Recent Makes

It might not seem like it if you visit here but various creative efforts have been happening at this little place.    Mostly jewellery, so here are pictures of some of them.

Chainmaille

Box weave all silver plate rings and findings.

Not sure what the weave is called the jump rings are silver plated with fresh water cultured pearls

270 silver plated jump rings spiral or twisted weave

All 925 silver, helm weave and my 2nd charm bracelet, I love charm bracelets

Peanut pearls and Helm weave 925 jump rings

Powertex

Now gracing the garden.

Other

A good chunky necklace Labradorite and Quartz.

A lot more delicate, Ametrine and black Spinel.

Matching Ametrine earrings below.

Labradorite and Pearl

Peacock and Ruby Pearl

Garnet and Pearl.

Most of these were quite fiddly but they all give a lot of pleasure in their making.   The gemstone stash is hardly dented so there are lots more jewellery things to be made.    Keeps me occupied and out of mischief in retirement.

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Always Use Rubber - Any Festival

I've been a bit lost researching my family tree recently, its that time of year when creativity goes a bit flat.   My fascination with history adds interest and background to the family tree research.   Challenges still going on and this time at Always Use Rubber, thinking that Christmas and winter holidays might be a bit late now Jane thought a theme of any Holiday/Festival celebrated by your country or faith.

With my calendar in mind this is my May page, celebrating May Day.   Modern celebration is workers rights and the union movement.  My memories are from when I was about 8 or 9 and we danced around a maypole at school.

Off I went then on a hunt for a maypole image on eBay found this beautiful image from Stamps Happen.   Its a big image that makes a real statement without anything else.   Stamped in blue and coloured with felt pens.    Edges of the card dusted with blue and green DI.   The butterflies flitting around are some of my oldest.   This is making me look forward to May next year and seeing this everyday.

At the end of December the team will select a winner from the Top 3 for this challenge and for the Next 2 challenges.   The prize will be our monthly $15 voucher from the very generous Alleystamp.

Thought I'd share this with The Butterfly Challenge, Mrs A has set a month long challenge which must have fairies, elves, gnomes or pixies.   

Lemon Shortbread - Always Anything Goes and they are always so pretty.

Embarrassing or what!

I forgot and the whole thing was my flipping' idea.   Go Tag Thursday Guest Designer Christmas Trees, well the GD bit is not my idea that was the wonderful, generous Sandra, thank you.

With all the Christmas themes around this time of year it occurred to me that a Christmas Tree is the perfect fit for a Tag so I suggested it.

The first tag is a Dream Weaver stencil with gold embossing paste and Viva gel dots.   Gold coloured pigment ink over the edges and gold ep for the snowflakes and sentiment.

The second tag is a very old rubber stamp used on a blank that had been dusted with Red, Green and Yellow inks.   The same snowflakes stamped around the edge and then various coloured pens filled in some of the elements.

Sharing with

Hand Stamped Sentiments - Picture Inspiration

Simon Says - O Christmas Tree

Always Use Rubber, Things with Wings.

It has been a busy time recently making Christmas presents and other bits and bobs but next years calendar has been a very important project.   It is finished now but as some of the pages are being used as inspiration samples for Always Use Rubber it cannot be shared in all its glory yet.

The December page can be revealed now though as it features Angles, well the challenge is Things with Wings.

Lovely old wood mounted stamps again from my Christmas stamp stash, they do not get a lot of use now but could not think of anything better for this theme.   Stamped and masked the main angels and then the background stamp placed behind them.   Masks still in place Red and Green DI dusted over.   The music flourish and holly added after, and yes the holly edge is deliberate, not sure it worked but it does kind off lift the holly.   Infill colouring with Sakura Sparkle pens.   Very simple, but oh so right for December's calendar page.

At Always Use Rubber we have a monthly prize from our lovely sponsor Alleystamp.   The winner is selected by the team from all our individual challenge top 3's.

Finding the right motivation

That is sometimes the problem.   The desire is there but an actual project to get your teeth into is missing.   So you spend a lot of time stroking your stash waiting for the butterfly that is your brain to settle on just one thing.

























Eventually you fancy is taken by a mask form and you get to work.    As this is a plastic form so stamping and heat embossing is not an option.  Found some Making Cards paper Saved for the watercolour type flowers.  Fussy cut some of these out to stick on with Modge Podge, before sticking the flowers on came across a couple of there things on my table a scrap of printed tissue and a floral wreath that was diecut in gold card some time in the past.   Sorted out the arrangement and glued it all down.   Starlight paint in silver on the edges and dragged in over the dry glue.   Decided this mask needed a bow and some butterflies.   Butterflies stamped in stayzon onto more scraps, this time vellum, and fussy cut.   The bow tied in green ribbon attached with silicone glue dot as were the butterflies.   Self adhesive gems and pearls to add a little bling.

I'm sharing this with
Craft-Dee Bowz - Anything Goes with a Hand And Bow
Eclectic Ellapu - Pink Team Anything Goes with a Bow
Pixie's Crafty Workshop - Anything with snippets

This little house

As has become the norm on a Thursday checked out Go Tag Thursday, if you have not seen this challenge yet go, now!   There is a new theme every week and the only stipulation is to make a tag, what you do with that tag or where you put it is entirely up to you.   I've been playing with different ideas for tags.  This week the theme is House/Home.

Then i went over to Challenges for Days to see what other challenges there are than might inspire me, and found.
Colour Throwdown with a very interesting pallet.

Using DecoArt paints I whipped up something resembling the colours.










Creative Artiste - Anything Mixed Media

So what did I do?   Tando arch and frame, more of the prize I think, Tando people and a heart.   Everything given a good base of white Gesso.   Then play time with DecoArt paints and tints, colours painted on in splashes and dashes, colours mixed and painted over.   A little stamping, every house needs a cat, some pen marks more paint including black and white this time.  Everything glued together.   All good tags need a ribbon I used it here to help secure the arch to the frame and maybe as smoke from where a chimney might be?

Purple and Gold

I like this combination.

I like it so much in fact that I stuck completely to the with just those colours.   The gold paper came with me from Southampton originally it was part of a kit, I just do not make up kits the elements were worth saving.    The stamped and embossed image is from Creative Expressions a wood mounted stamp.   The flourish is grunge board with 3 different types of gold colour applied.   Gold embossing ink, Imagination Crafts Starlight paint and Alchemy Wax topped off with 3 quarts beads.

Now who to share this little creation with?
Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
Perfectly Created Chaos - Heat Embossing
Lawnscaping Challenge - CAS
Pixie's Crafty Workshop - Anything goes must use snippets (Gold Paper)
Less is More - Purple and Gold