Flowers - Just for Me!

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog.  Hope you are all having a fabulous day!!

I have another card to share.  Haven't really been in "the crafting zone' lately and was getting a bit down about it but things have picked up again and I decided to make something 'just for me'.  Didn't care if it was good or bad, just wanted to get my fingers dirty so to speak.   I had started another Art Journal page but got stuck and it's still waiting for me to finish it so, in the meantime, I made this card.

The papers I used are from Meg's Garden's 'Gentlemen's Collection' and, though they are certainly wonderful for masculine projects, they also work just as well for feminine ones.

Did a little bit of stamping  with a text stamp and black archival ink and also added a bit of texture through a stencil.  I actually wanted to drizzle some paint over the papers, but had a lot of trouble getting it right so used the stencil instead.  Also sprinkled the background with watered down Black Soot D.I.

The wooden flourish is from Kaisercraft.  Coloured it with Distress Inks and lightly swiped it with gesso.

The large flowers are from Kaisercraft, the small roses from Meg's Garden and the rest are from my stash.  The metal leaves were lightly swiped with gesso.

The ticket was fussy cut from Prima's Engraver Collection, edged with Distress Ink and, again, swiped with gesso.  Love that gesso!!!

The inside was decorated with some strips of the same papers and stenciled with Tea Stain D.I.

I may have to make a few more of these 'random' cards just to perk up the old 'mojo'.  It didn't take a lot of time to do and I just went with the flow and did whatever I felt like.  Must say, I thoroughly enjoyed the process.  Sometimes you've just got to please yourself!!

Thank you so much for visiting and I do hope you like my little floral make.  I'll probably give it away to someone but, for the moment, it's there to remind me why I love crafting so much.

Take care, lovely people and enjoy the rest of your day.
God Bless.

A 'Gentleman's' Wallet/Brag Book for Meg's Garden

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog!  Hope you are having a wonderful day!
Sorry that I haven't been around lately but 'life' got in the way of my paper crafting and blog visits.  Things have settled down now and hopefully I can get back to normal.

It's my turn again at Meg's Garden Blog and this time I would like to share with you a Wallet style Mini or 'Brag Book' made specifically for the men.
I must point out that this is not my design.  I first saw this style of Mini Book on Astrid Maclean's blog 'Astrid's Artistic Efforts' and she actually got the instructions for this design from a video on You Tube made by Dawn's Inspiration.  I really loved this design and thought it would be perfect for the 'Gentlemen' papers.
I should warn you that this will be a long post as there are quite a lot of photos so I hope you won't get bored.  Perhaps you should grab yourself a cuppa before we begin!!

Here is the front cover.

For this wallet I used the strips from the bottom of the 12 x 12 Gentleman's Collection papers and also some sheets from the Mini paper pack.  On the cover I used the strip from 'A Gentleman on Time' page.  Roughed up the edges with a distressing tool and inked them with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink.  I then scraped some Clear Rock Candy Distress Paint in the top right hand corner and, when it was dry, swiped some gesso  around the corners as well.  The inkwell and quill was fussy cut from the 'Letter from a Gentleman' strip and the labels are from the 'Cut & Create' page.

The clock was cut from the 'Old World Time' Transparency and the cute little metal clock and key are also available from Meg's Garden.  As you can see, I wrapped some wire around the twine to hold the clock and key in place, but I need to practice that a bit more so I can make it look a bit tidier.  LOL!

Unfortunately the crackle paint doesn't show up very well in the photos, but you can see where the gesso cracked as well.  The metal gears are the Idea-ology Mini Gears from Tim Holtz.  All the papers (with only one exception) and embellishments used in this project are available at Meg's Garden.  Below is a closie of the fussy cut inkwell.  I used some foam dots  underneath to pop it up off the page.

When closed the whole booklet measures 4" x 7" but there are lots of flaps to open and some pockets as well for holding tags and journaling spots.
Here it is with the top flap open.

This flap has one of the pockets.  The tags were cut from the 'Create & Cut' page.  I inked the edges and backed them with some kraft cardstock so they can be used as journaling spots.  Stenciled a flourish on the pocket itself with some translucent texture paste and, as an embellishment, I cut out the small graphics from the mini pack and trimmed them with  some fancy scissors.

On the flap below there is space for a photo and you can see some more of the labels from the 'Cut & Create' page to which I have added the small metal clock and a piece of Tim Holtz's Mini Film Strip.

The page above and some of the following pages were stenciled with either the Lattice work Stencil or the Burlap Stencil from Tim Holtz using Gathered Twigs Distress Ink.

All the removable tags and labels were mounted on kraft cardstock.  The clock can be used as a journaling spot and the tag beneath as a photo mat.

The page above opens to the right to reveal a photo mat ...

... and opens to the right again to reveal a pocket and tag ...

... and another photo mat.  The coffee stains and splats were made with Bobunny's Stained Textures Stamp.

The tag was stenciled with 'Black Soot' and  'Gathered Twigs' Distress Ink and some circles created with a bottle cap dipped in gesso.

I hope you are all still with me.  I did warn you about the photos didn't I???

 This page opens to the left ...

... to reveal another photo mat and opens to the left again ...

... to reveal a pocket and tag ...

... and another photo mat.

More stenciling and stamping and circles.

Here is the middle of the wallet with both sides open.  The belly band was made with paper from Prima's Engraver Collection.  I simply attached it with some eyelets.  The gorgeous Filigree oval trinket is also available from Meg's Garden.

The tags and calendar were cut from the 'Gentleman's' papers.

Don't despair people, we're nearly finished!!!  Hope you're still with me!! LOL!
These photos show you what the whole piece looks like.
It was very difficult to photograph the whole wallet so I elected to do one side at a time.
This is the front left side ...

... and the front right side.

The back left side ...

... and the back right side.

I didn't add much in the way of three dimensional embellishments because in the first instance, guys don't really go for that and in the second instance, the wallet would have ended up way too thick.  Besides, this paper collection is awesome all by itself and doesn't really need too much embellishment.

I do hope you managed to stick with me to the end and that you like my Gentleman's Brag Wallet and are inspired to try it, or something similar,  for yourself.

Meg's Garden Products used:
Gentleman's Collection 12 x 12 papers
Gentleman's Collection Mini Paper Pack
Old World Time Transparency
Filigree long oval
Tim Holtz Mini Gears
Tim Holtz Mini Film Strip
Clock Charm
Hardware Metals - Key Antique Chest

HERE is the link to Meg's Garden Online Store.
Why not pop over to the Meg's Garden Blog to take a look at the awesome creations by my Teamies.  HERE is the link.

Thank you so much for visiting and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.

Take care and God Bless.

My first Canvas and a RAK from a Sweet Friend!!

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog!

Hope you are all having a lovely day.  The weather here in Adelaide at the moment is gorgeous!!  It's a beautiful, sunny winter's day.   Temperature is still a bit cool but out in the sun it is so lovely!!  Have to make the most of it because it probably won't last, but one can hope can't one??

Today, I'd like to share with you my very first canvas.  Have been itching to do one for ages but was a bit intimidated by the whole idea, and then I thought, 'what the heck', can't be any harder than an Art Journal page and I've already done some of those.  

So, here it is!

I love the combination of orange and blue and, although the shades weren't quite what I was after,  I'm quite happy with the background.  I just watered down some acrylic paints and put them into a sprayer.  After the paint was dry I sprayed again with some Pearl Glimmer Mist for a bit of shimmer, although that doesn't show in the photos.

That stunning corner chipboard piece is the Corner Flower Vine from 2Crafty Chipboard.  I used texture paste to rough it up a bit and then used acrylic paint to colour it.  I won't bore you with the details of how many times I actually painted it and gessoed it and then painted it again.  Originally I wanted it to be green but I just couldn't get the right shade with the supplies I have on hand so, in the end, I had to use the blue.  I do actually like it that way, which is just as well!!  LOL!  Once it was dry I randomly brushed it with some gesso.

Did some stencil work with texture paste and then needed to spray the background a bit more so the paste got some colour as well.  Both of the pretty lace ribbons are available from Meg's Garden and I obtained the quote from the net.  I simply wrote it out by hand onto some plain paper and inked the edges.   That gorgeous key was coloured with acrylic paint and then lightly brushed with gesso.

The flowers are mainly from Kaisercraft except for the small deep  red one which is also available from Meg's Garden.  The cluster was placed on top of a piece of gauze and then dry brushed with gesso to soften the look.  The small sprigs are pieces from a wooden flourish by KC, I simply cut off the bits I wanted to use.  The small hearts are also from KC and were coloured the same as the corner vine.

So, now to the random act of kindness.
This key is my favourite part of this canvas.  In a recent post of one of my cards (you can find it HERE) I lamented about using a lovely little key which had been in my stash for quite a long time because I loved it and hadn't wanted to lose it.  I'm sure you've all been there.  Well, my sweet cyber friend Linda Eggleton saw my post and contacted me to say she had a couple of similar keys and would be happy to send them to me.  I was gobsmacked.  How awesome was that??  Of course I said I would love to have them and she not only sent me the keys but I also received the most gorgeous tag that she had made.  I am over the moon!  Her tag now takes pride of place in my crafty space.  Thank you so much Linda, you are so kind and generous!!  

A closie of the key ...

... and Linda's gorgeous tag.  

If you don't know Linda's work, HERE is the link to her blog.  She takes the most beautiful photographs and makes the most stunning Scrapbook pages and cards.  I love her work!!

Isn't it gorgeous??  I love the colour and the textures ...

... the sweet little butterfly and key, and the pretty ribbon ... 

 ... and the hearts and fabulous blooms!

 I love all the many layers as well.  There is so much to look at on this beautiful tag ...

... simply stunning!!!

... and a final closie of my canvas!.

I hope you've enjoyed my post and that you will go and take a look at Linda's Blog.  You won't be sorry I assure you!!  She is one talented lady!!

Thank you so much for visiting and I hope I have inspired you a little today!!

I do hope you enjoy the rest of your day.

Take care and God Bless.

Sharing the Happiness at Our Creative Corner

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog.

I was so thrilled and excited when I was contacted by Laura Bomber and told that Astrid Maclean wanted me to be the Guest Designer for her Challenge last month at Our Creative Corner.   I never imagined that something like this would happen to little old me!!!  Thank you so much ladies you have made me feel very blessed.
The July Challenge was to use handmade flowers and hand dyed ribbon on a project.  I wasn't sure at first what I should create but, as I am primarily a card maker, that is what I eventually decided to do and here is what I came up with.

The base is white cardstock and I used some tulle to soften the look.  I then used two layers of paper from Meg's Garden's 'Correspondence' collection, tore them to size and then randomly curled the edges.

Did a little background work with 'Fired Brick' Distress Ink.  I simply wet a paper towel with the ink and then pounced it on the paper, I love the textured look you get from this technique.  Added some circles with a bottle top dipped in gesso and created some splats with Black Soot D.I.  I used two die cuts on this card, both of them are from Memory Box.  The 'Snowflake Spray' was cut into two pieces, one of which I placed between the paper layers, and the other piece was used as part of the flower cluster along with the 'Honey Blossom Sprig'.

The 'Chicken Barbed Wire' Chipboard piece is from 2Crafty Chipboard.  I coloured it with red Acrylic paint and then randomly swiped it with some Glossy Accents and some Crackle Accents.  

This is actually an Easel Card and to anchor the 'Easel' I used a die cut piece from Spellbinder's 'Opulent Ovals'.  The stamp is from Kaisercraft and was stamped with Memento's Tuxedo Black.   The edges of the oval were inked with Fired Brick D.I.

Used Tim Holtz's 'Burlap' stencil and Fired Brick to decorate the inside and added some texture with homemade texture paste and Urban Artist's 'Mini Hummingbird' stencil.

With all the incidentals out of the way, we came to the important part of this project.  The handmade flowers and the hand dyed ribbon.

It's been quite a long time since I made a paper flower and I had forgotten how much I enjoyed doing it.  This is a style of flower I discovered a few years ago but, unfortunately I do not remember where.  There are so many tutorials out there now and, although I did find quite a number which use the same method of crinkling the petals I simply couldn't find the one that used the tulle and the stamens as well.
So, I thought I would do a little step by step.

You need two large flower shapes and one smaller one.  It doesn't really matter what style of flower shape you use as long as the petals are cut fairly deep.  You also need at least 6 stamens and a piece of tulle.

You can either colour your petals as I did or simply use designer paper to suit your project.

Spray the petals with water and then, using the end of a paintbrush or something similar, curl one of the petals around the handle of the brush.  Hold it securely with your thumb and forefinger and then pinch it with your other hand to get the lengthwise creases.  

Do this with all the petals and then curl the whole piece around the bottom of the brush.

This is what they should look like.  The smaller flower can simply be rolled into a little ball.

Let them dry completely and then, very carefully, open them up.  If you've coloured your flowers, you may wish to ink the edges at this stage because some of the colour would have leeched out when you sprayed them with water.

Cut a circle out of your piece of tulle slightly smaller than the large petals and then snip out some petal shapes.  It doesn't matter if you end up with more petals than actual the flower itself.  Once assembled, you won't notice the anomaly.

Time to assemble the flower.  Put a fairly large blob of glue (I used Glossy Accents) in the centre of one of the large flower shapes and attach the tulle flower.  Then add the second paper flower, staggering the petals, and making sure the tulle is visible.  Press down firmly in the centre until the three layers stick together.

For the stamens, put two of them together and bend them in half.  I then slightly twist the bottom together and fold it up slightly to make them a little shorter.  You could cut them to length but I find that by folding the bottoms up they are easier to stick down.  Put another blob of glue in the centre and arrange the stamens evenly around your flower. 

Then it's just a matter of crumpling up the smaller flower until you are happy with it and glueing it down on top of the stamens.  Here is the finished flower.  

I think it's kinda cute!

For the hand dyed ribbon I used Fired Brick  and Walnut Stain Distress Inks.  I simply pressed the stamp pads onto my mat, sprayed a little water on it and then dragged the ribbon through it.  Crumpled the ribbon up (and, of course, got ink all over my hands, but that's all part of the fun isn't it??)   then left it to dry and tied it into a bow.  

And here is the full view of my finished card.  The smaller flower on the base was made exactly the same as the larger one but, of course, I left out the tulle and the stamens.

I hope you enjoyed my little project and that, perhaps, I have inspired you to go over and take a look at Our Creative Corner.  They have a new challenge each month and there are some lovely prizes to be won.

Thank you again, Laura and Astrid for giving me this amazing opportunity, I thoroughly enjoyed it!!
Thank you so much for visiting and leaving me a little comment.
Take care everyone and God Bless.