Made by Maz

Hi, I hope you're all well.  Just a short post, I'd like to share with you another mdf wall hanging, it's part of a set of three which I made to go together - the other two I will share with you another day.  I've used rubber stamps from Oxford Impressions Dressforms & Corsetry plate:

The mdf has been undercoated in Gesso then painted using cream and tan chalk paints.  Some background stamping has been done with stamps from the same set and also a SU script stamp, then some sanding, and yet more painting, and more sanding.

The image has been stamped with Archival Ink and coloured with SU Watercolour Crayons, and one of Tims words added underneath the image.  I've tried to keep it quite simple with clean lines, but with a bit of a shabby/vintage feel to it as well.

Some lace and trim have been added to finish, along with a button from my local market.

Enjoy your week, and thanks for dropping by.

Maria xxxxx

Hi, two (very lovely and sunny) weeks have flown by and it's time for a new challenge over at The Craft-Room.  We loved seeing what you made with your scraps in our last challenge - isn't it amazing what gorgeous creations can be made from left over pieces!  It was my turn to be the hostess this fortnight, and due to the time of the year with some of you thinking about summer holidays, and maybe even having just come back from one, I decided on the theme:


You can make whatever you want, be it a card, scrapbook layout, 3d object, altered item, in fact anything at all which makes you think of summer.  The choice is yours.

Whenever I go on holiday, I can never find a beach bag the right size - I only want a small one for my bottle of suntan lotion, sunglasses, a little coin purse, some water and a couple of other bits n pieces, but they all seem to be so huge!  So, as I can't find one, I decided to have a go at making my own instead:

I used some thick canvas for the outside of the bag and added a trim of Laura Ashley fabric with some lace attached, and a bow made from SU seam binding.  On the front of the bag I used a Crafty Individuals stamp, and also a Bournemouth postmark from a different CI set.  I was unsure as to whether to use TAP for the image, or to stamp directly onto the fabric - I eventually decided to stamp straight onto the fabric as I thought the image would look nice a bit faded.

I even lined this bag in the same Laura Ashley fabric as the trim, lol:

I used some cream broderie anglaise trim to finish the inside seams, and inserted a zip across the top - the zip didn't really go to plan but I did manage to get it in and conceal it.  The straps are a thick cord which have well been stitched on so they're going nowhere!

If you fancy joining us as a Guest Designer, just add GDT after your name and our lovely Mervi will be in touch with you.

Hi, it's been a little while since I've posted anything other than my DT projects, or got around to visiting your blogs, so I do apologise.  Unfortunately I have a sleep disorder which thankfully, due to medication, is now getting under control, so I am hoping to start a bit more active now.

I didn't get to join in with The Stampsmith Challenge last month, which I was disappointed about, but I've managed to make a little something for their current challenge "Tick Tac Toe":


At the Port Sunlight stamping fair last week, I bought a pack of metal hearts in two sizes, so I've used one of each for this.  I started out by embossing twice in Stampendous Aged Ivory embossing enamel on the large heart, then ran it through my Bigshot.  I then used gilding wax on the raised areas and went around the outside with a gilding pen, and added a bronze pearl at the bottom.



For the other side, I coloured with Antique Linen DI and blended a little Iced Spruce in with it.  I then stamped the same flourish with a 2nd impression in Coffee Archival Ink, and embossed the SU word "Imagine" in gold ep.  I then edged both sides with a gilding pen again, attached both hearts together with some chain and rings, and hung with some ribbon.


I've left the back of the large heart plain so you can see it plain, but embossed.


This is a gift for a friend, so I'm really hoping they like it, as my mojo has been lacking more than a little lately!

I'd also like to enter this into the following challenges:-

Creative Inspirations Paint - Anything Goes
Eclectic Ellapu - Anything Goes
Stamping Sensations - Embossing and Texture

Right, I'm off to do some commenting, then to make a start on visiting your blogs to see what I'm missing :-)

Enjoy your week, and thanks for your patience!

Maria xxxxx

Hi, I hope you're all well.  Milder weather seems to have arrived in our little corner of the UK, which is nice for a change!  It's time for a new theme over at the Craft-Room Challenge, and this time it's the turn of our very talented Mervi to choose our theme, and she has chosen
The entries into our "In the Library" challenge were gorgeous, by the way, and Debi will be back next Tuesday with her Top 3 and winner.

For this theme, I decided to decorate a large perfume bottle I'd picked up from Dunelm Mill last week.

I used some pre-printed tissue paper which I bought from Crafty Individuals, cut it to size, and gave it a couple of coats of watered down emulsion.  I then over-stamped it with the background stamp from TH Papillon set and a SU flourish, then adhered to the main body and the neck of the bottle with multi matte medium.  The sentiment on the front of the bottle is by Darkroom Door.

I added some lace, a beaded trim and narrow ribbon with a glue gun, and to the stopper of the bottle I added a ball chain with some charms: a key, a heart padlock, part of a recycled necklace, and a bezel with a CI stamped image and a metal corner encased in Ice Resin.  A little Paperartsy Metallic Glaze was painted onto the rim of the bottle, and also the bottom part of the stopper.

Hi, I hope you're all enjoying the milder weather, at long last, although we've had some rain today.  I'd also like to say a big hello to my new followers :-).

As you know, I've been dabbling with the Ice Resin lately, and would like to share a bag charm which I've made, over at Friday Ice, which posts on the 2nd and 4th Friday of each month, ...


...and this is my bag charm:

The main bezel has a bit of everything in it - some shabby embossing enamel heated, then some unheated embossing enamel along with some microbeads, then some gilding flakes mixed into the top, and then a SU brad sits in the centre.

Once it had cured, I gave it another coat of resin to finish, which also gives it a nice weight.  I attached a split ring, some chain and a key ring clip, and added some antique bronze charms and strands of thinner chain to give it a bit of jangle.

In real life, the gilding flakes look gorgeous encased in the resin - I'm trying a few different things out to see how they look, as I'm finding out that some things look better than others.  I have another bag charm to ready to share with you soon, and a couple of other pieces of jewellery.  I'll also be back on Tuesday with my DT creation for the Craft-Room Challenge.

It's the start of the weekend so I hope you enjoy it and get some crafting time to yourself.

Thanks for dropping by, I really appreciate it.

Maria xxxxx

Hi, I hope you are all well and enjoying the Easter weekend.  The weather here has improved at last, with the sun shining, although still a bit chilly.  I myself haven't had a particularly good week, but decided that today was time to get my backside into gear and finish a couple of projects, this being one of them.

The Stampsmith Challenge's current theme is Spring Colours/Flowers, using at least one Stampsmith image, and has just one day left to enter, so here is my entry:

I've used a wooden mount for a large background rubber stamp, however I didn't mount the stamp, as I preferred the flexibility of using it without (and I knew the block would end up altered!).  I painted it a very gentle pale creamy yellow to start as I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it at this point.  I covered one side with some Prima beautiful floral paper (thank you Julia!), cutting 3 sides of a rectangle in the middle.  The background of the dp is blue - not the most common colour for Spring flowers but a couple of years ago, I bought my mum a lovely blue rose from a garden centre - with some cream flowers and background script.  The centre cut out has been rolled up and some dyed seam binding secures it.
 






 I've stamped Lily in Coffee Archival Ink and lightly tinted her cheeks and dress with chalks.  A doily coloured with Tattered Rose DI is used on three of the corners, and some lace used on two sides of the image.  I coloured some SU seam binding with Tattered Rose DI and made three little roses which were attached to the bottom right corner, a couple of hat pins, and TH words used underneath "So Timeless".










A small piece of lace is attached above the image with a SU brad.  I've used some metallic rub on around the edge just to finish it off and frame it.  This is going to go on a shelf next to my candles, as a free standing ornament.  I've taken a couple of new photos outside this morning which show the colours far better than the original one.







I'd also like to enter my creation into the following challenges:-

Allsorts Challenge - Vintage
Crafty Ribbons Challenge - Anything Goes With Ribbon
Live and Love Crafts Challenge - Bingo (Lace, Doily & Metal)
Rhedd and Rosie Challenge - Vintage/Shabby Chic

Thank you for popping over, it really is appreciated, and I hope you have a wonderful Easter with lots of gorgeous chocolate :-).

Maria xxxxx

Hi, as the weeks fly by, we get closer and closer to Christmas (in fact 45 days to go!) - I haven't even started my cards yet!  It's also time for a new theme at the Craft-Room Challenge - where does the time go!  Speaking of which, your Timepiece creations were absolutely gorgeous.  This fortnight, the very talented Mervi is your hostess, and the theme she has chosen is:


Die Cuts and Punches are things I don't use very often at all, so it was a good excuse to brush the dust off my very under-used Cricut and have a play:

I gave the 15 x 15 wooden box frame a few coats of chalky emulsion in Pale Mortlake Cream, sanding between coats and after the final one.  The recess of the wooden frame was lined in Melissa Frances dp and the back piece was overstamped with a SU script stamp.  I've then edged with Dark Walnut Stain, and added some shabby chic ribbon to the top and bottom of the recess.  The hearts were cut out using the Cricut, two of which were stamped and the third embossed using Swiss Dots, also edged with a little Walnut Stain.  They were mounted onto slightly larger hearts cut out of Kraft cardstock, then the Kaisercraft words were mounted in the same way and attached to the hearts.  A little heart was cut out of the ribbon to embellish one corner.

I've decided to make as many Christmas gifts as possible this year, so this will be the first (apart from my calendars)!

Hi, it's time again for a new theme over at the Craft-Room Challenge, and hope you enjoyed our Childhood Memories.  This fortnight, it's the lovely, and very talented, Julia's turn to choose the theme, and she has chosen:

Hiya, over at the Craft-Room Challenge, the last fortnight has flown by and we've seen some fabulous Collage creations, however it's now time for a new theme and it's my turn to choose!  For the next fortnight we would like to see a creation inspired by:


We have a great prize from our sponsor for this challenge (see below) which will be chosen by random draw, and as per usual, there will be a top 3.  Full rules for the challenge can be found here.

I've chosen this theme because I've often bought stamps in the past that have reminded me of a time in my childhood, and then made or altered something which has turned out to be quite special or sentimental - and enjoyed that little trip back into my childhood at the same time!

This is what I have created:

 My mum is from Southern Ireland and each year, we went to stay with my Nanna for our summer holidays.  She lived in a little village with twice as many little pubs as streets, and the beach at the bottom of the front garden (my sister and I spent many a day either on the beach and paddling in the sea, or climbing over the rocks to reach the harbour).  My Nanna was a very small and gentle lady, and with a beautiful voice, she always got up to sing an Irish song in the pub.

So, when I spotted this Chapel Road Artstamps - Whistle Boy - at Port Sunlight last May, I had to buy it.  I've stamped the main image (and The Blarney Pilgrim) in Stazon Stone Grey and lightly coloured with Inktense, and the Tando bird has been coloured with Rub n Buff (Old Gold).  The Tando Mini Theatre Stage (from Crafty Individuals) has had a couple of coats of Gesso then various shades of green Distress Ink added (along with lots of water sprayed and flicked) and some green Perfect Pearls - they used to say no two shades of green are the same in Ireland.  I've done a bit of background stamping using more green Distress Inks, using script (SU) and crackle (CI) stamps.  The little TH bottle is filled with some fine gold stuff, the nearest I could find resembling sand - if I could've bottled the gorgeous smell from the sea when you opened my Nanna's front door, I would have!  Slainte is embossed in gold (and means "(good) health", and is used as a drinking toast).  I've edged the whole thing in more Rub n Buff to finish and added some little roses. 



I hope you find the time to join us, and look forward to seeing your Childhood Memories creations, and hearing what's inspired them.  For more inspiration, please check out the fantastic creations by the rest of the DT.

I hope you like my little memory piece (and that you're still awake, lol!).

Enjoy your week!

Maria xxxxx

p.s. Don't forget, I have a little blog candy here!

Hi, what a busy week it's been!  My daughter and new grandson came home from hospital on Saturday afternoon and it's been manic ever since, lol, but what an adorable little guy he is.  I'm going to so love being a Nanna :-).  Over at the Craft-Room Challenge it's time for a new theme (your Buttons & Bows were stunning, by the way), which has been chosen by Hazel (please pop over and take a look at her stunning creations):



For my DT piece I used a slide mailer to alter, which I split in two to make a double hanging, attaching the two halves together with some ribbon.

I painted the slide mailer with some blue acrylic paint mixed with some gesso as a base.  I covered the top part with some printed tissue paper from Crafty Individuals, then coloured over it with Pan Pastel tints in blue and pink.  I used a couple of TH stamps and a SU flourish.  The frame around the sentiment is metal so I covered it with Versamark and embossed with Shabby Pink and Shabby Blue embossing enamels - I love how this has turned out.  The hat in the bottom right corner has been cut from a stamped image by Flonz Stamps.  A bulldog clip covered in TH tissue tape, a Laura Ashley badge, some pink velvet trim. and a little Inka Gold in Platinum to highlight the creases in the tissue.
For the bottom part I have stamped a SU background with Versamark then coloured over it using  pink and blue Pan Pastel tints - this technique really picks up the colour on the stamped area.  I've then used the same SU flourish as on the top, just around the bottom corners.  I have painted a wooden dress frame with acrylic then used a crackle glaze over the top and highlighted with some distress ink and edged in gilding pen, then added a ribbon to the waist to finish.    The three images to the left of the dress form are by Flonz stamps (one image separated into 3).

I do hope you will find some time to share your Fashion creations with us this fortnight.

I'd like to enter this into some challenges:

The Fashionable Stamping Challenge - Anything Goes (it's their 1st Birthday!!!)
Sarah Hurley Challenge - Alter Something
Ruby's Rainbow - Anything But A Card

 Have fun and have a great week!

Maria x

Hi, it's nice to see the warm weather is still around, although I keep getting told that it's all gonna change soon!

I'd like to share a quick card I've made for someone who will be giving birth to a baby girl very soon (she's currently in hospital at the moment being induced, so shouldn't be long now!).

The base is made from Kraft cardstock, and the dps are from DCWV Nanna's Nursery collection.  The lace is from my stash.

At the beginning of the year I joined Vicky's (from Crafting Clare) Stampers 6 club for a six month period - she is so lovely and makes the most amazing creations with her SU supplies. I now have a nice little collection on the go, and although I haven't had time to use much of it yet, I couldn't resist trying these little baby feet which were on my final order (I will be back!).  The sentiment is also from the same set and they are both stamped in Archival Ink (Coffee for the sentiment and Rose Madder for the feet).

I also decorated the inside (will upload a pic tomorrow) and made a sleeve to present this in, which is tied in a bow at the back, through a punched hole. 

I'd like to enter this in the following challenges:-

Crafts and Me - Anything Goes
Shopping Our Stash - Something New
Crafty Boots - Babies

Bye for now.

Maria xxxxx

Hi, what fantastic entries we had in the "Ink It" challenge, over at the Craft-Room -  Nikki will have a very tough job choosing a top 3.  The winner of the random draw, and the top 3, will be posted on Tuesday, 8th May.

Moving onto our new challenge, it was Esther's turn to choose the theme and she has chosen "Emboss It" - please pop over to Esther's blog and have a look around, as her creations are fabulous.  The usual rules apply - check out the Craft-Room blog for full details.

My creation started out as something completely different, then I found a plank of wood and it all changed, lol.  Embossing is something I do like, but certainly don't do enough of.  I've used a combination of embossing techniques on this, and it even hangs as well! 
I have mounted three Tando mini book pages onto a piece of wood which has been coloured with Liberon dye and swiped with Inka Gold in Platinum.

The three chipboard book pages were covered in gesso mixed with a little Wedgewood Blue acrylic paint, then I added Distress Inks in Chipped Sapphire, Dusty Concord and Fired Brick.  I spritzed with water to blend and dried with a heat gun.  The two end pieces were then stamped with a SU swirl background stamp in Chipped Sapphire and embossed with clear embossing powder - it's really made the swirls pop.  The middle piece was dry embossed with a lovely elegant embossing folder I won from Marie at Dolly Daydreams in the Get Creative Challenge, towards the end of last year.





The CI images were stamped onto white card coloured with Spun Sugar, Milled Lavender, and Stormy Sky Distress Inks, and edged with Chipped Sapphire.




I coloured the images with some of the inks spritzed with a little water.










The two sentiments were stamped on the offcuts of the card from the images, then triple embossed with clear UTEE.  I have a bit of glitter on my Versamark pad and this has transferred onto the sentiments and given them a slight twinkle, which looks quite nice.





I've added some sparkly lace (Dunelm Mill) across the bottom of each piece, a metal heart inscribed with "Love" between the two sentiments and topped with a tiny pink diamante, then mounted them all onto the piece of wood.  I had my other half search high and low for two eye-hooks to screw into the top of the wood so I could use some cord to hang it from :-)

These CI images remind me of when we used to visit my nana in Southern Ireland each year as children, and my sister and I would play on the beach at the end of her front garden, so I'm going to give this to my sister for her birthday next month.