Another First!

Hi Folks,

The last couple of days have been perfect crafting weather, so I have managed to make a tag for the CC2 challenge 7 at Studio L3.

I have been following this challenge, but have never entered before, but since getting the book a few weeks ago, I don't have an excuse now.

The challenge is Brushless Watercolour - page 49, and is sponsored by eclectic Paperie.

This is the first time that I have used this technique, and I love the soft vintage feel you get.  I was a bit limited as I only have Tattered  Rose stain, I feel the wish list getting longer!

That's it for now as I am entering this by the skin of my teeth, so thanks for looking.

Avril xx

Tim's Tags for 2012

Hi Folks,

Well, I'm going for it!  For a while now I have been wanting to enter Tim's 12 Tags for 2012, but for various reasons I have 'chickened out' each month,  however, last minute - I have made my tag!!
This is a strange feeling - I know we all put our cards out there and hope for 'nice' comments, but this time I feel as if I really am up for show and this might not be good enough - so if you are reading this, please be gentle!
I don't have a Melting pot, so I used UTEE in a foil container and heated from underneath and dipped  the flowers, you have to be quick as the UTEE cools quickly!
Didn't have any wooden bobbins, so  the spool is die cut, and a paperclip for the hanger!
I don't think its too bad, but what do you think?

I am also entering this into:
  Everybody Art - Anything but a card
  Crafty Cardmakers - Distress It

I would like to say 'hello' to my new followers, and 'thank you' for choosing to follow my blog,  I hope it continues to be of interest to you.

That's it for now, and thanks for looking

Avril xx

Less is More for a Christening!

The challenge this week at LIM is a card for a Baby or a Child - but keep it simple!

DD is comming home this weekend and is going to a Christening on Sunday, so a great opportunity to join the challenge, even though I'm late again!

My card uses an old PSX stamp, I use this for most of the Baby cards I make, I love it! I used a Sizzix EF joined under the band  and the sentiment is PC.

Just a short one today, needed to catch up on some housework!!!

Thanks for looking

Avril xx

Pearls and Lace

Hi Folks,

Managed to finish this card for a friends birthday this weekend.   My new favourite 'lady',  its one of the single image Gibson Girls stamps from the Artistic Stamper.
I made a mask and shaded around her head while still in the Nesti frame. The background is mauve card and I used IndigoBlu Anemone Corner, stamped with Shaded Lilac DI. The panel is CB embossed and sponged with the same ink.  Roses were white and again sponged DI on the edge of the petals.  I hid the join on the 2 pieces of lace with silk braid and pearls. The swirl is a Marianne die.

I am going to enter this card in:
  Sugar Creek Hollow - Pearls and Swirls
  Craft Room Challenge- Add Fabric
  Crafty Creations - Pastels, Pearls & Lace
  My time to craft - It takes 2 (2 nesti frames)
  Pan Pastels Challenge - Pastel colours

Thanks for looking.

Avril xx

Workshop Day with The Stampman

Hi Folks, just though I would share my make from Saturday's Craft Workshop with Jill  (Mrs Stampman) , which was organised by Cazro.

We were all provided with a mirror from a certain furniture store and a bag of goodies to use to decorate the frame. We started with Moonglow inks and lots of Stampendous Frantage embossing powders. The colours are gorgeous in RL, nightmare to photograph!  Although everyone had the same products, no two frames ended up alike! 
We were also given a CD which shows other Moonglow products and techniques, some of which we 'experimented' with in the afternoon - more of that later.
Just a short post, as I need to make a couple of cards, haven't done a thing this week due to a horrible cold!

A couyple of challenges for this:
  Freshly Brewed - Frame
  Scrapalicious - Something Altered
  Creative Craft challenges - Distress it
  Art with no Boundaries - A Frame of Mind
  Craft Room Challenges - Add Fabric (in 3 or the 4 corners)

Hope to catch up and leave some love later.

Thanks for looking

Avril xx

Fathers Day or One for the Boys!

Hi Folks

Its time for a new Challenge at Try It On Tuesday and this time it's Fathers Day or One for the Boys.
For my card I have used an image from a Woodware Nautical set.  I started off with the background and wanted it to look like a ships journal, the text stamps I used were from Inkylicious, stamped in Weathered Wood Di and then distressed with Antique Linen.  I used a mask for the compass. The embossed TH Journal sheet was also inked with the Antique Linen.  The image was coloured with Promarkers and chalks for the sky. The frame is a Nesti Label 18, the letters are TH Vintage Market die, both coloured with Faded Jeans and then coated with Glossy Accents.
We would love you to join us at TioT, and now the challenge is open for 2 weeks instead of 1. giving you more time to enter.
The rest of the team have some wonderful creations to show you, so please pop over and have a look.

I am also entering this card in:
  Creative Stamp Friends - Fathers Day
  Chocolate, Coffee & Cards - One for the Boys
  Make It Monday - Anything Goes
  Hotshot Crafts - Die cuts
  Paper Play - Destruction

Thats it for now, and thanks for looking.

Avril xx

Steampunk at Fashionable Stamping

Hi Folks,   Its Sunday - which means there's a new challenge over at Fashionable Stamping Challenges, and yes its 'Steampunk'.

Now you are either saying   '  yay'   or  'no way'!!!   I must admit I said no way can I do this, I don't have any Steampunk stamps,  but I did -  I just hadn't used them  for 'propper' Steampunk!

I chose to do a tag this time, (I'm quite liking tags these days).  I started by using a Cogs & Swirls Creative Expressions Mask and I used a mix of Dusty Concord, Milled Lavender, Wild Honey and Vintage Photo DI's. I over stamped the Flying Machine and 'I can See You Girl' - (don't really know if that's her name) from IndigoBlu Grand Tour. I put an eyelet through one of her goggles, well it is Steampunk! The 3 Gents were stamped on a separate piece of card and after inking were attached with eyelets (to hid the end of the top embossing).  Do you like my pen nib?  I stamped the pen set, again from Tim Holtz, onto thin silver mirri card, cut out 1 nib and moulded it over the end of a paintbrush and attached with rolled up sticky dots to help it keep its shape, I think it looks quite real!
The Curiosity text is also TH.

Well that's my first 'propper' Steampunk card - I know a lot of folks are really into this and have some amazing stamps, but I bet everyone has something Steampunk, and we would love to see what you 'create'.
If you kneed some inspiration, then head over to FSC to see the 'creations'  from the rest of the Stampettes, who have come up with some great interpretations.

Over at Rogue Redheads there is a challenge for Warm Tones for Gents, so I am going to enter this card there as I think it fits the bill.

I am also going to enter this card in the following challenges:
  So Artful - Steampunk with Sepia/Earthtones
  Rainbow Lady - Lets get Inky
  Southern Girls - One for the Boys
  Creative Craft Challenges - Distressing

Had a wonderful day yesterday, I went to a workshop by the very talented Jill  Tuck (Mrs. Stampman).
Will tell you all about it when I have taken a piccy of my 'creation', and besides this post was long enough!

Thanks for looking, and enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Avril xx

Anniversary Flowers!

I was asked to make a Diamond Wedding Anniversary card, and I thought - I've never made one of those!before!  This is a bit different for me, but really enjoyed making it  - and no stamping!
I used white pearl card, a nesti circle to cut the aperture from a slightly smaller piece of card, which I embossed the edges . The sentiment was computer, and  cut with a nesti and mounted onto a vellum doily cut with a Mariann die.  The flowers were punched and layered with 'diamond' centres.  The 60 was cut with the TH Vintage Die from mirri card. and 4 little 'diamond' hearts for the corners and voila!  I hope she likes it!
When I made it I thought I would enter it in Make My Monday - where the theme is 'white flowers', but when I checked - that was last week - where did that week go!!!

I am going to enter this card in
  Sisterhood of Crafters - May Flowers
  Truly Scrumptious - Anything Goes
  I Brake for Challenges - Florals
  Bunny Zoes - Anything Goes
  Hooked on Crafts - Flowers
  Make It Monday - Anything Goes

Well that's it for now,  I  have a crafting day planned for tomorrow - yay!

Avril xx

Tim Holtz -CC Vol I

Hi Folks,

Once again Life is getting in the way of crafting and today is the first time I have managed a couple of hours in my 'little room'.  I haven't actually made anything - but have finished off a couple of projects  that had been sitting on my desk.

This is very strange for me - but I hadn't spent all my 'Christmas present ' money, my thought was to buy something 'big and special'!  When I visited DD  last month she took me to Cardcraft in Preston and I was looking at the Tim Holtz Compendium of Curiosities Vol I.  I thought this was special,   so..........

I made this tag by following page 35 - Water Stamping -  love this technique!  The background was made with Evergreen bough, Bundled Sage, Spun Sugar Worn Lipstick, Dusty Concord and Milled Lavender Distress Inks, the ribbon was also coloured with Evergreen Bough - wont tell you what the fingers looked like! Stamps are all TH and the butterflies were covered with Frosted Lace Stickles.

I am entering this tag in:

Sugar Creek Hollow - Tags
The Cheerful Stamp Pad - Tags
The Poodles Parlour - Anything Goes
The Stamp Man - Favourite Technique

That's all from me - and  I hope to do some visiting this week to see what everyone's been up to,

Have a good week.

Avril xx

Life's a Beach at Try It On Tuesday!

Hi Folks,

Hope you all had a lovely Bank Holiday weekend and that the weather wasn't too bad!

Obviously, you didn't go to the Beach - which is the theme at Try It On Tuesday this week, but we can always dream.

For my card I used Collecting Seashells from Stamps Happen, and I decided to make a scene using Distress inks. I used some Frosted Lace stickles for waves, but it doesn't show in the pic. The little shells were from a Woodware Nautical set.

We would love to see your Beach creations over at Try it on Tuesday, and I realise that you will need some sunshine inspiration, so please pop over to the blog and check out the sunny creations from the rest of the DT.

Thanks for looking,

Avril xx

Capital City at FSC

Hi Folks,

The theme this fortnight over at Fashionable Stamping Challenges is  'Any Capital City'.  If you follow the blog, you will have seen the sneak peaks posted this last week - did you guess the challenge?
(When Blogger decided to do his 'thing' with followers,  FSC lost all its followers because its a Wordpress blog - so you may need to follow with Mr. Linky - thay way you will be kept up to date with Winners and Top 3 as well as the 'Spotlight' entries and the sneak peaks)

This challenge can of course be your own capital, but unfortunately, I didn't have any London stamps, although there are some fabulous ones available, so I opted for Paris.  There are some fabulous and very original creations from the rest of the DT, so please pop over to the blog and take a look.  We are as usual sponsored by Marina of Cottage Crafts with a €7 Voucher to spend in the shop.

For my card I started off by inking the background with Dusty Concord, Worn Lipstick, Spun Sugar Bundled Sage and Evergreen Bough Distress Inks. I then stamped Tim Holtz Papillion Script in Worn Lipstick, the postmark, Paris and flourish were Stamped in Black Memento.  The main image is Stampendous, again sponged with the same DI's, plus Tumbled Glass. Flowers were colours with Worn Lipstick DI.

I am entering this card in:
  Rogue Redhead - Spring Colours
  Polkadoodles - Distressing
  DutchDare - Spring has Sprung
  Crafts & Me - Favourite colours
  By the Cute & Girly - Spring

Thats it for now, and I hope you all enjoy the Bank Holiday weekend.

Avril xx

Its a little Sketchy at LIM

Hi Folks

I won't say the usual 'what a busy week' but it has been!  and although I have crafted and paid a few visits, time just seems to have been very short this week.  So just a short post, otherwise I will be too late with my LIM card, where the challenge this week is a choice of sketches.  Lady is Rubber Stampeed, stamped onto a nestie, which was lightly inked with Milled Lavender, coloured with Promarkers.

I have an 'inky' session planned for tonight with my friend Diane, so watch this space!

I would just like to say 'hello' to my new followers and 'thank you' for choosing to follow.

Thanks for looking

Avril xx