The Colour Purple!

This tag is for this week's challenge of 'Purple' on 'Tag You're It!'.

I like this background paper as I think it is really versatile and have it in a number of colours! So I covered my tag shape with the purple shade and then stamped the 2 dragonflies onto plain white cardstock.

I then sponged the white cardstock with ink pad colour ' Purple Rio' and used Mica shimmer powder 'Violet Frost' to paint the wings. The same shimmer powder was used to edge the flower petals.

I decided to attach the top dragonfly with 3d foam pads to give it a raised effect and finally I added some pale purple ribbon.

I fear I am becoming hooked on making tags!!

Engagement

I haven't made any cards for a while but one of my friends asked me to make an engagement card. After concentrating on other things recently, it's suprising how out of the habit of working on a larger project you can get.

Anyway, I was asked to incorporate some kind of envelope on the card so that the present (gift vouchers) could fit inside.

This is what I came up with. The paper is from 'The Luxury Stack' which is quite heavy weight cardstock so was perfect for folding into a holder and also for the pocket to house the holder in. It has a lovely pearlised finish which makes it perfect for weddings, christenings etc.

I decided against making a proper envelope as I felt the paper was too thick so instead stuck with the idea of a tag attached to a holder which can be easily removed by simply sliding out.

I used some vintage edging to highlight the edge of the card and the trifold pocket. I rubbed some 'Antique Lace' Distress Ink over the fabric heart to give it a vintage look and added the same vintage edging, then attached it to the card with a gold heart shaped brad.

I am not a great lover of 'peel-off's' but feel that sometimes they're the best option on cards - I could have stamped the little hearts and the initials of the recipients but as I made a promise to use up some of my old stash I used the peel off's instead!!

Picture folder - 6th Album, 6th Picture

I was tagged by Pattie and Anne to do this and will join in the fun, but I hope they'll forgive me for not tagging anyone else to do it....

The idea is you for to open your picture album on your PC and pick the 6th picture from the 6th Album. My 6th Album is the one that relates to my ancestry research and houses all the photos of my ancestors I have acquired over the last 4-5 years during the course of my compiling my family tree.

This photo is a picture of my Great - Great Grandfather who was born in Ireland in 1806 and was a Sergeant in the Royal Irish Constabulary.

He and his wife had 11 children. One died, 8 of the children emigrated to Australia, one remained in Ireland and the other, my Great- Grandfather left Ireland after serving in the 1st Royal Dragoons, moved to England, became a policeman for a short time and then eventually moved to Liverpool.

My Great-Great-Grandfather and his wife lived in great hardship in Ireland until the 1880's when, despite their advancing years, they embarked on the long journey to Australia.

He died just 18 months after being reunited with his children and his wife died 5 years later.

Tres Chic

The Wednesday Stamper theme was handbags. I sat and thought about using some vintage papers and making that the basis for my project but after a while decided to try something a bit different (well for me anyway!).

I had a card template in a handbag shape so used that. The only rule with Wednesday Stamper is you must use at least one stamp! The little dress stamp I have had since I don't know when and never used and the words were on a fashion plate stamp again bought ages ago and never used!

I highlighted the edge of the black card with white ink and poked about in the ribbon drawer (another thing I must get round to tidying!) till I found the spotty ribbon. The crystal buckle was meant to give the 'bag' a bit of 'haute couture'!!

Never judge a book......

....by it's cover! Margaret's challenge this week was a Triptych ATC on any theme. I like the shape of this one as it is just a scaled down version of a gothic arch!

I used several varying shades of blue ink and sponged the background then stamped several of the 'Ink and Nibs' stamps by Invoke. On the front 'doors' I used a small book embellishment and cut out some specs and case from a Tag Art book by Paper Pizazz. Inside, the same book supplied the image of the lady in her reading room. I painted over the entire ATC with mica shimmer powder in Tropic Blue. The finished ATC has a gorgeous shimmery look to it which isn't completely captured by the photo.

TMTA's challenge this week was the colour 'Ice Blue' and I've submitted this - I hope it fits in with the challenge!

Oh and I almost forgot.. a huge THANK YOU to Maureen who gave me an award for being creative - I really appreciate it and it's now on the right hand side of my page!

What time is it?

When I was small I was told you could tell what time it was by blowing the 'fluffy bits' on a dandelion after it has finished flowering and counting how many times it took you to get rid of all the seeds. I can't remember whether it was an accurate way to tell the time or not but I do remember doing it! Now I curse the wind and small children who blow the seeds as I am convinced they have an in built homing device which leads them to my garden where dandelions flourish in abundance!

The 'Tag You're It' theme this week was Numbers.

I used three different colours of Distress Inks for this tag. I sponged the background with 'Scattered Straw' and stamped the numbers with ' Shabby Shutters'. I used 'Peeled Paint' for definition to the edges.

The dandelion head was embossed in 'Seafoam White' and I finished by rubbing some of the distress ink over the fabric flower.

'THE ALTERED ATC' - wall art incoporating matchbox window shrines

This shrine was the SIS project for Jan/Feb. (Details of SIS can be found here )

The project was to make a 'shrine' using a matchbox and an ATC.

I chose the theme of 'Love' cos it's February and also because I have had this 3 heart embellishment for over 2 years which was rescued from the inside of another project (didn't turn out the way I wanted so it went in the bin!) The 3 hearts and it's red background are air dried clay which have been painted. This fitted perfectly in the inside of the matchbox.

I used gold embossed paper for the box and toned it down a little using black ink and red ink 'dabbers' as the gold was too shiny for my liking - I wanted to achieve a muted 'antique' effect for the frame and box.

So the matchbox was used to house my hearts and the ATC was then cut out to make a window type frame. The ATC was covered in the same paper and toned down like the box. I added the metal embellishments, a tassel and some fibres.

(There is a tutorial on this project written by Ange and it can be viewed here if you fancy trying it! )

Lots To Do have set a theme of 'Frames' for this week so have entered this into the challenge!

Rainbow in Paris!

I recently received some Paris themes ATC's as a result of a 'lottery' on the NI group. I have lots of themes that I like and Paris is included in the list! Consequently I have had some Paris themed ATC's from one to one trades in my album too.

It seems such a pity to own these little works of art and not have them on display so I decided to start putting them on 'Themed' canvases with the idea being that I put them on the walls in the 'den' and display them in rotation.

So here is the first of the themed canvas project which is entitled 'Parisienne Rainbow'! The background is chalked and stamped, with some beads and other embellishments added and the finished piece measures 15" x 12".

Margaret set us a challenge this week of 'Birds' on MAMMA's Monday Musings. I have to confess this ATC took me ages to do - and the finished product is really only a paper collage with a feather! I found the composition difficult - put it down to this dreadful cough making my already bad neck even worse!

As usual, finding the images took me an age.... good job I found the birdie pic last - poor old song sparrow would have well fallen off his perch waiting for me to find the music sheet...will somebody please come tell me why I put a music sheet into the 'hobbies' folder when I have a folder specifically for music sheets? Not that there's many in the hobbies folder............ they're obviously filed somewhere else too! Used Basic Grey paper for the background, Sparrow image came originally from Flickr as did the Music Sheet. Distressed the papers with Antique Linen distress ink, stamped a few musical notes around sparrow and added the feather.

Gypsies

Today the Gothic Arches theme is 'Gypsies'. Here is an arch I made yesterday but couldn't post till today!

This image is from Dover publications although it took me some time to find it as my filing system leaves a lot to be desired. (Isn't it annoying when you know you have something that will fit the theme and you've no idea where you put it?)

The background paper is from DCWV 'The Luxury Stack' - this pad is full of cardstock weight pearlised prints in lovely pastel colours and although the photo doesn't show it very well, this piece has a pale green sheen to it.

I had to search the internet for suitable gypsy proverbs or sayings and although I found one or two that I liked ( such as - 'A tear in the eye is a wound in the heart'), the 'wanderers' one seemed to fit in with the image. I also found the 'Romany' sheet music cover amongst some downloaded vintage images that I had saved some considerable time ago!

The chain embellishment was taken from a necklace and earring set which I picked up in a local charity shop. The flat silver coins appeared similar to those worn round the neck of the romany girl in the picture and I thought complemented and highlighted the overall view of the arch.

Tag

I have been able to have a crafting day today as I am still bothered with a nasty cough so I needed to stay indoors.(My excuse anyway!) One of the good things about having lots of time is you can trawl through all the challenge sites and then work your way through them!

Tag You're It! had posted a challenge yesterday called 'Sugar Candy Kisses', so this morning I sat and made this little tag which I thought would be suitable for a new baby. (One of the things I think about tags is they can also be made into a greeting card with a little bit of imaginiation so this one may well end up on a card at some time in the future if I can find a suitable background!)

Anne (one of my 'Blogging Stamper' sisters) had sent me these brilliant images of fairies on top of their own cakes last year and this was the last one- it seemed perfect for the challenge.

After mounting the fairy and her cake on top of some thick card, I used foam pads to raise her up from the actual tag and a pink patchwork button instead of an eyelet to secure the ribbon. Some glitter glue applied to accentuate her wings, a tiny paper heart in the bottom left hand corner and a couple of buttons 'holding' on the greeting of 'Hello Cupcake' and my tag was done!

Young Marie and her Beau?

Over at Theme Thursday, todays challenge was 'Couples'.

I have developed a liking for all things outrageously tragic and French as my blogging friend Margaret is obsessed with Marie Antoinette! This image reminded me instantly of Marie Anionette as it depicts all the outrageous fashion of the time, the powdered wigs, huge skirts and of course the painted on beauty spot! (A 'must have' fashion item at the time). The collarless dress jacket and breeches with the fancy waistcoat worn by the boy shows that during the early to mid 1800's, the clothes worn by middle and upperclass children older than toddlers (especially by girls) continued to be uncomfortable-looking miniature copies of the clothes worn by adults, with the exception that girls wore back-fastening bodices and petticoats rather than open-fronted robes. Towards the end of the 1780's, there was a change to styles that were more practical for children's play — long trousers for boys, and loose ankle-length skirts for girls. I bet they were delighted! I printed the photo onto glossy paper and then edged it on 3 sides with black glitter card, finishing off with a glossy black and silver flourish that I think came from a Christmas card! The sliver and black embossed backing paper was edged in black sequins and a pearl heart attached at the bottom. I finished the piece with a crystal 'shoe' buckle similar to the boy's shoe and threaded some black lace through to mirror the downright extravagance of the period! (And also to make something that the recipient could hang it up with!!! )

Heart

Over at MAMMA, there is a Valentine's challenge using a heart shaped template.

I am not good with a sewing needle and find working with fabric quite difficult so I opted for the safe old paper creation! Whilst I have in my list of favorites things pink, romantic and vintage I decided to have a change for this challenge.

The background of this heart is handmade paper which has been 'crinkled' although this doesn't show up very well on the photo. (In fact, I am not pleased with this photo as I was happy with this project once I'd completed it and I don't think this shows it off to it's best, so trust me, it DOES look better in 'real life'! If you want a better view just click on the picture - it makes it larger and clearer.)

After adding the crinkle paper, I double edged the heart with two different layers of lace. I placed a second layer of corrugated card over the back attaching the brown hanging ribbon before glueing.

The little brown spotty heart at the top is made from thin wood and I added fibres, a flower and a skeleton leaf and two fabric butterflies before attaching the silver 'Love' word charm. Over at 'Created by Hand' the challenge was to create something using the word Love - so here it is!

Paris Children

I am a member of a group called 'New Inspirations' and every month there is a 'lottery' to win all the ATC's made by other group members. The previous winner gets to select the next theme and this month's theme as selected by Trudy was Paris.

Crafters love anything to do with Paris! - there's so much scope to let your imagination run away!

Anyway I have had this paper for ages and have been waiting for an opportunity to use it. I again scanned it and made it smaller then cut out the images I wanted to use. After collaging, I used 'Tattered Rose' Distress Ink round the edges and overlaid it with 'Antique Linen' Distress Ink.

I love shrink plastic! So out came the stamps and the luggage tag, Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe were all stamped with Stazon and then shrunk!

I hope whoever wins this month's lottery likes it.

Gentlemen

Here is my ATC made for this weeks MAMMA challenge. The theme was 'Men'.
I reprinted the background paper to less than 50% of it's original size as I liked the design but it was too big for an ATC.
I stamped the 'real gentlemen' image with Stazon onto a kitchen work surface sample (part of an extensive collection from a local DIY store when I couldn't make my mind up about what worktop to have in the kitchen!). I like the effect of the stamp as it has turned out with a 'mottled' look instead of just perfectly flat and smooth.

Cut up Body Parts!

Things here have finally calmed down a little so to all my blogging friends a belated Happy New Year to you and yours.

I have spent a couple of hours each day for the last couple of days trying to rise to the latest challenge set by Margaret. In another moment of lunacy she decided to start another MAMMA group, this one is aptly entitled MAD MAMMA and although you may think the title reflects me very well it actually stands for Monthly Art Dolls!

This is the first time I have tried to make one of these dolls and it's from a template by Mirkwood. The rubbish bin alongside me has been full of body parts as I have struggled beyond belief to make something that even remotely resembled a doll!

I used gold embossing powder on her arms and legs and some corrugated gold card for her torso. I coloured her face with a gold Sakura pen and then added the glitter thread to make her hair. My original idea was to give her a gold hand gun and call her 'girl with the golden gun ' (my apologies to James Bond fans) but ditched the idea when I found the large gold wire heart in my scraps box. So she is just now the 'Golden Girl with 2 hearts'! I am not sure if I shall leave her in for the swap as I think the back is a bit of a mess but those who have seen her so far think she is OK - I have another template cut out and another idea buzzing round in my head - suppose I'd better empty the bin before I start!