Dare to be different.

Our last challenge of the year over at Fashionable Stamping Challenges and we would like you to
'Surprise Us'.  So you will guess from this theme you will have free choice  in what you make.

I chose to make a card using a Creative Expressions stamp set Vintage Vixens.
The image was water coloured and the shading, Vintage Photo distress ink.
I used some new Metalic distress stains on the die cut clock, it looks darker in real life and not so shiny.
A few trimmings from my box to finish and its ready to be posted.
One of the paper layers was dry embossed with cogs and clocks.

Remember to include some stamping and please pop over to see what my design team sisters have been making.

Thank you for visiting me, I always appreciate your comments.

Happy Christmas Everyone

To all my Friends and Followers out there in Blogland, I wish you all a very Happy Christmas.

Thank you for all the lovely comments you leave me, and for following my crafty journey.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and a healthy, peaceful New Year.

Yvonne xx

Christmas tag

Sharing a tag with you this evening. It's hard to believe that Christmas is so close. I have yet to wrap the families gifts.
This tag is made using a Woodware image, the last of those I stamped up using stamps lent me by Siobhan.
I used Coffee archival ink , with Tea dye distress inks for shading.
The corrogated paper was made using an old plastic gadget that takes strips of paper up to 4 inches wide.
It came to the surface in my craft room while I was looking for something else, which is yet to be found.

Challenges entered -
Stamping Sensations  -December challenge is TreeMendous.
Crafterscafe Challenge - Challenge 11  - Tags
Craft-Room Challenge - Make a Tag

Thank you for stopping by I always appreciate your comments.

Deep in the woods.

Our last Challenge of the year over at Try it on Tuesdays and we would like you to  to take a few picks from our ,'Lucky Dip'..
We are giving you a choice of 6 ingredients and would like you to include 4 of them on your entry.
Die cuts,Ribbon,Pearls,Distressing,Stamped image and a Sentiment.
Please pop over and see the choices  our  DT have made and  get all the details.
 We are sponsored this month by  Deicious Doodles with a super prize on offer.

My choices were,-
Die cuts for layering, ribbon and pearls for trimmings and a stamped image.
As you can probably tell my colouring was vintage photo.

Thank you for stopping by, it is a busy time for everyone just before Christmas. I always appreciate your comments.

A little bird told me.

'Mask It', is our new Challenge theme over at
Fashionable Stamping Challenges.  So this time we would like you to use a mask as well as see stamping on your project .
Please pop over and see what my design team sisters have been making this time and get all the details.

I decided that I needed a change from Christmas cards and used this quirky stamp and sentiment by Lindsay Mason on this card.
The base card is covered  with black spiders mesh. Then a couple of blocks of masking before adding the image layers.
All the colouring on the masks was sponged with distress inks. A mixture of  Spiced marmalade, Victorian Velvet and Vintage photo.
The main image was water coloured, she looks quite a character to me.
Wonder if that bird us looking for somewhere to nest?

Thank you for stopping by, I always appreciate your comments.

Just a Note

Our last challenge of the year over at Sugar Creek Hollow is to 'Make a gift',  could be a  bag/box/enclosure etc ', but not a card
Remember we like to see a Shabby chic/vintage style for your projects.
Please pop over for all the details and see what we have all been making.
Also welcome our Guest Designer  Jytte.

Sorry I can only show you what the top of the box looks like. It was away in the post when I remembered  I didn't have a photo  from the side as well. I can show you some of the notelets I made to go inside.

For the box and three of the notes,  I  used a selection of Hunkydory papers and toppers.  They were so quick to make with the addition of the trimmings from my stash.

The notes on the left have toppers made from material scraps and an old buttons.

I have made a few of these note boxes as gifts this year and have made many cards like these last ones to fill them.
All the extra shading is  my favourite colour distress inks, Vintage Photo and Tea Dye.



I must apologise for not getting to visit you all recently,  I often wonder how time always seems to gather speed at this time of the year.

I do thank you for stopping by and realy appreciate your comments.

Dreams

Another hanging from me today. This time made with our New Challenge over at Crafty Cardmakers in mind. . Lin who is hosting this challenge wants us to be inspired by a song she heard sung byJim Croce.
She has written it up, the words are lovely
Please pop over for all the details and see what we have all been making.
Also see the lovely goodies our sponsors are offering this time.
This is our last challenge for this year, we will be back on 7th. January.

The song is called 'Time in a bottle'.
I chose the 4th verse as my inspiration

'If I had a box for  just wishes
And dreams that had never come true
The box would be empty
Except for the memory of how they were answered by you'.

I coloured a small wooden  plaque with cream acrylics, also the wooden leaves. The base was stamped with a variety of stamps before adding more colour, mainly distress inks and cosmic shimmer paint.
The tickets are Stampers Anonymous
The top one says-
Sometimes fate and  your dreams can collide.
Another says-
A dream is a wish your heart makes.

The letters are die cut from the Alterations Vintage Market alphabet strip.
For added texture I used Frantage powder.
Other items are from my stash.

Thank you for stopping by I realy appreciate your comments.

Serenity

This weeks Challenge over at Sugar Creek Hollow is to use Stencils or Masks on part of your card/project.
Please pop over to see what we have all been making and get the details.

I thought I would begin by showing you  the 6 x 4 inch  canvas  and the mask I used, to create my background.
The colours are a variety of spray inks, including Crushed Grape  from the Dylusions range and a  Picket Fence dauber for highlights.

.I always had in mind to use this Chapel Road stamp, which I stamped in black  onto canvas, this in turn was layered onto muslin.. The shading was Dusky Concorde distress inks.  The trimmings all came from my work boxes.

This was a project I realy enjoyed making, but taking  the photos was something I'm pleased my OH does for me. There were a few polite  words spoken  at the time I can tell you.

Thank you for stopping by, I always appreciate your comments.

Pink Christmas

When making Christmas card to post this year, I have been thinking simple layering.
No foam pads, to keep it thin enough to take a second class stamp.
I was quite  pleased with the resulting card that  I made a few more in the same style.
Shaded with Distress inks, a light covering of Victorian Velvet gave a subtle pink shade for this card.
The Bauble, which was water coloured  and words are Stampers Anonymous stamps.

Challenges I will enter are-
In the Pink  Challenge 9 'Gonna be a Pink Christmas'.
CRAFT Challenge 184 'Christmas'.

Hello to my New Followers thank you for joining me on my Crafty Journey.
To my friens who stop by, thank you for calling , your comments are always appreciated.

Blog Candy from Crafty Individuals

Just found this Mega Blog Candy on offer  from Crafty Individuals

Awesome isn't it.

Lets get Inky

                          Our new Challenge over at Try it on Tuesdays is ' Lets Get Inky'.
Well how could I refuse not to get covered in inks, a favourite occupation of mine.

But there is some exciting news to share with you first. We are thrilled to introduce you to our new DT members. So please pop over for all our news and see what we have been making this time.

This month we are being sponsored by
Delicious Doodles who are offering our December  Monthly winner 4 Digi stamps of their own choice.

 Here  is the Tag I made.  Distress inks  used  for colouring were Festive Berries and Evergreen Bough.
The baubles which  were embossed first  are from Stampers Anonymous, as are the background  ferns.
I think the word stamp is My Minds Eye.
 I  do  hope you will join us and  'get inky'.

Thank you for stopping by, your comments are always appreciated.

Stepping out

Our new Challenge  over at Fashionable Stamping Challenges is-

'To die For'.
We would like you to use die cuts on your entries, also please remember we like to see stamping as well. I hope you will pop over for all the details and see what we have been making.

This small hanging was made as a gift for a crafting friends Birthday. I hope it has reached its destination by now.

 First of all the compressed paper block was sprayed using Dylusions inks, then stamped  front and back using a variety of stamps and masks. The picture on the left shows the underside. Which wasn't over stamped as much as the front.

The words by Wendy Vechi on the back say, -
"I had no clue
that one tiny
Rubber Stamp Purchase
would lead to this"...
True for many of us crafters I think.
The die cuts I used are all Sizzix.
The image is a Lindsay Mason stamp, coloured with cosmic shimmer paints.

Thank you for stopping by to take a look, I always appreciate your comments.

Santa is on his way

'Distressing', is our new theme this week over at Sugar Creek Hollow.
Please pop over and see what we have all been making and get all the details.
Remember we like to see your  Vintage/Shabby Chic style .
This time I decided  to make a tag. As it is now 1st December, I think I will  start panicking soon, on the things I have still to make.

The papers I used are from Kanban. , with a piece of torn printed Kraft card.
The Santa image is  cut from  a Graphics 45 sheet before  taking the blunt scissors to the edges. A realy good way to distress something as you never know how  it will tear.
Using a  die cut Poinsettia  and trimming from my stash to finish the tag.
All the shadings are distress inks, Walnut stain. Festive Berries and Peeled paint.

I will also be entering the following challenges-

Fussy and Fancy -Challenge 77    I love Christmas
Winter Wonderland Challenge Blog,  'Santa Clause is Coming to Town'.
Crafts4Eternity -R 100  Christmas Chaos.
Live and Love Crafts  -Challenge 6 Anything but a card.

Thank you all for stopping by I realy appreciate your comments.

The return of the mousetrap

Out of a Hat Creations set a Challenge a while ago  to alter a Mousetrap. At the time  I couldn't find a trap anywhere, the shops I went to only sold the humane ones and were shocked that I wanted to buy the 'old fashioned' type. I managed to track one down  as the girls had by then promised  to hold another challenge at a later date.

I made this a few weeks ago so it would be  ready for

'The Return of the Mousetrap'.

First of all I painted the whole trap with acrylics, took a piece of the mechanism off to make space to  for my mouse image, which is part of a  larger  La Blanche stamp.

I added scraps of muslin, putting them behind the cuttings from Graphics 45 papers.

A piece of the discarded metal became the hook to hang it up.

To finish  my altering and make it  useful,  I covered a small  ' post it',  note  pad with  a pretty paper, this is placed  under the spring .

All the shading is Antique Linen and vintage photo distress inks.

Thank you for stopping by to take a look. Your comments are always appreciated.

Christmas Photo Inspiration for CCM

Challenge 80  at Crafty Cardmakers  , this time our theme is a ' Christmas Photo Inspiration'.
Hosted this time by Fiona.
Here is a photo of a  beautiful room to inspire you.



We have two sponsors this time, offering two fantastic store vouchers.
Crop Stop

and

Di's Digi Downloads


Please pop over and see what we have all been making and get all the details.

I just had to use this Spellbinders die when I saw the tree in the photo. Cut from plain white card and adding a  few gems.
One of the layers  is spiders web mesh over a dotty backing paper.
The marbled paper, I  have had for ages lurking in my paper box.
The trimmings are from my stash.


Thank you for stopping by to take a look, your comments are always appreciated.

Vintage Christmas

'Vintage Christmas', is the theme for our next Challenge at Sugar Creek Hollow.
Please pop over for all the details and see what we have all been making.
Remember we like to see  a vintage/shabby chic style for your entries.

This card was layered up using Kanban papers, the edges distressed with the trusty blunt scissors.
The Holly was  coloured with water colours and  I used Distress  stickles    to age the lamp post, it looks  and feels quite rusty in real life..
Both are Alterations die cuts.
The Postcard stamp is by Stampendous, and was given the glitter treatment to highlight the snow.
All the other shading is Vintage Photo Distress ink.

Thank you for stopping by to take a look, your comments are always appreciated.

Other challenges entered are-
Stampin' for the Weekend -Use some texture
Artful Times -Challenge 18 Anything Goes

Christmas Sparkle

Our 2nd Challenge for November over at Try It on Tuesdays and  our theme is Christmas Sparkle. Please pop over for all the details and see what we have  all been making.

Our sponsor for this month is
Crafty-emblies, the prize is a £10 store voucher.

The main image on my card is a favourite old  Inkadinkado stamp called Christmas Dream, which  I embossed  with 'Wow' powder   This was coloured with water colours. Some white flower soft for the snow and a  sprinkling  of glitter powder, mainly on me.

One of the layers was stamped using Darkroom Door stamps. Another layer embossed in a Script folder.

The snowflake is a Spellbinders die cut.

The other additions came from my trimmings box.

All the shading is Tumbled Glass and Weathered  Wood, distress ink.

I will also be entering - Stamping Sensations  November Challenge , the theme is Traditional Christmas.

Thank you for stopping by to take a look, I realy appreciate you calling.

Home Sweet Home

'Home Sweet Home', is our new challenge theme over at Fashionable Stamping Challenges.
I  hope you will pop over to FSC to see how we all interpreted this theme, my team mates have made some fabulous creations to show you. Please remember we like to see stamping on your entries.

The stamps I used for this card were from Darkroom Door and Stampers Anonymous.
Die cut Fir trees and a Martha Stewart border punch. for the hedges.
All the colouring is distress inks- Peeled paint, Shabby shutters, Tumbled glass  and Vintage photo.
I added a wash of Gold Cosmic Shimmer water colour paint to the trees.

Thank you for stopping by, I always appreciate your comments.

Baubles

Use Kraft Cardstock on a card,  is the theme of this weeks Challenge over at Sugar Creek Hollow.
Please pop over and see what we have all been making and check out  the details.
Also a huge welcome to Amelia, who is joining us on the DT this week.

I used a Kraft card base then  layers of  Ideology  Kraft Resist papers.
All the    shading is Distress inks, Vintage photo, Festive berries and Evergreen bough.
The stamps used are by  Stampers Anonymous.

The baubles   were embossed using  Wow, embossing glitter powder,[ Halloween regular].
These were coloured with cosmic shimmer watercolours.
There is a lovely shimmer and sparkle  to them in real life, that doesn't show so well on the photo.
Twine and pearls for the finishing touches.



Other challenges entered-
Christmas Blog Challenge -WinterWonderland  the theme is 'Oh Baubles'.
Diva's By Design   Challenge 61  Anything Goes
The Stampman  November Challenge - Emboss It

Thank you for stopping by, your comments are always appreciated.

Noel

First of all I would like to say hello to my New Followers, thank you for joining me on my Crafty Journey. I will try to visit you all soon.

Addicted to Stamps and More  have a Red and White theme for their current challenge.
As I must get some cards made that will post easily I have made this Noel Card.
A Woodware stamp stamped, paper pieced  and simply layered.
The papers have been in my stash for ages.
The fern is stamped with Festive Berries distress ink.

I must thank Janet for introducing me to this stamp,  I just had to go and buy one for myself.
It was a fun demo.

Another similar paper pieced card using a borrowed stamp.  Sorry I forgot who this one belonged to.

Thank you for stopping by, your comments are always appreciated.

Festive die cuts for CCM

Challenge 78 at Crafty Cardmakers is hosted by BettyC.
We would like you to use-  'More than one Punch or Die Cut.
This time we have two sponsors both  offering great prizes for the winners of this challenge. Please pop over here for all the details and see what we have all been making.
Milk Coffee Digital Stamps
and
Hobby Art Stamps

This was the best photo of many that I could get for this card.
Reminder to self is not to use white for that Memory Box die cut again.
The poinsettia die cut is a MarianneD , coloured with Weathered Wood, Mowed lawn  and Festive Berries distress inks.
A  Lily of the Valley stamp was stamped onto a base card, that I had previously colour washed,  this was also water coloured.

Thank you for stopping by, your comments are always appreciated.

One for the Guys

Saturday and a New Challenge at Sugar Creek Hollow.  The theme  we have  for this week  is
 'One for the Guys'.  Keeping to our Vintage / Shabby Chic style make something for the menfolk.
Please pop over for all the details and see what we have all been making.

The base card was stamped with cogs and wheels, but as you can see you have to take my word for it,  as they are all covered up.
The papers came from Debbie Moore's Shabby Chic Mechanical CD.
One of the layers is embossed with cogs etc.
The clock dial is an Alterations Die cut, aged  with  a brass coloured wax, its so old, I have no idea where it came from.
 Other shading is Weathered Wood distress ink.
The other additions came from my stash.

Thank you for stopping by, your comments are always appreciated.

Sweet Memories

Our 1st Challenge for November over at Try it on Tuesdays  is ' Memories'.
Please pop over for all the details and see what we have been making



We are also  pleased to have Crafty-emblies, as our  new Sponsor  for this Month.

Our lucky monthly winner will be getting a £10 voucher to spend in their  store

Sweet Memories are words many of us could use when remembering   a special day, so this card went to a Friend for her birthday last week and I hope she had a lovely day..

The stamp is an old favourite from Crafty Individuals, coloured with watercolour paints..

Papers  and trimmings came from  my stash.

The shading was Weathered Wood and  Tumbled Glass Distress inks.

I would like to say Hello to my new followers and thank you  for joining me on my crafty journey. I hope to get to visit you soon.

As always thank you for stopping by and I realy appreciate your comments.

Music for Christmas

Over at  Fashionable Stamping Challenges  our new theme is to   'Musical'.
I chose to add some music to a Christmas card, but we have all interpreted this theme differently.
 Please pop over for all the details and  see what we have all been making. Remember we do like to see stamping on your entry.

Once again I have used an image  that was kindly shared by Siobhan at the Craft weekend. I love the woodland scene and stamped it up with an Archival  'Coffee'  ink pad .
The background paper layers are  from a Debbie Moore CD.
A Memory box die  for the music notes .
All the shading is Tea dye and Walnut stain distress ink.

Challenges I will also enter are-
Stampin for the Weekend - Challenge 20 Anything Goes
Diva's By Design - Challenge 59 Feeling Festive

Thank you for stopping by to take a look, your comments are always appreciated.

Cream plus two colours, for SCH

'Cream plus Two other Colours' is the theme of our new Challenge over at Sugar Creek Hollow.
. Please pop over for all the challenge details and see what we have all been making. We hope you will join us this week.
I made this card using cream card stock for the layers, together with Graphics 45 papers, these were distressed around the edges with an old blunt pair of scissors.   The  topper also Graphics 45 is from  the  Little Darlings range. I think she  is adorable.
My colour choices in addition Cream,  are Blue and pale Orange.
The doily and edges were lightly shaded with antique linen distress ink, the closest colour to cream I could  find. All the trimmings came from my stash.

Thank you for stopping by to take a look, I always appreciate your comments.

All Hallows Eve

 First of all a message to all my  Crafting Friends who have been effected by the horrendous storms in America, I hope you are all safe, I am thinking of you all  during these difficult days.

   'All  Hallows Eve', my last opportunity to show you the rest of  the pages from my 6 x 6 inch  Halloween Book.

The stamps used were from Stampers Anonymous, Chocolate Baroque and ones shared from crafting friends.
Distress inks used for colouring were Tea dye, Vintage Photo , Black Soot and Weathered Wood.
Sizzix Alterations Die cuts and a variety of bits and pieces and papers collected over the years, to add a bit of interest.

  I have decreased  the size of the photos,  and kept the description to a minimum   to keep the post as short as possible.

Now I forgot I hadn't  posted my 4 x 4 inch Fat Page Calendar page
 for October. So this is how it looked..

Thank you for stopping by,
I always appreciate your comments.

A Reindeer or Two.

Challenge 78 over at Crafty Cardmakers is hosted by Tracey.
The theme for this challenge is  to' Make a Shaped card
 and feature a Reindeer or Two'.

Please pop over to see what we have all been making and get all the details.
We have two sponsors this time-

Di's Digi Downloads

                                                                                         
                                                                                           The Stampman

This is the simple easel shaped card I made.
The Reindeers are a Spellbinders die, cut  from  the same grey cardstock as my base card.
The stamped image is one that Siobhan kindly lent me  at the Craft weekend,  stamped up using a  London Fog ink pad.
Torn paper covered with loads of glitter, create the snowy foreground , other additions come from my stash.

Thank you for stopping by to take a look, I always appreciate your comments.

Christmas Joy

It is hard to believe that whilst I am writing this post on  Friday evening,  it is snowing and the garden is beginning to look like a winter wonderland.
So I am thinking that a Christmas project for my D.T. piece  over at
Sugar Creek Hollow this week was a  good choice.
Our theme this time is ' Vintage Texting' and we ask that you show us a sentiment and/or other text. Remember that we like to see a Vintage /Shabby Chic style.
Please pop over for all the details and see what we have all been making.

This is a box card that I had fun making recently when I spent a weekend with a fantastic group of Craft Friends. It was wonderful sharing ideas, stamps, learning new techniques and generally having a marvellous time. I have Liz to thank for showing me how to make this shape card.
There is  a variety of  time stamps  round all the edges. The shading is all Vintage Photo and Tea Dye distress inks.
I used Graphics 45 papers for the base layer, adding a fussy cut pieces from another sheet for the next layer.
I loved the sentiment of  'Christmas joy is in my heart', so this was added with the trimmings of lace, pearls  and  die cut snowflake swirls.

I will also be entering the challenge at-
Vintage Illusions  Challenge 12  Add some Lace/Anything Goes

Thank you for stopping by to take a look, I always appreciate your comments.

Quoth the Raven

.

A new challenge and a DESIGN TEAM call over at Try it on Tuesdays 

Exciting news at TioT's we are looking for some new folk to join us on our Design Team. All the details can be found here.



We are celebrating ' Halloween',  as the theme of our new Challenge over at Try It On Tuesdays.
Please pop over to see what we have been making and get all the details.

My contribution is the Front Page of my 6 x 6 Halloween book.

There are still more pages to come before the end of October.

To begin with I stamped up this fantastic Stampendous  Raven stamp, using a black ink pad and black embossing powder.
All the distressing and shading  is Weathered Wood and Black Soot distress inks.
Then the fun bit , after masking off the stamped area I used Mod Roc  to create the textures.
There is no way to describe the mess I got into,  its dusty, chalky,  has to wet to use it.   I think you will get the idea of the resulting mess.
When dry, [ you need to be patient at this stage],  I gave it a few 'gentle' whacks with a small hammer.   It needed a few bumps and bruises , then  painted it over with acrylic paints.
It is finished off with some metal charms, lace and black pearls.

Challenges I will also enter are-
Crafters Cafe  Blog Challenge  Challenge 9 Halloween with Distressing.
Artful Times   Challenge 15 Fur or Feathers
Live and Love Crafts  Challenge 4  Halloween and or Autumn colours.
The Stampman Challenge    October -Butterflies, Birds and Bees


Thank you for stopping by to take a look, your comments are always appreciated.

Spookylicious

 It was my turn to  pick the theme for this new Challenge.  over at
 Fashionable  Stamping Challenges.  It will probably come as no surprise to  many  that I chose Halloween.
If Halloween is not your thing , we would like  you use  Halloween Colours on your entry..
 Remember we  like to see stamping on your project/card.
My team mates have made some fantastic examples so please pop over and see what they made and get all the details.








First of all these pages are also part of the Halloween Book I  started
showing you a couple of days ago.
The picture on the right shows you what is lurking behind the door.
handsome chap for the time of the year!
The background stamp I have had a while, cannot remember the maker.
All other stamps used on these two pages are by, Stampers Anonymous and Crafty Individuals and Chocolate Baroque.

The shading and colouring is a mixture of water colour paints, Walnut Stain, Black Soot and  Vintage Photo distress inks.
The image of the little guy came from a crafting friend. He 's looking a bit green, that should teach him not to open doors, who knows what's inside, on All Hallows Eve.

I will also be entering these challenges-
Diva's By Design  -  Something Spooky
Art with No Boundaries  -October Monthly Challenge Halloween

Thank you for stopping by to take a look, I always appreciate you calling.

.