Aquatints Card

This card was an experiment.  It was also for my daughter to go with her cake.  I have had Sheena Douglass's Aquatints for a while, and really hadn't played with them in earnest.  So this was a first attempt at using the Pebeo drawing gum (which is a water based masking fluid - and is MAGIC!)

I couldn't find my water colour card - so this was done on ordinary heavyweight white card.  I stamped the flower image and leaves (one of Sheena's sets) and painted on the drawing gum.

I then painted the background using blue mixed with silver and green mixed with gold from the aquatints.  I then rubbed off the masking liquid, and painted the flower and leaves.  on the flower I painted the edge and then dragged the colour into the petals, and blotted it for a bit of faux bleaching.  The leaves got painted with various depths of the green and a bit of the red I used for the flower.   Finally I sprinkled some drops of water over the card and blotted them for some more faux bleaching effect.

Mounted on a matching piece of pink card and a stick on greeting added.

Quite pleased with this for my first attempt, and my daughter got a "real" card for a change instead of one designed in CAP!  

Zentangle Owl Cake

What a bad blogger I have been - I have done a few bits and bobs, albeit I have been quite lax having been suffering from the dreaded cold virus doing the rounds.

Anyway today I am sharing the cake I made for my daughter's birthday today.  (It gets quite difficult chosing a design after making her a cake for 40 years!).  She loves owls, zentangling, maths and turquoise.

I took the outline owl from Peerless Designs Tangletastic cd, and imported it into CAP to resize it to size I wanted to fit the cake.  I then printed it off, and "tangled" it.  As she is Maths teacher, I "tangled" the front feathers with maths symbols.  I coloured the owl and branch etc with promarkers, and then scanned the image again, taking it back into CAP to remove the white parts of the image, and put a turquoise circle behind it (her favourite colour), and then added the wording, using the emboss facility in CAP to make it look like piped icing!  (Very pleased with that result - a definite cheat!).

I emailed the owl to Simply Topps, who happen to be local to us, and then picked up the finished image which was printed on to a sugarpaste topper the next day.  Absolutely excellent service from them.  (They will also help you design your own topper if you don't have the facility of CAP like me).

I made a sponge, and covered it with sugarpaste, added a ribbon and the topper - simple, quick and effective.

Purple Rabbit

My youngest granddaughter is apparently very keen on a programme on tv called Kat and Mim-Mim, and she wanted a Mim-Mim. (Unfortunately the merchandise for this new show is not due on sale until Mid 2015!)

No those that know me know that I don't DO knitting.  I can knit, but am not that good, apart from the fact that things don't grow quickly enough for me!

Anyway I promised to try and knit the purple rabbit requested   I found a pattern on Ravelry for a rabbit, and used that as the idea.   Now Mim Mim (not sure if she is a she or a he) wears flying goggles, as I gather she is a rabbit that can fly from the odd pictures I have seen.

As I didn't want the two-year old to keep whipping off (and losing the goggles) I crochet them, and then sewed them to the head.

Well he/she is not brilliant, and I realise I should have put a bit more stuffing in her head, but hey ho - too late now.   Hopefully my granddaughter will think she is ok  and you never know in many years hence she will become a family heirloom and be known as the funny bunny that great, great, great Nanny knitted back in 2014!    rofl!

Christmas Cakes

Everything seems to have overtaken me this year, so the Christmas Cakes had to be simple.

My youngest granddaughters want Father Christmas and Elves on their cake, so I have duly obliged - one Elf is dressed as Holly Elf and the other as Ivy Elf.

My daughter (big kid at heart) wanted Olaf on her cake!

By the time I had done the modelling on those two cakes, I was feeling a tad tired on Sunday, so I just ended up with a little spray.  I had intended to make more, but really couldn't face it and wanted to get the cakes done.  So I have a very simple spray of Christmas rose, Holly. Ivy and a plant that I forget the name of.

They are all rich fruit cakes, and the red one was Royal iced and the two blue ones had a sugarpaste coating.  All the flowers and figures are sugar.

A Bit Of Bling

Gosh is it really nearly a month since I posted on the blog?   How bad am I.  Where has the time gone, I have been busy - honest.

Anyway, here are a couple of items of jewellery that I created today.

I had a request for a necklace for a Christmas present, so I came up with this design.  I couldn't decide whether to use pearls or crystals - so I used both, with silver snowflake beads!  It does look fab in real life, and I am really pleased with it.  Hope the recipient likes it.

This is another Christmas present, and I kept this simple, and did a variation of one that I had made for myself, which I am always getting compliments on when I wear it.  This has faceted hematite beads on it, with the lovely silver oblongs..   The simple design means you can wear it every day - or for a special occasion.

Both necklaces have magnetic clasps.   I am making everything with magnetic clasps now.  So easy to take on and off, and no having to ask my husband to do up/undo a necklace for me!  There are some really pretty clasps available now too.

Crystal and Mesh Nexcklace

I was tidying up the craft room, and came across the remains of a bag of purchases I made recently at the Big Bead Show, that I hadn't got around to doing anything with.  Needless to say tidying up came to a little halt, whilst I had a play!

It was a very simple kit, and didn't take long to make (even with me dropping a load of the crystals on the floor!)

Thanks for popping by.

LeafyNecklace

Just realised I forgot to share this creation I made last week  I saw the design on Beads with Attitude website, and knew I just wanted to make it.

A couple of Necklaces

My daughter and I went to the Big Bead Show at Sandown last Saturday, and I treated myself to these triangular "beads".  Wanted them since last time we went but they were out of stock.  

decisions, decisions!

I then wanted to make another necklace with these "beads", but couldn't decide on the design .......

 ........  however, I finally decided.  Using some little black beads in my stash.

really pleased with how it turned out - looks fab on!  (Added bonus, still have some of the shapes left, so could still do the plain one or another colourway!)

Birthday Carrds

A very simple card created from photos of flowers/plants in my garden, and then altered to compliment the rose.  Background is an ice plant and the circle a pittosporum plant.

Card for a great nephew.  It started off with something different in the square, relating to his paramedic Uni course, then I realised it was his 21st - so quick re-think!

The sentiment just "jumped into the brain cell when I chose the background paper - it just seemed apt !

and finally a card using summer seaside craftscape cd.  Started with a layout and the messed about with it and added bits.  

New Digikits!

I have been lax and not blogged, although I have been busy being a bit creative, but will get to those bits anon.

However, today I am sharing some bits I have created with my new Serif Craftscapes digikits.   Gosh I love these.  I dithered about buying them for a short while, but am I glad I did give in and buy.  If only I could water colour in real life like these kits

As you can see I have had great fun playing:

Countryside Landscape

Fantasy 

Winter//Christmas

Village scene

Seascape

Autumnal Birthday Card

Autumnal Experiment

The autumnal  experiment used this photo I took at Sheffield Park Gardens a couple of years ago

original photo

Thanks for dropping by.