Last ever Compendium Challenge :(

Sad times, it's the last of the fabulous Compendium of Curiosities Challenge. But what a fab time we had.
So for the last entry I have made a little grungeboard bracelet. I just embossed and die-cut the ends of some grungeboard and painted them, then sanded and inked over.

I stitched the pieces back together and here it is wrapped round. Unfortunately I couldnt take a picture of it around my wrist, I was home alone so it proved rather difficult.

Many, many thanks to Linda for such a fab Challenge it has been great. Thanks for all the effort you put in, commenting on everyone's project and sorting out the prizes too. Thanks so much!!! Wish we could do it all over again!

MEN - AFFIRMATIVE

As the Compendium of Curiosities Challenge is slowly coming to an end I really am trying to make the effort to join in even though crafting time is rare at the moment. But I am loving this challenge and have learned so many new things from taking part. Techniques I wouldnt have tried otherwise even though I had the compendium sitting here on the shelf.

So I got the super chunky fragment out for this one and stamped onto it the 3 men, I laid some aged music paper behind them to give it a little contrast from the dictionary paper. I added some filmstrip ribbon here and old stamps and a theatre ticket from Tim's sticker sheets. Where the dictionary paper reads " Affirmative" I coloured it on top of the fragment with alcohol ink. Works like a marker pen, just spread some ink and then wipe away til you just got left what you want highlighted. The hand is stamped in acetate and glued onto music paper.

I like this collage technique, I should do it more really. Plenty of fragments waiting to be transformed.

I am also entering this into the Ephemera challenge at Simon says Stamp and Show.

A bunch of challenges..... and new Wendy stamps

It's been a while since I've entered any of my favourite weekly challenges, so this week I just had to make the time.
First of all there is the Coffe and Cream Challenge at Simon says Stamp. Also the soon ending Compendium Challenge over at Studio L3, where we are using alcohol inks on metal embellies this week. And last but not least there is the Stripes challenge at Simon says Stamp and Show.

My card is a bit of a loose interpretation of the stripes challenge, I did make my own stripey background though, using one of Wendy's new sets.
Ok I admit it's a fairly quick card this but crafting time is still rare at the moment.

So excited I get to meet the one and only Tim Holtz on Friday, cant wait!!!!

A quick and effective Valentines Card.....

Are there any crafty lovers out there with a severe lack of time at the moment? Well, there's me, still working endless hours and in need of a card for valentine's. So I took some inspiration from Tim's compendium and embossed some grungepaper and inked it all up nice and vintagy. Then used an ornate frame for the message. I used the painted metal technique here, it's this weeks task over at Studio L3's Compendium Challenge, which I havent joined in in ages so it was about time. I filled the frame with crackle accents. It's real quick and easy and I find very effective.

I am also entering this into the Simon says Stamp Challenge and Stamp and Show Challenge where the theme is LOVE this week.

Oh I have missed the challenges, cant wait to have more time to craft again.

Compendium of Curiosities Challenge #25

It's Compendium time again. YEAH!!!!

So this week we are splashing ink around again, one of my favourites. I never do it enough but then when I do I love it. It just makes such pretty backgrounds.

I will definitely be making a few more things with this technique, the colour combinations are endless and so much fun!

I guess this is it for this years Compendium of Curiosities Challenge, I'm not even sure how many there are left in the new year, but I am certainly gonna be part of it!!!

I think I've got a tag addiction....

I have been following Tim's 12 tags of christmas very closely and love the stuff he makes..... and although Ive never been a fan of tags, I can see the point in making them at this time of year. I have already attached a load to my christmas presents. This year I'm wrapping everything in brown paper and string and adding pretty tags. And now I think Ive got myself a tag addiction.

I made another one for the Compendium Challenge this week, where we are playing with rock candy distress stickles.
Yet again Ive never had much use for stickles, but at this time of year they are so handy, for glittery and snowy details or just a bit of christmassy sparkle.

I covered the reindeer and letters in distress stickles if you cant tell from the picture. Another tag to go on someone's present.

More CCC and Stamp and Show

Double distress is the theme over at Studio L3 this week and how perfectly does that fit in with the Simon says Stamp and Show "distress inks" theme?!?! Very much so!

I used my music embossing folder for the first time on some grungepaper here. I like the idea of embossing folders but never seem to get it right, but this time, using grungepaper as a base I think it worked really well. I'm pleased.

Have you noticed this is not a christmas card? I'm shocked. I think I've finally had enough of christmas card making and I'm gonna slowly get back to other cards now.....

The double distress technique is a bit messy I find, well you get really inky fingers, but that's part of the fun!

With this background I had gone quite dark so I tried to lighten the trees and make them stand out a bit with some stickles around the edges. I'm slowly finding more uses for stickles, should invest in some more really. Maybe santa will bring me some!!!

Compendium of Curiosities Challenge #22

It's time for another Compendium Challenge over at Studio L3. We are playing with alcohol inks again this week and they are still not my favourite but I gave it a go anyway. Like last time I still haven't bought any glossy card (I have been meaning to but still never do) so I used some silver card again, since it's christmas soon I thought the silver would go well.

I have to say I really enjoyed this technique. Very colourful and it looks gorgeous. I punched out some snowflakes and use dthem on some christmas cards. Not your traditional christmas colours but I think they are a little different.

My favourite Tim Stamp and a new Compendium Technique

Another week brings another Compendium Challenge and Simon says Stamp and Show too. I do enjoy both challenges very much but there isnt always time to join in..... luckily this week there was time and I combined the two.

I used the pinecone stamp from the new Tim Holtz sets, I love that stamp at the moment. It's very chistmassy but not overly kitsch, just pretty and lovely to work with.
And I had a go at the Perfect Distress Technique from the compendium. I did try it before but it didnt work that well, this time it turned out much better. Shame you cant tell the golden shimmer from the photo very well, but let me assure you its very pretty!!!

Compendium of Curiosities Challenge - Industrial Grunge

It's been a while since I last joined in on the Compendium Challenge. I have missed it but I've just been too busy with other things and of course I was on holiday.

So this week it's Industrial Grunge. Can't say that I had tried it before. And I don't think I will be using this technique much in the future but at least I've tried it once.

And of course it had to be a christmas card, it's the only thing I'm making at the moment.... card wise anyway.

Only 53 days til christmas, yeah!!!!

Back from my blogaholiday with my first ever twinchie.....

I seem to have taken a bit of a blogaholiday, didn't mean to but there was a severe lack of crafted things to blog about as I've been busy working on one of my stamper of the year items. It's now almost finished and I'm busy thinking up item number 2. Hard work that is. Anyone else out there taking part?
I have also (finally) started making xmas cards, about time!!! I'll be posting some designs soon.

I have also made my first ever twinchie this week. It's for the craft stamper twinchie swap and I combined it with the Compendium of curiosities challenge, grungepaper flowers! You may not be able to tell from the upside down photo on the left, but I embossed the grungepaper. Not bad for a first twinchie I reckon.

Also having a very busy two weeks at work with kids cast change happening so plenty of rehearsals, so not much time to craft. Well, I'm off to bed now! Nitey! xxx

Tim Holtz style photo album

Another week and another 2 fun challenges - first of all there is the Compendium of curiosities challenge, of course!!! And the other one is Simon says stamp and show and the theme this week is Tim holtz, so I cleverly combined the two. Well, it wasn't planned but it kinda happened.

So I had these photo insert pages I wanted to make an album with. I covered some thick board in dictionary paper and distressed it all and put corners on it. I didn't want anything too busy on the front so I opted for a simple frame with a message. When it came to stamping the message I thought I may as well try the blended batik technique from the compendium and it worked nicely but I don't fnd it anything special really. It's a lot of effort though. Maybe i'm not doing it right yet, but I expected more of a wow result.
Add some ideaology and album done.




This is the inside of the album (again picture won't go the right way round, sorry). I had these inserts from an old album I took apart, but I am desperately trying to find inserts like that. Anyone come across them? The hold standard size photos. The are removable as they just 'clip' around the spiral binding. I wouldn't mind if they were permanently bound in, either way it's those type of photo inserts I a after if you see them on your crafty travels gimme a shout!

The album is for sale in my folksy shop HERE.

Stick, Stick, Stickles - Compendium Challenge Time

Always looking forward to the compendium challenge on mondays, I get really excited around 12 o'clock and eagerly await the new post at 1.
So this week it's stickles time. I'm not much of a fan of stickles, just never really use glitter glue that much. But I do own 2 distress stickles (only because I won them or they came with a pack of things) and I actually made a point of ordering another 2 colours this week - green and white, thought they may come in handy for christmas cards.

As you can see I made yet another grungeflower card. Can't get enough of them. See the bottle cap in the centre, I squeezed that full of stickles too. So yeah, stickles everywhere.
Until next week! Ta da!

Compendium of Curiosities Challenge #9

It's Tuesday (almost still Monday) and therefore another Compendium of Curiosities Challenge. Yippie.
As mentioned in a previous posts my parents were staying and my mum had taken over my desk so I couldn't get making til today. Now that my parents are on their way back to Germany I have my crafty stash back to myself and quickly made this card for the challenge before I have to head to work.

By the way, this week we are playing with crackle paints. So I used some rock candy on the flower there and had a little fun with distress inks for the background.

Compendium of Curiosities Challenge #8

ccc8
Originally uploaded by Anikraft

Yippie it's monday, not just my day off and therefore declared craft day but also a new compendium challenge.

So this week we are inking grunge, funny that, I've kinda been doing that the past few days as is. Now I have to apologize for the bad photo, I will retake the picture with daylight some time this week. It's just that I won't have time tomorrow when I normally take my photos, I am off to Ikea to stock up on frames and mirrors to alter! Better take a big bag!

Also apologies for the picture being inserted from flickr, it just didn't want to be the right way up when inserted here so I uploaded it there instead and inserted it that way. Anyway....

So I just got a bunch of Wendy Vecchi stamps (finally!!!! been waiting for back orders for ages!) and gave them a little test run. More cards to be blogged this week.

And OMG I just got the most amazing parcel this morning. I bought a whole lot of vintage buttons from ebay, they are still on their cards. Pretty funky. Had to use some straight away for my flowers. And I may have to share some in another candy so watch this space.

Ta da! xxx

CCC #7

Just back from a weeks holidays in Spain I have been looking forward to playing with my stamps again and of course joining the CCC. It's not just that no.7 is actually my favourite number but it also happens to be my favourite technique - tinted vision fragments.


So for my entry this week I have made a keyring. I have not actually used a fragment but memory glass and a frame. The technique is still the same otherwise. I framed an old photo of me and my sister that I printed out in a sepia effect.

If you havent joined in the Compendium challenge yet then do so here.

CCC #6 - More mini canvas art.....

It's monday and time for CCC #6.
So this week we are playing with medium and anything we can cover in it. Sounds fun, but then I went to work and it just wasn't working for me today. I covered various things in gloss medium (unfortunately I have no matt yet, it's on my to buy list) including grungeboard, but nothing wanted to stick properly and when it came to 'revealing' the shape afterwards it just went wrong.
So I consulted my compendium and Tim mentions canvas in there. So I thought I have a go at doing another mini canvas. I really enjoyed working with them recently and thought I make another little hangy thing. I bought an old 'little prince' book from the charity shop recently and thought that be perfect to make something for my nephew.
So got the canvas, stuck a grungeboard heart on it and covered it with the page. I placed the page so the title would be just above it. I painted over it and then wiped off the paint where it says the little prince. Red stickles over the heart and a little crown added.
That's the middle one done, the other two I used the back of and added photos of my nephew. They are filled in with utee by the way. I'm getting better at pouring it now which is nice. Looks much neater than the last one. Add some foliage, type charms and memory thread and it's done.
So bad start to this week's CCC, but it all turned out ok at the end.

A few more ATC's.....

I think I got myself addicted to making ATC's now. There are just so quick and easy and great to try new techniques on.
I bought some more paper artsy stamps the other day so i gave the tree one a quick test run on this atc. It's embossed in clear powder then inked over in a dark blue. I made this for Hels Sunday Stamper Challenge. The theme is BLUE (did you guess?!)

This one just "happened". You know when you got a piece of card, randomly ink it up, maybe grab a background stamp nearby, this one happened to be the script stamp. And then I thought WORDS! So I popped out a few grungeboard letters, painted them with traditional tan and inked them with staz on timber.

This one I made for the Compendium of Curiosities Challenge, this week we are playing with distress embossing powders.


And I just noticed I've gone past the 1000 visitor mark, yippie!!!!

A week of firsts .... ATC's

I'm having a week of first times, starting off with ATC's. Previous attempts to make them have kinda failed but this time it just worked. I made this butterfly ATC to enter a few challenges out there.

Compendium of Curiosities Challenge

I'm loving this challenge, it actually makes me look at the book and try the techniques rather than just having it sit on the shelf. So this week it's shabby chic and that's how the background was created. I made a set of 3 (see below) and all backgrounds were created using the technique.

Gingersnap Creations

One of their challenges is 'Shades o blue' so my little blue butterfly is fluttering over there too.

Stampman ATC Swap

Of course an ATC wouldnt be just that if I didn't trade it too, so I'm joining in on their ATC swap, the theme is 'Wings'.

Here is the whole set that's being sent off.

Compendium of Curiosities Challenge - Week 3

So, it's week number 3 in the Compendium of curiosities challenge at Studio L3 and this week it's alcohol ink.

I do own a handful of alcohol inks but have to say I haven't used them much so far, except for colouring staples. I don't own any glossy card yet so I had to really think on how to enter this challenge but I found some coppee and silver coloured card that's fairly glossy so I just used that. And I think it makes a fab background for these flowers. The stamp is from this month's craft stamper magazine by the way, grab one now, it'll be one of those really useful little stamp that can be used for any occasion!