PanPastels - Sweet Treats

I had great fun making this card. As I don't have any stamps that seemed to fit the bill for this theme, I put together a couple of digi images and printed out.

I used PPs to give me the basic colours on the images, sealed it and then went over in places with Promarkers to give some highlights and finished off with black and white pens and a brown Promarker to edge and give a bit of a vintage feel to it. The background is a paper from gcd studios Cloisonné collection. Again I added PPS through sequin waste and sealed to give extra depth.

 Like the saying LOL? I gave this card to my staff when I left school. They eat so many cakes and biscuits I thought it was quite apt for them.

I hope you can join us at PanPastel UK challenge blog and don't forget you don't have to use PPs to join in. Our fabulous sponsor The Creativity Store is again offering a PanPastel trial pack as the prize. Go take a look at their amazing prices and deals. It's where I buy mine from.

Enjoy your day.

hugs {brenda} xox

Challenges to have fun with
Cute card Thursday - I want candy
Papercrafting Journey - Photo Inspiration

Fashionable Stamping Challenges - A nautical theme

I am quite pleased with this little card. I used a stamp which is inked up for the first time, I won it at Our daily Bread challenges last year sometime. It is called Keep My Lamp Burning.

I missed the last challenge at FSC due to pressure of work so I am really pleased to join the girls again this week. Please go take a look at the wonderful inspiration they have provided again, their work is truly stunning.

The inky background is made using a product called Goosebumps with distress stains. I wanted to achieve a frothy sea effect background. I stamped onto the background with Stazon, but it didn't take as well as I expected so I stamped another image on white card, cut the lighthouse and compass out, painted it, heat embossed it and stuck it on. 

Using provocraft dies I cut and inked the shells. I don't know what I will use the card for so I will add a sentiment later.

Thanks for stopping by today, have a wonderful weekend.

hugs {brenda} xox

Challenges to have fun with
Crazy 4 Challenges - Blue, white + 1 (mine is brown)
Bloggers Challenge - to die for
For Your Inspiration - photo challenge
Creative Craft World - Blue theme
Desert Island Crafters - 3 from a list (no glitter, die cuts, brown)
Cheerful Stamp Pad - Anything Goes

The Stamp Man - Vellum

My first week off and I have so enjoyed getting inky and experimenting again.

This is my DT piece for the Stamp Man this week which is to use vellum. Jill kindly sent us some bits and pieces including this stamped image on blue vellum, so it became my focal image for this card. 

The pink flower is also vellum which I made from 3 circles. I think I might do a tutorial for it at some point, although I guess most people will know how to make it..

The butterfly is made from 2 Martha Stewart punches punched in white card and distress stains then a glitter embossing powder added.

Please come and join us and show us how you use vellum on your projects. As always Jill will be givng the winner a £10 on-line voucher for her shop.

Supplies -

Tim Holtz - Vintage Shabby Paper Stash

Distress inks - Victorian Velvet, vintage photo, walnut stain

Distress Stains - Broken China, Chipped Sapphire, Walnut Stain

Vellum

Embellishments - mosaic tiles, tiny tag, vintage brad, vellum flower, lace, doiley

Martha Stewart butterfly punches

Have a wonderful Easter and happy crafting.

hugs {brenda} xox

ATC - The joys of Spring

An ATC today, made just because I wanted to and also because I am still trying to use up scraps. 

The background was made when I did my demo day at The Art of Craft and I just finished it off with small vintage images from my box and then generated the sentiment on the PC.

Enjoy.

hugs {brenda} xox

Altered box - Shabby Chic

Here is an altered box I designed for a workshop a couple of weeks ago at The Art of Craft. Simply painted with acrylic paint and TH crackle paint - sanded at places where there would be some wear after a period of time and vintage photo DI added to those areas to age it.

The stamp is from the Shabby French collection by TH, images downloaded from the Graphics Fairy and then butterflies, buttons, flowers, leaves and beads added to the lid and some ribbon and lace round the lower part of the box. I love how this turned out.

Unfortunately I had to take the photos at the shop with no natural light so they aren't a true reflection of the colours, but I think you can get the feel of it.

Hope your week is going well.

hugs {brenda} xox

Just to let you know regarding size of photos etc and filling up your Picassa web album (see my post below), I have tried both my normal large size I save my photos as and re-sizing to the 800 x 800 pixels you are allowed free if you purchase additional space and the 500 x 500 pixels for the current free space.

If you click on each photo here you will see the difference it makes to enlarging your pics.

Hope this makes sense to you - if not read the Picasa guidelines on their web.

Picasa Web Album problem

Am I the only one being told I can't upload any more photos because my free 1 GB storage is full?

 If anyone has experienced this before please could you let me know how you solved the issue without buying more storage? It is obviously to do with photo size and I just gaily save at a large size as I was told by a blogging friend that my pictures didn't enlarge if I didn't!!!!

All help welcomed.

Many thanks.

 hugs {brenda} xox

PanPastels - Easter Week

Hi All

This is my DT contribution for the new PanPastel UK challenge this week where we want to see your Easter project. SO come on show us what you have been making.

Mine is a vintage Easter card using an image from the TH seasonal paper stash layered up with paper scraps which have had PPs added to either blend the colours in more or as in the case of the green background used with versamark and a stamp to create the crackle background.

More of my cheesecloth with the flowers as well and a small sentiment printed on the computer.

We look forward to seeing your Easter creations; remember you don't need to use PanPastels on your work but of course we love it when you do.

Don't forget My Creativity Store sponsors us with a fabulous prize of a sample set of PPs but they also have extremely competitive prices so don't pay the earth - go take a look at what they do.

For now.

hugs {brenda} xoxox

Thank you

I had such a lovely day on Friday which was my last day at school. There was a special Leavers Assembly for me where the children took over and gave me a certificate for being such a lovely headteacher, they also gave me a large framed photograph of them all outside the school with drawings of themselves all round it.

 I received a gorgeous Bay tree and some chocolates from the governors and the staff bought me a bottle of bubbly and a stunning Pandora bead for my new bracelet. 

It has been such a pleasure working with the staff and children of this school and I am going to miss them dreadfully, but I have told them to expect me to pop in for a coffee sometime.

Here are two of the cards I have made to send to say thank you.

I have used the Tilda Sewingbird paper pad for both.

Hope your weekend is going well.

hugs {brenda} xox

Challenges to have some fun with.

Lily Pad - Flower challenge

Art Impressions Stamps - Spring has sprung

Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes

Celebrate the Occasion - Thank you

Riley and Co - Spring and polka dots

Creative Stamp Friends - Spring

Unruly PaperArts

Tomorrow is the big day when Unruly PaperArts is first published. This is going to be the most amazing blogozine.

Have you joined the merry band of followers? Have you bookmarked the page? Have you become unruly on Facebook or joined the Unruly Yahoo Group? Lots of ways to stay in touch. Just visit the blog and you will see where to join up.

My first article is not scheduled until May as I need to give myself some time to get ready for it,  

having finished work yesterday!!

BUT you are gonna see some amazing pieces from the most unruly team in blogland and there are some fabulous items coming up from guest contributors too.

Come and be unruly with us and grab this badge from the UPA blog

See you again soon.

hugs {brenda} xox

Altered canvas - Sewing theme

This was a workshop piece and the class just loved making it. My canvas was 8 x 8 but the ladies made a 10 x 10 and did a superb job. 

We used an old tissue dress pattern for the background and washed over it with watered down emulsion paint. The clock face had crackle paint and vintage photo DI on it; the mannequin from Craftwork Cards was painted stamped and inked and a skirt made from the pattern tissue. A smaller canvas wth bookplate and other embellishments finished it off.

Unfortunately I only got photos of two of the ladies work.

Lynda wants to buy a clock mechanism for hers - what a great idea.

Susan used some papers from the Tilda Sewing Bird Paper Pad.

Thanks ladies you were real stars.

For now.

hugs {brenda}  xox

Challenges to have fun with -

Simon says Stamp - Anything Goes

Frilly and Funkie - Your favourite vintage style

Craft Us Crazy - Altered item