Saturday, 11 July 2015

Crafting good ideas from Brenda....

Greetings all!

Brenda's here with us this morning sharing not just some terrific craft but a good idea too...



I used a mix of stamps to create luggage tags for my travel bags. I'm considering laminating them and using them for real. No-one else would have anything like them and these would be easily spotted on the carousel.



Fabulous tags Brenda and what a terrific idea too!  Why not laminate them both, one for the luggage and the other for a book mark by the pool.....?  Beautiful work - thank you!

We have another guest with us on Monday with another great project - don't miss it!

Have a great weekend!

Chris and the CVC team xxx

Thursday, 9 July 2015

Something a little different from Astrid

Good morning folks!

If you've not thought about recording your holidays, or even booking them yet, then this beautiful make from Astrid is sure to fire you up and put you in the mood to do so!



I love to keep a journal when travelling and no travel journal is complete without the addition of a little pouch I think, perfect to keep all those little tickets and other travel memorabilia. If you want more details on how I put this together, please visit my blog for more details and a step by step.



Absolutely gorgeous Astrid, and so useful, thank you!

How are you doing?  Have you thought about what you'd like to make and enter yet?  We do hope so because we LOVE seeing how you interpret our themes and what you're making right now.  Remember, EVERYONE has a chance of winning our £20 shop voucher, so generously donated by Country View Crafts, so c'mon, what are you waiting for?

Brenda will be back with us on Saturday with another beautiful make - hope to see you then!

Have a great day!

Chris and the CVC team xxx

Tuesday, 7 July 2015

Still travelling...

Good morning everyone,

Phew, are you warm enough?  I've been taking a break, AND put the ceiling fans on, to get some crafting done...



My second project this month is a card, one for the guys no less.  You can find the details in a step x step on my blog.  Have a fun day!!  Chris xxx



That's our first week over and we're delighted to see you joining in already - thank you!

Astrid will be here on Thursday sharing another of her projects with us so we hope to see you then.  Keep cool and remember the SPF 50! LOL

Chris and the CVC team xxx

Sunday, 5 July 2015

Trace is showing us what it's all about!

Hello friends!

Trace is with us this morning as, having chosen our theme, she is the first DT Member to share her second make with us.  Talk about setting the bar high - what a fab, fab make!!...



For my second make inspired by travel I created this mini travel album full of plenty of space to add details, pictures and souvenir's from your travels. I had lots of fun with my DecoArt goodies, Tim Holtz papers and dies . All the details can be found on my blog here . Trace x



This is gorgeous Trace, beautifully crafted and such a sensational gift for those photographic memories and souvenirs - thank you!!

We're definitely off and running now!  It might be hot out and we know that the sun lounger, the garden and the barbeque are all very tempting but we're hoping that you'll grab some 'cool time' and get some crafting in too!  Join us, we'd like to see what you make of Trace's theme and your travel memories too of course!

We'll be back on Tuesday, see you then!

Chris and the CVC team xxx

Friday, 3 July 2015

Kristiina is guesting today!

Hello there Crafters!

This morning we're delighted to feature a project from a guest, a previous Top 3 winner, who is sharing her beautiful make with us...Kristiina...



My name is Kristiina, and I live in Finland. I started crafting “for real” last autumn. I had of course crafted before that, but that is when I started blogging -just for the sake of taking part in craft challenges. Challenges encourage me to try out new techniques, new colour combinations or dig into new topics and themes. Sometimes that means stepping outside my comfort zone, sometimes just enjoying what I feel most comfortable with. I love all sorts of challenges, they keep my crafting mojo churning!

My project evolved from the lovely sentiment from Martin Buber. I had several options in consideration, and ended up with one of my favourite combinations: a coarse textured (homemade) background and an intricate, fussy cut image. You are welcome to check out more details on my blog :)



Such a beautiful card Kristiina, wonderful colours, a great image and beautiful message - thank you!

Whether you're into contemporary images, vintage, retro, whatever it is you like, we'd like to see them too.  It promises to be a long hot month so we hope you'll grab some time out sometime along the way and join us!

Trace will be with us on Sunday with the first of our individual DT posts so please join us again then.

Have a fab weekend!

Chris and the CVC team xxx

Wednesday, 1 July 2015

July promises to be a sizzler!

Hello friends and welcome to another new challenge!

July is kicking off to a great start weather ise and we have a brilliant theme for you this month, chosen by our lovely Trace. Becaue it's the beginning of the holiday season, the kids are breaking up from school, the weather is promising to have us sizzling, what better topic could we have than...


If you're new to our blog then please read/follow our simple rules (they're pretty standard, but failing to observe them renders your entry invalid and it will be disqualified).  We will be publishing a new post every other day from today, DT Members and Guests, throughout the month and last month's winners as well as our special commenters' candy winner will be announced inbetween.

We're hoping that you'll have as much fun with this theme as we all have and to lead our team out we have a special guest,  previous winner Louise, sharing her interpretation...





I have been cardmaking for quite a few years now but it is funny thinking about it i have always collected pretty stationary when i was younger and i used to make my own letters and envelopes.  I am a mother to two beautiful boys and wife to my wonderful husband, he has to share a craft room with me so puts up with my stuff everywhere, but the boys love playing with mummy's crafty bits! I will have a go at most things, but my favourite is Stamping, die cutting and embossing. It was a work collugue who got me started on cards about 8 - 9 years now and i still love it. I also like Sewing, baking and collecting shells to make picture frames etc. Thanks you for letting me be Guest DT on your challenge, thanks Louise x


I have used a Lily of the Valley Digi image i got from a magazine Papercraft Inspirations some years back. And coloured it in using Promarkers. The backing papers also a freebie from Quick cards magazine a few years ago.  



For my fist make I had lots of fun making two mdf panels using lots of distress goodies, ephemera and distress products to create this pair of travel inspired pieces . As always the details can be found on my blog here . Trace x


I decided to take a different approach to the theme for this project. Sometimes our travels may involve more of an inner journey rather than an outer one and we are on the way to destinations as yet un-known. That's what I wanted to express with this little hanger. Details and a step by step can be found HERE.


All these people have been on their travels and I have created a travel memory card for each of them. Each piece of ephemera has a meaning for their visit, I love the idea and am going to personally adopt it for when I go off on my travels too.


I decided to combine all the elements I considered that the theme might be aboutconveyed to me into one project and this was the result - a canvas!  You can find details of the products and my step x step on my blog.  Chris xxx


Hello to you all, for my first make this month I have made a card
with a stamped scene, details can be found on my blog.


I love travelling. I love the journey itself, the anticipation of of what we'll find along the way and of course what we experience when we get there! Not too long ago we, as a family, took a trip to Brighton for the day - it should have taken 4 hours in total but took 9 and it was one of our best trips ever! This tag, using Tim Holtz stamps reminds me of the exciting trips abroad we've taken! As always, there's more on my blog. Gabrielle x


My tag today was quite a quick one made from a couple of tags used to mop up paint off my craft sheet. There are more details over at Addicted to Art today.


A mini Travel Tag.
Mixed media, collage and crackle.


I love to travel, some of my favourite times have been our family holidays. For my first piece this month I've made a London themed piece. Hope you like it.
Full details can be found here on my blog.



There we have it dear friends, a great line up, even if we say so ourselves, and we're looking forward to a fabulous month - we're counting upon you to join in!

The winner (drawn at random) will receive a £20 shop voucher from our generous sponsor, Country View Crafts, and we'll also be awarding 4 blog badges for those projects we think have interpreted our theme the best.  All winners will be invited to join us as guests for a future challenge.

Whatever the weather, wherever you may be, HAVE FUN!!

Chris and the CVC team xxx

Monday, 29 June 2015

More chic than shabby perhaps...

Greetings!

It's my turn to play the last post this morning so here is my second make for this theme...




My first make was a canvas, my second is a album - you can see what my favourite projects are at the moment, can't you?  I seem to be making less and less cards and more and more home decor and gift items but these are also being donated to my favourite charities.  This has been made with a mixture of brands some of which are quite contemporary designs but they seemed to work together.  You'll find all the details on my blog if you'd like to see more.

Chris xxx



An eclectic mix but I hope you like it.

We have reached the end of the posts today and so you have until 11:45 tomorrow night (23:45 hrs) to link and enter before we close the doors.  You also have until the challenge closes to enter our Magpie Day candy competition and be in with a chance of winning our crafty candy!

All that remains is for us to thank you for joining in with us this month either as a visitor or as an entrant and we look forward to seeing you all again next month!

Have a great day!

Chris and the CVC team xxx

Saturday, 27 June 2015

It's a Magpie Day today!!


Greetings dear crafters!

Yes, today we're having one of our Magpie Days and it's a candy day for our commenters.  No, you don't need to be a follower but you do have to leave a comment today or between now and June 30th, the challenge end, to qualify for the draw.

How does it work?  One comment per visitor/follower on THIS post please and after the close of the challenge we will count the number of comments and let random.org choose the lucky winner.  (Anyone leaving more than one comment on THIS post will disqualify themselves, we'd like it to be fair for all please.) 

Here are our candy details...




2 12" x 12" scrapbooking packs
5 x A4 sheets of thick greyboard
5 x A4 sheets of thin greyboard
Set of Sizzix embossing folders
2 packs assorted sticky backed ribbons
2 small sets of decorative rub-ons
Pack of 12 white roses (great for inking/spraying)
Spellbinders die set
3 pots of glitter (gold, silver, copper)



We will announce the winner in July and once we have your details the candy will be mailed to you.  The competition is open to EVERYONE, wherever you are in the world.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!!!!

Have a wonderful day and a great weekend, I'll be back with the last post for the month on Monday.

Chris and the CVC team xxx

Thursday, 25 June 2015

It's vintage shabby from Trace...

Hey there!

Trace is wih us this morning to share her second DT creation and she displays her own inimitable style with this gorgeous make...





For my second piece I have stayed true to my love of the neutrals, using another one of my own vintage photos, buttons, vintage music paper and some handmade flowers to complete the piece. All the details can be found on my blog here. Trace x



How beautiful this is Trace - thank you!

We're counting down the days now folks so please start finishing and preparing to set your links for the month end.  We still have more to come and on Saturday we'll be back with our Magpie Day and something for you to win!  Until then, have fun!

Chris and the CVC team xxx

Tuesday, 23 June 2015

Straight from the heart...

Good Day all!

This morning Sue B joins us again with a fabulous piece of home decor which would be ideal as a wedding gift or any celebration of love...





I used an eclectic mix of materials to make this Shabby Heart, there are more details on my Blog.



This is stunning Sue, fine enough to grace any wall, thank you!

How are YOU all doing?  Have you finished your project yet?  We have just 7 days left in which to get your projects finished and linked - we hope you will!

Trace is up next so please visit us on Thrsday to see what she has in store for you.

Take care and have fun!

Chris and the CVC team xxx

Sunday, 21 June 2015

Nikki's gone all out shabby today!

Howdy Bloggers!

We hope you're all looking forward to a creative Sunday and to get us exactly in the mood what better than Nikki's second DT project for the month...





My second creation for this month's Shabby Chic theme is a feminine card, not my usual style! For more details please do hop over to my blog today.




We love this Nikki, it's stunning.  Not your usual style but we hope you'll do more of it - gorgeous!  Thanks!

We want to see what you're up to.  Whatever your style, whatever you like creating, we would like you to share it.  Anyone that enters our challenge has a chance of winning, the selection is done using random.org.

Sue B will be here on Tuesday - don't miss it!

Chris and the CVC team xxx

Friday, 19 June 2015

Wow - a double DTMSM post today!

Hi there Crafters!

It's Friday, the end of the week and, for some of us, looking forward to the weekend off!  If you're not so lucky and have to work then what better than to cheer you up with a double post today.  It's not often that we award TWO DTMSM badges for a challenge bu this is what happened in April and this morning we are lucky to have both Linda and Liz here with us sharing their interpretations of our theme...





Hi, I am Linda Simpson, a mum to 2 sons and a step son.  I have to gorgeous granddaughters Alice and Florence. I was born in Malta and lived in the Far East and now live in the UK with my very understanding and supportive husband Rick.  I love to create and share my creations on my blog.  Thank you to everyone at Country View for asking me to be GDT this time.

~  o  ~  O  ~  o  ~



I love Shabby Chic and don't do it very often.  My card was created using an array of beautiful papers and embellished with a doily, flowers and pearl heart gem.
I love embellishing my card and my love is lace, pearls, ribbons and flowers.





I have always crafted one way or another since being young, I was always found colouring with felt pens and still love to colour  now, though I use  copics or distress re-inkers, in my teens I did Tapestry, embroidery, and sewing and used to make my own clothes, when i was pregnant with my son my mum taught me knitting.
I am happily married and it is was our 35th Wedding Anniversary last month, we have two grown up children, a boy and a Girl and one Grand daughter which I look after 4 days a week, In my free time I love to craft, my style varies from Shabby Chic which is my favourite to grunge and anything in between, I love to add texture and embellishments on my projects too, some of which are 3D.

I am very lucky to be on some fabulous design teams including The Ribbon Girl and Sweet Lilac flowers, I have a blog http://lizscreativecorner.blogspot.co.uk where you can see more of my work.

~  o  ~  O  ~  o  ~


I made my card base 17.9cm x 12.7cm, cut a layer of paper 17.5cm  x 12.3cm, then my designer paper 16.5cm x 11.9cm, these I edged with distress ink in vintage photo then distressed with my distress tool. On the top edge I took my Maja Design paper and used the wet paper technique to make folds in it, for the hint of lace to peek out of from  behind, I then used a  top stitch thread around the rest of the paper, I tore some corrugated card, lightly added white Gesso and layered this on top of a doily.
I added my large Lace on the bottom of my card, then added flowers, a Prima birdcage, Prima rusty type zipper, and some rose organza lace too, to finish it off I added some butterflies from maya Road and to these I added a Tim Holtz pen nib coated with a hint of white Gesso, a Bark heart, Cheesecloth and some pearl string.



Linda, Liz, both of your creations are gorgeous!  They are wildly different and such an excellent example of how 'Shabby chic' as a style can be added to any other, vintage or contemporary, to give it a wow factor.  These are both beautiful in their own right, thank you both so much for joining us and sharing your creativity!

Nikki will be back with us on Sunday so in the meantime, have a great weekend, whatever you're doing!

Chris and the CVC team xx

Wednesday, 17 June 2015

Beautiful home decor from Jennie...

'Morning everyone!

Jennie is here with us today sharing her second DT make for this theme and what a beaut it is too!...




For my second piece this month I decided to alter a mirror with all my favourite shabby chic elements - lace, hand made flowers, fancy metal, buttons and pearl pins. Most have had a coating of gesso and were then sprayed with Victorian Velvet and Vintage Photo Distress Ink Sprays.  Please do visit my blog if you want to see more.



Jennie, you never fail to wow us with your flowers and lace and this is no exception - gorgeous - thank you!

Whether you're into vintage or more contemporary genres it matters not - you can make anything with a shabby feel to it.  We'd like to see more of what you're doing so if you want to enter more than once you can, all we ask is that you follow our simple rules.

We have a double whammy on Friday, two guest posts in one so please come back and visit to see what our guests have in store for you!

Have fun!

Chris and the CVC team xxx