Crafty Individuals on Hochanda

Crafty Individuals are over on Hochanda on Monday 4th February at 4pm  and Tuesday 5th February at 10am with a lovely bird theme that brings a mixture of favourite stamps and new designs.

I had a wonderful time playing with alcohol ink in a variety of ways for these two cards.  I particularly liked using the alcohol lift ink for the Four Little Songbirds.  The bold stamps really lend themselves to this technique so I'll be having a go with Venezia Bird in the same way!

Four Little Songbirds

Venezia Bird

Four Postmarks

French Script

Vintage Postmarks Background

Lavina Stamps Creative Challenge - A Place to Escape to

For the past few years I have been writing Step by Step projects for Lavinia Stamps but you'll now find me posting more regularly as a member of the design team, something I'm really thrilled about.

Each month, Lavinia Stamps runs a Creative Challenge, with a different theme, and the chance to win £40 worth of their stamps.  The winner is chosen entirely at random using Python Random Generator, and you don't need a blog to enter, just click on the link here to find out what to do.

For this month's theme of 'A Place to Rest' I had a play with Tracey's technique of using Colorbox inkpads and Brusho inks on the gelli plate.  If you've not seen the videos, you'll find one here, but I warn you, it's addictive!!  I also played with White Brusho ink for the first time (on her wings) and the Brusho Sprinkle Its, which add a touch of sparkle.

Colorbox Dye Ink - Plum

Colorbox Dye Ink - Storm

Brusho Ink - Turquoise

Brusho Ink - White

Brusho Sprinkle It - Iridescent Gold

Versafine - Onyx Black (currently on sale)

Seeing is Believing

Sacred Spells

Somewhere I find rest is playing with paper, inks and stamps so I also made a little matchbook for this challenge. 

Again I used a gelliprint created with Colorbox ink and Brushos.  You can just see a smidge of the previous project's gelli print in there too.

Inside I stacked a variety of inked, stamped mini pages, secured with a staple.  these are around 4.5cm square + so are teeny, tiny.  I love working small.

Sacred Spells

Zen Thistle (this is one of my faves but is being discontinued; grab it while you can!!)

Fern Heads - Singles

Seed Heads

Make a Dandelion

Dandelions 2

Fairy Words

Zen Angelic Words

Use it up, Fill it up Instagram Challenge

I love a good challenge to get me making things so over on Instagram I've been taking part in Tiffany Goff Smith's Use it up, fill it up 2 challenge.  It's been great to use favourite gelli prints in my Salvaged journal, and in particular, to use this ornate coffee pot stamp that I've had forever and had never used!

I'm loving these little dies by Simply Graphic.  I was very happy that google translate worked as they are a French company, with a French website!

My gelli prints are results from Birgit Koopsen's '31 days of gel printing' Instagram challenge from last Summer.  Putting them in a book means I get to stroke them ...lots!!

Just the ticket

This collage stamp was perfect for making a card for a friend who is leaving the country to live in Australia!

I love how, even though it is a long thin stamp, you can combine the elements to make a square card.

I've joined the Crafty Individuals Design Team

I am truly honoured to have been invited onto the Crafty Individuals' design team, along with my good friend Chris of Pearshaped Crafting blog.  As a full-time special needs teacher the time I have available to 'make' is limited, and I am thankful for Jean and Malcolm's understanding of this.  It is wonderful though to be back blogging; and I am hoping that this will keep me on my blog a bit more regularly rather than just on Instagram!

I recently made some cards using the new designs and snapped some step by step photos along the way.

I am taking part in a challenge over on Instagram, set by the amazing Birgit Koopsen, to use a different product every day in October.  This day's product was my poor neglected distress markers.   After creating a Distress Oxide background with Picked Raspberry and Salted Ocean, I stamped text in the background, part of the 'Noel Border' then used the distress marker to stamp the snowflakes from the main stamp image.

I use parts of the stamp by inking up the required area then removing the ink with a baby wipe from the areas I don't want to stamp with.  Here I selected one of those tiny stars...

...which I then stamped on the inked background, along with some of the larger text stars.

I stamped the image onto white copier paper a few times and cut out the areas shown.

I love those stitchy marks and emphasised them using my sewing machine.

A gold confetti star on top of the tree..

...and some snowy effects added using Stickles completed my card.

I really love the collage stamps that Crafty Individuals design.  They have sooo many little elements that you can use in so many different ways.  The stamps used in this project were:

And then, because I was having so much fun,  I made a little tag too!

Thanks so much for reading, and I hope nobody collapsed in shock when they spotted I'd blogged lol

Teeny Tiny Journaling

Probably about eight years or so ago I included some small journaling in one of my art journals ...

... and over the past few months I've wanted to get back to it, but hadn't found the right way, until now!

This teeny, weeny, traveller's notebook is made by Monica, on Instagram as @moon.4.life, and available in Cafe Analog's Webshop.

It comes beautifully packaged in a tiny little box.

Being tiny, it makes it extremely portable (but you have to keep your eye on it so it doesn't get lost!).  I love being able to take a pencil case of papers, glue stick, scissors and pencil and journal wherever I am.

Gelli printed deli paper makes for a great background,

.. and it's a great place to use up the tiniest of snippets of paper!

The trouble is, Monica's produced some new colours ... I can feel a collection coming on, oh dear!!

New PaperArtsy Stamps and Stencils from Scrapcosy

I am very honoured to be sharing samples for this new release from Scrapcosy.  You can find them over on the PaperArtsy blog tonight.