Tim's 12 tags of Christmas - another one.....

I have been seriously lacking inspiration to do anything yesterday. Imagine a whole day off in a room of stamps and no inspiration to create anything. Well, I thought I may as well make another Tim tag and see if it inspires me and I did end up making a few more Christmas cards and that so I guess it worked.
I don't actually have the holly die for this tag but instead I used 2 cut offs off the tree die as branches and one of the leaves from the tattered leaves die. It did the trick.

I am entering this into the Artistic Stamper Challenge - Christmas as well as the Pan Pastel Challenge - Tags.

Tim's 12 tags of Christmas inspired Christmas card

If you have been following Tim's tags you will know how fab they all are in their own unique way, and so many fun techniques to learn along the way.
There was one tag in particular that caught my eye and I thought it would make a great christmas card so I ordered in the supplies cause I didn't have the reflections stamps or the die but I see it as an investment. So once they arrived I got started. I made a bunch of these cards, the alcohol ink on acetate combined with the reflections stamps is genius. I think the tag/card design can be adapted for so many occassions as the acetate back makes the main feature you could just change the colours and theme. I now also want the other set of reflections stamps. Hope santa might get them for me.

I will of course add this to the endless list of inspiring creations on Tim's blog, it's great what everyone has created inspired by the tags. So many different ideas. Just WOW.
I am entering this into the Happy Daze Challenge where the theme is Christmas. Same theme over at The Artistic Stamper and their monthly challenge.

Another year, another 12 tags of Christmas....

It's that time of year again where everyone in the crafting world creates their own little interpretations of Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas. I like the fact that we can now link them all on Tim's page and you can see everyone else's tags. So many different ones, amazing!!! Unfortunately I won't be able to make every one due to a lack of time. I have even given up my forthcoming monday (day off = craft day) as I'm visiting a friend. But I'll try to make some tags in my spare moments before and after work.
So here is today's tag, love the canvas reindeer, fab idea!

I am entering this into The Artistic Stamper Challenge where the theme is Christmas.
And also The Happy Daze Challenge - Christmas gifts, cards and tags.

The Craft Barn Calendar Challenge..... Week 5

And here we go again with another calendar. This week the theme at the Craft Barn Calendar Challenge is PINK AND BIRDS. So I got one of my favourite Alterations Dies out and some pink spray ink and voila another calendar.

The calendar itself is a day to day one, I'm not sure if these are available in the UK but my sister got me some in Germany. I remember when I was little we used to make my grandma a calendar every year for Christmas using one of those calendars. You tear off each day and on the back is either a saying, a recipe, a soduko etc.

I am also entering this into the Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge - Things with wings.

A slightly different challenge.....

I stumbled across this challenge by chance the other day and loved the idea. Basically the Design Team over at Eclectic Paperie have been challenged to use

- distress inks
- an egg carton
- a die

in their creations. And everyone is welcome to join in. Don't mind if I do.

I used some sequin waste to ink through with my distress inks and I cut a bunch of flowers from an egg carton, using a die. Then I inked the flowers with various distress inks. Voila, this fun and playful card is the result. Check out the challenge for yourself here - Eclectic Paperie Challenge.

The last frame of the year.....

The year is slowly coming to an end and how else could I end it other than with a frame. I started a distress crackle frame obsession not long after dicovering blogs, Hels' in particular, and I have since tried many techniques and made many more frames, most of which are hanging in my living room.

So I gathered 3 challenge themes and came up with this little rustic and old, music inspired frame. I textured the whole thing in terra paste and stamped a music stamp into it. Then I painted it in bronze paint and used a blue patina activator over the top. This stuff is from Modern Masters and I love it. Their rust paint is also fab!!!

I rolled up a few sheet music bits and distressed them and I just had to add a few Tim Holtz tickets as I just got the die and stamps for Christmas. And the quote is from the song Listening to you from The Who's Tommy rock opera, my all time favourite. So combining all these fab things created this lovely frame, it's gonna go on my wall with all the others.

I am enterting this into Hels' Sunday Stampers, of course, she's been a major inspiration and help this year. Also I am entering this into the Simon says Stamp Challenge and the Stamp and Show Challenge.

Tim's 12 tags of Christmas......

More of Tim's tags, yippie.

Now when it comes to these two..... when i first saw day 9 I was in love. But I don't have the rosette die (yet!!!) or the letters either, so I had to substitute a lot and it just made it look a bit crap may I say. Loving the swishy ink background with the music stamp though, that turned out pretty well.

Day 10 was another substitute day for me as I didnt have the snowman or the snowflake embossing folder. So I used 3 reindeer and I named the reindeer SNOWY and put that in letters underneath. The background is inky with a subtle starry background. I embossed some thick acetate with a dots embossing folder and i really like this tag. The embossed acetate just makes it, thanks Tim for the idea. Pure genius!!!

And of course I am entering these into the Artistic Stamper Challenge.

I think I've got a tag addiction....

I have been following Tim's 12 tags of christmas very closely and love the stuff he makes..... and although Ive never been a fan of tags, I can see the point in making them at this time of year. I have already attached a load to my christmas presents. This year I'm wrapping everything in brown paper and string and adding pretty tags. And now I think Ive got myself a tag addiction.

I made another one for the Compendium Challenge this week, where we are playing with rock candy distress stickles.
Yet again Ive never had much use for stickles, but at this time of year they are so handy, for glittery and snowy details or just a bit of christmassy sparkle.

I covered the reindeer and letters in distress stickles if you cant tell from the picture. Another tag to go on someone's present.

Simon says Stamp and Show - Whatever makes you happy

All week I've been meaning to add my entry for the Simon says Stamp and Show Challenge, but somehow I didn't manage to take photos of my piece.
So the theme is Whatever makes you happy..... and it makes me very happy when a project finally comes together.
I thought a few weeks ago it be nice to make some windchimes so I went on ebay looking for chimes I can take apart and looked through the charity shops and then had a look through my stash what would go nicely and somehow you keep buying more stuff and bits and this would look good on it etc ..... I'm sure we've all been there.
And then you work out a design and do a testpiece and then finally it will all come together and the finished piece is hanging in your room and it was worth the effort.







For this one I used 3 chipboard cutouts of the Tim Holtz tattered florals die and coloured it with distress inks. I hid the knots of the string in the middle layer of the flower to make it neater. I then added random beads and charms at the top. And the bottom hangy thing is a Maya Road flower frame, also coloured with distress inks and more dangly bits added.

It looks very simple but it took a while to work out how to attach and hide the strings and what length things need to be.
It's my first attempt, I'm sure the next ones will be easier. I'm currently working on a Tim Holtz inspired one and another using an alterations die. So watch this space.

Scary autumn bird frame thingy......

I really wanted to try out the new alterations tree die and the frame kinda developed from there. I paintd a frame in trad tan and then I didnt want to do the usual swiping of ink, stamping script across is, so I just had my alcohol inks out and started playing with that and it gives this really nice autumny effect on the frame. I then cut a lot of tattered leaves from shrinkies and stamped them with script and also used alcohol inks on them, when they shrunk tho they went REALLY dark, darker than I wanted, but never mind. To them leaves I also added some acetate punch outs, also stamped with script.
I kinda just kept adding things to the frame and this is the result, it looks really odd I find, but I kinda like it.
So I am entering this into the Simon says Challenge, where the theme is autumn colours.

Rusty Challenge Time.....

It is time for some more challenges. I've been working on this frame all week, you know a few minutes here and there, I was very busy at work but managed to squeeze in some crafting before and after work. So I have made this to enter 3 challenges.... first of all The Stampman Challenge where the theme is 'Distress', the Alter it monthly challenge with a 'Rusty' theme and last but not least the 'Distress' Challenge at Sir Stampalot.

I've been wanting to use some of the rusty knobs/keyholes/keys I bought at a market in Spain so I thought I combine them with some faux rust grungeflowers. Not sure you can see the rusty flowers very well in thr picture but they are done with distress embossing powder and then inked with distress inks. Very nice effect. I then went a bit crazy at adding lots of little things like punched flowers from metal sheet that I coloured with alcohol inks. Plenty of dangly bits from chains. Rusty snaps, also from a flea market. Some memo pins filled with beads. Grungepaper leaves, a crackled birdie. I just wanted it to look all old and grungy and rusty. I used a lot of Wendy Vecchi stamps on this, they are just fab for adding a pattern to chipboard and backgrounds.

So there you go..... yet another frame to be put on my living room wall, when the living room is freshly painted that is, my OH is currently re-painting rooms bit by bit.

I better be off to work.... ta da.

Stick, Stick, Stickles - Compendium Challenge Time

Always looking forward to the compendium challenge on mondays, I get really excited around 12 o'clock and eagerly await the new post at 1.
So this week it's stickles time. I'm not much of a fan of stickles, just never really use glitter glue that much. But I do own 2 distress stickles (only because I won them or they came with a pack of things) and I actually made a point of ordering another 2 colours this week - green and white, thought they may come in handy for christmas cards.

As you can see I made yet another grungeflower card. Can't get enough of them. See the bottle cap in the centre, I squeezed that full of stickles too. So yeah, stickles everywhere.
Until next week! Ta da!

Compendium of Curiosities Challenge #9

It's Tuesday (almost still Monday) and therefore another Compendium of Curiosities Challenge. Yippie.
As mentioned in a previous posts my parents were staying and my mum had taken over my desk so I couldn't get making til today. Now that my parents are on their way back to Germany I have my crafty stash back to myself and quickly made this card for the challenge before I have to head to work.

By the way, this week we are playing with crackle paints. So I used some rock candy on the flower there and had a little fun with distress inks for the background.

Wendy Vecchi inspired birthday card

A quick post today, jut a little birthday card for my grandma.
It's done Wendy style without any actual Wendy stamps. I do enjoy her style, it's the vibrant colours I think and the many patterns used on even the smallest flower.

Little treasures....

This is one of the many wooden boxes I bought at the QD store a while ago. I have almost run out. May need another trip there, shame my closest is in Romford.
I just used crackle paint and glimmer mist on this and then decorated it with the flowers I also made for the canvas art. It's very straightforward. Also used more memory thread, I just love curling that stuff!!!

A week of firsts ..... distress embossing powder, memory thread and swooshy inkiness

Hows that for a title, eh?!

So here is another crackle frame, but I did try out a few new things on it. The background for example is made by "swooshing" some card through ink and water, all mixed on a craft sheet. I wanted to create a blueish sky for the background and it worked ok, I don't think you can tell very well from the photo. I also spritzed some glimmer mist over it and stamped some branches and a birdy onto it.

Now for the distress embossing powder. I never got on well with this, i like the shiny glossy embossed finished more than this but have found that it works so well for rougher textures like the tree branch and cage. I have invested in a few more colours of the stuff and will be testing it out on other projects for sure.

In the tree there's some curly wurly memory thread, purely for pretty cuteness. I used this on everything I made this week, I just love the stuff. It was given to me as a present but I love it so much I ordered myself another 6 or 7 colours. There will be more projects full of memory thread in the future!!

Addicted to crackle paint....

I think I have a serious problem, I am addicted to crackle paint!!!

So here's another frame, painted with above mentioned paint and spritzed with glimmer mists. I'm still grateful to Hels for introducing me to this technique, you just don't know what kinda crackle monster you created!!!

I had a little play with the alterations on the edge die and since I love anything laced up I thought the 2 pieces of swirly grungeboard be perfect to be laced together with some string. Although I did lace it up about 4 different times til I ended up with this result. So many different options. The birds are crackled too and the tree bunch covered in distress embossing powder (had that for ages and never got on with it until now, it makes the perfect texture and look for a tree branch).

Some detail here for you.

I added a little frame that has part of an old stamp behind it and then it's filled with glossy accents.

The leaves have been cut from card with a punch. I inked up some white card and splattered water over it to make that effect, then just punched loads of leaves from the whole sheet.

There is also a little light bulb vial filled with watch parts hanging in the tree. I couldn't get a good enough close up shot, sorry.

I'm off to crackle some more.....

Compendium of Curiosities Challenge

Linda from Studio L3 is running a compendium of curiosities challenge and theres a fab prize too. I hadnt looked at the book since i first got it so thanks for the reminder!

This week's challenge is using the water stamping/bleaching technique. And this is the first time I've tried it. I'm very pleased with the result I must say, it's simple, yet you can achieve stunning effects. I added some tattered florals and snaps and a hero arts greeting. The swirl is also hero arts. I'll definitely be trying out more of the ideas from the book.

Wiiiiiings....

You may have noticed I've been going a little crackle frame nuts recently and there is no end in sight. Here is another one. This time it's all purply-pink and I used the fanciful flight alterations die as well as adding a trusty tattered floral (no frame without them!). Also used a swirly mirror piece I picked up in a craft shop back home in Germany. They do all sorts of mirror bits including letters and numbers, which I'm yet to use.












Here is some detail. If you follow Wendy Vecchi's blog you will have read about this. Make your own embellishments using memo pins. Just get an image or piece of card the size of the circle and attach it with some pritt stick. then fill the circle with glossy accents. I couldnt think of anything to put behind this so I just used plain card, filled it with glossy accents and sprinkled glitter over the top. It sinks in a bit when it dries, so I stuck some gems in the middle.


Check out Wendy's instructions here.






And last but not least, a quote using one of my Catslife Press stamps, which I love. I just don't use them enough.

This frame will be entered into the Wings challenge at Gingersnap creations.


Anika xxx

Card sketch entry...

I really enjoyed the Card Patterns Sketch this week, so I made something colourful and happy.
Newly discovered that one particular flower on the Tattered Florals alterations die, just cant stop using it at the moment.