Harpies Crafty Corner

Happy Birthday Bunny

2012-05-27T09:24:00.001+01:00

Gorgeous sunny day here in Manchester UK so to bring a little sunshine into your life if you are not getting any sun here is another 15 x 15 cm cute card handcrafted from me featuring 'Warren' the bunny. This time he is offering the birthday present of 'Carrots' ....... well I suppose for a rabbit that's appropriate. He has been coloured with Copic markers. The card is available HERE in my Etsy store if you would like to own it.

He is layered onto an embossed die-cut frame over some candy striped card with a sparkle.

The card is embellished with a lime green grosgrain ribbon and bow.

Some lime green pearls have been added along the bottom of the card to finish.

Sid xx

Just For You !

2012-05-26T10:02:00.000+01:00

I don't do cute usually, but had some images which I have coloured with Copics and layered with embossing , papers and ribbon to produce this 15 x 15 cm square card.

Sid xx

'You Rang Sir? '

2012-05-12T20:14:00.000+01:00

Another little whimsical birdie ATC ! Collaged with stamps and penwork. This one is another available in a frame for sale in my Etsy Store. Hope you like it ! I can also do made to order framed ATC's.

This piece also fits the bill for The Artful Times challenge !

Sid xx

'By Yourself' ATC

2012-05-08T20:09:00.000+01:00

One more ATC made as a framed collaged piece using images, stamps and penwork. It is available for sale on my Etsy Store.

Sid xx

'Stars Shine' ATC

2012-05-07T17:28:00.000+01:00

Here is another ATC which was available framed in my Etsy Store but has now sold. It was collaged style using images, stamps, inks and penwork that have all been used in its making.

Sid xx

Framed ATC's

2012-05-06T22:40:00.000+01:00

These two unique, hand-made collaged ATC's are now available in a framed version in my Etsy store. There will be a series of framed ATC's in the store going forward and I am happy to make you a custom version if you wish, just click the link to Etsy on the right of my blog or on this post to view what is in offer. Thanks so much for looking ......... and hope you like what you see.

Sid xx

One a Day

2012-05-05T10:23:00.002+01:00

Here is a 3D postcard measuring 6 x 4 inches. This one would be very challenged going through the post without losing some of its components in transit so this was done as part of a swap over on UK Stampers where we could send our dimensional postcards in an envelope or padded bag to preserve their art through the post.

The background is of teal stained wood and is a digital print I have applied some Viva gold paint in splodges to the background also on the left. This has been embellished with some black chipboard frames with inchies behind. I have also done some flourish stamping in Memento tuxedo black.

The flourishes are die-cut using a Sizzix die and these have been edged with a black fineliner pen. I have also used some moss green floral Washi tape, gold Posca pen and some gorgeous green flat backed cabochons. Finishing touches were to add some Versamagic chalk ink in touch of pesto around the edge and some faux stitches.

Nice sentiment as we all learn at least one thing each day don't we ?

Sid xx

Owl of Achievement

2012-05-03T07:50:00.001+01:00

This ATC is going to America, to be framed as a symbol of learning for a University tutor who kindly asked me to make it specially to go on the wall of her study .......... hope you like it Charlotte. I have used mountboard as the base.

The collaged ATC is made up from various images, stamping and penwork.

The whole thing has been edged in blue chalk ink. Hope it is what she was expecting !

Sid xx

Outside The Box

2012-04-29T13:53:00.000+01:00

Just completed another double page spread in my Moleskine journal. Love the words on this one and it's certainly Zetti inspired.

The background was made using stencils and spray inks (pictured before any layers were added at the bottom of this post), in purple, lime green and maroon. Some yellow Dylusions paint was added with a credit card. The pages do warp severely but also do relax over time especially when the journal is closed with its elastic closure.

Stamping with black Archival ink was done with 'club' , hand and arrows stamps.

Lots of doodling in various colours of Posca markers including some gold,

The images are digital and have been stuck onto the background and edged in black Posca. The words are printed on the computer and trimmed out.

Some dimensional pearls in cranberry have been added to provide a little depth

This was the page after first spraying with the desired inks.

Another enjoyable project which has taken a while to complete. You know what they say 'Onwards and Upwards' towards the next two pages, but I am getting there !!

Sid xx

Flower Box

2012-04-26T21:25:00.000+01:00

Here is a little box I made a while back during a green phase of mine. The box is made from plain white card and is coloured with shabby shutters Distress Stains oversprayed with silver mica spray. The sides are stamped with a swirl stamp and the same Distress Ink and embellished with flat backed gems in dark green and crystal.

The top of the box was embellished with a series of die-cut flower layers cut from green card and coloured with markers and edged with darker green ink. The layers were assembled with foam pads to add dimension.

Simple project and suitable as an entry into the Pan Pastels Challenge Blog which this time is 'add a flower'.

Sid xx

Trojan Horse

2012-04-22T08:22:00.000+01:00

This ATC is another collaged creation which was sent to Holland as part of a recent exchange of ATC's.

I have used printed materials, penwork (poscas) and stamping to produce the card.

Hope she likes it !!

Sid xx

B & B

2012-04-18T19:13:00.002+01:00

No not Bed & Breakfast !! .............. but Box & Brooch to be more precise.

This brooch came about as my creation for Janet ........ one of our little band of crafters who meet up for long & crafty weekends 3 times a year. This was made as my gift for her (we each have a crafty partner who we make a handmade item for at the weekends).

Unfortunately I forgot to take my gift (slapped wrists) to our March meet and have sent this to her instead. Hope she likes it.

The box was made from heavy card which was subsequently decorated as shown in the same colourway as the brooch. The box sides and top were coloured with fired brick Distress ink and panelled with black magic coredinations card with a mauve core after passing through a spots embossing folder. The core was revealed by rubbing over the embossed spot with fine sandpaper.

The decorative elements are made from stamps from Lynne Parrella made by PaperArtsy, stamped on white card with Memento onyx black, trimmed and coloured with red and purple Marvey alcohol brush pens. They were assembled after selectively heat embossing with kaleidascope embossing powder and a Versamark pen and mounting on foam pads. Some red and blue beads were adhered with Glossy Accents as was some Beadazzles as shown.

The box was filled with crumpled pink tissue paper to support the brooch

I used some flower dies from X-cut to cut a variety of different sized petals from organza, sparkle fabric, fused fusible fibres and silk. These were assembled in layers on a card base with hot melt glue.

Some of the same beads used on the lid were added with red embroidery thread and a needle to decorate the centre of the brooch.

Finally a brooch back was added to finish the brooch.

Hope she likes it !

Sid xx

Making Waves

2012-04-16T00:01:00.013+01:00

This has been in the making for a long, long time. The real scallop shell was decorated months ago and has sat around since then waiting for attention. Because of the shells links with the sea I wanted to do some craft related to that environment so did this 3D scape. All contained in its own shell home.

The shell was thoroughly washed and then painted with stripes in Viva precious metal colour in gold and turquoise. It took a couple of coats to cover properly. The edges of the shell were then gone over with gold Krylon pen to neaten. Some acrylic gems were adhered around the edge of the shell with more Glossy Accents and alternate gems coloured with the brush pen in green.

All stamped elements (apart from the waves) came from a plate of polymer stamps by Pink Paislee (Nantucket). The shell, seahorse, word seal and words were all stamped on white card with Memento tuxedo black ink which were then coloured with Marvey alcohol brush pens before trimming out and edging with AI to cover white card edges. A word seal and two seahorses were glazed with Glossy Accents.

The sea was made up from a border stamped multiple times on printed paper, trimmed and layered and edged with a Quickie glue pen and glittered with transparent blue water Art Glitter.

Some fused green sizal was cut into frond shapes before assembling and layering all elements as shown with hot melt glue to make a 3d seaside scene.

The shell has been supported for display using a plate holder.

It turned out just as I had envisaged it and it was great to use up that shell !! You know what they say ......... 'Better Late Than Never'

It will also fit the challenge over on the Happy Daze Design Team blog this month which is 'April Showers' and the Simon Says Stamp & Show challenge which is 'Anything Goes'

Sid xx

Love Bird

2012-04-15T08:21:00.001+01:00

This is a postcard done for a swap over on UK Stampers Forum for this months theme which is 'Featherd Friends'. I decided to do a quirky postcard and because I am into collage at the moment I have used a blend of digi-images, stamping and penwork.

The eggy bird and ruler was stamped with PaperArtsy stamps in Archival black ink whilst the feathers are Lynne Parrella stamps also from PA. The star border was stamped in signal red Memento ink.

The words and hearts have been edged in Posca pen.

Not sure who will get this yet but it has to be able to be posted 'naked' to it's recipient so no envelope allowed.

Sid xx

The Odd Bird

2012-04-14T13:49:00.000+01:00

I seem to have a thing about birds with hats ........ this one is entitled 'Odd Bird'. The ATC is collaged using digi images and stamping.

I have used Posca pens to decorate and finish.

Loving the french text hat !

Sid xx

An Umbrella In The Rainforest Isn't Much Use !

2012-04-12T08:40:00.002+01:00

This tag was done as my entry into the Stampotique Designers Challenge which this time is entitled 'Oodles of Doodles'. The base is a plain manilla tag which I have sprayed with Summer Inks by Sticky Fingers in yellow & green, building up layers until happy with the colour.

The leaves on the background were applied through a stencil with vintage sepia Distress Ink applied with Cut'n'dry foam. The Stamptique stamp is one by Jill Penney & Daniel Torrente called Relaxin' and it was this that inspired me to write the caption 'Why am I sat in a Rain Forest??' I just love the image.

I decided to stamp the image in Memento tuxedo black directly onto the coloured tag and then use some Marvey alcohol ink brush pens to selectively colour some of the image. Think the effect is a bit reminiscent of the 'Predator' films where the creature appears to be part of the foliage. I then set to work with Posca pens in black, white, blue and yellow and doodled to my hearts content so all other edging and the words along with some raindrops were added freehand.

Finishing touches added some lime green satin ribbon, some moss green cord and a small length of iridescent cord threaded with a few green foiled leaves through the tag top.

So don't expect a brolly to work well in the rainforest !! (not that I've ever been there, of course).

Sid xx

The Three Faces

2012-04-10T11:54:00.001+01:00

Over on UK Stampers Forum I have recently taken part in making a set of three ATC's for a swap. The theme is 'faces' and I made my three with minimal stamping, lot's of colour and collaged materials.

All use loads of digi-stamped collage elements from various sources and these have been trimmed to collage up the fronts of the ATC's. I had to use some hats on the faces to make them a bit quirky too !

The only stamps used were to to finally embellish them and all were stamped in Archival black ink using heart, arrow and flower border acrylic stamps.

Final touches were to use my beloved Posca pens in white, black, silver and gold to outline and fill in some areas. All were mounted onto board and edged with contrasting colours of chalk inks.

Sid xx

Four Square Inchies

2012-04-02T00:01:00.001+01:00

This box started its life as a Selfridges gift card presentation box, covered in shiny black paper. I have decorated the top of the box with a set of digi inchies from ArtChix studio which I have trimmed and adhered with Glossy Accents to the top and sides. I had to halve the inchies on the sides.

I then infilled between the inchies with red Stickles glitter glue and allowed to dry.

Finally the lid was embellished with three flowers made out of die cut book pages made with a Bigz Sizzix die. I have edged the flowers with red alcohol ink and stuck them together and to the lid with sticky dots.

Very simple indeed with no stamping at all. Love the vibrancy of the colours of the inchies set off by the book page flowers.

Sid xx

Believe in Possibility

2012-04-01T00:01:00.003+01:00

This is a little tea-light gift book I made at our Spring retreat but this could be decorated and filled with anything as a lovely gift idea. It takes the form of a book cover containing a box to take 6 tea-lights and is secured by a piece of seam binding.

Once more it is covered with Pion 12 x 12 in scrapbook papers available fom 3D Jean. The papers are beautiful and are very subtly coloured and all elements of the book use these papers.

The book cover is decorated with a number of embellishments cut out from the papers (fob watch, mini postcard and stamp) with some layered on foam pads. The only stamp used was the wording on the postcard !

The inside front cover is embellished with a label die cut from the candle box front with a Nestability die. This was edged with moss green chalk ink before adhering. A butterfly was trimmed out from the papers and also stuck in place.

The candle holder box, covered with more paper and the aperture lined with clear acetate before sticking in place on the inside back cover.

Final touch was to add two pale green eyelets with the crop-a-dile tied through with a double length of pale cream seam binding tied in a knot through each eyelet. These were tied in a bow to secure the book closed after filling the box with tea-lights.

The box could be filled with sweetie treats or anything else for that matter dependant on the purpose and decorative theme of the box.

Sid xx

A Rosy Smile

2012-03-26T06:48:00.000+01:00

Here is a little rosy creation I made recently. It's made up from an open-ended box base with an upright plaque trapped between. Great design to cover with decorative paper, which is what I have done on mine.

The covering paper panels are all trimmed from one 12 x 12 in sheet with a pink textured top and a rose border. I first trimmed off the rosy border and cut out the roses to decorate the base of the plaque. Two other roses were individually trimmed out to decorate the top of the box base.

All edges were coloured with Memento green dye ink applied with cut'n'dry foam. The bottom panels were first trimmed out of Kraft card and then matted with the pink paper.and stuck in place as shown. The main panel on the plaque was put together similarly but before attaching was stamped with a moth stamp (PaperArtsy) in Archival black ink and embellished with a diecut (Nestabilities) tag with pink panel and another 'Smile' stamp (PaperArtsy). The roses were applied at the base on foam pads. A piece of 3 mm dark green satin ribbon was tied through the hole in the tag and a piece of black numbers Washi tape applied before sticking in place.

The lower panels were decorated with strips of the same Washi tape and the two roses applied on foam pads.

Final touch was to apply red flower buttons with Glossy Accents and a blob of green Stickles in the centre of each button.

This design can be decorated in any style or colourway to suit any occasion.

Sid xx

Leafy Park LO

2012-03-25T00:01:00.003Z

I really haven't done many 12 x 12 inch scrapbook pages in my time (although I do own rather a large collection of bare scrapbooks) and this was an opportunity to do one of my first. I think there is only one other on my blog somewhere !

I was provided with a number of fantastic papers & embellishments by Julie Kirk (a very talented crafter) along with a sketch to follow and, once more, there is no stamping on this at all.

The double sided 12 x 12 papers used are by Pion and are fabulous and available at 3D Jean along with a host of other great stuff.

There are a few layers in the centre of the green graph paper design and I used some yellow bakers twine to decorate another strip of the Pion paper.

A file tab was fashioned from another piece of printed scrap and added as shown.

Three little coloured pom-poms in contrasting colours were added to add depth. Memento ink on cut'n'dry was used to edge some components.

A little journalling (hate my handwriting !).

Finally another tag with a self adhesive embellishment circle was added along with a cork flower, button and card-candi circle.

Now will this spur me on to do some more? Honestly I am not sure, but it may.

Sid xx

Face Forwards

2012-03-24T13:33:00.002Z

Here are a set of Twinchies made for a swap over on UK Stampers Forum. I have used white card, swiped with various colours of Impress dye inks and overstamped in Archival black ink with an old cover stamp from Craft Stamper Magazine.

I have used bleach in a waterbrush to bleach out the faces to obtain that effect. Each is finished by edging with contrasting chalk inks and embellishing with dots and circles added with a gold Posca pen.

Nice and bright just as I like it !

Sid xx

Easter Eggy?

2012-03-23T06:55:00.001Z

Whilst away recently for a weekend retreat one of our group, Hannah gave me a little gift of some digi images and papers with a challenge to make a card there and then........ so I did, and this is it.

The only stamping on this one is the sentiment !

I started by cutting out the egg and adding some Glossy Accents on the flowers, I put this aside to dry. I used Nestability dies to cut three mats - one from stripey patterned paper, one from white card and one from kraft card. These were attached to a blank textured white card with the paper being mounted on 1mm foam pads. The egg was added last.

A piece of matching ribbon was attached with double sided adhesive and a paper ribbon bow from the gift added at the left.

The Easter sentiment (Papertrey) was stamped in Archival black ink on white card, trimmed out, edged with burnt sienna chalk ink and mounted on foam pads.

Have enough to do a few more in time for Easter too !

Sid xx

Best Butter Tag

2012-03-21T18:52:00.001Z

The challenge on The Altered Alice Blog is presently 'The Best Butter' so I have designed and made this tag as my entry. It depicts the March Hare holding up the pocket watch at the Mad Hatters Tea Party and declaring 'But it was the BEST Butter' before dipping the whole thing in his tea !

I seem to be having a very yellow phase at the moment too, as you will have probably noticed.

The tag is a manilla tag coated liberally in mustard seed Distress Stain, dried with a heat gun and heat embossed with diamonds through a mask with Versamark ink and detail clear embossing powder. The tag was then swiped over with picket fence Distress stain and wiped with a baby wipe to remove the white stain from the clear embossed diamonds.

Some of the unglazed diamonds were then filled in with a water brush filled with orange dye ink.

I next stamped the top of the tag with a squares and dots border stamp inked with black Archival Ink. Some black dots were added with fine black Posca pen.

The base of the tag was decorated in layers with some pale orange lace, lemon Rik-Rak ribbon and a silver buckle, black & white striped ribbon and spotty paper held in place with two gold staples.

The March Hare (IndigoBlu) was stamped on white card in black Archival Ink and coloured in with Marvey alcohol ink brush pens before cutting out and adhering as shown. The words are maroon self adhesive letters edged with black Posca.

Final touch was to edge the tag in tangerine Versamagic chalk ink and apply a piece of pale gold silk ribbon, tying in place and finishing with two more gold staples.

Sid xx

Freedom ATC's

2012-03-20T00:01:00.001Z

Here are three ATC's I have made for a swap over on UK Stampers Forum. The theme is 'Freedom' and what is more free than a bee on its travels from flower to flower in its quest for nectar?

I made the backgrounds with spray inks in orange and yellow (Sticky Fingers), applying in layers to obtain a very deep summer sun colour and drying in between each sprayed layer with a heat gun.

I then stamped the flowers (Sizzix polymer) and the bee (Kars) in Archival black ink adding a flower stem by hand with a black Micron pen. The bees body and petals of the flowers were coloured with yellow Posca pen and some gold Posca added in the centre of them.

A printed twinchie (Crafty Individuals) was added to each and the cards were finished with a Dymo word edged with more gold Posca. The ATC's were edged with burnt sienna chalk ink.

Sid xx