Down the Silk Road... Again

Hello!

Happy birthday to me!  I'm 44 today and totally happy with my life!  Had a great crafting day at a friend's home yesterday and relaxing today with my hubby cooking for me!

I'm back to a card for today's challenge at Quirky Crafts Challenges.  The image a received this week from Unky at The East Wind is called Tuxedo Sleeping Cat.  Such a cutie and already precoloured.  I started with an Asian print tissue.  I separated the layers of tissue until I had just the top, decorated one and used double sided tape to adhere it to a piece of black shimmer cardstock, then to a 5.5x6" white card base.  Used a strip of same black card to make a strap along the top and topped it with a stamped kanji of 'cat' that had been punched with a decorative punch from Creative Memories. Printed and cut out Tuxedo kitty and adhered him to the front.  Quick and easy! 

I used the scraps to decorate the inside as well...

Down the Silk Road

Hi all!
Beware of summer flu bugs!

This is a little late and I apologize to all...

This week at Quirky Crafts Challenges we are playing with images from The East Wind aka Unky.  The theme is The Quirky Silk Road- Oriental Theme.  I started with Ashley5 from Unky and circle quotes from Squigglefly.  Ashley was coloured with my watercolour crayons and water pen.  Accents on her dress were done with a clear Zig glimmer pen.  So much fun to colour too! 

I fussy cut her out and placed her on a card front covered in pink silk and ribbons.  I punched out the dream quote and sprayed it with gold Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist.

So this is the 5x7" finished card....

 

But were there not 2 coloured images?  :) 
I had a great idea for a decorator project with a tray I picked up a couple weeks ago at Value Village...
First I covered it with white gesso and let dry.

Then I painted the sides and edges with green Silks Acrylic Glaze.  I did two coats and the paintbrush made a streaked earthy pattern so...

I stamped all sides, inside and out with a bamboo stamp from Hero Arts and Staz On.

I placed scraps of silk and fabric on the bottom of each compartment, then filled each with an Asian element I have in my kit.  I took different angles to show the stamping.  The same circle quote was also used in this collage.  Whatcha think? :)

'Dying' for Christmas

Hi!

Yes, it is July.  At Quirky Crafts Challenges we are playing with images from Stichy Bear to create a Christmas Project that also makes use of a die or punch.  My second image is this Arctic Fox created by Delicious Doodles.  He is so elegant, I wanted to make an equally card with it. 

After printing and cutting him out with my Spellbinders die, I covered him with Sookwang double sided tape and clear beads. 

I layered him with glossy grey cardstock I've been hording for a while.  On the card base of 5x6.5" I placed a slightly smaller piece of the same cardstock and then some textured stationery paper I got moon ago at Staples.  Then came the beaded fox.  I used the smaller die from the same set to trim a greeting sticker and matted it with a scrap from the gray paper. 

 

Pretty?  I think so!

Here's a close up of the beads and paper texture.  'Till next time!

 

Where Bloggers Create 2014

Hi all!

I am pleased to be showing you another of my creating areas in this year's edition of Where Bloggers Create.  Karen Valentine at My Desert Cottage hosts this fun show and tell every year and this is my third time playing.  Here are my posts for the basement area from 2013 and 2012. Nothing much has changed in the basement this year, so I thought I'd share where I sew. 
**This is NOT another hobby, because my husband has restricted me from having another hobby until I get rid of one of my other ones... LOL**

Up the stairs in our guest room is where I go when I get the itch to create something with my sewing machine. 

 

 Yes, I am a big kid who still has lots of stuffies and dolls :)  

Those wooden cabinets were made by my dad years ago and now that he has passed away, I treasure them.  Inside them I hide my sewing stuff.  

 

My outdated Singer is in the white case on the bottom right, next to the green bin that has my threads, buttons, scissors, etc.  In the drawers on the bottom left I have odds and ends in the top drawer and cut pieces for a quilt in the second drawer.  The bottom drawer has my various patterns.  I also have a bit of a stash of fabric hidden away in 3 trunks I purchased from Ikea years ago and covered with fabric. 

Where do I cut my fabric?  I have a foldable 6' (1.82m) table that I keep in the closet that gets unfolded and set up above the bed when I need to cut fabric.  Place a large cutting mat on it and we're ready to go! 

These were taken a couple weeks ago when I was creating a new awning for my outdoor swing.  Click HERE to check that out if you're interested...
So that's about it for my sewing area...  I occasionally do a fabric project and will post on this blog when I do.  The final pic is me, working away in my little corner.  Hugs!

Quirky Die-ing For Christmas in July!

Hello!

It's time to brush off those Christmas images and dies/punches to create some awesome art! Quirky Crafts Challenges has a challenge to use both a Christmas image and a die or punch.  So using the Stocking image I was given to use by Stitchy Bear, I created 2 cards this week. 

For my first card, I used my usual 5x6.5" white card base and added strips of washi tapes (Recollections), Santa ribbon from my stash and a strip of paper.  I've been wanting to create more cards like this as they are quick and fun.  I coloured the image with my SU! markers and Sakura metallic markers then fussy cut it.  Where's the die?  I used my Spellbinders Labels 8 and cut out a layer out of some shimmer vellum and edged it with a silver marker.

The second card is using another Mojo Monday template.  I used a red foil embossed card base that I trimmed to 4x7".  A strip of Christmas ribbon was attached down the centre and the two outer corners were punched with a holly corner punch.  After a layer of green cardstock I adhered the stocking I had coloured with watercolour crayons and a water brush.  I also added some metallic marker touches and fussy cut this one too.  The greeting was stamped on scrap blue paper and punched out with a circle punch.  The holly and leaves are paper die cuts from Prima (very old from my stash). 

So what are you gonna create with punches/dies and your Christmas images?  Have fun!

New Awning

Hi there!

I mostly do papercrafts, but I also enjoy the occasional sewing project too.  So when I need to fix something, or the itch appears to create with fabric, I go upstairs to our guest room where I have my sewing machine.  In a couple weeks I will be posting more detail about my sewing area, but for now we will look at my latest sewing attempt.

Our outdoor swing has an awning that ripped up two years ago, which I replaced with a generic one last year.  Unfortunately it was not acceptable or long enough.  So I gave myself a challenge to make a new one in time for Canada Day and our BBQ with neighbours. 

I basically just took a 45"(114cm) folded denim type fabric from Ikea at 86.6" (2.2m).  Edged it all with a zigzag stitch to keep from fraying, and a small overlap hem on the cut ends.  I cut cotton bias tape into 10" (25cm) strips and pinned them approximately where the bar holding the awning was.  I went out and verified the placement before sewing them directly on the fabric with a simple repeated 'X' on the centre of the bias tape strip.  The placement ended up being about 7" (17.7cm) from the sides and 11" (28cm) from the front and back.

Then it was a simple task of tying the awning to the swing.  Not as gorgeous as the purchased one, but functional!