Castle-Kelly Crafts Blog

Hello again

noreply@blogger.com (CastleKelly Crafts) — Sat, 23 Mar 2019 17:59:00 +0000

Hello and welcome back. I know it's been a while since I've written a post on this blog but as we all know sometimes life just takes gets in the way and takes over. Sadly The Craft Barn closed last year so I've found myself with a little more crafting time on my hands.

Anyway less of the boring stuff and lets get back to crafting and making!

Over the recent months I have to say I've really got back into knitting and crocheting. Patterns have really moved on in the last few years, as so have all the wonderful yarns. People have got very adventurous with their designs and as for all the wonderful hand dyed sock yarns....well, its hard to find room for 'The Stash'!!!

I have certainly been enjoying the exploring side of the 'Woolly' industry and will be back soon with some details of my favourite patterns.

So thanks for stopping by today and see you soon. Take care and enjoy your weekend. X

The Colour Aqua

noreply@blogger.com (CastleKelly Crafts) — Sun, 23 Jul 2017 13:15:00 +0000

It's been a couple of months since I last did a blog entry, I must admit in the summer months most of any spare time is spent in the garden---- which is lovely. Anyway today is damp and overcast so I decided to go to the craft bench and get "mucky".

The theme over on the PaperArtsy blog is Aqua and as this is my favourite colour felt I really should make something to enter. The very first picture on the site got my creative juices following as I love how the coppery brown tones gives the whole picture warmth, so here is my inspiration.

The main image was made from Yupo coloured with alcohol inks

and white card coloured with Fresco Chalk paints.

The main image from ETS10 stamp set was stamped in Versa-Fine black ink on both pieces. In hindsight it might have been better to use Archival ink as the Yupo took ages to dry-------- over 4 hours!!!

The image was then cut out and layered. Before attaching to my card I stencilled some sunbursts using Stencil Girl's S008 stencil and Distress Oxides in Fossilized Amber and Broken China.

After attaching the cut out image I added a few dots of Liquid Pearls for added texture.

Finally the very edges of the card had a light touch of the Broken China ink just to draw the eye in.

Well I hope you enjoy the rest of the weekend, take care and thanks for stopping by today. Jane x

Utee Embellishment

noreply@blogger.com (CastleKelly Crafts) — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 11:42:00 +0000

Hi, I hope you all had a relaxing Easter Break ----- perhaps a little 'Crafting Time' was managed. I needed to make a card for a very dear friend who is going into hospital at the end of the week for a long awaited operation and as we both share a love of flowers and gardening wanted to make the main feature something 'Flowery'.
Over on the PaperArtsy challenge blog their current theme is 'Resin and Utee' which jogged my memory for using some Utee on this project. To see the fab examples click on the link here.

Firstly I stamped my main image onto some white Smoothie card in black Archival ink. I then cut around the image leaving a slight boarder, this was then given one coat of Utee. Next a layer of Versa-Mark ink and then a sprinkling of Infusions which were lightly rubbed in with a finger. Finally 2 more coats of Utee were applied.

The background card was made by colouring some white card with Distress Oxides in Fossilized Amber and Vintage Photo on my craft mat spritzed with water. Once dry some Cracked Pistachio was added with a light sprinkling of Sage Infusions.

Then detail was added using PS051 and some Vintage Photo DO.

The sentiment is from ECL01 and was white embossed onto the blank kraft card.

Treasure Gold in Olive Bronze was added to the edges and to odd areas of the embossed vellum paper.

I would like to enter this card for the PaperArtsy Resin and Utee Challenge.

Thanks for stopping by today and all comments are greatly appreciated, thank you.

Hope you have a good week, take care and happy crafting Jane X

Doors !!!!

noreply@blogger.com (CastleKelly Crafts) — Sun, 26 Mar 2017 07:57:00 +0000

Hello, and a very Happy Mothering Sunday to all you 'Mums' out there. Today I like to share my entry for the latest PaperArtsy Challenge titled "Doors, Windows and Architecture. As I was lucky enough to be the last challenge winner I had to use some of my fabulous prize for this project.

There are some stunning examples for this challenge over on their blog site so do take 5 mins and have a look.

For the main part of the houses I used various colours of ribbed textured card and Tim Holtz 'Artful Dwellings' die. The houses were then stencilled with grunge paste and painted with a wash made from Fresco Chalk paints.

The windows were made from shrink plastic which had been stamped with a set of fab stamps by Michelle Ward. The backs of these were coloured with Pro-Markers.

A little bit of stamping on the houses before attaching the windows and doors. The clouds were added to the top of the card using Snowflake paint through the Kim Dellow stencil and the bird was stamped onto a piece of white card and cut out.

A few touches of Treasure Gold in various colours, door knobs and numbers ----- all done.

When I attached the doors to no. 3 and 27 these were left slightly ajar for added interest.

Well enjoy your Sunday everyone, I just managed to get this post done before the challenge ends......Phew ! Take care and have a good crafting week. Jane X

Bunny Heaven !

noreply@blogger.com (CastleKelly Crafts) — Fri, 10 Mar 2017 10:48:00 +0000

Yesterday was such a beautiful springtime day I decided to let my recently knitted Bunny Family outside for a play in the garden!!

I started by making 4, 1 for each of my Grandchildren for Easter but then I'd enjoyed playing around with the outfits so I made a few more....... apparently that's the problem with rabbits so they say!

Anyway they seemed like they had a good time.

Time for a rest!

Now I think it's time to put the wool and knitting needles away before they take over the house too.

Thanks for stopping by and meeting my new little friends, until next time enjoy your weekend and hopefully there will be some more springlike weather.

Bye from Me and my Bunnies X

Paints, infusions with a scrapping of Grunge Paste

noreply@blogger.com (CastleKelly Crafts) — Tue, 07 Mar 2017 10:42:00 +0000

Today I've been having a session using Grunge Paste with Infusions and I have to say that I love how they react.

I decided to make my Mother's day card well in advance this year as I tend to leave it to the last minute and am not always as pleased with it as I could be. I wanted a soft, vintage look to the card as my Mum is 97yrs old and perhaps an alien monster might not be appropriate!

So started by braying Seaweed and Vanilla paint straight onto my card base, random areas of text were stamped in Archival watering Can.

Then once dry added a little Sunset Beach Infusion to some grunge paste, just enough to take away the whiteness, This was then passed through my stencil, PS057 leaving the flower centres in place.

Leaving the stencil on the card I then lightly sprinkled on some of the same Infusions and working from the centre of the flower outwards dragged my palette knife across each petal.

The flower stems were made by using the same stencil and adding a little of The Sage Infusions to the Grunge Paste.

I had a little of the Sunset Beach coloured Grunge Paste left so added this through another stencil ready for a spare card.

This too had Infusions sprinkled on the top and the palette knife dragged from the top to the bottom. I was amazed at how many different colours appear as the crystals tend to stay independent on the paste rather than mixing together when water is added.

The card was finished by stamping Wonderful in the top lefthand corner and die cut letters added. Threaded buttons attached to the flower centres and the card is finished.

I am really pleased with the effect this gives and it's one of those cards you have to touch!

I would like to enter this into PaperArtsy's blog Challenge titled Paints with Infusions

If you have 10mins to yourself make a cup of coffee and have a look at the fab examples the DT have prepared on the PaperArtsy Blog, great inspiration.

Well many thanks for stopping by and don't forget if you would like to win a set of the new 12 colours of Infusions pop over to The Craft Barn Blog and enter their blog candy before Sunday 19th March. Hope you all have a good week, weather looks not too bad for the next few days, take care and have yourself some much deserved "Crafting Time". Jane X

The Craft Barn Blog Candy

noreply@blogger.com (CastleKelly Crafts) — Mon, 06 Mar 2017 19:35:00 +0000

Hi everyone, there is a fantastic offer over on The Craft Barn Blog lasting until Sunday 19th March-- the lucky winner will receive the complete new set of 12 PaperArtsy Infusions. To take part click on the link Here.
If you are not familiar with the new colours here's a picture to whet your appetite.

These wonderful little bottles of water soluble dye colour pigment explode into colour when moisture is added in the form of spraying water, mixing with pastes, various glazes and mediums etc.

I'm off to make a Mother's Day card using infusions and grunge paste so pop back later to see how it turns out!

Bye for now and don't forget to get your name on the blog candy list. Jane X

Pink and Orange!!!

noreply@blogger.com (CastleKelly Crafts) — Mon, 30 Jan 2017 20:47:00 +0000

After going and seeing a wonderful exhibition at "Standen" National Trust last week on some of the designs by Kaffe Fassett I felt inspired by his eye for colour ------- could there be a link with the challenge over on The PaperArtsy Challenge this fortnight?

One of the fabulous pieces on display --- pink and orange figure quite strongly in many of this wall hangings.

Now I have to say they were never up there in my top 3 colour combinations before but now having had a play and seen how they make things 'Pop"out at you I'm definitely warming to them. So below is my entry for the first of 2017's PaperArtsy Challenges titled 'Pink and Orange'.

I began by painting my MDF heart with Very Berry and Autumn Fire. Then once dry added some Blush paint through Lin Browns stencil PS005.

This was then stamped with an image from Lynne Perrella's LPC010 in black ink and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder. The words were then added and these came from One Penny 4 stamp set. The edges were heat embossed with Stampendous Aged Silver . Finally a pink leather tie was added to the top.

That's all from me tonight as I've got some pink and orange ink calling me!!

Enjoy your week -- doesn't look as if it's going to be quite so cold the next few days, take care.

Jane X

The beginnings of my Art Journal

noreply@blogger.com (CastleKelly Crafts) — Thu, 26 Jan 2017 13:54:00 +0000

Welcome to my first blog entry on my newly started art journal. I have been thinking about making an art journal for a couple of years or more and over the Christmas holidays made myself a promise that 2017 would be when I'd begin. Although this is not the very first page of my journal ( that will appear on The Craft Barn Blog at the beginning of March ) this is the first time I've made an entry on my blog page.

I began by applying some Fresco paint in Mermaid with a brayer, then once dry added some distress inks through a Stencil Girl stencil.

More detail was added using a different stencil and 2 warm tones in distress inks. The bottom of the page was then stamped using a mix of Brilliance Pearlescent Olive and Ocean Depth ink and a stamp called Frise en Ribambelle by Carabelle Studio.

Odd detail of colour was added to the stamped image using Distress Markers.

The flowers from PaperArtsy ZA08 a recent issue, were stamped onto white card that had been coloured with various Pan Pastels. These were then cut out and I played around for a time before deciding on their final position.

The fab sentiment was stamped in black Versafine ink and the flowers stamped onto the page. Before sticking the coloured flowers over the stamped images I added stems and a few dots and doodles with a fine black pen.

Finally I painted a mini Tando Creative heart in Fresco Blush and drew on a smiley face!

Every time I read this message I have a little smile to myself ------ it's perfect.

Well now that I've begun my art journal and I must say have really enjoyed the time spent on the pages I will have to think seriously about making a scrap book for my 4 wonderful Grandchildren while I still remember who the elderly relatives are in the sepia photos!

Thank you for stopping by today, hopefully it won't be too long before the ground warms up a little and the 'Smiles' will start to appear. Enjoy the rest of your week and keep warm, bye for now.

Jane x

noreply@blogger.com (CastleKelly Crafts) — Wed, 28 Dec 2016 10:12:00 +0000

Hi and welcome, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are now enjoying a little rest and relaxation!!!! Perhaps you were lucky enough to receive some crafting goodies from Santa which can be experimented with.

The Christmas card pictured below was made using 2 of my favourite stamp sets one from Crafty Individuals and the other from PaperArtsy. If you would like to see the different stages of making this card I have included a link to The Craft Barn Blog where all will be revealed here.

I would just like to wish you all A Very Happy, Healthy and Peaceful New Year with lots of Craftyness added in. Take Care and see you all in 2017.

Jane x

"Bling It Up" Tag

noreply@blogger.com (CastleKelly Crafts) — Mon, 28 Nov 2016 21:10:00 +0000

Good evening and welcome, today I've been cracking on with some things ready for Christmas and thought I would share this tag with you. I would like to enter this for The Craft Barn 2 Weekly Challenge titled 'Bling it Up'.

Apart from adding the 'sparkley' bits the challenge also includes the colours purple, turquoise and green! I know turquoise and purple are often put together for Christmas decorations but the addition of green had me hooked.

So to begin with I started with a large manilla tag and dabbed on some Fresco Chalk Acrylic in Pansy using a small piece of cut and dry. Then once this was completely dry added some Tumbled Glass DI using a blending tool.

Next I coloured some Dreamweaver Translucent Embossing Paste with a little Dreamweaver Metallic F/X in Kiwi. This was then spread through a reindeer stencil by Tando Creative. The stencil was removed, cleaned and replaced, then green glitter was added to the still wet reindeer.

I did not pile the glitter on too thick as I wanted the lighter green of the paste to show through in parts so as to vary the shades of green. Once dry a turquoise gem was added for an eye and a small bronze bell attached with invisible thread.

Then using just part of the main stamp from Jofy 06 the star and baubles were stamped in VersaMark ink and brushed with antique green Cosmic Shimmers Mica Powder and the sides of the tag were also stamped using the VersaMark ink and then clear heat embossed with 'Jingle bells'.

Finally a light turquoise/green ribbon was tied to the top. The shimmer on the hanging stars etc doesn't show that well in the photo but I am very pleased with the effect the reindeer has against the painted background.

If you are making some cards or other creations over the next few days give this colour combination a go and enter the Craft Barn Challenge and be in for a chance of winning a £10 voucher to spend on line in the shop.

Thanks for stopping by, hope you have a good week, take care and keep warm as it looks like it's going to be a "Chilly" one. Jane X

The Wicked Witches' Residence !

noreply@blogger.com (CastleKelly Crafts) — Sat, 15 Oct 2016 08:14:00 +0000

Hi, yesterday I had a fun time creating a 'Spooky' Halloween card which I would like to enter for The Creative Carte Blanche Challenge Witchy Woman and The Craft Barn 2 weekly Challenge Pumpkin and Bat.

I started by cutting 2 houses using Tim Holtz Rickety House die, one in spotty co-ordinations card and one from card that had been coloured with Fresco Chalk Acrylic paints.

Once I'd worked out which window went where I sanded the black die cut house and rubbed areas with Treasure Pewter.

Next I stamped the bat, pumpkin, broom, and hat onto scrap card and clear embossed so as two make cutting out a little easier. These were coloured with Distress Makers and a silver Pro-Marker.

The banner was cut from kraft card using Tim Holtz Alterations Tattered Banners die and stamped with Wicked Witch and heat embossed in black.

The card blank was coloured using Distress inks in Weathered Wood, Stormy Sky and Pumice.

The cobwebs were added using pumice.

I don't normally make Halloween cards but I must admit this was fun to construct and I think the bat is quite evil!!

There is no visible witch in this project so I hope the Creative Carte Blanche will accept this entry.

Many thanks for stopping by, I hope your weekend is full of fun and relaxing things, maybe even some crafting!

Take Care, Jane X

Thrilling News----

noreply@blogger.com (CastleKelly Crafts) — Fri, 07 Oct 2016 17:03:00 +0000

Hi and welcome, today I am thrilled and excited to be able to tell you that I've been chosen to join The Craft Barn Blog Design Team. There was recently a post asking for people interested to apply and as I had been a customer of the shop at Lingfield and then Nutfield I felt a strong connection with the business which I wanted to continue.

We were having a couple of nights away in the camper van when I found out I was one of the lucky 3 to be accepted and I was so chuffed and excited. A few days later the list of themes/topics arrived and I am now preparing various projects for the next couple of months.

My first sample was accepted and went out on the blog entry titled Alcohol Inks and Yupo.

To see how I made this card and a tag click here.

This weeks theme is Dimensional Crafting which I love, so had to add this to my chosen list. There have been 2 samples by other team members on the blog which are both very different and stunning. One is a gorgeous altered tin and the other a beautiful die-cut and stamped bird cage.

To see these wonderful pieces grab a coffee and pop over to The Craft Barn.

My entry will be posted tomorrow so to find out what I made with these embellishments please head over and have a peep.

Thank you as always for stopping by today and please do have a look at The Craft Barn's blog and maybe enter one of their 2 weekly challenges. See you soon and take care, Jane X.

noreply@blogger.com (CastleKelly Crafts) — Tue, 20 Sep 2016 18:59:00 +0000

Good evening and welcome, today after downloading some recent photos taken will we were away for a few nights in our camper van I found myself looking at this particular picture of a beautiful sunset.

The silhouette of the tree on the right made me think of a Crafty Individuals stamp set 367 ----- so off to the work bench I went.

The background was made using shaving foam and alcohol inks.

I printed off several pieces of card and tags for future use.

The image was then stamped in black Versa fine ink, cream lace attached underneath the image and some raspberry pink ribbon.

The wonderful sentiment from CI 410 was stamped in Brilliance Pearlescent Crimson onto a spare piece of white card then cut out using a die from Spellbinders ribbon banners LG. the edges were then lightly brushed with Seedless Preserves DI.

I was very pleased with the background and feel the colours gave the effect I was hoping to achieve.

I would like to enter this card for ;

The Craft Barn Challenge Around the House.

and

Crafty Individuals Challenge Clean and Simple.

Thank you for stopping by tonight, hope you have a good week and take care Jane x

Stamping onto Linen

noreply@blogger.com (CastleKelly Crafts) — Sun, 04 Sep 2016 16:53:00 +0000

Hi, today I had a spare hour or so and thought I should really make a couple of cards ready for general birthday/greetings because the nearer it gets to shhh - 'Christmas' -- eek the harder it is to get anywhere near my work bench!
So here's my 2 cards which I would also like to enter for the Crafty Individuals bi-monthly challenge titled 'Clean and Simple'.

I started by lightly colouring a small off cut of white linen with distress inks and a brush and then stamped the image in the centre.

I did the same with another piece of linen but using different colours and a different image.

Next I trimmed the material and frayed the edges.

The edges of my card blanks were lightly coloured using the same distress inks that I had used on the linen.

I then cut some kraft card slightly larger than the pieces of material and distressed the edges before using as a mount for my stamped images.

I added a blue bead and some stitching, stamped the sentiment in Archival Cornflower and then added the lines with a very fine black pen.

The body of the butterfly had 8 or 9 very small beads threaded on some black cotton and then added 4 running stitches on each antenna.

The sentiment and 4 corners were stamped using Brilliance pearlescent olive ink. All the stamps were by Crafty Individuals.

I was surprised at how quick these cards were to make as so often I think something will just take 30mins and it ends up taking a couple of hours or more!

I am pleased with the clean appearance of the finished cards and hope this fills the brief of Crafty Individuals Challenge.

Thank you as always for popping by today, all your comments are very much appreciated, take care and have a good week, Jane. X

My Attempt at making the Leandra Bead!!

noreply@blogger.com (CastleKelly Crafts) — Sun, 28 Aug 2016 11:02:00 +0000

Hi and welcome, this fortnight over on the PaperArtsy Blog the challenge is 'Beads, Charms and Dangles'. There are lots of wonderful examples to whet your appetite, but it was the video of the Leandra bead that really inspired me to get out the Melt Pot --- ( which when the temperature outside has been in the 30's for the past few days is not normally the first craft I'd jump too!)

To make the beads I followed the video as best I could with what head pins, Utee etc that I had in the craft room stash.

The head pins were only 45mm and having had a go I would now buy some slightly larger ones.

To start with the pan only had clear Utee added but gradually as I popped the growing beads into various shades of blue EP lovely streaks appeared adding extra pattern and design to the beads.

Then as the contents of the pot got a little muddy I added some Primary Apple Red, Ancient Copper Metallic and the tiniest spot of black.

Oohh thats yummy!

These 2 beads were shaped by pressing the round bead onto the sides of the melt pot.

As the Utee level was going down and making the covering of the beads more difficult I decided to pour the remaining contents onto the craft mat and inked up a rubber stamp with Archival Black ink and pressed it into the very hot, molten Utee.

Once cool the stamp was removed and I rubbed in some Treasure Gold in Ruby and Renaissance but ------- was not completely happy with the result so decided to cut my losses and got the heat gun out and melted the piece on the craft mat---(" Is she mad " I can hear you saying!) Well I was very pleased with the end result as the wax melted just on the top and gave a lovely marbled effect. I then very lightly added a little Pewter wax to hi-light the edges of the letters.

When I started to make these lovely Leandra beads I had no idea what I was going to use then for but was itching to make something ----

So I now have a pair of unique ear-rings

and

some lovely beads for future projects.

A big thank you to PaperArtsy for the very inspiring video and I'm now off to order some larger headpins and another pot of clear utee !

Hope you all have a great weekend and if you live in the UK enjoy the Bank Holiday if you're lucky enough not to be working. Bye for now and take care Jane x

'Dream' Tag

noreply@blogger.com (CastleKelly Crafts) — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 15:27:00 +0000

Hi, it's been a while since I last did a blog entry but with having a fab week in Cornwall, a few odd days out in the Campervan, lots of gardening and a wonderful few days in Ireland visiting our gorgeous Grandchildren there hasn't been an awful lot of spare time. Ooh and I forgot to mention - the odd bit of crochet--------

Anyway back to the job in hand! Over on the Creative Carte Blanche Blog their theme for August is Sun, Moon and /or Stars so here is my entry for this month.

I started with a large manilla tag which was coloured with various Pan Pastels, this was then lightly sprayed with Jackson's Pastel Fixative.

Next I stamped the shimmering moon by Clarity Stamps in VersaMark ink and rubbed the stamped image with Pewter Pan Pastels.

Dream was then stamped underneath in Versafine Onyx Black and then clear heat embossed.

The stars were added using Grunge Paste through a That's Crafty Dinky Stencil, once dry lightly sanded and then the clean stencil was replaced and the stars coloured in the centres using Treasure Pewter wax.

The ivy was stamped using peeled Paint Distress Ink and a Lavinia Stamp.

Recently we have had some beautiful sunsets and star lite skies and this gave me the colour tones to work with for this entry. Hope you are all enjoying the summer sunshine that we have been finally blessed with as up until now the summer has been rather dull --- so long may it last.

Enjoy the rest of the week and hopefully you too will find some free time to have a 'Play" and maybe join in the Creative Carte Blanche challenge. Bye for now, Jane X

"If I Had Wings" !

noreply@blogger.com (CastleKelly Crafts) — Sat, 18 Jun 2016 09:45:00 +0000

Over on the Creative Carte Blanche blog this month the team are challenging us with a theme titled "Winged Things"which after much thought about fairies, bees, dragonflies, etc, etc I came up with the following tag.

If you have 10 mins do click on the link here and browse through the DT's samples and the other entrants.

I began by painting a large manilla tag with fresco chalk acrylic in Space Cadet, then a coat of Americana Weathered wood and then once dry a top coat of Vanilla paint.

The edges of the tag were then distressed with vintage photo and peeled paint DI.

Below is a photo of the main items used.

Next I stencilled on the roof tops with walnut stain ink and hi-lighted the edges with a fine black pen.

The boy in flight was stamped in verso fine black onyx and embossed with clear powder. The area around the boy was then lightly touched with Treasure Pewter to give the impression of movement.

A cluster of stars were added to the top using a small stencil with scattered straw ink and then brushed with perfect pearls for a light shimmer.

If I had wings was stamped in Archival cornflower blue ink and then clear embossed.

The journey token was from Tim Holtz idea-ology muse token set.

The light was shinning on the embossed parts which made taking photos a little difficult but I hope you can decipher the different textures etc.

Another great challenge ladies, it's great to be able to rummage through ones stash of crafting goodies without worrying about which company or make each item is from -- thanks.

Hope you all have a good weekend and that the sun may shine on you, as here in Kent it's been Very grey and Very wet for far too long! Take care and many thanks for stopping by today, Jane x

Welcome to the House that Nature's got a grip on!

noreply@blogger.com (CastleKelly Crafts) — Thu, 19 May 2016 16:29:00 +0000

Hi, today I have completed a wooden house that I've been constructing for the Creative Carte Blanche
May Blog Challenge --- titled 'Wood, Word and somethingWild'. Now from the off I knew I wanted to make a wooden house but as I progressed the design gradually altered, 'the creative journey'!

To begin with I rummaged in the shed for some wood off cuts and set to sawing my pieces for construction.

The body of the house measures 10cm x 11.5cm x 4cm and was sanded well and given a coat of white gesso as was the roof.

The roof was then given a coat of titanium white acrylic paint before stencilling the tiles through a Michelle Ward stencil.

The house was painted with Fresco Chalk acrylic paint in Space Cadet, lightly sanded and then given a coat of Stone paint and sanded again.

The windows and door were painted free hand using the titanium white.

Then on one side I stamped a tree from Jofy 29 stamp set and clear heat embossed. This was then coloured in and the grass stamped at the bottom.

Up until this point the plan was a cottagey type house with bunting above the door with the letters Home on and the back of the cottage was going to have a stamped wild meadow, hmmmm?

Then I went outside to water the plants in the greenhouse saw some dried dead moss on the brick path and hey presto!!!

The ivy was stamped using various DI's and odd patches were clear heat embossed and touches of Treasure gold in Olive Bronze added.

My work bench got messier and messier!

The birds nest was made from dried ivy roots and the bird stamped from Clarity Garden set. The Welcome sign was die cut and tied using invisible thread.

I cut a wooden bench from a piece of old trellis fence that had started to decay. Twigs , dried old leaves, roots etc were added.

A flower pot stamped, coloured and cut out was added.

A brad for the door handle, smudges of pumice stone, walnut stain and peeled paint DI rubbed into the door and finally some fake moss from Hubby's model railway scenery stash was added to the chimney and roof.

Welcome to my Wooden house that the Wild has begin to reclaim.

Thanks for stopping by today, I hope you enjoyed my creative trip down natures path.

Take Care, Jane x

Meet 'Mr & Mrs Jolly' !

noreply@blogger.com (CastleKelly Crafts) — Tue, 10 May 2016 20:38:00 +0000

Hi and welcome, this evening I'd like to share a card I made reversing an image from a rubber stamp.

Over on the Crafty Individuals blog the Challenge this month is titled 'Anything Goes' do pop over and browse the brilliant DTs samples and the other fab entries here.

To begin with I stamped the jolly duck from CI 433 onto some textured yellow card in black ink and then heat embossed the image with clear EP. I stamped the top hat onto some black card with versa-mark and embossed with pewter EP. Both images were cut out and shaped over a pokey tool.

Next I inked up the duck again with black ink ( not permanent ink!) and rolled the brayer over the inked rubber stamp --- then transferred the image onto the yellow card taking care to start at the bottom and roll towards the top. This was then embossed with clear EP as before. The top hat was done in the same way and transferred onto pink card and then embossed. These were then cut out and shaped ready to be stuck onto my card.

The background of the card was lightly brushed all over with Iced Spruce DI and then using a CI mask for the bottom more ink was added. The top stars were inked through the Dinky star stencil with Wild Honey DI and then lightly brushed with Perfect Pearls mica powder.

'You Make Me Smile' from CI 449 was stamped onto white card and then mounted onto some kraft card, twine attached to the back so it would hang like a sign.

The female ducks tummy was lightly rubbed with some Treasure Gold Ruby and a pink bow added for her bow tie.

The reverse image doesn't transfer as boldly as a stamped image but as this is 1 male and 1 female duck I don't think it's a problem, in fact it gives them a little bit of individual character.

Thanks for stopping by and meeting 'Mr & Mrs Jolly', enjoy the rest of your week, hopefully the sun will return! Take Care, Jane X

Altered Cigar Box

noreply@blogger.com (CastleKelly Crafts) — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 19:58:00 +0000

Well after several days I have finally finished my cigar box for The Creative Carte Blanche Challenge this month titled "Thinking Outside The Box". Do grab a cuppa and have a look at the other entries and the wonderful teams boxes here.

I started with a very traditional wooden cigar box.

Which was given a coat of white gesso on the outside,

but not on the inside as I knew I would line it with paper and black felt.

The outside was then painted with Fresco Chalk Acrylic in Pea Coat and Evergreen, then small areas of Weathered Wood and then Stone acrylic paint.

Then using a Stencil Girl sun burst stencil applied some Grunge Paste that I had coloured with Beach Hut paint. Next I added some letters to the top and bottom using a Dylusions stencil.

The next couple of days I spent undecided on how to proceed ------ spent some tome searching for a clasp/knob ----

This I took off of an embroidery hoop that is designed to be hung to display the embroidery.

Finally I stamped some script to the 4 sides using a stamp from Studio 490 Art from the Heart set in Sepia Archival ink. This I embossed with clear EP.

Next I stamped a page from an old book with flowers from a Heartfelt Creations set in black archival ink and clear embossed these also. They were then painted with various colours of the Fresco Chalk Acrylic paint from the Translucent Range.

These were cut out, shaped and layered to form the 2 flowers on the top of the lid. The swirls and leaves were die cut and before everything was stuck in place the embossed script and the grunge paste were rubbed with small amounts of Treasure Pewter.

I added metal flowers from a jewellery kit to the centres of the 3 sunbursts on the lid.

Buttons were added to the centres of the 2 flowers.

Now I have a box that I am very pleased with !!!

So I've finished just before the closing date for the challenge but I'm glad I didn't rush the last steps as I fell sure I would not have been so happy with the end result.

Thanks as always for stopping by, hope your week has gone well so far and enjoy the weekend when it arrives. Bye for now Jane x

Resists on Backgrounds

noreply@blogger.com (CastleKelly Crafts) — Sat, 16 Apr 2016 08:15:00 +0000

Welcome, today I'd like to share with you a card I made using 'Resists' on the background before stamping the main image.

Over on the PaperArtsy Blog there is a wonderful array of examples put together by Darcy, so grab a coffee and click on the link here.

To begin with I cut a stencil using a die from Tim Holtz Alterations Thinlits - Mixed Media collection, covered it all over with versa mark ink and pressed the image down with a clean brayer on 2 opposite corners. These were then heat embossed with clear EP.

The card was then coloured using 2 paints from the Fresco Chalk collection with a brayer. Toad hall was applied first and once nearly dry the card was wiped with a slightly wet wipe to reveal the embossing.

Once the Beach hut was nearly dry I wiped away small areas of paint so the embossed pattern was now 2 colours.

Grunge Paste was applied through a stencil to give small areas of the harlequin pattern. I didn't like the stark white of the gaps in the paint or the grunge paste so applied some antique linen DI with a blending tool. The dry acrylic paint also acts as a resist.

The main image from LPC030 was stamped in versa fine black onyx and just before the ink was dry I sprinkled some clear EP on the pen nibs and heated. These were then touched with treasure gold in Olive Bronze.

The image was cut out, mounted onto cream card, then kraft card and the pen from the stamp set was stamped and embossed using the trimmings from the left hand side. ( really like how the diamond of grunge paste fits in with the design on the pen!)

The pen was cut out and rubbed with treasure pewter and then a twisted cord tied through the top.

Love the textures on this and the squares take on different appearances depending on the angle you hold the card, especially the faces.

Well I hope you all have a good weekend, weather forecast isn't brilliant, but there's always 'a bit of crafting' if it's too wet to go out! Have fun and take care, Jane x

"Boxes Of All Sorts"

noreply@blogger.com (CastleKelly Crafts) — Sun, 27 Mar 2016 18:38:00 +0000

Hi, and A Very Happy Easter to you all. Today I finally got around to finishing my entry for Crafty Individuals March Challenge titled "Boxes of All Sorts".

I really don't know where this month has gone but it's certainly flown by --- to view the other beautiful entries and the fantastic DT samples click on the link here.

To begin with I started off with 2 basic components ;

an empty box of chocolates measuring 10cm x 10cm and a pack of Twiddleybitz inches.

The box was given a coat of black gesso all over and the inches were cut to size.

The frame of the inches and the squares were given a coat of white gesso and then the frame was painted with fresco chalk paint in Slate. Once dry a layer of Americana weathered wood was applied, then a coat of Fresco Chalk paint in Stone. the inches were painted in Fresco Chalk paint in Evergreen, Lake Wanaka, Mermaid, Beach Hut and Inky Pool with a brayer.

The inches were stamped using CI 184 and white embossed and the frame had touches of Treasure Gold in Olive Bronze added to the edges.

A small black card tag was white embossed using 'For You' from CI 438.

I then attached some fancy thread to the edges from the back and tied some bakers twine through the tag.

The box had grunge paste applied through CI mask which once dry was coloured with DI in Victorian Velvet, Seedless Preserves, Bundled Sage, Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint. A piece of scrap paper was placed in the centre of the mask so as not to colour the centre of the box.

Once this was dry Olive Bronze Treasure Gold was added to the foliage and dots of Liquid Pearls in Pewter were added to the centre of the flowers.

Some CI text ribbon was attached to the sides of the lid and the inches and frame were glued to the top.

I shall probably use this box as a present filled with homemade chocolate truffles.

Well I hope you enjoy what is left of the Easter break, and hopefully your weather is much better than what we have had here in Kent today. Take Care and have fun, Jane x.

'Pru' the Art Doll

noreply@blogger.com (CastleKelly Crafts) — Sun, 13 Mar 2016 14:48:00 +0000

Good afternoon and welcome, today I would like to share with you the making of 'Pru', my first attempt at an art doll. Inspired by 2 challenges I would like to link her to;

The Creative Carte Blanche 2 theme Metal, Lace and Corrugated Paper link here, and

PaperArtsy's challenge Art Dolls link here.

The video on the PaperArtsy blog was excellent and gave me the idea for construction.

To begin with I made a frame for the dolls skirt from wire and then attached this to a piece of wooden doweling which would become the centre part of the complete doll.

I stood this in a cotton reel while I was preparing everything, but managed to get Hubby to cut a block of hard wood and drill a hole in the centre for the completed Pru.

Next I painted several dictionary pages with the following colours of Fresco Chalk Paint;

Chartreuse, Zesty Zing, beach Hut, Pumpkin Soup and Inky Pool.

Then gave them a light spray with Perfect Pearls Mist in Blue Patina.

Once dry the pages were torn into strips along with some blue vellum and some white lacey Japanese paper and the skirt was then constructed using PVA glue.

Then I made a template from some scrap paper to stamp the material through.

The centre flowers are from Jofy 12 and the leaves around the edges are from Flora and Fauna 3.

This was then embroidered and beads were also sown onto the flowers.

A corresponding heart was cut from another piece of fabric for the back of the body.

The face was stamped onto another piece of fabric using stamp set LPC 010.

This was lightly coloured using DI in tattered rose, trimmed to fit a small polystyrene ball and then the mauve felting wool was attached using a felting needle.

Now it's time to assemble the doll ---

the 2 hearts were stitched together leaving a gap at the top and the bottom so that it could be threaded onto the doweling. Whilst stitching I added a small amount of toy stuffing and added a large pipe cleaner for the arms.

Wooden beads were threaded onto the pipe cleaner and the ends of the pipe cleaner were then threaded back into the centre of the bead forming a loop for the hands.

A metal charm was sewn onto the point of the heart.

A bow was made from some antiquey lace and attached to the back.

A metal cog was placed on the doweling before attaching the head. Wire and pearl beads were then added for a tiara.

The book was made from a piece of stripped corrugated cardboard and the page was taken from a dictionary with the definition 'Art'.

You might be wondering why the name Pru ---- no particular reason other than when I was popping the head on that was the name that came to me!

She might not be as 'Quirky' as some Art Dolls but I had fun making her and she will sit in my craft room and keep me company while I create.

Now I'm away as the sun is shinning and I must do a bit of gardening. Thanks for stopping by and getting to know 'Pru'. Take care and have a good week whether it's working or 'playing' Jane x

Wax -- Now that's something new.

noreply@blogger.com (CastleKelly Crafts) — Sun, 14 Feb 2016 16:58:00 +0000

Hi, and a very happy Sunday afternoon to you. Today I've been inspired by the PaperArtsy blog, this their 3rd challenge of the year --Wax, which I have to say is a completely new medium for me. Leandra has put together some wonderful examples and the DT have produced some stunning pieces, so do pop over to their blog and have a peep http://blog.paperartsy.co.uk/2016/02/2016-topic-3-wax-challenge.html

I started by colouring my base heart with alcohol inks and then stamping in black archival ink using the text stamp from Studio 490 - Live and make art.

While this was drying I screwed up some tissue paper, added some distress stain to my craft mat and mopped up the remains of the alcohol inks with the distress stain.

I then gave the heart a coat of wax that had been melting in the melt pot. Once this was cool and set I then stencilled some slate Fresco paint to the righthand edge and sprinkled some aged silver EP. this was then gently heated with the heat gun to set the paint and to hold the EP granules in place.

Using LPC030 stamp set The face was stamped onto the coloured tissue and cut out. "Live Your Dream" was also stamped onto the tissue and the edges was torn.

Next using a Stencil Girl stencil by Michelle Ward I added stone paint through the stencil and then drew around the edge with a fine black pen. Grunge paste was added through the stencil in 2 areas and then once dry over stamped in black archival ink.

The ladies face was applied with melted wax as was live your dream. The little wooden frame had touches of slate paint added and then lightly rubbed with treasure gold in renaissance.

The heart was then given another thin coat of wax before adding treasure pewter to the edges. Once completely cooled the whole heart was buffed to make the beeswax shine.

This has been a difficult project to photograph due to the shine from the wax and the treasure gold but I hope you can get a fair idea of how this turned out.

The final coat and heating of wax slightly distorted the stencilled outline for the frame but I really like this effect --- a happy mistake, but would make that a feature on another project.

This was my 'first toe in the water' for this medium but I will have to explore this in greater depth --(play again!).

I would like to enter this for

PaperArty - Topic 3 Wax

Creative Carte Blanche - include something you've never done before. http://www.creativecarteblanche.com http://www.creativecarteblanche.com

Craft Barn - Heart

Thanks for stopping by today, hope you have a brilliant week whatever you may be doing, bye for now Jane x