Tag book for Out of a Hat Creations

Well almost. It's not exactly a tag book although it could be!! I had a long overdue couple of hours crafting with my sister yesterday and she had a template for an exploding tag she wanted to try out, so we both had a go. I have to say she gave up, no staying power some people. My mum had a go as well but I think the least said about that the better. Let's just say there were no instructions and by the end we had three variations on where to stick the exploding bit.....

Because it was a try out, I was being a bit mean - the papers are from a Theresa Collins Fabrications set but the paper I used on the outside was just the bit that comes with the packaging to show you the papers - far too good to waste!! The flowers were punched from it as well.

I used a lovely yellow sheet for the inside and added a bit of fussy cutting and stamping and a cardstock sticker. A simple little thing, it would be quite nice if a few of them were stuck together as a book which I  might have done if I had seen the challenge earlier. Anyhow, squeaking in with my almost-a-tag-book project. I'm sure the girls won't mind!!

Footnote: I have to say it was dashed hard getting that last photo to upload where I wanted it! Hope there aren't more blogger probs on the horizon!

Hearts and Swirls

is the current challenge at Out of A hat Creations.

OOOH yes. I thought, I could make a little heart for my friend's birthday, she loves them. So I dug out a papier mache heart and painted it pink. Then stopped and couldn't think what else to do.
For like three days.

Dug around for some woodware chippie swirls and found one that had already been embossed and painted. Liked the look of the two together and brought them closer with some frantage, stamping and metallic rub ons. Needed something else and luckily my new Spellbinders Media Mixage Heart die arrived so I cut out another chipboard shape, inked, stamped 'friendship' and triple embossed.
Me likey.
(Took much longer thinking what to do than doing, as is so often the case).

Me not likey the photo as much, it's better IRL honest. And I'm sorry about the stamp you can see which I had propping it up. Ooops.
But I am not about to do it again as blogger has had another wobble and now won't recognise the one folder where all my art stuff is. So I have had to figure out another way to get pictures uploaded. Grrrrrrrr. I strongly suspect it is because my windows software seemed to upgrade itself today .... oh why do they have to keep changing things? It's only when they 'improve' things that everything goes wrong!!! Off to watch telly!!

(Just noticed it's pink and blueish again - getting stuck in a rut!!)

Travel at Out of a Hat Challenge...

I seem to have taken my eye off the ball at the weekend and nothing got uploaded so now I have a backlog of bits to post. Not a problem unless they are for challenges that are about to close like this one at Out of a Hat!!

The theme is 'Travel and Suitcases' so I hope this vintage ' Bon Voyage' card fits the bill although I'm not quite sure who I would ever give it to! Good excuse to use the stamp again though. I was sure I had a suitcase stamp but this briefcase and trunk were the closest I could get. I think a trunk is more appropriate though don't you?

Back soon!!



 

Out of A Hat - squeaking in....

A REALLY quick card because as usual I left it till the last minute - I'm really not that good with weekly challenges!!

Current Challenge at Out of a Hat is 'Most Useful Stamp'. Well it's not very exciting but I could really only choose this tiny text stamp from My Mind's Eye. It sits permanently on the corner of my desk on its own acrylic block, is used all the time (there is a laziness factor in here I do admit) and seems fairly indestructible. Being acrylic it is also useful for taking off the block, squishing up and random stamping - technical ain't I? I have no idea what it says or what language it is supposed to be, Elvish for all I know.

Funny enough the second most useful stamp is the little swirl that came in the same set and lives by its side. Who knew, I now realise I only had to buy one stamp set after all!! Could have saved myself a fortune.

Anyhow here's a little project using it as a background stamp. Not that inspiring but it was quick!!

The main image is from a Wendy Vecchi set and while getting it out I found a completely uninked Studio 490 set that I bought in the sales. Perhaps a challenge to get out your least (or try NEVER) used stamps would be more useful - but which one would I choose??



(YAY!! Blogger picture browser is back!! Just a note in case you have been struggling with HTML like me, it's time to try again)

 
 

Tres Chique....

I was restless when I got in from work today, another late finish for me. After faffing around for a while I realised that what I wanted to do was play with my new stamps the 'Antique Dress Forms' set from Creative Expressions. After doing Sir Tim's May tag I was feeling deprived that I didn't have any dress form stamps (apart from my steampunky Kanban one.....oops) and I've liked these ones for a while - who am I kidding, any excuse to go shopping!!

So I whipped up a quick tag which I'm quite pleased with even though I didn't stamp the forms quite where I originally intended. Oh well I can always try it again!! I must say these stamps came out beautifully right from the word go. I made a quick scrunchy flower because it was already getting quite late, and finished it off with a couple of die cuts and some ribbon. I spent half an hour looking for a suitable piece until I caved and just coloured a bit of vintage seam binding to match. I really don't know why I have so much ribbon, I never seem to find a use for any of it and its an absolute nightmare to store. Added a little bit of clear rock candy for some texture (probably still wet in the photo LOL).

I added a little button to the centre of my flower threaded with baker's twine (which I am still in love with). Little tip - after getting rather frustrated trying to get the twine through the holes in my button I hit on the idea of binding the end with sellotape - a bit like the end of a shoelace. Worked like a dream. (I may of course be the only person on the planet who didn't know that already).

So because this tag has a button I am able to enter it in to the current 'Out of a Hat Creations' Challenge. So typical of me, I have a million things I should be doing and make something for the challenge with the furthest away deadline!!

Anyhow that's it for now, feel better now I've actually made something but need to go and get some zzzs, work again tomorrow.

Cindy x