My Heart Soars

Here is a sneak peak of some inspiration I have for you today on the IndigoBlu blog.  Pop on over and check out my newest canvas.

Home and Family

It is time for me to show you my first December IndogoBlu project.  I am sharing this post with Gio and Ksenija so pop on over to the IndigoBlu blog and check out what they have created.

To get a better look at any of the photos just click on them to bring up a larger version.  It has been snowing and dull and grey where I live so taking photos has been a challenge in itself.

This month the theme for the International Design Team is Count Your Blessings and I think the sentiment on this card is perfect for the theme and works so well with the wonderful stamp.

I stamped the Country House image on some white card stock with Jet Black Archival Ink.

Then I used Weathered Wood and Faded Jeans Distress Ink to create a dusky sky. I also decided at the last minute to add some Hickory Smoke Distress Ink.

Next I added some stars with the Stars stencil and Pantry White paint.

The image was coloured with Prismacolors that I blended with Gotrick OMS.

I painted a scrap piece of card stock with Vodka Martini Metallic paint and then punched a number of snowflakes with a Martha Stewart border and corner punch.

I mounted the image panel on some black card stock before I added it to the card blank.  Once it was down I decided that the bottom needed help since I had just painted it with the Vodka Martini Metallic paint thinking it might pass for snow but it didn't so I used my finger to swirl some texture paste on the bottom and while it was still wet I sprinkled on some Unicorn Sparkles.  Tip:  If you find an oops you want to fix and your card is glued together, just use some painter's masking tape to protect the rest of the card.

To finish the card I created the sentiment on the computer and inked the edges with Weathered Wood Distress Ink.  I added a bit of snow to the greenery and the lamps with a white gel pen and then adhered my falling snowflakes.

Winner of Giveaway

I am sad that there weren't more people interested in the fabulous stamp set from IndigoBlu that I was giving away.  These are high quality red rubber stamps and will be a great addition to the winner's craft stash.  I was in England a few weeks ago and had the pleasure of spending a day at the IndigoBlu headquarters and saw the stamps being made - with love and great care.

My husband drew a name for me and congratulations go to MiamiKel.  Please email me at cwcardcreations@rogers.com with your snail mail address so I can get the stamps set off to you.

Christmas Star

It is time for a new challenge at Stamps and Stencils and this time Toni, our hostess is calling it Christmas Wishes.  She describes it this way:

"Ahhhh! Christmas, like it or lump it, it rolls around every year and seems to arrive faster than ever. If you celebrate Christmas, it's likely that you'll be making cards, gift tags, decorations or even creating your own wrapping paper. My Christmas Wish is to see some of the creative things you make, in order to spread a little seasonal love to your families and friends. My only request is that you include some stamping or stenciling or even both!"

Since the tree was going up this week I decided it was only fitting to make another ornament to hang on it. This one started as a wooden circle made by my husband on the laser cutter (loving that machine).

I gave it a coat of Liquitex Gesso and then crumpled up some tissue paper and glued that on along with some sewing thread.  Next I added Golden Light Molding Paste through an IndigoBlu stencil called Stars.

Once everything was dry I covered it in DecoArt Dark Red acrylic paint.  Then I laid the stencil back down and stippled on some DecoArt Champagne Gold Metallics acrylic paint.  Next I gave it a light coat of Mod Podge to seal it.

The lopsided star was also cut on the laser cutter and the rays are waste from some wooden cross pendants that my husband cut for a craft show at a local church.  I cut them up and attached them between two circles that I punched from a cracker box.

The star and rays were coated with Gesso and then I added some Golden Course Pumice Gel to the star before I covered them with more of the Champagne Gold.  I attached the rays to the back of the star and added some large seed beads to the star before adhering it to the circle.  My adhesive of choice for this sort of thing is IndigoBlu's new Super Thick Slap it On.

I made a bead chain for a hanger with a small loop at the top so I can wire the ornament to the tree as I do with all my ornaments.

Here is a close-up of the finished ornament since it wanted to turn when I was trying to take a photo of it hanging..

I hope you will take a break from all the Christmas planning and grab some time in your craft room to create something for this challenge.

Home for the Holidays

Home for the Holidays is the name of the new challenge at Frilly and Funkie.  The super talented Kathy is our hostess this time and describes it this way:

"Let's get ready to Deck the Halls by creating some home decor for the holiday season.  You can make centerpieces, wreaths, banners, ornaments, wall hangings, or little vignettes  ...basically anything BUT a card for this challenge. If you don't celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa, then just make some home decor with a wintry theme."

I decided to make another ornament for my tree and as those who have been following me for a while know it has a red and gold theme with some touches of white so this will fit right in.  The photos have been taken over a few days when the weather outside couldn't make up its mind whether it wanted to be sunny or grey so they are all over the map this time but the photo above is the best of the lot.

I started with a wooden circle that my husband cut for me on the laser machine and gave it a coat of Gesso.  Next I added crumpled tissue for a first layer of texture and then added some texture paste through a Tim Holtz Harlequin stencil.

The next step was to add lots of little bits and pieces, coat it with more Gesso to help unify the colour and then a layer of my favourite gold paint called Champagne Gold from DecoArt.  By the way, Linda has a number of the new Christmas Idea-ology products from Tim Holtz in her shop and I got some to use but they arrived too late for me to use on this ornament.  I encourage you to pop over to The Funkie Junie Boutique and check them out because there are lots of fun things for you to create with.

Next I added some Barn Door and Aged Mahogany Distress Sprays and then dabbed on some FW Crimson Acrylic Ink followed by some Perfect Pearls Heirloom Gold mixed with water.  I made a bead topper for a hanger and thought it was done.  Note:  The pearl headed stick pin shown in the first photo is not part of the ornament - I just used it to hang the ornament so I could take its picture.  I wire all my ornaments to my tree so the little gold loop at the top is where the wire will be attached.

I was sitting looking at the ornament on Su day and decided it needed a touch of white so I blended some Gold Mixative and Snow Cap Mixative Alcohol Ink and dabbed that on.  Now it was done and just in time too because we put the tree up on Monday.

Every year I think I have lots of ornaments but then I finish decorating the tree and there are holes that need filling so I guess next year I will have to come up with some more.  They are fun to do so I won't mind - as long as I have mojo when it comes time to create.

I am going to enter this project in the following challenges:

Crafty Cardmakers - Anything But A Card
We Love 2 Create - Anything Creative/Mixed Media Goes
Allsorts Challenge - Anything Christmas
Open-Minded Crafting - Christmas/Hanukkah

The following products used to create this ornament came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

More Inspiration for IndigoBlu

It is my turn to provide some inspiration over on the IndigoBlu blog today and this is a sneak peek of what I have created.  Pop on over there and you will see what I have created and how I did it.

Fireworks

I am sharing an inspiration piece for IndigoBlu today that was way out of my comfort zone.  The members of the International Design Team were asked to create projects inspired by Bonfire Night.

OK, so what is Bonfire Night I asked since it is not something celebrated in Canada.  It turns out it is a celebration recognizing the failure of Guy Fawkes and his cohorts who were plotting to assassinate the King and blow up the British Parliament Buildings on November 5th, 1605.  In modern times it is an occasion for families to get together and have a party with lots of fireworks and special food.  So for my first piece I decided to go with a fireworks theme in a vintage vibe.

I started with some Bazzill card stock for the blank, added a panel of black card stock and then created a background by inking a piece of card stock with Weathered Wood, Stormy Sky and Hickory Smoke Distress Ink.

Then I got my handy husband to create a fireworks stencil for me and cut it on the laser cutter.  I used my wonderful new stencil all over my night sky by pouncing Vodka Martini, Goldfinger and Miss Moneypenny Metallic Paint from IndigoBlu with pieces of makeup sponges going from the centre of each burst to the outside.

I found a vintage image of a young boy coming out of a store with his haul of fireworks online and after I printed the image I coated it with Tim Holtz Clear Rock Candy Distress Crackle.  When it was dry I inked it with some Vintage Photo Distress Ink and mounted it on a scrap of black card stock with dimensional foam.

The sentiment was computer generated and added with some dimensional foam.

I mixed some of the Vodka Martini Metallic paint with some Super Thick Slap it On and added it to a scrap of card stock through the Stars stencil.  Once dry I fussy cut a few stars and added them along with some sequins to my fireworks panel.

Even though this is not a bright piece that one would normally think of for a party, I love my sparkly fireworks in the night sky and hope I have done some justice to the theme.

Bountiful Harvest

The new challenge starts today at Frilly and Funkie and Nancy, our hostess for this one is calling it Bountiful Harvest.  She describes it this way:

"Create any vintage or shabby chic project celebrating the bounty of the season in the rich hues of Autumn."

I began with some Bazzill card stock for the blank and added a full panel of paper from Graphic 45 Voyage Beneath The Sea for the background. Next came a vertical strip of paper from the same pad along with a wider strip of paper from Prima's Vintage Emporium pad. All panels were distressed with my scissors and inked with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

I used the Prima crochet doily die and some scrap master board that I had to cut the doily.  The chevrons are scraps from the Graphic 45 pad.

Next I found a freebie cornucopia online at Education.com and coloured it with my Prismacolors before I inked it all over with Vintage Photo DI and mounted it on a scrap of card stock.

The flower was made from vellum using the Shabby Posies die from Tammy Tutterow and coloured on the back with Candied Apple, Rusty Hinge, Fossilized Amber and Spiced Marmelade Distress Crayons that were blended with a water brush. A carved shell button was added for a centre and some leaves were die cut from the Kraft Core Shattered Collection and his Garden Greens die.

The following products used to create this card came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

A Little Giveaway

Tomorrow I am leaving my husband at home and taking off for a week in England.  The purpose of the trip is a get-together of the Design Team at IndigoBlu headquarters, some time with crafty friends and a too short visit with a special personal friend. 

To celebrate my exciting trip and with the blessing of Kay Halliwell-sutton, the owner of IndigoBlu I have a little giveaway for you.

This fine quality red rubber stamp set could be yours as long as you follow the simple rules shown below:

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me what you might make with these stamps
2. Become a follower of the IndigoBlu challenge blog (I will be checking to see if you do)
3. Become a follower of my blog, if you aren't already
4. Post this on your sidebar until the drawing date

The giveaway is open until Saturday, November 26, 2016 at 3:00 pm EST and the winner will be picked by random draw. 

Good Luck! 

Broken Silver and Gold

I decided I wanted to make something just for fun, especially after I saw the fabulous canvas created by my friend Jenny of Pushing the Right Buttons. 

To get a closer look at my canvas click on the photo to bring up a larger view.

My Mother-in-Law passed away earlier this year and when we were cleaning out her room at the nursing home I decided to bring all her costume jewelry home with me just in case I could use it for something.  Well this is the first something and the butterfly brooch was the jumping off point.  The gold on the outside was too bright so I altered it a bit but more about the altering later.

I started with a canvas and coated it with Gesso.  Next I covered it with a coat of acrylic paint called Country Twill, allowed it to dry and added a coat of crackle medium and after that was dry added a coat of Silver Gray acrylic paint.  Then I dry brushed it with Tapioca acrylic paint and Champagne Gold metallic acrylic paint.  Finally I spritzed it with some Tarnished Brass and Brushed Pewter Distress Spray Stain.

I collected a variety of metal pieces, beads, a broken watch face gifted by my neighbour, a wee flower and some buttons and dabbed on some Gold Mixative Alcohol Ink and Silver Mixative Alcohol Ink to alter them and tie the colour together.

I added some silver crochet ribbon and some lace horizontally and then a strip of burlap vertically.  Then I hung a large bead and a key from some crinkly yarn meant to be doll hair, added a couple more pieces and adhered that to the burlap.  Then I added all the bits and pieces with little bunches of large silver and gold seed beads tucked here and there.

I didn't have much time to create so there isn't as much texture as I would have liked to add but I had fun and it was a great break from the design team commitments I am finishing up.

Canvas: Dollarama
Paints: Country Twill Acrylic Paint (Folk Art), Silver Gray Acrylic Paint (Craftsmart), Tapioca Acrylic Paint (Folk Art), Champagne Gold Metallic Acrylic Paint (DecoArt), Crackle Medium (Folk Art)
Inks: Burnished Brass Distress Spray Stain (Tim Holtz, Brushed Pewter Distress Spray Stain (Tim Holtz), Gold Mixative Alcohol Ink (Tim Holtz), Silver Mixative Alcohol Ink (Tim Holtz)
Fibres: Silver Crochet Ribbon (May Arts), White Burlap (The Funkie Junkie Boutique), Lace (Fancy Gap Warehouse), Cream Yarn Doll Hair (Michaels)
Other: Gesso (Liquitex), Super Thick Slap it On Adhesive (IndigoBlu), Metal Charms, Buttons, Filgree Medallion, Beads (My Stash)

I am going to enter this canvas into the following challenges:

Anything But Cute - Rustic Glam

A Vintage Journey - Cracking Up

Creative Artiste  - Anything Mixed Media Goes
Mixed Media World  - Assemblage/Altered Art
Rhedd's Creative Spirit - Altered/Repurposed

Altered Bag

It is time for a new challenge at Stamps and Stencils and I am the hostess this month and am calling it Tags, Bags and Boxes!  Here is what I am looking for this time:

"With Christmas coming up and the gift buying underway, we are going to need something to wrap them in. Let's make some mixed media tags, bags & boxes that will be as treasured by the recipient as the gift itself. Don't forget to include some stamping or stenciling."

I decided to alter a bag when I saw some white paper sacks at Michaels for a pretty decent price on par with the dollar store - rare for Michaels.

I started by painting a section of one side with some Deep Red Acrylic paint from DecoArt.  Next I tried to add some stenciling but since the bag is not flat with the handle inserted, it looked horrible so rather than send it to the garbage I figured out a way to save it.

I tore a piece of card stock the size of the area already painted and painted it.  Then I used a stars stencil from IndigoBlu and their Vodka Martini Metallic paint to make a deep stenciled frame of stars.

Using Jet Black Archival Ink and some elements from a Cloud 9 Design stamp set that I picked up at a yard sale, I stamped randomly around the frame.  The edge of this panel was inked with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  Before I added it to the bag with dimensional foam I used a natural sea sponge to add some extra paint to the bag itself.

Next I printed some Christmas music paper, tore it and inked the edges with Vintage Photo DI before I adhered it to the painted panel with dimensional foam.

The next step was to make the trees.  They were cut on the laser cutter from 100 lb card stock and inked with Evergreen Bough, Peeled Paint and Forest Moss Distress Ink.  I coated them with Wendy Vecchi Crackled Texture Paste.  When they were dry I realized that the cracks might flake off so I coated them with Mod Podge.  After they were dry I re-inked them with all the same colours of Distress Ink and then mounted them on the music paper panel.

This was an easy transformation and the only thing that slowed it down was drying time but definitely made the white bag look much more fun.

I hope you will join us at Stamps and Stencils and show us your creation.  You have until November 30th at 8:00 pm UK time.

Mesh for Christmas

It is time for a new challenge at Frilly and Funkie and this time Pamellia is our hostess bringing us a challenge with a really fun title - What a Mesh!  She describes it this way:

"The challenge this time is to use any type of mesh (crinoline, cheesecloth, tulle, burlap, canvas etc) in your vintage or shabby chic project."

I decided to take this opportunity to create another Christmas card - 4 down, only 40 or so to go.

 I will be back on Saturday over at the Frilly and Funkie challenge blog to present the Step x Step feature and show how I made this card so I hope you will pop over and check it out - just click here.

Inspiration for IndigoBlu

I am back today with a sneak peek at a project for IndigoBlu.  Pop on over to my post there to see what I made and how I did it.

Autumn Leaves

It is time for me to share a new project for IndigoBlu and this time I have created an autumn card.  I have gone for a couple of drives into the country over the past couple of week and these colours are exactly what I saw on the trees - breathtaking.

I started with some Bazzill card stock for the blank and then created a background panel.  I used watercolour card stock and inked it all over with Scattered Straw and Dried Marigold Distress Ink.  I used a stippling brush and a Folk Art stencil called Leaf Variety to add a number of IndigoBlu Matte acrylic paints - Postbox Red, Burning Bonfire, Hunter Green, Hot Cocoa and Lemon Meringue.  I then lightly stippled directly onto the background between the leaves with some Miss Moneypenny Metallic acrylic paint.

I took another sheet of watercolour card stock and randomly painted it all over with Postbox Red, Burning Bonfire, Hot Cocoa and Hunter Green acrylic paints to get a master board.

Using some Coffee Archival Ink, I stamped leaves from the Live, Laugh, Love set onto the master board that I created.

I fussy cut the leaves and added some Miss Moneypenny metallic paint to the edges with a natural sea sponge.  If you find you need a bit more control to get it just on the edges, you can roll up a little bit of paper towelling and that works too.

Next I used a die set from Spellbinders and Tammy Tutterow called Shabby Posies to cut petals from some stiff gauze fabric that I picked up on a visit to a wholesale place in Fancy Gap, Virginia.

I thinned some Burning Bonfire matte paint with quite a bit of water, dipped the petals in to coat them and then scrunched them up and let them dry.  Once dry, I opened them up again being careful not to tear them.  I stacked the petals and joined them together by sewing them in the centre and fluffed them up to make my flower.

Next I used Coffee Archival Ink to stamp the sentiment from the Live, Laugh, Love set onto a scrap of green card stock from Recollections.  I cut the corners off to create a tag and punched a hole to which I added an Avery reinforcement that was coloured with some Crushed Olive Distress Ink.

Before I adhered the background to the blank I added a wide strip of organza ribbon topped with a strip of grosgrain ribbon, both from my stash.  Next I added the leaves, then the flower and finally the sentiment, which I hung on the card with some burlap string.

I hope you will pop over to the IndigoBlu blog because I am sharing this post with some of my team mates on the International Design Team and you will want to check out the wonderful projects they created.

Inspiration Post at Stamps and Stencils

Today I am presenting the inspiration post over at Stamps and Stencils.  Here is a sneak peek of my project and I hope you will go and see what I have done and how I did it.

Wicked Witch

It is time for the new challenge at Frilly and Funkie.  Zoe, our hostess is calling it A Very Vintage Halloween and describes it this way:

"With Halloween just around the corner, it's time to get your witches hats on and create a project in a vintage style with a Halloween theme."

I started with some Bazzill card stock for the blank and then added panels of paper from the Tim Holtz Materialize pad. On the top panel, I used a Tim Holtz stencil called Speckles with some Aged Mahogany Distress Ink to add some "blood splatters".  All the paper pieces on this card were inked with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

I cut a big circle from Tim Holtz Kraft Core Shattered Collection and topped it with a bat that came in a little goodie package from The Funkie Junkie Boutique.  I found the clock face online and added a skull and crossbones charm that I altered with Pitch Black Alcohol Ink and a light coat of DecoArt Black Metal Paint.  The spider charm was also treated this way.

The witch is a sinister looking lady that came from The Graphics Fairy and I hand cut a witch's hat from a scrap of black card stock for her to which I added some dollar store gems.  I made her broom from a wooden skewer and some raffia that has been in my stash for years.

The potion label was printed from online as was the pentagram.  The words were computer generated.  The bird is a Recollections stamp and was stamped with Jet Black Archival Ink.

Finally I added a loopy bow made from black organza ribbon that was tied together with black burlap string to which I added a bat charm.  The bat was altered with a mixture of Pitch Black and Silver Mixative Alcohol Inks.

I think I will enter this card in the following challenges:

Shopping Your Stash - Hey Ghoulfriend (Halloween)
Country View Challenges - All Things Sooky
Delicious Doodles - Halloween
Let's Craft & Create - Halloween/Autumn/Fall
Scrap From Your Heart - Fall/Halloween

The following items used to create this card came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Friday Focus at Frilly and Funkie

I am presenting the Friday Focus segment at Frilly and Funkie today.  Here is a sneak peek of just one of  my projects so pop on over and see what I am focusing on and what I made.

Cherry Blossoms

It is time for a new challenge at Stamps and Stencils and this time Autumn, who is our hostess calls it Elements of Nature and describes it this way:

"Whether you are inspired by the glorious world around us with the changing seasons, or tempted to use elements of nature in your art work, this month we'd love to see your nature inspired entries.

Anything goes as long as you include a natural element in your art which can be either either stamped or an actual item ! As always you need to include stamping or stenciling."

I decided to make a canvas featuring cherry blossoms and while they aren't real, I think they are a great representation.

I started by covering a dollar store canvas with a coat of Liquitex Gesso.  Next I glued some strips of Tim Holtz Melange Tissue Wrap to the canvas along with some torn paper.  I added some stenciling with Golden Light Molding Paste and a Heidi Swapp geometric stencil.  Once dry I covered everything with another coat of Gesso.

I painted the surface next using dry baby wipes and lots of different paints applied in random spots - Golden Maganese Blue Hue and Green Gold, DecoArt Cobalt Teal Hue, IndigoBlu Hunter Green Matte Acrylic and Fresco Finish Pumpkin Soup and Smoked Paprika.

Next I made the branches and the blossoms from Martha Stewart Crafter's Clay and a Wilton Mold.  Once the pieces were dry I painted the blossoms with Fresco Finish Blush, Candy Floss and Blood Orange.  The branches were painted with Fresco Finish Mocha and inked with Tim Holtz Gathered Twigs, Walnut Stain and Black Soot Distress Inks.  The leaves were painted with Golden Green Gold and Fresco Finish Green Olives and then inked with Gathered Twigs DI.

I used Jet Black Archival Ink to stamp the bird from the IndigoBlu set called Live, Love, Laugh and coloured it with Prismacolor pencil crayons blended with Gotrick OMS.  I used Jet Black Archival Ink to stamp the little bee from a Tim Holtz set called Random Thoughts.

The sentiment was computer generated and inked with Cracked Pistachio DI and think it really speaks to the fact that this branch is not very full of blooms as you might see on the trees in the spring.  I personally could be considered the adversity because I ran out of clay and time - lol.

I hope you will join us and share your nature themed project.