Make most of the dies

Hello crafters, 

Today is my debut at the Allsorts challenge blog! 

I have entered their challenges many times over the years, made the Top 5 and won prizes on several occasions and now as the stars aligned I am joining the Design Team!

The theme this fortnight is Use Dies (or Anything Goes) chosen by Sarah.

My card is based on a fancy shape and I have used the instructions from Sam's blog. 

 

Supplies:
Baubles: stamps and dies set Studio Light Essentials (BASICSDC17)
Snowman: Sizzix/Tim Holtz Winter Wishes set (666717)
Centre Snowflake halves: Cards & Crafts for Christmas 2019 

Snowflake border: Die-cutting Essential Issue 58

Leaves and holly from Sizzix Christmas Shadow box set (663611)

Papers from magazine.

First the pop up card is prepared by scoring and cutting following the template. 

Then it's a matter of cutting the paper to fit each panel, of course you can choose to leave some blank to save some time or to keep it more "clean".

This is my first card with that shape and, as it is rather time consuming, not one I would do often but for Christmas, to stand out from the crowd it's perfect

Side and top views:

Hop on to Allsorts and upload your make for the chance to win 3 prizes of Oakwood dies and coordinating stamps. You can enter up to 5 times and worthy entries will earn a place in the Top 7.

Thanks for coming by,
 Craftyfield       I am entering the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday and Polkadoodles                                                                challenges

Fairy Christmas

Hello crafters!
Today my second inspiration make for our Country View Challenge held in the Facebook group is another Christmas card.

I created my own snow globe stencil with the help of a die (Crealies CLCZ08) and applied Elements inks with a smoothie.

With another DIY stencil I sponged white pigment ink to create a hill.

I then stamped the Fairy Fir Tree (LAV478) several times with Versafine ink as well a small tree from the Lavinia Tree scene set (LAV219). 

I added Mia (LAV284) holding a Mini Fairy Lantern (LAV588)

For a finishing touch I splattered some iridescent medium with a brush, more interesting than white for "snow".

2 layers of mats and voila a magical Christmas card! As I write this I am realising that this is quite similar to a tag I made last month here.

To enter the challenge, hop on to our friendly group here and upload your project to the challenge album. a place on Zoe Hillman’s next workshop at the Country View Crafts shop in the new year!

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield       I am entering the challenge Stamping Sensations, 

                                                              We Love Stamping and Lost Coast Designs

Artic Conditions

Hello crafters!
Today I have a first inspiration make for our Country View Challenge held in the Facebook group. This month the theme is, of course, "Christmas"!

I created an Hexagon card (I followed the instructions from this video), which folds flat to 5"x7" for easy posting. 

I added acetate to all 3 front panels, partly to make them more sturdy and partly to allow me more decorative options. As I have been going through a "window" period, I thought the panels would be glass and of course with snow... I added some Tim Holtz/Ranger Grit paste Snowfall with the mini stencil set 43 by Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous (THMST043). I got the inspiration from Tim Holtz himself, although he favours the stencil THS021 for this purpose but I think mine works well too,

The papers are from the Stamperia Arctic Antarctic collection, the snowman, snowflake and ice skates are die-cut from different colour card with the Tim Holtz/Sizzix Winter Wishes set (666717). I used thick thread to lace the skates to complete the realistic effect. 

This Arctic Antarctic collection is not available anymore and here's my advice... any Stamperia collection you like and have a project in mind don't dither! As soon as I saw this one I knew I wanted it for an album, never mind that it took me years to get around to use it (real life did get in the way) but I am so glad to have this collection on hand.

The greeting is Die'sire Words Die - Merry Christmas.

The card seen in different angle and folded flat:

Making this type of card is simple but time consuming so you might want to reserve it for your special people or when you want your card to be noticed on the mantelpiece!

To enter the challenge, hop on to our friendly group here and upload your project to the challenge album. You could win a place on Zoe Hillman’s next workshop at the Country View Crafts shop in the new year!

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield       I am entering the Simon Says Stamp Monday, 

                                                            Simon Says Stamp Wednesday  challenges

Snowy window

Hello crafters, 

Another Christmas themed make today. Last month I was excited to find out I could make a realistic looking window with the help of dies and I thought it would be great to make ones with snow...

I first applied a specialty paper top left with gold. 

On the right hand side I stuck down a paper with vegetal inclusions which I had stamped on with 'Vintage Ads Background (CI-461).

On the bottom left I stamped the 'Just the Ticket Border' (CI-498) 

Behind the window are paper dolls and the Crafty Individuals 'Large Christmas Tree' (CI-462).

All stamps are Crafty Individuals.

The window have has "snow" applied, a mix of thick gel medium and flocking powder,

Finally I added collaged elements, a stamp from Graphic 45 and ephemera from Tim Holtz/Idea-ology Ephemera Pack (TH94396).

Apologies for the reflection in the window! A closer look at what is happening inside...

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield   I am entering the We Love To Create, Creative Artiste,

                                                      Stamping Sensations and We Love Stamping  challenges

Snowy scene with Lavinia

Hello crafters!

I am back for more inspiration for our Country View Challenge on the theme "Winging It" Hosted by Fiona.

I stamped the Fairy Fir Tree (LAV478) several times (1st and 2nd generation stamping) at the bottom of the tag with Versafine inks. I stamped the Moon (LAV431) and masked it.

I stamped and embossed Miniatures stars (LAV152) in white.

I added colour across the whole tag also with Versafine inks and  Smoothies, then stamped Mia (LAV284) to push the moon in place...

To finish I used gel pen on the tree branches and splattered some white acrylic ink over the tag.

To enter the challenge, hop on to our friendly group here and upload your project to the challenge album. You could win all 5 of the newly released Layer It Up Washis by AALL & create from the Country View Craft shop.

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield     I am entering the We Love Stamping, Stamping Sensations,  

                                                         Addicted to Stamps challenges 

Hummingbird

Hello crafters!

Today I have a first inspiration make for our Country View Challenge held in the Facebook  group. This month the theme is "Winging It" hosted by Fiona.

I chose this Lavinia Hummingbird for my Winged creature as it is a recent addition to my stash.

My background is alcohol inks on yupo paper.  I stamped the Hummingbird Small (LAV894) and the Open Dandelion  (LAV745) with Brilliance inks, letting them dry a full 24 Hours before colouring.

Since I didn't have small nib sizes of acrylic or Posca pens, I used water based markers to colour the bird. Those eventually dried, but, being a transparent medium, the background colours do show through.

I wanted the Dandelion in white and tried gel pen on the petals with mixed results: yes the gel ink dried and yes it added a bit of white but not enough to hide the background colours. [Add to shopping list: small nib acrylic pen...].

I then used my new favourite die (AALL & Create die set #32 Numberama) to cut both image and mat, before assembly on a white base card.

To enter the challenge, hop on to our friendly group here and upload your project to the challenge album. You could win all 5 of the newly released Layer It Up Washis by AALL & create from the Country View Craft shop.

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield     I am entering the Allsorts, Simon Says Stamp Wednesday, 

                                                         Stamping Sensations and We Love Stamping challenges 

Layer It Up Washi

Hello crafters, 

I have been playing with some new supplies (for me) and I am quite excited!

I am talking of the Layer It Up Washi tapes from AALL & Create. 

If you are not familiar with these read on...

They come in a 2.5cm wide, 10 meters long roll, with a pattern repeat every 40cm (approximately). A 40cm length can be cut in 10cm chunks and layered one below the other to reveal a complete image. Below is the image I put together on a piece of card with the Leaf Out My Book tape (#101).

The roll will allow you to make some 25 such images, but, of course, you can still use the tape as any other washi!

As to styles, AALL & Create has large variety of tapes including themed ones for Christmas with either cute cats, dogs, foxes, bunnies and bears! (Country View Crafts has them here). Imagine securing your wrapping papers with them!!

Anyhoo, I made this card with the image as the focal point, which I had decided to die-cut with AALL & Create #32 die set to give it a more organic shape than the square I had as in the above picture. I used a partial die-cutting technique as the die is longer than the image.

The background is a Graphic 45 paper (A place in time 6x6 paper pad)  and I cut a mat from Chatsworth, a very old paper pack by Paper Artsy (a collector item, I believe Chatsworth and Thorndon Hall were the only 2 ever made). 

A stamped sentiment completes the card (Sentimentally yours SYC007).

Hope you enjoyed the read and, as usual, thanks for coming by!  

 Craftyfield              I am entering the Allsorts challenge.

Halloween Door Sign

Hello crafters!
Today I have a second make on the Halloween theme for our Country View Challenge held in the Facebook  group. Still inspired by Tim Holtz and his latest release, I made a Halloween plaque to hang on a door.

The base is a recycled piece of light wood (ready meal container). I first tore a large piece of Tim Holtz/Idea-ology Halloween 2024 Collage Paper (TH94393) and glued it in place with Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium Matte, adding smaller pieces on top (insects).

Then I used Lindy's Stamp Gang Starburst Spray  (now stocked at Country View Crafts... yeah!!!).

 
When dry I added Distress Crayons (Halloween  Ranger Tim Holtz® Distress Pearl Crayons 2022 - Halloween Set #4)
I added Ranger - Tim Holtz® - Distress® - Texture Paste - Translucent  and sprinkled several colours of Wow Embossing powders (Violine, Grape, Chai Latte, Olive).

I added ephemera  (Tim Holtz® Idea-ology™ Halloween 2024 Ephemera Pack TH94396), a paper doll (Tim Holtz® Ideaology™ TH93555), a sticker (TH94263) a die cut number (AALL & Create #32 - Die-cutting set - Numberama)  and a hand drawn pumpkin. 

The book is made of 2 pieces of  ephemera folded and glued together, a book of magic spells maybe... 

To enter the challenge, hop on to our friendly group here and upload your project to the challenge album. You could win the Halloween Whatnots stamp set from Tim Holtzs' latest release!

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield     I am entering the We Love to Create, Allsorts, Creative Artist, 

                                                           Simon Says Stamp Wednesday,  challenges 

An Old Tale

Jumping from Autumn to winter...

A second post today with a non Halloween make for you!

 The paper I used is from an older collection by Stamperia, Winter Tales, magical and so beautiful with its icy blue colour scheme.

The panels have been die-cut with the Shadow Frame Box die set by Tonic.

To show you all sides of the box I had my glamorous assistant's help to create a video, alas, the lighting conditions were not perfect!

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield   I am entering the Simon Says Stamp Monday, Allsorts, 

                                                         and Polkadoodles challenges

Spooky trees

Hello crafters, 
It seems all crafting energies focused on Halloween... 

As I don't have many choices in my stash, I used non themed stamps and tried to give my scene a spooky vibe. Hope it worked!

The background is Distress Inks and the stamps are from CI-259 'Four Tree Landscapes' and CI-450 'Listen to the Trees' stamped in Versafine black. Interestingly, I had never noticed that one of the tree exist in both sets but flipped horizontally (trees either side of the moon).

All Halloween colours present, including the green supposed to give a spooky feel to the moon.

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield   I am entering the Allsorts, Stamping Sensations, We Love Stamping

                                                        and Lost Coast Design  challenges

Druggist Window

Hello crafters!

Today I have a first make for our Country View Challenge held in the Facebook  group.
This month the theme is "Halloween"

For my card I took inspiration from a great lover of all things Halloween, Tim Holtz!

I started by applying a large piece of Botanical Collage Paper (TH93705)  to my base and gave it a Vintage look with Antique Linen Distress ink. I also coloured the flowers and leaves with Distress crayons (Halloween #4 set).

Then, I used Distress Collage Medium Matte to add pieces of the Tim Holtz/Idea-ology Halloween Ephemera Pack (TH94396) and a paper doll.

Inspired by Tim's windows (TH94390 Baseboards Halloween 2024), I created my own with rectangle dies and a piece of acetate. 

I finished the card by adding more ephemera, a sticker (TH94263), zig-zag sewing on one side and matted the whole onto a black card.

To enter the challenge, hop on to our friendly group here and upload your project to the challenge album. You could win the Halloween Whatnots stamp set from Tim Holtzs' latest release!

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield     I am entering the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday and

                                                         the Allsorts challenges 

Signs of Autumn

Hello crafters!

I am back for a second inspiration make for our Country View Challenge held in the Facebook  group, still on the theme of "Autumn Richness". This time I used the colours of Autumn for this whimsical scene.

I started by a Distress Oxide sprays background (Tea Dye, Picked Raspberry and Walnut Stain).

The stamps I used are all Lavinia, stamped with Versafine black:
- LAV 564 Mini Forest Mushroom

- LAV 630 Mini Seed Head

- LAV 745 Open Dandelion

- LAV 859 Scout Small

I gave a hint of a hill for the scout to stand on, and the plants to rise from, with some Distress ink. 

To mat my focal image, I made a decorative mat by cutting the same border die (Spellbinders Borderabilities Lattice Borders 2 S4-218) on all four sides of a piece of red cardstock. One way of making use of these old dies which never seem to see the light of day!

To enter the challenge, hop on to our friendly group here and upload your project to the challenge album. 

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield     I am entering the Stamping Sensations, Allsorts, 

                                                         We Love Stamping, and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenges

Autumnal shaped card

Hello crafters, 

Recently I have seen a lot of Hexagonal cards and as they do look impressive and different, I decided to have a go myself.

I followed the instructions from this video by a British crafters, it's not particularly difficult, as long as you can measure and cut your mats accurately (or you have dies to do the job!).

The papers I used are from Crafty Individuals (Weekend in Seville) and so is the "Counting Toadstool" stamp (CI-574) that I have fussy cut partially and coloured with pencils. 

I added some die-cut and punched leaves and voila...

I hope you like this one and do tell if you knew of this shape card and have made some yourselves.
Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield   I am entering the Simon Says Stamp Monday, Allsorts,
                                                      We Love Stamping, SnarkyStampers, Addicted to Stamps challenges

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 

Blast from the past

Hello crafters, 

An oldie but goodie today... both in supplies and technique!

I first smooshed bright inks all over my cardstock and applied black ink to an embossing folder (on the flat side) giving that contrast of bright against dark. The folder is an old Cuttlebug/Provocraft and if I remember correctly the one that convinced me I "needed" a die-cutting machine!

The quote is from the "Life is so much Better" stamp set designed by my crafty friend Brenda from Floral Fantasies. I then die-cut it with another oldie, possibly Nellie Snellen (anyone recognise it let me know, it's some 15 years old and I have lost all details!).

There you have it, an easy card but eye catching.     

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield   I am entering the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge, 

                                                         We Love Stamping, Stamping Sensations and Allsorts 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.

Bridge over Calm Water

Hello crafters, 

I indulged in scene making with Lavinia stamps... 

The stamps used are: 
- LAV72 Fantasea
- LAV866 Sacred Bridge Small
- LAV003 Bulrushes
- LAV478 Fairy Fir Tree
- LAV760 Oakleaf

For colouring I used Distress inks, coloured pencils, pastel pencils and gel pen.
Looking at it now, I'm thinking the perspective isn't brilliant and the morning light is a bit too subdued. Room for improvement... 

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield   I am entering the Addicted to Stamps, Allsorts and

                                                       Stamping Sensations challenges

Lazy Summer's Day

Happy Sunday readers, 

a quick card for you today on the theme of a lazy summer's day for some August birthday boy (when I say boy, read OLD boy!!). As it happens, today is sunny and HOT in my area of the world and a bit of "far niente" under the greenery is just the thing...

The image is composed with 2 stamps from the Sunday Morning (SA-5014) set from Stamp Addicts.
The background has been simply created with Distress Inks, the stamping made with Versafine inks in both black and green.

Such an apt image for siesta afficionados...

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield      I am entering the Simon Says Stamp Monday, 

                                                           Allsorts, Stamping Sensations, Addicted to stamps challenges

Vintage vibe and glitter

Hello crafters, 
I have been in a Vintage mood lately and decided on a Mixed Media play for a door sign.

I used Distress Oxides sprays as well as Prima Blooms sprays to add a bit of lustre to the background.
I added some stamping with Versafine inks not realising that they would not dry on top of the Prima sprays... Having smudged some of the stamping, I had to use clear EP to preserve the stamping. The stamp I used is Crafty Individuals 'Just the Ticket Border' (CI-498).

For my focal point, I die-cut a doily with a prima die and embossed it with a mix of Peacock and Seaglass Wow! powders which have glitter in them.
The large tag is 'Chunky Vintage Typewriter Tag' (CI-455) also from Crafty Individuals, stamped and embossed with black EP.
Embellishments are Ephemera Field Notes Snippets (TH94049) and Tiny Clips (TH94025) both Tim Holtz® Idea-ology™, a paperclip adorned with a button and a piece of washi tape (AALL & Create #13 - Fasteners).
Finally, I added mini brads at the 4 corners the top ones fixing the wire that will be used to hang the sign.

Another photo to (hopefully) show the shine:

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield   I am entering the Allsorts, Stamping Sensations and 

                                                       Addicted to Stamps, challenges

Lace and Buttons

Hello crafters!

Today I have a first inspiration make for our Country View Challenge held in the Facebook  group. This month the theme is "Use Lace and Buttons".

I created a shaped card using a Spellbinders die on one side of my base card.

The paper is from a freebie pack (Melissa Frances). I added lace that had been donated to me, a Prima flower and a button, all of those so old as to be rightly referred to as antiques...

For something new, albeit in a Vintage vibe, I added several elements from a pack of 49 And Market Mini Laser Cut Elements (Krafty Garden). 

If you want to make a card in a hurry, without any stamping or inky/painty mess, these elements are ideal! Feels like cheating...

To enter the challenge, hop on to our friendly group here and upload your project to the challenge album. You could win this fabulous stamp set from Tim Holtz/Stamper Anonymous latest release donated by Country View Craft shop.

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield     I am entering the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday 

                                                          Simon Says Stamps Monday and Allsorts challenges

All About the Gold

Hello crafters!
Today I am showing more Stencil Magic inspiration for our Country View Challenge held in the Facebook  group. This time I have used stencils with foils... 

I applied DecoArt Black Gesso as the base for my page. When dry I collaged a printed image (freebie) to this background with DecoArt Decoupage medium.

I then used several stencils (Mini Stencils sets 28,35 and 39 all from Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz with Cosmic shimmer Flake and Glitter Glue. This medium allows foils, metallic flakes or glitter to be applied on top, any time after drying, so there is no need to hurry up. Washing the stencils immediately though is strongly recommended....

I used 2 types of foil, Stix2 foils which work with adhesives and Go Press foils which are designed to work with heat (think Hot Foil Plates) but also work with the glue. I used both types because I wanted to have the 2 shades of gold.

I added colour around the gold stencilled areas and to darken or lighten certain "lost" areas of the image, such as the eyes with pencils, water based pens and gel pen (I tried different medias with varying degree of success).

With the foil reflecting light and surrounding colours getting a picture that gives a good idea of what the page looks like in real life has been difficult so here are 2 other photos in different lighting, the first taken with the sun on the page and the second in artificial light at night, 

In hindsight I should have painted the back of the image behind the woman with white paint or gesso to get the areas to shine through, whereas with the black Gesso she looks a bit too dark and that's without considering her decidedly morose outlook... 
Still, the end result gives a good impression of a centuries old painting, which I'm not unhappy with and I certainly had fun making this project.

To enter the challenge, hop on to our friendly group here and upload your project to the challenge album. You could win the FULL set of newly released Ranger/Tim Holtz® Distress Spritz 😲, yes you hear that right the FULL set... so what are you waiting for!!!

Thanks for coming by,
 Craftyfield   I am entering the Creative Artist, We Love To Create, 

                                                           SSS Monday, SSS Wednesday and Allsorts challenges

Beach games

Hello crafters, 
Although the British weather yet again disappoints, my thoughts are definitely turned to sunny beaches... 

 

The stamps are all Crafty Individuals: "Sandy Toes & Salty Kisses" (CI-459) and "By the Sea" (CI-454).

I used Versacraft and Brilliance inks to stamp and coloured the image with pencils.

I think the card is crying out for additional details, maybe some stitching or inking all around and some more detailing of sea and sand with pencils but... I chickened out having already spoiled my first attempt!

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield   I am entering the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge 

                                                        We Love Stamping, Stamping Sensations and Allsorts challenges

Stencil technique with gel medium

Hello crafters!
Today I have a first inspiration make for our Country View Challenge held in the Facebook  group. This month the theme is "Stencil Magic".
With different techniques and mediums, the possibilities are endless...
My tag uses medium with a stencil to preserve a colourful background: 

For the background I used my most colourful Distress Oxide  Inks. 

I then applied gel medium through one of the Tim Holtz Mini stencil set 10 (THMST010).

 

 

When dry I added water splatters, and Distress Oxide spray in Tea dye, wiping the inks off the gel medium. 

The focal image is a Paper Doll accompanied by several Field Notes Snippets, a doily die-cut and a butterfly die-cut from an inking session leftover piece of card. I also gave my lady a bit of tissue tape (old Ideology/Tim Holtz) to stand on, coloured with inks.

I added some liquid glass beads which came out yellow as they picked up the underlying tea dye pigment rather than stay clear...

Not for the faint hearted but instead of a light coloured spray you can use a dark ink instead for maximum contrast.

To enter the challenge, hop on to our friendly group here and upload your project to the challenge album. You could win the FULL set of newly released Ranger/Tim Holtz® Distress Spritz 😲, yes you hear that right the FULL set... so what are you waiting for!!!

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield     I am entering the Allsorts and We Love To Create challenges