Sunday Stampers 168: Houses, Home.

Hels Sunday challenge this week is to use the theme House, Home. I thought as it has been a wonderful late summer day that I would portray the summer home I would buy if my lottery numbers ever come up!

Picture a small cottage, whitewashed walls decorated with shells, a blue roof with an attic studio and golden sands and a beautiful blue sea, set problably in Cornwall. Ahh! We can all dream!

I swooshed Weathered wood and Broken China distress stain over the tag and stamped some cliffs and sailing boats with some tiny Scene It stamps I had. Then I vagabonded a Tim rickety house die in white and then blue card and cut it to get a slightly different look. To get the rendered look of the walls I slathered white acrylic on and then stuck my collection of tiny shells over it. The sand dune in the front was made with Wild honey stain over some torn card that was layered then more shells and beachcombed pieces. The life belt on the porch was made up as I went long, wish I had a stamp for it! I made tiny waves in the ocean with a glitter pen and found a piece of balsa wood to write the name of the cottage. Can you imagine crafting in the attic studio with the salty tang of seagull cry for inspiration? If I ever aquire this you are all invited to come and stay!

I've been waxing!

No, not a visit to the beauticians, but a great workshop at the http://www.thestampattic.co.uk/. given by the great Hels. You can find her at http://pinkleart.blogspot.com/ but I guess everyone must know the host of the Sunday Stampers! She is a lovely teacher and I had a really enjoyable day learning all about applying beeswax. Here is my effort:

The other ladies made their own unique take on the same frame and we all had a lovely time. Thank you so much Hels and Wendy! Please note my beeswax rose at the top! I have never been able to make one quite like this, but Hels shared her tips and bobs your uncle, a near perfect rose as ever I have produced!

I'm off now to melt and play with my purchases, one of which is a new Dina Wakley stamp. I also have some pieces of mountboard donated by Thelma who was also at the workshop. Aren't crafters generous souls? A perfect day!  Hope you are all having one too.

Sunday stampers: Week 167: White Lines.

Sunday Stampers - White Lines.

I've been playing with bleach and thought that would fit in nicely with Hels challenge this week:

Unfortunately the photo has not come out well and I blame the weather, well you would wouldn't you? I've been wearing TIGHTS today, cos my feet were so cold! I mean it's only August, whatever is going on, and whats more I distinctly smelt Autumn this morning. It is my fav. season but it could have waited a tadge!

Enough of this moaning, the above tag was swiped with spun sugar and aged mahogany stains and the new picket fence which I love! When I had faffed about enough with the background I stamped on  Penny Black flowers and embossed in black detail. Then out came the bleach to take the colour away. I then made a few flowers that I vagabonded from Tim H's tattered floral and added a bead and some stamens too. I had also picket fenced the papers first! (I'm sure this isn't correct English but sounds like I mean it to!) Then a Prima diamonte swirl and some punched butterflies. The sentiment is from Studio 490. Looks far more dimensional in real life!

I thought I would share a not very good attempt at bleaching I did earlier following the project in this months Craft Stamper:

Certainly full of faults and not as good as the wonderful example in the magazine but fun to do and learn a new technique. Off now to put a woolly cardi on I think! Keep warm, love to all.

Sunday Stampers 166: Wish You Were Here.

Hels challenge on Sunday Stampers this week is 'Wish' so I thought I would dust off my Artistic Outpost 'Fortune Teller' set and make a tag, because don't we all wish that we could have  lucky reading!

Firstly I used distress dabber Spun Sugar as a base. Then I inked up the big background stamp from the set in Victorian Velvet and distressed the edges with Aged Mahogany. The fortune teller was inked in archival on white card and coloured with copics and adorned with some different shades of pink crystals and a gold leaf pen. The crystal ball was stamped in Stazeon to some perspex packing and backed with sticky pads for dimension. 'The Future is bright' was inked and stickled as were the Wish Adage tab and the Palm Reading ticket. I must admit the veiled curtain to the side of the lady was a challenge to stick down and doesn't show to well in the photo, the beaded trim is the pelmet to her booth and I punched the distressed edge of the tag with my Martha stewart punch.

Fun to do! I am now trying to do the stamping with bleach project in this months Craft stamper, so hope to post again soon, unless it is too disasterous to photo! Happy Sunday to all! xx

The Stamp Attic, Amazon and a Fiddle Fart!

Here is just a writing entry. I wanted to tell you about three lovely people. For my birthday in May I had a Vagabond from my DH. Unfortunately on Monday while my dear friend Sally was visiting I was showing it to her and it went poof ! I wrote an email to Wendy at the http://www.thestampattic.co.uk/ and within half an hour she had responded with a lovely email telling me she had contacted Sizzix and a new one was wending its way ready to be collected. Today I had another message from her telling me that it was sitting waiting for me. Now that is service! I think the Stamp Attic is an amazing shop and every time I have met Wendy nothing has been too much trouble. She even made me a cup of coffee the first time I visited as I came from a way! Thank you Wendy, you are ace.

Also for my birthday I had a kindle from my dear Mum and Dad, such a lovely surprise. It too developed a fault with the screen but the great folk at http://www.amazon.co.uk/ dealt with me instantly and sent me a replacement there and then. How about that for another piece of great British service?

The third thing to say is that I have won some blog candy on Helen's blog  http://itsallfiddlefart.blogspot.com/ so thank you so much Helen! She has a real eye for a bargain and should be nominated as a 'green' crafter as she doesn't waste anything!

So there we go, three lovely people.

Enjoy the sun everyone, but keep the brolly handy!

Sunday Stampers week 165: Waterloo Sunset

Must be the heat, but I had a whole day to myself at the weekend and couldn't do a thing!  Then I had a while in the craft room today and came up with this tag for the Sunday Stamper challenge:


Firstly I distressed a tag with barn door, wild honey, mustard seed and weathered wood stains and pads. Then I stamped in black archival Hero Arts 'Silhouette grass'. The poppies were made from an old (very old) Craft Stamper free stamp and bedazzles were glued in the centre after I had painted them with red watercolour paint. They were adhered with sticky pads for dimension. The little pink felt butterfly was added for balance. Then I coloured a punched picket fence black and added a shaded grass trim at the bottom. The saying is an old stamp I love which reads:
'On a beautiful day in the early part of June, I saw the most spectacular sunset'
and seemed an apt statement. I sprayed heirloom gold mist over the tag and highlighted areas with viva gold paste for extra shimmer. Suitable ribbons and thread from my stash to complete.

My dear friend Sally called in today as she was 'down here' visiting her sister. So she has her July card and I can post it here!


It is made up of toning pieces of paper from the Prima Aurora collection and a friends stamp by Hero Arts on the left upper corner. I distressed each piece with walnut stain ink and stamped several random images. The butterfly is a Martha Stewart punch plus button to match. I made it three fold to hold a matching ATC for her.


Sally lives near Crewe and I am excited as I am spending three days with her next week. We have so much planned, and I shall blog some of our exploits!
Isn't the weather lovely? Hopefully you are all enjoying yourselves and not working too hard, see you all soon!