LIIU - Embellish It

Welcome to another long bank holiday weekend here in the UK and I am showcasing my DT contribution for LIIU. The theme for this fortnight is - Embellish It - and the sponsor is Anna Belle Stamps  http://www.annabellestamps.com/.  AnnaBelle Stamps is an Australian craft business and offer their own exclusive line of clear photopolymer stamps made in the U.S.A., Digi stamps and papers, as well as gorgeous embellishments, twines and ribbons!  They also have weekly challenges on their blog and twice monthly a blog hop featuring one of the newly released sets with prizes!

My piece, called 'Inspire', has  numerous techniques involved in the making, -  colour wash over torn paper pieces, masking and misting, cracked paint effect, texturing with muslin AND I lost count of the number of layers of paint, ink, fabric, paper, frame, cut out stamp etc. It started as a piece of recycled card from a box and then to finish and embellish it I have used punches, glitter, pearls, butterfly, buttons, flowers and a bead. I haven't made it into a card or a hanging, but I have simply left it as a piece of art.

My shabby flower using the TH Tattered Florals die

There are at least 5 layers on this part alone. The butterfly is a MS punch. The wings are from the TH Heart Wings die.

Apart from the LIIU theme other challenges that have inspired me for this piece are -
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Buttons
Gingersnap Creations - Mists
Stamptacular - Pile It On - at least 5 layers
Sunday Stamper - Wind beneth my Wings

I used TH scallops on the edge die and Spellbinders 12" classic lace border. On the fragment piece I used alcohol inks, stamped a butterfly with archival ink and rubbed it off to see the image through the inks. I also used TH Lost and Found paper stash and cut out vintage photo mages and stuck behind the film strip.

Other Supplies
Paper Artsy Fresco Finish chalk acrylics - honey dew, london night, vintage lace, old gold.
Paper Artsy fresco Finish crackle glaze.
Paper Artsy Ink and the Dog stamps - One Penny 2
Artist acrylic paint - white
Distress stains - weathered wood, walnut stain
Distress re-inker tumbled glass
DIs - stream, slate, ginger
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists - blue skies, vanilla breeze
Spellbinders - classic frame
Ice stickles - crystal ice
Sissiz phrase die - inspire

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Grungy Monday meets Stampotique

The Key To The Secret Garden

Hi All - With DT pieces to catch up on, since coming back from Cyprus, I have only just found time to 'play', and I am enjoying every minute.

Well are you watching the wedding today? I will catch up on it later as we are all off to Thorpe Park to meet up with family who are coming up from Kent. This is a great opportunity for the younger ones to enjoy the rides while Granny looks after the little ones. Mind you I do like the water rides, so I may get a chance to have a go on them.

I hope you like this next piece of art. I am really pleased with it and have enjoyed the experimenting and playing with inks and paint and embossing powders.

I really wanted to experiment with the TH technique - a new dimension - at Grungy Monday this week. This is to create a niche for a found trinket to sit in and Tim gives a great tutorial on his blog. I also haven't entered the Stampotique challenge for a while and have several new stamps waiting to be inked and used and this week there is a great sketch to follow, so with 'anything goes' at Simon Says as well, these were my inspiration.

I coloured the mushrooms with DIs and used promarkers, the suede paint and stickles on the fairy.

The flowers were from my box and I die cut the leaves using a downloaded text paper and played with it in photoshop to get the right colours.

This shows the niche that the key is sitting in. The blog link for the tutorial is at the top of the page. I used the distress embossing powders on the key to give it more of a verdigris look.

Suppplies
Stampotique stamps - by Jill Penney and Jo Capper-Sandon
TH distrress embossing powders - peeled paint, weathered wood (on the key)
DIs - aged mahogany, peeled paint, victorian velvet, weathered wood, walnut stain, pumice stone
Stazon - timber brown
Crown suede paint - chocolate
Promarkers - satin, blushdusky pink, ivory, pear green
Sakura white glaze pen and glitter pen
Sentiment - my own
Nestie - labels one
Marianne Creatables and Crealies leaf dies
TH stamp - Nature's Moments
Tissue paper, modge podge, gesso
Stickles - crystal
Papers - TH Lost and Founf and unknown
A key from my (late) Dad's key wallet

I hope you have a great weekend. Thanks for stopping by to take a look.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

MAWTT Challenge 96 - Anything Goes

Wow there were some amazing recycling projects entered into last weeks challenge at MAWTT, it's fabulous to get so many ideas and inspiration from others.

So how are you all my dear blogging buddies? This week the lovely Pami has chosen an 'anything goes' challenge for us, so this is everyone's chance to play along.

This week we are being sponsored by The Stamp Man - another of my DT challenge blogs - and there is a fabulous set of Hero Arts stamps up for grabs.

The Stamp Man has an on-line shop, a fortnightly challenge blog and a monthly ATC challenge and swap.
The shop has a varied range of products from basic materials through to more specialised items from companies such as Ranger, Spellbinders, USArtQuest, Woodware, Moonglow and Walnut Hollow Metal.
Jill also has her well known range of 'Aspects of Design' stamps which include a brand new set called 'Framies' that can be used with the nestabilities labels range. These are fabulous designs that enable you to use them on their own or as as toppers when used with the dies. This range will soon be extended so it will be well worth popping back to the shop to see what new images and labels will be available.

Challenges that inspired me this week are -
Paper Sundaes - Sparkle and pearls
The Shabby Tea Room - Photo inspiration and butterflies - I have the wedding theme and the butterflies
Crafty Cardmakers - A Royal Wedding

My Partner In Crafting Crime - Wedding photo inspiration
Totally Gorjuss - Bling It On
CCEE Stampers - Add a butterfly

I decided to use the lovely Graphic 45 Le Romantique paper pad to make a wedding card and just hope it doesn't get seen before the big day in August. Unfortunately we are not able to attend this one as we will only just be getting back from our annual Lanzarote trip on the Thursday with the wedding being in Italy on the Friday - just too tight a turnaround.

Anyway, I have returned to embellishing and using bling for a change. I really enjoyed making this after all my recent experimentation with grungy things. The paper is just gorgeous, so I made a few embellishments - the butterflies, hearts and flowers and I added glitter and pearls to the main image and bride to the right of her and added glitter pens to the printed butterflies.

The thing that took me the most time was making the circular sentiment, I just couldn't get it right - but I persevered and am really quite pleased with it now it's finished. I used Photoshop Elements and overlaid the final image onto another paper from the G45 paper pad to get the coloured design and effect I wanted.

I'll be back tomorrow with a project I have been making for LIIU, so take care.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Divas By Design Challenge Blog

Hi Everyone - I hope you have had a great Easter weekend and we have another long weekend to come - can't be bad.

I thought I would let you know there is a new challenge blog starting on May 4th, with fortnightly challenges and oh boy this is soooo exciting. I was asked by Rebekah and Jo weeks ago to be part of the team and of course I said yes. We now have 14 members with some amazing talent so there will be some incredible inspiration for you to look at.

I hope you will come and join us as it is such a free and easy challenge blog and  we invite everyone to join in, whatever style you prefer. You may use any type of stamp or digi stamp you like or no stamp at all! You may enter any type of project (card, layout, ATC etc) as long as you follow the challenge theme. What more could you ask for?

Looking forward to seeing you there .

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Memories Book

HI All. This is scheduled as I am looking after the girls today while their Mum and Dad get on with some decorating. As the weather is so nice I am sure we will be having fun in the garden and round the park.

I showed you the cover of my next memories book this morning and for this second post for me today I would like to show you one of the pages for it.

This has been inspired by the challenge at Linda's Studio 3 blog for the Grungy Monday challenge. Being away has prevented me from entering it for the past couple of weeks but I am here and fully ready to be learning from the master himself again. The challenge this week is to use texture fades and distress. I have used this technique before on a Christmas tag, but it's fabulous to apply it in a diffrent context.

Check for the link to Tim's video to find out how to do this technique.

Would you believe I used 6 different DIs on this?

Here is the piece, now used as a pocket with a tag behind it.

This is the tag - made with an image from the Graphic 45 Le Romantique paper pad. The background is covered in DIs, spritzed with water, heat dried and stamped over.

This shows the finished page and the lace and ribbon provides a place for tags and photo mounts to be inserted.

Supplies used -
TH texture fade - retro circles
DIs - worn lipstick, barn door, dried marigold, tumpled glass, weathred wood, walnut stain
TH rubber stamp - dotted plume
Graphic 45 - le romantique papers
lace, ribbon, pearl gems

This page was also inspired by these challenges -
Sunday Stampers - All you need is love
Simon Says Stamp and Show - A Lord Tim of Holtz technique
Simon Says Stamp Challenge - Emboss it
Pile It On - Smells like rubber
Drunken Stamper - Technology Sucks

Don't forget to visit these fabulous challenges and to go see Tim's blog too.

Enjoy.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

The Stamp Man Challenge # 18 - Resist technique

Hi All    -    Happy Good Friday   -   Have you had your hot cross buns today?

It's another beautiful sunny day here in Surrey with wall to wall sunshine. What a fabulous week it has been for getting in the garden and I have done so much, it is looking very tidy and ready for summer. I even have done most of my pots with summer bedding - just waiting to get some geraniums and to do my hanging baskets and I will be done.

On to the main business of the post. Welcome to the Friday Stamp Man challenge where the lovely Lisa O is challenging us to produce a card or project that includes the resist technique. As always the challenge is sponsored by Jill at The Stamp Man and the winner will receive a £10.00 voucher to spend at the shop. There are lots of new products on-line so do go and have a look.

Now as you know I had a play last weekend and enjoyed the experience but was not inspired by what I had created, but, with my next memories book now well and truly on the make I am much happier. However I cannot show you the totally finished cover today as 'the cat will be let out of the bag' so to speak but here is the cover of the project so far
.

Supplies
Wooden book
Household paints - coral flair, duck-egg blue, lost lake, sophistication, white
Claudine Hellmuth - tacky back canvas, gesso, multi-medium matte
DIs - dried marigold, worn lipstick, barn door, weathered wood, tumbled glass
Clear embossing ink and powder
TH stamps - shabby french, tattered elements
Graphics 45 Le Romantique paper pad.
Ideaology - ornate book plate, fragment charm, grungeboard letters - alphabet soup
Cosmic twinkles - red fire
Items for embellishing from my stash

 These photos show you the 'recipe' I have followed -

The wooden book bought from the Fanborough Show earlier in the year

This shows the boards which have been primed and painted. I used multi medium to stamp onto the sticky back canvas and then washed over with watered down household paint. This was stuck over both front and back boards and spine to allow the boards to open.

See Claudine Hellmuth's tutorial - HERE

I also primed and painted the inside pages.

I used the embossing resist technique on the front cover board.

See Tim Holtz tutorial - HERE

The book is coming together.

I then started to embellish it.

I used lace, inked muslin, flowers, a fragment charm and die cut leaves, hearts and butterfly.

Painted and glittered TH grungeboard letters and coral lace have finished it off so far.

Challenges that inspired me this week are -
Sunday Stampers - All you need is love
Simon Says Stamp and Show - A Lord Tim of Holtz technique
Simon Says Challenge - Emboss it
Pile It On - Smells like rubber

So I hope we will see you at The Stamp Man Challenge for this next fortnight.

Have a great Easter weekend.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

MAWTT Challenge 95 - Recycle

Happy Thursday everyone

Today we have another challenge at MAWTT and the fabulous Lisa has chosen the theme of recycling as tomorrow the 22nd is Earth day and this fits very nicely. Also I would like to wish Lisa a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY today - the theme is recycling and she describes herself as a recycled teenager lol. Have a great day Lisa and thanks for a fab theme.

We are sponsored by Ladybug Crafts Ink  and I had a Christmas image to use this week.

Supplies
My Mind's Eye Christmas paper
Ladybugs Craft Ink Image - Carolling Magnum
Stamp - Stampendous music score
Recycled - cardboard, string, text paper, brad  and charm
DInks - pine needles, walnut stain
DStains - forest moss, antique linen, walnut stain, fired brick, vintage photo, wild honey,
Crystal Stickles
Kraft card

Do go over and see the fabulous inspiration from the DT and we have four new ladies who are joining us, so a big welcome to Debs, Kitty, Sylvia-Anne and Val. Have fun girls.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Challenges to have fun with
Papercraft Star - Earth Day and recycle
Truly Scrumptious - Vintage
Scrap Creations - Digital Images
Ladybug Crafts Ink - Anything Goes
Try It On Tuesday - Upcycling
Cupcake Craft - Lots of layers

A windy day

Hello fellow bloggers

I thought I would share a card I made last year as I am so busy with DT projects that will be coming up later in the week and haven't had a chance to make anything else. This is a shabby style card made down in Swanage on the last holiday I had with my Mum - in fact I have a few that she took a great interest in, watching what I was doing and talking about the design and materials I was using.

This was made with offcuts of DPs, a downloaded vintage image and hand made flowers. The photo speaks for itself really.

I hope you have been enjoying this gorgeous weather. I went out to meet a friend this morning at 10.30 for coffee and we sat and chatted and chatted until we realised it was 1.30 and were feeling hungry, so we stayed for lunch and I didn't get home till gone 3. It was then a couple of hours in the garden putting in the bedding plants I bought at the weekend. What a fabulous day.

Enjoy the rest of the evening.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

LIIU DT call and Featured Stampers

Hi All

Just a quickie to let you know that Let's Ink It Up have a DT call out at the moment. If you love your rubber/clear stamps then enter the current challenge and put DT beside your name. The themes for the challenges are very open and varied and there are no specific products that have to be used by the DT members. Go take a look and see what you think.
I also know there are a number of you blogging friends who use 'real' stamps who would be great as a featured stamper - click the the link here to see the current lady. This would be a fabulous opportunity if you are looking to increase traffic to your blog.
I hope you have had a good weekend. I got to do some gardening today and had intended to only do an hour or so, but came in 4 hours later. I know I am going to suffer tomorrow as I can feel the aches already. But the patio is already with pots cleared and in place to take the summer bedding. Can't wait.
Take care, enjoy your week ahead.
luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Resist practice piece

Welcome to a beautiful, bright and sunny morning here in Surrey, oh what a promise of a warm Spring and Summer to come      -         well we can dream can't we?

I haven't made a card or project for today but I have had a practice for my Stamp Man project for Friday coming. I found this tutorial - http://wn.com/Acetate_and_alcohol_inks which is a resist technique using glossy card DIs and AIs.















I love the colours and the materials I used but the TH birdcage stamp didn't lend itself well to this technique. I will keep it in my 'Inspiration Journal' though as a reminder for a future project. What I did learn is, that next time I try it, I will use black or coloured distressing powder to make the image stand out more.




When I returned from Cyprus I received these fabulous ATCs from The Stamp man ATC swap. My thanks to Torreke, Carol (no blog available) and Anita. I just love them and can see how collecting ATCs from other people can also serve as a source of inspiration for future projects. Yay.

Torreke

Carol

Anita

Have a great Sunday, I am going off to potter in the garden and later I will come and visit some of you. If I haven't got to you yet since I have been home, then many apologies but I will soon.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox