Wearable Art! by Nicky Cresswell

So following on from Alison's fab pendant yesterday i figured you'd need a nice bracelet to go with it.

And not just any kind of bracelet either.. 

Oh no this one is made from grungeboard.

 And they are really easy to make, 

All you need is a sheet of grungeboard, a hitch fastner, a hole punch {i used a crop-a-dile}

Oh and some gesso, ink and stamps. {or whatever medium you want}

You want to cut your grunge into strips, 

You should be able to get 3 thick, or 2 thick 2 thin strips, depending what you want.

This one is roughly1½ inches and the length of the grunge.

I started by giving one side a coat of gesso, when this was dry I stamped 3 butterflies, 

The large cog butterfly and the small plain one both from the Tick Tock Butterflies plate, 

I then made a mask for each butterfly using post it's, 

I covered them with there respective masks and inked over the whole thing with barn door distress ink.

I then removed the masks... I found a little of the ink had bled in under my masks, but not to worry as i was going for grungy. 

Next I got some more gesso and carefully painted inside each of the butterflies, the 2 smaller ones only had one extra coat but the large one took a couple of coats to cover the cogs.

I spritzed over the whole piece with some perfect pearls to give a bit of a shimmer, which i dabbed off a bit creating the kinda distressed blotchy look.

Added one of Tims phrases, and doodled a few squiggles with a black permanent marker.

 I coloured the inside with just a black stazon stamp pad, not worrying too much about all over coverage. 

I punched a small hole in one end for the hitch fastener, and a large hole the other end for the fastener to pop through to hold the bracelet in place.

And there you go, something cool to wear..
And it fits in with this months challenge as the theme is 'Spring'.. Details can be found HERE

Thanks for stopping by

Stay Inky

And now for something completely different! by Nicky Cresswell

Now you know me, usually my work is quirky and grungy and generally Minxy, 

But today I opted for a more sophisticated look to show Jennies stamps in a different light.

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 I started off by colouring a piece of white paper with scattered straw distress ink, I stamped over it with the chintz background in cactus green stazon, I then mat and layered onto some pale yellow card.

Next i stamped the leaf vine from the flower blooms sheet in black, and used a black marker to colour in the leaves to create a silhouette effect.

 The flower head is just a circle and scalloped circle punched from card.

I stamped the small dragonfly from the insect & butterflies plate onto heat resistant acetate and embossed in black b4 cutting it out and placing it on the flower head.

I added one of the mini phrases from a stampers anonymous plate.

To finish i wrapped a ribbon round the base of the card and added a bow, before mat and layering again, this time onto green card. I then matted the whole thing onto a kraft card, and finished up by added some hand drawn doodles here and there.

Voila ~ One Posh a la minx card, perfect from Spring!

So... What's the verdict for Posh Minxy???

I look forward to reading what you think!  

Stay Inky

March Challenge - Spring Has Sprung

Good Morning Stampers... a pinch and a punch as it is the first of the month... ooh and Happy St Davids Day to all our Welsh readers too! Today see's the launch of a brand new challenge theme... first of all though, I would just like to say a HUGE thank you to each and everyone who joined in with February's challenge... there was plenty of lurve out there I can say! Jennie will be announcing the winner of last month's challenge on Thursday, so please do check back :O)) This month the challenge is Spring. To join in with the challenge, all you need to do is make a piece of artwork - it can be anything that takes your fancy, add in the theme and some rubberstamping and then leave your link on the Frog Link below... oh and please do leave us a comment so I can hop on over to see your entry! As usual, there is a prize on offer for one randomly picked entrant. The prize this month is £15 worth of Artistic Stamper rubberstamps plus the KlingOn to mount them onto. The winner will be chosen using Random.org and announced on April 3rd '11.

We have a new Guest Designer joining us this month... I would like to welcome Gerrie Johnnic to the team! Also, I would like to say a HUGE thank you to Sue Roddis for her amazing arty contributions to the team this month - to see more of Sue and Gerrie's art, just click on their names.

Here are the Creative Team's entries for your inspiration :O))

Minxy - went all green on us and recycled some packaging from Tim's Idea-ology (which is a fab idea for using acetate!), an old wooden frame, Distressed Stripes Background which was stamped onto Retro Grunge paperstack, the Birds of a Feather and Free as a Bird sets, Claudine Hellmuth Stickyback Canvas and Shrink Plastic.

Sioux used those mightily fine Studio 490 stamps to make a collage hanging piece which was cut using an Alterations On The Edge Ornate Die. The papers used are from the Lost & Found paperstack... and how clever, Sioux has circled the 21st - which is the first day of Spring :O)

Alison has made these beautiful earrings... using the Insects & Butterflies plate with some Shrink Plastic - I love these colours, sooo pretty and Springlike

Hels... I made a tag for my entry using Antique Linen Distress Stains to colour the base of the tag, then colouring over the top with Wild Honey and Crushed Olive - the Antique Linen underneath is then revealed with the spritz of water I sploshed over the top. The stamping is done with Forest Moss Distress Stain so it is smudgey and then Peeled Paint Distress Inkpad so the fronds are crisper. I used the Insects & Butterflies plate to add little butterflies. I added some little cloth flowers I handmade which were finished with Idea-ology Accoutrements. The title was made using the ChipBlock Alterations Die. Finally, the tag was edged with Walnut Stain Distress Ink to close it in.



All of the goodies used on the artwork is available from The Artistic Stamper. Thanks for looking... have a lovely inky month! TTFN

Hels x

Flying on the wings of love! by Nicky Cresswell

Hello my blogland lovelies, 

Minxy in the house once more spreading yet more love

This time in the form of a card

I started by making a little motherboard out of tissue paper & old book pages coloured with fire brink distress ink stuck randomly onto a piece of cartridge paper with multi medium.

I then over stamped with the hearts background stamp in black archival and fire brick.

When dry a tore a piece from the motherboard the size i needed, and punched a checkerboard along one side, i also did the same to a piece of red card.

I diecut a heart in red which i coated with glossy accents,  and wings in gold mirror card using the TH die, I embossed the wings with Tims checkerboard folder and dirtied up using a black dabber.

I assembled and finished with the phrase punched out using my dymo label maker.

Don't forget you still have today and tomorrow to get in your 'Love' challenge entries.

Oh Right... i almost forgot.. 

the winner of the last piece i blogged HERE goes to..

Silvia(Barnie)

Congrats hun, please mail me {link on my blog}with your snail mail and i'll get that in the post for you during the week x 

Untill next time, Stay Inky xx

Secret Love! by Nicky Cresswell

Seeing as February is the month of love and we have 'Love' as our challenge theme I thought I'd carry on sharing the love by making this little gift.

On the outside one might think this is a book, with it's barn door & aged mahogany distress ink coloured chipboard covers { I used 2 A6 book blanks, 1 whole and 1 cut in half}, and charcoal black paint stamped baroque background and fancy clasp.

But the inside reveals
 It is in fact
A photo frame!

Created by firstly folding a piece of red card in half, and folding the sides in to the middle, open out again and cut triangles from the top 2 sides which will create two pockets when you fold back up.

Cut a shape from the top middle section of the card, I used my slice and cut a heart but you can use any method or shape, and also do your stamping now, I used a selection of the Romance stamps, inked in both red and black and highlighted with a white pen.

Next you're going to want to fold your card back in half, and place a thickish piece of card inside the middle section slightly smaller in width, run an embossing tool along each edge to create not only the 2 strip spaces which are needed to glue your frame in place but also to give enough thickness to allow you to place a photo inside. Remove the thick card and glue the 2 channels you have just created.

{just to demonstrate i have added a pic, and yes it is me when i was about 8 and i absolutely loved A-HA!!}

Moving swiftly on.....
Then all that is needed is to glue your outer covers to the back and sides.

I hope you enjoyed my project today... 

Leave me a comment and i will pick one lucky person to win it! minus my photo of course lol 

I'll announce the winner next time I post which will be the 27th feb.

Until then stay crafty x

My Valentine! by Nicky Cresswell

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Well hello there my fine stamping chums, nice of you to join me this fine day!

As you are all aware the big day of love is fast approaching, and if you haven't already made your cards here is a nice quickie to help you out.

All you need is a base card, i used a square kraft coloured one for this example but white or cream in any size would also work fine. 1 sheet of parchment or velum big enough to cover the front of the card.

A selection of stamps... I've used Stampers Anonymous 'Love Struck' and Artistic Stamper 'Roses are Red',

4 brads and a die cut heart... oh and several ink pads lol

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First cut the parchment to the exact size of the card, Stamp the cupid onto the parchment using stazon in the bottom left hand corner, while this is drying, cut a heart {i used my slice} but you can use anything for this, maybe the heart from Tims winged heart alterations die just so long as you have a printable surface for your valentine message.

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Stamp the 'to my valentine' with black archival onto your heart, and use vintage photo distress ink round the edges.

Place the parchment over the card and line up where you want the heart to be, then stick it in place.

Put this to one side for now.

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Next randomly stamp the strip hearts in red distress ink onto the base card paying attention to where the cupid will overlay, also stamp the word love several times in black, again paying attention not to stamp where it would be covered by the heart or cupid.

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 If you're a bit unsure at this stage and don't want to mess up your card, practice on a piece of scrap paper first to get your placement how you want it. You can overlay your parchment to check how it will look on the real card. 

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Then all thats left to do is attach the parchment to the base card with 4 brads, one in each corner.

And there you have it, a nice muted effect with all the stamping still visible. And the perfect card for your  

♥ valentine ♥

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Oh... Don't forget it's a 'Love' theme for our challenge this month so add your cards HERE and you could win the random prize candy! Woo Hoo!

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Star Journey! by Nicky Cresswell

Well ello my lovely blogging chums, so nice of you to stop by.

Today i have a humble tag to share.

A very simple distress ink background using wild honey & victorian velvet blended together.

Then lots of simple stamping using the Star Plethora set and Simple Swirls set

To make it a bit more interesting I stamped an extra star onto grungeboard and layered it up.

And i also threaded some wire intermittently along the lines for some added texture.

 I cut out a banner in grungeboard from the 'regal crest' alterations die, coloured using the same distress inks and then stamped the 'all of life' phrase in black archival ink.

I attached it to the tag using wire, all i did was to pierce some holes using a retractable craft pick and threaded the wire through like a coil.

I hope you have enjoyed my simple but fun project today.

***

Oh and don't forget

You still have time {just} to enter this months 'Things with Wings' theme challenge HERE.

Happy Creating

Fresh Eyes! By Nicky Cresswell

As keen crafters we always want our monies worth when it comes to stash, 

and finding alternative uses a great way to do this.

Take this Architecture 1 set of stamps for example, Your thinking, buildings, architecture etc etc etc.. 

And for a long time that was all i though too until the other day when i was flicking through my stamps and my eye caught one from a different angle and BAM it hit me... 

What i was seeing wasn't a fancy sconce but with my fresh eyes i saw 

An Owl

I can't believe i hadn't seen it before, but there he was bold as brass staring up at me.

I happened to have my stash of friendly plastic out so i immediately thought Pendant.

{this owl was dull gold FP brushed with different colours of mica powder paint over different areas}

***

{this owl was just a patterned FP with some black stazon rubbed over the raised areas}

***

I stamped the sconce {owl} into heated friendly plastic and then let it cool and harden.

Next i cut it out leaving a little edge as best a could.

To create the pendant i attached the owl to a bamboo domino tile and wrapped more friendly plastic on the back to incase the tile and hold everything in place. This is somewhat of a tricky method as you have to be careful not to over heat and melt the owl.

I used a thin black cord stung down, across and back up through the tile to hang.

You could add a charm or beads to the cord, which i thought of only after i had threaded and put clasp findings on lol. 

You could also make these into brooches or toppers for cards. 

Try using UTEE or clay even, your only limited by your imagination.

So what will you discover with 'fresh eyes' today!

Time to Strike Back by Nicky Cresswell

Hello Artistic Stampers.. I'm finally back after my little sabbatical, and boy is it good to be back.
What do you mean you didn't notice i had gone.. Charming.
So anyways, today i have a fun little project for you.
A matchbox on legs {and now the dodgy pun in the title makes sense!}

And i didn't stop there, as inside is a surprise little book.

You'll first need an empty matchbox and 2 small pieces of mountboard which will be your book covers {both the same size & that fit into the draw}. You should give the whole draw and only the edges and one side of the board as shown a coat of silver, i used a marker pen but you can use the medium you prefer. Once these are dry your going to take the covers and triple emboss and stamp the blank side. I used clear utee & then added some other colours a pinch at a time {Jennie has done a great triple embossing vid that you can see HERE}

.................

I used the clock front and back from the Time & Keys plate and used plum archival ink

The next thing your going to need to do is cut a strip of paper to make your folding book page.

I used some of Tim's lush seasonal stack, pretty on one side and light enough on the other for your stamping.

Roughly 7" x 1¾" scored and folded 5 times to make 6 pages, but you can make it bigger/smaller as you wish.

Now you just have fun and go mad with the stamping

I used the Time & Keys plate and also the Ephemera 1 plate.

To break up the phrase i just inked each word one at a time by placing a post it note either side like shown.

And when stamping something like the swirls i masked areas again using post it notes.
When your happy with your stamping your going to attach the covers.

Remember before you glue down the back side your going to need to add a bit of ribbon that will tie your book shut once finished as shown.

Right now back to the matchbox.

Get another piece of patterned paper, i use the same piece as was used for the book, which i also stamped and then wrapped around the box.

I stamped the smallest clock i had onto cardboard and cut it out, adding a couple of game spinners for effect. A good idea is to placed a strip of masking tape to the inside of the box where the long fastener comes through to stop the draw catching on it when opening.

Add a little handle to the draw, i used a hitch fastener, and then glue on 4 legs {I used some old metal beads taken from a broken belt}.
And there you have it. I hope i have explained myself clearly enough, any questions feel free to ask away.
I hope you've enjoyed my little project, don't forget if you give this a try to come and let me know so i can visit your blog and see the results.
♥ HUGZ ♥

Let the Tags continue..... by Nicky Cresswell

Hay Bloggers...

As some of you may know I've been having a bit of a sabbatical from the CT while I was recovering from my health issues, but I should be back properly come the New Year all being well, so this is just a quickie from me today.

***

Tim's tags may be finished but that doesn't mean we cant still have some tag fun.

The Artistic Stamper do some cracking christmas stamp sets some of which can be seen on this ere tag

Now you don't always have to get all technical with your tags as you can see..

A little stamping, a little colouring, a little highlighting with an Inkssential white pen, some glossy accents and a smidge of distress stickles goes a long way to making a pretty looking tag.

So come on.. let's see your Artistic Stamper tags today...

Make them Christmasy and you can enter them in this months AS challenge HERE

♥ HUGZ ♥

Bamboo Bling! By Nicky Cresswell

Hello my lovelies I'm back.. Did you miss me??

Wow september is just whizzing by isn't it.. soon be christmas!!!

So with that in mind i though i'd share an easy little gift idea... All you need are 5 bamboo tiles, some mica power paints, some glossy accents, a fun selection of stamps.. for this project i used the smallest birds from the 2 new birdie plates Birds of A Feather & Free as A Bird . 10 pretty beads {i've used round swarovski crystals} and 2 lengths of thin clear elastic.

Start by colouring your tiles with the mica paints.. {the mica comes in powder form but can be mixed with water to create lush glimmery paints} I have chosen to work with a rainbow colour scheme to fit in with this months 'RAINBOW' challenge of which details can be found HERE 

Once your painted tiles are dry, stamp you selected images how you wish.

I used black stazon ink, and i highlighted with an inkssential white pen.

Before you proceed make sure your inked images and the white highlighting is completely dry.

Right so now all your tiles are bone dry.. you can give each one a protective coat of glossy accents, I have only given a coat to the fronts of the tiles where i stamped. {the back side i just rubbed/buffed the excess paint off so just a hint of colour was left} But you can coat this side too if you wish.

All thats left to do once your glossy accents is dry is to thread all your tiles together.

Add a spacer bead between each tile as you thread the elastic through and once you have both ends tie tightly.. left over right - right over left knot {i'm sure there is a tec name for that knot but i don't know it lol}

{a good tip when using elastic is to stretch it first, this stops it from becoming all loose later on}

And there you have it, A nice hand crafted gift for family or friends.

***

Before i go i just have time to announce the winners of my ATC giveaway draw..

{Winners selected by random.org} 

Steampunk ATC goes to 9. Piddawinkle

1st Punk ATC goes to 15. Shazza

2nd Punk ATC goes to 18. Sid

Thank you to everyone who entered and took time to leave comments, they truly are appreciated xx

Can the winners please mail me there snail mails {my e'mail can be found on MY BLOG}

Right thats your lot from me today 

But do come back again tomorrow as we have a brand new creative team member joining us...