New Beginnings

Hello blog friends, thank you for visiting.  It's Team B's turn over at Ikesworld Challenges and the theme is New Year - New Beginnings.

I've chosen to use Mother & Baby, because I think this image is just SOOOO beautiful.

I don't know about you, but over the holidays my crafting gets put on hold because all my stuff gets put away so that the place doesn't look like there's been an explosion in a craft shop when Santa (or the family) comes to visit.  So this had to be created with minimum supplies!  I coloured the picture with a fairly light hand using Promarkers, and painted the card for the frame with pearlescent inks (I just dabbed them on with bits of sponge).  The I laid strips of fusible webbing (the stuff you use to keep the hem of your trousers up) over the top of the card, pinned  onto a cork tile to stop it blowing around , like this -

(Sorry for the naff photo!) Then heated it with my heat gun so that it melted into holes, threw silver embossing powder over it and then heated again to melt the powder, so it looked like this -

I wasn't too bothered about the big gap in the middle because I knew I'd be cutting it out.  Once I'd done that, I finished off the edges with some silver peel-offs and added some flowers (bought ones - GASP!-but  all my crafty stuff is in boxes, remember?)  which I sprayed blue to tone with the card.  Job done!

So how about joining in the fun at Ikesworld?  There's lots of inspiration from the DT, and a freebie digi to get you going.  If you use one of Ike's digi's there's even a chance of winning a prize- which can't be bad.  See you there!

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

The last two letters..

in the Craft Barn blog Alpha challenge, and what about that, I kept up!  Rather proud of myself, really although the last two were touch and go owing to the holiday crafting hiatus - but I did it - just.

So I proudly present -

X is for X-ray

and

I is for IVY

I would love to show you the full set...but it's all been packed away until after New Year.  Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the ATC's, and if you were playing as well, I hope you enjoyed the challenges as much as I did.  Will I be joining in again next year (assuming the Craft Barn run a challenge)?  I don't know...I'll have to have a bit of a lie down and a think about it first!

Thank you for visiting my blog and have a great 2014!

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

What's in the box?

Hi blog friends!  Thank you for visiting.  It's challenge time over at Left of Center once again, and this time we're celebrating Christmas with Sassy Studios.  I've used "All Wrapped Up" on the front of this pillow box.

I printed and cut the box with my Cameo.  The print and cut feature works so well, it's just like magic!  A bit of ribbon to finish and there you have a cute little gift box.  However, I like to use digis for more than cards and papercrafts every now and then, so inside the box...

Two little bars of soap. I coloured the digi in Photoshop and printed them out onto inkjet waterslide transfer paper (it needs a few coats of acrylic sealer to make it waterproof) and applied the transfers to the little cakes of soap (I had some melt and pour soap base lying around, as you do).  I also printed some tissue paper to customise the gift further, and there it is - simples!

So how about joining in with the fun at LOC?  We've got a DT call going at the moment as well so we'd love to see your creations and perhaps have you join us!

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Challenge 7 at Ikesworld Challenges is" Christmas is Coming" , and it's team B's turn to strut our stuff.  I've used the Christmas Pixie digi.this time

Cute, isn't she?
I'm still playing with tissue paper - it's a great way of getting stamped images onto surfaces that aren't easy to stamp onto directly.  In this instance, a Christmas Tree bauble - a large, glittery one.
I printed the Pixie onto tissue paper (not the kind you sneeze into, the wrapping paper kind) by sticking it to a piece of ordinary printing paper along the edge that feeds into the printer. I coloured the image on the reverse with alcohol markers (Promarkers in this case, as it happens). Then I cut the image out close to the edge (I could have torn it out, but I am not the sort of person who can do that without a disaster happening!), brushed a light coat of gel medium over the section of the bauble where I wanted the image and smoothed it over.  The medium helps the paper stretch a bit so that it'll curve over the surface.   I brushed more of the medium over the image as well to help it blend in - I didn't work this too much as I didn't want to disturb the printed lines.
So there she is, all ready to go onto the tree, when I can bring myself to put away all my crafty toys and put the tree up, braving Craft Supervisor Mysti's disapproval to do so.  She really doesn't appreciate the Christmas tree as it blocks the view out of her favourite observation post.  Last year she was photographed using her laser vision in an attempt to get rid of it - (well, that's what it looks like to me!)

I hope you have a happy and safe festive season (don't let your cat laser the tree!)  and thank you, thank you for visiting my blog. And now you've been here, how about hopping over to Ikesworld and seeing what the rest of the DT have been up to and giving the challenge a go?  There's even a freebie to get you going and you could win a prize if you use one of Ike's digis in your creation.  See you there!

Crafty hugs,

Keren

Tim's 12 tags...December

I DID it!  I did every one of Tim Holtz's Twelve Tags of 2013!  Here's my version of the December tag.

The background to this one was a one of those happy accidents...I started off with an idea in mind, used the wrong colour of ink, tried to correct it, made it worse, then decided I might as well experiment with it, sprayed it with water and blotted it with paper towel...

The frosted film is beautiful - it does look like frost, only drier and warmer!  I didn't have any of the Clearly for Art plastic so I fell back on a technique from Creative Chemistry II and used packaging material.  It would probably have been  easier with the proper stuff but worked well enough with the holly leaves and juniper sprigs.

So that's it for the 12 tags of 2013.  It's been fun, learned a few cool techniques and had a great time getting inky along the way...see you in 2014!

Crafty hugs,

Keren

P-Pick up a ...

Hi all, I'm back - did you miss me?  I took some time off from my DT duties over at Left of Center, but here I am again, refreshed and ready to get going with this fortnight's challenge, which is Winter/Christmas.  We're sponsored by Dilly Beans and I've chosen to use the Three Penguins digi.

I don't often make a straightforward greeting card but hey, it's the season of goodwill.  I coloured the digi in Photoshop and printed it out onto flock paper.  I matted it on silever and then mounted it onto a piece of white card that I'd embossed and then brushed DI over.  A glittery sentiment and it was all finished.

So how about you?  Why not join in with the challenge?  If you don't like the theme you can always go "Left of Center" and make something gothic, steampunk, manga or horror - related.  We'd love you to play with us!

It feels like winter

Team B's turn over at Ikesworld blog challenges again and I've chosen "Castle" for my DT piece this time.

I love playing with digi's.  Just because they are electronic files, rather than physical stamps, doesn't mean you have to stick to just printing them and colouring with markers.  This time I tinted the digi a grey-green before I printed it out onto tissue paper.  I painted the back of the castle in white acrylic to make it stand out when I glued it to the "weathered wood" panel (an Andy Skinner Timeworn Technique) with matte gel medium.  The tissue blends into the background and makes it look as if the picture was painted direct onto the panel.  

I finished it off with some Tim Holtz Tattered Pinecones cut from Kraft Core Core'dinations.  As well as the pinecone, the die cuts a piece of foliage, which is very useful.  So now it's over to you - why not join in the fun at Ikes?  There's lots of inspiration from the rest of the Design Teams (A and B) to get you going, and there's even a free digi for you.  If you use one of Ike's digis in your project you could win a $15 voucher for her store, which can't be bad.  See you there!

S is for...

The latest Craft Barn Blog Alpha challenge is brought to you by letter S, which is a relief after last time (Q was not easy!)  After some thought, I went for  - Snowflake.

Nothing very complicated about this one, just die-cut and punched snowflakes cut from flock paper left over from another project (waste not, want not) on card coloured with shades of blue.  Job done!