AALL & Create - Gabriel by Fiona Paltridge

Hi everyone and welcome. I'm back with you today to share a new project for AALL & Create. This is another of the samples I created for the AALL & Create shows on Hochanda. A few more have been shared on my FB page and IG account recently too.

Gabriel by Fiona Paltridge

Fiona Paltridge has designed a whole collection of fun and quirky characters for AALL & Create, including this little fella, Gabriel. With his party hat on or off, he looks great with one of Autour de Mwa's new stencils in the background. I used another of my Dina Wakley Media paint brayered backgrounds and added extra detail with one of Autour de Mwa's new stencils. It repeats the word 'human' which seemed rather appropriate. Gabriel was stamped, painted and re-stamped in Archival Ink in order to allow the intricacy in Fiona's design to shine through. Here's a 'work in progress' photo so you can see what I mean;

Helpfully Fiona has left the hat as a separate element in the set so you can pop it on Gabriel's head, in his hand, on the floor or even turn it upside down and use it multiple times to create a birthday banner. The sentiment stamps beautifully - some fonts seem to work better than others in stamp form and this one is really easy to use if you want perfect results.

Here are a couple of close ups of the finished card so you can see the stencilling in more detail;

You can purchase Fiona's stamp set 'Gabriel' and Autour de Mwa's stencil from AALL & Create HERE and it's also available from many of your favourite retailers across the World (listed on the same page).

That's it from me for today. I'll be sharing more show samples on my FB page and IG account so keep your eyes peeled for them. In the meantime take care of yourselves and get creative!
Jenny xxx

Layers of Lace with Frilly and Funkie

Hi everyone and welcome. Over at the Frilly and Funkie Challenge blog we are already half way through the latest challenge, 'Layers of Lace'. This is what our host for this challenge, Autumn Clark, is looking for: "Lace, oh so lovely lace! Whether you add delicate layers of fine lace, or tattered and torn crocheted lace, we'd love to see you add dimension and depth to your vintage or shabby chic project with lace. Perhaps you have a favorite lace stamp or will choose to lace something up, we'd love to see your creations inspired by this topic."

As ever, the Design Team will choose their top four picks, with the winner being invited to join us in a Guest DT spot at Frilly and Funkie and the next three will receive Top 3 badges to display on their blogs. Everyone who enters and follows the rules will be entered into the draw to have the chance to win a $25 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

A Layered Lace Card

Linda's boutique has so much gorgeous lace in stock and it was wonderful to use it as the essential element for this layered card. I added a delicate 2 inch wide piece to the gesso resist background (Frayed Burlap Distress Oxide Ink over brayered White Gesso) and added some machine stitching to echo the vertical design. On top I used a variety of paper off-cuts, including some Tim Holtz Worn Wallpaper and Classic Kraft Card, with yet more lace. The flowers were cut using more of that Classic Kraft Card with Tim Holtz 'Funky Floral #1' Thinlits dies from Sizzix. Drops of Glossy Accents added dimension and shine to the leaves and flower centres. The message on the Typed Token was highlighted with Picket Fence Distress Crayon whilst the Adornment Star and Index Clip were given a shabby chic look with Picket Fence Distress Paint.

The Close Ups

Let's take a look some close ups so you can see in more detail the layers and lace;

That's it for my lace layered card for the current Frilly and Funkie challenge. My talented team mates have also created lots of amazing projects for this challenge so make sure you hop on over and check them out HERE. And remember to link up your own shabby chic or vintage lace projects to be in with a chance of winning one of the fabulous prizes.

Take care of yourselves and get creative!

Jenny xxx

Dina Wakley Media Acrylic Paint - White Gessol, 1oz Bottle (February Pre-Order)	(JULY PRE-ORDER) Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Pad - Frayed Burlap	Venise Lace Trim - 2 inches	Venise Lace Trim - 1/2 inch wide	(FEBRUARY PRE-ORDER) Tim Holtz Idea-ology Worn Wallpaper	(February Pre-order) Tim Holtz Idea-ology 8 x 8 Classic Kraft Stock	(FEBRUARY PRE-ORDER) Sizzix Thinlits Set - Funky Floral #1 by Tim Holtz	Ranger Inkssentials Glossy Accents
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Typed Tokens	Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Paint - Picket Fence	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Crayon - Picket Fence TDB49692	(February Pre-order) Tim Holtz Idea-ology Adornments, Star Adornments	(February Pre-order) Tim Holtz Idea-ology Adornments, Index Clips Fasteners	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Chit Chat Stickers - Seasonal

Surf's Up! at Frilly and Funkie

Hi everyone and welcome. Over at the Frilly and Funkie Challenge blog we are already half way through the latest challenge, 'Surf's Up'. This is what our host for this challenge, Kathy Clement, is looking for: "Who's ready for a little sand, a little sun, a little surf? Let's take a little stroll beside the shore and create a vintage or shabby chic project with a beachy theme. Use ocean colors or beach images to add a fun seaside feel to your project."

As ever, the Design Team will choose their top four picks, with the winner being invited to join us in a Guest DT spot at Frilly and Funkie and the next three will receive Top 3 badges to display on their blogs. Everyone who enters and follows the rules will be entered into the draw to have the chance to win a $25 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

Cocktail Card

Falling fully into Kathy's theme I created a card that takes us to cocktail hour at the beach with the waves lapping gently onto the shoreline and weathered wood all around. The gesso resist background had Frayed Burlap Distress Oxide blended over and wiped away from the white areas before the Botanical Background was stamped with Cornflower Blue Archival Ink. Beneath the tag, Linen Ribbon and Star Adornment you can see painted Woodgrain Paper and a little Design Tape peeking out.

 A video tutorial for creating the tag background can be found HERE and involves Distress Oxide Ink, Distress Resist Spray and Seth Apter's 'Dirty Sand' Baked Texture Embossing Powder. I added some stitching around the edge and included an Index Clip at the bottom.

Of course centre stage is the sunset cocktail, stamped onto spare card, painted with Distress Paints (because they blend together beautifully) glazed with clear embossing powder and fussy cut to layer over the tag. The sentiment from the Letter It 'Birthday' stamp set was embossed with Gold Tinsel Embossing Powder to add an extra touch of glamour.

That's it for my beach themed card for the current Frilly and Funkie challenge. My talented team mates have also created lots of amazing projects for this challenge so make sure you hop on over and check them out HERE. And remember to link up your own shabby chic or vintage floral projects to be in with a chance of winning one of the fabulous prizes.

Take care of yourselves and get creative!

Jenny xxx

More May Flowers with Eileen Hull Designs

Hi everyone and welcome. This month Eileen Hull's Inspiration Team are celebrating May with projects created using Eileen Hull Designs various floral dies (both Bigz and Thinlits from Sizzix). Last week I shared a Floral Heart Wreath along with a tutorial for making the flowers and foliage - you can find it HERE. Since then the sun has remembered where we all are and now the flowers in my garden are blooming in abundance!

Feeling inspired by this month's theme and needing to create a hinged box for the Handmade at Helen's workshop at the weekend I created a second project using Eileen's flower dies;

Based on Eileen's Sizzix ScoreBoards XL Die - Book & Pages, Trinket Box & Frame I made a simple hinged lid with an aperture cut in the centre and painted it with Dina Wakley Media Acrylic Paints (Marine, White and Ancient). Feeling it needed a little more decoration I applied embossing ink using one of Seth Apter's rubber stamps and applied his Baked Texture 'Deep Sea' Embossing Powder from Emerald Creek Crafts. It is the perfect match for the Marine colour!

The all important flowers were cut from thin card using Eileen's Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 13PK - Stitchy Flowers & Leaf. I spritzed them with water before scrunching together and left them to dry for a few hours. Once glued together to form the blooms with added leaves I sprayed them with a mix of Seedless Preserves and Dusty Concord Distress Spray Stains before highlighting with the Ancient Acrylic Paint. The leaf fronds were cut from white card using Eileen's Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 4PK - Floral Arch & Words and were arranged with the flowers to trail over the lid and sides of the box.

Though not heavy, the weight of the flowers is sufficient to hold the lid down as well as adding that glamorous finishing touch. Some coordinating ribbon and drops of Liquid Pearls 'White Opal' from Ranger completed the look.

Now, I mentioned earlier the workshop at Handmade at Helen's - this is a fantastic shop/venue in Dumfries where they have lots of exciting guest designers attending as well as a wealth of craft supplies to entice you. I had been asked to teach the assembled group of wonderful ladies how to create a Trinket Box and Junk Journal in one day, so they had their work cut out for them!

Needless to say they quickly grasped the various design alternatives and were soon putting their own spin on each project using the wide variety of materials and media that Helen had provided. By the end of the day they all had beautiful creations to take home and have promised to share them with everyone in the Eileen Hull Fan Club - in fact I know Shirley and Gael already have! In the interim I have my own photos to share alongside some taken by Helen - strangely enough most of them were camera shy or otherwise occupied at this point but Shirley and Jenny were happy to appear with their projects;

A huge thank you to everyone who came along for the class and made it such an enjoyable day. And special thanks to Helen who did a superb job organising everything (including a gorgeous lunch) and making me feel so welcome.

That's it from me for today. I'll be back again tomorrow with my latest project for the Frilly and Funkie Challenge blog. In the meantime take care of yourselves and get creative!

Jenny xxx

AALL & Create - Quirky Blossoms by Tracy Evans

Hi everyone and welcome! Phew, well after a whirlwind weekend teaching up in Dumfries (more of that to come) I'm back with you today to share a new project for AALL & Create.

Quirky Blossoms by Tracy Evans

I love a flower;  you simply can't go wrong with them, and Tracy Evan's 'Quirky Blossoms' are an absolute pleasure to use. She has added plenty of detail to them so you can keep it simple with the one colour option (as I have done here) or go to town and add lots more by picking out the individual lines. Choosing to go with the simple option meant I could add more pattern and colour to the background, which is where one of Autour de Mwa's new stencils came in rather handy! Here's a 'work in progress' photo so you can see what I mean;

Above you'll see the stencilling over the brayered background followed by the application of colour over the initial layer of stamping - I used a combination of Dina Wakley Media acrylic paints in Sedona, Marine and White. By using the Stamp Platform I could re-stamp the flowers precisely once painted to add all that gorgeous detail back in. The addition of the sentiment from the set seemed to sum up what I feel about these clever designs.

Here are a couple of close ups of the finished card so you can see all those little details;

You can purchase Tracy's stamp set 'Quirky Blossoms' and Autour de Mwa's stencil from AALL & Create HERE and it's also available from many of your favourite retailers across the World listed on the same page).

That's it from me for today. I'll be back soon with more about the fun I had over the weekend and even more projects to inform and inspire you. In the meantime take care of yourselves and get creative!
Jenny xxx