CC3C Technique No. 21

Well it looks like my papercrafting mojo is well and truly back as not only did I make a piece for Tim's January challenge yesterday but today I have done a piece for CC3C!  This is the first time I have taken part with CC3C that is how long I have not been playing with papers as they are on the 21st one!

The challenge is based on pg55 of the third volume of Compendium of Curiosities which is Rock Candy Distress Glitter.

Here is my take:

True to my task of trying to start using old/unused stash the decorative strip bird die has had its first outing on this tag despite being bought last September and also the rock candy glitter has only just been opened and I have had that for even longer!!

The tag uses the artful birds stamp set with the birdcage following the technique on pg 55.  The tag was inked with Victorian Velvet and Dusty Concord with all stamps inked up with Walnut Stain.  The bird is handcut out and also inked over with Victorian Velvet and then given a covering of glossy accents for a nice finish.

The pink flowers are Tims tattered floral die done up in 3d - if you want to see how to make them I have a YouTube video showing you how on my sidebar - the book page flowers are from a sizzix die that I won last year.  The garden greens are coloured with Peeled Paint ink, stamped with a script stamp and then have a light dusting of heirloom gold perfect pearls so they are a bit sparkly too.

If you would like to join in with the challenge the details are here over on the awesome Linda Ledbetters website.  You could not only win a fabulous prize from Tim and Mario but you get entered into a random draw for a fabulous $50 prize from The Inspiration Emporium.  How exciting is that!

Have had a lovely morning making this - might just go and do another one now.....

Thanks for looking - Feeling crafty from a slight snowy Solihull

*Tim Holtz Sizzix Alterations Birds in Flight Decorative Strip Die	Artful Flight Stamp Set	Rock Candy Glitter	TH Distress Ink Vintage Photo	victorian velvet distress ink
TH Distress Ink Spun Sugar	TH Distress Ink Dusty Concord	Sizzix 3D Flower Bigz Die	Sizzix Tattered Florals Die	Ranger Inkssentials Surfaces Tags - #8Tags - Manila
Ranger Glossy Accents	Tim Holtz - A COMPENDIUM OF CURIOSITIES III	Kaiser Craft - Script Stamp	Ranger Sticky Embossing Powder	Black Pearls-Want 2 Scrap self-adhesive
Tim Holtz Alterations - Bigz Garden Greens	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Peeled Paint	Ranger Perfect Pearls Pigment Powder - Heirloom Gold

January 2015 Tag

If you are visiting here for the Grow Your Blog Hop my post is here.

Well what a lovely morning I have had here in overcast Solihull.  When I first saw Tim's January tag back on the 1st January I knew exactly what I wanted to do but all month I couldn't find the inspiration to get going to actually put paint etc. to paper - however this morning I got up and found the energy! whoo hoo - so here it is:

Rather than using random words I decided to make mine into a bit of a Things To Complete list for 2015 - I say a bit because my Things To Do list is always extensive however I do have a pile of half done/not quite started projects that I would like to get done so I have set this whole year as the deadline.  Sounds a long time but if you see I have put on there "Date Quilts" this has been on my To Do list since my very first quilt which I made back in 2004!

So my aim this year is to complete:
A beautiful Moda Rocket Age quilt for my son - front and back are done it just needs sandwiching together with batting (already got) and quilting - started in October 2014
A cute Christmas Quilt - at exactly the same stage as the quilt above - started in October 2012
Date Quilts - all 13 of them! This will consist of either handsewing labels or using a fabric pen, either way should only take a couple of hours when I get going - all dates of completion are written down in a book!
Crochet Bat - an adorable bat pattern that I bought from the Toft Alpaca shop - don't know why the bat caught my eye or what I am going to do with it when it is done - started October 2014
Rabbit Clothes - I made a lovely rabbit a few months ago and have a kit consisting of a shirt, jeans and waistcoat for him - not yet started
Mushroom Mat - much to the amusement of my family I have a bit of a mushroom feature going on in my lounge so I want to make a mat (bit like a small quilt) to stand them on - not yet designed/started
Willow Basket - last August I bought a kit to make a small willow basket from Willow and Wetlands in Somerset - lovely place, well worth a visit if you are in that part of the world - not yet started
Use Old Stash - goes without saying really

So that's a little target for me to get on with amongst other things this year!

To make the panel I followed the instructions over on Tim's blog here.  I have tried to list all of the items used on the thumblinky thing.  I also used some Prima Shabby Chic mushrooms and a die cut Rocket from the Outer Space sizzix decorative strip (both unused stash - whoo hoo).  The rocket was coloured in with various distress markers and inked with Walnut Stain ink. The mushrooms got a light covering of Walnut Stain paint. The word "Twenty" is cut out from Tim's Santa's Workshop decorative strip die - it's black card covered with Brushed Pewter paint.  The 15 is black card covered in Blue glitter - I tried gold letters and numbers but they didn't look right and then I discovered that I don't have any silver glitter so went with the blue instead.

That's it for now - if you would like to pop back on 11th February I am hosting an Eclectic Elements blog hop and I would love it if you would take time to come and visit me and the other participants - am so very excited about it all and already have two projects done for it.

Thanks for looking - wanting more snow from Solihull

Tim Holtz Tattered Banners Sizzix Die	Sizzix Alterations Decorative Strip Tim Holtz Vintage Lace Die	Sizzix Alterations Decorative Strip Tim Holtz Halloween Shadows	Sizzix Alterations Tim Holtz Word Play Die	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Tissue Wrap In Composer
Tim Holtz 2pk- Mini Reindeer & 25 Set Sizzix Alterations Movers and Shapers Dies	Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink	Ranger Inkssentials MINI GLOSSY ACCENTS	Inkssentials Glue N′ Seal - Gloss	Dylusions Ink Spray in Vibrant Turquoise
Weathered Wood Distress Paint	Tim Holtz Brushed Pewter Distress Paint	Tim Holtz Distress Paint In Broken China	Tim Holtz Distress Paint In Salty Ocean	Antiqued Bronze Distress Paint
Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Walnut Stain	Distress Paint in Walnut Stain	TH Distress Ink Vintage Photo	Tim Holtz Distress Gathered Twigs Marker	Tim Holtz Idea-ology MINI GEARS Sprockets
Metal Game Spinners - Idea-ology	Tim Holtz - Idea-ology -Decorative Pen Nibs

Grow Your Blog

This year I am taking part in "Grow Your Blog" - I took quite a long time out of blogging last year so I feel that this is a good way to get back in the swing so to speak.  The blog hop is being organised by Vicki.

My name is Nicola and I live in Solihull, England.  I have been crafting and blogging for years sometimes in fits and starts, sometimes every day depending upon what is going on at home and how creative I am feeling.

I love most types of crafts, at present I am into hand sewing - for some strange reason hexagons are my latest passion and I am often sitting on the settee at night sewing up little hexagons for some project or another.  If I am not hand sewing in front of the tv I am knitting and my current passion for that is socks.

This is my favourite hexagon project so far:

it was done for a blog hop that I took part in August 2013.

My two main passions that I always return to though are papercrafting, for which I make items such as:

both of these are classes that I taught last year at my local Hobbycraft store.

I also love to sew and I hand/machine sew anything from quilts to bags to pin cushions to placemats, basically whatever I fancy making at the time!  Mostly I design all my own stuff but sometimes I do buy kits for the simplicity of sewing without too much thinking!  I love to take part in blog hops as I find this a great way to gain lots of inspiration and also showcase my own work.

This is one of my favourite quilts that I made last year, its big enough to fit on a double bed:

I can't blog any projects that I am currently working on as I am hosting an Eclectic Elements (that's the fabric used in the cog quilt above) blog hop in a couple of weeks time and I can't showcase my items early!

I have had various items published in scrapbooking, stamping and sewing magazines over the years and am lucky enough to have had everything that I have put forward to any publication published. An achievement I am very proud of!

I have recently started to make some YouTube videos, three of which are on my sidebar - in them I show you how to create an inked tag, take it a step further with stamping and also how to make 3d flowers.  I will be making some more videos in the near future too.

Here's a picture of me:

this was taken back in September 2012 and the reason I have a big cheesy grin on my face is because I am actually holding an olympic torch at my son's school! saying that I do usually have a cheesy grin on my face anyway!

Anyway that's enough about me for the moment, I am trying to keep this fairly short and sweet as I know we are all going to be reading a lot of blogs in the next few days!

Thanks for looking - patiently waiting for snow from Solihull

WOYWW 293

Happy New Year everyone!  Thought I would join in as I am inbetween projects - this is my desk as of 6am this morning (left this way from yesterday) and there are no prizes for guessing what I have been up to!

I am organising an Eclectic Elements blog hop next month (details on post below if you fancy joining in but you will have to be quick as its only three weeks away) so I have done a project for that which I finished yesterday and then today I am going to put all this away (well the sewing machine and pin cushion basket at least) and hopefully get inky and messy - something I haven't really been in the mood to do for a while but I am starting to get the itch again now - all very exciting!  Although knowing me I will just get on with knitting my next pair of socks which have been my latest addiction for a while now.

If  you want to know why I am showing my messy desk to the world the pop over to Julia's and see lots of others too and even join in if you fancy.  There is something quite nice about revealing the state of the desk to the world and realising that so many others out there live in the same chaos too!

Thanks for looking - one project sewn up and two to go from Solihull