Make me Smile

I never seem to have time to make a card just for fun these days. Also I have been hoping to try more, one layer cards, especially closer to the 'C' season to ease postage costs. I need the practice, this is not my comfort zone.

I have had this  cute Lost Coast bird stamp sitting un-inked on my desk for weeks. Okay, so it surfaced from the bottom of a pile while looking for something else and I had intended to use it, but time waits for no man or woman these days.

Its a plain white one layer  card.  I used  stencils to add interest to the background, shading with Tumbled Glass  and and Shabby Shutter distress inks. The images are stamped up with  plain black Stazon.

So last minute me and I have time to enter a couple of challenges --
Tando Creative Challenges --Come Fly with me
Country View Challenges---Stencil It

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

Positive words -Journal 52-week 30

This weeks prompt at Journal 52 was, ---  'Positive Words'   

We are up to week 30 and  well over half the year has gone. Its  been hot and sunny  for a while, here in the north east of the U.K. something we are not used to. 

So I decided that I wanted to use some bright colours for a change. The  flower was penciled in first. 

Next came my words, some are well hidden, but I know they are there. 

The background stenciling is random, some places had aready been shaded..

I did enjoy painting in  the flower with a few layers of acrylic paint. It turned out a bit larger than the outline.  I am not comfortable with  freehand drawing and much prefer stamped images [the bird is a fussy cut stamp].  So I have pushed these negative words aside  for this positive page.  

There is still a couple of days until the end of the,' Flower Power'  theme at

Art Journal Journey, so I'm off to share my flower with them.

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

Amelia's Friend.

In my imagination Amelia was felling a bit sad that her friend couldn't come over to play today.

So what did she do to make her feel happy, sit on the swing in the garden with  Meggy the family dog, 

who is realy her best friend in all the world,  but don't tell anyone, its their secret . 

Challenge 77 over at Fashionable Stamping challenges  and the new theme is  'Childs Play'.

I used a pre -patterned base layer for this card. The stamped image is from Lily of the Valley.

I used pencils on this for colouring. Vintage Photo distress inks for all the other shading. 

The die cut flowers are from  a   Spellbinder set.
Please pop over for all the details and see what my design team sisters have been making.
Our regular sponsor is Flonzcraft  and we must see a stamped image as the main focus.

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

Journal 52

Two  Journal 52  pages to share with you today. 

This is Week 28 and the prompt was Technology.

 The background,  I created  digitally on the computer  using found  free  images, these I  blended together.  My thoughts here was the 'virtual future'. The stamped   images  I added are definitely from a more  visual  past , when  time was  spent  inventing things, with simple pen, ink and paper.. 

The quote I added reads  --One faces the future with ones past.

Week 29 's prompt was 'Fashion'.  

 I can  find things about my craft room much easier for this one.  I went with the 1920's and some Graphics 45 papers. This is quite an  under embellished page  for me. This was the era of classic, straight  lines, 

 where the style was the main feature.

Thank you for stopping by to take a look. I always appreciate the comments you leave.

July

Here we are nearing the end of another month and July is nearly a memory. So this is my July Calendar page, which I just have time to pop  over to A Vintage Journey and join Challenge 10 'Dies and Distress'.
All my calendar pages so far and this one  have random stamped backgrounds and are heavily shaded with Vintage Photo Distress inks. The stamps used here are all from Stampers Anonymous. The dragon flies are a Spellbinders double piece  die set, shaded with Broken China distress ink. The Clock die [Alterations]  was embossed with vintage photo embossing powder. The image cards are Graphics 45, with a little Frantage antique gold to add interest to the bare corners, it was time to stop. Tim Holtz's influence to my calender is his Distress inks, I hardly ever make anything without using this product somewhere.

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

Blue Bird - for TioT's

'Things with Wings', is our next theme at Try It On Tuesdays. 

This time I am showing you a  4 x 4 inch fat page.

I used a patterned background paper giving it the distress ink treatment round the edges.

Next a bit of stencilling in the corner with grunge paste. I left the stencil in place until it was nearly dry, then dusted it with mica powder.

The bird image [Dina Wakey] was stamped and embossed using a black powder.

This was coloured using paints. 

Please pop over to see what we all made, we hope you will join our challenge.

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

On the Road for SCH

The new challenge theme  over at Sugar Creek Hollow is called,   'On the Road'.

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

For the base layer on my card I used a piece of an old map, distressing he edges with the good old Vintage Photo distress ink. 

The car with the two travellers was fussy cut from a Graphics45 paper. All the other additions were cut from a variety of left over papers. You know, the pieces we save in case they may be useful.

I did promise myself a while ago, not to store so many, that resolution went out the window the same week, as my scraps box, is once again nearly overflowing.

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

Fleur

Sharing more journal pages today.  This first one already had the background coloured and random stamped, I have many pages in my journal like this just waiting to find interesting things to add to them.

The flowers were fussy cut and I added the image  among them, its a Dina Wakley  stamp, which I water coloured.  I used an alphabet stencil for the name.

Fleur  will be joining the theme's at--
 Art-Journal Journey the theme for July is Flower Power, I recently found this Blog and the inspiration there is fantastic.
Simon Says Stamp -Monday Challenge   -About a Face

This next page was just for fun, to try out a new mouse stamp.

I couldn't wait till we got back home.

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

Beach Rules for FSC

We are 'Dreaming of Summer', over at Fashionable Stamping Challenges. My design team sisters have some fabulous examples for you, so please pop over for all the details and see what we all made. our regular sponsor is Flonzcraft and we do need to see a stamped image as the main focus.

This card is layered up with papers from Graphics45

. All distressed with my favourite Vintage Photo distress ink.

The main image is a Crafty Individuals stamp, shaded with  Vintage photo and lightly coloured with water colours.

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

Journal 52 pages.

I have been catching up with my Journal 52 pages. It is still sunny and very warm  here in Yorkshire, so it was good to sit in the shade and get a bit creative.

Up first is Week 27, our prompt was Nostalgia.

My take on 'nostalgia' with my limited supplies was to think back to my own children, when they were young. Everything seemed magical, each  day was to  discovery  something new, the questions never stopped. How else do they learn. .

The page had already been random stamped, I then added an alphabet stencil.

The children were stencilled onto a book page, then fussy cut. the fairy was also a stencil.

The shadings are distress inks and watercolours.

There are a couple of challenges that I will also be joining--

Thats Crafty Challenges  - Masks stencils and Templates

Country View Challenges- Stencil It

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This is Week 26, the prompt was 'Under the sea'.

I did bring the image of the mermaid and sea horse with me.

 The background was painted, the weedy stuff was stencilled.

It needs a few fish I think, but this will have to wait till I get back home.

I would like to say Hello to my new followers, I will visit you soon.

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

Snails pace.

I am nearly frightened to say 'hello' from ' sunny', Yorkshire.  We had an amazing weekend with the family enjoying the first two days of the Tour de France.  For those of you who know of  our recent  caravan adventures, not a bit of mud in sight. We are enjoying our away time, no chores, just relaxing and going  with the flow.  Once again I have packed my journal, with my small take away stash and have enjoyed  getting inky or should I say painty.

Art Journal Journey  this month and the theme is --- Flower Power

The page is coloured with acrylic paints.
Some stamped flower images [Joffy from Paper Astsy] these were water coloured.
A little snail with his hat on hiding in the flower border. I tried to lighten and enlarge  this  cropped piece  so you could spot him, sorry it looks a bit blurred.
The flowers in the foreground were cut from a printed sheet.

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

Colours of Summer

'Colours of Summer', is the new challenge theme starting over at Try it on Tuesdays today.

I always think of summer as being warm and sunny, sitting in the garden, looking at the  flowers brightly coloured with the butterflies and bees hovering around.

Well when you finish having a smile  at my ideal  world, one can only hope for this sort of  weather in the UK  and enjoy it when we can.

The base of this card was  dry embossed using an Embossalicious   leaf folder. The distress ink  colours I used for shading were Spiced Marmalade and Fern Green.

The images are all Joffy stamps from Paper Artsy, I used pencils to colour them.

Thank you for taking time to stop by, I always appreciate the comments you leave.

You are my Anchor for SCH

 Over at Sugar Creek Hollow.

the challenge theme is  called,  'How Charming'.

 We had to make projects that included a charm or other metal element, corners frames etc.
I reached  for my Graphics 54 papers again to make this card.

A vintage sea side came to mind, with hopes of summer sun.

Lots of layers distressed edges and shaded with Tea Dye distress ink.

Some trimmings form my stash and of course my added Charm, the Anchor under the ribbon bow.

I hope you will pop over for all the details and see what my DT friends have been making. We do ask that you remember our style is Vintage/Shabby Chic.

Thank you for stopping by, I always appreciate the comments

 you leave for me.

June

Okay, so its July and  this is a short post. I completely forgot to show you my June Calendar  page, made as usual with a random stamped background and papers etc from  a Graphics 45 stack.

We are back in the caravan again with the family,  who are  hoping to catch a glimpse of the Tour de France riders as they wizz by on the first stages of the race in Yorkshire.

I would like to say hello to my new followers, thank you for joining me on my crafty journey.

I always appreciate you all taking the time to visit.