Love

Hello! Hope your week is going well :) I am counting down the days until my eldest girl finishes school for the summer. Can't wait to have the relaxed, stress free days :) We are having glorious *summer* weather, which always helps everyones moods!! :)

Today I am showing a project that has been in my head for quite some time. I eventually took the *plunge* and started on this project, slightly smaller than an A4 (208mm x 270mm).
 Two years back I attended Ania's classes in Newbridge. As part of the classes we got some materials to do some projects with. Well to my shame, I have not been able to bring myself to use them since the class! I love the colours and found it desperately hard to force myself to cut on some of the papers. But with a new focus, to use all the beautiful supplies I have, I have started using my pretty papers.

This is a mixed media project I completed. I am hoping to frame it, and possibly add more text to it. I am just practicing my scripty writing and trying to think of something *UBER* inspiring first!!

I used watercolours paint and watercolour crayons for the blue evening (sun-setting) sky. I drew and cut out all the houses from some 7 Dots paper, and stuck them down with some paste/glue. Next I drew and cut out the hills. I went over the hills with some watercolour crayons, and then blended them altogether with water. When they were dry, I drew the designs on with permanent marker. I also used a white permanent marker to add some details to all the designs.

Then I deliberated for a few days. I knew I wanted to add a tree to the left side, but wasn't sure whether I would paint it or fussy cut it. Painting won over, so I mixed some red and green acrylic paint together to come up with the shade. Of course my painting supplies are limited, (ie non existent) and I had to raid my children's painting stash for a paintbrush :/ Needless to say, the quality was pretty poor and the tree did not have as much detail as I would have liked. The edges were not very defined, so I went over them with a gold marker to add definition. I highlighted a few other details as well.

While I had acrylic paint out, I used some white to add the clouds in. I fussy cut out a stencil, and sprayed the tree with some mists.

I only have blue and yellow, so I sprayed the blue mist first and then the yellow on top. It gave a yellow tinge towards the edge, which was perfect - nearly like a sunset glow. I added some jewels to the tree for interest and dimension, and added some butterflies on the right of the night sky. I used a wooden embellishment "LOVE" to ground the tree ;)

With all the watercolouring and gluing used, the board is slightly buckled. When it is framed hopefully the pressing from the glass and backing board will reduce the buckling, but if you know of any magic solutions, please be sure to share them with me!!!! :)

Supplies used:
Paper for the hills - 7 Dots Studio - Nights Fever Dreamers Collection
Paper for the houses - 7 Dots Studio - Sweet Dreams Dreamers Collection, Domestic Goddess Over Used Tablecloth & Kitchen Wallpaper. (It is a little bit difficult to see the papers, as I went a bit heavy handed over with the designs ;)  )
Wood Embellishments (LOVE) by Prima Marketing Inc
Some embellishments I had in my stash
Gold, Black and White permanent markers.

I hope to enter this into the following challenges:
7 Dots Studio - Tree


Simon Says Stamp - Use Paste 
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge - Favourite Technique and/or product (at the minute my watercolour crayons are my favourite product and hand drawn designs are my favourite technique)


Thanks so much for popping by.
Have a wonderful day,
Eithne :)

Good day sunshine!

Hello and happy Wednesay to you :) We are being treated to a glorious day of sunshine here in  Ireland after the weeks of rain and gale force winds!

Today I would like to show you a layout I created and framed for a present. It includes a photo of my two cheeky girls ;)

Recipe:

7 Dots Studio - Night's Fever paper for right background

Tim Holtz Sizzix Honeycomb die

KaiserCraft Clear Stamps "You!"

Project Life Journal card (numbered 1-9 on Left side)

From my stash:

Red card to layer the photo, buttons and gems.

Thank you so much for stopping by, hope you have a wonderful day :)

Eithne

Floral Best Wishes Card!

Hello! Hope you are enjoying the long weekend :) we are having a repeat of Winter here in Ireland!!!

This month over at Eclectic Ellapu the challenge is Anything Goes for the Pink Team.

This is the card I made for the challenge. It is a card for a friends wedding coming up.

 

Using some kraft card as a base, I followed it over to an A5 size and used a 6" x 6" sheet of paper pad, cutting it with a wavy blade on the guillotine. With a combination of die cuts and punches I layered the paper/card on the left side.

I used a selection of skeleton leaves, flowers and embellishments to decorate the card.

If you are crafting this month, why not enter the challenge?

Thanks so much for popping by,

Have a great day,

Eithne :)

Best Wishes Card

Hello and hope your Friday is going well. Over at Craft for the Craic this month, the challenge is "Wings". 

Today I am showing a card I made with a combination of stamps, dies, papers, embellishments and an embossing folder!

I die cut a heart out of some Kraft card, and then embossed the rest of the sheet of card. This was layered onto some beautiful My Minds Eye "Oliver" glittery paper.

I used the house, windows and doors from the Simon Says Stamp "Where the Heart is" collection. I used some Promarkers to colour them in to add some colour that would co-ordinate with the rest of the card. (I only recently bought some Promarkers, so this is my first project to colour with them yet...!!)

I used some blue and cream embellishments - a butterfly bead (Wings), flat backed pearls, buttons, beads to add some detail on the embossed card.

I then die cut a frame from some more My Minds Eye "Oliver" paper, and also cut the banner. I used a stamp set I got free with a magazine for the sentiment and used a wooden veneer heart for the right hand side.

This card is for some friends who recently moved house. If you are crafting and it matches the theme for Craft for the Craic, why not give the challenge a go?!
I am going to enter the card into the following challenges -
Simon Says Stamp - Monday Challenge SSS Brand Product (The house stamp is from the "Where the Heart is" set)
Wags 'n' Whiskers - Lots of Layers
Creative Card Crew - Embossing
Whimsy Images - Colour an Image

Thanks for Stopping by,
Hope you have a wonderful weekend,
Eithne :)

Die-ing for Spring challenge CFTC

Hello :) I am still here, and only now getting back to blogging! I've been blogging over on my challenge blog, Craft for the Craic. Been a crazy few months, but now hopefully things are calming down.

Over at Craft for the Craic this month, the challenge is "Die-ing for Spring or an Easter theme". Here is the card I made for the challenge:

 I used a Bigz lace die, a tag die and the Happy Birthday tag die. I also used a doily lace cut out in lime green, in the background.

 Also used some vellum, and stamped the music notes onto it, and used the music washi tape. (Every project seems to need washi tape ;) ) 

 I cut out the age, 11,  with some glitter foam and used a butterfly charm tied on with bakers twine. I also used some green thread to add some texture by sewing.

 Layering some flowers, and using a gem as the centre piece really makes it pop! The cerise pink paper in the background was embossed and torn to create a non uniform backdrop.

Of course I couldn't resist adding some embellishments and buttons for a bit of dimension!

Hope you have a wonderful Friday, and thanks so much for popping by. If you are doing some crafting and it meets the challenge theme, why not give it a go?

Happy Crafty Friday!

Eithne

Decorated Pegs Tutorial

 Hello and hope your first Thursday in December is going well :) Can you believe it is Christmas month, woohooo!!! Time to go mad and do LOTS of Christmas crafting ;)

Lately I am a bit addicted to decorating pegs. My local hardware shop are probably wondering why I'm buying so many clothes pegs (pins) in this weather!! ;) Today I am guest posting over at my sister Emily's blog The Nest, as part of a Craft Advent. Here is a step by step tutorial of some decorated pegs (pins), it is a photo heavy post. Be warned!!

What you will need

For dying the pegs
Clothes pegs (pins)
Food colouring (the liquid one is best)
Vinegar
Boiling water
An old jar or container to withstand boiling water
GLOVES! (especially if you do not like the inked finger-nail look ;) )

For decorating the pegs
Hot glue gun
Decorating embellishments or buttons, glitter, ribbon, washi tape etc.





Step 1
Take apart all the pegs (pins).

Step 2

Make sure you are working on an old work surface, or else cover up the counter. Place one tablespoon of vinegar and 2-3 tablespoons of food colouring into the jar, give it a stir and then add boiling water.

Step 3

Carefully place all your pegs into the jars, any splashes can stain your or your furniture and burn, so beware!!

Step 4

After a few hours (or a few minutes depending on how well the colour took to your pegs!) place the pegs to dry on some kitchen paper.

It is worth noting that the food colour does not always take well to the peg, or come out the colour it is supposed to. The sample of pegs drying above was (left) brown and (right)  purple. They ended up as green (left) and pink (right). If you are not too concerned for the colours, it is a bit of fun waiting to see what colour they turn out. Also note that when the pegs are dry the colour may be slightly different.

This is how the red food colouring turned out.

Step 5

When your pegs are dry, if you like, match them up to a similar colour shaded peg. Assemble the peg back together, mind your fingers and nails!! ;)

The spring in the picture below was stretched too much when taking it apart, so to remedy it you can switch sides for the 'arms' of the spring, so it will be a tighter fit.

Step 6

Be prepared! Heat your glue gun and have as much of your embellishment in place.

Step 7

For my felt star, I was able to place the glue in the middle and it stuck the star and teddy bear. Press down on your embellishment for a few minutes, to ensure it is stuck!

Step 8

Voila! 

Step 9

Now you need to make an army of them ;)

Step 10

I designed and printed some slips to attach them to and placed them in a cellophane bag - perfect for gifting someone this Christmas!

Enjoy :)

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial and give it a go yourself! It is great fun and very easy to do. Please leave a link in the comment if you get to do them this winter, I would love to see how they turned out!!

Why not pop over and see what other craft projects have happened so far this advent?! Have a wonderful day :)

Eithne 

Christmas but not a card - Eclectic Ellapu

Hello! Can you believe it is December already? Woohoo!!! This year I am hoping to create a scrapbook on a daily basis for December. I will keep you posted on my progress. We are decorating our tree today, and can't wait for all the lights to sparkle! :)

Today I am showing a decorated peg I have recently become addicted to. I will have a tutorial later in the week, so please stop by. For now here are some photos for my project for the challenge over at Eclectic Ellapu. The theme this month is 'Christmas but not a card'.

Having liked this little fella so much I decided to make an army!!

If you are crafting something Christmassy (but not a card!) why not pop over and enter the challenge?

Hope you are having a wonderful day and enjoying the first day of December.

Happy Crafting,

Eithne