Hot and Spicy...

....is the new theme over at the That's Crafty Challenge blog. So I've gone for some hot and spicy colours........

Started off by embossing a piece of card using the Sheena Douglass Sakura Embossing Folder and then colouring it with a mixture of distress inks.......Ripe Persimmon, Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed and a bit of Gathered Twigs

Then I stamped and cut out IndigoBlu's big butterfly and then coloured it with matching colours of distress ink

Then just glued everything together adding a sentiment from the Kaisercraft range and mounting everything onto a card blank.

Make sure you pop over and join in the challenge, you could win a £20 voucher to spend on the website :)

Donna xx

There's a new Mixed Media kit....

....being launched by Sheena Douglass this weekend full of lovely Pebeo goodies plus there will also be some lovely new stamps :) This is a card that I've made as a sample using one of the new stamps and a mix of the Pebeo Paints.....

Make sure you tune into Create and Craft over the weekend for the shows and Sheena's great dems :)

Donna xx

A Christmas tag....

.....for my second make for the Country View Crafts Challenge

Lots of sparkle and glitter on this one! Mind you it doesn't show that well in the photo. To create the background of the tag I blended some Distress Ink (Peeled Paint, Pumice Stone, Gathered Twigs) onto a plain white tag then using the Gothic layering stencil from Tim Holtz I put on some Cosmic Shimmer Sparkle Texture paste.

To create the stocking I cut it our of white card using the Tim Holtz stocking die then embossed the main bit using a holly Embossalicious embossing folder but you could use any festive embossing folder you have in your stash. Then coloured all the pieces with distress ink, lightly applied a bit of sparkle paste over the raised embossed areas and then glued all the pieces together.

For the Poinsettia I used the new Sue Wilson Classic Poinsettia die, cut it in white, coloured with distress ink, glued it together and added a few specks of glitter and a few crystal beads for the centre. Also cut a few strands of ivy using the Die'sire ivy strand die.....again any poinsettia/foliage dies would work exactly the same.

The numbers were cut using Tim Holtz's movers and shapers mini set, coloured with a bit of ink and then covered with glossy accents.

Once everything was dry I stuck it all together and added some ribbon and a sentiment.

Donna xx

Time to say goodbye....

....this is my last post as a member of the Creative Expressions DT because my year has come to an end......it's been a great pleasure being a member of the group and I have to thank all Sarah And Tracey for all their hard work in organising and running the team.

So for my last make I have a classic Black and White make using the Filigree Frame stamp....

This is one of those cards which is quick to do, and I mean quick, but looks elaborate enough that whoever received it would think you'd spent ages on it!! Literally all you need to do is stamp the frame in black, trim and layer onto some black card. then mount that onto a larger piece of white card and then onto a black card blank. Add a bit doodled stitching, and then arrange some pearl swirls around the edges. Finish off with a large white bow with a pearl embellishment in the middle. See told you it was a quickie!!

 Thanks for stopping by and thanks for all the visitors I've had during my time with Creative Expressions, I hope you'll still stop by from time to time :)

Donna xx

Orange and Black...

....is this weeks theme over at Sunday Postcard Art where the month of Halloween based themes continues. Dug out a stamp I've not used for some time to make this (Stamp Addicts Stamp).....

Donna xx

The Big Apple.....

...here's my weekly That's Crafty make.......

......as usual all the details and a couple of other photo's are on the That's Crafty blog, please pop over and have a look if you have a moment :)

Donna xx

Spiders....

....is the theme over at TagAlong this week. Here's my tag....

...why don't you pop over to TagAlong and join in the fun :)

Donna xx

Another day....

...another frame.  I've used another one of Creative Expressions new frame stamps for my make this week. This one is 'Curled Frame' and comes complete with this lovely quote ....

This is a seriously simple but colourful make. Start off by making your background by simply splodging bits of distress ink onto your craft sheet (I used Picked Raspberry and Crushed Olive), spritz it with water and then pick up the colour by dabbing and swirling your card stock through the colour. 

Then stamp the frame onto another piece of white card, trim and paint with the same colours of distress ink...

To finish off, simply trim, layer onto some black card and assemble....

Thanks for stopping by :)

Donna xx

Look after the pennies.....

.....and the pounds will look after themselves. That was a favourite saying of my Nan's when she was alive. So here's the perfect place to put the pennies......

...this is my weekly make for That's Crafty ...... something went wrong with my blog scheduling so this didn't post at correct time but you will find full details on their blog :)

Donna xx

Spooky......

.....is the new challenge over on the That's Crafty Challenge blog. Here's my spooky little number featuring some boney little characters from the Danse Macabre set by Oxford Impressions.

I stamped everything out first, drawing in few extra lines to indicate multiple tickets for my two players to stand on. Then I coloured everything using painted and blended distress inks.

Pop over to the challenge blog and join in the fun :) 

Donna xx

A bit of Kraft.....

....and one of the new frame stamps for my Creative Expressions make this week.

I used the Wrought Iron Frame singles stamp and stamped it onto a piece of white card in Potting Soil Archival Ink, then cut it out, added a bit of shading with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink and mounted onto a piece of brown card. 

                                                   

I stamped the centre bit again, cut it out, shaded it as before and mounted it onto the first piece but at a slight angle. To create the base of the card I cut a piece of Kraft card and randomly stamped the Alpha stamp all over it using Potting Soil Archival, added some shading with Gathered Twigs and a little doodled line around the edge. Then I wrapped a piece of green and ivory striped grosgrain ribbon around the middle, gluing it behind before mounting the whole thing onto a white card blank which I had shaded with Gathered Twigs.

Then I glued the stamped frame panel in place, tied a bow of the same striped ribbon and  added it to the side of the panel.  To finish it off I added another doodled line but this time around the edge of the card base.

Donna xx

Potions...

....is the theme over on Sunday Postcard Art today.  I've used some Crafty Individual and Oxford Impressions stamps along with Aquatints for this weeks offering....

Pop over and join in the fun if you have the chance.

Donna xx

Danse Macabre....

.....a touch of spookiness for today's piece for That's Crafty.....

....as usual all the details of stamps and products used are over on the That's Crafty blog. Pop over if you get the chance :)

Donna xx 

Rainbow Frame

I have a bright and colourful offering for you today, as I start my last month as part of the Creative Expressions DT.......

I used the Filigree Frame Singles Stamp, inked it up with a mixture of Peacock Feathers, Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed and Picked Raspberry Distress Ink then lightly spritzed with water before stamping. (Note: didn't ink up the wording because I intended to overlay the centre panel)....

Then I inked up just the centre and stamped the wording panel....

I cut out the coloured frame, cutting close to the edge and the sentiment and then layered the sentiment panel onto the coloured frame using a bit of 3d glue gel. Then I matted the whole thing onto a black piece of card.  To create the larger frame for the background  I inked up the stamp as shown, didn't bother missing the wording because I knew it wouldn't be seen....

I stamped the frame twice as shown below.....

Trimmed up the frame, mounted it onto black card and then added my previously made topper.  Then it was time to paint the outer frame using the same colour of distress inks that I'd used for the central panel....

Once I'd filled in areas with colour, I added some doodling....

Thanks for stopping by :)

Donna xx

Keep It Simple...

....is the new challenge over on the That's Crafty challenge blog.  Now I know there is a definite trend for real clean and simple cards, which isn't really my thing BUT as the challenge is Keep It Simple I decided to really challenge myself to keep it really clean, simple and quite modern ....think I achieved it! Lol!

 I used IndigoBlu's lovely Big Butterfly stamp, inked up with distress inks and then spritzed with water before stamping.  The greeting stamp is from the Kaisercraft Birthday set.

Do pop over and join in the challenge if you can.....there's a chance to win a £20 voucher to spend on the That's Crafty site!

Donna xx

King of the Jungle?

Here's another sample that I've made for the Weekender shows on Create and Craft. Sheena will be launching the new Spectrum Noir Aquatints along with some great new stamps.  

For this card I've simply sponged on  AquaTints from the Beautifully Grunge set along with a little gold from the Essentials set, picture doesn't show it terribly well but in real life there is a lovely subtle shimmer.

Don't forget to catch some of the shows over the weekend :) 

Donna xx

Sparkle and glitter...

...cover this Christmas bauble that I've made for the new challenge over at the Country View Crafts Challenge Blog.

I wanted a slightly autumnal feel so I picked some brown card and cut 6 bauble shapes using one of the Spellbinder 2012 Heirloom Ornament dies,once cut I embossed them using a Sheena Douglass snowflake embossing folder....

 Then to highlight the embossing and give the first bit of shimmer I highlighted the embossing with some rich gold gilding wax...

Then I scored each one directly in half lengthways and then before gluing all the pieces together to form my bauble I added Antique Linen Distress Glitter all around the edges of each piece and also added some dots on and around the snowflakes.  This distress glitter is quite chunky and definitely seems to work better with a good wet glue, I used Collal Tacky Glue.

Then I glued all the pieces together, simply by sticking one half of one piece to one half of another. You can continue all around with all 6 pieces but I like to stick three together and then the other three. That way if you want to glue in a hanger you can sandwich it between the two sections just before you complete your gluing. I made a wire hanger for this simply by folding a piece of wire and threading on some beads....

I then sandwiched this hanger within my bauble before gluing the final sections together.For the decoration I die cut some ivy strands and covered them with gilding wax...

 Once these strands were all glued in place I touched up the edges of the bauble with a little more glitter.

Do pop over and join the fun if you get a chance, there's the chance of winning a £20 voucher so it's definitely  worth joining in :)

Donna xx