True Beauty

Hi, I hope you all well with all these bugs going round everywhere.  This is a really short post as, by the skin of my teeth, I've finished my entry for The Stampsmith Challenge!  This month's theme is a picture for inspiration, using the colours Brown, Cream and Red, and at least one Stampsmith Stamp:

 I altered one of those famous Ikea mirrors and turned it into a vintage style wall hanging of the very beautiful Marilyn Monroe:

I also used Oxford Impressions large alphabet, cream chalk paint, some seam binding, lace, handmade flowers and a few other bits from my stash.  I had real trouble getting a good picture of this, despite trying on my camera and my mobile - the colours are much, much nicer in real life.

Bye for now!

Maria xxxxx

Something For A Man - Craft-Room Challenge

Hi, thank you for showing us your gorgeous Handmade Embellishments over the last fortnight at the Craft-Room Challenge.  The entries were stunning and it will be so difficult to choose a top 3.  This week is it the lovely, and very talented, Julia's turn to choose the theme, and she would like to see us create:

Something For A Man

I find it difficult to make cards for men (and frequently end up in a shop instead, lol), so this was definitely a challenge for me, and I decided to make a little photo album with my Cinch:

The book boards were covered in Manilla cardstock and inked with DI.  Water was then flicked over and dried, and then the same with lemon juice to give a yellowish tinge.  The Stampers Anonymous main image was stamped in Archival ink then three layers of UTEE applied.  I then cracked this and added some Vintage Photo.  "Photographs" was stamped into some heated Stampendous gold embossing enamel.  The little heart has some TH Shabby dp inside, then a layer of UV resin added with a padlock dropped into it.  Once cured, a second layer was added to completely cover.  It is held closed with a clip.  I thought my other half would like it for his favourite photos.

Our challenge this fortnight is sponsored by:

 

who make some fabulous rubber and clear stamps

and are offering a prize to the winner of our random draw.

Apologies for this post being so short - both my little grandson and my daughter are both ill at the moment and I have been to the hospital three times over the last couple of days.  I'm hoping they start to feel a little better tomorrow.

Also, my laptop decided it will work no more last week.  I am now set up on another one for the time being but, needless to say, I am a little behind on my commenting but will catch up with my friends and new followers (a big hello!) during this week.

Please pop over and have a look at the fabulous inspiration the rest of the team have to show you - you will be impressed, I can assure you!

I hope you will find the time to join us.

Bye for now.

Maria xxxxx

Handmade Embellishments - Craft-Room Challenge

Hi, I hope you all enjoyed creating in Monochrome over the last fortnight - the entries were beautiful, however it's now time for a new theme over at the Craft-Room Challenge and this time it was my turn to choose the theme.  My choice for this fortnight is

Handmade Embellishments

(Make Your Own)

I love to see handmade flowers, pins, and other beautiful things on creations, but I use pre-bought ones regularly and really struggle with making my own flowers - even with the Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die, lol, so I decided to set a theme which would challenge myself as well :-).  I'd like to see some embellishments on your creations which you've made yourself, and hopefully we can inspire each other.  You can make any embellishments you want, with whatever you want.

My creations is a little wall hanging made from mdf - yes, I'm still using it up - and probably not my usual type of thing as there is not a scrap of lace in sight (although I did wonder where I could squeeze a little bit in):

 
 All the stamps used on this are by Stampin' Up, (from the sets Papaya Collage, Pursuit of Happiness and Woodgrain background), as is the dp, courtesy of the lovely Vicky's Stampers' 6 club (Crafting Clare).

I've applied a thin layer of cream chalk paint over the dp to make the text less visible then stamped two roses (masking one) in the bottom right, and the leaves all the way around.  The roses were coloured with Inktense pencils.

 

The bird was stamped onto a piece of Stampbord (which I painted cream), masked and I then stamped the woodgrain background.  I tinted with Inktense again and applied a layer of crackle glaze across the top, and sponged some DI over the top when dry, and added a piece of twig with some hot glue.

The sentiment, or most of it, was stamped onto a piece of frosted memory glass which I backed with some cream card - I love the soft look the text has using this.  I stamped the remainder of the sentiment underneath onto some plain cream card.

The key (to happiness) has been laid inside a jewellery pendant turned on it's side, and covered with two layers of resin, and some sealed dp underneath.  I attached a Tim Holtz glass dangly to the bale.

The flowers (I'm very proud of these as I'm a bit rubbish at making flowers, lol) are made from one of the smaller flowers in the Tattered Florals die - I've used colour core cardstock which I've sanded, then layered up 6 or 7 per flower, securing with a long fastener.

Our challenge this fornight is sponsored by:

Liz Welch 

of

Liz makes the most amazing creations with Friendly Plastic.  Click on the banner to visit her, where you will find Friendly Plastic in the most beautiful colours, along with gorgeous jewellery pendants and findings.

 I hope you find the time join in with us this fortnight, I'm really looking forward to seeing what you create.

Lastly, what on earth has happened to my text??? It's all over the place, I do apologise, blogger has a mind of it's own tonight!!!

I'd like to enter this into a couple of challenges:

Sarah Hurley Challenge Blog - Anything But A Card
Craft My Life: My All Crafts (3) - Anything Goes (except cards & layouts)

Thank you for your lovely comments recently, I do appreciate them very much.

Bye for now

Maria xxxxx