Simple things... Sunday 16th February 2014

Good Morning Friends,

Hope you are all having a good weekend and at last today we have beautiful sunshine! The hens are in the garden clucking away happily, soaking up the sun.

 It has been a bit 'busy' here, out and about quite a lot yesterday and also Friday, when we had theatre tickets...it wasn't planned as a Valentine 'thing' but it was an opera so they only perform one evening. I got the bus into Bristol..what an awful day and a horrible journey; it should have taken 50 minutes but took a little longer and felt a whole lot longer!

I was due to meet Tom in the  City Centre at about 5.30pm (he works another 20 minutes out of town the other side), but my bus got in at 4pm, so I had a bit of a wait. I battled against the ever increasing wind and rain to St Nicholas Market, a covered market where there is a lovely little haberdashery shop. I don't get down there that much and I needed some cottons - whilst there of course, I also succumbed to ribbon. It is a real treasure trove of ribbon, once in, you just don't want to leave!

Having met Tom we went for a pre-theatre meal in one of our favourite restaurants, (that we don't get much chance to visit), on the Quayside. They serve locally/West Country sourced food and it is gorgeous..as we sat in the comfort of the restaurant we could hear the wind really getting up speed and the boats moored there were bobbing about frantically. Some of them are barges and people live on them, I was so pleased I didn't!

The journey home post theatre was very windy, pretty unnerving on the roads once we left town and that night it just didn't let up, was it like that with you? I think it's the first night this year that it actually kept me awake! But I'm mindful of not complaining too much, our neighbouring Counties of Somerset and Gloucestershire, not to mention further South in the UK,  as well as where Tom's relatives live around Venice and across the pond in the USA, have been battered beyond belief for weeks now and I can't even begin to comprehend all that.

Anyway, less of my ramblings and on to craft...in case you missed yesterday, dear blog friend Patricia won my blog Candy, which I will be posting off next week. If you don't already follow Patricia, do hop over and take a look - Summerhouse Crafts - because she makes the most beautiful cards - and boxes!

Today's card is a white on white card that I made  as part of my 'stock' for an upcoming craft fair. It's a 7x7 card, a size I have got to like a lot lately. I really like small cards and generally make 6x6 as my usual size of choice, saving the larger 8x8 for commissions. At the moment, I am not generally taking commissions because I don't want to take on too much. However, at Tom's office I have a lot of regular customers, who have been ordering from me for a long time, so I am still making cards for them and others for whom I've been making cards for a while now.

Interestingly, I sent an email around those at Tom's office offering a slightly smaller 7x7 if they wished - the take up has been great.

I embossed a piece of white card measuring slightly less that the 7x7,  die cut the roses from Spellbinders Bitty Blossoms and the flourishes are a Sizzix die. The sentiment is  a digital by Pink Petticoat, (I've been buying digital stamps from here for years, they are really fresh and modern and right now a lot of the old images are being retired, so take a look!) die cut on a Labels Four Small Spellbinders die...so no stamping, inking, just simple embossing and die-cutting.


The inside of the card:

Thanks for stopping by and have a fab Sunday,

Love and Hugs,
Carole X

 Hi Friends and Happy Sunday to you!

I promise these are the last few Zentangle cards, at least for a few days(!); they are virtually all I have been making this past week and I still have a few tangles to make into cards..but after finishing this post, when I have some craft time, I do have a Design Team card and a commission to work on, so I need to get out of the 'zone'..it is weird how it grabs hold of you and you just have to keep at it once you start!

Today I'm sharing two Zentangles that I added colour to - it doesn't have to be black and white! They are both Dreamweaver stencils and yes the first one is that cockerel again!

As you may have guessed by now,  I just love working with this stencil: in the past I have posted a card where I used embossing paste and glitter, making a multi-coloured cockerel. This time I gave him a colour wash using Inktense pencils as watercolours: I used a pink, orange and yellow and just let them flow into each other and outside the edges. Unfortunately it's impossible to see in the photo, but I also added a layer of watered down iridescent mica powder over the whole image, which gives it a lustre, which I was really please with. The only thing was, that the micas over powered the tangling, so I had to go back over it with my pen, but that wasn't any hardship!

I die cut the image using my Spellbinders Curved Matting Basics A die and mat and layered on red card, which I inked at the edges using Worn Lipstick distress ink, finishing off with a red bow.

 For my second card, I again coloured the card using  water colour pencils and although you can only possible barely see it in the second photo, I painted over the image with Mod Podge to give it a shine. I matted and layered on purple card, which I had embossed with a folder that came free with a magazine.

I often decorate the inside of the card, but rarely remember to photograph it! This is the inside of the flower card: I used a sentiment from Pink Petticoat and use another freebie embossing folder to frame it. I used just the leaf from the stencil in the corner and freehand tangled in the other corners.

 Before I go today, I promised my blog friend Dee over at Scrumptious Crafts that I would spread the word that she has a Cricut for sale - pop over if you are interested.

Well, hope you all have a lovely day! Thank you so much for stopping by,

Love and Hugs

Carole X

Feathers and Fur - Allsorts Challenge week 215 - Thursday 19th July

Good Morning Friends,

This week's theme over at the Allsorts Challenge is Feathers and Fur, so I thought I'd go with both!

Of course as my blog pals know my husband, Tom and I are keepers of some adorable,pet hens: I can just sit and watch them as the wander around the garden chitter-chattering away and are always guaranteed to make me smile and chuckle at their antics, so they would have to figure in my entry wouldn't they?

I have had this stamp a long time - it's a big wooden stamp from the House Mouse range and the hen is so much like our Buff Orpington, Penny! I coloured the image with Promarkers (trying to capture her varying colours of caramel, honey and pumpkin, which is her nickname!)  and stamped it twice, cutting out the hen and mice to layer on the front of the original stamped image.

The base layer paper is by Graphic 45, as is the central layer and the buttons. The remaining paper is from my stash. I added some ribbon and for a final touch, my dear Penny actually gave up a few feathers in the garden today, so I added one to the card.

Thanks for stopping by,

Love,

Carole X

I would like to enter this card in the Allsorts Challenge Week 215 Fur and Feathers

It's Beatles Week! Monday 10th June

Good Morning Friends,

I hope you have all had a wonderful weekend filled with sunshine and a little crafting at least! Thank you to those of you who left such lovely comments on Friday's workshop post...I am so pleased Amy and I started these classes last year, they are fun, we all  learn from each other and we have brought new techniques to quite a few ladies, who now use them all the time. We are repeating Thursday's class with a different group in a few week's time and I'm really looking forward to it and more interpretations of the design.

So, you may well be asking what this 'Beatles week' title is all about...I'm not a big fan, they weren't really my musical era, but of course, nevertheless, Lennon and McCartney are songwriting legends.

I live a few miles away (walking distance if you've about 40 minutes to spare or 5 minutes by car!) from a small mediaeval and very pretty little town on the edge of the Cotswolds: Chipping Sodbury. It has one main shopping street running through it, with butchers, bakers (did you see the Fabulous Baker Brothers on TV?, well their main baker and butchers is here), Amy's shop 'Out of the Blue' is there and it's where we hold our craft group ...all in all, it's quite delightful! Every year is the annual Festival running over two weeks - lots of events and entertainment and culminating in a Carnival parade and the new Carnival Queen. The Festival always has a theme..this year, in celebration of the Beatles 50th Anniversary, they are the theme! 

On Friday afternoon Amy and I are holding a special Festival cardmaking workshop and our card has a  Beatles Lyric theme, but you'll have to wait until Friday to see my workshop card...until then I thought I'd have a week of cards using Beatles songs/lyrics as their inspiration. I only had this idea Saturday and made all these cards at the weekend, so there isn't anything difficult about them. They weren't 'quick' cards, but only because I find it impossible to make a card quickly!

So here we go with number one, inspired by the song 'Blackbird'.I've tried to do a bit of delving into the interpretation of this song and most writers attribute it to being about the civil rights movement, others say they treated it as a simple lullaby loved by their children and even more a song of hope. For the purposes of this card, it's just about hope and  change of fortune...wishing someone well for the future..

I started with a  6x6 square of Kraft card, and matted and layered with a square of  Kanban card with a rose design  from stash, on which I'd printed the words from the song, typed on my computer. 

I also cut a border using a Spellbinders die and kraft card.

The blackbird is an embellishment I made using a mould and paper moulding clay. I have quite a few moulds and do make embellishments using the air dry clay quite a lot (well in phases!) and since Christmas they have had a new lease of life with the melt pot, but I had never used this 'paper' clay  from Martha Stewart before and I have to say it's absolutely gorgeous..smells and feels lovely! I left the bird and branch overnight to dry out and whereas the air dry clay feels hard when dry, this feels soft, like foam and it think would be less inclined to damage if posted. Whilst I was using it I got all my moulds out and made a selection of embellishments, so you'll be seeing them in some future projects.

Before matting and layering on to the card blank, I tied some vintage gold ribbon to the front and tied in a knot, then I added some stick pins (although the photo makes two of the pearls appear black, they are all brown!) and a little bird cage embellishment, coloured with gilding wax was tied to the front with bakers twine.

To finish off, I added an insert typed with more lyrics from the song: 'All your life to  you were only waiting for this moment to arise'

Looking at the rest of the cards I've made, I think they all have a fun element, so don't worry I'm not getting too deep here!

Tonight Tom and I are off to the Festival Wine Tasting - an event we have been attending with our friends/neighbours for several years now and I hope it stays dry, because we all take the 40 minute walk there and back!

Thanks for stopping by,

Love and hugs,

Carole X

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

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

Summer Dreams!...Thursday 10th January

Good Morning Blog Friends,

WOW to WOYWW! It was so nice to have visits from other crafters yesterday...I will make sure to visit your blogs too! And a big welcome to my new follower...thank you!

This is a little card I made at the weekend when I was trying to fit in some time to play with some crafty Christmas presents...

This is a small (6x6) shaped card: I inked the edges and die-cut the window using the Spellbinders Heartfelt Creations Decorative Chateau Gate die. I've had the die for ages, but the matching stamp from Heartfelt Creations was a Christmas Present. Once I had the die cut, I placed it on the front of the card and then cut the window shape to match.

The image was stamped on a separate piece of card because I was colouring it with Promarkers  and it would bleed through the back. I just cut it to size when I placed it. To finish off I just added the gems, ribbon and button. A simple little card to look ahead to summer days..hopefully!

Thanks for stopping by!

 Carole X

Birthday Shoe- Tuesday 13th November

Good Morning Blog Friends!

Thank you for your lovely comments about my poppy card on Sunday, it was one of those cards that was a joy to make from beginning to end! I was really pleased with it, so I'm glad you liked it.

We had a family day on Sunday, so I didn't get any crafting done and weekends are going to be much the same between now and mid-December, whilst we catch up with everyone. Even my crafting week days are shaping up to be doing other things but crafting, so I see some late nights ahead to get things done! 

However, I am more than pleased to report that on Friday I finished all my 'general' Christmas cards and cards for abroad and on Saturday I wrote them all whilst watching 'Strictly'! I made and wrote 71 cards and I still have the special close family and friends ones to make, but at least now I can take my time over them. It may sound mad to make all these, but they were simple cards using just two stamps, a cute LOTV mouse and a House Mouse. I stamped them all in the summer and coloured them in with my promarkers on evenings when I felt in need of some colouring time. I find it a good way to relax. I know that any one of those people who find it odd if I didn't make a card to send, I really don't remember the last time I bought a card of any sort!

So to today's card, which was a commission. I'm really glad I got this shoe stamp set (Creative Expressions)as they are going to be really useful for female and 'girly' cards...

I used a deckle edged 8x8 card blank and inked the edges with Spun Sugar (though you wouldn't know from the photo). The shoe was stamped with versamark ink and then heat embossed with black sparkle embossing powder, I just coloured the flowers with pro markers. I then cut it out with Spellbinders Grand Labels 23 and shaded the edges with a  mix of Spun Sugar and Victorian Velvet. I matted and layered the base card with pink and then white; the top white layer had been out through my Grand Calibur with a "Venetian' M-Bossability.

Before sticking the layers to the card I added a thin length of dark pink shimmer ribbon, and a wide length of silk and the tied a double bow with the silk and a pink/brown stripe, finishing off with a zipper flower.

Thanks for stopping by, I have that Dreamweaver tutorial photographed except the finished card. I just wasn't happy with the photo so have to re-take, dam having to use artificial light and flash this time of year!

Have a great crafty day all!

Carole