Grungy Monday1

Yipee a new weekly challenge for us set by Linda over at Studio L3.  "Grungy Monday" indulges us with our love of Tim Holtz, the Master of all things grungy. We are directed to Tim's website http://www.timholtz.com/ to look at how Tag10 of the 2008, 12 tags of Christmas was made.  We are to follow these techniques to create out tag.
As I am currently  away in the caravan, with our sons keeping the home fires burning, the supplies I have with me are a bit limited. I aimed for a shabby chic look, the actual tag is a liitle darker than the photo.
The colours are antique linen, shabby shutters and vintage photo, a dark green embossing powder and gold mica powder. When my OH saw the mister come out I was ushered outside, as he knows well the mess I can create with this tiny item. so needless to say, as it was quite windy most of the spray went over me, but hey, whats  a few splodges and sparkles in the name of craft for.
Thankyou for stopping by to take a look, I hope you will go over to Lindas to see the gorgeous examples.

Frame It

This week at Try it on Tuesdays Janet has set us  an Altered Art challenge--'Frame It'.

We are to change any frame, using any theme we like.

 Once again go see the Fab examples.

My frame is as you can see a mirror, purchased from that well known Scandinavian furniture store.

I used mainly Graphics 45 papers to decorate the frame. For once there is not a stamp to be seen. 

 Lace and flowers for the feminine touch.  The tailors dummy is my new TH die, which I covered with a bit of mesh material. The words on the metal piece are live, laugh and love, three words that say alot.

This is my OH  and  photographer in chief taking my pictures for me.

Thankyou for stopping by to take a look. as always I appreciate your comments.

Give us an Inch -- Wild Card, at TioT's.

This weeks challenge over at Try it on Tuesdays  is  the Wild Card week. Now don't panic, this means you have free choice as to what you make, anything goes. But, you must  include at least Three Inchies in your finished piece. Pop over and see the super examples by my fellow teamies.
My card is a mixture of things as you can see. Punched paper, Graphics 45 paper, stuff from my stash. Then the inchies,  a stamp of a lamp, cannot remember where this came from, I added some gliiter to it, but it hasn't shown up well on the photo.
Thankyou for stopping by, I realy appreciate your comments.

My best friend.

Challenge 11,  at Lets Ink it Up is to use die cuts/punches alongside some stamping.
The examples over there are fantastic.
The image on my card is  a Lily of the Valley stamp, coloured with cosmic shimmer paint.
For one layer I used a Martha Stewart round the edge set of punches. The embossed die cut is a Marianne D.   The papers were from  a paper stack, the  Annalee collection.
Thankyou for stopping by to take a look, your comments are appreciated.

One of a kind

Week 7 already for the Less is More challenges  set by Chrissie and Mandi. This week we are to create a card for a man..As always there are some fabulous creations to see overe there.
The stamp I used is easily recognisable as one of Tim Holtz, the wheels and cogs were embossed to add a bit of interest, but I stuck to the rules and used white card. The sentiment tag I thought was fun, as the friends husband who  will receive this card , is just that, 'one of a kind'.
Thankyou for stopping by to take a look at my card, Your comments are always welcomed.

Gift card.

 This is a small gift card, it measures at its widest only 2.5 inches.

This weeks challenge at Just for fun is to  try a format that you haven't used before. I can honestly say I haven't  made this shape of card ever  and  perhaps next time would go a bit larger.

I created the base card using a variety of stamps and Vintage Photo ink, marking approx where the template would go, before I stamped the words.   I was lucky and seem to have found the right spot.

Then I used Shabby Shutters and Victorian Velvet distress inks to shade the edges etc.

It was then just a matter of folding  up the petals and finding a butterfly to decorate . When I eventually use this gift card, I think I will be including a seperate personal message inside.

This piece will also fit the challenge at Crafty Cardmakers Spotlight 

where the theme was to design your own background paper.

Both of these super challenges have a variety of inspirational pieces, please go take a look.

Thankyou for stopping by to take a look at mine. I realy appreciate your comments.

Hand Made.

I have recently found Crafty Card Makeres challenges. The current Challenge 41,  is  Fabric, I hope I am not to late with this card.
There are some fantastic inspirational cards  to be found here .
My card is a mixture of layers, some paper,  a piece of net material, lace and ribbon, a small picture, buttons etc.  the sort of things that you just cannot throw away in case you might need them some time.
Thankyou for stopping by to take a look.

Try it on Tuesdays--chocolate.

This weeks Challenge over at Try it on Tuesdays is a free choice of what you make, Card, Tag, ATC  etc. anything you fancy creating. Please pop over and see the fabulous examples.
The theme has been chosen by Michelle,   'Chocolate',  now who doesn't like this gorgeous confection, not many I'll bet.
I made this card for her birthday last week.
I used  Thorndon Hall  card stock for my base, as it was already  the chocolate colour I wanted to use.
The fragment tile, I made for a Compendium of Curiosities challenge recently with this card in mind..
The trimmings came from my stash, the charm beside the bow is a Bar of Chocolate, sorry not the edible kind..
Thankyou for stopping by to take a look, your comments are realy appreciated.

Off the Edge

Less is More challenge week 10.
This week Chrissie and Mandi  set us the challenge  of a one layer card, with an  'off the egde'  theme. There are some brilliant examples to see, here .
With all that has happened  in Japan over the past few days and with a crafty friend who has family working  out there, my card  has an oriental look.
The stamp on the edge is by Stampington, the bit you cannot see is her hand resting on a book, with joss sticks burning behind, you can see a waft of smoke.
I am not sure which way up the writting should be, so please forgive me  if its upside down, I decided that sideways might work on this card.
I used chalks to colour the image.
Thankyou  for stopping by to take a look, it is lovely to read your comments.

Wild Rose

Another experiment day following Sheena Douglas's  background instructions. This time a touch of vaseline to act as a resist with the old magnolia emulsion paint. I also used  her Wild Rose set of stamps.
Colouring in with acrylic paint, made me realise I need lots, lots, more practise with my paintbrush, but the whole process felt very relaxing.
When I had painted the butterfly I stamped over it again to emboss the edges, luckily I got it in the right position over the the original image.
Challenge 10  at. Lets Ink It Up is Embossing, There are some super examples of all kinds of embossing  to look at there.
Thankyou for taking time to stop by and take a peep at my efforts.

Daisy

This week over at Just for Fun the challenge is for us  to Try a New Technique.
Pop over and see the super examples.
So, I have tried a new way to me, of distressing backgrounds.  It is an amazing method and one that I will keep using.
A couple of weeks ago I watched Sheena Douglas demonstrating her new Paint Fusion techniques.
 How to make a  distressed background, using watered down pva glue and household matt emulsion was  the one I have experimented with. I have to say her ideas were so different that I had to buy a few of her stamps.
Now I know these flowers are supposed to be daisies and mine look a bit blue. If I had left them white you wouldn't have seen them on my magnolia paint. I also need to get a chisel brush that she recommended some time soon. The card is completed with papers etc from my stash.
This card will also fit in with The Stampmans new challenge theme Floral, with Mothers Day coming up soon.

Thankyou for stopping by to take a look, I realy appreciate your comments.

C of C week 35

Week 35 and the last page  we are  to  discover  in the most incredible journey that Linda has guided us through,  exploring  Tim  Holtz's  Compendium of Curiosities.  

This week we are on page 67 , the subject Design Details.  As usual, no word can be said about the methods etc.  I did have to improvise a bit and this is my take on the  theme,  but that only adds to the fun.

Please go look at the amazing examples  at Studio L3.

I have so  enjoyed this  challenge, only missing  the first two weeks. Alot of my pieces are on my first blog, which went walk about big style earlier this year. 

 Like everyone else, I wondered what was to happen next.  It has been like belonging to an extended family  over the past weeks. Thankyou Linda for hearing us  cry out for more.  Next week, she  will reveal  what will be the follow on challenge. I am looking forward to this already.

Also a huge thankyou to all the folk who have stopped by to leave a message, I realy appreciated your comments.

Try it on Tuesdays.

This week at Try It on Tuesdays the challenge is to make a tag . Ildiko has chosen  the theme  this week, to celebrate International  Womens Day.  So we are looking to see some very  feminine tags.  Please take a look at the super examples.
 This is the sort of piece I love to make. All girly with flowers and a hint of vintage.
The image is pre-printed , cannot remember where the papers came from. The rest of the embellishments are from my stash.
Thankyou for stopping by to take a look, I love reading your comments.

Less is More

Week 5 of Chrissie and Mandi's  Less is More challenge. Please go see the fabulous examples here

This time the theme is to use Pastel Colours..

I used only two stamps for this card, both so old I cannot find the makers name. I used watered down cosmic shimmer for the pale pink shade, the leaves look a bit blue, but they are a quite pale green in real life.

Sometimes,  it is just as hard to take a photo  in the daylight,   than use the scanner.

Thankyou for stopping by to take a look, I love reading your comments.

Just for fun

The new theme for this month at Just for Fun is Mixed Media. Please go check out the super examples.
This weeks challenge is to experiment, perhaps get a bit messy  [no problems with that instruction] trying different combinations of materials and media.
I started with the background using  Distress inks and  blobs of Starburst Stains, then stamped a random pattern with assorted stamps.. I embossed the die cut swirl .  Then the fun of making my card. There is a piece of fibre material, some bits of scrappy ribbon. The the buttons are wired. The stamps are from my new Tim Holtz set and lace from my stash. I even had a go making my own lace flower. Need a  bit more practise at this I think.
Thankyou for stopping by to take a look, I realy  appreciate the comments you leave.

C. of C. -week 34

Its hard to believe its nearly the end of this marathon challenge. I am so wondering, what the next one will be.

This week Linda has guided us to page  63  of Tim's book, to learn all about Dimensional Collage  Fragments..

There are some fantastic examples over  here at StudioL3.

 I was lucky to have a small 2x2 piece fragment  in my stash.As usual no more can be said about how I did this piece. However it is going to end up on a card for a friends birthday next week. 

Thankyou for stopping by to take a look, the comments you leave are realy appreciated.

Inspired by a Song

Try it on Tuesday's theme this week is to make a card   Inspired by a Song. 
We are sponsered again by One Stop Cards, pop over and find out all the details for this weeks challenge.
My choice of song is a real old one ' English Country Garden'.
The main image, flowers etc is from  a Patchwork Polly stamp set, coloured with promarkers.
I wish this fairy would come and  wave a bit of magic in my garden some time.
The butterfly edging I cut with a Martha Stewart punch.
Thankyou for stopping by to take a peep at my card.  I realy appreciate the comments you leave.