Dragons Dream Tag It On #155

Whew – just made the last challenge in time – now for the next one.

The recipe this time at Dragons Dream Tag It On  is “a book of your choice as inspiration plus - Stencil/Mask, Paint and the colour green along with the obligatory stamp and tag.”

I am an avid reader – I certainly read a lot more as a child and one of my favourites was Anne of Green Gables.

I used a Stencil called Karen’s Houses on a Prima tag and a Prima Black Chalk Ink through it.  I ten got out my watercolour paints and completed the background.  This is where I discovered that the black was not “set”, even when dry!

I used a Magnolia “Tilda” stamp, coloured her with the watercolour paints and popped her up on foam squares.  Here is another view:

Not a huge amount of technique involved but I like it.

Cheers, Esther xoxo

Good Mood

7 Dots Studio have a challenge running to use their products in a layout about “Good Mood”.

I fell in love with 7 Dots Studio's papers at the workshop with Finnibair earlier this year.  We have no retailers who sell this line in New Zealand at this stage so Brenda and I got together and did an order from Australia.  I was particularly keen to get my hands on the 9th Wave collection and it was so worth it!!

For this layout, however I used a piece from the Love Is In The Air collection as the colours were just right for the photos.  I know I still have a couple of sheets from the Sunrise, Sunset collection that would have been awesome too, but do you think I could find them?

I won a free photo shoot with a local company and thankfully Liam was in a Good Mood so he was able to relax into it after an initial awkward stage.  By the end of the shoot he was totally rocking it!

I added some distress inks through stencils and inked up a wooden camera embellishment, popped on a kraft envelope with journaling on a ticket tucked inside.  The stamp is from Ali Edwards and the washi tape was some I got through Papervine.

It was good to do a layout again – my first since August for goodness sake! 

Cheers, Esther  xoxo

Starry, Starry Night

The current challenge over at Dragons Dream Tag It On is to make a tag (using at least one real stamp) that incorporates a bird, a crown, the colour blue and a song.

Initially, I had the song Lavender Blue, Dilly, Dilly …  and then the song  Blue Moon in my head but as the tag evolved, that changed again.

The owl (isn’t he cute?) was embossed onto my tag using a folder and the cuttlebug.  I used Tim Holtz’s trick of cutting a slit in the join of the folder to thread my tag through so I could get the pattern in the right place.

I masked off all but the moon and shaded it in 3 colours of Distress inks.  I popped the cut-out back over the top and used 3 of the yellow/orange colours of Distress inks for the main part and the remains of what brown/s were on my blending tool for the owl.

The crown and the stars are stamped with the crown being fussy cut.  I popped some washi along the top where there was a nice solid embossed line.

And there you have it.

Cheers, Esther  xoxo

Singing In The Rain

The current challenge at Dragons Dream Tag It On is for a Film of your Choice , some Texture, Embellishment and a Hint of Red. The one real rule is to use at least one real stamp.

I don’t get to the movies much.  I think the last one I went to was Despicable Me II, with Liam.  I figured this would be way too hard with a Minion stamp, lol (I do love those minions though)

So for inspiration I did a good old Google search for the top 20 movies of all times.  This one jumped out at me as one that I had the perfect stamp for.

I used a home-made stencil and texture past for the rain drops and when dry I inked the background with Forest Moss,Weathered Wood and Stormy Skies Distress Inks.  I downloaded some movie stills images and printed them as a contact sheet but at 40%.  I hit the nail on the head as they turned out to be the perfect size for the Tim Holtz Film Strip.  I attached the strip to the tag with two red brads.  I stamped the Umbrella Man on spare manila cardstock, cut him out, inked the edges and popped him up on foam.  I re-stamped the umbrella, popped that on foam too and added a layer of Dimensional Magic.

Here’s a closer look at the detail.

Thanks again for popping in to take a look.  Why not join in with the challenge?

Cheers, Esther  xoxo

Creating for Christmas

When I went to Scrapfest By The Sea in August this year, I saw the most gorgeous altered book created by Trina Mclune.  You can see her beautiful book here.I knew immediately that I wanted to make something similar and while spending a day with Shell during the last school holiday’s, I found the perfect book to alter.

I had intended to take progress photos but once I got started, I just kept on going.

The flower spray is a Prima vine and the Joy embellishment is one I cut from shrink plastic using the Cameo.  The Xmas tickets and Bingo cards are from a Kerri Bradford kit that I bought a couple of years ago.

I divided the pages evenly but then adjusted them a bit as some pages were ticker than others, tucked each section under and glued them in place.  Then I inked the edges with Vintage photo and added some vintage gold metallic rub as well.  When all the elements were safely glued in place, I sprayed the whole project with gold Glimmer Mist, not that you can see that in the photos.

So simple, so effective – I urge you to try this yourself.  You will love the result!

I am entering this project over at City Crafter Challenge Blog, a site new to me.  The theme for their challenge #183 is Game Night – to create a project that includes game pieces, playing cards etc.

Cheers, Esther  xoxo

Making an Exhibition of Myself

Well – sort of, lol

The local Catholic church was holding an Art and Craft exhibition this week and although not a member of St Joseph's, I was asked if I would like to display some art there.  I was truly chuffed.

The theme was fellowship and family and so I entered 3 multi-frame pieces of wall art, created with the Cameo,

A 3-piece canvas set and an altered torso, that were inspired by Finnibair. 

 

I also made 2 cardstock churches using a Silhouette store shape.

It was fun to take part although I have no idea who or how many might have seen them.  I felt jolly pleased with myself, lol

Cheers, Esther  xoxo

Dragons Dream Tag It On #152

It’s been nice to create something in my new craft space at last.  We moved house a month ago and it seems to have taken forever to get unpacked.  In fact, I have to honest and say they we are still not all done yet.

This fortnight’s challenge at Dragons Dream Tag It On is to create a tag based on a TV show using cream/beige/neutrals with the addition of bling.

This is one of my favourite stamps.  Her name is Mrs Walker and that’s kina cute because Walker is my maiden name.  She seems so regal, to me.  I used one of the Prima tags designed for their art doll stamps and added touches of  neutral colour to her dress using Twinkling H2O’s.  It was good to actually use some of the lovely Washi tapes that sit in a basket on my desk, looking at me. I’m hoping that the pearls count as bling.  She seemed to me to me to be a pearl kind of lady.

So – what TV show name did you come up with?

When I asked my husband the same question, he came up with two.  Upstairs, Downstairs and Downton Abbey.  I think it could be either – or maybe both, lol. 

Thank you for stopping in and for leaving me the kindest of comments on my posts.  I really do appreciate them.

Cheers, Esther xoxo

Dragons Dream Tag It On–Whimsical

Back on the crafting wagon after a couple of weeks (and then some) to move house.  Phew! Am I ever glad that is over!!  Whose bright idea was it to buy a house with not one, but two sets of stairs??

Having missed the last challenge I was eager to have a crack at the one this fortnight over at Dragons Dream Tag It On.

Trace has set a theme of "A word of your choice, die cuts, brown and lots of layers"  I was keen to just try and have more of a free play with this – have confirmed that I am not really comfortable just winging it!  Having said that, I am pretty pleased with the end result.

I stamped the pocket watches on my base tag, cut the various arrows on my Cameo and cut the pocket watch images from some Kaisercraft paper in an 8x8 pad.  I selected the word last, on purpose so as to try not to dictate my elements too much but the struggled a bit with what word to use.  I’m thinking it might have been easier the other way round, lol

 

Thanks for popping in to see what I have been up to in my new dedicated craft space.

Cheers, Esther  xoxo

The Craft Room Challenge

It’s all about leaves and/or trees this time round over at The Craft Room and I really wanted to do something other than a tag or a card.

I have an art journal of sorts, I use it to play with new products and techniques more than anything else.  I decided to have a play with my new Pan Pastels and stencils cut on my Cameo, using shapes purchased from the Silhouette Store.

The background was one I had made some time ago.  I used gesso, followed by distress inks sprayed onto plastic wrap, flipped onto the page, crumpled and smooshed and left to dry.  I had meant to add a pearl spray as well but in my excitement at the time, I completely forgot, lol.

I am reasonably happy with it but it doesn’t really float my boat – too flat maybe? 

Thanks for popping in to take a look.  I really do appreciate you taking the time to comment.  It makes my day.

Cheers, Esther   xoxo

Scrapfest By The Sea–Part 1

A luxury weekend of scrapbooking!!  And oh boy, was it!!!

The event was organised by Trina McClune and Lyn Jordan with the amazing help of some very hardworking angels.  We spent the weekend at The Monaco Resort and Apartments in Nelson.

This is the “Street” I lived in with Brenda.  Close by were Jane, Carol, Beverley, Elaine, Dee, Trace, Vicki and Nicki (whose photo’s I pinched of the location, hehe)

There we many others too  some of whom I and met but most I only knew through our Facebook Group.  It was great to meet so many of them in person!

I took 3 classes and grabbed the kit for a fourth.  I haven’t taken photos of those yet and will leave them for yet another post.

Those of us that I mentioned above, with the addition of the lovely Sally and her wee babe, went to The Jellyfish Cafe at Mapua for brunch on the Friday before registration.  Brenda had put an enormous effort into organising a surprise 50th for Vicki.  Although her actual birthday is not until October, it was too good an opportunity to pass up while we were all together (we live in various corners of NZ).

Yes – it was indeed a Polka Dot Party!  She had no clue what-so-ever!  It was priceless.  Thanks to Brenda and Trace for these photos.

To top it off – it was Nicki’s actual birthday on the Saturday and we managed to gather together between classes etc, to give Nicki a wee treat too.  Couldn't not, now could we?

So much fun, over and above the event that we ere actually there for.  Total bonus for us all.

Keep an eye out for part 2 – I might even blog about the classes etc, lol

Cheers, Esther  xoxo

New tag supplies, 2 challenges

Woopeee!!  I been shopping! I spent last weekend with a group of awesome ladies who just happen to be some of the best scrapbookers I know.  We were at an event held in Nelson and I will blog about that in another post.  There just happened to be a “shop” set up in the crop room and I have to admit I did indulge, just a little.

Among the goodies is a stack of Prima Tags and a Prima art doll stamp.  I had not realised how long the stamps were and was pleased to see the tags that were obviously designed to accommodate them.  They are 2” longer than the ones I usually use.

So, I have to challenges that I will enter my tag for.  The Craft Room theme is “New” and Debi has asked us to use a new technique, new media or perhaps new product. Anything new counts.  I think I ticked that box, lol.

Dragons Dream Tag It On have a theme of Orange, Nature and time.  Of course we need to use at least one stamp on our tag.  I ticked that box too, lol.

New Tag, New Stamp, New Stickers, New Flowers.  I paper pieced the top and skirt and cut the title using my Cameo.  I used my Distress Ink Pens to colour her hair and shoes.

Thanks so much for stopping by to see what I have been up to.  Watch this space for a post on Scrapfest By The Sea ……coming soon.

Cheers, Esther  xoxo

Craft Room Bingo Challenge

Over at The Craft Room there is a Bingo Challenge.  Just choose 3 elements in a row and go for gold.

I have chosen Flower / Stencil / Kraft and because I find tags such an easy size to work with, I came up with not one, but three.  Go me, lol

Thanks fro stopping in – do pop on over to The Craft Room to see what the others have been up to with this fun challenge.

Cheers, Esther  xoxo

TIO #147–Waste/Rubbish / Male / Chipboard

Before I go any further I just want to say a big thank you to the team at Dragons Dream Tag It On for naming me in the Dreamboat 3 (even if there were 4 of us, lol) for the #145 Challenge – Vintage, Flowers & Texture.  You can see the original post here.

So …  on to the latest tag challenge.

I cut my tag from some waste chipboard that I had and embossed it with the cuttlebug.  I then inked with Vintage photo and added splashes of Broken China and Shabby Shutters.

My image is a Sullivans stamp and I decided to to a male version of all the beautifully paper-pieced Prima Doll Stamps that are all the rage right now.  I like the way it turned out and I was able to use a few scraps of patterned paper I should have thrown out ages ago.  I broke off the un-used end of a toothpick for the golf tee and added a bead for the ball.  I punched some scrap chipboard covered in tin foil for the sentiment and placed that on some Prima wooden trim that the puppy had got hold of and chewed the end off (Bad Puppy!)   Saved me throwing that away too, hehe.  I added the tab off my son’s soft drink can and there ya have it!

I really had fun with this one!

Cheers, Esther  xoxo

Tag It On #146

Oh, this was fun!  Over at Dragons Dream Tag It On, Helen has set the recipe and has chosen to go with Mask/Stencil, Paint and Ribbon.

I used several puzzle pieces as a mask on a black tag and grabbed my gold paint.  I had based this idea solely on the sentiment stamp, it just had to be done, lol.  The stamped image was done on natural cardstock, cut out and popped up on foam.  I also stamped my ribbon with a puzzle background stamp that I have had forever but have not used for such a long time.

Thanks for popping in to take a look at this fortnight’s entry – why not have a go yourself?

Cheers, Esther  xoxo

Dragons Dream TIO #145

Vintage, Texture & Flowers – Right up my alley!  Pop on over to Dragons Dream Tag It On to see the fabulous tags from the design team and leave a link to your own.


I started with a black tag and stamped text using Vintage Photo Distress Paint. I then ran the dried tag through the cuttlebug for my texture element.  Then I added a very light layer of metallic rub to really show off the texture.  I sprayed white flowers with Espresso Colourwash and Vintage Photo ink spray, each with gold mica added for a bit of sparkle.  The picture is from a Graphic 45 paper pad, popped up on foam. Black and Kraft Twine finish it all off.
Thanks so much popping in to take a look and for all the fabulous comments you leave for me.  I really do appreciate it.
Cheers, Esther  xoxo

Vintage Stamping

This fortnight the challenge over at The Craftroom has been set by Julia.  She says “I would like to see any vintage stamping project, but just for this challenge  no cute please.  Cute is great but for this challenge we just want to see vintage images that have been rubber stamped.”
I wanted to make something other than a card or a tag so out with my trusty Cameo to look for a for a cutting file.  I found a cute gift bag file in my Library and decided it would be just perfect.

I did some random, partial stamping with various stamps in my collection.  I have no idea what brand they are as I don’t keep the packaging.  I used Archival ink in Sepia and sprayed a white flower and some seam binding with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  I also found the perfect length of vintage lace to pop around the bottom of the bag.
Cheers, Esther   xoxo

Body Double

I wish!!!!  

My friend Anna discovered some body parts hidden away in the pool shed when she moved in with her new partner – No, not real ones silly!!  Mannequin parts and display torsos.

We decided to alter one of the wall torsos each as a first attempt.  I gessoed and covered  two torsos with muslin with another layer of gesso over top.  They looked almost like plaster at this stage.

Anna chose a vintage look for hers …….

I chose some brighter colours for mine, spraying the base with Adirondack Colourwash Sprays.

To cut a long blog post short, here are the finished art works:

What do you think??  Pretty awesome, huh???

Cheers, Esther  xoxo

Dragons Dream TIO #144

This fortnight the recipe has been set by Elizabeth and she has come up with Coastal, Mica and a Flourish.

The Northern Hemisphere is in the throws of the warmer weather of course but here in the South it was a little more difficult to come up with some inspiration, lol

It is always hard to take a good photo that shows up the sparkle of the mica but trust me, it’s there.

I used distress ink spray with the mica added and “dropped” the Silver distress stain bottle in a few random places.  The flourish stamp is one I received from a workshop I took 3 years ago and the sentiment and sea-horse are possibly Bo Bunny (?) but I don’t keep my stamps in their packaging so I have no idea really.  A good amount of clear glue secured the tiny shells and the black trim.

Pop on over to Dragons Dream Tag It On and gather some inspiration to create a tag of your own and link up to share.

Cheers, Esther xoxo

Craftroom Challenge

They are, quite rightly, going to be quite strict with this one.  You may only use the colours Yellow, Blue & Green.   If you are not using a support of those colours then it must be white, and the ink you stamp in must be either one of the three colours or black.   No other colours to sneak in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I decided to make a notebook cover using some canvas art board that I had hanging around.  With texture paste and a resin fern added I used luminous paints in the three specifies shades. Paper flowers and a wee blue book plate have finished it off nicely.

The back is pretty much the same, minus the flowers, book plate and using a smaller fern.

Why not create something that fits in with the challenge and link up at The Craft Room.

Cheers, Esther  xoxo

TIO #143 Red, Book pages/text & an Embellishment

Helen has set the recipe this time round at Dragons Dream Tag It On and I was pretty sure I knew what I wanted to do straight away.

I covered my tag with a book page (ex Readers Digest Condensed book circa 1980-something) and removed patches of text with masking tape.  I made up a spray with water and a pigment powder (Poppy Red) that I bought at Finnibar’s workshop earlier this year.  The resulting colour was just what I wanted.  I cut the rosette on the Cameo using a Penny Duncan file and popped a red star on top.

For the stamping I used a Rosies Studio stamp that I got at Warehouse Stationery for not much mulah (I love a bargain).  I first stamped in Stazon Dove Grey and then over-stamped, slightly offset with black.  My idea was to create a shadow effect but I’m not sure I pulled that off really.  However, I do love the look of the “wishes” at the top stamp in just grey.

Thanks for taking a wee peek, let’s catch up again soon.

Esther xoxo

TIO #142–White, Metal, Transport

This tag challenge over at Dragons Dream Tag It On got me quite excited.

I was keen to try a technique that was quite popular some time ago but I had never got round to doing.

I glued down part of a foil bag from a coffee refill pack onto an existing tag and painted it with gesso.  It took no time at all to dry which was pretty cool as I had what I wanted to achieve in my head and patience is not something I have in abundance, lol

I ran the tag through the cuttlebug and while it was still on the folder I took to it with a sanding tool (in all honesty, it was a pedicure tool).  I thought it best to leave it in place so I didn’t flatten the raised areas.

I then stamped my image and words on white card, cut them out and popped them up on foam squares.  I added extra layers in places to the image for some extra dimension although you cant really see that in the photo.  I used the Pewter Distress Stain on some seam binding to finish it off.  I’m going with a less is more approach with this one.

Cheers, Esther  xoxo

76 Days to go!

We are on the countdown to Scrapfest By the Sea – a fabulous scrapping retreat to be held in Nelson in August.

We have a group on Facebook and every now and then Trina or Lyn will pop up a wee challenge to tide us over.

Trina has issued a photo of the venue for group members to use in any way they please – a card, a layout or as many are choosing to do, in/on a mini album.

I took up this option too so that I could pop in photos, get signatures etc and have a tangible memento of the weekend.

I have only done the covers so far but I do have several 6 x8 pages cut to size too.  I will put in some envelopes, pockets and tags as well I think.

I used a gloss medium and curved brick stencil to mirror the cobble pattern at the venue and cut the lamppost on the Cameo for the same reason.  The room I will be sharing with Miss Brenda is two doors down from the building on the left hand side (The Jewellers).

I am so looking forward to this event and after that I will be on the countdown to the Scrapbook Dreams Halloween Retreat in October.  The fun just never ends ….. awesome huh?

Cheers, Esther xoxo