Inspired by Bottles for Country View Craft

Hello all and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Wow, can you believe it, it's 2016!
Well, apart from anything else, it's time for a new challenge over at Country View Crafts.
To ring in the new year Brenda has chosen the theme "Inspired by Bottles"
I decided to take the theme literally. I have so often been inspired by some of the amazing altered bottles I have seen on Pinterest for instance, that I decided to alter one myself.

I made a fairly similar one a while back and thought I would repeat the process and refine it somewhat on the way. I have a few step by step photos....

I purchased this vintage look bottle in my local super market, and though I quite it as it is, I thought it would be perfect for altering as it has a good flat surface on both sides.

I used Decoart Chalky Finish paints for the base and top layer of my bottle. I started with a layer of Gesso, then added some texture paste in random places and when everything was dry I gave it a coat of brown.

Next followed two different types of crackle medium, both by Decoart, Americana Weathered Wood, and Americana Decor Crackle Medium. Each of these gives a slightly different crackle effect. By applying it thicker in some places and thinner in others, some areas are smoother than others. The colour of the bottle was achieved by giving it a top coat of Americana Chalky Finish Paint in the colour Vintage. I warmed it up a bit with Quin. Gold fluid acrylics and some Umber Antiquing cream.

Here is a close up of the crackle, but I wanted some different textures too so added bits of cheese cloth and embossing powders to certain areas also.

Now for the decoration, - I decided to use a bottle stamp to decorate one of the sides of my bottle, this one is from Graphics 45. I fussy cut it and then coloured with Distress Inks.

Here is a closer look at the colouring, I forgot to take a picture before adhering it to the bottle.

Below you can see what it looks like after I finished my bottle with some other embellishments (lace, some chain, some pearl string and a flower) I adhered everything with a hot glue gun

Here is the one side

And here the other side. This side was decorated with a rice paper vintage label that I happened to have in my stash.

Well, that's it for now, I will have another project later today for Mixed Media Monthly, but meanwhile, don't forget to visit the Countryview Crafts Challenge blog and see some incredible bottle inspired makes from my team mates. Plenty of inspiration. Of course we all hope you will play along with our first challenge of the year. You will find all the details on the blog!

Thank you for you visit, - I really hope you are enjoying the festive season and will find some time to relax too! Happy New Year to you all!!!

Shabby Chic for Countryview Crafts

Hello everyone and thanks for dropping in! Yay, it's June, the month summer is supposed to start, the month of light and warmth (we all hope) and often the month of weddings!
Over at the Countryview Crafts Challenge blog the theme is Shabby Chic and for my first project I created a Shabby Chic card that could be used as a wedding card:

The base of the card is a deckle edge card blank. I then added several layers of stamped and stencilled card, distressed at the edges.

Here you can see just a bit of it, I used the Tim Holtz Lattice Work stencil, still one of my favourites.

I stamped a little postcard, a ticket and a butterfly and distressed them to make them look old. I also used one of the Tim Holtz Mixed Media die cuts underneath my flower cluster.

The flowers themselves were made with the Heartfelt Creations Ariana Blooms flower dies. The word Blessings was one of the Tim Holtz larger size Chit Chat stickers, I just snipped into it to make it look like a little banner.

Well, that is it, happy June to you all and I hope you'll take the time to hop over to the Countryview Crafts Challenge blog, to see all the beautiful Shabby makes my team mates have created and hopefully you'll feel inspired to play along.

Thank you for visiting right now and I will be back later in the day with another project. This time for Mixed Media Monthly.

Have a good week and a good month!!

xxx

Spring Leaves for Countryview Crafts

Hi everyone and happy April to you all! I am so longing for Spring, so let's hope that any April Showers will bring forth lots of Spring flowers.

The theme for our challenge this month at Countryview Challenges is to use Kraftcard.

I absolutely LOVE Kraft card, it is so versatile and can be used in so many different ways. For this project I simply used it as the base of my card.

The background to my card was created using Water colour paper and Distress Stain Sprays and clingfilm, my favourite technique of the moment, I just can't get enough of it.

As you can see, the focal point of my card are two leaves. I cut the leave with the Tim Holtz Layered Leaf die from the centre of my water colour card background. I adhered Kraft card behind the leaf opening, using foam tape for depth. I then added some gel medium with my finger and sprinkled various embossing powders onto that and melted them for texture. I also did some background stamping around the opening.
I then took the leaf I had cut and embossed it with the matching folder and arranged it at a slight angle over the opening. I added shadows around it, again, to create more depth.

This is the birthday card for my daughter in law who lives in Australia where Autumn is now well on the way, so the colours seemed quite appropriate. The sentiment is of course from the Tim Holtz simple sayings set.

Well, that's it for now. I will be back later in the day with two further projects, always busy here on the first of the month. Hope you will take the time to look at the projects my team mates have created, plenty of inspiration to use Kraft card!

Thanks for visiting like always, and perhaps I will see you later.
Have a good month!!

Bugs, Bees and Butterflies for Countryview Crafts

Hello everyone and lovely to have you visiting. It's my turn to show you another project for Countryview Challenges, where the theme this month is Bugs, Bees and Butterflies. Well, this time round I just had to use my favourite butterfly stamp from the Tim Holtz French Flight set. I created the little wall hanging and had great fun making it all grungy!

Bugs and bees (butterflies allowed)

Hello everyone and welcome on this chilly first of November.
It being the first of the month, means it's the start of several new challenges, so this is the first of 2 projects I'll be posting today...
This one is for Countryview Crafts where the theme is Bugs and Bees (just to remind us of the warm days of Summer I guess), - oh and it is allowed to use butterflies too.

I decided to create a wall panel, using some of my favourite stamps and techniques:

I'll show you some close ups of the different panels with some brief descriptions:

Using Ranger embossing paste with a Tim Holtz folder, some stamping with Walnut Stain Distress Ink and further stenciling with another folder and Black Soot.

Using a background stamp from my stash, stencilling with another Tim Holtz layering stencil, the bee embellishment is paper clay into which I stamped a bee stamp from the Graphics 45 French Country stamps. I coloured it with Distress paints and Decoart Antiquing cream in black.

Another background stamp, this one from Artistic Outpost, using the embossing resist technique with clear embossing powder. More stenciling and the little letters came originally from Calico Craft who sadly no longer exist.

More stenciling with the texture paste, over painting with Golden Fluid Acrylics and then stamping with gesso and a small background stamp on top of that.

A piece of the Bee paper from the Wallflower paper stash by Tim Holtz. I thought it was just perfect for this challenge theme, so all I did was ink a bit around the edges.

Almost all of these products are available from Countryview Crafts, where if you live in the UK, you never have to pay postage!

Well, happy first of the month! I'll be back later with a project for Our Creative Corner.

Thanks for visiting!!

Discover Life is Good

Hi everyone, thanks for dropping in here. Today I am sharing a project over on the Countryview Crafts Challenge blog, where the theme this month is Only Men Allowed.

A male friend needed some serious cheering up, he has the tendency to always see the negative side of life (and he reminds me a bit of the serious looking gentleman from the Tim Holtz Paris to London set). So, I made him this card with a little reminder that it is possible to discover that life is good! Here's hoping he won't take it the wrong way....

I started by gathering some bits and pieces to put together on my card:

A piece of 6 x 6 paper from the Tim Holtz French Industrial paper Collection, an embossed bit of Core'dinations card, using a Spellbinders 3D embossabilities folder, a tag cut with one of the new Sizzix Framelits tag collection dies by Tim Holtz. I used some paper from an old My Minds Eye Lost and Found paper collection for this and stamped several stamps from the Tim Holtz Paris to London set on it. I also made two tickets with small Movers and Shapers ticket die and stamped images from the Tiny Things stamp set.
I also cut a bottle from the small Apothecary Movers and Shapers and a feather and added a little label.

I then cut one of the Tattered Banners strip dies folded to get some dimension and added it along the bottom of my card

The sentiment was created with the help of some Remnant Rubs word.

The whole thing was then mounted on some dark brown Kaiserkraft card cut to 6 x 12 and scored in half.

Well, that's it, like I said, I hope he likes it and that it will cheer him up a bit.

Thanks for visiting and see you next time...

Core'dinations 12" x 12"	Spellbinders 3D Embossabilities Royal Wings	French Industrial Paper Stack	Framelits Tag Collection Tim Holtz
Stampers Anonymous Paris to London set	Stampers Anonymous Tiny Things set	Movers and Shapers Mini Apothecary Bottles	Sizzix Alterations Mini Feather & Inkwell
Tattered Banners strip die	Remnant Rubs Words	Ideaology Sticker Labels

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