The Stamp Man - Anything Goes Celebrations

The latest challenge at The Stamp Man is entitled "Celebrations". I must admit I found this one quite difficult even though there are loads of occasions to celebrate. And then because I couldn't make up my mind I ended up last night having to make something quickly. I started with the Aspect of Design "Antique Script with Keys" stamp. By the time I had that layered up, I had the idea of making it into a more masculine 21st birthday card.

 I used Squeezed Lemonade, Scattered Straw, Mustard Seed and Vintage Photo for my blended background. Then I built up some layers of stamping for depth.

I dug out some of my Tim Holtz Ideology "Numerals" to add and then embossed them with copper powder. T turned out really nice!!
The "Time to Celebrate was a free stamp ages ago from The Craft Stamper magazine. 

 
 As a finishing touch I added the key and Bob's your uncle or your 21 year old nephew!!
So if you would like to join us at The Stamp Man then come up with your take on a celebration and be in with a chance of winning a £10 voucher.
 
Our circle journal group are off for a picnic tomorrow weather permitting!! Better go and look out the wellies. Hope you have a good weekend whatever you are doing.
Siobhan x
 

Woodware DT - Zentangle

This week we have been asked to to some zentangle. Luckily I had bought a book on it at the last craft fair in Glasgow. And I took the stuff I needed on holiday with us so I could have a play. But we were blessed with good weather and the zentangle stuff never got taken out of the bag. So this week I had to have a quick go and come up with a sample to post today. 
So I dug out my Dreamweaver outline stencils and found the two ginger jars. Once I got started I quite enjoyed it and can easily see how it can become addictive. So please be forgiving as this was my first attempt but I am sure I will get better with a bit of practise.

 

Once i finished layering up I used a script background paper and a Chinese coin to finish off.

The coin was finished off with a couple of cocktail sticks coloured with black ink and a bit of silver thread wrapped around the sticks. 

There have been some brilliant samples of Zentangle on the Woodware blog this week. Be sure to check them out. I love the fact that you can stamp out or draw your outline, then all you need is a fine tipped black pen.
Hope you have a good weekend. 
Siobhan x

Not Much Crafting

Well it has been quite a few weeks. My son Paul left last Sunday on the start of his big adventure to Canada. I would love to say it all went smoothly. But true to form and his laid back nature, the last couple of weeks before Paul left were truly memorable!! He has left a trail of devastation which will take us some considerable time to sort out!! But by the skin of his teeth he got his flight last Sunday. At least I was spared a lengthy and tearful goodbye. And thanks to facebook I know he is still alive and well and made it to Atlanta in time for his best friend's wedding.

So this weekend I have just been a bit shell shocked and not getting much done. So I thought I would share a few of my holiday photos from the beautiful Hebridian island of South Harris.

View from our holiday cottage

Seals just below cottage

Alfie playing ball on the beach

Seilbost beach

Rory and Graham

 

 

An amazing sky one night just before sunset

Oyster Catcher taking off

Scarista Beach

Mol Ban - our home for a fortnight

Binoculars and a glass of wine - my favourite seat!!

I love the Scottish Islands. They are a great place to go to unwind!!
Siobhan x

Woodware DT - Grey and Chartreuse

The colour theme for this weeks project was chosen by our American DT member Pam. She makes a lot of gorgeous samples for Stampendous and Dreamweaver and her blog is well worth checking out. She gave us a lovely photo of this colour scheme used for a living room.


 Not normally a colour combination I would choose but I actually like it!! Here is my interpretation of the brief.

I used the lovely Stampendous stamp CRF215 Profile Portrait which I stamped in a soft grey. I blended the background with shades of yellows and greens to try to achieve the feel of Chartreuse. I added some layers of stamping for depth.

I used a combination of embossing powders around the edge (Lettuce, Champagne and Aged Silver - all Stampendous) to give it a Frantaged look.

The words were computer generated and cut out. Really as a reminder to myself!!! Stampendous have a stamp which says "Enjoy Life's Simple Pleasures" which would do nicely. It's on my shopping list!! And then I made a paper rose to finish off.
Join us next week when we have a go at Zentangle. That should be interesting!!

Woodware - Anything But a Square or a Rectangle

I was allowed to have a bit of time off the Woodware team. Kim Reygate did a great job taking my place for a while. But now I am back. This week we were asked to make something that wasn't a square or rectangle. So it's another quickie from me as I am knee deep in boxes. As some of you know my son Paul is heading off on his big adventure to Canada. He leaves on Sunday and so all his belongings have been coming home. What was meant to be two trips to Glasgow turned into now four!! I am trying to get my head together so that I am not a blubbering wreck at the airport!!
I made a little triangle card for my project. I am last up this week and there have been some lovely ideas from the other girls, but thankfully no triangles.

I used a lovely clear set designed by Francoise called Oriental Ladies. There's not much to tell, it literally took 15 mins. The most time consuming part for me was cutting out my geisha girl...I hate cutting out!!

I coloured her with watercolour pencils and added some pink nail heads to her fan. I used a Woodware punch for the flowers and the floral punch art stamen punch for the centres. I finished off with a few pearls. 

 I made a template to cut out my card blank. This one fits nicely into a 6 inch square envelope.

The Stamp Man - Summer Colours

It's my turn to host the latest challenge over at The Stamp Man. The challenge is "Summer Colours - Anything Goes". So you can pretty much make anything you like as long as you chose vibrant summer colours. With all this awful rain, it doesn't feel much like summer. So we will just have to create it in our art work!!
I chose a Cling Hero Arts stamp CG288 Leaf Cluster. I wanted to use the same stamp for the focal point and for my background. This is a great technique for a quick card. As I have quite a lot on just now, quick cards are very useful right now. But that doesn't mean to say, you can't create a lovely card!!

For the main image I used several colours of distress inks....mustard seed, spiced marmalade, wild honey, peeled paint and barn door. I inked up the entire stamp with mustard seed. Then added the other colours from lightest to darkest, finishing with barn door. Use the corner of the pad for more control. Then spritz lightly with water and stamp. The new distress markers give you even more control. I have some of these but none of the vibrant summer colours!! 

Then for the background I blended Wild Honey, Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade and just a touch of Barn Door. Splatter with water for a lovely distress effect. Then I inked up the clean stamp with Versamark and spritzed with water. Stamp and lift and watch the magic happen. Repeat until happy then heat set. I use this technique so much because I love creating layers of stamping. Then I lightly stamped using spiced marmalade - stamping a couple of times before re inking. Hopefully you can see the effect.

 For more inspiration, pop over to The Stamp Man to see what the Design team have been up to. Remember that there is a £10 voucher for the winner, which I will have to pick after the closing date!!

Woodware Design Team - Sketch Challenge 14

Hi Everyone.....!! Yes I am back. I have had a bit of time away from my craft room. As some of you know I had a few months of not feeling very well and everying was getting a little too much. Dorothy kindly gave me a month off the Woodware team and I resigned from some other commitments. I am starting to feel better and I am recently back from two weeks holiday in Harris. My son leaves for Canada in two weeks time so we have also been helping him get all his belongings back home. I am trying to get my head round to the fact that he could be away for a couple of years and may even settle out there if things work out. Thank goodness for e-mail and Skype, at least it will be easier to keep in touch.

Anyway to cut a long story short, I am back and hope to catch up with a lot of my favourite blogs and try and get back into crafting over the next few weeks. Thanks for those of you who sent lovely e-mails to wish me well. They really cheered me up. And a big thanks to the lovely Kim Reygate who filled in for me at Woodware during June. Her samples were all gorgeous.

This week at Woodware it's a sketch challenge and I am first to kick off!! All this football is taking it's toll. As I write this hubby is next door about to watch the European cup final ... best to stay out of the way I think.
Here is the sketch :

And here is my sample : 

I missed the metal challenge last week so I thought I would have a go using metal for my background. I used aluminium tape bought from a DIY superstore. I applied it to a sheet of card stock and then added lines and rivets etc with some metal tools. I covered the whole panel with brown and black alcohol inks and then sanded it to reveal this cool effect. I wanted it to look a bit like the metal on the side of a ship. 

The Stampendous steam boat CRP 155 was the perfect image for my focal point. I silver embossed some  metal cogs from another Stampendous set Steampunk Gears SSC 1143 on the black strip of card.

I added a Happy Birthday and some black nail heads (silver ones coloured with a black permanent marker) for the finishing touch.

I have just noticed my steam boat is listing a bit!!

Hope you all have a good week.

Siobhan x

Woodware DT - Invitations

 

I am last to post this week for Woodware. We were asked to make an invitation. The other girls have made some lovely ideas for wedding, anniversary and birthday invitations. So I thought I would make a Christening card.
I have this lovely Magenta stamp called "Babies Square". What I love about it is it's simplicity. 
Although I love cute baby cards, I find this has a certain appeal all of it's own.
Again I am into simple at the moment and I teamed it up with a beautiful new Dreamweaver stencil.

 
  
This recent release is called "Art Nouveau Background". Gone are the days of laborious hand embossing. Just put it through your Cuttlebug with a silicone rubber mat and it's embossed in seconds. Which makes it so much easier if you are making several invitations.

The card is very simple. To retain the intricate detail of the image I stamped the babies square on to glossy card set. The invitation is from an old Woodware wedding set that Francoise designed several years ago, but one I still use from time to time.
The ribbon is a Woodware organza with white dots.

This is my last DT post for a while. I am taking a bit of time off. But I will be back in July hopefully fully recharged and raring to go.
Hope you continue to check out the amazingly talented girls on the Woodware DT. The lovely Kim Reygate is taking my place in June. I love her work and I am sure you will too!!
Have a great weekend whatever you are doing over the jubilee weekend.
Siobhan

Make it For a Man - The Stamp Man Challenge

This time at The Stamp Man we have been tasked with the challenge of making something for a man. I have cheated a bit this time. I haven't been feeling too well presently, nothing serious just a bit run down and the menopause!!! By the time I get home from work I just kind of run out of steam. After several months of this I have now relented and gone onto HRT, so fingers crossed I will be back to normal soon.
So for this challenge I used a card I have made before, but it's one that I have made several times because it's quick and easy and who doesn't like elephants. 

Basically I blend distress inks for the background. Then I use a paper mask to create the line of hills in the distance. Add the setting sun through a circle mask. Then I stamp the baby elephant. Mask him and stamp his mother so that she appears behind him. Add the tree and birds and a suitable sentiment and your done. 
All the stamps used are Tim Holtz made by Stampers Anonymous. I absolutely adore these elephants and use them often. And of course I had to add my signature birds.
There are some great samples from the other DT members so be sure to pop over for a look. And if you want to enter this challenge then all you have to do is make a card for a man!! And there is a £10 voucher up for grabs.
My mantra for men's cards is "Keep it Simple" Most men won't care whether you have spent 10mins or 2 hours on a card!! I am sure there are a few exceptions!!

Woodware DT - Sketch Challenge

 

We have another sketch challenge this week at Woodware. I kept things very simple this week. I recently got this beautiful Stampendous stamp of this beautiful aviary. So I wanted to create a vintage look to reflect the stamp.
The sketch this time was perfect for my choice of stamp. For my background I blended a few shades of yellow and soft brown dye inks onto white card. I added a few splatters of water to add to the aged effect. Then I stamped the lovely scroll border down each side. I have used this stamp before as it is such a useful one. It comes from the Stampendous Jumbo Hollyhocks set. 
For the strip down the centre I blended slightly darker colours as the base. Then I stamped the Stampendous Music score. I used the same scroll stamp as before but this time I embossed it with Aged Gold embossing powder.

I stamped the aviary a couple of times on white card stock so that I could 3-D a few sections. And then as a finishing touch I found the little gold bird cage charm which I dangled from the main panel.

It was a lovely day yesterday here in Perth. Hope you had a good day too. Perhaps spring is finally here!! A bit of sunshine always makes you feel better, don't you think.

I think this is a stamp I will get a lot of use from as I love anything to do with birds!! 
Have a good week.
Siobhan x

The Stamp Man Challenge - A Card for a Queen

It's a new challenge today over at the Stamp Man. Sue is hosting this one and she has chosen "A Card for a Queen" as the theme. With the diamond jubilee and the Olympics fast approaching, this is the perfect theme.
 I decided to use a fairly new set from Stampendous called "Damask Chair". This is a clear set that I bought from the Stamp Man last year along with another Stampendous set called "Elegant Borders" The two sets work perfectly together.

I started off by blending Tumbled Glass, Broken China and Dusty Concord distress inks onto white card stock and a white tag. I then used a large flourish stamp (this one is a Hero Arts one I use a lot). I inked it with Versamark and spritzed with water then stamped onto the background to remove some colour to give the water mark or faux bleach effect. I built up some soft stamping on top with the same flourish and a music script background stamp.
The rest was just stamping some of the elegant borders down the sides and across the base of the tag. I embossed some with gold for a touch of opulence and gold embossed the edges of the tag. My chair was stamped in purple onto white card and cut out. 

I found a silver Tim Holtz charm in my hardware box. To make it fit my colour scheme I inked it with gold ink and embossed with detail gold powder...which worked a treat. I added some little pearls to finish it off. Then a bit of seam binding and a sparkly jewel button. 

And there you have it ... A card for a queen!!
There are some gorgeous samples from the other girls in the team so be sure to check them out. And remember if you enter with your creation you could win a £10 voucher to spend with The Stamp Man. 
I won't be blogging quite as much for a while. I need a bit of time out to recover from an ongoing health issue and so have given up some of my DT commitments. I will still of course be visiting some of my favourite blogs but just won't have too much of my own stuff to share for a while. 
Let's hope the weather improves for the weekend. I think we could all do with some sunshine!!
Siobhan x
 

Woodware DT - Cards for Children

Now that my children are grown up I don't often get to make a card for a child. So this was a fun challenge to do for Woodware this week. I used an old Woodware set called "In the Jungle" FRCL089
This is a great clear set for kids. I love the gecko on the branch catching a fly!!
For my card I used the frog.
I used a 6 x 12 inch piece of card for my base and scored it at 6, 10, 20 and 24 cm. This creates a centre panel that stands forward of the side panels. But when folded it will still fit into a 6 inch square envelope.

The frogs were stamped and embossed with gold powder on black card. I stamped the leaves with versamark and embossed with Jade powder. I painted the frogs with paint from my pearl-ex palette. When you turn the card in the light they look a shimmery green. Unfortunately the camera just didn't seem to pick this up.
On the side panels I used Lettuce and Jade embossing powder to give a two tone effect to my leaves.

For the birthday greeting, I stamped Happy Birthday onto a strip of vellum with gold ink and embossed with gold powder. I tore the long edges then wrapped it around the front of the card. I added a couple of punched leaves and googly eyes for the frogs. 
As a child I lived in Trinidad and this reminds me of the tree frogs we saw at night. Sometimes one would venture into the house and I would have to get it out while my mother and sister were screaming!!
Hope you are having a good week.
Siobhan x

Creative Expressions - Home Tweet Home

I am a bit late posting my latest sample using Sam Poole's lovely Birds set for Creative Expressions. I wanted to use the bird cage this week as it is such a pretty one, The background paper was one I found in my scrap box. It is an old Basic Grey piece but I liked the colour and that set the theme for the whole project.

I used toffee Versafine to stamp onto the paper to create my background. I then used Archival Coffee for the birdcage centre piece and cut out using Spellbinder Labels 9. I added toffee and coffee swirls around the edges. All this talk of toffee is making me hungry!!

I added a nice bit of ribbon near the base of the card and stamped "Home Tweet Home" in coffee ink. Then as a finishing touch I stamped the bird cage onto a bit of shrink plastic to hang at the bottom of the label. A few gems to add a touch of bling and it's done.
I hope you are having a good week. I had a day off work today which was nice. But back to normal tomorrow. Better go and get my uniforms ironed!!

Siobhan x

Woodware DT - Red, White and Blue

This week at Woodware,  we are using red, white and blue. Many of us seem to be getting caught up in the build up to the Queen's diamond jubilee and the forth coming Olympic games. Even in Scotland we are seeing lots of red, white and blue merchandise appearing in the shops. So Fran from Stampendous has made us a stamp especially for the occasion. 
 Stampendous  CRW075  London
So this week on the blog you will see at least 6 ways to use this stamp!!
Here is my version.

For my background I printed off a map of the London Underground on to white card stock and then sponged blue and red inks over the top.
I stamped the image twice so that I could decoupage the bus, Big Ben and the London Eye.

I also used glossy accents on the letters to make them stand out. Then to finish off I made a little bit of bunting. Be sure to drop in to see what the other girls have been up to on the Woodware blog.
Hope you are having a good week!!
Siobhan