Christmas Greetings....

May I wish you all a very happy Christmas and New Year and say thank you for all the lovely comments - they are much appreciated.

Helen

Robins again...

I rather like robins, can you tell?
These are from Crafty Individuals and show that they don't always have to be for Christmas:

Thanks for looking!

Helen

A few of my favourite things....

....is the theme over on the PaperArtsy blog.
I've chosen Stampbord (large), alcohol inks and Lynne Perrella stamps:

Hop on over and take a look at what everyone's been making.

Helen

Tweet tweet...

Thought I'd share my robin canvas as it's so near Christmas:

Lots of lovely Starlights paints on this one.

Thanks for looking!

Helen

Wacky faces...

My last sneak peek was this one:

which uses a new stencil from That's Crafty! called Lana which gives you the outline of the face and features. What you do with it after that is up to you!
I went for the slightly wacky and made her hair out of some multi-coloured wool that I had:

Lana also has a partner stencil called Max - I'll have to try him out next!

Thanks for looking! 

Helen

Butterfly wings...

For this sneak peek:

I cut up one of the long panels to make a 3 part wall hanging:

Again I'm using all That's Crafty! materials - if you haven't tried out their surfaces yet you should go and have a look as they've got really imaginative things to work on: tags, triptych, shrines, shadow boxes etc etc to name but a few.

Thanks for looking!

Helen

Get out the texture paste...

This first sneak peek:

came from this pop out piece I made using some of the new That's Crafty! stencils and the light texture paste, along with some of their greyboard Bits and Pieces:

I've joined 2 of the long panels together for this. The front cover uses a different stencil - they are gorgeous stencils to use:

Thanks for looking!

Helen

Hochanda again...

That's Crafty! are on Hochanda this week (Friday and Saturday) with a brilliant One Day Special. Here are a couple of sneak peeks:

Tune in and see what everyone's been making - I'll show you the full size samples next week.

Thanks for looking!

Helen

Fabric Tags....

Crafty Individuals were on Hochanda last week with some of their lovely stamps and an amazing bundle kit. Here are two of the samples I made using calico:

Really enjoyed making these with all the stitching and beading and embellishments.

Thanks for looking!

Helen

Get out the bagpipes!

I've created a sort of Scottish wreath for the class on Saturday - you can create your own tartan and then add on thistles, bluebells and the like!

Thanks for looking!

Helen

....and on the inside...

Here's the inside of my Fauxdori:

The inside front cover just uses some crumpled copy paper to cover up the fabric edges. Had to paint it a bright colour of course!

The first insert is for notes or whatever:

I've decorated them roughly with Carabelle Studio stamps and some very old Prima ones.

Thanks for looking!

Helen

... Fauxdori continuing...

My second insert showcases some kitchen roll paper that was used in a class and I couldn't bear to throw it away!

I then made a pocket thing to put stuff in:

Here's the back:

The insert itself is made up of scrap paper that I've been leaning on and painted off on. I included it just to show that your inserts can be made of anything!

The class is next Wednesday if you're interested.

Thanks for looking!

Helen

Fauxdori....

This is my first attempt at a Fauxdori journal - in fact I'd never heard of them before! - but I'm seriously hooked. It's like a never ending journal with removable inserts.
This one I made for a class at The Craft Barn:

The whole thing closes very neatly with the elastic loop. Here's the whole cover, front and back:

This is actually worked on calico, stretched over thick acetate.

If you fancy coming and making your own, then follow the link above.

Thanks for looking!

Helen

Kay Carley and a bit of rust!

Rust is not something you'd immediately think of with Kay, but that's what I'm doing over on the PaperArtsy blog today!

Head on over to see what I made!

Thanks for looking!

Helen

Birthday greetings....

Here's the card I made for my youngest's birthday using PaperArtsy stamps and lots of colour!

Thanks for looking!

Helen

Glossy card...

These cards for Crafty Individuals are all done on glossy card, one of my favourite surfaces:

Although they use similar stamps, you can make them look very different.

Thanks for looking!

Helen

And different again...

Here are two more glossy cards with Crafty Individuals stamps:

You can see how glossy the card is by the light shining in the middle!

Thanks for looking!

helen

Pearlescent PaperArtsy...

The theme over on the PaperArtsy blog is Pearlescent so I've gone to town on the pearly finish with this wooden frame glass picture using Pearl Glaze and Alison Bomber's stamps:

Head on over there and have a look!

Helen

It's Tree time...

We're making 3D trees in my class this week at The Craft Barn:
Spring/Summer:

and Autumn:

If you'd like to join us, just follow the link above.

Thanks for looking!

Helen

A more vintage look...

These two cards use that lovely big floral stamp from Crafty Individuals CI-443 Floral Festival XL:

You can use it to make a background or, as I've done here cut out the flowers to make them the focal point.

I've worked on a kraft card background that's been coloured with Distress Oxides:

In this background you can see I've stencilled first in gesso using one of the new masks - a leaf

Thanks for looking!

Helen

Shrine number two...

My second shrine from That's Crafty! became a fairy garden:

with butterflies on top:

Thanks for looking!

Helen

It's time for a shrine...

That's Crafty! are on Hochanda today and they've got these lovely ATC size shrines as well as new greyboard, stencils etc.
The first one I made into a stage:

with a glittering ballerina:

and wings on the top with a clay flower in the middle:

Thanks for looking!

Helen

Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter.........

Crafty Individuals have been on Hochanda this week (last Sunday) with some lovely seasonal stamp sets and some new background papers.
Here are a couple of the samples I made for them:

Thanks for looking!

Helenhttp://www.craftyindividuals.co.uk/