29 July 2016

Paperbabe Stamps 3rd Anniversary Blog Hop and July release sneak peaks

Thank you so much for stopping by, you are in for such a treat.

It's Paperbabe Stamps third Anniversary month and we are here today to share a sampling of the NEW Paperbabe Stamps JULY 2016 release with you! 

FOUR new mini stamp sets and Three new substrate kits will be available to purchase on July 30th. You will find our new products HERE once they go live. 


To add extra fun to our blog hop...we are offering up a prize! 
Two prizes - 
The Paperbabe Stamps entire July's release and
a £25. gift to choose what you like in the Paperbabe Stamps online store.

Here are the details:

  • Two winners will be chosen at RANDOM from any of the designer's blogs and the PaperbabeStamps Blog to win.
  • Just leave a comment on any of the designer's blogs listed below or the Paperbabe stamps blog for your chance to win! (you do not need to comment on all blogs to qualify but it increases your chances) 
  • Deadline: You have until midnight on Sunday, 31st July to leave a comment.
  • Please check the Paperbabe Stamps blog on Monday, 1st August to see if you are one of our lucky winners.


Here are some samples of cards I've created using July's new release stamp sets.






Kim has asked some great designers to join in our birthday hop...

Terri

I hope you enjoy our fun hop!

27 July 2016

You are my Favourite - Altenew way too sweet

Happy Wednesday fellow crafters.

Today's card is a simple card that can be made in a few minuets. You know when you've forgotten a birthday or you need a quick thank you card, well this card hits the spot.




I stamped the cup cakes and sentiment in Versafine Onyx Black, laid down a little colour with water colour pencils, lightly washed over with a water brush pen, a quick blast with my heat gun and hey presto you have your self a super cute card.

Thanks for stopping by, please leave me a comment in the comments section below so I know you've been, Hugs T x

25 July 2016

Fresh Freesia - Altenew

Monday already, how did that happen.

It's the first day of the Summer holidays today and I am feeling happy, positive and all set for six weeks of fun with my  girls.

I wanted to share a card with you which I made last week using Altenew's Fresh Freesia stamp set 


I  stamped the flowers and used Altenew's Crisp inks to water colour the petals and stem. I cut the card topper in a curve to add extra shape and dimension. The natural twine and sequins add a little elegance to the design.


I added a simple beige stripe paper and softened the edges of the white card with distress ink.

I love freesias and I especially love how beautiful this card turned out.

I'll be back later in the week with more crafty creations T x

23 July 2016

National Ice Cream Month - Altenew Way Too Sweet

It's a hot, muggy day here in Bristol. So what better way to cool off than with a yummy Ice Cream..... it is National Ice Cream Month after all,( it would be rude not to.)

I thought I'd share a quick card that I put together to mark the occasion using Altenew's Way Too Sweet Stamp Set


I stamped the outline images in VersaFine Onyx Black and used Altenew's Four Scoops crisp ink set to water colour the images.

There's only 8 days left to celebrate so I plan on having a mini celebration each day.

Where ever you are in the world I hope you join in and have a little treat too.

22 July 2016

Paperbabe Stamps Challenge 38 - DT Inspiration

Is anyone else excited that it's Friday?

Well here's another good reason to be excited, today we are starting a new challenge at Paperbabe Stamps and it's a favorite of mine "Anything Goes"

This means that you can create anything that takes your fancy, free reign to get crafty, how cool is that?

For my Design Team Project I decided to create a mixed media canvas.


I took inspiration from the Maya Angelou quote and showed that no matter how dark things are you can always shine through just like the butterflies on my canvas, bright and beautiful.

I used the Herringbone stencil to apply white acrylic paint which I then sprinkled with Glamour dust.  I painted some butterflies from the Mixed media blanks accessories and then embossed them in gold using the Pop Dots stamps. I stamped the quote on to  card which I inked and stamped. Once all glued on to the canvas I added a few gems.



I hope you like it, i think it's going to make a great gift for my niece.


You can join in with the challenge by stopping by the Paperbabe Stamps blog where you will find out all the details, you could be in with the chance of winning some crafty goods.

I hope to see your creations, Good luck.

19 July 2016

Altenew Spring Daisy Stamp Set - Sympathy card

Good morning, I'm having a nightmare of a day as my laptop died a sudden death and I'm having to use my children's to edit photos and upload, it's doesn't have the same software and the buttons are all different, so I hope this post looks ok.

Yesterday I received some new Altenew stamps and set straight to work. I thought I would use the Spring Daisy set first and make a Sympathy card as they are never easy to make but his set is perfect.


I always stamp the image on post it notes and cut a few masks so that I can layer the images.


I stamped a Daisy on the right hand side of a 13x13cm piece of card stock and then covered it with a mask


I then stamped another daisy which will look like it's sitting behind the first


I then masked again and stamped a third


I always work on a piece of printer paper when stamping over the edge rather than on my desk or glass mat as it saves on cleaning


After removing the masks this is what I'm left with


Before I used the next stamp layer I rub a eraser over it, large stamps can cause an issue with the ink pooling on the surface but this little trick makes a huge difference.


I stamped the petals in morning frost and the centre of the flowers in warm sunshine, it's a very muted look perfect for a sympathy card.


I then used a sentiment from the Fresh Freesia set to add a simple but heart felt message.


A little black matt and a few black sequins before adding it to a 6x6" card blank finish the look


I love how the flowers look, stamped in different colours they could pass as Gerbera or sunflowers


Thank you for taking the time to stop by T x

16 July 2016

Quick Cards Made Easy Reader Design Team

I thought I'd share a few cards I made for Quick Cards Made Easy Magazines reader design team.

I was supplied with a digi collection of papers and toppers and set about making some tropical themed cards.

This first card was a very simple card, I used hot pink textured card as my first layer and then added 3 panels of the patterned paper. I then added a circle of blue for the center of the card and placed a sentiment matted onto the hot pink on top to act as the main focal point.  I placed blue pearl drops in graduating sizes above and below the sentiment to draw the eye in.




This card is a shaker card, It's the first I've ever made, I decided on a circle aperture with a square Flamingo sentiment. I used dew drops rather than sequins or glitter as they make a lovely sound when you shake the card.




This card uses curves to emulate the shape of the Watermelon in the backing paper, curved corners and round gems help to slightly soften the bold design but still make for a striking design.




I loved the challenge of working with digital imagery to create something bright and cheerful.

You can download the papers from http://www.cardmakingandpapercraft.com/download/tropical-bonus-papers and have a try at some tropical beauties yourself.

Have a super weekend
T x

14 July 2016

Penny Black stamps

A while ago I did  little DT work for a craft magazine and they sent me some goodies as a thank you, finally I've found the time to play and wanted to share my results.


The stamps I was given were from Penny Black



I've never used their stamps before and felt a little unsure of how best to go about it, after a quick google I decided a water colour effect would be best for my first time.

I used Memento dew drop ink pads to ink up the stamps in various colours and then spritzed with water before stamping on to white card




I let them dry naturally before adding a mini sentiment to each




all that was left was to embellish them and mat and layer with some black card




I love the water colour effect that I would never be able to paint by hand




I think I will play some more with colour combinations and see what else I can create.
I really dont know what I was worried about as they turned out just fine.

Thanks for stopping by
Terri x


13 July 2016

What is the difference between pigment and water based ink - Craft 101

The world of inks can be a minefield for a new crafter, with so many types to choose from and each with it's own qualities you're bound to have a few faux pas's. I hope to give up a heads up on the main types of ink and how I use them in my crafting.

Now I may not be Martha Stewart or Sheena Douglass but I like to think I have a good bit of experience, I know only too well how annoying it is when you stamp a perfect image and start to colour it and realise you've used the wrong ink and it bleeds the ink line, this is where the naughty words slip from my lips and my husband calls me potty mouth lol

Here are the inks I currently have in my stash (well not every colour but every type)





Pigment Ink
  • Normally comes on a foam pad as the ink is thicker.
  • Takes longer to dry as the ink sits on the surface of the card/paper
  • blendable
  • fade resistant
  • stains clear stamps!!!!



Alcohol Ink



  • Usually comes in either pen or bottle form
  • very blendable
  • If using for  colouring you will need to stamp in a Memento Ink so as not to bleed your image



Dye Ink


  • vibrant colours
  • water solubale
  • Can stain clear stamps


Water based dye Ink



  • Can be used with water to colour imagery
  • use on lighter coloured card and paper
  • quick drying 
  • available in lots of colours
  • colour fades over time so not good for scrapbooking


Chalk Ink




  • permanent when heat set
  • similar to pigment inks but with a chalky finish
  • great for darker card and paper


Distress Ink




  • slow drying so can be used for heat embossing
  • can use for water colouring
  • blendable
  • used to create numerous effects


Versamark Ink


  • use for heat embossing
  • leaves a tacky substance which you can add mica powders too



I found a very handy reference chart for showing ink properties which may be handy

http://www.paperwishes.com/stamping101/images/layout/inkpads.pdf


I really hope that this post will help those startling off in the world of stamping to avoid some of the issues I had in the early days.

Take care, until next time T x

11 July 2016

Tattered Lace Design Team

Did I forget to mention I am now on the Tattered Lace design team?

Sometimes things get so busy you forget what you've said and what you haven't, so here goes I applied to join the Tattered Lace design team a while back and after a couple of rounds of sending samples I got a place, yippie 


My first Design team job was to work with a few dies and embossing folders from the "Stitch in time" collection.

My first project is a super cute wall hanging with a picture of my nephew who is a miracle baby after being born at 27 weeks. I chose the patchwork giraffe dies, you get a solid base layer and a coordinating filigree top layer.  I also used some Tattered lace dies to cut little building blocks and add Reggie's name.




This next card used the "Knitted patch" die, I threaded some thin black wool through the die cut shape and added a mini ball of wool to complete the look, simple and classic.



This is one of my favorites of the samples I made, black and white and a cute Elephant. I used a mini "pinhole border" die to pierce around the edge of the card and threaded it with embroidery floss. I die cut a circle aperture in the card base and used the "Patchwork Elephant" to cut a white solid and black top layer which I added to the card using foam tape. A few card candi and a little black bow finish the look.



This card makes use of the "Plaid" border embossing folder and the "Knitted patch" die, soft and feminine, quick and simple.



Now this was a little more involved but worth every minute. I used the "Plaid" border embossing folder to emboss some coredinations card and then sanded it to reveal the minty green core, I used matching card to cut some heart "tuck ins" also from Tattered lace and added some ribbon to make them look like balloons. My "Patchwork Elephant" was cut from grey card. I added some ribbon and a sentiment and then matted and layered in black and white.


Last but not least is the card I love the most, so much so that I recreated it for Reggie's 2nd birthday. I used the "Patchwork Giraffe" to cut a solid and a top layer in 2 different blues and layered them together. I use the "Plaid" corner embossing folder to emboss 4 triangle which I then coloured with distress ink. The corners where glued onto a piece of paper from Craftwork cards serenity range, I cut a white circle which I added to the center of the card and glued the Giraffe on top, I added a sentiment topper and framed using card Candi.


I will be showcasing some more Tattered Lace samples soon , so watch this space.

08 July 2016

Paperbabe Stamps challenge 33 - Anything goes, DT inspiration

Yay it's Friday.
Thank you for joining me, today we are starting a new challenge over on the Paperbabe Stamp Blog and this time it's a *Anything Goes* theme.

As you may know this week saw Paperbabe Stamps celebrate thier 3rd birthday so I thought I would create a birthday card as my design team inspiration project.




I used the Birthday Wishes stamp set for my card, I added glossy accents to the flames and dots.



If you'd like to join in with the challenge then pop over to the blog where you will find all the details on how to enter and be in the chance of winning a prize.

Have a super weekend T x

03 July 2016

Altenew Painted Flowers

Yesterday I had happy post, I received a set of Painted flowers stamps from Altenew.






You might remember a few days ago I posted showing the first cards I made with their Vintage rose and Vintage flowers sets, so this is only my second time using thier layering stamps but I love them already.




Each flowers is made up of 3-4 stamps, each stamp adds a layer of detail and shading to the image. When you combine the stamps with their crisp ink sets you get amazing results. The inks are designed in sets of four, each is a slightly deeper shade than the one prior so that you can create a realistic look.

In the picture below I show how I've marked on the packaging which stamp work together to make each flower.



You can also download a guide from Altenew.com which shows how to align the stamps, 




For my card I used the Cool Summer Night collection of inks and a Versafine onyx black.



I added a sentiment from Paperbabe stamps birthday wishes stamp set and some Dew drops from The Robins nest to embellish.




I can see that I will be creating lots of cards with these stamps as I love the layered look.

T x