And the winner is ....

Hello everyone,

Today I drew a name out of the hat for this trio of ATC's.

So, as usual I did it the scientific way:

So... the winner is Anna Lemsma ! Congrats Anna.... PM me your address and the will be on their way to you ! 

Thank you for stopping by today ! 

A wonderful world

Hello everyone,

I have an art journal for my DT post for Katzelkraft today. I got some new stamps recently and I fell in love with the fabulous background stamps I used on this art journal. It is a collage and it is huge...

I used a technique by Jennifer McGuire shown HERE on YouTube. 

You start with water-soluble ink on your paper; I used Distress Inks. Let it dry totally and then stamp your stamp of choice (or more than one) with VersaMark ink. Use clear embossing powder and heat until the powder is melted. 

Next spray the whole thing with water, leave for a little while and then mop up with kitchen paper. 

The ink that is locked under the embossing will stay bright and where there is no embossing it will come off somewhat to bleach it. You can see the result in my journal.

I stamped the cat and the butterflies on white card stock, coloured them; the cat with Copic markers and the butterflies with Distress inks and a blending tool. I added some white on the butterflies with a white gel pen. After colouring I cut everything out,  and adhered the images to my page. I did stamp the images on the page as well. Lastly I doodled around the page and added the sentiment. 

I used stamps from the following sets: (clicking the link will take you straight to the shop)

KTZ139 - (sentiment)

KTZ137 - (This is that fabulous background stamp)

KTZ76 - (butterflies)

KTZ152 - (Cat)

I hope you enjoyed your visit and I'd like to thank you for stopping by today ! 

Approach with caution

Hello everyone,

and happy Wednesday yet again ! Doesn't time fly?

Over on the Stampotique Designers' Challenge blog, the lovely Valerie is hosting and she chose the following theme : "what's old is new again" and this is what she had to say about it :

 "Re-purpose, re-use, recycle, and alter - words that are music to my ears! Is there something destined for the trash heap that you can give a new art-filled life? Or perhaps you're tired of that old wall hanging - can you give it a make-over? My challenge for you this week is to take something old and make it new again!"

So, I have made something a little different and I have a step-by-step for you ! 

A little while ago I saw this, what I believe is a bird's nesting box, the type breeders use, in a 2nd hand shop and I saw the potential ! 

I started with stamping this lovely bird and colouring it with my trusty Copic Markers. I made sure to use a little blue here and there because crows have that, don't they; that lovely blue sheen. 

I also stamped this fruitbat. He is thinking of bananas but I decided to use him without his beloved bananas and he was also coloured with Copic Markers. 

I collected these sticks (don't ask, lol. I am forever collecting things). These come from a lovely walk somewhere in the South Downs in the UK.

Anyway, next I painted the bird box, first gesso, then Art Anthology Sorbet paint in blue and Crackle paint by DecoArt Media over the top. Once it had all dried I rubbed the crackles with Antiquing creme, also by DecoArt. Once that had dried I rubbed most of it off again; it left this lovely finish.

Here is a close up. Doesn't that look yummy ! 

Here is another close up.... 

Next I did some stamping on the box, sorry forgot to take photos but you get the drift.... I used Archival Inks for this. 

I cut out the bird and the bat, added them to the box, created a backdrop with pattern paper and thought that it was finished....

Here is a close up of the bat. He is so cute ! 

And one of the crow... 

He is perched on one of the twigs I found in the UK..

And then, as an afterthought, I thought it needed something on the roof, so I used the rest of the twigs, some twine and an MDF Fleur de Lis for this. The fleur the lis was heat embossed with a turquoise embossing powder to get it to match the rest of the paint I used. 

A sideways glance ! 

And another one ! 

I hope you like my little cage and its contents... 

I have used the following stamps:

Fruit bat

Raven + Chick

Approach with caution 

Upholstered 

We would love it if you played along with us and created something new with something old. You could win one of the two $30 vouchers at the end of the month. It is not allowed to use digi's and you can only enter once for each challenge. Apart from that, just have fun ! 

Thank you so much for stopping by ! 

Life is for living !

Hello everyone,

I am on the Visible Image blog today with this Monolith! I love these monoliths and I love bright colours but for this one I went vintage ! Hope you like it !!!

This is the front of the finished monolith... 

This is the back of the monolith....

A close up of the back...

And a close up of the front and all the yummy crackles... 

And a closer look at the bow... 

This Monolith was started with Gesso; two layers of it. I then put some crackle paint (by Deco Art Media) on the front and the base. When this had dried I used a harlequin stencil and some more of the crackle paint to add some more interest. When all this had dried I used the Deco Art Antiquing creme to add some interest, I used brown and turquoise. This gave me a nice worn look. 

I then used the INKognito flower stamp on the back with VersaMark ink and some Lindy's Stamp gang light turquoise embossing powder. I really love the blue and turquoise combination... 

That was the back finished. For the front I wanted a nice saying, so I settled for this bold 'Life is for living" stamp. I used Archival ink to stamp it. I used a Faber Castell Big Brush Marker to shade the letters some what. I also stamped some dots randomly, using blue and brown inks.

I used some twine, wrapping it around the bottom of the standing part of the monolith. I made a bow, using the same twine, by winding it around my hand and securing the loops in the middle. I used hot glue to add it to the monolith. 

I love all the texture the crackle paint has made! 

I used the following stamps: 

Retro dots background

Life is for living

Flower INKognito

You'll find the wonderful Monoliths HERE.

Social Media, Blog and monthly Challenge details :

Blog: http://visibleimage.co.uk/blog 

Show & Tell Monthly Challenge details: http://visibleimage.co.uk/challenge 

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/visibleimage 

Facebook PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/visibleimage 

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/visibleimage

Twitter: https://twitter.com/visible_image

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/visibleimagestamps

Thank you so much for stopping by today !  

Enchanted

Hello everyone,

Just a quick one from me today. I made this journal page a little while ago after watching a Kate Crane video on Wanderlust. I was a little intrigued by her background techniques and had to give it another go.

I don't love it but I quite like it and some of the element I will use again, like the black around the edges. I'm not sure about the doodles though.... 

Anyway, thank you for stopping by today and Happy Easter ! 

You are here

Hello everyone,

It is my turn again over at the VivaLasVegaStamps! blog. I have made another art journal.... As usual here is a look at the finished project. I have a step-by-step tutorial for you so sit back and relax !

And here is how I made this :

I used Distress Inks a and a blending tool to colour my background. After I took this photo I decided to used Seedless Preserves as well,  but only at the bottom. 

This is how it looked after I finished blending those colours. 

Next I stamped the background, using the same inks and black Archival to add some contrast. 

Next I used VersaMark with this lovely flower stamp as I wanted to heat emboss this with WOW white embossing powder. 

There is a complete list of all the stamps I used at the bottom of this post. 

This is how it looks after I applied the white embossing powder. 

I then stamped the main images; later I decided not to use the bird. I coloured TweedleDum and TweedleDee with Copic Markers and cut them out. 

I used a piece of acetate on which I stamped the sentiment, so I could determine where I wanted it on this page... 

Here's a close up of the acetate....

And here is my page, put all together... 

I have used the following stamps:

19178 - You are here

19175 - Set of 2 hands pointing

10526 - TweedleDum & TweedleDee

19646 - Wildflowers Silhouette

19659 - Numbers Set

19571 - Writing Triangles

19570 - Texture Background

19567 - Wrting Triangles Background 

Thank you so much for stopping by today !

Do I smell cake ?

Hello everyone, 

For my DT post for Inkadinkadutchies today I have made a mini art journal. This will be my last DT post for Inkadinkadutchies/Lost Coast Designs. I had a lot of fun but it is time to move on ! 

I want to thank Esther from Inkadinkadutchies and Linda from Lost Coast Designs for their generosity and support. Maybe our paths will cross again some time ! 

I saw this background technique on You Tube and had to try it. It is called Watercolour lifting with heat embossing, it is by Jennifer McGuire and you will find it HERE

You start with a piece of water colour paper and colour it with a water soluble material. I used Distress Inks but you could also use watercolours, or water colour markers. 

When this has dried you stamp on it with VersaMark ink and heat emboss it with clear embossing powder. Next you spritz the whole thing with water and leaver it for a little while. Then use a piece of kitchen towel to lift off the colour. Repeat if necessary. You get this really cool effect. I like it, must do it again. 

Anyway, I stamped the bride and coloured her sparingly, cut her out and adhered her to my background. I also rubbed a black Archival ink pad along the edges of the water colour panel. Lastly I stamped the sentiment and cut it into strips. I adhered it to my panel, doodled around the letters and then finally glued the panel into my small art journal. 

I used the following stamps:

Bride

Sun Flower 

Party Letters

You can get these stamps at Lost Coast Designs if you live outside Europe. If you live in Europe you can get them from Inkadinkadutchies. If they do not have them in stock, they will be able to order them for you. 

Thank you so much for stopping by today !  

Happy Easter

Hello everyone, 

and happy Stampotique Challenge day ! Yes, it is Wednesday and that means a new challenge. 

Today's host is the lovely Nellie and she chose the theme: "It's all about birds". 

This is what she had to say about her challenge: 

"So close to Easter I would love to see you use birds and stuff related to birds, such as feathers, eggs, nests etc. in your artwork". 

So I made an Easter card:

This is a very simple card. I started with a piece of watercolour card and stamped the little bird on it. This cute bird is called 'Betsy' and is from the latest release. She was designed by my lovely, so very talented friend Karen Haselden and it is so gorgeous! 

This lovely bird doesn't need much so I just coloured her with my INKtense pencils, mounted the watercolour paper on some blue card stock and then adhered the whole thing onto a white card. 

I used one stamp for this :

Betsy 

Why not play along with us this week and create something with a bird or feathers... You could win one of two $30 vouchers at the end of the month. Just remember: NO digi's and only one entry per person per challenge ! 

And the most important rule of all : Have fun !!! 

Thank you so much for stopping by today ! 

Divine !

Hello everyone,

I am so enjoying this Wednesday Inspiration course by Donna Downey. I look forward to every video; unfortunately there is only a new one every two weeks ! I want more.....

This time it was all about foiling, but I don't own any of that so I improvised, which is also what Donna tells you to do: use what you have ! In this case she used gold foil so I replaced this with a stencil and some gold paint.

And here it is:

 I was never into dripping paint but I am starting to like it... 

This is the right page in the journal... 

Anyway,  that was it ! Thanks so much for stopping by today !

A card published in Craft Stamper !

Hello everyone,

I am very happy to have a card published in the April edition of Craft Stamper. It is a card I sent in for the purple, pink, blue and white colour scheme combined with doodle style stamps and extra doodling...

And here it is :

It is not a very good photo and silly me sent the original to Craft Stamper without taking a picture ! Duh... Anyway, if you want to see  it up close and personal, I guess you will just have to buy a copy ! 

Thanks for stopping by today ! 

When all else fails....

Hello everyone,

Yay, it is Thursday ! That means it is my turn on the Katzelkraft Blog.

I so love these little doggies that I had to use them again for today's post. I am also hooked on the blue and green colour scheme !! Can't get enough of it...

I used a brayer and blue, green and white craft paint to colour this piece of paper. I stamped and stencilled the background until I was happy with the result. Next I stamped the dogs and coloured them with my Copic markers. I also stamped the globe from the accessories set, coloured that too and put a layer of Glossy Accents on to make it shiny; that is why there is a little bit of glare on the photo. 

I cut the dogs out and adhered them on the page. With a pencil I 'coloured' some ground underneath them so they don't float in midair. I found the sentiment on Pinterest and thought it was funny so I typed it on my old typewriter and cut it into strips. I added it to the page and doodled around it. Lastly I dripped some white ink on the page and doodled around the edge. 

I used the following stamp sets: (Click the links and they will take you straight to the shop !)

KTZ161 - dogs

KTZ130 - Backgound stamps

KTZ131 - Background stamps

KTZ119 - globe

Good luck!

Hello everyone,

For this week's Stampotique Designers' Challenge the theme is St. Patrick's Day and it was set by Jackie. This is what she had to say about her challenge:

'St. Patrick's Day was lucky for me. I married my husband on this date so I would like to see the luck of the Irish in your project such as lucky clovers.'

Well... Happy anniversary, Jackie !

I must say I struggled with this one as St. Patrick's Day is not celebrated in Holland. So I googled it and came up with this "

This 'good luck' card was started with stamping the 'clover' which is made out of 3 'My heart' stamp images. I drew the stem. I coloured the hearts with Copic Markers and cut them out. Next I stamped one of the '3 dwarfy gnomes' without his pointy hat. I masked the hat of with sticky tape. Just don't forget to remove the sticky tape before stamping... I found this top hat in my stash, I drew it ages ago for another project and used it as a template to draw another one. I love the fact that it is really to big for him. lol 

I then coloured the gnome and the hat with Copic Markers too, making sure to use a different shade of green. 

Next I took a piece of pattern paper from my stash and brayered some white acrylic paint in the middle. I did this so the images would stand out a little better. Next I glued down the hearts forming a clover and the stem. I attached the top hat to the gnome's head and then adhered the gnome on the panel too. I used a coloured pencil to ground him. With the 'Typewriter Alpha Stamps' I made the sentiment. I cut out all the letters separately and drew a little black line around the pieces of card stock. I then adhered the letters to the card panel.  Next I cut a mat our of black card stock, and adhered the panel to it. The whole thing was then adhered to a 5"x7" card. 

That was it. 

I used the following stamps:

My heart

3 Dwarfy gnomes

Typewriter Alpha

Why not play along with us this week. Just remember: no digi's and only one entry per person per challenge... Good luck ! :o)

Thank you so much for stopping by ! 

Jazz it up

Hello everyone,

Today, for my Visible Image DT post I have made a card and this is it :

The backgrond was made with leftover paint which I just brushed on randomly. The black edges were done with a palet knife. 

The Ochre colour was then over brushed with a gold acrylic paint which gives it a yummy shimmer. 

Next I stamped the music notes on the ochre/gold bits of the card panel. I used a saffron Archival Ink for this. I then stamped the musician and the sentiment with black Archival Ink. Lastly I drew on the faux stitching and adhered the panel to a white card base. 

I used the following stamps:

Soul music 

Jazz it up 

You will find the lovely stamps of Visible Image HERE... 

Social Media, Blog and monthly Challenge details :

Blog: http://visibleimage.co.uk/blog 

Show & Tell Monthly Challenge details: http://visibleimage.co.uk/challenge 

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/visibleimage 

Facebook PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/visibleimage 

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/visibleimage

Twitter: https://twitter.com/visible_image

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/visibleimagestamps

Thank you so much for stopping by today ! 

A flowery personality ?

Hello everyone,

and welcome to another Stampotique Designers' Challenge. Our host this week is the lovely Carol and she wants us to include some flowers in our projects. This is what she had to say about her theme:

'Spring is just around the corner in the UK. So share a project with flowers on it.'

I've made an art journal and here it is:

This page was made on some Mixed Media paper. This paper works particularly well with acrylic paint, I think. I used Dina Wakley's yummy paints for this. I blended them with my fingers and then used a Dylusions stencils to add the polkadots using the same paints and some white. The black dots were added with another stencil, this time a Tim Holtz layering stencil, and some black paint. Next I stamped the background; not too much as there was already a lot going on. Jasper was stamped on white card stock and directly onto the page. I coloured him with Copic Markers and cut him out. I then adhered him onto his twin on the page. This was it doesn't show if you didn't cut it out perfectly. 

Next I stamped the flowers and gave them the same treatment. 

I found the quote on the internet and thought it was quite funny together with Jasper as he has a great personality ! It was typed, cut into strips and adhered to the page. Lastly I went around the page with a black pen and that was it ! 

I used the following stamps :

Carol's flower, small

Fax to Wolfgang

Jasper Fruhling 

We would love it if you played along with us and created something with flowers on. You could win one of the two $30 vouchers at the end of the month. It is not allowed to use digi's and you can only enter once for each challenge. Apart from that, just have fun ! 

Thank you so much for stopping by today ! 

Dream, Magic, Love.

Hello everyone,

I have made a set of three ATC's for my Designteam post for Inkadinkadutchies today and here they are:

The background on these ATC's was made by spraying a piece of watercolour paper with Dylusions ink sprays. I then used a stencil and water to create slightly lighter polkadots. I also splattered some white ink on it. I then cut this piece of paper into ATC sized cards. Next I stamped each card with a bird and VersaMark ink. I then heat embossed with white WOW embossing powder. 

I then stamped the backgrounds with the small text in the Dream, Magic, Love stamps and stamped the big words on a piece of separate white card stock. I used Archival Jet Black ink for this. I cut out the big words and adhered them on the cards. Lastly I drew some lines around the cards and did some doodling. 

I used the following stamps for these ATC's

Dream, Magic, Love Dictionary

3 Birds

These lovely stamps are for sale at Inkadinkadutchies in the Netherlands if you live in Europe or at Lost Coast Designs in the USA if you live outside of Europe.

Thank you so much for stopping by today !

Music soothes the soul

Hello everyone,

Yesterday I had a great day just playing with paints, inks and stamps and I made this card amongst other things:

I really like this stamp by Visible Image. I think it is one of my favourites. 

This postcard was made by cutting a piece of card stock first. I then smooshed some Distress ink onto my craft sheet en sprayed it with water. Next I took a piece of acetate and put it into the ink after which I smooshed the acetate onto my card. I repeated this with different colours until I was happy. 

This is called ink smooshing ! haha, no really. I saw Kristina Werner do this on her YouTube channel. 

Anyway I then took the 'sing' sentiment stamp and stamped it randomly with the same inks to get a tone on tone effect. Next I stamped the lady from the same set and the sentiment which came from a different set. Lastly I drew two lines around the card. 

I used the following stamps:

Sing

Soul Music

I hope I have inspired you to dust off those stamps and get to work ! 

Thank you so much for stopping by ! 

So retro !

Hello everyone,

For my first DT post for March for VivaLasVegaStamps! I have made an art journal. I have been watching VLVS! own DeeDee Catron doing art journaling on YouTube and I saw her using a shape that I really liked so I borrowed it from her. I am sure she won't mind. It is a circle with a hole in it and to me it looks really retro...

I started with die cutting the circles and the holes in the circles. These circles were then adhered to my journal page. Next I gessoed it all with white gesso. 

I used a few shades of yellow acrylic paint (PaperArtsy Fresco paints) and my fingers to add the colour to this page. The dark shades around the circles were made with a brown Big Brush Marker. 

next I used a bottle cap with yellow ink and a credit card and some watered down black paint to add some mark making. I also stamped the background a little with Saffron, Sepia and Black Archival inks. There is a list of all the stamps I used at the bottom of this post. 

The lady was stamped on white card stock, coloured with Copic Markers, cut out and adhered on the page. I used a coloured pencil to add some shading under her. This is so she is anchored down and not floating in space. The sentiment was also stamped on white card, coloured with copics and the edges were darkened with the Sepia Archival ink. I adhered this to the page as well and that finished it off. 

I used the following stamps:

19567 - Writing circles background

19569 - Mesh texture

18568 - OMG, I am so retro

1246 - Bathing Beauty kneeling

19015 - Dictionary page 

Thank you so much for stopping by today ! I hope I gave you some inspiration to get your stamps out and play !