Having a Gelli Christmas

Friday is the start of a new challenge week over at Crafts4eternity and our theme for the week is

A Non Traditional Christmas 

we would like to see any Christmas project (doesn't have to be a card) with a non traditional theme, so a chance to use different colours, themes etc a little bit away from the norm.

For my design piece I have kept it quite simple and just used one of my stashed gelli prints that I did a while back.

Whilst I have used a sizzix Christmas tree die I think the design of the gelli print is very non traditional. 

I have torn some of the paper to create snow on the hills that the trees are growing on. A simple sentiment of "Wish" from Tim Holtz seasonal chit chat stickers and some punched stars complete the card.

The card has a lot of dimension as I layered everything using pinflair glue.

 

So why not pop over, break with tradition, and join in this week with us.

One randomly chosen winner will win a $6 gift certificate from Floppy Latte Designs.

Thanks for stopping by

Love 

Amanda X

 

Christmas Waves a Magic Wand

This weeks challenge over at Stampotique Designers challenge is "Early Christmas". 

The hostess this week is Nellie who like many of us, yes that includes me, leaves the making of Christmas cards far too late and December just becomes a mad dash of a paper and glitter fest.

I have used "Angel" by Stampotique. This is one of the first stampotique stamps that I bought and I haven't really used her, so I decided it was time to bring her to life.

Background has been created on linen cardstock with dylusions sprays.

Stamps used

Stampotique "Angel"

Kaisercraft "Magic of Christmas"

Crafty Individuals Santa's Sleigh

Card has been sprayed with perfect pearls mists forever blue & pewter (I can't capture the sparkle in the photo)

Card has been edged and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer thick embossing crystals -  Silver Shine

I have also embossed using a credit card to add some texture and ground Angel. Individual grains have been embossed in the top half of the card to represent the stars (again photo doesn't pick this up, dam these dark evenings)

All has then been mat and layered several times and mounted onto an 8x8 card blank.

thanks for visiting my blog and please feel free to leave your comments, we all love reading what others think and I can pop over and visit you if I know you have been.

Love

Amanda X

Winter Wonderland (of scraps)

Well I have been doing a lot of rummaging and sorting in my craft room, I was trying to find all my Christmas bits within many boxes and drawers, infact I discovered many things that I didn't realise that I had I suppose that's because they only come out once a year. I found a box of scraps that I had left over from several Christmas's so I thought I would try and put them to some use in my attempt to become more organised than previous Christmas's. This was all prompted by visiting my local craft shop "The Stampers Gallery" in Tarlton where I purchased a bag of natural linen type fabric Christmas tree's for £1.75 for 8.

I have again gone for a very natural look, following the colours of my last post, but this time to add that wintery feel I have included a little blue to just add that touch of cold and frostyness.

Other than my purchase of these super little trees everything else is just made up of scraps of papers,ribbons,burlap etc that I have had left over. I wanted this to have a great feeling of texture so have used a variety of items and have added machine stitching to add even more texture.

and here these little trees that inspired this piece

 

I started with a piece of Kraft card which I roughly painted with gesso. I then just started building up the piece with my scraps just creating my pattern, the hardest thing is to stop. Colours used are all distress paints  in picket fence,antique linen and stormy sky. The little trees came with the buttons on but I added picket fence paint and picket fence stickles to give them that wintery feel.

Finally I have added chit chat stickers to title my card.

I would like to enter this into this weeks challenge at Make My Monday where the theme is Contemporary Christmas.

thanks for visiting 

Love

Amanda X

Get out your Bling!!

Hi,

and today is the start of another weekly challenge at Crafts4eternity, unfortunately I didn't make it for last weeks challenge but I am back this week for our theme this week which is

"GLITTER & SPARKLE"

So as I said in my title, Get out your bling and pop along and join in, you can make anything you like as long as it fits in with our theme. 

I stayed a bit safe, and at this time of the year, a bit predictable as I went with a Christmas theme but at least that's one card made.............

My only issue was getting my sparkle to sparkle in the photo and that unfortunately was impossible, so I have added a couple of close ups that hopefully give you a better idea..

I love snow and in particular snowflakes 

Main image is Tim Holtz Blueprint snowflake heat embossed in white with rock candy glitter added, wooden snowflake painted with picket fence distress paint covered in rock candy glitter, silver snowflake charm painted with P.F. D.I. and then finally a Papermania shimmer dot.

 

Every stamped snowflake has a shimmer dot in the centre, even the tiny ones which hopefully you can see here, I told you there was bling. The background paper which is from lily of the valley Krafty Christmas pad was sprayed with Goosebumps clear texture spray, which you can justabout see,prior to me toning the kraft paper down with picket fence distress stain.

The addition of hessian and cheese cloth add more texture and hopefully add to the natural look and feel of this card.

The card has then been edged with picket fence distress paint and finally the sentiment is a Tim Holtz Christmas word band tied on with natural twine with a dash of picket fence paint.

So come on over and join us and if nothing else if only to display better photography skills than me. 

You could be our randomly chosen winner, who this week will win their choice of 3 digi images from the Crafts4eternity collection.

I would also like to enter this into the current challenge over at

Fashionable Stamping Challenge - Shabby Chic Christmas

Thanks for stopping by and please feel free to leave a comment it's lovely to know who's visiting and I can pop along and visit you.

Love

Amanda X

David Bowie Tribute....

Hi blog friends hope you are all having a great week so far. 

Another weekly challenge over at Stampotique Designers challenge and this week is a

 One Layer Challenge and trust me that is a challenge for me.

This weeks challenge has been set for us by the fabulous Samantha Read and Sam says;

"Hi Stampotiquers! I'm so excited to be your host this week and I'm inviting you to make a creation using just one layer. It doesn't necessarily have to be clean and simple, that's the challenge! I love lots and lots of layers but to achieve a sense of depth to a creation using no embellishments etc can really get you scratching your head and rubbing your chin! 

Most importantly have fun ;)"

For my make this week, if I can't use layers, I will use texture!! and as you will see from the sentiment this card is a tribute to the fantastic David Bowie and "Major Tom" Lyrics.

All this has been created onto an 8" x 8" kraft card

using

Stampotique stamps "3 in a round" & "Two Stars"

Tim Holtz worn alphabet

Prismacolour pencils white and spring green

Modelling Paste Winsor & Newton

Dylusions spray black marble

Perfect pearls - Pearl

Pan Pastels Phthalo Blue and Burnt sienna tint.

thanks for popping by, your visit means a lot to me.

Love

Amanda X

Let Chaos Prevail!!

Hi everyone, hope you are all having a lovely sunday, following last weeks traumatic weeks a calmness now has entered my life and I have had a lovely relaxing day doing just what I want and of course that includes a little craftyness. I have made an entry into this weeks challenge over at
stampotique designer challenge and the theme for this week is "Using Gesso".

I found a piece of watercolour card that I had previously been playing around with Dylusions spray on in my bit box that I decided to use. I smeared gesso over it in places and created texture in it with bottle tops,credit cards etc (picture doesn't show that to clearly). I then sprayed more dylusions ink onto my craft mat and picked it up with my gesso coloured paper and then just let them run. I stamped the leaves, dylusions stamp, with black gesso and then did some more gesso smearing, I love how the gesso picks up the colour of the dylusions spray. I added some machine stitching around the edges which caught the smeared gesso in it. I then stamped "Hunk" onto dictionary paper ensuring the word Chaos appeared in his head.

Sentiment has been created using Tim Holtz label letters and worn text alphabet stamps to create the word Chaos.
Thanks for stopping by to visit me I really appreciate it and welcome your comments.
See you soon
Love
Amanda X

She is Art!!

Hi, I am not even going to begin to tell you about my week but it's been the week from hell, it's been one of those when you just don't think things can get any worse, they do!!!! But I am going to just move along because today, Friday, is the start of another weekly challenge over at Crafts4eternity and our challenge for the coming week is......

Anything but a Card

and

This weeks prize is donated by Crafts 4 Eternity
One randomly selected winner will receive a choice of 3 digital stamps from the C4E collection.

With time being extremely in short supply this week I have made a quick canvas. Main canvas is 30cm by 10cm which I have painted with picked raspberry distress paint and then using stampotique Journey collage stamp I have stamped the text repeatedly using salty ocean,mowed lawn & mustard seed distress paint. I have then painted 3 smaller canvases and mounted on them 3 stamped images in matching distress ink Tim Holtz Mona Lisa. To finish I have added the text "She is Art" using chit chat stickers.

I am not totally happy with my end result but considering my week I am at least happy that I managed to even complete a DT piece. If nothing else, it's not a card lol.

So why not pop along and join in with us this week we would love for you to play along.

See you soon and with luck in a less stressed state!!
I would also like to enter this into the current challenge at
Tuesday Taggers the theme is 'Colour Explosion'

Love

Amanda X

One Good Friend

A big hello to all my blog friends old and new. It's Friday, so that means a new weekly challenge over at Crafts4eternity.and for this week we have a SKETCH challenge. I didn't think I would get my DT post done this week as I am full of a shocking cold and feeling very sorry for myself indeed, but as they say "the show must go on".

This is my piece for this week

and this is the sketch I based it on

This originally started out as just a tag but I decided to make it into a card.

Items used

Teesha Moore Zettology stamps stamped onto dictionary paper, the hats were stamped onto plain paper, cut out and paper pierced over.

Tim Holtz Stars layering stencils using texture paste.

Distress stains Wild honey, Marigold & Fired brick

Background was created by splodging distress stains onto an acrylic block and then stamping with it.

Tim Holtz psychedelic grunge stamps

Kaisercraft texture stamps Arty & chevrons

sentiment Inkadinkado "Tell it how it is" set

Archival ink pads Vermillion & Monarch Orange

Tim Holtz tissue tape

why not pop over and join in with us this week, one randomly chosen entry will win 

3 Digi images of their choice from our sponsor this week

Stamping All Day.

Right where is that Honey and Lemon???

Love

Amanda X