L M & N Alphatags

Once again it is time to show you the tags I have
made this month for the Alphatag swap that is taking place at Chocolate Baroque. The letters proved to be a bit of problem to some of us again this time, including me. N was the hardest for me , I had a couple of ideas but couldn't translate them to the tag as I had hoped.

L is for Let there be Light.

I started this one by colouring a tag with distress inks, but as it is a while since I  made it I can't remember which ones. I am sure Scattered Straw and Tea Dye are in there and I think I used Vintage Photo on the edges. I over stamped the left hand side with the large swirly corner stamps from the CB Nature Swirls set and versamark ink and embossed them with WOW ultra fine gold powder. On  a spare piece of card I stamped the candle from the Christmas Angel set and coloured it with coloursoft pencils and distress inks. I then trimmed it down and rounded the corners before fixing it to the tag. The words were computer generated, cut out and fixed beside the candle.


M is for Mistletoe.

Now I knew exactly what I was going to do for M because I recently bought this lovely stamp from Chocolate Baroque and haven't had a chance to use it yet although I'm sure it will be put to work when I get round to making Christmas cards. I started by stamping the Mistletoe with versafine Black Onyx ink onto a dark green tag and embossing it with clear EP. Next I stamped it again onto some white card and coloured with coloursoft pencils. I stamped the Mistletoe title on the bottom of the tag with versmark and embossed with gold EP. I then very carefully cut out the coloured mistletoe and glued to the tag with silicone glue.To finish it off I edged the tag with a gold Krylon pen.

N is for Night Time

For this one I coloured the tag with distress inks again, starting with Antique Linen for the moonlight and  adding Stormy Sky and Chipped Sapphire at the top and some Pine Needles at the bottom and then some Black Soot all around the edges and deepening the colour especially at the top. I stamped the dangley leaves from the CB Wisteria Lane set with the pine Needles ink and the other images were stamped with black ink and embossed with clear EP. The owls are from the nature Swirls set and the moon and grasses from the Home Sweet Home set.I die cut the poppy stems with a Memory Box die from thin black card and glued them to the edge of the tag to add some foreground interest. To finish I added some stars with Stickles  star dust glitter glue.

We  have now passed the halfway stage with our Alphatags and so far every one who started is still going, which is pretty good I reckon. One day I will do a blog to show you all the amazing tags I have received, they are making a wonderful collection.

Thank you to every one for stopping by to look at my work and for your kind comments, they are much appreciated.


                           

Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat---

The theme for St Luke's Charity Card Challenge this month is Our Little Furry Friends. At first I thought "oh no," I don't have many furry animal stamps, but then I remembered this pretty Clarity stamp that I have had for ages. It was quite well used at one time but not for a while.
I started by stamping the cat on ivory card with Memento tuxedo black ink and adding a little colour with Derwent coloursoft pencils.
 I then trimmed it and mounted it onto some blue card.  The backing paper I used was a magazine freebie and I cut it to cover just over half the card and then fixed the image overlapping it.The printed flowers were part of the same freebie as the paper and I cut them out and layered them with blue flowers die cut from the same blue card as the mount and some little blue flowers from my stash all held together with a brad. I fixed them to the card with glue dots, tucking a piece of blue seam binding behind them.

I am also entering this at, The Craft Room Challenge; Furry, Four  Legged Family.

Thank you for stopping by, I love to read your comments.

Done With A Flourish

At Less is More this week we are required to make a one layer card with a flourish. I have made my card in neutral colours and without a sentiment so that it can be used for any purpose. I have found that these one layer clean and simple cards are ideal for almost any occasion and even make nice notelets to write a quick letter on.
Both of the stamps I used are Crafty Individuals and are stamped with
a three colour Brilliance ink pad called Tiramisu. That's it really, I just added a spot of gold Stickles glitter glue for a bit of glitz.I think you will be able to see it if you click on the picture to enlarge it.

I am also going to enter this at Truly Madly Crafty; Monochrome, and
The Hybrid Chick Card Caravan Challenge; Clean and Simple.

Thank you for popping by, I enjoy reading your comments.

A Little Bit Of Make-Believe

I do like a bit of make-believe now and again especially when it involves fairies, so when I saw that the challenge at Fashionable Stamping Challenges was Magical and Very Mystical I couldn't resist getting out my fairy stamps.                
 My design is inspired by the talented Tracey Dutton and all the stamps I've used are from her Lavinia Stamps range. I began by cutting a square of  ivory card and brayering it with squeezed lemonade Distress Ink.I then added more DIs around the edges in bundled sage, forest moss and gathered twigs. The stamping was done with Versafine inks in onyx black, olympia green and spanish moss. I stamped the tree trunk first and then the fairy door and the stone pathway. Next I added the leaves and foliage to soften the edges and some tiny toadstools at the front. I stamped the fairy positioning her so that she is sitting on the rather bumpy looking tree roots. I stamped her with black ink and embossed with black sparkle EP. I coloured her wings with Sakura sparkle gel pens and a water brush. Lastly I stamped the cluster of fairy dust with versamark and embossed with gold glitter EP. I added a little dusty concord DI to further define the edges and mounted it onto some gold mirri card leaving a very narrow border.The background paper is from a 6x6 Paper Cellar pad, Victorian Classics, trimmed to fit my square base card. I stamped the fairy script stamp down one edge and inked the edges with the dusty concord ink, and then  mounted the fairy image on top.I hope this will be magical enough for the challenge, and I am also entering at Stamptacular Sunday where the challenge is Fairy Fever.
 Thank you for coming to take a look, I love to read your comments and appreciate every one.

Hooray for the Red White and Blue

In tune with the Patriotic events happening this week the challenge at Less Is More is to use Red White and Blue in our cards. I decided to have a go although it is not my favourite colour combination.
I embossed the lower part of my white folded card using a Cuttlebug
Swiss Dots  embossing folder, and wrapped some red ribbon across just above the embossing. Next I took a piece of blue card and stamped the grasses from the Chocolate Baroque, Eastern Grasses set, with Versamark ink and embossed it with white embossing powder. I trimmed the edges of the image and used foam pads to  mount it on the card overlapping the ribbon and the embossed area. To finish I tied a bow onto the ribbon.I may add a sentiment later when I have decided what it will be used for.

There are several challenges with this theme this week so I am also entering this for,Moving Along With The Times;Red white and Blue,
Scrapbook Sisters Card Challenge; Red White and Blue, and also
Try It On Tuesday; Anything Goes.

Thank you to all who stop by to take a look and for your lovely comments.

Beside The Seaside

It was my brother in laws birthday this weekend and this is the card that I made for him.I wanted to use this beach hut stamp from Crafty Individuals, and I started by stamping it onto a spare piece of card. I coloured the huts  fairly loosely using distress inks and a water brush  as I wanted them to have a slightly shabby worn look .I highlighted the fascias with a white pigment pen.There are lots of the very similar ones to this along the beach fronts close to were we live, and I thought it would be fun to use them on his card.I used a paper from Crafty Individuals The Seaside paper book, choosing this one featuring a pier as we also have two of those on our stretch of coast. I cut it to size and stuck it to my card. There are some figures carrying surf boards on the paper too, but I thought they  were surplus to my needs and so I decided  that when I had cut out the beach huts  that's where they would go. The trouble is they then looked as if they were floating in the sea, so I  tore the shell border from another paper from the book and stuck it to the bottom of the card to ground them. I stamped two more shells onto the patterned paper and added a little more colour with coloursoft pencils and then glued them to the border with silicon glue.The greeting was also stamped on the same paper and cut out closely and edged with black ink and fixed to the corner. To finish off I stamped some seagulls from the same Crafty Individuals set with black ink and and used the white pen again to add some highlights.I had fun making this one and I think my brother in law enjoyed receiving it.
I am entering this at, Make It Monday; Anything Goes.
 DRS Designs Challenge;Signs of Summer
Simon Says Stamp; Anything Goes
Thank you for taking the time to take a look, and for your much appreciated kind comments.