My shining star

My shining star

Saturday 30 September 2017

Make it round at Christmas card club

Hello there!!! How are you? After two consecutive weekends of crafting madness I am glad to be at home this weekend. I need a bit of normality I think!!! And since its the 1st tomorrow I am posting my Christmas card club makes a day early. The theme was 'make it round' ...I love this theme - so very different for me - and very open to variation too. I decided to make some cards using some elenazinski designs from paperartsy.


Here they are!


All cards were made in basically the same way - using dies to cut 8x8 cards plus circular toppers. I used distress microglaze to keep the borders clean then created distress oxide backgrounds.


The toppers were stamped and coloured.

I do hope you like them.

Hugs

Rachel

Wednesday 27 September 2017

Samples from Choc Baroque shows

Hello there! Well I thought I would add a few of my samples from Lesley's shows on Hochanda on Sunday night and Monday morning.



This one was one the shelves behind Lesley ...


I did see this one shown properly - this was my favourite piece I sent in! 


This one was shown too...


and my candle was on the shelves at the back!

I hope you are having a good evening!

Hugs

Rachel x

Tuesday 26 September 2017

Autumn

Hello there my lovelies! How are you? I do hope you are well and happy! I am very happy - still on cloud 9 after my workshop with Tim.

Image may contain: 2 people, people smiling, eyeglasses and closeup  Image may contain: 2 people, eyeglassesImage may contain: 2 people, people smiling, eyeglasses

Tim is such a natural presenter and demonstrator of ideas and is so warm and funny. And Mario - what a fabulously warm and humble man - he was just lovely!

We made 10 tags using different techniques - 5 I had done before but I had forgotten them! 5 nexw ones using distress oxides. All good - expect to see some of the tags as I replicate the techniques in pieces I make. 

Today I did use one of the techniques but it didn't replicate well so I haven't shown it here!!! Will try again!


Here's what i made - a distress oxide background plus stamped leaves from scrapcosy stamped onto claritypaper....and words in stamps from Alison Bomber.


Here's a closer look!

I do hope you are okay! Off to pop around your blogs for a peep at what you've been up to! 

Hugs

Rachel x

Sunday 24 September 2017

Chocolate Baroque on Hochanda

Hello there my lovelies - I hope you are having a good weekend - I hope I am too....by the time this goes live I should enroute home from Harrogate having had the experience of Creative Chemistry Live with the one and only Tim Holtz. More about that in my next post!

Today I want to tell you that Lesley will be on Hochanda  tonight at 7pm and tomorrow morning at 7am and 10am. I'll give you a sneaky peek of some of my samples......




I hope that will help you decide to watch!

Big hugs

Rachel x

Thursday 21 September 2017

space to be me

Hello there! How are you? I hope you are well. I've had a busy day and a different evening! Lucy forgot her Spanish books today and so I had to take them in to her - then tonight she managed to not put a lid back on her water bottle and it leaked over her whole bag and its contents. Her science book should survive - so grateful I have a heatgun to dry it off! I will try and cover it before she takes it in in the morning!

Anyway - once that was all done and sorted I got out a journal page from my Kate crane journal and followed a junk journal junkies colour and word prompt.


Here is my make - the girls are paper dolls. I used fresco paints in mermaid, bougainvillia and tangerine. I also used stencils from TH and IndigoBlu. I also used my posca pen.


Here's a close up!

Hope you've had a good day and not too crazy a night!

Big hugs

Rachel x

Wednesday 20 September 2017

My crafty weekend

Hello lovelies! How are you? I am good - apart from having to keep jumping up to check whether or not the cat has brought in yet another mouse!!! Oh my - I've never seen so many! And why do they insist on bringing them in to play with them? I taught my last cat to open the catflap the wrong way and that prevented her from bringing mice in ....but this one brings the tiniest mice into the house that are basically fully in her mouth....so even if I could teach her the alternate entry method she would still be able to bring them in! I need more thoughts on this one! Anybody got any ideas???

My crafty weekend just past was wonderful. The lovely Sharon at Rowantree Crafts organised a Mixed Media Mayhem. We had Kate Crane and Mark Gould as the tutors. I saw my lovely friend Anne Redfern there and got to meet the very lovely Sue Davies my CVC teamie too!

Image may contain: 2 people, people smiling, eyeglasses

Me and Anne

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Me and Sue

We were all in the same class rotation so had Kate Crane on the first day ... we made a small art journal - mine is incomplete - a work in progress...


The cover is complete - the stamp is a Kate Crane one ... lots of colour and layering achieved by brayering, stencilling, stamping and doodling.


These are part of my two signatures inside the journal. They are incomplete and not yet fastened in - I hope to complete them gradually - maybe by following some of the Junk journal junkies prompts.


Inside one of the signatures I have done this page.

Mark Gould's project was completely different and is complete!


We used 7 gypsies papers and added them to boards and treated them in three different ways - crackle, just varnish and dirtying.


Here's part of a crackled panel.


Mark made all of the stars in resin - we treated them with paint and wax.

It really was a fabulous weekend! I look forward to next year!

Big hugs

Rachel x




Monday 18 September 2017

Coffeepot

Hello there! How are you??? I hope you are well and happy - its been a very exciting weekend with lots of crafting going on - more about that in another post. Today I want to show you what I did with my ladies at coffeepot this morning....


Its made using JOFY stamps and is based on a class piece I did with Jo Firth Young - here. I hope Jo doesn't mind me being inspired by her design!

The ladies all enjoyed the process. I had to brayer up pieces of card with the coloured paint so that they could stamp before cutting out. 

Big hugs to you!

Rachel xx

Sunday 17 September 2017

Penguins and glitter at Christmas card club

Hello there! How are you? I do hope you are well and happy! If not some of my cards today might make you smile - lots and lots of cute penguins on offer today .... the theme of this fortnights CCC is penguins and glitter and I ended up going from virtually no penguin stamps to a few. Again you'll see the girls influence here again!


This penguin has been stamped in twos and comes from woodware.


These penguins are from a lovely set from HobbyArt that includes polar bears too. The set is called poles apart!


another stamp from woodware - I bet you can guess which is my choice and whice is the choice of the girls!!!

I made 6 cards this time around! My stash is certainly looking pretty healthy! 

Hope you have a great Sunday!

Hugs

Rachel xx

Friday 15 September 2017

15 minute projects from chocolate baroque

Hello there! How are you? I do hope you are well! Today over on the chocolate baroque design team blog there is a post showing you lots of quick makes. I have the following cards on there today....



This one was stamped in versafine and coloured in distress inks...


This one was stamped onto kraft in versa mark and set with white embossing powder and then coloured using spectrum noir pencils.


This one was done similarly but onto black instead of kraft. I also painted with distress oxides this time. 


Onto this one - very simple use of masking and a TH stencil with distress ink.


This one is white embossing then use of distress ink to complete the background and colouring with distress pens.


Yet more white embossing this time on kraft and a little masking and use of distress inks!

Wow thats a lot of quick cards - I hope you can find some inspiration here - there's more over on the chocolate baroque blog.

Hope you have a great day!

Hugs rachel x



Tuesday 12 September 2017

its a kind of magic

Hello there! How are you? I hope you are well. We are good. The girls are both doing well and the new routine is starting to become a little more familiar! I also lost 4lb on the first week of my diet which is very pleasing .... and I managed a pb in the gym when I deadlifted 82.5kg! So doing good!

I am currently working on samples for the chocolate baroque shows on 24th/25th September. But I did manage to get a page done in my journal last week - at junk journal junkies the theme was magic and the colours were red, grey and black. I cracked out some Lavinia stamps and this is my page ...



It looks pretty magical to me!!!

Have a great evening - its nearly time for bakeoff - bread week i think - it will just make me hungry!!!

Big hugs

Rachel x

Sunday 10 September 2017

Discovery ...

Hello there! How are you today? I do hope you are well and happy. If not sending you smiles and hugs!

Well its been a full week of the girls being back at school and we are starting to learn the new routine - there are significant differences this year but I guess by week 4 we'll be good to go!!! I won't hold my breath though.

I have a card I have made to share today - using the relatively new IndigoBlu stamps again.


The background is made using distress oxides (lucky clover and twisted citron) and the stamps are all from indigoblu. I 've also used a white posca pen to add some white highlights. 

Just a quick post today - the girls have both got homework to do then we'll be off to see my mum.

Big hugs

Rachel x

Saturday 9 September 2017

More metallics at countryview challenges

Hello there! Time for another metallics post for me - I know there have been a few in the last weeks!!! This time I have used the same method as on my post on the 1st of this month but made a more feminine card....


Here's what I made --- I do love the paperdoll I used!!!


step 1 - pass alunium sheet through big shot with embossing folder.


step 2 - paint and allow to dry...


step 3 - sand back the paint on the elevated sections.


step 4 - apply brushos to paper, spritz and dry, Stamp with leaf stamps (chocolate baroque). Fussy cut the stamps....


step 5: add leaves to metallic background...


add chosen paper-doll.


Make background directly onto card using -layering-stencil---autumn and ripe persimmon distress ink.

Assemble the card!

I hope you have enjoyed this - please join us this month at countryviewchallenges by making something with metallics and entering your piece!

Big hugs

Rachel x

Friday 8 September 2017

Chocolate baroque TV samples

Hello there! I hope you are well! I am certainly enjoying the girls being back at school although it does seem a long day that my eldest has! Oh well I guess thats what happens when they grow up!

Today I would like to share some makes from recent Chocolate Baroque TV shows....


I saw this one at the front of the display on the show! I used tissue paper and sprayed it with water before adding brushos and leaving to dry. I used this to cover a small notebook and added stamping using just one stamp - the same one featured in the topper on the front.


This was another gatefold card. Two more stamps from the fantasy woodland set - I love that set - defo my fave!!! 


This is kraft card with 1 stamp main featured stamped in versa and set in white embossing powder. This stamp also comes from the fantasy woodland set!

Hope you have a great friday.

Hugs

Rachel x

Thursday 7 September 2017

Sparkle and shine - metals at Stamps and Stencils

Hello there! How are you? Good I hope! Its time for a new challenge over at stamps and stencils and this month its my theme - I chose metallics - and this is my brief ....

This month I would like you to make a piece involving metallics in some way - it could be metallic paints, rusted metal techniques, actual bits of metal, metal foil ....the possibilities are endless - also please use stamps and/or stencils. Have fun!

With this in mind this is what I made ...



My canvas involved the use of a few metallic elements and also I used a stencil.


I started by covering polystyrene stars with strips of alumnium tape that I bought on a roll in B and Q, it was around £3.99 for the roll. Its sticky backed which makes it easy to use.


Here's one finished star - the overlaping is fine - its part of the design.


Once the stars were covered I used a ball point pen to punch holes into the edges of the aluminium strips all over the stars. I think it gives them lots of texture and interest.


Next I took an A4 canvas board and used distress oxides to create a background...on top of that I also splattered lots more distress oxide and also some gesso.


To complete the piece I added some stencilled stars, some metal stars, the three large stars and some words.

Lucy is now the proud ownder of my canvas - she liked it so much I said she could have it.

Please join us in our challenge which you can join here. Pleasecheck out my teamies makes - they are awesome!!!!

Hugs

Rachel xxx