Christmas Samples for Creative Expressions part 4

Today is the last instalment of the samples that I made.  I hope that you have enjoyed seeing them.

Today I am showing how I used the new grey board packs, created by the very talented Lisa Horton and Danny McIntosh for Creative Expressions.

These baubles were so much fun that I created two and decorated them very differently.  The first used crackle, texture, rust and shimmer sprays, teamed with stencilling.

The second was decorated in more traditional colours.

Both look so different and I love them!

The star was really simple.  I actually used off cuts left over from last year's Christmas cards.  How cool does this look.  I distressed all of the edges to make it look imperfect!

The next sets certainly put me outside of my comfort zone!

I started off with the Christmas tree.  This was great fun.  I created a snowy night and added stencilled snowflakes in the background.

I added a bit of glitter (I think you only ever see me using glitter at Christmas!).  I loved how easily the Christmas tree fitted together.  So much fun - it would make a wonderful alternative Christmas card too!

Next is the rather cosy fire scene with the sticking hanging.  I used stencilling in the background to give a vintage wallpaper look.

And finally….

The Nativity.  I didn't use the little sections to make this totally 3d like the others.  I also used rust to give it a grungier look.

So, there you have it.... the final of 4 posts to share the samples that I have made for Creative Expressions.  A massive thanks to Lisa Horton, Danny McIntosh and Giedre Vilimiene for the fabulous opportunity - it has been a blast!

Christmas Samples for Creative Expressions Part 3

For my next instalment, I wanted to share 2 mini books that I created using the amazing new Festive dies.

Here is my first:

I used a small canvas journal for this book.  To decorate the pages, brayered paint and stencilled the backgrounds on every other page.

I then teamed lots of the die cuts and went to town decorating the pages.  I snipped parts of the die cuts here and there and used off cuts to create frames for journalling or small pictures.



These dies all went so well together.  The were so fun to use.



I just loved how this little book turned out.

For my second mini book I used the Eileen Hull Passport die.



For the 'book' I used watercolour card.  I then created simple distress backgrounds using Distress Oxides.



Once my backgrounds were dry I added lots of stencilling and inked around the edges of every page.



I then set about decorating the book using loads of the die cuts, creating frames and little pockets for photos or journaling cards.



I teamed everything up using the Lisa Horton tags.  These tags are amazing - they can be used for any time of year.  I just love them!

I cannot tell you how much fun I had creating this book.  It took me a long time, but I enjoyed every minute of it!

Join me again in a couple of days to see the final instalment of the samples that I created.

Thanks for joining me.

Christmas Samples For Creative Expressions Part 2

Hello again.  Today I am sharing the samples I created for Creative Expressions that were created using the warmer and more traditional reds, greens and golds.

I'm starting by showing you how I have used a Christmas die for a non-Christmas card.  Here, I have used the air ship from the Sue Wilson Industrial Chic Festive collection and teamed it with the fabulous background die and sentiments from Lisa Horton.

For this sample I wanted to see if I could use some foiling to look distressed through the stencilling,  I didn't think this was going to work at first - then realised I was foiling with the foil the wrong way around!! lol!

I loved how distressed this looked when the foiling wasn't 'perfect'.  I teamed this background with the Gear Flower and Poinsettia from the Sue Wilson collection.

Here is another example of distressed foiling - I love how imperfect it is - but that's just me!!

This was a simple card using Distress Oxides through a stencil in the background and then teamed with the fabulous wreath die.  What I love about this die the most is that it can be used for so many things - not just the Festive season - and if you don't like traditional Christmas designs, these dies are perfect.

Again, I have used a simple Distress Oxide background through stencilling and then teamed it with two of the dies.

A simple Infusion background, using the Santa that I cut from the air ship that I used for the birthday card, teamed with the frame and a greeting.

Infusions again, this time with the offcuts from the Gear Flower, teamed with the Poinsettia, the Holly Sprigs and the Xmas greeting.

And finally for today, another wreath.  I think you can see how much I loved these dies!

So, there you have it!  My samples using more traditional colours.

Join me again in a couple of days to see some of my other samples.

Thanks for joining me.

Country View Crafts Challenges - Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Today I am sharing my second project for this month's challenge - Planes, Trains & Automobiles.

Here is my project

I started by using the swirl stamp from PaperArtsy Hot Picks HP1802EZ.  I stamped this in Lemon Meringue Fresco Chalk paint.

The main panel was brayered using Lemon Meringue, Sea Glass and Koala Fresco Chalk paints.  The wonderful plane stamp was then stamped three times using Koala.

I stamped around the edge of the panel using the stamp from PaperArtsy Emma Godfrey mini EM24. 

The panel was mounted to the main card.  To finish I stamped the birthday sentiment from PaperArtsy Emma Godfrey mini EM18.

I really enjoyed making this card.  It is different to my normal style, but I really enjoyed making it!

I hope that I have inspired you to join in with this months challenge.  Pop over to the blog to see more details and to join in.

Don't forget that if you enter the challenge you may be in with a chance to win a gift voucher to spend in the online shop.

Thanks for joining me!

Country View Crafts Challenges - Planes, Trains & Automobiles

How did we get to September???

It's my choice of topic for this month's Country View Crafts challenge - I have chosen Planes, Trains and Automobiles.  It's often hard to make more masculine cards and so I thought it would be perfect to push me a little.

Here is my first make for the challenge.

I started by covering a card blank using Tim Holtz Destinations paper.  I also cut 2 rectangles which I distressed and edged using Walnut Stain distress ink.  The Old Jalopy is one of my favourite and oldest stamps.  This was stamped onto one of the rectangles using Archival ink.

I embossed a sheet of metal card using the Foundry embossing folder. I adore this folder - it's ace! I then rubbed over the whole embossed metal using black acrylic paint.  I left this to dry for a few seconds and then lightly rubbed over it with a cloth, leaving some of the paint behind - I love how this turned out.  I then used a strip of this for my card.

I did the same to the Scallop 3d Impresslits  and also the Medallion.  

To finish I added a bow to a word band and attached this to the Medallion.  

I really love how this turned out.  

I think it ticks the boxes for this month's challenge as well as creating a vintage looking card.

I really hope you are inspired by the challenge this month.  Pop over to the Challenge blog to see everyone's inspiration and to join in with the challenge.  Don't forget that there's a gift voucher up for grabs if you join in with the challenge.  

Thanks for joining me today.

Happy Crafting!