back celebrating Christmas at ATSM and this time I have a mixed media tag for you made mainly with Tim Holtz products.  The tag itself is a Tim Holtz Die as is the bird as are the background leaves, bow and letters.  The word Joy is from a very old Tim Holtz stamp set.

I started by making a mixed media background with Distress Inks and stamps.  I cut the top layer of the bird out of some old book pages and used Distress Ink in Vintage Photo and Festive Berries for the bird.  The letters were coloured with Festive Berries and Peeled Paint with a touch of Forest Moss.  I used a white gel pen to add some faux stitching around the edge of the tag.

I'm adding this into the following

Krafty Chicks Challenge - Christmas 

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday- use Dies 

Simon Says Stamp Monday - things with wings 

Neglected Stuff - the dies and stamps 

ADDICTED TO STAMPS AND MORE #516 - MAKE YOUR MARK

Time for another Make Your Mark challenge at ATSM where you can use pencils, marker pens, inks, paints to make your mark on your project.

I have had this stamp a while and never used it - its an old Aallandcreate one by Bipasha BK and I thought it deserved an inking.  I used Prismacolours for the colouring. I kept it simple with just the stamps and some Saltwater Taffy Distress Oxide ink around the edges of the paper. 

I'm adding this into the following:

Retro Rubber - soft colours 

Art Nudge - the colours of the cup cakes 

Neglected Stuff - this old stamp 

Avenue 16 - flowers 

We love 2 Create - AG 

Polkadoodles - AG 

Triple B - blooms 

INSPIRATION STATION #85

We are back with another inspirational photo for you from Inspiration Station.  How will you be inspired by this?  I was inspired by the colours of the red and blue and also the idea that these people have finished their studies and are off out into the world.  I know this happens in May in the US but doesn't really happen in the UK until July which is when our schools and universities finish for the summer. 

I chose to create a tag using one of Tim Holtz die cuts to create the tag which gives a nice big tag to work on.  I started off by painting red and blue stripes with a paint brush with some Tim Holtz paint direct to the tag. I also added some strips of washi tape in red and white.  I then added some extra stamping from Bipasha BK for Aallandcreate - I liked the words which I thought really fit the theme.  

I then had a look through my Tim Holtz paper dolls and found these three ladies who looked as though they were just about to embark on something exciting and I found the perfect sentiment from Tim's quote book.  I added some ephemera pieces too which fit the theme. I added some cheesecloth behind the image to add some extra texture and I hand drew a stitch line around the edge of the tape as I really can't sew! 

I'm adding this into the following:

Simon Says Stamp Monday - Feminine 

Crafty Gals Corner - AG 

The paper players - feminine 

Tag Along 

LOVE TO CRAFT - #92

Here we are ready for another challenge at Love to Craft.  I'm sharing another tag from my tag book which I am currently working on with the theme of butterflies.  It has all the elements which I love to play with as a big Mixed Media fan.  You will see other examples of my book on my blog as I share some of them for other challenge groups I'm part of.

This one has used the Paper Artsy paint again in Snowflake and Seaglass.   I then added extra stamping by Alison Bomber and Creative Expressions. I have a lovely old set by CE which has signatures on it and I've used one of them here as part of the ephemera.  I cut out the lovely butterfly which is part of a free set by Shawn Petite and added it to some ephemera.  I stamped some linen and added it to the bottom of the tag.  The little tag sentiment is by Bipasha BK for Aallandcreate.

CREATIVE ARTISTE MIXED MEDIA #126

Welcome back to another challenge at Creative Artiste Mixed Media challenge where we love to see at least 3 different mediums on your projects.  

I've created a canvas this week as it's been a while since I did one.  I just really wanted to have a little play and I love how this turned out.

My starting point was some lovely rice paper with the image of the garden gate on it by Studio Light.  I loved the idea of going through that gate and exploring.  I created my background with some new paints I've recently bought from Paper Artsy and they are fast becoming my favourites to use.  I only used a few colours here as I only have 3 so far - I used Steel Grey and Seaglass. I added some texture paste with a stencil and then did some stamping and stencilling using products by Alison Bomber and Tracy Evans. 

I added some extra texture and interest by using some scraps of book pages and ephemera for the butterfly which is one of Tim Holtz's Ideaology butterflies.  I fixed it to some netting. I then found these two Tim Holtz paper dolls and they just reminded me of my grandchildren who are 7 and 3 and just love being out doors exploring so the words I found from Tim's quote books were just perfect.  

I created the circles with the top of the paint pot of Snowflake also by Paper Artsy.  I love how this turned out and it has pride of place on my wall.  

MOVING ALONG WITH THE TIMES #189 - ONE OR MORE BUTTERFLIES

Welcome back to another challenge at Moving Along With the Times and we are on butterflies this month. I'm back in my usual happy place of mixed media for this one.

I am currently working on a large tag book on the theme of butterflies so thought I would share one of my tags.  

It has background stamping with stamps by Alison Bomber and Tracy Evans.  I've added some stamped linen and attached a Tim Holtz Ideaology Butterfly to the material.  There is extra stamping from Creative Expressions set Butterfly Walk by Sam Poole.  I cut out the words No Regret for the top tag from an old dictionary.