Create Your Own Path

Hi everyone

Happy post arrived today in the form of the Media Medley and the Blooming Marvelous collections from CraftaScope.   So a pot of tea was made and taken into the studio for the start of a play day with these exciting products designed by Nick Roberts, the stamps, stencils and dies are fantastic quality. Its worth mentioning that most of Nick's stamps are made from TPR (Thermo Plastic Rubber) which is 100% recyclable and can be used with heat allowing techniques with UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Powder) and more.

I designed this canvas around the sentiment from the Positive Journey stamp set "Create Your Own Pathway".

First |I put colour on the canvas using spiced marmalade, twisted citron and peacock feathers distress oxides.

Then it was spritzed with water, left for a few seconds then dried to create the background.

Twisted citron oxide ink was then sponged through the Flower Orbit stencil to create interest.  Part of one design from the Retro Fun stencil was used back to back with texture paste to create the path through the middle of the canvas. When dry colour was added using black soot and vintage photo distress crayons. The flowers and leaf was added in the bottom right corner using glue gel, these were coloured with the peacock feathers oxide and aladine diamond. 

The sentiment was stamped onto white cardstock with black archival ink, coloured with the same three oxides used on the canvas and the letter were filled in with a green spectrum noir alcohol marker. This was matted onto black cardstock and added to the canvas using foam pads. 

The two pointed hands were cut from black, blue and cream card using one of the dies from the ATC Antics die set then layered up, cut in two and attached using foam pads.

So many ideas for using these wonderful products but until next time ...............

Happy crafting.

xx

MAWTT Butterfly Card

Morning everyone

Great news, I have returned to the MAWTT Design Team (Moving Along With The Times Challenge Blog) and here is my first card for Team B, the theme is "Bugs"

The card measures 8" x 8" is was made using the Crafters Companion Die'sire Lace Butterfly Create-A-Card die.  The image was inked using distress oxides then spritzed with water and left to dry naturally.  The die was used on a separate piece of card stock which had been coloured using Izink amethist (izink spelling) and silver pigment inks with water then left to dry, the butterfly was snipped out then layered onto the dry card using Pinflair glue gel. Down the centre of the butterfly, glue gel was also used to hold the chunky glitter pieces which give great dimension.  The Best Wishes sentiment words were die cut and put on opposite corners. 

Please pop over to the MAWTT blog to see the other Design Team makes and why not enter a card into the challenge while you are there. 

I love this colourful card and hope you do too.   

Now off to put the kettle on and tidy up so until next time..............

Happy crafting xx

Upcycled Frame

Hi all

This last week has been quite busy with Mum in hospital but hopefully on the mend and taking the youngest Daughter to her University interview / tour where she has now been offered a place on her chosen degree course. 

Today was the first chance to get back in my craft studio and I had just the project in mind........

From this cheap £1 frame

to this (I have covered the photo with plain paper as don't have the permission of the person to show it).

Firstly, silver gilding wax by Pebeo was used on the raised parts of the frame which already made it look so much better, then artificial flowers from my stash were pulled apart / cut up and glued on with Pinflair glue gel to make the embellishment in the corner. 

I hope you agree it has changed the look of the frame so much and was such an easy project.

Time to clear up, make a cuppa and start the dinner so until next time..............

Happy crafting xx

Vintage MDF Tag

Hi everyone

Hope you all had a good weekend, the weather here was sunny and warm so we took ourselves off for a long walk around a local National Trust park on Saturday afternoon.

Today I have been in the craft studio and this is one of the results, the details on how it evolved are further down.

A thin coat of white gesso was painted onto the mdf tag, once dry vintage photo and iced spruce distress oxide inks were blended on it to make a background and then water was dropped from my fingers and dried with kitchen towel (although the result of this ended up not being seen).  Texture paste was used through a Sheena Douglas stencil in the top right and bottom left corners to add interest. Here is a picture of the finished background before embellishments were added. 

 Four small square Tim Holtz fragments were coloured using sunset orange, meadow and espresso alcohol inks, each one then had a wooden letter attached with glossy accents and given a metallic look with Pebeo vintage gold gilding wax.  The wax was also used on the white frame, the white hearts and the heart on the pin. The dry texture paste was coloured using a vintage photo distress crayon. 

The tickets (which were roughed at the edges and tinted with vintage photo distress ink) were from an ephemera pack by Tim Holtz along with the photo image.  The key, lace, pins and metal heart were from my stash of embellishments.

Everything was then attached as shown using Pinflair glue gel and glossy accents. 

Well I hope you have enjoyed this as much as I did designing it, now for a tidy up and well earned cuppa so until next time..........

Happy crafting xx

Quick & Easy Birthday Card

Hi everyone

It's a bit dull here today although the sun is trying to push through the clouds. I'm in my craft studio with a nice hot cuppa, the radio on and singing (well trying to) while having a tidy up ready for the next project.

Thought I would take a break and pop on to show you a quick and easy Birthday card I made yesterday afternoon.

Using an A5 black card blank I matted and layered a piece of white card stock that was slightly smaller.   A piece of co-ordinations card stock  that was slightly smaller again was run through the Gemini machine along with a Dawn Bibby Creations stencil, this left a raised image which I sanded back.  Flat back pearls and glitter was used in the flower centres to add interest.  The Happy Birthday sentiment from the Exotic Flourish stamp set by Dawn Bibby was heat embossed with matching colour powder onto white card coloured with distress oxide ink then matted onto black, this was then added to the card using foam pads. 

I just love the colour of this card.

Really should stop putting off the massive tidy up so until next time...........

Happy crafting xx

Time Out!

Hi everyone

Quite a few of you know I have taken time out from crafting (for a variety of reasons) but now it feels right to remove the dust sheets from my craft studio and return to what I love doing.

A brand new page on Facebook has been created where I will share hints, tips, and how to videos of crafting techniques and crafty chat, you can find the page here if you want to pop over and take a look.

I am so looking forward to get back in the crafting saddle and showing you my creations.

Here are a couple
 of my make from the last few years to bring things up to date.

Now it's time for bed so until next time......
Happy crafting x