Bird House

I had a mass clear out when we moved house last year - and amongst the things that went to the Charity Shop were lots of Christmas ornaments and decorations so I took the opportunity of the challenge to make something which I will hang on a wall somewhere!

I had a devil of a job taking a pic of this.

The birdie house is a wooden template - part of a set of 2. This was the smaller one and it measures  just over 5".
I used up odds and ends of paper scraps and rescued a torn die cut - so entering this into Pixies Playground too.

I painted the wooden base with a white gesso wash then used up an oddment of woodgrain paper (had to join it in the middle but simply ran down the join with a grey promarker to hide it) as the background.
Used modelling paste on the roof and in the hole in the centre, just slapped this on and once dry painted over it again with white acrylic paint and while the paint was still wet threw some glamour dust over it - instant bling!!

The snowflake die was the rescued piece - I had cut it from some thick sparkly paper when making this card here but it hadn't cut all the way through and I ripped it - but thankfully it was just the right size for this.

The holly die was a new buy. Once cut, embossed the berries with red and then ran over 'Mowed Lawn' DI.

The rolled roses were just done from oddments of paper and randomly embossed with silver and the white fibres were from my stash. I stamped a tiny sentiment and embossed in red.

And here is my little robin ready to be placed strategically (!!) when I decide where I'm going to hang his house! 

Challenges - 
Pixies Snippets Playground - week 149
Completely Christmas - Anything Goes /Twist add a robin
MAWTT - Winter is Coming
Fab n Funky - Christmas
Glitter n Sparkle - Anything but Square
CHNC - Anything Christmas Goes
The Crafting Cafe - Not a Card
  Thanks for looking in today Have a great day whatever you're doing. x

Penny Farthing - Vintage Stamping DT Post

Just another 3 days to go before I am unleashed back in the craft room! Actually it's likely to be at least 4 as I have a mound of paperwork to do for forthcoming AGM's and other meetings but still am sure I'll squeeze in a little bit of inky stuff!

-
got a stamp set of vintage transport images from Flonzcraft, all which are great for male themed cards - airplanes, trains, balloons, ships and the like. I had a bit of an inking session with all the stamps using different ink colours and then just made them up into cards, using up scraps of card on the way so am also calling in at the Snippets Playground this week too.

 And this time our challenge over at Vintage Stamping is a colour choice - you can use one or ALL of the following colours! Green, Orange, Black, Purple, Red - which of course 'scream' Halloween but I don't do Halloween so my offering is - as with most of my 'Cards for Men' - a CAS one. (Yes I know ANOTHER CAS and a basic card but it  pads out the numbers in the box which really are very low at the mo!  )

Having stamped the image in Forest Green Stazon,  I cut it out with a circle die then layered it onto another circle cut from dark green cardstock.
I embossed a piece of white card (the folder I think is from the Oriental Cuttlebug set) then layered it over the same green.
Cut out two banner shapes from oddments of paper and finished off with a scrap of green grossgrain ribbon and a button!

Challenges -
Addicted to Stamps - White plus one
STAMPlorations - Stamp and Embossing
C.R.A.F.T. - Embossing
Crafty Ribbons - Buttons and Ribbon
Crafting when we can - No Designer paper

Have a great day whatever you're doing. x

There may be trouble ahead........

It's my turn to choose the challenge theme over at Vintage Stamping and I was recently reminiscing with a friend about how when I was small I would watch Saturday afternoon TV with my Mum. She'd sit in her favourite chair, I'd sit on a cushion on the floor beside her, we'd close the curtains, get out some sweeties and watch all the old black and white movies on BBC2, pretending we were at the cinema!
My Mum was quite a good ballroom dancer when she was young and her favorite films were of course all those musicals in which Fred and Ginger took to the floor!
So my theme is 'Lets Face The Music and Dance'.
Anything that relates to Music or Dancing - you must have some form of stamping on your project too!

Here's my card -
All the papers are of course Graphic 45 Curtain Call.
The central stamp is from our sponsor. Inked in Memento Black and stamped onto ivory card. I then used Antique Linen, Old Paper and Vintage Photo distress ink, sponging over the stamped image.
I mounted it onto black card.
The flower is also Graphic 45 - several petal layers secured with a pearl brad and then fixed onto a crochet star.
Tickets and punched out stars glued on and the inside decorated to match.
looking at this pic the central image seems a much brighter shade than it is in real life... it's actually quite muted and blends well with the backing papers not so 'in your face'!
Anyway I hope some of you will join in with us this time round -love to see your take on the theme!

Challenges -
613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes
Fashionable Stamping- Flowers
Pile It On - Flowers
Brown Sugar - Anything Goes
Sister Act - Anything Goes

Thanks for visiting - have a great day! x

Summer Blossoms - VSC DT

This month at Vintage Stamping Brenda chose the theme of Summer Blossoms.
With a fab prize on offer from our sponsor I hope many of my followers will join us - and remember your make doesn't have to be vintage although you do have to stamp!
(I have scheduled this post so if you pop over to Vintage Stamping and the challenge hasn't yet uploaded please check back later!)

I chose this pretty floral spray from Flonzcraft, stamped it onto kraft cardstock and heat embossed with white ultra fine embossing powder.
I coloured it with Distress Inks in shades of Worn Lipstick and Crushed Olive than added a few sparkly gems.
The sentiment was also stamped and heat embossed

The white line round the edge was done with a gel marker and a white shoestring ribbon popped around the card then it was stuck with 3d pads onto a bright white base card.

I just wanted a CAS look to this card which is for my 'pink stash'  - many people have mentioned how expensive postage costs are for heavily embellished multi layer cards so I am trying to do some with minimum embellies as well as the more frilly and fancy ones!

Other Challenges -
Card & Scrap - CAS
Inkspirational - Bloom
Choc, Coffe and Cards - Embossing
MTTC - No DP
Less Is More - More than 1 Stamp

Have a great day whatever you're doing. x

Ribbons and Bows - Vintage Stamping DT

This month over at Vintage Stamping our challenge is 'Ribbons and Bows'.

We would love for you to join us and you may make anything you like as long as there is some form of stamping on your project! 

I am continuing in my quest to use up paper pads so once again I steeled myself and used one of my all time faves - Ella Blue.

The stamp is from our sponsor - I used Versamark Sepia and clear embossed. Coloured it with Promarkers then (carefully!) cut round it. I added three really tiny pearls to the lady's neckline - how fiddly was that!!

The bow is made from two different types of ribbon - a brown organza type and a lovely chocolatey 'silky crush' piece.
Popped in a couple of pearl pins.

Made some paper rolled roses, stamped a sentiment and then decorated the inside to match.

Hope you can create something to share with us this month - we love visiting!
Challenges -
Craft Room Challenge - Roses and Romance
Penny Black & More - Anything Goes
Sentimental Sundays - Shabby Chic
Stamping Sensations - Anything Goes
Ribbon Girls - Flowers
Dream Valley - Anything Goes
Fantasy Stampers - Distress it 

Anything Goes at Vintage Stamping!

Today our challenge at Vintage Stamping is 'ANYTHING GOES' so you can make anything you like as long as somewhere on your creation there is some stamping!
I made a 'Man' card!
Aren't I good??? LOL I am not a maker of 'man' cards really - I cannot make something and not put a ribbon, bow, flower or sparkly on it somewhere........... and 'men' don't like all that 'sort of stuff' do they??? LOL
But this one was something that I actually enjoyed doing for a change! 
 The papers are almost as old as me.. well not quite - but I've had them for years - so I dusted them off and used them!
The vintage hot air balloon stamp is from our sponsor and can be found here - the plate is full of brilliant male themed vintage machines so maybe now I will do more man cards!
I stamped the balloon image three times then  decoupaged. I thought about adding Glossy accents - may still do- undecided!
Matted the image onto black card and added a metal corner which I had rubbed over with 'Olive' metallic rub as it was a very shiny silver to start off with.
The script is from an embossing folder which has a large butterfly on it - Just tore off the butterfly and again rubbed over the card with some 'Gold' and 'Olive' metallic rub (as the black card lacked any depth), then sealed it.
The two Edwardian gentlemen is an old stamp which may be from Paperartsy but can't remember - likewise I have had the sentiment stamp for ages and again don't know whose it is.

Thanks for taking the time to visit today - and as you can make anything you want why don't you enter the challenge this time - you may be able to have a spendie on some new stash if you win!

Other Challenges-
Dragonfly Dreams - For the Boys
Ecletic Ellapu - For the Boys
Sentimental Sunday - Vintage/Steampunk
Corrosive Challenges - Metal
Fussy & Fancy - All about travel
Crafty Bloggers - Embossing
Simon Says Stamp - Journey
Incy Wincy - 3/2/1 - (3 stamps, 2 papers, 1 embellie)

Lavender and Lace

My design team card this month for 'Vintage Stamping'  is based on our theme of 'Lavender and Lace'.
I hope you will come and join us this month - use up some of your Christmas Goodies and  you might get some more in the form of a prize!!

I really like this stamp (from our sponsor)  and it was lovely to work with.

After stamping, I paper pieced her pinafore with some polka dot paper. The sky and ground were coloured with  distress inks and I coloured the rest of the stamp with promarkers.
I distressed the edges of the image and stitched it onto purple shade cardstock.
I used the same cardstock and polka dot paper for the background of the card.
The vintage lace was a present from a crafting buddy  and I used a paper lilac roses and some pearls.
A doily and a couple more paper flowers and some pearls, and finally I used an old pre-printed jigsaw piece that was part of a very large box (all different colours and sentiments) that I have had for a very long time and rarely used.
The theme was continued through to the inside.

Hope you like it enough to give our challenge a go this month - and my other teamies have also done some lovely projects to inspire you! Remember we may have the word 'vintage' in the title but your project doesn't have to be - as long as you have some stamping on it then your entry is fine!

Challenges -  

Crafting When We Can - Outside
Fairies Challenge - Flowers and Lace
Pile It On - Just Because
Incy Wincy - 3 Fave embellies (Lace, pearls and flowers)4
Scribble & Scrap - Anything Goes
Lexi's- Anything Goes

Thanks for the visit - hope you're all warm and dry wherever you are. x

Cold and Frosty Colours - Vintage Stampin DT

So December is here! And to go with wintry weather the challenge this time over at Vintage Stamping is COLD & FROSTY COLOURS.
I have scheduled this post so fingers crossed it publishes OK!! 
If the main challenge post isn't  showing yet please check back later and link up your creation.
Not a lot of rules  really = we are definitely a stamping challenge and we do need the main focal point of your project to be stamped and although we have vintage in  the title of the blog your creation doesn't have to be vintage!

A bit of a diversion from the CAS cards I've made recently and one with lace, ribbon, crystals etc!
I used a lovely oval stamp from our sponsor and after stamping,  I clear embossed, then painted with Distress inks and dusted on some glitter for the 'snow'.
Isn't the birdie on the tree cute?!

The papers - a digi freebie from Astrid - in shades of blue, gray and white stitched onto some darker blue co ordinating cardstock.
Same used  for the frame of the image and the corner die cut.

Vintage icy blue lace and some hand dyed seam binding tied into a bow with a sparkly in the centre of the bow.
A teeny off cut of the ribbon twisted and secured again with another sparkly on the top of the frame and to finish off a stem of crystal leaves. 

Challenges - 
Opus Gluei - Brrrring it on
Crafting When We Can - Winter
IDIC - Christmas
Stamping Sensations - Free & Easy
Addicted 2 Stamps - Embossing
Charisma - Christmas

Have a great day! x

A Traditional Christmas - Vintage Stamping DT

November is here and Christmas will soon be upon us!
So, to spur you into making sure you have all your Christmas cards made this month's challenge at Vintage Stamping is 'A Traditional Christmas'.
Remember - even though we have the word vintage in our title your project doesn't have to be! It DOES though, have to have some actual stamping on it...
So here's my DT card for this month -

I used black cardstock.
The mesh stuff I found in a drawer - I remember buying it and thinking it would make snow background and then used a teeny piece of it about 2 years ago! So am using it all up this year - or at least am going to try to!

The stamped image is from our wonderful sponsor Flonzcraft - and what can be more traditional than decorating a Christmas Tree?
After stamping, I painted the sky with Distress Inks in shades of blue and purple.

A liberal helping of Diamond Stickles applied to the floor and a wee bit dabbed onto the rooftop.
I glued tiny red gems onto the body of the tree and a green one on top. There was a 'garland' on the stamp so I stuck on some red metallic thread.. really fiddly and doubtful if I would attempt again!!!
Mounted it onto black card then layered it onto the card base.

The snowflake flourish is being well used this year! Popped on a couple of sparklies and some thin organza grey ribbon before adding the sentiment which I think is from Raspberry Road.

Challenges -
Crazy 4 Challenges - Not all Black & White
Sunday Sketch & Stamp no 181


Thanks for stopping in today and hope my little card has inspired you to join us this callenge - we'd love to see you!
Have a great day whatever you're doing. x

A new DT post!

Some news to share with you all - I have been asked to be a Design Team member for 'Vintage Stamping'! 
The challenge is monthly and although it says 'vintage' in the title the things you make don't have to be vintage themed - you can enter any sort of project as long as you follow the theme for that particular challenge and you have to STAMP!!

This month's new theme starts today and it's 'Female Beauty' - I've done a bit of a tongue in cheek effort using one of our sponsors retro themed stamps - and I hope now that they're not regretting asking me to join the team!
I confess that this WAS made in a bit of a hurry too.... hope it doesn't look like it!

The papers are from Summer Driggs - the pack is all in shades of lemon, grey and black.

I lightly coloured the stamp with  promarkers and made a scrunchy flower from the same papers.

The sentiment is PC generated, ribbon, pearls and the little black flower embellie from my stash.

Challenges -
Craftitude - Anything Goes
Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
Stampin with the Dragon - Yellow
Totally Papercrafts - Humour
MAWTT - Anything Goes

Thanks for visiting - have a great day whatever you're doing! x