Trish's Art

Winter blues...

2012-01-22T16:18:00.002Z

This was great fun! I followed Leandra's (PaperArtsy) technique for the Portfolio Water Soluble Oil Pastels.
I decided to put Umbrella Man (Tim Holtz stamp) in a cold rainy day. The pastels are brilliant to work with. Thanks for the technique (and the pastels) Leandra!

Let it snow

2011-12-15T21:57:00.006Z

Winter Wonderland Let it Snow challenge.
This card was made using the techniques from Tim Holtz 12 tags 2010 - Day 6

The Craft Barn Blog Candy

2011-11-23T16:18:00.002Z

The Craft Barn is giving away a wonderful Candy treat! Come and join in...

ArtsyCraft Day - Insudtrial Chic

2011-10-18T10:17:00.003+01:00

It was a great day up in Warrington, organsied (and created) by Lin Brown and Leandra.
The theme was Indistrial Chic, and yes, we made it all! It took 8 hours to paint, create and assemble.

Simon Says Stamp and Show...Men Only

2011-09-28T10:01:00.002+01:00

Men cards! Simons Says Stamp and Show wants to see them this week. I have stayed with my favourite Steampunk style.

Simon says Stamp and Show : Steam Punk

2011-09-12T11:35:00.002+01:00

One of my favourite styles : Steam Punk!
Simon Says Stamp and Show are all about it this week! Pop on over to them to join.
I am using the wonderful stamps by Oxford Impressions, with a few PaperArtsy cogs thrown in too and of course Distress inks to colour the background. Some Tim Holtz tissue tape finishes off the card.

Pan Pastels Giveaway

2011-09-06T15:01:00.002+01:00

No card this time, Lin Brown from LB Crafts is very kindly offering a Pan Pastels Giveaway on her blog here.
Thanks Lin!!!!

Tim Holtz 12 Tags of Christmas 2010, Day 10

2011-08-12T16:42:00.002+01:00

There are 2 challenges this card falls into :
Studio L3 : Grungy Monday 19 specifically asks for Tim Holtz 12 Tags of Christmas 2010, Day 10
and
Simon Says Stamp and Show asks for any Tim Holtz Technique

On top of all that, another Christmas card is finished!

White on White Chistmas Card

2011-08-10T16:17:00.005+01:00

Winter Wonderland challenge this week is White on White (only the image to be coloured).
I have just added a touch of blue to highlight the snowman and sentiment.

Studio L3 - Grungy Monday 17

2011-07-28T08:49:00.003+01:00

Another challenge: Studio L3 Grungy Monday 17 : Get ready to Rock.
The theme is Tim Holtz's Rock Candy, either as crackle or stickles. I have used the Rock Candy crackle as the "snow" under the houses.
Another Christmas card done...

Simon Says Stamp and Show : Anything Goes

2011-07-27T11:21:00.002+01:00

This week's Simon Says Stamp and Show is a very wide field indeed : anything goes!
This is a card I made for a friend's daughter, and is done with silver metal, embossed with Ten Second Studio mould, then painted in various shades of purple. I sanded back the paint off the raised parts, and added the gems. The background stamps are Norris and JMC.
It was great fun to make!

2 challenges!

2011-07-21T08:53:00.002+01:00

I'm still making Christmas Cards and this one fits 2 challenges, who have the same criteria this week : embossing!

Simon Says Stamp and Show and Winter Wonderland

This card has 2 kinds of embossing, the trees and grungepaper reindeer are dry embossed, and the word Believe is wet embossed.

Studio L3 - Grungy Monday 16

2011-07-20T17:20:00.003+01:00

Studio L3 challenge - This week's challenge is Grungeboard or Grungepaper - perfect! I have started my Christmas cards... so I decided to go back to Tim's 12 days of Christmas and do some adapted cards from his tags. Such great techniques.

I used the techniques from T!m's Holtz 12 Tags of Christmas 2010, day 6

Imagine

2011-06-29T17:44:00.001+01:00

It's been a while since I entered a challenge, so here is my entry for Simon Says Stamp and Show... a Word

Oriental card

2011-06-24T20:57:00.002+01:00

This oriental style card was for Jean's birthday. The chinese lady is stamped, embossed and then painted.

Another card

2011-06-10T12:13:00.001+01:00

Another card from earlier in the year, made for a very sweet craft friend. The stamps are Art Journey.

Pieter's Birthday Card

2011-06-09T13:32:00.004+01:00

I went for "African" colours (Basic Grey papers), and Magnolia stamp.

I've been away...

2011-06-08T19:47:00.003+01:00

I made these cards a while ago, and didn't get around to uploading them. I'll put them up over the next few days.

Some metal work...

Masculine Card

2011-04-20T18:39:00.002+01:00

The men stamps are Art Journey, the background stamps are PaperArtsy.
The Cog dies are by Tim Holtz, and the colour is all Distress Ink.

Birds and sewing

2011-04-19T15:04:00.001+01:00

I have distressed the background, stamped with Katzelkraft birds and sewn the middle.

Birthday card

2011-04-12T17:30:00.004+01:00

A birthday card for a friend in Holland. The background is using one of the techniques learnt at the Art Journey day, and the stamp is by Crafty Individuals.

Craft Stamper E-zine

2011-04-01T22:00:00.005+01:00

The brand new Craft Stamper free E-zine was launched today! Follow this link to Craft Stamper to post a link, and spread the word, you can win Blog Candy!

For the e-zine : click here and you will be taken to the website where you can download a free copy of the new Craft Stamper E-Zine. Available to everyone - everywhere in the world!

This very first issue is packed to the rafters with the top 12 projects of 2010 as voted for by Craft Stamper readers.

Friends card

2011-03-20T16:12:00.003Z

Glossy card background with alcohol inks (I found them at the back of the cupboard, and decided to dust them off!)
The stamps are from Art Journey.
After stamping I covered the card in embossing ink and xtra thick embossing powder (clear). I only did one coat to leave it textured.

Pretty in Pink

2011-03-14T08:34:00.004Z

It is another beautiful sunny spring day today. Still rather cold (around zero at the moment), but all the frost looks very pretty in the sunshine.

This card was inspired by a card Godelieve made.

Simon Says Stamp and Show some Metal

2011-03-11T15:57:00.002Z

A lovely Crafty Individuals stamp, stamped onto metal and puffed and distressed with a sandblock.
As it has metal, it is perfect for this week's Simon Says Stamp and Show some Metal challenge.

Inspried...

2011-03-10T16:14:00.002Z

This card was inspired by a card in the Art Specially For you Magazine number 11.
A lot of distress inking, heat embossing, some stencilling, and of course - stamping! A lot of fun to make.

Inspired by Godelieve

2011-02-23T15:36:00.001Z

It's hard not be inspired by Godelieve (Stamping Matilda), her work is amazing!
These cards are inspired by her, using the Distress Ink Background Block technique

Vintage card

2011-02-21T17:28:00.003Z

This Vintage card was inspired by The Craft Stamper magazine, and Emily :)

Another card

2011-02-19T18:45:00.002Z

I have been making quite a few cards recently... here's another one

Birthday cards

2011-02-18T14:09:00.002Z

Whilst I was in Holland, I took 2 birthday cards with me, for friends there who celebrated their birthdays just after my trip.

Men's cards

2011-02-17T14:41:00.001Z

Febraury is my "men's cards" month, as I have 3 men's birthdays this month. Here is one of them.

Art Journey day in the Netherlands

2011-02-16T17:31:00.000Z

Last week I spent a wonderful 4 days with my sister, Jenni. We went shopping, crafting and had a great day at Louise's Art Journey day in Sleen.

Our group made a gift for Louise, as a thank you, a frame filled with hand decorated boxes (then filled with assorted nuts). Jenni and I made 3 boxes, one each and one together. The blue sea one is mine and the roses we made together. The stamps are all Art Journey stamps.

The finished piece (and Louise), she loved it.

Battenberg Cake

2011-02-16T17:06:00.002Z

I tried baking a Battenberg cake today. It was rather fun, although it's a bit wonky.
I didn't have pink food colouring, so I used red, but it came out brown... next time I'll just do vanilla and chocolate! Tastes fine though.

For a friend

2011-01-24T16:52:00.001Z

I made this card for a friend in The Netherlands who has had a bad accident.

Some Polka Dots

2011-01-21T12:27:00.003Z

This card is for my cousin's daughter, and it is my entry into this week's Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge, which is Polka Dots.

Jewelrey

2011-01-19T11:24:00.004Z

I haven't made any jewelry for a while (mainly because it was all packed away for our house moves), but I have unpacked it now, and thought I'd try a necklace and bracelet in copper and blue that I saw in a shop and loved the look of.

I am very pleased with the result.

Birthday card and Craft Barn Challenge

2011-01-18T12:16:00.002Z

This is a birthday card for my cousin's young son, and also an entry for the Craft Barn Wishing Well Challenge # 1 using pigment pencils.
I used Prismacolor pencils and Sansador to blend. The stamp is Magnolia and the papers are Basic Grey (Oh baby boy).

Some more Christmas cards

2010-12-20T19:21:00.003Z

Here are 2 more cards I made a few weeks back, that I haven't had a chance to post yet.

Lin's giveaway

2010-12-14T18:54:00.002Z

Lin of LB Crafts is giving away a whole load of Tim goodies on her site. Pop over and leave a comment!

Christmas Cake

2010-12-14T17:36:00.003Z

Today I iced this cake for my ex-ballroom teacher, Dick. They are meant to be Robins...

Tim Holtz Tags

2010-12-14T15:55:00.003Z

Goodness, I really am having problems with Blogger today! Sorry if this appears more than once, or in a strange format!

I have been making some tags, Tim Holtz style. Of course I don't have all the wonderful goodies he has, but I think I have done quite well with what I have.

This means I can also enter the Simon Says Stamp and Show this week... which is Tim Holtz techniques!

Still THAT stamp...

2010-11-25T18:47:00.005Z

Can you use one stamp too many times? Nah...
This is another card from the Craft Stamper Magazine. I have coloured the background with Distress Ink, and used some sequin waste to create the dots.
The reindeer and snowflakes (Tim Holtz) are stamped in white Stazon Opaque onto acetate. The Reindeer (word) is a rub-on.

I do love that stamp...

2010-11-23T10:23:00.002Z

Yes, another swirly Tim holtz reindeer... I cant help it, it is such a lovely stamp!
This card can be used in the Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge this week - Distresss inks.
The glossy card has been coloured with distress inks (dusty concord and worn lipstick), then stamped with stazon. All the stamps are Tim Holtz.

Christmas Card

2010-11-22T22:22:00.003Z

This Christmas card is inspired by an article in the lastest Craft Stamper magazine. I do so love these Tim Holtz stamps!

10 weeks till Christmas Card 1

2010-11-05T15:22:00.008Z

I finally started 10 weeks till Christmas challenge!
Card 1 is a sketch.

I turned the sketch on it's side. The papers are BasicGrey, the stamps are Katzelkraft and Inkadinkadoo.

Something Shabby (Chic)

2010-11-02T15:36:00.002Z

This week's Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge is Something Shabby.
The stamps are: PaperArtsy (part of the goodie bag won in the raffel on the ArtsyCrafts weekend), Nature quoes (in French) by Norris and JMC, and finally the background stamp is by JudiKins.
The papers are MME.

ArtsyCrafts weekend October 2010

2010-11-01T10:51:00.006Z

What an amazing weekend! As always the extremely talented, Lin of LB Crafts and Leandra of PaperArtsy created these stunning projects to teach and stimulate our creative juices. Of course their wonderful helpers Blingy Lynne "Cheryl" and the 2 Marks were also on hand to sort us out.
The weekend was packed with new techniques, great ideas, wonderful colour combinations, and lots of fun and laughter. My amatuer photography does not really do the beautiful pieces justice, but it gives you an idea of what I made.
We had 3 colour choices for our 3 projects. My first choice was plae pink/pale green/silver.
The green frame is actually silver metal, painted with green.
This is a book (outside) :

Inside : the owl is in a boxed framed recess we created

My second choice was Red/Brown/Gold with this lovely deep boxed frame

Finally, our big project on Sunday was this gorgeous piece. I chose pale blue, cream and gold as my colours. My photography really doesn't do the textures and details justice, you'll have to come and visit and see it in person!

Apart from the wonderful (messy) artwork we played with, I also met some really lovely ladies to share the weekend with, and loved making new friends.
I was also very lucky, and won a goodie bag in the raffel.

All together, one of the best crafting weekends ever!

Birthday card and SSSS

2010-10-12T11:25:00.004+01:00

A birthday card for my friend's son, Ross. It has has plenty of metal on it, so it also qualifies for this week's Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge.
The photo is of Ross, in fancy dress as Captain Jack Sparrow (thanks Win).

More Christmas Plaid

2010-10-06T11:49:00.003+01:00

I liked the Tim Holtz Christmas Tag #3 technique so much, I made some more...

A Distressed Christmas

2010-09-30T16:21:00.003+01:00

I thought this could work for the current Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge, which is distressed/sanded. This card has both
It started along the lines of Tim Holtz Tag # 3 from last year (plaid backgound using glossy card and alcohol inks - great fun)
I then stamped over it, and when the ink was dry I sanded it in places. It made the ink fade, but left a mess of ink on my sanding block :(
The edges of the card have been distressed with the Tonic Edge Distressor. The frame is coloured with distress ink, then overstamped.

Golden Anniversary Card

2010-09-29T16:49:00.007+01:00

This card is for our friends who are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary soon. They love gardening, so I went for a more floral theme (although they may not appreciate the dandelions...)

Music card

2010-09-27T11:15:00.003+01:00

For this card I used Distress inks (Scattered Straw, Dried Marigold, Brushed Corduroy) and mostly Darkroom Door stamps. I also added some Tom Holtz tissue tape to the bottom of the card.

Another Christmas Card

2010-09-24T20:58:00.003+01:00

Another Christmas card, glossy card using the resist technique, embossed background, dymo words.

Simon says stamp and show - stamp-tember-hop

2010-09-09T20:46:00.003+01:00

Another great giveaway from Simon says stamp and show this week.
The theme is Holiday Fun, and then there is a blog hop, with the chance of winning $100 from Simon says stamp (very generous - thank you!)
Here are 2 Christmas cards I made today, using the distress ink onto glossy card technique.
The images are stamped with Staz-on, as is the white stamping on the acetate.

Simon says stamp and show

2010-08-25T16:08:00.002+01:00

Okay, I made another card inspired by Lord Tim of Holtz for Simon Says Stamp and Show this week.
Well, kind of. The materials used are very Lord Tim of Holtz, but the inspiration comes from the amazingly talented Lin Brown, and her first project on Tim's DT (see, it all comes back to him... Linda Elbourne will hopefully be impressed...)
I recreated Lin's background, using paint dabbers and Tim's alphabet masks (it was very messy and great fun). The tag is coloured with distress inks, I have used his wonderful tissue tape and (for the first time) used his tiny attacher on the picture.
I hope you like it, and I hope it is admissable for S4!

The start of Christmas cards

2010-08-22T16:02:00.003+01:00

As Christmas is just around the corner (for card makers anyway)... I thought I'd better get started! Both of these cards take techniques and inspiration from the Tim Holtz 12 Tages of Christmas from last year. By the time he starts his 12 tags (December) I am finished my Christmas cards for the year, so I tend to do them the next year!

Sian's birthday card

2010-08-21T21:26:00.003+01:00

Now that Sian has received her birthday card I can Blog it.
I had to go with cats (of course) and decided to use a more vintage look. The cats stamp is from Crafty Individuals.

Blog Candy

2010-08-17T16:02:00.002+01:00

Hiya, just a quick note to say Linda Elbourne is offering Blog Candy ($50 at Simon Says Stamp), so pop on over to her blog and leave a comment.
Thanks Linda!

RSS challenge - week 26

2010-07-30T13:26:00.002+01:00

My last card for a while... we are packing up my craft room this weekend for the move.
This is for the latest RSS challenge - 26.
The 5 ingredients I have used are : travel, film strip, brad, metal embellishment, distress.

21st sensory canvas and RSS 25 and Tuesday Taggers!

2010-07-16T13:24:00.008+01:00

This is a different piece, and a long explanation.

The canvas is for Dave's nephew's 21st birthday - but Jamie is blind, so I tried to make a canvas as interesting as possible for someone feeling it. Hence why I call it a sensory canvas.

I am still not sure I got the layout right, but there is plenty of different textures.

It also fits in with the latest RSS challenge. As I explain the canvas I will point out the 5 RSS ingredients.

*** I have just been told by Zoechaos that this fits the Tuesday Taggers challenge - Canvas. There is also a sponsor ART FROM THE HEART, offering a full set of their new Altered Originals Sprays to one lucky winner drawn at random this week. WOW! Thanks for letting me know Zoe!

The canvas (RSS1) is painted with acrylic paints (RSS2) in cream, orange and mustard colours.

The 21 is made from grungeboard, dry embossed with cuttlebug and painted.

Jamie (the letters) are chipboard, first I used Viva Terra texture paint, then painted them mustard and highlighted the texture with red paint.

The key is grungeboard, embossed with vintage photo distress embossing powder and inked with Vintage photo Distress ink. The rusty key effect (which I got from Tim's book) is amazing, and feels like sandpaper. Very impressive.

The right corner has piece of netting glued on (from a cheese string bag)

The corners have metal corner pieces from Tim Holtz. (Well, not from him personally...)

Above the 21 is an eggshell collage (RSS3) set in Glossy accent to make it 3D (RSS4). This was fun - I used my eggshell set in very thick Glossy accent (I used very thick cardboard to stop it warping). I coloured the eggshell and glossy accent with alcohol inks (RSS5) in butterscotch, espresso and gold. I used krylon gold pen around the edges of the thick card.

I did some music stamping in the background (and clear embossed it to raise it), and stamped swirls around the edges.

There are 3 ribbons on the side, each made of different material (silky and velvet), these are stapled to the metal embelishments.

The charms are a small key, a music note and also from the Tim Holtz collection : clock hands/pointers which I have layered with small washers to allow them to move.

Phew, I think that's all! It was great fun to make, and I hope he enjoys it.

Isa Birthday card

2010-07-16T13:17:00.002+01:00

I'm a bit behind in my blogging! This card was for Isabelle's birthday.
The paper is Basic Grey, the stamps are PaperArtsy and Crafty Individuals.

RSS challenge - week 23

2010-06-25T16:02:00.002+01:00

The challenge this time includes the ingredients :

House(s)
Purple, Turquoise and Lime
Handwritten Script
Rectangles
Acetate

My card is a rectangle, and the background colours are Adirondak Eggplant, Stream and Citrus (Purple, Turquoise and Lime). The houses are PaperArtsy, stamped onto metal with Stazon, then I made a tape sandwich, cut them out and use my Dabbers (Stream and Purple Twilight) to add some colour.
The acetate is stamped with Stazon Cotton White, using the event stamps from last years ArtSpecially. Sorrt they dont show that well in the picture, they are much clearer in real life.
Lazy summer is handwritten, and framed with a retanglular metal frame, that has been coloured with Alcohol inks (stream and raisin).
I think that covers it all.

Dave's Birthday

2010-06-24T09:32:00.004+01:00

This is the card and "D" I made Dave for his 50th birthday.

For the card I used a Tim Holtz mask and a mix of Bundled Sage and Stormy Sky Distress Inks . I then stamped using the same colours with various PaperArtsy and Art Journey stamps.

The 50 is made from Grungepaper (I printed a 50 on paper, then used it as a template), which is painted with Kaiser Colour Paints - Olive.

The D is a Paper Mache letter from The Craft Barn. I primed it with Gesso, then painted it with Dabbers - Butterscotch and Stream.

The stamps are again a mix of PaperArtsy and Art Journey. The "Dave" is chipboard letters, painted with Stream. The quotes down the side of the "D" are from a quote sheet of stamps (I cant remember the shop name - sorry)

Houses card

2010-06-20T10:29:00.002+01:00

I decided to do a card with (mostly) PaperArtsy and (for the butterflies) Crafty Individuals stamps.
The distress inks are Tumbled Glass, Stormy Sky, Brushed Corduroy. The paper for the house (body) is Basic Gray and the roof is TenSecond Studio Dijon.

A wooden Box

2010-06-06T19:33:00.006+01:00

When I was in Canada visiting Isabelle she took me to a craft store (I forget the name of the store), where I got this lovely little wooden box. I only remembered to photograph it after I had started priming it, but I am sure you get the idea of what it looked like when I started.

After priming I painted it with Adirondak Sandal paint (about 3 coats), and added streaks of Viva Copper metal paint.

The stamping is done with Adirondak Rust and using Artifacts Butterfly Kisses stamps.

The "T" on the top is a grungebaord letter under copper metal, using Ten Second Studio tools to embellish the metal. It has been painted with Adirondak Espresso and Sandal to create a more distressed look.

To create the butterflies I painted some card with Sandal and Copper paint, then punched with a Martha Stewart punch.

I dont really think the photos do it justice, but they are the only way I can share the work!

Tim Holtz inspired card

2010-05-15T14:14:00.002+01:00

For my birthday my sister bought me the new Tim Holtz book (A Compendium of Curiosities). It is an amazing book, with loads of inspiration. So I decided to make a card using some of his ideas (as I see them).
The stamps are all from Art Journey, the masks are Tim Holtz, distress inks are Barn Door, Pine Needles and Stormy Sky.

RSS challenge - week 20

2010-05-08T15:32:00.002+01:00

Another RSS challenge :

The ingredients are :

Angel

Turquiose, White, Silver and Black

1 Ribbon and lace

Heart

Wood

My angel is a stamp by Art Journey (as are the backgound leafy stamps), the background is plain card smeared with Viva Turquoise metal paint (so although you can't see it in the photo, it shimmers). The heart is made of wood, painted silver (it is from Embelliscrap).
Yep, I think I have all 5 ingredients in here. I hope you like it.

Tango...

2010-04-27T16:48:00.004+01:00

This card was made with the wonderful stamps from Louise's Art Journey stamps.
I decided to go with Black and White (and a touch of Tango Red) to add to the drama. I hope you like it.

RSS challenge - week 19

2010-04-26T14:26:00.002+01:00

This was a great Ready Steady Stamp challenge, with some unusual ingrediants (as always):

Letter M

Purple, Pink, Green, Black

Stamped flowers

Gesso on your background

Rubber

I have managed them all (phew)...the letter M is obvious; pink card, with purple and green edging, Maralyn is matted onto black. I have stamped flowers (some stamped in gesso), and the purple stripe under Maralyn's name is a piece of painted rubber band.

Kim's birthday card

2010-04-21T20:39:00.003+01:00

I made this card for the lovely Kim's birthday.
I used my new distress inks - Rusty Hinge and Wild Honey. The stamps are Darkroom Door, and the gorgeous butterfly is Prima Marketing, bought from Crafts U Love.

Birthday card

2010-04-20T12:36:00.003+01:00

A birthday card for my sister.

Art Creations Friday challenge no. 70

2010-04-19T15:10:00.002+01:00

I love to follow the Art Creations Friday challenges, but I have never dared to join (as their work is always so beautiful, I feel too intimidated!). This week I thought I would have a go, as I so loved the image they gave (the girl). I hope my card can live up to the amazing artwork they produce every week.
The paper is all MME, the dies are Tim Holtz Flourish and the stamps are Isabelle Norris and JMC stamps (thanks Isa, I hope they are appropriate lol!).

Two more cards

2010-04-07T22:17:00.003+01:00

The first card is a birthday card for a friend who loves all things Oriental.

The card second card is a masculine card, using some of my new Distress Ink colours, my new cog dies, my new stamps... all new! The men stamp is from Art Journey, and the background stamps are by PaperArtsy.

RSS challenge - week 17

2010-03-24T11:44:00.002Z

Another RSS challenge! The ingredients for this are are:

The only item that can't be seen easily is the cream, but the flowers are stamped on cream card, and I have only added colour to the edges of the die cut, so it is cream in the middle.

A card for my dance teacher

2010-03-24T10:33:00.002Z

This card was made for my ballroom teacher's birthday.
The background is done with Distress Inks, and the stamps are from the new Art Journey collection.

A masculine card

2010-03-06T11:31:00.003Z

This card started as a calendar... the map in the background was a calendar of old UK county maps. I tore a section of the map and distressed it with Distress inks.
The sun was created by punching a hole in a piece of card and using that as a template. I coloured the sun gradually, using Distress Inks again.
The stamps are from South Africa.

RSS challenge - week 16

2010-03-05T11:07:00.002Z

The latest Ready Steady Stamp challenge. The ingredients are below, and as always, a fun challenge.

As you can't see it properly in the photo, the frame around the bird is made from thick cardboard, covered in paper. I hope the rest of the ingredients are obvious!
The papers are Basic Grey (Lime Rickey). The bird stamp is Crafty Individuals CI 183.
The handmade flowers are Cuttlebug die cuts.

Thank you for looking.

Ecoline and grunge

2010-03-04T13:58:00.002Z

When I was in the Netherlands in February, my sister Jenni introduced me to Ecoline inks (waterbased inks), that can be used to make backgrounds. For more information and a tutorial, have a look at the amazing Godelieve's website here.
So I bought the inks (of course) and made up some backgrounds (which is very messy and great fun), and here are 2 cards made with one of the backgrounds I created.
I went for a darker, more grunge look to these cards.

The pictures and frames are from Crafty Individuals. The frames have been covered in terra texture paint, stamped, painted and then highlighted with viva metal paint.
All the stamps are the new 7 Gypsy's Venice stamp set.

Craft Barn Challenge Feb 2010

2010-02-15T14:43:00.002Z

This month's Craft Barn Challenge is to follow the sketch (below), with the theme of Love.

Some Men's Cards

2010-02-14T16:10:00.003Z

I needed some men's cards, and decided to use the wonderful images in the Crafty Individual's People and Places 2 book. The background is distress ink swooshed on the craft mat, then sprayed with water, then the paper dabbed onto it (and some extra distress ink filled in the white bits after it was dried) - all ideas from Tim Holtz.
The die cuts are from nestabilities, and the word is made using a Dymo. The frame is glass (from the wonderful Tim Holtz), and held together using gold tape also from Ranger.

Using the CI pictures again, and this time the CI frame, covered with Terra texture paint, stamped when still wet, dried, then coloured with a mix of Fired Brick and Viva Gold metallic paint. The background is coloured with Vintage Photo, and stamped with the same colour, the circle (nestabilities) is also edged with fired brick. The Imagine stamp is in Fired Brick.

RSS challenge - week 14

2010-02-04T09:46:00.002Z

The next RSS challenge and it's another exciting, challenging one!

The background is a mix of ink colours : Adirondack Sandle, Willow and Oregano, and edged with Distress Brushed Corduroy. The background swirls are from the Art Specially stamp sheet of 2009, and the bubbles are from a South African stamp company.

The picture is from Crafty Individuals Miniatures "People and Places 2", and the frame is also from CI (with the swirl cut off). The frame has been covered in copper metal, and then heat embossed with Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Powder Shabby Shutters.

The photo corner is also metal and is die cut using a Quikutz die in the cuttlebug, and the Funky Foam circles are also die cut, using the cuttlebug.

It started with the sun...

2010-01-27T10:48:00.003Z

I wanted to do a sun... so I punched a hole in a piece of card with a punch and used it as a template. I coloured the sun with distress inks (starting with scattered straw, then spiced marmalade, finally fired brick. I then coloured the rest of the card with the colours (the ground is green and brown) and stamped the tree from Katzelkraft JMC Abres Hiver (Isabelle's stamps).
I used the single branch on the stamp sheet as the ground.
The birds are on a nestabilities cut chape (coloured with the same colours as the sun).

Another birthday card

2010-01-25T11:34:00.002Z

This card is for my cousin's daughter, Natalie (yes, same cousin).

I have taken green Bazzill card and painted with streaks of pink paint. I have then stamped background swirls in pink, and added a ribbon and flowers.
The girl is a Magnolia stamp, coloured with Prismcolor Penciles and blended with Sansodor.
I have added stickles glitter glue around her feet (thanks for that idea Kim!) and glitter on the inner flowers.

RSS challenge 13

2010-01-23T15:19:00.005Z

The first RSS challenge for the year :

Here is my fan : the ladies are from Crafty Individuals. The background has been coloured with Worn Lipstick and stamped with hearts in Fired Brick.

I then mounted the fan on a card, which was coloured with Milled Lavendar and stamped with Milled Lavendar and Fired Brick. The words are from Technique Tuesday.

A birthday card

2010-01-22T20:58:00.002Z

This card (as I am sure you can tell), is for Connor, and he is 5! He is my cousin's son.
I used Magnolia Edwin stamp, coloured him with Prismacolor pencils and sansodor to blend. The papers are Basic Grey 'Oh Baby Boy'. I used the Nestabilities and my wonderful Cuttlebug for the ovals.

What I got for Christmas!

2010-01-21T20:54:00.003Z

Well, I asked for an ink storage rack (for Christmas) from here, and I got one! Thanks Dave!
It's great, and although not full... it will fill up lol!
It is so much easier to see all the ink colours at a glance.

Good Luck Cards

2010-01-18T20:08:00.002Z

I have been very naughty, and not posted for ages! I have still been making cards, and taking photos, just not posting them!
Here are the first two, they are Good Luck cards for some of the dancers who went to the LineDance World Championships in Nashville.

The Craft Barn has a new blog!

2010-01-09T12:55:00.002Z

The Craft Barn has a new Blog, which you can see here.
Their big January sale midnight tonight (9th Jan) - I'll be shopping there (especially thanks to Jenni!)

SNOW!

2009-12-18T08:56:00.004Z

This is what we woke up to this morning, it all looks so pretty.
It is rare to have snow this early in the year in our area (or any at all!).
I am so pleased though, I do love snow!

10 week till Christmas challenge - 4 cards

2009-11-24T12:18:00.002Z

I have been playing catch up (and I'm still not there!), so these 4 cards span 2 different weeks.

This first card is for Week 4 (7 weeks till Christmas), 3rd card :

The challenge was for letters or numbers stamped in the background. I don't know how clearly you can see the letters in the background (the card has come out a bit pale in the picture).
I have used Distress Inks - weathered wood and milled lavendar.
The stamps are from Inkadinkadoo and Elusive Images.

Next I moved onto Week 5 (6 weeks till Christmas) Card 1:

This was a sketch as seen below

I went for a more unusual colour scheme (as you can see), using the beautiful cream and black paper by Kaiserkraft.
The funky Christmas trees and background swirls are by PaperArtsy, and have been stamped and embossed with clear embossing powder. I have added some texture and sparkle by colouring in bits of the trees with black stickles and Rock Candy, both by Ranger.
The words are stamps by Francoise Read.

Card 2 of week 5 was dry embossed background. The snowflake embossing and die cuts are from Cuttlebug, and the white snowflake stamp is from Stampington&Co. and have been embossed with white embossing powder.

Finally the challnege for the 3rd card for week 5 was unusual colours for Christmas. The tree is from Katzelkraft, and has been stamped with white paint (adirondak dabber). The swirls in the background is also from Katzelkraft. The die cut snowflakes are cuttlebug, and the papers are Bazzil.

Thank you for looking, and for your comments, they are most appreciated.

Gingerbread House Cake

2009-11-16T14:51:00.003Z

It was our good friend Emily's birthday yesterday. As she loves gingerbread, I decided to make her a gingerbread house for her birthday. It was great fun, and very frustrating to make!

Front

Back

7 weeks till Christmas - Card 1 and 2

2009-11-16T14:28:00.003Z

Well, having just put our house on the market, and now having little time for anything other than cleaning and tidying, I have fallen behind. Never mind, I'll catch up... I hope :)
2 cards for last week's challenge. ..

The first is the sketch

I have used Adirondak espresso and Distress Antique Linen with cream card as my colours.

The second is a "shaker" card. This was a bit of a challenge! I loved making the frame, which is by Crafty Individuals. I painted it with Gesso to create a key, then used the Viva Terra paint, which I stamped into, to create texture. I rubbed Viva precious metal gold paint into the writing grooves, and painted over all of it with Adirondak Bottle Green dabber paint. This technique is one of many I learnt on the ArtsyCraft weekend.
The WinterWonderland stamp is byKatzelkraft, the swirls on the right corner are Crafty Individuals, the lamp and trees are by Mariette Verhees and the Rejoice is by Hero Arts.

Thank you for looking, I hope you like them

7 weeks till Christmas - Special K

2009-11-09T15:43:00.002Z

I started this week off by doing the Special K challenge first instead of last. I was intrigued by the technique - bleach.
We were to spray bleach onto coloured card to create a dappled effect. I did the red card in the background.
The bird stamp is from Inkadinkadoo, as are the swirls around the edges. The bird is then coloured with Adirondak Red Pepper ink.The words are Francoise Read.

Thank you for looking, and for your kind comments.

8 weeks till Christmas - Special K

2009-11-09T12:11:00.003Z

Last week's Special K card is finally done.
The spec was for a background made of tissue paper, then coloured.
I made my background with kitchen towel, painted with Adirondak Red Pepper and Gold acrylic paint. I then stuck it to a piece of card. When it was dry I cut it in half and used the crop-a-dile to make holes for the ribbon.
The background card has been smeared with embossing ink, and embossed with gold.
The NOEL (from KatzelKraft) is stamped and then embossed in gold detail embossing powder.
The stamped swirls on the sides are from Basic Grey.

8 weeks till Christmas - WEEK 3 - Card 2 and 3

2009-11-04T17:00:00.004Z

I have been busy again today - 2 more cards for the 10 weeks till Christmas Challenge.

The first card's challenge was "a card with stars".
I have made a more modern card, using the luscious SEI Winter Song papers, cuttlebug for the circle and stars, and PaperArtsy stamps for the trees. I coloured the trees with Pearlescent watercolours, so the shine beautifully (well, not in a photo lol!).
The words are Francoise Read.

The second card is "white with a touch of gold".
I have used an embossed frame that I bought at the Craft Barn. (I can't remember what it is called.)
The candle stamp is Mariette Verhees, and embossed with gold embossing powder. The words are Francoise Read and also embossed.
All the edges and the snowflake are done with gold Krylon pen

8 weeks till Christmas - WEEK 3 - Card 1

2009-11-01T16:16:00.003Z

The final card I made this weekend was the first for this week's quota (I am catching up!)
I flipped the sketch on its side and made a simple card with one of my favourite Christmas stamps - he has such a lovely face..

Thank you for looking

9 weeks till Christmas - WEEK 2 - Special K

2009-11-01T14:34:00.002Z

The Special K challenge - the soot technique. I am still using the wonderful Katzelkraft Wonderland sheet of stamps.
This was quite fun, you stamp onto glossy card with versamark. Then heat set very well, finally burn the glossy surface with the flame of a candle. It turns all black, but when you wipe the soot off you get the lovely smokey contrast.

9 weeks till Christmas - WEEK 2 - Card 2 and Card 3

2009-11-01T13:32:00.004Z

I have been working hard this weekend to catch up with the challenge, and I have finished 2 more cards for last week.

First up is the pop-up card, with the pop-up inside. The stamps are from Katzelkraft and Basic Grey. The lovely papers are SEI Wintersong, and what you can't really see is the glitter, foil and velvet on the papers - SO yummy!

Second is the blue and silver card, still with the beautiful KatzelKraft Wonderland sheet. The white card has been embossed with the cuttlebug, and I have used Distress Ink Faded Jeans

9 weeks till Christmas - WEEK 2 - Card 1

2009-10-30T11:56:00.004Z

I have fallen way behind with my 10 weeks till Christmas challenge, so I need to start catching up again. Card 1 was a lovely sketch (see below).
I chose Gold, red and black as my colours, and I have used one of my new KatzelKraft Christmas stamp and words. The background swirls are Basic Grey stamps.
Thank you for looking.

ArtsyCrafts Weekend

2009-10-29T16:22:00.010Z

Last weekend I attended the ArtsyCrafts weekend with LB Crafts and PaperArtsy, and it was fantastic! Lin and Leandra created a wonderful experience, great fun, and we learnt so much. The weekend was packed with ideas and techniques. The theme for the weekend was "time", so each project relates to time.

First up is the clock. This was the main project and rather daunting to start with! Step by step we learnt how to create each part, and the end result is rather spectacular (well I think so anyway). This is going up on the wall.

Next we made a "winged thing", learning a new way with UTEE (and my first play with grungepaper)

Then a mini book with mad birds

Finally we made a time box