Rosette heart card

I thought I would make a card using the rosette heart that so many of you liked on my heart box post. Hope you liked the tuitorial too (see last post or page at the top of the blog).

This card has been inspired by several challenges -
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Embossing (there is both dry and heat embossing on this one)
Flourishes Timeless Tuesday - Button Up
Cute Card Thursday - Hearts and Flowers
Daring Cardmakers - Reeling in the ribbon   Sponsored by the Ribbon Reel
Mojo Monday - Sketch

White backing has been run through a Cuttlebug embossing folder and edged with stickles.
The long panel is a piece from my box, stamped and heat embossed with Sheena's pepper embossing powder, lace sewn to the side and two different ribbon flowers added at the bottom.
The brown piece has been stamped with a music image in white acrylic paint.
The heart made as my tutorial (see last post) and button and paper ribbon added.
Sentiment is a rub-on and the banner shape edged with stickles.

Have a great weekend and thankyou for stopping by today.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Pleated Heart Tutorial

Thank you for all the fabulous comments about my pleated heart and as requested by some of you here is a tutorial for making it.

Supplies -
Tim Holtz Rosette strip die
paper
small heart punch
glue
sellotape

                                                            Die cut a strip from the rosette die    
                                                            We won't be using the circle cut out.

        I made a template for cutting out.






       Notice you need to fold the rosette strip in half.
       Draw round the template.
   

        Cut round the shape you have drawn.
        At this point I put a very thin piece of sellotape
        over the fold to give it some strength,
        otherwise it comes apart very easily.





      
       Pleat the strip and put the whole thing together
       as shown in Tim's video on Youtube.

       Glue the ends together.

       Once you have pushed it together and glued
       little hearts on both the front and back, it will
       look like this and is ready to use.










Once you have seen Tim's video and then made your own template to cut round it is as easy as pie.

If you make the heart, please link your creation back to me so that I can see it and I would also appreciate you linking my tutorial on your post and not recreate it as your own. Please ask others to do the same.

Have fun.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

The Stamp Man Challenge # 16 - Hearts

Hi Everyone

UPDATE FRIDAY EVENING
I emailed the link for this post to Tim H himself and guess what??????  I got a reply from him - he thanked me and thinks the heart is BEAUTIFUL. Woo Hoo, Tim has visited my blog, how cool is that?

It's Friday again and the weekend starts here - yay. Hope you have got some nice things planned. Hopefully I will get in the garden tomorrow and start the spring clear up.

This week the challenge at the Stamp Man is to see hearts. I really had to rack my brains as to what I could make. I had recently bought some of those sweet little boxes for altering and yay I had a heart shaped one, so there was my starting point. I got out my TH rosette die to make the top embellishment but knew it would probably be too big and thought it would look better if it was a heart shape, so I set about altering the strip to make this fabulous heart rosette, I am just sooooo pleased with it. So much so, I made lots of them and they fit perfectly into the box.

Don't you just love it when something comes together like this? Real satisfaction. But I also wanted to link this to the CoC challenge at the amazing Linda's blog at Studio L3. I just can't believe that we only have 4 more challenges left to finish all the ideas in TH's fab book. So this week it is to use the rusted enamel technique and I have created lots of little hearts (as seen on the box and the pic below) and other embellishments that are going to be part of the goodies in the box to be given away.

So having papered, painted and stuck things on this is the finished thing. Must be careful what I say now, cos this is destined to become a birthday present soon, so shhhh.

Supplies

Paper made by Jill at The Stamp Man using Moonglow sprays and webbing spray. (Thanks Jill it is perfect for this box)

Trim given to me by my sister.
TH Rosette die
DI worn lipstick and vintage photo
Clear embossing powder
Eco-friendly acrylic paint in gold

Have fun today.

luv and hugs{brenda} xoxox

Challenges to have fun with -
Crafty Emmas - Red and Romance
Whoopsi Daisy - Hearts
Crafty Cardmakers - Hearts
Stampalicious - Hearts
Papertake Weekly - Have a heart
For Fun Challenges - Hearts
Penny's Paper-Crafty - Hearts a flutter
Stampin Royalty - Hearts
Simon Says Stamp - Anything but a card  (Tim Holtz rossette strip die used and DIs)

Clean Collage and Recent Wins

I love looking through blogs for inspiration and recently I had popped over to see Juls at The Glitter Chick and was totally inspired to have a go at clean collage, which is also in last months Craft Stamper mag.

This is my version and gives me more cards for my pressie tins. A completely different style for me again - but you know I just love to experiment with nearly anything. I don't think I have ever glued straight onto the card, but it is quite a nice effect. Do you think I will ever settle at one particular style? No, I don't.

The stamp is Elusive Images, papers and embellishments from my boxes of bits.

I hope you don't mind I just had to post my recent wins and top spots as well.

Stampotique New Year card won Pile It On #1 - a Fancy Folds CD and a 1 year subscription to the Technique Junkie Newsletter
Stampotique Again was a Top 3 at Stampin for the weekend
Misting Mask - was a winner at Shelly's Images with a digi image to add to my collection and I was also awarded a Ginger Gem at Gingersnaps Creations for my coffee filter flower. Woo hoo, a Ginger gem, I can't believe it.
Shabby Birthday was a Top 3 at Paperplay
Childhood Memories was also a Shining Star (Top 3) at Stampin Sisters in Christ

Hope you have a good crafty day.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Challenges to have fun with -
Sew Many Cards - Anything Goes
Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes
Fab 'n' Funky - Texture

Hybrid card

Digital crafting and is on the up an up where all the crafting is done via your computer with digital images printed out to use.  Well, hybrid crafting is just a combination of creating digital layouts and images with the physical making of something, (I don't think this refers to digi stamps).

As you know I love to play with digital images, combining them and layering them and this is what I have done with this card, layering a flowered frame with a postmark, butterflies and part of an address. I printed it out with extra butterflies that I cut, covered in distress stickles and added to it. I distressed the edges and added stickles, mounted it, stamped the sentiment and added some gems. Eh voila, a hybrid card.

Two of them to go in my pressie tins - they are mounting up now.

Hope you enjoy.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Crafty Creations - Red Rose
Flutterby Wednesdays - Open challenge to include a butterfly, angel or fairy.
Do You Stack Up - Red Hot
Craft Your Days Away - Photo Inspiration (Roses)
Cupcake Craft - Red

CAS - where are the dividing lines?

Some of you will know that I am making some cards to go in tins as presents with a birthday coming up and a thankyou present that is needed soon. My cards are a mixture of vintage, shabby chic and now CAS - well is it CAS? Because I don't know where the dividing line is?

Less is More is a new challenge blog and the whole idea of this has got me thinking. Their theme this week is pink, black and white - so it fits that.

The glossary on the LIM blog says

Clean & Simple -

A design of card with clean lines, minimal elements, areas of white space and few or no embellishments.

White Space -
An area of the card which has no image, layer or embellishment.
This can be any colour dependent upon the colour of the card blank.

OLC One Layer Card
One piece of card folded in half with no additional layers and minimal embellishments, where the image is stamped directly onto the cardstock.

So my card has been made by using a cuttlebug folder frame and I brushed over it with DI. I cut out the white inserts, stamped, inked and added gems. The outside layer and the frame have got some stickles round them. There is space, there are minimal embellishments, but there is more than one layer.

Now is this CAS or have I gone too far?????? I think it's overdone - but I will enter it just in case.

Have a fabulous week, wherever you are. I hope the weather is being kind(er) to you and if you are tied up in any of the thick snow, floods or fires that are around the world at the moment, my heart goes out to you. I wish you a safe journey through it all and hope that you will be back to normal very soon.

Take care.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Challenges to have fun with -

Phindy's Place - Emboss

Compendium of Curiosities week 30 - Altered metal

Oh I can't believe there are only 5 more CoC challenges left before we have completed all the techniques in the wonderful bible of TH. Linda however hasn't let the full cat out of the bag, but she has said that this won't be the end - so what is she up to? Can't wait to find out.

This week as the title suggests we are altering metal at Studio L3 and I have been itching to get started on my configurations box that DH bought me for Christmas. I knew I had some lovely little metal things I want to use and had to go searching in the shed to find them.

The little boxes are going to reflect across the ages and times of the lives of our close family. So the first box represents our grandparents days when life was much harder with none of the technology we know of today. The mangle symbolizes the way the wife and mother had to work in the home to keep the family washed and clothes and everything clean. Not like today is it? I can remember my Nana doing the washing in the scullery in a huge sink, pulling the sheets out, giving them a wring as best she could by hand and then putting everything through the mangle before hanging it on the line. Even though I had an electric washing machine when I first got married, I still had one with the rollers, (and they were electric too), that you put the washing through to get the water out, spinners were around but I didn't have one for some reason. Oh boy I am showing my age aren't I?

So turn to P.48 in the compendium to find out how to do the technique and I am sure you will be altering all sorts of bits and pieces made of metal. It's so easy and great fun.

I have already altered a few more bits ready to make the next boxes, which I am sure you will see in the weeks to come. I just seem to have so many projects on the go.

Have a lovely crafty weekend and pop back if you have time. I am going to make something with hearts and wings on next to support my friend Zoe's new challenge blog called Just For Fun. Go take a look if you haven't seen it already.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Challenges to have fun with -
Allsorts - Saving Nature -  these little ornaments had once been stood on display in a printers tray, now they find themselves with a new lease of life rather than being thrown away.
Creative Friday - Vintage

Scrapbook Tag - Queen Bee

How about scrapping mini pics of your family as a tag? I thought this would be a great idea to do so that I could make a collection of them and find a nice box to alter and put them in. What do you think? This one is for Becca (eldest grandaughter) who is 13 going on 20 (aren't they all at this age?).

This was inspired by the Stampsmith Challenge - Royalty, Colour Q - poppy, coral, blushing bride , espresso  and vanilla (this transferred to the colour DIs listed below), Gingersnaps Creations - Kings and Queens

Supplies
Tag and small frame made from TH tag and bookplates die
Invoke stamps - honeycomb and mini tag
Scrollswork Stamps - face, crown and ornate capital letters
Hessian and netting for masking and inking the background
DIs spun sugar, tattered rose, barn door, frayed burlap, vintage photo and black soot
Two bee stamps from my collection (I have loads of them - I wonder why????)
Making Memories - metal crown
7 Gypsies - word stamps
Mini bees downloaded and cut out.
Bias binding, one piece dyed with the pinks and red DIs

Other challenges to have fun with -
Crafty Emmas - Bold and Bright
Totally Gorjuss - as you like it - well I think Becca is totally gorjuss
Paperplay challenges - Stamp it out
Theme Thursday - Family
Dezinaworld - Charming - again I think Becca counts here and the metal crown charm
Sarah Hurley - Die Cuts

So, have a fabulous weekend and thanks for stopping by.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

MAWTT Challenge 84 - Red

Happy Thursday Everyone.

Today at MAWTT, it is Pami who is hostess and she has chosen the theme red (to fit in with the chinese new year if you want to). My digi image this week is a steampunk watch from our sponsors Stitchy Bears Shop. Now steampunk, digi and red really challenged me again and this is what I came up with.

Once I had collected bits and pieces together I knew that I wanted this piece to give the impression of being inside a watch, so I needed to collage all the elements together, which is what I did. The background paper was a download and I masked and sprayed it with a cosmic shimmer spray, then I cut out or tore my pieces and put them together with chipboard cogs (stamped with the steampunk stamps I won from the Craft Stamper) and also lots of hardware - watch pieces and washers etc. You an just make them out on the second photo.

Well I hope you have been happily crafting this week.

Take care. Luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Allsorts - Recycle - I have recycled old watch parts and washers and bits from my husbands tool box.
Paper Playtime - Digi Monday
Crafts and me - Red

Woo Hoo I did it

Wow, I just can't believe it, I did it, I got asked to be in the Let's Ink It Up Design Team - Yey.

Suzanne over at LIIU has made some changes to the challenge blog, it has been completely overhauled and a new team in place, well actually two teams in place, so instead of it being a monthly challenge it's gonna be fortnightly and with some great prizes. There are some fabulous people on this DT who create some magnificent things, much inspiration for us all to see, I really am going to have to work at this to keep up with them all, so thank you Suzanne and Claire for giving me this chance. I hope you will all pop over on the 6th March for the first challenge from Team A, which is the one I am in.

I would like to say a huge hello to so many new followers, all my new teamies from LIIU, but lots of others who have found me in the past week or so. My numbers have shot up from around 120 to 154, I can't believe it. What a great time to be with me on this new adventure.

Watch out too for the new MAWTT challenge in the morning, the lovely Pami has set the theme and it's very topical but left wide open for interpretation. Look forward to seeing you there.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox