Art for Art's Sake

A couple of quick cards

2011-11-22T23:26:00.003Z

Been far too busy to play much for ages but I did quickly make these two cards the night before I went to my local Stamp Club last week for two of our ladies who have birthdays this month.

This one was inspired by an article by Hels Sheridan in December's Craft Stamper but I only have one colour of Colourwash Spray so I used Glimmermists instead. The main image is a stamp produced by The Stampsmith called 'Maud'. The background stamps are by Stampers Anonymous, Magenta and Paper Artsy.

The other card was made by stitching the layers together on my sewing machine. The glimmermist sprayed layer is cotton blind material (an old offcut, great to stamp on too!) on which I used a flourish mask and then overstamped lightly with a Crafty Individuals flower background stamp which gives it a slightly 'batik' look.

The butterfly lady is also by Crafty Individuals and, funnily enough, I just bought it from Hels Sheridan last week so these two cards are loosely linked!
The leaf was cut from a piece of evening dress fabric I had kept after shortening it years ago.......I knew it would come in handy ONE day!!!

The tree is finished!

2011-09-28T10:11:00.000+01:00

Yes, I finally did it but, as I will be sending it to someone in a few week's time, I'm not putting a photo up of it yet.....suspense, suspense!
Meanwhile, I've been looking at these new Pan Pastels on the market. I've been thinking of buying myself a set of soft pastels after doing a mixed media workshop but they seem so messy - the powder goes everywhere.
These Pan Pastels, apparantly, have much less flyaway quality about them and you can even buy them individually now. Pop over to Lin Brown's blog (the lady who runs LB Crafts) and you'll see some fab samples using these pastels and a fuller description.

Tree Progress and other bits

2011-05-25T20:35:00.001+01:00

Slowly, when I have spare moments, the tree is coming on. To paint over the whole surface and get rid of that bright green took over 2 hours alone! Getting round those tight edges inside the leaves etc was tricky.
But, one that was done, I stamped over with Elusive Images alphabet stamps. Yes, I know a bit missed in the middle there but we can do something artistic with that later! LOL. The alphabet will only show on the branches by the time I've finished though I NEVER have an exact plan.

I hope to move on to the next stage this week....

I had about half an hour to make some cards for Stamp Club ladies birthdays last week....well, maybe a bit longer than that but not much!
So I played with some paint strokes and then made these two cards with the results...

At Stamp Club we were given three criteria to make some cards. These were Tags, Lavender and Script. Here are two cards I made from the tags I made plus one tag as yet unfinished....

Lastly, I made this quick card two nights ago for my husband who had been away for nearly 4 months. The heart stamp is by Elusive Images, the sentiment I'm afraid Im not sure and the little Welcome Home is by Paper Artsy from a 'Mini' stamp set. I didn't have the right style of wings so I drew these freehand then stamped the Paper Artsy numbers stamp across them. The background was made with glimmer mists ages ago - knew it would come in handy one day.

The small heart inside is from Elusive Images also and comes from a stamp with 6 different hearts in a grid. I filled in the centre with a green Sakura Glaze Pen then did some detail in Gold pen.
The frame around the main sentiment was also hand-drawn with a fine marker pen.

Click on any image to see more detail still!
Thanks for dropping by.

Altered Tissue Box

2011-05-02T18:49:00.002+01:00

Last month at our local Stamp Club, we were asked to bring along a household container to decorate.
I took a tissue box....an item much used by me with my allergies!
Here is the box before the paint job - lovely tissues, by the way - Waitrose UltraSoft!

So, first I covered the box in Gesso then a couple of layers of acrylic paint.I used the CreativeExpressions Floral Lace mask stippled in pink paint, made a mask of a leaf stamp (Artemio) and stippled the solid leaf shape then stamped the leaf deail on top. The Elusive Images flowers were stamped onto ordinary pink copy paper, coloured with Coloursoft pencil, Inkssentials white pen and Artline Gold Pen and added White Enamel Accent dots to the centres.

After freehand scribbling some swirly bits in Gold randomly on the box, I pasted on the flowers and covered the whole thing in Mod Podge to seal it.

Big change - little car!

2011-04-27T23:12:00.002+01:00

Back in October, getting away from artsy stuff for a minute, we had quite a big change in our household. We've always shared my husband's car but John decided the time had come for me to have my own to dent! He was getting fed up with my putting dents in his - this is not a joke...... we have a tiny garage and quite a big car and yes, I admit, I did scrape the wheel arches a few times.
So, anyway, I looked at a few little towny cars but from the start my heart was really set on the Fiat 500.

We'd only been looking a few weeks when we got one - 3 years old and slightly more sooped up than I expected to get, being a 1.4 engine instead of a 1.2.
'Fabio' I call him - the car, not my husband - and here he is with me on the South Downs on one of our first outings together. Cute, eh????..............and it fits in the garage a treat!

Well, you WOOD have, wouldn't you?......

2011-04-18T12:34:00.005+01:00

....I mean, if you'd seen this in a gift shop, would you have been able to walk out without buying it to alter???
Exactly!
Can't wait to overpaint that gharish green and make this into something real pretty.
The tree stands quite tall, at about 13 inches and I bought it in the Gift Store at Litlington Tea Gardens, Sussex on a lovely afternoon out yesterday with a friend of mine.

Cardmaking Paradise

2011-04-15T11:19:00.007+01:00

Yes, that's somewhere we've all been! But it's also a lovely, friendly community of crafters I am very proud to belong to.
It began with many of us meeting up on a few different online craft forums over the years then one of us, Sara Sandberg, took the mighty step of starting her own craft forum.
Recently the name changed to Cardmaking Paradise, along with Sara's online crafting magazine which is growing into something rather fab. Here you get product reviews, templates for cards, projects etc and it's just a great resource to have at your fingertips.
Sara asked me to become a Design Team Member a while ago - I said yes but then didn't do anything for her for ages! Finally,though, I have started to make a few things to be shown in the magazine and here are my efforts to date......

This wooden peg is a 'giant' one, available from the Craft Barn. You can dismantle it for decorating though I was a bit like a chimpanzee trying to do an intelligence test when I came to put it back together again - LOL!
I got there in the end.
I painted the peg with Eco Green Acrylic Paints. The bottom edge there is made using copper metal embossed with swirly Cuttlebug E.F. and die cut using Tim's Scallops On The Edge Die. The Swallow is a Sizzlets Die and the sentiment stamp is by Stamping Sensations.
Inside the peg, I stamped a music background - it's unmounted and I can't remember who made it now; I've had it ages...you know how it is!

It was a gloomy dark day - you know the kind we had a lot over this long, long Winter - when I took these photos so apologies for the dark quality of them.

On what I consider the back of the piece, I stamped Stampendous Wavy Music, adding the dots left over from Tim's scallop die to highlight some of the notes.

I painted freehand stripes of gold and copper acrylic paint on the sides and grunged up the metal clip with some alcohol inks.

The best fun was playing with the Tim Holtz die which I painted with dark brown acrylic paint into which I sprinkled some Embossing Powders and heated till they bubbled. I love this effect and have Lin Brown to thank for that technique.

The next project was to make and decorate a card case for the magazine.
And here it is - I won't waffle on about this one. To get the template and many other fab templates, visit Cardmaking Paradise and subscribe to this great magazine!

You may or may not recognise the Japanese calligraphy stamp on the spine as part of the freebie stamp from October 2009.
Bird stamp (and most of the other stamps I used) from The Orient set by Simple Expressions - now sadly no longer in existence.

I should add that these photos are NOT the ones Sara took for the mag. I take full responsibility. Was in a bit of a rush, hence the badly set up background!!! Click on any photo to enlarge.

Then came Mother's Day. Even though I'm quite old I'm very fortunate to still have my mother, whom I love dearly. I made this card for her from a shape we made at our local Stamp Club - a Side Step Card.
I was feeling bold and OTT when I made this ....you may be able to tell ! LOL

Yes, it was another dark and dismal day when I took these photos! Flower stamps by Hero Arts and Penny Black. The big ones are coloured with Staedtler Chalk Pencils.

I didn't have a Leaf stamp in the right style so I just drew one.

Thanks for coming over and I'll have more in a few days since I have just been on a brilliant workshop with the brilliant Jo Capper Sandon. I'll post the resulting book covers very soon. Watch this space..........

And now getting right up to date.....almost!

2011-04-14T18:37:00.003+01:00

January and February was a bit of a crafting wilderness for me but I've got back into the swing of things now.
So, to bring this right up to date, here are the things I've been making that have stopped me having time to update my blog....LOL!

Some birthday cards for crafting friends......

This was to try out the 'Alcohol Ink Capture' technique shown in the March issue of Craft Stamper by Anneliese Bates. It worked really well with this great little stamp by Penny Black, called 'Clique'. Gosh, I use this stamp SO much!

It's worth showing you a close-up of the glass panel because the effect is so fabulous. Only thing was, I wished I hadn't had to stick the glass to the white panel with Diamond Glaze as this lost the gorgeously glossy effect of the clear embossing powder on the alcohol ink. If I could have found a way of suspending it above the card, I would have done that.

I haven't used Photo Real stamps much lately so decided to get this brilliant Marilyn Monroe image out for this next birthday card, also using some starry handmade paper, a pretty little frame stamp by....oh God, I can't remember...and a fab big crystal brad
from a set by Papermania.

Now this one was something rather out of my comfort zone. I found these great 50's retro stamps by Artemio and the same day saw some crockery in a furnishing store with a design on it taken from a Sanderson 1950s design called 'Dandelion Flower'.
So, here I have tried to recreate this using masking.

I wanted a suitably 1950s sentiment so nabbed me a great font online - free download too! - and computer-generated it.

Full credit goes to Joanne Wardle for this next one....this is a direct copy of her idea. Only the stamps differ!
I love the clean simplicity of this idea and the colouring in with coloured pencils is very therapeutic. I only had a cheap set of kiddies pencils at the time so used those.
I added some Enamel Accents for a bit of dimension and because I had just bought them and wanted to try them out.
Stamps: Flowers by Penny Black
Sentiment by Hero Arts

Now, since then I have been and gone and bought two sets of rather nice coloured pencils - I'm going through a phase!
Both by Derwent and they seem like they are going to be rather good to use.
I have the 24 pencil sets of both Inktense and Coloursoft.
I've so far only used the Inktense and not played much but here are a couple of close-ups of what you can do with them when water is added to make them like watercolour. The colours suddenly pop when you add the water and become really vivid.....it's like magic!!!

Well, I haven't quite caught up yet but I need to get up and move about a bit now. I'll get right up to date tomorrow if I can. Thanks for popping by and looking! XXX

Catch Up!

2011-04-14T17:48:00.002+01:00

Oh my gosh, don't know how I ever found time to do a day-job! Life has been busy, busy, busy. For a while I didn't have time to do any creating but, the last few months, I've got myself going again so thought I would put up some photos of some of the stuff I've made......

This is an ATC I made last October with the theme 'Swirls & Curls' for a group swap. I used some embossed metal, Terra dimensional paste and acrylic and Viva Precious Metal Colours. The text is a stamp by Paper Artsy as is the script background stamp.

Then, in December, it was my turn to host the ATC group swap. My theme was Angels - one of my favourite things!!!
Here are the ATC I made for that and the extra Christmas Angels I made for everyone who played that month.....

It's a rubbish scan of these but hey, it was nearly Christmas and lots to do! All the images were printed on my PC except the bottom one which is a photoreal woode-mounted stamp I got from EBay which has no maker's name on it.

I really adore this little 'Lyre Angel' stamp - made by Blade Rubber and she went nicely with this frame from a set by Invoke Arts which is also lovely, lovely, lovely!!!

I didn't get to make many Xmas cards and must start soon for this year or the same will happen again!
Here is one I made.....

Another stamp I have fallen in love with is this row of city buildings made by Crafty Individuals. The Santa and Sleigh is also by them.
I layered the buildings which looked quite cool....

Okay, that's Christmas done. So, now we get to January! I made two similar Thank You cards from a great fir cone stamp by Elusive Images which is crying out for frosty Glitter Glue treatment and got it in spades!

The background squares were made, of course, with the trusty Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder and the sentiment is fromj a clear set by Hero Arts.

There's that phrase again!

2010-09-14T15:45:00.002+01:00

Yes, I have a stamp with my blog name on it...lol !
I finished this card today. The sentiment is by Elusive Images, the frame by Stampers Anonymous (my alltime favourite stamp company) and the female image is called 'Studio Angel' and is by Acey Deucy, now made by Stampington, I believe. The background is stamped using a Paper Artsy mini and the beautiful marbled paper is the real deal..... a piece from a pack I bought in Il Papiro in Florence.

Here's a detail from this card. I mounted the stamped frame image on some heavy card after painting it with watercolours,Distress Inks and H2Os before cutting and tearing around it and then raised it on some sticky fixers above the Acey Deucy image.

If you ever go to Florence and visit the Duomo - which of course you would - you'll find Il Papiro right in the shadow of that impressive confection of a building. Anyway, they have several shops in Florence and at one of their other shops you can see a demonstration of marbled paper being made. It's fascinating. So, this is handmade marbled paper.
And here's a photo of me outside the shop after buying my paper bits back in February.....

Here are a few more photos from our fabulous city break to Florence - oh how I loved that place but it was freeeeeezing cold when we were there!

Go there if you ever get the chance and if you love old cities and art!!

Digital Scrapbooking

2010-09-06T22:33:00.001+01:00

Well, I've been and gone and done it. Ideal World shopping channel had a special offer on Serif Digital Scrapbook Artist 2 by the wonderful software company Serif....whose stuff I really LOVE! So I took the plunge and took advantage of the offer.
I have it installed and have been playing with it ever since, getting to know my way round it. I've never done any digital scrapbooking before but have wanted to have a go at it for some time so this is quite exciting.
Well, here is one of the first pages I've done to get the hang of it all and I'm quite pleased with this. I have no idea if there are any 'rules' to this game so I just went for it!

I'm really very impressed with this software and it does all I hoped and more. It's really very reasonably priced and Serif just make life so easy for the user....it's idiot-proof, you can take it from me, lol !!

Everything but the beautiful frame is from the installed Daisy Trail kits or from free downloaded Daisy Trail items. That beautiful frame is a freebie from a brilliant site called Raspberry Road Designs.

Inspired by Linda B

2010-08-25T18:33:00.002+01:00

I've had this flower doll head half finished for months and today I finally did something with it and made this corrugated cardboard plaque.
The idea for this came from a great art blog, listed in my faves...Eclectic Visions of an Altered Journey.
This lady has made some seriously fabulous art dolls so, as soon as I got my polymer clay and face mold, I was itching to have a try myself.

It's my first attempt so a bit basic but I'm looking forward to playing some more with these clay faces.
I have plenty already made and have a few plans for those others when I get the time.....maybe for Christmas????

Here it is in more detail. The flowers were stamped onto Grungepaper which had been coloured with Distress Inks.
The big flower and the flower stamped onto text are both from a set by Elusive ImagesStamps while the tiny flowers used stamps by Crafty Individuals and Hero Arts.
The flower stitch stamp is from a polmer set called 'Messy Stitches' by Katy Pertiet at Autumn Leaves.

Sea Shells

2010-08-19T09:31:00.001+01:00

This is the best free stamp to come out of Craft Stamper yet, in my opinion...love it!
So here it is on two quick cards I made for Stamp Club tonight, using the new and delicious Eco Friendly acrylic paints.
I was actually trying that crackle effect with PVA glue on the back ground of the image. Didn't really succeed but hey, I liked the weathered effects I got anyway and the way the layers of different colours come through in a subtle way. I sanded the edges to give an even more worn, beachy look.

So, here's some detail, showing the paint background which bubbled instead of cracking so I just sanded the bubbles and got this cool aged look which I really like...

I used Tim Holtz's Sizzix Die for the lower edge - 'On The Edge, Scallops' - which I really like a lot.
Here I die cut it into an old strip of offcut metal from a previous project which had been inked and embossed with various E.P.s.

On the other card, the cracking worked a teeny bit. I stamped the image using Brilliance Pearlescent Chocolate which took beautifully on these paints.

I wanted an aged look to the brad but only had a bright and shiny gold one so I sanded the head of it with ordinary sandpaper, applied a little Bronze Eco Acrylic with my finger then added some green and rust coloured Versamagic ink. Et voila!

A simple birthday card

2010-08-14T18:18:00.001+01:00

I recently bought two lots of Paper Artsy flower dies and was eager to give them a try so made this simple card, using Basic Grey patterned paper plus some vellum printed with a Glenda Waterworth design and a vellum piece Cuttlebugged with Swiss Dots.

Here's a detail of the flower and leaves.

I outlined them using a permanent black pen and my lovely, invaluable Inkssentials White Pen. The middle medallion is frosted with Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Stickles in Clear Rock Candy ..... I love this stuff and think it's going to get quite a bit of use in my Christmas cards this year.
Talking of which, gosh, must start thinking about those.................

Post-It Note House - All Credit to Isa

2010-08-14T18:01:00.001+01:00

I've had two of these houses ready to alter for months now -actually probably getting on for a year, if I'm honest!
I bought them in Sainsbury's but got the idea when seeing one that Isa Norris had altered. You can see hers here
and I think you'll see why I was so inspired!!
This is how the Post-It Note house is when you buy it (sadly, I haven't seen them for sale for ages but they may come back one day)....

So, now I've shown you Isa's, I'm not so sure I should show you mine - lol ! but here it is in stages.
First of all, of course, I ripped off all the post-it notes from the roof and took out the little stack of paper from inside. I gessoed it all over and added some torn pieces of text from a book. I have already painted the inside of the 'roof' and the narrow base with some Eco Friendly acrylic paint...

Then I basically went a bit barmy with stamped bits of tissue paper, paint and foil. I think I overdid it a bit, in my opinion, but hey! Sometimes don't know when to stop....lol !! The plan was to make the roof in one piece of metal but I didn't have the size I needed so had to improvise a bit. It's embossed using a Cuttlebug embossing folder plus Ten Seconds Studio tools for the top bit of the roof and coloured with alcohol inks.

So here's the finished item. Stamps by Inkadinkado, Paper Artsy, Crafty Individuals, Elusive Images and Kelly Panacci plus the almost obligatory unknown U.M. !!......

Slide Mailer Swap

2010-08-09T22:23:00.001+01:00

I joined in a swap on Time For Crafting forum not so long ago in which we altered slide mailers.
We had the swap judged by Jean Hardy and Malcolm Noble of Crafty Individuals and a winner was chosen....what luck for me that I was given that very slide mailer as my swap.
This is the winning mailer and it was made by a lady called Vera. It has pride of place in my Dining Room as it goes so well with my colour scheme in there; a beautiful piece of artwork....thank you so much, Vera!! XX

I really enjoyed decorating a slide mailer again - haven't done one for ages. I only had a single one in my stash and this is what I did with it, using stamps from Crafty Individuals, Stampers Anonymous, Acey Deucy and Stamp It plus a big latin text U.M. stamp which I bought second-hand so don't know the maker.

So, this is the one I made - I went a bit mad with my acrylic paints, only having some rather gharish colours at the time but I actually like the effect!
The inside was stamped using Versamagic inks.

I now have some scrumptious Eco Friendly acrylics by Eco Green Crafts in fabulous muted shades. Watch this space as I'm now playing with those and hope to have some finished results soon....

Corrugated Cardboard and Metal

2010-08-09T21:52:00.000+01:00

I played with this card to try out some ideas Linda Brown demonstrated with corrugated cardboard and acrylic paints. She also used InkaGold paste but I don't have any of that so just used paints.
I really love the look of the cardboard and it also gives a bit of dimension to a card without being a heavy weight on the front.

The tiny bird stamp I think is adorable and currently one of my favourite stamps. It was a freebie from the Crafty Individuals stand at the Craft Barn Extravaganza.

Here is a detail from the card....

July has come and gone!

2010-08-09T21:37:00.000+01:00

....but here I am again at last. I haven't really had the chance to do much crafting the last few months but I do have a few things to show you which I made since the last posting in June.

First of all, in May, I went, with some friends from Time For Crafting forum, to the Craft Barn Extravanganza in Lingfield, Surrey. We had a great weekend and it was wonderful to see everyone again and also meet some new people too.
After the event, Sara - our illustrious 'leader' - organised that we should make a circular book, making a page each, to send to the Barn as thanks for such a brilliant weekend of demos and workshops.

This is the page I made, using an Acey Deucy stamp called 'Luciana' for the main image and making the background using Distress Inks and the new Matt White colour spray by Crafty Notions .....after seeing this on a sample on Linda Brown's (from L.B. Crafts) demo table.

Back at Last!!

2010-06-07T00:35:00.001+01:00

I can't believe how long ago my last entry to this blog was!
I haven't had time for anything creative for so long but now I'm back and hope to be posting more stuff on here in the months to come.
The other day, I finally took the plunge and had my first foray into the world of polymer clay.
I've been dying to get my hands on some ever since buying the fabulous book 'Mixed Media Mosaics' by Laurie Mika. It's by far my favourite art book and I never tire of looking at her wonderful and inspiring work.

So, anyway, here is what I've done so far which is mostly making a batch of faces, using a flexible mold from Enchanted Gallery. Sadly this lady doesn't ship to the UK but my lovely friend Stephany sent me this mold as a gift. I tried the wings to see just how thin I could make the clay....they are REALLY paper thin and look really pretty with mica powders dusted over the top of the white clay.
I used Sculpey Premo clay for all these pieces and the wings were made using a stamp by Invoke Arts, as was the frame which also features a text stamp by Paper Artsy.

One of these days I shall make these into pretty things and will post the results.....

Ready Steady Stamp Banner 4

2009-12-24T12:40:00.003Z

Oh my gosh...how come Christmas rushes up to meet us too fast each year!!???
I finally got my fourth banner done this morning for the Ready Steady Stamp challenge that's been running for the last few weeks but those of you who also did this challenge may notice that my banner number three never materialised!

I just had no time to make it or even to look at everyone else's and haven't seen everyone's fourth banners yet either. Phew! I WILL catch up after Christmas and maybe make that third banner in the New Year. Then I can finally assemble mine and it'll be all ready for next Christmas - lol!

So, these were the ingredients, above, for our fourth banners and here is my attempt. I put a little gold bell at the bottom to go with my theme and the Jingle Bells script stamp is by Crafty Individuals. I used the same background stamp on this one as on my first banner and it's made by Paper Artsy from whom I also got the German Scrap stars.
Thanks for dropping by and sorry I couldn't quite complete the task. Still glad I did it though as, when I have time to finish it, I will have something to be proud of to decorate my living room next year.

Second Banner for Ready Steady Stamp

2009-11-26T20:14:00.003Z

We have a new recipe to follow for the banner over on the Ready Steady Stamp challenge this time but using the same colour scheme as on the first one.
Here is the recipe that we had to follow and this is my banner, using a PSX small snowflake stamp, a Magenta large snowflake and I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder for the Cut N' Dry stamping on the piece of pink cardstock.
I hope you can just abut see the brown paper strip which has been punched using a Fiskars border punch.

A couple of birthday cards

2009-11-25T19:52:00.004Z

I made these last week for two of the ladies at Stamp Club who had birthdays this month. Shame I then forgot to take them with me on the night - duh!!
Anyway, I hope they have got them now in the post.

The first card began as just playing at making a background using the Versamark resist technique and developed into this card using a fairy collage stamp by Crafty Individuals plus Hero Arts words, a floral stamp by Penny Black and the dragonfly polymer stamp which was free with Craft Stamper not so long ago. The big flower is stamped onto text paper and comes from a full sheet by Elusive Images.
Somewhere along the way, I've lost the photo I took of this card but I have a couple of photos close up of some of the detail. I'm SURE I have that photo on this computer somewhere....lost in the wrong file, I daresay.

The second card was inspired by an article by Sue Abbott in the December issue of Craft Stamper and I used a printed image and blank white frame both by Crafty Individuals and a lovely flower background stamp also by CI plus a little leaf sprig stamp by Art Impressions and a crackle stamp by Stampers Anonymous. I've put in the link though it doesn't look like they make this cube any more, sadly.

Anyway, thanks for dropping by. More very soon....I'm on a roll, if I only have time to do the stuff I have lined up!

Myth & Legend

2009-11-25T18:47:00.003Z

Last month it was my choice of theme for an ATC group I belong to and I chose 'Myth & Legend'.
Now we've all had our swaps sent out, here are the ones I came up with....

The stamp I used on the Gwenyvere ATC is by Art By Moonlight, the Heroides ATC features a stamp by Oxford Impressions from a full sheet called 'Soul of the Rose' as does the Mermaid stamp and the gorgeous 'Lavina Waits' stamp on the last ATC is made by Third Coast Stamps.

Ready - Steady.....Stamp!

2009-11-15T03:53:00.003Z

Well, at last! I've been carrying the banner for the Ready Steady Stamp challenge for ages now and finally I have the chance, by the skin of my teeth, to join in.
The current challenge is a brilliant idea....to make a Christmas banner or banners each week for four weeks and then string them all together to decorate our homes. Excellent!!
I also love that we could choose our colour scheme for this, to go with our decor.
My first one had to be a bit rushed between working this weekend but here it is and next week I hope I'll have time to make more than one.......

Nearly Christmas!!!!

2009-11-09T21:03:00.003Z

...but I've only made 4 Christmas cards so far.
I've been having so much fun using some of Leandra's Squiggly Ink Christmas Stamps - some old and some new but all new to me this year. Also used her fabby Rum & Raisin double sided Xmas papers....love 'em, love 'em, love 'em!!!

The Happy Holidays card looks a bit 'pants' in this photo as the Mirri card sentiment has
really caught the flash from my camera badly.
It looks much better in real life....HONEST!

Click on each photo for more detail....thanks for dropping by!

Still playing catch-up!

2009-11-09T20:38:00.003Z

I still have a bit more stuff to post from recent weeks to get back up to date here with my artsy stuff.
Now, where was I up to???
Ah yes, we made Inchie Cubes at Stamp Club - when was that? - way back in September!!
Oh my gosh, I'm well behind.
We used the template from Craft Stamper, August 2009, and oh my God, I only just saw in there that I have used the same stamps as one of the ladies in CS mag....copy cat, lol!!
Anyway, these are two I made. The copycat one using stamps by Crafty Individuals and the other one using Lynne Perrella Acey Deucy stamps (my absolute favourites!) now made by Stampington.

Click on the photo for more detail....

Back again!

2009-10-27T20:43:00.003Z

Again, it's been ages since I managed to get my blog updated but here I am at last.
The summer has been busy and hectic with several visits to London and a couple of canal narrowboat breaks amongst other things.
Now things have settled down a bit and I've been able to get down to some artsy stuff again....high time too!
I made these ATCs in September for a group swap, the theme of which was 'Masks'. I didn't have any suitable stamps to use so got these images from the Net and played around with them, adding some stamping, Croco and a little bit of lace.
Click on each image for a closer look......

My 'Inchies' arrived today!

2009-07-24T00:05:00.005+01:00

I've been in the process of doing an Inchie swap with my friend Stephany for what seems like about a decade now! lol !!! We kept extending the deadline for various reasons but that was okay 'cause it's only us two.
Anyway, we both mailed them on Monday and mine arrived from Steph today!! I think that's pretty incredible from the States.
So, here are my little beauties...aren't they lovely!!!
The only stipulation was to use some of the Ikadinkado Polymer Inchie Stamps which we both have.
She also sent me these other goodies pictured here - really pretty papers, the most beautiful magnetic bookmark, a whole PILE of acetate (not in the photo) and this floral notebook too....AND this pretty Thank You card. What a spoilt girl I am!!
I'll post photos of the ones I sent her when I'm sure that she's received them.
I haven't done any Inchies for ages so this was really fun to do ....thanks for another great swap, Steph!

And here is the set I made.....

2009-07-23T23:22:00.009+01:00

Well, my Inchies have arrived in the U.S. now so here is a photo of them and also of the box I decorated to send them in.
(Don't you just HATE it when the darn tissue doesn't go translucent when you adhere it to your surface.... that bugs me big-time!! Still there was no time to do anything about it so 'sorry Steph!')

I made mine from a Glimmer Mist background, (all except two which are made using Viva Decor Ferro paste) stamped on top with Versafine ink and also used Twinkling H20s, Adirondack Acrylic, Distress Embossing Powder and some Platinum Glitter Glue for accents.

Click on the photos to see more detail....thanks for looking!

Art Doll

2009-06-27T16:12:00.002+01:00

I've been itching to try one of these for ages. This is inspired by one I saw in an old issue of Take Ten by Stampington. I used stamps by Dawn Houser, Era Graphics, Elusive Images plus a big background wood-mounted stamp that bears no maker's name. I also used a fab metal crown that my friend Stephany once sent me a pack of.
And so, appropriately, I then made this doll into a birthday card for Steph using some of my favourite background papers by Basic Grey.
Click on the photos to enlarge.....

96th Birthday!!!

2009-06-04T10:09:00.003+01:00

I made this card using Ten Seconds Studio tools and mold, acrylic paint, Stickles Glitter Glue, a flat backed gem, E.P. and Glimmer Mists along with Bazzill chips and the 'Stipple' texture mat by Carolines - oh plus, I'm afraid,.......a PEEL-OFF !!
Sometimes it's the best way to put numbers on a card - that's my excuse anyway. lol

I had one of those "ooooooh" moments when I lifted the texture stamp off my triple-embossed ring of chipboard - love this effect!
Click on photos for more detail. Thanks for looking.

Shrink Plastic

2009-05-22T13:09:00.002+01:00

So, at Stamp Club last night we did Shrink Plastic. I only ended up with this one piece cause I used Brilliance ink and it was taking forever to dry before I punched the holes. It never did dry actually, hence the smudge on the top layer!
But we all had fun, as usual, and this was the first time I tried using black shrink. Nice!!

May Stamp Club

2009-05-22T13:00:00.002+01:00

So nice to be back at Stamp Club last night after missing a couple of months.
We've started doing cards for people's birthdays and there were three to make for May. Here are the ones I made, all using Lynne Perrella's fabulous stamps, now made by Stampington.
I bought Calligraphy Robe and Crimson Fan finally - after coveting them for years - when I visited Blade Rubber in London recently for the first time....woooo, what a great shop, stuck full of classy wood-mounted red rubber!

I'm back!

2009-05-09T02:19:00.006+01:00

Here I am again after a rather long break from doing anything creative. It's going to take me a while to get back inot the swing of things but here are a couple of quick cards I made yesterday - two quite different styles.

For the top card I used Lynne Perella's Botanica stamp, now made by Stampington and additional stamps by Kelly Panacci (for Sandylion), Hero Arts and Paper Artsy. The paper is from a mat stack by DCWV. I made the background to Botanica brayering dye inks over clear E.P. then spraying with Glimmer Mists on top.

The papers for the other card are from a collage pack by Paper Reflections (excluding the Audrey Hepburn image) and the word stamp is by Paper Artsy. Embellished with Diamante gems and silver glitter glue on her head-dress. The Star punch was bought in Tesco!
Click on the pictures to see more detail....

Sunday Stampers

2009-03-24T20:54:00.007Z

I just found this blog challenge while surfing around people's blogs this evening. This one is new to me so "Hi - everyone from Sunday Stampers!"
Here's a card I made using a stamp by The Artful Lexicon and alphabet stamps by Paper Artsy. I made the film-strip using a paper punch. The 'diamonds' are from an old piece of costume jewellery.

Texture ATCs

2009-03-24T16:07:00.004Z

These are the ATCs I made for a recent group swap, the theme of which was 'Texture'. What a great theme - leaving us lots freedom for our own interpretation.

Three of them are done using black UTEE - inspired by Glenda Waterworth and her black UTEE pieces on her 'Artylicious' blog.
I added various other EPs during the process plus some Pearlex and glitter in places and then rubbed in some Pearlex to highlight parts of the design.
The Circus Boy was done entirely in Grungeboard using Distress Inks and Copper and then there's a metal-embossed collage. This was done using Ten Seconds Studio tools and moulds and coloured using alcohol inks.

Click on each photo to get more detail......

Weekend in Rye

2009-03-23T23:06:00.004Z

Back in February it was my 56th birthday - scary!!
My husband treated me to a couple of nights in a lovely hotel (The George) in Rye, East Sussex where we had a really cozy little room, fine food in their restaurant and a central position from which to wander round the delightful old town of Rye.

This was a much-needed break for me and for John who had just come home on leave and it really was the perfect tonic.
Above are some photos I took while walking round town - wish I knew how to put photos anywhere else but at the top of each post but haven't found a way yet!!
Don't you think that little dog is so cute? Lucky that sash window didn't fall down!

Christmas?

2009-03-19T10:18:00.003Z

Well, I did say I was behind with my news on here!!
So, if you thought I was going to tell you I'd started on my Christmas cards for this year, don't worry!! No, this is last Christmas when I did a Christmas Ornament swap with my friend Stephany.
Steph sent me this beautiful one using Memory Glass. I love the beaded hanger and adore these angel pictures by Crafty Individuals.
Christmas may be long gone but this little beauty is staying on view all year and is hanging by my bed.....my sweet little 'guardian angels'.

Foamboard and Tissue

2009-03-18T23:59:00.002Z

I've been away for a few months - not away from home but away from my blog - so I have a bit of catching up to do.
Life has been too busy to do much creative stuff since I was last on here. My mum had two falls since just before Christmas and the second time, in January, she was in hospital for 8 days.
I'm happy to say that she's fine again now.
This is a card I made for her birthday which was just after her first fall !!
I used a piece of white foamboard and Mod Podged stamped pieces of tissue paper in a collage all over it. This was a technique featured in Simply Stamping (remember that mag???) by Jean Hardy of Crafty Individuals and, more recently, in a Craft Stamper article too.
I loved making this card and it was helped by the use of Crafty Individuals fabulous printed paper which I used for the background. The sentiment stamp is from a set by Simple Expressions.
Must use some more foamboard soon....I had to buy 5 A3 sheets of the stuff in Staples so that should last me the rest of my crafting life I should think!! lol

I have quite a lot more to add but that's about it for tonight.
I've been making ATCs all evening and am done-in so off to bed now................

One step further..........

2009-01-11T23:14:00.003Z

Well, I just made my finished challenge piece into a card and thought I would share it with you. I can't tell you who makes these lovely background papers as they were a gift from a great online crafting friend who may be able to provide the answer should she come by and see this posting!?

The sentiment stamp is by Hero Arts. Oh and I should have said earlier that the flower stamp I used for the gold embossing is by Penny Black and is called 'Clique'. In the background there you also have Hero Arts Italian Poetry stamp and Stampington sequin waste stamp.

Art Creations Friday

2009-01-11T11:18:00.002Z

I've had this blog challenge on my list of things to do since well before Christmas but here at last is my first one.
I was lured by this fabulous canvas background offered as a starting point on Art Creations Friday this week and here is my take on it. I really love this John William Waterhouse painting so was pleased to find it worked for this piece.

"Dans Ma Maison il y a....

2008-11-18T17:29:00.002Z

.........du bleu."

My first time trying this blog challenge though I've been dying to have a go at this for ages.

This is my attempt for this week's theme of Blue. Take a look at this great challenge site if you haven't seen it already - Dans Ma Maison il y a....

Just for the hell of it!

2008-11-16T18:07:00.004Z

I made two more ATCs this week. No challenge nor even a swap in mind really. Just felt moved to make these for the shear hell of it. I expect one day a theme will come along which they'll fit.
I've had the fabulous image of the tutu girl for ages, which I got from 'heyjupiter21' at Flikr. She is most definitely one of my all-time favourite vintage images to date.....I just love her! This ATC was inspired by the David Bowie song.

The other ATC is done with Glimmer Mists which makes it a real job to get an image that shows all the detail, since the glimmer rather takes over. There's some subtle background stamping going on that you really can't see on this scan at all.....just TOO darn subtle, I guess! lol

Anyway, as usual, please click on each photo to get more detail......

Think Monday, Think ATC: 'Purple'

2008-11-10T22:40:00.002Z

Crikey - Monday again already!

Here is my effort for the theme of Purple which is this week's Think Monday, Think ATC challenge.

I've used bits of a painting by James Herbert McNair, called 'Y Sighlu'. The words are also his.

Click on the photo to see more detail....

Theme Thursday: 'Happy/ Happiness'

2008-11-09T02:44:00.002Z

This is the first time I've taken up the Theme Thursday challenge and here's my happy card!......

Think Monday, Think ATC and Wednesday Stamper: 'Angel/s'

2008-11-05T16:32:00.004Z

Well, what a lovely way to begin doing blog challenges again after so long.....two challenges with the same theme of 'Angel/s' and one of my current favourite themes too!

I made two ATCs this time, quite different from each other for Think Monday, Think ATC.....

I adore this vintage lady image on the first one which I got from After Midnight at Flikr, the wings are stamps from Stampland and the words are computer generated from a font at Dafont. I used a Glimmer Screen and Glimmers mists for the background and edged it with Diamond Glaze.

One the second ATC the stamp of the pagan man is by Non Sequitur as is the tree background stamp you can just see a tiny bit of. I got the wings from 'T' at Flikr. This is also my entry to this week's Wednesday Stamper.

Please click on each photo for a closer look if you feel the urge!

What a busy summer!

2008-09-30T22:43:00.004+01:00

Click on photos for a
clearer look

I can't believe I haven't posted anything on here since July but life has been SO busy this summer. John and I have been here, there and everywhere visiting people and our suitcase has been a permanent fixture, open on the spare bed, when we have been home ....I've been unpacking, washing, ironing and then packing again so many times!!

Not that I'm complaining, it's been exciting but I must say I'm rather glad we don't have anywhere else to go for the time-being.....I'm a bit of a home-bod at heart and am enjoying the chance to unwind a bit now.

I'm also looking forward to being able to do some creative stuff again soon and made my first card for ages this evening.

I finally gave in and bought a Cuttlebug machine a couple of months ago but am only just getting the chance to really try it out. This card, above, is using the Stylised Flowers embossing folder, also a Style Stone embellished with some wire and stamped with Stazon using part of a Crafty Individuals stamp. The sentiment is from a clear set by Hero Arts - yes, I know I said I hated polymer but Hero Arts have some great ones out now and, in spite of myself, I just couldn't resist.

Well, hey, it's good to be back and I hope there might be someone out there looking in......???

Dress Form Swap

2008-07-15T18:13:00.004+01:00

My fab dress form made by Stephany.

I've been busy lately decorating a blank mini dress form, made by Creative Imaginations which I bought at A Trip Down Memory Lane online.

This was for a swap with my great online friend and swap-buddy Stephany.

Well - today mine arrived and I love it to bits. We sent each other photos of the rooms we wanted to put our dress forms in and so decorated them to go with the decor in those rooms.

I had never done one of these before so it was quite a challenge but I enjoyed it.

Here are some photos of the one Steph made for me.....isn't it just GORGEOUS?!!!!

Click on each photo for a closer look.

And what a lovely few days I'm having because not only did I get this beautiful piece of art in the mail today but I also got my husband back on Sunday! He's been working abraod and we've been apart for the last three and a half months. I can't tell you all how great it is to have him home again.....wahey!!! I'm so HAPPY!!!!!......

Stamp Club night!

2008-06-19T11:48:00.005+01:00

Yes it's come around again - it's Stamp Club at Crafty Clare's this evening and this month we're doing ATCs with a swap at the end.

I haven't had time to do much crafting just lately but did make these ATCs for tonight.

The background of the Singapore Post one is a direct lift from Kim Reygate and a demo she did at the recent Craft Barn Extravaganza - I love the effect of this Versamark resist technique and even managed to get hold of the same stamp Kim used because I thought it worked so brilliantly. The floral stamp is called Clique and is made by Penny Black.

The postage stamp is a real one - isn't it beautiful?!

And hey, look!! I only noticed when I'd finished the ATC that the franking stamp of Singapore has slightly missed part of the word out and all you can see clearly is 'Sing'....rather adds to it, I think. So, thank you Singapore postal services for your contribution!!

The little Pierrette is an image I got from Nancy Dooren's blog - thanks again Nancy for some great vintage images! The background stamp is by Invoke Arts.

Tennis

2008-06-19T11:38:00.002+01:00

Haven't been on here in a while - life's just been too busy.

On Tuesday my mum and I went to watch the International Ladies Tennis which is held every year at this time in Eastbourne.

Here are a couple of images from the day. So far the summer has been sporadic but we were so lucky to get the most perfect weather on the day we went. There was a cool sea breeze blowing which kept us from stewing in the sun and we had a really nice day there.

Next year the competition is being extended to include the men so that's good news for Eastbourne.

Think Monday - Think ATC: 'Towers & Columns'

2008-06-04T22:37:00.003+01:00

This is my entry to this week's Think Monday - Think ATC challenge. The theme this week is 'Towers and Columns' and it immediately reminded me of an ATC I made when I first joined an ATC group a few years ago. So I've made it again with slight variations to the original.

I'm afraid all the unmounted stamps used here, the tower, the Mystery word and the eye (which is one of a pair!), were won on EBay and I don't know who they are made by.

The dark blue is not a border on the ATC, just a piece of card behind it for the photo.

Hey and I got in a bit earlier this week - pat on the back for me!

Think Monday - Think ATC: 'Women In Art'

2008-05-25T21:34:00.002+01:00

........or in my case, think Sunday night just as the challenge is ending, think ATC!!

I made this ATC yesterday, just playing with some Mica tags my friend Stephany sent me for my birthday. I wasn't thinking of this challenge but then realised it does fit the theme so, late though it is (the story of my life this week), this is my entry to Think Monday - Think ATC.

The beautiful Studio Angel stamp is, of course, by Lynne Perrella of Acey Deucy fame. The diamond background in the corners is by Paper Artsy and the 'Art' word stamp is from I know not where as I won it on EBay. The Mica tags are made by Perfect Fx.

Thanks for visiting my Blog!

Gothic Arches: 'Flourishes'

2008-05-24T18:45:00.002+01:00

Phew - only just made it before Sunday morning and the change of theme!!! (Wipes brow!)

I've been so busy this week but as I was supposed to be tidying my craft room/office I suddenly had inspiration for this week's Gothic Arch challenge, the theme of which is 'Flourishes'.

So, here is my entry and I'm sorry it's only just in time but better late than never.

The beautiful image of the woman is from Heyjupiter21 at Flikr, the dragonfly wings are from Enchantedgal, the flowers are from a Crafty Individuals stamp (see recent post for link to CI), the word stamp is by Paper Artsy, the dotty border is from a polymer set of borders by Lakeland Plastics and I printed the background onto vellum from an Artylicious CD called Fligree Fusion by Glenda Waterworth at Elusive Images (link also in a recent post - my brain hurts with all these links!!)

Finally the all-important Flourishes come from a set in polymer by Rhonna Farrer at Autumn Leaves, called 'Elegant Flourishes'.

I could NOT resist adding some glitter glue to the wings and flower centres to give it that enchanted look I feel it deserves.

Circus

2008-05-24T13:37:00.003+01:00

Here's an ATC I made using my super little Clown Boy rubber stamp from Diva Impressions.

This is my first stamp from this lady and I must say the rubber quality is superb -a really deeply-etched image. She is also a very helpful person if you have any queries about her stamps, payment etc.

I also used stamps from my new 'ATC' full sheet of rubber from Elusive Images in the background - such a great set this. I'm going to use this SO much!

I was so pleased with this ATC that I made four of them - unusual for me as I generally never make more than one of anything!

Other Pages of My Star Book

2008-05-24T13:31:00.002+01:00

And here are the other three pages and the back cover of my Star Book. It was also a 'first' for using Grungeboard - my good friend Stephany in Wisconsin very kindly sent me some of her stash and I couldn't wait to try it out. The hinges and swirls are Grungeboard minis.

Stamp Club Star Book

2008-05-24T12:58:00.002+01:00

I recently joined a monthly Stamp Club at Crafty Clares, my local craft store which I'm extremely lucky to live quite close to.

It's such a great group of talented ladies and we have a good laugh as well as creating lovely things.

At the last get-together we made Star Books - my very first attempt at one of these. Most of the evening was taken up measuring and cutting the pages to size. This suited me very well since that's not my strong point and I always find it easier to have someone there telling me what to do rather than try and follow written instructions - just the way my brain works....or doesn't! lol

So I decorated the pages at home, over the last week and so enjoyed making this that I can't wait to try another Star Book. I played it safe for the first one using vintage colours and distressing.

Above is the front cover and the first two pages. I tried to make it tell the story of a woman's life in an abstract way, starting with a young child in a garden and ending with a mature woman in a garden.

Click on each photo for more detail.

New Rubber!

2008-05-24T12:36:00.004+01:00

I had a bit of a spending spree recently in my local craft store, Crafty Clare's, and these are the goodies I got.

Her shop is packed full of fabulous unmounted and wood-mounted stamps and all sorts of great stuff. If any of you live in the Sussex area, you should check her out!

The Little Clown Boy stamp in the middle there was a win on EBay USA from a brilliant seller called Diva Impressions. She also has an online shop selling UM stamps which I have linked to here on her name. I'm awaiting a delivery of some of these right now....watch this space.

As you can see from the packages, some of the other stamps are by Crafty Individuals and the others Elusive Images. I LOVE them all !!!

Click on the photo to get a better look at what I bought.

In the following posts you can see that I've already been playing with most of these images.

Think Monday - Think ATC: 'Black/White'

2008-05-08T20:45:00.002+01:00

I thought I'd make some ATCs this evening - haven't made any for ages so here is my first entry in the Think Monday - Think ATC blog challenge. This week's theme is Black/ White which rather appealed to me so I made two. The doodle one is also my first teetering steps into the world of Zentangles - interesting what the mind comes up with when you just let the pen do its thing!?

Make A Moo Or Two: 'Gold'

2008-05-06T10:34:00.002+01:00

Here are two Moos for this week's theme of 'Gold' on the Make A Moo Or Two blog challenge. Lovely theme..... I love using gold and copper in my work.

It was quite hard to get a good picture of them to capture that lustrous effect. I think these will probably end up on Christmas cards this year!!

Wednesday Stamper: 'Stripes'

2008-05-06T10:20:00.007+01:00

Gosh, life's been so busy just lately, I've had to resist the temptation to join in any Blog Challenges.

But now I'm back and had fun the other evening creating a couple of new bits.

This is my piece for Wednesday Stamper this week, the theme of which is 'Stripes'.

I chose this great striped paper from Basic Grey, called 'Boyfriend' from the 'Blush' range, teamed with another paper called 'Phlordilee' from the Basic Grey 'Phresh and Phunky' range.

The adorable sailor boy vintage image is from Roger Vaughan's website.- and the swirl stamp is by Rhonna Farrer.

Thanks for taking a look!

Make A Moo or Two: Women

2008-04-15T19:27:00.004+01:00

Here are my two for the theme of 'Women' on Make A Moo or Two. I could have made loads on this theme if I only had more time.

I have a few sources to mention for my images etc.....

First, the Gibson girl artist picture which I got from Peagreengirl, the dripping acrylic paint background on this Moo was from Enchantedgal. The lovely lady on the other Moo was from Heyjupiter21, I wish I knew where I got the French script from but I don't seem to have made a note of it and the floral background was from Vampirecolette. Thanks to you all for those fab bits and bobs.

Flourish Fever!

2008-04-10T21:33:00.002+01:00

Well, I've been quite good and not made anything arty till today......aren't you proud of me??

I even got the car washed today and have some clean clothes to wear again - lol !!

I phoned one of my friends yesterday who has a virus and has been feeling a bit poorly. Poor thing, she now has a chest infection, throat infection, ear infection and conjunctivitis......she sounded dreadful and must be feeling ghastly.

So I made her this card today. I just can't stop using flourishes and this one is using my lovely Rhonna Farrer set. The little seal looks so sad and forlorn with those big pleading eyes and goes well with my chosen sentiment for this card.

Make A Moo or Two: 'Swirls and Flourishes' and Wednesday Stamper: 'Trees'

2008-04-07T01:37:00.004+01:00

Another new challenge to try - well, what's a girl to do when it's Winter weather outside!!

Make A Moo - I've been admiring these for ages now so it was quite exciting to try my first one today....or should I say 'three'?

I found this quite tricky in that the dimensions are small and I'd chosen to cut around these three little figures....when you're eyesight is no longer what it was it's a real struggle to focus on such detail.

But hey, I did it and I'm pleased with the result of today's play-time.

This is also for this week's Wednesday Stamper theme of trees...there they are in the background! A great theme again for me as I LOVE trees.

The background is using part of a big stamp by Non Sequitur while the swirl stamp is from an American Art Stamp cube.

The printed pictures I've used of the beautiful cherubs/angels are paintings by William A. Bouguereau... an arist I discovered after seeing one of these images on Nancy Dooren's blog.

I really love his style of painting so many thanks to you, Nancy for introducing him to me!

Tomorrow I must, I must, I MUST not do any art or I'll never get anything else done around here.

If only our office had a door then I could close it to try and stop myself wandering in here and picking up a rubber stamp or surfing the Net but we don't have a door and I have a very limited amount of, let's be honest here....no willpower whatsoever.

If you catch me doing another challenge and posting it on here tomorrow, please someone tell me off!!!! lol

Impressions of a Snowy April Day

2008-04-06T18:43:00.005+01:00

I had a lovely crunchy walk in the snow this afternoon - there's about three inches of the white stuff settled on the ground here in Sussex.

It finally stopped snowing around 5.30pm but I have a feeling we're in for some more..........bring it on, I say!! Makes for some great pictures.

Going...Going...Gone

2008-04-06T14:10:00.001+01:00

Flippin' Heck!

2008-04-06T13:59:00.002+01:00

I woke late this morning after a late finish at work last night, peeked through the curtains and saw a world of white out there!

Yes, I know snow had been forecast but in our neck of the South Eastern woods we don't normally get it much.

How pretty it all looks but what a shock for the spring shoots that have come out, not to mention for the birds and their nests.

It's still falling as I type and the trees are getting heavy with the stuff.

Well, I had to get my camera out and take some shots as I want to show my husband what he's missed.....he won't be sorry - he's not a great fan of cold weather.

I'm going to get my thermals on in a minute and take a crunchy walk in it....still a kid at heart!! Maybe take some more photos as well.

Keep warm everyone and enjoy the beauty!

Orange and Black

2008-04-05T16:28:00.005+01:00

This is a tag I just made for Theme Thursday's challenge this week. The brief was to use orange and black.

I love bold colours so this was right up my street. The image of the woman was a colour supplement illustration, the butterfly is from a collage sheet by Mataart. Distress inks, oil pastels and pigment inks make up the background.

I added black sequins and glitter glue to the wings of the butterfly.

Gothic Arch

2008-04-01T13:14:00.004+01:00

Looks like I'm on a roll now with the blog challenges - just made my first Gothic Arch - the theme this week is 'Asian'.

This is using some washi papers that John brought back from Japan for me. The Japanese calligraphy is stamped using Hero Arts 'Kanji Poem' rubber stamp and the images are from a Sunday supplement ad. I cut out ages ago, knowing it would be great for a project one day.

Thanks for looking!

Detail

2008-03-30T12:38:00.003+01:00

Oh boy, I'm having a bit of trouble placing my photos where I really want them on here....as you may have noticed!!??

If anyone can give me some advice, please feel free to add a comment....help!!!!!

Meanwhile here are those detail pics of the Purple challenge, though not where I wanted to put them......ah well, I'll get the hang of this in the end, I'm sure.

Off to get me some brunch now and await a phone call from my beloved from his ship. I'm going to visit friends for dinner this afternoon and then to a movie - thank heavens the rain and wind of last night have stopped!

Joining in the fun!

2008-03-30T12:25:00.002+01:00

One of the main reasons for starting this blog was to join in some of the many great creative blog challenges I've been following for many months.

So - I'm starting with Wednesday Stamper as I love this week's theme - 'Purple'.

My husband has just gone back to sea for three months and right now it feels like someone has ripped my left arm off - most people would say right but I'm left-handed!

At times like this when I can't settle and feel a bit lost, creating with my stamps, inks etc is so therapeutic and the only thing I can really apply myself to.

I made this last night during one of my insomniac phases - getting to bed at gone 5am, what with putting the clocks forward as well.

Anyway, the stripy background was made using Sakura oil pastels which I've had since I was a kid. I rediscovered them recently in the attic while up there looking for something else....like you do!

I've applied them on top of a stamped lattice pattern in yummy Key Lime Twinkling H20s but it's a very subtle effect - so subtle as to be invisible on this photo - ho hum!

So I've added some detail pics below as well.

My very first posting

2008-03-19T17:17:00.000Z

So, here I am at last taking my first steps in Blogging!
As its' getting close to Easter, I've been making a few Easter cards today. These are using a vintage image from Nancy Dooren's blog http://nancydooren.blogspot.com/ which I think is so very charming.
Here they are................