Feathery Greetings

Todays ATC was made for this weeks challenge at Wicked Wednesday with the theme 'Happy Holidays' .  'Feathery Monster' certainly looks happy and he was more than a little chuffed to be asked to hold up a sign for all to see.

The background was blended using Distress Inks : Peeled Paint, Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade and Fired Brick, spritzed with water to mottle the background, and the foreground foliage stamped in Peeled Paint.

'Feathery Monster' was stamped onto watercolour paper with 'Jet Black' archival ink before being coloured with watercolour pencils in two tones of green.  He was fussy cut before two dots of 'liquid pearls' for eyes and green 'stickles' for his spots were added to finish him off.   The sign was stamped and coloured the same way.  Both 'Feathery' and the sign were popped up on dimensionals.

I'm entering this in the challenge at Wicked Wednesday.

I wish you health, happiness and lots of crafty fun as we head into 2014.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Happy crafting!!!

 

Party Time!

I've been having a look at a few challenges and really wanted to play along, but first I had to clear a space on the table.

Just prior to Christmas I had packed up all my crafty stuff so we could use the table for Christmas lunch, and it had since been put back on the table but in no particular order.  I thought I should cull a few items as I sorted them out so I started off with two small-medium boxes and a basket of old samples.  At the end of this little cull, I was down to just the basket with a smidge of room to spare - woohoo!!  Next was the pile of cardstock and designer papers, most of which are still in the pile as they are reasonably new and are still very useable.  A few papers did go into the recycling bin though, as they simply were no longer of use to me or were damaged, and since I have so many offcuts already, I really didn't want to add to them.

So, I made space at the table (except the pile of papers is still on the kitchen bench, oops!) and was able to have a little play with this week's challenges.

As it is the holiday season and people have been busy, a couple of the challenges have the same theme at the moment "Anything Goes", such an easy theme.

 I started with 'Mustard Seed' followed by 'Spiced Marmalade' and finished with 'Picked Raspberry' distress inks, blending them together.  A quick little spritz with water letting it dribble in a couple of spots before blotting it with a tissue followed.

I stamped "Gooseneck" with 'Jet Black' archival ink and coloured her with watercolour pencils before fussy cutting around her outline. As it is a New Year party, some balloons were stamped directly onto the tag and extra colour added.   'Happy New Year' was stamped with alphabet letter stamps onto a piece of scrap, cut out and popped up on dimensionals.  A piece of washi tape grounds "Gooseneck" with a couple of extra little bits added.  "Gooseneck" is also popped onto dimensionals.

The bottom left of the tag seemed empty, so using a 'date' stamp (SU) (my new acquisition) was just what was needed (well, I thought so anyway, hee hee).   The top of the tag was finished off with various yarns in co-ordinating colours.

I'm entering this tag in the following challenges:

          CASology.blogspot.com.au - theme "Party"
          Stampotiquedesignerschallenge.blogspot.com.au - theme "Anything Goes"
          Tagalongchallenge.blogspot.co.uk - theme "Anything Goes"


Thanks for coming by to visit, and I wish you health, happiness and lots of crafty fun as we begin 2014.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Happy crafting!

Snow Birds

Phew!   This time of the year is getting so busy but since I was up early this morning, I thought I would play along with this weeks Wicked Wednesday Challenge.

I started with a piece of creamy coloured card/paper (it's not quite heavy enough for card  so I guess it would have to be thickish paper) and coloured it with 'Stormy Sky' and  'Shaded Lilac' Distress Inks, blending the two colours together.  I then lightly spritzed it with water for a mottled sky look.

Next I stamped the 'owl' (Inkadinkado) directly onto the background and then again on some cream scrap.  The branch was coloured using Distress Markers (which I had scribbled onto an acrylic block to use as my palette) and water brush.  The owl was coloured the same way and then cut out and glued directly over the original image.    I added a little Kindyglitz for a sparkly star and some googly eyes on the owl, and to finish off, I went around the edges with 'Black Soot' Distress Ink.

I'm entering this little owl in this weeks challenge at Wicked Wednesday.

It's a very hot day in Sydney today, over 40 degrees outside.  It's a bit cooler inside but I can feel the house heating up.  Hope the electrician turns up this afternoon to wire up our new air-conditioner!

As this will probably be my last post until after Christmas, I would like to take the opportunity to wish everyone a MERRY CHRISTMAS  and a fun but relaxing festive season with family and friends!

Happy Crafting!!!
 

Creepy Christmas

I've never considered Christmas to be 'creepy' however, the theme at Wicked Wednesday this week is just that, "Creepy Christmas".  Since I hadn't yet used the last of my new Stampotique stamps "Owl Tree", I thought it should just about fit the theme.

As this is an ATC challenge I started with a piece of black cardstock in the required size and stamped "Owl Tree" in white craft ink (SU) and clear embossed it, which gives it a grey look rather then white, but probably gives it a more  ghostly appearance.  The three larger owls have little coloured bling eyes and the tiny owls eyes were coloured with Gel pens.  The word "christmas" (SU Teeny Tiny Sentiments) was stamped in Versamark with gold Perfect Pearls brushed over the top.

I'm entering this in this weeks Wicked Wednesday challenge.

Happy crafting!

Snowflakes, in this heat?

CASology's theme this week is "Snowflakes", something that wouldn't dare make an appearance in our hot summer weather.  However I was looking in my Cuttlebug box for a die and came across a Couture Creations folder called "Tranquil Happiness" which is a snowflake tree with three little birds flying around the top.

I popped a piece of off-white cardstock in the folder and fed it through the Cuttlebug, then wrapped a length of sheer silver edged black ribbon around it before mounting it onto an appropriately blue piece of cardstock.  I stamped "Merry Christmas" (SU 'Christmas Greetings') with Archival 'Watering Can' ink and then thought I'd add some sparkle to the snowflakes with silver Kindyglitz.

I'm entering this card in this weeks CASology challenge.

Happy crafting!
 

A Beautiful Wedding

We're home again after attending a beautiful wedding yesterday in the Southern Highlands.  The happy couple had gone to so much trouble to create a perfect day - quaint, country church followed by a gorgeous outdoor reception at the Montrose Berry Farm.  They couldn't have asked for better weather although by nightfall it had become rather chilly, but not a whisper of a breeze.

Wedding Cake

Macarons

Reception

There were so many little details, even on the tables - vases of flowers along the whole length of each of the three tables, little bundles of books tied with string, even little teacups planted with succulents, and for each guest a little jar of homemade jam (mine is boysenberry, my DH's is pear & vanilla).

My DH and I stayed in a beautiful B & B, with each room having a different theme (we had the Swedish room) and this morning we were treated to a very yummy breakfast.  We had a bit of a look around Bundanoon (which is where we were staying) before heading home around 1pm as we need to be back around 3pm.  Such a lovely part of the country, we need to go back again but stay longer next time.

Anyhow, enough of the wedding.  I thought it time to show off my card.

I found the textured paper when I was in Melbourne recently and thought it rather elegant with its random hearts.   I stamped the words (SU 'Heard from the Heart') onto the shimmery cardstock in Jet Black Archival which fades slightly giving it a softer look.   A length of black satin ribbon with a touch of bling completes it.

I really should have photographed the inside prior to writing on it, but because I didn't want to goof up, I stamped the words (SU 'Occasional Quotes') and then wrote on the insert before sticking it inside the card.

For a wedding gift, the young couple had asked guests to contribute to the 'wishing well' so I made this little envelope pouch to match the front of the card and popped some money inside.  The finished card was then put inside a co-ordinating envelope and tied with a black ribbon.   This way I figured the 'gift' couldn't accidently get parted from the card.

I was very happy with the finished card and hope you like it too

Happy crafting!

Charmed Christmas

Just to be confusing, and I'm not hard to confuse, I thought I'd better do a second post as we're heading off to a wedding this weekend and I have a feeling I might just miss this challenge if I don't do it now.

At Wicked Wednesday, the theme is "A Charmed Christmas", so when I was playing this morning I came up with this, using stamps from Paper Smooches.

This little moose was stamped onto watercolour paper, his santa hat was then added before colouring with watercolour pencils  (my favourite colouring method at the moment).  I blended Fired Brick Distress Ink around the edges and lastly glued the little bell onto the end of the santa hat.

I'm entering this ATC in this weeks Wicked Wednesday challenge.

Happy crafting!

Challenge - Ribbon

This morning I joined the Friday Scrapbooking Ladies at Alice in Paperland.   While they are all occupied with their scrapbooking, I'm busy making cards or other little projects, so as the theme this week over on the CASology challenge is "Ribbon", this is what I made:

My friend from yesterday had brought along another of her new JOFY stamps and the lovely flower stem was among them.  The ribbon came from a little box of leftovers/offcuts that get collected in the store from time to time and someone had knotted it (goodness knows why?) and as I held it across the card, the knot lined up perfectly with the stems (woohoo).

After a quick search of the scrap paper bin I found this gorgeous pink shimmer paper which was the perfect colour to go with the flower.  I finished the card off when I got home by attaching the topper to a white card base and stamping 'wish big' (SU discountinued).

I'm entering this card in this weeks CASology Challenge.

Happy crafting!

Retirement Cards

Ah, the Retirement cards saga continues .......... not really, in the end after much thinking and searching of a suitable stamp, it came together rather well (that's my story and I'm sticking to it).

This morning I was heading off to Alice in Paperland to 'play' in the last Dylusions class for this year.  Actually it's not really a class as it is very informal and there is usually only 3 of us, but we have lots of inky fun with much laughter and chatting.  Anyhow, one of the girls had brought along her new JOFY stamps and as I was stamping them onto my journal page, it suddently occurred to me that these would work rather well on the second retirement card (for which I was stuck for ideas).  They both agreed and as I had my watercolour paper and pencils with me, I quickly stamped and coloured some flowers.  The card was assembled after I went home.

I found a piece of cardstock to mat the flowers (it is much closer in colour to the flowers then it looks in the photo), stamped "dare to dream" (Tim Holtz), and popped in the insert.  The quote came from a book called "Words to the Rescue" and was computer printed.

For the first card (yes, I know I'm going backwards in time here) I used "Born to Ride" which is one of my recent purchases, with "enjoy the journey" (Tim Holtz) stamped in the bottom corner.

The same book was used for this quote too, although this time it is actually two quotes put together, but changed slightly.  This was also computer printed.

Tomorrow the school is having a presentation in honour of the two teachers who are retiring.  I'm not actually going but know the teachers as they were at the school prior to my children going there (and they have all finished school now).  After all those years of teaching students, they deserve a well earned retirement!

Now to finish the Wedding card for Saturday, and then next week I'll start sending out my Christmas cards.

Happy crafting!

Ramblings .......

Do you think there is such a thing as too much cardmaking in one day?  I didn't either until my brain decided to go to mush tonight and nothing was working.  I'm trying to tick things off my list and a couple of them have priority - they have to be done by Thursday or .......... (my life won't be worth living, eeeeekk).

So, today I :
1. did a letterbox drop route (for the Christmas service times for church).  The route I chose this time was fairly straightforward with no back-tracking, and I got to walk past a favourite house.  It's an old one but beautifully maintained with little diamond panes of glass in the windows.  They don't build them like this any more.
2. wrote up the Alice in Paperland blog, with the new Graphic 45 collections and upcoming classes.
3. made another batch of Christmas cards, which means I now have 58 cards (8 of these are leftover oddments, I normally make batches of 10) ready to write on.
4. made one of the two Retirement cards (the second one has a finished insert {I never do inserts first!} but no idea what to put on the front - BIG sigh!).

I still have a Wedding card to make and the wedding is this coming Saturday.  I don't think I'll have time tomorrow so it's looking like Thursday or Friday - I love doing things at the last minute - NOT!!!

So, I guess it's time to do the dishes and a little ironing for tomorrow before maybe an early night?

Ok, my ramblings are over - I'll be back again soon with something to show you.

Happy crafting!

Finished and Ready to Party!

Phew!  I've just finished tying the ribbons around the 40 packs of gift cards which will be put on each place setting at the Friendship Service this coming Wednesday.  As mentioned previously, this is held once a month for the old folk who can't otherwise get to church any longer, and after the service in December, they are all invited to stay for a lovely Christmas lunch, put on by a number of wonderful hardworking ladies; and while they are busy setting it all up, their terrific husbands are out in their cars picking up the old folk from their homes.

 Decorated

These cards are 4" x 4" and with the exception of a few which are hand stamped, they are decorated with 12" x 12" papers that are then cut into smaller squares ready to pop onto the blank card.

Oriental papers

I did however run out of suitable 12" x 12" papers, so looked through my stash and found some lovely oriental papers.  I was really happy with how these looked, but with only one A4 sheet of each patterned paper, could only make one set of cards.

Photo papers

These were the first batch I made, so easy as the paper had nine photos per sheet (1 each of tulips, roses & lillies), each just trimmed to size. 

Stampin'Up!

These cards came die cut from SU (discontinued) and overstamped using "Fresh Cuts" (discontined), with a touch of bling in the centre of some of the flowers.

Wild Flowers

This set is of Australian wildflowers and again there were nine squares to each sheet of paper, just trimmed to size.

All these cards were really easy to put together and each has been left blank inside, so are suitable for all occasions.    Apart from the SU cards, there are no greetings on any of the other cards either.

I hope everyone has a lovely lunch together on Wednesday and enjoy the musical items of entertainment between the courses.

I will be there to help set up, but then I have to head off to the hairdressers to cover up some grey bits, so I can look presentable at the wedding we're going to next Saturday. Since the hairdressers is only a block away from the church, I'll probably pop back in again to help clear away.

With these ticked off my list of 'things to do', next on the list is two Retirement cards, a Wedding card and the rest of my Christmas cards, so I'd better get started!

Happy crafting!

Family LineUp

Well, here I am back again, this time with something a bit bling-ey, perfect for this weeks theme at Tagalong Challenge which is "Ring a ding ding, .... lots of Bling".

These cute little guys are two of my brand new stamps which arrived from Stampotique recently.  The blue monster is "Feathery Monster" and his four companions are from "Line Up".  "Why do all five monsters?" you may ask.  Well since there are five in our family and the tag had plenty of room, I thought "why not".  The mind works in mysterious ways sometimes - hee hee hee.

The tag is cut from lime-green glitter paper/card  (I really need to use a craft knife and ruler, 'cause each time I cut glitter paper, I keep blunting my paper trimmer blade and this one is almost new) and mounted onto a piece of black card.

The monsters are stamped onto watercolour paper using Archival 'jet black' and coloured using, yep, you guessed it,  watercolour pencils blended with a water brush.  They were all fussy cut and popped up onto dimensionals.  Feathery Monster has some silver kindyglitz on his spots, the monster next to him has some gold liquid pearls, the orange one has some silver kindyglitz and ruby red liquid pearls, and last but not least, the littlest monster has a ruby red heart.

To finish off, I've added an offcut of red textured paper for a ribbon.

I'm entering this tag in this weeks theme at Tagalong Challenge

Thanks for looking and any comments are always appreciated (nice ones, of course) !

Happy crafting!

Southern Belle?

OK, now this is getting beyond even me - a second post for the day!

Over at CASology the theme is "Bells".  Now I don't think I own any 'bell' stamps at all and I haven't really seen any that really 'apeel' 'apeal' (hee hee) to me either, so I put on my 'thinking cap' and came up with this ....

Eeeeek !!!  Another blurry photo - sorry :-(

I thought maybe "Gooseneck" could play the part of a 'southern belle' with a bit of a modern twist, after all her dress is sort of  bell shaped.  She is stamped in Archival 'jet black' and coloured with watercolour pencils.

I'm entering her in this weeks CASology challenge.

Happy crafting!

Lost Dog!

With a different challenge but with a follow-on from yesterday's post, the little 'lost dog' has been found!  "Where?" you may ask - the answer is on Wicked Wednesday's challenge 'Spots & Stripes'.

He's just waiting to be picked up and taken home .......

Both the striped and spotted papers are from Kaisercraft "Christmas Carol" collection, with the letters also from Kaisercraft.  The little dog is watercoloured and fussy cut before being popped onto dimensionals.

I'm entering this ATC in this weeks Wicked Wednesday challenge.

My apologies for the slightly blurry photos, my current camera just doesn't do close-up very well - I really need to play with my new camera which has much better resolution.

Happy crafting!

Oooh, I like splats!

This morning was my last class at Alice in Paperland for the year, and I have that strange feeling of freedom and kicking up my heels.  Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy teaching classes, it's just that at this end of the year it's is nice to feel that you are winding down, but at the same time, more time to just play!

But, there are a few things that have to be finished this week or I will be letting people down and I definitely do not want to do that!   So, I have almost finished a Christmas Card Swap; and I have made 33 out of 40 card packs.  Each pack contains 4 cards and envelopes popped into a cellophane bag, which will have a length of curling ribbon wrapped around it for some festive cheer.   Our church has a 'Friendship Service' each month for the old folk who can't normally get to church any more.  A number of people pick them up from their homes, and drop them back again around lunchtime.  In December a Christmas lunch is put on for them, and it's nice to have a little something at each place setting, so this year it's a pack of cards, left blank inside and suitable for all sorts of occasions.

Of course, the other thing this week are the different challenges to get those creative juices flowing.  At Stampotique this week, the theme is "SPLAT".   Oooh, I like splats!!!

I started off with gesso, mixing some drops of yellow re-inker into it which produced a sort of pale apricot colour.  Then using 'cell theory' stencil and a spatular, added it to the tag and heat dried it.  I like the way the gesso starts to bubble when heated - it adds a bit more texture and interest.  Next I sponged on some 'peeled paint' and 'fired brick' Distress Ink in the white areas, spritzed with water and mopped off before drying again.

The "splat" comes from flicking Dylusions 'black marble' ink randomly across the tag.  "Every girl and her dog" (minus the dog, but come back again to see where he/she ended up) was stamped onto ivory cardstock, and again onto a leftover scrap of paper for her dress.  She was fussy cut and popped onto dimensionals before being attached to the tag, with a little piece of washi tape to ground her.

Another smidgeon of washi tape was added to the top and a folded length stapled on for the ribbon. The words are made up from Kaisercraft letter stickers.  Lastly the tag was adhered to a black mat.

This was so much FUN and without much thought, it all just fell into place.  Gee, I wish all my projects were this easy!!!

I'm entering this tag into this week's Stampotique challenge.
I'm also entering this tag in Craftstamper Make It Take It Challenge
Happy crafting!

Which clock needs winding?

Now this is definitely a first for me - two posts in one day!!!  I keep checking the different challenges each week and thinking "this week I'm going to enter ........" and before I know it, the week has wizzed past and I've missed the deadline again.

Over at Stampotique this week, the theme was "One Layer".  With this in mind and with some new stamps I started ....... and started again ....... and started yet again.  It's just NOT happening!

With a different stamp and background, this is what I came up with - definitely not what I originally had in mind, but for today the best I could do (big SIGH !).

I first stamped "Key Keeper" with Archival 'jet black'.  With Distress Inks in various colours, I sponged through "mini time travel" stencil so he appears to be surrounded in the clocks, wondering which one he should be winding first.

I did wonder whether I should colour him, but after the last couple of colouring attempts on the previous tag (which never made it) I decided I would just leave him as an outline.  It doesn't make a particularly colourful tag though, oh well!

The ribbon is a piece of scrap paper I had on the table, doubled over and stapled, and lightly sponged with black soot Distress Ink.   I was thinking of layering this on a black mat, but realised that it wouldn't be a one layer card if I did that, so instead edged the tag with black soot as well.

So, not my best attempt at a challenge, but it's done.  Do I still have time to enter the challenge though?

I'm entering this in this week's Stampotique challenge.

Happy crafting!
 

From Florence with Love

Today I thought I'd just share a quick post with an ATC, something I don't tend to make very often, but I came across a new challenge that is for ATC's only!  The theme this week is 'Anything Goes' so I had a play with a new stamp from Deep Red called 'Born to Ride'.

This was FUN!  She is such a quirky character riding around on her vesper with scarf and hair flying in the wind.    Two of my friends recently were travelling (separately) through Europe and this stamp just makes me think of them putt-putting along the cobblestoned streets of Rome? Florence? ...........?

The background is 'peeled paint' and 'stormy sky' Distress Inks, edged with 'black soot' for definition.

The lady (I think she should be called 'Flo' - short for Florence) was coloured using watercolour pencils.

I have a few more new stamps just waiting-in-the-wings to be played with, so I'll be back again soon.

I'm entering this ATC in this weeks challenge at Wicked Wednesday.

Happy crafting!

Tag-a-long Christmas

Well, I said I would try to be back here again soon, and well, here I am!  I didn't quite get around to playing with my new stamps but I did finish preparations for my class later in the week, complete with notes.

This set of tags uses Graphic 45 "Twelve Days of Christmas" stamps inked up in Archival 'Jet Black' ink with the backgrounds inked in 'Peeled Paint' and 'Fired Brick' Distress Inks.  Each bottom edge uses a line from Graphic 45 'joyeaux noelle' paper.  The tags are edged with Distress Inks and are finished with co-ordinating ribbon.

The box is a very simple style with lid and box all in one piece - a bit like a pizza box but rectangular and with deeper sides.  A length of ribbon finishes it off.

I've now also finished my class suggestions for next year, complete with description.  The question is though will I remember what I had in mind when the time comes to make samples for the classes?????

This Tag-a-long Christmas class is my last for the year, (breathing a sigh of relief, phew !!!) so let the play time commence ........

Happy crafting!

I'm all out of ideas (sigh...)

Sigh !!!  I've just realised it's been almost a week since I last posted, oh dear.  I'm very stop/start aren't I?  Three posts in a row followed by nothing!  Sorry about that, why do other things pop up and get in the way?

Today has been rather overcast with the rain falling around 5pm and is forecast to continue tomorrow as well.  Last night we had a thunderstorm, although we must have been on the edge of it as there was lots of lightening and thunder but the rain wasn't torrential.   I was watching the news tonight and other parts of Sydney had flash flooding as there was so much rain.  We certainly need rain but the slow steady variety is much more beneficial to the garden.

So, apart from doing Saturday washing and other chores, I spent the afternoon trying to come up with ideas for my classes in next year's program at Alice in Paperland.  I find by the time we get to November I'm all out of ideas and just want to play and catch up with my 'to do' list that seems to grow longer every year.  All those projects just waiting to be started (sigh !).  Oh well, there is always January and my mini holiday at my BFF's while the boys are away at camp and the cricket.  Gee, hope I'm invited expected again?

Tomorrow I'm going to try to squeeze in some play time so I can enter some challenges before they finish.  But if I miss out, there's always next week, hee hee!

 

AND my first order of Stampotique stamps arrived first thing last Tuesday morning and so far all I've done is drool over them all excited, so I think maybe I need to start with these.  I also bought a Christmas one when I was in Melbourne recently and I've been loaned two more Christmas ones so I've plenty to keep me occupied. 

I'll be back soon (I promise) and show you what I've been doing!

Happy crafting!
 

being fabulous

Ahhh, this morning we woke to the sound of RAIN, music to my ears, and although it has now stopped, it is much cooler outside today !!!

This is the third tag I've made using gesso and I thought I'd try out a new stencil I bought at the Paper Crafts Festival last week.   I started this tag by spritzing all over with Dylusion 'Lemon Zest' and heat dried it off.

I then added the gesso through the stencil and heat dried it as well.  I discovered as it heated that where it was thicker towards the ends, the heat makes it bubble and gives it a bit more texture, hmmm interesting, eh?

 After the gesso had finished drying, I gently rubbed 'Metallic Rub-ons' (red) over the bubbled ends and was quite happy with the result.

Next I stamped "Gooseneck" and "Kitty" onto ivory cardstock and coloured them with watercolour pencils before clear embossing.  I added a piece of black lace to Gooseneck's skirt and grounded her and Kitty with a bit of washi tape.

With the two leftover words from yesterday's tag, I coloured and blended them with watercolour pencils, and matted both with washi tape.  A bit more washi tape was doubled over and stapled to the top and to finish the tag off it was given a black mat.

My dabbling in gesso is definitely fun and is now firmly on my favourites list.

Happy crafting!
 

Today I Fly

I have to say that playing with Gesso is really fun, seeing what works and what doesn't, and how different colour mediums work too, so today I've been having a play with Distress Paints.

I started with the other tag that got smooshed together yesterday and decided I'd add Distress Paints to it.  Looked great until I blotted it with paper towel and then it faded somewhat.  So I heat dried it and added another layer of the same colours - better.  Again I heat dried it and added yet another layer - much better!

Next I added some 'metallic rub-ons' (in silver) that I've had in my stash for years and never really used, but this helped to highlight the veins left behind by the gesso.

I stamped "Karin" on ivory cardstock before colouring her with watercolour pencils - so easy to blend colours using pencils.  While looking for what else to add, I came across these wings from Graphic 45 "Steampunk Spells" and thought I'd let Karin fly.  Again the wings were coloured with watercolour pencils before clear embossing both images, cutting them out and mounting them on dimensionals.

The words came from Dylusions "say it how it is" and I added "today I fly".  To finish off, the tag was edged with black ink, a length of black lace added to the bottom edge and another piece threaded through the top.

I'll be back again tomorrow to show the third tag I was playing with.  As I said yesterday, this technique is shaping up to be added to my favourites list!!!


As an addition to yesterday's post, there was indeed another bush fire, but this time only a couple of suburbs away and very close to some friends, whose house is built on the edge of the bush.  Scary indeed!!!  And the predicted rain didn't come - it's now forecast for this afternoon but it doesn't look like it at the moment.  We really need some rain as everything is so dry, hopefully in the next couple of days - fingers crossed!

Happy crafting!

Remembering Mela

What a hot, smokey day it has been today.  There are obviously bush fires burning somewhere so I really hope the forecast rain makes an appearance tonight.  It's not even officially summer yet and we're experiencing the worst fires in years - already so many people have lost their homes in the Blue Mountains and further north on the coast.   All very sad, not a good start to summer at all.

Over at Stampotique this week, the theme is Using Gesso, so I hopped over to Sarinda's blog for a quick tutorial on how to use it - it is as easy as it looks - FUN, FUN, FUN !!!

So, how did I do it?  Firstly, start with a blank tag, swirl gesso all over it, then pop another tag on top, smoosh it together and peel the two tags apart, which leave veins.

Playing with Dylusion inks came next, using Lemon Zest, Squeezed Orange & Cherry Pie.  Using Archival 'Watering Can' I lightly stamped words and splodges from SU "French Foliage".

I stamped Mela onto a piece of ivory cardstock and coloured her using watercolour pencils, blending the green and blue together.  Her shoes are coloured using blue and the heart is purple, as are her arms and legs.  I then clear embossed her before cutting her out and popping her onto dimensionals.

The letter stickers are from Kaisercraft and for some reason the song "those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end ......." popped into my head, so there you have it!  To finish off, I've gone around the edges with Distress Ink 'black soot' and tied a spotty piece of washi tape to the top instead of ribbon.

Come back again soon and see what I did with the next gessoed tag.  This is definitely a fun technique to play with, it could even turn into one of my favourites!!!


I've entered this tag in Stampotique Designers Challenge - Using Gesso
and Tagalong Challenge - A Time to Remember

Thanks for looking and always enjoy reading your comments so long as they are nice ones!!!

Happy crafting!