Flower Making

Sometimes we tend to over complicate things don’t we?

I decided I wanted to make some simple flowers for home decor, the easy way, something simple yet stylish, something that wouldn’t take me hour and hours of time.

I decided that material was the way to go and I spotted some gorgeous Suede fabric over on Terry’s Fabrics that would be perfect for what I wanted.

Simple we said right? lets start by cutting 3 circles, not perfect circles just roughly cut by hand, now cut out 3 smaller circles again by hand, they do not need to be uniform sizes in fact they turn out better if they aren’t uniform.

Next light a candle maybe a tea light or a scented one just to add fragrance to the house while you work, take one of the circles and run the edge of it over the flame, this will seal the edge and give it a darker edge, continue to do this with the rest of your circles. Be responsible and keep fingers out of the way and do not leave the candle burning unoccupied.

Next we need to stick the layers together with the larger circles on the bottom and the smallest to the top, you can do this by sewing them together, using a fabric glue or if like me you like quick results a hot glue gun.

Next find some beads to add to the centre, I hot glued mine but you could sew them in place.

Tadaaaa your done.

 

Amanda, Chameleon Pens and Couture Dies

A pretty little card using Amanda image by Mo’s Digital Pencil 

I used the Chameleon Pens to colour the image and the Couture Dies (Summer Blossom)to create an aperture frame for the image.

Colours used:- Fawn, Bisque and Bubblegum for skin, Grey, Bark and Hot Cocoa for Hair, Sky Blue for clothes, Bark and Hot Cocoa for cats, Aqua Marine for Wool.

Happy Babe with Chameleon Pens

I had another play today with the Chameleon Pens, I love that I now wont have to carry hundreds of pens around with me to get good results when colouring images. It took me a little while to get used to them and playing is the key to that, not worrying about spoiling an image, after all it is a piece of paper and can be started again, I printed out a couple of practice images to test on before I used the images that I wanted for cards.

This image is called Happy Babe and can be found at Mo’s Digital Pencil 

As you can see, blending with the Chameleon Pens works beautifully, I used Bubblegum for his cheeks, Bisque and Fawn for his Skin, Crimson Red for his Tongue, warm Sunset and Bark for his Hair, Cool Grey and Sky Blue for his Diaper and Royal Blue for the shading below him.

Couture intelligent Dies

I've had the honour this week of showcasing the brand new Couture Dies by Create and Craft, when I first got the dies I thought ok more dies as I'm sure many of you out there thought the same, I have to tell you that I couldn't have been more wrong.

Why intelligent? They are intelligent because each die of the same design interacts, corners fit inside templates, wether you cut out the corner pieces or place them inside the template to do a design cut out of them, the trims frame the template or work on their own to create the most stunning mat or main desin piece, the flip flip dies create a card all on their own yet can incorporate the trims and the templates.

It is the die system that just keeps on giving. There is 6 designs to choose from and today's card was made using the Deco Boutique Set.

This card uses the main template die, the corners and one of the trims.

The image is a Debbie Moore Deco lady.

 

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Getting to grips with Chameleon Multitone Pens

The more you colour with these pens the easier it gets, you start to understand how long to fuse the pen to get the colour tone you desire.

I used a Saturated Canary image this time and I was very pleased with the results, the Chameleon Pens are such a clever system.

 

Still taking photos in a hotel room on a phone so photo quality isn't the best.

 

 

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Chameleon multiple Tone Pens

So what is all the fuss about?

20 vibrant marker pens that make over 100 colour tones that's what.

So I received these pens today at my hotel, my first thoughts were that I loved the sexy black packaging with a flip top box that turn the box into a stand whilst the pens are in use, I loved the info leaflet as it was educational and the fact that they even give you spare super soft brush nibs within the box.

 

I St rated to try them out and as I have been colouring for so long with alcohol markers I had to strip back all of my knowledge and learn to colour in a different way, from light to dark, I have to admit I got very frustrated as I kept reverting back to my old way of colouring, however, once I stopped over complicating what was an easy process I started to enjoy colouring.

This is my first try with the markers and please bare that in mind when reviewing the image and also the photo was took in a badly lit hotel room.

 

 

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Swirlalicious Tattered Lace

Ok so I have a favourite, I love this Flourish Swirls folder and die set from Tattered Lace, it makes such an easy elegant card.

Cream and gold elegant and easy.

I promised to show you my new car, so here are some images, did you know it parks itself? I’m too chicken to trust it though, I much prefer to trust my own judgement.

 

Hot Glue Gun–Sparkly Dots and Bubble Bloom

Another fun card today using the Hot Glue Gun, Tri Glitter and Seed Beads and Stardust Glitter card by Stix2 and Also the Clear Single Bubble Bloom – Judith stamp, Ribbon Border punch and Tombo pens by Woodware  

Within the Tri Glitter and bead pack there is a tube of glitter and micro beads I loved the effect this gave on the hot glue dots.

I used the Edge Crimper from Woodware to distress the edges.

Clear Singles Forest and Layer Perfect

Another card for the Demo Day at Dainty Toys 18th October.

Made Using the Woodware Clear Singles Forest Stamp, the Encrusted Jewel Kit in Snow White and the Stix2 Layer Perfect for the piercing.

Clean and Simple style.

Demonstration Day

I have started to get ready for a demonstration day for Stix2 and Woodware, I have been playing with samples and trying new products and thought you may like to see what I’ve been up to.

This card was made using the Stix2 Hot Glue Gun and the Tri Pack of Seed Bead and Glitter and the silicone glue.

Also the Woodware Clear Magic Holly Panel stamp, Tombo Pens and Gold Metallic Wax Paste.

The Hot Glue Gun was used for all the glitter embellishments, it was brilliant fun making my own twinkling 3d stuff and so easy to do. I used this silicon glue to add them to the card.

The stamp image was coloured with the Tombo pens and I stamped the image twice as I want the holly to be 3d, again using the Stix2 silicon glue to make the leaves pop.

I used the gilding wax paste over the embossed card and on part of the stamp image.

The demonstration day will be 18th October at Dainty Toys in Washington.

Slit Woods, A little Piece of Paradise

Come walk with me…….

Here I go again, back to my roots.

Hot summer days and family fun and picnics. We would pack the car, we had a very large green picnic blanket, a little gas camping stove always a flask of boiling water to make a cup of tea, freshly baked buns or stottie cake a tin of Pek chopped pork a jar of home made pickled beetroot loads of homemade cakes, biscuits home-grown tomatoes (you get the picture). deck chairs Dingy and towels.

We always travelled on Picnics as a family, Nanna and Granda, Aunt Irene, Uncle George, cousins Stephen and Susan, Mam Dad and my two brothers Alan and Russell.

We would head up through Durham, through Crook, then on towards Stanhope Ford which was somewhere we would often stop for a while before moving on to Eastgate then through to Westgate.

Just as you get into Westgate there is a little hidden paradise called Slit Woods, not easy to find but when we did it soon became a firm favourite.

Wednesday….

Chris had took a holiday from work, in truth he wasn’t too well but by the afternoon he was wanting some fresh air so we decided we would head off to see if we could find Slit Wood again.

It took some finding as we passed it once and had to double back but in the end we arrived. Still as beautiful today, there is a burn that runs through the woods which is running down bank and it has little waterfalls along the way.

Isn’t it gorgeous? you can see that is goes down in stages forming shallow pools, as children we would grab our bathing costumes and play in the shallow pools, once I had children of my own they also played in the pools cooling off in the hot summer sunshine.

A place to sit….

Of course not all of the adults would get in the water with us so they needed somewhere to sit and possibly dip there toes in the water for a paddle and to cool down, just a little further up the bank and they would find a sitting place.

Next year…

Time for to introduce Grandson Jack to Slit Woods, I think he would love it.

Maybe I will be the Adult who sits on the rocks and dips in my toes to cool off just as my Grandparents did whilst watching over me having fun.

Until my next walk….

Thought Provoking

Come walk with me…………

I headed out in my new car, I’ll show you that in a moment, I didn’t get very far, as I passed by the sea front I realised that the tide was going out and before I new it I was turning into the car park, reminiscing about my childhood on the beach.

Most summers we went there and strange as it may seam we used to take both the dog Major (Golden Labrador) and cat Kitch (Siamese). We also often took a dingy and a massive tyre inner tube and long lengths of rope for when we went into the sea on them.

So I was stood on the sand remembering all of this, good old fashioned family days out, the beach used to be crammed packed full of families enjoying the sunshine, wind breakers and picnics, buckets and spades and every one playing games building castles and burying each other so that only heads and feet were sticking out of the sand.

Today however  a beautiful day, warm and barely a breath of wind and I could count on one hand how many people were on the beach sometimes when you need to gather your thoughts it is good to go back to your roots and that is just what I did.

Loads of seaweed, we used to collect the black bobbly one and pop it like bubble wrap.

My Dad would take me by the hand and we would go crabbing, he would point out all of the different shellfish naming them for me, we would scoop up the sea water in a bucket and pop the little crabs in it, I always had to show my Mam my finds.

 

These are the rocks we used to search, always holding my Dads hand as some of the rocks were sharp.

Everything was so exciting, you forget that feeling as you get older. it was lovely to be exploring both my mind and the places that brought me so much pleasure as a child.

I walked a little further and found what I was looking for.

The caves, oh how I loved the caves, playing hide and seek, making a den, it could be a castle a home a shop the possibilities of the mind as a child is endless.

I decided to once again explore, I could smell the sea and there was a gentle breeze and I could hear the waves beating on the shore.

This one has a hole right through the rock face, it made me feel young again just being there, I could all but hear my mam shouting for me to come and have a sandwich (always egg and tomato).

The secrets of the cliffs, I’m sure these caves would have tales to tell.

Not a soul to be seen, it was refreshing looking out across the water.

Hiding, now one knows I am here, you can’t find me……. however they always did.

It looks like the birds have claimed this spot all to themselves, they had been doing a merry old dance before I got here.

I also spent many a day or and evening walk with my Grandparents and my cousin Susan, searching for pretty glass pebbles and shells, once we had enough we would bring them home and decorate plant pots and also the top of a little wall in my Nanna’s garden.

Still pretty pebbles to be found but not so many shells.

Pinks, blues, greens, reds, browns, knobbly and bobbly and striped, rough and smooth. the seas treasures.

I hope you enjoyed our walk together, I know I did. how far did we go?

this far….

Right to where the cliffs jut out into the sea.

Flourish Swirls with Tattered Lace

It has been so long since I have done some crafting just for myself and after buying the Tattered Lace Embossing Folders with matching Dies I thought it was time to get cracking.

This one is the Flourish Swirls set.

I embossed Parchment Paper and used the Perga Pens to colour the back of the Parchment where it was embossed.

I used the dies to cut 2 parchment Flourish Swirls and 2 from Blue card and added them on top of a laced velvet ribbon then topped the card with a satin bow and some pearls.