Ghosting Techniques with Chris Dark

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I recently attended a Chris Dark workshop at the Craft Barn to learn all about ghosting techniques.  It turned out I knew some of them already but hadn't ever played with them.  We were supposed to be making cards at the end but we were too busy taking the michael (Zummerzet saying I think) out of each other so Chris let us carry on playing.

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Since coming home I've been meaning to play some more but that would mean plugging my iron in and I'm being a lazy mare at the mo so it hasn't happened.  Of course I could play without the iron but I'm obviously being too lazy to reach for the Perfect Medium too!

Here are some of the bits that I produced at the workshop and hopefully I'll be along with a masterpiece soon.

Thanks for stopping by
Hope you like them
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Oh boy oh boy

There are two things that I am absolutely hopeless at and they are cute and men's cards.  I'm not saying I'm fabulous at everything else at life as who is and wouldn't that be boring, but cute and men's cards, we do not mix.

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On that basis I'm going to challenge myself to make both cute and men's cards.  Not together as that would be way too stressful and it is summery outside, meaning I want to leave my craft room before winter sets in!

So as not to stress myself out too much on this journey into the dark unknown I came up with a plan to make a travel card.  Ok, I know, it's not really a man's card as such, but it would "do" as a man's card, wouldn't it?  Little steps an' all that.  So I got out some stamp stamps and stamped away creating this. 

Hope you like it

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Craft Stamper

This was my entry to craft stamper's stamper of the year competition 2010 (yes, I know yonks a go - I'm a bit slow!)  I found this picture frame in Home Sense in the about to be sent to the rubbish bin section!  After taking off the back and giving it a lick of paint or two it looks like new.  Don't know about the rest of you but I think we send things to the rubbish bin way to quickly these days.  I'm making my mission this year to recycle more in my crafty ways (watch out on Grime Busters as my house appears full of toilet rolls, plastic and other such lovelies saved up and never used!)

I love playing with metal and utee so I wanted to make something bold, in two of my favourite colours (deep pink and aqua).  The image in my head was of a picture come to life so I wanted eveything to be bursting from the frame - not sure I really achieved that, but when I put on too many flowers it started to look messy.  Oh well, never said I was the finished article - crafter in training more like! 

First stop to make a mould using Tim Holtz bird cage alteration die.  It took a while to perfect the mould and then even longer to pour just enough utee to avoid going over the top of the mould.  It might look like its been damaged in places but that's on purpose - didn't want it to look to perfect and I wanted the bird escaping!  I've used Terra and Inka Gold to give the frame a rough look.  I wish I'd done something a little different for the bird, but I love the shrink plastic leaves on the branch and the ickle moth.

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The flowers are a mixture of PaperArtsy die cuts either embossed, alcohol inked, stamped or a bit of everything!  Some of the flowers have then been cut to make them different, either cutting out bits or raising them. One of the flowers is a bit mashed up but it has been to Malvern and back!

I'm entering this into:

Stamp Something - flowers, buttons and sparkle
Fabulous Friday - birds or butterflies

Hope you like it
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In love with alcohol

inks that is, although I may be partial to a drop of vodka every now and then!

Hel's at Ink on my Fingers has challenged everyone to is all about Lurrrve - things you love and over at Simon Says Stamp and Show the theme this week is a Lord Tim of Holtz technique.  I've combined the challenges cos Lord Tim of Holtz techniques is what I love, although I'm also partial to a Paperartsy stamp of two.  Don't worry they got a look in too!

I've created a card cos I'm back in the mood for cards.  Thank goodness was starting to get a tad low and thinking about a trip to Clinton's (yes, I know I'm a bad person stop screaming at me!)

Anyway the card uses an alcohol background, some PaperArtsy stamps and some of my favourite ink colours.  Obviously there had to be a bit of Lord Tim of Holz bling on it too.

Hope you like it

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Sammy and babies

Hands up, there is very little stamping on this.  In fact the only stamping is the paw print which I used to frame Sammy and her four beautiful babies.  I had to show you it though, mainly for the photo.  How can you resist a beautiful black puddy cat and her four beautiful cute black babies.

They are now about 4 weeks old, growing fast and looking even more beautiful.  Sammy is getting a tad jealous of all the attention they receive though so has taken to providing a friendly nip to act as a reminder that she is still gorgeous too!

Hope you like it
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An ode to PaperArtsy and Lin Brown

Much to Mr Bank Manager's relief and much to my annoyance (not really, well yes really, but I was being a good girl - all grown up - eek!) I didn't get to Ally Pally this month.  Luckily for me a friend did and whilst crafting away with her yesterday she divulged this little secret and promptly produced a tag created for her by Lin of LB Crafts. I was shocked, not only because she wasn't going but also because she had persuaded Lin to go PINK - eek! Rather annoyingly even a tag made with Lin's least favourite colour was gorgeous. 

Anyway, Ruth had, after receiving her masterpiece promptly picked up half the shop (actually she was quite well behaved and only bought half a dozen of the Al Fresco paints by PaperArtsy).  As Ruth had been cheeky enough to go to Ally Pally without moi I insisted (sort of. it went pretty pretty please could we play with your new paints) we made a tag, an ode to the tag she had been given when she wasn't with me (not that I am at all PUT OUT!) I got to use the lovely Al Fresco paints which I fell in love with at the AC event in Feb and rather smugly I could sit there knowing I had been all good and virtuous (ok, that's stretchy the matter!)

This is the tag I created using a Hero Arts Old French Writing stamp, some tissue tape  and some PaperArtsy stamps, as well as the afore mentioned paints.  I'm possibly not able to be quite as smug today as I may have just put in an order for some paint at PA HQ, but hey I was still environmentally friendly!

And as Simon Says Stamp and Show is all about distress this week I thought I would enter my tag.  Made with distress inks and those flowers certainly look stressed or did I mean distressed!

Hope you like it

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Butterflies

For some unknown reason I have taken to Butterflies in a big way.  Maybe it's the arrival of the summery weather (well it did arrive and now it seems to have gone again).  or to cheer myself up.  I'm cursed I tell you, first the car crash, then my mum's car crash, followed by the shower pump and this morning a leaking ceiling.  This can only mean I'm going to have a fan dabba dozy summer and I'm planning on picking up the winning lottery ticket this weekend!

So back to the butterflies.  In an attempt to use up some of my scraps of patterned paper I've made a couple of cheery cards using a Crafty Individuals stamp (CI 296, if you're interested). 

I wanted them to be fairly simple as the stamp is gorgeous so I covered a couple of square cards in the most gorgeous paper which I think is Crate Paper and I have no idea what the name is.  I love the combination of pink and orange, it's such a cheerful grouping. 

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I'm entering the cards into the Crafty Individual's challenge which is squares.  I hope I'm not being cheeky using square cards, but I just had to use the oblong image!

Hope you like them
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This was supposed to be my entry to Simon Says Stamp and Show, but blogger decided otherwise.  It started life as a peanut tin - you know the huge ones you get at Christmas.

I was a bit worried that you'd still be able to see the words on the tin as the tissue tape I used to cover it is quite translucent. Good job I've got a truck load of this as I seem to be using it on everything. Watch out cats!

After a dab of paint and pear tart memento ink (tsukineko), a splodge or two of Inka Gold lava green it was looking a bit more presentable. I then stamped on tissue using a Crafty Individuals stamp borrowed from a friend, Lucy (check out her blog, lovely things to see on it) and Tim's film strip stamp. All images were applied with Claudine Helmuth's matt medium which is just the best stuff ever.

My word for the challenge is tools as this is what the tin is for. Couldn't resist a bit more bling so I stuck on a Tim Holtz wordy thing (that's a techy term in case you're wondering) and then I got completely carried away with gems. Still have these from a TSV I bought on QVC about 5 years ago - this is why I don't buy on there anymore! Actually it's also because I like to support small shops too whether on the internet or locally {jumping off soap box}.

Anyways hope you like my new tool tin. The picture isn't the best. Not sure if its the light I took it in but the tissue is much more blended in than it appears - weird!

One final thing before I disappear I've been getting lots of lovely comments recently especially about my little flood. Thanks so much I really appreciate them and will try to visit your blogs when I have a moment.

Hope you like it
Debz
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