Journal 52- Character

Our prompt for week 4  at Journal 52, together with some guide lines is Building Character.

Another topic to get me out of my comfort zone. I am not a painter, so this prompt got me rummaging in my stamps for this face  by Stampers anonymous. The hair was easier, I went for the un-combed  shaggy look, this is not my colour,  but some  days mine could look like this.
The background is layered paints, in shades of yellow, I used  a sun ray mask at the top, the page had previously been random stamped. There is some  added writing  at the bottom  depicting words that may be could be used to describe me. Over  these I added a quote  from a  Dylusions stamp,  which my OH says could well be me.

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

Life is Art

It was my turn to pick the theme for our next Challenge at
Fashionable Stamping Challenges.  my choice   is 'TAGS', so we are asking you to Tag along with us for the next two weeks.
Please pop over for all the details, the generous prize from our regular sponsor Flonz crafts  and see what my design team sisters have been making.

The base of the tag has been random stamped,  using Archival inks, Potting Shed and Fern Green which was clear embossed. Then the whole area was shaded using distress inks,  Mustard Seed, Dried Marigold and a touch of Vintage Photo.
All the stamps I used were from Stampers Anonymous sets by Wendy Vecchi and Tim Holtz.
The flower was stamped and cut out, before painting  with water colours.   I then gave it a coat of clear embossing powder.  It only needed me to raid my scraps box for some trimmings to finish the Tag.

Thank you for stopping by, I do so appreciate you taking time to leave a comment for me..

Baby, its cold ourside

Its a while since I joined in at the  Tag Along Challenge. Today I was sorting out the Christmas stuff I still had on my craft desk. Yes, I am messy, untidy and don't put things  away. The new theme is 'Baby, its cold outside'. The tag was cut from a left over random stamped embossed  piece, its a bit fatter than it should be, but I cannot be accused of wasting paper. The tree is a left over die cut from the 'C' cards, the other pieces left over G45 cut outs. Those kids sure don't seem to mind the cold and are having fun.

Thank you for stopping by, I realy appreciate the comments you leave.

Journal 52 You Make me smile

The prompt for us for  week 3  at Journal 52  is  -You make me smile.

Lots of things can make me smile, but when I saw the prompt the tune--
'Nellie the elephant packed her trunk and trundled off to the jungle',
 popped into my head and wouldn't go away.
So here is Nellie, picking her way daintily through the tulips, [ Oh dear, cue for another old  song-Tip toe through the tulips]. off on her holidays I think.
So far she has only squashed one house on her way.
Materials used -- Serviettes for the tulips and elephant. Various masks, stamps and paints. Die cut strip of houses.

Thank you for stopping by to take a look, I hope this  makes you smile a little as well.

Celebrate

'Celebrations',  is the new challenge over at Try it on Tuesdays. 

 This could be anything that we celebrate but not a Birthday card. Now I don't normally celebrate Valentines Day but as one of my Graphics 45 paper pads had some wonderful images I decided to make this piece, which I will eventually  add to my journal.

I cut out the large  heart shape  before embossing it with one of the base layers using  Embossilicious  folders.  Trimmings as always can be found in my work boxes. All the extra shading was Vintage Photo and Victorian velvet distress inks.

Thank you for taking time to stop by, I do always appreciate your comments.

For my friend

The new challenge over at Crafty Cardmakers and More is,    'Black and White',  it  is hosted by Kim.
We have two sponsors Woodware and  Di's Digi Stamps, please pop over for all the details.
 It always amazes me how many shades of white there are, especially when you gather a few pieces altogether.
I used three identical  sheets of patterned paper from a stack,  one was  mounted on a black base card.  The other two were fussy cut around the flowers to give some dimension down one side. The black die cut came in a goodie pack from a friend, this card will be sent off as a thank you to her. The other additions came from my stash.

 This is the scene  we opened our curtains to this morning.   There is a lovely old church  in the village across the valley, you can just see the steeple through the fog at  the bottom of the picture.

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

Down in her Garden

More than half way through January and another new challenge over at Sugar Creek Hollow. The theme is 'Fibres and Textures'. [not just ribbon and lace].
This time I decided to look in my material scraps box to see if any could be used as a layer for my card.

Well its not very square, but it was just what I had in mind for a background layer.

Next came the muslin , closely followed with some waste scraps.  To make the bow, I sprayed the honeycomb waste with gold, this made it quite stiff and easy to gather up in the middle.
The rose is made/molded  with wax and coloured with mica powder.  I have made a promise to myself to get more use out of my melt pot this year, it has been gathering dust for months on a shelf.
The little girl  is from Graphic 45 Secret Garden stack.
All the layers were stuck down using a  material spray adhesive, its great stuff it even worked with the card stock.

Thank you for your comments, I do so appreciate you taking the time to stop by.

Fly

Last week, while visiting blogging friends, I came across this Art Journal workshop. It is called Journal 52
So I went to find out more. Every week there is a prompt for you to interpret and some inspiration.

The prompt for Week 1, was 'Up, up and away'.
It is a real family joke, when one of us says, ' pigs  might fly'.
Especially  if it refers to anything or an event,  that would be hard to imagine ever happening.
Materials used-
mesh from a fruit carrier, grunge paste, jar tops, spray inks , stamps and cut out pigs.

The prompt for Week 2, was, 'Somewhere a simple place'.
For me, I like nothing better than being away in our caravan.
You can be relaxed, there is practically no housework, the scenery is wonderful, the company is great,  of course the craft stash is smaller but I do fill the nooks and crannies with as much as I can.
Materials used-
Cuttings from a caravan magazine, Graphics 45 paper trimmings.

One of the things I have never liked is seeing my own writing, I hope these workshops will help this mini  phobia and get me  out of my comfort zone.

Thank you  for stopping by, I do so appreciate the comments you leave.

Appreciate what is.......

Been using up some cut out scraps, mainly from Graphics 45 paper pads and decided that the best way to use them was in my journal book

There is not much  I can tell you about the backgrounds other than, they are mopped up and blotted inky  papers and stamps
On the left I've enlarged the words so you can read them.

Here are the completed pages,  I had to stop myself from adding more.

I used a Wendy Vecchi stamped  images on this one.
Now I know why I didn't put them away from another project, she was just right for this page.


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

Listen to your Heart

'Hearts and Flowers', is our first challenge of the year over at Fashionable Stamping Challenges.
Please pop over to see what my design team sisters have been making and get all the details, including the generous prize offered by Flonz Crafts.

This time, I  decided to make a small hanging. There is always bits of old packaging in my craft room, this corrogated piece was painted with acrylics and sprayed with  a little gold mica spray.
The next layer was another left over piece that had been dry embossed in a rose Embossalicious folder.
Both the heart and wording  stamps I used were from  a  Wendy Vecchi-Studio 490 set. . I used a Cosmic Shimmer green,  heat  embossing powder for them both. All the extra shading was Bundled Sage and Antique Linen distress ink. Trimmings all came from my stash.

I hope to share this with
 Ali-Craft, - monthly challenge #8 is Anything Goes
The Artistic Stamper -January Challenge- Love is in the Air

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

Follow your Heart.

Before Christmas I found out that I had been awarded a Top 3 place over at Country View Challenges for my entry to the November Typography Challenge. 

 Then thrilled to be asked to be a Guest Designer for their  January  'Monochrome' challenge.

 Find all their information here.

I thought about lots of colours before deciding  on Black and White and giving this a romantic look.

The card is made using lots of layers.

 One base layer is dry embossed with butterflies, layers of patterned paper and a black doily. Then the main image, the 'Post Card Couple', by Queens Dresser Drawers, stamped up using Potting Shed Archival ink. As I love making things with a shabby chic/vintage look, the edges were simply torn and tattered. 

The stamped sentiment seemed appropriate to go with this Happy Couple.

Just read about the Monochromatic challenge that started today over at Fussy and Fancy  I will pop over and join the fun there.

Thank you for taking the time to visit me, your comments are always appreciated.

January

The first challenge of the year over at 'Try it on Tuesday's', is

'In with the New', this could be a new product or a new technique .

As I love Graphics 45 products this  flip easel block was one of my lovely crafty gifts .

I have decided to make a page for each month of the year and use  papers from the Place in Time G45 collection

So here is the first January.

I added some  embossed stamping to the base paper. This photo was taken before it had my favourite   Vintage Photo distress ink liberally applied and a bit more random stamping. 

A few more additions from the scraps box together with some cut outs from the paper pad.

So below is the first page  completed.............

.................only eleven more to go.

Thank you all for taking time to  stop by,  your comments are always appreciated

Something new for SCH

The first challenge of the year over at  Sugar Creek Hollow is  'Something new'.

We ask that you use a new supply piece or  try a new technique, and remember our Vintage Shabby Chic style.

I was lucky to have  some new Tonic  Studio die cuts to play with,  so I used one for my circle layer, on this card. The fashionable ladies are from Graphics 45 papers. All shading is Vintage photo distress ink. I was lucky to have some ribbon in my stash a similar shade to the base card.

Sorry I haven't been around visiting you all lately,  sadly  we lost  a close family relative  on the Sunday before Christmas.  So, a New Year has begun and I am slowly getting  back to my routines, where crafting as always  will feature higher on the list than the dreaded,   'house.....work'.

I know this is late but I hope you all have a healthy, happy  and crafty 2014.