Aunt Sally

We have been asked to make a scarecrow for a very special fete, and then found out it was not just any scarecrow (which was daunting enough) - it had to be Aunt Sally! Someone else is making Worzel Gummidge and they are in pairs!

The event is the 40th anniversary of the Canon's House Fete, Canon's House is a respite home for young people to have short stays, and it is in Devizes. So on our recent holiday in Devon we visited Exeter and spent a few hours going round charity shops looking for something she could wear - and Shaun spotted these polystryrene heads that were £1 each in a fancy dress shop - bargain. A couple of coats of white paint then I could paint her features. Hmmmmm....

I managed to slightly improve her eyes, and I made her a wig of yarn, the bonnet was from a charity shop, and I added some ribbons from my stash.

I think the head worked out better than the body! Dress and blouse from the charity shop, again ribbons from stash. Tights for arms from Mother in Law and black tights were mine. The problem is that stuffed they ended up a wee bit long.... so tied the arms up in a knot and wrapped them round the broom handle up her back that the head is on...The ribbons round her wrists are keeping the sleeves in place or her arms get longer and longer....her legs are a bit on the long side!

Side view. The flowery dress was the best one we could find, but no sleeves meant we needed a blouse too. Inside is a pillow inside a pillow case, unfortunately I can see the stripes on the pillow! I added some blooms to her hat.

Here she is after some minor surgery, arms a bit long now!

Believe it or not - Aunt Sally entered a challenge!

Charisma Cards - Anything but a card (Thurs)

Quirky masks and stencils - how do you wrap a hug?

It is Quirky challenge time again, and Gemma set the challenge although she hasn't recovered enough to join in yet. The challenge is stencils or masks, use stencils or masks or feature masks - a masked character or a mask.

I used Emily with Huggle from Limited Runs on my card. This was my third attempt, the first one I tried with spray through the stencil and masking the image with masking fluid - I am too heavy handed with sprays it seems (or was I spraying too close?), and the whole thing was saturated, then the masking fluid when peeled off took the image off too!

Second attempt - I didn't clean the die off and it messed up the panel.

So this is what I did, printed the image then die cut it and embossed it for a deep edge. I taped the die cut and die to my glass cutting board, and then cut out a mask (from attempt 2) applied repositionable glue to the back and when dry I stuck it over the image. Then I used a Memory Box stencil and my new little hand held "air brush" with a couple of different colours of Promarkers. Finally I removed the mask and coloured the image with Promarkers. Then I removed the die which also acted as a stencil to keep the edges white. 

I cut a card blank in teal, rounded the corners, then added a purple layer, some pink LOTV paper and some orange polka dot ribbon. Then I added the die cut, a bow and some tiny buttons.

I stamped the greeting with a Penny Black stamp using Marvy Wet Looks pens and clear embossing powder.

So how do you wrap a hug?

I didn't manage to make a second example today, due to a wedding, but I should have one for you later.

Anyway we have three great sponsors (Limited Runs, Paper Pretties and Robyn's Fetish) for this challenge at Quirky Crafts so hop on over to see the exampled and join in!

This card is cosying into the following challenges:

Crafty Ribbon - lets go spotty with ribbon (Thurs)

Art by Miran - Anything goes 8 (Jul 4th)

Creative Fingers - anything goes (Fri 4th)

Pile it on - Kawaii Cute (Sat)

Stamping for the weekend - anything goes (last ever challenge 5th July)

Crafting at the Weekend - anything goes (month of June)

Ditzie Digi Designs - anything goes 6 (Sun 29th June)

Bunny Zoe's - Layers (July 14th)

Die cut Diva's - colour challenge (June)

Quirky Crafts challenge change - come and enter now!

I just want to tell you that due to lack of entries we have simplified the challenge at Quirky Crafts. All you need to do now is have a fairy and one item from the fairy ring, and you have until Midday UK time on Saturday to enter and win some great digi images, and to get 10% off at Crackerbox Palace just for entering!

I must have known - my last example only had one thing from the fairy ring, I was about to go on holiday and posted it very late the day before, totally forgot to add everything! I also gave that card to my Dad for Father's Day!

What are you waiting for?  Get on over to Quirky Crafts now!

A Quirky fairy reminder

All you need to join in the challenge and win some digis is a Fairy or two, and one or more three items from Doris's fairy ring above. I used Fairy Constance (from our lovely sponsor - Crackerbox Palace) coloured with Promarkers, and from the fairy ring I picked Stars (also from Crackerbox Palace), a sentiment (by Cherry Pie Art Stamps) and sparkles, my sparkles are Flitter Flakes on the stars (first time I have used them and I need more practice), and the holographic silver layer behind the starry card. 

You can get a 10% discount at Crackerbox Palace just by entering our challenge! So what are you waiting for? We need some fairy fab makes now!

This card had twinkled into the following challenges:

Creative Fingers Challenge blog - anything goes (Fri)

Come and Get It - Fairy Fantasy (Sun)

Open Minded Crafting Fun - things with wings (28th June)

Charisma Cards - sparkle and shine (Thurs) 

My Time To Craft - DL it (27th June)

Fussy and Fancy - things with wings (monthly challenge winners 4th July)

A very Quirky Fairy world.

Doris set us a challenge at Quirky Crafts, and it is a recipe challenge. In fact here is a fairy ring and you must choose 3 things at least, and feature a fairy or fairies!

Our lovely sponsor is Crackerbox Palace, they provided us with the images to use for this challenge. I decided to make a little scene with Sleeping Fairy Dreama, Clouds,  and Happy Sun, and I coloured this with Promarkers and a Flexmarker (I only have one of those). To get my sparkles I added Stickles glue to the fairy wings, hair and the clouds and gold eyeliner to the sun's eyes. The spots on the fairy's dress are enhanced with Liquid Pearls in Key Lime.

I die cut the scene with Spellbinders (labels 22 I think) grand nestabilities, and then cut a mat in sparkling purple card, and one in check paper. I matted this onto a square of green fabric effect paper, all paper is LOTV and came free with a magazine along with the Happy Birthday sentiment, which I stamped in purple Versacolor then heat embossed with Ranger Antiquities Frosted Crystal embossing powder. Again I die cut them with Spellbinders circles and a mat with scalloped circles. The other sentiment is by Digi Stamp Boutique and went so perfectly with my scene! 

Before attaching the sentiments I added the polka dot ribbon, from Crafty Ribbons who are having a sale right now, and found some wishing well charms and added one (it is in the centre of the ribbon), didn't even know I had them! The whole thing was then attached to an 8" x 8" card which was big enough for the scene.

So I have a fairy and more than three items, sun, clouds, sparkles and sentiment (x2)

Inside the card, more of the LOTV paper in blue this time, with a strip of the check.

As well as being able to win digital images from our sponsor, anyone who enters can have 10% off, and any stamp can be ordered as a digital image for just $3 each, then you get the 10% off!

My fairy has zzzzzz her way into the following challenges:

Papertake Weekly - anything goes, optional Summer (Tues)

Passion for Promarkers - mythical creatures (Tues)

I love Promarkers - Digi does it (Wed)

Fussy and Fancy - outdoors (ends 12th June)

Glitter and Sparkle - use a digi (Sun)

Pile it on - use patterned paper and enter loads of challenges (so funny) (Sun)

Stamping for the weekend - anything goes (Fri 20th)

Art by Miran - anything goes (winners 20th June)

Open Minded Crafting Fun - things with wings (28th June)

 The Divas that cut paper - colour challenge (June)

Bunny Zoe's - layers (June)

Groundhog day?

It feels like it, here is the challenge book again (see previous post), this time with all its ribbons and with a couple of wings and a crown added to the front cover, I think the front cover is finished! I inked over the gold clock hands, and the cogs and wings, might take it off the wings and do something else.

I used the Time background to make the covers, and the Clocks full page background (both from The Cutting Cafe) to make the pages, which I creased to make pockets and lined with either clocks on purple or green card. 

I made some slips which are currently supposed to be one per challenge, you write the date it ends, the blog, and the details. When you complete the challenge you move it to the "DONE" pocket, when winners have been picked it can be recycled, or kept if won maybe in the spare pocket at the back.

I have collected a load of links to challenge blogs in my sidebar, I found a whole bunch of new ones yesterday too. I spent ages looking down the list to see if there is a new challenge, trying to remember if I entered the last one, or if there was a challenge I wanted to enter, then visiting them. When they post additional posts between challenges I lose the challenge, especially monthly challenges! So I thought this way I could keep track of challenges I hope to enter, and enter them in time, not have to hunt around for a blog that was doing ribbons and lace only to find I missed it, or couldn't find it again!

I am already thinking that maybe I should have created a page a day, and that would make the whole thing easier, and maybe not have a slip for every challenge but one for a blog, that can be put back with the new challenge so used again until full - I might have to try that!

If I start over with a seven day and one month book I will give this one away - if anyone wants it! Hmmm, would I have to make it 14 plus 2, for days of the week a challenge starts - or ends, and a done pocket for each day, and month? This could grow into a big book! I will just try this one for now and see how I get on.

Don't forget to hop over to Quirky Crafts and enter your make by Saturday!

This book is ticking over into the following challenges:

Avenue 613 - make something for yourself  (Sun)

Art by Miran - anything goes 7 (4th July)

Milkcoffee - anything but a card (June 4th)

Moving Along With The Times - no image (Thurs)

That Craft Place - ribbon and lace (Sun)

Crafts Galore - use a digi or stamp (Jun)

It's still about Quirky Time!

It is reminder time for the Quirky Challenge, and this is my challenge book. It is not finished, I ran out of time, so I will add more photos later as I complete bits of it, in fact I could probably carry on decorating it for weeks! The idea is that I have pocket pages, and into the pockets I put slips with details of all the challenges I want to enter. 

I used Time background from our sponsor The Cutting Cafe, coloured with Prismacolor pencils, inked with Distress inks and edged with Treasure Gold. I found a few sheets of chipboard alphabets and decided to use those to spell Challenge, first colouring them with Krylon pen, then Treasure Gold. Real lace on the hinge side. The book is punched using my Bind it All, I had to watch the video tutorials again before I started using it and as you will see I wasn't totally successful in getting all the pages punched the same, and had to redo the back cover!

I got my Sizzix Tim Holts dies out to cut some metal gears and a weathered clock, and this would be so much further on IF the Ebosser had cut the metal instead of embossing mostly, cutting a little, and generally ruining my metal sheets. So out came the Trusty Big Shot which instantly cut them like they were butter, so another disapppointment about the eBosser, but gold stars to the Big Shot!

I tied on a few ribbons from Crafty Ribbons, more to be added later!

 I made 5 pocket pages, one for weekly, or fortnightly challenges to do, one for monthly challenges to do....

one each for weekly and monthly challenges completed, and one that is spare for now!

I hope to add some more photos later when I complete more, and I will show you the slips I am going to use in the pockets. I am so happy I finally did this even if it is a bit Quirky and not perfect!