Silver linings with Premium Craft Brands

Good morning my lovelies, as its Sunday morning we've got a new challenge at Premium Craft Brands PanPastel challenge and this week our theme is Anything Goes but the DT were given the challenge of Silver Linings. As always there is a fab prize up for grabs from Your Creativity Store so pop over and find out all the deets and check out my teamies amazing projects too! 

The image is a digi stamp from Aurora Wings, isn't she gorgeous? 

I've used Paynes Grey  and Pewter PanPastels to create a background for this card. I mixed glitter with Maimeri Glassy gel and swooshed it here and there for an icy sparkle. Once it was dry I added the PanPastels. The image is coloured with PanPastels and Graph'It markers with  little of the Silver Glitter Shake pen too. Here's another pic to show the sparkle a bit better:

the background was made by stamping a star stamp from Stampotique with versamark and then applying pewter Panastel over the top. To finish off I added s sparkly bow and a star from my stash.

I'm entering this project in the following challenges:

4 Crafty Chicks: bows

Digistamps for Joy: glitter/sparkle

Inky impressions: something new (new image)

My heart pieces: Anything goes

Simon Says Stamp: inspired by ice

Simply Create too: anything goes

Totally Papercrafts: winter wonderland

Wags'n'Whiskers: anything goes

Hope you're having a good weekend, thanks for popping by

Claire xx

Journalling on the catwalk at Fashionable Stamping Challenges

Hello there, I'm back again with my DT offering for Fashionable Stamping Challenges where our theme this fortnight is 'Journalling' chosen by my lovely teamie Ellie. You don't have to do a journal page, you  create something inspired by journalling, but of course you do need to include rubber stamping as we don't allow digi stamps. Our lucky winner will receive a generous prize from our lovely new sponsor Leo from Flonzcraft.

For my project, I bravely made a start on my brand spanking new art journal that I bought recently from Chocolate Baroque. I created the background using shades of turquoise and magenta PanPastel and Winter Dawn gilding flakes over flitter glu applied through a crafters' workshop template.  The background was the easy bit, I didn't have a clue what to do then, but after I'd been chatting to a group at work about the fact that even when life is pretty crap, there are usually some things that bring a smile to your face - I came up with the idea of 'bubbles of happiness'. I stamped some rings with the bottom of a paint pot and then decided to add some flowers using more Maimeri Iridescent medium, magenta PanPastel and another Crafters' Workshop template.

I added some stamping with gorgoeus silhouette stamps from Flonzcraft, stamped on tissue paper and applied with Maimeri Matte medium to represent some of my bubbles of happiness:

I also stamped some dandelions and bees using Chocolate Baroque stamps. Now my little garden scene was finished I used a stampotique stamp to represent me and used derwent pastel pencils to add some shading the the 'bubbles'

I'm entering this project in the following challenges:

Craft Room Challenge: In the library

Creative Moments: things with wings

In the pink: Lets fly away

Simon Says Stamp and Show: anything goes

Visible Image: get stamping

Do pop over to the challenge blog as we've got a very special guest designer joining us for this challenge and of course lots of inspiration from my talented teamies.

thanks for visiting today

Claire xx

Seeing Stars at PanPastel UK

Good morning folks, I'm back with my second post of the day, this time its my DT project for our new challenge at PanPastel UK where our theme is 'Seeing Stars'. I've altered the box that my Next directory came in to hold my magazines in an attempt to keep my craft room tidy (that'll be the day lol). Don't forget that you don't need to use PanPastels to enter (but of course we're happy bunnies when you do) and our lucky winner will receive a fabby PanPastel starter set from our generous sponsor Berni at Your Creativity Store.

The photo's haven't picked up the colour very well so the pics look a bit faded but hey ho, whats new about me taking a terrible photo?? When I retire I'm definitely going to do a photography course, only another 18 years or so to wait lol. Anyway back to my project. I've used turquoise tint and ultramarine blue tint PanPastels for the background and then appliced Maimeri Irridescent past through a couple of different Crafters Workshop templates. Once that was dry I added turquoise shade and paynes grey panpastels over the top. The star stamp was a freebie from Crafty Stamper, embossed and then filled with Pebeo Fantasy paint. That stuff takes ages to dry so I had to leave it overnight to dry. I've shaded around the stars with more Paynes Grey PanPastel and then added some stamping using a Dina Wakely stamp. 

I glued the panels to the box and then added some black card punched with a MS punch to cover the edges and some teal seam binding ribbon  around the bottom with a bow in the centre to finish off. Here's another pic of the finished project:

I'm entering this one in the following challenges:

Artistic Stamper: Favourite stamp 

(so hard to choose but this star stamp is one of my favourites)

Crafters Companion: anything but a card

Frilly and Funkie: Spruce it up

Papertake weekly: tie up your loose ends

Well we've had heavy rain overnight so most of the snow has gone but it looks VERY muddy outside so I expect I'll have fun and games when I take the dogs to the park so I don't think I'll be putting my wellies away just yet. 

Thanks for visiting today 

Claire xx

All about me at Sarah Hurley Challenge Blog

Hi, back again with my second post today and this one is my DT project for Sarah Hurley's Challenge Blog where Nat has set the challenge this time around. The theme is 'All about me' and Nat wants to see us celebrate  ourselves! Now this one really made my poor little brain cell struggle. I work for a mental health charity and have done lots of groupwork about positive thinking, I came up with the brainwave of creating a journal to record positive 'stuff' about me.

 

I began by carefully removing the cover from the journal (actually a 99p notebook from the Works) and covered it with white card. I had planned to used some of Sarahs gorgeous papers from Tinseltown but my printer has been playing up (my fault I jammed it up trying to print on thick card eeeek). I created the background with distress inks, painted with watered down gesso and then misted with glimmer mists. Next I used a Tattered Angels flourish mask and sponged green PanPastel ovet it.  I stamped with  dandelion clocks from Chocolate Baroque, stars (from Stampotique) and a couple of my favourite sentiment stamps (serendipity by Stampers Anonymous) and a wood mounted stamp that reads 'Be the change you want to see in the world. The world Serendipity is embossed with clear sparkle EP and the stars are painted with glimmer mists.

I found some scraps of my favourite papers from Sarah's  Tinseltown cd (available here!!)and paperpieced the fairy from Stampers Anonymous. It looks a bit weird in the pic as the dress is a solid stamp so I stamped and embossed with clear sparkle EP and its reflecting the light in a really strange way lol. I was tempted to swap the fairies cute little face for my mugshot but gave up on the idea lol

Now for the scary bit lol, I painted white acrylic paint where I wanted to write and added the text with a fineliner pen. One of the group activities we use it to create an acronym of our names using positive words so I decided to add that to my journal cover.

I really enjoyed creating this so think its a project I that I can tempt our craft group with at work, if I ever get through the mountains of paperwork in my office that is.

I'm entering this project in the following challenges:

CD Sunday: enchantment

Fabulous Friday: use paint

Hooked on Crafts: try something new

Little Claire's: Anything but a card

Simon Says Stamp and show: anything but a card

Totally Gorjuss: use a star

Through the craftroom door: Anything but a card

Try it on Tuesday:do you believe in fairies

Thanks for calling by

Claire xx

PanPastels DT, Imagine the possibilities :-)

Hi there, well with Christmas and pesky internet gremlins it seems ages since I've blogged anything but today I wanted to share some very exciting news. I'm joining the PanPastel UK DT, and how excited am I?? Yes, you guessed it, thoroughly over excited lol. I wanted to have a play and share a project with my news so I've managed to grab a few hours in my craftroom and made this tag, using PanPastels of course :-)

I've had a really good play with PanPastels today and oh dear I think I have a new addiction, better warn the bank manager :-) PanPastels are such gorgeous vibrant colours,  they are velvety smooth and they blend beautifully with the Sofft tools (these are made from a very dense foam that is amazingly squidgy - technical term there lol).

I've tried them on lots of different card and they are really versatile, from watercolour card to supersmooth white cardstock. I know a lot of pastels need card with some tooth but PanPastels are just as happy with smooth cardstock. I haven't got any proper fixative, so I just used a spray of cheap hairspray instead.

I've made a few projects today but some I won't be able to share for a while, this tag was super quick to make. The night sky is made by blending black and Ultramarine Blue Shade panpastels with a Sofft Angle slice tool. I stamped the row of houses (from Artistic Outpost) with black versafine on white card lightly coloured with white PanPastel and a hint of black, cut them out and popped them up on 3d foam pads. I added glossy accents around the edges and then silver microbeads. The tiny stars are made with white cosmic shimmer glue and glamour dust. 

The larger stars were made using Jo Capper Sandon's star stamp on shrink plastic dipped in UTEE and coloured with pearl alcohol ink additive although they look black in the pic. I've never thought of trying that before until Tim's Tags and although I didn't have time to join in with the tags I was itching to get my melting pot out and start shrinking and its the most amazing fun watching the shrink plastic curl in the UTEE (OK I'm easily pleased lol). The sentiment is from Chocolate Baroque, and I thought it would be perfect for my first venture into the world of PanPastels :-)

To finish off I've added some scraps of ribbon, net and braid attached with a silver brad.

I'm entering this tag in the following challenges:

Gingersnap Creations GC129:  Starry Night

Make my Monday: Seasonal tags

Ooh La La: anything but a card

Stampotique: Shimmer, glimmer, glitter and glitz

The Stamp Man: Techniques

I hope you've all had a lovely Christmas, it seems to have gone as quickly as it came and I'm back at work tomorrow (not a happy bunny about that I can tell you) but at least its theres another long weekend coming up and lots of chocolate in the cupboard to console myself lol

hugs

Claire xx