Heart Journal February - Clay

This month's technique over at Heart Journal 2012 is a stamped background on clay. It has been a while since I made anything with clay, but now that I have done this I want to do more. I rolled out my clay in a pasta machine to give me a thin sheet. I used two different sunflower stamps to make impressions over the clay. I inked the stamps with versamark prior to stamping to help release the clay. I cut round the shape of my heart before baking for 15 minutes in the oven. When hardened and cooled I painted the clay with distress inks and water colours. Finally the centers of the flowers I highlighted with holographic embossing powder. I have yet to decide on the journaling I want to add, it may just be the word sunshine embossed across it.

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.

Thanks for visiting my blog

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.