Mini Canvas Creations

Well, I decided to try something a bit different for a change. I had been reading my latest copy of Craft Stamper and as always, after seeing the articles my mind runs wild with ideas and the crafting possibilities I am yet to explore!

I had bought a couple of reasonably large canvases some time ago and made a mental note to buy some gesso and to have a bash at decorating them in some shape or form. Anyway, I popped into my local Papermill Shop and there was nothing much going on there so I nipped to The Works which is nearby.

I picked up a few items including some gesso:

and while I was at the checkout, I spotted these little beauties in a box on the counter for only 99p each so I grabbed some:

I thought I would have a go at decorating these first as they are only small, about 3 inches by 4 inches and they look great standing on their own little easels!

 
So, here is what I made:

(I painted all the canvases with gesso and left to dry first.)

Then used some Antique Linen followed by Wild Honey distress inks rubbed onto the canvas.

Stamped Hero Arts writing stamp on in Barn Door distress ink.

Hero Arts stripes in Brushed Corduroy and some small hearts from a Paula Pascual sentiment set in Barn Door too.

Hero Arts flourish is also in the background in Barn Door.

Stamped a heart from this set which I bought from a lovely Docrafts member called Suzanne - thanks Suzanne!

Added some Gold Stickles to the heart and added sentiments in Black Stazon.

Had bought some metallic rub ons from ebay (something else I have never tried) and rubbed some gold on my heart and in various places around the canvas.

Then decided to do this one:

This time I used Peeled Paint distress ink on canvas base.

Stamped a MSE Love stamp in Barn Door distress ink.

Added some little hearts in Peeled Paint and finished off with a red ribbon and some more metallic rub on.

Finally: 

Antique Linen and Wild Honey for the background again.

Hero Arts Thank You definition stamped in Brushed Corduroy to the left.

Penny Black Clique 3858E in Broken China distress ink to the right.

Added a contrasting ribbon.

Stamped a 'thank you' sentiment in Broken China onto a Wild Honey background piece of card and added a clear fragment which is sticky on one side and sticks to the image.

I cut round it and attached it to the ribbon with some glue dots. 

Finally added some self adhesive gems in Taupe from The Hobbyhouse.

I thoroughly enjoyed doing these and they don't take an age to do as they are so small. But they are lovely little gifts to give someone and the potential for different messages is endless!

Thanks for looking and have a wonderful day.

Sue x

Engaged.......at last

My poor neglected blog! I should have made it one of my New Year's resolutions to remember to post more often I think.

A lovely customer who comes into the shop came in and presented me with her wedding finger one morning to show me she is now engaged. She really is a pleasure to see and she got lots of big hugs from me. Couldn't resist making her a card after that fantastic news and here it is:

I wanted it to look bright and cheerful, just like this lady. (Have never met her other half as she doesn't live nearby but always pops in on her travels.)

I used a Bee Crafty download called 'Whimsical Girl the Kiss' which is so versatile for engagements, anniversary, valentines or birthdays. Have coloured it with my Prismacolor pencils.

The backing paper was a freebie from Simply Cards & Papercrafts magazine a little before Christmas.

Computer printed sentiment onto a Craftwork Cards card blank.

When I gave it to her she had a few tears as I think she was so overwhelmed and didn't expect to receive a handmade card from me! Awwwww how nice......nearly made me cry too. Honestly, us women we are so soft aren't we!

Have a lovely day wherever you are.

Sue x

Warmest Wishes

I'm not usually one for adding posts at this unearthly hour of the night but I kept forgetting to take a photo and then once I had taken the photo forgot to download it. The morning will be the usual rush around for school and I knew I must get this done before bedtime or it will be too late for the challenge at this rate and I really do enjoy this one when I get time to join in.

My card is for the Penny Black Saturday Challenge where you must stamp onto anything but white card. I am somewhat behind with the Christmas cards and decided to use my Fantasy stamp to make another Christmas card.  I used some kraft type card that I bought from the Papermill Shop a little while ago and thought I would use red and green shades as these are usual Christmassy colours.

Started off using my Hero Arts Old Letter Writing stamp and stamped it in Peeled Paint Distress ink in 3 places. Then stamped the Fantasy image in Barn Door distress ink.

Also used the Barn Door ink to give the edges around the card a distressed look.
 Used some bright red ribbon and added some snowflakes punched out from the kraft card with one of my Tonic punches and coloured with the Peeled Paint ink again.

Added loads of red self adhesive gems to finish and stamped a Hero Arts greeting from my Holiday Sayings set.

The card has a true vintage look and feel and I was really pleased at how well the colours go together. Phew! Another one done.

Thanks for looking.

Sue x

Baubles & Snowflakes

Well, all is calm on the kiddie front so I may actually get chance to finish this post before we have some lunch and then I'll try and persuade the kids to do a bit of homework.

Bought my daughter a new pair of boots yesterday and she cannot wait to get to school tomorrow to show everyone. She's so chuffed with them they were on as soon as she got out of bed this morning and she came in to me in nightie with new handbag across shoulder and boots on. She's been trotting round in them ever since!

My son bought himself a new XBox game yesterday so I can hear distant grunts and complaining (when he's losing) but apart from that he seems quite happy with his purchase too.

Now then, I have made a Christmas card which was inspired by Jillian Foster's card here.

The baubles, snowflake stamps and sentiments are all from the Hero Arts stamp set Magic of Christmas (CL462).

The baubles, snowflakes and outer edge of the card were all inked with Tim Holtz distress inks in various colours: Wild Honey, Brushed Corduroy, Walnut Stain and Antique Linen.

I cut the bauble stamps out 4 times and pieced the centres after inking them. The baubles were highlighted on the stripes with some Prismacolor pencils in co-ordinating colours.

Finished off with some co-ordinating self adhesive gems and some lovely brown ribbon.

I have decided to go potty this week and enter this card for several challenges:

Creative Inspirations - anything Christmas or winter related

A Spoon Full of Sugar - distressing

The Stamp Man - Tim Holtz

2 Sisters - snowflakes

Crafty Calendar - Winter Snowflakes

Thanks for looking and enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Sue x

Christmassy Tree

Morning and welcome. I am pleased to say that you can now see the white bits on our dog Tyson again. We decided in a moment of madness to give him a bath on Sunday and I was actually very surprised. He stood perfectly still in the bath while my daughter stroked his head. He was then quite happy to be wrapped in my son's old Batman towel, complete with hood. To top it all, he laid down on his blanket in the lounge while we blow dried him! That was a relief as it's not the height of summer and he could have been wet for a long time. Our last dog Buster, would have run the minute we even tried to coax him into the bathroom and would certainly not have entertained my hairdryer!

I have managed another card - shock horror. I am entering this for 2 challenges: Penny Black Saturday Challenge where the theme is 'Let It Snow' and Penny Black at Allsorts Challenge which is 'It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas' .

Background stamped with snowflakes from Hero Arts sets Magic of Christmas CL462 and

Sending Holiday Cheer CL464

Colours used are Versacolor cubes Amethyst, Lavender and Atlantic Blue

Main image: Penny Black Fantasy stamped with Versamark and embossed in white

Self adhesive pearls in co-ordinating colours from The Hobby House

Sentiment: Hero Arts Holiday Sayings CL343

 

Sorry the pictures are a bit dark, I was struggling to get some decent light with this lovely weather we're having!

Thanks for looking. Sue x

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Zigzags or Triangles

Good morning. Have just polished off my Rice Krispies and now finishing my cup of tea before I start the mad rush to get the kids ready and out of the door for school. Incredibly my daughter has eaten all of her breakfast this morning without me having to nag her to put her dolls down and concentrate on the matter in hand!

It has been soooo long since I managed to get my act together to do a Penny Black Saturday Challenge and I'm glad to be entering this week. I had already started this card and added the zigzag ribbon so now it fits the bill.

I have used the sledging image from the Christmas Critters clear stamp set and created my first little 'scene' on a card. There was a bit of fiddling about to do the hills and get the trees on but I was quite pleased with my first attempt.  I put some Bazzill Basics swiss dot paper in blue call Poolside for the sky. The sentiment is Hero Arts from the Holiday Sayings set of Christmas clear stamps.

I added white glitter for the snow on the hills and under the sledge and Stickles Frosted Lace to the trees and bobble hats for a bit of an icy look. The trees are from the Hero Arts set Sending Cheer and are stamped with Versacolor cube Olive.

The hedgehogs are coloured with Prismacolor pencils.

Thanks alot for looking and have a fab day.

Sue x

Spooky Witches on Your 6th Birthday!

It's the 1st of November and it's my niece's 6th birthday today so HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISOBEL! We hope you have had a lovely birthday and received lots of wonderful presents. We bought a pink ZhuZhu hamster and some accessories and were thrilled to hear that Isobel took them to school with her today. After seeing the pink hamster and the various bits and pieces that you can buy to go with these marvellous creatures, my daughter has now taken an interest in them too.  I think this may just be added to the never ending list of items that we are hoping to receive from Santa!


Of course I made a card for Isobel and as Halloween was only yesterday, I went for a card on that theme. I thought it would be a bit different for a birthday card at this time of year.

It was an easel card and the images used for the witch and the bats were digital downloads from Pink Cat Studio - Lily Witch and Halloween Value Pack. 

The backing papers were another download from Polka Doodles called Polly Witchydoodles.

The sentiment was computer generated using the Matisse ITC font.

The image and bats were coloured using Prismacolor pencils. I added some glossy accents to the bats' eyes so that they looked effective.

Thanks for looking!

I have actually managed to make a card for this week's Penny Black challenge so I'll try and get that posted tomorrow.

Sue x