NEW CHALLENGE BLOG COMING SOON

Hi Everyone

Such exciting news - a new fortnightly challenge blog starting next Sunday for the stampers (rubber and clear) amongst us. It will be for everyone to take part, whatever style you have and as long as you get inky hehe. That counts alot of you in then.

There will be a prize for the winner - to be chosen by all the DT and there might even be some blog candy too. The site is up but not complete yet but Shirl of Shirl's Cards is getting it ready with the help of her amazing hubbie Andrew. It will be called FASHIONABLE STAMPING and if you click  you will be transported to the site immediately to see how it is looking. You will also see some names in the design team you recognise I am sure. Agnieszka, Claire, Dot, Fliss, Shirley and of course little ole me. We will also be having Guest Designers and our resident GDT member is Joanna.

I made this card for' Let's Ink It Up' but sadly it closed before I could use it - so I have kept it for the new blog. You can see it over there.

Burgundy back mount stamped with Claudine Hellmuth's stamped flowers which I then painted with acrylic paints. Background text paper - gessoed and stamped. PaperArtsy dragonfly on nesties mounts and I used on the edge dies to scallop the bottom edges. The little tag is another I wrote myself.

Supplies -
Dies - TH Scallops on the edge, paperArtsy Dragonfly, Nesties circles and scalloped circles.
Papers from my box of bits.
DIs - peeled paint, bundled sage, victorian velvet
Distress re-inker - spun sugar
Dulux household emulsion
Studio semi-gloss acrylic paint - landscape green
Stazon timber brown
Stamps - Claudine Hellmuth Bloom collection, PaperArtsy Tops and Tails 2 and 3.
Gesso and acrylic paint.
Flower, ribbon and tag.

Well folks I hope you will be tempted to come and see the new Fashionable Stamping challenge blog, please leave a comment if you pop in so we know you have visited. As you will see there's a bit still to be done but it will be a dead easy theme starting next Sunday - keep watching.

The sun is shining, the garden is blooming and I have a day to craft - what more could we want???

Have a fabulous week.

luv and hugs {brenda) xoxox

Challenges to have fun with -
Simon Says Stamp - newspaper
The Shabby Tea Room - photo inspiration
Sir Stampalot - Anything Goes
Craft Your Days away - Summertime
Totally Gorjuss - Punches or dies

Planes and Trains - art journalling

The Random Redhead Challenge at Gingersnap Creations this week continues the machines theme with a focus on planes and trains. I decided that having not done any journalling for quite a way this would be my chance to have a play and get very inky.

The backgrounds were made with torn strips of paper, including newspaper, stamped over the top and then given a colour wash. Over that I masked some sequin waste and added paint through it.

All the images have been downloaded, some from the Graphics Fairy and some I just Googled.

Both the planes and the trains are being transported high into space by the balloons enabling them to travel further distances, being watched by some very dubious characters. Are they spies?

The images have been cut out and inked and some have been edged with pen.

I had a real Steampunk fun time creating this.

Inspiration was drawn from -
Gingersnap Creations - Planes and trains
Try It On Tuesday - Steampunk
Simon Says Stamp - use newspaper
Sunday Stamper - Back to Black - as a tribute to Amy Winehouse, after the tragic news yesterday that she has died age 27. Like Hels says I hope she may now find the peace she couldn't find  before. xx The blue page has alot of black in it - hope that counts Hels.

I hope the weekend is going well - we have some lovely sunshine today and I have been to a carboot sale and picked up a couple of little bits for altering.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Shaped card for C4E

Shaped cards? That's not one of my usual things to do, but when it came up as a challenge theme this week for Crafts4Eternity I really had to put my thinking cap on. I have some scalloped edge cards, but I thought that would be cheating to use one of those. I don't have any of the grand nesties so the only thing I could think of was to cut a smaller shape and see how it went. I used a Go Create die - wavy frame #2.

So this is it. I found this gorgeous image at Bumble Buttons, a magical place for free vintage images, I cut it using the next size die down and then drew round it and cut out the blue mount. With some crystal stickles, one of my frozen charlotte doll moulds and a skirt, a shabby bow and a sentiment I was sorted.

Very simple, but I like that for a change. It is nice to create something that doesn't take me days, as many of my projects do.

Only one more week for me being a GD at C4E. It has been a great time with very enjoyable themes and a very relaxed atmosphere. See you next week with my last contribution and something much more up my street.

Have a very happy Friday and thanks for popping by.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Cogs and wheels Steampunk

Hi All

Firstly a warm welcome to Patricia, Sandra and Wax Beach Artist who have all joined me this week. I am pleased that you have seen things you like on my blog and that you can join me on my creative journey.

This is my piece for the Gingersnap Creations Spicy Supply Challenge - gears, cogs and watch parts. It is machines month, focusing on steampunk and this challenge is to bring the mechanics of machines to the forefront. Other inspiration was drawn from Hels Sunday Stamper - make your own flower, Try It On - Steampunk, Stampotique - Flower power and Just For Fun - metal.

The base for this piece is a coaster made of black plastic with a soft black velvety backing to it. The head is from Hampton Art and is the same lady as can be found on the Graphic 45 Steampunk papers. I stamped her on some card which had been swooshed with distress stains and then used DIs over the top of that.

After stamping I drew over some of the cogs with Sakura glitter pens before heat embossing over the whole thing and stamping cogs into it using a gold metallic ink pad. When it was dry I sprayed it with a glossy sealer which actually left a nice soft textured finish to it.

To finish off I added lots of watch pieces, a handmade metal flower and a metal number plate. You can just see the tiny watch screws in the middle of the bolt at the centre of the flower.


Hope your day is good and thank you to all you lovely friends who visit and to those especially who leave me the most encouraging comments - I really appreciate them all.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Wedding Book Page

It is ages since I have done anything to this wedding book project and I really need to get it finished before the end of the month and so much still to do.

Today I have used the TH dress form to make guest tags. The wedding is in Italy (and sadly we can't go as it is the day after we return from our holiday), but I will send out the tags with the chief bridesmaid who will get them signed for me to put in the book and I will give it to Jamie and Helen when they have their wedding party back here in this country in September.

I am using the Graphic 45 le Romantique paper pack, which is so suitable for this and the book (which is a wooden one) - I showed some of what I have made already Here, Here and Here.

My inspiration for this piece has come from -
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Embossing (the crown and the corner flourish)
Kraft Journal - favourite things (dress forms, make own backgrounds as on the dress forms, inks and vintage)
Our Vintage Affair - Wedding
Shabby Tea Room - Charms

Supplies -
Stamps - TH shabby french, La Blanche, Stamps Happen Inc - rose postcard
DIs - tattered rose, fired brick, weathered wood, faded jeans, vintage photo
Masks - Tando Creative
Charms
Ticket - free download

Officially this is my second post for today, but with the Grungy Monday DT piece not publishing yesterday that also went up this morning, so you have to say that's 3. Must be a record for me.

I said I was going to be creative today - so I hope you like it and of course I hope Helen and Jamie will like it too.

Have a good evening - I think I will crack on and see if I can get another page done.

luv and hugs {brenda] xoxox

Top 3 at Make My Monday

Just a quick post to say that my rusty embossing tag won a Top 3 place at make My Monday.
Thanks for choosing me guys.

I would also like to extend a warm welcome to Trisha, Sarah, Dawn, Josie, Noukie, Debra, Sher, Silvia, Rusty, Clare, cv.nikolaeva, leandra, Moz, Joan, Sue, Henny, Karen, Gerri, Milla, Colette, Sue, Dot, Martina and Summite, who have all become followers in the last month or so. It is lovely to have you guys on board and joining me in my creative journey.

Right I have a day at home today so I am now off to be creative - I hope.


Have a great day.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Travel Pouch Grungeboard Extravaganza for Grungy Monday

Happy Grungy Monday everyone

I have been so excited as our lovely hostess Linda at Grungy Monday asked me to be a guest designer for this week and I have really thought hard as to what to make. This week we are focusing on a fabulous Tim Holtz product - Grungeboard or Grungepaper. You can use it in any way you like. Tim shows examples on his blog and there are videos on You Tube. Please go over and see the amazing contributions from both Linda and Dawn who is the other fab guest this week.

One of the things I have thought about making for a long while now is a travel pouch. It is an idea that has been mulling around in my head for a few years and what I mean is a small wallet that can hold postcards and journalling tabs for when I am visiting somewhere new or on my travels. Often when we go away to a new country I end up buying a small notebook to jot names of places and things we have seen, and end up keeping pictures and brochures etc. in the paper bags they were bought with.

So this is the sketch of the wallet I visualised with notes about it. I quite often start with a picture and ideas when embarking on a larger project. As you can see I wanted 2 pouches, a way to hold a pen or pencil, somewhere to keep some stamps (that got lost along the way), and some way to secure it.  I knew I was going to get the sewing machine out on this one as well as use the usual glues and eyelets or brads.

I made a paper one first and realised I needed to have gussets in the sides of the pouches to let them expand a bit so they would hold a reasonable amount if needed. I also found my own 'suggested' measurements needed adjusting too (hence the crossings out on my sketch). Once I had done all of that, I was off.

In making this I learnt that grungepaper shrinks when made wet and then heat dried so I lost some of the dimension - but everything still fits ok. I also learnt that this process buckles the paper too and I ended up ironing it with a damp cloth to get it flat(ish) again. My sewing machine found the double thickness difficult and also archival or stazon ink didn't like the finished surface. But saying all that this was an incredible project to make. At one or two points I thought I had bitten off more than I could chew but I am pleased with the end result.

I am not going to give a blow by blow account of how this was made but I hope the photos will give you a good idea.

The back of the travel pouch

A view showing the whole length of it.

A view of the front - you can see the fastener for the leather strap.

Inside - one pouch holds postcards, the other holds cut card for journalling.

A view inside - you can see the gussets and how much more room they give to the pouch.

I sewed on the little pieces to hold a pen.

A side on view again showing the gussets - they were very difficult to get sewn in.

The fastener is a leather strap and buckle from 7Gypsies. I bought a couple of these the last time I was in California - about 5 years ago and this is the first time I have used one and it worked a treat.

Main Products used
12 x 12 Grungepaper
Distress Inks - worn lipstick, fired brick, tumbled glass, vintage photo, black soot
Tim Holtz paper stash - shabby vintage
Distress staind - fired brick, vintage photo
Fresco paint - vintage lace
Tim Holtz stamps - the journey, lost and found
Dies - Tattered florals, Sizzix flower layers 8
I get most of my products on-line and and as I am DT member for the Stamp Man I tend to buy from their on-line shop.

 This feels so soft, I love holding it - just like sheep-skin leather.

We are so looking forward to seeing what you make with Tim's grungeboard or grungepaper. This is the only requirement for this challenge, anything else you use can be from your own stash. You might like to wander over to the All Things Tim discussion group at Yahoo. Gloria, the list mom, has a Grungy Monday file there where participants can upload their art for the group to admire. The address is:  groups.yahoo.com/group/allthingstim

Have a fabulous week.

Luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Edit - Sorry folks just realised Mr Blogger scheduling didn't work as I was out at work yesterday and didn't get back in till 11.00pm last night. Oh well here we are now xoxox

Rusty embossing

Yay I have managed to get a tag done that has been inspired by both the rusty embossing background from the fab Tim Holtz for Grungy Monday and the Chestnut Theme challenge at Gingersnap Creations called On The Road.

You can find the explanation for the rusty embossing background HERE on Tim's blog where he shows how he has used it with a Christmas tag. There are some fabulous pieces as inspiration by Linda, the lovely hostess and two fabulous guest designers Barbara and Rinda.

Mine has the car, map and a bit of the nuts and bolts as Gingersnap's overall focus for the month is Steampunk and you know me I love to play in this genre.

This looks out of focus, but the glossy embossing hasn't helped on the truck. But you can see how I have added the journalling.

Supplies
TH die ATC and corners.
DIs - weathered wood, vintage photo, frayed burlap, walnut stain and black soot.
Clear embossing powder.
Old book of AA maps and bits from my oddments box.

Have a good day and thanks for stopping by to have a look at my tag today.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Challenges to have fun with -
Grungy Monday - TH technique
Gingersnap Creations - On the Road
Paper Crafting Journey - For him
Crafty Creations - Boyz to men
Make my Monday - Vintage and embossing
Crafty Catz - Tags

Vintage ATC at The Stamp Man

The Stamp Man ATC swap running at the moment is a vintage theme. With Jill and Ian's move to the unit next door, the address for sending your ATcs has changed. It is now -

The Stampman, Unit 11, Craven Nursery Park, Snaygill Industrial Estate, Keighley Road, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 2QR,

I have used the sewing room die with shrink plastic and created this mini version of the dress form. 

 I used the TH weathered textile stamp on the dress form.

I have also used the haberdashery stamps and the mini classics all by the great man himself of course.

If you fancy having a go at this do post your ATC and link it to the challenge blog, we would love to see what you create.

If you have seen my mini canvas piece I published yesterday you will note that when I was at Lucy's earlier in the week she showed me how to make moulds and cast embellishments using clay. She has been asked by a number of people how she does it and she is going to run an on-line course (for a small fee) to demonstrate how it is done. If you would like to have a go at this, and it really is a fab way to make embellishments of your own, then pop over to her blog HERE and email her for more information.


I hope you are having a good weekend and thanks for your continued support in my artistic endeavours..

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Mini Canvases - Anything Tim for The Stamp Man

Hi Everyone

It's Friday and another new challenge starting at The Stamp Man. It is Jill who is the host this week and of course she has chosen a Tim Holtz theme.

I decided to follow on with mini canvases after making that fabulous frame with Lyn at her workshop. This time there is more of a shabby chic style to it.

The larger canvas has been sprayed and inked with masks after it had been painted with acrylics.

The smaller canvases have been treated in different ways.

This one has been covered with music paper then glazed with a coating of multi medium matte and some shimmery household paint mixed in.

Another covered with TH paper then inked, painted and gessoed.

The third covered with tissue tape and covered with Old Gold and Rubb and Buff metal paints.

I have used Ideology embellishments, metal corners and other bits and pieces from my box of bits. I have also been playing with making and using moulds and fimo clay. The little frozen charlotte doll has been made using one from the Ideaology set - this way it has a flat back and is great for mounting on your work. I have to thank Lucy for showing me how to do it, she has a great collection of pieces that she has made herself.

Now there is a surprise with one of the canvases - inside is a photo of my daughter Maddie and my granddaughter Becca. As they both love stars, I have altered 2 glass ones using fresco paint and crackle glaze.  See? I have just realised I was going to rub some metal rub into the tissue paper to colour it and haven't done that. Must go and finish it off.

Supplies
Acrylic paints of various kinds.
Masks - Tim Holtz flourish and Spellbinders floral stone impressabilities.
DIs - weathered wood, worn lipstick
Papers - Tim Holtz - crowded attic and shabby vintage.
Tim Holtz die - heart wings.
Alcohol inks - silver mixative, pink sherbert
Glimmer Mist - watermelon

Do you like the way I have hinged the canvas and it opens out?

I hope you will join in with the Stamp Man challenge this fortnight, we would love to see what you make. Don't forget there is a £10.00 voucher to spend at The Stamp Man on-line shop for the winner, so what are you waiting for? There are still alot of bargains at the moment due to Jill's move, but they won't be around for ever.

Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by and to those who leave me such lovely comments, I love to read them and I appreciate the time you take to do this.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Challenges to have fun with -
Clear it out - Wings (metal butterfly)
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
Alter it Monthly - Valley of the dolls