My Paper Palace

A New Month...

2012-02-01T14:15:00.000+11:00

And a new challenge over at CRAFT QUEEN's blog...

And these are my samples, 3 very different ATCs (Artist Trading Cards). I wanted to use the great Crafter's Workshop 6" templates, to show a couple of looks that can be achieved with them.

For this ATC, I started by carefully laying THIS template over some white card, and dabbing some alcohol ink (I used StaZon teal ink) over the pattern. I then stamped the mesh image from THIS set of stamps using the same ink. The sentiment from THIS WORD BLOCK was stamped with black ink and stuck using foam squares. I raided my scraps box and found some corrugated cs, which I dry-brushed with some bronze metallic paint, and layered that over a piece of punched and watercoloured paper. I added a yellow button (from a past kit), and a little red wire : )

For this next one, I started with a white ATC blank, and laying THIS template, I carefully added some texture paste over the top (just like icing a cake) and removed the stencil, cleaning it up (the stencil) straight away. I allowed the texture paste to dry overnight, and then I painted over the ATC with some blue and some bronze acrylic paints. I then added the image of the ballerina (stamped onto tissue paper and stuck on with Modge-podge) from THIS set of stamps
The sentiment is from an old Teresa Collins stamp. You can find the beautiful shell heart HERE, and the leaf HERE.

For the next ATC, I started out with some white cs, and THIS template, onto which I sprayed a couple of coats of blue Glimmer Mist, allowing it to sit and puddle around the stencil, once dry, I stamped one of the tree images from THIS set of stamps, and trimmed it down to fit inside my beige ATC blank.

I stamped the sentiment (also from the same set of stamps) onto a scrap of vellum paper, adding a little orange coloured TINY TWINE, a square SHELL BUTTON, some butterflies made with THIS punch, and a tiny bit of a sripe ribbon

If you've never made artist trading cards before, they are a great size for using up bits and pieces, plus, you can try out new techniques in a small scale.

And just in case you didn't pick up on it, this month's challenge involves using the word "love", some twine, and a button. For all the details, and to see the rest of the DT projects, have a look HERE, and don't forget, your entry can be anything crafty, a card, layout, ATC, OTP project, or a sewing project, as long as it incorporates the required criteria.

Thanks for visiting me, I hope I have inspired you to play : )

With One Set of Stamps

2012-01-29T13:31:00.000+11:00

I had a little play with one of my favourite sets of stamps a couple of days ago, and set myself the challenge of creating 3 different looks using the same basic design. I tend to use a lot of colour, so I thought I would do 1 card using some favourite bits and pieces, and 2 cards using colours I don't normally go to... Here are the resulting cards:

I started with this card, using a sheet from THIS pp onto which I satamped the flowers from THIS SET of stamps, as well as THIS RIBBON, and THIS RIBBON. The butterflies were made using THIS PUNCH.

The sentiment, from the same set of stamps, was stamped onto a torn piece of vellum paper using StaZon black ink.

I then moved onto this card, using a dark brown card blank, and a kraft coloured topper, onto which I stamped the same flower images using StaZon timber brown ink, distressing the edges, and adding the image of the dragonfly (hard to see in the photo, but it is there) stamped with Brilliance ink (pearlescent sky blue)

I used THIS DOUBLE-SIDED RIBBON, THIS paper cord, and the cream version of THIS ruffled ribbon (which doesn't seem to be in stock ATM).

And lastly, I made this pink number, again using the same stamped images, StaZon timber brown ink, THIS LACE, THIS RIBBON, and the sentiment was stamped onto a hand-drawn heart and stuck using some foam squares. I added a little KG to the flowers and the edges of the heart, just because I felt like it LOL.

A very basic design can go a long way, just by changing the colours and accesories, much like an outfit : ) Thanks for visiting, I hope you enjoyed your time here...

And don't forget, you still have until the end of the month to enter CRAFT QUEEN's challenge over at CRAFT QUEEN's blog, for all the details, have a look HERE...

Craft Queen Card Kit

2012-01-14T17:25:00.000+11:00

Here is a card kit that Nicole asked a couple of us in the DT to have a play with, it was for a card class she did at a show back in June/July of last year, but you can get your hands on it right HERE

I hope you are having a great day wherever you happen to be at the moment, and thank you for visiting me : )

A Happy New Year...Already!

2012-01-06T23:07:00.000+11:00

Wow, time does fly when you're having fun...Where did 2011 go? I have to say, I'm not one for making NY resolutions, but, for once I promised myself to be much more organized with both my craft space and my craft projects, although to be fair, I was doing OK until someone decided to throw a spanner in the works! (Moose costume, anyone?) So, for this year I will write myself a list of things I want to accomplish, and dates that they need to be done by, so I won't be stiching wings at the very last minute!
This is a doll I made for my niece for Christmas, a couple of weeks ago now (time does fly!)

I used a pattern from the ever popular Tone Finnanger , and I would highly recommend this book though it's more suitable for an experienced doll maker (it could prove to be a little frustrating to a novice) and there are so many other beautiful projects in the book that I think I will run out of time before I ever run out of things to make LOL. This was my very last crafty endevour for 2011...

And I just finished my very first ATC and card for the new year, both of them were for the current Darkroom Door ATC swap (Essentials 8), here's a sneak:

So, did you make any New Year resolutions?

Were You Naughty or Nice?

2011-12-28T14:12:00.003+11:00

Well, Santa's been and gone, and he brought rain and hail with him as well as some great presents : )
I hope your Christmas day was a happy one...mine was great fun, with too much food as always, and lots of noise from all the nieces and nephews, but that's what it's all about, right?

Finally I'm able to share the moose costume I made for my DD (after trying hard to dissuade her)
DD: Mum, how hard is it to make a moose costume?
Me: Very hard...why?
DD: Do you have a pattern I could borrow to make one?
Me: We'd have to buy one...
DD: Can we go to Spotlight and have a look?
Me: It's Saturday afternoon and you need the costume tomorrow afternoon, we don't have enough time!
DD: Can we go and have a look anyway? It can be my Christmas present, pleeeeaaaasssseee...
Me: OK...

So off we went, and spent the next hour looking for a pattern and fabric (we only had 1 hour before the store closed!) To be fair, DD spent her own money (for the fabric, labour was free LOL) as she said the costume would be used a few times. So as soon as we got home we got to work, first cutting the pattern, and then tracing and cutting the fabric...10 hours later, we had a gorgeous moose costume, the actual pattern we bought had the provision for a lion, bear, and dog hood, so DD had to improvise her own antlers' pattern, which were made out of felt and lightly stuffed with polyfill. I think it looks fab, don't you : )

Sorry that my moose was so uncooperative, and camera-shy, but it was a stinkin' hot day so I didn't push it LOL

Weeping Angel Bratz

2011-12-21T12:15:00.001+11:00

In my previous post I mentioned a weeping angel and a moose, the moose is not being very cooperative, so I will have to share that photo in the next post...But here is my version of a Weeping Angel, if you are a Doctor fan, I hope you can see the resemblance. I made her for my daughter's birthday, and by all accounts she loved her : ) The most fiddly bit to work out was the dress, and my favourite part are the wings...everything (other than the Bratz doll, of course) was done by hand by yours truly. The doll was coated with a mixture of acrylic paint and texture paste, and a dry-brushing of silver acrylic paint.

I know she's not quite as sinister-looking as the real deal, but I'm very happy with the way she turned out...
Here is the card I made for her, I stamped the letters and heat-embossed them, the spider webs were drawn in using a Zig pen (0.3) and I added the 3 split pins (in TARDIS blue LOL)

I'll try to get the moose to behave and hopefully I'll have some photos for my next post : ) Thanks for visiting my humble palace...

Inkurable Stampers Holly Challenge

2011-12-19T14:30:00.000+11:00

Hello again, I said I would be back : )
Here is my project for this month's theme over at Inkurable Stampers...

I started with a kraft coloured card blank, dry-painted it with silver acrylic paint, and stamped Darkroom Doors Flourish onto it using Adirondack Lights ink (juniper) also applying it directly to the edges. I then glued some red mesh ribbon to the front and the wreath image (containing the holly, from Darkroom Door Christmas Montage sheet) using foam tape. The tag (made by stamping the script image from a DD set of stamps) was in my scraps box already. I glued the tiny ric-rac to the edge of the card, and added some DM to the wreath.
I have a few more projects that I want to share but haven't taken photos of them yet...they include a weeping angel (for the Whovians out there!) and a moose : ) Thanks for visiting me, I hope you're making time to be creative, if I can do it, so can you...

MMM or My Mess Monday!

2011-12-19T14:04:00.000+11:00

There is a craft table under there somewhere...I swear : )
I've been working on a few projects, and because I've been time-poor, I haven't put things away as I usually like to do...instead, my crafting area has shrunk to a tiny clearing, but no more, I just had a little clean up, and I thought as a reward I would do a couple of projects...I have so many UFOs (unfinished objects for the uninitiated) but new projects are so much more fun, right?
Here's project No 1 for the Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge blog, the criteria being to show some depth...

I've used a Collections chipboard thingy (cabinet card ?), some brown acrylic paint, Distress ink (tumbled glass). The little girl is one of Tim Holtz images, stamped onto acetate with StaZon ink (jet black) which I had also coloured with alcohol inks (currant and ginger) as well as some viridian acrylic paint, and a coat of white acrylic for the underside. The "doors" are held in place by some TH tissue tape, and I added a little wc paper painted with Twinks H2O (ginger peach), and a scrap of cotton lace (from Craft Queen) The word is a stamp (from my scraps box)
I hope I have made it on time for this challenge...
I'll be back shortly, in the meantime, smile, it makes others wonder what you've been up to LOL

A Non-Traditional Christmas Card

2011-12-02T09:55:00.001+11:00

That's the theme for this fortnight over at Stampotique's challenge blog, and here is the card I made, using one of my latests acquisitions, Mela (isn't she cute?)
I've used DCWV metallic cs in a lavender colour, stamping Mela onto a piece of white wc card, colouring her with a purple wc pencil (and a brown one for her shoes) and adding DM to the heart on her dress, and to her shoes. I then distressed the edges, adding some pink ink and punching a corner out. That was then layered over a darker purple cs, and as a finishing touch, I added some silver ribbon and a printed sentiment (from Darkroom Door)

December Already???

2011-12-01T08:33:00.001+11:00

Happy first day of the month...I'm getting ready to trim our Christmas tree today, write our Christmas cards, and work out a Christmas gift list, all while singing along to some Christmas songs.
Our very favourite is this one by the Muppets it only goes for a bit over a minute, but we love it so much we play it over and over again!
And as it is the first day of the month, there is also a new challenge over at the CRAFT QUEEN challenge blog, HERE are the details, and here is my sample using this fun criteria:

I've used the following to make my Christmas card:
MME paper for the background,
Simple Stories paper (which I cut apart for the Santa image and the snowflake)
Paper cord (red), tiny twine (natural and navy)
Sentiment is from THIS Darkroom Door set
And the punched trim was made using THIS punch
How are your Christmas cards coming along?

Last Day of November

2011-11-30T13:44:00.001+11:00

...and your last day to email an entry into the Craft Queen Blog challenge, which, just to remind you, was to use some stamping and a pink ribbon...
Here's a card fitting that criteria:

All you need is to create something, take a photo and email it to Nicole...good luck.
I've used THIS ribbon, THIS ribbon, paper from THIS pad (out of stock), the word "PLAY" from a Darkroom Door Wordstrip. The sweet stamp is by PRIMA, but it is out of stock too (my apologies)

Zutter Books and Stampbord

2011-11-19T10:30:00.001+11:00

A while ago I entered the fabulous Stampbord competition, and I chose to use a couple of Zutter Cover-Alls (bamboo spine) books, which at 3"x4" are the perfect size to use with the ATC-sized Stampbord pieces. We could not share our entries in our blogs at the time, so I'm sharing mine now...I had two entries, this first one made it through to the finals:

I started by covering the book with torn pieces of masking tape, then I gave the whole book a coat of acrylic paint (viridian) and the edges were painted with burnt umber and bronze. I then got one of those fun ATC-sized Stampbord pieces, and using some StaZon inks (mustard, rusty brown, blazing red) covered the entire piece, I then used various stamps from these Darkroom Door sets (Steampunk, Gothic Arches, Prague Vol 2 ) using StaZon ink (jet black) & then I scratched out some highlights using one of the Stampbord scratch knives. I covered the whole Stampbord piece with a coat of DM to give it that nice shiny finish, and I made the insert using plain copy paper, cut to size and hand-sewn together.

For my second entry I used basically the same products, giving the cover a coat of viridian acrylic paint, and the background on the ATC-sized Stampbord piece was created by using watercolour paint and a sprinkling of salt, I then used this image from Stampotique Originals, as well as images from these Darkroom Door sets (Love Birds, Mail Art) The motif in the top corner was drawn in using a Zig pen (0.5) and all the highlights were scratched using a Stampbord scratching tool, this entry didn't make it into the top 6, but I'm very happy with how both entries turned out just the same : )

And if you're wondering why I didn't cover this one with a coat of DM, it's because I really like the matte finish : ) Thank you for visiting me, and a big thank you to those of you who voted for my entry into the competition. You can still see all the beautiful entries HERE.

And talking about competitions, don't forget to enter this month's Craft Queen challenge, just use some stamping, and some pink ribbon and email a photo of your project (which can be anything at all) For all the details, go HERE and good luck : )

Craft Barn Blog Candy

2011-11-13T23:24:00.001+11:00

Have a look at this great blog candy giveaway!!!

Just click on the picture and it will take you to the Craft Barn Blog, enjoy : )

A Little Bird Told Me...

2011-11-08T09:48:00.001+11:00

...that this coming Friday will be a very special date, 11.11.11 for a number of reasons (pun intended LOL) Have a read through THIS ARTICLE to better acquaint yourselves with the significance of the date... And if you're planning on making any purchases from CRAFT QUEEN, hold your horses until that date (it's only a couple of days away, so you won't have to wait too long) you'll be thankful that you did ; )
In the meantime, I'd like to thank all of you who come to visit me, and those of you who follow my blog, thank you from the bottom of my heart...

For this card I've used the following: Darkroom Door Flourish b'ground stamp, Darkroom Door Wordstrip, red mesh ribbon, brown stripe ribbon, tiny twine (red and natural) red and white button.

Poison Bottle

2011-11-06T14:44:00.000+11:00

I hope you are all having a fun and lazy Sunday, I am...
I wanted to enter the Stampotique Designer's Challenge, so I had a look at their theme and it happens to be poison bottle, so I had a quick look around for a suitable bottle and made this:

The bottle is made of glass, and in it's previous life contained mineral water, I just gave it a coat of matte medium, stuck some fusible webbing onto it, adding some Stickls to the mouth of the bottle, and then went to work on my sign.
I used Miss Snottie, stamping her 3 times and cutting out the image (paper-tole style) using foam tape between layers and adding colour with some wc pencils. Did you notice the "stuff" she's throwing up? yes, more Stickls, that's what it is, not a beard LOL. I drew the bones onto thick card and added some puff paint (first time I've used it!) you paint it on, heat it with your heat gun and it magically puffs up...
And the "Rhubarb Leaves" sign? I have a very vivid memory of being in high school (in home-eco class) and our teacher telling us that rhubarb leaves were very poisonous BUT the stalks were OK to cook and eat...I just thought, why would anyone one want to cook with it???
There's a couple of days left if you'd like to take part in this great challenge, so why not give it a go?
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday, and as always, thank you for your visit, I hope I have inspired you to use your supplies and have some messy fun : )

A Colour Challenge

2011-11-04T21:43:00.002+11:00

Here is my entry for the current Inkurable Stampers challenge, it's a colour challenge, and although I love colour, I don't do too well with restrictions, so it's taken me a while to get this ATC finished, but finished IT IS : )
I forgot to take a photo of the background before I added all the stamped images, but I'm sure I'll be using this weaving technique again, it is a bit time-consuming, but it's fun & I think it looks great (I've had the idea stashed away on my "to do" list since I saw a demo of ribbon weaving at the last craft show I attended sometime ago)
I started by painting a couple of book pages with orange wc and purple acrylic paint, and after they were dry I cut them into 1/2" strips and did the weaving thing. I then stuck the woven strips to an ATC-sized card and trimmed the overhanging bits.
I then stamped the letters (Studio G) onto white card, cut them and stuck them into place. I then added some purple cotton thread, and Head (Stampotique Originals at The Stamping Queen) coloured with green wc pencil and stuck with foam tape for added dimention. I was going to use some wool as hair, but then came across the beads and went with those instead, I think they look really cute, plus I couldn't find any green wool LOL. So here is my finished ATC:

Looking at the photos now, I think those beads would also work as mermaid's hair, don't you think? There's still a few days left to join in with this fun challenge, so why not give it a go? Thanks for visiting my humble palace, I hope to see you again soon, until then, go forth and play : )

Hello November

2011-11-02T17:56:00.001+11:00

A new month and a new challenge over at the Craft Queen blog, for all the details head on over HERE and while you're there, grab yourselves the cute challenge blog button (thanks Liz) to add to your own blogs : )
You can see the DT samples HERE , and here is a card I made using pink seam binding, and a stamp
as well as some very cute tiny twine in white, natural, red, and navy, which you can also get carded in coordinated colours of FOREST, SPRING, and AUTUMN . The squirrel ribbon can be found HERE (and there's also a different colourway HERE) and the squirrel button is HERE (make sure you have a look at all the gorgeous new wooden buttons , there's lots of fun shapes!!!) Oh, and you can find the tiny letter stickers HERE, and the leaf is HERE, so make sure you enter your creation (it can be anything, as long as it follows the criteria) and you could win yourself some beautiful ribbons from CRAFT QUEEN.

Happy Halloween Mummy

2011-10-31T16:54:00.000+11:00

Here's a new re-do on another Bratz doll...I've had the idea to do this for ages, and it's not as though I don't have other projects in my "to do" list, but I really wanted to have this done in time for Halloween, so here she is...I covered her face with matte medium, then painted her with white acrylic paint, and her eyes were drawn in with a couple of Zig pens (Zig Millenium 0.3 and 0.8)

I tore a few thin strips of calico and used PVA glue to stick them in place, adding some acrylic paint in a random fashion : )

And this is the family portrait, I hope you like my new addition to the family...Thanks for visiting and I hope your Halloween is a good one!

A Change is as Good as a Holiday

2011-10-28T21:14:00.001+11:00

...well, not quite as good, but I thought I'd give my blog a bit of a facelift, and after spending way too much time looking at different backgrounds, I came back to Blogger...I will eventually change again, probably, but for now I like the messy look, it's sooo me : )
Don't forget there's only a couple of days left to enter the Craft Queen Birthday challenge, there's some fantastic prizes, so make sure you email your entry in...for all the details, have a look HERE, the winner will be announced on the first week of November.
Sorry I don't have any crafty photos, but I promise I will have some for next time you visit.

Re-Altered Box

2011-10-25T14:13:00.000+11:00

This month's theme over at Alter-It-Monthly is "boxes", and although I had lots of different boxes to choose from, I settled on this one, because frankly, it just needed a new make-over!!!!
So here is the "old" (It was originally a green metal, which I painted and decorated over 6 years ago!):

And after a couple of coats of matt medium, and some acrylic paint and some texture paste (using a 6"x6" Crafters template) :

Some more acrylic paint, and lots of drying time...

Now I don't have to hide it any more LOL...
Thanks for visiting, I hope you come back soon, until then, have a creative day : )

Messy Fun

2011-10-23T14:52:00.000+11:00

This is my entry to the latest theme over at the Stampotique Challenge Blog...lots of ink (Adirondack lettuce) lots of acrylic paint (red, purple, yellow) & some wc paints and wc pencils...

I've used a couple of my most recent acquisitions, Perl and Miss Snottie, some bubblewrap, some Kaiser tiny letter stickers, foam tape for Miss Snottie, a wooden heart-shaped button and some bakers' twine(button and twine are from my Craft Queen stash, thanks Nicole)
Tag measures about 6.5"x3" approx.
Now I better go and clean up my craft table, I hope you're enjoying your weekend, thanks for stopping by... : )

Winged Things

2011-10-22T12:48:00.000+11:00

That's the current theme for October over at Crafty Individuals challenge blog , and here is my entry(with just 3 days to spare)

I've used the smaller butterfly from THIS set as well as THIS image , to create my ATC, and as I was photographing it I realized I had made it in "landscape" form, which is most unusual for me...
I started by stamping the butterflies onto an ATC sized (3.5"x 2.5") kraft coloured card, using black Archival ink, I then stamped "once upon a time" onto the same colour card and trimmed slightly smaller than the ATC, and stuck it into place with some foam tape for dimention.    I inked the edge of the card by running the stamp pad directly around all edges and I stamped the tiny butterfly from "once upon a time" a couple of times onto scraps of kraft cs, trimming the images closely and sticking them down with white glue, adding some KG (chrystallina) as a finishing touch.
I love the combination of black on kraft, don't you?
My apologies if you have come around to visit me recently, I haven't been able to share any new work as my computer was playing up, but it's all good now thanks to my BIL who worked some magic (new monitor and added memory!)       I'm slowly catching up, and I hope to visit you soon : )
In the meantime, thanks for coming over, I hope you enjoyed your stay...

Is Your Entry There Yet?

2011-10-08T13:30:00.000+11:00

How is everyone going with their entry into the first ever challenge over at Craft Queen's challenge blog? Is yours HERE yet? Make sure you're in it to win it...Go HERE for all the exciting details and to find out about some seriously generous prizes!!!

And don't forget there's some great ideas that have been featured in the blog all week, here's a card I made using some fabulous seam binding ribbon...Have you seen all the gorgeous different colours it comes in? Have a look HERE , and don't forget to join in the fun : )

Problems With Blogger?

2011-10-01T11:26:00.000+10:00

My apologies to all the lovely people who have left me comments here in the last couple of days, Blogger is not playing nice and when I try to comment in other blogs it does not allow me to sign in, and my comments disapper into cyberspace!!! I hope they fix the problem soon..

In the meantime, don't forget to visit Craft Queen's blog HERE, and for an added chance to win some gorgeous goodies provided by the very generous Nicole (Craft Queen herself) leave a comment in THIS post telling us what you think of the brand new beautiful header that Petrina created using a variety of snippets from the DT samples for our new challenge blog...You know the old saying, "you've got to be in it to win it" so go forth, comment and CREATE : )

Are You All Ready?

2011-09-30T21:49:00.000+10:00

Have a look HERE and make sure you take part : ) Lots of inspiration provided by the DT (yours truly included) and some FABULOUS prizes up for grabs...so what are you waiting for...join in, and help Nicole and the team celebrate five years of supplying us with beautiful buttons, riveting ribbons and all manner of crafty items...See you THERE

Hello Sweety...

2011-09-27T17:26:00.002+10:00

I had the chance to make a couple of cards this afternoon while watching a Doctor Who DVD with DD, & if you are a Whovian, you will get the reference in my title...
Anyhow, here is my entry for Stampotique's challenge blog, last minute, but at least I made it LOL

I started with a white card base, doodled in the B&W edge, stamped Miss Snottie (one of my newest purchases, this was her first outing!) onto a piece of scrap white cs & cut out,and as the theme calls for B&W and a hint of colour, I added a painted piece of mesh (I think it's called plasterers tape?) and the sentiment (Carolee's red letter stickers) I used some foam tape for added dimention...I hope the school holidays are being kind to you too : )

Hanging By a Bit of Wire...

2011-09-24T16:59:00.001+10:00

If you are a jewellery maker, look away now LOL, I think I may have broken some kind of law!

Here is my interpretation of this month's great theme over at Crafty Individuals challenge blog...there's still a couple of days left to join, so if you get the chance, why not give it a go?
I stamped the bodyform from this SET onto some shrink plastic, masking it, and stamping the smaller butterfly from this SET.(I used Archival ink) I coloured the images with wc pencils, then carefully cut around the images, punching a hole with my crop-a-dile, and then, using my trusty heat gun, shrunk the image to a cute little size (I placed the shrunk images next to their original counterparts for reference) I added the shrunk bodyform to some broken bits of jewellery I had picked up at a garage sale, and added that to a piece of suede, stamping onto it using the images from this SET, and adding some KG as a finishing touch. I hope it qualifies for the theme of "hanging about". I hope you're having a great weekend, and if you follow the footy, I hope your team makes it to the finals next week (DH is watching the semis ATM) Thanks for visiting my humble palace, now, go ang get messy : )

A Majestic Birthday...

2011-09-24T10:04:00.001+10:00

A certain member of Crafting Royalty will be celebrating her FIFTH birthday next month, and has a whole lot of fun activities and competitions, with some fantastic prizes planned for her loyal subjects!!! STAY TUNED for more information as it comes to hand... I have heard in the royal court rumour mill that one of the activities may have something to do with CERTAIN COLOURS, and at the risk of being thrown in gaols for insubordinate behaviour, I'm sharing these sneak photos...shhhhh, don't tell Her Majesty you saw them here : )

How Long Has It Been...

2011-09-14T16:52:00.000+10:00

...since you used any eyelets? For me, it's been forever LOL, so it was great to have a play this morning using some rather quirky shaped eyelets that I had forgotten were in my stash. This is my entry to this month's theme over at Sarah's Inkurable Stampers challenge blog:

I started by cutting a tag shape out of purple cs, I stamped the Art Declassified image onto some white cs and stuck that to the tag, I then added the olive cs scallop edge (TH Alterations die), I was going to set the eyelets onto the orange strip of cs but thought they would look too plain, so I added bits of painted cs out of my scraps box and then set them with my crop-a-dile (which I use all the time to make holes, but I haven't used in ages to set an eyelet!!!) The sentiment is a favourite of mine(and so true!) and it's from an ATC booklet I bought ages ago from The Stamping Queen., both the sentiment and the strip of orange cs were stuck on using foam tape for extra dimention. I was going to leave it at that, but the purple section looked too empty, so I brought out some white acrylic paint and my favourite Darkroom Door b'ground stamp and voila! no more empty space : )

I then added some orange and some red ribbon, as well as a white button, all from Craft Queen (because I like to rub shoulders with royalty LOL) So now that I found my stash of eyelets, I wonder what else I can use them on?

Don't forget you still have time to join in with this fun challenge until the end of the month...

And you also have until the 18th of this month to vote for the top 6 entries to the Stampbord competition...You need to "like" Stampbord, and then go to the gallery and choose your favourite entry out of the 6 there... Thanks for your visit, now go, create something : )

Odd Family Tree...

2011-09-12T17:31:00.000+10:00

A little while ago I bought one of these trays, and the hardest part for me was deciding on the look I wanted...would I go shabby chic? or vintage? or even Steampunk?...it's a great design, so easy to work with, and I finally went with the family tree idea, prompted by this month's theme over at Alter-it-Monthly.

I started by getting my scraps box out and choosing a variety of pps, I then traced the shapes I needed b4 sticking the layers (of the tray) together, and painted the whole thing with a nice chocolate brown acrylic paint. I used images from Stampotique Originals ( Head, Gooseneck, Eric, Perl, Smile, Snooty, and Moth Fab (thanks Shirley for sending me some of Moth Fab's and Eric's stamped images for me to play with) , Tim Holtz (Mini Halloween), WRMK, and the bat at the top of the frame is by Imaginisce. The tree was made from card, cut free-hand, and covered in "appropiate" text : ) I added some Distress ink (Vintage Photo) and I also added some twigs all the way from my garden... The Plaque is from a TH Alterations set, and the "family" is a stamp, but I can't remember the manufacturer, the lace was dyed with GM, and stuck to the back with ds tape, if you squint you may be able to see that I also added a couple of cobwebs stamped onto acetate (there's one behind the tree, and another sandwiched between Snooty and Perl) I added some lovely red acrylic paint to finish it off (that was my DD's idea, and I'm getting worried about her, she's getting more like me with each passing day LOL)

So there you have it, the Odd Family tree, I hope you like it...and don't forget, you have until the end of the month to join in with this great challenge at Alter-it-Monthly

PS. Thank you to those of you who have taken the time to vote for my entry to Stampbords Facebook competition, voting finishes on the 18th of this month...If you'd like to vote, you can find the details HERE

Playing With Acetate

2011-09-10T17:14:00.000+10:00

Stampotique's current challenge is "bookmarks", and I know that no matter how many bookmarks I have, I can always do with some more...

For this particular one, I started with a piece of clear acetate, cut it into a tag shape, stamped Gooseneck & Prom Queen on the reverse using black StaZon ink, and when dry, I added white and purple acrylic paint. Once that was dry, I added the image of Head (stamped onto scraps of painted wc paper), the (old Collections) cs scrabble tiles, covered with a coat of DM. I added the left-over oval center piece of a Sizzix Alterations die (folded in the middle over a piece of painted text paper) The button is from Craft Queen, and so is the seam binding. I also used a Souffle pen to accentuate the whites of their eyes : ) I hope you're having a creative weekend, thanks for stopping by.

Stampbord Competition

2011-09-08T09:30:00.004+10:00

Are you on Facebook? If you are, check out the top 6 entries to the great Stampbord competition...I put in 2 entries, one got through, and you are able to vote for the entry you like by "liking" it on FB... This is my entry: I hope you "LIKE"it : )

Enjoy your day, and thank you for visiting my palace...

Happy Father's Day...

2011-09-04T11:11:00.001+10:00

Happy Father's Day to all fathers out there...Don't forget the old saying, "anyone can be a father, but it takes someone truly special to be a bank for the rest of his life" : )

Cards made using THIS set of Darkroom Door stamps, THIS DD wordblock stamp, and THIS pp
Enjoy your Sunday...

Second Tilda Cloth Doll

2011-08-29T09:28:00.000+10:00

I made my second Tilda doll (using a pattern from THIS BOOK) over the weekend, it was a present for one of my nieces (she's 9 years old) and thankfully, she loved it, but so did her little sister, so I think I'll be making another one for Christmas LOL...

I forgot to measure her, but she's roughly 55 cms long, I drew in the facial features with my trusty Zig Millenium pen (O.3) drawing her lips and filling them in with MM's Glaze (Ruby). I painted her slippers with the same colour...and added a RIBBON FLOWER from CRAFT QUEEN to trim her dress (adding a little KG to the center of the flower). As always, the hardest step with making a cloth doll is the stuffing, but I got my lovely daughter to help me with the legs and the arms, and she did a great job after I explained that we didn't want too much cellulite showing LOL! : ) Anyways, if you are a cloth-doll maker, I can highly recommend Tilda's books, there's always beautiful photos to inspire you, and although they are a little advanced for beginners, the patterns are fairly easy to follow...the hardest part is choosing the right fabrics from all the beautiful cottons available : ) I hope you've enjoyed the break from paper-related crafts, I know I did : )

How Can You Resist?

2011-08-27T09:26:00.000+10:00

Have a look HERE to find out more about the technique I used for this card...

And if you'd like to have a play with a new CARD KIT, have a look HERE, such a nice and cheery kit, and just in time for Spring : )

Have you seen THESE? Don't they look fabulous!!!

And while you're there, don't forget to have a look at all the NEW PRODUCTS that have arrived at CRAFT QUEEN, including DISTRESS INKS!!!!

There's also new PAPERS! ( and clever Nicole has taken the guess work out of the picture by putting together a bundle of matching ribbons to go with those beautiful papers)

So there you are, lots for you have a look at...enjoy your weekend, and don't forget to CREATE : )

Bright and Beautiful...

2011-08-24T18:39:00.000+10:00

...is the theme for this month's challenge over at Crafty Individuals Blog, and I've just finished my entry.

I've used one of my favourite surfaces to stamp on, a 1" square piece of Stampbord, the background was painted with Garnet Twinks H2Os, and the image stamped using Archival ink (jet black), I then scratched some highlights and added a coat of DM, added the bail and it's now a pendant. Here are the photos to prove it : )

I hope it's "bright and beautiful" enough to qualify...

Back With A Sketch...

2011-08-21T22:03:00.000+10:00

Inkurable Stampers blog is back, and Sarah is trialing a new way to link up the entries : ) For this month she has provided a great sketch for us to play with, and today I got the time to clear my craft table and play along. I just used the sketch as is, and I was all ready to stick the papers down when I realized I had forgotten to STAMP!!!! So, I got out a flourish stamp(AL) and stamped the image onto my dark green cs with black ink, colouring in with pastel pencils, and also added a previously stamped and heat-embossed scrap (DD French Script) which I coloured with Adirondack ink (lettuce) and stuck on with foam tape for added dimention. The pps are from a Prima 6" x 6" pad and I used my nestabilities to cut the shapes. The sentiment is from a DD Wordstrip, the ribbon is HERE, and the shell button is HERE, and now for some photos:

There's still time to join in with this great challenge, just don't forget you need to use at least one stamp to qualify : )

A Bratz Mermaid?

2011-08-20T13:15:00.000+10:00

Last month I joined in with "Alter It Monthly", and the theme was Dolls... & I really enjoyed playing along (you can see my first altered doll HERE) so I thought for this month's THEME I would also alter a Bratz doll, though this one turned out a little too cute for my liking, LOL. I forgot to take "before" photos, but I'm sure you get the idea, and as a bonus, this one had hair!

This is where she will live, we've had the large glass container for many years, & have added little treasures from beachcombing trips, so I think she will feel right at home... I began the alteration by removing the doll's make up, then applied a mossy green acrylic glaze to the body, adding acrylic paints in varying colours as well as KG and Stickles to the hair. The fish tail was made by covering a "sandwich" of cardboard cut into shape with masking tape, then painted over with acrylic paint, and lots of KG and Stickles were added for shine and texture : )

The facial features were added with ZIG Signature pens, the bust was covered with starfish punches cut from scraps of watercoloured paper. As I said, her face looks too cute for my liking, but I think she makes a lovely mermaid...I hope you think so too, thanks for visiting : )

Creating with Darkroom Door Stamps

2011-08-10T19:07:00.000+10:00

Here are a few projects I've found while cleaning up the computer (as you do LOL)

I hope you're having a great day...we have gone back to a proper winter here in Melbourne, complete with rain, so a great day for crafting : )

From the Show...

2011-07-31T15:53:00.002+10:00

I stocked up on heaps of ds tape, picked up some beautiful papers (Authentique) and other bits and pieces, from CRAFT QUEEN (including some new colours in seam binding, a Martha Stewart butterfly punch, embossing folder, word stickers, Collections printers tray, Kaiser journaling tags, Kaiser tiny letter stickers, and a couple of big wax crayons (great value for doing the crayon resist technique!!!) these were the crayons that Rachel (Darkroom Door) used for her crayon resist demonstrations...and you'll be able to get them from CRAFT QUEEN in a few days. I'll also be doing a tutorial on using them in CRAFT QUEEN's blog in a couple of days.

I came across lots of great findings for making jewellery, mostly from HERE

But my favourite find was this great stamp (by Stampabilities) from Dragonfly Crafts, I know it's a mounted stamp, but how could I resist LOL....

Did you get a chance to go? I made it in Thursday, and I went back for seconds on Saturday (just for a couple of hours)!!! I love the venue (Melbourne Exhibition Centre, known locally as Jeff's Shed -named after former State Premier Jeff Kennett) If you did go, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, and if not, there's always next time : )

Craft & Quilt Fair in Melbourne 2

2011-07-29T21:15:00.008+10:00

Well, if you didn't make it to the show, you probably won't want to read what a fabulous time I had there yesterday...first stop as always was the fabulous Craft Queen stand (F01), where I caught up with lovely Nicole and her equaly lovely mum, Anne, and for once I remembered to take a photo to share...(my camera had a bit of a bumpy wake-up call in the morning, and the screen now has a lovely (!) crack on it, luckily it hasn't affected the actual workings of it)

I was very surprised that it seemed a little quiet first thing in the morning, especially for a first day! But the flow of crafters seemed steady throughout the day... I also got the chance to meet and chat with Rachel Greig, who was kept busy demoing her beautiful Darkroom Door products and doing some make'n'takes...It was fun to meet her IRL after watching so many of her great videos!

I spent most of the morning taking in some great, and very informative, quilting related talks, and was almost convinced to take up a new hobby (!) until I realised I would have to buy a new lot of extra tools and find accomodation for them in my shrinking craft area, so I think I will just stick to admiring the beautiful quilts I come across in quilting shops : ) I'm sure DD and I can come to some kind of compromise... I also got a chance to meet -very briefly- with my ATC swapping pal Helen (hi, Helen)

If you are in the area, make sure you attend the show, there's lots of information, demos, and a huge amount of inspiration in all kinds of crafts, as well as loads of crafty retail therapy (the best kind LOL)...and who knows, you may even find a new hobby : )

Craft and Quilt Fair in Melbourne

2011-07-26T14:53:00.002+10:00

I'll be going to THIS great craft show Thursday, anyone else going in for some crafty retail therapy? I'll be catching up with Nicole (CRAFT QUEEN herself) who will be doing a couple of workshops (check HERE for details, she's doing Workshop 4, and her stand is F01) but this will be the first time I'll actually be looking at quilt-related stuff...I only found out recently what a "jelly roll" is!(I KNOW, where have I been LOL) DD would like a hand-made quilt for her bed (of course, what other type is there LOL) so I'll have a look around and see if I'm brave enough to take the plunge, I know there's a reason why I haven't tried my hand at quilting, too much measuring does my head in..something tells me I 'll have to talk her out of a quilt and into a new doona cover, at least until I have done a couple of beginners' classes : ) Ooh, I just realized Rachel Greig will be there as well...me thinks it's going to be a fun day!!!

Stampotique and Flowers

2011-07-23T17:24:00.001+10:00

That's the theme over at Stampotique Designers' Challenge blog for this fortnight, and here is my entry,

an ATC with a shrunk Gibi.

My base card was covered with an old book page, then painted over with a wash of red acrylic paint, then more paint around the edges and some Distress Stickls. I added scraps of wc paper and some staples with the tiny attacher, I then stamped Gibi onto shrink plastic, coloured her with wc pencils, trimmed the image with sharp scissors and blasted her with my heat gun. I then used the 2 smaller sized Alterations flowers, painted them and scrunched them up, added a brad, and some more Distress Stickls, as well as a butterfly punch. The tiny letters are Kaiser letter stickers. I hope you are having a fun (and creative) weekend : ) Thanks for visiting me...

Embossing Anyone...?

2011-07-20T15:18:00.000+10:00

Here is my entry for this week's embossing theme over at Simon Says Stamp and Show blog:

I've once again used a Gothic arch as my base, covering it with foil and using 2 different embossing folders, I then swiped a variety of StaZon ink pads onto the raised and the de-bossed areas, and added the sentiment and the girl image, both heat-embossed, and both from TH (the sentiment was stamped with a web image from the Halloween set of TH stamps) The images were coloured using a mixture of wc pencils and inks, cut out and stuck on with foam tape for added dimention. I've kept the arch fairly simple as I really like the texture and colour of the embossing.
Thanks for your visit : )

Time Is Running Out...

2011-07-20T10:04:00.000+10:00

You only have until August 31, 2011 to enter STAMPBORD's fun competition...Have a look HERE for all the details and to have a peek at the very generous prizes!!! You need to have a Flickr account to upload your entry HERE, so what are you waiting for, grab your STAMPBORD tiles and have a play.

If you are new to STAMPBORD tiles, HERE is a tutorial for you (featuring some of the tiles pictured above, all stamped images are from Darkroom Door stamps range) and you will find many more great ways to use STAMPBORD products in their Idea Gallery, as well as in their Featured How-Tos, so make sure you take a look, have a play, and enter, for a chance at winning those fabulous goodies!

For The Love of Books

2011-07-17T10:37:00.000+10:00

My lovely DD pointed me to THIS and I have to say, after all the bookstore closures of late, I'm all for spreading the word...I will be adding the code to my blog as soon as I have the time, but I thought it good to share : ) Have a happy Sunday, wherever you happen to be in this Wonderfully Wide World of ours, enjoy your day.

A Ghost in My Paper Palace!

2011-07-16T22:38:00.001+10:00

A bit of a departure from the normal goings on in my paper palace...this month the theme over at Alter It Monthly is "Dolls" so I went in search of a doll that I could alter. My own daughter is now almost 14 years of age, and we've kept some of her toys in storage (I say we, but it's really my DH who is the sentiMENTAL one in our family LOL) but she was never overly into dolls, she had a few Barbies but that's about it, so I made my way to a charity shop and bought a little Bratz doll.

I never liked them much when they first came out (they look a little too tarty IMO) but I thought the dimentions were perfect for what I had in mind : ) So after a good haircut, a few coats of white paint, and a brand new wardrobe, my palace has a ghost!!!

The corset was made by my DD (thanks darling) while the skirt was made by yours truly out of tulle, old book pages, and some interfacing film. I was going to leave her with the very cropped hair, but then decided she needed some long locks...I think she's a very fitting ghost for my humble palace, what do you think? DD wants me to do another one, so I guess I'll have to go hunting for more dolls... As always, don't forget you can click on the photos for a larger view. I hope your weekend is good to you, and that you get a chance to play with your stash, or at least, have fun planning : )

In Stitches

2011-07-14T18:13:00.000+10:00

This week's theme over at Simon Says Stamp and Show is stitches, real or faux...I went with real, as I already had my sewing machine all set up.

I started by stamping the TC image onto white card, once with teal StaZon ink and a second time with rust StaZon ink, I then added some GM to the teal image and stuck it to a brown ATC blank. I used my trusty sewing machine with a mix of straight and zig-zag stitching all around for the edging. From the second image, I cut out the sentiment, using some foam tape for added dimention, and a good coat of DM, as well as some KG for some of the teal areas. A fairly quick ATC, but lots of fun to make. Thanks for stopping by, and don't forget there's still time to enter the challenge for this week. For all the details visit Simon Says Stamp and Show, there's always lots of inspiration there, both from the very talented DT, as well as from the entrants to the challenges each week : )

Mail Art With Legs...

2011-07-10T11:30:00.000+10:00

Or, what to do with your scraps!...join in with the current Stampotique Designers Challenge Blog, of course LOL. Here's my entry for this fun theme, and I didn't use anything that wasn't already hiding under printed papers, cardstock, and other bits and pieces on my craft table! Even the envelope was there waiting for me...

I recently took part in an ATC swap for which I used THIS great Stampotique Originals image, but I had the lower body left over as I only used half the image for each of the 9 cards...plus I had 2 full images left over. I began by sticking the label from the TH Alterations die (which I had used as a mask on another envelope) onto the front of a kraft envelope, I then stuck Smile on top of that, added the other half Smiles to the edges of the envelope, and used a black texta and a mint Souffle pen for the doodling, so easy, but so cute, don't you think? That's it for me today, I hope you are having a great Sunday : )

With a Flourish...

2011-07-08T11:48:00.001+10:00

My entry to this week's theme over at Simon Says Stamp and Show is an ATC.

I started by stamping the butterflies onto some white cs, colouring the card with Adirondack inks (lettuce and wild plum) I then stamped the TH sentiment and the flourish with Versafine black ink and black embossing powder, and added some EP to the edges as well, and rubbed a little white Brilliance ink over the top and stuck the cs to one of these ATC sized chipboard pieces. I then painted the Collections scroll with black acrylic paint, and gave that a coat of black Stickles. I love the texture that the embossed flourishes add to the ATC, don't you? Thanks for your visit, now go and stamp something : )

Crafty Individuals July Entry

2011-07-08T11:10:00.006+10:00

A little while ago the lovely Crafty Individuals (Jean and Malcolm) chose THIS as one of five winning entries...and I got to choose my stamp, and they were kind enough to include 2 of THESE little beauties for me to play with...so I thought they were perfect for this month's theme of "pink, cream, and brown"
I started by measuring the inside of the pendants and I cut out a few stamped images to fit, as you can see I couldn't stop at just one... I was trying to work out a way that I could change the pendants to suit my mood (and trust me, you don't want to know just how many moods I have!!) when it clicked, I could swap the images around by using some type of magnet, so I had a look through my stash and found some magnet-backed business card blanks, trimmed them to size (one for the inside of the pendant and one for each image, making sure that they "attracted"each other, polarity-wise) My official entry is, of course, this one, in pink, cream, and brown:

I stamped Old Fashioned Girl onto some pink cs, and clear-embossed the image, adding brown ink to the edges, and a few pearls...

But I also made these ones: The first image is CI-068 (which may be retired, as I can't find it in the site), stamped onto Distress inks b'ground and with a coat of DM and a sprinkling of tiny rhinestones.

THIS image was stamped onto a prepared domino, overstamped with THIS girl, and given a coat of DM and a tiny flower-shaped rhinestone.

There's the DANCING couple again, coloured with some Twinks H2Os, and given a coat of DM...and next to that pendant is another image (CI-120 Out of the Shadows) which I've had for a long time, but can't find it in the Crafty Individuals shop, I just stamped the man, cut around him and stuck him to some printed text coloured with Distress ink (Vintage photo).

I had so much fun making these, maybe I'll make a few more ; )

Thanks for visiting me, and don't forget, there's still plenty of time to enter this great challenge, for all the details go HERE.

Just Follow the Instructions...

2011-07-07T11:59:00.001+10:00

These were the instructions given to me by my daughter...

...along with a list of colours and a reminder that she wanted me to use a stamped domino : ) At least she knew exactly what she wanted!!

I didn't have the right coloured flowers, but she liked the substitutions I did have, so I then went ahead and completed the card (for her friend's birthday)

My base card is a rich chocolate brown, I then added a light pink card front (distressing the edges) and my final layer was a lovely slightly darker shade of pink which I stamped with THIS Darkroom Door b'ground stamp and some Versacolor brown ink, distressing the edges further so that the lighter pink could be seen. I then got to work on the rest of the card adding the brown LACE, the light blue LACE, the brown MESH, the pink POM-POM ribbon, the HAPPY BIRTHDAY ribbon, the LARGE paper flower, and the smaller pink paper flower, as well as a Kaiser pearl. The domino has a coat of red StaZon ink, the Eiffel Tower image is from THIS Darkroom Door set (stamped with Archival ink) and the whole domino front has a coat of clear embossing powder. The butterflies were made using a punch (the paper was a watercolour and salt background made by DD for a school project, and the colours were perfect for this) The envelope was stamped with a sentiment from THIS Darkroom Door set, the Monalisa postoid is a Cherrypie image, and the postmark is an old Studio Astarte image. Daughter was very happy...mission accomplished : )
I hope you are having a great time wherever you happen to be, and if you are in Melbourne, enjoy the rain...

Repurposed...

2011-07-05T00:12:00.000+10:00

Check out my new tutorial over at CRAFT QUEEN blog...

...and let me know what you think : )

Simon Says Stamp and Show a Word...

2011-07-01T11:10:00.005+10:00

For this week's challenge over at Simon Says Stamp and Show, the theme is "word" and I chose the word "Imagine". I was going to make a card, but I wanted a bigger canvas to work with, so decided to do a bit of mail art! My envelope measures 12"x 9".

I started by stamping the large foam stamp letters using white acrylic paint, then I used Dristressed ink over the top of the letters (the acrylic paint acts as a resist) I then used the label from TH Sizzix die (Hanging Sign) as a mask, and went over that with Distress inks (Vintage photo & tumbled glass) I also stamped a couple of images from THIS Darkroom Door set, and used one of the gears from another TH Sizzix die (Gadget Gears) as a mask. I stamped the flourish image from THIS TH set The "mail art" image is from THIS Darkroom Door set, just to make sure my postie doesn't get confused about what this is LOL. Thanks for stopping by : )

Orange, Black, and White ATC Swap

2011-06-28T15:24:00.001+10:00

A little while ago, Sarah from Inkurable Stampers, hosted an Orange, Black, and White ATC swap to mark Inkurable Stampers 3rd bloggaversary (is that a word???) I thought I'd share the beautiful ATCs I received in return. I know Sarah is planning a slide show, so keep a lookout for that to see ALL the ATCs, but until then here are the ones I received:

The first one at the top, "Party Time" is the one I made for this swap, second one "I'm Late..." is by Carol Lee, third one "Very" is by Karen Daley,

Next up we have "Just Sitting..." by Shirley H, The middle one belongs to the hostess, Sarah S, and "At Home" was created by Laury

Next we have "Hot, Hot, Hot" created by Jenxo, the middle one "Marmalade" is by Jenny Rodda, and last but by no means least is Robyn Woods' "Discover"

Go ahead and click on the images to enlarge them and drool : )

Thank you Sarah, for organizing this fantastic swap, and of course, thank you to all who took part. Happy 3rd Birthday, Inkurable Stampers : ) and here's to another year full of awesome challenges...

Canvas Colours

2011-06-28T13:26:00.003+10:00

Just recently I have found a new (to me) challenge blog, Alter It Monthly, which currently has the theme of canvas for this month, and I almost forgot to take part!!! But I have just finished photographing my mini canvas (I'm running out of display space in my home!) It is roughly 6"x4", and I've used an ATC sized Stampbord piece as well as some new stamps. The canvas was cut to size, and given a watercolour (Twinks H2Os) and salt background, I then added some Pixie dust to any white areas which were showing.
While this was drying I covered the Stampbord piece with StaZon inks (I've used Teal Blue and Iris) and when dry, I stamped my chosen images (words are from THIS Darkroom Door set, butterflies are from THIS set) and I used my brad new set of Pink Paislee stamps around the edges of the Stampbord.
I also added some butterflies punched out of some painted canvas, some of THIS ribbon, and a little glitter here and there. The Stampbord piece has a coat of DM to give it a nice glossy finish.

If you get a chance, there's still a couple of days left to join in with this great challenge, and there's always next month, right? Thank you for visiting me, now go, CREATE something : )

A Little Metal

2011-06-25T21:27:00.000+10:00

This weeks theme over at Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge blog is "metal", and here is my entry:

I started by inking a manila tag with teal Marvy ink, I added the metal tape to the corners (which I had embossed) a couple of TH cogs, a piece of embossed cs which I painted with bronze acrylic paint, the sentiment was stamped onto a piece of acetate and I stuck it in place with my tiny attacher : ) I then added the TH "on the edge" & the Graphics 45 beautiful tag with the bits of ribbon and some fibres.

Sorry about the dreadful photos, but it's Saturday night and I wont do any blogging tomorrow, so it's these or nothing LOL.

And if you're wondering about the Graphics 45 tag, I got the great "Steampunk Debutante Tags" from Karen, HERE, and she sells the MDF tags that fit them perfectly!!!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, wherever you happen to be at the moment : ) And thank you for visiting my humble abode : )

Clean and Simple...

2011-06-20T15:43:00.000+10:00

The challenge over at Stampotique blog for the last couple of weeks has been "clean and simple", and it sounds a lot easier than what it actually is LOL.

I stamped Gibi onto a white card front, then masked the image and used a bit of bubble wrap and some teal acrylic paint to do the background, then added a couple of butterfly punchies, and the "Hello" is from a Darkroom Door wordstrip.

I was going to go with an ATC I started, but by the time I was done, it was no longer "clean and simple" LOL!!!

Gone Gothic...

2011-06-16T12:36:00.001+10:00

Yes, I know! Another Gothic arch...but I just enjoy playing with that shape so much, so when I read that Simon Says Stamp and Show's theme for this week was "torn/distressed" I just had to! I've used some Tim Holtz paper, the sentiment from THIS TH stamp set, the word"explorer" and the image of the man are both from THIS Darkroom Door set (stamped onto acetate with black StaZon ink, I also dry-brushed some gold acrylic paint onto the underside of the word) The word was then stuck to a painted puzzle piece, I've also added a couple of pewter brads and some butterfly punches (with some wild honey Distress Stickles on their wings) All edges have been torn and/or distressed (with my trusty and very used MM distresser), for the hole over the sentiment I just made a small cut with my craft knife and began tearing the section out, then inked all the edges with Distress ink.
And here are the photos to prove it : )

Collections For Craft Queen

2011-06-16T09:55:00.000+10:00

Here are some of the cards I've been making for Nicole at Craft Queen using Collections papers and chipboard:

All the bits and pieces can be purchased through CRAFT QUEEN.

Vintage With a Heart...

2011-06-13T13:54:00.000+10:00

The current theme over at Crafty Individuals new challenge blog is "Vintage with a Heart" so I couldn't wait to join in this month and try out my brand new stamp plate (which I got to choose after being one of very lucky five winners of last month's theme "Free as a Bird")
Here is my entry for this month...I remembered I had a couple of shadow boxes waiting to be altered, so I started by painting the box with a coat of teal acrylic paint, then adding some burnt umber to the edges. I then stamped the following images: CI 190 , CI 189 , and CI 306 using black Versafine ink, coloured the images with wc pencils, added some KG here and there, trimmed the images to size and stuck them into the cavities. I then stamped and heat-embossed the corset images, trimmed and stuck them down using some foam tape for added dimention. I then went through my stash of ch and found the tiny heart, which I covered with some GMed gause, and then added the tiny buttons...the word is from a Collections sheet. I hope you like my interpretation : ) Here are some photos:

Thanks for visiting my palace, and for the lovely comments some of you leave for me, I really appreciate them : )

Inkurable Stampers June Entry

2011-06-12T15:03:00.000+10:00

I told you I had some time to play today LOL, so here is my entry to this month's Inkurable Stampers theme of "Spots, Dots, and Circles"

I've been missing last years Gothic Arches challenge (also run by Sarah, of Inkurable Stampers) , so decided to use a Gothic Arch shape as the base for my entry (aren't I sneaky???)
I began by painting the arch shape with red, gold, and bronze acrylic paints, I then stamped some circles (See Dee's) and some splatter (Darkroom Door "Artist" set) using Versafine black ink, and heat-embossed the images with black EP. I then used the Darkroom Door "Dots" b'ground stamp with some teal acrylic paint. I then added the sentiment (from Oxford Impressions) and the filmstrip dolls (Cats life Press) both stamped onto white cs and heat-embossed with black EP. And here are the photos:

I hope you've also had some time to play along...Don't forget, you still have plenty of time left to join in with this Inkurable Stampers challenge...Thank you for visiting me and see you again soon : )

Tag...You're It!

2011-06-12T14:26:00.000+10:00

It's been a while, but I had a bit of time up my sleeve today (I know!!! I really should be catching up on housework, or on some sleep, but I just had to play LOL) so I decided to join in with the great "Tag" challenge for this week over at Simon Says Stamp and Show" challenge blog...Did you know that they offer a $50 gift voucher to the winning entry? What better incentive than more toys to play with : ) And there's always plenty of gorgeous samples made by the DT to get the inspiration flowing...
I was finishing off some ATCs so I had my white embossing powder out and decided to use that as my starting point. I began by stamping my images with Versamark ink, and embossing them with white embossing powder. I then rubbed various Marvy and Distress inks onto the tag, adding the sentiment (which was embossed onto vellum) and using my sewing machine to add a border. I completed the tag by adding some red ribbon, some sparkly threads and a red and white button...and here are some photos:

I've used the following stamps:
Tim Holtz "Urban Chic" set
Darkroom Door "Wildflowers Vol.1" set

I hope you are enjoying the weekend wherever you happen to be at the moment...

Another Tutorial...

2011-06-03T15:14:00.000+10:00

Go HERE to find out what these are...

Never Enough Time, and Never Enough Bookmarks...

2011-06-03T15:03:00.000+10:00

I usually only read one book at a time, but I sometimes like to jump from book to book depending on my mood !? Anyway, for this week, Stampotique's challenge was to use acetate, so this gave me the idea for another quick bookmark.

I cut a piece of acetate to measure 12" x 2", folded it in half, and used my favourite Stampotique Originals image, HEAD, stamping him using black StaZon, adding some bronze acrylic paint to the underside, and some teal acrylic paint over that (I like how the brushstrokes can be seen close up), and adding some printed script writing (stuck with DM) I then added the quote, and the fibres as a finishing touch, doesn't he look cute? There's still time to enter this fun challenge, so go on, get inked !

What Happened?

2011-05-27T17:48:00.001+10:00

Remember this domino?

Well, I stamped a couple of images onto it, and then covered it with Dimentional Magic...and by the time it was dry, it changed colour from a deep pink to a warm red! I love the look of it, but as I already had my card prepared (all in pinks, creams, and browns), I had to do another domino, but I still wanted the shiny surface.

So, I once again covered a domino with the StaZon (blazing red), I stamped an image from THIS Darkroom Door set (with StaZon timber brown), stamped the sentiment from THIS Darkroom Door set (with StaZon jet black) onto a piece of acetate, and stuck it down using a dab of white PVA glue. I then added the tiny pearls, and stuck the domino to my prepared card. The pp is the cover of a Collections paper pack (minus the door image, which I used on another card, but which was easy enough to replace with a small piece of pp from the collection), which you can find HERE, I also used the splatter image (from THIS Darkroom Door set) around the outer edges of the pp with StaZon ink (blazing red), the black and white label is from a Collections Ephemera sheet, and you can find the white vine here, the metal flower here, the organza flower is just new so I don't think Nicole's had a chance to upload it to the site yet, the brown crochet lace here, the white flower lace here, and the muslin (also from Collections) here.

My apologies for the very dark photos, but it has been a bit of a grey day here in Melbourne today...but I just read THIS post over at Crafty Individuals Challenge blog, which needless to say has conciderably brightened my day... Now I better go do something about dinner : )

Inkurable Stampers May Entry

2011-05-24T14:08:00.001+10:00

I've said it before, there's never enough hours in the day to do all that I WANT to do, but I try !
Finally, here's my entry for this month's great theme of "Food, Glorious Food" over at INKURABLE STAMPERS.
A while ago I came across a small boxed set of recipes at a garage sale (I'm no great cook, so I love the fact that I can pretend to be one by keeping lots of cookbooks around, but they take up a lot of space, so this was perfect for me LOL!)

I started by cutting out my own template for an ATC-sized box, and covering it with some plain white tissue paper which I had stamped using StaZon ink, I then added some Distress ink (Vintage photo) and cut the postage shape out with a CB die, and the closure edge was cut with an Alterations die, I then added magnet strips for the closure. I stamped the "top secret" image onto a piece of acetate using StaZon ink (royal purple) and stamped the teapot (Oxford Impressions Classic Alice) onto the box before assembling. I then stamped various images from THIS fun set ( by Darkroom Door ) onto some white cs, cutting them & adding them to the assembled box (there's nothing like new rubber to get you in the stamping mood : ) I then remembered a own a fork and knife clear stamp (an old set from Studio Astarte) so I used some Versamark ink and some pewter embossing powder, and added these to my finished box, and here's the result...

I think this looks way better than the original box, don't you think so? There's still a few days left to enter this great challenge, all you need is to follow the theme and use at least one stamp of your choice, couldn't be easier : ) For all the details, follow THIS link, you have until the end of the month to join in, and as always, Sarah has three very generous sponsors who provide great incentives for you to play along, so go forth and CREATE, your stamps will thank you : )

Playing With Dominoes.

2011-05-24T12:09:00.000+10:00

A few days ago I used a stamped domino for my entry into this month's Crafty Individuals challenge HERE, and Shirley wanted to know how I prepared the domino... It's a very simple process, just get your domino & wipe it over with some window cleaning fluid (I use Windex, which is also what I use for cleaning my stamps, funnily enough I don't do windows with it, LOL) I'm sure you could also use something like methylated spirits, but Windex work really well, as all you're trying to do is to get rid of any oily finger marks etc.
These are the dominoes I have (picked them up at a garage sale for $1) and they have a tiny screw which I removed fairly easily with a pair of pliers prior to cleaning, to make it eazy for the domino to sit flat on my card...

So, after removing the tiny screw, I just wiped the domino with some Windex, let it dry, and covered with StaZon ink (you could also use Sharpies to colour your domino, alcohol inks, or even acrylic paints)

I gave the ink a few minutes to dry fully, and then stamped my image by inking my stamp with black StaZon ink, just make sure you stamp the image and LIFT it straight off to avoid smudging. I then allowed the image to dry and gave the domino a coat of Dimentional Magic (keep a pin handy to get rid of any bubbles) then just allow the DM to dry and add the domino to your chosen project, I stuck mine down with PVA glue, as it dries clear. I'll be back with a finished project using this pink domino as soon as I get a chance, but in the meantime have a look at Kimberly Crick's website, which is filled with some great information, and has some gorgeous galleries full of beautiful projects (unfortunately she doesn't sell to overseas visitors, but I live in hope...) In the meantime I will "Keep Calm, and Carry on"

BTW, are you a fan of STAMPBORD tiles? Did you know they are having a great competition? Have a look HERE for all the details, and just in case you've forgotten, they also have a great archive of fun projects HERE

Planking?

2011-05-24T11:25:00.001+10:00

Planking...Snoopy started it !!!!!!!!!

I just received this as an email from Shirley (Thanks Shirley), and I had to share...Snoopy was way ahead of his time LOL!!!

Crafty Individuals Challenge Entry

2011-05-21T13:19:00.000+10:00

There's never enough hours in the day, is there!? Here is my entry for this month's challenge over at the Crafty Individuals Challenge Blog Check out the details for this month HERE

For my entry, I started by gluing some raw silk fabric for my b'ground, I then added a trimmed turquoise piece of cs roughing up the edges & using an Alterations die for the lower edge. I then stamped THIS stamp onto white cs as well as onto a prepared domino (I used StaZon Teal Blue) and THIS stamp (the smaller image) onto some kraft card. I stuck everything into place & then added some white lace ribbon and some musical notes printed twill (both from Craft Queen, of course LOL) As a last detail, I added the tiny pearls to the butterfly, and a coat of DM to the domino. There's still a few days to enter this great challenge, if you hurry : )

Craft Queen Sale

2011-05-15T23:16:00.001+10:00

Visit HERE to find out more details, and don't forget to comment HERE as well, for a chance at winning a surprise pack : )

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T10:44:00.000+10:00

A quick post to wish all mums out there a very happy day, and to those of you who are not mums yet, keep practicing, it's fun!

Craft Queen April Card Kit

You can view more photos of this beautiful kit HERE, in the meantime, enjoy your special day.

If You Enjoy Sewing...

2011-04-26T11:54:00.000+10:00

You'll love this NEW KIT from CRAFT QUEEN. You get all these...

...To make all these!

For all details, and to order your own kit, click HERE

Just the Three of Us

2011-04-22T22:19:00.000+10:00

That's the title/theme I went with for this month's entry into the INKURABLE STAMPERS challenge blog. You can find all the details HERE The colours I chose to play with were turquoise, brown and white.
I started by cutting a piece of turquoise coloured card 6" x 4" and I decided to use a couple of Crafter's Workshop 6 x 6 templates/stencils (Mini Harlequin and Mini Numbers Collage) I bought at last weeks Craft and Quilt show and some white acrylic paint to create my background. I then sponged some Vintage Photo DI around the edges, and added some crackle medium to the top edges, letting it drip randomly. When this was all dry I added the three Stampotique images which I had stamped with the same ink and mounted with foam tape. The letter stickers are Carolee's in Chocolate brown, and the number 3 is a Collections cb piece painted with brown acrylic paint and covered with crackle medium. I also used a bit of THIS brown ribbon.

I hope you're having a nice Easter break, and if you get a chance there's still time to play along with this fun challenge, and a chance to win some Fabulous Prizes.

Easter Cards

2011-04-22T10:34:00.001+10:00

All the above were made for CRAFT QUEEN, where you can find the beautiful wooden BUTTONS as well as the gorgeous RIBBONS, and PAPERS.
I'd like to wish you a very happy and safe Easter, enjoy the break wherever you happen to be, and as always, thank you for taking the time to visit (and comment) Until next time, go forth and create : )

A Crafty Bookmark

2011-04-20T22:33:00.001+10:00

I've been so busy lately that I've really struggled to set time aside to play, let alone post about it here...But here is my entry for a brand new Challenge Blog over at CRAFTY INDIVIDUALS. I've used a STAMPBORD square piece, as well as the following stamps from CRAFTY INDIVIDUALS, butterflies, and Once Upon a Time
I started by trimming a piece of leather using a couple of Alterations dies, painting the strip with some white acrylic paint, and stamping the butterflies using jet black Archival ink. I then covered a square piece of STAMPBORD with red StaZon ink, and I stamped the Once Upon a Time image twice, once onto a scrap piece of cardstock, and a second time onto the STAMPBORD square. I highlighted the little girl image with a scratch tool and covered the square with a coat of DM. The words were cut out and matted with some pp, and the fabric flowers were cut out using another Alterations die, with a gem brad as a finishing touch. This bookmark has now gone to a new home : ) And if you have some time to spare, make sure you visit the CRAFTY INDIVIDUALS blog.

Australian Quilt Convention and Expo

2011-04-10T12:49:00.000+10:00

If you live in Melbourne, the Australian Quilt Convention and Expo will be on April 14- 17, at the Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton Gardens. To check their website and see the list of exhibitors, click HERE
I'm hoping to have a catch-up with Nicole (owner of CRAFT QUEEN) who is one of the many traders taking part in the Expo. I'm not a quilter, but I do love fabrics and all things craft, so I'm really looking forward to this show...If you are going to this show, make sure you pop in and say hello to Nicole : )

New Tutorial

2011-04-03T11:07:00.000+10:00

I have a new tutorial over at the CRAFT QUEEN blog, HERE

New Card Kit

2011-04-01T08:57:00.000+11:00

The new April card kit is available now from CRAFT QUEEN, you can view it HERE, and purchase it from HERE...In the meantime, here are some close-ups of this beautiful kit:

And while you're there, have a look at all the other card kits available, there's nothing like giving a hand-made card to show you care : )

An Autumn Card

2011-03-30T12:32:00.000+11:00

A very quick card, in Autumn colours and using "leaves" for Sandie's monthly challenge.
I raided my stash for some pp (old Scenic Route), cut the tag out of a cardboard box (it's always good to recycle) and coloured it using some "vintage photo" Distress ink as well as some "lettuce" Adirondack ink, the sentiment is from THIS Darkroom Door set, the leaves are shapes punched out of wc paper (painted with Twinks H2Os) and the meshy ribbon (which comes in lots of different colours) is THIS one (I love the texture it adds to paper projects, and I used some PVA glue to stick it in place), I also used THIS ribbon and THIS jute cord (lots of different colours to choose from in the jute also!
I hope the intended recipient likes his card : )

Finally, Something to Share...

2011-03-23T12:16:00.000+11:00

I finally got around to finishing my entry for this month's paint challenge over at Sarah's blog, INKURABLE STAMPERS. Make sure you check out her beautiful sample on her blog, too.

I started by painting a Collections chipboard shape with a base colour of pale beige (Kaiser acrylic paint) then adding some veridian (Reeves acrylic paint) to the edges. I then used various stamps (Darkroom Door's Lovebirds, Gothic Arches, Wildflowers Vol 1, Flourish b'ground stamp) Delish clear stamps (tiny script), Victoria's Secret (alphabet), Catslife Press (a little bird...), all stamped with Archival ink (jet black)overlapping the images with MM's sea foam glaze, and using some bubble wrap and white acrylic paint. For the sentiment, I stamped the individual letters (Etcetera Circa 1937 foam stamps) with black acrylic paint onto some kraft coloured card, trimmed the letters with some decorative scissors, and when dried, I covered them with DM and stuck them on with a mix of ds tape and foam tape. I added the red paper flower, a flower cut out of a playing card (using an Alterations die) and a brad, all covered with a touch of diamond Stickles.

There's still a few days left to join in, so if you get the chance, why not have a bit of a messy play with some paint, and don't forget to use at least one stamp, and enter this great challenge for a chance to win some fab prizes : )
Now, I'd better get a move-on and join in with Sandie's theme for this month also : )

Say Hi with a Card

2011-03-08T19:28:00.000+11:00

Another quick post with a card for Stampotique Challenge blog, using this great "faux barnwood" tutorial from Technique Junkie. I chose different acrylic paint colours to the ones suggested, but it was fun trying something different, and I do love the crackle effect so I'll definitely be doing it again!!!

This is the paint just applied.

This is the paint/glue drying, the crackling can be seen.

This is my finished card.

Head holding his heart baloon.

Doesn't the crackling look amazing?!

Again I'm hoping I make it in time for this great challenge (thank goodness for the time difference!)
For the actual card, I followed the directions in the tutorial, and while my background was drying I stamped "Head" onto glossy cs with timber brown StaZon ink, and coloured him with some Souffle pens. I added the fence (an Alterations die-cut) and used some foam tape for added dimention. The chipboard heart was cut free-hand, dry-embossed with a Tim Holtz embossing folder (swirls) painted with red acrylics, and inked with timber brown StaZon ink, and the letters are Carolee's tiny letter stickers.
Thanks for your visit, and see you soon : )

Flower Stamping

2011-03-02T09:58:00.000+11:00

Have a look HERE for a quick and easy tutorial : )

A Card For Simon Says...

2011-02-27T22:16:00.000+11:00

Quick post, as I'm again running behind for this great challenge from Simon Says Stamp and Show but here it is, just in time (I hope!)
I've used some striped pp from my scraps box, the stamp is a Tim Holtz stamp coloured with Souffle pens and wc pencils, I also used an Alterations die for the flower (cut out of red vinyl) and one of Sandie's Petite Daisies (isn't it gorgeous?) I added the Stickles as a finishing touch : )

A Tag for Simon Says...

2011-02-20T21:41:00.000+11:00

I decided to join in with this great challenge over at Simon Says Stamp... It's the first time I'm taking part in this, and I almost forgot the due date!!! But I think I've just made it : )

I've recycled some cardboard, painted with acrylic paint, stamped the TH stamp using royal purple StaZon ink, and the tag was distressed around the edges. The girl was stamped twice onto some coloured cs, once with royal purple StaZon ink and then again with rusty brown StaZon ink, I then cut her out and layered her over the top of some spotty ribbon and a bit of cs using some foam tape for added dimention. The tiny flowers stamp was inked with timber brown StaZon ink, the red flower was cut with a TH Alterations die, and I added the gorgeous wooden button. As a finishing touch, I added some Ice Stickles (in blueberry ice) . I really enjoyed playing along with this challenge, and if you get the chance, have a look at all the great entries posted : )

Love and Fabric

2011-02-18T13:05:00.001+11:00

Love and fabric, that's the theme Sandie has given us to play with this month...and here is my card

I've used a kraft coloured card base, some raw silk fabric, Darkroom Door french script b'ground stamp (inked with Brilliance ink in pearlescent beige), WRMK clear stamps "buttons" (which was part of a CRAFT QUEEN card kit ) The sentiment is from a Darkroom Door word strip .
Thanks for stopping by, I hope I have inspired you to have a play : )

A Leathery Bookmark...

2011-02-18T13:00:00.001+11:00

The new theme over at INKURABLE STAMPERS for this month is bookmarks. In our household there are three very avid readers, so there's always a need for bookmarks, though some of us do the folding-down-the-upper-corner bit (I'm sure I'm not the only one who does that, right? : ) Anyway, I decided to have a look in my box of bits and pieces, and found an off-cut of grey coloured leather that I thought would make the perfect background for my new bookmark.

I started by cutting the leather to size, I then applied some white acrylic paint, and when dried, I stamped the following stamps using Archival Ink (jet black) masking as required: Victoria's Secret "art definition", Cats life Press "the answer...", Basic Grey "to do" clear stamps, and an oldie clear stamp from Studio Astarte "reading", I then trimmed both edges with an Alterations Die. I then got a domino sized Stampbord piece and a 1" piece and covered them both with StaZon inks in the following colours: rusty brown, mustard, blazing red, and timber brown. The images are from THIS and THIS Darkroom Door sets of stamps, and were stamped using StaZon ink in black. I then highlighted the images by scratching the tiles, and sealed them with a coating of Dimentional Magic. The silver chain was salvaged out of a bag of broken/tangled jewellery which my daughter was throwing away a while ago, so that's my bit of recycling for the day : )
I hope you are having a great day, wherever you are : )

My First Tilda, and a Valentine...

2011-02-15T15:56:00.000+11:00

Some time last year, my hubby gifted me Tone Finnanger's stunning book "Sew Sunny Homestyle" & a few days ago I finally finished my first Tilda cloth doll using one of the patterns included in this book...& I think she's beautiful, but that's just my opinion LOL. She was hard to photograph, as she's not able to stand, but where there's a will, there's a way : )

And as you can see, she has just had a big shopping spree for ribbons over at CRAFT QUEEN LOL.

The velvet flower ribbon on her dress can be found HERE, the pink crochet flower is HERE, the ribbon on the tiny bag is HERE, & the ribbons inside her bag are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE.

Her hair ribbons are white cotton fabric strips hand-dyed with GM.(deep plum)

Now, if you follow the CRAFT QUEEN blog, you may have seen this card, if not, I'll share it here now.

I hope you all had a great Valentine's day yesterday, and even if you don't celebrate the day, do take the time to acknowledge that special someone in your life, because it's not the ride that counts, but the person that takes the ride with you ; ) Don't you think so?
Have a great day, wherever in this big, wide world you happen to be, and as always, thank you for your visit...

Stamp and Embroider?

2011-02-02T12:28:00.000+11:00

Have a look HERE and all will be revealed LOL

A Golden Birthday

2011-01-29T12:10:00.001+11:00

I'd never heard of this until I read about it in Sarah's INKURABLE STAMPERS" challenge blog, and it happens to be the current theme for the month, too. You can check out the challenge HERE.
I started by stamping the images, "Jolies Fleurs" by Lizzie Anne Designs (a prize from INKURABLE STAMPERS)with gold ink and heat-embossing them with gold EP. I then carefully lined up the card over a nestie and cut out the shape. I stamped the three images (from Stampotique Originals) onto some acetate, and coloured them in using acrylic paints, and then stuck the acetate to the underside of the card using some ds tape.

I used a TH Alterations die to cut the flower shapes out of some gold cs, which I then distressed and joined together with a rhinestone brad.

I then added the tiny Kaiser letter stickers (from HERE) I just hope I got the correct age : )

I also made a golden ATC, using mostly Collections chipboard (from HERE, and HERE) and the words are from a Collections word sheet, I also used lots of yummy Stickles The base was dry-embossed using a Cuttlebug folder.

Thanks for having a look, and feel free to leave me a comment, a question, or just a "hello"
And, Happy Golden Birthday, Sarah, I wish you a most wonderful & exciting day : )

True Love

2011-01-26T16:52:00.000+11:00

I wanted to join in with SANDIE"S monthly prompts to use our stash, and this is what I came up with... It's an ATC return (long overdue!) but it's on its way : ) The actual prompt was to use rub-ons (an oldie from Imaginisce), and for extra points, use another item starting with R, so I chose ribbon! (this one's from CRAFT QUEEN, and you can find it HERE) the word is from a word sheet by Collections, and you can find it HERE.

I also wanted to decorate the envelope, so I painted a portion with black acrylic paint, and added the rub-on (another oldie from Sassafras Lass), the sentiment is from Cat'sLifePress , and the bird is from THIS set by Darkroom Door

I hope you're all having a wonderful Australia Day today, now I'm off to "throw another shrimp on the barbie" : )

Happy Australia Day!

2011-01-25T23:36:00.000+11:00

Nicole, over at CRAFT QUEEN, will help you celebrate Australia Day, go HERE to find out more : )
Happy Australia Day!

Masks Anyone?

2011-01-18T22:53:00.000+11:00

The first theme over at the Stampotique Challenge blog is "masks", and I got to use a new toy : ) I first stamped HEAD using black StaZon ink onto my envelope, I then covered him with a mask (one which I have used a few times LOL) and placed another mask over the area where the address is meant to go (I cut this out of some packaging I was throwing away) and then placed another mask (a new Prima stencil) over the top of that, and gave the whole area a good GMist spray.

I took all the masks off and coloured HEAD with wc pencils, adding the "hi" which I had stamped onto white cs, and cut out. Head is now somewhere on his way over the Pacific Ocean as we speak : )