teabags and wax

I mentioned last week that my sewing machine had been calling me, but I have to say that wax and teabags were shouting pretty loudly too!  So I gave in ;)

Here in the UK it can be quite tricky finding teabags that have the tags attached (I wasn't in the mood for regular square ones!).  I've bought some in the past thinking they'd be this shape only to discover that they were just regular teabags full of fancy tea.

These were doubled over so I ended up opening them out after experimenting first by just trimming the bottom off.  I then stamped on one side only of the teabag before trapping a dried hydrangea flower and the word 'blossom' between the two pieces and coating them with wax, melted in my meltpot.

I then stamped a Stampotique sentiment on plain paper and mounted it onto scrap paper from my desk to create a long tag. 

There were a few rejects along the way, although they look better on the photo below!!

It's my turn to post on the Stampotique Designers' Blog, as it is every Friday.  I've included a different tag over there but whilst you're visiting, take a moment to admire the beautiful blog makeover it's received from the very talented Valerie and Maria with the wonderful (and also talented) Kim.

Stampotique Stamps Used:

Journey Collage by Amy Wilson Wellenstein

The earth laughs in flowers by Janet Klein

Daisy, daisy by Jo Capper-Sandon

Tall Word Collage by Amy Wilson Wellenstein

Text Stars with tiny star on the side by Jo Capper-Sandon

ps the Stampotique Originals website's had a makeover too, worth a look!

a little book

 I wanted to make a little journal as a gift for someone and a large tag in my tag box caught my eye!

I smooshed paint, stenciled and stamped both sides of the tag, which I'd pre-folded ..

... and after adding some 'shrooms', discovered that I'd put them on upside down.  Hmm, make a backwards book or ...???

I trimmed the end of the tag, added some sari ribbon and stitched it onto the other end of the tag!

Now the book has additional texture :)

I used pamphlet stitch to add the pages inside, and a ribbon long enough to tie around the book to keep it closed.

All in all a very happy couple of hours, and a gift in the post to a friend.  Hope you've had a lovely evening and have time for some creative craftiness this weekend.

Stampotique Two Sticks 6006 by Jill Penney and Daniel Torrente

Stampotique Giant Shroom 3009 by Jo Capper-Sandon

Stampotique Mushroom Group 3010 by Jo Capper-Sandon

Stampotique Tall Word Collage  7167 by Amy Wilson Wellenstein

Crafters Workshop Stencil Cornflowers TCW 375 by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer

"these beloved candles of the night.." - William Shakespeare

There's just something about the night sky...especially when you are out in the countryside and you can just lie back and gaze into the depths without the distraction of street lighting!  One of our favourite evenings when camping in the summer is spotting shooting stars.  

I'm not sure I'd really like to live in this little shed [Stampers Anonymous J4-1164 Moving Up] high up amongst the stars, it looks a little rickety to me, but I love the idea of it.

I splodged some 'Weathered Wood' distress reinker on my pages then added some more blues by putting the ink on some cellophane then spraying it with a silver spray before stamping this onto my page.  I stamped Jo Capper-Sandon's Text Stars [Stampotique] with distress ink directly onto the page then cut a mask and, using a stipple brush, added ink around the edge of each star.  I love how this highlights them! 

 I added more stars stamped in Wild Honey distress ink onto white paper and cut out.  The words are taken from Amy Wilson's Tall Word Collage [Stampotique] and again stamped in Wild Honey.  

I'm entering this journal page into the Stampotique Designers' Challenge, which  requires the use of 'masking' on your project :)