Orient .....

A set of ATC's in the theme of 'Oriental' made for a swap over on UK Stampers Forum ...

I used re-cycled packaging for the bases which were cut to 3.5 x 2.5 inches.  They were covered with some oriental gold metallic printed paper and were then stamped with a convolvulus stamp in Versamark ink and heat embossed with metallic gold/red embossing powder. The tags were die-cut and stamped before adding stickers, metal charm & gem. An eyelet was added and threaded with gold twine.

The background was then embellished with half a black fabric flower and a matt red brad and a square gold jewel brad.  The tags were edged in Brilliance red ink before placing as shown with foam pads on the ATC's.

Each of the ATC's were also edged in the same Brilliance ink to finish.

Sid xx

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Abstract ......

Made a set of Abstract design Inchies for a swap this month in UK Stampers Forum ....

Decided on a background made with Distress Oxides onto re-cycled packaging which was punched into 1 inch squares.  These were stamped onto with a variety of stamps in Versamark ink and various Moonglow embossing powders and the design built up with successive layers.

Each Inchie was embellished with a royal blue crystal and each was edged in 18ct gold Krylon pen.

If you fancy joining in with our monthly swaps click HERE to go to join the Forum .... it's Free, Friendly & Fun !!!

Sid xx

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Smiley heart .....

A mailart postcard made for a swap on UK Stampers Forum .....

Using heat embossing on printed papers embellished wth Posca pen, Stickles glitter glue and edged with Chalk ink .....

Do join the Forum, it's free, friendly & fun ..... click HERE to go there  !

Sid xx

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Hugs ....

Made an Artist Trading Coin for a swap .....

I have used recycled packaging to die-cut the base and then stamped the coin in Versamark in several times and heat embossed with various pearlescent metallic embossing powders.  Some swuares were infilled with Posca marker.

The puppy is stamped in Memento ink, coloured with alcohol markers and trimmed out.  Some gloddy accents were added on the eyes & nose.  The word was stamped in archival ink, matted on green card, trimmed and applied on foam pads.

Sid xx

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Snowflakes .....

A set of 3 ATC's made for a swap in UK Stampers Forum Facebook Group ....

The background is on blue iridescent textured card which has been sprayed with silver mica spray and stamped and heat embossed with metallic powders.

The main snowflake has been die-cut from heat embossed white sparkle white card.  The centres have been highlighted with gems. The sentiment has been stamped and heat embossed with silver embossing powder and this has been matted and applied on foam pads.

If you like making ATC's whu not join UK Stampers Forum to join in .... it's free & fun !  Click HERE to go there ....

Sid xx

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Vision ....

Made a decorated tag for a monthly swap over on UK Stampers Forum ....

I have used Visible Image stamps.  The main image was stamped in Archival black ink on sage green card & coloured with Posca marker and twinkling H2O's. The edges of the tag have been die-cut with small holes and the tag backed in silver Mirri board so the silver shows through.

The words were stamped in Versafine ink and heat embossed with Moonglow violet obsidian embossing powder.

A series of eyelets were coloured and added with the Crop-a-dile and the top hole threaded through with some decorative threads.

Sid xx

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Seashells .....

Made a set of 'Seashell' Artist trading Coins for a swap on UK Stampers Forum ....

The bases were die-cut to 2.5 inch diameter from recycled card.  The background was made from Distress Oxide ink.  I stamped a swirl onto the background in Versamark ink and heat embossed this with green/gold embossing powder.  I then stamped some shabby spots and decorated these with Posca pen and some Stickles glitter glue.

The shells were stamped in various browns onto white card, trimmed and highlighted with Glossy Accents before mounting on the Coins on foam pads. I have used DYMO words in blue !

Each Coin was then edged in Krylon gold pen to finish.

If you fancy joining in the swap then click HERE to go to the Forum ..... it's free & fun to join !

Sid xx

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Light as ......

Each Month on UK Stampers Forum Facebook Group we have a decorated tag swap .... this is my creation for May 2018 ....., distress inks, stamps, pens, printed alphas,  beads& Sari silk to make it !

If you fancy joining in the Swap (there are others too !), click HERE to go there ......

Sid xx

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Framed Postcard

 

This is a postcard that have made for the UK Stampers monthly swap for August.  The theme is to use a frame on your postcard. I started with a piece of white card 6 x 4 inches which I coloured with Distress Inks applied direct to the card. I used faded jeans and victorian velvet which I dried with a heat gun.  The base was stamped around the edges with a swirl stamp and Memento black ink.

I then stamped a face stamp from Crafty Individuals in Versamark ink and heat embossed this with a Moonglow embossing powder which is metallic (doesn't show very well on the photo).  I used Distress Stickles in victorian velvet to infill the un-embossed facial details and edged this with a silver Posca Marker.

 

The frame was cut from mountboard using a movers and shapers Die from Sizzix and this was painted with metallic acrylic paint in turquoise.  This was stuck over the embossed face image firmly with Glossy accents.  I applied some black Stazon on the same swirl stamp to embellish the corners of the frame.

Finishing touches were to add the printed words and edge with white Posca marker.  The whole thing was then sprayed with acrylic sealer as it will end up in the post naked !

Sid xx

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Things I Love

This little hanging is entitled Things I love and of course is made using a chipboard heart which is 13 x 13 cms in size.

I have had a load of Lynne Perrella stamps by PaperArtsy and have hardly used them so thought I would select one as the focal point for this project. In fact all stamps are by PaperArtsy.

First I stamped the image in Memento tuxedo black ink onto white cardstock.  I then tore the edges and coloured the image with Alcohol ink brush markers in shades of purple and pink.  The edges were touched with a gold Posca pen to highlight..

The base heart was covered in a printed paper of distressed letters on black background.  I then used more PaperArtsy stamps inked with Versamark ink and heat embossed with 3 different Moonglow embossing powders for a subtle mica finish (best seen with the naked eye).

Once this was done I took two pieces of ribbon, one turquoise grosgrain and one slightly thinner in purple satin.  The purple satin ribbon was overstamped with another circular LP stamp and more Memento tuxedo black ink and was stuck onto the turquoise with red line tape.  The assembled ribbon band was then stuck in place as shown across the heart.

The heart was then provided with two gold eyelets added with the crop-a-dile and the whole thing edged with more Posca gold pen.  The stamped image was then added on foam pads and the word stickers added as shown.

Finishing touches were to add a length of silk sari ribbon and more of the purple ribbon through the eyelets tied in a rough knot to allow it to be hung.  Just love the colours on this piece.

Sid xx

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Look out, Look out the 31st is About !

Here is my October postcard for the monthly 'Naked Postcard' swap over on UK Stampers !  Bet you can't guess what the theme is.

Yes, it's Halloween of course !

My postcard started life as a piece of A4 plain copier paper which I treated with a homemade blue and silver mica powder spray leaving a portion at the top unsprayed.  I let it dry naturally and built up a couple more layers until happy with the sheen.  I then trimmed out a suitable piece to 6 x 4 inches. The top of the piece was coloured with wild honey Distress Stain applied direct to paper, overlapping the blue a bit.

Next I dribbled a few drops of poppy Sticky Fingers Summer Ink from the top left and allowed it to drip down before drying with a heat gun.  At this stage I sprayed liberally with cheap hairspray to set and seal.

All clear stamps were from a set by PinkPaisley and the side border, 31 and chandeliers were stamped in Archival black ink.  The 'Beware' seal was stamped in Versamark and heat embossed with Moonglow holly berry red gold embossing powder.

The paper was then stuck onto a piece of stout card with a glue stick and the card was edged with maroon Chalk Ink.  I then sprayed again with cheap hairspray just to be sure it would travel through the post.

Sid xx

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Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder !

I have entitled this little wooden shadow box 'Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder' as the framed image is one of a rather stern looking lady whilst the other images are those of  young and rather attractive vintage ladies.  Nice to contrast the two I think.

The plain wood shadow box was first painted with one coat of Viva precious metal colour in turquoise.  Once dry I cut down some Crafty Individuals domino sized images to fill 5 of the 6 boxes.  These were then stuck in place.

I also used black Stazon and a swirl stamp to stamp the outside edges of the box.

I edged the bottom right corner of the images with diamond Stickles glitter glue to add a little more bling.

The frame is also one of Crafty Individuals and was glittered to within an inch of its life with dries clear pva and fine turquoise glitter.  Once the glue had dried all edges of the frame were coloured in purple alcohol ink pen.

The stern lady image was stamped in Versafine ink and heat embossed with Moonglow imperial crown purple gold embossing powder before trimming out and colouring with Copic in pale violet.

This was stuck in place and a small metal strawberry charm was applied.  Finally the glittered frame was stuck in place with Glossy Accents and each of the boxes edged with small dots of purple Stickles.

Sid xx

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Time & Tide ATC's

Here are a trio of ATC's done as part of a swap over on UK Stampers Forum.  The theme for these is 'Shades of Blue.

I started with white cardstock cut to size and used mica sprays made with faded jeans Distress ink and silver Cosmic Shimmer mica powder in a mini mister.  This was sprayed heavily until it ran in drips down the base card.  This was allowed to dry naturally.  A few coats were applied to give depth.

Next I sprayed  delphinium summer ink from Sticky Fingers over this until happy with the effect.  Some spatters and some drips were made also.  This was dried with the heat gun.

I next took some cheap blue glitter glue, applied swirls of this over each card and then dabbed over with a piece of dry baby wipe to distribute roughly, leaving an uneven and slightly glittery surface.  This was allowed to dry.

All the stamps used are PaperArtsy and I stamped the moth in black Stazon and a leaf in aquamarine Stazon as shown.The sentiment was stamped with Veramark ink and heat embossed with midnight sapphire obsidian Moonglow embossing powder.  The edges of the cards were coloured with wild iris chalk ink.

All three of the cards are slightly different but all have the same elements.  Hopefully I have captured a little of the detail of the surfaces on the pics.

Sid xx

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I'm forever blowing bubbles !

Here is another rather bubbly creation made as my entry for this weeks Rolling Recipe Challenge over on the UK Stampers Forum.  This weeks ingredients were:

1. Heat embossing

2. Something round

3. Something shiny

So I decided on a theme of bubbles.  I started with three round metal edged tags in different sizes.  Each one was heat embossed several times with Moonglow embossing powders in aurora amethyst, midnight violet obsidian & sunset yellow orange.

The base tag was cut from white card and coloured with cut'n'dry foam and Distress inks in milled lavender and mustard seed.

Next a bubbles stamp (Cherry Pie) was inked in Milled lavender then mustard seed and lastly in dusty concord and stamped randomly on the background. A couple of squares were also stamped in the same inks.

 

The words 'light as a feather' were coloured in milled lavender and stuck in place as shown with Glossy Accents.  Some iridescent beads were stuck in place at the bottom left corner and allowed to dry.  The embossed circles were then shaded with reflections in white opaque pen and these were stuck in place.

Final touches were made by adding a yellow eyelet with the crop-a-dile and tying some sari silk through the hole.  The tag was then finished with purple chalk ink on the edge.

Sid xx

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Au Naturelle ATC

This ATC started life as a humble piece of card backing from some embellishments. It was cut to size with some uneven edges and coated with a piece of original Japanese newspaper.  This was then coloured with Adirondack inks in cranberry and eggplant with cut'n'dry foam until the desired effect was obtained. 

The Ginkgo image (Inkadinkado) was inked with Versamark, stamped onto white card and heat embossed with Moonglow tannenbaum green gold embossing powder.  This was then coloured with the same Adirondack colours before being cut out and stuck in place as shown.

Next some blackberry Croco Crackling Colour (Viva Decor) was scraped on quite thickly with an old credit card on two corners and this was allowed to dry until crackled.  The card was then embellished with some transparent polymer stickers and the rub-on word applied at the top. The edges were finished with mauve Colorbox chalk ink,

I wanted to do a sort of plum and green effect depicting the beautiful colours of the oriental plum blossom so common in Japan !

Sid xx

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Another D-Fly ATC

Another dragonfly ATC with a much darker background this time.  This ATC was cut from black mountboard and the background made by spraying with homemade mica sprays.  I used lilac, sapphire and silver micas in a mini sprayer with water and a few drops of Distress re-inkers to add a colour element.

I sprayed liberally and allowed the coats to dry between (they don't photograph well unfortunately but look fab in the light).

The swirl stamp is from Cherry Pie and was stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with imperial crown violet gold Moonglow embossing powder.  The other stamp of the dragonfly tag was then stamped with Versamark and heat embossed this time with antique gold embossing powder.  A few dots were added to the wings with an opaque white pigment pen to finish.

Simple, but effective, I think the black mountboard is a super surface for moonglow or mica sprays because it really enhances the mica shimmer and colours.

Sid xx

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'Key to Christmas' Tag

What is the key to a great Christmas? A tag of course !! This one was done in a theme of mauve and pink and I wanted to do a swirly type of design this time. Although it's not easy to see in the pics, the swirls have actually been heat embossed with Kaleidoscope embossing powder giving then a multi-coloured, subtle sparkle. The EP acts as a resist to the application of Distress ink afterwards.

I started with a white textured card base cut to size and stamped this with a clear swirly stamp from L'il Davis Designs. The stamp was inked with Versamark and heat embossed with the Kaleidoscope EP. I then applied Ranger Distress inks with cut'n'dry foam in dusky concord and worn lipstick over the EP. The background was dried with a heat gun and splashed with drops of water which were allowed to dry naturally. The background was finished with a cloud of sky stamp and lightning white Brilliance ink. The outside edge of the tag was coloured with pink chalk ink.

Next a Christmas word stamp from PaperArtsy was inked with Versamark and heat embossed with Moonglow midnight violet obsidian embossing powder on fuschia coloured card. This was edged with violet chalk ink and was trimmed and a hole made with a piercing tool and embellished with a few triangular jump rings. The word plate was applied on foam pads and the jump ring chain secured at the top with a square bronze brad.

A length of silk sari ribbon in dark maroon was wrapped around the tag and threaded with the metal key before securing at the back with double sided tape. The word PEACE was applied with clear epoxy letters.

A hole and pale violet eyelet were applied with a crop-a-dile at the top of the tag and the remaining sari ribbon tied in a bow through this to finish.

Sid xx

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'L' is for Love Tag

Here is my entry for the UK Stampers Challenge. This one is a bit late but I am catching up on the ones I have missed as we went through the alphabet.

I used dark pink card as the base for this tag. The base tag was stamped multiple times with a flourish stamp from Crafty Individuals in dark brown Whispers dye ink to create the background.

The hearts were all stamped with Versafine using a range of stamps from a plate from Elusive Images. Each was heat embossed with a range of embossing powders from Moonglow (Stardust candy rose, Holly berry red gold, Cosmic pink blue, Razzleberry plum) and a glitter EP called Golden Ruby Sparkle. Each was cut out and mounted as shown on foam pads, overlapping each in a cascade from top to bottom.

The chipboard letter L was inked with dark brown dye ink and distressed around the edges slightly. The letters were a clear sticker which had had the L removed before highlighting with dark brown Sharpie pen. The sticker was stuck in place and burnished and the L applied with glossy accents.

The edges of the tag were inked with dark brown chalk ink.

A hole and dark red eyelet were applied with a crop-a-dile and some red silk fibres added to finish.

Hope you like it.

Sid xx

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'Blue Moon'

Here is my entry for the TMTA challenge this week. The theme is 'Moon' so I decided to go a little 'Blue'. Background is grey & silver mottled card. Stamps are by PaperArtsy and A Stamp In The Hand inked with black Stazon & starlite silver, pearlescent sky blue Brilliance. The alphas are Making Memories magnetic heat embossed with Versamark and Moon Glow madonna robe blue gold EP. The moon is coloured with Marvey le Plume II pen.

Hope you like it :-)

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'Vintage' ATC's

Here are a set of three ATC's I did for a swap. The theme was Vintage.

The first (from left) was made from a piece of serendipity paper that I had stamped on numerous times and I then heat embossed the stamp (from the 'pensive' plate by Cherry Pie) with blue glass EP finishing with an edging with iris chalk ink and the word EVIDENCE.

The second is on a background made from Moonglow mica sprays and templates. A few layers were applied over magenta cardstock and allowed to dry. The swirls stamp was from Crafty Individuals and was inked with Adirondack Eggplant ink. The collage element is another stamp from Cherry Pie (Klimt plate) and was finished with Alcohol Inks in various orangey colours and finished with black stazon on glossy cardstock. The card was edged with midnight blue obsidian EP from Moonglow.

The third uses another homemade background using blue Moonglow Glitz Spritz sprays. The flourish stamp was another from Crafty Individuals and was inked and stamped with denim Adirondack Ink. The image is another from Cherry Pie and was stamped in black Stazon on white glossy card, cut out and split three times before adhering to the background. The headress was made by applying glossy accents as a glue and then sticking on random black sequins and infilling with stickles glitter glue.

Hope the recipients like them :-)

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