My umbrella

I was a naughty DT member last week and didn't get around to doing my post for Clare Curd Crafts . With a big inspection coming up at work I was working long hours and the week flew by, but today is my much needed day off, and what better way to de-stress than a few hours crafting.

When I want to totally relax crafting I go to my paints and  a canvas, todays is 7x5 inches in size. 

I have to apologise as there are some photos missing to the process of creating a mixed media canvas, but when I get going I forget to take pictures....oooops sorry :-/

I started with a good few layers of my chosen paint colours and when I was happy with the blending and the paint had dried I moved onto stamping.

I built the stamps up in layers (the secret to depth on a piece is lots of layers) I also used some spray paint.

I then added some texture using texture paste through some sequin waste and when it was dry dry rubbed some paint over it.

Now this is where I got carried away and forgot to take photos. I drew a template for the umbrella and then transferred the pieces onto my patterned paper, cut them out and stuck them to my canvas using ModPodge.

 Once the umbrella was stuck down I stamped and added my quote. 

The next step is optional but I like the effect it gives. Using either a black maker or black paint, whatever you are comfortable with, draw around the pieces of teh umbrella and blend the colour in. This will make the pieces pop and give some dimension to your canvas.

My final step was to apply some white rub ons for extra interest.

The items I used from Clares shop are as follows

My Mind's Eye Kate and Co. OXFORD LANE 6 x 6 paper pad

and 

My Mind's Eye Kate and Co. OXFORD LANE Stamp Set

I've also used the Raindrop set of stamps from Designs by Ryn.

I loves a bit of swagger

The Swagger paper collection that is. 

And that is exactly what I used for this weeks make for Clare Curd Crafts DT.

The front of my card I folded back on itself and then applied my choice of paper to the front flap and inside the card.

I then worked on the 'topper' of the card, layering papers and inking the edges. 

I cut some banner shapes to match in with the piece I used with the rub on word. The other elements I've used are also from the rub on pack, adhered to card, cut out and mounted onto 3D foam.

Clare has some great new stuff in the shop so why not stop by.

A sunny disposition

Hi, it's Thursday and that means it's my turn to share a little inspiration on Clare Curd Crafts DT blog

I've used the

My Mind's Eye Kate and Co. OXFORD LANE 6 x 6 paper pad

and the clear stamp set that goes with the collection.

I love this collection, so fresh and sunny, and yet suitable for anyone as there is such a wide variety of papers and images in the collection.

I started off by picking a few papers from the pack and cut them into banner shapes.

I them picked out one of the small icon pictures that are included in the pad. I cut it out and mounted it onto a contrast piece of card.

I found my base card to stark against the patterned papers so I took out my beloved Dylusion sprays and added some splashes of colour. 

I also took the little dotty stamp and the flower from the stamp set and added them in a few places.

Then I mounted up  the banners, curling the points a little, and the image, raised on adhesive 3D foam pads.

C.A.S

 

It's my turn over on Clare Curds Craft DT page today and I came up with this very clean and simple, but stylish card.

 

 

I used some Flitter Glu and Mega Flakes, love these products! to create the substrate to cut my die from.

Then layered up my card base and sentiment on white card, keeping everything very clean.

 

 



Just a note

It's my turn over on Clare Curd Crafts today and this is the card I came up with using FlitterGlu and Mega Flakes

 

 

I've kept it very clean and simple, have to say I do like the white space!!



Who doesn't love a saving

It's Thursday and that means it's my turn on the DT blog at Clare Curd Crafts.

 

It was only after I made this card that I realised Clare has put this stamp set and lots more into the 40% sale she has on at the moment

 

The background of the card is brayered with grey ink and over stamped using the small nut & bolt stamp. The motorbike is stamped in grey ink and layered onto black card.

The patterned paper is from the Carta bella well Travelled pad

I cut a couple of cute little banners and attached them.

 

 

A bit of distressing on the edges and this manly card is finished.

 

 

Looking forward

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas. Mine was peaceful, spent in the company of my husband and our two Sons. Our daughter and her partner couldn't join us as she was unfortunately working, so I made them both a 'takeaway' Christmas dinner, which her boyfriend called round and picked up so she had a good meal waiting for her when she got home at 8pm.

 

I was thinking of the coming year and came across a lovely quote online, which I wanted to use on an art journal page

 

“For last year's words belong to last year's language
And next year's words await another voice.”
T.S. Elliot

I started off adding a coat of gesso to my page, and then using a collection of paints, inks and Dylusion sprays added colour



 

The colour was added in layers.

 

interest and texture added by using stencils and sequin waste.

some splatters are added with Dylusions



 

just keep adding layers until you are happy with what you see.

 

I stencilled through a face stencil using texture paste, and when dry I re-stencilled using a black permanent pen.

 

 

I added some pieces of masking tape and some Mega Flakes to give more texture.

more stamps are applied and some details using a black pen.

some white paint drips to lighten the page.

 

 

the words of the quote are torn to size and then added to the page, you could if you wanted hand write on your page.

 

 list of items I used from Clare Cure Crafts

- Dylusion Sprays

- Mega Flakes 

- FlitterGlu

 

I also used water droplets, water droplets 2 and raindrops set all by Designs by Ryn



Simply does it

Oh my how close is Christmas now!! And if you are anything like me then you are rushing round trying to get everything bought, wrapped and delivered and there just isn't enough hours in the day, and then to find out you've missed out on making a couple of cards.....disaster. So with that in mind I thought I'd do a quick and simple, but stylish card this week for Clare Curd Crafts.

 

I used a circle card blank and cut a layer from another card blank, using a set of nesting dies and my good old Cuttlebug to give a bit of depth to the card.

 

I then stamped the quote from the Here Comes Santa stamp sheet, by IndigoBlu, and cut this out using  a smaller die.

 

I then took a sheet of card that I had covered in Mega flakes, both the Flakes and FlitterGlu are available here, and punched out a few snowflakes to embellish the card.

 

Add a single gem to the top snowflake and you are done.   

 

 

I think in total this card took maybe 10 minutes!

 

 

It's getting closer!!

 

It's hard to believe that in three weeks the big day will be here! It only seems like a couple of weeks  have gone by since summer!!

 

My piece for Clare Curd Crafts DT blog this week is a mixed media wall hanging, and with Christmas been so close I made it a little seasonal.

 

 

I used a piece of mount board as my base, and firstly covered it in tissue paper to get some good texture. This was then coated in a layer of gesso, and then lots of layers of acrylic paints. Some stamping was added and some bubble wrap-applied paint.

 

Then I added some areas of Flitter Glu and Mega Flakes in Royal Peacock

The small snowflakes and the robin are from the Winter Critters stamp set

 

 

My girl is paper pieced and then paint added to give some depth.

 

 

 

How cute is that robin

 

 



 

 

 



Getting into the spirit



Every time I see this advert I get that warm, fuzzy, Christmas is coming feeling, and I think it's sort of inspired my piece for this weeks DT spot over on Clare Curd Crafts, only I've used a fox and a hare, no bears here.

 

 

I've used a 5x7 canvas board as my substrate, and applied layers of acrylic paints and sprays to get the desired background effect.

 

The trees and animals ( how cute are they) are from the Winter Critters set, by Crafty Impressions and the Santa and reindeers are from the Here comes Santa set, by IndigoBlu

 

If you are in the market for some new Christmas stamps, have a look over on Clares shop as she has some real beauties on sale.

 

~x~

 

 

Lots of lovely layers

It's coming to that time of year again, and no matter how much I want to bury my head in the sand and pretend that Christmas isn't just under 5 weeks away I need to put on my big girl pants and face facts. Now I stopped making all my Christmas cards years ago as I found it was too much pressure to make them all and I wasn't prepared to start making Christmas cards while I was still thinking of summer holidays, so now I only make a handful of cards for very special people and that allows me to put more time and effort into each one.

 

For this card I used  Here Comes Santa from IndigoBlu, available from Clare Curd Crafts.

I also used FlitterGlu and Mega Flakes.

 

I applied the FlitterGlu to the edges of the base card and then got a good layer of the flakes to cover the glue.

Then edged some black card, one of which I embossed, with silver embossing powder and layered these up.

 

 

 

Next I stamped the snowflake border in the FlitterGlu and covered it in the flakes, and mounted that onto a strip of black card and applied off to one side.

The tree was stamped and embossed in silver and mounted onto 3D pad, and the sentiment was tucked behind.

 

 

 

I'm sharing this card on the following challenge blog ~ http://scribbleandscrapcrafts.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/challenge-5-always-anything-goes.html



Cute Critters

As soon as I saw this set of stamps my first thought was 'awwwwww how sweet' my second was how versatile they were.

The little animals are really adorable and could be used for any occasion.

 

I stamped them in Stazon ink and then painted them in a pearlescent paint.

I then stamped the trees with Versamark ink and embossed them with black embossing powder. The animals were then mounted on 3D foam pads.

I then stamped the star with FlitterGlu and then applied IndigoBlu Mega Flake in Royal Peacock.

Before mounting the black square onto the base card I edged the basecard with flitterGlu and applied some more of the Mega Flake.

Items used :- Mega Flake

                  FlitterGlu

                   Phat Foam

                                         Winter Critters stamp set



Something for the boys

It's my turn over on the Clare Curd Crafts DT blog today and yes I know it's Halloween but I just couldn't bring myself to make anything spooky, so instead I went all butch and masculine and made a grungy card.

 

the base of the card is coloured using a brayer and a brown ink pad.

The layers are cut from the Carte bella paper pack as well as some old Tim Holtz papers from my own stash.

 

Clare stocks a great selection of Tim Holtz products by the way!

 

 

I then started working on my layers, some inking, some distressing and some stamping

 

The motorbike stamp is great and is  from  the Crafty Impressions Explore stamp set

 

I put half the quote on the outside of the card

 

And then stamped the rest inside

 

I'm linking this card to the following challenge blogs

 

MAKE IT MONDAY

 

&

 

SCRIBBLE&SCRAP

 

 

 



Short on time

I, like everyone else, run short on time. What with jobs and housework and family life  and basically life in general we can be left with very little time to indulge in a bit of crafting.

 

With this in mind I made a few sheets of background paper using Dylusion sprays so I would have them to hand when I needed them. I just sprayed a few colours onto a piece of white paper and let them blend into each other and then dried with my heat tool.

 

I needed them yesterday when I realised

I had to put together a blog post as it was my turn on the Clare Curd Crafts DT blog.

 

I was wondering what could I put together in about 30 minutes that was fun and would look good. Then it struck me....ATCs (artist trading cards, for anyone who doesn't know)

I really loved making these little cards but haven't made any for quite some time, so that made my mind up, ATCs it was then.

 

 

I just took a few stamps out of my collection, in fact these are all quite old stamps that haven't been used in ages, but I really liked using them with newer products like the sprays as they have all been given a new lease of life!

 

 

 

 

the 'Discover your passion' stamp from an old set by Indigo Blu, check out the great newer selection Clare carries in her shop

 

 

 

the white dots are done using the Inkssentials white pen

 

I really enjoyed these little pieces of craftiness, just perfect when I only have half an hour to play.