Aquarius/Water

Hi, two weeks have gone by and today it is Esther's turn to set the challenge over at the Craft Room.  Firstly now lots of thanks to Chris for giving us our first challenge of 2014...enjoyed it immensely.

Esther's challenge is a water based challenge as we are now in Aquarius.  I have made a card for my son who is approaching 21 later this month so he is an Aquarian and to be honest he is a typical one too!

I have used the Crafty Individuals "Grace Darling" lighthouse stamp ...naughty but I have had this stamp since last summer but it remained uninked.  So my card has a water theme .....but I also used water spritzing and splodging on all my backgrounds.  I used distress inks before adding water.   I added water circles too  The lighthouse was coloured using Derwent pencils.

I hope you can play along with us this fortnight at the Craft Room.

Special Host at the Craft Room

Happy New Year to my fellow bloggers!  I hope 2014 brings you all health and happiness.  Today sees my first blog post of 2014...my intention this year is to reconnect with my crafting....though home life is still very stressful and this intention may fall by the wayside.  Please bear with me if my blog lies dormant sometimes....

Anyway there is a treat in store today over at the Craft Room - we have a very active and friendly Facebook group and one lovely lady who joins in all of our challenges is our host for the first challenge of this New Year.  Chris lives in France and creates wonderful collages and as such she wishes to be inspired by her collage - please see the challenge post on the Craft Room and also to be introduced to Chris!

I have incorporated my DT contribution with a Circle Journal that needs to be completed by today .... it is entitled "Significant Places" - so I decided to create my pages on New Orleans where my husband and I visited when we won a competition a few years ago.  Therefore Chris' American theme helped inspire my New Orleans layout....I have also incorporated lots of stars as has Chris!

I won't bore you with the detail of my layout - I think it is all pretty self explanatory in any event...well let's hope so.

Thank you for visiting...hope you are inspired by Chris' card too.....Suzanne x

Craft Room FavouritesFavourites

The delightful Debi has given us all a great challenge this fortnight at the Craft Room;  

FAVOURITES

great because it gave me an opportunity to go through my blog and the last 12 months.  It has a very difficult year from start to finish, I am not complaining.  It is life and as I see it everything happens for a reason and I am very blessed in lots of ways.  However my crafting has taken a very second third or fourth seat lol so it has been good to remind myself I do and can create some craft!

I finally opted for one of my altered books...there have been a couple this year.  Selected this one as I enjoyed Debi's "in the library" challenge, seeing all the fabulous entries -  but mostly because it was one of those projects that came together relatively easily.

I really would like to thank my Craft Room Teamies, they have been really supportive  and I am looking forward to the challenges in 2014.  Happy Christmas to one and all....it may be 2014 before I blog again though I do have a few days off from work, council meetings and canvassing so you just never know.   Thank you to all my followers too...who have also been very patient.  With wishes, Suzanne xx

Vintage Christmas

Well that was another fortnight that has flown by - thank you to all that played along with my Afternoon Tea challenge.  Now I have the hard task of selecting a top 3.  Anyway it's back to a new challenge today - and the lovely Mervi is the hostess at the Craft Room.  She has provided us with a wonderful theme - I think so anyway!

"Vintage Christmas"

My DT piece is a kraft gift bag complete with coins, candy canes and boiled sweets along with a coordinating 6x6 kraft card.  I have used a mixture of patterned papers and stamped and embossed backgrounds. 

Taking photographs in this cold dull weather is not the best and though I did take these photos outside at about 3pm ish - they are not great in showing the detail.

I have used die cuts (Marianne Design - Pointsetta and vintage Lamp post) along with a flocked ribbon. 

I have a feeling that Mervi's challenge is going to prove popular and I hope to get the chance to visit your entries.  

Take care and keep warm everyone!   Suzanne

Afternoon Tea

Hello, it's my turn to be the hostess with the mostess this fortnight at the lovely Craft Room challenge.  As always I thought about my challenge long and hard.  I am afraid I do not do an awful lot of Christmas crafting so therefore you may all be in Christmas making mode/mood but I do hope you will join in with my challenge:-

Afternoon Tea

I just love vintage china ......please work with the theme or take inspiration from the photo....it's quite open to interpretation.

 

We at the Craft Room are pleased to be sponsored this fortnight by the wonderful Stamp Man

My DT piece as you can see is a decorated house with a theme of Afternoon Tea with the autumnal colours taken from the photo.

I treated myself to the new stamps from Crafty Individuals to decorate my house.

I used acrylic paint and crackle medium on the roof and the exterior of the house.

I hope you like my house and that I get to visit your blogs this fortnight to see all your wonderful creations!

I would like to enter the following challenges:-

Sugar Creek Hollow - Anything Vintage Goes

Happy Crafting! Suzanne x

Stencils/Masks with the Craft Room

Hi everyone, I am still finding it hard to find time for crafting and blogging.  Last week including the office cat that we have seem to have adopted I was cat sitting for 6 ...yes 6 cats in four different locations lol:) So I know I don't help myself haha!

Anyway I am managing to keep up with my Circle Journal obligations and it is one of these pages that I am sharing with you as my DT contribution to the fabulous Craft Room Challenge.  Another great challenge hosted by Esther:-

Use Stencils / Masks

Challenge is sponsored by Stamp Addicts

I would also like to send a huge welcome to our new DT roomies:-  Amber and Annie....you'll soon feel at home with everyone at the Craft Room

Anyway here is my pages - the theme of the CJ was "The Last Word" and I used time.  I had trouble photographing the journal as it is a very long DL size and the light has not been great.  Tried my best but they're not great photos.  The base colours used are:- distress inks, Weathered Wood and Scattered Straw.  My stencilling was texture paste through the well used Harlequin mask

Another page in a CJ is the one below...theme Typography. I have used a sequin waste pattern and the Crafters Workshop flowers stencil.

Hope you can play along with us and that you will welcome our new teamies!  With wishes, Suzanne

Our Feathered Friends....

Well I have made a card....difficult though! With everything that is going on at present I seem to have forgotten how to craft lol:).   Having missed the last challenge of the Craft Room Challenge it was important for me to do my DT piece for Hazel's fab theme:-

Our Feathered Friends....

We are this time round sponsored by the wonderful Crafty Individuals

I love my Stampendous bird stamp so I had to use this.  I simply coloured the image with my Inktense pencils.

I have included lots of texture by utilising corrugated cardboard, distresses edges, burlap and Stampendous Frantage.

My leaves have been stamped and coloured with pencils. I have also used a coloured lace as an embellishment.

I would love to enter the following challenges:-

Make my Monday - Texture

Stamping Sensations - All Creatures Great & Small

Ooh-la-la-Creations - Things with Wings

Good to be back blogging! Wishing you all a good day!  Suzanne x