Oak House Studio - Accordion Card

Hi Everyone

This is my fourth and last Guest post for Lynnda at Oak House Studio.

I made two cards using Lynnda's fabulous inks and stamps and one of  Karen Burniston's original Accordion Card dies by Sizzix.

Here is a sneak peek, I hope you will pop over HERE to see the whole card.

Thanks for looking, hope to see you again soon.

Hugs, Anne xx

Featured on Tuesday's Tutorials by Marjie Kemper !

I am so thrilled and very honoured to be featured on Marjie Kemper's

Tuesday's Tutorials today!  This is most definitely one of the highlights

of my crafty journey.... thank you so much Marjie!  I have known Marjie
through 'cyberspace' for a few years now and totally admire her wonderful talent.

Marjie ran a series of Texture Tuesday for a full year and she has been 

running Tuesday's Tutorials for a few weeks now.  This is the project that is being featured...

If you missed my original post and want to have a look to see how I achieved the finish with

 Eileen Hull dies, matboard (mountboard) and DecoArt products, you can find it HERE.

I hope you don't mind me sharing this with you, but I am so thrilled!

Hugs, Anne xx

Tim Tag July 2015

Hi Everyone

Just a quick (well reasonably quick) post from me today to share my Tim tag for July.  To see Tim's wonderful tag and how he did his, look HERE.

I made several starts on mine, I don't have the stamps Tim used, so tried lots of other designs before I settled on a seaside theme (no surprised there then!).  I used the same techniques that Tim did, just different colours and stamps.  

I also added a couple of 'altered surfaces' to my tag which falls in nicely with the lovely Linda Ledbetter's Compendium of Curiosities III challenge #33, which is to use Tim's Altered Surface technique found on Page 45 of Tim's CC3C book.  If you still need a copy you can buy one direct from Tim here.

For the base colours I used Cracked Pistachio and Mermaid Lagoon.

The elements were coloured with Distress Markers.  The hanging star is one of my altered surfaces.

The number 1 is my second altered surface.  

CC3C #33 is sponsored by Inspiration Emporium and this is my DT piece for Inspiration Journal.  Inspiration Emporium are offering a very generous $50 voucher for one randomly selected individual to spend in their on-line shop.  Their shipping rates are excellent - $5 in the USA and $10 to Europe.

Tim and Mario are also offering a fabulous prize of Tim Holtz goodies to one individual selected as the favourite by the talented Curiosity Crew.

Thanks for looking, hope to see you again soon - in fact I hope you will come back

on Tuesday as I have some very exciting news!

Hugs, Anne xx

Products used from Inspiration Emporium

Tim Holtz Mini Blueprints #6

Archival Ink - Jet Black

Tim Holtz Distress Markers

Tim Holtz Distress Ink

Idea-ology - various

Oak House Studio #3 - Medium Sunflower

Hello Everyone

This is my third project as Guest Designer for Lynnda of Oak House Studio.  This time I wanted to show how Lynnda's fantastic inks can be used in a different way.  I also used Lynnda's medium sunflower stamp.

Here's a sneak peek:

If you have the time I would love if you could go over to Oak House Studio blog to have a look!

Thanks so much for looking.  Hope to see you again soon. 

Hugs, Anne xx

Anything But Cute - Challenge #3 - Summer Romance

Hi Everyone

I would like to firstly apologise if I have not visited your blog during this last week, we are away at the moment, internet connections are poor and I really wanted to spend some quality time with family so I have been away from the keyboard!  Normal service will resume tomorrow!

Over at Anything But Cute Challenge Blog the theme for this month is Summer Romance with a romantic and or beach/sea theme, and as many of you know I love anything sea themed so I just had to join in.  There is a mood board for inspiration:

A while back a lovely young blog friend sent me some fabulous seaside Prima goodies and I have been saving them to make something special and they fitted right in with this challenge.

I used a 5" x 5" deep canvas as my base and after covering it with gesso I applied some DecoArt Media Texture Sand Paste which I had coloured with some DecoArt Cobalt Teal Hue
Media Fluid Paint.  

I applied quite a thick coat of the paste and ran my finger across to create the illusion of moving water (well in my mind that is what I intended!).  I added some coloured sand to a line across the bottom and also painted some DecoArt Titan Buff Media Fluid to a another line to represent sand.  It does not show in the photo but the coloured sand has a real 'sparkle' to it.

I gathered together all the bits and pieces that I wanted to add to the canvas, the beautiful Prima resin pieces (which I gently coloured with more DecoArt paints in the colours shown on the mood board), some Tim Holtz leaves from the Pinecone die set and some spools for feet.  These were coloured in the DecoArt Cobalt Teal Hue Media Fluid mixed with some Titan White Media Fluid Acrylic to tone the colour down slightly.

The finished canvas again, I added some of my beloved seed beads for water bubbles and some strands of twisted card 'reeds' for the seahorse to cling too.  The Tim Holtz Discoveries word band is attached with some bakers twine.

I am entering this into Anything But Cute - Challenge #3 - Summer Romance Challenge.

Thanks for looking, I hope to catch up with you all very soon.

Hugs, Anne xxx

Oak House Studio Guest - Butterflies

This is my second guest appearance for July over at Oak House Studio.  This week I have chosen to use Lynnda's fabulous Colour Chemistry pigment inks as sprays (they are incredibly versatile) and have also used one of Lynnda's beautiful butterfly stamps.

Here's a sneak peek, I would love it, if you have time, if you will visit HERE to see what I created.

As always, thanks for looking,

I hope to see you again soon.  Hugs, Anne xx

Compendium of Curiosities #32 - Frosted Film

Apologies for so many posts this week but I am trying to play catch up!

It is hard to believe that it is Challenge #32 at CC3C already.  The lovely Linda Ledbetter and the Curiosity Crew have shown some wonderful inspiration for us all HERE.  One lucky person, chosen

by the Curiosity Crew will win a wonderful selection of goodies donated by the very

generous Tim Holtz and his Operations Director Mario Rossi!

Linda Coughlin of the Funkie Junkie is sponsoring this challenge and one randomly 

selected individual will win a £25 voucher to spend at the Funkie Junkie. 

The challenge this time is to use Frosted Film and you can find it on Page 59 of Tim's 

Compendium of Curiosities III.  If you do not have a copy you can buy one (signed) 

directly from Tim here. 

As you can see, I made a tag this time, I cannot share the technique but I did use it on the 

flowers but I can tell you a little about how I got to the finished state.

I coloured the base tag with the gorgeous Fossilized Amber Distress Ink.  The top tag has been coloured with  Mermaid Lagoon and Gathered Twigs DI and I used the Spritz and Flick 

technique before using one of Tim's Mixed Media Thinlits dies.

The flower stems were stamped using Tim's Flower Garden stamp set.  To finish off the flowers

I added some of my latest love - seed beads.  They were on special offer for £1 per pack

from a local department store (John Lewis) - I bought loads!

I coloured some seam binding with Mermaid Lagoon Distress Ink and I added a word 

token (dream) to finish the tag.

I am entering this tag into CC3C Challenge #32.

As always, thanks for looking, I will be back on Friday with another creation

for Oak House Studio.  

Hugs, Anne xx

Make it 3D for Art With Heart

Thank you so much for all your well wishes, I truly appreciate it, I think I am on
 the right side of it now.   You really are the best!

Well, the title says it all really - I love making 3D projects so I was in my element doing this Design Team project - or should I say - three projects for Art With Heart!  If you join in the challenge you could win the die that will Make It 3D!  See the challenge HERE.  You don't have to use Eileen's 3D die to enter, just show us a 3D project.

The wonderfully talented Eileen Hull designed a die that can be used to make almost any flat project into a 3D project so I have taken Eileen's Thinlits die - Travel Trailer, Tim Holtz's Layered Butterfly and also Tim's Pocket Watch dies and made them all 3D.   I will try to keep the words to the minimum as there are quite a few pictures, I hope I don't bore you!

My three finished 3D pieces.

I started with Eileen's Thinlits Travel Trailer and also some of the Make It 3D pieces.

In this photo you can see the difference in size between Eileen's Bigz XL Trailer and the Thinlits one, which is only 3 inches long.  Eileen is off soon on her Paper Trail around USA in her vintage trailer, Scotty so it just seemed right to commemorate this with a mini trailer.

Next up with Tim Holtz's Pocket Watch die and again I used the Make it 3D dies to 

add dimension.

The pieces, once assembled were painted with DecoArt Metallic Silver Media Paint, it gives great coverage and has a lovely light sheen.

I used some beautiful Maja Design paper for the background and the flowers, the flowers are from Eileen's Borders and Hydrangea Bigz die. The young ladies are from Tim's Found Relatives. It was hard to capture the image, it is so dull and overcast here these days.

It was a little trickier making the butterfly box but I wanted to show the versatility of Eileen's 3D die.  The box and butterfly were painted entirely with DecoArt Media paints shown.  I also used Weathered Wood Crackle Medium on the box and Ranger's Clear Rock Candy Distress Paint on the butterfly topper.

The crackled butterfly was added to the top of the box and then I added some wire antennae and seed bead for the body.  I also cut off the 'swallowtail' part of the tail so that the box can stand up - it will also lie flat.

We hope you will join in the challenge HERE, you could win the Make It 3D die, just imagine how many things you could make 3D!  At the moment you stand a very good chance of winning too!  You don't need to use Eileen's die to enter, just make something 3D!

As always, thanks for taking the time to visit, I hope to see you again soon.

Hugs, Anne xx

Travel Document Holder for Inspiration Journal

First, I would like to thank my latest new followers for joining me on my crafty journey.  Next, I would like to apologise to any of you that I have not visited lately.  I have been full of a summer cold which has made me feel pretty miserable and I have been trying to spend less time on the computer.

I am off to London at the end of the month so see the wonderful artist that is Wendy Vecchi and I made a Document Holder to carry all the things we need for the trip.

To start I used a Manila File Folder which I cut in half, folded to create two inner pages and then I got out Tim Holtz's fabulous Correspondence Paper pad to create this:

Once folded I covered the inside and outside of the file folder with Correspondence Papers.  For the front I used the Picture Wheel die and then added the word London using Tim's Alphanumeric Thinlits die set.

Big Ben is stamped from London Sights and the view is from the Cityscapes stamp set.

A couple of pockets were added to the first two pages along with Alphanumeric letters, Remnant Rubs and the rest of the Cityscape view.

On the inside back pages I added an envelope from the Bigz envelope die and attached another pocket on the inside back page.

I used Wendy Vecchi's Archival Ink and Embossing Powder in Red Geranium to cover the Idea-ology clip and the double decker bus charm is from my stash.

A view of the back cover and Tim's beautiful papers.  The finished folder measures 6" x 4.1/2", is not too bulky and will fit nicely into my handbag/purse.

Many of the items I used can be purchased from Inspiration Emporium, if you do shop there and use my code Redanne, you will receive a 10% discount from your whole purchase.

Thanks for looking, I will be back on Tuesday to share some 3D projects for Eileen Hull's

  Art With Heart Challenge.  Hugs, Anne xx

Products from Inspiration Emporium

Tim Holtz Correspondence Papers

Tim Holtz Alphanumeric die set

Tim Holtz CityScapes Stamp set

Tim Holtz London Sights Stamp set

Tim Holtz Remnant Rubs

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Hinge clips

Wendy Vecchi Archival Ink - Red Geranium

Oak House Studio Guest - Small Sunflower

I was really pleased when Lynnda Worsnop, the owner of Oak House Studio

asked me to be a Guest for the month of July.  I had used Lynnda's stamps in the past

but had not tried out her fabulous inks before.

The first of my four weekly projects, which you can see HERE, is a

CAS card using her small sunflower stamp.  Here's a little

sneak peek.  If you have time I would love it if you can visit the blog to have a look.

Lynnda's inks come in a fantastic range of colours, they are very reasonable, go a long way

and the colours are permanent - and a joy to use!

Thanks for your visit, I hope to see you early next week with some

 3D designs for Art With Heart.

Hugs, Anne xx

Compendium of Curiosities #31

Hello!  Two posts in two days, unusual for me but I wanted to make the deadline for CC3C and I have - just!

The challenge at Linda Ledbetter's Compendium of Curiosities III this fortnight is Layering Stencil : Paint Resist which you can find on Page 47 of Tim's Compendium of Curiosities III.  If you don't have a copy you can purchase one direct from Tim (signed) here.

The challenge is sponsored by Inspiration Emporium who will award one randomly drawn individual a $50 voucher to spend in their on-line store.  The Curiosity Crew will choose their favourite entry and that person will receive a fabulous bundle of goodies from Tim Holtz and Mario Rossi!  

I didn't have a lot of time so I made a tag, I hope you like it....

I cannot share the technique with you but I used it on the base of my tag.  I used several Distress Inks (Peacock Feathers, Peeled Paint and Cracked Pistachio) along with Tim's Flourish, Latticework and Dot Fade Stencils.

To create the Dragonfly I used Tim's Layered Dragonfly die/texture fade set to cut and emboss the dragonfly from card and then again from thick acetate (packaging).  The wings were coloured with Broken China Distress Ink and the body was coloured with Black Soot.  The upper acetate wings were coloured with Alcohol Ink in Pool and Lettuce.  Adding the glass beads to the body is an idea I got from the lovely Linda Coughlin here (The Funkie Junkie).

I coloured some of Tim's Crinkle Ribbon with Peacock Feathers Distress Stain for the bow at the top and I cut the words from the Thinlets set - Handwritten Love.

Many of the items I used come from Inspiration Emporium and if you would like to shop there, you can use my code Redanne you will receive a 10% discount from your whole order.

Thanks so much for your visit, I hope to see you again soon.

Hugs, Anne xxx

Products from Inspiration Emporium

Layered Dragonfly Bigz Die w/ Texture Fade

Tim Holtz Thinlets - Handrwitten Love

Tim Holtz Distress Ink

Tim Holtz Distress Stain

Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink

Tim Holtz Stencils

Tim Holtz Crinkle Ribbon

A Vintage Journey - Destinations

Hi Everyone

It is time for another challenge over at A Vintage Journey and our wonderfully talented Jenny has chosen 'Destinations' for this challenge.  You can see what the others in the team have made for your inspiration HERE.

In Jenny's words - 'We would love to see creations based on a destination or place of your choice.  Tim has provided stamps themed around the United States, Great Britain and Paris but don't let this restrict you!  Let your favourite destination inspire you!'

I made a card but it could also be used as a journal cover to remember a trip to Paris.  It is a few years since I visited Paris, it is wonderful romantic and vibrant city.  When Tim brought out this set of Cityscape stamps I could not wait to get my hands on them - there several wonderful cities in the set.  The stamps were a gift from a lovely friend and I have been keeping them especially for this 'Destinations' Challenge.

These are the elements I started with (I did not use the Fleur de Lys in the end).  I used black embossing paste for the harlequin pattern and the word Destination at the top.  The paper is from Tim Holtz's French Industrial paper pad.  I stamped and coloured the view of Paris and added a few Remnant Rubs.  The word Paris was stamped and given a lift by adding it to one of Tim's Fragments.

A close up view of the Paris scene, coloured with Antique Linen Distress ink and the sky was created using Tumbled Glass Distress Ink and the spritz and flick method.

So, where will your travel destination be?  Please do join us at A Vintage Journey, it is a wonderful challenge and as always, there is a £20 prize for one randomly selected individual, from our generous Sponsor, Country View Crafts to spend in their on-line shop.  P & P in the UK is always free and Susan stocks a fantastic range of Tim Holtz and Ranger products.

Thanks for your visit, I am going to be around quite a lot in July so I hope to see you again soon.

Hugs, Anne xxx