Chocolate Baroque Giveaway- Home Sweet Home

There is a giveaway over on the Chocolate Baroque Blog at the moment. There is a new release of stamps called Home Sweet Home, and Glenda is giving away a set of these stamps to a lucky commenter, either on the Design Team Blog, or one of the blogs belonging to the Design Team members, including her own blog. There are links in my sidebar to the other Design Team members' blogs.

I was fortunate enough to work with these fabulous stamps recently, and one of the samples I made involved a card with a secret gift inside.

I wanted to make a very simple card from the outside, and chose very soft muted colours for the image. I used the same colours for the inner pocket.

I then decided to make a Chotski pin to go inside the inner pocket. Chotski pins are a bit like kilt pins with loops on. You can hang charms on them. Normally they are a bit grungier than the ones I have made here, but they can be whatever style you choose to make. I altered a couple of bottle caps, added some beads, used some silver plated charms, lots of odds and ends, and some jewellery findings. I stamped some of the words onto shrink plastic, and coloured some pieces of card to set behind the shrink plastic, in typical Clarice Cliff style colours, then mounted these into the bottle caps.

I stamped the smallest house stamp onto an acrylic heart tag, and coloured the reverse with Copic markers.
I had a lot of fun making this piece.

Hopefully, I've inspired you to have a look at these lovely new stamps, and given you a few ideas as to how to use them. Thanks for stopping by xx

Forgotten Friday 27- Darkroom Door Bicycle

Hi Folks, it's Friday again, and slightly later than usual, I'm posting my submission for this week's post. We are preparing to go away on holiday on Monday, so I am working my way through my 'to do' list. It's very long, and I am trying to get everything done, not an easy task in this house! Especially as my list seems to get longer every time I look.

This week, I have chosen to use a fabulous set of stamps from Darkroom Door, called 'Enjoy Life'. It is the first time that I have used the lovely stamps, I really like them, but just hadn't got around to inking them up, have you heard that one from me before? I chose to put them with a piece of lovely Kraft resist paper from Tim Holtz, which I am very miserly about using. I love this paper, but can barely force myself to use it, as it so gorgeous. The paper seemed to go so well with the stamps though, so it had to be done. I raided my button collection, and added some paper string to complete my card.

Don't forget to rummage through your own stash to see what you have forgotten or neglected. Make something with it, and I'll pop along to your blog to take a look. Thanks for popping by today, and have a great weekend xx
P.S. What do you think to my new signature block?

New CSQ post

Hi folks, it's my turn to post a project over on our joint Blog again. Pop over to Craft Stamping Quartet to take a look. If you're not familiar with what happens over there, myself and three crafting friends take it in turns to pick a project based on items featured in Craft Stamper magazine. We each make the project, and post it on our Blog. We don't live near each other, but this way, we feel like we are crafting together.

This month's projects have a slight twist, because they are based on a colour challenge, but we have been allowed to combine them with another random project selected from either the March, April or May edition of the magazine. I chose to use Rachel Jackson's 'Carve a Niche' from the April edition, featuring an altered book. Here is a picture of my take on her project:

Pop over to our joint blog for details on how I put this together. Thanks for stopping by today, Judith xx

Forgotten Friday a submission from Shirley

Hi Folks, Shirley has sent me a fabulous submission this week for my Forgotten Friday post. She has been following an online class with Glenda Waterworth from Chocolate Baroque It's fabulous!

She has never used these stamps before, so they certainly qualify as forgotten stash.

I love the images on this card, and the colour scheme is great. Thanks Shirley! Don't forget, you have until Thursday evening to join in and make something with your neglected items. Leave a comment on my blog, and I'll pop along and take a look. Or, do as Shirley does, and send me an email with a picture, and I'll upload it to my blog, no worries. Thanks for stopping by today, Judith xx

Forgotten Friday 26- A bit of Tim Holtz

Hi Folks, it's Friday again, which means that it's time to rummage through your crafty stash and make something with your neglected items again.

This week, I've chosen to use some unused, surprisingly, Tim Holtz stamps for my project. I am very fond of bird stamps, and am starting to collect quite a few. I bought these ages ago, and just never got around to using them. I have some more that I haven't used either, so they may pop up in a week or two. I made a completely different background for this project last night, but wasn't happy with it. So, this morning, I made another one! I had painted my watercolour paper with various acylic paints, added some napkin paper flowers, stamped on various shapes with black and white dabbers, used sequin waste, etc, all very involved. I looked at it, and just didn't feel that I liked it, so it has been ditched for a simpler approach this morning.

I have embossed the flowers with white pearls embossing powder, and then used three different colour blues to spray my watercolour paper. I then used a bit of water to thin the colours a little bit. I have used Stazon to stamp the birds and the sentiment, and then edged the paper with Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink. I stamped the bird onto Kraft card, and coloured it with Weathered Wood and Chipped Sapphire DIs.

I like working with blues, the other colour scheme just wasn't in my comfort zone. Do you have a colour that puts you out of sorts?

Anyway, please join in this week if you have time, add a link in my comments, and I'll pop along and take a look. I have an entry from Shirley, which I'll upload a bit later, it's fabulous. Thanks for stopping by today, Judith xx

Forgotten Friday getting along without me and news of a Blog Fest

Hi folks, well it's Friday again, and I'm not at home right now. I'm travelling around, so I'm unable to make a contribution for this week's Forgotten Friday. However, my friend Shirley, has very kindly sent her contribution to me, and I am posting a picture of what she has made.

She has stamped her image and coloured it with Promarkers, before mounting it onto pearlescent card. She has used a pretty stripy paper to cut out her border.

Thank you Shirley for joining in the challenge this week! Why don't you have a rummage through your own craft stash, and make something with your forgotten or neglected items, leave a comment on my blog, and I'll pop and take a look.

Over on the Design Team blog there is a Blog Fest this weekend. Keep an eye out over there for lots of designs popping up from the Design Team members.

I'll be back next week as usual, but I hope that you all have a lovely weekend, whatever you are doing. Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

Forgotten Friday 24- A Touch of Venice

Hi folks, it's Friday again, this week has flown by! My Daughter is safely back in the UK, but her ankle is in plaster for the next five weeks at least. She has a lovely purple plaster cast- a girl after my own heart! We have been backwards and forwards to the Hospital a lot this week, and need to go again next week for another x-ray. Hopefully then she can settle down a bit, and concentrate on letting the ankle heal. I'm off to pick a wheelchair up for her tomorrow, as she can't walk on it for several weeks. Who would have thought a trip to Disneyland could be so dangerous?

Anyway, onto my project for this week. I have chosen to use a background stamp from Hero Arts, 'Italian Poetry Background', as the starting point for my card. I am very fond of Italy, as those of you who know me will know. I coloured my card with Versamagic chalk inks, that were already laying on my craft desk. I used a lovely mask from Tattered Angels down the left hand side. I then added an as yet unused stamp from Stamp Camp of a scene from Venice. The chalk inks give a very dreamy, watery quality to the picture. The final touch was to add a lovely flourish from Chocolate Baroque in the corner, almost like a watermark.

Don't forget to have a rummage through your stash, to see what you have that is forgotten or neglected. Make something with it, and add a link in my comments. I'll pop along to your blog to take a look. Thanks for stopping by today, Judith xx

Forgotten Friday 23- A Birthday card for a Friend

Hi Folks, it's been a funny week this week. My lovely Daughter broke her ankle while on holiday in America. She slipped while standing up from coming down a water slide. It took the medical profession two days to realise that it was broken. Today has been a worry, as the original airline refused to take her, and she is coming home on a BA flight, while her Boyfriend is on their original flight. They fly in to seperate terminals at different times. The Insurance Company forgot to tell her that she had to fly FROM a different airport, so she had to get a taxi for a 30 plus mile trip to the other airport, by herself with crutches, and all of her luggage. However, on the plus side, she is flying business class, but it has been very stressful.

As my post appears, I will be heading to get her, very relieved that she is on UK soil again.

This week, I have chosen to use a lovely stamp by Hero Arts, a cling stamp, which I haven't used before. I needed to make a Birthday card for a friend of mine who turns 30 this weekend. I had plans for a much more elaborate card, but today just went pear-shaped. So, my offering is a much more simple affair, hopefully she will like it. I have used Distress and Adirondack inks to make my backgrounds, and decoupaged the butterflies. I have used some untouched, but very pretty lilac seam binding as the only embellishment.

Don't forget to look through your stash, join in and make something with your forgotten or neglected items. Leave me a comment, and I'll pop along to take a look. Thanks for popping by, Judith xx