Rustica Challenge at That's Crafty! Challenge Blog

Hello everyone and welcome to my inspiration for our new challenge today over at That's Crafty! Challenge Blog and the theme for the next fortnight is Rustica, meaning we want to see rust effects on your creations and I sure did love this challenge.
My creation is a mixed media art panel inspired by a rusty factory building we saw on the side of one of the lochs we visited on our holiday in Scotland. We climbed through a broken panel to get to the area which was very sad to see but there were lots of amazing textures to take photos of. Nature had started to take the land back too and flowers and greenery peeked out between broken bricks.

 

I covered the MDF art panel with texture paste and then chose one of the Bits and Pieces greyboard cogs and pressed it into the paste randomly to add texture. Can you see the outlines on the background?

I then brushed a mix of Charcoal Shimmer paint and Antique Silver Metallic paint over the textured background. When the paint was fully dry, I used the Plaid Folk Art Painted Finishes Rust Kit which contains a light and dark rust paint to add rusty drips and patches over the top. Once this had dried off, I used the Ranger Embossing Dabber to add patches of ink and heat embossed the areas with Ranger Antiquities Rust embossing powder.

I coloured a number of the greyboard cogs with That's Crafty! paints (Antique Gold and Silver Metallic, Charcoal Shimmer and Multi Surface Black). I glued these on with silicone glue and finished off with a Tim Holtz word chip which I distressed by rubbing with charcoal and silver. My hubby says it looks like distressed metal which you can't really see in the pic.

I'll be round to visit as soon as I can and hope to share some holiday pics too.

Fliss xx

The C Word for That's Crafty! Blog

Hello everyone, I'm writing this post before setting off to Scotland for a week on our hols so I hope this one pops up as scheduled!
I hope you've all had a good week and wanted to let you know that I have my usual Friday post over at That's Crafty! Blog and this week I'm sharing another of my Hochanda samples which is a card made with Donna's gorgeous new festive designs.
Here's a sneak peek and you'll find all the details over at the blog if you'd like to hop over which, of course, I hope you will.

Hope to see you there!

Have a great day and a lovely weekend and see you soon.
Fliss xx

Autumn Woodland Mixed Media Art Panel for That's Crafty!

Hello again! I'm really delighted to tell you that today I'm sharing my favourite of my Hochanda samples over at That's Crafty! Blog. In fact, the second show is just starting if you read this at 11am but if you aren't, fear not, as there's slways rewind!
Here's a sneak peek and you'll find the whole creation over at the blog. I really hope you'll hop on over as this is the one I didn't want to part with! Think I'm going to have to create it again!

Hope you like my toadstools as much as I liked painting them.

Have a great weekend and see you next week.

I'm off on my holidays for a week tomorrow and we're heading to Scotland and beautiful Loch Lomond - can't wait!

Fliss x

A Card Challenge at That's Crafty! Challenge Blog

Hello everyone and welcome to my inspiration for our new challenge today over at That's Crafty! Challenge Blog, where for the next fortnight our theme is Only Cards.
I hope you caught the first of the That's Crafty! shows on Hochanda too as the first one has just finished having started at the early hour of 7am! The next one is at 11am and is not to be missed as the new products are amazing and I really loved working with them.
My card inspiration features one of Donna's gorgeous new Christmas stamps and I know this one will be appearing quite a lot on my festive makes.

My Oxide inks came out to play for my background which was made simply with a scrap of mixed media paper coloured with Faded Jeans and Wilted Violet Oxides. I dipped and spritzed until I was happy with the effect then stamped on the gorgeous snowman with VersaFine Onyx Black ink and heat embossed it with clear powder.
I then painted the snowman using the same Oxide inks which watercolour beautifully over the background colour. The snowy bits were painted with white gesso and I added a little shadowing around the edges with a pale grey watercolour pencil.
I used the new Poinsettia Tree stencil which has some lovely dots to apply dots around the snowman with an embossing dabber. I then heat embossed these with white embossing powder. I ended up with a few specks and streaks where I wasn't quite expecting them but hey - I like the effect!
I attached the panel to a white square card blank and finished off with a Tim Holtz Idea-ology seasonal sticker.

It's really good to enter as the prize is a voucher for the online shop where there are just tons of amazing goodies to choose from.
Have a great day and see you later with news of my That's Crafty! Blog post today.
Fliss xx

A Bentley Tag for That's Crafty!

Hello everyone, hope you have sunshine today as we do down here in the South after a week or so of rather Autumnal weather more like October than August!
I'm over at That's Crafty! Blog today with a tag featuring my favourite feline, Bentley, on a rather girly creation as the under used pinks and purples have come out to play for a change. Bentley looks rather dreamy and here's a sneak peek to hopefully send you over to see the tag.

Hope you have a great day and a lovely weekend too.
Hugs,
Fliss xx

Motivational Art Journal Page for That's Crafty!

Hello again and welcome to a very quick post to let you know that I'm over at That's Crafty! Blog today with what was actually a very quick to make art journal page though happily I don't think it looks as if it was quick!
Here's a sneak peek and all details can be found at the blog as usual along with lots of amazing posts from my very talented DT sisters so do hop over for a look if you can as you won't be disappointed.

Have a great weekend and hopefully will see you soon.

Fliss xx

Anything But Cards at That's Crafty! Challenge Blog

Hello everyone, I've been a bit of a bad visitor again I'm afraid as I'm working on something behind the scenes which I can't reveal just yet and it's eating up my spare time so apologies for that and normal service will be resumed as soon as possible!
We have a new challenge over at That's Crafty! Challenge Blog today and for the next fortnight our theme is Anything But Cards and that suited me down to the ground as I haven't made many cards lately.
My inspiration is a mixed media tag made with one of That's Crafty! white/greyboard tags which can stand up to all sorts of media.

My tag was decorated by scraping yellow, orange and pink acrylic paints on to the surface using an old store card. I worked in several directions, adding thin swiped lines as a top coat.
When the paint was dry, I used the floral background and hearts Dinky Stencils to add a pattern in places with DecoArt Media Carbon Black fluid acrylic paint.
I stamped the lovely Serena (Donna's gorgeous clear stamp by That's Crafty!) on mixed media paper and coloured her with paints, adding a coat of DecoArt Glamour Dust pink paint over the top on her hair and the heart.
I stamped her again directly on the tag, off-setting her slightly over the side for interest. I then cut out the painted image and the heart shape and glued these on top of the image stamped on the tag.
I stencilled on the enchanted text from the Dinky Stencil of the same name with black paint and added gingham ribbon at the top to finish.

Have a great day and see you later.
Fliss xx

The Lily Pond for That's Crafty!

Hello everyone, just to let you know that I have my usual post over at That's Crafty! Blog today which is another mixed media piece as I'm rather hooked on those at the moment.

Here's a sneak peek and you'll have to hop on over to the blog to see the whole thing and hope you will of course!

Have a great day and a lovely weekend.

Fliss xx

Hello for That's Crafty!

Guess who completely forgot to schedule her post for today's make over at That's Crafty! Blog! Oops!
I have a very simple CAS make this week as I was very short on time so hope you like what I made with a beautiful stamp that has been sitting in my stash uninked until now.

Here's just a little peek and you'll need to hop over to the blog to see the whole thing.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend and will be round to visit soon.

Fliss xx

All Things Grunge at That's Crafty! Challenge Blog

Hello everyone, I hope you've all had a good week. I've been spending some of my spare time getting to grips with Instagram with a bit of help from my Sarah who was home last weekend and explained how to do it all as I'm rather a technical dunce! It did mean my blog has been a bit neglected so hope to be visiting again over the weekend.
We have a great new challenge today over at That's Crafty! Challenge Blog and we're getting all grunged up as for the next fortnight, the theme is All Things Grunge.

My inspiration is an art panel made with one of the fab That's Crafty! Surfaces MDF panels as you can throw anything mixed media at it which isjust what I wanted to do.

 

Here's the finished panel and I don't actually have the steps photographed as it was rather a go with the flow creation but you'll see below all the materials and I'll explain all the layers beneath it.

So the first thing I did was to spread a thin layer of texture paste roughly on the panel. When it was dry, I added torn pieces of vintage book page and rose patterned tissue paper in several places gluing on with matt medium.
I then added a wash of pink and orange acrylic paint over the top, mixing in plenty of water so that you could still see the papers underneath. When happy with that, I used a harlequin and flower stencil with pink and green paint to add a bit of detail.
I sprinkled on Paper Artsy Infusions in purple and green, misting these with water and allowing them to run down the panel. The effect is quite subtle but you can see it if you look closely.
I took a piece of mixed media paper and die cut the chevron element which I coloured with Distress Oxides in pink, orange and green. I glued this on the panel on the top left side.
I stamped on some script rather randomly with fern green ink.
I next coloured the wild flower greyboard embellishments with shimmer paint, starting with green and adding antique gold over the top to create a lovely shimmery olive green.
The greyboard butterfly is, I think, my piece de resistance as I really enjoyed grunging this up! I started off by coating it with texture sand paste then gluing on a scrap of the flower pattern tissue paper. I then dabbed on yellow oxide ink and misted it with water to make the colour run. This gives a lovely aged effect. I used the flower stencil to add a pink floral pattern and glued on some tiny paper flowers for added interest.
I glued the embellishments to my panel, finishing off with some tiny butterfly buttons and the stamped text which I cut up and dipped in diluted oxide ink to tone the text to fit the panel. The final touch was to rub some antique gold paint around the edges.

Materials:
That's Crafty! Surfaces - MDF Panel 4.5x9
That's Crafty! Bits and Pieces Greyboard Embellishments - Small Wildflowers, Large Butterflies & Dragonflies
That's Crafty! Clear Stamp Sets - Textures Collection Set 1, Lynne's Affirmations Set 2
That's Crafty! Dinky Stencils - Distressed Harlequin, Floral Background
That's Crafty! Shimmer Paint - Green
That's Crafty! Metallic Paint - Antique Gold
Tim Holtz Frameworks Border Die - Chevron
Mixed Media Paper
Extras - Vintage Book Paper, Rose Patterned Tissue Paper, Butterfly Shaped Buttons, Tiny Paper Flowers

I hope you can enter as the prize is a voucher for the online shop where you'll be totally spoilt for choice!
Have a great day and a lovely weekend.
Fliss xx

Funky Flower Jug for That's Crafty!

Hello everyone, I'm so sorry to have been a bad visitor the last couple of weeks, I've been so busy with work that I've not had a free day since the Monday before last! Hopefully things have now slowed down a bit and I'll have some "me" time.

I have my usual Friday post over at That's Crafty! Blog and this week it's another very bright creation (that I only just got finished in time too!) featuring one of the new and fabulous giganTAGs and some of the greyboard embellishments.

Hope you like the peek and you'll find all the details over at the blog if you'd like to hop over. Hope you do!

Have a great day and a lovely weekend and see you soon.

Fliss xx

Meadow Bright at That's Crafty! Blog

Hello again, a slightly late post to let you know I have a new creation today over at That's Crafty! Blog and late as I've been to the optometrist to collect my long awaited glasses which I hope will sort out the closer vision issues that I've had since my second cataract op in May.
Vision is currently a little weird as they said it will take a little while to get used to them but I can read very tiny fonts so hopefully all will be well.

Here's a sneak peek of my mixed media project and hope you like it as in contrast to my last one, it's very bright!

Hope you have a lovely rest of the day and a great weekend.

Fliss xx

Anything Goes! at That's Crafty! Challenge Blog

Hello and welcome to my inspiration for our new challenge today over at That's Crafty! Challenge Blog where our new theme is a really easy one as Anything Goes!
You should try and enter as the prize is a voucher for the online shop and there are so many amazing goodies you'll be spoilt for choice.
My inspiration is a mixed media tag using one of the fabulous MDF surfaces which will take any medium you throw at them without fear of buckling.

 

I decided on my much loved tree bark effect background as I get withdrawal symptoms if I don't do this every so often!

The first thing you do is spread a thick layer of texture paste on the tag surface then draw on a pattern to resemble tree bark with a wooden skewer. It's one of those things you don't see the full effect of until you add the paint so don't worry if you think it doesn't look like much at this stage.

Then when you add a couple of layers of paint - I use a couple of shades of brown, a grey and finally add a few green streaks to look like moss or lichen and this is what it looks like then.

Now do you see what I mean!

I then stamped some of the gorgeous camellias from the Rubber Dance Antique Botanicals set on manila cardstock with Archival Potting Soil ink - I stamped 6 for some layering up. I cut out 3 whole flowers and then just the flower from the remainder, shaping the images with a large embossing tool and layering the separate flowers on top with 3D tape for added dimension.

I painted some of the leaf sprigs from the brand new Bits and Pieces greyboard embellishments by That's Crafty! (from the Small Funky  Flowers Set 1) using cream paint and die cut some leafy sprigs (Tim Holtz Garden Greens) from manila cardstock.

I then assembled the panel as you see, finishing off with some toning sari ribbon and a stamped butterfly (Carabelle Studio) from my bits box.

Have a great day and will see you later with details of my Friday post at That's Crafty! Blog which is the complete opposite to this being very bright!

Fliss xx

Some Bunny Love for That's Crafty!

Hello everyone, hope you're all OK. I'm rather tired after a difficult week at work wrestling with foreign currencies and bad bookkeeping by a client so I have to admit my brain hurts!

I'm over at That's Crafty! Blog today with the card I made for my dear hubby Andrew as this week we're celebrating 35 years of marriage - it's a bit yikes as it doesn't seem that long!

As he doesn't like fussy cards, I've made quite a simple one with my dear friend Donna's gorgeous bunny for Rubber Dance who's just like our Dill (a Netherland Dwarf). She very kindly sent me the set a little while back when I was struggling with my eyesight issues.

There's only a sneak peek of the card here and you'll find the whole thing over at the blog as always. There is a pic of the lovely Dill below though so do scroll down for that as he's soooo cute!

And here's our cute little man:

Isn't he just adorable?

Have a great day and a lovely weekend.
Fliss x

Nature Tiles for That's Crafty!

Hello again, a slightly late post to let you know it's my usual Friday post over at That's Crafty! Blog today and this week it's the art panel I created with the gorgeous sell out wildflower greyboard embellishments that debuted on Hochanda last week.
Here's a sneak peek and just click on the link HERE to be transported over to see the whole art panel. Hope to see you there.

Have a great weekend everyone.
Fliss xx

Keeping It Simple at That's Crafty Challenge Blog

Hello everyone, I hope you've been surviving the heat wave we've had here this last week. I have to admit I've really struggled to cope as I don't do well in such heat and have ended up with puffy feet and ankles, something I've never had in this country! The office I work in was so unbearably hot that I had to wear my linen holiday frocks to work in an effort to keep cool - not that it worked but they were much more comfy :)
We have a new challenge today over at That's Crafty Challenge Blog where for the next fortnight the theme is Keep It Simple so we want to see clean and simple creations.
This is a theme that really is a challenge for me as I don't do simple that often so the creative thinking cap went on! I was inspired in the end by one of my favourite quotes from Lynne's Affirmations stamp sets and this journal page was the result. Hope you like it.

I used a bubble texture stamp with some bright Distress inks to stamp a design repeatedly, starting in the bottom left corner, going up diagonally towards the top right in a flowing shape which spoke to me of soaring upwards.
I stamped the butterfly wings on scrap paper with black ink and drew bodies in between with a black marker then painted them with Distress ink. I cut them out and added them to fly up my soaring bubby design then stamped on the quote with black ink to finish. Tada, done!

I used:
That's Crafty! Texture Stamp Set 2
That's Crafty! Lynne's Affirmations Stamp Set 1 - for the butterfly wings
That's Crafty! Lynne's Affirmations Stamp Set 2 - for the quote
Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink
Distress Inks - Twisted Citron, Picked Raspberry, Ripe Persimmon, Fossilised Amber, Salty Ocean

Have a great day,
Fliss xx

Catch a Dream for That's Crafty!

Hello everyone, I'm so excited to be able to finally share one of my samples for today's Hochanda shows and if you didn't see the first one at 8am, never fear as there's another at 2pm so you can watch our lovely Neil then. I've had to tape them as I had to work today due to having last weekend away in Devon which is why it's hot and sunny now when it wasn't when I would have liked it to be!

I can't tell you how much fun I had making this but you'll have to hop over to That's Crafty! Blog to see the whole thing which is one of the amazing new GiganTAGS which are a huge 19x38 cm!

Have a great day and a lovely weekend and see you soon.

Fliss xx

Here Come Summer for That's Crafty!

Hello again, this is a scheduled post as I'm on my way to Devon for a weekend away and a much needed rest at the moment.
I'm over at That's Crafty! Blog today with a bit or possibly a lot of wishful thinking! I have a beach themed mixed media panel to share showcasing a completely different way of using Donna's gorgeous Marina stamp set which is so versatile.

This is just a sneak peek so you will have to hop over to the blog to see the whole thing. I hope you will of course!

Have a great day and a lovely weekend.
Fliss xx

A Dog Eared Challenge at That's Crafty! Challenge Blog

Hello all, hope you're all well and this time surviving not the hot and sunny weather last week but the gales we seem to have at the moment! I really don't like windy weather and end up wearing sunglasses even if it's raining (yes, you did read that right!) as my newly visioned eyes are still sensitive to not only sunlight but also wind. They don't hurt as such, just feel uncomfortable.
There's a new challenge today over at That's Crafty! Challenge Blog and having gone the feline route last time what else could we do but let the dogs out!
I have a rather iffy dog eared creation to share which I admit I'm really not sure about and struggled like mad with but it will have to do!

Sir Tim's crazy dogs are the only dog stamps I actually own so I decided to ink up this rather cute quirky eyed pooch. I stamped him on a piece of torn edged mixed media paper (the dog eared bit :D) with Archival Jet Black ink and coloured him with DecoArt acrylic in medium grey value 3 and added a little pencil detail when the paint was dry.
I then got to work with a couple of That's Crafty! Dinky Stencils (Grid and Chevron) with Barn Door, Stormy Sky and Peeled Paint Distress inks, smudging the colours a little.
I stamped the dog lead (I think he has a walkies or maybe not walkies look on his face) and finished off with a Small Talk Occasions sticker then added the panel to a grey card blank.

Do enter if you can as you'll have the chance to win a voucher for the online shop and there are loads of new and amazing new goodies about to appear too so don't forget you have to be in it to win it!

I'm now off for a long weekend away with my other half for a much needed rest down in Devon so I hope the weather improves.
Fliss xx

Seahorse Gazing for That's Crafty!

Hello everyone, I hope you've all had a good week and I've been a rather bad visitor again so sorry for that. I have to rest my eyes in the evenings at the moment and not do too much on the computer as I spend all day on one at work due to working in accountancy. I have to wait a few more weeks until i can see the optometrist and get my glasses sorted out so I really do feel frustrated at not being able to do all I want to.
I have my usual Friday post over at That's Crafty! Blog today where I'm sharing my first proper acrylic stack as I have to admit to being rather scared of working with acrylic but I think I've finally cracked it!

You'll find all the details over at the blog as always plus a pic of the whole thing and a tutorial on how to make it. Hope to see you there!

Have a great day and a lovely weekend.
Fliss xx

A Fishy Tale at That's Crafty! Blog

Hello again, a quick post to let you know that I have my usual Friday post over at That's Crafty! Blog and this week I'm sharing a bright mixed media tag inspired by a photo I saw of a shoal of fish. Hope you like it!

Have a great day and a lovely weekend and see you soon.
Fliss xx

Feline Fine at That's Crafty! Challenge Blog

Hello all, I hope you're all surviving the current heatwave which I have to say is great in some ways and not so in others especially when I have to go to work!
It's time for a new challenge over at That's Crafty! Challenge Blog and our theme for the next fortnight is Feline Fine so we'd like to see your creations with cats on.
I, of course, made something with my favourite feline, Bentley. Hope you like my tag.

I used the largest white/greyboard tag from That's Crafty! range of surfaces to alter and covered it with a mix of blue, green and yellow acrylic paints. I then used the paw prints Dinky stencil to add a pattern with a mix of 2 shades of grey paint.
I then stamped Bentley on mixed media paper with Archival black ink and coloured him with paints and pencils, aiming for a ginger tom look. I cut him out and glued him to the tag, not cutting out his whiskers but extending them out with a black Sharpie pen.
I stamped some text in the spaces left with Archival watering can ink and then decided it was a bit too strong so I dry brushed white gesso over everything to tone it down a little.
I finished off with some Tim Holtz Big Chat stickers and a scrap of ribbon tied at the top.

There's a great prize if you enter and it's randomly drawn to so everyone is in for a chance.
See you later.
Fliss xx

Marina's Treasure Trove for That's Crafty!

Hello everyone, sorry to have been a bit of a bad visitor this week. This is because I'm back at work and now have to rest my eyes a bit after my cataract op last week as I spend all day on the computer at work looking at figures on spreadsheets. It takes the eye around a month to properly recover so you'll have to forgive me if I don't visit as often for a while.

I'm over at That's Crafty! Blog today with the first of a series of makes with Donna's new and fabulous Deep Sea Divas stamps which I was totally thrilled to be able to work with before their official launch this week. If you didn't see it before, I also created a couple of makes for the Stamping Contrasts feature in the June issue of Craft Stamper which was such a thrill too.

I have to say that these stamps are incredibly versatile and I can't seem to stop making things with them so there will be a lot more show and tell moments over the coming weeks.

This is just a sneaky peek of part of my mixed media creation so you'll need to hop over to the blog if you're intrigued to see the whole thing, which I hope you are of course!

Have a great day and a lovely weekend.
Fliss xx

Oxide Ink Play at That's Crafty! Blog

Hello again, back to let you know I have my usual Friday post over at That's Crafty! Blog today and this week it's all about my experimenting with those addictive Oxide inks. If you haven't tried them do check it out to see just one of the effects you can achieve with the inks and water - they're totally amazing and I'm completely hooked!

As you can see, I made a whole batch of cards in one go - just think of the possibilities for Christmas!

Have a great weekend.
Fliss xx

Back to Black at That's Crafty! Challenge Blog

Hello everyone, thanks so much to everyone who took the time to leave me comments. I really appreciate your kindness. I'm pleased to say that I can see better than before the op although not quite as well as I hoped because I still seem to need glasses for some things and more than I really wanted as I didn't have to wear them until all the cataract stuff kicked off. I won't know what the prescription is until my check up in 2 weeks.
Anyhow, enough of my troubles and on to the actual reason for this post which is to let you know there's a new challenge today over at That's Crafty! Challenge Blog which has the theme of Back to Black like the Amy Winehouse song. We want to see lots of black on your creation and my inspiration is a tag with more black than I've ever used I think! Hope you like it.

I used the largest size white/greyboard tag by That's Crafty! and painted it with DecoArt Fluid Acrylic in Carbon Black. I then added circles on top for a pop of colour using a homemade circle stencil and DecoArt Americana Acrylics in Daffodil Yellow, Wild Violet and Lush Foliage.
I next stamped on the circles with Archival Jet Black ink using images from That's Crafty! Textures Collection Sets 1 and 2 clear stamp sets. I found that by layering up some of the images you get a rather interesting effect - see the yellow circles.

I then splattered on some very pale pink paint (Paper Artsy Fresco Finish Acrylic in Vintage Lace) to add more interest.
I stamped the cute crazy bird on mixed media paper with the black ink and die cut him with the matching die set (handy if you're struggling to cut things out!).
I assembled the tag with some rather nifty black and white spotty feathers from my stash - do you like the bird's cute fan tail? and finished off with text from my bits box which is a Visible Image stamp on black card embossed with white and I thought this fit rather well. A bit of stripey ribbon at the top and I was done!

There's a prize of a voucher for the online shop for the winner so do enter if you can - there are tons of fab new goodies in the shop now!

Have a great day and a lovely weekend.
Fliss xx

Be Seeing You Soon!

Hi everyone, just a quick post to say that I won't be around for a couple of days as I have my long overdue left eye cataract op tomorrow.
I don't know what the end result will be but hopefully I won't need glasses as much as I do at the moment.
A little re-share of my most appropriate journal page which really sets out my hopes for tomorrow.

Some of my reality has been a bit cloudy lately, especially on the colour front as I didn't realise until I had my right eye sorted out how much the cataracts had been affecting my colour perception. Hopefully with both eyes sorted out I'll be seeing everything in true colour!

See you soon.
Fliss xx

Discovering Wonder at That's Crafty!

Hello everyone, still suffering somewhat from the nasty thingy I managed to catch that turned into Pharyngitis which makes me cough a lot when I first get up and stops me sleeping sometimes - sigh! I'm somewhat fed up as this is the third time in less than 3 months I've had something when before now I haven't been ill for years!
Anyhow, enough whingeing and on to the reason for this post which is to let you know I have a very bright tag to share over at That's Crafty! Blog today which is a little extra inspiration for our Bright Challenge at That's Crafty! Challenge Blog.

Lots of stencilling and stamping and all details over at the blog as usual.

Have a great day and a lovely weekend.
Fliss xx

Just Because

Hello everyone, hope you're have a good start to the Bank Holiday weekend. I've managed to fit in a bit of crafting after the supermarket trip and a trip to town with my Sarah who's home for the weekend.
It's something that was a bit of an experiment and I'm not quite sure about it! I wanted to do something for the Rubber Dance second April challenge which is to use Black and White with One Colour and I picked green with my beloved Crushed Olive Distress ink which is one of my favourite shades.

I made the paper, which is actually foreground rather than background due to my experiment, by pressing the Distress inkpad repeatedly on a square of white card to make a sort of grungy criss cross design.
I glued this onto a mat of black card leaving a narrow border all round. Then came my experiment as I tried stamping the asters from the Antique Botanicals stamp set on white card and die cutting into a shape before adding to the card. It didn't quite work as I wanted so instead I die cut a shape out of the inked paper attached to the mat.
I placed this on my white card blank and marked the top and sides of the cut out with a pencil dot, then stamped the asters directly on the card blank.
I added a little more green using a Crushed Olive Distress marker on the leaves and flowers then finished off the card with a Tim Holtz sticker (as an aside, my hubby came in when I was adding the sticker, looked and the book and said it must have been very time consuming cutting out all the stickers - he thought I did it!!!).

You'll have to let me know what you think as I'm still rather iffy about it.

 

I want to say thank you so much here to Bibi for my prize from the recent blog hop which arrived a couple of days ago and I've only just had time to say this. I'm thrilled with the stamps and Bibi has generously included some more stamps as well - thank you sooo much and I hope to play with them very soon xx

I'm linking this up to the current Rubber Dance Challenge in the nick of time I think as the challenge ends tomorrow.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend,
Fliss xx

That's Crafty! Bright! Challenge

Hello again and welcome to my rather late inspiration for the new challenge today at That's Crafty! Challenge Blog. Our theme for the new fortnight is Bright! and I'm sure you know how much I liked this one as most of my artwork comes under that category!

My make is a bright art journal page which I made for the Hochanda shows and haven't yet shared. As you can see, it is rather bright.

The base for this was one of the fab white/greyboard 8x8 journal pages which you can throw all sorts of things at without fear of buckling.
I scraped on the paint with an old store card, using Paper Artsy Fresco Finish Acrylics in shades of yellow, orange and pink until I was happy with the effect.
I then used the Dream Word art stencil to add the large text with white gesso. the end result was not quite as strong as I wanted so I went over the top with a white paint pen. I outlined the letters with a black fine Sharpie marker.
I stamped the bubbly image from That's Crafty! Texture Stamp Set 1 all over with Archival jet black ink and stamped the quote from That's Crafty! Inspirational Quotes Set 1 with the same ink.
I used the bubble border from the dream stencil with white gesso to add some random bubbles. I added a little detail round the edges by stamping the bubble design with black ink.
I finished off by stamping on a few more bubbles with Archival Cactus Flower.

There's a fab prize for the randomly drawn winner and all you have to do to be in with a chance is enter.
Have a great weekend.
Fliss xx

That's Crafty! and Sandra Everton Relics & Artifacts - My Day!

Hello everyone, I'm so excited to tell you that it's my day over at That's Crafty! Blog to show you my project for our collaboration with Sandra Evertson's Relics and Artifacts Ambassadors with the aim of showing you how well That's Crafty! substrates work with the beautiful line of Relics and Artifacts.

Hopefully you've been following our journey throughout the week and don't forget to look if you haven't because as well as some stunning artwork starting off on Monday, there are prizes on offer if you leave comments, one on That's Crafty! Blog and one on Sandra Evertson's Muse Blog.

Here's a sneak peek of mine and you'll have to pop over to the blog to see the whole project and don't forget to leave a comment to be in with the chance to win a great prize.

Whilst you're over there don't forget to hop over to the Muse Blog where R&A Ambassador Sherry Westfall Matthews has a stunning project to share.

Hope you enjoy hopping!

Have a great weekend too.

Fliss xx

That's Crafty! Collaborate with Sandra Evertson Relics & Artifacts!

Hello everyone, if you saw my post of Friday, you may have noticed that I gave a hint of some exciting news for us here at That's Crafty! this week and now is the time for the big reveal.

A little while back we got together with Sandra Evertson and her team of Relics & Artifacts Ambassadors (our lovely Lynne is one of these) with the idea of collaborating with them to use That's Crafty surfaces with Sandra's beautiful relics and artifacts line for Prima. I was really excited about this although I have to admit to a little trepidation as the undecorated items are so very beautiful it's very hard to actually do something to decorate them!

I'll be sharing my project on my usual That's Crafty! day on Friday along with R&A Ambassador Sherry Westfall Matthews but today is the turn of our Moira and Chrissy Colon so you'll need to check out That's Crafty! Blog and the Relics & Artifacts Blog to over the coming week to see all the amazing creations (definitely not to be missed!).

We hope you will join in the collaboration each day, as there will be two very special prizes! One lucky winner will receive a Gift Certificate for £25 from That’s Crafty! and the other lucky winner will receive 3 sets of Relics and Artifacts Matte Resin Craft Blanks of their choice, from Relics and Artifacts!

Here’s what you have to do for a chance to win:

1. Visit both blogs each day and leave a comment.

2. Become a follower of both the Relics and Artifacts and That’s Crafty! blogs.

It’s that easy! The winners will be picked at random on Tuesday 2^nd May 2017.

Here's a very small sneak peek of my ingredients before the decoration and you'll have to wait until Friday to see the whole thing.

Do check out the blog post for today as you are in for a real treat!

See you soon.
Fliss xx

Sunshiny Day for That's Crafty!

Hello everyone, I hope you've all had a good week and like me, are looking forward to the weekend which will hopefully have some good weather.
Which brings me to my post over at That's Crafty! Blog today where I'm sharing a card that was inspired by a certain song which popped into my head the other day. Can you guess which one?

You'll find all the details of how I made my card over at the blog if you'd like to hop over and see.

Have a great day and a lovely weekend and see you next week which is an exciting one for us at That's Crafty! and I'll be sharing the news on Monday.

Fliss xx

Outnumbered at That's Crafty! Challenge Blog

Hello again and welcome to my inspiration for our new challenge today over at That's Crafty! Challenge Blog where for the next fortnight our theme is Outnumbered so numbers are the order of the day.
I've made another tag although this one is very different to the one on my last post as it's more vintage in style and came about from my experiments with the fab new 8x8 clock stencil.

When I saw the challenge theme, time jumped into my head from the point of view of the numbers on a clock so I decided to try something completely different with the clock stencil.
I taped the stencil to a piece of mixed media paper, positioning it so that just under half was over the paper. I then used DecoArt Media white modelling paste to make a raised pattern on the paper. When the paste was dry, I painted the clock segment with a mix of Paper Arsty Fresco Finish Chocolate Pudding acrylic paint and DecoArt Media Burnt Sienna Fluid acrylic paint.
I used a mix of DecoArt Media Metallic Gold and Quinacridone Gold over the raised areas and when it was dry, trimmed around the rounded edge leaving a tiny dark brown border.
I painted the tag with a mix of DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics - Cobalt Teal Hue, Green Gold, Ultramarine, Raw Sienna and Transparent Yellow Oxide. I then stamped on the script image from That's Crafty! Texture Stamp Set 1 with Archival Potting Soil ink and stencilled on the Dinky Stencil numbers with Cobalt Teal Hue DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylic paint.
I glued the clock face on to the tag and finished off with some Chit Chat stickers which I edged with the Archival ink.

There's a fab prize of a voucher for the online shop for the randomly drawn winner and all you have to do to be in with a chance is enter!
Good luck!
Have a great long weekend.
Fliss xx

Head in the Sky for That's Crafty!

Hello everyone and wishing you all a very Happy Easter. I'm feeling a little better than I did yesterday so am hopefully on the mend now so thanks to anyone who left me good wishes for a speedy recovery.
I have my usual weekly post over at That's Crafty! Blog today and this week I'm sharing a very bright tag featuring my favourite crazy bird.

You'll find all the details over at the blog as usual if you'd like to hop on over and see how this came about.

I'll be back soon as we have a new challenge today over at That's Crafty! Challenge Blog and I have my inspiration to share - it's another tag but is very different to this one.

See you in a while.
Fliss xx

Come Fly With Me

Also know as the unpredictability of Brushos!
Hello everyone from a rather sorry for herself Fliss who currently could give Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer a run for his money appearance wise only I'm not half as cute! I have my second lot of sinus troubles in less than 2 months since I started working in the new office - in case you missed it, my ex boss sold his client list to another firm where I now work. Before this, all I've had in nearly 5 years is a 1 day sick bug which is why I'm feeling so sorry for myself.
Anyhow, enough of my woes and on to the card I have to share which I began before I got sick and just got up the energy to assemble today. It's for the current Rubber Dance challenge which is a colour one and there's a bit of artistic license here as you'd never believe I used Dark Brown Brusho Crystals on the paper I coloured.

I took a piece of mixed media paper torn from the pad - I really love the torn edge for a bit of shabby chic texture. I misted it with water and sprinkled on Dark Brown and Turquoise Brush Crystals and misted with water again. This is where the unpredictable nature of Brushos came out because as you can see, there are some orangy red bits that came out. I did like the result though so decided to go with the flow!
I then added some stencilling, using That's Crafty! Dinky Stencils - Clock Background and Star Shower - with Gathered Twigs DI for the clock and Stormy Sky DI for the stars. I glued the paper to a kraft card blank.
I stamped the butterfly girl from Rubber Dance Fly With Me stamp set (couldn't find the set in the shop but single images are available so linking to that, or you can buy the set at That's Crafty!)) with Archival Potting Soil ink and added a touch of colour before cutting her out.
I stamped the Fly text from the set on a couple of times with the same ink then stamped the Come Fly With Me text on mixed media paper and cut the words out. It was then that serendipity struck as I realised I could position the word tiles to tie up with those stamped directly on the background paper - yay!
I bent the wings of the butterfly girl and added her with dimensional tape to finish.

I'm linking my card up to the Rubber Dance colour challenge and hope the slightly unpredictable Brusho episode is OK.

Have a great day everyone.
Fliss xx

Craft Stamper and Other News

Hello again and welcome to my second post of the day which is to tell you that I'm absolutely thrilled to be featured in the May issue of Craft Stamper which hits the shops today.

Here's a sneak peek of my project and if you want to see the whole thing I'm afraid you'll have to get the mag!

I also had some other amazing news yesterday as well as my 2 entries in the last 2 Rubber Dance challenges were chosen as an Honorable Mention - how fab is that! In addition to that I also won second prize in the blog hop! Even more amazing!!!

In case you missed my challenge entries, here they are again:

Have a great day and a really lovely weekend.
Fliss xx

Feeling Groovy for That's Crafty!

Hello everyone, I hope you're all enjoying the Spring weather now that it's finally made an appearance along with loads of trees in full blossom - I do love the sight of so many beautiful flowers and talking of which, I have a journal page to share at That's Crafty! Blog today featuring rather a lot of flowers this week.
There's only a sneak peek this time to give you a flavour of the multitude of flowers you can see on my page if you hop over to the blog where you'll find the whole creation.

I'll be back in a while as I have some news to share too.

See you soon.
Fliss xx

Spring Postcard

Hello everyone, I hope you've all had a lovely weekend with some sunshine as we had here. It's been really warm too and it seems as if Spring has finally arrived.
I have a postcard to share that I created with the cute little bird stamp that arrived by mistake with my subscriber's copy of Craft Stamper magazine. There was apparently a bit of a backlash about this which was suffered by Trish, the editor, when it was actually the printers error!

I covered the postcard (a That's Crafty! Surfaces white/grey board substrate) with some paper from my bits box that had been coloured with blue and yellow Paper Artsy Fresco Finish acrylic paints.
I stamped the little bird on with Archival Jet Black ink and then with a bit of masking stamped some branch extensions around the bird and also around the top left corner and down the side.
I painted the images with Martha Stewart Satin acrylic paints and glued on some little Hobbycraft flowers.
I stamped on some soaring birds and the text from That's Crafty! Lynne's Affirmations Set 2 to finish. I tried to make it look as if the little bird wanted to soar as well.

Have a good week and see you soon.
Fliss xx