WOODWARE - Sketch 37 Challenge

This month's sketch challenge at Woodware was set for us by our very own Jane. I love using parts of stamps to build up a mosaic of pieces. And with so many beautiful Stampendous stamps to chose from, these are fun to make. I usually punch out more squares than I need, but they just get put in a box to use another time!!
Here is the sketch :

And here is my take on the sketch:

The background was built up with blended dye inks and a mask, followed by some soft stamping. I am sure you are bored rigid as I use this technique all the time!! I recently acquired this Mascil and used by sponging ink through in places for a softer effect.

I love masks and I must try to use them more!!

The rest is straight forward. A couple of the images were white embossed to act as a resist to the inks blended over them. I then ironed off the embossing to leave a flat surface. That allows you to add a little stamping detail over the top.

I love the little Stampendous bird. It is definitely in my top ten favourite and most used stamps.
Check out the Woodware blog to see what the other girls make this week. Yesterday Debs made great little flowers from Card Candi. She has a tutorial on her blog on how to make them. I might give them a go myself!!
That's it for this week from me. Next week we are working with canvas. That should be interesting. But for now the ironing board is calling, my husband needs work shirts!!
Siobhan x

WOODWARE - What's Your Favourite ....

This week at Woodware we have been asked to pick our favourite tool. I decided to pick rubber stamps as my favourite tool. An artist uses brushes, pens, pencils etc to draw or paint. I would love to be able to paint or draw but was never happy with what I did. Then I discovered rubber stamps and a whole new world of creativity opened up to me. The stamp was just the starting point as you could do so much with them.
I have made a simple tag this week as I have been away and not had a lot of time. But hopefully it demonstrates that an empty white tag can be transformed with layers of stamping.

On the main tag I used white acrylic ink on a script stamp and stamped all over a white tag. Once dry I blended pink and soft brown inks over the script which acts as a resist. I added a filigree border across the top. 

Around the edges of the tag I have used some Stampendous Shabby Pink Frantage powder.
The rest doesn't need much explaining. The black dress was a big Woodware dress punch. I covered a scrap of black card with double sided adhesive film. I punched out another couple of dresses and stuck them all together for a bit of strength. Then I peeled off the top coat of the film and covered with crystal glitter for a lovely sparkly little black dress.

A few buttons and a little vintage lace along the bottom finish off my tag.
I love making tags as they are a nice size and I like to put them together on book rings and hang them on my desk. They are great for inspiration when Mr Mojo has left the building!!
I hope you have enjoyed inspiration this week on the Woodware blog ... it has been a good week!!
Siobhan x

Woodware and Dreamweaver - Christmas in August Blog Hop

Yes! It's that time of year again! The time when we inspire crafters on both sides of the "pond" with a mix of both Dreamweaver andWoodware UK* products for the holidays! Six days, SIX, of beautiful, elegant, merry, cute, artsy, and craftsy projects to have you heading out to your local stores or internet sites to buy these goodies immediately!

Of course, there will be prizes as well. Three prize packages will be given to three commenters during this week's posts on the team's blogs, including five stencils and one nested die set. You can have an opportunity to win these goodies by leaving some holiday sweetness for each team member posting each day, to be one of the three winners for the week. Here are the team members that are inspiring you today:

Dream it Up

Woodware UK

Louise Healy

Pam Hornschu

Lynn Mercurio

Gill Wilson

Siobhan the Recovering Stampaholic (that's me)

Here is my creation:

I used the Dreamweaver Noel stencil. It is such a simple design but one I have used lots. I stencil embossed first onto white pearlescent card stock. I added colour to the letters with a stencil brush and pigment inks using a circular movement rather than stippling for a more blended look. Then I pasted the snowflake with white paste and covered with ultra fine crystal glitter.

The Woodware element comes from the Christmas script stamp which I embossed with detail silver powder. A die cut snowflake is a simple finishing touch.

We are getting near the end of this blog hop but I am sure you will agree, there have been some great samples this week. So much inspiration from talented crafters. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have.

Remember to leave comments on any blog posts you have liked as there are prizes to be won.

Have a great weekend. I am away to Ireland to see my family for a few days. My sister is a crafter too so I am looking forward to seeing what she has been up to!!

Siobhan x

WOODWARE - Midsummer's Day

 This week our retailer theme has been chosen for us by Teresa of Philpotts they are an online store with a lovely website and blog which is peppered with inspiration you can find them at Philpotts.com and don’t forget to visit there blog PhilpottsBlog you can also find them on Facebook.
 I am last to post this week for the Woodware DT blog. The theme set for us is "Midsummer's Day". I always associate Midsummer as having long evenings with big sunsets and sitting out with a glass of wine to watch the sun go down. This year I was in Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides in May. We had so many wonderful sunsets to enjoy and a fair few glasses of wine were drunk!!
So I thought a setting sun would be perfect for my take on this week's theme.

I blended dye inks for the background, added the sun and then dropped some flicks of water to add interest. Then I used several shades of greens and browns in the stamping to create depth. The stamps are all Woodware ones designed by Jane Gill. I wanted it to feel like sitting in a meadow watching the sun go down. I also embossed a few of the grasses on the final layer as if the sun was turning then golden in the light.

These days people seem to be going back to one layer cards to cut down the postage. I love to build layers with stamping. 
Sadly the weather does not look good for this weekend but hope you enjoy it whatever you are doing.
Siobhan x