Twelve Tags of 2015 ~ July

With only a few days left of the month of July, I've taken a quick break from domestic tasks, to post my tag for Tim's Twelve Tags of 2015 challenge. It may be July and the height of summer but it's more like autumn here in the UK, with far too many grey and rainy days ! Come on Sunshine do your thing ! Sorry to digress but you know how much us Brits like to talk about the weather ! Back to The tag, which is yet another great idea from Tim. You can see his fabulous 'Independence Day' inspired tag, with this link. As It's now far from that date, I decided to go with a different interpretation using the lovely Flower Garden stamp set. After stamping and colouring my chosen flowers, I realised that  they wouldn't fit on my no.8 tag, so had to cut a larger one from manila card. I thought I was being fairly original until I had a look through all the wonderful entries for this month and spied a gorgeous tag by Diana over at Missusgmoments .Well, you know what they say 'great minds think alike ! One of my favourite elements of Tim's tag this month, is the fabulous stripy ribbon such a cool technique ! I made an extra long piece so that I could make a nice big bow. So that's it for now, back to a few more chores. Thanks for yet another great tag Tim ! x

Happy Holidays ~ New Challenge at Stamps and Stencils

Hi everybody ! It's my turn to host the July challenge over on  the Stamps and Stencils blog. I've chosen the theme of 'Happy Holidays' and  I look forward to seeing as many different interpretations as you happy crafters can come up with ! Just remember to use some stamping and stenciling. Full details and challenge rules can be found over on the Stamps and Stencils blog.
I've made a  photo album, to house an assortment of my old holiday snaps. The album is made of chipboard and I constructed it by following a plan from one of my craft books called 'Interactive Mini Scrapbooks by Kathy Orta Files. I had to give it a mixed media twist by adding this Finabair inspired canvas and card cover. I started by stenciling a piece of gessoed canvas with embossing paste.

I then applied Distress Paints and once they were dry, I sprayed on Dylusions Sprays in various blues and greens.

While this was drying, I turned my attention to a couple of panels I wanted to mount on the cover.

I applied gesso to a couple of pieces of kraft card, and stenciled them with embossing paste. I then selected some shells, which were gathered on various holidays and secured them to one of the panels using a hot glue gun.

I used more Dylusions Sprays to add colour and finished off by highlighting the shells with Silks Paints. Once everything was completely dry, and the interior of my album was finished, I adhered the canvas to the album using Liquitex heavy bodied matte gel. I also used this to secure the card  panels to the front panels. I love the fastening, which I cribbed from the book. It's a mini bulldog clip,  attached to a swivel clip, with a piece of chain secured to back of the book, through an eyelet with a jump ring attached to the chain to prevent it from pulling through. (leave me a comment if you want to know how to do this ) You may be wondering about what's going on inside, curious ? well here are a few pics......

I scanned a few of my favourite holiday photos and used Craft Artist, to give them a sepia finish.

 

I used the gorgeous papers from Tim's Correspondence, paper stash.

As a finishing touch, I added some stamping to the tags and bits and pieces inside the album. I'm really quite pleased with the finished results. I had a lot of fun making the album and one of the joys was sorting through some of my old photos. They certainly do bring back lovely memories of some very Happy Holidays ! x

Twelve Tags of 2015 ~June

Don't you just love those afternoons when you can escape to your crafty space and loose yourself for a few hours?  Well that's what I've been up to today. My session started with getting down to work on my offering for Tim's Twelve Tags of 2015 challenge. You can see Tim's lovely tag here. I was puzzling over what to use as I haven't got Tim's 'Fresh Brewed' die.  A little trip to the 'Crafty Bunch' craft shop yesterday, however, meant that I had got this newly acquired  Sizzix 'Birds' die.I really love it and I think it's worked a treat ! I've tried to maintain the essence of Tim's tag, by using the same techniques as well as  a variety of textures and similar colours. So now I am going back to my craft room to continue with another project, which I shall be sharing later on this week. Thank you Tim for continuing to inspire us all ! x

Etched Metal Books and The Joys of Internet Learning.

I'm not sure how many of my blog friends are familiar with the 'Interweave' website. I'ts basically an online store, that has a huge collection of craft resources. As well as providing information about crafting events and communities, it also stocks books magazines dvd's and digital downloads, on just about any type of craft or artistic pursuit you can imagine. It was here that I came across the work of Jen Crossley. I loved the look of her metal covered books, and decided to buy a digital download of her Etched Metal Book class and couldn't wait to get started on a project. Jen  has a blog called A Mark in Time  and you can see some of her beautiful work over there. 

This is the first book I made after following the Etched Metal Book class. Out of fairness to Jen I won't go into detail about the process but it does involve stamping and you may recognize the Tim Holtz Bookplate stamp that I've used here.The equipment needed was easy to get hold of, I bought the etching fluid from our local Maplins and brass sheet can be bought in several places on the internet. I borrowed a few tools from my husband and was soon up and running.The whole process is like magic ! I found it really fascinating. As suggested by Jen, the book is filled with water colour paper and is really nice to handle. It was the first time I'd had a go at binding a book and Jen's instructions on the video were easy to follow. After this 'trial run', I had to get straight on to the next book as I had so many ideas buzzing around my head!

So here is book number two. This time I did some masking and stamping to create the design.The anthropomorphic stamps I used, are by Katzelkraft. There is also a bit of freehand Sharpie going on around the frame too. This book has now been given away as a wedding present. Unfortunately, I didn't photograph the inside but each of the water colour signatures, have been wrapped in papers from Tim Holtz's Wallflower collection, very pretty they are too ! I believe the happy couple were very happy with their present !

 Here's a view of some of the dingle dangles,  many of which, have been salvaged from charity shop  jewellery. I buy up old bracelets and necklaces, if they have glass or metal beads and are cheap! If you love learning something new, I can highly recommend hopping over and having a browse through the resources at Interweave. there are frequent special offers, and some freebies. The beauty of the digital downloads is the immediacy, no waiting for the postman to arrive ! I'd like to say thank you to Jen Crossley for teaching me, through the magic of the internet, a fabulous new skill.

Small is Beautiful ~ Stamps and Stencils ~ New Challenge

It's time for a new challenge over at Stamps and Stencils. We've really enjoyed seeing all the entries for last month's 'Three of a Kind' challenge and I for one, can't wait to see what you come up with this time around. Julia is our host this month and this is what she has to say......

For this month's challenge you are asked to make or alter something small.This could be a tiny book or journal, an ATC or ATB, a small canvas or box/tin of similar size, a small piece of jewelry - anything, as long as it is small. you must use at least one stamp and one stencil on your project. Please remember we are a mixed media challenge blog and the style of your work should reflect this.

My project consists of these two mini canvasses decorated in a Steam punk style. Each canvas measures around 70 mm square or 2 3/4 inches. It's strange, but I find that a small surface can be almost as daunting as a large canvas ! 

My starting point for each canvas was to partially cover the surface with book pages. I then stamped the images onto a piece of Deli Paper and adhered them to the surface with matte Glue and Seal. I usually use tissue paper for this technique, but my dear friend Sandy, brought me a box of Deli Paper back from her trip to New York and I was keen to try it out. So far so good ! It's more robust than tissue so it's much easier to handle.

I used Distress Markers and a water brush, to add a little colour to the face, I then set too with embellishing, using some watch parts that I've been hoarding for a long time ! The stamps I've used on each canvas are by La Blanche. I have amassed  a pretty big collection of  stamps and it's been great to get out some of the ones I love but haven't used enough !

Here's number 2. The stenciling has been done with Wendy Vecchi's Crackle Embossing Paste through a Tim Holtz' Typography Layering Stencil. I decided to add some faux gold leaf onto the surface of the letters, 'cause I love a bit of bling ! I couldn't resist adding some coiled rusty wire to create a little hanger.
So now it's over to you ! hop over to the Stamps and Stencils blog where you'll find some fantastic inspiration from Julia the rest of the design team. Don't forget to take a look at the blog next Tuesday where the winners of the last challenge will be announced. I shall also be using 'Mr Random Organiser', to select a winning entry for the palette knife. I will post the name both here and on the Stamps and Stencils blog. So, until next time... happy crafting ! x

Twelve Tags of 2015 ~ May

Phew ! last day of the month and I've just managed to finish my tag for Tim's Twelve Tags of 2015 Challenge. I love all the different elements Tim has used on this month's tag, you can see his fabulous piece by following this link. I've followed his design quite closely and just substituted a few things for those products that I've yet to acquire. I was very happy to get my hands on the  Sizzix Tiny Tattered Florals dies, from the lovely folks at Craft Obsessions. Once I started quilling these gorgeous little flowers, I couldn't stop ! I've now got a whole bunch of them waiting for future projects. Once again another month has flown by and it's hard to believe that tomorrow, we will be half way through the year Eeeeeek ! Many thanks to Tim for another great tag  x

Three of a Kind ~ Stamps and Stencils ~ New Challenge.

It's time for our 2nd  challenge over at Stamps and Stencils but before I tell you more about this, I'd like to just thank every single person who took the time to upload a project for our 'Any Thing Goes' challenge and helped to make the launch of Stamps and Stencils, such a resounding success ! We had a whopping 135 entries. Make sure you tune in next Tuesday to see our winners post.

Ruth is our host this month and she has chosen 'Three of a Kind'. This is what Ruth has to say about the challenge......

'What we'd like to see is 3 of the same sort of focal element on a project so we don't just mean 3 buttons or small embellishments, it could be 3 flowers, 3 figures, 3 inspirational quotes....or thinking wider, if you're feeling adventurous you could do 3 ATC's, a trio of ATB's or maybe a triptych.'

  

I think you'll agree there's plenty of scope there ! So please, let your imagination run wild and show us your 'Three of a kind'. You can see Ruth's fabulous project as well as plenty of luscious inspiration from the rest of the design team over on the Stamps and Stencils blog

I've put together this mixed media panel, utilizing a piece of corrugated card as my substrate. I've used embossing paste through stencils by Tim Holtz and Creative Expressions, in the background......

I added more texture by sprinkling Creative Expressions Micro Beads onto matte gel.

Really love this technique ! Once everything was dry, I painted the surface with Distress Paint in a mixture of Antique Linen and Frayed Burlap. I then used Vintage Photo Spray to add 'depth' to the stenciling and after more drying time, I highlighted the stenciling and glass beads with Treasure Gold Paste in Spanish Topaz, Aquamarine and White Fire.

The three hearts are made of card, with embossed foil wings. The surfaces have been treated with Wendy Vecchi's Faux Granite Ware technique. This is great fun to do and if you haven't already tried it., you can find full details on Wendy's blog with this link A few embellishments, some faux rust finished cogs and a doodle of rusty wire around the edge, complete the panel.

Now, as a little treat for one lucky person, I will be giving away this handy little palette knife for one of the entries, chosen at random, for this month's Three of a Kind Challenge. I discovered these in my local Debenhams store. They're actually used for decorating cakes, but I've found mine to be the perfect tool for applying a layer of 'streak free' embossing paste. The winner will be announced both here and on the Stamps and Stencils blog, at the end of the challenge. 

All that remains is for you to go and get crafting and share your 'Three of a Kind' projects with us over at Stamps and Stencils. You'll find full details and the challenge rules over on the blog. Happy Days everyone ! x

Twelve Tags of 2015 ~ April

Ha ha ! It's only April 19th and I'm posting my Tim Tag for his Twelve Tags of 2015 Challenge. This is positively early for me! This was yet another fun tag to make, I'm really not sure how Tim keeps coming up with these unique ideas every month. Although I've stuck closely to Tim's original tag, which you can see here, I had to do a fair bit of improvising and that was great because I was able to use my stuff ! Firstly I cut the tag using Kraft card and my Tag and Book Plate die. I haven't got the lovely Adventures Word Blocks dies, but I have got the Holiday Words block dies from last Christmas. There were actually several words I could have used from this set but I decided on using the word 'Earth'. Luckily for me I have got Tim's beautiful Flower Garden stamps. I went for a vintage look by stamping on some rust spots using a stamp from my 'most inked set' of Bitty Grunge stamps. I used my Pazzles machine to die cut the word 'beautiful' and just as I was threading the dyed seam binding through the tag, I glanced down on my rather messy craft table and in a little container of bits and bobs, I noticed a Dymo label with the word 'Mother' on it. The perfect finishing touch, 'Beautiful Mother Earth' Too right ! Thanks Tim, with this tag I feel that I've made the 'most out of my products' x

Just a Peek !

Hi everybody I have a new post over on the Stamps and Stencils blog today. As part of what we want to do on the new challenge blog, the design team will be taking it in turns to share what we are calling an 'Inspirational Post'. These posts may be about a specific technique, a product or maybe just a project one of us would like to share with you all. We are absolutely thrilled by the response we have had to the Stamps and Stencils first challenge, there are so many fabulous entries and we are not even half way through the month! Thank you all so very much .
Now,  here's a sneaky peek from the first of our Inspirational Posts, which I am honoured to present to you today. I hope you'll find some time to hop over to the blog and take a look. I should grab a cuppa and a comfy seat first though ! x

Stamps and Stencils ~ Launch day ~ Anything Goes!

Greetings everybody ! The day has finally arrived for the Launch of our new Stamps and Stencils challenge blog.We have the very lovely and talented Sue Carrington to thank for for taking the initiative in coming up with the idea and  putting the blog together. I certainly hope you'll hop over and take a look. We are a monthly, mixed media challenge blog and as the name suggests, we are all about Stamps and Stencils. I think you'll agree these are staples in any crafter's toolkit.  Our first challenge is an 'Anything Goes' and we would love to see what you come up with using stamps, stencils or both ! There's some fabulous inspiration over on the new blog, which you can easily find with this link.
For my contribution, I've made a mixed media canvas with lots of yummy Distress Paint and stencilled embossing paste. I was very fortunate to visit Marrakesh last year and brought back some lovely vintage style postcards which I've been saving to use in a project. As I was going through my stencils, I found one that was perfect for a Moroccan styled piece. I used the fabulous embossing paste technique used by Tim Holtz on his March tag to create the background for this beautiful group of musicians.

As with most of the canvasses I make, I covered the background with various book pages, I think it's psychological, getting rid of the blank space! I then painted on some vibrant Distress Paint colours and allowed the colours to marble together, with a little help from a water spray. The new colours that Tim has introduced are exactly the colours you see everywhere in Marrakesh. Many of the buildings are the colour of Abandoned Coral, with paint work in Mermaid Lagoon and Cracked Psitachio, Quite uncanny, I wonder if Tim's been over there, Ha ha !

I used one of Tim's Damask stamps, with Archival ink and stamped onto a tissue.

I applied this to the canvas using lots of Matte Glue and Seal. I also applied embossing paste through the stencil and while the paste was still wet, heat embossed with gold and blue embossing powder. and heated to activate. I just love the effect this gives!

To make the damask patterns stand out a little more, I doodled around them with a gold pen. I also added some stamping with a French script stamp. Instead of using the original postcard, I scanned it to my computer and printed it to a size which just fitted inside the oval shape I'd already die cut in an embossed Cameo Frame, which had been in my 'unfinished stash'. I find that it's always worth looking through my unfinished  stash  when I'm  piecing something together, I often find something that's just right. After mounting the framed picture on dimensional pads, I used a Stabilo black pencil and water brush to add a little shadow underneath the frame. It just adds a little bit of depth. The flower are Ideaology metal ones which, i painted with Distress Paints, I love that faux enamel look.

So there you have it! my first post for the new Stamps and Stencils blog, I hope you've enjoyed it. I look forward to seeing you over there. Come on! dust off those Stamps and Stencils and let us see your fabulous creations ! Full details of how to join in are over on the Stamps and Stencils blog. x

Exciting News ~ I'm Dusting Off My ~ Stamps and Stencils !

I'm back again to share some exciting news! I'm very pleased to announce that I am going to be joining the design team of a brand  new challenge blog called 'Stamps and Stencils'. The blog will host monthly, mixed media challenges, with a focus on using stamps and stencils. To help to get your creative juices flowing, we will also feature inspirational posts throughout the month. There's a fantastically talented design team, just revving up for the launch of our first challenge on Thursday 2nd of April. So if you're ready to have some creative fun, dust off those Stamps and Stencils and come and join us. You can meet the design team by following this link to the Stamps and Stencils blog and don't forget to tune in on Thursday for details of our inaugural challenge. Looking forward to seeing you there ! x

Hi everybody! It's been a little quiet here at 'craft dabbler central' as I've been pretty busy with my day job. Happily, I've now broken up for the Easter holidays and  could think of no better way of kick starting some crafty-ness, as to getting on with my offering for Tim's Twelve Tags of 2015, March tag. You can see Tim's gorgeous tag here. As usual it's been great fun to make. I love the embossed gold stencilling against the colourful, Distress Paint background. I'm sure I will be revisiting this technique very soon ! I was a bit disappointed not to have used the Typo Layering Stencil. Mine is currently sitting in the post office awaiting collection! Still, I do love the way the Gothic one has turned out, Thanks once again Tim for sharing your creativity, looking forward to seeing where this takes us all next month ! x

Springtime ~ Artist Trading Post Exchange ~ New Challenge.

Well there has been a definite touch of Spring in the air here in the West Midlands, with crisp blue skies, birds singing and even a touch of sunshine. All this has helped to inspire me to get stuck into our latest challenge over at the Artist trading Post Exchange. Annie is our host this week and she has chosen the theme of Springtime. You can see Annie's amazing project over on the blog, by following this link. I'm sure you'll also be impressed by the work from the rest of the design time.
I wanted to try something a little different from my usual grungy style and this canvas is the result. It's about as clean and simple as it gets around here ! I started with a 5"x 7" canvas and gave it a coat of white gesso. Even though these little canvasses are already gessoed, I like to put on another coat as it kind of softens the texture of the woven canvas.While this was drying, I worked out a design in my art journal. I could 'see' it  in my head but wasn't entirely sure if it would work !
This is what it looked like.

 Once I was happy, I stenciled the splats onto my canvas, using Barn Door, Mustard Seed and the new Cracked Pistachio Distress Paints.

I used Tim Holtz's 'Splatters' Layering Stencil to create the splats. This is the first time I've used this stencil and I must say I just love those splats! I then turned my attention to the stamping. Stamping directly onto canvas is very different from stamping into a journal. It creates a much softer image than I wanted for this project. For this reason, I decided to stamp onto a tissue and apply it to the canvas. I used a 'mansize' two ply tissue, and separated the top layer after it was stamped.

The stamps I've used are from a set called 'Live, Laugh, Love' by Indigo Blu. In this picture you can see how I've used a 'post it' paper mask, to enable me to build up the scene. I keep all the masks I make, as it is a bit tedious having to cut around the intricate shapes of my stamps. I've got quite a collection now, as I really like this technique of creating layers. As I'd already had a dry run of the stamping in my journal, it was easy to re-create the design on the tissue. I used black Archival Ink as this is waterproof and essential for the next stage.

Here is the finished stamping on the tissue. I then coated the surface of the canvas with Matte Glue 'n' Seal. I carefully separated the layers of tissue and gently applied the stamped layer to the canvas.  It is possible to rip around the stamping and apply it a piece at at a time, but I was feeling brave so I did it in  a 'one-er' ha ha! I used a thick soft paint brush with a kind of tapping motion to secure the tissue to the canvas. It's important not to over work it at this stage as the tissue is quite fragile once it comes into contact with the Glue'n'Seal. Once the canvas was dry, I gave it another coat of Glue 'n' Seal and left it to dry once more. I then replaced all the paper masks and added a few more splatters using watered down Distress Paint and a paint brush to flick the paint on, I hope my blog friend Buttons, will be proud of me, as this is a technique I know she loves ! My final addition to the canvas was to add the sentiment, this was stamped on tissue and applied in the same way.The stamp is from one of the new sets by Tim Holtz called 'Perspective'.

So that's it ! I hope I haven't bombarded you with too much information ! We would love you to join us for what is, I'm sad to say, going to be our last challenge as the Artist trading Post Exchange. You have until the 18th of March to upload your Springtime projects. Please remember to include some stamping and you may be lucky enough to win a £10 voucher for the Artist Trading Post shop. I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank The Artist Trading Post for their generous support of the ATP Exchange, I know many of you have really enjoyed hopping over to visit and joining in with the challenges.

Now !!!!!! We would like you all to watch this space........ you can't keep a good team down, so keep your eyes peeled for our next exciting adventure................can't wait ! see you soon x

Twelve Tags of 2015 ~ February

Happy last day of February everyone! At last I've managed to finish my tag for Tim's Twelve Tags of 2015 challenge. It's been sitting on my table all week and I thought it was about time I set to and finished it  off. I've stuck fairly closely to Tim's design as it gave me the opportunity to use some of my new goodies. I love the little flashcards and I'm  sure they will be getting a lot of use. You can see Tim's wonderful tag here. Remember it's never too late to join this great challenge. if you're a fan of all things Tim Holtz, making a tag each month is a great way of getting to grips with techniques and products old and new. It's always great to see all the different interpretations and imaginative product substitutions. There's an awful lot of creative people out there !!! Thanks for your continued efforts to inspire the world Tim ! looking forward to tuning in tomorrow x

Alphabet Soup ~ Artist Trading Post Exchange ~ New challenge.

It's time for a new challenge over at The Artist trading Post Exchange. Ruth is the hostess with the mostest and she has chosen 'Alphabet Soup' as the challenge theme. If you hope over to the ATP Exchange blog you can see her gorgeous piece, as well as some fabulous makes from the rest of the design team. My contribution is a tag, I've made using Tim Holtz's Typograhy stamp set with an Alcohol Ink background. I love all the mixed media products available at the moment but every now and again it's nice to get down to some good old, straightforward, ink and stamping !
I started off with a manila tag and swiped some Distress Stains onto the surface. I then took a piece of glossy card stock and applied several colours of Alchohol Ink with a blending tool. I used Mushroom, Peach Bellini, Willow, Juniper and Gold Mixative. Once the surface was covered I added a few droplets of Blending Solution which moves the ink around and creates bubble-like patterns. If you haven't tried this before, you really must, it's such fun !

I cut a piece of the Inked card to the size I needed for my tag, and stamped over the surface with the alphabet script from the Typograhy Set. I used Jet Black Archival Ink and heat embossed, with clear embossing powder.  You can see the embossed script in this picture, you may however, have notoiced that its not black but more copper coloured. This was one of those great mistakes that lead you to new discoveries ! I was rubbing a little  Spanish Topaz Treasure Gold around the edges of the tag and accidentally rubbed over some of the letters, I loved how the raised embossing looked and decided to cover the rest of the letters, by just lightly rubbing the surface with Treasure Gold paste using  my finger. Result!

I stamped the hand onto a piece of water colour paper and used Distress Markers and a Water Brush, to lightly colour the surface. I then cut it out and mounted it on a couple of raised foam pads.
I stamped the ink bottle with Jet black Archival Ink, onto a left over piece of the Glossy Card Stock. This gave a nice contrasting texture behind the hand. I adhered several layers of foam pads down the centre of the ink bottle and double sided adhesive along the sides, this helped me to shape the bottle and add dimension.

I adhered some cogs to the side so as to add a little more texture and completed the tag with a stamped label and a border from Tim's Industrious Sticker range.
Now it's your turn ! We would love to see your creations for our Alphabet Soup challenge. There is a £10 product voucher from our fabulous sponsor, The Artist Trading Post, for one lucky winner. We also have a lot of fun choosing our top three entries. All you have to do is create a project based on the theme, remember to include stamping somewhere on your project, then upload your entry to the ATP Exchange blog. Simple ! So why not hop over to the blog, take some inspiration from the design team and get crafting ! If you wish to purchase any of the products I've used, click on the highlighted links and you'll be transported straight to the Artist Trading Post shop.  Happy Creating ! x

Love is in the Air ~ New Challenge at The Artist Trading Post Exchange

Hi everybody! there's a new challenge over at The Artist Trading Post Exchange, chosen by the very talented Yvonne and it's 'Love is in The Air'. Ha ha! a very popular theme at this time of year, so we hope to see plenty of your creations ! The challenge lasts for two weeks and if you hop over to the ATP blog you'll  see Yvonne's gorgeous work as well as plenty of inspiration from the rest of the DT. We are a mixed media challenge and all we ask is that you to include some stamping on your entry. That will also make you eligible to win a fabulous £10 voucher for The Artist Trading Post and with all the new goodies starting to arrive, how can you resist!
I've made this shabby chic wall hanging, with a nod to that wonderful city of romance, Paris. I've only visited Paris once, and that was a very long time ago, I'd love to go there again.....one day!

The base of my hanging is a piece of corrugated card. I firstly painted it with White Gesso, and added some Studio 490 Crackled Texture Paste through a Tim Holtz Gothic Layering Stencil. once this was all dry, love those fine crackles ! I painted it with Vintage Lace Fresco Finish Paint and left it to dry. I then embossed a piece of card, to which I had applied some foil tape. I've got a roll of plumbers' aluminium foil tape which I've been working my way through.

I used one of the Sizzix Book Covers embossing folder to add some texture and painted it with Victorian Velvet Distress Paint, I then die cut the little Movers and Shapers cherub and hearts from manilla card and used a piece of left over foiled card to cut and emboss the Eifel Tower.

As you can see, I painted the cherub and hearts. I added Clear Rock Candy Stickles Distress Glitter to the surface of these which I had coloured with alcohol ink. I used Cloudy Blue for the Cherub and Shell Pink for two of the hearts. Once all the elements were prepared, I started to assemble the pieces.
I lightly sanded the embossed foil and cut out the centre oval shape. I stamped a piece of card with the lovely French script stamp from the Stampers Anonymous Papillon Set . I used Watering Can Archival Ink. for the stamping.

I added a die cut frame which I had firstly painted with Brushed Pewter Distress Paint.  A bit of distressing here and there completed the background. I then adhered the embellishments with dimensional tape.

I applied some silver embossing powder to the edges of the card, and heat embossed.

 As a final touch I added die cut letters to the centre to spell the word 'love'. I think I am turning into a bit of a romantic in my old age ! I hope you'll find time to embrace your romantic side and share a  project with us, we'd love to see your interpretations because there is definitely a lot of 'Love in the Air' out there in blog land ! x

If you'd like to purchase any of the products I've used from The Artist Trading Post, Just click on the highlighted links and you'll be transported straight there .