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Hello and welcome to my blog. Here I will be showcasing all my design team work, general crafting and digital scrap booking.I hope you enjoy seeing my creations and listening to my ramblings. If you leave a comment I'll know you've been and be able to visit you in return. I read and appreciate all comments which are left - good or bad! Thank you for taking the time to visit me. Pop back soon. Carol xx

Tuesday 31 January 2017

Craft Room Tour

Good morning all.

Hope everyone is well and hugs to those who feel the need. 

I'm finally getting around to showing you all my new craft room....sit down and make yourself comfy this is rather photo heavy!!

This is how it started:
Same view now:
Messy work bench to the right beneath the Velux window and cardmaking to the left both with Ikea drawers beneath


Opposite view to doorway, built in cupboard to the right...this has a hanging rail and a shelf inside and at present houses my ribbons on hangers and a host of scrapbooking stuff on the shelf! The space extends beyond the "wardrobe" part and this houses all the electronics for the house and until everything is finished there is no use filling the bottom of the cupboard.

The baskets in the foreground are filled with boxes and other bits waiting to be recycled...I think I have enough to keep me going for now!!!!


Found a novel way to hang my canvases...punched a hole with hubby's leather punch and then used a twine loop! As wall space is at a premium I needed to be economical with the space.


The side of the cupboard houses my rack of DI sprays and paints, with a shelf below for odds and sods!


Ink pads...note space left for some new DI oxide pads! The Ikea bookshelf below houses my stamps, stencils, embossing folders, magazines and these boxes on top hold various embellishments and 6x6 papers (condensed from 2 boxes to 1).


More art work.


Including my favourite plaque given to me by one of my nephews and his wife for making their wedding stationery. When I get around to it I'm going to hang a photo of each of the kids from it lol!


An Ikea trolley housing acrylic paints and decoArt media sprays along with assorted bits and bobs.


2nd trolley housing gessos, texture pastes, tools and other bits and bobs.


Baskets filled with blank canvases, tissue paper, CD's amongst other things. Promarkers and other pens stored above with various storage boxes. It does get warm up there so I needed a fan.


and my throne! 
The cushion was a present from a friend before we sold our business called Thurston Manor.


If you're still with me I hope you enjoyed this tour around my craft room, hopefully I'll be back soon to show you some crafting!

Sunday 22 January 2017

Christmas Card Club - "North Star"

Good morning all.

Spending the weekend gutting and sorting my craft room... finally - we've only been here 6 months! Having worked in it for 6 months though it needed more thought regarding layout and organisation, I'm also being ruthless with stuff that doesn't get used and using up stash instead of buying new stuff...we'll see how long that lasts๐Ÿ™„

Maureen has asked to see the "North Star" today in our little Christmas Card Club. I had a set of dies lying on my desk which were a magazine freebie last year which were perfect for the job.


The dies were by Crafter's Companion and it was a two part die...I wasn't quite sure how they were meant to be used as there a solid outline and the filigree one isn't edged (which I hadn't realised before using it).
The first card is simply matted and layered in gold and ivory with the filigree being cut and embossed into the top layer. Sentiment from Clearly Besotted is heat embossed with detail gold EP.


Using the leftover bits from the first card I cut the filigree from the solid die and layered two together. Loving these Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle nesting dies from STAMPlorations, I used two for my mats, embossing the smaller one with a stars EF from Crafts Too (I think). Sentiment is from Clearly Besotted and dies are from Spellbinders.

If you'd like to see what the other girls have done you'll find the list in my sidebar.


Monday 16 January 2017

{Mixed Media Tutorial} Art Happens Here

Good evening all. Hope you are well and avoiding all the bugs going around at the moment.

We had a lovely week in Lanzarote, weather was mostly nice though it was a bit windy...temperatures were about 20 degrees higher than home though! Back to reality now , I was expecting to do Jury Duty this week but it seems my services aren't required after all. 

My first tutorial of 2017 is up on the STAMPlorations blog today, I decided to do a nice bright canvas for my craft room. I hope you enjoy seeing how it was produced.


These photos really don't do the colours justice...I'm still struggling to find the right place to take my pictures in the new house! I really must get my light box thingy set up somewhere ๐Ÿ˜‘


If you love STAMPlorations products or if you'd like to try them for the first time I have a discount code to share with you - STAMPGIRLCAROLD

This gives you a 20% discount on all stamps, stencils and dies...both regular and sale priced items. Please note this code can't be combined with any other code. It is valid for multiple uses whilst I'm a STAMPlorations Girl.

Sunday 8 January 2017

Stencil Sunday #78 + January Mixed Media Challenge

Good evening all.

This is my second post today, you'll find my Christmas Card Club post here.

It's time for our first Mixed Media challenge of the year over at STAMPlorations, we're a little late this month as we had a break over the festivities. 


A very simple stencilled  print today inspired by this canvas my younger son bought me for Christmas. I loved the look of this gorgeous Vienna scene and wondered whether I could recreate something similar with a stencil.


I used DecoArt Media Misters through the Happy Flowers (large) stencil, mostly letting each colour dry before adding the next. I'm reasonably happy with the result for a first attempt.

If you love STAMPlorations products or if you'd like to try them for the first time I have a discount code to share with you - STAMPGIRLCAROLD

This gives you a 20% discount on all stamps, stencils and dies...both regular and sale priced items. Please note this code can't be combined with any other code. It is valid for multiple uses whilst I'm a STAMPlorations Girl.


We'd love you to see your mixed media projects this month but remember it's anything but a card and you must use a stencil.


Christmas Card Club - "Anything Goes"

Good morning all and wishing you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. If everything has gone to plan I'll hopefully be sunning myself on a beach in the Canaries now ๐Ÿ˜Ž. A sneaky week away before I have to turn up for Jury Duty.

I know last Christmas is just over with but if I don't start my cards now I'll never be ready for next Christmas!! It's so much less hassle and stress making them throughout the year and since adding the inserts as I make them has become second nature I don't have that "groan" day just before writing all the cards in December.

Margaret has given us an easy "Anything Goes" for our first Christmas Card Club theme and here is my offering.


Topper from LOTV, die cut and matted; backing paper from Papermania; icicle die from Marianne Design and sentiment die is from the new CUTplorations range at STAMPlorations.

If you'd like to see what the other girls made you'll find the list on my side bar.

I'll be back later with my inspiration for the Mixed Media Challenge at STAMPlorations.