Woodware - Acetate

Acetate is one of those things in my stash that I rarely use. However at Woodware this week I have been asked to use acetate. It probably took me as long to find the acetate than actually make the card ...... such is the life of a crafter!!

Staying on a dragonfly theme I used this gorgeous Stampendous cling of a dragonfly. I stamped it on to a piece of acetate with black Staz-on. Once dry I pressed a clear embossing pad on the inked side. Then I brushed on some mica powders, I used perfect pearls but any make will do. Be sure to "pounce" it well with a flat brush to make sure ti sticks to the acetate, then lightly brush off any excess with a soft brush.

Once you turn it over the mica powder shimmers through the mica but both stamped image and powder are protected behind the acetate.

Sadly I found it hard to capture the shimmer on the camera but it is lovely when it catches the light.

I also die cut a dragonfly from acetate and used the same technique on the wings. I also used the same dragonfly stamp to gold emboss onto gold metallic card for the background panel.

I am first up this week on the Woodware challenge blog. So it will be interesting to see what the other girls do with their acetate. Hope you have a good week. 
Siobhan x

Dragonflies

I actually managed to finish the mirror I started at the retreat last weekend. Thanks to the lovely Anne Hunt's inspiration I went a bit grungy. We were also talking about the Stamper's Anonymous stamp "Odonata". This stamp was given to me by a very special lady and friend Jean who sadly is no longer with us. She brought it back from a trip to the States because she knew I loved dragonflies. I think it makes the perfect centre piece for my altered frame.

I am looking forward to having another go and experimenting more with texture paste. 

I must use this stamp more often ... I had forgotten how beautiful it is. 
Have a great weekend whatever you are up to.
Siobhan x

Woodware - Spring Flowers

This week's theme over at Woodware is "Spring Flowers". Spring seems a bit late up here in Scotland and I am only just beginning to see daffodils coming out. I was recently given this newish Stampendous cling CRW 122 "Cherry Bird"

I coloured the bird then added some splatters of gold from one of my US Artquest mica palettes by flicking the paintbrush. I also added some detail by stitching beads onto the main blossom.

Then I punched out two sizes of sakura flowers and some ash leaves from a Leon-M punch. After shaping I stuck them down and added the pearls. I also stamped and embossed with detail gold powder some of the oriental writing that is on the main stamp. 
Remember to visit the Woodware blog for some great ideas.

Siobhan x

Retreat in Yorkshire

My friend Linda and I are back after our little trip to Beamsley in North Yorkshire for the Beamsley Babes craft retreat. We had a great weekend crafting, eating, laughing and catching up with our fellow crafting friends from all over the place. The theme this weekend was backgrounds using Tim Holtz products. We got a lovely goody bag to start us off. The folder was an ideal place to store our finished tags and will be a great little reference library of all the techniques we tried.

I thought I would share some of the tags I made.

This was blended distress "Spritz and Flick" and probably my all time favourite technique for making quick backgrounds. We were also using a lot of the new Tim Holtz masks. And I just adore these Paper Artsy fish.

This was made using Distress Stains and adding water to let the colours run into each other. I just finished it off with an Indigo Blu stamp. 

These were made by applying Distress paint through a mask and then adding colour on to. The paint acts as a resist.

I love the elephant stamp and just had to use it somewhere!! And I bought the spider charms which I also just had to use.

The bunny was covered with Picket Fence Crackle paint. Once dry we used Distress Stains to add colour and really show off the crackle. I will definitely be using this technique again.

This technique is called marbled stains and done which Picket Fence and 2 or 3 other colours. I liked the sort of chalky effect with this finish. 

Liz Smith gave us a little tutorial on Zentangling. I always struggle with this but today decided to have a wee go. I hope to improve with practise. But I like the idea of having the little notebook in my bag so I can doodle anywhere. So Liz thanks for inspiring me to have another go.

And finally on Sunday morning we had a go at decorating a white Ikea mirror. Mine was made using a mixture of die cuts and texture paste through a mask. It is very much a work in progress and once finished I will post it.

So Ann thanks so much for your class and inspiration. Linda and I managed to get the barbed wire die on the way home!!
So as you can see a busy weekend. I really do not want to go back to work tomorrow as I just want to stay at home to play!!
I will back tomorrow with this weeks project for Woodware. Luckily I made it before I went away....!
Have a good week.
Siobhan xx

Woodware -Sketch 32

It is sketch time again over at Woodware this week. The simple sketch we have been given looks like this: 

A nice easy sketch. My sister and her family are horse lovers. So I couldn't resist using this lovely Stampendous "Filly sketch" . I am sure this will get used several times!!

I stamped the horse's head onto white cardstock that I coloured first with blended dye inks. I then masked the horse and over stamped with the text stamps.

I stamped some single words around the edges in black.

A very simple layout. I stamped text onto the darker brown background card the added the sentiment and some candi to complete.
My friend Linda and I are heading down to Yorkshire this weekend for our craft retreat. A weekend of crafting, chatting, friendship and cakes!! And hopefully a trip to Embsay Crafts for a little retail therapy. I have been doing some sewing lately so might pick up some new fabrics as well. I might even see a nice backing fabric to complete the jelly roll quilt I am working on.

 I am so looking forward to it!!
Siobhan x

Woodware - Mixed Media

This week's challenge at Woodware is "Mixed Media". I started off making a grungy tag with lots of products and techniques then decided that I really didn't like it. And by that time time was running out for starting from scratch. I must admit I am struggling to find any creativity at the moment. The joys of being in my fifties, tired, overweight and going through the menopause!!! So in a bid to perk up my senses I made a lavender bag.

I stamped the image of the poppy field onto fabric and coloured in with alcohol markers. I had intended to embroider the design but just didn't have enough time.

This pretty stamp is an old Stampendous wood mounted stamp called "Scenic Poppy". I stamped onto a fabric canvas with black ink before adding colour.

I trimmed the fabric and frayed the edges. Then I stitched the panel onto a bit of green checked fabric before making up the bag.

Then all that was required was to fill the bag with dried lavender and tie the bag with a ribbon. Smell and relax!!

That's all for this week from me but remember to check out the Woodware blog for lots of great ideas.

Siobhan x

Woodware - Happy Easter

The theme this week on the Woodware challenge blog is Easter. When I had my shop I used to get asked quite often for stamps or stencils of a more religious nature. So this lovely Dreamweaver stencil (LG 694) was one that I stocked. It could be used for Easter, Christenings, sympathy etc. I have used it in conjunction with another Dreamweaver stencil of a lovely ornate frame (LJ 839).

I have used gold embossing paste for the cross. Once dry I cut out the panel to layer onto the frame. This was embossed using my die-cutting machine onto antique gold card.

I wanted to keep it simple so I just finished it with a punched edge border and some die cut flowers and punched out leaves. The pearls added that final touch. This will be the perfect Easter card for one of my neighbours .... my goodness aren't I organised for once!!
Have a good weekend!!
Siobhan x

Woodware - Flourishes and Swirls

Another week already!! Well this week our theme on the Woodware challenge blog is Flourishes and Swirls. I recently bought this new Woodware set designed by the lovely Jane Gill. I just love the simplicity of the flowers with the swirly stems. So I thought it would fit the brief perfectly. The set is called Daisy Panel JGS334.

I love the script used for the Birthday Wishes and have used this loads already. 

For the tag I simply stamped the image in black and coloured in with watercolour pencils. Then I used a glue pen and some pastel blue glitter to add a bit of bling to the daisy heads. 

The organza dotty ribbon was heat with my heat gun to make it shrivel and go crinkly.
I then used the Happy Birthday to stamp repeatedly across the blue background card to give a bit of interest.

The little butterflies are punched from vellum that has been embossed with a Stampendous powder called Vintage Blue embossing tinsel. The photo does not really show off how sparkly they are!!

I love this powder.....says she who is not normally a glitter kind of girl!!
Hope you all have a great weekend. I am looking forward to catching up with a couple of friends for coffee and a natter. Just the perfect unwind after a busy week.
Siobhan xx

Woodware - Sketch Challenge 31

This week at Woodware it is another sketch challenge. It's a nice simple one this time.

A few years ago I remember inchies were very popular. So I thought I would put together a little 3x3 grid of inchies for my main image. All the stamps are from my Stampendous cling collection.

It's a nice way to frame small areas of bigger stamps. I used soft blues and browns to fit in with the kraft card I used in the background.

To finish off I made a flower from brown wrapping paper. I stamped a script stamp using Brilliance Galaxy Gold onto the flowers before assembling the flower with a decorative brad.

A few pearls and some ribbon finish off my interpretation of this week's sketch. I am first up this week and I am looking forward to seeing what the other girls come up with. Check out the Woodware blog for lots of ideas and inspiration.
Siobhan x

Woodware - Stash Busters

Firstly apologies for the lateness of this post for the Woodware Stash Buster challenge this week. I had intended to write it yesterday afternoon, as I had been away at the weekend when I normally do it. But my daughter Catriona came up in the afternoon and I completely forgot!! On the bus to work this morning I suddenly remembered ....whoops!!
So later than intended he is my project. I have called this project a stash buster because I have to make about 20. So I intend to use up lots of scraps of spring coloured card and scrapbook paper.
My project is a little basket for giving Easter eggs. The basket is very quick and easy to make and the instructions are on Splitcoast Stampers. Just click on the link.
Easter Basket

The stamp is a Stampendous cling called "Feather Bonnet Baby". 

The handle is attached with brads.

Add a little shredded tissue paper and it's ready for the chocolate eggs. It is the perfect size for 3 Cadbury's cream eggs!!!

I will need to buy more eggs as I ate these while I was meant to be doing the housework yesterday ..... 
I will be endeavour to be on time next time.
Have a good week 
Siobhan x

Woodware - Shaker Cards

This weeks challenge at Woodware is to make a shaker card. I have never actually made one of these before. So this was definitely a challenge, which I really quite enjoyed.
For my main image I chose this gorgeous Stampendous stamp CRP169 "Snow Bird". I bought this a while ago and had intended to use it for some Christmas cards, but forgot I had it. So when I found it the other day whilst looking for something else I thought it would be perfect for my shaker card!!

This is such a cute design and I am sure it will be well used in the future. So here is my shaker card :

 I decided to make mine into an easel card. I stamped some swirling snowflakes onto the acetate that I used to create the front of the shaker component.

To carry one the theme of snow I used some chunky white and shabby blue Frantage embossing powder for the shaker bits!. I also threw in a bit of multi-crystal glitter for a bit of sparkle. 

I stamped the bird lightly onto the oval inside as a place to write your birthday message. And I stamped the branch and berries from the main stamp to the strip that supports the easel card.

There are some good ideas for other shaker cards on the Woodware blog this week so be sure to check them out. 

Woodware - Black and White

We are pleased to be playing along with the Crafty Card Makers and More… this week, the challenge will be open on their blog for two weeks. If you would like to play along with us please check the Crafty Card Maker rules then use the link on the Crafty Card Makers Blog to add your card or if you are not a blogger yet you can e-mail your card to me as usual Dorothy@woodware.co.uk  and I will post it and add it to the Crafty Card Makers and more… Blog.

Our theme this week is "Black and White". There have been some stunning samples on the Woodware blog this week. For my card I have used a new Woodware stamp designed by Jane Gill JGS329 Teasels Flower Heads. This striking design works well for this black and white theme.

I used a script stamp to create a soft background by inking up with black ink and stamping lightly twice onto scrap paper and using the third stamping for a faded look. 

I split the stamped image into 3 panels and layered them onto black card. A nice sentiment and a few pearls finish off this card.

Remember you can join in and have the chance of a Woodware voucher. See you next time.
Siobhan x

Woodware - Sketch Challenge 30

This week at Woodware we have another sketch challenge. This is a nice simple sketch and perfect for a DL card. My interpretation is very simple. 

I needed a sympathy card in a hurry and thought this lay-out would work well. Sadly I seem to have needed quite a few sympathy cards of late.
Anyway here is my card:

I used a Stampendous cling stamp CRR164 called "Tree Poem". 

I love to use my stamps in different ways. So for my main image I turned the stamp on it's side and stamped along the edge of my rectangular piece of card stock. This  gave we a line of shrubs onto my sunset.

 I just added a stamped bird and the sentiment. Job done!!
Mine was a very simple take but some of the other girls have made much more elaborate cards than me. Check them out on the Woodware blog.
Thank goodness it's friday. I need a lie-in!!