September Craft Stamper Magazine

Have you got your copy yet?  If not we have it in stock HERE!

This month's cover stamp has been designed by our very own stamp designer Tracey Coates, you may recognise this as it is a smaller image of a design from the Aspects of Design 63 Alluring Ladies stamp sheet, (which btw have 20% off at the moment so are £11.99 instead of £14.99!).   It is a perfect size for ATC's, in fact there are 2 stamps, the eyes and the word visage which is a new design Tracey has drawn.

Janet has taken this as a theme for the September ATC Swap, which is going to be 'The Look', if you have the stamp we hope you will join in with the swap, it will be great to see what you come up with when using it.  If you don't have it then there's plenty of time to have a think about the theme to come up with something else.

I will be posting again about the September CS issue as there's more to tell about it.

Only a short post for now as I'm about to get started sorting out the first batch of ATC's with Janet so we can select a winner for the blog candy before Janet does the actual swapping, very exciting!!!  Janet and Michelle are here this morning with their parent and young person journalling class, so it's a good time to get this done.

I hope you are having a good day!

Jill

Challenge # 2 Take 2 colours - lime and gold

When you start a project, where do you begin?  Is it focused around something new in your stash, such as a new stamp, ink or paper?

Well, this card started with a lime green ink pad, I was given a couple of samples of a new range of inks to try and one happened to be lime green.  I had made a number of butterflies with Tim's Take Flight Alteration die when demonstrating them but I hadn't made them into cards.  I remembered I had used some lime green fantasy film with gold mirror card and a quick hunt for lime green card or paper and there it began! 

The paper I found was lime and gold glitter paper, how handy was that!  I used the ink pad with one of Kay's Funky Flourish stamps to create the background and a greeting from one of Tracey's stamp sheets Alluring Ladies.  The new ink pads are great, I'll tell you more about them once we have them in stock!!

Jill

Alluring Lady Tag

I used Tracey's Alluring Ladies unmounted stamp sheet to make this tag.  The background is Icicle Creek Starburst Stains with cling film on coated card which gives sharper shimmer to the marbling effect of the cling film.  I used the kiss stamp technique on the ladies dress.

I used silver mirri card to make a mirror that has a circle brass charm for a frame.

Here's a reminder of what else is on this stamp sheet...

Just a short post today, see I can keep it brief:)

Thanks for visiting!

Jill

Last of the cards by Karen Jackson

Here is the last card that Karen made for us for the HSNW show at Port Sunlight recently.  The lady is from Tracey's Alluring Ladies unmounted stamp sheet and the flower background is from Tracey's Butterfly Beauties stamp sheet.

Well, after showing you the mess I made with a project I worked on this week it is now a bit frustrating as I cannot show it to you!!  It is for a magazine and I'll have to wait patiently for it to be published before you can see it.  I REALLY enjoyed making it, it is my sort of thing!!  I'll let you know when it is on sale.

Well so far the weather this weekend is rubbish, I hope it gets better and you all have a lovely weekend!

Jill

Rachel's Alluring Ladies card

A quick post today with the last of the cards that Rachel made for us for the HSNW show.  Rachel has again used Tracey's Alluring Ladies stamp sheet.

I love the layout and the way Rachel has used the other stamps on the sheet.

See I can post without waffling too much!!  It's mainly because today I'm itching to get off the computer to go and continue creating something I've got on the go...It's calling me...

Jill

The Lady in .... Red, and other chatter

My apologies, I didn't end up posting yesterday as promised as I had a workshop which was a brilliant crafty time, with a great bunch of people who I think all felt somewhat challenged at some point in the day.

All for the good though, as they told me afterwards that they had really enjoyed the day and learnt lots, I think it was an eye opener for some (especially that 'messy' Jeanette!!!).  I don't think I bullied them all too much:)

I was only keeping them on their toes so they could keep up with the confusion I was feeding them, lol!!!  I'll explain why when I give a full account of the day (maybe tomorrow), I do have photographic evidence!!!!

It was a VERY hot day to be inside, it must have been down to the heat, as I was exhausted by the time I got home, so no blogging.  It was yummy pasta and homemade garlic bread flopped in front of the telly last night with frequent jaunts into the garden for a cool down with Hamish (our dog).  Isn't it great that summer has finally arrived and we have lovely brightness and sunshine, it makes you feel good!!  But, I love it and I hate it too 'cos I'm of an age that doesn't need any extra heat, phew...  you can keep the heat, I just love the brightness and the fact that nature has come alive again and everything looks so nice, alive and growing.

Even our normally cold unit was hot and we actually had fans on to keep us cool, amazing to have ditched the heating and thermals for fans and open doors in a matter of days!

As I said before, I took some photos and I will tell you all about our day which included a VERY confirmed, non-messy crafter who LOVED what she was doing!  I have been informed that her messiness would shock people who know her!

Anyway, here's the low down on today's card...

It's another example of the kiss technique that Karen has used on the cards she has made that I've shown this week with Tracey's Alluring Ladies stamp sheet.  I know that people are somewhat put off by solid or bold stamps but this technique shows how versatile they can be. If you've missed this technique, do look through this weeks' posts for more details.

The panel is actually silver mirri card, a nice idea to have her looking in a full length mirror!

The dress looks to have lots of texture.

 I hope you are enjoying your weekend!!

Jill

Green Eyes

Back to Rachel Jackson today to a card she made for us for the HSNW show in Port Sunlight, again made from Tracey's Alluring Ladies stamp sheet.

Rachel has really captured the shape of the face with her shading, also with the shading on her hair.

The distress effect on the textured background card is very effective too.

Back tomorrow with more!

Jill

The Lady in.... Blue

Here is another of Karen's cards made for the recent HSNW show at Port Sunlight with Tracey's Alluring Ladies stamp sheet.  Karen has stamped the image in black onto the central panel first then reinked the stamp with blue ink and used the bubble border stamp from the same sheet to remove the ink from the dress stamp before stamping onto another piece of card.  It is another example of the technique on Sunday's post.

Karen has then cut out the dress and overlaid it onto the original image.  I love the little heart she has added to the bottom of the back line and also all the tiny bling embellishments on the dress straps.

The side panel has been stamped repeatedly with the bubble border.  I love the distress effect at the top of the panel.

Thanks again Karen!

Jill

Blue Eyes

Today's card made by Rachel Jackson for the HSNW show last weekend is made using Tracey's Alluring Ladies stamp sheet.  Those blue eyes are so stunning! Rachel has added a clear self adhesive gem to each eye which gleam at you, unfortunately the photo doesn't show this.

I love the layout of Rachel's card and all the different textures and elements on it.

There's soft texture from the pom poms and braid.

There's bling added to the stamped circles design.

Even a touch of glittery handwriting alongside different textures and colours of stamped card.

Fabulous!!!  Thank you Rachel.

Port Sunny HSNW Show

OK, now I'm back in blogland I have to tell you about the show last weekend.  It was another successful stamp fest held by the Happy Stampers North West stamping group.  All the tickets sold out so it was a very busy show.  We were non-stop all day!  Thank you to all the group's members who gave all us stallholders and visitors another brilliant day.

As it was so busy I tried to help Ian on the till and when possible I demonstrated Tim's new alteration dies using all sorts of materials such as shrink plastic, metal, different cards plus my main aim was to show how they looked using Starburst Stains.  Many of you have seen me demonstrating these over the years and then say what can I do with them so it was nice to step back from the messy side of using them to show this. 

There was still messy stuff going on as Vix, (Vixykins) demonstrated the stains, she happily played making puddles and using cling film and showed people her technique of bleaching the stains out after painting.  This is such a fab technique and I recommend you go over to her blog for a peek.  I can tell you that the card with the 'bling maiden' is totally stunning in real life I wish you could see the real effects achieved and the shades of green are just yummy!!!  Vix also made a Post It Note book, also stunning.  Anyway do go and have a look!!

We were good bosses and let Vix escape for a lookabout and while she was gone I stepped into the messy slot and made a right mess of my hands in a short space of time!  During Vix's afternoon break, Cath Wilson, (of the former Katy's Corner) came to help.  It was much appreciated help, so thanks to Vix and Cath!!

Also helping, but from across the room was Karen Jackson of the HSNW group who has products from various stands to demonstrate throughout the day.  Karen and her daughter Rachel, who many of you know as a DT member from the Craft Stamper magazine had been busy before the day making cards using our products, plus stamps from Hero Arts that we were selling at the show.  Karen has given me some of the cards they made and I have permission to show them here.

In fact, as it has been a regular 6 monthly thing for years, I asked Karen and Rachel if I can add their names to our DT list, as they have been doing this unofficially for at least 9 years!  It was well past time I did then!!

The first card I am showing is designed by Karen using Tracey's Alluring Ladies unmounted stamp sheet.  The dress is a solid design therefore ideal for bold stamp techniques.  The first dress is stamped in solid black, the next looks to have a texture that could be achieved by removing the ink from the inked up stamp either with scrunched up paper or card dabbed on to remove the ink or possibly cling film or maybe even a piece of plastic.  It's definitely one of those experiment with what you have techniques!

The 3rd was again stamped overall in black ink then another stamp placed on top, rubber to rubber, which lifts off pattern on the 2nd stamp.

Karen has added some adhesive pearls to the dress, handwriting to the side of the panel and other words from the sheet onto the base card that is cream (which isn't clear in the photo).  It is a very elegant card!

Thank you Karen and Rachel!

Jill

Inspiration from Tracey Coates - Part 5

 

Well, I've been posting these as I've managed to get them ready so far and we are already on part 5!  Tracey has used her designs from Aspects of Design 55 Butterfly Garden.

Again I love the texture Tracey has with Tim's crackle paint

The key designs are from Aspects of Design 62 Artistic Elements another stamp sheet designed by Tracey.

I'm afraid the next photos aren't brilliant, I must have changed the settings on my camera, anyway I'm sure you can see enough to get an idea.

Here's another from the Artistic Elements stamp sheet, it looks like Tracey has used wild honey distress ink over white embossing.

These last designs are from Tracey's Aspects of Design 63 Alluring Ladies stamp sheet.

This is the smallest elegant lady design.

Even the dress has texture

That's all for now, I hope you are having a great weekend!

Jill

AOD 63 Alluring Ladies with (a new set) Icicle and Snowflake Starburst Stains

Well it's not the best of days to be taking photos in the late afternoon here.  It's really grim and stormy outside, and somehow the shadows on the white background appear to be the same shades as those of the card! 

It is made using  Tracey's new stamp sheet Alluring Ladies and the new set of Starburst Stains Icicle and Snowflakes, which is an appropriate theme for the weather for a lot of people today!  Our heavy rain has now turned to sleet, I'm just hoping we don't get the snow.

This new set has identical soft shades the same as the Icicle Creek set but instead of the secondary gold tone it has silver.  It is such a pretty set.  The background is the cling film technique on hammered card.

You cannot see but the mounts and nailheads are silver, so it looks a lot softer in real life.  I have also used my new Sizzix Scrollwork die from Tim for the border, (we still have these in the shop by the way).  It works brilliantly in my Cuttlebug with just the 2 B plates.

I think I will need to take these photos again on a better day as the colours are really much softer and shimmerier than shown.  It was one of the cards I didn't get to complete in time for the Harrogate show, I've a couple more to finish that I've started, time, I wish I had more of it at the moment!

Jill

Quick 'n Easy Retro Alluring lady!

Well, when Debbie told me on Monday that on Sunday she got lost in a world of her own in her craft room for 9 hours creating a single card, it made me feel a tad of a cheat spending just 15 minutes creating this simple little creation on Friday evening! 

Debbie did have a speedier input into this card though as on Friday morning when we were packing the Cuttlebug folders to take to the Harrogate show that afternoon, Debbie spotted that the Cuttlebug folder Dots and Spots would be great used with Tracey's new stamp sheet.  I grabbed one in the hope of having some time and energy later to make a card with it.

So, after successfully setting up our stand that afternoon, after much anxiety hoping that I'd make everything fit nicely into our allocated space, (honestly, it's like doing a giant jigsaw), and with what seemed like a long.... endless.... drive.... home..... with a shopping stop at the supermarket for something nice and easy for our dinner, I rushed up to my office/craft room to make this.  OK, I hauled my body up the wooden hill to do it if I'm honest! 

My little green buggy friend was there ready for action on my desk and the copper mirri card was fairly easily found.  A small hunt for copper embossing powder, along with the card and copper nailheads and hey presto, a simple, but effective little card was ready for the weekend.

I LOVE these new stamps Tracey...

Jill

PS:  Click HERE to see Debbie's amazing butterfly easel card, it's truly a masterpiece, time well spent Debbie!

AOD 63 Alluring Ladies with Brilliance ink

How different does this card look to yesterdays.  I used purple and lavender Brilliance ink this time. 

I randomly stamped the circle border design and all of the different individual circles to create the background.  Of course I also had to add some bling!

We are off to Harrogate tomorrow to set up ready for the GNPE show at the showground on Saturday.  If you are visiting the show, please come and say hello.  I'll be the one with the messy hands!!

Jill

A few cards with Tracey's new stamps with new distress ink colours

The first card is a bit dramatic, or just OTT, I've not decided yet!

I love the new distress ink colours crushed sapphire, rusty hinge and wild honey. 

I swished the colours onto the first piece of card from water spritzed inks on my craft mat.  I used the blending tool and foam on the other half which was the base card.  I then stamped the circles randomly over the hammered card before adding black nailheads.

The first piece was torn and then edged with a mixture of wild honey and rusty hinge. 

The main image is embossed in gold which I coloured with Promarkers.

I used some of the new Tim Holtz film strip as an embellishment.  I inked and stamped the smallest ladies head with black Stazon.  I masked as I went down so the images stayed inside the frames.

I used the same colours as above on this easel card.  It is the smallest of the lady with dress stamps.  I used black Memento ink on the top part of the stamp and the distress inks on the dress and then coloured with a skin coloured Promarker.

I have some other cards on the go with these stamps that look completely different to these as I have used pastel colours.  I will try to get them finished and post them tomorrow.

The last card is another easel card.  I mainly used the new distress ink stormy sky.  I don't have the barn door red pad yet so used worn lipstick to paint the heart.

I stamped the filigree pattern on the heart stamp onto the background with stormy sky and over stamped in black ink.  You cannot see but it is mounted onto silver and black card.  I then added one of the new Hero Arts swirly paper flowers with a button and added black nailheads.

I didn't take a photo of it but on the back I used 3 of the other stamps on the sheet, the small ink splatter, the wording about the splodges and smudges and the created by stamp.

Jill

PS:  I received some emails last night, yes we will have the stamps and ink pads at the Harrogate show!

New stamp sheets designed by Tracey Coates - now in stock!

Just a quick post to let you know that we now have Tracey's new stamp sheets in stock and that they can be found HERE on our website.

We will have them at the GNPE show at Harrogate this weekend.  I'm hoping we will have time to make some cards with them.  Also, I'm hoping that Tracey will pop along for a visit too!!

PREVIEW: AOD 63 Alluring Ladies designed by Tracey Coates

As I said yesterday, the teasing is over, here is the full peek at the 2nd sheet as promised. 

How different is this style from yesterday's stamp sheet, yet I love both of them! 

Think retro, think glamour, think embossing powder techniques, think multi-colour ink pads, think distress inks and texture tools, think Copics and Promarkers for skin shading and so much more!

Then combine some of the wording from yesterday's preview stamp sheet, love, secret, discover

WOW Tracey, I love the way this sheet turned out, I cannot wait to play with these! 

As I said yesterday, I'll let you know when they are on the website for pre-order.

It's been a beautiful sunny day here in Yorkshire, although still a bit nippy with the wind.

Happy Mother's Day to all mums, I hope you are enjoying your day.

Jill