IndigoBlu Challenge - All that Sparkles

The IndigoBlu Challenge this month is very apt for this time of year - All that Sparkles. Who doesn't like a bit of sparkle at Christmas? Certainly I do!

My contribution this time is a Christmas card I have made for my husband. I have used the new Snow Globe set and an old favourite, Frosted Baubles.

I have used Park Lane with a touch of black gesso for the sky and Frosty sky for the snow to create my backgrounds on the card and for the snow globe. I applied the paints with a brayer which gives it that lovely snowy effect.

The snow globe was stamped with flitterglu onto acetate and Winter Dawn mega flakes applied. The snow globe and houses were stamped onto backing card and I put a little pile of glitter in the centre then glued the snow globe onto the card and left it to dry overnight. Once it was dry I tapped the globe so that most of the glitter fell to the bottom which looks like snow.

The Frosted baubles was stamped in  the corner of the card with flitterglu and again I used Winter Dawn megaflakes. The houses and trees were stamped in black and embossed.

I cut around the snow globe and centred it over the stamped background raising it up with 3d foam pads.

Well this is the last post for this year - oh my where has the time gone?

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all.

IndigoBlu Challenge 34 - Winter Blues

Hi there - its time for another challenge over at IndigoBlu and this one we are calling Winter Blues which is open to a vast array of interpretation.

This challenge is right up my street as blue is my favourite go to colour. My interpretation is a card for my son's birthday.

The stamps I used for this card are all from the Beautiful Mind set. The main image was stamped onto card painted with Grandmas Teacup mixed with a spot of Park Lane and then Park Lane rubbed along the torn edges with cut and dry.

This was mounted onto a piece of card again painted with Grandmas teacup and stencilled with Frosty Sky then distressed around the edges. This was then mounted onto navy and white card.

The background was created using the walking the brayer technique - this is a fab way of covering a piece of card and the colours come out random and blend so well. I then used a swirly stencil with Park Lane and stamped using the background stamps from the set. This was distressed then a couple of different Bakers Twine were wrapped around  before mounting the main image. 

The saying was stamped and split then mounted separately. 

Hope you like my contribution and don't forget we would love to see your interpretations.

Thanks for visiting.

Take care!

IndigoBlu Challenge 33 - Time Flies

Hello everyone! Time for another challenge on the IndigoBlu Challenge Blog. This time we would like to see your interpretation of Time Flies.

My contribution is a card I have made for my future son-in-law's birthday.

This an 8x8 card - my favourite size to use. The background are some paper laser cut cogs from my stash which I painted brown - made with a mix of IB paints red/blue/yellow. This was topped with a piece of corrugated card and then the 6x6 paper from the Belle Epoque set.

The roman numeral clock piece, from the Time altered egos, and the wings were covered with Chocolate Box megaflake. The grunge letters were given a bit of texture by running them through my big shot in a cog texture folder and then painted with the brown paint and dry brushed with Goldfinger.

A few metal embellishments from my stash, some string added to complete the card. 

Pleased how this turned out but the photo doesn't do it justice - these darker nights make photography difficult!

Please remember to use an IndigoBlu stamp on your project other than that the choice is yours. 

Take care x

2 Hearts become 1

Hi there, been playing in my strathmore journal with my Faber Castell gelatos. Just love how these can create a gorgeous background though I do find it is better to gesso the pages first.

I have also used acrylics which I smeared on with my fingers and scraped on with a palette knife. Bottle tops dipped in paint were used and then various stencils to create my background. 

The hearts and numbers were painted with red acrylic paint and doodled with black and white pens.

Really quite pleased how this turned out as I had no set idea of where I was going with it. Sometimes I think that's the best approach and to be honest even when I have a plan it very often turns out totally different!

Bye for now and thanks for looking in.

I am entering this in the following challenge:

http://countryviewchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/a-new-challenge-for-september.html -numbers

Brushos Journal pages

Hi again! My third post in one week! But I couldn't resist playing with my new Brushos particularly as PaperArtsy's current challenge is about pigment powders. Wow! They are so much fun, totally unpredictable when just sprinkled and spritzed! 

I created the background just by sprinkling and spritzing, loved the effect. The colours soaked into my journal pages as I had decided to try them without gessoing the pages first.

The flowers and sentiment are from the new releases from PaperArtsy by Lynn Brown - ELB22 & ELB 24 which were coloured using my Inktense pencils.

Thanks for visiting.

Take care x

I am entering this project into the following challenges:

http://blog.paperartsy.co.uk/2015/09/2015-topic-17-pigment-powders-challenge.html
http://www.fashionablestampingchallenges.com/2015/09/13/challenge-103-words/

Ladies of Fashion

Hi there, I have been playing in my Dylusion's Art Journal with the Dylusions paints and sprays and was inspired by one of the chapters in Dina Wakley's book and this was what I came up with. 

I just love how all the colours work together.

Ladies of Fashion.

The ladies are all stamps from Crafty Individuals which were a present from Lynn at the Craft Den, Sheffield when I was one of her challenge DT members. Sadly, the blog was closed down but Lynn's shop is still going strong.

Firstly, I sprayed a piece of watercolour card with crushed grape, vibrant turquoise and bubblegum pink then cut four squares and used the offcuts for the facing page.

The pages were painted and stencilled with Dylusions paints and then stamped with various stamps to create a background for my watercard pieces.

The ladies, from CI 323 and 285 sets,  were stamped, embossed, coloured in then cut out.

This was my first double spread in this journal and I thoroughly enjoyed creating it, the colours are so vibrant - quite a challenge for me as I usually tend towards vintage tones.

I am entering this into the Crafty Individuals challenge 'Anything Goes'

Thanks for stopping by x

IndigoBlu Autumn Days Challenge

Hello again. It's time for a new IndigoBlu challenge - gosh where has the last month gone? Our challenge this month is Autumn Days - very appropriate for this time of year!

I don't know about you but I have mixed feelings about Autumn. I absolutely love the colours, reds, browns, oranges and yellows and walking through the leaves and hearing the crunching underfoot. BUT, once we are into Autumn we know Winter follows yuk! I hate the cold and the snow particularly as where we live can be a nightmare when it freezes!

Anyway, onto my DT project which I have done in my journal.

 Hot Cocoa, Burning Bonfire, Postbox Red and Banana Custard were used to create the background and to colour some dictionary and music papers. I used a leaf stencil and structure paste for some texture and these leaves were painted with the same colours as the background. I also used the stencil with  Miss Moneypenny and Goldfinger on the background and also swiped across the textured leaves with the same metallic paints.

Across the middle of my pages I wrote 'autumnal' highlighting with a white pen and some doodling.

I drew some leaves on the dictionary and music papers, cut them out and glued them down the sides of my journal adding some white dots to each. I used the bare tree stamp from Nature 1 around the pages and stamped the sentiment from the same set onto dictionary paper which was cut into pieces. 

Its a pity the camera cannot pick up the full effect of the metallic paints, there is a such beautiful on shimmer on the leaves.

Hope you like my project and please do join in the challenge we would love to see your interpretations. Don't forget that for one lucky winner there is a prize of IndigoBlu stamps!

Take care and thanks for stopping by.

I am entering this project into the following challenges:

http://craftstamper.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/take-it-make-it-challenge-september.html
http://www.fashionablestampingchallenges.com/2015/09/13/challenge-103-words/
http://thatscraftychallenges.blogspot.co.uk
http://mixedmediaworld.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/mmw7-anything-goes-with-autumn-colours.html
http://ourcreativecorner6.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/shades-of-autumn.

The Circle of Life

This is my third entry for the PaperArtsy Circles Challenge! In my defence I hadn't expected to have so much time last weekend to play and only took limited supplies away with me. My husband spent longer doing repairs on our boat therefore we didn't do much sailing which left more time for me to play!

The stencil for the faces is a Dina Wakley one and as the faces are round(ish) it fits in well with this challenge. The flower centres are stamps from a PaperArtsy Ellen Vargo set.

Not my usual style but trying to move from my comfort zone but loving doodling - even if it needs improving!

Thanks for visiting x

Round and Round the Garden

Hello again. I am back with the second of my Paperartsy Circles Challenge entries.

This project was done in my Dylusions journal and I have to say it is lovely paper to work on. I haven't had it very long - I bought it when I went to one of Tracy Scott's workshops. Working in journals is something I have only started doing recently and I must say I am really enjoying it.

Hope you like this journal page:

Here I have used circles stencils and the bumping technique, some freehand 'circles' and a bubbles stamp. One of the things I have recently started to try out is some zentangling (is that a word?) which is very relaxing. Not very good at it yet - need lots more practice. 

Thanks for popping by x

Art and Soul

I have just been away fro the weekend and I took a 'few' crafting goodies with me as I had it in mind to enter the latest Paperartsy challenge which is circles. I recently went to one of Tracy Scott's workshops which was based around circles which as anyone who knows Tracy's work will tell you - circles feature in many of her projects.

Well I got a bit carried away and made 3 journal pages and I will post them over the next couple of days.

First one up:

I used a circles stencil and grunge paste as well as circle stamps and bottle tops.

Had great fun creating this journal spread. Hope you like it.

Thanks for visiting.

IndigoBlu Challenge - Frame It!

Its time for a new challenge at IndigoBlu, which this month is Frame It. This can be interpreted in lots of ways and we look forward to seeing your take on it.

Last weekend my DH and I went for a drive and ended up in Patley Bridge where they were having a Forties weekend Gala. Lots of people were dressed in 40's style dresses even children who were carrying gas mask boxes! Many were in uniforms, both British and American. It was a really fun day with lots going on.

When I was deciding what to do for my DT piece I remembered I had a photo of my mum in her land army uniform and I took inspiration from our day out for this scrap book spread in my journal.

Firstly, I created some texture with  coarse texture paste and a wall stencil then regular texture paste and a chevron stencil and coated the pages with gesso. The obvious choice was to use camouflage colours and these were achieved using Hot Cocoa with a little Peppermint Tea and Peppermint Tea with a little Hot Cocoa and, because I didn't mix enough initially, when I mixed more I got different shades which worked out brilliantly!

More stencilling, this time with a numbers stencil, the  wall stencil and Hot Cocoa then some stamping with black gesso, Emerald City mixed with black gesso and Copper using the  Limor Circles and Rugged Edge stamps.

Across the two pages were glued lattice strips, cut with the TH lattice die, some strips of papers, from the Fontastic mixed media papers which were actually left overs from another project as were the brown lace strips,  a piece of lace coloured with Peppermint Tea/Hot cocoa mix.

The remnant left after I had die cut the lattice 'accidently' landed on my photo and.......  light bulb moment!! It worked perfectly as the frame for photo!!  I even used the diamond waste to decorate the pages.

Some leaves from my stash and some mini jigsaw pieces leftover from an Indigo workshop project.

Very pleased how this turned out and it's true what they say there is inspiration everywhere! Even if you don't realise it at the time.

Thanks for visiting.

IndigoBlu July Challenge - Precious Metals

I am very pleased to announce that I have been invited by Kay at IndigoBlu to be a member of the Challenge DT!

This is my first inspirational piece for the blog challenge and the theme this month is Precious Metals.

The card is 8x8 - my favourite size to work on. I have used a sheet from the Emporium of Curiosities mixed media pack, a lovely shabby chic set of papers. I painted it all over with a watery Goldfinger which becomes translucent and because of the resist of the paper means it takes on the colour but the design still comes through. This was mounted on a lovely chocolate brown miri card and cream card.

Juliet was stamped on a piece of card which had been painted with Goldfinger into which I added a little mix of Iced pink Gem and Postbox Red which gives it a slightly pink colour.. Again this was mounted on the same chocolate brown miri and cream card.

All the card edges were distressed then a few bits of ribbon and embellishments from my stash to finish and I know just the person who will be getting this for her birthday!

Please come and join in the challenge and don't forget to visit my teamies blogs too.

Happy Crafting!

Our house in the middle of our street

My entry for the PaperArtsy challenge this canvas but I have used the inside instead.

Our house in the middle of our street



I have had the TH Alterations die Artful Dwellings for some time having bought it in a sale then I heard Madness singing their song "Our house in the middle of our street" and the idea for this project began to form!

I covered the frame with torn dictionary pages and then painted them with Brown Shed, then toned it down with Irish Cream and stencilled over with Brown Shed.

Some houses were die cut with corrugated card or plain card and each painted in different colours and stencilled, embossed or stamped, I also used granite paste on the one of those in the front.

The tree and Bird on a branch are Tando die cuts. The "leaves" are an actual ribbon which I cut and glued to the tree to create a tree in leaf.

The fence was a buy about 3 years ago which I forgot about until I started searching in my stash for something appropriate to make the fence. This only goes to prove crafters' excuse when we  say - it will come in useful!!

The words from the song were stamped and stuck to the fence along with handmade roses. The 2 at the top is significant for several reasons - we live at number two, there are the two of us, I have two children and I have two grandchildren!

Thanks for stopping by.

Take care

IndigoBlu Retreat Projects

Hi there, today I thought I would share the projects we made at a recent IndigoBlu retreat. 

I have been to all the Indigo retreats  since Kay starting doing them a few years ago. The first couple where held at Stephens Park but subsequently they are held at Indigo HQ.

The retreat is 3 days of painting, inking and generally having a great time with like minded people - of course people can opt just for one day or two if they so wish. Its actually called a secret retreat as we don't know what the projects will  be until we get there, the idea behind it is that some people may be put off thinking they wouldn't be able to do the project. However, all things are achievable with lots of help from Kay and even some of the other ladies. 

Here is a picture of all the projects I did over the 3 days:

All 4 projects

 Day 1 was clay mosaics, I stayed in my comfort zone with my favourite blues. All the materials are provided but a lot of the ladies (myself included) always tend to bring a few odds and ends from their own stash. Of course we also made some embellishments with the clay using some of Kay's moulds.

Mosaic Art

Each 'tile' was stamped to create texture and embellishments were baked into the clay. perfect pearls were dusted onto the baked tiles and then glued into the back of a deep display box .

Day two was a 12 x 12 canvas project which had a detachable frame. We started by creating texture using stencils and texture paste. Once this was dry  the canvas was painted with  Banana Custard, Hot Cocoa and  Burning Bonfire in two lines then dry brushed in the white areas.

Caitlin

These are not my usual colours so a bit out of my comfort zone but so pleased with the end result. Will definitely be using this colour combination again!
I stamped Caitlin onto one of the new papers from IB and decided not to paint her as I liked the effect of the paper. Finished off with a varity of embellishments - aren't those dinky jigsaw pieces cute? The frame was coloured used Metallic Copper and Hot Cocoa.

Our final day was two projects. The morning project was using the new papers which are also resist, this was painted with watered down gesso and then we used thicker gesso for the runs..

Born to be King

The chair reminded me of a throne and as the dinkie stamp Aloysius has a crown on his head I stamped him in the corner, decoupaged his crown and added some gems to it. When I got home I distressed the edges, mounted it onto brown card the edges of which I also distressed, some frayed hessian and then onto an 8 x 8 canvas box.

The afternoon project was a small framed canvas. I had brought some mount board TH sewing room die cuts with me and decided to opt for a sewing theme. I have just taken over another spare room for my sewing so this would be nice to hang in there.

Sewing Room

 I used Pink Iced Gem and to create another two shades of pink added Pantry White and Postbox Red, the lightest at the top graduating to the darkest at the bottom and also on the frame. Using phatt foam, flitterglu was dragged and dabbed over the canvas and frame and silver  megaflakes added. This colourway is so way out my comfort zone. 

Did you know that the spool and buttons stamps from IB's In stitches fit the Sewing Room buttons and spool dies? Neither did I until doing this project!!

Right I think I've waffled long enough, hope you like my projects. We had so much fun, can't wait until the next one!

Thanks for looking in.

Take care x

Just One Layer - IndigoBlu Challenge

The IndigoBlu Challenge this month is 'Just one Layer' which to me is all about creating the illusion of layers which, given the cost of postage these days, is something to consider.

I love layering with stencils and stamps, paints and inks,  to create backgrounds, I find it quite therapeutic too. The patterns etc are endless and no two are ever the same.

I have just started using a brayer to add colour, I think I saw somewhere it's called 'walking the brayer'. Basically I put some Park Lane on my mat, spread it out using the brayer and then lightly run it across the cardstock in different directions. The result is random patches of colour. I did the same again this time using Grandmas Teacup.

The IB script stamp was inked up with Townhouse Teal and this was rolled randomly - the stamp was unmounted, this way the stamp is patchy. Then I dabbed Frosty Sky through two of the design section from the Doobaboo geometric stencil.  The criss cross lines were done by dipping the edge of an old credit card in Park Lane which I felt lifted and gave some focus to the background.

The focal image is Emma from IB's Mr Darcy stamped with Midnight Blue stayzon and to balance the image I used the birds stamp from the same stamp set. The bird in the bottom right  is the same stamp but with the other birds masked off.

Finally, just for extra definition I ran the Midnight Blue ink pad around the edges of the card. 

I have a cousins birthday coming up and I know she will love this. 

Thanks for stopping by.

I am also entering this card in : http://www.fashionablestampingchallenges.com/ Things with wings

and http://craftstamper.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/take-it-make-it-challenge-may.html Take a stamp

Love to use Sprays

My daughter and her boyfriend have recently moved in together and have just celebrated their first anniversary of being together so I thought I would make them a little house warming gift.

I have had this wall hanging in my stash for a while now - another of those impulse purchases that gets put in a drawer and forgotten about, just  perfect for a gift for them though!

The letters were painted with Brown Shed, no need to gesso with Fresco paints! I made a spray of Snowflake and sprayed the letters through the  Doobadoo bubbles stencil. I made another spray with London Bus and using the same stencil I offset  it over the first spraying and then sprayed with the red. This was a technique I learnt from Lynne Perella on an Artsycraft workshop I did with her.

Offsetting a stencil gives a shadow effect.

The letters were all given a very fine mist of gold spray just to give some shimmer

Each of the letters were decorated with items from my stash.

Treasure gold was applied to all the embellishments and to the edges of the letters.

The crochet flower here was sprayed with London Bus

I really liked the mottled effect created by offsetting the stencil and spraying with two colours. A simple and quick project which I am sure my daughter and her boyfriend will love - no pun intended!

I am entering this in the Paperartsy Sprays Challenge 

Thanks for visiting.

Nana's Brag Box

The latest PaperArtsy challenge is "Niches" - what a lot of possibilities this opens up.

I have a few of the mini metal 'pill' boxes in my stash and decided to resurrect a  technique I learnt a long time ago on a workshop using Adirondack Alcohol inks. The method involves dabbing the ink onto metal with felt dabbers which gives a lovely mottled effect.

The wording is done using peel offs and electricians tape. Once the lettering was in place I cut the tape to fit the box lid, covered the letters and used a paper stump to push the tape between and around the lettering. The alcohol inks were then pounded over the top then with a drop of blending solution on a kitchen towel rubbed the alcohol ink from the lettering.

For the inside of the box I cut a length of double sided patterned 12 x 12 cardstock and concertinaed it to fit inside of the box. A separate piece was used to line the lid.

Lid of box with Grandchildren's names

Next stage was to put the photos in place and decorate the strip back and front.

One end of the strip was glued to the base

A loop of ribbon at the top  for pulling it out of the tin.

Hope you like it. The most difficult part of the project was reducing the photos to fit the box lol!

Take care!

IndigoBlu Off the Edge Challenge

Yay! My entry in the IndigoBlu challenge "Spring Greens" was in the Top Three chosen by the DT and I have been invited to enter an Inspirational piece for their latest challenge "Off the Edge".


It is my husband's birthday this week and we were bemoaning the fact that birthdays seem to come around too quickly these days and how time flies. Hence the inspiration for this card.

I prefer to make my own backgrounds which can then be custom made to suit the project. I created some texture on a black card with stencils and 3D paste. Using a baby wipe I applied Postbox Red & Burning Bonfire to  the whole card - considering it was black card it took only a small amount of  paint to cover! 

The card was then stamped and stencilled off the edge in various paints and Archival ink (a list of the stamps and paints are listed below), the edges were distressed so the black card showed through.

The Weathered Clock die-cut and the Altered Egos Time pieces were painted with Hot Cocoa then Goldfinger, dabbed with Copper and finally smudged with Black Soot.

I found a clock piece in my stash that perfectly fitted the pocket watch from Altered Egos Time to which were added a couple of die cut wings cut from cardboard, embossed and painted with Ruby Slippers, 

The project is  on 8 x 8 card therefore after my hubbies birthday I will mount this on a canvas which I have already prepped so that  he can  hang it in his study. 

Thanks for stopping by x

Ingredients:

IndigoBlu English Cottage Paints:  Hot Cocoa, Buring Bonfire, Postbox Red, 

IndigoBlu English Cottage Metallics: Goldfinger, Ruby Slippers, Copper

Stamps used: Good Times' Limor Circles and Rugged Edge

Doobadoo Geometric Tiles stencil

Crafters Workshop Harlequin stencil

Altered Egos Time

TH Alterations Weathered Clock, Heart Wings

Scrabble Tiles

Embellishments from stash

IndigoBlu Challenge - Spring Greens

The current challenge at IndigoBlu is Spring Greens - not my go to colour but as it is a friends birthday shortly decided to challenge myself (no pun intended!) on her card.

Here is my entry for the challenge:

The backing card was created by painting it with Peppermint Tea,  stamping with stamps from Loud Music and Notes in  Emerald Green then stencilled using IB's Musical notes  with Snow White which gave a lovely sheen. To contrast I used another stamp from Loud Music and stamped with Olive Green StazOn.

One of my favourite techniques is to distress the edges with a craft knife as I think it gives the card some dimension. The problem with posting cards these days is they have to be fairly flat otherwise the cost of postage increases. By using layers of ink and paint and tearing can at least give the impression of dimension.

A piece of card painted with a mix of Emerald Green and Peppermint Tea was stamped with Snow White using one of the splat stamps from the new Ink Splats set. I made a few splats using very watery Snow White then stamped on the Splattered Guitar from Loud Music with StazOn.

This was torn and the edges dabbed with Peppermint Tea and mounted on a piece of a torn music sheet also dabbed with the same paint  around the edges.

The ribbons were originally white but IB's paints are also fabric paints making it easy to change the colour to match the project. A Musical note from IB's Altered Ego Music sheet painted with Emerald was added to finish off.

I am sure my friend will like it as she does have 'a little bit of the Irish in her'!

Bye for now! Take care!

IndigoBlu Secret Retreat

Last weekend was spent down at IndigoBlu HQ at their biannual secret retreat, three days of pure crafting, no housework just inks, paints, papers and great company. Bliss!!

Here are my projects

Friday was our first day and this was spent playing with clay, not something I have done a lot with but good fun none the less.

Blue is always my go to colour and I chose blue. teal and white clay to work with. We cut various shapes and stamped into the clay, made clay embellishments and added some metal pieces before baking them. I dusted all my tiles with mica powders which gave the tiles a lovely iridescent look. The frame was a deep box and the starkness of the white frame seemed to highlight the colours of the clay.

Saturday was spent creating the large canvas, these are new in and they come with their own frame which when painted sets off the canvas beautifully don't you think?

We used lots of stencils through which we applied different mediums - molding paste, granular and bead gels to create lots of texture. I decided to go way out of my comfort zone with Country Cottage paints, Hot Cocoa, Burning Bonfire and Banana Custard!

I firstly applied the Banana Custard, then the Burning Bonfire and lastly the Hot Cocoa, that's when you really see all the texture. One of IB's new stamps is Caitlin and this was stamped and embossed onto one of the new mixed media  papers from the Belle Epoche range. I decided against colouring her as I rather liked the effect of leaving her au natural. Then the best bit for me is embellishing - I always like to take a few bits and pieces with me to workshops even though there are always some provided - I just like to have options I guess.

Sunday was a bit of a techniques day but we still made a project using the new framed canvas I guess what you would call a DL size.

We created texture using shredded newspaper and painted over this. Again I went with a colour I don't go for a lot but, as I had decided to use the stamp  from the Sewing Mends set, pink seemed to fit the bill being a 'feminine' colour. I used the metal cottage garden Cinderella paint and as a contrast I mixed this with Snow White to give me a lighter pink

 I had taken a few bits and pieces with me and these included some TH Sewing Room alterations mount board cut outs which were painted in the two shades of pink. I stamped the mannequin with IBs Sewing Pattern stamp, the cotton spool and button stamps from IB's In stitches set fit beautifully on the die cuts! A few bits of lace, cotton thread around the spools, some silver gilding flakes, frame painted and gilded to match and job done!

On one of the 6x6 Belle Epoche papers we did some 'drippy drippy' as my friend Barbara kept  calling it - so much so that it is officially the new name for the technique lol! 

As we were only playing this was not a finished project although I had stamped some flourishes and a Limor Industrial lamp and put on the embellishment. Baby Aloysius was painted with a watered down hot cocoa and his crown with metallic gold, cut him out and mounted him and added a couple of gems to the crown.

Last night at home I decided to mount it on and 8 x 8 canvas. I covered the canvas with some calico,  a piece of frayed hessian and a square of dark brown card which I distressed then glued on the Aloysius card. Really pleased with the overall effect.

So much fun and looking forward to the next one. Kay has invited Finnabair over next month for 3 days of workshops yay!! Can't wait.

Bye for now, take care

PaperArtsy Challenge - Miniature Art

Quite some time ago I started a project using one of the wooden house frames - if I remember rightly I actually bought it at one of the Artsycraft retreats in Warrington! It was one of those UFOs put away in the cupboard and forgotten about!

The latest PaperArtsy challenge reminded me about it and gave me the impetus to finally finish it and it now resides in my sewing room!

I painted the house with Fresco Rose and dry brushed with Very Berry and Snowflake, papered the walls with some scraps from my stash and then set about filling each of the 'rooms'.

 I found this vintage miniature sewing machine on ebay, The fabric bolts were made from cardboard and wrapped in scraps of fabric from my sewing room

How cute is this mini hat stand I bought on ebay? The hat was from my stash

I made the hat boxes from a template I downloaded from here.

I made a hanging rail from a wooden skewer. The dress form was a buy on ebay and the scissors châtelaine was a free gift from a cross stitching magazine may moons ago.

                                                    

This fab little pincushion was made using a bottle top! Here is the link for the instructions

       

The antique button cards were downloaded but unfortunately I can't remember where. The white flat backed cotton reel at the back is a plaster cast I bought from Leandra at one of the Artsycraft weekends.

Tiny spools and wooden basque

Mini basket filled with lace

Lace & velvet ric rac, a couple of TH mannequin die cuts on the sides finished off the project.

Thanks for the challenge Leandra - this might still be sitting in the cupboard, forgotten and unfinished!!

Take care  x

A Touch of Red for IndigoBlu Challenge

The current challenge over at IndigoBlu is A touch of Red and given that we have just had Valentine's Day my card for my husband fits the bill perfectly.

Coordinations card was used for the background and die cut heart and these were run through one of the new 8x8 Crafters Companion folders and then distressed. During a recent tidy up I came across a scrapbook pack of string and papers including some red mulberry paper. A bit of a blast from the past! It was the in thing to have in your stash one time but seems to have lost favour so I decided it might be good to use it on this card.

The large tag was painted with IndigoBlu English Cottage Post Box red and Metallic Copper stenciled over the top.The edges were stamped with the Poppy Heart stamp and then distressed with a craft knife. I cut the mulberry paper in a heart shape a bit bigger than the die cut and then frayed the edges by wetting and tearing it.

I made a tag from some bleached hessian stamped it  with "you are the gin to my tonic" stamp from the IndigoBlu Bear Hugs set and sewed it on to some mulberry paper which was cut slightly bigger and frayed the edges of both.

I added a TH metal arrow, a heart key and spirals made from string and finally a die cut "Love".


Quite pleased with the outcome, I hope you like it too.

I am also entering this project into the Craft Stamper Magazine February Challenge - Stencils

Paperartsy Challenge - Shiny Stuff

The new Paperartsy Challenge format has inspired me to start entering challenges again. Leandra's video brought back lots of happy memories of the retreats we did with her and Lin at Warrington. So sad when they decided to stop but hey I suppose all good things must come to an end at some point. 

The current challenge is Shiny Stuff  and as treasure gold is my most go to medium this was right up my street.

A couple of weeks ago my husband's cousin sent a photo she had found of him and  his two sisters when they were little. The younger sister died when she was 3 or 4 and the older sister in her mid 50's so the photo was quite nostalgic for him especially as he hadn't any photos of his younger sister. 

As a surprise I decided to use the photo (copy of it) in a project and this is the finished canvas.

The 7 x 5 canvas was covered in white gesso, some grunge paste stencilling and then painted with Fresco Chocolate Pud. More stencilling, this time using Fresco vintage lace. the photo was mounted onto burlap which was frayed and the pulled stands were glued onto the canvas for texture. I used  lace and assorted embellishments some of which were painted with Chocolate pud or Vintage lace and a few left bare. Lots of treasure gold was used to highlight some of the elements and raised areas.

I hope you like it - more importantly my husband certainly did!