Beer and Alcohol!

Some time ago I surprised OH by telling him he needed to drink more beer...... he obliged for a short while then decided that even for art's sake consumption had to be curtailed. No matter - I had enough beer cans by then.
The challenge at Less Is More this week is to use metal. My carefully stored stash of flattened and washed beer cans has been systematically used on various projects but there was the remains of one can left which was just big enough for what I wanted.

 Cut out the beer can with a leaf shaped nestie die.

Out with the Alcohol Inks! I thought about using shades of green but decided that although hopefully Spring is on it's way, I like Autumn colours better.

I used Butterscotch, Caramel, Sunset Orange and Red Pepper.

Leaf duly coloured, I turned it over and began to emboss the back with a metal embossing tool. Most of it was done freehand and I'm happy with the way it turned out.
Even the small bits of can left were utilised by cutting out the sentiment and two tiny corners -  not a scrap of can left!

I dyed the string with Distress Inks Dried Marigold and Tea Dye and used an Embossabilities folder for the woodgrain background.
As this was made using a scrap of a beer can I am joining in the fun at the Snippets Playground this week!

Other Challenges -
Cuttlebug Mania - Add Texture
SOS - Heavy Metal
CAS on Sunday - Masculine
Crafting Cafe - Embossing
2 Sisters - Embossing

So that's it from me today. Not quite 100% but feel much better than I have done and thanks to everyone who sent me good wishes. Have a great day whatever you're doing! x

Renaissance

I have been able to have a bit of a play for an hour or so over the weekend.
Felt a lot better then yesterday back to sneezing and spluttering - am getting on my own nerves never mind anyone else's! I appear to be unable to shake off this 'whatever it is' that has now been with me for almost 2 weeks.
Consequently I am unsure about this make. Whether that's down to my fuzzy brain or it really is just a naff effort I don't know!

I used some old papers from my stash (which may have been from a HOTP pad?), distressed the edges then matted and layered onto Kraft then black card.
The main stamp is one of the very first I ever bought when I started my 'mixed media' journey (!) as at the time I was hooked on all things medieval and historic.
I found it (along with 3 others!) all dusty and unloved - so inked it up and stamped it onto dark cream card, clear embossed and then matted and layered it. Resisted using any colour on the image at all although maybe I should have coloured her dress?
Stamped the large script onto a scrap piece of kraft paper and just randomly ripped the edges.
The pen and ink bottle also stamped onto scrap pieces of kraft and mounted using 3d pads. (more old stamps!)
Finished it off with some die cut corners and a sanded 'hinge' secured with brads.
Challenges -
Make My Monday - A non cute grown up card
MIM - Anything Goes
Dream Valley - Vintage
Fashionable Stamping - Anything Goes
Allsorts - Ladies Day
Card Making Mama's - Stack it Up
Daring Cardmakers - Old but not Forgotten (my stamps!)

Thanks for taking the time to have a look and if you've left a comment I really appreciate it.
As I'm confined to the house in an attempt to get rid of this bug I will be trawling round blogland all day! Have a great day whatever you're doing. x

Inky things

Have just sat and watched the bronze medal curling - How good was that?! Always great to see Team GB doing well - which is more than can be said for me. Still feeling grot but hopefully I will shake it off in the next few days.
Haven't really felt much like doing anything and so my share is something that was finished just when the 'dreaded lurgy' came calling!

My brain wasn't up to layouts so decided to make an 'inky' card.

The stamp set is from Inkylicious.
I stamped the lighthouse first , clear embossed and then masked it off.
Just made messy with DI's after that then overstamped the 'sand dunes' and grasses.

I made a bit of a mess of the sky I think - the darker blue shade in the middle is perhaps TOO dark but I'd already made my mind up on where the sentiment was going to be put so ignored the darker blue colour and stamped it anyway!
I used a piece of acetate to  give me the straight line for the sea instead of my usual post-it notes.
Finished with some twine and a few shells.

Challenges -
Digi Darla - Sympathy
Divas by Design - Rubber Stamps
Cards & More - Non Cute
Love to Scrap - Anything Goes
TTCRD - Anything Goes
Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes

Off for a quick catch up through blogland to see what you've all been up to. Have a great day.x

Watch the Birdie

My turn this month to set the challenge at Crafty Cardmakers and I chose the theme of 'Come Fly With Me '.
I'm wanting lots of you to join in so get making anything that has a focal point of birds, which can also include birdcages and the like.
Our sponsors are the fab Hobby Art Stamps and Di's Digistamps.

I bought  a birdhouse shape at the beginning of last year, then took it apart and kept it to use as a template - I had a lot of fun making this little birdie house as I used lots of different stuff for this and made a lot of mess (as usual!).

Used thick brown kraft card to cut out all of the pieces. Gesso'd all the shapes and punched out the circle for the entrance before assembling into the 'house' then used a mix of papers and DI to cover the 'walls'.

A teeny piece of bamboo skewer used for the perch.

The roof was simply cut from the same thick brown kraft card and then strips of frilly lace stuck on it.
The branches and the birdie are Chipboard shapes from Maya Road. Gesso'd these then painted them with DI.

The 'Home' jigsaw piece is from a large box which I bought when a craft shop was closing down.
Finished it all off with a few leaves and punched out flowers and a teeny bit of flower flocky stuff  (this made most of the mess as I decided to open the window a little and forgot I had not put the top on the jar.........)
Birdie House now hanging in the craftie space!

Other Challenges -
Eclectic Ellapu -  Anything But a Card
Quirky Crafts - Pile it High, Layer It up and 3D
Rhedd's Creative Spirit - Anything MM Goes
Crafty Creations - For the Birds
All Crafts - Anything goes


Hope you like birdie's house and thanks for calling in. I've spent the last week feeling very sorry for myself - the pair of us are still full of coughs and sneezes - am hoping that I can catch up with you all over the next day or so - just my headache keeps returning with a vengeance so sitting in front of the pc is probably not the most sensible option! Have a great day. x

Love Actually????

One of the things I love most about my much loved husband is that he shares everything with me - last week he spent several days feeling decidedly poorly with some nasty coldy virally chesty thing and today I have woken up with a hacking cough and someone has kindly left a ton weight on my chest combined with an elastic band round my head! I am keeping my fingers crossed that I don't end up as bad as he was.......! He says 'sharing everything is 'love' actually'............

So perhaps this is NOT the best time to be sharing 'lovey dovey' cards as I feel like growling instead of being romantic and sentimental - but it is OH's birthday on valentine's Day and this was originally made with him in mind but have decided to share it now - !
This is a take on a Christmas card really.. differences being that I have used plain white textured card instead of glitter card for the tree and where the little red bauble was hanging I have replaced it with a red heart.
Oh and instead of torn paper at the bottom to resemble snow I have used a scrap of Kraft  -

In fact I have no idea why I have told you all this cos when you read that they're nothing like each other!! LOL General idea was the same anyway!

Just used up a few leftovers from other projects and a sentiment stamped in Versafine Sepia ink -am quite happy with it!

Challenges -
Card Mania - Love is all around
Love 2 Create - Red
OLLCB - Use a heart (#2)
Glitter n Sparkle - Add some Red
Red Carpet Studios - Love Actually
Cardz 4 Guyz - Truly, madly, deeply
Tuesday Throwdown - Valentine's

Sadly the weather here is reflecting my misery! It's wet (again) and we have had some hailstones/sleet in the last few minutes - a day to stay (feeling sorry for myself) in the craft room I think!! x

French Rose

There may be disadvantages living on the moor tops - howling winds/rain and of course if it snows heavily then you're stuck in but at least it means that there is little chance of being flooded out like so many poor people are in the south of the country on the low plains and levels. The weather here at the moment is horrendous - sounds like all the roof tiles are rattling with the strength of the wind but I am safely sat in the crafty space with a big smile as I bask in the happiness of a terrific win at Anfield!
Enough - don't want to be upsetting anyone (or rubbing it in but 5 - 1 REALLY????!!!!! LOL)

Back to more SENSIBLE things - a Paris themed shabby card!
Used several different types of papers including some scripted vellum. Distressed, tore and then stitched the background paper to the card then added the different paper layers.

An Inkylicious stamp called French Rose (which just HAD to be bought at the Craft Show this week) - stamped onto ivory linen card.
I coloured the rose with DI's and swiped Antique Linen DI across and around the edge before stitching.
Slipped a 'post mark' stamped piece under the main image.

The two different types of lace were from my stash.

The bow is hand dyed and I bought the vintage frame on Thursday too - found this image amongst my stash and cut it to fit - since taking the photo I've added some glossy accents across the pic and am quite pleased with the result.

The Eiffel Tower is made from shrink plastic.(No idea why the bottom half of the pic looks a wee bit out of focus - perhaps I was still excited from the match result!)

Finished with a couple of pearl topped pins, a scrap of ribbon and two flat backed pearls and the inside is co-ordinated to match.
 Challenges -
Craft Room Challenge - Ribbons & Lace

Live & Love Crafts - Love and Lace
Penny Paper Crafty - Something Old (Papers), Something New (Stamp)
Stamplorations - Stamps & Stitches
Crafts and Me - Inspiration from this photo -
Crafting by Designs - Anything Goes
Crafts 4 Eternity - With Love
Sugar Creek Hollow - Love & Adore
 
Off to have a little visit to you all and see what you've been doing- thanks for paying me a visit. x 

Love Heart!

I popped along to a craft fair today at Event City. Nothing spectacular there really - I still think there's a lot you can get cheaper on line but picked up a couple of stamps and boring stuff like magnetic sheets for storing my dies and some glue! I was a tad disappointed as there weren't many distress inks or markers being sold - I wanted Mowed Lawn, Peacock Feathers and Salty Ocean DI's-  and there wasn't any of these to be had anywhere so it's back to online for me!

Husband has a stinker of a cold so he's been banned out of the craft space since Tuesday which meant I had a little play on my lonesome yesterday!

Made a couple of CAS cards, both with a 'love' theme although not strictly Valentine's (we don't do the lovey flowery stuff as it's HIS birthday so we celebrate that instead)!  Saw a make similar to this on Pinterest with lots of hearts dangling so thought I'd do my own interpretation.

Quick and simple and made from some snippets of card, two different dies, a punch, some red embroidery thread and a stamped sentiment embossed with clear powder all matted and layered onto red and black card before assembling onto the base.
The sentiment actually says 'From My Heart to Yours' - but I only inked half of it! It's a really old stamp and the backing is getting a little bit worse for wear so it took me several attempts to stamp without smudging.

There are MILLIONS of love themed challenges so am entering this into a few!
Cuttlebug Mania - Red
SOS - Love/Valentine's
Lexi's -Valentine/Love
ATCAS - Love
OLLCB - Use a heart
Flourishes Timeless Tuesday - Red/Love
Oldie but Goodie - Valentine 
Simon Says Stamp - Have a Heart
Nutcrafters - Love
My fellow 'reds' supporter Brenda is giving away some awesome candy (pic in my sidebar) and she asks that you say what your all time favourite item is - mine definitely has to be my Cuttlebug - I don't know what I would do without it!
And - as this is a snippets make I think I may venture to the Playground this week - as long as some of my so called 'play MATES' don't tell tales on me AGAIN - yes you know who you are... and next time I SHALL name and shame!!!!
Thanks for stopping by - will be round to catch up with you all later! x

Dreams of Italy

It's been a while since I played with collage stamps and I had some pieces of linen card laying about which were cut off leftovers from other cards so decided to find stamps to fit onto the paper scraps.

I had intended to make another 'man' card when I set out as this terracotta tiled background paper I thought was great for a bloke............
don't know what happened cos THIS is definitely NOT a man card!!
It just took on a life of it's own and kind of evolved - maybe if I hadn't used up the last bit of card and stamped the face image it could have been  termed 'a man card' - but then I'd have had to leave off the ribbon and the pearls as well wouldn't I?

Hopefully though I have told a 'story' with this card - with the lady thinking about how much she loved her Italian adventure, the postcards she sent and the places she visited and how she is dreaming of a return some day soon.

Stamps all done with Versafine Sepia.
All the stamps are from different companies - a real  mixture!
I wiped some Antique Linen DI across all the images and then distressed the edges adding some Tea Dye DI.
The heart is made from wood, crackled and distressed and the card was finished off with a couple of bronze pearls and some shoestring ribbon.

Rest of the papers used on the inside.
Challenges -
OLLCB - Use a Heart
Craft Your Passion - Love
OSAAT - Anything Goes
Scribble & Scrap - Anything Goes
Ribbon Girls - Heart
Crafts & me - Use a Heart
Creative Romance - Show some Love
Fussy & Fancy - Vintage

Thanks for finding the time to look at my project for today - have a great day whatever you're doing! x

Wild!

In the last hour it has turned absolutely wild here weather wise. The sleet/snow/rain is blowing sideways and the wind is howling. So having been out earlier (when it was much calmer although cold)I have now taken myself upstairs to the craft space!

I bought this stamp over a year ago from a crafting buddy as she no longer wanted it. Anyone would think that I didn't really want it either as this is the first time I've used it!
And to be honest although I love the stamp, I cannot feel the same way about the finished card.

But at least I can say I DID use the stamp even if it goes back into the drawer for another year!

I considered colouring all the image but in the end just highlighted in bits, using Squeezed Lemonade and Mustard Seed DI to continue the acid yellow theme of the papers.
The papers came from the stash pile (where else??!!), stitched and distressed lightly with the edges inked in 'Sacttered Straw'.

I made a crumpled shabby bow from more papers which were a similar colour.

Finished with a few pearls and an organza bow with a metal handbag charm.

Carried the papers on through to the inside and have at the mo left it blank sentiment wise - might add one at a later time!

Challenges -
Crafty Hands - Shades of the Same Colour
Simply Create Too - Female
Crafting 4 all seasons - Girly
Sister Act - Anything Goes
Totally Gorjuss - Sunny colours
Alphabet Challenge - Z for Zesty

I welcome your comments as always and I hope wherever you are you are safe and warm away from any bad weather. x