Goodbye to Sam and Netty

We wish a fond farewell to Sam and Netty this month. Thank you both for your fabulous artwork you have shared with us on the Happy Daze Blog and we wish you all the best for the future.

The Happy Daze DT X

Magic Box...By Carol Fox

Another one of the boxes available in the shop, but this time altered with a very different appearance.
I painted it with Claudine Hellmuth paints in shades of brown and tan, sanding between coats to give a very distressed and aged look to the box. When it was dry I gave it a coat of Glue and Seal to prep it for rubber stamping onto.
I used the large receipt style stamp from the Artistic Outpost Set of stamps  Fortune Teller and black archival ink to stamp directly onto the box.
The small pentagram charm was "rusted" with Distress embossing powder. in vintage photo.
I stuck a small metal button from my stash to the front for a faux knob.

Thank you for looking, Carol x

Merry Christmas

to all.
I made this ATC and turned it into a card topper for a christmas card. It's made using the Artistic Outpost stamp set 'midwinter'

Have a wonderful time this Christmas

Mandy x

Christmas Angel

One of my favourite things to do is to make something that can be hung somewhere in my home and enjoyed so here's a balsa wood hanging made using one of the fab Suzi Blu stamps Fly Free.

I coloured it using Derwent Inktense pencils and finished the whole thing off with some beeswax which I distressed with some oil paint. I love the effect you can get if you stamp in to the beeswax, add your brown paint and then buff with a soft cloth.

Don't forget there is still time if you're not too busy with mince pies and sherry to join in this months challenge, all the details are here.

Wishing you a fab Christmas time,

Sam xxx

Little Bird House Photo Holder By Carol Fox

This is one of the little hanging bird houses from the shop. I cut the hanging loop of the top and added a memo pin in its place so it can be used as a photo holder or a christmas place setting for the table. I have just added a sentiment too mine so you can get an idea of what I mean.

It has been finished with snowflake charms and Frantage Glass glitter. These also look very pretty on your tree if you leave the loop on as the glitter catches the lights and looks very sparkly.

Carol x

Goodbye to Netty

As I am sure a lot of you now know this is the last month that Netty shall be sharing her lovely artwork with us on the Happy Daze Blog.
We are sad to see her go but due to family commitments she feel she no longer has the time that a DT can take up.
You can continue to keep up to date with her crafting on her personal blog.
It has been a pleasure to have been on the DT with you Netty and thank you for all your hard work.

A Sleigh Ride Together With You

I covered this little canvas with Tim Holtz Christmas tissue tape and then inked it up with Salty Ocean and Picked Raspberry Distress Inks for a contemporary Christmas colour scheme. I stamped the images from the Artistic Outpost Sleigh Ride set on tissue paper and added these using gel medium, added a touch of blue to the little girl's coat, and some glass glitter to the snowflakes.

This fits in with this month's challenge theme, In The Deep Midwinter - there's still time to join in !

This will be my last post before the big day, so I hope you all have a very Happy Christmas, and see you in the new year!

The Beautiful Miranda

Hi, the beautiful Miranda is by Chapel Road Artstamps and you cannot help but love her can you....

Today am showing you a Christmas card made for my Mother plus a purse and a brooch made from this set of stamps.

Items used:  an embossed card, stamped on thick watercolour paper , then torn.  Painted in watercolours and Inka Gold,  added some stickles, then a drop of glossy accents for the shell like pendant.

This is a small calico purse which have had for ages.  Stamped with Archival  Coffee  and coloured with Inktense  Pencils, Turquoise Stickles and sealed.  The Brooch was made in the same way and covered in Glossy Accents.

Am sorry couldn't show you the front of the purse but forgot to take a photo of it before it was all wrapped up.

This is my last DT project for Happy Daze and am sorry to be leaving, but family commitments are taking more of my time these days.

Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas and a Healthy New Year.  Hugs Annette xx

Let it Snow

I've made a couple of ATC's which I intend to use as card toppers using the Artistic Outpost 'midwinter' set

The theme for the challenge this month is IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER, follow the theme and use something from the shop and you can be in for a chance to win £15 instore.

TFL
Mandy x
mandysmagicalworldofart.blogspot.com

Brrr, it's cold outside

In The Bleak Midwinter is this months challenge theme find all the details here, this canvas board represents a bleak winter to me. Using Stampotique's Angel Boy and lots of goodies from my stash.

Firstly I stamped Angel Boy on to some card and ripped it out. I glued him and some bits of book pages to the canvas board and then painted around his outline in white and blended that with the blue. I stamped all the details in paint, and glittered his wings with lots of diamond stickles and then coated the whole piece with beeswax. I distressed the beeswax and stamped in to it to add a bit of a grungy feel. 

To me he looks very cold and very bleak, lets hope someone somewhere has a hot flask of tea for him. 

Wishing you a warm day, Sam xxx

Steampunk Resin keyring

This week I have a key ring to share with you.
I found a pack of these metal dog tags amongst my stash recently, right at the bottom of a draw so I think I must have had them for ages.
Stamped directly onto the metal tag using Black Stazon. The cogs stamp is from the Artistic Outpost Stamp set Industrial Backgrounds.
I added a cog and a games spinner with a brad in the centre. I sealed both sides of it with Lisa Pavelka resin.

Thanks for looking, Carol x

Collecting the Christmas Tree

It would be very remiss of me not to make at least one Christmas card for the Happy Daze blog this year, for the challenge theme of 'In the Deep Midwinter'!

I used the Artistic Outpost Sleigh Ride plate - these are the only stamps you will ever need for your Christmas cards, although I do reserve the right to want more!  I cut a 6 x 6 Kraft card base which I embossed with the snow flakes with white ep. I stamped and cut out the two children and coloured them with distress inks. I stamped the pine trees off onto scrap paper first using Pine Needles DI and then stamped onto white card and spritzed with water, added a little Forest Moss for some shading, and die cut the piece, and then die cut a larger piece from red card which I embossed and sanded for a little texture. I stamped the Winter Wonderland text from the stamp plate on the lower half of the card blank in Walnut Stain which I also used to edge all the pieces. I used a cotton doily underneath the die cut layers, and finished off with a ribbon bow, a snowflake charm, and a pearl.

Meet Milo and Raphael

Here's a card I made using the Lost Coast stamp ~ Milo and Raphael

The image is stamped in Black archival,and then again with Archival Sepia ... I then cut the image of the boy and the dog out and glued it into position on the black stamped image. Coloured with watercolours, mounted onto an old book page which I tore around and inked with chalk ink. then mounted onto some scrapbook paper.

TFL
Mandy x
mandysmagicalworldofart.blogspot.com

Christmas Hearts for the Tree

Hi, am loving these little Metal Angels from Happy Daze, you get 3 in a pack............mmmm not enough so have ordered another pack........lol

The Hearts are made from Air Drying Clay and were stamped while moist to give some texture.  Painted with white acrylic paint and Viva Inka Gold, then some gloss to protect them.   Added scraps of lace and some homemade silk flowers.

These little Hearts look lovely on our Christmas Tree as all the ornaments on the tree are of a Victorian style.  Hope you like them.  Take care of yourself, hugs Annette x

A very dapper . . .

Ginger Bread man!

I made this little fella by rolling out some clay and cutting the Ginger Bread man shape with a cookie cutter. I then painted him brown paint and decorated him using scraps of ribbon and some sticky gems. I used white enamel for his mouth as it looks so much like icing.

Jolly cute I think, he's definitely going on my tree this year.

Wishing you a happy day, Sam xxx

Midwinter Bird House By Carol Fox

I have used the set of Artistic Outpost Stamps Midwinter to alter one of the bird houses available from the shop.

I coloured the house with Claudine Hellmuth Sky Blue paint, dragging a picket fence distress stain over it once it was dry to soften the colour.

The images were stamped onto tissue paper that I cut to shape first. I glued these on with Glue and seal. Finishing it off with stickles, Frantage Glitter and Shaved Ice.

Thanks for visiting, Carol x

Think and Wonder Child

I made this little frame using Tim Holtz tissue tape and a collage frame, with Inka gold in various colours, and the little girl from the Artistic Outpost Think and Wonder plate. I added pearl trim around the inner edge of the frame, and Inka Gold in Gold around the outer edge. I made a halo for her head using rose trim which I coloured with yellow ink and let the net part of the lace trail over her face.

ATC's a la ALICE

Here are some simple ATC's using the Alice set from Artistic Outpost. I stamped the 2 large stamps onto card, unfortunately they aren't quite ATC size so I cut a couple of ATC's out of white card and inked the edges in black ink.  The stamped images are coloured with watercolours.

TFL
Mandy
mandysmagicalworldofart.blogspot.com

November Challenge winner.

I managed to get the random number thing to work this month so my cat did not have to earn his keep and eat all that extra cat food. It drew No 12, Craft Room Julia, you can see her lovely entry on her blog HERE If you would like to email Moira at the Shop she will arrange for your gift voucher to be sent to you.
Thank you to everyone who entered and I am so glad we use the Random number to choose the winner as I could never choose just one.

Carol x

December Challenge - In The Deep Midwinter

I cannot believe it is the 1st of December, where has this year gone. But it's time for the new challenge theme and this month it is "In The Deep Midwinter" think frosty fun, make something and upload it with the linky at the end of this post.

You can enter up to three times and the only rule is, you must use something available from the Happy Daze Shop. There is a £15.00 voucher which will be won by one randomly selected entry.

Here are a few DT Items to inspire you.

By Lucy

By Mandy

By Carol

Looking forward to seeing your entries.

November's Guest Designer - Lottie

Lottie has been the guest designer on the blog for this month. and incase you missed any of the lovely things she has shared on here this month here is a round up of her makes.

Her Altered Paint Brush Bucket



Frame using Verday paints



Lovely Apron ( I am so going to do one of these)




Thank you Lottie for your hard work this month and it has been a treat to see what you have made. If you do not follow her Blog it's well worth a visit.

Carol x

Altering a Tin with Verday Paints...By Carol Fox

This was in it's previous life a M & S mint tin. I Painted it with the Verday Copper Patina paints and solution to give it the lovely patina finish.
I then gave it a coat of Multi medium to seal it before stamping onto it.
I used the Artistic Outpost stamps Paris Exposition and  French Flight, stamping the images directly onto the lid of the tin using Black Stazon ink and masking as necessary.

The current challenge is open until the end  of the month, for the full details and how to upload your link see the post HERE.

Fairy of Peace Card

Hi all

For this card I've used the lost coast 'winged girl'  I've made two versions of the card ~ one with the word Peace on... but I'm not sure if I like it better without the word... what do you think?

 I stamped the girl image with Black Archival ink, the edges are wiped round with some chalk inks. 

Must say I'm pleased with the overall card.

Mandy x

Happy and Bright

Hi you still have time to join in with the November Challenge 'Brighten up the Month'.  For my last DT offering this month have chosen to go really wild with the Brights............lol

Used the Girl with the Birdcage by Scrolls Work.  The background was achieved by Paint Squishings and the inner layer is Distress Ink Smearing.  Loving both these techniques.

This birthday card has already been sent to a dear blogging friend and she loved it......phew, thank goodness.

Wishing you a great week ahead, hugs Annette x

If the crown fits.....

put it on me!
I have given in to my obsession and got the Artistic Outpost set of Alice images.... I just LOVE Alice... I keep buying  Alice books to tear up and use but I can't bring myself to do it.

I've made a little card using the White Queen and Alice here ....

I made the background using a Jenni Bowlin grey dabber which I then spritzed over the top with a mica spray. The image is collaged on top of the card and the words are on 3d foam (my new best friend now thanks to Hels Sheridan!)
All images are stamped using black Archival ink. (remember to zap it with a heat tool before you begin using your images as it's quite a wet ink)

TFL
Mandy x

Santa Loves The bad Girls By Evil Edna

On my recent travels in blog land I came across this card on Evil Edna's Blog. I love how she had used the Lost Coast Stamp so I asked her if I could share it on our DT Blog. She kindly said yes.
Full details of the quote and her original write up about it can be found on the original post on her blog HERE.
Thank you EE for letting me share it.

Carol x

How to create an original gift - by Lottie

Have you seen these fabulous aprons on the Happy Daze website?

 I was looking for some ideas for birthday and Christmas presents and found this apron.

Just the thing for an adult - male or female - who's into crafting or baking etc.  I bought one and was absolutely amazed at the super quality - really thick and strong and very well made.

Apologies for having to photograph this on a blanket but it was the best way to get a photo.

Looking down on it, I thought how nice it would be to decorate it in some way and turn it into an original!   I hunted through my old books and came across a large paper back which I have  had for over 40 years.  It's a book on how to paint Chinese Style, and has some wonderful step by step images in it.  "Ping" a lightbulb moment - instead of painting on the apron I decided to do an image transfer.  Image transfer papers are easy to find on the web.  You need one for transferring an image onto material that you can wash.

 I chose this example of one of the paintings - printed it onto the A4 transfer paper, then trimmed out the parts I wanted.

 You print on the plain side of the paper (obviously) then choose where on the apron you want the image and then iron on the hot setting for a short time  (you will get the exact timing instructions with the paper) over the back of it.  In this case just a minute, then peel off the backing paper.  (I have peeled back a corner to show you.)

 

Voila!

 I chose to have the image across the pocket - so the little bird in peeking into it.

 The apron is just brilliant -  there are no chunky seams where the apron strings are attached - just one long strip that is threaded through either side and right around the neck - so you can adjust the length to fit every height!

Sorry about the model, she hung the apron loose so that you can see what it looks like on!

The texture of the image is smooth feeling, like those you get on tee shirts - so you get a perfect reproduction of the image you choose.

Think of all the possibilities.  You could personalise it, by stamping on the image transfer paper directly, or why not scan some of your artwork you've made and print it out on the paper.

Go on  - give it a try and create a totally original gift for someone special.

Thank  you so very much for visiting and commenting on my 'efforts' for this months' theme.
I thoroughly enjoyed participating in the challenge.

I have been looking at your blogs seeing your brilliant 'Brighten up the month' entries, and apologise for not leaving comments as I would normally do - due to a family health emergency - but rest assured I'll keep visiting.


Good luck in the draw!

Picture Star Canvas

I made this colourful canvas for the 'Brighten Your Month' challenge - hope you will join in! I used the Picture Star and Whimsical Melange plates from Artistic Outpost. I covered the canvas with tissue wrap - you can buy similar here - using gel medium, and then went over it with gesso and distress inks. I stamped some background images in black. I covered a piece of glossy card with distress inks in shades of blue and stamped the main images in Cobalt Blue archival ink, and added the words, 'You Outta Be in Pictures' behind a piece of Tim Holtz film strip, curling the end of it. I finished off with some embellishments and mica flakes.

Bee Happy... By Carol Fox

For my 2nd DT Piece this month for Happy Daze I have use Stampotique Rubber stamps to alter a wooden box. I have had a couple of these boxes hanging around for ages since I brought them as a back up plan for something I was doing. Being a hexagon shape I think they work really well with the Bee Stamp.

The box was given a crackle finish and then all the stamping was done directly onto the box. The bee was coloured with Alcohol inks and stickles were added to the wings.

I used

Bee Stamp
Hexagon Stamp
Alcohol ink,  Alcohol Ink Pen,
Stickles

Carol, x

'' You're A Star ''

Hi, am back again using the new Artistic Outpost stamps - Picture Star.

Using Distress Inks and watercolours, diluted Inka Gold, Stickles and the rest from stash.

The little girl is a real cutie pie and she obviously loves her new dress doesn't she !

Wishing you all a great week ahead.  Take care of yourselves, hugs Annette x

Tag! You're it!

On this tag I've used some Zetti legs... cannot resist these beauties! I've also used some element stamps from the zetti range. The little triangles on the sides of the tag are the roof of the mini houses.

Have a great weekend!
TFL
Mandy x

Artistic Outpost Tags...By Carol Fox

I have used the Artistic Outpost stamp set Picture Star on my  DT piece this month.
I have done two larger sized tags. I used Claudine Hellmuth paint for the background, mixing  Dash of Red and Painterly pink to get my shade. I them dragged a Pink Sherbert Dabber down it. The background was stamped directly using Black archival ink. The main image's and quotes were stamped onto card, coloured with diestress markers and then glued into place. The stamped stars were painted with Dab of Yellow.

I used

Claudine Hellmuth Paints
Artistic Outpost Rubber Stamps
Paint Dabber

Carol x

I'm brightening up the month with Verday - by Lottie

Going with this month's Happy Daze theme of 'Brighten up the month', I decided to do it with Verday paints and Patina which you can buy here.

I have Paula Whittaker to thank for the inspiration which I took from a card I received from her which is featured in the frame.  It is Roman inspired.  Unfortunately I couldn't get a frame to fit the   6"x6" card which was a bit wider - but I could fit most of it in this frame.  I loved her vintage colouring and tried to replicate it.

I made my own mould of Roman relics from polymer clay which you can buy here.  I don't think air dry polymer clay will work for this - purely for the durability you need for this project.

As you can see (I hope) this is a fragment showing a Roman ladies head looking coyly down.  (She wasn't dressed so I only did her head and shoulders!)

After baking the moulded fragments, they had a coat of Verday paint (I'll just show you one)

 I painted one coat of Verday paint on the outer fragment

 Then the next day I painted another and whilst wet added the Verday patina coat to the outside.

Then painted the roman head.

I left the heads to dry for a couple of days, then buffed them up, glueing them to the frame once I had finished decorating it.

A plain wooden picture frame was first painted with texture paint.  When dry I painted a layer of pale blues.  The darker blues are Verday paint that has had the patina treatment, and of course the metallic colours not only mirror those of the 'metal fragments' but also the colour of Paula's framed card.

Sorry for the differences in the lighting and colours - it's my photography.  I bought a photo tent to try and get a better picture - the bottom image - but it really didn't work as it bleached out the colours somewhat.  The true colours are those of the other photos.  This looks so much better in 'real life' and daylight.  The metal Verday really shimers and glistens and when I walk into my craft shed it truly shines with the light on it - looking solid like a chunk of precious metal rather than a wooden picture frame.

I hope that I have inspired you to have a go with the magical Verday paints - they are great fun and you can let your imagination run riot and create truly one off original works of art.

When I received Paula's card - I never dreamt for one minute that it would send me off to Roman ruins and give me the imagination to use Verday Paints and Patina like this.

Why not have a 'play' because that's just what I did.  I'm  not clever enough to design or plan anything.  I just had a rummage around and found the wooden frame amongst my 'junk' and just sat and played.  It's really enjoyable - trust me.

Let me know how you get on and I'll come and 'visit' you.