Butterflies and Stripes

These are the themes for CBH and Arty Girlz this week. I made this ATC by using a textured piece of card as the background and rubbing chalk eye over the top to bring the stripes out. I then used my QuikKutz dies to create the toadstools and butterflies. I punched two butterflies out of differnt stripy papers and mixed them up to create the butterflies below. Hope you like the end result.

The Letter E....

is for Elephant.

This is my interpretation of the theme set by TMTA this week. I created my ATC using a stamped image which was coloured with markers and then a chipboard letter added and hand written wording.

I have not been able to post for a while as I have been slightly busy and time has just run away with me! I spent the weekend away with friends and we were totally cut of from all the mod cons - no internet and no mobile phone service! It was great to get away and not have any interruptions, but instead have time to chill and have a laugh - boy did we laugh!! Then back to work and the week has just been one constant thing after another and shows no sign of letting up for the moment, but at least I managed half an hour of crafting this evening.....

Hands...

I was invited by Sandy to be Guest Designer for TGIF this week on the theme of hands. It took me a while to find the right kind of inspiration and all of a sudden it just clicked as to how I wanted the piece to look. I created this mixd media 8x8 piece using a digital photograph of my hands and hand drew on top with fineline pens and markers to give is a handdrawn look. I then cut a line across the top of the hands and made a heart separately - stamping it and hand colouring, then slotted it into the photograph. I created the background using distress inks, Prima stamps and crackle paint and adhered the photograph on top, the hand prints in the top right corner were stamped and then had glossy accents added on top to give dimension. I completed with clusters of Prima Flowers. Ihope you like the end piece, the heart can be changed now to fit any hand drawn element, so I am considering using this as a page in a mini book and having different items I can change the heart for?......

Wings & Hearts

This is the theme for MMM this week and I have made ths ATC using stamping, shading and drawing techniques. The wings were made separately and attached so that they appear as if she could jsut flap them and fly away.....

Mardis Gras...

is the theme for Gothic Arches this week, what a great theme with loads of possibilities. I chose to create some mini masks using a mould and Makins clay in black. Once dry I coloured using metallic markers and decorated the edges of some with paper, fabric or feathers. The background was layered card, a page of an old book, crackle paint and distress inks. Hope you like the end result.

Marie Antoinette

Was one of the most famous French Queen's, who at the height of the French Revolution incurred the wrath of her people and was sent to La Guillotine! These are my moos this week for Make A Moo. They are altered photographic images layered on top of a background.

Heartfelt

Another Valentines has come and gone, and the end of another run of themed challenges. I have combined the background image provided by ACF this week and the theme of hearts for SPA to produce this digital postcard. I have used a range of layering, lighting, and brush effects to create this piece. I hope you all had a great Valentines.

Use Hearts....

in a different way. This is the theme for Weds Stamper. I have created a skinny turning my hearts into dragonfly wings. The background was made using chalk eyes, watercolour pencils and pens to highlight detail, the body of the dragonfly was hand drawn and then the wings made of punched hearts and coloured with chalk eyes. Happy Valentines to all.

Friday 13th

May be unlucky for some, but others find it a very lucky day. Many superstitions have sprung up over the years concerning Friday 13th, and many now fear the day. What a great theme to set by TGIF this week. I created an ATC using stamping and hand drawing, incorporating the number and a black cat that many associate with bad luck. I on the other hand find black cats lucky! Have a great start to the weekend.....

Chairs

are the theme over at SPA this week and I have decided to create a digital piece. I used a variety of digital techniques in Photoshop to create my winged gent reading in his royal chair.....

Flowers in a Bed of Gold

Flowers is the theme for Arty Girlz this week and Gold the theme for CBH. Both link together beautifully and I created this small 6x6 mixed media piece combining the two. I first collaged a strip from an old book down the left-hand side and added blue chalk eye to it. I then added gold paint to the right and dried with a heat gun so that it bubbled to add texture to the surface. I then used stamps from Tim Holtz, Stamps Away, Prima and Cherry Pie Arts to stamp the background and flowers on book pages. I then cut out and coloured the stamped flowers and attached to the background, filling the centres with gold paint. The petals are curled so they lift off the surface of the backgound. Detail shots are below. Hope you like the end result, it was hard to photograph the gold and get it to look gold!!

You've Got Mail....

is the theme this week over at TMTA. I have used stamps from Crafty Individuals and added colour with markers, fine line pens, and chalk eyes, The top stamp image was stamped separately and attached with foam pads to raise off the surface.

Hearts Galore!

Over the next week I have a feeling hearts are going to become ever more popular! It is the theme for Gothic Arches this week, and I have created this arch using stamps from Magnolia, Prima, & B Line, punches form Woodware, Distress inks, chalk eyes and markers to colour images. The hearts are cut out and curled to make them 3D then added with foam pads to raise them off the surface, black cotton being added as the balloon strings.

I would like the thank everyone for their thoughts of well wishes over the last few days, I have my house secure and am now waiting for the insurance to be finalised and quotes for new items. I am feeling more settled again, after having a great weekend - Saturday spent in the company of some great friends, and today spent chilling out and getting a bit of crafting in. Here's to a good week ahead!

Kiss Kiss

I have combined the red & white challenge for Arty Girlz and Weds Stamper challenge Kiss Kiss into this skinny. I stamped the heart and cut it out, chalking the edges, I then layered it over the vintage image and cut to fit. I glued this to the background and added doodling around the edge in black and white pen to make it stand out and then finished by adding some epoxy flowers in red and white.

No.1

is the theme over at Make A Moo this week. I created these using a variety of differnt stamps from Paper Artsy, Prima, Cherry Pie, and Fourth Dimension. They are completed by having chalk eye rubbed around the edges and adding glossy accents to the cats, number one and the wording. Hope you like the end result.

Tag of love...

I have combined the love quote challenge of CBH and the tag sketch for TYI this week and created this piece below. I used a swirl template to draw the background tag and added water to bleed the colour, edging the tag in maroon chalk eye. I then layered the ribbon, punched hearts and the Love quote.

Dreaming of Better Days

What a week! I am so glad that it is Friday, this has been a very long week. It started with our share of the snow and a snow day for me on Monday. Back to work on Tuesday, but the end got worse, with a break in to my house. Thankfully no one was hurt, my little black shadow - Hugo was unhurt, just scared, the duvet showing evidence of his hurry to hide from the intruders, and only a few possessions gone. Last night was spent contacting the police, waiting for their visit, then securing the door and property and today contacting insurance, getting quotes for repairs, etc.

So For ACF this week using the wonderful image provided I have chosen to direct my energies into believing in better days to come, and created this digital montage - Dreaming of Carefree Days........... Here's hoping! I wish you all a great happy weekend.

Bathing Beauty

This is slightly late in the day, but I wanted to share this digital image I created using the image provided by ACF last Friday. The photograph of the lady just spoke to me of seaside, and in particular a Victorian bathing beauty with the rolling bathing huts! Hope you like the end result.

Green Circles

Green is the theme for TGIF and Circles the theme for SPA - I have chosen to combine the two this week as I thought the two go well together. I have created to postcards as I was not totally happy with this first one. Both are created by using hand painted backgrounds of green circles, then layered with stamps, hand drawn circles and wording. Hope you like them.

Rock

is music that I love, you can't beat a song with a good beat! This is the ATC I created for TMTA this week. I cannot choose just one rock star or rock band, so went for the things to do with rock!

SNOW DAY!!!!!

Well what a day - I did get my snow day, but not before I got up, got ready and left for work - then on the way there got the message that the school had been shut for the day! So turned around and came home where the fun began.....

I could not get the car back up the driveway!! I had to enlist the help of friends to dig out the driveway enough to get a grip with the tyres and back up it! In doing so I lost my grip and slid down the drive on my rear - it was so funny, but thankfully there were no cameras out at that point! We managed clearing it eventually and I got the car safely back up, but by then it had started to snow again, and has not stopped all day! I went for a walk around my neighbourhood, as I am close to the woods and farmland, and got some great shots to share with you. My cat Hugo even ventured out for a spell, which is unheard of! He hates the feel of the snow clinging to his paws, but he managed it long enough for a couple of poses.

I hope those of you in the UK enjoyed your day and either got to and from work safely or enjoyed a snow day too. I bet those of you from the States, Netherlands or other climates used to all this snow are thinking - a little snow and you all go crazy!!! But we rarely get a decent amount of snow, so we make the most of it when we can, I am sure I will be fed up of it soon.... Enjoy the photos. x x

Fruit...

is a great thing to eat to stay healthy! And it is the challenge over at MMM today. I have chosen to share some fruit studies I did using watercolour pain, fineline pen and builders scrim. The top one is a section of a slice of orange and the bottom tomatoes on a vine.

Tagging an Arch...

I love the colour purple and the theme of 'Tag your Arch' for Gothic Arches combined so well with the theme of 'Purple' over at TYI that I combined both to create this piece. The background is created on purple card with a range of images stamped in purple and cherry Stazon. Then the stamped tag and wording was layered on top with mount pads to raise them off the surface.

I made sure I was all tucked up and cosy this evening to create this piece - the weather has turned arctic again, with the snow front from Russia finally hitting us!! There is an even layer of snow all around, and I am hoping that it either stops so that I can get to work tomorrow safely, or that it keeps snowing hard, lays thick and I get a snow day!!! Here's looking forward to a winter wonderland at 6.30am tomorrow morning....