Catz Rool

Hello Crafty friends.  The sun is shining and it's a lovely day to be out in the garden.  But first.........  The cat says Catz Rool.  I think the cat needs to go back to school!!!  I made a stenciled canvas using Colourcraft Acrylic and Aztec Lustre paints.  Love the black Eco acrylic.  Beautiful black and dries to a lovely matt finish which perfectly complimented the antique gold Aztec paint I used.  If you haven't tried them I can recommend them.  Very reasonable price and made in the UK.  'Non-toxic, wheat and gluten free. VOC, oil and solvent free.'  Anyway, here's my canvas.

I love the That's Crafty stencil effect which makes me think animal print.  The cat is Oliver from Repeat Impressions and I used green Aztec paint to really make his eyes glow!!  I used gold Aztec paint on a scrap of card and die cut with Sizzix Alpha dies to get the letters.  Hop over to the Colourcraft blog from all the details.  Also, in case you haven't seen Colourcraft now have a fb Fan Group Create With Colourcraft.  You can share all your makes using Colourcraft Brusho's, Aztec paints, Acrylic paints, dyes, mediums etc etc.  The team will be sharing projects and tips and we want to see what you are doing too.  Hop over and join the fun.  

Thanks for dropping by.  Hugz

Oliver is joining the fun at
Repeat Impressions Anything Goes Challenge - J2419
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes
Kreativ Scrapping Utfordring 8 - Alt Er Lov
Nordsalten Hobbyklubb Utfordring 174 - Lag Pa Lag
Scrap the Rainbow 14 - Alt er Lov 

Leaping Deer Canvas

Hello.  Welcome.  God Jul to all my Scandinavian friends and a very Merry Christmas to all those of you who are celebrating The Day today.  Here in Scandinavia and a lot of Europe today is the day for eating huge meals with the family and opening the presents.  So soon I will be cooking up a storm, playing Christmas songs, and seeing if Santa remembered to put any crafty goodies in his sack for me.  But first I have a very blue Christmas make over on the Colourcraft blog.

I've used tissue paper and Brushos and some dies from WPlus9 and Poppystamps for my chilly wonderland.  Do hop over to the Colourcraft blog and check out all the details.  

Thanks for dropping by.  Hugz

Joining the fun at

Scrappiness Utfordring 12 - Fargepalett
Dies R Us Challenge Challenge 111 - Anything Christmas
Mod Squad Challenge - Christmas/Winter Use a Metal Die
Double D Challenge - Let it Snow
Your Next Stamp Fun Friday Challenge 104 - Anything Goes 

For the Love of Fishing

Hello.  Welcome.   We are having a few beautiful days.  Bright and sunny, makes you feel like being out and tackling some of the jobs that need doing before winter gets a grip.  It's cold at night, just to remind us that winter is coming.  Hopefully not too soon.  So let's enjoy the autumn while we can.  Over at PaperArtsy Alison Bomber has been making some lovely projects using some lovely stamp.  I usually like to make something that has a purpose or a destination in mind before I start.  I loved Alison's second project and decided to make art for arts sake.  To my satisfaction when I came to choose my stamps the project kind of defined itself.  

If you want the steps check out the link above.  I've used a flat canvas, added book paper, texture paste through a Crafters Workshop mask, covered it with white then used VersaMagic Gingerbread and Jumbo Java.  Then I went a bit mad with the gold embossing powder.  First I stamped corners using a swirl stamp from PA SIDD5 set.  They looked a bit lonely out on the corners all alone so I thought I'd join them up with a bit of freehand doodling using my embossing ink pen.  Now usually this is a bad idea.  OK, not a bad idea but it just doesn't look how I imagined when I finish.  This time I'm content with my effort.  

For my central image I have used a stamp from Kort og Godt.  My tags are stamped with foliage from PA ELB04 and the sentiment is from PA USNT4.  The buttons, love those buttons, were stamped with PA Winter Wonderland Plate 6 and and stamps from ASI2.  I added a couple of metal leaf charms from Korthobby.  These were silver but I added a bit of the Gingerbread and Jumbo Java, which I also used for all the stamping, to blend them in.  It was fun working with this limited palette.  The buttons are something I will definitely be doing again.  I think this will be perfect for a young fisherman.  And his dog. 

My little fisher is joining the fun at
PaperArtsy
Korthobby Utfordring - Til en Mann
ALBC - A Little Bit Shabby
Stamping Sensations - All Creatures Great and Small
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Use a Rubber Stamp

Thanks for dropping by.  Please leave a comment.  It will count as a chance towards this candy.  Also if you fancy swapping an ATC check out the same post for details.  Have a great weekend everyone.  Hope the mojo is flowing.  It is here.........

Land of the Midnight Crafter

Greetings friends.  Sorry I haven't been around for a few days but the sun has been shining and it's light til..... well, it's light.  We don't get midnight sun as such, being here in the south of Norway, but at the moment midnight is more like dusk and the sun sticks it's beaming face up not too long after.  They keep saying we are going to be getting some serious rain, so I'm weeding and planting like a good un but it remains desert like.  That's dry and dusty rather than Peach Melba......   What do you mean Peach Melba is a double 's'.  Ah well, it is after midnight........

Over at PaperArtsy Carol Quance is back with some amazing projects.  I decided to have a go at a canvas Carol style.  

I started with a 10 x 10cm flat canvas and used texture paste through Crafters Workshop Alpha mask.  This is a new one for me and the first time I have used it.  Very pleased.  Then I splashed around with some red, yellow and orange acrylic to get some summer feeling going on.  Don't you love those hot colours.  I highlighted the letters with silver ink.  I stamped Lady With a Ship on Her Head from LPC001 on white card and cut her out.  I am rubbish at colouring so after a few aborted attempts I decided B&W worked for me.   And for the project of course.  I used another stamp from the same set on  clear shrink plastic and then painted the back with white paint.  A couple of silver charms from Korthobby with a few seed beads and the Lady is ready to set sail.  

You know, or maybe not, that I am not really a sentiment person, but if the shops were open I would have been there spending an obscene amount of money on some witty sentiment stamps or rubdowns.  Alas, or maybe luckily, the stores are all closed so I resorted to one of my favourite saying courtesy of Crafty Individuals Seaside background papers.  The colours were perfect for the scheme as well.  I think I may have to get a black frame for this to really set off those hot summer colours.  

Joining the fun at
PaperArtsy
Korthobby Utfordring - Sommerinspirert 
Stampotique Designers Challenge 105 - Anything But a Card 
Fashionable Stamping Challenges - Something New (new mask)

 It's starting to get light outside, definitely time for bed!  Thanks for dropping by.

Finding Time

Good evening everyone.  I hope the weekend is going well so far.  It's a bit grey and drizzly again but I am out in the garden a bit doing some jobs.  Got to get the broad bean plants in the ground.  Last year they were in in March but everything is so late here due to the weather.  Things are looking a little greener here now but it's so slow.  Still waiting to see if trees and bushes have survived the long winter and the bunnies are waiting for the dandelions to put in an appearance.  Having to make do with broccoli whilst we wait......

 These little munchers are 7 weeks old now.  Cute or what??....

It's all fun over at PaperArtsy again this week.  There are a whole lot of new guest designers and they have started with Sue Carrington.  So feeling inspired by Sue I have been working on a canvas.  I really wanted to be summery so went with yellow as my main colour.  Not a colour I work with so much but quite pleased with the result.  

Sue has been working with texture pastes and also cardboard bits which I thought looked very interesting.  I started by putting some texture paste through my That Special Touch Basket Weave Mask and then adding some free style to some other areas.  Oops, nearly forgot my cardboards....

I have had the PpaerArtsy Hardware #1 die for a while and when I did a trial cut I really thought the one cut looked like two paintbrush heads joined together.  I know it's designed as a hinge but......   So I cut it out of thin corrugated card, the type books get delivered in, which only has a flat covering on one side.  Then I cut some brush handles and stuck them down.  Then I painted everything white, and then yellow.  

OK, now we go to uncharted territory.  I wanted to try the bump technique but didn't have a suitable mask.  I did have the negative cut from when I was cutting out some Sizzix Alpha Bubble letters so I thought that might be fun to use.  I used DI Pine Needles and the moved the mask a bit and used Mowed Lawn.  Nah, it wasn't brilliant.  Oh, I liked the green circles but obviously have to practice my bumping.  And now I'm thinking why did I use DI which is water reactive.   I let it dry and then coated everything again with the yellow acrylic, which luckily was translucent so my circle still show and are nicely blended in.  The DI stayed in place as well.  Phew!

Then I did some highlights with Brilliance Tiramisu ink pad.  I started with the palest colour which is very shimmery.  Then I added the darker brown to the areas of texture paste.  I also used this colour to stamp the feather from LPC001 over the flat areas of the canvas.  

I stamped Ding Dong bird from PaperArtsy SIDD05 onto old book paper.  I drew his legs on because the stamp wouldn't work on this texture but less said about Gail's drawing the better!!   Very sad legs.  I also added some silver pen and glossy accents to the paint brushes. 

Joining in the fun at
PaperArtsy
Art Impressions - Negative Space
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Inspired By
Simon Says Stamps - Things With Wings
Stampotique Designers Challenge 99 - Summertime
Ett Trykk - Alt Annet Enn Kort 
Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes 

I am not sure this is finished.  I wanted a sentiment but couldn't decide.  Maybe it just needs a nice frame.  Ding Dong looks a bit like he is waiting for something.  Hopefully inspiration will strike.  It usually does, sooner or later. 

Thanks for dropping by.  Off to get the beans in the ground.   Have a great evening. 

Something Fishy

Hello everyone and here I am creeping in under the wire to join the Crafty Emblies challenge.  If you are a regular to my little blog spot you may soon realise that I am a last minute sort of person.  Maybe my middle name should have been Procrastination!   It's just there is so much to do.  Prioritise, prioritise.   Anyway here it is......

I have used a mirror frame from IKEA and glass to mosaic the fish onto the mirror.  The fish is coloured glass with two beads making the eye and the water is semi-translucent blue mosaic tiles.  I kept the mirror in place because it reflects light back through the glass thereby giving a backlit effect.  If it wasn't there I expect the fish would be too dark to see any detail.  I have covered the outside of the frame with some handmade paper with I tore by hand to give a softer effect around the fish.  I added some swirls of gold-green handmade paper cut with a Sizzix die.  The frame is then mounted on a canvas which I painted with green acrylic and then dry brushed with blue acrylic.  This was todays happy accident.  I had prepared this for another project and have been using it as a background for photographs but when I put the fish frame on it it added to the overall roundness of it all so I added it into the project.

 I am entering this for Crafty Emblies Challenge - Under the Sea

Wish me luck as you wave me goodbye...