Always Have a Shell in Your Pocket ...

What a fantastic challenge we are hosting this fortnight at Tiot!!   The topic is 'Collage With a Twist' (which must include some script).  Really couldn't include more options so this is probably one of my favourite DT creations because it was so easy ... in fact the hardest thing was choosing which of my ideas to follow!!

I decided to make a little tile on corrugated card about the seaside.  I live about 2 minutes walk from one of the most beautiful beaches in the UK and have always been MAD about shells and anything seaside.  This will be going up in the kitchen next to the hook with our beach hut key - perfect!

I used pale blue acrylic paint as a base on my corrugated card and then added a layer of Crackleglaze by Applicraft which is my new favourite product of the moment.  You paint it over dry base coat and once its dry, quickly add the top coat (in one direction only and with minimal brushing) and the cracks just appear like magic.

I stamped my postage mark down one side and added the netting which I painted with white acrylic paint.  All the elements are by Crafty Individuals and I stamped them with Staz-on and then tinted them with chalks.

I added glass bead gel around the feet of my lovely bathing beauty and some strips of vintage dictionary defintions plus few shells and my little montage was complete.

I hope you feel inspired to join in the collage fun with us.  Check out my other DT gals as they have also created some beautiful pieces.

Enjoy!

x

Do Not Disturb

 

I like to work on canvas as well as paper and this was a lot of fun to make.  

I started with a plain background and then played with various masks and stencils to create interest.  I hand drew the tree and painted it with different shades of brown acrylic and included a few knots and knarls for realism!!

All the stamps are by Crafty Individuals - even the bunnies which I stamped and enlarged on my printer as they started out way smaller than the blue tit! The flowers were a free stamp CI sent me with my last order so I stamped them twice each, cut them out then doubled them up for frillier blooms!  The stalks are made from string which I inked with distress.

 

The eggs are coloured with alcohol inks and the little sign was made on my vintage typewriter, edged with Stewart Gill 'Medallion' embossing powder and attached with a little turquoise wire.

Thanks for stopping by and hope you are all having a crafty week ...  x

Seashells

We visited Lulworth Cove recently and took a clifftop walk.  The weather was perfect for walking and the views of Durdle Door were breathtaking.  

After the walk we strolled to Lulworth beach and bought some fresh fish from the little shop that sells some of the local catch.  I took this photo as we looked back up the lane through the village.

I created the background paper by layering and painting old sheet music and book pages which I then stamped and inked.

The filmstrip is an alterations die which I have cut from co-ordinations paper and sanded back heavily and added picket fence distress stain.  I used a paint colour selector card which I stamped with different mini stamps all by The English Stamp Company.

The street lamp is by Dusty Attic and the butterfly is by Lost Coast Designs.  The cottages are by Crafty Individuals.

Keep smiling ... the sun's out at last!!

x

Butterfly Wishes

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Our challenge this week at Gingersnap Creations is all about colour and GC140 challenge is Two Colors Only.

I love this plate by Art Journey and I decided to stamp it in Versafine Vintage Sepia.  It was a toss-up between coupling the brown with turquoise or with pink but you can see which one won!!

The smaller butterflies are also by Art Journey and the larger ones are by Lost Coast Designs.  I stamped them and then dipped them in beeswax which gives them a translucent finish which is lovely for fluttery things!

I added a little bit of glitter on my blue butterfly wings and also to highlight the spikes of the teasel head.

Have you got two favourite colours you fancy using for this challenge?  Why not try a combination you haven't thought of before?

Whatever else happens ... keep crafty! x

Beach Day

I love the beach! I'm drawn to shells, beach huts, mermaids and fish - in fact anything connected with the beach.

I recently ordered a beach house kit by Bella Creations and I decided to combine some of the elements from the kit with a seaside stamp set by Crafty Individuals and a few other bits and pieces from my stash.

I had a great time playing with all these lovely elements to create my very own beach scene for my beach babe to cool off in!

Thanks for taking the time to look. 

Happy crafting! x

Ready to Fly

My big boy is about to become a teenager so I made this card for his birthday.  He's turning into a gorgeous young man but he is still as stubborn as a mule so this old background image had his name all over it!!  I think he will find this amusing and it brought a smile to my face when I put his wings on!

The background is misted with Dylusions inks in Amber, Vanilla Custard and Cyan.  I then embossed the harlequins and used acrylic paints on various items eg ruler edge, glue stick lid to create circles and lines.

The beach huts are by Crafty Individuals and are stamped onto acetate.  I downloaded the wings from Graphics Fairy and curled them a little.  Job done.  Just the cake to organise but that's tomorrow's task ...

Hare

This is a quick thankyou card made for a good friend of mine. I only had 20 mins to put it together and I'm really pleased with the outcome.

The stamp is by Crafty Individuals and I stamped it onto gloss paper twice and cut the hare out of one.  I coloured some of the areas with alcohol inks and 3D mounted the hare.

I matted the image onto two contrasting papers (patterned one by Black Market Paper Society) and stamped the backing card with a bare tree that was by Graphicus.

Job Done! 

Spring Time

This is my second layout of the weekend.  Here I used masks, ink sprays and Ten Second Studio metal.  The glorious foxgloves were captured last Easter at Tintagel.  I used a melt pot to coat the clock and the birds and give then a high gloss finish.

The bird is by Prima.  I have inked it a little and drawn its legs so that it sits on the masked image of barbed wire.  The acetate postcard was made with a Crafty Individuals stamp.

The title letters are a combination of stamped and inked for the word Spring and the new Ideology Alphaparts for Time.

Really had fun creating a layout to show off this image and I love the result.

Full Nest

Apologies for the quality of the image.  Due to it being enclosed in a glass fronted box, I have struggled to get a photograph which does not have a reflection of me in front of it!!  I'll see if I can get a better picture but in the meantime, here is the best shot so far.

I converted photographs of the children into black and white and then re-colourised their eyes and blushed their cheek digitally.  I stamped the crowns onto foil card and cut them out before rolling them around a pencil to give then a 3D shape.

The clothes were cut from felt and embellished with lace and the feet were cut from a stamp of children's feet which I stamped onto photo paper.

I painted the inside of the box with Ferro Terracotta and heated it to make it bubble like old paintwork.  I painted the eggs with acrylic paint and painted the speckles on them.

The background was painted with acrylic paint and them I used burnt sienna on my finger to add texture.  I painted the wire stamp with dark brown acrylic and stamped it across one corner.

The bird is stamped from a crafty individuals stamp and coloured with pastel pencils.

This piece was a lot of fun to create and the children love it so it was worth the time! 

Well Behaved ... I think not!

 

A card for a good friend of mine using Stampotique Moth Fab stamp which is a one of my new acquisitions (it's scary how much craft stuff I NEED!!) I used pastel pencils to colour the tree stamp (Crafty Individuals) and also to colour the edge of the paper to blend it into the backing paper.  I stamped the black paper using versamark which I then used micro pigment paint to colour.

I'm pleased with the result and hope the recipient will be too ...