Arctic Antarctic Album

Hello crafters!

Today I have a second inspiration make for our Country View Challenge on the theme of "Wintry Scenes" hosted by Rachel.

This one has been a slow burn project... an album to add photos to. 

Warning this is a photo heavy post! 

The above is the cover below a few pages:

There are pocket pages, waterfall, chipboard and small die-cuts to tuck the photos with. But if you want to see all the pages hop to youtube here where my glamorous,  assistant (no, the hairy arms are not mine!) gives a short walkthrough of the pages.

Supplies:

Paper: Arctic Antarctic collection by Stamperia (since I have been slow in the making of the album this collection is not available anymore...) 

Black tape: Stix2

Dies: pages cut with Tonic Studios Keepsake Book Maker die set, various brands for the embellishments.

To enter the challenge, hop on to our friendly group here and upload your project to the challenge album. You could win a a lovely set of Tim Holtz's Tiny Text Stamps from the Country View Craft shop.

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield       

Autumn has arrived

Hello crafters!

Today I have a first inspiration make for our Country View Challenge held in the Facebook  group. This month the theme is "Autumn Richness" and to celebrate the new season, not that it's my favourite, I chose to make a decor item. 

The base has been recycled from a particularly big wooden packaging, the lightweight kind that comes with some ready made dishes. It was round but I cut it as an Octagon and flattened it (I have worked out that an ordinary steam iron works well for that). 

For the background to the "Autumn" I used the AALL & Create die set Infinarty (#39) and the Lavinia stencil Leaf Trails (ST017) with Distress inks.

I added my title, die-cut with the Sizzix Alpha set 662228 and stamped 2 leaves (stamp from my own collection).

The 3D elements are the fantastic mushrooms moulded with the Stamperia Silicone Mould Woodland Mushrooms (KACMA502) and the fallen leaves a mix of die-cuts and punched leaves from cardstock inked with Distress Oxide inks.   

For now, I have left the knots of the twine as you can see them whilst I mull over how I am going to transform the back into a Winter/Christmas decor piece, but, if possible, I will hide them with metallic leaf brads.

To give you an idea what it looks like in situ in the house: 

To enter the challenge, hop on to our friendly group here and upload your project to the challenge album. You could win the Paper Artsy bundle seen below from the Country View Craft shop.

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield     I am entering the  Allsorts, Simon Says Stamp Wednesday

                                                        Stamping Sensations,   We Love Stamping, 

                                                        Simon Says Stamp Monday challenges 

Coffee and Lace

Hello crafters!
For my second inspiration make for our Country View Challenge, held in the Facebook group, on the theme "Use Lace and Buttons". I once again stayed away from stamping using (finally) some of those hoarded papers!

I created a background with Distress Oxide Inks splatters in Worn Lipstick and Salvaged Patina. Then I simply added my embellishments:

- a piece of Sizzix Thinlits Heart Mandala die (665587 by Eileen Hull),
- 2 pieces of paper from the Stamperia Coffee and Chocolate pad
- a Vintage piece of lace.
- a button threaded with twine.
Another quick card to make, bar the background which needs drying time and the makeover I gave to the button. To make it more interesting and to match the colours, I embossed my button with a mix of EPs.
Whilst I had the buttons and EP on hand, I transformed several at the same time for future use...

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield   I am entering the Simon Says Stamps Monday challenge.

Spring is coming...

And not soon enough! Today I have a Spring inspired card with a floating frame, one of last year discovery for me and now a firm favourite of mine.

The bird is "Sweet Robin Redbreast" by Crafty Individuals (CI-456). I stamped it in grey ink, coloured it in pencils and fussy cut it.

The flowers and leaves are die-cut with Crafters Companion Country Lane Perfect Peony die set, the branch from the Sizzix Thinlits Die Set "Christmas Shadow Box" by Courtney Chilson (663611) and the Spring sentiment, Chocolate Baroque - "Breath of Spring", has been die-cut with a Papertrey ink die set (Memory Clips Die).

I gave a slight hint of sky in the background of my base card with Distress Inks. Then, it was a matter of positioning all the elements and sticking them down with foam pads. You might see the dimension better in this photo:

I will warn you now... another floating frame make will be coming here soon!!!

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield   I am entering the SSS Wednesday, Allsorts, We Love Stamping,

                                                      Stamping Sensations, SSS Monday

                                                      and the Lost Coast Designs challenges

Love tag

Hello crafters!
Today I have a second piece of inspiration for our Country View Crafts Facebook group for the February challenge, where the theme is "All About Love".

On a gessoed tag, I built the background using Distress Oxides sprays in Walnut Stain and Picked Raspberry, stamping partial areas of Stamperia images from the set Lady by Antonis Tzanidakis (WTKAT09). 

When all of this had dried, I added stencilling with transparent texture paste (Ranger/Tim Holtz) to which I added drops of re-inker (Worn Lipstick, Prize Ribbon and Salvaged Patina). The stencil is Lavinia Leaf Trails ST0017.

I put together a cluster on top of a doily cut with 665587 - Sizzix Thinlits Die - Heart Mandala by Eileen Hull.

I used a Tim Holtz/Idea-ology Paper Doll (TH94235) and some Field notes Snippets (TH94049)

The sentiment is in the form of 2 die-cut words (from the TH /Sizzix Thinlits words 660218 Love) and a Wooden heart from my bag of bits is the final touch.

That's all for this month of inspiration at Country View Craft group ... if you want to be in with a chance to win one of the latest Sizzix/Tim Holtz die sets, you'd better hurry and enter our challenge as it closes at 12 GMT today! 

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield   I am entering the SSS Wednesday challenge

Rice Paper Christmas decor

Hello crafters, 

I am back again for a 2nd Country View Challenge inspiration make, where the theme is "Christmas". I have upcycled a coffee jar again for another Christmas table centre piece. Warning this a photo heavy post... 

I used 2 of the postcards from the Stamperia  All Around Christmas Rice Paper (DFSA4808) and scraps of translucent paper with inclusions (at least 20 years old...). I applied the DecoArt Decoupage matte medium to the glass, smoothed the rice paper down and applied a layer of medium on top of the paper as well. 

  

That layer allowed me to add some white Distress crayon on the mistletoe berries to make them pop.	I used a silicone tip to smooth the crayon. I couldn't resist adding some light touches of Distress crayon on the leaves and the bells.	On the tree side I added Enamel accents on the tree, here and there,

Distress crayon on the bells and liquid glass on the baubles.

On the top of the jar I applied gel medium and dusted both glitter and Glamour Sparkle for a frosty effect. 
Some twine and a snowflake pendant serves as finishing touch.

Do click on the photos to get a closer look.

Some photos at night...

  

I hope you will join us in the Facebook group to enter our challenge, anything Christmassy will be welcomed for our Country View Crafts challenge, as long as you use products or brands stocked at Country View Crafts. If you do you could win a £25 voucher to win...

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield   I am entering the Creative Artiste challenge

Christmas decor piece

It's Saturday!! A weekend of crafts awaits... 

To start you off I will share my Country View Craft Challenge  inspiration make for the Repurpose  challenge. 

The glass container is an instant coffee jar, onto which I have spread gesso, gel medium mixed with sparkles and glass beads.

The piece de resistance is of course the collection of leaves, acorns and berries I have moulded with the Stamperia Silicone Mould A5 Woodland Mushrooms : 

If you wondered, the other half of the mould has the mushrooms!

I stuck the elements on the jar with a mix of gel medium and white paint and added varying mixes on top as if covered in snow.

I'm hoping it will be a nice table centre piece for the holidays, especially at night...

The other side of the jar...

What will you make to enter our Country View Crafts challenge and be in with a chance to win the very mould I used? The challenge is run in Facebook and you will have to join our friendly group first.

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield   I am entering the Creative Artist challenge

Recycled box

Hello crafters, for this month Country View Craft Challenge, where the theme is Repurpose, I have given a makeover to a large-ish biscuit box. 

I made a masterboard with Deco Art Mixed Media Fluid acrylics and the Stamperia - Sir Vagabond Aviator New York City stamp set. 

First, I calculated the length of paper I would need to go round the box, plus 1/2" tab to stick the paper onto itself. 

This was the first time I had to call on π since I left school and finally the sweat and tears of those geometry classes were (almost) worth it! The full length of the paper is 20", and with so much space I used all the stamps in the set and had to repeat them too!

Once dry I used Mod podge to stick the paper onto the box, applying the glue bit by bit to avoid it drying before I was ready. 

I finished the top of the box with tissue tape to protect the paper when taking the plastic lid on and off. I selected a piece of patterned paper to stick in the centre of the lid (you can see a bit of it at the back of the picture) to make the red a bit less overwhelming. 

Boxes are my favourite objects to upcycle as they make good storage item at no cost and can be replaced easily for a change of decor or usage. What will you make to enter our Country View Crafts challenge and be in with a chance to win a lovely Stamperia mould? The challenge is run in Facebook and you will have to join our friendly group first. 

 
Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield   I am entering the Stamping Sensations and We love stamping challenges

Desk Tidy with Stamperia

I am back for more inspiration for our Country View Challenge, which I have the pleasure of hosting this month.  Today's project if off the page and on a piece of useful storage that I aged with Stamperia images and crackle paste. 

As is usual in Ikea, I bought on a whim what they call a desk organiser (Tjena series), without an exact idea of how I was going to use it. Because there is a lot of space to decorate (all the boxes side by side measure  18 x 17 cms) I chose to use rice paper collage instead of painting several coats of primer, paints and varnish as that takes a lot of time. 

I always pick up a few sheets of rice paper from the Stamperia collections, again without a project in mind,  just because I like the look of them. (not helping with the overflowing stash situation!!!)

Anyway, perfect time to actually use them! 

Once cut to size I applied DecoArt Decou-Page Matte to the boxes, laid the paper on top and applied another coat of the glue on top, After drying I used a knife to spread a thin coat of Ranger Crackle Paste (transparent). I let the paste dry naturally as the crackle is supposed to more pronounced that way. Then it's a matter of painting a glaze (I used DecoArt Fluid Acrylic Raw Umber) over the whole project, a bit at a time, and wiping the excess off to show off the crackles.

Finally to protect the finish I applied 2 coats of varnish (DecoArt Ultra Matte Varnish).

Your turn to create a Vintage inspired make and link up to the Country View Challenge for the chance to win a £20 voucher for the Country View Craft shop. I can't wait to see what you will make!

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield     I am entering the SSS Wednesday challenge

Timeless

Happy New Year! 

The new year reminds us of the passing time and would you believe it Time is the theme the lovely Evelyn has chosen for our January Challenge at Country View Challenges. Clocks, etc... 

For my first inspiration post, I had fun making this Vintage inspired tag:

To make my background I stuck a piece of Gelli printed paper on a sturdy base. I used a variety of stamps and stencils to build the Gelli paper with Fresco paints.
I added some Tissue tape and embossed all around the tag with Frantage embossing powder in  Aged Rose.
The clock and Timeless sentiment is from a Stamperia sheet of chipboard stickers (Romantic Journal collection)

The lace and flower head are from my bits and bobs box.

Over to you now, have a look at what the DT made on the Country View Challenge blog and link up your project to the challenge for the chance to win a £20 voucher for the Country View Craft shop.

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield   

Travelling undercover

And finally the summer months have arrived, the kids (young and old) will be on holiday and it is time to TRAVEL! Yes Travel is the theme I chose for our Country View Challenge this month. 

And having done quite a bit of that recently, an essential item for globe trotting is...

Well it's hidden here: 

Ok I will give you a clue... 

This is a passport holder, it will protect the document and look different too! 

It's a fairly simple project to make, I used half of an A4 Stamperia Stone Paper and half of an A4 rice paper. I used DecoArt Americana Decou-Page Sealer/Glue Matte 8OZ to bond one to the other and embossed the whole with the Sizzix 3-D Embossing Folder - Quilted by Tim Holtz (665734). 

I highlighted the embossing with Walnut Distress ink although it doesn't show much on the photos.

I used the sewing machine to attach the "border" and added colour to the inside with Distress inks.

Several layers of varnish (matte) on top will ensure durability. 

To hold the passport in place, whilst allowing for easy removal, (some customs people don't like them!) I just added an ordinary rubber band but feel free to use something with more pizazz! 

So I am ready to travel, how about you? And where will you go? Do share with us by entering your project on the Country View Challenge blog and link up your project to the challenge for the chance to win a £20 voucher for the Country View Craft shop.

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield   I am entering the SSS Wednesday challenge

Spring is here

Spring has sprung! Quite literally in the case of my make today, which is my inspiration piece for our Country View Challenge, hosted this month by Corrie. Yes, you might have guessed already our theme is Spring. 

I first used Gelatos for the background and applied Distress Oxides inks in similar colours through the Stamperia Wallpaper Fantasy (KSTDG03)12x12 stencil on top.

The focal image is a stamp from the AALL & Create Stamp Set #529 - In the Wild by Bipasha BK. I stamped it in black Versafine, removed as much colour as I could with a brush and water from the petals and re-coloured with a yellow pencil.

The sentiment has been cut with the 662228 Alpha set and Sizzix Thinlits Die Set - Adventure Words Script by Tim Holtz (660224). I cut the lower case e from the enjoy word and substituted the capital E from the Alpha set.

Over to you now, have a look at what the DT made on the Country View Challenge blog and link up your project to the challenge for the chance to win a £20 voucher for the Country View Craft shop.


Thanks for coming by,
I am entering the Addicted to stamps, SSS Wednesday and Paperbabe challenges.