The Stampman - Poppy Mirror

This is the third year that The Stampman are holding their Annual Awards. They have asked for us to show our best or favourite piece of work we have created over the past year. Not an easy task, choosing, for looking back, it has been a prolific year for me, for I am now on three Design teams. However, the item I have chosen is my favourite for personal reasons. I altered this cheap IKEA mirror for a friend for a gift, which was in September this year. I first painted the mirror with blackboard paint. I stamped the Poppies and the lettering with Elusive Images stamps, the butterfly is from Lyndsay Mason stamps. I used several shades of TH Distress Inks to watercolour paint the images. The images are glued on rather than stamped directly onto the board.

Your Choice - Not Christmas!

Today I found an interesting challenge blog, called  the Rainbow Lady's Challenge Blog. Thanks to the wonderful service provided by the Feline Playful blog, their logo is in my side bar. At the Rainbow Lady's blog, it seems this week we are able to make our own Choice. As much as I love Christmas, it will be a few weeks before I want to even think of making a Christmas card. I aim each year to make at least one a week, during the normal non Christmas card making time. I hope this non seasonal card will fit in for the challenge.

List of goodies used.

TH Distress Inks, Mustard Seed, Dried Marigold and Wild Honey.

Post It Note Circle for the Moon/Sun

Stamps

Verse - Elusive Images

Grasses - Birds - Inkylicious.

Memento Tuxedo Black Dye Ink

Merry Christmas and Happy Boxing Day

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas Day and have either a nice relaxing, or hectic but fun day planned for today Boxing Day. My cold is slowly improving, but I greatly enjoyed today. I will add some pics over the next few days. It was my birthday today on the 25th, so for a change we decided to have a big buffet and guess what I had my very FIRST Birthday Cake, everyone thought it was time I had a birthday, but we still all swapped our Christmas presents. Tomorrow -Boxing Day we will be joined by my younger son and his family when we will be tucking in to a traditional Christmas Day lunch. I have been so confused ovet the past few days, but all is now prepared for the lunch tomorrow, so I'm off to bed. Many thanks to all of my friends for the beautiful birthday cards, it's so special having such wonderful crafty friends.

Sorry not blogging

Hi friends in blogland. I'm sorry I'm not being very active at present, I have a rotten cold and am feeling as you can imagine. I WILL be okay tomorrow evening and on Sunday and Monday when the family are visiting. MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of my Followers. many thanks for your support over the last year. will be popping back soon over the next day or so.

Anything Goes Week at TIOT

At this time of year, everyone is so busy, if you do have the luxury of being able to slip away and spend some creative time we at Try It On Tuesdays are giving you the opportunity to please yourself. We are asking for Anything Goes. Whatever you feel like making, last minute gifts or something for yourself. Why not pop over, for the design team have had a ball playing. Talking of balls, well baubles actually, these are three baubles I decorated from polystyrene foam balls which are relatively cheap. They are easy to make, but it does take  patience and time, though you can probably sit during your favourite TV programme and make a few.
I was shown how to make these a few years ago, by a wonderful lady. I think there may be instrucitions on You Tube, if not, and if I received any requests, I will for next year add the instructions to my Tutorial Blog.
Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas for you and yours. Hugs Caz

Seasonal Tag at MMM

 

Our challenge for the next two weeks is for a Seasonal Tag at Make My Monday.  It will be our last challenge for 2011, for we are having a week's break over Christmas.  The DT have made a fabulous collection of tags, please pop over to see them all. We have an exciting programme ahead for 2012, we are so looking forward to the future challenges. It would be nice if you made a New Year resolution to tune in to us each week to check out our challenges. For my Seasonal Tag I stayed in my comfort zone, stamping. I used a piece of plain white card, Mediterranean Blue Brilliance ink pad,  a favourite Santa of mine, a snowflake stamp, a Happy Christmas greeting and of course some glitter. Matted onto a silver holographic card. I'm not sure whether it shows on the pic, I added some Glossy Accents to his glasses. Have fun, I look forward to visiting you over the next few weeks. I would like at this time to wish each and everyone of you who have supported us at Make My Monday since we started, and to those who have joined us along the way, a very Happy Christmas or if more appropriate Happy Holidays.

Around the World at Fashionable SC

For the next two weeks at Fashionable Stamping Challenges. - Christmas time makes us think of all our loved ones who can’t be with us, so we have decided to travel the world and keep them in our thoughts. It could be with a postcard, or you could visit a country, take a suitcase, send a letter, go by car, boat, train, plane, the list is endless, but more than anything have fun with your project and think of all those families who, for whatever reason, will not be able to spend time together this Christmas. I decided to hop on a plane and go to visit a carnival in Rio de Jenaro. I enjoyed spending the time in 'blinging' up this crd with glitter, jewels and Sakura glitter pens. The stamp of the dancer is an old one from Rubbadubbadoo, isn't she wonderful in all of her feathers and finery? Please pop over to the blog for the remainder of the design team have excelled themselves with some fabulous travel projects and again our leader Shirley and the wonderful Andrew have provided us with an exciting platform to present them. I look forward to checking in on your travel project.

A gift to treasure.

With great saddness I was told of the sudden passing of a crafting friend. Mandy 59 - Mandy Honer, in Yorkshire. I 'met' Mandy through the Do Crafts ATC Forum, many years ago, she was one of the first persons I swapped ATCs with. Over the past 5 years we had met at least four times, chatted on line and became good friends. Mandy was a warm, frinedly, loving and a wonderfully creative person. I will treasure the box she gave to me, which I wanted to share with you. It is covered in gold flakes, beads and a few jewels with an adorable little verse, which was sent to me at a time when she knew I was in need of a hug.  I pass on my sympathies to her family and her many grandchildren, each of whom she was so thrilled and proud. I will miss Mandy but feel I have part of her love with me in the little box. RIP my friend.

Gift Tags Galore at try it on Tuesdays

This week is Tags week at Try it on Tuesdays , and of course being the time of the year it is we would like to see Gift Tags Galore. On my first one I stayed with the traditional green and reds and used a tree and reindeer stamp. On my second tag which I am also entering into Let It Snow at St. Luke's Charity Card Challenge  I used the snowman and snowflakes stamps. All the stamps are by Inkadinkado from various sets. All the inks are Ranger's Distress Inks. I do hope you will pop to both blogs and take a peek and even enter into the fun. I know we are all so busy, I'm late, but better near the end than missing it. have fun.

Let it Snow - St. Luke's

It's quite late for me to be entering my card into the St. Luke's Charity Card Challenge, but then it's a busy month for everyone isn't it?  This stamp is from Kanban, I first created the background with a watercolour wash, using DI Broken China. I coloured the trees with watercolour pencils and stamped the deer with Vintage Photo. The circular sentiment is of course a free stamp from Craft Stamper magazine.

Sad News

I was saddened to read, on 12th December,  of the sudden passing of Sarah Lawrence, the founder creator of Crafty Notions. I always made sure to watch her when on Create and Craft. I found her to be so enthusiastic, inspiring and of course creative. I would like to share this sad news with other crafters who may not be aware. I wish to convey my condolonces to her husband and family, friends and colleagues. RIP

A Red Ribbon

During December at Make My Monday, our theme is for a SEASONAL PROJECT,  our requirement for this week is for you to add a  RED RIBBON.  My fellow DT members have made some awesome cards, so please be sure to pop over to the blog. 3 of my older grandchildren this year have asked Santa for money, so they can have the fun in spending it. A reasonable request, but not as exciting as to watch them open a parcel or two. I made wallets so I can pop in their cash, at lest they will have something festive to open.
The template is so easy, cut a piece of red card to measure 19cm wide x 23cm in length.
 Score full width at 8 cm, repeat at 16 cm. Fold up the lower section. On this 3rd section, from the lower left corner place a ruler at an angle up to approx 1cm from  the first fold, draw a line , then cut it out.
With double sided tape or a little glue adhere at the edge, the highest section only to the middle section.
I then adhered the ribbon at the centre of the folded over front secdtion. Cut a dark green mat adhered to the front of the wallet, which hides the adhered ribbon.  Cut a piece of cream card, stamped Merry Christmas, embossed with gold E.P. I then stamped with various red, green and gold inks using my Poinsettia set of tapestry peg stamps. Adhere to the dark green mat. Thanks for visiting my blog, I appreciate the time it takes. These wallets are so easy to make and of course with different colours and stamping they can be used for any money giving occasion.

The Big Guy

This week at Try it on Tuesdays it is card week, so you could win a £10.00 voucher from One Stop Card Crafts, please see their logo in my side bar. We know The Big Guy, throughout the world by so many names, I personally love the sound of Kris Kringle, from one of my all time favourite movies, Miracle on 42nd Street.
We know him as either Father Christmas or as Santa Claus. We are giving the centre stage to him this week. Everyone must have at least one stamp, there are those of us who are greedy and have more, I took a while to decide which one to use. I decided on A Visit from Santa by Paperartsy. I used a Brilliance ink pad, Meditteranean Blue for all the stamping, the snowflakes and the greeting.  I hope you like him in monochrome. I look forward to visiting your blogs to say hello to you and your Santas.
Greeting stamp by Tandastamps

Let's see glitter at MMM

Here we are the first week in December, how the times flies. This is the first week of our esteemed group leader, Jacqueline's choice of Anything Goes as long as it is Seasonal, Chritmas, New year, weather, anything you like. The first week, we are asking to see  GLITTER. Mine is yes, another Christmas card. I made a scenic card, which all started with tearing apiece of copy paper for the skyline and snow. I coloured the sky with Distress inks, Faded Jeans and Broken China, with a light touch of Chipped Sapphire around the edges. The small trees were later stamped across the horizon. I made the dear off the card, painted and glittered him, then glued him to the card. The spruce branches are stamped onto the card using Memento Cottage Ivy ink. Using a glue pen and Jones Tones, my absolute favourite snow glitter, sprinkled here and there. I hope you enjoy my card, thanks for your visit.

Stamps used Spruce and Deer from Sheena Douglas by Creative Expressions

Horizon trees from Elusive Images Trees set.

Dressmaking/Corsets at Fashionable Stamping

For the next two weeks at Fashionable Stamping Challenges we would like to see your creations which fit the theme of Dressmaking, Corsets and or Acessories. I'm really looking forward to visiting you all, I was unable to visit last week and leave comments due to computer problems, but I so don't want to miss your entries over the next two weeks. I actually don't have any dressmaking stamps, apart from one sad lonely sewing machine, so I concentrated on the corset theme. the front of the card I used a TH pink sheet from the Shabby stash , coloured it more with Worn Lipstick and Fired Brick Distress inks. I stamped the lady twice, once on plain card so I could colour her face, hair and the background of the chair. the 2nd stamping was onto a piece of small print pretty red paper to give her an interesting dress, which was then decoupaged onto the first stamped image.  I added a small piece of gold chain for a necklace. I made the two larger red flowers with the spiral technique. The computer image of A lady's BEST kept secret is.... meant to entice you to open the card... inside which are several variations of her corsetry. -her Underwear.

Stamps used La Blanche for the lady - another £1 bargain

The Corset is from Bavura stamps from E - Bay.

Thanks for looking at  my blog and this card, I hope it inspires you, in any small way.