One Life..Live It!

So I decided I wanted to partake in a couple of challenges and the one's that caught my eye this week were Sunday Stamper. Hels has a 'Brown' theme and I love me some brown shades,

and Crafty Emblies with there new 'no theme' policy.

I have a bit of a new addiction at the moment, Alarm clock Art!

Basically using the Tim Holtz tick tock alterations die and several layers of corrugated card {namely my cat food boxes} i've been making quite a few of these little beauties.

Credit where credit is due.. I was inspired after seeing a utube by Bona, though i've made mine slightly different to the way she makes her's. And since making this one i've done them different again {but I won't go into that now}

 I've used Bo Bunny's 'Et Cetera' papers, a selection of punched out leaves and wild orchid crafts roses.

along with Crafty Emblies wooden pieces, an idea-ology key and a bit of old doily lace, oh and some chit-chat stickers. The edges were covered with micropore tape, trimmed and given a coat of 'mocha mousse' fresco finish paint.
I will apologise now if my blog becomes a wash with these little criters, but they are just so much fun to make, and if I make um I just know you're all gonna wanna see um! So don't say you weren't warned!! lol
Till the next one..
Stay Inky

Shabby Shack!

This going back to work lark has really messed up my crafting schedule lol
There just aren't enough hours in the day, and that is obviously showing with my lack of blogging!
Sorrweeee folks.
But today I am managing to share the piece I made for Hels Sunday Stamper challenge which has a Houses/Home theme

I made this piece by putting a mini embellishment tray into a frame, then I cut some mount board with the 'on the edge' scalloped die and arranged like a roof.

 I painted the whole thing with fresco paints and crackled with the fresco crackle.

I lined the sections with a pretty paper. Then it was just a case of embellishing which I did with mini bottles, charms, and bottle top and a hand made mini book.
And there it is, 1 shabby little shack/ house!
***
After I finished the piece I realized I had not put one bit of stamping on it!!! durr what a muppet I am,
I hope Hels can forgive me that little indiscretion!
***
Thanks for stopping by x
Stay Inky

♥ HUGZ ♥

Handy Man!

I had a pleasant afternoon yesterday skyping with Alison, 

We both made a piece that combined 

Sunday Stamper's 'Men' theme &

Simon Says Stamp'n'Show some 'Hands'.

I made a card

Almost everything on the card is Lord Tim of Holtz stash except the wording which I printed on the comp and cut out with a nestie. 

Click HERE to see what Alison made!
Stay Inky
♥ HUGZ ♥

Art Parts Masterpiece!!

Well it's a masterpiece to me, took me ages!!
Hels over @ Sunday Stamper set this weeks challenge with a twist
She picked 'Love' as the theme but she wants you to use stash/ techniques you love.
I had no problem stepping up to the challenge and quickly pulled out a load of Tim Holtz stash that I love.
I also decided to use some Wendy Vecchi art parts as these are my new found love, I can't believe i'm only just discovering them!!
I used the super cool, large creative covers, a pocket watch & a little scallop
 I used weathered wood distress stain to pre colour the grey shabby chic paper, before attaching it to the outside of the covers.

I used a mask with some texture paste to create the squares, which when dry I inked with walnut stain, I also  used some ruler ribbon to cover the walnut stained sticky canvas edges that hold the covers together {as seen on Linda E's book @ ally pally}

I stamped several of Tim's images in desert sand, rich cocoa and black memento ink to give extra contrast.

I left the inside quite plain, other then papering & inking the edges with walnut stain.
I plan to make some canvas pages for it.

 I used Tim Holtz grunge blocks to make the faux printer's block letters,

I did a strip of masked paper for the spine as it looked a bit plain.
Then I fancied up the pocket watch with more Tim stash, a little scallop art part covered with a piece of scrunched kraft glassine and a mini jar full of watch parts.
***
I'm also entering this for this weeks Simon Says Stamp'n'Show
as there theme is 'Use a Lord Tim of Holtz technique'
Well I did masking, and a sort of version of inked grunge, and the faux printers blocks I learned for him too so that counts..right!
Thanks for hopping by
Until next time
Stay Inky
♥ HUGZ ♥

Diecut Collaboration!

So when i saw that Hels over @ the Sunday Stamper had the theme 'Diecuts' i was straight on the case..
Get it case.. vagabond!
I've a few birthdays coming up so decided to make cards.
I also decided that i was only going to use scraps,
You know how it is, you start something, cut this.. pull that out.. stamp this.. and don't use half of what you thought you would so it gets shoved in the 'I'll use that later' pile.. only for it to sit there forever and a day..
Well today it was their day!
Card one.. Which is also my entry for this weeks Simon Says Stamp'n'Show
'WORD' challenge, my word being Wish.

A real mish mash of elements.. bit of alcohol inked card, bit of embossed metal, Stampers Anonymous TH image, oh and of course said diecuts!
Card two...

Again an assortment, but mainly diecuts apart from the image which is Pucinni's Muse by Stampington, a little metal fancy corner and stamped dragonfly on acetate.
And finally some tattered florals i had cut from jean and lace turned into..

A little hair accessory.
***
Right i'm off for now to get inky maybe, if the old mojo is up to it..
It has been a bit hit and miss lately.. I find i work better when i have company, even if it is only via the computer but there isn't always someone around.
So how do you craft? Are you better on your own or do you like having someone to bounce ideas off and have a bit of a banter with?
Do you chat to friends like i do on skype or are you happy locked in a room on your own with your stash???

Stay Inky
♥ HUGZ ♥

On Form Again!

Dress form that is.. 

Yep i finally got some direction for this project that had been sat on my desk since wednesday.

Hels over @ Sunday Stamper picked 'Brown' as the theme for this week so i set to work adding lots more brown elements. 

I had already cut the denim form and added a brown birdcage skirt.

I had also covered a shadowbox with old dress pattern papers that became browner with the more layers that i added.
So next i set to work stamping some elements for the inside.
I used Tim's new haberdashery stamps, and coloured with distress inks and copic markers.

I made a makeshift cotton reel, and stuck a couple of fancy maya road pins in for a nice extra effect.

I also diecut some tattered florals in denim and lace and attached them together with a buttons and thread.
The lace was pink but i grunged it up with some brown ink.
{What a muppet i am, I've only just realized I totally forgot but the initial idea and theme for this piece was actually prompted by challenge 21 'Denim & Lace' over @ Let's get Shabby, but it's ok, I remembered just in time as there cut off date is the 20th phewww!}
And there you have it... So does anyone else have this die and love it as much as i do...
How are you using yours???
..............
I'll be back in the week with my Alter It Monthly challenge piece,
 I have my pro op assessment for my knee tomorrow.. Will finally find out when i get the dreaded but also hopefully helpful operation!!! Can't quite believe i've been off work over 6 months, and even more so that i've been stuck indoors for the best part of that time.
 so wish me luck!
Until then Stay Inky
♥ HUGZ ♥

Bags of Charm!

As they say in the A Team "I love it when a plan comes together" and thats certainly what happened with this piece.

It started off as my Compendium of Curiosities challenge {Pg 63}
'Dimensional Collage Fragments' I decided to use a fragment charm.
Obviously no collage is complete without a bit of 'Ephemera' which happens to be this weeks Simon Says Stamp'n'Show's theme, so i found a cute little image of boy and girl about to kiss, old ticket, film strip, love heart.... this made me think of love, or should i say 'amour' which gave the piece a distinct french flavour which tied in perfectly with Hels Sunday Stamper 'Paris' theme.
And what started out as a plain key ring sort of developed into a pretty cool bag charm.

Complete with Eiffel Tower.
I'm real pleased how this turned out.. what do you think?
Stay Inky
♥ HUGZ ♥

It's a numbers game!

Just a quickie.. this week Sunday Stampers theme is 'Numbers' and although this doesn't have actual numbers on i figured it was still ok.

As you can tell from the card the old mojo has up and left, but i wanted to try one of my new embossing folders, i just didn't know what to do once i had stuck it to the card!!

I wasn't going to share this but figured you may as well except the bad along with the good, thats what friends do isn't it!
Hopefully i'll have more exciting projects to share soon..
watch this space!
♥ HUGZ ♥

Challenge Hat-trick!

I don't quite know where the days are disappearing to, I s'pose daily life is getting in the way more then i'd like it too. {I'd much rather be in craftroomland covered in ink, then doing the boring stuff like washing and shopping and visiting the hospital for scans etc..}
I did however manage a couple of playful hours yesterday, and before i hear smutty giggles {you know who you are} I mean in the craft room, {My dear other half was working last night but i did receive a very beautiful bouquet of lilies with a single red rose, and a hand made card which made up for the fact i spent the evening alone.} Anyway i digress..
I managed to finish my half started tag which combined 3 challenges

Sunday Stamper 'Love'
Simon Says Stamp'n'Show 'A Tag'
& Stampotique 'Valentines or Love'
Moon girl is actually made out of hearty clay, I stamped her into the clay and then cut her out and coloured her once dry.
The background of the tag is the rusted enamel effect from last weeks compendium challenge
I did manage another challenge tag but i'll save that for tomorrow!
Thanks for dropping by x
♥ HUGZ ♥

Diamond White!

Well i've spent most of today faffing as you do, wanting to craft but nothing springing to mind until i remembered it was Sunday, and that means Hels has a new Sunday Stamper challenge which this week has a theme of 'Diamonds'
I didn't want to leave it there and remembered seeing the dudie ickle card Linda had made for the Drunken Stampers challenge so i thought i'd get in on that too. Their theme being 'Whiteout'
and this is what i came up with..

I used a cuttlebug embossing folder for the background which i lightly brushed with a silver versacolor pad, Cut some nestie labels and the hearts and words on my slice, which i can now do handsfree BTW thanks to the new magnetic mat i have, it's sooooo cool. If you don't have it i would totally recommended it.

Where i cut the inner double heart {from timmy paper} it didn't sit inside so i tore it in half then used wire to connect it up again so its not so much a broken heart, but that of one thats been through some stuff but is still hanging on in there.

I might actually use this for my valentines day card for Tony, though its not what i set out to make it works, right!!

***

Before i go I would just like to say a big thank you to Sam for the lovely parcel i received yesterday

Just look what i got.

Very cool and totally inspiring... Expect some friendly plastic creations blogged soon no doubt!
♥ HUGZ ♥

A Trio of Tags for Day 21!

Ok so i got a little bit carried away with todays tags, I started off wanting to join in with the new Compendium of Curiosities challenge 25 which is 'Scribble Stain Distress'
My first attempt wasn't quite how i'd hoped it may look but I plodded along and ended up with this...

I highlighted my stamping with some glossy accents

And then ran a gold marker round the tag to finish it off.
***
I though i'd give the scribble background another go minus the brown.. this too wasn't the best of results, so after a bit of stamping, some die-cutting, the decision to join in with this weeks Sunday Stamper 'Music' challenge i ended up with this tag..

I made my own tissue tape by stamping on some masking tape, this works a treat let me tell you, but i've found it best to use stazon to get a better image, i forgot this time and used memento and it kinda smudged off a bit where it didn't dry.. hence the very faint music print on it in the pic! lesson learned!

I finished the rosette with some gold flecked lace and the lettering was given a brush over with a gold marker but still leaving some of the brown colour showing to give it the distressed look.
***
So they say the 3rd times a charm, and as i had pretty much covered over the scribble effect in the first two tags i figured 1 last attempt wouldn't hurt..
And what do ya know It came out the best!!!

 As you can see i kept it nice and simple,
And join in with The Stamp Mans 'Anything goes tag' challenge i opted for non christmasy images

So there you have it... A tag-tastic day of scribbly fun,
Oh and if you too are still making tags be sure to join in with Jennie's Tag withdrawal, you could win a prize!
Hope to see you again tomorrow for more tag fun!
♥ HUGZ ♥

Stickley Bug

While I'm off work resting my knee i decided to use the time to play along and combine 2 of my favourite challenges, 

Compendium of Curiosities 'Distress Stickles' Instructions on Pg 46

and Sunday Stamper 'Jars/Bottles'

I've had this idea in my head for ages but just never had a suitable stamp till now.

I know its probably been done loads of times b4 but i just couldn't resist.

I tried to capture the sparkle of the jar {by artistic stamper} so this is 2 shots, one with, one without the flash, 

 it's amazing the colour difference really {the true colour is more like the top one}. 

I had coated the jar in a mix of glossy and crackle accents, then smeared some faded jean stickles over the top for good measure.

Really making the most of the dymo lately too which provided the sentiment.
Oh and the wire background is also by artistic stamper
Thank you once again Linda for challenging me to use my neglected timmy stash, it's always a pleasure.
..............
Thanks for visiting and don't forget to hop back tomorrow to see my newest ASCT piece.
♥ HUGZ ♥

I'm Crackin Up!

No i don't mean literally although some would disagree! I am of course talking Compendium Of Curiosities with it being page 42's 'Distress Crackle' this week.

After seeing Hels doing an ATC i realized it had been an age since i had made and swapped one, So Hels if your up for it.. I'll swap an ATC with ya! 

And here it is...

I used an atc piece of timmy paper from the vintage shabby pad, the sheet music one not that you can see it very well after its coat of rock candy crackle. I die cut all the shapes with timmy dies from grungeboard. And cut the wording from old book pages.
This is also my entry for this weeks Sunday Stamper 'Music' challenge
♥ HUGZ ♥

Quad Challenge!

Hay blogland, I'm still here.. just not had much free time, and the time i have had i've spent faffing doing the boring stuff like washing and sorting etc.. 

So todays tag is is a monster challenge piece combining 4 of the babies into one.. not wanting to miss out and all.. It includes  

Sunday Stamper ' Believe and/or Journey'

Compendium of Curiosities 'Multi-Medium Collage'

Theme Thursday 'Vintage and Tags'

Lots To do 'Shapes' {and last weeks too which was 'Stitching'}

I shaped my tag using one of my alterations 'on the edge' dies, Inked the base with victorian velvet and bundled sage, then i rubbed some vintage photo on my craft sheet and spritzed with a gold perfect pearl water mix , i used this to ink my dotty background stamp and stamp onto my tag. I also embossed some dots using my cuttlebug. I stamped some stitches either side of the embossing and embellished with a selection of paper roses and lace, I covered a maya road mini butterfly shape following timmys instructions from the book page 66, stamped the word believe, and edged the whole tag with gold to finish it off.

***

Oh a quick update for those wondering... 'Project craftroom' still isn't quite complete and i don't wanna reveal all till its all looking prim and proper, I finally have the last cupboard being delivered next wed so here's hoping i can join in with woyww {which i have missed for a couple of weeks now} and show you all my new and wonderful space.

Right thats all for now, Happy Creating.

♥ HUGZ ♥

Singing the Blues!

Another week has almost passed so i managed a trio of challenges combined into one tag.

Sunday Stamper 'Blue'

Compendium of Curiosities challenge #5 'Distress Powder'

Tag Tuesday 'Hearts'

Sorry for the brief post but it's 3am and i'm about to hit the sack!
xx Have a Crafty Day xx
♥ HUGZ ♥