A Christmas Story - Claritystamp challenge blog

Hello There!

Are you ready for Christmas?

Am I ready for Christmas?....am I heck as like... I still have a few cards to make and some presents to buy...but what to buy that is the question...and what to do for this blog challenge was another question .. Oh I will do some groovi as I have been doing quite a bit of that...but a couple of the DT have already beat me to it so I thought I would do craft card and white.

I saw a picture quite a time ago somewhere on facebook and I like the look of it .   I did do one last month for my Burnley workshop ladies so I thought I would carry on the theme

It is a very simple card really.

and as usual I forgot to take piccies except this one.

I started with the oval stencil and some craft card and put it through my cut n boss.

 I used some memento moonlight ink pad and torn paper for some hills  I used a blender then went over the edge directly with the ink pad.  I used a moon mask to whiten the moon.  I then put a straight edge across the middle....aka a pond!!

I used the tree range stamp and white embossing powder.

I was going to do it all in white but the kids throwing snowballs wouldn't have  shown up so I embossed them in black embossing powder.

I slight bent the word chain letters to fit more around the oval and the holly corners are made from two stamps that I have had for years and years  one is a corner stamp that is shorter on one edge and the other is just a tiny bit that you can add on.

I used a white gell pen to add the "grasses" at the edge of the pond and a squiggly line around the oval 

I stamped the wee snow man on a separate piece and cut him out ...just to add a bit in the corner.

I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year as the next time I blog will probably be in 2016

Thanks for taking the time to visit and leave your comments this year.

Clean and Simple

Happy Sunday folks

It's the first of the month - so a new challenge on the Claritystamp challenge blog and the theme this month is clean and simple 

Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

At the time I was doing this card I was also prepping for a demo day over at the Crafty Company in Fleetwood so I was a bit busy but I had been sent a set of the new sparkle pens so I had to use them ----well it would be rude not to.

Anyway to the card in question as usual I forgot to take pictures as I went along.

Firstly I masked off a strip across the card and covered all the rest up with copy paper.  Next I made a couple of spray mists wit the colour burst powders in pink and blue and sprayed the middle of the card and left it to dry.

Out with the stamps and and I do like these cute little guys and  just the right size to go across the card.  Firstly I stamped the flowers randomly, then the birds - I used archival so it would run with the sprays and the pens that are also waterbased.  I started to colour in with the speccie pencils - and remembered to take a piccie!!

More colouring ensued but I didn't want to put down lots of colour as that would mean that there would be a big build up of wax from the pencils and I didn't want it to act as a resist .

Finally I stamped Harmony and then went over the flowers and birds with some crystal clear sparkle pen.

I am a rubbish photographer but I hope you can see the glitter on these birds 

I have since had more of a play with them and I likey!!

Looking forward to seeing your entries in this challenge

Snowflake angel

Good morning. I thought I would test out a new app I have found let's see if it's any better !



I was demoing at Burneside garden centre near Cleveleys last weekend so I thought I would share this with you.   I had some ladies that came and stayed most of the day and in the afternoon  one lady asked how had I coloured one of my samples. So I took a piece of 6 x   6 centura  pearl white and embossed  with the flutterby embossing folder.  Ran over it with a brush and faded jeans...simples and gives a lovely  effect.

Another lady asked to see the Angel related a card die....mmm  that doesn't match the piece is have just embossed!   Not to be beaten I cut some snowflakes and the snowflake border and used these to hide the butterflies!!

I took and 8 x 8 card and folded back the front which I covered with paper from the festive pad and covered the inside with the same paper.

I cut Merry Christmas and inked through the die with a blending tool.  The was for the greeting inside.

I then cut the angel and again inked through  with faded jeans.

I put the angel in the middle then I lined up the snowflake panel to hide her.

Well the pictures haven't  come where I was expecting but hey ho lol

Stencils

OCTOBER 

Really! already! still not started my Christmas cards but hey no not to worry 

Have you been enjoying the lovely weather this week- it soooo nice not to have rain (we get an awful lot of rain where I live).

I had a fabulous time at the open day in Catterick got to meet up with lots of friends who I don't get to see very often  and eventually got to meet Sally-Ann and Emma that was really nice.  I bought a whole load of stuff (no surprise there then) and all in all was had a thoroughly good time. Here's hoping that the team come back again next year.

Next on the Agenda is the Happy stampers show this Saturday in Port Sunlight - I love this show - 99% of the stands are stamping - it gets packed ...and I mean packed ...it gets hot ...and I mean hot but I just love it.  I also like going to the Harrogate show but sadly for the last few times it has clashed with Port Sunny so I haven't been.

Looking forward to Saturday and seeing lots of friendly faces - as usual I will be going for a bacon butty across in the Social Club before the show opens - so if you are around see you about 9.45 for a cuppa?

So back to the challenge in hand - we had some lovely entries again in September and some really cool ideas on shaped cards.  Not so many entries as normal - maybe everyone's been busy with back to school/Uni and late holidays for those of us who like to go away when the chillibeans are in school!

It was still hard to pick my top five though - so many clever crafters out there.

I have a stencil project for this month's theme and I have to say my mind went a complete blank.  Why does mr Mojo decide to go on holiday when you want him?

In the end I decided to keep it simple and just use this abstract stencil - I was late on patrol buying this one - for some reason I must've have missed it when it was first introduced.  I had the two other abstract stencils but not number three , however I did rectify it as soon as I spotted  it!  It is number 3 and is more rectangular than the other one.  check it out - here is the link

I simply brushed through with faded jeans then added dusty concorde around the edges.  

I used the wee folk Christmas sets and stamped in deep purple Archival

I went over the word chain with a glitter pen but I am totally rubbish at taking photos and the colours and sparkle are much better in real light 

Quite a quick card to make - I might even use it for my cards this year!  I look forward to seeing what you all come up with and do visit my teamies blogs - they have some stunning pieces to share !

If you are going to Port Sunny - give us a nudge .

SHAPED CARDS

SEPTEMBER!!!!

Before we know where we are Christmas will be here - I haven't made a single card yet - yikes

The bingo challenge last month threw up some fantastic entries - I wonder who will win - I know it was extremely difficult to pick my fave 5.

So to this month's challenge - Shaped cards - what to do - what shape to use - should I use a die - got plenty of those  - or do I take my inspiration from the lovely parchment box that was on Emma Burns blog recently - oh she is one very clever lady -  I know my work with parchment is not in the same class as Emma's - it isn't even in the same school lol but I liked how she used the groovi system to create her shapes so here is my effort.....

I started by tracing around the square groovi plate omitting the top line,  I then replaced the squares with the circles and lined it up to the partly scribed square to make an arch.

 

I transferred the pattern from the border plate and in the bottom two corners I switched it around to make more of a flower (and fill the gap).

I also did the same trick with the nestie groovies to form an arch in the middle then I marked the central line and split it into three to give me a guide to line up the letters.  ( I did it in pencil so I could rub it out after)

 I then added Best Wishes from the bunting border - the letters are smaller  than on te groovi plate mate and I could fit them in.

  As an aside  I have also used the tiny square from the nestie groovi plate to mark out like the larger squares on the groovi mate - it is the perfect size for these small letters

So now this is where all my best laid plans go pear shaped because I forgot to take any more pics  Doh

Next I transferred two of the flowers from the blooming peonies plate and then I added a third in the middle - behind.  I also did two more on another piece of parchment so that I could cut out and layer up.

Behind the best wishes I used  bits from the Christmas tree to fill up the space - just randomly

Finally I used the Netting plate to create a background.

I used a star embossing tool (borrowed from a friend as I haven't got lots of stuff....yet!)  i just did it by eye.

I did a little embossing from the back and no 15 speccie pencil from the essential set.  I also coloured in the parts of the border that I hadn't embossed so I could hide the bits of red liner I used to stick it down.

I thought it may be useful to show you the plates I used 

paper basket

On Saturday I went to have a play with some girls who are all part of an fb group that like craftwork card papers etc - the Lancashire arm of this group have started meeting every other month in my local town for a get together .  

This Saturday we did three projects - each one led by a member of the group and I was asked to come up with something for us to do, and the reason for this post is that some ladies couldn't make it but liked the basket and have asked for instructions.

Now I saw this basket somewhere on the internet ages ago but sadly I cannot credit the original designer as its so long ago I have forgotten but this is my take on it.

I have used craftwork cards paper and candi  velvet plum (currently a sale on!)

and a selection of beautiful paper flowers from Sweet Lilac Flowers   check out their box deals - really good value

This basket part of this can be made from either 2 pieces of A4 or one piece  of 12 x 12 ---or a piece of A£ cut to 30 x 30 centimetres.

All measurements are in centimetres

Take a piece of a4 card stock and mark at half way along the long edge 

Turn and score at 10 cm

Turn and score down to previously scored line at 3, 6 and 9

Flip card over and repeat above

Cut  down the scored lines  and cut off 1 cm from   strips abc & d

fold along the dotted line 

Make two of these - if you are using one piece of card just turn the whole thing round 180 degrees and mark the other side the same

Then stick one on top of the other.

Next add your fancy paper - I used a paper trimmer with a fancy edge

when you are ready to assemble fold up the sides apart from the triangles and stick E to E allowing about 1cm over lap.

bring pieces d together behind and stick these then the final two pieces b

At this stage it will look a bit untidy.

I cut two cirlces from card and two smaller circles from paper and used these to cover up the workings.

I cut a handle and added paper to that too and attached to the circle with a brad.  In hindsight I would have cut more circles to cover up the inside of the workings too.   

I added lace around the top of the basket, bows and candi to the sides then I made an arrangement of flowers and added them to the handle 

Bingo

Oh MY Word

I think this blog published before I wrote it!  I added the photos and set the schedule date but then forgot to come and write the words!!!!

Anyway thanks for all your fantastic entries last month - the winner will be announced on Monday

so Bingo - never done one of these before so you to pick a line , a diagonal or the full house and do a project using these items so this month I picked stamp, stencil and paste, and here is my offering

I was really struggling to think of something to do and then I came across some backgrounds I had done when I had my acrylics out so decided I would just go with the flow 

Now I had several attempts - the first one my grunge paste was nearly done but I thought there was enough to do one more - and there would have been if I hadn't got 

some dry bits in and it was all lumpy and scrapey lol .  

I eventually cracked it with a new jarand ended up with this

When it was dry - the tree was levitating so i added a grunge paste hill.  from here on in I forgot to take pictures - oh I am rubbish lol

anyway when it was all dry I decided to colour it with gelatoes and added a few more hills using some paper hills and added shadow with a charcoal pencil 

Then I added the stamp in black archival 

Its a bit different for me - but you have to try these things lol

Come and join us this month lets see what you can come up with !

Anything goes

Happy July - that's half of the year gone already - it's true what they say the older you get the faster time flies 

So it's time for a new challenge over at the Claritystamp challenge blog and this is my offering for July

Have you made a cuppa?  this post is like war and peace!

Some time ago I went to watch a demo being done by Pauline Wheeler and one of her ongoing projects was this box - she was covering it with some papers she was demoing at the time. It is designed to hold the Tim Holtz mini inkpads - now I have these and I use them when I am demoing so I thought I would get one and do it up my way and this mnth's theme fits the bill perfectly so two birds and one stone!

I decided to make my own papers to cover it with so out came the gelli plate, some acrylic paints and of course my Clarity stencils

I used the large Gelli plate and made several prints 

I used the same colour paint sequence

the same stencil sequence

and yet each and every one 

was different  lol

I covered every section in black gesso - twice, let it dry, then each layer I masked off  the edges of the underneath side with some low tack tape and sprayed spray n shine from Crafters companion to seal the underneath.

I then proceeded to cover the surfaces with my gelli prints, then I added a bit of black soot around the edges 

 I wanted to add a bit of something else and decided to put some words on the front so using my letterpress word set and some tissue I stamped out the words

cut around them and then stuck them on the front of the box 

I then used a sealer with a brush  to seal the insides of the box - I didn't want to use the spray as it would get on the outside of my box which I didn't want to be particulary shiny 

On the lid I added some metal corners that I picked up in that craft shop near Glasgow airport when we were on holiday.  I used some purple guilding wax on them - but it was a bit bright so toned it down with black acrylic paint 

Job done , put my ink pads in and there is room for more yet and the bottom one is a bit bigger so I will store an archival black and a versmark with a couple of blending tools  so all my stuff will be in one box!

finished - quite chuffed with how it turned out 

BOYS

I do not know why but I really struggled with the theme this month - I think really I just had too many stamps to pick from and too many ideas going around in my head so in the end I just decided to go with whatever ended up on my piece of gelli card!

I forgot to take pictures this month as I was going along but basically I did a gelli print with the brick wall stencil. ( paper artsy chalk paints) I wanted it to say boys will be boys  but I wanted something that the boys could be hanging from or sitting on and in the end I used the random shapes that are on a new design club stencil and some grunge paste.  I stamped into it whilst wet with BOY from the word chain set no 10 and an S from the same set. - Put your stamp into water straight away though!  I used the new wordpress letters  for the other words.

I masked off the birds and strings from the boy  and birds stamp and hung him off the edge  the jumping boy is from the wheelie men and boys stencil and the other boys are from the wee folk set 

I coloured in the stamping in the grunge paste with a brown spectrum aqua pen

gelli card for a friend

 Hello there this is a card I made for a friend after I had watched Sam Crowe's you tube video about using two gelli plates at once.  I had a great afternoon practising and this was one I just had to use for this card.

I just love all the grunginess of it .

I used Amanda Branston's design for Claritystamp of a Shepherds purse.

It is an open stamp set so I stamped with vanilla chalk paint from paper artsy then I used the same paint to fill in the petals. 

When dry I over-stamped again with black archival. trimmed back and matted and layered a couple of times

happy 60th

Simple card for an order

Sweet lilac flowers

Memory box hexagon

Pink frog butterflies and leafy swirl

Crafters companion embossing folder - vintage range

crafters number dies

Britannia happy birthday dies

Box to go with and space to write recipients name 

Drummer Boy

I have found a new app for blogging from my android tablet.   If anyone knows of any good ones I wish you would let me know.   Any way I thought I would try to create a post.

I was asked to make a card for a certain boy turning 16, a drummer in a band and shecwanted his photo on.  I only had the passport photo to work with.  I had a drum stamp, a freebie yonks ago on creativestamper magazine. The front of the drum had "rock" on it where i wanted to put tge photo and the whole thing wasn't big enough.

I wasn't to be beaten though so furst job scan in the photo. Secondly I stamped tge image in black archival and scanned that in.

Next I opened up serif and added bith the pics.   I took the photo cut out studio, outlined just his head tgen exported as a picture then brought that picture back into Serif so that I could resize without any background.

Next to the stamped pic.  Firstly I made it bigger so I could see  what I was doing.  Again using cutout studio I cut out the whole of the front of the drum.  Then I used the tool create a frame and dragged it into the frame section.   I now had all the various elements so I cleared the workspace dragged on the newly created drum frame, I then added the photo into the frame and resized to fit.

I sized the whole thing to a size that would look right in the hexagon die.

Happy with it I printed out onto cardstock .

I used a blue glue pen on the chrone bits of the drum set and silver embossing powder.  The drums and symbols were coloured with SN pencils.

I used a music embossing folder, some hexagon dies the hexagon shapes for the letterbox kit which I also used.  I found a small happy birthday stamp and the numbers from another set of stamps.

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