Box It Up at A Vintage Journey Challenge Blog

Hi everyone x Hope you are all good x Today I am sharing my project for Julia's Box It Up Challenge, which starts today over at A Vintage Journey Blog HERE

Here is what Julia has to say 

"This month our theme is boxes! Perhaps you will make a trunk or suitcase, some kind of package to hold a gift, or maybe make a card or journal page showing presents. Just remember to ensure that you create in one of our preferred styles of vintage, shabby, mixed media, art journaling, industrial, timeworn or steampunk."

I decided to alter a matchbox using some papers/washi tape from my stash  as well as a stamp set by Paperartsy

 

First of all I measured then adhered some paper froms my stash. Some washi tape was then applied to the top and bottom of the matchbox. The Paperartsy stamp was inked with Ranger Archival then fussy cut.  

 Distress Markers and Promarkers were applied to the doll and a piece of lace adhered using glue/staples, providing her with a skirt to cover her modesty  x

Idea-ology spoons were attached using jump rings and  brads.

Using a piece of card from my stash I created a little folder in which I could place a gift within the matchbox x The stamps are also by Paperartsy.

 To view more more creations by my teamies please click HERE, which will take you to the AVJ blog.

The challenge runs until the Thursday the 3rd October at 18:00 hours. We dont have prizes but the Top 3 Pinworthies will receive a badge for their sidebar.

Take care and happy crafting xx

It's Tag Friday at A Vintage Journey Challenge Blog

hello everyone xx I hope this post finds you well and that you have enjoyed the summer, even if it was a bit wet in  many areas of the UK. 

It has been a busy one for me with lots of "Special Birthdays" and weddings.  Thankfully the pace is slowing down and I am looking forward to having some time to enjoy creating in my craft room x I am still knitting and recently started to knit some socks for babies/toddlers, which are great for using up left over wool.

Below is the tag I am sharing over at A Vintage Journey Challenge Blog. 

 

It is a Size 8 Manila Tag by Ranger, which was sprayed with Tim's new Distress Oxide Sprays. I really love the way the colours blend. I then stamped some text using a Paperartsy text stamp by Lin Brown. Some lace and paper from Paper Garden were adhered using glue medium on the back and front. The dress form stamp and die, which is by LaBlanche, was inked using Ranger Archival Sepia. Once cut it was edged using  a charcoal pencil, then adhered using foam tape, which gave some depth/dimension to the tag. Tim Holtz Transparent Wings were adhered on the front of the dress form and a pen nib used as the body of the butterfly.

For more tag inspiration please pop over to the AVJ challenge blog where my teamies are sharing their fabulous tags, with details on their own blogs, which you can view by clicking their name.
There is also a link enabling you to join in with this fun challenge xx

Have a lovely weekend and Thank You so much for  taking the time to visit.

Huge Hugs

Creative Card Making at A Vintage Journey Challenge Blog

Hi everyone x Apologies for my lack of blogging but the last two months have been very busy with holidays and three Big Birthdays so I think I am finally catching up.!!! 

However, I have been able to leave some love on occasion and to post on Instagram. 

Anyway, its my turn to post a card tutorial over at AVJ today so here is a sneak peek of my card, which you can view by cliking HERE

Thank You so much for dropping in and leaving some love, which I always try to return. 

Have a lovely weekend whatever you are up to xxx

Tissue Paper is the challenge theme for June over at A Vintage Journey

Hi everyonexx As mentioned in my last post we have a new challenge theme for June over at the A Vintage Journey Blog. My lovely teamie and  dear friend Astrid is this month's challenge host and here's what she has to say about the challenge :

"There are many different ways you can incorporate tissue paper into your project - create texture by scrunching it up, stain it, paint it, wax it, stamp on it, emboss on it. You could use cheap tissue from the supermarket, recycle gift wrapping tissue, or even use old dressmaking patterns. Just remember to create in one of our preferred styles of vintage, shabby, mixed media, art journaling, industrial, timeworn or steampunk."

I have used a tissue napkin, separating the layers of tissue before adhering to the substrate with a glue medium.

 Gesso was applied to the large jumbo tag and one of Tim Holtz Idea-Ology Bookboard Frames.

The words Paris and Carte Postal, Fleur De Lys and date were stencilled using some Thats Crafty Light Texture Paste through Andy Skinner's stencil.

 Whilst the texture paste was drying I prepared my napkin, separating the tissue layers then trimming to fit.

 

 Some Decoart Timeless Chalk Paint was painted on to the Jumbo Tag and a coat of Decoart Raw Sienna was applied to the bookboard frame. Once dry Thats Crafty Crackle Glaze was applied to both substrates.

 A coat of Decoart Chalk Paint in Lace was then thinly applied to the tag and Bookboard with amazing effect.

 The tissue napkin was adhered using Ranger Glue medium and I thought that adding some torn pieces of tissue added to the aged effect I was trying to create. I love that the crackle can be seen through the tissue x

 Various Distress Inks, Vintage Photo, Bundles sage, Walnit Stain and Fired brick were gently applied over the tag and bookboard.

 Then some gilding wax on the raised stencilled areas.

Finally some charcaol was applied and blended around some of the waxed words/numbers.

Some  TH Idea-ology Paper Dolls with trasparent wings attached along with flowers  and a large butterfly from  TH Botanical Ephemera  and a chipboard quote completed the shabby vintage appeal I was trying to create.

I would like to enter this jumbo tag in to the challenge theme over at the Frilly and Funkie Blog, where the challenge is "Embellishments, Trinkets and Trims "
My embellishments are Tim's Idea-ology Paper Dolls, Botanical Ephemera, Quote chips and lace as well as some vintage ribbon at the top of the Ranger Jumbo Tag.

For even more inspiration please click HERE, which will take you over to theAVJ blog where you can see all the inspiration provided by my fellow Creative Guides xx

Thanks again for dropping in as its lovely to know you have visited and as always I will get back to you to view your crafty makes too xx

Huge hugs and Happy Crafting xx

Quick cards

Hello peeps x Just a couple of quick cards to share today using LaBlanche papers and ephemera along with some lace/muslin from my stash.

I absolutely love LaBlanche stamps/products and have some transfers to play with along with some shrink covers for bottles and jars, which I will share with you soon xxx

Have a great week and I shall see you on Friday when I am back with my DT creation for A Vintage Journey's June challenge theme xx

Huge Hugs and Happy Crafting xx

It's Tag Friday at A Vintage Journey Challenge

Hi everyone x As it's the 5th Friday in the month its time for our "Tag Friday Post" over at A Vintage Journey Challenge Blog. 

Some of my lovely team mates put together some amazing tags and share the details of their process too !!

There's also some  exciting news too !! To find out more click HERE

Meanwhile here is my tag :

 

 I started off by painting one of Rangers Manila tags in a very light brown chalk paint, then added some That's Crafty Crackle Glaze. Once dry I painted over some DArt Chalk Paint in Lace.

Distress Ink in Cracked Pistachio, Pickled Raspberry and Spiced Marmamlade was applied to the tag, followed by some stamping using Ranger Archival in Sepia. The Wildflower stamps are by Lynne Moncrieff for That's Crafty. (Lynne's Wildflowers Set 2)

The sentiment and butterflies are also from one of Lynne's stamp sets for Thats Crafty.( Lynnes Affirmations Set 1)

The butterflies were inked in Cracked Pistachio and Pickled Raspberry using a Ranger pen nib  to blend the colours.  Some  of Tim's Idea-ology was adhered to the butterflies. 

The sentiment was stamped on to some tea/coffee stained papers and a litle piece of lace added.

I then edged the tag in Black Soot DI to make the tag pop.

Thank You so much for dropping in and for leaving a comment x I really do appreciate the comments you leave and endeavour to repay the compliment. 

Huge Hugs and Happy Crafting

Surprise & A Few Journal Pages

Hi everyone xx I apologise for my absence but sometimes life gets in the way and I have been so busy with many things I have not found time to edit/post. However, having recently had a very special birthday I am now retired and hope to create/post on a more regular basis. 😄

Below is a signature for inside a journal, which I made whilst spending a crafty day with my lovely friend, Astrid MacLean, of Astrids Artistic Efforts  Blog and my mammy, Rita, of RMG Creations Blog.

Astrid creates the most amazing journals in her own unique style and on that day we decided to create a signature insert using altered papers, which were stained with coffee and tea, We also made some pockets for holding a note/tag as well as flaps where we could reveal a message or quote. 

It was such a fun day and you can see my signature below, which I am now starting to fill with various scraps of papers/stamps and vintage lace. 

 The cover above was from a Tim Holtz Paper Stash

 Tim Holtz Fragments stamps were inked with Archival Ink in Sepia and stamped here and there, then some papers  from my stash were cut and glued.

 Some hand writing to be applied on the flap, although I do love this quote. 

I do hope that you are all well and I send my best wishes and hope to visit your blogs over the next couple of days xx 😍😍

Celebrate the Journey at AVJ

Hi everyone x  Today I am sharing a card tutorial over at AVJ  and thought I would give you a sneaky peek !!!

 I do hop you can pop over and see all the details by clicking HERE. You can even join in with our monthly challenge, HERE, which runs until  18:00 hrs on the 3rd April 2019

As always thanks for dropping in x Your visits are truly appreciated and I love to drop by your blog too xx

Huge hugs xxxx

Creative Card Making Post over at A Vintage Journey Challenge Blog

Hi everyone and a huge warm welcome to my new followers x It's always lovely to have you visit and leave a comment, enabling me to get back to you x 

Today I am sharing a Creative Card Making Post over at A Vintage Journey. To view the step by step details please click HERE

Below is a little sneaky peek of my 8x8 inch card:

At this point I was considering what my final layout would look like (by shuffling everything around) and of any additional embellishments I could incorporate x

Crafty Hugs & Best Wishes

Your Hearts Desire Project Tutorial over at A Vintage Journey

Hi everyone x Just a wee heads up to let you know that today I am sharing the tutorial for my heart canvas over at A Vintage Journey challenge blog today. Click HERE to be transported to the page.

 There is still time to participate in our monthly challenge, which is Your Hearts Desire. We love to view your projects and for inspiration provided by the Creative Guides click HERE

Huge hugs and crafty wishes xx

Your Hearts Desire at A Vintage Journey Challenge Blog

Hi everyone xx It's my turn to host the monthly challenge theme over at A Vintage Journey Challenge Blog. "Your Hearts Desire" is the name of the challenge and we want to see hearts as the main focus on your project. 

Here is what I have created for the challenge:

Lots of layers of paint and sprays as well as fabric, washi tape and glue. I will be sharing the step by step over on A Vintage Journey on the 15th February so pop back then for the link xxx

There's lots of inspiration from the Creative Guides, which can be viewed by clicking HERE

You also have the chance to be chosen as one of our Top 3 Pinworthies and to receive a badge for your blog. 

The challenge runs until the 28th February at 18:00 hours so lots of time to get creative xx

Huge hugs and Happy Crafting xx

Sentimental faux encaustic canvas

Hi everyone and a Happy New Year to friends both old and new xx I must apologise for not blogging in December but life got in the way as I am sure many of you experienced and with work and personal commitments something had to give !!!

So I am here today sharing a faux encaustic canvas that I created last year, whilst taking part in Laly Mille's online workshop xx I have not finished the workshop as yet but do plan to as I so enjoyed the journey were were taking. 

It was also nice to get back to using paints and other substrates wth no particular plan in mind ! 

Lots of Painty layers and creative writing using white paint over  aged paper.

The photo is an old sepia one of my husband playing in the sea as a toddler. I did not plan to use this photograph, but when I used a technique shared by Laly the word 'Sea' appeared from below the layered  paints so it seemed quite appropriate. The nets, shells and bark were purchased in Hamburg several years ago in a lovely store called Depot. Wish we had one in the UK !!!

 Thank You so much fro dropping in to my little corner of Blog Land x Your visits are truly appreciated and I love to visit your blogs too xx

Best wishes in 2019

Crafty Hugs xxx

It's Tag Friday at A Vintage Journey

Hi everyone and welcome to my blog today. I hope you are all well and managing to survive this cold weather xx I must admit I don't mind the cold weather if I am all wrapped up and the sun is out as I can really enjoy an invigorating walk, then at night I enjoy getting cosy and warm with a mug of hot chocolate and even better some marshmallows...yum !!

Anyway I must stop rabbiting and share the details of this post x  Over at A Vintage Journey we have a tag Friday post when there are five Friday's in a month. Myself and the  very talented creative guides create tags, which they post over at A Vintage Journey and then share the details  of the creative process on their blogs. To view the Tags at A Vintage Journey CLICK HERE

The background was created using Decoart Chalk Paints and Crackle Glaze. I just love the depth of the crackle that I can achieve. Once dry I edged the tag with Black Soot Di, which then makes the crackle/colour stand out.

I fell in love with the Sizzix Cool Yule Dies by Tim Holtz and thought them the perfect addition to my  Christmas gifts this year. The other additions are from Tim Holtz Christmas Ephemera, which I have had in my stash since last year, finding them only when I had a recent declutter/tidy. As I love to use brown paper and string to wrap my gifts I placed some string to complete the tag. 

One of my favourite songs and the reason for the style of wrapping xxxx

Thank You so much for dropping in, its so nice to have you visit and I am probably busy creating cards as usual I am running late.....but I shall get there xx

Much love and crafty hugs

Annie xx

Birthday Card

Hi everyone and "Thank You" for dropping in to my little corner of blogland. Whilst attedning a wedding in August I was asked if I could make a birthday card for a grand-daughter. 

The little girl called her grandparents Gran Bear and Papa Bear and she was Matilda Bear. She also loved ladybirds and books. 

Now I just love teddy bears and the stamps that I have used here on M's card must be at least 20 years old. I just can't part with them and after all this time they have came in very handy. The  books and little cat on the right are "Tilda" stamps, again from many years ago, purchased when my nieces were tiny tots !!!

An 8x8 easel card  was put together and then die cuts from my stash and stamping took place, layering the dies and fussy cutting the stamps. I was able to print names on to card on my mum's printer, die cutting them with a circle die. ( I think the  die used for the frame  was by Spellbinders)

 

 Some pink corners and ribbons as well as ladybirds completed the look

The grandparents were delighted and I have to say it was a very cute card, which could also be placed in a frame. 

As always thank you for dropping in and I am sending huge crafty hugs to you xx

Playing with more Papers from my stash

Hi everyone

Just a quick post today showing a card that I made using more papers from my stash x This time I used the wonderful papers from Madame Peyraud.

Layers of papers, some of which were die cut as well as paint on the edge of a credit card and of course some splatters. The dolls seemed like the perfect addition and I love the sweet dog xx

The little butterflies were punched using Tim's punch.

Thank You for visiting and remember there's still time to play in Sandy's Paper Stash challenge over at the A Vintage Journey Challenge blog x Click here to view the details and take in the inspiring makes by the DT xx

Happy Crafting

Paper Stash Challenge at A Vintage Journey

Welcome everyone xx Today I am sharing my project for A Vintage Journey monthly challenge blog. The lovely and very talented Sandy is our host and she has chosen "Paper Stash' as her challenge theme this month. Here's what Sandy has to say :

"I am sure we all have them, those endless bits of beautiful scrapbook papers we have hoarded over the years. Create a project of any kind using them in creative ways in our preferred vintage, shabby, mixed media, art journaling, industrial, timeworn or steampunk styles."

I have to agree with Sandy as I have loads of beautiful papers from various sources that I just haven't used for many years !!! I bet you have loads too !!

Whist searching for a few bits 'n' bobs I found papers that are by Diana's Daughter's !!! Totally forgotten for a very long time....but now used in my Paper Stash project as below !!

 Below you can see the gorgeous papers from Diana's Daughters

 Below I am thinking how to layer them :-)

 The edges are distress using Tim Holtz Distressing Tool by Tonic Studio's then torn to add further details and texture. Some Vintage Photo DI was then applied to the torn areas.

 Some Lace and "Paper Doillies" were added to the torn areas. 

 Tim Holtz  Orane Frame Die was used to cut mat board then painted with Antique Brass Distress Paint then some Black Soot DI was adhered to age it up a bit . The inner oval of the die was stamped with one of Tim's stamps.

 You can see further layers in various stages below. A Tim Holtz butterfly, die cut and embossed then inked with Tattered Rose DI and Vintage Photo and Rusty Hinge around the edges. Some threads to add texture. Taking my Tim Holtz Sidekick, which I just love for cutting Thinlits Dies was used to cut out some Wildflowers leaves then inked with various DI's. The tag was again some paper from my stash, which was decorated with some of Tim's chit chat stickers. Some paper flowers, with button on top were attached over the leaves, along with a couple of  small buttons on the butterfly.

 Lots of paper used and I have to say that I had great fun making this project. Like always I started out with an idea in my head, which then went in a totally different direction!!!!

I hope you can find time to join in with us for Sandy's wonderful challenge and to view more projects, be inspired by  my wonderful friends on the team, click HERE

Sending lots of crafty hugs to you xxx

Back To Nature @ A Vintage Journey Challenge Blog

Welcome everyone xx It's time for a new challenge theme over at A Vintage Journey Challenge Blog. The lovely and very talented Jennie Atkinson is our host and she has chosen "Back To Nature" as this month's theme. Here is what Jennie has to say :

"This month we are asking you to celebrate natural elements in your project. Think real nature in terms of twigs, dried flowers, shells or pebbles or perhaps stamps and stencils depicting these wonderful elements. Immerse yourself in the colours of the seasons whether they be bright or muted and create a project in our preferred styles of vintage, shabby, mixed media, art journaling, industrial, timeworn or steampunk."

I have chosen to use stamps, dies and inks, depicting natures flowers, stone pots, ivy leaves,birds and butterflies.  

My project is not quite what I had in mind as clearly Mr Mojo was working overtime and kept taking me on another journey. I have to say I am pleased with the outcome and I certainly had much fun along the way!!

 Shutters Open !

What started out as journal pages became an old, badly whitewashed wall on someone's house. The walls also showed signs of cracking having been exposed to nature's elements. I created Shutters using Tim Holtz Cabinet Die and a scoring tool. The shutters were inked with Black Soot DI to create an aged effect. That's Crafty Crackle Paste was applied over Paperartsy Hey Pesto paint and then washed with Paperartsy Snowflake. Just inside the shutter is paper from Tim Holtz Wallflower Stash. 

Sheena Douglas's Ivy stamp set, was inked with Ranger Archival in Potting Soil, then die cut. Tim Holts Distress Inks in Mowed Lawn, Rusty Hinge and Aged Mahogany were applied to the ivy leaves depicting the changing colours at this time of year. The beautiful swallow is from a stamp and die set by Tim Holtz. Some dies in my stash reminded me of a milk churn and stone flower pots that I new would be useful in this layout.

Below you can see my new favourite stamp and die set from Tim Holtz. I just love those gorgeous flowers and jars. Various DI's were used to colour the flowers before die cutting using my Sizzix Sidekick.

Once everything was inked and glued some butterflies were punched using Tim Holtz Butterfly Punch and I think they just set the page off x

I do hope you will join in with Jennie's amazing challenge x We love to see your entries and its wonderful to see all the various interpretations x For more inspiration by my wonderful teamies /Creative Guides please click HERE, which will take you to the AVJ Blog. I would like to enter this make over at That's Crafty where their challenge theme is Forever Autumn. Meanwhile thank you so much for visiting, your comments are truly appreciated. I hope you have a wonderful weekend whatever you are up to xx
Huge Hugs and Happy Crafting xx

It's Tag Friday @ A Vintage Journey Challenge Blog

Welcome everyone and today I am sharing a mixed media tag as its Tag Friday over at A Vintage Journey Challenge Blog. I actually made two of these tags as I was meeting up with  my lovely craft friends Anne Redfern and Tracy Evans. They were both delighted with their gift, especially Tracy, as I had used her A4 stamp, that she personally designed for AALLANDCREATE.

We had the most amazing day together with my mammy and Anne's husband, David, took the most amazing care of us throughout the day x 

It has been some time since I created a mixed media project as we had so many anniversaries, birthdays and wedding between June and August and I had such fun making these tags x 

The background was made using various acrylic paints and a brayer, then I inked up Tracy's background stamp. I also used some of Abs AALLAND CREATE designs too. The stencil used was by Tim Holtz and I used That's Crafty light texture paste. Tim Holtz jar stamp was inked and then die cut and I stamped Zettiology stamps inside for a fun look. The large images are also by Zettiology and were stamped and fussy cut/coloured using Tim's Distress Markers. The sentiment was a wood mounted stamp I have had in my stash for many years and is one of my favourites. A little wash tape added further dimension. 

Thank You so much for visiting as I know how busy everyone is and I do really appreciate comments that are left here on the blog. 

To view more tags and inspiration created by my fellow teams click HERE

Remember you still have time to join in with our  August challenge "How Can You Resist", which finishes next Thursday 6th September 2018 at 18:00

Huge hugs and Happy Crafting xx

A Happy Dance

Hi everyone x Its a bit cooler here in South West Scotland but I am not complaining as we have had a glorious summer this year and really see the benefit in our garden xx AS I mentioned in my last post its a particularly busy time in our family with anniversaries and birthdays so today I am sharing another birthday card x

The card is 8"x8" and is kraft card with a large doilly, a Sizzix die cut, one of Tim's Paper Dolls and a large button, some pearls and two butterflies. 

Thank You so much for dropping in as its always so great to see you here and I really do appreciate your comments xx

Huge hugs and Happy Crafting xx

Birthday Time

Hello x Thank You for popping in to CNCT today x It's always nice to have you drop by x Today I am sharing some birthday cards. June - August is such a busy time for birthdays, anniversaries etc x but I know that my cards are truly appreciated  so its all worthwhile x

It's clear to see that this card is for my lovely mammy x 

The sentiment is one of Lynne's Affirmations, available from That's Crafty x 

Dad's card below x

Another easel card made using some square dies and a Tim Holtz stamp, paper dolls, Idea-ology pieces and tissue tape.

The card below is for my dear friend Anne Redfern who celebrated a 'Special Birthday' recently. 

Anne and I started blogging around the same time and its been amazing to watch her journey HERE.  I have also enjoyed meeting Anne at a Finnabair workshop and to have  her visit my home, along with her lovely husband x I do hope that I can do the same and visit Anne for another enjoyable crafty day together x 

Four more cards to go and then I can attempt some junk journalling, which was started on a recent trip to my lovely friend Astrid's home. It's so nice to be able to get together with crafty friends, both here on the blog, at a workshop and at home xx

Sending my best wishes xx