Forgotten Friday- More Alphatags

Hi Folks, it's Friday again, that means it's time to rummage through your crafty stash to see what items you have lying neglected or unused, and see what you can make with them. I have chosen to show you a couple of the Alphatags that I make each month for the Chocolate Baroque Ning swap this week, as I have used some neglected stamps on both tags.

The first tag is for the letter 'S' and I have chosen a theme of Steampunk Silver. I went with a monochromatic colour scheme, and used some stamps from the Steampunk Christmas stamp plate which came out last year. I embossed some cogs on my tag using silver embossing powder, then coloured my tag with Weathered Wood Distress Ink. I stamped a script stamp over some of the remaining area, and then edged the tag with Black Soot Distress Ink.

I stamped and embossed a steampunk poinsettia onto grey card twice with silver embossing powder, then coloured one of these with Black Soot Distress Ink, using the embossing powder as a resist. I cut both flowers up, and curled them slightly. I layered them up, added a cog in the centre, and then put Glossy Accents in the middle of the cog. I dropped black glass glitter into the Glossy Accents, and left this to dry. I added a piece of black ribbon to finish.

I have used some stamps from the Woodland Dreams stamp set for my 'T' tag. I have gone for a theme of Twilight Trees. I sponged a range of Distress Inks across the background, then embossed a set of trees onto the tag using WOW black embossing powder. I added a sentiment along the bottom, and a set of silhouette birds from a Crafty Individuals stamp set, flying in front of the moon.

Only two more sets of Alphatags to go now, and we'll be finished. It seems strange to think that we have worked our way through the entire alphabet! Some months have definitely been easier than others! There are some difficult ones to come.....

Anyway, I am off on my travels again later this afternoon. I am heading up to the North West for the Happy Stampers Show tomorrow, and am looking forward to seeing lots of crafty friends. I am then off to see my lovely Daughter Megan in Stoke tomorrow for a couple of days, and we are helping her to move again. It only seems like five minutes since the last time!

If you feel like making something with your own neglected or forgotten items, please leave a comment on this post, and I'll pop along to your blog to take a look. Thanks for stopping by, xx

Clearly Different, new stamps from Chocolate Baroque

Hi Folks, well those of you who haven't been living on a different planet may well be aware that Chocolate Baroque have recently launched a range of clear stamps to compliment their range of rubber stamps. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to work with these stamps and produce some samples. The launch took place while I was away on holiday in Italy, and I followed the fun and games of launch day via my iPad.

The stamp designs are lovely, with the same flair and style that the rubber stamps have, but with the versatility and flexibility that clear stamps can offer as well. There are some beautiful Oriental designs in the first batch of these clear stamps, and it has been a real pleasure to work with them. There is a little bit of everything to be fair, and my Design Team mates have come up with some stunning samples. You can pop over to the Design Team Blog to see what they have been creating.

I'd like to show you a few of the samples that I have made, although a couple of these have already appeared on the DT Blog, so apologies to those of you who have already seen these. The first one is an Oriental sample incorporating a handmade flower. I got the instructions for the flower from a tutorial on Pinterest, there are so many great ideas on there!

I went for a colour palette of soft pinks and browns, maybe not what what you would expect, but it seemed right for this card.

My next card shows off one of the frame stamps, and how easy they are to place onto Nestability shapes. The words are just as easy to position where you want them, and line up so easily. I used some embossing paste through a mask to create my background, and then coloured this with Pan Pastels. I added some embellishments, and the little frame, finishing the corners with some co-ordinating rubber stamp flourishes.

My next sample is again all about positioning. I started by making a frame with some of the twiddly bits on a couple of the stamp sets. These are some of the designs that might otherwise be ignored, because they aren't cute or of a specific image, etc.

I stamped the line elements outside the sentiment first, then added the flowers afterwards. I then stamped the flowers again, and coloured them with Copics, and decoupaged them onto the original piece. I added some coloured layers, and some gems in the middle of the flowers. It might be a plain and simple card, but I like a bit of Christmas bling!

My last sample for now shows a little Oriental scene. I wanted to create a pond with a ripple effect. Now I hold my hand up and admit that the perspective is all wrong on this card. However, it is merely the suggestion of a pond, so please allow me artistic licence on this one! I've used oval Nesties, and three different colour Distress Inks to sponge the colour around to create the appearance of the ripples. I stamped the Lily images first and masked them off before creating the ripples. I decoupaged the flowers, and cut the little frog out seperately as well. I have added Glossy Accents to him, to create some depth to his body. I have added Stickles to the dragonfly wings.

The background was created by using a couple of Crafty Individuals masks and Distress Inks. I then embossed the dragonfly stamp with gold embossing powder randomly over the top. The sentiment was taken from the 'Warm Christmas Wishes' clear stamp set, proving that the set doesn't always have to be used just for Christmas. I love the font on this sentiment.

So, hop over to Chocolate Baroque to see the full range of the new clear stamps, they are fun to work with, and I hope to show you some more samples soon. Thanks for stopping by, xx

Forgotten Friday- Time Travel

Hi Folks, well I have to apologise for the patchiness of Forgotten Friday over the past few weeks. As you know, I have been travelling here there and everywhere. My little weekly post is the casualty of that travelling I'm afraid. Anyway, I have managed to create something today, so that is a cause for celebration.

I needed to create something along a Steampunk theme, and was rummaging through some of my Chocolate Baroque stamps. I happened across a couple of stamps that I hadn't used, so decided to make something with those, using another one that I had used, but not since I was creating DT samples with the stamps. I made a background stamping the flying clock with Versamark, and embossing it with clear embossing powder. I then coloured the background with Tea Dye Distress Stain, and picked up splodges of ink in various colours over the top, drying each application between the layers. I stamped the words 'Time Flies' with black ink in the gaps. I used some of the left over ink to colour a manilla tag with the wrinkle free distress technique. I embossed a section of a cog mask on a couple of corners of the tag by running it through my Big Shot, and then swiped some Distress ink over the top of the raised areas.

I stamped the beetle onto a spare piece of card, and coloured it with Distress Markers and a water brush, then highlighted the shaded areas with neat markers for depth. I added some cogs and jump rings to the tag, and a couple of stamped words to fit the theme of 'Time Travel'. The word 'Time' comes from a larger stamp taken from the 'Artful Affirmations' stamp set from Chocolate Baroque, if you were wondering.

The eagle eyed amongst you may have spotted the teeny cogs on my tag as well, they are watch parts.

Why don't you have a rummage through your craft stash and see if you have something forgotten or neglected? Make something and leave a comment on my post, and I'll pop along to take a look.

I am going to enter my card into the Steampunk Junkies challenge. This time around, the theme is Time Travel/Anything Goes.

Thanks for stopping by, xx

Buttons and Bows/Anything Goes

Hi Folks, sorry for the long gap in posting, but life again has been very hectic here in rural Norfolk. We are back from our Italian travels, but as this post goes live, I'll be celebrating my Daughter's 23rd Birthday with her up in Stoke. I don't know where all of those years have gone, but it will be lovely to spend a short while with her to mark her special day.

We had a great time away, and when I get the chance, I'll post some photos on my blog, as the views and the inspiration were just amazing.

Anyway, on to today's post! I am posting my project for the Vintage Elusions Challenge Blog, and the theme this week is Buttons and Bows/Anything Goes. You can make a tag, a card, an altered book, a box, whatever you like. There are prizes up for grabs sponsored by:

LEJ Designs

Fresh Brewed Designs

So, it's well worth entering, please pop over to the challenge blog to take a look at what the other DT members have made for your inspiration.

I have used an image from Fresh Brewed Designs for my card today. This design caught my eye, as I thought that it would be a very useful one to have in my storecupboard of cards. We all know someone who has been affected by cancer sadly, and this subtle image could be used as a sympathy card, a Get Well Soon card, or a 'I'm thinking of you' card. I've paper pieced and decoupaged the image, then used some of the same paper, pleated and punched to make a lacy border across the card. I edged this with Distress Ink, and laid some brown seam binding across the top. I used some toning background paper as my main paper, all taken from Prima paper pads, Tea-Thyme and Rondelle.

I have added a pearl button over the vase, where there is a heart in the design, and edged all of my papers with Distress Ink to finish.

Thanks for stopping by, xx

Baubles and Bows

Here's another sample using the great new Pears and Baubles stamp set from Chocolate Baroque. There is a fabulous background stamp, following on in the fragments tradition. This one is huge, and is made up of holly and mistletoe. I can see myself using it a lot this year.

I stamped the background stamp several times across the card with Versamark, and embossed the image with gold embossing powder. I coloured the background with Distress Inks, and then spritzed them with water, and a little bit of Perfect Pearls for a bit of shimmer. I stamped two baubles onto green pearlescent card with gold embossing powder, and cut these out. I added some flat backed adhesive pearls and some big blousy bows to finish.

Well, that has helped my Christmas card pile a little bit, and spurred me to make some more. I hope that I have given you a little bit of inspiration as well. Thanks for stopping by, xx

Pear Script at Christmas

There are some great new stamps out at Chocolate Baroque called Pears and Baubles. I have made a few samples, and would like to show you a couple.

The first one incorporates some of the other stamps recently introduced  and an old favourite of mine as well. I created a frame using the small mistletoe stamp, and cut inside this to make an aperture. I coloured the leaves, and decorated the berries with Diamond Stickles. I stamped the owl onto a piece of cream card, colouring the image with pencils again, and adding some Glossy Accents to his eyes, and the little bauble hanging from the tree. I stamped a sentiment and matted it onto green card.

My second sample uses one of the lovely pears on the stamp plate. I have stamped this onto Clearly for Art, and then stuck it onto some of the Prima Almanac paper. I have heated the pears, and moulded them slightly. I stuck some more paper onto a card base, and stamped the large swirl from the Butterfly Dreams stamp plate over the top. The design matches that of the pear really well. The pears once added to the card look as though they are hanging from the branches of the swirl. Finally, I added a sentiment, stamped onto more of the Prima paper. All of the paper has been coloured with Peeled Paint and Mustard Seed Distress ink.

I'll be back in a day or two with another sample. Thanks for stopping by, xx

A bit of Distressing

Hi Folks, sorry it's been a while since my last post, life has been somewhat hectic here at Poppy Cottage. I'm actually on holiday in Italy as this post goes live, hopefully enjoying a little bit of late Summer sunshine. Some of the items that I have used on the following project are forgotten and neglected, so if you want to tag your Forgotten Friday projects to this post, please feel free to do so, and I'll pop along to your blogs to take a look, internet connection willing!

My project today is for the Vintage Elusions Challenge Blog and the theme is 'Distressing/Anything Goes'. I started with an image of young Harry Potter, so I decided to create a book card with a shabby distressed feel. The front of the card shows a woodland scene and Harry advancing towards his foe, wand at the ready. I have used a selection of Chocolate Baroque stamps which I have stamped onto a piece of Prima paper, and then edged with Distress Inks. I have used a paper distresser on the edges of my paper. At the bottom of the scene, I have used a piece of the iron gate Tim Holtz die cut from black card.

I have used another piece of the Prima paper for the inside cover, and used a selection of Tim Holtz stamps, adding a great sentiment. For the niche, I have added the iron gate around the edges, and added a piece of Prima paper to the insert. The blues are very apt for a boys card, but I do know a certain 22 year old Daughter who loves Harry Potter as well!

There is a great prize for the winner of this week's challenge, Sassy Studio Designs are offering 4 digis of the winners choice. So why don't you have a go at making something, and enter into the challenge? It can be anything, a card, box, tag, ATC, etc, as long as it falls inder the umbrella of Distressing or Anything Goes.

I'll be back from my holidays in a while, so take care and keep crafting. Thanks for stopping by, xx