Gingersnap Creations Challenge - Blue, Turquoise, and Purple

 

Gingersnap Creations Challenge, which launches today, is to use turquoise, blue, and purple. I made a box out of foam core board and cut a niche to fit the inside of a small matchbox, which I lined with the Crafty Individuals' Spring Paper in the colours of the challenge. I stamped the girl in the shrine from Crafty Individuals onto clay, dusted it with mica powders, and cut out the separate elements before baking. I then popped the girl into the matchbox, and the shrine around her, on the raised bit. I added a gold photo corner to highlight the shape of the roof. To finish, I glued turquoise sequinned  beaded trim around the edge, and cut out some of the flowers from it to go around the image. Finally I added a tiny clay butterfly.

Vintage Evening Bag from Happy Daze

I have made this Vintage evening bag for my sister in law as an extra birthday present and I am so hoping she will like it! It was inspired by the gorgeous examples by Julie and Paula from the Happy Daze Design Team on their blog, as the bag 'blank' comes from there. I wouldn't have had the confidence to attempt it if I hadn't seen their examples first.

I coloured the chain and clasp with brown alcohol ink to give a bronze effect as it was a bright silver to start off with. I coloured the bag with Vintage Lace, Orchid, and Mushroom Fresco Finish paints as it was very white. The stamps are the Venice set by Oxford Impressions - love this set! Petra gave me some trim which was perfect for the edges and I added pearl trim over the top of it, then tied some of the trim into a bow and added a mulberry flower.

I decorated the back with the same stamping but just with a simple pearl trim.

Gingersnap Creations Challenge - Shared Moments

For this canvas I used Crafty Individuals' stamp CI 070 Mother and Child, Background CI 256 and Flourish CI200. I used some glass bead gel but it isn't very apparent unless you get in close, but it adds a bit of texture. I have also used pieces of flower sequin trim to bring out the peach and turquoise colours. The theme for today's Gingersnap Challenge launch is Shared Moments, and the mother and child image said that to me.

Sunday Stamper Challenge - Love - Papier Mache Heart

I don't enter many challenges, but who can resist Love? This is the theme for this week's Sunday Stamper and I have made a papier mache heart. I used Crafty Individuals' CI256 for the background, and their flourish CI200.

I decorated both sides slightly differently.

Bird and Stampbord Canvas - Minus Chickens!

Today I've made a canvas using Crafty Individuals' bird stamps. The canvas started life covered in chickens, and I bought three of them for 50p at a car boot sale. The chckens came off quite easily and may be used on another project, but they left a gluey splodge unfortunately.

My photos are terrible as I really struggled with the canvas being so wide so I have taken several, and I'm sure you get the general idea! I've used a background stamp (which I kept whole, not sure if you are meant to but I like it) CI256, and the birds CI182 and 183, and the flourish, CI200.

The flower to the left of the stampbord took longer to make than the whole canvas!
The tile is covered with Crackle Accents

Just wanted to show the sides with the background stamp

Crafty Individuals and Stampalot Challenges - Dressmaker's Shop Front

I thought I would enter this frame for the Stampalot Challenge which is 'It's a Frame up', as I spent longer on the frame for this than on the rest of the piece. I had stamped and cut out lots of Crafty Individuals' images and had them all laid out in front of me with some embellishments too, and then thought, no, enough it enough! I wanted the crackle and shimmer of the frame, and the pink contrasting with the turquoise to show through rather than covering it up. The idea I had in mind was that this is the shop front of a dressmaking and corsetry shop in the 1920s. I stamped the two ladies on white card, then again onto Crafty Individuals' Spring Background papers, and cut out the dresses and hats(which was fiddly!) and paper pieced them back on, and added a very pale Pro Marker fleshtone to the skin. The header was stamped onto Spring Background papers and then cut with a Tim Movers and Shapers mini label die which followed the lines of the stamp and the top of the frame quite nicely. I added some brads and mounted it on silicone glue for a bit of dimension. I then added a clock face taken from a pocket watch, which again followed the shape of the frame, and edged it with German Scrap from Crafty Individuals. The stamps used are CI 324, 306, and 322 . I used Tim Holtz Distress Crackle paint on the frame and then a mixture of Distress Inks for depth of colour and mica shimmer sprays. I liked the pastel shades with the pastel colours of the CI papers. I think it fits quite nicely with the theme I have chosen this month for the Crafty Individuals' Challenge which is 'Hanging Around', as it has a hanging hook on the top. Von, Zoe, and Brenda were here when I was finishing this off and they between them agreed on the row of pearls as a finishing touch. Thanks girls!

Crafty Individuals' September Challenge

Today Crafty Individuals launch their September challenge and I have been given the honour of setting the theme this time! I just checked their blog though, and the announcement isn't up yet so I thought I would post the photos of what I have made before I go to bed. I made two items but I will blog the other item on another day (on a quiet blogging day!). This one is a key cabinet and this is the inside:-

Some views of different sections:-

I used the Seaside Background papers, People and Places Book 2, Tando Chipboard Compass, and CI295, 294, and 272 stamps, all from Crafty Individuals. I've made pretty much all the elements myself apart from the compass, and the ship in a bottle.