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

Boo!

Crafty Individuals are having a Halloween Madness or Christmas Frenzy challenge. I went with Halloween, there's plenty of time for Christmas later :-),
The background is made with DecoArt Media sprays, and I've re-stamped and layered the main images.
Thanks very much for looking x

Spooky Time!

Well I went away for a fortnight in early Autumn and came back in Winter... How did that happen? It's cold and dark and I think I suffering from some kind of SAD Syndrome 'cos I'm not enjoying getting out of bed on a morning lol.
Anyway, the lovely Kristen is our hostess this week at Stampotique and she wants us to get spooky!

Calling all Pumpkins, Ghosts, Dragons, and Witches too, we’ve got a SPOOKY time planned just for you!!!!!!!!

I completely LOVE Halloween, and any chance I get to make a spooky project, I will. This week I am challenging you to create a project inspired by Halloween.  Can’t wait to see what you come up with.

I promise none of the Stampotique family has been harmed in the making of this match book.

Here's the inside.

Carrot is on a spring so he comes shooting out at you. Little things eh....

I made this before I went away - can you remember the Indian Summer, just right for making and photographing Halloween lol.

Cast - in order of appearance

Kitten Sitting

Halloween Cube 2

Carrot

I'm also linking this to the Pan Pastel challenge which is Halloween colours, and to 

That's Crafty who also has a Spooky challenge.

I hope you get chance to join in the fun with us. Thanks very much for looking and enjoy your weekend x 

MPORTANT REMINDER:

Please read ALL RULES on the linkz page before linking your creation.

If you didn't follow the rules posted, you may have been deleted.  

Feel free to relink your creation with the correct information for a chance to win.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat...

Hi, I hope it's nice where you are 'cos I'm still in the sunshine (and another year older now lol) Today it's the turn of the lovely Carol to  host the challenge and she's gone with a colour theme of purple, black and pink. So, out came the paints, and this is what I came up with.

My 'bats' are actually Owl Tree, this is what they should look like...
Yep they look good as owls too lol.

The sentiment is Twinkle Bat and I think it fits in rather nicely here.
I've gone around the edges with Abstract Foliage to give it a spooky feel.
I hope you like it, and that you play along with our challenge - don't be shy, we love seeing your entries.
Thanks very much for looking, and I'll be around catching up next week when I'm back home x

There Are Always Flowers

Greeting from Sunny Tenerife (I hope) It's my birthday today, and I quite like this new tradition we've started of celebrating it on holiday. Here's my second piece for the CVC Sparkle and Shine challenge. 

Again Christmas has been barred, but after my birthday it's open season, so I'll be in full Christmas mode when I get home lol.
I know it looks like my matting and layering is a bit off here, but I'm making myself a journal, and this will go in when I've got a few more pages done. I do have a few journals, but I always mess up on page 2 or 3 and then it puts me off lol.
So from the top...

I always forget what I've used so I've put it in the photograph :-)
I've brayered on 
Haystack
Butternut and
Cheesecake 

Next came a bit of stamping, I've used Ellen's stamps from EEV08 stamped in Snowflake, the text is from Sara Naumann's ESN111 stamped in Wendy Vecchi's Orange Blossom, and Sara's scratches are stamped in Tango fresco.
I went a bit high tec and also used some bubble wrap with my new favourite Hint of Mint from Lin's Autumn limited edition paints.

Take your eyes of that dirty craft mat lol. The stenciling at the top is one of Lin's stencils and Guacomole paint, and the stamping at the bottome is the border from JOFY 24

Now time for the sparkle and shine.

Nothing says shine like glass paint on acetate! I've used the flowers and sentiment from JOFY 14 The only way to stick the flowers down without the glue showing through was to stitch them. This gives them loads more movement than if they were just stuck. I love my new sewing machine, it can go in a straight line without any help from me, which is great because I can't do straight!
 There's still loads of time to join in with our challenge over at Country View Crafts, the winner will receive a £20.00 gift certificate, and be offered a design team spot for an upcoming challenge. 
Hope you like mine, and thanks very much for looking x

Stampotique Designers Challenge - Use Book Text

Hi, hopefully if I've set up Blogger correctly, it's Wednesday, and time for another Stampotique challenge. This week it's the fabulous Corrie's turn to choose the theme, and here's what she says.

Hello everybody and happy Wednesday to you all!

Today it is my turn to host the Challenge and I would like you to use book text. This is such a versatile material and when I get a bit stuck, I regularly reach for an old book to use the pages. I think everybody has an old book or magazine lying around to use. I can't wait to see what you come up with, but most of all have fun creating !!! 

Corrie x

The background has been created with Brusho's . They are the latest craze and I think I'm gonna like them! Next time though I will wear gloves, I had inked fingers for 3 days!

This is just the Brusho's on the card. I've used yellow and aquamarine - this is the nicest colour I've ever seen. 

I've stamped Journey Collage with bleach, stood back and gone wow. Told you I was going to like the Brusho's!

I've also painted in bleach some of Angelboy's wings, and stamped Journey Collage onto book text and sewn down.
The seam binding has  been dyed with the Brusho crystals too.
This was really fun to make, so thank you Corrie for a fab challenge.
I hope you will join in too and use some book text.
Thanks very much for looking x

Men, Men, Men, Men, Manly Men....

The fabulous Kim  has chosen the theme at Stampotique this week, and she has gone for a masculine feel.

I'm so excited to host the challenge this week as it's one I'm always struggling with.  In a home where the males outweigh the females, you wouldn't think it would take much to create a masculine card, but it's something I have a hard time doing every time I sit down to make one.  I challenge you to show me your best masculine cards this week-are they ones that come naturally to you or do you draw a blank when you need to create one as well?

Can't wait to see all the possibilities you come up with this week!

It's true isn't it, whatever is in your stash it's never the right stuff to make a 'man card' they're just difficult arn't they - men in general I mean :-)

Here's my card.

This technique was shown to me by the wonderful Jo (JOFY) and I loved it so much I had to make another straight away while I still remembered how to do it!

Everything has been painted with Fresco acrylics.

This is the tag that hiding in the slot. It's attached with some very manly string lol.

I've used the following stamps.

Design Cube

3 In a Round

Happy Birthday

Just Be U

Hope you like it, and that you will join in this week and make something for the man in your life.

Right I'm off to pack now, 2 weeks in the sunshine for me, so I'll see you all when I get back :-) 

Have fun and get stamping! xx

Life Isn't Just A Bag Of Bits

Here is my 1st piece for this months Sparkle and Shine challenge at  Country View Crafts. Recently I was lucky enough to spend a 'training day' with the fabulous PaperArtsy girls Leandra, Lin, and Jo(FY)  It was THE BEST day and these are the nicest ladies you could ever wish to meet. The idea was that you had an hour to make a project, then move on to the next table and make something else....
Anyone who has ever been on a class with me will know that I always come away with a half finished project, and a bag of bits to finish at home. I always have the best of intentions, but months later I still have the bag of bits. Well not this time, oh no, this time I've finished it off!

This is a piece of 8x8 greyboard, which I've not used before, but it is fab! Really strong, and holds it's shape whatever you throw at it. The lovely Lin had already stenciled in the poppies for us with grunge paste but the rest is mine (ok Lin did help me blend my paints too lol) That's what's so great about these days you learn the real stuff like how to blend your paints, which brush to use, how much water etc.
So where is the sparkle and shine?

It's here in Darcy's fab new flower from EDY09 It's been painted in Pumpkin Soup, and Plum from the new Autumn Limited Edition paints. The sparkle has been added with a blob of Glossy Accents and Treasure Silver.
Other paints used are
Snowflake
Guacomole
Sky
Hey Pesto 

We have more dots over another of Lin's stencils ELB PS001, and I've stamped the flower from ELB01 in paint, and also with Copper Kettle Gilding Flakes.

The sentiment is from HP1204 and is one of my favourites. There's also some Treasure Silver over the grunge paste grass.

Hope you like my Sparkle and Shine hanging, and that you join in with our challenge too. There's a £20.00 certificate to spend in the shop for the lucky winner, and a chance to play along with the design team in a future challenge.
Thanks very much for looking x