Love is all you need

'You've Been Framed', great  title for our new theme isn't it.

 So visit us at Crafty Cardmakers and More to find out all the details and what our  generous sponsors are offering as a prize this time.

I used a kraft card base and layered the die cut frames up with papers that toned with it.
Sorry not able to give a name  to the fancy die cuts. As many who visit me often know,  these come in a goody bag from a craft friend of mine. The main focus  is a Chapel Road Art stamp, I used Potting Soil Archival ink and clear embossing powder on this image. Extra shading was my favorite and much used   Vintage Photo distress ink.

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

Whats behind that door? for SCH

The  new theme over at Sugar Creek Hollow is to 'Create your own Background'.
Our sponsor

 Molossi   generously sent the DT some goodies to use on our projects. 

Mine included this Darkroom door image and some  fantastic embellishments.
Please pop over for all the details to SCH and see the super prize you could win.
I made a few things using my new stamp of the door, the first was  this card. I used a leaf  embossing folder for the base layers, some of which were random stamped with  french script.  Broken China was the Distress ink I used to add shading.

The next idea was a gift box

I used the same dotty embossing folder for the box and the base paper on the lid.   Keeping the colours to black, silver and grey.

This easel card is definitely for a bloke, especially if he is a handyman.
The words on the stop read, 'the older I get the better I was'.
So there  are three different ways I have used our sponsor's stamp and embellishments, together with a few of my own supplies..

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

Say it with Words

This is a little folding card that, I made and posted last weekend, I hope has reached its destination.
I did take a few photos , the first is the card opened out.
 Lots of stencils, stamping, Vintage Photo, Tea dye and Antique Linen  distress inks, were used to give this an aged, grungy, inky look.

Another view , most of the stamps used are Tim Holtz, Stampers Anonymous , stamped up with Coffee  Archival ink and Timber brown Stazon

 A close up of the quote,  a Chapel Road art stamp. What could be better than this, my  answer I guess would be to spend it in the craft room enjoying yourself..

This is how it looks folded up and tied  closed , with a ribbon which was fixed in place under the die cut strip. [there was another die cut on the back page].


I shall be entering these challenges--
A Vintage Journey-  Challenge 2--Say it with Words.
Thats Crafty Challenges --Inky Antics

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

Journal 52 -week 12- A day in my life.

Week 12 for Journal 52 and our prompt was  'A day in my Life'.

Now to say  that my day has a routine, and at  the end of it I wonder what I actually did, would be understated. I can never keep to a plan, a pure waste of time and effort.
Briefly most days like today  begin with the birds tweeting in the nearby trees and waking me up.
Next a huge mug of tea,  definitely a must  to start the day.
Meg needs her morning walk, so off to the woodland paths. just round the corner from my house.
Home and a quick look to see what chores have to be done that day, I can easily talk myself out of the 'H' word. Before lunch, the craft room won as usual.
A visit to a friends for the afternoon, coffee, cake, chatter, laughter and put the world to rights.
Back home to the aroma of Curry, my lovely husband has been making the evening meal.
All it needs, is for me to lay the table,  then eat it.
A companionable evening, read a few chapters of my latest book and another day has drawn to its close.
So if you have read this far, it will have explained the reason for the page and the mixture of images I added.
I have come to the conclusion over these past weeks, that journals can be anything or everything you want them to be, sometimes neat, or untidy like I feel this page looks.  It is how you feel at the time you put ink, paint, and whatever else you want to add, on the page.

I wonder how your day went, hope it was as good as mine.

Lets Dance

Its the second week of our Music challenge at Try it on Tuesdays.

 I had to make a quick card the other day, so my easy option is to reach out for some Graphics 45 papers.  The stack I used this time was  Curtain Call.

A bit of distressing and some black lace and it was ready to go.

Tiots's is having a Design Team Call  if you want the information you will find it here

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

Ella Bella for FSC

'Silhouettes',  is the next theme at Fashionable Stamping Challenges. Please call over to get all the details and see what my design team sisters have been making.
This time I have made an oval shaped shaped card using  a set of shaped nesting  die cuts.
Random stamping on a couple of layers and the main image oval. The  shading as usual  is Vintage Photo distress ink. What would I do with out this colour.
 Ella Bella,   stamped with Potting Soil Archival ink is  from Indigo Blu.
As always the trimming come from my stash.

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

She was worth it.

Showing you one of my messy journal pages. The usual stamped and blotted ink background.

Most of the stamps were Stampers Anonymous.  I had also  used a honeycomb die cut as a stencil,  at some point in time. on the page. The sketchy lady is a Dina Wakley stamp, which I water coloured.  Then I just  had to experiment with some new  Clear Cosmic Shimmer texture paste, giving a dusting of pink mica powder before I removed the mask

I was pleased you could still see parts of the stamped background through the texture.

Thank you for calling by, I realy appreciate your comments. Have a good weekend everyone.

Journal 52 - Stars

Week 11,  and this time the  prompt for our  page at Journal 52 was 'Stars'.

I have to say I realy enjoyed making this and wasn't too disappointed with my handwriting either.

This little rhyme was a great favorite with my sons [many moons ago] when they went to bed and could see the stars.

The background was made using  the  MCS program  [My Craft Studio].  It is great to blend images over each other. I think it  is time and dodgy eyesight  that stops me from using it more often.

So when I had torn the edges on stuck it to the page, out came the distress ink, Stormy Sky this time.

A splash of glitter glue here and there, to make those stars sparkle, and a ticket to allow you to dream.

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

Music for TioT's

 ' Music', is our next theme over at Try it on Tuesdays. As always the girls have some super inspiration, so please pop over for all the details. We a have a very talented Guest Designer Mirella joining us this time, please drop by to see her as well.

I have used Kraft card as my base layer. A couple of the layers have been dry embossed using a music folder [Embossalicious]. These were shaded, by gently rubbing over the surface with the Vintage photo distress ink pad, then blending the edges with the same colour. The guitar is an Aspects of design Stamp.
The die cut frame came from my craft friend so I cannot say who its made by.

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

Gypsy

Gypsy is this weeks theme at Tag Along.  To find an image for this, I  did a Google search asking for copyright and free usable  images . This is one of them, unfortunately I cannot remember who to thank as I found quite a number to use. I took the image into a MCS [ My Craft Studio] program and had a good play with the backgrounds and layers. to finish off I  added an edge of  Aged Scarlet Frantage embossing powder.
Oops.... just noticed I didn't put the ribbon through the tag hole.

On the left is another piece altered in the  same program,
you may see this sometime in the future on another project.

Thank you for stopping by, I  always appreciate the time you take to leave a comment.

Happy St Patrick's Day

Sharing my March calendar page with you today, because its St Patricks Day.

We had a number of very happy  holidays in southern Ireland when one of my son's was living in Dublin.
Like my other calendar pages , the background was random stamped and given a generous shading with Vintage Photo distress ink and a little Dusty Concorde DI. All the papers are from G45-Place in Time stack.

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

Mummy's little darling for SCH

We have a Photo Inspiration for our new challenge over at
 Sugar Creek Hollow.  We're to be  inspired by what we see in the photo, it looks so beautifully Shabby Chic. Please pop over for all the details and see what we all made.

I have many pieces of card and papers that need to be used, hence the base card and layers for this one,  all come from Graphic 45 stacks.   I have made a note to myself to stop hoarding these and,  'use them'.
Even the sweet image is from the Little Darlings pad.
The only shading I used on this was Antique Linen distress inks, the trimmings came from my stash.

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

Ella

Another journal page to show you today, and as the sun was shining here today I felt I just had to use some spring color..  Also I realy needed to try out one of the new stamps I let drop into my shopping basket recently. I fell in love with this  new set by Diana Wakley.

As I cannot draw figures or faces, this might just be the set I have been waiting for,   any excuse, but this is so true.
The page was first painted with cream acrylic paint, then swiped over with Old paper and Broken china distress stain. Not my usual colors to distress things, but I am trying to keep the colors lighter on this page.
I stamped my main image at this stage, making a mask to cover the area  as I added the background.
Next came the TH hearts mask using. pale pink Pans Pastels,
A bit of random stamping next, with my favorite french script stamp and a Poppy stamped with Mowed Lawn DI
On to the Doily mask and a bit of grunge Paste for texture. I left the mask in place till nearly dry, and used Pickled Raspberry distress ink to shade  the pattern.

Now back to Ella I drew a suggestion of her body [need practice here].
Then used  Spectrum Noir pencils to color the image. A bit more  light shading at the bottom of the page with what was left on my sponge, and I decided that was time to stop.

Sorry the photos are not in the right order, I did try but blogger wasn't helping me  to get it right.
I will be joining the challenges at-
Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge 86 Anything Goes.
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - D is for distress

I would like to say hello and welcome to my new followers and thank you for joining me on my crafty journey.
The comments everyone leaves  are always appreciated.

Journal 52 -Create for a cause

Week 10 already at Journal 52. These weeks are sure flying by.
This weeks prompt  was Create for a Cause, together with some guide lines and  a question, that realy makes you think.
So what did this get me doing. Thinking of all the charities that rely on donations to make a difference in the world. There is a hand stencil on my background, as everyone of these causes need a helping hand.
I started listing charities, but I think I could have filled a book on the subject.  The Logo's for the  ones that get my support are at the top left of the page, with the poppies for the Royal British legion in full bloom.
I  take  the  spare cards I make into the charity shops, where they always seem pleased to have them to sell.

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

King of his domain.

This weeks theme over at Tag Along is Kings and/or Queens. Another theme to get thinking about.
The background is a home made  paper with stencils ,stamping and ink splats coloured with Vintage photo and walnut stain distress ink. My king is the good old 'British Bulldog , wearing his shiny crown.
The words underneath  are, resilience, loyalty, determination and spirit.
 All things I could say about my Meg, but for her I would include, protector, faithful friend and her alter ego 'the family witch', when she needs her own space. I think I can relate to that on occasions.
This is a Craft Individuals stamp. I added  a used  second class stamp, which does show our Queens head.

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

Wish you were here for FSC

We are taking inspiration for the new theme over at Fashionable Stamping Challenges from, ' Water, sea, river etc. You will find all the information here, and be able to see what my design team sisters have made.

The background layers for this card are all Graphics 45.  But as we are a stamping challenge, my main image is this Crafty Individuals stamp.
  I stamped it using Coffee archival ink  three times to get the look of a pile of post cards.  Aged them all  with Distress inks, vintage photo and tea dye to get the sepia effect, then splashed them with some water I clean my brushes in.  I had an accident a while ago when I spilled  this pot of water on some work in progress, this turned out okay so, I was happy to try it for real.
 The flower corner  is a group of fussy cut stamped flowers and leaves. I used water colour paints on these.,

Thank you for stopping by, the comments you leave are always appreciated.

A journey begins.

There is a new Challenge blog to tempt us all who love the work and products of  Tim Holtz.
Its called A Vintage Journey and it has an amazing group of talented designers to inspire us all.
The very first challenge is  'Anything Tim'.
Well I  ask you, who needs an excuse to get  grungy and revisit some  all time favourite  products, that in my case apart from the distress inks and stamps , have gathered a bit of dust recently.
I chose to make a tag  using  all Tim's products. The list would be too long . I got so involved creating it that the end product is the only photo. However, it included, papers [yes, I did use a small piece of stroking paper]  stamps, distress inks, die cuts, distress glitter.

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

Love beyond words.

Been using up scraps of paper in my journal over the past couple of days. Like a lot of folk I even keep the smallest pieces that I tore off when using a larger piece for a project. The page is bodged together with book print, tissue strips, home made patterned backgrounds. The words should have been together from one stamped image, but somehow these look better separated for this page. The main image is from a print out sheet and has lain around in the bits box for ages, I even topped this with a scrap from a die cut frame.
So lots of paper scraps used,  the box is still jammed full, when will I ever learn to throw bits away.
 I did over stamp a few places so it joined things together. Shading was Vintage Photo distress ink.
I would like to join these challenges-
Artful Times - Challenge 50 --Anything Goes
Country View Challenges --Paper Chase..

Thank you for calling in to see me, I always appreciate your comments.

Journal 52-- Mary's secret Garden

We are up to Week 9, at Journal 52. This weeks prompt was  Colour swatch inspiration.
We could choose 3 colours to work with.
For me this was shades of Blue, Peach and Cream.
I chose to call this page Mary's secret garden because all my journalling was the names of flowers that I would love to have growing in my garden. I do have a few of them, including a few that some gardeners would call weeds. These are  the  wild flowers and  just as pretty as they encourage the butterflies to visit.

Thank you for stopping by, the comments you leave are very much appreciated..

Its an age thing.

'Birthdays with a Twist', is the new theme at Try it on Tuesdays............
......and  the TWIST is to use a mask or stencil.
You can see the stencil  [Memory Box] I used on the left. I used grunge paste and when it was dry painted it with linen acrylic paint to give the effect of  sun rays.

This card is layered up on  a Kraft card base.  The main layer was coloured with, Antique linen, Mustard seed and Spiced marmalade distress inks. The stamps are from  Indigo Blu stamped with Potting soil and Fern Green Arcival ink. I used water colour for the flowers and butterfly. I quite likes these words, and had a good chuckle as I edges them with  gold Frantage embossing powder.

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

Live every Moment

 At Crafty Cardmakers and More we are holding our first Mixed Media Challenge.  As its our first please pop over for all the details here.  Our sponsor is Woodware Craft Collection
I am hosting this first  challenge and we have chosen a very loose theme, with lots of choice for this first one--
'Winter and/or Slap it on. There is some fantastic inspiration from the D.T.

I chose to alter a 7 x 7 inch canvas.
Including a bit slap it on , with colours that suggest winter, blues, white a bit of sparkle for the frost.
But as we are leaving winter soon in the UK I am adding a couple of flowers. So you get the idea, mixed media can mean all kinds of things/effects/ depending on how you choose to go with the theme.
On the left is the base canvas, painted with  Linen coloured acrylic paint.  I used a couple of stencils and grunge paste for a bit of texture.

After painting the canvas over with  a mixture of Mermaid  fresco paint, picket fence distress stain, I stamped out the quote I wanted to use on tissue and played around with  flowers and feathers to get the idea of what I may end up with.

I added some random stamping to the canvas using Stormy skies distress ink.
The tissue quote was layered up on die cuts.  I used  Chunky White Frantage  and silver embossing powder round the edges .
All the stamps I used were from Indigo Blu.
Next came the flowers, these were also die cuts from Craftwork cards.
A sprinkle of glitter in the canvas and of course myself and I decided that I quite like the result.

Thank you for stopping by  to see what I have made for this challenge.

Your comments are always appreciated.

I will also be entering these challenges-

Crafts 4 Eternity  - Texture

Altered Eclectics -March, Always anything goes.

Cats

'Cats',  is this weeks theme over at Tag Along.  This caused me quite a rummage to find the Lost Coast  'big cat' images for my background. But as I managed a bit of a tidy up as well, they were worth looking for.
First of all I made myself an inner and outer stencil  for my' Ginger Tom' cat, the wild cats may be looking at him,  but he is sure staring back.
I used Coffee Achival ink for the stamping. Spiced Marmalade, Vintage photo for all the extra colouring.

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

Sew Fashionable

'Sew Fashionable', is the new theme over at Sugar Creek Hollow.  The card must depict sewing or fashion, in our usual shabby chic/vintage style. Please pop over for all the details as see what we have all been making. We are also welcoming  a guest designer for  this  challenge Zoe Sanderson

This card is layered up using Graphics 45 papers  and a  muslin layer. I am not handy with the sewing machine as I do need someone to thread the needle for me, when the hands won't do what they are told.
But this time I did stitch the layers together. The buttons were made with die cut shrink plastic shapes , coloured  and stamped, before heating.

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