The Craft Barn Weekly Challenge - Background Words

This week's Craft Barn challenge is to use words in the background of a project.

I started by making a background with Distress Inks using the wrinkle free technique. I stamped the words from Tim Holtz Papillion set with Versamark and then clear embossed them. I applied some more Distress Ink before putting the background between two sheets of copy paper and ironing it to melt and remove the embossing powder. It left me with bluey purple words - not the result I was expecting! I think it's because my Versamark ink pad is rather grubby. The butterflies were stamped, cut out  and glittered and then attached to the background with silicone glue to give a three dimensional effect before adding  pearls and die cut corners.

Card Recipe
Card
Card blank - Anna Marie Designs Fine Linen Embossed Card 290gsm
Anna Marie Designs Super Smooth Super White Printer Card 300gsm
Light and dark brown card
Inks
Ranger Archival Jet Black
Distress Ink - Peacock Feathers, Cracked Pistachio, Mermaid Lagoon
Stamps
Words - Tim Holtz  Papillion CMS 106
Butterflies - Crafty Individuals CI-437
Other
Treasure Gold - White Fire
Stickles - Stardust
Flat back pearls

The Craft Barn Weekly Challenge - Pack of Cards Connection

I've left it late again to join in the Craft Barn weekly challenge - blame it on the tennis! This week's challenge is to use playing cards or hearts, spades, diamonds or clubs.

I have made two cards using the same stamp and diamond stencil but varying the colour, embellishments and placement of the sentiment.

Card Recipes 

Both cards

Ink

Ranger Archival Watering Can 

Stamps   

Flower Head – Judikins 2779H 

Happy Birthday – Woodware JWS03

Stencil  

The Crafter’s Workshop Mini HarlequinTCW202

 First  Card
Card 
Card blank - Anna Marie Designs High White Card 300gsm 
Craftwork Cards Digital Ultra Smooth Premium Cardstock 250gsm 
Black card  

Ink 

Distress Ink – Broken China 

Other  

Flat back pearls

 

Second Card

Card

Card blank - Anna Marie Designs Super Smooth, Super White, Printer Card 300gsm

Card mat (edged with Distress Ink) - Anna Marie Designs Super Smooth Printer Card 200gsm

Ink

Distress Ink – Spiced Marmalade

Other

Flat back rhinestones

 

 

The Craft Barn Weekly Challenge - Stars or Stripes

This week I have made an atc for the Craft Barn challenge which is to use stars or stripes (not both!) on a project.

The background was painted with Tangerine Fresco paint and then with white paint on my finger and made some streaks down the atc before over painting with the Tangerine. I stencilled through star sequin waste and stamped some stars using Snowflake Fresco. The large star was stamped onto the background and then onto a piece of white card before cutting out and gluing over the star on the atc. Finally, the string was hand drawn and the sentiment added.

ATC Recipe
Card
Anna Maria Designs Super Smooth Super White Printer Card 300gsm
Anna Maria Designs Super Smooth Printer Card 250gsm
Ink/Paints
PaperArtsy Fresco Paint - Tangerine Twist, Snowflake
Ranger Archival Jet Black Ink
Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink
Staedtler black fineliner pen
Stamps
Stars - The Artistic Stamper
Star - freebie with Craft Stamper magazine
Sentiment - freebie with Simply Cards & Papercraft
Other
Star sequin waste

The Craft Barn Calendar Challenge - June

June's Craft Barn Calendar Challenge has to include dragonflies and the colour lavender.

I brushed Shaded Lilac over my tag. Using the same ink I stamped the Crafty Individuals dragonflies background and then the words and flowers were stamped with Seedless Preserves Distress Ink. The dragonfly was stamped onto a piece of card with Brilliance Pearlescent Lavender ink and cut out.  I then stamped the image again onto acetate and just cut out just the wings which I attached to the card body with a blob of glue in the centre. The seam binding was coloured with Shaded Lilac Distress Ink. 

Card Recipe  
Card
Anna Maria Designs Super Smooth Super White Printer Card 300gsm 
Inks
Distress Inks - Shaded Lilac, Seedless Preserves
Brilliance Pearlescent Lavender 
Stamps
Background stamp - Crafty Individuals - Dreaming of Dragonflies CI-409
Dragonfly & sentiment - Crafty Individuals - Butterfly Mornings & Wildflower Afternoons CI-410
Flowers - Crafty Individuals - Summer Garden CI-385  
Other
Seam binding

The Craft Barn Weekly Challenge - Bows

This week's Craft Barn challenge prompt is "Bows". The details can be found here.

My challenge entry is a fun card I made for my eldest granddaughter. I used a couple of Cardmaking Paradise templates. The present template originally had a cow popping up but I changed that to the little dog from another of Sara's templates.

The Craft Barn Weekly Challenge - Butterflies

Using  butterflies on a project is this week's Craft Barn challenge. The details can be found here.

I recently bought some of the new stamp releases from Crafty Individuals including the Butterfly Pairs which has both a positive and negative stamp for each of the five butterflies on the plate. This week's challenge seemed the ideal opportunity to put them into action. 

I never seem to tire of making backgrounds using the wrinkle free Distress Ink technique and one of my favourite colour combinations is Peacock Feathers and Squeezed Lemonade. Just right for a summer look.  I over stamped the background with various stamps and added a die cut from the Sizzix Thinlets Mixed Media set. The butterfly was stamped in black with the positive stamp and then overstamped with the negative using Picked Raspberry and Shaded Lilac Distress Ink before adding some flat back pearls to the body.

 

Card/Paper

Card base - Anna Marie Designs Fine Linen Embossed Card 290gsm

Brown card

White card

Anna Maria Designs Super Smooth Printer Card 200gsm

Inks

Distress Inks -Squeezed Lemonade, Peacock Feathers, Picked Raspberry, Shaded Lilac,

Ranger Archival Jet Black

Stamps

Butterfly Pairs – Crafty Individuals CI-437

Happy Birthday – Woodware JWS03

Script – PaperArtsy  MN44

Diamonds Kaisercraft CS152

Crackle – Kaisercraft

Other

Sizzix Thinlets Mixed Media by Tim Holtz

Flat back pearls

Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 4PK - Mixed Media by Tim Holtz - See more at: http://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/660220-sizzix-thinlits-die-set-4pk---mixed-media-by-tim-holtz-46697-p.asp#sthash.rqMNIc9J.dpuf

Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 4PK - Mixed Media by Tim Holtz - See more at: http://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/660220-sizzix-thinlits-die-set-4pk---mixed-media-by-tim-holtz-46697-p.asp#sthash.rqMNIc9J.dpufFlat back pearls

The Craft Barn Weekly Challenge - For the Man in your Life

This week's Craft Barn challenge is to make something for the man in your life. You can find the details here.

I made this simple card for my husband's birthday. I started by gluing a mat of Kraft card to my base card. Peacock Feathers Distress Ink was then brushed onto a piece of card and using the same ink I stamped over the background with Indigo Blu's Circle Dot Background. I cut half circles either side of the card before putting a tag on some bakers twine and wrapping it round the card. I saw this idea recently on a blog - I can't remember which one but if it was yours, thank you, it made placement of the twine so much easier. The piece of card was attached  to the base with 3d foam.

Card Recipe
Card 
Anna Maria Designs Super Smooth, Super White, Printer Card 300gsm
Craftwork Cards Digital Ultra Smooth Premium Cardstock 250gsm
Papermania Kraft card
Inks
Peacock Feathers Distress Ink
Ranger archival Jet Black
Stamp
Indigo Blu - Circle Dot Background
Other
Spellbinders tag die
Sentiment computer generated - Typewriter font
Eyelet
Baker's twine

 

The Craft Barn Weekly Challenge - Transport

I've gone back to my youth and a flower-power look for the subject of the Craft Barn Weekly Challenge which is transport.

I brushed Broken China Distress Ink onto the background of my card and then printed the computer generated sentiment onto it. I stamped the image and coloured it with Copics before cutting out. The flowers were die-cut from some fluorescent paper.

Card Recipe
Card/Paper
Card blank - Anna Maria Designs Fine Linen Embossed Card 290gsm
Craftworkcard Digital Ultra Smooth Premium Cardstock 250gsm
Gold paper
Fluorescent paper
Inks
Versafine Onyx Black
Broken China Distress Ink
Copic markers
Stamp
Camper Van - maker unknown
Other
Flower die - Provo Craft
Sentiment computer generated - font Victor Moscoso

The Craft Barn Weekly Challenge - Holiday

Holiday is this weeks prompt in the Craft Barn challenge.

I've had a mini tray (measures 9 x 7cms) in my stash for a good few years and this week seemed a good time to liberate it.

I painted the tray with PaperArtsy Fresco aptly named Mermaid! I glued some background paper on the back of each compartment before filling the apertures with seasidey objects/images and adding the flags and ubiquitous seagull.

Mini Tray Recipe
Card
White card
Background paper - Crafty Individuals - The Seaside
Inks/EP
PaperArtsy Fresco paint - Mermaid, Snowflake
Distress Inks - Walnut Stain, Broken China, Squeezed Lemonade, Barn Door, Scattered Straw, Dried Marigold
Ranger Archival - Coffee, Watering Can, Jet Black
Wow Embossing Powder - Clear Gloss Super Fine WA01SF
Treasure Gold - White Fire
Stamps
Crafty Individuals - CI-284, CI278, CI-397
Clam shell - Craft Stamper freebie
Other
Shells
Starfish charm

The Craft Barn Calendar Challenge - May

Here we are almost at the end of yet another month. They seem to be passing at an alarming rate this year. I'm skidding into the May Craft Barn Calendar Challenge with just over one day to spare. May's challenge has to feature the colour magenta and flowers.

I started by painting my tag with PaperArtsy Fresco Limelight and then stippled Distress Ink through a dot stencil. I stamped the flowers on the bottom of the tag and painted the dots. The image was stamped again several times on a separate piece of card before painting the flowers and cutting them out and gluing in place. Finally, I stamped the words directly onto the tag and added the seam binding which had been coloured with Distress Ink.

Tag Recipe
Card
Anna Maria Designs Super Smooth Super White Printer Card 300gsm
Anna Maria Designs Super Smooth Printer Card
Inks/Paints
Ranger Archival Jet Black
Distress Ink - Wild Honey, Mustard Seed
PaperArtsy Fresco paints - Limelight. Banana, Bougainvillea
Stamps
Flowers - PaperArtsy  JOFY JM34
Words - PaperArtsy Lin Brown ELB05
Other
Stencil - Tim Holtz Dot Fade Layering Stencil THS006
Seam binding

The Craft Barn Weekly Challenge - Make a Bag

 The Craft Barn Challenge this week is to make a bag. All the details are here .

I've made a mini gift bag (H 6 x W 4.7 x D 2.4cms) which could accommodate a gift of jewellery. I used a template found on the Martha Stewart website and cut the bag from brown wrapping paper. I stamped the flowers randomly over the paper and coloured them with Spectrum Noir pencils before adding some glitter in the centres.

Gift Bag Recipe
Paper
Brown wrapping paper
Copier paper
Inks
Ranger Archival  - Jet Black
Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink
Spectrum Noir pencils
Stamp
Crafty Individuals CI-206
Other
Butcher's twine
Sentiment computer generated - Typewriter font
Stickles - Star Dust

The Craft Barn Weekly Challenge - Bunting

It's been a busy week here so it had to be a quick make to enter into this week's Craft Barn Challenge (to use bunting in a project).

I used some offcuts of scrapbooking paper for the flags and found the sentiment already stamped and coloured sitting in my scrap box waiting for its fifteen minutes of fame. With hindsight I feel I should have added something to the background paper as there is too much uninteresting green space for my liking, perhaps some stencilled dots of various sizes would have done the trick.

Card Recipe
Card/Paper
Base card - Anna Marie Designs Super Smooth, Super White, Printer Card
Scrapbook paper
Inks
Ranger Archival Jet Black
Shabby Shutter Distress Ink
Stamps
Flag and sentiment - freebies with Craft Stamper magazine
Other
Butcher's twine

The Craft Barn Weekly Challenge - Words

This week's Craft Barn challenge is to use words as the main feature of our entry, so plenty of scope there.

As I need a birthday card this coming week that was going to be my obvious make. I've used a word embossing folder and covered one side in a good coating of Distress Ink before putting it through the Big Shot. I cut two rectangles of Bazzill card and one of copier paper for an insert. I scored the edge of one piece of the card before fastening the sandwich together with eyelets. The I attached the embossed piece to the front and added a few flat back pearls and finished off the card with a bow.

The first picture is a truer colour of the card.

 

Card Recipe  

Card
Pearlescent Bazzill
Craftworkcards Digital Ultra Smooth Premium Card
Ink
Worn Lipstick Distress Ink
Other
Cuttlebug embossing folder
Flat back pearls
Ribbon
Eyelets

The Craft Barn Weekly Challenge - Night & Day

The weekly challenge on the Craft Barn blog is to make the same project twice - one coloured for night-time and the other for daytime. I've chosen to make two simple ATCs. I stamped the flower heads first and then the moon/sun area was masked before applying the Distress Ink background to the card with a brush - in my mind much easier to apply than with a foam pad on the wood applicator. I gave a very light dusting of colour to the moon to take away the starkness of the white card and then coloured the sun before stamping the ducks.

 

 

ATC Recipe

Card

Anna Maria Designs Super Smooth Super White printer Card 300gsm

Inks -Nightime

Weathered Wood Distress Ink

Ranger Archival Jet Black

Memories Dye Ink Pad - Sand

Inks - Daytime

Distress Inks -  Broken China, Peeled Paint, Dried Marigold, Spiced Marmalade 

Ranger Archival Jet Black

Stamps

Darkroom Door Wildflower DDRS005

Stampscapes - Ducks 023A 

 

 

  

The Craft Barn Calendar Challenge - April

The April Craft Barn Calendar Challenge has to feature the colour blue and an umbrella/umbrellas somewhere on the piece.

I made a watery background using the wrinkle free Distress Ink technique and Stormy Sky coloured ink. I inked up the raindrops from the Water Effects plate by Ryn. These are fabulous deep etched stamps, so no risked of catching the ink pad on the edge of the rubber and spoiling your project. The Rain Man die cut was coloured with Distress Ink with some stencilling added to the umbrella before stamping on the raindrops. I cut a large raindrop from Distress Inked card and printed it with the words from the song in Bambi - the first film I saw at the cinema. The raindrops and the large drip were then covered with glossy accents.

   

 

Tag Recipe
Card
Anna Maria Designs Super Smooth, Super white, Printer card 300gsm
Inks
Distress Inks - Stormy Sky, Weathered Wood, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain
Stazon - Midnight Blue
PaperArtsy Fresco Paint - Snowflake 
Stencils/Stamps
Tim Holtz Stencil - Burlap THS007
Water Effects 1 UK-M1 by Ryn
Other
Tim Holtz Umbrella Man die-cut
Computer generated words - Comic Sans MS
Glossy Accents
Seam binding coloured with Stormy Sky Distress Ink

The Craft Barn Weekly Challenge - Masculine Pastimes

This week's Craft Barn challenge is a project featuring a masculine pastime.

I chose to use a large fishing collage stamp by Woodware (JGS305 Gone Fishing). I made a wrinkle free Distress Ink background to give the impression of water before stamping the image. I stamped it again on another piece of a card and cut out the middle fish, covered it in glossy accent and then attached it with a foam squares. Job done!

The Craft Barn Weekly Challenge - Quintessentially English

Quintessentially English is this week's Craft Barn challenge. Decisions, decisions which of my stamps to use that would fulfil the brief. I finally plumped for an English cottage garden conjuring the fabulous sights, sounds and aromas of a warm summer day.

I stamped the image three times masking the previous image to ensure they overlapped and then hand-coloured the flowers (a marathon task!) with my newly acquired Spectrum Noir pencils. Followed by brushing some distress ink around the top and sides before adding the sentiment and 3D butterfly.

Card Recipe  
Card   
Card blank made with Anna Maria Designs Fine Linen Embossed Card 290gsm
Papermania Kraft Card
Craftworkscards Digital Ultra Smooth Premium Cardstock 250gsm
Inks
Memento -Tuxedo Black
Ranger Archival Jet Black
Ranger Archival Watering Can
Broken China- Distress ink
Spectrum Noir Pencils - Essentials set
Stamps
Flowers - Crafty Individuals CI-411
Sentiment - Woodware JWS03
Butterfly - Darkroom Door Wildflower set DDRS005

The Craft Barn Weekly Challenge - House

The project challenge this week set by the Craft Barn team is to incorporate a house.

I've gone with the clean and simple look this week with a New Home card. This is great for using up those little bits of off-cuts that you don't have the heart to throw away but just seem to multiply in the scrap box.

Not a brilliant photo - one day I hope to improve my camera skills!

Card Recipe
White card
Distress Inks
Ranger Archival - Jet Black
Crafty Individuals stamps CI-273
Sentiment computer generated - Papyrus font

The Craft Barn Calendar Challenge - March

For the March calendar challenge we had to include the colour yellow and a rabbit (rabbits) in our task.

Now, yellow in nature is fine by me but it is not a colour I would immediately grab for a project and I certainly never wear it or would paint the walls with it. A very nearly all yellow finished article is an absolute first for me!

I used Paperartsy Fresco's to paint and stencil the tag and Distress Ink to colour the rabbit.

Card Recipe
Card
Anna Maria Designs High White Card 300gsm
White card
Green Bazzill card
Paints/Inks
PaperArtsy Fresco Paints - Cheesecake, Banana, Haystack, Nougat, Tangerine Twist
Distress Ink - Pumice Stone
Stencils/Dies
Burlap - Tim Holtz Layering Stencil
Flowers stencil - PaperArtsy JOFY PS008
Rabbit - Tim Holtz Alterations, Mini Bunny & Bow Set
Other
Yellow paper flowers
Seam binding dyed with "Cheesecake" Fresco paint

The Craft Barn Weekly Challenge - Creating a Background

The challenge set this week on the Craft Barn blog is to create an interesting background using Brusho, inks or paints.

I've had a set of  Brusho for quite a while now but only used them a couple of times. So time to dust them off and make a bright, cheerful background for a birthday card. I used Fresco paint to stencil the dots, add some rings and credit card lines. The flags, puffin and speech bubble were stamped onto card, cut out and coloured with Distress Inks before gluing to the background.

I'm also entering this card into the Crafty Individuals March Challenge .

Card Recipe
Card/Paper
Card blank - Craftworkcards
Gold/black pearlescent paper
Craft Creations watercolour card
Anna Maria Designs Super Smooth Printer Card 200gsm
Ink/Paint
Brusho - Lemon, Orange
Paper Artsy Fresco - Nougat
Ranger Archival Jet Black
Distress Ink - Wild Honey, Spiced Marmalade, Worn Lipstick, Festive Berries
Stamps
Party Puffin - Crafty Individuals CI-376
Flags - Crafty Individuals
Other
Sentiment computer generated - Asenine Wide font

The Craft Barn Weekly Challenge - Something Flowery

This week's challenge on the Craft Barn blog is to make something using handmade flowers, be they die cut, punched or hand cut.

With four Easter cards to make for our grandchildren this was the call I needed to stop procrastinating and get started.

I've used a digital stamp for my image and coloured it with alcohol markers. The leaves and flowers are die cut and coloured with Distress Stains and edged with Distress Inks. 

That's one down, three to go!

Card Recipe
Card
Anna Maria Designs Super Smooth, Super White, Printer Card 300gsm
Anna Maria Designs Super Smooth Printer Card 200gsm
Blue pearlescent card
Inks
Promakers/Copics
Distress Inks - Broken China, Spiced Marmalade, Mowed Lawn
Distress Stains - Peeled Paint, Wild Honey
Dies/Embossing Folder 
Leaves - Tim Holtz Sizzlits Decorative Strip "Spring Greenery"
Flowers - Tim Holtz Sizzlits Decorative Strip "Tattered Flower Garland"
Other
Image from DigiStamp Boutique
Sentiment computer generated - Font "Please write me a song"
Flower brad



 

The Craft Barn Weekly Challenge - Tando

This weeks Craft Barn challenge is to use something from the Tando range on a project.

As I have lots of cards to make for March birthdays, it's the ideal opportunity to get cracking on them. The Tando flower stencil I've used on my card has seen plenty of action but I can't say the same about the two bags of Tando butterflies that have been in my possession since the Craft Barn Extravaganza two years ago! I'm sure I bought them with a project in mind but whatever that project was the idea drifted from my brain some time ago.

To begin, I applied a background of Distress Inks before brushing around the flower stencil, again with Distress Ink. I had intended the postmark to be at more of an angle and slightly off the top edge but it didn't go to plan and as this was second attempt (I dropped the postmark stamp on my first piece, sadly nowhere near were I wanted it) and was running out of time so it had to do. The butterfly was painted with Fresco paint, stamped and then covered in Fresco Metallic Glaze.

The photograph has distorted the colours somewhat - the butterfly is a paler pink in real life and the background is more orangey than red.

Card Recipe
Card
Craftworkcard Digital Ultra Smooth Premium Cardstock
Bazzill card
Card Blank - Anna Maria Designs, Super Smooth, Super White, Printer Card 300gsm
Inks/Paints
Distress Inks- Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Barn Door, Worn Lipstick
PaperArtsy Fresco Paint - London Bus, Snowflake, Metallic Glaze
Ranger Archival Ink - Watering Can
Stamps
Wishing You - Crafty Individuals CI-410
Postmark - Crafty Individuals
Happy Birthday - Woodware JWS03
Script - PaperArtsy MN44
Trail - 4th Dimension
Other
Tando Butterfly BUTFLYGRB

The Craft Barn Calendar Challenge - February

Red and hearts have to feature somewhere on February's Craft Barn Calendar Challenge entry.

I used the wrinkle free distress ink technique for the background of this tag. Rather than just using red (Festive Berry Distress Ink) which may have looked like a nasty nose bleed on the card, I mellowed it by adding Crushed Olive. I stamped  a couple of extra hearts and stuck one directly onto the stamped image and the other under Glossy Accents on a bottle cap. The bottle cap was painted around the edge with PaperArtsy Fresco's "London Bus" and then a coat of their Metallic Gloss was added at which point it turned a bit pink rather than the red I hoped for. A little lace was added and a piece of seam binding coloured with Distress Ink and that's February tag in the bag. I feel as if the year is already rushing by!

Tag Recipe 
Card
Anna Maria Designs Super Smooth, Super White, Printer Card 300gsm  
Ink/Paint
Distress Inks - Worn Lipstick, Crushed Olive, Walnut Stain
Versafine - Onyx Black, Satin Red
PaperArtsy Fresco Paint - London Bus, Metallic Glaze 
Stamp
Crafty Individuals  CI-224  
Other
Lace
Bottle top
Seam binding

The Craft Barn Weekly Challenge - Shoe

The weekly challenge on the Craft Barn blog is to make a shoe related project.

My entry is a shoe birthday card using one of Sara Sandberg's  templates to be found on the Cardmaking Paradise website.

I don't own a cutting machine so any template has to be hand cut and this one is so easy to cut. I added some distress ink around the edges of the shoe and a bit of glitter on a few of the flowers but neither of these show up very well in my photos.

Card Recipe
Bazzill card
Scrapbook paper
Worn Lipstick Distress Ink
Self adhesive tear drop pearls
Stickles glitter

The Craft Barn Weekly Challenge - Mini Albums

Way back in August 2013 I took part in an atc swap over at Cardmaking Paradise but I have never got around to displaying the cards properly. This week's Craft Barn challenge was just the spur I needed - to make a mini album.

I started by cutting a piece of 12"x 12" down to A4 size before stamping and stencilling both sides with Fresco paints -  Bora Bora and Nougat mixed together. I then folded the paper to make the mini album. Card for the covers were inked over with Distress Ink and then homemade dimensional paste coloured with the paint mix was applied through the cornflower stencil. Touches of were Treasure Gold applied once dry. I attached eight polythene atc sleeves to the inside pages to hold and  protect the cards. I have misplaced one but I think I know where it is but probably involves removing a lot from my craft room before I can retrieve it. I (or it) may be gone sometime!

 Mini Album Recipe 
Card/Paper
Tim Holtz "Vintage Shabby" scrapbook paper
Xerox Colortech + card
Paints
PaperArtsy Fresco paint - Nougat and Bora Bora
Frayed Burlap Distress Ink
Homemade dimensional paste
Treasure Gold - White Fire 
Stamps/ Stencils
Swirl stamp - Judikins C351
Stencils -The Crafter's Workshop - Mini Cornflowers TCW375s and Mini Art Is TCW261s
Circles - punchinella 
Other
Ribbon
Atc polythene sleeves

The Craft Barn Calendar Challenge - January

This year the Craft Barn are running a calendar challenge. All the details can be found here. As I made atcs for the Alphabet Challenge in 2013 and postcards for the Quote and Lyric Challenge last year I'm going to use a tag format for this one. The tags will be attached to a book ring throughout the year. So that I can use the calendar again I will fix a calendar pad on a piece of card to hang below the tag. For the course of the challenge I will just attach a the relevant month. 

We will be been given two words to be use each month,  The first word is a colour to be used on the piece of artwork and the second is an object which has to form a part of it. January's words are aqua and snowflakes.

I mixed Bora Bora and Mermaid Fresco paints to make aqua for the background before embossing the right lower part with snowflakes. I sanded over the raised part to reveal a little of the white card underneath before stamping the sentiment and the snowflakes. I highlighted the snowflakes with a Posca white pen. The piece of ribbon is a piece I found already coloured aqua in my ribbon box - it will be replaced idc with some seam binding but I have run out and so, it seems, has every shop on the web!

Tag Recipe
Card
Anna Marie Designs Super Smooth, Super White, Printer Card
Ink/Paint
PaperArtsy Fresco's paints - Bora Bora, Mermaid, Snowflake
Ranger Archival Watering Can
Posca pen - white
Peacock Feathers Distress Ink
Stamps
Sentiment - Crafty Individuals
Snowflakes - PaperArtsy JOFY JM07
Other
Snowflake embossing folder - Cuttlebug
Snowflake - Spellbinders die
Flat-back rhinestone

Kickstarting 2015

It's time I got back into posting my makes other than entries in Craft Barn challenges.

My craft room became such a mess on the run up to Christmas - it was a case of make it, push back what I'd used and start on the next project. I closed the door on it over the festive period and it took some time to find the desk at the start of the year only to find I must have filed away my mojo in the big clear up. So I had to carry on without it because making a card for our youngest grandson was something of a priority. It wasn't the best card I have ever made but it kicked me into action.

Card Recipe 
Card
Craftwork Cards card base
Anna Marie Designs Super Smooth Printer Card
Scrapbook paper
Black card
Inks
Broken China Distress Ink
Copic and Promarkers
Stamp
Digital stamp from DigiStamp Boutique
Other
Self adhesive number
Sentiment computer generated - "Please Write Me a Song" font

The next card off the production line was for my great niece's second birthday. Happier with this one and beginning to feel the mojo is fighting its way back.

Card Recipe  
Card
Craftwork Cards card base

Anna Marie Designs Super Smooth Printer Card 200gsm

Scrapbook papers

Copier paper 90gsm

Vellum

Inks

Worn Lipstick Distress Ink

Brilliance Pearlescent Sky Blue 
Stamps 
Digital image from Wee Stamps

Flowers - Dimension Fourth

Other

Spellbinders border die  from Lace Doily Accents Set

Scalloped circle – Nellie Snellen Multi frames MFD 005

Flat back pearls