The birds

Hello

I'm back after a bit of a break. This time of year gets very busy with lots of family celebrations, but hopefully there will be a bit more crafting time on the horizon. Today I'm sharing a card made for the TAWI challenge back in April. The challenge was to make a trifold card with the spring mood board colours.

 

 

The birds and flowers are from a Hobby Art stamp set and the trellis was from a magazine.

This card has now gone to a good home!

Thank you for stopping by. Have a lovely week xx

Polar bear

Hello

Now that a birthday has passed I can share this card using a Hobby Art stamp and watercolour, with a few splashes of acrylic white paint.

 

 I made another version with Inktense pencil, gel pen and slightly different colours. 

I found it really difficult to choose between the two. Which do you prefer?

Now that's enough polar bear cards as I have to get packing for a very long awaited trip to Spitzbergen to see the real thing. Wish me luck!

Have a lovely week xx

 

 

 

Light it up with a lampshade

Hello

This last week I've been chipping away at a project that I have been forced to take quite slowly. I was given a lampshade kit a while ago and it's taken me some time to decide how to decorate it.

I finally settled on a 'Lavinia' fantasy style scene and chose Inktense pencils as I thought it would look pretty when the light shone through, rather than using opaque paint. I planned it all out first to get the spacing right. You can see what it looked like flat.

Unfortunately the fabric wicked the ink in vertical lines so I had to work slowly in sections and try not to use too much water. 

I used stamps from quite a few different sets including Lavinia, Clarity, Hobby Art and ones from Creative Stamping magazine.

The colours are more muted with the light on but I think it works fairly well.

Of course now I have the old lampshade and I was thinking...what would it look like with a bit of paint on it?!

If you've had a go at decorating lampshades I'd love to hear what you used as I think I could be tempted to have another go.

Thank you for stopping by. Hope you have a lovely week xxx

 

 

 

The fox and the raven

Hello
Hope you have all been keeping well. I've been having a bit of a play this week with my new set of Derwent inktense pencils. With hindsight I should have started with making a colour chart, but I was a bit ambitious and decided to jump straight in with a picture.

I started with a Hobby Art Stamps image of a house viewed through a tree tunnel...

 

  

 

At this stage it nearly went in the bin, but I convinced myself that the purpose was to get the feel of the pencils and I carried on...

I'm reasonably happy with the end result and have forced myself to stop tinkering with it. I do love how the pencils can be layered and layered, but next time I need better paper from the outset.

Thank you for stopping by. Have a lovely week xxx

Spring into life

Hello
I've been playing again with the lovely lino cut hares from Hobby Art. I love the simplicity but still having the scope for lots of variations. I'm sure this won't be their last appearance! The barn owl isn't part of the set but from a set of stamps that came with a magazine.

 

Wishing you all many blessings. Thank you for taking the time to stop by xx

A seasonal hare

Hello
Just a quick post with the third project in the #craftingwithgiogio challenge on Instagram. It took a long time, with a lot of mistakes. I think I went out of my comfort zone in too many ways and ended up messing around with too many media.

The theme was seasonal.

I dislike it so much I've only taken one photo with the phone. What I did like though was using gesso through stencils to get the clouds and patterns in the fields. Will need to experiment some more.

I'll add some journalling...but not today...

Constructive comments gratefully received. Thank you for stopping by.

Materials used:

just about anything I could lay my hands on

Giogiocraft stencils lots of them

Pink Ink Designs love is in the hare stencil

Hobby Art lino cut hares stamps

gesso

Faber-Castell gelatos

Archival ink

Distress Oxide ink

PapaerArtsy Fresco Finish acrylic paint

watercolour pencils

acrylic paint pen

 

Haring around

Hello
I was given the fabulous lino cut hares by Hobby Art for my birthday. I must confess I couldn't resist playing with them before the actual date. I experimented quite a bit before getting the pieces below, and it involved a lot of masking. The backgrounds are gel prints created using ink.

The images were then stamped on top in Archival ink and some white gel pen added for highlights.

The more I look the more I see scope for some improvements in composition. I'll just have to have another go sometime.

Thank you for taking a look. I really do welcome your comments.

Have a lovely day xx

Chill December brings the sleet

Hello
...and finally to the last verse of the Twelve Month Poem Challenge at The Craft Barn.

Chill December brings the sleet,

Blazing fire and Christmas treat.

Another year nearly done. I've enjoyed making the mini canvases for the Twelve Month challenge and starting to look forward to what's next. Do have a look at the blog to see what other people have done with the verse.

Last Christmas card made this morning for my husband (can't post it just yet!) Off now to do a bit of carpet cleaning in readiness for visitors over the next few weeks.

Thanks for stopping by. xx

Shadow Box

Hello again
A two post day...now that doesn't happen very often!
I've been having a play with the new Art-C kits in stock at The Craft Barn. First up is the shadow box which I think lends itself to a vintage or shabby chic finish. I'm always happy messing around with paint and textures!

For the full method pop over to The Craft Barn blog. When I get a bit of time I'm looking forward to trying out the display box and mini house box too.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you all have a crafty week!

Hot July brings cooling showers...

Hello there
It's the first Sunday of the month and time for the next verse of The Craft Barn's Twelve Month Challenge, based on Sarah Coleridge's poem The Months.

Hot July brings cooling showers,

Apricots and gillyflowers.

I really enjoyed making this one, I think because of the lovely warm colours. Of course I had to look up what a gillyflower was! I went with the old fashioned definition of a sweet scented flower, typically a pink carnation or stock.

Do pop over to the blog to see what everyone comes up with for this month. Meanwhile enjoy the summer and fingers crossed for more of the hot sun and less of the cooling showers! xxx

June brings tulips, lilies, roses...

Hi there everyone
What a lovely hot, sunny Sunday it is. Meterological summer really here in theory and in weather! The first Sunday of the month means the next verse of The Craft Barn twelve month challenge is on the blog:

June brings tulips, lilies, roses,

Fills the children's hands with posies.

 
Here's my mini canvas...

Do take a look at The Craft Barn blog and all of the other entries. I always try to comment on as many as possible, unfortnately the links don't always work for some reason.

Enjoy what's left of the weekend. Happy crafting xxx

Owl in a good day's work

Yesterday was one of those very rare days when my friend Mary and I got together to mess around crafting, without a specific purpose in mind. She brought over her new crafty stash and I got out all of my new bits and we had a play. In the end I think I came out of it very well as I used a lot of her new stamps. I think it's a great idea to craft together. We can all get a bit comfortable sticking to the same style or favourite brands. Good to shake it up sometimes!

We used my new stamp positioner and both agree that it's a very useful tool, especially for large stamps, or for adding the final sentiment without fear of making a mistake! It's also great for over-stamping the same image in several colours. I stamped the owl first in vintage photo. Then I inked it up in walnut stain, but removed the ink from the centre with a baby wipe. Finally I inked it in black and removed all of the ink except for the very edges. I drew out some of the colour with a waterbrush. I did the same with the moon using weathered wood and faded jeans.

So far I've only finished one card but watch this space as I get round to making the others up. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a lovely Sunday whatever you're up to. xx

Materials used:

Hobby Art: Orla owl

Creative Expressions: dreamy sentiments

Distress Ink

Archival Ink

May brings flocks of pretty lambs...

Hi
This week saw the arrival of the swifts at the reservoir near to my home. People who know me might say I'm a little obsessed by swifts! I'm excited when they arrive and feel sad for days when they go. They are a sure sign that summer is not far away. The reservoir attracts a lot of wildlife and is a well known birding spot. On the grassy banks sheep are grazed and this is a lovely time of year to watch the lambs playing.

And so over to The Craft Barn Twelve Month Challenge. The challenge is based on Sarah Coleridge's poem The Months.

May brings flocks of pretty lambs, 

Skipping by their fleecy dams.

It feels quite sultry this morning. Great for bringing the flies down which means the swifts come in close. I feel a bit of swift watching coming on!

Do have a look at The Craft Barn blog to see what other ideas people have to illustrate this month. Thanks for stopping by. xx

April brings the primrose sweet...

Hello there
The lovely mild weather we've been having where I live has brought all of the blossom out, making the trees look spectacular. It's the start of a new month which heralds the next verse of the Poem Challenge at The Craft Barn:

April bings the primrose sweet, 

Scatters daisies at our feet. 

Here's my mini canvas for April...and of course I couldn't resist getting those cute bunnies out again!

It's not too late to join in the challenge even if you can't enter into the months which have already gone. Why not have a look at the blog to see what other people have come up with for inspiration?

February brings the rain...

Not sure where the days are going but it's February already. The verse for this month on The Craft Barn poem challenge is:

February brings the rain, 

Thaws the frozen lake again.

I have started everyone off with a mini canvas but Mickie has added a couple of twists to be included. I'm VERY glad she didn't ask me to do the twists as well! Take a look at the blog for details of how to enter and everyone's take on the poem. I'm looking forward to seeing how those twists turn out!

Winter Wreath Scenes

Getting ready for the Chertsey Museum craft and wine evening in November. We'll be making winter scene cards with a mixture of Card-io, Hobby Art and Clarity stamps. If you're in the area it should be a fun night. The museum provides the crisps and you can bring the wine! Follow the link for more details.

Aurora Borealis

The last theme for The Craft Barn calendar challenge is silver/gold and trees.  Last year I was lucky enough to see the northern lights in Iceland and so my entry is inspired by that visit.
 

 Our sightings weren't quite as dramatic as the scene I've created!

Materials used:

Faber-Castell gelatos: black licorice, boysenberry, blueberry, cotton candy, 

snow cone, acqua dolce, spearmint, lime, margarita mix, coconut

Archival ink: jet black

Distress embossing ink

Hobby Art: winter scene-its, in the country 

Stampendous detail embossing powder: silver opaque

I've had a great year taking part in the calendar challenge and now I will get to enjoy all of the projects again throughout 2016.  I'm looking forward to next year's projects...I have my dictionary ready and await instructions!

Here's a look at all of the pages together...

Thank you for your support and lovely comments throughout the year xx

Bashful Bunny

Hello
There's definitely a touch of Spring in the air, the birds are sounding chirpier and the daffodils are beginning to peek out.  Time to think about The Craft Barn calendar challenge for March - Yellow and Rabbits.  A good excuse to use one of my oldest and most loved stamps, the PSX Bashful Bunny.

First the bunny was stamped and masked.  A circle stencil and a mask for the sun were taped down.  Gradually the image was built up using Distress ink over torn paper masks for the hills and images stamped in Archival ink.

The twig and flowers were stamped around the edge with second and third impressions to add depth.  Details and shading were added in coloured pencil.  Yellow was added to the edges and some texture added with stamping (doesn't show up well in the photo).

I'm entering this in The Craft Barn Calendar Challenge  - March - Yellow and Rabbits. 

Materials Used:

PSX: Bashful Bunny

Hobby Art stamps: In the Country, Winter Scene-Its

Card-io stamps: Majestix Oriental Blossom stamp set

Stampers Anonymous: slight alterations

Ranger Distress Ink: squeezed lemonade, scattered straw, bundled sage, shabby shutters, weathered wood, salty ocean

Ranger Archival Ink: jet black

Clarity: moon mask, circle framer

Spectrum Noir pencils