Checkmate

Hi Friends

My project as Guest Designer for AALL & Create is a fabric covered journal.  This week I have used Stamp Set #122 Chess pieces by Bipasha BK.

 As soon as I saw this gorgeous checkerboard fabric, I knew I wanted to use Bipasha's Chess Pieces stamp set to make the chess pieces.

I started by using Eileen Hull's Wrapped Journal die, the fabric and the stamp set.

 I stamped out onto white card.

After fussy cutting the chess pieces, I coloured the pieces with watercolour paints and then added Glossy Accents to give a lovely shine.

After covering the outside of the journal with the fabric, I painted the inside in plain black.  A pocket was added to the inside back and the red elastic was threaded through.  Seam binding, dyed red with Distress Stain was added these to the front and back covers, as my closure.

Extra chess pieces were coloured and added to the three signatures.

To finish off some silver coloured chess piece charms were added.

So, there we have it, Project #7 for AALL & Create completed!  If you wish to purchase products from AALL & Create, you can do so HERE.

Hope to see you again soon.  Hugs, Anne  xx

AALL & Create Project #6 - Artist Trading Coins

Hello Friends

This is the second of two posts today, sometimes things just happen that way!

Artist Trading Coins (ATCoins) are all the rage at the moment and when I saw the latest release of stamps by Tracy Evans for AALL & Create, I just knew they would be perfect for making ATCoins.

I created the coins first and then decided they needed a holder (as you do - lol).

Starting with AALL & Create stamp set #113,  #119 and #140 (all by Tracy Evans) and Paper Artsy paints I created the coins.  Once I was happy with the result I gave each coin a triple layer of clear embossing powder.  I love the effect the EP gives and it really brings the colours to life.

I used all of the above colours in both the coins and the holder.

To create the holder I used a kit from Calico Crafts.  I brayered all of the pieces, front and back, with the same Paper Artsy paint colours I used on the coins and then stamped with AALL & Create stamp #119 and Stencil #22 (by Autour de Mwa), before constructing the holder.

A close up view of the ATcoins.

A close up view of the finished holder.

Wherever you are in the world you can purchase the AALL & Create Stamps and Stencil I used from the stockists listed HERE.

I would like to join in with Country View Challenge, where the challenge is to create Artist Trading Coins.

That's all for this week, I have another post going live today, I am taking part in a Blog Hop.

Hugs, Anne xx

Winter Wishes Blog Hop

Hello Friends

Warm thoughts are unfolding, as we begin to enter a festive time of year.

 Eileen Hull (Eileen Hull Designs) and Kim Evans (Emerald Creek) and The Teams have created a fun Blog Hop Challenge to kick off the American Thanksgiving and Winter festivities - Winter Wishes.  I was thrilled to be asked to join in the Blog Hop.

To play, all you need to do is follow along and comment on every blog in the Hop.

If you play along and link up your own creation using Eileen and Emerald Creek products, you will get 2 bonus entries for the draw.  The Challenge closes on Sunday November 25th, with the Winner announced on Cyber Monday.

The PRIZE includes an Eileen Hull Journal Die and a $50 gift certificate to the Emerald Creek shop, how fabulous is that!!

I used Eileen Hull's Passport die (Sizzix 660331) and beautiful stamps from Emerald Creek (Snowy Trees and Country Lodge).........to create a 'Shaker' Journal

After die cutting the journal, I painted all of the elements with Dina Wakely Heavy Body paint in Ruby.  I stamped  the winter scene, embossed it with Emerald Creek Onyx Frost Allure Embossing Powder and painted it with watercolour inks.

To create the 'Shaker' element I die cut three further journal fronts and cut an oval into each one. Tip: To ensure the ovals match up, simply use one of the oval cut fronts, line it up and mark with a pencil before cutting.

The wintry image was added to the base of the front, two further journal fronts (with the oval cut) were glued on top, two teaspoons of glitter was added and a layer of acetate was placed on top to seal in the glitter and image.  Finally, the last journal front was added to seal all the elements.

The Christmas trees were stamped and embossed with Emerald Creek Onyx Frost EP, coloured with watercolour inks and applied to a snowy background cut from white card which had been glittered to represent snow.

A dyed seam binding closure was added, together with a fun reindeer charm.

I hope you will 'hop' around to visit the other designers to see what they have created with products from Eileen Hull and Emerald Creek and of course, we would love you to join in too.

The blog hop order:

Eileen Hull
Kim Evans
Gwen Lafleur
Pam Bray
Ann Barnes
Lisa Hoel
Jennalee Anderson
Diana Hetherington
Anne Redfern - you are here!
Elizabeth Robinson
Susana Magenheimer
Julia Aston

I hope you enjoy the hop and good luck!

Hugs, Anne  xxx

Snow is falling....

Hello Friends

Just a very quick post today to share some more Tiny Snowglobes by Tim Holtz.  This time I have made cards with some of the pieces I had left when I created the Tiny Snowglobe tags last week.

The cards are 5" x 5" square and I had the idea of using the Snowflake die (Flurry #2) to accentuate the mini globes.  The papers are from Tim's release from a previous year.

1) I die cut the hole in the design paper which was cut to fit the card base.

2) I attached the centre of the snowflake to the card base, (after attaching my mini die) lining it up by using the design paper.

3)  I added some sequins to represent snow

4)  The dome as then applied to the base card.

Attach the remainder of the snowflake to the design paper and glue down the paper over the globe.

A close up of the other cards.

I just adore the little images (I used glitter in this snowglobe). 

 Tip:  if you do use glitter inside the globes it is a good idea to use an anti static bag or cloth to run around the inside of the globe to stop the glitter from sticking where you don't want it.

Here is a final look at the finished cards.

As luck would have it, Simon Says Monday Challenge is 'Let It Snow' so I am entering my cards over there.

Thanks, as always, for your visit, I hope to see you again soon.

Hugs, Anne xx

AALL & Create Project #5 - A Journal

Hello Friends

The weeks are flying by!  I have another project to share with you, using AALL & Create products.  This week I have created a journal using my favourite Eileen Hull Wrapped Journal die along with two stamps by the hugely talented Tracy Evans.

I absolutely LOVE making journals and Tracy's stamps are perfect for this kind of project.  Stamping onto tissue paper is my favourite technique at the moment, it allows beautiful stamped images to be added to textured surfaces.

I started by brayering colours of paint onto mountboard.  Several layers later I had some wonderful texture and beautiful muted colours.

I stamped the beautiful dragonfly from Tracy's stamp #113 and then painted the dragonfly on the reverse. This mutes the paint colour just slightly but gives a lovely finish. I always use a waterbrush to dampen around the image so that it tears unevenly - this helps the tissue to blend into the background, once it is glued down.

I decided I wanted some detail on the back of the journal too so I stamped Tracy's stamp #119, again onto tissue paper and coloured the flower in (shown below).

The same colours were used to colour this second flower.

I finished the whole journal off by covering the whole of it with Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium - Crazing.  It gives a slightly crackled background and helps the tissue to 'melt' into the background.  I think the crackle just about shows in the photo above.

To finish I stamped the dragonfly again, coloured it, cut out the wings and layered them up, and I added a clock hand and brad to add some interest to the dragonfly.

The stamps I used to create the journal are:

Tracy's stamp #113

Tracy's stamp #119
You can find a list of worldwide stockists HERE.

To finish off any journal I always like to create a hanging embellishment, this time I added some beads from my stash, simply adding them to head pins and for the closure I dyed some seam binding and attached this to the opening flaps.

As always, thanks for your visit, I appreciate any comments you may wish to leave.  See you soon.

Hugs, Anne xxx

Tim's Tiny Snowglobes

Hello Friends

Just a quick post to share some Tiny Snowglobe tags I created using the Tim Holtz Tiny Snowglobe dies (Sizzix 663119) along with the matching Dimensional Domes (Sizzix 663559).

I thought it was about time I got started on my Christmas crafting and couldn't wait to use these dinkie dies and domes.  I didn't want anything too fancy but I do like the two that I created with Tim Holtz's Christmas Worn Wallpaper...

Not the best photos on this dull, rainy day, but they are just the cutest little shakers!  I have not labelled them all yet as I will personalise them to add to Christmas gifts for family and friends.

1)  The dies and domes

2) I die cut them all in white card as they are quite tiny

3)  The elements were coloured with markers

4)  The constructed dinkies, you can see how tiny they are against the ruler!

 I also used Tim's Framelits tag die (medium size) to cut the tags.  Once the dinkies were cut out and constructed it was so easy to put the tags together because the domes come with their own sticky backs and the circle die that comes in the pack cuts the holes for the domes perfectly!

Aren't they just the cutest little domes!

Thanks for your visit, I really appreciate it.  I'll be back on Thursday with my latest AALL & Create project, hope to see you then.

Hugs, Anne xx

AALL & Create Project #4

Hello Friends

I am back this week with another project for AALL & Create, using Tracy Evans's beautiful large flower stamp #109.

I  needed a quick card for someone who loves her garden, so I  layered up Tracy's gorgeous flower, to give it  the look and feel of a beautiful sunflower.  OK, it was not all that quick but she loved the card so that made it all worthwhile!




This large A4 stamp is available HERE.  One half of this stamp  is large enough to cover the whole of an 8" x 8" card front.

I used one half of the stamp #109 to stamp some of the flowers that would be used for layering. I wanted the background to be fairly simple so that the layered flower would take centre stage.

Here are a few of the steps I took:

1)  I used 13 arts watercolours and watercolour paper for the base, it measures 8" x 8".

2)  I stamped the flower onto the watercolour base

3)  I coloured the flower on the base and the extra flowers

4)  I added seed beads to the centre of the layered flower

5)  I love how Tracy adds wire/thread to her projects and I highlighted the circles with some fine florists wire 

6)  Finally I stamped the words again and added them to the finished card, the card base was layered up onto some black card and then onto a white card base.

Thank you for your visit, I hope to see you again soon.

Hugs, Anne xx

AALL & Create Project #3

Hello Friends

I am here again for the second time today, with another project for AALL & Create, this time I created a journal spread in my much neglected journal!

I was watching a video recently by Aida Domisiewicz a few months back, when she used watercolours in a very fluid way.  Bipasha's beautiful stamp set seemed perfect for my two page spread - I wanted the chess set to take centre stage.                                                                              

I wet the page with water, left it for a moment or two and then dipped my watercolour laden brush into the wet area and just let the watercolour move around.  Not shown, I took another colour (purple) and let is spread around too.

Next, I stamped directly using Bipasha's stamp set #115 onto the page and again on a spare sheet of watercolour paper, added some shading here and there in grey and fussy cut the pieces out, ready to place over the stamped images.

To add some texture, I stencilled some texture paste through Stencil #39 to the top left and bottom right of the spread.

Although I loved the effect, I thought it needed a little more and so I drew a squiggly border around the whole of both pages and blocked it out in a checkerboard style, I love how it matches the chess board and helps to draw the eye in.

I stamped the word Check Mate from Bipasha's stamp set #122.

I hope you like my very simple page, I have never used watercolour in this way - I really enjoyed the freedom of it!

The stamps and stencil I used are available from a list of stockists HERE

Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope you will check out my other post today too.

Hugs, Anne xx

Mini Album Makers November Challenge

Hello Friends, this is my first of two posts today.

A new month means a new challenge at Mini Album Makers! As always, it is Any Handmade Book Goes.  Enter any form of handmade mini albums, scrapbooks, journals and book arts.  Our focus is on completed works, so no layouts or journal spreads that are not part of a complete handmade book project.  You can find full details of the Rules on our home page.

I wanted to use this beautiful Gypsy Soul Laser Cut, along with some Tim Holtz fabric, so I altered a plain journal with fabric to accommodate the laser cut.

I have a few photos to show you how it all came together.

1.  I used a ready made journal, some Tim Holtz fabric and a Laser Cut from Gypsy Soul
2.  Cut the fabric to size with a 1" border all around.  Glue the fabric to the outside of the journal and leave to dry.
3.  Fold in and glue down the corners.
4.  Fold in and glue the sides to the cover.
5.  (not shown) Glue one page over the fabric at the front and back to cover the fabric, this gives a nice neat finish to the front and back.

I usually always add a pocket or an envelope to the inside of all my journals. It is so easy to do by cutting and folding as shown in photograph one above. 

For my envelope I cut the card to 8.1/4" tall x 7.1/4" wide and scored at 3.1/2" and 7".  The bottom tab is 1.2" and the top fold over tab is 1.1/2".

You will need a Cropodile or hole punch and some eyelets to create the closure.  Adjust the sizes to correspond with your size of journal.  Once you have made one of these, it gets easier and it finishes your journal off beautifully and gives you a handy place to store small items and/or a pen or pencil.

I used the beautiful laser cut from Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts (our Sponsor this month).  I embossed it with Black Embossing Powder.  To finish it off I added a flower charm from my stash.

Our Sponsor this month at Mini Album Makers is Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts who will be offering a prize pack to one lucky winner.

Website - http://www.gslcuts.com/Store/
Blog - http://gslcuts.blogspot.co.uk/
Instructionals and Kits - http://gslcuts.blogspot.co.uk/p/blog-page.html

Thanks so much for your visit today, I hope you will join in this month at Mini Album Makers, we would love to see your creation(s).

Hugs, Anne xx