Craft-Room Challenge - Home decor

Hello...happy Tuesday, must be time for a new Craft-room challenge and this week Maria has chosen home decor as our theme. She says she loves seeing hand made items and altered bits and pieces as they seem to give a place lots of character and individuality.  Maria has told us our creations could be anything from something for your wall or around the home, to giving a new lease of life to old furniture, to absolutely anything at all for the home! Use whatever you like - ink, paint, fabric, etc.

I found this one tricky as I don't tend to do much crafting that isn't paper based - but ended up altering a plain wooden photo frame I'd had for ages.

I painted with Gesso to provide a base and then added old paper crackle paint, I only applied a thin layer so the crackles don't really show up much here. I rubbed some Walnut Stain distress ink over the dried paint and randomly stamped some dots. I then decorated with grunge paper flowers (Tim Holtz tattered florals die) and some flourishes. For the top corner I stamped a crafty individuals stamp onto tissue paper, glued it onto some card and then glued some white net behind on one side as a frill. I also added some crafty individuals birds and bees to the frame.

I'm going to indulge in a little sentiment now because there's a reason I used the net. It's from my very first ballet tutu  - I was about 5 ! The photo in the frame is of my grandma who encouraged my mum to dance and who as a result took me off to ballet classes as soon as I was old enough ! Apparently I cried all the way through my first lesson but carried on till I was into my late twenties and loved it - thanks Grandma.

I'm going to hang my picture frame in my lounge - I planned the colours to co-ordinate, now it's your turn - please share your home makes with us.  Remember, to be eligible for the Random draw and a chance to win £10 to spend at Craft-Room we ask you to display the shop logo with a  link to the shop site in your side bar.

I'm sharing my frame at these challenges -

Totally Papercraft - Not a card
Crafty individuals - Hanging about
Sir Stampalot - It's a Frame up
Just for fun  - Words
Moving along with times - Handmade Flowers

Have fun...look forward to seeing what you create! Esther xx

First LIIU Design Team Post

I've been bursting to tell my news since Monday and now I can - I've been asked to be on the 'Lets Ink It Up' design team, the other team memebers have made me feel very welcome and I'm very excited! I love this challenge site because it's all about my favourate creative thing - Stamping! So - here I am with my first post and sample!

The sponser for challenge #15  is Kreativ Hobby

"We are a Norwegian rubberstamp producer – with more than 1000 different designs. In our webshop you will find all our rubbestamps under the category "STEMPLER". All prices are in Norwegian Kroner.We ship worldwide and all information regarding international shipping is on the website: www.kreativhobby.no"

The winner can choose 4 rubberstamps from Kreativ Hobby Design. Value app. NOK 200 or $ 35

The theme of Challenge #15 is SENTIMENTS ONLY AND A 3D FLOWER -  use a sentiment as your focal point and make a 3D flower (remember NO DIGIS!). A tricky one to get started with but I had this little notebook hanging around so what better use for it then to keep my Design Team notes/ideas in and alter it for the first challenge!

I've used Waltzing Mouse 'Very Vintage Labels No. 1' with my Nesties and a Tim Holtz sentiment stamp.  To make the Background paper I used the technique from this weeks Grungy Monday with Linda over at Studio L3. This is the 'Twelve tags of Christmas 2007, day 8' technique featured on Tim Holtz's blog here. Over this base I used tissue tape, a texture fade embossing folder, some more stamping and some Glass Bead Gel round the edges.

My flower is of course grunge paper, some of it coloured with pro-markers and stamped with Hero Arts dots, the middle layer is covered with fabric.

I am also going to enter this into these challenges -

Stamp Something - Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp and Show - Anything Goes

I can't wait to get started visiting your challenge entries so hop on over to Lets Ink It Up to see the inspiration from the other Team members and go get sentimental! Esther xx

Tims Tags - playing catch up!

I have a cold...thanks to my darling other half who kindly shared his! So what better way to rest and cheer myself up than a day of making Christmas tags Tim Holtz style (see his 12 tags of Christmas here)...now I'm way way behind and will not manage them all but I've finished the first five. So here they are - I've had to adapt them to use materials I have but have followed the technique instructions pretty much..

Tag 1 - WOYWWers may have seen this incomplete on my desk last weds..since then I made a little holly garland (so fiddly!) and added smoke and a ticket. This took my ages - I made everything from scratch as didn't have any of the dies or pre-made embellishments but was really fun to make. I'm going to enter this at The Artistic Stamper Creative Teams challenge blog. (Ooh..and a thankyou to The Artistic Stamper cos I won a prize for guessing the materials used to make their snowman, looking forward to Mr Postie arriving!)

 Tag 2  - I really like the colours on this one - going to enter it at Gingernsaps Creations in the Colour challenge which is vintage hues and Simon says Stamp and Show where the theme is 'Holiday Greeting'.

 (tag 3 was made earlier in the week and is posted here)..

 

Tag 4 -The paper on this tag is Crafty individuals, I didn't have a facet to use so made an oval from shrink plastic and did the alcohol ink technique on that instead which I think worked ok. The glitter flourishes at the bottom were made with crystals on Tims card but i'm too frugal to use that many on one piece so used white glitter instead, I think they look like little snowballs!  Going to enter this one into the Gingersnaps Creations Spicey Supply challenge.  

Tag 5 - I think this is my favourate - I love this stamp from Stampington and Company. Made the numbers from grunge and heat embossed with white EP and then clear UTEE.  I'm going to enter this one over at Lets Ink it Up - their Christmas theme has an added option of sparkle or bling and the stickles on the holly leaves here definately add sparkle!

Thanks for stopping by...Esther xx

Been AWOL !!

Blimey - I can't believe it's been nearly two weeks since I last posted..not sure where that went! I had a mammoth commisioned card making seesion last weekend and now my last order is done and posted off (HUGE queue at post office!) I can get back to some creative challenges here. Lord knows whether I'll get round to all of Tim Holtz's twelve tags of Christmas - he's on day 6 and I've only made one (and not number 1 either!).It's a variation on Lord Tim's as I had to improvise due to lack of supplies and I chose to make day 3 first because it used the Rock Candy distress stickles technique which Linda has chosen over at Studio L3 for the Compendium challenge.

This is my take on Day 3's tag - I didn't have a bird stamp so created my own little santa robin, I didn't have any tissue tape so improvised by stamping on masking tape and used that on grunge paper which I then cut the body shape from...it worked out pretty well I think and took the distress inks (frayed burlap and walnut ink) a treat.  It was on the Robin that I used the Rock Candy Distress stickles technique - and Linda's right it is difficult to photograph. I coloured some flower soft with alcohol inks (pinched that idea from Netty - thank you!) to add to the branches and finished off with glittery ric rac and an image from some papers I've had forever. I did make a tissue paper flower but didn't like it when I tried to position it - it looked unbalanced - maybe because the robin is quite big, but now I'm wondering if the tags missing something - but then I often think that !!?? Anyway - this tag is flying over to join in the Compendium of Curiosities challenge at Studio L3, The Artistic Stamper Creative Team Challenge - Christmas, The stamp man - any 3 colours with a christmas theme and Simon says stamp and Show - Holiday Greeting.

Right then..do I make a start on the dinner or another tag...(where's that take away menu?)....Esther xx

More ATC's - this could be addictive!

 Today I have had a fabulous time creating my ATC's for the next Stamp Man swap - which this month is 'Take a Letter'. I'm really enjoying taking part  and had some lovely swaps drop through the letter box, I'd never made ATC's before 2 months ago and can see it being very addictive. I have literally taken the A T C letters -

I've used a letter on each one so that they are linked as a set but also stand alone individually because I've used a theme connected to the individual letter  (does that make sense - it's getting late?). The colours were inspired by The Play Date Cafe challenge #54 which are gorgeous as always. Each background was made the same way, stamping and embossing an image in clear then using distress inks on a craft mat, spritzed with water and  'smooshed' on to the ATC. The clear EP resists the DI leaving a white image. I made each letter using the technique from Tim Holtz's compendium that Linda has chosen for this weeks challenge over at Studio L3 - it's page 54 and that's all I can tell you.  Not sure I'm really happy with how the letters came out, I didn't have the right tools so had to improvise and not sure it worked like it should - not 'scratchy' enough!.  I used shrink plastic to make wings for the A and a tiny clock for T. I had real fun with these just making it up as I went along with my stash of E-bay BargainTim Holtz stamps.

I'm also going to enter these into the Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge - Shabby. I must admit I get a little confused by the different styles sometimes because they seem to overlap - where does grunge stop and shabby start ? Anyway - my ATC's are Tim Holtz inspired which is what this challenge site is all about so hopefully I'm not too far out. Here they individually -

A - Artist

T-Time

C - Creativity

Thanks for having a look - better get to bed or I'll be no good for anything tomorrow and there's a list of commissioned Christmas cards waiting !!  Esther xx 

Holiday prep...well, no actually, card making !

I had ironing and packing to do for our hol (been saying that all week!) as we leave in a couple of days, but also a card to make for a family bereavement and my project to finish for CCC.....so guess what I did ? Yep - clothes are still piled up with creases in! Despite my good intentions of getting my project for the CCC challenge (over at Studio L3 with Linda) done before the final minute this week - I've only just now finished. Work went mad and I did a couple of ten hr days by which time my brain wouldn't function enough to craft...so this is what I completed this morning -

The background is made using the technique on P53 of Tim Holtz's Compendium of Curiosities book, I didn't have all the right materials so used my initiative and substituted the required paint with gesso and watered down liquid pearls which I think worked ok. Can't tell you anymore than that - them's the rules. I chopped the BP up into inchies and stuck onto a double sided adhesive sheet, then added purple glitter to fill in the gaps. After I'd stuck it to my card I added a line of glue round the edge and applied more glitter, it's not very neat but I think this goes with the grungyness of the BP (my desk at this stage would of made for a great WOYWW pic..covered as it was in purple sparkles!). A nestie cut shape and embossed sentiment later and there you have it.

The other card I made this week is for my Sister and Brother-in-law after a bereavement in my brother-in- law's family.  Now this wasn't the card I had intended to make with The Play Date Cafe colours - I had started having a play with the colours which are inspired by the kitchen in this picture but it just wasn't working for me so I gave up and moved on to making the sympathy card as I had to get that done to send off tomorrow...this is what happened -

Because I had green and Navy colours out already I found myself adding subtle chalk touches of them to the card which was planned as white/silver only. I think it lifts it a little though and was pleased with result. Don't know whether it's cheating or not as the colours are barely there...but the other card is just not going to make it!   

The Challenges for these cards are -  Christmas Card - Compendium of Curiosities at Studio L3, Gingersnaps Creations Random Redhead - Inchies, Sympathy Card - The playdate Cafe - Lime, Navy and Silver and Allsorts - plain and simple.

Well - I suppose I better get going with the ironing (maybe just a few more WOYWW desks to hop round before I do though !!) Thanks for stopping by - Esther xx                                              

Inky, grungy, sunshine

I've been musing about the latest Compendium of Curiosities Challenge over at StudioL3 during the week (p39 of The Book) but not had time to do any playing, and to be honest I was a bit nervous as I haven't used grungepaper before and it could be a pricey mistake if I messed it up! Now I'm wondering how I managed without it !

Inspiration for this tag came from two sources really - the Chestnut Challenge at Gingersnaps Creations currently is Famous Painters or Paintings. I've chosen a painting from the Paris sunflower series by Van Gogh because , well , I like it!  My Sunflower is one of my oldest stamps - a PSX from 1999, one of the first I bought and the background of the Tag is stamped with 'Sequin Waste' from The artistic Stamper which arrived this morning so is my newest stamp. On this baiss I'm entering into the Artistic Stamper 'something old something new' challenge with this tag too.   I stamped the sunflower in brown Stazon and added some Cinnamon stickles to the centre which you can't see on the photo. The  which I've then spritzed with water. Ooh..and I must mention the charm - this was my gift from Gloria at the 'All things Tim' Yahoo group that I won a few weeks ago and arrived this morning (of course she didn't just send me one - that would be silly, but a whole package of Type Charms, thanks so much). Because of the colours I've used my tag also fits with the Primary colours challenge at Allsorts.

The other inspiration for this tag came while browsing 'Cathy Walters' Etsy shop. This was in aid of the Etsyinspired challenge, that I discovered today, to pick an item of art from the weeks etsy shop to inspire your own piece. Cathy Walters makes little pieces of wearable art in pendant form and I was quite taken with this one (given my love of sunflowers not surprising!).

While I had the sunshine coloured Distress inks out - Mustard yellow, Dried marigold, Wild Honey and Fired Brick, I decided to keep going with the grunge and made another piece. I haven't made it into anything yet, but will probably use it for a card. I was trying to go for a sunshine through the tress kid of feel - it looks quite dark on the pic but the colours are lighter and more yellowy orange in real life.  I've embossed the grunge paper with Tim Holtz sizzix 'rays' folder and added highlights with some gold metallic rub on. The film strip is an 'Artistic stamper' stamp (which also arrived this morning and had to be used immediately!), I've stamped it onto acetate in black and again onto black card in white in, cut out pics of trees from a crafty individuals pad and layered them together. The tree is stamped on acetate and torn down the right side.  I'm going to add this to the Ginger Snaps Creations random redhead Challenge 'Sunshine' - even though it's not bright sunshine (just like our real weather!).