INSPIRATION STATION - #84

Welcome back to another challenge at Inspiration Station and I hope our lovely image can inspire you.  I took my inspiration from the colours of the little watering cans hanging on the wall.  

I used an old stamp by Tracy Evans for the watering can and added a pop of yellow for the welly boots. I used a stencil in the same oval shapes as the ovals at the front of the picture and stamped one of Tracy's flowers for the background.  I used Prismacolor pencils to colour in the flower. I added some faux stitching around the outside with a Micron pen.

The sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp set Wild Birthday. 

ADDICTED TO STAMPS AND MORE #508 BIRTHDAYS

Welcome back after the Christmas break to another Birthday challenge with Addicted to Stamps and More.  I am still in a bit of a Christmas mood as I used some winter foliage for this card.

I masked off the sides and the middle of my background card stock.  I then added some stencilling from a Tim Holtz stencil and some stamping of various berries by Tim Holtz.  The sentiments came from Simon Says Stamp set Wild Birthday. 

I'm adding this into the following:

Double D - Birthdays 

Unicorn - Birthday 

Creative Inspiration - AG 

Aud Sentiments - 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

SIMON SAYS STAMP MONDAY CHALLENGE GUEST DESIGNER - BLOOMING BLOOMS - AURICULA

SIMON SAYS STAMP STORE 

I am delighted to be Guest Designer again for Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and our challenge this week is Blooming Blooms.  I chose some of the new stamps by Tracy Evans Boutique Designs for my card.

The background was created first with the gel press and some distress paint by Tim Holtz.  I gently brayered Salvaged Patina and Peeled Paint over the gel press and you just never know what you'll get which is part of the fun.  I was happy with the background colours and added some extra detail with the Fronds Snippet Stencil by Tracy in Peeled Paint again. 

Once the background was completely dry I used one of Tracy's Stamps called Take Flight embossed in white to add some more interest to the background behind the flower.

The flower stamp is called Alpine Plant and I stamped this and fussy cut it to add some layers to the piece. It was coloured in with Tim Holtz Watercolour Pencils.

Behind the flower in its cute pot I added another stamp, a persicaria flower, by Tracy from the set Delight in Nature.  The sentiment which is from New Beginnings has been stamped on a piece of calico from my stash in Versafine Nocturne. 

Stamps used - Tracy Evans Boutique Designs Design in Nature TE13

                        Tracy Evans Boutique Designs New Beginnings TE004

                        Tracy Evans Boutique Designs Take Flight - TE009

                        Tracy Evans Boutique Designs Alpine Plant - TE 001

Stencil            Tracy Evans Boutique Designs Fronds Snippet Stencil SS5 

Paints -            Tim Holtz Distress Paint Salvaged Patina 

                        Tim Holtz Distress Paint Old Paper 

Inks -             Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Spray - Iced Spruce 

                       Versafine Clair Shady Lane

                       Versafine Clair Nocturne

                       Versamark Embossing Ink Pad

                       Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Pencils my sets used are 1, 4 and 5 

Embossing 

Powder            Ranger Embossing Powder Cottontail

Tools                Gel Press 5 x 7 

                         Speedball Brayer - 4 inch 

Every week  Simon Says Stamp generously give away a $25 voucher to spend at  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

SIMON SAYS STAMP MONDAY CHALLENGE GUEST DESIGNER - TREATS

SIMON SAYS STAMP STORE 

I'm delighted to be Guest Designer again this week for Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.  The challenge this week is treats.  I just adore Anita Jeram - my kids read her books when they were young and I now read them to my grandkids.  I even have a mug with some characters on.  So when I saw this set over at Simon Says Stamp and the little treat jar it was a must have! It's called Treat Yourself. 

I wanted to keep the colours fairly close to Anita's own style of soft colours.  I stamped the dogs first on some water colour paper in Versafine Clair Nocturne.  I stamped the treat jar and then restamped it and fussy cut it to add a bit more interest.  I carefully added some clean water around the dogs then used Tim Holtz Distress Oxide in Salty Ocean and Peeled Paint for the background.

For colouring the dogs I used the following Distress Oxides with a very small paint brush -  Black Soot, Brushed Corduroy, Pumice Stone, Walnut Stain, Saltwater Taffy

The little treat jar was coloured in Salty Ocean, Saltwater Taffy and Rusty Hinge. 

I used Versafine  Clair Morning Mist stamped off for the Yummy sentiment and Pinecone for the main sentiment. 

Supplies used:

Stamps -     Anita Jeram Stamps Treat Yourself 

Inks     

            Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Saltwater Taffy

             Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Salty Ocean

             Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Peeled Paint

            Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Brushed Corduroy

            Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Black Soot

            Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Pumice Stone

            Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Walnut Stain

           Versafine Clair -  Nocturne

            Versafine Clair   Pinecone 

            Versafine Clair   Morning Mist

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

I'm adding this into the following:

4 Season - Animals 

Dragonfly Dreams - Animals 

Stamping Sensations - Animals 

SimplyCreate2 - Furry Animals 

613 AVENUE CREATE - Anything Goes w/Optional Twist: CREATE A SLIDER CARD

Our twist this month at 613 Avenue Create is to create a slider card.  It's been a while since I made one of these so I was up for the challenge.

I started off with a piece of Stampin Up cardstock in this gorgeous purple colour and using an SU mask I inked it in Distress Ink Wilted Violet.  I cut out a hole with a stitched framelit in the front.  The butterfly is a Tim Holtz die and I used some old SU DSP to cut it out from.

The flowers and jug are from a Simon Says Stamp set called Take Heart.  I used SU blender pen in light grey for the jug and Distress Inks in Peeled Paint, Crushed Olive, Wilted Violet and Shaded Lilac for the flowers and leaves. 

The stamp set also has this lovely hummingbird and I wanted it to appear as though he is flying in to the flowers when you open the card.  It was coloured in with Distress Inks in Wilted Violet and Peacock Feathers with some Spectrum Noir glitter pen to make him shine.  The sentiments are from the same stamp set.  I continued the stencilling on the inside of the card.

I'm adding this into the following challenges also:

The Creative Crafters - AG 

QKR Stampede - AG

Crafty Animals - Bird

Lil Red Wagon - Fun Feathered Friends

The Library Challenge - Birds 

The Paper Players -Spring moodboard 

The Flower Challenge - shades of purple 

Tuesday Taggers - Say It With Flowers 

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

SIMON SAYS SHOOT FOR THE STARS

I had great fun playing along with this challenge from Simon Says Stamp which is Shoot for the Stars.  This wasn't what I had in mind when I started to get out my inks but it was what I ended up with.  Does that happen to you ?  You go way off base?

I started off with a piece of 6 x 4 piece of cardstock,  stamped the moon and then masked it.  I then started blending with Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Antique Linen, Rusty Hinge, Walnut Stain and a touch of Black Soot.  I also used some Walnut Stain Distress Spray and some Distress Crayons.  I spritzed with water and dried in between until I got the colours I wanted.  I used one of the birds from Crazy Birds and inked him in the same colours with a touch of Barn Door and Spiced Marmalade for his beak.  I added some Googly Eyes from SU which I got in their sale.  I knew they'd come in handy for these birds!

The tree branches are also from SU Colourful Seasons as is the framelit branch which was inked in Walnut Stain and Black Soot.  I added some stars from SU Star of Light and embossed them in Pumice Stone Embossing powder.  They didn't quite shine as much as I liked so I added some cut out stars.  I used some scraps of paper I had earlier embossed with embossing paste - it's always worth keeping little bits of scrap.

The sentiments came from Tim Holtz Idea-ology Sticker book and I thought the words went well with the piece - 

I'm also adding this into

Creative Artiste Mixed Media Anything Goes
Try It On Tuesday - Make a Scene
Arty Divas - Anything Goes
Tuesday Throwdown - Anything Goes

Excited to be a winner for Tuesday Throwdown

 

ARTIST TRADING COINS AND TIM HOLTZ

A friend of mine Jane Allmark who has her own blog Amethyststarcrafting is organising an Artist Trading Coins swap.  I'm sure I did these years ago in a forum but Jane thinks they are only a year old but I'm sure they are older.  Anyway I jumped in to join in with her swap and I've made four coins.  They are 2.5" big.

I started off by using Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks to make all the backgrounds for my coins.  I added some water to get that mottled effect and also used one of Tim's stencils for the little dots. I think this is my favourite stencil of his and it gets used a lot.

The images I stamped are from an old stamp set which I call Folk Art but I''m not sure who it is by but it has these cute animal and flower images. I stamped them in Memento ink and then used some Tri Blend Spectrum Noir inks to colour parts of them in.

I really enjoyed making these - then I received an email from Simon Says Stamp saying it is Work It Wednesday and what are you working on that is Tim Holtz related - voila! They are also able to go into Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Card - not a card! 

If you would like to join in with Jane's Swap I've included her link above.