My Creative Spirit (Blog Archive)

St Ives - Cornwall  Just a quick post before we head off to the end of the country and the gorgeous St Ives for a chilaxing week by the sea to say a huge  thank you to every one who's mailed, Facebooked and You Tubed me today with congrats messages.  I haven't managed to reply to them all so apologies if I haven't got back to you, but they are all much appreciated.  I'm so excited to have been selected back onto the Graphic 45 Design Team for another year.  Have a great week all.  More posts and oodles of creative inspiration to follow .................... xC 

I don't think I've ever made a pink baby card, so rather than going out and spending a fortune on something special I challenged myself to make one for friends that have just had their first baby.   For this truly vintage looking card I used pink papers from the 12 x 12 Little Darlings collection along with cut aparts and cut out images mounted on an 8 x 8 kraft card.   Little Darlings Baby Card - Graphic 45 Happy paper crafting everyone:-) C

Happy 21st of the month everyone If you love the quintessentially english IndigoBlu stamps you'll love the new blog challenge launched today, but first a big congratulations go out to Kerry and her entry No 12 that was randomly selected as the winner of our challenge No 2 - Words and Phrases.  Here's her gorgeous card and link to her blog. IndigoBlu Forever 21 Challenge Winner - Kerry Now for this months blog challenge.  For all the info you need to enter, details of how to upload the picture of your entry and the fabulous prize on offer this month click the link below.   http://community.indigoblu.com/?tag=challenge Here are some flowery ideas from Jo, Clare, Linda and myself (the Indigo Blubelles :-)  Good luck and have fun creating your entry :-)

Hi every one  IndigoBlu Anenome Corner Card Today's the last day of this months IndigoBlu "Forever 21" blog challenge.  This months theme is Words and Phrases so if you haven't entered yet and have some of the fabulous IndigoBlu stamps to hand, why not get creating and upload your entry before 8pm tonight.  Here's the link to the blog and all the info about entering and uploading your entry.  There's a fabulous prize for the lucky winner.  http://community.indigoblu.com/?p=3338 Good luck !! 

Happy Friday everyone  Yippeee, we've had some sunshine at last.  Let's hope it stays with us over the weekend so we can get out and about without getting soaked or blown off our feet.  If you're a follower of mine you'll know that I like to make projects that have a purpose, and can be used as well as treasured. Over on the blog today  Graphic 45 are sharing two of my projects that do just that.  The first is an altered paper mache trunk like box I picked up from Art from the Heart.  I altered it using papers from the truly vintage Botanicabella collection.  This was one of the early paper collections Graphic 45 released and is really hard to get hold of these days (here in the UK) so when my friend Ali  (Alicraft.co.uk)  said she had some I had to buy two pads, one to stroke and one to work with.  There's nothing complicated or fussy about this project just gorgeous papers cut to fit the shaped sides and top of the box which ...

Ally Pally - the Peoples Palace and BBC Studios Hi everyone  I promised myself I'd have a non crafty weekend after a few really hectic ones but !!!!!! the crafty elf (Andy) and I took a trip down to Ally Pally, London this morning in the sunshine to see all the guys on the stands, have a real mouch around and a lovely lunch overlooking the City of London. We were nearly blown off our feet by a really strong wind blowing around the palace but it was a warm one for a change lol....   Charliejones2686 at Ally Pally, London The Crafty Elf at Ally Pally, London Thanks for calling by:  

Bare Forest A5 Plate and butterfly from Blazin Poppies A6 plate - IndigoBlu All of the cards have been made using the stamp plates featured on the show and were inked with distress and black memento inks.  Each card has Mega Flake detail on them.  Catch up with Kaye to  see all the projects that Kaye and the Bluebelles have made for the Create and Craft shows on 14th April.   Wild Meadow A5 plate - IndigoBlu Blazin Poppies A6 plate and words from Nature 1 A5 plate - IndigoBlu Ella Bella A6 plate and Vintage Flourish A6 Plate - IndigoBlu Nature 1 A5 plate - IndigoBlu Here's the link to the TV schedule , just scroll down and tab across for the times. Happy crafting C x

Tim Holtz Artful Voyage Stamp Plate   Ali carries such a wide range eclectic stamps in her on line store and on the Ali Craft stand at the craft shows it's really hard to chose which ones to work with.  I've had my eye on this wonderfully vintage stamp set by Tim holtz for a while and decided it was time to add it to my collection.  The images were stamped with black memento ink and then shaded with Denim, Red Pepper and Latte Adirondak inks for a truly vintage look. The next two cards were stamped using the new Sara Naumann Stamp set no 5 from Paper Artsy's fabulous Eclecctica range and mini no 10.  Same stamps, different inks for two very different looks.  Eclecctica no 5  by PaperArtsy Eclecctica no 5  by PaperArtsy And last but not least this card was stamped using the truly vintage Artistic Outpost Steampunk stamp set and inked with the new distress inks.    Steampunk Stamp Set - Artistic Outpost ...

Its always a bit strange when the children go away on their own, but I managed to catch a glimpse of Harry standing in front of the webcam at  Bahnhof Kleine station below the Eiger, Switzerland at 1pm today sending me a text telling me he was there.  It's not very clear but its definitely him.  I'd regognise that stance anywhere lol!    Isn't technology amazing lol! 

Nature 1 Card - IndigoBlu Hi every one We've got a new challenge for this month over on the IndigoBlu blog.  The theme this month is words and phrases. Here's the link to the IndigoBlu website:   http://www.indigoblu.com I used ink brushes to shade the background with old paper and brushed corduroy distress ink and love the way the light appears to be shining through the branches. Stamp sets used:  Nature 1 Live Love Laugh Mr Darcey Stamped Detail:  Clouds: Brushed Corduroy Branches and birds: Pumice Stone Grasses and bull rushes: Brushed Corduroy distress ink and Vintage Photo distress Ink Pen Cow Slips: brushed corduroy, flitter glue and Autumn Blaze mega flakes Phrase:  Stamped with Pumice stone Distress ink, shaded and edged with brushed corduroy distress ink and pen. Mounted on foam tape and highlighted with glossy accents. Good luck if you're entering :-)

Hi Every one What a fab day I've had with the Moxley ladies.  Huge thanks to Lisa and Debs for all their hard work in pulling the day together, and for the fabulous kit and flowers.  I can't believe I didn't get to cut into one piece of Graphic 45 paper, pick up any glue or ink an edge all day - that's a first for me lol!!!!  It was lovely to meet you all and thanks for making me feel so welcome. Here are a few pics of all the lovely ladies hard at work altering their G45 boxes, making their Zig Zag albums and scrapbooking.  Happy paper crafting every one :-)

IndigoBlu Sunflower Card Hi every one  Are you feeling as fed up as I am with this cold weather.  I think we've had enough snow now and need some sunny weather to cheer us all up.  With that and Easter in mind I thought I'd get creative and make some cheery cards featuring smily, sunny sunflowers all with the same theme - green and yellow but using IndigoBlu and Graphic 45 stamps and papers.  The first is my IndigoBlu card.  For more info on how to make it, and the stamps used click the link here to the IndigoBlu blog Following the same green and yellow sunflower theme the next cards were made using the gorgeous Graphic 45 stamps from the new French Country collection and the new Patterns and Solids 6 x 6 pad.     French Country Stamp Set 1   French Country Stamped Card - Graphic 45 French Country Stamp Set 2  French Country Stamped Card French Country Stamp Set 3  French Country Stamped Card - Grap...

Bird Song Card - Graphic 45  What a fabulous week it's been on the crafty front.  I'm over the moon to have made the final 30 in the first round of this years G45 Design Team Audition, and would like to send my personal thanks to Diane, Charee, Aime and the rest of the team for selecting me along with some of my current teamies and all other finalists.  Huge thanks also to every one who's e mailed me, visited my 1st round audition post and left comments on my Facebook page and blog.  Your support is much appreciated.  Graphic 45 are featuring the magnificent Bird Song collection over on their blog today with a beautiful mini album made by Susan Lui and my Bird Song card (pictured above) along with step by step instructions on how to make one yourself. (As seen on Create and Craft TV).  This weeks blog prize winner will be announced too so click here to go over and check out our projects and see if you're the lucky winner.   Have a great w...

Secret Garden Tag Album - Graphic 45 To quote the classic writer Leo Toltoy, "Spring is the time of plans and projects."  The girls and guys over at Graphic 45 couldn't agree more with Toltoy and are showcasing two spring themed projects over on the G45 blog today.  Click the link to have a look at the fabulous mixed media canvas by  Sharon Ngoo  and a cute  Secret Garden  tag mini album of mine.   There's a fun video  to go with the tag album filled with lots of great tips for creating with the new Graphic 45 Regular Tag Album Staples ! Today's blog has everything you need to bring some inspiration to your day! So lets get to it! Happy papercrafting every one.  :-) C