Saturday 25 October 2014

Season Of Sparkle

Hi Again! I am having a crafting marathon this weekend to try to make up for lost time lol. I spotted this technique last week and couldn't wait to give it a go. The tutorial can be found here. Once I had located my Iridescent Ice embossing powder ( no easy task I can assure you, as it was purchased two years ago and never even opened!) I gathered my materials and here is my take on this fabulous technique.








 My colours for this card were Pool Party and Early Espresso. I love how sparkly it is. Just what is needed for the upcoming holiday season. I am off to start on my next project…..once I've got another pot of coffee brewing!

Vintage Trinket Box

Hi Stampers! What a wonderful start to the weekend. I woke to a crisp , somewhat clear day here, well at least it's not raining! So I bundled up and took Ms. Daisy for her morning walk. I love the cool mornings. Just sorry we haven't had more Autumn colour this year! Oh well we cannot have it all. I will just have to continue to "pin" my Fall foliage :-)

Today I would like to share my altered box. I bought this little box ages ago( same ole story) I just never got around to using it in my crafting projects. If you've been following my blog you know I have been playing with my Stampin Up Holiday Ornaments dies a lot lately.

Here is another way to use the Ornament topper as posted in a previous post….



 The papers used include Stampin Up Wisteria Wonder and Pion " For Mother" Collection. Aren't they gorgeous?!!! When I spotted these papers I knew I had to have them!



I distressed the edges a little with crumb cake to give it a more vintage look. I am so pleased in the finished project and already have a place in mind for it.

The tutorial for this flower topper is in a previous post on my blog but if you have any questions please contact me. I'd love to hear from you.

Stay tuned for more projects to come this weekend! Enjoy yours.

Tuesday 14 October 2014

Holiday Cheer

Hi Stampers. Today I wanted to share some  Wine Toppers  I made ready for the upcoming holiday season. I love being prepared and keeping these on hand throughout the year. It's nice to have something special you've made to add to a bottle of wine or sparkling grape juice when dropping by a friends house.





If you would like to know the instructions to make this toppers just email me ! I would love to hear from you. Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful day.



Sunday 12 October 2014

Wonderous Wreath

Hi Stampers and welcome back! I had more time to craft yesterday with afternoon showers so I thought I would take advantage of the free time. I am so grateful for the times when I have no choice but slow down and take time for myself and recharging my batteries. For me, crafting time allows me to do just that! So on to what I got up to in the studio……

I carried on using the same colours as yesterday but I have lots of exciting techniques to share with you today. First I cannot take credit for either technique used in this card. The wreath was made by my super talented & good friend Sue Ralph who demonstrates her painting with embossing powders in this video found here. Thanks Sue!! I just love this technique and the effect it gives is so realistic.



The background was created using the Emboss Resist technique shown in this video here. This technique is a little messy but well worth the effort! It gives you a weathered piece of wood to work with which as you probably already guessed I love.



My base card stock is Old Olive, Natural White and Crumb Cake to create the wood background.

And just because …..


I wanted to play with my new Flower Patch stamp set a little more and try something different. I created a little wreath with the leaf stamp , cut out a couple leaves, circles and this is what I came up with. Not traditional colours for a Christmas card but still I like!



I hope you've enjoyed your visit. Please leave a comment below and do come again! Cya soon.

Saturday 11 October 2014

Flower Patch Autumn

Hi Stampers. I hope you are having a great start to your weekend. I have started my Saturday in the studio. Today's project was inspired by the change of season. Autumn is truly here…YAY! I love this season and all the activities surrounding it. Trips to the orchard, hay rides, Halloween and Thanksgiving soon to come.



  I'l start with creating the background on this card. I used the natural white card stock by Stampin Up. On a piece of acetate I randomly dropped pumpkin pie ink refill and old olive. I misted it with a little water then began stamping the images with the leaf stamp from the Flower Patch stamp set. As you can see it gives a water coloured effect to the images. Don't worry if it looks like a "blob" when wet . It will dry to a beautiful soft image. Once this has completely dried I came back in with stamping -off technique using the same chosen stamps for the background and added some of the wheat from the Truly Grateful set by Stampin UP. Some of the images have been added in Daffodil Delight.



The die cuts have been distressed with a little crumb cake on the edge to tone down the colour a bit. The leaves were made using soft suede and then going over it with daffodil delight. Garden twine, brad and a little sentiment were the finishing touches.


I hope you have enjoyed your visit today. Now I am off for an Autumn walk in the woods with my dog Daisy. Enjoy the glorious colours God's given us in this season. Cya soon!

Monday 6 October 2014

Home for the Holidays

Hi Stampers and welcome back. I have been away from my studio for a while but with the change of seasons knew it was time to get back in. So today I am going to share some of my latest creations with a few new items I recently acquired. Here is a look




 I used my Hardwood background stamp and Coastal Cabana to create the wood background. I then added a bit more ink to give it a weathered look. I then cut some pieces to crete my farm house window to display the wreath on. I am really happy with how it came out.

Now on to my next card.



 I wanted to create something different from the usual Christmas card I send out. This card has a small brad attached so it swivels open to show a sentiment inside. I thought the recipient could even choose to use it as an ornament !

 I hope you've enjoyed today's projects and will have a try creating something yourself. Enjoy the week and please drop in again soon!

Wednesday 30 July 2014

From the bottom of my Heart….

Hi Stampers. Today I want to share the latest attempt in vintage style card making. I love vintage but don't do fussy! So I am trying to achieve something in between to suit my own style. I hope you like it….





 To achieve this I've combined Pion Papers From my Heart collection for the base and leaves of the card. Stampin Up Blushing Bride, Natural and Very Vanilla card stock has been used to create the frames and flowers. I did distress the edges slightly to tone it down and hopefully give it a more vintage feel. I added basic pearls and very vanilla seam binding to finish it .

Thank you for stopping in today. I hope you have a great day and will come again soon!

Wednesday 23 July 2014

Watercoloring with Stippled Blossoms

Hi Stampers. Today I want to share a project  using the water colouring technique with the Stippled Blossoms Stamp Set. Although this was not my first stamp set of choice to use watercoloring on, it's worked ! Have a look and then I will share how I achieved it.



 So let's begin with the background. I inked up my Stampin Up Hardwood stamp using crumb cake. I added a touch of soft suede and always artichoke with my markers.  It has given the wood grain a more realistic look. Next I framed the natural card stock with the stamp from Morning meadow. I masked it off to create a frame. An older post has details on achieving the frame affect in more detail.

 On to the fun part! I stamped the Stippled Blossom stamps using brown Stazon ink. Using my ink refills in Pumpkin Pie, Coral Calypso,  Daffodil Delight,Always Artichoke and Rich Razzleberry. I placed a drop of each onto some acetate. With my aqua painter I diluted each colour and coloured in the images. Allow this first coat to dry completely then you can go back and add more colour until you achieve the desired effect. Some of the leaves I added a little Daffodil Delight to give a more natural
look. To finish I added a little Always Artichoke seam binding ribbon and of course pearls!

 Well that completes today's project. I hope you've enjoyed it. If you have any questions or comments get in touch! Have a wonderful Day!

Monday 21 July 2014

Birthday Celebration

Hi Stampers. Hope you are having a good start to the week. Today I am sharing a card I made using the Graphic 45 Botanical Tea papers and Pion " A Day in May" Papers. The base of this card is Stampin Up card stock in Blushing Bride.






I didn't want my card to end "fussy" as that's just not my style. I wondered if I should have added some flowers and leaves though. Something to think about before my next attempt! I'd love to hear your comments. Thank you for visiting and I hope you will come again. 

Friday 18 July 2014

For You...

TGIF Stampers! Just a quick post today on the latest card I've made. This is a great way to use up left over paper scraps. We all have drawer loads of scraps and I hate to waste any of it. 





 Thanks for stopping in today. Hope you have a great weekend. Please come again!

Monday 14 July 2014

Frame it technique

Hi Stampers. Hope you had a great weekend and are ready for the week ahead. Todays project is a technique of building your own frame using various stamps. So simple but so effective. Here is a look


I've used the Morning Meadow Stampin Up stamp set to build my frame. I masked off part of the image and with my stamp-a-ma-jig I was able to place the image exactly where I wanted it! Another way to make use of your stamps. You will be seeing me use this technique in future projects to come.




 This card I made just because…




 I hope you have enjoyed stopping by. Please leave your comments as I would love to hear from you! Enjoy your week and please come again.

Wednesday 9 July 2014

A Beautiful thing….

Welcome Stampers! Today I want to share a new vintage card I've been busy creating in the studio. I am so excited over the colours in the project….so soft and feminine ! When I spotted this paper I fell in love with the little birds. I am so pleased I have found a new stash of papers that suit my style. Not sure why companies are moving away from the vintage theme but as long as Pion keep creating their lovely papers I am ok:-))








 I couldn't leave the inside blank with so much gorgeous paper lying around! All I need now is to decide on a sentiment for this space.

 If you like what you've seen be sure to stop in again. I am adding all new designs using the Pion designer papers….so lush!

 Have a wonderful day!

Wednesday 2 July 2014

Happy Birthday to You

Hi Stampers! Hope you are having a good week thus far. I am finding it difficult to squeeze in much crafting time at the moment but hopefully that will change. I miss being in my craft studio!

I have however managed to create this birthday card for a special friend. I didn't want it to be too "girly" so I chose to use this colour combination.  I've used Crisp Cantaloupe,Soft Suede and very vanilla.





 Thank you so much for stopping by. I would love to hear from you so please take the time and leave a comment. Have a wonderful week and come again.


Friday 27 June 2014

Altered Frame featuring Papillon Potpourri

TGIF Stampers! How many of you plan to spend time in the crafting room this weekend? I do! I am looking forward to getting all my things out and creating something.

 Today's project is an altered frame using the Papillon Potpourri stamp set by Stampin Up.  I recently opened my Etsy shop and my first sale was to a friend. When I asked what sentiment she wanted included inside she said "leave it blank I intend to frame it". Light bulb moment! I worked it out in my mind….and the next day began working on it.





 So as I said , it was all worked out in my mind how I would design it. Things were going surprisingly smoothly( which never happens ). I was beaming with pride at how I had advanced as a master crafter. Everything glued and tacked down securely. Yes it was a masterpiece. I must get the photos taken I thought to myself while the light is still good. And that is when disaster occurred. I had glued it all upside down in the frame! I couldn't help but laugh. The best laid plans and all that …..

 I hope you have enjoyed stopping by and will come again. Have a WONDERFUL weekend!!!

Thursday 19 June 2014

Kraft Envelope & Mixed Media Mini Album

Hi Stampers and welcome to my craft sanctuary. Have you ever had days when you feel a little guilty for all the money you've spent on your craft stash? I have until I realised just how much I am saving by not paying a therapist ! I can now freely craft without the guilt lol.

 Anyways on to todays project. Wow this album has to be the longest project I've had running. I wanted to take my time on this album and include some of the inspiration I have found in various projects. At long last here it is………..





This album is a great use for the left over paper scraps. 















I love all the pockets ths album has to storing photos, ticket stubs, whatever items the receiver considers memorable. 










Only thing left to do is make a few photo mats for the pockets. I will only make 4 as I want to leave plenty of pocket space for this & that.

I hope you have enjoyed this album. I have loved creating it. I love the fact I could make use of paper that's been lying around waiting for me:-) And now that I have cleared out some space and realise how much I have been saving my dear ole hubby on therapy…….well I am off the the craft store!!

I would love to hear your feedback and please come again.