Pink Christmas

Hello crafters, 

This fortnight, I am hosting the Allsorts challenge and chose the optional theme as "Christmas". As usual, you can also enter with an "anything goes" theme.

Pink is unusual for Christmas cards, but, I was inspired by our Allsorts leader Brenda's gorgeous card and had to try it for myself!

The focal image is from a freebie set included in Simply Craft and Papercraft Issue 237 (Winter Woodland). I simply inked it with different shades of pink and left it at that for a CAS look.

But I did have to mat the image with several layers of die-cuts to fill some of the A6 card size (14.8cm x 10.5): the white and the blue shapes are from now defunct 🥹My Favorite Thing, Blueprints 13, the postal shape is from the AALL & Create  #87 Quirky Post die set.

Finally I stamped the sentiment with a very old magazine freebie set.

And voila... a vision of Christmas in pink! It will not be my go-to colour for the holidays but I think it will feature occasionally!

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And...I have a bonus make for you as I finally got around to make a Christmas décor piece!

I made this on the reverse of my Autumnal panel and you can read the details for the wooden base here.

  

The paper is a freebie from magazine, die-cut with AALL & Create #39 - Infinarty die set. The sentiment is from Tonic Studio and, as it happens, one of the prizes on offer at Allsorts this fortnight! 

The berries, acorn and leaves are made with the Stamperia Woodland Mushrooms mould and I added some pine die-cuts from a number of dies.

I gave all my embellishments some "snow" with white paint, flock and some sparkles (Stamperia).

A closer look :

I am entering this make (with Tasty Berries...)  in the Outlawz Saturday challenge

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Hop over to the Allsorts challenge blog to see all the DT inspiration and upload your projects. There are two prizes of stamps, stencils and dies pictured below for lucky winners, all Christmas themed!

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield   I am entering the pink card in the  Lost Coast Designs, Outlawz,

                                                         Stamping Sensations, We Love Stamping, 

                                                         Outlawz Challenges Friday and Addicted to Stamps & More                                                                       challenges

Butterfly Box

Hello crafters, 

This fortnight, the Allsorts challenge optional theme, chosen by Ellie is "I spy B". As usual, you can also enter with an "anything goes" theme.

For my make I chose Butterfly and made this box:

The focal image is built up with AALL & Create #113 Washi Tape "Nostalgic Post" , and matted on Paper Artsy Chatsworth paper.

The box itself is made with the Shadow Frame Box die set by Tonic.

For finishing touch I added a butterfly die-cut with Sara Signature Country Lane Swirled Butterflies by Crafters' Companion, which doubles up as a lid pull.

 

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Hop over to the Allsorts challenge blog to see all the DT inspiration and upload your projects. There are two prizes of coordinated stamps and dies pictured below for a lucky winner!

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield   I am entering the  Simon Says Stamp Wednesday, Outlawz and

                                                         Outlawz Saturday challenges

Mad as a box of frogs

Hello crafters!
Today I have a first inspiration make for our Country View Challenge held in the Facebook group. This month the theme is "The Great Outdoors " hosted by Jane.
For my first inspiration post I upcycled a box.

I started by painting the sky with Paper Artsy Fresco paints, chosen for their matt aspect. I faded out the sky to the green of the box which I left unpainted so I could stamp on it. I added clouds and painted the pond again with Frescos.

The Bulrushes is a Lavinia stamp (LAV003) and although I originally used the Forest Moss set, also from Lavinia (LAV857), to stamp the rocks, I ended up painting them with acrylic paints as they didn't look right.




The focal point is of course the frog, sat on a mossy "bench" resting on rocks. All of these and the flowers on the right are rub-ons from Stamperia's Hidden Grove collection. 

Until now I hadn't used rub-ons in creative ways and I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the design and how easy they are to blend into one's creation. [New ones have been added to my wish list...]

To finish I applied DecoArt Raw Umber paint with a sponge to create a border. 

How cute is that frog!!!

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To enter the challenge, hop on to our friendly group here and upload your project to the challenge album. You could win a a fabulous Paper Artsy floral stamp set designed by Alison Bomber.

Thanks for coming by,

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

                                                              We Love To Create, Creative Artiste, Polkadoodles, 

                                                              We Love Stamping, Stamping Sensations challenges

Matching pairs

Hello crafters,

We have a new theme this fortnight at Allsorts, "Matching Pairs", you can also enter with an Anything Goes option. I have chosen to make a bag and matching tag with some gorgeous and very old papers!

If like me you have a plethora of paper that you cannot bear to cut into, this project is for you!

To make the bag I followed Nigezza's tutorial here. The tag I die cut (partially) from another piece of paper of the same paper. 

Supplies: 

Paper: Chatsworth by Paper Artsy

Sentimentally Yours:  Essential Sentiments SYC007.

Die set: AALL & Create #33 Splodazzlers

Hop on to Allsorts and upload your make for the chance to win 2 prizes of Lavinia Stamps. You can enter up to 5 times and worthy entries will earn a place in the Top 7.

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield   

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

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 

Seaside panel

Hello crafters!

Only a week left to enter our "Seaside" challenge at Country View Challenges held in the Facebook  group and I have some more inspiration for you. 
This is a plaque that will be hanging from a door.

The base for my plaque is recycled wood from food container (unused).

The other elements are from a pack of Stamperia Decorative Chips - Sea Dream Sea Shore (SCB53), they are, like my base, made from wood. Now this is an old collection, but I tend to grab the Stamperia items that I like even if I don't have a project in mind, because they tend to go quicky.

If you wanted to do a project like this one, they are plenty of alternative packs of chips on various  themes such as dance, couture etc...

I first painted the background on the wood panel making sure I had the right colours where the chips had opened areas. I also painted the lighthouse chip, first with gesso then colours using DecoArts Mixed Media Fluid acrylic paints.

The words chips were embossed with white followed by Wow! Blue Pearl embossing powders.

This is a really easy way to make a "painting" without any actual drawing skills and I have enjoyed making the process and am quite pleased with the result.

To enter the challenge, hop on to our friendly group here and upload your project to the challenge album. You could win a seaside inspired bundle by Art by Marlene.

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield     I am entering the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday and Monday                                                                       challenges, and the Allsorts 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

12 Days of Christmas Treat box

Today I am showing  my second inspiration piece for our Country View Challenge. 

Initially my idea was to create an advent calendar with 24 boxes but I realised the finished article would be too big and as I could only gift the calendar after the 20th of December it was a bit meaningless. So instead, I figured a "12 days of Christmas box" would be an adequate replacement. 

I used Graphic 45 papers to make 12 match boxes and covered 2 sturdy pieces of cardboard to serve as top and base for the box tower.

Before assembing the boxes I added a brad through an eyelet to create a draw knob and die-cut numbers from 1 to 12. 

Finally I glued a first layer of boxes on the base, alternating the position, which create a square shape, with an empty square in the middle. Then I stuck the other layers on top and added the top cardboard to finish.

 I am planning to fill each box with an array of treats, mixing the traditional chocolates with dried fruits all wrapped in tissue paper.

Your turn now to create something on the theme "Christmas" in our Country View Challenge. You could win a £ 20 voucher if you link your project...

 Plus there is still 4 more days of Advent offers at the Country View shop!

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield   I am entering the Allsorts challenge

Personalised gift

For my second inspiration make for our Country View Challenge, where the theme chosen by the lovely Monika is Birthday (card or gift), I made a keyring tag and a box to present it with. 

The box is actually quite small, 7x5x2 cms (approximately 2"x2"3/4x3/4"), just big enough for the gift. 

This is a matchbox style made out of sturdy cardstock and decorated with scraps of paper. 

You can find a matchox die by Tim Holtz here. 

Enough with the box, if you came from the Country View Challenges blog you will be on tenterhooks to see what is inside!!!  so there you are: 

I have used thin pieces of leather, offcuts of the materials used for the hardcovers of books as "standard leather" and some thick pleather would require steel rules dies to be cut properly.  

Or you could fake it with embossed cardstock, Tim Holtz has designed a fabulous 3D folder this year... 

  

Since I was using thin dies my tag needs a core of a flexible but tough material and I used a bit of my Grunge Paper (Ideology), sadly retired, for my first die-cut. 

I then die-cut 2 more of the tag shape from the thin leather (for the front and back of the Grunge Paper tag) and die-cut the initials from one of them.  

Then I die cut just the letters from a contrasting piece of leather.

The only thing left to do is assemble the layers, add an eyelet and the keyring mechanism (mine was recycled).

You can vary the shapes, circles, hearts, birds and more are all suitable..., decorate the back as well as the front (reverse the colours for example), change the materials stiffened (or painted) fabric would also work... let your imagination run wild!  

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    I am entering the Allsorts challenge.