Exquisite

Hello crafters!

Today I have a first inspiration make for our Country View Challenge held
in the Facebook group. This month the theme is "Mother's Day/Use a flower(s)"
hosted by Cassie.

I stamped the flowers first and coloured them, thinking I would mask them before the next step. Unfortunately the masking wasn't 100% proof and a lot of my yellow, blue and orange sprays have obscured somewhat the flowers... Still the grainy effect was to my liking so I kept it!

The stamp set is CMS453 "Exquisite" Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous.

Once dry, I die-cut the image and a mat with the AALL & Create Roadway Vistas #78.

To enter the challenge, hop on to our friendly group here and upload your project to the challenge album. You could win the fabulous prize pictured below, one of the just released Paper Artsy stamp set from the Country View Craft shop.

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield       I am entering the Stamping Sensations, 

                                                            We Love Stamping and Polkadoodle challenges. 

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 

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

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

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

Spring in Paris

Hello crafters,

the temperature in the UK isn't spring like at all so it's no wonder we dream about April in Paris!

I made a journal page using lots of my Paris inspired stamps and added spring colours to liven it up.

The background is Distress Inks, Picked Raspberry, Salty Ocean and a touch of Twisted Citron Distress Oxide applied with an acetate sheet.

The stamps are all Crafty Individuals: Singing Merrily (CI-309) top left, bottom right and in lighter colours here and there. Iconic World Views (CI-228) in the photo frame, Just the Ticket Border (CI-498) and Imagine Child (CI-101).

I also used bits of stamps or stamps sets as fillers if they had a Paris theme.

The photo frame is from the So Spring die set by Studio Light, the Eiffel tower is Marianne Craftables Eiffel Tower CR1220 and "Soir de Paris" has been stamped on a ticket die (Happy Days Ticket Stubs Dies By Xcut XCU503150). The butterfly is cut from leftover background (Impression Obsession IO DIE008-I)

Thanks for coming by,

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

                                                       SSS Wednesday challenges

Secret Garden

Hello crafters! 

Today is a special day... I am featuring as GDT on the Creative Artist Challenge blog, where the theme is Anything Mixed Media goes!  I would usually have paints involved for a Mixed Media make but my muse decided otherwise... 
I was itching to use wood again and make a door hanger (see my previous one here) with a garden theme. 

For my base, I die-cut my wood panel (this is very thin food tray wood that I upcycle) and embossed it with the Sizzix/Tim Holtz 3-D Texture Fades Embossing Folder - Lumber (662718).

My background "garden" is a piece of sprayed cardstock in Distress Oxide Blue print, Tea dye and Cosmic Shimmer - Pearlescent Airless Mister in Hello Sunshine.  

All the garden elements have been stamped, die-cut and coloured with pencils and are all from the Crafters Companion Country Lane collection.

For finishing touches I added the embossed "garden" a stamp by Paper Artsy (ELB02) with Cosmic Shimmer in Aurora. It's a very thick EP with lots of small speckles that blew all over which gave that imperfect look (my heat gun is over enthusiastic shall we say!)

Finally, I dug deep into the stash to retrieve Flowersoft! Anyone remember how popular this was? I felt positively virtuous using it as, let's face it, my pot hasn't seen a lot of action and yet, at the time, I had to have it.

I hope you like this make and pop over to the Creative Artist Challenge blog to see all the DT makes and link up to the challenge.

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield   I am entering the SSS Wednesday, Addicted to Stamps and

                                                        Allsorts challenges

Steampunk and textured tag

Welcome to my second inspiration post for the Country View Challenge, hosted this month is by Monika, who chose "Use a stencil or two..." as the theme.
Still under the influence of Tim Holtz I produced this second tag, more masculine and a little steampunk:

 I first stencilled sand texture medium through 2 of the Tim Holtz Mini stencil set #43 and added embossing powders, starting with a bit of Seth Apter, Emerald Creek Vintage Beeswax, then a bit of Aged Copper (Frantage), finishing by Pirate gold , a dark gold.

After the texture medium had dried I "cooked" the EP with my heat gun, then sprayed the tag with several colours of Prima Color Bloom.

My focal point is a paper doll placed on a stamped piece of card (from the Stamperia "Lady" stamp set) with several cogs (665225 - Sizzix Bigz L Die - Mechanical by Tim Holtz) painted with black gesso and "distressed with acrylic paints for an aged look..

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 SanDee & Amelie's Steampunk's ultimate challenge (very sad loss), River of Creativity and Allsorts challenges.

A stencil, crackle paste and embossing powders

Summer is here, although in the UK it has all the hallmarks of a damp squib! Still, when the weather is bad it's time to craft... and enter our Country View Challenge!
This month it is hosted by Monika, who chose Use a stencil or two... as the theme.

I took inspiration from Tim Holtz session on Textures and medium to create this tag.

The stencil is Tim Holtz Mini set #10. I used Crackle medium, but as I didn't have the Ranger one I used the Prima Texture Paste Clear crackle which gives smaller crackles compared to the Ranger one.

This is why, when I added a mix of embossing powders on top, the crackles disappeared, leaving only a slight texture which gives a bit more dimension to the blooms.

For powders I used Wow! in WH01 Apple red, WH06 Lemon, and a mix of WS78 Seaglass, WE13 Skinny Chai Latte, and WS49 Vintage Peacock to get an approximate green for the stalks.

Once the crackle had dried, I sprayed the whole tag with Prima Color Bloom Sprays in Cobalt and Green and inked the edges to enhance the crackles.

Finally the sentiment is from the STAMPlorations Blooming Buds set.
In the (weak) sun you can just see the shine from the sprays and embossing powders.

This exercise reminded me how much I love playing with embossing powders and how good they are on top of stencilled texture media! So go on have a go and link up your project to the challenge for the chance to win a £20 voucher for the Country View Craft shop. 

For more inspiration have a look at what the DT made on the Country View Challenge blog.

Thanks for coming by,
I am entering the SSS Wednesday challenges.

Round up of Lovely makes

Last, but not least, my remaining projects created with the Craft O'clock Lovely When You Smile collection. 

Sorry there was a bit of an interruption but I was dealing a real life stuff as my other half  was in hospital. (No, not Covid!)

First a small book to hold tags, made with a single 12x12 scrapbook paper: 

To decorate the front I used an image from the Junk Journal extras, backed by the "inside" of a square frame and added a ribbon for closure. I used tissue tape (Tim Holtz/ideology) on the spine and edges of the book.

I decided to give a shape to the folded edge for added interest.

All the tags, except the largest, were cut from the Extras. The largest made from scraps of 8x8 paper. 
Of course, I could put other things rather than tags.



My next Mixed Media creation on a round MDF panel, from That's Crafty, on which I stuck a piece of the 6x6 paper pad.
I sprayed Distress Oxide... and I know you will think pink was involved, but no, actually, I used Blueprint and Antique Linen. So I'm guessing there are pink pigments in the Blueprint that reacted with my next layer of crackle!

The focal point is one of the figure from the Extras 12x12 sheet which I fussy cut and watercoloured, before popping up on foam pads, accompanied by other fussy cut elements from the same sheet.

That's all folks... I hope you enjoyed this mini series of posts.

Thanks for coming by,

Let them eat cake

Already mid-month and you only have 2 weeks left to enter our STAMPlorations Theme and Photo Prompt challenge. Don't panic I have some more inspiration for you...

 

I selected cup cakes as my sweet things, using A Snarky Birthday to You stamp set, to create a slimline card.

I first stamped the cupcakes in black ink, masking them as I went along and used the Strung Lights  stencil with sprays, then Distress Inks  for my background.

I coloured the cakes and candles with pencils and added a die-cut sentiment from the Everyday Sentiments set.

After 3 cupcakes the only thing that will be slimline is the card, not the waistline!!!

The STAMP girls are showing inspiration for all the challenges on the STAMPlorations blog so pop by and don't forget to enter our challenge for a chance to win prizes!

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Whenever you shop for STAMPlorations products you can get 20% off with my code: STAMPGIRLCRAFTY

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Thanks for coming by,

I am entering the SSS Wednesday challenges.

     

Quick and efficient makes

Today I am joining my teammates at STAMPlorations to round off our Spring Fling blog hop and linky party which ends on the 31st of May.

This event is a special series of 3 posts celebrating the spring season, hop with us and leave comments on the STAMPlorations blog and the DT blogs and/or link a project of your own to be in a chance to win prizes!!!

I finally received the latest ARTplorations stencils (international post has obviously been affected by the pandemic) and had to give them a whirl!

Today I used the Petals 1 by Helen G. Designs and got a "twofer".

First I created the "positive" background by spraying through the stencil with 3 colours of Prima Blooms.

I then die-cut into the card with the Birthday Wishes CUTplorations and die cut another phrase from  violet card to inlay in its place. I then replaced all of the small bits of "waste" around the violet die-cut before placing the stencilled die-cut slightly offset from its original position, thereby creating a contrasting violet shadow.

This was so easy and CAS I felt it needed a bit more so I added some of my DIY coloured White Frost  ShakerBlends [Come back in June to read about this little experiment...] 

My next card has been created by placing the stencil, now covered in sprays from the first card, upside down on a piece of white card.

I completed the design by adding a sentiment sticker from the Love is Clear Stickers pack and this was even quicker and simpler than the previous card, which made me feel like a total fraud... 

Without distracting too much from the beautiful stencil effect, I added a piercing detail and a halo of Mowed Lawn Distress ink to lessen my guilt!

These has to be one of the most efficient crafting session I have had in a long time... I could have mass produced a few more of these in no time at all, what with the supplies already out!

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May store promotion: All throughout May, products in the SPRING FLING section are 15% off instantly. Don't forget to use my STAMPGIRLCRAFTY code to get up to 35% off on these products and 20% of regular priced items!!!

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The list of today's stops on the hop is on the STAMPlorations blog so come over and check out the team's makes and, if you feel inspired, link a quick make in this post here.

Don't forget to leave a comment before hopping to the STAMPlorations blog!

I am entering the Addicted to stamps and SSS Wednesday  challenge.



       

Vintage Travel Tag

The awful weather and sickness kept us at home all weekend and I managed to get some crafty play...

I made the background with Distress Oxides sprays in Antique Linen and Blueprint, overstamping with Crafty Individuals CI-436 Inky Script Background, embossed in white, and CI-116 Crackle in black.

The larger tag is an image by Rubber Dance and the Eiffel tower is Marianne Craftables Eiffel Tower CR1220 die. I die-cut it from metal and embossed it with a mix of embossing powders, a bronze and a copper. The Travel word from the Sizzix Thinlits  - Adventure Words set by Tim Holtz, also cut from metal and embossed with a mix of embossing powders.

The image is from the Life's Journey 2 sheet and the smaller tags are stamps from the CI-428 It's a man's world set, both by Crafty Individuals.

Thanks for coming by,
I am entering the SSS Monday, Lost Coast Designs, and Paperbabe challenges.

Vintage mail

I love making my own backgrounds (saves me actually using up those lovely papers in my stash!) and I wanted to try Distress Oxides with Tim Holtz resist spray so I created a masterboard.

First I applied Distress Oxides with a brayer on a piece of white paper.

Then I sprayed some of the resist on top and let that to dry before applying more  Distress Oxides.

Another spray of resist….

And a final layer of Distress Oxides to finish, this time adding some of the darker Walnut ink.

The resist spray creates lots of dots in varying sizes which resist water based inks and dry to a shiny finish . The shine is not apparent in the enclosed photo but trust me it is glossy.
[Warning: the Resist spray is extremely sticky, it cannot be removed not even from your craft mat, so spray in a cardboard box or protect your work area with newspaper]

For today's card I die-cut a piece from this master board with the Julie Hickey Layers, Frames & Banners Die Set and 2 other mats from cardstock with the same die set.

My focal point is the postcard image from the Woodware set I had already stamped (see my previous project here) and some die-cut flowers from a Tim Holtz set.

I used Nuvo Drops to colour the flowers and add a little something to the sentiment banner.

Supplies:

Julie Hickey Designs Layers, Frames & Banners Die Set - Rectangle
Julie Hickey Designs I Need It Stamp Set - Everyday Sentiments
Woodware Clear Stamp Set - Old Postcard
Tonic Studios Nuvo Vintage Drops - Bonnie Blue and Chocolate Chip
Tonic Studios Nuvo Crystal Drops Gloss - Dandelion Yellow and Woodland Green
Tim Holtz Alterations Thinlits Die Set - Wildflower Stems #2
Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad – Antique Linen
VersaFine Onyx Black
WOW! Embossing Powder - Seafoam White

Should you purchase any of the products I have used on this card, select  'Design Team'  in the 'where have you seen us' drop down so we know we have inspired you!

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The resist technique I used for the background is fun and easy and I'm convinced it would look fabulous as a night sky or aurora borealis! Perfect for Christmas... no it's not too early for use crafters!

Thanks for coming by,
I am entering the challenges.