How Time Flies!

Wow! What a time! Where has it all gone too! I can't believe how long it is since my last blog and yet it feels like no time at all. Between work, prepping for classes, on-line challenges and the all consuming pile of christmas card makes, my poor blog got neglected........aaahhh, I hear you say! Well, here I am to rectfy the situation.
My new year resolutions include finishing my on-line Claudine Hellmuth course (which I have just loved) and paying more attention to my blog....now on with the task!
Towards the end of the year I joined UK Stampers on-line forum and have been taking part in their ATC swaps which I had never really done before, and am really enjoying. I love the challenge of creating a piece of art to suit a theme and the excitment of receiving the parcel in the post with your atcs and seeing what others have created! Here are my first 4 swaps;
Stamped collage -"Dreams of Paris"

Three of a kind-"Words of Christmas"

Shades of Blue-"Creativity vs. Art"

Halloween-"Bewitching Night!"

Embroidery Hoop Photo Wall Hanging

This is the week 4 handout project in Claudine's @ home course. I really enjoyed making this project. it was relatively quick and very easy to do. I love the technique of transfering pattern paper design onto the back of sticky back canvas and ending up with a patterned fabric! The possiblities are endless. My mum had recently sent me a cd of family photos and on it were pictures of my great grandparents so this project just seemed made for them. My new favourite obsession are Prima Marketing products, especially the flowers and pearls, so I incorproated them into the design as well to added dimension and an aged, antique feel. Hope you like as much as I do.

Week four of @ Home with Claudine

Am beginning to catch up with the class and have completed almost all the pages for weeks four and five. But just when all looks good I have gone and run out of, wait for it.............sticky back canvas! Just my luck and poor planning! Well here are my efforts for this week. My favourite technique this week was the transfer onto the back of sticky back canvas. I will definetly being getting extra supplies of that at the harrogate show on the weekend!

I love you Aunty Jude

At the end of this month a memorial service will be held for my Aunty Jude, who died a week before Christmas last year, in Perth Australia. I currently live in Edinburgh with my husband and family and will not be able to make it back for the service. I will miss being able to see the family and take part in the service so as a contribution on my part I offered to make some bookmarks that my Mum wanted to give to the guests who came.

I hope that thay are good enough and that everyone likes them, and as a result are able to take a part of Jude home with them. I certainly will never forget her.

@ Home with Claudine - Week 3 Handout

The Chandelier Canvas

I absolutely loved making this piece and can see myself making many more pieces like this or using these techniques.It was so simple to make and yet it is so striking!

Hope you guys love it as much as I do.

It's Birthday Time!

Last weekend it was my husbands birthday. He turned 43, but ssshh don't let him know I told you! LOL! I didn't have any idea what to get him....men can be so difficult to buy fo and then I decided to spoil him with some of his favourite food from an italian deli in town that we would never normally shop at, as it is too pricey. Well if you can't get spoilt on your birthday, when can you?

This is the card I made him. He is madly into his poker and I thought the this would be an ideal card. It is my first attempt at an easel card and I am really chuffed with it , I will definetly do this type of card again.

Hope he liked it.

Week 3 of Summer with Claudine

So I have finally managed to finish week three techniques! Once again I really enjoyed doing these and know that I will use them in my crafting, especially the reverse stamping technique which is my new favourite technique!

This week we tried Extra Time Reverse Stamping, Extra Time Tinted Paper and Extra Time Faux Paste Paper.

Currently I am working on the project for week three which incorporates all these techniques so I am looking forward to finishing it and sharing it with you all.

Claudines Mini Projects

These are two mini projects I have made using techniques taught in Claudine Hellmuths course. I have really enjoyed making them and am quite proud of the way they have turned out. I look forward to using this techniques in my future projects.

Crackle Paint Class

On Saturday I demonstrated some projects I had made with Tim Holtz Crackle Paints. I really enjoy using any of Tim Holtz's Distress products but found the crackle paints to be really inspiring and I got some ideas for techniques from the Ranger web sight. I really love the resist crackle technique that I have done in the tags above, it looks so effective but is so easy to do. The photo frame in the bottom left was one I had done a while ago by just putting a coat of crackle paint on a papier mache frame and then distressing it with vintage photo distress ink. It has a photo of my daughter in it and she just had to have some fairy wings!

And the last frame I got inspiration from an article in the latest Craft Stamper magazine. I saw the article and just had to make my own version of it. Rock candy crackle paint with shimmer inks sprayed on it and embellished with prima flowers and idea-ology metalwork. In the frame is a collage of stampers annonmymous stamps using co-ordinating distress inks. I am very happy with the outcome.

Summer Sunday

What a lovely Sunday! The weather here in Scotland was just gorgeous and I spent the day with friends at the Ayr Flower Show which was great fun! The only down side was that I had a flat tyre on the way home along the motorway, at least I can change a tyre though so not much time and we were off again. Was quite restrained and only bought 3 plants and a few bits and bobs (much better than I am when it is craft involved!) but am looking forward to being able to get the garden in shape.

Now on to important things.....I am slowly catching up in Claudine's class and this is my attempts at week two techniques. In order of photos there is, acrylic paint stamping, watermark resist peeled paint, and watermark resist stamping. I loved the acrylic stamping the best this week, though I do think the resist stamping is very effective.

Creating with Claudine

I am so LOVING this course with Claudine Hellmuth! I have never realyy planned with paints like this and I am enjoying it so much! It's just a shame With work and hoem commitments at the moment I am so behind. I can't decide which technique I love the most as each time I try a new one it then becomes my favourite! Week ones techniques were gesso etching and gesso image transfer. Here are my attempts at them. All I can say is that the gesso image transfer definelty works better with a photocopy image as an inkjet image gives a much softer result.

Week Three of Claudine Hellmuth @ Home

I am so excited! My chipboard book has finally arrived and I have spent the last not quite week catching up on all the techniques in the class. I am having so much fun and I can't wait to show you all.....just have to wait for the paint to dry and then try and photograph the pages. I am learning so much and making a huge mess at the same time! Now isn't that what you call heaven? Except when my husband unwittingly puts his elbow in things and I have to re-do it.... really it's just another excuse to play with paint! I can now see why my daughter loves playing with paint so much! Roll on next week!

I'm so Excited!!

I am one week into a twelve week on-line course with Claudine Hellmuth, and I am so excited about it all. The first week was fab!!! I have only done the two extra projects as I am still waiting for my chipboard book to arrive. Isn't it typical, I was so sure that I had one that I didn't bother looking for it until the class started.....and low and behold I couldn't find it! I have learnt so much already and am really enjoying geting my hands dirty! I've never done an on-line course before and can't believe how widespread everyone is, it seems that there are people from all over the world! I am looking forward to getting to know everyone and am enjoying looking at everyones blogs and reading all their great ideas. The quality of everyones work has been so high. Can't wait for the rest of the course.

Here are some photos of my attempts; the first one is a painted wooden bangle with rub-ons and added bling and the second is a gesso transfer and etching on canvas.

Happy Birthday Mum!

I can't believe how many birthdays I have this month! And my Mum's and cousins are on the same day!

I love these stamps and think they are great for a birthday. I found the one of the couple in the car in a discount bin years ago and was just waiting for the right accompanying stamp which I found while I was at home earlier in the year. I simply stamped them on card in rust brown and layered on brown card, used gems and flowers to embellish and a patterened paper as the background.

Simple but effective I think.

Happy Birthday Bree!

A nice but quick and easy card to make for my cousins birthday. I like a bit of decoupage and I think that this Kanban kit is nice and stylish. I love the colours and the soft muted tones.

Happy birthday couz!!!

Engaged!

My baby cousin's engaged!!! Not that she is a baby anymore! This is fantastic news and I am so happy for them both! So I made this card.

I used the Tim Holtz die and then painted the pieces with crackle paint and lined the back of the heart with sheet music. I covered half the card with a making memories definition paper and inked it with distress inks. The join is covered with ribbon and a Heidi Swapp banner stamp used. Then the whole thing is embellished with lots of bling!

Hope they love it!

My Favourite Flower!

I just LOVE frangipanis! They are my all time favourite flower and remind me of home! I took this photo at my cousins house in Western Australia and she has quite a few frangipani plants. I am soooo jealous, I wish I could grow them here in Scotland!

Happy Birthday Marisa!

I used Papermania capsule collection papers, ribbons and gem stones along with distress inks and cupcake creative expression stamps to make this cute card for my cousins birthday.

Hope she liked it.

Stamped Canvas

I saw a similar design being demoed on Ideal World and just had to give it a go myself! I am quite chuffed with the results and really pleased with how easy it was to create such a presentable piece.

I used distress inks to colour the canvas and stamp the image with a set of creative expression stamps. I then used the crackle stamp on the edge of the work and embossed with gold embossing powder. The shadows were created with a water brush and distress ink. The image was stamped on card and then adhered to the canvas.

Hope you like it.

Christmas Shaker Box

I made this for a class I did last christmas and i just came across the photo as I was uploading all the photos from my camera ( I know that punctuality is not my strong point!). I was really happy with how this turned out and think it makes a lovely christmas tree decoration.
I used the inside of a large empty matchbox and cut a frame using a sizix die. Coloured it with cosmic shimmer inks and glitter glue and used a complimentary ink with a woodware stamp set. Constructed it and put glitter in side it.

Back from Oz

We have all arrived back from Australia after our volcanic enforced longer holiday (but who is complaining! I love being back home!) And I have logged on to my blog and come to the realisation that I have been rather slack at maintaining it! So I have come back with my head and suitcase full of ideas and plan to try them all out. Hopefully they are successful, but the fun is in trying! Watch this space!!!

My First Demo Day

On the first of August I had a demo day at a local craft shop. I have never demoed before only taken small classes and was quite nervous but my love for crafting won over in the end. The day was on framed memories and here are the projects I made.

Mums Birthday!

It was my Mums birthday earlier this month and I thought that I would make a scrapbook page of one of my favourite photos of her.

This was taken when she was younger than I am now, which is always hard to imagine of your parents I am sure! I have always loved this photo even when I was a young child and think she is so beautiful in it! It was taken before she married my Dad and I think she looks so positive and confident, just like I wanted to be when I grew up! Just stunning in fact! So I hope I have done it some justice with this layout.

I used Papermania 6"x6" papers on a 12"x12" cream cardstock, putting a sheet in each corner. I then covered the joins with a strip of cream cardstock embellished with peel offs and matted and layered the photo with cream and burgandy cardstock. I embellished the corners of the burgandy diamond with Laura Ashley velvet rub-ons and put heart peel-offs on burgandy card and cut out and embellished the patterned corners under the flourishes.

Happy Birthday Mum!

Fathers Day Clock

So Fathers Day has been and gone and hopefully all the fathers out there were pampered just as they should! Unfortunately, I had to have surgery last week so my husband had to look after himself and the children so missed out a little on the pampering.....better luck next year I hope!

Though I still managed to make him a Fathers Day present which I think he appreciated. I got this clock frame at the Edinburgh Corn Exchange Stamp Show, it is a Kaiser Krafts product that comes with full instructions and is great fun to make. I used a sheet of double-sided scrapbook paper I had at home to cover it and distressed the edges with Ancient Page chocolate ink. I added Laura Ashley ribbons and some loose gems I had as embellishments and stamped the times using Paper Arsty numbers mini plate and Vintage Photo Distress Ink and embossed them with Antique Bronze Chunky Embossing Crystals from Once Upon a Stamp.

I was wrapped with the result and hope he was too!

Fathers Day Layout

I made this layout to layout to celebrate fatherhood. It is a photo taken of my husband and father-in-law with our daughter when she was only about 5 monthes old. I loved that we had the three generations together, so I decided to age it and create a vintage look.

Using distress inks and cut'dry'foam I aged the photo and then added "vintage " elements by adding hinges from B&Q, handle and memory frames (with smaller images it it) that I had aged with alcohol inks.

I also copied a lovely poem about fathers onto a journalling card that I had and put my journalling behind the photo flap.

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!

Found Pink Gems blog and website today and really like their stamps. I loved Mimi in the bathtub so much I had to get her.

Welcome William Wilson

Friends of ours had a little boy just recently and this was the card that I made to welcome him into the world!

I used a papermania scalloped card, cut'n'dry foam and distress ink to colour the edges and then popped on adhesive embellishments that I got from hobbycrafts.

Simple but effective, I think.

Beaded Watch

I just got off the phone to my best friend in Australia and was so chuffed I wanted to do this blog! I made this watch for her for her birthday earlier this year and had only just got the chance to talk to her and she loved it so much she didn't even realise it had been handmade, or at least handmade by me! I got the pattern out of a beading magazine and enjoyed doing it so much I have since taken up jewelery making as another crafting passion!

Pirate Birthday Card

I don't know about you but I always find it hard to come up with card ideas for boys! I made this one for a friends little boy for his 2nd birthday and it has really taken my fancy!

I used Capt'n Jack papers by Rusty Pickle to create the background and cut out and distressed the text panels by rolling and burning, then sticking to the card, used a sizzix alphabet to make the name, covered and distressed the chipboard number and my favourite I used a Sugar Nellie stamp to stamp the pirate which I coloured with gell pens and cut out.

It went down a treat with the boy in question!

Edinburgh Corn Exchange Craft Show

I went to the craft show here in Edinburgh last week and though it is a good show it isn't as good as it has been in the past. Not as many exhibitors and some of the big ones don't come anymore, which is a shame.

None the less, there were some really exciting exhibits and I loved Nutcrackers stand with all their stamps as well as learning all about promarkers! Which I had to just get a set of, I am so excited I can't wait to use them!

I also enjoyed the make and takes and had fun with Tim Holtz distress inks and some Crafty Individuals stamps, here is my effort. I used fired brick, spiced marmalade and faded jeans, applied with cut'n'dry foam and spritzed with water then over stamped in sepia and black.

Mixed Media Canvas

This was my first piece of mixed media altered art on a canvas. I loved doing it and experimenting with the crackle paint medium as well as using digital images. I am very proud of it and have gone on to do many more with slight variations on the theme.

New Beginnings!

"A PINCH AND A PUNCH FOR THE FIRST OF THE MONTH!"

As it is the start of a new week as well as a new month, I thought it was a perfect time for a new begininning!

So, I have finally come into the 21st century and decided to embrace this idea of blogging! I hope that it is well welcomed and I get to meet many crafty people that share my passion this way! I look forward to many more blogs to come.

My idea was to share my thoughts, ideas and passions on craft as well as some of my creations in the hope that I would get some feedback.

So, in that vein I have included my first picture of a birthday card I made earlier this year.

This card is a favourite of mine.

I made it for a friends little girls' 2nd birthday and she loved it!

I hope you do too!