Thursday 28 February 2013

Another of my favourite stamps...

This Clarity stamp was on my wish list for ages, after seeing Maria Simms' and Jo Rice's cards made with it. When I finally got it I was not disappointed and this is the first card I made with it:




Again this is such an easy stamp to use as Barbara Gray has done the work putting the montage together. I stamped the butterfly montage stamp on some card, tore the edges and inked with antique linen distress ink. Then stamped it again and just cut around the butterfly tag and butterfly, to top it off I stamped the butterfly section twice on vellum, coloured from the back and decoupage them up. I saw that the tag had  a spriggy leaf design which I also had as a seperate stamp so I stamped with Perfect Medium added clear embossing powder & heated to make a subtle background. A bit of matting and layering and a button threaded with a bit of thin twine and it was done. I was quite pleased with the result ... bye for now Annie x

Ooh watch out for tomorrow's post ... I'm a little bit excited :)

Monday 25 February 2013

Gift Bags

It's been a busy weekend, but I still found time to fit some crafting in,
 
 
 
 
Kate, my youngest grandaughter loves buying gifs for her friends' birthdays, she is very imaginative when it comes to buying gifts. Anyway she was staying with us over the weekend  so when  it came to discussing how she was going to pack them, I suddenly remembered the prototypes I had made for the Fussy & Fancy Challenge. These were two of the better ones, several others went into the bin. Main thing is Kate was pleased with them x
 
Hoping to get some crafting in this afternoon  I have a stamp that I really want to have a play with... it's not even a new one just one that was on my wish list for ages ...so that could be tomorrow's post.
Bye for now x

Saturday 23 February 2013

Indigoblu Challenge

Hey what an exciting day .. Thursday 21st Indigobu announce their new challenge 'Forever 21' and the 1st challenge is.... 'Blue' I'm off to look at my indigoblu stamps. Several attempts later this is what I came up with:





closeup of flowers



insert
 
I used the Blazing Poppies stamp for my topper, originally I had  stamped and coloured with promarkers then I decided to experiment with vellum stamped with Perfect Medium and embossed in silver, I coloured from the rear with oil pastel and white spirit, I snipped into the petals and shaped them gently. I diecut  my image with a lacey edged oval and pieced another oval behind it. Two tiny butterflies were stamped and cut out from Indigoblu stamp

I made my background by stamping various flowers from the 'Live, Laugh ,Love' set using perfect medium and embossed with clear powder, masked them added bits of honeycomb stamp then brayered with various blue distress inks. Parts of  Love, Laugh, Love sentiment were stamped and diecut. I finished off with a silver raffia bow and a gem.

Inside I stamped Blazing Poppies again and the full Live Laugh Love sentiment.

Think this is going to be  design for my Mum in Law's Mother's Day card

Hope you like it now to link it to the challenge page

Bye for now x Annie

Wednesday 20 February 2013

A Little Gift Bag

 
Today's post is of a gift bag I made for the Fussy & Fancy Friday challenge, again I left it late but this is what I eventually came up with
 
 
 



 
The main body of the bag was made using Papermania's 'Vintage Notes' papers which has a lovely fabric texture and printed with various hearts in lovely subtle vintage colours.
 
I used this clever tutorial http://howaboutorange.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/how-to-make-gift-bags-from-newspaper.html their original was made using a newspaper which is quite fun
 
I cut the background mat  using  the largest of Spellbinders Resplendent Rectangles, I then stamped Indigoblu's Blazing Poppies on some cream card and cut it out using Xcut heart die, flowers were then coloured in using Distress Ink pens. The sentiment is from Creative Expressions cut out using  the slightly smaller X heart die. Flowers were made with Bitty Blossoms Spellbinder's dies.These elements were then attached using foam tape to give a bit of dimension. I kept the tag quite simple cutting a heart shape and stamping it with Clarity 'with love' stamp I then made a frame for it with cream card which I raised on foam pads before adding some pink gems.
 
 
 

 
 
Now I am going to enter it into the challenge @ http://fussyandfancychallenge.blogspot.co.uk
 
Aw I have lost a whole afternoon playing with this project ... it will be  a quick tea tonight
 
Right that's all for now Thanks for looking
Annie xx
 

Thursday 14 February 2013

Happy Birthdays ... all 5 of them !!

I have been so busy over the last couple of weeks as I have 5 birthdays to make cards for 3 for the 14th 1for 15th and 1 for  16th.  As my mojo has up and left me I was very thankful to have found Papermania Vintage Notes . .a lovely kit  especially for ladies of a certain age. So Happy Birthday to all the recipients of these cards hope you like them
The  first card to be made was for my Mother in Law who was 92 today. As her eyesight is not to good I wanted to make quite a 'touchy feely' sort of card and here it is, a few spellbinders later and I was done. Mum in Law has phoned to say she has received her card and she loved it and knew immediately who it was from !!


Having completed this one I was on a bit of a roll and I batch made three smaller variations on a theme for 3 of my ladies cards:

 
 
My next door neighbour seemed well pleased with hers when she caught me popping it through her letterbox this morning.

The last one is a complete contrast ... a card for my sport mad grandson Sion, I really thought hard about this one and when I saw this kanban background paper had orange & turquoise splodges on it  I knew I had to use it because he has a fave tshirt in those colours!!
So Happy Birthday Sion for your birthday on Saturday:

 
So that's that panic over for a few weeks, phew thank goodness i can get back to crafting playtime....
Annie

Tuesday 12 February 2013

My Granddaughter's Primark Pumps!!

Sorry I haven't posted for a couple of days but February is a very busy time as I have 5 birthdays on the 14th, 15th & 16th .. I finally completed the last card today, just in the nick of time. Right back to business ...you may think what's that title all about?
Well last night my eldest granddaughter, Rhiannon who is studying illustration at Hereford College of Arts posted a photo on FaceBook of a little doodling project she had started as a bit of fun ..nothing  to do with her coursework. Because she had used a form of doodling called Zentangle I asked if I could share the photo with some of my crafty friends on Facebook many of whom are fans of Barbara Gray who first introduced us to zentagling on one of her tv shows on Create & Craft. Barbara had explained she used to doodle to relieve stress headaches and had been surprised to find that these doodles were called Zentangles and popular worldwide & on the Web.
Well as a result of putting the original pics out there Rhiannon was so chuffed to recieve over 50 likes and many lovely comments including a couple from Barbara Gray herself.
Tonight the project was completed and I am posting the pictures up here because I think the end result is pretty amazing,  I know I am biased .... but that's how nana's are xx  Already these last pics have resulted in a flurry of  Likes and Comments, its good to encourage talent in young people so very many thanks to everyone who took the time to do so ...when I spoke to her yesterday she was so encouraged that she said she was going to go back to Primark to buy some more pumps  I had also advised her not to wear these works of art ... especially in the rain!! :) thanks for allowing me to be a doting Nana, that's all for now ..xx Annie

Saturday 9 February 2013

Tick Tock (IndigoBlu)



This is my second IndigoBlu project.

Ever since I can remember I have been fascinated by clocks  probably something to do with the fact that as a child I spent hours watching my dear Taid (Welsh for Grandfather) pulling clocks apart and then putting them back together again. So when Kay Halliwell Sutton launched this clock kit at the CHA in America I was thrilled at the idea that I could make my own clock ... and here it is...not perfect but all my own work and it keeps good time.

The demo Kay did was excellent she explained that it was well worth making  cardboard templates for positioning the figures and the rings and this did make everything so much easier.

Having primed the MDF cog with gessso and painted it with acrylic paint, the fun bit was the actual stamping. The rose and the cogs were stamped first and having masked them I drew the inner rings in place with a fineline marker. The Roman Numerals for 12 , 6, 3 & 9 were stamped with IndigoBlu Flitter glue and gilding flakes applied ...it looked a bit of a mess until I buffed off the final bits of flake and then wow what a buzz !! finally added the marker stamp instead of the other figures and a bit of stamping with the crackle stamp. Then added the mechanism, fingers & batteries and I had my own clock.

I have to admit this has been one of the most satisfying projects to do and it is much easier than it looks.
That's it for today time to go and make some tea ...till next time xx Annie

Thursday 7 February 2013

My entry for Fussy & Fancy Challenge - Circles




Oops just realised the deadline for the Fussy and Fancy Friday Challenge is just over an hour away so here goes:

Next to stamping my favourite papercrafting has to be making cards with Spellbinders, so when I saw the challenge was 'Circles ' my first thought was which spellbinders shall I use?

I started by making the  background  using Spellbinders M-Bossibilities Garden Trellis folder(design B).Then the base of the circles was cut using the smallest of the Grand Decorative circles which was then topped off with a couple of layers of Exquisite Circles dies. I finished it off  with three roses cut with Bitty Blossoms dies and some die cut leaves and a couple of swirls and a butterfly.

So there it is card all made now just to work out how to upload it and link to challenge blog. everything crossed bye for now x Annie

I am entering this card into challenge 81 'Circles' @  http://fussyandfancychallenge.blogspot.co.uk

Something Very Different


I had bought this papier mache mannequin sometime ago with a view to just painting it and then I saw Kay from IndigoBlu demonstrating how to stamp onto 3ply mansize tissue hankys strip down to 1 ply and then brush 'Slap it on' or pva onto the papier mache shape put the stamped 1ply tissue onto  the shape and gently brush over lightly with more pva to secure  into place. Keep adding patches of 1ply till it is covered. Any wrinkles in the paper disappear as it dries.
Before doing this technique the bare mannequin was painted with gesso to prime it and then painted with acrylic paint. It really is a lovely technique and when the trimmings are added the end result is really pretty.

This technique enables you to stamp onto curved and shaped pieces which opens up a whole new world. I have a cardboard box full of boxes I have bought with a view to 'altering' them.... one day the'll get done too so watch this space!!! but don't hold your breath.
That is it for today... think maybe more from IndigoBlu tomorrow so till then xxx Annie


Steampunky but girly

 
 
This card took me right out of my comfort zone it was made for my eldest granddaughter's 20th birthday... it was very much inspired by Sam Poole's work in fact the mannequin with wings is her stamp. There is lots of texture in here that doesn't show up well in this photo. The background was made by mistingcosmic shimmer through a mask, then spellbinders filigree trellis was torn and put on. A couple of clockfaces and cogs and a butterfly with nib body were used. Wings were restamped on angelina film and attached,  Flowers made from some dictionary pages were made and stuck on. It's what I call one of my 'pizza' cards where loads of toppings are put (thrown on). I was quite pleased with end result and Rhiannon loved it which is the main thing.
I wanted to do something different and special for her because it was her first Birthday spent away from her friends and family because she was in her first term at College.
This is what I love about making cards you can tailor them for the person .... even if it's only their fave colour or sport or hobby. The only thing is once you start giving them to people and then one time you have to give a bought one for whatever reason they look at you as if to say oh you didn't make me one this year? and I feel so guilty.
Well that's it for tonight my bed is calling me at least the wind has dropped so hopefully we'll all get some rest tonight. so  good night, sleep tight xx Annie

Wednesday 6 February 2013

Snowed In




After getting this Letters set of Clarity Stamps I was putting words on everything, but this was my favourite one based on what we had seen Barbara demo.
The image of the cottage and trees is a complete stamp and I felt it was a cheat just using 1 stamp, so I sponged in some humps of snow in the foreground and still felt I needed to do more.. thats when I remembered my fave little lab silhouette stamp from the Home framer set. Having placed him behind one of the piles of snow I was quite please with the result.
I brayered  the background  and then the tricky bit working out placement of the letters, originally I was going to title it  'Homeward Bound' but I opted for the easier option of 'Snowed In'. I worked out where to place my letters using the topper I had made...the aim is that the letter blocks will hold the topper by cutting slots under the letters.
Once I had got the letters in place I finished off the backgroundwith a fluttering of Clarity snowflakes, cut the slots and put my topper in place. I was pleased with the response I got when i put this pic up on facebook.
Snow looks pretty on a card but I believe many parts of the country are coping with the hazards of snow again today so I hope everyone keeps safe if they are affected. Here in Wales we have biting cold winds from the Artic which have kept us awake howling round our roof. Never mind the noise of a bit of wind won't stop me going into my crafty attic to while away a few hours because there is a card to be made for my grandson Sion's birthday ..... now where has my Mojo gone .... always seems to disappear when I have a masculine card to do .....bye for now Annie xx

Tuesday 5 February 2013

Back to the Beginning




Todays post goes right back to the beginning , when I first discovered Clarity Stamps when my sister casually said 'Have you ever seen Barbara Gray's stamping shows on Create & Craft .. I started watching and was hooked... I have quite a collection of her stamps now and still use them regularly.

 These were two samples of my homework for Barbara Gray's Clarity Classroom Lesson 1 Corner Berry stamps pattern building

 

....it seems so long ago now but I can remember being so chuffed when they were shown on Create & Craft and Barbara commented on them.
 


 
 
This was another of my Clarity classroom homework samples ... it was made using the Joy Framer and miniature stamp set, it was the first time I had used self adhesive acetate sheets with gilding flakes.
 
Well I have been longer than I should have been, sat at my computer today.. but this is what happenswhen I come up here to my crafty den... hours pass and suddenly I get a shout from downstairs 'What's for tea' and I am back to reality having lost a couple or three hours playing , I love it especially on dark Winter afternoons. till next time then ..... xxx Annie
 

Sunday 3 February 2013

ATCs start small...

Now I have seen that I can actually post on here I better get on with it. Today has been a Clarity Sunday and I have to say that the samples made by her design team have been amazing, the bunnies were an obvious favourite with them and me ( yes I did order them )
 Until I get them and have a play I will use some samples I have already done, these are of a couple of ATCs I have made for the Clarity Monthly Challenge...I have to admit this format has never appealed to me in the past. I think it is because I feel I am too clumsy to 'do' tiny but Clarity's miniture stamps make it easier.

 January's subject was 'Trees are green ...or are they' I remembered I had the lovely Clarity Silver birch stamp (this challenge is fun too because I am revisiting all my old stamps) I then had to work out the masking for getting the moon and the background in all good fun !!



February's subject was Love & Cherish, well I haven't got endless heart stamps so I was stuck but then I remembered I had  Clarity's 'Wired heart' stamp (I had bought it because my granddaughter Rhiannon was taken with Barbara's Zentangle technique).  I still didn't know how I was going to use it .... but the angle I stamped it at reminded me of a balloon flying above the clouds ... so mask on and I dabbed clouds in background. I wanted to add the title and that's when I remembered Barbara freehand writing into a border she had drawn. This was nerve racking for me because I hate my handwriting but I just went with it ... and I was quite pleased with the end result.
I am now quite hooked on ATCs and I often dabble with them when my mojo's gone astray or when I only have a short time to play. Next month's is already done but that is for another day ...

Saturday 2 February 2013

BUZZ!!!

Well here goes... I thought I would start with one of my favourite 'Clarityclassroom homework' cards, I can remember the buzz I got when I completed it and realised it vaguely resembled the one I had seen Barbara Gray demonstrate ... I was hooked ...