Forgotten Friday 30- Black and White

Hi folks, it's Friday again, and time to rummage through your forgotten stash. I'm not at home right now, although I should be on my way back, as we speak. I've been visiting my parents in the North East of England, as it's approaching my Mum's birthday. So, this is a scheduled post.

This week, I have chosen to make a black and white card, which is not a frequent colour choice for me, I have to say. I did cheat a bit, and add slight touches of colour though! I chose a lovely backing paper from an old Graphicus Guild paper pack as my starting point, which I matted onto black card. I coloured some of the details with touches of grey and blue pencil, and edged the paper with Black Soot Distress Ink. I added a KaiserCraft rub on, bought at a Graphicus Retreat, and I had just stored these away and forgotten about them completely. I'm not a great rub on fan, but I liked these sentiments, there are some lovely ones in the set.

I then made a flower using some waxed paper packing that I had received with a craft parcel, and saw the potential for crafting with it. I stamped some wording on it with Black Stazon, but it doesn't show up very well, sadly. I will try other methods of altering, and see how it works. I edged the layers with the Black Soot Distress Ink, and added a large black brad.

Finally, I added a large Stamp Camp butterfly coloured with Antique Linen Distress Ink, to complete the card.

Don't forget to have a look through your stash to see what you have been neglecting. If you feel like making something, add a comment to my post, and I'll pop along to take look. Thanks for stopping by, xx

Another card from Shirley!

Hi folks, Shirley has sent me a picture of a fabulous card for my Forgotten Friday feature. This week, she has gone oriental, with a kimono stamp. She has embossed this in silver, and decoupaged it. I like the addition of the brads for a bit of bling.

The subtle background echoes the blue tones, with the swirl and the sentiment, which is in a lovely font.

Thanks Shirley for joining in Forgotten Friday again this week. Don't forget, it's not too late to add a comment here, or on my original post linking something that you have made, and I'll pop along to take a look. Thanks for stopping by, xx

Forgotten Friday 29- Butterflies in Blue and Gold

Hi Folks, well it's Friday again, another week that has just whizzed by. My Daughter is going back to Stoke today, which is a sad occasion for me, as I have enjoyed her company these past few weeks. Her ankle is sufficiently recovered that she can drive now, and get about reasonably well. It will be a while before she is completely pain free and the limp goes though.

This week, I've been rummaging through my stash, and decided to use a lovely set of stamps, originally from Elusive Images, and happily still sold by Chocolate Baroque called 'Whimsey Butterfly'. I bought these when they originally came out years ago, and loved them then, and still love them now. I bought them with another set called 'Oriental Bookmarks', which are another fab set.

My card was rather labour intensive, so I have decided to give it to my Mum for her Birthday, which is at the beginning of September. Mum doesn't have Internet access, so I am completely safe in posting this on here! I started by stamping and embossing the background with Queen's Gold embossing powder. This stamp is a great background stamp, I've used it lots of times, but not in this way. I coloured the image with some Ecoline paints, which I had dug out for another project this week, but I can't tell you what ;) they are normally stuck in a box, and never used. I really like using them, and won't be neglecting them from now on. I coloured the butterflies in the same way.

I decided to use a Crealie flower die that I hadn't used before to create the flowers for this project, well it is Forgotten Friday! I've had this die since last year, and hadn't even opened the packet, as I have my favourites, even among these dies. I spritzed the layers as usual, pinched the ends, and dried them with a heat gun, to set them into shape. I added some pearl brads, and tucked some pearls on wire behind them for added embellishment, instead of adding leaves. I also added flower stamens to the butterflies for their antennae.

I chose to use a well-used sentiment for this card, because it is my Mum's Birthday card. I'm very fond of this sentiment, and I love the size, the font, and the expression. It ticks all of the boxes for me. It's another Chocolate Baroque stamp, from the 'Loving Sentiments' set.

Why don't you have a look through your neglected stash, and make something with your forgotten items. Leave a comment, and I'll pop along to your blog to take a look. Thanks for stopping by today, xx

Forgotten Friday 28- A little Box

Hi Folks, it's Friday again, two weeks since I last posted for FF, and a little bit late today, I'm sorry to say. I've had a nasty migraine, and although I started my project yesterday, I had to abandon it due to feeling ill. Although I'm woolly today, I do feel better.

I chose to alter a little box for today's project, given to me by my friend Elaine, some time ago. This little box has sat truly neglected, waiting for some TLC, and a new use. There used to be some scrumptious chocolates inside, apparently, and there might be again soon, as I have a few family Birthdays coming up.

I chose to cover the box using some lilac Paper Artsy chalk paint, and some lovely Thordon Hall paper. I love this paper, but am very miserly with it. This is only its second outing. The lovely purple print went with the chalk paint really well. I had some offcuts from some of the other sheets, and made some rolled roses to put on the top of the box.

I then chose to use a lovely stamp from Crafty Individuals that was, you guessed it, as yet unused. I love this stamp, and will use it again now that I have played with it this time. I coloured the entire thing with Polychromos pencils, and used Zest it to blend the colours. I decoupaged four layers in total, not easy with a headache! I chose to replace the stamped ruffle with a piece of cream lace, and one of the buttons with a real pearl button, exactly the right size, for a bit more texture.

I had fun making this box, I just need to persuade Elaine to eat some more chocolates, so that I can have another one!

Why don't you have a look through your neglected crafty items, and see if you can make something with your forgotten stash. Leave a link in my comments, and I'll pop along to your blog to take a look. Thanks for stopping by today, xx

Blue Grasses

Hi Folks, well I'm back from my holidays, and up to my ears in washing, feeling like I never went away! We had a great time at Center Parcs near Longleat, and it was a much needed break, as we have had a lot of things going on this year. We revisited a lot of favourite haunts, Longleat itself, and Cheddar Gorge, managing to fit in a scrumptious cream tea.

Megan has had her cast removed today, and although she feels as though she has gone backwards a bit, she is glad to be rid of it. She wants to be mobile and independent again.

I am itching to get crafting again, I have lots of things that I want to be getting on with, so hopefully, I'll have a few things to show you shortly. One of the projects I made a little while ago was using the recently released Home Sweet Home stamps by Chocolate Baroque Glenda has been having a giveaway over on the Design Team Blog, and is choosing a winner for a set of these lovely stamps as we speak.

When I was first given these stamps, they spoke to me of Clarice Cliff, a designer that I have always admired. I love that era of design, and apart from the lack of female freedom in those times, would quite cheerfully live back then, as I love the clothes, the art, and the architecture of the period. I researched the alternative colours that Clarice used, and was drawn to the turquoise, navy and cream often found in her designs. I decided to use these colours for this project.

I created two faux porcelain tiles, by cutting a piece of mount board into oval shapes, and stamping my chosen designs onto them. Once dry, I covered the tiles with Versamark, and then used clear embossing powder, to create a tile effect, reapplying this three times. For the background, I added Bundled Sage re-inker to a Mini Mister filled with water, and Tumbled Glass re-inker to another Mini Mister filled with water. I spritzed the watercolour paper with the two colours, drying each layer, until I was happy with the duck egg blue colour that I had created. I then stamped the grasses in a repeat pattern to create a background.

These stamps really are lovely, and myself and the other DT members have really enjoyed working with them. Look out for some more new stamps coming along soon, and some great samples from the Design Team.

Thanks for stopping by today, xx