SIMON SAYS STAMP - MONDAY CHALLENGE - PHOTO

The challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge is to use a photo on your project.

I had this great photo in my stash of Tim Holtz ephemera and wanted to use them to add to a Christmas tag.  I started off by colouring the pair with some distress ink.  

I layered the tag with some Dina Wakley Gesso and then I added a layer of Tim Holtz Distress Texture paste - I dried it with a heat tool as I'm impatient. Once dry I went over it with some Salty Ocean Distress Oxide and Tumbled Glass distress ink.  

 I cut out some snowflake dies and then used the cut out piece as a stencil using Chipped Sapphire Distress Oxide Ink.  I added some stamped snowflakes also.  The large snowflake is a Tim Holtz one and I added some gesso to it - it had originally been cut out of silver mirror paper and was just too shiny for this project.  I used an old SU swirly die cut I had in my stash, covered it in gesso and then added some SU Dazzling Diamonds.  

The two snowflakes on the side were cut out of paper and glittered and the snowflake on the left is a chip board - this was covered with a layer of Gesso and Dazzling Diamonds.  I did the same for the Joy word.  I added some liquid pearls to the frame.  The quotes are from Tim Holtz Idealogy Christmas pack.  The ribbons are from my stash.

STAMPIN UP ONLY - COLOUR CHALLENGE #259

We have a colour challenge for you today at Stampin Up Only Challenge - a last hurrah to summer is what these colours said to me but I did find these colours a real challenge.

I used Bermuda Bay for my background card stock and added a piece of DSP with Coastal Cabana as the main colour. My scene is made from SU Waterfront - normally I've used this as a winter stamp set so it was nice to give it a more summery beach feel.  

The sentiment is from the set - I stamped the words and then cut them all out to add to the side of the card. 

 

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS - IC349

What will you do with our gorgeous mood board at HSS this week?  I have this cute little set from Stampin Up called Bitty Boo which is a really old set.   I thought I would bring it out and give it a 2020 update - especially as I don't really have any other Hallowe'en stamps.  I started off by making my background with some Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Crackling Campfire and Black Soot. I then tore the edges of the paper and layered it onto some black card stock.  

The various images were stamped and cut out with stitched framelits and edged in Crackling Campfire.  The Boo letters are from Tim Holtz Shadow Thinlets - I cut out two of each in black and card coloured with Crackling Campfire and put them together.  I added a stitched white line with a white gelly roll pen and then added some of the gorgeous Brushed Pewter Metallic Distress Crayon from TH.

 

TRY STAMPIN ON TUESDAY - #TSOT 476

For our sketch for you this week at TSOT we are joining up with Double Trouble Challenge blog again with their theme of Off The Edge.

I had great fun making this card - I started off by using the brick stencil mask from Stampin Up and some Frayed Burlap Distress Oxide Ink from Tim Holtz.   I made the front of the card slightly smaller than the inside and layered it with some Cajun Craze cardstock with some washi tape from my stash on the outside edge of the inside of the card.  Hope that makes sense. 

My bird and cat are from Tim Holtz Crazy Birds and Cats and I inked them up with TH Distress Inks - used the matching dies to cut them out and sat them on a same piece of washi tape.  The little ball of wool comes with the cat stamps and I added some twine to run it to the cat.  Some googly eyes finished off this wacky card!

 

SWEET STAMPIN - CAKES

Our challenge this week at Sweet Stampin is cakes.  I chose to use these lovely little hippos From Clearly Besotted called Hello Cupcake.

I stamped and masked the hippos and then used an SU blender pen in light and dark grey to colour them in.  I used Spectrum Tri-Blend pens for tte cakes and added glitter and sparkle then covered them in Glossy Accents to make them shine like icing.

I made the background using various Tri Blend markers dotting the colour about to give it an autumn feel like leaves falling.  The sentiments are from the same set and I added a few sequins to finish it off.

STAMPIN UP ONLY CHALLENGE - #SUOC258

Our theme this week at Stampin Up Only is nautical.  I don't have any SU stamps with a nautical theme so I had to think outside the box for this one a bit.

I had great fun creating this scene - starting out with the fabulously versatile SU background stamp Drybrush.  This stamp could so easily be over-looked in the catalogue but I find it fabulous.  Here I've used three colours on the one stamp to create the background scene - I used Night of Navy for the top and the middle and Crumb Cake for the bottom. I used SU High Tide for the stamps. I added Bermuda Bay for the middle to create the wave ripples.  

I added the last bit of that gorgeous retired ribbon at the bottom. Some Wink of Stella on the sea just to give it a bit of shine.

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS - #HSSCC348

I'm loving this set by Sunny Studio called Mug Hugs and don't seem to be able to stop using it!  I thought it was perfect for our Color Challenge this week for Hand Stamped Sentiments.    I don't have Cinnamon Cider so had to rely on an old SU ink called Really Rust which is very similar.

I started off by using the very clever little plaid stamp from the Mug Hugs set to create the background - using Crumb Cake ink.  I continued this stamp on the piece of Mint Macron background paper that has been cut with a Spellbinders Elegant Twist Rectangle die.I stamped my mug and cut it out together with some of the coffee beans and doodled on to the mug to make some patterns.  I added some heart gems, the sentiment and a piece of linen thread.

 

JOY OF SETS BLOG HOP - WEDDINGS

Welcome to another Joy of Sets Blog Hop - our theme this month is Weddings. This is perfect for me as I was married in September and this year we will be celebrating 35 years of wedded bliss.  We will be celebrating with all the family at a lovely weekend break and, after all the hard months of Covid, it will be so nice to be doing a fun family event together.

I chose to do a scrapbook page for my entry this month and choose a layout of our first Wedding Anniversary when hubby took me on a surprise weekend away to Paris.  I know - isn't he a keeper lol! 

On our bedroom wall I have a framed picture of some photos taken in 1986 and thought this might make a good focus for my layout.  I decided to go full on with a Mixed Media page.

I started off with a very old piece of SU 12 x 12 which has quotes from Shakespeare - I covered it with Gesso but kept a few of them peeping out that I thought went with my page.  I then used a French script stencil for the top piece using Tim Holtz Tattered Rose Distress Ink to give that lovely French style writing.

I cut out some of the flowers from Kaisercraft Gypsy Rose papers and framed my image with them.  

The Eiffel Tower stamp is an old one from Tim Holtz and I distressed it with some Tattered Rose ink.  I added a doily behind, some ephemera, flowers and splatters.  I also used TH Crackle Embossing Paste and a heart stencil for the hearts at the bottom.  

 I had great fun making this page and it was a real trip down Memory Lane.  

To be taken to Tricia's Blog please click on the Next below

Here is the full list of our hoppers:

Annette Ball

Jill Chapman

Lisa Mackey

Angie McKenzie

Pia Gerhardt

Fiona Whitehead

Tricia Butts

Gez Carpenter

Sue Allen

Cheryl Taylor

Susan Webster

Libby Fens

Mo Rootes

JoAnn Pollock

Linda Moore

If you would like to join us on our next Blog Hop you must be a member of the Joy of Sets Facebook Group - you can find the group by clicking on the link below.

 

NEW INK ON THE BLOCK!

If you are a lover of Tim Holtz you will know he has a new ink out. Mine arrived the day I was away for the weekend - but it was so nice to have something to look forward to come back to.  Crackling Campfire is its name.  Such a lovely colour for this time of year.

I started my tag with some Distress Collage Medium in Vintage and then covered it in some Botanical Collage paper.  My main focus is the flowers in the jug and the hummingbird from a favourite stamp set from Simon Says Stamp called Take Heart.  I cut out the image and coloured the flowers with Crackling Campfire.  What a fab colour - using an aqua painter allowed me to have a light colouring or an intense colouring.  I then used some of the new embossing glaze which made the lovely flowers shine but, in hindsight, took away the subtle colours I'd done with the ink.  They are just still there.  Can you spot my bird?  He is an elusive creature - here in the UK we don't have hummingbirds.  On a holiday to Colorado when we used to live in Texas we saw lots of these gorgeous little birds.  Definitely a memory to hold and, in true Idealogy form, I found just the right sentiments for my tags from the Clippings Sticker book.

I added some ephemera from TH - the little paper flowers were from my stash and I coloured them with the ink.  I added some leaves from TH Wildflower dies.  The top ribbon came from a recent clothes purchase - and I coloured the white part in the ink which has turned out really well.  

I'm adding this into the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge 

Crafty Cardmakers - things with wings

International Art and Soul - include an animal - I hope the bird fits the bill 

Chocolate Baroque - Wings

Creative Artist Mixed Media

Daring Cardmakers - Colour

Just Add Ink - Flowers in a vase

TRY STAMPIN ON TUESDAY - #TSOT474

I've chosen to do a scrapbook layout for my project for this week's Try Stampin on Tuesday challenge - the sketch just seemed to lend itself to a page layout.  We are definitely in an Autumn frame of mind here in the UK and I had this lovely photo of my Welsh Springer Spaniel Tegan.

I started off with an autumn themed piece of 12 x 12 paper which I got as a pack of Autumn themed papers and I have no idea who made it.  The extra pieces of paper are from the same set.  I stamped and cut out leaves from SU Colourful Seasons together with some branches.  I've used the lovely Sunny Studio Mug Hugs stamp again for the mug and cut it out.

The letters are Tim Holtz shadow letters die cuts.  

JOY OF SETS TIC TAC TOE #JOSTTT021

Welcome to another month of inspirational grids from the talented Design Team of the Joy of Sets.  How will you interpret this one set by DT member Anne-Marie Maclean?

I went for Stencil, Fun Fold, Gems.  I started off with using the new background stamp from Stampin Up called Drybrush to cover all of my card stock.  I used Tim Holtz Tattered Rose Distress ink.  I did a Triple Fold style card, using the cup die cut to just cut out half of the die for the front of the card.  I cut a separate one for the inside of the card for the sentiment.  The front cup was decorated with SU Botanical Prints and cut out and layered together with a lovely load of pearl gems.  I've used the very old SU set A Nice Cuppa together with the matching die cuts.

The stencil of the flowers on the front is by Tim Holtz and the Hello is from SU Jar of Love.

SWEET STAMPIN - ANYTHING BUT A BIRTHDAY

Our challenge at Sweet Stampin this week is anything but a birthday - wow a great range of ideas you could use here.  In my Facebook Group The Joy of Sets we run a RAK group - A Random Act of Kindness where we send cards out to members all over the world. We are therefore often needing cards that aren't birthdays.

I went for the lovely Sunny Studio Mug Hugs set again - I can't seem to stop using this set.  

I started off using a gorgeous large stencil I have of old french lettering - it's a 12 x 12 stencil so for a card you don't get much of the writing but it's still usable. I then used a Tim Holtz script stamp to in fill with more writing.  I used a TH stencil for the coffee stains and all inks used are Tim Holtz Distress inks.

I used the coffee mug but added the whipped cream to it rather than the coffee lid and added some sparkle to the cream. I had the idea of using a milk jug for the sentiment and luckily found a die in my stash - I didn't even know I had one!  I used some fine linen thread to hang it from the top of the card. I cut out the little cookies and added some sparkle to them too.

 

STAMPIN UP ONLY CHALLENGE - #SUO257

Our challenge for you this week at Stampin Up Only is to use dies or punches on your project.  I went straight for the now sadly retired Colourful Seasons and it's matching thinlets for my card.  I started off by mixing some ink colours on to a mat, spritzing with water till it looked very wet and then stamping onto some white card stock.  This gives the watery look to those background stamps.  The colours I used were Crushed Curry, Really Rust and Creamy Caramel.  I soaked up what was left of the ink with some paper and stamped the smaller leaves and die cut the thinlet - then added some Old Olive to some of the edges.  

For the square in the middle I used some Cajun Craze card stock cut with a stitched framelit then used a retired SU embossing folder for the dots.  I used some more of the inked paper for the inner square and layered the thinlet of the leaf onto the cut out leaf in Cajun Craze.

I went round the edges of the card with some embossing ink and used SU copper embossing powder for the edges and the sentiment.  I also used a retired banner framelit - cutting it twice in both colours so I could use the edge in Cajun Craze. 

 

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS - #HSSSC347

A great sketch for you this week from Hand Stamped Sentiments.  I recently got this lovely little stamp set from Simon Says Stamp called Choose Joy.  It has the lovely little Wellington Boots with the flowers in - some lovely added flowers, great sentiments and one of my favourite stamps so far - one that makes gingham which I've used for one of the papers!  How inspired is that stamp!  I can see it's going to get a lot of use! 

I used Tim Holtz Distress Inks for my water colouring - as you can see I've let the inks go outside the lines to give a softer effect - it also means you don't have to beat yourself up if you don't stay inside the lines and I think it looks nicer.

 

SPARKLES CHRISTMAS CHALLENGE - THINGS WITH WINGS

Welcome to another month of Christmas card inspiration from Sparkles - If you have been with us since January then you already have at least 9 Christmas cards made.

My card uses this gorgeous stamp set of Christmas owls - all patiently waiting for their Christmas stockings to be filled.  Christmas stockings are still a tradition in our household but for the first time in 26 years this Christmas morning will just be hubby and I.  Gulp!  We've been lucky to have our son still spend Christmas with us up until he was 25 but this year he has somewhere else to be.  

I added some lovely papers from a Kaisercraft paper pack called Christmas Collections.  I'm not sure where the stamp is from - it was a single stamp in my stash - I coloured it with SU markers and blender pens.  The lace is from my box of ribbons - I added a piece of Kaisercraft holly and some paper flowers to keep the vintage feel going.

I'm also adding this into the Crafty Cardmakers challenge - Things with Wings