THE HOLLY AND IVY CHALLENGE - #191

Welcome back to another Anything Goes challenge at Holly & Ivy.  My card today uses stamps by Alison Bomber.  I love the few little Christmas stamps she brought out last year one of which is the Winter's Tale.  It always has me singing that song by David Essex!  I kept the background simple so as not to take away from the lovely image of the Star Anise - mulled wine is one of my favourite drinks once the winter sets in.

I did some simple stamping of Alison's grasses from another of her sets and the background was created from one of my gel press play times using Distress Inks.

The sentiment is from one of Tracy Evan's Boutique Designs sets. 

I'm adding this into the following:

Simon Says Stamp - Music - the song Winter's Tale - bet you can't stop humming it now!

Girlz Creative Christmas - AG

The paper players - Food 

Inspire Create - Christmas 

Stamping Sensations  - AG 

JingleBells - no papers used 

Outlawz Festive - Christmas 

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - Stamps only 

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS #374

Another sketch challenge this week at Hand Stamped Sentiments .  I loved the CAS feel to this sketch so decided to keep my card quite clean and simple.

I created the background strip with a stencil and some Distress Ink in Peeled Paint.  I added some Washi tape from my stash to the top and the bottom.  The main image is from a new set by Tracy Evans called Foliage.  I added a touch of the distress ink and some Cinnamon Cider by SU.  I added some very old SU embellishments and some linen thread behind the circle.  The sentiment is from an Anita Jeram stamp set. 

TOTALLY TOADSTOOLS

I love toadstool stamps and have been looking for a really good set for a long time.  When I saw this new release from Visible Image stamps I was right on it.

I've used a Visible Image stencil here too for the background using Distress Oxide in Brushed Corduroy and Peeled Paint for the edges.  I stamped the toadstools in Versafine Claire in Nocturne and used coloured markers to colour them in.  The green for the grass is Versafine Clair in Shady Lane.  The card was inspired by one of the DT card's for the new release. 

I'm adding this into the following challenges:

Global Design Project #gdp307 - Thank You

Addicted To Cas - Nature

Crafting Happiness - AG 

Get Creative - AG 

Crazy 4 Challenges -Farmer's Market - if they were mushrooms! 

Less is More - Spots

Just Add Ink - N for Nature

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - AG 

I LOVE.....

I love many things but the challenge over at Chocolate Baroque is asking us to choose something and craft it!    Well I adore this new Chocolate Baroque stamp I have called Mushroom House.  I've teamed it with some Distress Inks which I also love and that touch of gold around the outside is Liquitex Acrylic Ink in Iridescent Bright Gold which is another new find which I love.

I'm also adding this into the following challenges:

Crafty Catz - Make it Magical 

FabnFunky - Not Square

Double Trouble - Magical 

UNDER THE SEA

I'm playing along with Retro Rubber challenge this week and they have a Tic Tac Toe grid to play with.  I chose the middle row of pattern paper, the ocean, and texture.

I started off my tag by using some cardboard paper from a box and distressed the edges.  I added a few coats of white Gesso and then added some inks from Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Weathered Wood, Speckled Egg and Liquitex Acrylic Ink in Turquoise Deep.  I added some white acrylic paint to the edges.  

Once it was dry I added some Tim Holtz Crackle Texture paste using a circle stencil.  I stamped on the images from an old set of stamps by Kaisercraft called Mermaid Tails.  Sadly there is no mermaid image in the set which would have been nice.  I stamped some of the stamps onto some Kaisercraft patterened paper called Beach Shack and added some of the matching stickers at the bottom.  

he words are cut out of an old dictionary.  I coloured some ribbon with Distress Ink in matching colours.

I'm also adding this into the following challenges

CRAFT - AG 

Krafty Chicks - Stamping

The Sisterhood of Crafters - AG 

Through the Craftroom Door - AG 

Shopping our Stash - where will you go?  To the beach for me!  I've been missing the sea

More Mixed Media - AG

TRY STAMPIN ON TUESDAY #TSOT496

Theme - Bold and Bright 

Here is our challenge for you from Try Stampin on Tuesday this week.

1st March in Wales is St David's Day which is a day we celebrate our Patron Saint St David.  With this in mind I choose to make a St David's Day card for our sketch.  

I used a heart embossing folder for the background and inked the left hand side with Distress Ink in Peeled Paint.  I added some red ribbon on the diagonal to separate the two parts.  The Welsh Dragon stamp is a very old one, along with the fleur de lis from an old company called Scottish Border Stampers which I don't think are around any more.  I coloured him in with an aqua painter. The part with Wales is taken from a stamp of Wales from the same company - I cut out the part showing just the Wales.

 

LOVE IS IN THE AIR

You can tell it's February as there are hearts all over crafting blogs. After the year we've all had - we all need some love and what nicer way than to send a card to cheer someone up.

I fancied having a play with a very old Tim Holtz heart stamp I found in the bottom of my stash and which hasn't had any love shown to it in a while.  I followed the colours of the Retro Rubber Challenge blog and limited myself to Grey, Black and Red.

I started off by blending a very pale covering of Hickory Smoke over some TH watercolour card stock - I then used Fired Brick with a heart stencil from SU for the red hearts and added a touch of an old script stamp by TH.  I then added the dots stencil from TH with the Hickory Smoke also.

The heart stamp was stamped in black and coloured in with a watercolour brush using TH Redbrick and a touch of Festive Berries.  There is also a little bit of grey metallic distress crayon to give it a bit of a shimmer around the heart and around the edge of the card stock.  The heart has been covered in Glossy Accents to make it stand out.  The kiss sentiment is from a Clearly Besotted stamp set and the other sentiments are from a Simon Says Stamp set called Take Heart.  All sets are quite old to fit in with Retro Rubber's Challenge.

I’m delighted to have won the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with this card - my first time entering too - what a lovely surprise 

I'm adding this into the following challenges:

Retro Rubber - Red Black White and Grey

Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge - hearts

Little Red Wagon - Hearts

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Love is in the Air

Double D Challenge - hearts

Splashy Mix Challenge - moodboard - the hearts and the couple kissing

Crafting Happiness Challenge - hearts

Use your stuff - hearts 

Crafting Happiness Challenges - love

TRY STAMPIN ON TUESDAY - #TSOT486

Our challenge this week at Try Stampin on Tuesday has the optional challenge of sparkle - well, it is nearly Christmas.

I haven't played with this stamp set in a while and decided it needed another outing - those bells are just beyond belief!    The stamp set is Holiday Style by Sunny Studio.  

I used my Tim Holtz stamping platform to first stamp the tree branches in Distress Ink Peeled Paint and Forest Moss.  I then stamped out the red baubles first in Distress Ink Barn door and Festive Berries - they are two step stamps with the darker colour giving the shadow.  I fussy cut them out.

The silver bell was stamped in three inks - the first is an old SU one Going Gray, the second ink is a current ink I think from SU called Basic Gray and the final ink is Hero Arts Intense Black which is what gives the bell it's shine - isn't it amazing! 

For my banner I inked a piece of the card stock with some Peeled Paint and used a Tim Holtz Christmas tree stencil and used the same ink.  I edged it in Walnut Stain and added the sentiment from the set in Festive Berries.  I inked around the card in Peeled Paint and added some thread lines with a silver pen for the bells to hang from.  I then added a dusting of SU Dazzling Diamonds.