entry to clarity calendar challenge

Good morning lovelies! Well its the final day of April - how did that happen???? Here I am entering a challenge by the skin of my teeth! Its the claritystampchallenge -calendar-challenge-4 which saw me playing with acrylic paint and a brayer and stamping and masking! Here's my make:

There are a few differences between my make and barbaras' original - its done on card for a start - I didn't have the right sized canvas to play with so I thought this was a better idea - also I didn't have one of the required stencils - so used another Clarity stencil instead. 

I do rather like this result!

I wonder if you do? Or Barb for that matter!!

I would like to enter this into the claritystampchallenge calendar-challenge-4

Have a great Saturday - we're having a home day - looking forward to it!

Hugs

Rachel x

Coffee pot this week and a birthday gift!

Hello lovely people - how are you today? I hope you are feeling good although I hope you are keeping warm in this crazy cold weather. The woodburner has been on every night this week - its nearly may!!!!Lets hope May brings the good weather!

I have this weeks makes from coffeepot to share with you today - I was given the brief of a 70 year old male birthday card and on further discussion I ascertained said man was a gardener - so that was the theme we went for - I gave the ladies two options:

This first one uses some sheena stamps and dies. I used the top of the carrot die to create a rough wreath shape. Then I added the diecut shapes that had been stamped and coloured.

This one I adapted for my dad - the stamps are again from Sheena Douglass but they are from the dim and distant past when she designed for creative expressions! I suspect it would be tricky to get hold of these now but I don't know!I used old paper and evergreen bough for the background and treebranch archival to stamp the images and coloured with spectrum noir pencils.

So onto my make for my friend Alices birthday - its from a kit but I think very cute....

Sewing is not really my forte but I did enjoy putting this together - its a pin cushion - all of the sheep and bushes are pins!

Alice has a few Herdwick sheep so I choose the felt to reflect this.

And of course Herdy lambs are black ... so they are here too! Glad to report Alice loved it!

Big hugs to you and have a great day!

Rachel x

Simple cards at Chocolate Baroque

Hello there! Just a quick post today - I have a card over on the chocolate baroque blog today - its another 15 minute make....

This was a real simple one. I used distress inks to make the orangey background then stamped the Landscape edges stamped in black archival ink on top. I used water to faux bleach the cloud. I also added the birds and also stamped the sentiment.

A close up ... less than 15 mins to make! Great stamps really do speak for themselves!

Big hugs

Rachel x

Connie's card for Lavinia challenge

Hello there! How are you? I hope you are fine and happy - I am ok but my dad is not so good again - he keeps falling and the dementia is getting pretty bad at times although he can be perfectly lucid at others. They also think he has bowel cancer now too - poor dad - it certainly seems to be pouring down on him right now! Poor mum too - I think she's exhausted.

I made a card last night for the girl who's party Penny was at on Sunday - its her birthday today - she loves cats and sparkle and the colour orange - so I thought I would combine all three with a late entry for the Lavinia Glitter it challenge. I've added my entry here. If you get chance please give me a like - would be good to get through to judging!

Here's the complete card - I made the background using torn paper and  rust adirondack ink applied with a stencil brush.

I masked off the sun then added more colour later. The vegetation was stamped in either rust or ripe persimmon.

I added glitter around some of the vegetation.

The cats were stamped in black archival - as was the sentiment.

All cat and vegetation stamps are from Lavinia.

I do hope Connie likes the card!

Big hugs to you!

Rachel x

masking at Clarity

Hello lovelies! Well how are you this morning? I hope you are well. I had a good day yesterday - busy as usual but good - today is much quieter - I'll be making teas and coffees at the village institute this morning - and its school library this afternoon.

Last night I finally got around to making my entry for the current clarity challenge - this month its all about masking  - well I ummed and ahed and scratched my head - then I remembered that I had to make my sisters 50th birthday card - so thats what I did.

I stamped the chickens then masked them - then used a homemade stencil with the 50 on and inked on in ripe persimmon. Then I masked to do the yellow and brown and overlaid the wire stencil. I also added the star stamp detail to the 50. Finally I added the words using the clarity alphabet stamps.

I unmasked the chickens and coloured them with shades already in the picture.

I', quite pleased with this one - and I'm sure Jacqui will like it!

I'd like to enter this into claritystampchallenge-38.

Have a really nice day!

Big hugs

Rachel x

Coffee pot from last week ...

Hello all! I hope you are well and happy! I had a lovely weekend - we went to visit my mum and dad on Saturday and then Sunday I had a few hours with Lucy as Penny was at a friends birthday party. Me and Lucy went off up to Brockhole near ambleside and had a great time - and also booked her birthday party for the summer.

   

I don't know why that tongue has to pop out on selfies but it seems to!!!

Anyway - I just realised I haven't posted my makes I did at coffeepot last week - it was a gelli plate background making week - and these are the two cards I did at the session:

all of the stamps are from visible image - and the backgrounds were made using distress inks on a gelli plate - they were applied directly then spritzed with water and smooshed using clingfilm!

I made a few backgrounds and will be using them up in the near future I am sure!

Big hugs to you!

Rachel xx

More Blue at Oak House studio

Hello there - time to show you my next make with my lovely goodies from oakhousestudio. I loved making this one - so much fun! I started by making an A4 background using blue jeans and Peacock-Green-Pure-Colour-Chemistry-inks. I used them direct to a craft sheet then used card to mop them up with - the colours all ran and blended into each other - then I dried them off with a heat gun. I used this sheet to cut lots of foliage.

I arranged the foliage on a sheet of kraft card then stamped the large rose  from the-Texture-Squares stamps. I stamped them using the Blue-SkiesTriple-Colour-Chemistry-Pigment-Ink pad.

Next I fussy cut them and added them to the foliage...

Finally I stamped the Take-time-to-smell-the-roses-sentiment.

The stamps are so versatile - and those inks are fabulous - love them! You can see my post here and there are many more posts this month to inspire you!

Thanks to Lynnda for this opportunity. 

Big hugs

Rachel x

Spring at Countryview Craft: Reminder post

Hello there! How are you today? I hope you are well and happy. If not sending hugs. Today I am incharge of the reminder post at Countryview challenges - the theme this month is spring and I have made a spring themed box ...or should I say decorated! The box was already made!

I used mostly products from paperartsy - fresco paint in zucchini, banana and snowflake and eclectica-paperartsy-stencil-elb-62309 and eclectica-rubber-stamp-sheet-by-lin-brown---elb26-62288.

I started off by using grungepaste through the eclectica  stencil on all sides.  Once dry I coated everything in zucchini fresco paint and let that coat dry. Then I added the banana on the daisy tops and snowflake on the daisy petals.

I used the stamp set through the stencil to add detail to the daisy tops. I added further stamp details in distress pens and also using the stem stamp.

I added further vegetation from the stamp set close to the daisy and stamped the words on paper and cut out and added to the box.

I also added treasure gold to some of the raised areas.

I hope you can join in with our challenge at countryviewchallenges where the prize this month is a complete set of paperartsy infusions.

Wish I could enter!!!

Big hugs and have a great day!

Rachel xx

Tims tag April '16

Hello Lovelies! How are you this morning?I hope you are well! I am feeling good and ready for another busy day. I am shifting wood this morning (weather permitting) then its gardening club, lunch and sorting for a jumble sale tomorrow at school - tonight I have more sorting going on in our drama costume storage area. So it will be a busy day! Talking of weather - its been glorious but has seriously been messing with my blogging abilities - so sorry if I've not visited for a short while - I have been making the most of the sunshine!

Today I would like to share my make for tims tag this month - details here.



I really liked tims tag - but I am less keen on my version - here it is:

I basically followed tims method for the mosaic bottle but went back to the original method for the paint resist. I love this background stamp - its fabulous.

Here's a closer look!

I would like to enter this into timholtz12-tags-of-2016-april.

Have a great day!

Big hugs

Rachel x

Spring is in the air at Indigo Blu

Good morning all! How are you today? I hope you are well and happy! Today is the first day for a new challenge over at indigoblublogchallenge - the theme this month is Spring is in the air. I love spring time and love making spring time projects too - today I've gone all floral and decorated an apron.

I've used the giant-peony stamp set to decorate the apron and the following english cottage art acrylic paints:

banana-custard, townhouse-teal, ruby-slippers and peppermint-tea. I stamped the images first then painted them - and once dry set the paint by ironing.

Here's a closer look...

closer still ...

And me modelling the apron - better not give up my day job!! Lol!

I hope you feel inspired by this make and will join us at indigoblublogchallenge this month!

Big Hugs

Rachel x

coffee pot today

Hello Lovelies! Much excitement here at Fisher Towers - well for me anyway - I managed my triathlon and didn't quite come last - although very nearly - 205/207!!!! I did go wrong on the run and actually would have done slightly better if I hadn't! But nevermind - I still am very chuffed with the whole thing and look forward to getting a little better in the next one in September!!!

Some pictures from the event...

This is the transition area where you rack your bikes - as you can see it was a heavy frost!

This is me getting my numbers

Looking very scared whilst we had our briefing!

A bit more relaxed!

At around mile 11 - smiling!

Exhausted - on the uphill section of the run! Not a good look!

We had a lovely Saturday too - we went to my friend Alisons wedding - and as she was a brownie leader we made a brownie arch for her coming out of church.



It was very lovely - Alison looked stunning!

Today I want to share with you what we're doing at coffee pot today - we're going to make some gelli backgrounds and then use some visible image stamps to turn them into cards - this is what we're going to be heading towards although all makes will be very different.

I will try and get some pictures so you can see how the ladies got on!!

Have a good day whatever you're doing!

Big hugs

Rachel xx