Vintage Text

I was pleased to find that Make A Moo was back up and running with new challenges! A Moo is a little card sized 2.8 x 7cm, or approximately 1.1" x 2.8". Beside this fixed size it is what you make of it! I love these challenges and the small scale that the work is made to - it is a challenge to get everything you want to on such a small space, and another bonus is you don't need to have masses of time to create something fantastic. This week's theme is Vintage Text. I hope you like my Moo's below - have a go yourselves and get creative........

Music....

I love listening to music, but have a terrible memory for who sang what and what the song is called! Music is the theme at CBH this week and I created an ATC using a music note stamp and some musical instrument peel offs. I stamped the background using distress inks first, then stamped the image again on paper and cut to smaller pieces to represent sheet music, I used distress ink to age the paper and then curled the edges to look like the leaves were blowing up. I finished by glueing this to the background and adding a few silhouette peel offs.

Dragons.....

are a favourite of mine. My Chinese zodiac sign is a Fire Dragon, so the theme at TMTA this week to create art using dragons appealed greatly. I have used a range of shades of red to create my ATC, putting down a base coat of distress inks and then using clear embossing powder on the top to stamp my dragon image in. I then stamped some lettering over the top of this, and to finish added some darker red shades to make the embossed image stand out and added some gems.

The Tribe / Indigenous People.....

is the theme over at CBH this week. So in the feel of the theme I have created an ATC using some Native American Indian stamps, stamping in stazon ink and using a masking technique to layer two different stamp images together. I then added colour using Copic markers and finished the edges with Memento ink. Having looked at other sites this also fits the TMTA theme of Red / Yellow this week too. I love the rich warm colours and how Native American Indians made the most of these vibrant colours.

Wet and Windy....

is the weather of the week, so much for Autumn having crisp sunny days to watch the leaves turn golden! TMTA this week have the theme of Thanksgiving, looking for autumn in all its glory, so here is my ATC.

Odd Creatures....

There are plenty of odd little creatures in the world, and I love the idea of using them in a piece of artwork. Such a great theme from TMTA this week. I have a stamp with a row of odd little creatures on from Prima and just had to make two ATC's for this one. I collaged a background for one and stamped the other, then added colour using copic pens and distress inks.

Newspaper....

is the theme over at TMTA this week. I created this ATC using strips of text on the background, adding chalk eye over the top. I then stamped the flower images onto the background and an extra one on a separate piece of text, this was cut out, chalked and applied to the background so the petals could be bent. I then added the hope ticket and butterflies punched out using a Martha Stewart punch.

Turquoise

The challenge this week at Gothic Arches is to use the colour of your birthstone as the basis of your design. My birthday is in December, so my birthstone is Turquoise, which happens to be one of my favourite colours too. I created my arch using a clear embossing powder on a stamp for the background, and rubbed turquoise distress ink over the top. I then stamped the tree branches and birds over the top using Azure Stazon. To finish I added gems to the centres of the clocks, and used the new Martha Stewart stamp and punch butterfly punch to add a 3D element.

Inchies

I love creating small pieces of art, and what could be better than a challenge to produce inchies! I could have added them to another piece of art like an ATC, skinny, card or 4x4, but I think they are great just as they are! I am in the process of creating a big range of different inchies, twinchies and ATC size pieces of art, so that I can then collage them together into a big mosaic piece to show them all off. So I created these three inchies for CBH on Stampbord, which will be added to the collection.

I first inked the stampbord with chalk eyes then stamped my chosen images on top. The stamps are inchie size and are from a set by Inka-dinka-do. Once stamped I then used a scratching tool to bring out textures and highlights.

Summer Sun.....

is definitely shining this week, here's hoping it lasts until the weekend! CBH this week have set the theme of summer, and when I think of that, holidays come to mind. So my interpretation is this skinny below:

I stamped the cute lion (from Magnolia) onto the background and again on a separate piece of card. I then coloured both with watercolour pencils. The leaves I punched from patterned paper and chalked the edges to define them. Then I placed the leaves around the edge of the lion, and cut the head out of the second image and layered on top with foam pads to raise it off the surface, and did the same with the top layer of leaves. I cut the grass and layered that at the front. Hope you like the end result.

Three weeks until my summer holiday starts, and counting........

Look Into A Face.....

and what do you see?

This is the theme for TMTA this week, for which I created this ATC:

First I stamped the face and masked it to stamp the crackle effect. I then added colour with chalk eye and then the beads and flowers to complete.

Recently the hours are rapidly passing into days, and the days into weeks! Where does the time go when you wish you could spend more time doing the things you really want, but just don't seem to get the chance! At least the sun is shining and the birds are singing..................

As Mad As A.......

Box Of Frogs!

What a great saying, a good friend of mine introduced me to that saying, it took me a while to really get it though. It must be a Northern thing! Frogs is the theme over at TMTA this week and I chose to illustrate another frog quote using a cute stamp by Rachelle Anne Miller. I stamped it with Stazon ink and then added colour using watercolour pencils. I then hand wrote the quote, used a fineline pen around each word, cut and adhered to the ATC. Finishing touches were added with Stickles. I love this quote, and sometimes wish we could all do this!

That Creative Thing.....

It has been a while since I have had the flair or desire to create anything worth blogging about. Thanks to all of you who have queried my absence from here, it has been a rocky couple of months. A friend and colleague went missing and the resulting outcome was not a good one, we lost a good person (even if he could be stubborn and grouchy!) Needless to say, I lost my mojo and all flair to create anything inspiring! As Karyn kindly said - my mojo went to someone else who needed it more at the time (I like to think that we all share our mojo and inspire others to create when they need the encouragement to).

Then exam time hit us at school and I became inundated with sorting out students exam requirements and chasing them for coursework! Will they ever learn that a deadline is a deadline? But the sun is now shining, and things are starting to look good again, and I have started to create for pleasure, and want to do so! So here I share with you two ATC's I created for TMTA this week on the theme of Egypt.

For the left one I stamped hieroglyphics onto greaseproof paper and added a touch of colour, then tore the edges, crumpled it and added some chalk eyes to distress to look like an old parchment. The background is created using acrylic paint and chalk eye around the edge. The parchment was added using glossy accents.

The right ATC was created by stamping King Tutenkahmun once on the ATC and again on a separate piece of paper to use as a mask. The mask was laid over the top of the stamped image and the background colour added up to the edge of it using acrylic paint. Once this was dry the mask was taken away and detail added to the stamped image using blue pen and white and gold metallic inks. Chalk eyes were used to finish the edges.

I hope you like the end results, and thanks again for your messages. I hope you are all well and each have a share of that mojo!

Home Is....

Where The Heart Is.

Most definitely true! There is nothing like getting home after a hectic day and just being able to relax and do as the mood takes you! This is a great theme from Make A Moo this week, I created my pieces using Paper Artsy and Inkadinkado stamps, collaging a background and adding a punched heart, all coloured with chalk eyes.

Using An Old Postcard

Weds Stamper this week have set the challenge to create artwork on the back of an old postcard. As I could not put my hands on one at home, I printed an image off the internet onto glossy paper to use. I then used my Tim Holtz masks with distress inks to add a pattern to the background, stamped a postage mark and flowers from Prima over the top, then punched some leaves and coloured them with chalk eyes and finally added a touch of Tattered Angels mists over the top. It was a little difficult to photograph as it was getting dark, so I will try and get a clearer shot tomorrow.

Nature

Well, what a fantastic day it has been here today, the warmest of the year so far, a balmy 20 degrees! But thunderstorms are due for tomorrow....

I did manage to get the garden straight - lawn mown, dandelions banished to the recycle bin, and flowerbeds weeded. Which put me in the right frame of mind for the Crazy Amigo challenge of nature. I created this skinny by using collage techniques,distress inks, stamps from Prima and punched shapes.

My Cat.....

is an angel....

well, sometimes maybe! As it is a free theme over at GA until next week, I decided to do an arch using on of my favourite cat quotes. I used my Cherry Pie Arts cat stamps, chalk eyes, and pages from an old book to compile this arch. Hope you like it.

Eyes...

are powerful tools, and are generally a thing of beauty. Eyes is the theme for TMTA this week and I have created my ATC using a stamp from Paper Bag Studios, added colour using chalk eyes and created dimension by re-stamping the image and adding half of it raised on top, along with the wording.

Inspired by Italy

Italy is a great country and I have visited a few different parts. My last visit to Italy was to Venice, where I had a great holiday with my sister. I chose to use Venice as my inspiration for this weeks Weds Stamper. I coloured the background with distress inks, then stamped the gondola on top. I hand drew the buildings in and added colour to them with chalk eyes. I then stamped the tickets and wording separately and applied them on top.

Cats

I have always loved cats and there has always been at least one in the household all my life. I think now it would feel strange to not have that little person bumping around your legs, jumping on your work, and chasing all manner of things around the garden. Cats is the theme for Inchy By Inch this week and I used a selection of cat stamps and chalk eyes to create mine.