Anything Goes Challenge

I had a lovely few days in Sheffield this week. The best part (other than all the great beer) was a visit to the Craft Den at Malin Bridge. Lynne made me really welcome and her studio was certainly a wonder to behold. So much inspiration all around the shop. I love altered art but have never taken the plunge other than some Decopatch but Lynne has inspired me to have a proper go and enter her Anything Goes challenge.

I found this tin in a charity shop and though it would be ideal for my Sizzlit Strips - but it wasn't pretty:

While I love Wallace and Gromit it just didn't sit right in my craft room. I started with a couple of coats of white acrylic paint and added some colour using masks and distress ink. I also used an earing from Primark which was in the sale:

I've still got the other one for another project. I cut the Tim Holtz Bigz bird and cage from acetate and the bird and cage movers too.This is the result:

           

















I also added a lace border around the top and used a Martha Stewart punch for the bottom. The humming bird and feathers on the far picture was another Primark buy for 50p and was originally a hairclip.

The letters were from a previous project that didn't sit well but fit great on this. They are made in the melt pot with UTEE.

And this is the final product - you can just see the Sizzlit Strips inside. And it takes up little room on the shelf

Sketch n Stash Challenge 81

This is my entry for the Sketch n Stash challenge no 81. I've been sorting my 6x6 papers and it's quite shocking how many I have so I thought I'd better start cutting into them. I love this DoCrafts stamp by John Byers but rarely use it. I've stamped in my new Gathered Twigs distress ink and used a water pen to spread the ink adding a little more to the darker areas by squishing the pad on my craft mat. I've added dazzling diamonds to the bubbles and the two hearts on the sketch are replace by circles of transparent glitter card to match the bubbles although they don't show up very well in the picture.

Less Is More Week 55

The theme at Less Is More this week is Die Cuts or Punches. For my cards I've used 3 Stampin Up punchs - Spiral, Word Window and Modern Label. The image is from the Stampin Up Plane and simple set and the greeting is from a Personal Impressions set. Both are stamped in Gathered Twigs distress ink. I've distressed the edge of the image with scissor edges and inked it.

Crafty Individuals February Challenge

I love Crafty Individuals stamps and admit to having quite a few but for some reason I don't get them out very often. After the class at the Glitter Pot this week with Jenny Mayes where we used different techniques, I decided to get them out and enter the Crafty Individuals challenge which this month is SPRING.

I started with a sheet of the CI Springtime papers. I inked an ivy background mask with versamark and put it with the paper through the Cuttlebug then brushed the debossed leaves with gold Perfect Pearls. I then stuck the paper to a card blank with the edges distressed with Wild Honey ink. The topper is CI-176 which I stamped onto double sided adhesive with pearlescent crimson Brilliance ink and covered the stamped side with acetate. Then I peeled the other backing off and brushed on some Frosted Leaves gilding flakes. The butterflies are cut with the Stampin Up Butterfly Wings embosslit from white card coloured with Wild Honey ink and brushed with berry twist Perfect Pearls. The sentiment is from the CI-256 set, stamped with the pearlescent crimson and clear embossed. It was then coloured with the Wild Honey and brushed with berry twist over some swipes of versamark. The braided trim was from my stash and the swallow and beads are from an old necklace.

I've really enjoyed my morning playtime and what started out as a card is now hanging on my wall.

Less Is More 54 - One Layer with Stripes

A very simple card for the Less Is More challenge this week. It's one layer week and the theme is stripes. I was going to use a stitching template with hearts but thought that the thread would count as a layer so went for this instead using Craft Artist. I added the striped material and changed the colour then used the digital punch to cut the hearts turning the stripes for the middle one which I made a little larger. I added  shadows to all the hearts and the text and that was it.

Sketch N Stash Challenge 80

The Sketch n Stash Challenge this time is a free choice sketch from their library. I do like working to a sketch and I thought this wasn't too fussy - ideal for a man. I've used sketch 24 and used my new Hobby Art set called Flypast and water coloured it with Aqua markers. This is the first time I've used the Aqua markers and I love them - just need some more colours!

Less Is More 53 - Aqua

It's been quite a few weeks since I've entered the Less Is More challenge. I've made the cards but just not got around to uploading them so I thought I'd get straight on and do it today. I've made this card in Craft Artist. I love how you can play about with colours and change things until you're happy with it before committing to print it off. I've decoupaged the squares but it doesn't show in the photo.

We were going for a walk today but decided to go tomorrow instead so I've got a day in the craft room although  OH has just lit the fire so I might just go and sit in front of that.

One Stop Craft Challenge 167 - Stitching, Faux or Real

I've made this for my sister in laws birthday this month. The stitching pattern is from a Hobydols book but I can't remember which one. The topper and backing card is by Kanban. I've got so many toppers from QVC kits that I need to use them up so adding them to a stitched card seems more crafty than just matting and layering. I'm entering this into the One Stop Crafts challenge 167.

Going Buggy Challenge - Grey, White and Red

Long time no post! I can't believe where January went. I made plenty of cards but just didn't get to post any. When I saw the Going Buggy challenge, I knew what image to use but wasn't sure of the layout. Then the lovley Jackie gave us a sketch for our January challenge at Crafters Reunited. So I combined the two and came up with this card

The image is Tin Rose by Pollycraft and is coloured with Promarkers. I made the backing paper in word from the same image. The sentiment is also by Pollycraft from the Critters and Cogs set