After all these years of crafting I still can’t define the style of crafting which I love the best.  Stamping is the biggest part of anything I make but just being a stamper is not enough for me.

I love all the other techniques which go with the crafting industry so I have decided that if anyone asks me to describe what I love doing the most I will say I am a …

Stamper Of All Trades
… no, not Jack …

She looks so adorable with those dreamy eyes and heart shaped lips so I surrounded her with a few crafting techniques which are amongst my fave to do.  Stamped her onto a gorgeous piece of the G45 paper from the French Country collection here.

If you are not into the inking and getting all grungy and messy let the paper you stamp onto give you the same results but without the mess!!!

Don’t even ask where I got her from all I can remember is that I bought her from a craft stall which was at Thorpe Park a few years ago … before they changed it to Farnborough.  The ticket stamps are from Prima Songbird here.

Well today’s Saturday and here is the card the girls made in my class, it’s a Tri-fold,  Z-fold, Concertina … whatever card.

Used a Martha Stewart large punch for the beautiful border.
The stamps are all Indigo Blu ‘Sewing Mends The Soul’ and TH DI Frayed Burlap, Peacock Feathers also Black soot.

Lots of messiness with this tag but enjoyed every stage of the mess.
Lace, string, mesh, trinkets, paper flowers, die cuts, paper doily, ribbon, moulding paste, Dylusion Inks, Gilding Wax and stencils have all been used but the mucky fingers and work involoved was well worth it.

Another month has just flown by which means we have a new challenge for you at Vintage Stamping Challenges.

For this new challenge we would love to see all that lovely Lace & Pearls … think I over did the pearls on my DT piece.

Cut out a chipboard tag, painted with gesso before adding dimensional paste through a stencil.  When dry I rubbed three different colours of gilding wax over the raised areas and the edges.  Stamped the gorgeous Flonz image which you can fine here with Vintage Photo distress ink and lightly watercoloured out.  The background is watercolour  paper gently blended with Squeezed Lemonade then spritzed with water.  Some pretty lace and pearls always adds a touch of elegance to any project.

Flonz Crafts is very generously giving the winner of this challenge $20 to spend at his online shop.
So what are you waiting for, hop on over to see my DT sisters gorgeous work and whilst there enter your beautiful piece so we can come visit and leave some love.

I’m always wanting to try new things and when I saw this YouTube video tutorial  by Miranda I just had to make one.
Well I did and I made it for the new challenge this fortnight at Fashionable Stamping Challenges which is Anything Goes.  Nice an easy this fortnight with $20 up for grabs for the winner from our generous sponsor Flonz Crafts.

Front and back views of my Dress Form which looks totally better in the flesh.

Close up pics of the base which I put into a glass tealight holder then glued into place with a hot glue gun.  I first dabbed the glass with alcohol inks and then added a piece of lace.  It worked just fine with the glass holder being such a solid base.

I still love pretty pretty with my cards and this one is no exception but you can’t go far wrong with this beautiful Elizabeth Bennett Indigo Blu stamp, she is stunningly pretty.  Other stamps used are Crafty Individuals and Stampin Up Established Elegance.

This is what my class made today, we used the Sizzix Dress Form die with a honeycomb middle.

Here is the box I made for the domino book in the post below.
The design on the front of the box is another from Nicecrane Designs.

Margie left me a lovely comment asking about the dominoes used … just ordinary standard very cheap plastic dominoes, approximate size 4¾ cm  x  2½ cm.  They also had a little gold pin in the centre but this pried off very easily.

To make the box cut a piece of cardstock at  11.7 cm  x  10.2 cm for the lid and 11.5 cm  x  10 cm for the base.  Score the lid and base the same way.  Score one side at 3 cm then turn and score each of the remaining sides the same.  For the lid use a small circle punch on the longest side of the box to cut a half circle.

I work in both inches and metres whichever suits the actual purpose and I found for the above measurements it was easier to cut in inches for the accordion middle of the two dominoes..

I started with a piece of cardstock measuring 8 ¾” x  1 7/8 ” then score at every  7/8″.

Margie I too have eyes and fingers on the elderly side which is an excellent way of describing them … (made me chuckle out loud when reading) … and I am sure that is why I have never attempted to make these before but trust me it is sooooo easy.  I am a great believer in using a good pair of tweezers and this helped enormously to adhere the tiny images.

I found this tutorial link which may be of help to you

I have a real gem of a lady called Maria who can only come to my classes once a fortnight …(she lives in Dublin) … and because yesterday was her day to be at the class I decided we would make an altered domino book instead of the usual card.

I have to admit that these little books have never appealed to me before … always looked to fiddly. How wrong could I have been, and guess who changed my mind about them … yep Brenda … you can see her books here. She showed Clare, Pat, Amber and myself a couple she had made when we were at home and I totally fell in love with them.

One and only time I couldn’t wait to get back to Ireland … (I do love Ireland to bits just miss my family more) … and my craft room to have a go. So below is my first ever Domino Book. Minus all the drilled holes to add the trinkets as it’s only a two hour class … eh going on three or four usually … and time is an issue.

First pics are the front and back of the book tied together with two bows.

The first pic below is of the concertina fold out with images of gorgeous little girls on every other fold and the other folds have designer paper with two little pockets added and teensy little tags inserted.

Other pics are what you see when turned around. Lots of elegant ladies on every other fold plus the other folds have letters which make a name when fully extended.

Stamped images are from … can’t remember but the digi images are from Nicecrane Designs here and here which have been downsized to fit the teensy teensy mini book.

Will show the box which it fits into tomorrow, it is so diddly but gorgeous.

Brenda came around for a playday when I was at home and showed Pat, Clare, Amber and myself how to alter a plain box to this.
Didn’t have time to complete the inside so I decided to finish for my DT piece at Fashionable Stamping Challenges which is Sentimental this fortnight.  Our generous sponsor Flonz Crafts will be giving the winner of this challenge $20 to spend at his online shop.

To finish the box I needed to decorate the inside and that’s where my sentiments went.  Stamped the Dylusions Quintessential Quotes also a sentiment from a Woodware set and the other was from Indigo Blue called Grand Tour III.

Before I added to the bottom inside of the box I took a photo because once inside the box it wouldn’t have shown all the gorgeous techniques which I did.  Crackled her hair and the bird but for her face I used Glossy Accents.  Masked off and made a border, coloured in plus I shaded with a graphite pencil which Brenda showed us how to use.

Wahoo sweets managed to get one over here.

Thanks Brenda you were such a hunny bunny to both Pat and I when we were home … oh to be living in the UK again … sigh!!!!

This face is so sweet and innocent looking I love her to bits and you can buy her here from Nicecrane Designs.  First used her HERE behind a window die but left her plain.  On this tag I ripped the edges, crumpled her up very gently, aged and distressed her with inks.  Stamped the sentiment onto tissue paper and also the clock above her head.  More spiral roses, the first rose is one of the green ones … (only one more left) … which I used HERE and HERE but this time spritzed it with Dylusions Ink Spray – Squeezed orange.  You can also see she has a similar flower with a clock in the middle which I used on the original window card..  Raided my bit box again because I made six of them at the time but all with different colour middles … why make only one!!!!

I hope you have enjoyed seeing the last six tags which were all made when I was in my tissue paper mood.