A Christmas Bumble Bee!

Hi guys!  This is one of the cards I had on display at The Craft Barn's Christmas Extravaganza Weekend using the Bumble Bee Gorjuss Girl!  I decided that if I coloured her in non Bumble Bee colours she could then double up as a fairy for Christmas which I think works quite well!!

For the card itself I used a white Pearlescent Bazzill panel which I embossed using a Papermania Snowflake embossing folder through my Cuttlebug, tore some Nitwit Christmas background paper and then stamped and embossed the Katzelcraft Flourish stamp around the edges of the card using a silver inkpad and silver detail embossing powder. Then I edged the panel using a red Copic marker.

For the Gorjuss Girl panel - I stamped her with Tuxedo Black Memento ink onto smooth white card (that The Craft Barn sell for Copics) and used my Deckle Edge Nestabilities Rectangles to die-cut her. I stamped and embossed snowflakes around her using Versamark and Crystal embossing powder and coloured her with Copic markers.  The words (from Woodware's Must Have Christmas Words clear stamp set) were stamped using Tuxedo Black Memento.  The snowflakes were done using the Martha Stewart Glacial Snowflake punch and the self-adhesive 5mm pearls were coloured using a red Copic marker.

Here's a closer look at the Gorjuss Girl so you can see the colouring a bit better.

Copics used were -
Skin - E11, E00, E000 and R20 for blush
Hair - 100, C9, C7 and C1
Dress and socks - R59, R37, R35, R32, YG95 and YG91
Wings - B00 and B000
Ground and background - W3, W1, BG10 and B000

All materials used are available from The Craft Barn. By the way some of the Copic colours I've listed are only available in the Copic Sketch markers which The Craft Barn now sell but haven't yet put online.

The Stamp Man Blog Hop and Altered Challenge

Hi guys.  Today is the start of The Stamp Man's Altered Challenge and also of their blog hop!  For those of you who are taking part in the blog hop (which is open to everybody) you should have come here from The Stamp Man's ATC Swap Blog - if so then you are on the right track!! And for those of you who don't know what I am on about can I suggest that you visit The Stamp Man's Challenge Blog in order to find out all about it and to begin the blog hop!

Basically the 'blog hop' will be happening over the next 2 weeks to co-incide with The Stamp Man's Altered Challenge.  You will need to collect letters along the way (that each of the hosts will give to you) which will make up an anagram and leave comments on each of the blogs, that are taking part in the blog hop then lastly leave a comment at the last blog hop solving the anagram!!  You'll find that each of the blogs are offering different prizes with there being 12 different prizes to be won!!

So in summary here's what you need to do -

- Display The Stamp Man Challenge blinkie on your blog (if you have a blog). 

- Create a post about our blog hop with a link back to our challenge blog

- Leave a message on each blog you visit, if you do not leave comments at each one, you will not be eligible for the prize.  If you don't have a blog you must put your full name in your comment.

There is a letter on each of the blogs, once you have worked out the anagram leave your answer on the post below the last letter you visit, instructions will be given there.

So don't forget to leave me a comment at the end of this post in order to be in with a chance of winning one of my stamp sheets which is one of my creations - AOD 46 Rob and Rosie Robin unmounted stamp sheet.

Now I've got to say that I've never altered anything before in my life as I just don't do 'altering'.  It isn't something that really appeals to me but I have had a go for this challenge.  But I'm sure that you will all do a much better job than me!

Anyway here is my effort and to be honest I think this will be my first and last go at this as I really didn't enjoy doing it! As you can see I had a letter 'T' to decorate so after it had been painted with gesso (which Mrs Stamp Man kindly did for me) I used two green colours of alcohol ink to colour the letter itself. Then I stamped strips of black card using a gold inkpad. (All stamps used on this letter came from either AOD 50 Japanese Thoughts or AOD 51 Japanese Minis unmounted stamp sheets - both of course available from The Stamp Man.) I stuck the strips of black card to the letter and then stamped, coloured and cut out elements from these 2 stamp sheets to decorate the letter with. Both the front and the back of the letter were decorated in the same way.

This photo shows you a closer look at the plum blossom branch so that you can see the colouring a bit better which was done with a mixture of Tombow pens and twinkling H20's.

In this one you can see the dragonflies a bit closer up. After colouring them I applied glitter glue to them so that they really sparkled!

On the sides of the letter I stamped some Japanese wording from one of the stamp sheets using black StazOn and cut out a couple of plum blossom flowers to pretty it up a little.

This is just a different view of the letter as a whole so that you can see the writing on the sides as well as the decoration on the front.

And this picture shows the very top of the letter which as you can see I decorated with flowers and tiny dragonflies.  I can't remember now how long this letter took me to do as I did it a few months back.  However I know that at the time it seemed to go on for days!!  Anyway back to the blog hop............

Now that you have seen my Altered Letter the actual letter you need from me is infact the letter  

 T

 
Now you need to hop on over to Frankie's blog to get your next letter!  Have fun and good luck and don't forget we want to see your altered items over on the Challenge Blog!!

Christmas Flowers

So as some of you didn't seem to mind that I had started showing you Christmas cards I thought I'd take the opportunity and show one that I made back in August for Stamp Addicts's Stamperama Show using the latest release of stamps by Denami Design. 

What I particularly like about the Denami range of stamps are the clean and simple lines - nothing is too fussy and this makes the images so quick to colour in which is ideal when you have a lot of cards to make for the festive time of year.

To create the background for my card I stamped the Merry Christmas circle and snowflake with a silver inkpad onto white Bazzill Bling and stamped the Floral Arch onto black Bazzill Bling using a white inkpad.  Really quick and simple but quite effective I think.

For the main image I stamped and embossed using silver ink and silver twinkle embossing powder then coloured with the double ended Zig Brushable pens - again really easy. Then I used a circle Nestabilities die to cut it out. 

I might even duplicate this card and do some for Christmas being that it was so quick to do!!

Hope you like it!!

All products used came from Stamp Addicts.

Denami stamps used were-
Elegant Floral Arch
Merry Christmas Circle
Elegant Floral Circle 
Snowflake from Snowflakes stamp set

At Last - A Card!!

Hi guys.  I thought it was about time that I actually posted up a card!!  I've had a busy few weeks making them, followed by a busy few days loading them onto the computer so I think it is about time you saw just what I have been up to recently!

I'm afraid that Christmas is now here as all I've been making for the last couple of months are Christmas cards!!  However I promise that I won't overload you with Christmas cards over the next few weeks as I still have loads of other cards to show you too that I just haven't gotten around to posting up as yet!

So here is one of the cuties that I made for The Glitter Pot's Spectacular Weekend using the latest Christmas release of Penny Black stamps.  The little girl is from the Mimi range by Penny Black and is called The Gift of Giving. I also used the Starlit Christmas Tree to create my background on the main card which I simply stamped with Bundled Sage Distress Ink.  (Really like this stamp.)  The red snowflake paper is by Imaginisce and is called Swirly Snowflakes. The punched out snowflakes were done using the Martha Stewart Glacial Snowflake punch and a Woodware snowflake punch and the self-adhesive pearls were coloured with a Copic marker.

For the main panel I stamped the girl with Tuxedo Black Memento ink onto Craftwork Cards Digital Smooth cardstock and coloured her using Copic markers, then used my Ranger Inkssentials White Opaque pen to add the white stitched detail. Next I stamped and embossed Penny Black Snow Scroll around the image using Versamark and Crystal embossing powder. Lastly I used Frosted Lace glitter glue for the fur trim.

COPIC COLOURS
Skin - E11, E00 and E000
Hair - E99, E35 and E50
Clothes - R59, R29, R27, R20, YG67, YG63 and G40
Sleigh and presents - R85, R83, R81, YG67, YG63, G40, R59, R29, R20, YR68 and YR61

All materials mentioned came from The Glitter Pot apart from the Digital Smooth card which came from Craftwork Cards.

A New Look!

Good morning everyone.  I just had to pop on to tell you about the brand new look that The Craft Barn have now got over on their website and blog!  It is just SO colourful and I absolutely LOVE it.  The new design has been created by the mega talented Chris Dark from The Craft Barn's design team.  She is one VERY clever lady!!

They have also got a brand new 'I shop at The Craft Barn' logo too, as you can see!!  Isn't it great!!  Please do take this picture and add it to your blogs.

Talking of The Craft Barn I have added my October classes to My Event Diary in my sidebar now.  For those of you who saw me demonstrating at the weekend with the Gorjuss Girls I have a day of classes using these stamps on Saturday October 23rd. Click here for more details.

I also have a day of classes booked for The Glitter Pot on Saturday 9th October using some of the new releases by StampAvie and Copic markers. Click here for more details.

So if you fancy any of these you know what to do!!

More Awards!!

Hi guys.  Well I am finally back up and running again with internet access after having been without for about 5 days - most frustrating it was too!!  Anyway I am back now and have been trying to catch up in blogland!

My thanks to everyone who stopped by my table at the weekend - it was lovely to meet you all and thanks so much to all those of you who said such kind things to me!  I do hope that you enjoyed all the other demos there too. 

I have been really fortunate over this last week or so to be given two more blog awards!!  I NEVER get these so it means SO much to me to have got three awards in two weeks!!  I can't thank the ladies in question enough.

So without further ado my first award is this one from Julie.

Apparently to qualify for this award there are 5 rules that I need to adhere to-

1) I need to thank the person who gave me this award.  Thanks so much Julie!!

2) I need to post it on my blog. As you can see I've done that!

3) I need to list 3 things that I love about myself!!  Now this is really hard but I'll have a go......................I love that I've been blessed with common sense as my poor Mum really doesn't have any which has got her into a few scrapes in the past! (Sorry Mum!!) I love that I'm a natural blonde although very recently I tried out several different hair colours!!  And lastly I love that I have a crafting ability as this has enabled me to try out several different types of crafts all of which I've enjoyed doing.

4) I need to post a picture that I love.  So here you go...............this is of me when I was 19 months old with my Nan who is sadly no longer with us.

5) And lastly I need to pass this onto 5 other blogging friends and this is the really hard bit!! But here goes - Sharon, Tracy, Mustavcoffee, Chris Dark and Lisa and to all of you who have supported me since I started my blog as I truly appreciate it!

Now onto my second lovely award which I've been awarded both by Sharon and Tracy - thanks so much guys!!

Apparently I need to tell you why I began blogging and the answer is VERY simple - when I was demonstrating at stamping shows or taking classes at shops I kept being asked why I didn't have a blog so in the end I thought I had better get my act together and start one up!!

Now I am supposed to pass this onto 10 other people but I just can't choose so to anyone who has left me a comment over the last 10 days please take this award as a thank you!!

The Stamp Man's Distress Challenge

Hi everyone.  For those of you who are going to The Craft Barn's Extravaganza Weekend (tomorrow and Sunday) I hope to see you there!!  But meanwhile it is time for The Stamp Man's next challenge which this time is 'Distress'.  Now I must admit that I don't really do distress so I chose just to use the Distress Inkpads for my card to qualify for the theme!

I began by using two of the Distress inkpads - Tattered Rose and Shabby Shutters to create my background papers and then stamped over them using the flourish stamp from my Funky Frames stamp sheet.

Next I stamped out one of the flower frames from this sheet and watercoloured them using the Distress inkpads. Then once the image was dry I added some Diamond glitter glue for some sparkle.

I'm sure that many of you can do 'distress' much better than me so why not hop on over to The Stamp Man's Challenge blog and find out how to enter and check out the other DT's creations whilst you are there!

Hit and Miss!

Hi guys.  Just wanted to quickly say a huge thank you to all of you who wished me a Happy Birthday either by leaving comments on here, emailing me or to those of you who wished me a Happy Birthday in person at the weekend. All of them were so nice to receive so thanks VERY much guys - really appreciate each and every one of them. 

I'm afraid that things will probably be quiet for the next few days as my router is playing me up and so my internet connection is VERY hit and miss so I'm sorry but I won't be able to get around to some of your blogs just yet.  I'm having to make the most of when it is up and running to catch up with work stuff!  Just be assured that I haven't forgotten any of you!

Hope normal service will soon be resumed!
xx

Busy, Busy, Busy!!

Hi guys.  Sorry that I haven't been posting very much these last couple of weeks but have been busy with card making stuff!!  Thanks so much to all of you who have wished me a happy birthday for tomorrow - really appreciate it.  Infact I have a confession to make!!  As I'm not here tomorrow I have just opened my birthday cards that came through the letterbox this morning - sshhhhhh, don't tell anyone!!

So sorry that I haven't been getting round to some of your blogs recently but I will aim to do better after next weekend when things will have simmered down a bit.

I haven't gotten around to uploading any of the cards that I've done this week for The Glitter Pot's weekend so instead I thought I'd share a card with you today that I made for when I was last demoing there.  I'm afraid that it has been so long since I made this that I can't remember whose the paper is - but it did come from The Glitter Pot so I'm sure you'll find it on the website somewhere!!

The flowers are just sooooo pretty and are by Prima, the leaves were done with a punch and the wording is from one of the Craftwork Cards Oh My Words sets.  These are great for when you want something quickly and are a real life saver!!

The main image is called Kira With Kitten and is by Wild Rose Studio.  I stamped her onto Craftwork Cards Digital Smooth cardstock with black Memento ink and coloured her using Copics.  (Sorry just don't have the time at the moment to find and list the colours I used!!)

All materials used on the card came from The Glitter Pot apart from the Digital Smooth card which came from Craftwork Cards.

Anyway I hope you like the card and hopefully I'll see some of you tomorrow and Sunday at The Glitter Pot.  . 

Have a great weekend everyone.

'The Look' ATC Swap

Well today is the 1st of the month which means that it is time for another Stamp Man ATC swap with the theme being 'The Look', which of course fits in really nicely with Tracey's Alluring Ladies stamp sheet that she designed for The Stamp Man as this has the 'eyes' stamp on it.

Now I must admit that I am not really an ATC'er but I did have a go at this one and used the free stamp from the cover of Craft Stamper which is a mini version of the 'eyes' stamp - just right for an ATC infact!!  As you can see I opted to keep mine monochrome but if you hop on over to The Stamp Man's ATC blog you can see what the rest of the DT came up with and also find out all the details on how to enter and join in!