Winter - Sunday Stampers Challenge Entry and Giveaway

Hi Everyone, gone all Christmasy with todays entry, the shops are getting all stocked up with their Goodies so I thought I might join them. This is also my entry for The Sunday Stampers Challenge this week and the theme is Winter, details of the challenge can be found here ink on my fingers

List of Items Used

Stamps :Tim Holtz Mini holidays 2 set

Inkydoodles Text Background

Clarity remountable Christmas Baubles

Paperartsy Jofy 28

Dovecraft T'is the Season wooden sentiments

Distress Inks :Fired Brick, Evergreen Bough, Walnut Stain,

Vintage Photo, Pine Needles

Tim Holtz movers and shapers Mini Snowflake die set

Cosmic Shimmers black pearl mica powder

Treasure Gold metallic wax in Ruby

Black card

White glitter card

Scraps of white card

String or ribbon of choice

Versamark ink pad

Clear Embossing powder

Emossing folder

Dark Red acrylic paint

Firstly start by cutting out a star from the black card, mine measured roughly 4 inches across from point to point. This was then passed through an embossing folder and I have made several using different designs and they all look good. I then stamped the holly leaves on the scraps of white card in the pine needles distress ink, made a light wash on a ceramic tile with the same ink and brushed it onto the leaves to give a paler tone for the insides. These were then cut out and put to one side.  

The stars were then given a wash made from a dark red acrylic paint which had been well watered down. Whilst the paint wash was still wet I dabbed it over with some kitchen paper to reveal the black card in places and help dry it out. Once these were completely dry I brushed over little areas with versa-mark ink using a small paint brush and then sprinkled on the black pearl mica powder. The excess was then brushed off with a dry clean brush. To complete the star I then gently  rubbed over small areas of the metallic wax with my finger and buffed this up when dry with a dry cloth, giving a lovely finish.

The next step is to create the background of the card , this was done by placing areas of fired brick and evergreen bough on the card with either a blending tool or blending brushes. This was then over stamped using a mixture of stamps and the walnut stain ink. Gradually build up the stamping to create an interesting layered effect as you can see in the picture below. The edges were then distressed using the vintage photo ink and a blending tool to give the aged and worn look. This was then lightly spritz with water, left for a couple of seconds and dabbed dry with some kitchen paper.

Now onto the final stages, the snowflakes were cut using the white glitter card and the Movers and Shapers dies. The wooden Joy was given 2 coats of clear embossing powder to help make it pop on the card. I punched a hole in the top of the star and threaded some string through and then mounted the star onto the card. The 3 snowflakes were next stuck onto the star followed by the joy sentiment.

The ready prepared holly leaves were then attached to the top of the card and the berries were punched circles cut from some tiny scraps of red card, if you do not have any red card use either white card and colour it red or  the craftwork cards candi in red or some red gems if you fancy adding little sparkle.

So there you have it a fairly easy card to construct but can be adapted to the stamps you have in your stash. I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial and if you would like to be in with a chance to win the finished card please leave a comment at the bottom of the page and a number will be picked at random from the list of entries. The closing date for the free giveaway will be Friday 1st Nov at 6pm so any comments left after that time will not be entered. The winner will be announced on the blog after the closing date so good luck to all who enter. I'll sign off for now, hope you all have a good weekend, take care and have a great time creating something wonderful, thanks for stopping by  Jane x

SPECIAL My entry for The Sunday Stampers Challenge

Hi Everyone, and a very Happy Weekend to you all. My blog entry today is also my contribution for Hels Sheridans Sunday Stampers Challenge, to follow her blog and weekly challenges click on the link ink on my fingers

List of Items used
Packaging card 15cm x 12cm
 White Gesso
Grunge Paste by Paper Artsy
Distress Stains in salty ocean, broken china, bundled sage, pewter and scattered straw
Archival black ink pad
Walnut stain Distress ink pad
scraps of craft card and white card
Aqua markers on various colours
Versa mark ink pad and clear embossing powder
Stamps : Jofy 12 by Paper artsy, Petal set by Clarity stamps and Text Background and words by Inkydoodles
Glossy Accents by Ranger
Treasure Gold gilding wax in Indigo, Pewter and Renaissance
Flower Charm by Tim Holtz
Scraps of wool

Firstly I gave the card a coat of white gesso, and once this was dry I applied the grunge paste through the mask in the top right hand corner. Unfortunately  I do not know the name or make of this mask as it's one I have had years and no longer have the packaging but I vaguely remember it being a german make ?
Next I applied various coats of washes using the distress stains, these were dabbed onto a ceramic tile and mixed with a light spray of water till I reached the tones I was happy with. Once all was dry I stamped the flower and petals in archival and the text background in walnut stain. The 3 petals with special on were scraps of white card coloured at the same time as the background, then the petal shape stamped on followed by the word special both in archival black ink.

The 3 individual petals were then heat embossed with clear embossing powder twice to give a smooth glossy effect.

The words You Are So were stamped onto the craft card in walnut stain and then distressed round the torn edges. Whilst still damp the edges were then curled using the point of a thin knitting needle.

The tag was stamped with the centre of the flower stamp from the Jofy 12 set in black archival and the edges distressed with the walnut stain also.

The centres of the 2 flowers were coloured with aqua markers and then once dry glossy accents were applied.

The flower petals with the small flowers inside were also coloured with aqua markers and the blue petals with the spirals in had a little of the distress stains brushed on just to give a deeper colour.

The leaves in the bottom right hand corner were embossed with clear embossing powder and then the centres were made paler by gently brushing over with a wet paint brush and then dabbing with some kitchen paper to dry.


The deeper blue to the embossed design was obtained by gently rubbing with the indigo wax using my little finger and then after a couple of minutes buffing up with a soft cloth.


The 3 special petals were cut out and glued on at a slight angle to the stamped image on the picture. The metal flower embellishment then had the wool secured through the centre hole and was then stuck onto the picture with glue.


The edges of the tag and words had a small amount of the treasure gold wax in renaissance applied, the wool was then attached to the tag before securing them all to the picture with glue.

The flourish in the top right hand corner was then given a thin coat of the treasure gold wax in the pewter and the indigo. This just helps to hi-light the fact that this is a raised image.



This was also buffed with a soft cloth once dry, this only takes a couple of minutes to dry but is essential otherwise you will just rub it off again. I have only used my finger to apply this wax, but if you use a brush then a solvent would be needed to clean the brush afterwards as it is not water soluble. Having said that it comes off my finger with a quick wipe with a baby wipe and a wash with soap and water.




Well thats my entry for today and the Sunday Stamper Challenge, hope you have enjoyed todays project and until next time, take care and happy crafting,  Jane x

Lemon and Lime Tray Bake

Hi Everyone, hope you are well and feel like a change today as I thought I would share one of our favourite tray bakes with you, as I made one yesterday and it is still fresh in my mind ( and tummy!!)

Its a really simple cake to make and excellent for afternoon tea, fetes, cake stalls at school fairs or fund raising events as it cuts into around 20 pieces depending on how large you want them.

Ingredients

225gr self-raising flour  ( 8oz)
225gr caster sugar         ( 8oz)
175gr butter or soft marg  ( 6oz)
3 eggs
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
finely grated rind of 1 lemon and 1 lime
6 tablespoons milk ( this amount may vary depending on the size of eggs)


Topping
Juice if 1 lemon and 1 lime
175gr granulated sugar ( 6oz)

Method
Line a 10"x 8" deep tray ( about 3") with greaseproof/ bakewell paper or tin foil, this is to prevent the syrup sticking to the sides and bottom of the tin at the end.

Weigh the ingredients for the cake and place all of them into a bowl and beat well with an electric mixer. If you prefer you can beat the sugar and butter together with a wooden spoon and then add the other ingredients in the normal way. The amount of milk needed to obtain a dropping off the spoon consistency may vary depending on the size of the eggs, this last time I used just 4 spoons of milk.

Turn into the lined tin and bake for 30-35mins in an oven preheated to 180C.

Once cooked remove from the oven but leave in the tin. Mix together the granulated sugar and the 2 juices and poor over the surface of the hot cake. This will dribble down the sides of the cake but it will get absorbed.

Leave the cake in the tin until almost cold, turn out and cut into as many pieces as you require.
Eat and enjoy.
Thanks for reading todays entry, hope you will give this quick and easy cake a try sometime, until next time take care Jane x