CCC: Kate's choice: Christmas animals!

Hello there! How are you? I am a day early this fortnight for the Christmas card club where the theme is Christmas animals ....I could have gone on and on with this one Kate ...thanks for a great theme! I made 4 cards mostly using hobbyart stamps!

Hobby art stamps onto watercolour card and then I painted him with distress ink...I also washed the background. I then masked and stamped the tree ...one from paperartsy!

A hobbyart polar bear along with snowflakes! I used versamark to stamp the flakes and heat set white embossing powder before using distress over the top to colour the background. The polar bear was stamped on card ...I washed the background then stamped the happy holidays stamp from TH. I thought it looked like he had just eaten a big christmas dinner!!!

Back to a brusho background and tracy easson's hares...

and finally more polar bears from hobby art!

I hope you have a great day!

Hugs

Rachel x

Happy Easter

Hello there and wishing you a very Happy Easter! We haven't got much planned but are looking forward to some family time! This is the card I made for my mum!

I have used stamps from indigoblu and stamped onto watercolour card. I painted the images in luscious powder mixed with water.

We are going to the Sandcastle swimming pool at Blackpool this morning - we won tickets in the summer and are finally getting to use them!!!

Have a great day!

Hugs

Rachel x

second make from the Indigoblu weekend

Hello there! How are you? I hope you are well and happy! I am good and enjoying a week of Lucy time .... she has been off this week and Pen doesn't finish until tomorrow...so its been nice ... and will get very nice tomorrow!!!

I wanted to share the other make from my weekend! Its a tando creative folder ....lots of cogs, black gesso, luscious powder and fun!

Here's the cover!!!!

We played around with a few pages too - this is one double page that got mostly complete....

This is a pair of backgrounds....not sure how I will use them!

A great fun make!!!

Hugs

Rachel xx

A lovely dirty weekend with Indigoblu on tour!

Hello there! How are you? I do hope you are well and happy and have been enjoying the sunshine today. Its been beautiful here today - I took my eldest and my mum up to Brockhole in the lakes where we had a lovely day!

Back to my fabulous weekend with Kay and Alfie of Indigoblu and Lou Withers ...and 24 other ladies!!! Our first project was this painting....this is the finished piece....

As you can probably imagine it took quite a lot of getting to here...we all used an indigoblu stencil to do our portraits but all ended up with quite different results. Here are a few of the steps!!!

a very scary start ....I didn't really believe we were going to get anywhere at this point...

The belief was begining to set in at this point ....

Here I was feeling more confident ...

and yes by now I just wanted to get the hair on!!!!!

I did lots of colours ....

then added some white ...and finally added the splats once I got home!

If you have the opportunity and are not an artist please try this course - it really worked - at least I thought it did!

Big hugs

Rachel xx

Another postcard for Countryview challenges

Hello there! How are you today? I do hope you are well! I've got another postcard to share with you today - its for the theme over at Countryview challenges this month where Sue asked us to make something 4x6 i.e post card sized! Last time I chose the Hare image from Sheena Douglass and for this second postcard I did a matching card with the Fox image.

I used pencils to colour the image, masked him and then created the background in distress inks (aged mahogony and weathered wood). After this I did some tone in tone overstamping, paint splashing, paint circles and stamped the word FOX. 

He's a fabulous fox - no doubt!!!!

Hopefully you can join in with the challenge - there's still a few days left and you can link up here.

Big hugs

Rachel xxx

Toucan party better than 1

Hello there! How are you? I hope you are doing well! I have been playing with the stamp set of the month from Hobby Art - they include toucans and lots of leaves and I couldn't resist when I saw the offer! Here's the card I made.

The toucans are so sweet aren't they? And the leaves, flowers and vines are fabulous!

Have a great day!

Hugs

Rachel x

First card with newish sheena stamps and dies

Hello there! How are you? I am good and have been playing with some newish stamps and dies from sheena - plus distress inks and oxides.

I used broken china, peeled paint and antique linen oxides to make the background... I painted the poppies and leaves in the corresponding distress inks using my water brush...

here's a closer look at the main flower - I cut the flowers then stamped ...I didn't get the stamps lined up perfectly but it was close enough! 

Big Hugs and have a fab day!

Rachel xx

A painty day with Trish Latimer

Hello there! How are you? I hope you've all had a good weekend! I had - a fabulous day with Trish Latimer crafting at Rowan Tree Crafts. It was such fun and Trish is such a lovely relaxed lady! She was super generous too - she made us all a roll with a fabric of her design and in the roll were her pencils of choice for doing british rose skin tones plus a black fine liner and water brush!

How lucky were we? We also got a whimsical girl of our choice and a set of brand new background stamps!

The class was fabulous - I managed to make three pieces....

This was the first one I did - I chose the colours to suit my Lucy ...I followed all of trish's instructions ....

I made this one next - in Penny's colours .... I went a bit off piste here ...but basically the same ideas.

And then finally this one which I did in colours for my mum....

All my family loved my makes ...and are very happy with their gifts!!!

If you get the chance do try a Trish class - you won't regret it. 

Hugs

Rachel xx

CCC: Christmas flowers

Hello there! I am the host at the Christmas Card club today and I chose the theme Christmas flowers. I had decided I wanted to use some of that foamiran stuff thats doing the rounds at the moment but I wasn't overimpressed with it and ended up falling back on my stamping!! Here are the cards I made - 5 this time!

Like I said I already I wanted to play with the foamiran ....so out came the tattered poinsettia die and the iron and the grey stazon too.

I used an embossing folder and in the top one a piece of Clarity paper too.

Next I moved on to some paint fusion stamps - only I decided to use inks - and I was thrilled with the way these turned out...Christmas roses - love them! The stamped verse is from Alison Bombers paperartsy set...there are a few!

Finally I did a Cardi-o- style card using the mini rabbits that Lucy bought me for mothers day...

Thought you might like to see this picture ....best friends indeed! Shadow is such a character and the girls both adore her!

Have a great day!

Hugs Rachel xx

More Pottery Painting

Hello there! How are you? I am good although a little tired after my 5 and 1/2 hour stint housekeeping yesterday - no breaks - unless you count my back at the end of it!!! Lol! I don't know but I certainly have earned a new respect for anyone who does this permanently!!!

I went for a run with my club this morning - then, after a bit of stuff at home I ventured out to Potty Roos to carry on working on a piece I started last Monday - and whilst there I picked up my lollipop flower teapot and milk jug. Here it is!

I really love this design - loved painting them and now I will enjoy using them - hopefully for a very long time!!!

I'm off on a course tomorrow with Trish Latimer at Rowan Tree Crafts. I'll let you see the fruits of my labour asap - but its using her whimsical girl stamps!!!

Have a great weekend!

Big hugs!

Rachel xx

Cake

I think I must be feeling the after effects of my afternoon tea on Sunday ....because todays card has a definite theme!

Love all these whimsical characters from Elenazinski art from paperartsy!!!The background is distress oxides and I have used posca pens to colour most of the stamped images although the chefs hat was paper pieced!

I would like to enter this for paperartsy-topic-4-whimsy-challenge

Hope you're having a good day!

Rachel xx

Happy Mothers Day!

Hello there! How are you? I do hope you have had a great Mothers Day - a special hug to those of you that find this a difficult day.I have had a lovely time with my mum and girls. We went out for the day spending most of it in Grange Over Sands and then going for afternoon tea in Kirkby Lonsdale.
My girls treated me very well getting me crafty goodies and making a mouse from the cat!!!



I bought my mum flowers and paperartsy stamps - she was very happy and really looking forward to playing with them.

Talking of paperartsy, their challenge this fortnight is Whimsy - I decided to firstly play with those fabulous sheeples!

Here they are playing in the field .....jumping for joy in spring ..... I've also used my new Kay Carley stencil to help create the scene.

Oh I love these little characters!!!!

I would like to enter this into the hpaperartsy challenge topic-4-whimsy

Enjoy the rest of the day!

Hugs

Rachel xx

That bowl and other CB makes

Hello there! How are you? I do hope you are well. Sending hugs if not! Well there has been movement on the job front. I did a housekeeping (cleaning to you and me) work trial yesterday and should be getting 2-3 days per week starting next week or the one after! Its a start - not really me but hey! Should keep me in craft items at least!

So here's some more makes from Tuesdays Chocolate Baroque show.

Here's the bowl - I really did enjoy making it. I did it at my local Pottery painting place - pottyroos in Morecambe. Deb who runs it is really lovely. I stamped the design in distress inks and then painted over them. Its best to choose a colour that contrasts with the paints - the ink all burns off in the kiln. 

Here's the inside! 

I am going to try some paperartsy stamps next!!!

Here's another piece I made that - I saw this on set on the back shelves - it didn't really get any airtime! Nevermind!

Anyway! Have a good day. I am off for a short run before a 10K that I'm doing on Saturday - its going to be a tough one!

Big hugs

Rachel x

born in a barn?

Hello my lovelies - thanks so much for all your comments on yesterdays post and shows - I will put the bowl on a post soon - it certainly seemed popular!

Last Saturday I managed to get to the show at Leigh and bought myself a few new stamps - like I need any! Anyway, here's what I have made with the Barnowl set from HobbyArt.

He really is a super image - the grasses all came with him and I masked him before stamping them.  I had also masked the moon and completed the background using stencil brushes at this point! The final thing I did was the painting which I did using distress inks as water colours, and last of all stamp the verse from Alison Bomber at paperartsy.

Here's a closer look - such a fine owl!.

I should like to enter this into sirstampalotchallenge march-challenge.

Here are my goodies from Leigh - I have used the JOFY stamps already too - but the Kay Carley stencil hasn't been used yet - nor the lovely zini!!!

Hope you are having a good day - I am off out for a run (more of a shuffle actually) but its all good!

Big hugs

Rachel xx

Chocolate Baroque on Hochanda today!

Hello hello hello! How are you? I do hope you are okay! Lesley and Judith are back on Hochanda today at 10am and 2pm. The stamps are stunning....I really hope you can tune in - and maybe have a wee look out for my samples....here's a sneak preview.....

Here's the full card!!!

and again!!!

and finally

I hope thats teased you into tuning in! 

Big hugs

Rachel xx

Coffeepot

Hello there! I do hope you are well! Its coffeepot this morning and this is what I have in store for the ladies....

We are going all musical! Stamps by Donna Ratcliff at Crafters companion...all the techniques are the same....

I started by stamping the image and colouring in using distress inks then fussy cutting.

Next came the backgrounds...I used colours from each image but this time in distress oxides to create the backgrounds.

I also included overstamping in the backgrounds in the distress oxides already used. 

I do hope they are going to enjoy themselves!

Big hugs

Rachel xx