A 25th Birthday Card

Our middle son celebrated a quarter of a century on Monday.  His card was delivered in person so it is definitely safe to share.  I used a Distress Oxide combination that I happened across by accident once, but I have used it many times since, as it makes a great background for a masculine card.

A Layered Birthday Card

Yesterday was a birthday heavy day.  Four family members and friends share the same birthday and as it was a bank holiday I had to be prepared in advance so that cards that needed posting arrived in time.  This one did, so I can share it today.

Using Perfect Pearls and Metal Flakes on Coated Card

This was my final sample for the recent Clarity one day special on Hochanda.  The shows should still be available on catch up if you wish to see the demos by Lou Withers (Saturday 11th 6pm/8pm and Sunday 12th 9am/1pm and 5pm).  For a change, I worked on black coated A5 card.

Garden Heart Tag

I haven't joined in with a challenge on Tag Tuesday recently.  The latest one is 'hearts, hearts, hearts' and I had the perfect die to work with, the Garden Hearts Fresh Cut Die from Claritystamp.

Still Having Fun with Leonie's Frameless Stencils Paint and a Gel Plate

I have had so much fun with the new frameless stencils designed by Leonie for Claritystamp.  For the remainder of my samples I had a change of colour palette. See HERE and HERE for previous sample step by steps.

Festive Art Journal Page

This is my third Festive art journal page in response to the December prompt over on Nina Ribena's Art Journal Prompts and More.  I loved her art journal page and decided to use a similar theme, although using different methods.

Lest We Forget: A Tag for Remembrance

As 100 years since the first Armistice approaches, I wanted to once again count my blessings.  We have much to be thankful for, to all those men and women who have given their lives over the years that we may have the freedoms we enjoy today.  Rather than use a poppy stencil,  I decided to suggest the symbol of remembrance through the colours I chose.

Flowers: An Art Journal Page Inspired by Yvonne Coomber

I have been enjoying the October 'Inspired by' prompts over on Nina Ribena's Art Journal Prompts and More.  Week 3 was 'Inspired by Flowers' and the choices of artist were Monet, Heidi Reil, Yvonne Coomber and Georgia O'Keefe.  I chose to create my page in the style of Yvonne Coomber.

Forever Autumn: An Art Journal Page

The challenge over on the That's crafty Challenge Blog this month is 'Forever Autumn'.  I decided to play with layers of stamping and also wanted to see how heat embossing over Distress Oxides would look.

A Romantic Themed Tag Journal Page

The mini mission this month over on Mission Inspiration is Romance.  As usual I created a page for my tag journal on a #8 manilla tag.

Creating a Peaceful Scene Using Stamps and a Mask

The current fortnightly challenge on Tag Tuesday is 'Peace'.  I decided to look ahead and created a winter scene using the Peace Frame stamp from Claritystamp.  As I was creating a scene, I decided to use the tag on its side for a change.

There's No Place Like Home

This tag was made ready for sharing on the last day of the school visit to Berlin.  It seems apt as we are flying home today and I'm sure there will be lots of stories to share about the week's experiences.  Today also marks a milestone for my blog which is nearly three years old.  I have posted once a day since returning from Berlin last year, so today marks an uninterrupted year of sharing and crafting!

Resist Technique Tag

This tag was made in response to the May prompts over on Tag It Tuesday.  At least two of the prompts have to be used; as you will see, I used three of them.

Alcohol Ink on Yupo Paper Background

This is the last of my 'Spring' art journal pages for the April prompt over on Nina Ribena's Art Journal Prompts and More.  The background was inspired by a technique used for an art journal page that Vicky Papaioannou created (see HERE).

It Nearly Went Horribly Wrong: A Tag

I made this tag for the fortnightly challenge over on Tag Tuesday:  Diamonds are Forever (with a wedding anniversary in mind!).  I was trying a new technique and at one point I was ready to throw the tag in the bin; however, I feel that I managed to save it and really like the finished result.

Using A Limited Colour Palette

After a class with the fabulous Maria Moorhouse from Claritystamp, where we worked on five cards using a two colour palette of greys and yellow, I had a piece of copy paper that I had used to clean up my ink mat.  I decided to use part of it as a background for a tag and see what I could make of it.  This is not a colour combination that I would have thought to use myself, but I love all the cards that we made (not for sharing here) and my bonus tag.

Different Gouache Effects

This was the final card that I made for the Royal Talens shows on Hochanda last week.  It was shown briefly in the second hour (if upside down lol).  I used one brush to create all the effects and very little water to mix the top layers.

Tag: Christmas Memories

The challenge on Tag Tuesday for the rest of 2017 is Christmas Memories.  I can vividly remember Boxing Day walks on Cannock Chase with the family every year as a child, so my tag reflects this.

Winter Tags

These tags were made for a tag swap with the Junk Journal Junkies and Mindful Art Facebook group.  The theme was Winter and I decided to go with a pair that would end up similar but different.

Sparkle Pen Experiment.

This tag was fun to make and is very sparkly to look at although the photo doesn't really do it justice.  I am entering it in the October challenge over on Country View Challenges: Mixed Media with Autumnal Hues as well as in the That's Crafty Get Your Spook On Challenge.