Queen for a day

As many as you know the queen's Birthday of which she has two, one is today 21st April (her birth date) and then there is an official birthday in June. She will be 86 years old this year and to celebrate I thought it would be nice to do a card

Our cat phoebe who just happens to be ginger too certainly thinks she is queen in our house and so this pretty Penny Black Stamp seemed appropriate for today's card. I used my Spectrum Noirs for the colourig in and my good old Spellbinders dies  to mount it on . The background was made with Heartfelt Creations blossom Corners cut 4 times and the bubbles in the bath were made with some Tim Holts glaze ans glitter.

Items used 

Heartfelt Creations Blossom corner die from Spellbinders

Penny black 'Cat in bathtub' Stamp

Spellbinders Floral oval Decorative die

Spellbinders Iron work Accents die  
Tim Holts glossy Accents

Spectrum Noir pens

Ribbon

Jewellery box - Faerie poppets and Angel whispers....

Morning folks

I thought you might like to see what else I've been up to the last few weeks with the fabulous Faerie poppets CD from Crafters Companion. This time its a little bit bigger than a card, I've 'upcycled' a cheap jewellery box with the toppers and backing papers from the CD and and it should be popping up in the shows next week on Create and Craft TV. (That's assuming it survived the journey by Royal mail to CC HQ.)



This is a cheap balsa wood jewellery box picked up from a local garden Centre for £2.50 and its been covered with images and backing papers from the Faerie poppets CD . You could use an old one or any box that will take a water based glue on it.
It was quiet easy to make, if you would like to give it a go, you will need the following

A cheap wooden jewellery box. (new or old)
Crafter's Companion Faerie poppets CD Rom
Ribbon and lace
Wet glue
Silver mirror card
White pearls
Silver border peel offs



Step 1

Unscrew the hinges on the back and the clasp on the  front of the box and put somewhere safe,  when your box is covered you will need to put them back on again . My little box also had a sliding hinge on the side for the lid, they all have to come off for you to decorate.




Step 2
Cover your box with a backing paper of your choice  from the CD. Print off some backing paper and cut to size. I choose a pretty pink one, cut the strips for the sides and glue on. I used my Collall glue as it is an all purpose and ideal for this job.
  If the corners of your paper are overlapping you can always 'sand 'them down gently when they are dry but not before as the paper may tear. I also used the same paper to line the trays inside the box. Don't forget to mark on the box where the hinge and clasp go.



Step 3
Print out your image from your Crafter's Companion Faerie Poppets CD Rom for your box topper and mount these onto silver mirror board. Flip the topper over and on the underside now add your pretty lace around the edge and then some double side foam pads to cushion your topper onto your wooden box. Flip over and stick to top of box

Step 4

Print off the images from the CD you wish to decorate the sides with, to copy this box you will need to print off 10 images 3 each for the front and back and 2 each on the sides. Mount onto mirror card and then glue onto your wooden box using your wet glue. I found a set of six in the toppers section and printed off 2 sheets of those.There are loads of toppers to choose from and if you are clever you should be able to resize them to fix any box you are trying to decorate



Step 5
Trim the edge of the box with some ribbon , I used some sparkly glitter ribbon I had in my ribbon stash, and added some pearls to the corners.


Step 6
   Decorate the inside of your box with matching backing paper and lace. when you have done this you can then put the hinges and locking clasp back onto your box.


This project took a couple of hours to complete with drying time but I think the end result was worth it. I hope you like it xx

And don't forget to watch Create and Craft TV, Friday 12 noon for the 'PICK OF THE WEEK' with Leann and all the gang xx

Another Sneaky peek ....Angels and Faeries...

Well the Create and Craft TV 10th Birthday celebrations have officially started and they are giving away Free P & P with all purchases excellent!! 

 

Crafter's Companion's Leann Chivers and Dawn wheeler will be joining in with a brand new launch of stamps and CDs from the Artist Christine Harworth.  her 'Faerie Poppets and Angel Whispers' are here to delight you all in stamp and CD form and will be the star of the show on Friday. 

They will be the 'Pick of the week' on 19th April so watch out for the shows on Create and Craft and Ideal world

Here's another sneaky peek at whats to come on the show, this time I made a new baby/parent card as the picture was so delightful I felt I had to use it somehow. I'm not sure what you would call this type of card its a gate fold with one half missing so I suppose it a half gate fold card!! I used a Grace frame decorative die cut on the sentiment cut from my Diesire cutting dies with some lilac Core'ordinations card and decorated with butterflies cut from gold mirror board and embellishments from the CD

Inside I mounted a sentiment taken from the CD and matt and layered it onto some gold mirror board
it reads..

A baby is a blessing,
A gift from heaven above,
A precious angel,
To cherish and to love

There are loads of verses to choose from in the verse writer section of the CD but I liked this one best as it was so sweet xx

Crafters Companion Challenge blog - Flowers for you , ...

Time again to pop over to the Crafter's Companion Challenge blog and see what you have been up too, Hope you have joined in the fun don't forget there are vouchers to be won up to the tune of £30 if your entry wins This months Challenge is Flowers for you and lets face it, a crafter without any flowers stamps or otherwise in their stash is a very weird crafter after all!!!! It would be like a beach without sand or a chef without food!!

So if you haven't made anything yet get those blossoms out and get crafting and don't forget you need to used one or more Crafter's Companions products to be in with a chance to win

Here's my inspiration floral delight for you, I tried to keep the colours light and Springlike ..

 I used my Diesire Quilling flowers dies to make the yellow blooms and them coated them in thick embossing powder to give them that enamelled look.The swirls were a Marianne Designs die,The background card was from a Darice Embossing folder called interlocking Circles and the Sentiment is mounted onto a Grace Frame die from Crafters Companion

All entries must include at least one of the following items:

• Any Crafter’s Companion UK or US brand stamp (including Humphrey, Toread, S.W.A.L.K., Sheena Douglass, Paintbox Poppets, Crisalis Classics, Angelica & Friends, Art Kure, Stamp-It Australia, Anthony/Burt, Snowman, etc)
• Die’sire embossing folders and flower quilling dies (please state which ones you have used)
• Anything created with the Ultimate Tool/Ultimate Pro, Envelebox, etc (please state which board you have used)
• Darice embossing folders (please state which folder you have used)
• Crafter’s Companion exclusive products
  • CD-ROMs
  • Reddy Decoupage Kits
  • Luxury Card Kits
  • Exclusive Member Downloads

Please note if you have only used Spectrum Noir pens you will not be able to enter.  You are encouraged to take part in the Spectrum Noir Challenge Blog, though, which can be found HERE.
All entries must state which product they have used and also mention Crafter’s Companion UK or Crafter’s Companion US products in their post. Any entries not following the rules stated above will unfortunately be removed.
One lucky winner will be chosen at random to win a £30 / $30 voucher from Crafter’s Companion, Ltd.

Good luck xx

Sneaky peek Time - Faerie Poppets

Won't be long now before the Create and Craft TV 10th Birthday celebrations start and Crafter's Companion's Leann Chivers and Dawn wheeler will be joining in with a brand new launch of stamps and CDs from the Artist Christine Harworth. This time its her 'Faerie Poppets and Angel Whispers' that are here to delight you. They will be the 'Pick of the week' on 19th April so watch out for the shows on Create and Craft and Ideal world

 The images are so beautiful , I plan to make lots of wall art with these as they are so glorious!! I've already made some bits for around the house so keep an eye out for them 

Here's an Easel card I made from the CD Rom using a topper and some of the beautiful coloured patterned papers and some of the Diesire Dies,  I think it came out rather well,

Watch out for my Jewellery box  on the show too, I made using this fabulous CD from Crafter's companion now been sold in the show, if I get some free time I plan to do a tutorial showing how to made it later in the month   xx

Big Wind Day - April 12

On  a cold morning back in April 1934 , 3 weather Surveyors at the Mt Washington observatory, New Hampshire, America, recorded the strongest  velocity of a  natural wind ever to be known on the planet Earth. Gusts reached speeds of  231 miles per hour and went down in the history books as The big Wind and is commemorated on this day every year.

Not to be confused with the Night of the Big Wind which was a hurricane which swept without warning across Ireland beginning in the afternoon of 6 January 1839, causing severe damage to property and several hundred deaths; 20% to 25% of houses in north Dublin were damaged or destroyed, and 42 ships were wrecked.The storm was tracked eastwards to the north of Ireland, bringing winds gusts of over 100 knots (185 km/h, 115 mph) to the south before moving across the north of England and onto the European continent where it eventually died out. At the time, it was the most damaging Irish storm for 300 years.

The closest thing I remember to a hurricane was the night of October 1987, The storm raged all night as my hubby and I watched from our flat we saw a neighbour's shed door fly past our window , that happens you might think but not when you live on the 6th floor of a tower block!! That was when we decided the children might be happier sleeping in our bed farthest away from the glass. Seven Oaks in Kent became Two Oaks and most of the buses couldn't run that day due to the amount of trees laying in the road!! Mr Fish the BBC weatherman did look daft the following day after telling everyone the evening before that the rumours of an incoming hurricane were greatly exaggerated!! Quote ; Earlier on today, apparently, a woman rang the BBC and said she heard there was a hurricane on the way; well, if you're watching, don't worry, there isn't, but having said that, actually, the weather will become very windy, but most of the strong winds, incidentally, will be down over Spain and across into France  he is now infamous for the statement broadcast that night.  The highest gusts were measured at 130 mph and the most damage was believed to be in the Isle of Wright where Sanddown Pier was ripped by huge waves into 3 pieces and lots of properties damaged beyond repair!!

  On a cheerier note, here's today's Card   x




Items used
6'' Card blank
Bildmarna Minmosa Fruit Basket 
  Stamp
Green Pearls Embellishments
Green Card
Yellow core'odinations card
Embossing folder
Fancy Square Die
 Doily, paper flowers
Sentiment

Items Highlighted can be purchased from J and C Creations

Sheena Douglas Stamps - A little bit sketchy

Here's a few Cards I made using my 3 favorite stamps from the Sheena Douglas's 'A little bit Sketchy' new range of rubber stamps

The first is called 'Destination'

and features the sailing ship, coastline and map with a separate Sentiment , I loved it and have used it on a couple of cards , it is such a detailed image .I had some old wood print paper in the bottom of a drawer which I thought would work well with this and some garden string which I tied in a reef knot works well don't you think!

Loving the Sentiment too, it reads 'To sail o'er silent Seas again...






 This one has been stamped on in a light blue archival ink  pad and then coloured with my Spectrum Noirs in Greys and browns, then I masked in a map 'shape' The outside was stamped with a swirl stamp , then embossed with a white/ blue pearl cosmic shimmer powder and then I used the pattern as a resist and  inked all over with a Tim Holt's China blue ink pad .

There are grid lines on the stamp image and on another card I coloured them in thicker and made them look more like rigging!! just another way to use them ... (thinking outside the box there)






The church card was stamped with the 'Believe' stamp with a black memento pad and then coloured with my Spectrum Noirs and then matt and layered onto some black and brown card then onto an A5 scalloped card
  








The one to the left was done with a big and juicy inkpad and I just dragged the colour out with a fine paintbrush and then dusted the edges of the image with a Tim Holts light brown  'Antique photo' ink pad the flower was made with a Crafter's Companion quilling die and then topped with a beautiful black gem from their frou frou sparkle and fluff embellishments kit xx

 These last cards were make with the 'Majestic Oak' Stamp . I stamped and then embossed in black matt powder, the moon was a circle mask cut from post-it pads, placed in the corner and then removed after I had inked around the tree with my Tim Holt's coloured ink pads, the grass was created by tearing off strips of paper and  inking the green and brown over them at angles, this gives a hilly layered effect .

It's easy, try it on some scrap paper you will amaze yourself with the results!!









This card was done the same way as the first but in different colours, more oranges and browns and the tree is embossed in gold this time. When the image was finished I ran it through my cricut machine and cut it into tiles to create this effect . The backing card was a Creative Expressions  'Floral lace' mask inked in brown and then sprayed with a gold mica spray onto Centura pearl card .




hope you like what you see , you can find Sheena's Stamps over at the  Crafter's Companion website in the Stamps section xx

Scrapping with Serif

 Something different for a change.

Here are some pages made with the new Serif Craft Artist 2 using the Frou Frou Digi kits from Crafters Companion launched with the new Frou Frou CD and stamp range. There are 3 digi.kits that come free with the Pick of the Week on Create and Craft but watch out because the offer comes to an end on Friday.

Every now and then its nice to do a little CD crafting and when that happens I always turn to my Serif Craft Artist 2 programme.

 I love the versatility of it changing sizes and colours making my own digital frames and punches and stencils I could be on it all day if I had the chance. Don't be fooled into thinking its just about Scrap booking its not!! it is brilliant for that be there is so much more to it that just that.

 Here's a card topper I made for my niece's birthday card next month. the image is very 'Frou Frou it is very pink and girly as is my niece so I'm sure she will love it. xx

xxx

The shop notice was just a bit of fun playing with the patterns and frames in the kits, its also a great way to try out new colours together I wouldn't normally put yellow peach and purple together but it seems to work

Monique's boutique is no longer trading by the way as it gave all its profits away in champagne!!