MERRY CHRISTMAS

to all my christams crafty friends - i hope you all have a fantastic christmas and wish you all the best for 2012. I will update this blog after the festive season

Its been a while.......

since i last blogged, but yet again family life has taken over. As you know the bramford crop girls do a monthly challenge and this is my take on this months. Janina gave us each 3 wooden tags to decorate. So i painted the house and tree shape, used my papertrey ink stamps on the house, plus the dies that match on the house made star. Made a wreath using a punch and some letter stickers and then joined the pieces together to make a hanging decoration The bramford crop girls are doing a secret Santa so i made a box for a few bits to go in. Plus I'm entering this in the Tando Challenge of BLUE and BROWN, I have used my minds eye papers. simple stories stamp, T/H deer die, papertrey ink flower die and sentiment.

This is the side view

Hope my secret Santa likes her box.

bramford challenge using stampotique and octopede factory stamps

This month Janet gave us 3 house blanks cut from chipboard using the T/H die. I decided to join them together, the lager in the middle and the smaller on either side. The theme of Halloween was picked and this is what i came up with. Blanks were covered in graphic 45 alice in wonderland papers. I then distressed them with old book paper, splashes of dylusions black dye, T/H black and peeled paint distress ink. I used waltzing mouse cameo stamp and pressed into lightweight clay on one of the smaller pieces painted the outside black, and added some crackle glaze and once dry sponged on peeled paint distress ink. Some hanging frames from the new pink paislee stamps and stitched to give dimension. The middle house i stamped my octopede factory stamp on the orange graphic 45 paper and coloured in using colouring pencils and stamped a chandelier at the top the last house i stamped the heads directly on to the paper and when looked at them closely they reminded me of tombstones so i added an RIP to one of them and then made a picket fence with the T/H alterations on the edge die. Tissue tape was used to make the hinges to keep the 3 houses together

bramford crop challenge

this months challenge at the bramford was a small box and a coaster. Janet gave us each a oval box, which i looked at for ages in its naked form and after much deliberation i bravely cut the lid. I wanted it to look like a little treasure box so i painted with fresco paints and crackle paint to give a shabby look. The lid top was also painted and used as the base. it was then stamped with a text stamp and T/H birds. I then stamped the girls in shrink plastic and coloured it in with pencils and whilst shrinking curled the edges. Added shells and a small bottle with the message of 'friends' inside. The coaster was given to each of us by janina, I used scraps of MME papers, lace, formed roses and bling. The cameo i made from super light weight clay, which i stamped a waltzing mouse stamp in. One of there DT had done it and it looked cool so i had to by the stamps and give it a go. The clay took ages to dry, but once dry added it to my coater to give a vintage feel.

another mini book

This is a project i have been working on for a few weeks now and i have only just finished it. Some good friends of ours got married at a local hotel, and although we were not invited to the whole day, we were able to get some out door pics and pics of there evening reception. As a crafter i tend to like making something to that celebrates the occasion rather than handing over a disc of photos. If you look close up you can see that i have used 2 inch scrapbooking rings, and yes i made the book from scratch, using chipboard and MME papers. The stamp is one i bought from the USA ages ago and always comes out for wedding projects.

at least 5 of the pages use base white card and patterned paper over the top. But as you can see, from the next two pics i bought some black envelopes from a large stationers and cut them in half to make pockets for the some of the other photos taken and

added tabs to pull out each section. Of course all the edges of the paper were distressed with Tim Holtz distress ink, and the sewing machine came out. This has worked out well because i was able to add more pictures than i would normally. I have done brag books in the past but you can only put 10 pics in and i had more than 10.

I do hope they like there little memento of there special day.

the crop challege and a day crafting

each month a group of us set ourselves a challenge to make a piece of altered art. The last couple of months carol has given us items to alter, jenga pieces, a domino and a puzzle piece. So this month i gave everyone a 2 inch bottle cap And this is what i have come up with. I don't think its quite finished. The small frame is painted in fresco guacamole, crackle and snow white fresco paint. The crackle gives it a shabby chic look. I also painted my maya rd chipboard dress form and wings in the same way. The text on the frame is a Tim Holtz stamp, the button and saying are from papertrey ink stamp set.
I also attended crop just outside woodbridge today and i enjoyed it. The hall was a really good size so there was plenty of room to spread out and all the girls were very welcoming. I got a page layout done and spent time on this bottle cap piece.

Tando creative challenge

Tando creative have a challenge on there blog and the the theme is GO WILD. My first thought was an animal in a cage, but i had a stampotique stamp i hadn't used and decided to go with the title wild child. The house is from a Tim Holtz die covered in graphic 45 paper, distressed with Tim Holtz black distress ink and mini stamp. I then cut an aperture and snipped with decorative scissors and the cage made from wire my title was made with my dynamo machine and then a bat added to the top of the house. Check out the tando creative blog DT for there take on the challenge.

back from holiday

Got back from my holiday and so not a great deal of crafting has been done. It seems to be that when you get back from a holiday you need another to sort out all the washing. We went camping in north Norfolk, we had relatively good weather with a couple of rain storms. The week we got back it was our little boys birthday so there was loads of wrapping of parcels, organising party bags and of course baking for the party on the Saturday, and to top that the brownies were on pack holiday so for two evenings (the same weekend) i helped get them organised with there beds and support my other guider who was spending the whole weekend with them.

But i have had time to make a birthday gift for one of my crafting friends. I bought a paper mache suit case from a local craft fair at Bramford. Used wild honey distress stain on it and brushed corduroy distress ink. I painted some chipboard with paperartsy fresco paint and stamped my newly purchased phrenology stamp on to it and cut it out. Coloured it in with DI's and added the large eyes (stamps used were from Wendy vecchi). I cut out a butterfly stamped some polka dots on it and made a rolled flowered rose from Graphic 45 paper. The rose ribbon is from maya rd and the number token i found at the same local craft fair. Finally a stamp added.

fathers day cards and altered art

As you know today is fathers day so i made two cards one for DH and the other for my Dad. The photograph card is for DH, using some old paper i had in my stash. The other is made from crate paper toy box collection, a spellbinder die was used to make the lip of an envelope, a button and the stamps used are from papertrey ink. Next is a couple of pieces of altered art. My friend carol gave us two challenges a domino and a puzzle piece. Originally i painted the domino but then decided to cover it in graphic 45 steampunk paper. Embellished this with Tim holtz stamps (i got from a qvc tsv) added a butterfly and a pen nib. I then cut out a house shape with a TH alterations die, covered this in paper, and stamped images and text from the TH stamps and 7 Gypsies stamps and the gave it a coat of glossy accents. The puzzle piece uses graphic 45 Alice papers, a squashed bottle top which i have tried to make into a fob watch, using patterned papers, an acetate watch image, TH spinner and watch piece and bead. I have then stamped an Alice image on to paper and adhered to puzzle piece. Stamped do not disturb ( from my 7 gypsies set) and again coated in a layer of glue.

box and card, plus a layout

First up is a card and a pillow box made for a friends birthday. All the paper used is from crate paper's emmas shoppe. I have used a spell binders die to make the pillow box lip and i also recreated this on the card to give it an envelope feel. I have used a die-namics rose die to make the small rose on the bottom and then added some bling to give it a bit of sparkle. The dies are a thin steel die and will go through a big shot or cuttle bug machine. You then just roll it and it makes a little rose.

This is the page i was working on at the last papermaze crop. I have used some bright paint to make a border around the edges and some paint splodges. I then stitched a border in black thread. The paper used is from Cosmo Cricket and it a really old line but i love the bright colours. I still think there is something missing from this page, i keep looking at it and I'm not quite happy with it.

Nat and Dans wedding gift

Its been along time since i blogged so i thought i would show you what i have been up to. I recently attended a work colleague's wedding reception and as you can see from the post below i made her a card. So i thought i would make her a keepsake box,a brag book and a envelope to put photos in. I found a kraft box from paperchase and decided that i would paint it with paperartsy fresco paint (not that you can see much of that from the photo). This is one of the best paints on the market, it has a chalky finish making it great for a shabby chic look. I then covered the box in MME patterened paper used the T/H book plate to make an emblishment containing the date and the left over oval is used on the handle. Then made aflower with T/H tattered floral die and some smaller punched flowers around the large flower. Tags, buttons, a pin, ribbon, rub-ons and bling. The wedding couple is a stamp i have had for a long time that i use timeand time agian on wedding cards. I then coated the top of the box in modge podge, which in fact sealed the glitter on the paper.

Here is a pic of the cover of the brag book and an envelope decorated and this contains photos i didn't use in the book. The large butterfly is a sizzix die

This is one of the pages. It concertinas out and make a total of ten pages to decorate. Again i used MME paper, and some stickers and stamps.

On the first page i have made some roses out of a martha stewart flower punch and a circle punch. You cut the circle to make an open wheel and roll it up to make a rose. I have also used tags and stiched each of the pages

Then the final pages i turned my images in to black and white. Used papertrey ink die to cut the butterflies. Added rub-on's and found the lyrics to the first dance and printed these on t a trancparancey.

I hope she likes it ..... Hopefully i should be able to show you some pages and cards that i have been doing. I promise i will be a better blogger

a card and an altered art challenge

this card has been made for a work friend that gets married in may. Paper used is from my minds eye. The small butterflies were cut from a paper tray ink die and stitched through the middle. The large butterfly is a sizzix die and the flower is from a paper pack of flowers. I have used some Tim holtz tissue tape and lace as a border. Her theme is butterflies and blue for her wedding so that's why i have come up with a vintage shabby look.
Finally a friend that i go to the Bramford crop with set an altered art challenge. She gave each of 3 small jenga pieces. Originally i had it in mind to do a trip tic, but after i painted then with the snowflake fresco paint from paper artsy i decided to attach them together with T/H tissue tape.

I found some old 7 gypsies paper and painted it with the fresco paint and then stamped my image on the top, made a frame from chipboard, painted and then stamped with a text stamp
I set the image in the frame and covered it with beeswax and buffed, small watch parts were added and distress inks and stains to the edges to add splash of colour.

On the back i added distress inks and stains. Stamped a pattern to the edges and stamped my watches on to patterned paper. Adhered to the block, used beeswax to give an opaque finish and watch parts for dimension

the top is again watch parts with small beads placed on the top and wire connecting them together.

blog give away

Happy daze are having a blog give away pop on over see what they have made and make a comment you could be in with a chance to win a voucher There blog is: happydazedesignteam.blogspot.com

WMS case competition

Waltzing Mouse Stamps have been show casing there latest stamps, with the DT coming up with projects and cards over the last 4 days. I'm totally in love with Mona Pendletons work, not only does she make totally gorgeous cards and layouts with the stamps and spellbinders dies, but she also comes up with some fabby home decor pieces. When saw what she did on day one, i just had to use it as inspiration and made this card. The papers are all from my minds eye and the heart in the middle is from a waltzing mouse stamp set. I crimpled the text paper with paper crimper, used a punch to add a frilly edge to my heart and brad to my ribbon.

apologies,car boot find, cards and 1 layout

i apologise, its been along time since i last blogged. Life has just taken over which has left very little time to craft and update my blog. Firstly the cards and layout, the 40th birthday card is made with the new crate paper line and paper trey ink stamps and number dies. The baby girl card is for a friend at work who is due to have a baby girl in June. The paper is from k and company and the pram is made from a scalloped circle and circle punch and some wire, and finally machine stitched to add texture. The layout was inspire from Emma Trouts blog. I love her work and its totally outside my comfort zone. I Love the pic, but i still think there is something missing from it. I have used a selection of Websters pages, ribbon, stickers, tags, stamps and a metal embellishment from 7 gypsies

Finally my car boot find. I'm so going to love altering this and it only cost me £10. I love the handle, a little clean up, some well placed photos and this could make a fab addition to the hall.

What do you think

hi all

Lou Collins is having a blog candy give away on her blog. If you haven't seen her work, I'll tell you now its outstanding and well worth taking a look at, so take a look at her blog http://aprettypaperandchipboard.blogspot.com and become a follower

PTI buttons

PTI have a challenge on using buttons on a project and this is my take on it. I love the pic of my little boy playing with his duplo bricks and wanted to circles. When i finally got the effect i wanted with my paper circles i machine stitched in place and used bright coloured buttons as dimensional accents

Its been such a long time,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

since i have posted anything, so i thought i would update you all. In December i entered a layout competition at Sarah's cards blog and i won. They asked if i would do a layout for the next challenge with the theme being 2010 and multiple photo's and this is what i came up with



I have used lots of 2inch by 3 inch photos, in colour and black and white and layed them on my page to make a modern frame after i misted my white page with black dye mist. Stitched around the edge and added small patterned paper. The bird cage is from tando and the bird is a spellbinders die. Now this week i finally got to do some crafting and the Bramford crop sets an ATC challenge and this month theme is "LOVE" I had two ideas in my head. The first was the heart with wings and a crown. I painted my ATC and then covered it in rock candy distress crackle, stitched a fabric panel and ribbon to add texture and cut out my shaped from spell binder die and adhered to the centre of the ATC. The crown and wings were cut out of grunge board from my cricket using the indie cart. The heart is a Heidi Swap stamp (i think???) stamped on to card stock and covered in glossy accents and a small tag added to the bottom of the ATC.

For my second ATC my base was some canvas which i misted with stream dye ink and sunflower glimmer mist. I knew i wanted a bird cage on this one so i made one from scratch using a small pair of pliers and brown wire. This took simply ages to make. I used a paperarsty branch stamp and colored in my leaves with a green promarker added a small tag that i stamped with love and then stitched around the edge. I adhered the frame to the ATC with super glue. Cut out my birds on the cricket (home accents) painted and adhered to frame. Cut out heart, painted covered in rock candy distress crackle and placed in the centre of the frame.

Happy new year

I want to wish all my crafty friends a happy 2011. As the new year is here i have made a resolution to sort out my crafty bits and sell my excess paper. I have very little time to craft and as my little one gets older i will have less time, so i think its time to de-clutter and reorganise, plus I'm going to try to make things for myself rather than others ( although i have been asked to make a couple of things for friends that are getting married). On a sad note one of the blogs i regularly visit is closing down. I just want to say that SCD made me think outside the box, it has enabled me to be brave, use different mediums and has been an inspiration. I would like to wish the DT luck in any new ventures in 2011 and a big thankyou for there hard work.