Christmas Tag Card

Here we are, already at the end of May, and the end of yet another week. 

Of course Friday means the beginning of a new challenge at 

Winter Wonderland, and this week our theme is

'CHRISTMAS TAGS'.

Thank you to our lovely sponsor this week..... 

.....who are offering 3 digi stamps for our winner.

I have chosen to have a tag as the main focal piece on a Christmas card.

My tag is cut from a manilla folder, and the top is shaped with a Spellbinders 

die. I then sprayed the tag with distress stain Picket Fence,and Festive Berries.

When dry, I embossed the tag, then sponged it (and the edge of the base card) 

lightly with Gathered Twigs DI.

I distressed the edge of the green DP, and hand-stitched around it using the

twine (washed first) that is used to seal bags of horse feed that I buy...how's

that for recycling!! 

To create the foliage, I sponged a scrap of white card with various green

DIs, sprayed it with pearlescent acrylic ink, die-cut them, and lastly 

sponged the tips with Gathered Twigs DI. 

Many years ago, while visiting London, I went to my first ever craft show, which

was at Esher (west of London). I still vividly remember being 'agog' with the huge

array of products and techniques available. I came home with LOTS of purchases,

and many pages of tips and ideas. One thing I bought was a very inexpensive,  

huge bag of assorted off-cuts, and when I came home I 'squirreled' them away 

and promptly forgot about them. I found them recently when I moved my craft

room from the stable to the house. The flourishes, 'Joy(s)', and 

poinsettia were die-cut from pieces of these off-cuts.

Inside my card is quite simple, and I will write my personal Christmas

message directly onto the DP with a gold pen. The gold border is 

made from Anita border peel-off stickers.

Challenges I would like to enter

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - 'Ribbon'

Christmas Cards All Year Round - 'Vintage'

Christmas Card #25 - 'Anything Goes'

Crafting By Designs - 'Get Ready For Christmas'

Crimbo Crackers #81 - 'Anything Goes'

Deep Ocean #104 - 'Bingo' (flowers, stitching, tag)

Fab 'n' Funky #261 - 'Christmas'

Shopping Our Stash #203 - 'Play Misty For Me' (use sprays or mists)

Sparkles Christmas #52 - 'Tag-You're It!' TOP 3

Dies - Spellbinders Labels Twenty; Marianne LR0116; Sizzix Tim Holtz Tattered Poinsettia, Holiday Greens, Holiday Words-Script

Embossing Folder - Cuttlebug Holly Branch

Paper - First Edition Christmas Village

Distress Inks and Sprays - Tim Holtz Picket Fence, Festive Berries, Gathered Twigs, Peeled Paint, Forest Moss, Bundled Sage, Iced Spruce; Daler and Rowney Pearlescent Liquid Acrylic

Distressing Tool - Tim Holtz

Sparklet - Kaisercraft

Border Peel-off sticker - Anita's Glitterations gold

Gems, gold ribbon, and twine - from my junk stash

At Winter Wonderland, we would love to see the Christmas tags you create, so pop over for some inspiration by my wonderfully talented teamies. You have one week to enter our current challenge, and please remember your project must be a Christmas one only.

Thank you for visiting, and until next time, I wish you "happy crafting".

Hugs

Jennifer. x

Experimental Rose

Good morning all, I hope you are all well and happy, and are finding time

for lots of crafty playtime. Welcome to my new followers...I hope

you enjoy your visits here.

If you have been reading my blog recently, you will know that I have

just begun experimenting with mixed media. My card today is my 

4th attempt at m.m., and 'the jury is out' as to whether I should be

showing it to you or not, as I am not sure if I like it.

Recently, while browsing on the 'net, I came across a tutorial using a 

combination of Tim Holtz's Frosted Film, and Wendy Vecchi's Clearly

For Art...now that's one heck of a duo of pure talent, isn't it!! I finally

got my little 'paws' on both products, and that's where the fun began, 

using a mixture of information from internet tutorials, instructions on 

the packaging, and my own bumbling experiments.

After attaching the 2 new (to me) products together, I die-cut them using

Spellbinders Rose Creations. On the reverse side of each petal layer, I  

sponged Lavender Brilliance Archival ink, and applied Sunshine 

Yellow Pinata alcohol ink to the centres, using cotton buds.

With a scalpel I scratched 'veins' into the leaves, then sponged them with Jade  

and Coffee Bean Brilliance Archival inks. Working fast before the petals

cooled and hardened, I heated 2 petals at a time, shaping them while still

very hot (ouch). I then used a hot glue gun to construct the flower.

The backgrounds were created using an embossing folder, pearlescent spray and

a variety of Distress Inks. Before applying the peel-off sticker greeting and

border, I coloured them with Promarkers. I sponged the die-cut flourishes, 

cut from kraft, with Distress Inks.

Challenges I would like to enter

Anything But Cute #1 - 'Vintage Garden' (The embossed panel reminds me of my Grandma's big flocked/velvet lounge suite) Exceptional New Mixed Media Artist

City Crafter #262 - 'Inky-nes'S' '

Crafting Musketeers #25 - 'Use A Die-cut'

Our Creative Corner - 'April Showers Bring May Flowers' (The top panel reminds me of stormy, rainy skies)

Stempelgarten #37 - 'Embossing' TOP 3

The Mixed Media Monthly #12 - 'May Flowers'

Dies - Spellbinders Floral Flourishes, Rose Creations; Cheery Lynn Exotic Butterfly small

Embossing - Couture Creation Endless

Inks, Spays, Stains - Brilliance Archival Pearlescent Lavender, Jade, Coffee Bean; Adirondack Denim; Daler Rowney Pearlescent Liquid Acrylic;Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stain Picket Fence; Tim Holtz Distress Inks Scattered Straw, Antique Linen, Gathered Twigs, Bundled Sage, Iced Spruce, Peeled Paint, Dusty Concord, Milled Lavender, Tumbled Glass

Frosted Film - Tim Holtz

Clearly For Art - Wendy Vecchi Clear

Glitter - Ranger Stickles Star Dust

Peel-off stickers, mini beads - from my junk stash

I am trying to ignore the noise, but can no longer...my vacumn cleaner and broom are calling me, so I fear I must obey. Urrrrgh!!!

Until next time, thank you for visiting,

Hugs

Jennifer. x

Churchyard Garden

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I feel I am becoming increasingly interested in 

mixed media creations, and have just begun to experiment in this field. This is 

my 3rd mixed media creation. I know it is fairly 'straight', but hopefully with 

time, and experience, my work will become 'looser' and 'freer'.

When I was a little girl (soooo long ago!) people used to say I was a 'very strange

child'. This was for many reasons, one of which was that I loved churchyards, and 

that love still remains today. Churchyards to some people are disturbing places, 

but I find them peaceful and beautiful, and some of the older ones have wild 

flowers, ferns, and other pretty vegetation growing in them, not to mention 

the occasional bunnies, birds, and insects.

My card has been greatly influenced by the countless times I have sat quietly

in old churchyards, not only in Australia, but in other countries too.

I distressed the edges of the kraft base, but it doesn't really show up, then

I die-cut the church window and painted the die-cut with Distress Stain

'Brushed Pewter'. To give the impression of light behind the window, I

sponged 2 yellow distress inks onto a scrap of card, covered that with

Tim Holtz' Frosty Film, then attached the window to that. 

For the brickwork, I applied homemade texture paste through a stencil.

The paste was made using the recipe by the wonderful Pamellia, who has

become a major inspiration to me...she has just started her own mixed 

media challenge blog, in addition to her personal blog. When the paste

was dry, I sprayed and sponged it with several distress sprays and inks.

After fitting the window into the aperture, I arranged my handmade

flowers and die-cut foliage, all of which were sponged, painted or 

sprayed with various inks.

All the foliage was finished with a light spritzing of liquid acrylic

pearlescent ink, but unfortunately it barely shows up in the photos...

nor does the lovely shimmer of the Frosty Film in the window.

I have had the dove die for years, and can't believe I have never used it.

It was among the many items I found when I transferred my outside  

studio to our spare bedroom. After cutting it, I roughly painted it 

with silver paint, then applied 2 light coats of 'Abalone' Opals.  

While the Opals was still molten, I carefully placed 1 tiny piece 

of  'Champagne' Glass Glitter (using a toothpick) to represent 

the dove's eye.

Challenges I would like to enter

Allsorts #310 - 'Use At Least 3 Die-cuts'

Anything But Cute #1 - 'Vintage Garden' DT Favourite

City Crafter #261 - 'Focus On Flowers'

Country View Crafts - 'Simply Scenic'

Crafty Cardmakers and More #138 - 'Make Your Own Background'

Fab 'n' Funky #258 - 'May Flowers' TOP 3

Fan-Tastic Tuesday - 'Add Some Flowers'

Inspiration Journal - 'Embossing Paste'

Little Red Wagon #288 - 'Distress It'

Mixed Media World #3 - 'Vintage'

Our Creative Corner - 'April Showers Bring May Flowers'

Suzy Bee's Bloomin' #79 - 'Anything Goes With A Twist...Add Flowers'

The Mixed Media Monthly #12 - 'May Flowers'

Dies - Sweet Stamps Elegant Leaves; Marianne LR 0106, LR 0150, Bosskut Dove

Punch - EK Success Retro Flower Medium

Stencil - Crafter's Workshop Mini Bricks

Embossing Powder - Opals Abalone

White Ink - Colour Box Frost White

Distress Stains - Tim Holtz Brushed Pewter, Festive Berries, Tea Dye

Distress Inks - Tim Holtz Peacock Feathers, Bundled Sage, Peeled Paint, Iced Spruce, Spiced Marmalade, Scattered Straw, Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed, Gathered Twigs, Walnut Stain, Aged Mahogany, Spun Sugar.

Liquid Watercolour - Winsor and Newton Chartreuse

Silver Spray - Daler Rowney Liquid Acrylic Pearlescent

Glass Glitter - Stampendous Frantage Champagne

Frosty Film and Distress Edging Tool - Tim Holtz

Stamens are from my junk stash

It's so good to be back in blogland...thank you for visiting me, and until next time,

Hugs

Jennifer. x

Inky Fingers

'Inky Fingers' was the only title I could use for this post, as that was well and

 truly what I had at the end of the making of this card. However, I seem to be

overcoming my aversion to having messy fingers and hands, as I loved 

getting 'down and dirty', and can't wait to repeat the fun. Before I began

'playing', every single element was stark white, including the card base.

I created puddles of various D.I.s, dragged my cardstock through them several

times, drying with a heat tool each time. Then from a height, I sprayed with

Picket Fence distress stain. When that was dry I sprayed with a little

Pearlescent Liquid Acylic diluted with water, creating a stunning 

shimmery effect, which unfortunately barely shows in the photos. 

When the base was completely dry, I softly stencilled swirls all over, using

portions of butterfly wings on a 12x12 stencil, then sponged around the

edges. 

The flowers are made using EK Success punches and D.I.s, and the

seam binding was stained with several D.I.s.

The bird in flight (as with the little birdhouse) was embossed with Chunky

Blue Frantage, and a tiny sprinkling of lavender Opals. The stamped bird

and sentiment are from a set of clear stamps I have had for about 5 or 6 

years, and never used. I found them (along with quite a few other sets, and

many other items) when I moved my craft room from the old stable to the

 house. Shame on me! The good thing is though, it's like having new stash.

At this stage I have not decorated the inside of my card, as per usual, but

if I decide to do so, I will edit this post.

Challenges I would like to enter:-

Artistic Inspirations #128 - 'Anything Goes With A Twist of Flowers'

Craft For The Craic - 'Bingo' (flowers, ribbon, die-cuts)

Creative Card Crew #84 - 'Handmade Flowers'

Frilly and Funky - 'Put A Ribbon On It'

Fussy and Fancy #135 - 'Girly'

Inspiration Journal - 'Spring Blooms'

Mixed Media World #1 - 'Anything Goes'

That Craft Place - 'Easter/Spring'

The Crafter's Cafe #109 - 'Spring Flowers'

The Shabby Tea Room #248 - 'Beautiful Blooms' (photo inspiration)

Dies - Spellbinders Grand Classical Lace Border; Memory Box Woodland Branch; Sweet Stamps Elegant Leaves; Couture Creations Baby Dove; Marianne LR025, LR0106, LR0107

Stamps - Inkadinkadoo
Punches - EK Success Retro Flowers Medium and Large
Stencil - Crafter's Workshop Butterflies 
Frantage - Stampendous Shabby Blue
Opals - Lavender
Inks and Stains - Versamark; Brilliance Archival Pearlescent Lavender, and Jade; Adirondack Denim; Daler Rowney Pearlescent Liquid Acrylic; Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stain Picket Fence; Tim Holtz Distress Inks Scattered Straw, Antique Linen, Gathered Twigs, Bundled Sage, Dusty Concord, Milled Lavender, Tumbled Glass
Seam Binding and Stamens are from my junk stash

Me thinks I had better go and attend to boring tasks like housework, so thank you for visiting. I have some very exciting news to tell you soon, but at this stage I have to 'zip my lips', so in the meantime, I wish you "Happy Crafting".

******

I would like to mention too that at Winter Wonderland we have a DT Call. We are looking for 2 new teamies who are enthusiastic about making Christmas cards. For full details, pop over to our challenge blog, and if you are interested in joining us you have until 10th April to apply.

******

Hugs
Jennifer. x