My baby is 16!

It's Show Us Something New
at Fashionable Stamping Challenges.

This could be anything new in your crafty stash
~  It could be a new to you technique, new paper, ink, images... you get the picture!
Well, this wasn't difficult because most challenge pieces I do have something new in them!
...there is just soooo much to learn.

Many years ago I use to make cards (cut-outs and stick-ons)...at classes.
Then gave up...I didn't last very long lol.
About 2 1/2 years ago I decided to start up again, just on my own,
~ I discovered ranger inks, blogging and online friendships,
and started exploring my own creativity.

For this challenge I have had
 some inspiration from Hels Sherridan and the buzz around blogland with UTEE,
 some technical advice from Rachael Greig
and encouragement from our illustrious leader Shirley...
And then had a little fun!
ok - LOTS of fun!!!

My baby boy turned 16 last week...
My son, Scott, has been playing guitar since he was 8

and is so talented and quick with his fingers.

He plays his heavy stuff ~ then indulges me in what I like to hear.
I love him for that.

I survived his 16th birthday sleepover by going out for tea with friends

~ and had a nice bottle of wine.

The boys at the sleepover...well, they will all recover in time! lol

Happy Birthday Scott!

This is my first go at stamping into UTEE...

Ummmm, it was not as easy as I thought it would be.
I have mixed the gold UTEE with some clear
and what this seems to do is to thin the molten mix out a little.
I found that gold on its own seemed thick.

Some tips are ~ it is easy to cut while still a little warm...

and if not, just re-heat it up with a heat gun carefully
and then cut (it worked for me).

It is very brittle when cooled!

~   Keep the stamp simple in it's lines

(I tried the guitar stamp first and it didn't really work )

~  And allow yourself plenty of time so that you can play heaps!!!!

The main stamp is "guitar" from Darkroom Door,
the image stamped with archival black ink
and the background is with alcohol inks.

Flonz has a generous $20 voucher for the winner

along with the stampettes top pics, Saturday spotlights 

and the occasional guest designer who plays along with us. FSC is a busy place to be!

Please pop over to FSC and check out the awesomeness of the stampettes!!!!
They are amazingly creative people with some wonderful ideas.



p.s.....he loved his birthdy card!

Enjoy!

~ I am entering this card into the following challenges...
- The Artistic Stamper - Makes For Men 
- Loves Rubberstamps Challenge Blog - Masculine Theme
- Ladybug Crafts - For The Men In Our Lives 
- The Crafter's Cafe Challenge - Fathers/or for a Male 
- Polkadoodles and studio 12 - Males 
- Crafting By Designs - Father's Day/Men/Male 
- City Crafter Challenge Blog - All About Him 
- Papertake Weekly Challenge - Hello Boys! 
- Try It On Tuesday - One for the Boys 
- Craft Your Passion - Father's Day/Masculine

Black and White

Black and White

Just popping in to share a card that I made for colleague.

The brief was to create a card in black and white, with a little french influence if I can 

and that the person loves butterflies.

Aaargh!!! I don't have any french stamps!!!

(but will get that sorted out in the future lol)

I'm not sure if it is very french, but she was more than happy

with the outcome...phewwww.

I have bounced off an idea that I had earlier this year, which you can find here,

and I think it looks heaps better! It uses my all time favourite lady stamp.

I think she is a little vintage and sooo very classy! 

I have used her for both contemporary and vintage cards,

 and not many stamps can do that.

I really like how this turned out,

looks like some of my friends might be getting similar ones, ssshhhh

!

Enjoy!

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges...

~ Sparkles Monthly Challenge - Monochrome

~ Challenges 4 Everybody - Anything Goes 

~ Sketchy Colors - Black, White and Grey 

~ As You Like It Challenge - Favourite Rubber Stamp and Why 

~ Shopping Our Stash Weekly - No Pattered Paper 

~ Make It Monday - Always Anything Goes 
~ Through The Craftroom Door - Always Anything Goes

Childhood

Childhood...

is the new challenge at Vintage Stamping Challenges.

This card came together a little backwards!

I knew the gorgeous stamp that I wanted to use, 

but I started with the rosette, which I have never made before,

and decorated it in a shabby chic style. 

Then I made the card around it...

The style of the finished rosette decided how I was going to finish the rest off.

The stamp is Girl On A Windy Hill and is such a carefree image.

There is lots of gesso, lots of layers, lots of ink,

a little lace, bling and distressing...

There is just something very special about Shabby Chic!!!

And I will definitely be making more rosettes!!!
They are so much fun.

Flonz has a generous $20 prize for one lucky entrant

which can be spent on a huge range of goodies from his on-line store.

And they are cheap...so you can get heaps of them!

The Design Team have once again come up with some

outstanding examples of how to showcase these stamps...

so please be inspired

and come join in our fun at Vintage Stamping Challenges


Enjoy!

I am entering this card into the following challenges ~

~ Crafts and Me Challenges - Shabby Chic
~ Creative Moments - Lots of Layers 
~ Fab 'n' Funky Challenges - Girly!
~ Stampin' for the Weekend -Monochrome
~ Sparkles Monthly Challenges - Monochromatic
~ A and T Emerald faeries Challenge - Dies and Punches
~ Crafting Musketeers - Use a Stamped Image 
~ Love to Scrap! - Rockin' Rubbah!

Tag It....

Hi, it's time for a new challenge at 

Fashionable Stamping Challenges and this fortnight it is ...

Tags!

All you need is a tag somewhere on your creation.

I haven't made a tag since last time we had a tag challenge

~ challenge #4 in Sept 2011....and that was my first one!

OMG, it's been awhile!!!!! I might have to do something about that! lol

This tag was heaps of fun to make...

but it sort of spilled out over the edge so I just added it to a card.  (I just couldn't resist!)

It is male orientated and steampunk inspired.

My favourite part is the off-the-edge cogs.

It was sprayed with dylusional brown and black, 

spritzed with copper mist,

run through a cog embossing folder

 and distressed with a little black to make the crevices stand out more.

Some words of wisdom, a bit of ideology

a splatter of paint and a flying man is all that is needed!

I hope you have enjoyed this piece of fun.

Flonz has a generous $20 voucher for the winner

along with the stampettes top pics, Saturday spotlights 

and the occasional guest designer who plays along with us. FSC is a busy place to be!

Please pop over to FSC and check out the awesomeness of the stampettes!!!!
They are amazingly creative people with some wonderful ideas.


Enjoy!

I would like to enter this into the following challenges...

~ Happy campers Craft Collective - Use Metal
~ Paper Crafting Journey - Masculine Cards!
~ Crafts and Me Challenges - Lots of Layers 
~ Inkspirational - Anything Goes 
~ Simon Says Stamp Challenge - Anything Goes 
~ Anything Goes Challenge Blog - Handmade Backgrounds 

~ Eclectic Ellapu - Things With Wings

For a Friend

Today I am sharing a birthday card that I have made for a friend.

I was just having a play around with some alcohol inks

but wanted to keep the design simple.

I wanted to have flowers to cheer her up

as she has just had a major op

so I decided on putting some panels across the front,

and just stamping some different flowers

from a stamp set that I won earlier this year.

The stampset is from Hot Off The Press

with a crackle stamp and some leaves for a finishing touch.

 Oh...and a little bling!

Enjoy!

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges ~

~ Stampin' For The Weekend - Monochrome
~ Rogue Redhead Designs - May Flowers!

~ Inkspirational - Anything Goes

~ Simon Says Stamp Challenge - Anything Goes

~ Anything Goes Challenge Blog - Handmade Backgrounds 

~ Crazy 4 Challenges - No Pattered Paper 

~ Card Makin Mamas - Use Rubber Stamps 

Alter It

Alter It

is the new challenge at FSC this fortnight.

You can alter anything you like, whether it be something

old or something chipboard that has been done up,

or something from around the house...

the choice is yours!

My object is a shadow box with a glass front.

It is totally inspired from Brenda at 

Butterflies and Bumblebees and a secret santa gift that I received from her this year.

My mum has been looking at Brenda's shadow box creation on my wall

for some time and asked if I could make her one for Mother's Day.

In this pic I have take the glass off to photgraph it so that

I could capture the colour better.

I wanted something ultra feminine for mum

This stamp is from Flonzcraft and is from the silhouette set.

I think it captures a scene from the past quite nicely.

This is just a closer pic to show the detail of the framing of the stamp.
It is layered onto a piece of torn and inked vellum.

Please pop on over to FSC and check out the awesomeness of the stampettes and leave a little love.

They are some of the most creative people I know.

Flonz has a generous $20 voucher for the winner

along with the stampettes top pics, Saturday spotlights, inspirational pieces

and the occasional guest designer who plays along with us. FSC is a busy place to be!

Enjoy!

I am entering this into the following challenges...

~ Craft-room Challenge - Make your own background paper!
~ Stamping Sensations - Embossing and Texture
~ Polkadoodles and studio 12 - Spring Colours and Pastels 
~ Simply Create Too - Anything Goes 
~ One Stop Craft Challenge - Anything Goes
~ Our Creative Corner - Anything Goes
~ Eclectic Ellapu - Anything Goes

Spring Has Sprung!

Spring Has Sprung!

I made this card just as something uplifting and fun to do.
And then decided to add it to FSC as an inspirational piece.

It is totally inspired by all the chat in blogland about

how the flowers are finally starting to come out...

I have used a spotlight technique which Shirley at FSC reminded me about...

I have been going through a "pretty and pink" phase lately 

and needed to break away from it,

hence the splash of colour in this card.

The stamp is a Crafty Individuals one with a section stamped separately,

 coloured, embossed and cracked.

I stamped the main image on specialty paper because it just has such 

a rich and very black image when stamped with black archival ink...

and I really wanted the stamp to be the star in this piece.

This is just a closer view of the cracked effect...using the freezer...

Please pop on over to FSC and check out the awesomeness of the stampettes and leave a little love.

They are some of the most creative people I know.

Flonz has a generous $20 voucher for the winner

along with the stampettes top pics, Saturday spotlights 

and the occasional guest designer who plays along with us. FSC is a busy place to be!

Enjoy!

I am entering this card into the following challenges...

~ Our Creative Corner - Anything Goes

~ Rogue Redhead Designs - May Flowers ( I have a field of them!)

~ Daring Cardmakers - Ink It Up (my favourite thing to to!!!) 

~ Craft-room Challenge - Stamp your own background: always ;)

For My Mum....Happy Mother's Day!

A Touch of Elegance....

with a little lace and pearls

is the latest challenge at Vintage Stamping Challenges.

With Mother's Day coming up in this part of the world 

I thought I would take the opportunity to make mum's card with this challenge.
She is from a time when every Saturday night everyone followed the dance hall circuit.

I think this Flonz Image is perfect for her.

This is my first go at a twisted easel card...

The background papers are a freebie from Astrid's Artistic Efforts.

which I have just added a little ink and stamping to.

 The top part of the card is suppose to be ultra femine...

so heaps of lace and swirls and pearls

and of course ~ the colour purple

(I heard somewhere once that older people loooove purple)

The really wanted to create a cascading effect from the top card through to the bottom front corner.

Keeping the theme flowing through.

I did grunge up the flowers a little with some gesso

(I just couldn't resist it)

and it takes off that "just bought" look.

And heaps of hearts because I love my mum.

(does that make up for calling her old??? lol)

Flonz has a generous $20 prize for one lucky entrant

which can be spent on a huge range of goodies from his on-line store.

And they are cheap...so you can get heaps of them!

The Design Team have once again come up with some

outstanding examples of how to showcase these stamps...

so please be inspired

and come join in our fun at Vintage Stamping Challenges


 Enjoy!

I am entering this card into the following challenges...
~ Stampavie and More - Lots of Die Cuts 
~ Die Cuttin Divas - Anything Goes 
~ Fashionista Challenge - Shabby or Vintage 
~ Happy Campers Craft Collective - Use Lace
~ It's All About The Vintage - For Mother 
~ Live and Laugh Crafts - 50 Shades of....Lilac 
~ The Crafter's Cafe Challenge Blog - Mothers, or for a Female
~ Blogger's Challenge - A Feminine Touch
~ Creative Corner Challenges - Flowers and/or Mother's Day 
~ Eclectic Ellapu - Anything Goes

A Time for Thanks

Thank You!

I am having fun again with my Ladies Diary papers,

a bit of ink, Flonz Craft stamps!!!

and lots of embellies...

A new month brings a new challenge at 

Vintage Stamping Challenges.

And this time around it is Thankyou...

 I have made something just to dangle from a door knob 

or a cupboard door for someone special. I think I will give it to one of my friends just to show they are appreciated and thought of...

The stamps that I have used are 

Gibson Girl 13, a simple oval frame

and a swirl from the damask floral curves set.

The colours that I inked up to go with the papers were DI's walnut stain with aged mahogany over the top...

I really like this combination, especially with the pink background.

The background cardstock is embossed and inked, sanded and inked some more.
Then the papers have been inked and layered up before adding the main image.
 The damask floral  stamp has just been lightly sprayed with water and stamped into the ink around the Gibson lady for a mottled effect.
The final touch was the little hearts which have been punched out of brown cardstock
and covered with glossy accents.

Flonz has a generous $20 prize for one lucky entrant

which can be spent on a huge range of goodies from his on-line store.

And they are cheap...so you can get heaps of them!

The Design Team have once again come up with some

outstanding examples of how to showcase these stamps...

so please be inspired

and come join in our fun at Vintage Stamping Challenges

Enjoy!

I am entering this card into the following challenges ~

~ Crafts and Me Challenges - Pretty In Pink

~ Rhedd and Rosie Challenge - Vintage/Shabby Chic

~ Stampavie and more - Pretty In Pink
~ Stampin' for the Weekend - Anything but a card (wall-hanging)
~ Allsorts - Vintage

FSC goes all Sentimental...

"Sentimental"

is the new challenge at FSC this fortnight.
I have chosen a sentimental journey for my piece,
however you can of course use a sentiment/sayings if you  like.

We have the wonderfully talented  Suzanne from Suzanne's Papercrafting joining us as a GD
so please pop on over and check out her work and leave a little love.

My thoughts on this went back to the olden days in the country with many days at my nana's house

 playing with cousins, 

collecting chook eggs, 

playing family cricket games in the back paddock

and the family feasts!

I am from a small country town where we made our own fun

and enjoyed the wide open spaces... 

- the whole town was our backyard!

It is a time long since gone, but the memories are treasures.

This piece is a collage of different elements from those days
and has been made to be touched, with lots of bits and pieces.

The main image is a Crafty Individual's stamp

stamped in archival ink on specialty paper as I wanted to have a strong back and white image

with muted sepia tones and a little pop of colour added as a backdrop to represent the past.

This is vintage in style, though it is very different to how I would usually do it.

 I enjoyed the journey

 and hope that you will come along and play with us this fortnight.

The stampettes have once again come up with some great inspiration to tempt you into playing along...

and Flonz has a generous $20 voucher for the winner

along with the stampettes top pics, saturday spotlights 

and the occasional guest designer who plays along with us.

Enjoy!

I am entering this piece into the following challenges ~

~ Addicted to Stamps and More! - Anything Goes

~ Diva's By Design - Butterflies and Birds (I have a butterflu and a chook!)
~ Clear It Out Challenge - Anything Goes...and buttons
~ Paulaholifieldcrafts - Anything Goes
~ The Artistic Stamper - Texture
~ Challenges 4 Everybody - Anything Goes