Eileen Hull Team Round Up 2020

 Hello Friends

Eileen Hull's Educators Team (along with her Inspiration Team) are sharing their favourite projects for 2020, using Eileen's dies.  As many of you know, I love making journals and my three favourites, as part of the Educators Team are all journals (no surprises there then!).

Here they are in a little more detail and I have added links to the original blog posts if you would like to see more:

Favourite #1 is a notebook created using Eileen's Notebook die.  The original post is HERE. 

I love how the monocle falls over the eye - well, small details please me...

It was a difficult choice to put my 'Arthur' journal second place so I think I may have to have two #1's.  You can see the original post HERE.  I used Eileen's early Journal Die to create my Halloween journal.

My third and final choice is my Honeybee notebook that uses Eileen's Notebook die.  I have used this die many times this year!  You can see the original post HERE.

I have had the pleasure of being part of Eileen Hull's team since early 2014, and was lucky enough to meet her in person and work alongside her at Creativation in 2018!  I love and regularly use many of her dies and am looking forward to seeing what delights she will tempt us with in 2021!

There is plenty of inspiration by other members of both teams on Eileen's website HERE, during the month of December.  I hope you will take a look if you have some free time over the festive period.

Just in case I don't get back before the big day, I wish you a very happy holiday season and a sincere hope that 2021 will look a lot different to the challenging year we are currently experiencing.

Take care and keep safe and well.

Hugs, Anne xxx

Christmas Cards 2020

 Hello Friends

I have been a bit quiet of late, mainly because I have been making, writing and sending out Christmas cards.  I thought I would share a few of them, no detail, just a few pictures.

The skates come out every year, I think the die must be 6 or 7 years old by now!  

This year I added the strolling couple, the trees and the holly and mistletoe dies to my growing collection.

The origami tree was created with Tim's Christmas paper pad, the presents in the sleigh is another new die, and the bold sentiments are one of Tim's new bold sentiments stamp set.

And finally, the snowflakes are another of Tim's new Christmas dies, I think this is one of my favourite snowflake dies ever, I just love how it layers up.  The snowflake backgrounds (another new die) is topped with an older snowflake die of Tim's and the Christmas Greetings card is simply stamped with one of Tim's holly stamps (Yuletide Gatherings).

Just in case I am not back before the big day, I am sending you all my warmest wishes for a very Happy (and safe) Christmas.

Thanks so much for your visit, they are always appreciated.

Keep safe and well.

Hugs, Anne xxx

Vintage Phone Box for Christmas

 Hello Friends

This is just a really quick post to share a Christmas dome I created using Tim Holtz's new Paper Village die (Sizzix 664741) to create a British Vintage Phone Box.  I have had this in mind since I first got the die a few weeks ago.

It was, however, a devil to photograph!

You can see the content a little more clearly below.  I added some of Tim's Woodland Trees along with texture paste for the snow, topped with Clear Rock Candy Distress Glitter to add some sparkle.  The edge of the dome was wrapped with Tim's new fabric tape and velvet ribbon, along with an Ideaology metal tag.

To make the phone box I simply added a rounded roof to the tall house in the paper village.  The window die gave the perfect phone box look.  I even crafted a small 'telephone' to go on the back wall of the box.  I painted the phone box red and dirtied it up a little to give it an 'old' look.  There are a few real life ones here and there our area and they are in a pretty sorry state (sadly).

 To finish off the top I used some of Tim's Greenery dies and I created a couple of pinecones following Tim's instructions in last weekend's Facebook Live.  You can see a replay HERE.  I added a few berries and glossed them up with Glossy Accents.

And finally - of course it had to light up!  I used a single battery operated tea light behind the phone box to give it a little festive 'glow'.

I am so enjoying making these festive creations.... I wonder if there will be any more, now that I have my Christmas cards made..... ?

Thanks so much for your visit, I truly appreciate it.

Keep safe and well.

Hugs, Anne xxx

Christmas Tin - Tim Holtz

 Hello Friends

I thought I would share a very quick post showing a Christmas tin I created after watching one of Tim's Saturday Facebook Lives (HERE), where he used the new Paper Village Thinlits die set.

I don't have many step by steps because I was just winging it as I went along!  I started with one of Tim's Ideaology tins.  I cut two of the village houses and fitted one of them on top of the other to represent a church.  I dyed three of Tim's Ideaology woodland trees with Distress Spray Stain, added some glitter and small beads to the larger tree.  The tiny trees have simply been brushed with gesso.

The outside of the tin was gessoed on the front and then covered with Ideaology tissue wrap.  I applied some die cut holly, some dyed Ideaology baubles for berries and added some of Tim's new Ideaology velvet ribbon to finish off.  I added a pocket to the back of the tin, finished it with Tim's Design Tape.  The pocket houses the Ideaology tiny lights battery pack.

I added some watercolour card to the inside of the tin, coloured with Distress Ink adding some white embossing powder and splats of white paint to give the impression of snow, along with a stamped sentiment.  The 'snow' at the bottom is texture paste and whilst wet I added some Distress clear rock candy dry glitter to give a light sparkle.  I punctured a small hole in the back of the tin and fed through the tiny lights before attaching the church to the base.

I finished off by adding a moon and one of Tim's new Darling Deer Thinlits to complete my scene.

Here is a view of the lit up church.  I added some plain vellum behind the windows.

Finally, here is a close-up view of the front of the tin.

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

In the meantime, keep safe and well,

Hugs, Anne xxx

Wonderful News!

 Hello Friends

I have some exciting news to share with you today!

The hugely talented Belinda Basson has developed a new line for Stamperia, called Lady Vagabond and I am honoured and thrilled to have been asked to join Belinda's brand new Design Team!  Thank you SO much Belinda!

There are a host of talented designers from different countries joining Belinda's new team.

Belinda has put together a little video to show the team (fingers crossed I have added it correctly!)

Belinda's fabulous range of products (SEE HERE) will be available towards the end of November.  It includes gorgeous papers, stamps, moulds, stencils, wooden shapes, die cuts and rice papers.  

Belinda shares a tutorial on her blog showing some of the newly released products HERE, all created in Belinda's trademark Steampunk style.  Belinda and the team will be sharing projects each week in future and speaking for myself I cannot wait to get my hands on the new products to make a start!

I am so happy to be part of this amazing new team and I hope you will pop back to see what I create with Belinda's fabulous new range!

In the meantime, please stay safe and well in this crazy world.

Hugs, Anne xxx

'Til Death Do us part.... for Halloween

 Hello Friends

I guess it is no secret by now that I love Halloween!  Growing up in Canada meant we celebrated Halloween every year and since moving to the UK I have seen it grow in popularity here too, albeit to a much lesser extent....

I have been avidly watching Tim Holtz's Saturday live sessions and having made some drippy candles following one of those sessions and I decided to incorporate them into a coffin vignette (as you do!!).

I did my best to photograph it in poor light but hopefully you get the idea.

  I started with one of Tim's new Coffin Vignettes and covered it with paper from one of Tim's paper pads.  The inside is decorated with Tim's Halloween Wallpaper.  This was then edged with some of the new Halloween Design Tape.

Inside the top deck I added the candles I created (adding some tiny lights for effect), some decorated bottles and a mini dome which I decorated with Clear Rock Candy Distress Paint and added an Idea-ology skull and pumpkin.

To create the middle deck I added a 'shelf' where I could display the Idea-ology Number Blocks.  These were painted with Crackling Campfire Distress Paint and then glazed with Crackling Campfire Distress Glaze.  To finish off I added a skull and a Found Relative (which I originally coloured with Distress Crayon but I preferred her plain and simple and so wiped off the crayon with a baby wipe.

In the bottom section I added some of Tim's Tiny Lights and used some of the new Halloween Vellum Haunts to cover the section.  I attached a spare Vignette shelf to the bottom of the coffin, painted it black and added the Idea-ology bat, a tombstone and skull along with some moss from my stash.

When I add tiny lights to my projects I like to contain the battery packs by creating pockets at the back of the project, you can see them here...

And here are those lights lit up!  

They both look quite spooky in the dark...

I had great fun making this project, I am almost sorry that Halloween will be over so soon.  Thanks so much for your visit, I hope to see you again soon.

Hugs, Anne xxx

Wobblers and Shakers - Tim Holtz Stamptember 2020

 Hello Friends

Today I am sharing some wobbler and shaker cards (I love interactive cards!).  I created the fun cards with Simon Says Stamptember 2020 Limited Edition release of stamps.  I was so honoured to have received this stamp set as a gift from Tim Holtz and Mario Rossi - I have enjoyed every single minute of using this stamp set, which features the fabulous Snarky Christmas Cats.  Thank you so much to Tim and Mario for their very generous gift, I truly appreciate it!

First up are the wobblers.  I created Distress Ink backgrounds and used Tim's greenery die to create the foliage.  I added wobblers to each of the images and they wobble beautifully.  I wonky stitched around the edges of each card and added layers of card to create a snowy effect.  I did do a video but new Blogger will now allow me to upload it (:( - sad face).

Again, Distress Ink backgrounds with some added foliage, and of course, the robin.

Next up are the Shaker cards.... this is just a selection of the many I made - apologies for the light on the domes!

 Finally, here are some of the Wobblers alongside their Shaker pals, to give you a better look.

I really did have such fun creating these cards and now have a dozen cards made for Christmas, which is a big bonus for me!

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

Keep safe and well.

Hugs, Anne xxx

Day of the Dead - Tim Holtz

 Hello Friends

I am back today with another project - this time I used my brand new Day of the Dead Colorize die set by Tim Holtz for Sizzix (664969).  

I had such fun creating this but not so much fun trying to load the pictures onto the new Blogger - Grrr!

I do not have a step by step because I just made it up as I was going along but I have a few close-ups to share which will give you an idea of how I did it.

I started with an Idea-ology Vignette Box, the largest from the set of 4 and covered it inside and out.  The inside uses Ranger Distress Watercolour cardstock that I coloured with Crackling Campfire Distress ink using Tim's Wrinkle Free technique.  I added the Bigz Cathedral window die cut (a gift from my dear friend Kath while I wait for my die to arrive) from Tim's latest release of dies by Sizzix.  This was backed with a vellum picture (cobweb from Tim's Idea-ology Vellum Haunt pack). 

I constructed the characters according to the picture on the die, changing the colours here and there and I added some silk sari ribbon to the lady's shoulders.  I do love this set of dies, the guitar fits beautifully into the hands of the man.  I added some guitar strings with a fineline pen.

I added various Idea-ology pieces (Pumpkins, Skulls, Grave relics) along with some gauze from my stash.  To create the platform I used some thick card from my stash and I added the 'steps' using Tim's Etcetera Trims, painted with Black Soot Distress Paint.

Here is a view of the back of my project, I covered the Vignette back and sides with gorgeous paper from Tim's Departed Paper Pad and I created a light pack holder with card from my stash (sorry, make unknown).  Well, I had to add lights didn't I - no project is complete for me these days unless it lights up!  I used Tim's latest Idea-ology Halloween lights which are orange.

To finish the project I added an Idea-ology knob to the top of the box, I finished the edges of the box with some of Tim's older Design Tape and I added an Idea-ology Word Band, highlighting the words with Distress Crayon.

And finally, a view of the box lit up, it looks super cool at night-time!  I know  Day of the Dead is traditionally celebrated on 1 & 2 November and not 31 October but even though we are unlikely to have any Trick or Treaters this year but I will pop this in the front window, just in case.

I would like to share this project over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge where the theme is 'Spooky!'.

I have just realised that Country View Challenges have a challenge this month of Halloween (Make a Scene) and I would like to enter my project.

Thanks so much for your visit, I hope you like my Day of the Dead Vignette.

Keep safe and well and I hope to see you again soon.

Hugs, Anne xxx

Butterfly Specimen

 Hello Friends

Hope you are all well!  This is just a quickie post, I don't have any real steps to share because I just made this project for fun.

I absolutely adore butterflies and I was totally inspired by a project that the talented Ann Sullivan Barnes created HERE.  Isn't it gorgeous?

My project is an altogether simpler affair, I just wanted to create a piece that looked like it came from a collector's drawer.  

 It contains my two of my most favourite butterflies, the Monarch and the Swallowtail, the first found in North America and the second in the UK.  Both butterflies are from Tim Holtz stamp sets.  The Monarch is from Tim's new stamp set CMS410 - Specimen and the Swallowtail is from an older stamp set, CMS213 - Perspective.

I covered the outside of the vignette box with woodgrain cardstock coloured with Distress Ink in Antique Linen, Gathered Twigs and Walnut Stain.

For the inside, I used some beautiful handmade paper, spritzed with Distress Oxide in Antique Linen and then splattered with more Oxides to give an aged look.  I attached some Tim Holtz design tape around the edges.  I have yet to decide whether to add an acetate cover to the box....

The labels were typed on my new vintage typewriter, I love the type face!

 I added an Idea-ology knob to the top along with a number band, coloured with Distress Crayon.  

That's about it and the box/drawer now sits proudly on a shelf in my craft room and really brightens up my days.  I could never kill or mount a real butterfly this way, but Tim's stamps really do bring these glorious creatures to life!

Thanks so much for your visit, I really appreciate it and I hope to see you again soon.

Take care and keep safe and well.

Hugs, Anne xxx

Mini Books with Washi Tape

 Hello Friends

Sadly, this is my last Guest post for AALL & Create, I am definitely going to miss making weekly projects with their wonderful products.  

I am not usually a great user of Washi Tape but this latest release by AALL & Create really caught my eye and so I just had to have a play.  I made three tiny books.

I used Eileen Hull's Tiny Book die (Sizzix 664423), the book itself is 2.5 inches by 3 inches but is just the perfect size for the Washi Tape and some of AALL & Create's tiny images.

I simply applied the Washi to some matboard and then die cut each book.

I cut a piece of card for each book measuring 14 inches by 2.1/2" and scored this at 2 inch intervals.  I also cut some mats to fit each part.  These were decorated with some stencilling and inks in colours to match the cover.

The little characters below are from a variety of stamps by Janet Klein.

The second book was decorated inside and out with Washi, ink and a background stamp by Tracy Evans.  I love how the words pick up the colour from underneath.

In each case I added an elastic closure and on this one I used the Washi again to create a title.

The last little book is, I think, my favourite, I love the boldness of the red and black crosses against the white background.  To create the button closure on this one I applied Washi to some thick card and die cut the circle, adding some holes for the elastic to thread through.  The inside, at the moment is blank.

Thanks so much for your visit.

Keep safe and well.

Hugs, Anne xx