My little crafting world....


Hi all
I'm a complete craft addict! I have a small business called Surrey Crafts teaching craft workshops from my studio in Esher, Surrey and at venues around the country. I teach mixed media, decorative painting, card making and papercrafts, jewellery making and creative embroidery classes. If you'd like to find out more just leave a comment, or take a look at my other social media pages:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/surrey.crafts
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surreycrafts/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/surreycrafts/
Crafty hugs & stuff
Suz

xx

Thursday 29 August 2013

Twinchie Tiles using Clarity Canal Stamps

I'm just getting into this entering of challenges malarkey. Looking at other bloggers posts they use will enter one item into about half a dozen different challenges and I tried to work out how to do it. So I started by looking at the Clarity Challenge which was animals. That reminded me of the Canal stamp set I've had for a year and not used (very bad)! I've also noticed LEJ designs challenge blog theme is currently hols & travel and this is a holiday I've always wanted to have (hence buying the stamps) so the tiles fit nicely with that. I try to join in Hel's Sheridan's Sunday Stampers Challenge  regularly as I'm a hugomungos fan of hers, this week it is metal - and as I used Treasure Gold around the edge of each twinchie I'm hoping that counts. The idea for the twinchies came from both the Artful Times Challenge Site, theme this month - you've guessed it: TWINCHIES!! Looking at the lovely samples there I came across another site which also fitted as it too had a holiday theme called Show Us Your Twinchies and again had lots of lovely inspiration! So that is a record for me, wonder if I've entered them properly!!!!

Anyway, I stamped the images onto the non pearlescent side of Crafters Companion Centura Pearl card using black archival ink. I used metallic colouring pencils to colour (though they don't look metallic from the pics), wrote the words and framed them with a Micron pen and finally edged each with Treasure Gold before mounting them on small ceramic tiles.  Think I'll use them for decoration when I finally move into my new craft room!


Sunday 25 August 2013

August Workshop

Thanks to all who came to my workshop yesterday. It was an afternoon packed with techniques, hope you enjoyed it. I had a fab time and loved seeing your amazing creations. I'll let you know when the next one is as soon as the September date in confirmed. Love Suz xxx


Tuesday 20 August 2013

Here are the samples of the second card we will make at my next workshop on Saturday 24th August.
I posted pics of the quilled card previously.
Hope you like them.
Suz
x

Sunday 18 August 2013

Creative hand embroidery sample.

I'm practicing my embroidery to get me up to speed to run some workshops in the coming weeks. Here is a sample I finished this morning.

Friday 16 August 2013

A Very British Summer

Bit cute for me but wanted to try a stamp out I've had for ages. Not a great pic as I was in a bit of a hurry, sorry!
Stamped main image and water droplets. Coloured using promarkers, added glossy accents where I wanted a wet look. Cut out the water droplets. Wrote the letters & cut out bunting and put it all together on a couple of die cut shapes. There is a bit of green in here so I'm entering it into Hels Sheridan's Sunday Stampers Challenge.
The Sunday Stampers 

Thursday 8 August 2013

Magical Masks friendship card

Here is a card I made for a good friend of mine as it is her birthday today, we had a lovely evening celebrating with cocktails in Surbiton tonight (apologies for any typos!!!).

The colour in this card comes mainly from Mister Huey's mister sprays (sunset, plumb thumb & taxi), used on the background card and for the tag backgrounds, but also some TH distress inks, and of course treasure gold. I created a diamond/ harlequin mask on my Cricut Mini which I inked through and then embossed with Stampendous Rose embossing powder. I then used Clarity Stamps on each of the masks (birds, dancer & vine) and then stamped a mask from a Kanban set on all three tags and embossed with black Wow embossing powder. I also stamped the birthday greeting. I added treasure gold to lots of places and around all the edges, also to the little roses which I also cut with my Cricut Mini and rolled with a quilling pen.The touch of purple on the masks is from Cosmic Shimmer mica powders which I mixed with water to create a paint. The cord was from an old gift bag.

The quote is from a Roman philosopher called Lucius Annaeus Seneca
 and was sourced from:
I'll enter this into Hels Sheridan's Sunday Stampers Challenge theme this week is diamonds.
Also Country View Crafts challenge which is sayings & quotes.
Crafts and Me Challenge - which is Anything goes

Tuesday 6 August 2013

Simple quilling card



Here is my first attempt at quilling. Got myself a set of quilling dies (easier said than done!) and had a play. I wanted to enter a couple of challenges for 'simple' cards which makes a change for me and gives a cleaner look than the mixed media (though that is still my fav!).
Suz
x

Just for fun I've entered this into The Ond Stop Craft Challenge .

Monday 5 August 2013

Summer Rose

I made this grungy Summer Rose wall hanging from recycled card, a recycled fridge magnet (the little square canvas) scraps of card, red acrylic paint, white gesso and added shine and a bit of bling with Treasure Gold. Some pics of the stages below to show you some of the steps......hope you like it - and the little ladybird which I made with some small circles of red & black card and a white Sakura pen. The inspiration came from looking at some of the fab blog challenges which are out there. I'll post links to the ones I'm referring to at the bottom of this post.

The quote is my very own (I'm a poet and I don't know it!); simple, just like me!
1. Bit of old cardboard, torn and peeled to reveal some of the corrugation, then randomly painted with white gesso and lightly stamped with a plastic rose shape I had using red acrylic paint, adding subtle red.
2. The base of the hanging is an old mount board label shape I painted with red acrylic paint
3. The little canvas is an old fridge magnet which I painted with white gesso, then overpainted with red acrylic, then added Treasure Gold, printed words and little paper roses. I die cut the roses with my Mini Cricut then used a quilling tool to roll them, added glue to hold them and brushed with Treasure Gold. The vines were die cuts I had cut out about two years ago (Sizzix) and never used, I went around the edges of them with a dark brown Promarker to make them pop a bit. Again dusted with Treasure Gold.
4. After completing the canvas I added it to the cardboard, added that to the label shape then glued on the vines and added yet more treasure gold to the background....and the little ladybird!
5. And the day after making it I felt the roses were not big enough for a Summer Rose statement so I made this humungus rose from yellow copy paper, and spritzed it with Mr Hueys misters (red then orange to get the right shade of red) so I'm much happier with it now!

 
I'll enter this into the A Mixed Media Color Challenge 
And Crafts-Too Challenge You
Also the Country View Crafts August Challenge which is 'quotes & sayings'