Lovely Lavender

Good evening blog friends and followers.  I hope the Easter Bunny has been kind and you haven't overdosed on those choccy eggs.  You know, it's not until you move away from home that you realise that all you hold as normal is actually just local and not everyone in the world is lucky enough to have chocolate Easter eggs.  I am not talking about the poor and the hungry, whom we should not forget, but about here in Norway where you buy a paper egg decorated with merry Easter scenes and then fill it with Pick and Mix.  It's always a bit of a disappointment I find.  Give me a choccy egg any day.  I mean which is more likely?  The Easter Rabbit lays Chocolate or Paper eggs??  

I am still waiting for Spring.  I hear much of the UK is having snow so we are lucky in that the days remain sunny and cold with the nights just cold.  It's nice to see so many bright projects around the internet.  Maybe with enough positive thinking we can push the seasons ahead.  Quite honestly I would welcome a bit of Global Warming about now........

I have been working on a project for the Altered Pages Challenge where they want us to Think Lavender.  I was in the mood for an ATC and decided to use Eco-Board ATC from Altered Pages.  These are lovely and chunky to work with.  I started with three shades of purple acrylic paint, light, medium and dark, and with three of the ATC's.

I painted the ATC's with white acrylic and then painted each with a different shade of purple and then rough painted with a contrasting purple and then a bit more white.  Splish splash having a laugh.   I choose the one I liked best and blended a bit more white around the edges and then coloured that with Distress Ink Dusty Concord.  I stamped using Clearsnap Faux Postal stamps in Memento Black Tuxedo and Brilliance Galaxy Gold.   

I stamped one of the ladies from PaperArtsy Lynne Perrella Collection 001 onto white card, blended in some DI Dusty Concord, spritzed with water and dried to give a mottled effect.  Then I fussy cut my lady and added some corners cut using Sizzix ATC and Corners die.  I highlighted her shell earrings and necklace with glossy accents. 

I stuck lace around the edges of the ATC, added my lady, a purple wavy line gelly sticker and two resin flowers from Webster's Pages Perfect Accents. 

Entering this for the following challenges:
Altered Pages Challenge 7 - Lavender Thoughts
Simon Says Stamps - Anything Goes

Have a great evening everyone.  Thanks for dropping by.

P is for Procrastination

Good afternoon bloggers and a Happy Easter to you all.  A special welcome to my new followers.  I must apologise for my absence this week.  It's been a bit hectic and the craft has taken a bit of a back seat.  That's very unfortunate because I got a little bit confused and was convinced that the page I made for  The Craft Barn Alpha Challenge could be posted today but I am a little late!!  Could have kicked myself.  So I'm posting it anyway.  Here's P is for Peafowl.  I have used a peacock feather and quilled a peacock. 

I was quite pleased with this and my alphabet is up to date.  On to the next letter.......

Thanks for dropping by.  I have a few things on the go and a few hours to myself today so there may be a little end of the month flurry.  Stay tuned......

Awake Sweet Spring

Good evening blogland.  Hope everyone had a great weekend.  It's holding sunny and cold here.  I really think Spring has taken a wrong turn.  Lots of challenges are looking for a spring theme and I had this beautiful stamp from Sweet Pea Stamps that made me think that's how Spring would look asleep and maybe the butterflies are trying to wake her. 

I started with Tando Creative Arabian Styled Arch Frame.  I just wanted to use one of the arch pieces and cut a card to match the shape.  I painted the arch with white acrylic and then added some Distress Ink Dusty Concord to it and the card.  Then I embossed the card with Sizzix Thickets embossing folder and highlighted the raised image with Brilliance Rocket Red Gold and Galaxy Gold. 

This photo was taken at a slightly different angle and shows the shimmer really well.  

I stamped the image, Rachel Anderson's Sunset stamp, on white card and then added some Dusty Concord, spritzed with water and blotted it with a paper towel.  This gave a lovely aged mottled effect.  I fussy cut the image.  I stamped on the arch with a flower stamp from Crafty Individuals CI-293 Floral Circle set and Dusty Concord.  I backed the arch with a piece of lace and added some paper roses and a fabric flower with pearls.  I added some butterflies die cut from card I made using alcohol inks.  I used the smallest die from Cheery Lynn's Mini Dimensional Butterflies. 

Here's a close up of the sleepy Spring and the butterflies.  I hope they wake her soon!  

Entering this for the following challenges
Tando Creative Challenges - Flowers 
Cheery Lynn Designs Challenge - Think Spring
Kortgleder Marsutfordring - Var
It's All About The Vintage - Think of Spring with Lace
Simon Says Stamps - Easter/Spring

I'd like to thank Holley for sending me this lovely stamp after her month of celebration in February.   

Hope you all have a wonderful week.  Thanks for dropping by.  Take care and I hope Spring is with us all soon.  

Port Out Starboard Home

Hello and welcome.  I hope that you are having a great weekend.  I have been working on a few things crafty but ended up coming back to this tag I started a couple of days ago.  If you want the in depth on how I got this far check out the previous post. 

This is where I left it on the last post.  As a quick recap I have blended DI Pine Needles, Mowed Lawn, Salty Ocean and Chipped Sapphire and then stamped with white acrylic paint.  The stamp I used is Great Impressions E391.   I started this tag wanting it to be a sea scene which suited the sentiment on the stamp perfectly. 

I stamped the same sentiment on white card using DI Walnut Stain and then tore around it.  I blended Salty Ocean and Mowed Lawn, edged with Walnut Stain and then spritzed with water.  I dried it and then stamped using DI Dusty Concord and the small shell stamp from PaperArtsy Lynne Perrella Collection 001.  These arrived yesterday and I was so keen to try them out.  Fab stamps.  Thanks PaperArtsy.  They also changed this project because my original plan was to do some sort of sinking ship and a lighthouse and something else maybe.  Well, I've still got the lighthouse............

 

I stamped the Lady With the Ship on her Head.  Mrs Neptune maybe?  I have admired Lynne Perrella's stamps for a long time but these are the first ones I have used.  They are so beautifully detailed and I love the quirky designs.  This one perfectly fitted the sentiment and my theme.   The lighthouse was a sticky rubdown.  My original idea was to use Beadazzle beads but it was too coarse to stick so I used white flock.  This didn't show up against the background so I did a little experiment with Dusty Concord.  I quite like how it looks foggy. 

 

The tie is a piece of torn cotton fabric coloured with Salty Ocean.  I washed it slightly to react the ink and also so when I screwed it up it would hold the creases.  I dried it till it was damp and then stamped using the small shell stamp again with DI Dusty Concord and then used the True North stamp with Walnut Stain.  I attached it using a polka dot brad.  

I am entering this for 

Stamping Sensations - The Great Outdoors

Simon Says Stamp and Show - Water

The Artistic Stamper Challenge - Tags 

PaperArtsy - Welcome Back Linda Cain  I was intending to try a different technique as demonstrated by Linda but I haven't got my canvas fnished so I thought I'd share another tag.  The same but different.......

Thanks for visiting.  Take care, keep warm, be crafty.

Tic Tac Tag

Greeting Friends, Followers, Bloggers.   Well, it's officially spring.   Someone hasn't told the man in charge.  It's cold.  Sunny but cold.  Brrrrrrrr.   Me no likey.  A good excuse to stay in in the warm and craft......

I have become a regular over at the PaperArtsy blog and this week it's Linda Cain who is inspiring us.  Now I know you are going to say 'it's that bird again!!' but to be fair he is so cute and he is very versatile.  Also he's a PaperArtsy stamp and since I am entering their challenge.........  The good news, actually great news, is that I was one of the lucky winners last week and a new set of PaperArtsy stamps is winging it's way so maybe Ding Dong Bird will have to take a back seat.  Then again maybe not.  

So, Linda's been playing with colours and paints and I was very inspired by her use of paint on stamps.  Never tried that before.  Hmmmm

I started with some white gloss card and cut two tags and had a bit left over.  I wasn't going to use that bit just now but I had some ink left over so waste not want not.  I used Distress Ink Salty Ocean, Chipped Sapphire, Broken China, Pine Needles, Mowed Lawn and Picked Raspberry.  I blended these onto the card until they looked nice.  Then I edged the two tags with Walnut Stain.  

 

 I stamped onto the tags with white acrylic.  I used a brayer to apply the paint and this seemed to work quite well.  I used the TickTock stamp from PaperArtsy SIDD5 on the first tag and Great Impressions E391 on the second.  I'm not saying anything more about the second tag now, but will come back to it at a later date.  

I stamped Ding Dong Bird on to white card and embossed with black embossing powder then cut him out.  I didn't have the fine detail powder that Linda used but that wasn't a problem because the lines on my bird are big and bold.  I liked the way Linda had left some of her pieces white so I decided to try this with the bird.  I stamped him on the tag to give me his legs and then stuck the white embossed image on top.  I like it. 

I went around the edge of the card with a white pen faux stitches and added some wool and a silver starfish.  I am not 100% happy with the wool.   It's not quite right but the colours match.  Maybe it needs a bit more bling.  I shall have to keep my eye open for something suitable.  If you would like to check out Linda's inspiring post it's here.

I am entering this tag for
PaperArtsy - Welcome Back Linda Cain
The Artistic Stamper March Challenge - Tags 
Wow! Embossing Powder - March Anything Goes

Keep warm everyone and lets hope spring is here soon.  Thanks for dropping by. 
 

Looking for the Easter Bunny

Hello Nomad followers and friends.  Hope you all had a crafty good weekend.  I can't believe that next weekend it's Easter.  I know it's middling to early this year but it just doesn't feel quite like spring yet.  It was warmer today but we had a very cold gale blowing.  I stripped the bed, washed the sheets, put them on the line, re-pegged them 6 times!  Dry in half an hour!!  Who needs a tumble drier.   Of course, with the tumble drier there is less chance your laundry will blow away.  Laugh. 

I always think of spring as shades of bright colours, new leaves, new grass, all those spring flowers, lambs jumping, bunnies hopping, that sort of thing.  I am still waiting for the bunnies to hop, definitely no lambs here for a while yet and not much sign of the bright colours either.  Even so I have managed to create a colour riot that maybe will make me feel a bit more springy.  

I did say a riot.  I think this is one that some people will like and some people will think I need my brain adjusted.  OK, so there are probably people who think I need my brain adjusted before I made this.  I like it.  Please feel free to comment.  I wanted to make an Easter card for the Cheery Lynn challenge and I knew I wanted to use the Pixie Guardian die which is new for me and I already love it.  It cuts like a dream and there are some very interesting negative shapes.  I had a challenge with my colour scheme.  What do you mean you can see that!!  This wasn't actually where I started but whilst madly cutting anything that I could find, just to see how this die looked in different colours, I found the pink graduated card in the scrap box and thought it looked perfect.  Then I cut the royal purple as well and thought that was nice to.  Then I did a bit of puzzling, putting the purple negative pieces into the pink die cut.  Yeah, really.  I also cut this die in black and stuck it behind slightly out of line to give me a subtle shadow. 

Simon Says Stamp challenge is a sketch and I thought this would work well for my Die cut.  All the papers are from a bumper value pack from the local Nille.  The top layer I stamped with a stamp from Crafty Individuals Floral Flourishes set.  Top left, bottom right I stamped with Memento Tuxedo black and then covered with iridescent glitter glue.  Then I layered it on the brown polka dot paper.  The third layer I cut the corners with Cheery Lynn Love You More die to give a doily effect.  I cut a strip of the stripe paper and stuck it on the LHS as per the sketch.  The two polka dot layers, the broad strip and the edges of the card were all distressed and edged with DI Walnut Stain.  There's a butterfly from Cheery Lynn's mini dimensional butterflies die as well. 

There's me bunny.  I was going to put an Easter Egg in the basket but couldn't find anything I liked the right size.  Then I spotted this little fellow on some baby paper and thought he fitted perfectly.  Something for the Guardian to guard.  

Entering this for 
Cheery Lynn Designs Challenge 71 - Easter
Simon Says Stamps - Choose a sketch I used sketch 1
Dies to Die For Challenge - Spring 

Take care.  Thanks for dropping by. 

I Will Have a Fishy

Good evening blogmates.  Hope everyone is having a great weekend.  It a bit wild out tonight with some cold winds howling around the house so a good time to craft.  Tomorrow there is a new challenge at The Craft Barn so I decided tonight was a good chance to finish my project for the current one!!  Often near the end of the list I am I am.  

We are playing with the Craft Barn's Alpha Challenge and very popular it is too.  Izzy gave us 'M' this week but restricted it to Ma - Me!!  I already had a fair few personal rules I was playing to so I was a little dismayed.  There goes my Mouse/Mus!  So I had to have a search around for an animal beginning Ma - Me in English and Norwegian.  The internet is a wonderful thing dum de dum de dum......

This evening M is for mackerel/makrell.  I have used a 15x15cm piece of My Minds Eye double sided cardstock which was a pale blue on one side.  I layered with a smaller piece of water print vellum.  Love these printed vellums.  Such strong colours.  

 I drew a pattern for my fish and then cut them out of metal sheets in two shades of blue.  The stripes were doodled using a black permanent marker.  The eyes are cream card candy with a doodled black centre.  

I got my definitions from Wikipeadia.  The letters are die cut using Ida Lou's Flowerbox Sizzix dies.  The bubbles are glossy accents containing a curled slither of the metal sheets.

This photo was taken with a flash.  Love the shimmer on the front fish.  I really must try to craft with photo friendly materials but what's a project without a bit of bling??

Entering this for The Craft Barn Alpha Challenge - M 

Take care, relax, craft on.  Thanks for visiting. 

Where Did I Put My Ding Dong Bird

Hello Nomad Followers and Friends.  I read today that if in doubt go for it.  Excellent advice.  So the fingers are inky again as I have been having a fun and messy time.  Over at PaperArtsy this week Helen Chilton has been showing some wonderful paint techniques.  I was particularly intrigued when she was using the crackly tissue paper and stamped on the back to reverse the image.  Ah ha.  Was looking for ways to reverse stamped images the other day.  So I tracked down my Ding Dong Bird.  Easier said than done!!  The last tidy up was too long ago and there are way to many piles of partly finished ideas and stash lying around.  Maybe I should join one of those sites where you photograph your desk and make everyone breathe a sigh of relief because despite what your significant other says you aren't the only one with a substantial stash and not enough space.   Oop's distracted again.  Back to the craft...

So I stamped the bird from PaperArtsy Ding and Dong SIDD5 onto some crackly tissue paper.  When I turned it over, oh joy, almost as clear that side as well.  Then I applied Distress Inks Salty Ocean, Tattered Shutters, Mowed Lawn and Scattered Straw.  I spritzed with water and my Memento Black I had used to stamp my bird bled!!!  Yelp!!  OK, start again, Distress inks first, spritz, let it dry, stamp Ding Dong Bird.  Glorious.  Helen has been showing some tricks so I painted the back of my tissue paper with white acrylic to make the colours stand out and also to stop any background showing through and muddying my colours.  

Now at this point those of you who are paying attention are going to say 'hang on a minute, you said you were going to reverse the image but Ding Dong Bird always faces that way....'.  How right you are.  In my excitement I painted the acrylic on the back of my tissue instead of the front so you will have to take my word that everything showed through, or just give it a go yourself.  Loads of fun. 

I decided to use my tissue loveliness on a 15x15cm canvas I bought the other day.  I painted it with white acrylic and then while it was still damp splashed on some cobalt blue and deep cobalt violet and some more white.  An acrylic frenzy.  Then I applied the tissue paper and blended the edges with some more acrylic.  I picked three metal embellishments from Korthobby.  One was silver and the other two bronze but I applied some black acrylic paint to give a distressed/antique look.  I stamped the tick-tock from SIDD5 and then felt it needed a few more and well.......  I also added the arrow stamp from the same set.  Some Prima leaves, a flower from the pound shop and edged with lace.  

I have set the canvas inside a deep frame backed with black card.  The frame is 24cm square so I will be able to join in with the Creative Craft World mini kit challenge as well as a few others.  I think it might be art lovey.  

Entering this messy wonder for
PaperArtsy
Crafty-emblies Altered Art Challenge - Wings
Korthobbyutfordring - Mars 3x3 (3 metal pieces, 3 stamps, bird, arrow, tick-tock, 3 embelishments, flower, leaves, lace)
Ranger Ink - Seasonal Palette March
Creative Craft World - Mini Kit Challenge Feb/Mar (frame size 24x24cm)



Hope you all have a great weekend.   Thanks for dropping by.  Your comments are sprinkles of joy.  Take care, keep warm, be crafty.

Bring on the Clowns....

Hi blog friends.  Another sunny cold day here.  Have been out watching the rabbits and the chickens do their thing and a bit of tidying up, although the real gardening can't start until the ground defrosts.  The grave digger says there is still a meter of frost in the ground!  Winter is very reluctant to give up it's hold but that's not stopping the snowdrops, some of which are in flower, and the crocus are starting to show as well.  Everything is ready.  You can almost feel the expectation in the air.   Here's hoping it's Spring soon.

Have been playing with the Distress Inks again and getting messy.  Green and blue fingers today!  These colours are fabulous to give a Spring feel.  There were a few of challenges which went nicely together so here is today's offering, a postcard....

I started off by making my own mask from a scrap piece of paper.  Please ignore the very lovely raven stamp.  As I said it was a scrap piece of paper.  I wanted to play with Rangers blending technique.  Yes, again!! only I wanted to try circles and stripes.  

Here's my piece of card after applying some Mowed Lawn, Salty Ocean and Tattered Shutters Distress Ink through my mask.  Distressed Circles.  I spritzed with water to give a bit of interest, but after all the other blending and stamping it's not that easy to see. 

Then I blended in some stripes using Mowed Lawn, Salty Ocean and Scattered Straw.  I stamped with Ranger black archival ink using small stamps from Crafty Individuals and Build a Clown from Basic Grey.  The postcard stamp is also Crafty Individuals but I stamped it twice on scrap paper before stamping it here so it gave a more subtle image.   What a strange fellow he is.  He looks like he's ready to spring and with that little propeller I sure he will have added lift.

Entering this for
Artful Times - Spots and Stripes
Basic Grey - Spring is in the Air used Basic Grey Build a Clown stamps
Ranger Ink - Seasonal Palette March

Have a great day everyone.  Thanks for dropping by.  Happy crafting.  

Arrrrrgggggggggg!!

Good morning, good morning.  Well the week is off to a flying start.  Actually, if I must be truthful, and I find that is usually best, I have yet to put my head down cos the craft is upon me.  Starting to feel a bit like I have been staring into bright lights for a long time but the project finally shimmied into place and overall I am a very contented bunny after a bit of a marathon session.  Anyway, there was nothing worth watching on TV and inky fingers are a much more satisfying end to the weekend.  Even if it is technically Monday already.  

Over at Cheery Lynn they wanted us to use doilies.  So I came up with......

After much altering of ideas and deliberation on colour scheme it was Crafty Individuals Travels in Italy papers to the rescue.  I love these collage papers and this particular one is my all time favourite.  I have been working with some wild colours this weekend and I really had the need for a good dose of blue.  I cut two of Cheery Lynn Spring Flower Burst Doily from cream hammered card and coloured them with a mix of Versa Magic Chalk Ink Night Sky, Ocean Depth and Agean Blue.  What dreamy names!  Love the soft matte effect.  I used one doily whole and then cut the other into quarters and used three pieces on the corners.  

The ticket is Darice embossing folder 12" Ticket, embossed onto Core'dinations card and sanded.  There are three tickets on this embossing folder and each has a different number.  I like that touch.  The hearts that are scattered around are some pretty dome stickers I had in my stock.  The bow and adhesive pearls are Papermania.   I backed the whole thing with some black card for a bit of added classiness. 

I really love these chalk inks on the doily.  I think it looks a bit like aged metal.  I haven't zoomed in on my journalling because, just between you and me, my new white paint marker threw a bit of a wobbler and my writing isn't quite up to scratch.  I just wanted to say that this is the ticket to my heart......
Awww, dat romantic.  I think the problem with the marker might have been a little bit due to operator error.  Ah well, tomorrows another day.  Craft away.......

Entering this for
Cheery Lynn Designs Challenge 70 - Doilies 
Simon Says Stamp and Show - By the Numbers 

Thanks so much for dropping by.  Your support and comments are really appreciated.  Be safe, be warm, craft on........

Distracted Again!!!

Hello blogfriends.  It's a cold, cold evening.  -8°C on the thingymagadget.  Brrrrrrr.  Poor bunnies.  OK, so they have fur coats and don't mind the cold so much.  Places to go and plenty hay and straw so they can sit out in it or snuggle up cosy.   I was out this afternoon in the sunshine trying to add a bit of insulation to some of the cages.  We are hoping for baby bunnies next weekend and that it will warm up a lot before they arrive.  The latest forecast suggests not, so I was out today trying to make sure there's a snuggly place for the new arrivals.  As a last resort I can move the expectant mothers inside, but they won't like that at all.  I have an order in for warmer weather.  We shall see.

So anyway, my second post today and not at all what I intended to be working on.  It's going to be a late night I expect.  But what better to do when it's cold outside than sit in and do a bit of crafting.

 

 I have used a leftover from yesterdays messy painting for the heart.   If you want to know a bit more about it it's here.  Basically it's acrylic paints on smoothy stamping card with some white paint marker highlights.  The rabbit is Sizzix Stuffed Bunny paper pieced with some iridescent glossy camera unfriendly paper.  I am a bit disappointed with the photo because the real thing looks much more vibrant with a nice 3D effect.  The card is embossed with Sizzix Retro Circle embossing folder and the sentiment is computer generated. 

I am going to join in with
CASology - Bunny
Craft-room Challenge - From Me to You
Simon Says Stamps - A Bit of Green

Have a great evening.  I am going to make a hot chocolate and then I shall be crafting on because there are a couple of deadlines looming and the mojo is upon me.  Craft on good friends, craft on. 

Birdie Birdie Quick Quick

Good morning Nomad friends.  I hope you are having a relaxing and crafty Sunday.  Maybe those two aren't mutually exclusive.  This is going to be quick because I want to join in at PaperArtsy and I was at a 12 years party yesterday and things didn't get done.  Too many wild parties.  But the cake is good.

So over at PaperArtsy Michelle Webb has been impressing us with colour this week.  I don't have those lovely fresco paints so I have been using some acrylics I had lying around.

 

I used some white card from PaperArtsy and sponged green acrylic.  Then I used Tando Distorted Harlequin mask and orange acrylic.  The notes are cut from PaperArtsy greyboard with Sizzix Original die and painted with purple acrylic.

I cut the tag shape, stamped the bird from SIDD5 on the tag then again on some of the just green card.  I cut out the bird body and stuck him over the stamped bird.  Stuck on the notes and highlighted with white paint marker.

The tassel is a bundle of fancy threads through a chipboard ribbon brad.  Giving it a musical theme with the line from the song, 'I'd like to teach the world to sing'.   He looks like a bird with a mission.  Maybe he's a tweeter.  I should have worked a bit of white onto his lines as well.  Might look into that. 

Entering this for

PaperArtsy
Stampotique Designers Challenge 90 - Song Inspiration
Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamps - A Bit of Green
Cards Galore - Music
Loves Rubberstamps - Anything Goes

Have a great Sunday.  Thanks for dropping by.   

Hedgehog Bread

Good evening everyone.  Ready for the weekend?  I've got the bread in the oven.  No really, real bread in the real oven.  I tried to make one look a bit hedgehog by clipping some spikes but I don't think I was daring enough.  I think they might look more like pimples!  So it will be round pimple bread, cos I didn't do anything about his (it's?!!) snout either.  Ah well, bakery experiments are always a winner as long as they taste OK.  

It seems that everyone is thinking spring at the moment.  I am still hoping.  They have forecast snow for us tomorrow and cold again.  Hee hee more craft time.  This is a quick post because apart from the bread I still have cookies to bake for a party tomorrow.  

I have been having another play with Rangers blending technique because it gives such gorgeous results.  Must apologise but I neglected to take any photo's, except of the completed card, so hopefully I will be able to explain. 

 

I'm quite pleased with this.  It looks a bit like watercolours but it's actually mostly distress inks. I started with the dark stripe.  First I tore a piece of paper and stuck the two part so they covered the two edges of the card and left a broad stripe.  Then working with my blending tool I applied (from the left) DI Mowed Lawn, Shabby Shutters and Pine Needles.  I actually wanted this as an upright card but when I removed the paper the stripe wasn't central so portrait becomes landscape.  Next I stamped the hares using Memento Tuxedo Black.  The stamp was a freebie on Craft Stamper magazine April 2012.  This is a cling stamp and it didn't take the ink as densely as I would have liked.  I debated over stamping but decided not really really black was better than blurred!  I was going to leave it there, a bit CAS, but when I came back to it I thought the flat stamp base looked a bit hard, so I doodled a bit with a black pen.  Then I thought a sun would be good, so I tore a round hole in a piece of paper and used the same blending technique with Whispers Inks, Orange, Butterscotch and Mossy Stone.  Then I thought OK, a touch of DI Salty Ocean for the sky and some Shabby Shutters for the field.  

I am entering this for

Simon Says Stamps - A Bit of Green

Emergency Crafters - Mad as a March Hare

Stamping Sensations - The Great Outdoors

Have a great weekend everyone.  Thanks for stopping by. 

Hello Mother

Hello Nomad followers and friends.  A special welcome to my new follower Kay.  Glad you could join our merry band.  I was surfing today and came across something I thought was curious.  I was on a site of someone who was obviously religious and they had quote of the day from the bible.  You know the sort of thing I mean.  But at the end there was a copywrite.  Now, what does that apply to?  I thought the bible was too old to be subject to copywrite.  Or if you republish and change a few words does that make it yours?  The word according to.....    Or maybe it was just regarding the way the quote of the day was generated.  An app copywrite maybe.  Not meaning to offend anyone.  I am all for giving credit where credit is due but sometimes I see sentiments accredited to people and think is he/she the only one who ever said that?  Does it give it more weight because someone has claimed it, or had it claimed for them by others?   My nan has some pretty good sayings.  Maybe I'll get the chance to use some of those one day and write 'my nan' underneath. 

Oh, enough with the ramblings, on to seriouser matters.  The sun is shining and spring is imminent and the garden draws me forth but I did need to get a card together for my Mother.  She is not really a cat person, at least not as far as I know, but this decoupage from Joanna Sheen is so cute and love is coming by post so I thought it was appropriate. 

Love these little tea cup kitty's.  The eyes are so intense.  I kept this quite simple but I wanted it bright so apart from the decoupage I used a piece of Søstrene Grene butterfly paper for the background and a piece of Basic Grey laser cut doilies.  This was a little too pale pink so I liberally dabbed with Dew Drop Brilliance Rocket Red Gold.  

 Too cute.  

Entering this for 
Joanna Sheen Challenge - Layer it up
Basic Grey Challenge 88 - Anything Goes (Basic Grey Laser Cut Paper Doilies used behind the cat)
Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes
That Craft Place - Anything Goes 

Thanks for dropping by.  Hoping you are having a crafty week.  

To My Followers:  I promised I would do a little draw when the Mad Hares Danced for those of you who posted a comment on my Looking Into the Love Boat Post.  Not many takers but I do sincerely appreciate your support and I have a name from the eligible and it's Ardyth Percy-Robb.   Let me know your snail mail address by the end of the month and I will send out the Crafty Individuals Birdcage Mask to you.  Hope you enjoy it.  Email me at craftynomad at gmail dot com.    

All Things Bright and Wonderful

Hello, hello, Crafty followers and friends.  I have been playing with P. Raspberry again because I needed some bright colours on this cold, wet, grey day.  Hope the sun has been shining on your little bit of the planet.  I spent quite a lot of time today aimlessly looking around blogland.  One blog led to another and I found some little gems and had quite a nice time looking at things from a different angle.  Not very productive in terms of project generation but some days, when simple things are difficult and difficult things are, it's nice to coast around hoping for a shot of inspiration.   I did stumble across a sentiment I liked and it fitted this card so the time was well spent.  

I have used a blending technique with Distress Inks that I saw on the Ranger site and have tweaked it a little to suit the project.

For my background I used Distress Inks P.Raspberry, Salty Ocean and Mowed Lawn.  I used my blending tool to apply them in stripes on a piece of white card.  Then I cut the whole thing up into triangles, mixed them up and put it back together.  Paper patchwork.  I saw this sentiment and thought it would be perfect for this card.  I was a bit daring because I wrote it straight onto my card.  It's not perfect but it's personal and in this instance that's the most important.  I used a stamp from Pandoro's Filurer set.  I wrote Think Positive in the sign.  I liked the contrast between the bright background and the black and white Filurer.  



Entering this for
Stampotique Designers Challenge 89 - Triangles
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes  

That Craft Place - Anything Goes

Have a great evening everyone.  Hoping to wake tomorrow re-inspired.  Thanks for dropping by. 

After the Party is Over

Good Morning blogland.  I hope you have all having a great weekend.  It's another cold but sunny day here and the birds are singing, or crowing.  Whatever takes their fancy.  

I have been working on an ATC.  A quick and simple little make. 

I actually used a piece of background I created the other day using Suzanne Czosek's tutorial over at PaperArtsy.  This piece was a bit open so I added some extra stamping using swirls from PaperArtsy Ding and Dong SIDD5 with Distress Walnut Stain and then sponged and blended with Picked Raspberry.  I like the wrought iron effect that swirl stamp gave.  I cut a green Love You More, Cheery Lynn die, and used part of it.  The flowers were cut using Sizzlit Flower #15 and coloured with P. Raspberry.  The Cheery Lynn Hummingbird was cut from gold mirror card.  Love the detail on this die. 

Entering this for
Cheery Lynn Designs Challenge 69 - Die cut flowers
PaperArtsy

Hope you all have a fun and relaxing Sunday.  Thanks for dropping by. 

Swayambhunath Stupa

Good evening friends and followers.  A special welcome to my new followers.  Thank you for joining my happy band.  I hope that you have had a great day.  I have been working on a layout based on a sketch.  This is only the second time I have used a sketch and my first ever time to make a 12 x 12 layout.   Maybe that should read 30 x 30 since we are metric but whichever you prefer I am sure you know what I am talking about.  I thought this might be a year of diminishing sizes after I ventured into ATC's but after doing this....

Without further ado, mostly cos I'm down to the wire on this one.  Actually I'm kind of over one wire.  I wanted to put this together yesterday because there was a challenge I really wanted to join, but I was left frustrated when it just wasn't happening.  Still there's always another challenge, and another week or month, so on to the possible.  The impossible we do tomorrow.  

This is Swayambhunath Stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal.  Photo taken by me.  Nepal is an amazing place and the temples are amazing.  Just watch out for those monkeys!!  

I used a page from Dovecraft Eastern Promise collection.  I backed the photo with a piece of printed paper that I had overpainted with thinned white acrylic.  The two pieces behind, my prayer flags and the title and journalling bits are all torn from a piece of Ikea cotton printed fabric.  The prayer flags were coloured with various distress inks and stamped with the butterfly die from Crafty Individuals.  The bottle cap in the top right was coloured inside with gold ink, I added a die cut heart from rose printed paper and glossy accents.  The three yaks are stamped from a hand carved wooden stamp which I bought in Nepal.   I love this stamp but haven't used it since I first brought it home many years ago.  Wood stamps present a certain challenge as there is no give but it has some beautiful detail.  

So my first full size layout and some amazing memories of Nepal.  I met some great people and shared a tent with Sandy who I owe a letter or two.  Maybe this will wing it's way and say more than just words.  

Entering
Creative Craft World - Scrap Map February
Simon Says Stamp and Show - A stamp you love but don't use
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
Be happy, be safe and don't forget to spin your wheel.  Thanks for dropping by.  Have a great and crafty weekend.