Butterfly script

Greetings to you all, no posts last week as it's difficult to blog when you have no permanent base! As of next week though, the site re-opens and I will be back in my caravan :).   I will be starting up workshops and craft club the first week of April, I am excited about sharing the new designs.

Today's post is a card I made, I made my own backing paper for it- which was so much fun that I am looking to do it more often!!

                      

Stamps used for this are all by visible image: small butterfly, Bronte border and ink splats.
 I made the backing paper using all of the stamps, then trimmed it down to size to fit on the card blank before matting and layering with green card and silver mirror card.  I then stamped the butterfly on its own and matted and layered that-using the same card but swapping their order in the layering.  The card is finished with the 'Happy Birthday' sentiment surrounded by Bronte border.

Items used:
8x8 blank card
Christmas green shimmer card
Silver mirror card
Versamark
Gold embossing powder
Memento tuxedo black ink

I hope you like this card, thanks for stopping by. I would love to hear what you think :)

I will be back on Sunday, in the meantime, enjoy and happy crafting! xx

Challenges entered:
Eureka stamps- Add a butterfly
Love to create- Anything Goes
Seize the Birthday- Anything Goes
Keep it simple- Things with wings

I've been painting!

Greetings one and all!
No post yesterday as I was busy painting! So today is the very painting I was finishing yesterday :)  A forest in the autumn, with light pouring into a clearing amongst the trees (I tell you what it is in case you can't see it!!).

I call it 'Red Autumn' and it is acrylic on canvas board-not very easy to paint on a circular canvas but I think it works.  This is the first time I have done a painting entirely with palette knives rather than paint brushes-I used my fingers too in places!!  It is 30cm-that's 12 inches in size.

I thought the shades of red were appropriate today with it being valentine's day :)

So let me know what you think, Happy Valentine's Day everyone and Happy Crafting!
xx

Something to keep you warm

Greetings everyone, I hope you are well and have not been blown away in these horrendously strong fast winds out there today!
As the weather here in the UK is becoming colder, I figured that now is the perfect time to switch from cards to scarves! So today, a little something to keep you warm in the colder temperatures :)

I knitted the scarf (been a long time since I knitted anything-I had to buy new needles as I have no idea where mine are!!) and set about producing the brooch to attach to it, a little something to set it apart from all the other scarves knitted from the same wool!

Brooch is made of:
orange felt
orange/brown organza
orangey brown fabric
brown organza
art palette charm
flower charm
small beads in orange, amber, ivory and varying shades of brown
Large dark orange bead

All beads are from either Doodleso in Prestatyn or the haberdashery in Eccles indoor market. Felt is from Doodleso and other fabrics are from hobbycraft show last year, charms are from my stash (I have oodles of the art palettes if anyone wants any, just give me a shout!!)

Let me know what you think.
Stay safe folks and, until next time, Happy Crafting! xx

One for the Men

Greetings to one and all, me again! I shall be blogging each day this week to make up for my silence last month, and although this makes three cards in a row, there is something different coming your way shortly!

Today's make brings a distinctly masculine card-I have been calling it a 'Dad card' as every component reminds me of my dad!  If anyone's dad is like mine, then this would be the perfect card for him beit for a birthday or for Fathers' Day ;)

This is an A5 card, I figured it made a change from the small square cards I have blogged so far this week!  All stamps used are by Visible Image.
The tools were stamped on to small (4cm x 4cm) squares of card that had been distressed, then they were varnished and allowed to dry before fixing them to the front of the card using 3D foam pads-I am not sure the shine of these 'tiles' is visible in the photo but it is very effective.

Items used:
Blank silver grey A4 card
dark blue card (for layering)
white card for stamping on
Distress Inks in: Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean, Stormy Skies and Chipped Sapphire
Versafine ink in Deep Lagoon
foam pads
Versamark
Gold embossing powder
Daler-Rowney Watercolour Varnish

I enjoyed making this card, in fact, it felt as if it made itself!
Let me know what you think and, until next time-Happy Crafting!
xx

Challenges entered:
Visible Image- Love (because my dad LOVES to use tools and create things out in his garage! and I love my dad)
Cards und More- Men Only Cards
Allsorts- Colours beginning with 'B'
Crafty Card Makers- This is a man's world

Red, White and New!

A simple design today with no 'twiddly bits' as my dad calls them (I think he means die cuts!)
In classic red and white-the heart image is perfect for Valentine's Day, but with no sentiment this card could be suitable for anniversaries, or even the birthday of a loved one.

Card is just under 6x6 inches (it fits into a 6x6 envelope) and the clean lines offer an alternative to the usual handmade card.  Difficult to see here, but the heart design glitters and sparkles in the light-very effective especially on the bird/butterfly/dragonfly shapes appearing to emerge from the heart.

Items used:

Wow! Sparkling Snow Embossing Glitter
Heart stamp by IndigoBlu
Versamark pigment ink
Red pearlescent card
White pearlescent card
maroon or black card (I did some cards with each)
gems

Thank you for reading, I would love to know what you think!
Happy crafting xx

Challenges entered:
Glitter and Sparkle-Valentine's/Add some red
Addicted to Stamping-Hearts
Sparkle N Sprinkle- Anything goes using glitter, embossing powder or flocking
That Craft Place- Love

Purple Delight

Greetings to you all, I hope you are well :)

A new card today-one that will be part of my workshops that start in April, in Rhyl and in Salford, venues to be confirmed watch this space :) If you are interested in attending or want to be notified as soon as dates and venues are finalised, please drop me an email at craftyshutterbug@gmail.com

Predominantly using two colours, this is a pretty feminine card (without being overly girly!). I am a fan of purple-can you tell? Let me know what you think of the use of just purple and white for this card :)

The cute image is from a Fizzy Moon stamp, I used Dusty Concord Distress Ink to stamp it as that stayed with the existing colour scheme created by the layering of card.

Items used to make this card:
Silver, dark purple and light purple card stock
Purple floral design and purple gingham card stock
White card for stamping on
Die cut flower, ivy leaves and floral swirl in purple card from my stash
Ivory organza ribbon
Circular sentiments stamp by Dreamees
Fizzy Moon Flower stamp
Dusty Concord Distress Ink
Purple flocking for large flower petals
Purple, lavender and white mulberry paper flowers from WildOrchidCrafts

This card could be given for any number of occasions: Birthday, Anniversary, Valentine's Day, Get Well, or even just because :)
Card will be added to my shop shortly, priced at £2.75

Please let me know what you think, thank you for reading my blog and Happy Crafting!
xx

Challenges entered:
Wild Orchid Challenge- Love is
That Craft Place- Love Challenge
Crafty Ribbons- Anything Goes with Ribbon

Guardian Angels

Greetings one and all!
Humblest apologies for my prolonged absence, I am back and aim to share my arty and crafty exploits twice weekly once again. I hope Christmas was everything that you wanted it to be and that your 2014 has been excellent thus far, mine has been a little shaky but with definite high points and I am hoping it will shape up to be a truly fabulous year :)

I hope to be getting a proper shopping cart feature added to my website to make purchasing simple and efficient, but until I have added these to my site you can message me at craftyshutterbug@gmail.com or comment here if you would like to buy.
Today's offering is not a card, but a small trinket that could be given for any number of occasions; birthdays, anniversaries, christenings, or even just because-but I made them as I think they will be a nice alternative to a box of chocolates for Valentine's Day (certainly longer lasting any way!).  A gift symbolising that the recipient is never alone, that they have someone who cares watching over them, to protect and shelter them.

Items used to make a Guardian Angel:
mini bottle
silver thread
rose wing charm in vintage look silver colour
brown faux suede cord
black velvet cord
Glossy Accents-absolutely the best glue for this sort of thing!
teeny metal screw in loops (usually found at jewelry making stockists)

The real beauty of these is that you can hang them from anything, anywhere-in a room, on a noticeboard, in a car, from a mirror or you can wear it around your neck as a pendant. Let me know what you think :)
While stocks last, each one will come supplied in a red or silver favour bag-so no need to wrap!
Price is a bargain £3.99 + 90p postage or you can collect if in the Salford area or Rhyl area.

That's it from me today-Happy Crafting xx