Hello Dolly!

Hello there, I'm here today with a little more inspiration for the current challenge theme of Paper Piecing at Make My Monday chosen by yours truly in the form of a tag using one of my favourite stamps at the moment, a Prima doll by the very talented collage artist Julie Nutting. Hope you like it.

I made the tag for this myself using the rather natty tag style packaging that comes with the doll as a pattern to cut my tag from thick white card. This is mainly because the doll is an amazing 19cm tall so needs something quite large as a base.
I coloured the tag by applying Peacock Feathers Distress ink to some crumpled wax paper, spritzing on a little water then swiping the tag over until it was covered in the slightly diluted ink. I then applied more of the ink direct from the pad with a sponge using my favourite Prima stencil - Flourish.
I stamped some of the borders from the Prima Welcome To Paris cling set with Memories black ink and added a couple of rows of faux stitching made with theTim Holtz ruler and a fine black pen.
I stamped the doll on thick smooth cartridge paper and just the frock element on some Crate Paper decorated paper from the DIY Shop paper pad with black ink. I coloured the doll parts with Aquamarkers then cut her out along with the frock and added the frock to the image with double sided tape.
I made a layered flower with some plain Prima flowers and a patterned one using the same paper die cut using a Hot Off The Press Bodacious Blooms die set. I added a small paper rose to the centre.
I assembled the tag as you see, adding some cream crochet lace, a dotty black bow and some Paper Artsy text with some hessian type wired leaves.

I hope you're now inspired to enter if you haven't done so already as it really is very easy to paper piece!

Fliss xx

Some challenges for my Tag:
Die Cuttin' Divas - Anything Goes
Eclectic Ellapu - Anything Goes

Paper Piecing Nature

Good morning folks, I hope you've all had a good weekend and better than mine as I spent Saturday morning going back and forth to the opticians after a problem on Friday which looked like a scratch on my left contact lens (meaning I could only see out of one eye all day!) turned out to be a tear which when you know I have gas permeable rather than soft lenses is not good.
In its place I have a continuous wear lens which I have for the next few days until after my check up on Saturday. I've never had soft lenses and although I could get a daily one in, I couldn't get it out again!!!
Anyway, enough waffle and on to this weeks challenge over at Make My Monday which was chosen by me and is the theme of

Paper Piecing

I'm still into doing altered vintage book pages having picked up a rather interesting book in a charity shop when we went to Bournemouth which is all about village life through the seasons.

I tore the edges of the paper making it the size to fit my kraft card blank then sponged on gesso to soften the text but allow it to show through a little.

I then stamped on a leafy sprig from my favourite Hero Arts set with Crushed Olive and Forest Moss Distress inks, smudging a little round the base for a misty effect.

I stamped the large butterfly from the set on to more book page with Memories Art Print Brown ink for my paper pieced element and cut this out. I then sponged on a little Dried Marigold and Spiced Marmalade Distress ink to add contrast colour.

I assembled the card as you see, adding some die cut meadow type flowers by Marianne Design, cut from apricot card and sponged with Spiced Marmalade.

The team mates have risen to the challenge magnificently so do hop over to be inspired.

Have a great week.

Hugs,

Fliss  xx

Some challenges for my card:
Creative Inspirations Paint - Anything Goes
Time For Scrap - Walk In The Countryside
Crafts For Eternity Challenge - Anything Goes
Sister Act Card Challenge - Anything Goes

Florence and Martha For That's Crafty

Hello folks from a very tired Fliss as I'm still struggling with traffic problems on the way to and from work at the moment for various reasons.
A quick post to tell you about my project today over at That's Crafty which is a wall hanging made from my favourite vintage family photo of my Grandmother Martha and her big sister my Great Aunt Florence (known affectionately as Auntie Flo). Sadly I don't remember my Grandmother as she died when I was only 2 years old. Although she wasn't that old by today's standards, she didn't have my mother until she was 37. It's really spooky seeing her photo too as my younger one is the image of her.
Thinking of my dear Auntie Flo brings back childhood memories of going to stay with her at her bungalow in Kempston near Bedford. The bungalow backed on to fields with cows and horses so my brother, sister and I loved visiting her.

This time for a bit of a change, I cropped the figures out of the photo and you'll find all the details of how I made my vintage piece of artwork over at the That's Crafty blog.

Hoping that you all have a lovely weekend.
Hugs, Fliss xx

PS: There will be CANDY soon so keep an eye out as I wouldn't want anyone to miss out!

Many thanks for the heads up on the challenge over at Our Creative Corner go to Alison aka Butterfly from her Words and Pictures blog as she very kindly mentioned that my wall hanging fits the current challenge theme of Captured Memories so I'd really love to enter it there.

Shabby Chic Photo Inspiration

Hello folks, before I go on to our new challenge today at Make My Monday, I need to apologise once again for my lack of visiting which is again due to my job. I had a really busy week last week and due to traffic problems (unexpected contra flow which caused an 8 mile journey to take an hour!) and a power outage at work on the day a crucial payroll had to be run, the net result was no me time!
I did have some good news on Wednesday though as my daughter Sarah got her fashion degree results and we're really proud as she got a first! We're having a celebration soon when my in laws get back from their current break on the Isle of Wight.
Now for the challenge details which this week were chosen by teamie Jan and she's provided a lovely photo as inspiration:

For my card, I chose the frame and flower elements combined with some of the colour and scallop detail.
My background panel was made by inking and spraying a square of card with Distress inks, Brilliance inks and Glimmer Mist and I then embossed it with a Crafters Companion square trellis embossing folder. I then misted on a little Dylusions White Linen ink spray to tone the colour down a little.
I printed out the hydrangea which is one of Teri of Delicious Doodles gorgeous sketch style images on to thick smooth cartridge paper and coloured it with layers of Prismacolor pencil. I tinted the flowers a very pale green as my mother in law had some of these in the garden of her old house (they made the most beautiful green dried flowers in the Autumn too). I cut the image out and added a little colour round the edges with a Sandstone Promarker.
I then die cut the frame from the remaining cartridge paper with the Marianne Design oval set and inked the edges with the VersaMagic Pixie Dust ink. I stamped the sentiment by Hobby Art with VersaFine Smokey Grey ink and die cut this with the small oval from the die set. I inked the edges as before.
I then assembled the card using some pink broderie anglaise and a deeper pink braid.

My fellow teamies as always have made some gorgeous cards to inspire you so do hop over for a peek. 
Have a great week.
Hugs,
Fliss xx

Dreaming

Hello everyone, hoping you all had a good weekend and enjoyed some of the current very warm and sunny weather.
We have a new challenge for you today over at Make My Monday with a theme chosen by Caz which is to create something with A Non Inked Stamp by which she means either a new stamp or one in your collection that has never been inked up (I'm sure we all have a few of those!) or if you're not a stamper, A New Decoupage Sheet.
I'm sure you can also guess which option I went for so here's my creation:

I recently acquired this gorgeous Windsong stamp by Paperbag Studios which has been on my wish list for ages.
I stamped the image on thick cartridge paper with Archival coffee ink and then simply trimmed out the panel with some deckle scissors to echo the torn fabric style edge.
I made a patchwork background with some scraps of paper from my bits box in warm shades of yellow and orange with a touch of lime green and sepia. I cut these into squares and added faux stitching with the TIm Holtz Idea-ology ruler and a fine brown pen.
Using another scrap of paper, I die cut most of a doily from it with a Papermania die (as part is hidden behind the image panel, it didn't need to be the whole shape) and inked the edges with some Umber ink for added contrast.
I stamped the dream text (Time To Dream by Stamp-It from Crafters Companion) with the coffee ink on a scrap of cartridge paper and trimmed around it.
I assembled the card as you see on a kraft card blank.

Have a great day.
Hugs, Fliss xx

Some challenges for my card:
Joanna Sheen Challenge - Citrus Colours

In The Country For That's Crafty

Morning folks, hoping you've all had a lovely sunny week and that you haven't been sneezing with itchy eyes like I have due to the very high pollen count. For some reason it's been the worst I've had in the last 10 years since Sunday and even my trusty homeopathic remedy is struggling to keep it at bay!
Anyway, enough of my troubles and on to my post for this week over at That's Crafty which is kind of a wish I was there - not! I wanted to do something bright and cheery with a scenic look so here's what I came up with.

I'm sure you can see the reason for my title now and I wonder if you're singing in your head like I did which is how the title came about.
If you'd like to see how I made it, you'll find all the details over at That's Crafty and it's easier than you might think as it only uses 2 stamps.

Have a great day and a lovely weekend.
Hugs, Fliss xx

Some challenges for my card:
Lady Anne's Stamp Challenge - Anything Goes

Flying High With Make My Monday

Hello there everyone, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend in the hot and sunny weather and managed to catch some of the amazing tennis. The men's final was really exciting and I, for one, found that crucial last game really nerve wracking and was sitting on the edge of my seat the whole time. I also loved the ladies doubles final as it was lovely to see one of the Chinese girls laugh when she messed up instead of swearing and making a horrible face!
Today sees a new challenge over at Make My Monday and your hostess this week is Jacqueline who has chosen the theme of BALLOONS which could be either the party or the hot air sort. I decided on the hot air sort as I wanted to give my dies an airing.
Here's what I made:

A fairly simple card this time as I wanted to balloon to stand out.
I made the background by drawing cloud shapes on post it notes and cutting them out to make masts then added them to a square of watercolour paper. I added patches of Distress inks in blue shades to a plastic clipboard, sprayed it with water and pressed on the card to colour it. I then removed the masks to reveal the clouds - you can see where some of the ink seeped round the edges as it gives a fluffy look.
I used a scrap of decorated paper from my bits box to make the balloon. It had a pattern made with a Chocolate Baroque damask background stamp and a Kaleidacolor ink pad. I die cut the balloon and decorative sections with the Paper Mania Build A Scene Hot Air Balloon set. I attached the decorative strips with clear adhesive pads and trimmed where necessary.
The sentiment is from the brand new Polka Doodles CD, Bonbon Belles, and I trimmed the ends to a v shape and coloured it with Mustard Seed Distress ink. I attached it to the card like a banner by sticking at each end only.

Have a great week.
Hugs,
Fliss xx

Some challenges for my card:
One Stop Craft - Anything Goes
Sister Act Card Challenge - Anything Goes

Vintage Lacy Background For Polka Doodles

Hi there, I'm here with the details on how I made the pretty lacy look background for my Polka Doodles challenge card this week.
As I really love stamping, what else could I do to make my background and it's really easy when you know how so now's the time to grab a cuppa and read on.

Step 1

It's best to use watercolour paper for this technique as you need something sturdy that won't buckle. Cut a piece that will fit your chosen card blank. The lovely flourish stamp I've used is my favourite from the Daisy Doodle stamp set and I've used Ranger Distress Embossing Ink as it stays wet for a long time. My paper is 8x8 and I stamped the image in the corners first then twice in between and heat embossed the images with the white detail powder. If you want to make a smaller card such as 6x6, you'll probably need to stamp just once between the corners. I've added a bit of colour from the next step so you can see the embossing.

Step 2

 Using a craft sheet (or a plastic clipboard as I do), apply a large patch of Victorian Velvet Distress ink and spray with a little water. Using a fairly large paint brush, add a wash all over the over the top of the embossing which will resist the colour.

Step 3

Deepen the colour by applying a further wash of Seedless Preserves Distress ink diluted with water spray as before and then add extra colour to the corners by picking up ink direct from the ink pad with a damp brush.

Step 4

Once the paper has dried, you can then give it some shimmer by applying gold liquid pearls over the embossed area using your finger. Just dab on gently and try not to rub too much. It gives a lovely soft sheen to the embossing and softens the colour a little too.

Step 5

To finish the paper off for my card, I added a little extra embossing across the centre using the same stamp and the gold pearl as I found that the lacy effect of the paper looked better without any added embellishing and hope you agree.

Enjoy!
Fliss xx

Create Your Own Background At Polka Doodles

Hello again, I'm back already to tell you about the new challenge today over at Polka Doodles which if you haven't guessed from the title, has a theme chosen by yours truly.
I've made a very girly and lacy looking creation but it's all stamped! Hope you like it.

I'll be back later today with a tutorial on how I made the background, it won't be until I get home though as I ran out of time to do it last night and I do need my sleep at the moment.

Hugs,
Fliss xx

Birds Nest For That's Crafty

Hello there, my first post for today concerns my creation for this week over at That's Crafty which is a fairly simple to make card as yet again, I've been really short on time as I'm still trying to get sorted after starting my job last week and as I'm sure you can gather, failing miserably!

I hope you like what I've made and if you'd like to see the instructions, you'll find them over at the blog with a materials list.

Back later!
Fliss xx

Christmas In July

Hello folks, better late than never with my post for the new challenge at Make My Monday today! I was so busy over the weekend with my younger one home from uni (plus tons of her stuff and washing) plus a secret project too that I had no time to schedule my post yesterday.
This week the theme was chosen by Laura and being Christmas In July, I have to say it made me a bit challenged as well so my creation is rather simple in design.

One of those cards you can mass produce quite quickly as it's just sponged through a circular aperture in a scrap of paper and then toning ink pads used to make the pattern.
I then stamped on the Tim Holtz trees with VersaFine Spanish Moss ink and added the Hero Arts sentiment with VersaColor Raspberry.
Panel added to a kraft card blank and voila - done!

I'm still struggling to keep up with everything and am hoping for light at the end of the tunnel very soon.
Have a great week.
Hugs, Fliss xx