Christmas Su - in Journal form!

My second project for Country View Crafts Challenges 'Bah Humbug' theme this month is a page in my journal, well actually it's two pages... The page I showed on the blog are white embossing paste snowflakes in the background and a Victorian Santa keeping an eye on my very favourite stamp - my Phrenology head that I've nicknamed Su (as I think she looks a little like Su Pollard!) I really like the detail in the wreath around Su's neck - I think I'll use that lots and lots this Christmas!

My second page is a Dylusions influenced page with clear embossing paste for the snowflakes. This is what they look like in my journal:

I hope you're joining in with us this month!

How many more sleeps?!

It's my turn at the Country View Crafts blog today - this is a sneaky peek - why not pop over and see the whole project?!

Ho Ho Ho!

Gosh! It's time for another challenge at Crafty Boots! Time really is flying this year! The theme is Christmas and I chose to make a couple of pages in my journal. The Stamps are Dylusions (as are the inks) expect my Su stamp and the snowflakes are a Tim Holtz stamp stamped with Red Geranium Archival Ink.

I hope you'll join in with us this fortnight!

Bah Humbug!

The Country View Crafts Challenge site is starting December off with the theme of 'Bah Humbug'! This sounded quite Victorian and so I made a tag as a homage to a Victorian Christmas card using some of the wonderful new Tim Holtz Christmas themed stamps. I absolutely love the expression on Santa's face and the twinkle in his eye and so I added two little banners. Santa was coloured using Dylusions inks - isn't his coat fabulous?!

Hope you'll join in with us this month!

Chocolate understands!

For my second project for Country View Crafts Challenges theme of Letters I made a hanging using my favourite Wendy Vecchi Art Parts and stamps with a little Ideaology. The quotation is one of my favourite PaperArtsy stamps. I painted all of the Art Parts with Snowflake Fresco Finish Paint and sanded them when dry. I added Vintage Photo Distress Ink to the edges of, well, everything! Hope you've joined in with our theme this month - there's still time if you would like to and there's some incredible inspiration on the blog!

I do believe in fairies...

It is my privilege to bring you this fortnight’s challenge for DragonsDream Tag It On – to use a book of your choice as inspiration plus - Stencil/Mask, Paint and the colour green along with the obligatory stamp and tag. The design team have come up with some fabulous projects as always and we are joined by Julie Ann  as a guest for this challenge – welcome along Julie Ann! This is the final challenge in this round of ‘recipes’ – I wonder what we have in store for you next time? It’s really worth stopping by to see... I am such a tease!

I chose Peter Pan, my son's favourite story, as my inspiration. The stamps are from Artistic Outpost, the paint is Hyde Park from PaperArtsy and the stencil is one from Tim Holtz. I have no idea why my camera has added a filter to the photo but I suspect a child might have been playing with my phone! Hope you'll join in with us this fortnight!

A-Star Gift Wrap

My family are starting to ask me for Christmas present ideas for my children. How scarily organised! Their questions did prompt me to think about the sort of presents we buy and how they have changed and evolved now my children are hitting teenage years. Gone are the bright plastic toys that require countless batteries, they've been replaced with an endless demand for iTunes vouchers etc! This glassine envelope with tag voucher holder hidden inside seems just perfect - I just need to make several more!

I love the 3-dimensional star with vintage music paper on it, I think I'd use old dress making patterns if the voucher were for a clothes shop!

Dream a little dream...

For this fortnight's Dragons Dream Tag It On the rather lovely May chose a song of your choice plus - Bird, Blue and Crown not forgetting the regular rules of it to be on a tag and to include at least one stamp. I chose the song Dream a little dream of me - my Mum and Dad used to play this song to me when I was a child and I often found myself singing/humming it to my children when they were tiny and I was trying to get them to sleep! I love how songs resonate throughout your life like this! 

I used Distress Inks (Broken China, Peacock Feathers and Vintage Photo) for the background and Tim Holtz stamps for the main images which were stamped using Wendy Vecchi's rather fabulous Watering Can Archival Ink (I love this ink!). The crown has classic Treasure Gold added to it. I hope you'll join in with us this time!

We will remember...

Yesterday was Remembrance Sunday - the day we remember all those who have fought so bravely in times of war. For Crafty Boots this fortnight this is our theme - to show remembrance. My very, very dear friend Helen suggested that it could be remembrance of a loved one or pet so you don't have to use Remembrance Sunday as your inspiration.

For my tag I used Dylusion inks, PaperArtsy leaves and a grungepaper flower made from a Wendy Vecchi stamp. The heart was a Wendy Vecchi mask and the chicken wire stamp in the background is also a Ms Vecchi stamp!

We went to our local War Memorial for the service yesterday. It was a beautiful day and was a lovely place to stop and reflect. I hope you join in with us this fortnight!

I saw the stars...

There is a new challenge at Country View Crafts Challenges this month - Letters! For my first project I chose to use dictionary paper to stamp the my images on to as well as to write the sentiment in large letters. The background was one I created in my journal from Dylusion inks but thought it far too bright so I left it for ages! I decided that I really should do something with it so to knock it back I sprayed layers of White Linen Dylusion Ink until I liked the colours! Sometimes giving a few days (or weeks!) to think about something you've made gives a new perspective! I really like the background now! 

I was then reminded of a Dylusions sentiment that I changed so I could use a Dylusions stars stencil!!! I wrote each letter in white pen and outlined it in black. The houses were stamped and their rooves (my spell checker wants my to say 'roofs' but I'm sure it's 'rooves'!) were inked with Melted Chocolate Dylusion Ink and has Vintage Photo Distress Ink on the edges.

In the background I misted some stars to add a little twinkle! I look forward to seeing how you interpret this month's theme! There is always lots of inspiration on the blog throughout the month from my incredible Design Team mates if you need it!

Yellow Brick Road

For Dragons Dream Tag It On this fortnight the theme is a film of your choice plus - texture, embellishment and a hint of red on a tag with at least one stamp - all chosen by the fabulous Silvia. Our house has a few favourite films but Freya and I both love The Wizard of Oz! 

I made a yellow brick road inspired background using a Wendy Vecchi stencil and some flowers with some of Wendy's  Embossing Pastes. The centre of the sun (or another flower) is a Blossom Bucket embellishment. 

I had a picture of Dorothy that I added the hint of red to - Stickles on her shoes! I hope you'll join us this fortnight - I'd love to see what films you choose! The rest of the team have chosen some really great films to give you more inspiration - why not check them out? 

Autumn

The really rather lovely Zoe has chosen the theme of 'Autumn' for this fortnight's challenge at Crafty Boots. I wasn't really sure how I was going to interpret this theme but one look through a quotation site on the internet (I LOVE reading quotations - I wish I was that witty!) and I knew exactly where to start! I chose to use my journal, Dylusion inks and my Tattered Leaves die! How will you interpret the theme this time? I'm really looking forward to seeing your projects!

Apothecary Bottles

I have chosen to make something spooky for Country View Crafts this month - why not pop over and see it?!

My spooky family

This fortnight's challenge at Crafty Boots was chosen by my wonderful friend Dionne and is Halloween. She is encouraging you to think about witches, fairies, dragons, leprechaun, hobbits and other mythical characters! I wanted to make something a little different and so made a page in my Dylusions Journal. The background is Dylusion green inks and after stamping on the leaves and spending ages colouring them in with Crushed Grape Dylusion ink I then liberally misted them with water so the ink ran and looked more spooky. I love how the ink changes colour as it reacts with the water! 

The people are Tissue Wrap adhered to white card and then cut out using Dylusion masks as templates. I misted them with more Dylusion inks and then blotted them so they had a hint of colour. The heads were severed (!) and replaced with skulls in hats! The phrase is again from the Dylusion range but I replaced the word 'normal' with spooky! A huge thanks to Dionne for choosing this theme - I had a ball making this! I hope you'll join in with us this fortnight!

Something Spooky...

For latest Country View Crafts Challenges latest theme Something Spooky, I decided to create a second decor piece, this time using a Five Panel Frame. Like my first project this month, I used added many layers of Fresco Finish paint, including crackle glaze, and inks until it looked grungy and aged. 

The back piece was painted so it would be darker and give a greater contrast to the Grungepaper images from Tim Holtz. Each image was coloured with  inked them with Antique Linen Distress Stain and edged with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. The skull was stamped and then embossed which gives it a different texture to the other images. The ticket stamp was coloured with Distress Markers so that the number could be in Spiced Marmalade!

I hope that you'll feel inspired to join in this month - there are prizes to be won!

One Word...

For this fortnight's Dragonsdream Tag It On the theme is 'Word' - chose any word (or words!) and incorporate it with a tag and the following recipe - brown, die cuts and layers. 

I chose to die cut out of my tag rather than add die cuts to it and then layered inks and lots of different Fresco Finish paints and a Dylusions mask until I liked the effects! The word I chose was 'play' and I used a PaperArtsy stamp that I adore. I doodled around the edge of the tag with a brown pen - I didn't mean to, I seem to be doing that a lot lately so I had intended to do something different but before I knew it there were the doodled lines! Hey ho!

Hope you join in with us this time - we're really looking forward to seeing how you'll interpret this theme!