Altered box with Altenew stamps

Back in February a group of my crafting friends and I decided to have a secret gift swap for Valentines day. We were each assigned a recipient to make something for, to show them that they were loved and appreciated. We christened it our "Palentines" swap!  We have only just done the reveal, so I'm now able to show you the little altered box that I made. 

Here is the finished box, which I filled with a bag of heart shaped chocolates. Yes, I know that I should have taken them out of the bag, but this way it stopped me from eating them all before I posted it off to my friend!

 

 I started out with a small wooden box (about 8cm square) and some pretty co-ordinating papers from the Dress Shoppe NitWit collection from Lili of the Valley. I carefully removed all the hardware and the thin acetate covering the inside of the lid, to make it easier to cover.

 Next I applied some Victorian Velvet Distress Stain to all of the edges. I also used the matching Distress marker pen to colour the joins inside the box, so that there would be no bare wood showing when I covered it with paper.

 I used the ditsy floral print paper to cover all the outsides of the box and the dress paper for the insides. Just before I covered the inside of the lid I replaced the acetate with some that was a bit thicker (taken from some die packaging), then added the paper to cover it so that the edges of the acetate didn't show. I added a couple of die cut stitched heart borders (from Wplus9 design studio) to the bottom edges of the box, then I replaced the hinges and clasp. My, those tiny screws were fiddly and I dropped them on the floor several times before I succeeded in fastening everything back on!

 Now came the fun part - decorating the lid with some pretty stamped flowers. I used the gorgeous "Beautiful Day" stamp set by Altenew and Antique Linen distress ink, so that I could do the no line watercolour technique. I chose colours that matched the paper I'd used and scribbled ink from the Distress markers onto an acrylic block, before picking up the colour with a wet paintbrush and painting the flowers, berries and leaves. After they had dried I went back in with the markers and added extra detail, then I fussy cut everything out (fiddly but so worth it)!

 I used clear foam tape and glue dots to adhere the flowers, leaves and berries around the heart shaped aperture on the lid, which gave them more dimension.

 Below you can see the finished box (without the chocolates).

I really enjoyed making this and have since bought another box, so that I can do it all again!

Thanks for looking!

The Hop To Stop - part two.

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness month in the USA and the lovely Becca Cruger has organised a blog hop to help. Over the course of their lifetimes a staggering 1 in 3 women will experience domestic violence! Whilst I have been lucky, someone who I'm very close to has suffered in the past and still has recurring nightmares about it, so I'm happy to help raise awareness here.

 The stop to hop can be found HERE.

We were challenged to make cards featuring the colour purple - the chosen colour for the charity. Here is my second card. I thought the peace dove was an appropriate image for this hop. 

All stamps and dies are by Waltzingmouse Stamps. The lovely dove is from the new "Rustic Christmas" stamp set, the trees are from the "Flurries set" and the leafy spring is from "Country Labels Four". I stamped the dove in Memento Grape Jelly ink, masked the image then added the sky with Shaded Lilac Distress ink. I used Memento Northern Pine ink for the sprigs on the background. 

Yay - that's my first Christmas card made for this year! Thanks for looking.

Lynn

The Hop To Stop - part one.

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness month in the USA and the lovely Becca Cruger has organised a blog hop to help. Over the course of their lifetimes a staggering 1 in 3 women will experience domestic violence! Whilst I have been lucky, someone who I'm very close to has suffered in the past and still has recurring nightmares about it, so I'm happy to help raise awareness here.

 The hop to stop can be found HERE.

We were challenged to make cards featuring the colour purple - the chosen colour for the charity. I thought about what it must be like to suffer in this way and decided to use a quote and feathers from Waltzingmouse Stamps "Fine Feathers" stamp set, together with the matching dies.

The other dies used are also by Waltzingmouse. I started with a large stitched rectangle panel and heat embossed two of the small feather images all over using clear embossing powder. Then I blended Shaded Lilac, Milled Lavender, Wilted Violet and Dusty Concord Distress Inks over the panel, before removing the embossing with a hot iron. (One of the only times I tend to use an iron)! The feathers were stamped onto their matching diecuts using Memento Grape Jelly ink, which I also used for the sentiment.

I love all the fine detail in the feathers and I'm pleased with how this turned out! I'll be back later with another card to share. Thanks for looking.

Lynn

Under The Sea

I recently treated myself to some lovely Clearly Besotted stamps, including the fun "Under The Sea" set, so I went about creating a couple of cards with a real underwater feel to them.

I started with a square of white card which I coloured by smooshing Tumbled Glass, Evergreen Bough and Scattered Straw Distress Inks onto an ink blending mat and spraying with a fine mist of water before dragging the card through the ink. I found that the card I was using tended to buckle when it was really wet with all the ink, so I decided to accentuate this by making several rough creased folds in the blue part of the card to represent waves. I distressed the edges of my panel and I then added some more Blue and Green Ink to my blending mat and dragged the folded parts and distressed edges through again until they were a shade darker. Finally I dried my panel thoroughly using my heat gun, before I stuck it to a 5" square white card blank.

The cute whale and starfish were stamped onto smooth white card using Memento Tuxedo Black dye ink and then coloured with Copic Ciao Markers. I used a Copic blending pen to add some lighter highlights and then fussy cut them and added them to the card with foam pads. A small amount of Glossy Accents was used over the eyes and for the whale's water spout. Both sentiments were stamped directly onto the card.

I wanted to add some beach embellishments to add texture and interest and I knew that I had just the thing! A couple of years ago I discovered a wonderful range of tiny pots of sea themed treasures made by a company called Mudd Puddles. I bought mine online from The Carolina Stamper at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, but I understand that the owner has since retired and closed the shop, so now I need to find another supplier for when I have used up my ten little jars of beacheyness (is that even a word?)! Anyway I added a layer of "Malibu Beach" (actual golden sand suspended in a sticky medium) to the bottom of my card panel with a palette knife. When this was dry I added some "Mini Shells", "Beach Mini Pieces", "Beach Glass" and "Sea Glass" (all miniature sized real beach ephemera suspended in an adhesive medium). I absolutely loved the effect so I'm sure that you'll be seeing me using more in future!

In fact I liked it so much that I made a second card (above) - almost identical, except that the Distress Inked background has slightly more of a sandy pattern to it.

Thanks for looking,

Lynn

Pastel Watercolour Wash Background

I decided to make a second card using the same technique as in lesson two (see my post below this one), but this time using Pastel shades of Distress ink. I selected Spun Sugar, Squeezed Lemonade, Bundled Sage and Shaded Lilac and used Bockingford watercolour paper again.

Please click on the above photo for a clearer view.

 

I mounted my watercoloured panel onto a pale pink card blank. The sentiment and basket of wool stamps are both from Newton's Nook "Basket of Wishes" stamp set and I used a black dye ink to stamp them onto watercolour paper. The basket and balls of wool were coloured using the same four shades of Distress Ink Markers, I fussy cut it out and mounted it to the card with foam pads. I think the finished card looks really effective and I will certainly be making more backgrounds like this one.

 

 

Vibrant Watercolour Wash Background

In the second lesson of the online watercolour for card makers classes Laura Bassen showed us how to make great backgrounds using an acrylic block and a selection of  Distress ink pads.

Please click on the above photo for a more detailed view.

 

For my card I chose to use Picked Raspberry, Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed and Peacock Feathers Distress inks and Bockingford 300g (140lb) Cold Pressed watercolour paper. The inks were applied to an acrylic block, one at a time, spritzed with water and "stamped" onto the watercolour paper. The water allowed the inks to blend together nicely, producing a really bright background. I tried this technique a few times - it was really easy and each background was unique.

 

I simply mounted my panel onto a black card blank, added a black die cut from a Sizzix die and embellished with three black gems. 



Sunday Stamper - week 300 - Dream Lover

This week is rather a special one over at the very talented Hels Sheridan's blog http://pinkleart.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/sunday-stamper-week-300-dream-lover.html  - it is the 300th week for the Sunday Stamper challenge! For each of the last 300 weeks Hels has come up with a theme, loosely based on a song title, and has created a gorgeous example of her stamped art to inspire us all to join in. As it's the 300th anniversary of the Sunday Stamper challenge, this week there are several companies sponsoring it and a very generous prize up for grabs for one lucky entrant.

All week I have been deliberating as to what to use to make my entry for the "Dream Lover" theme. I knew straight away that I wanted to use the Catslife Press quote stamp that I acquired recently (thanks Kaz)! But it wasn't until I was able to get into my craftroom yesterday afternoon that I was able to find the perfect image to go with it. This romantic couple from Paper Artsy's Urban Snapshots range - Young Love 4 - fitted the bill perfectly!

Apologies for the poor quality photograph - as per usual I was stamping and taking photos at night! The flash has made the copper areas look more orangey, but in real life they are a bright metallic copper. You can click onto any of the photos for a clearer view if desired.

I gathered together some more supplies - a white card blank, some shiny copper mirror card, thick white card which had been previously sprayed with various pink / purple / copper ink sprays (from Sticky Fingers), some pearlescent pink card, double sided tape, foam pads, some pink gems and everything shown in the photo below. Hels is a great fan of all of Wendy Vecchi's products so I thought it would be appropriate to use the "Art Colours Life" stamp set (which happens to be the only one of Wendy Vecchi's that I own), together with the Large Heart from her Stencils for Art collection.  



I started by trimming a layer of copper mirror card slightly smaller than the front of my card blank, then I cut a smaller panel from the colourful ink sprayed card. I used the central heart shape from the stencil as a mask and inked up the large flower panel stamp below with Victorian Velvet Distress ink before stamping it all over the background to give it a subtle texture. When I removed the mask there was a feint outline of where the heart was, but it needed more definition, so I laid the outer stencil over the flower stamped portion of the card and christened my new Ranger mini ink blending tool with the Victorian Velvet Distress ink to add more depth of colour to the heart. I really like the new little circular ink blending tool as it's ideal to use with stencils and it's easy to control the ink without getting any harsh lines.

I stamped the lovers' image onto white card with Jet Black Archival ink and cut around it leaving a narrow white border. I used the mini ink blending tool and the Victorian Velvet Distress ink again to gently add a little shading to the couple, but I made sure to leave the man's shirt white - if he was anything like my husband he wouldn't be seen dead wearing pink!

This photo and the one below were both taken without flash, but have come out a bit dark. In reality the pink is more of a bright rose pink and what looks like gold is actually a warm copper colour.

The brilliant Catslife Press quote was stamped onto white card using the jet black Archival ink and the corners were rounded with a corner chomper. I then layered this onto a slightly larger rectangle of pearlescent pink card, also with rounded corners, and stuck it to the card with foam pads.

I used a pretty Magnolia Doohickey heart lace border die to trim either side of a strip of pearlescent pink card and added a narrower strip of card, which had been sprayed with slightly darker shades of pink and purple with copper. I used JustRite alphabet stamps (Times New Roman font - 50 pt) to make up the words "Dream Lover" which I then stamped onto the strip of card using the jet black Archival ink again. I trimmed the right-hand side to a fishtail shape and mounted it on the card with foam pads, to help ground the image of the pair of lovers (which I had stuck inside the heart using double sided tape). The final touch was the addition of three sparkly pink gemstones .

I was really happy with the finished card and am now considering making something similar in a cream and duck - egg blue colourway that I can use as a hanging in our bedroom. Watch this space!

Paris in the Spring - Artful Times Challenge 50 - Anything Goes

This winter has felt particularly long and wet and I am finding myself longing for the start of Spring now! I decided to make a card using spring colours and stamps from JustRite (available from Oyster Stamps).

I started with some pale lemon yellow card and stamped the large Paris Background stamp (CL - 03790) with Ranger Jet Black Archival ink. I stamped the portion with the Eiffel tower a second time onto the lemon card, so that I could cut it out and layer it up for more dimension. I also stamped the crown and fleur-de-lis onto smooth white card (for the same reason). I stamped the small label shape from the Bon Voyage stamp set (CL - 02185) onto some pale green card (again with black Archival ink) and cut it out using one of the Spellbinders Labels six dies (S4 - 230).

Using a Ranger ink blending tool with Tumbled Glass and Shabby Shutters Distress ink pads I blended some colour around the edges of the main image and the second Eiffel tower, which I then fussy cut and mounted on the main panel with foam pads. I used the same colours on the small label and then cut a hole in the top to turn it into a tag. The word "Paris" from the Greetings from Paris stamp set (CL - 02195) was stamped in black Archival ink and I used an extra fine black Faber Castel Pitt artist pen to add the words "in the Spring". The frame part of the tag, both the crowns, both fleur-de-lis, the laurel wreath and ribbon bow were all coloured in with Tim Holtz Distress Markers - I used Tumbled Glass, Shabby Shutters, Mustard Seed, Spun Sugar and Shaded Lilac.

I layered the main panel onto pale green card and then onto a white scalloped card blank (it looks a bit pink in the photo, but I think that was because the light was poor as I took the photo at night). I fussy cut around the extra crown and fleur-de-lis images and added them to the card with foam pads. Finally I cut three pieces of seam binding in lemon, pink and lilac colours and stapled them to the top of the tag, which I then mounted onto the card (again with foam pads).

I think that the finished card does have an air of spring about it. I have never been to Paris, but would love to go one day - I can dream! I have sent this card to a dear friend for her birthday. She seems to travel quite a lot, so I hope that she likes it!

I would like to enter this into the Artful Times Challenge #50 - Anything Goes. You can find out more about it here http://artfultimes.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/challenge-50-anything-goes.html . It's the first time that I have entered this challenge, so I hope I've done it correctly!

Sherlock Holmes and the case of the card for Gentleman Jim

Firstly I must apologise for my lack of blogging recently. I have been making lots of things, but I can't show them to you just yet until their intended recipients have seen them!

This year our family have been gripped by all things Sherlock Homes and we're looking forward to the new series of the BBC's Sherlock coming soon (magnifying glasses at the ready)!

Back in June my daughter Jessica took part in an art exhibition at Hopwood Hall College in Rochdale, where she was studying a Foundation course in Fine Art. Her final major project was based upon Sherlock Holmes and included wall art, costumes, props and a huge six foot canvas. She painted a brick wall onto one of the walls of the exhibition space and added a cardboard drainpipe and a wooden hand painted street sign. The street sign now resides in our living room!

 

 

Jess made Sherlock's trademark deerstalker hat and cape from heavyweight tweed fabric, with a cream lining. The results were impressive as she hadn't done much sewing before and she managed to master buttonholes, lining and matching the patterns on all the seams.

 

 

 

A variety of props were displayed on the top of an old upright piano. Jess wanted her Sherlock to be more modern, so she substituted "Baskerville" brand cigarettes for Sherlock's pipe. I showed her how to alter old books by carving niches into them to hold the mock cigarette packet and lighter and we also made one to hide John Watson's revolver inside. The cut edges of the books were coated with Modge Podge to stick them together and the facing pages were open at relevant text relating to Sherlock Holmes. 

 

 

The most time consuming part of the exhibition was Jess' large canvas, which she constructed from a king size bed sheet stretched over a wooden frame and primed before painting. Earlier in the year we had been on a trip to London and had taken photos of Speedy's cafe near Euston Station, where the BBC had filmed part of it's Sherlock series. Jess' canvas shows the cafe, next to the entrance to 221B Baker Street. She added a black cab, as these have frequently featured in the series and are somewhat iconic in London. 

 

 

The exhibition was a huge success and Jessica passed her course with a distinction. She is now at University studying Creative Arts for Theatre and Film, where she gets to paint scenery and make costumes and props - what fun! We are so proud of her!

 

You can see more of Jessica's artwork on her own blog, Wild at Art,  here http://jwildart.tumblr.com/



 I bought a set of Sherlock Holmes stamps by Sam Poole for Creative Expressions as I knew I would get lots of use from them http://www.craftie-charlie.co.uk/creative-expressions-u-mount-rubber-stamps-sherlock-holmes-by-sam-poole.html . I recently made the card below for my friend Jim Hankins, also known as The Gentleman Crafter. Although Jim's birthday was at the end of November he has just received his card today, which is why I can now show it to you (I do wish it didn't take so long for post to reach the USA from the UK and vice versa).  Jim loves Architecture, anything Tim Holtz and Steampunk so I thought he would like this. I used Tim's Ranger distress inks to stamp the background with various small images and sentiments from the stamp set, and Tim's Sizzix brickwork Texture Fades embossing plate to make the brick wall on the left of the card. The wall was also coloured by rubbing it with various distress inkpads after it had been embossed. The Baker Street collage and the rather dapper gentleman were stamped onto smooth white card using Memento Tuxedo Black ink, coloured with watercolour pencils and mounted onto the card using foam pads. Finally I highlighted the watch face and the gentleman's top hat, shoes and cane with glossy accents.

 

 

If you get a chance I highly recommend that you also check out the lovely Jim's blog - http://www.thegentlemancrafter.com/  - be warned though - you will be amazed at some of his work and are likely to be there a while (best make a cup of tea or coffee first)! He is a very talented papercrafter and is kind, funny and an all round nice person to know!

 

Hopefully I will be back tomorrow with another birthday card to show you.

Missing You ...

My sweet daughter is away at University this year, studying Creative Arts for Theatre and Film. She has an aptitude for anything artistic and is really enjoying her course but, although she has made lots of new friends there, she confessed to feeling a little homesick the other week.

To cheer her up I sent her a parcel containing lots of nice fabrics for her Costume Designs and some of her favourite biscuits and chocolate. I also enclosed a hand made card, to let her know that we are missing her too. Now that she has received everything I can show you the card that I made for her.

I started with an A5 card blank and added a layer of "Springtime" patterned paper from Graphic 45's Secret Garden collection. I thought that a sewing theme would be appropriate so I opted to use the Grandma's Attic background stamp from JustRite Stampers http://justritepapercraft.com/search?type=product&q=grandma%27s+attic which I stamped onto cream card using Memento Rich Cocoa ink. I used coloured pencils to add colour to the dressmaker's dummy, cotton reel labels and buttons then I distressed the edges and used a foam blending tool to add a little Antique Linen distress ink around the edges.  The stamping and colouring was repeated twice, before fussy cutting out all the coloured elements and layering them up on foam pads to give a more dimensional look. You can see what a difference the extra layers made in the photo below.

A strip of brown floral washi tape from We R Memory Keepers was added across the bottom of the card, together with some "Wild Saffron" adhesive paper ribbon from K&Company. Then I added a row of "Sugar and Spice"  pink pearls from the Hobby House, alternating between the 3mm and 5mm sizes, to highlight the "lace".  I tied some button twine through a pink button from my stash and added it to the bottom right corner of the stamped image.

I needed to add a sentiment and wanted to balance the layout, so I decided to die cut a label from cream card using one of the smaller dies from the lovely Spellbinders Labels Six set http://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/s4-230-spellbinders-nestabilities-labels-six---6-dies-3647-p.asp . Leaving the die in place I sponged Antique Linen distress ink over the label, leaving it paler in the middle. When the die was removed it left a lovely crisp cream border which looked really effective. I used Memento Rich Cocoa ink again to stamp the "Miss You" sentiment and two small flourishes (which reminded me a little of flowers) from the JustRite Stampers Large Fancy Sentiments stamp set http://justritepapercraft.com/products/large-fancy-sentiments-cr-03815 . I added a couple of 3mm pink pearls to the centre of the flourishes, stuck the label to the card using foam pads - and Voila! 

I am really pleased with the finished card and I'm very happy that my daughter loved it too!