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Monday 11 December 2023

Foam Flowers

 It's a long time since I posted anything here: things have been busy, and most of my crafting seems aimed at the u3a craft group I belong to. But here are a couple of independent projects I've completed using flower foam.

My most recent flower project: I bought a metal wreath base from Hobbycraft, covered it in ribbon and then added a variety of flowers and leaves. The greenery was made using Susan Tierney-Cockburn dies and flower foam from a variety of manufacturers. I've used florist's wire and tape, and had to use rather different means of assembling the various flowers compared to paper, but it was an interesting experience, as was relying on hot glue! I've used Sharpies to get extra colour on the flowers and styrofoam balls (from The Works) coloured red to add to the holly..


Very similar to the wreath in most respects, although the roses use a Sizzix Bigz die for the blooms. The 'vase' is made using a Tonic die set I've had just about forever!


And finally, a trial for something I might attempt next year. My mum's favourite flowers were freesia. Susan Tierney-Cockburn's die dies a good job of recreating the shape, and I love that they're so multi-coloured in real life. I don't get the chance to visit the cemetery where my parents are buried very often, so can't really put fresh flowers there, but I'm going to try to put something together to take up for my next visit, and at least, they should last a little while. (The site is on a hillside overlooking the Clyde and a little windswept so a little while is all I can hope for!)


Friday 10 November 2023

Flowers and Scrabble Letters

 My son and his partner recently moved into a new house. It's been a longish haul for them. Their first sale/flat they wanted fell through, mainly due to intransigence of both the other parties. Their buyer wanted to move quickly or he would pull out. The owner of the property they wanted insisted they had to go away for a month, and when they got back, they'd start looking for a rental property and only then would they be ready to complete on the sale. And all this was after nine months of wrangling when the legalities were all complete. So, it all fell apart and they waited for a couple of years before trying again. This time, they went for a new-build house, and they finally moved!

To mark the occasion, I made a framed picture. I don't expect it to be displayed forever - and I fully expect they'll repurpose the frame, but it's only intended to be short term.


The frame is from Hobbycraft. I used stencils and a variety of inks for the background, with some stamped, heat embossed butterflies too.

The 'Scrabble' letters were made using Tonic dies. The flowers are Susan Tierney-Cockburn designed dies from several manufacturers. The dark green foliage was cut using dies from The Works. The butterfly is layered and cut using Spellbinders dies.

This is the first time I've used the Rhododendron die set. I'm a little disappointed, as, although it looks fine, I don't think it's particularly realistic, which is unusual for Susan's designs. Although that may be because the instructions for making this flower are no longer available, so I had to use techniques from other flowers and hope for the best.

I do quite like the addition of orangey 'greenery'. I think it just adds something to the overall effect and helps with balance especially with a greeny-blue background.

Monday 1 May 2023

Inky Blending and Masking

 Last year, we did a session on inky blending, and the group wanted to do a similar session this term. We used Distress Inks for backgrounds, stencils for texture, stamps stamped with Versafine Clair ink for focal points. Stencils are from Clarity, Creative Expressions, Crafter's Companion, and Lavinia and stamps from Lavinia, Inkylicious, Woodware, and Spellbinders.

Dominique

Dominique

Nadi

Nadi

Nadi

Nadi

Tricia

Tricia

Tricia

Tricia

Tricia

Our next session will be led by Adrienne and we're going to start some decoupage projects. I hope I can post the results in a few weeks.























Wednesday 22 March 2023

Cards

 I've made a few cards this week, all for reasons you'd prefer not to have for making cards.

First, a card I made for a friend who's due to go into hospital for surgery:

I used a Sizzix die set for the owl, and an Elizabeth Craft set for the oval. The papers are from a magazine. I cut an aperture out of the paper-covered front of the card and placed the mounted owl into the space.

And the inside of the card. Paper is the reverse of the piece I used on the front of the card. Excuse my fingers in the top photo. I couldn't get it to lie flat enough!

And then, a couple of sympathy cards.



In both cards, the focal image is from Lavinia and the sentiment is Woodware. I've also used a couple of Aall and Create stencils, and in the top card, also a Woodware background text stamp. I masked the sentiment panel with removeable tape before adding Distress Ink. The top image was stamped in Versamark and embossed with clear powder. The lower card has the image stamped in Versafine Clair, as were the sentiments in both cards.






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