Saturday, 29 November 2014

Do dragons fly?

Good morning folks!

You have just over a day to go so here is your last post from us for November.  As it's a make from me and it's the last one, I've taken some poetic license with a dragonfly...




This make is a real mixture of brands, some simple but effective techniques and uses up waste packaging.  You can find details of my make on my blog.



Finish up your projects folks and get them linked please, the challenge closes just before midnight tomorrow night!

We will be announcing the (random) winner as soon as we can in December but definitely in time for you to spend the voucher if you're the lucky winner.  >;o)

Good luck everyone - see you on Monday with a brand new challenge!!

Chris and the team xxx

Thursday, 27 November 2014

Sue D's mixing it up today!

Hi eveyone!

Today's project is a wonderfully creative and imaginative make from our Sue D - she's really mixing it up...




Maybe she's just a leftover from Halloween, but my 'bee' is a freaky little thing. Made with Distress Paints, Grunge Paste and some of my favourite stamps, you can see all the details here at Sue The Iron.



Unusual, fun and inventive, this make has so much going for it and brings together such diverse angles - great job Sue, thank you!

You have just 3 days left folks so please let's see your projects.  We haven't finished yet though,  I'll be playing the last post on Saturday!  >;o)

Hope to see you at the weekend!

Chris and the team xxx

Tuesday, 25 November 2014

Sue B's tagged us today!

Good morning all!

It's purple all the way today with this beautiful tag from Sue B and she's demonstrating just how easy it is for us to make something including just ONE of the theme requirements...





All insects like flowers, I made a colourful spray on the Tag for them to wallow amongst.
More on my Blog.



A beautiful and creative tag Sue in a gorgeous colour, thank you!!

You can follow Sue's lead with a tag, a card or anything else, just one bee, butterfly OR bug is required to enter.

On Thursday Sue D (The Iron) will be here to tempt you... have fun crafting 'til then!

Chris and the team xxx

Sunday, 23 November 2014

It's beautiful home decor from Jennie...

Hi there folks!

We're 3/4 of the way through the month and have just a week to go before this challenge ends.  What better to motivate and inspire you than a gorgeous shabby chic project from our talented Jennie.....





I am so loving the Layered Butterfly Die and decided I wanted to make a vintage frame to showcase it. I used Paper Artsy Fresco Finish Paints and supplies left over from my Finnabair workshop in May to alter a cheap plywood frame. My butterfly is cut and embossed in metal and then painted to match the frame.  
There are some step by step photos and more details on my blog.



This is beautiful Jennie, who would have known it was just a plywood frame underneath - brilliant, thank you!

Whatever your crafty preferences, we'd love to see what you're making. Remember, it doesn't have to include all three items just a minimum of one.  Everyone has a butterfly, don't they?  The lucky winner (chosen at random) will be the recipient of a £20 shop voucher from our generous sponsor, Country View Crafts, to spend in time for Christmas.  Hoorah!  >:o)

We'll be back on Tuesday with another DT project, see you then!

Have a great day!

Chris and the team xxx

Friday, 21 November 2014

Gabrielle's butterfly garden...

Hi all,

It's a tag for our project today, created by our talented and creative Gabrielle. Clearly, she has been very busy in the garden.....




The joy of the theme this month is that I can use a quotation I found after the summer had faded away. I loved making a butterfly garden - I have absolutely no gardening skills at all so I have no idea if all these flowers might be out together but I hope they might be! The butterflies are not completely glued so the wings stand proud adding to the illusion that they are flying! As always you can find more on my blog x



What a lovely treatment of these JOFY stamps Gabrielle - beautifully done, thank you!

Whether you have stamps or dies, stencils or papers, paints or inks, we really don't mind in fact the more the merrier. Just get out what you have to hand, include a bug, a bee, a butterfly or any combination of the three and join in!  Our challenge is open to beginners through to the more experienced crafters and our winner is chosen at random to ensure that everyone has a chance of winning. The challenge closes on November 30th so there is still plenty of time to get creative.

We'll be back again on Sunday, or at least DTM Jennie will be, and she promises something quite special to share with you.....

Chris and the team xxx

Wednesday, 19 November 2014

Alison's altering a trio...

Hello there!

Today it's the turn of DTM Alison, whom many of you know for her beautiful, vintage and shabby works of art!  You have a treat in store for this is just one of her set...




When choosing between Bugs, Bees and Butterflies, I'm still on the third of the trio for my second creation this month.  I've altered one of the fabulous burlap panels, and used the Tim Holtz Layered Butterfly as the focal point.  Come and see all the details over at Words and Pictures.



How delicious! Beautiful colours and fabulous texturing - thank you Alison!

We hope you've made a start on your project.........? We don't mind what it is - from cards, tags, journals and scrapbooks to altered art, upcycled discards and home decor, you might even be into knitting, sewing or crochet!  Whatever your passion is, we'd like to see it so come and join us and show us how creative you can be!

Our next post is on Friday when we have a fabulous post from Gabrielle...

See you then!

Chris and the team xxx

Monday, 17 November 2014

Chris is back to front...

Hi there folks!

We have another guest post for you today (we love them!) and it's from another Top 3 winner returning to share a project specially made for our theme.  Here is Chris of 'pear shaped crafting'...



Hello, I’m Chris, but don’t mind being called ‘Pearshaped Chris’! I’m thrilled to be asked to take part at Country View Challenges as a guest designer.  I started crafting as a young girl, encouraged by my Mum, who used to knit, sew, use natural dyes etc , although in those days it was known as ‘saving money’!!!  When I retired I took up scrapbooking, encouraged by my talented sister-in law. Well, one thing led to another and these days I enjoy most aspects of crafting, especially if it involves getting messy or trying something new!


I was so happy when I found out the theme this time. I chose a neutral palette and as I love the butterflies from Tim Holtz’s Attic Treasures set stamped using Potting Soil Archival ink they were the start of my reverse canvas.


The embellishments come a variety of sources, including seed heads picked while on a walk, which I painted over with Paper Artsy Fresco Finish ‘Snowflake’.



What a fabulous canvas Chris, beautifully done with this gorgeous array of decorative elements - stunning, thank you!

If you haven't thought of doing this, please visit Chris's blog and take a closer look - it's a great way of acheiving that depth of project that we normally get with our shadow boxes but in a completely different way!

We're into week 3 now so we hope you're getting to grips with your projects. If you've already entered one then you have plenty of time to enter another, lol!

We will be back on Wednesday when DTM Doreen will be sharing another of her gorgeous projects with us. See you then.

Chris and the team xxx

Saturday, 15 November 2014

It's our November Magpie Day!

Good morning folks!

Magpie Day, what's a Magpie Day? Well, for those of you who haven't seen our Magpie Days before, they can be anything at all, whatever we may have chosen from an eclectic mix of topics or things we'd like to do. It's a temporary divergence from our theme for the month, kind of like a separate challenge for a day just for our DTMs. For this Magpie, we have chosen TWO entirely different things to do - a surPRIZE for those followers who have already entered the challenge and some Magpie makes from our team.

You'll have to read on for the surPRIZE but in the meantime, our DT have chosen 'Made from scraps' as their theme and here is what they've made...



DTM's 'Made from scraps'


I have made a couple of Tags,all with scraps, even the burlap and Gingham were from scrap boxes.
I love using scraps,it gives a great sense of achievement to make items with stash you might have thrown away.
You can get full details of this from my blog


A distressed stained off cut from a masterboard.
More details on my blog-scrumplescrunch.


Here's what I made out of my pile of scraps, with a great deal of help from Dina Wakley.
More details are on my blog here at Sue The Iron.



I had great fun scrapping this layout of my little grandson with some of my scraps die cut for other projects. If you want to see what I used then hop on over to my blog.


I used lots of scraps on my tag to create texture and layers. I have probably hidden most of them with 'painty fun' but do hop over to Addicted to Art to see the layering process.


I bet you are just like me - a huge box of paper scraps on a shelf behind me and it keeps growing, I never seem to make a dent in it, but Magpie Day today has given me the chance to at least dip into it and use a few of the bits of designer papers that I have been keeping. Combined with the fabulous Retro Ornaments die from Tim Holtz and his Simple Sayings stamps it was quick and easy to make a card, so as it was all out I decided to make three.


With more calls for me to make Christmas cards and lots of leftovers from the ones lready made, I couldn't resist this op[portunity to make another. More details can be found at My corner of Heaven. Chris xxx



Entrant's surPRIZE

We decided to have a little blog candy fun for a Magpie surprise today as it has fallen mid-month. Those of you that have already entered and linked your projects have automatically become eligible and we are relying upon random.org to make the pick....

And the winning number is...


Congratulations Karen P, please email us with your address so we can get the candy in the post to you! This is the blog candy you've won. >:o)

(Comprises: Ribbon tied triptych panel, 3 assorted rubber stamps, 25 x #8 manilla tags, 6" x 6" paper pad.)





We hope you've enjoyed our little Magpie interlude this month.... it's back to the challenge theme posts on Monday with a fabulous guest post.

See you then!

Chris and the team xxx

Thursday, 13 November 2014

Chris's Mediterranean stucco...

Hello there!

Today you have the pleasure of my company, lol!  My second DT make reflects where my thoughts were when I thought of this theme.  As I was desperate for a mirror at the time, that's what I decorated...





This mirror has been textured and decorated to give that sunny, stucco wall effect found in so many of the meditteranean countries.  These walls often have floral vines growing up them, abundant with flowers and attendant flying creatures - this is what I was trying to achieve. You can find more photo's, a product list and step x step on my blog. xxx



We're just about half way through the month and on Saturday we'll be having a Magpie Day. This one is a tad different to ones we've had in the past so all we can say is try and get your projects linked as soon as you can.  I will be finalising the post on Friday evening and when I do, that will be the cut off point for our littile surPRIZE [g]!

See you Saturday!

Chris and the team xxx

Tuesday, 11 November 2014

Brenda's natural artistry on display...

Hi there!

With a blog called 'Bumblebees and Butterflies' it's no wonder that this theme is right up Brenda's street.  Ever the artist, her natural creative flair has come to the fore with this beautiful, imaginative tag...




This is my second piece for the bugs, bees and butterflies challenge and of course to go with my blog title I needed to do a bee piece. I love the layered dies with embossing folders and the way you create immediate texture relevant to the image. This one has been 'rusted' and painted with several layers to get the effect I thought made it seem more life like.



Most people know that Brenda is an avid fan of Tim Holtz but, whether you follow him or not, who could not be impressed by this tag? This is stunning Brenda, so very creative - thank you!

Just to let you know, Brenda will be holding another workshop for Country View Crafts on November 27th - Winter Wonderland Shadow Box...


The venue is easy to reach by car or rail with excellent amenties...


For more details/booking, please click HERE.



Come on then folks, get out your crafty items, your papers, paints, inks, stamps, dies and anything else you might have to get crafting.  We're giving you the heads up, a crafty wink, a heavy hint..... we're having a special Magpie Day on Saturday with a little surPRIZE but you have to have entered the challenge to be in with a chance of being part of it!  Hmmmmm, are you getting our drift? lol!

I'll be back on Thursday with my second project, a piece of home decor, which I hope you'll like so I hope to see you then.  >:o)

Chris and the team xxx

Sunday, 9 November 2014

Astrid's here with beautiful grunge...

Hi everyone, we hope you're all enjoying your Sunday!

This morning we have the pleasure of DTM Astrid's company. Astrid is sharing a beautiful wall hanging with us...




Having had to do a lot of projects lately that took me right out of my comfort zone, I decided to give myself a break, and do what I enjoy most, playing with Distress Inks and grunging things up. So that's what I did creating this little wall hanging. Full details can be found on my blog.



Astrid, we can certainly tell you enjoyed making this: Grungy and eclectic, it's gorgeous - thank you!

Well, we're into week 2 and it's lovely to see that you're linking your projects up already. We don't mind how many projects you enter as long as they comply with our rules. (Please don't disqualify yourself by ignoring them, they're pretty simple and standard.)  The winner is chosen randomly to ensure that everyone has a chance of winning so whether you're a newbie or an old hand, you all have a chance.  The prize is a £20 voucher from our sponsor, Country View Crafts, to spend in their online craft shop.

More on Tuesday folks, this time from Brenda.

Chris and the team xxx

Friday, 7 November 2014

Ruth is experimenting with Gelli and Luminarte

Hi everyone, thanks for dropping by!

This morning we're joined by a previous Top 3 winner who is returning as a guest to share a project she has created just for you - and what a project it is! Here is Ruth, from 'a love to create'...



Hi, my name's Ruth and I've enjoyed doing a variety of crafts since I was a child but would say at the moment my passion is mixed media. I love experimenting with products and seeing what else they can do. I love stamping, paints, inks, using fabric, fibres and lace in projects...anything that adds texture and I'm in crafty heaven. I'm delighted to be a guest designer today following my top 3 badge win for the nautical challenge.


My project today is a card made from a gelli plate background. I was experimenting (told you!) with luminarte silk glazes on the gelli plate and when I saw this print I thought it would be perfect for this months theme with the honeycomb effect. Sometimes when you pull a good print you don't want to add too much and hide the print. I've stamped and embossed the bee in copper and sprinkled some more powder on the card to carry the effect. Some more glazes on the bee metal charms, mounted onto card and that's it...what appear as
simple projects can sometimes take just as long in deciding what to leave out! If you want to see more of this project then please hop across to my blog argeum.blogspot.co.uk


Thanks so much for inviting me, it's been an honour. Ruth x



Wow, a stunning gelli design and what a beautiful and creative project - thank you Ruth!

Every month I sit and sort out the posts with my jaw touching the floor!  It never ceases to amaze me just how creative we all are, how we can take the same tools and media and yet create projects so entirely different from each other. How lucky we all are to be a part of this gigantic, global, crafting community - it's very special.

For those of you who like visiting to get ideas for projects, see what products are being used and to see different techniques and styles, please remember that on the alternate days we don't publish a post here, we DO publish a step x step project over on our sister blog, Country View Crafts' Projects.

Next up is DTM Astrid, on Sunday, and she will be here to tantalise you with another fab' project!

See you on Sunday!

Chris and the team xxx

Thursday, 6 November 2014

October’s ‘Sparkle and shine’ winners…

Good evening everyone!

We have reached the time to announce our winners for our ‘Sparkle & shine’ challenge last month.  We were delighted to see such a glorious treasure trove of beautiful, sparkly entries so thank you ALL very much!

WINNER
OctoberWinnerRO#140_thmb544af0e53b86bWe encourage entries of all crafts and from crafters with all levels of experience and we think the fairest way of choosing the winner of the £20 shop voucher is by random.  We do so by using the random number generator at random.org and this month, the lucky number is…  #140 – Samantha Wade of Craft Room Delights.



As DTM Doreen chose the theme for October, it falls to her to select our Top 3 and DTMSM (most creative and original interpretation) blog badge winners so here are her choices and what she had to say about them…

TOP 3 (by numerical order of entries)
#17_thmb542ebaea58102#17 – Ingrid Kristina of INGRID’s CRAFTS CORNER – CAS card
Love what she has done to the butterfly,the sequins really add a sparkle.


#86_thmb543e01a2a9db7#86 – Sara of sarascloset, wall hanging
Wow love all the details this lady has put into this fabulous Halloween creation, love the Glimmer Misted spider webs.


 
#148_thmb544d534de1fb7#148 – Kezzy of KEZZYS CRAFTY JOURNEY, coaster
Love the idea of using the glue gun for the spider web, a brilliant work of art.

 
DTMSM
#151_thmb544e46d294ef3#151 – Nicola of Paper Profusion, chipboard house
What can I say this must have taken ages it is a stunning piece of work all the details and the finishing touches, just superb.


 
Well done and congratulations to all of our winners and a big THANK YOU to all of you who entered.  We hope to see lots of lovely entries for this month’s challenge too, so GOOD LUCK!  Smile 

A big THANK YOU to our SPONSOR too, Country View Crafts who donate the prize voucher each month, please check out the shop when you can - great prices and free P&P for UK residents.
 
Another post in the morning… nite, nite!
 
Chris and the team xxx



Wednesday, 5 November 2014

Doreen's conundrum, what came first....?

Hello!

Yes, our lovely Doreen has quite a conundrum on her hands today.... which came first, the butterfly or the bird.....? lol



Hello I am back with my second project for the month,this is a happy mistake, I had bird on my mind when starting this, forgetting it was Bugs, Bees and Butterflies, just as well I added the Butterflies. Full details of how I made this are on my blog.



A happy accident indeed Doreen, what a clever way of bringing the theme into this scene - it's beautifully stamped, beautifully stencilled and beautifully coloured, simply GORGEOUS - thank you!

How are YOU getting on?  Are you stamping, painting, journalling or perhaps you have something else in mind....?  Whatever it is, we'd like to see it so come on, join us and link your project here.  Who knows, you might be our lucky winner!

We have a guest here on Friday with a fabulous project so please don't miss it - see you then.

Chris and the team xxx

Monday, 3 November 2014

Nikki's showing off her versatility!

Good mornng all!

We're off and running and, yes, it's Monday, but rather than suffer those Monday morning blues, Nikki is determined to make us all smile with her solo debut today and showing us just how versatile she can be...





For my second project this month I have created a simple A6 card - I love having a few of these cards lying around as they are great for last minute birthdays or thank you notes! All the details for this quick project can be found on my blog.



We're loving your demonstration of versatility Nikki, with this beautiful, elegant card - thank you!

All of us have those times when we need to put something together that's pretty, looks the real deal, but hasn't taken days to create so this is a fabulous example of what you can make with just a few crafty items - love it!

Up next is our talented Alison, on Wednesday, so see you then.  Have a wonderful day!

Chris and the team xxx

Saturday, 1 November 2014

November, November and a new DTM too!

Good morning everyone!

Yes, it’s November 1st and if that isn’t a reminder that autumn is passing into winter then what is (If only the weather knew!) Now, you might think that we’d be having an autumnal theme, maybe something to do with Guy Fawkes (UK), Thanksiving (USA) perhaps? Nope! We are going to hang on to summer for as long as we can here at CVC but before we tell you what our challenge theme for the month is, we’d like to announce a new DT Member – Nikki Acton of Addicted to Art.  Nikki’s details can be found on our DT page here and I’m sure you’ll all join with us and give her a hearty CVC welcome!  Smile


Now on to our challenge….. chosen by Trace, our theme for the month is:

bugsbeesbflies

You can create anything you like provided it has a bug, a bee, a butterfly or any combination of them on it. Stamp, die cut, emboss, embellish, we don’t mind how you depict them we just want to see you have FUN, FUN, FUN!

Please be sure to read our rules (which are pretty standard and easy to comply with) to avoid disqualifying yourself.  The challenge closes on Sunday November 30th and our winner will be chosen at random (random.org) so that everyone has an equal chance of winning. This winner will receive a £20  voucher to spend in the Country View Crafts online craft shop, a blog badge and an invitation to guest with us.  You can enter as many times as you like provided that each entry is yours and original.  We will also choose our ‘Top 3 entries’ and our ‘Special mention’ all of whom receive a blog badge and an invitation to guest with us the following month.

We like to start our line up of DT projects with one from a previous winner and this month is no different. This lady is a creative and imaginative crafter and has also achieved a CVC first!  She was the first (and only, so far) entrant to be the winner of the £20 shop voucher, chosen by random.org, as well as being picked as one of our Top 3 winners.

We’re delighted to have Georgie C back once more to lead us out….



Georgie C - Little Blue Craft Box

GeorgieCHi everyone :) I am so honoured to have been picked for a Top 3 win, and to have the chance to guest design for the blog again. I live down in Dorset with my husband, two year old son and two dogs. I also work in IT (I know, yawn...), so any spare moment I can find I will spend it with inks, paints, pens… you name it, whatever I can get my hands on. Starting now to try and get my little boy mixed up in this world too, haha let the mess begin...








GeorgieC_IMG_2511-rsI was so excited to hear the choice for this months challenge as I’m sure you will be too, Bugs, Bees and Butterflies. My piece, 'The Keeper’, is designed to be like a cover of an old antique book with an air of mystery and wisdom about it. Please hop across to my blog if you would like more detail on how I created it. I can’t wait to see what everyone else comes up with...  :) xx












Nikki1Nikki
It is a pleasure to be joining the Country View team and what a fantastic topic for me to start off with. I have used the back of a canvass to create this 3D piece featuring lots of butterflies. It is an adaptation of the Tim Holtz tag from September. It would be lovely to see you over at A2A - Addicted to Art where there are more details and photos.







Alison1Alison
Given the choice to use any or all of Bugs, Bees or Butterflies, there's probably no surprise about which one of the trio I went for with my creation!  I used one of the backgrounds inspired by one of Tim's tags from earlier in the year, and the French Flight Framelits to create this tag.  Come and see more over at Words and Pictures.












Astrid1Astrid
I decided to make a wall panel, using some of my favourite stamps and techniques. The central panel is a piece of paper from the Wallflower paper stash by Tim Holtz. To see the details of how I put this together, please visit my blog.








Bren1_P1050940aBrenda
Butterflies have a very special place in my life and I love using them on my projects. So I decided to make myself some 3D butterfly embellishments and a place to keep all the wonderful little sizes of butterflies that can die-cut from Tim's Butterfly frenzy strip die. You can find all the process steps on my blog Bumblebees and Butterflies, which also fits very nicely with the theme lol


Chris1_BflyBflyBee24Chris
I love this theme! So many of our crafting designs comprise at least one of these three things, it made it an easy task. I’m hoping that lots of our followers will follow suit, get busy and jump in to join us this month!

For a run down on the products etc, you can find more here at My corner of Heaven. xxx






Doreen1_nov 7-rsDoreen
Hello to you all I have a tag to share today and I have used Butterflies. You can get full details of how this was made on my blog.























Gab1_IMG_7992-rsGabrielle
It's November already! Where is this year disappearing to?! This month's theme makes me think of summer days - a real change from the increasingly cold rainy weather outside my window! So for my first piece this month I chose to go back to my square journal and use the fabulous bee die from Mr Holtz. The wings have a thin layer of Glossy Accents on to give a subtle sheen. As always, more can be seen on my blog x


Jennie1Jennie
As a great lover of butterflies I have made a plaque using two of my favourite butterfly stamps and one of my favourite combinations of Distress Colours - Evergreen Bough and Vintage Photo. There are more details on my blog if you want to know more.

































SueB1_mini bookSue B
I included all the three B's in my project as that was what I thought the brief was...Ha, well it worked out okay as I made a little mini book telling you all about them. More on my Blog.





















SueD1_best bee-rsSue D
I decided to have a play around with some bees wax for my first piece for this months challenge. There's also some Brusho's in there which is my new 'must have'. Full details can be found here at Sue The Iron.



















What a line up, we hope you'll agree. As diverse as ever, so many styles, techniques and ideas to get your creative thought processes racing, all we need now is YOU!

As usual, we will be publishing a post with a brand new project from either one of our DTMs or from a guest every two days until the end of the month. We are also featuring a special 'Magpie Day' during the month too with a special twist that you definitely won't want to miss out on so please watch out for that! 

All that remains is for us to wish you a fabulous November and hope to see your project(s) very soon!

Chris and the team xxx