A Daisy Braid Variation

A few of my crafty friends thought they would like to have a go at some beadwork so I decided a possible introduction for them would be to try a simple variation on the daisy braid.  I've made this bracelet as a sample although it has yet to have a clasp attached.  Now all that remains is to go through my bead stash and sort them out a few beads and gather my threads and equipment together so that they can have a try without having to dash out and buy lots of beads etc if they discover that using tiny seed beads isn't for them which I appreciate is a distinct possibility although I thoroughly enjoy bead weaving with needle and thread.

Make My Monday week 32

Over at Make My Monday we are still on a nature theme and this week they are asking us to 'create a scene' (in the nicest possible way - I don't think we're talking 'grumpy old woman' here) LOL!!.  Having made this card I've decided this is a technique I definitely need to practice a lot more but I had a go with Distress inks and some masking.  The tree is from Chocolate Baroque Nature swirls stamp plate stamped with archival black and a few accents added with a white gel pen.  Not a lot more to say about this really except that I felt it needed something at the bottom and now I'm not sure the greeting was the right choice but am happy with the ribbon.

B is for Butterflies

Yes I know that is a bit predictable but there are some brilliant butterfly stamps from Chocolate Baroque (also birds and bees - spoilt for choice really). I started this tag by liberally dabbing a piece of white card with two colours of Distress Stains (Victorian Velvet and Dusty Concorde) and dropping salt crystals onto it while still wet.  Once dry the salt was brushed off and left me with this mottled effect from which I cut out the tag and also one of the bookplates on the die. The stamp used was from Butterfly Flourish swirls stamped with black archival ink.  The butterflies were made by stamping onto  some Tim Holtz vintage shabby paper adhered to a piece of Clearly for Art by Studio 490 (also available from Chocolate Baroque) - this is a plastic sheet which when heated with a heat gun softens and can then be moulded to give some dimension - the butterflies were easy to cut out  with scissors. If the result isn't to your liking it can be reheated and moulded again until it is right.  These butterflies and the bookplate - which had been sponged with the darker Distress colour - were both rubbed over with Rock Candy Distress Stickles which gives a distressed glitter effect.  These two tags have now been packed up,  posted off and in due course I will be receiving an A and  B tag made by someone else in the swap - something to look forward to!! I am already thinking ahead to C and D and also what colours and techniques I might use for them.

A is for Art

This year I've signed up for a an alphatags swap with Chocolate Baroque Guild and as the name suggests we are working our way through the alphabet (two letters most months with a couple of three letter months) so that at the end of the year we have a selection of tags to make into a tag book.  I have jotted down some ideas for most of the letters but must say that a couple of them could cause a bit of serious thinking later on in the year!!

I've chosen  A for ART and have used resist technique with Versamark ink pad and clear embossing powder for the basis of this tag which started out as a piece of white card.  The  ART sentiment was stamped onto the white card and embossed, followed by a light sponging with Distress inks.  I next stamped a floral swirl stamp and again embossed before adding more ink sponging and some overstamping using the same stamp.  The flower was made from Tim Holtz kraft glassine, scrunched and coloured with Distress ink and a light spray of copper Glimmer Mist; card for the die cut leaves was coloured before cutting.  Details of stamps and materials used are at the end of what seems to be turning into quite a long post somehow. I'll show you the B tag tomorrow - I wasn't sure if we were to add ribbons because of putting them in the post but have done so for the time being.

Tim Holtz large tag die, Tattered Flowers die and Tickets die
Distress inks in Dusty Concorde, Milled Lavendar, Mustard Seed and Wild Honey
Art Stamp by Chocolate Baroque - Artistic Affirmations plate
Floral swirl stamp by Chocolate Baroque - Nature Swirls plate
Ticket Stamp by Creative Expressions
Leaves - Crealies die

Forgotten Friday Week 44

My offering for this week's Forgotten Friday challenge is another image of Magnum but this time it is a Christmas card.  The image was from a set of digi stamps by Ladybug Crafts which I bought quite early in time for using at Christmas last year and although this one had been stamped and coloured it was still lying around unused.  The papers are from one of my bit boxes and have been in there since the year before - I really must actually take papers and bits out of my storage boxes instead of just putting them away safely and then cutting into new pieces every time I make something!! Magnum was coloured using Polychromos pencils and the sentiment was produced on the computer.  I'm going to try making perhaps one Christmas card every few weeks for this Forgotten Friday challenge rather than take part in a weekly seasonal challenge - would you believe I still have quite a few cards left from last year's challenges.