Alpha Challenge 'Q'

The Alpha Challenge letter at The Craft Barn this time is 'Q' and 'quantity' is the word that jumped into my mind.

The letters and butterflies are from Circus Alphabet by IndigoBlu, the flowers Sheen Douglass Always Floral, the heart is from the wedding collection by Marion Emberson and the birds are by Marion also - the Birds and Trees set.  I have no clue about the little clock - its a little wooden stamp I have had for ages.  The background is created using Spun Sugar and Weathered Wood Distress Paints and edged with Peacock Feathers and Picked Raspberry Distress Inks.  The alphabet tiles are coloured with the Spun Sugar paint and edged with Picked Raspberry ink.  I am very close to the end time of the challenge as usual!  I never get any better.  Thank you so much for visiting me - its appreciated so much!  Have a lovely weekend and I will visit you as soon as I can.  Take care.  Christine xx

Butterfly Girl

I made this for my friend's daughter's 13th Birthday, I hope she likes it as it is not the original card I was going to make as that went horribly wrong!

I have been after the stamp set, Butterfly Beauties by the Stamp Man, for ages.  It was discontinued a very long time ago and I managed to get it on Ebay recently - I was so pleased!  The background is Mown Lawn, Picked Raspberry and Salty Ocean Distress Inks randomly splodged on the card then spritzed with water.  I dried it with my heat gun then dabbed all over with an anti static bag before stamping with Black Versafine and embossing with clear detail powder.  Without using the bag there would have been oodles of embossing powder everywhere!  The sentiment is made in the same way and is from the same stamp set.  The pops of colour in the centre of the flowers are painted on using undiluted ink from the same ink pads.  The numbers are Cuttlebug.  I kept it quite simple as I think the images are just so cool they didn't need any additions.  As usual I have to apologise for not being about in Blogland much.  I have spent some time with my Daughter and new little Granddaughter who is just so beautiful!  People told me how wonderful it would be to be a Grandma and its so true - I love it!  I can't wait to see them again, thank goodness for Skype!  Thank you for visiting me - I am so grateful!  Take care.  Christine xx

Alpha Challenge 'N'

Over at The Craft Barn the letter for the Alpha Challenge is 'N'.  I went for 'Naked'.

I an not overly happy with this page.  I had to rush it today as I am off to stay with my Daughter and Son-in-Law for a few days tomorrow.  Sarah give birth to my first Grandchild on 25th October so I can't wait - she is the cutest baby!  You can see a photo of her on my last post here.  Anyway, back to my page - the stamped image is a fabulous Clarity stamp.  The flower mask is Arch of Flowers from Imagination Crafts and the texture mask is Mini Tile Texture from Crafters Workshop.  I have used Seedless Preserves, Peacock Feathers and Victorian Velvet Distress Inks with Black Versafine and clear Detail Embossing powder for the lady image.  I wish I had a shape like that when I was naked!!  Thank you for visiting me, its so lovely of you and your comments are appreciated so much!  Take care.  Christine xx

New Baby Freya Card (and a Photo too!)

My little baby Granddaughter Freya was born recently and here is the card I made for my Daughter and Son-in-law.

The image and the phrase are by Lili of the Valley and I coloured the image with Promarkers.  The dies used are Spellbinders Labels Four, Petite Circles and Petite Scallop Circles and the ornate edges to the circle are made by using the small doily die from the Couture Creations Ivy Die set and cutting the die cut in half and laying it under each side of the scallop circle.  On my screen the check card looks blue but it is in fact purple - I hope that shows ok on your screen.  The purple stamping is done using Heliotrope Versacolour.    Here is a photo of Freya, she is so gorgeous!

This is a couple of hours after she was born.  I am one very  happy Grandma!!  I am still not getting much crafting done and am not getting round all your blogs.  Again I am so sorry!  Thank you so much for visiting me, I appreciate it so much!  Take care.  Christine xx

Alpha Challenge 'L'

The Craft Barn Alpha challenge this time is the letter 'L' but the twist is, we have to use a window. ' Lean' is my word.  The only craft I am managing at the moment is this challenge - I am determined not to miss a letter!  I must say 'thank you' to the Craft Barn for choosing me in their top 5 for my last page.  Its the second time I have made the top 5 and its a real honour!

The main image is from The Quest which is part of the A Little Bit Magical stamp set by Sheena Douglass.  The brick stamp I used on the window is from Enchanted Doorway from the same set.  The image is coloured with Promarkers and I stamped it with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  The background is Antique Linen, Tumbled Glass and Mowed Lawn Distress Ink and the bricks are Vintage Sepia Versafine.  I used a plastic template for the window - I don't know what make it is and I had forgotten I had it.  The letters are Cuttlebug.  If you have the time, please pop over to The Craft Barn to see the other fab entries and design team pages.  I am still having trouble visiting your blogs - I am so sorry!  Off to the hospital with my hubby today and Friday my daughter is having her baby by cesarean as it is breech.  I am so looking forward to being a Grandma!!  Thank you for visiting me, I really appreciate it - your support is wonderful! Have a fabulous day. Take care, Christine xx

Alpha Challenge 'J'

Here I am again with my Craft Barn entry for the Alpha Challenge which is 'J'.  I went for 'Jingle' so its a Christmas page.  I also want to add a dose of self pity and apologise, once again, for not blogging very often and not getting around to visiting you all often enough.  My husband has been ill for about four months and the specialists don't know what it is and as I suffer from CFS (ME was the old name) I am not coping too well although I am trying to be positive!  My daughter is due to have a baby (so exciting!!) on 1st November but its breech at the mo so she has to go into hospital on Monday to see if they can turn it. I am a great big ball of worry all round!  All in all, craft is taking a bit of a back seat and I am so sorry!!  Self pity over now - here is my page!

I love Christmas so it was a good excuse to do a Christmas page!  The background is Tumbled Glass, Stormy Sky and Pine Needles Distress Inks blended then spritzed with water and dabbed with kitchen roll.  The tree stamp is a very old wooden stamp with no maker on it - I stamped it twice so it went right across the page.  The Santa's Sleigh is by IndigoBlu.  I used black Archival Ink.  I used a Clarity mask for the moon and coloured it with Squeezed Lemonade Distress Ink.  I dotted dries white glue all over the page and over the stamping for snow and added Tim Holtz white glitter for sparkle.  The large letters are Cuttlebug and I wrote the words along the bottom and the music notes with a permanent pen.  Please visit The Craft Barn Blog to see the DT pages and the other fab entries.  Thank you so much for visiting and bearing with me!  Its much appreciated. Take Care.  Christine xx

Alpha Challenge 'G'

'G' is the letter for the current challenge over at The Craft Barn,  'Girl' is the word that jumped out at me so that is what I went with.

I love this main image - its a B-Line Designs stamp that I bought second hand at a sale a while ago and haven't used before.  The quote is from the Safari set from Paperartsy and the letters are Cuttlebug.  The background is done using Picked Raspberry, Tattered Rose, Spun Sugar and Peacock Feathers Distress Inks.  The flowers are stencilled using the Daisy Oval mask from Imagination Crafts and Picked Raspberry Distress Ink.  The black stamping is done with Archival Ink and I have added glitter to the centre of the flowers the the necklace.  As usual there are lots of other fab pages to see over at The Craft Barn.  Thank you so much for looking - its so appreciated!  Take care.  Christine xx