Its a BOY

Time is running out on me very fast, with only a few hours left to get this latest entry into the I am Roses monthly challenge. This month the challenge is to include a frame along with their regular requirement of a minimum of 2 of their products.

 

Here I've made a little tag to welcome a boy into the world.

I've used  a G45 'Ladies Diary' paper for the tag, painted a little frame & cut this image from a G45 'Little Darlings' paper.  The lettering was painted to match.

 

I've used I am Roses buds, S10 blooms, carnations (which I painted to match) and a daisy.  Some muslim, cones, stamping, gold stickles, seam binding & string finish my tag.

Simple but still very effective.

Welcome to Seahorse Bay

Here we are again with the 3rd of our blog hops for Imagine if . . .  This is such a fun way to show you all these incredible new products that Jo has for you all.  If you have been following along over the last 2 weeks you will be aware of the awesome creations being created by the Design Team, along with having the chance to win some of these fantastic products for yourselves.  Again this week we are giving you all another chance to win and all you need to do is follow the blog hop, leave a comment on each blog and also comment on the facebook page for a total of 9 chances to win.

This week after starting the hop with Imagine if . ., follow thru the ladies until you reach Tash with her gorgeous work, then I follow with this:

 

The idea of Seahorse Bay was conceived after seeing an ad on TV, (I think it was the Sunday Times advertising a trip to Nuie) where I got the idea for the waves and palm trees, then as with topsy this just grew and grew. 

 

 

After making these gorgeous little houses & church, I painted this 16" x 12" canvas with varying shades of blue, created the 'shoreline' with some cord, then created the sea with all its boat and seahorses swimming about.  The willow fence in the background has actually come from an old washing basket that was destined for the rubbish.  With all the components glued in place, I found I needed to create an outside edge to contain the pebbles, which cover all the 'land', this die cut picket fence has worked very well.

 

Enjoy these closeups which show the different sides of the buildings.

 

This has been real fun to create, I hope you like it too.  To continue on your way on the blog hop just follow this link to see Lilian's fabulous creations.  Remember to leave a comment here to increase you chances to win.

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Art Journal page 11

Who would have thought it, we are now only one more journal away from finishing this epic journey in our Creative Dreams art journal swap.  I have thoroughly enjoyed the freedom to experiment and try out new techniques/colours/products on these pages.  Here again I am trying new ideas, what do you think?

 

Only days before I created this page I received my latest parcel of goodies I've just purchased online with all these gorgeous coloured Dylusions Ink Sprays.  The 'bubbles' template was also new, so of course I just had to play with them all.

 

I started the page by firstly splashing a bit of gesso on thru the new template, then once dry I got a bit crazy with the Ink Sprays.  What a gorgeous result I got.  I then hand drew the flowers which I filled in with random background stamps.  On top of this I've used some new Dylusions stamps & templates.  All stamping was done using Stazon inks.  Black & white sharpie pens were used for the highlights & lettering.  Black buttons finish the flowers.

 

I'm really please with how this page has turned out, so much so that I recreated it in my own journal, where I usually do a practice run first.  Thank you for visiting, please let me know what you think.

Even a yard for the Dog

After our first very successful blog hop, here we are again, with the 2nd blog hop for Imagine if . ..  Again we have been given another awesome 'new release', and by following this hop right from the beginning at Imagine if . .,  thru all the girls you should have come to me from Ngaere.  Aren't the girls all awesome??  Its really amazing how we all start with the same 'raw product' yet all finish with completely different creations.

So I hope you like my effort.  I imagined I was creating a log cabin, but all the girls comment on the 'corrugated iron' effect, so call it what you will.

 

Sadly the photos don't show the interior, which has green & white stripey wallpaper, green carpet and green & white gingham curtains (very homely touches).

 

After the interior was finished I started on the outside, firstly by colouring all the corrugated cardboard with 'Melted Chocolate' Dylusions Ink Spray, which I touched up when dry with 'Chocolate' Gelato and 'Creamy Brown' Colorbox Chalk Ink.  I love the effect I've got, its really rustic, yet still very quaint.  The chimney got a splash of brown paint then I heat set the 'Vintage Photo' Distress Embossing powder, again its quite rustic looking.  The windows and fences just got a splash of gesso.

 

But then what to do???  These small felt flowers work very well and create a gorgeous little garden around the house.  I was all finished, taken photos and everything, but still thought it needed more . . . then I realised - it needed a dog in the front yard.  So if you look carefully in the 3rd photo there is a black and tan dog there, sadly it really didn't show up well in the photos.

 

Thanks for visiting, I hope you enjoyed my creation.  Please leave a comment before you return back to the beginning as I'm 8th and last place to visit, remember the more comments you leave (1 per blog only tho), the more chances you have to win our giveaway at the end of the week.  This week Jo has put together a small bundle of her goodies for you including her awesome quote sheets.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Funtime for the Boys

How about this for something different?  This merry-go-round is the latest 'new release' from Imagine if . . , and is part of our very first blog hop.  We are having a give away at the end of the week, so all you have to do is visit each designers blog following the links provided, and leave a comment at each post.  Also for another chance to win leave a comment of our facebook page.  You may only enter one comment per blog, then once on facebook to be in with 9 chances to win your own merry-go-round with horses.  Each of the Design Team have been given a different theme to complete, you'll be amazed at how different they all are.

To make sure that you are on track in the blog hop you should have come to me after visiting Carol's blog, and before her from Imagine if.

My theme was 'boys', so I was given a car, truck, helicopter & plane to decorate the merry-go-round.

 

When I got all the chipboard pieces I was actually quite intimidated, but when you sit down and get into it, it really is quite easy and fun to put together.  Without the flag on the roof this stands 18cm high with the base measuring 17cm. 

 

 

I started the base firstly by covering the side with this gorgeous My Minds Eye paper along with the central pillar.  For the floor I have used aluminium foil which I embossed with a cuttlebug folder.  This was painted black, then I rubbed most of the paint off the give a bit of depth.  The poles are bits of dowel that I painted silver.  The roof has been covered with the gorgeous Bella Glitz glittered cardstock, which really gives this a 'circus' feel I think.  I have painted all the vehicles fairly traditionally, and added photos to them for a little more interest. 

 

 As my vehicles were quite large I soon realised I wouldn't have room to fit all 4 around the bottom, so I've attached the plane to the top of the roof as if its flying over.   I liked the extra fun look of the multi-coloured flags hanging around the roof (more of that circus feel)

 

This has been a real fun project to tackle and I am really excited with how its turned out, just let your imagination go wild as to all the possibilities to make your own very personalised merry-go-round.  Browse through the chipboard available at Imagine if . . to find and create the theme of your choice.

 

Thanks for taking the time to visit and please don't forget to leave a comment before you hop to the next blog which belongs to Ngaere and gee has she got an exciting merry-go-round to share with you all. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Colours of Kew

Isn't Autumn the best season of the year?  I love the clear days, albeit with cooler mornings and nights and of course who doesn't like the astonishing range of autumn colours.  Sadly living up here in the north we don't get quite the same range of intense colours, but everything is still pretty spectacular.  So this is the perfect time for Creative Craft Cottage to run this months 'Autumn' theme.  Also to help with your projects we've included a colour chart to assist with your colour selections.

 

Here's an oldie, but a goodie for you all.  These are some photos I took while on my big OE in 2010.  Sadly we only spent a couple of hours running around Kew Gardens, but I managed to take lots of photos especially of the fabulous autumn foliage.  Sadly it was a cold, drizzly afternoon, but isn't that when you get the best colour in your photos??

 

This layout was put together in a class, where we used several different TH dies, and lots of embossing, inking, distressing, & stamping.  I love the effect of the TH tattered leaves that were put through an embossing folder then inked.  All of us in the class came out with very different looking pages due to the big difference in photos of course.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing your gorgeous 'Autumn' projects.  There's still plenty of time to go out and take more photo's of those awesome leaves if you need to.  And remember that any crafted creation is acceptable for entry into our challenge.

mihi Tessa

In todays layout I've used a gorgeous photo of my niece celebrating the most important day of her life - her graduation.  Tessa had a rough time getting through her school days, so now finally she is on top of the world after years of catch up and hard grind.  Well done Tessa.

 

In keeping with the kiwiana theme introduced by the gorgeous feather cloak being worn I've used only green's & brown's throughout.  Believe it or not this stunning HOTP paper actually has pretty pink flowers in the bottom corner, but gesso and a strategically placed flower hid them nicely.  The papers have been distressed & inked, the stitching is on top of printed stitching (which actually looked cheap & tacky).  Burlap & the HOTP trim border the layers perfectly.  The awesome koru from Imagine if . .  have been flocked along with 'TESSA', then glimmer misted  just to tone the colours down a bit.  Felt kiwi add more kiwiana to the page.

 

I found a tutorial for these stunning burlap flowers on You Tube, take a look here.  Skeleton leaves, pheasant feathers & beads finish the embellishments.

 

Good ole Google is very handy, here I've used Google translations to add yet more kiwiana.  "mihi Tessa i runga i to koutou puta" translates to "Congratulations Tessa on your graduation".  I've used cuttlebug dies for the lettering.

 

I'm really please with how the page has turned out with all the embellishments from Imagine if . ..  Most of these can be found in felt and chipboard and are all proudly NZ made.  Go and check out their range (which is being added to daily) for that little something different.  Its the only place I am aware of to find such a great range of kiwiana. 

 

For a closer look of this layout and many others, come and visit the Imagine if . . stall at SENZ, where Jo and her helpers will also be running some classes and have some make & takes for you all.

 



Sunshine Superman

Here we are with my completed pages in the 10th of the Creative Dreams art journals.  Ooooh, its now very close to the return of my journal, with all the awesome artwork completed by the other ladies, I can't wait.  But at hand today is my latest pages where the theme was "Journey".  I wanted to do something a bit abstract, so came up with this idea.

 I wanted to show the effect of superman 'bursting' through the sky, which I think I have achieved.  The background has been coloured with gelato's, and as this was my first use of them I must admit that I'm rather impressed.  Over top of the yellow (butterscotch) stripes I've used a TCW template and TH Scattered Straw distress ink, whereas the blue (blueberry) stripes I used TH Pumice Stone through the TCW template.  Serviettes were used for the superman components of the pages.  TH Alpha tiles, Dylusions edging stamp & dots and rings of gesso finish the pages.

Being part of a group like this has been one big journey for us all.  It is a great opportunity to tryout techniques and ideas that wouldn't otherwise be touched on, and seeing what the other ladies come up with is also such a great way to learn.

Thanks for visiting, keep an eye out for the last two instalments over the next two months.  They will be easy to search for as they are all labelled CD.

May IARDC

May in the Northern Hemisphere is spring, whereas here in New Zealand we are in the full flight of autumn.  So here is my entry for the I am Roses monthly challenge which is themed "Hello Spring".  They require a spring tag featuring two of their gorgeous products.

 

I adore using the burlap with the softness of flowers, lace & ribbons.  Firstly I stitched around the card (sadly the pink cotton is really too faint, but it is there), then glued on the inked branches and punched leaves.  On top I've used cherry blossoms in 2 colours & the adorable little S10 blooms.  The felt butterfly comes from Imagine if . . .  Random scraps make up the tassle.

 

Thank you for visiting, please leave a comment.

Better than Most

Well here we are, time for a new challenge at Southern Girls Challenge, where the theme this time is 'Shimmer'.  Check out what the other talented DT's have come up with as inspiration for you also.  There are some great prizes are up for grabs from our awesome sponsors.  So here is my offering:

 

I started with a paper from the Prima Ledger pad (which just arrived yesterday), which I inked with TH Walnut Stain, then used a TCW template with coloured homemade texture paste to add a bit more interest.  The shimmer on my page comes from the Bella Glitz glittered cardstock that I've used to matt the photo on. In my mind beforehand I'd imagined a large square of this after going thru my Round the Page punches, but alas the card was too thick for the punch to handle, so back to good ole trusty scissors.  A bit of lace, zig zag trim, IAR flowers, TH Alpha tiles add extra interest to the page.  

 

I've used a couple of the dies from our sponsor Marriane Design here which I use quite regularly, the flourish & the mini roses (which I absolutely adore, they are so easy to make).

 

The bird & birdcage are chipboard pieces from Imagine If. . ..  The birdcage was painted then embossed with TH Distress Embossing Powder, whereas the bird was flocked with several different colours to give this mottled look.  Again more Marrianne Design diecuts finish this top corner.

 

I love how this page has turned out, as it is so different to how I first planned it.  I hope you'll find it a bit different to all the other gorgeous DT examples, and will come along and take part in our challenge.

 

Thank you for visiting, I can't wait to see your entries.