Shabby Chic Dress Form

Woo challenge 3 for Fashionable Stamping and this time we would like you to use some ribbon or lace on your project. Now to me - that means shabby chic - so that is where I went.

I often use paint on the edges for this style but this time I went further and dry brushed the edges of the mounts with acrylic paint. I over stamped the pink mount with white paint and edged the blue mount with blue household paint.

The dress form was painted twice with Fresco paint and a layer of crackle glaze between them. I stamped a gold necklet on it. The best wishes mount has been dry brushed and the sentiment stamped with archival ink.

Don't you just love this dress form die - it is the most used of any of my equipment at the moment, I hope you are not getting fed up seeing it. A couple of people have said they think it is too big to use on a card but it is very versatile - this is an 8 x 8 ins card, but others I have made have been smaller and one was only 4 x 5 3/4 ins (see earlier posts).

Supplies used -
Papers from my scrap box.
Paint - white acrylic, blue household, Fresco Finish london night and snowflake.
Stamps - flourish by La Blanche, sentiment by Anna Griffin, necklet by Hampton Art.
Dies - TH sewing room.
White flower from Suzanne Klezcar and my own handmade rolled flowers.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Challenges to have fun with -
Crafts and Me - Lace
Bloggers Challenge - tic, tac, toe - lace, patterned paper, die cut
Speedy the cats friends - use lace
Creative Inspirations - 1 of 3 - mine is set 2 shabby chic, pearls and lace

Travel with the Stamp Man

This is my design piece for the Stamp Man challenge this week and the lovely Frankie has chosen the theme 'Travel'. Since I just came back off holiday you would think this would be easy for me - but no, it tested my imagination again. Hurry up Mr Mojo and give me some spontaneity.

Inspiration has come from these challenges - Simon Says Stamp and Show is also travel, Take a Word - Old fashioned (the plane certainly is) and The Paper Variety has another travel theme.

Anyway I created a tag card. On the front I glued some TH atlas paper then swooshed it a bit in paints and dry stippled some over it too. Then I spritzed with gold mist. Over that I blended DIs and edged the whole card with vintage photo. I've stamped the sentiment and other bits straight onto the card and stamped the plane onto copper metal, made a tape sandwich with strong card and cut it out, sealing the edges with a metal tool. Using a trinket pin, I added a philosophy tag to the ribbon.

I used the stains and spritz for the inside of the card and made it look like a place for the correspondence with a MME stamp and using a TH 'post card' stamp as well.

I have a friend having her 60th birthday coming up, so I might use this as her birthday card as she just loves to travel.

Supplies
TH paper stash - crowded attic
TH die - tag
Adirondack paint dabber - smidge of blue, yellow pastel
Crown metallic paint - refresh
TH stamps - air travel
Cosmic Shimmer - rich gold
DIs - shabby shutters, scattered straw, vintage photo
Archival Ink - black
Moon Glow spritz - horny toad teal
Starburst Stains - pulpit teal, sea mint green

I hope you will pop over to the challenge blog to see all the wonderful creations from the amazing team and hopefully you will find the inspiration to take part. Don't forget there is a £10 voucher for the Stamp Man shop for the lucky winner chosen by the DT.

Have a wonderful weekend, I am off to Birmingham to celebrate an 18th birthday.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Workshops and meeting friends

I had some brilliant news the other day. My local craft shop - The Art of Craft -  has accepted my offer of 4 workshops, so I will be teaching and demonstrating during October and November. If you know of anyone in the West Surrey/East Hampshire/Berkshire area who would like to learn distressing techniques using distress inks, make a Christmas card using distress techniques or make a mini-album, then keep an eye on the classes coming up on the Art of Craft website. When I have more details I will also let you know.

I had a brilliant day yesterday. It was off to Lucy's where I also met up with Zoe and Von. We did some crafting, lots of chatting and laughing and sharing ideas. What a pity none of us thought to get a camera out - just too wrapped up in what we were doing. Thanks girls I had a great time.

I also had 2 parcels waiting for me when I got home - both candy gifts from Suzanne and Angela. Another big thank you for papers, stamps, sketchbook and other bits and pieces and a wonderful comment from Suzanne about my work - how lucky am I?

My Stamp Man DT piece will be coming up later this morning and then I will be off to Birmingham for the weekend. I hope you enjoy the next few days especially those of us in the UK as we have a bank holiday Monday to look forward to.

Take care everyone.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Winner and 18th Birthday card

Well before I go on - I firstly want to thank Brenda and the DT over at the Stampalot Challenge blog for choosing my card to win the July 'Anything Goes' challenge.

I also won blog candy at Suzanne's blog, Suz's Stamping Story - thank you Suzanne. Please pop over to see what Suzanne does - she makes some amazing things.

I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome some new followers. It is lovely to see Deb at Stamp Dancer, Ali at Al's Bits and Pieces, Suze at CantStopCrafting, Angy, Eva, Sylvie at GibMiss and Tole_wils995, thanks for joining me on my creative journey ladies. (They were there with all my followers but Blogger seems to have lost them all at the moment).

This is my first card (or piece of art) since I have got back from holiday and oh boy am I finding it difficult to find any personal inspiration, Mr Mojo seems to have stayed on holiday and not come back with me!!!

We are going to Walsall, Birmingham, this weekend for an 18th birthday celebration (yes Sarah I am going to be near you again), so I need a card and a gift. Gingersnap Creations Random Redhead Challenge is a tribute to teens and Play Date Cafe is navy, bubblegum and leaf green, both of these fitted the bill to help me on my way. The Paper Variety want any threads including ribbons and Stampin' B's want any distressing so this fitted with them too.

I used Stampotique's Moth Fab and coloured her with promarkers. The birthday greeting is my own made in PSE and mounted on TH's large paper rosette. The backing paper is from First Edition papers - Spring Feast and I have given it a gesso wash. Edges have been distressed and inked with DIs and a scrunchy ribbon, crown and card swirls added as embellishments.

If I haven't got round to seeing you yet I am on my way.

Take care.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Giddy up we're homeward bound

Just a quick hello from me this morning to say I have not been MIA but we got back from holiday last night, having had a fantastic 2 weeks in Lanzarote. The title is from the song the girls were singing yesterday whilst waiting at the airport - very apt wouldn't you say?

A huge thanks to everyone who has stayed in touch with my scheduled posts while I have been away and I will be over to see you a soon as I have got some washing sorted out - yes the mundane things have got to be done haven't they?

I thought I would post a few photos of us. The girls love the pool and had a great time swimming every day. We took them to the beach and of course had some lovely meals out in the evenings.

I am looking forward to seeing what I have missed whilst I have been away and catching up with you all.

Luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Bird's Nest - hybrid card

There are times when I really get stuck for men's cards - like many people they are not my first choice card to make. But this one was fairly quick and easy.

Look on sites like Dezinaworld, Graphics Fairy and Bumble Buttons for free downloads. Print them as they are or use PSE and layer some of the images together. Add a sentiment, maybe some stickles and distress inks; some simple embellishments like buttons and a sticker and another card finished fairly quickly and easily.

Have a great day.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Handmade Flowers Wendy Vecchi style

Today is the second challenge for Fashionable Stamping  and we were so pleased to see so many of you amazing crafters enter our 'Anything Goes' last week.

So we hope you will join in again this week by adding your own handmade flowers to your project and showing us what you can do. Don't forget to show us some stamping too.

I have used Hero Arts 3 dotted flowers with their leaf and a Wendy Vecchi Art Parts base and used one of her wooden borders to create a little shelf. Both were primed with gesso and then painted with Claudine Hellmuth acrylic paints. It is stood with a TH small easel behind it.

Flowers coloured with distress stains and DIs and little Syntego pots to put them in. I used a mini glass bottle and filled it with real poppy seeds and made the label in PE. The little button is one of my moulds.

Supplies -
DSs - weathered wood, faded jeans, fired brick, spun sugar, wild honey, antique linen.
DIs - walnut stain, vintage photo, dusty concord, wild honey, fired brick, peeled paint
Stamps - Wendy Vecchi - love to make art, hero Arts - 3 dotted flowers, Our daily Bread - butterfly, PaperArtsy - man of numbers plate, Prima - hex net
Grungepaper (for the flowers, butterfly and foliage).
Charms, bits of old jewellery and chain.

Well I hope August is warm wherever you are in the northern hemisphere.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Summer Colours

Do you believe in life-long learning? I do - but it is difficult to get children to understand what it means. So this card is dedicated to the whole philosophy that we continue to learn new things all our lives. I have used my favourite saying and there is a hidden message there. Can you see it?

This piece is for Lisa's 'Anything Goes - with Summer Colours' challenge over at the Stamp Man. Do pop over and take a look at the most fabulous inspiration from my very talented teamies.

My inspiration for this card came from Joanne Wardle's article in the August Craft Stamper magazine for using resist techniques, but I didn't keep mine to a one layer card - of course I went on to embellish it more. I used art masking fluid as the resist for the centre sentiment to be stamped onto.

The flowers were made very simply with pre-cut, bought white paper flowers, swooshed in distress inks, heat dried - being scrumpled and curled in all the right places, and then beadazzles added to the centres. I thought they looked very summery, just like a patch of marigolds.

The butterflies were stamped with embossing ink onto card I had distressed with DIs, cut out and then DSs swooshed all over them. The depth of colours really soaked into all those tiny cracks and crevices.

Supplies used -
Stamps - TH good thoughts, papillon and artful flight
DIs - peeled paint, mustard seed, spiced marmalade.
DSs - peeled paint, forest moss, wild honey, fired brick, walnut stain.
Paper flowers, beadazzles, adhesive ribbon, gems
Dies - marianne and crealies.
Promarkers (just the lettering on the sentiment).

I hope we will see you over at the Stamp Man for our summer colours challenge and don't forget that Jill generously provides a £10.00 voucher for every challenge to spend in her on-line shop - so that's gotta be worth entering for. I hope you are having a good summer (or winter if you are in the southern hemisphere) and that you are having some good crafty time for yourself (especially if you have children who are off school for the summer holidays).

Take care.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxoxox

Special Birthday Wishes for Divas by Design

Well I hope you are having a good August and that the sun is shining on you. Have a happy holiday if you are away for your summer break.

This is my design team card for the next challenge at Divas by Design and for this fortnight we want to see your birthday creations.

I have used a glittered backing paper from my First Edition Spring Fest pack, edged with cranberry and the flowers paper from Porcelain, edged with peeled paint. The rosette is a Tim die (of course) and I added a sentiment I made myself in PE. The shabby bow I made using my vintage ribbon and spritzing it with water and swooshing it through the Adirondack cranberry ink.

Have a great week, wherever you are and whatever you are doing.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

It's Your Day

I needed a quick card the other day so I got out those lovely Kanban dress forms with card to match. But this time I chose to use the Desert Blooms paper pack for the background.

So you can see it didn't take long to put this together with the decoupaged dress form, bought flowers and a handmade sentiment and butterfly stamped onto acetate and cut out.

Et voilà. Not like some of my projects that take days and days - but good to see something finished in lightning time for a change.

A quick card and a quick post.

Hope you are all well and see you soon.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

SSSS Top 3

Just a very short post tonight but I had to post that I have been given another Top 3 place at Simon Says Stamp and Show. I receive this amazing accolade for my 'Sew Special' canvas. How fabulous is that?

Many thanks to the team at SSSS for choosing me, I feel it is for me and my dear Mum. She would have felt very proud for me.

Enjoy the rest of the week everyone.

Luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Tag for two challenges

Well I hope the two Lindas don't mind that nearly everyone will combine both the Grungy Monday and the Simon Says Stamp and Show challenges this week as we have a fabulous Tim Holtz 12 tags of Christmas to follow and make a tag at the same time. What luck.

To see what techniques were used in the making of this tag, take a look at Tim's tutorial and why not have a go yourself - if you haven't already that is.

Supplies used -
Stamps - TH - papillon and artful flight; La Blanche leafy flourish; Rubber Stampede text.
DIs - worn lipstick, weathered wood, stormy sky, vintage photo.
Black, green and burgundy embossing powders.
Vellum and archival ink.

I have the perfect present for this tag and hopefully I will show you some pictures of it - the wedding book project I have been making. I am nearly there.

Just a little reminder that there is an 'Anything Goes' theme over at Fashionable Stamping Challenges, unfortunately it hasn't been advertised so we would appreciate anything you could do to get the word out as there are two prizes this fortnight. I hope I will see you there.

Have a fabulous week.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

The Ocean ATC

This is an ATC for the Stamp Man ATC swap and the theme for August is The Ocean.

I created this by colouring the card with watercolour pencils and giving it a wash. Over that I used distress inks and some sequin waste to create some 'bubble' effects. Over the top of that layer I brushed some gesso to give it a more cloudy and watery feel to it then at the bottom I pooled some green, white and blue inks and blew them with a straw to create an organic shape to be my seaweed. I used a sakura glaze pen to give it some highlights and shadow. The stamps are all from Crafty Individuals and the little seahorse was stamped and pieced onto the ATC. I added some real little shells.

Supplies -
Watercolour pencils.
DIs - faded jeans, chipped sapphire, vintage photo and walnut stain.
White drawing ink
Blue and green inks.
Gesso

Well we are now into August so I hope you have a lovely holiday if you are away this month.

Take care.

luv and hugs {brenda] xoxox

Challenges to have fun with -
Take a word - Song - Swallowed in the Sea by Coldplay
Come and Get It - Anything goes
Stampin Sisters in Christ - Use any creature
Crafty Calendar Challenge - Under the sea
Paper Cutz - Under the sea
By the Cute and Girly - The Sea
Alter It Monthly - The Ocean