ADDICTED TO STAMPS - #480 DIE CUTS/STENCILS

Welcome back to another challenge at ATSM  and we are asking you to use your die cuts or stencils.  I must admit I don't use a lot of die cuts - I do have some Tim Holtz which get used especially at Christmas but generally I don't use them a lot.  So with that in mind - I've used a stencil lol!  This is one of the Sticker Stencils from Lavinia stamps. I love them - so easy to use and so far mine still have their sticky qualities - and you get the positive and the negative image so that's two in one.

This one is just one of the plain ones that I've used to create a snowglobe/jar.  The little Christmas tree being decorated by the fairies is also by Lavinia stamps as is the saying which is Merry Christmas in Welsh. 

CHRISTMAS CRAFT CREATIONS - FEBRUARY

Our challenge at Christmas Craft Creations this month is to use a stencil or embossing folder.  I chose to use a stencil and decided to make a Christmas tag.  One of my favourite things to make for the Christmas season.

I started with a Tim Holtz tag cut from one of his dies and I used the Tim Holtz Christmas Tree stencil.  Before adding the stencil I made a background from Iced Spruce Distress Oxide Ink.  I added some splashes of water and let it dry.  I then added some Twisted Citron and added water and let it dry.  I then did some stamping using Versafine Clair ink in Shady Lane.  I used word stamps from Visible Image and a pine branch from Tracy Evans. 

I then used the stencil with some Cosmic Shimmer Antique Sand Paste in Moss Blanket.  It is a lovely paste to use and gives a lovely muted grungy look.  Once it was dry I added a very fine layer of Cosmic Shimmer sparkle glaze on top.  The Christmas tree is a very old stamp from Tim Holtz which has the matching die cut and I stamped them in two Versafine Inks, Shady Lane and Verdant.  The O Christmas Tree sentiment is from Tim Holtz and the little saying is from one of his Ideaology Christmas books.  I added some white splatters before I added the trees and added some fine thread behind the trees.  I edged the tag with a black Micron pen and then roughed up the edges and used Tim Holtz Scorched Timber around the edges.  I finished the tag with some green and brown ribbon from my stash and an old brad. 

TIME FOR TAGS

It's always time for tags in my world but now I'm making a start on my Christmas tags - some of my favourite things to  make.  Since I've been on the Design Team for Creative Expressions everything I make goes to them and I seem to make loads of stuff and have nothing here lol!  So while I have a bit of time I'm going to start making things I can keep and show straight away!

So Christmas Tags has to mean Tim Holtz stuff.  This tag started with the TH tag die cut using the large tag.  I then took a piece of green coloured paper and ran it through ann embossing folder called Cable Knit - I swooshed it with Walnut Stain to bring out the embossing.  I then cut out some of the TH Holiday Green mini dies and inked them with Evergreen Bough and Iced Spruce.  I added some Daler Rowney white paste and some Cosmic Shimmer white glitter when the paste was still wet.  The berries were coloured with a Posca pen.

The added pieces ore stamped from one of Tim's Christmas sets that comes with a stencil - called Vintage Holiday.  I added the deer from Darling Deer dies, some stickers from last year's Christmas sticker book and a touch of the velvet trim to the top.  

I'm adding this into the following :

Simon Says Stamp Monday - Christmas 

Krafty Chicks Challenge - All Occasions 

Little Red Wagon - Layers 

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - AG 

The Holly & Ivy - AG 

Make My Monday - make your own background 

A place to start - AG plus glitter 

Welove2Create - Mixed Media AG 

Jingle Belles Rock - story of Christmas - Rudolph! 

HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS - WATERCOLOUR CHRISTMAS

Happy Early Christmas!  We are celebrating Christmas as an option this month at Happy Little Stampers Watercolour Challenge.  Well, I am always up for a bit of Christmas crafting.

I decided to go with a tag as I use so many of them at Christmas time on gifts for the family that I need to have a lot ready by the big day.  Some I save and re-use them the following year but shh don't tell the family they never notice.  They are too nice just to throw away.

I love this vintage image of Santa by Tim Holtz and he is now my go-to Santa for Christmas projects.  He came as a small set with some matching stencils called Vintage Holidays.  I used Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks to create the background and did some background stamping.  

I coloured in the Santa with Distress Ink re-inkers and a water brush to give a bit more of a stronger look to the colour.  I used a white Posca pen for the white bits on his coat. All the extra details came from Tim Holtz Idealogy Christmas pack from a few years ago.  The gorgeous ribbons are also Tim Holta Idealogy - I just kept adding little details and really had to stop myself and say enough it's done lol! A few white splatters just to lift the colour a little bit and I decided that was it.

I'm adding this into the following challenges:

Tag Tuesday - Hot Colours 

The Holly & Ivy AG Christmas 

Double Trouble - Christmas in July 

ABC Christmas Challenge - Lots of Layers 

Christmas Tags

I love to make my own tags at Christmas - and most of them go on family gifts.  I must admit I tend to save them too after the recipient has opened their present - I would hate to see them get put out with the waste paper so I'm building up quite a collection of old tags to re-use - how's that for recyling.  I don't even think they've ever noticed either!

This one though is a new one this year.  I used one of Tim Holtz dies to cut out the tag out of some cardboard and added a layer of gesso on top and then some Antique Linen Distress Oxides.  I  used one of Tim Holtz stencils for the background and some embossing paste.  When the paste was dry I went over it with some Distress ink to add the various colours of green, brown and red.  The wreath is one of Tim Holtz Ideaology pieces and I added the baubles and some cut out holly pieces.  The deer is a little wooden one from my stash and I inked him up.  I added some glitter, some Tim Holtz velvet ribbon, a sentiment from Tim Holtz Tiny Text and some added glitter around the outer edges  of the tag - finishing off with some ribbons.

Im adding this into the following challenges:

Just Add Ink #634 - Anything but a card

Creative Moments - Christmas 

Mixed Media Place - Mood Board - I've used Distress Inks 

Creative Crafters - AG 

Papercraft Challengers - Deck the Halls 

The Sisterhood of Crafters - Trad Red and Green 

Creative inspirastions Festive Foliage 

Tag Tuesday - Winter Holiday

Christmas Kick Start - Christmassy

Simon Says Monday - Tag 

My second tag was made for the Snippets challenge - where you are to use snippets or paper or similar for your project.    I had some pieces of Christmas paper left over from another project and began by gluing them to a piece of cardstock.  I then too a Christmas Tree die and cut out the image - it's so effective.  I added a shiny white star to the top.  The tag is another made with a Tim Holtz Die - I used a branches stencil for the background using Iced Spruce Distress Oxide Ink and then added some background stars and snow from a Tim Holtz stamp set.  The extra pieces are from Ideaology - and the little presents are a very old Stampin Up stamp.

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS #IC379

How wonderful are these images for your inspiration this week from Hand Stamped Sentiments.  Do you still have enough time to make cards or tags?  Even though I start early I still seem to find I don't have enough time to do all the crafting I would like to for Christmas.

I chose to do a tag for my project this week. I started off by stamping the wonderful moon from Stampin Up's To The Moon in Going Gray - a very old ink but still going strong.  I then blended around the moon with four or five Tim Holtz distress inks using Stormy Sky, Chipped Sapphire, Tumbled Glass, Iced Spruce.  I used Peeled Paint and Crushed Olive for the greens at the bottom of the tag.

I used the lovely little set Here Comes Santa from Sunny Studios for the Santa image and the trees.  I stamped the trees in Versafine Clair Shady Lane.  I added some Distress Grit Paste in Snowfall for the snow at the bottom of the tag.  The tag was cut out of a Tim Holtz tag die.  Some splatters of gesso for snow finished off this little tag.  The sentiment is from Visible Image stamp set Sentimental Christmas. 

I would like to wish you all a healthy and happy Christmas and New Year.  Thank you for visiting my blog over the past year - I think crafting has kept a lot of us sane during these difficult times and I know I've been very grateful for it.

JOY OF SETS TIC TAC TOE - DECEMBER 2020 - OUR FINAL FAREWELL

Hello all and I'm sorry to say this is our last Tic Tac Toe from Joy of Sets.  It's been a great two years but I feel it's time to say a fond farewell.  I'm very grateful to all the Design Team members we have had over the past two years - all the Guest Designers who joined in with us and all of those of you who played along.  Running a challenge blog takes up an enormous amount of time behind the scenes and I've found that with the year we've had something had to give and sadly this was one of them.

Here's our final grid - each of the Design Team members chose a square - 

I chose Sparkle, Non Traditional and Snowflake for my tag.  All made with Tim Holtz products and inks - I used Antique Linen and Speckled Egg Distress Inks.  I used a Tim Holtz stencil for the boughs and used Crackle Texture paste to give it... well some texture!  The Snowflake is a TH dieand I coloured it in Spun Sugar and added some tiny pink jewels to the edges.

The deer are Tim Holtz - I love deer on cards at Christmas and here they are tucked behind some trees.  The bottom edging is a wonderful 3d embossing folder from TH which cuts as it embosses and I've coloured it in the Spun Sugar.  There is a touch of lace at the bottom and at the top of the tag - the sentiments are from TH.

Wishing you all a safe and peaceful 2021 - let's hope life gets back to normal very soon.

.

SIMON SAYS STAMP MONDAY CHALLENGE - CHRISTMAS TAGS

The challenge over at Simon Says Stamp on Monday is right up my street - Christmas Tags - one of my favourite things to make.

I've gone for a huge tag here as I wanted to get lots of the text from Tim Holtz' new stamp set Tiny Text Christmas on it to represent a christmas tree.

I started off by inking my tag with one of the new Tim Holtz mini stencils - the one with the Christmas Tree using Distress Ink Peeled Paint.  I then used Crackling Campfire Glaze for the sentiments and the star at the top.  I added some holly stamps with some green embossing powder.  I then cut out some of the Tim Holtz winter floral dies for the holly and pine branches and added some gems.

The white sentiments in between all come from Tim Holtz Sticker Book - Christmas as do the images and the plaid top and bottom of the tag.  I splattered some gesso over it to give it a snowy affect and edged the edges with Crackling Campfire distress ink.

Now the tricky bit is putting all those sentiments back in order in their packaging lol! 

 

JOY OF SETS TIC TAC TOE #JOSTTT022

Welcome to another month's Tic Tac Toe Grid from The Joy of Sets Tic Tac Toe.

Our new Design Team member Beverly Cole has chosen our grid for us this month - what a beauty - I hope you have fun with this one. I chose to do a Christmas Tag for my project and had great fun making this one - I chose Ribbon, Window, Glitter.

I started off with a Tim Holtz tag and added a layer of TH Collage medium and Dina Wakley Gesso to add texture.  I then covered the tag with some Distress Crayons in Hickory Smoke, Vintage Photo - I used a TH stencil to remove some of the crayons with a wipe to leave some white parts.  The window is an old TH die and it was given the aged look with the Distress Crayons and some Gesso for snow.

The numbers and letters are TH dies.  The stars at the bottom is a TH 3d Impresslits folder - I love the way these emboss and cut out at the same time.  There is lots of glitter on the tag but I'm not sure it's showing up here. The ribbons were from my stash - black lace and grey satin ribbon.

Joy of Sets Tic Tac Toe is affiliated with my Facebook Group The Joy of Sets - click on the image below if you would like to join our group - we run monthly swaps, challenges, RAK's (Random Acts of Kindness where we send out cards to each other) and a Birthday Card Swap. 

 

JOY OF SETS BLOG HOP - AUGUST 2020 - ALL ABOUT THE FONTS

Angie McKenzie who organises our Joy of Sets Blog Hops has a great challenge for us this month - all about Fonts.  I've been in a bit of a mixed media mood lately playing with lots of Tim Holtz goodies.  I've done a tag for our hop this month as Christmas is coming lol!  I know but it does get here quick and there's so much else to be doing I like to get my crafting done early.

I started off by covering my tag in some Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium - I then added some papers which were actually very old sheet music I had in my piano stool.  They were fraying and torn so I gave them a new lease of life.  I also used some free download collage papers from Shawn Petite including the green piece that looks like a clock.  I used a Tim Holtz wreath die to cut this out of the clock and added the bird on top.  He is a die from TH called Feathered Friends and I used some of the papers to make his body and wings.  I coloured him in maindly red as I love robins at any time of year.

The Peace letters are from the new TH Shadow collection - I coloured in some paper first with some TH Distress inks and then cut out the letters.  The Joy font is from TH Holiday stamps and the sentiment is from TH Idea-ology.  I used some SU suede ribbon and some burlap and thread I had in my stash for the top of the tag.

I don't have a sewing machine and probably couldn't even use it if I did so my stitching round the edge is done by ink - can't you tell lol!  There is also some Glossy Accents on the bird just to give him a bit of pop.

Hop along by clicking on the button below to get to Sue Allen's Blog

Here is our complete list if you get lost

August 2020 Blog Roll

Angie McKenzie

Annette Ball

Lisa Mackey

Tricia Butts

Narelle Fasulo

Mo Rootes

JoAnn Pollock

Jill Chapman

Gez Carpenter

Susan Webster

Fiona Whitehead

Sue Allen

Rebecca-Jo Unwin

Rochelle Laird-Smith

Brenda Nelson

Alejandra Gomez

If you would like to be part of our next blog hop you need to join our Facebook Group The Joy of Sets. We are a busy little group offering swaps, challenges, Random Acts of Kindness, Birthday group, and of course our Blog Hop each month.

Click on the link below to be taken to the FB group.