Give an inch!

I've finally managed to make something for a challenge for the first time in a few weeks, albeit a small one! This inchy is for the last challenge of the year by Inchybyinch on the theme of gifts.

Merry Christmas

to everyone! Sorry I haven't posted anything for a few weeks - this is partly because I have been very busy making Christmas cards, but also because I was struck down with laryngitis! But I just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy and creative New Year!

Snowman Skinny

Made for the My Time to Craft challenge this week, not to mention a Christmas skinny swap I am involved in. For the background here I tried out a technique that I saw on Sue Roddis's blog - run mirror card through an embossing folder and then add colour with StayzOn inks. The large snowflake is part of a pack I bought in USA when I was on holiday there in September. They are supposed to be strung together to made a garland decoration, but I thought they would look better on some of my Christmas cards this year!

Music inchy

Yes, music is the theme this week on the Inchybyinch blog. I've made a very simple one - stamped the music background onto card and then added the gold charm.

Tic Toc Tag

Tag You're It! theme this week is 'Tic Toc' and I think I have almost managed to use only Tim Holtz products on this tag! Materials include Distress Inks applied with a TH blending tool, TH stamps, TH Ideologies sprocket, and one of the new TH masks.

Paris Moo

Paris is the theme this week on Make a Moo or Two blog and here is my effort. I have used some scrapbooking paper for the background which conveniently has a street map of Paris, and added a little stamping and embossing, plus some black lace.

Let it snow

Even though I do NOT like the real cold white stuff, I LOVE snowflake designs on paper, stamps, punches, brads... you name it, I've probably got it! So it was a pleasure to make this card for
Craft Swap Forum's Anything Goes Challenge on the theme of snow. For the background I've used some gorgeous shimmery paper called Snowflake Flurry by The Paper Company; the text stamp is by Stampendous; and the snowflake on the white circle is one of Anita's Dimensions stickers. There are two circles fixed together with a brad, and the top one swings upwards to reveal the greeting underneath.

Halloween Inchies

Made for this week's challenge by Inchybyinch . Be afraid, be very afraid!

Christmas Tree Tag

This week's challenge by Tag You're It! is to include a Christmas tree on your tag - well I've used two, but who's counting! I've gone back to my favourite stamping for this tag - the Christmas tree stamp is by DeNami and the bird on a branch is by Inkadinkado.

Tone-in-tone Moo...

... made for the Make a Moo or Two challenge this week. I've used stamps by Paper Artsy (girl) and Inkadinkado (owl).

Autumn Leaves

I'm in love with the Versamark pen! I've just bought one of these and thought I would try it out on this inchy for the Inchybyinch challenge this week - Autumn Leaves. This was so simple to make - I used a black and white line drawing snipped from an old book, coloured the leaves and acorns with marker pens, went over them with the Versamark pen and embossed with clear ep. Then I sponged some Distress inks over the background to add a little colour. I was pleased with the result - the leaves are lovely and glossy and raised up from the surface. Why have I never bought one of these pens before!??

Pink ribbons

I have combined two challenges again this week - the Tag You're It! challenge is to use pink, brown and green, and the Anything Goes challenge on Craft Swap Forum is Pink Ribbons - to celebrate the fact that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I just happened to come across these pink ribbon tea-bag tiles - perfect for the theme!

Best foot forward

A moo made for this week's Make a Moo or Two challenge: ARROWS. The stamp is by Paperbag Studios.

Autumn ATC

Another ATC on the Autumn theme - this time by Florrie's ATC Challenge on Craft Swap Forum - and the full theme is Autumn... season of fruitfulness. I made this by stamping & colouring the pear and leaves and then embossing with clear ep. Then I sponged Distress Ink over the background and stamped the leaf a few more times with the same ink - Aged Mahogany.

Time for a story

This twinchy is my entry for the Small world of inchies challenge which this week is TIME.

The sun has got its hat on...

An inchy for the Inchybyinch challenge this week on the theme of the sun.

Dance ATC

Having just made a Moo on the theme of dance, I decided to make this ATC for Florrie's Weekly Challenge on Craft Swap Forum where the theme is 'Be Bold'! I've only recently bought this Time to Stamp plate called Dance - and you know what it's like with a new stamp... you can't wait to try it out. But I thought it was a good image for the theme. The background was made by sponging dye inks onto the card, using a piece of torn paper as a mask.

Dance Moo

And here is my Moo for the Make a Moo or Two challenge, DANCE.

Autumn Tag

Made for two challenges: the Tag You're It! and Anything Goes on Craft Swap Forum - both themes were Autumn of course! I have used Crackle Paint and Distress Ink on the background, before stamping with a leaf stamp, and the letter 'A' is clear acetate coloured with alcohol inks.

Dans ma maison...

...there is a woman. A little house made for the Dans ma maison... challenge, also for the Wednesday Stamper challenge this week which is 'Brown Combo' - to use brown with other colours. I decided to use yellow and a touch of gold here. The picture of the woman is from art-e-zine.

It's raining again!

It is raining here at the moment and on this Inchy - for the Inchybyinch challenge RAIN. I have added some tiny drops of Glossy Accents on the umbrella, to look like rain drops, but sadly they don't show very well in the scan.

An ATC with more leaves...

... this time for Florrie's weekly challenge on Craftswap Forum. I have stamped the background and the leaves with Versamark ink and then coloured with chalks. The quote is a Rhonna Farrer rub-on.

Altered flowers tag

Here is my tag made for the Tag You're It! challenge which required us to use an 'altered' fabric flower. I've used a piece of grungeboard for the base of the tag, inking it up with Distress Inks and then spraying with Glimmer Mist. I've used two silk flowers - one was covered with gold Krylon pen and the other was stamped with a text stamp and StayzOn ink.

Clock Moo

Made for the Make a Moo or Two challenge this week on the theme of clocks.

Vintage house with leaves

I made this house for the Dans ma maison... challenge: VINTAGE. But having put the leaves on the front, I thought it would serve for the My Time to Craft challenge of trees and leaves as well!

Fall Twinchy

Made for the Small world of inchies challenge this week - another Autumn theme!

Twinkle, twinkle...

... little inchy! Made for the Inchybyinch challenge: STAR.

Sketch Tag

This week's challenge on Tag You're It! is to create a tag following the sketch above .... so here is mine.

Wings Moo

Here is my entry for the Make a Moo or Two challenge this week on the theme of WINGS.

This is my friend Jan (right) and me (left) standing in front of a magnificent Victorian carousel at the House on the Rock, Spring Green, Wisconsin.

Como Park Zoo, St Paul.

Capitol Building, St Paul, Minnesota.

More of Michigan

From top to bottom:
Colonial Michimilimac - a reconstructed fort and fur trading post at Mackinaw City.
Macinac Island - a beautiful island on Lake Huron where motor vehicles are banned. Only bicycles and horses allowed.
Tahquamenon Falls

Henry Ford Museum

Greenfield Village, Michigan. We had a wonderful day here - so much to do and see! The bus in the second photo is the one in which Rosa Parks was riding in December 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama when she refused to give up her seat to a white passenger, thus sparking off the Montgomery Bus Boycott. We were able to go inside the bus and I sat in THE seat!! Rosa Parks has become such an well known icon of the civil rights movement, and her story is so well known, that it really gave me a 'shivery' feeling to be sitting there.

Holiday snaps...

... courtesy of my friend Jan who took her digital camera, I thought I'd share a few photos of my recent holiday. The bottom two were both taken in Chicago - the first one in Millenium Park and the second from Navy Pier. The pic at top is Amish Acres, Indiana.

An ATC: Special and Blue!

I've made this ATC for two challenges - firstly for Florrie's ATC Challenge on Craft Swap Forum and also for the My Time to Craft challenge this week. The MTTC theme is to use only blue (plus a bit of white) and the CSF theme is 'Something Special' - to use a stamp, materials or techniques special to you. I certainly had some special inspiration for this piece from the excellent tutorial by Dan on ink blending, and I was dying to try out my new Tim Holtz ink blenders bought at Archiver's during my holiday. I used three different shades of blue Distress Inks for the background, and then spattered on some water drops (having masked off the circle for the moon first). The stamp of the seagulls was bought in a little shop near Lake Michigan - so it is a lovely reminder of a very special holiday.

Even though I used a stamp positioner, I had great problems getting the quote down the left hand side straight! This was my third attempt and it is still not exactly parallel with the edge of the card!! Oh well, I can always use the 'failed' attempts on next week's Make a Moo challenge which is on the theme of 'wings' (but don't tell anyone).

Dream Tag

Made for this week's challenge by Tag You're It! - to create a tag incoporating the word 'dream'. I have used one of my favourite stamps by Katy's Corner and the background is decorated with stamps by Tim Holtz.

In my house there is...

... a flower. This little house has been made for the Dans ma maison... challenge this week.

Autumn Moo

Autumn is the theme this week on the Make a Moo or Two blog and here is my effort. Both stamps are by Hero Arts.

Hi honey, I'm home...

...Well some of you may have noticed that I have not put anything on my blog for the past 2-3 weeks. This was because I was on holiday - in the USA! I had a wonderful trip to Chigago and the Great Lakes area and managed to visit 4 States - Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Minnesota. It's pretty mind-boggling for someone from the UK to realise that Lake Superior is actually BIGGER than Great Britain. The weather was mixed - we had a lot of cloud and some rain which I think was the tail end of the 2 hurricanes. During the trip we visited the Mall of America in Minnesota which is the largest indoor shopping mall in the USA, and has over 500 shops and an amusement park in the middle of it. I had plans to visit one shop in particular - Archiver's - to buy some stamps and craft materials. What I hadn't realised was that there was a Scrapfest event being held there, and there were hundreds of people attending! AND I discovered that Tim Holtz had been one of the guest demonstrators only the day before... I missed my hero by only one day!!
When I got home I found I had received the latest edition of Craft Stamper magazine which includes a project to make 'Fairy Doors', and reading this article I discovered that these little doors originated in Ann Arbor in Michigan. We actually stayed there during our trip and if only I had known this I could have looked for some... another missed opportunity. Oh well, it's now back home, and back to work... but also back to crafting and a chance to use some of the stuff I bought at Archiver's.

Da Vinci Twinchy

The challenge theme on the Small world of inchies blog this week is 'Da Vinci' - so here is mine. I had to make a twinchy of course, because it rhymes!! LOL

In my house...

... there is orange. I decided to have a go at the Dans ma maison... challenge for the first time.

Butterly Moo...

... this one made for the Make a Moo or Two challenge of BUTTERFLIES.

Inchy on a Twinchy

I'm a bit late for the Small world of inchies challenge... but here is my effort for the theme: an inchy on a twinchy.