PS – I love you!!! at Fantasy Stampers

Ok, yes it’s a valentine's project – something romantic, and lovey dovey – you know you want to! So get out all those romantic stamps and create a project for this fortnight’s challenge at Fantasy Stampers.

 

Here’s what I did:

 

Classic red, white and black… embossing, die cuts and of course hand stamping. The stamp I have used is ‘Close Your Eyes’ by LOV.

So link up your project to the challenge at Fantasy Stampers (and check out the DT inspiration BUT please remember, we are a stamping challenge so your project MUST include stamping and please state clearly which stamp/stamps you used in your blog post (no digital images please).

Also, if you missed the earlier post, our 'Design Team Call' is still open until 8th February - so if you are interested in joining the Fantasy Stampersteam as a designer you can find all the details HERE.

Just a peek…..

at a couple more panoranamanic cards. I’m also using some verso dies from tonic.

Sunglasses alert. This one is actually just a single ‘layer’.

A bit more subtle. I stuck it onto acetate so that I could fill the hearts with glitter glue.

Sadly the tidy desk you can see is currently a big mess and in need of a tidy up. I have been making quidditch balls for Harry Potter Night.

Didn’t turn out too bad.

What’s On Your WorkDesk? Wednesday #295

Morning WOYWERS. Determined to be brief this week. My desk shot shows me mid project(s) when I went to bed last night. Playing around with a woodware flower stamp and with two ‘squash’/panoranamanic cards on my desk (see post below!!) still to finish.  Watercolour pencils have made a rare appearance. otherwise very little has changed and I’m still trying very hard to keep it under control.

Right. Must crack on. Just remembered its OHs birthday on Sunday. Ooops.

Oh and if you need more info about the WOYWW weekly bloghop get yourself on over to Julia’s blog – link up why don’t you?

‘Panoranamanic’ cards

I do jest, but panoranamanic has been a joke family word for a few years – panorama just doesn’t have enough syllables. Time is flying, and I have been neglecting my blog but I thought I’d share what I’d been up to.

I made this card for a swap at UK Papercrafters in the style of the new panoranamanic dies (and now I see card blanks) from tattered lace. I forgot to keep a photo (lifted this one from recipient) or write down how I made it.

So I decided to try again. First up was this one, using Craftwork Cards Papers and a die from Tonic to create that lacy interior.

Tip: Tonic dies are pretty good at releasing but I don’t really care from all that die tapping to get the bits out. I told a friend of mine that I had asked for a tool I had seen a demonstrator use that you could roll over the die to get out all the bits rather than a pokey tool and I was disappointed that nobody bought it me for Christmas. She said to me – why don’t you just use a toothbrush? Which kinda stopped me in my tracks. And guess  what?

It worked just fine.

 

To make the card I was using an accordian fold at the sides and adding the mid layer to one of the folds – it looks OK but me and my OCD were not entirely happy with the way the card was ‘sitting’ so I had to play about a bit more.

More CWC papers and rather a lot of die cuts from the ephemera kit.

 

MMMM. Still not entirely happy, back to  the drawing board….. I think they sit best when I sandwich the centre bit between two sets of accordian fold ie front and back sections both have ‘wings’ – also makes it very sturdy. This one is doesn’t get that little ‘curve’ in the front – partly the construction and partly the vagaries of my cutting skills.

 

OK!!  Now I’ve worked out a construction method that works for me, it’s time to set it up as a ‘template’ on my Scan n Cut so that I can cut all the parts to make a 7 x 7 card really easily and consistently. Cracked it. 

Next version, try with some stamping and embossing: (needs a sentiment)

And they all fold flat to go  in an envelope!!

I think that’s enough for now. I have a couple more I may share tomorrow. NEARLY got this one out of my system LOL.

What’s On Your Workdesk? Wednesday #294

Morning deskers! It’s Wednesday again, time for our weekly nosy around the desks of crafty blogland. What? You ask. Go here and read all about it.
This is me crafting tidily……


The other desks aren’t quite so pristine but it’s not too bad at the mo. TRYING to put things away when I’m done. Honestly, I would love to be this way because untidiness (and lack of space left to craft on) frustrates me big time. So I’m aiming for Zen today. Did this card last night just from some bits I had cut out. No it didn’t slip but I did mess up that fancy die cut so needed to disguise it. I quite like it all off centred. Anyhow, back to Christmas once I’ve put these bits away. 54 cards and counting.
Do you like all my hatpins? LOL hadn’t realised there were so many. My glue nozzles get clogged up a lot so I like to keep them handy (however this may be overkill).
Oh and if you are interested, my Timmy Tag giveaway went up this week, you’ll find it here.
Happy WOYWW!!

Try It On Tuesdays……Add Some Fabric

This time round we would like you to add some fabric to your entries to this challenge.

As always what you make is entirely up to yourselves as long as you follow our theme,

However, ribbon by itself will not count.

Here’s mine:

In case it isn’t obvious, the flower is made of stamped fabric, some leftovers from a project of my daughters. I die cut them with my Arianna Blooms die from Heartfelt Creations.

Quite simple but effective.

 

To link up or to find more inspiration please hop on over to the Try It On Tuesday’s Blog.

Stunning projects on show as usual.

The challenge runs for two weeks.

Giveaway Time!!

Well, as promised, the January giveaway is here, and is the culmination of a year’s work (!!) because yep, it is a complete set of Tim’s Tags for 2014.

Now, before you get all excited, when I was reviewing all the tags to write the techniques on the back, it became painfully clear that almost all of my tags should more correctly be labelled  ‘vaguely similar techniques to the ones Tim described because I don’t have the product’. So if you are expecting a set of perfectly executed Tim Holtz technique tags using ranger products you may be sorely disappointed. I have so much art stuff I cannot justify buying all the new ranges just in case I might need them on a couple of tags and for that reason I won’t be playing along in 2015 – I can’t really see the point if I can’t do the technique which was why I originally started doing them and to be honest I am fed up with trying to figure out work arounds. But nevertheless, they aren’t a bad collection of tags and here they are in order left to right, top to bottom.

Entering is simple, just leave a comment here and I will put you in the draw. Closing Date Sunday 1st February at 9.00 pm. International players welcome. Please feel free to link from your own blogs – let me know you have done so and I will put you in the draw twice.

OK, the other thing I need to say is that this will be my last monthly giveaway. Maybe not the last one ever, but certainly the last one on a (semi) regular basis. Lately I have found it increasingly difficult to fit in, entries have been low, postage is high if I do anything 3 dimensional and on one occasion the winner never even contacted me with their address. So I kinda feel it has run its course for now. But never say never, I’ll probably just do the odd random draw for commenters when the mood takes me so it still might be worth checking back now and again if you like happy mail.

For now, thanks to everyone who has joined in in the past and good luck to everyone who wants to play this time round!!

Fairy Nice for Fantasy Stampers

Well this fortnight we are asking for a bit of fantasy as we are asking for a fairy on your stamped projects.

This time I have gone for a simple birthday card (need to build up my supplies!!). The stamps I have used are from the lovely Virgo Fairy set by Linda Ravenscroft for Creative Expressions. She is very pretty and I have gone for morning glory colouring on the flowers and accented it with lilac and purple. I used my scan and cut to cut the curved corner mounts and the inverted circles and with a bit of fussy cutting have got her popping out the frame mainly because to contain the whole image within a larger circle there would be a lot of white space.

Apart from a bit of glitter and bling that’s it. Hop on over to the Fantasy Stampers blog to see more DT inspiration and add your project – I’m seeing lots of Lavinia stamps getting some use for this one!

What’s On Your Workdesk? Wednesday? #293

Morning deskers, Sunny outside today but pretty chilly in my craft room – don’t get the sun this side  of the house. Here to show you my desk.

I’m making a tag, one I missed from the TH tags of 2014, ready to go into my giveaway which will be for a complete set of the technique tags. Sadly, I have decided that that will be the last one for a while as I have other stuff I want to do but more details when I post it, probably on Sunday if you’re interested. Meanwhile, wanted to say thanks for all the visits last week, didn’t get back to a few of you as I worked Thurs/Fri/Sat and it it hardly seems worth it by Sunday!! Won’t be visiting many this week either as my arthritic hands are playing me up big time this week, first time for a couple of years, so having to try and not use the pc too much as it really aggravates it – really difficult for me unfortunately. But I will pop by those who leave a comment. Not that I don’t love you all – the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak!!

Why am I showing this desk? go here to find out.

Different??

What do you think of this little guy?

I popped onto Alizabethy’s blog the other week and saw she had been making cards and Atcs out of ‘bits’ Well you know my obsession with bits so apropos of nothing I asked her if she fancied a trade. After a significant time had elapsed (sorry) thought I’d better actually get around to making my ATC. So had a rummage through my bits. Found a bit of background stamping left over from a project (2 years ago? or more). Added this little guy from my stash of printed out but not used images – he’s a digi from the wonderful Octopode Factory – and found a few cogs that I had cut out for a project and never used. The word comes from an ideology pack I HAD TO HAVE but I have only used about 10 of the words. A few more bits to use up there then. A bit of glossy accents to make the eyes googly. I think he’s rather sweet. 15 minutes tops.

More Quick and Simple Cards….

Obviously I don’t need all these cards for myself, but I need to start replenishing my MacMillan stocks  as they took a bashing last year. And I do have all those pennant die cuts to use up………

I’m not quite sure who these will appeal to. I was thinking they might be suitable for men’s cards. But then I started sticking flowers on. And using pink.


Apart from the card blanks (and some of them I found in a drawer – seriously old!!) everything is scraps of paper and embellishments (like these paper flowers) that I have had for yonks. In reality, still haven’t made a dent in the stash but trying to be more ruthless at using things instead of making more!!

Now Hettie has suggested that I link up my scrap cards with Snippet’s Playground – so I am going to link up my favourite one (below) and hope Di isn’t cross about all the other things in this post. (I doubt she does cross and anyway I’ll just blame Hettie).

I have put away the rest of the pennants for another day…. obviously just had to get that out of my system!! Now, what next?

What’s On Your Workdesk? Wednesday #292

Happy  New Year Deskers. First deskhop of 2015 – now how did that happen? Lots of things in my head as we start the New Year – will they actually be made into reality? We’ll see!!

Anyhow, here is my desk this week. Dominated by that new purchase - the Scan n Cut.

I never thought I would move onto an electric machine but I am so enamoured of the whole concept now that I have got it that I am cutting everything in sight. Before Christmas I had a hankering for a pennant die. Which I didn’t purchase when I decided to get the SnC. So yesterday evening I spent a couple of hours playing and cutting pennants out of my scraps with the machine. I got a little carried away. I think this has a lot more potential than one set of dies, sizewise. (I’m rationalising again). Anyway there are a few q & s cards I laid out last night on the desk. Thought I’d wait to check the colours in daylight - such as it is - before gluing.

Here are a few I did already. Using up ‘bits’ as usual, makes me feel very virtuous. It’s all scraps.

Anyhow, not to go on at length, if you want to know what WOYWW is go here. Leave me a comment and I’ll return the favour. Just nose about and I may drop in on you anyway, you know how it goes.

But do have a great day.

Try It On Tuesday – My Favourite things!!

Ooh how to choose? Yes it’s a very open challenge this fortnight at Try It on Tuesday because we want your project to feature your favourite things – whether that be a product, an image, a technique or a medium. Don’t forget to tell us what your favourite thing is and why!!

Well I dithered a bit, because to get all my favourite things on one project it would be the size of a large canvas. However, being sensible, for my favourite things I chose Lynn Perella Stamps, Distress inks, my favourite script background stamp, a stencil and a tag. Oh, and some mica powders but that was a bit of an accident because I forgot I had put them in the spritzer. Made it sparkly though!! Here it is after I’d finished inking, stencilling and stamping.

However I decided it needed MORE even though it was a small tag. So I stamped the word ‘dream’ which is from my favourite and seemingly everlasting set of self inking stamps from 7 gypsies. Truly I must have had these for about 10 years!! I added some black hemp twine as I love twine, even more than ribbon. I had to get in some embossing, so I triple embossed a wooden heart and then stamped into it with my favourite swirly stamp. I had to have a flower, so made a diddy one from scraps and tucked behind the heart. Found a metal embellie and added to her hat. And just because I can I added a little distress stickles. Some funky fibres and voila the finished tag. Hope you like.

 

 

 

For more DT inspiration and to link up your own project hop on over to the Try It On Tuesday blog.

See you there!!

Happy Birthday to Fantasy Stampers!!

Well, welcome to the very first challenge of 2015 from Fantasy Stampers and yes, you guessed it, the challenge is a year old! To celebrate we’d like to challenge you to create a ‘Happy Birthday’ project this fortnight – anything goes AS LONG AS YOU INCLUDE HAND STAMPING ON IT.

Clear? I hope so!! I decided to go a bit out on a limb and create a celebration banner. I just splodged, inked and stamped some plain cardstock until it looked all nice and busy then stamped some flowers and butterflies from the ‘Miss Caroline/Dolled Up’ stamp set from My Mind’s Eye. Because I am still addicted to it I cut them out using my new ScanNcut before colouring and blinging up with some glitter glue. I guess it might have been more appropriate to stamp ‘1 year old’ but I didn’t think of that till after I had done it. My bad.

I don’t know if she has received it yet but this little banner is off to our illustrious leader Jaybe to commemorate her first year running the blog – may there be many more!!

Right time to play with all those new toys you got for Christmas and add your project to the challenge here. Can’t wait to see what you do!!