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.