Vintage Robin Christmas Card

Good morning. Today I want to show you another one of my TV Samples from the Gingerbread Twist CD. I have to say I think this one of my favourite cards ever! I just love everything about it which is really unusual for me as normally I'm not that bothered about my makes! I struggled to give this one away :(

What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by today.

Claire x

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Top Tip Tuesday - Recycle It (corrugated card from an old box)

I wanna tell ya a story........

So grab a coffee and settle in for a long post!!! It's time for another challenge over at Stampotique and this week we're challenging you to use Mustard, Orange & Navy. Yep I groaned too, but I actually think the combo works really well even if it did have me ripping my hair out wondering what on earth to do!

It would've been oh so simple had I planned ahead and used the C&S card that I made for CASual Friday's the other week, but oh no little Miss Disorganised merrily created a card for that challenge and blogged without even looking at the forth-coming challenges for Stampotique!!! Eeek lesson learned!

Then I made the fatal mistake of catching a glimpse of what the other girls had done and full scale panic set in (Pop over to them to have a look and you'll see what I mean!). So I gave myself a slap and tried to focus on the project for several days in a row and....... Nothing!! Dontcha just hate it when that happens??

Then, just when I'd given up all hope I spotted a picture several times on various  Pinterest board's for a salt scrub which I thought would make pretty nice Christmas gifts for my girlfriends. This then led to much googling of various homemade scrub and beauty recipes (I know you're wondering where this is going, but hang in there with me!?) and eventually I hit upon a brown sugar and honey one which immediately sparked an idea for this project! So there you have it the secret to my creative thought processes - just genius huh? Rofl! :D

Anyway, this is what I've eventually come up with, not fantastic, but it fits the challenge! I hope you'll be kind after all my pain - lol!

I started off by sterilising an empty screw lid jar and ensuring that all of the adhesive used to hold the label on with had been removed. The scrub was then made up loosely based upon this recipe (I made a larger quantity, and used olive oil and some almond and orange extract for fragrance and adjusted the texture of the scrub by adding a little more sugar). Once the mix had been placed into the jar and I'd made sure that the lid was on firmly (believe me this is essential!!!) the jar was cleaned up with an acetone nail polish remover to get rid of every last trace of oil.

I then inked some cardstock with Distress Ink and scanned the background into my computer before using the Freezer Paper Technique to print it onto some fabic. A single flower from Daisy Daisy was then stamped randomly over the fabric before ironing to set the inks. I used a cereal bowl as a template to cut the fabric into a circle. The edges were lightly frayed (if you don't want the edges to fray at all, simply run some PVA around the edge before cutting.

Next I stamped Big Bee several times onto some white shrink plastic, coloured with pencils. Once shrunk I added Glossy Accents to the bodies and Stickles to the wings. These were attached either end of some jute twine which I then used to secure the fabric jar cover.

I didn't want to waste the inky background paper that I'd made to create the fabric with, so I made a tag card with my Sizzix Tag Die. To create a little more interest, I sponged Distress Inks through a piece of sequin waste and knocked back the colour in places by dry brushing with Gesso. I then used some navy paint on the end of a paint brush to add more interest.

The word BEE was created from some old paper scrabble tiles that I've had kicking around in my stash for ages - they've simply been inked and then punched with a circle punch, before being given a layer of Glossy Accents. I then used some blue ink to stamp the Grass before attaching more of the shrink plastic bees.

Well I think that's about it, well done if you managed to stay with me - told ya it was an epic post!!! Thanks for stopping by today.

Claire xxx

I'd like to enter this project into the following challenges:
Make It Monday - Anything Goes
Inspire Me Fridays - Anything Goes
Top Tip Tuesday - Recycle It

Building Igloo's!!

It's time for another challenge over at Polka Doodles and this week we want to see a bird on your creation. As you've probably noticed I'm in full Christmas mode at the moment and when I spotted this adorable little penguin on the Here Comes Christmas CD I knew I had to find a project to use him/her in. As luck would have it Emma Canning also released some Chrimbo cuties and I thought that Snow Race would fit perfectly on the card I had in mind! The only thing was I couldn't find an Igloo digi, so I thought I'd make my own - I have to say I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. What do you think?

The card base is of course a simple stepper card. I roughly sketched the igloo onto white card and then cut out each individual ice block. To give an icy look to the blocks I edged them with Distress Ink and Stickles before gluing them onto place on the back step of the card. I then tore several strips of white card to create the snow banks and again edged them with DI's and Stickles.

All of the images have been coloured with Promarkers and accents added with Sakura Glitter Pens and a Sakura Glaze Pen (I cannot recommend these pens highly enough). They've then been mounted onto the card using foam pads. The sentiment comes from the Here Comes Christmas CD and has been die cut with my Oval Nesties. To finish I added some fabric snowflakes that I found in the pound store and then glued some blue gemstones into the centres.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend. We've got a friends birthday party to attend, so I have a feeling that I may have sore head come Sunday!

Thanks for stopping by today.

Claire x

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Aud Sentiments Challenge - Christmas
Paper Crafting Journey - Anything goes
Just Keep On Creating - Christmas
Creative Card Crew - Christmas
Papertake Weekly - Anything goes
Through The Craft Room Door - Anything goes
Crafty Cardmakers - Anything goes
Fashionista Challenge - Kids
Make It Monday - Anything goes

Piñata Bunny Meets The Monsters!

Today's the day!!! That's right folks it release day over at Stampotique. You finally get the chance to buy some (or all) of the lovely rubber we've been showing you over the past few days. Today I thought I'd show you a different take on the oh so cute  7302 "Hung Out To Dry" bunny and another new stamp from Kira 4024 "Line Up"  (I'll apologise in advance if I've managed to offend anyone, especially Maria as I'm not sure this how she envisaged him being used, but I blame the monsters!!).

So there you have it! One oh so cute bunny that's now not quite as cute and a very guilty looking monster in the line up! I have to say both of these new releases are just brilliant as you can use them in so many ways. I'll be blogging some more of my new release makes over the next few days/weeks.

For our last little surprise, all of those who have hopped with us this week and today will be eligible for our random drawing of a winner to get some new release goodies.  We will choose our winner next week before our next challenge. Almost the entire team is hopping and sharing some creations, so we hope that you will join us.  If you've not started the hop yet, then you need to go to Sam's blog and follow the directions from there. If you're already hopping then you should have arrived here from Jo Capper-Sandon's blog and your next port of call is Kaz Boughton's blog.

Enjoy the hop and thanks for stopping by today.

Claire x

Stamps:                                                                                                                                             
7302 "Hung Out To Dry"
4024 "Line Up"
3031 "Abstract Foliage"
9163 Stones & Grass Cube
3002 Daisy Daisy
6090 Picket Fence

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Haunted House Designs - Bare Bones
The Octopode Factory - How Does Your Garden Grow

We Three Kings.....

This another of my samples that appeared on the launch show for the new Studio 12 Picknix Collection 2 - Gingerbread Twist CD. I managed to make quite a few samples with the CD and will blog them over the next few days/weeks as and when I find time.

This card came about purely by accident to be honest. I was nosing through all the different sections on the CD and found one marked cutting files. Now as you all know I am lusting after an electronic cutting machine, but currently I don't have the funds nor the space for one, so I thought I'd torture myself and take a look at what I'd be missing out on! Well can you imagine how excited I was when I realised that the folder had amongst other things some PNG files and then to find this gorgeous image hidden amongst them ?? :D It was a proper Tena lady moment I can tell you!

I thought it would be rude not to use the image on a card, so this is what I did with it. Sadly in my excitement I completely forgot to add a sentiment to the card blank before mounting and attaching the image - doh! So I had to add it afterwards (kicks herself!!!).

The background is of course inked with Distress Inks and I've used a white gel pen to add some highlights to the image to make it pop a little.

So are you starting to get a feel for what the CD is about now? I do hope so, cos CD's get such bad PR and  to be honest the only limits to creating with them is your imagination!

Thanks for stopping by today.

Claire x

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Inspire Me Fridays - Anything Goes
Aud Sentiments - Christmas or Holiday Sentiment
Charisma Cards - No embellishments
Paper Crafting Journey - Anything goes
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
The Perfect Sentiment - Anything goes
Creative Card Crew - Christmas

Mixed Media Wall Hanging

So did you watch the show? What did you think? Surprised that CD crafting isn't quite what some of you thought? Are you converted to CD crafting yet? Did you manage to spot any of my samples and more importantly did you figure out what my sneaky peek was? No??? Good job I'm feeling kind today then and will put you out of your misery!!! But not before I tell about how you can get your hands on some fabulous Studio 12 goodies!

If you pop over to the Studio 12 blog, you will not only find loads of inspirational post and tutorials, but that Nikky is giving away some luscious goodies!

So what did I make?? It is of course a mixed media piece using the new Studio 12 Picknix Collection 2 - Gingerbread Twist. I have to say I had great fun making this and you'll definitely be seeing more projects like this from me.

The base is a canvas board (I picked mine up for 25p in a local store) which has been covered with torn papers, texture paste and paints before sticking the sentiment and images into place. I know it's completely different to my normal stuff but I do hope that you like it.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Claire x

I'd like to enter this project into the following challenges:
Allsorts Challenge - Anything but a square
Christmas Stamping All Year Long - Anything but a card
Inspire Me Fridays - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
Anything Goes - Make your own background
Everybody Art - Anything goes
Make It Monday - Anything goes

Stampotique Has A New Artist And I Think You're Going To Love Her!

Thank goodness this day has finally arrived! I've been bursting to share the new Stampotique image releases with you all. Let me tell you there are so many amazing new images that you're going to have trouble picking your favourite! To celebrate the September release, we are going to be featuring one of our stamp designers each day for four days leading up to a Grand Finale at which point they will be available to purchase from the Stampotique Originals store.

Today, I am using a stamp designed by my massively talented teamie R. Maria Sabina aka Lollyrot who is Stampotiques' latest stamp artist. She has some adorable images and I had to exercise a great deal of restraint when choosing which one to use (it would've been oh so easy to have the lot)!! If you join our hop you'll see why I struggled!!!

Anyway, this is the one that I chose - 7302 Hung Out To Dry. Isn't it just the cutest? I have to say I've had tremendous fun with this image already and I will blog my other makes using this stamp in the very near future, so keep your eyes peeled!! I'll warn you now it won't be quite what you'd expect from me or this stamp!!!

I thought the image was way too cute to be detracted from with lots of fancy papers and embellies, so  I'd let it speak for itself on these little cards - what do you think?

See told you it was a cutie!

The image has been extended by drawing in a washing line complete with bib and vest. To finish the image  has been lightly coloured with Prismacolor pencils.

Hop along with some of the design team today to see some of Maria's new images and come back and let us know what some of your favorites are. Stick with us until the final reveal on Wednesday and one of you might be rewarded with some goodies!!!

You'll want to start off your hop over at Val's blog.

Valerie Wilson

Kate Crane

Kim Howard

Claire Boelema

Maria Sabina Raita

Stampotique Designer's Challenge

Thanks for stopping by today and don't forget to check out the blog tomorrow for the 2nd artist we'll be featuring.  It's not a new one, but the artist is a fan favourite!

Claire x

I'd like to enter these cards into the following challenges:
Inspire Me Fridays - Anything goes
Make It Monday - Anything goes