We're heading home .......

Happy Thursday ......

What's this .... no tag?
No, I've got something a little different today ...... Artist Trading Coins.
If you're not familiar with these, they're just like ATC's (Artist Trading Cards) except they're circles.  Two and half inches in diameter and, as with ATC's, they can have any design on them or be any theme, and they are mean't to be swapped.

I recently became a member of an ATC/AT Coin group on group on Facebook, started up by the lovely Kylie (Addicted to Stamps and More).  There's quite a few of us on there now, from all over the world, and the idea is we swap our little works of art with each other. 

There's a swap going on for November, we have to create a set of three Coins with a Christmas theme.  This particular set will be winging its way to Australia very soon!

These coins are made from MDF, which is a great surface to work on.  They can be made from card though ..... perfect if you have a 2.5 inch punch.

I gave the coins a quick coat of white gesso then painted them with a PaperArtsy Fresco Finish paint. The stamping has been done using a brown Archival ink.

Santa ......

Rudolph ...... (just look at those eyes!!!)

and I had to give him a shiny nose .......

and finally the poinsettia, which has been stamped in Versamark ink, and then heat embossed in copper, and coloured using one of the paints again

If you're on FB and fancy joining in, check out the group .... we're a very friendly bunch!
You'll find all you need to know about making AT Coins and ATC's and how to get involved in the swaps etc.
I will warn you though .... they are very addictive, and so much fun to make.

I've gotta dash ... we're heading back home today, on the afternoon ferry.  Fingers crossed it's a little calmer on the water than it was when we came over.  Although, it sounds like its a little windy out there so maybe not!

We've still lots to do this morning though, including the packing! I'd better get a move on.

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day and I'll see you on the other side.

EDITED ........ to link up to this month's Country View Crafts Blog Challenge which is all about Artist Trading Coins.

Cheerio until next time ....

A touch of red ........

Good Morning!  Happy Wednesday!

It's the 21st of the month, it's 10 o'clock and it's the launch of the first new challenge of the year over at IndigoBlu.

We had some fabulous entries at the end of last year,  for the Glamour & glitz challenge. Congratulations to Shelagh, our first winner of the year ...... enjoy your prize!

Our first challenge of 2015 is all about ......

 A Touch of Red

Perfect for all those Valentine cards maybe, that we're going to need in February.

I'm still not back in the full swing of things with my DT work but, you know me, a touch of red is one of my favourite colour ways ...... I love to team it up with black and white.   And, there's a perfect stamp in the brand new IndigoBlu/Limor Webber collection that's just been released at CHA ....... so I couldn't resist having a play for this challenge ......

Looking at the Challenge Blog this morning, a few of the DT have had the same idea ...... we've used the same stamp but that's great because each design is so different.  Just shows how colour can change things so easily.

I've gone for a bit of a layered look and added in some old book pages for the background.

I stuck the pages onto a piece of white card using IndigoBlu's Slap It On ....... I coated the white card, put the book pages on the top, then sealed them with another layer of Slap It On.

Once it was all dry, I added a touch of colour around the edge using Distress ink

I then stamped the Limor Splattered Heart in the centre and embossed with a Clear, fine detail powder

I stamped and embossed the image again onto a piece of white card, and cut out the centre heart.

I painted it using the English Cottage Artist's Acrylic Paint, in the gorgeous Ruby Slippers, and then shaped it a little using a large embossing tool

This was then attached over the original image using foam pads to add dimension.

To finish off I did a bit of mat and layering with some red, black and white card and then added a few more splatters to the design using the Ruby Slippers paint 

I didn't think it needed any words on the front, but I did, as always, add a little something to the inside

A bit of torn book page, applied as before, and inked around the edge.  And finished off by using just part of  Limor's Heart stamp to add the splatters.

Hope you like it ..... now it's your turn.
You can find more inspiration over on the IndigoBlu Challenge Blog ..... the DT have been busy with lots of ideas to get you started.
You have until 8pm on 20th February to get your entries in ...... so get those stamps out and start creating.  Have fun!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day.

Cheerio until next time

Happy stamping!

LindyLou

xx