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

Love Tim Holtz???............

Howdy bloggers!!! I'm so very excited to share my news with you all ............what am I on about???

I'm taking part in my first ever online craft class, which is being taught by our lordship King TIM OF HOLTZ no less!!! How great is that? I can be taught all the wonders of distress and do it with a cuppa, in my own home in my pjs, if I so wish .......Happy Days! I'm looking forward to hopefully meeting lots of lovely new friends from around the world whilst we enjoy this Creative Journey!!

Wish me luck - I think I might need it as I've certainly got lots to learn!!

Have a lovely day & as always....Happy Crafting!

Ann xx

No time to craft.........

Hello bloggers/friends !!

Normally this time of the year you'd find me demonstrating all sorts of lovely new goodies at the SECC, unfortunately I am unable to do so this year as I just had knee replacement surgery in January & at present hobbling around with the aid of two elbow crutches!!! As if that isn't enough to contend with, my beloved Auntie Anne very suddenly passed away on 5th March at 2am and her passing has totally knocked the stuffing from me, above is a picture of my son Jamie & Auntie Anne taken in December.

The reason I've posted today is really due to a promise I made to myself to make a more concerted effort to keep my blog up to date. Thanks for dropping in, take care, have a great weekend and as always......

Happy Crafting

Ann xx

Just For Fun Challenge

It's been awhile since I took part in any challenges, mainly because I'm not long home from hospital & was recovering at a friends house. Now I'm back home with all my 'stash' to hand I thought I'd check out JFF Blog as they always have some fabulous DT inspirational items & great challenges!!!
I was so surprised to read this is their last challenge due to committments, it's really sad & hopefully they may return in the future??
Now for the challenge - Vintage Men, as the whole month of February has been about Men!! Lot's of people think making cards for men to be a bit of a challenge, so this was one I had to do.

Above is the first of the layers I built my card upon, I used a new embossing folder from Creative Expressions, ran it through my cuttlebug then aged it with tea dye distress stains - cool, don't you think? I was well impressed, lol :D
Almost the finished article above, I stamped out the ancient world map with stream archival ink them dried it with my heat gun, just to ensure the ink wouldn't bleed in the next step which was to crumple up my stamped image then add some distress ink & stains to complete the ageing process. I mounted all my layers onto Kraft cardstock with some lovely ickle brads that look like screws, added a small ship & saying, and that was that. However as I was having such good fun, I decided to make another wee card - just for good measure, using the same embossing folder & set of stamps - all from Creative Expressions.
Thanks for dropping by - hope you like my Vintage men themed cards, as I had great fun making them. Feel free to leave a comment - good or bad, I love to read what you think of my dabblings, and do come back again :D

Happy Crafting!!

Ann xx

Playing with Distress Inks

Today I thought I'd share a few cards I made whilst playing with my distress inks. A few months ago in the Craft Stamper magazine (Nov 2011) there was a fabulous article by Jo Capper Sandon creating backgrounds using DI's & a plastic food bag, the samples were just so amazing I had to give it a go myself!!.....My cards aren't remotely at all like Jo's brilliant cards, but I had a great time experimenting & creating a few cards! Hope you likee :D

This technique is so simple but very effect, as it gives the card a textured look, whilst the images are stamped directly onto white card stock. I also created a piece of background A4 size paper which I chopped up & used as a border, which I thought was very effective too!!!

In the above card I've just used a small border & a Penny Black stickeroo & greetings peel off for a quick & easy card. Hope you like my cards & why not give it a try yourself as it's so simple to do & so effective, not to mention fun & addictive!!! Watch out for more of this style cards!!

Thanks for dropping by, please leave a comment as I love to know what you think :D
Happy Crafting!!!

Ann xx

It's been awhile..........

........Since I last managed to blog any of my art work!! This was due to a combination of reasons, the most pertinent one being I was busy trying out lots of new crafts, I got so absorbed I forgot to take photo's & record anything!!! Then I had problems with my knee giving way & I was unable to get around for almost the whole year. This year started with a stay in the hospital & an operation to give me a total knee replacement.........I'm mobile once again with the aid of two elbow crutches & trying to get my crafting mojo back in gear :D

I found a few photo's of bits n pieces on my phone.so I thought I'd share them with you, and would love to hear what you think of them!!

A little felt pin cushion to get me back into having fun hand sewing!!A couple of handmade corsages, with buttons as a centre piece :D

Thanks for stopping by - Please do come back & hopefully the normal service will be resumed!!
Happy Crafting!!

Ann xx