Waltzing Mouse Sketch Challenge 11

Hi there,

Its time for Waltzingmouse sketch challenge 11. Guess what? one lucky random participant will win TWO new sets due for release in September just for entering this sketch challenge-how fantastic is that??!!

Those lovely ladies have provided another fab sketch to challenge us all with!! Round cards are a bit of a challenge for me, but here goes!! Here is the sketch:



I must have been feeling Christmassy when I made this - inspired by a pictures i found of Scandinavian red and white Christmas decorations & candles...



and here is my take on it.....a little card/decoration to hang on the christmas tree and a cute snowy/icy looking snowflake soap to go with it (any excuse for me to make a soap these days-am really on a soap making kick at the moment!!)




and here is the matching soap....the sentiment reads "Let It Snow"




This is the first time I customised my own ribbon by stamping the beautiful border strip from Very Vintage Christmas in red onto some white ribbon. I also stamped the red plaid using the stamp from pic-nic Patterns onto white cardstock then stamped and embossed the beautiful lacey edged circle stamp from Vintage Circles Small and a snowflake image onto real red cardstock. I pulled it all together with some vintage cotton lace trim, red & white gingham ribbon, zig-zag stitching, some buttons, red thread and a little wooden Santa - so cute!!

Thanks so much for looking and hope you've enjoyed what you've seen :-)

Helen x

Supplies:
Stamps: Vintage Circles, Picnic Patterns Stamp Sets - Waltzingmouse Stamps; Snowflake Stamp (unsure of manufacturer)
Cardstock: Real Red - Stampin Up; White - Papermill
Ink: Versamark; Real Red - stampin Up
Other: Circle Nestabilities - Spellbinders; Vintage cotton trim - Websters Pages; Little wooden santa - Crafty Bitz; Gingham ribbon - from stash
For details of soap making supplies, see this post!

August Waltzingmouse Blog Waltz

Dear all,

Welcome to my blog for this August Waltzingmouse Blog Waltz!! The theme this month is Vintage/shabby.

The summertime cold seems to be doing the rounds in our house at the moment, so I don't have a card to share today, but do have a couple of other Vintage/Shabby inspired projects I created recently to show you. I do really hope you like them - I don't find this style particularly easy, but always like to have a good go!!.

The first is a scrap page which I did for my children to give to their Grandma for her birthday.....I should apolgize for my lousy photography!!







The second set of projects were inspired by this post by Lisa Johnson. I have always loved soaps and used to collect them when I was a little girl. My very first soap was a beautiful Lavender soap my sister brought home for me when she went on a school trip to the Alsace area in France back in the early '80s. I never dreamed I would be making my own, but was so inspired by Lisa's post I just had to get involved!!
I love using clear stamps in new and different ways, and soap making is no exception - you can use your stamps in a soap mould to create the most beautiful, unique (& also practical) gifts. Trust me, your stamps will be fine. Full instructions on how to use clear stamps for soap making can be found here on the Soap Queen blog.

I used the most beautiful Vintage looking Rose from Claire's "Roses in Bloom" stamp set to create my soap from scratch. I used and organic melt & pour soap base and added some Lavender essential oil for fragrance and some Aloe Vera Gel for it's skin moisturising properties.

Here is the rose stamp in the bottom of the square shaped soap mould....


After spritzing mould and stamp with some Surgical Spirit (Rubbing Alcohol) to stop the soap from sticking in the mould (bit like greasing a baking tin) I added some melted soap which I had coloured blue to the flower stamp and let it dry for 3-4 minutes.



I then went ahead and added the second white mixture and left to set for 4 hours and here's the end result - a pretty Waltzingmouse Stamps soap!!! Add some Vintage looking lace and you're done!!




I am hooked-what to try next??!! My mind is racing now about all my other stamps - so exciting!! I can just see the rabbit or lamb stamp images from "L'il Buddies" stamp set on a soap next. My boys love using their special homemade bumble bee soap!

These are some of the very first Lavender and Aloe Vera soaps I made which i gave as gifts recently....





I hope you've enjoyed what you've seen today and hope you enjoy the rest of the Waltz. I apologize if you're not as excited by soaps as me!! Hope you weren't too bored!! :)

Thanks for looking and hope to see you soon x

Helen x

Supplies for Scrapbook Page:

Stamps: Waltzingmouse Stamps: Fancy Phrases; Very Vintage Labels 4; Seasons of Love - Tags
Amy Butler Clear Stamps: K&Co Lotus Floral stamp set
Ink: Versamark, Cameo Coral - stampin up; Tea Dye Distress Ink - Tim Holtz
Patterned Paper: Waltzingmouse Victorian digi paper collection in cream
Cream cardstock: Papermill
Websters Pages - Sparklers Vintage Scalloped Buttons; Bloomers Flower Trim
Adhesive Pearls: Kaiser Craft
Prima - Cameo Roses in Mandarin
Fiskars Squeeze Corner Punch

Supplies for Soap:
Stamps: Roses in Bloom - Waltzingmouse Stamps; Set of 4 soaps: Round & Round - Papertrey Ink; Butterfly soap: Amy Butler Lotus Floralstamps (as above)
Soap Moulds & cosmetic grade colouring: I found mine on ebay (UK) or here (US)
Organic Melt & Pour SLS/SLES free soap base: Auldhill Soap Company
Lavender Essential Oil, Aloe Vera Gel 99.9% pure - Local Health Food Shop
Surgical Spirit/Rubbing Alcohol: Local Pharmacy

Happy Birthday Mum!!

Hi everyone,

Had such a lovely family day today as it's my mums birthday and wanted to share the little box I made using one of Claire's templates over at the Waltzingmouse store. Perfectly tucked inside are some homemade chocolate seashells made especially for their Grandma by my two little boys!!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend and I'll be back on Tuesday 17th August to share something a little Vintage/Shabby for the Waltzingmouse Blog Hop.









Supplies:
Waltzingmouse template - A Piece of Cake
Cardstock: Doodlebug Design embossed scrolls
Patterned Paper: Websters Pages digi design - Make a Wish
Ribbon: from local craft store
Tissue paper flower: tissue paper; scallop cirle nestabilities - Spellbinders
Prima flower; Glue dots;

Waltzing Mouse Sketch Challenge 8

Hello everyone in Blogland!!

I've just sneeked away to post a picture of the card I have made for this week's Sketch challenge over at Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge Blog. Wow, as if this week's challenge wasn't hard enough I decided to make it doubly hard for myself and make a more masculine card for upcoming birthday!! I know, I must be nuts - especially being pressed for time with my boys at home for the holidays!!I seem to be getting slower and slower making cards these days, even when I'm supposed to be following a sketch, LOL! For some reason I decided to turn the sketch 90 degrees clockwise and worked from that.

Anyway, here is the sketch and my interpretation (if a little loose - the sketch is in there somewhere I promise!!) follows after that:

Thanks so much for stopping by :)





Supplies:
Stamps: Waltzing Mouse - Free Spirit Boy (Wreath - just seen); Fancy Phrases (Sentiment)
ink: Fresh Snow, Hawaiian Shores - PTI
Card: Papermill
Patterned Papers: Making Memories - Just Chillin'Boy Collection
Spellbinders Nestabilities - Circles Small
Buttons: from Stash
Sewing Machine & Thread