black and white and a splash of red, 2nd post today!!!

Hey there bloggers,
 Here is my second post of the day... my better late than never, nearly late entry for the stampotique designers challenge, monochrome and a splash of colour...

Anyway that is the only piccie for this one and I know you will be slightly shocked but I was restrained, I took lots but didn't want to bore you with my painty excitement!!!

As you can see I am still playing with paint and have lots of very messy fun!!!And yes I am still very much attached to my mini attacher, not physically of course!

I am entering this for monochrome and another colour @ http://stampotiquedesignerschallenge.blogspot.com/

Have a great evening and I will be back soon, minus GRRR coldy thing I hope

share the love and leave a comment

ta trace x



A right pair!!

Hey there bloggers,
Hope you have had great day, this would have been blogged ages ago, but technology said NO!!
Anyway, better late than never, like buses this will be my first of 2 posts today!!!
Here is my  first offering today:

I am entering this into the following competitions:
duo challenge #38 @ http://doyoustackup.blogspot.com/
pears or pairs @ http://thestampmanchallenges.blogspot.com/
Halloween @ http://mygraficocrafts.blogspot.com/
The background is a distress ink background, using chipped sapphire and dusty concord. I added detail using my new paints again...a bit of a theme developing me thinks?!The bats and cobwebs are Tim Holtz and inkadinkado.

The main image of the right pair, is from the fabulous Octopode factory and is tweedle die and tweedle dum.I just love them!

I tried to keep the card fairly simple and just let the stamps speak for themselves...or they would be able to if I shut up!!!
Grrr coldy thing still in residence but I am now winning!!!
Thanks for stopping by,
Share the love and leave a comment, they make my day
Ta trace x

I'm back with bold and beautiful primaries!! so NOT my usual colours?!!

Well hey there bloggers,
here I am coughing my way through my (almost missed it!!) entry for the gingersnap creations challenge on primary colours...talk about the eleventh hour!!
I am entering this for gcc116 primary colours challenge @ http://gingersnapcreations.blogspot.com/
Anyway my absence in blogland has been due to a lovely coldy gift from my ever so generous children, which has gone from head cold to chesty cough...grrr...anyway enough moaning!!! Here is my offering today,...

I can honestly say I have NEVER used all these 3 colours in a piece before and did so with some trepidation I can tell you! But, I think it has gone better than expected and I rather like it, not sure but I might even do it again!!
I created the background by playing with my new dylusions paints , yum yum!! I then painted broken china crackle paint through a swirly stencil. Once dry I overstamped with my favourite script stamp .
The flourishes were cut from black card using Tim Holtz elegant flourishes die and the butterflies were cut using Tim Holtz movers and shapers mini butterflies, another new additiion to my ever growing collection of all things Tim !!

The butterflies were coloured using mustard seed, fired brick and faded jeans distress inks and overstamped with same script stamp.The ribbon is vintage cream ribbon coloured with the same distress inks.

Hope you like it and thanks so much for stopping by, I have really missed creating and blogging and hope I can shift this grrrrr cold, as it is now called, or GRRRR if I am really fed up!!!
share the love and leave a comment, hopefully I will be back soon!!
have a happy inky day
ta trace x

Chuffed to bits to be guest designer for Anything Goes challenge blog!!

Well hey there bloggers,
I was chuffed to bits to to be asked by Tamara to be guest designer for Anything Goes Challenge blog @ http://anythingchallenge.blogspot.com/. I was thrilled to bits to have anything goes for the theme and decided to showcase some of the wonderful products of Tim Holtz, many of which can be found at the craft den @ http://www.craftden.co.uk/index.php
Here is my offering, a card this time..

The theme was anything goes and I have been doing a few pieces with a vintage feel and decided to continue with soft colours and a vintage feel.I can't wait to pop on over and see what you all make, hope you have lots of inky fun , I did!!

Details and supplies below.
I started by creating the background using an embossed resist technique which is a fav of mine at the mo...stamping the butterfly in perfect medium, clear embossing and applying distress inks over the top. (pumice stone and tumbled glass).This was then overstamped with a Tim text in weathered wood and a butterfly in tumbled glass

The other half of the background was created using distress inks and then overstamping with the crown stamp, using pumice stone.
The embellies were made using a new movers and shapers Tim die,mini butterflies, the butterflies were then coloured with distress inks, overstamped with text inked with silver paint dabber and then blinged up.

For the crown I actually embossed with silver, very unusual for me!!! and  then painted again using the fab and versatile distress inks.......don't know how I would live without them!!!

I printed 'do you believe in fairytales' from the computer and added gorgeous Tim quote.
The flourishes are Tim Holtz die, elegant flourishes and the memo pin and tickets are also Tim Holz.


Supplies, many of which can be found at the craft den @ www.craftden.co.uk/index.php

Stamp plate..fairytale frenzy..Tim holtz
Distress inks....pumice stone, weathered wood and tumbled glass
Clear embossing powder, silver embossing powder
Cut n dry foam or blending tool and foam
Heatproof mat
Tim movers and shapers die...mini butterflies
Tim Holtz big die elegant flourishes
Tim Holtz adage tickets and memo pins

Anyway pop on over to  http://anythingchallenge.blogspot.com/ and give the challenge a go, have a happy inky day,
Thanks for popping by, hope you have a quick mo to look around!!!
share the love and leave a comment,
I will be back with more crafty offerings as soon as I get rid of this horrible coldy thing!!!grrr!
Ta trace x

Hey there bloggers!

hey the bloggers!
Just a quick post to say sorry it has been quiet, I have had a manic week with the children and now I have the lurgy!!! A weird coldy virus..yuck..so sorry crafting has been nil. But have no fear I will be back!!!!...and I have all these new goodies I want to play with...typical!!
Happy crafting bloggqers, See you soon..
Ta trace x

Spookier and spookier!!!

Hey bloggers,
I have been in a tag making inky mess this week and I have loved it.Here is my very orange tag full of halloweeny things, all  from Tim Holtz plate ..

I started by inking the tag with rusty hinge, spiced marmalde and wild honey distress inks,I then spritzed and dropped water onto the tag and dabbed it off.

Once dry I overstamped with various images and embossed some with crafty notions detail embossing powder.

I filled the poison bottle form 7 gypsies with hair gel coloured with alcohol inks!!
The chipboard numbers were covered with distress stickles in spiced marmalade and then when dry scuffed with black distress ink. A few tiny attacher staples added, just because I love them!!!!

I am entering this tag for the following challenges:

Numbers @ http://theartisticstampercreativeteam.blogspot.com/
halloween at squiggles and giggles @ http://squigglestamps.blogspot.com/
goodbye summer challenge ~138 @ http://thecraftypad.blogspot.com/
Thanks for stopping by, drop by again soon!
Share the love and leave comment
Have a happy day
Ta trace x

A box of beautiful butterflies

Hey there bloggers,
Here I am again with another crafty offering...a box with beautiful butterflies, in vintage colours.I love blues and browns together, so enough rambling, here it is..

I am entering this into the following competitions:
Vintage /shabby at anything goes @ http://anythingchallenge.blogspot.com/
Anything goes at show and tell @ http://craftingmisfit.blogspot.com/
Timeless vintage at just for fun @ http://jffchallenge.blogspot.com/
vintage at scrappy frogs @ http://scrappyfrogschallenge.blogspot.com/
things with wings @ http://papertakeweekly.blogspot.com/
and vinatge @ http://thepinkelephantchallenge.blogspot.com/


I started by crackling the box using emulsion and crackle medium. Once dry I added some colour using distress inks and cut n dry foam, then I overstamped using Creative Expressions splat and Tim holtz text.The butterflies are from creative expressions plate natures wonders.They were stamped onto card using espresso ink and embossed, then painted with broken china, weathered wood and frayed burlap distress inks.
I attached 3 to thin wire and glued inside box and shaped, opening the lid is a bit tricky, but it looks nice!!!!!

The plaque and hinges were painted with Tim Holtz crackle paint and then when dry brushed with walnut stain.The little keys were attached using glossy accents.

Thanks for looking, I will be back soon!!!
Thanks for stopping by!
Share the love and leave a comment
Ta trace x
Have a happy crafty day.

Going black and white

hey there bloggers,
well hope you are having a happy day, it is sooooo windy here!!!
Anyway, After such a crafty and inky weekend I have lots to blog, so here is another one.
This is my entry for monochrome at thestampmanchallenge blog @ http://thestampmanchallenges.blogspot.com/

I have been waiting to play with these new stamps steampunk Christmas from chocolate baroque @ http://www.chocolatebaroque.com/ and thought the black and white would show them off well. I stamped the flowers twice and embossed using detail embossing powder from crafty notions, @ http://craftynotions.com/which is such a gorgeous glossy embossing powder and still hangs on to the beautiful detail of the stamps.I layered the flowers and curled the petals, using my fingers.

The flourishes are Tim Holtz elegant flourishes cut in black and white, the text is Tims and the distress ink is black soot.

Thanks for stopping by,
Have a happy crafty day, enjoy some inkiness!!!
Share the love and leave comment
Ta trace x

It's all about the red !!!!

Hey bloggers,
Hope you are having a happy crafty day!
Here is my latest offering for the fab dragons challenges @ http://dragon-dragonsdream.blogspot.com

I decided to go with red, red and yes more red...can't believe I did nearly all red for last weeks!!! Never mind, how was I to know??? So ...
I love this little fella and decided to go with she loves me, she loves me not and add some daisy petals, just like the game when we were kids.

I love starting with blank card, tags and paper and just using inks and stamps to make everything, it is so satisfying?Do you find that??

Supplies:

Stampotique, Tim Holtz and paperartsy stamps
Distress inks: aged mahogany(a new fav),fired brick
Perfect medium, clear embossing powder and crafty notions black detail embossing powder
Black archival ink
Mini attacher, Tim Holtz
Fired brick stickles

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day!
Share the love ad leave a comment, makes my day!!!
Ta trace x
Anyway hope you like him, wonder if she does love him??.....I do, he is so cute in a funny kind of way?!

I luv reedin!! bookmark

Hey there bloggers,
I have had a great weekend of inkiness and craftiness, so will have a few things to blog!!! Yipee!!
Anyway here is my offering today, a bookmark for the make a bookmark challenge at stampotique...
I am entering this for the make a bookmark challenge @ http://stampotiquedesignerschallenge.blogspot.com/

I decided to keep 3-d embellies to a minimum as the bookmark needs to fit in the book and add interest with layers of colours and stamps instead...hope that has worked!?!

I smooshed dusty concord and peeled paint onto a craft mat, spritzed and splooshed the bookmark blank into the colours.Then dried with a heat tool and repeated until I was happy.Once dry I stamped Daniels hearts inked with White paint dabber. I stamped the gorgeous smiley little man onto the background and then covered with one stamped onto a book page, and coloured the heart and shoes using dusty concord.

Lastly I stamped and cut out some of the hearts onto an old book page and printed the caption, using pc onto old book page.
This is my first foray into using my stampotique stamps, which have been looking at me for ages all clean and new.

Thanks for stopping by, have a happy crafty day,
Share the love and leave a comment,
Ta trace x

I won at creative expressions...!

Hey there bloggers,
Just a quick one to say look aren't I so lucky to have won at creative expressions, check out this month for fab competition and great prize @ http://www.creative-expressions.uk.com/

August Card Competition winner announced!

There were a lot of fabulous entries for our August Card of the Month competition and the standard was very high. But our judges have chosen a winner...

Congratulations to Tracey Metcalfe of Nottinghamshire!

Tracey made this fantastic card using our Umount Time rubber stamp set and Forest Moss Distress Ink.

To take a look at our September Card Competition click here. Or to find out more about how Tracey made her card click here.

(published: 8/09/2011)

Anyway have a go as I won 3 sheets of gorgeous stamps, so try your luck!!!
thats all for now, ta trace x

On delicate wings they fly!

hey bloggers,
I am back!!! It feels so strange that I had such a run of crafting, posting and blogging and then nothing for a few days.The children, 2 of them went back to school and little Lucy and I missed them and when James and Oliver came home I wanted it to be all about them! By the evening I was shattered!!!!
Anyway here I am with my latest creation...

I have to say I love this colour combination and think blue and brown is such a great combo!!Wish my photography skills could do the true colours justice.! I am entering it for the following challenges:

Blue and brown at the crafty pad @ http://thecraftypad.blogspot.com/
2 or more images at paper play challenges @ http://paperplaychallenges.blogspot.com/
Blue and brown at crafts 4 eternity @ http://crafts4eternity.blogspot.com/
Anything goes with butterfly @ http://flutterbywednesdays.blogspot.com/
and no designer paper @ http://blog.therubbercafe.com/

I challenged myself to use just one set of stamps!!! (I usually use lots of different sets.)I used Tim Holtz papillion set.
supplies listed below:
Tim Holtz papillion set of stamps
Distress inks: frayed burlap, antique linen (of course!!!) , broken china, tumbled glass
Archival ink, vintage sepia
Cut n dry foam
Pen nib
Pin flair glue gel

thanks for looking and I will be back soon!!!!
Share the love and leave a comment, they make my day!!
have a happy crafty day, back to more inkyness now!!
ta trace x