Birthday Blooms

      It was my birthday yesterday and I had a wonderful day - my husband took me out for lunch and in the afternoon when the kids got home from school I got some presents! A few weeks ago I had sent my wonderful husband off to the PaperArtsy website with a wishlist - I think he looked at everything (he must have been there for hours!) I got lots of gorgeous stamps and my collection of Fresco paints has grown to the extent that I need shelves for them now!

   Don't tell anyone but I have been a bit naughty today....There are so many other things I have to do right now - but I couldn't resist taking just a few hours to sit and relax and try out just some of my birthday stash - so armed with lots of new stamps and a huge collection of Fresco paints, I decided to have some fun making something, a last bit of birthday celebrating........before getting back to work and life......

     Featured on the PaperArtsy blog this week are instructions to make your own tissue tape - well, I had to try that! So first things first got some Micro Pore tape and painted it with Pansy and Eggplant paint and stamped it with a PaperArtsy mini text stamp.

   I used a Kaisercraft album board as the tag and painted it with French Roast and covered with crackle glaze and then painted Nougat Fresco Paint over the top once the glaze was dry.

       I stamped all the images with black archival ink on tissue before sticking to the board

   After they were dry I painted the flowers with Pansy, Eggplant and Hey Pesto Fresco paint. I painted the text with very watered down Nougat paint because the black looked too harsh.

     I dry brushed Mocha Mousse and French Roast all over the edges of the board. Then I stamped some of the text stamp over the tag with black archival ink. It was 'missing something' but I wasn't sure what - I wanted more texture on there and on the stamp set was a little dots stamp.

      I dabbed some Nougat Fresco Paint on there and lightly dabbed around the tag. Then I added the same stamp but using French Roast as a contrast. I dabbed some Hey Pesto paint around the tag which had a gorgeous effect - because it is transparent it adds colour without covering any detail. So I did some light blending with a sponge and heavier streaks with a brush.

    I added the homemade tissue tape at opposite corners.

I finished this creation with a light dabbing of Nougat paint on a sponge - making sure the sponge was still quite dry, around the edges
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A piece or twine wrapped with raffia and a Dusty Concord DI dabbed rose was used to make the hanger and here is my birthday tag!

     Thanks for being here - I do hope you like it! See you soon!

 

I  would like to enter this in the following challenge -

PaperArtsy - Tissue Tape

Fashionable Stamping Challenges - Show us a new style/ Show us something new - I used all new paints and every stamp on here was new...and to add to the firsts - I have never made my own tissue tape!

Anything but a card - Get Messy

    

      

If the tiara fits...

    Huge apologies to everyone - I am afraid I have been very terrible about visiting blogs at the moment. I am a bit caught up with commission work until July and am finding it difficult to keep up with everyone right now - I am only managing to post things because I set up all of my June and most of my July posts back in May - Keeping my fingers crossed that I could find challenges at the time of posting! I am hoping to return to normal blogging activity by the end of July and I am so looking forward to getting back to everything. Thank you so much for hanging on here and posting your wonderful comments - It means so much to me.


     Here is a totally different creation for you to see.......As I have mentioned in previous posts I got married last year.....finally! After two children and 13 years together we decided to take the plunge and make it legal!

    ...actually it was a lot more romantic than that. I finally got to have the wedding of my dreams....the beautiful dress, the flowers, lace, satin and all the gorgeous elements rolled into one perfect day....oh, and the gorgeous husband too (he eventually got used to the fact that I couldn't get out of the habit of calling it MY wedding day instead of OURS!)

    I knew when we began planning the wedding that we were on a very very tight budget....and I mean a 'barely there' budget.....bridesmaid dresses were bargains from eBay, my wedding dress was a gift from my maid of honour, shoes bought in a sale, I made the bunting with some help from crafty friends and got some second hand material for it, flowers gathered from hedgerows, decorations from charity shops...you get the idea - we also borrowed and begged (we would never steal!) and hunted for the best bargains we could get and it turned out to be the most amazing wedding. I know I have put the link on here before but if you are new to my blog and are interested by the sound of this bargain wedding then please take a look at this link - It is written by my wonderfully talented sister-in-law Alison (Butterfly) who took care of creating the wedding decor for me us.......

      I decided early on I wanted a tiara....and I wanted a handmade one. I went to several wedding fairs and was horrified when looking at the prices. I wouldn't be able to get one for less than about £100 and sometimes the prices were a LOT higher - I was NOT going to pay that much for something that I would wear for one day (and with hindsight I am glad I didn't buy one because I changed my mind about the tiara a few weeks before the wedding anyway and didn't wear one)

    Anyway....at this point I did want one....a double band Grecian style vintage tiara....and what do I do when I can't find what I want? I make it myself! And if I don't know how to make it?.....I learn very quickly! ;o)

               

 
I bought a basic silver tone double hairband from eBay for £1.00, I had some silver wire already in my craft supplies and my bridesmaid had given me a tub of pearl and crystal beads when I began planning the wedding - just in case they came in handy!

      I wanted a side decoration and had considered using a brooch, but after hunting around for one and dismissing them all as too costly I found a vintage style side hairband in a pound store....so for £1 I had the side decoration. It was cheap soft metal so was easily detached and applied to the band with wire

Online I found some instructions about attaching beads to hairbands and following it was quite simple....it took just a few hours to complete the tiara, adding in extra pearls to the side decoration.

I had very painful blisters on my fingers afterwards, but that is a small price to pay for saving so much money.....so instead of paying about over £100 at a wedding fair I paid about £3 for this tiara and also had the joy of making it and learning something new. Sadly this tiara didn't 'fit'....as with all brides I changed my mind all the time and I eventually found a gorgeous crystal comb...but I did have a wonderful time making this.

                   Hope you like it! I'd love to know what you think of my first attempt at Tiara making!

           This is a bit of an unusual crafty blog creation - so I don't think I will find many challenges that it could be entered into - if anyone spots any please let me know ;o) However for now I think I might be able to enter it at -


    Inspiration Emporium - Brides, Weddings and Anniversaries

Got the blues

      Got the blues? - I haven't!

    I am a guest designer for Country View Crafts again this month after my Creative Collage got picked as one of their Top 3 last month! I was so happy to be asked to design for them again and really pleased when I heard the challenge was 'Die cuts' - Almost an 'Anything Goes'! - I could make anything I wanted as long as it featured die cuts - well, within reason! ;o)...

      I wanted to make a frame. While I was cutting a frame from balsa wood I thought "I have never made a triptych before" - I had seen them many times in blogland and really loved them. Perhaps it was time to make one myself? I cut out the three frames and chose two gorgeous printed photos. I decided to have a quote for the centre frame.

      I wanted the die cuts to look like they were part of the frame, not that they had been just stuck on. So I decided to do the technique of layering coloured paint with black and white dry brushed acrylic to make them meld in with the background but also POP!

     This creation is inspired by Wedgwood pottery which I have always loved. So I started by selecting various die cut flowers and attaching them to the frames along with some crochet lace. I also selected some buttons, metal charms and a wooden die cut key and safety pin.

  
















I applied some French Roast Fresco paint to the top of the frames followed by some crackle glaze. Then I applied some pale blue acrylic paint and watched as the crackles appeared.

     I then covered the frames with a layer of pale blue paint. I carefully made sure that none of the petals had become stuck to the frame as obviously the card will tend to do when wet. When the paint was dry the petals became tougher and less likely to be stuck down with each paint application. I followed this with dry brushing French Roast Fresco paint and then applying white acrylic paint. I then sprayed some Weathered Wood glimmer mist spray (homemade) and repeated this process twice more, finishing off with a final light brushing of white paint.

    I chose some ivory script print paper for the backgrounds in the frames - this was edged with a my favourite vintage colour Frayed Burlap DI. The quote was from a Tim Holtz stamp set and is one of my favourites to use.

    The frames were tied together with ivory hemp string.

       To really bring in a Wedgwood style and make further use of die cuts, I cut a die cut segment and attached it to the top of each frame before painting on a heavy layer of Antique Linen DP. I find that just dabbing it on doesn't give a heavy enough cover sometimes, so when I need a very heavy coverage I use a heavily loaded fine brush and just run the very thin paint over the area. The chalky finish of the paint gave an almost porcelain effect to the die cuts and really looked gorgeous.

       So there is my 'Vintage Wedgwood inspired porcelain effect triptych' - I hope you like it! - I would love to hear what you think! Why not hop over to Country View Crafts   and have a peek at the other inspiring creations over there - and join in the challenge as well. There is still plenty of time to get your creation entered in the challenge - What will you create with the always versatile die cuts?

         See you soon!

I would like to enter this in the following challenge -

Fashionable Stamping Challenges - Show us a new style/ Show us something new - This isn't a new style for me but I had never made a triptych before.



   

Creative Curiosity

     Hello everyone! I knew I was going to be busy for most of June so I decided to get a few projects done a month or so ago and line them up to feature here....Welcome to some creative curiosity....

     When I made this I had just bought a few new things - various Fresco paints,stencils and papers....so I was very keen to make something, but had no idea what - This creation turned out to be quite a mixture of things - Stencilling, paint, diecuts, stamps, ribbon, flowers, string and more. I didn't have a plan when I began this - Just a piece of leftover wood and some cardboard and a 'Lets see what happens' way of working. Perhaps I went a bit over the top....? I must admit I really prefer it when I make something that has a focus and structure, where I already have a very definite plan (though sometimes I enjoy the fact that as with all plans not everything goes smoothly!) I just don't seem to work very well at the 'just play' creativity

    

I tore a piece of white card and stamped some letters to make the word 'Create' in embossing ink and covered with clear embossing powder.

After heating, I blended Frayed Burlap DI over the card. Then I stencilled and stamped with Vintage Photo DI and Walnut Stain DI and inked around the edges with Walnut Stain DI.

 I attached this to a piece of balsa wood that had been painted with Mocha Mousse Fresco Paint and had some crackle applied. Two face stamps were done on tissue paper in coffee archival ink and the back painted with Vintage Lace Fresco paint and then stuck to the wood. A flourish stamp was also applied to a corner.

      The cardboard base was ripped and layers were torn off to give it a rustic look. Snowflake Fresco paint and Mocha Mouse Fresco paint were both dry brushed over the corrugated board to highlight the texture. Several stencils were used with texture paste over the cardboard background to add more texture to the piece.

Wooden diecut swirls were added as well as a cream rose with Vintage Photo DI brushed over it, a ribbon stained with Walnut Stain DI and grapevine heart added.

 I wound some dark brown hemp string around the wooden section and added a diecut wooden key.

 And there is my Creative Curiosity Creation....It might not be my favourite or my best creation but I had lots of fun experimenting! - Hope you like it! 


                       

I would like to enter this in the following challenges -

Simon says  - Kraft

Fashionable Stamping Challenges - Show us a new style/ Show us something new - Making something without any idea what I am going to make is very much a new thing for me - as were the new paints, stencils and papers. 

Birdhouse In Your Soul

       I have wanted to decorate a birdhouse for a while now....and I found some in The Range - what would I do without that shop!! I have gone for my usual shabby vintage style....with some favourite patchwork.



My Melissa Frances papers were a wonderful purchase! I have used them for so many things - and I save every little scrap cut or torn, because I can't bear to throw even the tiniest scrap away! I think I will be buying more on my next crafty shopping spree! Here I used my 5th Avenue set which are so gorgeous. They fit perfectly with my usual vintage style - the only problem I usually have is choosing which one to use. Here I had a fun time! I used bits of all my scraps that I have been collecting!

     I painted the house with Stone Fresco paint over some crackle glaze that had been thinly applied over some Taupe Fresco paint. I dabbed the paint on with a sponge so that it gave a very delicate cracked porcelain effect.

I cut out random sized squares of papers and edged each one with Frayed Burlap DI and stuck them onto the roof and sides of the house. I then added some faux stitches with a dark grey/brown pen.

I tore some sections of paper and blended Frayed Burlap DI over the edges and stuck them to corners of the house.

      I painted some diecut flowers with Bora Bora Fresco paint and some Victorian Velvet DP - both diluted a little with Snowflake Fresco paint. I created some flowers, glued sets together or left them single and centred them with buttons or painted brads. The diecut leaves were painted with Toad Hall Fresco paint.

The roof was edged with beige crochet lace and a twine bow was added to the front.

   And there you have a very simple, but cute creation - My little patchwork birdhouse.....I did make a little patchwork bird, but it flew away for now.....perhaps it might come back and sit on another creation in the future! LOL.....;o)

                   Thanks for peeking at what I have made! Hope you like it!

                             See you soon!

                        

     I would like to enter this in the following challenges -


Simon Says - The Button Challenge
As you like it - Favourite papers
Craftroom Challenge - Here comes the summer
Everybody Art Challenge - Scrap Paper
Love to Create Challenge  - Vintage or Shabby