Tag Friday at A Vintage Journey

Hello Friends

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, or other celebration, this last week and are now looking forward to the New Year!

At A Vintage Journey it is Tag Friday time, as there are five Fridays in December.  Whilst attempting to tidy my Craft Room I found some bits and pieces that I wanted to use to make a tag.  It was lovely doing something grungy, just for fun - and not related to Christmas....

I did not do step by steps for this one, I just got a bit carried away in the process.  For those of you who like a little detail - the tag base is a Tando chipboard one, they take a lot of mediums without buckling.  The base was painted with DecoArt black Gesso, left to dry and then coated with a fairly thin layer of DecoArt Crackle Paint.  Once the paint was dry the tag was covered with a couple of thin washes of DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylic paint in Cobalt Teal Hue.  I lightly brushed some watered down DecoArt Quinacridone Gold, in places, over the tag.

To colour the cogs and the edges of the tag I first applied a coat of DecoArt Paynes Grey Media Fluid Acrylic, followed by a coat of Quinacridone Gold.  Whilst still wet I dabbed on some Prima Artisan Powder and left this to dry.

The heart is also Tando chipboard, it was coloured with  DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylic in Pyrole Red followed by a thin layer of One Step Crackle.  The words are Tim Holtz Chit Chat stickers.  They have had a light wash of DecoArt Titan Buff Media Fluid Acrylic.

I used a Tim Holtz stencil and DecoArt Titan Buff paint to do the stencilling.  I wanted it to show more so I went around the stencilled words with a fine liner pen.

The heart was a little too red for my liking so I toned it down with DecoArt Antiquing Cream in Carbon Black.  Once dry, I wiped it off with a damp cloth and the cracks show up beautifully. Don't you just love it when a plan comes together!

If you would like to see some more tags, created by my talented teamies, then please have a look over at A Vintage Journey, you will find some wonderful creations there!

As always, thanks for looking, I hope to see you again soon!

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and yours
A VERY HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR,
 I hope it is a great one for you all!

Hugs, Anne xxx

Tim Tag - December 2016

Hello Friends

Apologies for the lack of blog posts, we have been away, having an early Christmas with family.

Today, I am sharing my Tim Tag for December.  You can see Tim's original post here.

I have really enjoyed doing the tags again this year so it's a big thank you to Tim for all his hard work in creating the Re-Mix tags this year, it's been fun!

The background was created with Festive Berries Distress Spray Stain onto a hessian covered tag.

The other elements were added using Tim's techniques but I didn't have all of the 'ingredients' so I improvised here and there!

Here is a close-up of the stencilling and some of the stitching around the edges.

So, that's it, another year over!  

I would just like to take the opportunity to wish you a Happy Christmas, if you celebrate, and all the very best for 2017.  To my regular followers, thank you for sticking with me, I really do appreciate it very much!

Hugs, Anne xx

Destination Inspiration at A Vintage Journey

Hello Friends

Just a quickie to say that I am sharing a Destination Inspiration post over at 

A Vintage Journey.

I appreciate it is a very busy time for you all but if you do have time, it would be lovely if you could pop over to see my holiday tag.  Here is a little sneak peek...

As always, thanks so much for your continued support and your very welcome comments!

Hugs, Anne xx

Secret Santa at Anything But Cute

Hello Friends

Is there anything nicer for a crafter, than getting a handmade gift from a crafty friend at Christmas?!

This year at Anything But Cute we decided to do a Secret Santa and I got to make a gift
for the uber talented Pamellia of  My Little Craft Things. So, what to make for such a talented crafter?  It had to be a 3D project using one of Eileen Hull's fabulous dies!  I used the Cantilever Sewing Box die to make Pamellia a little box to store some of her crafty bits and bobs.  I am happy to report that Pamellia loved her gift....

I added a flower to the top using Tim Holtz's fabulous Poinsettia die.  The flower is removable so that the box will look a little less Christmassy....

The box opens up and there are lots of little compartments to store crafty things.

I used some beautiful Maja Design papers for the inside and outside of the box.  The struts and insides of the trays are painted with IndigoBlu English Cottage Acrylic paint - Grandma's Teacup, it matched the papers so beautifully.

I also made a tag and included one of Tim Holtz's Idea-ology watches, decorated inside with the words 'Remember the Now'.  The little knobs on the top of the box are also from the Tim Holtz Idea-ology range.

Finally, I sent Pamellia quite a simple card.  Those who know Pamellia well will know how much love she has for the neighbourhood woodland creatures, particularly the squirrels.  When I saw this delightful image I knew it just had to go on Pamellia's card and I wanted it to be the centre of attention.

I was so lucky to receive my gift from my lovely and talented friend, Sara Emily of  Sara's Closet.  Here is a sneak peek of what Sara sent me, you will never guess what it is!

 I hope you will find the time to go over THERE and have a look, it is quite exquisite.  About a year or so ago Sara did a tag with a similar technique and I lusted after it for ages, the tag has been shared over a 1,000 times on Pinterest, so I think a lot of others were lusting after it too!  Sara, I LOVE MY GORGEOUS GIFT, it will be so incredibly useful, particularly over Christmas!

It has been such a pleasure participating in the Secret Santa with my lovely teamies at Anything But Cute this year!  It has been great fun ladies!!  We are taking a little break during December at Anything But Cute but we will be back with our Winners Post on 12th December and with a new challenge in January!

I am adding this to Country View Challenges where the challenge theme is - Christmas
I am also adding my little sewing box to Simon Says Monday Challenge where the challenge theme is Christmas Gifts.

Thank you for looking, hope to see you again soon.

Big hugs,  Anne xxx

Tim Tag - November 2016

Hello Friends

A quickie post, I am a bit late this month, I have been busy making Christmas cards, but I finally took some time off to create my Tim Tag.

You can see Tim's original HERE.  This is my second attempt, the first one had too many 

Remnant Rubs on it so I toned it down for this one...

I loved the look of the white Remnant Rubs against the blue and silver background. I pretty much followed Tim's tutorial, just used fewer colours - Broken China, Evergreen Bough and Tumbled Glass as I wanted a cool wintry feel.

I love this skate stamp, it comes out every year!  I gently shaded it with Antique Linen, Hickory Smoke and Brushed Pewter (for the blades).

I just added some seam binding, dyed with Broken China Distress Stain and an Idea-ology snowflake coloured with Alcohol Ink.  Such a shame that the blue foiling around the edges has not been picked up by the camera though....it looks so pretty!

Thanks for looking, hope to see you again soon - can you believe it is less than

four weeks to Christmas.....

Hugs, Anne xx

Exciting News !!

Hello Friends!

I am sharing some exciting news with you today!

As many of you know, I am part of Eileen Hull's Inspiration Team and Eileen was given

the opportunity by Bella Crafts Publishing to create an E-book and many of the team are

in this new book, either with full step-by-step projects or within the Gallery of  projects we

have created for Eileen.  There are also many projects by friends of Eileen and the Team!  I am so thrilled to have a few projects in the Gallery section.

The book - Die Cutting Magic, is published by Bella Crafts, who produce amazing quality E-books and on-line magazines, and it is being launched today - Black Friday.  As a BF offer, the book is available for $2.97 (yes, really!) and will be available at this price until Midnight 28th November (Pacific Time).  That is a whopping 77% discount off the normal price of $12.97 - which is still a bargain for a 165 page book, packed with ideas and step by steps to over 40 amazing projects!

Are you looking for ideas for projects from Clean and Simple (CAS) right up to Mixed Media, with full step by step instructions?  It would make a great add on Christmas present for crafty family or friends!  

If you click on the icon on the top left of my sidebar, it will take you straight to where you can purchase the book, I hope you will!

I would love to know what you think of the book, should you buy it.

As always, thanks so much for looking!  Have a great weekend.

Hugs, Anne xx

Eileen Hull and DCWV - Winter Wonderland Part 3

Hello Friends

I have enjoyed Eileen Hull's collaboration with DCWV so much I decided to make another

project and I think this might be my favourite so far....  For the whole month of November, my

teamies have been making the most fantastic projects and I hope you will find some time to visit Eileen's blog.

I used Eileen's Cantilever Sewing Box die (Sizzix 660768) and DCWV Cranberry Christmas papers to make my project.

As you can see I used some of the softer colour tone papers from the pack.  I constructed the box, following the instructions on the package and used the papers to cover the outside.

The struts, feet, brads and knobs were coloured with IndigoBlu Pantry White acrylic paint, it is rich in pigment and only one coat was required.

I made the flower, for the top, first.

After cutting three each of the flower petals using Eileen Hull's Pansy Flower die (Sizzix 661109), I spritzed them well with water and scrunched them up.  I carefully unraveled the wet petals and layered them up and left them to dry.  Once dry, the flowers are very strong and they will keep their shape really well.

The tag was cut from the paper pack too, I just added the word and also some ribbon.

I lined each of the sections with some co-ordinating paper from the pack.

I used the same papers and one of the labels from the paper pack to make a matching card.  To finish off I added some cream vintage seam binding and a fabric brad from my stash.  I love that I can make simple cards entirely from the paper pack.

I hope you like my final project for November using Eileen Hull dies and these beautiful papers!

My apologies if I have not been to visit you in the last few days, I have been away, attending a fabulous group of workshops by the amazing artists - Andy Skinner, Brenda Brown and Mark Gould, held by Tando Creative.  If you ever get the opportunity to take a workshop with any of these artists please take it, you will not be disappointed!

Thanks so much, as always, for looking!

Hugs, Anne xxx

Christmas is coming.....

Hello Friends!

Just a quickie post, I have been making some Christmas cards (at last) and a few tags for gifts, using my lovely new Tim Holtz stamps.

I just love this new scribbly reindeer stamp!  I made the tag a couple of weeks ago using a No. 10 black tag blank, stamped with the Damask stamp and embossed in white detail embossing powder.  It creates a wonderful opulent background.

All I needed to do was die cut an ornate frame, add a faux wood background and add my scribbly reindeer.  He looked a bit 'flat, so I gave his antlers a bit of sparkle with Vintage Platinum Distress Glitter Dust - I think he looks quite handsome now!

To finish off I added some vintage ribbon, dyed with Festive Berries and Candied Apple Distress Stain and a word tag, coloured with Festive Berries Distress Crayon.  I love the contrast of the black, white and red....

As you see this I will be on my way to a fun weekend of craft, with some fabulous Designers and getting the chance to meet some wonderful crafty friends.  It is actually snowing here - yikes!

I have belatedly realised that I could add this to the Tags, Bags & Boxes Challenge over at Stamps & Stencils, it is a tag, for a gift and it includes stamping.

Thanks for your visit, hope to see you soon, I will try to catch up on your blogs soon.

Hugs, Anne xx

Eileen Hull and DCWV - Winter Wonderland Part 2

Hello Friends

I am here with another Eileen Hull and DCWV - Winter Wonderland post.

This time I used Eileen Hull for Sizzix Cookie Box (Sizzix 659874) die together with DCWV's beautiful Cranberry Christmas Premium Stack of papers.

The cookie box is so easy to put together, you just simply follow the instructions that come with the die.  

To make the Christmas tree I cut various strips of papers in decreasing size and used my Martha Stewart scoreboard to score at either 1/2" intervals (the first two layers) or 1/2" intervals for the other layers.  Fold along the score lines and then glue the two ends together.  Press down onto a circle of paper and glue - hold for a moment or two.  I used PVA wet glue but it would set more quickly with a glue gun.  The rounds were stacked up and glued together to form the tree.

I made a matching Christmas with the left-over papers and one of the sentiment sheets from the DCWV paper pack.  This is such a great way to make quick and easy cards.

To add some interest I fussy cut another flower and decoupaged this and added it together with a red jingle bell.

I hope you will visit Eileen's blog throughout the month to see the wonderful creations that my teamies have come up with!

Thanks for looking, hope to see you again soon!

Hugs, Anne xx

Eileen Hull and DCWV - Winter Wonderland

This month Eileen Hull's Inspiration Team are working with some beautiful papers from DCWV (Die Cuts With a View) together with Eileen Hull's dies.

For my first project this month, I created a small wreath using some of the lovely papers from the DCWV Cranberry Christmas paper pack.

This was a very easy project, I took a piece of corrugated card, used a couple of plates to draw circles and cut out the wreath shape.  I cut one sheet of the foiled paper into strips and wrapped them around the wreath shape, gluing each strip in place.

To create the poinsettias I cut the large leaf shape from Eileen Hull's Spring Leaves die (Sizzix 661111), cutting three for each layer.  The paper is also from the DCWV Cranberry Christmas paper pack.  The first layer was added to a circle.  I cut some of the leaf bases for the second layer and a little more for the third layer as you can see below.  Once the layers were glued together I shaped the petals to give the poinsettia a more realistic look.  I added a large glitter covered pearl to the centre.

The beautiful bow and snowflake are from the DIY Project Stack - Gift Decor  paper pack by DCWV, another beautiful Holiday paper stack.

To create the hanger, I used some crimson coloured vintage seam binding and twisted it using Eileen Hull's Twist & Style tool.

So there we have it, a quick and easy project using one die and two sheets of paper.

To see more projects created by my talented teamies please go to Eileen's blog HERE.  The team will be sharing projects each week during November.

You can also see a beautiful layout by DCWV DT Member, Karen Hanson HERE and more beautiful projects HERE.

Thanks for your visit, I really appreciate it.  See you soon!  Anne xx

Rustic Glam at Anything But Cute

Hello Friends

It is time for a new challenge at Anything But Cute and the wonderful Niki is hosting the November challenge which is Rustic Glam!

Here is what Niki had to say - 'think of Southern charm meeting some Bling Bling.  Create a mixed media design featuring rustic elements such as whitewashed wood, chicken wire, burlap, soft subtle tones and lots of neutrals.  Don't forget to add the GLAM part with some sparkle and Bling!

I decided to challenge myself and use everything that Niki asks for in her fabulous challenge. Here's what I created:

I wanted to create a weathered wood look, like the design paper on the left.  I covered some Kraft card with DecoArt Crackle Paint and when it was dry I chipped a few areas off.

I coated the piece with a wash of Distress Paint in Tumbled Glass and I coloured the 'chips' with a Distress Marker in Tea Dye.

I then covered the whole piece with DecoArt Antiquing Cream and then wiped it back with a wet baby wipe to remove most of it.

I cut the piece into 'wood' planks and went around the edges with Raw Umber Antiquing Cream.

 I didn't like the darkness of it and so I painted over all of the pieces with some watered down white gesso, you will see this better in the picture below.  

I didn't have any chicken wire so I stamped and embossed some heat resistant acetate and cut this up into strips.

To make the flowers I used Tim Holtz's Tattered Florals die.  I also cut some leaves, a piece of cheesecloth, some string, a piece of hessian and a die cut word - friend.

To create the flower centres I used some Christmas 'berries', coated them with Multi Medium and then dipped them into Ranger Vintage Platinum Distress Glitter Dust.

Once I layered up all the pieces I attached the piece to a metal hanger (a gift from a friend) which I painted with cream chalky paint.

Thanks Niki for a great challenge, I really enjoyed making this project!

We very much hope you will join in with us for our Rustic Glam challenge at
Anything But Cute!

I would like to add this to Frilly and Funkie's 'What a Mesh' challenge - (my mesh pieces are the burlap and the cheesecloth).

Thanks so much for your visit!

Hugs,  Anne xx

Cracking Up at A Vintage Journey

Hello Friends

This month at A Vintage Journey the fabulous Alison is our host and Alison's challenge is 'Cracking Up'.  Here is what Alison had to say:

'Share your crackled projects - whether your crackle is stamped, painted, texture paste or any other kind of crackle.  To be a winner or Pinworthy mention, your project must be in a vintage, shabby, mixed-media, art journalling, industrial or steampunk style.'

I was so totally inspired by my talented friend and team-mate Jenny Marples' September project, using Seth Apter's dies, that I bought one of the sets to make my 'Cracking Up' project for Alison's wonderful challenge.  Here is my project...

To create the crackle background I used DecoArt Media Crackle Paint and when it was dry
I made a very light wash using Cobalt Teal Hue Media Fluid Acrylic mixed with water.

I cut the square using Seth Apter's Robo Square die by Spellbinders.  I painted the squares with Viva Decor Rusty Paper. 

 Once dry I gave them a coat of Quinacridone Gold Media Fluid Acrylic and touched up here and there with Cobalt Teal Hue.

To create the backing for the piece, I did this in the same way as the squares.  I also went around the edges of the piece with Vintage Photo Distress Ink to give a more 'aged' appearance.

To create the 'wrapped' piece I followed a tutorial by Seth Apter and Julie Fei Fan Balzar HERE.  It is such fun using bits of wood, wire and scraps of  wool, thread and charms.

Here's another look at the final project, I added a Tim Holtz die cut dragonfly.  The wings were cut twice, one in card and once in acetate.  The acetate was coloured with alcohol inks.  The body and lower wings were coloured with Distress Inks and then the body was coated with Ranger Crackle Accents.  The words are Tim Holtz Idea-ology chit chat.

This month at A Vintage Journey we are sponsored by Tando Creative who have a prize for a randomly drawn winner.  We will also choose three Pinworthies who will be offered a Guest appearance for a later challenge - so we hope you will join in!

Take care, hope to see you again soon!

Hugs, Anne xx