The Crafting Cafe - Challenge No. 2

Hi Everyone, today is my turn to post my DT card over at The Crafting Cafe Challenge Blog - this month our theme is our favourite colour and we are sponsored by Delicious Doodles.  Click HERE for all the challenge details.

Here is the card I've made for the challenge using an image from our sponsor:

I printed the watering can, from Delicious Doodles and coloured it using distress markers in scattered straw, mustard seed, spiced marmalade, dusty concord, pumice stone, peeled paint, forest moss and worn lipstick.  I coloured around the watering can using tumbled glass distress ink.  I then cut a square of white card, rounded the corners, cut the diamond shape using an Xcut die and embossed the card using a dots embossing folder.  I layered the watering can image onto a 6x6 kraft card blank then topped it off with the embossed panel mounted with foam pads.

Thanks for stopping by today, Claire x

Mother's Day Card

Hi Everyone, thanks for stopping by today to see the card I made for my Mum for Mother's Day.

I used a 8x8 square card blank for my base and cut some patterned paper to fit, the paper came free a while ago with a magazine.  I distressed the patterned paper using vintage photo distress ink and mounted it onto a piece of textured dull gold paper.  I then cut two shapes from card using a couple of dies - an xcut die and a crafts too die - the larger die cut was spritzed with gold cosmic shimmer and edged with vintage photo.  The smaller die cut shape was distressed with antique linen and vintage photo, I stamped the images and sentiment onto the card - these stamps I've had for quite a while and I've never used them - I'm not even sure who made them to be honest!  I then coloured the images with distress markers in worn lipstick, spun sugar, scattered straw and wild honey.  I added the lace across the centre of the card and mounted my die cut topper using foam pads before attaching the whole piece to my card blank.

My Mum said she loved my card yesterday when I went to visit her so I was really happy!!  We're off the the Great Northern Papercrafts Extravaganza this Saturday together so I'm really looking forward to that :)

I would like to enter my card in the following challenges:

• Ink On My Fingers - this week Hels Sunday Stamper theme is 'You Make Me Feel Brand New' so to use new stash or to use something you've had for ages and never used - all the details can be found HERE
• Pan Pastel Challenge Blog - the theme this week is a Girly Theme, all the challenge details can be found HERE
• Dream Valley Challenges - the theme for this fortnight is Mother's Day, pop HERE for their blog
• Simon Says Stamp and Show - this weeks theme is shabby chic, the challenge details can be found HERE

Thanks for popping by today, Claire x

Alpha/Dictionary Challenge - Ma-Me

So this fortnight over at The Craft Barn the chosen letter is M but there is a slight twist this time as we have to chose a word between Ma and Me.  To find out more about the challenge pop over to The Craft Barn blog HERE

 I did struggle a bit to find a word I liked but in the end I chose MERMAID:

So to start I masked the definition of mermaid then I used a mixture of white and tan acrylic paint mixed with water to lay down a base on the pages.  Once dry I dry brushed on two different shades of blue acrylic and once dry I dry brushed white over the top.  I then spritzed the pages with dylusions in purple, turquoise and yellow, I closed the dictionary and opened it and then blotted the pages with kitchen roll.  I then used some sequin waste to create a positive and negative stencil with a snowcap paint dabber.  I drew some rocks along the bottom of the pages with a black micron pen and stamped on some plants which are from a stamp set by Lindsay Mason.  I then stamped on the musical score which is a stamp by Papermania.  I uncovered the sentiment and added some dots around it to highlight it. The mermaid is a digital stamp from The Octopode Factory which I printed and then coloured using distress markers.  The colours I used on her were dusty concord, barn door, spiced marmalade, tattered rose, tumbled glass, broken china, faded jeans and spun sugar.  I then fussy cut her and stuck her onto my pages.

I hope you enjoyed my pages, thanks for stopping by and please feel free to leave me a comment - I love to read them!!

Claire x

Just Us Girls Challenge 179

                                                                                                 

Hi Everyone, it's been a little while since I've blogged but I've been around reading and visiting everyone else - just not had much to share if the truth be told!!

So today I took the time to sit and craft and made a RSVP card for my friend's wedding in April. 

I also used the opportunity to join in with the new challenge over at Just Us Girls which is to use a negative die cut.  

All the challenge details can be found HERE

So here is the card I created to join in with the challenge:

I used a 6x6 kraft card blank as my base and cut another square piece of kraft card slightly smaller than the base.  I used three spellbinders circles dies on this square piece to create the negative die cut technique.  I stamped the sentiment from Papermania in black versafine in the bottom right corner, then I used a black micron pen to add dots around each of the circle apertures and I drew straight lines around the edges.  I placed a piece of fabric textured flowery paper onto my card base and layered the cut card on top using foam pads.

Thanks for stopping by today - feel free to leave me a comment so I know you popped by!

Claire x

Alpha/Dictionary Challenge - H

Hi All, thanks for dropping by today!  

So it's time for the next letter in The Craft Barn alpha/dictionary challenge and the chosen letter this fortnight is H.  If you haven't seen the challenge yet (and it's a great one!) click HERE to visit their blog.

So for the letter 'H' I chose the word 'hot air balloon' and here are my pages:

So after struggling to keep my dictionary open over the past few weeks I had a brain wave to pop it onto my cookery book stand to hold it open for my pics!

To create my pages I first masked my definition using rangers matt n seal (it's just below the stamped balloon image on the right hand page) I then gave my pages a base wash with watered down white acrylic paint.  I then used cut n dry to apply distress inks in old paper, vintage photo, rusty hinge, spiced marmalade and barn door.  I stamped in the two hot air balloons by hero arts with black archival and coloured them using distress markers in barn door, fired brick and tumbled glass for the right balloon and the left was coloured with bundled sage, antique linen and scattered straw.  I cut some strips of hot air balloon paper from kaisercraft and added them to my pages, I drew some scribbled borders around them using a black soot distress marker.

Next I used a piece of sequin waste and did both normal and reverse stencilling with a snowcap paint dabber and also with fired brick distress ink.  To finish I added the three words from Tim Holtz chit chat stickers and outlined them with the black soot distress marker.

I'm really enjoying this challenge and I really hope I can stick to it for the whole year!

Thanks for visiting, please leave me a little comment so I know you dropped by :)

Claire x

Dylusions for Dad!

Hi All, thanks for stopping by today.  

So today I would like to share a card I've made for my Dad's birthday:

I created my background by spraying water and dylusions in london blue, vibrant turquoise, luscious lime and lemon zest onto some splodgeaway card.  I then used a piece of sequin waste and white acrylic paint to do some stenciling and some reverse stenciling.

I stamped the globe (part of a free stamp set from creativity magazine) on an off cut of the background and cut it out, I then coloured it using the dylusions inks and a paintbrush to make it a bit bolder and more prominent.

I stamped the cogs from the same free stamp set in black versafine and then the branches are from Indigoblu and are stamped in vintage photo DI.  The sentiment is from Waltzing Mouse Stamps and is stamped in black versafine.  

I inked the edges using vintage photo DI, added the yellow twine and then mounted onto brown card stock before adhering to my card blank. 

I would like to enter my Dad's birthday card in the following challenges:

• Sunday Stamper - this week Hels has chosen 'Men' for her theme - to find out more click HERE 

• Artful Times Challenge Blog - the current theme at Artful Times is 'Colour Technique' all the details for their challenge can be found by clicking HERE 

   Thanks for visiting my blog today, any comments are welcome!!

Claire x

The Crafting Cafe DT

Good Morning Everyone, I have some great news to share with you today! I was chosen to be a design team member for a brand new blog called The Crafting Cafe - click HERE to visit!

It is a monthly challenge and there are some fab digi stamps to be won - for the very first challenge we have chosen an anything goes theme.  My first project for the team uses the sponsor digi stamp by LEJ Designs:

To create my project I first printed out my digi and coloured the tulips using my distress markers (victorian velvet, milled lavender, worn lipstick, peeled paint and pine needles), I inked around the edges of my square with tumbled glass distress ink then I used the crackle stamp from Indigoblu stamped in vintage photo distress ink.  Then I gave it three coats of UTEE to give it an old ‘tile’ appearance.

I then used the fancy frame mask from Splodgeaway to create the background using distress inks (old paper, vintage photo, mustard seed and victorian velvet) and cut n dry foam.

I mounted my ‘tulip tile’ onto the background in the centre using foam pads, then added the ribbon and backed it onto the green cardstock before finally mounting onto my 8x8 card blank.

Do pop over to the challenge blog to see the other design team projects - there are some fab people on the team!

Thanks for stopping by, Claire x