An old stamp

Decided I am going to have a clear out in the New Year. I have so much stuff that I am simply never going to use. I have enough paper to fill a craft shop and so many stamps which were bought with no purpose other than I liked them and they've never seen ink.
I know this is 'Crafter's Curse'  'cos every crafter I know does it but I really am intending to sort it out. I don't hold on to old clothes that I no longer wear so why am I storing all this lot???

So, now that I have said that - here's an old (VERY OLD)  stamp.
Seen ink once before.
Wood backed, a big stamp and don't know why I bought it and don't want to keep it!
But for old times sake I have used it - as I saw a card made with it using alco inks and I remembered I had it.... (not for long)

Ivory linen textured card.
Stamped and embossed with gold. Watercoloured then cut out the individual tiles.
Ran an embossing pen round the edges of the panel then gold embossed.
Mounted the tiles using foam pads for dimension and then mounted the panel.

Stamp is called Paris Moments by Hampton Arts and is now consigned to the 'Dispose Of' pile which is growing rather alarmingly....

No sentiment on this one - just one for the 'Just In Case' box where I go to when I need a card in a hurry!

Challenges -
Creative Knockouts - A/Goes
4 Crafty Chicks - A/Goes
Crafty Gals Corner - A/Goes
CRAFT - A/Goes
Simon Says Stamp (Wednesday) - A/Goes

Thanks for looking! Will be back again over the weekend - New Years Eve is not a celebration for me just a time for remembering Mum on her birthday - and consoling myself making inky and messy in the craft room!
If this is your last visit to me before 2017 then I wish you a very happy New Year! x

A Change

A winter share from me today - this was a remake of one I made to give away last year. I gave it to a neighbour and another saw it and liked it- so this year I made one for her too!
Both are hanging proudly in their respective homes - unfortunately I took this pic before adding the little punched red birdie so you will just have to imagine that he is inside!

The birdhouse is made from MDF.
I used some Modelling Paste and acrylic paint on the roof  and round the entrance then gave it a liberal helping of glamour dust!
Does actually look a little like snow in real life.
The wooden background is from Stampin' Up inked in Versafine Smokey Grey.

Holly die rubbed over lightly with Mowed Lawn and red perfect pearls used for the berries.
Offcuts used for the roses and I edged these with some silver embossing powder and more glamour dust!
Finished with some white fibres just randomly glued. Neighbour loves it so I am happy.

 Hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas! Ours was very quiet - I spent yesterday in the craftie space playing with my new prized possession - a MISTI! (Now I know why I love my husband so much!)
Love it - made a set of notecards with a layering stamp set (- have been unable to line them all up properly before) which I will share later and am intending on spending another day just playing about with paper and stamps!

Challenges -
Love 2 Create - Anything Mixed Media
CWWC - Christmas
C&GI - Christmas
If you Gave a Crafter a Cookie - Pic Inspiration
Craft for the Craic - Anything but a Card
Holly Jolly - Anything but a card

Off to get inky - and likely leftover turkey and chips for tea too - yum!
Will stop by you all later - and thanks for taking time out this Christmas to visit! x 

White Christmas?

No sign of a white Christmas here - just a windy and wet one at the moment!
We have locked the front door and decided we are not moving now until Tuesday!!
Last Christmas share from me for this year

Found a piece of white hammered card stock so used it up!

Thank you to all my blogging friends who have remained with me during what has been a very busy year (and without doubt it's going to be even busier next year), - I have appreciated that you have continued to visit when I have been unable to visit you and I have loved sharing your little bit of blogland with you and seeing your beautiful creations.

You have been my relaxation on my rare and precious time spent at  home.

I no doubt will spend a lot of time here in the craftie space over the holiday in between the food and drink!
'Me' time has been at such a premium this year, not just for me but for my wonderful husband who has ferried me about everywhere and been constantly at my side supporting me. I am very lucky.

I wish you all a peaceful wonderful Christmas whatever you're doing and whoever you're sharing it with, - if you are like me just 'us' or you have masses of family - I hope that you enjoy all the precious moments over this festive season. x

Pheonix?

Have spent the last couple of days ignoring Christmas (no tree/food shopping/anything else done) and spent some 'me' time messing about with inks. Have promised that the tree will get put up tomorrow and am going out later to do a bit of shopping. Not a busy time for me as there's only the two of us so we normally don't go to any great effort apart from the full hit Christmas Dinner!
I made this card yesterday.

 I demand that you stand up and give me a round of applause----- look at me using BRUSHOS!!! Had the darn things for such a long time and this is the first time I have managed to achieve anything remotely passable.

Sorting through stamps I came across this set of 'Fantastic Birds' - don't know if that is their real name but it's what I called them! This one reminded me of a Pheonix rising from the ashes and in a light bulb moment thought it might work with the dreaded Brushos.

So stamped onto watercolour card then heat embossed to create the 'resist'.
Used Orange, Yellow and Lemon Brushos, sprinkled, sprayed then shut my eyes!!
When I had the nerve to look at the piece I thought 'Hey - not too bad really'! Blotted with some paper towel and left it to dry.
I am not sure it needed the pearls really but put them on anyway and hope it still measures up to being a CAS card - shades of orange and pale gold to highlight the 'flames'.
The sentiment is by Technique Tuesday.

Challenges
CAS Watercolour - Watercolour Resist
Love to Create - Anything Goes
Creative Carte Blanche - Song Lyrics ( Pheonix Rising by Kristilada here) 

Quite a nice day here - blue sky but chilly! Off to get the carrier bags and hit the shops. Have a great day whatever you're doing. x

Christmassed Out?

A change from Christmas for me today! Cards made and posted, (have kept some to share later) and now hoping that in the next couple of days I feel festive enough to put up the tree! (Bah Humbug!).
So here's something definitely not Christmas -

 Little bit of inky messy and a pleasant change from glitter and embossing powder!
Little oddments of card to make the centre panels and dusted Distress Inks in Tea Dye and Antique Linen with a bit of Scattered Straw. Am starting to become a bit more comfortable using the duster brushes.. only taken me about 5 years! 😁 LOL

Script stamp by Indigo Blu bought on a visit to the NEC eons ago, inked with Vintage Sepia - masked off the left side with a scrap of torn paper before stamping.
Flower stamp is from SU 'Bloom With Hope'. Painted it with Forest Moss for the stems and leaves and used Fired Brick and Festive Berries for the flower heads.
Intended to leave it blank but as the 'be happy' stamp was laying on the desk I used it!

Snippets Playground for me this morning - hope they've still got some Christmas Hooch and Mince Pies left!
And thanks to the amazing Loll who reminded me I hadn't linked up to the CAS Mix Up December Challenge.

Other Challenges -
The Flower Challenge - Use an Older stamp

Alphabet Challenge - U for Use Some thing Red (my flower heads)
Colour Crazy - Anything Goes
Addicted to Stamps - CAS

Thanks for visiting - am feeling a whole lot better than I did before I went away - just wish I could get rid of the cough! Oh and the week away? We lost in the semis - good time had by all and not too disappointed as we had a good run - and the team that beat us played better than we did!!
Have a great day whatever you're doing.. me? I am off to the craftie space - beats putting up the decs! x

Shimmer and Scraps!

Quick card share day again today - made entirely of scraps and used up stuff that was lying on the desk.

 I had been playing about with the 'smooshing' technique a couple of weeks ago and as per normal for me had used a rather large piece of  left over card when smooshing - (always done 'cos I am so heavy handed and I figure that if I used a MAHOOSIVE piece to start with,  when I am done I will have a small 'useable' bit!)

I have already made one similar card here back in October, but still had some smaller bits that I thought looked OK so used them to make this!

This was a card where I didn't have to flick bits of Gold Cosmic Shimmer powder everywhere like the last time as it was already done... and still not cleaned up properly either... but as it's Christmas the gold sparkley bits on the walls and the PC monitor look rather festive....

I did though add a few more bits of gold (carefully) to bits of the die cut trees and painted a teeny snippet of card (from the floor) with the gold then punched out a teeny star. Left over bits torn to make the snowdrifts at the bottom and some more sparkly glittery gluey stuff dragged across it.

Quite pleased with the way this one turned out -  shimmer is good and the different colours  achieved by the smooshing on close up looks quite reasonable!!

Challenges -
Pixies Playground - Week 259
Inkspirational - CAS with Sparkle
Happy Little Stampers - A/Goes with Dies
Happy Little Stampers - CAS Challenge with Smooshing
Dies R Us - Christmas
Creative Craft Cottage - Die Cuts

 Still haven't got rid of this dreadful cough  and am not 100% - feel like I have had this cold and bad chest for ages (well over a week at any rate...)- there's a lot of it about I'm told.
Am off again today for a few days - back at the end of the week.  -  this was supposed to be a relaxing break with a bit of bowls played just for fun with some good friends thrown in - am hoping I don't get on everyone's nerves when I start coughing and spluttering!!!!
Have a great week. x

Watercolour attempt!

Not been about for a few days -went to my Presentation but since arriving home have not emerged from under the duvet until midday today. Still not 100% but much better than I was on Monday - just need the donkey to stop kicking me in the ribs every time I cough now please! That said, I doubt if I will remain out of bed for very long again today......

Tried my hand at a little watercolouring at the end of last week - love this stamp!
Shame though that I didn't make a better job of stamping the sentiment - one of those times where if I'd felt better I probably would have re done - for some reason it didn't stamp cleanly - maybe there was something on the stamp pad.

Anyway, I still like the birdie and was pretty pleased that my painting attempt overall didn't look too bad.

Just used Distress Inks to paint and some glamour dusty stuff on the branch and berries. Quite pretty in real life ( as long as you don't look too close at the sentiment!)

Challenges -
A2S&M - Holiday
AAA - CAS Christmas
CAS on Sunday - Christmas
Fantasy Stampers - CAS Christmas

Am clutching my box of tissues and my medicine 😷 and off back to the covers - will try and visit you all very soon! x

Floral Fancies

December! Scary thought - in just two months time I will become President of Bowls England - EEK!!!

My DT offering for this month at Stamping Sensations is this Birthday card and out theme is Floral Fancies.

We are sponsored by Sizzix, and please pop over to the blog and check out the prizes....as it's Christmas we are giving away 3 prizes this month- but remember before you get all excited and start crafting -
WE ARE A STAMPING CHALLENGE!
So you have to have stamping as the focal point of your project!

I recently got my hands on Stampin Up's Butterfly Basics (Bargain!). So have used it to create this card.

Done on ivory linen textured card for a change from my usual white.

The stamps are lovely.
I used Distress Marker Peeled Paint on the flower stem and leaves and teamed it with a Versamagic 'Old Rose' for the flower heads.
The background was stamped using 'Burnt Umber' Versamagic and the sentiment was done in Memento Rich Cocoa.

Just matted it onto a co-ordinating piece of card and done.

Pretty and delicate - (not a bit like me!)
Hope you find time to join us this month, but please observe our rules then it is fair for everyone.
(Have scheduled this as I am at a Presentation Lunch in Bedfordshire so hope Mr Blogger behaves and publishes!)
Update - Also linking to this challenge -
Crafters Cafe - Birthday

Another Star

I have a stack of dark pearlised card. I have no idea why I bought it (or even how long I have had it). I know that I have never used  any of it. Just another observation from the craftie space.

So having once again looked at the stack and then put it back where I found it completely devoid of any ideas as to what to do with it, imaging how happy I was a couple of days later to come across  a pic of a card made entirely by using dark cardstock!

I contained my excitement long enough to use up just a teeny bit of the said dark pearlised card. (Along with some glitter paper - another buy, hardly used).
I made a base card then used up the rest of the card to make the stars and sentiment, so it's over to the Playground for me! 

The SU Bright and Beautiful stamp and die set used for this make.
The large star embossed with silver EP  then simply stamped with Versafine Smokey Grey on the second layer.
The third star die cut from the glitter paper and finally the smallest star fussy cut after stamping the second size again and embossing.
A little sparklie in the middle! 

The sentiment is one if you follow my blog you will have seen before - it's an old stamp I use every single Christmas!
Ran an oddment square left over after making the base card through the Cuttlebug to give the background some depth.

Quite pleased with this - and whoever it was who came up with the idea of using really dark card is quite simply - a genius!! 
Navy and maroon next........!

Challenges -
Die Cutting Divas - Make it Sparkle
Cuttlebug Mania - Light in the Darkness
Holly Jolly - A/thing Christmas
CCC -  A/thing Christmas