Gothic Arch Challenge.

This weeks theme over on Gothic Arches is " My Doll and Me".
I thought this Paper Whimsy image of a little girl clutching her favouritre dolly was perfect for the challenge. I am really getting into using fabric right now, and I was really tempted to try an image transfer onto cotton - but I wasnt brave enough! So I layered the image on a scrap of cotton, adding some pieces of lace, paper roses, faux pearls and buttons.

I made this card for Jo who celebrated her Birthday today - Happy Birthday Jo!

Background papers are from the Basic Grey "Stella Ruby" collection.
Quote stamp from Stampers Anonymous.
The beautiful girl image is from Paper Whimsy.

Alter This....

This week over on Wednesday Stamper we are challenged to Alter This! There are two free images available to download to be altered in some way.
I wasnt sure I waould be able to participate this week as my printer broke, so huge thanks to Seona for kindly sending me some images. Hope you like it Seona, its on its way to you.
Also, this is my first entry to Created by Hand Challenge site. This weeks challenge is to use Quotes in your art.
Stamps used are all from Oxford Impressions.

Spring has sprung.

I made this "Spring Time" themed collaged for a forum challenge. It was the first time I'd attempted a canvas and I loved it! As I bought a pack of four, I guess you'll be seeing more of these if future, I have lots of ideas to put to use!

The background is Sepia MoonGlow applied direct from bottle with a brush - I totally love the walnut ink, gives such a lovely warm aged feel. I used stamps from Oxford Impressions and PaperBag Studio, stamping on scraps of french text pages and a piece of cream cotton fabric. The little glass jar contains real flower seeds, ready for the little Paperwhimsy girl to go plant in her Jardin.

I got a call from my sister asking me to make a card for one of her friends, and my reward should I accept her request, was a home baked lemon cake.....Mmmmmm I just love lemon cake, and my little sister is one heck of a good baker, so we had a deal. The cake was made as promised, we all tucked in and praised Emma for her ability to make a deliciously light and moist sponge........ but the card remained unmade. I began to worry I couldnt fulfill my side of the bargain. I just havnt been feeling creative recently, life hasnt been very kind to us these past few months, losing family members both young and old, coupled with the stress of my youngest son undergoing testing for various medical and developmental problems sent my creativity into deep hibernation. I really did wonder if it would ever return, then slowly but surely I began feeling drawn towards my craft stash, sorting through it and finding cool stuff I had completly forgotten about! One of my finds was some Filigree corners I got from PaperWhimsy last year, and that is what sparked my imagination and set me back on track to finding my creative mojo.....and the card was finally made. Hope Emma's friend likes it as much as we enjoyed the cake!

I used Basic Grey Scarlet's Letter, PaperWhimsy Image and Filligree Corner, Scroll Felt Fusion, and Prima Hydrangea petals with gold seed beads in the centre.

Star Gazing.

This week over on Wednesday Stamper Tina says.....

You are all STARS for coming back week after week and participating. Let your star shine this week and add a bit of sparkle to your stamped creations.

This is my sparkly creation, a little 5"x2.5" tag, made using Distress Inks, Glimmer Mist, clear embossing and stamps from Art Journey and Cherry Pie - the ink splash in the back ground if your wondering lol. I added the words "Follow Your Star" using my Provo Rolling stamp. The little star charm reads "A wish".

Ive added this little picture to try and show to better effect how sparkly the tag really is.

Thanks for stopping by, have a great weekend!

Wednesday Stamper

This week over on Wednesday Stamper Hermine says......

This week I challenge you to come out from behind your book and make a bookmark. So that after having had a relaxing read you can put a gorgeous piece of artwork in there to enjoy it even more.

Here are mine, as you see I got a bit carried away and made two. I had a lot of fun making these.

I used Distress Inks, Glimmer Mist and various embellishments including German Scrap,fibres, beads and an old text page. Stamps are from The Queens Dresser Drawers and PaperBag Studio.
I'd just like to add a huge THANK YOU to everyone who visits my little corner of Blogland and takes time to leave a comment.

Make a moo or two

Nellie's theme this weeks theme over on Make a moo or two is Travel....
If you see my work more often you might know that I love travel as a theme. You can interpret this theme in so many ways, cities, countries, means of transport etc. Even on a little Moo you can travel around the world. So show us, what’s the destination of your journey this week?

Here are my two little moo's. I created a little collage on each using fragments of maps and text, and using images from Tim Holtz and HOTP. I used Distress Inks to add colour to the background. I'm afraid the photo's arent the best Ive ever taken, I really struggled with the light.

TMTA Insects.

This weeks challenge over on Think Monday Think ATC is Insects! Now creepy crawlies are not my favourite things in the world, but as I really fancied playing along this week I dug deep in my stash and found a Cigar label with a little ant on it - totally perfect for the job I thought!

I used Distress Inks and water to create the background, my new Tim Holtz background stamp and the PaperArtsy sailer boy for the main image.

A Perfect Day ** I met Tim Holtz!!**

Yesterday I had the most fabulous day!!! Firstly, I got to meet for the very first time my good friend Kaz, and together we went to the opening of Dawn Bibby's new Design Studio, where we attended a 3 hour demo by the one and only Tim Holtz!!!!!!!!!


The day was all I anticipated and more!!! Tim was a fabulous teacher, very witty and charming, but most of all, inspiring. He showed us fabulous techniques and how to get the best results from his products. And we were able to purchase stamps from his as yet unreleased new range - how cools that!!


Dawn and her team , including JJ and Leonie were all there too, and they are all lovely people, very friendly and truly charming. The atmosphere in the Studio was very informal and relaxed, they really made us feel welcome. I must give give a huge Thank You to Dawn, JJ, Leonie and of course Tim Holtz, for the most wonderful afternoon. And Kaz was great company, it felt like I was meeting up with an old friend who I'd known forever. It really was a most perfect day.




Tim made lots of sample's during the demo, and at the end I asked him to sign this one for me, which he very kindly did.
This is a little creation I gave to Tim. I was so nervous approaching him with it I was literally shaking! I needed a lot of encouragment from Kaz to hand it to him, I was a bit pathetic lol. But Tim seemed to like it. Or maybe he was just very kind rofl.

The wording on the egg reads "Springtime., natures greatest gift".

Happy Valentines Day !!

WooooHooooo!!!

It sure feels good to be back in blogland again! My last post was sooooo long ago I cant wait to go visit everyone and see what youve all been creating!

Recently my creations have taken a new direction as ive discovered ( i'm always the last to know lol ) a passion for felting! I have made a couple of pieces using needle felting, this one here is my first attempt at felted collage I made for Jo. I really enjoyed making this, I expect you'll be seeing a few more in this style in the coming months!

Another felted piece here, this one a slide mailer I made as a little "Happy New Home" gift for my pal Kaz.

And lastly a Valentine Card I made for a forum swap. Again a lot of felt but this time of the shop bought variety as I was so short on time when I started on it. I chose the stamps and the colours specially for the recipient as I know she likes those Tim Holts Birds and was ( I hope still is ) a fan of this colour scheme.

Hope you like it Kaz :)

Well this post has turned into one of those "waiting for a bus" moments! Nothing for an age then 4 arrive at once!

Thank you for stopping by. And if any of you bloggers who have stumbled upon my blog have also been bitten by the felting bug then Please leave me a comment with a link to your blog as I would love to see your felted creations :)

Winter Arch

This week the theme over on Gothic Arch Challenge Blog is winter.
Here is mine.Thanks for stopping by :)

Christmas Traditions

I made this Arch for a forum challenge. The brief was to create something Christmas themed, without using anything Christmas specific - so no Santas, no Reindeer - you get the idea lol.
My thinking behind this piece was to create a Christmas Eve scene. I thought the little Paper Wimsey boy sitting with his teddy was perfect, it looks like he is listening out for the sound of Santa's Sleighbells ting-a-linging! In the background is a little clock showing almost midnight, on the 24th. I added a little white acrylic paint frost aound the edges to add a hint of winteryness. You may be wondering why I chose to add the word Tradition to the little hanging piece, well, when I was a child, staying awake as long as possible on Christmas Eve, and listening out for Santas bells was one of the most exciting times of the year for me and my siblings, and even as we all grew up, it became a little tradition of ours to stay up together on Christmas Eve.
I still love Christmas Eve, possibly even more so than Christmas day, its so full of excitment and anticipation...and hard work too. But I am in denial. Its all going to go fabulously rofl. Well, its better than getting stressed out isnt it lol.

This is my entry for this weeks Saturday Stampers were the theme is Christmas with a twist. The twist being that we use NO Christmas products, papers or stamps in our creations.
Thanks for looking :)

Gothic Arch

This weeks Gothic Arch theme as chosen by Nellie is Chocolate..."Chocolate is a girls best friend". How could I resist!
I decided to go with a "Chocolate Box" feel, I found this background paper in my stash and it reminded me of the stuff they put inside boxes of chocolates so it was a perfect place to start. I then found the little vintage poster I used in the background, changing the word "soda" to read "chocolate" fountain. I just love this Paper Whimsey image of the little girl, I thought she was perfect for my Chocolate Box Arch. I added a little sparkly gold ribbon over one corner and embelished with a couple of flowers.

Thanks for looking :)

Wednesday Stamper

This week over on Wednesday Stamper .....

We all know that “diamonds are a girl’s best friend”. This week we’re challenging you with DIAMONDS. Whether you choose the diamond shape or the diamond itself is entirely up to you!!

I made this for the challenge. It is a hanging, so it would make a much better picture if it was actually hung but I'm afraid we have have a few technical problems - mainly being that my 2 year old daghter stuck something in the lead port were the camera gets connected and shorted it! I'm waiting for my hubby to connect a new one then it will be buisness as usual lol.

To make this I used Basic Grey "Scarlets Letter" papers, finally having the courage to cut into them after hoarding them for several months! Stamps are Crafty Individuals for the main image and Cats Life Press for the Friendship quote.
The chipboard scrolls ( which I got from Scrapz ) I painted with copper paint and added a little patina using metalic rub-on. I then added a few highlights to the piece using white acrylic paint. I decided not to colour the main image - a first for me lol, I just felt the image was more striking left black & white, and it worked well with the background papers.

Lastly, I just want to say a HUGE Thank You to everyone who visits and takes the time to comment on my blog. THANK YOU!!!! I appreciate it hugely.