Shadowbox card Workshop

Before I move onto the real content of my post, is anyone I know going to the STITCHES TRADE SHOW in BIRMINGHAM this weekend?
I am hopefully going Sunday and Monday and would love to meet up with any of you who might be there.

I had the most amazing group of ladies at my workshop on Tuesday and not only did we have a fabulous fun  morning with lots of laughs, but they made the most amazing cards.

I used the template I made for my Valentine card a few weeks ago and the images came from a Tilda pack called Garden Party.

A spellbinders die creates the aperture and the Chloe stem is a Memory Box die.

The stamps are ones from the Art of Craft workroom (I forgot to see what they are called!!)

I am lucky to have a group of regular participants to my workshops.

They work hard ( well they have to with me LOL).

Two new ladies who came to join me and have booked to come again - they must have enjoyed it then.

We have great fun and alot of laughs along the way.

Christine had to go and I didn't get a picture of her, maybe next time.

Here are the cards they made.

 Thanks for looking and sharing in our workshop pieces.

Take care and have a fun Valentine day. I will be back soon with my Tim Tag for February.

hugs {brenda} x0x

Challenges to have fun with -
Play Date Cafe - Carnation, Mint and Juniper (and a touch of walnut on mine too)
Deep ocean Challenge - The letter'B' (Box for me)

Give-Away Winner

Happy Valentine Day

I hope you all have a wonderful day with loved ones and friends.

Ken loved his Valentine card I made and we had a laugh because he scoured the shops for something vintage for me.

Today I said I would announce the winner of my 3 year Blogaversary gift. Thank you to all 78 people who left me messages, I am overwhelmed by the number of people who follow me and the amazing comments you leave. I know I've said it before but it is truly wonderful to have so many blogging friends, to have that regular contact, to have that support and encouragement and to be able to gain inspiration from all you creative artists around the world. I am so glad I have found you all.

There were 83 comments listed, one was deleted, three people doubled up and 3 said not to enter them, so the number was reduced to 76 for Random Org and the 32nd person was....

Trace at inkypinkycraft

Congratulations Trace, if you would like to email me with your address I will get your goodies in the post to you asap.

Have a fun day everyone. 

hugs {brenda} x0x

3rd Blogaversary - Thank You Give-Away

This Give-Away is now closed and the winner has been announced
Thank you to everyone who entered and left me lovely comments.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

This will stay at the top until 14th February.
Please scroll down to see the latest posts.

Three years blogging today (29th January), how amazing is that? And still loving it. 

I have made so many amazing friends through our wonderful blogging community, some I have met in real life others I might meet one day, but every one of you has enriched my life because you have become a part of this incredible artistic journey I am on.

So to say a HUGE thank you for being part of my life I am offering a little thank you give-away.

Dylusions rubber stamps and I love these sayings, I really must use them more.

These pens are very fluid and have a gorgeous mica in them which makes them sparkly.

This Give-Away is for Followers only, anywhere in the world.

Please leave me a comment below, tell me you are a follower (mind you I know quite a few of you are) and I will do the draw on Valentine's Day, the 14th February. If you'd like to post the candy on your sidebar then that would be lovely, but it is not essential.

Thanks for taking part and a massive thank you for being a follower and giving me so much support and encouragement.

hugs {brenda} x0x

Picture Wheel French Clock

Look more goodies have fallen through my letter box and it's the new picture wheel die by Tim Holtz that I just had to have a go at first. I have lots of ideas for this one but a clock came into my head first of all and as my sister will tell you I couldn't be budged from the idea. At first I had no idea what it was going to look like but, as always with me, the ideas evolved until I got to this.

WARNING PICTURE OVERLOAD LOL

Another of Tim's new dies, this time the Cameo Frame which proved to be perfect with the Rusted Enamel technique.

The picture wheel made a great clock face. I made the numbers in MS Word and stamped the mini blueprint game wheel for the centre.

I had an old picture frame to form the base of the clock itself. I gave it the old crackle technique to age it.

I die-cut pieces from gold card and found these metal corners.

Then I worked on the clock background which is the Walnut technique that I learned at my workshops with Andy Skinner. This photo really doesn't do it justice, it is such a deep rich prussian blue and brown walnut design with gold over the top.

All put together it produced this.

Metal wings painted with prussian blue and rubbed with Treasure Gold.

Metal embellishments.

Distressed gold card to age the frame.

Titled -' TIME FLIES'

..... and it sure does when you are having fun.

Hope you are having lots of inky fun this week, I certainly did with this, and I think it qualifies for the 'Something Messy' challenge at Simon Says Stamp and Show.

big hugs {brenda} xox

I am just off to my workshop at The Art of Craft in Farnborough where I am teaching my Shadow Box card. Pics to come later.

Love and Romance at PanPastel UK

Are you feeling loved or romantic? Then hopefully you will be able to join us at the PanPastel challenge blog with just such a theme.

Chipboard heart painted with Maimeri gesso to seal and provide a base to work on.

Stencilled through a mask with Burnt Sienna Tint, bumped with Raw Umber, sprayed with fixative.

Blended Permanent Red around the edges and Burnt Sienna Tint in the middle.  Sprayed again.

Stamped with versamark and blended Raw Umber over the text.

Stamped Tim Holtz 14 from the Mini Blueprints 2 set and covered with Permanent Red. Spayed again.

Chipboard heart covered with Maimeri gesso and then 2 coats of white acrylic paint. Covered with Rock Candy Crackle Paint and when dry blended Raw Umber into the cracks.

Chipboard wings covered with permanent Red and sprayed.

Stamped with versamark and blended Titanium White over. Sprayed and when dry covered with Maimeri Gloss Gel

Added embellishments to finish it off.

If you have one last Valentine or friendship project then pop over and join us at the PP challenge blog and see if you can win more pans to add to your collection courtesy of our sponsor 'Your Creativity Store'.

Mmmmm now who shall I give my hanging heart to?

Thanks for visiting and leaving such lovely comments, I really love reading them all.

Have a great Sunday.

hugs {brenda} x0x

Challenges to have fun with -
Frilly and Funkie - Lacy, heartsy Valentine (not sure if this will count as I added ribbon, not lace!!)
Simon Says Stamp - Have a heart
Take A word - Hearts
Try It On Tuesday - Valentine + 1 heart
Creative Inspirations - Valentine Day
Sunday Stamper - Love and Hearts
Anything But a card - Share the Love
Stamptacular - From the Heart

Birds at FSC

Well it would be lovely if you could join us for the Birds  challenge at FSC for the next fortnight and for this theme I have created a mixed media canvas using Sizzix dies to give me the focal birds and birdhouse.

Layers of card, fabric, wooden embellishments, text paper etc over a coat of gesso and then painted with more gesso and then a layer of white acrylic paint..

Misted with colours, allowed to drip and merge and heat dried.

Images stamped onto tissue paper and glued on.

Background covered with more white acrylic paint. Die-cut birds covered with text paper, coloured with PanPastels, fixed and then sprayed with watered down acrylic paint. 

Birdhouse made from ribbed card and hammered card also sprayed with watered down acrylic paint and other embellishments added.

This is post number one today, I will be back later with my PanPastels piece.

I hope you enjoy your Sunday and manage some creative time somewhere in the day.

Thanks for visiting.

hugs {brenda} x0x

Challenges to have fun with -

Sugar Creek Hollow - Feather or Fur

Stamping Sensations - Fur and feather

Shabby Chic cards workshop

Just a quick post from me today. These are a set of three shabby chic cards we made at my workshop yesterday at The Art of Craft in Farnborough Hants. This one has been very popular and I am repeating it again on the 19th February, which is fabulous. I have also added some other dates and will be teaching my shadowbox card next week and an altered domino book and an altered box in March.

I designed these cards using Graphic 45 papers - A Ladies Diary and used a Memory box border die, a Sizzic oval frame die courtesy of Lucy and a Spellbinders corner die.

The Martha Stewart butterfly, shabby flower, double bow and music paper added to the shabby chic effects.

My group of ladies were such great fun to work with and we had a real laugh, thanks to Christine and Pat's sense of humour LOL.

Shame I forgot to take photos of them this week. But thanks to Joan, Sheila, Ann, Wendy and Mary as well as Christine and Pat for a fabulous morning.

I hope your week is going well.

Take care and thanks for joining me again today.

hugs {brenda} x0x

Animals at PanPastel UK

I really seem to be in experimental mode since the new year and have been playing with the PanPastels to create mixed-media backgrounds. This one includes PanPastels, glue stick, gesso, pens and inks.

1. Stencilled embossing ink through brick wall mask and blended reds and brown PPs over.

2. Rubbed top portion with Pritt stick and rubbed various colours of greens, blues and white over.

3. Heat dried top portion then scratched through the thicker areas where the glue is and rubbed small amounts of yellow, dark blue, red and mauve over.

4. Sprayed with colourless fixative.

5. Gave everything a coat of Maimeri acrylic gesso wash and heat dried.

6. Stencilled embossing ink through two mask and blended PPs over.

7. Sprayed with colourless fixative.

8. Used black and white pens to highlight shapes from the masking.

9. Stamped cats, branches and text in black archival ink. Used black pens to extend the branches and twigs and to give more depth to the silhouette cats.

(Before)

(After)

Hope to see you over at the PanPastel challenge blog and if you enter you could be in with a chance of winning a trial set of pans from Your Creativity Store.

Have fun creating and learning new things.

hugs {brenda} x0x

Challenges to have fun with -
Bloggers Challenge - Make your own background
Raise the Bar - Animal Attraction
Sunday Stamper - Animals