Just a Quickie...

Not a normal post today!!  Just to let you know where I am.

Well, today we're in Cartagena, Spain.  I'm not fluent in the language but I can order 2 beers!

We'll be going to Palma, Majorca next and arrive at 08.00 tomorrow (still got the nautical timekeeping going on!)

April 22nd will find us in Valletta, Malta then it's on to Hvar in Croatia.  I've never been there so looking forward to it.

April 25th we arrive in Venice...there is nothing like sailing into Venice....it's amazing as you sail past St. Mark's Square and see all the sights from the sea.

April 26th and we're back to Croatia, Sibenik this time.

 

April 27th we'll be in Corfu, Greece followed by a couple of sea days then on April 30th it's Mahon, Minorca.

On May 2nd we arrive in Gibraltar and our last port of call is Lisbon, Portugal on May 3rd.  2 more days at sea then back to Good Old Blighty on May 6th.
The card is just to jolly things along on the page!  It was made using Creative Expressions stamps, an A4 dragonfly mask, Distress Inks and Cosmic Shimmer Watercolour paints.  I thought something cheery and bright would be good!

Normal service on this blog will resume on 7th May!!

Thank you for being patient with me and I'll be back soon.

Until then, enjoy all things crafty and thank you for visiting.

La Coruna

Today we're in La Coruna, Spain...we could play "Where in the World is she Today!"

I thought I'd post another card I made using gilding flakes for Ally Pally.

I've embossed the cogs and gears mask using the Grand Calibur.  Then I picked up some gilding glue on a piece of Cut 'n Dry and swiped it over areas of the card and applied the gilding flakes.

The main image has been stamped with Black Archival and I've used 2nd generation stamping for the other images to give a more faded effect.

I've added faux pearls around the edge with Black PVA glue (Cosmic Shimmer).

The findings are all Tim Holtz bits and pieces.

All of the products I've used are from Creative Expressions.

Many thanks for stopping by and looking.

Safely on Board!

We're all unpacked and have the cabin looking like home...except there's no craft stuff in here!  There's definitely no trace of gilding flakes which seem to be everywhere at home!

Anyway, a day at sea today so a chance to relax with a good book or 2 and watch Steve (the better/other half) perform his comedy songs.

I'm sorry I didn't do it yesterday (I was a bit frazzled) but I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who stopped by the Rubbernecker stand and said hello...also for coming in to the demo's.  I had a ball and hope you did too.

This is another sample card I made for the show.

I've used the cog mask which I've embossed, then with the mask still in place, I applied the glitter and flake glue.  After removing the mask I applied the Copper Cosmic Shimmer Gilding Flakes.

The Main central images are from some of the Steampunk stamps from Creative Expressions.  I "inked" up the satamps with some of the glue (on a piece of Cut 'n Dry Foam), stamped it onto black card then applied the gilding over the top.

A tip when using the glue on stamps.....don't press the cut 'n dry too firmly when "inking" up.....just light gentle tapping.  Don't press the stamp down too hard onto the card...it's a very strong glue and you might pull away the top layer of the card when you lift the stamp.  Experiment with it...it's worth the effort.

Anyway, my books await and it's a good murder (or research as I tell my husband!) so I shall leave you for today.

It was fantastic seeing so many of you on Saturday and it's always a joy to work with Sue Wilson.

My postings will be a bit sketchy over the next 3 weeks but do check in and I'll post when I can.  I'll definitely be back to normal on 7th May at the latest!

Many thanks for visiting.

Bags are packed!

I saw this in Craft Stamper and thought "What a Good Idea" so I hightailed it up to my nearest DIY store and came home with a fistful of paint swatches in various colours!

I've stamped up the flower and swirls with Black Archival ink....be careful when stamping as the swatches are on a glossy card.  I stamped and heat embossed the message and distressed around the edge with Dusty Concord Ink.

It's a really quick (and VERY cheap) card to make.

As per the header for this post...my bags are packed and I'm ready to go...I feel a song coming on.

We're off on the good old Saga Sapphire as my better half (his words) is working.....well talking about his favourite subject, comedy music and singing and playing the guitar.  I get to go along as his guest and roadie.  I also get to play the tambourine for one song!

We'll be setting sail at 16.00hrs (very nautical!) from Southampton.  I'll try to keep in touch while we're away and let you know where I am but if things get a bit sketchy over the next 3 weeks please accept my apologies.

Thank you for visiting and don't forget the candy!

Ally Pally Sample

Happy Ally Pally everyone!

Here's a sample I made for the show using the Silver Gilding Flakes.

I covered a piece of wood with Tim Holtz paper and using a piece of Cut 'n Dry foam swiped the gilding glue around the edge.  Then with another piece of foam I applied some Eco-Green Acrylic paint in black.  I did the same to the smaller heart which I also stamped a message on and highlighted some of the words with Crystal Lacquer.

For the larger heart, I covered it with the same paper but this time stamped images from the "Falling Leaves" set of stamps using the gilding glue.  The silver gilding flakes went on next.

The 2 roses are made from a stamp in the Button Floral set (Hels used it in her C&C show last week) and the other flower is a Spellbinder Die.  I've dipped them in my Melt Pot with clear UTEE.

Everything I've used is available from Creative Expressions (apart from the wood and the hearts...they were in my stash!) 

Hope you like it and maybe you'll come to the demo and see the "real thing!"

Hope you all have a good day and thanks for visiting.

PVA Crackle

Today's offering is a card we'll be making at the May 18th workshop at Martells in Cliftonville.

I used a size 8 tag and painted it with blue Eco Green acrylic paint then applied a layer of PVA glue.  Dried it a little then painted over it with white acrylic.  Next, heat up wuth your heat gun and crackles will appear.  I very gently applied Black Soot Distress Ink around the edges.

The stamps are from Creative Expressions.

The background was made using Faded Jeans Distress Ink and a wet smooshing technique.  I roughed up the edges with a pair of scissors then distressed with Black Soot again.

This is only a very quick post as we're off to Ally Pally at 7am and we still need to load the car up and I need more tea!!

Hope to see you there and thanks for stopping by. 

One of the Demo's

I thought I'd show you something I've been getting ready for Ally Pally on Saturday.

This is such a nice easy card to make and would be great for a wedding or maybe a Golden Anniversary.

First of all I applied the double sided adhesive sheet to the back of some heat embossable acetate.  Next, apply gilding flakes after making sure that your blown air wall heater isn't going to come on!  The images were stamped with Black Archival and heat embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Powder.....tip....use an anti static bag over the acetate before you stamp.  Also, although the acetate is able to take some heat, don't leave the heat gun in one position for too long.  Make sure you move it on as soon as the powder has turned.

Everything was matted and layered onto black and white card.  The faux pearls around the edge are 2 different colours of Cosmic Shimmer Pearl Glue.  If you look carefully under the bow you can see a small metal charm that I've also applied gilding flakes to (it was silver).  Just put some of the special gilding glue onto a piece of Cut 'n Dry foam and dab onto the charm then add the flakes and buff off.   I made a double bow with some seam binding and added a dazzler to finish.  Everything is available from Creative Expressions.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by yesterday and left such lovely comments.  I'm going to try and visit a few more blogs today...apologies if I don't get to everyone.

The packing is almost done for the cruise and the samples are almost finished for Ally Pally.  Just one more tag art for the afternoon demo and one more gilding flake demo for the morning.  Then it's bags packed and leave home at 7am.  If all goes well we should be at Ally Pally about 9am ready to help Sue set up the Rubbernecker stand.

Did you catch her shows yesterday...what great ideas with the Spellbinders.  If you missed any (or have no idea what I'm talking about) you can see some of Sue's beautiful cards on her blog which she posts EVERY day.  Visit:  http://particraft.blogspot.com

Anyway, enough waffling from me.  Off to the studio to finish off and hope to see some of you on Saturday.

WOYWW

Happy WOYWW to one and all.

Well as you can see, mine is a complete mess again!

I've been working on demo samples for Ally Pally and have had a great time covering myself and everything else with gilding flakes.  I've warned the family that they had better not stay still for too long otherwise I'll gild them as well! 

I've also been playing with some home décor which is something I've never really done before but have fallen in love with.

For this one I've used the Studio490 Art Parts.  The stamps are by Sam Poole for Creative Expressions and are the Vintage Baking set.  I bought them ages ago and had forgotten about them but they seemed just right for this wall hanging.  The roses were made from the Button Floral stamp set (again Sam and CE).  They've been dipped in the Melt Pot with clear UTEE as have all the little stamped images and the message.  I cut out the shape for the message before I dipped in in the UTEE.  I didn't have the right size die for the matt so I drew around the outside of the shape and cut it out by hand.  It's a great way of getting more from your dies.

The papers are from a Tim Holtz pad.

I used some wire that I twisted around a pencil for the hanger and added some ribbon scraps to finish.

Hope you like it.

Getting VERY excited about Ally Pally now.  I do love to demo and have got some lovely projects ready with the gilding flakes so hope to see some of you there.....if only to see how much of a mess I can get in.....that glue is soooo strong!!

Don't forget Sue is on C&C and Ideal World today with her amazing Spellbinder shows.  Come and see her on the Rubbernecker stand at Ally Pally this weekend.  Sam Poole will be on the Creative Expressions stand as will Julia Watts and on Sunday they'll be joined by Hels and Leonie.

The blog candy is still up for grabs.  To enter, find the posting further down and follow the instructions.

Right, back to the studio to prep for the afternoon demo!

Thank you so much for visiting and leaving comments.

Mixing it up

I do wish that the photo had come out better!

You're going to have to use your imagination a bit with this.

The background was made by inking up a mask with Perfect Medium, running it through the Grand Calibur with black card then adding clear embossing powder and heating.  Tip: use your anti-static bag on the card before you start!

The tag was a really cheap and nasty one from a stationers..I don't think they'd recognise it now!

I inked it up with Perfect Medium and added UTEE then heated.  Next I got a teaspoon and added some silver and black emboss powders (Cosmic Shimmer) in different areas on the tag and heated again.  I always let it cool and then apply Perfect Medium between each stage.  When you're happy with the coverage, heat it again and, using a teaspoon, add some Luna Silver Mica Flakes and Micro Beads.  They stick really well into the UTEE.

The tag was put on with 3d foam pads after I'd removed the string and added some ribbon instead.

In real life the card is very sparkly.  It's one that we're making at the May 18th workshop at Martells.  Hope you like it.

The very fab Sue Wilson has a Pick of the Day on Create & Craft from 9pm tonight so don't miss the shows....they're bound to be fab.

I'm up to my neck in packing for the cruise.  I'm sure that most of the clothes have a sprinkling of gilding flakes on them!  It's a fairly tight schedule as we get home from Ally Pally on Saturday evening and leave for the cruise on Sunday morning.  This is where organisation comes into it's own....does anyone know where I can buy some!!

Back down to the studio for more sample making ready for Saturday.  Hope you all have a fun, crafty day and thank you for visiting.

Floral Wall Hanging

 This is definitely something very different for me!  I don't usually do "pretty" being a much more grungy type but I had a lot of fun with this.

I bought a shaped plaque from Ally Pally last September which has sat unloved in a cupboard ever since so I thought it was time to give it a new lease of life!

It's been covered with Tim Holtz paper which was distressed around the edge with Weathered Wood ink.

The flowers are a mix of some Paper Artsy Stamps and Spellbinder Dies.  The leaves and swirls are all Spellbinder dies as well.  I've stamped some images and words from stamps in my stash.  The bird was another unloved bit of stash from my cupboard which I've painted with white acrylic paint then stamped with swirls.

I've put a piccie on showing a bit of a close up.

That's it for today, thanks for visiting.  Hope you like the finished project.

Using Up Scraps

I don't know about you, but I always end up with a box of scraps that sit there and glare at me for years until I give up and throw them away!

Here's and idea to finally get rid of some!

This card was made using paper weaving.  I cut an aperture in a separate piece of white card using a Spellbinder die (saving the cut out of course!).  Next, cut the paper into strips of various widths.  Attach a line of double sided tape to the top of another piece of card that is slightly smaller that the top aperture layer.  Start sticking a line of the papers onto the tape.  When you get to the other end, weave the papers in and out horizontally.  Place the aperture over the top.

To finish the card, I stamped and embossed a butterfly onto vellum.  Cut out 2 more dies in black and white and stamped a sentiment onto the card.

This one hasn't been made from scraps as it's for a workshop and I wanted everyone to have the same paper but it was paper that I didn't like and would never have used so it still counts!

All the stamps and the set of dies are from Creative Expressions.

I'm up to my neck in gilding flakes at the moment making samples for Ally Pally.  My biggest problem is that in my studio I have a wall mounted heater that blows out warm air.  I have to wait for it to go off before I remove the lid from the flakes......timing is all!!!

Right, better get back to the studio, lots more demo ideas to prep.  Please remember to leave comments to be in with a chance of the blog candy.  The post with how to enter is further down.

Thanks so much for visiting.  Until next time.....

Carrying on with the Bird Theme

Of Course you can Fly.
I designed this card for a workshop later this year at Martells.  I had no idea where I was going with it when I started putting it together but I was so pleased with the end result.
I made the background using the wet smooshing technique with Distress Inks and overstamped some tiny birds with Black Archival, they were 2nd and 3rd generation stamping.
The birdcage was cut using a Spellbinder Die.  When I decided where I wanted it to go, I stamped a bird to fit in the cage and a branch for it to hang from.  The larger bird is also a die from the same set as the cage and I wanted him looking in at the other bird.
I stamped a swirl in the bottom corner and added some black seam binding and a dazzler.  The message was stamped on the same background then stuck on with 3d foam pads.
All of the items used were from Creative Expressions..visit their website for product details.  There's loads on there including their own blog.
I spent a merry few hours playing with some gilding flakes yesterday.  When I'd finished the studio looked like an explosion in a fairy factory and so did I.  I'll take a piccie of the finished piece and you can let me know what you think.
Anyhoo, samples to make for Ally Pally today so better get on with it.
Thanks for visiting and any comments are always lovely to see.  You do sometimes wonder if there's anyone reading this!  One last thing.....please remember the blog candy!
 



A Little Bird Told Me!

Well, this is a complete change for me....a 3D project!

My good friend, Michelle Mogford-Jackson (aka the Art Tart) was teaching on the same cruise as me in January and she persuaded me to have a go at one of her projects.

I put all the pieces together on the ship but left the final gluing until I got home as I wanted to do some stamping on it and also, it was a lot easier to transport when it was flat!

Michelle calls it her "Wishing House" and it was good fun to make.  From time to time we all need to leave our comfort zones and have a go at something new.  So, thank you Michelle! 

If you'd like to see some wonderful projects please visit her website...www.thearttart.  Make sure you click on the right site, you can have a nasty surprise if you don't!

I've used various stamp sets on it including the Swirl and Bird sets from Creative Expressions.  The edges have had the benefit of Distress Inks!  It was mostly put together with good old Cosmic Shimmer Dries Clear Glue.

I had a parcel delivered yesterday with new toys for me to play with.  I managed to get hold of some of the Gilding Wax and now I want to add it to everything!  I think it's going to look fantastic rubbed onto Beeswax. 

So, you can guess what my plans are for today!!

I'll let you know how I get on but in the meantime, have a happy, crafty day and thanks for dropping by.

An Oldie but a Goodie

This card was made using such an old technique but one that's great fun.

The background was embossed with the Fretwork Mask through the Grand Calibur and lightly inked with Spun Sugar Distress.

The next stage was to make the background for the stamped image.

Cut your cardstock to size.  Put shaving foam into a container...I use a throwaway plastic plate.  Smooth the shaving foam down with a ruler.  Add ink...for this card I've sprayed Cosmic Shimmer Vintage Misters onto the shaving foam but you could use Distress Re-Inkers.

Swirl the inks around but try not to "muddy" them too much.  Whatever you see on the top of the shaving foam is what you will get on your card.  Press the piece of card down onto the foam, lift and remove excess foam.  Voila..you now have a piece of marbled background card!  It even smells nice!  Use the very cheapest shaving foam you can find...mine was about 45p!

The stamp is from a set by Creative Expressions as were the hat pins, fabric rose and seam binding.

Now onto other matters!!!

Many thanks to all of those who came to the demo yesterday.  I had great fun "playing" and I hope you went away with a few new ideas.  Hope to see you again at the workshops or perhaps we can persuade Henry to have another demo!  Don't forget, if he doesn't have an item in stock from Creative Expressions, he can order it for you.  If you have any problems, please contact me.

I'll be demo-ing Gilding Flakes at Ally Pally on Saturday 13th April.  Just waiting for the "goodies" to arrive from the lovely Sue Wilson so I can get started playing  working, I mean working!!!

Anyway, off to the studio to tidy away all of the stuff I took with me yesterday and wait for inspiration to strike.

Many thanks to all who visited the blog yesterday...I'm going on a mission today to visit as many desks as I can!

The blog candy is still there so look for the posting about how to enter for it.

Until tomorrow...have fun and happy crafting.

WOYWW

Good morning and Happy WOYWW.

I thought I'd take a piccie of my "heat it" station!

This is where the iron, heat gun and Melt Pot live (along with essentials like the kettle!)

My Melt Pot had gathered dust on a shelf until I saw Hels on C&C and I just had to get it back out and play.  I should have been prepping for todays demo but this was much more fun!  Anyway, here is the result.

I had a really cheap canvas that needed cheering up so covered it with Vintage Shabby Tim Holtz paper.

I melted Beeswax on a low setting in the Melt Pot, stamped some images onto a single layer of tissue and applied them to the canvas using the wax.  The stamps are also by Sir Tim.

I covered a small square of Studio 490 Art Parts with the same paper, stamped a message and 2nd generation pattern then painted the wax over the top.

The flowers and leaves were made from Spellbinder dies as where the flourishes.

I used Hels tip of scrunching up the leaves before coating them in wax.  The sides of the canvas and the Art Part were painted with Eco Green Black Acrylic Paint.  It's a great range of paints and I love them because they dry really quickly.  Everything I used is available from Creative Expressions. So, once again, many thanks to Hels for getting my Melt Pot mojo working again!  I'm also entering this as my Sunday Stamper entry...it's nature themed this week.  Pop over to Hels blog for details.

I've got some candy up for grabs...please see previous post for details.  It's a fab set of stamps and masks.

Off to pack up the car with all the demo stuff...really looking forward to it and I'm taking the canvas with me to sit in pride of place!

I'll try and get around to as many of you as I can but thank you for visiting and all your lovely comments...I was blown away last week.

Blog Candy and Fairies!

As promised, the blog candy has arrived.

I thought it should be a bit special to "kick things off" and celebrate the fact that I'm finally blogging again!

To win is simples!!

First, become a follower of the blog.

Next, leave a comment.

And finally, put a link to your blog if you have one...if not, don't worry.

The more posts that you comment on, the more entries you get into the draw.

The draw will take place when I get to 300 followers.

Good luck everyone, they're a fantastic set of stamps and the Tim Holtz mini masks are fab.

I thought I'd put a different sort of card on here today...very different to my usual grungy, distressed look!

This is one that I taught at a workshop last year.

The stamp is from Creative Expressions.  I heat embossed the image then painted her with Distress Inks mixed with Mica Powders.  The wings were stamped twice onto fusible film, cut out and glued on with CS dries clear glue.

I cut the image out using a Spellbinder die.

The background was made by putting a piece of card into a Creative Expressions Embossing Folder, running it through the Grand Calibur, then inking with Spun Sugar Distress Ink.

It's a nice easy card to make and I usually forget about using fusible film but it does make beautiful wings for fairies, butterflies and dragonflies as well as a stained glass effect for windows.

A Eureka moment!!!

I must get down to the studio straight away...I have some of the Spellbinder D Lite window dies!!

Don't forget to watch Hels fab shows on C&C over the next few days...the melt pot techniques are amazing.

Have a terrific day whatever you're up to and many thanks for visiting.

More Nautical!

Thought I'd show you another Nautical themed card today but with a completely different look to yesterdays.

It can be difficult to make mens cards unless they like a pint or play sports but these Nautical stamps from Creative Expressions are great.  Even if they have no interest in the sea, there are maps and a globe.

The background for this card has been made with Cosmic Shimmer Misters.  I sprayed a piece of card with gold, placed the fretwork mask over the top and resprayed with green.  The edges were distressed with Peeled Paint.

For the globe, I sprayed the colours onto my craft mat, then used a paintbrush to colour it in.

The ships wheels were stamped, cut out, coloured with Distress Ink then triple thick embossed.  Other than that, just normal stamping and embossing.

This is another card from a workshop at Martells later this year.  I'm trying to be very organised this year and have all the workshops planned well in advance.  It's actually working and I only have 3 more projects to sort out for November!

The boot fair was a wash out...or should I say a snow out!

We ended up in a lovely country pub with a roaring log fire and met up with some friends that we hadn't seen since August last year.  A much better way of spending a very cold afternoon!

I'm off to the studio now to finish prepping for the demo on Wednesday.  I just hope people turn up!!

Also want to sort out some candy so please look out for that.

Many thanks for visiting and leaving comments.