Christmas in September

Hi All,

Well here we are in September, I can hardly believe it's autumn already. What a lovely summer we've had this year and  I have to say it's an absolute scorcher here today. I wish the British summer was like this every year.

Now I know a lot of crafters keep the Christmas spirit going all year round - and as such are well organised with their Christmas cards and tags, but I'm afraid I'm not one of them.  However, I had to dig out my box of Christmas stamps this weekend as the new challenge over at Crafty Cardmakers is CHRISTMAS SNOW AND ICE (Your creation must include either a representation of snow or ice plus a Christmas theme in order to qualify for the Winner or Top 5 slots)

I couldn't quite face making a Christmas card so I've gone for a tag .....

This one shows the gloss and sparkle better

The sentiment is American Crafts, all other stamps are Hero Arts.  I heat embossed the larger snowflakes then inked with Stormy Sky, Mr Snowman and the holly garland are coloured with Promarkers, then I added some textured snow, stickles and some glossy accents.

Our sponsors for this challenge are Di's Digistamps and Hobby Art.






Okay, that's me for today, I'm off to prep dinner.  It's so hot today we're going to have a barbie.

Have a lovely week everyone and thanks for popping in.

Suze xx

Steampunk in Monochrome

Hi all,

Well the start of another week and can you believe we're half way through the year already and the sun has finally made an appearance in the north of Scotland!

Firstly, I must apologise  for being totally AWOL the last couple of weeks.  Life has taken over and together with the absence of Mr Mojo, I just haven't been blogging or crafting. 

Anyway, I still wanted to fulfil my duties in producing something for the new Crafty Cardmakers Challenge which this fortnight is STEAMPUNK.  Have to say, this is not really my genre but I found an hour to play at the weekend and I find making a tag is a good way of trying out new styles or techniques, so that's what I've gone for ...

The backing paper was from The Graphics Fairy, then I layered on a TH die cut clock which I silver embossed, a 'Steampunk' flower and sentiment which are PaperArtsy, then I stamped Mr Umbrella man onto acetate and layered him over the top.  The acetate is held in place by a couple of grommets.

Our sponsors for this challenge are Di's Digistamps and The Stamp Man.  Hope you can find the time to play along.

Well, my son's Air Cadet Squadron are having a family barbecue tonight and I'm on "bun duty" so I'd better shift my bahookie down to the supermarket!

Thank you so much for popping in, 

Take care
Suze xx

Umbrella Man and Rainbow Flowers

Hi all,

Another Monday has come around and it's time for a new Crafty Cardmakers challenge.

Our hostess this fortnight is Tracey and her theme is "April Showers Bring May Flowers".  She would like to see a project which "includes an image of something rain related and is embellished with at least 2 flowers".

I've made a tag featuring Mr Umbrella Man and a rainbow of flowers ...

TH Umbrella Man is stamped with archival black and clear embossed. 

Rain splodges stamp is from Stampin Up French Foliage, silver embossed.

Puddles made with a versamark pen, silver embossed.

I then inked over the tag with various DI's.

Script stamp is Andy Skinner.

Quote is by Dolly Parton - Ha, bet her feet never get wet!

Our sponsors for this challenge are 

Di's Digi Downloads

who are donating a $10 gift voucher

and The Stamp Man

who are donating a £10 gift voucher

My tag also fits the current challenge over at Fashionable Stamping, which is "Sentimental".

Hope you can join us this time over at Crafty Cardmakers.

Thanks for popping in,
See you all soon,

Suze xx

Trying Very Hard

Hi Folks,

My mojo still seems to be hiding under an invisibility cloak but I'm trying very hard to find it!

I have been browsing and trying to catch up with my visiting and I've been inspired to make a wee tag for one of my favourite challenges ....

Anything But a Card - Challenge 10 - Things with Wings

I started off by making a couple of origami butterflies. They were a little bit fiddly as I used 2 inch squares but as long as your creases are sharp, it's fine. I made the antenna with a couple of seed beeds and some thin ribbon wire.

The Kanban image was clear embossed onto the tag which I then coloured with distress inks. 

Finished it off by adding the quote, pearls and lace.

And I'm also linking to the fun anniversary post over at Ardyth's, instigated by the anniversary this week of the lovely walented and titty talented and witty Darnell.

We'll be 18 years married this year, and no we didn't get married in bonnie Scotland - I like to do things a bit differently, so we went to Las Vegas! My husband still nags me for only giving him $10 pocket money a night!

Thanks for popping in today.

Take care

Suze xx

PUCKER UP!

Good morning everyone - remember me - I used to be a blogger! Lol!

I found that things were just getting too hectic in the run up to Christmas so I took an unplanned blogging break, and I have to say, I think it's done me the world of good - this blogging lark can take over your life a bit and you can start to feel under pressure about entering challenges, but I'm back because I have really missed you all and I am feeling all refreshed and raring to go!!

I'm not one for making New Year resolutions but with regards to my crafting life, I would like to do a bit more sewing this year and I'd also like to get back into tracing my family tree. 2-3 years ago before I started card making, genealogy was my hobby. It's just as addictive as crafting and just SO fascinating. 

Anyway, I'm here today with a wee tag for the new challenge over at Crafty Cardmakers.  The theme is "Create a Fairytale Scene".

I don't have any suitable 'fairytale' type stamps, so I used my Silhouette to cut out an image of "The Princess and the Frog".  The tag was made with DP on card, which I edged with DI, then I just added some star gems, a bit of ribbon and a sentiment from Inkadinkado.

Our sponsors for this challenge are :

Di's Digi Downloads  and The Stamp Man

       




















Okay dokes, thank you so much for coming to visit me. I have a lot of catching up to do but I will come see you - promise!!

Take good care

Suze xx

Origami Christmas Tree

Hi Bloggers,

It's time again for a  new challenge (#80) over at Crafty Cardmakers.

Fiona is our hostess and the challenge is to make a card or project inspired by this photograph.  You can take inspiration from any part of it, be it the actual image or from the colours.










Our sponsors are Di's Digi Downloads who are offering a $10 gift voucher

and Crop Stop who have kindly donated a $15 voucher.

I've taken inspiration from the colour combo and the Christmas tree and make a tag ...

I made an origami Christmas tree (you can find plenty of tutorials online) from one sheet of 6x6" paper and glitzed it up with some glitter, gems and a chipboard star.  I mounted the tree onto an oval (die cut from embossed DP) then onto a Stampin Up die cut (using Co-ordination card) which I again edged with glitter.

Challenges I'd like to enter:
Artful Times - Anything Goes
Craft Room Challenge - Punches & Die-cuts

Sorry I've been a bit thin on the ground the last few weeks, I've been busy making stuff for a couple of local Christmas fairs.  Here's some other Christmas trees I made ...

Chocolate Brownie Christmas Trees

Okay dokes, thanks for popping in, hope you can join us this time over at Crafty Cardmakers.

Take care

Suze xx

Aloha!

Aloha bloggers,

Today I'm taking you to Hawaii.

Image from The Graphics Fairy, promarkers to colour; Hero Arts Antique Engravings; Versafine Vintage Sepia; Distress Stains; TH Vintage Market Die; Stampendous Mica Fragments (bronze and pearl); some stickles and a piece of knitting yarn.


I'd like to enter my tag into the following challenges:

The Craft Barn - Embossing and Mica
Unruly PaperArts RAQ1 - Beautiful Beach
Out of a Hat Creations - Summertime
Artful Times Challenge - Oh I do like to Be Beside The Seaside


Now ladies and gents, turn up the volume, wiggle those hips and enjoy!

Thanks for coming to visit,

Suze xx

Buttons and Bows

Hi Bloggers,

I'm here with a late entry for this week's Out of a Hat Challenge which this week is to incorporate BUTTONS into your creation. Well, I'm not much of a button girl (except when it's the chocolate variety) but I've given it a go.

I was really struggling to find an idea though until I did a bit of googling and came across this YouTube video from the film "Son of Paleface".

Jane Russell's dress became my inspiration ....

I've used Tim Holtz dress form, mini rosette and filmstrip dies, a Stampin Up embossing folder, some ribbon and two buttons!

Okay, thanks for popping by, see ya later!

Suze xx

Paris Tag

Hi everyone,

I've got a tag for you today.  It's for this week's Out of a Hat Creations Challenge which this week is "LACE", and it also fits -

Simon Says Stamp and Show - "ANYTHING GOES", and
Fashionable Stamping Challenges - Cities of the World  (thanks Silvia)

I started by clear embossing a large Hero Arts lace stamp, then inked with Victorian Velvet and Aged Mahogany.  The tag then just evolved from there, using stuff that I already had lying on my desk ....

The little 'Amour' origami book was made for me by my daughter, the Eiffel Tower is Stampin Up and the lady image is from The Graphics Fairy.

My daughter is off to Paris on a school trip in a couple of weeks, so maybe that's what I had it mind when I put this tag together.  Wish I was going too as I've never been, although it's a very long bus journey from the North of Scotland.  She's a very fussy eater too, think she'll be surviving on a diet of french fries and croissants!

Oh well, that's me for today, enjoy the rest of your week ladies.

Suze xx

A Bird for Three Challenges

Well it's Monday again and I should be tidying up after the weekend but hey, ho, thought I'd sneak this one in before I got out the hoover!

There are so many great challenges out there, it's difficult to find the time to join in with all the ones I'd like to, so today I've killed three challenges with one bird ....

Artful Times Challenge #2 - A Sea of Greens
Fashionable Stamping Challenges #20 - Embossing
Pan Pastel Challenge 15 - Add a Flower

I made a background with various distress inks, spritzed with Fireworks! Bamboo Leaves then stamped with a Stampin Up flower.

The bird cage is cut from some serendipity card (see post here), words are Paper Artsy embossed in gold onto vellum which I'd coloured with a Promarker, flowers and birds are Stampin Up punches, bling is coloured with a Promarker.

Thanks for taking the time to visit.

Suze xx

Too Many Challenges, Not Enough Time!

Hello bloggers,

I seem to be falling behind with my challenges lately, and this week some new challenges have been launched which I'd also like to play along with, so I've made a tag which covers three of these challenges ...

Artful Times - Make a Tag
Gingersnap Creations - GC142 Spicy Supply Challenge - Border Punches
Simon Says Stamp and Show - A Tag

Tag base is a terracotta coloured linen card, punched with an EK Success border punch. I inked up some card with Distress Inks then stamped with Dina Wakley's 'Lonely Girl'. Sentiment is Wendy Vecchi. Butterfly punch is Martha Stewart.

Artful Times is a new challenge blog set up by the lovely Neet, Sam & Von - it would be great if you could join in and support them in their first challenge.

Thanks for visiting.

TTFN

Suze xx

Final Time at JFF

Woe is me ... it's the final challenge over at Just for Fun ... all I can say is ladies, I hope you've got something else up your sleeve!?!?

In keeping with the overall masculine theme, this week it's "Distress Him".  I really didn't know what to do - so, if in doubt - do a tag!

Tag base is Tim Holtz paper, distressed with various DI's and a nailfile! Grungepaper strip inked with DI and stamped. Clock die inked with DI's. Umbrella man stamped onto acetate. Sentiment computer generated.





A huge thank you to Neet, Von & Zoe for such an inspirational and fun challenge and to all the other ladies who take the time to visit each week.


Finally,  in the words of the Von Trapp family .... so long, farewell ..... see you soon (I hope!)

Suze xx

Getting Confident With Colour

I'm not very confident when it comes to using bright or bold colours but I always really love other people's work when they create something bright and cheerful.  So, inspired by the current Colour Wheel Tag Challenge over at The Craft Barn ... I've had a go ...

• I made an inky background using Distress Inks (Barn Door, Spiced Marmalade & Crushed Olive)
• Image and swirls are from PaperArtsy Tops & Tails 1
• Sentiment is from Wendy Vecchi 'I am my Art' stamps
• I then coloured vellum with green & red Promarkers and paper pieced the wings and swirls
• Some faux blanket stitching
• Mounted onto some orange cardstock sponged with Spiced Marmalade

Thanks for taking the time to visit - hope you're having a colourful day!

Suze xx

Gong Xi Fa Cai

Chinese New Year falls on the 23rd January and it's going to be the Year of the Dragon.

Many of you know that I love all things oriental so I've made a tag with several challenges in mind:

The Craft Barn - Colour Wheel Tag Challenge (I've gone for complimentary colours)
Pan Pastel UK Challenge - Anything Goes
Gingersnap Creations - GC134 Spicy Supply Challenge - Ribbon
The Stamp Man Challenge - Use Red

Background - Antique Linen & Peeled Paint Distress Stains
Bamboo stamp (Inkadinkado) inked in Memento Bamboo Leaves
Dragon stamp (make unknown) inked in Versafine Satin Red
Sentiment - printed on PC
Chinese 'double happiness' ribbon & red satin ribbon
Small Chinese coin

So to all those who celebrate - "Gong Xi Fa Cai" (Gong See Fa Chai) - I believe the translation is "I wish that you will be prosperous".

Thanks for visiting.

Suze xx

Shades of Green

A very quick post - a tag for two challenges:

Just for Fun - Shades of Green, and
Gingersnap Creations - GC118 - Crimpers

I stamped Tim Holtz' Birdsong four times using different green inks and then made a  collage with them which I then covered in crackle paint.  I mounted this onto the tag which had been painted with distress stains.
I inked up some aluminium foil and die cut two leaves which I then crimped.
I also crimped the top and bottom of the tag.

Inks used:
Peeled Paint & Antique Linen Distress Stains
Versamagic Pesto, Forest Moss DI, Versafine Olympia Green, Memento Bamboo
Lettuce alcohol ink

Thanks for visiting my wee blog.

Suze xx

A Crown Tag

There's a new challenge blog in town - Fashionable Stamping Challenges.

The design team have made some fabulous pieces and I really wanted to enter into their first challenge, but rummaging through my stamps there was nothing that really inspired me. However, I did notice that I have quite a few stamp sets which have crowns in them, so I thought I would do a tag, simply using all the different crowns.

I searched the internet for a suitable quote and came across one by John Wodroephe (a 17th century writer).

Background - Stampin Up - Very Vintage Roller - Broken China DI
Crown Stamps - Versafine Imperial Purple & Dusty Concord DI
Edged with Brilliance Galaxy Gold Ink
Top crown is a Cuttlebug Die, inked in gold with some Stickles & Liquid Beadz

Thanks for taking the time to visit.

Suze xx

Pure White

This week over at Just For Fun, the challenge is "White on White".

I really liked the painted corrugated card that Sam used in her DT piece, so I've taken a bit of inspiration from that and created a tag.

A white card base, with 3 corrugated panels on top.
Tim Holtz dress form - I cut two and embossed one to use as a bodice.
Foam hearts and felt strips make up a 'skirt'.
Buttons around neckline.
The word 'pure' cut from Tim Holtz Vintage Market Die.

Why not join in the fun this week - but remember - it's strictly white only.

Thanks for another great challenge ladies and thanks everyone for stopping by!

Suze xx

A Tag for The Bard

Well here's something completely different.

I wanted to make a tag for this week's challenge over at Simon Says Stamp and Show and in my "small" pile of newly acquired but uninked stamps, I have a Kanban mini set which has a thorny rose stamp.  Whenever I think of roses I immediately start singing (usually out loud!) my favourite Robert Burns song/poem - "My love is like a red, red rose".

So hence this tag was born.

I have to say I quite like it and I may even make a few more based on other Robert Burns poems.

Stamps: Stampin Up Music Roller & Kanban Mini Stamp09
Inks: Wild Honey, Crushed Olive, Forest Moss, Vintage Photo Distress Inks and Rocket Red & Hint of Pesto Dew Drop, with a touch of Glossy Accents
Sentiment printed on PC
Tartan scraps

Thanks ever so much for stopping by.

Suze xx

Steampunk Type Tag

At Just for Fun this week, the challenge is to use metal. Well, it just so happened that the day before the challenge was posted I had ordered some foil sheets to play with (so I hope this counts as metal?!).

I've made a tag and it's way out of my comfort zone - my first attempt at Steampunk (I won an Octopode stamp from the lovely Sarah at La-De-Dah) and I also bought myself some alcohol inks to play with too. Here's the result .....

Stamped 'Steampunk Rupert' in StazeOn then coloured him with Promarkers.
Splodged some alcohol ink onto the foil and embossed another small piece of foil.
Added some red sequin waste and wrapped the tag in thin wire (which came out of wired ribbon).

He's a bit of fun and I quite like him.
Edit: My "lovely" daughter says "this is really bad!" and I should remove the post.  I'll remember that when we next go shopping!


Further edit - at the suggestion of my "lovely" daughter, I've trimmed the sequin waste. Have to admit, she's probably right! 

Thanks for visiting and have fun!

Suze xx

A Penny for your Thoughts

Over at Gingersnap Creations, the GC108 Color Challenge is - The Color of Money.

"Make something with the color of money from either your country of origin or your country of residence."


  I've gone with these Scottish notes which are purple & brown ..








... and made a tag using an image from The Graphics Fairy, a cherry blossom stamp, distress inks, promarkers and a photocopy of some 'pennies'.

Now, I might as well give you all a laugh and show you my first effort ... I'm very inspired by Valerie's (Bastelmania) work ... so I thought I would try out her splodgy paint background technique, but not being an artist, all my colours mixed together and I just ended up with a brown splodgy mess!

Ah well, at least I tried! Lol!

Happy crafting everyone.
Suze xx