Butterfly Box for Hazel's Birthday

I should have blogged this ages ago, it's another box I made, filled with sequin trim, etc, for Hazel's birthday. It has one of the moulded perfume bottles on it to go with the wording on the Crafty Individuals stamp CI 148, and some sequins and fusible fibres. The butterfly is another of the ones from the roll of butterfly tape, applied to clear packaging material and then cut out.

Our Wedding Anniversary

Today is Colin and my 27th wedding anniversary. In fact, this year we have been together for 30 years. It doesn't feel like it. This is the card I made for him:-

I used the ducks stamp from Crafty Individuals, CI 297, which may not seem a very romantic choice but it is meaningful to us. We have had many happy times together in France where we can feed the ducks just by leaning out of our window. When I'm at home and Colin is over there, I can hear them quacking when I am on the 'phone to him. Did you know it is the lady ducks who do the quacking?  It is just as well we live in close proximity to them, otherwise what can you do with stale French bread?!

Gingersnap Creations Challenge - Bags and Tags - Have you got your Lunch Money?

 

Today's challenge launch on Gingersnap Creations Blogspot is to use Bags and Tags, as part of their focus on Shopping month. I used a brown paper carrier bag which was one of a batch kindly given to me by Petra and they are lovely for decorating - no idea where you can get them from so I was very pleased to have some. The idea behind my make is that it is a children's school lunch sack, and there is a little envelope for Mum or Dad to pop their money for sweets.

I started off by stamping the text stamp CI 258 from Crafty Individuals all over the bag and added ribbon down the sides. I stamped the two children going to school from Think and Wonder by the Artistic Outpost (from Happy Daze if you're in the UK), cut away the background and adhered them to a distressed pocket money envelope. I added chipboard letters to spell ABC to go with my school theme and changed the colours slightly with Pro Markers to tie in with the other colours used, and added some pearl accents.

Top left is a Poundland crocheted coaster to which I have added a piece of fabric where I treated it with fabric stiffener and then cut around the rose and leaves design I wanted. The butterfly is an image transfer of a Crafty Individuals' image, using liquid clay in the oven then peeling the backing away. This gives you a lovely translucent clay embellishment, to which I added a little glitter. Top right is an art mould key made from friendly plastic tied on with a little piece of lace to match the coaster.

Bottom left is a Tim Holtz label cut from mountboard. I used one of his Adage tickets behind it - I chose Trust because that is what the two siblings convey to me - Giggle or Play didn't seem quite right. I added some pearl brads and some flowers cut from Crafty Individuals' flower stamps using a little book text. I finished off my design with a child's footprint charm on the envelope.

So, I had lots of little details and techniques going on, but although I was happy with how it turned out in the flesh, I now don't think it has much impact on the page, especially seeing my team members gorgeous entries. I sometimes find I make things and the ones that aren't that special can look better on the page - is that just me? Anyhow, although I have called this a children's lunch sack, it is actually Jack's gift bag for her birthday presents. I think when she actually sees it she will like it better than the photo - I hope so! Sorry Jack, there isn't any money in the envelope!

Crafty Individuals' Little Girl at Play Card - Jack's Birthday

It's my very dear friend, Jack's, birthday today. This is her card. The background is one of the ones I made the other week with the Tinkerbella Inks. I added my favourite flourish from Crafty Individuals and their little girl stamp, and made some shabby flowers from their flower set. I cut a frame using the Alterations Tag die set and a Tim Holtz Adage Ticket. Happy Birthday dear Jack!

Tomorrow I will show you the gift bag.

Seaside Stepper Card

On Friday I had a tutorial on Gingersnaps on using packaging materials to create a seaside wall hanging. I did a little stepper card to go with it:-

I used the same Crafty Individuals' seaside stamps as before.

Packaging Tutorial for Gingersnaps

Over on Gingersnap Creations today I have a tutorial on using packaging materials in your art. I made this hanging using Crafty Individuals' stamps:-

If you would like to see what I used, do hop over to Gingersnaps and let me know what you think.

Gingersnap Creations Challenge - Packaging

Today is the start of a new challenge on Gingersnap Creations, to use packaging materials in your crafting:-

Sometimes I struggle to think of ideas for a challenge, but this time I was spoilt for choice! I love recycling and I use quite a few packaging items in my crafting. I wanted to use as many of these items as possible but stop before I made a dog's dinner! For my card I used my current fave stamps, Think and Wonder by Artistic Outpost from Happy Daze, with Butterfly Garden background paper, also from Happy Daze. I stamped the children and coloured and cut them out, then die cut a piece of clear packaging material with my Baroque die, and embossed it with a numbers Cuttlebug embossing folder to go with my 'first day at school' theme. In my head, big sister is taking little brother to school, holding his hand, and she is wearing her favourite red beret! This is a role reversal as it would have been my lovely brother, John, taking me to school and making sure I was ok.

I made up a black shrinkplastic Jalopy from the Tim Holtz die and made the wheels with pieces of red wire tie from freezer bags, coiled around my jewellery pliers, as I figured they are packaging (or am I stretching a point?!).
I added Bingo style Alphabet tokens to spell Love, as I love my brother and it went with my idea of learning numbers and alphabets at school. I adhered the children to the centre of the clear packaging piece and stapled it in place as staples are often used on cardboard box packaging! To pull things together a bit I edged the card with Antique Linen, which I also used on a bit of bubble wrap (more packaging!) at points around the central image.

I am very excited as I have done a packaging ideas tutorial with a fun project for Gingersnaps on the 10th! Hope you will enjoy it.

Crafty Individuals Does Steam Punk!

I made some cards using this gently steam punk influenced stamp by Crafty Individuals, CI296, with some extra butterflies cut from CI006. The reason for making these was that my kind student, Jean, brought me some gorgeous 6 x 6 papers the other day. I think they are called Funky Vintage, and this particular paper really spoke to me as going well with this stamp. I also thought it would work well with some of my Primark chain from earlier in the week, together with some shrink plastic cogs made from the Tim Alterations die.

Apologies that they are both quite similar, but the second one has a clock hand added. I used some of the cog stamps from CI294 to add to the background paper. I do hope Crafty Individuals will bring out some more steam punk inspired stamps, as they would be lovely with their pretty and soft style added to them.

I also used some chain hanging from a flower for this Ship card, using CI295. I never thought ships would particularly be my thing, but I love working with this collage stamp. I used a Gold Aqua Marker to bring out the pattern on the right hand border. The shell background paper is from Crafty Individuals Seaside background paper pack. I added a small ship from the Individual Elements set, CI294, the set with the cogs.

June Crafty Individuals Challenge - Vintage with Hearts - Memories Box

Today is the launch of the June Crafty Individuals challenge, with a theme of Vintage and Hearts. I hope you will play along! Here is my contribution:-

The idea behind it was that a woman whose husband is away fighting in the war, keeps her letters from him and other mementos in this box. I started off by painting a lovely wooden casket which was a present from Alison, using Eco Green acrylic paint in Ocean:-

It's difficult to see in the photo that the surround on the lid of the box is actually a fabric frame, and I applied a little of the paint using a baby wipe, then stamped it with CI258 word stamp and adhered it to the top, with a piece of Travels in Italy paper behind it. The frame encases a picture of her husband, from the People and Places book of images, and the frame itself was a Poundland one which I took a mould of and re-made in friendly plastic and added some rub ons. Because of the curve of the casket it was difficult to adhere it so I softened it very gently with the heat gun to mould it into place. I made the flowers from a mould taken from some Primark jewellery, made up in friendly plastic. I edged the box with Distress Stain in Vintage Photo and some copper Viva Gold.

Here's a photo of all the contents of the box together

And another one!

This next photo shows some of the items in more detail. The locket was from a Primark charm bracelet and I added images from People and Places of the woman's wedding day and their children, carefully cut into heart shapes. The perfume bottle is made from a mould I took of a perfume bottle, the heart shaped padlock to lock the treasures away is another Primark charm, and the frame is a different shaped Poundland one made up in friendly plastic again, with a great grandfather image inside, again from People and Places.

These are the love letters he sent to her, tied with ribbon. I used CI214, together with the postcard, CI302:-

Here I used the Day Out ticket, CI022, and a mixture of tickets from CI239 as Mementos of his visits home. They are coloured with Distress Inks, and held together with a Primark hair clip. The cameo was made from a mould taken from a Primark ring, and dusted with mica powders:-

I added pieces of replica memorabilia, a pen nib, and a piece of her wedding dress veil to add to the story.

I had such fun making this, and I hope you will join in!