Woodland Fun

Wednesday again so I'm back with another card for Creative Studios featuring the Woodland Animal stamps.

I've used a few of the different characters on this card as well as the background Tree Stamp.

As always, there's a step by step on the CS website but here's a look at the finished card.

I thought that the tree might be a bit fiddly to cut out but it was surprisingly easy....I'm not known for my love of cutting out!

A couple of weeks ago I went to a workshop at The Artistic Stamper in Faversham.  I had to go as we were using Graphic 45 papers!  Anyway, I thought I'd show you a couple of piccies of the finished project. 

The outside of the box.

And the inside!  We used the Botanical Papers and they were as gorgeous as ever.  The box was painted with the Ranger Distress paints.  They give a really good coverage.

I was mightily impressed with the finished article and plan to use it for my record cards that I plan my workshops on.

Well, that's all for today.  Thank you for visiting and so until next time....keep crafting!

Hoppy Wednesday!

Wednesday has rolled around again at incredible speed so it's my turn to design a project for Creative Studios.

I have to say that it's been an absolute joy designing with the Woodland Animal stamps designed by Sam Poole and today's is no exception.

I thought that as the sun has been shining, I would come up with a really bright and cheerful card that would be ideal as an Easter Card.

I've used the masking technique to create the number of rabbits on here and painted them with Distress Inks.

As always, the full step by step tutorial is on the Creative Studios website so do please pop over there and have a look.

Just a reminder that Ally Pally is getting near!  I'll be on the Rubbernecker Stand with the lovely Sue Wilson as well as giving demo's in the main demo area.

There are still a couple of spaces available on the workshops at Martells in April.  Please phone the shop if you're interested.  I have to say that I'm so pleased with the ideas that I've come up with for them!!  Just a note of caution...glitter is involved so be prepared to leave looking like a disco diva!

Well, that's all for today, so until next time...keep crafting!

A Hoot of a Day!

Good Morning and here I am again with another card made using Sam Poole's Creative Studios cute animal stamps.

I Love the owl, he is just the sweetest thing!  I've also used the new Birch Tree Mask.

The outer edge of the main card has been decorated with 3 different colours of Cosmic Shimmer PVA Glues.

I've done a full step by step tutorial on the Creative Studios blog so, please pop over there for a more detailed look.

I do hope you all like this one, it's been one of my favourites!

On other matters, the workshops in Cliftonville for April are almost sold out, just a couple of spaces left on each date.  If you can make it, it would be great to see you.  If not, I'll be at Ally Pally next month doing some demo's for the lovely Sue Wilson so do come over and say hello!  Failing that, I'll be in Deal on March 15th playing my ukulele with the Sunshine Ukulele Club!

Until next time, have a great week!

WOYWW

Good Morning All and a very happy WOYWW.

To kick things off, here's a photo of my desk.

You'll be able to see a pot of Cosmic Shimmer Summer Meadow Gilding Flakes, some Flake and Glitter Glue, my scooshy and a large A6 Dot background stamp from Sam Poole at Creative Studios.  There's also the stamped and gilded card at the front.  I'm working on a project for the workshops at Martells in February next year! 
The next workshop is on Saturday and we won't be having any after November until next year and I know they'll want to know what we're going to do!

I've posted my DT piece on the Creative Studios blog this morning (for link, go to Sam on the right).  It's a Christmas card, thought I'd better get started!  All of the step by steps are on the CS blog.

Here's the finished card...non-traditional colours for a change!
Yesterday was my first "official" post as a DT member for Creative Expressions and you can see the card and step by step in yesterdays post.

Onto other matters.  Some of you may know about the kitten that my daughter rescued from a sealed cardboard box.  He seemed poorly on Saturday and so she rushed him to the emergency vet 20 miles away.  He told her that the kitten was going to die possibly in the next few days or months and that he could put Gonzo to sleep there and then.  It seems that the poor little chap has a congenital condition that will always afflict him.  Sam (my dd) wanted a second opinion from her own vet so took the kitten there on Monday (she was in tears thinking that he wouldn't be coming home with her).  Her own vet said that although Gonzo has a problem he could live a very happy life for years to come but would always need extra help.  It seems that an aorta to the brain didn't grow properly and so he is always going to be very slow and disabled.
The upshot is that he is fine but will always be like a tiny kitten in his ways and won't ever be able to go outside.  He can, however, play and enjoy his many cuddles.  One much happier daughter who is fully prepared to give him as much love and care as he needs.  I really think that she was meant to find him.  We're kitten sitting while she goes to work and as her partner works shifts, it means that the kitten always has someone there with him.
Someone told her she was being cruel keeping him alive as it would restrict her freedom!  It wasn't the vet who told her that there was no reason to put Gonzo to sleep.
We're so glad that she got a 2nd opinion and trusted her instincts.  Glad I got that off my chest but it'll be a long time before I forgive the 1st vet for putting her and her partner through so much stress.

Well, that's it for today.  Sorry it's gone on a bit!  The blog candy is still there. down to just 13 more now.  I might be a bit late getting around the desks this week as I have to go out today. 

Many thanks for your visits and comments. Until next time...

Back from the Fjords!

Good Morning All, I'm back from my little jaunt up the Norwegian Fjords and very relaxing it was!  Not so much for the OH as he had to work.  I say work but he was singing and playing the guitar and giving talks on the funny side of Country and Western music.  I, of course, made myself useful by acting as his "roadie".

When I got home yesterday there was a lovely parcel of new goodies to play with sent by the fab Sam Poole of Creative Studios.  So, I put the washing on and got straight to work!
Here's what I came up with.

As usual, I've done a full step by step tutorial on the Creative Studios Design Team Blog so I won't duplicate it here. The skull would be great for a teenage boy birthday card as well as a Halloween card....it would certainly appeal to my grandson!

And so finally for this morning, here's a picture a took on the cruise.

The photo was taken in Jondal, it was stunningly beautiful and so tranquil.  I could have spent a week there just watching the river and the mist rolling up the mountains!

Anyway, I've got another project under way and want to get back down to the studio and finish it today.  Then it's sorting out the tools and inks for the workshop on Saturday (which I've just heard has sold out...thank you all for coming!)
Many thanks for visiting and leaving comments,
Until next time....keep crafting!

WOYWW

Happy Wednesday everyone and that can only mean one thing....time to go for a snoop around everyone's desks!

I didn't have much on mine today so I thought I'd take a piccie of a corner of my cabin. 

Looking at this, I realise that I have a terrible paper habit!  I just can't stop buying it and then don't want to use it as it's too nice.  I really must "have a word with myself!"
If that was all the paper it wouldn't be as bad but I've also got a tall paper rack on another wall and my cardstock is stored on another wall!  Repeat after me..."you're a bad person and it's only paper so just use it!!!"

As it's Wednesday, it's also my day on the Creative Studios Design Team blog.  Here's what I've come up with for this week.  It's also a project that I'll be teaching at a workshop in September at Martells in Cliftonville.

I've used the "Art Houses, Art Flower and Wise Friends" sets of stamps from Creative Studios.  There's step by step instructions on the blog and the link is Sam Poole Designs on the right of this page.

So, now in to today's travel photo.

This is St David's Cathedral in Wales.  St David's is the smallest city in the UK.  It's also true that it rains a lot in Wales but the grass is always lush and green!

That's about it for today.  Many thanks for visiting and thank you to those who have signed up as followers.  We're creeping towards the 300 mark and then I'll draw the blog candy winner.  Also thanks for all the wonderful comments.  I'll try to visit as many of you as I can.  I seem to always get to about 90 before real life comes along and drags me kicking and screaming back into the real world!
So Until next time, have a happy, crafty (and possibly sunny) week!

Trying to be Organised!

Good Morning Bloggers! 

I'm trying very hard to get into an organised mode (not easy for me!) and finish prepping the final workshop of the year.  I know it isn't until November but what with music festivals in the summer and prepping for a cruise I'm teaching on, the year will fly past.

So, I'm sorry if I upset anyone, but I'm going to mention the dreaded "C" word again!  Yes, I'm "doing" Christmas!!

Well, here's the card I've come up with.  It's a nice quick one as in the workshop we do 2 long and 2 short projects (we run out of time it we don't!)

To make the card, I've cut an aperture in a 6x6 card using the Small Classic Square Spellbinder Die.  Using the same die and a larger one, I've cut a frame.  The frame has been coloured using Distress Inks and stamped with Black Archival Ink.
I glued a piece of acetate to the card and glued the frame over the top.
Using the square of card cut from the centre, I've cut another shape using a Spellbinder die and coloured it using Distress Inks.  I've used Dusty Concord, Broken China and Faded Jeans and I've blended them together. 
I stamped the pear from Sam Poole's "Partridge in a Pear Tree" stamp set (the stamp on the frame is from the same set) with Black Archival ink and heat embossed it with clear powder.  A little tip....use an anti-static bag before stamping the pear as the Distress Inks take a long time to dry and will hold on to the embossing powder.

I cut another matching shape out and glued the stamped one to the front of the acetate and the plain white one directly behind it to hide all the gluey mess.  Then it's just a message stamped on the front and you're good to go!

Hope you like it!

Now for todays travel photo....where shall we go today!

These are the "Standing Stones of Stennes" in the Orkney Islands.  They're a Neolithic monument and quite beautiful against the windswept background.

Well, that's all for today.  Have a very happy crafty week until we meet again in Blogland!  Many 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. 

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.....

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. 

Nautical but Nice!

Another day, another card...hope this one makes you think of holidays to warmer places!

I love to make my own backgrounds instead of using patterned paper, at least that way it saves time on trying to colour match!  The other problem with paper is that I never want to use it...just sit and stroke it (or is that just me!)

The background for this card is a collage of different stamps from one of the Nautical sets from Creative Expressions.  I've also used a large dot background stamp.  The edges have been distressed and heat embossed with gold Cosmic Shimmer.

For the main image of the ship, to make it stand out more from the background, I've painted over it with Ranger Rock Candy Crackle Paint.

I love the message, Confucus knew a thing or two!

I'm not giving too much away with the full techniques as this is a project from a forthcoming workshop at Martells!  Don't forget the demo on April 3rd if you can make it.

I'm trying to put together some candy to celebrate the fact I've finally got around to re-starting the blog so please keep your eyes open for that.

Have a very Happy Easter Sunday...hope you remembered to put your clocks forward!

We're off to a boot fair..if I can get anyone else out of bed..wish me luck!



Another Quick Card

Happy Easter everyone, hope you all have a great weekend with lots of time for crafting.

I thought that I would show you another very simple card that will be taught in one of my upcoming workshops at Martells.

 

First of all, I cut a matt from some Fancy Pants paper then a smaller one from Coconut white card.  The white card was put over a mask and embossed in the Grand Calibur.

I cut the flowers in the same paper using the Bitty Blossoms Spellbinder Dies and a couple of leaves from a Foliage set.  The tag was cut from another Spellbinder set..

The next step was to make the flowers up which couldn't be easier using these dies.  I do get asked quite often how to roll them and the answer is to start from the outside and roll in towards the centre.  I always use a glue dot to hold them in place but Cosmic Shimmer Dries Clear Glue is brilliant for it as well.

I stamped a message from a Sam Poole set of stamps...I think it was the "Art Sayings" set.  If you haven't got this set yet I'd advise you to get hold of it.  There are so many useful phrases in it.  I know that Martells in Cliftonville stock this set of stamps (as well as lots of other Creative Expressions goodies!).  You can also see the set on the Creative Expressions website.

The next step was to thread the ribbon through the tag and stick it onto the card.  The flowers and leaves were the next to be added.

Once the card was put together, I applied Cosmic Shimmer Gold glue to form faux pearls in the embossed flower background. 

It really is an easy card to make and I hope that the bright colour makes you all feel as though Spring can't be far away!

Hope that some of you can make it to the demo on Wednesday...it would be great to see some friendly faces!  There will be lots of Distress, masks, emboss folders, paint and mess!!

Hope to be back tomorrow with another card.  Sorry the details are a bit sketchy on some of these but I don't want to give the whole game away before I run the workshops!!

Thanks for visiting and I do love to read any comments that are left for me.

Woyww

WOYWW

 

Well, good morning all.  This is the mess that is my workshop desk today!

 

Believe it or not, I'm prepping a workshop for Christmas Cards...thought it might be difficult this time of year but with all the pictures of snow I keep seeing, it's not too bad!  The workshop isn't taking place until November for the Xmas projects but this year my resolution is to be MUCH better organised!

 

 

This is a card I designed for a workshop taking place in July this year.  I thought I'd include it today for Hels challenge of stamped and shiny!

I've stamped Studio 490 flowers onto vellum and embossed with True White.

The background is silver card, painted with black Eco Green acrylic paint then put through the Grand Calibur with the Creative Expressions Bark embossing folder.  The paint was sanded off to reveal the silver underneath.

The message is from the same set of stamps as the flowers and I've stamped it onto a Spellbinder Fancy Tag die.

I've also stamped the butterflies onto vellum, cut them out and layered them.

Just a few gems, hat pins, a piece of black seam binding and a Dazzler and voila...it's done!

All of the items used are from Creative Expressions.

Hope you all like it...makes the mess on the desk worthwhile when I finally see the finished results.  Hopefully I'll have the "work in progress" in the top picture finished today.

Don't forget the demo at Martells on April 3rd.  I'll also be doing a demo at Ally Pally on Saturday 13th April so hope to see some of you there.

Thank you for visiting and leaving any comments.