House Mouse / Dreamweaver - with Stampendous Week 1

We have a very exciting blog hop for you over the next two weeks we are going around the world with our friends at Stampendous.

For almost 3 years now Stampendous have had the license to distribute the stamps of House-Mouse Designs® there are now over 200 high quality  rubber stamps in the range, not only the mice, but also HappyHoppers and Gruffies. To celebrate this The House-Mouse and Friends Monday Challenge Blog is happy to be hosting a unique challenge for everyone for the next two weeks. The HMFMCB Design Team is teaming up with the Stampendous Design Team, The Stencil Specialists (distributors of Stampendous and Dreamweaver Stencils in Australia) plus us Woodware Craft Collection Blog Design Team (distributors of Stampendous and Dreamweaver Stencils in the UK) for a huge Blog Challenge

To make it extra special we will be using not only the cuddly creatures but combining them with the wonderful Dreamweaver Stencils which are also part of the Stampendous stable. 

We have prizes so would love you to join in with us as we hop around the world for 2 whole weeks, REMEMBER the hosts are House-Mouse and Friends and they are a challenge blog so to play along please add you link on their blog we are really looking forward to seeing your creation there, full instructions and links are at the bottom of this post.

The House Mouse designs are so cute and combining them with the Dreamweaver Stencils is a treat.  All the mice have names and this week Monica is the mouse I have used.  This stamp could be used for all sorts a card for a holiday or as in my project used as umbrella and combined with the raindrop stencil.

So here is my card for this week.

This is what I used:-

12'' x 12'' sheet of Kraft card

Scrap of red card

Small piece of smooth white card

12'' x 12'' piece of patterned paper

Red pen or Red ink pad to edge the different panels and layers

Black Micron pen for Faux Stitching

Water colour pencils

Dreamweaver Raindrop stencil

House Mouse Stamp  -  Umbrella Ride

Dreamweaver Translucent Paste

Low Tack Tape

Palette knife

Versamark ink pad

Black Versafine ink pad

Detail Clear Embossing Powder

This is what I did

1  Take a scrap of white smooth card and using the black Versafine ink pad stamp the House Mouse image.  Allow time for the image to dry. (To speed up give the piece a quick blast with a heat gun.)  Take the colouring medium of your choice, (I used water colour pencils), Colour the image.   Trim piece to size and using either a red pen or red ink pad go around the edge of the stamped piece.  Use the black micron pen to do faux stitching around the edge of the panel.

2 The next step is to attach the raindrop stencil over the top of the image and press the Versamark through the stencil so that the design is on to the panel.  Remove stencil and cover with Detail Clear Embossing Powder, remove the excess powder and put the powder in the pot.  Use the heat gun to emboss the raindrops.  Remember to clean the stencil properly and dry.

3  Place the panel on to a small piece of kraft card, leaving a1/8th inch border all around.  Next cut a matt in patterned paper and the border needs to be about 1cm wide.  The final matt is in red card and has a border of 1/8''..  The layers are all  adhered to each other and faux stitching is done on the patterned matt and the patterned paper.

4  Cut a piece of kraft card '' by 12''.  Attach the raindrop stencil at one end of the card, used low tack tape all around the stencil, and using the palette knife cover the stencil with the translucent paste.  Leave this piece to one side to dry.  It will take about 1 hour .  Whilst waiting for the piece to dry clean the stencil.  

5  Once completely dry,' score at 5'' the opposite end from the raindrops and next fold the card.

6  Cut a panel of patterned paper which is 1/8th inch smaller on the top, bottom and front edge..Faux stitch around the edge and then attach to the front of the card so that the three sides have a border.

7 The final step is to apply the stamped image panel at a jaunty angle.

This is the completed card

Gill's Crafty Journey (you are here)

House-Mouse Monday Challenge Blog

The Stencil Specialists

Woodware

Stampendous

THEME:

We’re celebrating stencils, and using them with our House-Mouse Designs® images. We’re going to bring you tons of inspiration over the next two weeks, and we can’t wait to see what you enter into the challenge! You may use ANY House-Mouse Designs® images or characters on your project, and any stencils and stenciling techniques that you like. There is never any purchase necessary to enter. And, of course, as always on the HMFMCB, “anything goes” is always an entry option.  Link your entry to the linky tool by the end of Friday, April 8, 2016.

There are prizes!! Three entries, chosen at random, will win 1-HMD Stampendous Cling Rubber Stamp, 1 – Large Dreamweaver Stencils Background Stencil, and 1 – Jar of Embossing Paste.  This contest is open to everyone!!

Even though you will be entering to win by linking up a challenge piece, we sure hope that you’ll hop around to each designer’s blog and leave a sweet “eek” of delight at their inspiration! They’ve worked hard to create something you’ll love! Please give them some love right back! Here are the links to the Sponsor’s blogs and our designers playing today: (If a blog isn’t live when you visit, they might still be sleeping! Please, check back in a few hours!)

HOW TO ENTER:

1. Create something fun and a little bit wonderful. It’s not a talent show, winners are randomly selected. Use an HMD image plus a stencil on your work (or choose “anything goes”). It doesn’t have to be a card, it can be any kind of project. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY
2. Post your creation online. You can post it anywhere that will give it a unique URL (internet address). Most folks have a blog, but you can post on Flickr, or PhotoBucket, or even on your Google+ account. (ps…creating a blog is free! What are you waiting for?)
3. Get the URL for the specific post that contains your project – click on the title of your post, copy the URL from your browser’s title bar, click on the inLinkz picture on the HMFMCB post, paste your URL into the tool. Add your name and email address and voila, you’re entered!

Gill

Masking - Any Type - Day 5

Masking -  the technique of hiding layers with cover and when removed gives the illusion of 3D layers.  

I find masking interesting to do as when working the technique you are working from the front to the back as opposed to working back to front as with normal cards.

As Spring will be here soon I thought brights and pastels would be appropriate.

So here is this weeks project:-

The things I used:-

A5 piece of white linen card
Post it notes
Alcohol markers (or any colouring medium you require.
Versafine Black ink pad
Stampendous stamp set Daisy Mix
Diamond sparkles glitter glue

The is the way I made the card:-

1  Take 3 or 4 post it notes and stamp the floral image you are doing on to them (I used in total 6 images).  Cut the individual images out, these are you masks.  To save some time  I cut more than on post it note at a time.  REMEMBER when stamping always ensure that some of the stick of the post it note still has the sticky bit on it.  This will secure the mask is held in place.

2  Once step one is completed take the A5 piece of white linen card and score  At this point don't fold the card base, this will be done later, giving  a A6 card blank. 

3 Take the floral stamp and stamp the image using Versafine Black ink pad where you want the front flower to be, take one of the masks and cover the image just stamped. Move to the next place you want an image stamping and stamp using the versafine. repeat the step until all the different stamped images are done.  With the leaves I left all the flower masks in place  before stamping the leaves.This can be seen in the pictue below.

4  When all the stamping has been done the colouring is done you can use what ever colouring medium you what.

5 when colouring I left all the flower centre un-coloured as I couldn't decide how I was going to get texture. .Eventually I coloured the centres all yellow and the covered the centres with the diamond sparkles glitter glue

There you have it the completed card.  Hope you like this.  Remember to check out the Woodware blog for more inspiration.  Thanks for stopping by.

Gill

Wearable Art or Jewellery

Jewellery everyone as some and its personal.  When  you craft and make jewellery then the items can be made to match a specific outfit,colour or for a special occasion.  I don't tend to do much jewellery making and what I do, do tend to usually be bead based.  With the challenge this week using other craft items I started thinking of techniques and product I could used.  My first thought was to make some paper beads and then I thought of shrink plastic.  For any one who has never heard of Shrink Plastic, it is a thin sheet of plastic that has been stretched and stretched toits limit but when it is heated it shrinks back its original thickness of about 3mm.  So my project this week is jewellery comprising  of a pair of earrings and a bracelet.  A necklace could easily added to the set.

So here is my wearable art.jewellery project

This is what I used :-

Clear magic daisy layers
Black Stazon Ink Pad
Acrylic block
Coloured pencils
Sanding block for shrink plastic
Earring findings
Jump rings
T Bar bracelet fastening
Small piece of chain
Thick lilac wire
Wire gizmo
Jewellery pliers

This is what I did:-

1  Take one sheet of translucent shrink plastic and use the shrink plastic sanding block anf sand the sheet left to right and then top to bottom.  This will give a key for the ink pad and coloured  pencils to  hold on to.

2  Take the sanded sheet and use the largest of the stamp flower and stamp this 5 times (of course you could add more.  1 sheet made enough flowers for the earrings and bracelet.

3   Give the stamped image time to dry and then using some very sharp scissors to cut the flowers out.

4  Choose the colours of pencils you want the finished flowers to be.  Remember that a pale colour when heated will become quite intense in colour.  The flowers should all be coloured at this point.

5  Take the hole punch and choose a petal on the flowers and punch the hole in the petal..the earrings have just one hole punched whilst the bracelet  flowers have two petals punched with  holes, there should be at least one petal  between the petals with holes.  To ensure balance make sure the same holes are in the same petals.

6  The next step is to shrink the flowers. For this it is helpful to have some tool that will hold the flower in place when heating the flower to prevent  the piece blowing around you table.  As you heat the plastic it will start to twist and curl.........don't give up once it has started to shrink simply flip the piece over and continue to heat until it stops shrinking then whilst still warm flatten it with either a clear acrylic block or stamp pad lid.  Put the flowers to one side and allow them to cool.

7  The wire coil is next and using the thicker gizmo rod  and leaving about 1cm before wrapping the thicker lilac wire round the gizmo rod.  To make sure there was  the same size of coiled lilac wire.  I made the coils 6 wraps round the rod and before cutting the excess away I made sure that I left 1cm of wire over at the end.   

8  Using round nosed  pliers form a loop at each end of the coil.  All the pieces were connected by jump rings,  this  also was the case for attaching the chain and earrings.

                                                   
Of course as is always the case the design could be adapted to include making a necklace .

So there you have it the bracelet and earrings, hope you find this interesting .


Bye for now, thanks for stopping by. You can get more inspiration from the rest of the team by visiting the Woodware blog. 

Gill

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Inspired by the Countryside Day 1

This week we are being inspired by nature.  As always cards, invitations, anniversary, birthdays and home decor  can all be linked with the countryside, the different elements and textures can be overwhelming  home decor.  This week I thought I would go for the home decor.  My idea could be schemed to go with the seasons however you can go for your own thing.

So here is my Home Decor project

This is what I used

Dutch Doobaddoo MDF Square frame
Dyllusions Marble black
Piece of patterned paper  to cover the background frame panel
Brush for paint.
Strong wet glue
Pack of 1'' burlap natural flowers
Pack of 1'' coloured burlap flowers
Scraps of various plain and patterned papers
Air dry paper clay white
Tiny amount of red coloured air dry pay clay to colour some of the white clay
Colouring medium of your choice
Alphabet Dies
Dreamweaver dies:- Leafy branch, Monstera leaf,
Daisy mix die cuts
Stampendous Daisy mix stamp set
Clear Magic  English leaves, flower frames
Dreamweaver Alphabet Dies

Method

The instructions are done as individual projects for the frame shapes. Below is the frame with the box numbers in for ease of reference

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1  The MDF frame and backing are painted with the Dyllusion Black Marble so all the edges and surfaces are covered.  The backing paper is cut 1/2'' smaller than the base of the frame. This is then stuck centrally on the base of the frame and the top of the frame is then stuck to this..  

2 The picture above shows the numbers of the panels so that they can be decorated. The following pictures are  showing each of the individualpanel

Box 1

  Box 2

Box 3, 5, 7, 11

Box 4

Box 6 and 8

Box 9 and 10

The squares were completed one at a time and once done a wall hanging thread was attached to the reverse side.  The project is complete.

I hope you enjoy my project and have a go.

Bye for now, thanks for stopping by. You can get more inspiration from the rest of the team by visiting the Woodware blog. 

Gill

Woodware Sketch 51 Day 2

Sketches as I have said before can be used for all sorts of occasions, birthdays, anniversary, friends the list goes on and on.  This week I thought I'd do a general card and make it a tad distressed.  With Sketch 51 there is the possibility of combining different techniques.  I have used a couple of techniques. 

here is the sketch

So here goes this is my card

And this is what I used

Navy blue linen card
Gold mirri card
White gloss photo paper
Clear Scraps 6 x 6 mosaic mascil
Bird cage embellishments
Gold ink pad
Detail clear embossing powder
Square brads 
Heat gun 
Embossing machine

Gold metallic wax patina

This is how I completed the card

1  Take a piece of Navy blue linen card stock and cut a piece 8 x 8. fold in half.  This is the backing card.

2  Use the piece of white gloss photo paper and emboss using the Clear snaps stencil, when this has been done take the applicator and the gold ink pad and colour through the stencil, remove the stencil and apply the Detail Clear Embossing powder, and heat with the heat gun.  As the powder heats it doesn't lay smooth but has a distress feel..  

3  The next step is to cut a blue matt and attach the panel to the blue matt..  Take the gold gilding wax and lightly cover the blue border and the white of the panel.  Again this will give the distressed look.

4  Take the Bird cage embellishments and place then on to this panel and pierce the panel where you want to  attach the cages to.  Attach the cages using the square brads.

5  Cut a piece of gold mirri card  to make the layer behind the cage panel  .

6 The final step is to cut a piece of blue card and to matt this on to the gold mirri card, this panel will go behind the larger panel with the card.

There you have it ,the completed card.


Bye for now, thanks for stopping by. You can get more inspiration from the rest of the team by visiting the

Gill