Sweet Stampin' Challenge - Try Something New

Our challenge theme this week at Sweet Stampin' is to Try Something New.  After the usual deliberations (I've tried lots of things, but many of them just once because I was so rubbish at them!) I decided to try making a gift bag.  I'd bought bags from Crafts U Love ages ago and never used them, so it was just a question of deciding how I wanted to decorate this one.

I actually found it quite hard at first to deal with the extra space, as I'm so used to working with 6"x6" cards; having twice the height to play with makes you think about getting your layout balanced and as a result I faffed and fiddled even more than usual until I was vaguely happy.

I used Panduro Tilda papers from the Wintergarden set. I love these papers but some of the patterns can be quite "in your face" on a standard card.  I'm quite pleased that I was able to use a pattern which otherwise would have been left neglected in the pad.  I actually got the sewing machine out and stitched around the panels (Fi, one of the wonderful Boss Ladies at Sweet Stampin' is an ace stitcher on cards and inspired me to give this a go).

The hAnglar stamp is one of my favourites and she's lovely to colour with the old Copics.  I added a MS punched border and a row of cream lace to the top of the bag and then all I had to do was put my flowers on (that's the part that takes me ages 'cos I keep having to rearrange everything)!

Do come over to play at Sweet Stampin' - we'd really love you to Try Something New with us! 

Did you watch the wedding?  I thought the bride looked lovely and felt they were very happy together.  I wish them all the very best.

Have a wonderful Bank Holiday weekend.

Hugs,

Tracey xx

Woo Hoo!

Just wanted to tell you that I've come 3rd in the Lovely hAnglar Only challenge - yes, the one I wasn't going to enter where you had to make your own DP.

Thank you so much for your encouraging comments on this one - I really do appreciate it.

Hugs

Tracey xx

hAnglar and stAnglar Challenge - No DP!

I'll admit that my heart sank when I first saw the challenge over at hAnglar and StAnglar - no DP, make your own!  As someone who is addicted to buying paper I couldn't face the thought of not being able to use any and as a result thought I wouldn't enter the challenge this fortnight.

However, while messing about with my Stempelglede stamps I had a brainwave and have managed to make a card after all!  I cut some squares of rough watercolour paper and covered them with brown ink using my grunge stamps and then went round the edges with distress ink.  I used these squares to cover the front and inside of my card.  I then stamped my new and utterly wonderful new Lili of the Valley purchases, namely the postcard and letter, onto more rough watercolour card and again inked round the edges.

My new hAnglar kit had already arrived (such quick delivery from Sweden) and I couldn't wait to ink up the sailor stamps, so I stamped and coloured the hAnglar boy in shades of brown using my Copics.  I distressed the edges and fixed the stamped panel on top of the letter and postcard using 3D sticky fixers.

I always struggle with boys cards as I never know what embellies to use, but as the background is so busy I've gone for just one button and a bow.

I don't think I'll ever be cured of my paper addiction, but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed putting this together and I'm pleased that I tried something new.

Hope you've had a lovely day!

Hugs,
Tracey xx

New hAnglars on Sale!

Just a quick note to let you know that the hAnglar and stAnglar website has uploaded more stamps for sale, including the one I've always wanted, "Baking Tray".  I've just ordered mine - I know I'm not supposed to be buying any more stash but I can't bear to miss this one!

Hugs

Tracey xx

Sweet Stampin' - Gimme Choklit!

Our challenge at Sweet Stampin' this week is linked to a subject very close to my heart - CHOCOLATE!  I love the stuff and it's been quite hard this week to make my DT card without feeling constantly hungry!  Actually the Boy Wonder and I quite often have a "choklit nite" when we watch a film or favourite TV programme and here's a tip, girls, if you haven't tried Aldi's chocolate (yes, seriously) you're in for a treat.  We're not exactly blessed with shops here, but someone smiled on us when this shop and it's yummy chocolate arrived in town.  I'm talking about the Moser Roth stuff (I should be getting a commission for this, shouldn't I?) - they do quite a range, including a yummy milk one, plus dark chocolate and chilli and a very nice one which has a bit of a butterscotch thing going on.  No need to thank me, folks, just doin' my job.

Anyway, I'm supposed to be posting a card ... and here it is!

I saw this Kenny K image on Mina's blog and knew I had to have it (yes, I know I'm not supposed to be buying any more stash but these digis are such good value).  Most of my brown papers are really dark and I usually use them for matting, so I decided to combine brown and pink using these Basic Grey papers which I've had for quite a while.  I used my Martha Stewart PATP on the flowery paper but other than that kept things fairly simple.  The image has been coloured with Copics and the sentiment I just did on the computer.  Both had a splodge of distress ink - I was going for the sticky chocolate finger look!

I couldn't get a decent shot of the flowers, which are from Wild Orchid Crafts, so you won't be able to see that they've had a spritz of Coffee Glimmer Mist - well, I had to put a bit of sparkle in there!

Do come and play at Sweet Stampin' this week - follow the link to see what the other Sweeties have made - and if you get the chance, let me know what your favourite choccie is!

Big hugs

Tracey xx

It's been a struggle...

Fact: I did not find this challenge easy!  I'm talking about this week's Lili of the Valley Challenge, which is Peach and Green.  Normally I would say that this is just my sort of challenge, soft girly colours, possibility of using lots of flowers etc.  In fact, it got off to a terrific start as I knew just which peachy coloured paper I was going to use.  After that, however, things went rapidly downhill!

I couldn't find a green paper which didn't clash with the peach and my other peach papers were either too pink or too orange.  Or I'm too fussy!  Eventually found a strip of grey-green K&Co paper and stuck this on.

I chose my Lili of the Valley stamp and coloured it with Copics.  Didn't like it.  Stamped again and coloured image with Prismas.  Better, but the green was all wrong.  Started again.  Tried a different image, coloured with Prismas.  Liked this better.  Decided to sponge round the edges with some distress ink. Made a complete pig's ear of it and had to chuck the thing.

Decided to go back to one of the others I had coloured - the one with the "wrong" green.  Found another K&Co sheet of green which matched the image a bit better.  Carefully picked off the "wrong" green from the card and put the new green on.  Are you still with me..?  You've got more patience than I have then.

So, where was I?  Oh, yes, I dismantled and rebuilt the card, stuck the image on and hauled out the boxes (yes, there are boxes, plural, I'm afraid) of flowers.  Could I find a peachy colour?  Obviously, I've got peach coloured flowers (I thought I'd got every colour known to man, truth be told) but sadly, I discovered I hadn't got the peachy colour I wanted today.  I tried green - didn't like that.  Back to peach.  Nope.  Took some ivory flowers and gave them a doing with some distress ink - yes, the same ink which was responsible for the chucking of the image I liked - and managed to get the wee flowers peachy enough.  It didn't work with the larger flowers though, so I decided to go with an existing peach one. 

Don't even get me started on the trouble I had taking a photo!  It's been almost dark here all day and I'm not the best photographer in the world, so the picture isn't great.  Irl the ribbon is peach but it looks bright pink here!  And just to add insult to injury, as I look at the picture now I see that one of the little roses has fallen off! 

There's been no sun to go over the yardarm, so I'm off to put the kettle on. I'll be having a skinny-vodka-valium-choca-mocha.

Stay sane!
Tracey xxx

Sweet Stampin' Challenge - Sketch

Good morning!  It's still a bit misty here but hopefully we'll have another lovely sunny day! So, while you're waiting for things to warm up, hop over to the Sweet Stampin' Challenge Blog to look at the fabby cards the Sweeties have created this week.

We've had some changes over at Sweet Stampin' with some of our lovely Sweeties moving on.  However, the wonderful Abi and Fi have taken charge and it's business as usual!!  Brace yourselves, tho' - it's going to be me doing the Sunday Spotlight so fingers crossed that I don't mess it up!

It's Team Fi's turn this week and they have a sketch:

I love sketches and I wouldn't mind trying this one myself!  We have some lovely goodies lined up for our winners: our monthly sponsor is Bugaboo Stamps who are offering 7 digis of your choice to one lucky winner; our weekly sponsor is Bunny Zoe's Crafts who are kindly donating a £10 gift certificate.

We didn't have a challenge last week at Sweet Stampin' so tomorrow's Spotlight is going to be a Top 5 of our winners so far this year.  How I'm going to get my list down to just 5 I don't quite know at the moment!

Hope to be back in a wee while with a card.  Enjoy your morning!

Tracey xx

What a lovely day!

Just a quickie today as I want to make the most of this lovely weather!  I did try to tidy up in the garden (honest!) but at one point this afternoon it got too warm to do very much at all so I had a lovely hour sitting on the bench outside colouring in a few Tildas.  Bliss!

I've made a very simple card for the Magnolia Stamp Lovers challenge, which this time is to use ribbon on your card.  I thought it would make a change not to have a character on a card, so opted for this new stamp with the tulips in a wheelbarrow.

Not that you can really tell from the picture, but I decoupaged the flowers in the barrow so that they stand out a bit.  What you can see is the bling, which doesn't look nearly as OTT in real life.  The DP is from a Craftwork Cards freebie in a magazine; the embossed border and the Candy Dots are Craftwork Cards as well.  I put the image on a doily from Joanna Sheen and added a sentiment which I cut from a Panduro Tilda paper pad.  Finally, the ribbon is from Wild Orchid Crafts.

Right, I'm off to get another 20 minutes or so in the garden!  I do hope this weather lasts - I'll need a few days of exposure to get rid of the ghostly glow that is the colour of my legs!!! 

Big hugs

Tracey xx



Lovely hAnglar Only & Just Magnolia & hAnglar stAnglar Challenges

A brighter day here today at last but still quite cold outside.  That was my excuse, anyway, for not going and tidying up in the garden!  Don't think I'll get away with it again, though - there's so much to do and the first few days of the April holiday have flown by.

At last I got to use my lovely papers from the Basic Grey Curio pad.  I love these 6" x 6" papers as the edges look as though they've been inked and the colours are gorgeous.  I really liked the sound of the Lovely hAnglar Only challenge (a portrait and sketch) and thought that the vintage look of these papers would be ideal.  I'm also entering it in the Just Magnolia/hAnglar stAnglar Challenge which is Anything Goes + the option of adding buttons.

I followed the instructions from a Magnolia magazine on how to stamp head and shoulders only without looking like part of the picture has been cut off.  I used a Pink Petticoat CD tin under my watercolour card and it worked like a charm - you just make sure that the lower part of your stamp falls beyond the edge of the tin or lid.  I coloured the image with Copics and cut her out with an oval Nestie which I inked with Vintage Photo to make it look nice and tatty!

I used a Marianne die to cut the lacy border and put a smaller oval Nestie, also inked, in the middle.  I added pearls and buttons from my stash to the top corners and flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts to the bottom of the card and at the sides of the image.

The inside of the card has been lined with matching Curio paper and I just added an inked up Nestie oval for the jotting spot.

I hope you like this - I do like me hAnglars and I really enjoyed being able to take my time over this one.

Right, I suppose I'd better do something about getting some dinner on the table (preferably via a plate).  Have a lovely evening,

Tracey xx

Lili of the Valley Thursday Challenge - Spring

Why, when I'm off school for a fortnight, is it still a rush for me to get my challenge entries in on time?  I fancied having a go at this week's Lili of the Valley Challenge with its theme of Spring and then time started to run away with me, so I opted for a bit of a McCheat and used one of their lovely die cut images.  I undestand that LotV are going to introduce some more designs to their range shortly and I can already hear my debit card giggling away in my purse...



I gave the edges of the die cut image a good going over with the much used Timmy thingy and then sponged some Broken China distress ink over the top.  I added some Glamour Dust to the picture because I have to have some bling in there somewhere!  The Bazzill card base has been covered with Panduro Tilda paper from the Frosted Bluegreen pack; I then added more Bazzill followed by a square of blue paper from the K&Co Julianne set.  The seam binding and lovely lace were from Wild Orchid Crafts and I added a Dovecraft brad to the centre of the bow.  I put some WOC flowers at top of the image square and put a few blobs of Icicle Stickles on some of the petals.  The little white pearls are also from WOC.

I also decorated the inside of the card using the same Panduro Tilda paper. The "homemade" circle is from the same paper pack and the jotting spot is just a circle of watercolour card.

And that's it.  I've got a few more cards on the go as I'm trying to make the most of having some time to craft over the next few days.  If the weather improves I'll hopefully be able to get outside to tidy up in the garden, but I'll be just as happy if the rain keeps me indoors with my stash!

Hugs,

Tracey xx