Wednesday, 5 August 2026

August - DT Project 1 for Country View Crafts and Challenges - Monochrome

Hello, Happy August! 

Here I am with my first DT post for August, for Country View Crafts and Challenges on Facebook. 
The theme for this month has been chosen by my lovely teammate Susan and she’s chosen Monochrome. I do love the monochrome style so have been excited to put something together for this. 

The challenge is open worldwide and you can join the group here where you will find information on how to enter:
There’s a fabulous £20 voucher to be won for a randomly selected winner. 

A little while ago, I joined in an online workshop called Mastering Mixed Media 2026 and one of the classes we were taught was how to make this lovely little bird box decor by Carrie Smith, and she has so very kindly let me share her idea with you. I have changed mine from Carrie’s style which is beautiful vibrant colours and hand painted papers. I have created mine with ready made store bought printed paper, stencils, stamps and dies. And of course, it’s in Monochrome to suit this month’s theme. 

You can find out more about Carrie by visiting her website:http://www.carriesmithcollageart.com/ and she is also on Instagram: @carriesmithart. You should take a look as her work is really beautiful. 

So I decided to make a Monochrome bird box for my first project this month. 

I chose a paper from Tim’s Palette Collection Charcoal for the actual box. Tim Holtz Palette Collection is quite a substantial paper weight so I found it was nice and sturdy for the box. I used 6.5 x 6.5 inch for my square to make the box from but you can use the full 8x8inch sheet if you want a bigger box. 


You can find how to make the box here

On thick white card I painted some Hickory Smoke and Lost Shadow in two blocks blended, and then stamped 5 of the leaves from Tim Holtz Natures Wonder with Versafine Clair Nocturne. I fussy cut these out and used them for the back frame of my box. 



I painted another block in Distress Paint Black Soot and then stencilled with the Tracy Scott Paperartsy PS475 in Distress Paint Lost Shadow. Once dry I went round the stencil outlines with a white posca pen to make them standout. 


I repeated this on the blended grey painted block and stencilled the same stencil in black, with white outlines. 

I die cut one of the shapes from Tim Holtz Sizzix Abstract Elements 666280 from my painted black block for another element to add. 

I then die cut some small half circles from the grey and black painted blocks which I then added dots to some with my Posca pens. 

I die cut a bird from the Tim Holtz Sizzix Vault Lovebirds 666566 and die cut a wing from the Abstract Elements set. I drew a small eye on my bird. 
I also die cut 3 leaf stems in black card from this set too. 

Finally I die cut out the word ‘Discover’ twice from Tim Holtz Sizzix Handwritten Journey 660217. One in black card and one in the painted grey blend which I layered slightly offset on the black die cut to give it a shadow look. 


Once all my elements were created and die cut, I edged them with Black Archival Ink and then assembled them together ready to add to my box. 


For the inner half circles I layered them up using some cut bits of greyboard of varying sizes, to make them sit at different levels. And then everything else was glued into place. 



I really hope you like my little project. It was fun to make. 

Inside view


Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. 
Have a great day,
Hugs,
Carol xx


Products used:
(If anything is out of stock you can always contact Brenda at Country View Crafts to see if she can order it in for you, and she ships overseas too). 

Tim Holtz Palette Collection Charcoal 8x8

Tim Holtz Sizzix Vault Lovebirds 

Tim Holtz Distress Paint 

Tim Holtz Sizzix Abstract Elements 666280

Tim Holtz Sizzix Handwritten Journey 660217

Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Natures Wonder CMS 343

Posca Pen White

Tracy Scott Paperartsy Stencil (the stencil I used isn’t in stock, but you could use this one instead). 


Monday, 20 July 2026

July DT Project 2 for Country View Crafts and Challenges - Holidays

Hello there,

I’m back with my second DT post for July, for Country View Crafts and Challenges on Facebook. I’m hosting the theme for July and I’ve chosen ‘Holidays’ - this can be any kind of Holiday - think Summer, Winter, Christmas, Thanksgiving, 4th July etc. 

The challenge is open worldwide and you can join the group here where you will find information on how to enter:
There’s a fabulous £20 voucher to be won for a randomly selected winner. 

Many years ago, during my travelling days, I was lucky enough to visit multiple game reserves in Africa. These were the best times of my life by far and I loved seeing the Game in their native homes. 

Therefore, for my second project, I’ve chosen to feature my holidays visiting those game reserves, and what craft dies are more perfect to use than the Tim Holtz Sizzix Colorize animals. 

I decided to create a scene in my large Dylusions Journal to see Tim’s gorgeous Colorize animals in their habitat. 

On a double page blank spread, I laid out the largest die of each animal to see which sizes I’d use for the make. I chose all the large ones and then a mini Winifred to accompany the larger Winifred. I decided against doing a ‘mini me’ Bernice as I felt the scene had enough animals in it. That’s why it’s always good to ‘prospect the page’ before starting. 


I coloured the top half of a double page spread by blending Distress Inks Squeezed Lemonade, Spiced Marmalade, Barn Door and Lumberjack Plaid for a lovely Savana sunset. 
For the ground I used Distress Ink Antique Linen stippled over with some Gathered Twigs using a sponge. I also created a ‘watering hole’ for the animals and blended the Distress Spray Stain Walnut Stain with a water brush the horizon and watering hole. 


I splattered the background with water, dried, and then on the ground I splattered with a fan brush some watered down Distress Spray Stain Walnut Stain. I added some glossy accents to the watering hole and left to dry. 

I die cut 3 of the Tim Holtz Sizzix Funky Trees 665217 as I thought they’d be a suitable Savana looking tree and made them so they were just top heavy to emulate the African Acacia trees. I only used the more angular tree style die for these and cut a few extra foliage bits to fill out the tops. 


Next I settled down to make to my animals. 
I used all the large Colorise dies for Harrison, Bernice, Gertrude, Clarence, Gladys and Winifred. I made a ‘mini me’ Winifred too, to accompany her ‘mum’.


For Clarence, I used the Ranger Cracked Leather card, following Tim Holtz’s method to colour this with Distress Spray Stains Hickory Smoke, Pumice Stone and Lost Shadow. 
You can see how Tim made this here: 


Please note, the small size Distress Cracked Leather Cardstock is too small for the largest Clarence die, so I cut out some from the larger sheet to make my background with. 


I then die cut Clarence out of the prepared card and assembled him. He looks awesome!! 
I continued making up the animals one by one using various coloured and textured card. 
For each one I edged each component with Distress Archival Black Soot before assembling. 



For Harrison I used some one-sided velvet type card that I had - I only had a small piece and I die cut it the wrong side which is why he’s looking in the other direction. But it works as he’s keeping an eye on Bernice coming out of the watering hole. 


From an older die Tim Holtz Sizzix Traveler Words Thin 661803, I cut out the words DISCOVER THE WORLD in white card and backed this onto black card, for my banner and then I die cut the aeroplane from another older die Tim Holtz Sizzix City Commute 661809 to pull my banner.  To finish my line up of animals I die cut some of the deer in 2 different colours (to act as antelope) from Tim Holtz Sizzix Darling Deer 664968.


I added markings to the deer (antelope) to look like Grants and Thomson’s Gazelle. 


Finally I assembled my scene with some elements lifted with 3D foam squares to create some depth. And here is the finished spread...




I have absolutely loved making this. I always worried that the Colorize dies were too complicated and intricate for me, but with the help of the Colorize Step Out (Stages of Assembly) on the Sizzix website on each die listing, it made assembly a breeze. 

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing my project come together. It was quite an ambitious make for me as there were a lot of components and steps. Thank you for stopping by my blog, it means a lot to me that people take the time to look. 

And don’t forget to join in our challenge on Facebook to win that £20 voucher. It finishes at the end of the month. 

Have a great day
Hugs
Carol
Xx

Products used:
(If anything is out of stock you can always contact Brenda at Country View Crafts to see if she can order it in for you, and she ships overseas too). 

Tim Holtz Sizzix Winifred Mini Colorize 667218

Tim Holtz Sizzix Winifred Colorize 664430

Tim Holtz Sizzix Harrison Colorize 665218

Tim Holtz Sizzix Clarence Colorize 664428

Tim Holtz Sizzix Gertrude Colorize 664429

Tim Holtz Sizzix Bernice Colorize 665366

Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Inks

Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Spray Stains

Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Paint

Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Archival Ink

Ranger Inkssentials Glossy Accents

Dylusions Creative Journal (out of stock)

Tim Holtz Distress Cracked Leather Cardstock (not in stock)
Tim Holtz Sizzix Gladys Colorize 665851 (not in stock)
Tim Holtz Sizzix City Commute 661809 (not in stock)
Tim Holtz Sizzix Traveler Words Thin 661803 (not in stock)
Tim Holtz Sizzix Funky Trees 665217 (not in stock)
Tim Holtz Sizzix Darling Deer 664968 (not in stock)

Wednesday, 1 July 2026

July DT Project 1 for Country View Crafts and Challenges - Holidays

Happy July!

Here I am with my first DT post for July, for Country View Crafts and Challenges on Facebook. 
It’s my turn to host the theme for July and I’ve chosen ‘Holidays’ - this can be any kind of Holiday you wish to feature - think Summer, Winter, Christmas, Thanksgiving, 4th July etc - what holidays mean to you - its quite an open subject so I look forward to seeing what you come up with. 

The challenge is open worldwide and you can join the group here where you will find information on how to enter:
There’s a fabulous £20 voucher to be won for a randomly selected winner. 

So, I chose Summer Holidays for my first make of the month. And where better to visit than Paris, which I always think of as the ‘City of Love and Romance’. 

“Florence decided it was high time to visit Paris on her summer holidays as she’d heard so much about it and she wasn’t disappointed”. 

First I painted a Stix 2 MDF Tag with white gesso. Once dry, I painted this with Distress Paints Chipped Sapphire, Picket Fence and Hickory Smoke and let dry. 


Next, I lightly stamped the script stamp from Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous I See Paris CMS009 onto the tag and at the bottom of the tag I stamped the ‘grit’ from Tim Holtz Urban Tapestry Stampers Anonymous CMS061 with my VersaFine Smokey Grey inkpad. You could use VersaFine Clair Morning Mist or another light grey inkpad. 


I die cut the Eiffel Tower from the Tim Holtz Sizzix Fleur-de-Lis and Eiffel Tower Bigz die, out of black cardstock. 


I stamped some tiny love hearts from the set Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Love Notes CMS477 with Distress Oxide Worn Lipstick and fussy cut them out. 


I chose my Paper Doll (‘Florence’) and Car from Tim Holtz Idea-ology Paper Doll Poses and coloured these with Distress Crayons. 

I cut out some postage stamp images from the Tim Holtz Palette Collection Blue and chose some tickets from the Tim Holtz Idea-ology Ticket Book.


I selected my sentiment from the Tim Holtz Idea-ology Sticker Book Chitchat, layered the words up onto white card and cut out, and then edged this and every component with Distress Ink Walnut Stain including the tag. 


Then it was a matter of layering up the components and adding some ribbon. 
I raised ‘Florence’ with black foam stickers so she stands out from the background. 

I found different texture ribbons in blue, white and red, (the flag colours of France) the red one has got ‘love’ printed on it so I found it appropriate to use for my tag. 

And here’s my holiday tag. Wish I was there. 




I loved making this and hope you may be inspired to make something like it and maybe join in our challenge too. It runs for the month of July and you can enter 5 times with different makes to be in with a chance to win the £20 voucher. 

Thank you for checking out my blog. I really appreciate you looking. 
Have a fab day,
Hugs
Carol xx 

Products used:
(If anything is out of stock you can always contact Brenda at Country View Crafts to see if she can order it in for you, and she ships overseas too). 

Tim Holtz Sizzix Bigz Fleur-de-Lis and Eiffel Tower 658556

Tim Holtz Idea-Ology Paper Dolls Poses 

Tim Holtz Palette Collection Blue

Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous CMS477 Love Notes

Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous CMS061 Urban Tapestry

Stix 2 MDF Tag 
Or
Tim Holtz Etcetera Tag No.8

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Ticket Book

VersaFine Clair Morning Mist

Tim Holtz Distress Inks Mini

Tim Holtz Distress Oxides Mini

Tim Holtz Distress Crayons

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Sticker Book Chitchat (currently out of stock) 



Wednesday, 24 June 2026

June DT Project 2 for Country View Crafts and Challenges - Nature

Hello, 

It’s time for my second DT project for Country View Crafts and Challenges for June on Facebook. 
What a beautiful theme our lovely team member Lyns has chosen for this month, Nature, and there’s been some really lovely entries already. 

The challenge is open worldwide and you can join the group here where you will find information on how to enter:
There’s a fabulous £20 voucher to be won for a randomly selected winner. 

I’ve been having a bit of a sort out and I came across some background papers I made in an Alison Bomber workshop I attended last year at Country View Crafts. 
They were just calling out to me to use for this project and I decided to make a few cards to have on hand. 

First I cut and folded the main card base in white 309gsm card. 
Originally my background pieces were created using Paperartsy Mattints and I used the Alison Bomber Paperartsy Fodder School Edition stamp set to layer in the background. 


On the already prepared pieces, I used the stencil PS452 by Alison Bomber Paperartsy, using Distress Ink Hickory Smoke to give it some depth in the background too. 


I edged each background with a Tim Holtz Tonic distresser tool to give it some texture, then I glued these onto the folded cards. I added a postage stamp to each one from the Tim Holtz Idea-ology Postmarked Sticker Book. 

Next I stamped up some berries from the Fodder School Edition stamp set with VersaFine Clair Nocturne Ink on white watercolour card. 
I coloured these with Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Pencils - Festive Berries, Tea Dye, Wilted Violet, Chipped Sapphire, Mowed Lawn and Evergreen Bough from Distress Set 4. 


Then I fussy these out and coloured in the inner white areas with Distress Watercolor Pencil Walnut Stain to blend into the background.
 


I scrunched up some cotton and glued it under where the berries were going to sit on my background. I glued down the back layer of berries and then added thin sticky back foam to lift the upper layer of berries up a little. 

Finally to complete my cards, I layered a sentiment from the Tim Holtz Idea-ology Small Talk sticker book onto black cardstock and placed these onto the background with a thin piece of foam tape. And here they are...


I hope you like my cards and may be inspired to make some like these for yourself and also to join in our challenge on Facebook. You have until the end of the month to enter.
 

Thanks for stopping by my blog. 
Have a great day
Hugs
Carol x 

Products used:
(If anything is out of stock you can always contact Brenda at Country View Crafts to see if she can order it in for you, and she ships overseas too). 

Alison Bomber Paperartsy Stencil PS452

Alison Bomber Paperartsy Stamps Fodder School Edition EABF

Paperartsy Mattints

Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Inks

Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Pencils 

VersaFine Clair Nocturne Ink-pad

Tim Holtz Tonic Paper Distresser Tool

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Small Talk Sticker Book (currently out of stock)

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Postmarked Sticker Book (currently out of stock)


Saturday, 13 June 2026

June DT Project 1 for Country View Crafts and Challenges - Nature

Hello June!

Here I am with my first DT Project for Country View Crafts and Challenges on Facebook for June. 

Nature. What a beautiful theme our lovely team member Lyns has chosen for this month.

The challenge is open worldwide and you can join the group here where you will find information on how to enter:
There’s a fabulous £20 voucher to be won for a randomly selected winner. 
Already I’m seeing some awesome entries so I hope you’ll put something together and join in. 


My first project is a Tim Holtz products one. 
I thought I’d make use of my Idea-ology stash and put a little something together in the large display dome. I decided on a winter nature theme as here in NZ it's currently coming into winter and wanted to create a frosty scene for my sweet little deer.


I die cut some grass in white card from the Sizzix 666069 Modern Festive set and edged these lightly with Distress Ink Iced Spruce. Then I added some Distress Christmas Gritpaste SnowFall to the edges. I also added some of this to the Idea-ology Christmas Pinecones.


I gently edged the Idea-ology Toadstools with Distress Ink Gathered Twigs, added some Distress Christmas Gritpaste Snowfall and set aside. I also blended over some of the flowers from Idea-ology Bouquet with Distress Ink Iced Spruce.

Next it was time to paint my Tim Holtz Idea-ology Salvaged Deer. I painted him in layers with Distress Paint Brushed Corduroy, Walnut Stain, Tea Stain, Gathered Twigs and Rusty Hinge, and a little Worn Lipstick to his nose. When dry I added some white dots to his back with a Posca pen. I also added a little Distress Paint Picket Fence to under his tail and added eyes with a black Posca pen.


I painted the top of the cork in Distress Paint Rustic Wilderness (the part that would hold all my elements) then added Iced Spruce on top of this as I decided to go with the winter theme. I also distressed the outside edge of the cork with Distress Ink Ground Espresso. 

From the Stampers Anonymous Tidbits CMS488 set, I stamped out the words ‘Example 3’ on thick card and cut this out.


I gave the edges a light distress with my Tim Holtz Paper Distresser tool and then I distressed the edges with Distress Ink Gathered Twigs. I punched a hole in each end with a Crop-a-dile, added an eyelet and then threaded through some string, ready to add after everything was in place. 

Time to assemble the main act. I glued some reindeer moss to the top of the cork using Dina Wakley Heavy Gel Medium. Using a hot glue gun I anchored the toadstools and my deer. I interspersed my die cut 'grass' amongst the reindeer moss. I dotted about a few Idea-ology Christmas Pinecones, glueing these down with the hot glue gun too and also added some of the bouquet flowers.

I put the glass dome on top and then I added my banner with string around the cork to finish. 

And here’s my June nature display dome project all completed. 






I hope you like this and that it inspires you to have a play with your own Idea-ology stash. It really is a lot of fun. 

Thanks for stopping by my blog. 
Have a great day
Hugs
Carol x 

Products used:
(If anything is out of stock you can always contact Brenda at Country View Crafts to see if she can order it in for you, and she ships overseas too). 

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Display Dome

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Toadstools

Tim Holtz Distress Paints 

Tim Holtz Distress Ink

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Christmas Pinecones

Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits Modern Festive 666069

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Salvaged Deer

Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Tidbits CMS488

Tim Holtz Paper Distresser

We R Memory Keepers Crop-a-dile Punch & Eyelet Setter

Uni-ball Posca Pen White

Distress Christmas Gritpaste Snowfall


August - DT Project 1 for Country View Crafts and Challenges - Monochrome

Hello, Happy August!  Here I am with my first DT post for August, for Country View Crafts and Challenges on Facebook.  The theme for this mo...