Happy Birthday Mum - 2nd Post of the day

For my second post of the day is the birthday card I made for my mum, Happy Birthday mum, earlier in the week, but as it wasn't her birthday until yesterday so I couldn't post it until now. My inspiration for her card is her love of teddy bears and she is an avid collector. The main image is Aloysius - Happy birthday from Indigoblu which I have stamped in versafine and coloured with distress inks.

I have touched up his nose and eyes with a black embossing pen and heat embossed with clear embossing powder to make them stand out and the edges of the die colouredwith vintage photo DI.

The card has been made using Kanban card distressed with vintage photo DI and die cut with spellbinders nestabilities with the main image recessed in the die cuts. The embellishments, Bollinger label, again stamp from indigo blue and I have gilded it using their amazing Flitter glu, the only product that I have had great success gilding with and trust me I have tried them all.......... The car is a Marianne Design die which I have cut and embossed in black matt card, dabbed with versamark and brushed with gold mica powder.

the Happy Birthday is also done with gilding flakes, I cannot tell you enough how good Flitter Glu is.
And finally finished off with gold organza ribbon which makes this card eligable for me to enter it into
this weeks challenge at Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge 170  anything with ribbon.

see you soon
Amanda X

To the one I Love

Hi
Hope today finds you well. It is a lovely sunny day here, best viewed from inside because it is freezing.... I really should clean my car but brrrrrrrrr and note to self perhaps white isn't the best colour for a car...! It's that cold I had to crack the ice on the chickens water,I have 16 chickens that produce the best eggs ever and they make the best cakes, anyway I digress.
Onto my challenge entries for today, and with Valentines day just round the corner I set to. I am entering into the following challenges:-
Anything Goes Challenge 59 - To the One I Love
allsorts Challenge - One or More Hearts
Studio L3 - Cracking up using distress crackle paint resist technique which can be seen here demonstrated by Tim.

There is a lot of dimension on this card. All the hearts have been cut out of chipboard with sizzix hearts die and 4 of the 6 hearts are painted with distress crackle paint, old paper, worn lipstick and fired brick and distress inked with vintage photo, aged mahogony and fired brick. I have added many embellishments, tickets and a tag (magnolia die). All is then mounted on a torn piece of corrugated card and sequin waste finished off with buttons, bakers twine and hat pins.
You can see the crackle effect better on this photo

Thanks for looking
Amanda X

Music is what feelings sound like......

Hi
just a quick post tonight of a card I am entering into Sketch and Stash Challenge, this is challenge 79- Julie's Challenge. I have gone for a victoriana theme and a bit of pink, however my beloved vintage photo distress ink is in there somewhere.

Items used:-

Indigoblu Musical Hall stamps

Papers from my stash

Doily that I have coloured with distress stains spun sugar and a hint (only a hint) of vintage photo

Some authentic old lace

a few pink pearls to finish it off.

Thanks for looking

Amanda X

I made the top 3, and a quick card

Hi
I am so chuffed, I have made TOP 3 at Fashionable Stamping Challenge, the theme wasw vintage and my entry can be found here my blog entry, I look forward to displaying my first winners badge on my blog.
I also visited my local craft shop owned by the lovely Sue "Stampers Gallery" if you live in the Preston or Southport area call in to this friendly shop, it's packed to the rafters with great crafty goodies and I haven't been yet and not bought something.
Sue has asked me to hold a demo so I look forward to getting that organised and getting down and crafty........... with like minded folk.

Anyway onto a quick card, I was asked to make a thankyou card for a man so I went with a steampunk theme as it was the first male thing I could come up with and only had a couple of hours notice before I had to deliver it as job done!

Indigoblu rubber stamps

background is orange coordinations card and Tim Holtz embossing folder and I have put versamark on the embossing folder prior to running it through my grand caliber, and then embossed with cosmic shimmer silver shine metallic embossing powder, the sanded and inked with black and vintage photo distress ink.

Other paper is from kanban industrial, as is "thanks" which I have punched from one of the papers.

Some Tim Holtz ideaology and a spash of ribbon and my beloved watch parts finish it off.

Anyway I have a victory to celebrate...... with a cup of tea lol

see you soon

Amanda X



Seeing Red....

Hi, and I hope this lovely sunny sunday finds you well. Having not cleared up my craft room from yesterday thought I might as well continue adding to the carnage (I really will have to tidy it following this post), and out of the carnage came this card:-

My inspiration came from the challenges currently being hosted by:-

The Stampman Challenge - USE RED

and

Allsorts Challenge Blog - Celebration of Nations as I am from England, red,white & Blue.

Stamps used:-

Day Out and London postmark - Crafty Individuals

London Bus - Creative Journey

others Artistic Outpost and Tim Holtz

ribbon is from Papermania Portabella Rd Collection

I have stamped the bus again on shrink plastic and added as embellishment

Red and Blue card from stash

Thanks for looking

Amanda X

2nd Post of the day-Sketch Saturday

Well look at me, 2 posts today! This card has been made with an image that I coloured in a while back when I first got my prisma colour pencils and never got round to using it, that is until now. I have made this card following the sketch on Wk 190 at Sketch Saturday. I have a slight shape variation to the main shape as I didn't have circular dies big enough, other than that I have stuck to the design.
Again like my earlier post, I have gone with a bold colour, this time orange, (and still no vintage photo).

and a close up of the main image

Rubber stamp is "A little Smooch" by Mo Manning

coloured with Prisma colour pencils

Edgeabilities & Nestabilities

Sentiment is from Girlfriends Stamp Set

Paper from stash

corner embellishment Candi

Friends never judge each other.............................

Well how cold is it outside today? Too cold to venture out unless you have to, and today I dont have to so I'm not. So thought I would go and make a mess in my craft room and with the cold outside thought I would work with some bright colour (no vintage photo D.I. insight today, lol), and something a little summery to brighten us all up.

Over at Rainbow lady's challenge this weeks challenge is "The many faces of women" and I just thought of this Girlfriends stamp by Art Impression, especially the sentiment, "Friends never judge each other.... but everyone else, however, is fair game".

Coloured with promarkers/flex markers and a little prisma colour penciling (sunburn)

Papers - Echo Park spots and stripes

Martha Stewart Punch

and a little peeled paint distress ink around image and on flowers.

Ribbon from stash

Also entering this into:-

Challenge 58 at Anything Goes Challenge Blog

Gingersnap Creations spicy supply challenge Ribbon

Thanks

Amanda



Rainbow Lady's Challenge Blog - Challenge 186

 'Travel Through Time To 2012'

This card I have made is for the first challenge of the year from Rainbow Lady's Challenge Blog, with the theme of Travel through time to 2012. My card represents the passage of time that unfortunately the butterfly doesn't have that much of, so it has to make the most of what precious time it has. What I suppose I am say is that life is short so do everything that you can to enjoy life to its fullest!

A lot of triple embossing on this one so I can crack it all to make it look more aged, which
 unfortunately doesnt show up that well on the photo.

Hopefully this photo shows up the cracked effect a little better.

Items used:-
Background paper from stash but stamped with Paper Artsy clocks 5 and embossed with Tim Holtz vintage photo embossing powder.
Tim Holtz Weathered Clock die coloured with vintage photo distress stain and triple embossed with ultra thick.
Butterfly is a Kanban topper (xmas gift) I don't tend to use printed toppers but triple embossing it and cracking it gives it a totally different look. For extra detail to the butterfly I have hadded some watch parts and a rusty pen nib,
I have added extra watch parts to further embellish the card.
Sentiment is a collage keepsake that I have aged with latte alchohol ink
Card blank is a 6x6 Hunkydory card.
Thanks for looking
Amanda X

Explore Your Wild Side

Explore your Wild Side - is a card I have made for a friend of mine who adores elephants. I had stamped and coloured the elephant image a while ago (coloured with prisma pencils) I was practising with the pencils and like how it turned out and knew I would eventually make a card with it, which now I have.
In making the card I have followed the sketch set by sketch saturday whose sketch challenge this week is sponsored by the Craft Barn.

I have stamped the image with Joanna Sheen Jayne Netley Mayhew collection elephant rubber stamp, the background paper has been printed from the accompanying CD, the sentiment is a Whimsey stamp. I have, which is most unlike me, avoided adding embellishment as I like the clean look of the card as it was. I haven't however been able to avoid using distress inks and all the edges are inked with Pumice Stone D.I.

thanks for looking
Amanda X

First Challenge Entry of the New Year

Hope you all have had a lovely start to the New Year, I have because I have managed to kick start my crafting new years resolution of "enter more blog challenges". I got lots of crafty christmas gifts so thought I would set about playing with them and entering into the  following challenges:-
fashionable stamping challenges where the theme is Anything goes with your new stash
Simon Says Stamp where the theme is something old something new
The Artistic Stamper where the theme is VINTAGE

The new are the stamps that I have used I love Paris - Stampendous cling and main image is from Kanban which I have coloured with prisma coloured pencils.
The old is Graphic 45 Curtain Call 8x8 pad that I love and have had for ages.
The Vintage is the era and the look (plenty of vintage photo distress ink)
The swirls are cut with a Marianne die and flowers, ribbons and feathers are from my stash.

thanks for looking
Amanda

New Years Resolutions........

Many many of them that I don't usually keep, but one is to get to grips with blogging on my ipad. Photo taken and imported into my ipad with camera connection kit - done. Photo manipulated with Snapseed, fantastic photo app and it's free - done. Now all that remains is to complete my post so here goes.....

New years eve and we tend not to go out, the main reason being the dogs and the endless fireworks, after coming home once to my dining chairs having been eaten our New Years Eve antics have become a quieter affair.

Anyway earlier today I made a 70th birthday card and thought I would start 2012 off with a post, another resolution is to blog more. The card was for my uncle following a desperate call from my mum to see if I could make him one, of course I could.
The usual male card dilema hit me but my mojo kicked in and card done..




My craft studio cd An Important Date provided the NSR image, 7 Gypsies papers, old minature playing cards, naturally aged, Ebay bargain. Art parts for the fob watch distressed with gold embossing powder, clock face Kanban, then covered in glossy accents. Text computer generated, bit of ribbon and fob charm - done.

Happy New Year to you if you are reading my blog

Amanda x

Xmas Cards better late than never!!!

Well where did December go? As always it gets lost as working in retail it all becomes a blur, it is always at this time of year that I question my choice of career but it's too late now...... it does make time fly and subsequently little time to make Christmas cards,let alone post them on my blog! note to self "make them earlier!! (I just know that wont happen though) Anyway I followed daily Tims 12 Tags and even though I knew I would not get around to making them I took inspiration from his techniques this year and included some of them in my Christmas cards. I only make a few cards for family and special friends and totally admire those of you out there that make 100's. Anyway I have included a selection of the cards I made.

based on Tims tags 2 & 7

Kraft glassine and alcohol ink holly leaves Tag 7

Based on Tag 4

Just love that crackle paint!



Based again on Tag 7 and just love those
 Tim Holtz stamps



Based on the reindeers of tag 2 and those holly
 leaves again (recurring theme cos they are fab)

Techniques from 4 seperate tags

Those stamps again Tim Holtz Joyful Song based on Tag 7



Not Tag inspired based but as you can see very Tim inspired
 using his snowflake products including on the edge die,
embossing folder, movers and shapers die, kraft glassine plus
 a few additional bits. This is the card I made for my partner.
  

Anyway that was xmas for another year just New year now and fortunately having worked upto yesterday I am happy to say that I now have a few days off, 4 to be exact, time with my partner, family and friends and hopefully some crafting as I got some lovely crafty xmas presents that I haven't even really had a chance to have a good look at yet.

Happy New Year to everyone and may we all have a crafty 2012 X