And the Winner Is

Ooooops I got so involved with clearing out my Craft Room that I forgot to do a draw for my American Craft Stamps, so to make amends, there will be a couple of little extras in the winners parcel ….

 

…… And rather make the draw myself,  I decided to employ the services of two leg-ends in their own lunch time to delve into my famous Teapot of Fortuitous Fortune to find a lucky winner …..

And the winner is …… fan fare of trumpets and a roll of the drums ……
Barb Cady who said “Love the denim papers! You have such a knack for a good bargain, you must carry the 'spot it gene' wish I did! Enjoy.x”  - can you e-mail me Barb and I will send you your prize!
As you know, I don’t do blog candy very often,  but on 20th August I will have been blogging for 2 whole years …… so to celebrate I’ll have a few more stamps to give away!

Silver Anniversary Newspaper Card

This card is A5 in size and is made using white linen effect card and my newspaper template.

I love it when I get a photo that I can build a newspaper card around.  It makes it so special and unique for the people who receive it.

I’ve built up simple decoupage layers with the photo of the couple, and champagne bottles and then used Ranger Glossy Accents to add a bit of texture and interest. Silver stars and very twinkly glass flat backed gems complete the effect.

Bird With Musical Background Card

I’ve had these bird stickers for ages, bought from a seaside pound shop.

All I have done is stuck them on some old sheet music rescued from a skip, which I have mat and layered on gold mirror card.

Both cards measure 5cm x 5cm and are made using Papermill ivory linen card.

You may be thinking to yourself, but there are three birds on the sticker sheet ….. there were, but I made such a pigs ear of the what should have been a third card, that it all went into the bin!

Pins and Things Decopatch Tin

I used an old Altoids tin to make this little box for my daughters sewing basket, covering it with Decopatch paper No. 455

I learnt from my disaster a few weeks ago not to cover the  the part where the lid rim covers the sides with the paper, I tried to do this as neatly as I could, but think I could have done it a bit better.

I printed off the label and then cut it out using a Nestabilities label die, which I stuck onto the lid, followed by several  applications of  clear glossy varnish all over covered the tin.

Inside I put some green felt on the bottom and on the inside the lid to make it look all posh and professional!

Butterfly Card

All the papers I have used for this card come from the Madeline Collection 6” x 6” paper stack from Prima, mat and layered on silver and dark brown card.

The butterflies are made using a Woodware punch. I’ve added small pearls down the centre of each one for the finishing touch.

A Wedding Card

This card measures 5ins x 5ins and is made using white linen effect card.

I’ve had these pearl hearts for ages, I’m not really sure about them, up close they are a bit naff. So this card was a bit of an experiment on how to get them used up.

I’ve used paper from a 6” x 6” My Mind’s Eye Stella and Rose stack punched with a small scalloped square punch. I think this card would be both suitable for a wedding or engagement.

A Visit To SCARF – Decopatch Apple

You may have noticed a bit of banter in the chatbox in the sidebar about me going to SCARF, a small resource centre in Wolverhampton. One of my friends is doing a Fine Arts Degree and I took her there to show her the array of goodies they have at very reasonable prices ….. she filled a carrier bag full of material for £3. ….

….. and I got five pretend apples for 35p each and some keyrings.  The keyrings were 5p each and I thought I would be able to take out the middles and put my own in …. but alas, they were jammed in solid! But I have a few other ideas for them …… so all is not lost (yet)!

I’ve wanted some apples for ages to see how they would look Decopatch-ed. On this I’ve used Peacock Feathers Print (538). To be honest I am always disappointed with how the Decopatch looks when I first put it on, even after using the proper glue, but after several coats of clear glossy varnish it always comes up a treat.

Just for a laugh, I wondered how one of my jewelled flies would look sitting on my apple!

To give the apple an extra magical effect I rubbed a bit of StampinUp Dazzling Diamonds over it while the glue was still tacky and before the varnish.

….. but what a nightmare it was to dry between several layers of varnish being round …. in the end I attached some cord to it and hung it from one of my mobiles!

Decopatch Jam Jar Garden Lantern

I wondered how Decopatch would work on a jam jar destined to become a garden lantern.  I did a bit of research on Google to get a few ideas and then I was off and running.  I can’t remember the name of the paper I used, but it was just right for summer nights.

Once the jar was covered, I had an Ulrika moment and punched out some dragonflies using a light weight paper and glued them on top of the Decopatch ….. next followed several coats of clear glossy varnish …. I hate that bit as I get it all over me…. and all over my desk …. I am such a messy worker!

The final bit was the hanger …. always a bit of a botch up job that always seems to look OK in the end … I don’t have a method, just thin gold wire, a lot of winding and a few beads!

And how did it look in the dark ……? Beautiful!

Recycled Tea Light Holders

 
As Rolf Harris would oft say … “Can you see what it is yet?”

 
A friend gave me the glass dishes which were left over from Marks and Spencer puddings, she didn’t like to throw them away as she thought I may be able to do something with them …

….. So using Super Glue I’ve stuck them onto some shot glasses I got from a car boot sale for a few pence a couple of months ago. I’ve used Cern’ gold glass outliner and permanent pen on the more ornate holder, but I much prefer the plain ones….. something  a bit different for summer barbeques as the light fades!

Altered Button Notebook

This notebook was in my box of treasure from Carly, it was a no brainer as to what I should do with it …..!

……. cover it with buttons and black and gold peel off strips.

As my sister is oft heard to utter “You have too much time on your hands!”  I shall keep this book in my work bag from now on, as I am forever scribbling ideas for both my blogs on bits of paper at work or waiting at the bus stop and then loosing them, hopefully a lovely new notebook will keep me organised!  Thank you Carly.

My Beautiful, Beautiful Picture

 

I am so chuffed, in a totally overwhelmed type way …. and  I apologise as you’re all probably bored stiff of it, but this is my favouritist picture that I took on my trip to the Czech Republic back in February.  Not everyone’s choice of subject matter know, but it is very me!  I decided to have it put on canvas as a present for my mum ….. but I am not sure that I can let it go now, so I will probably have another one made for me.

It measures 40cm x 30cm (12” x 14”) and cost £39.00 from  Photo-Canvas.  The colour is wonderful and the detail is exquisite, you can even see the tiny pieces of frost that were on the top of her head.  The only bit of touching up was done by me, before I sent the picture off to Photo-Canvas, and that was to remove the tree branches directly behind her. It brings back every single tingly feeling that I had when I first saw this beautiful statue standing on her own in the snow in a tiny cemetery, where it was so cold it hurt!

 
It was so cold that the frost had formed, what I thought looked like the feathers of an angels wings.

For more details check out http://www.photo-canvas.com/products.aspx. ……. I’m already planning my next picture …..

End of Term Fairing Gifts

At the end every school year I always make what my beloved Mother In Law used to call little “fairing gifts”, something small and inexpensive, but with a little thought put into them, for all the staff I work for.   Most years it’s been something of a sweetie/eatie type nature, but this year I decided to use almost all of the HobbyCraft blank keyrings I got a couple of weeks ago.

I’ve used some of my favourite My Mind’s Eye Stella and Rose paper (from the Gertie stack) which fortuitously is double sided, so not much fiddle farting needed there. Then to finish them off I’ve just added a Happy Holidays tag.  I’ll slip these into everyone’s pigeon hole on the last day, making sure that there is one left over for me!

Felt Flower Card

This card was a bit of an experiment but it’s turned out pretty ok. The card measures 16cm x 12.5cm and is made using a ribbed effect kraft card. When I came to do the leaves I just couldn’t find a paper that went with green background, so  in desperation and with a chance of ruining the card,  I tried using Ranger Glossy Accents instead of paper and I am chuffed with the results.

Cruise Birthday Card

This is a card I made for The PE Lady’s Mum (if you read my other blog Mum’s Monkey, you’ll know who I mean)

She was going on a cruise round the Canary islands for her 80th birthday and The PE Lady wanted a special card to include this.

I used my newspaper card template and this is what the sheet looked like after creating it in Publisher. As you will see, it didn’t include many elements and in the end I didn’t even use the sea picture, as it didn’t quite work, so I covered over it on the main card.

I’d used a few 3D stickers from this pack of transport stickers (sorry, I don’t know the brand or cost as I’ve had them for a long time) to give the card extra dimension.

My newspaper cards are all A5 size (a sheet of white linen A4 card folded in half).
 

I’ve added a bit of smoke, as I had rather a lot of space to fill in the sky and then a smattering of stars, also to fill in a few spaces.  A card like this can take me quite some time to do, depending on the theme and if I am using stickers or a simple decoupage.  I find the hardest part is fitting all the wording in so that it looks balanced.

Beach Hut Card

This card measures 8 ins x 5ins and is made using blue linen effect card.

I’ve had these Paper Bliss stickers for a couple of years now and have never done anything with them, but it must be because it’s nearly holiday time that inspiration has finally struck……

….. and I do have such a thing about beach huts!

Honesty Is The Best Policy!

I cannot tell a lie …… and have been complemented after past reviews by people who have said that they trust my honesty ……

With that said, I’m always thrilled to be asked to write a review, so when I was asked if I would like to try out a serious bit of kit for my craft room I said yes straightway, especially as it was something I really needed,  but as I accepted the offer I had a little niggle in my head.

Well, it arrived and as I unpacked it the Duke said straight away “That’s not right for you!”  - seeing  a potential problem with fixing it to my desk. But, once set up there was nothing really wrong with it .…. it was me, despite working with it for several days, I just didn’t like it, it didn’t give me what I expected, and being very expensive and free didn’t hold any sway.

…. Then I started to worry … if I didn’t like it, there was no way I could write about it,  so I looked at recent reviews and though other people raved about its attributes, they still didn’t make any difference to how I felt.

I was so disappointed!  I wrote back to the lovely agent, who asked me what the problems were, and all I could say was that I just didn’t like it and therefore I didn’t feel I could recommend it on my blog. They were very gracious, I’m not sure if it’s ever happened before, and now I’m waiting for it to be collected and taken back …. But I have learnt a huge lesson … to think very carefully before accepting any offer and always be up front and say, before, anything is sent out that if I don’t like it I won’t review it ….. and trust that spooky Derek Acorah voice in my head a little bit more!

Handcrafted Prawn Net

The Duke has been fiddle farting, so I thought I would give him a guest spot today ……

He’s made this beautiful prawn net for our holidays, for when we go fishing.  I don’t want to use it and get it all sandy, it’s too lovely.

We saw a shabby chic version (for ornamental use only) in a shop a while ago and that got the Duke thinking …

The attention to detail is wonderful …. I’ll let you know if we catch anything in it when we eventually get to use it……