Layout No.2 & a Quick Tag

This is the second layout I have made for my 8"x 8" scrap album. The first can be found a few posts down. I picked 8x8 as it is quick to work on & small enough to make up into a coffee table sized album that won't get put away and forgotten like many of my larger layouts. The theme of this album is Favourite Photographs. This particular layout is of the Gite in La Marchaderie, St. Mathieu, France. We are set to go back in September and I am seriously counting down the days. So far the weather here has been nothing short of miserable. When it is sunny, I'm usually stuck behind my desk at work.

The materials I have used are;

Co-Ordinates Woodgrain cardstock sanded  & inked.

Patterned Papers- Making Memories Paperie Double sided sheets in Geometric Window Greenhouse, Skinny Stripe Greenhouse, which I made chevrons from.

Title is October Afternoon Newsroom Stickers.

Stickers are 7Gypsies. Journal shape cut with Spellbinders & strips created by computer. Stars stamped using SC stamps on patterned paper.

I very recently bought the new Summer Dsitress Pads from the Artistic Stamper & while I have not had a lot of time to play this weekend I wanted to make something.

I've been busy making a card for my sisters' forthcoming birthday & my next scrap layout which is based on the card & can't be shown until 5th July, but found just half an hour to create this beach themed tag.

Materials used are Tim Holtz Summer Distress Pads in Salty Ocean, Mowed Lawn & Picked Raspberry. They are extremely vibrant but just screamed summer & beach to me. I have used the Salty Ocean on my sisters card & the matching scrap layout & it stamps fabulously :0)

TH Compass Mask, TH Birds & words. Cherry Pie Beach stamps which include all the seagulls & the waves. The ART circles are from my old stash & the lighthouse is cut from one of my own photos of St. Mary's Lighthouse in Whitley Bay.

Stampman Challenge - Time or Travel

As the Stampman challenge stated one or the other, Time OR Travel, I knew I should not really combined the two into one piece of art. Deciding which to make then proved difficult as I love both themes, so I made one of each on matching tags!

I made two identical tags by adding emulsion from matchpots in cream, pink & chocolate. Once dry I overstamped in Archival black with the Crafty Individuals Crackle stamp. I chose my focal images of the German Castle by Cherry Pie and the CI 062 Angel Child stamp & after stamping them onto white matt photo paper I over inked them with distress inks in Frayed Burlap, Rusty Hinge & Worn Lipstick. Once dry I bleached out some of the colour to give the images definition before over colouring with a little Tattered Rose. On the Time piece I embossed 2 Heidi Swapp clock stamps in copper. The clock face is from a broken watch. Travel stamps are by Royal & Langnickel. Quotes from the internet.

Brads & ribbon,  Papermania.

Happy Father's Day, Dad!!

For this card I wanted to use a photograph which had some meaning to Dad & I wanted a really masculine feel to the overall design. After some thought I decided to use the "No Stamping Joseph's Coat Technique" which I saw in the Masterclass by Trish Latimer in the April 2011 issue of Craft Stamper.

I cut a piece of glossy cardstock to the size of the Tim Holtz Texture Fades Patchwork embossing folder & inked the piece with Wild Plum & Eggplant Adirondack Dye inks (my two favourite shades in this range)

I embossed it with the Patchwork folder, then inked the whole piece with clear embossing ink & heat embossed with clear powder. Once this had cooled I covered the whole piece liberally with Archival Black dye ink making sure it got into all the crevices of the embossed areas. Once rubbed off it had a rich purple black shade.

I had to cut this down further to fit the card front leaving a fraction of white card showing all around & inked the edges of the white card black. The photograph is the Steam Train at Alston, Cumbria that we took Dad on for his birthday when we went to Newcastle at Easter to stay with my sister Tracy. It was a beautiful journey but it did rain!! Nothing new there then! lol. The photo was matted onto white, then black card.

A Challenge & A Layout

First up is the latest challenge from The Stampman, Make it for a Man. I used some old map scrapbook paper & a piece of kraft card cut into a tag. Each piece was washed with a mix of Cappuccino & Gold Perfect Pearls & then stamped. Some of the stamping was immediately smudged to give a worn apperance. Walnut Stain distress ink was used to age the pieces further. Stamps used, Tim Holtz & Artistic Stamper Clocks.

Next is a Layout all about my favourite place of the moment, Pinterest!

Papers used: Studio Calico - Bunting.

American Crafts - ModaBella - Preppy

American Crafts - Dear Lizzy - Spring Sweet Strawberry

Main background - American Crafts - reverse of Everyday - Long time no see.

Red Butterfly stamped onto Cosmo Cricket - Nutmeg - clove

Blue Butterfly stamped on Basic Grey - June Bug Cabana

TH small Butterfly stamped onto Studio Calico Bunting

Spiro Circle cut from Basic Grey - June Bug - Picket Fence

Ticket - Sei - En Route

Large Butterfly stamp - ISC

Happiness Stamp -Catslife Press

Title - Tim Holtz - Alpha die -Typeset

The "Mystery" Challenge

 I recently set a mystery challenge on Chrysalis & I sent all the players a small bag of "bits & pieces" and a set of instructions. Part of the instructions were to work in only two sets of colours, either blues & purples or reds & pinks.

The only other colours allowed were black, white, grey, silver or gold.

As I set the challenge I decided I really ought to make two pieces. The first piece I made was in blues & it is my imaginary idea of a 3D postcard using TH Texture Fades Postal embossing folder. The image was Urban stamps by Papermania & I selected this particular one because I love France & the postal emboss folder contains the word Paris twice.

This is the second piece in reds. I totally love this piece & I went to town on texture & gold embossing. The plain grungeboard wings were painted with red acrylic paint before running through a texture fades checkerboard folder. I coloured them with Raisin & cranberry alcohol inks to give shaded areas of red. The couple are on acetate. 

Originally I had planned a transfer for the couple but nothing worked & I had to remake this piece three times!! So determind was I to get the design in my sketch book onto the work table.

I am very pleased to say  that it actually looks exactly how I wanted it too & that is always a bonus to a piece of art :0) The small TH fragment has a stamped butterfly in stazon & painted with gold acrylic paint on the reverse. The flower was white painted with red acrylic, stamped & painted withregular gel (semi gloss) medium to add shine, the heart was also painted with the semi gloss medium. I used Gold Krylon on the edges as well as the gold powder.