Beginning a Banner

The Challenge this week on RSS is to create a banner over the next eight weeks. The ingredients are as above. Size of the pennant was left to us as were the colours used - mine is 8 1/2" long x 5 1/4" wide at the top and the colours I will use throughout the challenge are Cream, Gold and Ginger. These are the colours we have on our Christmas Tree so I wanted it to coordinate with that.



To begin with I cut a pennant shape in Ginger cardstock and then a smaller one in Cream so that I could have a border on the sides. I wanted to use my new Angel stamp (PSX) and so I stamped and embossed it in Gold, colouring it with Twinkling H2o's in Ginger Peach. Once cut out it was to be adhered to the pennant with foam. Then the fun began!

I stamped Music Script as a background in Terra Cotta (Adirondacks) but it was too busy when I put the Angel on so I tried French Script in Gold but again that was too busy. Eventually I tried the Florentine Scroll Background (Hero Arts) with Encore Metallic Gold and that was fine.

I had some small metallic Stars in Silver but I wanted Gold so I had to colour them with my Krylon pen. These were then randomly placed over the background. Next a Sentiment (unknown) that had tiny stars on it was stamped and embossed in Gold on Cream and cut out with my Nestabilities with a slightly larger one in Ginger to form a backing.

Finally three tiny stars were cut out (again Nestabilities) in Gold Metallic cardstock and added to the bottom of the pennant with a Gold thread. Oops! No jewels! Three jewels were then placed on the stars and it was complete. All ingredients finally in place.

Now what will the next Challenge bring?

American Eye Candy

Whilst in America I should have gone on a full day workshop making 20 (yes, twenty) Christmas cards. Unfortunately I was too ill to go but my friend Mary went along and came back with the kits (in a beautifully decorated bag with my name on) for me to complete. Where Mary did not have the stamps at home she had stamped the images ready for me. Isn't she an angel!

Some of the cards I did do in America and some I brought home to finish - and I still have some to complete.

I love how the Americans use ribbons on their cards, something I all too often omit from my cards - promise to myself - will start using ribbons on cards.

I especially love this big green bow on this one.

This was one of my favourite stamps that they had used. I just love this tree and think I might have to buy the set next time I am over. I love the sentiment stamp as well but that is from a different set. By the way - they are all Stamping Up, as is the cardstock which is why it is in such yummy colours.
This one I made a bit of a mess of by folding the scalloped circle in the wrong place - perhaps I can redo it with one of my own stamps.

This is another tree that I like and I am now the proud owner of this stamp. I love the tiny sentiment used on this card - so handy for so many tiny shapes.

Now, I do not do cute but I do like this card, notice the two different ribbons used on it.

Another cute one and an easy way of using a circle on a card, I am sure you could easily cut the base shape out.

I seem to have used my tree again on this card and am now wondering what was on the original one.

This one is a kind of trifold card and something I am going to use again when making some more Christmas cards over the next few weeks.

Another stamp which I brought home (thank you so much Mary) which is very popular over there. Not sure if SU do it in the UK but you will see it popping up on more of my Christmas cards shortly.

Finally a bright and cheerful card which I can almost repeat as I stamped some of these images before I left.

Hope you have enjoyed looking at these cards - my taste of America for you - thanks to Mary!

Lots to Do Challenge

This is my entry for the Lots to Do Challenge this week. This week Sam chose "Distressing" and as I love my Distress Inks and like to make a mess I decided to do just that. Also am so behind with my Christmas cards that I thought I should use that topic so that at least it will be one more Christmas card ready.

I hope it looks "distressed" enough.

I first of all tore some paper up and stuck it on a piece of cardstock, then I went over it in parts with some Gesso. Dried it off and then used three of my favourite colours of Distress Inks for Christmas things - Worn Lipstick, Peeled Paint and Spiced Marmalade. Dried it off again and put a bit more Gesso on before drying off yet once more. Then I went around the edges with Fired Brick and finally stamped the Tim Holtz stamp using Versafine Black.

Somehow the paper I stuck on where his head landed has kind of puffed up a bit so it looks good, gives him a sort of roundness to his face.

Then it was just a case of mounting up, tearing the cardstock at the bottom a bit and assembling the card.

Right, am feeling quite tired now so I will leave it there. Hope to do another Challenge tomorrow or the day after. Need to think!

Thank You Liz and Zoe

Well, I returned from my trip to America to find two packages waiting for me. Apologies to both Liz and Zoe for not thanking them earlier but if you remember I was ill whilst in America and have been so since. Today is the first day I have felt like doing anything and I have just scanned them in and uploaded them here.

If you click on their names above it will take you to their blogs - well worth a visit.

This is a tag from Liz (above). A real beauty which I commented on on her blog. it really is gorgeous so a great BIG thank you to Liz for allowing me to have one of her stunning pieces of work. I love how she has used the lace, feathers and pearls - and the image is beautiful and glossy. Wonder where she gets these from?

Zoe sent a card with her tags and she has used this Beethoven collage stamp in a most unusual way which does not show in the scan. It is stamped and embossed in a blueish silver on white cardstock and then the musical instrument is stamped again on acetate and placed over the image below.

Not one, but five tags from Zoe, she certainly intends me filling my tag house up. The first one is stamped and embossed in silver with a gorgeous material butterfly on it which has beads sewn down the centre. A tiny embossed tag is also attached and there are jewels all over. The centre tag is done on acetate and when you hold it against a light it looks like a stained glass window. The third tag has grungeboard crowns on it and I am intrigued by the lettering she has used. I cannot fathom how she has done it at all.

The first of the final two tags from Zoe also has me intrigued. I would love to know how she has got the surface of this tag done as it is a technique I would like to try myself. The last tag is in silver with tiny bands going across it with wording stamped on and some shrink plastic stars dangle from a beaded hanger.

Now aren't I the lucky one! Thank you so much for sending me samples of your artwork to fill my tag house. I can assure you both it is well full now.

Holiday Over

It certainly does not feel as if we have been in America for a whole month but tomorrow we fly back home to wet and windy (and very cold) England. Hard to understand that, as we bask in sunshine here in LA in shorts and t-shirt, that tomorrow we will be setting off with sweaters and jackets in our hand luggage ready to wear on our arrival in Manchester on Wednesday afternoon.

Today we fulfilled one of Mary's desires, to have a hot turkey sandwich down at Al Reads for lunch - yes, she took her tin of Cranberry Jelly - good job - they did not have any. Now Mary and the waitress thought we English were a slate loose of a shilling because we wanted fries with our hot turkey sandwich and not mashed potatoes. When asked if we wanted "gravy" we really did not know what to say so we chose one with and one without. I drew the short straw and had the one without. Now we understand the concept of the mashed potato with the turkey sandwich WITH gravy.

Some of you may know that I entered a competition at Blade Rubber before I left, only because they had only had one entry and were appealing for more. Well, this is my journal page - and it came in second place.

The subject was "where I spent my summer holidays" so this is about Happy Valley in Llandudno.

Next time I write it will be back in England - snuggling up with central heating and woolly jumpers no doubt. Roll on next January!

Stamping Day

Seeing that I had missed both the classes I had been booked into whilst staying with Mary because of being ill she kindly invited Carol (have spent many a happy time with Carol at CHA in the past) and a new friend for me, Mari, over for a day of stamping.

Each one of us was to do our own thing so I continued with these cards which I had started a couple of days ago. This was a workshop the girls had been to with Gayle (Smith) which I particularly liked and used a Stamping Up set.

Now, if some of these cards look a bit wonky it is because they are waiting for pale blue brads to be put in so the elements are only placed on with a teeny bit of sticky tape. A temporary measure - but I wanted to upload something as my blog has been so neglected whilst I have been away.

Oops! They look more than a "bit" wonky. Positively drunk!

At lunchtime we all went down to Al Reads which is just a short distance along the road that Mary lives on but when we got there Sunday lunch is not served until 4 pm! Drat! Mary had so been looking forward to a hot turkey sandwich (she'd taken her own tin of redcurrant jelly just in case ...). Decisions, decisions, decisions ... we decided to go to Coco's.

What a darlin' waitress we had there. Turned out she knew Mary from years ago - they used to go square dancing together. So after a treat from Mari we all came back and continued with our play day - well, I chickened out and went and sat on a recliner, and fell asleep!

Now, when we come back in January I have promised I will do a workshop for them ... thinking cap on ... what can I do to impress these ladies?

Not One But Two

It is ages since I posted and such a long time since I did a Challenge. Apologies, but I have been so ill. What a way to spend my time in America, sitting in a chair or in bed trying to feel better with endless medications.

Anyway, today is the first day I have felt like doing anything so here is my card for the Lots to Do Challenge - using inchies - at least I hope it counts because each square cut out was one inch but they do not have any stamping on them.

When I first got to Mary's she had some of these cards down in her stamping room so I wanted to know how to do them. It took me almost three weeks to get one done - and I much prefer the ones she did as the colours are more subtle/pastel. Kind of like one of those patchwork blankets don't you think?

I also do not like missing the Challenge on Ready Steady Stamp so this morning I set to and made a Christmas card using the required things: - lilac cardstock for my main card, lilac cardstock for my skinny, edged in black, silver tree stamped on my skinny and also silver snowflakes on my main card. The letter "C" is cut out on the Cricut using my new cartridge "Storybook" and painted with Ranger's Crackle paint in black, and the lilac square underneath is also painted in Crackle Paint. I think that is all the criteria covered.

We fly back home next Tuesday so hopefully I will be back in harness with the Challenges next time.