A most wonderful day ....

Hello all! How are you? I hope you've survived the weather. It really has been incredibly windy up here - hope all is okay where you are.

On Saturday I had the most wonderful day at a workshop at Clarity Cumbria with the wonderful Jo Rice. We all spent the day decorating letters spelling a 5 letter word. I chose the word Dream and these are my results:



I used a different technique on each letter but in all cases started with gesso then worked throughout with paperartsy paints. On the D I used the Tim Holtz paper distress mosaic kit. I made the papers up using distress inks (thanks Babs) and an Indigo blu stamp. On the R I used a clarity stencil and grunge paste and after painting added glass beads. The E was first painted a purple colour then paperartsy crackle glaze was added before overpainting in pink. Once dry I stamped with a clarity stamp. The A was painted then stamped in versa mark with the clarity snowflake stamps and white embossing powder was added. I also added some blue dots that I later topped with glossy accents. The M had Jo's bubbles added in Wendy Vecchi crackle paste and when dry was painted. Next I added flitterglu and flake using an indigoblu stamp.  Finally I added glossy accents to the blobs too.

A really fun day - we had a christmas buffet :



which was wonderful ... and plenty of time to be nosy!

So a wonderful day all in all!

I can't believe we're into December tomorrow - where does the time go?

Have a lovely day!

Rachel xx

Holly and the Ivy at Christmas card Club

Hello Lovelies! How are you today? Thanks for your kind words on my card yesterday and trust me - the cake is being kept for Christmas! Lol! It was a great day at Clarity Cumbria yesterday - we all decorated 5 letters that made a word. I'll show you mine in tomorrow's post! Today its time for a card for the Christmas card club - I had grand ideas on this theme but time has run out and only one CAS card has been completed! Nevermind!

The stamp is great - my use of it isn't!!! Its from paperartsy! Its a mini! I'll link this up later today ladies...

I hope you have a great Sunday - I'm looking forward to having a relaxed day with my girls.

Big hugs

Rachel xx

Christmas at Lavinia!

Hello Lovelies! How are you? I hope you're okay. I'm very good and happy - I have a fabulous day at Clarity Cumbria to look forward to - and last night I won a beautiful cake in the raffle at a school fundraiser. Lucky girl!!!

Today I have a very quick make to share with you - I almost missed the lavinia challenge - anyway I found one of their scenescapes and did some stamping on it.

Super quick card but I think it works well!

I'd like to enter this into the laviniastamps challenge-11.

Have a great Saturday!

Hugs

Rachel x

More Masterboard Makes

Hello Lovelies! Well I have more masterboard makes to share with you today - I'm involve in a monthly cardswap and the theme this month is upcycling - I have made a tongue in cheek attempt at this theme ...

What do you think??? I upcycled the cardboard box right??? Lol! I hope my swap partner has a sense of humour!

Here's a couple more quick Christmas makes that I have made for the Stampotique challenge.

I've been using my ATC's - I still have 3 left - I wonder what I'll do with them!

I want to enter these cards in stampotiquedesignerschallengequick and easy christmas-cards

I hope you have a great day!

Big Hugs 

Rachel x

masterboard cards

Hello lovelies! Thanks so much for your kind words on my tag yesterday - I really do appreciate it! Today I have the masterboard to show you that I made in response to the current paperartsy challenge. I have also used part of it to make some cards - the remainder has been cut into ATC size pieces - I will use it either for ATCs or toppers.

This is the masterboard - I followed leandra's brayering techiique to make this using the sept limited edition paints teresa green, granny smith, professor plum and captain peacock - all opaque paints.  I also used the snowflake opaque paint.

This close up also shows the stamps I used which are all paperartsy.

This is the first card I made using my masterboard.

These are the next two cards I made from the masterboard.

I would like to enter this all into the challenge paperartsy topic-22-masterboards-challenge

I really enjoyed this process and hope to make another masterboard soon!

Hugs

Rachel x

12 tags of christmas week 8

Hello lovelies! How are you? Have you been enjoying the cold? I hope so - I certainly have! More of that later!!!

Today I would like to share my take on Linda's 12-tags-of-christmas-week 8 tag sponsored by the thefunkiejunkie boutique. I was inspired by the colours and the banners. This is what I made:

I I've used two layering stencils from TH - the poinsettia on the kraft banners and the fluorish on the background.

I also cut the TH poinsettia from kraft card and used this to add to the tag.

Here's an arty shot! I would like to enter this into thefunkiejunkie challenge-12-tags-of-christmasweek 8

So I had a wonderful weekend at Waddow Hall with the Brownies - the weather - although cold was just perfect - big blue sky and sunshine.

This is the leaders team - we were all very happy at the end of the weekend - the brownies were brilliant! We did the zip wire at Waddow Hall and also did the Paddington bear badge whilst there - it was all good fun!

Have a great Tuesday!

Hugs

Rachel x

Winter frost!

Morning all! This is a scheduled post as I'm on Brownie camp - I hope its all gone well - we'll be coming back today - hopefully all has gone well!!!

Today I would like to share with you a card i have made to enter the current Crafty Individuals challenge - I hope i remember to link it up this month!

I used kraft card and versa mark ink with white embossing powder.

The main image is one of my faves from Crafty Individuals!

I also used TH dies to cut the letters. The snowflakes in the background are from Clarity.

craftyindividualsblog november-ci-challenge-winter-frost

Hope you have a great day!

Hugs

Rachel x

Winter blues at Indigo Blu

Good morning all! Time for a new challenge over at Indigoblublogchallenge where the theme is Winter blues. The prize is amazing - loads of choice of wonderful stamps - all you have to do use an indigo blu stamp and follow the winter blues theme - why not have a try??? Go on - join us!

These are the pieces i have been making for the challenge.

I have been having fun with the mdf-bauble-set. I painted each  bauble with a different shade of blue from the cottage paints. Grandmas teacup, townhouse teal and Park Lane (?). 

I used the snowglobe stamp on this one stamping in watering can archival ink and adding black sparkle embossing powder before heat setting.

This one uses the twinkle star stamp - stamped in flitterglu with snowy white embossing powder added and heat set.

On this one i used the free stamp from the first indigo blu magazine.

On the reverse I stamped the parcels.

Here's a look at the baubles again! Around each one I added flake - chocolate box.

I hope this has inspired you.

Big hugs 

Rachel x

Tim's tag November

Hello Lovelies! How are you doing? I hope you are managing in this weather - its been awful here - non-stop rain and we even had a flood in my village.


Its been shocking - I hope it gets better soon! The school playground was even under water! Imagine that!!!

So today I want to share with you my attempt at Tims tag this month - I've had two go's. The first one I made I didn't like the scale of things so I did another - here's Tims tag:



I really loved the techniques Tim used on his tag which you can find here. I had to improvise a bit but basically followed the techniques on both my tags.

Here's the second one I made:

I liked the result of this one - you can't see the background so well on this one - I used a script stamp instead of the hessian one that Tim used.

I do like the snowman blueprint that I decoupaged up.

He's a cutie pie!

Here#s the original tag I made - I love the background but because I used a size 10 tag the scale is all wrong - well it is to me!

I would like to enter my tags into timholtz12-tags-of-2015-november.

Hope you have a good day. We're off on Brownie holiday later today - looking forward to that!!

Big hugs rachel xx

More Blue for you!

Hello there! How are you? I hope you are all good and happy! Today I have my second post for Countryview challenges to remind you of their current challenge 'The colour Blue'. I have made another Christmas card and this time I got to play with the new Tim Holtz distress---paper-mosaic-kit. I really enjoyed it and would recommend the kit as a source of something a bit different!!! Here's what i did:

I created the background first using different shades of blue distress ink (chipped sapphire, salty ocean and weathered wood). In chipped Sapphire i went over the whole thing using Tim Holtz-ledger-script-stamp-set.. Then in watering can archival I stamped using tim-holtz-tree-line-stamp set. 

Next I added the deer cut  using an older die from Sizzix. First i had used the distress paper mosaic kit to make up the mosaics on a piece of card. I applied medium 1 - allowed it to dry then coloured ith with blue DI. Then I stuck on the blue paper pieces using medium 2 and finally after this was dry added medium 3 to the paper pieces - it gives them a relief not truely visible in this piece.

Here's a closer look! I also stamped the sentiment too.

I hope you have a great day!

Lots of love and hugs!!

rachel x

A fabulous day out at Indigo Blu

Hello Lovelies! How are you this morning? I hope you are well - and coping with the weather - its so very wet here and now cold too!!! Brrrrr!

On Saturday I went with my lovely blog buddy kezzy to Indigo Blu in Retford, north Notts. The course was being run by another lovely blog friend Jenny Marples and we were going to make her beautiful canvas.

We worked on the background in the morning - using many mixed media techniques - it was great to learn so many new things. In the afternoon we worked on the poppies - making them 3D using packaging of all things! Here's how mine worked out:

I'm so very pleased with this piece of art - I look forward to my living room being decorated so I can put it up!

I don't want to share too many details with you in case jenny is intending to run the course again - but if she is I would seriously recommend it. The venue was brilliant too and I think I will be back for more!

Have a great Tuesday!

Hugs

Rachel x

12 tags of christmas tag7

Good morning Lovelies!!! How are you? I'm back after a weekend away in Nottingham - I went down for a workshop at Indigo Blu in Retford - more of that tomorrow. But I'm back now! What have you got happening today? I'm supposed to be going to the gym - but my friend Julie has asked if I want to go to lunch for a catch up so thats what will be happening after coffeepot this morning!!!

So today I want to share with you my tag for the latest 12-tags-of-christmas challenge from Linda over at the thefunkiejunkie boutique who are sponsoring this challenge. Linda's tag was beautiful as always and I was inspired by the snowflakes. This is what I did.

Firstly I used versamark through the TH snowflake layering stencil - I then added white wow powder and heat set. next step was to add blue DI to create the rest of the background. I used tumbled glass, salty ocean and blueprint sketch.

Next I used kraft card to cut the snowflake using a TH die and used the accompanying embossing folder to emboss it. Then I swept lightly over the top with a chipped sapphire DI pad. Then I added the words cut with dies from TH and also added the lace. I would like to enter this into

12-tags-of-christmas - 7

Here's what was going on in my house the last few days of last week - I was having my open fire 

changed for a log burner

It may not look much but its so much safer - plus I have now removed the fireguard that Shaun made to protect the girls from the fire/hearth when they were learning to walk. It is a shame to lose that but my girls not longer need it. I now need to dismantle it and then I'll be able to burn it! I think Shaun would very much approve! Can't wait for the decorator!!!

Hugs

Rachel xx

Feature a postbox at Christmas card Club

Hello Lovelies! Well its time for another Christmas card club post - this time we have to feature a postbox and I have used a stamp set from Little Claire to make three Christmas cards.

I used a clarity aperture stencil after first stamping the image to add the blue inside the arch. 

Next I used a TH stencil to add the snowflakes whilst covering the postbox image. I also added the line around the arch.

The last addition was the greeting!

I will link this later!

Hugs

Rachel x

Winners post at A Vintage Journey

Good Morning Lovelies! How are you today? I hope you are good! I have a piece to share with you today that i made for the winners post over at A Vintage Journey - for those of you that don't know its a blog that really is a homage to all things Tim Holtz - the team produce amazing things - as you know i love my Mr Holtz goodies so it wasn't too difficult for me to join in! The theme of 'Baby you're a firework' left me wondering what to do but then I thought of this lovely Tim Die and got around to making this.

For full details of how I made it please go over for a visit to vintagejourney.

See you over there!

Hugs

Rachel xx

A commission card

Hello there! Thanks for your kind words on my make for penny - I'm sure she'll like it - especially after listening to all of you! Thankyou!!!

Today I have a commissioned 70th birthday to share with you. Its for a lady in my village - for another lady in my village - I'm pretty sure they don't read my blog so I think its safe to show it here!

This is the front but i think the main appeal is the accordion design - using the original Karen Burniston die from Sizzix.

I have used flower stamps from chocolate baroque, word stamps from Tim Holtz and dies from Die sire.

I've also used an embossing folder from embossalicious.

To make this I cut the four panels then embossed them. Next I added some DI then stuck the panels together. I cut the gold fronts then added them - next I stamped and coloured the flowers and cut them out and added them to the first and fourth panels. Finally i added the die cut ferns.

I hope jacque likes the card!

Have a great thursday - I'm hoping to take my mum and dad to see the christmas decs at a garden centre today and have lunch. I'll let you know!

Big hugs

Rachel xx