A Winter Tag

Now I'm not one for tooting my own horn but I've got to toot it this time...toot toot! I'm seriously delighted with this tag that I made as part of a swap over on The Craft Hole. I got my inspiration from Pinterest for this tag too.

Happy Christmas

I'd like to wish you a belated happy Christmas. I'm sorry for disappearing but my computer broke and I had no way of getting back online, so my blog was left empty and a few people where left wondering where I was. This isn't in my nature to not tell people where I am and so I feel I owe a few people apologies.

DT Time - Autumn Colours

It's DT Time for Team Pattieboop and it's project number 102. Wow!

The theme this time around was to create a project using Autumn colours. I used here gorgeous Autumn Wreath image and had so much fun using it. I then themed it up with my autumn coloured backing paper and tied a nice brown ribbon across the card. Pretty happy with how it turned out.

Pattie has some pretty cool images to choose from and you'll find a link to her Etsy store through her blog. To take part in her challenge just click HERE. If you take part be sure to leave a comment below too, so I can come visit your blog and check out what you've made.

Where's the time gone??

Holy moly...where has the time gone. I can't believe it's been so long since I last posted on here. Where has the time gone...more importantly what's happened in the time that has passed? Well, I've been nursing an injured knee, got chipped cartilage at the back of my knee which was misdiagnosed initially...not fun, I can assure you. I'm doing much better now though.

I have gotten some crafting done in that time, mostly working on a Christmas swap and so I can't post those images just yet. I've also gotten a Halloween ATC swap done (hosted on The Craft Hole) and gotten some Mail Art done (hosted on Your Paper Pantry). I'll be uploading pics soon.

This morning I finally got my design team project completed for Pattie's Creations Design Challenge. You'll see the project in my next post. What a disastrous time I've had trying to get that completed. First my internet connection went down last weekend, meaning I couldn't do the DT project or start my assignments for college. That got sorted on Monday but then I couldn't get my printer working. Thanks to the wonderful guy in HP Customer Service though who got me sorted. He was brilliant.

DT Time...Vintage Themed

Well it's that time of the month again where I get to play with Pattie's great digi stamps. This month the theme for my team is Vintage. I've been struggling with my mojo lately and so I decided to keep it simple. I decided to alter a gift bag and to alter a box that my friend cut from me using her die cutting machine. The digi stamps that I chose to use are "Dogwood Branch", "Morning Glory" and "Corset". I'm already planning on how I might use the corset digi again.

To take part in this challenge just click HERE and you'll see the details. You could always pop on over to her Etsy shop and treat yourself to some digis too.

Here's my project.

Artist Trading Cards - Halloween Themed

I am a new member over  on a group called "The Craft Hole", it's a Facebook group and really well organised. I joined my first swap which was Halloween themed ATCs. Here's what I made.

The first two have been heat embossed and the third, as you can see, uses lots of glitter. The images and backing papers come from G45 Steampunk Spells that I have left over from last year.

Thanks for stopping by.

  

Bookmarks

I was browsing Pinterest the other day, looking for some inspiration when I came across this neat idea. It's a bookmark that wraps right around the book and held in place with a hair bobbin and button, the bobbin is nicely concealed behind the image so it's really tidy. Dawn Griffiths of Dawns Stamping Studio (she's a Stamping Up lady) has a video tutorial that I followed. I've admired her work for some time now and so decided to try this out. I'm kinda hooked now. Here's two that I made.

 

The first one is made using my Graphic 45 Steampunk Spells paper pad and the second one is made using the Graphic 45 Nutcracker Sweet paper pad. I LOVE Graphic 45 papers and think I need to treat myself to some more...really soon!!

A great excuse to craft

So I've been told to rest up and take it easy. This week has been a week of pain. Last Saturday I suddenly found myself in a lot of pain, Sunday it got worse and up until yesterday I was living off two over the counter pain reliefs...without ease. Then yesterday evening I saw my Dr. but only because my personal trainer told me to...I thought it would just go. I got anti inflammatory tablets and they just took the edge off the pain. This morning I took them again, topped up on over the counter pain relief and a gel too...without success. I was in so much pain I found myself nodding off, not like me. So I decided to go to a local clinic that take my health insurance. I was examined, told to book an appointment for an MRI and given both a brace for my knee and crutches, with another prescription for pain relief. I was also given the advice/told to take it easy, rest up and not to over do it.

Yes, it's a nuisance that I can't do what I had planned to do BUT there is a positive. Due to having to take it easy, this now means that I can sit and craft. A great excuse to craft. So between tonight and tomorrow I'm planning on catching up on craft commitments and make caramelized red onion chutney tomorrow. It can all be done seated. Ok, I can think of better excuses than be in pain but as they say "every gray cloud has a silver lining".

DT time

It's DT time over on Pattie's Creations Design Challenge. Challenge No. 98 is to alter/recycle an item using a digi stamp. I'm so luck to be part of this design team because Pattie has some amazing digis to choose from. Check out her Etsy shop HERE.

For this challenge I decided to use a picture frame that's been hanging around the house, in need of some love. I chose her "Water Lilies" digi this time round.

I took the frame, painted it using a Dulux colour sample in "Skylight Blue" and then dabbed some Viva Decor Paste in silver. It gives the frame a nice shine and makes it look distress too. I then took some of my pearl gems and popped them around the frame. I used a mixture of colouring pencils and metallic colouring pencils the colour the image in. I'm pretty delighted with how it turned out.

Below are pictures of the process. Click HERE to visit Pattie's Creations Design Challenge and to join in the fun. If you take part, be sure to leave a comment below so I can check out your project too.

 

  

Altered bottle Steampunk style

I entered Josie's challenge over on Everything Steampunk. The theme was to alter a bottle Steampunk style. I really wanted to do this, got some lovely ideas off Pinterest and decided to get going. The only problem I had is that I've lost my mojo. The last two weeks have been a bit of a nightmare and very stressful, so my mojo has been hit and miss.

I sat down this afternoon and got some of my stash out. No matter what I tried I wasn't happy. This is what I've ended up with but I may make another. What do you think?

Typing in silver and gold font

A long time ago I came across a tutorial on how to do silver and gold font for typing. I haven't seen this in years but when I came across it tonight, thanks to the tutorial that Yvonne from Card Art Kilcoole Tutorials popped up on her blog, I had to copy it. Thanks Yvonne.

So you want to type in silver or gold font? No problem. Just follow these steps below. 

Type in your text and then highlight the text. Next, click the colour button on your MS Word. Go to custom and reset the RGB manually to the numbers below. You can adjust the settings to get custom colours.

Gold

Red 194

Green 164

Blue 104

Silveer

Red 155

Green 155

Blue 155

Simples!!

Check out her blog HERE. She has some great tutorials that you can try out. 

My first ever ATB

Here is my first ever Artist Trading Block. I'm delighted with how it has turned out. Despite being a crafter and loving it, I have a mental block when it comes to measurements. So when it came to making this ATB I was a bit worried...but thanks to my wonderful friend Maria, she helped me get the box made. Maria lives in Germany but drew up a template and Vibered me, so I could then copy it.

I used some free papers and images that I got with a magazine, ribbon that I bought at Michaels when I was last in Orlando and flowers from Wild Orchid Craft. I can't remember who the trinket is from because I don't have the packaging but that was bought at Michaels too.

Thanks for stopping by.

Inchie Tag

My dear friend Josie is hosting a tag swap over on DIGITAL ART & IMAGESBYKIM in the "Tag! You're it" group. This month's outline was to use inchies. I've recently rediscovered heat embossing and I'm kinda hooked. Here's what I made.

I particularly love the purple on pink with the silver embossing. There's a slight silver thread through the purple ribbon too. I think I've pulled it together for this swap. 

Mail Art

Each month I take part in a mail art swap hosted by the wonderful Candace, over on Your Paper Pantry. I just love these swaps and simply can't look at envelopes the same any more. Every month there's a different theme and this month's was "A Touch Of Gold". Here is one of the 5 that I made. Unfortunately the camera doesn't pick up on the shimmer and so you can't get the full effect.

Front

Back

Check out Your Paper Pantry through http://yourpaperpantry.ning.com/

Telescope card

I joined "The Craft Hole" yesterday, it's a FB group. They've many different challenges to take part in. I decided to participate in the "telescope" card challenge, I've never made one before. It was great discovering a new style of card.

I used my G45 Steampunk Spells paper pad...well scraps that I had left over. I knew those scraps would come in handy some day :) I then used various items stashed away looking to be used. For the most part the items used have come from the USA, gifted to me or bought during my many trips to Orlando. We'll be skipping Orlando this year.

Any way, this is my first challenge entry on the group. I'm looking forward to taking part in another challenge over there too. Crafting is a great form of escapism, a great form of therapy too.

  

What a week...a very stressful week!!

What a week it's been...stressful, emotional and frightening all round.

Last weekend was meant to be an enjoyable weekend. It was a long weekend here in Ireland and so I was planning a pretty chilled weekend...that was not to be.

Saturday started off well, did a few bits around the house, got started on some craft projects and helped my mum babysit two of my gorgeous nephews. One of them is turning 2 next month, the other is 5 weeks old. It was a nice relaxing day. I went to bed feeling really good about myself, having had a lovely evening and having made some positive decisions about the week to come.

Sunday morning however, was a nightmare and the week has gone down hill from there. I came down stairs at 10am. As I got to the bottom stair I saw my front door open. For a split second I thought my husband had gone out but he hadn't...he was still upstairs. What I was looking at was a hall door open, an empty drive way where my car had been parked and back in the sitting room, I realized that our computers were missing, and ipod missing from it's docking station in the kitchen. We had been robbed!!! I almost fell to the ground, heartbroken and really shook up. It was so frightening to discover.

It's been a week from hell. Phone calls to the insurance company, dealings with the police (some of which have been great), sleepless nights and living on my nerves. I'm jumping at the slightest sound and even though I've sleeping tablets, I'm still waking up in panic attacks. Needless to say we're heightening our security. It's been a nightmare.

A week later and I'm still on edge. I'm doing my best to move forward, finding new projects to get myself involved in and looking to adopt a second dog. We've been talking about getting a second dog for some time now but I think we're ready...extra security. It was already a rough year between losing my dad and me having numerous stays in hospital through ill health...I honestly didn't think it could get any worse but it did!!

I am normally a positive person and will do my utmost to find something positive no matter what comes my way but I'm struggling. But as somebody once said to me "This too will pass" and I know it will. My faith in Spirit will carry me and help me.

Altered Clothes Pegs

Here are some clothes pegs that I altered. I white washed them first using acrylic paints, then sanded them, then popped down some blue and white striped ribbon before finishing off with a blue carnation, using flowers purchased through Wild Orchid Crafts. I love how real their flowers look.

Altered Clothes Peg

Hey folks,
While browsing Google and Pinterest I've come across altered clothes pegs. What a neat idea, to alter clothes pegs!! They make great little gifts, are so handy for pinning notes to your notice board or fridge if you pop some magnetic tape to the back of them and if you dare, you could always hang your washing out using them lol Just think how great your washing would look on the line....hehehehe

I'm in the process of making some at the moment. I've white washed them using acrylic paint and am now waiting for them to dry before altering them further...I'll pop up pics of the finished articles later.

If you fancy making some and would like to be in with the chance of winning a super cool prize, then pop over to PAPER DIGITAL ART AND IMAGESBYKIM (just click on the button below). Once you go there pop over to the group Anything Goes and you'll see my challenge for the month. I've ordered art pads from Lili Of The Valley and oh so cute flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts

Challenge No. 96 - For The Birds

Yay it's that time of the month again, time to take part in Pattie's Creations Design Challenge. I'm so spoiled being part of the design team because Pattie designs some truly amazing digi stamps.

July has been a strange month. It's been so so busy. I've been so busy that I fell out of the loop and almost missed my design team spot...I thought we where still on holiday tut tut tut. I'm so pleased I checked my emails when I did, I'd have been gutted had I missed it.

This week's theme is "For The Birds" and I chose this gorgeous image because I feel peacocks are such regal birds. It's not my first time either to use this image, I used it back in February for a design challenge too.

All of the rules for the challenge can be found through HERE. You'll find Pattie's gorgeous digi stamps through HERE.

The stamp I used is called Peacock Image 1...

Here's the card that I made.

A second blog

Hi everyone, it's been a little while since I updated my blog. I've some exciting news to share. I've set up a second blog, one that will be devoted to all things Foodie. I love cooking and when I opened this blog, it was my intention to add some of my fav recipes but that's not really happened. Yesterday I decided to start a second blog where I can pop in the photos and recipes of the things I enjoy cooking and baking the most. You'll find my second blog over on Niamh's Foodie Thoughts. If you try one of my recipes be sure to leave a comment.

Altered Spoon - Steampunk Style

My friend Josie is hosting a challenge to alter a spoon using a Steampunk style. I wasn't sure what I was doing and had a good route through my craft stash to see what I could use. This is what I came up with...think I'll be making a second spoon soon. It was good fun.

How did you get started?

Hi there,
Having read a blog post this evening, wherein the author discussed how she got started in crafting, I decided I'd share my story too.

Back in 2008 and following an illness where in I was out of work for a few weeks, I decided to get crafty again. I was always dabbling with something growing up, painting with acrylics, oils and pastels and I also enjoyed baking too. While surfing the net I came across a craft store based here in Ireland and popped into their forums, had a good look around and thought to myself that I'd like to try it out. It was approaching my 30th birthday and so I decided that I'd make some invitations to go out, rather than buy them. I really didn't know what I'd do and so posted on the forum looking for suggestions along with how to get started. I decided to make little purses where the invitation was a card placed inside it. The colours I used was purple and hot pink with silver buckles and ribbon for handles, very girlie. Everybody commented on how wonderful they looked.

This side of the summer is always busy for me with birthdays etc. and so I kind of took off from there. I remember making my sister's birthday card, popping on a cool photo of her, doing a few other things but not fully knowing what to do. I bought lots of embellishments along the way but wanted to do more. Then I came across a group called Kilcoole Crafting Club based in Wicklow, about an hour from home. I'd such great fun with those ladies, everyone made me feel welcome, let me try there toys and I attended many more workshops from there.

6 years later I'm still crafting. Where decoupage was my main style, I now mostly enjoy stamping, using Tim Holtz products, my Cuttlebug, using LOTV images and Martha Stewart products too. These are the items I simply can't live without. I don't have one particular style because I like many. I particularly love vintage and steampunk but try pretty much anything I can get my hands on.

How did you get started? I'd really love to know.

Challenge #94 - Father's Day or Wedding

Hi everyone,

It’s time for another challenge over on Pattie’s Creations Design Challenge. This month there are two themes to choose from, Father’s Day or Wedding. I’ve chosen wedding as it so happens that my wedding anniversary falls on the 15^th…12 years of wedded bliss!! Full details for Challenge #94 are found HERE.

Pattie has some amazing images to choose from, possibly the hardest part of being a DT member...I want to use them all!! Check out Pattie’s Creations Design Challenge blog HERE and Pattie’s Etsy shop HERE where you can purchase some or all of her amazing digi stamps.

The images that I chose to use are:

                                Wedding Bands With Bow

                                              Young Love

                               Wedding Champagne Glasses

And here’s a pic of me and hubby on our wedding day…12 years ago.

Some cards

Here are cards that I made for my friend...She's a very special person and while I've never met her in person, she lives in Canada and me, well I live in Ireland. I do hope that the opportunity presents itself some day and we get to meet. I've known her almost 4 years.

 

Mail Art

I took part in Candace's mail art swap over on Your Paper Pantry. The theme was butterflies and I just LOVE butterflies. Here's what I came up with.

Take a plain white envelope

Run some pink distress ink over the envelope, then dab on gold ink 

and finish with a dab of light gold metallic pain to give it a nice sheen...pearlised effect.

Then get your favourite butterfly stamps and let them fly across the envelope, back and front.

Est voila!!

Door Hanger

Here's a door hanger I made. When I saw the image of the plant pots, I knew I had the perfect stamp to go with it. So I decided to make a door hanger and pop it in my study. I made this at 3am this morning when I couldn't sleep.

Tooth Fairy Box

This week's design challenge was to make anything but a card. I decided to alter a box and use this adorable Fairy image. I made a Tooth Fairy box, I loved the image.

Busy busy...no time for crafting

Time goes by so fast. You've great plans to settle down and craft but then life gets in the way. Juggling work, college, home life, trips to London and an unexpected stint in hospital, there's been no time to craft and I WANT TO CRAFT!! This all in the last 2 weeks too.

When I started college I said that some of what I do would go on hold but never intended for crafting to stop. So today, resting my poor back...I've got 4 protruding disks causing awful pain and am on so many pain killers...I decided to browse Pinterest. I just love that site, it's great.

I've a few projects to work on like the my May Holiday Card Swap that I'm hosting over on Art & Images By Kym (you'll see the button below) - a pretty cool swap where in I list a number of unusual holidays around the world, then we make a card based on one and post it to our partner. I also have a DT challenge to make for Pattie's Creations Design Challenges. She has a seriously good Etsy shop where she sells her own digi images and there's an amazing selection to choose from. I'd recommend popping over and treating yourself. Then I've a special project to work on for my mum's 60th and I want to make some token gifts for some special friends. All this crafting on top of another assignment and some studying too. 

It's Easter Time

It's Easter time, a time for chocolate eggs and my favorite, chocolate mini eggs. This week Pattie is hosting an Easter them over on her Pattie's Creations Design Challenge. I fell in love with this image and just had to use it. I decide to make a duo, a card and altered ceramic holder...full of mini eggs...yummy!

To join in the fun and find out the rules, just click HERE. It will take you directly to Pattie's Creations Design Challenge blog and you'll find details of Pattie's Etsy shop over there too. She has some amazing digi stamps, so go on over to the shop and treat yourself. You wont be disappointed.

Easter Challenge Time

Here’s an Easter card that I made using Pattie’s fabulous image. To join in Challenge No. 90 – “EASTER” just click HERE. Remember, you must use a stamped image on your card.

Where's the time going?

Wow, it's been nearly a month since I last posted or did any crafting. I can't believe it. I started college on the 25th March and it's taken up a lot of my time. I can't believe though that so much time has passed since I last crafted and my blog looks so bare. I'm going to be working on something really special in the coming days so will be sure to pop images up. Oh, also folks on Friday, Pattie of Pattie's Creations Design Challenge will be posting a new challenge so be sure to check out her blog and enjoy the fun. You'll find her blog HERE

Altered Clothes Hanger

Humming birds are such beautiful creatures. They symbolise the environment of life and lightness of being, joy and playfulness, as well as adaptability.

I remember as a child while on vacation in Orlando, seeing a Humming bird flutter over a flower in the Magic Kingdom. It's a memory that I've always loved and even more so since my father's passing. It brings so much peace to me. So when I saw that Pattie had a Humming bird in her Etsy store, I had to use it.

I then decided to alter a wooden hanger. I painted it white, then dabbed pale gold paint on it and left the hanger to dry. I coloured Pattie's image in using metalic, water colour and plain colouring pencils, affixed the image to the hanger and then tied fuscia ribbon around it before using those sweet little flowers that you see. 

To join in this week's theme of "Anything Goes" click HERE and you'll find full rules on how to join the fun.

    

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Steampunk Faux Leather

Here's another tag that I made using the faux leather technique. I've popped up a tutorial on this technique too.You'll find the tutorial under the Tutorial tab at the top of this blog. It's messy, fun and very straight forward to do. Be sure to leave a comment and link to your blog, if you try this out yourself.