Using designer paper

This week Simon Says Stamp and Show wants us to use a little paper, so what was the first thing I headed for today on my first day back from holiday? Yep a small paper pack and some fun time creating and making again.

I used 2 sheets from a 6 x 6 MME paper pad called The Station to make a card for my dear hubbie who organised our fabulous vacation in California.

Suplies used -

Stamps - Tim Holtz Simple Sayings, flourish, Tiny Things

Dies - Tim Holtz Pediments

Embossing folder - Tim Holtz Dot Matrix

Distress Markers, Ranger Archival inks, Distress Inks, Distress Crackle Paint, Chitchat Stickers, white acrylic paint.

I folded the DP in half to create the card and because it's double sided it has a lovely patterned inside to it, plus I added two strips to decorate and provide a place for writing the message.

I chose another piece to cut a pediment which was run through the EF and inked with walnut stain and fired brick and rock candy crackle paint swiped over it with a piece cut from an old credit card. 

I also crackled the sentiment, bird image and edges of the card (after I had stamped the flourish all round it).

I stamped the little birds onto heavy weight cartridge paper and watercoloured them using DMs.

The film strip was added to a scrap of TH paper and I also found a scrap old Basic Grey DP which I used for the collage strips.

It's lovely being in the work room again, I did miss it, but of course there were lots of compensations while I was away and I will show you some photos later in the week.

I hope all is well with you my blogging friends and readers and thanks to the new followers who have joined me recently, it is lovely to have so much encouragement and support along the way, I hope you find some inspiration and a reason to come calling again.

Have a wonderful weekend.

hugs {brenda} x0x

Other challenges to have fun with -

Artisitic Stamper - Words

Cards Galore - A Tim Holtz homage

A night of Romance

I have a beautiful new silhouette stamp from Crafty Individuals to show you today. A Night of Romance.

This tag was quite easily made (that sounds as if this didn't take me long to do, but in fact it took me hours of thinking and designing time again!!!), anyway to achieve this effect I blended antique linen over the tag and some peacock feathers DIs. The image was stamped fairly centrally and then I cut a mask to cover the whole design, that then allowed me to continue with the collage theme and I stamped the CIs music, crackle and a text stamp around the edges.

The corner flourish is a new vintage Joy die and I added a few gems to it. The flat backed pearls were alcohol inked to achieve the black finish and my flower is a mixture of Prima and die-cut petals. 

A black gem strip and black ribbon and it's done.

When this post goes live I will be travelling back from my holiday, so catch ya later and have a great weekend.

hugs {brenda} x0x

Rusted architectural habedashery

What ? I hear you asking after reading the title of the post. Well all is revealed.

Supplies -

Stamps - Tim Holtz Classics #2, Haberdashery, Ultimate Grunge, Odds and Ends

Distress EP - walnut stain

DIs - iced spruce, walnut stain, barn door

Black and Vermillion Archival ink

The background was created by smooshing (technical term that!!) the distress stains on the craft mat and swiping the tag through, spritzing with water and drying between layers. The small text and numbers stamps were stamped in iced spruce and then the main images stamped in black.

Now you can see why I called it architectural lol. I have been waiting to use this set of stamps for ages and managed to get a couple of hours just for me.

Because of the feel of this piece I used walnut stain distress EP on the dress form to give it a rusted industrial appeal.

And Ken cut me off a small piece of an old foldaway ruler that I found in a junk shop.

A few more added embellishments including a vintage bingo number again found in an antique place, eh voila.

I must say a warm welcome to all my new followers who have joined me these last few weeks. Thank you for stopping by and sharing this amazing creative journey with me. Unfortunately I can't get across to some if your blogs as they are not showing up in your links. Please let me know where you are so I can come and visit.

Thanks also to my wonderful followers and friends who leave me some amazing comments, including those who have joined me since my Blogworthy Link on Tim's blog, you are such kind people and you provide much encouragement and support. 

Well I am into the last few days of my holiday and spending them lazily round the pool and doing a bit of shopping with my friend Joni. Seems we will be coming back to some cold and miserable weather unless it cheers up by the weekend.

I hope you are all ok and enjoying some crafty time.

hugs {brenda} x0x

In the Pink at PanPastel Uk

Time for a new challenge at PanPastel UK and this week's theme is 'In the Pink', and I have made a very simple pink birthday card for today.

I used a Stampin' Up stamp with EP and PP for the central panel, embossing the side panels with a spotty EF and again covering with PPs.

The little banner was made by cutting triangles from DP.

The trim of roses adds a feminine touch.

Your Creativity Store is our regular sponsor and will provide a PanPastel starter set as the winner's prize.

Have a wonderful Sunday and hopefully some creative time for yourself. I am still away on holiday at the moment.

Take care.

hugs {brenda} x0x

Summer Garden for Crafty Individuals

This tag has been made using one of the new Crafty Individuals stamps - Summer Garden (CI-385) and the Alice Palace Bubble Bird (CI-371).

Challenges to have fun with -

Simon Says Stamp and Show - Inspired by - for me this is Kate Crane and her journaling style although this has more muted colours.

Bloggers Challenge - Tags

Our Creative Corner - Anything Goes

The background has DIs pickled raspberry, dried marigold and salty ocean blended over the tag, sprinkled with water and dried then bubble-wrap stamped in gesso.

I used a white posca pen to colour in some of the summer garden stamp images, then the bird and 'hello' coloured with prisma colours added to it.

I also stamped, coloured  and cut out extra flowers to create more height and you can hopefully make out four of them in the photo below.

Some doodling round the edges in black and white, some coloured ribbon and a tiny birdhouse charm on a pin finishes it off.

Happy crafting.

hugs {brenda} x0x

So excited at being a blogworthy link.

I have just seen that I am one of Tim's Blogworthy Links today along with some very talented people which makes me both very happy and humbled to be part of such an amazing group. A huge thank you to Tim for choosing me and huge congratulations to the others which includes Alison, Gillian and Candy. Yay girls way to go.

Please scroll down to see my newest piece for Crafty Individuals.

hugs Brenda xox

Plain Sewing for Crafty Individuals

This is one of the new stamps from Crafty Individuals and you know how much I love sewing themes so this was great to work with.

I used this stamp to make a book cover.

First I prepared a Tim Holtz arch using layers of Fresco Finish paint and then adhered the image which was stamped twice side by side onto tissue paper. Using the FF colours as washes I added some colour to the image and where I wanted more depth of colour I used promarkers.

The dress was stamped, coloured with FF paints and Promarkers as well and a white pen to put the spots back in and popped onto the arch using foam pads.  I cut the top piece of the arch from another one, painted it and added the sign before adding it, which makes it look a bit like a roof.

The book cover is greyboard prepared with gessso and dictionary paper and an old dress pattern glued over before adding layers of the FF paints finishing with the metallic glaze. (The back cover is the same).

I added some tissue tape and cut kraft card and watercolour paper for the pages, spritzing them with the FF paints and then used the Bind It All to put it together.

I hope you are having a good week and finding some time to do a spot of crafting yourself.

thanks for stopping by today.

hugs {brenda} x0x

Anything Goes at FSC

Well it's a challenge you all love over at Fashionable Stamping Challenges this fortnight and as long as your project includes some real stamping then it will be eligible

I would like to join in with Simon Says Stamp and Show's 'Passport to Fun" challenge with this album. Lets take a look at what I have included.

I have made a little album for my trip to California so that I can add any memorabilia I pick up over the holiday and keep all together and hopefully journal at the same time.

I started by blending DIs, flicking water and drying it then stamping using the Tim Holtz Travel Ways stamps.

The next layer included a Tim blueprint stamp mounted,  some die-cut letters and numbers and his new rub-ons. They go on so easily, by far the best I have ever used.

To give me a bit of a head start I have added some pockets ........

..... masking ........

.... tissue tape and more stamps.

So let's see if I am managing to keep it while I am away, I should be able to as we are staying with friends.

Thanks for popping in, have a wonderful Sunday and I hope some time to create.

hugs {brenda} x0x

Do you believe in fairies?

Another week has past by and I am in California, away on a break staying with friends near Los Angeles where we have been experiencing some high temperatures in the 90s.

So time for a new challenge at PanPastel UK and this week's theme is 'Fairyland', I have altered a frame using some PanPastel colours, gesso and Maimeri light modelling paste all available from Your Creativity Store who is our regular sponsor and will provide a PanPastel starter set as the winner's prize.

The dragonfly has been embossed using black EP and I have added some tiny beads and picket fence crackle paint over the modelling paste.

Have a wonderful Sunday and hopefully some creative time for yourself.

Take care.

hugs {brenda} x0x

How does your garden grow at Country View Challenges

It's a special challenge this month at Country View Crafts as we have the wonderful Lin Brown joining us as a guest designer and she has chosen the theme 'How does your Garden Grow'. Please go take a look at her amazing art if you haven't seen her blog before and pop over to the challenge blog to see the wonderful inspiration from the team.

My tag has a textured background using a Cuttlebug embossing folder and dried marigold, shabby shutters, broken china and walnut stain DI.

The flowers are hand made using the Tim Holtz tattered flower garland strip die and layered over some red hessian..

The leaves are metal and have been painted with distress paints as was the little bird embellishment.

The sentiment has been generated on the PC, printed onto distress inked card.

I love making these extended tags, by adding an extra layer gives it a bit more space to add a sentiment and elongates it more.

Thanks to everyone who joined in our butterfly challenge last month it was great visiting your blogs and seeing all your wonderful creations. I hope you will take part again this month with a project that follows our garden theme and let's hope the month of May allows us to get out in our gardens more.

Take care.

hugs {brenda} x0x