Ally Pally- Big Stamp & Scrapbooking Show

Hi it's the boss here today, and in the frenzy to get ready for Ally Pally Big Stamp & Scrapbooking Show, I almost forgot to post here! But never fear, I am always up early, so here I am!
If you are coming along, we have so many new goodies for you.. all of our stamps, just in, the new Snow Cap white alcohol ink, Claudine's new packs of mini paints, our new chipboard, and all of Tim's new Christmas Idea-ology!
We are there as The Stamp Connection ( in case you look in the programme), and even if you are not coming along, everything new is on the website!
I shall be demoing Shrink plastic and UTEE, both my favourite products, and here is a little taster of what you might see!

If you fancy winning this little birdie, you can join in the fun on my blog
Have a very Creative weekend, and if you happen to pop by us at Ally Pally, do say hello!
Jennie

Retro starburst

It's almost the middle of the week, and I thought with my meltpot workshop just gone, and lots of new product in the shop, that I would show you a little brooch that I made with the new chipboard, and a little UTEE!
I used 3 of the new white faced chipboard flowers, and inked them up in 3 shades of Distress stain blue.

Then I stamped them with the new mini polka dots background stamp in Adirondack Dye ink Denim.

 I then cut the flowers in half with a craft knife, and covered them in Versamark, and then poured UTEE over them. Heat until melted, and repeat twice more.

As soon as the last layer is melted , take the mini polka dots (uninked) and put into the UTEE. leave until cooled, and remove the stamp. Add some gold Perfect Pearls , and glue together. I added a very retro button, and a brooch back.

 

Love this as it evokes the 1920's .
You even get another set to make one for your friend!
Have a very creative day
Jennie

13 new stamps for the 13th!

Hi, It's the boss here again, and this time, I have new goodies for you! I have been designing some gorgeous BIG stamps for releasing today!. There are swirls, and words and big backgrounds, and all are perfect for journaling, and scrapbooking, and of course altered art! Every time I design a set of stamp, I like them more than the last lot.. and these are some of my favourites!



We also have some gorgeous new white faced chipboard, and this is in the shape of a few of our stamps, the Inspiration Jar, the light bulb, a couple of watch pieces and of course our favourite flowers!



Over on my blog, I have a giveaway, and if you comment here, and on my blog you will be in with  double chance of winning this stamp, and the tag.



 I will be announcing the winner next week :)
To see all the new stamps, and chipboard pop over to The Artistic Stamper shop, and check out the new products page here!
Have a very Creative weekend!
Jennie

HOT, HoT, hOt

Hiya! it's the boss here again!
This month's challenge here on the Creative Team blog is using hot colours, and a little bit of stamping. I had a few of the 3 frames that had broken, and I couldn't sell, so I removed everything from them , and added some Terra to the frame with a wooden spatula.

Stamp into it with a wet stamp, and make sure you clean the stamp immediately or it will dry and ruin the stamp.

Allow the frame to dry, and then spray with hot colours from Ranger's Adirondack Color Wash. I used Butterscotch and Sunset Orange.

I printed out the words create and everyday on my computer and added a stamp with the new Archival Saffron and Venetian Orange to the middle...
add a little distress ink , and this is what I should be doing everyday!!

To make the hanging baubles and the wings add a few drops of alcohol ink to a small plastic bag ( make sure there are no holes in it, and shake your baubles into it! Remove from the bag and  allow to dry!

I think this fits perfectly into the challenge for this month, and there is still loads of time to enter too!

P.S. did you spot the sneaky peeks of our new stamps???!!!  lol
Have a very creative day
Jennie

Sweet Dreams...

Hi, it's Jennie here again. All this month, the Creative Team have been using Mabel Lucie Attwell Stamps, and now it is my turn! All of the images we have in the collection are vintage, and very evocative of the mid 20th century, and do lend themselves to the distress inks so well. I have created an ATC using the Time for Bed stamp, and I first stamped the girl, then masked her off with a post-it note, distress stained around the outside with Wild Honey, and a smidgen of Fired Brick. I then added distress inks for depth to the colour.
My colouring skills are far from good, so I used some of my own pens, and attempted to colour her in!
The stickers are from The Girls Paperie Kitch sticker pad.



I do hope you ave enjoyed this month's take on Mabel, and if you haven't seen them, have a look, all of the artwork is stunning!
Have a very creative day!
Jennie

April Flowers...

or should that be April showers? I hope not , as I am loving the warm weather we are having this month here in the UK! I decided that this blog post I would join in with The Artistic Stamper challenge, which is layering. Is there any project or card that you make without layering? Not often...
Here I have taken the Umbrella Man, cut out of the new Kraft Resist paper, and lightly distress inked it.  I filled his brolly with flowers,( from my own stash) which have been coloured with Wild Honey Distress Stain. Add a crown from the new charms ( steampunk...be still my beating heart!!!), and layer him onto a tag cut out from the new Crowded Attic paper stash. Believe it or not that gorgeous colour is the back of one of the sheets...turn them over they are gorgeous muted colours! I lightly stamped one of the calligraphy mats with wild honey distress ink. Add a word or two from the girl's paperie sticker pad, and some vintage distress stained ribbon.
The Kraft Resist Tag envelope has been distress stained, and run through the new Texture Fades Stitches embossing folders...(oh am I in lurve with these!)





Now , for those of you who like to shop...we have an offer in the shop this weekend... all orders will get a free stamp, and 10% off! All you need is the code easterbunny , and pop it into the discount code box....
Have a very Happy and Creative Easter!

Jennie

The sun has got his hat on...

Spring has arrived, and with it the days are getting longer, which for me is a big bonus, as I can make art later ( don't you hate making it by artificial light?), and I can feel the warmth of the sun this week on my face, making me feel so much happier! Today I made 2 little mini canvases, which I covered in Viva Decor Terra paint. I stamped into the Terra with a wet stamp (this is from Flower Fever). Just make sure that you wash your stamp thoroughly after using it, as dried Terra will not come off! The blue/green Canvas is the chicken wire background, and works so well, as it gives a really deep surface to paint on.



Spray the whole canvas with Adirondack Color Wash in various shades, and Perfect Pearl mists, and then add some new Crafty Notions Gleam. This is a smooth cream which glides on effortlessly, and gives a polish to your artwork :))



Finally I made uteed moulds from the meltpot. The large round face (I think he resembles a sun or moon face) is a new mould also by Crafty Notions, as is the mini butterfly on the blue canvas. Finally I added a bit of gleam with my finger to the uteed moulds.

Spring is definitely here!

Have a Creative Day

Jennie

Patchwork Mania

A good Sunday morning to you, and it's Jennie here again! This time I am going to share a small project I did as a workshop yesterday called Patchwork Mania.
I used lots of different techniques combined into a final piece which was stitched together using a hole punch and paper ribbon. I used a very large floor puzzle, and took 6 pieces of it, and sprayed all of them with Ranger Color Wash.

One of the Puzzle pieces was stencilled with more colour wash,stamped on with Botanical stamps 2, and I added a few mini roses.

The next piece has UTEE which I poured directly onto the puzzle piece. Don't be afraid just pour a small amount, and take your rubber stamp ( not clear) and stamp directly into it. Allow it to cool, and then lift off. Voila gorgeous deep etched stamping!



This piece was smooched with a thick layer of Terra, and then stamped into with a wet stamp. When dry spray with a contrasting Color Wash. gorgeous depth of colour appears.



The Puzzle piece below had stamping in Black archival, and some Crackle Accents highlighting the butterfly.



I used some Distress Stains on the last two pieces. These are due in this week from Ranger..Yippee! This piece was embossed with Clear embossing powder and the stain wiped over it, and then wiped away off the embossing! You get the colour of the background showing through, and still get a distressed look.



The final piece was stencilled over with Perfect Pearls Mists, and the rosette made from Tim's Lost and Found Paper stack, with added UTEE rose mould from Crafty Notions, and highlighted with a Distress Stain.



Finally I stitched all the pieces together using a hole punch and paper string which was from my stash. No sewing!!

I had great fun creating this workshop, and in the course of it, discovered a technique which I will blog on Monday on my own blog... keep an eye out!
Have a very Creative day!

Jennie x

a whole lotta love...out of the box!!

all encapsulated in a box! It's the boss here again, and this time I have created a box for Valentine's Day. I made this for a workshop yesterday, and now we have the workshop done and dusted ( photos are on my blog), I can show you some of the bits and pieces that went to make it up. I collected lots of hearts ( I always do this for all my mixed media workshops), and we used them in a variety of ways.



 I loved the idea that the idea-ology Configuration boxes can be made up anyway you like, and this one is completely out of the box! I used Ten Seconds studio metal run through Tim's Alteration Heart die, and then embossed with one of his folders, and then puffed up and filled with filler at the back ( just so it doesn't collapse!). Add grungepaper wings, letters from the Lost and Found paper stack, and lots of lace!



The heart here is a papier mache or polystyrene heart covered with toilet paper ( in hearts of course) and then waxed with Ranger Beeswax.

The utee heart was covered in Duo glue, and then gold Leaf from Crafty Notions applied to it (on the website next week!) I added it on top of a keyhole from Idea-ology, and hung the key below on the lace.

There are lots of elements, and I forgot to say the whole box was sprayed with Ranger Color Wash, and then stencilled using their Perfect Pearls mists giving a very light and subtle finish.
If you haven't made a Valentine's gift yet, then this may give you a few ideas!
Happy Valentine's Day

Jennie

The wheels on the bus....

go round and round...It kind of fits with one of the new stamps that will be available at Stamperama on Sunday and on the website on Monday! Here is a tag I made with the new stamp... lots of distress inks ( ooh cannot wait for the distress stains coming soon...:)) some torn music paper, available in our Vintage paper packs, and some idealogy!



I will be at Stamperama on Sunday in Stevenage, and if you are coming , please stop by, tap me on the shoulder (I have habit of not looking up often when demoing ) and say hi! I love putting faces to blog names. We have some new gorgeous moulds from Crafty Notions, and there are more than are on the website too!! I will be playing with UTEE and Hels will be working her magic with beeswax. Lots of offers, and the packing pixie is on Arkwright!
Hope to see you there!
Happy Creating
Jennie

Happy New Year!

"Here's to the bright New Year, and a fond farewell to the old; here's to the things that are yet to come, and to the memories that we hold" Anon

Here's wishing you a great 2011, may it be better and brighter and more colourful and of course more crafty than 2010!! I have made you a little tag using what else than distress inks, a few Time stamps, some Glossy Accented letters and Mr Holtz's gorgeous rosette!



Also, it is time to draw the last Hels' Tag of Christmas - thank you all for your lovely comments about the tags. I have used Random.Org to chose the winner... and the winner is:
JUDE - please can you email Hels your addy :O))

Thank you for all your support and comments throughtout the last year. Have wonderful New Year, and have a glass on us!

With love from Jennie, Hels, and all the Creative Team
xx

3 birds in a row!-by Jennie

Hi, it's the boss again, but don't worry I won't be staying long..lol Just popped in to show you a hanging piece I made , which doesn't take long, and is just perfect for your Christmas Tree, or for any occasion really! I used 3 different sized Chipboard birds from Maya Road, These came from the Fancy Bird coaster, mini bird cages, and the bird keyring.
I coloured them using my favourite colour..blue! I took three different shades of Distress ink, and used the direct to paper, or in this case direct to chipboard. I loved how it came up different shades.

 
The stamp is one of Wendy Vecchi's swirls from here Botanical Art stamps, which if stamped randomly gives a great pattern. I inked them with Pearl Dabbber. Just make sure you use a rub it scrub it to clean the stamp before the paint dries!
The birds are joined together with Tim's Lace chain, and a few of his baubles to add a bit of bling! The pearly colouring in between the birds on the chain, is a new product which will be available on the website shortly , and is called Hot Tubez. Watch this space :))

If you would like to be in with a chance of winning this hanging birdie set, then just leave a comment on this post, add it to your sidebar for another chance and I will pick the winner next week on Friday 3rd December.
Have a very Creative day
Hugs
Jennie

Leafy layers by Jennie

I haven't had a lot of time to experiment with the new technique first shown  by Wendy Vecchi using her Clearly for Art plastic, which will be available shortly in the shop (it sold out at Ally Pally)  However today in between getting ready for Port Sunlight show on Saturday , I die cut some Tattered leaves, and had a little play:))
I used Duralar which we sell in the shop, and has very similar properties to the Clearly for Art. You can die cut it, heat and shape it, and I also found that you can run it through the embossing folders! It works brilliantly! ( I always get ideas after I have finished making something and then run out of time!) This piece however doesn't show you this, as I tried it later after I had finished it. I promise I will do another piece next week showing this.



I alcohol inked up the leaves, and stamped them on the un-inked side with Black Archival ink, using the dotty background stamps. Then gently heat with a heat gun and mould over a glass or a pencil works brilliantly. The plastic will mould naturally when heating it, but you can manipulate it while warm.



I ran the postcard through Tim's Alterations spiders web embossing die , and coloured it with distress inks. A lovely plastic ( is it a dragonfly? ) creature from a toy shop, was used as a spider, since I still cannot find my little black ones.. come out , come out wherever you are hiding in my craft room!!! lol

I am entering this into our Layering it On challenge. Am I allowed to win?? I don't think so!! but please have go, we give away £15.00 worth of stamps every month.

I will be at Port Sunlight on Saturday demoing this technique along with metal embossing and anything else I can cram onto a tag! So please say hello if you are coming along.

Have an extremely creative day!

Jennie

Getting To Know... Jennie

Morning Peeps... today sees the start of a series of interviews with the team and we are starting with the Boss... Jennie. I asked everyone the same questions... so you will be able to find out a bit more about the Artistic Stamper team... So, without further ado...

AS: Introduce yourself, what are your interests, likes/dislikes etc?

I am Jennie, owner of The Stamp Connection, which manufactures Kling-On Repositionable Cushioning and The Artistic Stamper range of rubberstamps. Aswell as owning The Stamp Connection, I also have an online store, The Artistic Stamper. I have been crafting forever and love stamping, collage style work, drawing, sewing (a little known fact, I also have a Cup for this from school!) I cannot knit or crochet to save my life though! The main love of my life is jewellry making - but I have little or no time to do this anymore. My other life consists of my two gorgeous (of course they are) grown-up children, my hubby Mal and three cats. My favourite place in the World is sitting on a sun drenched beach with a pina colada in hand... what more could a girl want?



AS: What or Who inspires you?

I am always inspired by other artists, be they collage artists from the crafty world, or great artists like Monet, Manet and Van Gogh. I am a total aficianado of Impressionism and adore colour in all art. I will often blog hop these days rather than look through a book of art to get inspiration, or if I am in London, I try to visit the Victoria & Albert Museum for complete inspiration.
AS: How do you make a piece of art... what is the process?

Great question! Often it will be a new product - a mould, or inks, or of course, new stamps! As a general rule, I start with a base, a tag or a card, a canvas or these days, a large puzzle piece and then gather my stash that I want to put on it. Sometimes I have an idea in my head but they never ever come out like I envisage... and sometimes they are just plain awful and get consigned to the trash can! I almost always have a 3D piece or element in all my artwork and give me beads and wire and I will create. That is a challenge for anyone to take up with me LOL




AS: If your Mojo goes on holiday, what do you do?

My Mojo often goes on holiday, most days in fact - but I will never tell you that (ooops, just did!) I will grab one of our stamps, or maybe one of someone elses and go back to basics - or take out my Melt Pot and create a moulded piece to see if that will kick start the Mojo. If nothing happens and the piece of paper stays white, I will go and have a large Vodka and Tonic (sounds like I am an alcoholic!)


AS: What is your favourite technique?

Without a doubt it is using Alcohol Inks. Since I first discovered them several years ago - before Ranger brought out theirs - I have almost always used them when I am stuck for ideas. Next to that, the Melt Pot - a very big favourite of mine. Make it 3D - get out your Melt Pot!




AS: If you were on a desert island and could only take 5 items of stash with you, what would you take?

Well, I just couldn't.. could you? I would need a trunkful of stuff. I did try it once, going on holiday with just a few things and ended up shopping for stuff. But if you push me; a craft knife with a blade that never needed sharpening, a paintbrush with built in water, a bottomless bottle of glue, a rubber stamp that said HELP! and an inkpad that lasted forever! Now, what would you do with those 5 items?

So... there you have it folks, a few snippets about Jennie... I hope you have enjoyed reading this and seeing a few pieces of Jennie's art along the way. Many thanks to Jennie for agreeing to be grilled!

TTFN

Hels x

A pint a day keeps the Stamper at Play!

It's the *Boss* here ( that's Hels nickname for me!) , getting to play for the first time on what is technically the Creative Team's blog! I have been reading all your comments and am so glad everyone likes what is going on!
I thought I would have a little play with the new bottle stamp, and used a piece of mountboard as base which is actually an orangey red, so no inking there! I stamped up the dogstooth background in black archival ( I actually never use any other ink...hangs her head in shame, and slinks away.....), and taking the bottle stamp inked it in ..black archival. I used a mixture of orange and yellow distress inks to colour it up, with the minutest blue in the middle.
The words are computer generated and distress inked too.

I found these wonderful unused milk bottle tops in an antique shop, and just had to have them. I alcohol inked the top, and actually I poured the ink over it so I didn't crush it with the felt tool, mind you if you look closely , it did get crushed a little... Finally I added the drinking straw, orange , of course, and glued it all together. A smattering of rock candy crackle paint on the bottle and the words finished it off.

I also, as the Boss! lol, come bearing gifts, and if you become a follower, and add a comment to this post there is this wonderful candy for you to win! If you add this to your sidebar of your blog, you can be in with another chance, so that is THREE chances to win!

The comments will close on Monday.
Good Luck, and look out for the Minx tomorrow :)))
Happy Creating
Jennie