Love

Love is in the air ...  With Valentines fast approaching are you feeling the lurve?!!

Our new fortnightly challenge starts today at Try it on Tuesday  ... and we are all about Celebrating Valentines Day (include a heart).  Dust down your cupid stamps, your bows, arrows and hearts and see what loving you can create!!

I really enjoyed making my DT entry for this challenge.  I managed to snatch 2 hours on Sunday afternoon to get creative having had a back to back weekend schedule of football and rugby.  Normally this would result in me only getting my act together at the point my slot was over but not this week!  With the excitement of going to see Ronan Keating that evening (great concert and nice eye candy!) I cracked on and achieved my goal!!

I embossed the stamps for the background in white before using distress inks in a combination of pink, purple and turquoise shades.  A quick spritz & flick with water and a little gathered twigs around the edge completed it.  I cut the flourishes from grungeboard and painted them with Byzantia paint.  The heart is also grungeboard which I embossed with script before inking with pink & purple distress.  I then added Silver Fox embossing powder which is quite coarse so gives a lovely texture.

The crown is hand cut from a vintage book and I stamped 'Love' using old printers letters painted with acrylic paint.  The material strips were stamped using archival and spritzed with Shimmerz Sea Foam.  I crinkled the muslin up and dried it with a heatgun.  I didn't expect it to retain the crinkles but the spray ink has given it a bit of body and it's actually quite solid which was great!

I used a domino covered with part of an old playing card and UTEE'd for my other embellishment and stamped a little butterfly to my gorgeous girl.

Hope you feel like getting into the love game and want to have a play along with us!  x

Don't forget our great sponsor for this challenge 

who are offering a £10 store voucher!

I'm also entering this into Fashionable Stamping Challenge 40 - Show Some Love.

Christmas Bird

I've had to succumb to making some Christmas cards so this is the first one Hot off the Press!!  I bought the mini cardinal die some weeks ago as he was SO cute but when I saw his big brother, perched on this twig ... well it was a must have item!

I covered my card in vintage music paper which I inked with vintage photo and peeled paint and I stamped the holly with gathered twigs.  The bird is cut from chocolate co-ordinations paper so I sanded him down to reveal his red core and dry brushed some red acylic paint to brighten him up.  The spruce foliage was painted with acrylic paint and a little glitter added.  I used polar white flower soft for my snow.

The pointsettia was cut from vintage book pages, inked with festive berries and painted with Rock Candy distress.  The centre is beadazzles,  The holly leaves and spruce foliage is cut from Kraft Glassine which I inked with alcohol inks. 

I used tissue tape to create the ruffle and some pearls and gems to finish it off.

I'm going to enter this card into the following challenges:  Fashionable Stamping 'To Die For', Gingerloft 'Leaves' and Totally Gorjuss 'Anything Goes ... with Glitter'.

Starting to feel a bit festive ... hope your Christmas plans are coming along too ... x

Sing Your Song

It's my Mum's birthday on Monday and so I've made this card for her.  I don't know why, but I find cardmaking really challenging.  I think it's because you can do absolutely anything as there's no photo to consider so I'm spoilt for choice and my indecisive side takes over!  I start off well by gettting stamps and papers and inks out but end up with the most enormous pile so that I'm still no further forward!  

Anyway, I decided to use this new bird stamp by Stampendous which is gorgeous and a great size.  I stamped it with archival onto mulberry paper and tore it out.  I coloured the bird with pencils before using Victorian Velvet, Spun Sugar and Vintage photo distress inks.  As it was still too bright I spritzed it with Tea Stain re-inker diluted in water and then I gave it all a spray with Perfect Pearls Heirloom Gold.

The background was a combination of vintage dictionary paper and old music which I stamped with birdcages, swirls, words and little insects.

I cut the words from the edge of old music and distressed them with vintage photo.  The little plaque was stamped onto a piece of Mariposa paper by DCWV.

I added two layers of lace along the bottom which I spritzed with chalkboard ink to match and I finished the card with some gold ink all around the edge.

I am entering this card into Divas by Design Challenge 61 Anything Goes, Gingerloft GL52 A Touch of Gold and Fashionable Stamping Challenge 34 - Musical

Off to make a cake now ... xx