Christmas has started!

I had a lovely time today at Grafton Crafts in Kimbolton, Cambs. There were some familiar faces on the workshop and a few new faces too.

Here is a picture of what the ladies made - great to see the slight variations where people showed their own artistic slants, even though we all used the same components.

I dont think it is fair to give a detailed step-by-step for these projects, when people have paid to do a workshop, but thought you might like to see the pictures.

I will next be demonstrating at the Big Stamp Show at Alexandra Palace on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st September. If you are planning a visit, please pop by and say hello.

Happy crafting!

Sewing mends the soul

I still have some cards I haven't shown, from Kim Robertson's recent shows on Create & Craft.

This one uses the cute little stamps from the Taylored Expressions Sew Happy stamp set.

The base of my card was a Deep Blue piece of card, then a layer of Teal card. The Coconut White layer of card was embossed using the Couture Creations Haute Couture embossing folder, extending the design to fit the size of the card.

I then blended Peacock Feathers Distress Ink over the embossed areas, to highlight them, and around the edge of the white card. I also added a thin line of Cosmic Shimmer Dries Clear Glue around the outside edge and added Cosmic Shimmer Glacier Ice Glitter Jewels.

I die cut pieces of felt from the Creative Expressions Blossom Felt pack, using the Spellbinders Square Swatches die set. I used the same die set to cut two pieces from a piece of Kraft card. 

I stamped the images using Clear Perfect Medium and then heat embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Ivory Embossing Powder. I then coloured in the stamped images using Cosmic Shimmer Matt Chalk Paints (Shallow Sea and Citron).

I added some small buttons and some mini spools, which I decorated with Bakers Twine.

Happy crafting!

Blog Hop Prize Winner

A big thank you to everyone who took part in the Creative Expressions Blog Hop. It was so lovely to read all of the lovely comments you left. The winner, picked at random, from my blog is June Ballenger.

To claim your prize June, please email me (tracey@creative-expressions.uk.com) with your full postal address.

These wonderful items will then be on their way to you!

To see if you were a winner on any of the other blogs in the Blog Hop, click here.


I will post a new blog post here tomorrow, so pop back to see what it is for more crafting inspiration.

Happy crafting!

Creative Expressions August 2014 Blog Hop

Welcome to the Creative Expressions August 2014 Blog Hop! Hopefully you got here from Julia Watts' blog but, if you didn't, here's the start at the Creative Expressions News Blog.

These new Christmas designs from the Singles Range at Creative Expressions, include seven different stamps. As you will see from the samples made for the Blog Hop, they do not just have to be used as they are but can be altered and interchanged to give lots of different options.

For my project, I used the Let It Snow stamp design. I stamped it using clear Perfect Medium onto dark blue card and heat embossed using Cosmic Shimmer True White Detail Embossing Powder. I cut the panels apart, as shown, and discarded the "Let it" piece. The other two pieces I mounted onto a piece of blue paper from the Phill Martin Sentimentally Yours Vintage Christmas Paper Collection and then more dark blue card.

I covered a giant chipboard tag using more of the Vintage Christmas Paper and stamped the words "Let it" on the tag in Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink. 

To make the snowy embellishments, I covered a piece of white card with a piece of adhesive sheet and die cut a selection of Christmas trees (using the Spellbinders 2013 Holiday Trees die set) and snowflakes (using the Spellbinders 2013 Snowflake Pendant die set). I peeled the backing off on the adhesive sides of the die cuts and added Cosmic Shimmer Glacier Ice Glitter Jewels. 

The tag was finished off with some navy silky crush ribbon, some bakers twine and a couple of decorative stick pins (using the Creative Expressions blank pins and some beads from my craft stash). 

I hope my project gets you in the Christmas spirit!

Thank you for visiting my blog, please leave a comment below in order to be in with a chance of winning a prize! If you would like to see more of my designs, it would be lovely if you could become one of my blog followers.

One randomly selected person commenting on this blog post before the closing date will win the following fabulous prize, which includes some of the new stamp designs.

Once you have done that, you will need to click here to visit Kim Bacon's blog. 

To help you along the way, here is a list for the Blog Hop:-

1.Sue Wilson

2. Julia Watts

3. Tracey Laughton (you are here)

4. Kim Bacon

5. Donna Ratcliffe

6. Neil Burley

7. Tracy Heaton

8. Kerry Hickton

9. Pam Smith

10. Creative Expressions News Blog

Start page, prize details and how to take part: Creative Expressions News Blog. The blog hop started on Friday 15th August at 6am and ends Tuesday 19th August at 5pm.

Thank you for taking part in our Blog Hop – good luck!

Notelet Set

This is a set of four notelets, made using the Taylored Expressions Sew Happy Stamp Set.

The notelets are all made with a small square white card and then decorated using a similar theme. 

This one has a piece of white felt and a piece of kraft card, both die cut using the Spellbinders Swatches die set, but you could use pinking shears. The stamped image comes from the Taylored Expressions Sew Happy stamp set and has been stamped with clear Perfect Medium and then heat embossed using Cosmic Shimmer Ivory embossing powder. The image has been coloured in using the Cosmic Shimmer Matt Chalk Paints.

This time a teal felt swatch has been die cut. The dress form stamp has been stamped a second time onto a piece of co-ordinating paper and then layered up on the top part of the dress form. The base has been coloured in using the Cosmic Shimmer Matt Chalk Paints. The ink used around the two white card pieces is Peacock Feathers Distress Ink.

For the third notelet I used the blue felt from the Blossom Felt Pack by Creative Expressions.

Happy crafting!

Screen Card

This card was made from a piece of A4 coconut white card, which I embossed using the Couture Creations Hemlines embossing folder, extending the design as required.

I then scored and folded the card into quarters along the long edge, to form the screen panels. The floral border along the top edge was cut from the Couture Creations Sew Jo paper pad. Four co-ordinating panels were then die cut from the same paper pad.

To shape the bottom of the screen, a labels shaped die was used to cut a small portion out of each panel.

The dress forms shape were die cut using the Couture Creations Dress Form Die and coconut white card, which was inked with Distress Inks. The felt flowers were die cut using the Creative Expressions Blossom felt pack.

The little labels were stamped using black archival ink and stamps from the Taylored Expressions Sew Happy stamp set.

Happy crafting!

The Sewing Room

I really enjoyed making this sign from a Pronty MDF Plaque.

I painted the plaque using Cosmic Shimmer Matt Chalk Paints, sponging on a few different shades (Warm White, Shy Violet and Shallow Sea). Once dry, I used the Creative Expressions All Sewn Up Mask with some Cosmic Shimmer Aurora Sparkle Texture Paste in small sections over the MDF. Whilst this was drying I die cut the letters to read sewing room from one of the patterned papers in the Couture Creations Sew Jo Paper Pad. I also used the That Special Touch Just Sew Mask with a Faded Jeans Distress Ink Pad, randomnly around the plaque.

Once I had attached the words, I outlined each letter with a white pen. I also used this white pen to add a line of faux stitching around the outside edge of the plaque.

I then had lots of fun making an assortment of embellishments to add to the plaque. I die cut the scissors, bobbin and spool (from the Sewing Kit die by Couture Creations) and sewing machine from the Couture Creations Sewing Machine die. I then coloured the white card die cuts using the Faded Jeans Distress Ink pad.  I die cut flowers using the Blossom Felt Pack from Creative Expressions and some of the Sew Jo paper pad. The dies used were the Classic Rose die set by Sue Wilson and the Bitty Blossoms die set by Spellbinders. A couple of the flowers were made with the felt, by just rolling a strip of felt which had been snipped all along one edge.

I also die cut the Dress Form from a piece of denim material, using the Couture Creations Dress Form die. The tape measure was cut from one of the pages in the Sew Jo Paper Pad. I added Perfect Medium and heat embossed with Cosmic Shimmer clear embossing powder. I then shaped the tape using my fingers. 

I added a bit of bling with some glitter jewels on a few of the paper flowers and a few self adhesive flat back pearls. I also added a few mini spools, which had been painted using the Cosmic Shimmer Matt Chalk Paints.

Happy crafting!

Icy Buttons Background

For me, this card is all about the sparkly background! I started with a piece of coconut white card, which I embossed using the Couture Creations Buttons Galore embossing folder. I then blended Peacock Feathers and Faded Jeans Distress Ink over the whole area. Once this was dry, I added a piece of double sided adhesive sheet and then poured on some Cosmic Shimmer Glacier Ice Glitter Jewels.

The centre mat was die cut using the Couture Creations Lotus Filet die. The dress form shape was die cut using a piece of felt from the Blossom Felt Pack and the Couture Creations Dress Form die.

The sentiment comes from the Taylored Expressions Sew Happy stamp set. A vintage button and a couple of mini spools were then added. The spools had been wrapped with Bakers Twine from the pastel pack by Creative Expressions.

The bow was made using two shades of Seam Binding Ribbon, two shades of Pastel Bakers Twine and a felt flower made by rolling a piece of felt.

Happy crafting!

I love sewing!

This is another sample I made for Kim Robertson's recent shows on Create & Craft.

I made the bunting using some mount board triangle shapes, which I covered with papers from the Couture Creations Sew Jo paper pad. 

The first "flag" was decorated using a die cut bobbin and a black zipper rose. The bobbin was cut from black card using the Couture Creations Sewing Kit die. I also added a couple of mini half spools. One I wrapped in green twine, the other I painted using the Cosmic Shimmer Matt Chalk Paint in Corinth Blue.

The second flag was decorated by die cutting some silver mirror card using the Couture Creations Dress Form die. I sponged Perfect Medium through the die and added Cosmic Shimmer Detail Embossing Powder in Black, before heat embossing. I added a mini half spool, which I had painted using the Cosmic Shimmer Matt Chalk Paint in Corinth Blue.

This piece was decorated with a die cut pair of scissors, using the Sewing Kit die and silver mirror card, together with a mini half spool.

The fourth flag was decorated with a die cut sewing machine and bobbin.

For the last flag, I cut out a dress form shape from one of the patterned paper pages and attached this to the top of a die cut dress form from the Couture Creations Dress Form die. 

The pieces were attached together using Bakers Twine.

Happy crafting!

Little Fisherman

Such a sweet image! I stamped the little fisherman using Aged Mahogany Distress Ink and then coloured the image using a wet paint brush and the same ink pad. 

The backing papers are from the Sew Jo Paper Pad by Couture Creations.

I added a thin line of stickles around the stamped image, which I had die cut using one of the Striplet dies by Sue Wilson.

I also added a couple of thin lines of stickles on the sentiment tag.

The ribbon is red Sheer Wrinkled Edge ribbon from Creative Expressions and I completed the look with a die cut using the Faux Quilled Leaves die and a vintage button.

I made a paper flower using Sue Wilson's technique shown on her blog and her Classic Rose dies.

Happy crafting!

A view of the Seaside

For this card, I used quite a few of the children/seaside stamps from Creative Expressions. The little girl is called I Spy and the boy is called Little Fisherman. The scenery in the background was stamped using Beach Flora and Marina Bay. 

The little girl and boy were coloured in using Cosmic Shimmer Drawing inks for the skintones and Cosmic Shimmer Watercolour Paints for their clothing, etc.

The background was coloured using Scatterd Straw, Broken China and Stormy Sky Distress Inks. 

Happy crafting!

Beauty and the Beach

Here is another of the cards I made using the children/seaside stamps. This time I stamped using Gathered Twigs Distress Ink. 

The papers are from the Couture Creations paper pad called Sew Jo.

The dies I used were from the Italian Collection of the Dies by Sue Wilson, together with the Faux Quilled Leaves die from the Finishing Touches Collection.

For the largest die cut shape, I attached self adhesive sheet to the card before die cutting, and afterwards added Cosmic Shimmer Polished Silk Glitter.

Happy crafting!

Kite Dreams

This is one of the cards I have made using the beautiful children/seaside stamps from Creative Expressions.

I stamped using Peacock Feathers Distress Ink and blended the colour out with a wet paintbrush. 

I added a small bow made using a piece of black tulle, some pearl string, and topped with a satin ribbon rose.

The stamp also comes with a small stamp of a kite, so you can have the young boy flying the kite. However, I decided to use the kite to make the bunting, by folding the top of the kite over a piece of pearl string.

The backing papers all come from the Couture Creations Paper Pad called Sew Jo. It has a lot of beautiful sewing designs but just as many other designs which can be used for any occasion.

I matted the papers on to some dark brown card and added metal corner embellishments.

The dies I used with this project are from the Californian Collection of the Dies by Sue Wilson.

Happy crafting!

Prize Winners!

The winners of the Creative Expressions Blog Hop have just been announced over on the Creative Expressions News blog. If you took part, click here to see if you are one of the lucky winners! The lucky winner, chosen at random, from my blog was Beryl Treble - congratulations Beryl! Thank you to everyone that visited my blog and for all of the wonderful comments left. I hope that you gained some ideas or inspiration along the way. 

Happy crafting!

We are still hopping!

The Creative Expressions Blog Hop ends at 5pm on Tuesday 17 June, so I thought I would show you another card sample I made for Julia Watts' recent shows on Create and Craft, using the beautiful Frame stamps.

For this project I used some of the mini frames Floral and Scrollwork.

I decided to make a tea-light card and gift all-in-one. I know these have been around now for a while but I have never made one. I had some purple tea-lights so started with some rich plum card. 

I edged one side using Cosmic Shimmer Pearl PVA dots. I stamped a piece of coconut white card using a Lettuce Adirondack Dye Ink Pad. I then inked through the Criss Cross Mask using a Currant Adirondack Dye Ink Pad. Once this was dry, I embossed the white card using the Couture Creations Irish Clubs embossing folder. I cut this into the two panels, as shown, and inked around the edges using the Currant Ink Pad.

I coloured the floral mini frame image using the two Adirondack Ink Pads already used. This was then layered onto two die cuts made using the Spellbinders Ornate Squares die set. 

A few flowers were added, using the rich plum card and Faux Quilled Flower Die Set by Sue Wilson.

A bow was added, made from Champagne Silky Crush Ribbon, and a couple of the die cut flowers.

If you haven't entered the prize draw competition yet, here is a link to the start of the Blog Hop at Creative Expressions. 

Good luck everyone!