Make My Monday - Dragonflies

My entry this week for Make my Monday is made from an empty Chambord liquor box, one that displays tiny bottles, that I picked up at a local store here. It has a top flap that folds up to keep the embellishments always visible. The dividers inside make it an ideal box for make-up brushes, q-tips, nail files, nail varnish etc. I covered the whole thing with co-ordinating papers, this took quite a bit of time to do. Embellished it with two button dragonflies, pearls, handmade flowers from coffee filters and co-ordinating papers, crystals, leaves made from hot glue and tissue paper, some heat embossed edges where the lid rubs when closing. Make My Monday can be found over at http://mimchallegeblog.blogspot.com/ or using the link in the side bar of my blog.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

Tag Tuesday - Lace

All the tags that are being posted on these challenge are absolutely astounding, I am amazed at the talent and am sorry I don't have the time to comment on them all. This is my tag for entry into Tag Tuesday next week with a subject LACE. I wanted to do something using the emboss resist technique so here goes. Cardstock base was stamped with a Queen Anne's Lace stamp in several places over the base. the stamp had a border sound it and the words so I cut a piece of paper to mask the lines and words while I did this stamping. A bit tedious because each time I inked it I had to remove the paper mask. For the final stamped image I cut away the paper mask to reveal the words and I heat embossed both the design and edges with white powder. I then sprayed blue glimmer mist over the entire thing and quickly wiped away the blue spray from the design with a tissue. I made three tiny lace flowers on white wires to add at the bottom corner. White lace ribbon and fluffy white ribbon finish the tag.
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Tag Tuesday - Vintage - The Telegram

For this tag I focused on a vintage form of communication, sadly the telegram is no longer around. In these days of computers the pen and paper is sadly hardly used. I love it when I get a snail mail from a friend. Cardstock tag with distressed edges inked with brown ink. I stamped some script onto a piece of onion paper that I had stained with cold coffee to age. I then set light to the edges and blew it out immediately to leave a charred edge to the paper. An old telegram and a fountain pen cut from a printed sheet I had in my stash were added. A pair of wire glasses, clock hands, a metal embellishment with the word remember and some frayed string finish the tag.

Gift Box

I used an old box to make a template for this and cut it out of cardboard and covered it completely with a flecked blue paper. I scored the fold lines and ran an ink pad along the edges of the folds. I cut six pieces of flower pattern paper slightly smaller that each panel and then six pieces of white paper just a hairs width bigger that them. I mounted the flower panels on the white paper and then stuck them onto each side. The six corner swirls are die cut with a sizzix die out of plain dark blue cardstock and along with small pearls were also added to each face. I made some carnations out of coffee filters, just simple wavy edge circles cut with a nestability die, a brad in the middle, spritzed with water and each layer screwed up around the brad. I smooched some blue distress ink onto my craft mat, sprayed it with water and just dipped the edges of the flowers into it. The wet ink was drawn up randomly over the edges of the flowers. They are very pretty. Finally I stuck a large carnation onto one of the top fastening flaps.

Make my Monday - Nature Flowers and Leaves

For my entry into Make my Monday this week I used a new technique for me, hot glue shapes. The leaves and vines are made with hot glue run on a heat resistant sheet to make the shapes. I have seen people stamp an image on the sheet first and then run the glue over the outline but I did not have any suitable stamps so I did them freehand. When they were cool I stuck green tissue paper on the back of the leaves and cut off the excess. I sprayed the leaves and vines with olive glimmer mist. The background is stamped and embossed script on a piece of paper and matted on a dark purple piece of cardstock that is edged with silver leaf pen. The flowers are made from inked onion paper and white brodraise anglaise material with a lilac brad in the middle. I finished the card off with a few cream and purple beads.

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You are on my mind

Just a short post to say thank you to all of you who are following my blog, whether publicly or from the shadows. I am so useless at computers and I am having trouble finding my way round to contact you all personally. I can look at your blogs though so that is good. Everyone has wonderful creations, there is so much talent out there, I want you to know it brings hours of pleasure to me.

Thanks for visiting my blog and sharing yours.

Pion Design Blog Candy

I have been following Pion Design's blog and looking at their products and turorials for a while now, today I joined as a follower and entered their wonderful Ist Anniversary Blog Candy draw. Their papers are so beautiful, I have yet to find a supplier in the USA and if I can't I will have to order direct from Sweden.

Pop over to their sites, they are well worth a visit, link is below on the right.

Garden

Had a weekend outside in the garden, weeding and watering. The weather here is now so nice, in the 70's every day and sunny. Very pleased with my garden of tomatoes this year they seem to be doing really well with the aid of the misters my partner put in for me. Can you see the kohl rabi coming along nicely at the bottom of the picture?

Make My Monday - Nature Scene Garden Gate

I am putting this on my blog again as the last posting had problems with it. Not sure if I can enter two pieces but I just made this card in watercolours to try to get back into painting. I keep having breaks and have to get the feel and touch right again every time I start again. The colours a bit muddy in places but I will get better.

Make My Monday - Nature Scene

Putting this post on my blog again as I had problems with the last one and had to delete it. Yes it is meant to be curled. This is a distressed card I have made for Make my Monday challenge this week. It is a close up of a landscape, following the theme of nature. I stamped the image with Stazon ink on flower patterned paper and then sponged it with red and green distress ink and sprayed it with water to activate the ink. I distressed the edges of the paper and gave them a thicker coat of ink. when dry I highlighted the flowers with crackle accents. The mat behind I distressed the edges too but colored them with gold leaf pen. The card is also edged with green ink. the piece of paper with the image on was very wrinkled when dry so I loosely stuck it on the mat and curled the top right hand corner over, I curled the mat over behind it. the phrase was stamped last.

Lovebird Nesting Box

We have four lovebirds in the garden and the nesting boxes are in terrible condition so we decided to build them a row of townhouses. We think they are all females and that two have bonded and share a box,one lives in the other box and one stays out all the time. We wanted to build three boxes so that the outsider had somewhere to go when it is cold. We put doors in the back that we could open to clean out when necessary and to retrieve babies for hand rearing should there ever be any.

White

I am going to be busy this week with other projects so I am getting an early start on this week's Tag Tuesday challenge which is "White". There are many shades of white which becomes obvious when you put together everything you have in what you think is white. The base for my tag is corrugated cardboard with area stripped of the top paper and painted with white gesso. I added a strip of white beaded and embroidered ribbon across the bottom and topped with a line of pearls at the edge. I made a small tag with a piece of formica sample that I have embossed with white powder and stamped with three little birds. This I tucked into the ribbon pocket. The three large flowers are dark red flowers from my stash that I have sprayed with white paint. It creates an interesting effect by letting through a small amount of the base colour and make the flowers slightly pink white. Finally I stuck some white pearls and beads onto the tag with hot glue.

Some people have asked about the base of the small tag, it is a small sample of formica that is about 2 inches wide by 2.5 inches long and about 1/8th inch thick, I get them from my local DIY store they have a whole display of chips for you to take samples home to try out colours in your kitchen. They are heat proof and can be easily heat embossed and of course they are very tough.

Snow Sports and Games

Just came back from up in the Great Lakes region where Ice Fishing is a serious sport. My tag is first heat embossed with white powder the image stuck on and decorated with pompoms, lace, pearls, snowflake ribbon, and silver mesh netting holding tiny fish bones. Pompom ribbon and fluffy white thread finish it off.

Snow

I made this tag for entry into the "Tag Tuesday" challenge. I covered a cardstock tag with silver and white paper on the front, then stuck a few beaded threads to the back and sealed them in with more of the silver an white paper on the back. I stamped the house, tree and wind lines with black versamark and heat embossed with holographic clear powder then edged it with white heat embossing powder. I made a shaker out of a snowflake shaped piece of clear plastic and cut tiny stars out of the scraps of silver and white paper and put them in the shaker along with some silver and crystal glitter. I stuck this onto a piece of clear packing tape then cut the tape to the shape of the snowflake and used the sticky side of the tape to stick it down. I edged the frame with holographic sequins. Crystal gems from an old earring and a silver eyelet at the top threaded with assorted white threads finishes the tag.

Heart Journal 2012

Thealie and Lillibule invited me to join in their Heart Journal challenge for 2012. We are to make one heart on cardboard every month using a different technique. In January we are to cut out two hearts, one for the technique of the month and an extra that will eventually have a sample of each of the techniques on it. In December we will make the final heart and also finish the cover by painting over all the techniques of the year on it. Promises to be an interesting journey.

For this month the technique is using painter's tape to create texture and wire to embellish. I took three piece of tape and rolled them with the sticky side facing out. Squashed them flat and then plaited/braided them. I arranged the plait in a jagged line down the heart then covered the whole thing with white gesso pulling it up with the paint brush to give raised areas and texture. Lumiere painted in two contrasting colours pink and purple and highlighted the raised areas with rub-ons. I made three flowers inked with the same colours and stuck to the right side along with two lapiz shells. On the left side are the stamped words "Key to my Heart" on scraps of paper and edged with silver leaf pen. At the bottom I attached some beads and buttons and a small key threaded onto wire. Along the top of the heart I stitched a line of wire threaded with beads. I don't have any varnish so I covered the whole heart with decoupage medium instead and sprinkled some crystal glitter on the left hand side while it was wet.

Looking forward to the next month's challenge.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

Elegant Ruffle Flower Card

Firstly I must acknowledge wonderful tutorial by Vicky Alberto on her blog Simply Paper. This is one of several different flowers that she has done tutorials on and I thank her for sharing them all with me.

My flower did not come out as beautiful as hers but I am very happy with the result and I mounted it onto a doilly that I had punched out of gold paper. I have sprayed my flower and leaves with wheatfields glimmer mist, one of my favourites, to give it a bit of sparkle. The background of the card is sprayed through another doilly with wheatfields glimmermist and then the doilly is removed to leave a sillhouette pattern. I cut pieces of the sprayed doilly to put along the bottom and top right corner. I embellished the flower and top left corner with sequins, foil leaves and foil flowers. Finally I added dots of gold and cinnamon stickles to cover the holes in the foil elements and also in the centers of the doilly wheels.

Vicky's tutorial can be found at http://simplypaperandcreativity.blogspot.com/2010/07/elegant-ruffled-flower-tutorial.html

Birthday Card

I made the background for this card a long time ago by covering some thick card with purple printed paper and stamped and clear embossed the butterfly on it. Then left this until now. I coloured the wings with felt pens and I decoupaged some pink and purple flowers and added them to the top of the background. I covered the wings and flowers with crackle stickles and left to dry overnight. A contrasting piece of purple cardstock with the edges frayed was used as the mat and I added some pearls, lace and sequins to finish decorating it.

A new year, a new challenge

Welcome to 2012 and a happy new year to everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and that you don't feel too guilty after all the overindulgence. I have decided that now is the time to loose some of the pounds I have gained since giving up smoking in 2001. I have 40lbs to go so to keep me on track I am going to put in a daily record here. For the record I weight 190.7 lbs eeek!!!!

Now for another challenge, Carte a Jouer. For the moment we are on a free choice of technique and subject so I thought I would make a couple of cards with texture in gesso. I covered a card with gesso and scraped a small area to show the nine of spades underneath. The love symbol was stenciled with gesso on top to give a raised effect. As it dried it cracked. I rubbed pinked metallic rub-on on the symbol and mauve around it and edged the card with gold. I stencilled the word love with gold metallic rub-on. I sprayed the card with a clear sealant to prevent colours from coming off.

For the owl card I again covered a card with gesso then stencilled a branch and leaves on top. I used distress ink to highlight this and where the gesso had cracked the ink remained darker. I edged the card with the distress ink too and then pulled the ink in towards the branches with a water filled pen. I stamped the owl with the distress ink and again pulled the ink with water pen. I then embossed it clear powder. The green jewels were added to the leaves to give them emphasis.
http://carteajouer.blogspot.com