By the Sea

Here's my card for the Less is More Challenge where week 221 the recipe is to use a TAG.

I've just got back from a quick weekend down to Cornwall delivering my daughter back to University and to be honest I'd have loved to have seen this view.   Alas it was misty, foggy and raining.....but at least it was better than the forecast thunder and lightening.   I've just created a little scene on the tag using stamps from Crafty Individuals (set CI-397) and the waves are Mermaid Lagoon Distress blended through a Studio Calico Chevron stencil. 

Sorry about the photo - the light is strange today - but thank you for visiting my blog.

Art Journal 2015

I haven't had chance to make much this week due to a round of appointments - hair, eyes, teeth etc so thought I'd show you my art for Journal52 - it's a group on Facebook with a prompt every week.   I'm using A5 card/watercolour paper and try and do the first thing that pops into my head!! 

Week 1 - Pathways, New beginnings etc.
I used an old birthday card for the image.

Week 9 - Restricted to a Colour and Shape
I chose Green and Circles

Week 10 - Colouring an image downloaded
Its supposed to be therapeutic but I'm a neat freak!

Week 13 - Messy coffee rings and splatters

This Week 15 - Playing Cribbage
Every evening on holiday with friends!!

They're a bit of a mixed bag as you can see but it's great fun to just go with the flow and not worry about whose products to use.  I've used Oak House Studio stamps on the circles one and most of the backgrounds are Distress Inks.  I didn't really want to cover the last one as I loved the mix of reds so much!!

Anyway the sun is shining and the garden needs attention so best go.  Thanks for looking!!

Elaine x

Today's Story

Here's my card for the Less is More Challenge where this week 219 it's a ONE LAYER card with SPLATTERS.

I've been buying a few new bits recently so thought I'd use them.  I used Jet Black Archival to stamp Today's Story from the Kaisercraft Document set and masked this off.  I've then stamped the splatter stamp from Tim Holtz's Bitty Grunge set  with the new Distress colours - Mermaid Lagoon and Cracked Pistachio.  Don't you just love them!!  To create a little more interest I flicked some dots of Broken China Distress with a toothbrush.  

It's all a bit haphazard and chaotic which is sometimes how life is - too much to do and not enough time to do it!!   Anyway thanks for popping by and visiting my blog - it's very much appreciated.

Sunshine and Showers

Here's my art for The Craft Barn's Calendar Challenge where April's words are  BLUE and UMBRELLA(S).   My calendar is going to be an A5 flip one so I'm creating on 14cm square card which will be mounted on black A5 card at the end of the year.

I have two stamps with umbrellas/parasols on so thought I'd use them both - the Crafty Individuals' Bathing Beauty from the By the Sea set (CI - 278) and Tim Holtz's Brolly Man.  I thought this was appropriate as April can be a bit indecisive in the weather department - sometimes sunny but with those pesky showers.  For the background I've used a mix of blue Distress Inks - Tumbled Glass, Broken China, Chipped Sapphire and Faded Jeans and splattered some water on the rainy side!!  The bathing beauty is coloured with bright markers and I've added some white paint for the waves crashing on her feet. 

So which side do you prefer??   

Hope you like and thanks for visiting - you're always welcome!

Tim's Tag for April 2015

Well it's the start of a new month and time for Tim Holtz's Tag for April - click on the link if you have no idea what I am talking about!

It's a beautiful tag but another difficult one for me. When you see the amount of stash I have 'stashed' about my house, you'd think I'd have more than a tag ..... but oh no!!   And it's not a kraft tag either.  But the whole reason I do the challenge is to challenge myself - if I haven't got it, use something else.

So to start I blended Walnut Stain and Vintage Photo Distress to create a 'vintage' tag.  For the flower I chose to use the large Rose from Oak House Studio and spritzed over that with Bundled Sage and Tumbled Glass Re-inker (I have no distress markers!!).  The Rose is coloured with Pentel Brush Markers and a waterbrush and then spritzed with black ink (using a toothbrush and my finger!!).

Next problem was the wording.  I die-cut the NOW out of the spritzed card and stuck it on and the BLOOM was some glitter stickers that I coloured with a black Sharpie.  Close enough I think!!      And after all that I didn't have the heart to unbury my sewing machine so just used a pen instead to create a frame and finished with some two-tone seam binding. 

I'm not sure I enjoyed doing this one so much but it's part of the set and I've made it.   Thanks for popping by to look and many thanks for leaving a comment.

Happy Easter.

Elaine xx