Christmas penguins

 It appears that I have been neglecting my blog in favour of FB and Instagram ..... Time to put that right!

I am sharing this with Craftyhazelnut's Christmas challenge 'Anything Goes'.

I have christened a set of new stamps from Creative Expressions, penguins shaped as baubles!  The images were stamped in Versafine Clair black, then coloured.  I masked off the central one to bring him to the front of the group.  The sentiments are from Papermania (possibly) and Visible Image.

The complete stamped image was then matted onto a Julie Hickey die, I didn't have any coloured cardstock with me, but I do really like the white on white :-)

Sympathy Card - 100 day challenge - blog challenge

 

I find these cards to be the hardest to make, so I don't tend to have any in the box and then end up making one in a hurry when needed :-(  So in line with my new ambition to fill the 'gaps' in my card box, here is the first one.  I am sharing with the current Retro Rubber challenge - Anything Goes.

The stamp is at least three years old and is from Stamps by Chloe.  I have actually been looking for it for a while as it got 'lost' during our move in 2019, then found it in a box it shouldn't have been in, whilst looking for something else!!  I stamped and coloured several images :-)

I am also trying cards in different shapes at the moment, so this became an octagon.  I used silver mirri for the mat and the sentiment - impossible to photograph as always! - and coloured the image with SU markers.  The butterfly and sentiment are die-cut, but I can't recall either brand.  The centre is a separate circle, embossed in a folder. 

See my other 100 days challenge posts over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/craft.cook.repeat/ 

Mother's day card - blog challenge - 100 day challenge

 

I am sharing this with the Cardz4Galz challenge which is Mother's Day.

The image is 'Lovely Lattice' from Stampin Up, the sentiment is from Creative.  Both were stamped in Versafine Clair in grey rather than black, for a softer feel.

I coloured with Marvy alcohol pens and applied Wink of Stella on the flowers only for a nice gleam - that's as close as I get to glitter!

The background is stencilled, using DI's.

See my other 100 days challenge posts over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/craft.cook.repeat/ 

Silhouette blog challenge - birthday card - 100 days challenge

 

I am sharing this with the Countryview March challenge - Silhouettes.

Now I love silhouettes and haven't done any for a while, so there might be more entries to this challenge before the end of March!

The frame is cut on my Silhouette machine (seemed appropriate!), it had been in the 'assorted die cuts' box for a while.  I found a previously inked background and it cut nicely into two squares so you may see the other one soon :-)

The stamps are from Lavinia Stamps (cherry blossom) and Stampin Up (sentiment), over-stamped with Versafine Clair.

Blog Challenge - Use Yellow - 100 days challenge

 

Today I am joining in the Allsorts challenge -Use Yellow

This is a colour really far out of my comfort zone!  But I found some yellow splotchy background paper and in the 'bits' box, a punched out SU daisy which I had previously heat embossed and assembled using three layers.  So I coloured that with SU 'Bumblebee' watercolour pen.

The sentiment is from Stamping all Day, I rediscovered it recently and it is so useful :-)

See my other 100 days challenge posts over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/craft.cook.repeat/ 

Birthday card - blog challenge - 100 days

 

I do like a tic-tac-toe challenge!  I am sharing this with Retro Rubber challenge 153 and am using the line:  Birthday - The Ocean - Blue

The background is done with DiOx inks and an attempt at the salt crystal technique ... which looks OK, but probably would have worked better with the original DI's :-) 

The shells stamp is from Stampendous, one of the wood-backed ones I recently unpacked after our move, it's dated 2001.  I stamped directly onto the background in Versafine Clair Medieval Blue.

I had the narrow frame in my box of die-cuts and it happened to fit the image perfectly!  Love it when that happens :-)  I stamped the sentiment and punched out with an SU punch.

See all my other Instagram 100 days challenge posts: https://www.instagram.com/craft.cook.repeat/

Small decorated box - 100 days

 

I bought this small box from The Works, it was only a couple of quid and I liked the oval shape.  It's still available, at a sale price of £1.50 at time of writing.

For such a small item, it caused me a lot of grief!  I chose to paint it using a Rustoleum chalk finish furniture paint, in a gorgeous ink blue.  Lovely colour, and I have good experience of the brand .... but .... this stuff marks like crazy!!  It needs a protective coat of varnish even on an item which won't be handled much, so if I were to use it on furniture that would be at least three coats required.  But the colours in the range are lovely, so I will be buying more and now I know I will need varnish too :-)

I found the name plate in a box of  'things which will be useful at some point' and applied some gilding polish to make it gold to match the fittings.  That was as far as I got in my planning, the rest was ad-libbed from there!  I have some dark blue veined mosaic tiles so they went inside the name plate, on a bed of gold texture paste because I don't have any grout.  The name plate looked a bit lonely so I added some Venetian marbled paper in shades of blue to sit underneath the plate.  Then the sides looked plain, so I die-cut borders out of the same paper.

Still not enough!  I added gold peel off lines to frame the borders, then decided the top mat needed an edge so found some pearl strips and added some of those to the base as well.

Phew!  It's done ...... Now I have to work out what to use it for :-)

Anniversary card - 100 day challenge

 

The 100 day challenge on Instagram has started early this year, as we all have time on our hands and a need for motivation!

Today I am sharing a card made for the current Retro Rubber challenge 151 - using a stamp more than a year old and the colours red, black, white and grey.  Not quite so easy as you might think!

The Indigo Blu heart stamp is one I found whilst re-organising my craft room (actually I found quite a lot of things, which will be putting in an appearance in due course!).  It is probably around 5 years old.  The sentiment is new, from Creative Stamps.  Both have been stamped / heat embossed in 'Red Geranium' by Wendy Vecchi, my favourite true red.

The paper is from a 6" paper pad I am trying to use up :-)

I have been having a play around with making differently shaped card blanks, this is one of them ...... it was a happy accident after my original intentions took a wrong turn and I had to salvage the make!

Now to save this until March ..... luckily DH does not read my blog or Instagram page :-)

Black and Gold Christmas card

 

First Christmas card of the year!  Though to be honest, I did make it last year ..... but it got lost in a pile before I got to blogging it and I have just rediscovered it :-)

I am entering this into the Cardz 4 Guys black and gold challenge.

From the card base up: gold mat, scalloped mat in pearlescent Graphite (Julie Hickey die), white mat embossed with a dotty embossing folder, and a Christmas die-cut in gold (brand unknown) which was matted onto graphite and the outline cut by hand.  

I was stuck as to where to put the sentiment, but decided on a SU punched shape in graphite and a tiny peel off.

Blog Challenge - anniversary card

I have just unpacked all my wood backed stamps out of storage and had a happy time putting them into their new unit!  It was very nostalgic, so I am playing along with Retro Rubber this week, they have a tic tac toe challenge, as below:

I have chosen the bottom row - pearls, patterned paper and embossing.  The dolphin stamp has a date of 2002 on the label and the sentiment from Stamping all Day has been in my collection for a few years now, though it is still available here, along with many other very useful text stamps.

I stamped / heat embossed both images in white and then shmooshed in a mixture of DiOx inks - Broken China, Tumbled Glass, Peacock Feathers and Mowed Lawn.  Then I fussy cut the dolphins and trimmed the sentiment into a banner.  The mat was die-cut (Julie Hickey) and the patterned paper placed on top, then the image and sentiment were attached with foam tape.  Two pearls at each end of the banner finished it off nicely.

It's been ages since I did any resist embossing, really must try some more :-)

keyword RRCB145

 

Cross stitch update

The boredom factor has set in, a bit.  I did so well over the 100 days, but have rather neglected it since!  More progress made on the hat and a bit of beard :-)
 

Get Well card - blog challenges x 2

I am sharing this with two challenges today - Retro Rubber and Cardz 4 Guyz.  RR has a tic tac toe as below and I have chosen Blue, Rectangles and Patterned Paper.  C4G would like a masculine get well card.

Add caption

The cogs frame die is cut from patterned paper and is from Sue Wilson.  It has a central rectangle for the sentiment from Visible Image, which is around 4 or 5 years old, and I stamped/heat embossed it in silver.  The two mats are rectangles and the light blue is also patterned paper :-)  I have picked up the silver of the sentiment by making a silver frames using peel off sticker lines.

RR keyword: RRCB140

Steampunk clock

For Day 90 of the 100 day challenge, I decorated a clock dial with gilding flakes, noting that it would at some point become an actual clock.  And here it is!
The mdf base was made by my youngest son at school in Year 8, sixteen years ago .... now I have finally got around to using it :-)
The background paper is from the Stamperia collection 'Cosmos'.  I cut panels for the front and sides, having painted around the edges of the mdf in bronze.  These were sealed with Mod Podge and allowed to dry before adhering to the clock with wet glue, so that they wouldn't bubble up under the subsequent varnish.
I then die-cut the gear corners for the front and decorative panels for the sides, dies by Memory Box and Marianne respectively.  The metal cogs/gears in both antique copper and gunmetal finishes were from stash and adhered with Cosmic Shimmer glue, which I have found to be excellent for sticking down metal.
The clock mechanism was inserted (and tested!) so that the dial could be placed accurately.  The dial is a little too big for the base, so I attached tiny feet (originally sold as dolls house furniture knobs) to increase the height just a bit.  Then the dial and hands were attached.
I felt it needed a little more and stuck a row of pearls to the top edge and some more around the cogs/gears at the front and sides.
It will now have pride of place on my mantelpiece :-)
I am sharing this with Sandee & Amelie's Steampunk challenges Summer Special and with the CraftWorld Steampunk Inspired challenge

Cross Stitch update

I had a little break after finishing the 100 days ... :-) But here is the latest update! Yet another shade of pale beige on the beard!! Half of that done, also some more red on the hat.  I have now rolled it right down the frame in order to do the upper wreath and ribbon, after they are done it will roll back up to finish the jacket trim.

Day 100: Scrapbook layout

I have made it to the end of the 100 Day challenge!! At the start I didn't think I would be able to keep it up, so I am well pleased :-)  I have started and finished projects, made huge progress on UFO's and used stash I had never used before!
Today I have a scrapbook page to share.  The main paper is from Stamperia and the central panel is made from two sheets from a 6" paper pad (acid free, I did check!) from The Works.  The reverse of the 6" papers handily had journalling lines, so I used the trimmings to form the journalling bases.
The arrow circle and title were cut on the Silhouette.
There is also some stamping on this page, although the paper has quite a lot of grunginess, I just had to add a few more splats and drops!

Day 99: Thank you card

I am sharing this with NBUS, as it is a brand new stamp set (from SU), which arrived today!  Never has a stamp seen ink so quickly!

The background is done with Distress oxides in Dried Marigold and the new Speckled Egg, both were shmooshed over the panel and over stamped with splotches in both colours.  Then I used Memento black to stamp the SU Queen Anne's Lace and sentiment from the same set.  I didn't want to cut a mat (!) so the panel was then edged in the black ink and affixed to a white blank, I am very happy with this one :-)

See you tomorrow, for Day 100!

Day 98: Cross stitch update

Two more shades of green completed on the right wreath upper middle section and a good amount of white on the jacket trim.

This is the last update during the 100 day challenge, I am amazed by how much I have been able to do, it will actually be finished by this Christmas, with any luck! 

See you tomorrow!

Day 97: Wall Art - blog challenge

My first make with yesterday's backgrounds!  This is a piece of wall art, using a DaliArt butterfly and an old sentiment, which may be Hot off the Press, but I won't swear to it :-)

The background of the die-cut panel (Crealies deckled square) is some smooshed DiOx in Speckled Egg, Shaded Lilac and Cracked Pistachio.  I stamped the butterfly in Versaclair Morning Mist and then very quickly sprinkled clear embossing powder over it, then cut a mask so I could spray over the top.   The sentiment is just stamped, no embossing.

It will go into a black frame, as below, but it's hard to photograph without reflections!

I am sharing this Butterfly with Allsorts challenge blog, who would like something beginning with B.

See you tomorrow!

Day 96: Galaxy backgrounds

Some more play with Distress Oxide sprays ... I was aiming for a 'galaxy' look, so sprayed DiOx inks onto graphite pearlescent cardstock.  I used speckled egg and shaded lilac on the left hand card, then the same on the right hand one, but adding mermaid lagoon and wilted violet.  I don't have a red in a DiOx spray so tried a distress spray stain in abandoned coral - not sure I like it, but it might grow on me, at the moment it looks more like blood drops at a forensic scene rather than a galaxy far far away!
Now I just need to decide what to use them for.
See you tomorrow!

Day 95: Cross stitch update

More work on the trim on sleeve and hat, a start made on some red on the hat, and a little bit of jacket which I had somehow previously missed!
See you tomorrow!