Mixed Up Magic

Mixed media...who doesn't love it!!. I love the style, I love watching people do it...actually  I spend more time watching other people doing it than I actually do it!!! So for this months The Artistic Stamper challenge "Mixed Up" says mixed products and techniques, which is what I have done for my sample. I have used stamps, spray inks, stencils, gilding flakes, actually I like the effect of the gilding flakes.  I first glued up a Tracy Scott stamp and stamped the texture paste, then added the flakes, gorgeous, and I think I will be doing that technique again. I have to confess that I was making this into a journal cover, but cut it upside down so the spine was on the wrong side, so just cut the spine off, I can always cut a new journal front and glue this on the right way.

The Sound Of Music

My favourite movie by far is The Sound Of Music!!. I have it on DVD, but I still have to watch it when it comes on TV, so as this months challenge is all about "music", then obviously I have to interpret a song from that film. Yes....I can hear you groaning, heck, she is using that stencil again!!!....but I just love it, so I'm not gonna apologise for it!!!. 
I have used the DOG ROSE stencil to interpret the edelweiss...yes, give me a bit of poetic licence!!!..but it also shows how versatile that stencil is!!. I have also used the SEQUIN WASTE OPEN stamp to add a bit of texture in the background by scraping a small amount of texture paste on my card and stamping the sequin waste stamp into it.

Music and Memory

So... this months challenge at The Artistic Stamper is all about music, and however you interpret that, you cannot deny that when you hear a certain song it always takes you back to a particular memory relating to the tune, my own song that evokes memories is the one by Aerosmith....I dont wanna miss a thing!!!. it was one of those "Our Song" kinda things!!. let me know which song or tune brings back the most memories for you.

My Thoughts

For Septembers Artistic Stamper "Black and White" challenge I have decided to make a little book of thoughts, inspirational quotes, positive affirmations...stuff like that. I made the spine myself as the eileen hull spines were not long enough, this is a 6x6 book. I rounded the corners of the spine with my newest purchase, the WRMK corner chomper...I love it, my little corner rounder punch just doesn't do the job on anything thick, but these are wonderful.

Happy Birthday To Me!!

This post is from The Artistic Stamper Blog, written on the 21st August

Well guys...it is my birthday tomorrow...not that I want any more, but it is better than the alternative!!..lol. so I am gonna have a lovely day, quaffing champagne, being taken out wined and dined in my favourite restaurant, doesn't get any better than that for me.

So I suppose my looming birthday inspired me to actually make a birthday card!!. Boy oh boy, this card must have been the most frustrating card I have ever made, no matter what I did, what I threw on it, the inks just kept sinking into the card...grrrrrrr, could I heck make it more vibrant. I gessoed the back hoping that it would make the inks stay on the surface...nooooo....I must have wasted more ink, but I kept on, even sprayed it with my hairspray to keep the inks on the surface, and finally after all my efforts I was rewarded with this grungy loveliness, ooohh I do love to just throw ink and paint about and see what I get.

Anyway, thought for today, don't give up, it will be ok in the end (and I am not just on about my card), and a Happy Birthday to me for tomorrow.

Beach Huts

Still catching up on my blog posts, this is from Augusts anything goes challenge. As it is my friends birthday next week, I have decided to make her a set of go to cards....a card stash..(and an excuse to unload some of my crafty makes)!!. I made the card stash folder using a weetabix box, and covered it with old map pages, the pockets inside are made with the same map pages, after all, the cards in this set have a beach/travel/journey kinda theme.
After a bit of stamping, stencilling, spritzing, I stamped the little BEACH HUTS on the bottom of the folder, and coloured them with promarkers.

Wish

For Augusts Artistic Stamper "anything goes" challenge. My most used stencil of all time has to be the DOG ROSE stencil by Lesley Matthewson,
it is a huge A4 size stencil and has two flowers on it, so each flower fills an A5 size card with no trouble. I am loving the red and teal colour combo here.

All Woman!!

Just catching up and putting my Artistic Stamper posts on my own blog. Julys challenge...."celebrating women". what a fabulous subject!!. however you interpret it, you cannot deny that the female of the species are pretty damn awesome....well... I know that I am!!! I am not claiming to be some kind of superwoman, but when I look back at what I have achieved, and pretty much on my own with not a lot of help from anybody else, (my hardest problem is asking for help!!).. I think I have done amazing...so there you are!!....I am going to celebrate the magic that is me, and all you fabulous females out there.

Curvey Girl

I know this technique has been done a million times before...first time for me tho!!! colourful background, a bit of stamping, mask off a silhouette, and paint everywhere else black, then stamped over the black with the same stamp as I used on the underneath background. the stamp is a new midi stamp designed by Tracy Scott for THE ARTISTIC STAMPER.

Near The Sea

I have made this card for The Artistic Stamper "Seaside " challenge. the background was an easy painty slap it on kinda technique, and then I just stamped the beach huts and coloured them with my promarkers.
Sometimes the easiest cards are just the cutest!!, I have made a bunch of these, all slightly different, but on a seaside/beach theme, and some lucky...or unlucky!!! suspect will get them for a present.

by the sea

Don't you just love it when your'e only cleaning your sponges on a scrap piece of paper and you get the effect that you were trying to do with the paint that is on the sponge originally...does this make sense?... anyway, basically, trying too hard to paint a beach/sea scene, but my scrap paper turned out much better, I just added some white with a round sponge for the cloud effect et voila!!.
I have made this card for The Artistic Stamper "at the seaside" challenge.

itsy bitsy teeny weeny!!

I'm sorry if you will be singing this tune in your head all day now...I know I still am!!!. I made this card for this months The Artistic Stamper "at the seaside" challenge, the stamp is a nude, I just added her itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini!!!....oh no!!!...not in my head all day again!! hee hee.

its a twofer!!!

Lol....in the words of the fabulous Lou Withers...while I was experimenting with my samples for this months texture challenge I made two of similar things, they are actually done differently, but somehow ended up nearly the same. One, the card, is made from a rice paper mop up, and I added the texture by stamping the leaves on tissues and embossing with clear EP, then coloured the behind and then stuck them onto my background...why oh why I went the long route when I could have just stamped them onto the background at first I do not know!!!, the second is with a textured background from some pollyfiller (I had no modelling paste left), then inking it up and then adding the leaves that I had stamped with gold that time, then added a dangly charm, I loved them both, so decided to make a card with one and a little notebook with the other, so, as Louise says...I made a twofer!!!

Hallelujah..He is risen!!

Hallelujah!!! ..and a very Happy Easter to you all. As it is Easter Sunday, obviously I have made easter cards to show you, and best of all, I made all three of them with my one mop up sheet as I was crafting, funny how sometimes these mop ups make my favourite sort of backgrounds!!, especially as I saw an etherial planet in my main one. The main feature for these three cards is the fabulous window from the ARCHITECTURE stamp set

So....Hallelujah, He is risen!!!. I hope you all have a wonderful Easter.

All Things Eileen!!

I was gonna title this "come on Eileen".....but I thought you would be singing it all day then!!..oops!!. lol Anyways, still got my Eileen obsession going on, how are you managing yours?!!. I turned her treasure box into a chest of  drawers, aint it just the cutest!!. I have stamped the papers that cover it with the fabulous MARBLED BACKGROUND stamp. You might ask what has this to do with new growth, which is the theme for this months challenge over at The Artistic Stamper.....well you will have to wait and see what else I do with it in my next post. I look forward to seeing your "new growth" creations.

Saving The Planet!!

Hi Guys.  I am still addicted to my journal making, so I took the opportunity to do a green journal, literally and figuritively!!. I have been wanting to do a junk journal for a while now, so have been collecting used envelopes, junk mail, bits of odd paper,etc... I see plenty on pinterest, and youtube, and they all look amazing, but I have to say that mine just looks like a collection of rubbish at the moment..thank heavens for gesso!!!

Create Memories

I think I am gonna turn this card into a journal front and fill it with lovely memories of me with my two beautiful Grandchildren. I so wish I had written down all the funny things Jack has said to me, and I can only remember a couple now...grrrr, but I am gonna start from now, Billy can't talk yet, but if he is as funny as his brother then boy oh boy..it will be a best seller!!. 

I will give you a preview...

Jack.."Grandma, what are those birds doing on the lawn?"

Me,,"they are eating worms Jack"

Jack.."Worms!!!..thats disgusting"!!!

Me.."Well Jack, Grandma eats sandwiches and cakes, cows eat grass, birds eat worms, what do you eat Jack?

Jack..(saying it very sheepishly).."I eat bogies"!!!!

Cracks me up this boy!!

Anyway, onto my card, this started as one of those gelli prints that you do and love it so much that you are scared to ruin it!!, but I am glad I carried on, it looks very yellow in this picture, but believe me it is very green. with a bit of stamping added, it turned a gelli print that I really liked into a card (or journal front) I love.

Grandma's Gorgeous Boys!!

A shout out to all the Grandma's out there....you all know exactly what I mean with the sentiment on this card!!!... Oh the love for a grandchild is just priceless!!

So..obviously, when I think of the matters of the heart... Jack and Billy are the ones who wholeheartedly have mine.

My heart melts at the very thought of them.

If friends were flowers

Hi there you lovely crafty people. Please forgive me for my lateness in posting my work to this blog today, when I tell you why I am late, you will all understand why!!...you see...I was cleaning...and very painfully de-cluttering my craft room, well...as you all know, it is like Christmas again as I discovered things that I totally forgot I had ever had, oh the joy, mind you, the de-cluttering is not going very well....a couple of scraps of paper have gone in the bin...and taken back out again...twice!!..before I got my brutal head on and reminded myself....IT IS JUST PAPER!! Anyway I have had a fabulous day.

Now onto my card that I have made for this months The Artistic Stamper "Anything goes" challenge.

Eileen Hull Heaven

What can I say...the title says it all....I am in Eileen Hull heaven, I am the proud owner of three!!!..yes three of Eileens XL scoreboard journal dies, so guess what you will probably be seeing lots of from now on...lol.

 I made this journal using the passport die, giving it an inky background with a bit of stenciling using the SPLATS AND SWIRL mask, then stamping with the ARTISTS No 1 stamp set. 

Here is the front

Here is the back

I just know I'm gonna love making lots of these journals...I just need to learn how to decorate the inside signatures, I will have a go and show you what appertains.

Happy New Year to you all.