Shabby Chic...or Vintage

I was really undecided what theme to chose for my design team project over at Tag Tuesday I like Shabby Chic, but I'm not really that good with the theme and I also love Vintage. So I decided to go with both,lol.

For my Shabby Chic tag I cut a large tag and spritzed it with pink ink, once dry I  very lightly stamped some script over the tag in brown ink.

I found the image of this gorgeous lady in my stash and just had to use her.

I added some fancy lace along the bottom edge,then added some fabric and over that I added some lovely beaded and sequined lace, taking it all around the image.

To finish I added a gorgeous flower and a bow.

For my Vintage tag, which I really hadn't intended to be male themed, it kind of just went that way when I was sorting through some stamps to use. The background on the tag was coloured using Distress Oxides inks.

The stamped train, ticket, gentleman and label were all from the same stamp set by Artistic Outpost.

The Tag challenge starts today and it would be great if you could come along and join us. You can go with Shabby Chic or Vintage..or both, it's up to you.

You can find us here at Tag Tuesday

White Christmas Tag

Design team member Joan chose the theme for the current Tag challenge over at Tag Tuesday and it's White Christmas.
So I am sharing another one of my tags.

I just love this tree stamp, I went over some of the branches with green pen..and added some frosting on the snow.
There is still time left to join in with our challenge.
You can find us here at Tag Tuesday

Last Challenge for 2019

It's hard to believe that we are almost at the end of 2019 and More Mixed Media have just launched their final challenge for this year.
As always it in anything mixed media, but with an optional colour twist. The colour this month is "White"
I have been busy making a selection of gift Tags and chose this one to showcase..I just love this stamp of the little people.

The tag itself I left white and rubber stamped the trees. I did add some glitter to the tree, but it doesn't really show up, so I cropped a section and darkened the photo to show the glitter is actually there...lol

I've also added a close up of the little people too...

Do pop over and join in with our challenge...there is a prize for our winner, also the chance to be in our Top 5 and a badges for your blog.

You can find us here at 

More Mixed Media

Another Cat.....

There is still time to enter the Tag Challenge over at Tag Tuesday  The theme is Cats...and I have got my second Cat tag to share you with.

I love this stamp of the girl and cat, the stamp is framed, so once I coloured the image I cut away the frame to leave image.

I then added the girl to the tag using foam pads.

Hope to see you over at Tag Tuesday...x

Tag Tuesday...Cats.

Hello from a very wet Devon in the UK. I don't mind most weathers, but I really dislike the rain and it seems it's going to be here all weekend. So maybe a good time for me to get a few crafting projects done for December...lol.
Over at Tag Tuesday, teamie Wendy has chosen her theme..Cats.
I love this cat stamp, it rarely gets used, so I am pleased with Wendy's theme.
I do have another stamp with a cat on it, so I may create another tag over the next few days.

All the background was created from scraps of G45 papers.

Do pop over and join us in our challenge, you can find us here at 

Tag Tuesday

Seeds & Plants Tag

It's silly o'clock here in the UK...well for me it is. I should be asleep at this time but I am off all my pain medication now I have my knee replacement. The draw back of that is the pain relief was taking the edge off my back pain and a bit off my fibromyalgia. So my knee is doing ok, but the rest of me isn't, my sleep pattern is so bad too.
Anyway on to my blog post...which I must admit I had forgotten to write up earlier this week after I made my Tag.
Over at Tag Tuesday teamie Michele has chosen the theme of Seeds & Plants.

I die cut my tag from some spare card that I had used spray inks on, sort of a mottled green and gray colours.

I found these fab vintage seed packet fronts, so I distressed the edges and adhered them to my tag. I added some hessian, lace and tied that with some muslin.

Over that I adhered the spray of flowers...finally flicking it with slightly watered down white paint, although that didn't show up to well on the tag itself.

There is still time to enter our challenge here at 

TAG TUESDAY

Re-purposed Box Canvas

November's Challenge has just launched over at More Mixed Media...as always anything goes, but with the option of a colour and this months colour is Black.
I wasn't quite sure what I was going to create for the design team, so after a rummage through my altered art tubs, I found an old box canvas.
It was never completed, hence being in one of the tubs...and the colour that I painted it with originally was a pearly shade of turquoise, whatever was I thinking,lol.
The good thing about the canvas was it already had textures on it and it was in perfect condition to create a project with.

I wish I had taken a photo of it in it's original state, but never thought about that until I had painted it twice with black acrylic paint.

Once the paint was dry I gave the front a few random coats of purple and blue metallic inks by Docrafts Artiste sprays. I then left the canvas to dry over night.

I left the sides of the canvas black.

I used one of the fancy hearts from Fernli Designs ( sadly they have stopped making their lovely MDF items now ). I gave the heart one coat of black paint and when it was completely dry I again used the Docrafts Artiste sprays to colour the heart, the center being blue and the hearts purple.

I adhered some sisal fibres to the canvas before adhering the heart and then added one of Tim Holtz relatives images.
Using a few of my stamps I created a sentiment on some cream card that I mounted on black card.

In this photo you can see some of the mesh/texture that I had used previously before discarding the canvas..so glad I didn't throw it in the bin.

Do please pop over to join in with our challenge, there is a prize on offer.

You can find us here at

More Mixed Media

Halloween Tag....

Just a quick post today, my Tag for Tag Tuesday 
It's Valerie's theme this time around, which is Anything Goes...and there is a prize on offer too.
As we are so near to Halloween I made my tag for that theme...

I started with a white tag and stamped the image..coloured the image with whisper pens.

I used Fossilised Amber distress ink to distress the edges, going as close as I could to the image...then I used Black Soot distress ink lightly around the edges again, not quite covering the previous colour.

The photos doesn't show the lovely sheen that I gave the tag with a dusting of gold powder.

Do pop over and join us in our challenge...we are here at 

TAG TUESDAY

The gorgeous colours of Autumn

This fortnights challenge over at Tag Tuesday has just launched...and I had the choice to chose a theme. I have chosen Autumn because I so enjoy the change in nature and all its wonderful colours, plus it's my most favourite time of the year.
I have created 2 tags for your inspiration...the first being a circular tag with a stamped image of the Harvest Maiden...a stunning wood mounted stamp that I have had for many years, she was just perfect to use for my Autumn theme.
I stamped the image and then using distress inks on my craft mat and adding a very tiny amount of water to each colour, I used a fine paint brush to add the colours to the image.
To finish the tag I distressed the edges with spiced marmalade distress ink and added the eyelet and ribbon.

My 2nd Tag was cut from some water colour card that was an off cut from something I had made ages ago, (I like to keep the scraps) I think I was playing with inks and sprays with the card at the time..anyway, the colours looked good for my Autumn themed tag.

I stamped the script first, then added some muslin that I grubbied up with burlap distress ink and added it to the bottom of the tag. 

The leaves are real that have been pressed and dried, no idea how long I have had them, they were very delicate to use, so my tweezers were essential.

I added the leaves and a flower to the tag and then added the eyelet...in my haste to catch the best light for a photo I forgot to add the ribbon tie...

Do please pop along and join in with our challenge...you can design your tag anyway you wish, so long as you use Autumn colours...

You can find us here at Tag Tuesday

Butterfly Tag

It's the 5th of the month,so time for another challenge over at More Mixed Media. There is the option of using the colour "orange"
My design team project this month is a Tag, the background was coloured using Oxide Inks, then spritzed with water and dabbed with kitchen roll, then dried with my heat tool.
Once completely dry I stamped the image, stamping the large butterfly on a spare piece of card to add as a 3d element.

I coloured the butterflies,flowers and leaves, then distressed the edge of the tag with spiced marmalade distress ink.
Finally I added the butterfly after I attached the orange wire antennae.
Do pop over and join us, there is a prize on offer for the winner of the challenge..hope to see you there...x

Tree Tag

I am still trying to get back in to the swing of things, craft wise..it's certainly taking me a while, it all takes time, but little and often right now is working ok for me.
Over at Tag Tuesday their current theme is Trees and the theme was chosen by design team member Joan.
I have several tree stamps, but this one is my favourite because it comes with such a lovely quote.
The tag was die cut from a piece of off cut card that had been used with oxide inks, the colours seemed to work really well for this design, so a very happy outcome for me.

The current challenge ends on 7th October so there is still time to enter the Tree challenge.

You can find us at Tag Tuesday.....hope to see you there..x

Apples, but no Pears.....

Oh my...teamie Wendy certainly had me thinking about her theme in the current challenge over at Tag Tuesday
I must have at the very least over a thousand stamps, but not one for Wendy's Apple & Pears theme...so the best I could do was find some images from an old book I picked up in a charity shop a  year or so ago, but sadly no images of pears.

I used a page of blackberry images for the background on my tag then swiped it over with some gesso, then lightly wiped that back with a baby wipe.
When it was dry I distressed the edge of the tag in green ink, then added the images of the apples and leaves.
I used some chalks to bring up a bit more colour on the apples and leaves, then with the white pearly chalk I brushed over the complete tag, sadly the photo really doesn't show the light shimmer.
Fingers crossed Wendy doesn't mind the missing pears...
Please do go and check out the challenge, you can find us here at
TAG TUESDAY.

My Purple Tag

I am gradually easing myself back in to my crafting again....and do you know, it really does take up a fair bit of time when you have been away from it for a while, trying to remember where different things are,lol.
Over at Tag Tuesday their current challenge is to use Purple..I do so enjoy making tags, so it's nice to be back in to the swing of things again.
Please do pop over for a look, teamie Michele chose the theme this time around...
Below is my Tag for the challenge...hope you like it.

You can find the challenge here at..... Tag Tuesday

More Mixed Media..with a colour option.

Hello Everyone...I am back crafting again. It's been a while, although I recovered relatively well after my knee replacement, my back let me down for a few weeks, so sitting,standing and even lying down hurt...and to be fair I had no interest in anything.
Finally I am feeling better and more settled and able to get back to my crafting.

So here we are, Septembers Challenge over at More Mixed Media...literally anything goes, but there is an option of a colour and this month the colour is Brown.
There is also a prize to be won, a wonderful selection of papers designed by our boss lady Lozzy...they really are lovely designs too.

All my Artist Trading Coins are quite thick as they are in MDF...with hindsight I think I should have made them from thick card as the MDF tends to leave the pockets slightly open when the album is open...I'll remember that for the next time,lol.

The Atc coins were coloured with distress inks, stamped and when completely dry I sprayed with a gloss spray which bought the colours up beautifully.

I added cellophane to the windows of each pocket, so a bit of a nuisance when taking the photos.

I created the 6 page Artist Trading Coin Album from a video by Teresa Collins on youtube.

So there you are, I hope you like my album...and I hope to see you over at our challenge this month over at....
                            More Mixed Media

Wings is the theme.

Whoop, whoop...it's my turn to bring you all this fortnight's challenge theme over at Tag Tuesday, and the theme is "Wings"
I love this theme because there is so much scope to be creative, from winged insects, fairies, angels, even prehistoric winged creatures.
Below are my two Tags...I hope they will be enough to inspire you to join in with the challenge.

For this tag I stamped the background over distress ink. The image was stamped several times, coloured, cut and then layered up over a lace butterfly.

For this tag I stamped the image on to the tag, then again several times on spare card. Also coloured and cut and layered up. I finished the tag by using distress ink around the edges.

So get your thinking caps on and go and create something gorgeous so I can visit and leave some love on your blogs.

You can find the challenge here at
TAG TUESDAY

Time for Tea

Here's my Tag for the challenge over at Tag Tuesday The theme is "Beverages" and it was Valerie's choice...a good one too, as it gave me a good excuse to use my tea cup and saucer stamp that I had free with a magazine many years ago.
Valerie's theme covers a wide selection of beverages, including alcoholic ones.
I covered my tag with some pretty vintage style backing papers.
I stamped the images on some scraps of backing paper an managed to get the design almost perfect on each cup.
The clock was also stamped on a scrap of backing paper and the sentiment was made using my alphabet stamps

 There is still time to enter the challenge..would love to see you there...
You can find us here at Tag Tuesday

Pretty Heart Plaque

June already, where does the time go.lol.
Over at More Mixed Media they have just launched this months challenge...always Mixed Media with an option of using a colour...and this month the colour is Purple.
For my deign team projects, I use a medium sized heart plaque.
First I covered it in white card, once the glue was dry I trimmed the edges. I then used distress inks to colour the background before adding the stamped images.
I found a Vellum Butterfly in my stash that matched perfectly, so I added the wire antennae before attaching the butterfly to the plaque.

I managed to find a little selection of matching flowers and made a corsage adding coiled green wire.

I attached that to the plaque using hot glue.

To finish I added the lilac string bow and flicked some lightly diluted white acrylic paint over the whole plaque.

Do pop over and check out the challenge, you can find it here at 

More Mixed Media

Mary.Mary

Every time I have used this gorgeous stamp, its brings the Mary,Mary,quite contrary nursery rhyme to mind and I end up singing it, it kind just stays in my head all day,lol
The Gardening theme over at Tag Tuesday was chosen by teamie Joan, a perfect excuse to bring out this delightful stamp again...

It would be great if you could pop over and join in with our challenge...you can find us here at
Tag Tuesday

Atcs & Display Frame

My 2nd design team project this year for Fernli Design is a set of 12 Artist Trading Cards with their display frame..all made from MDF.
Fernli Designs are in the process of changing their products at the moment, so this item is no longer available....but as it was part of my designer package I feel I should honour my commitment and use the products as promised.
So here it is....

Here I have lightly gessoed the atcs, just a quick wipe over, making sure not to go over the edges...then I covered each one in different backing papers from my stash.

I sorted through some of the Tim Holtz "Relatives" images that will be added to the Atcs.

Here I have used gilding wax in copper and gunmetal directly to the frame, then buffing up with a paper towel.

I stamped each of the Atcs to give them some background before adding the "Relative" images.

Here I have assembled the frame, each atc has been glued in place securely with Pinflair Book Glue, PVA would have been suitable, but I prefer the  book glue.

I have now added the "Relatives" images..I love these, so vintage, lol.

At this stage I set the frame aside as I just couldn't get any ideas of what else I could do to make it look so much more..I needed something to make it "pop"

Finally after a couple of weeks, I came up with the idea of the hearts and tulips, also Fernli Design products.

I used Sharpie pens to colour them, especially the tulips, as paint would clog the detail on the leaves and petals.

I also used Fernli Design scroll work shapes to add to the top of the frame, for this I used the same gilding wax as I did on the frame.

Finally it is complete...and I am delighted with it to be honest. I love the splash of red of the tulips and hearts...it was worth leaving it aside for a while until I decided how to finish it......

and it looks rather nice on my sideboard....

Thank you to all of you that drop by my blog...x

You can find Fernli Designs... HERE

Seaworld Tag

Just a quickie post from me tonight...I have been down with a virus and also have my daughter in hospital who has just been diagnosed with Sepsis..so a stressful time all round at the moment.
I made this tag for Wendy's theme, over at Tag Tuesday her theme is Seaworld.
I thought my stamp covered the theme quite well...and it is one of my favourites too.
I recycled a large circle tag by covering it with white card and shading it with distress inks.

On a piece of plain card I stamped the large shell from the same stamp and coloured it with water colour paints. Once it was dry I cut it out and adhered it to the tag.

I added a few coloured highlights to a couple of images on the tag.

Finally I punched a new hole to add the ribbon.

Do pop over and join us in our challenge...

You can find us here at

Tag Tuesday

Some one had to be the Princess....

More Mixed Media has just launched their challenge for May.
As always it'd mixed media with an optional twist...and the twist is "Pink"

I've had this board book hanging around in my craft room for ages, it's one of those things that got moved from one place to another, but never used. I think it was the shape that put me off...but then I had the idea to gesso all the pages and then paint them pale pink, using acrylic paint.

I painted all pages the same, then adding background using a selection of stamps, each page is slightly different.

I added the sentiment to the front page, also added the 2 girls from Tim Holtz "Relatives"

The crown was a charm that I removed the loop from, then using a piece of wood and some pressure I slightly flattened the crown so it would sit nicely on the cover.

To finish a selection of different ribbons and threads were tied to the book links.

Hope you can pop over during the next 4 weeks and join in with our challenge..there is a prize on offer, so well worth a visit..

You can find the challenge at

More Mixed Media

Faces

Do pop over to Tag Tuesday  and check out this fortnights challenge.
Teamie Michele has chosen a fab theme..Faces.
My Tag has oxide inks for the background colour...I then stamped over that with a collage stamp by Kaiserkraft.

These lovely ladies were from a free download that I have had for ages, not even sure where I got them from, but they were definitely free.
I cut them out and slightly overlapped them on the tag.
I felt the tag was lacking, so I added some more stamped images in black, these were from a set by Inkylicious.
You can find our challenge here at Tag Tuesday.

Anything Industrial

It's my turn to host this fortnights challenge over at Tag Tuesday...and my theme is Anything Industrial.
I like anything that relates to Industrial themes, for me it is a predominately male theme, so it's nice to throw something different in to the mix occasionally.
Think Steampunk,Railways,Buildings,Machines etc.
I do hope my tags will inspire you enough to pop over and join in with our challenge.

My 2nd tag was inspired by the iconic photo of the workers sat high up on the steel girders of a skyscraper many moons ago in the USA.

I was so pleased to be able to use the "row of men" stamp, I've had it for ages,but I never used it until now.

Hope to see you at Tag Tuesday....x

Birds & Nests

Just dropping in to share my Tag for Tag Tuesday's Challenge.
The theme was chosen by blog owner Valerie, you must pop over and check out her fab tags.
I'm really late adding my tag this fortnight, life gets in the way of crafting sometimes doesn't it..still as they say, better late than never...lol.

I started with a white die cut tag, that I distressed with inks, then stamped the image. I shaded it with pens and added the word, which is a rub on.

To finish I added a few gems.

Do pop out if you can and join us HERE

Pretty Yellow.....

Time again for another fab challenge over at More Mixed Media....as always there is an option with the challenge and this time the option is Yellow.
To be fair, it's one of my favourite colours, but I never seem to craft well using it.lol.

My background for this tag was created using oxide inks and then I built up the background using a script and dot stamps.

I added a yellow bird stamp, some bunting and flowers..maybe the flowers are a bit much, looking now I wish I had used smaller flowers. I inked and stamped over a die cut butterfly and added a filigree brass one over the top adding a pearl for decor. The cord is a kind of shiny pale green, I thought it looked nice under the flowers.

Do pop over and join in with our challenge...there are some fab digi papers to be won, as well as a badge for your blog...

You can find us HERE

Rabbits or Hares....

The choice is yours..this is the theme for this fortnights tag challenge. It was chosen by Wilma, who sadly will leaving us and this will be her last Dt challenge over at Tag Tuesday
You know that having so many stamps can be a pain, I know I have some  hare and rabbit stamps, could I find them..no I couldn't.

In the end I used my Peter Rabbit stamp, it's never been used, I picked it up in a sale somewhere, along with another stamp of Jemima Puddleduck.
Peter with his blue jacket that I painted, along with the mushroom/toadstools, also another sale stamp  that I used for the background, finally adding some bunting.
Please do pop over and join in with our challenge...you can find us below by clicking on the link
Tag Tuesday