A very excited butterfly...

Hello everyone!  It's Alison (butterfly) Bomber here, and I'm thrilled to be able to say that this time, I'm here to stay!  I loved every moment of my Guest Design duties for The Artistic Stamper in February, and so I was over the moon when Jennie and Emma got in touch to ask whether I'd like to become a regular member of the team.

I've really had to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming the fun and adventures I've had since starting my crafty journey, only just over a year ago (and the blogging hasn't even hit a year yet!).

I was already incredibly lucky to make my living in a creative industry, but the Voice and Text Work I do in the theatre gave me no clue that there was this whole stampy/painty/inky voice inside also wanting to be heard.

I'm now happy to admit to being completely obsessive about crafting.  If a day goes by without me sitting down at the craft table, I definitely get twitchy...

I try not to put a label on what I create - I love all sorts of styles.  But the Text from my "other life" still plays a huge part.  So often I find my inspiration from words: quotes, poems, song lyrics.  And now there's a whole new way to express my love of those words.

Give me some stamps and some messy colour mediums - ink, paint, stains, I'm not fussy; add in some mixed media fun with texture, stencils, glazes; let me add some metal, or lace, or give me an object to alter and I'm away.

And now I get to play alongside a team of crafters I hugely admire, and work with the amazing stamps Jennie produces... okay, pinch me again!  And thank you so much for having me here; I'm really looking forward to this new chapter of adventures.

A Stitch in Time

Hello everyone and thank you for visiting. Astrid here with my second project for April.

Well, before seeing Emma's project two days ago I decided to share a cover of an album I created, using the wonderful new stamp sets by Katie Fox. So, yet another album I'm afraid......

 Here is a list of all the products I used:
Katie Fox Stamps Stitch in Time & Carte Postale
Distress Paints in Bundled Sage, Salty Ocean and Chipped Sapphire
Distress InksVintage Photo, Antique Linen
Archival Ink Jet Black
Graphics 45 French Country Collection 8 x 8 papers
and from my stash: Vintage lace, corrugated card, Kraft Card, flowers and ribbon, Sissix Alterations Tattered Banners die, Book rings.

The background to the cover of this little album was created with Distress Paints liberally spritzst with water to mix the colours. The edges were darkened with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. Next I stamped the elements I wanted to use either on white card (the postcard stamp) or on one of the Graphics 45 papers (the various elements from the Stitch in Time set) in Jet Black Archival Ink and cut them out. The Sentiment was stamped on part of a Tattered Banners die. I wound some vintage lace around the little bobbin and added a little flower. I also fussy cut some elements from the G 45 papers to decorate further.
Here are some close ups:

The back cover was created in pretty much the same way, just without the stamped images. The inside pages are Kraft card and I lined the covers with some papers left from a previous project. As you can see I punched holes in each of the pages and used book rings to hold it all together.

The whole book has 12 pages and the plan is to create pockets for each of the pages and store cards for each month of the year.....

Well, hope you like it and see you next time!

My Book of Dreams by Emma

Hi everyone, Emma here and it's already time for me to share my second little creation of the month and today, I'm sharing a mini book that I made...

To begin with, I cut some chipboard to the size that I wanted my book to be and then, using the Tim Holtz Word Play die, I cut out my letters from more of the chipboard and stuck each of them onto the cover. Next, I applied some Grunge Paste through a Crafter's Workshop stencil onto two of the corners and once the paste was dry, I used a combination of Claudine Hellmuth paints and Adirondack Paint Dabbers (Wild Plum, Charcoal Black and Traditional Tan) and started randomly applying the colours to my cover. When the paint was dry, I then applied some white acrylic paint through the Mini Harlequin Crafter's Workshop template, dried off this layer of paint and then added another coat of the Wild Plum, using a dry brush all over the top. Once I was happy with the colours, I then added Metallic Gold Adirondack Paint Dabber and some gilded wax, over the raised areas of the cover to make them pop.

To complete my cover, I stamped random areas of it using black Archival Ink and the Ink Blot Background stamp and the Mini Calligraphic 18 stamp and added one of Tim's Chit Chat stickers, to finish the title of my mini book.

Next, I made my dimensional flowers and leaves, using the Tim Holtz Tattered Florals and the Tattered Leaves Die. I covered each individual petal with Fired Brick and Tarnished Brass Distress Stain, dried them with a quick blast of the heat gun and then made my blooms. Once the flowers were made, I added a touch of gold gilded wax over the top before popping them into UTEE, melted in the Melt Pot and enamelling them.

I added the cluster of enamelled flowers to the corner of my book, together with some metal embellishments from my stash, which I coloured using Distress Paints. I added a few pearls and some decorative pins to the arrangement.

I created the inside of the book by using old 12 x 12" papers, that I made into pages and pockets.

I used the Imagine and Creative stamps to stamp the words onto cream card, blended with Old Paper Distress Ink and added these to my flower arrangement.

I punched two holes through all the pages and the front and back cover of my book and added some book rings to hold them all together. Finally, I dyed some cream seam binding with a combination of Fired Brick Distress Paint and Tarnished Brass Distress Stain, dried it with the heat gun and then tied it around each of the book rings, together with some twine.

So, that's it from me for today and as always, thank you for popping by and visiting and I really hope you like what I've created ~ I can't wait to read all your comments.

Don't forget if you want to join in with this month's TEXTURE challenge, then just pop over HERE and you can see all the details of how to enter and good luck if you do!!

See you all again very soon,

Emma x

Don't think I eat nothing but sardines....by Titbelsoeur

... I sometimes eat tuna !

But today this is a sardine tin I will show you (one more !)
I must admit I love making things out of sardine tins. It is the exact size to make a mini-album with cards, and the same size as the Collage Art stamps !

I have stamped it on a kraft sheet I glued on the back, then I added some stuff from my stash : a fridge lamp, a big screw, a champagne cap, a washer and a cork. On the top I glued an old cabinet hinge, and a nut under the bottom.

Then I stamped the label on a kraft envelope, stuck a real stamp on it and stamped with Katy Fox's and others from my stash.

I had real fun making this tin for you, and I hope you like it,

Thanks for stopping by, I am really looking forward to reading your comments !

A tout bientôt !

Titbelsoeur

Springtime Art Brooch by Alison (Craftytrog)

Hello Stampers! It's Alison here, with a little Spring-inspired brooch to share with you.

I started by cutting a rectangle of mountboard (5 x 2.5 cm). I used a Tim Holtz sanding grip to smooth the edges, then I used a blending tool to ink it with Mowed Lawn Distress Ink. I inked up the bird cage from the Free As A Bird Plate with white pigment ink, then pressed my mountboard domino onto the cage to stamp my background.

I stamped the little birds on the branch using Jet Black Archival Ink, then used the same ink to stamp a floral border, using the flower on Botanical Plate 1.

I then used a cotton bud to colour the floral edges with Manganese Blue Archival Ink, & the birds with Coffee Archival Ink. I also inked the edges with Jet Black Archival.

I finished off by adding three layers of clear ultra thick embossing enamel. I love how this intensifies the colours.

All it needs now is a brooch back!

Thanks for looking,

Alison xxx

Little french country, preserve cabinet: By Zuzu

 Hello again...

I have altered one of the little Papier-mâché book boxes. Its the smaller of the set of two and is only about 4 inches tall.
I covered it in papers and tissue paper first of all. the papers are all from the Graphic 45 French country set. I used the 8x8 papers.  I also stamped on the corners of the front using the sequin waste stamp.
After covering all the surfaces and letting the glue dry, i sanded all the edges gently to give the paper a worn distressed look. 

 

I then stamped out the bottles and jars on to plain card and coloured them with watercolour pencils then glued them into place, using thick card at the back for extra depth (for a 3D effect). 

I cut out some elements from the papers and glued them into place. simply seal everything with varnish. mod podge or whatever you usually use, and Bob's your uncle. (he's certainly not MY uncle).

thanks for looking Z x

Flower Card by Sioux Jenneys

Hello everyone! It's my (Sioux) turn again and I'm here to share a card that is easy to layer but uses no masking at all...:)

1. I cut a square piece of card slightly smaller than my base card and stamped the sentiment "Today is a Mystery" from journaling words 3 in Versafine black.

2. Then stamped the Music background straight over the top in Distress Ink weathered wood.

3. Stamped the lovely flower image from the new Encyclopaedia Botanica plate from Katy Fox in Distress Ink vintage photo to one side.

4. Stamped the postage stamp and the note cartouche from Carte Postal plate in Distress Inks tea dye and spiced marmalade, then stamped the #1 from the Numerical plate using worn lipstick.

5. The flowers were coloured with Distress Inks spice marmalade and mustard seed using a craft nib.

6. Tattered the edges and coloured with vintage photo and attached to the card blank.

 

Thanks for looking today. See you soon ;)

xoxo Sioux

If Friends were like Flowers by Astrid

Hello everyone and thank you for visiting! Astrid here with my first project for this month.

I decided to have a play with the wonderful large Manila tags. I'll list links to all the other products I used at the bottom of this post.
I started by  stamping the beautiful swirl in embossing ink and then embossed it with clear embossing powder. Next I inked the tag with a variety of Distress Inks, blending from the lighter colours at the top to the darker ones at the bottom. I stamped my chosen images first in Maroon and then Jet black archival ink on smooth stamping paper. I cut out the detailed images that I stamped in black, coloured them with a mix of Distress inks, Distress Markers and Inktense pencils and then glued them onto the ones that I had stamped in Maroon and adhered them to the tag.

Following this I masked the top stamp and stamped the Speckled background and the calligraphic Mat 12 around the image for some interest, inked the edges and ran one side of the tag through an embossing folder to add some texture and balance out the design. Finally I inked the raised bits in Blue Sapphire Distress ink, and rubbed over it with a little bit of Treasure Gold in White Fire. I also shaded a little bit with a charcoal pencil around the stamped images to add some depth. Finally I  added my sentiment in black Archival and embellished with some seam binding, a bit of lace and a flower.

Hope you like my friendship tag and like always, thank you for all your lovely comments, they make my day!
These are the stamps and products I used that are available at the Artistic Stamper:
Botanical 3
Garden Plate
Calligraphic Mat 12
Speckle Background
Distress Inks: Antique Linen, Tattered Rose, Victorian Velvet, Barn Door, Vintage Photo, Chipped Sapphire, Weathered Wood
Archival Ink Jet Black and Maroon
Distress Markers same range of colours as the Inks

Mechanical Bird by Emma

Hi everyone...

For my first post and project in April, I decided to bring a bit of brightness and colour into our lives ~ I think we all need it after this long, drab winter and I've created a tag using the Mechanical Bird stamp by Neil Walker. I hope you like it...

To begin with I've used a Size 8 Manila tag and applied Picked Raspberry, Salty Ocean and Spiced Marmalade Distress Paints over the surface. I misted the tag with water to blend the paints and then dried it with my heat tool. I added some circles using the paint from the Snow Cap Adirondack Paint dabber and applying it with the lid of the bottle and then stuck some small strips of Tissue Tape onto my tag.

Next, I stamped out the Mechanical Bird image onto the tag and used a white pen, to add colour to the birds legs. I then stamped out the bird, two more times onto white card and then coloured the image using the same colour in the Distress Ink Pads, as I'd previously used on my background and used Mowed Lawn onto the leaves. I cut out each layer of the bird but each time, cutting away part of the image to give me my decoupage pieces, which I layered on to the base image on my tag. I used the white pen to add some highlights to the image and added Glossy Accents to the eye and down the wing.

I matted my tag onto a piece of Kraft card, leaving a narrow border around the edge before, then mounting my tag onto a larger piece of black card, matted onto a backing of pearlescent off-white card. I attached the two layers together using the Tiny Attacher. Using the white pen, I drew a line around the edge of the black card.

Next, I used Tim's Tattered Florals die from Sizzix to make three small dimensional blooms, which I coloured using Dylusions Ink Sprays in Vibrant Turquoise and Bubblegum Pink. I then spritzed each of the flowers with Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls Mists before adding them to my tag.

I added my flowers to my mounted tag, together with some white flowers, from my craft stash, which I sprayed in the same colours and then die cut some twigs from chipboard, painted them brown and added these to the flower arrangement. I used one of the Idea-ology Memo Pins to attach my Adage Ticket and finally, I dyed some cream seam binding, using Distress Paint in the same colours as before and threaded it through the hole in my tag. 

So, I really hope you've been inspired by my tag today and thank you so much for stopping by to take a look ~ I can't wait to read all your comments!! See you all again very soon...

Emma xx

Queen For A Day by Alison (Craftytrog)

Hello Stampers! I have a feminine little wall hanging to share with you today.

Here's how I made my wall hanging. 

The base is a piece of corrugated packaging that I first spritzed with Dylusions White Linen Spray. I then spritzed with Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearl Mist. So difficult to get a good photo of the sparkle, but take it from me, it looks amazing! Next, I rubbed a Walnut Stain Distress Ink Pad over the 'mountains' of the card, &, as the ink stays wet, I added gold embossing powder to it, then heat set it.

I used the Sizzix Baroque die to cut a plaque from mountboard. I first painted a layer of Weathered Wood Crackle paint, then once this was dry, I inked with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. Next, I took a floral stencil, & used a palette knife to stencil a layer of Vintage Photo Crackle Paint. Once this was dry, I added a coating of Glue & Seal. I randomly sprinkled some Gold embossing powder around the edge, & heat set it.

I stamped the lady from the Collage Lady Elements Plate onto some blank vintage book paper, using Coffee Archival ink. I cut out the image, glued it to the plaque, then glued a strip of crochet lace to look like to top of the lady's dress.

I used the Sizzix Tattered Florals Die to cut flowers from vintage music sheet. I spritzed each flower with water, then inked the alternate sizes with Vintage Photo & Weathered Wood Distress Stain. I scrunched up the flowers & allowed them to dry naturally. Once they were dry, I  very carefully opened out each flower, then glued them together with Glossy Accents, adding a pearl button to the top.

I took a Glittery White Crown & inked it with a mixture of Gold Mixative & Blue Alcohol Ink. I added some tiny gold brads through the holes

I glued all the pieces together, as shown in my first photo, & finally, punched some holes with a Cropadile, & added some crochet lace to hang my art.

I hope you are inspired by my little wall hanging,

thanks for looking,

Alison xxx

Bookmark by Titbelsoeur

Hello there, c'est Titbelsoeur en régie !

The bookmark I am showing you today is made with a mix of Artistic Stamper plates.
I have made the background spraying paint and ink on various Crafter's workshop stencils
And I have stamped, on an old pattern, the dressmaker first, then hid her under another herself, using the same technique as in my previous post (see here) and used the new stamps from the amazing A stitch in time plate. Then I glued the stamped pattern on the background with mod podge and glued the lace on the border as well.

 Here is a larger view :

 

I hope you like my bookmark,

Thanks for stopping by, I am really looking forward to reading your comments !

A tout bientôt !

Titbelsoeur

Air Mail box: By Zuzu

 

I decided to alter one of the oblong boxes on the theme of "air mail". I like the colour combination of the nice blue and red you get with airmail and the "postage" theme is a popular one.

I coloured the box in a pale sky blue colour wash and let it dry thoroughly before stamping on it. once it had dried I stamped various elements from the airmail "ephemera" sheet, using black, blue and red inkpads. the red and black are both Stazon inks. I added some "ink blots" using the ink blot background stamp too.

I used some of the fab airmail washi tape "washi tape narita"  around the top of the box (I glued it on as its quite low tack.) I also glued on some random bits of scrap metal, mostly from an old disassembled typewriter, and I used some salvage stickers to add interest.

To compliment it (and to give me something to put inside) I distressed some tim holtz journalling tickets, by using the paper distresser on the edges, gently blended some vintage photo ink around the edges and then stamped more Ephemera themed stamps on them.