HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS WATERCOLOUR - LAYERS

Welcome back to another challenge at Happy Little Stampers Watercolour - with the option of using layers.  This was a definite added option for me as I love using layers on my cards.  I started out using a stamp set by Tracy Evans for Aallandcreate and adding some soft colours to the background.  I stamped and cut out the bird, the butterfly and the hare and layered it onto some textured ribbon.  I added the sentiment to some calico.  

CREATIVE ARTISTE MIXED MEDIA - ANYTHING GOES

Welcome to another month's challenge at Creative Artiste Mixed Media.

Some time ago I had an interesting find in a charity shop.  It was a replica package from the British Museum regarding the Suffragettes.  This little packet of treasures sparked my interest -we all have heard of one or two of the ladies who gave so much so that we could benefit years down the line but I don't think we really know that much about what they had to put up with.  It has made for fascinating reading both from the little replica pack and the further research I have been doing.  

I decided I wanted to use this little pack in some way and decided that I would do a set of Suffragette Tags which has some photo images of some of the ladies, who I personally had never heard of.  So let me introduce you to two of them.

Our first tag is of Miss Grace Roe - born 1885 in Surrey England and died in 1979. I am glad she survived to see Women's Votes being given.  She joined the Campaign in 1908 having heard Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughter Christabel speaking.  The image of her on the tag is from 1914 when she was arrested for being a member of the Women's Social and Political Union and she was imprisoned in Holloway Prison Here she endured hunger strike and forced feeding until there was an amnesty from the Government of the time due to WW1. After the War she opened a opened a bookshop and metaphysical library in Santa Barbara, California. She stayed in close contact with Christabel Pankhurst.

I've used Tim Holtz Tag dies for both of my tags.  The background has been made with Distress Ink and Texture Paste.  I've used the Rosemary Edition by Alison Bomber PapertArtsy stamps to emboss the background with the words and I fussy cut the rosemary sprig.  The Hope embellishment is an old one from my Stash and I've added some calico ribbon.

My second tag shows a lady called Mary Gawthorpe - she was born in 1881 in Leeds, England and died in 1973 in New York. She was a teacher and left teaching to join the WSPU in 1906.  She was arrested many times over the years and eventually left the UK to emigrate to New York City in 1916 where she became active in the American Suffrage movement.

The second tag uses Distress Ink in Milled Lavender, Wilted Violet and Peeled Paint to match the colour of the ticket from the pack.  I've added some texture paste through a brick stencil to represent the brick walls that these ladies faced and also how they built their way to success.  I've used some pieces from Taperlogy also.

These are obviously just very short snippets of what these ladies did but I have found it fascinating and will continue to create some mixed media tags with the contents of the little replica pack.  

CHRISTMAS CRAFT CREATIONS - CAS

Our theme at Christmas Craft Creations this month is CAS.  I always find these the hardest to do as I do like my layers and my mixed media.  So this is about as CAS as I feel comfortable with.  We have some great prizes up for grabs kindly donated by the Design Team members so good luck.  

I used an old Embossing Folder for my white background. The tree die is also an old die I had in my stash and I used some paper from a Christmas pack to cut out the image.  I added a star and a Tim Holtz silver bauble to the top.  The sentiment is from Tim Holtz - I only bought the whole stamp set called Watercolour Trees because I had been looking for an O Christmas Tree sentiment for years lol! 

I'm adding this into the following challenges:

The Holly and Ivy - AG 

Jingle Bells Rock - Christmas Tree 

My Time To Craft - Christmas Tree 

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS - CC421

I love these colours for our colour challenge this week at Hand Stamped Sentiments.  As usual I don't have the up-to-date Stampin Up Colours but I did use an old one Cinammon Cider which looks very similar to the Pecan Pie.  The other colour I used was a Wendy Vecchi Ranger one called Orange Blossom and Tim Holtz Unchartered Mariner Distress Oxide.

I started off by using a stencil for the background in one of the brown colours.  I then added this gorgeous stamp from Creative Expressions called Magnolia Spray.  I added some extra numbers in the darker brown from another Creative Expression set from Sam Poole called Dates from the Past. The sentiment comes from the flower set and I stamped it on to some Calico material and added some brads from my stash which are very old SU. I tucked a delicate leaf behind the calico to add a bit more interest and some sparkles to the middle of the flowers. 

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS #420

Welcome back to another challenge for Hand Stamped Sentiments.  The weather here in the UK for nearly the whole of July was wet and miserable.  We even had to light a log fire the other evening - so Ice creams and the gorgeous images on our mood board are very far from my mind at the moment - but I can dream of Summer. 

Probably with that in mind I took my inspiration from the flowers on the bottom right.  I used an old leaf stencil for my background - giving it just a kiss of the ink, spritzing it and then adding it to the paper to give a very subtle imprint of the leaf.  I masked off part of the middle to add my mouse and my sentiment.  I used an old SU set Botanical Prints to create my flowers.  The little mouse is from Clearly Besotted. I added some background word stamping and some sequins to finish off the card. 

CREATIVE ARTISTE MIXED MEDIA - ANYTHING GOES

Welcome back to another month's challenge at Creative Artiste where we celebrate all things Mixed Media. 

I recently took part in a Fodder Challenge which I found via Alison Bomber's Instagram account.  I was new to the whole Fodder School and the challenge was a free sample of what they offer all year round.  Sadly funds won't allow me to join in with the school but the free 11 day challenge was great fun.  Some were not my style but a few were just right up my street and they certainly challenged me to think outside of the box.  My piece here is one of them as I used colours I don't often use.  I'm not normally a brights sort of girl!

My Mixed Tag was inspired by Shay Michelle and I really enjoyed making it.  I used the back of an old pack of paper - you can still see the tag attached which is great for hanging this little piece up in future.  I loved the way she made her tags and told us it doesn't matter if they are not straight, if the cut away angles are not exact - it was like having permission to get things a bit wonky which is something I adore!  The tags had little clusters on them of just bits and pieces from my stash.  

The tags are attached at the top and then when you lift them up there is a space for journalling.  I also decorated the back of them and gave them some quotes from Tim Holtz.   The Creativity sentiment is from Visible Image stamps. The words at the top are from some washi tape from Aallandcreate.

THE MALE ROOM CHALLENGE - DOTS AND STRIPES

Welcome back to another challenge at The Male Room - I hope you are inspired by our great theme.

I started off my background by using a stencil to create the strips in Antique Linen.  I then added a very old dotted stamp I have from an old company called All Night Media - it's an old wooden stamp which is great for adding dots.  I added the clock stamp from an old Creative Expressions set and added some die cut gears from Tim Holtz.  I added one of his paper dolls and added a large mug in his hand - just because lol! 

ONCE UPON A TIME

Welcome back to another challenge at Once Upon a Time where we offer you a children's book cover as inspiration and leave the rest to your imagination.  I chose to focus on the children in the image and decided to do a stepped easel card.

This stamp set is a very old one from Stampin Up and one of my favourites that I will always keep.  I love that image of the little girl looking out into the distance and the little boy making his sand castle and it takes me back to when my two were little.  The sentiment memories was just perfect for me to add.

I'm adding this into the following challenges:

Retro Rubber - this stamp set is over 10 years old 

SU Only challenges - fun fold 

HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS - AUGUST - OPTIONAL HAPPY

Welcome to another challenge at Happy Little Stampers Watercolour Challenge. I chose to go with the option of Happy for my card.  

I used watercolour for my card stock as I knew I was going to be putting a lot of water down for the background.  I used Tim Holtz Distress Oxide stains to give a loose watercolour background.  Once dry I added some background stamping with Versafine Clair Morning Mist which is a soft grey - not as harsh as a black for the stamping.  

The bird is from Tracy Evans set Bird Song  and the sentiment is from Visible Image.    I added a loose border with a Micron pen and added some pink edging.  

CHRISTMAS CRAFT CREATIONS - ANYTHING GOES PLUS DESIGN TEAM CALL

Our challenge this month over at Christmas Craft Creations is Anything Goes.  We are also offering a Design Team call so if you love making Christmas cards I would encourage you to apply.  It's a great way to have lots of your Christmas cards done already by the time the season is fully underway.  I've loved being on the team this year and am looking forward to another year of Christmas every month.

As we are Anything Goes this month I've used a Tim Holtz  star for my card.  The background was made with a gel press and I added lots of white embossing powder for the snow and the star. This makes it a quick and easy card to make if you need to make lots.  The sentiment is from Anita Jeram stamp set.

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS SC419

Welcome back to another Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge and our sketch challenge for you this time.  I hope you are inspired by the sketch and the Design Team's entries.  Here's mine.  

For the stripes on the right hand side I used various washi tape from Aallandcreate.  The left hand side is a background I made with the gel press.  I added the lovely bird from one of Tracy Evan's stamp sets called Birdsong which actually matches some of that lovely washi tape.  

SCRAPBOOK PAGE

It's been a while since I've done any scrapbooking and shared any pages.  However on Saturday a new friend and I started up a Crop in our local village hall.  We had 5 ladies turn up - 3 of whom had never scrapped before.  Safe to say they caught the bug.  I have so many pages I need to do as my granddaughter is now 4 and my grandson is now 6 months.  

However I lost my darling dog in January and really need to start doing some more pages of her.  This page was inspired by Allsorts Challenge blog and the dog and the gorgeous peach colour of that flower.

Allsorts Challenge - dog picture 

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS #CC418

A great choice of colours for your inspiration this week from us here at Hand Stamped Sentiments.  I started my card off using my favourite embossing folder from Stampin Up called Painted Texture.  I realise I don't use embossing folders nearly enough.  I think they need a dusting.

I used an old SU set for the flowers and butterflies on the right of the card called Natures Perfection.  The flower in the middle is from Tracy Evans set Worded Petals and the Butterfly is SU from the same set.  I added some sparkle to the main butterfly with Spectrum Noir sparkle pen. I added some red splatters and some sequins.  The sentiment is from Tracy Evans.  I put it on a white background to keep the focus colours bright. 

CREATIVE ARTISTE MIXED MEDIA CHALLENGE JULY 2023 - TIME CANVAS

Welcome back to our challenge Mixed Media lovers - as always we are an Anything Goes challenge at Creative Artiste Mixed Media.  I've chosen to do another 7" x 5" canvas.  I love the size of these canvases but I'm going to have to challenge myself to do some bigger ones soon.

I'm curious - do you plan your projects?  Do you always have an idea in your head exactly what you are going to do before you start because I know I certainly don't.  Does it show? lol! I start and then it just kind of evolves - that's if I'm lucky.  There have been times when I've just had to rip it off and start again.  But this one worked just as I'd hoped.

It didn't really set out to be a time piece as such but that's how it evolved. I added all my base layers with inks and stamps and used Liquitex Acrylic ink in Muted Grey over some Distress Spray Stain in Antique Linen.  The clock images are from a Creative Expressions stamp set which I haven't used in a while and the pen nibs are from Tracy Evants.  I found the little circle fob watch in my stash - I think it's an old Tim Holtz Ideaology one. I stamped a clock face on the inside and then covered it in gold wax and added a little chain.  The sentiments and numbers are from Tracy Evans and the paper doll is Tim Holtz. I added some extra Pebeo wax around the edges. 

Butterfly Tag

On my own Facebook Group The Joy of Sets we run monthly swaps.  Last month's swap was a butterfly tag.  This is mine which will be winging its way over the pond to the US.  I hope my recipient likes it.

I started off with one of Tim Holtz large tag dies which is the perfect size for tags.  I added some Distress Oxide Spray in Antique Linen, Speckled Egg and Victorian Velvet.  VV is one of my most favourite TH colours and I use it quite a lot - I have it in all his mediums lol!  

I then added some stamping from Woodware Expressions set by Francoise Read called Three Butterflies.  It's one whole stamp but I just used parts of it - not using a block just my fingers to get the parts I wanted. I also used some of the stamps from Alison Bomber's set for Eclectica by Paper Artsy called Rosemary Edition.

I added some butterfly ribbon I had in my stash and used a Tim Holtz die for the large butterfly.  This was cut out of some gel press collage paper I had done and fitted the colour scheme.  It was made with Distress Mica Stain in Tart Cranberry.

I'm adding this into the following challenges:

Krafty Chicks Challenge - AG Stamping 

Creative Inspiration - AG 

Triple B - Butterfly