Butterfly Butterfly... - Saturday 9th August 2014

Good Morning Friends,

Thank you all for popping over and leaving a comment on Sam's blog on Tuesday, well I think you know how much I appreciate your comments on my posts both here and there! I was feeling guilty that most of you were leaving a comment on Tuesdays both here and on my actual post, which is why I just put the link this week...so thank you! I think that particular card was a real labour of love, I absolutely had so much fun creating it. It had been a while since I had used acetate in that way and I actually wondered why had it been so long... I was quite chuffed when Sam said it had her rushing for the acetate!

All my samples have been packed up and sent to Sam now for her shows on Create & Craft on 16th August.

Have you all had a good week? We have had a 'busy' one...I am very wary that September is looming and for some incredibly mad reason (so mad I don't even know why), I have landed myself with organising three events in the first two weeks of the month at work - what I would do without my wonderful volunteers at the moment I have no idea! It's all very well having this ideas but all the work in publicising  them and then hoping people will come is quite stressful.

We are also on holiday later in the month of September(I think we'll need it as Tom has been working harder than ever!)...not going far this year (to think this time last year I was getting so excited about seeing my family in California again!!): the kitchen is being fitted and I'm sorry, but everyone keeps saying 'ooh lovely, bet your excited about that' - well I'm not, I'm really not!:)

Tom had to go to London for two days this week, so I did some late night crafting, working on designs for our next workshop...more of that today. I also spent a little bit of time out in the craft barn (should call it 'hut' really!) doing a bit more painting. I am so pleased with the way my Halloween Lantern is shaping up, but I am going to hold off until at least mid-September to post it! 

I did actually intend to do a lovely visit to everyone's blog Tuesday night, but I couldn't comment on quite a few, same on Wednesday. I thought it was an internet problem, but other sites were fine, so it must have been blogger...I ended up catching up with Pinterest instead, I hope I am up to date with you all now!

Today's card is a butterfly card I made for Paola, who is a family member and very dear friend (we got on from the first time we met so many years ago), she is just the most lovely person.

 I brayered the card to create the background using Spiced Marmalade, Wild Honey and Ripe Persimmon distress inks. The leaves are a stamp by Clarity, which I coloured with a water brush using mica powders. It is actually so much more shimmery than the photo shows.

The butterfly is by Lavinia and was again coloured with distress inks and micas.

The inside of the card:-

Inside I stamped the butterfly off the card and added a sentiment from a set by Dreamees


Here is a photo of Tom and I with Paola (next to me) and her daughter Ilaria, at Tom's uncle's restaurant in Vicenza, Italy a few years ago

That's it from me today...I have already spent over an hour giving the coop it's weekly 'deep clean' honestly, they are cleaned out every day and get a thorough clean every week...more than the house gets, lol...speaking of which I now need to do that dreaded housework before I can craft!

Love and Hugs
Carole  X

Autumn Metals! - Sunday Stampers week 227, Monday 15th October

Good Morning Blog Friends!

Thank you for your comments yesterday. I think every crafter I know, including myselfI is self-taught - we are so good at sharing our work and techniques, our blogs are testimony to that aren't they? But classes and clubs give everyone a chance to join in and learn from each other and I see that happening in each one of our classes, which is great. Plus, Amy and I are learning new techniques ourselves all the time, so that we can share them with our group - I love it!

I hope you all had a lovely weekend, here  we had perfect autumnal days...Tom and the hens have been very busy in the garden and in between some time outside, I actually got a bit of crafting done! Most of it was trying to design for our next workshop, but I did finish  a commission and actually manage two projects that had been in my head and just had to escape!

Today's card had been hanging around in the old grey matter for a while and then, I was watching Barbara Gray on TV yesterday and one of the cards she made was using a very similar technique...following that I checked out Hels Sheridan's blog to see what this week's Sunday Stampers theme is and it's metal....

Now those of you who follow me would expect me to have leapt at the chance to make another Steampunk card, but..surprise!!! This card, that was desperate to get made, I think just about fits the theme...I hope!

I know you don't normally think of metal and nature, but bear with me....

This card is a black 6x6 blank:  to create a background, I stamped the leaves all over the card using versamark ink and then covered with metallic mica powders, 'painting'  them on with a paintbrush. I used Dreamweaver metallic powders in gold and kimono red, plus a hint of metallic Golden Pear Cosmic Shimmer mica powder. Once I was happy with the covering, I shook off the excess and then wiped over with a paper towel to bring out the metallic shine. Unfortunately the photo just doesn't show this off, the leaves absolutely shimmer in the light.

I then stamped the sentiment, again with  Versamark and covered with Gold Mica Powder. I die cut with Spellbinders Labels Four Small and then fixed all the mica powders with a squirt of hairspray (just in case).

I used Spellbinders Craft Metal foils to die cut the leaves, added some ribbon and a metal maple leaf button to finish...hope this counts as metal Hels!

Materials used:

Versamark Ink
Dreamweaver and Cosmic Shimmer Metallic Mica Powders
Spellbinders metallic craft foils
Spellbinders Fall Foliage Dies and Labels Four Small
Creative Expressions Dandelion Wishes Stamps


Thanks for stopping by!
Carole X