Grunge Paste Addiction!!

Hi everyone,

 

 

I am so fed up with this cold, wet and windy weather. When are we going to be able to turn the heating off? I've got the heating on now and my hands are still freezing.

 

 

Right, moaning over. I am really addicted to Paper Artsy Grunge Paste, I bought at The Craft Barn. These are a few items I decorated with it.

 

The frame below I first painted with a crackle effect and it never sold. I then changed it to look as it does in the picture and it sold at the next market!

 

Some of the flowers I made myself with paper and some were Prima flowers  layered up. The butterflies are A Martha Stewart Punch. All the items were bought at The Craft Barn.

 

Just a note to look at their web site, as they are having an Extravaganza Weekend coming up. Great demonstrations all weekend. And its FREE!!

 

This heart box is a Papermache. This shows more clearly, how I just spread the paste, using a plastic pallet knife and then swirl it to add the texture.

 

I made the heart from Friendly Plastic. I hadn't used it for ages, so it was fun to play with it again. I cut a piece the size I needed and heated it with my heat gun. When it was soft enough, I used a heart shape cookie cutter to cut it out. When it had cooled in a pot of ice cold water, I removed it from the cutter.  

 

I then gently re-heated it and then stamped into it with a stamp that had Versamark on it.

 

I then covered the box with the paste and pushed the heart into the paste. I left it to dry overnight and the next day, using dry foam, I very lightly brushed the peaks with Distress Inks.

 

The butterfly is a Cheery Lynn Designs Die.

 

 

The wooden trio of frames, I bought at The Craft Barn. I took them apart, as they are easier to decorate. I first painted them with  Emulsion paint. To make the frames a bit more interesting, I cut a cardboard frame, using a die and glued it to the frame. I then did the paste as I had on the heart box.

 

The flowers I made from paper by just cutting a circle and then cut a spiral shape into it. I then just tightly rolled the paper and glued into place.

 

 

The box is a papermache box which I first painted with cream Emulsion paint. The lid I covered with torn paper, distressed with Tea Dye Distress Ink. I used the paste with an Imaginations Crafts Stencil/Mask. I first used Masking Tape to cover 2 of the birdcages on the stencil, as I only wanted one.

 

I then scraped paste over the stencil which I had taped in place, until smooth and lifted it off straight away and put the stencil into water. I then left it to dry for an hour.

 

When dry, I stuck flowers on the branches. Added a Cheery Lynn Butterfly and a bird that I cut out from a piece of paper in my stash. I use cosmic shimmer Gold Glue, to make the berries. I added some lace around the painted side of the box base.

 

The clock I decorated as I have the box. I wanted 2 of the three birdcages, so just covered up the one I didn't want. I have turned over the stencil, so the branch is the other way, opposite to the one on the box.

 

The flower I made myself from paper. The base petals, I just drew onto blue paper twice, cut them out and painted the edge with Emulsion paint. The centre piece is a paper strip and cut into fine strips along the full length. I then rolled it up to the size I wanted and glued the end. I then stuck all the pieces together and rolled out the edges of the centrepiece and added a gem in the middle.

 

The butterfly is a die that was free on a magazine.

 

The clock face is a Marianne Designs Die and yes it is a real clock that works!

 

Sadly my pot of paste is empty! I am going to have to go to The Craft Barn next week, before I get withdrawal symptoms!Lol!

 

Sometimes I really enjoy making different things, other than cards. I look over at my desk and at the moment it is covered with toppers I have painted and waiting to go onto cards!

 

Thank you for visiting my blog and welcome to my new follower. I am always thrilled to get new followers. As I have never entered any challenges, I don't get my blog out in blog land very much. I just don't seem to have time. Never mind.

 

Please come back soon.

 

Hugs,

Carol S.xx

Surprise,Surprise!

Hi All Crafty Friends,

 

Thank you for stopping by my blog, you are always welcome. It has been mostly a very grey, miserable day here in West Sussex. Very boring. 

 

I had a call from my lovely Brother-in-law, in Australia, at lunch time today. I wish I could be there with him at the moment, as he is off to hospital on Sunday, for Chemo and Radiation treatment. He will be having 6 weeks of treatment to get through, so your prayers will be very welcome. I know he visits my blog, so will be aware of my request.

 

I love this Lili of the Valley stamp. I think it is the expression on her face.

 

I coloured her with Distress Inks and mounted her onto a piece of Coredinations card, which I edged with Acrylic paint.

 

The flower is Fabulous Phlox, a Mirror Box die. I used the Coredinations card and again edged it with Acrylic paint. The leaves are a Cheery Lynn Designs die.

 

I added Stickles Star Dust around the icing on the cake, her wings, dress, shoes and candle flame. The little heart I found in my odd bits box. I had made it with a very small piece of shrink plastic.

 

I have just had to leave my desk to turn my heating on. My hands are so cold, I am having trouble typing.

 

As I have a Craft Market to do tomorrow, I am just going to make a couple more cards. I have spent so much time making clocks, mirrors and picture frames, I forgot I need more cards.

 

So thanks for stopping by and hope you like what you see. I love reading your comments, as much as I enjoy leaving comments myself.

 

Have a lovely weekend, whatever you do.

 

Hugs,

 

Carol S.xx

Anything But A Card

Hi Everyone,

 

Is it ever going to get warm again, or have we had our summer! I am fed up wearing jumpers and coats.

 

We had a very strange weekend. The neighbour to our left had a heart attack on Sunday morning and was taken off to hospital. I heard today that he is fine. 

 

The neighbour to our right went to hospital last Thursday for a MRI scan and was kept in and was then operated on Sunday morning.

 

The guy who I have got to help in the garden, was supposed to come on Saturday and as it was heavy rain all day, I didn't expect him to come. On Sunday morning he phoned, to say that he had decided to come that day but his Mother had had a fall in the bath and had passed away!!

 

We are hoping that was our 3 things!

 

On a brighter side, this is a mirror I made at the same time as the blue clock, which has been sold now. I love sometimes to go out my comfort zone of tidiness, into messy and random things. This mirror was right out there.

 

 

 

I found tearing pieces of paper and stamping randomly in a mess, quite enjoyable. I can see if a piece of paper is 1mm out of being in a straight line. So this was amazing to do, as there are no straight lines!!

 

I just chose colours of paper I liked and ripped them up to roughly fit on the mirror frame. I then inked all the edges of the papers with Broken China and Walnut Stain Distress Inks. After which I stuck the papers down onto the frame.

 

In the picture below, I have used a Crafters Workshop Mask, which I placed on the paper and covered it with Paper Artsy Grunge Paste. I am in love with this product and constantly looking for things to use it on! I bought both items in The Craft Barn in South Nutfield, Surrey. The butterflies are Martha Stewart punches.

 

For the flowers below, I drew a circle on some paper. From the side edge, I drew a wavy line spiral to the centre, leaving a small circle in the middle to sit the flower on. Starting from the outside edge, I started to tightly roll the flower, keeping the bottom edge level. When you reach the middle, I put a blob of glue on the centre circle and let the flower unroll a little before putting the bottom edge into the glue.

 

The bigger the circle the bigger the flower. I used one big and 2 smaller circles. The feathers came from my stash.

 

The last picture is a piece of paper that I had in my stash. No idea where it came from but I just stamped a bit more over the images already on it.

 

I hope you like my mirror, as I really enjoyed making it. As I have another market this Saturday, I am now busy making stock. I must find time to make another clock, as I only have 2 left.

 

Thanks for stopping by and leaving your lovely comments.

 

Guess what. I just looked out the window and it is pouring down with rain again!!

 

Hugs,

 

Carol S.xx

Flowers Galore!

Hi Everyone,

 

Firstly I must welcome a new follower, Chrissy, to my blog, all the way from New Zealand. Thank you so much for choosing my blog to join and I hope you like what you see here.

 

This is one one of the new release stamps from Lili of the Valley. I love cottage garden flowers, so these stamps were perfect for me.

 

I have a few foxgloves in my garden but would love to have more. It was very strange last Wednesday, watching a gardener digging up my garden, instead of doing it myself. I will be so glad when my leg is back to normal and I can get stuck in again. I have so many ideas for the design of my garden, so it it very frustrating not being able to get on with it.

 

I made a stepper card again, as I had these pretty papers and printed toppers that came with a magazine. It seemed a shame not to use them. It means that all my lovely papers I have bought and keep in boxes, can stay there and just be stroked now and then! Sad I know but I am sure you do it too!!

 

I coloured the image with Distress Inks and edged the paper with a Copics pen.

 

 

The butterflies are cut out from gold pearlescent card that I have had for years (been stroked a lot!), using a Joy die.

 

The flowers are a Memory Box die. I edged them with white Acrylic paint before stacking them together. I added a 'pearl' glue dot to the centre of the flowers, using the Cosmic Shimmer pearlescent glue.

 

 

Just a quick post, as it is exactly midnight and I have promised myself not to get back into my old habits, of going to bed at 2am. I don't know how long it will last though!

 

I hope the weather is better here tomorrow than it was today. I have never heard rain fall as hard as it did today. I thought it was never going to stop.

 

Right, off to bed. Good night and have a lovely Sunday.

 

Thank you for visiting and leaving your lovely comments. I treasure them all.

 

Hugs,

Carol S.xx

A Heart Full Of Cute Animals!

Hi Everyone,

 

I hope you are enjoying this long weekend. We had a little rain yesterday morning, which the garden really needed. Now today the sun is shining and the strong wind we had yesterday has gone. That is the weather forecast for West Sussex!!

 

This is one of my favourite stamps from the last release. Their faces are so cute and they were great to colour. I used Distress Inks on this one but have already coloured another image with Copics. I still prefer DI.

 

The green paper in the background, I cut from a piece that came with a magazine. It was a 6" x 6" pad and this piece had a plain green edge which I cut away. I also cut away the centre to leave just a frame. I then stuck it to the pink heart paper, which is from the Dovecraft Basics paper pack.

 

The image was cut firstly, by drawing around the largest heart from the Nesties Classic Heart Dies and then cut out with scissors. I then placed the die back on the image, taped it in place and ran it through my Joy machine. I then had my thin piece of white card, heart shape. I could never had cut it by hand that thin!

The pink mesh behind the image is from a bunch of flowers I was given. They were wrapped in a large piece, which of course I put in my stash of useful items!

The flower at the bottom, I found in a box of 'bits' I had. It is an Inkadinkado stamp, which I stamped and embossed with white embossing powder, on pink card. Probably about 3 or 4 years ago!!

 

I hope you are all having a great weekend and here in the South East, we are supposed to have 20 degrees tomorrow. Wow!

 

I must just say, one of my favourite designers from Lili Of The Valley has just left after 4 years. Her name is Pops and her Blog is Pops Cards, click on it for the link. Please visit her blog, as she is my favourite blog for inspiration. You won't regret it, you too will be hooked!!

 

Thank you for stopping by and for your lovely comments. Nearly forgot to say, that my knee is improving very slowly. Too slowly for me but I am a very impatient patient!

 

Big hugs,

 

Carol S.xx