Serial Crafter 2011 - Round up

Here we are at the last day of 2011, I hope you have enjoyed visiting my blog this year and that you will return to see my crafty makes and photographs in 2012.  To celebrate the passing of this year, here are a few blog posts, one from each month.  Happy New Year!

January

Blogging Famine, Digital Feast

 

February 

Sunday Creative - Affection

March

At last some Crafting

April

Daisy, Daisy and Mother's Day

May

One Year On

June

Acorn Bank

July

Totally Gorjuss - Summertime

August

Pot Fest in the Park - the garden

September

Rusty Charm

October

Vampires in the Library

November

Carnval Time

December

Art Journal - Christmas

Art Journal - Christmas

Art Journal time again.  Kaz suggested that we create a page around the Christmas theme, she has already announced one for New Year, so I thought I'd better get on with this one and get it posted!

I used Red Velvet Glimmer Mist sprayed over one of those little reindeer tree decorations.  I pasted bits of lovely red tissue paper decorated with snowflakes onto the page and wrote titles of Christmas songs onto them.  I used the Tando Creative snowflake mask and gessoed through it to make textured snowflakes.  Then stuck more of the tissue paper onto card and die cut the letters for Christmas, a bit of doodling round the edges and some glitter on the reindeer and that's it done.

Image from My Vintage Vogue

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays 

from Serial Crafter

Carnival Time!

Lucy and Claire at Crumbs Blog have started a Carnival Blog Hop for Christmas.  The idea is to link the Carnival to a post about Christmas, so I thought I'd show you the Christmas stocking I made for my Grandson, Travis.  All the family have one of these stockings which are made from a McCall's pattern I bought in California in 1980!    

 
Find out more about the Carnival HERE

December Birthday and Christmas

It's my great-aunt's birthday early in December, she will be 91 this year and she always appreciates a home made cards.  The stamp is from Cornish Heritage Farms, coloured with watercolour pencils and painted and the flowers have been recycled from cards that other lovely crafters have given me (thanks).

I will certainly not be able to send everyone a homemade card this year but I made these two Christmas cards using Websters Pages and a little round Stampin' Up sentiment stamp.  

Two stamps used here and some more watercolour pencil painting. I'm afraid I can't remember whose  stamps they are, I was pleased that the Noel fitted perfectly across the 4" card.

More Art Journal

I'm not werid, I'm Limited Edition

If mosquitos only sucked fat!

I have been struggling to find time to craft, what with all the cooking and baking I'm doing over on Farmersgirl Kitchen.  But I've been on holiday this week, so managed to catch upon my art journal.  I was struggling with the first quote so decided just to go with text and a few doodly stamps and drawings.

The second one seemed to come easier. I used some freebie stamps I got from Simply Homemade magazine.

My brain fell out

Background created with oil pastels on gesso.  Charcoal pencil and Chinagraph Pencil.  Black Sakura pen for doodles.  Stamp: Karin by Daniel Torrente for Stampotique, coloured with Copic pens.

Vampires in the Library!

No, not Buffy the Vampire Slayer! Just a combination of two projects I'd like to show you.

First a Library Card pocket made from a template from Mirkwood Designs and inspired by Linda at the Funkie Junkie.

Papers are Websters

Stamp is Hero Arts

I made a little stand to put on the back of the pocket so it would stand up as a Christmas Card.

So we've been to the library, now for the Vampire!  We are having a fun Art Journal challenge at BubblyFunk Forum and I am trying to find the time to take part.  The first prompt is:  

" Life is short, so smile while you still have teeth"

Dylusions Paint, Glimmer Mists Sprays, Christopher Lea and Stamp Linda by Daniel Torrente for Stampotique.

 

Happy Halloween

Digital Kit - October 2010 Sampler from Inspiration Lane

Hope you have a spooktastic time and get more treats than tricks!  This is a digital version of Kathy's Waffle Sketch for October.

Enjoy!

Dare to Waffle!

Websters Papers, bauble style stamps by Elusive Images stamped onto inked background using Dylusions inks and Glimmer Mists.

Daring Cardmakers have teamed up with Kathy's Waffle Sketch File this week for the weekly Dare!

Here is the October Sketch from the Sketch File:

Pop over to the Daring Cardmakers site to see the DT's cards and links to those entered by the 'darers'!

Hearts of Plaid at Bubbly Scrumptious

There's a prize challenge at Bubbly Scrumptious and this photo collage above is the inpsiration for some craftiness.  I decided to do a digital layout.  It's a while since I've made one, but this inspiration was calling out for me to rescrap a favourite photo from the summer...

Brian and I celebrated 30 years of marriage this year and went back to the hotel where we had our wedding reception where my Mum took this photo of us.  The colours were perfect for  the challenge and I knew I had some awesome digi kits in these colours too!

Julie Marie - Bailey

Joyful Heat Designs - Alter Me & La Boheme

Tami Miller - Sisters at Heart

Font - Playbill

A little bird told us...to be a daring cardmaker

Daring Cardmakers are making cards with birds on them this week.  I had a couple of cards to make so used the dare as a prompt for this one.  The stamp was a freebie with Craft Stamper, stamped onto watercolour paper which had been wet and sprayed with Dylusions Ink Sprays.

This week's dare is sponsored by Ribbon Reel.

CAS-ual with Stampotique

Bear painted with Distress Inks, flowers coloured with Copics, over-coloured with Sakura Gelly Roll sparkle pen.

I made this little bear card to take to my husband's cousin tomorrow. She is currently in hospital and I thought the bear 'bearing' flowers seemed the right kind of card to cheer her up.

I'm also entering it for the CAS-ual Fridays Challenge (Clean and Simple) which is sponsored by Stampotique Originals.

"We are always Clean And Simple and our theme is Mostly Monochromatic, 3 + 1.  Use at least 3 shades of the color of your choice monochromatically and then add Chocolate Brown."

September Sketch File

Here is a digital card for the September Sketch on Kathy's Sketch File.  The digital kit is from Desgins by Mozz and is called 'Mum'.

Rusty Charm?

I generally spend about 5 minutes in the morning trying to find the earrings that I want to wear.  I can usually find one but then have to tip all the rest out and sort through to find the pair!  I was getting fed up of this, so when I saw a frame for hanging your earrings on in Craft Stamper, I knew I had to make one.

I also thought I'd enter it in to the Tando Challenge  although I think I am pushing it rather as the theme is 'Rustic Charm'.

Here is a definition of Rustic:

1: of, relating to, or suitable for the country : rural <rustic rolling farmland> Well, I live on a farm in the country.

2a : made of the rough limbs of trees <rustic furniture> b : finished by rusticating rustic joint in masonry> There is a tree on my frame.

3a : characteristic of or resembling country people b : lacking in social graces or polish You get butterflies in the country (pushing it a bit there, Janice!)

4: appropriate to the country (as in plainness or sturdiness) rustic boots>  Personally, I think it goes very well in my Indian themed bedroom and India is a country.

 

 I used a couple of pieces of lovely Tando Chipboard, the tree and the flourish.

The stamps are Elusive Images and I used gold embossing powder with Versamark to create the raised gold paisley pattern.  The base is painted with Dylusions Paint.  The Tree is sprayed with Dylusions Inks and overstamped again with Elusive Images. 

 

 

 I have to admit that these are by no means all of my earrings, but the stud ones are now much more obvious in the box, so we shall see how it goes and if I gain an extra 5 minutes in the morning!

Daring Card Makers Inspiration

Here is my card for the Daring Card Maker's Dare this week.  There is a gorgeous inspiration photo on the DCM blog and the card also had to include a butterfly.

The butterfly is K&Co Wild Saffron, the sentiment stamp is an Elusive Images stamp, but the papers come from my box of scraps so I have no idea whose they are!

Magic Inspiration

I'm running a little Inspiration Challenge over at BubblyFunk Forum using a pattern which I have borrowed from Colorlovers.com.

This is the inspiration piece, it's called 'Magic Shrooms' and the piece can be used in any way your like, as a colour palette, use the name as inspiration or the shapes, anything goes.  I made the flower at the top of the post using my needle felting machine, some chiffon and wool and finished it off with wire spirals and beads.

I also made this card which picks up the colours, the chiffon in the fashion shot and I think the patterned paper is quite a good likeness to the pattern in the inspiration.

With a cherry on top!

Here is a card I made for a work colleague's birthday.  The stamp is a freebie from Simply Homemade.  Papers are Making Memories. 

Signs of Autumn

Digital Kit - Katies Day by Coppercurls Designs

I've been doing quite well with the Daring Card Maker's dares recently, as it's the start of the month the theme is flowers associated with September and these are Morning Glory and Asters.  I've made a digi card this time with a photograph I took this morning of a 'Morning Glory'.  It was a really misty, damp morning and I caught a few other signs of autumn.

Spider web

Spider in his web

First Blackberries

I know that further south there have been blackberries for some time but they are only just starting to ripen here in Scotland.  Pop over the the Daring Card Makers Blog and see some of the lovely cards made by the DT and links to other card maker's creations.