Red Dress

Hi All

What a change in the weather,although its still bright and sunny, its decidedly chilly here,  so no garden this afternoon - just a bit of organising in the craft room and sorting out some cards to take with me on Monday when I'm off to spend a few days with DD. 

I made this card a couple of weeks ago and I don't know how many times I have tried to take photos, the red just doesn't look right!  today's looks a bit better.  I have used Kanban Jasper Steampunk stamps, for the dress and coloured with Promarkers and red glitter.  I have stitched gold thread on the back of the dress, and gold embossed the cogs.  Crafty Individual Swirl, was stamped in Fired Brick DI, which as also used on the TH words and butterflies, which are coated with Glossy Accents, and a flower made from inked  book pages. Have had the paper for ages, its all gold and sparkly and looks lovely when the light catches it.

  I am entering this card in:

  Craft  Room Challenge - Sparkle Glitter/Shine
  Rainbow Lady's -  Butterflies
  Divas by Design - Use a Stamp
  Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes

That's it for now, thanks for looking.  Hope you all have a good weekend.

Avril xx

A touch of Red

Hi All,

What a beautiful week, and I'm afraid I have made the most of it - and sadly neglected crafting and blogging!

However I did manage to finish this card for LIM which is 'take 3 challenges'.  I have picked week 9 - A touch of Red/ week 58 - One layer script/week 59 - masking.  I have used the Clarity Corset, masked and over stamped using Hero Arts 'Old FrenchWriting' through a torn paper mask as I didn't want hard lines.
The sentiment is also masked  Hero Arts 'have a fabulous birthday'. The corset was coloured with Pro markers and I added black glitter to the top and hem.

Thats it for now, and thanks for looking.

Avril xx

Easter at Try it on Tuesdays

The theme at Try it on Tuesdays this week is Easter or Spring.  You can make whatever you wish as long as you follow the theme.  For this challenge we are being sponsored by the Craft Barn with a £15 prize!  and if you feel you need some inspiration, please head over to TioT and take a look at the fabulous creations by the rest of the Team.

For my DT project I have made 2 Tags (that why you can see the back of the other one).  The front was made by sponging Forest Moss, Peeled Paint Wild Honey and Tumbled Glass onto a cream tag and over stamped with that very popular bunny stamp which came free in this months Craft Stamper mag.
The rest of the stamps are Inkylicious.  On the back I lightly sponged the same inks, made a little vellum pocket (for the money) sponged Peeled Paint onto this before stamping those bunnies again.   The sentiment was made on the computer.

I am also entering this in:
   2 Sisters - Spring is in the Air
  Creative Stamp Friends- Spring

Thats it for now, thanks for looking and I'm off to enjoy the garden and the sunshine!

Avril xx

Spring is in the Air at FSC

Hi All,

After a week of lovely weather - Spring is in the Air over at Fashionable Stamping Challenges!  For this fortnight we would love to see your Spring creations, and in case any of you are in need of inspiration, the rest of the Design Team have created some fabulous projects,so please pop over and take a look, but remember, we do need to see some stamping on your project.

For my DT card I have used another of my purchases from the GNP show last weekend.  This gorgeous image is 'Anenome Corner' from IndigoBlue. which I  coloured with Distress Inks, I  stamped and  cut out another 2  flowers, then decided to 'touch them all up'  with H2Os for a bit of shimmer!  The centres are sprinkled with black glitter.
The script in the background was stamped through torn paper masks.  The sentiment and butterfly are from Inkylicious.  The butterfly was also stamped onto acetate and coloured with Alcohol Inks.  The background was sponged with Milled Lavender and Dusty Concord DIs.

I am also entering this card in:
  Our Craft Lounge - Spring
  Stamping for the Weekend - Anything Goes
  Samuel Taylors - Butterflies

Thats it from me for now, apart from saying 'hello' to my new followers, I'll be round to visit later in the day. Hope you all enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Avril xx

A Lady's Perogative to be Late!

Hi All,

Yes, its a Lady's prerogative to be late and this Sketchy Lady from Clarity Stamps is no exception!(Well I have to blame someone for my constant lateness in entering LIM challenges.)
The challenge this week is 'Masking' and I have masked 'the lady' and then stamped and clear embossed the background stamp from the Tim Holtz Papillon set,  (I love this set and was lucky a few weeks ago to win over at Through the Craftroom Door and this was my pick.)  I sponged Milled Lavender DI over the background and the lady is coloured with Promarkers. 
I am also entering this card in
  Papercrafting Journey - Pastels
  Crafts & Me - Spring colours
  Little Red Waggon - CAS
  Scrapbook Sisters - Anything Goes

That's it for now, and thanks for looking.

Avril xx

Pretty Lady

Hi All,

I had a great day at Harrogate on Saturday and was lucky enough to meet up again with some lovely blogging friends.  Of course, there was some great new products and well..... just had to spend a little!!
Of course, when you get new stash, you just have to play and thats just what I have been trying to do, although, with the nice weather, the garden is also calling!

I have made a couple of cards with this new IndigoBlu stamp , isn't she pretty, she is called Ella Bella. She was stamped onto white card and I used her swirls to stamp around the edge, before sponging with Milled Lavender DI. The base card was stamped with the swirls from the Music Hall set, in Milled Lavender and Dusty Concord DI.  I coloured the seam binding with the same inks.  Image swirls were all dusted with Glamour Dust.
I am entering this card in:
  Make It Monday - Anything Goes
  Bling It On - Birthday with shades of Lilac
  That Craft Place - Anything Goes
  DYSU - Favourite Colour (Mauve)
  MAWTT - Special Lady

I would just like to say 'hello' to my new followers, thank you for following me.

Thats it for now, need to do some visiting and find out what everyone has been up to!

Avril xx

Blue Poppies!

Hi All,

I'm off to GNP show at Harrogate tomorrow with my friend Diane, soooooooo looking forward to it!
Planning what I 'need' to buy has made me  think about the stamps that have been neglected lately!
This Hero Arts Poppy stamp is one, I suppose because I think of Poppies in the Summer  - so decided that was to change.  I stamped  in Black Versamark and clear embossed onto some white card and then twice again onto some hand made paper (thats the reason for the orange speck on the large flower).  I cut the flowers out and and some extra petals which were fixed with 3D foam pads. Shaded with Promarkers and Blender pen to give some depth.

The card base is inked with Tumbled Glass and Broken China Distress Inks.
The challenge this week at Make My Monday is Mothers Day/ Thank You Cards, and although my  card is 'Just to Say' the Thank You will be written in the card.

I am also entering this card in:
  Papercrafting Journey - Pretty Pastels
  Fairy Fun Fridays - Distress It
  Our Craft Lounge - Pretty Petals
  The Poodles Parlour - Anything Goes
  Partytime Tuesdays - Monochromatic
  Creative Mondays - Anything Goes

That's it for tonight, need to be up early in the morning - but will I sleep or will I be dreaming of ...........Harrogate!

Avril xx

Another Offering for LIM

Hi All,

When I made my card for this weeks LIM challenge, I had initially decided on this very neglected Santa Rosa Oriental Script stamp, but after stamping changed my mind - well it is a womans prerogative!
Last night I decided to colour the image and I rather like it, so have decided to enter this one as well.  I really like Oriental themed cards, its a shame they aren't so popular now.

I am also entering this in:
  Allsorts - Say It With Flowers
  Creative Belli - CAS

Thanks for looking,

Avril xx

Less Is More

Hi All, 
Where has the sunshine gone!  it has been grey and cloudy today and certainly not weather for tiding up the garden which was the plan, so ..... couldn't waste an afternoon so I have actually managed to make my LIM card this week with time to spare! 
The challenge this week is a one layer card with  'Script' and for my card I have used this lady  from Inkadinkado which was masked before stamping the post card from Crafty Individuals.(I hope there is enough script on the postcard!)  I have coloured with Promarkers and lightly distressed with Antique Linen DI.  The sentiment is Inkylicious.

I am also entering this this card :
  Make It Monday - Anything Goes

Thats it for now, thanks for looking.

Avril xx

Watercolours at Try It On Tuesday

Hi All,

Hope you're having a good week so far, and glorious weather!

This is my first DT piece for TIOT, the challenge this week is Watercolour.  I must admit since using Promarkers I hardly ever think about watercolours, even though there is a drawer full of them, so this made a nice change for me and I used my very neglected H2Os.

The card base was clear embossed with a Fleur De Lis stamp and then sponged with Broken China, Stormy Skies, Tumbled Glass and Weathered Wood DIs and then the Fleur De Lis stamped again in Weathered Wood.  I  also stamped a music score after stamping on spare paper which is very feint, but just adds a bit of  a distressed look.  The image is Hampton Art Stamps which was stamped  twice in Memento Rich Cocoa. The background was water coloured, the lady was cut out and mounted on 3D foam pads, her dress ( and the butterfly) were coloured with H2Os for a lovely sheen.

I have seen a few tutorials on 'frantage'  and although I don't have the glitters or powders, thought I would improvise and have a go, as although I wanted a distressed look to the card, I didn't really want to darken it with inks - I embossed the edges of the image and card with Versamark and added gold  sparkle and silver embossing powders, then used a Versamark pen and more powders to add extra where needed, don't think it looks too bad!  I am going to the GNP show in Harrogate on Saturday, so will check out the 'real stuff'.

I am also entering this card in a couple of challenges:

  Bunny Zoes - Shabby/Vintage
  Love to Create - All about the Ladies
  Crazy Challenges - No Designer Paper
  The Stamp Man - Vintage

Please pop over to the blog and check out the rest of the fabulous inspiration from the rest of the team.

Thanks for looking and I hope you like what you see.
Avril xx  

Eyes Down for Bingo at FSC

The challenge over at Fashionable Stamping this week is   BINGO!   Unlike the game, we would like YOU to pick your line from the grid, that could be horizontal, vertical or diagonal.

For  my line I chose - Lace/Distressing/Buttons - although I must admit a couple of other options have somehow sneaked in there - but not in the right line!  I don't normally do tags, but since joining the 'team' over at FSC I have seen some fabulous tags which has inspired me to give them a try - as they say, and I really enjoyed making this. The image is a Crafty Individuals, cut to fit the tag, which was then torn and another piece of tag added (I did make a nice neat back to hide the tear).  The Dressmaker label on the bottom is cut from another CI  image.  I used Dusty Concord and Antique Linen to colour the tag and Promarkers for the ladies.

The rest of the team have made some amazing creations, so please pop over to FSC  and join in our game of BINGO!  But remember, we are a stamping challenge and must see at least one 'real'  stamp on your projects.

I am also entering  this in :

  Craft Room Challenge - Shabby/Vintage
  Crafty Ann's - Anything but a Card
  Totally Gorjuss - Anything Goes with a Button

Thats it for now, enjoy the rest of the weekend, hope the weather is as nice for you, as it is here.

Avril xx

Tulips .............

Hi All,

A bit of 'me' time today, so I made my card for Make My Monday, where the monthly theme is Spring - and this week Spring Flowers.  This was a bit of a struggle for me (which is what I suppose it's meant to be - that's why the call them challenges!)  I don't have any spring flower stamps, other flowers yes, but snowdrops, daffs and tulips - no, so I downloaded this FREE  image from Paper Garden Projects.  I stamped kraft card with vintage photo and a TH flower swirl, the sentiment is heat embossed with clear EP and the image cut out with a Nesties label, and then sponged Antique Linen around the image.  I have kept it quite simple to tie in with the sentiment, its not my usual style.....hmmmm....  don't know.

I am entering this card in
  Make  My Monday- Spring Flowers
 

That's it for now, off to do some catching up before I get ready  for a 'girly ' night out at our favourite Italian restaurant. - diet starts Monday!

Avril xx

Less Is More

Hi All,

Just a quick post tonight as I have just had a 'craft and natter' night with my friend Diane and I've  made this card for Less Is More, (sometimes I'm not this productive!)  so I need to enter it before I'm too late. I have missed the last few challenges due to lack of time and inspiration.  I think the hardest part of a LIM challenge is thinking what to do it with!

This weeks theme is  'neutral colours' and I have used one of the ladies from Crafty Individuals  CI322, she is stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa, then masked and I stamped a TH Flourish in the same ink. I used Promarkers Pastel Beige on her top.  The fabulous is a Hero Arts stamp and I masked off the rest of the birthday greeting.

Thats it for tonight, 

Avril xx

Try It On Tuesday

Hi All,

I'm so pleased its Tuesday!  I don't have to keep it a secret any longer .......I have been invited to be a DT on the Try It On  Tuesday Challenge!
The blog is  currently undergoing a bit of a 'makeover'  so for all the details please pop over and you will also meet the rest of the 'new'  Design Team.  As an introduction this week we had to make something 'favourite'.  I chose to use this Rivercity Rubberworks stamp that I bought at Christmas and its only been inked once, I love the sentiment.  Its coloured with Promarkers and I used Glamour Dust on their hats.  The embossed panels are CB Script on coordination's, the Sizzix Bingo folder which has been inked on cream card, I won in Brenda's candy a couple of weeks ago, thanks Brenda.

I am also entering this card in :
  Shopping our Stash - Embossing
  Creative Card Crew - Humour
  Sparkles Creations - Use a number - (lots on the Bingo card)
  Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes
  Make It Monday - Anything Goes
  One Stop Crafts - Button It

That's it for now, and thanks for looking.

Avril xx

Flourishes & Diamonds

Hi All,  Hope you've all had a good week, mine has been so busy, but I am trying to make amends now for not being on here all week.

I have started to follow the Make My Monday challenge and the theme this week is Flourises & Diamonds.
I have used the lady from my new Music Hall set by IndigoBlue  and Crafty Individuals Flourish (stamped in Dusty Concord) and masked off the Birthday bit on a Hero Arts sentiment.  The background is Milled Lavender DI brushed onto white cardstock.  I have added lots of Diamonds to the swirls and her neckline - after all, they are a Girls Best Friend!

I am entering this card in:

  Make My Monday - Romance - Flourishes & Diamonds
  Make It Monday - Anything Goes
  Bling It On - Shades of Lilac
  Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes 
  Paperplay - Something Old - Something New (old swirl - new IndigoBlu set)

Thats it for now and thanks for looking.

Avril