I dream of rosette flowers....

 A late post from me this weekend after a very busy few days!  I can't believe it's Sunday evening already, where did the weekend go??

I have a rosette flower story to share with you today. After falling completely in love with the snowflake rosette Alterations die at Christmas, I was rather hankering after the less seasonal version so I could start putting that on lots of things too!

I had a voucher for the craft store so managed to pick it up at a reduced price, headed home to try it out on the Vagabond and poof! Disaster!  Smoke started coming out of the sides of the Vagabond and that was that!  The retailer was very good and collected it and replaced it with a new one but it did take a little while, which is a long while when you have a brand new die to play with (I haven't yet figured out how to run these long dies through the Cuttlebug, any tips anyone?) but at last it came back and here is my first play with the rosette flower.

I put the flower together as in this youtube tutorial and used some spray inks to colour it, accenting with some Distress Ink and a sponge applicator around the edges.

The background tag was coloured with Spring Distress Inks and Dusty Concord and then stamped with Indigoblu script, Stampers Anonymous harlequin pattern, Inkadinkado swirls and a word stamp from Andy Skinner (I just wanted the word 'Dreams' so covered the other words on the stamps with the flower). 

I embellished with some Studio FX chipboard swirls which I sprayed with blue spray ink and then distressed the edges in brown, and added a pearl pin and some brown twine to finish off.

Hope you had a great weekend and got some crafting in, I'll be aiming for some this week for sure!

Gayle xx

Say it with flowers!

Happy weekend to you all!  Hope you enjoyed your Easter break last weekend; I managed to fill my Easter week by meeting up with some wonderful friends and also got some much needed sorting done, so hopefully I'm better prepared for a busy time coming up :)

 I have a tag to share today using a set of Paperartsy background stamps I was lucky to pick up in the sale; I love doing backgrounds and I often have trouble covering them up with a main feature but I went for some embellishment on this tag with some small paper roses (made using die cuts from the Alterations tattered floral die).  The background colours are Distress Ink in shaded lilac, squeezed lemonade and peacock feathers with some ink splats in broken china and scattered straw Distress Stain.  The stamped images are black and coffee Archival and poppy red Impress Ink, with some overstamped script in picket fence Distress Stain.

You can also see a little strip of washi tape with the word 'faith' peeping out from behind the flowers at the bottom :)

You can find tutorials on how to make the paper roses online; I was taught how to make them by Hels Sheridan at a workshop so here's the link to her tutorial.

You can see the pieces I started out with here, stamped with script in coffee Archival Ink...

...and then coloured in Distress Ink (in dusty concord, peacock feathers and squeezed lemonade)...

...this is the rose assembled...

...which I then sprayed with a little black Dylusions Ink to grunge it up a bit.

Along with the flowers I added some brown cord, some Tim Holtz and 7gypsies tickets (torn and inked), some pearl hatpins, an Ideaology fragment with a piece of stamped manila card glued to the back (with my initial!) and some yellow baker's twine tying it onto the pin.

I finished up by inking the edges with dusty concord and frayed burlap Distress Ink and some black Archival, and by tying on some Basic Grey fibres I've had tucked away for ages; the colours seem to match really well!

Thank you for visiting us today, have a great weekend and hopefully we'll have some exciting news to share with you in the very near future so watch this space :)

Happy scrapping!

Gayle xx

Layered tag... and a change of plans!

Hi and welcome! It's Saturday and although I should have been winging my way up to Birmingham for the ICHF show the weather has put paid to our plans :/ but thank you Scrap 365 for the tickets, it was a great prize but just not meant to be this time around!

My post this week is my old favourite, tags of course!  This has more layers than I care to remember :) I nearly chucked it away!  I was persuaded to keep on adding layers (thanks K!) and I like the way it came out :) 

I used a vintage image at the bottom of the tag, some torn paper on the edges, some tissue tape and just layers and layers (and layers and layers - you get the idea!) of Distress Ink and Distress Stain.  The stamps are mainly Stampers Anonymous but I have some Andy Skinner text in there, and some butterflies from Craft Stamper magazine :)

 Yes, I managed to catch some rare sunshine in this pic and couldn't resist sticking my tag right in the beams!  Always love how everything looks that bit different in the sunshine :)

Don't forget to check out our Twitter, Facebook page and Facebook chat group to see if you're a winner of a RAK for Craft Month this March... it could be you!

Have a great weekend and wrap up warm :)

Happy scrapping!

Gayle xx

Altered watch box

Hiya folks, hope you're having a good weekend!  This week I wanted to share a project I worked on recently during one of our regular Scrappy Tree Skype sessions! Love how easy it makes 'socialising' with your friends from far away :)

I've altered quite a few items with this technique now from Andy Skinner's 'Book of Secrets' workshop; I was lucky enough to attend the class with him in person but it's available as an online class now so the weblink in this paragraph leads you there.

This time I had an old watch box in the shape of a book...

It was a lovely little box in its own right but not too exciting as it had the manufacturer's name embossed on the front so....

The 'metal' plates and rivets are part of Andy's book of secrets class, with a Tando Creative die cut bookplate on the front and die cut cog on the back, and a few Ideology gears.

I cut a piece of manila card to size and stamped it using tiny letter stamps with the word 'wish' in coffee Archival ink, then inked around the edges in frayed burlap Distress Ink.  I filled in the centre with Glossy Accents to give it a glassy look.

And here's the back with the larger Tando Creative cog.

I've got a bigger project to share with this technique very soon once I can get some good pictures, just love it!  Want to put it on everything! Thanks Andy :)

Just wanted to remind you that this month is National Craft Month and we're sending out a RAK every week this month to a follower from the blog (Kirsten this week), our Facebook page and chat group, and our Twitter account, so come say hello and let us know what you're making :)


Happy scrapping!

Gayle xx

Wishing Spring was here again...

So I'm kind of tired of this stinky weather... bring on the Spring! Not so much the British summer (because it rains the whole time!) but Spring could really be something to look forward to :)

However!  It is March the 1st today which sees the beginning of National Craft Month in the US (and we don't mind joining in these things from the UK, do we!) so definitely something to feel cheery about!  We'll be celebrating over the course of the month in our own Scrappy Tree way, so keep your eyes peeled :)

Now onto this week's piece!  I made this card as a thank you to my most recent placement mentor, she was very lovely and looked after me well!

I used a free stamp from Craft Stamper for the central image (which is raised on foam squares), stamped in coffee Archival on manila, and the background card is an IndigoBlu script stamp coloured with the Spring Distress Inks (Shaded Lilac, Squeezed Lemonade, Peacock Feathers) with some Dusty Concord around the edges.

I added the purple ribbon from my stash because I loved the colour, and the black edging also has some sparkle!

I really hope she likes it, I won't see her to give it to her in person but I know she is a crafter too :)

Happy scrapping!

Gayle xx

Steampunk altered tin

So, like many of you I'm a bit of a hoarder for things that I might be able to incorporate into some crafting at a later date; it's taking up a lot of room!  This tin of cough sweets is actually one of the smaller items but it's a start ;)

 The background is embossed card (Tim Holtz Gears embossing folder) coloured with frayed burlap Distress Ink and tarnished brass and antiqued bronze Distress Stains, and a bit of black Archival to dirty it up a bit :)  I put washi tape around the rim of the tin (not sure what make!) and added an Ideology gear with a little brass coloured charm.

The gentlemen are from the Stampers Anonymous steampunk set, with a Papermania Chronology cog stamp edging the bottom of the tin.  The images are stamped in coffee Archival so the ink didn't run when I coated the top of the tin with Mod Podge to seal it.

Thanks for visiting today!  I'd love to hear what kinds of things you collect for crafty 'recycling' :)

I also wanted to mention that there are just two days left on our charity auction to raise money for Save The Children - we've got items signed by the actor Kevin McKidd to bid on, so please share and retweet and get the word out there, auction ends Monday!

Happy scrapping!

Gayle xx

Love love love

Feeling very prepared this year as I managed to make a Valentine ahead of time!  I've had the Stampers Anonymous Love Struck set for a while now and it seemed a shame not to use it for purpose as it's here in my drawer :)

Apart from the flourish, all the images on this card are from the same set, stamped in coffee Archival and coloured with Worn Lipstick and Fired Brick Distress Ink.  The flourish is from another Stampers Anonymous set.

Just a reminder, two more days to share your Valentine projects with us - go to this post and leave a link to your project (card, layout, mini etc etc) to be in with the chance to win some crafty goodness :)

Happy scrapping!

Gayle xx

Congratulations!

Hi and welcome! I have a card to share with you today which I made to wish a very good friend congratulations on her recent engagement.

The card uses broken china and tarnished brass Distress Stains for the background, layered and spritzed with water and dried inbetween with a heat gun.

 The edging and the main stamped images are in Dusty Concord Distress Ink with the paler script stamped in Shaded Lilac, and the stamp set is IndigoBlu Sarah's Choice with a Stampers Anonymous flourish in the corners.  The butterfly was a free stamp from Craft Stamper magazine which I stamped in coffee Archival and spritzed with Sunset Strip Shimmerz Paint, and then cut out to stick onto the card.

When I searched out my button jar I had some buttons in matching colours so added these for embellishment.

Wishing the happy couple all the very best, they are lovely together!

Thanks for visiting today, look out for some exciting news soon and a chance to win some goodies!

Happy scrapping!

Gayle xx

Making a spectacle (holder!)

Hi and welcome! Gayle here with a card and altered piece using Papermania Chronology 'Looking Glasses' and 'Cogs' stamps - I bought these new stamps on the weekend with a voucher left over from Christmas (love those!).  They're Papermania steampunk style stamps - I discovered on a recent Hobbycraft trip they have their own line now :)

I made a birthday card and glasses holder, both inspired by necessity ;)

I used a piece of 12x12 My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Two Breeze "Everywhere" Mirrors Paper for the background; on one side a green pattern and on the other a sheet of ruler type print.

For the card I used the ruler print side for the background, with a strip of the green pattern and some Tim Holtz tissue tape across the bottom and the Looking Glasses stamp in coffee Archival, mounted on green cardstock and embellished with a brown butterfly from my stash and an Idea-ology philosophy tag and brad.  The flourishes are from a Tim Holtz stamp set.

The glasses holder was an idea that came up as a result of YEARS of me knocking my glasses on the floor when scrabbling for them in the morning and being unable to find them (I'm too short sighted to see the floor from the bed!)

This is a recycled soup can covered with the ruler print side of the paper with strips of the opposite side green pattern and tissue tape added, and a piece of ribbon from my stash.  I stamped the Looking Glasses image in coffee Archival onto manila, and cut it out and inked the edges with Frayed Burlap Distress.  I restamped the image and cut out the binoculars to make them stand out, sticking them onto the original image with some foam squares.

I added a Tim Holtz vial label (glasses!) and lined the inside of the can by gluing cotton wool balls to the inside base and sides, and then glued a piece of calico to the inside rim.

The padding inside holds my glasses securely in the centre of the can, and it's easy to spot them against the light fabric in the dark mornings when I wake up :)

Seems like a simple idea but it's changed my life! lol! Well, my morning wake-up anyway ;) it never put me in a particular good mood to wake up and spend time scrabbling about down the side of the bed!

Thanks for visiting today, happy scrapping!

Gayle xx

Twilight tag!

Not that it was the intention at the time, but looking at it now this reminds me very much of a teenage vampire movie!  Must have been having an angsty moment :-D

The background is fired brick Distress Stain with splats of tarnished brass, stamped with a Tim Holtz heart and caption and edged with mahogany and soot Distress Ink.  I overstamped with a Tim Holtz script stamp in picket fence.  The tattered floral rose was inked and sprayed in layers, some fired brick Distress and some peach Glimmer Mist, with gold Stickles to embellish.

The heart is outlined in opal Liquid Pearls, and I layered on some black lace at the bottom and in a bow on top to finish.

Definitely must have been feeling a goth mood! :-D

On a lighter crafty note, I also posted today at The Stamp Attic with another Christmas project so please hop over there for a visit if you like the look of this sneak peek :)

Have a wonderful weekend, happy scrapping!

Gayle xx

Purple haze

Morning! Happy Friday to all :) I have a tag to share with you today; I realised I hadn't made a paper rose for a while and this tag needed something extra ;)

The saying is from an Andy Skinner stamp set with some flowers stamped in the background...

 The colours are Distress Inks in purples and some Peeled Paint (green), and I think the base colour was antique linen.  The rose is white card cut from the Tattered Florals die and coloured with Shaded Lilac and Dusty Concord Distress Ink.  I added some icicle Stickles to the rose and tag to accent, and added black lace and purple DCWV ribbon to the tag and finished off by tying some crinkle ribbon through the top which I coloured with Dusty Concord.

I also posted at The Stamp Attic today, lots of lovely snowflakes!  Here's my sneak peek :) let me know what you think!

Hope you have a great weekend ahead, I am off to the Carnival tonight! woo hoo :)

Happy scrapping

Gayle xx

It's still Halloween... right?

Ok, so I kind of missed Halloween this year due to essays and exams (blah!) BUT I have been singing 'This is Halloween, this is Halloween' from Nightmare Before Christmas to myself all week, so I had to finish this tag and share it anyway lol

There are a mix of different stamps here, the text in the background and the tree are both Andy Skinner, the owl and the swirls are Inkadinkado, the mesh stamp on top is IndigoBlu and the little letter stamps were 99p ones from the craft shop!  I stamped them in black and then wrote on top of them with a white Posca pen to make them stand out.

I used purples and oranges in Distress Stain for the background, but also stamped the text in purple before adding the tree, owl and swirls in black Archival, and the mesh stamp in coffee Archival.  I added a bit of picket fence Distress Stain around the edges to make it look a bit misty and spooky!
The  black lace at the bottom is fixed with a bit of Glossy Accents, and the ribbon at the top is crinkle ribbon with some black Dylusions ink sprayed to colour it.

I've also posted at The Stamp Attic today, here's a sneak peek if you'd like to visit me there too!

Have a great weekend, I wish you lots of inky time!!
Happy scrapping
Gayle xx

Flying in the blue sky

Hi and happy Friday!  My entire work week was packed into Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, so I'm just about coming round to consciousness about now :-D

I have a tag to share with you using an Idea-ology balloon stamp, I need to find a more permanent project to use this on! Love this image :)

I used Distress Inks in blues and oranges for the background colours, and Idealogy stamps for the background stamped images; the main image is stamped in black Archival ink with gold Stickles for the accents.


Before I go today, I want to tell you about what The Scrappy Tree is doing for World Card Making Day tomorrow!  Stop by our facebook page and share cards that you have made with us!  We'd love to see them.

Have a great weekend, happy scrapping :)


Gayle xx

Journey tag

Welcome to the weekend!  I have a tag to share with you that I made for a friend who is taking a break from her job to go travelling in Thailand - very exciting!  I am quite jealous ;) I'll be seeing her today for her leaving party and wanted to give her something handmade, but as you might know I'm more of a tag person than a cardmaker :-D

I used Andy Skinner steampunk stamps mainly, but the sentiment is Tim Holtz and the butterfly is Graphic 45.  The colours are layers of china blue and tarnished brass Distress Stain with some stamping in faded jeans and china blue Distress Ink and picket fence Distress Stain.

Thanks for visiting! Have a great weekend :)

Gayle xx

Hello again!

Back from my holidays and sat at the crafting desk - it's good to be back!  I have a tag to share with you this week, which was lots of inky fun :) after three weeks away oh my! the joy of getting thoroughly inky fingers! But I've started a new placement this week and had to have a good scrub afterwards lol lol lol

 Most of the stamps I used are Tim Holtz (love his background stamps for layering) with a butterfly from last month's Craft Stamper.  My usual smoosh of Distress reds and yellows strike again ;) but I also brought back from my trip one of the new metallic Distress Stain colours which I used to colour my ribbon, and then layered the script on top in white Distress Stain.  The body of my butterfly is gold Stickles, which I also love lots :)  Yes went with all my favourite things!!  Needed a fix after three weeks LOL

I also posted at the Stamp Attic today if you'd like to pop over there to see my adventures with a large wooden peg :-D

Thanks for visiting us today! Have a lovely weekend :)

Gayle xx

Jubilee tag

Hello and a happy Sunday to all of you! Those of you in the UK (and quite possibly some of you elsewhere too) cant fail to have missed the Queen's Jubilee celebrations last weekend :-) thank you for the extra bank holidays your Highness!

There was plenty of red, white and blue to be seen adorning various parts of the country, and I thought I would share with you today my Jubilee-inspired tag - who could resist all that bunting?

I inked a manila tag with broken china Distress Stain and added patterning to the background by dabbing picket fence Distress Stain through a Creative Expressions mask and stamped some Inkadinkado flourishes. The bunting is a free stamp with this month's Craft Stamper magazine, painted with stripes using a paintbrush and fired brick Distress Stain, and then inked with old paper Distress Ink to match the die cut bird (which is from  the Tim Holtz Alterations caged bird die).

I cut a crown out of card and coloured it with gold Stickles, and painted the bird's legs and the branch with Glossy Accents.  The bunting is glued to a small piece of twine, and I added some lace ribbon.

I also have a post at The Stamp Attic today (here's a sneak peek!) using some of Andy Skinner's new stamps, would love for you to visit me there if you get time this weekend :-)

Thanks for stopping by, happy scrapping!

Gayle xx

A quick tag and some happy news!

Hi and welcome to Friday!  I have a quick tag to share with you today using some of my favourite colours and some Andy Skinner and Paperartsy stamps.  The background was inked with scattered straw, spiced marmalade and fired brick Distress Ink (yes I am obsessed with these colours!) and then stamped in black Archival ink with stamps from Andy's Nature stamp set.

I splattered some fired brick Distress stain across the tag, and sprayed some iridescent gold Glimmer Mist for a bit of shimmer.  I added a stamped clockwork flower from Paperartsy and a few small flowers punched from manuscript paper (plus some orange and gold Stickles for sparkle!).  Just can't resist playing with those sunset colours!

Sooo..... I'm really excited to share some news with you today that I've been keeping to myself for a little while now - I'm joining The Stamp Attic design team!  The pic below shows a sneak peek of my first project for them...

...and if you'd like to see more, and you like what you see, I'd love for you to visit The Stamp Attic blog and leave me some love :) thanks!

Happy scrapping and have a great weekend :)

Gayle xx

Spring Distress tag

Hello and happy Friday! I have a tag to share with you today using the new Spring Distress Inks - loving these colours!  I used all three on the tag, Squeezed Lemonade, Peacock Feather and Shaded Lilac.  

I stamped the background image first from the Tim Holtz Remnants stamp set using black Archival Ink and then just added Distress Ink and water in layers on top.  I also added some ink splats with broken china and scattered straw Distress Stains, and shaded around the edges with aged mahogany Distress Ink to give it a border - I liked how this made it look almost rainbow coloured.

 I stamped the 5c stamp onto card and punched out the circle with a 1" circle punch, and then coloured these with each of the new Spring colours.  I outlined them with white Posca pen to make them stand out and then stuck them down with foam pads so they were raised.

I coloured some crumpled ribbon with broken china Distress Stain to match the tag, and the caption is a saying I found on the internet by Ralph Waldo Emerson which I printed out on my Dymo.

Thanks for visiting us today, hope you have a great weekend and get to have some creative fun :)

Gayle xx