I'm Back!!

Hi there,

Have you have wondered what happened to me? No, I did not fall off the face of the earth and I have been feeling just fine albeit tired of this pandemic as I am sure most of you are too.

My post back in March for The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog was my last one as a Design Team member for them since I chose not to continue on after 13 years. In the time since that last post I came to realize just how much work editing photos was so I took a long break from my blog. I have been creating though and I think it is time to start sharing what I have been up to. I won't go into a lot of details for each project since I have purposely not taken a pile of photos but will give you a little synopsis of each project.

The project I am showing you today is a mixed media art book about leaves and was inspired by an online course I took from Roxanne Evans Stout. It is about 5" x 7" and each of the seven double-sided pages features a different leaf and lots of texture, collage, paint and stenciling.

I will be back with more of my latest creations so stay tuned.

Leaf Collage

It is time for the next challenge at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog.  Ginny, our hostess for this one calls it 'Fabulous Fall' and describes it like this:

It's the wonderful season where the leaves are changing and the air is crisp and our thoughts turn to pumpkin spice everything. For this challenge create a Fall inspired project.

I don't want to be a downer but by this time of year at my house all the gorgeous fall colours are over and we are left with mostly bare branches and whatever colour we have is dull yellow and carpets the ground - my poor husband is struggling to get all the leaves bagged up and out of here because they won't compost fast enough to avoid a soggy mess.  The air is certainly crisp, which is way better than hot and humid but sadly we have more rainy days than sunny ones.  As the temperatures continue dropping that rain is going to turn into the dreaded snow.  The stores are already packed with Christmas decorations and that wonderful aroma of pumpkin spice is being replaced by cinnamon pine cones - a lovely aroma too but makes me want to scream NOOOOOOOO since it is too soon.

So given the current state of affairs in my neck of the woods, I have decided to make a leaf collage in more neutral tones.

I began by adding some rough texture to a stretched canvas with Texture Paste (Ranger) and a palette knife.  Then I covered everything with some White Gesso (Dina Wakley) and once that was dry followed it with some watered down Sand Acrylic Paint (Dina Wakley).

Next I prepared the various elements that I wanted to layer on the canvas.  Some Copper Metallic Kraftstock (Tim Holtz) was die cut with the Garden Green (Tim Holtz) die and another piece was embossed with a Honeycomb Embossing Folder (Tim Holtz).

A piece of corrugated cardboard was painted with some Ancient Acrylic Paint (Dina Wakley and a couple pieces of paper from the Old Lace pad (Stamperia) were torn and the edges inked with Vintage Photo Distress Ink (Tim Holtz).

Some tea bag paper was dyed with Vintage Photo, Gathered Twigs and Walnut Stain DI (Tim Holtz).

For the focal point I used Jet Black Archival Ink to stamp a leaf from the Leaf Prints set (Tim Holtz) on a piece of torn old book paper, inked the edges with Vintage Phot DI and then coated it with three layers of Vintage Beeswax Baked Texture (Seth Apter).

To complete the collage layers a bit of copper wire was threaded through a black button from my stash.  I added some crochet ribbons, a piece of the faux leather I made for the last challenge and a Big Chat sticker (Tim Holtz) that was inked with Vintage Photo DI.

I hope you will join us for the challenge.  One random winner will receive a gift certificate to shop at The Funkie Junkie Boutique and the Design Team will choose their top picks with the overall pick receiving an opportunity to join us as a Guest Designer at a future date.

Supplies list with links to The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Leaf Prints Stamp Set (Tim Holtz)
Ranger Texture Paste Opaque Matte INK44444
Dina Wakley Media Mediums - White Gesso MDM41689
White Corrugated Cardboard - 15 Sheets
Stamperia - Old Lace 12x12 Paper Pack SBBL32
Ranger Archival Ink Pad - Jet Black AIP31468
VersaMark Watermark Ink Stamp Pad
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Vintage Photo TIM19527
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Walnut Stain TIM19534
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Gathered Twigs TIM32823
Seth Apter Baked Texture - Vintage Beeswax 17g
May Arts 5/8 Inch Crochet Ribbon - Black
May Arts Ivory Mesh Ribbon - 1.5"
Tim Holtz Idea-ology 8 x 8 Metallic 2 Kraft Stock - Rose Gold & Copper TH93780
Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 9PK - Garden Greens by Tim Holtz 661206
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Big Chat Stickers TH93192
Dina Wakley Media Acrylic Paint - Ancient, 1oz Bottle
Dina Wakley Heavy Body Acrylic Paint - Sand - 1oz Bottle
Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool - With 4 Blending Foams IBT40965
Scor-Pal Scor-Tape 1/4" x 27 Yards
Bubble and Honeycomb Set Texture Fade (Tim Holtz)
Old Book Page
Black Button
Copper Wire
Tea Bag Paper

Denim Collage

Today, I am sharing a new "just for fun" project.  I made this denim collage with all sorts of scraps and bits from both my sewing and craft stash.

Items such as muslin, burlap, lace, calico, canvas, beads, buttons and fibres along with a few metals have been stitched or glued onto the denim squares.  The squares were then mounted on a 12" x 12" stretched canvas that has some texture from Molding Paste (Golden) through a Harlequin stencil (TCW) and a tiny dots border stencil that was cut by my husband.  The canvas also has a light wash of watered-down Khaki Acrylic Paint (Craftsmart).

This was not difficult to do and it certainly was lots of fun.  Now off to play with something else.

Leaf Collage

Since I am totally ready for Christmas and have all my Design Team projects out of the way I decided to play for a change and this leaf collage is the result.

Here is how to put it together:

1.  Coat a small stretched canvas with White Gesso (Liquitex)
2.  Cover with Molasses Acrylic Paint (Folk Art) and allow to dry thoroughly
3.  Cover with a coat of Paint Crackle Medium (Folk Art) and allow this to dry thoroughly
4.  Cover with a coat of Bleached Sand Acrylic Paint (DecoArt) and watch it crack as it dries
5.  Mix a bit of Bleached Sand Acrylic Paint with some Molding Paste (Golden) and use with a small dot stencil (TCW) to add some random stenciling
6.  Spatter the canvas with some Molasses Acrylic Paint and then dry brush some Bleached Sand lightly over it
7.  Strip parts of the top layer off a piece of corrugated card stock and then dry brush with some Bleached Sand
8.  Crumple up a couple of pieces of Kraft Glassine (Tim Holtz - discontinued) and add some stitching with Metallic Copper Embroidery Floss (DMC) to one strip
9.  Cut a couple small pieces of burlap and ink with Vintage Photo Distress Ink
10.  Tear a square of canvas, ink the edges with Vintage Photo DI and coat with fabric stiffener
11.  Tear a piece of old book paper, stamp a leaf (Nature's Wonder by Tim Holtz) using Coffee Archival Ink (Ranger), then cover with Vintage Collage Medium (Tim Holtz)
12.  Add some burlap string to a copper button and adhere to collage

There you have it, a simple collage but fun to make with lots of mixed media.

Create Collage

Today is the start of the new challenge at Stamps and Stencils and I am hosting this one and am calling it Off to Collage.  Here is how I describe it:

No I am not sending you to school but thought it might be fun this month to make a collage. You can use any substrate such as canvas, corrugated cardboard, wood, or canvas boards for instance and add any items to it as long as you include some stamping and/or stenciling.

I have been wanting to get and use some of Seth Apter's products for the longest time and recently bought a die set and a couple of stamp sets so I decided to use them to make a collage inspired by Seth.  I had so much fun making this that I totally forgot about taking process photos along the way so I have done close-ups instead.

I started with an 8"x10" canvas board (Artist's Loft) and gave it a coat of White Gesso (Liquitex) followed by a coat of Lake Wanaka Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic (Paper Artsy).  Using a sponge I added Mudstone Acrylic Paint (Delta Ceramcoat) randomly over the canvas. and then did the same with Clear Blue (Accent), Seafoam (Folk Art) and Espresso (Craftsmart) Acrylic Paints.  I also added some circles using the lid from a mini spray bottle and Jet Black Archival Ink (Ranger).

Next came some stamping using Jet  Black Archival Ink and stamps from the Faded Fragments and Border Lines sets (Seth Apter).I also used some Translucent Embossing Paste (Wendy Vecchi) and a mini dots stencil that my husband cut for me to add some stenciling.

I cut a small piece of corrugated cardboard and removed the top layer to expose the ridges.  Next I dry brushed a bit of the Lake Wanaka paint over the ridges and then added s bit of Bleached Sand Acrylic Paint (DecoArt).

I used the Drip Dry Die (Seth Apter) and scraps of card stock to cut the large drippy circle and four of the smaller one, which were then glued on top of one another to make a thick set.  I made them look rusted by painting on some Brown Rust Paste and Red Rust Paste (Finnabair).

When I opened the rust paste I was dismayed to find that they had really hardened up and they were still 3/4 full.  I figured I couldn't lose anything so I added a few drops of water and then put them in the microwave on a really low power setting to soften them up and it worked.  I was able to use them although the next time I open them they may be as hard as a rock because you know what can happen to food that have been microwaved.  Just to be safe and not have the rust flake off, I coated the pieces with some matte Mod Podge.

I added some copper chain (Bead Landing) to a frayed canvas strip and mounting it on the canvas and then added the cardboard topped with the rusted die cuts.

Next I used Jet Black Archival Ink and a stencil called Typo (Tim Holtz) to add the word Create to some canvas ribbon (Fancy Gap Pottery and Fabric Outlet).

To make the little centre panel on the bottom, I painted a piece of chipboard with Seafoam paint, sponged on some Bleached Sand and then stamped the little circles from the Faded Fragments set.  I added some frayed canvas and a heat sync that I confiscated from my husband's workshop.

The panels on each side were made by painting chipboard with the Seafoam and Bleached Sand paints and then adding some Clear Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint (Tim Holtz).  The little pieces mounted on them were also confiscated from my husband.  They are the turn screws that you used to use to add connectors to your computer back in the olden days before USB ports. 😃 I altered the colour of the ends with some Copper Mixative Alcohol Ink mixed with some Blending Solution.  Then I wrapped them with a variety of fibers and wires adding a some altered washers and nuts as I went.  This is a Seth technique that my friend Jenny Marples introduced me to.

I got some money at Christmas for crafty shopping so when all of Seth's new products are available to ship, you can bet I am getting some more.  Meanwhile I have a list - a list that is getting larger every day.

I hope you will join us at Stamps and Stencils and show us a collage that you have created.

I am going to enter this project in the following challenge:

More Mixed Media Challenge - Anything Goes (Optional - Blue)

Pastels

It is time for a new challenge at Stamps and Stencils and this time I am the hostess.  I decided to call it Pastels and here is how I am describing it:

We have been treated to a riot of bright, warm colour since the spring bulbs made their appearance and continuing throughout summer and fall so let's go in the opposite direction and make a project with soft, pastel colours. Don't forget to include some stamping or stenciling or both in your creation.

I decided to create a small canvas with a variety of pastel colours.

I started with a flat canvas (Artist's Loft) and added some texture with a Flourish Stencil (Tim Holtz) and some Molding Paste (Golden).  Next I added some strips of lace (Fancy Gap) and some white burlap (The Funkie Junkie).  Everything was covered with White Gesso (Liquitex) and when that was dry I added some watered down Blush Fresco Finish paint (Paper Artsy).

Next I put together all the elements that I was going to add to my canvas starting with the sentiment.  When I was in Virginia last year visiting my lovely friend Patti, she had this wood mount stamp called True Friends (Stampendous) that I fell in love with so she stamped it 8 times for me onto some heavy card stock (Recollections) with Jet Black Archival Ink (Ranger).  I cut one of the images out, distressed the edges and then inked it with Spun Sugar and Milled Lavender Distress Ink (Tim Holtz).

I used some Spun Sugar, Scattered Straw and Dried Marigold Distress Ink (Tim Holtz) to cover a scrap of card stock.  Then I added some Crackle Embossing Paste (Wendy Vecchi) through a feather stencil (IndigoBlu).

The little girls are part of a collage stamp (Darkroom Door) called Friends.  I stamped it in Watering Can Archival Ink (Wendy Vecchi), fussy cut it and then coloured it with pencil crayons (Prismacolors) blended with OMS (Gotrick).

The butterfly is a laser cut from my husband that I inked with Scattered Straw DI and then ran through an embossing folder called Victoria (Cuttlebug).  Some adhesive pearls (Michaels) were added to the body.

The wooden letter "F" (Dollarama) was given a coat of white gesso (Liquitex)  follwed by a coat of Orchid Acrylic Paint (DecoArt) and then some Poodleskirt Pink Acrylic Paint (DecoArt).  I sealed it with some Gloss Mod Podge.

The big flower is cut with crinoline (The Funkie Junkie Boutique) using the Shabby Posies die (Tammy Tutterow).  It was dyed using a mixture of Milled Lavender and Dusty Concorde Distress Inks (Tim Holtz).  A big adhesive pearl (Recollections) was added to the centre.

The little flower (WalMart) had a tiny button (Dress It Up) added to the centre.  Finally I added three tiny polka dot buttons that were in my stash but I can't remember where I got them.

This November challenge runs until December 6th at 20:00 UK time so you have lots of time to share a creation with us.

The Chief

Say hello to a Maori Chief.  I have created a collage in mostly earth tones around this chief as my offering for the third challenge for ITAC'17, which is called Oceania.

As with the first two challenges, there is a list of elements to consider but not everything on the list must appear in your project however, at least one must.  I think I have everything covered.

• Patterns inspired by traditional symbols (Maori tattoos, Dots/dashes of aboriginal Arts…) 
• Think Monochromatic black and white or think colors of the Earth
• Some sort of organic or natural material(s) (earth, stone, bone, bark, wood, fibres…) 
• Shapes inspired by traditional or indigenous art

I started with a 9" x 12" flat canvas from the dollar store and added dots in the form of texture using a Tiny Circles Stencil (TCW) and some Light Molding Paste (Golden).  I also coated it with some White Gesso (Liquitex).

I started adding colour to the canvas with a layer of Khaki Acrylic Paint (Craftsmart) followed by a layer of Mocha Fresco Finish (Paper Artsy) that was wiped back in spots using a baby wipe.

A little more stenciling followed with Jet Black Archival Ink (Ranger) and Mini Pattern Stripes stencil (TCW).

To finish the canvas colour I added some Gathered Twigs Distress Spray Stain (Tim Holtz for Ranger).

The next step was to assemble my collage items.  I am sorry there are no individual process photos but I will describe all the pieces.

1. The image came from the New York Public Library Digital Collection and was inked with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink and then coated with Crazing Medium (both from Tim Holtz for Ranger)

2. The wood strip was peeled from some tape that I picked up at a floral warehouse in the UK.

3. A skeleton leaf that I coated with some Rich Espresso Metallic Paint (DecoArt)

4. A large oval wooden bead that I cut in half

5. Some fun fur (Fabricland) that started out as white but was dyed with some Soft Suede Reinker (StampinUp) and then topped with a strip of geometric tape (Fabricland)

6. A feather (Dollarama)

7. A piece of limestone (from my front step, which is breaking down after 15 years of weather and wear and tear but not going to waste)

8. A wooden toggle attached to some braided jute (my stash)

9. Maori symbols added to a piece of cork with some Light Molding Paste (Golden) and a stencil my husband made for me on the laser cutter using symbols found as a colouring page on the Christchurch Public Library web site

To assemble the collage, I attached everything with Super Thick Slap it On (IndigoBlu).

There you have my take on the theme Oceania.  I am off to enter it HERE and then I am going to think about the next challenge.  Having so much fun!!!

Edith

There is a great challenge going on for the next six weeks at AALL and Create called the International Tournament of Art and Craft.  I thought it might be fun to try and participate so this is my offering for the first challenge, which is called Europe.

I have made a collage around a photo of Edith Piaf, who was a French cabaret singer who died in 1963 at the age of 47.  I love old music (and jazz) and remember seeing her on TV.  The song she sang was called La Vie En Rose, which translates to Life in Pink, which is why I added the pop of colour in the form of a rose.

There are a list of criteria for the challenge and while you are only required to use at least one element in your creation I thought I would go for as many as possible.  Here is the list and in red is what I have used.

• A face - Photo of Edith Piaf
• Papers (newspaper, printed paper, rice paper…etc.) - Music paper that I printed
• Letters, numbers - The words of one of her songs
• Blue for the colour of the European Union, Union Jack... - The background pint colour
• Ribbon, twine, string or lace… - Lace and thread
• Textures – take inspiration from history from ancient civilizations to the fall of the Berlin Wall - Background stenciling 
• Something both vintage and modern - Black and silver button is vintage and Washi Tape is modern

Here are the steps I used to make my collage along with a few process photos.

1. Use some texture paste and add stenciling to a flat canvas
2. Cover canvas with white gesso

3. Paint canvas with blue acrylic paint
4. Sponge some metallic blue acrylic paint over the base paint
5. Glue thread randomly over paint
6. Water down white gesso and spatter over canvas
7. Dry brush a thin coat of white gesso over canvas and blot off while still wet

8. Print music paper and roll around a piece of dowel

9. Talk your husband into designing an Eiffel Tower for you and then cutting it from chipboard on his laser cutter :)
10. Coat the Eiffel Tower with heavy black gesso leaving it bumpy

11. Rub pewter wax paste over the raised areas of the Eiffel Tower and some metal pieces

12. Stamp feather on a scrap of card stock and emboss with black embossing powder
13. Fussy cut the feather

To finish the canvas:

14. Coat some chipboard honeycomb texture pieces with white gesso
15. Print text on the computer, distress and ink the edges
16. Dye a paper rose in some watered down distress ink
17. Adhere all the pieces to the canvas and add a few gems

This was fun to make and now I am on to challenge #2, which was launched today.  I sure hope I can keep up.

Supplies List:

• Flat Canvas (Artist's Loft for Michaels)
• Geometric Stencil (Teresa Collins)
• Molding Paste (Golden)
• White Gesso (Liquitex)
• Heavy Black Gesso (Prima Art Basics)
• Chipboard Honeycomb & Eiffel Tower (My Husband)
• Pewter Wax Paste (Treasure Pewter)
• Metal Bits (The Funkie Junkie)
• Lace & Button (My Stash)
• Washi Tape & Gems (Dollarama)
• Butterfly (Prima)
• Music Paper & Text (Computer Generated)
• Rose (Excelsior Warehouse)
• Feather Stamp (Inkadinkado)
• Watermark Stamp Pad (Versamark)
• Ebony Embossing Powder (Recollections for Michaels)
• Black Thread (My sewing cupboard)
• Mod Podge
• Super Thick Slap it On (IndigoBlu)
• Worn Lipstick Distress Ink (Tim Holtz for Ranger)

Sewing Collage

It is time for a new challenge at Frilly and Funkie and this time the talented Suzz is our hostess and is calling it All in the Family.  She describes it this way:

"Whether it is your ancestors, a favorite family memory or family outings, create a vintage or shabby chic project reflecting your family."

So when you look at my very busy collage card I imagine you are scratching your head wondering what this has to do with family.  Well, I was very fortunate to have a very creative and very handy Mother who taught me all sorts of wonderful things - baking and cooking, gardening, crafting of all sorts and of course, sewing.  When I was looking through my papercrafting supplies and saw the Graphic 45 collection called A Ladies Diary I realized that the fashion images would make a vintage collage paying homage to sewing and to my Mother.

She once made the most gorgeous summer robe for me from a piece of white eyelet fabric that had come from her Great-Grandmother's trunk.  When my daughter was born she ripped it apart and made a christening gown from it.  There was a small stain on the fabric by then and she bravely dumped it into some water with bleach and amazingly it didn't fall apart, which was expected considering how old it was.  I also remember her staying up until the wee hours of the morning after she started working outside the home to make clothes for all three of us kids and one of my most prized possessions from those late-night sessions was a jacket made from a traditional wool Hudson's Bay blanket.  Sadly it disappeared in one of our moves but I will always remember how special I thought it was at the time.

This card also brings up memories of my late Mother-in-Law who was also a fantastic seamstress and worked as an alterations person in a ladies dress shop before my husband came along.  She could make something for a man or woman out of next to no fabric and without a pattern to boot. When we cleared her room at the nursing home after she passed away, we were amazed at how little came from a store and how many little details she put into blouses and skirts - very fashionable things like three rows of little pin tucks up the side of a pencil skirt.

To make the card I started with a piece of cardstock from Staples for the blank and then added a panel of striped paper from the collection.  I cut a quartet of ladies in their finest dresses and added that followed by a strip of ladies in their lovely hats, both from the collection. 

I stamped the vintage dress form from Tim Holtz Haberdashery stamp set on a piece of dotted paper and added it next topped by a lady in her fancy hat from the collection.  The sentiment was found online as was the vintage seamstress but they have been in my files for so long, I don't have the credit - my apologies.

The collection has some chipboard and adhesive elements so I added a few of those along with a postage stamp.  The flower is cut using the new floral dies from Tammy Tutterow and sits atop a piece of crochet ribbon.

I added a few pearls, a floral button tied with some burlap string, a pair of bronze scissors and a replica of the top of a spool of thread that I picked up from the clearance section at Hobby Lobby when I was visiting in Virginia a couple weeks ago.

I am going to enter this card in the following challenges:

Morgan's Artworld - Use Patterned Paper
Crafty Cardmakers - Shabby Chic

The following items used to create this card came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Making Magic

The August challenge starts today at Anything But Cute and Georgie, our hostess this month and is calling it Making Magic.  She describes the challenge this way:

"Most of us are drawn to the magic of fairy tales and fantasy. The colours are often hypnotic and your mind is free to explore outside the limits of reality. For this challenge, I would like you to create a magical mixed media project strongly inspired by the moodboard. Be inspired by the theme, the colours, the textures or all three. Lets bring a little magic back!"

I decided to try to channel my inner Finnabair or at least to see if her inspiring talent could rub off on me just a little so I made this canvas in her style.  She posted a canvas with a paint brush recently and I used that as my jumping off point but the rest of the layout is mine.  You can click on the image to get a larger view.

I started with a 9" x 12" canvas from the dollar store and covered it with Liquitex Gesso.  Next I added some texture with Golden Molding Paste through a stencil from TCW called Mini Hexagons and a few randomly placed pieces of mesh drywall tape.  I also dabbed some of the paste on for more texture.

Next I raided my sewing stash and added some strips of denim and lace along with a long piece of cheesecloth from my kitchen supplies.  The paint brush that I picked up for a dollar at Wal Mart came next and then I started to add all sorts of bits and pieces from my craft room and my husband's tool shelves - screws, gears, washers, metal medallion, buttons, flowers, beads mini clothes pin, can pull top, wooden shapes, electronic bits, etc.  I used Liquitex Matte Super Heavy Gel Medium to attach everything and found once it was dry, it really kept everything in place.

Originally I had decided on a different way of doing the text but didn't like it and changed my mind after everything was done so in this case the letters, which were cut from wood on our new laser cutting machine were altered after the fact ( what a pain that was since they are tiny).  Normally they would have been added along with all the other bits.

The next step was to give everything a couple coats of Gesso and then a coat of Leaf Green acrylic paint from Delta Ceramcoat.  Once that was dry I went over it with some Hey Pesto Fresco Finish paint.

The next step was to add lots of inks, sprays and more paints.  I used Burnt Sienna Liquitex Ink, Antelope Brown and Silver Moss FW (Dalex Rowney) Ink.  The sprays I used were Lindy's Glitz Spritz Blazing Sun and Lindy's Starburst Jack in the Pulpit Teal.  I mixed some Lindy's Magicals My Mojito Green with water and used my natural sea sponge to dab it on as well as some Folk Art Peridot Metallic and Deco Art Champagne Gold acrylic paints.

Here are a couple of close-up views:

I had a blast making this and hope that I did Finnabair proud.  I also hope that you will join us in Georgie's challenge and make something magical.

I am going  to enter this project in the following challenges:

That Craft Place - Mixed Media Anything Goes
Simply Create Too - Anything Goes
A Sprinkle of Imagination - Anything Goes
Rhedd's Creative Spirit - Anything Goes (must be mixed media or altered items)
Altered Eclectics - Anything Goes (must be mixed media or altered items)
Mixed Media Mojo  - Anything Goes (must be mixed media or journaling)
Mixed Media World - Stencils
We Love 2 Create - Anything Mixed Media/Creative/Inky Goes

Father's Day Collage

The new challenge at Sugar Creek Hollow is a timely one - FATHER'S DAY.  Don't forget, we are a vintage and shabby chic challenge blog so we want to see a card or other paper-crafted project in one of those styles.

Ragnhild is joining us this week as Guest Designer, so please check out her card and the inspiration she provides along with the wonderful inspiration from our Design Team.

I decided to make a collage style card for my husband since my Father passed away 30 years ago. The background paper is from My Mind's Eye and I stamped the keys from a set by TPC Studio.  The horse is from The Graphic's Fairy and the clock is a digital element from Cuddlebeez (no longer online).  The car is a stamp from Indigo Blu and the sentiment was computer generated.

I cut the gate hinge with my Cameo using Tim Holtz Grunge Paper and then inked it with some Terra Cotta and Rust Adirondack Alcohol Ink (Ranger).  The butterfly was a gift from a friend and the metal washer is from my husband's tool box.  The lock, paper clip and the pin are from Tim Holtz.  The gear is from Bead Landings and the button was in my stash.  The bottle cap came from Labatt's after my husband drank the beer for me (I am a red wine or scotch gal) - LOL.  I made the insert using the same font as I did for the word Father and then added an open frame digital element from C. Renee.  All the distressing has been done with Vintage Photo Distress Ink (Ranger)

I am going to enter this card in the following challenges:

C.R.A.F.T. - Father's Day/Male
Delightful Challenges - For Dad
Paper Crafting Journey - Masculine Cards
Happy Campers - Use Metal
Shelly's Images - Show Us What You've Got
Crafting by Designs - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
The Stamping Chef - Metal
Celebrate The Occasion - Fluttering By (must use butterfly)
Crazy Amigo Challenge - Auto/Car
Creative Craft Challenges 2 - For the Fellas
Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes