It's Halloween - Let's tag it on!

Well, that's the theme over at Our Creative Corner for this month and the wonderful  Julia has given us a Halloween Challenge.  Julia has asked us to create a Halloween tag with some surface texture on it.

I absolutely love using stencils and I am getting better with embossing paste (I won some Wendy Vecchi paste recently and it is wonderful to use) but I chose to use a dry embossed base for my tag.

In fact, a lovely American blog friend sent me this Tim Holtz embossed background and I knew it would be perfect for this tag.  It has a beautiful raised texture which I sanded and then went over it with Pumice Stone Distress Ink to give it even more definition.  The cat and bats are die cuts, as is the fence.  The sentiment is from Tim Holtz Simple Sayings set.

The cobweb in the corner is my new Tim Holtz strip die, I love this one!  On the right side, I wanted to add even more texture to the surface of the tag and I used Frantage - Aged Black Embossing Enamel which has a lovely sheen to it.

The ribbon is vintage seam binding which I coloured with Ripe Persimmon Distress Paint and then stencilled over with a burlap stencil.  The skull and crossbones is Idea-ology and I just glued this to the ribbon, after giving him some orange Ranger Stickles eyes.

I really hope you will pop over to Our Creative Corner to see what my talented teamies have come up with and then I hope you will join in this wonderful challenge.  You never know, you could be our winner and be spotlighted or one of our top three.  We would love to have you join us and you have until the 28th to get your entry in!

I must say a big thank you to my latest followers, it is lovely to have you along.  Thanks so much for visiting, hope to see you soon.  Big hugs, Anne x

Tim's Creative Chemistry 102

I was not really going to show any of my Tim Holtz Creative Chemistry 102 stuff because I don't actually make anything, I just do the techniques and put the tags/elements in a  file for reference and for inspiration.  Lots of others made amazing creations and posted them in Tim's Gallery and I so admire their ability to do the class and then create something straight away!  I am a bit late to the party, too late for the Gallery, but better late than never I guess.

This year I made a tag folder to hold all my tags, I tried to make it look a bit like a book, so that it will sit on my craft shelf for inspiration:

The tag book has been made with No. 10 tags and some Kraft card to form the pockets.  On the right it has been filled with all of the tags I made over the 5 wonderful days of learning.

I added Tim's Creative Chemistry 102 logo.

I will add some stained ribbon to the top to finish it off although it is free-standing, but I think it will finish it off nicely.

So here are my efforts over the 5 days.

Day 1 was all about Distress Paint - there are so many ways to use them!

Day 2 was my favourite by far!  It's all about using Layering Stencils - loved doing these tags.

Day 3 was using Distress in different ways - love the faux crackled glass technique...devised by Wendy Vecchi and great fun to do.  I am obsessed with these little glass domes, both have the technique applied and I have lightly coloured one of them with Cool Peri alcohol ink.

Day 4 was all about Alcohol Inks, not my favourite medium but I really enjoyed learning the techniques.

Day 5 was all about Embossing Techniques, I love, love, love the chalkboard technique!

If you have not joined in yet and you want to learn these amazing techniques, you still can, as long as you have completed Creative Chemistry 101 (which is still available to do).  Check out Tim's blog for details HERE.  I have to admit I have really enjoyed doing CC102  and have learned so much already.

Thanks Tim and also Mario for taking me out of my comfort zone!

Thanks for looking, Big hugs, Anne xx

Trick or Treat bags

Hi Everyone, thanks so much for all your comments on my spooky arch.  Have I said how much I love Halloween...........?  Not that we get many children coming to the door these days....

Just a quick post today.   I am going to show you some Trick or Treat bags that I created with Ignacio of Nicecrane's wonderful Spooky Halloween ATC Pack and some Kraft card stock.  Ignacio also does some fabulous Halloween cones, which are very easy to construct,  but I wanted to do something a little different for our older Grandchildren.

This is the front of the bags, they are 3" x 5" and approx 2" deep in size but fairly sturdy because I used good quality Kraft card (a gift from my lovely friend Mo of Almocraft).  The one on the left has a couple of die cuts added (cobweb and Trick or Treat) and the one on the right has a stamped background and wording and some wonderful silk autumn leaves (a gift from another crafty friend Jo).  The little dome in the middle is a Tim Holtz corked dome and has a sparkly skull inside.

This is a view of the back, more wonderful Nicecrane ATC images, a couple of die cuts on the left and stamping and a die cut bat on the right.  To finish off I punched holes in the top and threaded thick wire through the left one and hessian cord through the right one. I did not do a template for the bags but a good scoreboard and an A4 piece of card is all that is required.

You can find the images I used HERE.  Ignacio has some wonderful Halloween images, some scary, some just delightful, I hope you will check them out as they are idea for quick and easy makes.

Finally, I wanted to show you a wonderful Gothic home decor piece I purchased from the lovely Ali of Ali-Craft.  They do the most fantastic Gothic/Steampunk gifts.

I am entering my little bags at Craft My Life where the October/November Challenge is 'Anything Goes - No Cards).

I am also entering them into Ali-Craft Challenge blog where the theme is Halloween.

Hope you are all well.  Tomorrow we will be announcing the winner and top 3 over at Our Creative Corner, I hope you might find time to have a look.  I will be engrossed in Day 2 of Tim's Creative Chemistry 102.... Big Hugs,  Anne x

Halloween begins...

Hello everyone, it's nice to have you visit.  I have a slight obsession with all things Autumn, Halloween in particular.  I miss the days when I made costumes for the children and have to satisfy myself with crafty things instead!

Whilst searching the internet for Halloween goodies (so difficult here in the UK) I found some spooky arches by Tando Creative and some other bits and pieces which may appear in a future post.  I had to dig out my Tim Holtz skull stamp from the Apothecary set, my favourite, next to the Chemist set of stamps, to make this simple Halloween decoration.

The frame itself comes in four parts, the base and the third layer were painted in the lush new Ripe Persimmon Distress Paint and then overstamped with a cobweb stamp by Stampendous.  The second and top layer, which includes the large cobweb were painted in Black Soot Distress Paint.  Before assembling, I stamped the skull on the base, then stamped another skull on white card with Wendy Vecchi Archival ink in the fabulous Watering Can - much more subtle than black.  I cut out the eyes and part of the mouth from the separate stamped piece and added this, raised up with foam pads, for dimension.

I added the spooky orange gem eyes and the spider who has a bottom glittered with Ranger Stickles in Paprika.  To finish off, I filled an Idea-ology jar with some cream coloured embossing powder and added a Tim Rub on - bone dust........ love that!

The frame is quite sturdy and I added a little stand at the back so it will sit in the window on Halloween night.

I am entering this into Country View Crafts - 'Something Spooky' Challenge.

I am also entering this into Ali-Craft's 'Halloween' Challenge.

Over at Haunted Design House the challenge (177) is to create something with dimension, so I am entering my piece - the frame is dimensional and the skull is raised up.

Edited: I have just found that Tando Creative have a Challenge blog so I would love to enter as the theme is 'spooky', hope this is spooky enough!

I know Halloween/Spooky is not to everyone's taste but normal service will resume after the end of October!  Keep well.  Big hugs,  Anne xx

Tim Tag September 2013 and Eclectic Elements

It is so good to have Tim's tag for inspiration because Mr Mojo has still not returned from his holidays!
My tag follows Tim's recipe but with different colours and a couple of different stencils (Tim ones) because I do not have the full set as yet.

Here is my effort:

I used the burlap, rays, schoolhouse and splatters stencils but to finish I added pearls instead of a charm and a key instead of a pen nib, otherwise it is similar. Click on the image for a closer view if you wish.

Because my tag has a key on it I am also entering it into the wonderful Hels' Sunday Stampers challenge which is KEYS.

But, even more exciting than doing the tag, if that is possible, I have got my hands on some of the new Eclectic Elements fabric!!  Woohoo - these fabrics are lush.  If, like me you have been dying to get your hands on some of these fabrics, well now you can.  Thank goodness for Dyan Reaveley's shop, which you can find HERE, as she does get Tim's new things in, in record time.  I am on her mailing list but even though I went online as soon as the email came through, all the larger (fat quarters) had sold out. I do believe that she got more stock in though.   Anyway, I am more than happy with my half fat quarters and 10" square pieces.

I am hoping to make one of Jim, the Gentleman Crafter's passport holders with some of the fabric and a nice holdall, plus, I have already given some of the fabric away, but in the meantime I have made these:

Top left is a notebook with ruled lines, in my favourite piece of fabric.  I have cut the letters from Tim's Wordplay die and added glossy accents (love that stuff) and the word 'notes' is a chit chat sticker.

On the right is a diary for 2014 with my next favourite fabric (what's not to like about butterflies!) and the notebook at the front also has ruled lines and the page edge colour matches this fabric so very well.  I added a word band which says 'possibility begins with imagination', which I coloured with Spiced Marmalade Distress Paint.  Finally, with the scrap of blue fabric that I had left over, I made a bookmark - so nothing wasted.

Just in case you want to cover some books too, the notebook top left is 6 1/2" x 4 1/2" in size and I used a half fat quarter to cover that.  The diary is 5 3/4" x 4 1/4" and also needed the half fat quarter size to cover it.  The small notebook is 5 1/2" x 3 1/2" and I used a 10" square to cover it and there was a bit left to make the bookmark.

I used Pinflair bookbinding glue to glue the fabric to the notebooks, it is very easy to do, the fabric is an excellent weight and quality to work with.  With the possible exception of the red butterfly pattern, all the fabrics are suitable for both male and female projects.  The fabric makes the books feel so tactile - I just love them.....

I am hoping you will all like them because I am thinking of making more to give away as Christmas presents and if you, my crafty friends like them, then I am sure my family and friends will too.  As always, thanks for looking and a special thanks if you take the time to leave a comment.  Big hugs, Anne x

Prima Doll and ICADs

As ever, thank you for the lovely comments on my altered clock for Our Creative Corner, I really appreciate that you take the time to look and comment!

Today I have used my new Prima Doll stamp and Prima tag and watch embellishment to make this:

Click on any photo for a better view.

I made the hanging to fit in with Hels Sunday Stampers, which is to 'make a hanging' and also  Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge where the challenge is to 'stamp on anything other than plain paper'  It is not often that I can work out how to create something for more than one challenge at a time!

I started out with a hanging from Paper Artsy, they are a lovely size and very lightweight box shaped so ideal for painting.  The tag is a gorgeous Prima one which comes in a pack of 48, already lightly decorated with beautiful script.  I coated the hanging base with gesso, then modelling paste through various of Tim's new stencils and then Fresco Finish paint in Mocha Mousse.  I then covered the whole of the embossed base with the Prima tag, with the top part cut off.  I used the same Tim Holtz stencils and used Peacock Feathers DI through the mask and then Weathered Wood through the burlap stencil.  Love how these stencils layer up!

You can see the stencilling better here.  I also took an Indigo Blu script stamp and used the fabulous new Wendy Vecchi Archival ink in Cornflower Blue and stamped randomly over the tag.  I added a Tattered Floral flower (painted with Broken China DI and overstamped, in part, with WV Archival in Cornflower Blue).  The ribbon was ruched to give the doll something to stand on.  The doll herself is coloured with various shades of Distress Ink, fussy cut and raised with glue dots.

To finish off I added one of Finnabair's fabulous mini time pieces.  Inside the watch, which has a removable front I used a Tim Rub on and a chit chat word.

I made a little 'glass' front from thick acetate, added some chain and use a Tim metal tag holder which I poked through the top of the hanging and added more of the ribbon to finish off.  The watch and chain are removable to use as a handbag charm.

The 'time' wording is a Tim stamp which I stamped in Coffee Archival ink.

I know I keep saying it but I love how Tim's products can be used in both grungy and more feminine ways....





Now on to the ICADs, this was a swap organised by the very talented Astrid of Astrid's Artistic Efforts.  I have already shown one that I made and sent which you can see HERE.  This is the second one I sent, which has now been received and Laura seemed to like it.

I received the most wonderful ICADs from two very talented ladies, Joan and Elly.

In order of receipt, this is the one from the lovely Joan, who also kindly enclosed a second ICAD and also some beautiful napkins to use in my crafting.  I love this set of stamps that Joan used, it is now on my wish list:

The second is from the talented Elly who sent this amazing steampunk creation, the holder feels and looks  like real leather and contains some wonderful embellishments:

How lucky was I to get two such fabulous creations by two amazing crafters!  It has been the most wonderful swap, thanks so much to Astrid for organising it.

Finally, I got a lovely thank you from Dianne for sending her an ICAD.  She sent me this beautiful ATC, the butterfly has been stitched by hand and is gorgeous.  Thanks again Dianne for the lovely thought.

Apologies for the long post, I had a lot to pack in, hopefully you have not all been bored!  Take care, hope you all get lots of crafty time.  Big hugs,  Anne xx

Forgotten Things at Our Creative Corner

It is that time again - mid-month and time for some more inspiration for the challenge that I have the pleasure of  hosting this month over at Our Creative Corner which you can find HERE.  I hope you will go over and see what my talented Teamies have made.   Full details and rules can be found through the above link if you would like to join in, you have until 28 September - so lots of time left.

When I was cleaning up and clearing out my craft room I came upon this fabulous Tim Holtz Assemblage Clock base which I bought last year and had totally forgotten about (how could I?!). I do love how Tim's products can take both grungy and feminine approaches.  This is what I did, just click on the photos for a closer view:

This is the 'bare'clock, it is lovely and shiny but very plain.  It does have a glass front so that you can put lots of embellishments inside (and they will keep clean) or make it into a working clock, as I have done.  Tip: if you are making a working clock then you will need quite small hands on the mechanism and I bought a 'silent' mechanism as the ticking one I had in stock was quite noisy!

My clock went through four make-overs before I found a combination that I liked,  it has been black, red, white and now pale blue.  It nearly went in the bin, but I persevered.  I have sanded the blue back a little so that you can see some of the white below.  I used Fresco Finish and also Tim Holtz Distress Paints to cover the clock, over an initial base of Gesso (and unintentionally several other coats of paint!).

For the inside of the clock I laid down some lace on the inside edge, which I had tinted blue with Broken China Distress Paint and I cut a circle from some gorgeous BoBunny paper to make the clock face.  The numbers are Tim Holtz Remnant Rubs.

I wanted to add a pocket watch to the side, but the Tim Holtz one is a little large so I have used a Prima - Finnabair mini one.  I added a Renmant Rub clock face, added the word 'time' and then filled the void with Glossy Accents to give a clock face look.

For the front and second side I added some lovely flowers, the large ones were gifted to me by my lovely friend and fellow Teamie, Jenny (Buttons).   They started off as pale pink and I spritzed these with a mix of London Blue Dylusions spray and Broken China Distress Paint which I mixed in a spray bottle with a little water.  The paint toned down the London Blue beautifully and was a dream to work with.  It does not add texture but really give the flowers a firm feel.  I added a couple of stamped and coloured butterflies for some added interest.

To finish off the back I added some more of the sprayed flowers and a butterfly.  The clock back still comes off so that the batteries can be changed.

Thanks so much for looking, I hope you have been inspired to find some 'forgotten things' and join in the challenge at Our Creative Corner.  Big hugs, Anne x