The Stampman Challenge - Butterflies and Dragonflies

The latest challenge at The Stamp Man is Butterflies and Dragonflies. I decided to go for a kind of Nature Journal look for this card. The butterfly stamps are an old Hero Arts set which I haven't used in a long time!

 I stamped the butterflies in Archival Coffee ink. Then I cut out masks and over stamped with the Hero Arts Journal page stamp. I then distressed the edgess, added the ferns and layered up with an old book page. I even used my Distress Stains for the first time to distress the text page.

I used Tim Holtz tissue tape top and bottom, added a few finishing touches and it's done. I added interference pearl-ex to the butterfly wings for shimmer. Although you don't see that too well in the photo.

"A Miraculous Journey"

My Daughter's Graduation

As promised here are a couple of photos taken at Catriona's graduation ceremony on Thursday. I never managed to get many photos as it was pouring down when we arrived. Everyone was trying to get into shelter on the steps of the Caird Hall in Dundee. Then when we came out afterwards there was a very loud clap of thunder and the heavens opened again. At least she'll have the official photos to look forward too.

Despite the rain it was a lovely day and we were so proud of her. It brought back memories of my own graduation day 26 years ago ... arghhhhh. I thought her boyfriend Sean looked very smart too. He graduated on Friday.

On the steps of the Caird Hall

Catriona and her partner Sean

Graduation Day

Tomorrow is my daughter's graduation. She has just finished her degree in Fine Art. I really don't know where the last 4 years have gone. It seems like only a short time ago we helped her move into Halls for her first year. I will post the proud mother and daughter photo later. Many of out Stampaholics customers knew Catriona so might like to see the pictures!!

So this has been a bit of a hectic week. As I haven't had time to do much crafting I will show you the quick cards I made for Catriona and her boyfriend Sean's graduation. I hope to get some time to craft at the weekend (if my hubby doesn't drag me into the garden).

Card for Catriona

Card for Sean

Back from Holiday

Hi everyone

We are just back from a holiday on the beautiful island of Harris in the Outer Hebridies. And by all accounts we had much better weather than on the mainland. I did take some craft stuff with me in case of bad weather, but I am happy to say it stayed in the boxes!! So I have no crafting things to share with you today. And judging by the jungle that is my garden and the mountain of washing and ironing, I won't be crafting for a few days yet.

Thanks so much for the lovely comments on the posts that appeared whilst I was away. And I will catch up with all my favourite blogs soon!
Here a a few of my holiday snaps to bore you!! Seriously though, if you want to go some where breathtakingly beautiful, peaceful and lots of wildlife, then the Scottish west coast and islands are hard to beat. I have fallen in love with the Hebrides and hope to go back next year again.

Ben Luskentyre (one of the hills we climbed)

On the causeway between the island of Berneray and North Uist

Early morning view from our cottage (I was letting the dogs out!!)

The colours of the water are amazing!

Rory having a leisurely stroll along the beach at Luskentyre

Another amazing place - Scarista bay

Mean and moody - view from the cottage over looking Loch Tarbet

Black and White - Woodware Design Team

This weeks challenge is Black and White . 
I have used a lovely floral tile stamp from Magenta (26.053 M  Reverse Floral Frame) as my centre piece for this easel card. I have stamped it twice onto white card with black pigment ink and embossed it with clear powder. From one I have cut out the centre sqare and layered this onto black card. I have placed it diagonally onto the full tile. The corners are cut with a Woodware Inverted Corner Punch. I have added pearls and white Bonbon Candy embellishments. The platform to support the easel has been stamped with another Magenta stamp (14.589 F Solid Fern) and 3 of the flowers cut out from the tile image stamped onto scraps of white card. Add a sentiment and your done. Black and white is quite a striking theme to work with.

 

The inside was decorated with the same paper and a sentiment stamped (from a Stampendous set  (SSC 1053  Orchid Greetings).

A Bunch of Flowers - Woodware Design Team

This weeks theme is "A Bunch of Flowers".  I found this lovely flower stamp by Stampendous in my stash. I haven't used it for ages. I stamped it onto white card with Versamark and embossed with white powder. I then used  a soft yellow and two shades of pink pigment inks over the top using DTP (direct to paper). The excess was wiped off with kitchen towel to make the white outline pop. I stitched some beads onto the flower stamens and stitched a button into the centre. Woodware do great assorted button packs in different colour combinations. I keep them all in Ikea spice jars in my craft room.  The sentiment is another Stampendous stamp which I love. The maidenhair fern is one of the Leon-M punches stocked by Woodware. These punches are such great quality. But you do have to gently stand on them to cut. Don't worry they will last for years!!

I don't often do girly pink but I thought this kind of worked!!

A Bunch of Flowers

 Check out the Woodware Blog for more samples. It would be lovely if you could leave comments on the Woodware blog as this is a new feature for them and it would be great to get some feedback or reaction.

Sketch Challenge 1 - Woodware Design Team

This week the challenge is to use a sketch for the layout. After that anything goes.

I decided to keep pretty much to the basic sketch. I chose to use a favourite stamp of mine from Stampendous called "Agapanthus Cluster". I have used this stamps many times. There is another sample on my blog where I have used it in a different way. It is one of those stamps which has versatility written all over it. Why not check out all the other samples at the Woodware Blog

For the main panel, I sponged the sun through a post it note punched with the yellow Woodware circle punch. I used purple and green Tombow brush markers directly on the Agapanthus stamp then blended the edges of the panel with green ink to soften.

For the gold panel I stamped the Agapanthus heads several times using gold ink and embossing with gold powder. The long green strip was embossed with a Cuttlebug folder to add another layer of texture. I finished off with a little glitter on the flowers (which you can't really pick up in the photo) and a punched out dragonfly and some pearls.

 

 

Agapanthus Cluster

Away on Holiday

Things will be quiet on my blog for a couple of weeks as we are leaving  tomorrow morning to drive up to Skye and get the ferry to the beautiful island of Harris. I am looking forward to a couple of weeks of pottering. The scenery is stunning, the beaches quiet and lots of beautiful hills. Last year we saw an otter and an eagle, lots of seals and other wildlife.

This is a photo from last year.

Alfie doing a spot of rock climbing!!

The samples I have made for the Woodware Design Team are sheduled and will appear while I am away. Better go and finish my packing!!

Cards for Men - Woodware Design Team

This week we are featuring "Cards for Men". This is always a challenge!! I decided to dig out an old Magenta stamp featuring 3 elephants. It is still current and available from Woodware stockists. I have used this on many occasions in the past for male birthdays and also "Sorry I forgot". I tend to put something inside along the lines "An elephant never forgets..... but sadly your Aunty Siobhan does" . For a card maker I am a bit hopeless at times!

Deep Impression Embossing

 Here is the finished sample. I build up about 3 or 4 layers of gold and copper embossing powders on a piece of mountboard cut slightly bigger than the stamp. Whilst still hot I stamped into the molten powder to give this lovely textured piece. I then brushed over a little pewter pearl-ex powder to highlight the elephants. The dotty grasses (also a Magenta stamp) were stamped in Brilliance Crimson Copper ink along the bottom of the paper.

Check out the other DT member's cards  at the Woodware Blog

Your my Favourite -Penny Black Challange

This month's challange from Penny Black at Allsorts is to pick your favourite stamp. What can I say - I have so many favourites. I decided to go with the cute one's for a change. I love the Penny Black mice and bunnies in particular. I especially love the Penny Black tryptich style. And this one of the little mice in the walnut shells is just so cute.

I have used this for lot's of occasions including "Happy Retirement"

Then I found another one I love which is the little bunny and bird in the garden. I don't know which is my favourite out of these two. I will let you decide.

I don't do much in the way of cute these days, so I hope you like them!!

Shabby Chic - Grungy Monday

I have just found a new challenge site that I love. At Studio L3 there is a weekly Tim Holtz technique challenge. This week it's "Shabby Chic". I remember one of the tutors (my friend Liz) showed this technique at a workshop a couple of years ago. And when I tried it I was hooked.

I have used it as the background for this little bird hanging. I am going to re-do the bird as I am not happy with the finish. If you haven't already tried this technique, check out the tutorial on Sir Tim's blog and be inspired.

Shabby Chic

Also check out all the inspiring samples on Linda's blog

Less is More - Week 17 Pick a Square

Well this is definately a very minimal card. This challenge is always a tough one for me but one I quite enjoy. Hop over to see lots of other lovely samples at Less is More
This week we have to pick a square from the 5 square plan. And this is where we place our image. I have boringly gone for the centre. I have chosen to make a faux batik glass tile. This is a fab Tim Holtz technique which is a kind of reverse resist. Firstly you build up several layers of alcohol inks on o memory glass tile (this is a 2 x 2 inch). Let it dry then ink up your stamp with an archival ink. The colour doesn't matter as the oil based ink lifts the alcohol ink to give a negative image. Stamp the image ( a solid image works best) and immediately buff with a soft cloth or kitchen towel, to reveal the image. When it works it is lovely.

Turn the tile over so the alcohol inks are underneath and stick to a light colour (white works well) to see the batik effect. I did this technique once at a workshop and it went down quite well. The stamp I have used is from a Stampin Up set - Just Believe. The technique is on the first Tim Holtz DVD for any one interested.

Here it is on the finished card. As it is a messy technique I tend to make a few of these at a time.

Wedding Day - Woodware DT

Well here is my first post for the Woodware Design Team. This week the theme is "Wedding Day". I have used a stamp from a Magenta Cling set CSET25 "Retro Romance". This is a lovely set - very modern and great for wedding cards, engagement, anniversary etc.

For the pink version I have embossed the heart square using white embossing powder, then DTP (diect to paper) over the top with a couple shades of pink. You then wipe off with kitchen towel to make the image pop. I have glittered the heart with fine crystal glitter and added a few pearls. The fern leaf is a favourite punch called Evergreen also available from Woodware stockists.

Here is a little more detail of the heart square. I also sponged the white flower tips with Brilliance Orchid pearlescent ink.

I think this would also be a nice design to use in Wedding stationary. Here is a different colour using the same resist technique.

Why not check out the Woodware Blog to see what the other DT members have come up with.
 We would be delighted to get feedback. This is just the start!!

Crafty Individuals - Free as a Bird

It's my Wedding Anniverary today. We just got home after a nice meal and I have just found out  that I was a winner in the Crafty Individuals "Free as a Bird" challenge. I am absolutely delighted. I really enjoyed this project. I have been a fan of this stamp range for several years and stocked alot of them in my shop. So thanks to Isabella Norris for chosing such a perfect challenge and for choosing me as one of the winners.

There were some fantastic entries, so if you haven't already seen then why not hop over and check them out.
Crafty Individuals Blog

The Stampman Challenge - #23 Recipe

This fortnight's challenge from the The Stamp Man is "Recipe". It is based on a bingo card idea where you have to chose either a vertical line, horizontal line or a diagonal line.

Blue	Embossing powder	Stitches (real or faux)
Torn/ripped	Ribbon	Red
Die cut	Homemade background (no patterned paper)	Sparkle and bling

I went for the top horizontal line i.e. Blue, Embossing Powder and Stitches. My entry is pretty simple. I stamped the background paper with Cobalt blue. I created some faux stitching around the edges by pricking the holes through my Tim Holtz rular and then used a navy blue pen to join up the dots. I find this far easier than trying to drag my sewing machine out!!

My umbrella man was coloured with dark blue ink, stamped with a script stamp then triple embossed with clear embossing powder. My clock was stamped in the centre by cutting a nestability circle the right size and stamping through the hole in the paper.

The sentiment is a Tim Holtz stamp and currently my favourite.

I love my umbrella man. I have also just finished a note book with him on the front, along with the same sentiment. This was for my friend Elizabeth's birthday.

Woodware Design Team Blog - Starts Today!!

Today saw the Woodware blog kick off. It is a challenge blog for anyone that wants to have a go. This week the theme is Wedding. Francoise Read was the first to post her sample. I never thought I would end up on a design team with someone like Francoise. I have admired her work since I started stamping! My first sample goes on Friday. Please have a look if you have time Woodware Blog
I only had time to make a birthday card tonight that should have been in the post today. It is for a friend who likes fashion so I thought this would do. The stamp is a newish one from Crafty Individuals which I love and not a single bird in sight!!!
Anyway I thought I would share it with you.

Less is More - Butterflies

Even when I am busy, I love this challenge because you have to keep it simple. As soon as I saw that the theme this week was butterflies, I knew straight away which butterfly stamp to use. This is an old Penny Black image from their Brush Strokes range. I used 3 coulours of brush markers directly on the stamp and spritzed with water to blend the colours. For the border, I masked off a strip and blended Stormy Sky Distress for the background colour and over stamped with the same colour. The sentiment is from Stampendous.

Less is More - Take Two

Less is More - Butterflies

Following a couple of comments from the ladies at Less is More I quickly re-did this card and you are right!! It doesn't need the border. It is actually quite difficult to really embrace the "Less is More" concept. I will try harder next time!!

A Card for Catriona

What a hectic week it's been!! I am looking forward to some rest and relaxation this weekend. Last night we were through to Dundee to be with my daughter Catriona for the opening of this year's Degree Show at Dundee College of Art. She has just finished her degree in Fine Art. It was a really good night and we all went for a meal afterwards. Her theme was Hollywood Icons so I tried to make a card to fit her theme. As usual I was rushing at the last minute, but she seemed to like it!!

Card for Catriona

Now I need to get the thinking cap on for her graduation card for June!!

Here is a photo from the degree show of proud Mum, Catriona (in about 4" heels!!) and my niece Nico who came through from Glasgow to be there for Catriona.

A Little Bird

This week I have been busy at work and not feeling much like crafting by the time I get home. Never mind, we are of to Harris in two weeks time for our holiday. We were there last year and enjoyed it so much we are going back to the same place. Plenty of beautiful, quiet beaches, lots of wildlife and hills as well. What more could you want. And we take the dogs. They love going on holiday!!

I was asked to make a friendship card for someone, so I made this with one of Crafty Individuals bird stamps. The only brief was that the recipient likes blue so hopefully this will fit the bill.

Circle Journal

This post is really to confirm the members of our circle journal group. I think the final list is :

Linda Turner, Liz Urquhart, Lin Connolly, Liz Young, me, Maggie Higham, Sue and Erin Veitch and Isobel Hynd. Margaret Clark - we are probably not starting until September if you want to join in.

Lin - could you please e-mail me at siobhanfyffe@gmail.com  I don't seem to have your e-mail address and it would be good to catch up!!

What I would suggest is that we meet late August to discuss how to get started. Myself, Lin, Linda and Liz were all members of the last group so know the score. So we can bring our journals along to show the others.

I would suggest we keep the format 8x8. That seemed a good size before - not too big or too small. And you could start thinking of a theme. Try to pick something that interests you, but also one you feel the others would enjoy as well. Here are another couple of pages to give you an idea of the sort of things we did before. This was my efforts for Jean's journal. Her theme was "Oriental Dolls". Jean gave each of us a stamp to us. I ended up with an odd looking one called "Zen"