Thursday, 3 July 2025

July DT Project 1 For Country View Crafts and Challenges - The Great Outdoors

Hello there,
Phew! Hasn’t it been hot! 
Well, time to get into the craft room and out of the sun, as it’s time for my first DT make for July for Country View Crafts and Challenges, with the theme ‘The Great Outdoors’ as chosen by our lovely Jane.

 

The challenge is open worldwide and you can join the group here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/164920247712393


You must use products from brands that Country View Crafts stocks. You can enter 5 times each month with different projects and one winner will be selected randomly. There's always an amazing prize to be won.

 
So, for my first project I thought I’d make a tag book with birds as my main feature. 
 
First I chose my tags that would be the basis of the book. I used Dina Wakley 3” square tags but you could easily use Tim Holtz size 8 tags and cut them in half. 


I used Tim Holtz Idea-ology Aviary Collage Paper to cover both sides of each tag. (I chose the design part I wanted and cut the paper to wrap around both sides, so it was all in one long piece). 
 
Unfortunately my paper wasn’t printed properly, so the images are somewhat blurry. I hadn’t noticed this when I first bought it, so make sure to check your collage paper is crisply printed when buying. (This wasn’t purchased from Country View Crafts I hasten to add. I bought it absolutely ages ago and can’t remember where from :-D ) 
I was careful to keep the tags the same way round when covering them - with the hole to the left, as that’s my chosen way to have the spine. I used Ranger Collage Medium to glue the collage paper on and also for gluing down all the ephemera. 

 
After that it was the fun part. Choosing the ephemera from multiple packs of Tim’s Idea-ology - Number Strips, Field Notes Snippets, Halloween 2024 (the Raven), cello sticker book, chit chat, postmarked and I used 3 Tiny Clips too to add interest. 
I also added some random letters from Idea-ology Mini Marquee Letters that I’ve got. 

Once I’d completed decorating the ‘pages’ I chose a word from the Idea-ology Chit Chat book and added to each page. 

 
Then I secured the book by threading a piece of sari ribbon through the holes and tying a reef knot. And here’s my little tag book. 
 
 


I hope you’ll have a go - there’s no end to what you could decorate the pages with. Such Fun! 

And don’t forget to join in the challenge over on Facebook. There’s always a fabulous prize to be won. 
 
Thank you for checking out my blog. 
Hugs
Carol x 

Products used:

Tim Holtz Collage Paper Aviary

Tim Holtz Mixed Media Tags #8
 

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Tiny Clips

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Ephemera Number Strips 

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Sticker Book Postmarked

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Cello Sticker Tape

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Ephemera Field Notes Snippets

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Ephemera Halloween 2024

Tim Holtz Ranger Collage Medium



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Wednesday, 18 June 2025

June DT Project 2 For Country View Crafts and Challenges - Travel

Hello there,

Well, 'sunny' June has finally graced our shores and I’m saying hello again with my second DT project for Country View Crafts for this month, with the theme: Travel.

 

The challenge is open worldwide and you can join the group here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/164920247712393


You must use products from brands that Country View Crafts stocks. 

You can enter 5 times each month with different projects and one winner will be selected randomly. There's an amazing prize of 49 and Market Wanderlust Explorer package to be won.

 

So, I’m thinking outside the proverbial box for this one and thought this stamp set 'Ahead Of Our Time' by Visible Image would be perfect for this month’s theme -Travel - but I was thinking ‘Time Travel’ as my make. 

I wanted to make it look like a comic strip, so I measured out 2 strips of fine cartridge paper - 3.5in x 7in to fit my chosen journal. 

I stamped my images over these two pieces in Versacolor Nocturne Ink, laying them out in a landscape design and making sure that the main images sat within a 3.5in x 3.5in area within the 7in strip, as these will be cut in half. 
I used my Misti stamping platform for this and each time I placed my stamp, I used a piece of acetate to protect the stamped paper and to ‘audition’ where I wanted to position the stamp in the design. I masked off the door as I wanted this to be a solid image and not have the ‘time clock’ image showing through. I used the Hobbygros Pressing Tool to get a good crisp image. 
 
 
 

When I was happy with my design, I dabbed on clear water onto the background with a brush, and then by dipping a brush into the bottles, I added Distress Ink Spray Stain to the water. 
I used Candied Apple, Squeezed Lemonade, Rustic Wilderness, Broken China and Villainous Potion. 
I was inspired to do these colours by looking at the Visible Image stamp set cover which I thought was perfect for ‘time travel’. 
I went a bit too 'wet' I think, as some of the stamped images 'bled' a little - around some edges. I didn't have a juicy enough Archival Ink Pad which I would have preferred to use, and think would have been better with the wet technique.


The paper buckled a little because of the water on it, so I put them under something heavy to flatten them out. I’m lucky enough to have an old book press as I also do bookbinding, so it’s great for flattening those buckled papers. 
 
 
Next, I painted in the ‘door’ with Walnut Stain and Ground Espresso Spray Stains and and the words ‘past’ and ‘future’ with the coordinating colour Distress Spray Stains that I used for the background, using a fine brush dipped in. I didn’t add any water this time as I wanted them full strength and I dried between each application. Once again I pressed them in my book press to flatten. 

I went around the word edges, door knob and the ‘eye’ on the man with a gold gel pen. 

Then, I cut each strip in half and glued them into my journal. I went around the edges with a black pen. 
 
Finally, on my computer I made and printed out the captions for my ‘comic strip’ and added these to the pictures. 

And here it is. I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing my process and will be inspired to join in our challenge at Country View Crafts and Challenges. 
 
 

 
Thanks so much for visiting my blog. 
Big hugs
Carol x 


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

Visible Image Ahead of Time

Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Spray Stains

Hobbygros Pressing Tool 



 


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Thursday, 5 June 2025

June DT Project 1 For Country View Crafts and Challenges - Travel

Hello there,

Here we are in June already and I’m saying hello with my first DT project for Country View Crafts for this month chosen by Zoe with the theme: Travel.

 

The challenge is open worldwide and you can join the group here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/164920247712393


You must use products from brands that Country View Crafts stocks. 

You can enter 5 times each month with different projects and one winner will be selected randomly. 

There's an amazing prize of 49 and Market Wanderlust Explorer package to be won.


What better to make than a travel notebook for the theme this month. They’re always great to have to take away on holiday so how about making one to take on your next trip away or to give to a friend. 

The ones I’ve made are small enough to put in your bag and won’t take up too much room. They’re literally to jot down odd notes in - not as a diary or journal as they’re not very big but you can insert extra pages if you wanted it to be bigger. 

To start, I painted Distress Prize Ribbon and Distress Lumberjack Plaid over two pieces of thick white card stock that would fit the Vault Airmail embossing folder. I also painted the underside of these in their respective colours as this will be the inside cover. 
 

I painted the blue over the embossing folder and placed my prepared red card in this and ran it though my Sizzix machine. This gave a top colour to the raised parts of the embossed card. I repeated with red paint on the folder and embossed the blue cover. 
 
 
Once dry, I brayered over some Distress Paint Silver Pewter to further highlight the raised parts. 
 
 
I left these to dry out and then folded each one in half and trimmed round the edges. 

Taking 2 pieces of white A4 100gsm photocopy paper, I folded each in half, cut this, and then folded in half again and cut, to have 4 quarters from the A4 sheet, which I folded in half and slotted into each other. I then trimmed these to fit the book covers. Overall dimensions are approx 7.5cm x 11cm.

I added Lumberjack Plaid Distress Ink to the splat stamp from Stampers Anonymous Ravens CMS310 and spritzed lightly,  did a print on spare paper and then did a second generation stamp onto the pages. I repeated with Prize Ribbon Distress Ink for the other notebook set. I also did some ghost prints without spritzing with water. 
 

Once dry, I folded these in half and inserted into my notebook covers. 

I measured 3 holes onto a folded paper template that was approx 11cm - the height of the notebook, one in the middle and two spaced either side of this. 
I placed this firmly in the centre of the pages that I’d inserted into the notebook covers.  
With the book folded together with just enough opening to get my awl in, placing the spine on some thick greyboard, I used my awl to make the holes through the template right through the pages and cover. 
 

Using embroidery thread, book thread or anything that is a good sturdy thread, I sewed a pamphlet stitch through these to secure the pages together. 

Here’s my diagram for the pamphlet stitch.
 
 
I stamped some words from Stampers Anonymous Curiosity Shop CMS482 on the inside pages and also the words ‘Just a Note’ onto a piece of white card, cut this out, layered onto black card, and then cut this out. I then glued this to the front cover of each notebook. 

Finally, with the loose threads on the outside spine, I tied a metal charm that I had in my stash, of a boat and a plane to each notebook. 

And there’s my completed notebooks for my next excursion. 
 
 
I hope you’ll be inspired to have a go at making them. You can decorate them as much or as little as you like. 
And don’t forget to enter the challenge on Country View Crafts and Challenges Facebook page for that amazing prize of 49 and Market Wanderlust Explorer package.

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


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

Tim Holtz Distress Paints 

Sizzix Tim Holtz Embossing Folder Vault Airmail
https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/666869-sizzix-multi-level-textured-impressions-embossing-folder---vault-airmail-by-tim-holtz-178415-p.asp

Stampers Anonymous CMS310 Ravens

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Monday, 19 May 2025

May DT Project 2 For Country View Crafts and Challenges - Weathered, Aged, Distressed, Time Worn

Hello there, 

I hope you're all well.
Here I am back with my second DT make for May's theme Weathered, Aged, Distressed, Time Worn (it can be any or all of these), for Country View Crafts and Challenges on Facebook. 

The challenge is open worldwide and you can join the group here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/164920247712393

and you must use products from brands that Country View Crafts stocks. 

You can enter 5 times each month with different projects and one winner will be selected randomly. There’s an amazing prize to win. 


I had an ATC (Artist Trading Card) swap to do, so what better than to show you how I make my ATCs, for this month's challenge. 

An ATC measures 2.5” x 3.5” and can be made either portrait or landscape. 
I decided to make it landscape. You must use a fairly substantial cardstock (around 300gsm) or add a thicker/double layer if it’s a little thin. I had used a 300gsm, but the embossing seemed to thin it out a little, so I backed it with a thicker cardstock.

I had 10 to make so from an A4 cardstock, I know I can get 9 ATCs. I actually used an A3 sheet of card and cut this down to measure out 12 ATCs, and then painted this with Tim Holtz Distress Speckled Egg and Weathered Wood.
Once dry, I cut out the 10 ATCs (with 2 leftover to spare). 
 
 
Using Tim Holtz Sizzix 3-D Texture Fades Embossing Folder - Woodgrain 666297, I rubbed over some Distress Ink Scorched Timber on the raised side that would be pressing down on the front of my ATC, then embossed each ATC, 2 at a time. This gives the aged wood effect to the background.
If you don’t have the embossing folder you can always use the Tim Holtz Distress Woodgrain Cardstock which would cut out the need to ink and emboss.

 
I ‘randomly’ added some Crackle Paste to 3 areas and let it work its magic. 
Once ‘cracked’, I rubbed over some Hickory Smoke Distress Crayon and lightly moved it around with a wet brush to get into the cracks, dabbing dry with a paper towel.
 
 
Then I chose my Moths from the Tim Holtz Idea-ology Transparencies Moths pack and placed them on each ATC with some Inkssentials Redline double sided tape after creasing the wings to stand up. Usually you keep ATCs fairly flat so they can be kept in storage pockets as some people like to store them (I for one). Pushing up the transparency wings won't affect this as they can lay flat when being stored.

I chose a sentiment from the Tim Holtz Idea-ology Metallic Sticker Book, added each one to a thick cardstock and cut out, then added these to the ATCs, stuck down with the Redline double sided tape. 
 
And finally they were done. Now I can send them on their way to their new owners.
 
 
So there's my process for making multiple ATCs with a weathered and aged look. I hope this will inspire you to have a go at making some and maybe join in some swaps. Also, I look forward to seeing your entries in the challenge on Facebook if you feel you'd like to join in. There's always an amazing prize to win.

Thank you for stopping by to read my blog.
Have a great day.
Hugs
Carol xx

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

Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Paints
https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/ranger-tim-holtz-distress-paints-436-c.asp

Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Ink Scorched Timber

Tim Holtz Sizzix Embossing Folders

Tim Holtz Distress Woodgrain Cardstock

Tim Holtz Distress Crayons

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Transparencies Moths

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Metallic Sticker Book 

Ranger Inkssentials Redline Tape 

Ranger Opaque Crackle Paste 
https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/ranger-texture-paste-opaque-crackle-39-fl-oz-116-ml-75614-p.asp
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Monday, 5 May 2025

May DT Project 1 For Country View Crafts and Challenges - Weathered, Aged, Distressed, Time Worn

Hello and a very happy Spring Bank Holiday to you...

It’s my turn to present my first DT project for Country View Crafts for May with the theme: Weathered, Aged, Distressed, Time Worn. It can be any or all of these. 

The challenge is open worldwide and you can join the group here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/164920247712393


You must use products from brands that Country View Crafts stocks. You can enter 5 times each month with different projects and one winner will be selected randomly. There’s an amazing prize to win. 


So, what could I do for this theme? 

I thought I’d work in my altered book to bring you a Weathered, Aged, Distressed, Time Worn page.

 

To start, I prepped the page with white gesso just to give it some grip. 


I randomly painted Tim Holtz Distress Paints in Speckled Egg and Weathered Wood over this and then painted over Distress Crackle Paste and left to dry to work its magic. 

Once my crackle was dry, I realised it had pulled the paper inwards, contracting as it dried, and silly me, I hadn't glued this page to the one behind to give it some substance, so I did it at this point, accidentally tearing off a portion of the bottom as I was 'pulling' the paper to fit. I glued it back on and I kind of like the effect it has of a broken wall.

 

I then rubbed over a Hickory Smoke Distress Crayon and blended into the cracks with a wet brush, finish off by rubbing over with my finger too. 


I stamped parts of the page with Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Components Tattered Sparrow over the background in Jet Black Archival Ink pad by lightly pressing parts of the stamp down and then I edged the page with the same inkpad. 

 

 

Next, I prepped the elements that I was going to use. I found a Paper Doll from Tim Holtz Idea-ology Paper Dolls Solos and a frame from Idea-ology Baseboards Halloween 2024 that I wanted as my focal point. 


I die cut some flowers from the Vault Floristry set and then smooshed them in some Distress Ink Hickory Smoke, Speckled Egg and Weathered Wood to age them somewhat. I decided my girl need a little pop of Fossilized Amber on her flowers too to tie in with the die cut flowers, so I added a little Distress Crayon on there too.

 

Then it was time to put it all together. 

I layered up the paper doll and the frame and then placed my die cut flowers to suit, using 3D foam as needed to raise up the girl and some flowers.


Here is the finished page. I hope you like it. I enjoyed thinking about how I was going to put this page together and am pleased with the outcome. 

 

Thanks for taking the time to look at my blog.

Hugs,

Carol xx



Products used:


Vault Floristry Thinlits 

https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/666872---sizzix-thinlits-2d-tf-embossing-folder-w11pk-thinlits---vault-floristry-by-tim-holtz-178174-p.asp


Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Components Tattered Sparrow

https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/tim-holtz-components-cling-mount-collage-stamp---tattered-sparrow-178550-p.asp


Idea-ology Paper Dolls

https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/th94376---tim-holtz-idea-ology---paper-dolls-poses-62-pieces-174040-p.asp


Idea-ology Halloween 2024 Baseboards

https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/th94390---tim-holtz-idea-ology--halloween-2024---baseboards-175743-p.asp

Distress Paints

https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/ranger-tim-holtz-distress-paints-436-c.asp


Distress Crayons
https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/tim-holtz-crayons-955-c.asp

 

Distress Inks
https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/tim-holtz-distress-ink--re-inkers-103-c.asp

 

Crackle Paste Opaque

https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/ranger-texture-paste-opaque-crackle-39-fl-oz-116-ml-75614-p.asp

 

Jet Black Archival Ink

https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/ranger-archival-ink-pad-jet-black---90mm-x-62mm-1609-p.asp




 

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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...