Sunday Stampers week 239 - Friday 11th January

Good Morning Friends and a big welcome to  my new followers! Thank you  some much for joining me!I really do appreciate you being here.

I only work three days a week, but after 2 weeks off for the Christmas Holidays, it seemed a very long week, especially as always seems to happen after Christmas, the boiler in the library packed in and my office has been freezing!!! I think this has happened every year since I worked there, but it was rebuilt in 2009 - you'd think they'd have sorted the boiler wouldn't you?!

Anyway, less moaning, I'm home and warm today and hopefully by Monday it will have been fixed :)

Today's post is a tag, my contribution to this week's Sunday Stampers, which can be found on the brilliant Hels Sheridan's blog, which is - here

This week's theme is anything that flies: I decided on a tag, using some stamps I hadn't used in a while.

I started with a plain manilla tag and inked through a floral mask (that special touch) with Wild Honey Distress ink, then I painted over it with Distress Crackle Paint (just LOVE the texture of this stuff!) and put it aside. I stamped the image and quote (it's all one stamp, a PaperArtsy Mini) with black Archival and then heat embossed with clear powder. I then coloured the wings and flowers lightly with Flex-markers. Then I stamped just the top of the dragonfly again and repeated the process, plus I inked the whole layer with Wild Honey and then painted with crackle paint.

The butterfly, a free stamp from Indigoblu, given with one of last year's Craft Stamper magazines was also given the same treatment and also stamped twice. When the crackle had dried (given a last push with my heat tool) I  cut out both the butterflies and the wings from the second dragonfly.

I wanted to give the whole tag movement, so I layered them and placed some hessian under the image stamp but off the tag to the side. I fixed the image layer quite 'loosely', allowing it to curl at the sides.

Finally I added the double-layered butterfly and the second wings to the dragonfly, plus some lace, which I had distressed with the ink through the top of the tag.

Thanks for looking, I really appreciate it!

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

WOYWW- week 188 - Weds 9th January

Good Afternoon blog friends!

I hope you are all feeling good and not too cold! It has been a chilly but beautifully sunny day here - luckily a non work day, so our hens have really enjoyed some free range.

Welcome to my new follower and thank you for joining in with my crafty journey...yay I have 40 followers now, just 10 more and I'll be giving away that 'candy' I've been holding on to for so long.

My last post was Saturday, it's not that I haven't been crafting, but I have been trying to come up with some ideas for our first workshop of 2013, which is at the end of January. Our theme is Valentine's Day and believe it or not, it's one 'celebration' I don't overly enjoy making cards for..maybe I'm just not very romantic! Apart from that, since Christmas Mr Mojo seems to have gone on holiday...I've looked everywhere and can't find him....and that's my excuse for my my desk being such a mess on the first time I am joining in with WOYWW (What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday)! 

This was my desk about ten minutes before posting this. I did finally come up with a couple of card ideas, but by the end of the afternoon everything I used decided to surround me..always happens!

I really need to take everything out of the craft room, sort it out and put it back more organised, but it's time isn't it? I would need a few days and that would be a few days with no crafting and I have soooo many things to make at the moment, so it's going to have to wait.

The two cards I have made as ideas for the workshop, will be blogged later this week!

Thanks for stopping by!

Carole X

Tim's 12 Tags of 2013: January - Saturday 5th January

Hi Blog Friends,

Thanks for visiting and leaving your comments yesterday, yes it was good news about Tom. I suppose in a way it was good that they found out when he was still quite young, so it can be kept an eye on. He did give up playing football, but I think that day was drawing ever closer anyway!

One crafty thing I've decided to participate in this year is Tim Holz 12 Tags of 2013 Challenge...it just makes so much sense: I'm a big Timmy fan, taking part teaches new techniques and it's tags..I love tags! I took so much inspiration from my blog friend Anne, last year with her tags and other gorgeous creations, that I just had to jump in!

The inspiration for January's tag is to take the time to absorb your surroundings, take it all in and enjoy life to the fullest. You can see Tim's tag here. I didn't have all the stamps and embellishments but this is my finished tag and I really enjoyed making it.

To make the tag I used the following:

One large manilla tag

Spellbinders Sprightly Sprockets

Creative Expressions Clock Face parts

Ranger Film Strip  Ribbon

Ideology Head Pins

Ideology Adage Tickets

Quote stamps by Sam Poole and free stamp (January)

American Seam Binding

That Special Touch of Sprocket Mask

Distress inks: weathered wood, bundled sage, rusty hinge, vintage photo

Grungepaper

Antique bronze distress stain

I started by embossing the sprocket mask on to the tag and then inked all over with a mix of the distress inks, finishing by inking around the edge with vintage photo. I then used a mister to sprinkle droplets over the just inked tag and heat dried to create splatters.

The sprockets were made using the die and Grungepaper, which I then covered with the distress stain - I wanted to use pewter, but it seems to have gone 'walkies' since Christmas! Then I scuffed up the edges of the die cuts with my fingers (!) and distressed the edges with Vintage Photo.

I stuck the spockets to the tag, letting them hang over the edge, trimmed those bits off and added them elsewhere to make double use of one die cut.

The film strip was added along the side, secured with tiny brads. I didn't have the sentiment Tom used, so I chose this one from my stamps and added a ticket.

To finish off, I stamped another Sam Poole quote on some American Seambinding (the possibilities are endless) and used 'January' from  a calendar stamp set I had free with Simply Homemade Magazine.

Thanks for stopping by!

Carole X

Emergency Crafters DT card - Friday 4th January

Good Morning Blog friends...thank you for dropping by my little craft patch!

Today I want to share some good non crafty news with you...I haven't mentioned it before, but almost 9 years ago, my husband Tom, coming home one day after playing football and thinking he had flu, was diagnosed with a prolapsed heart valve. It shook us to the core..neither of us have ever smoked or drunk much more than a few glasses of red wine a week and both lead healthy life styles. But his leaky heart valve had apparently been something he was born with (the consultant explained that many people have it and never know). To cut a long story short, this resulted in 2 months in hospital, feeling absolutely fine, but going stir crazy, waiting for surgery. They repaired it, which requred open heart surgery and fortunately he hasn't even needed to take medication and has been fine since. But a year ago, a consultant (not his usual) told us it was leaking again and he would probably need more surgery this year and that's been a big worry. Yesterday we saw his regular Consultant who put our minds at rest..yes there is a leak, but it will always be there and tests have shown that it hasn't changed since the surgery. He may need surgery in the future or he may not, it's just a case of keeping up with the annual tests and appointments.

Needless to say we emerged from the hospital with a swing in our step not the heavy steps we walked in with...Tom really wants us to go over to California later this year to visit my family and now we've been told to go and enjoy!

Now I've got that piece of good news off my chest, back to crafting...today's card is my DT card for Emergency Crafters and is an old card..yes, you heard right! The challenge format at EC has changed for the new year. It will now be monthly to give more time to enter and boy have we got some fab themes coming up, some of them quite different...so keep watching.

For this month however, the theme is something old..any card or project that you made over a year ago and never used. In 2011, I made lots of Tatty Button cards, you know how sometimes you go through phases and just keep using the same stamps? Well my big phase in 2011 was Tatty Button by Creative Expressions.

The images are all coloured with Promarkers and I made the background paper using a polkadot embossing folder. The flower is made from a Tatty 'worker' stamp.It's actually an umbrella, which I stamped several times before cutting out to make the petals. This wasn't my original idea, I actually saw Sue Wilson demo this on TV in the days when she did stamping shows before Spellbinders really came on the scene!

So if you have something you've made and never shown, now's your chance - just use this link to EC and you could win a prize...the challenge runs through January.

Thanks for stopping by,

Carole X

Sunday Stampers week 238, writing - Thursday 3rd January

Hello Blog Friends,

I realised when I was reading your lovely comments yesterday, that I hadn't titled or dated my post..well that was a good start wasn't it? I went back and amended that straightaway!

In the few hours I had to myself yesterday, I rather foolishly decided to start tidying the craft room and ended up in a bigger mess...something in my head was telling me to wait a few weeks, get all the Christmas decs back in the attic, get crafting and then turn all the stuff out and do it properly..but the foolish side of my brain was urging me to start today...why did I listen to foolish brain???? Way too much stash in too small a space and now it looks even smaller!

However, before I started on this madness, I did manage to make my Sunday Stampers project for this week..just a little tag, but you would not believe how many times I started over because I disliked it so much!!!

The theme this week is to use writing in your project....

The image stamp is by Lynne Perella from PaperArtsy; I bought it last Autumn and then got caught up in all the Christmas crafting and hadn't used it. I think that some of the buildings are quite Venetian, but also with some Arabic shapes and I was drawn to the shapes and lines of the eclectic mix of mediaeval and well quite 'futuristic'.

I am always intrigued by architecture and having spent a lot of time in Venice particularly and especially in winter months when it's less crowded, I've been able to take the time to stop and take in the surroundings. Previously I have used this quote stamp (by Sam Poole) with 'nature' related images - trees, florals, butterflies, but there is beauty in cityscapes as well and I think that Lynne Perrella was trying to show this with this beautiful piece of fine art - so many shapes mingling together in a busy skyline, with one person stood in a 'doorway', even though he is large in the scale of the rest of the drawing, he seems quite insignificant.

To make the tag I simply stamped the image and the quote with black archival and heat embossed using clear embossing powder. I then coloured the background with a mixture of broken china, faded jeans, peacock feathers, crushed olive and vintage photo distress inks - using the latter two colours on the foreground and to bring some light into the windows and shadows in the buildings. I finished off with some brocade ribbon from Fantastic Ribbons, which seemed to fit with the mediaeval feel to the artwork.

I am absolutely excited now to use this stamp set on other projects in different ways. Sorry the photo is a bit naff :)

Carole X

Panda Birthday - 2nd January 2013

Good Morning Blog Friends...and although I have already sent my New Year Wishes to some of you via your blogs, this is my first chance to say a Happy New Year to all of you!

I hope you all had wonderful Christmas festivities and wish you all health, happiness and lots of crafty fun in 2013.

We had a lovely Christmas, but apart from my Sunday Stampers project for last week, my craft room has been quite a desolate place! I have a 2 week break from work and then go back to a very busy January, so I had so many craft plans for the post Christmas period...I was going to get so much done between 27th December and 6th January....what I hadn't factored in, is that this year, Tom is also off work for 2 weeks and he doesn't have any winter hobbies that can keep him occupied! So between visiting people, being visited and going for walks in Bath and various other places, clearing our box (storage) room and putting up new bookshelves, this is the only other card I have made - and this one only because it's a commission that had to be delivered today!

Before Christmas I also had one crafting disaster...my Grand Calibur is poorly! All of a sudden I heard a pop and the handle came loose - also there is something rattling around inside. It is fortunately still working and I have contacted Spellbinders who are usually very good at getting problems sorted..oh dear!

I came into my craft room New Year's Eve to make this card and sighed...oh dear, it really does need a de-clutter and tidy, I can't find anything!!!!

Sorry about the colours in this photo...darn the winter and lighting and trying to rush a photo!

This isn't my usual or favourite style of card, but it was a specific request for a panda... the card is being made for a lady who works with Tom, I have made panda cards for her before and she is also a customer, so I knew I had exhausted the panda stamps I have from my House Mouse and Friends sets!

I found this digi-stamp set at The Paper Shelter, but as it's a large card I decided to use the pre-coloured image instead of colouring myself. The flourishes and flowers are all Spellbinders dies.

One thing I have had the chance to do is use my best best best Christmas present...the Melt Pot. I am going to bore you all silly with this new toy, but it really is amazing! Look - I made these buttons! It is so easy and I can make buttons and embellishments  to match my designs!









Well I said Tom also has 2 weeks off, but he did have to go into the office today..so that gives me some time to get my mojo working again, so I am now going to try and get started!

Thank you all for stopping by and leaving comments and for your friendship, encouragement and crafty  tips during 2012, here's to the next stage of all our crafting journeys...happy crafting in 2013!

Hugs, Carole X