Challenges & More

Hi you all! It's freezing cold here, but we had some SUN today, so in spite of a thick frost on the fields it was possible to go for a walk. And I have some good news today - I won the drawing over at Simon Says, which means a 50$ voucher - whoopee! Thanks to those who alerted me to my win, Terry and Maura. I was on the blog to look at the theme of the next challenge, but never looked to see who had won. It was a lovely surprise for the weekend!

At 'Artful Times' the current challenge is to use 2 embossing folders. I have made a wall hanging using cardboard, which I distressed with gold ink, and lots of ultra thick EP in gold, into which I also stamped with a LaBlanche background stamp to give some texture. I embossed some scraps of gold paper, using folders from TH and Spellbinders. I printed the image of the girl onto a transfer, and ironed it onto a piece of canvas, frayed the edges and distressed them with DI in Antique linen and vintage photo. I distressed all the 'matting' with the same inks, and layered them onto the cardboard. I tied the 'package' with string, and threaded two of my handmade textile  beads onto the ends. That was it! I am also entering this into the challenge at 'Simon Says Stamp and Show', where the theme this week is 'Embrace the old' - using up old stash, or other things already in the cupboard, or making something 'vintage'. 

The second piece is for the challenge at 'Out of a Hat' creations. This week we had to choose a row from a bingo card, and I chose the row with bling, hat, bow and stamp. All stamps used are from Catherine Moore. I have let Araminta - my bird-lady - star in this one again. She is wearing her best dress, which has been stamped, paper-pieced, coloured and varnished. I gave her a white bow, and she borrowed her Dad's best hat. The chair is also stamped, as is the little branch at the top, and the flourishes. The bling is on the flowers. Araminta thinks she deserves the title of 'Miss Cabinet Card 2013'.

And lastly I have managed to do the first three pages of my calendar for this year, and it's not even the middle of  January! I have decided to use things which I have already made, as there are always plenty of things flying around.

For January I used a piece of paper on which I did some fun stamping in layers, one over the other, some embossed, some layers hardly visible.  I love playing around with things like this. All stamps here are from LaBlanche.

For February I used my umbrella man postcard, as it is often a wet month....

For March I have used a scrap of marbled paper made some time back, matted on red and gold, and mounted onto a piece of dark red card with some gold background stamping to frame the picture.

Well done if you stayed with me to the bitter end, the post somehow got a little loooooooooooooooooooonger than planned!

Enjoy your weekend, take care, and thanks for visiting!

Paint Party Friday and more....

For Paint Party Friday , hosted by Kristin and Eva,  I am sharing a picture I painted when I was in the fourth grade at primary (elementary) school. It is very tattered and torn, I discovered it folded into a large book. I am amazed at all the detail in it, I think I could paint better then than now, or perhaps I just don't try to do things like this anymore. At school you have to do what you are told!

I have started a lot of things this week, but not finished most of them! These two tags/ bookmarks / whatever  have been made from the back of a painting block that I have been using to try out stamps and colours. I just added some colour to the bird, flower and eyes, and then a bit of Stickles. I think things like this are too good too waste! What do you do with your scribble paper?

For the Craftroom Challenge I have made a large tag. The theme is 'Valentines', and I have tried to convey the idea of fading memories of a past romance  The background of the tag has been distressed with antique linen and vintage photo, and stamped with roses, French script, and some Paris motives for a (hopefully) romantic flair. I stamped the next layer of images with Adirondack espresso, before adding the love letter - also distressed and stamped with the same colours. I added some textile violets -- which I found in my fridge!!, some images from CI, and ribbons which I trimmed with home made beads. 

Have a great day you all, have fun, take care and thanks for coming by!

Tag Tuesday Tag and more....

I have a mixed bag to show you today. My Tag Tuesday tag is a day late. This time we are making alphabet tags for the first half of the year. My lady is holding a card which says - 'A is for adventure - dare to be different!'

I had a go at making postcards from paint-chip cards. I am not so sure if I like them or not, but it's always worth trying. 

For the first one I just used a die-cut word and a strip of paper lace from a Martha Stewart punch, and clear varnished it. It's a bit too minimalist for my taste!

I like this one better, especially the quote from Mahatma Gandhi.

Here's wishing you all a great day, take care, have fun and thanks for visiting!

More Postcards.

Hi you all, another week has started, let's see what it brings.  I managed to get out for a walk today. The water level of the Rhine has dropped, and it looks like it's slowly going back to normal, but the water looked so muddy,  the sky was grey, the wind was cold, and I did not enjoy my walk along the towpath as much as I sometimes do. But my cup of hot cocoa on getting back home was good!

I have some more postcards to share with you today, once again made in mixed media techniques, using scraps, paint, die-cut waste, and diverse bits from my bottomless bit box. 

Here I used a  fussy cut scrap of designer paper - I think it was Webster's pages - on a painted background with some added bits and bobs and some hand-doodling.

Here I used the waste from an umbrella man die cut, over some paper which I had used to try out various stamps.  The miri-board shows the reflection of my hands!

Here I made a background of torn paper scraps, painted over with metallic paint. I printed out the picture of Anne Frank, and added a sentence from her diary. The cut off tree and clock symbolise her life, that was cut off because of the abject wickedness of the Nazis. The Hebrew text reads, 'Hodu L'Adonia, ki tov, ki le'olam chasdo - Praise the Lord, for he is good, for he loves the world'

For this postcard I used one of the envelopes that Donna sent me, as these stamps are just too good to hide away. Tissue tape, aqua paint and a cut out of a man who seems to have had a good time complete the card.

My Tag for Tag Tuesday will be a day late this week, so till then, take care, and thanks for coming by!

More This and That

Hi you all, hope you have enjoyed your weekend. I have been busy, mostly doing nothing, and a bit of crafting in between. I have made 2 more mixed media postcards, using stamping, collage, and a bit of this and that.

The Ladies over at 'Out of Hat' issued an invitation to a Mad Hatter's party, and our task this week was to make a reply.  I distressed a piece of speciality stamping paper with gradient colours, and stamped over it with a background stamp from LaBlanche. The bird, hand and wheeled tea-pot stamps are from Catherine Moore; they have beem stamped in black and clear embossed. I coloured the bird-lady's dress with water colour pencils. The column/table is a stamp from LaBlanche. I added a chipboard frame - yes, it's upside down! - and gave the bird-lady a top-hat and a clock to get her ready for the party!

Have a good day, take care, and thanks for visiting!

This and That....

Hi you all. Here in Germany it is wet, wet, wet. The skies are grey, the trees are dripping, and the birds were all sitting dismally on their branches, looking very fed up. I decided to stay home and do some crafting. As this week was wet everyday, I got a lot of crafting and reading done.

In my Christmas parcel from my dear friend  Diane, I found a batch of lovely little tins waiting to be altered. 

One had already been beautifully altered by Diane, using a Gecko Galz image:

I love altering tins, so inspired by Diane's good example, I got to work. I covered the lid with a scrap of paper, and added an epoxy image.

Then I made a little concertina book from a strip of the same paper. I distressed and stamped the paper from both sides, but it is not showing up well on the darker side. I added various images of vintage ladies dancing and moving themselves into artful poses:

I added my text to the lighter side:

And fixed a ribbon into the base of the tin to hold the book:

Then I decided to add some crackle around the image using a crackle stamp, and varnished it over a couple of times to make it more durable.

I made a lot more, too, but I will keep it for another day! Take care, have a good weekend, and thanks for coming by!

Mixed Media Postcards

Hi you all, hope you have all recovered from all the excesses of Christmas and New Year, and are slowly getting back into a creative routine.  I have been busy making postcards the past few days, using various techniques and everything I find in my 'bit box'. I am always trying to use up everything that's in it, but somehow it seems to refill itself every time - it must be those little elves at night, as I often find things there that I don't remember having seen before....

These have been made using old book pages, acrylic paint, various images and scraps, tissue tape,  and some hand doodling.

The right card has been made using the waste from a TH die-cut, and placing some water-patterned paper behind it. I love the groovy, sparkly  retro paper!  The image on the left card is an advert from one of my old magazines from 1899.

The backs of the cards have all been covered in designer paper, and stamped with a postcard image, and with a quote.

As these cards are all rather crazy, I am linking up to Simon Says Stamp and Show Mad Hatter's Party, where 'anything goes'.

Have a good day you all, take care, and thanks for coming by!