Monday 25 December 2017

Peace on Earth

Greetings
Wherever you are in the world today and whether you are celebrating Christmas or not, I'd like to wish you all Peace...inner peace and fulfilment.
 

Merry Christmas 
Peace and Goodwill to All


(If you're already tired of eating and socialsing and would like to read more seasonal messages and some crafty inspiration pop over to The Craft Barn blog!)

Friday 22 December 2017

Beary Christmas

Hello there
If you're feeling a little frazzled with Christmas preparations here's a little something to make you smile...

 

Can't have too many bears!

Thank you for stopping by xxx


Thursday 14 December 2017

Christmas Table

Hi There
For those celebrating Christmas I hope your preparations are going smoothly. I'm just beginning to enter panic mode, which is normally followed by compromise, acceptance and then relaxation and enjoyment! It's a familiar pattern.

Over at The Craft Barn this week the theme is all about decorating the Christmas table and my Claybord place mat is live today.


For details pop over to the blog. Do check out what the other DT members have been up to, especially Helen's fantastic napkin rings yesterday.

I'm off to tidy the craft room, also known as our guest room, which will need to accommodate my mother-in-law next week. I know there's a bed in there somewhere just got to find it under the craft stash!

Thank you for stopping by.

Sunday 3 December 2017

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

Friday 1 December 2017

Perfect Poinsettias

Hello there
The First day of December and decidedly chilly where I am. Today my poinsettia cards are live on The Craft Barn blog. Christmas cards have been made for a few weeks now but none actually written. I'd better get cracking as some have quite a way to go!


 
 



Do take a look at the blog for all the details and to see what the others have been up to.

Hope you have a lovely weekend, with a bit of crafting thrown in for relaxation. xx

Thursday 23 November 2017

Reasons to Give Thanks

Hello
Happy Thanksgiving to followers in the US. It's always good to reflect on the many reasons there are to give thanks and research shows that thankful people are usually much happier people. So today I'm making a special effort to count my blessings, of which there are many.



Apologies for the slightly wonky photo. I forgot to take one and had to ask the recipient to email me a photo back!

Saturday 11 November 2017

Snowy Sentiments

Hello
It's a grey day in this part of the world and the temperature has definitely dropped.

I like to make my Christmas cards as a little bit of love goes into each one, but being realistic they have to be designs you can mass produce.

Here's the third of my designs for this year...


I'm really impressed with the quality of the Find It dies and the snowman is a cheeky little chap, so I made as many cards as possible of one design before getting bored. I'm sure he'll be out again next year in a different guise!


The project is live on the The Craft Barn blog today so do have a look for all of the details of how to make it.

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you have a lovely day. I'm off for a play in my craft room! xx

Sunday 5 November 2017

Dull November brings the blast

Hello again
The first Sunday of the month means it's time for the next verse of The Craft Barn's Twelve Month Challenge based around Sara Coleridge's poem The Months.

Dull November brings the blast,
Then the leaves are whirling fast.

My mini canvas is live on the blog, hopefully providing some inspiration for those joining in with the challenge.


It's amazing how quickly the year has passed by. Winter always used to be my favourite season but as I get older I enjoy each season in a different way. Important to enjoy the present though and not wish it away thinking about the future too soon.

Thank you for stopping by my blog. Hope you are having a lovely day wherever you are. xx

Saturday 4 November 2017

Christmas Bauble Card

Hello
A quick one today to share the second of my Christmas card designs for this year using the lovely bauble stencil from Giovanna Zara. I bought mine through her Dawanda shop and you can see her ideas and tutorials on her blog.


I can see a lot of uses for the different elements at some point in the future!

As I've said before the secret to Christmas card making is a simple design that can be put together production line style. I stencilled first in vintage photo Distress Ink  around the outer parts of the image and then went over with festive berries. I then very lightly added some Imagination Crafts Starlights in antique gold before stamping a sentiment. To finish off I added a pale shadow in alcohol marker and some metallic nailhead gems.


Unfortunately the flash picks up the gold but flattens some of the colour and shading which make it look more 3D. Quick to do and will be eye catching across a festive room at Christmas.

Thank you for taking time to stop by. xx



Tuesday 31 October 2017

Winter Trees Christmas Card

Hello there
The school half term break is over and so I feel I can legitimately start thinking about Christmas. I've begun the Christmas card assembly line. The secret to Christmas card making is to keep it simple (relatively) and be able to work in batches. It can also mean compromising a bit, maybe skipping the embossing you would normally do and cross your fingers the ink doesn't run! The idea is not to create fine art but to end up with something that looks striking from across the room amid other cards.

I've been looking forward to using the CraftEmotions Christmas tree, branches set. This is a great set for layered images.If you don't celebrate Christmas it's still a lovely set for winter scenes and birthday cards.

Image result for craft emotions clear stamps 

First I stamped the step 1 small trees in iced spruce Distress Oxide ink on a square of watercolour paper. Masking off the bottom of the trees helps to avoid them looking like they are floating in mid air. I did this 28 times! The only thing that limited me was the number of appropriately sized card blanks at the end.
 

Next I over stamped the step two trees in faded jeans...28 times.


Then I repeated with the step 1 large tree in seedless preserves...


...before overstamping the step 2 image in wilted violet. The advantage of the Distress Oxides is that they can be layered and not get muddied together.


A light spritz with water helped to blend the colours and soften the edges. I blotted with kitchen paper to stop it spreading too far.


I smooshed broken china onto a craft mat and used a wet paint brush to watercolour the sky, then added colour beneath the trees.


To finish off when the paper was completely dry I stamped the step 3 images in silver ink and added a border with a Kaisercraft border stamp.


To finish off I mounted it on a white card blank and stamped a sentiment with my trusty stamping tool. Once I had positioned the stamp and tested it on a square of scrap paper I knew that every single sentiment would be perfectly positioned. How did I ever manage without a stamping tool?!


Making cards this way really cuts down on the time you use to swap over equipment. I also had everything lined up in order on the bench ready to go. 


And there we are. Design one completed. I usually try and make four or five designs of Christmas cards just so that it's not too boring. I have 3 more designs coming up before Christmas on The Craft Barn blog and another to share here using the lovely Giogiocraft bauble stencil...but that's for another day.

Thank you for visiting my blog. xxx

Friday 13 October 2017

For the Girls

Hello
Somehow it slipped by me that my project was up on The Craft Barn blog this week. There have been lovely projects which will make great gifts as well as decorations.




The bottles are great fun to decorate. I've used the technique in the past in another project that you can see here.

Right off to bed now as I'm hoping to get up bright and early and put my mind to a couple of crafty projects in the morning.

Have a good weekend. xx

Sunday 8 October 2017

There is always hope...

Hello
At last a chance to play with some of the stamps I picked up on my travels this summer. First up the Banksy little girl with a balloon - There is always hope.
 

 
 
I picked this up from StempelBar in Berlin. Actually I spent quite a few pennies there on Banksy and graffiti art stamps. There may well be a few more cards and projects to come in this style!

Saturday 7 October 2017

Animal Farm

Hello
Business and housework sorted for the weekend...time now for a bit of crafting. First of all just to let you know that my latest post for The Craft Barn is live today on the blog.


I really love these cheeky chaps from the PaperArtsy Elena Zinski range.


The cards are actually one layer apart from the paper flower. Hop over to the blog for the step-by-step tutorial and find out how to achieve this effect with masking techniques.

No time to chat...crafting awaits! Hope you have a lovely relaxing day. Thanks for stopping by xx

Sunday 1 October 2017

Fresh October brings the pheasant...

Hello
October already! Where has the year gone? The first Sunday of the month means that it is time for the next verse of The Craft Barn's twelve month challenge based on Sara Coleridge's poem The Months. Here's my mini canvas, a bit off centre to get the pheasant's tail in!

Fresh October brings the pheasant,
Then to gather nuts is pleasant.
 
 
The leaves are fabulous colours and I've seen some spectacular fungi around, although it's looking a bit rainy and grey here today. Do have a look at the blog to see what everyone else comes up with and as always I will try to visit as many of the entries as possible.

Happy crafting xx

Friday 29 September 2017

Drunken Chalks

Hello
Today my drunken chalks project goes live on The Craft Barn blog. It's a great technique using isopropyl alcohol / rubbing alcohol for soft blended backgrounds.


Do have a look at the other DT posts to see the great effects you get with metallic inks.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend ahead. xx

Sunday 24 September 2017

Autumn Fruits

Hello
I hope you're having the same gloriously sunny day as me. I love this time of year with the soft autumnal colours. I had a great day yesterday with Helen Chilton at The Craft Barn playing around with alcohol inks and Claybord. You can take a look at her sample on her blog.


Needless to say I bought a couple of pieces to play with, so watch this space!

Hope you are having a relaxing weekend with a bit of crafting time thrown in. xxx

Saturday 16 September 2017

Joseph's Coat

Hello
I'm a bit late posting this one. I had a busy day yesterday and spent a great evening at Chertsey Museum doing a bit of crafting with nine lovely ladies making mixed media notebook covers. They must have enjoyed it as they want to do the same technique again on something else. Didn't get to photograph them all but they made an excellent job of it.


This week The Craft Barn has been showcasing the Joseph's Coat technique using different ways of masking to reveal a layer below. I went for a canvas board.



There are quite a few steps for this one so do take a look at the blog for all of the details. The weekend awaits and I am very hopeful for at least one day of crafting! 

Thank you for stopping by. xx






Friday 8 September 2017

Inspiration on the Street - Lyon and Paris

Hello
And so to the last stage of our big European road trip which saw me on the hunt for street art and craft shops and my husband on the trail of craft beer. This combination worked out really well and I can see us doing it again.

The last stage was back through France where an overnight in Lyon sadly didn't reveal much as the stormy weather was not conducive to wandering around. We did see some dramatic skies though!


This mosaic, completed in 1936, was in Rue de Créqui  just off a square where an outdoor concert was about to begin.


I think this is one of the murals celebrating the work of architect Tony Garnier. There are around 24 murals painted on buildings in a housing project in the east of Lyon.
 

This giant Flower Tree created by Korean pop artist Choi Jeong Hwa was along the bank of the river Rhone.


We will definitely have to visit Lyon again!

Finally to Paris where I was beginning to run out of steam and the weather was very wet at times. I really loved the simplicity of this figure which could have been easily overlooked.


Paris is peppered with mini mosaics by the street artist Invader who bases the images on video games.


We had to keep looking up to catch some of the work.


 


 

This one is a recent 2017 addition and one of my favourites of the whole trip.



 










And so to finish with one of the smaller works but it would be in my top 10 of the trip.


I hope you've enjoyed seeing some of these works and like me, find some inspiration in them for your own creative journey.

Thank you for stopping by xx