Shabby Chic' Tags

 On AFTCM we did a swap in September with the theme Shabby Chic' with a clay embellishment.

For the first tag I stamped a Hero Arts harlequin stamp on white cardstock with white pigment ink. I coloured over it with Clearsnap Shabby Chic' pigment inks in 3 different colours using a stylus and foam tip.

I punched some flower shapes from scrapbook paper with text on it and glued them together. I added some air dried clay circles to the centres, which I had stamped texture on and coloured with Mica Magic inks.

I outlined the edges with a coordinating coloured marker and attached lace to left-hand side and fibres to the top.

On the second tag I stamped a Penny Black floral stamp in white pigment ink and embossed it with white embossing powder. I coloured over it with the Shabby Chic pigment inks. 

I added a piece of a doily at the bottom and some text scrapbook paper on the right, and coloured them with the pigment inks. I added a string of pearls and some lace. 

I applied some Vintage Photo distress ink around the edges of the tag to add some depth.

The air dried clay piece was coloured with distress paint and attached near the bottom.

Due to a slight mix up on the group, I sent the tags to the wrong person so I made two more tags for the correct partner. 

On the first of the new tags, I coloured the tag with the Shabby Chic pigment inks the Stamp Smoosh technique, and a colorbox stylus and foam tip. 

I stamped the image by Rubber Stampede in Rangers Black archival ink.

Took some Tim Holtz tissue tape, coloured it with the pigment inks and attached it on the lower portion of the tag and added lace above and below it. I glued the clay flower in place with some glue.

I coloured scraps of white cardstock with the pigment inks and punched out a small circle, then punched a hole in the centre. Stamped over this with a text stamp and Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I placed this over the hole at the top of the tag as a reinforcement.

The second tag may actually look more vintage than Shabby Chic, so hope my partner will like it anyway.

I coloured the white tag with the Shabby Chic pigment inks, sandwiched it between two pieces of newsprint to heat set it. Stamped around the tag with a clear Magenta stamp.

I coloured a piece of white lace with Lavendar fluid chalk ink, heat set it the same way as the tag and attached it at the bottom.

I die cut a Memory Box Palace Oval frame, covered it with clear embossing ink and embossed it with Silver embossing powder, added some clear UTEE and let it cool. I went over it with some black acrylic paint then wiped it off.

I printed an image from Elizabeth's blog  and die cut it using the same die. I inserted the picture in the middle of the die-cut and attached it to the tag.

I glued a piece of velvet ribbon over the lace, attached some pearls and the clay piece which I adorned with some little gems. Must admit that the more I look at my "clay piece", I am thinking it might be a UTEE piece, so if it is hope my partner doesn't mind the substitution!!

Clay Charms

On AFTCM we are doing a monthly charm swap and for April the charms were to be stamped clay and two were to be sent to our partner.

I couldn't decide what I wanted to do so I made four charms. After conditioning my clay I stamped some images into it then coloured them with various mediums.

 The charm on the left is done with copper paint, a small circular embellishment added and a flower gem. The Green one is done with Mica Magic inks. The blue one was coloured with pearlex and gems added to the butterfly body. The little maple leaf one is air-dryed clay and was coloured with markers and watercolour paints, then painted with some clay sealer.

Only two of the charms were sent to a partner.

A card for a special friend

A dear friend of mine who has been widowed for a number of  years is getting married this month, and I decided to make a wedding card for her and her groom.

I first stamped the couple (Inkadinkado)  and coloured it with Lyra colour pencils. I made a mask and covered the stamped image with it, the did the background.

The background was done with Fluid Chalk inks, then I stamped Mica Magic Yellow Gold with a heart stamp in various areas.

I just bought a gorgeous flourish stamp by Hero Arts, and decided to use it on the card. I left the mask in place on the cardstock and stamped the flourish with Pigment Goldrush ink and embossed it with Ancient Gold Embossing powder. After heat setting, I removed the mask.

I played around with various ideas to put at the top left corner to finish the card. I tried various stamps using my stamp positioner to see how they would look, but did not like any of them. I finally decided on using die cut letters, (cut out 3 times and glued togehter to make them thicker) to spell out LOVE. Again, I fiddled with various mediums on them, and finally settled on embossing them with the same Ancient Gold embossing powder.

I edged the card front with a marker and adhered the panel to a card base in a mustard yellow colour.

Calendar Pages-Prototype #2

I was back in my craft room last night and still not sure about the first prototype that I made, so I started playing around with an another idea, part of it being inspired by Cathie Allan's article in the October issue of Scrap and Stamp Arts.

I decided to make a page that would reflect a little bit about Remembrance Day (Veteran's Day in the US) and did the stamp smoosh technique again using blue tones at the top for the sky and red, creamy brown and yellow at the bottom.

I printed the poem In Flanders Fields written by John McRae, a Canadian Doctor who served in WW1, and placed it on a piece of red card stock.  I stamped the birds (Tim Holtz) on the "sky" portion to represent the larks mentioned in the poem.

I have a lovely Poppy stamp (Embossing Arts) and thought I would use it. I started with a piece of white cardstock and used the "smack down" technique from Cathie's article using a large and small tulip stamp by Magenta Style and gold pigment ink and Mica Magic burnt orange.

I placed the cardstock in the Cathie Allan Postion-it and stamped the poppy head in Blackbird fluid chalk. I coloured it in with some of the burnt orange ink and the tip of a smooch ink applicator. I highlighted with gold lame smooch ink, did the centre with mollasses smooch ink, then added siren smooch ink over the entire piece. With the cardstock still in the positioner I stamped the image again with the blackbird fluid chalk ink.  I did three of these and cut them out.

I took a piece of white cardstock and cut it to look like a cross and added a little red punch flower to it, and placed it on top of the poppies. This again has all the images taped on it as I am still debating about what to do for this swap.

Any comments or critique appreciated. Let me know which one you like best if you were the recipient of this calendar page since I am still torn as to which way to go with the pages. 

Witches Hour Torso Tags

I just joined a new group Art for the Creative Mind and have already signed up for a couple of swaps. One of the swaps is where we make two torso shaped tags with the theme Witches Hour i.e. Halloween.

The first one I coloured with Clearsnap fluid chalk inks but it was not intense enough, so I spritzed the top and bottom with Glimmer Mists and went over the centre with some Mica Magic Burnt Orange ink. I stamped the Stampscapes Crooked Limb stamp with the Smokey Gray Versafine ink pad, then I added the images and saying from Vintage Paint Works which were one of the free downloads on their site.

To complete the tag, I added some little confetti stars at the top and some maple leaf punchies at the centre and bottom.

For the second tag, I started by punching out a circle and placing the negative part on the tag, and colored it with some yellow pigment ink then some silver over a portion of it, then added some iridescent violet mica watercolour paint over the same area.

I masked the circle with the punched out piece and using the tonal applicator stamp (Stampscapes), I added colour, starting with Clearsnap's Vivid yellow along the centre up to the top, then Marvy Matchables inks in Salvia Blue, Blue, Pale Violet and Green.

I stamped a Stampscapes fir tree, crooked limb stamp and a cloud stamp with Clearsnap's Coal Black Ancient Page. The Owl image is from Vintage Paint Works. The remaining images are from Dover Publications; (You can sign up and receive free samples each week from them by following the link).

Although I don't normally make any Halloween art, I did enjoy making these two tags.

Fabric Paper Postcard

The second swap in Stitches Coven is to make a postcard using homemade fabric or fabric paper. I chose to use the fabric paper. The paper was made by using a Jaycloth as the bottom layer, then placed pieces of gift wrap over it with watered down white school glue. Then I added some tissue paper that I had previously coloured over the top. Normally the tissue is plain white and the colours added afterwards.

I cut the paper to 4"X6" for the postcard size then cut additional strips, and punched out three circles.I attached paper flowers and beads to the circles with invisible thread. I took the two strips and stamped them with some Mica Magic inkpads to add a wee bit of contrast.

I added some batting to the 4"X6" piece and stitched it in squares on my sewing machine. I then took the two strips and attached some ribbon behind and sewed the pieces to the ribbon. I attached the strips to the postcard with some Wonder-Under making sure the ends were tucked in well. I then sewed the little circle flowers to the postcard.

I cut a piece of fabric the same size as the postcard and attached it to the back with Wonder-Under and then sewed around the whole piece with my tiny serger.

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D is for

We are continuing on with the Alphabet series and this time it is D. I chose distressing ink, dimension, dictionary words and Dream as my theme.

Lacking for any better ideas I decided on making a notebook. I started with the front cover and took a piece of cardstock and did direct-to-paper with the colorbox stylus and distress inks. I then stamped the image from Third Coast Rubber Stamps with Versafine inks. I masked it and stamped the wings (Tim Holtz) first with Brilliance sky blue then overstamped with Mica Magic gold. I left the mask in place and stamped the Dream background stamp with versafine ink.

I stamped a stars with gold mica magic. I had stamped a word stamp at the top left but did not like the effect so took some sequin waste and gold paint to cover it.

The word dream is done with chipboard letters from the dollar store embossed,  some stamped into while hot and one is covered with silver tape that I embossed in my Cuttlebug and coloured wih alcohol ink.

For the inside cover I took another piece of cardstock and covered it with dictionary words and covered it with an acrylic paint wash and edged the sides with copper acrylic paint. I  then added stamped images (Tim Holtz) and the quote stamp (Quietfire Designs). The little girl image is a piece I had in my stash for years, and it was from a magazine ad for collectors plates.

The back is just covered with some scrapbook paper that looks a bit aged and distressed.

April Charm

I decided to use some thing from my stash for the CCSwaps April charm.

I started with some metal tags and covered both sides with some old book page pieces and coloured it with distress inks. I added some gem pieces then covered the piece with Glossy Accents.

Unfotunately the piece did not scan well and it looks like there are a bunch of air bubbles, but it is not at all like that in "real life". It is actually smooth with some colour depth around the maple leaf gem.

I was not really happy with this one so I decided to do something different. I took some clay, conditioned it then stamped into it with a text stamp, then hit the highlights with some Mica Magic Gold ink.  I took a little flower embellishment and coloured it with Cranbberry Alcohol ink, and added a little pearl on a wire in the background.  Much happier with this one and it will be making it's way to my swap partner next week.

Dream Destination - Africa

For this month on CCSwaps the dream destination is Africa.

I used some leaf stamps for my background as they were the only thing I had to simulate the type of background I had in mind. I used Clearsnap fluid chalks in bisque, tangerine and Burnt Seinna on two pages and on the others I added dark moss.

I stamped the image from Coronado Island on a kraft coloured piece of card stock and cut it out. I added the frame then attached the image in the centre. The words are from a large Sandi Miller Art stamp that I cut out after I stamped them. I took some chip board letters from the dollar store and coloured them and stamped over them and attached them with Sookwang tape.

The inside images are from a UK site and the words are from the same Sandi Miller background stamp.

To attach the two pages together I cut two pieces of cardstock that I had coloured and stamped, scored them and attached them with double-sided foam tapes. It then added a couple of little faux rivets that I made from clay and coloured with Mica Magic ink.

The back piece is a picture framed with a slide mount which I covered with some scapbook paper, then stamped a PSX Pixie Expressions stamp around it.

My Favourite Stamp

Another swap I chose to join in CCSwaps was making something with a favourite stamp.

Well, that was a hard choice as I have quite a few favourites. I chose to use one image and one word stamp that are both favourites.

I placed a piece of  handmade mono-printed background paper in my stamp positioner and stamped the image using Clearsnap Ancient Page Coal, which is a permanent dye ink. I then coloured the image using Tsukineko  Brilliance Gamma Green, Ranger Archival Tangerine and  Clearsnap Ancient Page Primrose inks using Ranger Cut n' dry Nibs.

With the piece still in the stamp positioner I stamped it again with the Ancient Page Coal. It still needed more depth, so I stamped it again with Clearsnap Mica Magic Burnt Orange.

I then edged this with a crayola metallic marker. I stamped the "Believe" word and embossed it with copper, and cut around it. Both were attached to the front and I added a couple of extra strips of the mono-printed paper.

I took some printer paper and made a background using Cathie Allan's stamp smoosh technique with 3 fluid chalk colours. I attached this to two pieces of cardboard and punched the holes and bound it with the Zutter Bind-it-all .

I attached some ribbon around the back and inserted a Phone Message pad inside which I got on sale at Michaels.

Metal ATC's

On DCI  we are doing a swap to exchage ATC's using Metal or Faux Metal.

I choose to use some embossing metal for the base of my ATC's. I cut the metal a bit larger then attached it to some 130LB cardstock cut to ATC size and embossed it with the numbers Cuttlebug embossing folder.

I punched some holes in the corners and added little button brads.

I decided to use some chipboard letters and also embossed them in the cuttlebug then did the Faux Patina technique from Julia Andrus' book Paper Transformed. I then printed off a free image from Elizabeth's blog and attached it to some cardstock to give it more body.

I attached the little girl then added the letters to look like she is holding on to them. For the letters, I chose to individualize them by using the initials of each person who is participating in the swap.

Finally I coloured a piece of cardstock with Mica Magic ink and stamped a saying on it an attached it to the top with double-sided foam tape.

Embellishment Swap

I recently joined a new group and we are having a "bellie" (embellishment) swap which is being hosted by my friend Carol We had to make 8 ATC's using our embellishment and an extra embellishments for each player.


I made some little dragonflies as my embellishment using 130 LB cardstock scraps. I started by punching out three then glued them together using Pioneer glue.

I used an embossing pen on the centre and added some glitter embossing powder and embossed it. I did the same with each side of the wings, using a different colour of embossing powder. These pictures are done with pearl embossing powder as an example.

This is the finished ATC which was done using Mica Magic and Fluid Chalk inks. The image was coloured with Tombo pens. The vellum "saying" is attached with Sookwang tape. For the dragonfly I used Judkins Forest and Fuschia Twinkle embossing powders.

Quote of the Month - January and February

I am participating in a swap on CCswaps where we create a piece of art using a quote for that month, which must be displayed somewhere on the art. The quote is: "Great art picks up where nature ends."

For January I used a piece of cardstock and did the Stamp Smooshie technique (you use your stamp as an applicator and smoosh the ink around on the paper-usually 3 different tones of the same colour ink). I then added some mica magic ink over it. I stamped the Safflower Script stamp (Stampington) on a piece of acetate with Stazon black ink and attached it with vellum tape.

I had a piece of cardstock on which I had rubbed off some Mica Magic ink while doing some stamping and liked the look of it, so I chose that to stamp the Magenta butterfly image on and attached it to the middle of the acetate.

I mounted the piece on another piece of Mica Magic coloured background. The final touch was to add the maple leaf brads and the quotes. This is now at it's new home with Maggi.

The February quote is: "Feet what do I need thee for when I have wings to fly." I decided on an altered book board. I used some techniques from Kelly Rae Roberts book Taking Flight. I am really pleased with the book as it has great inspiration and some step-by-step instructions and not just a bunch of "pretty pictures".

The background is similar to one that I learned in an Altered Diva class, where you paint gesso on the substrate, add one coat of paint. let it dry then add another coat and while wet spray it with water, let it sit for a bit then dab it with a cloth. The little circles in white were made by dipping the end of an adding machine roll holder thingy in paint and stamping on the book board.

The body was a stamp (PSX) of a seamstress mannequin which I stamped into polymer clay and baked. When it was ready I rubbed it with a wash of brown acrylic paint, then painted the flowers, heart and ribbon and body with acrylic paint and brushed some Pearlex and Perfect Pearls over the top.

When it dried I coated it with Poly Glaze, then when that set I rubbed some "Goldfinger rub-on paste over it and glued on the gems.

The head is an image from a magazine advert which I cut down and glued into a flattened bottle cap and filled with Glossy Accents. The gold wings were left over from when I was making some Christmas Angels years ago; cut in the middle to reduce the bulk and glued behind the body and added some gold Stickles to enhance them a bit. The seagull was a found item in my stash. This will be going to it's new home at the end of February when the partners list is announced.

Next Generation Art Lottery

I think I mentioned in a previous post that there is a Art Lottery in NGS. I was the lucky winner last month, so fairies have been landing in my mail box off and on!!

As the winner, I got to choose the theme for August and I chose women. I have created a piece for the lottery and will be sending it out when the next winner is chosen.

I started off by painting a piece of 130LB cardstock using the technique I learned in the Altered Diva workshop. I stamped some word in Ancient Page black. I edged the piece with Mica Magic purple using a Colorbox stylus and black tip.

I went through my stash of paper and found some black embossed cardstock. I rubbed some Colorbox Mica Yellow Gold ink over it, then added Purple Mica ink. I attached this using 3M 465 double-sided tape.

I then added the puzzle piece that I had made long ago, and finished the piece off by adding some photo corners.

Mica Swap

Another swap I am in is to use some form of Mica on an Art piece, i.e. create an item using any mica product (tiles/sheets, flakes, or powder). The item could be a card, ATC, bookmark, booklet, canvas, tip-in. etc.


I had a book board which I had painted with acrylics and pearlex, but did not make any effort to use it, so out it came for this project. I added some green mica magic ink on the one side, painted the edges a dark colour to add some dimension. I stamped some word stamps with gold acrylic paint and Brilliance silver ink. I then stamped the quote onto Fibremark paper with gold pigment ink and embossed with gold embossing powder.


I did some die cuts on my cuttlebug out of green cardstock and added gold Mica Magic over them and attached them in the corners. I stamped & embossed the sun image on the Mica Tile. I glued the eye image to the board then attached the Mica Tile with glossy accents and added the little rivets to finish it off.



My inspiration for this piece was the quote stamp which I purchased yesterday.

Domino Swap

Sweetpea is hosting a Domino/game piece swap over on CC Swaps. I debated about joining, then I remembered that I had some dominoes which I had prepared a while ago, but had never done anything with them.

The top left is coloured with Brilliance ink and stamped with Ancient Page. 

Top middle: done with a bit of dye ink rubbed on and dried then stamped the Hearts in Touch (HIT) image with Memories ink.

Top right: Alcohol inks dabbed on, then stamped with Mica Magic Pearl ink.

Middle left: painted with copper paint pen, stamped with HIT image with Stazon black ink.

Bottom row: Stamped the houses with Stazon and coloured them with Sharpies. When dry, I put a coat of varnish over it.

Middle was painted with Lumiere paint, stamped the image "Lady with Pearl Earring" and covered it with transparency and glued it to the domino. I then stamped and embossed the Magenta image on the top with Platinum ink & EP, and added the little charm.

The Thistle: background is Brilliance inks; stamped the image with Memeories ink, and colored it with sharpies.

Of course, the final piece (the little hand) is not a game piece; it is a Style Stone which I coloured with Mica Magic inks.

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Printed Pages ATC's

I signed up for a swap where we are to use printed paper on our ATC's.

I chose the Ads from the newspaper for my background and painted them with some Mica watercolours. I then rubbed some Brilliance ink on cardstock and stamped my images with Versafine.


I had one extra piece of cardstock with the printed paper left so decided to play around some more and here is what I came up with. This one was rubbed with Mica Magic and Distress inks, then I put some transfer foil around the edges. The image was stamped with Colorbox Fluid Chalks.

Catching Up

I had a few swaps to complete, so took the time to get them done while Hubby was not around to bug me. Each year I participate in a Calendar swap and this year I chose February. Rather than go with the traditional hearts and flowers, I decided to use a background stamp with a vintage couple and some Ivy. The centre panel was done with Adirondack sprays.

I also had a couple of Artist Trading Cards to complete. One is for an alphabet swap, so I decided to use some feathers that my hubby found in the garden, for the letter F. The background is from a sheet of cardstock with Adirondack sprays and stamped off Opalite and Dr PH Martin inks.

The second ATC background is a candy wrapper glued to the cardstock rubbed with Mica Magic inks and rub-ons. The image is coloured with chalks and edged with leafing.

Pictures of the projects are in later posts.