Special Christmas Delivery

Today I’m over at Country View Challenges sharing a card as inspiration for this month’s Cats and/or Dogs challenge. As I featured cats on my first project, my design this time includes this cute dog who already seems to be in the Christmas spirit (smile!).

This was a simple card design; for the background I started ripped a panel of design paper and I applied some Vintage Photo Distress Ink to the torn edges before sticking it onto a blank white 6×4” card using a glue stick. The Special Delivery wording and the cute dog, sending Merry Christmas wishes, was from a Tim Holtz Christmas Snippets Ephemera set and the rest of the sentiments were from a Christmas Sticker Book also by Tim Holtz; they were all edged with the Vintage Photo Distress Ink before sticking them in place.

I hope you are inspired to join our Cats and/or Dogs challenge over at Country View Challenges too, if you do, you’ll have a chance to win a £20 voucher to use on the Country View Crafts.

I made quite a few Christmas cards for family and friends using this technique; here are some of my favourites (smile!).

I hope that you are staying safe and well!

Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.

Challenges

As well as Country View Challenges, I’m pleased to be joining the following challenges:

Paperbabe Stamps and their #168 – Anything Goes challenge with my Christmas card.

Sparkles Christmas Challenge and their #136 – Christmas Sentiments challenge with the Tim Holtz Christmas sentiments that I added to my card.

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge and their Anything Christmas Goes challenge with my cute dog Christmas card.

MLCCB #44 Anything Christmas Goes over at Merry Little Christmas Challenge Blog with my Christmas card.

Layer It Up challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my layered papercraft card.

Butterflies

Over at Try it on Tuesday our challenge for the next 2 weeks is Butterflies.

I had so much fun creating this butterfly page using the huge Perspective Butterfly Thinlits Die by Tim Holtz – I hope you like it!

I started by covering the page using Mustard Seed and Scattered Straw Distress Inks and then I stencilled a Herringbone stencil by Paperbabe Stamps using Black Soot Distress Ink. Next I added the script and numbers to the background using an Etcetera Stamp Set by Tim Holtz and black Archival Ink, and then I applied some white acrylic paint through a hexagon stencil by Creative Expressions. The butterflies were die cut from some white cardstock using the Perspective Butterfly Thinlits Die from Tim Holtz. I coloured them using the Mustard Seed Distress Ink and Villainous Potion Distress Paint and when dry, they were stuck in place using Liquitex matte gel medium. To finish, I added the wording “Be gentle with yourself” which was from a Sentiments Sticker Book by Finnabair.

For more inspiration please pop over to Try it on Tuesday to see the wonderful Butterflies from our Guest Designer and my Design Teamies too (grin!). I hope you are inspired to join our challenge; it would be lovely to see you there!

My friend very kindly gifted me this delicious Ginger, Turmeric and Lemon Tea which I’m sharing today as T Stands for Tuesday – Happy T Day everyone!

Hope that you’re all staying safe and well!

Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.

Challenges

As well as Try it on Tuesday, I’m pleased to be joining the following challenges:

Paperbabe Stamps and their #167 – Anything Goes challenge with my butterfly page.

MIUCB #59 Anything Goes + Optional 3-D Project over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog with all the different techniques that I used to create this mixed media page

Texture challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with the texture that I created using the stencils in the background and Distress Inks and Paints on my butterflies.

Not A Card challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my colourful butterfly art journal page.

Floral Frenzy at Sparkles Monthly Challenge

Over at Sparkles Monthly Challenge, we are launching a new challenge today which is Floral Frenzy.

I had fun creating this page full of flowers using lots of different papers (smile!).

I started by applying a thin coat of Pébéo white gesso to the chipboard page and then I created a panel using some watercolour paper by smooshing some Peeled Paint, Twisted Citron and Rustic Wilderness Distress Inks onto it. When dry, I tore the edges of the paper panel and stuck it to the page using a glue stick.

Next I created the large flowers; I stamped the flowers onto three different pink design papers using a Flower Garden stamp set from Tim Holtz and black Archival Ink. Then I fussy cut them out and cut out some of the petals and stuck them together to create a single flower of patchwork petals. I also cut some smaller flowers from the pink papers using a Small Tattered Florals Thinlits set from Tim Holtz. Then I arranged them onto the page with some leaves that were die cut from two different green design papers using Wildflowers Stems #1 Thinlits set by Tim Holtz; everything was stuck in place using Liquitex matte gel medium. When dry, I coloured the centre of each of the flowers using a Yellow Promarker pen. To finish, I added the wording “so happy together” which was a Kaisercraft sticker.

I hope you’ll join us at Sparkles Monthly Challenge too, for more inspiration please check out the amazing Floral Frenzy designs from my Sparkles Buddies in the Design Team too; we would love for you to join us so please be sure to check out the rules here.

Like on my page, there’s a floral frenzy going on in my garden at the moment – I love this time of year as all the plants are flowering so beautifully (smile!). This is a glimpse at some the flowers in our garden at the moment – top left is Aquilegia or Ladies Bonnet, top right is Armeria Maritima or Thrift and bottom left is Tulip.

I hope that you are staying safe and well!

Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.

Challenges

As well as Sparkles Monthly Challenge , I’m pleased to be joining the following challenges:

Paperbabe Stamps and their #167 – Anything Goes challenge with my floral page.

Stamping Sensations and their Anything stamped with option of Floral and Fauna challenge as I included stamped flowers on my page.

Alcohol challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with the Promarker alcohol ink pens that I used as part of my design.

We Love Stamping and their For a Lady (or Girl) challenge with all the pretty stamped flowers on my page.

Not A Card challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my mini art journal page of flowers.

Flamingos

This page was inspired by the beautiful flamingos that we saw whilst visiting Blackpool Zoo (smile!).

I started by covering the page with Speckled Egg, Twisted Citron and Rustic Wilderness Distress Paints. When dry, I used the same Speckled Egg paint to stencil and also stamp a Waves mini stencil by Creative Expressions. Then I stencilled some Ranger Texture paste using a Carabelle Studio Art Mask and left it to dry. The flamingos were fussy cut from a topper sheet from Hunkydory and to finish, I added the wording “wild & free” which was a sticker by Little Yellow Bicycle.

Here are the gorgeous brightly coloured flamingos that we saw wading around in their lake. They are Caribbean flamingos and fly in flocks of several thousand in the wild; they fly in formation like migrating geese and make a similar honking sound.

They can live up to 40 years and are omnivorous in the wild, but, in captivity are fed on flamingo pellets which determine their colour and also small insects.

Challenges

I’m pleased to be joining the following challenges:

The lovely Matilde from http://craftowanie.blogspot.com/ is hosting this month at Art Journal Journey and her challenge is Birds so my flamingo art journal page is perfect (smile!).

Paperbabe Stamps and their #167 – Anything Goes challenge with my flamingo page.

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Not A Card theme with my art journal page.

MIUCB #59 Anything Goes + Optional 3-D over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog with all the different techniques that I used to create my flamingo page.

Using stencils on my page reminds me that you still have a few days left to join our Use A Stencil challenge over at Try it on Tuesday too; it would be lovely to see you there!

Common Bar

I created this page to remember one of my birthday celebrations, so today we are going to the Common Bar in Blackpool which serves South American Street Food such as tacos and burritos. 

I started by covering the page with some decoupage paper with a palm leaf and bird design, sticking it in place using a glue stick. Next I stencilled the bricks over the top using Rusty Hinge, Brushed Corduroy and Vintage Photo Distress Inks and then I applied some Pébéo white gesso using a brayer. I added the tropical foliage and flowers to the bottom and left-hand side of the page and the “Happy Birthday” wording, which were all stickers by Kaisercraft. To finish, I used some colourful letters to create the “Common Bar” wording and surrounded them with tile border stickers which were from the same Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet.

Here’s a video showing what the Common Bar looks like inside; we were seated upstairs in a window seat overlooking the street.

We had the most wonderful time and enjoyed these Plain Nachos (I think they are called “plain” as they have the basic toppings).

We also had three types of Tacos (Pork Carnitas, Shredded Chicken Tinga and Chipotle Mushroom) with a side order of corn – all of which were delicious (smile!). Here’s their food menu if you’re interested.

Our drinks were super fun too; I had a Havana Nights Cocktail and my hubby had a Pump Up The Jam beer by Tiny Rebel, yes it did taste like a jam doughnut (double grin!) – Happy T Day for those over at T Stands for Tuesday and here’s their drinks menu too.

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Matilde from http://craftowanie.blogspot.com/ who is hosting this month at Art Journal Journey and her Birds challenge with the two birds on the decoupage paper that I used on this page (did you spot them both, here’s one of them blowing kisses your way – smile!).

I’ve been having fun using stencils on my pages and this was inspired by our Use A Stencil challenge over at Try it on Tuesday; there is still another week to join in the fun too!

My Sweetheart

It’s time for our new challenge this month over at Country View Challenges which is being hosted by the lovely Rachel whose theme is Cats and/or Dogs.

For my page I used some beautiful cat images from the Lady Vagabond paper pad by Stamperia.

I started by covering the chipboard background using a Silver Metallics Acrylic by DecoArt and when dry, I dragged a black Archival Ink pad and a Rusty Hinge Distress Ink pad over the top to create the worn metal background. Next I cut out the different pieces of Stamperia paper, edged them with the Rusty Hinge Distress Ink and them collaged them onto the page. I applied some Ranger Glossy Accents to highlight the rivets on the papers and make them look more 3-D. Then to finish, I added the “My Sweetheart” wording which was from a Clippings Sticker Book by Tim Holtz.

For more inspiration please see the amazing creations from my fellow Design Team members over at Country View Challenges.

I love how this page turned out and here are some of the materials that I used.

I hope you’ll join us, it would be lovely to see you there and you never know, you might even win a £20 voucher for the Country View Crafts shop! Before you enter, please read the rules!

Wishing you a Happy May and I hope that you’re staying safe and well! x

Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.

Challenges

As well as Country View Challenges, I’m pleased to be joining the following challenges:

Paperbabe Stamps and their #166 – Anything Goes challenge with my freesia page.

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Anything Goes theme with my spring coloured flowers page.

MIUCB #59 Anything Goes + optional 3-D project over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog with the mixed media page and techniques that I used to create the worn metal background.

Painting the Roses Red

To join a few challenges including our I Can Hear Music challenge over at Try it on Tuesday, I created this fun “Painting the Roses Red” page using my new Alice Through The Looking Glass papers from Stamperia – I hope you like it!

I started by covering the background with some grey and silver acrylic paints, smudging them onto the page using a baby wipe. Then I layered some decoupage paper and design papers over the top using a glue stick and Liquitex matte gel medium.

The framed images were cut from the Alice Through The Looking Glass papers by Stamperia, decorated with some washi tape roses and mushroom stickers and then layered together on the page. To finish, I added the wording which were letter stickers by Docrafts.

Do you remember this fun song from Disney’s Alice in Wonderland?

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing this Lancaster Red beer and wishing the T Gang a very Happy T Day and sending E very happy birthday wishes! If you look closely at the bottom of the pump clip, you can see the Red Rose of Lancaster which is a heraldic badge dating back to medieval times and is often see here in Lancashire as it’s our county flower.

Hoping that you’re staying safe and well! x

Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.

Challenges

I’m pleased to be joining the following challenges:

The lovely Alison the Craftytrog is hosting over at Art Journal Journey this month and has chosen Play it again Sam so I’m joining her with my Painting the Roses Red page.

A Study in Contrast challenge over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog with my contrasting colours of black and white to the red.

Paperbabe Stamps and their #166 – Anything Goes challenge with my page.

One Fine Day

With Alison the Craftytrog posting a page for “Pretty Woman” as part of her Play It Again Sam challenge over Art Journal Journey, it made me think about other films from this era that I used to watch. The movie “One Fine Day” sprang to mind so I created this romantic page – do you remember this movie?

With romance in mind, I added a wash of Tattered Rose and Antique Linen Distress Ink to the background, applying it like watercolour. Then I used the same Distress Inks and Pistachio Memento Ink to stamp some stamps from an Etcetera and also a Sketch Greenery stamp set by Tim Holtz. Next I added some pretty doily and flower stickers from Kaisercraft and the heart and butterflies were from a Simple Vintage die cut set by Simple Stories. I added two brads to the “One Fine Day” wording, which was also from Simple Stories set, before sticking it in place using double-sided foam tape. To finish, I added the pink raindrop gems as I love the scene when they are in the park splashing around in the puddles.

If you are not familiar with this movie, One Fine Day was released in 1996 and it’s an American romantic comedy starring George Clooney and Michelle Pfeiffer. It’s about two single working parents who meet as strangers unexpectedly, along with their young children, one day in New York City.

Here’s the trailer for this film, which includes a glimpse at the scene where they are splashing in the puddles (grin!).

Hoping that you all stay safe and well! x

Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.

Challenges

I’m pleased to be joining the following challenges:

The lovely Alison the Craftytrog is hosting over at Art Journal Journey this month and has chosen Play it again Sam so I’m joining her with my “One Fine Day” page.

Paperbabe Stamps and their #165 – Anything Goes challenge with my romantic page.

Whatever The Weather challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with my One Fine Day page which includes pink raindrops.

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Rain or Shine theme with my page which includes pink raindrops.

Feeling Good

Over at Try it on Tuesday our challenge for the next 2 weeks is I Can Hear Music where we would like your entries to be inspired by a song.

We hope that you’ll join in the fun too and as you can see my song inspiration was “Feeling Good” but please be sure to let us know what song inspired your project if it’s not obvious.

To portray the first lines of the song, I started by sectioning the page into three panels. For the “Birds flying high” panel, I applied Salty Ocean and Speckled Egg Distress Ink using a Slimeline Starburst A4 Mask Stencil by Marianne Designs to create all the clouds. Then I stamped the Scribbly Birds in Flight by Dina Wakley over the top using black Archival Ink and I coloured them using Burnt Sienna and a mixture of black and white Kuretake watercolour paints. For the “Sun in the sky” panel, I used the same Marianne Designs stencil to apply Mustard Seed Distress Ink and I coloured between the sun rays using Salty Ocean Distress Ink. For the “Breeze Driftin’ by” panel, I used the same stencil to create the foreground using Rustic Wilderness Distress Ink and the clouds using the Speckled Egg and Salty Ocean Distress Inks again. The dandelions were stamped using a Molly Blooms Dandelion Clock Flower stamp and coloured using Sap Green and touches of Burnt Sienna, black and white Kuretake watercolours. I separated the panels using black Glitterations outline stickers and to finish, I added the song lyrics which were printed using a Dymo Label maker.

For more inspiration please pop over to Try it on Tuesday to see the wonderful song related creations from our Guest Designer and my Design Teamies too (grin!). I hope you are inspired to join our challenge; it would be lovely to see you there!

This “Peeling Good” beer inspired me to create this page as it always has me singing “Feeling Good” when I see it. This beer is a chocolate and orange stout, it’s rich and smooth with a lovely orange flavour and aroma. As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing this beer with the T Gang too and wishing you all a very Happy T Day!

Hope that you’re all staying safe and well!

Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.

Challenges

As well as Try it on Tuesday, I’m pleased to be joining the following challenges:

The lovely  Alison the Craftytrog is hosting over at Art Journal Journey this month and has chosen Play it again Sam so I’m joining her with my “Feeling Good” page.

Paperbabe Stamps and their #165 – Anything Goes challenge with my song inspired page.

The “I Love …..” challenge over at Stamping Sensations as I love Art Journaling and enjoyed using all the stamps to create this page.

We Love Stamping and their Favourite Stamps challenge, as Scribbly Birds in Flight stamp set by Dina Wakely is one of my favourite stamps, I was so pleased when it was re-released so I could buy it (smile!).

Whatever The Weather challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with the clouds and sunshine on my page.

50 & Fabulous Birthday Card

Today we are launching a new challenge over at Sparkles Monthly Challenge, which is Use Animal Print.

I created this card for a dear friend of mine who is definitely 50 & Fabulous (smile!).

I started by creating a panel from some recycled wrapping paper which had a pink leopard skin design. Then I stuck it to a card, that I made from a piece of A4 white card stock, and framed it using some sparkly silver zebra striped washi tape and black Glitterations border stickers.

Next I die cut the different paper elements from either black cardstock, the pink wrapping paper or some cardstock that I had covered in the silver sparkly washi tape; I used an X-Cut Folk Alphabet set for the numbers and letters, a stitched circle die for the circles and a tropical flower and foliage die set for the flower and leaves. I embellished the circles with a circular silver outline sticker and the leaves with some of the black Glitterations border stickers before layering all the die cut pieces together using Liquitex matte gel medium.

I hope you’ll join us at Sparkles Monthly Challenge too, for more inspiration please check out the amazing Animal Print designs from my Sparkles Buddies in the Design Team; we would love for you to join us so please be sure to check out the rules here.

With animal print in mind, I thought I’d also share these pretty Snake Head Fritillary flowers pictured here in my garden; their Latin name is Fritillaria meleagris and meleagris means “spotted like a guineafowl“, the name “snake’s head” may refer to snakelike appearance of the nodding flower heads when in bud. We planted them in our garden border last year after rescuing them from the poorly plant section of a garden centre, and with this being their first year flowering we were delighted to see so many flowers (grin!).

I hope that you are staying safe and well!

Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.

Challenges

As well as Sparkles Monthly Challenge , I’m pleased to be joining the following challenges:

Paperbabe Stamps and their #165 – Anything Goes challenge with my sparkly animal print card.