All about the leftovers

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Craft packages ordered = 0, craft packages received =2

Thank goodness it is finally Friday, although it does mean that next week is fast approaching and it has the potential to top trump all nightmare weeks to date. Anyway at least there is lovely weekend time to recharge the batteries and indulge in some more leisurely craftiness.

I wanted to do something other than a card but was also short on time so needed something fairly quick. So I set myself a little challenge. Spend no more than ten minutes and only use crafty stash that is visible. I don’t know about you but I quite often end up with bits and bobs that have no official home plus other bits and bobs that do have an official home but got left behind in the clear up.

The base of my canvas is some of the card I used for my Dylusions experiments.  I tore the Tim Holtz giggle ticket out of its book ages ago because I loved it, but it didn’t go with any of the projects I was working on. You probably recognise the big flower as I used that in last week’s Sunday Stampers and again for the Altered Alice challenge. There are a couple of inchies which I didn’t use for the City Crafter Challenge. There are also some 7Gypsies “Conservatory” paper scraps that I clung on to because I loved the images and colours and they were too small to go in my paper stash. I added my little bee stamp, which is always to hand, and some mark making.

Although I only took ten minutes, this was sooo relaxing I can’t tell you, just what was needed after my frenetic week. It’s been awhile since I’ve abandoned any art so think I will leave this somewhere on my travels next week.

The other side of the grass…

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Still travelling hither and thither – a different destination every day this week, it can only be a matter of time before I end up standing on the wrong platform! Today I travelled by car, train, bus, tram and taxi – not to mention a fair bit of walking. Why is it never private jet or luxury cruise liner? At least whilst I’m travelling I can be thinking about what I might be crafting when I make it home.

The starting point for the challenge over at The Shabby Tearoom this week is using this picture:

 

You’ll notice the predominance of green – that colour that I rarely enagage with but seem to be using all the time these days. It was the lanterns that caught my eye – years ago I was entranced by a Christmas  production at the Sheffield Playhouse that, in one scene, had lots and lots of lanterns hanging from the ceiling. I’ve never forgotten it. When I came across some Japanese lantern images over at the Graphics Fairy I knew fate was signposting the way to go.

First I used a graphics programme to change the colour of the lanterns to green, then I did a colour wash over them using a waterbrush and some Shabby Shutters Distress Stains before cutting them out. At the same time I dyed some American seam binding the same colour. I knew I wanted little blossoms on the lanterns so used my good old Martha Stewart punch. The finishing touches were tiny pink gems and some “raindrops” for contrast.

Off on my travels again tomorrow – anyone have a helicopter (with pilot) I can borrow????

 

 

 

 

 

 

Up against the clock – the dandelion kind

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As you know, my life isn’t exactly time rich right now. I seem to be spinning a lot of plates and it can only be a matter of time before some of them come crashing down – watch this space! I hate it when time for crafting gets squeezed to the bare minimum as it is now and am determined not to let the day job take over completely.

So, back in the lovely crafty blogland the theme for this week’s challenge over at Sunday Stampers is ribbon. I love ribbon except, I don’t know about you, I rarely have the right coloured/size/texture of ribbon that I need for whatever bit of craftiness I’m doing? My box of ribbons is also in a right old mess and sorting it is on my to do list – like that will ever happen!

I decided that as I had made a couple of cards that were very frou-frou and vintage, I would go for something that was a complete contrast – something simple and fresh. (Yes, Ok and also because, in theory, it should be quicker). I started with a lovely dandelion clock stamp which I stamped with Versamark onto glossy card and then embossed with clear embossing powder. I then went over the image with some Adirondack Juniper ink. Next, I used Broken China, Peacock Feathers and Chipped Sapphire distress inks to build up the background. I mounted the card on another piece of glossy card and inked the edges with Broken China. I used white American seam binding and added a button to the bow. The finishing touches were to stamp a little bee, using black Stazon, and the word “smile” from a Tim Holtz pad. Finally, I fought every single urge I had to add butterflies, pearls, glitter and bling and am very glad that I did.

Stamped and embossed resist with distress inks

Stamped and embossed resist with distress inks

Stamped and embossed resist with distress inks

 

I was trying to remember when was the last time I blew on a dandelion clock. Never seems to be the time for that kind of thing these days!

 

 

 

 

City inchies

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Craft packages ordered =0, Craft packages received =1

I’ve been keeping a little secret all to myself for what seems like ages. A few weeks ago I won my first blog challenge, over at City Crafter Challenge Blog creating this little card:

Fabric roses, postcard image via Vintiquities workshop blogspot

Now I’ve said before that blog challenges are not about winning but I was dead chuffed as, at that time, I hadn’t been in blogland very long at all. City Crafter Challenge Blog was one of the very first that I entered. The team are so, so friendly and very, very,  talented and their challenges are inspirational. Buzz on over and take a look!

Anyway, the reward for winning the challenge was to have a guest designer spot and that’s today. When I found out the theme was inchies I was really pleased as I love any excuse to make these babies. I was very excited and couldn’t wait to get cracking and then the nerves kicked in!!! There were so many possibilities for this challenge and I had so many ideas it took me ages (and a lot of rejected inchies) before I settled on a plan. Fortunately, I have an inchie punch so cutting squares is quick!

In the end, I decided to make a card that could go inside (one of my new) a large matchbox. I chose aqua and pink, one of my fave colour combos, and added a little bit of vintage cream/sepia for contrast. To each square I added a little dimensional detail. This is the bit of inchies I love.

Greeting card to go in matchbox

Once the card was made I decorated the matchbox in a similar way, adding in a little birdcage, which I painted and glittered, and some vintage lace.

Altered matchbox

Altered matchbox with card

I also made some plain thank you cards to go in the box. Despite the nerves, I had a ball with this – thank you for the opportunity CCCB ladies.

 

Altering Alice

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Another Monday, the start of another busy week when I shall be travelling hither and thither for the day job. As you know, Monday only means one thing and that’s Brag Monday at The Graphics Fairy. For my project this week I have used this beautiful fountain image:

And this cute little toadstool

The inspiration for my project comes from The Altered Alice blogspot which has a monthly challenge. I’ve been wanting to do stuff based around Alice for ages so was pleased to find a site dedicated to all things Alice. The theme for this month’s challenge is garden/flowers, taken from when Alice first arrives in Wonderland and does all that eating, drinking, shrinking and growing malarky.

I’ve been playing around with Dylusions inks and use some of the papers I created for this dimensional card. I printed the fountain image onto the green paper and then added some highlights using a white pen. I added flower soft to the base of the fountain to give it a mossy look. I manipulated the toadstool image so that I had a selection of sizes and added these to the card using foam pads and Pinfliar glue gel to give them dimension. I’ve used some real moss along the base. The flowers were punched using my Martha Stewart blossom punch. Down the side of the card are some labels which I got from one of my favourite Etsy shops – Magic Pug

Alice in Wonderland garden card – toadstool and fountain images via The Graphics Fairy

Inside – toadstool and fountain images via The Graphics Fairy

Detail – labels from magicpug @Etsy

Detail – labels from magicpug @Etsy

For the front of the card I first printed some text onto the ink sprayed paper. The Alice image is from the A Very Important Date CD by My Craft Studio. All the images come in black and white and colour. This was black and white which I coloured with Promarkers. There’s another little toadstool in the corner and a stamped flower which is painted with Dylusions.

Alice – front, toadstool image via The Graphics Fairy

Front – toadstool image via The Graphics Fairy

Inside 1 – toadstool image via The Graphics Fairy

Inside – toadstool & fountain images via The Graphics Fairy

Alice in the garden of Wonderland – toadstool and fountain images via The Graphics Fairy

I’m so pleased with how this turned out – it’s just as I planned it in my head. It didn’t all go according to plan but I got there in the end!

Going dotty – polka dotty

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Craft packages ordered =2, craft packages received =0 It gets worse

When I first started my blog I admitted that I was a crafty stash hoarder. Liked to look at my stash, liked to stroke my stash, but use it – woah, go easy, no need to be rash. How things have changed. Now packages arrive and some days barely have chance to land on the mat before the conents are being used.

I’ll admit to a slight twinge when it came to cutting into the beautiful Graphic 45 papers from the Ladies Diary collection but I did it and you saw the results yesterday. But I couldn’t leave those pinky peach papers alone and so here they are again, put to good use, for the City Crafter Blog Challenge for which the theme is polka dots. What is it about those spots that has us all going dotty?

For my card I’ve used several of the designs from the Ladies Diary papers plus a sheet of music from The Graphics Fairy which I’ve used several times before. I’ve added lots of lace, a little pom pom trim, Prima flowers, buttons, pearls and, of course, a punched butterfly.

Music image via The Graphics Fairy

Music image via The Graphics Fairy

The hardest part was making sure that the clock face was the right way up. For some reason it was hard to see the XII and each time I placed it, it was always wrong!

Detail – music image via The Graphics Fairy

Muisc image via The Graphics Fairy

Having so enjoyed using these scrumptious papers I think I might have to invest in some more!

PS – Very excited that it is now only 100 days until Christmas.

 

 

Rolling roses

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Craft packages ordered = 1, Craft packages received =1 A well balanced day me thinks!

Woke up feeling extremely stiff this morning after my escapades at the Sheffield Food Festival yesterday and took awhile to get going. Still, it was nice to do a bit of gentle crafting having made goodness knows how many zillions of healthy pancakes yesterday!

Today I’m back at The Shabby Tearoom having a go at their latest challenge for which this picture is the inspiration:

You have to use the colours, plus include lace, fabric and a button. Now buttons and lace I have a plenty but, to be honest, I didn’t have much stash in keeping with the colour palette. Fortunately, I did have a bunch of white muslin and some Tattered Rose distress stain so that was where I started, dyeing some muslin strips with the stain and rolling them up into cute little roses. I’d spotted the pearls in the picture so used those as centres for the flowers. I thought rolling the flowers would echo the rolls of fabric and thread etc in the picture.

I decided that Graphic 45′s A Lady’s Diary papers would do the job and, as it turned out, were a really good match for Tattered rose. I wanted to capture a “sewing room” feel so made a little swatch from more paper and added a touch of fabric and some pearl headed pins. Lace and pale blue buttons were the finsihing touches.

Appropriate that the paper has a little teapot on it. Must say I love this colour palette, which can only mean one thing – I need to get more stash!!

Dylusional

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Craft packages ordered =0, craft packages received = 1

I’ve found a new love. Can you guess what it is? Yes, of course you can – Dylusions Ink sprays. There is only one word to describe these and that is luscious. Hels Sheridan, over at Ink On My Fingers has been doing some lovely stuff with these and set my shopping fingers twitching. Then, you know how it is, suddenly everything you look at has been done with Dylusions ink. I confess, reader – I cracked.

Appropriate then that the first airing of my use of these delightful babies should be for Hels’ Sunday Stampers challenge which this week is “A riot of colour.” Now here comes a warning – if you get these inks (and you really should), once you start playing you will not stop. After your first “ooh I like that,” your next thought will be “I wonder what happens if I…” and that will be it.

In that exact frame of mind a spritzed and dabbed and swirled and spritzed some more for ages, I couldn’t tear myself away. I chose a zingy lime background and then mounted a juicy pink/orange mat on top. I stamped a little border of vines using black Stazon, then added some dotty highlights using a white pen. To make the flowers I first stamped them on white card, using black Stazon, then painted the Dylusions inks on using a waterbrush. To do this I spritzed small blobs of ink onto a Splodge Away mat. I used foam pads to attach the flowers and added little yellow buttons to the centre of some of them. The final touch was a little stamped fairy which I dabbed with glitter (but the camera doesn’t pick it up). The words are from Tim Holtz Ideaology Chit Chat pad.

Believe in your dreams – Dylusions Inks

Believe in Your Dreams

Believe in Your Dreams

One thing I don’t like about Dylusions Inks are the lids. As they are clear, my old age eyesight just can’t see them once I’ve put them down!! The other thing I’ve learned is that it is not a good idea to use these inks the night before you’re due to be cooking at the Sheffield Food Festival!

 

Lilac dreams

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Craft packages ordered =0, craft packages received =2 (Going down hill fast!!)

When I came across Crafty Ann’s blog challenge #73, to create a monochrome card in either shades of turquoise/aqua, or lilac/purple it was a hard one to call. Especially as not that long ago I made an aqua themed house and then, just last week, a couple of medallion cards using purple.  I decided to continue with the purple theme on the basis I had more choices of lilac/purple ribbon than I did aqua.

Still in love with my Tonic Petal Pairs punches I decided to make a whole bunch of flowers using lilac card. Before assembling the blooms I edged each one with with Shaded Lilac Distress Ink. I also punched some leaves and blossom, in lilac and purple using my Martha Stewart punches. My starting point was the lilac spotty ribbon and the little arrangement in the corner of the card. The finishing touches were a Thank You sentiment, stamped with Shaded Lilac, some little pearls (which were in one of today’s craft packages!) to the centre of the larger flowers and a lilac heart-shaped brad. If that all sounds (and looks) straight forward I can’t tell you how long it took arranging and rearranging the flowers until I was happy with how they looked!

Lilac blooms

Lilac Blooms

I am also going to enter this in the Crafty Boots “one” challenge  – one heart, one colour. If only I had time to do an aqua version too. However, tomorrow is the climax of an extremely hectic and exhausting week. I shall be at the Sheffield Food Festival all day cooking healthy dishes with children from local schools. So if you are passing the Winter Gardens on Friday 14th please buzz by to say hello – there will be lots of free samples to taste.

 

Little house of love

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Craft packages ordered = 1, Craft packages received = 1 And I was doing so well this week :(

If you’ve been here before, you will know that I love anything miniature and am a big fan of little houses and in particular little glittery Putz style houses. I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to them. Having successfully completed and shared my first little house I’ve been keen to do more. Great then that a couple of blog challenges have provided the perfect opportunity for me to do another.

Crafty Boots are celebrating their first birthday and have set the challenge of “one”. Crafty Boots is a brilliant site and another that has a really friendly community, it was one of the first I came across and I got a really warm welcome. They also offer junior challenges for younger crafters which is fab. So congratulations and Happy Birthday to all involved.

Meanwhile,  Anything But A Card  have launched their very first challenge with an Anything G. The clue is in the title – you can enter any craft project, except a card. They already have a load of brilliant entries – I never fail to marvel at how creative people are. I’m thrilled to have discovered their site right from the start and wish them every success.

My little house is one from Tando that I purchased at the Craft Barn. I’ve just been back and bought a new batch (or should that be street?) as I really do want to try and make these a speciality. First off, I gave it a couple of coats of white paint. The windows were painted with sage green and the little front door was painted red. I’ve learned that it is better, although fiddly, to paint these attachments before you stick them to the house. I raided my button stash and covered the roof with ivory buttons. Once everything was dry (patience is not a virtue I possess) I coated the walls of the house with crystal glitter and the roof with Pinflair’s beautiful Ice Diamond followed by a coat of their Snow Dust.  I popped a little pom-pom trim around the base of the house then covered this with Snow Dust too. The finishing touches were some little red gems, a teeny bow and some Ideaology words.

Our Little home – putz/glitter house

Our Little home – putz/glitter house

Our Little Home

Our Little Home

Our Little Home

Our Little Home

It is, of course, anything but a card and meets the Anything Goes challenge, I will probably pop it on a box when I can find one that is the correct size. It is one (cutesy) little house, with one red door, one little bow and is number one on the street. I’ve also used one heck of a lot of buttons and one heck of a lot of glitter!