There's still plenty of time to enter the Craft Stamper Challenge ......

Happy Friday 13th!! ......

I hope you're not superstitious. 
This is a scheduled post as I'm currently on my way to Naples ...... (I hope I am anyway!)  Then we're off to Sorrento on the beautiful Amalfi coast, for a week of relaxation, sight seeing, good food and nice wine. Hopefully we'll get some sun too!

April's Craft Stamper Challenge is in full swing, I did sneak a quick look at the gallery before I left and there's some amazing entries on there already.
If you've still not got yours in don't worry, there's plenty of time and if you need a little inspiration here you go .....

A little bit of stencil monoprinting.  You know I don't like to waste anything and this was a left over piece from a stencil workshop.

This was done using the pretty Daisy stencil from Inkylicious.  I'd used the stencil in the normal way, applying ink through the design to get the daisy image (see that card HERE)  Instead of wiping away the excess ink left on the stencil I added a touch more, spritzed over the top with a little water then placed the stencil ink side down, onto a piece of watercolour card.

I gave it a quick press down with a paper towel then removed the stencil and what was left was this pretty monoprint effect.  I really like how the image isn't perfect, and of course no two are ever going to be the same.
This is a great way of using up any left over ink on your stencils ...... they make really interesting background pieces,  and you can add more colour if you want to, or stencil different designs over the top to add layers, or simply stamp onto them as I've done here

A Penny Black sentiment, and a couple of my favourite bees from Lavinia Stamps

I did stamp the bees directly onto the card, to get the tiny details of the legs etc., and stamped them again onto a piece of white cardstock.  These I coloured in and then fussy cut them and layered them over the top

A touch of sparkle to the wings and a few drops of glitter glue and we're done!
I did brush around the edges with a little Vintage Photo Distress Ink just to frame the daisy

As always we have a challenge sponsor, and this month it's ....

Imagine Design Create

and the prize for the challenge winner (randomly chosen) is 2 fabulous stamp sets (see below)

We'll also have a Design Winner ...... chosen by the DT.  Who knows .... this month it could be you!

You can find all the challenge details along with more fantastic inspiration from the rest of the Design Team over on the Craft Stamper blog

Thanks for popping by ...... have a great weekend.

And I'll see you all when I get back.

Arrivederci alla prossima volta .......

Have you entered the Craft Stamper challenge yet? .......

Good morning ... and Happy Friday!

The weekend is here .... again!  This week has simply flown by ....... could be something to do with all the birthday celebrations I suppose.

Time to calm down a bit now ..... I've a busy weekend coming up.
Let's get the weekend started with a little reminder about this months Craft Stamper challenge ..... have you got your entry in yet?  Not to worry if  you haven't, there's still lots of time to play along.

The theme as always is Anything Goes ..... as long as there's some actual rubber stamping on your project somewhere.
And don't forget you can have up to three different entries ..... each one must have it's own blog post and remember .... only one project per post.

I've been busy having fun with some new stamps this week ..... and here's a sneaky look at one of them
It's a brand new set called Dandelion Wishes from Happy Little Stampers made up of two gorgeous dandelion head stamps, and lots of lovely sentiments

I found a really pretty piece of cardstock in my stash that I'd used as a clean up piece for some gold and silver Delicata metallic inks that were left on my craft mat. 
I'd used the inks on another project and there was a little too much left on the craft mat to simply wipe away with a cloth so ....... I took a couple of pieces piece of plain white card and smooshed them through the inks.  I love how they turned out ..... I left them to air dry overnight so that all the gorgeous shimmer from the mica would settle on the top ......

Not sure if it comes across well enough in the photos but trust me it looks fab ....

I stamped the dandelion heads over the top using first and second generation stamping

and then finished off by stamping over the top of these using Versamark and heat embossed the image in gold ......

I added one of the sentiments, stamped in the gold Delicata ink and attached to the front of the card using foam pads

Inside I used the stamp again, first and second generation stamps as before .....

And I added another of the sentiments from the set .....

Watch this space over the weekend for more of the brand new release from Happy Little Stampers.

As always there's two prizes on offer for challenge winners. 
One is for our Design Winner .... chosen by the DT.  One lucky entry will have their winning project published in the Craft Stamper magazine.  They will also be invited to be a Guest Designer on a future challenge and, have a Winners Profile on the Craft Stamper Blog .... not bad eh!

The second winner will win the prize from our challenge sponsor and will be randomly chosen from all the eligible entries.
Our fabulous sponsor this month is our very own .......

Donna Gray .... designing for That's Crafty!

The very talented Craft Stamper designer Donna Gray has also designed her very own range of stamps for That's Crafty!  With 18 different stamp sets now in the range, there's something for everyone in there. And...... two of the brand new designs are the prize for this month's challenge winner (randomly chosen) ..... how cool is that! 

  

As they say .... you have to be in it to win it though so get those entries in!

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day and have a fab weekend.  And if you're a Mum, then Happy Mother's Day for Sunday too ..... mwah!!

Cheerio until next time .....

Good Friends .......

Happy Friday folks ......

The end of another busy week ....... let the weekend start now!

Have you played along with this month's Craft Stamper challenge yet?  No .... well there's still plenty of time.  And ...... if you have already entered don't let that stop you joining in the fun again .... you can have up to three entries, just as long as they all have their own blog post!

The theme is Anything Goes ..... as long as there's rubber stamping somewhere on your project.

Here's an idea for you ....... a pretty little wall hanging

I spotted this idea of using black ink with this type of stamp, and stamping onto Kraft card and I LOVE IT!!!  Thanks to Heather Hoffman (one of the Penny Black DT) for showcasing such a fab technique, I'm hooked.

I simply stamped the image onto a piece of Stampin Up Crumb Cake cardstock, using an old Black Versafine ink pad. I used my MISTI so that I could repeat stamp the image (Penny Black's dancing daisies) until I got a good depth of colour ......

Even though you're using a black ink you still get all the shading on the stamped image ..... love it!

I then stamped and heat embossed in gold, the sentiment ....... you can see I've gone slightly over the top of the flowers with this as it's a lovely large stamp (from Stampin Up's Lovely Friends clear set)

A little tip for you ...... make sure that the black ink is completely dry first, and use an anti static bag over the card before you stamp the words .... this way when you sprinkle on the embossing powder it will only stick to the stamped sentiment, and not on the flower image too. Why am I telling you this ..... I've no patience so the first attempt saw gold powder everywhere!  Oh well .... it's only a piece of card.

I added a few splatters of Black Soot Distress Oxide ink onto the background and a few dots of glitter glue to the centres of the flowers.

I then mat and layered using black and white card and edged the white layer using a gold leafing pen to create the look of a pretty frame.

To mount the design I used an 8x8 square canvas ..... I added a little texture paste here and there using my favourite brick wall stencil

then I painted the whole thing black with a couple of layers of black gesso .... I love the matt finish.

I finished off with a touch of gold wax ..... gently rubbed over the brick wall texture to bring out the detail.

As always we have a challenge sponsor .... this month it's Keep On Crafting

And the prize for the challenge winner is ....... 2 fab stencils along with 2 great stamp sets (see the picture below)

All the challenge info can be found over on the Craft Stamper Blog, along with full details of the prizes ... don't forget we have a monthly Design Winner too!!
You'll also find more inspiration from the rest of the Design Team too ..... Happy Stamping!

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy your Friday and have a great weekend.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the weather holds out ..... we've got a whole load of friends coming round for a BBQ this evening, so guess where I'll be this afternoon ..... yep! in the kitchen ..... prepping!  Hubby does have these great ideas. At least I just have to get everything ready ..... he'll be doing all the cooking!

Cheerio until next time ....

It's only a number ......

Happy Friday 13th folks ........

Are you superstitious? ..... fingers crossed, touch wood and all that.
Is it going to be one of those days ....... should I just go back to bed now, or will it just be like any other Friday ....... it's only a number after all!

As it's Friday, and the second one of the month, it's time to remind you about the Craft Stamper Take It Make It Challenge
The challenge is to Take a Stamp and create something fabulous.  It can be anything you like, a card, a journal page, a piece of home decor ....  the choice is yours.  Just remember to include some actual rubber stamping on your project somewhere.

Our sponsor this month is the fabulous Rubber Dance

And the challenge winner will receive this stamp set ...... which is actually featured on the front cover of the February issue of the magazine

January is a busy month for us .... lots of birthdays, so I thought I'd make a start on the cards ......

Here's a really simple design that can be adapted to suit any age
Using the large number dies from Stampin Up! I simply die cut the 25 from the centre of a piece of black cardstock  and again from a piece of coloured card from my stash.
I then inlaid the coloured numbers into the black card .... easy

The sentiment was then stamped underneath and heat embossed with a silver powder

I then die cut more of the numbers from black card and attached them randomly around the edge ..... gives the look of an embossed piece of card I think

A few dots of glitter glue adds a touch of sparkle .....

As I said this can be done for any age, and in any colour .... great for kids!

Check out the Craft Stamper blog for all the challenge details and more inspiration from the rest of the Design Team.

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day and have a cosy weekend.
The weather forecast is not great.  I hope it's not too cold and wintry where you are ..... I know that parts of the UK have got snow.  We did have some during the night ..... it wasn't half coming down at about 3am this morning! But ..... it's all gone now, from Douglas anyway. Not sure what it's like up on the mountain though ..... I haven't been out yet.  It is blowing a right old hoolie out there!

We're off to look at some houses this morning ...... not the best idea we've had.  Let's hope Friday 13th is a lucky day for us.

Cheerio until next time ..... stay safe and warm

It's a new month .... and there's a brand new challenge theme ....

Happy Friday folks!

Pinch and a punch for the first of the month!!  1st of May, it's the first Friday of the month .... so it's time for a new challenge over on the Craft Stamper Blog.
It's the turn of  'Take a Stamp' again this month so that means Anything Goes ..... as long as there's stamping on there somewhere.

It looks like you all enjoyed last month's challenge, to Use Colour ...... as always we had some fab entries.  You don't half make it difficult for the DT to choose our Design Winner!!

Back to this month though ...... and basically Anything Goes!  You just need to make sure you follow the challenge rules, there's not many (you'll find them on the Blog) and don't forget ....... there has to be some stamping on your project somewhere!!

Our sponsors this month are the fantastic WOW! Embossing Powders

And what a prize we have for you ...... a set of 6 Vintage Embossing Glitters in their own case, plus a beautiful Lace Design stamp

Fancy adding that to your craft stash ........ well here's a little something to hopefully inspire you to give this month's challenge a go ......

The weather has been so nice over here the last few weeks ..... I'm feeling quite summery hence the nice bright colours.
I used a piece of mixed media cardstock, wet it all over with water and then used some Distress Paints to add the colour ....... because the card is wet the colours blend so easily.  I started off with Picked Raspberry across the top, then into the gorgeous Abandoned Coral (I love this new colour!!!). Next came a touch of Scattered Straw, finishing off with Cracked Pistachio (another new favourite!) Speaking of new Distress colours ..... I wonder what this month will bring.  All will be revealed later today .... I wonder if it's a purple shade, or pink maybe ....... I can't wait!

I stamped the pretty butterfly from Tim Holtz's new Perspective stamp set onto the coloured card using Black Archival ink.  I then stamped them again, this time onto white cardstock, and embossed them using a clear powder

I then coloured them using the Distress Paints along with a little water.

Once everything was dry, I fussy cut the butterflies from the white card and attached them directly over the top of my stamped images on the coloured background ..... don't they stand out!

To finish off I added the perfect words .... from Wendy Vecchi .....

and a few paint splats using a wet brush and some white acrylic paint.

Not one to waste anything .... I even used up the bit I cut off my coloured card to add some interest to the inside ....

Now it's your turn ...... get out that stash and get stamping.  Remember ... it can be anything you like .... a card, altered art, a home decor piece, it's entirely up to you.  All we ask is that there's stamping on there somewhere.
You have until May 27th to get your entries in .... you've got to be in it to win it!!  Have fun and Good Luck!

Thanks for popping by .....enjoy the rest of your day and have a lovely Bank Holiday Weekend.  Are you doing anything nice?

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

Take a Stamp ..... it's Challenge time again!

Happy Friday folks!

This is a scheduled post (so fingers crossed it has gone live on Friday!!).  I'm currently across in the UK having fun on a craft retreat weekend down in Retford, Nottinghamshire run by the fabulous Kay Halliwell-Sutton from IndigoBlu.  I'll let you know what we all got up to when I get back!

It's the first Friday of the month, and you all know what that means ..... a brand new challenge over on the Craft Stamper Take It Make It Challenge Blog.

It's the turn of 'Take a Stamp' again this month .... no specific theme .... you can create whatever you like as long as there's actual rubber stamping on there.

Our challenge sponsor this month is the fabulous PaperArtsy .......

And the prize for the challenge winner is ......

A set of Lin Brown Limited Edition Paints

(how gorgeous are these colours!!)

 AND ......

a brand new release Darcy Wilkinson stamp set ..... oooh!!!

Don't forget .... there's also the Design Winner, chosen by the DT ...... they get their wining project featured in Craft Stamper magazine, they're invited to be a Guest Designer on a future challenge and ... they also have a Winner's Profile post on the blog!!  Not bad eh! ..... come on get those stamps out!

Here's a little bit of inspiration for you to get you started ......

I've used one of the fab new stamp sets from Mr Tim Holtz ........  the gorgeous Flower Garden .... love this set!

I'm also still playing with all the coloured card I've made using the Brushos.  I stamped the flower heads onto some of the coloured card and then fussy cut around each one

I then stamped the stems for the blooms, 2 directly onto a piece of white card cut to fit on the front of my finished project, and one on a separate piece of card and then fussy cut around this.  They were all coloured using  Distress ink and a little water.

I attached the fussy cut stem over the other two and then tied a piece of dyed bakers twine around all three.

Using a stencil and some co-ordinating Distress inks I added a bit more interest to the background around the stems

I attached the stamped flower heads onto the card, using foam pads on one of then to add a little dimension

and finished off with a sentiment, from another new Tim Holtz set ...... Perspective, coloured to match

The usual little touch on the inside too ....

This time the flower was coloured using Distress ink mixed with a little water, and a few drops splattered around the edge with a paintbrush to add the final touch.

Now it's your turn.  Go on ..... take a stamp, and create something fabulous!

You have until midnight on March 25th to get your entries in.  Check out the rules and challenge guidelines on the blog .... you'll also find more fabulous inspiration on there today from the rest of the DT.  You never know, you could be our next winner ....... have fun and get stamping!!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day and have a great weekend ...... I know I'm going to!

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx