Foliage & Flowers for That's Crafty Challenges

Hi Everyone

It's time for the start of a new challenge theme over at That's Crafty Challenge Blog and our theme for the coming fortnight is

'Foliage & Flowers' which means your project must contain flowers, leaves, trees etc.

As my piece of inspiration for you I have used mostly scrap bits leftover from previous projects.

It all started with a torn page from an old nature book to which I then added some gelli printed tissue bits. I stamped the tree, which is a Kim Dellow stamp from Paperartsy, onto scraps of gelli prints and then paper pierced it over the image I had stamped onto the book paper. I then mounted that onto some torn scraps of gelli printed paper that I had glued to a kraft card blank. I stamped along the bottom to look like grass and the sentiment I cut out from an old stamp I have in my stash. I then finished it all off with some sewing machine stitching.

The Design Team have come up with some fabulous inspiration for you and by playing along with us this fortnight you could also win £20 to spend online at That's Crafty.

So for all the details and to see the fabulous inspirational pieces from the team just pop over HERE

Look forward to seeing you over there

Love

Amanda X

Text Background for Stampotique Designers Challenge

Hi Everyone

Sadly today is my last week as guest designer over at Stampotique Designers Challenge, I have loved being their guest designer for March. My last piece is for the new challenge

"TEXT BACKGROUND"

For my last piece I have used an MDF hanging hearts.  My text background has been created by stamping the "Tall Word Collage" many times onto bit of gelli prints and then cutting them all out. I then built them all up by glueing onto card. I then mounted the card onto the large and smaller heart to form my background. I glued the smaller heart on top of the larger and then splattered paint all over I then wrapped them with black wire. 

I stamped "Agatha Heart onto white card and coloured her with pencils. I stamped the heart she is holding again and added words to it to match the larger hearts and overlaid it to the stamped image, I have also added some glossy accents to her eyes. The sentiment 'Kiss Me' come from strategically cutting the stamped out"Merry Kiss-mas" stamp.

I would like to say a huge thank you to Stampotique Designers Challenge blog  for asking me to take part as their guest for March.

Hope you like it

Love

Amanda X

It's always the small pieces....... for That's Crafty

Hi Everyone

As it's Tuesday this is just a heads up to let you know that I am over at That's Crafty Blog

with a piece of 8" x 8" wall art.

All the details of what I did you'll find  HERE 

Thanks for stopping by

Love

Amanda X

Happy Mothers Day

Hi Everyone

and a Happy Mothers Day to my mum and all the other mums out there, you are hopefully going to be spoilt rotten today I know my mum is going to be.

I have made a couple of Mothers Day cards which as you can see are a bit away from my usual style, but you have to make to your market sometimes don't you?  Lots of die cutting on theses and I got to use some of my distress oxide play pieces up. 

I have used Tim's mixed media dies, Tim's wildflower dies, Carabelle studio dies, Memory box dies and Tim's Alpha dies. All colour is courtesy of the fabulous Distress Oxides and the stamped sentiments are old Sheena Douglass stamps.

Right have to dash I have loads to do before all the family arrives.

Have a good one and thanks for stopping by

Love

Amanda X

Getting to Oxides at Last!!

Hi Everyone

I am a bit late to the party playing with Tim's new distress oxides but as they say, better late than never. 

What can I say that hasn't already been said by those of you who are ahead of me playing with them, nothing other than to totally agree with all of you that they are fabulous. Loving the chalky, oxidised effect and have made a couple of tags with slightly different techniques in using them.

This tag I have created the background by adding the colour to my craft mat and spritzing with water, picking the colour up on the tag, drying and then repeating the process until I was happy with the background.

I then stamped everything, except the words, using the oxides, they really do stamp beautifully. 

I have added additional colours to his jacket and hat using a waterbrush, the inks are far more potent than normal distress inks when used as paints but leave a fabulous oxidised effect.

Words were stamped in black archival.

Stamps are mostly Brett Weldele and a touch of Tim Holtz

For the background of this tag I first blended the colours using a blending tool and then spritzed the tag to allow the colours to run together a little and oxidise. I then stamped the circles blending the oxides onto the stamp. Once stamped onto the tag I misted the tag again to soften and oxidise the stamping. 

The main image was stamped using black archival and the sentiment added is Tim's chit chat sayings.

I need to experiment more with these fabulous ink pads but I can confirm that I love them!!

Thanks for stopping by

Love

Amanda X

Tag it Week 2 for Stampotique

Hi Everyone

It is week 4 and my penultimate week as March guest designer over at Stampotique designers challenge blog This week is the 2nd week of the current "Tag it" challenge and I've gone a little bit 'hippy'.

This weeks tag features one of the characters drawn by Tracy Scott and she is called 'Willow'

She is just spreading the Loveeeeeeeee

Background of the tag is stripes of acrylic paint and then blacked out using a peace stencil.

I have die cut one of Tim Holtz mini globes and coloured it with acrylic paints. I have stamped the 'Bla, Bla, Bla' stamp over the globe as there is a lot of rubbish being spoken at the moment. I have added the words from the song by Dionne Warwick.

"What the world needs now is love sweet love"

Why not come and play along with everyone this week, you'll find all the details HERE

thanks for stopping by

Love

Amanda X

The Eyes for That's Crafty

Hi Everyone

Just to let you know I'm over at That's Crafty and my make this week features some of the new That's Crafty stencils that were launched on Hochanda last week.

You can click Here for all the details

Thanks for stopping by 

Love

Amanda X

Some Sunday Zen

Hi Everyone

If you are in the UK, like myself, I hope you have more to look forward to today than rain!!! Rain however does mean staying in, which means crafty play time!!!

Anyway following on from yesterdays post  HERE I have had another play with my newest Buddha stamp from Inkylicious. 

Background was a gelli print from my stash and then stamped image onto gelli print. Masked off and added the word Serendipity blending Paperartsy paints through Andy Skinner stencil. Then stencilled again using a Crafters workshop stencil and archival black ink. I then added some paints and pencil work to the Buddha. For the head dress I added dots of paint using a cocktail stick and the robe is a mixture of paint and pencil.

Some Tim Holtz remnant rubs finish it off, and then as I tend to do, it was matted onto black card before adding to an 8" x 8" card blank.
I would like to enter this into this months Craft Stamper challenge - anything Goes Here

Have a fabulous Sunday whatever you are doing and thanks for stopping by

Love

Amanda X

Just Buddha-ing about Again

Hi Everyone

Hope you are all having a great start to the weekend. 

I am currently experiencing some fixation with Buddha having found a fabulous Buddha head stamp at Inkylicious, check out previous posts for that one. I have now found that they have another Buddha stamp at Inklicious so have had to have an immediate play with that one once it arrived.

Now I'm not sure I like how this one turned out so I'll probably have another play with the stamp when I get a minute.

Brayered background with acrylic paint including a layer of paint using a textured brayered. Image stamped and masked off. Stencilled background a Dina Wakley stencil. Then the concentric dots stencil which i think is Crafters Workshop. Final layer to add some contrast from the Buddha image was the Bokeh effect using a white ink pad and circle stencil. Quote is from Tim Holtz Chat stickers.

Thanks for stopping by

Love

Amanda X

Tag it! For Stampotique Designers Challenge

Hi Everyone

It's now week 3 of my guest designer spot for March over at Stampotique Designers Challenge blog. 

This week there is a new challenge theme and it's 

"Tag It"

So it's either make a tag or use tags in your project, here's my little piece of inspiration for you.

I have used the fabulous Stampotique character 'fofe', I think he always looks so sad and lost, ah bless! 

My background is a collage of tags onto a tag and then coloured with distress crayons. I have then stamped over them all using 'Mash Up'. I have then added some heat embossed words from 'Barcode Text'.

If you would like to play along with this challenge you will find all the details HERE

thanks for stopping by

Love

Amanda X

If I Had a Flower for That's Crafty

Hi Everyone

Just let you know that I am over at That's Crafty blog as it's Tuesday. 

I'd love it if you'd pop over HERE for all the details

Have a great day

Love

Amanda X

Bling it Up! at That's Crafty Challenges

Hi Everyone

We have the start of a new challenge today over at That's Crafty Challenges and our theme this time is

"Bling it Up"

I don't tend to use a lot of bling so I have gone with subtle bling on this one. I have added glitter and diamante gems to my card which also uses an older stamp from Stampendous that I have found in my stash.

Background is using the Tiny Dot stencil as a stamp using distress inks and then colouring the heart with the same colour distress inks. Sentiment is a Dina Wakely stamp.

We would love to see your 'Blingy' masterpieces and of course they don't have to be as subtle as mine, go 'Blingy' mad for this one!

As always the design team have some fabulous inspiration for you and if you play along with us you could be the winner of a £20 gift voucher to spend online at That's Crafty.

You will find all the details here 

Thanks for stopping by

Love

Amanda X

Wk 2 as GDT for Stampotique

Hi Everyone

It's my 2nd week as GDT over at Stampotique Designers challenge Blog and the theme of 

"Use Lace/Ribbon or both" continues into it's 2nd week. Here is my piece for this weeks inspiration.

I have gone for a clean and simple look this time leaving plenty of white space. I have added my lace by using the lace as a stamp, totally covering pieces of lace in paint, laying on the card and running over them using a clean brayer. I have then added the paint coloured lace to the card as well. I have also added various bits of ribbon and fibres to add more texture.

My image is "Mothfab" one of my earliest Stampotique purchases and still one of my favourites whom I have coloured with pencils. Sentiment is from "Barcode Text".

If you'd love to play along you can do HERE, at the end of March 2 random entries will win $30 to spend at Stampotique.com 

Thanks for stopping by

Love

Amanda x

Innocence for That's Crafty

Hi Everyone

Today over at That's Crafty Blog I am sharing with you an 6" x 6" MDF hanging using one of the new release stamp sets from Carabelle Studio. 

you can pop over HERE for all the details

Thanks for popping by

Love

Amanda X

GDT for Stampotique

Hi Everyone

 I am delighted, "woop woop" to have been asked to be the Stampotique Designers Blog 

guest designer for March which means I get to be part of their talented team for a few weeks. I have been a huge fan of Stampotique stamps for many years now and have collected over 200 of their stamps. This last 12 months, due to increased work pressure, I haven't had the chance to play with them nearly as much as I would have wished so I jumped at the chance for a full month of Stampotique fun.

The first challenge theme for March is 

Use Ribbon or Lace (or both)

I start with an MDF panel that I have covered with fabric which I have given a rust treatment. My starring character is one of my favourite Stampotique stamps 'Dwindled' which I have stamped onto fabric and coloured with diluted paints. I have built up my background using several lace trims and ribbons and a lot of machine sewing to add to the texture. The word "fragile', which is from the 'Barcode Text' stamp, has also been stamped onto fabric, machine stitched around and cut out. There are tiny beads and paint splatters to add even more texture.

I hope you like it and I will see you same time next week with a totally different take on this theme.

Thanks for popping in

Love

Amanda X