I'll start by apologising for my absence for the past few days but I did have some very good reasons so I hope I'm forgiven!
Firstly, there was the full day workshop on Saturday at Martells which was great fun. I hope everyone there enjoyed it and are looking forward to the next one on 14th September. It was lovely to see you all so enthusiastic and with wonderful green fingers!!
Secondly, we took a very dear friend who recently lost his wife out to lunch on Sunday to celebrate his 70th birthday. He is a member of the Oscar Wilde Society so I decided to make him a card with that theme.
The words on the card say "To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early or be respectable". The text is from The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde and seemed very appropriate!
I have to thank my Serif programme for enabling me to make cards like this!
Thirdly, I've been putting samples together for Sam's shows on Create & Craft which is going out on 22nd July. Check the Creative Studios website for timings but here is a sneak preview using one of her fab new range of stamps.
It's from the Shabby Chic Heart set and also one of the new A6 background stamps. There will be a full step by step on the DT blog tomorrow for this project but I can confirm that it involves paints and inks and very messy fingers (again!).
And finally, we're off to 2 music festivals from today and have had to get everything ready and sort the campervan out. We're working at the first one (filming) and going to the 2nd one just to enjoy it. One of the headline acts is Van Morrison so that should be an experience. The weather actually looks promising this year. Last year it was so bad that my wellies broke in the mud!
As I won't be around for the next couple of weeks, here's another sneaky preview of a DT piece for next Wednesday.
There will be step by steps for this one as well.
Anyway, that's my excuses for not being on here and I hope I'm forgiven!!
I've been asked about the blog candy draw....it'll be drawn when I get to 300 followers but do check in regularly as I might have a small surprise draw when I get back from the festivals!!
No travel photo today as there's lots of other piccies. Do have a look at the Creative Studios website, there's lots of ideas for using the new stamp sets from Sam and the team.
Until next time, have a happy, crafty time. I'll be back to post again on 23rd July.
Good morning all and happy WOYWW!
It's that time of the week that we all have a trip around the world and see what everyone has been up to.
Well, I went to an auction on Friday evening and being a sucker for all things "storage" I had to bid for this really handy drawer set. It's actually what's on my desk today until I fill it and find a home for it!
The bottom drawer is big enough to take my misting ink sprays so I think they might end up living in there as it's best to store them on their sides and not upright.
I've been busy putting packs together for the November cruise workshops and now have 4 projects completed. I finally finished 50 packs of Shaker cards yesterday and really don't want to see them again until I get on the ship and start teaching!
My project for the Creative Studios Design Team this week is using Sam's brand new Shabby Chic stamp sets. I've used the heart stamp along with the rose and leaves for this project. There's a step by step (with photos) on the Sam Poole Designs website (link on the right).
It's a shame I'm not better at photography! The main stamp is a heart shaped text stamp. I've heat embossed it in white and covered the whole thing with Micro Beads.
I've been making samples for the shows on Create and Craft on July 22nd when Sam will be demoing these stamp sets and I'll put some of them on here over the next week.
Well, apart from the travel photo, that's about all.
Staying with last weeks topic of cathedrals, here's a photo of Lindisfarne.
Many thanks for visiting and leaving all your lovely comments. I'll try and get round to as many of you as possible (I got to 100 last week so I'm getting better!).
I won't be here next week as we're away at a couple of music festivals so until next time, have a happy crafty time!
Sorry all that it's been a few days but I have had to lock myself away in the craft room and start planning the workshops for the cruise in November.
I know it seems early but I'm teaching 20 workshops for up to 50 passengers and everything has to be pre-cut as we only get 45 minutes for each lesson!
To cut a long story short, I've made up the first 3 lesson packs so that's 150 packs in total so far!
Here's one that started out as a good idea but when I started on the packs, wished I'd never started!
Just a nice straight forward easel card...until I started punching out 450 of the holly leaves (9 per pack) in gold and silver card. Oh yes, I couldn't even make it easy and punch paper, I had to use mirri card! I wasn't sure that my poor old punch would hold out until the end, it was definitely getting stiffer by the end! Then there were the 50 large and small Spellbinder circles to die cut and the pieces of card for the sentiment!
And that's why I start the prepping so early!! To the eagle eyed, yes they are the dreaded peel-offs but I can't do any stamping with the class so needs must!
Sam at Creative Studios has also sent us some new stamps to play with (check out Sam Poole Designs on the right for a look at the new designs). I've been coming up with some ideas for using the stamps so watch this space.
Now for todays travel photo.
This is the North Cape in Norway. The photo was taken at 2am....it really is the Land of the Midnight Sun in the summer. The white patches in the water are reflections of the clouds. Stunning scenery and well worth a visit.
Well, that's it for today. I'm going back to my craft room and chaining myself to the desk until I've put 50 packs of Shaker Cards together and a 70th birthday card for a friend.
Until next time, have a happy, crafty day and enjoy the glorious weather.
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!
I've got a lovely new set of stamps to play with sent to me by the very generous Sam Poole! Then I thought, what could be better than to play with them and make another entry for the Craft Stamper competition! Then I thought, I could also make this for the Sunday Stamper on Hels blog!!
I do love the layered triple embossing technique so it was all the excuse I needed!
I thought I'd make a card using it this time and here's the finished project.
I've done a step by step so here goes....
I started by covering a piece of white card with Perfect Medium and built up layers of UTEE. I've used Silver, Gold and Bronze as a base. Next I pushed a scouring pad into the Perfect Medium and dabbed it onto the card and applied some Vintage Golden White Cosmic Shimmer Embossing Powder. While it was still hot, I used a teaspoon to sprinkle a little black powder on.
I've also used a mask to apply some Lava Red powder.
The next step was to stamp the Art Collage A6 stamp over the top with Royal Purple StazOn. I've stamped randomly and gone off the edge. After that, I've edged it with Eco Green Black Acrylic Paint.
I used the Creative Expressions Lattice Embossing Folder for the black card and applied Vintage Plum Gilding Wax around the edges. Once the Gilding Wax is dry, give it a polish and stick the main panel onto the black card then onto the DL card.
I stamped a tag with the Art Collage stamp using Seedless Preserves Distress Ink and heat embossed it with clear powder then ran it through the Lattice Embossing Folder before distressing the edges with the same ink.
The next stage is to colour a piece of card for the flowers. For this, I "smooshed" the same Distress Ink onto my craft sheet and spritzed it with water. Dab the card (I've used Coconut White) into the ink and dry. Then dab and dry again and finally spritz with water and dab with some kitchen towel to remove some ink. Dry then stamp the flowers. The stamp set I've used is Steampunk Flowers and I've stamped them with black Archival Ink.
Cut the flowers out and dip one of the smaller ones into clear UTEE in a Melt Pot (or Perfect Medium and embossing powder if you don't have a Melt Pot).
To finish, glue the flowers on and add some gems and a Dazzler.
I had a lot of fun making this and really hope you like it!
The stamps I used are by Sam Poole at Creative Studios (the link is on the right).
No travel photo today as there are so many photo's for the step by step but I'll be back tomorrow for WOYWW as well as on the Creative Studios Design Team blog with a new project. Hope to see you there!!
Many thanks for visiting and leaving your comments.
What can I say but sorry! I've been a bad blogger over the last few days but here I am, large as life and twice as messy!
I thought I'd get my Cosmic Shimmer Misters out to play with (hence the twice as messy!). I don't know how I manage to get as much on me as on the card but I do love them!
Anyway, here's what I came up with. I just wish that you could see the shine properly.
I started off by spritzing the background with Meadow Lush and Golden Fish Misters. I dried it then blotted it into the mist that was left on the craft sheet.
The owl (from Wise Friends) was stamped and heat embossed then coloured with Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Inks. I've used colours from a few different sets. The ones I chose are Set 2, Brights Garden, Set 3, Jewels and Set 6, Natures Essentials. It's important to heat emboss when you're using the drawing inks as they will cover the black outline and make it look "muddy".
On the background I've stamped some trees from the Enchanted Souls stamp set with Black Archival Ink.
I've also distressed the edges of the background with Vintage Photo.
Before matting and layering, I've tied some raffia around the card and when after placing it on the main card, I've attached the owl with 3d foam pads.
The sentiment is also from the Wise Friends stamp set and I've stamped in with Black Archival Ink and heat embossed with clear powder.
The stamps I've used are by Sam Poole at Creative Studios, see the link on the right.
Now on to today's travel photo!
Somewhere really near home....it's my lovely hubby performing at Broadstairs Folk Festival. The festival has been going for about 46 years and I've been going for 20 of them. It's a terrific festival that takes over the town for a week every August and they have wonderful performers and workshops. If you like Morris Dancing, there are sides dancing along the seafront every day. And of course, there's always the beach if the music gets too much!
Well, that's my lot for now. I'm off to the craft cabin to play. Hope you all have a happy, sunny, crafty day and I'll be back soon. Many thanks for stopping by and leaving comments, I really enjoy reading them.
Good Morning Bloggers. Well this is a surprise, me blogging 2 days in a row!
There is a reason for it and the clue is in the blog title!
I was merrily flicking through my new Craft Stamper magazine when I saw a layered embossing technique. It looked so cool that I had to give it a try. Then I saw that Craft Stamper have a competition running to enter your efforts using this technique so here's mine!
I started by covering a wall hanging with Eco Green White Acrylic Paint and made sure it was dry before coating the whole piece with Perfect Medium.
I've put various colours of Cosmic Shimmer Ultra Thick Embossing Powder on it in gradients allowing some of the colours to blend where they meet.
The colours I used were Lapis Sapphire, Blue Raspberry, Midnight Blue, Arctic Lake and Tropic Pearl. After heating embossing the whole piece, I've smeared some more Perfect Medium onto it and added more colour.
The next stage was to ink through a mask with Perfect Medium again and heat emboss using Cosmic Shimmer True White Powder. I've stamped a few images with Black Archival Ink in the background from the Dandelion Wished stamp set from Creative Expressions.
The next step was to stamp some sentiments from Art Sayings and a large dot background stamp onto single ply tissue using Black Archival Ink. I applied the tissue to the wall hanging using Beeswax that I had melted in my Melt Pot. The stamps used are by Sam Poole at Creative Studios.
I edged the whole think with Eco Green Black Acrylic Paint applied using a piece of Cut 'n Dry Foam.
I die cut some of the Spellbinder D Lite dies in black card and stuck them on with Cosmic Shimmer Dries Clear Glue.
The final steps were to make up some 3d roses and some flowers using the Spellbinder Carnation Creations Dies, stamp some leaves from the Wise Friend stamps and dip all of them into clear UTEE (again using the Melt Pot).
To finish, I added a metal embellishment made up from small bits and pieces I had in my stash and Creative Expressions ribbons tied around the string hanger.
I do hope you like it, the photo isn't the best as it really doesn't show the shine of the layered embossing.
That's all for today as it was a marathon step by step!
Until next time, have a happy, crafty day!
