Playing With...

...ATC's today :O)) Over on the Play Date Cafe, the new challenge theme is to use a splash of colour, either Teal Blue/Teal Green...so I chose the blue option.



The base of the ATC is a piece of mountboard...I just love using mountboard for ATC's because it is sturdy and you can chuck loads of stuff on it and it doesn't go all warpy like cardstock. Now, to some peeps, the design of this ATC will look really familiar...and that is because I have lost my Mojo *sob*...and ... when I lose my Mojo, I always turn to either books or mags for inspiration...and having recently got myself a copy of the Compendium of Curiosities, there was this little ATC sitting there in the back just calling to me to copy it LOL




I haven't got my mits on any of the new Idea-ology stash yet ... humph... so I used a little hummingbird charm that was in my stash which was gold, so I coloured it with a Krylon to make it match in better. Whatcha fink of the ATC colour???? It is a combo of *big grins* Tumbled Glass and Stormy Sky...yep, the new Distress Inks have come to live with me! So, these colours are just about right for the Play Date challenge - I hope - so the ATC is my entry!




Still in copycat mode, I made another ATC which is in the book...this time using some Cosmo Cricket papers (not got my mits on those heaven new papers from Mr T'Holtz), stuck to mountboard, covered with Rock Candy Cracklepaint, the letters are Grungeboard with printed cardstock over the top...and that little fella...is it just me...or .. does he remind you of Freddie Mercury? I know, the stamp sheet he is on scares me witless... but I had to have him :O)) Oh, and...all of the inks and Idea-ologies used on these can be got from The Artistic Stamper.

Thanks for looking...have a good day ... and please pop by tomorrow for the brand new Sunday Stamper challenge :O))

Hels x

Playing With Wabbits...

...Over on the Play Date Cafe Challenge there is a new theme which is to use brown, red and linen in your art...how cool, my fave colours :O))



For my entry I have made a tag using inky splotchyness to create the coloured background - basically, rubbing DI's onto a craft sheet then spritzing with a mix of water and Perfect Pearls, swooshing the tag thru the inkyness and drying, then repeating until I liked the effect enough to stamp all over it...so most of the inkyness doesn't show...I need to hold back on the stamping I reckon LOL




The stamps are all Tim Holtz Collection and were stamping using Fired Brick and Brushed Corduroy, except for the star border across the middle, another image that isn't showing to well on the pics, but this was stamped in Trad Tan paint, this gives it a bit of texture too and adds in the linen colour required. The rabbit was stamped onto plain Grungeboard, which I had prepped with Tran Tan...he was heat embossed to make him pop a little and then I used ProMarkers to colour in his jacket and give some shading to his legs. I added a little scarf made using ribbon and wire so it looks like it is whipping behind him in the wind as he rushes along.




The sentiment is stamped onto a Ticket and the Type Charms hold a 13 and an H and the Bingo counter is a 40 ~ all of these are significant because...I am a 13th baby, my initial is...erm, H and...believe it or not (I know, you will all be wondering how on earth I have managed to keep such youthful looks ROFL) I am 40 this year.





The sentiment is just so perfect...'cos it never is too late to find out who you want to be...and as life goes on we can all change with it....blimey, that was a bit deep and meaningful...I had better revert to my usual juvenile self PDQ...hey, I am off now...to eat a McDonalds...there, back to being a big kid again :O))

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Hels x

Wun Wabbit, Wun Wabbit....

...Oh how I have longed to be able to say Wabbit out loud! I may even be daring and say...Waskally Wabbits *just me then*LOL So, over on the Play Date Cafe Challenge the new theme this week is to use Red, Lavendar and Silver on your entry;




I was sitting here this evening, hopping about Blogland, as you do...when all of a sudden I was hit with the urge to get my Melt Pot out and play with some beeswax. And...this time I have been more careful and only burnt the side of my hand on the tag I was melting the wax onto...no clothing calamaties this time ROFL Now, when I saw the new Tim Holtz collection stamps one of the first ones I said I wouldn't get was the one with the Wabbit..cos I didn't think I would ever use the stamp. Time to eat my words now...I loved the backgrounds and the butterfly so thought that I could use the sheet anyways...and guess what? The very first stamp I have used is the blinking Wabbit! He is sooooo cute in real rubber and pics on the screen just don't do him justice. I can see he is going to be a fave of mine from now on...plus I can say Wabbit loads of times too!




The tag was cut from Mountboard...wanting something sturdy to apply the beeswax onto gave me this idea - it is 6" x 3" so the normal size I would use anyway. I applied a few smudges of Trad Tan paint to the tag surface using Cut & Dry and then added Dusty Concord and Fired Brick over the top...blending them as I went...and then did some background stamping using the foliage and schwirls from the Wabbit sheet (Spring Sprung to give it it's proper name) ...using Silver Dabber to make the impressions.




I then stamped Wabbit and coloured him with Pro Markers and then painted beeswax over the top of the whole tag... buffing to make it nice and polished once it had cooled. The butterflies were made in the same way...adding some more beeswax once the wings had been curled just to set them so. I added some black StaZon around the edges, adding a few schwirls in black to make it contrast and then finally, I added a sentiment from Wendy Vecchi and some micro beads to the Wabbit tail and the butterfly bodies.





Thanks for looking...have a FAB week...I am going to be sorting out the draw for the OWOH event later on...and will be posting the winners on here too :O))

Hels x

Playing With Metallics....

...Over on the Play Date Cafe challenge blog there is a new theme this week....to use Black, White, Silver and Gold....




Oh how totally perfect for me...my fave colour combo's! I could have made several things for this challenge...but I have yet to make my Sunday Stamper entry for tomorrow so I had to do everything on one piece :O))



I used a Maya Road chipboard base and covered it with a layer of Claudine Hellmuth's Blank Canvas paint...dried this off with the heatgun and then popped some Terra on top. I used a couple of background stamps from The Artistic Stamper, including the new Sequin Waste stamp...which is now my favest ever *see how quickly my faves change and then change again?* I used the heatgun to dry the Terra...and this bubbles it up in places which gives a great textured base to then play with paints. Painting over the Terra with more Blank Canvas and then using Silver and Gold Dabbers to emphasise the bumps and textures.




The roses are made using the Flower Power plate, medium sized flower, stamped onto Claudine's Sticky Back Canvas...I painted this with a couple of layers of Blank Canvas and then used a StaZon to stamp the flower. One of the roses had the Houndstooth and the other had the Dotty backgrounds ... again from The Artistic Stamper. I backed the canvas onto Rock Star black Ten Second Studio metal...this doesn't show up as well as I would have liked...think I need to try this method again and perfect it LOL The birdy is a Maya Road shape, as is the message mat, stamped with background stamps and then a Studio 490 sentiment. I added in a few scrolls .. yep, Maya Road again...and some black pearly things to finish it off.




I loved making this...fave colours, fave products and ...Mojo restored! I can now go and make something for tomorrow...thanks for looking...have a great day...I am off to get inky and messy and see what I can come up with for the new Sunday Stamper tomorrow...please check back in the morning to see what the new theme is :O))

Hels x

'Cafe' New Year!

...Happy New Year everyone! Wow...a whole new year and new decade to look forward to ... and just a few words from me to all the peeps who have been so kind to follow my Blog and leave me such amazing comments...thanks guys for all your support!




Over on the Play Date Cafe challenge this week there is a new colour challenge...that got me stumped! I loved the idea of using these colours but for some reason spent a couple of hours scratching my head how to incorporate them all together...so I ended up bunging a tag together LOL




I used a combo of Glimmer Mists and Distress Inks to get the tag coloured and then made a little card to fit inside a Memory Frame with a Memory Capsule over it...which I then filled with beads. I added some Idea-ology and made a Grungepaper rose using the Flower Power large stamp by The Artistic Stamper. The rest of the stamping on the piece is using Wendy Vecchi Studio 490 stamps..well, I thought I would start the new year off as I ended it...still totally adoring all those designs by Wendy and ... I cannot wait to see her new sets coming soon!




Thanks for looking...have a great New Year everyone ... and ... may your fingers be continually inky :O))

Hels x

Tilda Gets a Play Date

...Over at the Play Date Cafe there is a new theme for their challenge this week...to use blue, gold and cream. It just so happens that I made something over the past few weeks and a couple of the pieces of it incorporate these colours.




Now, this thing...it started off as a little project...a "Secret Santa" made gift for a friend...and over the days, then weeks and then months...it kind of grew, and then grew some more...until it was soooo big it was even bigger than the machine it was supposed to be bound in! What am I waffling on about???? Well, I made Andrea a Calendar for 2010...with a Tilda card layout for each month...thinking it would fit lovely into my Bind It All...ha! I then changed it and thought I could fit it into the BIA in two parts...nope! Still too fat...so I used ribbons for the binding




Anyways..this is the front cover and Miss January :O)) I know the gold is a bit tenuous as it is only the gold ribbons that feature...but ... they are gold LOL And, I hope these pics are accepted as my entry for the Cafe challenge.





Thanks for looking...please don't forget the Sunday Stamper this week and the Candy on offer...details on the post below this one.

Hels x

Tilda Gets a Play Date

...Over on the Play Date Cafe Challenge there is a new colour theme for this week...now, these aren't normally colours that I would naturally think of putting together...but I just love this combo! And...I am soooo chuffed because my Pixie card entry last week made the top 4 there! :O))




I am still in lurve with Tilda so here is another card I have made using the new Christmas images and some of the lush Magnolia Ink papers.




Tilda is coloured with ProMarkers - I am still on a learning curve with the shading but I am getting there I think LOL I used a Martha Stewart punch to make a border, then backed it with Bazzill so I could add in another of the colours needed. Click on the piccie to see close ups :O))




The flowers are all Prima's along with some orange paper roses...which I ran out of so had to improvise and dye a couple with ink. The mats are made from Nesties and I used some Old Paper DI to blend in the edges of the cardstock.




Thanks for looking...have a good day!

Hels x

Pretty Pixie Painting Posies....

..Aha, try saying that when you have had a tot too much LOL...yes, today is a very exciting day over at The Artistic Stamper where we see the launch of three brand new Mabel Lucie Attwell designs...and they are all as cute as this one I have chosen to play with today :O))




The card is made up of Basic Grey Papers, some Stitchels flowers which have been layered and blinged up and of course, our little Natures Little Helper which has been coloured with ProMarkers.




I chose the colour scheme to match in with the Play Date Cafe Challenge which this week is Blues, Silver, Lilacs and White.




Thanks for looking...have a good day :O))

Hels x

Play...Tag?

...I love a good challenge and over on the Play Date Cafe blog this week the challenge is a colour one...yum...the colours to use are: blue/green, chocolate brown, tan and cream...real warm homely colours I think :O))




I made a tag for my entry...using Distress Inks to make a background colour and then stamping some Studio 490 stamps into some more DI's that I splodged onto the craft sheet and spritzed with water...I love this method... simply because the DI's react with water...so when you stamp the background it is a lovely bleachy look.




I also used more Studio 490 stamps for the main part and sentiment...and used Grungepaper to make some adornments for the head...which also had some Film Strip attached to make some specs...I know I have said this a thousand times but...Wendy Vecchi has the most amazing range of stamps...very versatile...and she continually comes up with brilliant ideas on her Blog...which I then snaffle and use myself...total copycat I know...but I cannot resist!




You know I said yesterday that the weather was going to be bad???? Well, during the night I thought the house was going to fly away...and I would end up in Oz just like Dorothy...it has calmed a bit now but definitely another day indoors for me! Thanks for looking...oh and don't forget to pop in tomorrow...for a brand new Sunday Stamper challenge :O))

Hels x