TMTA the night of the witches

I was absolutely over the moon to see that my mermaid ATC had made the TMTA sampler this week, so I was really inspired to enter again. The theme this week is the night of the witches. I've used two stamps from the non-sequitur mystical dreams plate. one of which I have stamped in grey and one in black. I have then coloured the ATC with watercolours. This is meant to represent a spirit overseeing the stone circle.

Party Pants!

I don't do many "commission" cards these days, but I was asked to do this one for a friend. The brief (excuse the pun) was quite tight. It's a fortieth birthday card, it needed to be a little risque, but not so much you wouldn't put it up in full view of your family. it needed to include maybe a knickers or stockings theme, as that is part of the present, and be suitable for a woman who had re-discovered "partying". I wouldn't normally put this style of card on my blog, but I thought this might raise a few smiles!

Arty girlz- handmade backgrounds

The theme on the Arty girlz challenge blog this week has been chosen by Paula She has chosen the theme Handmade backgrounds. Which I think is a great theme. I love my patterned papers, but often it's nice to start with a piece of white card, and do it all yourself.

which is what I did here. I started with white card and stamped the sheet music in black. I then coloured the whole card with tea dye distress ink. I then roughly gessoed areas using a credit card. I painted pearlescesnt paint onto the sequin waste stamp and stamped this over the background. I painted the same paint round the edges an rubbed it in with my fingers. I filled in other areas with a lighter shade of paint. I stamped Joyce onto white card and cut her out (minus her wings) I stamped her again onto tracing paper and cut out her wings (and part of her body) to attach to her. I painted the wings with the pearlescent paint which when dry gives the tracing paper a feel off old parchment. I did some more tracing paper like this to add to the background, and curled it to make it look even more like old parchment.

I stamped the gothic fencing accross the bottom of my background, and the wish word to the background. I mounted this 4x4 onto shiny copper card, stamped the leavy swirl across the corner, and embossed with copper.

I added some beads and a brad to finish.

I have tried to achvieve quite a masculine feel to this piece as I plan to use it on a card for my husband's birthday.

all stamps are by Inka

Mixed Media Monday - Hats

The theme at mixed media monday this week is hats. I have quite a few collages images from Inka with children in these fun paper hats. I decided to make a tag, as I haven't made one of these shaped tags for ages and I used to make them all the time. I've kept it all quite flat so it can be used as a book mark.

I chose a french text background to match the hat, which I roughly gessoed, and then inked with distress over the ungessoed bits (the gesso acts as a resist. I stamped over the background with the sequence waste stamp, and the torn edge stamp. I then chose various papers to match the image. I chose to use the word wish because of the wand!!

I also stamped the wish word on the ribbon as I had a new versacraft ink pad that I NEEEDED to play with.

all stamps are by Inka

Think monday think atc - mermaids

The theme at TMTA is mermaids. I have one mermaid stamp and as luck would have it she just about fits on an ATC. This stamp is by time to stamp. I have used another stamp, a swirl, from time to stamp on the background, but I've done so much layering over it you can't see it much now. I stamped the swirl in green all over the background, then I brayered various blue and green inks over it. I decided this was too dark so I smooshed a little gesso over it. I then used the edge of my versamark pad to make lines which I embossed with moon glow two-tone powder. I have also stamped a music stamp from river city rubber works over small areas in sky blue brilliance ink, but you can't see that unless you look closely.
the vellum accross the front has a hampton art dream stamp in sky blue , then overstamped with the words from invoke arts.

The mermaid is coloured with watercolours and cut out (which takes ages with that hair! lol)

if you haven't guessed this ATC is meant to represent the mermaids song, which lures sailors onto the rocks.

and another acetate card

This is the card I made for Jo's birthday. Jo has been such an inspiration and support to me so I wanted her card to be special. This card is quite simple, but I was really pleased with it. The collage image is by Inka, and I think it's my favourite. The background flower paper is by papermania (retro floral) and the word is also by Inka.

I also made this gift tag for Jo using inka stamps.

acetate card

I nearly forgot to blog this one. it's another card for Inka's gallery. I've used Delaney. I love this stamp. it has so much energy. I also used the sheet music stamp, which I stamped and embossed with silver pearl and then rubbed over with various chalk inks. I stamped the leafy flourish directly onto the acetate and nounted the other elements over it. adding the word from the large collage words.

I used my new crop-a-dile to add the eyelets

chalks and hair dye

This is a card that I made using the only Inka stamp I had that I hadn't yet used. it's a lovely photo stamp (she's called June). I decided I wanted to do it with the versamark and chalk technique. These weren't the colours I was originally going to go for, but as the chalks I wanted (spring colours) had fallen down the back of my desk, and I was in the middle of dying my hair so couldn't go scrabbling around, I made do with the autumn set (all night media) which were to hand. I then decided to use this lovely sheet of paper from the papermania vintage set. I was originally going to do this on a larger card and mount the picture higher, but then a big blob of hair dye (aaaaaaaargh) dripped on to the paper so I had to rethink, as I really wanted to use this paper. The foreground and background paper are all from one sheet, in fact even the tiny ladybird is from the sheet. I also used a tiny sliver which I stamped with inka's sheet music stamp to finish it off.

I decided the card needed a large flower, but I just didn't have what I wanted so I decided I would make a quick flower out of a button and punched hearts. quick?? I had no idea how fiddly this would be.

the result of this? I forgot that I was dying my hair, and left it on longer than I intended, still no one knows it wasn't meannt to be that dark!!

created by hand

I really fancied having a go at the created by hand challenge which is "quotes".
As I already had Heather from Inka on my acrylic block from the arch I did earlier, I thought I would use her again. I thought of rain quotes like "into every life a little rain must fall" but I just wanted something a little more cheerful. and wouldn't you know it at that moment it started raining, And the following quote/rhyme popped into my head. I remember we always used to sing this when it rained when I was little.





I had also set myself the challenge of making a "skinny page" because as far as I was concerned I had never made one. until I started making it and measured it and realised I have actually made loads before I just call them "card fronts"!! I have also found that they are the perfect size to fit on the notebooks that they sell at asda supermarkets for 10p.

I have done Heather's clothes and umbrella using paper piecing. i.e. stamping onto patterned papers cutting them out and piecing them together. All the papers are by papermania. The main background is done with watercolours.

I don't know if you can see on the picture but there is some vellum dry embossed with rain drops. I did this with a fiskars texture plate that I bought when I first started making cards and has actually never been used before!!

the swirls at the bottom are done with Inka's leafy flourish stamp

Rainbow arch

I made this arch for no particular reason at all. I had this girl stamp (heather) from Inka to use. As she has an umbrella the piece need a rain theme, so I decided to make a rainbow background from distress inks. I did start with a long quote which I liked
"Life is like a rainbow. You need both the sun and the rain to make its colours appear" but it looked cluttered with all that on. So I just went with the single word, and actually I think that says it all.
I chose an arch shape as I wanted it to look like she was standing in front of a window, but also because I'd had an idea. I've been sent lots of lovely arches, 4x4s etc. basically non free-standing pieces and I like to display them, and then I saw a card embellished with a binder clip in a magazine, and I just wondered, if it would be able to support a piece enough to make it free-standing.. and it does!
I have also used Inkas vine background stamp which I have stamped in black and embossed with siler pearl - just to see what happened.

arte y pico award

I'm thoroughly honoured to be given the arte y pico award by both Jo and Kristy. two fantastic, inspitational artists and bloggers.

There are 5 rules attached to this and they are :-
1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogging community, no matter what language.
2. Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone.
3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her/him the award itself.
4. The Award winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of "Arte Y Pico" blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.
5. To show these rules.

I recently did a similar award with the make my day award and I stand by all the blogs I chose then. but I am going to tske this opportunity to choose five more blogs I regualarly visit and enjoy.

before I do, as I can only choose 5, I don't want anyone to be offended if I don't choose the. if you are in my sidebar links, then you can be sure, I already love your blog.

so here are my five

1 Carrie- carrie's work is so inspirational, and her image transfers are just stunning
2 Kaz - as well as her beautiful work, life would be boring without kaz
3 Gillian - who's work goes from strength to strength
4 Mandy. - mandy's work is a lot of fun, and does great inchies
5 carolyn - for showing me how good oriental crafting can be


oh it's so hard to stop at 5. there's at least another ten I could add,

summer dreams and party hats

Here are couple of cards I made for Inka's gallery, with some of my new inka stamps. The lady on the first card is called JoAnn, so I just had to have her. I have also used moth wings, Dream (large collage words) and calligraphy swish. the background papers are by papermania. I really like how this card turned out, as I had no idea what I was doing when I started it.


The second card uses felicia, it was so hard NOT to use Erica as I think she would also have been perfect for this card. I have used various different hats for the background and then my favorite on her head. this card is partly inspired by one of Penny's cards in this month's craft stamper. she made a great background using lots of little stamps and then chalks, which is what I have done here. I had fun coming up with just the right phrase for this one.

dream wish believe

I made this card for Emma's birthday. it's all inka stamps. The fairy is called joyce, and I have used the sequin waste stamp embossed with silver pearl, then used distress inks over it. I also used the ringer stamp and some collage words. I used leafy flourish on the background card. I finished the card with a chipboard swirl painted black and rubbed over with gold. I also added 3 dots of liquid pearls.

wednesday stamper - arrows

(edited to add a photograph of the card)
This week's theme at wednesday stamper is arrows. I only have one arrow stamp, so that didn't take much deciding. The arrow is by Inka. I had the idea of standing a cupid on the arrow, so I was looking through my collage images and found this one also by inka.
I hand scribbled (I'd say drew, but it's not exactly drawing,lol) some hearts with oil pastels. sponged over them with various distress inks and sprayed with glitz spritz (which not only adds sparkle but helps blend the colours.) I added a love word (also by inka)
I decided to add another arrow and a punched out heart to the bottom of the card.

The background is much glitzier in real life, but as it is nighttime, I've had to scan it.

messy background

we just had a mini challenge on our forum, inspired by this youtube clip to make a messy background using paints etc.
This is mine, I started with a piece of card approximately 8 inches square
I started with a thick layer of gesso, which I texture with my paint brush and then doodled into with the end of the brush




when it was dry I applied watercolours





then I applied some more.






then I dry brushed it with black acrylic, and applied some dots, with the end of my brush.



I don't know whether it's any good,but it was fun. The next thing is to use it for something.

oil pastel ATC

on the forum I visit, we were just talking about oil pastels. so I've used some to make the background of this atc, I've used blue, green and yellow, then rubbed it over with tattered rose distress inks.
The stamps are by Inka. I've used Erica, moth wings, large collage words and sequin waste.
I embossed the sequin waste with my new favourite embossing powder. I'm embarrassed to say it's a Heat-it-up one from docrafts, but I love it. the colour is silver pearl and it really does have a lovely pearl finish.

this is also my entry for Caardvarks, where the theme is Flight Of Fancy.

craft stamper pram stamp

The free stamp with the May 2008 issue of craft stamper is quite an unusual pram stamp. In that it only has one wheel.


I quite like it in a whimsical way, and it is beautifully drwan. however I would have preferred it to have 2 wheels, so it didn't look like it was going to fall over. so I decided to alter it.



you can now use it as it was or separate the two parts and stamp the wheels over the main body of the pram. it works really well.
here's a card I have made with it.



this is not my usual bloggable style, more my commercial style. The other stamps are by onefourzero, and I was sent them as a gift for having a card in the readers gallery of simply cards and papercraft.
I have even used fancy scissors (I NEVER use those nowadays), and did a bit of faux stitching.

The complete set of bird inchies

Here is one inchie from each set that I received for the march Bird swap. I an really impressed there are some absolutely gorgeous inchies there, and this is who made them

Me, Kana Conger, Linda Freeman, Louise Granlund, Paula Atkinson
Audrey Barret, Nathalie Thompson, Ana Morgado, Michelle Cummings, Roberta Gill
Karin Beadell, Becky Bunn, Liliane Gfeller, Kaz Brown, Caz.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the people who send me little gifts with their inchies. it's really such a treat to receive them.

and don't forget the new theme for april is children.

my child inchies

The theme for my April inchie swap, as set by Jo, is children. Here are my inchies. The collage images are by inka and are available to buy here, however Inka has a free sample of these images to download here.

the word is taken from Inka's large collage word stamp.

I chose the word "hope" as I think that sums up what having children is about. When they are born you hope that they will be healthy with ten fingers and toes, then you hope that tonight will be the night they sleep through. Your hopes change as they get older, but you are always hoping for something, that they will make friends, do well, be happy. I think as a parent that hope is one of the strongest emotions we have for our children

purple fairy

I haven't taken part in the caardvarks challenge before, but I saw on Galina's blog that the theme was purple, so I thought I'd play. The challenge at mixed media monday is "believe", so I thought I'd enter that as well (although I will leave it up to you to judge whether this is mixed media or not.)

I had a new design team parcel of stamps arrive from Inka today, and I couldn't wait to play. I love this fairy with the stripey tights (Shaylee). so I thought I'd use some stripey paper and co-ordinate her tights. I have made her wings by stamping her again onto vellum and adding some stickles then attaching them behind her body. The wish word is from Inka's large collage words, and the quote is an inka stamp I already had.