Sunday 31 July 2011

Sizzling Halloween

The Stampotique challenge is to use Red, Yellow and Orange in our artwork, so I have decided on a sizzling HALLOWEEN card.
I have used Stampotique images Halloween Cube, Tree and Swirl Stalks (all available from The Stamp Attic).
My background has been coloured with DI fired brick, spiced marmalade and mustard seed, applying the colour direct from the inkpad and spritzing with water to blend the colours.  I punched out 9 squares from the coloured card and stamped each square with an image.
I have added letters to copper jump rings, adding glossy accents and added to my card along with a skull embellishment.
To complete I have added the images to co-ordinated card stock.

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy what's left of the weekend.  Tracy x x 

Tuesday 26 July 2011

Tweet Tweet

I have been using the Medium Many Line Circle again from 100 Proof Press. I love this stamp for backgrounds, its so effective, I can't stop using it.
I used Darcie's Acrylic Ornament Free Bird to draw around once again onto Grungepaper. I coloured my Grungepaper with DI vintage photo and stamped the Medium Many Line Circle in black archival ink. I added Distress crackle paint to the birds wing and the two bottle caps which is this weeks challenge over at Grungy Monday another one of Tim's many products/techniques which you can find HERE.
I printed the dictionary definition of BIRD on my computer and matted onto co-ordinated card stock. Music ribbon has been added to represent bird song and FLY added over the top using Tim's Alpha Parts. Of course one of my creations is never complete without embellishments and here I have used old watch parts to add to the bird's body along with an old key and Maya Road heart and bird embellishments. My bird is sitting on a selection of leaves cut from Bazzill card and old book pages using the Tattered Leaves die. He would not be complete without a crown of course!
A close up of the bird's wing highlighting the added Distress crackle paint and the fabulous Medium Many Line Circle from 100 Proof Press.
To complete I have added FLY to the inside of my card.  The theme this week over at Simon Says Stamp and Show is ANYTHING GOES so I am entering this piece for that challenge too along with the challenge for Sunday Stamper which this time around is to use BLACK in your artwork.

Thanks for stopping by your comments are much appreciated.  Enjoy your week. Tracy x x 

Saturday 23 July 2011

All Sewn Up

Morning all, time for my next DT piece for The Stamp Attic. I have been playing with stamps again, namely A FORM OF ART by Wendy Vecchi and the HABERDASHERY set by Tim Holtz.
My background piece is coloured with DI faded jeans, simply apply the colour directly from the ink pad and then spritz with water. I stamped the bodice from Wendy's set onto scrap paper and cut out the centre to make a stencil.  Place the stencil onto the decorated background piece and sponge through the stencil with Adirondack snow cap ink and dry with a heat tool. Keep the stencil in place and using the text background from Wendy's set stamp onto the bodice with black Archival ink and remove the stencil. The pattern on the left hand side is from Tim's Haberdashery set and has been stamped with black Archival ink and paper pieced with white card. White machine stitching was then added to the outside edge.
I printed the dictionary SEW definition on the computer and added to co-ordinated card and added to my card blank.  Three snaps have been added to continue the sewing theme.  To complete, I added letters to jump rings adding glossy accents and added to my bodice and card.
Whilst I was on a roll I created a second card using the same stamp sets.  On this occasion the bodice was stamped onto white card with faded jeans ink and then stamped a second time without re-inking to give a shadow effect. Again I have added machine stitching to the outside edge, this time adding two rows of stitching.
I have added the word SEW using Grunge Blocks coloured with black paint dabber, sanding some of the areas and then adding DI vintage photo giving an aged feel to the letters. I added letters to memo pins and added to the bodice.
My second shadow bodice has a trinket pin added. To complete, I have added buttons from the Sewing Room die, added thread and sponged the edges.


Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your weekend.  Tracy x x

Thursday 21 July 2011

Steampunk Bird

The challenge for Grungy Monday this week is Grungeboard Extravaganza so I decided to create a steampunk bird from Grungepaper.
I used the bird from Darcies Acrylic Ornament Free Bird (available from The Stamp Attic) as a template which I drew around onto Grungepaper. I also drew around the bird onto 7 Gypsies Paddington paper and then embossed using Tim Holtz Steampunk texture fade. On this side I highlighted the raised embossed areas with Adirondack snow cap ink and adhered the paper to the Grungepaper bird. I also embossed the wing with the same embossing folder and coloured the Grungepaper with DI black soot. As I have used embossing I am also entering this for The Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge which this week is to show some Embossing, this is my second entry so hope that's ok. I added a crown and watch part from Tim's Idea-ology range and a pop of colour with the button for the birds eye.  My colour inspiration is taken from The Play Date Cafe challenge which this week is a colour SPLASH and we can choose which splash of colour to use.
The reverse of my bird has been decorated with the same paper but this time the raised areas have been coloured with DI black soot as the base paper is white in colour. I have added a second crown from Maya Road, coloured with black soot and stamped with text using snow cap ink and then embellished with a couple of small gems for that splash of colour. I cut a gear using Tim's Gadget Gears Alterations die and coloured with black soot ink. The addition of a couple of sprockets add to the steampunk theme along with the addition of computer generated text added to the crown. Again a button has been added for the eye adding another small pop of colour.
To complete, I have added some black and white twine to hang my bird from a branch and all the edges of the Grungepaper have been sponged with black soot ink.

Thanks for stopping by, Tracy x x

Tuesday 19 July 2011

Circles And Yet More Circles

For this weeks DT post for 100 Proof Press I am using the Medium Many Line Circle stamp.
My background piece has been coloured with DI spiced marmalade and I have stamped the Many Line Circle stamp with the same ink and highlighted areas with a white gel pen to give the illusion of parts of the image popping from the page.
I have stamped three circles onto white card stock using DI spiced marmalade and dusty concord and then used a deckle edge circle punch to punch out my flower shapes and sponged the edges with co-ordinating ink. Buttons have been added to the centres. The pot is from Outlines.
A sentiment from Tim and two small circles punched from the Many Line Circle image complete my piece which this week was inspired by the colours from this weeks The Play Date Cafe Challenge.
Thanks for stopping by, Tracy x x

Monday 18 July 2011

Take Flight

This week Simon Says Stamp and Show some EMBOSSING. I chose to make a tag accordion this week with butterflies being my theme.
My accordion has been coloured with Adirondack Denim Color Wash and spritzed with water to lighten the colour a little.  My images (Tim's Papillon set and a stamp from Stampington and Company) have been embossed with white embossing powder.  The central panel has been embossed with the Diamonds in the Rough Cuttlebug embossing folder and the raised areas highlighted with Adirondack snow cap ink pad.
Buttons, Idea-Ology and a butterfly definition have been added to embellish my piece.
This is the reverse of my accordion.
My dimensional flower has been created using the Tattered Florals die and it just so happens that the Sunday Stamper challenge this week is to build your own FLOWER EMBELLISHMENT so this fits perfectly.
The leaves are from Dylusions by Dyan Reaveley and the sentiment is one of Tim's. I have added silver paint dabber to my key and added wings to follow on with my theme. The butterfly on the left is a wooden butterfly I had in my collection which has been coloured with DI faded jeans and the edges have been highlighted with silver paint dabber. The butterfly in the centre has been cut using Tim's movers and shapers die.
To complete I have added co-ordinated ric rac to the tops of my tags.

I would also like to enter this piece into The Stampman Challenge which this time around is anything by Tim.

Thanks for stopping by.  Enjoy your week.  Tracy x x

Saturday 16 July 2011

Brrrrrrrrr

Here I am again only just in time for Grungy Monday using another one of Tim's techniques which you can find HERE.
The technique has been applied to my background piece, using tumbled glass and broken china Distress Inks. I then used the Snow Flurries on the edge die to add the snowflakes. Alpha parts (numbers) were painted with fresco paint and added to the snowflakes along with a winter definition.
I stamped the snowman from Stampotique with Archival Ink manganese blue and added highlights with my white gel pen.
The piece that I cut away using the on the edge die has been added to the inside of the card with part of the snowman image added to the bottom corner.

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your weekend.  Tracy x x

Thursday 14 July 2011

Handsome Hares

One of my favourite stamps from 100 Proof Press.
I have stamped the Handsome Hares with coffee archival ink onto cream card.  I have then masked the Hares and stamped the Medium Many Line Circle over the top.
I have printed the dictionary definition of Hares on my computer and matt onto plum coloured card.
I have added a bottle cap which has a clock image enclosed, sealed with glossy accents. Two small squares highlighting the hares have been added to the bottom corner.
I have also added the Handsome Hares to the inside corner of my card.

Thanks for stopping by, Tracy x x

Tuesday 12 July 2011

DREAM

Simon Says Stamp and Show some STITCHING, FAUX or OTHERWISE.
My image in the centre is from a postcard that Crafty Individuals sent me with an order which I have added to a fabric heart. I have machine stitched the trim into place along with the other trimmings and lace.
I have hand sewn co-ordinated buttons into place and added the text "Dream" to go with my dreamy image.
I transferred the image onto watercolour card using gel medium and added a mica piece over the top to protect.  I have sewn a copper heart to the bottom of my fabric heart and added three co-ordinated buttons to the bottom. The butterfly is cut from card using Tim Holtz movers and shapers die and I have hand sewn a button to the body. The decorative heart has been added to co-ordinated card which has been machine stitched into place.
I have also added the same image on a smaller scale to the inside corner of my card.

Thanks for stopping by, Tracy x x

Monday 11 July 2011

Subtle Tones

Very subtle tones are on the menu this week at the Play Date Cafe.
Mint, buttercream and taupe with which I created a card.
The papers are an old selection from BasicGrey which fitted the colour challenge perfectly.
I used Spellbinders Nestabilities to cut the circles and stamped with Luscious Floral Background from Hero Arts.
The bird has been cut from the same papers using the Caged Bird die, adding a crown embellishement for added dimension. A ribbon, button and fragment complete my piece.

Thanks for stopping by, Tracy x x

Saturday 9 July 2011

Grungy Monday on a Saturday........

.......yes you guessed it, time is running away with me again and I am only just joining in with the Grungy Monday challenge which this week sees us using another of Tim's techniques which you can find HERE. We are working with dabber resist and I have to say it took me a couple of attempts to get this looking how I wanted it to but I got there in the end.
I decided on a Christmas card this time around which I really struggled with as I could not get my head around Christmas at all but I persisted and this is the end result. Tim's technique is on the trees and I added the reindeer from Tim's Reindeer Flight set, adding highlights to the body with white gel pen.
I added two snowflakes, cut from white card using a Marianne Creatables dies, sponging the edges with DI broken china.  I also added part of the reindeer to the inside of my card.
Whilst I had the products to hand I created a second card varying it slightly, you can really see the shimmer on this picture from the Perfect Pearls.  The sentiments on both cards are from Outlines.
Once again I added the reindeer to the inside of my card.

Thanks for stopping by and a big THANK YOU to all my new followers for choosing to follow me, great to see you.  Enjoy the rest of the weekend.  Tracy x x

Thursday 7 July 2011

Creative Expressions Calling Card Challenge

Creative Expressions in Kettering are a UK rubber stamping manufacturer for the craft industry. In addition they also produce and distribute a vast array of other craft supplies and distribute a collection of popular multi-national craft brands.  The exciting news is that Creative Expressions have a Design Team Call, all of the details of which you can find HERE. The DT call also requests that you enter in the form of a challenge and the challenge is CALLING CARD which is completely open to your interpretation.  The only requirements of the challenge are that you create a project that includes rubber stamping of some sort and that an ATC is featured somewhere in your piece.

I decided I would create a swatch/book of ATC's, four in all.
I cut four ATC's from mountboard using Tim Holtz ATC and Corners die and cut four pieces from decorative paper from BoBunny. The decorative pieces were then adhered to the mountboard pieces.
As the theme was CALLING CARD I thought I would use my husband's calling cards in my artwork.
I have used Handsome Hares from 100 Proof Press as I thought this was the perfect image as they are looking very dapper, just ready to pay someone a visit. I stamped the image onto my calling card in coffee archival ink and then created a mask which is what you can see on the right by simply stamping onto scrap paper and cutting out.
I have placed my mask over the original image and then taken my Medium Many Line Circle and stamped over the top of the image, keeping the mask in place. Continue until you have stamped over the entire piece.
Remove the mask and your images appear behind the Handsome Hares.
I cut my Handsome Hares to fit my ATC, sponged with Distress Ink vintage photo to age, added a small clock as the Hares need to keep track of time for their special visit and to the bottom I have added computer generated text for "Handsome Hares". On my second ATC we see where the Handsome Hares are travelling, you guessed it to no 17. My image again has been stamped with coffee archival ink onto a calling card and aged with vintage photo ink. My next two ATC represent the time they arrive for their appointment which is 12.20, represented on my clock on the right, along with a key for the door. The next ATC represents when they left which was 3pm.  I have used the Many Line Circle image once again and added Alpha Parts to represent the numbers of the clock and a Journey Philosophy tag added to represent their journey. The sentiment is obviously perfect as I agree the "world of imagination is boundless".
The completed piece has been bound together with a book ring with added co-ordinated fibres and ribbon.

Why not pop along to Creative Expressions and enter the DT call yourself.  GOOD LUCK, Tracy x x