Freaky Little Thing

For my second piece for the Country View Crafts Bugs, Bees and Butterflies challenge I've got in touch with my inner freak.

 I started by making by base tag with Tim Holtz Distress Paints just splodging onto my craft mat and swooshing through.

Next came the Grunge Paste which was spread through an Andy Skinner stencil.

When the paste was dry I went over it with White Fire Treasure Gold which is out of stock at the moment. I also roughed up the edges and went around these too. 
The backing tag is some deep purple material that I've had for ages. I stuck it to some card, sewed around, then frayed the edges. 

My little freak is another of Wendy Vecchi's Bugs and Butterflies Art Parts, which is also out of stock at the moment, and it's been stamped with the corresponding stamp from the Art For You plate. The Art Part has been painted with Distress Paint in Pine Needles and Brushed Pewter. The girls head is from Stampotique.

Now every self respecting freak needs a party dress, and mine has a nice sparkly one. If you look underneath her skirt (which you should never do to a lady) you will see the rest of the words which come from the same stamp set.
This was great fun to make, especially when Neil asked what the theme was. When I told him it was butterflies he gave me the wha.... ?look and rolled his eyes lol.
There's still time to join in with our challenge, so discover your inner bug :-)
Thanks very much for looking x

The Moon Never Beams

It's time for another Stampotique challenge, but this time there's a bit of a difference. It's Kay's week to play hostess, and I'll let her explain. 

My challenge this week is a simple one, but requires a bit of research on your part.  Just as many of the Stampotique Originals' artists design stamps that might be described as a bit "quirky," so, too, was Edgar Allan Poe a bit quirky.  He is a well known author and poet, living from 1809-1849.  His quotes range from the romantic to the melancholy, and from the thoughtful to the murderous!  The choice is yours.  Allow yourself some time this week to combine a quote from Edgar Allan Poe with one or more stamped images to create something unique!

Here's mine.

 I started by spraying my background with some Media paints. These are really nice but I have to stop buying paint lol.

When it was dry I applied some texture paste through the Andy Skinner skull stencil.

Don't you just love Arwen's amazing  Skull Moon I've stamped it onto some card that I've painted in white acrylic, then stamped and embossed the face and layered.

The quote is computer generated and is from Annabel Lee.

Yep it's a bit darker than the flying monkey lol but my album is another page nearer completion.

I hope that you join in with our unusual challenge, it's a lot of fun and you get to read some great quotes!

Thanks very much for looking and enjoy your day x

Merry Kissmas

Hi, it's Wednesday, so that means time for another Stampotique challenge, and this time around the lovely Corrie wants us to get stripey. Here's what she says.
 "Hello everybody !

Today is my turn to set the challenge at the Stampotique Designers' Challenge Blog and I'd like everyone to make something with a stripy background. You can use ink, paint or pens whatever you like, just no ready made stripes with pattern paper !! I want you to do it yourself ! I am excited to see what you come up with but most of all I want you to have fun !! Corrie x"

It's ages since I made a tag, so that's what I went with this time.

I must admit I left it until last push again 'cos someone has stolen November which I think is very rude! I made it on Sunday night and I've been going to and coming home from work in the dark so I had to photograph it under floodlight lol.

The background has been embossed in a folder, then I've rubbed over with Versamark and covered with Pan Pastels in silver, and a silver and blue mix.

I've stamped Kisses where the colour changed.

Chilly has been stamped onto Kraft card and colours with Prisma pencils, and Merry Kiss-mas! has also been stamped onto the Kraft.

I'm also linking this to the PanPastel challenge which is cold and frosty colours.

I hope you join in with our stripey challenge, but remember no digi's please.

Thanks very much for looking x

Scrap It!! - With Thanks To Dina Wakley

It's a Magpie day today at Country View Crafts, and the theme is to use up your scraps. I must admit to having the odd bag or two of offcuts, so this is what I came up with.

I've recently bought the wonderful Art Journal Freedom book by Dina Wakley and she has a full step by step on how to make this journal with scraps. I'm not going to give away any secrets, other than you NEED this book.

Here's my pile of scraps, it was fun looking through them and remembering what I originally made.

Coming together....

My sewing machine was a real hero!

And here's the inside.
I have to admit it took me hours to make, but I really enjoyed it. It was one of those projects that I looked at and though 'I can't do that', but I did and and really happy with it.
Hope you like it, and thanks very much for looking x

I Only Have Eyes For You

The wonderful and very talented France is this weeks hostess at Stampotique, and she wants us to bring out the bling!

For the longest time, bling in arting was something I stayed as far away from as I could. I don't know how it happened or when, but I suddenly started to add touches of bling on almost every project. And guess what? I love it!

Now you might still be in that first place I was in, or you might be an avid bling user, but for this week's challenge I would like to see you use some bling! Be it a shiny ink spray, glitters you add or an iridescent paint effect, add some bling to your project!

It will for sure lighten up those days that are getting shorter and darker for us who are getting closer to winter!

I thought maybe the Statue of Liberty could do with a touch of bling, so I've given her a coat of Ferro.

The background is Aqua Tint, that have been sprayed with water. I've used France's stars from Design Cube, this seems to be turning into one of my 'go to' stamps. I've also used France's Cityscape. I've been a grown up crafter this week and did some masking - this is wayyyy too technical for me lol.

I though it could do with a few words so as the lyrics 'Are The Stars Out Tonight' were going around my head 'I Only Have Eyes For You' seemed to be a good starting point. This song is 80 years old! They don't write 'em like this anymore.

Ooops drifted off for an hour or so there listening to some old Northern Soul tunes lol Oh to be young and thin again - and they don't make 'em like that anymore either!

Hope you can join in our blingy challenge, c'mon it'll be fun. 

Thanks very much for looking xx

There Must Be An Angel....

The animals went in two by two hurrah! hurrah! - yep it's still raining here, but no ark needed just yet lol.
The new challenge at Lost Coast Designs is faces, so here's mine (not my face, my entry :-)  )

The backgound is Brusho, and my little angel has been coloured with Distress Markers.
So much to do today, so I suppose I should do some of it rather than just think about it.
Enjoy your weekend (I'm working - pooh) and thanks very much for looking x

Baaaad Idea

Good morning from a very sunny but ohhhh so cold West Yorkshire. I'm officially moving out of my craft room (the conservatory) and onto the dining room table today 'cos at the moment the temperature is 11.2 in there. Not for me thank you very much! Anyway Wednesday means time for a brand new Stampotique challenge, and today the wonderful Arwen has chosen the theme.

Arwen is our hostess this week and she's got the spotlight on you:

Artwork consist of many small details that make a whole.

This week I would like to see spotlights in your work.

Lift a detail of your artwork visibly out.

I had a wander into a well know DIY store and picked up a couple of packs of ceramic tiles that are the perfect size for coasters. I've painted it with DecoArt paints, then stamped the snow from France's Design Cube  Don't tell France but my stamp is pretty messy now with white acrylic fingerprints lol. 

Bad Idea is from her Barcode Text 2 stamp and I love the font on this one.

Global Warming has been stamped, cut out and sprayed with some pearl diamond varnish. If I'd put my brain in gear I would have stamped him first and then masked, but no harm done, he's passed the official mug resting test, even with his spotlit heart. It's all been covered with a couple of coats of matte varnish, and I've put some cork on the bottom to stop scratches.

So there we are another tile to add to my miss matched Stampotique coaster collection. I must admit they are my favourite, I have them dotted around the house and they always make me smile.

I hope you join in with our challenge, just read the rules at the top of the Stampotique page and link up.

Thanks very much for looking x

I Whip My Tail

This week Nellie has chosen favourite colour as her theme at Stampotique, and here are some of mine. 

My favourite colour is.... BRIGHT. If I really have to make a choice I would say citrus, and if my life depended on it I would pick yellow.
The background is spray paints and inks, crackle paste and diluted white acrylic.

My guys are whipping their tails - no I don't like the song but it's eaten it way into my brain lol.
I've used
Ponytail
Dog
Bunny  all by my teamie Roc

There's still loads of time to join in with our fun challenge, so bring out your favourite colours.
Enjoy your Sunday, and thanks very much for looking x

Bee Fabulous

Well can you believe it's November already. Dark nights and the run up to Christmas starts NOW! As it's the 1st of the month it's also time for a new Country View Crafts challenge, and this month Trace has chosen Bugs, Bees and Butterflies. This is what I've come up with. I should warn you right now there's quite a few photographs :-)

As the challenge involved bees I wanted to work with bees wax.

I melted the wax onto some waxed paper through the wooden stencil that had been in my stash forever. The smell as it melted was wonderful, and I like the random gaps.

The fabric panel has been stained with brusho's and stamped with a Stampotique stamp. The bee is from the Wendy Vecchi set 
Art For You which is out of stock at the moment. It been stamped onto the corresponding Bugs and Butterflies Art Parts which is also out of stock. This is the first time I've used Art Parts, and I really like them. Before I stamped I painted the shapes with Tim Holtz Distress Paint in Mustard Seed  and Brushed Pewter

This has been a bit of a use up piece. These wooden letters have been in my stash for years too. They've been painted in Rusty Hinge DP, stamped with the background stamp from the same Wendy Vecchi set, then coated with Rock Candy Crackle Paint.

It looks really nice hanging in the window with the sun shining through it (and lets face it it's not going to melt now is it lol) and it still smells lovely. I couldn't photograph it though so here it is on a handy branch. 
Please check out the DT blog for lots of wonderful inspiration, then come and join us with your butterflies, bees, and bugs.
Have a fab weekend, and thanks very much for looking x