Giz A Kiss...

... Go on, you know you want to LOL When I went to play at Wendy's last week I made a couple of tags using those heavenly divine new Alterations Dies by Mr T'Holtz... this one is on my wishlist now...there's a surprise :O))





I used some Cut & Dry with Traditional Tan (!) paint to make a little stripey resist on the tag, dried it, then added some Distress Inks over the top to colour it - the inks are Pumice Stone, Barn Door and Fired Brick with a little Black Soot thrown in for definition. I made a background using Studio 490 stamps by smooshing ink onto a craft sheet and spritzing with water, then dipping the stamp into the mix and pressing it onto the tag. It gives a more blendy look and the different colours transfer over really well.




The dies were used on the Bug with Grungeboard, which I then coloured with the same inks and stuck the heart together with Glossy Accents. Now, I am a tad clumsy and had splodged GA over the swirly part of the heart, so I decided to fill it up with GA to cover the error...and added in a few BeaDazzles to jazz it up. The wings were painted with Gold Dabber and then I used Trad Tan with a piece of sequin waste to make the dotty pattern. The crown had the Gold Dabber treatment and then was covered with more BeaDazzles.





I added some gorgeous red RicRac ribbon and a little charm - not sure where I got this but I think it is a 7Gyspies product, I popped a little piece of an Adage Ticket into it and then tied it to the RicRac. I had such a fabby day... can't believe it's a week ago already! Where on Earth is time going to??? The Kiss is from the Idea-ology range - I just dabbed Gold paint onto it and wiped off, so it sat into the recess of the letters.




So... today is a very important day in the UK - tis our General Election day and I just wanted to mention a subject very close to my heart... that I will forever be in debt to those brave women who tirelessly campaigned for women to have the right to vote. Those Suffragettes deserve a mention today - I will never take it for granted that I can get my Polling Card and go and put the X in the box - I will remember them, their struggles, their loss of life and say a silent prayer of thanks to them all. Brave women who made life so very much better and easier for all us women today. Right, enough heavy stuff from me - enjoy your day and if you are like me - enjoy your evening and night... I will be staying up and watching the "Swingometer" and seeing where the future is going to take us... TTFN

Hels x

Tilda Got Tagged....Again!

Hello,

Following on from my post last week about the Tilda Tag for my Cute Tag Swap, here is the second one I made. Sadly, I didn't get chance to finish the third one for it to be included in the swap last month...where does time go eh?




I used a Tilda stamp, isn't she just so cute???? And to adorn the tag, I used Stitchel flower and butterfly stamps from the DashyDot and DottyDot sets, which I coloured, along with Tilda, with Pro Markers.




The little piece of card she is sitting on was made using a Nestability and I made little dots in white pen to match the heavenly Basic Grey Wisteria papers I had used as a base for the tag.




I added a little bit of beaded fringe and a fancy headed pin along with some DewDropz to embellish the flowers and butterflies to finish the tag.

Thanks for looking :O))

Hels x

Tilda Got Tagged!

Hey Peeps

The swap this month was for "Cute Tags". Mmm, my recent foray into the world of cuteness has left me kind of liking colouring in and cutting out Tilda's and Gorjuss images...and adding flowers, pearls, fringing.... Isn't colouring in soooo therapeutic? :O))

Tag #1 was made using large buff tags from LB Crafts as a base. I covered one side on two tags with papers from the heavenly new Basic Grey Wisteria collection ... cor these colours are lush, purples and blues and a bit of green thrown in for good measure....perfect!




I used my Cuttlebug and rectangliar scalloped Nesties to make a little mat for Tilda to stand on using co-ordinating Bazzill Cardstock. I used a Ranger white pen to make little flowery dotty things in the scallops - and these little flowery dotty things mirror the centre of the flowers on the background paper.





Tilda was coloured in to match with the papers...I got her from Stampezee ... she is my all time fave now & is from the new Spring 09 collection.



I then stamped several of my Stitchels stamps from the Dashy Dot range, which, by the way, you can get from The Artistic Stamper - and once the images were all coloured, I used the white pen again to go over the stitches on the images to make them pop a little...I layered them and curled the edges and popped them onto the tag using silicone glue.




I added a little heart head pin with beads threaded onto it and stuck this into the silicone glue behind one of the Stitchels flowers. The centres of the flowers and the body of the butterfly are DewDrops (also from Stampezee) and I used a Sakura Glaze pen to emphasise the wings of the Tilda and her shoes too. I did get a little inky cos I used a CatsEye inkpad to edge the tag to finish it properly :O))

Thanks for looking and hope you all have a great afternoon and evening.....

Hels x

Frosty Goes Grungey!

Afternoon peeps,

A few weeks ago, I made a couple of tags for the swap I run. I have already blogged the Santa tag so thought I would show you the other that I made :O))

The tags I use are from LB Crafts and are, for me, the best you can get. They are lovely and smooth so really love Distress Inks and are the perfect size, being about 6" x 3".




I started off by painting the tag with Weathered Wood Cracklepaint. Once this was dry, I used a blending tool and covered the bottom of the tag with Weathered Wood Distress Ink and then edged with Faded Jeans Distress Ink. I next inked up (using Midnight Blue StaZon) the fab Snowman stamp which is from the Tim Holtz range by Stampers Anon. I stamped this onto the bottom half of the tag and luckily, the stamp is just the right size to fit perfectly!




To make the snowman stand out more, I used white acrylic paint, which I blobbed onto my craft sheet and then spritzed with a little water. This made the paint thinner and more pliable as I do find that acrylic paint can be a little bit thick to paint with LOL I used a fine paintbrush and carefully painted in the snowman and the words and snowflakes on the stamped image. I used a cocktail stick to add little dots of white to the background to make the snowflakes stand out a bit too.




The large snowflake on the top of the tag is actually a Grungeboard shape from the Seasonal range. I had previously painted it with Weathered Wood Cracklepaint and then just lightly brushed some Pearl acrylic paint over the top to make it shimmer. I added a brad as a fastener to finish it off. Finally, I used a piece of snowy paper which is from last years stash (think it is My Minds Eye), tore a small piece to cover the join between the distress ink and the cracklepaint and added a little greeting. I forgot to take a photo of the back of the tag but it was just covered with paper and nowt special!! LOL




Thanks for looking - I can't remember who got this tag in their swaps but I hope that they liked it.

Hels x

A Bit of This.... & A Bit of That!

Hello,

I have been a bad Blogger and not really kept up to date with things recently - I seem to have had so much happening and very little time to concentrate! I am doing a massive catch up post here with a few of the things that I have been making...all very different from one another, some cards, ATCs, Tag and even a little House too!

Cards:

These are made using the Rachelle Anne Miller clear stamps, which are so cute!! I coloured the images using Prismacolor Premium Pencils and co-ordinated with various fancy papers, Stitchels and florals.





Tags:

I made these for the Hels Angels Tag Swap for July. The theme was Friendship and I went a little bit OTT with Distress Inks and Tim Holtz stamps :O))






ATC's:

The Paper Dolls ATC swap this month is themed Hope. Here are the three I have made, all very similar, using K & Co Ancestry papers and Mini Mini Stitchels flowers.





13 Creativity Close:

Another little house for the swap I am hosting - I got carried away with Crackle Paints, Dabbers and generally had lots of fun getting inky and messy :O)) The roof is made up of lots and lots of Mini and Mini Mini Stitchels Dotty Dot Hearts, layered upside down and accented with Glossy Accents.








Thanks for looking!!

Hels x

Feeling Distressed.......Part III

Hello,

Another, and my final, tag for the June Hels Angels swap.

I am getting boring but I made this one in the same way as the previous two so I really haven't got much to say!

Tag 3 - Front

Another shabby and distressed tag - this one was made by me cos I have run out of the bought ones! I have invested in a circle punch now so I can make my own little go around the holey things!!!

The Crackle Paint on this one is Old Paper, the inks are Old Paper, Vintage Photo, Olive Green StaZon and Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

The stamps are by Stampers Anon and are from the Tim Holtz Collection.





Tag 3 - Back

Another simply decorated tag back - using StudioG Alpha's and Olive Green StaZon, along with my "freckling" technique where I pick up a little distress re-inker on a paintbrush, flick at the tag, get covered in splotches of ink and then spend an hour removing it from my desk, walls, arms, clothes...oh the list is endless, but I so love getting this effect!! :O))

Thanks for looking again...this is the last tag ... honest!!! :O))

Hels x

Feeling Distressed.......Part II

Hello!

Following on from my post on Wednesday, I have another Tag for the swap ready to be Blogged.



Tag 2 - Front

Made in pretty much the same way as detailed before, I won't bore you with all the details of how I made it! I will just say that I used Fired Brick Crackle Paint, Black StaZon, Vintage Photo Distress Ink (for stamping and "freckling") and Old Paper Distress Ink for the base. Again, the distressing was done using a metal file, edge distresser, sandpaper, my hands and a lighter!! :O)) The stamps used are by Stampers Anon from the Tim Holtz Collection.




Tag 2 - Back

The back of the tag is made more or less identically to the first one - so I haven't really got much to say about this one! LOL

Thanks for looking again!

Hels x

Feeling Distressed.......Part I

Hello,

The Tag Swap that I run each month has a fab theme this month which is to make tags that are as shabby and distressed as possible.

I love getting inky and messy and this was a perfect opportunity for me to really get stuck into the grungey style of crafting that I love.

Tag 1 - Front

I started out with a smooth Manila tag that was just begging to be altered! First, I "broke" the tag. Basically, this means using your thumb and forefinger to make an indentation in the middle of the tag. This slackens the tension of the card so it can be crumpled more easily. I then crumpled the tag up so it was nice and creased and swiped an Old Paper Distress Inkpad over the top of it. The ink stuck to the creases in the card, which is what I was wanting and then I spritzed the tag with water so the ink bled into the card a little bit. I dried the tag with my heatgun for speed. I then used Frayed Burlap Distress ink and repeated this process but this time I only touched the tag randomly, so I ended up with a lighter and darker shade on the creases. I used Cut & Dry foam to add a little more of the Frayed Burlap ink to the rest of the tag.

I wanted to have a "mouldy" effect on the tag...like it had been sitting in the attic for years and years. I had a brainwave!! I took my Vintage Photo Distress Re-Inker and popped a little drop of ink onto an acrylic block. I then took a fine paint brush and picked up some of the ink on the bristles. Then, I hit the paintbrush against my index finger, holding it over the tag as I did this. Wow, my tags developed freckles.....er, and so did I and the surface of my desk and a few bits went onto the wall too...but hey, this is art :O)) I spritzed the tag again as I wanted to get the "freckles" to smudge a little and again dried with my heatgun. Am not sure if this is a new technique or not but it is fun and I got the effect I wanted too!


Once the tag base was prepared, I used Antique Linen Crackle Paint and painted this onto one of the corners of the tag. I set this aside to dry for an hour or so and then got to work with the distressing and stamping.

To distress this tag, I sanded it, filed it and then set fire to it....well, I actually held my lighter against a torn edge and just singed it.

The stamps are all by Stampers Anon and from the Tim Holtz collection; I used Walnut Stain Distress Ink, Black StaZon and Olive Green StaZon for the stamping.




Tag 1 - Back

The back of the tag was prepared in exactly the same way as the front. I used the same colours and the stamping is kept simple too. :O)) I did add a few more "freckles" to the back just to see what they looked like if they were more concentrated. I added my name using Olive Green StaZon and those ickle StudioG alpha's that I love!



Thanks for looking

Hels x

Rock 'n Roll, Man!

Hello,

I have been itching to Blog this tag I made but I have had to be patient and wait until the main component is actually available to buy as it is soooo new!!

So, what is this new thing I am on about? Well, it is Black Chipboard but with a difference. This is thick, about 2mm, and it has a paler core and backing so it is perfect for distressing. I have used a tag for this project but there are other shapes available; flowers, wings, book covers and smaller tags too.

So, where can you get your hands on this fabbbby new stuff? Here!! The website is in the process of being updated so if you cannot see it on there yet, it will be soon.



I started out by clear stamping and embossing the skull image. *yes this is a firm fave of mine at the moment!! Next, I stamped the birds using Snowcap Dabber and then clear embossed this too. I then dragged Pink Sherbert Dabber all over the tag, then used Raspberry to add accent colour and then wiped off the paint from the images. I used sandpaper to distress the edges of the tag and ran a gold Krylon around the edges to add a little extra dimension to the tag. Finally, I stamped the words using Alpha's from Stamps Away, added ribbons to the hole at the top and then tied a skull charm (which started out as silver and was transformed with my gold Krylon) on gold thread to the top of the tag.

I love this new product and it is really lovely to work onto as it has a nice smooth surface.

Thanks for looking

Hels x

Vintage Tags

Hello,

I have made two tags today for the April Tag Swap I am hosting. The theme is Vintage this month and I have had fun getting all inky and messy again :O))

TAG 1



I started by stamping the Vintage Car in black VersaFine directly onto the tag. I made a mask for the car, placed this over the image and then using Cut & Dry foam, I blended Scattered Straw, Tea Dye and Vintage Photo Distress Inks over the top of the mask and over the tag. I then inked up the Paris Map stamp with Walnut Stain and stamped over the top of the mask, leaving a gap at the bottom of the tag. I used a checkered border stamp for the top and the bottom of the tag and then stamped Memories, again using Walnut Stain. Finally, I added Glossy Accents to the paler parts of the car, used a paper distresser for the edges and then my fave Gold Krylon pen to add a touch of shimmer around the edges.

The stamps are from Tim Holtz Collection - Road Trip unmounted sheet and the border is by Lost Coast Designs.


TAG 2



For this tag, I inked up the little chap stamp with black VersaFine ink and stamped directly onto the tag. As before, I made a mask for the image and then coloured the whole tag using Cut & Dry foam and Tea Dye, Vintage Photo and Aged Mahogany Distress Inks. Next, I inked up the same checker border stamp as before using Walnut Stain, then I stamped it all over the tag. I used the Memories stamp, inking with Aged Mahogany and then using Distress Embossing Powder in Walnut Stain. I added a touch of blue to the little chaps necktie and hat and then used a paper distresser to rough up the edges and whizzed the gold Krylon pen around the edges. The stamps I used for this tag are again by Tim Holtz and are on the The Boys unmounted sheet and the Lost Coast Designs checkered border stamp.

I have to dash off now cos I have a lovely deep bath ready and waiting to get all this ink off my fingers !!

Thanks for looking!

Hels x

Paper Artsy Tag - Clowning Around

Hi again

I have made another Tag for the swap I host each month. The theme this month is "Paper Artsy".

I started off by picking out my most favourite PA stamps - the Pierot Plates.

I love these stamps because I can use lots of bright colours with them. I started by cutting some plain cream cardstock to 3" x 6" and made the tag shapes.



I used Dried Marigold and Spiced Marmalade Distress Inks, blending them using Cut & Dry foam. I then used another bit of Cut & Dry and smudged on Adirondack Wild Plum ink. I then started stamping the images I needed, using a mask where necessary.


I used some domino sized Stampbord, colouring first with the co-ordinating inks and then once I had stamped the image, I used UTEE to coat them. Punching a hole using my lovely Crop-A-Dile, I added some ribbons to them. I almost forgot...I also made some shrink plastic charms using a heart and a hat as templates....they are hanging off the piece of stampbord on the front of the tag :O))

I am really happy with this tag, I love the colours I have used too!

Thanks for looking

Hels xx

Paper Artsy Tag - Love You More

Hello peeps

I have managed to make the most of this morning and had a play with some inks (for a change) and made my first Paper Artsy Tag for the Hels Angels swap I am hosting this month.

I started by cutting some cream cardstock to 3" x 6" and making a tag shape. I used Antique Linen and Fired Brick Distress Ink to colour the background of the tag (I have made two and stuck them together because I have made double sided ones before and mucked up the other side if you know what I mean!! ) I used two of the new stamps from Paper Artsy Squiggley Ink range. I took the word stamp, inked with Goss Boss clear ink and embossed clear too. I then used Cut & Dry foam to colour over the clear image and repeated this three times. I did the same with the love heart too. I spritzed Gold Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist onto my hand and then flicked it onto the background of the tags, this gave me a lovely spotty gold effect.
On side 1 I stamped the words and the heart in Fired Brick and then embossed using Walnut Stain and Fired Brick Distress Powders. I then added a couple of doodles using a Chocolate gel pen (which actually smells of chocolate...yummy)

I repeated the process for the other side and cut up the words and put them on 3D foam onto the tag.

I added a couple of fibres and ribbons to the top of the tag and voila! A love you more Paper Artsy Tag!
I am also going to use this tag for the Arty Girlz weekly challenge which is Paper Artsy this week.

Thanks for looking and ...... Happy Valentines Day to you all.....hope that you have had lots of chocolate and lurve!!

Hels x