Thanks to my lovely friend...........

Hello Bloggers/Friends,

I shared a topper with you I'd made whilst playing the other day and promised to share the finished card, so here it is......

My friend Jane bought the stamp for me last week as I admired it whilst we were at a Craft demo event in Glasgow......she sneeked up to the till & bought it whilst I was trying to decided which other stamps I could afford!! So I thought it only right to make a card using the stamp to say thank you!!!  I used an 8" x 8" card base, which I partly covered with the lovely pink bazzil card stock and then stamped the other side of the card with versamark and dusted over with Heirloom gold Perfect Pearls.  The main image was  stamped with memento black ink and coloured with promarkers and mounted onto a mat cut using the Timeless Rectangles Spellbinders die cut, and to finish it off I used a sizzix corner die and some black pearls.  Hope you like the card as much as Jane did - she was thrilled with it!!! 

I'd like to enter this into the Craft Room Challenge where the theme set by Nikki (former DT member) is stamp your own background.  Their fab sponsor is The Stamp Man who is offering a £10 voucher to spend online to the lucky winner!!!  Thanks for dropping in, hope to see you again soon.
I'd also like to enter this card into Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge, which is Favourite ink , (memento used when coloring with promarkers)

Take care & Happy Crafting!!

Ann x

Paris in the springtime........

Over at Out of a Hat creations, the design team have set the challenge of A Postcard from France........welcome to my interpretation of that!!  I used the new Distress Paints to create my background, I swished broken china, mustard seed, pickled raspberry & spun sugar onto my craft mat then spritzed with water & wooshed my cardstock through it, dried with heat tool, then added more water & heated again, repeating this process this I got the desired effect.  Using Clarity stamps & archival ink I stamped my images & edged my card with chipped sapphire distress ink.

I thought I'd also share this topper which I made today also.......still to be added to a card, it also has the Paris theme.  My friend Jane bought this stamp for me at the weekend, so I thought I'd use it to make a thank you card for her!!!

I will post a picture of the completed card later too........
Thanks for visiting - hope to see you again soon!!
Happy Crafting

Ann x

Artful Times.........

This is just a quick card I'd like to share with you today.  Over at Artful Times Challenge Blog, the theme this week is "Less Is More" and I hope my card fulfills just that!!  The stamps are from Damselfly Crafts and I've used vintage photo distress ink to stamp and water colour my image.  Hope you like it?
Thanks for visiting.......all feedback much appreciated.  Have a great day!

Happy Crafting

Ann xx

It's not unusual.........

.......For me to try something different!!!  Well as you probably realise I'm not really a scrapbooking type of gal, but I do like to think I can give most things a go, so I'd like to share a layout I made 'Finnabair' stylee.  It's one of the very few photo's I have of my mum, dad & son together before my dad became very ill. (my son is 26yrs old now).  My dad passed away in 1990.

 The paper I used for the Layout is from the 7 Dots Studio, Domestic Godess range. A variety of embellishments from Prima & Tim Holtz, some masking, spritzing using distress inks. Luminarte sprays and a few Prima stamps too.

Please let me know what you think of my attempt at scrapping......all feedback appreciate, good or bad!!  I'd like to enter this into The Allsorts Challenge 204 - Anything But a Card.

Have a great day!! ......Happy Crafting.

Ann xx

Turquoise Fusion..........

Over at Country View Challenges, this month Brenda & the design team have set the theme of butterflies...........as I have quite a few butterfly stamps, easy peasy, right???  Almost....but not quite!   At the weekend my Godmother gave me some money for my Birthday, so I bought my first few Distress Paints, which I've been itching to get my mitts on and today I got the time to have a wee play - oh my, they are just lush!!  I made my background using, broken china, chipped sapphire, spun sugar & pickled raspberry.  I squished them onto my craft sheet & spritzed them with water then just dragged my card through the paints until I got the desired effect.  Then the problem arose, I didn't want to stamp too much over them, as I loved the effect I'd achieved........sad I know.  So I opted for a saying & a butterfly embellishment instead, LOL!!!  Hope you like the finished result.

 The flourish stamp in the corner is from Wendy Vecchi Studio 490, Botanical Art set. Doily is a memory box die & sentiment stamp is from Inkylicious.  The butterfly is a bead from my stash.

I'd also like to enter this card in Sunday Stampers challenge, where HELS has set the theme BLUE.  Thanks for looking, hope you can drop by again soon!!

Happy Crafting

Ann xx

A special gift.....

 Hello Bloggers.........Time to share another little box with you!  This is one I made for my mum for Mothers Day, above is the front cover of a little booklet when opened out contains a box with some tea lights.

Above is the inside of the booklet - as you can see the box holds six little tea-lights, or it could be used for soap or sweets. the choice is yours!!

I used a few colours of Distress Inks, and distressed all the edges of my patterned paper which is from Hot Off The Press, the stamp I used on the front cover is from Crafty Individuals & I used my distress inks to colour her too.  I also used one of the new Spellbinder dies to create the opening on top of the box, the left over piece was made into a tag.

There is a brand new challenge blog called Country View Crafts' Challenges & their theme is Pick & Mix/anything goes.......well I'd like to enter my box/card as it's been quite some time since I entered a challenge!!  Hope you like it - my mum was thrilled with it.  Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Crafting

Ann xx

Boxed In.......

Hello Again!!

Well Mr Mojo has most definately left the building & me staring at a lot of crafting goodies needing to be 'played' with!! You know how horrible it is when you get all your inks etc out & nothing happens.......Hello!!  I've been that way for a few months now, but still have a weekly class to plan for, which I can do but just can't seem to play & enjoy crafting for me.  On Tuesday this week I went to Edinburgh for the day to visit my lovely friend Astrid, and just exploring all of Astrids gorgeous craft room & goodies got me playing again!!!
We had a fab day and I made the beginnings of a little box, which I finished when I got home!! 

The papers I used were 7 Gypsies Treasured Moments (from Astrid's stash) and some distress inks around the edges to tone down the paper a wee bit.

Inside of the box, equally distressed!!!  And the little tag on top was cut from the new spellbinders Framed Tags One set, cut, embossed & inked with victorian velvet distress inks.

Thanks Astrid, Anni & Yvonne for a fabulous day out & a big dose of inspiration, giving Mr Mojo a nudge back to life.....ha ha.   Thanks for stopping by & as always I appreciate any comments, good or bad (well within reason!)
Happy Crafting

Ann xx

Hello - Is it me you're looking for???

It's been quite some time since I last blogged, hopefully I'll get back into the swing of it again.  I haven't been MIA - I've still been crafting and making all sorts of things, just never got around to blogging them!!!

Anyhoo - Here I am & ready to share some cards I made this week.   The group of Ladies I teach on a Tuesday decided they'd like to make some Male themed cards, these are the samples I made for them to follow. Hope you likee & do return for some more bits n bobs in the coming days/weeks!!

The stamps I used are from the new Papermania Chronology range.  I made a background for my card using 3 small cog stamps & randomly repeated a sort of pattern using distress ink, then stamped the main image and added some shading & glossy accents on the clock faces for a bit of dimenson.

The small card was embossed with the mini Umbrella man folder then I used black soot distress ink to make him pop out!

Thanks for looking and hope to see you back soon!!

Happy Crafting

Ann xx

I hope everyone's had a fabulous Christmas & looking forward to all 2013 has to offer us!! Take care & I wish you all a healthy, happy & prosperous NEW YEAR!!!

Happy Crafting

Ann xx

I'M BACK!!!!!

.........From my Happy Holidays & what a fabulous time I had too, think I may just need another holiday to get over that one, lol......Did you miss me?  I sure missed my crafting but made up for it with a few cocktails & with a soundtrack provided by my favourite man band  Take That & some much needed sunshine too.  I had one week in Sidari, Corfu, where I met the nicest people & rekindled my love affair with Greece, then I had a weeks' holiday cruising the Adriatic Med, and visited Italy & Croatia - both amazing countries.

The piccy on the right is me standing out on our hotel balcony in Sidari, Corfu & to the left is the amazing picturesque Venice, looking onto the Grand Canal, as you can see it was a bit wet & windy but didn't spoil our day as there was so much to see & do!!!

Above is my friend Jane in Dubrovnik - thankfully the sun came out for us that day!!!  And finally some piccies of our cabin on board the ship..

Thanks for stopping by.........I'll be back crafting again next time!!!   (Click on piccies for a bigger view)   I'm just off to make a cuppa & try to organise myself for my craft group tomorrow, not quite sure what we'll be making, except for our usual mess!!  Take care & as always....
Happy Crafting

Ann xx

Compendium of Curiosities II - Week 3

Hello Bloggers/Friends!!

The lovely Linda Ledbetter over at Studio L3 has set us a new challenge from Lord Tim of Holtz book, A Compendium of Curiosities Vol II.  The challenge should you choose to accept it, can be found on page 46 and the technique is Marbled Stains.  Sorry I can't divulge the technique for you, as it would be very unfair to Tim!!   I have to be honest it wasn't the easiest one I've done, and I'm not entirely sure it's exactly right........but hey ho, I have made a tag following said instructions & had fun doing it!!!  I can't ask for much more than that, can I????

Hope you had fun taking part in this challenge too, thanks to Linda & Tim for allowing us to have such fun.  Thanks also to this weeks sponsor Eclectric Paperie who have very kindly donated $25 to spend in their online shop to this weeks winner.......Good Luck everyone!
Take care and as always,  Happy Crafting

Ann x

Studio L3 - Compendium of Curiosities II Challenge - Week 2

Hello Bloggers/Friends!!

Here we are at week two of the lovely Linda Ledbetter's challenge.  This week the technique we're using is Faux Patina and all the instructions can be found on page 58 of Tims latest book.  Linda's friend Angie has very kindly donated a messenger bag signed by the man himself, how generous is that??

I've made a tag following all the instructions and have added a few of my own design bits, ideally I would have called this piece Time Flies, but couldn't find my stamp, hence enjoy the journey!!!  I embossed my card stock after applying the inks then added the gear & clock, finally stamped the birds & attached to a tag which I distressed with my inks.........there you have it! Hopefully I've made the challenge just in time :D  (sorry about the poor picture quality, hopefully if you click on pic it may appear brighter)
Hope you approve of my tag?  Thanks for looking and as always......

Happy Crafting

Ann xxx

Sincerely Yours Craft Show - Edinburgh

Hello Bloggers/Friends!!

I hope you're all having a lovely weekend, as I had a terrific time today catching up with friends & colleagues at the Sincerely Yours Craft Show at Ingleston in Edinburgh!  My friend Jane drove us through & we had a fab time chatting with everyone, catching up with all the news and have a great time browsing & buying a few bits & much needed bobs......tee hee.  So I thought I'd share my new stash with you.  As I'm going on holiday in a few weeks time I vowed I wouldn't spend too much but things  just kept falling into my basket & you know what it's like when you really NEED things.........what's a girl to do???

I'm off to bed now folks as it's 1-10am here in Scotland and I'm just a wee tad tired!!
Have a fab weekend, I'm hoping to be back tomorrow as I need to play with my new goodies, can't wait to try out the pan pastels!!!  Take care all, have a fab Sunday & as always........

Happy Crafting!

Ann xx

Compendium of Curiosities # 2 - Challenge

I've decided to play along with the lovely Linda Ledbetters' challenge using Tim Holtz new book - A Compendium of Curiosities II , for details how to participate click on the link on my sidebar OR  Linda's name above.   This is week one & the challenge is to follow the technique described by Tim in his new book.......which you can find on page 66/ Making Custom Foam Stamps.  I created a tag following the instructions & added a few more bits too.  This weeks sponsor is Simon Says Stamp and if you enter you have a chance to win a shopping voucher from their online store, which of course stock humungous amounts of Ranger goodies!!
Hope you like my tag, unfortunately I cannot divulge how I made it as it would be unfair to Tim, so check out page 66 of a Compendium of Curiosities to make your own tag, card or whatever takes your fancy!
Thanks for looking & as always......
Happy Crafting!!!

Ann xx

More Clarity at Damselfly Crafts...........

Hello Bloggers!!!

Hope you've all had a restful & Happy Easter, back to normal now I guess the children are back at school & holidays at an end.  I did promise another sample card for the beautiful Clarity stamps on sale at Damselfly Crafts........better late than never I guess.  I really love this Paris collage stamp as there's so much can be done with it!!  I used glossy card stock & a mixture of alcohol inks which I just swooshed about then dried with my heat gun, stamped the image with black archival ink & used some glossy accents to highlight the watch face, a few gems on the dragonfly...job done!!

You really should check out the availability of the sale stamps as they're moving fast!!! Don't lose out on a fabulous bargain!!  Thanks for stopping by, Take care & as always.....
Happy Crafting

Ann xx

Clarity at Damselfly..........50% reductions!!!

Hello All
Today I thought I'd share some fabulous news with you, if you love Clarity Stamps - and who doesn't, Right?  DAMSELFLY CRAFTS have 50% off selected Clarity Stamps for a limited period only.
Click on the above link to be whisked over to their lovely website for details & lots of other goodies!!!

I've made a couple of samples just to share with you just how how lovely these stamps are and of course to point out that you don't have to be a whizz with a brayer like the lovely Barbara Gray is!!  Even I can produce a decent card or two, tee hee!  The card above is made using the Paris Collage Stamp & Elegant lady (not the proper name for her I'm sure? but she looks elegant to me!),  the background was created using alcohol inks & I paper pieced the ladys' hat & dress.........rather fetching, don't you think???
Another card will be on view tomorrow - be sure to hop over to DAMSELFLY to take advantage of this terrific offer!

Thanks for dropping in - Take care & as always - have fun & Happy Crafting!!!

Ann x

CC101 Day Three - My Tags

Hello Everyone!

Today we had a fabulous lesson involving archival inks, alcohol inks & using embossing folders!  I really enjoyed the class, but as always it's over way too quick.  Once again I'll share my attempts at the techniques we were shown by Tim, I have to say I'm not entirely pleased with my attempts today but I made a promise to blog my 1st attempt at everything as I believe that's the only way I'll improve..........less babbling & here's today's tags.

Tag 1 - Using alcohol inks onto glossy card stock, colours as follows: wild plum, sailboat blue, red pepper, butterscotch & sunshine yellow. Gold mixative & blending solution.  Stamps used were from Paperartsy, Creative Expression & of course Tim Holtz with some ideology cogs & clock spinner.

Tag 2 - Once again' glossy card stock, and Archival Inks - colours, Aqua, Carnation & Tangerine.  Distress Inks - Brushed Corduroy.  Stamps used are from Artistic Stamper (Dots) & again Timmy stamps.

Tag 3 -  I used a size 8 manilla tag from Ranger, cuttlebug folder and the following colours of Distress Inks :-
Crushed olive, shabby shutters, tumbled glass, festive berrie.  The heart stamp was a freebie from Craft Stamper Magazine.

I'm not really very pleased with the red area of the tag as I didn't blend it properly.......but, we live & learn!!

Hope you enjoyed my tags & please feel free to leave a comment, as I love to know what you think, it's great to get constructive feedback from your peers.  Thanks for dropping in, Take care and as always.......
Happy Crafting!

Ann xx

Day 2 of CC101 - My Tags

Hello Bloggers/Friends,

This is only day two of Tim's online creative chemistry 101 and already I've learned tons about all the different inks, stamps, materials and how they react with each other!!! Anyhoo I thought I'd share my feeble attempts with you and maybe you'll leave me a wee comment to let me know how you think I'm doing? The tag above was made using a variety of Distress Inks - Tumbled glass, barn door, crushed olive, wild honey, mustard seed and edged with brushed corduroy.

My next tag was stamped onto water colour paper and mounted onto a tag I made from Kraft cardstock. The colours of Distress Inks I used were - Pine needles, crushed olive, spiced marmalade, barn door. To frame the stamped image I used Frayed burlap and pumice stone DI's.

My third tag was once again composed using Distress Inks in the following colours :- Rusty
hinge, spiced marmalade, crushed olive & mustard seed, using the wrinkle free technique.

So that's my efforts for today!!!  Many thanks for having a look, hopefully see you again for tomorrows efforts!

Take care & as always......Happy Crafting!

Ann x