'Juliet' - Tuesday 30th April

Good Morning Friends,

Thank you very much for visiting my little corner of blogland and leaving your comments, you know I really appreciate them all..and even if you're just stopping by for a peek, thank you!

It's a big day at work today...I'm following up on our very successful social media workshop that we held a month ago, with a social media surgery! It's nothing medical..we have representatives from six community groups and parish councils, coming in for appointments during the day. They will have one to one sessions with our social media expert Paul about how to tweet, blog, Facebook - whatever they want. Yesterday was a particularly bad day..one of those where silly annoying things happened one after another..but today is going to be great, I am totally optimistic!

Back to crafts....I made this card a few weeks ago when I was having a play with some Indigo Blu stamps. 

Whilst I had always admired some of the cards made with these stamps, I wasn't sure that I would use them much, so having a chance to play with them was great and actually you know, I have now added this one to my ever increasing stamp wish list! This particular one is 'Juliet'.

I used an A5 card blank and used a piece of matte gold card, embossed with the Sue Wilson Hearts Lattice folder as my base. Then I stamped the image on black card with flitterglu and covered with gilding flakes. The flourish is from Spellbinders Venetian motifs and the flower, the smallest Bitty Blossom. I used Grand Decorative Ovals for the image die cut.

Hopefully some time over the next few weeks I'm going to have a blog revamp. In July I will have been blogging for 2 years, so it's time for a face-lift! I looked back on my first attempts at blogging..goodness I didn't have a clue! LOL

Thanks for checking me out!

Love and Hugs,
Carole X

Sunday Stampers wk 255 - Blue

Good Morning Friends!

I hope you all had a super weekend, I got in some extra crafting time, which was great - and because of that I am early with my Sunday Stampers offering for this week! I even managed to get 'stuck in' to the 50  'general' cards commission...there has to be a book title in there somewhere? I'll share some of them with you over the next few weeks. There are actually only (!) 40 left as I made him 10 before, to make sure it was what he wanted...and now I'm down to 25 left :)

In case you don't know, Sunday Stampers is a weekly stamping challenge set by the brilliant Hels Sheridan and I just love taking part, so much in fact I don't think I've missed one since starting to take part over a year ago. You can find out all about the challenge and view Hels' wonderfully inspirational posts HERE

The theme this week is BLUE, one of my very favourite colours...

It's been a while since I created a tag for my  project, so I decided that this week, that's what it was to be...

 I began by spritzing cosmic shimmer mists Egyptian Blue and silver all over a tag made from pale blue card. I then heat dried, leaving a splatter effect. Finally I inked all over with Peacock Feathers distress ink (my current favourite colour).

Next, using the same distress ink I stamped this flower from Sam Poole's 'Art Flowers' stamp set, (another buy from Ally Pally), three times. I also stamped once with black archival and from that layer I cut the stem. All the layers were heat embossed with clear powder. I also stamped the quote from the same set, with the distress ink, mixed with chipped sapphire to deepen and make a two-tome and again heat embossed with clear powder.

I made the grass by simply cutting into white card and colouring with Mown Lawn distress ink (what else?).

I keep my melt pot on my desk, so it gets a lot of use! I made the button centre for the flower with melted UTEE mixed with a little glitter. The two hearts were made by pouring the UTEE into the bezel, I took one out and left the other as a charm on the tag, tied with ribbon.

To finish I added a little blue lace to the bottom of the tag..hope you like and thanks for stopping by

Love and hugs,
Carole X

Good Friends, Good Wine - Saturday 27th April

Good Morning Friends,

Thank you for visiting and commenting on my posts, I've had a very productive crafty week and that's been brilliant. As some of you know, my two favourite week days are Wednesday and Friday because are the are the days I get to stay home and craft (most of the time)!

This week I managed to finish some projects and thank you for your lovely comments about them. I have a lot of commissions at the moment, but am working my way through them, including one for 50 small assorted cards without greetings. This is actually quite a nice commission as I like making smaller cards, but it is hard to make them very general and not requiring a greeting..ooh the temptation to add one!

Anyway, most of yesterday I was playing around with a stamp we are going to use for our next workshop. We are using Indigo Blu again next time and I thought that as our ladies liked the gilding flakes so much, I'd play with them again, but in a different way...

I started with a 6x6 card blank and edged it all around with double-sided tape, then I dipped the sticky edges in the gilding flakes, smoothed and rubbed with my scoochie in the same way that I would when using the flitterglu.

This created the border around the edge. I cut black and white card to mat and layer. To the first white layer I stamped a crackle pattern using a stamp from one of the Indigo Blu Alice in Wonderland sets and London  Fog Memento Ink.

I then used another layer of white card, to which I again added double-sided tape around the edges to create a border and repeated with the gilding flakes as before.

The main stamp we are using is the "BFF' set from Indigo Blu. This is the only image stamp, the rest are quotes. I stamped  the image and quote using black archival and heat embossed. To finish I added black ribbon and a brad.

I also decided to add a quote to the inside and stamped the wine bottle again, heat embossed and cut out.

Thanks for stopping by, please do leave a comment - I appreciate them all!

Love and Hugs,

Carole Z XX

Sunday Stampers wk 254: Paper - Thursday 25th April

Good Morning Friends,

Well I'm pleased to report that yesterday, I didn't do too badly! I got the DT card made for Emergency Crafters - watch for new challenge next week! That card is doubling for a commissioned card, I got a few little ideas ready to try out on Friday (my next day off0 for our next workshop and I made my Sunday Stampers project for this week!

This week Hels Sherdian gave us the topic of PAPER; Hels also provided a great tutorial for a Tatteed Rose made from the Alterations Tattered Florals die, which I was itching to try..excellent! Paper flowers :)

So I came up with this little card, which can also double as a wall hanger. The base colour really doesn't show in the photos, but I started with matt gold card with which I created a blank using Spellbinders Grand Labels 23. I used a  piece the same card with Spellbinders M-Bossabilities Flora and again cut this with Labels 23. I then adhered this to the front of the card to give more weight. I saved a strip to cut for the hanger.

 The flowers are all made with the Tattered Florals die, you can see Hels' tutorial for the Tattered Rose here

The paper I used is by Teresa Collins. I stamped the sentiment on the label using a stamp from Sam Poole's Art Houses set and the butterfly is from a Pilkington set by Stamps Away - another Ally Pally purchase. I stamped both with Spiced Marmalade distress ink and heat embossed clear. 





The edges of the flowers, label and butterfly were all distressed with the same ink.

To finish I added buttons, twine and little pearls that I coloured with promarkers.

Thanks for stopping by,

Love,

Carole X 

WOYWW week 203 - Wednesday 24th April

Hello Friends and fellow WOYWWers!

Today is the day when, courtesy of Julia at  Stamping Ground, we get the chance to unleash the contents of our desk tops...and one day I will share a tidy desk..but not this week!

This was my desk about an hour ago as I started my work for today (Wednesday for me means I don't go to work at the office so I get to craft, yay!). It seems to have been a week of finishing projects..I finally finished my altered dress form, Tim's Tag for April and blogged them both..today it is my Sunday Stampers project, Emergency Crafters DT card and then (if time) I will start my designs for our next workshop, wish me luck with all that!

I wanted to make some flowers using my Tim Holz tattered floral die to use on my Sunday Stampers project this week, so I had just cut them using my cuttlebug. The art work on the window sill behind my desk is (mostly0 not  mine, but cards sent to me by some of my lovely blog followers..always displayed in front of me!

Off to start the projects now, happy WOYWW all! 

Love,

Carole X

Tim's 12 Tags of 2013, April - Tuesday 23rd April

Good Evening Friends,

Wow what a lot of lovely comments yesterday, thank you all so much! I'm glad you liked the dress form - it was actually the first one I have made, it's just one of those pieces of altered art I had never attempted, but I was very pleased with the end result.

 There was a time this month when I thought I might not get my 'Tim's Tag' made for April! However, it was another of those projects I managed to finish Sunday.

First of all this is Tim's Tag.... I followed his tutorial as much as I could with the materials I had available. Full deets are here

To begin with I put a small selection of distress paints to my mat...I only have a small selection at the moment, spritzed water on them and smeared the tag through them mixing the colours. Next  I heat dried the paint and dabbed any excess with a cloth. Then I used an assortment of distress inks to ink all over the tag, flicked some water on them, let the wet inks run down and heat dried. My big problem was that I didn't have the broken china paint that Tim used - no blue at all,or anything else very colourful, so I had to use browns and greens mixed with inks (sssh!). I also had to use metallic distress stain, where he used paint. Mine isn't as distressed and smeary as Tim's because I was using a mixture of paints and inks and to be honest, I held back a bit too much - more time and I may have started over.

 I distressed the edges of the tag all round and inked with Vintage Photo. I didn't have the dragonfly stamp that Tim used and I was going to use one from another set, but then thought I'd be different and decided to use this Tim Holz 'Papillon' stamp, which I once again, thank Anne for sending to me. I stamped it with Black Archival. The postmark and tape measure are both stamps by Crafty Individuals.

In his tutorial Tim says to take a selection of metal embellishments, so I used the clock, clock hands and some brads. As instructed I 'painted' these with distress paint and heat dried.

Tim's tag uses 'Clearly for Art' for the transparent layer of the dragonfly, I didn't have any of that medium (note to get some), so I stamped my butterfly on to acetate and fixed it with a teeny brad.

For the number '4' Tim used a plastic 'alpha part'  - mine is from my box of chipboard letters and numbers that I have had for years. I coated it with blue acrylic and metallic distress stain, which I blended together.

This month's Tag was hard, but this was my 'take' on it!

Thanks for stopping by,

Love,

Carole X

Spring Fashion - Monday 22nd April

Good afternoon Friends,

I created this mannequin as my entry for this month's Crafty Individuals Blog Challenge and have been trying to finish it for about two weeks! Thankfully some craft time last Sunday gave me the chance to do so!

The  chipboard model was bought at Ally Pally - last September - and I  gesso'd it ages ago in preparation for finding the chance to create something with it. When I saw this month's challenge title, I just new this had to be my entry!

First of all,  I stamped parts of the  Crafty Individuals Floral background stamp (CI-149)  randomly all over the dress form  using flitterglu and then applied gilding flakes. Then using different coloured inks I stamped the same stamp several times on to to plain white tissue.  Using just one ply and 'slap it on' I covered the dress form and base (which is an old ribbon reel). I also used  the butterfly stamp (CI-061), which I cut out and placed over the finished form. I decorated it with a flower made using Spellbinders Spiral Blossom One, dipped in UTEE in my melt pot and a huge flower made with the Spellbinders Anemone die.

To finish I added ribbons, lace, pearls and a little key.

Thanks for stopping by!

Love,

Carole X

Little Miss Make-Up - Sunday 21st April

Good Evening Friends,

I'm very late with my post tonight, but it has been a lovely weekend though...the sun shone yesterday as we headed to Bristol for the car show..not that cars are my idea of fun, but my brother in law loves them and has every right to be proud of the work he has done on his, that attending the annual Italian Car Show has become an annual family event - we even bumped into some of our neighbours there!

As for Priscilla Queen of the Desert, what a wonderful evening for flamboyant fun, the costumes were amazing and so was the whole cast (loved Jason Donavan).

Today Tom had some work to do in the garden, the trouble is that with four hens trying to help it was a slow process...and I got to have an extra day of crafting, finishing some projects that have been on the 'burner' for a while now and experimenting with a few other things!

However after my large eyed gal yesterday, today I have returned to cute images that appeal to me much more..LOTV.

I do like this image of the little girl at her(or more likely) her mum's dressing table applying her make-up, often I find the LOTV artwork evokes memories from my childhood that I had quite forgotten and this is one of them.

I stamped her with Memento ink and coloured her with a mix of Promarkers and Flexmarkers, then die cut on Spellbinders Classic Rectangles and layered this on a die cut with Spellbinders Labels Seventeen. I inked the edges with distress ink.

The card blank is a 6x6, which I covered with some rose paper from stash. I then added flowers cut from Spellbinders dies and added lace, ribbon, a little cosmic sparkle and a  butterfly to finish.

I have decided to enter this card in the  current 'I Love Promarkers' challenge, the topic of which is pastels.

Thanks for stopping by, I'll be back tomorrow after work!

Love,

Carole X

Sassy Blanche - Saturday 20th April

Good morning friends!

I hope you too have all awoken to a lovely sunny day! I have had two very good crafting days this week - Wednesday making quite a few demo cards with gilding flakes and Indigo Bly stamps for  Thursday's workshop and yesterday catching up with some of my commissions. I won't get much crafting done today..my brother in law has his car showing in the annual Italian Car Show in Bristol, so later this afternoon we will be going down to see him and then we will be going to the theatre in Bristol to see Priscilla Queen of the Desert!

Today's card was made some weeks ago for a family member's birthday - she has a lovely sense of fun and as well as being a super family girl, loves having fun with her friends. I could well be the only blogger amongst you who isn't too keen on these images with the big eyes. It's just a personal thing..the images themselves are very clever and I can see that they would be popular and appealing, but I guess they just aren't 'me'. I just can't get passed the eyes on most of them..daft aren't I?

Anyway, I saw this one, Blanche by Saturated Canary: liked the 'sass' about her and in this case, I actually think the big eyes suit the 'sass' ....and thought that it would come in useful, which it has as I have used it quite a lot on cards I've been asked to make. Quite often my commissions are cards I wouldn't make for myself or to sell, where I sell them (craft fairs, Tom's office). I won't say 'out of my comfort zone' because I don't really have one, I'll try anything!

This was a simple card..I coloured the image with promarkers and die cut using Spellbinders Labels Four Small. The backing paper is a Pink Petticoat design and I added ribbon from stash.

Happy weekend ALL!

Love and Hugs,
Carole Z X

Flitterglu & Gilding Flake workshop - Friday 19th April

Good Morning Friends!

Thank you for all your comments yesterday - I am so pleased you approved of my changing anemones to poppies!

A quick post today - it's funny how even a short holiday can throw you out of  synch so I'm sorry if I haven't visited your blog this week as it's been rather hectic. As soon as I finish this post, before I start my own work I'm going to do a blog hop!

Last night Amy and I had an Indigo Blu evening for our craft group and I'm pleased to report it's success - totally fabby!!! Only one of the ladies on my group had ever tried the gilding flakes before, but they all really enjoyed getting well messy last night. The nice people at Indigo Blu do have a loan scheme for retail customers, so Amy was able to borrow some extra stamps as well, which was great.

Here are my photos of my groups cards from last night...

That's all for today..now I'm off for a blog hop!

Love,
Carole

Sunday Stampers wk 253, PAINT - Thursday 18th April

Hello Friends,

Thank you for your comments on my bag! I do love making these stamped bags and am thinking about creating a few for my next craft fair, which isn't until the autumn so no hurry :)

Yesterday, my mid-week day off was very busy, I didn't even get the time to share my desk on WOYWW...I was 'playing' with some Indigo Blu stamps, as we are going to be showing our group how to use gilding flakes in tonight's workshop - plus - I am going to be doing a demo day in Amy's shop using the flakes sometime soon. 

When I was making the cards, I decided to make my Sunday Stampers project for this week. Hels has given us the topic of Paints ..this card isn't the one I had in my head, for which I was going to use the distress paints I got at Ally Pally, instead I used the watercolours I got at the Tate Modern...a really cute little tiered pot, which you unscrew to reveal  24 gorgeous colours!

I started off with an A5 sheet of watercolour card, folded in half to make the 'blank, which I tore at the sides. The stamp I used is Indigo Blu's 'Anemone Corner' - except I really wanted red, so I disguised them as poppies!!!

I stamped them on to the card and then again on to a second sheet of watercolour. Using my paints, I coloured the whole of the first  image and just the flowers in the second, which I then cut out. Next I followed an Ali Reeve idea and tied some string around a block of wood, which I inked with Fired Brick and randomly stamped a background. I did the same on the square panel and used a Sam Poole stamp for the sentiment. The edges of the card and panel were all inked with Fired Brick.

I added the cut our flowers to give a little depth and also a die cut butterfly and some ribbon to finish off.

Thanks for stopping by!

Love,

Carole X

Art House Bag - Tuesday 16th April

Good Morning Friends,


Today's post is another bag, which I made last week just before we went away. I've got to say that I'm finding these bags a lot of fun to decorate and they really don't take too long.

  I used TAP paper (Artist's Transfer) to stamp the images on to using black stazon ink. The stamps are Art Houses by Sam Poole and flowers and butterflies  from Steampunk Dreams, also by Sam Poole. I wanted to create and 'arty' effect with some feminine steampunk, so it's all pinks and purples!

Once I'd stamped the images, I coloured them with distress inks and then using the TAP ironed them on to the back with a hot iron. I made extra butterflies and flowers to I could layer some of the to create movement. 

Once all the images had been transferred I used a harlequin stamp from Crafty Individuals and a script stamp by Creative Expressions (from Vintage Labels set) to stamp all over. I masked off the images that had already been transferred to the bag, by using the 'ghost' images left on the TAP.

I transferred the additional butterflies and flowers to some spare material, cut them out and sewed them to the bag and to finish off I added some buttons, beads, lace, a little key and ribbon..and although it doesn't show much here I used some Cosmic Twinkles to the butterflies for a hint of sparkle. If you would like to see the tutorial I posted for a little Easter gift bag using the same technique , click here or my previous bag is here

Thanks for visiting and for all your comments, which are very much appreciated!

Love,
Carole X

I'm Back! - Monday 15th April

Hello Friends!

We're back from our 4 day stay in the Capital and despite some very mixed weather we had a great time - and a very cultural time too! No art work today, but a few photos quickly downloaded to share with you!

No photos from Thursday, our first day..after dropping our hens off at their 'holiday home' we got a late morning train, checked into our hotel near Trafalgar Square, had a cuppa and walked to Geo Trumpers..this is a little shop where they sell shaving stuff for men and have been doing so for over 100 years and Tom loves it..he even had a birthday treat of a shave there once! Whilst Tom was being served I chatted to the woman who I kind of thought was the manager, until she shook my hand and introduced herself as Ms Trumper! The guy was also telling us that he taught Johnny Depp to cut throat shave for Sweeney Todd..and that Mr Depp was a really nice person and very nervous! That evening we went to see the play 'One Man Two Guvnors', billed as the funniest play on the planet..well I'm not sure about that, but it was funny and very enjoyable!

Friday we set off for Kew..We both love Kew and with Westonbirt Arboretum membership we get in FREE! W-hey! It was a strange day, sunny one minute and torrential downpours the next. There isn't too much colour about at the moment, so most of my pictures were taken in the succulent house, though I did manage a few outside...

no one else saw this chappie, not even when I spent ages taking  photos of him!

The skywalk - being totally afraid of heights, I waited at the  bottom whilst Tom went up!

After Kew it was back into town for an evening at the Tate, primarily to  see the Lichtenstein Retrospective, which we both thoroughly enjoyed and has even given Tom lots of ideas...for me to try!

Saturday we got on the tube for Ally Pally and the Big Stamping and Scrapbooking Show - I only had my phone and the photo above left was the only one I took: this was outside the demo area so it was fairly clear, but I think the show was the busiest  I have ever seen it. The first couple of years we went it was really easy to get around, but it is getting huge!  Last September we got there for opening, walked in and I had a nice chat with Ali Reeve about our hens, with no one  else around! This time we got there 20 minutes before opening, joined a massive queue and I couldn't get anywhere near Ali! Same with Sue Wilson - goodness the poor lady must have been worn out by the end of the first day, let alone Sunday as well... a bit different to Stitches in February, where we  could chat for ages! I did manage to snatch a quick hello with Sam Poole and Julia Watts, who both had some wonderful samples of their work.

 I still prefer it to the NEC for a number of reasons..the focus is stamping, which is my first crafting love; it's well organised by Creative Expressions and they have some excellent demos. Sadly on Saturday, a couple of demos I really wanted to see were in the afternoon after we left, but we did see Kay from Indigo Blu demoing Slap it on with a dress form - a project I have had on my desk half-finished for weeks and now have the inspiration to finish!

I did spend my pocket money on some stamps, some art parts, some paints and I got some ice resin and bezels which I can't wait to try! I felt so sorry for the ladies serving on the Creative Expressions stand..the queue was massive from first thing and the lady who served me was already losing he voice by 11am!

Saturday afternoon and evening were very wet - we nipped back to our room and then popped next door to the National Gallery ...unfortunately with the weather everyone had the same idea and it was packed, especially in the galleries displaying those iconic Masters we all know and love. 

I have seen them all many times, since Dad and I used to spend hours there whilst visiting my mum's family, but I still always see them as if it's the first time...and then of course there was that dam demo in Trafalgar Square. I was on my 'soapbox' about this at the weekend and am not going to go on about it too much now..but the fact is that most of these people weren't even born during Margaret Thatcher's governance. They were there as an excuse to get drunk and shout about something they know nothing about. They made visiting this tourist destination impossible and scary. I have never ever seen so many police..so how much has that cost the tax payer and yesterday morning we went for a walk after an early breakfast and the poor street cleaners were still clearing up and wiping graffiti from phone boxes..I could go on, but this I won't, I think you know how we felt!

I have the day off today..lots to catch up with and then hens get some free range. They have their little break and now are pleased to be home and roaming again. They did look well chilled when we turned up to collect them yesterday though and they were in a pen  a few feet away from the Buff Orpington pair that are Penny's Mum and Dad, though sadly, I guess none of them knew it?

Will be catching up with all your blogs later!

Love,

Carole X

Sunday Stampers week 252 - Thursday 11th April

Hello Friends,

I've scheduled this post as today we are on the train to London for a few days...lots of 'culture' lined up...a play, 'weather permitting' Kew Gardens and then the Lichtenstein exhibition at the Tate...of course my highlight will be the craft event at Ally Pally on Saturday..I do love this show, it never disappoints.

My Sunday Stampers card this week has also turned out to be my design for next week's craft class, where we are going to be playing with gilding flakes and this Indigo Blu stamp.

This week Hels set the theme of squares and having made this, I was going to remake it as a canvas, but sadly time passed me by and I only got it half made! The card isn't entirely my design, I was totally inspired by a design team card I spotted in the Indigo Blu Gallery, I think it was the colours that jumped out at me first of all. The basic shapes are the same but I did change the flowers and flourish. I've been working against the clock this week and at the same time needed a mojo boost with this card! It's usual for me that when I am short of time and have a deadline, I will have my best ideas, but this week it just wasn't happening!

I used distress inks (mustard seed, wild honey and vintage photo) to colour white card and used a small part of the stamp to ink around the outside of the larger layer with Vintage Photo. I inked the smaller square, leaving it lighter in the centre and then stamped the heart using Indigo Blu Flitterglu and then used megaflakes to decorate. I confess that for this card the flakes are my own concoction from 'waste'!

I think that when I finalise this card for my group I will actually use flakes for the outer stamp as well.

Then I matted an layered with a blue card, which is also used for the flourish and I decorated with Spellbinders Bitty Blossoms.

Thanks for stopping by! I will catch up with you all on our return on Sunday X

Carole X

WOYWW wk 201 - Wednesday 10th April

Hello WOYWWers!

My second post of today and just a quick one to share my desk as it was this morning with you...yes this is the day of the week, when courtesy of  Julia over at Stamping Ground, we get to share our desktops with each other. Click the link and hop over there to find out what it's all about!

As usual it's very busy..not much space left even before I started! I had stamped these images from Sam Poole's Art House stamp set, plus some flowers and butterflies from steampunk stamp sets (also by Sam Poole). The images are stamped on TAP (Artist Transfer Paper) and coloured with distress inks. They are to decorate another bag...so watch this space!

Thanks for stopping by!

Love,
Carole X

Baker Street - Wednesday 10th April

Good Morning Friends,

First of all thank you for all your comments on my Elizabeth Bennet card, I was really thrilled to read them all. Also a big thank you to Nikki for bestowing upon me another Liebster award! I know I am to pass this on to 5 other blog friends, but I also know that last time I received one and passed it on, you had mostly all received one (or two already), so as tomorrow we are about to jump on that train to our wonderful Capital for a 4 day break, I'm going to take my time and do a bit of 'homework' when I get back, before passing it on this time!

If you haven't seen Nikki's designs on her blog, you should really take a look by clicking here - Nikki's creations are really beautiful.

My post today is  quite timely as we are going to be in London for a few days and is another guy card I created with Sam Poole's Sherlock Holmes stamp set. I made a couple similar to the one I posted in February and took along to the craft fair - two people snapped them up, both having a friend or relative  who loved the Holmes books and/or films. It just goes to show that at a craft fair people do come along and look for designs they won't find in shops.

I do love playing with the magnifying glass on this stamp! I matted and layered an A5 card blank in black and white, finishing with a white layer, which I stamped using Sam's Newsprint stamp. I stamped the Holmes label in black archival and heat embossed with clear embossing powder and stamped the magnifier and sentiment in the same way.

I cut out the centre of the magnifier and added some acetate and then placed it on top of the over-sized Baker St sign. To finish off I added some oversized bakers twine.

 I will be back later for a quick WOYWW post and I have a few scheduled posts whilst I'm away, including my Sunday Stamper creation for tomorrow,so please stop by...but after today I am going to have to catch up with all your lovely creations when I return, so meanwhile, happy crafting!

Love and Hugs,

Carole X

Elizabeth Bennet - Monday 8th April

Good Morning Friends!

I  love this Indigo Blu stamp 'Elizabeth Bennet'! This is a recent purchase from my friend Amy's shop and is my first 'play' with it!

I started with a 6x6 dark brown card blank and stamped the image twice on card which has a very pale 'peachy' tint, using archival ink, which I then heat embossed.

 I coloured the face, flowers, butterfly, bird and background on both stamped images with promarkers and then cut out the flowers and butterfly from my second image and layered them on the base image to create a little depth. I also added some distress stickles in clear rick candy to the background  to add a little shimmer, but it doesn't show in the photo.

To finish I added a  flourish from Spellbinders Venetian Motifs, three Spellbinders Bitty Blossoms and crushed silk pink ribbon.

I've more ideas for this stamp, including gilding the background...so watch this space!

Well it's back to work this morning, but only for a few days..I'm going to miss my craft room having spent so much time here last week!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Love,
Carole X

My Favourite Work of Art - Sunday 7th April

Good Morning Friends!

Did my blog title get you wondering..was I going to blog about a Van Gogh or a Tracy Emin (yes I am a fan!) today maybe? No nothing like that - it just happens to be the sentiment on the very simple card I am posting today!

This is a card I made a while back, when I actually made quite a few cards for the craft fair, which I still have to post here. It is an A5 kraft card blank, which I matted and layered with dark brown card and patterned paper from stock. I then layered across the centre with the brown card, given a decorated edge with a Martha Stewart punch and then layered with polka dot paper. The dotty paper and sentiment topper are both from a pack by Hot of the Press. I then simply finished off with an oversized ribbon bow, button and bakers twine.

My prize from LOTV arrived yesterday and I was amazed by how much there was! It includes 8 stamps, including a sentiment sheet (none of which I already have!), plus some design sheets. Fabulous!

Thanks for stopping by and leaving your comments..it means so much and I love reading them all,

Love and Hugs,
Carole  X

Vintage Corset Gift Card holder - Saturday 6th April

Good Morning Friends!

As I write this the sun is shining, still cold but at least we have had sun! It has been a wonderful week at home, mostly just crafting -not actually achieving any finished artwork, but lots of 'playimg' and experimenting. The hens have had a lovely week of total free range too! I love this time of year, we are always up at first light to let the hens out anyway..or before on work days in the winter! But now it gets light so early, there is the added bonus on a weekend of getting an hour's crafting (or blogging!) in first thing as well :)

I only have to go into work 2 days next week and on Thursday we are off to London for a few days, finishing up with  a day at the Alexandra Palace Craft show next Saturday..whoppee!

Today I am sharing another of my gift card holders...

I used papers from stash, the stamp is from the Vintage Lingerie set by Creative Expressions. I stamped it with black archival on to purple card stock and then heat embossed. I then decorated with a punched flower and bead. The sentiment is by LOTV.

I finished the card by decorating with this gorgeous wired ribbon that I have in my ribbon box. If I ever see any for sale, I buy a few metres, it has a beautiful lustre.

A short post today..need to get some more crafting in before breakfast, which Tom is making!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great Saturday all,

Love,

Carole X