Prague Tag

Not a crafty tag but a travel tag. I found a packet of self laminating tags that I bought in WH Smith sale quite a few years ago for 50p and have never used. Seemed a good idea at the time sort of thing but put away and forgotten about. So I decide to make a tag for OH as he goes to Prague at least twice a year. I've used Darkroom Door Prague Vol 1 stamped in majestic blue Versafine then I turned the card over and stamped it on the reverse too so that the tag is double sided. I also added some Inkylicious birds as it seemed a little bare. I then cut it to size, edged it with stormy sky distress ink and stuck it inside the tag. Very simple and it's now wrapped up under the tree. Probably the best present he's got - not sure he's going to be very impressed with the sandwich maker and oven gloves though!

Animal Crackers at Joanna Sheen

I made this very quick card for a friend and thought I'd enter it into the Joanna Sheen Animal Crackers challenge. The horse is an old Anita's stamp that I got in a sale for £1. This is it's first inking and all I've done is ink it with Gathered Twigs distress ink and moved some of the colour with a water brush. I've used a Crafts Concept embossing folder for the top of the card. The ribbon was rescued from a chocolate box. As I said a very quick card - I'll be making some more of these for my animal charity.

Paperback Christmas Tree

While I was blog hopping last night I came across KraftyKows blogspot and the fabulous Paperback Christmas Tree and decided I needed to have a go. I went to the charity shop and bought a damaged paperback which was going to the tip. It was larger than the normal size and I'll get three out of it for my 50p.

I did a search for a tutorial and there are loads out there but they all say to fold the bottom of the page up so it is flat. I've left mine hanging as I like the effect and I've sat it on a glass candle holder - another charity shop buy for 20p. Once folded I coloured the edges with Peacock Feathers distress inks and added a few sprays of Aqua Lagoon Cosmic Shimmer Mist. I added some aqua sequins all around which were from a pack that cost me £1.00 at the Market Gallery in Southampton. There are loads in this pack and I've hardly used any. I  finished it with a star sprayed with the same Shimmer Mist. I'm not 100% happy with the star so that may change on the next one as I'm sure I'll be making lots of these. They are so quick and ideal for children to sit and make once the book is cut.

This is what I used

And this is the tree

And the bottom pieces which should have been folded up along the horizontal edge

I'm entering this into the Anything Goes challenge which is Let's Not Be Square and the Incy Wincy  challenge - Anything But a Card.

Polka Doodles Week 18 - De-stress

The theme this week at Polka Doodles is De-stress. I'd normally say the way to de-stress is to spend some time in my craft room but I've been trying to make a card for my Aunt's 70th birthday and it's not going very well. I've put that aside for now in the hope my mojo will return later.

The background papers for this card are from the Pretty Tough cd as is the sentiment. They're printed directly onto the card and the edges distressed with Walnut Stain distress inks. The images are from a Polka Doodle set called For The Boys which was a freebie with Complete Cardmaking a while ago. The images are layered onto Core'dinations and the edges are distressed with a pair of scissors. I've got several different distressing tools but usually end up using scissors!

Time or Steampunk at Anything Goes

That age thing is catching up with me and I've decided I need to write lists and keep a note of things so I bought some cheap notebooks and I've decided to cover them. This one is going to be a sort of to do book and is my entry into the Anything Goes Time or Steampunk challenge. I covered the book with a K&Co paper called Golden Poppies. I've used distress inks and stamps to tone down the colour a little. The stamps I've used are Cogs Background by the Artistic Stamper and a Sense of Time by Stampin Up. I've also used a sequin waste mask by Tando Creative.

The main image is Phineas Pinchbeck by Artistic Stamper which I've stamped in Gathered Twigs and coloured with Rusty Hinge distress inks and then embossed with clear powder. The Tick Tock is  from Carnival Sizzlit strip embossed once with clear powder to keep the mottled effect. The clock charm is from another jewellery piece I bought in the sale at Claire's.

 I've also added some cog-like sequins that I bought in Poundland. There are loads in the pack and they come in several different colour ways

Less Is More Week 64 - How Charming

I had a good day in the craft room yesterday, organising a few things and even creating. As I've missed a couple of weeks on Less is More (where does the week go!) I decided to get straight down to it this morning and have a go at this How Charming challenge. The sentiment is from a Stampin Up set called Just Believe and cut with a Nestie label die, stamped in Pretty In Pink and matted on the same colour cardstock.

The fairy charm is from a pair of earings that I got in Claire's sale. They were originally £5.50 reduced to £3. But if you wait until the end of the sale you can usually choose 3 items for £5. I was lucky enough to go in early one morning at the very end when they bag up 10 items into a bag a sell it for £5 and she let me choose my items (normally the bag is sealed and you take pot luck) so I've got lots of little charms and chains for my cards. I just need to remember to use them.

The card blank is by Craftwork Cards. I've love the scalloped edges but the top always seems unfinished so I was going to emboss a border but can't find my tan mat so I've punched some tiny daisies instead.

Less Is More Week 12

Less Is More theme this week is a recipe of "Off Centre". I had time for a bit of a play yesterday and came up with three cards. I think this first one is my favorite but it doesn't look that clean to me. I used distress ink for the background over a Tim Holtz clock mask. The greeting is by Stampin Up from the Sense of Time set.