Vintage Daisies

Hi everyone, I’m back again with another card I made using the Francoise Read for Woodware stamp set, which came with this month’s ’Creative Stamping’ magazine. (In case you missed the first one due to Blogger playing silly beggars, it’s here). I’m really loving the vintage vibe of these stamps, and so once again I used a variety of Distress colouring media. 

I die cut a grungy rectangle from a snippet of white card using the AALL & Create ‘Film Drip’ die set, and created a smooshed background using Tattered Rose, Victorian Velvet and Antique Linen Distressed inks. I stamped the large focal image, then stamped again onto a separate snippet where I coloured the daisy heads with Distressed watercolour pencils and the butterfly with Elements ink, then fussy cut. I created a separate smooshed background on an offcut of card using Antique Linen and Tea Dye DI’s, then stamped the tag section of the main stamp onto it, fussy cut out and coloured the flower. I added some background stamping round the edges of the main image using small images from the magazine stamp set, inked round the edges to add depth, then attached the fussy cut tag, flower heads and butterfly. I die cut a grungy frame from a snippet of kraft card using the ‘Film Drip’ dies and matted the stamped panel onto it, then attached to a custom sized card blank. To finish I added a Tim Holtz ‘Small Talk’ sticker sentiment, a teeny fussy cut tag stamped onto a separate teeny snippet, and Glossy Accents to the flower centres.

Stamps: Woodware Fabulous Francoise;

Media: Tim Holtz Distress inks (Antique Linen, Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, Tattered Rose, Victorian Velvet); Distress watercolour pencils (Kitsch Flamingo, Fossilized Amber, Rusty Hinge, Peeled Paint); Lavinia Elements ink (Sundance); Versafine Clair (Portobello);

Tools: AALL & Create Film Drip dies;

Other: Tim Holtz Small Talk Stickers.

Challenges I would like to enter:

Addicted to Stamps & More #521 - Make Your Mark

Beautiful Blossoms #42 - Anything Floral Goes (4th entry)

Creative Artiste #128 - Anything Mixed Media Goes

A Cut Above (July) - Anything Goes with a Die Cut

DL.Art (July) - Anything Goes

Ellibelle’s Garden Party #17 - Anything In or From a Garden

Moving Along with the Times #191 - Use a Colouring Medium (2nd entry)

Sisterhood of Crafters (July) - Flowers

Snippets Playground #536 - Use Snippets - TOP PICK

Word Art Wednesday  #760/761 - Anything Goes

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Fabulous Francoise

Hi everyone, even though I don’t own very many, I have always really liked stamps designed for Woodware by Francoise Read, so I was tempted when I saw that she had designed a stamp and stencil set for the cover gift with this month’s ‘Creative Stamping’ magazine. I managed to make a couple of cards with them yesterday - here is the first one.

I cut a piece of white stamping card, and created the dotted frame by blending Scorched Timber Distress Oxide through the dotty part of the Postage Frame stencil. I then placed the other stencil over the dots and blended Antique Linen and Tea Dye Distressed Inks to form the squares and rectangles. With the stencil still in place I stamped the focal image using Portobello VFC, coloured the flowers and pocket watch using DI’s and DOX’s, then trimmed the panel close to the edges of the dotty frame. 

I cut a 6.5” x 4.5” piece of white stamping card and created a smooshed background using Distressed Oxides, then covered in random background stamping from older Francoise Read stamp sets - ‘Additions’ and ‘Garden Snail’. I matted this onto a border of brown card stock, then attached the main focal panel. I stamped an Indigo Blu sentiment onto separate card, cut out, edged with brown ink and attached. Finally I stamped 2 butterflies from the magazine set onto separate card, coloured with Paprika Elements ink then cut out and attached. I matted the finished piece onto a 7” x 5” card blank.

Stamps:  Woodware Fabulous Francoise, Additions, Garden Snail; Indigo Blu sentiment;

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Inks (Antique Linen, Tea Dye, Vintage Photo); Distress Oxide Inks (Spiced Marmalade, Barn Door, Rustic Wilderness, Scorched Timber); Lavinia Elements ink (Paprika); Versafine Clair (Portobello, Sand Dune);

Tools: Woodware Postage Frame stencil set.

Challenges I would like to enter: 

AAA Birthday #87 - For Girls

Addicted to Stamps & More #520 - Die Cuts and/or Stencils

Crafty Calendar (July) - Happy Birthday

Crazy Is Our Fame, Stencils Are Our Game (July) - Use a Stencil

Daisy Chain #109 - Birthday

Krafty Chicks #827 - Birthday

NBUS #88 - Use Your Never-Before-Used Schtuff

Pammie’s Inky Pinkies #2627 - Anything Goes

Triple B (July) - Birds, Butterflies and/or Blooms

Word Art Wednesday #758/759 - Anything Goes (4th entry)

With hindsight I think I would have coloured my image with Distress inks rather than DOX but hey, it’s done now 🥰 In any event I’m really thrilled with my latest magazine gift - the stamps are really beautiful and the stencil definitely fills a gap in my stash. I’ll be back soon with another card using this stamp set.

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

I Spy With My Little Eye #27

Hi everyone, the year really is flying by! It’s June already and the third Wednesday in the month again, which means that it’s time for another I Spy With My Little Eye... challenge over at Ellibelle's Corner.  Thanks so much to everyone who joined in last time - please do check over on Ellie’s blog to see if you are one of our top picks. 

I chose the challenge theme this month, and it is

I Spy With My Little Eye 

*** Vintage Vibes ***

Please don’t forget to pop over to Ellie's blog to see her fab creation and link up your entries here.

Here’s my card for the challenge.

I have had this pretty vintage style Woodware stamp for quite a long time but had never inked it up before, so I thought now was the time! I cut a 6” x 4” piece of white stamping card and created a smooshed background with a mixture of Distress Inks and Elements. I don’t use my Distress inks very often as they are old and not very juicy, but I think they give a softer more vintage look than the Elements, which are generally much more vibrant. 

I stamped the image using Versafine Clair in Portobello, which I also think is an ideal shade of brown for vintage-style projects. I then die cut the panel using a stitched rectangle die, and added some soft background stencilling using Distress Oxide. I stamped the image again onto separate card and coloured the flowers, snail and butterfly using Distress Watercolor pencils, added some extra shading to the flowers with Zig pen and white Stabilo pencil, and added some sparkle with my Wink of Stella. I then fussy cut them out and set aside. I smooshed some ink onto another snippet of white card and stamped the sentiment, cut out,  rounded the edges with a punch then edged with brown ink.  

 I die cut a stitched rectangle mat from brown card stock, attached the base panel and then attached to a 7” x 5” card blank. Finally I attached the fussy cut pieces and sentiment to the base image and added a couple of pieces of washi tape and a teeny heart gem.

I couldn’t help but notice while making this card that my Gemini cutting plates are on their last legs  - they have been looking very bowed for some time - but now the die cuts themselves look quite rippled and don’t really lie flat! I’m going to have to try to straighten them out, otherwise here comes yet another crafty expense!

Stamps: Woodware Garden Snail; Lou Collins Typography (sentiment);

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Inks (Tattered Rose, Victorian Velvet); Distress Oxide ink (Scorched Timber); Lavinia Elements ink (Soft Cygnet); Versafine Clair (Portobello); Distress Watercolor pencils (Kitsch Flamingo, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain, Picket Fence, Peeled Paint); Kuretake Zig Clean Color Watercolor pen; Stabilo pencil (white); Wink of Stella (clear);

Tools: Hunkydory Moonstone Duo-Stitched Rectangle dies; That’s Crafty! Dinky stencil - Reverse Honeycomb Background;

Other: washi tape from The Range.

Challenges I would like to enter:

Addicted to Stamps and More #495 - Die Cuts and/or Stencils

Beautiful Blossoms #30 - Anything Floral Goes - TOP 5

Crafty Calendar (June) - Add a Sentiment (2nd entry)

Creations In Pink #82 - Anything Goes In Mainly Pink

Creative Artiste #116 - Anything Mixed Media Goes (3rd entry)

Daisy Chain #97 - Birthday (2nd entry)

Die Cut Divas  (June) - Colour Challenge (use at least 3)

(I have used the pale beige, 2 shades of pink, brown and a hint of green)

Dragonfly Dreams (June) - Use One or More Butterflies (2nd entry)

Ellibelle’s Garden Party #4 - Anything In or From a Garden - TOP PICK

Heart’s Quest Celebrations of Love #6 2025 - Birthday (2nd entry) - TOP 3

Make My Monday #254 - One or More Butterflies - SPECIAL MENTION

Moving Along With the Times #179 - Birthday (2nd entry)

Neglected Stuff (June) - Use Your Neglected Craft Supplies

Night Owls #49 - Stencil / Punches / Die Cutting - TOP 3

Outlawz Monday Greetings (June) - Any Greeting with a Floral Image

Shopping Our Stash #550 - A Stitch In Time

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Fur, Feather and/or Flowers

Triple B (June) - Birds, Butterflies and/or Blooms (2nd entry)

Try It On Tuesday - In the Garden

We Love 2 Create #6 2025 - Anything Papercrafting/Mixed Media Goes (2nd entry)

Word Art Wednesday #704/705 - Anything Goes

The I Spy Challenge will end on the Sunday before the next challenge starts at 23:59 US Central Time - so this time that is Sunday July 13th, and the next challenge will begin on Wednesday July 16th.

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Vintage Tag

Hi everyone, I never normally make tags for some unknown reason - in fact I can only ever remember making one before - but I had recently been considering buying a grungy style tag die. However during my recent craft show visit a beautiful Woodware vintage style tag stamp caught my eye and it sent my crafty thoughts in a whole new direction. Here is my first vintage-style tag made with this stamp.

I stamped the tag onto cream stamping card using Pinecone Versafine Clair, then distressed it by blending Speckled Egg and Scorched Timber Distress Oxide inks from the edges inwards.  I stamped two butterflies off the edge, then some 2nd generation background grungy text in Acorn VFC. I added some stamped grungy hearts and a beetle, then coloured the butterfly wings and hearts using Distress Watercolor pencils, adding some sparkle to the butterfly wings with Wink of Stella (which the camera doesn't catch unfortunately). I stamped the words onto a separate snippet of card, cut out, distressed and attached. Finally I fussy cut the tag out then punched a hole and threaded with jute twine.

I also stamped on the back and distressed the edges - I’m loving the new Scorched Timber DOX for a vintage look.

Stamps: Woodware Old Paper Tag, Butterfly, Additions (background text), Blooming (hearts), Mini Flower Silhouettes (beetle); AALL & Create #533 Bring On the Sentiments, #984 Tag o Tag (text on back);

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Speckled Egg, Scorched Timber); Distress watercolor pencils (Mermaid Lagoon, Salvaged Patina, Speckled Egg, Kitsch Flamingo); Versafine Clair (Pinecone, Acorn); Wink of Stella.

Challenges I would like to enter:

Allsorts #769 - Things That Fly

Crafty Addicts #10 - Anything Goes

Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday (February) - Anything Goes

My Time to Craft #528 - Make Your Own Background

NBUS #59 - Use Your Never-Before-Used-Schtuff

(vintage tag stamp and Scorched Timber DOX)

Outlawz (February) - Anything Goes In a Card Free Zone (3rd entry)

Simon Says (Monday) - Not a Card

Stamping Sensations (February) - Animals, Birds and Creatures (3rd entry)

Tag Tuesday - Asemic Writing (wordless open semantic form of writing)

Triple B (February) - Birds, Butterflies and/or Blooms (3rd entry)

Word Art Wednesday #635/636 - Anything Goes (5th entry)

I really enjoyed trying something a bit different, and I have several other ideas for tags using this stamp, so watch this space!!

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Dream In Colour

Hi everyone, this month's ATC swap over on FB UK Stampers' Forum is on the theme of "Silhouettes". I haven't joined in for a while but I love my silhouette stamping so decided to give it a go. The swap requires 3 ATC's but I got so into this project that I ended up making 6, giving me 3 extra ones to trade separately.

I cut six pieces of hot pressed watercolour card each 3.25" x 2.25", and on each one I create a rainbow coloured dribbling wash effect by colouring puddles of each colour with a watercolour brush pen, then dragging out the colour with a wet paintbrush. This was a bit of an experiment as I bought a small pack of cheap watercolour brush pens to see if I liked the general idea, as a precursor to a more considered purchase of better quality ones ... and I do like them!!  I  stamped my focal flowers, beetles, hearts and background text in black Versafine Clair, then stamped my sentiment onto black card with Versamark and heat embossed with white powder, cut out and attached. I edged each piece with black marker pen and attached to black linen cardstock cut to standard ATC 3.5" x 2.5".

Here is a close up of each of the 2 designs.

Stamps: Woodware Mini Floral Silhouettes, Additions (background text), Blooming (hearts); AALL & Create Paint Your Dreams (sentiment);

Media: Watercolour brush pens from The Works; Versafine Clair (Nocturne); Versamark; white embossing powder.

Challenges I would like to enter:

Allsorts #739/740 - Anything But Square (2nd entry)

As You Like It - Favourite Florals or Gingham (and why) (2nd entry)

(I love both, but I never tire of floral images and the many different ways you can use them)

Beautiful Blossoms #7 - Anything Floral Goes (5th entry)

Colourful Options (August) - Yellow/Green or Rainbow Inspired

Crafting From the Heart #4 - Anything Goes (no cards)

Crafty Calendar (August) - Anything Goes

Ellie's Crafty Wednesday (August) - Anything Goes

Paper A La Mode (August) - Seriously Art Inspired

Path of Positivity #114 - Anything Goes Positive

Word Art Wednesday #607/608 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Rainbow themed posts always make me feel cheerful - hope they make you feel cheerful too! Until next time - take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Funky Blooms

Hi everyone, today I would like to share a couple of ATC's I made with some leftover snippets/offcuts while I was sitting at my desk for a cardmaking session.  

I had previously created a brayered background for a card using two colours of Distress Oxide ink here, and mopped up my "run off" onto a snippet of white card approx 6" square, which I then cut down to make two ATC backgrounds. I wasn't sure where these ATC's would go, but I started by adding a bit of background stamping text and circles, and then decided to add these funky Woodware flowers. I stamped them onto the ATC background, then again onto separate small snippets of lighter weight card (Neenah Solar White), coloured them with Sakura Stardust pens, then fussy cut and attached. I finished off by stamping the wording onto a teeny offcut, cutting out and attaching, then matting onto a small snippet of black card stock. I'm actually quite thrilled to say that next time I use black linen card stock it will definitely NOT be a snippet, as Hobbycraft actually had some 12" square sheets in stock last week for the first time in many months - yippee!!

Here's a closeup of ATC 1  ...

... and an angled closeup of ATC2 to show the sparkle ...

Stamps: Woodware Blooming, Additions; unbranded background circles (Amazon);

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Blueprint Sketch, Wilted Violet); Versafine Clair (Nocturne, Morning Mist); Versafine (Majestic Blue); Sakura sparkle pens (purple, blue, pink, green, clear).

Challenges I would like to enter:

A Gem of a Challenge #11 2023 - Anything Goes

Allsorts #730 - Anything Goes

Crafting From the Heart #2 - Anything Goes (no cards)

Dream Valley #295 - Anything Goes

Lost Coast Portal to Creativity #168 - Mini Me

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Anything Goes

Snippets Playground #455 - Use Snippets

Use Your Stuff #495 - Anything Goes

We Love 2 Create Mixed Media #5 - Anything Mixed Media Goes

Word Art Wednesday #597/598 - Anything Goes (3rd entry)

Thanks very much for dropping by today.

Hugs,

I Spy With My Little Eye #3

Hi everyone, I'm back after a couple of non-crafty weeks due to being away in Derbyshire for 10 days over the Coronation period (which also included my birthday), followed by a week of trying to catch up with myself whilst partaking in Eurovision fever which was sweeping Liverpool where I live last week … but more of that later! So grab a cup of tea - it's going to be a long post!!

Today is the 3rd Wednesday of the month already. so it's time once more for a new I Spy With My Little Eye... challenge over at Ellibelle's Corner.  This month's theme was chosen by me, and it is...

I Spy With My Little Eye ... Something With Wings

There are lots of options that you could choose, so we hope you will be able to join us. We also have two brilliant guest designers joining us this month - Gundi from Papierelle and Katrina from ScrappyHorses, so please do visit the challenge post and get some more inspiration.

I made a conscious decision  with this card to use an older stamp for a change, and I remembered I had this lovely Woodware vintage style butterfly.  Having decided on that I also felt motivated to use a number of snippets so that I could complete my homework for the Snippets Playground, including a small one of white stamping card, a large 6" x 6" snippet which I had previously used to create a faux woodgrain background, and a couple of larger snippets of coloured cardstock for matting. I even found a small snippet of lace to use on the front ... do I get extra brownie points for that??

Here's the result.

I previously made my background on a 6" square piece of card by dragging Distress Oxide inks over it to form a "faux woodgrain" effect, then softly stencilling with more DOX through my Lavinia "Divine" stencil (it's actually so soft that you can hardly see it on the finished card!!). For this card I added some 2nd generation sepia background stamping of a woven burlap pattern, then stamped my "vintage" wording also in sepia ink. I die cut a deckled rectangle shape from my white card snippet, and stamped the butterfly in sepia and heat embossed. I then created a smooshed background with Antique Linen and Old Paper DOX, and blended Vintage Photo DOX round the edges, before colouring the butterfly with Stormy Sky DOX. 

I matted the image onto my background panel, then added lace and twine before matting onto three layers of card stock which all had their edges distressed with my distressing tool. I stamped the birthday sentiment (which I masked off to spread over 2 lines) with Pinecone Versafine Clair and coloured the letters with Vintage Photo DOX, and added a couple of pieces of washi tape. Finally I added a die cut flower to the right of the main image, and matted the finished piece onto a 7" square card blank.

Stamps: Woodware Butterfly, Made For You (birthday sentiment); Indigo Blu Sarah's Choice (background stamping);

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Antique Linen, Old Paper, Stormy Sky, Frayed Burlap, Vintage Photo); Versafine (Vintage Sepia); Versafine Clair (Pinecone);

Tools: Lavinia stencil - Divine; Spellbinders Nestabilities - Deckle Rectangle die; unbranded flower die (Amazon); Tim Holtz distressing tool;

Other: Washi tape - Craft Sensations at The Range; lace and twine from my stash.

Challenges I would like to enter:

Allsorts #728 - Anything Goes with option Embellish It

C.R.A.F.T. #677 - Birthday

Crafty Catz #637 - Anything Goes with option Add Ribbon, Lace or Twine

Creative Crafting Uncles #41 - Butterflies - TOP 3

Let's Craft and Create #195 - Anything Goes with option Use Ribbon, Lace and/or Twine

Snippets Playground #454 - Use Snippets

Sparkles Forum #164 - Things With Wings

Stamping Sensations (May) - Anything Stamped with option Add a Stencil

Use your Stuff #484 - Use a Technique 

(faux woodgrain inking)

Word Art Wednesday #595/596 - Anything Goes

The I Spy challenge starts on the 3rd Wednesday of each month, and will end on the Sunday before the next challenge starts at 23;39 US Central Time - so that's Sunday June 18th.

Please do pop over to Ellie's blog to see the fab creations of her and our guest designers, and link up your winged creations here.

As I mentioned at the start of this post, I've had a busy couple of weeks with holidays and Eurovision fever. Here are a few pics of the adorable animals we encountered at Yorkshire Wildlife Park while we were in Derbyshire, the and last but not least .... Liverpool does Eurovision!! I went with my husband into the city centre twice - one evening to see an English National Opera performance of Eurovision hits in the Eurovision "fan village" in front of the historic Liver Building on Liverpool waterfront, and the second time we just wandered around the city on the afternoon of the Eurovision final. It was absolutely teeming with people, the busiest I've ever seen it.! The general consensus in the media seems to be that Liverpool hosted a fantastic two week music festival, and it is projected to boost the Merseyside economy by £250 million over the next 2 years!!

Yorkshire Wildlife Park

Eurovision comes to Liverpool

Phew! I think that's enough for today ... I'm getting back into the swing with crafting now so hope to  be back soon with more makes.

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Art From the Heart

Hi everyone, today I would like to share a pair of ATC's which came about almost by accident .... I had been trying to do some brayering with Tumbled Glass and Mowed Lawn Distress Oxide inks for a card (which didn't work out very well, but that's another story!). I had the foresight though to use a tip from my friend Sarn ... and instead of "running off" the excess ink onto thin copier paper as I had always done before, I used a large snippet of stamping card. After I gave up on my first project I looked at the brayered leftovers and decided I could make something with it ... and here's the result. I called this set "Art From the Heart". 

I cut my brayered snippet into two pieces, each 3.25" x 2.25", and spattered them with water to introduce a more mottled ink effect.  I used Versafine Clair to stamp a flower onto each one (both from the same Woodware set), then some background grungy text with 2nd generation stamping, then my hearts. I stamped the word "ART" onto each ATC with Versamark and heat embossed with detail white embossing powder, then I edged the finished pieces with dark blue marker pen, and matted onto standard ATC size pieces cut from a small snippet of pearlescent blue linen card stock.

Here is a closer view of each ATC.

1/2

2/2

Stamps: Woodware Mini Flower Silhouettes, Blooming, Additions; ART wording - Indigo Blu “Sarah's Choice”;

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Tumbled Glass, Mowed Lawn); Versafine Clair (Twilight, Warm Breeze); Versamark, white detail embossing powder.

Challenges I would like to enter:

ATC’s Around the World #97 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Classic Design Challenge (January) - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Creative Crafters #60 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

DL.Art (January) - Anything Goes (3rd entry)

Paper a la Mode (January) - Let’s Get Started (Not a Card) (2nd entry)

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Fabulous Flowers (3rd entry)

Snippets Playground #446 - Anything Goes With Snippets

Three Room Studio #95 - Anything Goes

We Love Stamping (January) - Favourite Colours (3rd entry)

(I love the combination of blue and green as it makes me think of grass and sky)

Word Art Wednesday #579/580 - Anything Goes (3rd entry)

I have hardly made any ATC's over the past couple of months due to Christmas preparations and the postal strikes, so I'm hoping to get back into my stride now for 2023 - notwithstanding the latest Royal Mail cyber attack which seems to have severely disrupted international mail from the UK for the time being .. let's hope it's all soon resolved!

Take care, and thanks for visiting my blog today.

Hugs,