Are there fairies at the bottom of my garden?

Back last year I had this great idea of making a set of altered giant playing cards - one every week! Unfortunately with my snail's pace crafting, work and life generally getting in the way, etc, etc, it has not happened. So, I think this is more of an occasional series. I do like doing them though, as they are a nice size to work with.

Here is my next one, actually made some time back in the new year before my life got turned upside down, but mislaid between the temporary bedroom craft room and my craft shed movements. It turned up again last week.

This design uses Adirondack dye inks for shading and black archival for stamping. The fairy is from Elusive Images, I added some Glamour Dust glitter to her wings. The sentiment is from Quietfire and the ferns and dragonfly are from Crafty Individuals. The vine leaf edging stamp is one I use over and over from Lavinia Stamps.

This design was inspired by my dear crafty friend Jo, who said when she came to stay with me, that if fairies existed they would live in our garden.

The garden is certainly a wild and special place!

Thanks for popping by!

Elaine x
 

Comic Relief - do something funny for money!

Today is Comic Relief Day in the UK. This is a fundraising event that always manages to capture my heart - raising money for really deserving community projects both in the UK and around the world.

Many people like me will have watched the various programmes in recent weeks about the kinds of communities where help is needed, reminding us who live quite affluent lives, with all our needs looked after just how much we have compared with many people around the world, including close to home.

I was inspired to make a tag for Comic Relief by a new blog I found recently - and this post Red Nose Day Queen. Do pop over and have a look and leave a comment on Caroline's great tag. In one of the amazing coincidences that happen in blogland - it turns out that Caroline and I know each other through work and we didn't even realise we were both crafters!

My tag uses the Prima Notary script text, such a useful background stamped in Red Peper Adirondack ink, Viva flourishes stamp in archival black ink the the lovely Julia from Cherry Pie stamps. I have added a vintage red nose badge for her nose  from 2005 which celebrated 10 years of Comic Relief. The I added a Comic Relief sticker and various red embellies and a ribbon.

So today, whether you are doing something funny for money yourself, watching the feast of comedy on the TV tonight  or just making a donation - have fun - but take time to remember what it's really all about.

Elaine x

An art journal page

Just a quick post as I haven't had much to share in the way of projects to share lately - I have been working on top secret design team projects for Chcolate Baroque! Yesterday I posted my art journal pages on our shared Craft Stamping Quartet blog here. Here is just a sneeky peek.

I've also been busy moving back into my craft shed after the winter. My crafty friends tell me off for calling my lovely studio space a "shed". I always say it is just verbal shorthand, it doesn't signify a lack of appreciation for my special creative space - I love it and it's great to be back in there! As you can see I have wasted no time in making a mess!

You can see my next journal pages under construction and my new stamp storage arrangements at the back of my desk. I think I am going to have to move my all ink pads out of the light though. 

Here is the cover of a book I am making to store all the pics I have of different cards and projects to inspire me into crafty action. I used some of the lovely Tim Holtz Lost and Found paper stack.

I am really looking forward to more crafty time now in my crafty space!

Thanks for popping by!

Elaine x

Crafty Individuals have a blog!

Any regular visitors to my blog know that I have a bit of a passion for Crafty Individuals stamps. Whereas most of my stamps get filed by subject in plastic boxes, there is something about CI stamps that means I have to keep them separately in their own little baskets! I adore them because I love minature projects and they work perfectly. Plus I am really inspired by Jean Hardy's work. It was one of Jean's projects that I chose as the first for the Craft Stamping Quartet blog I share with Jo, Judith and Lesley.

So I am delighted to see Crafty Individuals now have their own blog and needless to say I have become a follower.

So today I decided to post a project I made late last year with the gorgeous abbey stamps (CI - 286) and a little ornate corner from a bird stamp (CI - 266) that I also love. I have to say, the corner was a little freebie stamp I got when I ordered direct from CI. The little extras in their parcels like the beautiful postcards, badges and stamps,together with the little messages from Malcolm make every order feel like a present.

Using silver detail embossing powder I repeat stamped the text panel and corner stamp onto black. I carefully cut them all out and pieced them together to cover an MDF frame that I had painted black. I used one of the Essentials tile frames that CI sell, that fitted perfectly inside the frame. I stamped the different abbey images in black archival ink onto white. I mounted different sections of these into the frame, alternating with black and white photos of the wonderful abbey on Mont St Michel where I visited in October. I finished with the "Everywhere Peace, Everywhere Tranquility" text from the stamp embossed again in silver and added some tiny silver gems in the corners.

I love Mont St Michel and I could visit over and over and never get fed up - I can even forgive it's commercialism which is a rare thing for me! My love of cloisters inspired another of my projects on our CSQ blog which also uses CI stamps to a large extent.

Make sure you become a regular visitor to the CI blog as it's going to be a great source of inspiration.

Elaine

Chocolate Baroque!

I am delighted to tell you that I am part of the Design Team for the brand new company of Glenda and Adrian Waterworth - Chocolate Baroque.

The first new stamp sets will be released very soon. These are gorgeous miniature designs that will be so useful. I have had the pleasure of working with these new stamps with the rest of the Design Team and you can see our efforts over on the new DT blog.

In the meantime you have the chance to win these stamps on the new blog. Scroll right down and add your comments.

You can also get a gorgeous free download of a digital design paper on the download page.

So get over to the new blog asap!

Good luck with the blog candy!

Elaine x

Feel the love!

I made this little Valentine's card for my OH. I bought this little silhouette stamp from an E Bay seller recently I really love it, because we feed the wild rabbits in our garden and one of them in particular takes food from our hands, especially  if a sesame ryvita is on offer!

The sentiment is from the Elusive Images Artful Affirmations plate. These words seem so appropriate as we discovered recently when so many people supported us with love through some difficult times. The backing paper is one I made using my leafy background technique, using leaves from our garden.

Most of the colouring is done with the Paris Trunk dye inks. I only have a few of these "green" inks, but I am really getting to like these beautiful colours.

Enjoy your Valentine's Day.

Elaine xx

A shaded landscape card

Life has been chucking a lot in the direction of me and my OH recently and two dear friends have helped us get through this time in so many ways - their love and support has been just wonderful. I wanted to make them a card to say thank you, but I had to wait until things settled down a bit to give me time to do some a decent job with my inking!



I love making cards in this way. I find building up the ink shading can be really soothing. This is an 8 x 8 card, one of my favourite sizes. I started by cutting a sun mask out of Eclipse tape with a small nestie die. Once in place, I added lilac ink from  Paris Trunk ink pad - this newish range has some gorgeous colours. All the ink shading is done with Cut 'n' Dry foam. Then I added a landscape inking over a torn piece of paper, first in Tumbled Glass and then in Stormy Sky Distress Ink. I added a little more Stormy Sky around the sun, before removing the mask.I added all the stamped images in black archival ink. The stamps are a mixture from different companies - one of my favourites the Lavinia vine edging the design, grasses, trees and small birds from Inkylicious, large bird stamp from Tim Holtz and the wording was a loose stamp I bought from the Rubbernecker stand at Ally Pally. I added a little more shading on the paler layer of landscape using my paper mask with just tiny areas of shading. Finally I added darker edging shading with Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink on the bottom half and Eggplant Adirondack dye ink on the top half. I finally matted the inked panel on black to give sharper contrast and definition.

We delivered the card yesterday and I am pleased to report they both really loved it and asked me how I had built up the image. I promised I would show them how it's done some time.

We are hoping life is beginning to settle down a little now and I might have a bit more time for crafting again really soon.

Thanks for popping by

Elaine xx