Hens on the Block! Friday 22nd August 2014

Hello Friends!

Hope you are all having a good week...we are gearing up for a major volunteering event at work, so preparing for that,is all I seem to be doing at the moment..not a lot of time to craft..or blog... also been feeling a bit 'below par' so when I have had the occasional hour this week, my mojo has completely not wanted to come out of the cupboard!

I will get around all your blogs soon, just bear with me at the moment please :)

I did however make this little project: a little ATB within an ATB and the perfect little place to keep tiny photos of all our hens..ones we've had and sadly lost over the past 7 years, to the ones we have currently scratching about in the garden, Bella an Cara.

To make the ATB I used my Sissix Scoreboards XL die by Eileen Hull, Graphic 45 French Country papers and a hen and cockerel stamp by Crafty Individuals.

 

  I cut out one large and one small box using quite thick card from some packaging I'd saved and painted them  using 'Warm White' Cosmic Shimmer matt chalk paint.I then sanded all the edges to give it a distressed finish; photos can never really show to best effect, but the finished style it like white washed wood.

I cut sunflower paper from the pad and also individual sunflowers to layer and give some depth. I left the white edges because I didn't want it to look too neat and tidy as it's supposed to be quite rustic. I decorated two sides of the box in this way and the other two using labels, which I cut out from the pad. I then tied green ribbon around the large box and added a button, I decorated the smaller box in a similar way.

The stamp was chosen from my collection because it really complemented the papers. After stamping, I gave the chickens a colour wash with distress inks and cut them out, leaving about 2 cms at the base of each. I then slit a hole in the box and threaded them through, they make the 'handle' to lift the lid. To finish the lid I added some raffia just in front of them, as some 'straw bedding' and a ruched ribbon . I also covered the inside of the box and lid to finish off.

 For the smaller box, I again cut a slit and threaded ribbon through for a 'pull'..

Inside the box I have placed lots of little photos (which will be protected in a glassine envelope) of 'our girls'


I would like to enter this project in the following challenges:

Art with a Heart, August- Anything Goes

http://www.eileenhull.com/2014/08/vintage-kitchen-sneak-peek.html

Really Reason Ribbons Challenge #101 Pets & Ribbon

http://reasonableribbon.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/challenges



Love and Hugs,
Carole X 

"Out of the Blue- Craft Group Workshop Photos - June 7th

Good Morning Friends,

First of all, sorry if I haven't visited your blog these last few days, my blog-pals, but it's National Volunteer's Week, so has been pretty busy at work, plus have had a workshop to prepare for...I will do a blog hop today and visit you all, promise!

Last night was the first of our new style workshops...Amy and I were having more people wanting to come than we could comfortably work with in one session, plus trying to come up with new ideas every two weeks can be difficult, so we decided to run the same workshop twice, with different ladies..it's a trial to see how it goes.

This was the  design I came up with for  my group to base their cards on last night - we were using the Bathing Belle Crafty Individuals stamp, with which I made my pop up card earlier this week. I have a very odd thing going on with this stamp -I just have to make the image stand 'proud' of the card..if she's not popping up she has to stand up somehow! How odd is that? I just can't explain it!!!

This time I made a twisted easel card, using the girl as part of the stopper...I stamped the beach huts and seagulls on white card and heat embossed with clear powder. I then inked the card with Broken China, Worn Lipstick and Wild Honey distress inks, spritzed with a little water and dried with a heat tool to move the ink around the card. I did exactly the same with the layer on the base of the card. I then spritzed with Vintage Gold Cosmic Shimmer Mist and again blasted with the heat tool for the mottled effect.

I stamped and heat embossed the bather and coloured her with watered down distress inks and stamped the quote, heat embossed and inked the card. When I cut out the figure I left a tab at the base to fix her to the stopper.

The card is finished with hessian, lace, rolled lace and a little shell.

My group of ladies, as usual came up trumps last night and made some beautiful cards. As I was going around taking my usual photos to share with you all, one of them commented that I must feel proud to see all the different variations on my design and how pleased they are when they've completed a card that has their own 'stamp' on it - and yes indeed I am, they are all wonderful! Some of the group have told me that if they didn't come to the group,they wouldn't get the chance to really sit down and craft at home, so it's great to see them all having a lovely time and making some gorgeous cards.

One of my group, Sue, showed me a photo of a card she had made for her son using some of the techniques she had learnt over the past year (yes we've be going a year now!) and it was beautiful, again..so proud because I know that this time last year she just wouldn't have made it.

Last night one of my group couldn't come, so we had a spare seat and even I got to make a very quick card in between helping out some of my ladies! Here are their lovely creations:

and finally my quick card!

We are putting on a special 'one off' workshop on Friday afternoon for the annual 'Chipping Sodbury Festival' and the Festival theme this year is the Beatles, so our card is based on a Beatles song, but you'll have to wait until  next Friday to see it!!

Thanks to Amy for asking me to run these classes with her..long may they continue, I've had such fun!

Thanks for visiting!

Love and Hugs,
Carole X