Take the Scenic Route - for Marte Savona

I love this time of the year!

And I love to travel by train - I can sit and look out of the window for hours! There's so much to see and each house I pass by is inhabited by people who have their very own stories. Each forest the train rushes through is inhabited by animals who have their own stories too. Each falcon I see standing midair above a huge field is looking for prey. How long has he already been looking out for food? What will it be this time? A tiny mouse or a common hamster?
And before I can continue to think of the falcon's possible story, we pass by some allotments - new stories start to unfold in my head...

When we go by car, my husband and I also sometimes love to take the scenic route instead of the motorway - just because this way the journey becomes the reward...

There is of course a step by step waiting for you over at the MarteLAB blog - as well as lots of steps images and the list of all products used (which are all available in the Marte Savona online store).

Hugs and happy travelling crafting!

Claudia

xxx

Blair Witch Manor - a Calico Craft Parts Project

Hi, servus and thanks so much for stopping by, dear creative friends! 

I am finally back after a creative break with a new project for Calico Craft Parts and of course it is a Halloween themed one this time. 

A small cemetery is part of it...

...but the main project is an obviously abandoned manor...

...with a front garden that has taken on a life on its own...

...and it has an uninvited lodger in the basement.

Will-o'-the-wisps light a neglected garden...

...and who's that behind the half open door?

Seems he is already waiting for YOU! 

If you want to find out more about the maybe not totally abandoned manor (and see it by day light) and also about how I've done everything, simply click HERE to get to the Calico Craft Parts blog. A (very) long detailed tutorial with loads of process images is waiting there for you to be checked out. 

I hope you like the tuto and the project!

Hugs and happy Halloween crafting!

Claudia

xxx

I am entering my spooky project to https://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/

Brave Little Robot - Tag - for SanDee&amelie's Steampunk Challenges

Hi, servus and welcome to the start of our October challenge over at SanDee&amelie's Steampunk Challenges! Once more it is time for a little steampunk crafting fun - and who knows...maybe it is you who will win one of the two prizes we're giving away each month! Please, check out the rules and details - alongside the teamies' fantastically inspiring makes - over at SASPC! 

I've created a fun tag this time - playing around with DecoArt media fluid acrylics and Crackle Paint, Seth Apter's Wow embossing powders, some steampunk and industrial themed dies, background papers, Calico Craft Parts and the cute "Robot" stamp from Aall & Create. 

Using stamps with sketchy images is a bit tricky as you cannot fussy cut the stamped images without losing a lot of character from the design - so I decided to stamp the image onto some acetate with StazOn ink and paint the back white - using an acrylic paint marker. 

In a final step the acetate got fixed to the finished tag background using small black sticky foam pads that I covered on the top with some Calico Craft Parts screw heads. 

The background was done first of course - using a designer paper from my holy paper stash (yes, I am trying to use up my long hoarded stuff....lol). That was glued to a sturdy Calico Craft Parts MDF tag with matte Decou-Page glue, trimmed and finally inked around the edges with black archival stamping ink. 

The die cuts were cut from sturdy white cardstock and then got painted using DecoArt media fluid acrylic paints in a watercolour-y way. I layered Burnt Umber, Quinacridone Gold and English Red Oxide quite randomly. Afterwards I partially heat embossed one of them using Seth Apter's Weathered Gold embossing powder. 

In addition to that I spread a little white DecoArt media Crackle Paint here and there on the tag with the very tip of a palette knife. 

To repeat the white from the stamped image and crackle paint I then also used the left overs from one of the die cuts - the white numbers - and added them to the background with DecoArt matte Decou-Page. 

The acetate got fixed to the tag - done! 

I hope my little "brave robot"-tag has put you in the right mood for some steampunk crafting! I promise; the makes of my teamies over at our challenge blog will add even more fantastic inspiration! I hope to see you play along!

Hugs and happy crafting!

Claudia

xxx