Lace Heart featuring one of Annette's faerie ciggies

Very cold here this morning - 3C -winter has arrived!  Recently I've started making some YouTube videos to show the process behind some of the items I make.   Finished this lace heart at the weekend 

and all the lace on it was made by myself and my machine!  The beautiful fabric picture at the centre is one of Annette Graves' ciggies.  Annette draws, paints, produces her own original artwork which she prints on to fabric and sells.  You can visit her Etsy shop here and her blog here to have a look at her art and her marvelous crazy quilted pieces.

My little lace video is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfgMN-AQQ6g Please have a look and let me know what you think.   Now I am new to all this video stuff so please don't expect cinema quality!

Have a great day

Ger x

My First YouTube video

Have been so busy getting ready for craft fairs etc that I didn't feel in blogging mode.  Yesterday I made 20+ crochet brooches for a sale of work.  Needed some way of keeping track of them and wasn't in the humour for photographing them 1 by 1, uploading, editing etc etc so today I sat down with my new Ipad and figured out how to make a video and uploaded it to Youtube...it ain't perfect: I am not a tecchy person and you can hear the dogs playing in the background, my hands shake, my fingers are in tatters, my voice is too low (I was terrified of sounding like those "shouty" ladies you come across on Youtube!)....but I did it without any help from the in house techno man!    Here is the link  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiSL2DUzX_Y  why not subscribe as I'm planning to have a little giveaway sooner or later?  The photo is of a machine embroidered "Failte" sign (the Irish for Welcome  ie welcome to my YouTube offering!)  and some little lavender bags I made recently.
Hope everybody is well and settling in for the wintery nights.
Ger x

Green Stuff

Last Saturday I found a tiny little lady bird wandering around the kitchen so I picked it up and carefully put it on a bush in the garden.  The ladybird (or ladybug depending on what side of the pond you are on) wasn't red - it was a dull orangey brown colour so I decided to decorate a little canvas using the little insect for inspiration.

 Put layers of gesso, paint and stencilling on the canvas.  Stamped the ladybird on tissue paper, coloured it and glued it onto the background.  Cut some tattered flowers, covered them in Glossy Accents and sprinkled on some beads.  The lace leaves and flowers are my own makes.  The pinky-green flowers are from my Crazy Quilting stash.  Entering this in Sunday Stamper week 270 Green Onions challenge

 Now, I have been trying to get back into some of the crafts I did years ago and made up this beaded leaf necklace from a free Craftsy pattern.  Really enjoyed making it and must get back into the world of beading!

Close-up of my necklace

That's all for now!

Wishing you all a great weekend

Geraldine

Tag Day

Well, it was worth my while going back to the land of blogging because the first card I entered in a challenge for ages won me a £15 voucher for the Craft Barn.  So many thanks to the lovely people behind the Allsorts challenge!  Going to enjoy a little spend in the Craft Barn.
I have 2 Tags to share today: the first tag I made for the Dragons Dream  Waste/Rubbish, Male, Chipboard challenge.  Can't resist any excuse to root in the recycling bin!

 I cut the main part of the tag from cardboard packaging and glued on a pediment cut with the Bigz pediments die set.  Then I gave the tag one coat of teal paint and let it dry. Next, I got a packet of Biscotti biscuits (having finished them off first) and turned it inside out to get at the lovely shiny interior. Coloured the shiny bit with alcohol inks, die cut it and glued it on to the painted background.  Covered the whole lot with a rectangle of acetate (more packaging) on which I stamped the image of the little boy blowing bubbles. The whole lot is held in place with a strip of the shiny packaging with "Have Fun" stamped on it.  Added a chipboard flower to the top with bakers twine going through it. 
Stamps used are Docrafts John Byars range
The next tag is a quickie: just a little "Thank You" for a friend.  I don't have a long heart shaped die so I just made the shape using a heart shape and a ruler.  The angel and flowers are my own snippets and the blue background card is from Hunkydory.  The "Thank You" is stamped on the back.

                                                     Close up of flowers

That's all for now
Happy Crafting
Geraldine 

Kraft Card

Haven't posted on my blog for about 2 and a half months!  So I'm going to ease back into blogging gently and enter the Allsorts "Kraft It" challenge with this card.

Stamp used:  Inkylicious "Charlotte"
Kraft card blank plus flowers made from Kraft card using TH tattered flower die.
The flower centers are little crochet circles made by myself.
Now that wasn't too painful!
Hi to all 
Geraldine

Another "Blanche"

Sometimes you get an image or stamp that you cant stop using....I love Saturated Canary's "Blanche".  Lots of digis are very cutsey/cute and suitable for young girls/teens but Blanche is another creature altogether.  I like to imagine that she has just divorced husband No 3 and is off to socialise and get her claws into Mr. B No 4!
Here is a "Blanche" card I made for a friend's 50th birthday and forgot to blog at the time...

Coloured with Copics, background made with Anja Ovals die, added some gardenias and a bit of gold net for her wrap.  Glitter is Stickles Fruit Punch. 
Entering this is Totallypapercrafts "Divas" challenge No 167.
Ger x

Mid Month reminder

Yes, we are half way through May and time to remind you of By the Cute and Girly's "Flowers" challenge which is open until the end of this month.  Details of the challenge, prize, sponsor etc HERE
Now for my (very quick and easy) card.

Background is made with Papermania "Nostalgia" paper with Spellbinders Romantic rectangles and Detailed scallop dies.
The flowers are Memory Box Hollyhocks with little gems added and the lace butterfly is one of my own snippets.  
"Flowers" is a lovely easy challenge theme and this will be our last challenge before BTC&G take a summer break.
Entering this card into Artisticinspirations Challenge no 41 "Flowers and Lace"
Ger x