About Me

My photo
Hi I'm Clare, I live in the South West of England in the seaside town of Torquay. I adore playing with inks, paints and generally getting messy. It is the calm place which fits in between my hectic life whilst working as an outreach support worker, looking after my son, daughter, foster son and hubby. Not forgetting our gorgeous springer spaniel, Suzi.

Sunday 28 September 2014

A winters tale

How can we even contemplate winter with the glorious weather we have had today? I'm here with my Bee Crafty weekly spot and this week I have made a christmas card using some of their fabulous Yuletide collection. Of course there are quite a few new additions to this collection so pop on over to the online shop for a peep.

 

For this card I have used:
I stamped the christmas tree using clear embossing ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. After that I brushed on my background using shaded lilac and chipped sapphire. The sentiment was stamped with blue ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. I decided to add some stitching detail to the edges of the card using my white pen. Finally I added some snow flakes using liquid pearls and a smattering of glitter. I somehow think that snow is a long way off.
 
 
Thank you for taking the time to look at my post. I love to hear your comments.
Happy crafting,
Clare x x x x
 
 
 

 

Friday 26 September 2014

Oak House Studios 'Autumn Challenge'

Happy weekend folks I'm back with some more of my autumnal creations for Oak House Studios. I suppose in a way it doesn't quite feel like autumn yet but don't let the weather stop you from joining in the challenge to be in with the chance of a prize. You just need to use one of their lovely stamps or delicious inks to take part.

 

 
 

For this card I used:

Flowers and circles stamp set

All you need is love stamp

Chocolate ink

Pumpkin ink

Sienna ink pad

Pearly bronze embossing powder

 
 

For this card I used:

Circles and flowers stamp

Spread your wings butterfly

Sienna & wine ink pad

Citrus yellow ink, pumpkin ink

Angelina fibres from stash

 

So get your crafty goodies out for a play you never know you might end up with some new stash to play with.

 

Happy crafting folks,

 

Crafty hugs,

Clare x x x x

 

Saturday 20 September 2014

Dotty

Hi folks, yes dotty by name and dotty by nature! This is weekly my blog post for Bee Crafty. If you have not been fortunate enough to drop by at their stand at Ally Pally this weekend then head over to their online shop by clicking on the above link. This week sees the release of Bee Crafty's new Yuletide collection so if you are being exceedingly organised you will be able to get cracking with your christmas creations.

 

My post this week is not Christmassy at all although I think the same technique could be adapted to give a christmas bauble effect.

For this card I have used:

I made my own mask for this using a piece of chipboard and cutting out a small circle. I then sponged on my dots using spun sugar, seedless preserves and bundled sage distress inks. With the image stamped three times in three different inks I added liquid pearls, a smidge of glitter and garnished with a sentiment and ribbon.

 

If you are at Ally Pally don't forget to stop by at the Bee Crafty stand and give Bev and her team a hello. There are so many fabulous stamp images and sentiments. I bet you can't walk away without a handful!

Happy crafting!

 

Crafty hugs,

Clare x x x

 

Monday 15 September 2014

Great news...........

Hi folks, it's Clare here and I'm back at Oak House Studios. I was absolutely thrilled when Lynnda contacted me and asked if I would do another three months for the design team.

 

So last week saw Oak House Studios launch the new monthly challenge of the Autumn Colours Challenge. I love the autumn when leaves start to change and we are surrounded by those lovely earthy, golden colours. Luckily enough for us we are fortunate to have access to the fabulous inks and ink pads that Oak House Studios make along with the fabulous stamps which enable us to create our own works of art!

My first piece was stamped onto canvas board.

For the above card I sprayed my background with pumpkin and chocolate ink in a bottle and then stamped the large Double Daisy outline I and heat embossed with gold detail powder . I then stamped the infill daisy once with the wine ink pad and again with the sienna. I then created a border with the outline stamp using the afore mentioned ink pads.

 

Well there's a little bit of inspiration from me. I look forward to seeing what everyone sends in for the challenge. Don't forget you could be in with a chance of £40 to spend online with Oak House Studios.

I will be back soon with some more autumn colours for you.

Hugs and good luck!

Clare x x x x

 

 

 

 

Sunday 14 September 2014

Moonlit Nights

Has it really been a week since my last blog? I'm back with my weekly Bee Crafty spot and I'm also back to work which has put a huge dent in my crafty time, boo hoo! On the other hand my crafty fellows I still have something to share with you this week.

For this card I have used:


I started off by inking my card background and then heat embossed with black ep the poppy heads stamp.
I wanted to make this a CAS card so I added a simple embossing to my white background before stamping on the sentiment and adding some pearly dots.


Hopefully this week my body will adjust to the shock of being back to work and I will be able to venture into my craft room and have a play.

Crafty hugs,
Clare x x x x

Monday 8 September 2014

Creative blog hop

Hello blog land, I'm back today with a creative blog hop. I was nominated by the lovely Zoe Russell, you can visit her fabulous blog by tapping the link on her name.
It is a continuous hop which happens every Monday and this week it's my turn. Here are some questions that I have been asked.
What am I working on?

Currently I have been raiding my hubby's garage for off cuts of wood. I have been experimenting with working on different types of materials and using acrylic paints to create my backgrounds.


How does my work differ from others in my genre?
I am not sure that my work differs as such. I love stamping I also love painting and more recently I have enjoyed both of these techniques together on canvases. I love to use bright bold colours.
Why do I create what I do?
I really enjoy changing how something looks. Starting off with a white piece of card, canvas or blank piece of wood and turning it into something eye catching gives me an enormous sense of pleasure.
How does my creative process work?

It usually depends on what I'm doing. Quite often I will sketch in my pad ideas for what I might want to make. It might be a colour that strikes and inspires me to use it. I love looking at different colours and seeing how they work together and not always choosing obvious colours that match. I love using stencils too so sometimes just spraying card and inking inspires me as to what stamps I might choose.

I would like to nominate Barbara Daines who is largely the reason why I first ventured into crafting. She also encouraged me to set up my own blog and share my crafty makes. Barbara has an amazing blog and is a on a number of design teams, there is always something beautiful to admire. http://glitterarti1.blogspot.co.uk is inspirational and you can visit it by clicking here.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, I can't wait to see who might be blogging next.

Happy crafting,

Clare x x x x


Sunday 7 September 2014

Hope in Green!

Hi folks it's Clare here, back with a little piece of Bee Crafty inspiration for you. I've a little bit of Banksy again for you. I never tire of finding ways to use these fabby stamps, be it different colour ways or mediums.
For this card I have used:
Rather then stamp in black I wanted to stamp in contrasting colours and chose my greeny shades of distress inks, the main image blue and the foliage in grey.
I coordinated my matting and layering to match the inks that I stamped with.

I hope that you are all having a super weekend. I know I'll be making the most of my weekend as it's back to work for me on Monday no more mid morning craftiness for me but I'm sure I will find some time (and energy) to get crafty in the evening.

Crafty hugs,
Clare x x x x