Monday 30 December 2013

Clarity Stamp Challenge - Scene Building

Hello crafty blog people, thanks for stopping by. This was a quick make that I have managed to squeeze in for the last challenge of the year over at the Clarity Stamp Challenge Blog. As usual all the stamps used are from Clarity and a mixture of Distress and Adirondack ink has been used to colour it.
Happy New Year to you all and hopefully next year will see me post more projects on here, well that's the aim anyway........

Tuesday 24 December 2013

Merry Christmas!

 Merry Christmas all. Just doing a very quick post to blog my family Christmas cards. Hope everyone has a very happy Christmas and  an even better new year.


Sunday 1 December 2013

Happy Birthday Hubby

Afternoon all. Today is Trev's birthday and this is the card I made for him. I used the free stamp that came with Craft Stamper a couple of issues ago and those of you who know him will recognise him just from the stamped image lol.
Thanks for looking and hope to be back soon.

Friday 22 November 2013

Clarity Stamp Challenge - Christmas

Christmas mobile for the Clarity Stamp Challenge
Afternoon all! For this post I have another Clarity Challenge to show you. The theme was Christmas and the hardest thing about this challenge was photographing the project at the end!!. Because it is not a small contained creation like a card, but a great long thing that needs hanging in a window it made it very difficult to photograph as the light was never right to get the whole thing in focus ....aaaarrrrrgghhh! So I decided to add a few pictures but I'm sure you get the idea.
Christmas Decoration
 I just used a christmas tree stamp from Clarity Stamps to make this Snowflake Christmas Hanger. I started off by stamping the tree in a circle formation onto acetate using black Staz-on ink and painted every other tree in either silver or bronze Distress Paint and then added Glamour Dust to the paint before it dried. When dry I cut the flakes out and sprayed the glittered side with Crafters Companion Spray and Shine to seal the glitter in. I punched a hole in each flake and threaded through some silver elastic.
Snow flake made from the Christmas Tree stamp
Christmas Hanger Top
The top of the hanger was made out of a piece of folded chipboard, that I painted with the silver and bronze distress paint. I stamped the tree four times and painted with the distress paints and then cut out and mounted onto black card, before sticking to the painted chipboard. Sequin ribbon was stuck to the edge at the bottom and the top was made out of wire edged ribbon. The silver elastic was threaded through the middle of the hanger and attached to a silver book binder ring and there you have it.
Thanks for looking.


Wednesday 13 November 2013

Autumn Cards

 Hello Crafty ladies and gents. Thought I would post these to Autumnal themed cards today as it wont be too long before the season has passed and we will be in the depths of Winter......

Thursday 7 November 2013

Butterfly Birthday

Evening all. Just a quick little post to show a recent card I made using Grunge Board butterflies and lots of distress ink.............

Thursday 31 October 2013

Clarity Challenge - Winter

Afternoon bloggers. I have left the Clarity Challenge to the real last minute this month and have hopefully made it by the skin of my teeth. The theme is winter so hopefully that is was the card sort of looks like. As ever all the stamps used are from Clarity but the die cut of the pine cone and leaves are from Joanna Sheen.
I have tried to keep the card really simple. I stamped the pheasant and coloured with water colour, then the fir trees were stamped with moss Versa Fine, followed by the balloons using black Versa Fine. I stamped the largest balloon onto separate paper and cut out so that I could decoupage it with sticky fixers to add a bit of dimension. I used the Clarity cloud mask for the sky and dabbed on two different blue distress inks to create a wintry sky. I watercoloured with the blue distress inks on the balloons and the snow and to finish off added a touch of crystal Stickles to the pine cones and leaves for a bit of sparkle.
Thanks for looking.

Tuesday 15 October 2013

UTEE Canvas

 Afternoon all, just thought I would post details of the canvas that I had a go at creating at the weekend. I really didn't have a clue how this was going to turn out so started by just sploshing ink and paint on the canvas until an idea came to me. Next I applied some clear glossy accents to the canvas and covered it with a mixture of seed and bugle beads that I had lying around. Think they were a free gift from a magazine.
  Then I used some die cut flowers that I had already made using a die from the Tattered Lace range. I dipped them into clear UTEE so they have a porcelain appearance. Before I attached them to the canvas I stamped some foliage images using green Staz-on ink onto the canvas (from Chocolate Baroque) just using the rubber image pressed directly onto the canvas without the usual mount. (As the canvas isn't a firm surface it is easier to press the stamp without the mount.)
The sentiment is from Chocolate Baroque and I stamped onto a Spell binders die cut, which I then covered in clear utee and then cracked. I added a gold wax to the edges for interest. As the sentiment is not completely flat it has not photographed particularly well, but I am sure you get the idea from the image.

Thanks for looking......

Saturday 28 September 2013

Decorative Jar

 My blog posts are just like buses, nothing for ages and then two at once lol. This little creation is a bit different and started off as a clear plastic jar.
 The flowers have all been created from a set of Sheena Douglass stamps. I  stamped the images onto paper, which I then placed inside the jar and then traced around the outline using a Pebeo outliner. Once dry I coloured in using the Pebeo Fantasy paints.
After the flowers were dry I painted the inside of the jar was black gesso and on the outside I sponged silver alcohol ink. The jar was finished off with a few beads attached to the lid and there you have it............

Vintage Clarity

Hello crafting folk. Today I have my Clarity Challenge card to show. The theme was Vintage and as always just Clarity stamps have been used.
The main collage image has been stamped twice next to each other in versa mark and then copper pan pastel was dusted over the wet ink. One of Clarity's many corner stamps was stamped in each corner and embossed in copper and the sentiment was stamped onto a spell binders die cut and coloured with Distress Ink. I tied a bow with some mesh ribbon and added a couple of other thinner types of ribbon along with a silver rose and a metal heart. I used a strip of the mesh to create the base card by sponging distress ink through it.
Thanks for popping by and having a peek........

Wednesday 11 September 2013

Happy Anniversary

Afternoon blog people. It's mine and my husband's 20th wedding anniversary today so thought I would show the card I made for him. As you can see it's not that traditional but I think it's just right as it is not mushy or twee. Which is fine for some, just not for me!
I used a selection of stamps but can't remember all of them so probably best I don't mention any, Spellbinders dies and of course nothing could be possible without Tim Holtz Distress Ink. Loved getting inky making this card and adding layers of stamping and colour. It's knowing when to stop which is the hard part, but hopefully I did.....
Thanks for looking.

Friday 30 August 2013

Clarity Challenge - Animals

Afternoon Crafters. The card I have to show today was made for the Clarity Challenge and the theme was animals. As usual all stamps used are Clarity and all inks used were Distress except the butterfly. I stamped the butterfly onto acetate using Staz-on and then coloured with Sakura pens. I added glitter to the reverse, however in this picture you don't seem to be able to see it!

Thanks for looking and hope to be back soon. Have quite a few pictures to add so no excuse not to really.....

Saturday 3 August 2013

Sport

Evening crafty people. The card I have for you this lovely sunny evening is a sporty birthday card made using a set of stamps from Clarity. The background was made by stamping the sportsmen in black and the brushing a blue distress ink over the top. I then placed a grid mask over the top and sponged a red distress ink over the top. The word Sport was stamped onto plain card and the footballer stamped in the O. I then coloured the card using the same distress ink as the background and cut using a spellbinder die. The card was finished off with a Birthday Wishes sentiment and faux stitching added to the topper and sentiment.
Thanks for looking.

Monday 29 July 2013

Hot Hot Hot

Hello all. This card was made for Clarity Stamp's monthly challenge. The theme was "Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside" so as you can see I took this quite literally and had the deck chair stamp right by the sea! The stamps used were for the sentiment and the deck chair and they are of course courtesy of Clarity Stamps. The rest of the card has been created with water colour pencils, Promarkers and a few splodges of Crystal Stickles. The image was stamped onto card cut using two types of Spellbinders Dies and a few dots and highlights were added with a white highlight pen.
Hope you like and thanks for looking.

Thursday 4 July 2013

UTEE Picture Frame

 Morning Crafty folk. Thought I would show the picture frame that I decorated with Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel and Sculpey Clay. I covered the frame in melted UTEE and then stamped into it with a Sheena Douglass swirl stamp. In between the swirls I added clear drying glue and black sparkly glitter along with some green jute. The butterfly and swirl at the bottom of the frame were created from light weight Sculpey clay that I stamped into with Sheena Douglass stamps and dusted with Perfect Pearls, before baking in the oven. I then attached them to the frame with Pinflair Glue Gel.
The three framed tulips were stamped using another of Sheena's stamps, coloured with promarkers and then decoupaged to try and add a bit of depth.
I loved making this frame as it was something a bit different for me, hope you like and thanks for looking.

Monday 24 June 2013

Clarity Challenge Number 4 - Mr & Mrs

Afternoon all. Can't believe that Clarity Stamps are into their fourth challenge, time has gone so quick. The theme this month was Mr and Mrs, so a wedding card it was. Shame really as I had to do a wedding card a couple of months ago and my wedding anniversary isn't until September so this card is for no one in particular. All stamps used are clarity and I made the heart mask from a Sizzix die. The two hearts in the middle have been stamped onto acetate and glittered from behind. I coloured them by spraying tattered angel  spray ink onto the glitter. Everything else has been coloured with Distress ink except for the buttons. I used Promarkers to colour them instead. The card was finished off with a Micron pen which I used to doodle the squigley lines. There you have it, thanks for looking.

Saturday 22 June 2013

Dragonfly Card



Hello there. This card was made as part of my entry to Sheena Douglass' design team call out, but sadly I was not chosen, however I now have some stuff to put on my blog so I will post the other projects later. I don't seem to be able to produce anything half decent unless I have a focus so will have to find another way of finding my Mojo! Perhaps I need to go in search of some Challenge blogs to get going........

Anyway if anyone is interested this is how this card was put together:
I created the background by brushing on Distress Ink and then spritzing with water. Once dry I stamped the flowers using silver and bronze Brilliance ink and then over stamped them with black ink. I then added the sentiment. I then cut the background into two panels and mounted onto silver and black card. The dragon fly was stamped onto acetate using black Staz-on. The wings were glittered with Crystal Stickles and the body was coloured with ProMarkers. I then backed the dragon fly with white paper and mounted onto the card with foam pads. All stamps used are from Sheena Douglass.

Sunday 16 June 2013

Happy Birthday

Afternoon all. Thought I would do a quick post today to show a card I made for a friend of my daughter's. Not my usual type of card as there is hardly any stamping apart from the diamonds in the background. Everything else that has been added is either a die-cut, ready made embellishment or ribbon, but of course it has  had a liberal covering of distress ink......
Thanks for looking.

Thursday 30 May 2013

Clarity Challenge - All In The Sentiment

Afternoon all. Thought I would show the little wall hanging I made for this months Clarity Stamp Challenge titled It's All In the Sentiment. Basically making the sentiment the focal point of the piece and of course only using Clarity Stamps.
The hanging is made from a piece of canvas backed board which I painted with a wash of green acrylic paint that I watered down. I placed a Splodge Away mask onto the dried surface and very lightly dabbed black Distress Ink through. Stamped and embossed the sentiment and then covered over with a mask and added some more black ink. Stamped the corner stamp in black and embossed the corners, then the same stamp in gold Brilliance was used for the background and the strip at the bottom that the eyelets were punched through. The wire work is basically a big cheat in that I dismantled an old broken necklace for a instant decoration and there you have it, one entry to the Clarity Stamp Challenge!
Thanks for looking.

Tuesday 28 May 2013

Happy Birthday

Hello blog peeps, hope you all had a good bank holiday weekend. We did as it was my daughter's birthday yesterday and the weekend was taken up with everything that teenage celebrations involve, such as cake, giggling girls, meal out, sleepover, take-away pizza, shopping trip etc. etc!
This is the card that I made for my daughter using a free Woodware owl stamp that came with a magazine, a few die cuts from spellbinders and Sizzix, gingham ribbon and faux flowers and leaves from my stash. The image was coloured with Promarkers and a few finishing touches were added such as stick on gems and a white flowery ribbon and there you have it!

Thanks for looking and see ya again soon!

Friday 26 April 2013

Clarity Challenge - In The Garden

Hi crafty peeps. This is my entry for Clarity Stamps monthly challenge. All the stamps used are Clarity and I have coloured it with a mixture of distress ink and promarkers. Trying to ground the deckchair was the hardest part, still haven't quite mastered this trick yet as it now looks like someone has placed the chair in a pile of mud!! Not sure you can see from the picture but I have added Glossy Accents to the flowers and Crystal Stickles to the tree blossom.
Thanks for looking....

Monday 1 April 2013

Fantasy Flower

 Afternoon all, thought I would do a quick post and show you a card I made for a recent birthday. The flower is from a Sheena Douglass stamp set. The background has been stamped and then water coloured then mounted onto black card. I then stamped the flower onto EcoArt Board, outlined it using a Pebeo liner and then painted it with the Pebeo Fantasy paints. Once dry it was mounted onto black card that I had cut using a Spellbinders die and then glued to the front of the card. The whole thing was finished off with the Happy Birthday stamp from Clarity Stamps that I again mounted onto black card.
Thanks for looking!

Wednesday 27 March 2013

Clarity Stamp's First Challenge

 
Hello crafty peeps. Thought I would kill two birds with one stone here and make an Easter card for my Mother-in-law and also use the design to enter the first Clarity Stamp anything goes crafty challenge.
All the stamps used are Clarity and it has been coloured with Pro-markers and mustard seed and marmalade distress ink. The little oval/egg shapes were cut on the Cricut and then stamped with the Clarity daffodil stamp and then its been finished off with a generous sparkle of Crystal Stickles.
Thanks for looking.......

Monday 4 March 2013

Hi blogger folk, thanks for clicking on my work. The project I have to show today is a wooden plaque which I have painted, inked and stamped within an inch of its life. Then die cut flowers and leaves have been arranged and attached with Pinflair Glue Gel. The background flower and swirl stamp are both Clarity and the die cuts have been cut from a new set from Stephanie Weightman.
Thanks for looking and hope to be back soon.....

Friday 25 January 2013

Stamp Addicts Collection

Hello Bloggers, well this is my first post of the year so I suppose I should wish you all a belated Happy New Year, however judging by the complete lack of comments to this blog there is probably no one to wish Happy New Year to!!
I have been busy crafting as always and the makes I have to show today are all made using Stamp Addict stamps. The Ballerina easel card has been stamped and then masked so that Ballet Shoes can be stamped as a background and then coloured with water colour and distress ink. The frame was cut out of an old cardboard box using a Sizzix die, painted pink and then wrapped with organza ribbon. The large flower has been layered up and spritzed with spray ink, the Ballerina sentiment was stamped onto card and mounted using a sticky fixer to create the stopper for the easel and the the bow was added to a cut off piece of cardboard that I had wrapped in organza like the frame.
 
This butterfly card has been made by combing a couple of Stamp Addicts sets, but as usual has been coloured using a variety of distress inks. All of the circles were cut using spell binders dies. A couple of the background circles were created using the resist technique and the remaining  two were created by sponging distress ink through a mask created by the spell binders die. Butterflies have been stamped and some have been cut out and mounted with Pinflair Glue Gel and Crystal Stickles applied to the wings for added interest.
 
This wall hanging has been created by using strips of raffia to make the "vine" and then one of Stamp Addicts cube stamps has been stamped into Sculpey Ultra Light white clay. I cut the daisies and ginkgo leaves out of the clay and then baked them. Once cooled I coloured them with a mixture of water colour and distress ink. The daisy centres were decorated with Glossy Accents and clear glass beads. Once they were all dried I glued a button threaded with wire onto the back of each flower and ginkgo leaf so that I could then tie the wire around the raffia and secure into place.