Surf's Up Dude!

Good morning and happy Wednesday! It's time for my second pieces for our Beside The Sea challenge at Country View Crafts, and this time I've gone for one of my newest, and one of my oldest stamps. 

 I made a very simple beach background with my PaperArtsy Frescos and a brayer.

And these are my old stamps! They must be at least 15 years old but I just love the surfer guy.

 This is my newer stamp set. It's by Art By Marlene, and the sentiment is by Visible Image.

And here's my Dude, what's not to love lol.

I hope that you like them, and that you join in with our fun challenge. Take care and have a great month x

Hey Dude!

A real quicky post tonight as we are having the kitchen plastered (hurrah) so I'm on tea making duty. Goodness knows why 'cos I never drink the stuff, I'm definitely a coffee gal (on the hour every hour would suit me fine :o) 
My tag is for this weeks Pan Pastel challenge which is sports. I can't say that this guy looks like a sporting hero but he's all I've got! As you can see he's had a little too much sun so he's definitely not from around here.
I've used Pan Pastels in blues and yellows/orange for the background, the gone over with versamark on a very old but still favourite Cherry Pie circles stamp. Back over with the pastels and it gives a lovely finish. My dude is by Tanda - I love this stamp and should use it more often. The palm trees are a little clear stamp, and I've glazed the trunks and coconuts with glass gel. I've had Agadoo do do in my head since making this, something to do with pushing pineapples and shaking trees....  I'm now gently banging my head against a wall to make it stopppppp...
I really enjoyed making this, so dig out your sports stamps and head over to the Pan Pastel blog.
Thanks very much for looking x

Wanted Dead or Alive

The challenge over at Dragon's Dream has been inspired by the song These Boots Were Made For Walking, so we have to show some sort of footwear on our tag.
My stamps are all by Tanda and they've all been stamped and coloured in Distress Inks. The curled up paper behind the wanted poster was a piece of glassine from a box of chocolates. How I suffer for my art lol. Thanks very much for looking x

Ride 'em Cowboy

I've been stalking the Gingersnap Creations blog for a while now, and have finally taken the plunge with the latest challenge which is to use twine on a Wild West themed piece.
The stamps are all from Tanda, and I've paperpieced the cowboys.
The card behind has been made using the faux leather technique with masking tape and DI's, and mounted onto a die cut cork tile.
I really enjoyed making this, and thanks very much for looking x

The Stampman ATC Challenge - Take a Letter

These are my ATC's for this month's Stampman challenge. They're the first ATC's I've made in ages, and I really enjoyed myself. What I don't get is as they are so small why have I made SO much mess??
The stamps are a mixture of Stampman, Tanda, Prima and Clarity. Thanks very much for looking x

It's A Kind Of Magic

Here is my entry to this weeks Sunday Postcard Art challenge which is magic. I was all set to do a magical mystical piece using my Merlin stamp, but all I got was lot's of white space. Aaagh nothing scares me like white space lol.
The background is chalk inks on semi glossy paper, so they smooshed together nicely. Then a bit of stamping and embossing, them more stamping. I dried it off with my heat gun - Mmm glossy paper starts to smoke very quickly...
My Knights of the Tound Table/ puddy cats, are fab downloads from
Lisa's Altered Arts These print up beautifully and I bought loads of  pages 'cos she's got a sale on. My wizard is from a sheet of Tanda stamps, and he has appeared on many an ATC of mine. The words have just been stamped, stuck, and mod podged.
Thanks very much for looking and have a fab Sunday x

Lots To Do Challenge - Hats and Crowns

I got my new Tanda Stamps yesterday, so I had to work them into a challenge, and as Lots to Do is hats and crowns this week - well there you go.
My skinny blonde (meeeeeeow ) is enjoying a day by the sea - she obviously doesn't have teenagers, an overweight cat and a husband who is grumping because there is no football 'till Tuesday lol
This image is from an Adverts plate. I love Tanda Stamps and their customer service is brilliant. I couldn't decide whether to go with the clear stamps or the rubber, but as I could get the rubber in a pack of four and save a few pounds.... that's me working till I'm 87 now.
The background is just inks, and my lady is coloured with Prisma a Pro-Markers. A bit of TH's metely bits and all done.
The waves and the seaguls are actually all my own work, I stuck out my tongue and drew them myself, and yes they are the extent of my drawing capabilities, though If you game me some playdo I can make a snake coming out of a coil pot! I'll not give up the day job lol.
Thanks for looking and enjoy the rest of the weekend x

Last of The Day

This is one of my favourite Tanda stamps, he comes out of his drawer at least once a month. I've coloured him with embossing inks and UTE. The little lock and key are from a fab shop that I found on't web, and the background stamps are Paper Artsy.
Thanks very much for looking xx

Hey Dude!! - My Time To Craft, Bring Me Sunshine

I was really pleased to see this challenge. I need to see a bit of sunshine, and it was time that these Tanda stamps were opened. This card also fits the challenge at Stamp Something perfectly, as their theme is Summer in Winter.
The 'Dude's' background has been coloured with acrylic paint dabbers, and cuttlebugged (Swiss dots). The base card is Basic Grey, and the surf board is from the Arcaic collection.
The little yin yan's are shrink plastic. It still scares me to death watching this shrink!!
The obligatory stitching stamps and dew drops and all finished. There's a lad at work who this card will be perfect for, so thats a mans card solved!!
I really enjoyed this challenge, and thanks for looking xx.
http://mytimetocraftchallenge.blogspot.com/2009/01/challenge-46-little-bit-of-sunshine.html

Lots To Do Challenges Week 3 Keys

I've hunted down one of my old favourite Tanda stamps for this ATC. I've stamped and embossed, then coloured him in with pigment inkpads and re-embossed. The background is brilliance pearlescent ink and the whole thing has been UTE'd.
The colours are a little more subtle in real life but the flash seems to make them pop!
Thanks for looking xx
http://lotstodocallenges.blogspot.com/2009/01/week-3-keys.html

Lots To Do Challenges - Dragons

As soon as I saw the title of the challenge I knew exactly what stamps I wanted to use, but could I find 'em Noooo! So I had to wait till the weekend to turn the place upside down looking for them - and they were exactly where they should have been!!!
I've stippled a tag with red, orange and yellow inks, then stamped my Tanda wizard and dragons. They have been coloured in with inks and sakura pens.
The background is a Paper Artsy stamp that I always use with my wizard - it always makes me think of magical spells lol.
Then I UTE'd the whole of the tag, it's still quite bumpy and uneven, but I quite like that.
Anything else... oh yeah, I melted the conservatory mat while I was embossing, but that our secret....
http://lotstodocallenges.blogspot.com/

Challenge Ismaki - 16

This is the first time I've taken part in a challenge like this, so please forgive me if it's not right!
I've used Rusty Pickle papers, these are double sided, so it was easy to get four that correspond.
The large scull is by Tim Holtz. It's with the unmounted set with the birds. I really liked the birds, which is why I bought the set. I thought that the scull was the duff one that I would never use, but it's the one I've used first and I love it!!
I stamped onto yellow crackle paint into which I had rubbed spiced marmalade distress ink. I find this paint much easier to get on with than the distress embossing powder - that image ended up in the bin :o(
The sentiment and shrink plastic bits and bobs are Tanda Stamps.
I also got a bit carried away with my favourite toy, my white paint pen.
I really enjoyed making this, and like all of my cards lately I've got a home for it to go to straight away.



I liked this challenge so much I decided to do it all over again!!
This one is made from K & Co Margo papers which are soooo lovely, very sparkely. The image is my one and only Tilda stamp. I do like her but don't feel the need to buy every one in the set (no hate mail please lol)
I edged the card in embossable tape glue, and glitz'd it up with tinsel embossing powder.
All the embellishments are K & Co - I think I got 'em as a set from QVC a couple of months ago. The wording is done using my Cuttlebug - I never though I'd get a die cutting machine, but I wouldn't be without my bug now.
It isn't much of a sentiment, but as it's my Grandma's 94th birthday next week I hope it's allowed.
Thanks so much for the challenge, hope to take part again next week.
http://ismaki.wordpress.com/2008/04/21/challenge-ismaki-16-beatrix/