End of year

Hello, and thank you very much for stopping by to visit me today. As the year is drawing to an end 

I thought I would share some of my makes from the year. 

This was my first make as a member of the Fiskarettes UK Design Team. I very much enjoyed my time on their team. 

I enjoyed making this card, I always enjoy using items from nature in my art. This card was made for Indigoblu 

I enjoyed being a Guest Designer for Crafty Individuals.

It took a lot of time and patience, but I stamped this flower onto real pressed rose petals. I also used real leaves to stamp the leaves onto

I love Lavinia Stamps, and I was thrilled when this card was featured in Craft Stamper.

The reason why I created this canvas is not very pleasant, the crafting world can be very nasty place... but I was thrilled when a magazine asked me if they could publish this canvas.

I look forward to hopefully being able to continue  to craft in the new year, I have a lot of serious health/ disability problems which  are getting worse and I am also developing new ones. 

Myself and my family are all under tremendous stress which is seriously affecting our health and well being. 

Heartfelt thanks to everyone who took the time to visit and leave a comment, I appreciate it very much. 

I wish my crafting friends and crafting visitors good health and happiness in 2019.May you have lots of time to enjoy your crafting.

I look forward to hopefully having new crafting adventures in 2019.

“Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality.”

Lewis Carroll

Snowy Winter Foxes

Hello and Happy December! How are all your Christmas plans going? I have started making lots of Christmas decorations and cards  so that of course means glitter everywhere!

I am sharing how to make this Snowy Winter Foxes scene over on the Indigoblu Blog today, I hope you can pop overl

I will be posting more Christmas Decorations and cards soon. It is a slow process creating them with my problems. I am now waiting for an MRI scan, and an ultrasound guided injection which will hopefully help the pain. Take care and have a magical December xxx

I would like to enter my Snowy Foxes scene into the following challenges.

Try It on a Tuesday Winter Wonderland 

That’s Crafty Winter Wonderland

Artistic Stamper Christmas

Lost coast Cold and Frosty

Actually I Can

Hello how are you today? I currently have my right arm in a splint, but I am thinking of ways that I can still craft! 

Today I am sharing this very, very heartfelt canvas, which I completed some time ago. I began by drawing a lady in a wheelchair and die cut her. I also die cut the words  “Actually I Can” I used a box canvas and created the background with  Distress Oxides. I also used several Indigoblu Stencils, the rose stencil is one of my very favourites, it is so gorgeous and easy to use! I used  Indigoblu stamps around the edges of the canvas. I stamped some of the larger images  onto copy paper -  tissue paper would have been better, but I did not have any so copy paper had to suffice!  I added some colour to the stamped images, and adhered them to the canvas. 

I stamped and fussy cut paintbrushes and pencils from the Indigoblu Art stamps range. I stood some of them up in little glass jars, and added the others as embellishments.

Artistic Stamper Round and Round lots of circles on my canvas 

Crafteezee Anything Goes 

Penny Black Make it Feminine

Stamps Stencils Anything goes

Craft stamper Anything Goes with stamps

Happy Little Stampers Die Cut Challenge

Love to Craft Anything Goes 

Not Just Cards Anything Goes

Art Journal Journey World of Fantasy

Emerging Butterfly Into Our Wonderful World

Did you see the lovely Kay on Hochanda tv yesterday?  They had some truly spectacular offers on the beautiful Indigoblu stamps ! If you missed the shows you can still watch them on Hochanda  tv online. I have written a little step by step incase anyone was interested in how I made the card shown above. 

 Butterflies are an excellent example that sometimes changes are good and can even be beautiful.

Indigoblu Stamps Used  :- Victorian Garden, Anemone and Daisy,   Live,Laugh,Love

Step 1.  I painted Warm Tan paint over my 7x7 watercolour card, while still wet I crumpled up some copy paper and patted it down onto the paper, which left lots of interesting creases and textures.

Step 2. Some thin plastic was next to be used to add some textures. I sponged some Olive waistcoat paint  over the crumpled plastic, and spritzed it with water before laying it down onto the watercolour paper and tapping my fingers lightly over it. It left  interesting patterns.I repeated this process using the Peppermint Tea paint

Step 3. I sketched the outline of a pupa shape and cut around it, and also cut a slit in the middle so the butterfly could escape.

Step 4. I then covered the pupa with texture paste. I used the side of a palette knife to score some markings on the pupa.When dry I painted it with Peppermint Tea, and Olive Waistcoat paints.

Step 5. After stamping and embossing  half of the butterfly in Black, I lightly added some colour to her using Grandmas Teacup and Lemon Meringue paints.I fussy cut the lovely butterfly and slotted her into the pupa.

Step 6. Black embossing powder outlined the flowers from the Anenome set and the leaves from the Live, Laugh,Love set very nicely, and I coloured them with the Marshmallow, Wimberry Pie and Pantry White paints. When dry I fussy cut all of the flowers and leaves. I then added some shape by curling the leaves and petals around a pokey tool,  which gives them a more natural look. 

Step 7. I stamped and embossed “Let Your Dreams Be” sentiment from the Victorian 

garden onto the background.I flicked several colours of paint over the picture to add some little dots of colour and interest. 

Step 8. As my blank card was white,  I edged the watercolour paper using a black ink pad so it would stand out nicely.

Step 9. A real twig was perfect to hold the leaves and the pupa.I used sticky foam pads to adhere the pupa, leaves, and the flowers which completed the picture.

Step 10. To make the card stand out when it landed through someone’s door, I Stamped some flowers onto the corner of the envelope. 

Thank you for visiting, I hope you managed to get some of these gorgeous stamps!

I would like to enter my Emerging Buttefly into the Craft Stamper Take It Make It  Challenge and the 

 Try It On A Tuesday Natures Beauty Challenge. 

My Blog Giveaway 

If you would like a chance to win and all of the goodies in the picture below just click here : )

Stamping on Rose Petals

I always seem to be finding pressed flowers inside of books, so I actually decided to carefully take them all out and lay them in a box  together. Some of my rose petals were quite large, and I wondered if I could stamp on them.... so I decided to experiment and the result is above it is all made from pressed rose petals and leaves. There are more details on the Indigoblu blog.

Peony

Thank you so much for visiting me today, I hope you are well, and are having fun crafting.

I would like to enter Stamping On Rose Petals into  the following challenges.

Craft Stamper Anything Goes

Noor Design Spring

We Love ToCreate Anything Goes

All Sorts Ladies Only

Dandelion Wishes

I am delighted and honoured to have been invited as a guest designer at A Vintage Journey.This month Amanda has chosen Watercolour as her theme.Which is of course my favourite colouring medium, it is very versatile and easy to use.Why not give it a try and join their challenge this month.

I created a background with my watercolours and stamped this gorgeous girl blowing a dandelion stamp by Crafty Individuals. I always love to use elements from nature with my projects, so I found some pressed gypsophlia to use for the blowing away dandelion seeds. I am always finding forgotten pressed flowers in between the pages of thick books, where I have pressed them many months or probably even years before!

I wrapped some threads around the base of the card and tucked some more gypsophlia between them.

I finished the card by edging it with black ink, and adhering the picture onto a scalloped edged card.

May all your wishes come true xxx

I would like to share this card with the following challenges.

Craft Stamper Anything Goes with Stamping

Artistic Stamper Anything Goes

Happy Little Stampers Watercolour Twist Bloom

Stamping Sensations Anything Goes

Emerald Creek Dares Anything Goes

CAS Watercolour Challenge Salt I used salt on the watercolour background.

Try It On A Tuesday In The Garden

Noors Designs Anything Goes

That's Crafty only Cards

 

By the Light of the Silvery Moon

Here is Mr Fox enjoying a full moon!

Thank you so much for visiting today.

I would like to enter this into the following challenges

Lavinia Stamps Full Moon

Sir Stampalot Animal Magic

Creative Inspirations Anything Goes

Penny Black Favourite Stamp

Happy 2017 from Aloysius and me!

This month the Indigoblu Design Team have been asked to use their favourite Indigoblu stamp, which is of course a difficult choice! As I am a teddy bear fan I just had to pick the famous Aloysius teddy from Brideshead Revisited.I was happy for an excuse to use my new Christmas watercolours to paint the background.More details about how I made this card can be found on the Indigoblu blog.

Aloysius is the most gorgeous bear and there are so many different cards, and gifts you could make with him!He has been in my stamp collection for some time I must bring him out to play more often : )

There is a fun challenge happening at Indigoblu at the moment with the theme of Snow Snow Snow. There are wonderful stamps to be won, so there is nothing to lose.... if you have Aloysius you could sit him in a fluffy pile of icy snow he would love that!

Thank you so much for visiting, I hope to see you again soon.

I would like to enter Aloysius into the following challenges

Artistic Stamper Anything Goes

Penny Black Anything Goes

That's Crafty Anything Goes

Little Patch of Crafty Friends Anything Goes

Happy Little Stamper Watercolour

Products used

 

Happy 2017

Healthy and Happy 2017 !

My year with The Mixed Media Mojo Design Team has concluded, and this is my final project.I used the White Rabbit from Alice for my first project, so I thought I would use him again for my final project.

I carefully removed a page from my old Alice in Wonderland book.In the bottom left hand corner I used super thick Slap it on through the Indigoblu Rose Stencil.

I stamped Alice and the White Rabbit onto card and bought them to life with watercolours, and fussy cut them.

I randomly stamped some clocks and also added 2016 and 2017. On the top of the page I stamped some cascading raindrops.

I added some glossy accents over the top of the raindrops.

 

When dry I coloured the Rose blue, and adhered Alice and the White Rabbit onto the book page.

Play along with Mixed Media Mojo Challenge this month the theme is New and the twist is Clocks. There is a whole new Design Team so be sure to pay them a visit.

Thank you for visiting, may you enjoy every day of the new year.

 

Altered Summertime Scrapbook Journal

Last year I found a guest book in the John Lewis sale. It had bright and cheerful beach huts on it, so of course I couldn't resist!

I decided to alter the guest book into a summer scrapbook journal.

I started by adding some texture paste to give the appearance of sand, and then I used watercolours over the top.

The girl is a Phyliss Harris stamp which I also coloured with water colours. I used some pink thread to create the flowing ribbons on her hat.

I glued some real shells onto the bottom of the cover, and finished by laying a ribbon down the side .

The inside pages all had titles on them, but these were easily covered with papers.

I hope I have inspired you to have some fun, and create something for this months challenge at Mixed Media Mojo which is "Summertime" and the Twist is Shells which you can use if you wish.

Join in the fun at Mixed Media Mojo

The Voice of The Sea Speaks to the Soul Mini Scrapbook

This months Challenge theme at Mixed Media Mojo is Summertime with a Twist of Shells. you do not have to use the twist if you don't want to, it's all about having fun!

I made this fairly simple 6 x 6 mini book for the theme. I will be adding a few notes and pictures about how I created it later this month.

I hope you will join in the fun this month.