'Do Something With a Bag' ~ eTeam Picks Challenge

Hi everybody, It's my turn to host the 'e Team Picks' challenge over at the eclectic Paperie blog. I've chosen to 'do something with a bag '. The challenge is simple, just  grab a bag, it can be any type of bag, paper plastic, handbag, tote or even a case, and give it a make over in whichever creative way you can dream up. Your project can include more than one bag, so if you like to make paper bag journals feel free to go ahead, we'd love to see your projects. If you would like to join in, follow the link here and you'll be transported to the site. Follow the challenge rules, upload your project  and who knows, you could be the lucky recipient of a $15 gift certificate for Kim's lovely eclectic Paperie shop.

If you'd like to see how I transformed this tired old canvas bag........

Into this painted and stamped 'I can't wait 'til it's Spring', little beauty'........... 

.....then hop over to the eclectic Paperie blog where you can see the step by step process. In the meantime, get your creative thinking caps on and  "Do Something With a Bag!" x

Twelve Tags of 2014 February ............. Grrrrrrrrr !

Here is my completed tag for February, of Tim's Twelve Tags of  2014 challenge. You can see his lovely tag plus a step by step tutorial, by following the link here. I've followed Tim's instructions pretty well with this one, although I've used a different stencil for the background, which I have to say I'm quite pleased with. I used Tim's 'Stripes' Layering Stencil, first vertically and then horizontally which created the plaid pattern.

I added the two die cut hearts, one has ordinary red glitter and the other is in my favourite Pumice Stone Distress Glitter. Love this, it's so vintage ! Now, you may have noticed the Grrrrrrrr! in my title. That is because I just cannot master Tim's chalkboard technique. This was my third attempt and the least smudgy. I very nearly reached for the white embossing powder but of course it's part of the Twelve Tags challenge to learn new techniques and work with different products, so I wasn't going to give up ! Looking forward to seeing what  challenges Tim's got in store for us next month x

Sneak Peek 'Just Three Colours'...... Guest Designer for Our Creative Corner

I was absolutely thrilled to receive an invitation to be a guest designer for the February challenge over at Our Creative Corner. They are an extremely talented design team and some of the nicest ladies in crafty blogland !  Jenny, who many of you will know from her blog Pushing The Right Buttons, has set a fabulous challenge, guaranteed to get the creative juices flowing. The challenge is to use only three colours; shades of blue, brown and purple/plum and wait for it..... no black lines! As black Archival Ink is just about the most used product in my craft room, I really had to put my thinking cap on. If you'd like to see what I came up with, hop over to the Our Creative Corner blog where you'll also be treated to a stunning  collection of projects from the design team with not a black line in sight ! It just remains for me to say, a very big 'thank you' to the team, for giving me the opportunity to join you all for this fun challenge x

Altered Playing Cards

Well it's February already and time for another Get Altered With eclectic Paperie challenge. The host this month is Broni and she has chosen 'altered playing cards' for this months theme. You can see the gorgeous batch of cards she has made by following the link here. I've never altered playing cards before, but I must say I really enjoyed it and with 52 in a pack, I don't think it will be the last time.
I started by painting the cards with a coat of gesso. Once this was dry, I sprayed each card with Dylusions Inks.

I let the inks dribble and drip, before drying with a heat tool. To add some background 'texture', I used a clean blending tool, and a variety of different stencils. Instead of using ink or paste, I used plain water in order to remove some of the ink from the surface. This worked well when the foam wasn't too wet. It needs to be just damp, otherwise the water seeps under the stencil and the pattern gets lost.

I then stamped each card with a single letter in black Archival ink and embossed them with clear embossing powder. The letters are from an alphabet set by Papermania.

I blended a little Black Soot Distress Ink around the edges and decided to leave it there. Initially I was going to add some more stamping, but I like the single bold letter on each card. I might use the cards to make a Valentine banner or card for my DH, so, shhhhhh, don't tell him !
If you'd like to have a go at making a project which features one or more playing cards,why not join us over on the eclectic Paperie blog. Click on the 'Get Altered' button or the picture of Broni's fabulous 'Altered Playing Cards' project, follow the challenge guidelines and who knows, you might be the lucky recipient of a $15 token for Kim's ever expanding eclectic Paperie Shop.
Here are some of the products I used on this project. Happy crafing x

Dylusions Ink Spray - Dirty Martini	Dylusions Ink Spray - Squeezed Orange	Dylusions Ink Spray - Pure Sunshine	Dylusions Ink Spray - Vibrant Turquoise	Dylusions Ink Spray - London Blue
Dylusions Ink Spray - Postbox Red	Dylusions Ink Spray - Lemon Zest	Distress Ink Pad - Black Soot	Claudine Hellmuth Studio Gesso	Dylusions Stencil 5x8" - Diamond of a Border
Tim Holtz Layering Stencil - Layering Stencil Bundle	Inkssentials Foam Blending Tool	Archival Ink - Jet Black Ink Pad	Ranger Super Fine Embossing Powder - Clear