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.