Bloghop - Big Bloom Factory

Good afternoon all.

It's stamp release day at STAMPlorations and we're having a blog hop...come on over and join in the fun for a chance to win a set of the new stamps Big Bloom Factory - now in the shop with 10% discount!

I started with a mood board...embossing the Big Bloom Factory large stencil then over stamping the corresponding stamps from the newly released Big Bloom Factory set. These were heat embossed with white EP. I then inked the whole piece using a variety of colours of DI.

After die cutting the piece I wanted for my project I fussy cut one of the flowers and added it with a foam pad. The whole piece was matted onto another die and I added some pearls.

This is the back...I used the piece on my Auntie's funeral flowers last month.

For a chance to win a set of stamps, please leave comments on the STAMPlorations blog and designers' blogs for an entry to the random drawing.

HLS Mixed Media Challenge June "Texture"

Good evening all.

We've had some beautiful sunny weather here the last few days...long may it last! 

Sadly my final post as part of this fabulous DT as the new house is taking up much of my crafting time at the moment. It's time for our new Mixed Media challenge at HLS and this month we'd like to see some texture on your projects.

This was made for the little girl next door who recently celebrated her fifth birthday. Stamps are all from Stamplorations. Dies from Lawn Fawn and Spellbinders.

The dinosaurs are stamped onto a waste piece of card which had been embossed and treated with distress paint (sadly the texture doesn't show in the photo), fussy cut and attached with foam pads to give some dimension.

Do pop by the challenge blog to see what my teamies have made...you won't be disappointed.

This challenge is sponsored by

Stencil Sunday #49 + June Mixed Media Challenge

Good afternoon all.

Time once more to inspire you with a mixed media project using stencils over at STAMPlorations. Thanks to all of you who entered last month's challenge.

I've upcycled a mirror this month. Eldest had made this many moons ago and when I found it during a bedroom clean out I decided it needed a makeover! This is how it started life (excuse the reflection!).

After masking off the mirror I coated it with several layers of gesso, then used the Honeycomb Delight Reversed stencil with Black Lava textured gel on each of the corners. The project then sat unfinished for several weeks!! To finish I painted with red acrylic paint....this was when things started to go wrong and I lost some of the black from the stenciling. To fix this I repositioned the stencil before using versamark to ink and heat embossed with black EP. I'm not happy with the finished colour but couldn't find a Liverpool red in my stash...will have to remedy that!!

I hope you can pop over to the challenge to see my teamies projects this month, you won't be disappointed.

HLS Christmas June Challenge "Twine"

Good evening all.

A day spent cleaning and dressing rooms at the new house, thought I'd get the utility finished then found out I'd ordered two blinds for the same window instead of one for each....luckily the spare will fit another window as they were made to measure!!

Sadly my last post for HLS Christmas Challenge, life is getting in the way of crafting at the moment so I'm taking a step back. Many thanks to Kylie for having me this past year. Our challenge this month is to use "Twine" somewhere on your creation.

The joys of having most of my crafting stash in the other house means I'm very limited to what I can use to craft at the moment...it took me nearly two weeks to remember to hunt out some twine!

Stamp from Crafty Impressions, coloured with Whisper pens and a gold Gel pen...all found lurking in a pencil case! Dies from Spellbinders and Lawn Fawn. Sentiment from HLS.

Do hope you can join us this month and get ahead for the silly season. Pop over to the challenge blog to see how my teamies interpreted the theme.

Altered Box Tutorial

Good afternoon all.

We've had some lovely weather this week...a little chilly at times but lots of sunshine. The house has suddenly moved on, thank goodness and is starting to look like a home. Decorating is all but finished, kitchen needs the granite on the island and there are three carpets to lay....the end is nigh!!!

My turn to share a tutorial over at ARTplorations today. I've done another altered box...Mark presented me with an empty one when he was clearing out his room pending our move and instead of adding it to my ever growing pile of stuff "ripe to alter" I set to straight away. I hope you like what you see and please pop over to the blog to see how I transformed it.

Christmas Card Club "Christmas Carol"

Good morning all. I hope you're all enjoying the bank holiday weekend, don't think Monday is actually a holiday here though.

Any way today is Christmas Card Club day and Rita has challenged us all to use a "Christmas Carol" in our projects. I remembered last night and with limited amounts of stash available this is what I came up with:

Loosely based on "The Holly and the Ivy" although I believe the ivy may be covered over. I thought I would make a distress paint background for the stamp but this didn't work very well so this is plan B! Simply stamped, die cut and matted....sometimes simple is best!

I can't for the life of me remember who the stamp is by, I won it and it was de-packeted to post...if you recognise it please let me know :) Dies are from Spellbinders and Lawn Fawn.

If you'd like to see what the other girls have made you'll find the list in my sidebar.

Much cleaning going on at the new house and things are gradually taking shape, we've agreed carpets for the rest of the house so will order them next week. My craft room isn't progressing too well, I ordered a little bookcase from Ikea to store boxes of stamps and stuff on and it arrived damaged so it will be Thursday before I get it replaced....this week has been 2 steps forward, 1 back all week! Next week can only be better :) Meanwhile the garden is blooming...a few pictures taken this last week or so.

We also have a pair of turtle doves nesting in a tree...the tree got a reprieve from the axe!

Hoping to find some time this week to pop round and see you all, meanwhile thanks for all the comments you're leaving - they're much appreciated.

Blog Hop - Trendy Birds 2

Good afternoon all.

Things are still progressing in the right direction...mainly! Carpet was laid yesterday in the guest bedroom and looks lovely...the fitters however managed to do something to the wardrobe doors so they don't open or close fully, so now I have to get that sorted...hey ho!! Having a well earned day off today as we have visitors...when I say day off there was a mad dervish first thing whilst I made the house presentable, it's funny how quickly you can clean up when you know someone is going to visit!!

Lora sat her last exam on Monday so she's officially no longer a school kid...end of a 21 year long era for me....not sure whether it makes me happy or sad though! Yesterday the school was one of those affected by the hoax bomb calls so had to go into lockdown whilst the police did a search, don't know whether an exam was in progress at the time or not but some folks really need to get themselves a life!

It's stamp release day at STAMPlorations and we're having a bloghop....come on over and join in the fun for a chance to win a set of the new stamps Trendy Birds 2 - now in the shop with 10% discount!

I started by running the solid cut from the Some Birds stencil through the GC as I die cut my piece of card (creating a hollow). Using the stencil positioned over the embossed bird I stamped and heat embossed the corresponding stamp from the Trendy Birds 2 with black EP, then inked over with distress paint  which happened to be to hand (my stash was half at the new house!). I used a sentiment from the new release and one from Party Time to finish off.

For a chance to win a set of stamps, please leave comments on the STAMPlorations blog and designers' blogs for an entry to the random drawing.

Happy Birthday

Good morning all...hark at me, blogging just for the sake of it!!

The new house is finally coming on a treat and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Lots of cleaning to do though to make each room habitable. The first of my carpets will be fitted this week and I'll be able to start dressing the rooms...finally!

It's been a busy month with birthdays so far and hubby has his birthday today. Most of my stash is at the new house now but I still have a workstation set up here so I've been busy beavering away of an evening. This is the card I made for my sister earlier this month.

Using a Paintbox Poppets decoupage sheet from Crafters Companion...I die cut the main sheet to fit my square card base. Dies are all from Spellbinders, backing paper, bow and sentiment from my stash. A very simple card which went together seamlessly.

Christmas Card Club "Snowy Trees"

Good morning all.

Still battling away trying to get the house ready to move into. Managed to move some stuff into the craft room but not a lot! Trying to get all the trades coordinated is a nightmare....I'm never moving again, not am I going to refit a kitchen!!! Please remind me I said that if I show any signs of doing either! We'll get there eventually but it's driving me nuts at the moment.

We said a sad farewell to my Aunty on Tuesday...a very small funeral as at 93 she'd outlived most of her contemporaries. Five out of nine of my cousins were there and the eldest did a lovely eulogy. It was great to catch up as we don't see each other often these days. The weather was lovely too which always seems to lift the mood on an otherwise sad occasion.

Two weeks have passed since our last Christmas Card Club Challenge, this time it was Christine's turn to pick the challenge and she's asked to see "Snowy Trees". Here is my effort:

The stamp is from Visible Image, stamped with versamark and heat embossed with white EP, then inked with DI. This was another piece lying on my desk so I die cut it with my Lawn Fawn squares and simply matted and layered onto my card front and finished off with a gemstone.

You'll find a list of the other girls in my sidebar if you'd like to see their makes too.

Stencil Sunday #45

Good evening all.

It's my turn to share an inspirational Stencil Sunday project over at STAMPlorations today.

A very simple upcycle project today using a plain box. I started by covering the whole box with gesso then used embossing paste and the Bloom Silhouettes stencil around the sides to create some decoration. The box was then painted with distress paint. This is still a UFO....once I decide what I'm going to use it for I'll add some more decor to it but I wanted to show the difference made by the simple addition of some dimension.

And the May Mixed Media Challenge runs until the end of the month! If you want to play, you still have plenty of time left to get messy and share your non-card mixed media projects. It's anything mixed media goes except a card...and you must use a stencil (any brand or even a homemade one!) in your project(s). For the complete challenge info + prizes, click here.

Forever My Friend - Tutorial

Good evening all.

It's my turn to host a tutorial over at ARTplorations today. Here is a sneak peak...as always if you want the full lowdown pop over to ARTplorations....I hope you like what you see.

HLS Christmas Challenge May "Gift"

Good evening all.

Progress is being made on the house - my craft room is finished and I'm beginning to move stuff up there. I am regretting being on the third floor though having to carry everything up two flights of stairs!! Three bedrooms now have some paint on them too so I'm beginning to see an end result finally.

Trying to keep up with my DT commitments here amongst the chaos! Today it's time for the team to showcase their wares for the May Christmas challenge over at HLS, the theme this month is "Gift".

A very quick and simple card from me using leftovers which were lying on my desk, a little topper from my stash and a few gems.

Sentiment is from HLS Mixed Christmas Sentiments, die is from Memory Box.

Stencil Sunday #44 + May Mixed Media Challenge

Good evening all.

My second post today, click here if you'd like to see my Christmas Card Club post.

As it's the first Sunday of the month we have a new Stencil Sunday mixed media challenge over at STAMPlorations. Remember it's anything goes except cards and you must use a stencil.

I've got a 12x12 canvas to show you this time....it's been a work in progress for a while now and isn't quite finished as I couldn't print off the photo I want to use and I might change the colours  before using it in the new house.

I started by covering the canvas with one layer of a serviette which was then dry brushed with white gesso before overstamping with various stamps from the Mixed Media Grunge set. I used embossing paste through the following stencils: Foiled, Gridlocked and Shutters to create some dimension. Once dry I added more white gesso. The embossing was then drybrushed with Abandoned Coral Distress Paint....as I was a bit heavy handed in places I painted over the whole canvas with clear gesso and once dry dry brushed with white gesso again. 

The frame and wooden components are all from my stash and will be stuck in place once I get my photo printed.

I hope you can pop over to the challenge to see my teamies projects this month, you won't be disappointed.

BREAKING NEWS......

Would you like to join our Mixed Media Design Team? Shery is having a DT call, you'll find all the details here.

Christmas Card Club "Poinsettias or Christmas Angels"

Good morning all.

The new house is moving along slowly in the right direction and my craft room is ready to kit out, so guess how I'm going to be spending my week?

Feeling much better now and my blood pressure is remaining down without medication, just waiting for the cholesterol test results to see if there has been any change there...fingers crossed! Sadly the week wasn't all good news, my 93 year old Aunt died on Thursday...I did manage to get down to say my goodbyes on Wednesday which has to be one of the hardest and saddest things I've ever done. Don't know yet when the funeral is but I've been excused Jury duties this week in case it's on a weekday. I'm hoping all my cousins manage to get up as we've never all been under the same roof together and this is the only time it's likely to happen.

Any way it's Christmas Card Club time once again and Mary asked to see "Poinsettias or Christmas Angels".

Another of my Joanna Sheen decoupage sheets used with my Wplus9 die and a Spellbinders die. I have managed to add the decoupage layers this time! I hope you're not getting sick of seeing this design but it's a case of "if it's not broke don't fix it"!!

You'll find a list of the other girls in my sidebar if you'd like to see what they've created.

I'll be back later with my inspiration for the new Mixed Media challenge at STAMPlorations.

New House

Good morning all. 

Well what a difference a few days make with no meds...lots of energy to stay awake all day and considerably better nights sleep! Swollen ankles, headaches and aches and pains all gone too...I feel like a new woman :)

Yesterday was glorious here so I took some time out from cleaning up behind contractors and painting chairs to walk around our new garden and take a few photos. Here is a taster of what we've bought...these were all taken on my phone as my camera is still away being repaired. 

The house from the ground and from above and some of the many garden features.

Views around us...the track being our road into the property.

Some of the many flowers popping up everywhere...hubby was desperate to start "hacking" things down but luckily I managed to persuade him otherwise and we can now enjoy everything as it comes into bloom.

My kitchen is coming together and the painting is ongoing throughout the house so things are beginning to progress in the right direction. I'm feeling much more positive now that my get up and go has caught up with me again!

Christmas Card Club "Red Berries"

Good morning all.....and huge apologies for my prolonged absence!

I can't believe it's a month since I last blogged....it's been a fraught four weeks! The new house is still ongoing although it is now being pieced back together...the dining room is almost finished and the new kitchen will be fitted this week and we have new wardrobes being fitted as we speak. It's been a long haul to get this far but I'm sure it will be worth it in the end.

To top this I've had a few health problems, mainly side effects of the medication I was on. I'm now off everything for two weeks and hopefully my blood pressure and cholesterol will still be at acceptable levels when I'm tested in two weeks time.

I finally made it into the craft room last night and managed a very quick card as today is Christmas Card Club day....I still haven't made one for my own challenge two weeks ago but I'll catch up someday! Apologies girls as I still haven't commented on your cards but promise I'll get there. Mrs A has asked to see "Red Berries" this time, here is my offering:

Another of my general cards made...Joanna Sheen decoupage (although I'll admit the layers haven't yet been added), dies from Spellbinders and Wplus9 and some more of that Kanban card I'm trying to work my way through. Apologies for the poor quality photo but my camera took poorly whilst we were in New Zealand and I've only just got around to getting it picked up to be repaired, so using my old camera for now.

You'll find a list of the other girls on my sidebar if you'd like to see their take on the challenge.

Now I need to grovel.....huge, huge apologies to my candy winners for not getting your prizes out to you. I have everything ready to pack up to post but just haven't managed to do so yet. I'm hoping over the next few days my energy levels will return somewhat to normal and I may be able to function for a whole day instead of intermittently! Hoping to do some blog hopping soon too to catch up with you all...it's been too long and I need a crafty fix!