Wednesday 31 March 2010

WOYWW

Good afternoon WOYWW'ers.

Visit Julia's blog, to meet the lady behind WOYWW and to visit more Workdesks.

I am a very lucky girl. My mum has just given me this fantastic Brother SuperGalaxie Embroidery Sewing machine (I've told her I am just looking after it until she needs it back). I am a bit too scared to use it! It comes with loads of add on bits and a very complicated looking instruction book, along with hundreds of reels of beautiful threads. I know it isn't really complicated, I've used it before, but that was before I had "baby brains".

I hope to visit your workspace but please accept my apologies in advance if I don't make it as things around here are pretty hectic.

Happy WOYWW to you all.

Clare xx

Simon Says "It's So Distressing"

Good afternoon.

This week the challenge at Simon Says is "So Distressing". They would also like you to use Tim Holtz products if you have them.

Well I had to make a tag didn't I? I shall use this as a bookmark.

The stamps I used are from the Tim Holtz Visual Artistry collection - the set I used is called "French Market". I stamped the Eiffel Tower with Versamark and heat embossed with white powder. The other images are stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.

I sponged on Tim Holtz Distress Inks "Shabby Shutters" and "Fired Brick" which I then rubbed over with Perfect Pearl (Heirloom Gold) before lightly spritzing the whole tag with water using a Mini Mister.

I know the white is a bit stark, initially I wanted the contrast but when it was finished I wasn't so sure.

Thank you for visiting my blog.

Clare x

Monday 29 March 2010

Butterfly garden

Good morning,

Having spotted this shape card in blogland I wanted to make one straightaway.


The stamps I have used are from Inkadinkao (Garden Delights Clear set) and the sentiment is from Papertray Ink (Mega Mixed Messages). I have used Brilliance inks which have a lovely shimmer.

It doesn't show, but I have painted stickles glitter glue onto the butterfly, Burgundy on the coloured parts and Diamond on the clear bits. I have also dry embossed the butterfly from the back so that it is slightly raised on the front of the card.

Thank you for visiting and I hope you have a lovely day.

Clare xx

Friday 26 March 2010

Dragonflies and Lilies

Good afternoon,

Yipee, it's almost the weekend! I'm looking forward to spending some time in my craft room and, if the weather is good, doing some decorating.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:-

Simon Says - Easter or Spring with some Glimmer

Cute Card Thursday - Dimension

Pollycraft Monday - Sparkly Things

The main stamp I have used for this card isfrom Creative Expressions (Oasis 231), the swirls are free from a magazine and the sentiment is from the Papertray Ink set "Mega Mixed Messages". I love this set and use it all the time, it was so worth the postage and customs fees!

The image is coloured with Prismacolor pencils using sansador and a paper stump. I stamped the image twice and cut out two additional dragonflies and one lily for layering. I have painted "Stardust" stickles onto the dragonfly wings to add some sparkle.

I hope you have a great weekend.

Hugs, Clare xx

Wednesday 24 March 2010

Cracked Glass UTEE

My first attempt!

I said in a previous post that I wanted to try the cracked glass effect using UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Powder).

Here is the result. It is recommended that you pop your item into the freezer before cracking the UTEE, but I don't have a freezer so I just bent it back and forth until it cracked.

This picture doesn't show up all the glimmer on the tag, and I'm afraid I couldn't avoid the glare either.

Here are the ingredients:-
Paper Artsy stamps (free with Craft Stamper subscription), stamped with "Rich Cocoa" Memento ink.
Tim Holtz distress inks "Antique Linen", "Walnut Stain" and "Vintage Photo", applied with an ink dauber and an ink duster (ie shaving brush).
The bird was dusted with Perfect Pearl "Heirloom Gold" and the tag was sprayed with Crafty Notions Shake and Spray "Antique Gold" (I overdid it with the spray which has made it darker than I wanted, but you wouldn't have know that if I hadn't told you would you?).
The UTEE was applied to the bird stamp, three times, before I cracked it. I attached the bird to the tag with an eyelet.

This isn't what I would call a finished product, it's definitely the result of practicing and playing, but I hope you don't mind me sharing it with you.

Thank you for visiting.

Hugs, Clare xx

Spring!

Good afternoon,

There are a lot of spring themed challenges at the moment, so I decided to make a card with a spring feel to it.

I am entering this into the following challenges:-

Crafty Cardmakers - Spring into Spring
Crafty Catz - Spring
Allsorts - Spring is in the Air
Secret Crafter Saturday - Spring has Sprung
Rosie D's - Green, Yellow and White (I've got a bit of brown too, but I hope this is ok)
Quirky Crafts - Flowers

I have used the following stamps:-
"En Francais" by Stampin Up!; "Doodle Flowers" by Inkadinkado, and the sentiment from a small spring set by Papermania.

Thank you for visiting. I hope you are enjoying your day.

Clare xx

WOYWW

Good morning,

It's time for what's on your workdesk Wednesday. Pop on over to Julia's blog to find out more.


Here is my work space being taken over by a budding crafter. He's got his own set of pencils in a pot just like Mummy's pencils. You can see mine at the back. I used to keep them in their tin and hardly ever used them. Now I've got them in a pot of my desk I use them a lot more.

You can also see on my desk an entry to Craft Stamper giveaways waiting to be posted, a spring card that is almost finished and evidence of my latest brayering.

I think I may need to get another chair in my room and clear some more workspace or I may never get in there again!

Happy Wednesday to you all, I look forward to visiting your desks.

Clare xx

Tuesday 23 March 2010

Good afternoon.

Here's the result of this afternoon's playtime in my craft room. I nearly didn't post today as the photo is awful - sorry.

I don't usually go into much detail about how I make a card. Would you prefer to just take a look or would you like me to list what I use and any techniques?

Thank you for visiting me today, I really appreciate it.

Clare xx

Monday 22 March 2010

New Stamp

Good evening.

When you get new stash do you just have to use it straight away? I know I do.


I made this card using a stamp I bought while I was at the new Sir Stampalot shop on Saturday (Magenta 41017k).

I stamped the image with Versafine ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder. I then sponged inks over the top of the image to create the background colour.

I also bought some UTEE on saturday and can't wait to have a play with it, I love the "cracked glass" look so I will be hunting out some tutorials to give that a go.

Happy crafting to you all and thank you for visiting.

Clare xx

Sunday 21 March 2010

Stamptacular Sunday - Scene It

Good afternoon,

The challenge at Stamptacular Sunday Challenge this week is "Scene It".

Here is my scene made using Stampscape stamps.

I am sorry I haven't been around in blogland very much recently. I have been quite busy with one thing and another.

Yesterday I travelled to Peterborough to visit Sir Stampalot's new premises and to meet the lovely Brenda of Floral Fantasies who was demonstrating for the day. It was great to meet Brenda, who is the brains behind the Sir Stampalot Challenge which starts on April Fool's day. I am honoured to be on the DT and can't wait for the first challenge. I was also pleased to meet Janice, the lady behind Sir Stampalot who is kindly sponsoring the challenge.

I have to admit to a few items falling into my basket - I have never seen so many stamps under one roof. I was like a kid in a candy shop.

Brenda, this card is inspired by your brilliant demo. I included the moon (sun?) especially, next time I will try some mountains.

Hugs, Clare xx

Wednesday 17 March 2010

Dotty Daisy

Good afternoon.

This was a really quick card for me as I already had an image coloured up. I am so pleased with the papers, they are Cuddly Buddly digi papers and I have printed them onto some beautiful smooth white heavy weight paper, the reason I am so pleased is that the paper is recycled, it's headed business paper for a company who changed their address and could no longer use it. Recycled and free - it can't get better than that.

I am entering this card into:-

Crafty Creations Challenges - Spots and Dots
Creative Card Crew - Going Dotty

Thank you for visiting!

Clare xx

Tuesday 16 March 2010

More playing

This card has been inspired by Theresa Momber's wonderful creations which you can see at her blog Crafting the Web.

I'm really pleased how it's turned out (although I may add a butterfly). It's not as wonkey as the photograph shows!

Clare xx
Good afternoon.

It has turned into a beautiful sunny day today, so after this post I shall enjoy a lovely walk with my dog.


This card is basically me just playing, but I thought I would show it anyway. When I start playing I use my less than best cardstock in case it all goes wrong, then at the end I wish I had just gone ahead and used the good stuff!

What do you think of the flower? I was tempted by some new and expensive flower punches I had seen recently, then I decided to look at what I already had and see if I could improvise. This punch is one I bought for about £1.50, it doesn't look like this when you punch it, but with a few snips of the scissors this is what you get.

However, the money I saved on a new punch has now been spent on Clarity Stamps from Joanne Sheen who has just stocked them. I can't wait for them to arrive. I have been practising my brayering in anticipation but I can assure you I have a very long way to go before I can get anywhere near Barbara Gray's standard!

Right, where's the dog?

Clare xx

Monday 15 March 2010

Decorated notepad

Good afternoon.

Yesterday I picked up a pack of four notepads at The Range. Here is the first one that I have dedcorated.

I am entering this into:-

Die Cut Dreams Challenge - Pack a Punch (use at least two punches)

I have used these punches:- Martha Stewart Doily Lace border punch, Martha Stewart Butterfly Trio punch and Martha Stewart Alphabet punches.

Thank you for visiting my blog today.

Clare xx

Cuddly Buddly Giveaway - Week 8

Good morning,

It's week eight of the Cuddly Buddly 3 for free giveaway.

To be in with a chance of winning these adorable Cuddly Buddly Mousie Critters stamps leave a comment on the Cuddly Buddly blog.

Good luck!

Saturday 13 March 2010

Easter Card

Good evening.

The theme at the Susie's Sassy Challenge this week is "Easter". Here is a card I made using the free stamps that came with Quick Cards Made Easy this week.

It's so nice to be able to take photographs in daylight again!

I hope you are all having a great weekend and may I wish all you Mum's out there a very Happy Mothers' Day for tomorrow.

Clare xx

Thursday 11 March 2010

Another Cuttle'd Card

Good afternoon.

It's lovely and sunny here and I am beginning to think of spring, which could be why I have spent most of my crafting time today making flowers.

I enjoyed using my Cuttlebug Folders on yesterday's cards so I thought I would use one again today. I also used up some card from my scraps drawer - which is a good thing as it is just about overflowing.

I am entering this into:-

Cupcake Crafts Challenge - Flower Power
Crafty Creations Challenge - Make Your Own Flowers

This card is for a family member who is feeling a bit under the weather. I hope it helps to cheer them up.

Hugs, Clare xx

Wednesday 10 March 2010

A Passion for Papertray Challenge

The challenge over on A Passion for Papertray this week is "Spring Clean".

quote: With spring slowly creeping in, we want you to 'spring clean' your crafting stash and find all those goodies that you so needed at the time but haven't actually found a use for....until now!


I decided to get out my Cuttlebug Embossing folders that I just had to have, and only every seem to use "Swiss Dots". Here I have used Swiss Dots, Paisley, Floral Fantasy and Devine Swirls (I think those are the correct names but I could be wrong).

I have used my trusty Papertray Ink "Mega Mixed Messages" stamp set.

I have made these to put into DoCrafts "Crafts for Life" bags which I will take to my local Cancer Research Shop. I've got another twenty cards ready to take in.

Thank you for visiting me today.

Hugs, Clare xx

WOYWW

Good morning,

It's time for What's on your Workdesk Wednesday again. If you want to join in or take a look at some great workspaces then pop over to Julia's blog to find out more.

I've got some new goodies since last week. A set of gorgeous Memento Dew Drop inks and some Martha Stewart punches (QVC TSV). The little flowers on the desk are made using the MS flower punch and stamp. You can also see a card I am working on using a free kit from Quick Cards Made Easy Magagazine - I had to buy this because the rabbit stamp is so cute.

This second photograph shows some of the storage above my desk.

I look forward to visiting your workdesk!

Have a great Wednesday.

Clare xx

Saturday 6 March 2010

New inks

Hello, welcome to my third post of the day!

This week Mr Postie delivered me some lovely new goodies. A set of Memento dew drops and some other crafting accessories.

I couldn't wait to play and here is the result.

My apologies for the poor quality of the photograph.

I am entering this into:-
Paperplay Challenges - Just Becasuse
Pollycraft Monday Challenge - Distressing

I hope you are enjoying your weekend.

Clare xx

Bunny in Purple Patchwork

Hello again, I'm back with my second post of the day.

Here's another sample card I have made using the "God Bless" stamp from Cuddly Buddly.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-

Stampin' for the Weekend - Monochromatic

Enjoy your weekend.

Hugs, Clare xx

"God Bless" bunny

Good morning!

This is a sample card I have made using a sweet little stamp called "God Bless" which has just been released at Cuddly Buddly.

I have paper pieced the bunny's little romper suit and 'popped' the rabbit. The butterfly embellishment is shrink plastic, coloured and coated in holographic embossing powder.

I am entering this card into:-

The ABC Challenge - P is for Paper Piecing
Papertake Weekly Challenge - Buttons, Bows, Brads and Bling
Digital Tuesday Challenge - Scallops (nestie scalloped circle) the papers are all digi papers
Bee Crafty - Embossing (The white strip across the card has lines embossed on it using a Scor-pal)

Thank you for visiting my blog today. Have a great weekend.

Clare x

Wednesday 3 March 2010

WOYWW

Good morning,

It's time for What's on your workdesk Wednesday again. Pop on over to Julia's blog to find out more.

I cheated, if I had taken a photo today my desk would have been empty, so I took a picture mid-project during the week.

I have to admit that at this stage I stopped to tidy up before I continued working. This is very untidy for me!

I am beginning to feel there is something not quite right with me when I craft. I always stop to put away something I have just used, even if I have to get it out again two minutes later. I like everything stored within arm's reach to make it easier to get it out and put it away again.

I am working on a sample card here for Cuddly Buddly which I should be able to put on my blog next week.

I'm sorry I didn't get round to visiting everyone's WOYWW space last week, I will try harder this week.

Hugs, Clare xx

Tuesday 2 March 2010

Quick Thank You Card

Good afternoon.

I am suffering from a loss of mojo so I decided to get out my Distress Inks as they always cheer me up and help to relocate my mojo.


Here is a quick thank you card which is the result of a play around. Unfortunately I squashed the top right hand corner. There are other mistakes too which I have tried to cover up. I don't mind though as I had fun.

I am entering this into Creative Craft Challenges where the theme is "Thanks a Bunch".

Thank you for visiting my blog, I really appreciate you stopping by.

Hugs, Clare x

Monday 1 March 2010

Card for Mum

Hello,

I made this card to try out some new inkjet paper I bought today. I am trying to find some paper for printing digital images and papers that doesn't cost the earth. This isn't my favourite paper so I don't think I will be buying it again. Anyway, enough of me boring you!

I am entering this card into:-

Dare you to Digi Stamp Friday Challenge - "Pearls" (there are tiny pearls on the butterlies).
I Love Digi Challenge Blog - Pink
Digital Tuesday Challenge - A Card for Mum
One Stop Craft Challenge - Optimistically Pink
Crafty Creations Challenges - Cut it Out and Pop it Up

The papers are image are from Cuddly Buddly.

Thank you for stopping by my blog.

Hugs, Clare xx