House Of Cards Blog Hop

     It's sad to think that this will be last card I make for House Of Cards, the challenge is closing this month so please pop over and join us for one last time, we have a blog hop with a prize kindly donated by Beccy's Place.

   

      When I saw the photo prompt I thought this would make a great masculine Christmas card. Having just invested in some more Tim Holtz stencils I was itching to use them, the pattern on the plate made me think of plaid, oh what luck I just bought that one!

      With Distress Ink Black Soot and the Plaid stencil I inked up a square of white card for my background. The stencil only covered half the card but with a bit of careful positioning and some clean masking tape I managed to repeat the pattern so you can't see the join.

     The image I chose to use from Beccy's Place is called Champagne, it has three strawberries in front of the ice bucket, very nice but not quite right, so I die cut some baubles to cover them.

     The image is coloured with watercolour pencils and a touch of metalic pen, the glasses have a slight blue tinge to them that doesn't show up well in the photograph.

     The tiny baubles are part of the Merry greeting, so I used the dark red bauble frame that was left over to hang at the top of the image panel, then filled it with the bauble from the gold greeting cut.

      The image panel was stuck on to a dark red pearl mat layer, the same card used for the baubles, this went on to the plaid background and then the gold greetings were added, with the gold frame bauble filled with red to match the ones at the bottom. I was going to add a fir branch too but I think it's busy enough as it is.

      Please come and play along with our final challenge at House Of Cards, you never know, you may win the prize.

House Of Cards Blog Hop

Make sure you leave a comment at each person's blog along the way because the prize is hidden and we'll be doing a random drawing from the blogs where it is hiding! :) 

You have come from Michele and your next stop is Rosi, good luck.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Digi Choosday - Anything Goes

Watercooler Wednesday - Holidays

Snow blind

     Making Christmas decorations is one of my favourite things to do, so when I found a huge roll of vertical blind fabric and some broken chandelier pendants in a charity shop I thought snowflakes.

      This fabric is amazing stuff, it doesn't fray when cut, you can stamp on it, heat emboss on it and alcohol markers don't bleed when you colour on it. A good thing it's so very versatile when you see the size of the roll!
      Using Tim Holt Sizzix die Layered Snowflake I cut four flakes and embossed them with the folder that accompanies the die.
      Once cut and embossed I used some silver gilding polish to run over the raised areas, this looked good but it lacked something, so out came the iridescent glitter.

     Using some fishing line I threaded it through one of the single round gems and made a loop which was sealed with a crimp bead. Most of the gems have small hooks and loops on them so assembly was easy.
      I glued two of the flakes together on one side to form half of the finished flake. Then I glued the longer end of the fishing line to the centre channel, making certain to have enough to form a finishing loop before cutting it off the reel.
      With the loose end of the line I threaded on a small round gem attached to a drop gem, making a loop through the top of the gem and fixing again with a crimp bead. The end of the line was then stuck inside the channel so there would be no end visible.
      With the gems in place I stuck the remaining flakes to the made half and left it to dry before easing into shape as a three dimensional snowflake. The weight of the glass gems make the flake hang straight and the whole thing sparkles beautifully.
     Over at Altered Eclectics we love to see altered art and recycled projects like this so please pop over and join us with your creations.

I would like to enter this decoration in the following challenges:

CraftyHazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
The Holly and Ivy - Anything Christmas Goes

Scrapy Land - Anything Goes
Fussy and Fancy - Winter/Christmas
Crafty Cardmakers - Anything But A Card

A Touch Of The Jackson Pollocks

     The new challenge at The Male Room is to make a masculine project inspired by a famous artist, I thought something on a Jackson Pollock theme would be fun to make.....and it was!

   
     I started with some dark blue card, then I flicked paint at it until it looked like a decorators boot.
     With such a busy background I had to think of something simple for the image or sentiment, a die cut seemed the way to go. This turned out to be a bit more complicated than I planned, I hadn't realised the die I chose had so many tiny cut outs. Trying to put all the cut away pieces back onto the silver mirri was a nightmare, even using the die as a guide.

   
     The only thing for it was to die cut another sentiment, stick that in place and then add all the little cut away bits. Most of them were easy to work out but once I accidentally mixed the bits up it became a bit more of a puzzle.
     Eventually it all came together and the blue mirri sentiment looks at home tucked into the splatter background.
     Please pop over to The Male Room blog to see some of the amazing inspiration the DT have come up with, I can honestly say this challenge stretched my imagination.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Unicorn - Use a Sentiment

Crafty Cardmakers - Explosion Of Colour  (I got the expolsion bit right!)

Dream Valley - Use Dies and Punches

Simon Says Stamp (Monday) - Make Your Own Background

Feather Tree In The House Of Cards

     The new challenge at House Of Cards is to use gold and pearl accents, I have also tried to use some of the inspirational colours on the swatch on this Christmas card.

     I was shown the most gorgeous tree made with Lavinia's feather stamp, I have tried to make something similar but it isn't as pretty as the one I saw, I'll just have to keep trying!
     This one is stamped and embossed in gold on cream card, the edges are coloured with Distress Old Paper and I have tried to give the tree a little ground to stand on too.
     The image was then matted and layered with dark blue and gold before going on a cream 7x5 card blank. I left the addition of the pearls until the image panel was mounted so I could still get it in my trimmer.
     After adding the pearls I had to make a small organza bow as I didn't have one ready made, I coloured white ribbon with an alcohol marker and then used a fork to tie my bow, again something that I need to practice more! Although I used an alcohol marker I still didn't want to use wet glue...just incase, it's been one of those weeks...so I used a small glue dot to fix the bow on the card.
     A relatively simple card to make with a gorgeous feather stamp, two uses for this stamp so far and counting, don't you just love value for money.
     Please come and join us at House Of Cards with you creations, they don't have to be Christmas cards, any occasion as long as you follow the theme.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Christmas At Sweet Stampin' - Anything Christmas Goes
Cardz 4 Guyz - Into The Woods

Sparkles Christmas - Embossing Heat or Dry
CraftyHazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes

Winter Straw Cabin

     A little more recycling at Altered Eclectics this month, a little house decorated ready for Christmas.   

         Over the last few months I have spent many hours rolling paper straws, if you make a few each day it soon mounts up, now I have a small stash to play with.
      There are lots of amazing pictures on Pinterest that show you how to make wonderful things with paper straws, that's where I found this one.
      After I had made the house I painted the bottom brown and the roof white, a little glitter was added to the roof to make it sparkle.
     Another thing I have been collecting for a while are fir cones, so a quick rummage in the box and I found three small ones that I could stick on the house with hot glue. It really needed some colour so I found some felt holly leaves and glued a couple of those on aswell. All that remains is to add some twine to the back so the house can be hung up.
     If you like making altered art or recycling items then please come and show us at Altered Eclectics, we would love to see you work.

I would like to enter this house in the following challenges:

Crafty Creations - Anything Goes
Lemon Shortbread - Anything Goes
The Holly and Ivy - Anything Christmas Goes
The Merry Christmas - Anything Christmas

Coffee and Cousins In The House Of Cards

     Our challenge at the House Of Cards this month is for Autumn flowers and/or the colour on our photo swatch. I was inspired by the photo and a recent visit by my cousin who came bearing sunflowers, they really did brighten up the kitchen.

      I found a patterned paper topper with sunflowers all over it and decided it was just what I wanted to use. I die cut a scalloped oval in the centre rather than add a mat layer on top, it also gives me a gorgeous sunflower oval for another card.
     This flower layer was then mounted on dark brown pearlescent card before going on to a narrow layer of gold. I searched high and low for the right shade of green for the centre oval, why is it that you never have 'just' the right shade in all those greens?!
     Search over I used a stencil and Versamark to then gold emboss the coffee cup, then I cut it out, it is stuck flush to the card.

      The image panel and all it's layer were added to a 5x7 cream card blank but it lacked something, it needed a sunflower.
     The flower was die cut in thin yellow card, the centre darkened with Distress ink and the two layers of petals stuck together. For a nice furry centre I have coloured a loop disc of velcro with alcohol markers, it worked so well I shall be making more of these.
     The flower was stuck on with PVA glue, it will flatten for posting so it will still be a standard postage charge.
     Please come and join us at House Of Cards with your Autumn flower inspired cards, we would love to see what you make.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Allsorts - Autumn Glory
Crafty Friends - Autumn Colours
Crazy 4 Challenges - Anything Autumn
My Time To Craft - Food and Drink

Nina Journal, Birds Flyin' High

     A couple of months ago I began an art journal of sorts, these are the next few pages. My first page was used for Altered Eclectics DT so it seems only right that the next instalment should be for them also.
     I got so carried away with these pages that I forgot to take any pictures as I worked, I think you could say I was definitely 'in the zone' on this one. Following a theme has made my first foray into journaling a little easier, I have a rough idea of where I would like this to go.
     Distress inks over white card for the background got me started, then it was on to spritz and splatter for added detail. The doily was done using a stencil and Distress Oxides, as was the sun, these inks cover beautifully and having a mixture of the two types on the page adds to the effect.
     With the addition of birds and flowers the page was really coming together, all I needed to do now was to add the words. For the first few words of the song I used a Dymo tape machine and blue tape, for the repeated words I used some dies, I had to cut and edit them to make the words I wanted but once stuck down you can't see the joins.
     I am getting more adventurous with some of the pages, I have seen some stunning work out there which has given me inspiration, but as a slightly 'contained' crafter I still have a long way to go to let loose the inner creator.
     If you journal, make mixed media, anything but cards and ATC's then please come and join us Altered Eclectics and show us what you've created.

I would like to enter these pages in the following challenges:

We Love 2 Create - Anything Creative Mixed Media

Hiding In My Craftroom - Anything Goes

Crafting With Friends - Anything Goes