Clearing my desk of snippets, scraps and leftovers ... Day 5

Morning Everyone

It's me again ... I might be gone but surely not forgotten what with all these scheduled posts popping up every day :))

Hope you are all well and having a good week.

Here's my scrappy card for today.

A collage of bits and bobs, flowers fussy cut from paper and leaves cut freehand. To make the stamped circle in the background I punched a circle out of printer paper and stamped, using the second generation ink technique, through it.

inside

From the pile - a variety of patterned papers from American Crafts Dear Lizzy collection 

Additional supplies: stamps - Art Journey Sweet Dreams and a Docrafts greeting stamp; ink - Memento Rich Cocoa; punches - Stampin' Up oval scallop and plain oval shape; die - X-cut circle 

Short and sweet today but, as Arnie put it, I'll be back :)

Take care and happy crafting,

Baby Ruby's Wall Hanger

Evening Again Folks,

I know, it's not like me but I'm here again. Just trying to catch up on posting since I was absent for a few days last week.

This time I can bring you the wall hanger made for Sarah's new baby, Ruby.

It's a collage of all sorts of peachy/pinky/creamy/white embellishments on a base of pattern paper on cream card. To give the hanger stability, I've adhered it to, you're probably not going to believe this, a piece of floor tiling - the sort that comes with the adhesive already on the back.

Unfortunately I forgot to note the materials used for this project but I can tell you that the papers are from Prima's Romantique 6x6 paper stack. The image is digital and was, I think, downloaded from the Antique Images blog. I did stamp directly on to the patterned paper with a foliage stamp from the Spring Meadow stamp set from Kanban and Adirondack Peach Bellini ink pad, though it isn't all that clear in the photograph.

I used two sizes of cherry blossom punches to make the flowers - and glitter glue has been applied to the larger flowers on the front. The trims and lace, pearls, etc., are all from my stash.

The August tag is coming along nicely, maybe not quite as Timmy envisaged it but then I'm having to improvise like crazy! I have to confess that, apart from some distress ink pads and alcohol inks, I have not been too interested in acquiring TH goodies - and that's despite admiring his work - but this tag might change all that :)

All day it's been pouring with rain, or maybe I should refer to it as 'liquid sunshine' - it is summer after all :)

Right, back to the tag ... the inks should all be dry now.

Take care and happy crafting,

Garden Flowers Collage

Afternoon Everyone,

It's been an absolutely gorgeous day here in sunny Ayrshire. We drove up the coast to visit the family this morning and spent a lovely couple of hours with them.

When we got home I took the camera for a walk around the garden snapping anything that caught my eye - and here's a collage of what there was to see.

The collage is made using a little programme called Shape Collage - from ShapeCollage.com - that some of you might find interesting. This is just the free trial version I'm using, and you can probably spot the logo in the right corner ... I'm debating with myself whether it's worth upgrading at a cost of $40 just to be able to create collages without that logo making an appearance. Otherwise, the programme is easy to use, it's simple to drag and drop the photos you want to collage and easy to adjust the settings to produce a variety of mixes.

This mix I liked even better than the first. These are made in the rectangle shape.

This is the circle shape.

This is the heart shape - pity that the logo is slap, bang in the middle of the collage! All the collage shapes can be saved in JPEG, PNG or Photoshop formats.

A fun way to save snaps of flowers and it would be even better if a A3 printer was available - think of the scrap layouts that you could make with these.

Right, I'm off to watch the Chelsea Flower Show and then I have plans to do a bit of crafting later on.

Hope you are having a cracking weekend :)

Take care and happy crafting,

March Hares - Spring Collage Card ... March Scrap Our Stash Challenge - Green

Hello Everyone

It's a beautiful day here ... the sun is shining and the temperature is not half bad for this time of the year. However, I know that is probably not the case for all of you - according to the weather map I see that those of you down in the south and over to the east of the UK map are not having it so good ... I hope it improves for you as the day goes on.

In the meantime, I have a spring themed card in shades of greens and lilacs, plus a touch of peachy pink, made as my DT contribution for the Scrap Our Stash Challenge for March - GREEN to share with you.

It looks as though I've just dipped into my stash and pulled out a few items and thrown it together but, not so :)  It all started with the IndigoBlu stamp that came free with the April edition of Craft Stamper - April!!! We're only just into March. Anyway, I digress, I loved the stamp immediately, March hares boxing/frolicking ... I couldn't wait to ink it up so stamped it onto a die-cut shape I had in my stash already (another one to thank from Marie-Louise for).

Inside

The rest of the design is as a result of reading a great article written by Jane Millard (MilliesMarvels) on making collage cards that appeared in the January edition of Quick Cards Made Easy Magazine. I really liked Jane's combination of collage and shabby chic style, especially as, by using bits and bobs from my stash mountain, it doesn't have to 'blow the budget'. Every item used came out of the drawers and boxes of stuff I have already :)

Back

Here's what I used to make this card:

• Stampin' Up Very Vanilla card measuring 12"x6" folded to make a 6" square card base.
• Prima 6"x6" paper pack, Londonerry Collection - three sheets of different designs.
• Doily and heart-edged punched strip were bought last year from an ebay seller.
• The miniature floral postcard is from Green Paper.
• Stamp from Sheena's A Little Bit Sketchy 2, Spring.
• Flowers were from Papermania, Wild Orchid Crafts and The Works.
• The metal flower and gemstones were also from The Works.
• The lace, ribbon, mauve pearlescent card, white card - all from stash.

I really enjoyed making this card and plan to make a few others in the same style some time ... when I have a bit of time but that could be some weeks away. Why? Well, the EM has decided that I have outgrown the craft space and has decreed that I should have a bigger room to craft in ... yippee :)) He's planned a phased move over the next week or two, but I'm certain it's not going to be a seamless transition.

A new set of shelving has been ordered, delivery next Wednesday - WOYWW day could be interesting this week - because I need more storage space ... how can that be when I've been 'using it up' since the start of the year?!?!

I think it must just be because stuff just spreads to fill available space ... a variation on Parkinson's Law - work expands to fill the time available for its completion - stuff accumulates to fill the size of your home  - so is a bigger room a good idea? Will my stuff just keep expanding? Whatever, I'm really looking forward to being in a less cramped space.

Since I started to write this post up it has turned to rain outside - the sun's still shining though ... the April rains have come early ... a bit like my magazine :))

Right, I'm off to plan what to make next ... the possibilities are endless :) Whatever it is, I'll be back tomorrow to share it with you.

Edited Note: Janet (Clarky J) has pointed out to me that this card would fit in with the current The Stamp Man Challenge - Colours of Spring/Easter so I've decided, belatedly, that I should submit it.

Take care all, and enjoy your weekend and keep crafting,