Blessed are the curious

Hello there! How are you? I've been playing some more with the 'theories stamp set from Tim Holtz and have made another card - I love the sentiment on this - Blessed are the curious for they shall have adventures.... brilliant and oh so very true!!!

I made the tag background first, using distress oxides and overstamping with the aall&create stamps in green ink. Then I used the TH theories stamps in black. I mounted the tag onto black card. Next on the card itself I used brushos and some CB stamps and created the background with black archival plus distress oxides for the stamping.

A simple card but I just love this stamp!

Have a great day!

Hugs

Rachel x

Back from Pottyroos

Afternoon all and brrrrr!!!!! How chilly is it? Very chilly where I live and although we don't have snow - yet - I think its on the way. If its like this where you are please keep warm!!!!

I've been off to Pottyroos again this morning - doing some DT work and started on a teapot to match the items below that I made last week on a course called 'lollipop flowers'...

A sugar bowl and a flour shaker.... all painted to match my green kitchen!!!

The lollipop flowers are really sweet....

I love my flour shaker ....this will be useful too with all the baking going on!

Hope you have a great day!

Hugs

Rachel xx

cakes!

Hello there! How are you? I am feeling a little better - thanks for your kind words - still coughing etc..but feeling less fuzzy headed!!! Maybe thats because its not morning! Anyway! I have had a good day - enjoyed the sunshine with the other 261 running ladies...we worked on sprints today - lots of fun - I enjoyed the sprinting more than the rest of the run which surprised me! This afternoon I worked on the final cake for the next few months I hope!!! So much sugar in the house! I have decided to try a sugar free March - I'll let you know how that goes!!! After making the final cake I made a card reflecting my mood!!!

Hee hee - love these new stamps from elenazinski at paperartsy....the theme there this fortnight is watercolour so I water coloured the chef in watercolour pencils and the cake in distress oxides and distress inks....

The background is, of course distress oxides, I love these colours together!

Here's the cake - some of the colours are a bit muted and haven't shown up well but I guess thats watercolouring for you...sometimes bright, sometimes not!

I would like to enter the challenge at paperartsy where the theme is watercolours.

Hope you've had a great day.... oh and here's the final cake!!!

See why I need sugar free March???

Hugs

Rachel x

Choose to shine

Hello there! How are you today? I am full of cold but at least I managed to sleep well last night so thats a bonus! I am waiting for the buttercream to harden on another cake creation just now ... so i thought I would bob on here and post a card I made on Saturday....but before I do that I must post some pics of Penny's birthday cake....I was very pleased with it!

   

...and so was Penny bless her!!!The flowers were done in icing using moulds, the whole cake is inspired by one on the lakeland website....lots of fun to make!

Here's the card....

Distress oxide background and simple stamping using the theories stamp set from Tim Holtz and a stamp set from the lovely Tracy Evans at All and create.

This is one for the stash!

Nothing to report on the job front; more rejections and more applications in but nothing positive just yet! I'll keep trying!!!

Big hugs

Rachel xx

Weekend class at Cumbria Crafters

Hello there! On Saturday my girls, my mum and I all trooped up to Lindale to see Jo Rice and do her monthly class. She is such a lovely lady! We were using HobbyArt stamps this time and have some great results to share with you.....

This is the first one - I chose to use my stamps differently from Jo ....this was her sample card.

Next up we played with brushos..... this is my make...I pretty much followed jo's idea...

This is Jo's

The final card I made colouring in using colour bursts from Ken Oliver...

This is Jo's original...

The final thing we did was to make our own ATC's which we swapped...

Quite a mix of cards made - we are going to be doing this each time - I love these.... all so different!

A grand day out for us all!

Big hugs

Rachel x

Penny's birthday

My little Penny is 10 today - it hardly seems possible! And yet so much has happened in her small life. Still she is a happy child and I am thankful! Her card that I made is all about her love of singing - currently her favourite is 'Never Enough' from the Greatest Showman.

I have combined a stencil from Leonie Pujol with a stamp from visible image. In the background I have also used a stencil from dutch doobadoo in the background.

The colours reflect Penny's other love - the sea!

I have made cakes for her class on the sea theme ...

Mermaid tails in icing.....not perfect but hey - they will do!

I do hope you have a good day!

Hugs

Rachel xx

Still not cute!

Hello there! How are you? I hope you are well and happy! I am posting over on the Countryview Challenges blog today - the challenge theme there this month is Anything but cute...you can link up your projects here.

My project today is a card - using stamps and stencils from aallandcreate. I have used 6x6-stencil words, 6x6-stencil compass, aall-and-create-clear-stamp-set-12. Here's what I did .... I started by using the compass stencil and gold soft relief paste.

Once dry I set to and inked this up using distress inks in a variety of shades of green. I also did a little flicking with water.

Next I added mostly text stamps from the Tracy Evans stamp set plus a little stencilling using the other 6x6 stencil mentioned above.

Once happy I cut it down and mounted the picture - I also waited for a sunny day to take the picture of the card - I needed this really for the light I think!!

So there it is!

I do hope you can join our challenge this month! Hugs Rachel xx

CCC: Rudolph and friends

Hello there! How are you? I hope you are well! Today is the next Christmas Card Club for me and the theme this time is Rudolph and friends..... I have made 4 cards using deer .... they are all quite different so I will take them one at a time and share the stamp makers and other details with you....

This one is made using Sheena Douglass stamps ...I stamped the deer then masked and stamped another, masked again then stamped the trees...I masked them and masked the moon then inked the sky using distress ink and stencil brushes. Lastly I removed all the masks and coloured the images and added the bow.

This one is made using a stamp set from paperartsy (scrapcosy). I stamped the deer image 4 times then masked and added the colour and tone in tone stamping on either side. Finally I added the colour to the deer.

This one is made using Tim Holtz stamps. I created the background then overstamped the scene.

Finally this one - the distress oxide background was created first then the Indigoblu stamp was added. The sentiment is from the same Tim Holtz set as made the card above.

I hope you have a great day

Big hugs

Rachel xx

Anniversary card: China

Hello there! I was recently asked to make an anniversary card to celebrate a 20th Wedding anniversary. This is traditionally called a 'China' anniversary and since it coincided with the chinese new year I decided to go with oriental as a theme.

Its one of those box cards ...I utilised lots of stamps from both chocolate baroque and sheena douglass. Sadly I didn't photograph all sides as they were all different! Anyway, you get the general idea! I hope the recipient liked it! Hugs rachel xx

Playing with Seth Apter paints

Hello there! Well I mentioned I had been playing with some Seth Apter paperartsy paints in a post earlier this week ....and now I have managed to finish the card I was making using the other piece of the master board I created..... here's the masterboard in creation....

I used the following paints and applied them with my brayer until I was happy with what I had created.... Butter, Double denim, Magic Moss, Blue Lagoon, Key lime, green patina..

I then added paint circles and lines mostly using butter but also doubling up with the double denim....

At this point I was hoping to use the new sheep stamps....but they are yet to arrive ...so I went back to the new Kay Carley ones and created a card...

Here's the final look... I used a Kay Carley stencil too and bumped the stencil creating a double 3d effect... Stamping was done in paint and lastly in ink and I fussy cut those flowers!!!

Here's a closer look! Some white highlghting too. 

I want to enter this into the challenge at paperartsy topic-2-new-seth-apter-fresco

Have a great Friday!

Hugs

Rachel xx

Coffeepot february

Hello there! I am a little late in showing what we did for our coffeepot session last week - one of my ladies had requested using some particular stamps and these are the samples I made up as examples ....

This one I made during the session - just to show layering the flower and the distress oxide background.

This was one I prepared before the ladies arrived .... its all about masking!

This is one that developed because I wanted to play more with my new Kay Carley stamps. I stamped in versamark and heat set clear powder. The flowers were then coloured in metallic pencils.

The ladies all had a go at this final one and some went on to do a scene using these stamps too!

Hope you have a great day!

Big hugs

Rachel xx

More felting - a bluetit

Hello there! I went to a course on Saturday to make a needle felted bluetit - it was with Diana Brock from Quirky Woodlands - she is so good...a lovely lady and an amazing teacher... here's my little birdie!

 

I am very pleased with him ... he is a tad thin but thats okay - his markings are as close to reality as I could make .... he's also sitting on a little ceramic pot that has 'moss' coming out of it! I am looking forward to having a go by myself at another type of bird...I might go for a goldfinch as they really are very distinctive!

Big hugs!

Rachel xx

Tripps card

Hello there! How are you? I do hope you are well! I have been playing with some Seth Apter paints because of the current challenge at Paperartsy and I have used part of the masterboard I created to make a birthday card for my nephew Tripp... he's going to be three not until May but I managed to see him last weekend so took my card to his mum!!!

The little aliens are from a stamp set by woodware - I do like these little fellas and think they worked well with the background!!! More about that in my next post!!!

Big hugs

Rachel xx

Sculptural spoons with Priscilla Edwards

Hello there! How are you? I want to tell you about a workshop I went on at Rowan Tree Crafts on Wednesday morning. It was run by local artist priscilla Edwards and was making spoons from wire, fabric and wax. Such a fabulous time - and I got to meet Ruth Mescall and Chris from Pearshaped crafting too. It was just lovely!

These are the spoons that everyone at the workshop made...

and this is mine - its now hanging up in the kitchen!

And here's Ruth, me and Chris!

A grand morning - I can see I will be doing some more of this!!! Big hugs.

Rachel xx

More Chocolate Baroque samples

Hello there! How are you? I do hope you are well. I wanted to share a few more of my samples from Tuesday's Chocolate Baroque show with you today....

I loved making this one - I stamped on black and coloured in spectrum noir metallic pencils...

loved making this one too - lots of repeat stamping here plus fussy cutting - and that oxide background!!!

I found this paper in a pack from indigoblu that my mum gave me - I thought it was a good one for a new home card!

Big hugs Rachel xx

Inspiration post at Stamps and stencils

Hello there! I hope you are doing well! I am over at the stamps and stencils blog today with an inspirational post ... wel I hope its inspirational anyway ... this is what I have made...

If you want to learn how I did it please follow the link.

Have a fabulous day!

Hugs

Rachel x

Its party time - almost!

Hello there! How are you? I do hope you are well and happy! My job search has intensified and I am glad to report I do actually have an interview this week.... on Thursday ...its for a job as a gift packer - I will have to wait and see how that goes! Lots of applications in too. Plus there's a job day on Thursday afternoon at a local farm village - so I will probably go along to that and see what happens!

Today I want to share with you the 'party bags' I have created for Penny's birthday party later in the month. She decided she wanted an 'ancient elements' theme...she and Lucy have been busy making activities for Earth, Air, Fire and water.... I have yet to really fully understand all of the activities but I hope I do find out soon! I think we may be decorating candles at some point... oh and I have to make an antigravity cake too! Oh joy!

Here are two of the four bags - as you can see I utilised my clarity stamps to make the bags which will be given out at the start of the party filled with bits and bobs plus game material! 

A closer look! To decorate the bags  I first added gesso in four squares on the bags then stamped each image in paints and then filled in more of the details in paint! I think they look pretty cool!

Have a great day - and indeed week!

Hugs

Rachel x