My Crafty Life...

Happy Holidays Everyone

2009-12-23T23:16:00.003Z

I don't usually make personal posts on this blog, and I will probably delete this post at some point, but there are so many outstanding emails from many of you with questions or comments that I feel I need to post an explanation for my absence.

My mother collapsed with a brain hemmorage and for weeks now I've been living out of a suitcase 300 miles from home, going into the hospital each day with my brother.

Such a back log of emails has now built up that I don't see me ever being able to catch up with them, so please accept my apologies if you don't get a reply. I don't know when I will next be posting here, so best wishes everyone for 2010, and I hope to see you again soon.

Psychodelic Something-or-other!

2009-11-06T00:16:00.004Z

Here's the last of the 3 tags I made on Tuesday. On this one, I rubbed Fired Brick, Mustard Seed and Brushed Corduroy ink pads onto a non-stick craft sheet and then spritzed it with water. I laid the tag down onto the inky mess and then picked it up and dried it. I repeated these steps twice more, to give the funky psychodelic background you see here.

I overstamped with a Wendy Vecchi background stamp in Walnut Stain (I think) and stamped the corner designs (I think the corner stamps are by Autumn Leaves but I can't be sure!). I coloured the corner designs with lime green and aqua promarkers. The "Mort had a pin curl" figures were stamped separately with a black Memento ink pad and shaded with pale grey promarkers before being cut out and adhered to the tag. They were then outlined with a mid grey promarker to give them a little more "pop".

Phew, I think that's everything! :)

Stars and Stripes

2009-11-05T08:24:00.002Z

This tag uses some Wendy Vecchi stamps for the background, my first time using them. The stripes and mesh were stamped in Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink, and then areas were masked off into stripes and inked with Distress Pads and a foam applicator.

The stars were stamped using a black Memento ink pad, and the large stars were coloured with a lime green promarker, the small with a white gel pen. Finally the edges were distressed with more Brushed Corduroy ink.

A bit of messing about...

2009-11-04T09:06:00.002Z

I met up with a couple of crafty chums yesterday, for lunch and a little "play" time. They both had rather large projects to continue with, while I found myself messing around with a few tags.

This is the first one I made. The bottom-left corner uses the faux batik technique (stamp/clear emboss, ink over the top, iron off the embossing powder with brown paper) and the rest of the tag is a LOT of layered stamping and inking. The 3 main figures were stamped and promarkered separately and then adhered to the tag.

Metal Gift Box

2009-10-29T00:01:00.001Z

Another recycled item, this time a gift box made from 2 bases from Tria pen boxes. You can see what the bases look like below. I removed the inner lip from one of them, and it became the lid, fitting perfectly onto the other base!

The main part of the lid was created using a Fiskars Texture Plate. Using a paper stump and rounded silicone tool, I taped the metal onto the plate and then rubbed it into the design. I combined brown and green acrylic paint and a lot of water to make my own distressing spray, which I poured into a mini-mister. After each spritz, the metal was dried with a heat tool, until I was happy with the result.

The tile on the top was made several months back, on a metal class at LB Crafts. The copper was embossed on a Ten Seconds Studio mould and distressed with a patina spray. A square of patterned paper was cut from a Crafty Individuals sheet and placed in a silver Ranger Memory Frame, which had been rubbed with copper wax.

That’s about it, I hope you like it! :o)

Recycled Tria Box

2009-10-28T00:49:00.009Z

A friend who's been buying Letraset Tria markers recently gave me 2 of the boxes they come in (actually she was going to discard them, so I saved them from a landfill future!). I figured that by removing the base I'd be able to make 2 desktop tool caddys (perfect for larger items like cropodile, texture hammer, rulers etc) plus 1 gift box. Here is the first tool caddy, the gift box will follow tomorrow (if I get it finished!)

The 4 sides are shown above (they are all perfectly rectangular - they look a little wonky because of my amateurish camera work, lol)

Starting at the top left -
Copper top embossed using Ten Seconds Studio border mould. Silver metal embossed in the Cuttlebug. White acrylic paint applied over whole box then partially buffed when dry. Molten UTEE poured over copper crown motif on non-stick craft sheet, then stamped with cookie cutter while still hot. Copper tile embossed with TSS mould then aged with glimmer mists and UTEE element fixed to centre.

The other 3 tiles were embossed using TSS moulds and tarnished with glimmer mists.

Mort Journal

2009-10-25T00:33:00.002+01:00

I picked up several of these little hard-backed kraft-covered journals last week, thinking that they'd make good stocking fillers, once suitably decorated.

I stamped the word "journal" onto the front cover, then made this sleeve to go around the book. The stamp is called "Mort had a pin curl", by Stampotique. Isn't that a great name? He was coloured in using promarkers an then masked off and the background was coloured with distress inks. Since he's sporting a great set of fangs, I'm going to enter him into my friend Hels' Sunday Stamper Challenge this week, which is "Monster Mash".

All's Well That Ends Well!

2009-10-24T11:02:00.011+01:00

Ok, so I think these are the last of the halloween cards! The raven border is a Lost Coast Designs stamp that I got recently, and love how it's possible to bend it into curves on the acrylic block before stamping! I'm also loving the huge gingham backgrounder from Cornish Heritage Farms!

On a separate note, this is my first post using the new blogger post editor - I'm not impressed! Next time I might give Windows Live Editor a try :)

Death and Taxes

2009-10-23T03:22:00.004+01:00

They say two things in life in unavoidable – death and taxes. I’d add one more – Halloween cards!! I’m sure you must be getting bored with seeing these, I know I’m bored with posting them, but one more post after this one and they'll all be done! :o)

Finally Organised!

2009-10-22T10:20:00.014+01:00

I love promarkers, don't you? I hated them at first (I hear your shocked gasps, lol) but now that I have finally figured out how to actually use them, I love them! The biggest problem has always been finding just the right colour from a disorganised heap of pens - a problem no more!

I went on to the popular auction site (you know the one) and got these clear pencil cases for 99p each. I measured the pens first (15cm) and found that there were a lot of 16cm and 17cm high pencil cases available. Factoring in the thickness of the pens I opted for the 17 cm size (23cm wide), and 15 promarkers fit snugly inside. Of course all I have to do now is to figure out what order makes for the best arrangement!

Oh, I know that in the pic it looks like these cases are clear on the front and brown on the back, but they're actually clear on both sides, it's my brown floor showing through from behind! :o)

2 More Halloween Cards

2009-10-21T06:08:00.002+01:00

I dunno what you think, but in some respects I think the 2nd card here just doesn't work. I think that's why it's one of my favorites of the ones I've made, the fact that there's something not quite right about it almost makes it even more Halloween-y! :o)

Live Life!!

2009-10-20T00:59:00.002+01:00

2 more pages for my little book today - these aren't actually going to be sequential in the book, but I've put them together here as they use the same colour pallete, so I thought they'd look good on the page.

On a separate note, yesterday was apparently "Evaluate Your Life" day (thanks for the info Hels!), so it's also timely that these appear today (even if it's a day late!).

Inks are all Ranger Distress pads, stamps on first one are PaperArtsy, Stampers Anonymous and the "Live Life" is from a clear set I have but I forget who they're by. Stamps on the 2nd page are S.A. for the cityscape and Lost Coast Designs for the pencils.

Ghoulies and Ghosties and Long-legged Beasties

2009-10-17T06:05:00.002+01:00

Two more Halloween cards to thrill and chill you! Or not :o) Whatever :o) Lots of rich layered stamping in the first card, so much so that the photo doesn't really do it justice! Click on an image to see a larger view.

Create!

2009-10-16T00:08:00.004+01:00

Another Halloween rest day today, so here are 2 more pages of the book I'm working on. Once again the blank pages were cut on the Cricut with Sure Cuts a Lot.

The grid pattern on the 2nd page was created by spritzing a checkerboard stamp with water and stamping it onto the previously distress inked card, I love how it turned out! The heart and banner stamp is by Tim Holtz at Stampers Anonymous.

The flower on the first page was cut out freehand with scissors, my hands are clearly steadier than I thought! :) The ticking stamp in the background is by Just for Fun, and the two girls are by Paper Bag Studios.

Tip-toe, tip-toe, BOO!!

2009-10-15T01:13:00.002+01:00

Two more Halloween cards today - I include the first because someone yesterday someone said they liked the little guy in the middle, and to answer a question from yesterday, it IS a Stampotique stamp.

All stamps are again from Inkadinkado sets, apart from the afore mentioned Stampotique stamp. Oh, the tree on the first card was a lovely wood-mounted stamp that was a gift from my friend Hels. The wood block is long gone (I have ALL my stamps on EZ Mount foam), so hopefully if Hels reads this she can remind me of who made the stamp, in her comment! :)

Snake Book Pages 1 & 2

2009-10-14T00:01:00.000+01:00

I thought, dear reader, that we'd take a break from Halloween today, so here are two pages from a snake book I'm making, which will be bound with the Bind-it-All. They're not actually the first two pages of the book, but I've grouped them together here because the techniques used on both pages are the same. I only wanted 4 holes down each side of the page, so I didn't punch them on the BIA, I cut them on the Cricut instead, using the Sure Cuts a Lot software.

I used the faux batik technique on both pages. The large damask-type designs on the right-hand side of each page were stamped first onto the blank page using a Versamark ink pad and then embossed with clear embossing powder. Colour was then applied to each page using an ink blending tool, with the embossed areas acting as a resist so that colour didn't apply to those parts.

I then placed brown (kraft) paper over each page and ironed with a hot iron which melted the embossing powder until it soaked into the kraft paper and was removed from the page. Other parts of the page were then stamped and finally the main figures were stamped separately, coloured with Promarkers and cut out, then adhered to the page. I ran a pale grey marker around the edge of each figure to make it pop a little more.

2 down, 10 more pages to go! Click on the image for a larger view.

Halloween Card #3

2009-10-13T01:57:00.003+01:00

A single panel this time, with stamps from Inkadinkado, Stampers Anonymous and Oxford Impressions. I wanted to make this look deep and rich, so there's a lot of layered stamping on it. Click on the pic for a larger view, another to follow tomorrow!

Happy Haunting!

2009-10-12T01:37:00.003+01:00

Another day, another Halloween card. Technique-wise similar to yesterdays, so not much to say about this one other than I hope you like it, and there'll be a new one tomorrow! :o)

ETA: All stamps on this card are from Inkadinkado clear stamp sets, apart from the spider's web at the bottom of the rightmost panel, which is Stampers Anonymous (if I remember rightly!)

Hello (Again) Strangers and Halloween Card!

2009-10-10T23:35:00.005+01:00

I call you strangers not because you are strange, but because I haven't "seen" you all in such a while. Not your fault but mine - I believe "life just got in the way" is the expression! I'm happy to be back, and hopefully normal service will now be resumed! :o)

I recently made 13 Halloween cards for a swap I was taking part in. I mostly used some of the clear Halloween stamp sets from Inkadinkado (thanks to Kim from Cutter's Creek for sending them so promptly!). Needless to say, after all that effort I'm pretty much over Halloween now, and it's not even here yet, LOL. I made the cards while I was away on vacation, so consequently there are no particularly complicated techniques involved, as I didn't have my usual range of tools and equipment at my disposal - just stamps, ink, scissors and glue! The stamps I have aren't particularly large images and it wasn't easy using them for the whole of the front of a card, so I adopted a comic-book style panelled approach on many of them, which I adapted from card to card. Here's the first, there'll be another one here every day for the next two weeks or so.

The panels were cut from pale grey cardstock and I applied ink from a Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink pad with an ink applicator tool. The large polka dot stamp (from Cornish Heritage Farms) was spritzed with water and then stamped on each panel. When they had dried I distressed the edges with Vintage Photo distress ink, applied as before.

The main images were stamped with Black Versafine ink and the pumpkin and ghost were stamped separately on white cardstock and cut out and adhered to the panels. The inside of the card was stamped with the "Happy Haunting" stamp from one of the Inkadinkado sets.

Click on the image for a larger view. See you tomorrow, same time, same place! :)

Freebie 38!

2009-08-31T01:41:00.005+01:00

A Match Made in Heaven?
I can't take the credit for this idea, someone emailed me a couple of weeks ago suggesting it as a future freebie. Try as I might, I can't find the email anywhere, so humble apologies to the person concerned!

I've been a bit pressed for time today so didn't really have time to decorate these properly, but the important thing is that I've cut them and tested to make sure everything is ok. Hopefully you can see from the picture that that is the case!

The great thing about these is that you don't have to cut them at regular matchbox size. I've put the sleeve and drawer in the same file so that no matter how big or small you resize them, they'll always match. Why not use them to make a stunning Advent Box like the one my friend Linda made last year? (Click on the picture to read her blog post about making it). They're also perfect as gift boxes or for small party favours!

Again, this template will be "live" for 1 week. Next week, it will be taken down, and new ones will replace it. Don't forget, if you have any requests, pass them on! I can't promise, but I will take suggestions into account when planning future templates.

These files may not be uploaded to a group, forum or website for sale or redistribution, or shared among individuals. They are expressly for the personal use of each person that downloads them from this blog.

There are 2 versions of each template:

An SVG version which can be imported into the Sure Cuts a Lot program and then cut out on your Cricut.
A DXF version which is Craft Robo friendly, and ready to be imported into your Robomaster software (I'm not a Robo user, so if there are any problems with this, please let me know!)
I have NOT created a print and cut version for this, as explained earlier

Simply right click on the appropriate button below, and choose "save link..." or "save target..." and save your template!

Any feedback on the templates is more than welcome, and if you have any suggestions for possible future templates you'd like to see, please let me know! If you make anything using one of the templates, please post a link to it here so that others can be inspired by how you've used them!

I hope you like the templates - let me know how you get on! :)

Less is More Tag

2009-08-30T02:09:00.003+01:00

Another day, another tag!! (Hopefully any german readers will enjoy that pun! lol)

Once again, more new stamps that I'm trying out for the first time (I'll try to remember where they're all from, but I always forget!)

I started out by colouring the tag with Dusty Concord and Dried Marigold distress ink, applied from the ink pads with an ink blending tool. I then spritzed the large dots background stamp from Cornish Heritage Farms with water and stamped it on the tag and left it to dry.

I used a wet baby wipe to remove a lot of the colour from the bottom section of the tag, then applied Mustard Seed distress ink to that section with my ink blending tool. I then stamped the rulers background from Lost Coast Designs, with black ink.

The bubble wrap stamp is from a Paperbag Studios plate, and I stamped with with Dusty Concord ink (see how much darker it stamps compared to the areas where I applied it with the blending tool?)

The Less is More stamp is from a PaperArtsy sheet, and I stamped it in black and highlighted areas with a white pen. The shoes stamp was a gift from a friend, so I've no idea where it comes from! I stamped it separately, then used a water brush and Spiced Marmalade distress pad to paint the orange colour into the white area. I used a grey promarker around the toe of the shoes to make them pop a little more. I then cut out the image and stamped the Less is More stamp across it's bottom left corner, then lined it up with the phrase already on the tag and stuck it in place.

The arrow is from the same Paperbag Studios sheet as the bubble wrap (I think!) and it was stamped in black and highlighted with white pen. Finally I used a scratches stamp from Tim Holtz's Slight Alterations set and stamped it with Milled Lavender distress ink around the edges of the tag to finish it off.

I hope you like it, I had a lot of fun making it! :) Click on the image to see a larger view.

Bird Tag

2009-08-29T11:55:00.005+01:00

Once again playing around with some new stamps to try them out! No plan or fancy techniques with this tag, just trying to get a feel for the new stamps and seeing how they stamp.

Most of these are taken from an Oxford Impressions plate, "Bird's Nest". I picked this plate up recently at LB Crafts, and when I came to look for it a few days later I couldn't find it. It turns out that it had fallen out of my bag in the car park and some honest person picked it up and put it through LB Crafts' letterbox! Thanks to that mystery honest person and to LB Crafts who promptly put it in the mail to me! :)

I started out by applying Fired Brick and Vintage Photo distress ink onto the tag with an ink blending tool. I then spritzed my hand with water and flicked drips onto the tag. After a few seconds I dabbed off the excess water and left the tag to dry.

I spritzed a checkerboard stamp with water and applied it to the tag, again dabbing off the excess after a second or two and leaving the tag to dry.

The bird, B and fence (I can't remember who the fence is by... B Line designs?)were stamped with a tuxedo black memento ink pad and highlighted with a white pen. The birds nest was stamped separately, coloured with promarkers and then cut out and applied to the tag. I used a couple of pale grey promarkers to give a shadow below the nest. Some scratch lines from one of Tim Holtz's recent stamp sets were applied around the edges with a Vintage Photo ink pad. Finally, some birdy footprints finished it off.

I hope you like it :) Click on the image for a larger view!

Evil Clowns Tag

2009-08-28T04:00:00.003+01:00

Although I haven't been stamping much of late, it didn't stop me from regularly buying new stamps! I decided tonight to sit down and have a first play with some of the ones that I hadn't tried out yet.

These are all from Stampers Anonymous, and were coloured using Promarkers. The background used distress inks.

I wrote the poem in the centre myself. It's held in place with two mini copper paper clips and it reads:

"painted face, beaming smile
when you see me, run a mile.
nose so red, face so white
Creeping in your house tonight"

Click on the image to see a larger view.

The Beginnings of a Book....

2009-08-26T00:01:00.002+01:00

I've had an idea kicking around in my head for quite a long time now, for a book that I want to make. Today I finally got around to starting it! :)

I'm not going to say too much about it right now, but I'll post each illustration page as I complete it. There will be pages with words on too, but I'll show those with the completed book.

Budding Sherlocks among you will have spotted that it's going to be bound with the Bind-it-all. I actually designed the page shape (including the BIA holes) in Inkscape and cut it on the Cricut with SCAL. I thought it would be easier to add the binding holes that way rather than punch the pages after I'd decorated them. You might also have noticed that it's going to be a word book of sorts (that's a letter S at the top right). You're getting no more out of me for now than that! :)

The background was created using 3 colours of acrylic paint - black, white and denim - which were blended on the page with a wet wipe. The moon is cast from paper clay in a silicone mould and was painted white after it had dried (the clay dries pure white, so I can't see a difference, lol).

The houses and birds are both custom stamps that I had made for me a couple of years back. Both were stamped with black Versafine ink. Using a small square punch I made a stencil for the window and coloured it by scribbling through the stencil with a Ranger white pen. The same pen was then used to write the "z"s in place. I'm really happy with how this has turned out, and I just hope that the other pages live up to it! LOL

Click on the image to see a larger view.

Soar

2009-08-24T00:01:00.000+01:00

It's been quite some time since I last stamped something, too long! After (finally) completing the re-organisation of my crafting space, it feels great to be able to get back to it, I've missed it!

I started by painting the shallow wooden box white with acrylic paint. I cut a piece of chipboard the right size to fit inside it and created the background as an acrylic painting, although it does also feature some stamping - a harlequin background stamped in white acrylic paint and an alphabetic background from Cornish Heritage Farms.

The bird's eggs on the frame border are by PaperArtsy, and they were stamped and cut out from card I had painted with a turquoise wash. The birds eggs inside the frame are from a set by Oxford Impressions. The "soar" ticket and the fancy bookplate are both Tim Holtz Idea-ology.

The bird is my own design, cut on the Cricut. It was coloured with Peeled Paint distress ink and then stamped in Coffee archival ink with a phrase from Darkroom Door stamps. The edges were coloured with a Walnut Stain distress pad. The heart inside the compartment was cut out freehand and then coloured red with a Marvy pen. The white dots were applied with a Ranger Inkssentials pen.

Finally, the heart and wings were moulded from air-dry clay, using Krafty Lady art moulds. The heart was painted with red acrylic paint and then copper wax was applied to it. Wings and heart were then edged with Walnut Stain distress ink.

I hope you like it, I really had a lot of fun making it. Now to clean up the mess I made! :)