the stampman challenges you to...

make something Christmassy

with just

three colours

I'm in my colour comfort zone at the minute of blues and greens, and added a versamark 'vanilla' to my colour choice.  That last colour (neutral technically but hey!!) was a bit serendipitous, it was the easiest pad to get to and I just love how effective it is on the white card :)

I just LoVe that 'Fabulous Flourish' by Hero Arts, it's so, so versatile, and an exquisite image! 

I cut out my star using my friend's Sizzix die, but a punch or similar die would work just as well.  I distress inked it, and layered it over my moonglow paper made HERE.  Making batches of paper with Starburst Stains keeps the messy task separate from the card making and makes for a very clean card making process :)  There is a smidgeon of sequin waste (punchenella) sewn behind the star, along with a snippet of organza ribbon.

We're on Challenge #11 this week over at The StampMan.  Head over to the challenge site for some gorgeous inspiration from the design team, which includes

Michelle

Debbie

Jill

Frankie

Janet

Brenda

Lisa

Sue

Kay

Vix

then link up your own project so we can come and take a look at your work!!!  Have fun :)

PDCC58 Christmas is coming

I love the Play Date Cafe challenges, because they vary between really challenging, ie unusual colours to work with so take a bit of thinking about, to less challenging where the challenge may be with more familiar colours so you can add your own personal challenge to it eg trying something new, or just getting something done in an already busy week.  This week Julie has chosen us some lovely Christmassy colours to work with:

Although you are right Paul, it is really only one colour plus a neutral ;)

For me, getting something done was the challenge recently, as I've been busy recovering from accidents and incidents, preparing and helping at Christmas fairs,  and travelling between Manchester and Birmingham to train teachers in teaching maths using a structured apparatus called Numicon.  

For me, free machining a pattern on a felt heart wasn't a creative challenge as such, but I think trying to use just red and white on a journal page would have been.  I'd love to know what makes a challenge a challenge for you - let me know ;)  

We have a smaller design team this week whilst we wait for our new members to be chosen, but their work is great so head on over to take a look and be inspired

Andrea Ewen
Savannah O'Gwynn
Ruby 2 Shoes

Julie Ranae - senior designer

And don't forget to head on over to the Play Date Cafe to see what's happening there this week :)  Take care if you're struggling in the snow, it's hit the UK hard this week.  But look who I found in the Manchester Christmas markets this afternoon...

Now he MuST be the real Father Christmas!  I think he's hiding so he can get a bit of a rest in before the big night!!

a parliament of owls

John Lewis' Christmas department is full of owls :)

It took lots of willpower not to put any in my shopping basket!

These were wobbly, metal owls about ten inches tall.  Walking around the corner I discovered a collection of owls for the Christmas tree...

...the knitted variety (of which a couple did make it into my basket I have to say!!!)...

...and some jolly metal ones, which I have my eye on!!!

There were more cushions in the soft furnishing department.  Some for Christmas...

...but some for every day.  This one I just LoVe :) -

And I don't think I'm the only one!  He was sitting there all alone!

And these are my latest owls :)  I made them for the advent fair at church, and as birthday gifts for my many friends and family with birthdays at this time of year!!!

I'm really pleased with them, and have more felt and fabric to get some more made to sell before Christmas.

PDCC57 a load of old pegs

Actually the ones I used are new but old sounded better in the post title!

I've been busy making things for our church Advent fair on Saturday, which meant a hunt for crafts that look good but are quick to make.  I'd already chosen this week's photo inspiration a while back, but when I came across the idea of decorating clothes pegs and putting a magnet on the back to turn them into magnetic clips for your fridge I just knew I had to do it for this week's play date cafe challenge!

I just love the shades of browny-grey that pegs go when they are weathered.  This week we are sponsored by a UK company, Stamp Attack, who very kindly supplied the DT with their choice of stamps.  I chose an Alice in Wonderland set.

I printed an early, handwritten copy of part of the Alice story from the internet, coloured it with coffee and glued it to the front of the peg.  I love the contrast of the brown and the grey/black of the old style illustrations.

Sadly we are saying goodbye to two of our super talented design team members this week.  

Suzanne Czosek

Lisa Somerville

We'll truly miss them but wish them all the best in what they do next, but will obviously be staying in touch as they do such gorgeous work (and Lisa is our technical wonder who is always able to help us out in the land of computer wizardry :)  )  The other guys have decided to stay on another long while, and Julie and I are busy oohing and ahhing over our DT entrants for the next team.

Andrea Ewen
Savannah O'Gwynn
Ruby 2 Shoes

Please check out the DT's wonderful work, and head over to the Play Date Cafe to see the results of Player Appreciation week - everyone seemed to enjoy this week's colours :)

Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving all my US friends!!!

i just LoVe owls!

... so for a bit of relaxation this weekend I got out my felting tools and made myself a phone case.  The idea came from Etsy but I designed the owl to fit my own quirky sense of fun :)

I just love the distressed look you get when felting sheer fabrics so used my hand felting tool to embellish a circle for each eye, the wings and the body.  I then hand sewed the eyes and beak together, something I find very relaxing, before sewing the pouch together with the sketchy machine sewing I so enjoy.  

I don't 'do' neat, specific sewing on my machine as the slightest wrong stitch would really bug me, but I love the look of sketchy, mad stitching and enjoy doing it too.

Now to design some little keyring owls for the Advent Fair at church on Saturday...watch this space :)

PDCC56 Player Appreciation week at the Play Date Cafe

Blogging keeps me in touch with creative friends I've made on workshops, at shows, and through other friends.  And through the Play Date Cafe I've met more people who, although I've never met them in person, have become friends.  Many sent me kind messages of love after my accident this week so this week's play date cafe theme couldn't be any more apt!  Thank you so much everyone; when something awful happens it's people who care that make you feel better - and you've done just that! [update:  I slept all day and all last night, still feeling wobbly inside but am ok, I feel best when I'm with other people, so it's great that it's the weekend!]

For both Julie and I the cafe has been so much more than a colour challenge, it's a place where people meet like-minded people, who care for each other and appreciate and are inspired by each others creative pursuits.  So this week we are celebrating our regular players with some great prizes, from three fabulous sponsors, and as their design teams are also playing along there's tonnes of inspiration over in the cafe this week :)

EAD designs sent each of our design team some vinyl stickers to work with this week.  I LoVe stickers, always have and probably always will, so really enjoyed making my decorative hanging heart.  I had it made before the accident, just didn't manage to get it posted on time, for obvious reasons!

With Tim's tags coming up soon I decided to make a start on some heart shaped ones, made from recycled materials, to hang on a tree or in a window.  I used corrugated card with the top layer torn away, painted it with Red Pepper acrylic dabber then highlighted areas with Pool dabber.

I added snowflake stickers and words to the heart, along with some bling to catch the light, then put the tree stickers onto card before cutting them out and pop-dotting them onto the heart.  

I added a similar design to the back of the heart, and used a torn strip of co-ordinating cotton fabric for the 'ribbon'.  This week's colours are great for Christmas, but you don't need to stick to that theme, as long as our colours are the main feature of your piece you can use any theme, and make aNYTHiNG!!!  Our regular design team have some fab ideas for you

senior designer Julie Ranae

Suzanne Czosek

Andrea Ewen
Savannah O'Gwynn
Lisa Somerville
Ruby 2 Shoes

And don't forget to stop by the cafe for inspiration from our sponsors, and to link in your project.  Have fun!

a miraculous escape

Last night,  I was driving home from Birmingham in the wet and the wind down the M6.  As I was travelling up the fast lane, a car slightly ahead of me in the middle lane went as if to pull out.  I swerved and lost control of the car.  It was like driving on ice, although I'm assuming it was the wet road.  I wasn't the only accident last night!  The car wobbled from left to right for a while before coming to a stop facing the wrong way in the central reservation.  Fortunately the angle I stopped at was 'twenty five past' on a clock, with my front wheels on the grass in the middle of the road.  I noticed today that the motorway near us doesn't have grass in the central reservation.   I'd been stopped for a few seconds when something large went past and hit the back end of the car.  As I was phoning the emergency services another vehicle hit me and I remember screaming down the phone, and when the man it was ok, and to calm down I just replied 'I'm in the middle of the motorway and they keep hitting me!'  It took twenty minutes for the emergency services to come out, which I spent standing in the rain, on my own, in the central reservation, very scared.  I just daren't imagine what would have happened if the car had come to rest facing directly down the motorway in the wrong direction, or if I hadn't been driving a Volvo!  I am truly grateful to be alive, and thankful to the lovely, lovely ambulance and fire crew, and the Highways Agency man, who all looked after me.  I'm shocked and achy but alive, and thankful to all my friends who have been concerned about me.

I was booked on a workshop at Paddy's today with Sylvia, a fabulous textile artist.  So I spent the day surrounded by friends, doing something I enjoy, which has really taken my mind off things.

My apologies for cancelling my workshops at Wendy's this weekend, my body just needs rest to recover from the horrific shock.  My play date piece just needs photographing so I will get that out there as soon as I can.