Happy New Year with Best Wishes for 2013

A very  'Happy New Year' to you all.  I hope you enjoyed the festive period.................its hard to believe this is  already the 3rd January.

As usual we had a lovely time, however, my poor mum, whom you all know as Rita of RMG Creations, came down with flu on Christmas Eve, whilst staying with my sister in West Lothian. Today was the first I had seen her as she has been so poorly and did not wish anyone else to catch this horrible virus. We had a nice afternoon and I am so glad that her health is improving. I received the most fabulous makes from my  wonderful crafty mum and other  fabulous blog friends, which I shall share with you tomorrow. 

Meanwhile this is a little memo pad, which I made as a gift for a friend at New Year. I used Sizix TH Matchbook Set die and some SB dies. The flowers were made using  the TH tattered florals  die on card, which I stamped with script and then blended with DI's. Once the flowers were dry I sprayed them with Perfect pearls Mist in  Heirloom Gold

As you know I love Butterfly's and after inking with DI's I added some pearls from my stash. 

Thank You so much for continuing to follow me and for the lovely comments and encouragement you have given me since I started blogging in March 2012. You are all so inspiring.

Crafty Hugs and Best Wishes to you all in 2013 xxx

Pearl Background and Butterflies

Hello crafty friends................Just a quick post from me as life is pretty hectic at present. I had a lovely weekend and attended the Craft Fair at the SECC, where I met many of the presenters of various crafts as well as owners of craft shops and newsletters that I receive. It was so nice to put faces to the names that I frequently hear from.

As usual I went with a list to prevent me from overspending......................of course it did not work as I saw so many nice  crafty bits.......... adding even more to the room of stash !!!.

The crafty make in this post was specifically  made for this week's Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge, which is Just Add Pearl.  Its always fun to take part in and the designs by the very creative DT are inspirational.

I cant decide whether to make this project a wall hanging or just leave as a frame to be placed on an easel.

Taking a piece of black card I  covered it in Perfect Medium and gently tapped various colours of Perfect Pearls in various areas, which were then gently blended. The effect is stunning !!. I then took one  of Tim's Stampers Anonymous stamps inking with jet black Archival to create further interest to the bottom of the  background. I wanted a subtle look, which you can see on the three lower photographs. Once satisfied I gently sprayed with hairspray to seal. I then distressed the edges with Tim's paper distressing tool.

I stamped Tim's Stampers Anonymous Butterflies in black archival, which I embossed and heat set, then again gently took some perfect pearls to colour the butterflies. I tore the edges  and used Distress inks in Tea-dye and gathered twigs, which is my new favourite :)

You can see the background stamp  in the photograph below

I then took another of Tim's sentiment stamps and stamped on to a die cut heart, on which I blended Tumbled Glass and Gathered twigs. To finish I adhered some vintage  flowers.

Hope you are all having fun crafty time and I will of course visit you  soon.

• Crafty Hugs

Tag and Tattered Flowers

Hi Everyone

This is a tag that I made for Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2012 and  the Fashionable Stamping Challenge.

Many of us are huge fans of Ranger and Tim's techniques/creations. I try to participate as often as I can in the 12 tags of 2012 and below you can see my take on Tim's tag for August.

August Tag

I improvised Tim's tag as there were several items that I did not have, however,  by swapping some of the techniques around I was still able to meet the challenge.  Techniques for the August Tag are available on Tim's blog by clicking HERE.

As I did not have the folders Tim used I used an oval tag and  another sizzix embossing folder. Instead of a stamped frame I used a die cut frame, inking it with Dark soot DI and then clear embossing.  I used a crown stamp in the centre of the aperture, instead of the shadow  stamp image Tim used.

The handmade tattered florals were made using Sizzix TH die cuts and kraft card. This is the first time I have made these flowers and I had great fun.

Over at Fashionable Stamping this week  challenge  29 is  Anything Floral/Handmade Flowers.
As always the DT have created fabulous inspirational pieces and its  always fun to enter.

Crafty Hugs as always

Ice Cream PLease!!

Hi Everyone

Sorry I have not posted for a week but I have been busy crafting...just nothing you can
see as yet !!  You will have observed a few changes on my blog and there is more to come!!!

I was absolutely thrilled to be in the Top 3 over at Fashionable Stamping Challenge recently...still taking it in!!

As you can see my  crafty style is a bit different today. Although I love distress/steampunk/grunge...I  have a love of  vintage and  enjoy dabbling in other styles/techniques. I am frequently inspired by Lynne Moncrieff of ADORN, whose  vintage creations and stories are lovingly put together. You can view Lynne's blog HERE

The background of the tag was inspired by Anita Houston's  tutorial on Tim Holtz's Faux Leather  Technique. You can find the tutorial  on Anita's blog, The Artful Maven Haven, by clicking HERE.   The end result is amazing and I love the shine of the  perfect pearls.

The stamped image is from Oxford Impressions, April In Paris collection. I am amazed how this image stamps like a real old photograph. I used glossy card and archival ink in Sepia, tearing the edges  of the card towards me. I then distressed  the torn edges with Tea Dye DI.  The lace had previously been stained in a mix of tea and coffee.  The two layers of lace were adhered with cosmic glue. The ribbon, which you can barely see under the flowers, was adhered with Ranger Inkessentials Wonder Tape.  The flowers at the bottom of the tag  and ribbon at the top of the tag were in my stash.  The lace flowers were cut from a border of lace that I purchased from Crafty Individuals. I felt that the lace cut flower required a little something so adhered a little pearl to complete the look.

The Challenge over at Fashionable Stamping is Summer Ice Cream Colours. The little girl in the main stamped image would love an ice cream and the colours around her are summery and shimmery. so I shall enter this challenge.

Hels Sheridan's Sunday Stamper this week is SHINY...... and the perfect pearls are certainly that.

Over at Simon Says Stamp and Show the challenge is Your favourite technique. The faux leather technique is certainly a favourite right now.

Please pop over and view these challenges and the creative projects by the Design Team's, whose makes are always so inspirational.

As always thank you for visiting my blog. I love to read your comments and  enjoy meeting new crafty friends.

Annie xx