Clarity demo card

I didn't actually see Barbara doing this demo but a friend kindly sent me the instructions and this is the result. It is a pity the camera doesn't do it justice because there was a final swipe of Encore Champagne ink across the crumpled tissue which really made it zing. It is similar in some ways to the Caught in Crystal technique but quicker to do so I think I may be making a few more in this style but with different stamped images. This is my first post of 2012 so I wish all my followers a Happy Crafty New Year!

Zentangled star

I saw this star on the Zentangle website of Rick and Maria and just had to have a go! The zentangling is a bit basic, the paper I used was a bit too thick (watercolour 300gsm) and the pen was a bit scratchy and running out of ink but apart from that, I'm happy with the shape!

The lid of box no. 3

I felt that this deserved a post all of its own. I know you have all seen the organza flower in a previous post but I am happy with its final destination on the lid of this box which I secured with "no nails". Off to make some more organza flowers..........

And box no. 3!

This box has gone through many phases. Through the night I hated the bottom of it and tonight I have transformed it with my new La Blanche stamp and now I love it! It is really all a learning curve and I am fast finding that nothing is set in stone. You can always rescue your original artwork with a little imagination! Throw nothing away!!

Box number 2

I love the paint effect on this box, pity it doesn't show up so well in the photo. I used Colourcraft Aztec Lustres paint which gives a gorgeous, well, lustre finish! Then I again used the gold acrylic swiped over certain areas. Had fun stamping floral images from Elusive Images Meadow stampsheet then embossed again with Sheena's WOW gold EP. From a previous project I found the perfectly matching tissue paper to stuff inside before finishing off with some gold braid around the edge of the lid and a butterfly brooch. I've already begun work on Box No. 3........

Altered boxes

Some of you may know that I have embarked on an on-line course on altered boxes with the talented Louise Crosbie, aka Zuzu's Petals. This is my first box and I had a lot of fun altering it. First I sprayed it with mica powders that I mixed with water in my mini-spritzer. The colour is a beautiful peach though it doesn't show up too well in this photo. Then I dry brushed over it with gold acrylic paint and added a torn napkin with a roses and music theme and complemented that with some torn, distressed music paper around the sides. I then rubbed gold wax here and there over the music paper and finished off the lid with one of Sheena Douglass's flourish stamps embossed with her brass WoW EP. I coloured some lace with Distress Ink and attached it to the side of the lid. I'm happy with my first effort but realise now that I need to have a complete theme in mind and the necessary embellishments to decorate it before I begin my second box (though I have to confess to having already painted one in delicious pearlescent blue acrylic and again added dry brush gold acrylic on top in readiness - lol!) Loving this journey!

Another Christmas teabag card

I had some die cuts left over from a previous project and decided to make another (final - lol!) teabag card. Sometimes life is just too short and other interesting techniques beckon. So if you receive this card from me this Christmas, put it somewhere safe, it could just become a collectors item :)

Fascinating Organza!

I have been wanting to try to make an organza flower for a week or so and finally bought the material on Saturday and made this on Sunday. I was hoping it would be brooch-size but it turned out to be 15cm in diameter! I think it will have to be either worn on the head (a fascinator?) or sewn onto a bag. I found a piece of Friendly Plastic that I had "oozed" with Angelina fibres which seemed to match it perfectly. DH kindly made holes in it and I sewed it in place. The colour doesn't come out too well in the photo but the organza is a beautiful shimmery deep burgundy. Fun to make but patience required!

Tea-bag folded Christmas card

Here is a tea-bag folded Christmas card that I made in advance of Friday's workshop.Of course there are many variations on tea-bag folds but this is the most basic one. (Don't forget to click on the photo to see it in greater detail.)

Iris folded Christmas cards

Gosh, it is nearly 6 weeks since I last posted. What a naughty blogger I am! I am running a workshop on Friday on the techniques of iris folding and teabag folding. Here are a couple of samples I've prepared in advance.