What's in my gift bag - is it a trick or a treat?

Well today's the day for the big reveal - is it a trick or a treat? Is this where you win the lovely Elusive Images Halloween blog candy?

Well ................... the answer from me is ........................


that......................


I am a .....................

Sorry, but keep hunting on the other DT blogs before tonight!

Elaine xx

Trick or Treat gift bag!

Well I was a bit mean earlier in the week and only posted a sneeky peak of my halloween project as part of the Elusive Images spooky blog hop. Here it is in its entirety! It's not a great one for any arachnophobes out there!!

Here is what I used:

A plain black gift bag
Some white card
Twilight Zone and Spookylicious Elusive Images stamp sets
Ranger black archival ink
Adirondack dye inks in sunshine yellow, cranberry and eggplant
Distress ink in spiced marmalade
Cut and dry foam
Non stick craft sheet
Purple mirri card
Wide decorated Halloween ribbon
Narrow orange ribbon
Double sided tape

I stamped the house onto white card in the black ink and cut the panel to just outside the stamped image. I cut a small tag from more white card, punched a hole and stamped the Trick or Treat words in black ink. Using the cut and dry foam, apply the different colour dye inks. The aim is to build a glow on your panel and tag, I love this effect, it must be one of my most favourite ways to use ink. Firstly apply the yellow ink right across the panel and tag, working with the foam from the outside in pulling the ink onto the card from your non stick craft sheet. Next add the orange ink working across the panel and tag again. Add some cranberry ink, keep this colour nearer to the edge leaving a glow in the centre, work your way around each edge. Finally add tiny amounts of eggplant ink in the corners and the very edges of the panel and tag - be very careful not to be too heavy handed with the darker inks.

When you are happy with your inking, mount the house panel onto a slightly larger panel of purple mirri card using double sided tape. Use a strip of the wide ribbon and mount it across the gift bag using double sided tape, folding the ends round into the fold of the bag. Stick the house panel onto the centre of the bag on top of the ribbon. Add a strip of the narrow ribbon onto the tag and stick this near the top of the bag with double sided tape.  That's your bag finished and ready to be filled with Halloween treats!

Dont forget to visit the Elusive Images Design Team blog to see all the stamp sets in their full glory. You can click in the side bar to find your nearest Elusive Images stockist. For those people ordering more than one set of these stamps, you can recieve a great inspiration leaflet, giving pages of ideas of how to use these spookylicious stamps. I've seen this leaflet and it is really great.

Happy stamping and happing hunting for the spooky Halloween blog candy.

Elaine xx

Elusive Images Blog Hop

Well it's that time of year when the nights draw in, I get out my hot water bottle, watch the trees turn beautiful inspiring shades and think of making pumpkin soup!. As crafters our thoughts turn to Christmas - noooo - not yet - first it's Halloween, a great excuse to use my orange and purple ink pads. 

All this week me and the other EI Design Team girls are hosting a Halloween themed blog hop. You can see the link to the DT blog in my side bar. There you will be able to see the Halloween stamps in their full glory and find out about special offers on the stamps. You can also see links to all the girls' blogs. Follow those to see what spooky projects we have all been working on and somewhere this week, on two of our blogs, you will have two chances to win some gorgeous Halloween themed blog candy from Elusive Images by leaving a comment.

I'll be back later in the week with the full reveal of my project.

Have fun and good luck!

Elaine x

Catching up!

Well it's been a busy old week for me. I managed to post my latest overdue project for our Craft Stamping Quartet blog, while the other girls were off galivanting at the Graphicus Retreat. Please pop over and see what we have been up to here.

While the lucky Retreaters were away, some of the other Graphicus Guild members decided to do some green projects because we were green with envy - here is my effort!! I used the Arboretum Stamps from Elusive Images to make another overdue birthday card for my friend, I used Adirondack dye inks in Citrus, lettuce and Pesto for the background, Olive Archival ink for the tree itself and all sorts of green inks for the leaves. I edged the stamped panel with different stamps from the Wild Meadow set from Elusive Images - another of my favourites. I used my leafy technique in the background and finished off with some ribbon and paper leaves. Even my OH was postive about this card - wonders will never cease!!

I managed to finally finish the project we started at the brilliant workshop we did with Linda Elbourne at LB Crafts during our mini-Retreat break in Bedford in June - I loved the workshop and the colours of this hanging are just gorgeous. My OH noticed this one too and said the roses looked like chocolate. Maybe he was feeling a little peckish! This project is based on three little canvases, covered with stamped tissue paper and decorated with various Tim Holtz die cuts from Grungepaper, some lovely TH metal embellishments and some Grungepaper roses coloured with Distress Ink and sprayed with Glimmer Mist. I must admit I didn't enjoy the assembling of the project with all the jump rings. Judith did a sterling job of teaching us how to do it properly on our break, but knowing what a fan Linda is of songs, I think I just want to sing I don't like jump rings to the tune of I don't like Mondays by the Boomtown Rats!!!!

I also taught my first ever craft workshop at a another retreat, a weekend for carers, to give them a break from their caring responsibilities at home. We made flag books and it went really well, I can't believe what they managed as they were all non-crafters, the big smiles at the end made it all worthwhile - even the ink up the wall, but I'll make a post about that on another day!


Thanks for popping over

Elaine xx

A late birthday card!

It was my dear friend Jo's birthday earlier in the month and I was so bogged down with other things I knew I didn't have time to devote to making the sort of card she deserved so I had to give her an IOU. The good thing was Jo was coming to spend a few days with me, so I could give it to her in person!! I just managed to finish it in time for her visit.

This card uses one of my favourite stamps - Molly from Beeswax stamps. The picture has a slightly weird effect on the lines of the engraved image for some reason.

I stamped the image in Olympia Green Versafine on white and slightly distressed with Antique Linen DI. I assembled a selection of papers, some sheet music, the script paper is Prima and the green flowers is a gorgeous double sided paper from Graphic 45, both sides are so beautiful, it is virtually impossible to decide which to use and which to hide!

I added little paper daises in her hair, a laser cut butterfly, some cream cotton lace and green ribbon and a metal key embellishment which is K & Co. The fern is cut with a Little Claire die and the sentiment is computer generated. These are words from a lovely Sandy Denny song from my youth, I thought they were very suitable for a belated card!!  

Thanks Jo for being such great company!

Elaine xx 

Another DT application card

I thought I would share another of my Elusive Images DT application cards.

One of the briefs for entries was a project in the Elusive Images signature colours of teal and brown. I decided to use a peacock theme, and used a DP from my Graphicus Guild pack from the Peacock Summer Party CD set and a stamp from the Peacock Fan themeplate. I embossed the image in gold detail powder on brown card, cut the panel out with a nestie scalloped rectangle die and matted the panel on gold card. I did the sentiment in the same way using a greeting from the Birthday Words stamp set. I added a turquoise ribbon and some large bronze brads.  

On a more frivolous subject, anyone who knows me knows I love bunnies. I even seem to be growing them in my vegetable patch now!

I just had to share this cute vegetable (well I know its technically a fruit!).

An anniversary card

I recently made this card for a special friend and her husband. It was a silver wedding anniversary, but I decided to go for a more general approach. The silver hearts are my symbol of the occasion!

This card is rather a cheat, as the main elements came from a money envelope that I doctored inked and stamped on! I found a backing paper that blended well, once I had inked it with Antique Linen Distress Ink and shaded the edges of panels with Weathered Wood DI. The main words were printed, but I so love them, I cut them out with a Nestie die and mounted them on a dusty red backing.

I stamped the word "Cherish"  with one of a gorgeous set of Hero Arts stamps that I finally knocked off my wish list recently. I adore their flowing script. I finished off with a little wooden heart, the lovely grey and cream gingham cotton ribbon, cream cotton lace and the silver hearts. I matted the whole panel on Whitewash card.

Hope you have had a good weekend.

Elaine x