Nativity at Christmas card Club

Hello lovelies! Did you miss me? I've been away at Nottingham visiting my mil with my girls and hubby. We had a lovely time and I also managed to squeeze a visit in to kezzy. It was so lovely to meet you Kerry - I had a fabulous afternoon and came away with so many ideas! Thankyou so much!

I'm off to Bolton Arena today with my lovely mum to the Great British Craft Festival. It should be a good day out! I'll let you know tomorrow!

I'm a day early with my Christmas card club post today but with three posts to do already tomorrow I thought it was sensible to do this one a day early! The theme this time is nativity - I thought I was going to get lots done with this theme - but it wasn't to be - time ran out on me and I only managed one card.

The background was created using versamark and clear embossing powder and a stamp from Crafty Individuals. After repeatedly stamping then heatsetting the powders I used distress inks to create the colours on the background.

The main stamp and the sentiment are from LOTV and was coloured using spectrum noirs. The lace is from The Ribbon Girl.

I would like to enter this card into the Winter Wonderland Challenge christmasblogchallenge which is no red or green this week! Also I would like to enter Hazel's monthly challenge - crafty hazelnuts christmas challenge 2craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge2.

Thanks for dropping by today and I look forward to hearing what you think about my card! Big hugs to you!

Rachel xx

Tag it at Creative Inspirations and Tims tags May

Good morning lovelies! How are you today? All well I hope! I'm finding myself a little behind just now - school holibobs again and I can't manage to get everything done - lol! This means that I'll be quiet for the next couple of days - don't worry - I've not fallen off the edge of the planet - just struggling to keep up! It also means that I've had to combine two posts into one today! I hope you don't mind!

First off is the new challenge at Creative Inspirations - the theme this week is Tag it. This week's challenge is Tag It!

Create or include a Tag on your creations!

This week we are joined by our sponsor CRAFTS U LOVE who are giving the Winner a £10 Voucher!

Here's what I made using sheenas stamps and folders:

I made the tag background using distress paints - the metallic distress paints are awesome - loved doing this.

Next I ran this through the embossing machine - the arches - and swiped with the black stazon pad - I also used some small stamps to compete the background.

Then I stamped and fussy cut the elephant - such a cute chappie!!!

Hope you like this - and now its time for tag 2 - this is my entry for Tims tag May. Tims tag this month is something I found quite difficult - but the my version of Tims tag is pretty personal and I do like it! 

I used the same techniques as Tim throughout - they are found here. I made the background up using reds - i love red - its my fave colour - and I think it always will be! 

The paper behind the 'love' emblem is my favourite from the menagerie collection. I have chosen the words Lucky and love as I feel I am now very lucky in love - it wasn't always the case but since being with my wonderful Shaun I couldn't be happier. 

The 7 has been altered using the altered surface technique from Compendium of curioisties vol3  I chose the orange and green as i love these two colours too - the orange is reminiscent of my gingery hair - and green - well my gardening fingers. 

I chose the bar as i think its an important way to be! Finally the pen nib has the word 'thoughts' on it - thoughts are so important - and this piece involved a lot of them! 

I am entering this challenge timholtz.com/12-tags-of-2014-may

Well thats it for now - back on Sat morning! I'll be taking my mum to the craft show at Bolton arena - Look out for me if you're going to be there!

Big hugs and thanks for visiting!

oh - here's my latest face painting attempt - very pleased with tiger Lucy!

Rachel xx

antique at WOW powders

Hello lovelies - how are you today? We are all good - we had a fabulous day at Buttermere in the Lake District yesterday. Here's some piccies:


This was on the outward leg of the walk - very high spirits!



time for lunch!



A rest before the final furlong! Did you ever see anybody else walk in a dress like this! She's very individual! Lol!

It was such a fabulous day - a really easy 4 and 1/2 miles and not a single moan! Brilliant - well done girls!

Today I have my entry to this months challenge over at WOW powders - the theme is antique - this one had me stumped for a while but then I decided to go with this design:

I started by stamping the background using a fabulous stamp from Penny Black. I stamped in versamark onto kraft card then added platinum wow powders and heat set. Next I stamped the image from Crafty Individuals.

I stamped using sepia archival. Next I added the words stamped in sepia archival - these are by dylusions. Then I added the bow from That craft place and the trinket from Crafty Individuals.

I love this ribbon - its so beautiful - they do it in a range of colours too!

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Wow embossing powderswowembossingpowder: Antique

sweet stampinsweetstampinchallengeblog: Sparkle and shine

Crafty Catzcraftycatzweeklychallenge: Embossing

Rhedd and Rosiesrheddandrosies: No flowers.

Have a great Tuesday - I'm taking my girls to my mums  and going off to the gym. I think a swim is the order of the day today!

Thanks for visiting and I hope to see you again soon!

Big Hugs

Rachel xx

first two makes using sheenas india DVD

Hello lovelies! How are you today? We had a busy day out at Liverpool yesterday. Back at the Albert dock! We spent some time in the Liverpool life museum and some in the titanic floor at the Maritime museum - very interesting stuff.

Anyway - today I have to show you the first two makes from Sheenas project DVD. Its always good to work through these projects as I find although I now know most of the techniques, there's always new bits to learn and ideas to drag up from the dredges of my memory!

The technique is on the DVD so I'm not going to put it on here - it doesn't seem fair! Its fairly simple to do though and I think very effective!

I love this little elephant - so very pretty - and the glittered blanket is just gorgeous - I love it.  

I think we're going to the lakes today walking - I'll add some piccies tomorrow if I get any good ones! 

Big Hugs to you and thanks for visiting!

Rachel xx

spots and stripes at Little Claire

Good morning lovelies - how are you today? Did you get the rain yesterday? Ours arrived about lunchtime - we decided to head off to swimming in Kendal - that was great and then when we got home I practiced doing some facepainting - its my job this year at the school summer fair so I need to get some practice in. Here's my first two faces - the girls each chose a face from pictures on the internet and I did my best to copy them - I was pleased with Lucy's - I didn't like the picture I was copying for Penny - and I don't like much the result either - what do you think?

Anyway - onto todays card - thanks so much for your comments yesterday - todays has been made for the Little Claire challenge - the theme is spots and stripes:

I've used the May club stamp kit to make this card - the stamp kit is so pretty - the papers I have used are LOTV. I love the sentiments especially - doing what you want is freedom - loving what you do is happiness - I think they are really great sentiments don't you? I've paper pieced the dress and part of the butterfly. The remaining colouring is by spectrum noirs and distress inks.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Little Claire: littleclairesdesignsSpots and stripes

Penny'spennyschallenges - spots or stripes

Have a great Sunday - not sure what we're up to but I'm sure we'll have a good day! Big hugs and thanks for dropping by! 

Rachel xx

a card for Morag

Good morning all! I hope you are both well and happy! Glad you liked my owl photo yesterday - he was a sweetie wasn't he! Onto today - and I've used my fave Penny Black stamp to make a card for a friend in scotland - its her birthday soon, she has a really bad back and has been laid up in bed for a couple of weeks and her husband is really poorly with cancer. Poor Morag - I just wanted to cheer her up a little - I hope this card does the trick! She and her husband often used to talk about Venice and how it was their fave place so thats why I thought of her when I was making this card.

The penny black image has been partly paper pieced and partly coloured with spectrum noir pens. The papers are from my stash and the flowers are from sweet lilac. The letters are grungeboard alphabet letters that I've painted with mowed lawn distress paint.

here's a closer look at the image.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

PBSCpennybfriendssaturdaychallenge: Fave Penny Black Stamp

PB at allsortspennyblackatallsorts: AG

Divasdivasbydesignchallenge: AG

simon says stamp:simonsaysstampblog Vacation or travel

sweetlilacflowers-anything goes

Thanks for dropping by - not sure what we're doing today other than popping to the library - have to wait and see what delights the day holds! Big hugs to you and hope to see you again soon!

Rachel x

twit twoo

Hello lovelies - how are you today? I hope you're good!  I'm feeling okay - I have an appointment with the personal trainer today - hopefully I can get a program sorted out thats back friendly and will help start to get me back to running fitness. Thats the plan anyway!

Here's a treat for you - I managed to get hold of a couple of photographs that my neighbour took on my walk at the weekend - so here are the bluebells and one of the owls:

I think the other one must have been hiding - I definitely saw two!

Onto todays make - the challenge over at a vintage journey this fortnight is all about him - it is the lovely Anne's (Redanne) theme - I've made a card for my hubby Shaun for fathers day!

The challenge requires an element of Tim Holtz - I've put lots in there - there are rub ons, paints, distress inks, stamps and the lovely umbrella man diecut. I've also used a layering stencil that I got from the lovely Mo (almocraft) when I went to visit her! Thanks Mo!

I used Tims altered surfaces technique to change the cogs - the only thing not Tim on there is the tap - its a prima thing I think but I love it and thought it complimented umbrella man very well. I got it from thatcraftplace.

I hope you like my make - I do! 

I'd like to enter this into the following challenges:

A vintage Journeyvintagejourney - all about him.

Hope you have a great Friday! Big hugs to you and thanks for visiting! 

Rachel xx

Sketch challenge at scrap 365 and some potato stamping

Good morning lovelies! how are you today? Thanks for all your concern - you are lovely! I'm fine though and not about to hurt my back intentionally - but I need to keep my fitness up - I still have the Great North Run to look forward to in September - I'm running it for a local hospice this year - more of that soon but not today!!

Today I have a little candy for you - just leave a comment on todays post, be a follower and I'll draw a winner on 1st June - what can you win - its a stamp and die set from sizzix:

Today I want to share with you a piece of messy art that i so enjoyed making - I got my distress paints and inks out and had lots of fun. I followed a sketch from Scrap 365 -

Here's what I did:

I

I started out with a plain white piece of paper and added distress paints in blues and browns to a craft mat - spritzed with water and swooshed the paper through. Once dry I added festive berrie DI and filled in many of the white spaces. Next I used DI to create the other bars of paper and stamped one with CB honey bee stamps. Then I used my cut pieces of potato to stamp blue stars - in distress paint, and brown hexagons - in ink from an ink pad. Next I did some more stamping on the background to create the smaller hexagons and also the bees. I followed the sketch and put the layout together then fussy cut some flowers that I had stamped and added the title. Such fun! I loved making this! The picture is, of course, my Lucy - she was at the top of the hill at st Michaels mount in Cornwall - it was a very windy day and she was trying to be heard!!! Bless her!

I would like to enter this layout into the following challenges

scrap365 scrap365- June sketch

Craft stamper magazine:craftstamper Potato printing.

Thanks for dropping by today - remember if you leave a message you can go into the draw to win the stamp and die set!

Hugs rachel xx

Birthdays at Creative Inspirations

Hello Lovelies - how are you today? I'm feeling good and happy and feeling like my back is just about back to normal. Can't be bad eh? Long may it last!!!! This week's challenge at Creative Inspirations is Birthdays!

This month the challenge blog is celebrating its 6th Birthday so we want to see all your birthday themed creations!

This week we are joined by the sponsor TIME 4 TEA DESIGNS!

I've made a card using one of the the new LOTV fairies - this one is called Cobweb and I think she's adorable.

The card blank is from Craftwork cards (I think...) the image is LOTV and was coloured with spectrum noirs. The lace is from the ribbon girl. Papers are both from LOTV pads.

The sentiment stamp is also LOTV and the image has been cut using a spellbinders die.

The image has been distressed using spun sugar DI and also antique white frantage.

I would like to enter this into the following challenges:

LOTVideastoinspire - May - Fairies

Totally Gorjusstotallygorjuss- Lace

we do doobadoo wedodoobadoo- Lace

PTW: papertakeweekly -ohhh-so-cute

Thanks for popping in today - I hope you have a great Wednesday! I'm going for an induction on the xtreme force machines at the gym this afternoon. Should be interesting.  Promise I'll be good!

Big Hugs!

Rachel xx

brown and blue at the sunday stamper

Hello lovelies - how are you today? I'm feeling good and didn't overdo things at the gym - I did gentle exercise for 50 mins and feel okay - now today I will be trying a swim! I get my personal trainer session on Friday!

Today I have a hanger that I made in response to this weeks challenge on the sunday stamper. Its blue and brown - I wanted to use these boards I had so decided to make a hanger. The boards are from the Sheena Douglass paint fusion range and I also used three sheena stamps - the top bird is from the little bit magical collection, the middle one is an older one  and the background stamping is done using the feathers set. I also used the crackle and the burlap stamps from the ageing beautifully stamp set from Sheena Douglass.

I started by covering each panel with some TH paper from his 8x8 menagerie collection of papers. These papers were all leftover bits where i had been using the other side. Next I did some overstamping with the feather stamps using distress inks. I also used the burlap and crackle stamps on the backgrounds.

Next I focussed on the birds - I chose stamps from my collection that would work together and wound fit a 7x7 cm piece of card. I coloured the images using spectrum noirs and then distressed around the edges before overstamping with the crackle stamp.

This final stamp is from a collection by paperartsy - I was going to use Sheenas puffin but he looked a bit lost!!! The panels are all held together with jute ribbon from the Ribbon girl - love this!

I'd like to enter this into the following challenges:

Sunday stamper:pinkleart brown and blue

Crafters Companion Facebook challengefacebook - masculine

CVCcountryviewchallenges: Natures Glories

Artistic stamper theartisticstampercreativeteam- in the garden

Our creative corner:ourcreativecorner6 Use up your leftovers.

CFAScraftingforallseasons: Things with wings

Stamping Sensationssirstampalotchallenge: AG

Polka doodlespolkadoodle: Things with wings

Thanks for dropping by today and I hope to see you again soon! Big crafty hugs! Rachel xx

Birthday Girl at Lavinia

Hello Lovelies - thanks so much for all your kind words yesterday! I was very happy to read them all - you really are lovely! Thankyou!!! Did you have a good weekend? We had another walk yesterday -in the afternoon and very short this time - in the morning it was party time! The girls had fun but it was hot in there! The walk was to a nearby park - and I had to have a monkey around - I hoped it was stretching my back out - not so sure! Lol!



I'm off to the gym today - hoping to get a personal training session with a lady who does GP referrals - if that doesn't happen I promise I will be very gentle - I don't like being unable to run but I know I have to play the long game!!!

On with today - I have a card I made using the freebie Lavinia stamps and also some other lavinia ones I have.

I have made this with the Lavinia challenge in mind but fortuitously it also fits the challenges at allsorts and the ribbon girl!

I used distress inks to create the background using mostly seedless preserves and bundled sage. The stamps are all from Lavinia - I hope they think this is okay for a birthday girl card - I think so despite the lack of sentiment. I didn't think it was necessary. The gold dots around the edge are some liquid pearls gifted to me by the lovely Mo almocraft on my recent visit - thanks Mo - they've already come in very handy!

So the challenges I would like to enter are

Lavinia:laviniastamps Birthday girl

Allsortsallsortschallenge: Purple passion

Ribbon Girlribbongirls: Purple.

I hope you have a great Monday and I'll hopefully catch up with you soon! Thanks for visiting!

Hugs

Rachel xx

Christmas card Club recipe and more Imagination craft samples

Hello lovelies! How are you today? I had the most wonderful walk yesterday - unfortunately I forgot my camera so I have no photographs to share with you - but it really was magical. We went up a hill and into a woodland on the road out to Settle - it was absolutely smothered in bluebells as far as the eye could see - it was glorious - the primroses were also there but past their best - and their were cowslips and wild orchids too. A really stunning scene to behold. And the best thing of all, half way around the walk were two baby owls nesting in a tree hollow - they looked like tawny owls but it was a bit tricky to tell. They were gorgeous - I feel so very privileged to have seen them - what a day!!!

Anyway onto today and I have my card to share with you for the Christmas card club - the theme this week was a recipe - ribbon, a button, 3 brads and 1 other accessory. I chose red mesh and here is my card:

The stamp is from Imagination Crafts - I have decoupaged it up and added some 'snow' - lol!!! 

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Winter wonderland:christmasblogchallenge Holly and Ivy

C.R.A.F.T:trimmiescraftchallenge Christmas

craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge2

Did you see any of the shows on Create and Craft yesterday? I saw the first two and thought they were great. Didn't see my samples but hey ho! There's more on today - here's the times:

Sunday 18 May

11.00 am
2.00 pm
7.00 pm

Have a look if you get chance! Here's two more cards of mine that could be on the show:

This is very similar to the one from the tutorial the other day but this time I used sparkle medium through the mask.

This one is using the daisy decoupage stamp - I do love this stamp - its so very versatile.

I do hope you  have a wonderful Sunday - I've got an early party with the girls and then I'm not sure what we're going to do - will have to wait and see.

Thanks for dropping by today and for any comments you choose to leave!

Big Hugs to you!

Rachel xx

Imagination Crafts samples for Create and Craft

Good morning lovelies! Hope you are well! Thanks for all your lovely comments yesterday and advice about my back! I'll try to take as much of it on board as possible - it is hard to do though!!! The resting bit i mean!

If you hadn't heard Imagination Crafts are on Create and Craft this weekend. The show times are:

Saturday 17 May
9.00 am
12.00 Noon
6.00 pm

Sunday 18 May
11.00 am
2.00 pm
7.00 pm

You can watch on Freesat 813, Virgin 748, Freeview 36 and Sky 671 or you can watch online!

I made a few samples for the shows and wanted to share two of them with you today:

This first one uses the daisy and butterflies stencil and the daisy stamp plus sparkle medium.

This one uses the butterfly stamp set. I really like this one - Just love doing CAS cards!

I hope you've got time to look at some of the shows!

Big hugs for a happy Saturday!

Rachel xx