Saturday 28 September 2013

The last post

Yes, we've reached that time again - it's the last post for this month and we have Chris bring up the rear with her second DT piece...


"Raiding my stamps a few weeks ago I saw this beautiful stamp that I've never used so it had to be put to work! I decided on a vintage style card in brown as the second mat is kraft card. The frame is a Spellbinders die and the flowers are all made using punches. There are groups of layers on this card but the most is six."
A beautiful card Chris, thank you!

We're pushing the month end now so it's time to get those projects finished and entered. We accept entries right up until 5 minutes to midnight so that you night birds can get them in right to the deadline, lol. ;>)

Good luck everyone !! xxx



Wednesday 25 September 2013

A third project from Jennie

Yes, Jennie has provided us with a third project this month and what a FAB project it is!



Whilst browsing on Pinterest I came across a wonderful layered book by Emma Trout and couldn't wait to have a go myself. This little book made from an envelope and five tags was just the perfect solution to make a small dent in the ever growing box of scraps under the craft desk and four small photographs of my mother.

 
This is the mini-book, with lots of flaps and secret places.



 And this is the outside wallet made from two tags and lots of embellishments!
There are more photographs on my blog which show the mini-book in more detail.  And I really have used scraps including a label from a recent purchase, bits of die cuts and some poor stamped pieces.  I hope it inspires you to have a go!

Wow! A gorgeous make Jennie, thank you so much!

As Jennies says, we hope this inspires you to have a go at making your own and entering.

There's still another post to come and still time to enter our challenge. 

Good luck!

xxx


Sunday 22 September 2013

Gabrielle's second DT piece

It's great to have Gabrielle back with us and she's certainly making up for lost time with her inspiring makes. This one is stunning...


"For my second project I chose to interpret the theme of layers by layering Art Parts. I love how easily they can be combined to create really different projects. Art Parts take all inks really well and for this I used Fresh Lime and Vibrant Turquoise Dylusions because they are easier to use one handed! The centre of the flower is a Blossom Bucket embellishment and all of the stamps are from Wendy Vecchi. The bottom Art Part uses Swivel Clasps with the chains removed and Hitch Fasteners. The wings have a little Treasure Gold dry brushed on them for a bit of bling! Everything was edged in Vintage Photo Distress Ink to keep "Mr Country View" happy!" (private joke)

Most definitely 'ab fab'! Thank you Gabrielle!

We're on the downward slope now, looking towards the end of the month but there's still loads of time for you to get your projects finished and entered. Whatever your penchant, whatever your style, we would like to see more so please keep them coming!

We post a new project every couple of days right up to the closing date so please come back and visit again soon. xxx

Thursday 19 September 2013

Brenda's second project

How generous our DTMs are! Every month they donate at least two makes to our challenge and they're all works of art. There's no exception today - here is a gorgeous project from Brenda !!


Recently I was involved in an ICAD (Index Card A Day or aka a Skinny) swap and made two skinny cards (3 x 5 ins) and an envelope for each of them.
 
 
The first had a steampunk theme to it.....
 
 
.... and I used both metal and wooden embellishments on the envelope.
 
 
The second had a Time theme and I used a die-cut pocket watch on the card ......

 
.... and an acetate clock face on the second envelope.
The layers have been built up using gesso, sprayed inks, stamping, masking, embossing, papers and embellishments. For more details pop over to my blog where you can see lots more photos.

Wow, these are beautiful Brenda, thank you !!

Have these given you more inspiration for your layers? We hope so!

More in a few days. xxx
 

Monday 16 September 2013

Two DTMSM projects today !!

Because Chris couldn't decide a single winner two entrants shared the award in July and so they share the DTMSMs post today. They're very different projects but both are fabulous in their own right. In the left corner we have Carmen and in the right corner we have serafeena...

Carmen


"I am thrilled to have been invited to join the Design Team at Country View Challenges.  For the Month of September.  The Challenge is Layers...

Lots of Layers! I achieved 10 layers of paper!

For this card I used Close to My Heart Scholastic Exclusive Paper Ruby, black and Cocoa paper as well as Black ink. Stamp is CTMH Live out loud S1207. Sparkles Blue and Green assortment. My Ecraft by Craftwell was busy cutting out the star, arrow and circles. The gold star is from Avery."

serafeena


"That big wooden spade was perfect for layering and I love to deal with mysteries - so the subject was clear. I used some torn stripes of paper, mingled with shiny or sparkling elements and added some details matching the subject, such as playing cards, spooky creatures and two little "mysterious" matchboxes on top. Might be a nice little eyecatcher for the upcoming halloween season! ;)"
Thank you both, very much, for these beautiful projects!

Another post from one of our permanent DT members in a few days. xxx

Friday 13 September 2013

Here comes Sue The Iron!

Yes, Sue The Iron, one of our July T3 winner's is off the sub's bench and onto the playing field! Here is her guest piece...


"I made this using a small canvas board and the Tim Holtz Postage Stamp die cut from mountboard. The canvas has been painted with Tim's Distress Paints and a brick stencil. The stamps are by Sam Poole's Art Houses and the sentiments have been embossed with white embossing powder. The frame has been randomly stamped with another of Sam's stamps and has also been embossed in white for a nice shabby feel. The houses themselves have been stamped on black and white card, embossed and painted with Perfect Pearls, with a few bits and bobs from my stash to finish off."
This is beautiful Sue, what a fab make! Thank you!

We're almost at the half way marker for this month and we'd like to see more of your makes. Please remember that there is no limit on the number of entries you can make so please keep them coming. The winner gets a £20 shop voucher!

Another great project in a few days... xxx

Tuesday 10 September 2013

Trace's second make

Now it's Trace's turn for her second DT piece and what a fab make it is!




"For this piece I played with distress stains and lots of yummy die cut layers , as well as texture paste and distress embossing powder mixed with the new distress glitter to create this layered steampunk piece. I love the flexibility within the Distress colours to combine stains, Distress paints and inks with embossing powders and all work so well together to create layers of interest."

This is gorgeous Trace and a great demonstration of how our paints and inks are layers in themselves.

There will be another T3 post in a few days so do please pop back and see. xxx

Saturday 7 September 2013

Jennie's second project

Our lovely, talented Jennie has given us this beautiful make as her second DT project for this month...


"I just love these gorgeously subtle vintage papers from Pion Design and they are absolutely fantastic for layering.  I've kept my card quite simple and added some muslin and scrim and altered some white Prima flowers with Distress Inks to create a focal point.  We have two family members expecting babies in September, so hopefully one will be a boy!"
 This is beautiful Jennie, so delicate and elegant, thank you!

It never ceases to amaze us how different interpretations can be so come on, let's see what else you have tucked away in the deep recesses of your crafty imaginations please, lol!

More in a few days. xxx


Friday 6 September 2013

August’s winners!

Time to announce the winners of last month’s challenge #6 – Quotes & sayings.


augustWinner

The winner, as chosen by random.org is #27 which is…

winnerRocky Rocky of Rocky’s Crafting Blog

Well done Rocky! An email with your winner’s badge, GDT offer and a shop voucher are on their way!


The Top 3 have been chosen by Chris this month and emails with T3 award badges and offers of a GDT spot are on the way to the following:

T3a_thmb51fe9c277e12e #10 – Linda of Sticky with glitter

Well done Linda!
T3b_thmb520e3b59936a9 #34 – Sue of Stamping Sue Style

Congrat’s to you too Sue!
T3c_thmb521e64a93c45e #63 – Debbie of Daqa doodles

Well done Debbie!

And lastly, our DTMSM merit award (DT Members’ Special Mention) goes to:

DTMSM_thmb5213ad4c992f2 #50 – Manu of Vintagesavonette

Congratulations Manu, I love your idea of a ‘Poem in a box’ and making it a cabinet of nature – fabulous!


Thank you ALL for your beautiful entries, we wish we could honour you all. 

Good luck for future challenges! xxx

Wednesday 4 September 2013

Mian's guest project

You know we're off and running when you see the first post from one of our talented winners. Our first this month is Mian, one of our Top 3 merit award winners from July...



"Hello crafters! My name is Mian (from Sweden) and today I have the honor to be a Guest Designer at Country View Crafts. I was very surprised to be chosen as a Top 3 Merit Award Winner, I’m so happy and honored for this. Thank you so much.

When I heard the theme of this challenge was “Layers” I knew right away that I wanted to make something a little more special then a card. So, I decided to alter this matchbox and I think these are just perfect as Christmas gifts!"
This is beautiful Mian and such a clever idea, thank you!

We hope this piece gives you some additional ideas, we can't wait to see what you're all coming up with. Another fab project will be posted in a few days time but until then 'Happy crafting'. xxx

Sunday 1 September 2013

Challenge 7 for September

It's hello September and hello to all you lovely crafters !!

Another month has flown by and we’re here again at the beginning of another fabulous challenge. This month Brenda has chosen the theme and it’s….

‘LAYERS’

Layer your colours, your textures, your media, whatever it is that takes your fancy – we want to see what interpretations YOU come up with.

As usual, our fab Design Team have come up with a stunning array of projects all in their own style to start you off. This month we have a great treat for you - a special guest appearance from the fabulous Kate Crane of http://thekathrynwheel.blogspot.co.uk/ who I know a lot of you will be followers of. She has donated an awesome piece (below) - THANK YOU KATE!!

We always start the month with a winner and this month it’s Jan Morris, our challenge winner from July…

Jan Morris – July winner & Guest DTM

Janet_P1030603_rs Janet_P1030606_rs

Janet_P1030616_rs
“Checking through my emails on my return from holiday I was delighted to find I was the winner of the July Challenge and the bonus of the chance to be a guest designer for Country View Challenges was exciting. The theme for the September Challenge is ‘Layers’ which leads nicely into my latest passion for mixed media art.
I started with a base of 2mm grey board, which I covered with some Bo Bunny paper, then highlighted the edges with treasure gold. My next layer was cream card, which I sprayed with tonal inks. I used a branches mask and harlequin mask and applied texture paste, which I coloured when dry. I also used a chicken wire mask and dabbed through with distress ink in a few areas. I then applied distress ink around the edges of the card, highlighting areas with treasure gold.
I placed cream lace and some blue ribbon across the card and adhered all this to the base. I die-cut a birdcage and frame which I sanded down, then applied black Stazon ink and frantaged both die-cuts.  I then die-cut a bird out of some coloured paper and positioned him in the cage. Next I stamped an image of Elizabeth Bennett, which I coloured with chalks, die-cut to match the size of the frame and then sprayed with ‘spray and shine’ twice to give a glossy finish.  I then placed the top frame over the image with silicone glue to give a raised effect.

Finally, both the birdcage and image were mounted on to the base and then I added some flowers and leaves around the cage. I added flower embellishments from my stash next to the image, a butterfly in a frantaged circle and some metal embellishments to finish.”

Kate - Special Guest for September


http://thekathrynwheel.blogspot.co.uk/

"I took lots of photos to demonstrate all of the layers and will blog these with my post, which you will be able to see here: 

I interpreted the challenge as multiple layers of inks, paints, stencils, stamps, and stitching, using some of the new images by Dylusions."

Brenda – Permanent DTM

Brenda1_P1140091
Brenda2_P1140102
Brenda3_P1140108
“Having chosen the theme for this month it took me a while to decide what I was going to do. I have seen lots of pop-up cards over the last year and I know there are dies you can buy to help you make them but I thought I would create my layers by creating my own one. Lots of vintage images from the Tim Holtz Industrial French paper stash and a bit of drawing and cutting and I was there.”

Chris – Permanent DT & Admin

“This is a fab challenge for me because I love layering things up. Tableaus and wall hangings are my favourite project so it was a no-brainer to choose. A mixture of painting, punching, die cutting, flower making, stencilling and stamping it’s a layer of techniques as well as components.”

Gabrielle – Permanent DTM

Gabrielle1_IMG_5967
“The lovely thing about having a journal is that you can use a page to 'mop' up leftover spray ink and paint on the surface of your masks and stencils. This background was completely made from layers and layers of inks and paints from other projects. When it was finished I added the outlines of the girls and numbers and a sentiment from Tim Holtz. I hope you might feel like keeping your leftover inks and paints on a page in your journal, or scrap of card - it's a really inexpensive way to make backgrounds!”

Jennie – Permanent DTM

Jennie1_DSCF0684
“I love using lots of layers in my scrapbook pages and this one in particular uses up a lot of scraps and some larger pieces some of which I had used for punched shapes.  By using a background page which was beautifully overprinted, and some strategic layering (covering up the holes), I was able to make this layout very quickly.  More details, including how I made the flower, are on my blog.”

Trace – Permanent DTM

Trace1_IMG_6444


Trace1b_IMG_6447
“I love creating layers whether with paint and inks or adding layers of texture. I love layering with stamping too, building up soft layers to create an overall effect. This piece started life as a flat piece of mountboard and lots of die cuts, inks, Distress paints and stamping created the finished piece. Oh and this fab new Chemist stamp!”

Thank you ladies for your awesome creations!!

There we are, lots of fab makes and oodles of inspiration to get you started. We hope you like the theme and will enjoy making a project to enter. The (random) winner receives a £20 shop voucher from our host, Country View Crafts and the opportunity to join the DT as a guest the month following the winners post. (This month’s winner will be announced in October and invited to join us for November’s theme.)  As well as an outright winner we also have 3 Top 3 merit awards nominated by our DT and a DTMSM award (DT Members’ Special Mention) all of whom get the opportunity to guest and have their project highlighted in an individual post.

Let’s get to it… Good luck!!

Your Design Team xxx