Kisses From Heaven by Alison

Merry Christmas Stampers! It's Christmas Eve, & here's my final post of 2011! I have altered a wooden heart, & made an icy Winter decoration. I have used the fab snowflake stamp, that you can get free with any order this month.



I began by priming the wooden heart with Studio Gesso, then painted it with Blank Canvas Studio paint. When it was all dry, I coated the heart with Rock Candy Crackle Paint. I left it to dry naturally, then dabbed Stormy Sky Distress Stains all over, to highlight the cracks. I stamped the Snowflakes with Black Stazon, then inked the edges of the heart with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

I inked an Artistic Stamper Chipboard Flower with Versamark ink, then triple embossed it with Pearl UTEE. When the final layer was still molten, I stamped into it with a script stamp. I trimmed the excess UTEE, then inked the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.



I used the Sizzix Tattered Florals die to cut some flowers out of tulle fabric, then layered these with the chipboard flower & a decorative brad. I glued the flower to the heart with Glossy Accents.

I used alphabet stamps from the Scrabble & Tags Plate, to stamp the phrase, cut them out, inked them with Walnut Stain DI, then glued them to the heart with Glossy Accents.

Finally, I punched 2 holes in the top of the heart, using a Cropadile, added silver eyelets, silver wire to hang, & a couple of pearl beads. I twirled the wire ends around a paintbrush to hold the beads in place.

Thanks for looking, & I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas & New Year!
Alison xxx

Merry Christmas by Hels

Goodly Morning Stampfans! Today I am here showing you a quick Christmas card I have made using one of my favourite Artistic Stamper stamps... this old Santa looks like a jolly old chap and I love how detailed the stamp is. He is from Christmas Plate #3.


I wanted to make a statement with the stamp as the focal image of the card so... here's how I did it;
I stamped Santa in Jet Black Archival ink onto cream cardstock and gave it a quick zap with a heat tool to set the ink. I used Vintage Photo Distress Ink and a Blending Tool to make a vintagey edge to the card and then used Fired Brick and Peeled Paint Distress Ink, along with my water brush, to paint in the colours over the image. I then popped a teensy dollop of SnowCap Dabber onto my craft sheet and watered it down and then painted in his beard and hair... because the paint is thinner, you can still see your stamped image but the white really makes his beard and hair pop.



I used a thin paintbrush to pick up some Gold Dabber and painted around the circle and gave this a zap with the heat tool to dry it. Next, I used a thin paint brush to pick up some Rock Candy Cracklepaint and I painted carefully right over the top of the Gold circle. Once this had dried, I used Distress Embossing Ink and coated the whole piece of card with it. I used Clear UTEE over the top of this, heated it up and it gives a nice enamelled look. I waited until it had cooled and repeated the process, in the end the card had three coats of UTEE... the pics don't really pick up the crackles too well but they do look really pretty... like cracked ice.



Well, that's about it from me. I would just like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to Jennie for the past four years being on her Creative Team and co-ordinating it. I will be stepping down from the team on December 31st and I am going to miss Jennie and the girls on the team - they are all such a fantastic bunch of artists and it has been an honour to craft alongside them all these years. Thank you to all you lovely folks for all your wonderful comments you have left me here since this blog started... I am sure that Jennie and the team will have some treats for you to see in the coming months... I will shut up now before I need the Kleenex... THANK YOU all for looking... Bye bye ... Hels x

FREE AS A BIRD TAG

Hi all,
Kat here,
I'm here today with my third & final piece for the month,
the design team focus is on Tissue Tape
I got so involved with playing with the distress stains
I forgot to take any step by step pictures, so I will talk you through the proses.
Here's my tag,

I started by gluing torn bits of book page to the tag with

Matte Medium & brushing the medium randomly

over the whole tag to create a resist,

then with pale blue acrylic paint,

splodged onto my craft sheet,

I dipped the Small Cog Stamp into it & stamped it on the tag,

next I took tumbled glass & bundled sage Distress Stains

covered the whole tag & wiped off the excess straight away,

with Jet Black archival ink, I stamped the

Small Cog Stamp & free as a bird stamps onto the tag,

I added a strip of Tissue Tape near the bottom edge,

then took ten seconds studio copper metal & tools,

stamped the cogs & the phrase as shown

to make a couple of embellishments, & stuck them on.

the Tissue Tape bow was made by

pulling some off the roll & twisting it to make a strand,

I arranged it into a bow & tied it with string,

I added it to the top of the tag & glued a

vintage button to the center.

for the bird,

I die cut him, ran him through a cuttle bug

with a texture fade embossing folder,

then inked him up with vintage photo Distress Ink

added an eye with black enamel,

the wing is made with black UTEE

& rubbed over with inka gold

I gave him a crown for his head &

drew a branch for him to sit on.

That's it,

Hope you like him!

see you next month,

have a creative day,

Kat x.

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

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

Stampbord Pendant by Alison Hall

A little jewellery piece from me today. I was going to make it into a brooch, but it became a pendant at my daughter Beth's suggestion. I had to prise it off her yesterday, so that I could photograph & blog it! Lol!

Here's how I made it...

1. Take a large stampbord domino ( approx. 6.5 x 3 cm), sponge distress inks on to colour it.
2. Stamp the image from The Artistic Stamper Garden plate, using black archival ink. It's easier to lay your stampbord onto the inked stamp, to get the part of the image that you want.
3. Edge the domino with black ink, dry with a heat gun, then punch three holes at the bottom with a cropadile.
4. Triple emboss the domino with clear UTEE.
5. Ruche up some black lace with some thread, then glue to the back of the domino with glossy accents.
6. Glue eyelets into the holes at the bottom of the domino, then attach some beads, using jump rings.
7. Attach a bale to the back of the pendant, then thread it with a bead chain.

Thanks for looking!
Alison x

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

Melt Pot Mad! by Tina Barnett

Hi Gang!



Now for a change to my card making I thought I would share with you some of my Melt Pot Madness!

I love to use Background stamps and embellishments together with my melt pot.

This is a script stamp by The Artistic Stamper.

I have used a Ranger frame, placed on the stamp and poured in the melted UTEE , so you get a beautiful piece of art to use on your cards. For the second piece I placed I clock embellishment in the center before I added the UTEE , . Both times I have removed the frame so that it can be used again. Make sure you use Versamark ink on the stamp so it will release more easy.
My next background is the Baroque background design by The Artistic Stamper
I have used different embellishments in the center, a round sentiment disc with a key, a crown and lastly a little black heart. I have left the black heart piece in the frame as I will make it in to a bracelet or choker necklace.
Next I used the Regency Background, available from The Artistic Stamper.
I have used a clock embellishment this time, you can see that the clock is partly under the UTEE , but this just makes it more interesting! I love how the UTEE , takes on the shape of the stamp and the metal embellishments. So much fun!!
Next up is The Artistic Stampers gingham type background. It's like a tiny grid design.
I have made two pieces of jewellery this time, using Tim Holtz button embellishments. I have to say I LOVE them!! As with the others I have brushed the finish piece with Mica Powders. I love the look, but if you wanted to you could bling them up more adding more embellishments such as a little butterfly or flower.
Now, the last piece is different to the others as I have taken a Mabel Lucie Attwell stamp, also available from The Artistic Stamper.
I have chosen part of the stamp and using the same method as before poured over the UTEE , . Once the piece sets you get a negative image of the stamp, I used some Metallic paint to colour the raised parts of the image. I will make a grungy card with this image to include this piece of art work some time in the future.
I hope you have enjoyed looking. The main thing to remember is to just have a play! The best thing is that if you don't like what you make you just melt it down again!

Once you start I bet you get as addicted as me!

Check out the The Artistic Stamper online store for details of the stamps and all your melt pot needs!

Have fun!!!!! See you soon.

Tina xx

It's Advent Time!!

Thank you Jennie and Hels for inviting me to join the Creative Design Team, I have already had a ball on my project for this month. Christmas is always a very busy time for everybody and I am sure I am not the only one who, come Christmas Day, is frazzled and worn out! So I have devised an 'Advent Calendar' just for me. Not a Choccie everyday, but a few 'me time' treats. Each day on my own blog I will be picking a tag to show you and sharing a treat with you, along with showing you how I have used the gorgeous stamps Jennie sent me to use and some of the fabulous products she sells.

So here is my tree - I have got to admit that you can's see too much on the photo as its so large, but it looks great on my wall. 

traditionally you start your advent calendar on the 1st of December - well who wants to be traditional? Not us at the Artistic stamper! The blog was a bit busy yesterday announcing the new monthly challenge, so I opened my tag on my ownsome (all together now..... ahhhhh......) but I'll share it with you today. All the tags are made using mountboard, which is nice and stiff and will withstand alot of battering - which is just as well, I am not a delicate girl as you will find out! I love using UTEE and for this tag I covered the whole piece of MB (which was a dark cream colour ro start with,  with Versamark and covered with with a couple of layers of clear UTEE, heating it between layers to melt the powder. If you are quick you can get the second layer on whilst the first is still warm (but mind your fingers!!) but if it does cool down you can give it another coating of Versamark. I then sprinkled on various colours of coloured UTEE - you can use ordinary embossing powders at this stage if you wish. I had the AS Harlequin Background stamp ready inked with versamark, when the UTEE was still hot I pressed the stamp into it and allowed it to cool - you MUST wait for the UTEE to harden before you remove the stamp or else you will make a right mess of it! Then I inked the edges of the card and edged it with a gold UTEE, get you heatgun nice and hot and try to work quickly, just directing the nozzle at the edge, otherwise you are in danger of remelting the triple embossed area and losing your stamped image.

The main embellishment is a large A6 size stamp from the Victorian Christmas Plate that I stamped onto shrink plastic and shrunk! Even though it is a very detailed stamp the images still came out really well once reduced in size.

Now what was yesterdays treat?? Well I met a friend to swap the kids Christmas pressies and I had my favourite treat at my favourite teashop of a cheese scone and a long natter with my mate Sands.

Each day I will be 'opening' advent calendar on my personal blog - NicksArtyStuff  so please feel free to join in with our daily treat!

Here is today's tag....please pop over and see how I made it

Thanks for looking, I will see you later this month with another - but very different - project

Nicks xxx

It's the witching hour!

I love witches, mainly because I have always maintained that I am one! You can take that anyway you like...:))))) I have to say like most people in this country Halloween is not big. We don't celebrate it nearly as much as in the USA, so when Tim brought out his new Alterations dies, I have to say I wasn't really sure. But I have played with some of them, and now it is the witches turn! Please excuse the very quick nature of this piece, time is of an essence for me at the moment, as we have Ally Pally, the Big Stamp & Scrapbook show at the weekend, so I am busy tweeking the stamps, packing boxes, and doing behind the scenes secretive stuff! Just wishing that there were more hours in the day!!
So I took the witch and die cut her with some quite thick chipboard, and dipped her in utee! The chipboard doesn't have a lot of water content, but where there is some the utee bubbles. I quite like this effect. I did the same with the accompanying bat ( you get him too in the die set), and brushed gold Perfect Pearls on his wings.

The broomstick was also dusted with PP, and I sprayed it liberally with water to get the droplets effect. The base is a small canvas board was sprayed with Crafty Notions Mica sprays, and allowed to dry.

The background fits so neatly into this month's challenge, which is Rainbows. there is still lots of time to enter!  

Finally for those of you don't know Minxy has been in hospital and Hun we wish you a speedy recovery .. get well soon and take it easy!

Have a very Creative day!

Jennie