12 Tags of 2015 - February

Hi everyone,

Well the cold I mention in this month's tag tutorial has materialised!  I am feeling rough and topping up on the lemsip as I type!  I hate lemsip but it does the trick.  I need to feel a bit better as I am venturing out into the  cold to watch Callum play rugby in a bit!  Brrrrr.  I have my thermals on so I should be ok for the match!

Before I go just wanted to link up with Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2015.  Here is my February tag.

I am in love with this paper collage background technique!  A great way to use up paper scraps and it looks soooooo pretty!

I also made my little 3" square in the same style and I am looking forward to seeing how the finished sampler turns out at the end of the year.  I am repeating a couple of elements in each square so they look like they belong together.  I am adding the date and a stitched border with my usual mat and layered frame.

……..before I don my coat and scarf here is the link to the video tutorial where you can see how I got from Tim's inspiration to my interpretation in the month of February!  Click on the link to check out all the lovely February tags over on Tim's Blog.

Hope you are having a fab weekend.  Thank you for popping by X

Happy Weekend Everyone!

I hope you are all getting into weekend mode!  I am hoping to finally get the hedge trimmed in the garden as it is looking a little wild out there and other than that I am hoping to get on to a couple of home decor projects that are gathering dust!!!!!

So apart from my least favourite job of picking up hedge clippings I am set for a fun time!  The boys are gymnastic-ing and rugby-ing and training-ing and it all seems much to tiring for me!!!!!

So today I am sharing a couple of things - first is one of my home decor projects finally completed and I so wish I had gotten to them sooner as I am so pleased with how they turned out.

Here is the before……………

Sorry the photo is a little blurry!  Unfortunately I can't go back and re take this one as now it looks like this!!!!!

What do you think?  I am thrilled with the result and it was soooooooo easy!  I used a mixture of some paint I had left over from my walls with a little acrylic paint as I wanted to start with a slightly darker shade as I knew I would add the Tim Holtz tissue wrap over the top.

I coated the areas I wanted to add the tissue to with two coats of paint - oh and the handles.  Once everything was dry I used matte mod podge to attach the tissue using a gift card to smooth out any wrinkles and ……..voila!

Easy peasy - the hardest bit was adding the green fine striping but it was worth the extra effort.  I am now looking for my next make over piece!!!  That tissue worked a treat and I still have loads left over and I did two of these little cupboards!

Next on my list for sharing is some of the fun I had when I went to a Finnabair workshop last week!  Oh boy did I get mucky!  It was very pretty muck though let me tell you!!!

It was lovely to meet the Prima ladies and see all the new goodies coming our way - this was my little pack of goodies ready to get creative!

Getting ready to start - please note the pristine table - It did not stay that way for long let me tell you!  Once we opened up a jar or three of the Prima Art Basics and started mixing and sprinkling  gone was the pristine table top!

Here is the lovely Finnabair (Anna!)  talking us through the processes and telling us all about the qualities of all the different bases in the range……oh and then there are the sparkles too!

 Here is my cover underway!  Mixing and matching the lovely metal elements from Prima with gaudy buttons………check out the lovely dotty background too.

A couple of coats of white gesso and things start to take shape!  I wish I had taken more photos - a selfie might have been an idea but I was just busy busy busy!  I will share more of the finished journal with you at a later date.  I had a whole heap of fun and am loving all the new products I got to play with - my shopping list lengthened yet again and it is all thanks to the fab tuition of the lovely Anna.

I can finish this post by sharing my cover so far!

I really want to add a few gems into the mix once I get around to finishing this off - I love this technique and I am busy collecting bits of this and bits of that ready to have a go with my own design next time……mmmmmm and I think I need an apron and cover up sleeves before I get messy next time!

I met some lovely ladies on the day and we all shared a fun picnic lunch looking over the water outside the hotel watching the planes take off in the distance!  As well as all the lovely crafting techniques I am going to try again I am definitely going to try the gourmet delight that is crispbread liberally spread with Nuttella and piled high with strawberries…..You know who you are ;-)

More sharing coming your way over the weekend so watch this space!  Have a fab time this everyone.

Thank you for popping by X

I am a Guest Designer for Unruly Paperarts this month!

Hi Everyone

This is a little sneak peak to send you over to the wonderful blogzine Unruly Paperarts to check out all the lovely work inspired by this month's prompt Fully Booked!  I am featuring as a guest designer on behalf of Rubber Dance stamps and the lovely Bibi who is sponsoring this month and next month's issue.

I was really excited to take part and I just had to create another altered page in my Art Journal series of videos to celebrate.

Here is a little peek so if you want to see more then please follow this link and I will reveal all……hmmm……let me rephrase that ……..all will be revealed ;-)  Much better!

You can see the two lovely Rubber Dance stamps I used on my page in this shot!  You can find them over at Rubber Dance on the ATC Backgrounds 1 stamp set.

See you in a jiffy!

Thank you for popping by - short but sweet! x

Celebrating Valentines Day with a Giveaway!

Hi Everyone

Two tutorials for the price of one today.  I really hope that you all have a love-ly day today and that this Valentine's Day is filled with romance!!!!

First off I have a sneak peek of a project tutorial I am sharing over on the Rubber Dance blog in honour of the occasion.  This is a romantic home decor idea and features the brand new I Hear Art stamps!

But more of that later!  You may be joining me from my You Tube channel and I promised to give you all the links you need to take part in the giveaway!  But more of that later too!

Firstly if you are here checking out my blog and do not know what I am talking about then listen up!!!

We have Rubber Dance Stamps to give away.  There is one set of sentiment stamps - Something Wonderful and two background stamps called diamonds.  To be in with a chance to win you just have to follow this link over to my post on the Rubber Dance blog telling you all about the Valentine Project in the photograph above including a video tutorial and while you are there please leave a comment to say you are joining in the giveaway. That is the only compulsory thing you need to do to get your name into the hat for the draw which will take place on the 14th March 2015.  So lots of time for you to find out about this giveaway and join in the fun!

If you want to increase your chances of winning there are 5 other ways to get your name into the hat.  If you subscribe to my blog, You Tube Channel and Facebook page that will give you 3 extra chances and if you also subscribe to the Rubber Dance Blog and Facebook page that will be 2 more chances to win!  So potentially you could have your name in the hat 6 times in total.  If you choose to subscribe and keep up-to-date with all the creativity I share on my social media and that Rubber Dance share on theirs then please sign up - don't forget this bit is entirely optional!  Here are the links:

You are here on my blog so you can subscribe using any of the methods on the Right hand sidebar.

My You Tube Channel

My Face Book Page

Rubber Dance Facebook page

And last but not least here is the link to Rubber Dance where you must leave a comment in order to win and don't forget if you are already a subscriber or choose to subscribe then let us know how many extra names into the hat you are claiming!

Today I am sharing my Valentine's project - a little late I hear you cry!…….But this idea is one you can use anytime of the year.  It is always the right time to let someone know you care ;-)

This was a fun card to make and a little cheeky!  I used stamps from the Hot Hot Hot stamp set with the addition of the hottest stamp from the Cool Winter Wonderland stamp set!  Check out all those kisses!  That is one hot chilli pepper!

Here is the inside - lots of room to write romantic messages to your loved one!  The I love you ribbon can be omitted if you are not at that stage yet ha ha!

In the tutorial I show you how to make the card and you will see how to make your chilli pepper jiggle and wiggle!  Even if you don't want to make this card the wiggle element is a useful thing to know how to make for other cards you may wish to add a little movement to.

Today I am spending the day at a Prima workshop with Finnabair.  I am so excited about attending and trying out some of her techniques!  I will take photos so watch this space!

I hope you enjoy all the romance and crafting I am sharing today and once again I wish you all a Happy Valentines day and good luck for the giveaway!

Thank you for popping by X

My first New Year's Resolution - Failed!!!!

Hi everyone

I promised myself time and time again last year I wouldn't be one of the last to play along with the Tim Holtz 12 Tags challenge and so I decided to resolve to do better in 2015…….and here in February is my January tag!!!! ;-)  Oh well back to the drawing board…..

This year I decided to make something a little extra as I play along…..I am not sure what to call it yet but I am thinking 'Sampler'.  The idea is that at the end of the year I will mount and frame all 12 of my 3" squares and turn them into a home decor piece to remind me at a glance of all the fun I had during the year.

Here is a close up of the Sampler for January:

Now there is a story to tell you about this one.  As you can see I decided to include little resolutions as the word strips on my tag.  I showed hubby a couple of days later what I had been creating and he said, "Well then?" in an expectant tone……….I replied, "Well then what?"……."Haven't you got something to tell me"………."N"…….(penny drops!)…….."Ivan, I reaaaaally Lurve Yoooooo!

I think there is room to add the word strip 'When I remember" ;-)

Here is a close up of the tag:

I am doing ok with the 'Eat less Chocolate'……so far anyway.  As usual I have a video taking you on my creative journey from Tim's Inspiration to my Interpretation.  Check out all the fun I had making the background.  I think I am calling it the throw everything at it technique!

February's tag is made so just the editing to do!  Might actually be early…..ish at this rate ;-)

Thank you for popping by X

I Heart Art!

Hi everyone

It is time to tempt you to play along with us over at Rubber Dance for this months colour challenge.  The colours are Teal, Maroon/Burgundy and Brown.  As you can see from my card below I added a little cream into the mix!

This was an unusual colour scheme for me so it was fun to try to work with it.  That is the beauty of playing along with our challenge.  Each month a new set of colours and an optional theme to get you thinking.  This months theme if you choose to use it is LOVE!

Just had to make a Valentine but with a little twist.  In the video tutorial I will show you how I made this little 'twist' on an easel card.  I wanted something arty to reflect the new stamps I worked with!  Look what the postman dropped off just in the nick of time!

How happy am I???!!!….Just noticed the Antique Botanicals set is upside down….Ooops.  Check out the video as you will see the gorgeous details in the latest fabulous stamps from Rubber Dance.  These are just 3 of the sets that are launched this month.

So enough of the chit chat, what did I actually make to tempt you to play along with us this month over at Rubber Dance?….

In the video I show you how to make the unusual shaped easel card.  There are a couple of ideas of how to make the most of your stamps by looking at other things you could use them for and of course I show you how you too could make an Arty Hearty Valentine for the one you LOVE this Valentine's Day!

When I was looking for an embellishment to put on my card I found a little bit of a broken Abalone heart bracelet that has been in my drawer awaiting the perfect project.  Add a little knot of delicate tule and I think I will be using this idea again!!

I am tempted to try this design again in Red, Black and Cream with a touch of Pink……But since this is the second Valentine I have made this year!!!!!!  I am already ahead for next year ;-)

Here is the video tutorial.  I hope it inspires you to join in this months Colour Challenge over at Rubber Dance.  I also hope you are temped to pop over and check out all the lovely new addictions to the Rubber Dance Stamp collection.  This fab set is called I Heart Art!

…..Almost forgot if you play along with our challenge you could win stamps!!!!! ' Till next time, Happy Sunday and thank you for popping by X