Goodness

nearly a whole month with no crafty blogging!! 

WISHING EVERYONE A HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR 

and I promise to be around with more posts during 2014!

Have a safe one peeps

hugz xx

December Challenge

goes live over on the Tando Challenge blog today and in keeping with the celebration month our theme is:-

LETS SPARKLE

I'm kicking off the week with this:-

The base is the Tando 3d sleigh which I painted with paperartsy fresco paint and once dry, I outlined the edges and put together - its really easy to assemble.

This side has a large saying and large snowflake both painted which before distress glitter added.

The front and rear both had a selection of scribble trees, painted with said paints and a line of glitter added down the middle with a gold glitter star....

Pop along to the blog and join in and you might be in with a chance of winning a selection of Tando goodies.

Icy Winter

is this weeks theme over on the Tando Creative blog.... in keeping with my card making sessions I've created this:-

I've used three snowflakes from the grab bag which have been painted and then distress glitter added - the snowflakes stamp is a very old one from penny black stamps....the Tando snowman has been painted and some glitter added and his snow is glitter and the snowballs are pearls... my icy winter piece....

Don't forget to pop on over to the blog for more Icy Winter projects this week....

TFL

Celebrate

was this weeks theme over on the Tando Creative blog and its my turn to bring the week to a close... and I've made this easy card:-

I have taken a mask and inked with stormy blue distress ink..... "Merry Christmas" was stamped in the middle and two Tando Trees were painted with paperartsy fresco paint, outlined and glossy accents added......

also,

a few weeks ago Janet and I attended a class over at Birds in the Barn with Jo Firth-Young where we created decorated bird houses... here is my completed house...

Birds in the Barn are also running a competition to decorate a bird house, so whilst there we dropped off our entries...

here is my birdhouse:-

my birdhouse has been painted with paperartsy fresco paints and brick work added along with entrance tiles! (a rubber stamp by paperartsy) the owl is from Tando and painted with said paints.... corrugated paper was rolled for the logs ready for those cold nights and a little brass lamp waiting outside....

The roof is "wooden effect" paper and along the top is a stampotique stamp by my tando teamie Roc Nicholas, with mini fasteners added for "nails"..... each side was decorated.....

Tando mushroom and bunnies painted with the fresco paints...

and at the back of the house is a very special, one and only....

"birdsy original" rofl.... 

TFL xx

Sunday.........

another week over and we're closer to Christmas!!! lol

Yesterday Janet and I headed off down the A12 to Birds in the Barn for a day's class with Jo Firth-Young - I haven't finished my project but will blog it when I have...we were also joined by Jacqui, so us Suffolk girls made up 1/2 the class!! lol

Today its my turn to close the Tag week over on the Tando blog, so here is my tag...

I started off cutting cream cardstock with the alterations tag die...then the base was painted with paperartsy Fresco paint...when dry and using the Tando sequin waste stencil, I stencilled white fresco paint onto the tag....when dry, using the Andy Skinner vogue mask I used grunge paste for the image and then rubbed the left overs over the edges - the lady form was painted using squid ink mixed with snowflake (fresco paint again!! lol) using less snowflake for the edges..... the minis (buttons and arrow) were also painted and then stamped using my fav crackle stamp by Cherry Pie stamp..... this stamp was also used to add texture to the back of my tag.... I added a few pieces of washi tape and left over trim to the edges and then edged my tag using neocolour 2 waxs and then dragged the colour in using a paint brush - you will note that the colour is paler in some places this is due to the grungepaste that was spread onto the edges....a white posca pen was used to scribble on the dress form....a couple of pieces of bling finished it all off...

There  have been some fab tags this week over on the Tando blog pop on over and take a look...

TFL xx

ITS CHALLENGE DAY

As its Wednesday its challenge day over on the Tando blog.... today also sees the launch of our November theme which is:-

PINK, GREEN AND ORANGE

so, here's my take on the theme...

the base is cut from cream cardstock and sprayed with pink, orange and green dylusion ink sprays - using paperartsy fresco paints I've added pink lines and circles - I've taken two Tando leaves and three mini Tando flowers and painted these with acryllic paints and then covered the flowers and tag with Paperartsy satin glaze (which is why the middle flower has thrown back the flash) the tando bookplate was painted with orange paint, stamped with my favourite crackle stamp and glazed with Ranger matt accents..... matching ribbon and a tassel finished off the tag.

Don't forget to take a look at the Tando Creative Challenge blog and if you take part you might be this months winner!!

TFL

ADVENT HOUSE CLASS - PAPERMAZE

Have you seen the fab Tando Advent House newly created for this year?

If you fancy having a go at putting on of these great houses together, learning some new techniques at the same time and going home with a great Christmas decoration then pop on over to the Papermaze shop and book your place...

Here are a couple of sneak peaks....

TFLxx

same but different week

Occassionally over on the Tando Creative blog we do a "same but different" week - this is where the dt all have the same product and we show what we do with it.... as we're all so different in our styles its fun to see what we all come up with...

This time we each have:-

a pair of 3d coffins...

I already knew what I wanted to do, so before I made up the coffins I coloured, masked and painted the bases and lids.....

this is my finished piece:-

a set of Trick or Treat Coffins....

my treat coffin...the base was painted using PA fresco paint...then I stencilled over the top using the cobweb 2 mask....a spider from the grab pack and a skull were painted, hi-lighted and added to the box...

whats inside???

skeleton chocolates.....lol

now for the trick...

the base was painted and then I scraped black paint with an old store card.... tim holtz halloween tape was wrapped around the lid...trick was some wooden letters that were painted and then glossy accents added...skull as per the treat box... so whats inside this one????

ewww....lol

don't forget to pop over to the blog to see what the other dt members come up with... 

TFL xx

Free for all - Tando Creative

boy don't these weeks fly past? we're nearly at the end of October already.....very scary... and more so..

this:-

Spooky ATC...lol

The base is a Tando ATC blank which was painted using acryllic paint then stamped with black ink and my fab Cherry Pie Crackle stamp....I then ran a neocolour 2 purple wax crayon around the edges before bringing in the colour using water and a paint brush!! a piece of ranger washi halloween tape was fixed to the side and hi-lighted in the same way at the edges.....the pumpkins were painted and then embossed using ranger antiquities frosted crystal powder.....the skull was painted with paperartsy fresco paint, stamped with the crackle stamp and eyes and mouth hi-ighted.... the bat was painted and then given a covering of glossy accents.....

TFL xx

FLYING THINGS

has been this weeks theme over on the Tando Creative blog...there have been some fabulous pieces this week from the DT and today its my turn to finish off the week with this:-

I adhered some bats to the base and then covered with several layers of paperartsy fresco paints....I then scratched the bats back before adding eyes and outlining with a dry brush and black paint...the bat is from the bat grab bag...

push open the top....and whats inside?

boo! lol the base is a layered coffin with cobweb detail....and a skeleton has been added from the pair of skeletons set... I have added distress glitter to the cobweb... the skeleton was painted using my fav paints and then stamped using the cherry pie crackle stamp.....


TFL xx

SPOOK IT.....

is the theme over on the Tando creative Challenge blog this month and today its my turn to share my piece:-

Tando have got some fabulous halloween pieces this year - I have taken the"layer arch with cobweb" as my base - I adhered some bats from the grab bag to the base, I cut down the middle size of the tombstones from the graveyard set and adhered this to the base before painting over it all with paperartsy fresco paints..... I then painted the outer frames with the same greys and then added treasure gold..... I overstamped the edges using a cherry pie crackle stamp....the cobwebs were covered with distress glitter...fab stuff..... I adhered the two  bases together and then balanced the small tree from the graveyard pack inbetween the layers to try and create depth....a spider from the grab bag was added to the web...

Pop on over to the Challenge blog and see the other pieces there...the challenge is to create a piece based on our monthly theme, you don't have you use any Tando products, but, if you do you'll be entered into the draw to win a selection of Tando goodies (of your choice) twice!!! see you there.

TFL 

BITS AND BOBS

We have had several birthdays lately so here are the cards I made:-

this one was up first..... the background was created using Paperartsy fresco paints and then some stencilling over the top..... the owl and butterflies are from Tando creative and painted using the same paints... the leaves were stamped, coloured using watercolour pencils and cut out...the phrase is from Stamper Anon....the wooden numbers are from a set...

Then this one followed:-

I used the stamp tag backing as a template and cut cream card into a cardbase...this was then coloured with paperartsy fresco paints....then stencilled (notice a theme here....?) washi tape was added and then hi-ighted using neocolour 2s..... the prima doll was stamped and coloured using watercolour pencils and then paperpierced...the flowers were sprayed with dylusion sprays...doodling finished off the edges and a stamped saying and wooden numbers finished of the card...

can you guess who's who??? lol

TFL xx

Orange and Black

...is this weeks theme over on the Tando Creative Blog..... today its my turn to show my piece which is:-

The base is an inner from the layered coffin with cobweb detail (watch out for this product later in the month) these layered products are bril as you get the main item, but, all those inner "waste" pieces are great boards to work with..... the base was painted with paperartsy fresco paint and then using the cobweb 2 mask I've added black soot distress ink..... the skulls are from the minis mixed halloween pack and have been painted with two tones of fresco paint and then overstamped with black ink and a crackle stamp.... I've added black card behind the skulls to add colour for the nasal passages and also the teeth! and orange card for the eyes - which I've then dry brushed and added white for the eye...then filled the sockets with glossy accents..... the spiders are from the grab bag of spider and has been painted with black paint and then glossy accents added....

TFL xx

Surprise party

On Saturday evening OH and I went along to a surprise 70th Birthday party - although we'd contributed to the present and signed a card I wanted to do something else for the lovely lady who's party we were attending...so I made this:-

The base is a canvas which had paperartsy grunge paste thro a couple of stencils and then fresco paint over the top before using treasure gold to hi-light the raised parts. Metal embellishments, flowers, and a "70" cut out using the sizzix wordplay die finished it all off..... I really hope that the recipiant liked it!!

The party was great, live music, dancing and laughing all night - a great end to the week!

TFL xx

In the Garden

I'm getting a bit bad with this bloggin  marlarky aren't I...I must do better!!

Today is my turn over on the Tando blog to showcase my "In the garden" piece...and here it is...

I started off with a layer out of the arabian style arch....I painted this with two colours of Paperartsy fresco paints, I love the way these can be mixed when wet to soften edges when you have two contrasting colours.....once dry I added distress ink thro Kaz's dotted star mask..... using Jofy stamps I stamped grass along the bottom of the piece using the same colour distress ink.....the flowers (flowers with stems grab bag), mini rabbits and mini butterflies were all painted with paperartsy fresco paints mixing the colours whilst wet to add definition to the shape (well I hope it has!! lol) the rabbits had some distress glitter added to their tails..... Secret Garden was stamped onto cardstock and inked....

Don't forget every week there is a different theme over at Tando....pop on over and take a look.

TFL  xx

ummmm

I haven't been in my craft room for several weeks - the intense crafting for the fete has left me feeling rather deflated!  I did attend Birds in the Barn last Saturday with Janet for a days crafting with Hels Sheridan which was a great day out and we had a fab time...I will get a piccie of my canvas and post this week...

So, needless to say I don't have anything to show - hopefully I will get in the craft room tomorrow for a bit of a play...

But, whilst I'm here - I'd like to let you know that I will be teaching at Papermaze on 5th October....when we will be making this:-

the base is the fab Tando book covers and we will be using a wide range of products and technqiues - if you're interested in joining us pop on over to the Papermaze online shop to book your place.

TFL xx

buttons away

is the theme over on the Tando creative blog for this week and I've created these:-

I have used two large buttons from the grab bag and painted them with distress paint, using the same colour ways I coloured a small butterfly and three flower heads all from the mini range.

I then ran a black pen around the edges and added definition before adding a piece of bling - a brooch pin has been added to the back to make them suitable for jewellery or bag clips.

There are some lovely posts scheduled over on Tando this week so don't forget to pop on over....

TFL xx

where has time gone??

can't believe its a month since I last blogged! where on earth has the time gone?

Last weekend I was here:-

My cousins 17 year old daughter, Lauren, organised a fun day for Gt Ormond Street Hospital - she did really well and organised it all herself with a little  help from her Mum, there was a lovely range of stalls and all the fun of the sideshows...as well as bouncy castles, mini roundabout, train rides for the little ones and a magic show.... she asked me to do a table and I convinced the OH to do some pictures too..... a big Thank You to Janina for the loan of the card display stands - fab idea to display all those cards... and for the extra cards.

so, as you can see I have been really busy making loads of cards, boxed sets, keyrings, tags and so forth and this week has been catching up on all those jobs that got left behind due to crafting!!! lol

Back to normality now....so, a normal crafty post due tomorrow xx

Challenge day...

Its Challenge day over on the Tando Creative Challenge blog and this week its my turn to share who is my:-

FAVOURITE ARTIST

now, how can I choose one artist that inspires me to create? I enjoy loads of different styles and artists and I gain inspiration from all over blogland.  My style has been greatly influenced by Tim Holtz, Wendy Veechi and Dyan Reavely so I've created a tag using my take on these three artist's styles...

I coloured the tag using distress inks....now at this point I need to share....initially I coloured a Ranger Kraft tag with distress ink and then added grunge paste thro' the random circles mask, but, the whole thing got so wet that it slopped all over the place and it was obvious that it wasn't going to get any better - must say not impressed with those tags!!! so, it was back to the normal cream size 8 Ranger tags....... so taking my distress inked tag I added vintage photo to the edges, the main tag was then stamped with a text stamp....then using a dylusions stamp I stamped the leaves up the side and added colour using a dylusions ink spray....the Tando Creative flower, from the "flowers with stems grab bag, was painted using the fresco paints as was the Tando banner which was then stamped using a Tim Holtz stamp and then glossy accents added.....elements added to the tag using silicone gel....

If you fancy joining in the challenge pop on over to the challenge blog for more details.

TFL xx

Winged Things

is the theme this week over on the Tando Creative Blog and its my turn to kick start the week so I created this card:-

This card has three butterflies from the butterfly grab bag - using Paperartsy Fresco Finish acryllic paints I've painted the butterflies and built up the colour whilst the paint was still wet - I love the way these paints blend together ...the bodies are made up of bling lines.....the text is a Dylusions stamp which was stamped onto cardstock and coloured using distress inks.

I also made this card:-

I used the Andy Skinner burning rubber mask with distress inks and outlined with black pen.  Then I splattered dylusions ink across the card.  The same dylusions stamp was stamped and coloured with the distress inks....the owl from the grab pack was coloured in using the paperartsy paints and definition added using white pen....this is a flat piece there are no accents added at all....

Those owls are sooo cute.

Thank You for visiting my blog today xx

Book Covers

A few months ago Tando creative released a range of book covers designed by Neil Walker.  This week 6 of the DT are showing you their take on the different covers....I was sent the "Squared off" cover....

In the kit you get two front covers with cut out middles, two pieces of chipboard the same size as the front covers, a spine, 8 slide mounts and a large book plate...I decided that I could get more than one cover out of the kit so I made this cover to fit my art journal...

The bases were covered with painted book pages, the same paints used for the slide mounts.  On this cover I made roses  using the Alterations tattered floral die, some Wendy Veechi art parts, embossing paste, prima sunrise metal pieces and bling.

Then using the backing sheets, the spine, the other front cover and the remaining slide mounts I made this:-

The backing paper is by Graphics 45 "steampunk spells" with two balloons decoupaged over the top and onto the frame, additional butterflies and stars from grab bags were also added.

This week has been a great showcase of these book covers do pop on over to the main blog and take a look at the other pieces.

TFL xx

What a lovely day...

The sun has been shining, managed to get all my washing done and ironed and watched Andy Murray win at Wimbledon!! yeahhhhhhhh..

Whilst watching the tennis I sat and made some cards.  My cousins 17 year old daughter is raising funds for Gt Ormand Street Childrens hospital by organising an old fashioned village fete at Stratford St Mary, Colchester, Essex on 17th August - so if you're passing call in - she's done all of this herself so I'm proud to support her in her efforts by having a "stall" - the problem with having a stall is that you have to have things to sell!!!!!!!!!!!!! rofl so a makin' I'm a being!!

So, today I've made some of these...

The backing papers are from prima and the stamps are from Artistic Outpost called "Diesel Punk" all coloured in using distress inks...

So, what do you think, will they sell??

TFL xx

A new month

Grief we're into month 7 of 2013 where is the year going? its also just a month until my "0" birthday! which is a bit scary really - I really don't feel my age tho'!!!! lolxx

This week over on the Tando Creative blog we have a new weekly theme and this week its:-

CARDS

Today its my turn to show you this:-

the base was made using distress stains...then using Paperartsy Freshco finish acrylic paint I stencilled thro' the following masks:-  "vogue" by Andy Skinner, random circles mask and the sequin waste mask....the circles had extra colour added and were outlined with a black pen...the main image "vogue" was outlined with a white all stablio pencil to make the shape pop off the page....I stamped a text stamp randomly around the outside and then doodled...added some prima washi tape and some bling....then mounted the card onto a card base....

Don't forget to pop over to the Tando blog this week - there are loads of great cards lined up for you and don't forget there's a new theme over on the Challenge blog this week too!

TFL xx

Pretty in Pink

Is this weeks theme over on the Tando blog and I've created this card:-

The base is from the flourish 3 set and the flower from a grab bag of flowers with stems....both have been painted with Paperartsy Fresco Finish acrylic paint with stamping over....a bit of doodling around the edges and a stamped sentiment finished off the CAS card.....

Where on earth has our summer gone? we are all back in jumpers and coats! its nearly July perhaps the sun will put in an appearance then??? one can only hope.

TFL xx

Tando Creative Challenge Blog

The theme for the challenge blog this month is:-

NUMBERS

I just love numbers... perhaps thats why I work with them everyday?? lol

Anyway, here is my number based ATC:-

The base is one of the Tando ATC's - these are just FAB, so sturdy and can take all products without flinching!! lol....I applied some texture paste thro' the oblong/square 12" x 3" mask and stippled the finish with my palette knife.....once dry I painted using various Paperartsy fresco finish paints...then added some Treasure gold to the hi-lighted areas.  The heart, from a grab bag of hearts, was painted using the fresco finish paint in blood orange (this is now my favourite colour!!) and then 25 from the advent set of numbers was painted with eco-colour paint in silver.  The sentiment is a stamp I found in one of my boxes!!! lol

Pop on over to the Challenge blog and see what some of the other DT members have created - there is a new post each Wednesday and there is a prize for one lucky player!!

There is also a new theme over at Tando Creative too - pop along and see what everyone has been upto...

Hope that everyone is having a good week - we're now 3 weeks into Josh being home - he's been doing his internship every day - now, for a student, having to get up and into town for 9.30am every day is difficult!! rofl - he reckons its HARD in the real world..... mind you, his real world is Monday to Friday - the weekends he reverts back to Student Time!! lolxx

TFL xx

All about the man

is the theme over on the Tando Creative blog this week - so very apt with Fathers Day on Sunday...so I've made a card:-

The group cogs mask was placed on my card blank and distress ink applied....I then coloured three of the cogs from the cogs grab bag and three screws and nuts from the screws grab bag with distress ink, stamped them with the same ink and applied crackle glaze to the cogs and glossy accents to the screw heads and the screws.... a stamped sentiment, metal embellishments and some washi tape finish it off...

Don't forget that there are new posts over on the Tando Creative blog most days with a themed piece on the challenge blog each Wednesday.

TFL xx

Masks for Tando

Over on the Tando Creative Blog this week we have all been playing with masks...Tando  have a fantastic range of masks available and all are fantastic with various mediums...today I've used the Andy Skinner burning rubber 12" x 3" mask to create this card...

I placed the mask to the left hand side and used tape to hold it in place whilst I inked with distress ink....I then cut some letters and the 21 on my cricut and then coloured in using the same distress ink, doodled around the edges and stamped with a crackle stamp.....washi tape and a rusty old key was added to the front...

Unfortunately Josh's 21's wasn't the birthday we would have liked for him.  We ended up in A&E until 3am after my OH collapsed at the restaurant and was rushed to hospital in an ambulance (he appears to be ok now) - poor ol' Josh - mind you we had a "take 2" yesterday which didn't end up in A&E!! lol

TFL xx

CAS for Tando

Each week over on the Tando Creative blog we have a different theme...this week has been CAS - clean and simple, and the DT members preceding me have created some gorgeous pieces....today its my turn and I've made this:-

Using post it notes I masked off an area of my card - then I coloured the area using distress ink, applied with cut and dry - I inked up a text stamp and rolled it onto the card - the leaves are a stamp by Dylusions which were stamped with the masks in place and then coloured in using a water brush and dylusions ink......the tando butterfly was coloured with the same distress ink then coated with glossy accents before adding pieces of bling....

We are all at sea at home this week - we collected our son from Bristol Uni on Friday and then Saturday was spent down town getting clothes and a hair cut!!! ready for the start of his internship on Monday - then on Thursday he's 21! can't believe that - where on earth has the time gone????

Hope you all have a good week - TFL xx

Secret Crafter Swap

Over on the Bubbly Funk Forum, Kathy organised a Secret Crafter Swap.  The principle was to create a piece of art, jewellery or project for a secret swappee, to make sure we knew some of our swappee's likes and dislikes we listed the things, ie colours, smells etc, that we liked....

Now that the secret is out of the bag and our swappers have all received our pieces we can now post about our work..

My Swappee was Pat:-

This is the parcel she opened:-

Pat listed one of her colour likes as Purple...so I wrapped her piece in purple and made a kraft rose from the tattered florals die and edged the petals with purple distress ink....a prima trinket and a little gift card finished off the wrapping...

inside was:-

The board hanging was paperblocked, painted and edged before being sealed (one of my fav techniques at the mo - Thanks to Hels Sheridan)...... then texture paste mixed with ferro was used thro' a studio 490 mask...this was then coloured using treasure gold.  Metal embellishments were added along with another flower made from coloured kraft and die cut....the grungeblocks were painted and sanded back and then given a touch of purple treasure gold.  I hope that Pat likes it...

I received this from Wendy:-

TFL xx