Oval Shaped Note book and Gift Box

Hello! Today I am sharing my design for the Inspiration post for the Craft Stamper - Take it Make it Challenge. As always the theme is anything goes - as long as you include some stamping. The prize this month for the lucky random winner is a set of 10 Ecoline Brush pens and as usual the design team favourite gets their design published in the magazine!

I few weeks ago I took part in a swap with the lovely people from Let's Be Creative. Our theme was to make something oval for our swap partner so I challenged myself to make this Oval Mini Book. As it was going to my partner I also make a little gift box.

I used Tim Holtz Ornate Frame Bigz die to cut the oval shape (ie the centre of the frame); from greyboard for the covers and also the pages inside. I created a crackled cover, added some stamping and some splatters. All paints are PaperArtsy. My flowers and leaves are die cuts from Tim Holtz Mini Tattered Florals.

On the back I added the initials of my gift recipient:

I would like to play along with the Mini Album Makers Challenge for September

See you next time

Nikki x

All good things come to a (spooky) end......

Today I say goodbye to the Country View Crafts design team! I have been on the team for 2 years which has been fabulous. They must be bored of me by now so time to move on!

My final creation is for the current Spooky theme - I have used Tim Holtz blueprint stamps, layering the skull to create dimension. My background in embossed and sanded kraft core card.

Thanks for stopping by - see you soon.

Nikki

xxx

Love to paint.....

A bright and cheerful journal page today - all the details can be found over at the Country View Crafts project blog.

See you soon

Nikki

Christmas with scraps!

Just a quicky to say I am over at Country View Crafts sharing a step by step on these quick and little Christmas cards. I will be back later today with my second creation for Simon Says Stamp. If you missed my first one - my bright skulls canvas! - you can find it here.

Nikki

x

Spooky?

Hello again. Halloween month so our new theme at Country View Crafts is Spooky. Now I confess this is a theme I struggle with a bit but I did have fun making a couple of cards.

This card was my first outing for Wilted Violet DI! Yes I know I am about a year late - but only a recent addition to my stash and I love it!

My background uses Tim's shattered layering stencil and the image is from one of the Halloween blueprint stamp sets. I stamped and cut out the spiders body and added glossy accents for added spookiness!

I am back on Monday with another Halloween creation ..... a little different to this though!

Nikki

x

Scribbly Bird Birthday

I am very late to the Scribbly Bird party having only just purchased these stamps - but I am now in love! Over at the Country View Crafts project blog today I am sharing a step by step on this card, be good to see you there.

Have a lovely day.

Nikki

Playing with Dylusions paints

I recently purchased some Dylusions paints - a new toy to play with! I watched a couple of Dina Wakely videos too - I know, a bit illogical - should have used her paints!

I love her artistic way of using paints to create a background and so gave it a go. I added lots of water to the paint and after the initial (fairly random) placing of the paint on the card - let the water do the work and left it alone (a hard thing for me!). There were a couple of yuk's but I quite liked this one.

I added some complimentary coloured stencilling and stamping.

 

This is my latest creation for Country View Crafts 'Travel' themed challenge.

Nikki

xxx

Journalling with PaperArtsy

Just a quicky this morning! - I am over on the Country View Crafts Project blog today with a step by step on this journal page using Fresco Acrylics and stamps and stencils by Lin Brown and Emma Godfrey.

Nikki xxx

Taking the scenic route

Hello and welcome September - my favourite month, I love late summer, early autumn here in the UK . Hopefully the weather is good today - as I write this in advance - I realise that on the 1st September I will be at a friend's wedding. 

And it's a busy day here at Addicted to Art too - if you missed my first post of the day - I am September's guest designer at That's Crafty - you can find it here.

Being the 1st of the month we introduce a new challenge at Country View Crafts - the theme being Travel. 

My card originated as a journal page with texture paste and finger painting with paper artsy fresco paints - followed my some stamping. I took some of the page and stamped the greeting and bird and cut them out. I added some chevrons to embellish and a little doodling with my white pen.

'til net time

Nikki 

xxx

Hot Summer Ombre

Happy Tuesday! Are you playing over at Country View Crafts this month? The theme is Hot Summer Days and I have created an ombre effect for this card using Distress Inks - lots of blending and avoiding finger prints!

Having created my background I heat dryed and stamped Emma Godfrey's flowers in archival and removed some of the ink with a water brush.

I then added ink back using the same three colours.

I added some highlights with my white pen, a little dragonfly from my stash and mounted my card.

Nikki

xxx

Happy Cat!

I spent the day recently with Brenda Brown (Bumblebees and Butterflies) doing some art journaling. One of her techniques is to use an acrylic block to create a sort of controlled watercolour background. I have used this today on three cards.

You can see the process and other two cards over at Country View Crafts. The mdf cat is from Calico Craft Parts. This version will be heading off to my niece who recently qualified as a vet and has just secured her first job and is looking for a new home too. Not sure whether it is from me or Frankie (my cat) who is also very happy to have a vet in the family!

Nikki

xxx

Of course......

Just a little sneak peek today - do head on over to the Country View Crafts project blog for more details.

xxx

Crazy Cats .... on the beach

 

I have been meaning to do this since the cats came out! Some of you might remember my Crazy Birds on Vacation from last year - so it only seemed fair to let the cats have some summer fun too! The challenge today at Country View Crafts is Hot Summer Days - so my cats seemed to fit the bill!

Click for original post

This time I decided to let them celebrate summer and dress them a little and having done the boys in their trunks I had to do the girls too! 

The backgrounds were done with marbled distress paints - I added a little stencilling to the boys but it is hardly visible. I stamped the cats - sketched the 'costumes' and sunglasses and then used my waterbrush, distress inks and black and white marker pens.

I hope they have put a smile on your face!

The cats would like to play along at:

Anything but Cute - Summertime (just litte too cute maybe!)

Artistic Stamper - Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp - Weds - Anything Goes - 29

Crafty Cardmakers - Summer

Frilly and Funkie - By the Sea

Simon Says Stamp - Mon - Celebrate  (The cats are celebrating summer!)

Nikki 

xxx

Colourful butterfly cards!

Hello - just stopping by to let you know I am sharing a project today over at Country View Crafts. Thought I would make 2 similar cards - one with Distress Crayons and one with Distress Paints.

Nikki

xxx

Love abstract art!

Our current challenge theme at Country View Crafts is all about circles so I decided to create an abstract painting. This canvas is 8inches x 8inches and is one of my previously used ones - creating lots of additional texture underneath.

I started with a coat of white paints to cover the previous work and then lots of texture paste through varying stencils.

I then got my paints out - distress paints - the bright ones -and just worked in random (ish) blocks - blending the edges. I then added some black paint with a credit card.

Whoops got carried away here and stopped taking photos. I replaced some of the stencils and highlighted some of my circles with paint. I added some additional circles with a swirly stamp and a cork. 

Finally I added a little treasure gold in places. In a moment of madness I decided to coat in a metallic glaze - which has really subdued the original colour intensity - not my wisest decision, it was better before!

Linking up with Simon Says Stamp - Monday - Add some texture
Thanks for stopping by!

Nikki

xxx

It's all perspective

Welcome to my second post of the day! My earlier post was for the new challenge at A Vintage Journey, where we are focusing on monochromatic. If you missed my blue tags - Let's Do Distress - do check it out!

It is also time to introduce the July challenge at Country View Crafts where we are Having Fun with Circles. I decided to recycle a previously used canvas. A lot of the texture you can see is from the previous design.

I stripped it of all embellishments and gave a coat of black gesso before adding various Deco Art Fluid acrylics and some dry brushing. I added some crackle stamping with black archival.

I then die cut some circles and frames out of white card and used the same paints to colour them. No set process here - I just played until I was happy. The little wooden butterflies were dry brushed with white gesso before adding transparent yellow iron oxide paint.

A few remnant rubs and a chit chat sticker finished my project.

Thanks for stopping by.

Nikki

xxx

Rainbow Plaques

Hi everyone

You can find me over at the Country View Crafts project blog today with the details of these little plaques. Be good to see you there.

Nikki

xx

Just a sneak peek...

Just a post to redirect you off to the Country View Crafts project blog where I am sharing this today.

Nikki

Crackle Time

Hi everyone! We have a new challenge today at Country View Crafts and it's a goody! CRACKLE! We are spoilt for choice with crackle products and mediums - here I used crackle texture paste.

I decided to alter a wooden block. Firstly a coat of gesso, some old book pages and some text stamping.

I added some paint and let it drip, before smudging a bit more with a baby wipe. I added a bit more stamping too.

I then added Wendy Vecchi crackle texture paste through a stencil - once dry I added a little more paint to highlight the cracks.

Finally I stamped and fussy cut some butterflies - adding a little sparkly mod podge.

Do love this stamp set - PaperArtsy Hot Picks - HP1506EZ.

See you Friday for a new challenge at A Vintage Journey

Nikki

xxx