A Summer Rose

Hi everyone! 

I am back with another baby themed project. There is a bit of a baby boom around here and this time it is my best friend who has had a little girl. When my friend had her first child I made this for her.... So glad that this time the handmade gift for her child could be my favourite theme of vintage ribbons and roses! We visited today and we got to meet Imogen for the first time....

.....and so now I can show this gift here.

I made the frame with balsa wood. I stuck some metal corners on the frame and applied dots of Decoart Media Liquid Glass. I then applied some swirls with Glossy Accent glue. I had several really bad attempts to get the paint right...nothing looked 'right'.....Eventually Fresco paint in Almond worked. I then covered it with a mix of Raw Umber and White Antiquing cream which I applied and then wiped away with a damp cloth. This was sealed with a coat of Ultra Matte Decoart Media Varnish.

I used mainly printed patterned paper for this frame - from a vintage rose/lace themed paper pack. I really wanted this frame to be vintage faded rose colours - and the paper set had plenty of perfect pieces - it also included some pale green which looked wonderful...so the colour theme was set. 

Occasionally I added other pieces of card that had been dabbed with Tattered Rose DI. Here I used some pattered paper as the dusky rose background and the baby's name is written on card covered with Tattered Rose DI and then stamped with a script stamp in the same ink. A white paint pen was used to dab dots around the edge and pearl gems are used in the corners. A decorative flower was added to the last corner. 

I created a quartet of mini plaques using printed paper, chit chat stickers and metal charms - using the white paint pen to highlight areas.

I love this rhyme! So I picked a gorgeous section of the printed paper with beautiful roses and added the rhyme along with a fairy metal charm. She was holding a heart, but I stuck a pearl over it to tie in with the pearl details in the frame.

I love this pram charm...and I couldn't resist using this little tag that was part of a sheet of the printed paper. I found a music sheet in my card collection and had to use it. This baby's Mummy is an AMAZING singer!....so I wanted a tribute to her wonderful talent.

And of course there has to be a picture of the beautiful little girl. This was one of the first pictures the proud parents showed everyone....so it was chosen for this frame. I stuck it into a silver pendant and added a pearl and cream satin bow.

This section was one I did very little to. The heart was already part of the paper set so I cut that out and stuck it onto two pieces of patterned paper. I added the 'heirloom roses' strip (that was part of the printed paper) and added a chit chat sticker. I saw the word 'Love' on another sheet of paper and cut that out and stuck it on the heart. A simple pearl button was added to finish it off.

The baby's birth details....written on a piece of card that was covered with Tattered Rose DI. I cut a strip of rose coloured paper and added it to the bottom and top of the card, adding dots with a white paint pen and a bow of embroidery cotton.

I always love using this quote....I cut out two pieces of pattered paper to make the base of this section. I cut a heart from a sheet of card and embossed it. Then I painted it with Silver Decoart Media Paint followed by a tiny amount of Carbon Black Antiquing cream which was wiped away with a damp cloth when dry. To bring out a metallic gleam I lightly dabbed it with Pewter Treasure Gold...The tiny feet charm was glued on and I wrote the quote on tiny strips of card that had been 'aged' with Frayed Burlap DI

I used die cut flowers from the Tattered Florals set. I dabbed some Tattered Rose DI onto the craft mat and spritzed with water. I then dunked the flowers into the inky pool. When dry they were glued together and the center of the flowers was made by applying Decoart Liquid Glass followed by Rock Candy Distress Glitter. For the tiny white blossoms I used a die cut from the Susan's Garden range by Sizzix. I coloured them the same as the other flowers but used Antique Linen DI instead. When dry the centers were made from Liquid Pearls. 

The leaves were coloured with Shabby Shutters DI and edged with Frayed Burlap DI

And there is the finished frame....

I hope you enjoyed seeing this baby gift I made.....I really loved making it! I hope that Imogen will treasure it...I am certain her parents already do!

Happy crafting!

Laura xxxxxx

Queen of the Heavens

Hi everyone!

Not many posts here from me lately - I am taking time over the summer to rest and make plans.

Blogging for now will be taking a back seat - but I will pop up occasionally when I have made something....and today is one of those times....

 Two very dear friends of ours have become first time parents (YAY!) and of course at times like this I really love to make a totally original, 'one of a kind' gift that is as unique as the newborn...

 Of course it is a frame - how I love making those!

Usually I make new born baby gifts in the standard pale pink and blues...but this little girl's Mummy is a huge fan of colour (You can see for yourself here - please take a peek at the hugely talented work she does with her friend. They own a company called hattie and flora )

If you did take a peek at the video link you will totally see why I have made this collage in the way I did! As much as it is a collage for Juno - it is also a tribute to her Mummy's love of colour and, while I can't copy what she does so brilliantly, this frame is also a tribute to her unique style. I definitely wanted it to be in tune with her love of vibrant colours...(she is also trained as a florist - so I just had to put some flowers in there too!!).

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I chose a beautiful dusky pinky-peach plaid background for the collage and the first decoration I made was a picture of the beautiful little girl....Luckily I had access to FB pictures so could choose my favourite...

I cut out the photo and glued it into a silver pendant frame. I used some off-cuts from a previous project as the background...some stencil printing (I think) with distress inks. I added some paper lace, gems and a chit chat sticker.

The baby's name....Handwritten on a piece of card that had Worn Lipstick DI dabbed over, then stenciled, sprayed with water and then stamped with a text stamp....not very noticeable details - but just adding texture. I added little pearl gems to each corner.

The baby's birth details - On a piece of card I dabbed with Shabby Shutters DI and stamped with a text stamp using Peeled Paint DI. I then spritzed the card with water to make the colour more muted. I then finished it off by drawing faux stitching around the edge.

Now to fill in more of the baby collage frame....

One of my favorite baby quotes - used many times - but still perfect. The card was dabbed with Broken China DI and then some printed paper was cut into a heart shape. I wrote the quote across the card and added dots around the edge. A chit chat sticker was then added.

I had a metal embellishment of a baby hand print and wanted to use that. Using Wild Honey DI I covered the card and the spritzed with water before dabbing it with a tissue. A chit chat sticker was added.

 A final quote - which is so true!!! I wrote this quote on a piece of card that had been dabbed with Seedless Preserves DI and stamped with a fern stamp using Seedless Preserves DI. I added a swirl die cut here and had a small gap to fill in the collage....so I used a piece of card covered with Evergreen Bough DI and used a 'LOVE' metal embellishment.

The frame was made as usual from Balsa wood...1inch wide strips cut to size and glued in place. When dry I painted it with Decoart Burnt Umber paint. Then I covered it with a layer of Decoart Weathered Wood. Followed by a coat of Americana Decoart White acrylic paint. Then I applied two layers of Decoart Media Ultra Matte Varnish. I then glued it to the arrangement and added a mountboard back to make the frame sturdy.

Two holes were made in the top of the frame and a length of twine was pushed into them. A blob of strong glue was added and the screw brads were pressed into the holes and hammered in place.

 And now for the flowers...I made the pink flowers using the Tattered Florals Die cuts. Coloured by placing them into a puddle of Seedless Preserves DI made by smooshing the pad onto the mat and spritzing with a lot of water. When the flowers were still slightly damp I pressed them into shape with the end of a paintbrush then left them to dry - this way they keep the flower shape without having the creases that occur when trying to shape firm card.

The center of the flowers was made using Glossy Accents and sprinkling on my favourite glitter - Rock Candy Distress Glitter....such a beautiful effect

The tiny yellow blossoms are made using a die cut from the Susan's Garden range by Sizzix. I coloured them with a wash made from Wild Honey DI and water. I then added a tiny pearl bead to each flower center.

The blue flowers were made by cutting a strip of card and then cutting it into a fringe of tiny strips halfway down the card. This was then coloured with a wash of Shaded Lilac DI and the glue was applied to the base of the card and it was then rolled up. It is easiest to do this while the card is still slightly damp.

The leaves were cut from Tattered Florals Die cuts and the Susan's Garden set. They were coloured with Peeled Paint DI and dabbed with Frayed Burlap DI around the edges.

I added a few extra blossoms to the collage along with die cut swirls and a little button.

So there it is.....Juno's baby collage......I loved making it! 

It is a bit of a baby boom around here - so watch out a for a few more baby themed gifts being made!

Thanks so much for visiting!

Happy Crafting

Laura 

xxx

A Beautiful Mess

Hi everyone!

Joi is hosting what will be our final challenge over at Our Creative Corner! 

She would like you to focus on making....

A Beautiful Mess 

.......How about getting messy?? Can you do it with me???

Can you be free and filthy? Are you brave???

I believe YOU can do it... you can create...

A Beautiful Mess

Whether you make a messy looking project or just use 'messy' techniques...
we want to see every inch of your  'Beautiful Mess'!

So create 'A Beautiful Mess' for a chance to win some of the Sponsors fab products!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

I decided to make a card for this challenge - I don't make many cards, but thought it would be fun to do something different for a change

Now onto the mess.....I decided to work with Distress inks and Stains....

The first thing I did was to make some base cards to then cut die cuts leaves and flowers from. These would be messy, but used to construct something beautiful

 I did some wrinkle free distress technique - which is stunningly messy and random. I used Shabby Shutters DI and Peeled Paint DI. I then began to make layers using a lattice stencil and added some Shabby Shutters DI through it. Then I used a script stamp to stamp some Peeled Paint DI over the card.
Then I added further mess by splattering some white acrylic paint all over it.

This one was made using Worn Lipstick and Picked Raspberry DI. I did some wrinkle free distress technique with those inks, then I used a splatter and rings stencil and used Fired Brick DI through it. Then I stamped a script stamp with Dark Mahogany DI and finished it off with a splattering of white acrylic paint

I then worked on making the centers for the flowers

I applied drops of Decoart Liquid Glass to card and sprinkled with Distress Glitter in Rock Candy. When dry they were coloured with Squeezed Lemonade DI and then cut out

I made five flowers - florist tip - It is more visually appealing to use odd numbers of flowers.

I made the flowers up in three layers, crushing the card a little by placing a pencil in the center of the flower and pressing the card around the pencil. This breaks down the structure of the card, giving creases and making them softer and easier to work with...It also nicely adds to the 'messy' element here!

The card background was made using Broken China DI and Tumbled Glass DI using wrinkle free distress technique followed by some Broken China DI being used through a splats and rings stencil

I then added some Distress Stain splats to the card and dabbed 

some script stamping here and there using Jet Black Archival ink

The edges of the card were stamped with a Visible Image stamp that has a flourish on one edge and a grunge texture on the other. I used Decoart Media Carbon Black Fluid Acrylic paint to stamp with as I wanted a messy "there, but not" effect!

I decided to have some black splatter on the center of the card so I used a splatter stencil and Decoart Media Carbon Black Fluid Acrylic paint - normally I would just do paint splatter with a brush and watered down paint....but as this was a last minute addition, and the card was virtually made, I didn't want to risk ruining it!

 I decided to put a quote on the card...I chose some words from my chit chat stickers and coloured them to match the card background using Broken China DI. I made the other two words from Label Letters stickers. I outlined the chit chat stickers with fine tip black pen

 

I then constructed the card...Using a white card base I painted some card black and used that as a base for the blue background. I placed the leaves and flowers around the card...

And there is my finished 'Beautiful Mess'..........

Thanks so much for being here today! I hope you like it and I hope you are inspired to join in with the 'A Beautiful Mess' challenge this month!

 Our Sponsor for this month is....


Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda

They are going to give a $20 voucher to

  one lucky winner this month! 

All you have to do to win is enter Joi's challenge - and you could be the lucky winner selected by Random.org - Get in and have a chance to win!

Happy Crafting!

Laura
xxxx

Paperartsy Revisited

Hi everyone!

Remember back in February when I appeared at Paperartsy working with Darcy's new stamps sets?

Well, I am back there today - using one of the stamp sets again! 

This time there is no colour scheme and I am focusing on a subject instead -

Doodling!

I don't doodle....at least I don't doodle as part of my craft work. I might do the odd doodle on a shopping list occasionally when really bored, but I didn't think I was much of a doodler. Turns out, once I became aware of it, I doodle more often than I thought! I decided to look up meanings of doodles, and it appears that my subconscious need to draw swirls over and over again indicates that I am.....

....an imaginative, good natured and protective worrier. The repetitive smooth shapes indicate a person who is patient, willing to persevere and is methodical with a developed ability to concentrate.

So what do your doodles say about you?

Come over to Paperartsy for some doodling inspiration! 

I loved making my 'Doodling' creation - here is a sneak peek for you....

 If you want to see how it was made then hop over to Paperartsy right now 

to see the step-by-step I did!

Hope you like it!

Happy Crafting

Laura

xxxxxxx

Crafty Individuals Spotlight

Hi everyone! 

 I am doing the second Sponsor Spotlight this month over at Our Creative Corner!

This month our sponsor is

 Crafty Individuals

And here is a sneak peek of what I made..

If you would like to see the whole creation and how I made it please hop over to 

Our Creative Corner and take a look!

And while you are there check out the details for Jennie's challenge 'Hit the Books'....Everyone who enters is in with a chance to be selected by Random.org and win a massive bundle of goodies donated by Crafty Individuals 

You've got to be in it to win it so get your entry in as soon as possible - the deadline for entries is 11.55pm on 28th May!

Happy Crafting!

Laura 

xxxx