Flying things at Fashionable Stamping Challenges

Hello my lovelies and a very Happy Easter to you, I hope you're having a good weekend. We've got a new challenge at Fashionable Stamping Challenges and this time around our theme is Flying Things, chosen by my lovely teamie Laura. Don't forget that we're a stamping challenge so make sure you follow the theme and that stamping is the focal point of your project. As always we've got a fab prize for our lucky winner -  a $20 voucher from our generous sponsor  Flonzcraft!

I've made a little wall hanging for my DT project. I began by painting some mountboard with black gesso and once that was dry I used a Dutch Doobadoo stencil with Maimeri Glassy gel to add some texture. I then brushed on some gold PanPastel and edged the board with Treasure Gold.

I made a background using a Clarity stencil and distress inks in Picked Raspberry, Mowed Lawn and Broken China, tore it to shape and distressed with Black soot. 

The focal image is from Indigo Blu, stamped with flitter glu and gilded. I coloured the image with Graph'It markers and distressed with PanPastel before giving the birdie a coat of glossy accents.

The sentiment is also from Indigo Blu but I replaced the word fly with letters from one of the fabby Flonzcraft alphabet stamp sets, this one is Fonteroy and you can find it here. I stamped the letters on some scraps of my background and attached the Idea-ology charms with glossy accents. Once dry I cut out and embossed around the edges with gold EP. I saw this faux soldering technique in Craft Stamper and I love it!!

I assembled all my layers, adding some recycled black netting for a bit more texture and to finish off I added some AB gems, a paper flower and some die cut leaves.

I'm entering this project in the following challenges:

A Little Bit Crafty: birds and bees

Creative Knockouts: Furry or feathery friends

Get Inky: Die cuts
Natalie and Amy's: embossing
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: things with wings
Sweet Stamps: anything goes/embossing
Tuesday Throwdown: vintage/shabby chic
Wags'n'Whiskers: lots of layers

thanks so much for popping by, have a great Easter and eat lots of chocolate!
Claire xx

Journey to Paris

Good morning folks and big warm welcome to my new followers, it's always lovely to 'meet' new friends! Today's card was made for the challenge at A Vintage Journey where the theme is 'A little bit French'. This project was actually inspired by the alley way next to my work, not as glamorous as Paris, in fact its a very scruffy and rundown little street in the town centre but among all the weeds, muddy parking bays and old wooden doors with peeling paint there are pretty forget-me-nots, little wild birds looking for nesting materials and bees and butterflies. You really can find beauty everywhere.

I'd made this background a few weeks ago using a mask from Clarity, Stampers Anonymous stamps, Crafters Workshop harlequin and squares masks and distress inks (tumbled glass, broken china, old paper, vintage photo and walnut stain). Once all the ink was dry I applied Maimeri Glassy gel over the squares through the stencil and then sprinkled with micro beads, I love this effect its so pretty when the beads catch the light.

The images are two of my favourite stamps from Crafty Individuals, coloured with Graph'It markers and distressed with Old Paper and Vintage photo distress inks, I added some pretty blue lace and bead trim to the bottom of the images.

I've added some crinoline flowers, an Ideology facet layered over a sentiment from the Gecko Galz. I've stamped some butterflies, fussy cut them and layered them over the card and to finish off I've added a seam binding bow and a gorgeous mother of pearl button topped with a twine bow.

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

Crafty Individuals: Nature's Beauty 

Docerela Creations: anything goes

Fussy and Fancy: all about travel

Its all about the vintage: shabby chic

Penny Black and More: blossoms and blooms

Well I'd better scoot off to work now so thanks for popping by today, 

Claire xx

Trains, Planes and Automobiles at FSC

Hi there folks and happy Sunday to you. I've had another very quiet blogging week as I can't seem to shake this flu bug off and I've spent the week either at work or asleep. At last though I'm starting to feel a bit more human and actually managed to ink up a stamp yesterday (first time this year!!) so I must be on the mend. Anyway I'm here to share a card made for our new challenge at Fashionable Stamping Challenges where we have a theme of 'Trains, Planes and Automobiles' chosen by my lovely DT sister Yvonne. As usual there's a great prize up for grabs from Cottage Crafts and don't forget we're a rubber stamping challenge so make sure you get inky with us

For my DT project I've used a gorgeous digital background from Dover Publications, I thought it would be just the job for our challegne theme with the gorgeous steam train in the background. This is sooooooo beautiful its almost a shame to cover it up but of course I had to add plenty of stamping.

I began by stamping Creative Expression train tracks on vellum and embossing with Antiquitities EP, adding some black organza ribbon (recycled from a Christmas pressie lol) and a gorgeous steampunk flower created with stamps from Chocolate Baroque's 'Steampunk Christmas'. I stamped a sentiment from 'Artistic Expressions' which reads 'Listen to the whispers of your heart' and embossed with the same EP. The focal image is from Chocolate Baroque 'Steampunk Butterfly' stamp set, stamped on a distress stain background and embossed with the same EP before adding lots of idea-ology cogs and a pen nib. I also added a filigree metal corner from the Funkie Junkie Boutique to the top right of the card. Here's a slightly different angle:

and here's a close up of the butterfly:

I'm  entering this card in the following challenges:

Bird is the word: whisper

Brown Sugar: butterflies

Craft your Passion: vintage/shabby chic

Frilly and Funkie: Anything goes

Pretty Little Ribbon Shop: flowers and ribbon

Well hopefully Blogger will play nicely and post this while I'm tucked up in bed, we're forecast our first snow of the winter this weekend so I'm hoping our puppy will be able to play in the snow this morning. 

Have a lovely Sunday and thanks for popping by

Claire xx

Gift Time at PanPastel UK

Hello I'm back again with my second post of the day, and this time its my DT project for PanPastel UK where our theme is 'Gift Time', as always there's a fab PanPastel starter set to be won thanks to our generous sponsor Berni from Your Creativity Store.

I've made a gift box using an empty Malteser box, why is it that maltesers always taste better from a box than they do in a bag?  For this project I've used PanPastels and the fab Maimeri mediums from Your Creativity Store. I began by giving the box a coat of  Maimeri white gesso and then applied Maimeri Light Modelling Paste using a Crafters Workshop steampunk template on the front of the box. Once that was dry I applied PanPastels in Neutral Grey, Paynes Grey, Raw Umber and Burnt Sienna, before brushing over with mica powders for a metallic effect. I've added spellbinders lattice corners coloured with black and paynes grey PanPastels to the corners.

I've used an Idea-ology hitch fastener to close the box, bottlecaps painted with silver acrylic paint for the  feet and an Ornate Plate on the front, the 'Journey' stamp is from Chocolate Baroque. I found a box of steampunky looking 'thingamjigs' in the shed a couple of weeks ago so I've popped on on top of the box. I was really chuffed with it until I realised that it was so heavy it made the whole thing tip over, eeeeeeek!!! Anyway after a bit of a panic, I added a nestie labels 4 die cut under the feet and phew it stands up again!

I'm entering this project in the following challenges:

Anything but a card challenge: anything but a card

Crafty Catz: Recycle/Upcycle

Little Miss Muffet: Tags or gifts

Tuesday Alchemy: anything goes

Thanks for visiting today and for your kind comments

Claire xx

Introducing Sammy

hi there, hope you're having a good week. We're having a really busy week at work as we've got an inspection all day Thursday and Friday eeeeeeeek! How scary! But as a bit of diversional therapy from all the stress at work I decided to get inky in my craft room and make a project for the FRilly and Funkie challenge which this week is a photo inspiration challenge featuring a pic of the most gorgeous parrot. I racked my brains for a day or two and then had a bit of a lightbulb moment and decided to use a photo of my very own parrot Sammy and enter Tim's June 'Tags of 2012' too :-)

Of course I didn't have half the right stuff but I managed to cobble together an assortment of ideology bits and bobs for the embellies, made a flower using tattered florals and crinoline fabric, and Sammy kindly donated one of his gorgeous feathers lol. I had loads of fun making the marbled background. I used peeled paint and fired brick distress stains along with the picket fence stamped with stamps from Stampers Anonymous Urban Tapestry. In real life the colours are much more zingy. I loved the idea of tinting a photo with distress inks, its so effective and easy too :-)

Anyway I hope you like Sammy, he's such a character, he hates men and loves to eat toast and yorkshire pudding. He loves to 'help out' while I'm crafting, his idea of helping is chewing up paper and running away with pens. He's a real chatter box and apart from the usual 'Hello' 'What are you doing' kind of thing he says 'Tickle Tickle Tickle' with his head on one side and his wing up  for you to tickle him lol. How cute is that? 

Thanks for popping by today

Claire xx