A couple of cards

Not much to report today, bought a few sale items yesterday ,unexpectedly as we went shopping for my aunt,the things I bought threw themselves off the rack at my feet!!!I have managed to make a few more cards ,a couple posted here.

All Over for another year.

Well as my Aunt said yesterday "Christmas is as far away as ever again", a very quite time for us and despite my intentions I ate too much ,but I don't suppose I'm alone in that. I did manage to get some stitching done on Christmas eve and today so that I could finish some fabric postcards as pictured here.

Christmas Greetings

Here's wishing all my blogging friends, near and far, a merry Christmas and happy and healthy new year and also many thanks for all the lovely comments and support, I'm certainly looking forward to what 2010 brings us all craftwise.

Fuji Goddess

This card is made using another new oriental stamp called Fuji Goddess, I don't think it looks as good on the screen as in reality.

New Stamp

Last week after much dithering I sent for the Pucinni's Muse wood mounted stamp, unusual for me as I prefer the unmounted sort these days for storage reasons, anyway it is a lovely stamp and now I must use it!! , so here it is on a birthday card.

Preparing for Aunty!!

Back in birthday card mode again today, getting into practice for the next few weeks, we are collecting my aunt tomorrow and she will be with us over Christmas and beyond. She isn't impressed with me being in my craft room even tho' I am next to the lounge and can talk to her all the time, anyway I have in mind things to do that I can take into the lounge , even moving my machine in there when I feel like sewing.It is hard to believe that it is almost a year since I lost my Mum and Aunt Rose was with us for a month, where has the time gone?

Tags

I really love the last one of Tim Holtz' 12 tags of christmas as it had grunge paper roses on so fickle me packed away the fabric and made my version of the tag using Artistic Stamper flower stamps for the roses and colouring them with mica sprays and added stickles for some bling, and then I made another using metal, I didn't have the mini grunge board letters that should have been used just the larger ones so I adapted the tag to them then coloured the metal with alcohol inks.I have to say my favourite is the rose tag.

Lace girl

Excuses.

I'm putting off the moment when I really must start wrapping presents and also put up the christmas tree by making sure my sewing machine is in good working order, of course the best way to do this is use it, well that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it and posting another fabric atc.

Vintage postcard.

I fancied taking part in the Stitch magazine fabric postcard swap for early next year, altho' I had various ideas for stitching etc I ended up with my usual lace,crochet and vintage lady picture on fabric,perhaps I know that's what I do best having had no formal training in this medium,when I think about this I realise that the only skill I went to classes for was lacemaking and everything else is self taught, anyway just hope whoever gets it will give it a good home. I also made a fabric atc, as they both look the same size - the postcard is the creamy/beige one.

Plain and Simple

I saw candles decorated with rubber stamping on one of the craft channel programmes and had to have a go, the method is to stamp onto tissue paper then apply it to the candle with a heat gun so I had to have a go as you see mine are quite plain but I just wanted to try it out - as you do!

Back to the Sewing Machine

Can't stay away from fabric and stitching for long so here's a couple of atcs combining paper and fabric with the pictures printed onto pc printable cotton.

Workshop

Had a lovely day yesterday with Jan at a workshop taught by Sue Roddis at the Stamp Attic in Wantage, oxfordshire. We made a ' Down your Street' piece using distress inks and whatever stamps we wanted from a selection of Tim Holtz, Stampotique and my favourite Wendy Vecchi.throughout the day we were able to nip into the shop and add to our baskets - what delight!!! I'm sure we all ( seven of us) thoroughly enjoyed the day and for me it was worth the long run down there.

Santa Claus

I saw that the challenge for the Wednesday Stamper was to use Santa Claus in your piece so here he is, the card is made up using four different stamps but the Santa is a Paper Inspiration stamp and I've used him on the majority of my christmas cards.

All done - I think!!

Cards written and waiting to be posted, atcs etc made and in envelopes and the last handcrafted gift just finished today so now it's playtime!! until in a panic I remember something that should have been made or posted or whatever. This picture is of a needle case made by using an iron on stiffener as the base then covering it with a selection of tiny cut up fabrics pieces and threads, this was then covered with chiffon and machine stitched to hold it in place.

A Christmas collection

I think I've just about finished my christmas cards,atcs,tags and the odd postcard, just need to write them all now and that's always the worst job altho' it really shouldn't be. I've just realised that the atcs still have to have their backs on and I haven't cut off the cotton bits - nevermind it's just a picture.

Home again

We have just had 4 days in Yorkshire checking that my Aunt is ok and helping her with her christmas shopping, that means craft free days so I'm going to make up for it today and up to christmas. The two ATCs pictured here are being posted off to New Zealand today for one of my fabric Group swaps.

Weekend Visitor

I've just said cheerio to Viv, she has been with us since yesterday lunch time as she had a Bowls Presentation dinner and a meeting here in Leicester last night and this morning, she spent as little time as was necessary at these functions, prefering to craft, so we've done some metal work, made grunge paper flowers and fixed napkins onto canvas with gel medium. We also found time to shop for crafty bits and have our photo's taken with a bronze statue of our local Bowls hero. While Viv was out last night I made a note book for her OH as a thank you for his suffering in having to drink all that beer so we can have the cans to work with, the back and front is silver card embossed and distressed and a letter covered with metal is on the front. It has been a lovely weekend, I think I can safely say a good time was had by all!!

Red,Green and Gold

Those three colours are the theme for Tuesday Taggers this week so one more card for the xmas box - a cuttlebug background, the stamp is from Paper Inspirations and I've used my Martha Stewart border punch ( I love that punch!) and a flower punch for the embelishments

Sketch Challenge

What a good way to just finish off those last few christmas cards when the original enthusiasm is waning - enter a challenge with a card - I saw this on Viv's blog so thought I'd have a go, it's over at Create4fun and they have provided a sketch for you to use. I printed off an Artylicious background, used a Stamp Man poinsetta stamp and added punched embellishments. One more to do now for Tuesday Taggers.

To stitch or not to stitch.

Some time ago I suggested a challenge idea on a flickr group I belong to and was asked to provide samples to show the other members - the suggestion was for a fabric based atc but as well as a stitched one I was asked for ideas for those who don't do stitching so I made two cards the first stitched and the second put together with glue,staples and brads, I think you can tell which is which.

More recycling!

Viv's OH is really suffering to provide us with 'free' metal for our art work,the background and the large leaves are cut from a beer can and the clock is Ten Second Studio metal, I used alcohol inks and black acrylic paint to distress the background and alcohol inks on the leaves, inside the book are pocket pages for tags etc. I'm really trying to get some mileage out of the owl embossing folder.

Metal - No!

This weeks challenge at Tuesday Taggers is to not use any patterned papers and to create your own backgrounds so I thought I'd go for a metal look by embossing and distressing some silver card and stamping Owlie also onto silver card, I added a die cut flourish and frame. The large background is spritzed distress inks with added cosmic shimmer ( there's also a moon in the background). The picture looks darker than it really is.

A Lovely Day

Yesterday was spent at the NEC (Birmingham) at the Hobbycrafts fair, with Viv and Wendy,I came home with a couple of books, quite a few rubber stamps, some metal tools, dies for my cuttlebug and various bits and bobs that have disappeared into their storage spaces - oh and an empty purse!!! It was a lovely day and one trader inspired this birthday card I am posting.

Tom Cat

This beautiful needle punched atc was one of two that arrived from Finland today - isn't he great, such a lovely face and great work.

Recycling!!

Recycling or how to use up an old beer can in your cuttlebug machine and end up with a lovely embossed piece of metal!! not that we have an excess of old beer cans in our house, in fact I've had to scrounge one off Viv which puts her OH in the awful position of having to drink an extra beer one night!! Anyway this was one that I'd cut up earlier and forgotten about but is now happily adhered to a book cover.

Dorset Buttons

I had an e mail from Judy ( CJstitchingandblooms in my links list)in the US, at the weekend, asking help sourcing some Dorset Buttons info which she actually managed to sort out herself before I could get started, any way it got me interested and I found a tutorial and here are my very own handmade Dorset buttons, the pink one took ages to do as I used a fine thread but the orange one took less than two hours - what to do with them now I wonder??

Rememberance

It's that time of year again with Rememberance /Armistice day coming up and last night was All Souls, we had been invited to my Mum's church for the All Souls service and altho' I was dreading going I knew I had to and armed myself with a stock of Hankies, surprisingly I didn't really need them and managed to light two candles for my parents without tears, it was a lovely calming service and I feel it helped me by being there and with others in the same position. The other day that always upsets me and I really don't know why is Rememberance day, I think I'm not alone in this tho', it is a very emotional time. In the light of the time of year the theme for the Artful Ideas swap is 'Rememberance' and the atc must have a poppy on it - so here is mine , stamped poppies in abundance and hidden is the first verse of John Macrae's 1915 poem :-
In Flanders Field.

In Flanders Field the Poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
that mark our place; and in the sky
The Larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
we lived,felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.

Take up the quarrel with the foe,
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
we shall not sleep, though Poppies grow
in Flanders Fields.

Bursts of Colour

Bursts of colour is the theme for the Tuesday Taggers< this week, sponsored by 'The Craft Barn' so I have used an old favourite stamp and a pink flower as my 'burst' Putting the Craft Barn image in this post gives me a fighting chance of winning a voucher from them.

Ready to go.

I made a suggestion for a challenge/swap on my Yahoo Embellisher group and they used it this month, it was for a needle case so here's mine all ready to be sent off to Wales. Again I have used Da Masi ribbon yarn as it is so colourful.

Gothic Glory.

The Graphicus challenge this month is Gothic Glory, using black and one other colour, this gothic arch is 'shades' of black with orange. The door stamp is from Crafty Individuals and the Ivy stamped around the door is a stamp from Elusive images.

More Pansies.

I think I have used this image many times on different things and this ATC was made for a fabric swap on one of my groups.

Mind over Matter.

Well my mind won today and the washing didn't matter (well I did some and the cases are empty - just 'stuff' needs putting away). I had this idea for a halloween type piece in my mind and Tuesday Taggers wanted just that so here it is using a Cuttlebug embossing folder on metal with :- some faux rivets, a hopefully copyright free pic and some stitching (of course), I distressed the metal with black acrylic paint. I really feel better now!!

Too much WASHING!!

I'm back home and itching to start in the craft room but - must do the washing - shopping and all things related, as I've ideas running around in my brain I don't think I'll be out of the room for long!!

Guest Designer.

As part of winning Tuesday Taggers last week I was invited to be a guest designer for next week, as I am going away on holiday I am putting up the piece I came up with today, a few days early. I was given a digital stamp and asked to use that in my design - so here it is -a distress inked Gothic arch, leaves stamped and cut out plus a cuttlebugged metal leaf and a mouse. Unfortunately I did not know that this weeks theme was going to be Autumn and that was what I chose for my piece for next week - whoops!

Shades of Autumn

Shades of Autumn is the theme for Tuesday Taggers this week so what better way to use up some grunge paper flowers than in a piece for the challenge. The base is a beermat covered with scrapbook papers, the flourish is the waste part of a grunge board flourish and the text is from a Wendy Vecchi stamp. The stamp used for the flowers is from the Artistic Stamper and the leaves are a Wendy Vecchi stamp. The scallop border is made using my favourite Martha Stewart punch.

Gone to France

This Vintage lace/lady atc has gone off to Angelique in France in exchange for one of her beautifully embroidered atcs.

New Goodies.

Yesterday we went to the Artisan craft show near to Warwick, sponsored by 'The Craft Stamper' Magazine, of course I bought lots of things I really didn't need but enjoyed buying. I watched a demo on making flowers from Grunge Paper and had to have a go, what i'll do with them I've not yet decided but here's a picture of them, also a picture of a storage hanging that I bought, it was £8 instead of £20 as the batch had been marked during delivery (what marks?), it's ideal for allsorts but will take packets of rubber stamps in the larger pockets and single ones in the small pockets, the added beauty of this is that it has exactly the same amount of pockets on the reverse side - beauty!! It certainly will help me organize all my stamps and will probably be full by the time I've finished.