Go where your dreams take you .......

Happy Good Friday!

Looking forward to the long weekend ........ let's get the Easter break started with a little reminder for this month's Craft Stamper Challenge.
As always the theme is Anything Goes as long as there's some rubber stamping on there somewhere ..... couldn't be simpler.

We have a great prize for the challenge winner, from the fabulous rubber stamp company ...... Visible Image

One lucky entry will receive 3 Visible Image stamp sets .... yes I did say three sets!

Need some inspiration? ..... well here goes

Mica powders, one of my favourite Visible Image stamps and a little bit of heat embossing

I started by giving a piece of smooth watercolour card a very light wash of colour using mica powders mixed with water ...... I used a blue and a green from the Luscious range from IndigoBlu, blending the colours towards the bottom.
I flicked the card with more water and let it sit for a few seconds before mopping up the excess ..... love the effect that this gave .......

I stamped the sentiment ...... from the Visible Image Where Dreams Take You set, and heat embossed with Ranger's Liquid Platinum EP.

I then stamped the butterfly randomly over the card using black Versafine ink ..... it's from the Visible Image Own Kind of Beautiful set and is such a pretty butterfly.
I stamped it again onto another piece of coloured cardstock and fussy cut around it before attaching it over one of the butterflies on my card

Look how pretty the sheen is from the mica ....... and I used the tiniest amount of powder for the background so these little pots are going to last you ages!

I added a few sequins here and there and some dots of glitter glue for added sparkle.

And for the inside ...... I brushed some of the colour across the centre of the card and stamped that pretty butterfly again

Check out the Craft Stamper blog for more inspiration from the rest of the Design Team and then why not join in the fun.  I can't wait to see what you create ..... happy stamping!

Thanks for popping by ........ have a great Easter weekend. Not too many chocolate eggs!
I'm looking forward to spending some time in the old craft room as we haven't got that much planned. We've got a party tomorrow evening ...... Lauren and Robbie's engagement bash, and then it's the usual family Sunday lunch at ours.
I had hoped our new table would have arrived this week, it was due on the island around the 4th ...... but we're still waiting (sigh!)  I thought last Sunday's family meal would have been the final one on our current table ..... at least it's going out happy!

Ooops!  The red wine carafe had dripped ...... just in the right place.  He's even got hair if you look at it in a certain light! ......... hmmm I think maybe there had been a little too much red wine that afternoon.  We thought it was funny!

Cheerio until next time .....

Layering stamps and mica powders ........

Happy Monday to you ......

I hope you all had a good weekend ...... mine was busy as usual.
We had a lovely workshop on Saturday ....... layered stamping using inks and mica powders.  The ladies loved it, especially the mica powders, and were so pleased with their results.
Grab a cuppa and I'll show you what we got up to .......

We used some Altenew stamp sets ....... Peony Bouquet, and Vintage Roses, to create pretty layered stamped designs.

Using these layering stamps enables you to create beautiful coloured blooms with depth and shading, and they're really easy to use.
Try them with coloured inks ...... 3 layers, 3 different shades.

I used Memento Dandelion, then Cantaloupe topped with the final layer of Wild Honey Distress for the roses ......

Then it was New Sprout,  followed by Pistachio and then Bamboo Leaves for the foliage (all Memento ink colours)

A few dots of glitter glue and some sparkly sequins add a bit more interest .....  and then a simple stamped and embossed greeting to finish off

I added in some pretty gold thread too and stamped more of those pretty roses on the inside

I don't usually go for yellow shades but I love how these turned out.

Next up we used the Peony set with the mica powders on coloured cardstock to give a lovely pearlescent look ....... so easy to do, with stunning results! (not easy to photograph though!!)

Thanks to the lovely Jennifer McGuire for the 'How To' on this technique ..... it's pure magic.

Again using the layering stamps ..... 2 layers on the above grey version, and three on the purple one

First layer (solid flower) was stamped in Versamark ink and then dusted over with mica powders. The second layer was then stamped in Versamark again, (the petal detail) and that's when the magic happens.  The Versamark takes off the mica powder leaving all that detail behind ......... easy!

I used Ranger's Perfect Pearl on the grey card above .... so delicate
And a pearl mica with a gold sheen on the purple version.  (I'm sorry but I'm not sure which brand ..... no name on the pot and I've had it for a while.  It might be from Imagination Crafts but please don't hold me to that!)

The grey version I left at two layers, but can you see on the purple card I added in a third layer, this time stamped with a co-ordinating ink (Majestic Purple I think it was)  This layer adds just that little bit more shading and depth to the flower.

A few sequins, pearls and dots of glitter glue add sparkle to the designs

And of course they needed some words on there ...... stamped and embossed on the one above,
or simply stamped in black ink for a more elegant look

The Peony Bouquet set also has a gorgeous outline stamp for the large bloom which we used to create a totally different look using mica powders again, this time mixed with water.

We stamped and embossed the image in white, onto watercolour card, then used a pink mica powder mixed with quite a bit of water, to create a wash of colour over the top

The more water you add to the mica, the paler the colour.

I then used the same mica powder to paint in the blooms .....

A sentiment, stamped and embossed .....

And a few splatters of mica here and there finish off the outside .......

And there's a little something on the inside too ......

I'm looking forward to the Easter weekend coming up ..... should be a nice relaxing one.  We've nothing planned except Lauren and Robbie's engagement party on Saturday night so I'm hoping to spend some time in the old craft room.  What have you got planned?

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

Cheerio until next time .......

Wish upon a Star .......

Good morning and a very Happy Friday to you .....

It's the weekend again .... whoo hoo!
Not only that, it's the first Friday of the month and we all know what that means ....... yes it's new challenge time over on the Craft Stamper Blog.
As always the theme is Anything Goes .... as long as there's rubber stamping on there somewhere.

I've got a little 3D project for you today ........ using the Mini WhimsyGirls stamps, designed by Craft Stamper's very own Trish Latimer.  How cute are these little ones!!

I've had this block of wood sat on my desk forever, waiting for inspiration to strike.  It was thrown into a box when we moved house ........ finally got unpacked again and sat back on my desk waiting to be altered.
Well ...... here it is finally.  These little stamps were just the perfect size.  Actually, they're called minis but they're not that small ...... the block is about the size of an ATC (9.5cm x 6.5cm and it's about 4cm thick so a nice size)

I gave the block a quick coat of gesso then painted it using PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Paints ......

and then added some splatters of pearlescent paint in silver, blue and gold.

I stamped the Whimsy Girls onto white card stock and coloured them using Zig Clean Color Brush pens

There's two little cuties in this set and I used both ......

The girls were fussy cut and attached onto the block using foam pads ....... how cute is this little angel

I finished off the block with some crystal stars to the sides

and white rub on's to add the words

The feet are actually old wooden beads given a coat of white pearlescent paint and attaxche dto the bottom of the block

And I added an old wooden drawer handle on to the top

As always we have a challenge sponsor, and this month it's the fabulous Visible Image

And guess what ..... the challenge winner's prize is an amazing 3 .... yes THREE!!! sets of Visible Image stamps ..... WOW!!

Don't forget there's a Design winner too .... chosen by the DT.  The prize up for grabs there is ....

• their winning project will be published in the Craft Stamper magazine
• they will be invited to be a Guest Designer on a future challenge ..... and
• they get a Winner's profile on the Blog!

What are you waiting for ...... create something fabulous!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day and have a great weekend.

I'm off to the old craft room to put the finishing touches to a workshop for tomorrow.  I'm surprisingly bright this morning considering ..... we had a great time at the IOM Beer Festival yesterday and then a fantastic meal out with a group of friends.

And guess what .... we're doing it all again this evening.  No beer festival ...... just a birthday!

Cheerio until next time .....

Happy Little Stampers Mixed Media Challenge

Hi there ..... me again!

After an afternoon of trying beer and ales I'm now (hopefully!) sat with friends, in my favourite restaurant, eating my way through what will no doubt be an incredibly delicious meal, drinking very nice wine, and celebrating the birthday of one of hubby's work pals (I think there may be the chance of a little headache in the morning ..... ooops!)

But .......... it's the start of April's Happy Little Stampers Mixed Media Challenge and I couldn't miss that now could I

As you can see, this month it's all about SPRAYS
This could be mica sprays, ink sprays, paint sprays even, or ......... just plain water.
Which one did I go for ....... water, along with some Brusho Pigment powders.  I never get tired of using these little pots of magic ..... the results you get are different every time.

I started by stamping the large daisy, from the HLS Especially For You set, onto a piece of smooth watercolour card, and heat embossing the images with white detail embossing powder

Next I sprinkled on the Brusho pigment powders ...... Rose Red (my favourite), Gamboge ith a touch of Lemon, and just a tiny sprinkling of  Lime Green onto the stems.
I tried to keep the powders just over the flowers, as this is where I wanted the most colour.  Then came the water spray.  I spritzed quite heavily over the pigments, spraying outwards from the flowers, so that the colours spread across the card.
I mopped up any excess water and repeated the process again until I was happy with the colour

You can see how the colour fades as it goes up the card ....... perfectly blended and so easy to do.

To make the daisies stand out more, I used the same Brusho colours, mixed with a little water, to paint over the petals.  You can see how the embossing acts as a resist to the Brusho and the lines stay beautifully clean and sharp

I die cut an aperture in the card, added a sentiment and a few dots of glitter glue here and there for added sparkle

I used exactly the same techniques, and the same colours on the inside of the card too .....

see how it turned out completely different ..... love it!!

As with all Happy Little Stampers challenges the Mixed Media challenge is sponsored by the HLS Store

and the winner will receive a discount voucher to spend in the shop.

Full challenge details can be found on the HLS Blog along with more mixed media inspiration from the rest of the Design Team.
We've got a fabulous Guest Designer this month too ..... the lovely Autumn from SewPaperPaint is joining us.  Hop on over and say Hello.

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day.
Hopefully I'm still enjoying mine!

Cheerio until next time .......