Artistic Stamper Creative Team Blog - #2

Hi, it is my turn again, to offer a piece at  The Atistic Stamper Creative Team Blog... I feel so pleased to have been asked!! Last time, I did mokume gane and this time, I have gone for triple embossing... it's my very fave thing to do because it is so like alchemy!!! Those powders are fabulous, and especially the Moonglow series from The Stampman, which I used here...

 This one uses the two tone midnight  sapphire obsidian and the morning glory azure teal blue - a truly STUNNING colour!! And here, I am modelling my latest piece of equipment - my crafty gloves, specially made to help my poorly, arthritic paws when I am making stuff!! Swish huh?? Wish I had bought 3 pairs, as then I could wash them out when they gets messily horrid!! tee hee... they do help though, through an ordinary day too... hands have been particularly rubbish this last fortnight!!

 This is a wonderful colour I bought a trillion years ago from Stamp Addicts. It is verdigris. Wonderful. And I now I must confess that it was watching the girls' so-talented mum, Carol, demo triple embossing, that completely hooked me into crafting. She was an amazingly gifted crafter, and a brilliant stamper... so thanks for the memory, Carol xx    Oh, and I love that screw head too, don't you??

 These are the stamps I used... a grid, gears, script, keys, clocks and sequin. They can all be found on the creative team blog, and for sale at The Artistic Stamper... check them out, they are so versatile.

And this is as much of the finished piece that I am going to show just now. Pop and check it out on the Atistic Stamper Creative Team Blog, and leave a comment, please (between you and me, I am hoping for a teamie place there, but keep it a secret between you and me!!)

Off now to do shopping for the second horse show of the season, tomorrow!!
Thanks for stopping by and leaving your comments, they are truly appreciated...
Love and light
Frankie
xx

DT Pieces for Stamp Addicts

Hi again ... here I am doing something I have NEVER done before!!! Never, ever... and what is that??? I am making Christmas cards!!!!!!! OUCH!!! In the post last weekend, came some pretty ickle new stamps from Stamp Addicts, and yes, they are for Christmas... So I have been making some cards as samples for the next show... That will be July 25th at 4pm.

 They have designed some new roundels and I used these to create baubles... the background is silver card, but it looks grey here. There are a lot of these ickle penguins, and I printed one inside an empty roundel, as well as doing the same thing with the star in another...

This one is made of several images, collaged on the scene. I created the background using two of the texture stamps - large and small dots...They are VERY useful... I stamped them in white acrylic paint and dried them, then smooched the whole thing in distress inks - when don't I??!! I tried for some fun pictures in this set of cards, and this is one of them - I just wonder where that ickle skiing guy is going to land!!???

So that's it for now... had some fun doing these and I have some more to show you later in the week... The stamps will not be available until the show later in the month... Off to get inky now, and finish my "Project Tim Holtz" for TIO on Wednesday and Stampman on Friday... it's a biggy again, with a tag attached... Hope you will come back soon to see the next installment and please leave a comment, as I love to know what you are thinking...
Love and light
Frankie
xx

Stamp Addicts Cards and News

 Aww, isn't he a sweetie??. I LOVE elephants and this one is so nice to use. The sheet comes with a smaller version too and some sentiments... I just simply stamped him with a distress ink then pulled in the colour with a water brush... Nigel really seemed to like this card, on Sunday's show...

 This birdie stamp is quite large and very easy to use... you can cut the bird separately, and the flowers for decoupage, which is what I did here. I printed on to a glossy cardstock and embossed with clear ep.  The background paper is created by stamping one of the very useful circles stamps and smooching china blue distress ink over it.

The third card is from another cutie set of birds. I put several of the images together to make a scene. I think Nigel really liked this one on the show too, as he asked how it had been done... I printed in black archieval and used clear ep as always, but the images have large areas filled in, so the ep really stands out... Hope you like these cards, and if so, pop to Stamp Addicts to buy the rubber, or get them from Create and Craft.

Well, followers will know I have been to Venice, and I will share photos soon. However, my mum has broken her arm and has finished up in hospital!!! I rushed up there this weekend and tried to sort things out, but nothing happens on a ward on a weekend!!! She is often a bit confused, and is even more so when out of her normal surroundings... she was heartbraking and I am powerless to do more than have our views recorded in the notes... I hope I am getting somewhere today, by phone, because I  had to come home yesterday, obviously, as I have a my own house and life to run... So hopefully, I should have better news soon... meanwhile, much of my time is spent trying to keep abreast of things by phone, and being passed around!! Frustrating...
Thanks for looking
Love and light
Frankie
xx

Blue Moon... this week's TIO#25 Tag

Over on my challenge blog, I have reached a quarter of a century - 25 tags... would have been more but I did have a holiday and did have a major op!!! Glad to get to this though with people still joining in.

I made this tag using pale blue card, overprinted using Vivid ultramarine and distress ink in broken china, embossed in clear ep, as so often!! The stamps are basically from UMount, but the mon is my cloudy one from Judikins, via Stamp Addicts. Simple but quite effective... Thanks so much for looking - I am always so gratified to find your comments, and am sorry for those I lost... if I get any more spam, I shall have to relent and add a level of security...
Thanks and have a great week
xx

TIO #19 - Up, Up and Away...

This was my inspiration piece for the TIO #19 tag challenge this week... up, up and away. I decided to do dragonflies, but the theme is very open to different interpretations... I began with shiny cardstock and the usual distress inks in blues and yellows. I printed a whispy bamboo from Stamp Addicts by Judikins, in weathered wood and shabby shutters, then various plants from Lavinia Stamps in the other distress blues. The agapanthus and flower swirl from Stampendous and UMount, respectively, were stamped in onyx black then all inks were embossed in clear ep. The dragonflies are from a clear stamp but don't know where from and the ep around the border is a fascinating one from Stamp Addicts called Blonde Moments in festive fern. It is gorgeous and thick and yummy, shot through with green, blue and gold.
Thanks so much for looking again this week...

Happy Birthday, Mum for 7th August

This is a birthday card I have made for my mum. It is actually a four-fold concertina, even though it is split image here. I began by antiquing the white card with distress inks and my lovely field of sky and splatter stamps from Stamp Addicts, by Judikins. I then atached an image from Joanna Sheen's oriental cd, and made a roundle with the greetings stamp from Hobby Art and the coin from the Asian set, by Stamp in the hand. The lovely lady is from Cherry Blossom, by Curious by Design. I love this stamp, as she looks out at us in such a haunting way... The butterfly is another one that regular visitors will recognise, from Stamp Addicts by Judikins. I coloured it with alcohol inks. I hope she likes it... I expect she will!!
Thanks for looking, today...

TIO #14 - Time Flies - La Notte Scivola sul Mondo

My entry for the TIO #14 challenge on DragonsDream, is La Notte Scivola, on the theme of time flies. It means "the night creeps over the world..." My lovely Fred introduced Il Divo to me when we first met, and we play their music lots when we are together and when we are alone... you know how it is!!? The song it's from is Ti Amero. Well, we are learning Spanish together because he has family in the Canaries, and he has never managed to learn the language before... I have an ear for accents, so we are having a go!! For those eagle-eyes amongst you, I spelt a word incorrectly on the tag!! Never mind, I know what I meant!!! Tee hee...

How did I do it? Well, I stamped the moon - it is an old stamp from The StampMan, but not sure what sheet - on a piece of card, coloured with distress ink, then cut it out. The background card is black, pearly and gorgeous, stamped with splatter pattern from Stamp Addicts by Judikins, and embossed in Moonglow ep in midnight teal and midnight violet. The butterfly is an old, old real favourite, first seen used by Carol on a Stamp Addict's show, moons ago - I loved watching that lady work, she was SO inspiring!! Sorry to say, I cut his wings off, after embossing in clear ep and colouring with alcohol inks... The clock is from UMount, creative expressions, and the wings were stuck on with foam pads. I think this is quite a whimsical piece this week!!
Thanks so much for looking...

Mooning About!!

This simple ATC was created for 2 challenges - moon, and moon and stars, at TMTA and Created by Hand Tuesday challenges, respectively. I used my beloved cloudy moon and the small trees from StampAddicts, by Judikins. I masked the moon to keep it white and brayered over the shiny card, using the gum drop big and juicy!! I promised I would do different backgrounds this week!!! Field of sky stamp, also by Judikins, adds the illusion of grass in the corner.
Thanks for looking today
xx

TIO #13 - Spots and Swirls in Pink

This is my tag for the TIO #13 challenge this week - can't believe it is 13 already!!! The theme is spots and swirls in pink, so I began by swirling distress inks in dusty concord, worn lipstick and twilight brilliance, on to my shiny card (note to self, begin in a different way next week!!!). It has been the anniversary of the lunar landing, and last night saw the longest eclipse of the sun to be seen in this century, so I used my cloudy moon stamp and Leda, from Stamp Addicts, by Judikins. The dots/spots are also by them. The swirls are from a UMount plate and I also used a Kodomo stamp - woodcut iv.

I began in the top left and bottom right, stamping the small spots and Hero Art small solid circle, then building several other textures by using clear ep. as I stamped. This pulls out the colour in some places and not others and adds to the intensity. I always start with the palest colours of ink and get darker towards the top. That way the piece acquires more depth - perhaps this would help those of you who say you can't collage and layer your stamps without it looking muddled!!?? I finished off with some narrow ribbon and strands of wool from my bit bag. I hope you enjoy the challenge this week, if you are joining in.
Thanks for looking!!

Rainbow Lady's challenge - Script

I have thoroughly enjoyed this afternoon, doing Cynthia's challenge over at her Rainbow Lady's Challenge blog - Script. She wanted to see some calligraphy and I was in my element with this collage. I used an A5 piece of cream coloured card and distressed it with old paper, tattered rose (new and I LOVE it!!!) and brushed corduroy, using a piece of cut n' dry. I used field of sky and cloudy moon, from Stamp Addicts, to add dots and watermarks etc. I then stamped with my new set, Paris Voyage from Curious by Design, in versafine black onyx and old paper, for some calligraphy. I just kept layering stamps and also used a wash of my new blues distress inks. Then I put some clear ep over it and it took in damp places, causing the pitting you can see... UMount plates completed the piece... Hope she likes it!! Thanks for looking.

TIO #9 Eternal Goddess

This is my tag for this week's challenge over on DragonsDream TIO #9. It was inspired by my new cube from the Stamp Addict's retreat weekend, Klimt Ladies, by Judikins. I also used some parts of stamps from UMount, travel and time. The shiny postcard was swooshed into a mixture of broken china, weathered wood, faded jeans and tattered rose (all also new) distress inks, then enhanced by the use of cut and dry. The main images were stamped in versafine black onyx and smokey grey, then embossed with clear ep as ever! And that's about it. The ribbon was coloured using the inks and the metal embellishment was from my stash. As always, thanks so much for looking.

Bubble Challenge Chez Lilibulle - Coins

Well... I am obviously in a mood for blue and oriental!! This piece is for the bubble challenge at the blog of lilibulle - coins. You have to create a bubble with altered coins on it. So here is mine.

I stuck white tissue to the circle of card, for great texture, and then used my starburst stains to colour it... It is actually very shiny in places but not showing here. I printed in blue ink on the dry piece, with a bamboo and tree stamp from Stamp Addicts, by Judikins.The lady has stains on her too. The coins and flowers are from my stash, the coins being special ancient Chinese ones - so pretty. Thanks so much for looking...

TIO #3 Challenge - Rhubarb Crumble & Custard

Here is my entry for the TIO challenge this week over on DragonsDream, set by my friend AliMayes - Rhubarb Crumble & Custard . I really enjoyed doing this one as it was such a different concept!! Anyway, I created the background with Lava Red Cosmic Shimmer and then put it through my swiss dots Cuttlebug folder, dots inverted. The stamp is a part of a larger collage from Stamp Addicts, Life is in Bloom, printed in onyx versafine embossed with clear ep. I used butterscotch alcohol ink for the vase and flower, then cut them and stuck them to another stamping of the image. I added pink dots to the vase and yellow souffle pen to the daisy. Two yellow flowers and a pink brad complete the front.

I am selling my tags now, so I do the backs too... I had a great serendipity moment as I swiped the back with alcohol inks, and the colour flooded through the little indents on the front... even more texture, Ali!!

Below is my second embellishment (oh she is so extravagant that Ali - her stash is SO big, she can put 2 extras on!!!). I went on a bead making course on Sunday morning, and these are the very ones I made... needless to say I bought tons of clay and will be doing beads a lot more ... I was SO excited by the diferent colours etc. They will fasten on to the beaded chain of my tag, but did not want to be on there in the scanner!! - Well, if Ali can have 2 images on the challenge, so can I!!! Thanks for looking.

UPDATE
I have now got out the camera in order to photograph the way the beads sit on the tag. This is the shot below. However, the colour of the scanned picture, above, is actually more like real life. I will also do a tutorial on making the beads, as a few people have asked me about them. I will try to get some photos as I make them.

WOO HOO - I sold this one folks!!!

A Few More...

Here are a few more inchy "jewels"... Don't worry about having a small enough stamp!! The top 2, bottom 2 and the left middle, are all from parts of the Life is in Bloom stamp from Stamp Addicts. The middle right is one of the parts of the bookmark stamp from Elusive Images. These were all done with 2 colours of ep on the top layer, after using thick, clear on the first and second layer. The bottom 2 use 2 kinds of verdigris - love them!!

Dans Ma Maison il y a - a woman, writing...

Loved planning this one. Very simple house for Dans ma maison il y a une femme - a woman. I am definitely in an oriental phase, so she had to be an oriental lady. She is from a Non Sequitur plate that I have had for a long time... I coloured her in with Sakura pens. The papers making up the house are from the postcard Far East stack and the display sheet is from the 8"x8" stack - yummy.... The lantern is from a cube by Judikins, from Stamp Addicts, and I outlined the house with a gold peeloff. I wonder what she is thinking?

Roofs of Our World - an ATC

This one is for Think Monday, Think ATC - roofs of our world. The front image of Florentine roofs is a part of a Stamp Addicts cube, stamped in distress inks. Surprising just how true to life this image is, because I have stood up on the hill and looked over the river to these city roofs. The photo is a print from a 12"x12" Wubie paper. I bought this to scrapbook the photos of a wonderfully romantic holiday in Italy with my husband... but I might never do this, as it brings such painful memories, if I dwell on it!!! The incidental stamps are from my new UMount set, travel. Thanks for looking.

A Flutter of Fans

Here is my ATC offering for Rainbow Lady's Thursday Challenge, fans. I used a cube from Stamp Addicts, stamped on to a backing of alcohol inks, and embossed with rich red ep. They are each raised using silicone glue, and set upon a sheet of fans paper from my stash, which I have had for ages. I think it came from the original oriental kit I had from The StampMan.

I Am All Loved Out Now... no more hearts/romance

This is my entry for 3 different challenges this week. The first is Dans Ma Maison il y a - love. The second is Daring Cardmakers who are feeling green, and the third is Tag You're it - love and romance. Ok now!! Enough love and romance. I will be pleased when this Valentine's Day is over!!! (I know, I am a kill joy, but too much of a good thing gets ???)

I am LOVING so much stamping. ALL the elements here are stamped, except for the brad and tassel, of course... From the top down, the roof is a huge one called bead curtain, from Stamp Addicts. The oriental writing is also from them and the other script is my new UMount. The cloudy moon is another Stamp Addicts, as is the star. The agapanthus is from Stampendous, embossed with clear ep. The dots are done with my Cuttlebug swiss dots and the main image is one of the first plates I bought, from The StampMan. I painted it with Cosmic Shimmers + water brush. There is a bamboo stamp too, which is a fav, but I can't conjure up from where it came... The whole piece is displayed on a sheet from the wonderful Far East Stack , from DCWV.

It won't be my fault if people looking at my blog don't get hooked on STAMPING!!!

An Oriental Splenour - Star Card

This is a star card made for my mother's birthday, a little while ago. I used Starburst Stains and stamps from The StampMan, by Non Sequetur. Two stamps are from Stamp Addicts. I wrote a line in each page which became a poem, at the end.


Cherry Blossoms
Painted in light.
After the storm through the window,
The Butterflies Dance to
The Music of Life.


I have entered this card into the challenge at Daring Cardmakers, called Oriental Splendour. It is NOT to use red and black (not necessarily oriental colours, anyway) and the colours here are pinks and purples and gold. The cover of the star book is a page of the Far East stack by DCWV, and the cord ties are from my stash. My mum was thrilled to bits with it, and still has it up on at the side of the bed...

Two Moos through the arched window

Here is my answer to Rainbow Lady's latest challenge this week - window/windows. I decided to do a pair of moos, and to mount them into a gothic arch-shaped window. The background paper is made by painting card with different colours of glitterglue and swirling them etc... very sparkly and glittery. The moos are 2 tiny ladies I had in some free stamps, painted in H2Os and overprinted with various little stamps from Stamp Addicts.