Saturday 28 January 2017

Time Flies

Not much time for crafting this week - had 2 lovely days out - the Warner Studios Harry Potter Tour at the beginning of the week and an afternoon at the cinema yesterday. Brilliant days - the tour was awesome - loved it.
Time really has flown but I made a man card!
 Quick and simple but I rather like it!

I used an Ivory linen textured base as a change - I have stacks of this card and I really do have to use it instead of reaching for the white all the time.
This clock embossing folder is NBUS!! Had it about 2 years - shame on me. But will pop over to join Darnell's little party with it and sending her get well wishes as she has had some surgery this week. (xx)

I used Peacock Feathers, Wild Honey, Cracked Pistachio Distress Inks. The dark green verdi gris colour was achieved with the overlapping of the DI's - like it!

Doesn't show up very well on the pic but I used some long neglected Metallic rub in an Olive colour across the dark green bits and it has a lovely finish.
I mounted it onto a dark brown base and stamped the sentiment in Rich Cocoa.
Added the clock charm as an afterthought!

Happy girlie though 'cos I don't have a lot of male themed cards in the stash so really do need to try and rectify that as soon as possible - won't be for a little while though as I am away this next week.
Will pop round and see you all as often as I can.
Challenges -
A Vintage Journey - Circles (well clocks/watches are round!!)
Aud Sentiments - Masculine
Crafty Addicts - A/Goes
Thanks for looking! Have a great weekend whatever you're doing. x 

Sunday 22 January 2017

Alco Inks - 1.

I have had bottles and bottles of Alcohol Inks for years. I have used them exactly 5 times ......... 😕..........Until now.😀
I have always used them on metal (OH used to supply the beer cans!!) when I was doing a lot of mixed media and not a lot of card making. In recent times I have forsaken the mixed media side of things (although I still have tons of stuff/canvases/modelling paste etc etc) and concentrated on cards - mainly because time is at a premium and also I can sell the cards and the money goes in the charity pot!
BUT - being an avid follower of Loll's blog, I saw the beautiful cards she made using Alco Inks so off to Amazon I went and ordered some Yupo paper.

It arrived and I spent yesterday playing about with the dusty inks.This is the first of 3 cards made yesterday - the other 2 are not Christmas related!

I used Lettuce, Watermelon and Red Pepper colours and after watching Loll's tutorial used some tin foil to mix my colours then dragged the paper through.
Sprayed some Alco Ink blending solution in a mini- ister and when it dried this piece reminded me of Christmas colours - Cue the poinsettia die.
The sentiment is from Stamping Up's Beautiful Season set and I used Encore Gold Metallic Ink. 

The stitched frame was a bit of a mistake. I meant to emboss and ended up cutting! Rescued it by putting it back inside the already embossed outer frame!

I am secretly quite pleased with myself for finally using the long neglected inks. AND I am secretly quite pleased with the result!

Challenges -
Christmas @ Sweet Stampin - A/Goes
Sweet Stampin - Dies
Paper Players - CAS/Use a flower
C+GI - No designer paper
ABC Christmas - A = Anything Goes
Time Out - Pic Inspiration  here - and I used the red/white/green colours as inspiration!

Thanks for looking and I also thank you very very much if you have left me a comment - I appreciate them all!
Have a great day whatever you're doing! x

Thursday 19 January 2017

Colour burst

I promised myself that I would try and enter the CAS Mix Up Challenge as often as I could when time allowed. The challenge was Stamping, Liquid Colours and your choice.
This card has been lying finished for over a week and am just getting round to posting - but better late than never and thankfully am still well in time as the challenge doesn't end for a while!
I wish I wasn't so messy!! It's not like I don't have tons of desk space because I do -  but I am just too lazy to move anything so consequently when I start spraying not only does the piece I am working on receive the spray but everything in the near vicinity gets a dose too.

I made the panel first (my choice - acrylic block with Spiced Marmalade, Squeezed Lemonade and Mustard Seed) on a left over piece of watercolour paper, then stamped the flower in white and heat embossed. Stamped again in gold and heat embossed again.
Some gold cosmic shimmer spray splattered and sprayed (did manage to get SOME on the card!).
Finished with a snippet of vellum, heat embossed with the sentiment.
Am also popping over to the Playground with my snippets make.

Other Challenges -
ATS & M - Photo Inspiration here 
 ( I loved the rainbow colours of the flower - opted to use the lemon and orange shade from the petals for this make)
The Crafty Addicts - Monochromatic
Glitter n Sparkle - Use gold

Have a great day whatever you're doing! x 
  
 

Saturday 14 January 2017

Saturday already?

Can someone tell me where this week went? Looking in at blogland I realised  my last post was Sunday! Normally I can put absences down to my other life (!!) - but confess that nothing from the bowling side has intruded this week so NO EXCUSE!!
I have though taken possession of something I coveted ever since I saw a sneak peek of them.. here it is - my new stamp set - Stampin Up's 'Beautiful You'. (Happy dance when it dropped through the door - thanks Sue!)

It is not usual for me to actually ACT on my 'I really want this stamp' thoughts particularly as I don't have a lot of crafting time with the Bowls England stuff - but I made an exception with this set - I SIMPLY HAD TO HAVE IT!
Out there in blogland I noticed that the set had been used on a dark card background so thought I would give it a try.
A bit of a change from my normal white (don't worry- the other stamps have been put onto white card!!) - but am actually quite happy with the result considering it is something I don't do very often.
Stamped image then used wax pastels. Had to overstamp as the pastels covered up the skirt folds (so thanks MISTI!)

Ran the white round the edge of the sea (OK I know it doesn';t really look like waves but you get the idea!) and made a little path in the sand. Stamped a couple of sand drifts using Fossilized Amber DI.
The sentiment is hiding a sin - tried to colour a sun and made a mess - so sentiment had to be stamped separately instead of direct across the sun - which was my original intention!

Challenges -
Daring Cardmakers - Try Something New
Crafty Creations - Anything Goes
Craft Rocket - Anything Goes
Craft 4 the Craic - Pick Me up ( and I can think of nothing better than a walk barefoot in the sand on a warm day to make you feel good!)
Thanks for having a look today - will be around in a little while to visit you all.
Have a great day whatever you're doing. x  

Sunday 8 January 2017

Playing!


Just been having a couple of days playing about with the Misti and it's probably one of the best things ever - but even with the new toy Mr Mojo must still be hungover from Christmas and lying down in a dark room somewhere as I currently am completely devoid of ideas.
So where do you turn to - Pinterest of course - well I do anyway.
So here's a CASE.

I have had this stamp for a few months and never used it.
I bought the stamp intending it to be donated as a prize - but then it just lay (with another one bought at the same time) on the shelf.  Being devoid of ideas and seeing how it was used during my internet trawl, I decided I might as well use it myself!
So have gone mad with it this week - and am actually quite happy I didn't give it away.

Made a set of note cards using the stamp with different colours for the flowers (which I will share at another time) and had a bit of a mess about with some masking, sponging and double stamping on this one.

Happy with how this turned out - it's a lovely softie feminine type card.


Challenges -
Sweet Stamping - Something New
Just Us Girls - New
MTTC - Something New
Flower Challenge - Blue and Yellow
(Am hoping the background sponging counts as yellow enough - I used a mix of Squeezed Lemonade and Shabby Shutters as the Squeezed Lemonade I didn't think gave enough depth.)

Have a great day whatever you're doing. x

Tuesday 3 January 2017

Normality?

Don't like housework (who does) but there's something very satisfying about putting everything back where it belongs once you've taken down your Christmas Tree! That's how I spent my morning after my hour walk on the treadmill....
So after the flurry of morning activity I escaped to the craftie space and satisfied my 'sit down and do something' craving!
I am continuing with my 'CAS' phase I think - am finding it very therapeutic during my 'me' time, although I do still have a thing for vintage shabby!

Played with the MISTI again too - have had these flower stamps from Clearly Besotted for a while but have struggled to get them lined up with the dies - the MISTI does do what it says on the tin and am eternally grateful to my lovely husband for the bestest Christmas present!!

Had a bit of fun with the window ledge - it's actually the bottom of a window die - was going to use the whole window but put inky fingermarks on it so had to cut the actual window frame off and just use the bottom bit!

Stuck onto the brick embossed background with some 3d foam - stands up really well and am pleased with the dimensional effect.

The red vase was mounted using some thin foam whereas the blue one had some really thick foam so it overlaps the red one. Same for the flowers and the leaves.
Popped little pearls in the same colours into the flower middles. 
Left a sentiment off this - it's just one for the stash box so when I come to use it will decide what I'm going to put on it!

All snippets used for the vases/flowers so I am paying my first visit this year to the Playground!
Am also popping over to Less Is More where their challenge is 'Dimension' and to Dies R Us where Anything Goes with Dies.  
Thanks for looking - coffee now in hand am into blogland to see what you've all been up to! x

Sunday 1 January 2017

Coffee..... with Cream?

Happy New Year everybody! So that's 2016 over then!
Hope the festivities have not meant that you need Coffee this morning (either with or without Cream!)  😏
That's the challenge this month at Stamping Sensations - COFFEE AND CREAM.
Please make sure you read our challenge rules before submitting an entry and please pop across to the blog to see our wonderful prize and check out my teamies makes for some inspiration!

I've used Ivory Linen card as my base for this month's offering- it is a little more creamy colour in real life - I think the 'Auto' setting on the camera interpreted it as White!

The flower and the sentiment are from Technique Tuesday. I stamped the flower onto a scrap of card and white embossed - as the card was a dark beige the embossing is not bright white thankfully - has turned out an ivory colour.
It's painted with Brushed Corduroy and Gathered Twigs Distress Inks.

The flourish stamps were 'cheapies'! Bought in a bargain bin about 5 years ago and used I think once since I bought them - not that much of a bargain then......!
I experimented using the DI's on the flourishes but the impressions were not good so I tried a variety of inks/colours before finding one that I suppose I should have gone to in the first place - good old reliant Versamark Vintage Sepia!

Hope you like and I hope that you come and join us for our challenge this month!

Other Challenges -
A Perfect Time to Craft #1 - A/Goes
A Bit More Time to Craft - A/Goes
Paper Creator Crafts - A/Goes
Creative Knockouts - A/Goes 

Have a great day whatever you're doing! x