Clarity Challenge ... Stencils

Last night I passed an hour or so catching up in Blogland and happened to see that the latest Clarity Challenge was Stencils. I looked in my box of gelli prints and found a lovely delicate one I had made some time ago using a Clarity dove stencil, So I went to bed thinking what I might do with it, I didn't want to overwhelm the background as the stencil was the main element for this challenge. here is what I came up with:

It was a real walk down memory lane looking through my Clarity stamps  ... I used Fantasy Fibres to create my dove on the topper and I clear embossed the Peace stamp onto a piece of white card for the base mat and lightly brushed Adirondak Stonewash ink over it to make the stamped image Pop ... I love that technique .... the old ones are sometimes the best!!

Right I had better see if I can remember how to enter the challenge as I haven't done it for a few months and the deadline is looming just hours away. Happy Crafting xxx Annie

Fussy and fancy Challenge #151 Flowers

This Friday's Challenge is hosted by the lovely talented Jo and she has chosen Flowers as her theme.

Here is my version a very simple card that has taken me right back to the basics I first learnt:

 I have always loved making my own paper flowers and some of the dies available today enable you to make very realistic flowers.

For the background  I have used Sue Wilson's Greek Island Background die, it's very unusual in that it has a deep debossed area of ivy leaves with a central diecut section of trelliswork. I matted and layered this up on green and Pink mats and then arranged my flowers and some beautiful diecut ivy, added a sentiment and I was done.

I hope you will join in with us, entering is so easy all the details are here The DT team all look forward to seeing your entries and leaving comments on your blog if you have one, otherwise you can enter via email.

That's all for today, till next time ... crafty hugs and hoping you all have a lovely weekend xxx Annie

Game of thrones Card!!

Card for my son David .... again I was uncertain and I do like to make them personal. He is always stripping down engines and putting them back together, getting all oily and greasy in the process. This is not his work this is what he does for fun!! Anyway I digress and this is what I made for him from a few sheets of black card , some gilding wax and my trusty silhouette machine and ebosser:

October Cards

Late September & early October is a very hectic time for birthdays in our family . On 2nd October my granddaughter Lorna celebrated her 22nd birthday ....what to make for her?? I dithered and then a lightbulb moment ....all those 100s of 'selfies' that all young people take ... it had to be a Selfie Wordbook in fact a #Lorna wordbook.... Here it is first in its raw state and then decorated:

 

Then I had to decide which photos to include out of 1000s available, logically I had to start at the beginning and Rolly her grandad insisted 'Don't forget the on of her with the blue hat'. Then Lorna arrived at our house to introduce her new boyfriend Ant to us I surprised her by playing an old tape I had of her singing along to the spice girls. My sister Sue who is more techie than me got a couple of stills from it and one of those was included:

 

 

 

I had collected lovely little frames with cutout words and symbols which I made on my Silhouette Cameo machine, the letters of her name were also built up in three layers  and added to the page bases which were shaped on Cameo. Lorna's sister Kate and Aunty Sue chose their favourite pics. One page was of the two sisters and the last page was  and then of course the last page was of Lorna and Ant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are the tiny pages behind the hashtag ... I used them to write my Happy Birthday:

 

 

She seems to be very pleased with it so I am a very happy Bunny. xx

Fussy and Fancy Challenge # 149 Autumn Colours

I can't believe it's already nearly October, the evenings are getting really chilly here in the UK so it really is Autumn .... I think this is my favourite season, I just love Autumn colours and as it happens that 'Autumn Colours' is the F&F Challenge this time, hosted by the lovely Eileen. Here is my card
 sample for this challenge



  

I was reorganising my craftroom recently and found a little pile of gelly prints that I had done a few months ago, this was one that I was most pleased with and I thought at the time it reminded me of Autumn because I had used a leaf stencil to make it:

That was it I was on a roll!! it really was an easy card once this decision was made ... I cut out several leaves with a punch using vellum in a selection of Autumn colours. I made a loose arrangement with them and then remembered my favourite Sissix Bigz die which makes pinecones (usually at Christmas time) but pinecones are everywhere on the country paths at this time of the year too. So I set about making some I love the way they come to life in your fingers as you roll and tease them, I added a few red berries to brighten it up...and I was nearly done. I love the dimension of the topper:

 

 

 I stamped and embossed a lovely Clarity stamp which says it all :

So there it is, I have a beautiful niece called Meg and she loves all things Earthy and Organic, it is her birthday in mid October so Meg this is for you, my lovely with all my love and Happy Birthday xxx

Hope you will enter this lovely challenge it's so easy to do you can find details here and the winners are selected randomly so everyone has the chance to win.

Just off to have a cup of coffee in the garden .... the trees are full of berries so the birds will have a feast: Must dash xxx Annie

Fussy and Fancy Challenge #147 School Days

So here we are it's already September , in the UK this means the children are all back to school after their long Summer break. So the theme for challenge #147 had to be School Days / Back to School hosted by Tammy and sponsored by Fresh Brewed Designs and Sweet Lilac flowers.
This year my eldest granddaughter will not be returning to school or college because way back in July she graduated from Hereford College of Art we are so proud of her. So this card was made with Rhiannon in mind  .... She's arty and a Day Dreamer with her own sense of style ... here is the card I made:

I used a new IndigoBlu stamp called 'Lost in Thought' which really reminds me of Rhiannon ... I stamped it and coloured it with Promarkers and then I cut her out.

Then I needed a background, I looked through the box of Gelliplate prints I had made earlier in the year and I found just what I was looking for ... a lovely textured  brick wall made with a Clarity stencil and lots of layers of acrylic paint!! My idea was to create a wall with Graffiti on it but not any old graffiti I used Clarity word chain stamps which use random fonts and lovely arty inspirational words. I stamped and embossed them onto my background ... they look lovely and grungy. I matted and layered my background onto the card and placed my arty girl as if she was leaning on the wall, daydreaming.

We would love you to join us in this challenge, it doesn't have to be a card it can be mixed media, 3d whatever you like to do, details of hoe you can enter can be found here it realy is very easy to do.


Here is Rhiannon at her graduation we are so proud of her

Well since making this card I have just heard that Rhiannon has got herself a contract illustrating a book (can't say anymore), she has found herself a little place and is moving back down to to Hereford to start her new working life.... 'Fly high little one ' xx

Right I really must fly now, hope you find sometime to do some crafting ... till next time xxx Annie

Fussy and Fancy Challenge #145 Lazy Summer Days

Another Friday and this time it's the lovely Beth hosting our Challenge and she has chosen 'Lazy Summer Days'. This challenge is being sponsored by Magnolia-licious.

Here is my offering for this month:

As soon as I read that the theme was Lazy Summer Days I knew at once which stamps I wanted to use, they are Clarity stamps of a daydreamer lying under a tree. I started by making the reflection in the water using my blending mat ... then I positioned the actual main stamp image, followed by a lovely big sun. The effect of water is made using a brayer and some crumpled copy paper.

This is the clarity quote stamp which really adds to the atmosphere I was trying to create:

The base card of my shutter card was made using a Tattered Lace die, it cuts the base shapes and also contains dies for all the matting elements. it was a bit of a luxury buy but it was a special offer price and I have always loved these type of cards because it offers so many surfaces to decorate. oh yes and the die set even includes the alphabet which I used to spell out Lazy Days. So this card really wasn't as complicated as it might look.

I really hope when you see all the design team's efforts you will feel inspired to join in the fun you can enter here The winners are randomly selected so no matter what your crafty ability is you all have an equal chance of winning.

That's all for today I look forward to visiting your blogs over the next fortnight. xxx Annie