Tag # 28 It's Christmas

So close to Christmas now, so it was time to have a christmas theme over at Go Tag Thursday...this challenge will run for 2 weeks until the next challenge on the 5th January 2017

I don't make so many christmas themed things now, it's been a good few years now since I last made cards and gift tags and assorted stationary christmas gifts...but I must admit I did enjoy making these 2 Tags..I recycled 2 clothing tags..they were so thick, almost like board, so I had to put them to good use...

Do check out the Tag Challenge...you can find it here at
                            Go Tag Thursday

Vintage Females

I have always loved the look and style of the vintage females..they had such elegance..so I decided to use that as this weeks theme over at  Go Tag Thursday.
Why not pop over for a lookie.
Here are my Tags in the hope they inspire you to enter the challenge

My first Tag was created using a downloaded image again some Paris backing paper..to embellish I added some hessian and lace, a small tag and label....and then distressed the edges using walnut stain distress ink

For the second Tag I used a PaperArtsy stamp, one I have had in my stash for well over a year. I more or less kept it in monochrome to give it more of a vintage effect..I love the 1948 postmark..I stamped and coloured that separately then added it to the tag...I distressed the edges using wild honey distress ink.
                      You can find this fun challenge here at
                                         Go Tag Thursday

Music is the theme

Over at Go Tag Thursday  this weeks challenge has just launched...and yes you guessed it, the theme is Music.
As always your tag can be any size, any medium...just stay within the theme,

                                Here are my Music Tags

You can find the challenge here 

Go Tag Thursday

Warrior Princess

Well, here we are,the start of December..I am amazed every year by how quickly the months fly by.
I remember as a child the long lazy days of summer, half term and school holidays....now that I am a lot older I blink and I lose a day...
The December and the last challenge for Rhedds has just launched..as always no paper crafts....
for my project this month I have created a Warrior Princess....

I started with a small polystyrene dress form which I painted with gesso...then I inserted the stand, also painted with gesso...
From my scrap box I added a black skirt and over that added strips of different fabrics.

I then created the bodice using strips of black faux leather from an old handbag..some of which looked quilted.

I also created a belt and the over skirt from the faux leather. I fastened the over skirt by punching out some holes at the waist and threading some cord through in a cross over style.

I found a small leather strap that I adhered to the over skirt, then using some stiff card and some masking tape I created the sword..adding some of the quilted faux leather for the handle etc.

Searching through my box of broken jewellery I found this gorgeous piece and it made such a great breast shield..I also found some bits of chain from an old bracelet that had the same colour bead as the stone in the breast plate.

I am really quite pleased with the end result....to see what the rest of the design team have created why not pop over for a look..maybe enter our challenge this month...

You can find the challenge here at
Rhedd's Creative Spirit.

Christmas Tree Tag

Sadly very few entered last week Tag Challenge over at Go Tag Thursday....
This week Zoe is hosting so I hope as the theme is more seasonal a few more folk may want to play along...and as I am not hosting I get to play too.

                            Here's my Christmas Tree Tag....

I have zoomed in a bit here to show the sparkle....

I would love it if you dropped by the blog...you can find the challenge here at
                               Go Tag Thursday

Steampunky Door Hanger

This is my design team project for this months challenge over at Altered Eclectics.....however this project started from a Door Hanger that I received from Fernli Designs and the instructions were to alter it...

I covered the door hanger in backing paper that had some cogs on and after trimming I daubed it with  evergreen bough and red berries distress inks.I also coloured some cogs the same way.

For the centre section I used the drawer from one of Fernli Designs matchboxes.

This I lined with paper that I had embossed with a cog folder and again coloured with the same distress ink.

The four sides of the drawer was dabbed with red and turquoise acrylic paints.

Using the face stamp of a Gibson Girl I stamped and coloured her image and added her to the drawer.

I added several cogs and some brass nuts and clock and other embellishments....also the top section which is actually a handle bracket from an old sideboard...

You can find the challenge at Altered Eclectics HERE

It's all about Sport

This weeks challenge is now underway over at Go Tag Thursday  and the theme is Sports
Here are mine....

Do pop over for a lookie..who knows, you may even want to join in with the challenge....

you can find the blog here at

Go Tag Thursday

Tag # 23...Texture

The theme at Go Tag Thursday this week is all about Texture.
Your Tag can be any size or shape...you can use any medium so long as you keep within the theme...

                                     These are my Tags

I used torn paper and texture paste for the background on this tag.

    For this tag I used an embossing folder to create texture.

Would love you to visit the blog and maybe enter the challenge...would be so nice to see a few more entries over there....
You can find the blog here......Go Tag Thursday

My Autumn Princess.

A few weeks ago I was offered the chance to enter a challenge that was being hosted by Fernli Designs ....the challenge was to Dress Up one of their 10 inch dress forms.
( each entrant was asked to pay a small refundable deposit ensuring that they honour the challenge after receiving their Fernli product. Such a good idea as sadly there are crafters who take the freebies and not enter the challenges )
After receiving my dress form I stood it on my work bench for a couple of weeks...at one point I was worried that I still hadn't come up with a definite idea of how I was going to dress it up.

I decided to go for a long walk one day last week, mainly to clear away the cobwebs and clear my head. I was in awe of all the wonderful colours of the trees,shrubs and leaves...this is one of the most favourite times of the year for me and as I was scuffling through the leaves I knew exactly how I was going to dress up my dress form.....and so Autumn Princess was born.

I decided to keep the form in its natural state and made an under dress for it, stitching it in place, then I added some pale green lace in a "v" around the neck, front and back.
I tore up an old scarf that I no longer used ( the dark colours made my neck dirty, no matter how many times I washed the scarf, lol )  finishing the bodice off with some pretty black lace.

For the skirt I used strips of silky materials that I had bought over a year ago from a craft fair...each strip was knotted to another, I think they get knitted or plaited, sorry to say I don't know exactly, I do remember loving the colours and just had to buy the bundle.
The colours are so much like the leaves and shrubs I saw on my walk, even down to the purple colour...
The strips were cut to the lengths that I needed for the skirt and along with some black feathers and some strips from my scarf and I glued them to the waist of the form.

Then from my broken jewellery stash I found some bits that I added a few charms to and added to the skirt...finishing that by winding a silky green fabric strip around the waist.
I also made a necklace, and....well I just couldn't resist adding the Princess crown.

I also fashioned a little bag from material from one of my old handbags, which I cross stitched along the sides with waxed cord, padded it out slightly with a piece of sponge..the fastener is a sparkly black brad.

I covered the stand in some cheese cloth and then some hessian....I found this sweet robin in my stash and a bundle of short willow sticks..I adhered them to the base..added some reindeer moss and also some tiny little fir cones I found on my walk...
I am so pleased at how this project turned out..it is exactly how I saw it in my head on my walk..but as all we crafters know, what we "see" in our heads dosen't always look like the finished product,lol...

             You can find Fernli Designs Here

Tag # 22 House / Home

This weeks challenge is now underway over at Go Tag Thursday...the theme is House or Home..so plenty of scope for a great Tag...

Here are my Tags.....the mini Tag book I made from a a set of house style stamps that I heat embossed and colour with the shimmering Luminarte paints (H20s) unfortunately the weather is so dull here and I am over shadowed by trees too...

                           You can find the challenge here at 

                                      Go Tag Thursday

Tag # 21 Birds/birdhouses

This week's challenge has just started over at
                                   Go Tag Thursday
The theme is Birds..why not pop over and have a look at this fun challenge..you have the chance to have your Tag showcased if your Tag is selected as one of the top two....

Here are my Tags, the first two are for the challenge

 The last one is one is just an extra one that I am sharing here...a tag made from kraft card ( pre cut from a pack) I rubber stamped it and coloured the images and then highlighted the image with glossy accents...

You can find the tag challenge HERE

Cute Altered Ribbon Reel

November's challenge is now under way over at Rhedds Creative Spirit  and for my design team project I altered a fab wooden Ribbon Reel.
Unfortunately I don't come across these very often as it seems most suppliers take the ribbon or fabric off the reels...the one I have used for this project had printed fabric with christmas greetings on and was a lucky find,especially locally to me.

Initially I was going to paint the ribbon reel and then after getting all the elements together realised it would look far better in it's original state.

Starting with the spool, I covered that with some vintage backing paper and secured it with strong glue..then added some hessian and lace, securing again with strong glue..I didn't want it pinging out and then having to redo it again.
I then tied some string around the centre of the spool before adding the flowers and the leaves...the leaves were old buttons I found in a charity shop a few years ago..I knew at some stage they would come in useful....

Now to decorated the top...I was at one point unsure how I was going to decorate it as I had several ideas going through my mind..eventually I went for the bird in a nest, as the bird ( 2 in a pack ) I had just recently purchased and the colour of it was gorgeous.

I cut a circle from some hessian and then pulled a bit round the edges, glued that to the wooden top section..on top of the hessian I then layered up some lace, a greeny coloured cotton doilie and another scrap of hessian.

To create a loose nest I wound some string type cord around my fingers,secured the ends and then glued that to the layered pieces.

I found a little scrap of vintage lace that I tucked into the nest,then added the bird, which I glued in place.
I embellished the nest with some flowers and another leaf...

                 You can find November's challenge over at
                           Rhedds Creative Spirit

Charity shop find...

I  was out shopping and found I was to early for my bus home, so decided to have a mooch around in one of our local charity shops...I saw this heart on the shelf and paid £1 for it. It had a script on it, but already in my head I knew how I was going to alter it...I was excited at finding it and couldn't wait to go home and get started on it.
This was going to be my design team project for Novembers Challenge over at Altered Eclectics
I started by sanding the printed script off of the heart and gave it a good sanding down as it was actually quite rough in places.

I then gessoed the centre front of the heart where I would be placing my napkin image. I needed a light background and some of the wood was kind of orangey in places and I knew it would spoil the image.

I applied matte mod podge across the whole front of the heart and applied the top layer of my paper napkin, which I had already prepared by tearing around the edge of the image.
I very lightly smoothed out the image to make sure there were no creases or bubbles..then went over it with a brayer to ensure the image was secure against the slight grain in the wood...you can actually see the wood grain in showing through the image.
I then set it aside to dry overnight.

Once the image was dry I applied matte mod podge all over the front of the heart to seal it. Once dry I added the pretty lace trimmed hessian ribbon all around the edge of the heart.

To finished I added these gorgeous blue flowers and pearl string...I am delighted at the way this project turned out, it is a lovely ornament to have in my home...

                You can find November's Challenge over at
                             Altered Eclectics

Tag # 20...My Favourite theme

I love anything Nautical, from beaches,lighthouses,shells,boats, even people fishing...so this is the theme I chose for my Tags this week over at.....
                Go Tag Thursday...Your Favourite Theme

Why not pop over and enter the Tag Challenge with your favourite theme...you can find it here at
                                Go Tag Thursday

Altered Cd

I am in a group called Mini-Marvels over on Facebook and one of the members there set up a challenge to alter a Cd..she also is allowing members to swap if they so wish..

Mine isn't for a swap, my daughter wants my Cd for her fridge door, so tonight I have adhered a magnet on the back and will drop it over to her tomorrow sometime...
I am beginning to wonder, as she has so many of my creations, if she has a secret little shop somewhere and is selling them off...lol

Vintage Male

Great theme over at Go Tag Thursday this week is

                                        Vintage Male...

                                    Here are my 2 Tags...

If you enjoy making Tags why not pop over and enter the challenge..Tags can be any size,any medium, just have fun...
                                The challenge is here at
                               Go Tag Thursday

Autumn Tags

This weeks challenge has just started over at
                                    Go Tag Thursday
The theme this week is Autumn...my favourite time of the year...
                                   Here are my Tags.....

                                                  Tag 1

I created this large Tag by colouring the background with distress inks then stamping the row of trees using the masking technique as the stamp wasn't long enough for the whole tag. The sun was made by punching a circle on some paper and using it as a stencil. ( this I did before colouring the background )
Then I just added the sentiment....both stamps are by Inkylicious.


                                                 Tag 2

I created the background the same way as I did on the first tag, I wanted to have a nice autumn rustic look for the tag background...

I added some green mesh then inked up a scrap of corrugated cardboard with crushed olive distress ink, tied some raffia around it and adhered it to the tag.

The leaves were rubber stamped then cut out, dabbed with Barn Door,Fossilised Amber,Mowed Lawn and Crushed Olive distress ink...I added some very fine glitter for an early morning dew effect.

I am entering this 2nd Tag in to the Anything Goes...Orange Challenge over at 

More Mixed Media Challenge

I was delighted to find my September project was selected as one of their Top Five....now who's a Happy Bunny...

You can find the Tag challenge here at 

Go Tag Thursday

Oriental Tags

This weeks challenge is over at Go Tag Thursday has started...the theme is Oriental. Now this is a theme I have never been very good at..however I did give it my best shot,lol....

The stamp on the smaller tag is from a Crafter's Companion set that was given to me by a friend as she had never used them...
You can find the Go Tag Thursday Challenge HERE

P.S....There is also a call for 2 guest designers..but you have to enter the challenge or have entered the challenges before to be eligible....email me at   sandie.w@live.co.uk   if interested.