Merry Christmas

Wishing everyone a very

MERRY CHRISTMAS

May you find peace & happiness as you celebrate

the birth of our Lord & Saviour

and find in Him true joy!

Happy Crafting!

 

Cats or Dogs

Cats or Dogs - I can't decide, eeek!

However, today I have gone with dogs which fits perfectly with this weeks challenge at Wicked Wednesday, and our sponsor is Sami Stamps.

I love these dogs, relaxing in the sun after playing 

(at least, that's the scenario in my head, anyway LOL).

I printed them three times so that I could layer them.  Each was coloured the same way using Prismacolor pencils.  The background is a snippet of cloud paper, the sun is a stamp and the foreground is washi tape.

Please pop over to Sami Stamps and have a look at all the gorgeous images.

As the team at Wicked Wednesday are taking a well deserved break, you have until 31st January to add your entry to this challenge.

Happy Crafting!

D is for Deer Family

It's starting to look a lot like Christmas

and what better present, then a family portrait.

The Deer Family

This week at Wicked Wednesday, the theme is

"Things that start with the letter 'D' "

and our sponsor is

Miezo

They all look a bit stunned, but perhaps it was just the flash from the camera going off? LOL!

I found a snippet of paper for the background and some wood grain paper which was perfect to make into a frame.  The little Deer family were each coloured, fussy cut and popped onto dimensionals.

Please go and browse all the goodies at Miezo and

join in the fun at Wicked Wednesday this week and you never know,

you could be a lucky winner!

Happy Crafting!

     

Winter Hats or Accessories

Winter Hats or Accessories?

Really?  Hmmm ..... not in my neck of the woods - just sayin'.

However, at Wicked Wednesday ATC Challenge this week,

it is definitely winter!

Our sponsor this week is Miss Rach so please pop over 

and have a look at all the gorgeous digi stamps on offer.

I really like this flamingo, although I'm thinking he is an arctic cousin to the usual pink variety, hehehe!

I coloured him with Prismacolor pencils, fussy cut him and popped him onto dimensionals.

Please join in the fun at Wicked Wednesday 

and you never know, you may be our weekly winner!

Happy Crafting!

Danger, Top Secret

"Science Geeks" is the theme this week at Wicked Wednesday 

and we are sponsored by Polka Doodles

As I couldn't decide which image I liked most, I chose to do two.

Which one do you prefer?

They were both coloured with Prismacolor pencils which when needed, blend beautifully.

Washi tape makes grounding an image so easy.

The words are stencilled on using 'pumice stone' Distress Ink.

Thank you for visiting.

Please pop over to Polka Doodles and have a look at all the delightful images on offer.

Happy Crafting!

 

Birthday Quilt

Birthdays always last for at least a week if not more,

so when I caught up with the birthday girl, 

not only did she receive a gift, but another card too!

Card front with belly band removed

 

This is a Twist & Pop Card which has a surprise mechanism inside.

 

Inside of opened card

 

As you close the card, the four panels concertina to close up neatly inside.

Close up of first two panels

 

The images on this card are watercoloured using Distress Inks in various colours.

Close up of last two panels

 

This is a fun card to construct and is easy to decorate.

Flannel knee quilt

 

And this is the gift I gave her, a cosy flannel quilt.

Although I chose the fabric, my BFF is a wiz with a needle and thread

and she kindly made the quilt for me - isn't it gorgeous?

Stamps

Stampendous - Whisper Friends

Stampendous - Mushrooms

Stampendous - Birthday Wish

 

Happy Crafting!

 

 

Alice in Wonderland

I always think a special person deserves an equally special card on the occasion of their birthday, so with this in mind, I made a Never-Ending card.

I haven't made one for a while, and it got me thinking about what images to use

as each of the panels aren't particularly big.  

I had decided I wanted to go with an "Alice in Wonderland" theme

and I found some digi stamps at Vera Lane Studio, 

that way I could resize the images for a perfect fit.

I also used stamps from other sources that fitted in with the theme.

Card front

After resizing the images I printed them onto cardstock and began the task of working out which image would go on which panel.  

First flip

For those of you who know how a never-ending card works, 

you will understand my 'first flip' caption.

Second flip

The images on the tiny panels are not digi but from various stamps.

Back of card

The top panel has been left blank for a birthday message to be written.

Stamps

Vera Lane Studio - 'Alice & Rabbit'
Vera Lane Studio - Quirky Queen of Hearts
Vera Lane Studio - 'Mad Hatter'

Stampendous - 'Birthday Wishes'

Stampendous - 'Whisper Friends'

Dylusions - 'Clearly Borders'

Stampotique - 'Catepillar'

Obsession Expression - B11030C

Lavinia Stamps - 'Hanging Lanterns'

Prima - Creating in Faith #980702

Visible Image - 'Cheshire Cat'

Gosh, I didn't realise how many different stamp companies contributed to the making of this card.  If you wish to know where a specific image comes from, please leave a message and I'll try to get back to you.

Happy Birthday, Gorgeous Girl!

Happy Crafting!

Cinderella

This week's theme at Wicked Wednesday is

"Cinderella"

sponsored by Concetta Kilmer

She is coloured with a combination of Prismacolor and metallic pencils.

I fussy cut around the image, found a snippet of background paper and popped her onto dimensionals.  A quick doodle around the border and she is ready to go to the Ball!

If you would like to see more Concetta Kilmer designs, please click on the above link.

Happy Crafting!

Journey's end - Weeks 10-12

If you have been following the Build-a-Tag journey,

you will be happy to know that by the time you scroll to the bottom,

it will have come to an end.

(Phew!  What a relief!  [I hear you say] )

Week 10

Cut out and adhere a main focal image to your tag.

This can be drawn, stamped, collaged, downloaded or cut from a book/magazine.

I'm not sure that these images are my main focal point,

however, they are in the foreground.

Tag 1 - mushrooms

Tag 2 - hare

Week 11

Add doodles, marks and/or embellishments

The mushrooms and hare were outlined using a white sharpie pen.

Tag 1

There are more white dots doodled on the lady's necklace and in the spokes of the stencilled layer.

Tag 2

Oops!  I obviously forgot to take a photo of the extra doodles, but you'll see them in Week 12.

Week 12

Find a word in a book or magazine to attach to your image.

The tags are now finished, complete with words.

Tag 1

I came across 'ghostly greetings' and thought it very appropriate 

as the lady certainly has a ghost-like appearance.

Tag 2

Perhaps this girl is a 'dreamer' as the hare dashes across her path.

So, there you have it - 12 weeks of Build-a-Tag finished.

What do you think?

It was a bit out of my comfort zone as I usually do more clean & simple,

but I'm really happy with the completed tags.

Hopefully, it will give me more confidence in my creative journey.

Happy Crafting!

Fast tracking weeks 7-9

The fast-tracked journey is almost over, so bare with me just a little longer.

Week 7

Add more stencilled layers

To add more texture to the tags, I used Ferro "Graphite" by Viva.  

This is a gritty paste and once dried it has quite a rough feel.

Tag 1

As there was plenty of space on this tag, I was happy to use a slightly bigger stencil.

Tag 2

The butterflies seemed a perfect fit for this tag.

Week 8

Use clear gesso to completely cover your tag

The clear gesso leaves a rough feel on the tags.

Week 9

Stamp one or more images across your tag 

I didn't want to cover too much so used a narrow border stamp, 

which also grounds both girls.

Tag 1

Tag 2

What do you think so far?

Please feel free to leave a comment and come back again tomorrow
for the final installment of the "Build-a-Tag" journey.

Happy Crafting!

Next installment - week 5-6

Welcome back ..... 

Week 5

Add a layer of translucent paint

This step had me a bit stumped.  I liked my tags as they were from Week 4 and wasn't sure about covering them in a layer of paint.  

However, after thinking about it, I decided I'd use some Art Alchemy acrylic paint called 

"Opal Magic Violet-Green"

This paint has a definite purple/violet appearance while still allowing what is underneath to be seen.

It's a bit hard to seen the sheen, but it is certainly there.

Tag 1

Tag 2

..... and now on to the next week.

Week 6

Spray or drip a contrasting colour of paint or ink

across/down the tag

I wasn't too sure about this step as I didn't want to cover over the girls, so after thinking about it, I decided to puff some Ken Oliver Color Burst powder paint in 'Orange' on the top of the tag, spritz it with water and let it run down the tag.

Tag 1

Tag 2

Pop back tomorrow when I'll add weeks 7 - 9.

Happy Crafting!

The journey continues - weeks 3 & 4

..... and so the journey continues.

Week 3

Press modelling gel/grunge paste through stencil of choice

For this step, I chose to use Modellier Creme 'Mother of Pearl Champagner' by Viva
as it has a lovely sheen to it as well as adding more interest.

Tag 1

Tag 2

It's starting to look interesting seeing the different layers being added.

Week 4

Add some collage with matte/gloss medium, or your preferred glue.

Add a layer of matte medium over the top the collage pieces.

A while back, I was given some collage sheets but wasn't sure where to use them.
These two girls were the perfect choice for these tags.

Tag 1

Tag 2

I was really pleased with how the tags were coming along, and there is a definite favourite emerging.

I'll be back tomorrow with Weeks 5 & 6, so please come and have a look.

Happy Crafting!

I've been on a journey

I've been on a journey ......

a journey that started with a blank tag 

that has lasted 12 weeks and has now come to an end.

Around the beginning of September, I joined a facebook group, 

which was just about to start a weekly journey called "Build-a-Tag".  

It sounded interesting and I decided I wanted to play along.

I hope you'll join me as I go through each week 

and be inspired to create something which may be outside your comfort zone!

Week 1

Create a tag, any size.  Add one layer of gesso, when dry, add one colour.

Tag 1 - white gesso

Tag 2 - black gesso

As I had no idea where this journey was going, I decided to play with two tags, one gessoed white and one black.  I would use the same colours and follow each step for both.

Tag 1 - add colour

Tag 2 - add colour

I was really not sure where this was heading, but I guess that's sometimes part of the journey.

Week 2

Add a further paint colour to your tag and while it is still wet, draw or write into it with the end of a paintbrush or pencil.

Tag 1 - second colour

Tag 2 - second colour

Until this step, I thought I preferred Tag 1 but now I'm not so sure.

Please come back tomorrow and see where weeks 3 & 4 take me.

Happy Crafting!