We're on the final day ........

Happy Friday evening ......

Drum roll .............
Welcome to Day 12 of the 12 Tags for Christmas with Loll and Friends

It's the final day of what's been a fabulous Blog event yet again and guess what ..... I'm the Guest Designer today ..... whoo hoo!!

I was thrilled when Loll invited me to join in the fun and be a Guest Designer again ...... of course I said Yes!!!  It's an honour to be part of such a talented bunch.

If you've been with me for the last week you'll have seen that I've been playing along each day ..... how could I not ....you know how much I love making tags.

So here's my final one ......

Inspired by a workshop I planned a while ago .......... one of my favourite techniques at the moment, white ink on Kraft card and then stamping in brown.

I started out by stamping the gorgeous Winter Lodge from Inkylicious onto the Kraft tag.  I used the Java Bean Dye Ink from Ranger and my MISTI.
I love using my MISTI with detailed stamps like this, no need to worry about getting it perfect first time.  Just keep re-inking the stamp and repeat as many times as needed to get the depth of colour, and the detail ... easy!

Next was the white ink ..... I used a brush to apply it around the edges of the tag, then I cut myself a paper mask to create some snowy hills in the background

I used a white gel pen to add the snow on the lodge and the trees ...... apply a little of the white pen around the edges and then use a water brush to spread the ink around.
Here's where the MISTI came in handy again ..... some of the white ink had gone over my stamped image so the detail wasn't as crisp as I wanted.  Because I hadn't removed my stamp from the MISTI I just put my tag back in position, inked up the stamp again and Voila!  perfect image.

I stamped one of the Clarity trees onto the side and embossed using WOW's Golden Pine embossing powder .... not sure it comes across in the picture but it's a lovely soft green colour with a hint of gold in there .... very pretty

I die cut the gorgeous reindeer from chipboard and inked him using Distress Inks.  To add a bit more detail I stamped some snowflakes onto him and embossed them in white

Some sparkly glitter on his antlers and a festive bow around his neck give him the perfect Christmas look.

I added a little festive foliage to the bottom .....

and some words to the top .... along with a sprinkling of chunky white Embossing Powder

And there you have it ..... all twelve tags done.

There's still time for you to join in with the event .... the linky is staying open until November 25th.

Thanks to Loll for inviting me to be part of this year's fabulous event ..... it's been a fun 12 days!

And thank you for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day and have a fabulous weekend.

Cheerio until next time .......

Autumn ..... my favourite season of the year

Happy Friday folks .......

It's the first Friday in the month so that can only mean one thing ....... there's a brand new edition of the Craft Stamper magazine out on the shelves and ..... it's the start of October's Craft Stamper Take It Make It Challenge.
There's been a slight change to the challenge titles ..... we're still keeping one month as Take a Stamp which was last month, but the alternate month is now going to be called Take a Theme and not Take a Technique.
So ....  the theme for this month is  ....... Autumn (or Fall)

We'd like to see designs using an Autumnal theme .... tress, leaves perhaps, or Autumn colours like reds, oranges, greens, earth tones .... you get the idea.
It's still an anything goes challenge so cards, journal pages, altered art .... whatever takes your fancy. Just remember ... there has to be some stamping on there somewhere.

As always we have a challenge sponsor, and this month it's the fabulous ....... That's Crafty!

There's an amazing prize up for grabs ....... 8 brand new stamp sets!!  Yes I did say 8 .... take a look at these .....

Fancy getting your hands on that little lot .... well why not Take the Theme and get stamping!

You could even see your project in the Craft Stamper magazine as our Design Winner, chosen by the DT.  You would also get to be a Guest Designer on a future challenge and have a Winner's Profile published on the Blog .... how cool is that!!

Need a bit of inspiration? ........ here you go ...... a nice simple design with a perfect Autumn feel

The background has been stamped using the Stampin Up!  Hardwood, stamped with the Java Bean ink pad from Ranger's Dye based inks .... love this stamp, and it's perfect for this time of year (great for men's cards too!).

I then added some Distress ink over the top in various shades of brown ......  before splattering a little water over the top.

The leaves were then cut from a piece of card inked again with Distress inks, only this time using all the Autumnal shades ..... Wild Honey, Fossilised Amber, Spiced Pumpkin, a touch of Forest Moss, Aged Mahogany and Gathered Twigs ...... gorgeous!

The large leaf was the Tim Holtz Layered Leaf die that comes with a matching embossing folder and the smaller ones were cut using his Thinlits dies ..... Fall Foliage
I added a bit more detail to the leaves using one of the stamps from the Stampers Anonymous Leaf Prints, and also a few dots of Glossy Accents here and there

The banner across the top, I found in my re-cycle box.  I bet you all have one of those .... a box where you keep all those bits and pieces that you take off old projects or embellishments that come on cards etc.  I think this was off a tag that I decided to re-cycle .... I just knew it would come in handy again!

The whole thing was finished off with a beautiful embossed saying along the bottom .....

How true!

We're starting to feel that Autumn chill in the air over here, just in the evenings. Maybe it'll be time to switch the heating on this weekend ........ or maybe I just get a sweater out, it's not exactly cold yet!
 
We've got a busy weekend ahead.  We're off to an Autumn Wine Tasting this evening (cheers!) ..... time to stock up the wine rack I think.
Then on Saturday it's time to stock up the old craft room ...... I'm hosting a Stampin Up! party again. My SU rep, Lyn will be here, showcasing all the new goodies and running make and takes.  It'll be a fun afternoon trying out the new Christmas range and of course it'll be a nice get together will all my crafty ladies.
Then in the evening hubby and I are off out to a double birthday bash ...... more good food and wine! Thanks goodness I'm not on a diet!

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

Cheerio until next time

On the 11th day of December .......

a flurry of snowflakes! Don't panic ...... they're not real ones!

Happy Friday to you,

We've a busy weekend coming up ....... the festive season starts NOW!!!

Before we hit the Christmas spirit though ........ it's party time this weekend ...... it's time for a little reminder about the latest Craft Stamper challenge ..... the last one for 2015!!

This month it's the turn of Take a Technique ....... but, as it's nearly Christmas we thought we'd have a nice easy theme for you instead of a specific technique ......

Sharing the Season

(Ho! Ho! Ho!)

We'd like to see your seasonal projects ..... that could be a Christmas design or just a wintry/icy theme.  Or, if you're lucky enough to live somewhere where it's not quite so cold .... and wet .... why not share your seasonal designs too.

I'm keeping with the Christmas theme ........ with an icy/snowy feel

The background was created using Distress Spray Stains in various shades of blue, spritzed onto a piece of white cardstock.  I then sprayed with Perfect Pearls over the top and let the colours blend together with the shimmer spray.  I scrunched a piece of cling film over the top and left the card to dry overnight.

The result is this gorgeous icy look to the card ...... you can see where the mica has settled in the creases of the cling film ....  so pretty!

I then stamped the sentiment using a black ink and embossed it with a clear powder

This always makes me smile .... I'm more a red girl myself but hey .... it;s Christmas!

I then stamped a few snowflakes over the card and embossed them with a white, fine detail powder

and added a few smaller flakes using one of the blue Distress inks

The large snowflake has been die cut using the Tim Holtz Layered Snowflake die, from plain white cardstock then each one has been given a rough coat of texture paste

While the paste was still wet I sprinkled on some white glitter to add a touch of sparkle and then left them to dry.  They were then layered together and attached to the front of the card, and a simple white pearl adds the finishing touch

Inside there's a few more snowflakes ......

and a touch of colour 

Our sponsor this month is the fabulous Polka Doodles ...... and the challenge winner (randomly chosen) will receive a £25 voucher to spend in the shop!

And don't forget, there's also the Design Winner, chosen by the DT.  They will have their winning project published in the Craft Stamper magazine, be a Guest Designer on a future challenge and have a Winners Profile on the Craft Stamper Blog!!

So .... get those entries in .... the next winner could be you!!

I'm also linking this up to the Happy Little Stampers Mixed Media Challenge, where the theme is ...

Anything Goes 

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day and have a fabulous weekend whatever you have planned.

I'm off now to order the turkey for the big day ........ then I might just wrap a few Christmas presents I think.  Well .... it is only 2 weeks away ...... Ho! Ho! Ho!

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

Ta Dah!!!!!! ......... Tag # 12 .....

Happy Sunday morning ......

You don't hear that very often on here do you!  Sunday is usually the day for a nice lie in for me but not this week.  No .... it's a nice early start 'cos I'm off out for a crafty day with the girls!!
No slaving in the kitchen making Sunday lunch for everyone ...... mine's all done, and the craft bag is packed ...... not sure I've got everything I need but hey .... we're in Jill's craft room today so if I've forgotten anything there's no doubt that it'll be in there somewhere!!!
Now all I need to do before I go is share my final tag for Loll's 12 Tags of Christmas event which comes to a close later today.

As usual, I'm on the last minute ....... but I couldn't miss the final one now could I .... so here it is ....

Another weathered background ....... this is one that didn't quite crackle enough all over when I was doing the last tag, but you know me, I never throw anything away (there's another one lying around on my desk too ready for a future project)

Crackle background, using PaperArtsy Fresco Finish paints along with their Crackle Glaze.
Then I stamped the gorgeous Clarity Lone Spruce tree using a green Archival ink onto one side of the tag

I added some torn bits of card to the bottom to create some dimension and gave then a touch of fine crystal glitter

I die cut the fabulous Tim Holtz stag from chipboard ... I actually cut two and glued them together for added depth.
It was then given a coat of paint and finished off with a little Distress Ink around the edges to add some shading (Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain)

I stamped and embossed in white, some pretty snowflakes onto the background and also onto the back of the deer.
Some fine crystal glitter onto the antlers and of course the famous red nose finish him off nicely

Again ......  not wanting to waste anything ..... I came across the words on my desk, already stamped and embossed (left over from a previous tag no doubt!) A touch of Weathered Wood Distress Ink around the edge, matted onto a piece of co-ordinating card and voila! ...... tag is done!

Phew! ........ that's all 12.
Why not pop over to Loll's blog and take a look at all the fabulous tags that have been entered into this year's event.  Or ...... if you've not already joined in the fun there's still a little time left to play along. There's some fab prizes up for grabs too.  Mind you I wouldn't want the job of choosing the winners ....... good luck with that one Jeremy!!!

Thanks again to Loll for hosting this fabulous event and for inviting me to be one of this year's Guest Designers ....... it's been fun!!

Oh well .... must dash .... PJ's and slippers is not the ideal outfit for a day crafting ..... not in someone else's craft room anyway!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy your Sunday.

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx 

PS  ...... almost forgot!  I'm also linking this up to the Happy Little Stampers Mixed Media Challenge where the theme is TAG

and also the HLS Christmas Challenge because their theme is also TAGS

Cheerio (again!) xx

Craft Stamper Take It Make It Blog Hop

Happy Friday ..... and Happy Hopping!

Welcome to the very first Craft Stamper Take It Make It Blog Hop! ..... how exciting is that!
If you're hopping here from the lovely Kymona's Blog, then you're in the right place.  Don't worry you can find a full list of all the Blog Hop links over on the Craft Stamper Blog, so you won't miss any.

This is going to be so much fun .... more fabulous inspiration for you from the Design Team, for this month's new look challenge, and ...... there's Blog Hop prizes too!

What do you think of the new challenge set up ..... good or what!  Two alternate theme's, and 2 winners for each challenge.  One chosen randomly to receive the sponsors prize, and then one chosen by the DT, who will get their project published in the Craft Stamper magazine, get a Guest Designer spot and a winner's profile published on the Blog ..... how cool is that!

The challenge for this month is .....

Take a Stamp

It's really that simple ...... just use a stamp somewhere on your project.

Here's an idea to get you started ......

A cute little calendar for the new year.

I made my frame using the Postage Stamp Bigz Die by Tim Holtz  ....... cut one in full, then added in one of the Sized Rectangles from the Movers & Shapers range and cut 4 more with an aperture, all of them cut from greyboard.

I glued the 4 frames together, then gave them a coat of black Gesso along with one side of the full piece.

Whilst the frame was drying, I cut a piece of white cardstock to fit inside the aperture and added some colour using Distress inks. I then spritzed with water  to remove some of the ink and give that nice distressed look to the background.

Then came the stamping .....

I used IndigoBlu's Wild Flowers, stamped in Black Versafine, then I used a water brush to remove the ink from some of the flowers .....

The sentiment is from Kaisercraft ..... stamped and then clear embossed to make it stand out a little from the background

Once everything was dry, I attached a piece of black ribbon to the back of the stamped panel to form the hanger for the calendar, leaving enough at the bottom to add the actual calendar tab.

I attached the stamped panel onto the back piece then placed the frame over the top.

To finish off I mounted the calendar tab onto a piece of matching, inked cardstock, attached the ribbon to the back, and then added a piece of painted greyboard. I added a pretty little butterfly to give a touch of dimension

Finally, I rubbed just a touch of Treasure Gold around the edges of the frame.

Hope you like it!

What about these prizes then ...... well, the main challenge has a MAHOOSIVE prize up for grabs and to be in with a chance of winning it, all you have to do is enter a project into the 'Take a Stamp' challenge to earn your place in the random draw ..... simples!

On top of that ..... (we're really spoiling you this month) ..... we're offering Blog Hop prizes too!

You could get your hands on this fabulous mixed media substrate pack ..... (oooh!)

For the chance to win simply leave a comment here on this post, or on any of the other Blog Hop posts.  Then once the Blog Hop closes ..... which by the way is midnight on January 28th, same time as the challenge closes,  a winner will be chosen, at random, from the comments left.  Here's the best bit ...... there is one prize on offer for EACH of the Blog posts ..... that's 12 chances to win if you comment on them all!!

And there's more ........ the lucky winners from each blog post will not only win a mixed media substrate pack, they will also receive the original piece of artwork from the Blog Author ..... so, the winner chosen from the comments left here will receive the project I've shared above ....... cool eh!

So  Blog Hoppers ..... please leave a comment here, then hop on over to the fabulously talented ......

 Nikki K

When you've finished the Blog Hop don't forget to get your entry in for the main challenge, if you haven't already done so ........ don't miss out on the chance to win that fabulous, rather large, box of crafting goodies.   All the details can be found HERE

Have fun and Happy Hopping!

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

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

Christmas Bingo! .....

Morning folks!

Happy Friday!  It's the weekend again and guess what?! ....... I'm leaving the island for a few days (only until Monday that's all!)
I'm not on my own this time ..... Hubby and I are off to London for the weekend (a romantic break you might say!)  What with all the chaos and rushing around of the last few weeks, we thought it would be nice to spend some time just the two of us.  So, we're off to see the sights, enjoy a few nice restaurants, and hopefully meet up with some friends we haven't seen in a while ....... we're going to see the poppies at the Tower of London too (that's actually the main reason we're going!) 

Before I go and pack the suitcase, I've got this weeks festive make for the Merry Monday Christmas Card Challenge ..... can't miss that now can I!

It's time to have some fun with a game of Christmas Bingo! ....... here we go ..... 'eyes down'

I chose the line down the left hand side ..... but I could also have gone straight across the middle, my card fits either ......

Anyway .... the SPARKLE is the glitter on the trees, and the reindeer's antlers,

the DIE CUT is the actual Reindeer (you probably guessed that!)

and the RED part is the ribbon bow, and the layer of red cardstock (oh ..... and Rudolph's nose!)

Going the other way ... we have the DIE CUT reindeer again,  RIBBON or TWINE, the bow around his neck and the KRAFT part ... well we're back to the reindeer again!

I used the large and medium Christmas tree stamps from Clarity, to create my winter forest .... stamped along the edge of a torn piece of copier paper using Vintage Sepia Versafine ink

I used a Quickie Glue pen and fine crystal glitter to add the look of snow and give some definition to the ground.
I then stamped the sentiment across the bottom in a festive red ink.

The cute little deer is one from a Sizzix Bigz die ...... Reindeer Flight by Tim Holtz.  He's been cut from Kraft card, inked around the edge using Gathered Twig Distress ink, and stamped over the top with the IndigoBlu Sheet Music background stamp to give a bit more interest.

His antlers have been cut from gold glitter card using another Sizzix Bigz die, which is unfortunately discontinued now I believe ..... they're part of the branch from Tim Holtz's Bird on a Branch die.

I added the bow along with a silver jingle bell, and of course his red nose.

He's then been attached using foam pads, and I've finished off by adding a sprinkling of Fran-tage Chunky White Embossing Powder to the whole scene, to give the look of falling snow ..... brrrrrr!

As always, the design continues on the inside ......

Well that was fun ..... I haven't played Bingo in a lonnnng time!

Thanks for popping by ...... enjoy your Friday, and have a lovely weekend.  I'm so looking forward to mine!

Cheerio until next time

Linda 

xx