Jill at The Stamp Man has changed the format for the challenge blog. We have switched to a monthly challenge to give us the DT and you more time to design a project. As I love Birds, Bees and Butterflies I wanted to include all of them in my project.
When I was down in Yorkshire last month for a craft retreat we were shown how to make a box frame by the lovely Liz (some of you may know her as Lizzie Bobs). This is the one she made for me, which I have already posted , but it is so lovely I want to show it off again.
So I have used this as inspiration to make a larger version for the Stamp Man Challenge.
The original template uses a piece of card 8x8 inches:
Score all the solid lines, cut the centre cross and cut out the 4 solid corner boxes.
Here I have scored and cut out from a 12x12 sheet of white card stock. Instead of cm I have scored at 0.5 and 1 inch increments to make the frame element slightly bigger than the 8x8 version.
Fold all the score lines and use a bone folder to give them sharp creases.
Now just trim off those extra triangles and you are ready to decorate. Don't stick anything together until you have finished inking and stamping. I used Distress inks to colour the whole frame then masked of sections to stamp on the front of the frame and the edges.
For the base just measure the frame and cut a square just slightly smaller so there are no bits overlapping. I just coloured this piece about 2 inches in from the edge all round as I new I was making a separate centre panel.
The centre panel was a 16cm square of white card covered with text paper from my Oxfam bargain French dictionary. I added some antique linen Distress ink to age it then added layers of stamping. The gorgeous bird cage is a recent Stampendous stamp called "Bird Manor". I am sure you recognise the Tim Holtz stamps. The Papillon set is one of my favourites and perfect for this project as I wanted a Victorian nature journal feel to my piece.
I also added some gold embossed stamping around the edges and some Stampendous Frantage powders. If you haven't already tried these then I urge you to have a go. They are just gorgeous. I am gradually building up my collection, but my favourites are the shabby and aged ones.
So Liz, thanks for sharing this idea with us, and inspiring me to have a go. I was really pleased at how it turned out. I am going to have a go at a Christmas version.
Stampendous have just had a new release of stamps and I can't wait to get my hands on a few of them!! Luckily I have a birthday coming up and will be leaving my wish list lying around along with The Stamp Man's web address!!
There is still time to enter the challenge and as always there is a gift voucher up for grabs for the winner.
Hope you have a good weekend.
Siobhan
Just a very quick project this week. We are getting a few jobs done in our house at the moment. As you can imagine the place is in a bit of a mess and naturally lots of things get dumped in my craft room!! Hopefully by the end of the week things will be back to normal and my shattered nerves recovered.
So here is my very quick up cycled tin to fit with our up cycling theme at Woodware this week. I get these white tins from work and they are a great size to hold pens.
I cut a piece of nice background paper with not too much pattern on it (this was a Magenta paper). Then I stamped several layers of foliage stamps along the bottom edge.
These are from the latest Woodware release JG5272 "The hedgerow" .
I stamped in two shades of green then a brown to give me a layered look. Then I added a sprig stamp (Stampendous) and embossed that with gold powder.
The final touch was a band of gingham ribbon around the top. I can now store all my new brush markers in one place!!
Hope you are having a good week. I can't believe the clocks go back this weekend. I better get the head down next week and start my Christmas cards!!
Siobhan x
This week we are using a monochromatic colour scheme with red as our main colour. I don't use much red but after making this simple Christmas card I might make a few as they are easy to batch.
I decided to use this lovely Dreamweaver stencil "JOY". I was initially going to do a paper piecing job on it, but then I changed my mind and decided to keep it very simple.
I used normal embossing paste on the stencil then covered with fine red glitter. The white background was embossed with a larger Dreamweaver snowflake background. You can't fully appreciate the sparkle in this picture, but it really does catch the light. This will be my minimal Christmas card for this year. But I think I will try it in some other colours as well.
I am having a bit of a break from stamping at the moment. I have been sewing!!! I have nearly finished a patchwork craft bag. I will put it on my blog when it's finished. My husband just commented that it doesn't look like a bag I have made!!! That is a compliment from him.
Hope you are having a good week. Already I am looking forward to the weekend and Strictly Come Dancing and a glass of wine.
Siobhan x
This week we were asked to make a vintage Christmas card. I was lucky enough to be given this beautiful new Stampendous Christmas stamp CRR143 Snowy Postcard.
The perfect choice for a vintage Christmas card. I stamped it twice onto white card using black ink. I cut out the oval and lightly coloured the sky with chalk then added yellow in the windows and some glitter.
For the outer post card I just blended some brown inks to give it that vintage feel. I then matted it onto copper card and used my Crafty edger for the background panel. The holly was cut out and glossy accents used to highlight the holly berries.
I used pearls to accent. The pearls above the oval are a new Woodware product. They come on a clear backing roll. Great to give a touch of opulence!!
I made this before I went on holiday to Ireland thankfully. I was organised for once!! I had a lovely few days spending time with my Dad and sister and her family. I will post more about that next time. Hope you have a good weekend. The forecast isn't good so I am hoping to get some crafting time!!
Siobhan x
This week at Woodware we are doing another sketch challenge. This one looks like a window so that's what I did with it.
I needed to make a birthday card for my husband Graham. The last time I used this stamp he actually said "I like that!" Not words I hear too often these days!! So I just had to use it for his card.
And here it is:
All I have done is punch out a circle from a post-it note and used it as a mask, then blended shades of blue inks over the top. I spritzed lightly with some pearl Pearl-Ex powder mixed with water to give it a lovely shimmer. You will just have to take my word for that as you can't really see it in the photo.
Then I have stamped the wonderful "Crowscape" from Stampendous in black. I trimmed it into 4 pieces to create the windo effect. Honestly... a 10 min card. I am trying to unpack from Beamsley and pack for Ireland so I am a bit all over the place!! When this posts I will be in Ireland.
Have a good weekend everyone.
Siobhan x
Linda and I got back home on Sunday night tired but happy!! We had a great weekend of crafting, talking, eating and craft shopping. I almost managed my target of 40 Christmas cards to take over to my Dad in Ireland this weekend. Tonight I am having a break from putting insets in them!!
Although this retreat was do your own thing, Janet and Michelle made sure there were several mini workshops and demo's. That's what's great about having so many talented crafters in one place...we can learn so much from each other. Liz, my crafting buddy from Livepool showed us how to make a box frame. This is one she gave to me which I love.
Isn't it gorgeous!! Linda did a demo on her grungy alcohol inked embossed mirri card, Janet did a lovely paper pieced Noel. I did a little demo on the cards in my last post. Barbara did some paper punching and Emma showed us how to make a lovely little folded book. So as you can see something for everyone.
Here is what I was making in batches of 4.
I love this little Penny Black robin. He is old now but gets an airing every Christmas.
This is a Hero Arts cling that has a solid background which lends itself to using Distress markers and spritzing with water. Simple but so effective, I think.
Another cutie Penny Black stamp. My Dad likes ducks (and geese), so this one should go down well.
A more grungy background for this gorgeous Crafty Individuals stamp.
Another old favourite is this Hero Arts Pinecone. So simple but I love it.
This is a Magenta cling stamp. I usually do it with Autumn colours but I wanted something more wintery. You can probably guess, I only took one border punch with me. The other two I had intended to take were still sitting on my desk when I got home!!
I think I will have a break before I start my own Christmas cards. But I think they will be simple this year.
Siobhan x
I am off to Yorkshire tomorrow with my friend Linda to a craft retreat. We have been a few times now and always have a great time. Janet and Michelle (Lovin'Ink) always make us feel very welcome. A whole weekend of crafting, eating and talking!! Just what I am needing right now!!
I have been asked to do a mini workshop on making your own backgrounds. So I thought it would be nice to show how you can use one stamp to make the background and also use it for your focal image.
Here are my samples ..... I hope they go down OK!
I am now packed and ready to sit down with a glass of wine and looking forward to the weekend.
Hope you all have a good weekend too.
Siobhan x
Well that's another weekend gone and all my good intentions flew out the window!! Still I did have a lovely walk up at Faskally woods near Pitlochry on Sunday with my husband and our dogs. It was a lovely day and the trees are starting to turn to their autumn colours.
This week I am first up for the Woodware team and our challenge was to use a resist technique.
I chose to do a wax crayon resist as it's one I don't use often. But it is very simple and quite effective. This works best on glossy card. I stamp the gorgeous Stampendous Agapanthus cluster onto white glossy card with black permanent ink (Memories, Archival or Versafine). Then I coloured in the flowers and along the stems with a white was crayon. Then I used shades of soft yellows and brown dye inks, blended over the top with Cut'n'Dry foam.
I also found the little bee stamp (another old Stampendous stamp) as a little addition.
After layering up with gold and bronze card stock, I punched out a few maple leaves and gave them a bit of shape with a large embossing tool. The sentiment is also by Stampendous and I thought it fitted perfectly.
If you haven't tried this technique, give it a go. It works really well and is so easy. Remember to check out the Woodware blog all this week to see what other types of resist get show cased.
This week at Woodware we have gone all Autumnal. Which I guess it is appropriate as we are fast approaching that time of year of battling home from work in the wind and driving rain, darker evenings and cold mornings!!
My offering this week uses a new Woodware stamp designed by Jane Gill called Ferns JG5274. It is one of these foliage stamps which are so versatile. I can see myself using this one regularly.
The single fern is very delicate and great for backgrounds.
I used a selection of orange and brown tones in my Tombow brush markers to colour directly onto the stamp. Then lightly spritz with water to help blend the colours.
I made a decorative border with my favourite crafty edger punch and added a bird.
The bird is from a Magenta laser cut chipboard sheet that has several birds on it. To colour the bird I used brown and orange Cat's Eyes ink pads. These make it easy for detailed colouring on small items such as this. Because it is pigment ink I then cover with clear embossing powder and melt. I usually use 3 layers of powder (using Versamark in between each subsequent layer of powder). This gives a lovely enamelled look. A little black pearl gives your bird a beady eye.
Well that's it for now. I am trying to get ahead of the game as I have a couple of trips coming up and want to be all organised for once!! I can but try!!
Siobhan x
This week's challenge at Woodware is to make something without using any stamps. Not something I do very often!! Last week I used a stencil so I had a rake through some peel-offs (yes....I actually have a drawer full) .
I found a sheet of Stampendous peel offs featuring little trees and thought they were quite sweet and would make a simple and quick card.
Rather than stick a tree straight on a piece of card I made a little landscape using embossing powders. I cut a circle of card, inked it thoroughly with Versamark. Starting with the lightest colour, cover a strip near the bottom, tip off the excess. Then with the next colour pour on another area and tip over the first powder. This prevents any contamination. Once all your colours are on heat to melt.
I used Stampendous powders Aged Ivory, Golden Sand and Caramel.
I added some matting layers using Kraft and copper card stock.
I even used the sentiment peel-off from the sheet and a few little birds. A quick and simple card!!
I am away to watch The Great British Bake Off. Still on a high after Andy Murray won the US open last night .... a fantastic end to a great summer of sport. Maybe I will get more crafting done now it's all finished!!
Siobhan x
Our new challenge over at The Stamp Man was chosen by Kim. She apparently loves hot summer colours. As we appear to be having a nice spell before autumn arrives I was a bit confused and ended up using my lovely Stampendous Raven stamp. So apologies for my misinterpretation!! Just see the hot colours and not the raven!!
Both the background panels were made using blended Distress inks - Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Worn Lipstick, Barn Door and Picked Raspberry. I added some layers of stamping for texture. The gorgeous border stamp is another Stampendous stamp that I use a lot. It comes from a Jumbo Cling set called "Hollyhocks".
I have a thing about Ravens and find them fascinating. As soon as I saw this stamp I had to have it!! The little punched circles came from the Stampendous Crowscape stamp that I bought last year, which is still available.
To finish the card I made a flower punched from Glassine paper. I used the largest flower from Tim's Tattered Floral die and cut several layers. I stamped them with a texture stamp using metallic gold Staz-on. Before joining the layers with a brad I crumpled them up. I love the effect you get with this glassine paper.
Remember if you want to join us, the theme is Summer Sizzlers... anything you like using hot summer colours. There is a £10 voucher for the winner!! Pop along to the challenge blog to see what my team mates have been making for your inspiration.
It's time for another sketch this week from Woodware. This one is very simple and I have stuck pretty much to the original design.
I met up with Dorothy last weekend at a trade show in Perth. It was nice to catch up and to see all the lovely new products on the Woodware stand. I saw a lovely sample made with a new Dreamweaver stencil and that inspired me to use it for my sample this week.
This is the stencil : LG745 Tree Line
I ran the stencil through my Cuttlebug with black card to emboss it. Then I sponged Versamark ink through the stencil. To create the moon I punched a circle (I used the Woodware yellow circle punch) from a post-it note. I positioned the circle where I wanted my moon to be and used a brush to brush on pearl mica powder. I used Pearl-ex but there are lots of makes of these shimmery powders.
I removed the circle mask then brushed on 2 or 3 shades of gold powder with the darker one at the bottom.
Then I removed the stencil (which was attached with low tack masking tape) and used a large soft brush to remove any excess powder. A quick spritz of water sets the powder.
To finish off I added a bit of Stampendous Aged Gold and Aged Taupe the image and gold matting layer.
I stamped a few sprigs in black onto the bronze background, added a greeting and then punched out 3 maple leaves from copper metal sheet.
I love the shimmery effect of the mica powders, but as is often the case the photo does not pick up the shimmer too well!!
This is a challenge sketch, so why not show us what you can do and perhaps win a voucher. Check us out on the Woodware blog for details on how to enter.
Looking forward to the weekend and some rest and relaxation!!
Siobhan x
This week at Woodware we are sending a smile!! For my effort this week I have used a combination of old and new in a very simple card.
The old is the sentiment and flower. Both Stampendous stamps. H248 "Everyone Smiles" is a wood mounted stamp that is still available and the swirly flower is a cling called Ruffled flower. I embossed the flower with white powder on white card stock and used a DTP (direct to paper) technique with 3 shades of blue to colour the flower. Once cut out I added some crystal glitter to the ruffled edges and some pearls for the centre.
For the new I used the lovely fern from a new Woodware set designed by Jane (JGS274 Ferns). This I stamped onto some text paper (from my trusty French dictionary!!).
Then I used my new crafty edger "Garland".
A bit of ribbon and a few pearls finish off this quick and easy card.
Have a good weekend whatever you are doing.
Siobhan
