Steampunk Stuff

Morning ladies and gentles:)

My Brother-in-Law is Steampunk mad and I, also love me some Steampunk too, so as it was his birthday yesterday, I thought I would indulge in a bit of card making (lol!  as if I don't do enough) and made him a Steampunk style card.

Here's the results, quite pleased with it.

I love all the texture and dimension especially the clock face which I created in Silhouette studio and cut on my Cameo, then sprinkled with copper, gold and Tim Holtz distress powder in walnut stain and heat embossed.  The numbers were created using a really old Helix plastic stencil, it's probably twenty years old lol!  Just goes to show I never throw anything away.  I mixed some modelling paste with some mica powders and some early espresso ink refill to colour it, however in retrospect I really didn't need the mica powder as you can't see it.  I spread the paste through the stencil and then covered with distress embossing powder.  Because the stencil is so thick it gave loads of dimension to the paste.  However I got impatient waiting for it to dry and blasted it with the heat gun, even though it had felt dry, it still puffed up.  It did give it a very cool appearance though and the embossing powder worked really well.

For the tag I splodged some walnut stain, gathered twigs and scattered straw on to my mat and spritz with water, then dragged a manilla tag through the inky mess and then dried with a heat gun.  I then spritzed with Mr Huey's dark calico spray and Dilusions white spray and spritzs with some water, dried and then stamped with Ranger archival ink in potting soil and inked with the same three inks I used to distress the tag.

So lots of messy, inky fun, it made a change from the girly stuff I normally do.

Supplies
Inks
Tim Holtz Distress ink pads Scattered Straw/Walnut Stain/Gathered Twigs/Brushed Corduroy
Rangers Archival Ink Pads Black/Potting Soil
Brilliance Cosmic Copper Pigment Ink Pad
Spray inks
Dylusions Picket Fence
Mr Huey's Dark Calico
Stamps
Creative Stamping Magazine free set Timeless Opulence
Craft Stamper magazine free stamp moustache and Glasses
Prima  Tempus Fugit Cling Stamps
Other
SteamPunk Antique Brass Elements from Hobby Craft
Tim Holtz Ideology Memo Pins/spinners
Papermania Chronology Collection Gears/Clock Faces and Label Plates
Manilla Tag
Tim Holtz Cor'dinations Kraft cardstock
Windsor and Newton Galeria Acrylic Modelling Paste
Embossing Powder Gold/copper/Tim Holtz distress powder walnut stain
Distress Crackle Paint Rock Candy
Tin Holtz Gears Embossing Texture Fade Folder

Thanks for dropping by, leave some love in the shape of a comment to let me know what you think.

TTFN
Anna x

Busy, Busy

Hi all, slacking again with the blogging but real life keeps getting in the way unfortunately.  Quite a few things to share, I'm having a stall at a local Christmas fair this year so getting some cards together to sell.  This will be the first time I've done anything like this so I'm a bit nervous.

I'm also toying with the idea of becoming a Stampin Up demonstrator, I've been mulling it over for a while and I'm not getting anywhere at work so need to focus my attentions elsewhere because I feel like I'm not achieving anything at the moment.

PS. I Love You
So onto the crafty stuff, first up is a scrapbook layout, I can't take full credit for the layout as I loosely followed a layout I'd seen on Cricut.com The papers are Stampin Up from the holiday catalogue winter frost collection, a very versatile collection as it isn't all Christmasy so can be used on other projects and I just loved the colours. The cardstock is all American crafts in lagoon, stone, robin egg and black. I just loved this photo of my hubby and really wanted to do something with it and love how the page looks :) The arrows are cut from the Cricut Southwest cart in AC slate and the words from Wall decor and more in black and white. I just added a bit of faux stitching in black copic fine liner and uniball broad gel pen and added a few accents to the arrows and flags.

Hey Cupcake
This card was a quicky card to send off to my niece in Canada.  The cupcake was cut from the Sweet Treats cart, paper is from DCWV Sweet stack which is totally adorable.   Plus I got it for a fraction of what it should have cost from The Range, along with a few other sale goodies :)  Lots of stickles in baby blue and glam pink, I used seed beads for the sprinkles and the sentiment is from a Fiskars stamp set called The Sweet Life and is stamped in SU early espresso, card stock is also SU early espresso and American Crafts lagoon I think.

Outer Space
These next two I had so much fun with, inspired by Mary from cardcrazy09 on YT.  She makes the most adorable cards.  Both of these monster were cut from the mini monsters cart, I used scraps for the majority.  The rockets are cut from the just because card cart and the stars were punched out from various punches.  The faces were stamped using the adorable Peachy Keen monster mash face stamps and I did a little extra doodling lol!  Sentiments were from SU birthday sentiments.  the black sky was embossed using the cuttlebug devine swirls folder and the orange planet was embossed with a Tim Holtz texture fade on DCWV glitter card and then I coloured over the top with an orange promarker.  To finish them off I just added a some stickles and googley eyes :)

Adorable Ducks
I have had these stamps since June I think and this is the first time I have got around to using them.  I just think they are adorable, they are from Crafty Individuals and come with a lovely sentiment too.  I stamped the background on SU crumb cake cardstock with crumb cake ink, using the Creative Expressions chicken wire background stamp, the matts were cut from SU early espresso and SU DSP Beau Chateau.  I added some SU linen thread, buttons and a tiny tag I cut on the cricut and stamp a sentiment in early espresso.  I stamped the ducks in Ranger archival on water colour paper and coloured them with distress markers.

Colours of Autumn
This card really started off with me experimenting with some Mr Huey sprays I had bought from Create and Craft when they were selling them off.  I was just messing about getting inky and sprayed some colour, then though I'd stamp some leaves and add some perfect pearls, it turned out very pretty and autumnal and so that set the theme for the next lot of cards I made.  Using the background I had made I just added a simple sentiment as a topper and stamped a leaf, added more perfect pearls and cut it out, added a few buttons and some linen thread and called it a card.  The sentiment is from SU. Cardstock is SU crumb cake and early espresso.  As this ended up being and odd size I made and envelope to match. 

Shimmering Dragonfly
Really the same as the other card except I stamped the dragonfly from Papermania dragonflies urban stamp set, once on the background and once on a piece of cream paper, I embossed the dragonfly with Stampendous fine detail black embossing powder and then painted it with perfect pearls mixed with a little water.  I used a Tim Holtz texture fade embossing folder to emboss the early espresso strip and the cuttlebug mesh folder to emboss the card blank.  The sentiment is from Papermania Vintage notes urban stamps set.

Autumn Thanks
This little set of thank you cards was made using the scraps on my desk, I challenged myself to not use anything that wasn't already out as I keep ending up with a mountain of stuff which all ends up in the scrap pile and never used lol!  All made from SU crumb cake cardstock, SU early espresso ink, SU french foliage and SeeD's leaves stamps set and the squares where stamped by inking an acrylic block with distress ink in vintage photo, spritzing with water and the stamping onto the card stock.  The sentiment is also SU.

Winter Frost
This set of cards were all made using the SU winter frost collection, the sentiment is SU from the holiday catalogue, stamped in SU smoky slate and island indigo.  The shapes were cut on the cricut, as were the snowflakes and the ribbon is from Papermania.  After I had stamped the sentiments I gently sponged some SU illuminate ink all over to give it a subtle shimmer, they came out very pretty and I made half a dozen of these to sell ;)

Gift Card Holders
All these gift card holders were made following Dawn5377's directions on YT.  These were so easy and simple to make and I can see me making plenty more as the possibilities are endless really.

This last item was inspired by Joy of Obsessed with scrapbooking on YT , I don't have the Close To My Heart cricut carts as they are ridiculously expensive to by from the States, with shipping and customs it works out around £100, money I'm not willing to pay, especially as half of that is actually for shipping and customs!!  So I decided I would give it a go using one of my other cricut cuts.  I purchased the Cricut craftroom Exclusive quilted ornaments last year and never used them so thought it was high time I did lol!  I basically followed Joy's instructions but as I didn't have any tulle, I added some roses from Wild Orchid crafts instead and think it came out very pretty.  It's cut from American Crafts, crimson, vanilla, and pomegranate cardstock, ribbon is from Papermania.  It looks really beautiful on the living room door and I think I may make a couple more for my other doors.  Very happy with this :)

That's all for now folks, I do have more to post but need to get the camera out first lol.

Happy crafting

Anna xx

Home decor, vintage fun and Rock Candy

Hi, back again with a few bits and bobs.  Firstly a altered frame and kiddies plastic dress form I got from a Girl Talk Art mag, I had to make a new stand for it as the part of it was missing lol!  I painted it with black acrylic, glued on strips of torn paper from the DCWV black currant paperstack and stippled more black acrylic to make it look like lace, then added small roses and lovely trim I bought years ago, from my stash.

This is the frame , I picked it up in Poundland, added some Wild Orchid Craft roses, small roses, pink feathers, acetate butterflies and a hand made flower and butterfly which I made with some Tim Holtz trimming, miniature roses and pearl trim.  Added a beautiful pin, silk tassel, and some prima bling to finish it off.  Matted and layered a quote on to some black cardstock and the black currant paperstack as I couldn't find a piccy I wanted to add in there.  The flourishes around the quote are from MCS.

Supplies

Dress form

Plastic dress form

Deco Art crafters acrylic in black

beaded and fringed trimmings

small tea roses in fuchsia

DCWV black currant paper stack

black satin ribbon bow for back

miniature cream rose from Wild Orchid Crafts

Black diamond stickles for base and top of dress form

Frame

Black damask frame from Poundland

small tea roses in fuchsia and pale pink (I think I bought the fuchsia roses from Hobby Craft and the pale pink ones from Works)

DCWV black currant paper stack

miniature cream roses and white roses from Wild Orchid Crafts (sorry I don't have the numbers for these)

pale pink feathers

Prima pearl and lace swirls

Rhinestones in clear and black

ribbon rose in pale pink

Tim Holtz Trimmings 

Pearl bead strings 

Acetate butterflies from Works in mixed pinks

Finished Frame and dress form to match the deco in my loo lol!

This is one of the background stamps I bought at the Doncaster show last weekend, I LOVE it lol!  Just stamped with espresso ink on very vanilla card stock, I stamped it twice and cut out some of the bobbin labels, coloured them with promarkers and distressed the edge with antique linen.  Added a pin which I coloured with a promarker, seam binding coloured with antique linen and some home made glimmer mist, mounted on early espresso and Sahara sand card stock and finished with a handmade flower.  Very simple and quick.

Supplies

Stampin Up cardstock in Very Vanilla, Early espresso, Sahara

Stampin Up ink pad in Early espresso

Stampin Up Tea Shoppe stamp set for sentiment

Distress ink pad in Antique linen

Promarkers in sandstone, khaki, pastel beige, ivory

buttons

heart pin from Wild Orchid Crafts

seam binding

Just Rite BG stamp Grandma's Attic

Flower Shoppe Cricut Cart for flower

Burnt sienna promarker, Adirondack copper mixative, espresso alcohol ink to colour flower 

I have never attempted any of Tim Holtz 12 tags but love looking at them so thought I would give one a go.  Very pleased with how this came out and I'm thinking I may use this as a starting point for my special Xmas cards this year.  I am in LOVE with Rock Candy crackle paint, the deer is so pretty in RL, I also did a deer in alcohol inks and used rock candy over the top and it looks awesome, I may post piccies later.  

I followed most of Tim's directions except I stamped my snow flakes with distress ink pad instead of the stains as I couldn't get a nice impression, I also stamped some more snowflakes with SU white craft ink rather than the stains too. I spritzed the tag with home made glimmer mist rather than water.  I didn't add white paint dauber to the acetate as I didn't like the way it looked, so I added stardust stickles instead and also added them to the grunge paper reindeer and snow flake along with some frosted lace stickles too.

Supplies

Distress Stains in tumbled glass, weathered wood, picket fence

distress inks in weathered wood

Stampin Up craft ink pad in whisper white

Distress crackle paint in rock candy

Grunge paper

Stampin Up card stock in very vanilla to cut the tag or #8 manila tag

rhinestones mini silver sleigh bell, beads and wire to make a snowflake (I used an old Xmas decoration I got off the front off a House Beautiful mag )

Jump rings

acetate

TH Sizzix alterations snowflake border die ( I don't have this so I made a border on my gypsy using snowflakes from the Winter Wonderland Cart and a rectangle from the Gorge and Basic shape cart and welded them together)

Reindeer cut from Gypsy Wanderings, if you don't have a gypsy you could use the reindeer from Winter Wonderland or one of the other cricut carts or the TH Alterations sizzix die

Buttons

Organza ribbon in white, ivory and aqua

Dovecraft tea party bakers twine

Stickles in frosted lace and stardust

peal glimmer mist ( I made mine with a small amount of Deco Art dazzling metallics white pearl mixed with water in a mister)

small beads in silver, clear and pearl

Inkadinkado Snowflakes stamps (large snowflakes and snowflake flourish)

Papermania sleigh stamps (small snowflakes)

 Deco Art crafters acrylic in white

 

So there you go, it seems like a lot of supplies for 1 tag lol! But in actual fact you could do this with what you have lying around.  I used grunge paper but you could use chipboard (cardboard as we call it over her in the UK)  from a cereal packet.  I used white acrylic paint to paint the snow flake and reindeer before crackle glazing them. Buttons, ribbons, beads, acetate, cardstock and embellishments I had in my stash.

I like to use what I have, as much as I would love the Tim Holtz dies, I don't have the money or space for them and this is why my cricut is invaluable to me.  For what I pay for maybe 2 dies I can buy a cartridge with dozens of images, add in the Gypsy and the Cricut Craft Room and SCAL (Shame Provocraft were too greedy for their own good, they should have endorse SCAL rather than bring a law suite against them!) and I can come up with anything I want :)

Anyhoo enough of my waffling, i must get my desk cleaned up, I can't move for crafty junk lol!

Summer Fun, Distress markers and inky fingers

Well I was going to make a video of my crafty haul this month as I have been on a bit of a spending spree and also spent the day at the Summer Craft show at Doncaster race course.  However, I was so excited to have new goodies to play with I went and opened everything before I could film anything lol!

I did have a lot of fun making a very crafty mess yesterday evening though :D  I bought quite a few stamps, some more stickles to top up my dwindling supply, some mica masks by Creative Expressions and some Tim Holtz distress markers YAY!!!  So I was a very happy bunny last night :)

I also got a few fun things from Poundland, Works and HobbyCraft, including mini frames and a larger frame to alter, mini paper roses and glittery butterflies.  I stocked up on black and white core'dination and got a beautiful DCWV black currant 12 x 12 stack which is stunning.  I also got a reduced Xmas back ground stamp and some £1 stamps.

Just something fun, I was trying out all my new goodies I bought at the Summer Crafting show at Doncaster race course. Inked, stamped, grunged, water coloured, masked, stickled, misted and crackled lol! Flowers are coloured using TH summer distress ink pads leaves are alcohol inked, butterflies water coloured with distress markers and then added a bit of black diamond stickles and rock candy crackle. Fringed trim is some very old stuff from when I used to do dress making :D I had a lot of very messy fun making this :D

Cute window card with a difference, using SU card stock, ink and ribbon, spellbinder dies, Fiskars stamp set

Gift bag with matching photo album, the album isn't finished so I will show that another time. Stampin up DSP, stamps, ribbons and cardstock used.

Well I think that's it for tonight, shattered now as I've just cleaned all the downstairs so it's a cuppa and bed for me I think.

Happy crafting

Anna x