Anything Goes at FSC

Well it's a challenge you all love over at Fashionable Stamping Challenges this fortnight and as long as your project includes some real stamping then it will be eligible

I would like to join in with Simon Says Stamp and Show's 'Passport to Fun" challenge with this album. Lets take a look at what I have included.

I have made a little album for my trip to California so that I can add any memorabilia I pick up over the holiday and keep all together and hopefully journal at the same time.

I started by blending DIs, flicking water and drying it then stamping using the Tim Holtz Travel Ways stamps.

The next layer included a Tim blueprint stamp mounted,  some die-cut letters and numbers and his new rub-ons. They go on so easily, by far the best I have ever used.

To give me a bit of a head start I have added some pockets ........

..... masking ........

.... tissue tape and more stamps.

So let's see if I am managing to keep it while I am away, I should be able to as we are staying with friends.

Thanks for popping in, have a wonderful Sunday and I hope some time to create.

hugs {brenda} x0x

Do you believe in fairies?

Another week has past by and I am in California, away on a break staying with friends near Los Angeles where we have been experiencing some high temperatures in the 90s.

So time for a new challenge at PanPastel UK and this week's theme is 'Fairyland', I have altered a frame using some PanPastel colours, gesso and Maimeri light modelling paste all available from Your Creativity Store who is our regular sponsor and will provide a PanPastel starter set as the winner's prize.

The dragonfly has been embossed using black EP and I have added some tiny beads and picket fence crackle paint over the modelling paste.

Have a wonderful Sunday and hopefully some creative time for yourself.

Take care.

hugs {brenda} x0x

How does your garden grow at Country View Challenges

It's a special challenge this month at Country View Crafts as we have the wonderful Lin Brown joining us as a guest designer and she has chosen the theme 'How does your Garden Grow'. Please go take a look at her amazing art if you haven't seen her blog before and pop over to the challenge blog to see the wonderful inspiration from the team.

My tag has a textured background using a Cuttlebug embossing folder and dried marigold, shabby shutters, broken china and walnut stain DI.

The flowers are hand made using the Tim Holtz tattered flower garland strip die and layered over some red hessian..

The leaves are metal and have been painted with distress paints as was the little bird embellishment.

The sentiment has been generated on the PC, printed onto distress inked card.

I love making these extended tags, by adding an extra layer gives it a bit more space to add a sentiment and elongates it more.

Thanks to everyone who joined in our butterfly challenge last month it was great visiting your blogs and seeing all your wonderful creations. I hope you will take part again this month with a project that follows our garden theme and let's hope the month of May allows us to get out in our gardens more.

Take care.

hugs {brenda} x0x

Lighthouse for Crafty Individuals

"Time and tide wait for no-one"

Some new Crafty Individuals stamps popped through my letterbox recently and I just had to play with the lighthouse one, I have an affinity with them which I think stems from my childhood days going to the beach at Happisburgh (pronounced Haysborough!!!)

This is Grace Darling's Lighthouse (CI-384) which was stamped in Cobalt Archival ink onto 300 gms gummed water colour paper and then painted in with distress inks. Of course I had to have some red in the lighthouse as that is part of the memory.

The image is mounted onto the Tim Holtz pocket watch which was die-cut in ribbed card and given a coat of gesso, sanded and inked with walnut stain. Then CI shells from  CI-272 plate were stamped onto painted shrink plastic to make them so small.

 

Inside the seascape is from the CI background papers Book 5.

By cutting the pocket watch twice this stands and will become a card for a friend who used to be a ship's engineer.

Thanks for stopping by today and extra special thanks if you have time to leave me a comment.

Have a great day.

hugs {brenda} x0x

Daydreaming

Time for a new challenge at PanPastel UK and this week's theme is 'Dreams' which I have converted to 'Daydreaming '. This is my card.

The image has been downloaded and coloured with the PPs and the cabinet card has a new PP technique I have come up with which I have called 'Cracked Glaze'.

I love the DP design which has come from a DCWV pack called The Tradewinds Stack.

Your Creativity Store is our regular sponsor and will provide a PanPastel starter set as the winner's prize.

Have a wonderful Sunday and hopefully some creative time for yourself.

Take care.

hugs {brenda} x0x

Testing blogger app

I have downloaded the blogger iPad app and am testing it to see how it works. The reviews aren't very good. I can see how to write a post and publish it. There doesn't seem to be any way to add photos and I can't see how to publish a post I have updated. (Aha playing has just solved that problem). There are no editing tools and of course the layout is different to the real blogger on the web. However the main positive for me is that I will at least be able to edit scheduled and draft posts when I go on holiday which will be useful, but I won't be able to create a post with photos so its very limiting.
Back tomorrow with my PanPastel post.
Have a great Saturday. (Spell check works as well).
Hugs Brenda xox

Spring Into fashion at Crafty Individuals

Have you made something for the Crafty Individuals challenge this month? You still have time to enter and if you follow the theme and include one CI product you will be eligible to win a stamp of your choice and you can get 25% off any purchase at the CI on-line shop before the end of the month just for entering.

I made two DT pieces which are on the challenge blog this week along with some fabulous creative makes from some of my teamies.

This is a tag made of craft card and I used CI stamps and background papers along with some other bits and bobs. 

Alongside the tag is a card in similar colours.

This has been designed on a kraft card which has had white acrylic paint dragged over it with a credit card.

Some lace and flowers and collage pieces add the texture.

We would love to see you join us for this challenge and you have till the end of the month to take part.

I am entering these into the Simon Says Stamp and Show 'Colour' challenge this week and Bloggers Challenge 'In Bloom'.

I hope your week is going well.

hugs {brenda} x0x

Tim Holtz April tag

Phew! I've got my April tag done and only had to change a couple of things to take part.

To see all the details and inspiration pop over to Tim's blog.

I haven't got the metallics distress paints yet, they are waiting for me to pick up in California, I ordered them from Linda at The Funkie Junkie Boutique. Why there I hear you ask? Well I shall be off shortly for a fortnight's holiday, staying with our friends just outside Los Angeles and will pick them up and didn't have to pay the international postage. See there's a method in my madness lol. I am so lucky though as we were only there last August, but Ken wants to go whale watching after seeing a programme about them off the coast of Santa Barbara, so we have two boat trips booked, one from Santa Barbara itself and another from Longbeach, so wish us luck in finding some.

I digressed somewhat, but back to the tag. I used antiqued bronze and tarnished brass distress stains with the distress paints and had to work a bit harder to get the lovely smooshed and marbling effects, but I am quite pleased with it.

I don't have the plastic numbers so I used a metal one, my nib is one of my vintage ones and the corner is one of my own too, but they all took the paints well and I also added some Onyxite Treasure Gold.

Even these little watch parts are real ones given the same treatment as above.

Before I go I want to say hello to some new followers who have joined me lately, I hope you find some bits of inspiration as we travel on this creative journey.

The sun is shining, the sky is blue and I am off to see my Sis for the day.

Have a happy Tuesday and thanks for coming over to see me.

hugs {brenda} x0x

Time Travellers Tag Card

A Size 10 tag card from me today for the new challenge at Fashionable Stamping Challenges which is called 'Sentimental'. 

Supplies

Tim Holtz Time Traveller stamps

broken china, walnut stain and picket fence distress paints (DPs)

brushed pewter distress stain (DS)

black and brown archival ink

dried marigold, peacock feathers, chipped sapphire, frayed burlap, walnut stain and black soot distress inks (DIs)

sentiment - Tim Holtz

Ideaology and charm

The background is a blend of the DPs, spritzed and heat dried then over stamped with the cogs in both brushed pewter DS and black archival ink plus the suitcases stamped in brown and watercoloured in with DIs.

The sentiment is from a Tim Holtz set

The gentlemen have been stamped in black and also watercoloured with the DIs, cut out and edged with walnut stain.

The clock has been made from the pocket watch embossing folder.

Once complete the tag was tied with folded tissue tape.

I feel I am really getting my eye back into painting as I loved watercolouring the two gents and  have inspired myself to do more lol.

Maybe I will see you over at FSC if you have a sentiment on your project over the next fortnight, I would love to see you there.

I hope your weekend is going well.

Have fun.

hugs {brenda} x0x

Challenges to have fun with -
Craft Room - So Sentimental
It's all about the Vintage - Travel
By the cute and girly - Vintage
Visible Image  - Get stamping
Creative Craft World - Blues or browns
Get creative - Tags

Quintessentially English

Time for a new challenge at PanPastel UK and this week's theme is 'Red, White and Blue', so I have gone for a London themed canvas board.

I started by cutting chipboard to size and covering it with artist canvas, painted it with Maimeri gesso and left it to dry thoroughly.

I stamped Indigo Blu images onto tissue paper and added, gave it a blast of heat and then covered with a thin coat of gesso. Using a variety of London themed stamps I coloured them up using PPs and adhered them to the board and then added some blue PP to Tim Holtz picket fence distress crackle paint and used a palette knife to add it to the edges.

Once dry I added more gesso using a credit card  and through some masks, finishing with some doodles.

I loved making this piece and I will certainly be experimenting with making more canvas boards to create mixed media projects.

Your Creativity Store is our regular sponsor and will provide a PanPastel starter set as the winner's prize.

Have a wonderful Sunday and hopefully some creative time for yourself.

Take care.

hugs {brenda} x0x