Simple as...........

Hello there blog land, I'm back with my Bee Crafty blog for this week and hope you are taking advantage of the not so good weather and putting in some crafty hours?  It didn't happen yesterday as hubby and I had an evening event to attend so I am hoping that today will be more craftalicious.

Here is my Bee Crafty make for this week.  It's a simple little card, ideal for when you want to make something quick and you don't have a lot of time.

For this card I have used

Beautanicals teasel stamp

Wordage mini thank you stamp

Distress inks

Glossy accents

First of all I stamped my teasels stamp  and thank you in black.  I then stamped again in picked raspberry, peacock feathers and seedless preserves onto three small tiles of card but highlighted different areas of the stamp and mounted onto black card.  I then lined them up onto the black stamped imaged and added glossy accents and some glitter.

Thank you for taking the time to read the blog.  I love to hear your comments.

Crafty hugs,

Clare x x x x

Oak House Studio challenge 'Something Blue'

Howdy folks, I'm hear with my Oak House Studio hat on today reminding you that there is still time for you to pop in an entry with a chance to win £40 of goodies.  Look Here.

Here are some of the cards I have made for the challenge.

Don't forget the one stamp challenge is also happening on the 13th of July.  The stamp featuring for this challenge is the Walesby heart.  It is available in three different sizes and Oak House Studios are offering free postage.  Get it now and join in the fun.

After using so much blue I looked as if I was turning in to a smurf!  It has been good fun though.  These are my first DT makes for Oak House and it has been a challenge for myself albeit a very enjoyable one.  Any reason to craft is a good one.

That's it from me for now.  I'll be back at the weekend with my Bee Crafty blog, til then, happy crafting!

Crafty hugs,

Clare x x x x 

Mellow yellow

Happy sunny Sunday morning to you all.  With this fantastic weather we've been having I thought I would post one of my Bee Crafty cards with a sunny sort of colour.

I have seen lots of lovely cards using the stunning honeycomb masks and thought I would have ago myself.

For this card I have used 

inkables-templates honeycomb

Beautanicals - teasels stamp

Wordage minis - Thank you stamp

Tim Holtz distress ink pads

I used the honeycomb Inkables mask and brushed scattered straw and dried marigold through the stencil.

After that I stamped on the Beautanicals teasels stamp in dried marigold, scattered straw and a final one in black.  I stamped on the wordage thank you sentiment and then rubbed around the edge with dried marigold.  To finish off I made a flower with papers from my stash and put a gem in the middle.

Thankyou for taking the time to read my blog.  I love to hear your thoughts and comments.

Have a fab Sunday whatever you maybe doing.

Crafty hugs,

Clare x x x 

Football is on love..........thats nice, I'm crafting!

Yes the football is on, again so it's craft o'clock .  Of course I'd like our lads to win but I'm not holding my breath due to the amount of chuntering coming from the front room.  Anyway I thought I would have another look and dig out some stamps that it haven't used yet (criminal) but I am positive that I am not the only guilty culprit.

I brushed my background using a mixture of blues and greens distress inks and mask from my stash.  

I stamped using My Lavinia stamps the foliage was stamped using a green and egg plant and the mermaid and sentiment was stamped using black.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenge Lavinia Stamps Challenge # 6 ‘ Add Some Beads or Gems ’

Finally I added liquid pearls, glitter, some more liquid pearls and some gems.

You never know with all this football on I may even get to use all of my new stamps and if I do that I'll have to invest in some new ones ;-)

Crafty hugs,

Clare x x x 

Surfs up!

You know when you get one of those ideas in your head and you can't shift it?  Well that happened to me , it's my cousins birthday at the weekend and he loves surfing.  Being as I have no surf based stamps out came the sketch pad.

I sketched a sideways shillouette of a surfer and coloured it in with a black promarker.  Here comes the techy bit!  I scanned in my image to my iPad, adjusted the size and printed on to card.

  I then inked on my background, stamped some grasses and penned in a couple of wonky fences :-)

I stamped the sentiment onto a circle  and added to the card and to add some shimmering waves I used some liquid pearls.

A bit of an unexpected blog but was so pleased with the outcome that I wanted to share

Happy crafting,

Clare x x x x

Da Vinci init!

As it's Father's Day today I have decided to make a male birthday card.  I always find male cards the hardest to make and enjoy challenging myself to undertake this task.

For this card I have used:

Da Vinci inspired Vitruvian man

Da Vinci inspired script

Wordage happy birthday stamp

Inkables circles template

Tim Holtz distress inks   All of the above are available at Bee Crafty

White craft pen from stash

Mica powders from stash

I brushed the card with tumbled glass distress ink and using the Inkables circles mask I brushed over the stencil with peeled paint.  Keeping the mask in place I traced around the circles to create a bubble effect highlighting some of them.  I've the top I stamped the da Vinci inspired Vivirtuan man and randomly stamped the script.  I die cut a circle and stamped the circular happy birthday greeting and added a few die cut flourishes.

I hope you have all had a fabby weekend.  I have been out partying and socialising for most of it and haven't made it into the craft room since Thursday so I have some catching up to do this week.

See you all soon.

Crafty hugs,

Clare x x x 

Father's Day blog

I am sure that last year I was far more organised for Father's Day.  By the skin of my teeth I've just about made it and completed my bundle of cards for this year.  It's funny but my hubby always ends up with loads of cards as I make one from both of the children, my daughter Sophie makes her own and also ends up bringing home the obligatory school made card.

I am starting to find male cards a bit easier now.  I challenge myself when crafty shopping to always find male orientated stamps and images and although very nautical, my male stash is starting to take shape.  That's not to say I don't need more! ;-)

I shall be back soon with an update on Oak House Studio's new challenge for the month.  It is well worth an entry as there is a fabulous prize of £40 to spend at the online shop where there is a great choice of stamps and the fabulous colour chemistry inks and stamp pads.  All of the above have been stamped using their ink pads.

That's me for now.

I hope you are all looking forward to a crafty weekend.

Big hugs,

Clare x x x x x

The Midas touch!

Hi folks, I'm back again with my weekly blog for Bee Crafty, I decided that it's been far too long since I last used my guilding flakes so they have come off the shelf for an airing.

For this card I have used

Banksy - Love Hill

Inkables off set spots mask

Distress inks

Shoot for the moon sentiment - large

Guilding flakes from my stash

Liquid pearls 

Glitter

First of all I put a circular mask to make a moon and brushed over my card using peacock feathers distress ink, then I used the Inkables mask to create my dotty sky.  After that I made a mask and inked in some land.  I stamped the children with adhesive and applied the guilding flakes.  I stamped on the sentiment which I decorated with liquid pearls and glitter.  Finally I used distress inks around the edge and then added some bronze mica powder

Well I hope the sun is shining wherever you may be?  After the storms we have had this weekend it would be nice to see summer again.

I am having a rare treat and hubby is taking us all put for a Sunday roast today so I guess that can only mean one thing............more time for crafting later instead of cooking it myself. :-)

Enjoy your Sunday folks,

Bing hugs

Clare x x x x

I am so proud to be designing for...........

Last week I heard from the lovely Lynnda at Oak House Studios and was very excited to find that she has invited me onto her design team.  This means that I get to experiment with the lovely colour chemistry ink sprays, pads and super stamps.  I was even more excited when I arrived home today to find a box full of goodies to start me on my way.

This months challenge is something blue.  Here is my first contribution to this months colour themed challenge.

First I spritzed the card with Spode blue and pearly silver ink sprays, this instantly transformed the card into a beautiful pearlescent background.  I then sponged with my Sea Blue ink pad through a stencil and added some detail with a white pen from my stash.

  On a separate piece of card I stamped and heart embossed  the butterfly from the triple butterfly stamp set with silver detail embossing powder. After that I fussy cut out the butterfly and then spritzed with the Spode blue.

Returning to the background I stamped the sentiment from the set and then randomly stamped English garden words in sea blue.

All of these amazing stamps and inks are available here at http://www.oakhousestudio.com

That's a mid week blog from me.  I hope that you are all good out there.  Am looking forward to the weekend so I can raid my new crafting goodies and start my next creation.

Crafty hugs,

Clare x x x 

Fantasy Island!

I feel a song in the title, lol.  No being serious following Bee Crafty's fantasy and fables workshop I thought I would take the opportunity to have ago with this marvellous set of stamps.  They really are fab!   I love the little waves that you can randomly stamp to create a rolling sea, with the added bonus of a sentiment you have everything you need to make the card

For this card I have used:

Fantasy and fables castle on the rocks

Distress inks

A white highlighter pen

Liquid pearls

Promarkers

First of all I stamped the castle twice, once on the card and then once on some paper to create a mask.  I then used a mask for the moon and brushed on a background using different shades of blue distress inks.  After that I randomly stamped the smaller waves around the castle.  I highlighted the sea foam using a white fine line pen and decorated with liquid pearls.

By the time you read this I shall be in Bath.  I am off on my jollies for the weekend  with some pals for a bit of a spa/night out.  Oh dear do I feel a headache coming on.

Wishing you all a craftastic weekend.

Big hugs,

Clare x x x x