There's always another idea ...

and here it is ...

 

I realise that both this page and the previous one (see below post) are very simple compared to the gorgeous artistic creations which are entered for Our Creative Corner   challenges, but I just couldn't resist finally using that great stamp of the girls under their umbrellas. And ... they were coloured in using my new Derwent Inktense pencils ... hooray!

WOYWW Anniversary Week 312

If you've just landed here accidentally, then you will probably be wondering what this all about. And the best person to give you all the details would be Julia and you will find her at The Stamping Ground.

Domestic renovations and repairs have left little time recently to join in with any challenges, but I do have two in mind which I might be able to finish in the next day or so ... hopefully ... if I neglect everything else :)  There's my first cup of tea, the one which comes before my second cup of tea, which both come before breakfast. And there's a blob of gel medium sitting too close to that cup of tea, and yes, I very nearly glued the cup to the scrap paper. The gel medium is necessary to glue those little die cut roses into a proper rose shape. They start off flat ...

... and they are quite fiddly to make, but well worth the effort :)

This reminds me of the first WOYWW Anniversary when everyone who participated sent something handmade to the next person. (ATCs are much more convenient for posting.) And I received a beautiful decorated box, full of (genuinely) handmade flowers from Cardarian.  I still have lots of them ... they are too nice to use!


I'll be joining in with the WOYWW Anniversary ATC swap, but I have a few extras if anyone else would like to swap. See you soon.

February Challenges

I've been working on a little project which I think will fit the current theme for my two favourite challenge blogs, Rubber Dance Art Stamps and Our Creative Corner.  The colour theme at Rubber Dance was turquoise blue/red/vintage brown with an optional theme of "love" and the theme at OCC was based on using techniques/products from a "Tic Tac Toe" panel ...

Pick a line, any line, up or down, or diagonally. I chose "Metal, Stamps, Mediums (crackle)".
Here's the end result, another "Reverse Canvas" which I really enjoyed creating. I'll put the finished pic here at the top, and then, if you fancy, you can scroll down to see some of the steps I took to make it.

 

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Here's the "How to", if you are interested ...

 

First, I crackle glazed (Viva Croco Crackle) two canvasses, one fresh one and one which I didn't like ...

I used a brush to apply the crackle glaze to the one on the left and a palette knife to apply the glaze thickly to the one on the right. Big difference? At first, I really liked the one on the right, but the next day I much preferred the one on the left!

 

Stamps need to be used for the Rubber Dance Challenge and I used Kaisercraft Script for the background, on top of some colour misting.

 

I found some pretty mini roses which I had made previously (and changed the colour by spraying them, below), and then I made some more, using vellum. The edges of the roses were slightly coloured with Distress Ink. The chipboard and lace was also colour sprayed.

 

 

I didn't take photos of every step, that would eat into my creative time :) but the picture is from Crafty Individuals and the layer behind is embossed flashing which I coloured with alcohol inks and the red layer under that is recycled acetate packaging which is also embossed and coloured with alcohol ink, as were the little circular metal embellishments.

 

 

Ice cool shades for a hot summer

I finished one of those projects that I mentioned the other day. It is a handmade book, repurposed from the box of shortbread, a Christmas present from my neighbour. Cool, eh?

 

Here's what I did ...

 

First open out the box carefully

 

Fold all those edges over and glue in place.

This is where you will need your "special craft pegs"

not those grubby ones on the clothesline :)

 Paint a couple of layers of gesso all over (the right side).

Now I've stamped that pretty bird stamp from Rubber Dance Art Stamps on some tissue paper. (The tissue paper is actually blue. I don't know why it looks white?)

 

 

Just keep adding the tissue til it's all nicely covered ...

 

Then I made some papers to cover the inside cover.

I think the picture explains what I did ...

Here's the inside. I made three signatures of three sheets each.

Oh, and the front (see top pic), has been embellished with silver (card) die cuts

 and some tiny, tiny bling.

 

Now, I am reasonably happy with this little creation,
so I think I will enter it in these challenges:

 

 

http://rubberdance.blogspot.no/2015/01/january-colour-challenge-frosty-blues.html

and here also

http://ourcreativecorner6.blogspot.co.at/2015/01/christmas-leftovers.html 

 

 

fabulous faux rust folly

I don't really know if it is fabulous, but it just sounded like a nice title, right? And, it might have started out as a folly, but I'm happy with it and now it is ... The Rustic Theatre!

 

The leaves are not pink, they are a nice deep red/brown - I'm blaming the flash :)

  

Now the rustic theatre started out as a cardboard biscuit box and some of what I did to it can be found just below. Some of the things I used included: acrylic paints, embossing powders,  stamping (on deers and sign), ribbon, tassel trim, serviette (background), German scrap, Cuttlebug embossing folders, Memory Box & Impression Obsession dies, Prima wooden birds.

  

I think I will link The Rustic Theatre up with:

http://ourcreativecorner6.blogspot.co.at/2014/10/go-rustic.html and http://rubberdance.blogspot.no/2014/10/october-colour-challenge-vintage-tones.html