Monochromatic Green and Tanda Stamps Leaves

This week's challenge from the Daring Card Makers was set by Lythan and the challenge was to make what you want but only use shades of one colour. My choice was Green because I wanted to use one of my new sets of Tanda Stamps. They have started doing the smaller sheets of stamps at an amazing price of £5.85 and have just launched four new sheets. I have used the Leaves set to make this card hence the monochromatic green. The other new stamps are worth a look too - Butterflies, Paisley and an Inchie Zodiac set. Click here to go straight to the Tanda Stamps site.

For the card I have used various shades of green card stock - some I have shaded with green chalks. The centre piece is acetate with alcohol inks in shades of Lettuce, Meadow and Bottle. Various leaf images from the new Tanda Stamp set have been stamped, coloured, cut out and mounted with silicone glue at the bottom corner.

I am going out now for a bit of retail therapy - my first day off and all that!! I need some masking fluid, some Easter Eggs plus Next and M & S have a Sale on at the moment!!

Happy crafting!
Wendy -x-

All God's Creations ....

If I want a really quick card I normally turn to Black and White. I adore black and white work. It can be striking, artisitic and dramatic. I made this for a weekly template challenge over on the Ink Stains site.

I have taken a piece of Black and white paper and given it an interesting edge using a tearing ruler. This has been stuck to the bottom of the base card using double sided tape. The phrase 'All God's creations are a thing of beauty' has been stamped directly onto the card base using a black Versafine ink pad. The word Dandelion has been stamped and layered and added to the bottom right hand corner. The Dandelion image has been stamped in black versafine onto white card stock and layered onto various layers of black and white with a torn edge bottom. Some silver cord has been wrapped around the image and a tag stamped with some of the fluffy bits (which I am sure someone knows the correct term for) has been threaded onto the cord.
The stamps are from a Stampin Up set called 'Delicate Dandelion'. Black and White paper is DCWV.

Had a good day yesterday. Nipped into Rugby town centre to do a spot of shopping. I managed to get some of the 35p blooms form Dunelm and took them to pieces for card embellishments. Also bought some of those cheap shimmery paints which are meant to be a reasonable alternative to Twinkling H20's. These came from The Works and are only £2.99. I also got some bleedable tissue paper which I know I have seen a technique for somewhere - just need to remember where. Bought the dog a new toy - a bright pink pig that squeaks!! A real girlie toy for her and she loves it! We followed this up with lunch at the Harvester which was yummy.!

Work again today and then I have another 11 days off. Woohoooo!!!

Totally Moo!!

Today I am sharing a bit of a fun card requested by a friend. I have made one very similar to this before for a mate who sends cards to quite a few Farmers. She liked it so much she has asked me to repeat it. I don't like to do this very often - usually only make one of a kind cards but the background probably wouldn't be the same twice.

I have use a brayer technique for the background. Ink a brayer up with dye ink - I have used a blue dye ink on one side of the brayer and a green on the other side (Kaleidoscope pads are good for this technique). Spritz the inked brayer with water and roll directly onto your card in one forward roll. Once dry you can stamped over the top to create your background scene. I have used a couple of tree stamps from the Judikins Tress cube, the sun/moon(whichever you want it to be) is also from Judikins along with the landscaped field stamp in the foreground. The cows are an unmounted unknown I picked up from somewhere and they have been stamped, coloured and cut out to be mounted with 3D foam pads. A few rows of fibre have been added to give the illusion of a wire fence.

Happy crafting!
Wendy -x-

Double Dare - Days of Sunshine!

The double dare from the Daring Card Makers this week is to make a card inspired by the word 'Sunshine'. My card is made using a set of stamps from Rubbadubbadoo called 'Dandelion'. The background piece is made by inking a piece of card using sponges along with yellow and a red Ecoline ink. I have flicked some droplets of water onto this. Stamped the image randomly over the inked card, removed the ink from inside the images using a wet paintbrush and a tissue and finally added some accents with a white gel pen. My centre flower piece has been stamped and coloured with the same inks and I have added a happy smiling sunny face to the centre and decorated with black eyelets.

This dare goes hand in hand with the wonderful weather we are having at the moment. A little sunshine certainly lifts the spirits.

Another working day for me unfortunately but I do have a day off tomorrow ha ha!!

warm wishes
Wendy -x-

CPS 7 - Fancy hats

Today I am sharing a card I made for this week's Card Positioning Systems template Challenge number 7 and their last week's extra colour challenge combined. I forgot about the new Thursday challenge so I have decided to do the two in one.

I have used a piece of blue patterned paper and I have also used my Pedlars Pack Plaid stamp for the yellow check piece. Hero Arts Fancy Hats Quatros have been stamped and lightly coloured with pencils. For embellishments I have used a piece of yellow ribbon threaded through a buckle and a blue die cut photo corner. A very quick and simple card due to a distinct lack of time today! Still an enjoyable challenge and I am now off to check out the links that I missed for the colour challenge.

Warm Wishes
Wendy -x-

Pirates Ahoy!!

Another couple of cards using the new Tanda Stamps Pirate Sets. I still haven't managed to use every stamp yet!!

For this one I have used a resist technique for the background. Very easy to do - I stamped my images onto white card in Versamark and embossed with white detail embossing powder. Once cool I crumpled the sheet up creating lots of creases. I opened this out misted with a water spray bottle and added colour using sponges and two Adirondack ink pads - Butterscotch and Cranberry. The pirate was stamped in black Stazon and a little colour has been added to him and the background using an aquapainter, picking up a little ink from the same two inkpads. I have punched two holes in the topper and tied with string. A shrink plastic Pirate Flag has been added and a flattened bottle top with just the skull cut out and stuck in the centre.

This was a bit of a fun card! I have painted a strip of card with a brown Ecoline ink, distressed it with sandpaper and popped plank lines on with a gold pen. I have then cut a boat shape from this and adhered it to the base card. Three tags have been crumpled, misted with water and colour added with sponges and a Butterscotch Adirondack ink pad. I have dried this with the heat gun and then gently taken a tissue that had first been dabbed in a Ginger Adirondack ink pad and wiped it across the surface to just catch the raised creased edges. I have stamped out three of the Pirate images in brown Stazon, cut them out and attached them to the tags. The tags have been tied with string. I have pencilled in three boat masts and added the tags at angles to form the sails. Three Jolly Roger flags have been stamped onto shrink plastic using black Stazon and shrunk down to form the flags for the top of the masts. 'Shiver me timbers' has been stamped out and added to the boat.

Still have a couple of ideas when I have the time and there are still a few stamps I have yet to use! Brilliant for ATC's too - what value for money!!

The Eyes Have It!

This week's Wednesday Stamper Challenge was 'The Eyes Have It'. I usually run with the first thing that comes into my head when I read the challenge - it sometimes evolves and gets tweaked, this one however didn't get much tweaking. When I think of eyes I think of emotion - they are the windows to the soul. I thought love and seduction. I used a couple of background stamps - Elzybells line stamp and Aspects of design mesh stamp - just simply stamped in black Stazon. The eyes stamp is a Superstamp image that has been stamped in black Stazon and coloured with pencils and inks. The fan is an unknown unmounted I managed to get in a grab bag and this has been stamped once again in Stazon and coloured with inks. I wanted to keep it simplistic so I have used strong colour to convey the strength of the emotion and just simply mounted everything on the card for maximum effect. The only embellishments added was some ribbon for the fan and the word seduction on Dymo tape.

Another great challenge and I really enjoyed checking out everyone's interpretations.

Have a wonderful day!
Wendy -x-

DCM - Double The Trouble!!

The Daring Card Makers have come up with a 'New Baby' theme this week - make a multiple birth card. I couldn't get past thinking about two without coming over all queasy, so I stayed there and made a Twins card!

My card is in a Turquoise Blue and has flowers on so I figured it could be used for either Boys or Girls. I had some card I had previously painted with some blue Ecoline inks so I stamped the prams onto this and also used it as the background strip with drywall tape that had been embossed in white detail powder and lightly glittered as a strip down the middle. I stamped some extra flowers in turquoise blue ink onto white card and clear embossed them. These were cut out and decoupaged to a second layer on the prams and three more were dotted around the card. Pale blue gems have been added to the centre of the flowers and a Sizzix alphabet used for the 'Twins' letters.

Happy Crafting!
Wendy -x-

Well Shiver me Timbers!!

Well - I had a lovely day yesterday!! We ended up shopping at Burton-Upon-Trent. I managed to get one of those kiddies spin art thingies to play with, some bits and bobs of lace and some card blanks. Ate lunch and then went onto Tutbury to the Monks Den craft shop and stepped into me mate Sheila's (aka Manicstamper/Bookworm) world for a moment! I met Sheila about a year ago at a craft meet on the Craft By Carolyn Forum and get a lot of inspiration from her work. Had a good chat and a look around the shop before parting with some money and taking my leave.

I came home with my spoils and the postman had been with some new rubber!! Tanda Stamps have just released two sets of Pirate stamps. I just had to have a quick play with those and the spin art toy! The card above is the result of this play session. I need to experiment some more with this new kiddies toy I have acquired - different papers alcohol inks etc. etc. I had a lot of fun anyway. My hubbie took one look at me and suggested I had a bath after my first session with this new toy! Oh well - a good day all around and no housework in sight!

I made another quick card with the new Pirate range from Tanda Stamps and came up with this effort below and not a Pirate in sight as yet!! Mojo is working overtime at the mo!

Some distressed backing paper has been distressed a little more. The map has been stamped with Saddle Brown Stazon and coloured a little with pencils. I have used my newly acquired tearing edge ruler to tear around the map. The 'Fifteen men on a dead man's chest' verse has been stamped in the same colour Stazon. The edges have been torn and distressed with ink. I have then rolled the top and bottom in for a scroll look. The Chest has been stamped, coloured with pencils and the coins glittered with Stickles. A couple of coins have been ebossed in gold and then the brown Stazon has been added over the top for a burnished metal look. I have used a piece of the drywall tape that I have glittered and embossed in gold before adding to the card. An anchor image has been embossed in gold on the bottom corner of the base card and the 'Shiver me timbers' has been stamped in brown Stazon.

Tanda have a wonderful range of the more unusual images that are especially good for the men and the site is well worth a visit.

Happy crafting!
Wendy -x-

Gothic Arch Card

This week's challenge at Ink Stains was to make a Gothic Arch - I have only ever made one of these before and that was for a challenge on Wednesday Stamper when I made my Knight in Shining Armour arch - which was really a bit of fun and an excuse to get a piccie of my hubby on the blog!

I have enjoyed having a bash at this. The base card has been stamped using a Judikins marble stamp with Versamark and coloured with various shades of pink chalk. My Gothic arch has been stamped with a Stampendous mosaic stamp and a stamping up flower stamp in Versamark, which I have then embossed with White detail embossing powder. I have coloured this piece with two shades of Ecoline ink and sprayed with water to soften and mingle the inks. Excess ink has been soaked up with a paper towel and I have then dried with a heat gun. I chose an image which was a free download acquired recently and proceeded to layer and embellish with ribbon, a buckle, a charm, blooms to go and gems. The centre of one of the blooms has been stamped with a postal stamp.

Aside from my crafting respite I have tackled yet more housework - washing curtains in the hall and on the landing. I have washed down walls, cleaned lampshades and cleaned windows! I am definitely knocking a hole in my chore list! I have walked the dog and got my daily dose of fresh air - very windy and cold here today so I didn't linger and also nipped to the shops to get some necessities. Luckily one of my Sons decided to cook lunch, so that was one thing I didn't have to worry about. In between times I am just unwinding with a book and TV - I have worked long and hard hours since September with little time off so am in much need of a serious chill-out!

My next crafting task is a Get Well card for the double dare this week. I have an image in mind but am not sure what I did with the stamp!! A good job I haven't tidied the area I craft in yet as I have a feeling it would all be undone by the time I lay my hands on the item I am looking for!

Happy Crafting!
Wendy -x-

Artfully Asian ATC's and CPS 6

Today I have sorted a couple of ATC's that I needed for a swap over on the Tanda Stamps Forum. This month's subject was 'Artfully Asian' and the images used are from the Tanda Stamp Far East Set 3. Two very simple ATC's stamped and masked while other stamps or inks were added to the backgrounds and a little light colour to the images themselves.

While I had the stamps out I decided to use them for the Card Positioning System sketch 6 launched on Sunday - Spring in the Orient! Once again simple stamped with light colour added and mounted on a background to match the sketch. Embellished with fibre tied on the side and a gold dragonfly brad.


Yesterday I managed to give the lounge a good clean - washing and drying curtains, wiping down paintwork and doors etc. etc. Another chore to knock off my long list! Took the dog for her morning walk which we both thoroughly enjoyed! Cooked lunch - Cauliflower chesse, one of my favourites!! Also spent some quality time with OH and darling Sons - which I don't always get time to do.


Thanks for stopping by - I hope you have a fruitful day!
Wendy -x-

Wallpaper Fun!

I acquired a very small piece of this wallpaper yesterday. I had a dozen visions of what it could look like in my head! I came home with it and covered proceeded to play!!

For this card I have painted it with acrylic paint and using a baby wipe I have removed some of the paint from the high embossed areas. I was really pleased with how it looked - you can pay loads of dosh for these nice unusual handmade papers and it was bearing a resemblance to that type of thing. For the rest of the card I wanted to keep the touchy feely thing going so I coloured some canvas paper with Ecoline and stamped onto that with the two bird corner pieces and the tulip. A very simple and quick card.

With a couple of smaller pieces left I had a play I painted one piece with Ecoline and sprayed the whole thing with water. For the second piece I squirted ink refills directly onto the paper and then sprayed with water.





















The possibilities are endless I didn't have enough to play with H20's or the watercolour jewel sprays I have - and there are some very nice patterns on this type of wallpaper! With a steady hand and a very small paintbrush the embossed flower pattern could be painted with gold metallic or white - it would look fab!!

Have a good day and thanks for looking.
Wendy -x-

Marilyn - Warhol Style.

This week's Wednesday Stamper Challenge was all about Movies and Movie Stars. I have chosen to do Marilyn in a Warhol Style card. I have always been fascinated with the tragic story of Marilyn and if I think of Hollywood I always think of her. I remember watching her life story when I was just a young teenager thinking what a waste.

About the card - I have taken an image of Marilyn - played about on the computer with it, printed it out four times and added it to different colour squares of card. These have been arranged on a piece of black card that I have punched holes down two sides to look like a film strip. The background is where I have used a variety of stamps. I have painted a piece of canvas paper with an orange and yellow acrylic paint. For a little texture I have added some drywall tape - an item available in most DIY stores that resembles magic mesh somewhat. I have then used a technique masking with vaseline in the areas I want to remain the same and painted over the whole background with various colours of acrylic paint. Once they seem dry I have removed the paint in the vaseline areas so that some of my stamped images are visible. This has been mounted onto a black card base and the filmstrip attached with 3D foam pads. I have also stamped a clapperboard/fimstrip image.

Apart from my crafting I haven't done much else today. As it was Mother's Day we went to see my Mum-in-law and took her present to her. I will be contacting my Mum later (she is approx 200 miles away!) but I know that my Sister and Brother would have spent time with her today. On the way home I stopped in at a Home Base to get some paint chip charts and picked up some of the drywall tape I used above.

I was thoroughly spoilt today with flowers, chocs, cards and a lovely roast pork dinner cooked for me.

I think some TV is in order this evening - I will have to see what's on. This will be a luxury as I am usually at work on a Sunday evening!

Happy Mother's Day!
Wendy -x-

Daring Card Makers - How very Dare You!

I was really sweating about the Daring Card Makers dare for this week. Random - check the details out on the site!. I sat down and wrote my list of items out:- Brads, Eyelets, Ribbon, Watercolour pencils, Twinkling H20's, Patterned paper, Adirondack ink pads, Radiant Pearls, Ecoline Inks, Stampin Up Flower Stamp set, Metal bits and bobs, Blooms, Acetate, Chalk Ink Pads, Gems, Beads, Die Cuts, Peel-Offs, Buttons and finally Vellum. I had the full twenty items on the list but thought I would make it a little more harder on myself by putting in only one stamp set that I couldn't remember using before and if I had I had only used it once. I popped them all in a small container and mixed them up - my Son was at home for part of the day so I asked him to pull five items out. First up was Brads followed by Adirondack Ink Pads. Then he picked out Ribbon and Peel-Offs, now by this time I was about in a panic and then the little Angel picked out the Stampin Up Flower stamp set and I let out a huge sigh of relief!! I needed at least the stamps, die cuts or blooms to keep from pulling my hair out!! It could have been a lot worse!!

I stamped with the Adirondack ink pads, cut some of the flowers out and popped brads through the centres, tied the whole thing with a ribbon and added Get Well peel-off greeting in the corner. A bit of ink stippling to make up for the lack of patterned paper and I was done! A good dare but did you mean to have me quite so on the edge of my seat?!!

Apart from the dare I have had a very productive day with the housework and chores. I don't like to swear at you all by using the 'H' word but I was aiming to get a handle on the Spring Cleaning and I have made a good start today by cleaning the kitchen from top to bottom. Cooker, cupboards, drawers, walls and doors washed down, curtains washed and dried - phew now I have to mess it up and cook dinner!!

Oh well - one of the larger jobs done and it's only my second day off - feeling quite virtuous!!

Warm Wishes
Wendy -x-

Looking at Paper Weaving

I have had a wonderful day today - woke and took the dog out for a walk in the lovely sunshine. Pottered around for a bit, went shopping and out for lunch followed by a cuddle on the sofa watching TV and finally onto some crafting. I am feeling really chilled out today a perfect way to begin my break from work.

Today I decided to look at paper weaving and different ways to use it. What prompted this was a very large bag of scraps and a need for something other than Serendipity to use some of them up. I am not going to insult you by explaining how to weave paper, just give you some ideas of how to use the finished product. The above card is made using the paper weaving as a small highlight to the card. I have cut only in the section I want the paper weaving to show and have cut the ends at angles. The leopard is made using a Tanda Stamp form the Wildlife set. I have stamped the image onto paper, scanned it and doubled the size of the image before printing out onto card.

The card below is a made using the paper weaving as a whole background piece and keeping in an uneven shape. Works quite well and has used up a couple of the larger offcuts of paper I was hoarding. A large bloom has been added to a faux stitched square.

Lastly I am including a card I made a long time ago when I first started to make cards. Oh dear!! Well here goes nothing! I kept the paper weaving confined here and framed it with the image of the young man larger then the background piece. The stamp is Rubbadubbadoo from the male 'Dress Your Doll' set.
Anyone have any other ideas for using the paper weaving? Always interested in learning new ones!!

Thanks for looking.
Wendy -x-

Hey Dude!

Another quick card today using pencils and inks. I made this for a Template challenge on Ink Stains. I used another new stamp set that arrived yesterday - wonderful images for Surf Set 1 from Tanda Stamps.

My Dude is stamped in Stazon and coloured with prisma pencils. He is mounted on a background using Ecoline inks. For embellishments I have just added two ties of organza ribbon.

Feeling a little better this morning but not completely myself. I'm gonna limp to work as this is my last day for 10 days. Wooohoooo!!!

Thanks for stopping by and have an enjoyable day.

Wendy -x-

Double Dare Template Challenge

I am late posting today - my day off and I don't feel very good at all. This is just so typical!!

I had two new things to play with today - my very first Joanna Sheen CD Fabulous Flowers and a large Plaid Background stamp from Pedlars Pack. I decided to do a quick template challenge set by the Daring Card Makers for their mid week Dare.

I have stamped the plaid stamp in Adirondack Butterscotch ink and embossed a little filigree panel in gold detail embossing powder. The flowers have been printed out, painted with mod podge and dusted with fine glitter. A matching Organza ribbon has been added.

I will have a better play with the CD and the stamp when I am feeling more like myself! I have the DVD to watch as well!

I am off for a lie down and a watch of the TV this evening and hope to arise in the morning with a spring in my step! Well I will settle for no headache and sicky feeling!

Warm Wishes
Wendy -x-

CPS 5 - Fairy Wishes

Well I said I needed a card for a little girl and one for the Card Positioning System new Template 5 - two birds with one stone!!

No special techniques, just very simple stamping but I have been playing with some Ecoline ink backgrounds and the images are coloured with the Ecoline too. This ink is wonderful to play with and the colours are gorgeous. The little girl is from the Girl Power Rubbadubbadoo set and the wings behind I nicked from the dragonfly of their Sunflower set. The wings have been glittered with fine translucent glitter. The little daisies at the bottom and the daisy border are from the Rubbadubbadoo Springtime set. The Happy Birthday is from katie & Co. I have highlighted some of the daisies and letters of the Happy Birthday Greeting with a white gel pen.

Time to play some more!!

Caught in Crystal

I had a go at this technique - it worked reasonably well. I can just see a couple of tiny tears in the tissue toward the top of the image that I didn't see before - need to have a lighter hand! Very difficualt to capture this effect on the scanner but there is glitter sandwiched between the acetate and the inked tissue paper that gives the impression of crystal as the light catches it.

For this technique you need a piece of acetate, Stazon ink pad, Tissue paper, Johnsons Floor wax, glitter and re-inkers of some sort. If you don't have re-inkers you can use metallic acrylics - just play and see what effects you can get!

Once your chosen image has been stamped onto the acetate using Stazon and is dry, flip the piece over and work on the back of the image. Using a paintbrush coat the piece of acetate with the floor wax. Leave a space around the edges with no floor wax. Sprinkle some fine glitter onto the floor wax, crumple a piece of tissue into a ball, open it out and place the tissure on top of the floor wax and glitter. Tap the tissue down gently into the mixture. Cover with more floor wax and start to drip inks where you want your colour to be. Using your paintbrush tap the tissue so that the inks spread and mingle. Wash your brush between colours.
After the last colour has been applied clean your brush and apply another layer of floor wax to the inks. Place a spare piece of tissue paper on top along with a folded kitchen towel, gently pat to blot the excess ink and wax. Pull off the kitchen towel and the spare piece of tissue paper but do not remove the original layer of tissue paper. You can use the heat gun to dry but be careful not to overheat. Once dry apply another layer of floor wax and once again dry with a heat gun carefully. Once this is dry you can trim away the excess tissure paper and layer onto your card.

When the light catches this it is stunning. This is my first effort so I don't know if I am spot on or no - but a lot of this is your own experimentation anyway.

I have included two other samples - the original piece above has been made using re-inkers and this one below has been made using the Posh Impressions Rainbow Inks and I have crumpled the tissue paper more.


The last sample below is me taking my own advice and experimenting with Metallic acrylic paint in a copper and green colour. This is still a fabulous shimmery look but is not so glass like.

You have to try this for yourself to see the full effect. My scanning and photographic abilities leave a lot to be desired! There are numerous instructions available on the internet all differing slightly - you have to play and find one that works for you.

Thanks for taking the time to stop by - The agenda for tomorrow are a couple of cards that I need - one for a little girls birthday and one for the CPS Template 4.

Wendy -x-

Wednesday Stamper - 'White'

The Wednesday Stamper Challenge this week was 'White'. If I think white I see Angels, Cherubs and Flowers so that is what I went with. The main image is Pedlars Pack Cherub Background. I have used a large music stamp by Personal Impressions behind the Cherub picture and the flowers are Rubbadubbadoo from which I have stamped two layers and raised with foam pads. Embellishments - gold photo corners, white silk leaves and some white and gold braid along the top of the picture. The cherub image has been coloured with Radiant Pearls and embossed with Utee which I have then cracked. I have rubbed a distress ink into the cracks but the scanner doesn't pick this up too well. This Technique was learned from a Technique Junkies Newsletter.

I love these challenges it makes me think about stamps I haven't used in a while.

Unfortunately I have to work again today - but after Thursday I have ten days off ha ha!! I am looking forward to this - I need to catch up on some Spring cleaning and I will have some extra craft time too!

I want to have a play tomorrow with a technique I have been looking at called Caught in Crystal. It's a bit of a messy one so I can't wait!!

Warm wishes
Wendy -x-

Daring Card makers - 'Supermum'

A bit of light hearted fun was in order today as I tackled the weekly dare from the Daring card Makers.

Make a 'Super Hero' card!!

As soon as I read the dare this image came into my head. I had seen it somewhere on one of the many Clipart CD's I have for those difficult requests! I eventually hit on the right one and got the image I wanted. The background piece is painted with Ecoline inks and I have stamped houses from the Rubbadubbadoo Style of Clarice Cliff set and a smaller house image from the Gril Power Set. The images were also coloured with Ecoline. The flowers have been cut from a piece of Dovecraft paper.

It does me good every so often to make a 'fun' card.

I have just had a good yarn on the telephone today. Catching up with my Sister - we can yap the hind leg off a donkey when we get together! I spoke to my two lovely little Nieces - little darlings. I will have to look out some photos and pop them up along with some of the grandchildren. That will have everbody oohing and ahhing!!

I was very disappointed this morning when Posite came - what I thought was my Simply Stamping mag turned out to be Simply Cards and Papercraft instead. The Simply Stamping magazine is no more and they have just switched my subscription to this. I am not impressed!! That only leaves Craft Stamper that is geared up towards stamping - looks like it may be worth looking in the US or Australia for a publication.

Well I'm off to think about a 'White' theme now for the Wednesday Stamper Challenge.

Thanks for stopping by.
Warm wishes
Wendy -x-

Circle Journal

Today I am going to tell you about my Circle Journal For those who have not seen one before I will briefly explain. We are a group of friends who have each chosen a subject and started our Journals off by making a Front and Back cover, inside the front cover - a welcome page followed by a Rules page, a double lay out on the chosen subject by ourselves. We have then inserted enough blank pages for four people to contribute to the Journal and finally at the back we have two pages for singing in as you complete your page. My subject was Nature's Wonders and this is my cover.









The Welcome Page.

Followed by the Rules page. My main rule was about colour so I popped some jigsaw die cuts in the colour ranges I wanted in the CJ.










My first layout page using Stampin up Stamps with the tag in the embossed pocket.










My second layout pages once again using Stampin Up stamps - very simple stamping and embossing, ribbons and jewels.












Carolyn's first page - a theme of Bess, honey and Winnie the Pooh!











Carolyn's second page - Heather Honey cake recipe yum yum!! The page is gorgeous!!














Carol M's first page. Carol has chosen to do Flowers. Under the little flap in this page is a lovely poem on the wonders of nature,








Button, ribbons and beautiful papers - wonderful!













Tracey's first page and she has covered dragonflies with lots of little bits of info about them - fascinating.












Tracey's second page - I adore the big bloom folded under the dragonfly image and the dragonfly and flourish stamps are fab!









Charliecat chose Pond Life and this page is just so cute and clever - I love it!












Charliecat's second page - the background paper has been dry embossed with a vine leaf effect and this is perfect.












The last two pages are for signing in and I have used tags in a pocket.










The tags have been tied with ribbons and I have decorated the page with 'Sign In Here' made with Sizzix alphabet letters.











Finally the back cover. I have bound the whole thing together using Book rings that I have tied lots of ribbons to!

All that is left to say is that I am so thrilled with this Journal and will treasure it. I would like to thank Carolyn, Carol M, Tracey and Charliecat for making such stunning pages and making my CJ such a gem!

Twinks Glazed Shimmers

I love Mosaic type patterns and today I have used my Twinkling H20's to make this card. You could replace these with whatever colouring medium you have to hand, you just won't get the shimmery effect.

The colours I used were Iridescent Gold, Bashful Blue, Mediterranean Blue, Sky Blue and Irish Mist. The twinkling H20's need to be a nice thick creamy consistency for a nice thick coverage. The butterfly is gold embossed onto a piece of card coloured with the same colours and mounted 3D with the Birthday greeting.

I am awaiting delivery of a mosaic stamp so that I can try a different technique out and I also have one marked for mosaics with card/paper.

The twinkling H20's are definitely worth the investment - there are a number of ways to use them and nothing else compares to the lovely shimmer you get from them.

I am dreading work today - not feeling up to par at the moment. I periodically get problems with my sinuses, the symptoms being, headaches. pressure behind the eyes, dizziness and difficulty with balance and I am having once of those days today. Oh well - best foot forward!

Bye for now
Wendy -x-

DCM Double Dare - Full Steam Ahead

Oh boy am I rushing around today!! I needed a quick 40th card for a huge Steam Enthusiast. I made the card to the Daring Card Makers double dare which was 3 x 3. Three papers, three ribbons and 3 buttons on a card.

The technique used for the Steam Train Picture is one which makes a watercolour painting look old. Image is stamped in black Stazon on semi gloss paper. It is then coloured with translucent inks. Once dry I covered the image in versamark and Utee and heated with a heat gun. I then added a second coat of utee. Once this was cooled I bent the picture and cracked the Utee and then added some light coloured distress ink to the cracks with a sponge. The image has been popped in a gold crackle effect stamped frame.

I am trying to contact my Mum today, who has been a little under the weather lately and is having some general health tests. Always a worry especially as they live down in Devon and I am not close at hand. I will definitely feel better once I have spoken to her.

Sorry - slightly distracted today.

Thanks for stopping by.
Wendy -x-

CPS - 21st Horsey Themed Card

At the end of this week it will be my step Daughter's 21st Birthday. She loves horses but most of the cards I have made previously with horses on have been a bit masculine. I wanted the card to have a girley-horsey theme! This weeks template from the Card Positioning Systems gang gave me the inspiration I needed to do just that.

A very simple card in black,white and red. The horse image has been very simply stamped in black dye ink onto a semi gloss paper. A happy birthday sentiment embossed in white onto red vellum and attached to the black and white floral backing paper with white eyelets. For the stable door effect I have used a technique that gives a faux wood effect. A lovely 3" red paper flower has been placed behind the stable door.

My partner and I are very much feeling our age today thinking about her birthday. We both have children of this age and you wonder where the time has gone. I look at my strapping Sons and get images of them smiling back at me from their prams! Treasured memories.

My crop-a-dile arrived in the post - not had time to play with it as yet but OH has said he's going into hiding just in case I want to pierce his ears!! Hmmmm ears??

My Circle Journal has also come home to roost - I don't know if I should have opened it yet (I hope Melissa isn't hiding around the corner with her big stick!!) but I couldn't resist and I am so delighted with everyones pages. Something else to treasure.

Thanks for stopping by.
Wendy -x-

Vintage Photo Stamping

! spent a bit of time on this technique yesterday and finished the cards early this morning. This technique that makes photos appear in a vintage light took a little getting used to but it was worth persevering with the instructions.


I have used some more of my Oxford Impressions stamps that arrived a couple of weeks ago for these two cards.

For this technique you are basically stamping the image three time - slightly off position from the previous stamping. I added colour using finger daubers and the pink,green and brown dye inks used to stamp with. The finished image has a very soft, floaty vintage feel to it.

I have to say to begin with I did not find this an easy technique but I am glad I persevered with it. The final image is pleasing and I got a sense of achievement when I had it cracked!

I have the blog sorted early today as my Son is going to help me colour my hair this morning - we are going to try to disguise the grey for a little longer!! Ha ha - he's got a long job ahead of him!

I have just enjoyed a work free weekend with the family, lovely Sunday roast, which is a treat these days as I am usually rushing out the door to work just as most of you are sitting down to enjoy your lunch!

Enjoy the day!
Wendy -x-

Wednesday Stamper - Paris.

The theme for this week's Wednesday Stamper challenge is 'Paris'. This is my effort for the challenge. I have used various stamps:- Judikins Paris Cube, unknown unmounted Haute Couture Ladies, Paper Artsy Postal, words and Eiffel Tower from Stampin Up 'Paris in the Spring', Judikins Picture Frame, Arc de Triomphe from Stampin Up 'Travels Abroad' and unknown unmounted flourish.

The background has been stamped and stippled with inks. The ladies stamped and coloured with inks the picture in the frame uses Acrylic Paint. The canvas is hung with a brad and some gold thread.

Et voila!!

Au revoir mes amis
Wendy -x-

No Stamping Allowed!

This week's dare from the Daring Card Makers was to make a card using a technique/style that is out of your comfort zone. As I am predominantly a stamper I decided that the order of the dare was 'No Stamping Allowed'! Taking away my stamps and ink pads, just leaving me with paper, embellishments and die cuts was very daunting . I began to break out in a cold sweat just thinking about it!! I took several deep breaths to regulate the breathing and calm myself and cracked on with the task at hand! I have combined it with a technique to 'mimic' the wonderful stitching that a lot of you very talented ladies achieve with your sewing machines. I have used a pricking tool to prick holes around the edges of the paper and used a white gel pen to draw in the stitches. Well I needed a birthday card for a young lady so that is sorted too!

I am now sat surrounded by some of my stamps and inks, feeling a lot calmer and ready to get on with what I am comfortable with!! But my little detour was enjoyable - so thanks for the dare ladies!!

Wendy-x-

Birthday Beauty

This card has been made for a young girl using Twinkling H20's on the background piece. I have just dabbed a couple of colours around that match the papers I have used on the girls dresses. The stamps used are from a set by Stampin Up entitled Birthday Beauty. A very easy card with no special techniques - just simple stamping.

Well that's one of then cards I needed out of the way!

Warm wishes
Wendy -x-

Brayer Fun

While the brayer was out - I had another play with a brayer technique I have instructions for. Basically making sheets of background card by rolling a brayer in kaleidoscope or multicoloured ink pad, spritzing with water and brayering in one complete roll. You can then stamp onto the brayered card and add more colour with pencils, inks or paints. You can get some good effects you just need to experiment with colour. If I need a certain colour combo I ink half the brayer with one colour then the other half with a contrasting colour. This card was made using an image from Stamp Oasis. Pencils and chalks have been used to add colour to the image.

I have had some quality time with OH this morning. My car was in the garage so he took me out to lunch. I picked up my Craft Stamper magazine while I was out so I am going to have a coffee and a browse. I also need to get my thinking cap on as I am in need of a couple of cards for two girls - one aged 10 and one in her teens. I will show you what I come up with in the next couple of days!!

Thanks for looking and happy stamping!!
Wendy -x-

Frosty look Backgrounds

Today's card has been made for a friend who is going through a great deal health wise, is a very brave and special person whom I am extremely privileged to know.

I have followed some on- line instructions for a technique that gives a frosty image.

Frosty backgrounds are made easily with some glossy card, a brayer, dye ink and some wax paper. Another two examples are pictured below. You can find instructions for this technique on the web under various names.














For a nice alternative I found some different instructions where you brayer the card first with a lighter colour than you intend to use on the wax paper. This is the method I have used for the background in the card above and this is how it looked before I stamped onto it and assembled it.

It's great to play with - quick and very easy. My card has a centre piece that has used a Tanda Stamp Butterfly background stamp, stamped in resist ink and dye inks swirled over the image once dry.

I am hoping to lift the spirits of a very deserving lady up with my efforts!
Thanks for stopping by and sharing my day.

Wendy -x-