Rachel Greig

The Grand Finale - Ornate Star #12

Here we are - the 12th day! Hurrah! (I'm amazed I managed to come up with 12 cards & projects!) So the grand finale... since we decorated our house today for Christmas, I added a bit of Ornate Star and made a small garland! I embossed the star with Red Xmas Embossing Powder (by Artee Supplies) and then sponged over it with some Frayed Burlap Distress Ink to give it a more vintage look. The EP is very glittery, and somewhat holographic, so when the little stars flap in the breeze, they shimmer red and green depending on the angle of light. Very funky. Keeps the kids amused for ages - and I like THAT!!

Thank you so much for all of your comments and encouragement throughout the challenge! It has been a lot of fun, and has gotten me into a creative groove to create something simple every day. I hope I can continue it! Also - remember there are loads of other ideas on my gallery for the other Christmas stamps too!

So.... the winner of the stamps.... drum roll.... is Suzanne, commentor #29 from my Challenge Post! Congrats Suzanne! Email me, and I'll get these stamps out to you!!

Happy Friday!

Ornate Star #11

Wow, this challenge finishes tomorrow! And I'm just getting used to posting a card each day :) So here's todays card... my idea for this one was to create some sort of border with the Ornate Star. I threw away the stamp positioner for this one, and just stamped away. I used Archival Sepia ink and stamped onto an Adirondack  Color Wash background that I had made from the left over Color Wash that was on my craft sheet from Card #9. Then I added some Copper Stickles for a bit of bling (which looks much better in real life than in this image!), stamped a Stampers Anonymous quote, mounted it, placed it angled on the card just to keep things interesting and there you have it!

So... tomorrow being the last day of the challenge.... means I'll be announcing the winner of the bag of stamps I have here! Stay tuned...

Happy Thursday!

Ornate Star #10

I thought it was time for a feminine touch! This time I have created a lace border using the Ornate Star. I stamped onto vellum and embossed it with Weathered White EP. I stamped two rows of the star, and trimmed both rows, then placed one underneath the other to give a variation in star size. Then I added some paper by Daisy D's, stamped the Birthday Wishes with Archival Cobalt ink, and added a metal charm by Nunn Designs.  I've always thought this stamp would make a nice lace pattern, so I'm pleased I've finally  tried it.

Over the past few weeks I have been receiving some wonderful gifts and parcels in the mail. It's always so nice to hear from a friend rather than receive a bill!! My friend Sylvie Baschung in France has been busy working on a book this year - and it was released a few weeks ago. I was so honoured when she used some of my stamp designs in her artwork. And then she surprised me by sending me a copy of the book!! Thank you so much Sylvie!  I was thrilled when I opened the first page to see that she had written a note and signed in the book. I so love having books signed by their authors!

Here's a link to find out more about this book! It is written in French, and although I cannot read French, there are quite a lot of images to help along the way (and I use an online translator if I really can't understand completely). It is full of ideas for cards, tags, ornaments, gift wrap, boxes (love the matchbox Advent Calendar!), table settings, candles, wreaths.... honestly she has the whole of Christmas covered!  Congratulations Sylvie on such a wonderful body of work :)

Happy Wednesday!

Ornate Star #9

Another simple one! In case you were thinking that I'd run out of ideas... no, just ran out of time today!! I am quite snowed under (not literally like Wendy!) with work, and I actually forgot about todays card! But alas, I have my list of ideas next to me, and this one seemed the quickest. So here we are in all it's simplistic glory...

For this one I embossed the Ornate Star with Ranger Weathered White embossing powder, then I sprayed the background with Butterscotch, Lettuce and Raisin Color Wash. Blotted it dry, and made the card! Simple!

Happy Tuesday!

Ornate Star #8

Zoë just told me the studio smells like a swimming pool! And that is because I've been stamping with bleach. Here's todays card - same style background as #6 ad #7, but this time I have stamped it with bleach onto some Rosey Bazzill cardstock. I love the different colours you can get depending on what cardstock it is. Sometimes it gives a yellow like this, or a white, and I've even had a burgundy from stamping onto a Navy coloured card. The thing to remember is to clean your stamp straight away so the bleach doesn't affect the rubber.

Stamps used: Ornate Star and Yuletide. Also used Archival Sepia ink... and the bleach.

Happy Monday!

Ornate Star #7

Expanding on yesterdays idea of making the Ornate Star a continuous background, I've done the same, but using a variation of  Tim Holtz's Shabby Chic/Industrial Chic technique that he showed us at Ranger U.
 

Supplies used: Gold Adirondack Paint Dabber, Clear embossing ink & Powder,  Espresso Adirondack Paint Dabber, Tim Holtz doo dads, and a little piece that I made in Tim's classes in Chicago with chipboard & Adirondack Paint Dabbers. If you subscribe to Stamping & Papercraft magazine, I had an article in Vol 12 No 8 with a set of cards using the Shabby Chic technique.

Makes a nice vintage ornament to hang off a door this holiday season!

Happy Sunday!

Ornate Star #6

Here we are, half way through already! Are you sick of this stamp yet? Here's todays creation... I've pulled out the stamp positioner again and have stamped a continuous pattern with Archival Olive ink over a Fired Brick and Peeled Paint Distress Ink background. Then I punched out the 'Merry' from my Connecting Christmas paper with a 1" punch, mounted it onto a 1 1/4" green, then a 1 1/2" darker green. Inked all the edges with Archival Olive ink, and mounted it the same way on the card. This background would look good in a few other techniques as well, so I'll explore them in the next few cards.

As for Billy Elliot - what an amazing show. One of the best I've seen ! I laughed, I cried, and was just in awe of how small those kids were and how well they danced. They took the underlying theme and message from the movie to a whole new level. I loved the story already, and what they did with it in the musical was outstanding! I want to go back and see it again. It's only just started here in Sydney, so if you can manage to get tickets - I recommend it!

While in Sydney, I checked out an outdoor photography exhibition at Darling Harbour called 'Earth from Above'. It's a collection of images from French photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand that he has taken from a helicopter of various areas of the earth - showing elements of the environment and how we live that has an impact on the earth. The boards underneath the photos went into detail about the environment, with statistics, ideas of how we could diminish our impact, and if we don't, what the consequences would be (and how quickly that would happen.) I spent quite a bit of time there on the way to the theatre, on the way back to the hotel after the show, and again this morning. If you're around the area, check it out!

Happy Saturday!

Ornate Star #5

A very quick card for today as I'm heading off soon to see Billy Elliott the musical tonight at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney. Love musicals, and especially love this theatre!

So... all I did with this card was stamp directly onto a shimmery cardstock to make 2 hanging stars! I stamped the Ornate Star with Archival Crimson ink and Believe with Archival Cobalt ink. Then I added some Crystal Ice Stickles to the stars to give them a bit of bling! This would be so easy to do as a mass production run for Christmas cards (and you could change the greeting to suit your needs.)

Happy Friday! Yay!

Ornate Star #4

Onto card #4, and this one is a window card! First I covered the chipboard frame with Faded Jeans Distress Crackle Paint, and rubbed over it with a bit of Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink to bring out the cracks. I then made a window in the card, and inked the edges. I stamped the Ornate Star onto acetate with Archival Cobalt ink, and sandwiched it between the card and the chipboard frame.

(and the colour combo is just for my friend Wendy who LOVES brown and blue together :)

Happy Thursday - and Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it! While it's not a holiday here in Australia, we usually say what we're thankful for while eating dinner. I said I was thankful for many things: my family, my friends, my job, my health, the friends I've made in the craft and photography worlds, and for many many more things!

We went around the table, and when we got to Ethan he had one thing he was thankful for: his eyeballs!

He wouldn't elaborate on why he was thankful for them - but he's glad he has them! It made us all smile. :)

Ornate Star #3

I don't do a lot of Oriental cards or designs, but this is what this challenge is all about - trying different styles and ideas. So my idea for this one was to use the Ornate Star as a 'square' rather than a diamond. To line them up properly, I had to use a stamp positioner (trust me, I tried it without the stamp positioner because I was being lazy) but it doesn't work! Far better to take your time, enjoy the process, and emboss each star separately.

So... supplies used: Ranger Queens Gold Royal Satin Embossing Powder and some oriental papers that I had in my stash (source unknown, these are just offcuts that I picked up somewhere). And of course the Ornate Star stamp!

Hope you enjoy!

Happy Wednesday!