The Craft Barn Song Challenge - Driving Home for Christmas

Here we are at the final Craft Barn Challenge of the year. This month's song title is Driving Home for Christmas by Chris Rea and I've taken the line "Top to toe in tailbacks" as my inspiration.

I started the postcard by sticking a piece of an old road atlas of my local area - I'm up at the top - onto a piece of card. I then gave the map and some die-cut trees a watered down wash of gesso. Snowflakes were then stamped over the map and the edges of the postcard sponged with ink. The die-cut trees were glittered with Stickles and glued onto the background. I brushed a die-cut vintage car with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and then stamped it with a PaperArtsy background stamp and embossed it along with the wheels, wheel arches and bumper with copper embossing powder. The car was then cut in half and glued on "bumper to bumper". I finished the postcard with the computer generated song title and artist's name added.

Postcard Recipe
Card/Paper
Card
Part of a road atlas page
Xerox ColorTech+ card 200gsm
Inks/Paints
Claudine Hellmuth Studio Gesso
Brilliance Pearlescent Sky Sky Blue
Ranger Archival Cornflower Blue
Versamark
Stamps
Snowflake - Crafty Individuals  
PaperArtsy Hot Picks HPXT01
Other
Anita's Embossing Powder - Copper 
Die-cuts - vintage car, trees 
Diamond Stickles
Song title - computer generated “Please write me a song” font

My thanks go to the Craft Barn for hosting this challenge through the year and to Karen Gist for her inspirational pieces each month. Also thank you to Mickie for running the blog, to the Design Team who show us some amazing projects and to Sandy, the Craft Barn proprietor, who makes it all possible.

Finally, thank you to everyone one who has visited my blog during this challenge and to those who have left comments - it is very much appreciated. I wish you all a fabulous 2018.

The Craft Barn Twelve Month Challenge - December

December and the finale of the Craft Barn Twelve Month Challenge. It certainly has been a challenge some months but it has made me think about what I actually have stashed away in my craft room that was in dire need of an airing.

This month's verse from the poem "The Months" by Sara Coleridge is -

Chill December brings the sleet,

Blazing fires and Christmas treat.

Combining sleet, fires and treats onto one page had me stumped so I've done a bit of lateral thinking. The family are inside the little cottage sitting by a warming fire with lots of treats on a side table - nuts, dates, figs, sugared orange and lemon slices.........oops I've drifted back in time to the Christmas's of my childhood!

I started my page by stamping the background snowflake image with Pearlescent Sky Blue Brilliance ink. This stamp was a freebie with Craft Stamper magazine several years ago and I have used it such a lot - it stamps beautifully. I then stamped the cottage image onto a circle of white card and sponged Broken China Distress Ink around the top edge. The house, trees and snowy bank were glittered before the circle was glued onto the background. The leaves were stamped onto white card and watercoloured using Distress Inks. They were then cut out, given several coats of PaperArtsy Gloss Glaze and glued around the edge of the circle. I finished the page by adding the computer generated verse and sponging around the edge of the page.

  
Page Recipe
Card
Anna Marie Designs High White 300gsm
White card 280mic
Xerox ColorTech+ 250gsm
Inks
Brilliance Pearlescent Sky Blue
Versafine Onyx Black
Memento Tuxedo Black
Distress Ink - Peeled Paint, Pine Needles, Broken China
PaperArtsy Gloss Glaze
Stamps
Cottage - Create-It
Leavers - PaperArtsy JOFY
Snowflake  - Craft Stamper magazine freebie
Other
Verse - computer generated with "Papyrus" font    

My thanks go to the Craft Barn for hosting this challenge and to Claire for her inspirational pieces each month. Thank you also to everyone one who has visited my blog during this challenge and to those who have left comments - it is very much appreciated. Finally, I wish you all a very "Happy Christmas!".
  

The Craft Barn Song Challenge - Paint It Black

This month's song in the Craft Barn Song Challenge is "Paint It Black" and there is only one group you associate with this song - The Rolling Stones.

I've taken the line "I see a red door and I want it painted black" as the starting point for my quick and simple postcard. It probably took longer to make the mask than to stamp and complete the piece!

I started at the bottom edge of the card and stamped a row of  houses, then masked them before stamping the next row, continuing in the same way up the postcard. The front door was coloured with a Copic marker and the computer generated song title and artist's name added.

It may have been a quick offering this month but a welcome distraction from Christmas card making.

 Postcard Recipe
Card
White card 280mic
Inks
Versafine Onyx Black
Distress Ink - Hickory Smoke
Copic marker
Stamp
Crafty Individuals CI-467
Other

Song title - Computer generated “Please write me a song” font

The Craft Barn Twelve Month Challenge - November

Here we are at the penultimate month of the Craft Barn Twelve Month Challenge. How can it be November already? It certainly doesn't look like a November day here in Bedfordshire today. It is a bit chilly but there is a beautiful blue sky. The garden seems to very confused with the seasons. I have an azalea that has just started to bloom, a clematis that is flowering for the second time this year and roses which refuse to believe it's winter.

This month's verse from the poem "The Months" by Sara Coleridge is -

Dull November brings the blast

Then the leaves go whirling past

I started my page (measures 5.75ins square) by brushing Hickory Smoke Distress Ink over the card. I coloured some homemade texture paste with a little Black Marble Dylusions Ink. (I would have used acrylic black paint but it seems to have disappeared into the black hole that exists in my craft room. When I came to finish this piece my little glue applicator had joined it!) I spread the texture paste thinly through a stencil and set it aside to dry. 

On another piece of card which was also brushed with the Distress Ink I stamped the tree image. With several cotton buds taped together as a "brush" and using autumnal colours of PaperArtsy Fresco paints I dabbed on the leaves. I then added some Distress Ink stencilling before distressing the edges. The tree image was attached to a piece of corrugated card and then a leaf brad added.  I finished the page by adding the computer generated verse. 

 

Page Recipe
Card
White card 280mic
Xerox Colortech+ 200gsm
Corrugated card
Inks/Paints
Distress Ink - Hickory Smoke
Versafine Onyx Black
PaperArtsy Fresco paints - Chartreuse, Yellow Submarine, Tango, Toad Hall
Stamp/Stencil
Tree - Crafty Individuals CI-209
Swirls - Andy Skinner stencil "Whirlpool"
Other 
Homemade texture paste coloured with Black Marble Dylusions Ink
Leaf brad
Verse - computer generated with "Papyrus" font 
 

The Craft Barn Song Challenge - Autumn Leaves

A seasonal song this month for the Craft Barn Song Challenge - Autumn Leaves. This song has been sung by a plethora of artists and I have chosen the Eva Cassidy version. No fancy production just a beautiful voice and a guitar.

I took the line "When autumn leaves start to fall" as my starting point and gathered together autumnal colours of Distress Ink and created a wrinkle free technique background. Once I was happy with it I stamped it with the Hero Arts "Pod Branch" in Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

It's such a long time since I used my alcohol inks I decided to make use of them to colour the leaves. I dabbed suitable seasonal colours onto a piece of glossy card and then stamped the leaves and cut them out and glued to my postcard. I finished the piece off with the computer generated song title and artist's name.

The scan of the postcard doesn't capture the shininess of the alcohol ink on the leaves.

Postcard Recipe
Card
White card 280mic
Glossy card - Craft Creations Chromolux card
Anna Marie Designs Super Smooth Printer Card 250gsm
Inks 
Distress Inks - Rusty Hinge, Vintage Photo, Crushed Olive, Peeled Paint, Ripe Persimmon, Mustard Seed
Ranger Alcohol Inks
Brilliance Graphite Black
Stamps
Hero Arts Pod Branch E3651
Leaf - Inkadinkado
Other

Song title - Computer generated “Please write me a song” font

 

The Craft Barn Twelve Month Challenge - October

Another month, another verse in the Craft Barn Twelve Month Challenge and October's verse from the poem "The Months" by Sara Coleridge is

Fresh October brings the pheasant

Then to gather nuts is pleasant.

My Brusho colours have been little used since I bought them a few years ago so it was time to unleash them to make a bright autumnal background on some watercolour card. As I don't have a pheasant stamp I had to resort again to the web to find an image - I seem to have done that a lot for this challenge through the year. I coloured the images with Coloursoft pencils. Then I had a marathon die cutting session to cut the leaves and acorns which were all edged with Vintage Photo Distress Ink before arranging on the page. The piece was completed by adding the computer generated verse.

Page Recipe

Card

Watercolour card

Anna Marie Designs Super Smooth Printer Card 250gsm 

Scraps of card

Inks

Brusho - Orange, Leaf Green, Lt. Brown, Brilliant Red, Yellow

Coloursoft Pencils

Distress Ink - Vintage Photo

Other
Die - Tim Holtz Sizzlits Decorative Strip "Autumn Gatherings" 657454

Verse - computer generated with "Papyrus" font 
 

The Craft Barn Song Challenge - Parisienne Walkways

The current song in the Craft Barn Song Challenge is Parisenne Walkways. It's not a song that I am familiar with. In fact most music between 1978 when my eldest son was born until the late 80's when his interest in music began just seemed to pass me by.

I started my postcard by brushing a selection of beigey coloured Distress Inks over the card. I then stamped the image of the couple with Versafine. The number was stencilled with Distress Ink and then the stamped words added. The die cut heart was coated with several layers of ultra thick embossing powder and then a couple layers of sparkly red embossing powder. The postcard was finished with the computer generated song title and artist's name.

Postcard Recipe
Card 
White card 280mic
Anna Marie Designs Super Smooth Printer Card 250gsm
Inks
Distress Inks -  Old Paper, Pumice Stone, Frayed Burlap, Walnut Stain
Versafine - Sepia
Versamark
Embossing Powders
Ranger Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel
Impressions Embossing Powder - Ruby Red Sparkle
Stamps
Main image - maker unknown
Quote - maker unknown
Paris - Tim Holtz Papillon set CMS106
Stencil/Die
Number - student alphabet/ letter stencil
Heart - Sizzix Tim Holtz "Heart Felt" 660233

Other

Song title - Computer generated “Please write me a song” font

The Craft Barn Twelve Month Challenge - September

Just scraping into the Craft Barn Twelve Month Challenge yet again. I had no idea where I was going with September's verse from the poem "The Months" and it probably shows! The verse reads "Warm September brings the fruit. Sportsmen then begin to shoot."

I didn't have a choice of fruit stamps so it had to be the only one I possess - a pear. I rather ignored the second line and just added some small ducks in flight hoping they escaped the gun. Slightly hypocritical on my part as I do eat game.

I started by brushing Dried Marigold Distress Ink (DI) over my page (measures 5.75ins square) and then added Spiced Marmalade DI around the edge. The pear and ducks were stamped on this background using Dried Marigold and the leaves around the edge with Spiced Marmalade.

The pear was also stamped on a piece of card, cut out and coloured with watercolour pencils, blending the colours with water and then a little bit of blush added using Barn Door DI. It looked a little dull against the background so I painted it over with several layers of PaperArtsy Gloss Glaze. I finished the page by adding the computer generated verse.

Page Recipe
Card
Anna Marie Designs Super Smooth Printer Card 200gsm
Anna Marie Designs Super Smooth Printer Card 250gsm
White 280mic
Inks
Distress Inks - Dried Marigold, Spiced Marmalade, Barn Door, Vintage Photo
Versafine - Smokey Gray
Water colour pencils
PaperArtsy Gloss Glaze
Stamps
Pear - maker unknown
Ducks - Stampscapes 023A
Leaves - Crafty Individuals CI-234 
Other 
Verse - computer generated with "Papyrus" font 

The Craft Barn Song Challenge - Summer in the City

For this month's Craft Barn Song Challenge I've taken two lines from the given song "Summer in the City" as my inspiration -

Go out and find a girl
Come-on come-on and dance all night

I wanted to create the effect of psychedelic strobe lighting for my background - did we have that sort of lighting back in 1966, I can't remember! So I had some messy fun creating a bleeding tissue background on a piece of watercolour card and then added the swirls with homemade texture paste coloured with a drop of Dylusions ink spray. I drew around the Andy Skinner girl mask onto black card, cut out it out and added a little pencil shading to ground her once she was glued to the background. I punched a few stars and finished my postcard by adding the song title and the name of the band.

Postcard Recipe

Card/Paper

Watercolour card
Black card

Anna Marie Designs Super Smooth Printer Card 250gsm
Tissue paper

Inks

Distress Ink - Hickory Smoke

Dylusions Ink Spray - Fresh Lime

Stencils
Andy Skinner - Hippy Chick and Whirlpool
Other
Homemade texture paste

The Craft Barn Twelve Month Challenge - August

Another month, another Craft Barn challenge. And yes, it was a bit of a challenge. This month's verse from the poem "The Months" by Sara Coleridge is "August brings the sheaves of corn. Then the harvest home is borne." We have to include a tractor on our project. Sounds simply enough - not!

I started by brushing Distress Ink (DI) over my base card. The choice of colour was a no-brainer of course, it had to be Scattered Straw! I've used this colour throughout the project with just used some Walnut Stain DI to highlight. I then over stamped the base using the same colour and a splatter of dots stamp and a splatty ring stamp.

I have lots of stamps but my collection doesn't include any of sheaves of corn or a tractor. Luckily we own lots of books about rural England in days gone by - I'm old enough to remember some of those days including sheaves of corn! I managed to find a suitable picture in a book called "Golden Sheaves, Black Horses" by Fred Archer. I photocopied the image onto card and tore around the edge rather than cutting it out. I wanted to give it a feel that someone had torn a memory from a magazine. Then I brushed the picture with Scattered Straw DI and using the same colour I applied the ink pad to my craft sheet and picked up the ink with a dry bush and highlighted the sheaves. I sponged some Walnut Stain DI around the edge.

The tractor was an image found online which was printed out, brushed with Walnut Stain DI and then partly painted with Scattered Straw DI. I created a wrinkle free technique background on a piece of card again using Scattered Straw DI and die-cut the wildflowers from it which were then highlighted with Walnut Stain DI. Its amazing how many different shades of colour you get using the same ink pad but with different techniques of application and card. I finished off the page with the computer generated verse.

The page is yellow rather than orange as it appears in this picture.

Page Recipe
Card
Anna Marie Designs Super Smooth Printer Card 200gsm
Anna Marie Designs High White 300gsm
Inks
Distress Inks - Scattered Straw, Walnut Stain
Stamps
Splatty dots - PaperArtsy MN72
Splatty rings - Stamp Addicts, Grunge 1 SA-6062  
Other
Corn field image from "Golden Sheaves, Black Horses" by Fred Archer
Tractor image found online
Verse - computer generated with "Papyrus" font

The Craft Barn Song Challenge - Summer Holiday

We're going where the sun shines brightly

We're going where the sea is blue
We've seen it in the movies
Now let's see if it's true

Probably not true if you have been holidaying by the sea in the UK during the past few weeks if the weather here in Bedfordshire has been anything to go by - it's been blowing a hooley non-stop with frequent heavy showers to go with it.

"Summer Holiday" is the Song Challenge over at the Craft Barn - a song I'm sure that has been sung millions of the times in the backs of car over the years.  The challenge this time is that the project must only use turquoise, blue, yellow and a hint of magenta (pink).

I've been using postcard size card for this challenge and decided to turn it to landscape this time around. On reflection I could have made a postcard sent from the holiday destination! I started by painting my piece of card with PaperArtsy's (PA) "Caribbean Sea" Fresco Paint. The yellow paint  I wanted to put over the top for the sun's rays was translucent so I painted PA "Snowflake" through the stencil. I then went over it with the yellow paint.

I brushed a piece of card with two different shades of blue Distress Ink and stamped the image over the top.  Using a very light wash of white paint I went over the waves and then coloured the clothing with Copic marker. The other elements were stamped, coloured where necessary and cut out. The postcard was finished with the computer generated song title and artist's name.  

Postcard Recipe

Card

White card 280mic

Anna Marie Designs Super Smooth Printer Card 200gsm

Inks
Versafine - Onyx Black

PaperArtsy Fresco Paints - Caribbean Sea, Snowflake, Yellow Submarine

Distress Inks - Broken China, Salty Ocean, Picked Raspberry

Copic markers

Stamps

Crafty Individuals - CI-284, CI-454, CI- 278 and flags (number unknown)

Other

Song title - Computer generated “Please write me a song” font

The Craft Barn Twelve Month Challenge - July

Never throw anything away has proved its worth this month for the Craft Barn Challenge. July's verse is "Hot July brings cooling showers, apricots and gillyflowers" and we have to include a gillyflower on our project.

My first task was to identify a gillyflower. The dictionary definition is-

1. Archaic. any of several fragrant flowers of the genus Dianthus, as the carnation or clove pink.

2. any of various other usually fragrant flowers, especially a stock, Matthiola incana, of the mustard family.

 

I don't have any carnation stamps but the Crafty Individual stamp I have includes some flowers which look a bit like stock - no, just squint a bit! An apricot stamp has also eluded my collection for some reason! However, as I was thinking what I could use my eyes fell on an old diary (1986!) sitting on a shelf in my craft room that I had  put aside for that proverbial rainy day. The diary has prints of watercoloured paintings of fruit, flowers, birds etc. I thought it was a bit of a long shot for there to be an apricot print but low and behold I found this page - perfect!

 

 

It was painted by William Hooker somewhere between 1779 and 1832 and is a Breda Apricot.

 

I started my page (measures 5.75 x 5.75ins) by using hot colours to make a wrinkle free Distress Ink (DI) background and then over stamped it with butterflies, bees and script using Ripe Persimmon DI. I stamped flowers on the corners of the page with archival ink and watercoloured them using DI and then added the water drops. I photocopied the apricot image (I didn't want to use the original as I may need an apricot image again - you never know!)  and cut out part of it before gluing to my page. My challenge entry was completed with the computer generated verse from the poem  "The Months" by Sara Coleridge.

Page Recipe
Card
White card 280mic
Anna Marie Designs Super Smooth Printer Card 200gsm
Inks
Distress Inks - Ripe Persimmon, Spiced Marmalade, Fired Brick,
Ranger Archival - Jet Black, Watering Can
Copic marker
Stamp
Flowers - Crafty Individuals CI-411
Raindrops - Designs by Ryn Water Effects 1 UM-M1
Other
Picture from old diary
Verse - computer generated with "Papyrus" font

The Craft Barn Song Challenge - What a Wonderful World

This month's song for the Craft Barn Challenge is the perennial "What A Wonderful World" and this time we have to add the lines of the song that inspired our project. I have chosen the first line "I see trees of green, red roses too" but I could have also used "I see skies of blue, and clouds of white."

I started my postcard making the background using the wrinkle free watercolour technique with Broken China Distress Ink. The trees were stamped with archival ink and then, using a natural sponge, I dabbed over them with Distress Ink (DI). I didn't quite get the effect I was after - I was hoping for a more dappled result. The girl's face was stamped onto card and coloured with a combination of Copic markers and DIs before cutting out.

I brushed several different shades of green onto a piece of card and die cut the leaves. The roses were cut from a larger stamped image and were watercoloured with DI. The left hand corner looked too bare so I filled in with the very useful little Crafty Individuals birds in flight stamp.

Postcard Recipe
Card
Anna Marie Designs Super Smooth Printer Card 200gsm
White card 280mic
Inks
Distress Inks - Broken Glass, Mowed Lawn, Peeled Paint, Festive Berries, Frayed Burlap
Adirondack - Pesto
Memento - Tuxendo Black
Ranger Archival Jet Black
Copic Markers
Stamps
Crafty Individuals - CI-209, CI-188
Kaisercraft - Botanical CS795
Other
Song title - Computer generated “Please write me a song” font
Song lyric - Computer generated "Papyrus" font
Die - Tim Holtz "Spring Greenery" 659573 

The Craft Barn Twelve Month Challenge - June

The verse this month for the Craft Barn Challenge from the poem  "The Months" by Sara Coleridge is " June brings tulips, lilies, roses. Fills the children's hands with posies." and the finished piece has to include a bunch of flowers.

I've gone down the vintage cutesy route with my challenge entry. It was time to dust of this cute little stamp in my collection which has only been used once before and looking back at my blog that was in 2011! She really was overdue an airing! I stamped the image on the reverse of some cream linen card and then watercoloured it with Distress Inks (DI) and after die cutting it, a little DI was brushed around the edge. The piece of lace wasn't quite the right shade so I dyed it with DI and attached it round an oval of card and then stuck the image over the top making a lace sandwich.The background was stencilled using DI and the image and computer generated words were glued on to complete a simple entry this month.

Page Recipe
Card
Craft Creations cream linen card
Inks
Versafine - Vintage Sepia
Distress Inks - Broken China, Squeezed Lemonade, Picked Raspberry, Peeled Paint, Vintage Photo
Stamp
Prima Marketing 655350-2010-08
Other
Stencil - Tim Holtz Doily TH5018
Spellbinders oval die
Lace
Verse - computer generated with "Papyrus" font

The Craft Barn Song Challenge - Forever Young

 When I read that the song title for this month's Craft Barn Song Challenge was Forever Young I automatically thought of the song by Rod Stewart. However the challenge one is by Bob Dylan. The songs by Dylan and Stewart are similar and apparently the pair agreed to participate in the ownership of Stewart's song and share the royalties.

I have owned an aerosol of shaving foam for some years with the intention of making some backgrounds and I've finally done it! What great fun and my craft room smelt beautiful! I used two inks in the foam - London Blue Dylusions and Tumble Glass Distress Reinker.

Another first was to use the nostalgic Crafty Individuals stamp which I bought when it was first released as it was a reminder of my own childhood. This could well have been my brother and me - there's eight years in age difference.  I stamped the image on a piece of card and coloured with a combination of Copic markers, Distress Inks and pencils.

Postcard Recipe
Card
Anna Marie Designs Super Smooth Printer Card 200gsm
Anna Marie  Designs Simply Card High White 300gsm
White card 280mic
Inks
Background - London Blue Dylusion, Tumble Glass Distress Ink Reinker
Versafine Onyx Black
Copic markers
Spectrum pencils
Distress Inks - Peacock Feathers, Picked Raspberry, Fossilized Amber, Abandoned Coral, Frayed Burlap, Mermaid Lagoon
Stamp
Crafty Individuals - CI-449
Other 
Shaving foam
Song Title – Computer generated “Please write me a song” font

The Craft Barn Twelve Month Challenge - May

May's page for the Craft Barn Twelve Month Challenge involved lots of masking on my part. This months verse is:

May brings flocks of pretty lambs

Skipping by their fleecy dams. 

I started by stamping the house, wall and sheep and then masked them all. Cutting out those little sheep masks was a bit of pain! I then stamp the trees on the left behind the wall. Leaving the masks in place I brushed on Distress Ink (DI) for the sky and grass. The trees, house and wall were then watercoloured with DI. It looked rather too neat and tidy at that point so I added the border to give the page a little informality. I finished the piece with the computer generated verse.

 

Page Recipe

Card

Anna Marie Super Smooth Printer Card 200gsm
Anna Marie Simply Card High White 300gsm  

Inks

Versafine Smokey Gray

Distress Ink - Broken China, Peeled Paint, Shabby Shutters, Fired Brick, Hickory Smoke

Stamps

House, wall & trees - Crafty Individuals CI-460

Sheep - Crafty Individuals CI-467

Birds - Crafty Individuals CI-209

Border - Kaisercraft Texture-Edges CS155 

Other

Verse - computer generated with "Papyrus" font

The Craft Barn Song Challenge - I Can't Stand the Rain

The current song title in the Craft Barn Song Challenge is "I Can't Stand the Rain". Not one that is on my song radar so "You Tube" had to come to my rescue. Of the various videos I watched the disco version by Eruption was my top choice.

I started my postcard (my chosen format for this challenge) by spraying the base card with Distress Spray Stain. The window was stamped on to a piece of card and cut out and then the window pane areas removed. The window was then stamped again on acetate and cut out and then stamped with a raindrops stamp. On a piece of card I stamped the country landscape and watercoloured the image with Distress Inks. I glued the acetate window to the landscape and then attached the frame over them.

The little girl with attitude is from one of my favourite and very well used Crafty Individuals sets. I think she has been told she can only go out to play in the rain if she changes her clothes and put on her wellies. I'm sure she has stamped her feet a few times and said "It's not fair!". I stamped the girl on to a piece of white card, cut her out, coloured with Copic markers and paper-pieced her dress. I completed the postcard with the song title and artist's name.

 Postcard Recipe
Card
Anna Marie Super Smooth Printer Card 200gsm
Anna Marie High White 300gsm
Acetate
Downloaded background paper
Inks
Distress Spray Stain - Mermaid Lagoon
Memento Tuxedo Black
Distress Inks - Forest Moss, Peeled Paint, Hickory Smoke, Mermaid Lagoon
StazOn Jet Black
Ranger Archival - Watering Can
Copic Markers
Stamps 
Scenery - Stamp Addicts
Window - Stamp Addicts SA-5026 Window Dressing
Girl - Crafty Individuals CI-277
Raindrops - Designs by Ryn Water Effects 1 UM-M1
Other
Song Title – Computer generated “Please write me a song” font
 

The Craft Barn Twelve Month Challenge - April

I'm finding the Craft Barn Twelve Month Challenge just that this year and I've just about made the deadline again.

The  Twelve Month Challenge is based on the poem by Sara Coleridge "The Months"  and April's verse is "April brings the primrose sweet, scatters daisies at our feet". Our finished piece has to display the verse and this month must also include daisies and primroses.

For the background of my page I used a piece of background paper by Crafty Individuals which I glued to a piece of card to give it some rigidity.The die cut leaves, branch and primrose leaves were all coloured with Distress Inks. I sponged some PaperArtsy Fresco paint onto a piece of card and then stamped the primroses and painted the centres with a darker Fresco paint The daisies were stamped onto white card and the middles then painted. The flowers were then cut out and glued to the page with just a small blob of glue to give just a hint of dimension. The excited little blue tit (I think he has just learnt to fly!) - was a lovely freebie from Craft Stamper a couple of years ago. I stamped it onto watercolour paper, coloured with watercolour pencils and then blended the colour with water. I completed the page with the computer generated verse. 

Page Recipe
Card/Paper
Background paper – Crafty Individuals -Book 3 Springtime
Anna Marie Super Smooth Printer Card 200gsm
Watercolour paper
Inks
Paperartsy Frescos – Haystack, Banana
Distress Ink – Frayed Burlap, Walnut Stain, Dried Marigold, Forest Moss, Peeled Paint, Twisted Citron, Picked Raspberry
Ranger Archival Watering Can
Versafine Smoky Gray
Memento Tuxedo Black
Watercolour pencils
Stamps
Flowers - Crafty Individuals CI-445, CI-206
Leaves - PaperArtsy JM12
Bird – Freebie with Craft Stamper
Other
Die - Memory Box Woodland Branch 98187
Die – Spring Greenery Tim Holtz 659573
Verse - computer generated with "Papyrus" font

The Craft Barn Song Challenge - Blowin' in the Wind

The third song in the Craft Barn Song Challenge is Blowin' in the Wind. Although Bob Dylan wrote the song and recorded it on an LP (that shows my age!) it was Peter, Paul and Mary who had great success with it as a single and who I first heard it sung by.

For my postcard I have stamped a piece of black card with feather stamps and then embossed the feathers with embossing powder before mounting the piece on white card. I chose white feathers for their association with pacifism and because they relate to the song lines "How many seas must a white dove sail............."

Postcard Recipe
Card 
Black card
Anna Marie Designs Super Smooth Printer Card 200gsm
Anna Marie Designs Super Smooth Printer Card 250gsm
Inks 
Versamark
Black Soot Distress Ink
Stamps
Artemio Ref:10001192
Other
Cosmic Shimmer detail embossing powder "True White"
Song Title – Computer generated “Please write me a song” font

The Craft Barn Twelve Month Challenge - March

It's taken me three weeks to think of a way to illustrate this month's verse for the Craft Barn Challenge which has to include daffodils and hares. Inspiration seems to have eluded me, no middle of the night light bulb moments, so I've gone for a clean and simple page.

Both the stamps I've used were freebies with Craft Stamper magazine. The daffodil must be years old when the free stamps were red rubber on a foam backing. I started by dusting Distress Inks over a piece of card and then stamping the hares and birds. I die cut an aperture in my main piece of card and brushed ink around the outside edge and the inside of the circle and then glued it over the picture. The daffodils were stamped onto card and cut out before colouring with watercolour pencils. These were attached to the page with silicone glue to give some dimension. My page was finished with the computer generated verse from Sara Coleridge's poem "The Months".

The green around the outside is much more vibrant in real life.

Page Recipe
Card
Anna Marie Designs Smooth Stamping Card 300gsm
Anna Marie Super Smooth Printer Card 200gsm

Inks

Distress Inks - Twisted Citron, Broken China, Faded Jeans, Weathered Wood,

Versafine Onyx Black

Watercolour pencils

Stamps

Hares and daffodils - freebies with Craft Stamper magazine

Birds - Stampscapes 302A

Other

Verse - computer generated with "Papyrus" font

The Craft Barn Blog Candy

 

Want to win a set of the 12 new colours of PaperArtsy Infusions? You have until Sunday 19th March to pop over to the Craft Barn Blog for all the details.

The Craft Barn Song Challenge - Somebody to Love

The next song title in the Craft Barn Song Challenge is Somebody to Love by Queen.

A simple entry from me this time around as family life has intervened in my crafting activities over the past few weeks. I started by brushing Distress Inks over the base card and then used the same ink to stamp the crackle effect over the top. I drew the heart freehand on another piece of card and brushed it over with same Distress Ink as the base but applied a lot more ink to get a deeper colour and then sponged around the edge. The image and hearts were then stamped with Versafine inks. I completed the postcard with the song title and group name.
 

Postcard Recipe
Card
Anna Marie Designs Smooth Stamping Card 300gsm
Anna Marie Designs Super Smooth Printer Card 200gsm
Inks
Worn Lipstick Distress Ink
Versafine - Onyx Black, Satin Red
Stamps
Crackle effect - Kaisercraft CS876
Main Image - maker unknown
Hearts - from a magazine freebie set Molly Blooms Happy Times
Other
Song Title – Computer generated “Please write me a song” font

The Craft Barn Twelve Month Challenge - February

The month thief has been around again and stole January! I can't believe we are now half way through February already and time to complete the next page for the Craft Barn Challenge. The verse to be illustrated from Sara Coleridge's poem "The Months" is "February brings the rain, thaws the frozen lake again." but to make it more challenging we have to add a cherub and a heart! 

I don't have any lake/large expanse of water stamps so my raindrops are dropping into a lake which is just out of view! I started by stamping the raindrops over the base card with Archival Ink and then brushed over the top with an Ink Duster using Distress Ink (DI). The branch was die cut from a piece of wood grain embossed card and then Walnut Stain DI rub over to darken it a little. I downloaded the cherub and after cutting it out covered it with red glitter. The umbrella was cut from an Umbrella Man die-cut, watercolured with DI and then painted with PaperArtsy Gloss Glaze. It was stuck to the page with silicone glue to give it some dimension. The heart was painted with acrylic paint and a piece of fine string threaded through before gluing it to the page and the bow added. I finished off with the computer generated verse.

  
Page Recipe
Card
Anna Marie Designs Smooth Stamping Card 300gsm
Anna Marie Super Smooth Printer Card 200gsm &250 gsm
Brown wood grain card
Inks/Paints
Ranger Archival Ink -  Cornflower Blue
Distress Inks - Walnut Stain, Faded Jeans
Red acrylic paint
PaperArtsy Gloss Glaze
Stamps 
Raindrops - Designs by Ryn "Water Effects" UM-M1
Other 
Branch die - Memory Box Woodland Branch No 98187
Umbrella from Tim Holtz Umbrella Man die-cut
Cherub & heart image from internet
Red glitter
Fine string
Verse - computer generated with "Papyrus" font

The Craft Barn Song Challenge - Let It Snow!

Another challenge has started on the Craft Barn blog and it's based on song lyrics.

I am going to make my entries postcard size (6 x 4 ins). I used this size in 2014 for the Craft Barn Lyrics and Quotes Challenge with all my entries being portrait orientated and then again last year for the Alpha Dictionary Challenge but in landscape.  I also made them as flat as possible so they could be posted - although they wont, as I intend one day to collate them into books. This year I'm not going to make it so difficult for myself and will use the best suited orientation each week and add texture and embellishments.

The first song in this challenge is "Let it Snow!" and I have taken inspiration from the first line "Oh the weather outside is frightful"

I started by brushing Distress Ink (DI) over the postcard to create the wallpaper and then using the same ink stamped a pattern over it. The hills and trees were stamped onto watercolour paper and then masked off and DI brushed over the sky area. The trees and hedges were painted with watered down DI and then covered lightly with white paint. Using an embossing tool dipped in white paint I made dots for the snowflakes. I then added glitter lightly to the hills, trees and snowflakes. The window was stamped onto white card, cut out and glued to the view before gluing the two pieces to the postcard. The curtains were stamped onto scrapbook paper, cut out and attached with silicone glue along the outer edges to give dimension. I computer generated the song title and who sang it using the font "Please write me a song" which seemed appropriate!

Postcard Recipe
Card
Anna Marie Designs Simply Card High White 300gsm
Anna Marie Designs Super Smooth Printer Card 200gsm
Watercolour paper
Scrapbook paper
Inks
Distress Ink – Shabby Shutters, Pine Needles, Stormy, Sky, Faded Jeans
Memento Tuxedo Black
Versafine Onyx Black
PaperArtsy Fresco Acrylic – Snowflake
Stamps
Hill scene – Stamp Addicts
Window & curtains – Stamp Addicts SA-5026 Window Dressing
Pattern on wallpaper - Judikins CM350E
Other
Stickles - Star Dust
Song Title – Computer generated “Please write me a song” font

The Craft Barn Twelve Month Challenge - January

A new year brings a new challenge on the Craft Barn blog. It's a twelve month challenge based on the poem by Sara Coleridge "The Months".

So for January we start with the lines "January brings the snow, makes our feet and fingers glow" and to the illustrate those words our entries must include a bird in a wellington boot!

I'm going to use a square format for my monthly entries - 5.75 x 5.75ins. I started by stamping the tree on a piece of 4.50 inch square card and then masked it. I tore a piece of card to form hills and used the torn edge to sponge ink lightly along. The sun was then stencilled and masked off and the sky area was brushed over with Distress Ink before the masks were removed. I stamped the deer and added some shadows with a Copic marker.

The boot die was the very first I owned (it come free with my first die-cutting machine - a Wizard) but I've never had occasion till now to use it. As luck would have a sales magazine from a local estate agent popped through the door and there inside was the sweet little robin perfect (if not a little fiddly to cut out)  to fulfil the challenge we had been given. I attached the computer generated
verse which has to be included and added a little glitter sparkle to the tree.

When I was in our local charity shop the other day I spotted a set of unused stamps that had been a freebie with a magazine. There were a couple of stamps on the sheet that I felt might well be useful so I couldn't leave them behind and the snowflake in the background on my piece was one of them. I finished by attaching my smaller square to the background one to complete January's challenge.

Page Recipe
Card
Anna Marie Super Smooth Printer Card 200gsm &250 gsm
Green card 
Inks
Distress Ink - Pine Needles, Tumbled Glass, Dried Marigold, Barn Door, Faded Jeans, Broken China
Ranger Archival - Coffee
Stamps
Tree - Crafty Individuals CI-462
Deer - Crafty Individuals CI-257
Snowflake - maker unknown
Other
Boot die - Spellbinders
Robin - junk mail
Stampendous Multi Ultra Fine Crystal Glitter

The Craft Barn Alpha/Dictionary Challenge - Letter P

It's the end of the Craft Barn Alpha/Dictionary Challenge and I'm so pleased with myself that I've kept up even if I did skid in by the seat of my pants some weeks. For the final letter which is P,  I have chosen the word peace, something we all hope will come in the world in 2017. I turned to Mr Google for some help this week for images - the map and hands. After printing off the map I stamped and embossed the sentiment over it. The hands were then cut out and glued onto the postcard. The Dove of Peace was stamped onto a piece of card, embossed, cut out and attached. I finished with the dictionary definition which was edged with a gold pen as was the postcard. A simple postcard to conclude the year's challenge - if only world peace was as easy. Not a great photo but it's a very dismal day here.

Postcard Recipe
Card
Anna Marie Designs Super Smooth Printing Card 200gsm
Inks
Versamark
Gold detail embossing powder
Stamps
Sentiment - Crafty Individuals CI-446
Dove of Peace - maker unknown 
Other
Map and hands downloaded from web
Dictionary definition - computer generated with "Typewriter" font

I would like to take the opportunity to thank the Craft Barn for hosting this challenge and also the weekly challenges. I have thoroughly enjoyed taking part and a special thanks to Mickie and her predecessor Jane for their work put into keeping the blog running and the ideas to challenge us. Thank you also to everyone one who has visited my blog during the year and to those who have left comments - it is very much appreciated. Finally, I wish you all a very happy and peaceful 2017.