October 31st (posted by Claire)

Good morning, Claire here with a very quick and easy card made using the fab Nevermore stamps. I thought this design would make a fun invitation for a Halloween Party

I created by background by applying copper paint to black card, embossing it with my cuttlebug and a Halloween embossing folder and then sanding it a little for a distressed look. I staped the sentiment on some more of the painted card and embossed with black embossing powder before die cutting the frame. I've used black card for matting and layering and added some seam binding and a little Halloween charm.

Thanks for visiting today

Claire xx

Spooky Halloween Sky (by Shirley)

Hello everyone,

I have another Halloween Design using the wonderful new set - Bewitched Moonlight.     I experimented with using Acrylic paints in the background.

I started with red, orange & cream Acrylic Paints on my craft mat.  I spritzed with water and dragged my sheet through.  When dry, I stamped the fence with the tree image & sentiment from Bewitched Moonlight and the spider web looking fragment from Lace Fragments with black Stazon Ink.   I also embossed the fragment with Wow-Glamour Green powder (which has glitter and is much more vibrant in 'real').  I coloured the image a little with Inktense Pencils.

I hope you come back often as my teammates have lots of beautiful designs to share this month.

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous day,
Shirley

Ravens watching over by Debbie

Recently, I was in the company of a few good friends and very talented Ladies who have one interest in common, stamping. We played with inks, rubber stamps, paint, masks and lots of other crafty goodness. I particularly enjoyed working with my Gelli Plate, paints and stencils. So armed with more knowledge and inspiration had a day playing at home. Out came the Nevermore Halloween stamps and I played for hours. For this card, I started with yellow card and added green and black acrylic paint to the Gelli Plate and a large circle mask.

I laid a piece of scrap paper down for the first background (pull). I then placed the yellow card down and was much happier with this one. When dried with a white pen I drew circles where they were most prominent on the card. The ravens in the tree come from the Nevermore stamp sheet and there are a few single ravens which I sat on the circles. I used Versamark clear ink and WOW Black Glint embossing powder and am pleased with the result as I wasn't sure because the paint has an uneven surface. Thank you for stopping by Debbie.

Spooky Shoe by Debbie

A quick post from me today showing a little project I've made.

When I received these stamps I immediately reached for the purple card and stamped the witches hats and shoes to make a background. As you can see it didn't end as a card. I set to and cut out a template for the shoe. Next, I inked the edges of the card and glued together then added the ribbon and a little owl that has been made from air drying clay and a mould I made. At Halloween I'll be adding a couple of spiders and standing it where the it can be seen by the children calling for treats. Thanks for visiting. Debbie

Blue Halloween (posted by Judith)

Hi Folks, I have a monochrome sample for you today, using the Bewitched Moonlight stamp sheet.

I created a wrinkle free background using Salty Ocean and Antique Linen Distress Inks on my craft sheet spritzed with water, which I swiped my card through and dried with a heat gun. I then picked up some of the remaining speckles of ink, and dried my card again.On the smaller piece of card, I stamped the witches hat randomly over the background for added interest.

I used a large oval and stamped one of the little scenes from the stamp plate and added the witch. I coloured the image with Inktense pencils, using just blue tones and a hint of lemon for the moon. I added some shading around the edge with Distress Inks. I used a smaller oval for the inside of the card and a sentiment from the Witching Time stamp sheet.

Keep checking back for more samples from my Team mates soon. Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

Nevermore (posted by Claire)

Good morning, Claire here with my first sample using the fab new Nevermore stamp sheet. I love making Halloween projects so I've had loads of fun with these gorgeous stamps.

I used a Kaisercraft frame (I'm not sure if Glenda has any of these in stock) and painted it with black acrylic paint, adding gilding wax once it was dry. I creaed the backgrounds using distress inks (Peeled Paint, rusty Hinge and seedless preserves) and the spritz and flick technique. I added a moon in the larger panels. Next I stamped all the images using Memento Tuxedi Black Ink. I inked in  a cliff below the castle and drew in some telephone wires to sit the birds on. I added a little colour with Graph'It Markers and some white highights with a white gel pen. To finish off I attached a glass cabochon to the date with some glossy accents and added a little bottle of poison (actually a tiny perfume sample bottle filled with a drop of  distress reinker and a little water)

Thanks for popping by today, 

Claire xx

Spooky Tags with Chocolate by Debbie

We are galloping through the year at an amazing speed and the girls on the Design Team have been creating wonderful samples with the new Halloween stamps. I usually try and give the children who come knocking at the door more than a handful of sweets or money and I am known as the biscuit lady from two years ago when they received a little goody bag of handmade biscuits. This year they will receive a tag with something attached. I found the chocolate shapes in town and set too.

For my first tag I spritzed white card with Dylusions Pure Sunshine and when dry cut to a tag shape. The edges were rubbed with Spiced Marmalade then with the tree and headstone branches stamped around the edges in black ink. To help the bats and wording stand out I used Black Glint WOW powder.

My second and third tags were made from the same piece of card spritzed with Post Box Red and London Blue Dylusions. Again, I embossed the headstone and candle sticks to help them stand out. The candles have white pen added and under the letters of the sentiment.

There's lots more inspiration to follow and don't forget to leave a comment on Glenda's post from the 30th of August for a chance to win a set of the stamps. Debbie

Bewitched Moonlight (by Shirley)

Hello everyone and welcome to September.    Time sure flies by when we are having fun!

I love Autumn and Halloween is a fun part of it.  I love to see how some people go all out and decorate their homes to celebrate.  I like to have pumpkins out with our tall grasses to add a touch of Autumn to our front patio.

I've been working with the new Bewitched Moonlight set which is great to create spooky scenes for Halloween cards, tags and more.       

 

For the above card, I started with watercolour paper and sprayed Purple & Orange Dylusions Inks.  I spritzed water over top and was careful not to blend the colours as these two will turn into muddy brown together.  I blotted with a paper towel roll. 

When dry, I stamped the images from Bewitched Moonlight with black Stazon Ink.   I also stamped the Flourish Tree from Fantasy Woodland to the left of the mushroom and around the top edges.    Using a black Micron Pigment pen I drew a little on the bottom of the tree and added a few little mushrooms to blend the images together.    

Using a piece of cardstock with a circle cut out and placed over the witch, I carefully spritzed a little water, then blotted the ink off to create the moon.    Dylusions inks are water soluble, so it's easy to remove the ink.   I added holograph glitter to highlight the moon.

I have another design using the same stamp set:

I started again with a piece of watercolour paper and sprayed Midnight, Teal and White Linen Dylusions Inks.  I spritzed a little water over top, let the colours blend and blotted with a paper towel roll.   When dry, I used two stencils TCW Cell Theory (at the bottom)  and TCW Star Fall (at the top) with Distress Inks to create a little more pattern on the background.  Next I embossed the images with black powder.  I created a moon again using cardstock with a circle cut out and distress inks.

I hope you have enjoyed these 'spooky' designs.    Please come back often to see what my talented teammates are posting.     Glenda is giving away some new stamp sets !  -  all you need to do for a chance to win is leave a comment here.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day,

Shirley

CAS for Halloween (posted by Judith)

Hi Folks, I have a sample for you today using the Bewitched Moonlight stamp sheet. My sample was created by masking off the top and bottom of the card with a Post it note, using a ruler, to get a nice straight edge.

To begin, I stamped a small castle from the Howling Moon stamp sheet onto the background, and used a small piece of Post it note to mask off the moon. I then coloured the background with Distress Inks by blending them in a sideways motion, to create a streaky sky. I ensured that I used some yellow around the moon. I added some pieces of branch along the bottom, the witch and a sentiment. I then peeled away the Post it notes, and added a lace stamp from the Lace Fragments stamp sheet at the top and bottom of the background.

To finish, I added white highlights to represent the moonlight. This technique is called the bandana technique, and on a more complicated pattern, would look like a bandana scarf.

Please keep checking back for lots of inspiration from my Team mates over the coming days. Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

Bewitching new stamps - with a tempting giveaway!

We have just brought out some new stamps including some larger Christmas sentiments and some Halloween stamps.  I'm also doing a giveaway this month - details below.

The Bold Christmas Words are proving to be SO useful - they're big enough to be the focal point for a card which is great if you need to produce a batch of cards in a hurry (which I inevitably will, despite the best of intentions to have a stack of cards made in plenty of time!).

 

 

 

 

 

All of the words are available as individual stamps, or you can save money and buy them as a full set.

Here's a super quick card featuring the Big Bold Holly background and one of the new greetings.

This is a super simple card - the holly background is stamped in Versafine Olympia Green and layered onto red card.  The sentiment was stamped onto a die cut with a mix of Versafine Crimson Red and Satin Red.  I swirled the same reds around the edges too with a stencil brush.  A little ribbon and three crystals finish it off - super quick, job done.

For all you Halloween fans, we have two new rubber sets too.

These are both A5 sets and are both our featured Stamps of the Month, on special offer until the end of September.  Again, you can save money when you buy them both together as a multi-buy.

This Halloween card features a background I made with an acrylic block and Splash inks - a technique I covered in Monday Mojo issue 17.  I stamped the tree and bats and embossed with black embossing powder, then drew a horizon line and painted beneath it with black Golden Fluid Acrylic.  I stamped the toadstools and raven along the bottom with orange ink, then sanded the black paint lightly to make it more matte. 

I stamped the sentiment with Brilliance Moonlight white and embossed with white powder.  The witch is an old Martha Stewart punch which actually has a cauldron on, but I cut it into a broomstick shape instead.  There's also a punched railing along the bottom, but the camera struggled to pick up the black on black there so you'll have to take my word for it.

I've got a few of the words and a set each of the Halloween stamps to give away this month, so please leave me a comment here or on Facebook if you'd like to be entered into the draw.  Let me know if you are a fan of Halloween or not, as I'd hate to send out an unwelcome prize to anyone.

I think the girls have been particularly inventive with these Halloween stamps, showing that they can be used for other occasions too.  The Christmas stamps have been rushed out (as so many of you have told us you need them NOW) so most of the DT girls haven't had a chance to work with them yet.  But stay tuned for some glorious artwork heading your way soon.

Christmas Angel (posted by Clare)

Hello, again!  So glad you could come back and see us!  The projects that have been posted this month have been the best ever!  And there's more to come!

My angel is from the new set, Gothic Angels, and the background is the new Big Bold Background Dotty Snowflakes stamps.  I shaded everything with shimmery stamp paint.

Thanks for visiting, and we'll see you soon! 

Colourful Snowflakes (by Shirley)

Hello everyone !

I've had a great time working with the new Christmas stamps and happy that I've made a solid start on Christmas cards for this year.   It's never to early to start !

I used one of the new Big Bold Background stamps - Solid Snowflake to create these cards. 

I used Fruitcake Kaleidacolour Dye Ink on the background for the above card.    I used a brayer to apply the rainbow ink to get even coverage.   Next I added Versamark Ink directly from the pad over the entire background and embossed with a clear holograph Embossing Powder.   You can see the sparkle on the close-up at the top of this post.    'Noel' is available as a single clear stamp - CBCL0020 Noel.     I added rhinestones to the centres of the snowflakes.

This next card below was quicker to create as I didn't need a brayer to ink up the stamp.

I used both Evergreen Bough and Pine Needles Distress Inks on the background stamp, which gives the variation in colour.   I stamped the sentiment from Warm Christmas Greetings with Crimson Red Versafine Ink.   Again I added sparkly rhinestones to the centres of the snowflakes.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great day !
Shirley

A little Christmas wall hanging (posted by Claire)

Good morning, Claire here with another sample featuring one of the gorgeous angels from the new Gothic Angels themeplate. I've combined her with some of my favourite stamps, the little cottage is from Home Sweet Home, the trees are from Terrific Treescapes  and the sentiment is one of the clear stamps (you can find them here)

I began with a little wooden  plaque coated with white gesso, I inked in the sky with distress inks, masking the moon and then splashed some water and swooshed it around a little before blotting to create the clouds. I stamped in the cottage and added some shadows with weathered wood distress ink, added the trees and then drew in the hills with a fineliner pen. The sentiment is stamped with versamark and embossed with WOW gold embossing powder. I stamped the angel on some smooth white card, coloured her with Graph'It markers and added some glitter. I popped her up on some silicone glue to give the impression of the angel watching over the little cottage.

To finish off I've added some glitter for a frosy sparkle and applied some gilding wax around the edges.

Thanks so much for visiting today

Claire xx

Christmas in the Air Part Two (posted by Clare)

I have two more Christmas cards to share with you, made with some of the brand new Christmas stamps from Chocolate Baroque.  This first one was made using the huge 5" by 5" Big Bold Background Tangled Baubles stamp.  I re-stamped an ornament twice, cut it out, then scored the two down the middle and adhered just on the score lines to the front of the card.  On the main image, I heat embossed it in gold then shaded it with red and green glittered 3-D stamp paint.  With the addition of a gold sprig, and a few gold pearls, this card is complete.  This was a very easy card to make.

This next card is one of my favorites.  Whenever I think of Christmas, I remember that Christ the King was born, and he's royalty!  I love using purple and gold for these cards, for that reason. 

























This card was made using the Gothic Angels set, shown below.  Love it!  That lettering is fantastic!



Thanks again for stopping by!  There is much more yumminess to come from our talented design team!

Gold Snowflakes (by Shirley)

Hello everyone, I hope you are enjoying the weekend !

I'm back with another Christmas design, this time using the beautiful new Big Bold Background - Snowflake Shadow.     This card can easily be duplicated to make a quick batch of cards.  I plan to make more in different colours :)

I stamped and embossed the background with Gold.   Next I blended a little Picked Raspberry and Peacock Feather Distress Inks over the background.   'Merry Christmas' is from Gothic Angels which I also embossed with gold and blended a little Seedless Preserves Distress Ink around it.  The die is Spellbinder S4-322.    I added a couple of snowflake charms hanging out in my embroidery stash and rhinestones in the centres of the flakes.   Easy !

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day,
Shirley

Christmas Angel by Debbie

Good morning all. I'm still very much in Christmas mode at the moment, thinking about how I want to get ahead with my card making rather than rushing at the last minute to get them made. I've really enjoyed the big and bold stamps as they help make fabulous backgrounds for lots of stamped toppers.

For the background I stamped with the Big and Bold Snowflake Outline and a pale blue chalk ink trimmed it and mounted onto card. I folded a 6x6 easel card and stamped the sentiment for the stopper to hold the front up. The sentiment is a single clear stamp and is really useful. The Angel has been stamped with black memento and coloured with alcohol pens, she is so serene and a delight to colour. Thank you for visiting and I hope you have a good weekend. Debbie

Christmas in the Air, Yes, Already! (posted by Clare)

Hello, Friends!  I am so excited about the new Chocolate Baroque Christmas Stamps!  They are absolutely gorgeous!  I've combined some of the new stamps with older ones, to create a couple of cards. 

For the background on this card, I used the new Big Bold Background Holly stamp, and when I say big, I mean BIG!  These new backgrounds are a huge 5" by 5", with lots of varying surface details!  I stamped the Holly background with an olive green ink onto white cardstock, then shaded the leaves and berries with green and red 3-D stamp paint.  It's a new product that I found at a craft convention, and it's just amazing what it does!  I used a sponge dauber to apply this creamy, sparkly paint, which dries almost instantly.  I used a new die to cut the red, green and white lattice layers, and the sentiment tag.  "Yuletide Greetings" is from the new Chocolate Baroque Christmas set, Gothic Angels.  I re-stamped a few of the holly leaves, cut them out, then layered them at the bottom of the tag, with three red berries (red pearls).

This next card looks so elegant but was a very easy one to do.  Again, I used shades of teal ink, and gold 3-D stamp paint applied with a sponge dauber to create an old-timey look.  It adds such a sheen!  I used stamps from the Gothic Angels set, some printed paper, and a tree stamp from the Christmas Flourish set, shown below.  I heat embossed the larger script stamp image, and the tree in gold.

I hope you will see all of the other "delicious" creations that my talented design team-mates have created!  Thanks for visiting!

Big Bold Poinsettias (posted by Claire)

Good morning, Claire here with a card featuring the Poinsettia Big Bold Background stamp, you can find it here with all the lovely newly released stamps. I wanted to make a simple card that wouldn't be too expensive to post and these beautifully detailed stamps are just the job.

I stamped the image in memento tuxedo black and coloured with Graph'It markers, adding some gold stickles in the centres. I've used a corner rounder punch and edged the image with a gold krylon pen. To finish off I've stamped the sentiment from Gothic Angels and embossed with gold embossing powder. I've matted the image on some kraft card.

Thanks for popping by,