MOVING ALONG WITH THE TIMES - #188 - SPRING

Welcome back to Moving Along With The Times and our challenge of Spring.  There are so many ways of interpreting Spring and I look forward to seeing what you all come up with.

I've used Alison Bomber's gorgeous Apple Blossom stamp set again as I do love to see my apple trees in blossom.  They are very young trees and so far we've only managed a few apples of them but I live in  hope! 

I used some watercolour paper for my background and added some subtle Distress Oxide in Speckled Egg and Spun Sugur.  I added some extra background stamping from the same set - stamped off in Versafine Morning Mist to keep it subtle.  I stamped and cut out the main apple blossom stamp and coloured it in with Distress Inks in Spun Sugar and Peeled Paint. I stamped the lovely birds nest ephemera stamp in Versafine Verdant to give a contrast to all the subtle colours.

PEARLY SPARKLES - #118 SOMETHING OLD SOMETHING NEW

Welcome back to our challenge at Pearly Sparkles this month and it's my choice of Something Old Something New.  I'm sure lots of us received new goodies over the Christmas period - maybe even some we haven't used yet so now is your chance.

I recently purchased some new dies from Lou Collins Textures - the set is called Clipboard Coverings Vol II.  I don't really go for dies unless they are Tim Holtz but I really loved this clipboard set and all its little embellishments like the paper clip, the bulldog clip and the actual clipboard.  It also has two great add on dies that give a stitched edge and as I don't do sewing that's great for me.

I've created my little clipboard to go into my journal. I'll use it as a tuck spot to add some journaling behind.   The old part is the stamp set from Alison Bomber EAB46 Apple Blossom.  

After cutting out the clipboard with the die I used some Paper Artsy paint in Sea Glass and Snowflake to add some interest.  I also cut out the inner which gives the frayed edges.  This was a gel press paper I had which had been made with an old stencil and a new stencil - the new one was from 13 arts called Back in Time Dress Circle and one of the stamps from Apple Blossom.  I then stamped an extra flower stamp and added it to the surface keeping the colours soft and muted with some Prismacolor pencils.  I added a little tag with one of the paper paperclips and some netting and a number.  The butterfly was cut from some new decoupage paper from Lou Collins.

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 

SIMON SAYS STAMP MONDAY CHALLENGE GUEST DESIGNER - WHATEVER THE WEATHER

SIMON SAYS STAMP STORE

It's my final week as Guest Designer for Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and it's been an honour to have been part of this great challenge for the whole of April.  

The challenge theme this week is Whatever the Weather.  Spring is definitely on our minds as we hopefully turn to warmer weather here in the UK and the birds on their nests.  

I started my card with spritzing some Tim Holtz Distress Oxides direct to the card to give a mottled effect.  I then used the Tim Holtz stencil with Speckled Egg to create the extra markings.  I wanted it to look a little bit like a birds nest - all jumbled together.   

I added a stamp from Alison Bombers set Winter Grasses for Paper Artsy stamps just behind the die cut of the feather.  

The die cuts are from Tim Holtz Thinlets set Funky Nature - I just love the addition of the feathers and the eggs in that set.  The little bird is one of Tracy Evan's Boutique Designs stamp set New Beginnings which I stamped and cut out and tucked behind the eggs. 

The sentiment is from another Tracy set with an additional quote from Tim Holtz Ideaology cuttings book. It doesn't show up very well on the picture but I also stamped the quote New Beginnings on the right hand side of the card and embossed it in white embossing powder - to give extra texture. 

Stamps - Tracy Evans Boutique Designs - The Wonder of Nature - TE14

                Tracy Evans Boutique Designs - New Beginnings TE004

        

                Paper Artsy Alison Bomber Winter Grasses - EAB42

Stencil -     Tim Holtz Doodle and Bubble 

Dies -         Tim Holtz Funky Nature thinlets 

Inks -         Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Spray - Speckled Egg 

                    Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Ink - Bundled Sage 

                    Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Ink - Evergreen Bough

                    Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Ink - Frayed Burlap

                    Versafine Clair - Pinecone 

                    Posca Fine White Paint Parker 

Sentiment -     Tim Holtz Ideaology clippings Small Talk 

Embossing Powder - Ranger White 

Don't forget every week  Simon Says Stamp generously give away a FABULOUS $25 voucher to shop at the Simon Says Stamp Store!  One lucky participant chosen at random has the chance to win the voucher - You can join up to 5 times which gives you 5 chances to win.  You have until next Monday at 8 a.m. Ohio time 1 pm UK time, 2 pm CET time to join in.  Good Luck everyone

THE MALE ROOM #196 - MIXED MEDIA

It's time for another challenge at The Male Room and we want to see your Mixed Media cards this month.  This challenge is just perfect for me as I do love a bit of mixed media and regulars to my blog will know this is one of my favourite ways of playing with our hobby.

I started off by using a gel press to create my background and some Tim Holtz Distress Paint in Salvaged Patina and Victorian Velvet.  Once it was dry I white embossed one of Alison Bomber's stamp sets EAB30 for Paper Artsy Stamps and the William Shakespeare words from that set.  Why Shakespeare?  Well that will become clear when I tell you about the sentiment!

I also added some extra texture with some texture paste through a small leaf stencil by Creative Expressions.

The leaves are Tim Holtz Thinlets called Leaf Fragments. They were in my stash as the result of another play with the gel press and some Pixie Powder from Cosmic Shimmer.  

I stamped a tree from Lavinia Stamps on the far left and attached the leaves. The sentiment is a quote from Shakespeare - it comes from a little pack of cards I found recently which I had bought about 20 years ago for hubby as he loves Shakespeare.  Each card has a quote and information on where that quote was used.  I think this one really suited the leaves falling off the trees. It is taken from Shakespeare's King Lear.

I'm adding this into the following

Unicorn Challenge Blog - Male Cards 

Simply Ellibelle - AG 

Paper Funday - AG - twist of weather - wind 

Simply Ellibelle - I Spy - no DP

Simon Says Stamp - favourite technique - mixed media especially using texture paste