SWEET STAMPIN - HALLOWE'EN AND FAREWELL

Our challenge for Sweet Stampin this week is Hallowe'en.  This will be my final entry as a Design Team member for this fabulous challenge blog.  I have recently had a big house move from England back home to Wales and my new life is going to be a lot busier than my old one in many good ways.  It means I have less time for crafting and sadly my commitments to Design Teams for challenges is going to have to be something I give up... at least until I get myself into more of a routine.  Being on a Design Team is a great motivator and being part of a team to regularly create can be a real help when your mojo goes missing and I can thoroughly recommend it if you get the chance.

I'm also finding I'm not crafting like I used to and cards are not my number 1 go to now when I craft.  I guess we all change and develop as we explore new ways.

So I leave you from Sweet Stampin' with this card.  Hallowe'en is a special time for me and I do despair sometimes when I hear all the negative press it gets mainly from people's perceptions of it and how Hollywood has portrayed it over the years.

I'm a Celt from Irish Celtic background and now Welsh and for my ancestors this time of the year was a sacred time.  It was a time to remember those who had passed before us, lay the table for them to come and sit with us one more time for a meal - hence the trick or treat which became trivialised into sweets and candy.  I have lost many close family members and my table would be overflowing with places for those who are no longer with me.  The idea of pumpkins being carved came from people going to bonfires to celebrate the old year and they needed lights - at the time they used swede's or turnips which were the vegetables we had in this country thousands of years ago.  They cut them to allow a candle to give them light and hence the pumpkin as we know it was born. 

I wanted to try and express how sacred this evening really is and for people not to fear it.  I've used stamps here from Visible Image, I love how that bird is flying out of the tree.

May you have a peaceful Hallowe'en.

SWEET STAMPIN - LOTS OF LAYERS

LOTS OF LAYERS 

Our challenge at Sweet Stampin this week is Lots of Layers.  I wanted to create my own background papers for my layers - I used an old SU stamp and some Tim Holtz Distress Ink and stamped over the layers - I added SU Night of Navy Cardstock behind each layer.  The butterfly was added from my stash.  A very simple card which gives a great effect.  A little addition of some fine linen thread finished off the card.

SWEET STAMPIN - UNUSUAL HAIR COLOUR

A tricky challenge for you all this week from Sweet Stampin - Unusual Hair Colour - to be honest what hair colour doesn't get used these days - I actually have a friend who has her hair the turquoise colour my middle lady has! I'm not that brave!

For my card this week I have used some very old Cherry Pie Art Stamps and coloured the three muses of Art, Love and Beauty with their various unusual hair colours.  All the background stamps used are Cherry Pie also using Tim Holtz inks and a few of his old stamps.

SWEET STAMPIN - MASCULINE

We are challenging you this week at Sweet Stampin with a masculine card - something we all like to see inspiration for.

This card was actually made for my hubby who reached the big 60 in April!  Where does the time go - we met when he was 20 so we've seen a lot of birthdays between us.  He was an engineer by trade and has a very mechanical mind - so much so that sometimes my artistic offerings don't sit well with him as he likes very straight lines and everything to be precise lol!

I was gifted these lovely gears and clock elements from a member of my Facebook Group The Joy of Sets where we often send out freebies to each other. I knew I just had to use them on his card.

For the background I used the large stamp from Stampin Up called Dry Brush - It's a great stamp for creating quick backgrounds.  The die cut letters were from Tim Holtz together with some of the extra ephemera.  The sentiments are from various sets in my stash.

I'm adding this into the following challenges

Three Room Studio #39 - Tic Tac Toe - I used the middle vertical line

CRAFT challenge - masculine

Seize The Birthday - Wheels

Stinkin Inkers - Youre the Man 

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - Masculine

The House that Stamps Built - Masculine

Watercooler Wednesday - All things masculine 

SWEET STAMPIN - THINGS WITH WINGS

Our challenge for you this month at Sweet Stampin is Things with Wings.  I had to have a play with my Tim Holtz crazy birds stamps and dies again.  I started off by using a stencil from Visible Image called Words of Support with some Distress Ink.  The birds were all coloured in Distress Inks .  I used the matching dies to cut them all out.  Glad I don't have to try and fussy cut them - it's not one of my strengths!

 I added some googly eyes from Stampin Up.  The banner was cut with an old SU die and I added some Nuovo Dots in pink to the edges and to the card.

I'm adding this into the following challenges:

International Art and Soul - cards for men

Let's craft and create -171  no patterned paper

More mixed media - AG 

happy little stampers - use dies

SWEET STAMPIN' - SOMETHING NOT NORMALLY USED FOR CRAFTING

What a challenge this one was for us all this month over at Sweet Stampin - you should have seen me hunting round the house looking for something that little bit different.  Eventually in my kitchen drawer I found a scone cutter/cookie cutter and thought aha!

I started off by using some Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Wilted Violet to add a coloured background.  I then took the cutter and dipped it into some Liquitex Acrylic Ink in Turqoise Deep.  Some of the images came out as the outline and some came out filled in and I thought both looked great.

I used the same colours on some extra paper and used a Tim Holtz butterfly die to cut it out.  I added this to some black card stock and added some Liquitex Ink in Iridescent Bright Gold around the edge with a fine paint brush.

I added the sentiment with some Gold Embossing powder.  I used a deckle scissors to cut out both panels.  I love how this turned out and look forward to seeing what you use for your piece.

I'm adding this into the following challenges:

Make the Cards Challenge #12 - Butterflies 

Here is a place to start - Elegant 

Get Creative - AG 

Use Your Stuff - Spring 

International Art & Soul - Winged Creatures

We love Chocolate Baroque - Spring 

Dragonfly Dreams - add a creature

Allsorts - Butterflies

Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday - Birthdays 

SWEET STAMPIN - SPRING MOODBOARD

We have a lovely Spring Moodboard for you this time at Sweet Stampin.

I have this lovely stamp set from Simon Says Stamp called Choose Joy and I knew I just wanted to use those lovely wellington boots filled with flowers.  The stamp set has a stamp which creates the plaid grid - such a great idea and a lot of fun to use.  I used Stampin Up cardstock in Soft Sky and used the same ink to add the delicate plaid background. 

I used Spellbinders Cutting Dies for my image.  I coloured the boots and flowers with Distress Inks.  The sentiment is from the same set.  I added a few Nuovo Drops to finish off the card.

I'm also adding this into the following challenges:

Allsorts Challenge - use a stamped image 

Dragonfly Dreams - include a flower

Daring Cardmakers - plant a flower

Colour Crazy Challenge - AG 

Try it on Tuesday - Flowers 

SWEET STAMPIN - CARDS FOR KIDS/TEENS

Our challenge over at Sweet Stampin this week is cards for Kids/Teens.  I find these type of cards a real challenge - probably now that my kids are grown I don't have many occasions to do children's cards and don't really have stamps that are suited.

There is one Stampin Up set however which I will keep in my stash as I do find it's great for cards for younger people. It's called Special Someone and has these great two step stampin images of woodland creatures.

I've started mine off here by inking the background with some Tim Holtz Distress inks and then using an SU stencil for the trees.

The Squirrel was stamped and then cut out and added with dimensionals as was the balloon. I added some glossy accents to the balloon. The sentiment is from the same set.  I added some of the grass with the tiny little stamp from SU High Tide - such a small stamp but it comes in so useful for adding grass.  

I'm also adding this into the following challenges:

Alphabet Challenge - Woodland Flora and Fauna

Watercooler Wednesday - Occasions

Addicted to Stamps - Birthday 

Creative Inspirations -Animal Antics

SWEET STAMPIN - THANK YOU

Our challenge this week at Sweet Stampin is thank you.  I chose to do a tag for my thank you and not a thank you for a gift but a thank you for a friendship that has seen me sane over the past year.

I started out with a Tim Holtz tag die to cut out my tag.  I added lots of layers of papers from TH Christmas pack and then covered with some gesso.  I added layers of ink, stencils and some texture paste.

I used Tim Holtz Flower Jar stamp set and cut out the jar and flowers by hand.  I used Distress Inks to colour in the flowers.  The butterflies are from TH Ideaology packs.  

The sentiments were some I had in my stash of stamps and I added some SU ribbon to the top and the bottom.  I even added a brad!! 

 

SWEET STAMPIN - LAST MINUTE CHRISTMAS

What a great challenge for you at Sweet Stampin this week.  I'm sure everyone gets to a point where they may need a last minute Christmas card but as card makers we are lucky enough to be able to make our own.

My card couldn't be simpler - I chose to ink the background with Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Weathered Wood, Chipped Sapphire and Fossilised Amber Oxide.  But you could even miss out this step and use coloured card stock.  I then used some Tim Holtz stamps and some silver embossing powder.  Simple, quick but very effective.

I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and let's hope 2021 is a better year for us all - thank you for playing along with us all year.

 

SWEET STAMPIN - SPOTS OR STRIPES?

Welcome back to another challenge with Sweet Stampin and it's great to see you all saving a bit of time to join in with our challenges. This week we are asking Spots or Stripes?  I couldn't decide so I did a bit of both!  

I started out with using the new Tim Holtz Tiny Text Christmas stamps - stamping them in Peeled Paint distress ink then cutting them all into strips to become my stripes!  I inked the background wit a light dusting of Crackling Campfire ink and some of the new Rustic Wilderness Distress Crayon around the outsides.

The Deer is from the Tim Holtz Cool Yule Thinlets set.  I added some spots to his scarf just to keep in with the theme - he also has a few bells dangling from his antlers - I'm not sure if they show up in the picture.

I added some of the Tim Holtz Holiday Greens Mini thinlets but I've kept them in white and covered them in Dazzling Diamonds to give them a shimmer and added a shiny red glitter dot in the middle.

 

SWEET STAMPIN - USE YOUR FAVOURITE STAMP

What a difficult challenge for all us stampers at Sweet Stampin this week - use your favourite stamp.  If I really had to choose my favourite stamp it would be this Father Christmas stamp I've had for nearly 15 years.  It was made by Rubber Stampede and has featured in many cards over the years.

Here are some examples 

I hope you've enjoyed looking at the different styles and examples from this one image - it just goes to show what one stamp can do and how it can change depending on how you use it.

 

SWEET STAMPIN - CHILDREN'S BIRTHDAY

Our challenge over at Sweet Stampin this week had me a bit stumped. I must admit I don't often do children's cards and don't really have any stamps that fit.  So I did some punch art in every child's favourite toy - Lego.  

I cut out the shapes in prime colours and then cut out some circles in the same colours and added them with dimensionals - with a touch of same colour ink around each circle it gives the impression of a lego block.  I added some stamping around the outside and a big number for a birthday.  A very simple but effective card I think.

SWEET STAMPIN - GIRLY - NO PINK

Our challenge for you this week at Sweet Stampin in a Girly card or project, No Pink.  My card was actually a birthday card for my best girl friend who actually adores pink so she was probably surprised to get this one from me with not a hint of pink on it!

I'm not sure what this type of card is called - maybe a peekaboo card - I found it on Dawn Griffiths you tube site and just altered it for my own design.  It's not as complicated to make as it looks and I hope you have a go.

The paper is old SU and the stamp set is SU Happy Wishes - such a great set.