Crafty Thoughts

Blue Bird

2012-02-27T05:30:00.000Z

My friend, the lovely Kitty from a far away land*, came to visit on Saturday and we found a few minutes to play with my PaperArtsy Fresco Finish paints! We both had a piece of greyboard and used pretty much all of the colours of paints, and masks, I have! We had such a good time that we played too long and didn't finish them before the lovely Kitty had to go, so we set each other the task of completing our backgrounds later.

So yesterday I added a Journalling Ticket which I scuffed the edges and added a smidge Vintage Photo. The advert is from Hot Pick 1109 which I stamped on canvas, painted with some Portfolio Pastels and Antique Linen Distress Stain. I scuffed the edges so that it wasn't quite so perfectly round!

The bird was stamped on white card, painted with a wash of Beach Hut Fresco Finish paint (I love this colour) and edged with a little Vintage Photo. I hope the lovely Kitty approves of my completed project - I've seen a photo of hers and it looks fabulous! Thank you for stopping by!

*ok - so the lovely Kitty actually isn't from a far way land (she lives about 70 miles away) but sometimes it feels far away!

IACW - Sneaky Peek

2012-02-27T00:01:00.000Z

It's my turn over at It's a Creative World today and I am confessing a not very well hidden secret! Want to know what it is? Then click here and you will be transported via the magic of the internet!

Shamelessly showing off

2012-02-24T11:51:00.001Z

Hello! I hope this finds you well and looking forward to the weekend! I appear to have a tap where my nose once was so yet again this year I am stricken with a lurgy! However I feel tip top in myself so that's a bonus! So why am I shamelessly showing off? Well, I have never had my art included in an advert before and so I was very excited when Creative Expressions chose some of the art that Tracy, Hazel and I had produced to advertise their range of Studio 490. If you look closely you'll spy a little of the tag Freya made - should you be curious, the original post was here! Creative Expressions are the main UK distributor for Studio 490 and will be stocking everything - I know this because Wendy said so here! So, if like me, you love Wendy's products then they may be in a stockist near you! Anyway, back to being shameless... This is what the advert looked like in print... thank you for letting me be just a little excited! Have a great weekend!

WOYWW 142

2012-02-22T05:00:00.000Z

Thanks to Tom for this 'before' photo - he stood on my chair so apologies if the photo makes you feel a little seasick!

So Wednesday lovers it's here again and what better way to celebrate than to join in with Julia's band of nosey neighbours over at What's on your Workdesk? Wednesday?! This week I offer you a sort of before and after shot of my desk - the before speaks for itself and the after...

Well it was spotless and then I had a little play before remembering I was supposed to photograph the desk in it's newly gleaming state! Lots of Cut and Dry Foam and masks ready to be cleaned (which I did!) See the ribbon on my desk? It's an escapee from here:

and I have more here:

Not really sure why I hoard ribbons but hoard them I do and am very reluctant to use them! I also hoard inks, stamps, Art Parts, Ideaology, paints, papers... you get the idea! Have a truly fabulous Wednesday!

A little courage...

2012-02-21T05:30:00.000Z

I was playing in the Studio last night seeing how different Fresco Finish paints work in layers on each other - was really a lot of fun! The basic premise was to add thin layers, drying each one and then adding paint through masks, again in layers. I really like how by building the layers up you get different effects and thetranscluscent paints react differently with the layers below creating new shades. It's really very clever stuff!

Anyway I was building up layers having a lovely time when I remembered that this painty surface is really great to stamp on. So I got out my really fabulous Hot Pick Stamp & Die Set 01 - Moths and stamped three of the moths on the tag in Jet Black Archival Ink and then panicked as the black ink was so stark against the background! However one of the really clever things about layering paint is that if you gently sand it then you reveal the layers below and so I sanded the whole tag (as well as those beautiful moths) meaning that much of the starkness was sanded away. Phew!

As it started to come together I remembered a stamp on the Hot Pick 1011 set that reminded me of a conversation I had with a friend today. And so I stamped the sentiment on some spare Kraft card (as it was just a smidge too long for the tag!), edged it in a little Peeled Paint Distress Ink and I will give it to my friend today as I think it might just make her smile!

Courage comes in different forms - sometimes it takes a lot of courage to show our work to the world - allowing ourselves to be judged - knowing something wasn't as good as it could be but wanted to get feedback anyway. It takes courage then to take it a step further and enter challenges and I was so thrilled when the lovely Gillian spotted that I'd been chosen as the Simon Says Stamp Grungy Monday 36 winner for my True Love Valentine! I don't know if was names in a hat that decided the winner but I was glad I felt brave to enter 'cos it was a great feeling to have been picked! Thank you to Simon Says Stamp and to the lovely Linda for tirelessly inventing Grungy Monday challenges!

Food Glorious Food!

2012-02-20T10:00:00.000Z

It's new challenge at Crafty Boots and this fortnight's theme was set by Amy who chose 'Food'. Now I found this quite tricky as I didn't think I had anything food related but then I remember that I'd bought a cupcake die for one of Freya's birthdays!

I cut out two cupcakes from mountboard and the icing section, one cherry and one flower. I covered both sides of the cupcakes with dictionary paper (the die has cut lines in them and so I wanted to strengthen the shape).

I then added a thin layer of Snowflake Fresco Paint. I used a variety of masks and Fresco paints (e.g. Claret,Dolly Mix, Inky Pool, Limelight, Pansy and Beach Hut) to create the images on the inside and outside.

The cherry was Claret and Limelight Fresco Paints with a little Barn Door and Peeled Paint Distress Inks. The little flower was covered with Dolly Mix Fresco Paint and both the cherry and flower were covered with Glossy Accents. The whole project was sanded and then edged with Pumice Stone Distress Ink (what? No Vintage Photo?!) and I added some Studio 490 stamps to the inside. To make this a card I added two eyelets, a jump ring and a little ribbon. I hope you like my interpretation of the theme and please do stop by the rest of the DTs blogs and see what they have made!

Man and Machine

2012-02-19T12:31:00.000Z

Today is my Dad's birthday and we're off to celebrate over lunch. I thought that I adored my Dad - but then my children came along and they took it to another level! He is their unofficial hero! I thought I ask them why - for Freya it's his 'utter kindness' and for Tom 'because he's really nice and he lets me help him in the garage' and it's Tom's comment that prompted this card and tag.

My Dad is a racing driver at heart. I'm sure if you cut him open there would be go faster stripes instead of veins! He has had a successful amateur racing career for 50 years and a variety of cars that he has lovingly built to race and cars he's restored from rusty shells to beloved members of the family.

PaperArtsy's Hot Pick 1106 a natural choice! I made both the card and tag the same way, covering both with a layer of London Night Fresco Paint and used both this and Vintage Lace Fresco Paint to 'bump' stencils (Mini Bingo and Cogs).

I sanded the images lightly and stamped the car and sentiments in Jet Black Archival Ink. I did sand the car image again as it looked a little stark! I added Vintage Photo Distress Ink to the edges. I hope my Dad likes them and that he has a truly wonderful day. Thank you for sharing this with me.

Little birdie...

2012-02-16T09:33:00.000Z

For this week's Creative Expressions DT piece I am using the rather fabulous Garden Chic stamp set by Eco Green. I have fallen in love with the little bird but haven't used it much and so I thought I'd put that right today! Following the comments on my blog and by email on my last DT post I have used a similar technique and hopefully this will answer some of the questions you had! If it doesn't let me know and I'll answer them directly! I cut two ATCs from cream mount board and pushed them together on my craft mat. I used Tumbled Glass, Broken China and Faded Jeans Distress Inks for the sky and Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint and Forest Moss for the grass. When I blend backgrounds I try to leave a discrete line between the sky and the grass, so when I spritz them with water the colours wick away from each creating a natural horizon. I then used Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint and Vintage Photo to create the tall grasses at the edges of the ATCs. If you want to see the background before I added the rest then click here!

I stamped the bee and bird in Black Soot Distress Ink and made a little plate for the bird to stand on with the word 'fleurs' inside from mount board, coloured in Faded Jeans. The bee and bird were painted in with Distress Stains. If I do this again I'll think ahead and use an Archival Ink as, of course, Distress Ink reacts with water! Always learning!!!

The plaque on the bottom was a piece of mount board stamped with Cobalt Archival Ink, and coloured as before. I added a rough layer of clear embossing powder and tapped some off so that when it was heated I could rub Faded Jeans Distress Ink into the 'pits' for a more interesting effect. To finish I added 6 silver eyelets, some twine and a little Glossy Accents on the wings of the bee. Thank you for popping by today!

WOYWW 141

2012-02-15T04:59:00.000Z

I know I say this every week but it's Wednesday already! Sometimes the week whizzes by! Today is my last day at work this week as it's half term here and I'm going to spend the rest of the week with F&T - no idea what we'll do but luckily Daddy took them to the cinema to see 'Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked' so I have escaped that 'pleasure'! So for those who are new to the wonderful world of What's on Your Workdesk? Wednesday the idea is simple - simply post gratuitous photos of your creative crafting space and then pop over to our gracious hostess with the mostess, Julia, link your post and then have a nosey around all the other blogs who are sharing their creative spaces! This week I am thrilled to report that not only do I feel a gazillion times better than I have in ages but that my mojo has been discovered hiding in my Studio 490 stamps and is fully restored! Hurrah! I am, as you can see, finally able to have a well needed tidy (I'll have you know that had nothing to do with the lovely Ms Myhill coming over on Sunday to go to Stamperama via a quick peek at the Studio - pure coincidence!!!)

So whilst my desk has finally been discovered under a pile of discarded stamps it means I have nothing to show you - but I will show you a sneaky peek of this week's Creative Expressions DT piece - but don't tell anyone I showed you! The full reveal will be later this week. Happy Wednesday y'all!

True Love

2012-02-14T09:08:00.002Z

Now I don't want my blog to turn into a slushy read but today IS Valentine's Day and I am hugely privileged to be married to my True Love so this little token is for him! I am somewhat consumed by my newly learned technique of bumping and some what obsessed by Portfolio Pastels so I covered a piece of thick cardboard with Snowflake Fresco Paint and some Cut and Dry foam. Then I used Dolly Mix paint and sponged it over a Mini Harlequin mask, heat dried it, moved the mask slightly and repeated with Claret paint and finally repeated with Dolly Mix again. I then sanded the whole piece before using the Mini Bingo mask as before but with Inky Pool and Snowflake paint. In the top right I used a Mini Cosmic Swirl mask with Limelight and Snowflake paints and again sanded the whole piece.

There are parts of the piece where the cardboard shows through and I love the whole retro feel of the colours - much like an old battered fairground ride. So that's where my imagination went next I stamped the heart on a piece of grungeboard, painted it with red and orange Portfolio pastels and covered it with Glossy accents. Then I stamped the image on my painted board, embossed it and painted the ribbon with red and pink Portfolios slowly layering the colours. I then painted the swirl in yellow pastel.

Because this is for my Valentine (!) I stamped an 'Admit One' stamp (in keeping with the fairground vibe) and stamped and cut out a ticket and added the words 'True Love' so it now says 'admit one true love'. Aahh! How romantic! I am missing the Valentine ticket from that set so if you see it lying around do let me know! I thought I might share this with the lovely Linda and the Grungy Monday folks and Hels' and her Sunday Stamper where this week's theme is, unsurprisingly, love!
I hope you like my romantic gesture and that you might have received one yourself (I will update this post if I do but I think it's safe to assume that my Mr Right will be true to form and won't be acknowledging the day!)

I am an Artist

2012-02-13T12:45:00.000Z

When you have lost your mojo many of you turn to your favourite designer for a well needed injection of creative ideas. Well, I turn to Wendy Vecchi who is, for me, incredibly inspirational as well as being a seriously nice person. Not a bad combination!

There are a few challenges about that also help channel my thinking and so I knew that I had to try and make something to enter. So using stamps and Art Parts I have had great fun making this!

I used Jet Black Archival Ink, various Distress Stains and Inks and clear embossing powder as well as several of Wendy's stamp sets. I have absolutely loved making this, I hope that comes across! And thank you Wendy - my mojo has returned after being MIA for about 7 weeks! Phew!

I am entering this into:
Snazzy's February challenge - Studio 490
Everything Wendy VecchI's MAC #35 to "make a custom epoxy embellishment"
Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge - Anything goes!

Adventures at Stamperama

2012-02-12T18:49:00.000Z

I have had so much fun today! Freya and I went to Stamperama in Stevenage with the rather lovely Jo Myhill. It was a great girls day out and a bit of an adventure as I've never been to Stevenage before! I was so pleased to see my lovely friend Karen there - we finally managed to have a cup of tea and a good natter and I also had the great pleasure of meeting a fellow Twitter friend - Helen who is just lovely! She's already told me off for not photographing my purchases - but I had started using them so I hope this post makes up for the lack of gratuitous shopping photos! We basically hung around the PaperArtsy stand for ages absorbing all that Lin and Leandra could show us!

So the tag is my first attempt at 'Shadowing', or as Leandra calls it 'bumping', using Fresco Finish Paints. Such fun and I suspect a technique I'll be using lots in the next few weeks! I used Sky, Guacamole, Snowflake, Claret, Beach Hut, Inky Pool and Limelight. The stencils I used were Mini Daisy Cluster, Mini Bingo and Mini Cosmic Swirl. I love how the technique can be layered, one top of each other, as the translucent paints are really versatile. So to show off a new stamp set purchase I used Jet Black Archival Ink and painted with Portfolio Oil Pastels. I am going to love playing with these pastels - they are incredibly versatile! I've had a wonderful Sunday - thank you Freya, Jo, Karen, Helen, Lin and Leandra!

Birthday Memories

2012-02-12T06:00:00.000Z

One half of my babysitting dynamic duo turned 18 on Wednesday and is off to Uni and a whole new set of exciting adventures later this year. Her mum, Sara, asked family and friends if they would decorate a tag to go into a memory box for her. Isn't that a cool idea?!

I couldn't limit what I wanted to do to one tag so I made two! I used a variety of PanPastel colours, a dotty mask and a star stamp to make the background. Before I started I adhered the two together with some calendar Tissue Tape and then added colours randomly to start the background. I then put the mask over the colours and randomly added some dots. You'll see from the photo below that I didn't mind that a couple of the dots overlapped (blue over green) as it added to the overall effect of colours merging inot each other.

I added six stars using clear ink and then coloured them with the pastels. I then added some heartfelt words. The tags are closed together with a piece of lime green sari ribbon. Happy 18th birthday to my wonderful babysitter - I hope you enjoy being 18 as I loved it, though I might suggest you do a little more work on your A'Levels than I did!!! ;)

IACW - Sneaky Peek

2012-02-11T00:01:00.000Z

Hello! It's my turn over at It's a Creative World and this time I'm discussing my favourite inks!

Birthday Pastels

2012-02-09T05:30:00.000Z

This week's PanPastel challenge theme is Birthdays and I chose to brave the freezing cold and go out to my studio to play along as well as to try out my new Dylusions Stamps! The colours in the photo are a little distorted as the winter 'sun' is not the best at the moment!

The tag is for one of my babysitters 18th birthday which was yesterday (though the party is on Saturday!) I used clear embossing ink, PanPastels and two stamps sets (Around the Edge and How Does Your Garden Grow). There maybe another PanPastel project coming to a blog reader near you on Sunday... just sayin'!

WOYWW 140

2012-02-08T05:30:00.000Z

Gosh! It's Wednesday already! The wonderful hostess with the mostess Julia has kindly consented to host What's on Your Workdesk? Wednesday where you can indulge in the most marvellous nosiness around crafter's crafting spaces! This week I thought I'd show you the winter wonderland that was my garden (and therefore my Studio) when I woke up on Sunday! Confession time - I have completely and utterly lost my mojo - if you find it lurking on my desk do let me know! So I have nothing to show you but the mess on my desk...

Left of desk - Starbucks cup (that I spilled EVERYWHERE!), inks and stamps

Middle of desk - I think I like blending tools!!!

Right of desk - more stamps, discarded bit of cardboard and a beloved Vagabond!

Garden Chic - ATC Style

2012-02-07T05:30:00.000Z

I love ATCs. I didn't always. The size scared me. They are only 2.5 inches x 3.5 inches (6cm x 9cm) and somehow that small space seemed impossible to fill. However now, whenever I have lost my mojo or want to really want to concentrate on making something with impact I turn to an ATC. The idea for this week's Creative Expressions DT project was to create a spring like scene as befits the fantastically spring-like stamp set Garden Chic by Eco Green. I must confess to making this on Sunday where the view from my window was a blanket of snow rather than a garden beginning to burst into life, but isn't that what our imaginations are for?!!! I cut and ATC from cream mount board and blended some Tumbled Glass Distress Ink over 3/4 of it. Over the top I added Broken China Distress Ink but tried to keep it to the top third of the ATC. It the bottom I used Peeled Paint Distress Ink, and I avoided blending the colours so that when I lightly spritzed the ATC with water, the colours naturally blended where they touched and wicked away in other areas, creating a natural 'horizon'. The background is now mottled where the water droplets touched it. Once you're happy with the effect don't forget to heat dry it otherwise the process will continue and you might 'bleach' away much of your ink! For the flowers I used Vintage Photo and Peeled Paint Distress Inks on my stamp to give a more subtle colour way and the bees were stamped in Broken China Distress Ink.

The word was stamped in Broken China on to some card and then a little Peeled Paint and Vintage Photo Distress Inks were added to the edges. The Ornate Plate was too 'new' looking so I rubbed some white paint on to it and gently wiped away the excess so the paint highlighted the detail. before I attached the plate I edged the ATC in Vintage Photo Distress Ink and then lightly sanded the edges. Thank you for popping by - people have very kindly begun to show me what they have made with the DT stamp set of the month - do let me see what you have made this month and don't forget to be brave and to link it to the Creative Expressions Facebook page so others can see it too!

Romance is in the air!

2012-02-06T10:00:00.000Z

This fortnight's challenge at Crafty Boots is "Valentines" and as our wonderful host and leader, Stephanie-Emma and her beau Keiron have announced their engagement I have made them a romantic tag. I am, in truth, a little late in making them an acknowledgement of their news but I did confess it would be late as it's taken ages to get back to some sort of normality after that blummin' virus that lived with me for the whole of January! So, the tag. I die cut it using white card and covered it with Victorian Velvet Distress Ink (I love this colour so much). I then flicked water onto it and heat dried to give it an aged look. I used the Notably Ornate stamp set from Stampin' Up as I know Stephanie-Emma's a fan of their products. The bird was stamped over the tag in Victorian Velvet and then I sprinkled water on them to blend them a little. I stamped the background stamp on a separate piece of card and aged it with Vintage Photo Distress Ink on the edges and Antique Linen Distress Stain in the centre.

The cherub was roughly covered in Black Soot Distress Ink and roughly embossed with clear embossing powder. Then I covered it in Vintage Photo Distress Ink and it settled where the embossing powder missed. He is holding an adage ticket which has a little Vintage Photo Distress Ink on the edges. The heart was covered in Fired Brick Distress Ink and treated much as the cherub but I used Black Soot Ink. I used a Wendy Vecchi hand stamp on cardboard and a little Vintage Photo Distress Ink on the edges. The banner is stamped with the sentiment from the set (there may be a little Vintage Photo on the edges too!) I added a little Stampin' Up ribbon and an ideaology heart to finish this off. I love reading your entries and can't wait to see your romantic makes - thank you for stopping by.

As the theme on so many challenges is valentines based (or in the case of these two - hearts) I am going to offer up this tag to both the Artistic Stamper and Hels' Sunday Stamper challenges.

WOYWW 139

2012-02-01T05:59:00.000Z

Brrrrr! It was seriously chilly and very dark when I popped out to the studio last night to show you the creative mess I'm working in! I say working in but I haven't been out there since Saturday so it's actually the creative mess I've left behind!

As haven't got anything to show for my mess I thought I'd show you (ahem! Embarrassed cough *some of*) my ever expanding set of Studio 490 stamps - ssshhh! Don't tell David! Having seen the new releases at CHA I know I'm about to expand the collection even more! I must thank Julia, our hostess with the mostess, for hosting the weekly snoop around people's creative gaffs - want to see more? Then visit her blog and prepare to be entertained! Happy Wednesday!

Three Bees

2012-01-30T06:00:00.000Z

For this week's Creative Expressions DT piece I wanted to create a nod to those specimen pieces you find when explorers have returned from exciting adventures and the bee stamp in the Garden Chic set was my inspiration! The tag was inked in Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint Distress Inks, blending where they met. I then stamped the small leaf stamp in Peeled Paint. I then crumpled the tag up so it looked weather beaten and lightly swiped Peeled Paint and the Vintage Photo Distress Inks to highlight the creases. I also spritzed the tag with water to give a faux bleaching effect and help it look aged! The label was made the same way (though I didn't crumple it) and the word was from the sentiment with the stamp set. I glued the label on to the tag and then added two brads which I beat with my Texture Hammer.

I took three Fragments and inked them with Alcohol Inks (Butterscotch, Sunshine Yellow, Citrus and Gold). Then I stamped the bee in Jet Black Archival Ink and I gently patted the stamped image off - it makes the image transparent - and then I backed each one with foil tape and adhered it to the tag. The image now looks silver - I hope that the camera picks this up! A little ribbon finished it off. Thank you, as always for stopping by and leaving a message - they are very much appreciated.

When eye fall in love...

2012-01-28T19:59:00.003Z

The Simon Says Stamp and Challenge theme this week is song titles. The theme at Crafty Boots Challenges is the same (spooky huh?!) and so I have been a good girl made a different project! Also, Linda's Grungy Monday project is a 'cracking' one; Hels wants to see some eyes for the Sunday Stamper this week and my lovely friend Siobhan wants some embellishments for her first Stamp Man challenge so this is my attempt at them all! Phew! I must be feeling better! Following your thoughts about my last song choice I thought I share our "first dance" song at our wedding... Nat King Cole's When I fall in love. Didn't he look young in that clip?!

Anyhoo - the crackle paint is the lovely Picket Fence with Vintage Photo and Black Soot Distress Ink rubbed into it. The heart is a combination of Fired Brick, Vintage Photo and Black Soot inks and some clear embossing powder in layers. The sentiment was printed from my computer though the 'love' is a bit of one of Wendy's stamps!

ps I know my project doesn't have an actual eye on it - I'm hoping Hels forgives me for the 'I' pun!

I'm late...

2012-01-27T06:00:00.000Z

Thank you for all the good wishes as I recover from my virus! I'm still whispering but with a little more vigour so hopefully I'll be back to screaming harpy in no time! A consequence of being ill was that I have been a dreadful daughter-in-law and missed my father-in-law's birthday. I felt awfully guilty and so managed to pop to the shops and buy him a gift and made a tag to accompany it. Now, bearing in mind I've been unwell and my crafting mojo has well and truly disappeared, I used what was to hand on my desk - so huge apologies if it's all been a bit of on theme this week! All stamps are by the incredible Wendy Vecchi - have you seen her CHA sneaky peeks? I am about to become very poor that's all I can say!

The tag was lightly covered in Vintage Photo Distress Ink and I then stamped the background ticket stamp in the same ink. I quickly, and lightly, clear embossed the ticket to create a bit of resist. I then stamped, in Black Soot Distress Ink, the railings and the 'ordinary day' quote and added clear embossing ink and powder over the whole tag, knocking the excess off, and heated. Into the pits left in the embossing I rubbed Iced Spruce Distress Ink and then wiped the tag clean - don't want my fil to have dirty hands!

The chap (who looks as late as I feel!) was stamped on to brown card and embossed and then lightly "dusted" with Vintage Photo and Iced Spruce! The ticket is the reverse of 'Soar' (I can not imagine I'll ever use that one!), crumpled and inked with a Dymo'd sentiment. I added a little twine and that was that! I like the chap looking like he's climbing up the railings but I'm not sure if he's trying to save the ticket or hoist it aloft... do you think I'm reading too much into this?!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Birthday Butterflies

2012-01-26T06:00:00.000Z

This month's Creative Expressions Stamp set is from Eco Green and is called Garden Chic. The stamps are made from recycled rubber and are appropriately green! They stamp beautifully and are very versatile. For my first project I made a birthday card and matching tag.

The card was made by stamping the butterfly image with Jet Black Archival Ink and painting the wings with Distress Stain (Victorian Velvet, Worn Lipstick and Dusty Concord). The next layer was a piece of card inked on two sides with Dusty Concord Distress Ink and Victorian Velvet on the other two, blending where the colours joined.

The tag was made the same way but before I stamped the butterfly I put my favourite dotty mask on the stamp and then spritzed the tag with water creating a faux bleaching effect. I edged the tag in both colours and a little Vintage Photo Distress Ink and lightly stamped two 'ghost' butterflies in Vintage Photo to give the tag a little more movement. I completed the tag with a little sari ribbon. I have given these to a young lady for her 8th birthday and she seemed to really like them so that's a pretty good vote of approval in my book! Thank you for popping by and I hope you have been inspired to try this range of stamps!

WOYWW 138

2012-01-25T06:00:00.000Z

So, I've been poorly. Properly poorly with a virus that won't shift. For my family it's been joyous as it's resulted in the fact that I've been whispering for over two weeks! I tell you of my woes because as the pesky virus arrived my mojo departed. Completely disappeared and that just made me feel worse! Though, to be fair on my mojo I don't think I've been well enough to need it! So the joy I show you now is the mess I've made heralding that I'm on the mend! Lots of bits and pieces lying around waiting to be tidied up!

I don't have anything to show for what I've been making as they are DT things that are scheduled for revelation at a future point but I do have the full version of yesterday's sneaky peek. I hope you like it in all it's glory! Please pop over to the hostess-with-the-mostess, Julia, and see other creative spaces - thank you, as always, for hosting this Julia!

IACW Sneaky Peek

2012-01-24T00:01:00.000Z

It's my turn over at It's a Creative World and I have gone back to basics this time. My sneaky peek shows my final result! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you hop on over to see what I made!

Angel wings...

2012-01-23T10:00:00.000Z

Well it's time for the next Crafty Boots challenge - how quickly the fortnight goes! This time it was my turn to choose the theme and I chose Song Titles - you can make anything you like as long as you can fit a Song Title to it! My favourite Robiie Williams song is Eternity (because it reminds me of being 18!) but that was a little too challenging so I chose Angels instead. The children and I often 'sing' along to this song - I say sing but David thinks 'murder' might be more appropriate! Unfortunately I have been laid pretty low with a really horrible virus and my mojo has been somewhat absent so I hope you like my simple project.

I typed out the lyrics and coloured them with Tumbled Glass Distress Stain, blotted it whilst it was still wet and brushed over an ad hoc watery wash of PaperArtsy Snowflake Paint and then adhered it to a piece of grey board. The wings are covered in Picket Fence Crackle Glaze with Vintage Photo Distress Ink rubbed over it when dry and then wiped off with a clean cloth. I then roughly clear embossed them and then rubbed Black Soot Distress Ink over the top as before and clear embossed again.

I attached the wings to the board with two brads that I beat with my Texture Hammer and added two eyelets, ribbon and a dymo sentiment. Thank you for popping by and I'm looking forward to seeing what you make!

Sentimentally By Hand

2012-01-18T12:10:00.000Z

A new week and I find myself inspired once again by the incredible Wendy Vecchi stamps that Creative Expressions are showcasing this month. Once again I have been drawn to the wonderful material background stamp found on Sentimental Art and used it to theme a sewing hanging. Now, it looks pretty fabulous as a card but as I have my lovely new Studio and want to fill the walls with my art so I popped a piece of sari ribbon on the top but you could easily attach this to a card. I used Victorian Velvet Distress Ink to stamp the background onto white card which was adhered to a large Art Part.

I then painted two Tools for Art Art Parts with silver paint and, when dry, stamped the scissors and thimble stamps from the Art By Hand stamp set using Jet Black Archival Ink. I added a brad to the scissors and then beat it up with my Texture Hammer (very therapeutic!) I also used the spool from the background stamp and the ticket from the same set. I stamped two spool labels in Vintage Photo Distress Ink (and while I had it out I edged the background!).

I then sort of stamped Antique Linen Distress Stain on the spool labels - I say sort of because it was a splotchy effect that I wiped off a couple of times until I got the right colour and antiquing effect. Please remember that Distress Ink will react to the water base of the stain so you need to be a little careful with this stage! For the ticket I used Coffee Archival Ink and then crumpled it up adding swipes of Vintage Photo Distress Ink over the top.

For the frame I used a Mini Frame Art Part, covered it in several layers of Victorian Velvet Distress Stain and then stamped a dotty finish to the frame from the All About Art stamp set. The background of the frame is Antique Linen Distress Stain on the same fabric background stamp as I stamped before (Stain makes a more water coloured effect when stamped) and then the sentiment is also from Sentimental Art. A couple of eyelets and ribbon finished it off but you could easily, as I mentioned before, add it to a card! Thanks for popping by this week!

Sentimental Dream

2012-01-10T05:55:00.000Z

Oh, I have had a lot of fun making my latest Creative Expressions DT project! I wanted to show how very effective the fabulous background stamp from this month's featured stamp set - Sentimental Art by Wendy Vecchi. I used a square Art Part and clear embossed the background stamp. I then used several Distress Inks (Wild Honey, Fired Brick, Dusty Concord and Black Soot) to ink the Art Part. Then I gave it a little wipe with a soft cloth to remove an ink on the embossed image.

I then took an Art Part - Leaves and inked it with Peeled Paint Distress Ink. I then stamped the background image onto the leaves in Peeled Paint but you'll have to take my word for it as it doesn't seem to show up in the photos! I then took some Glassine Paper and stamped two butterflies and a flower in Coffee Archival Ink. *Remember to heat the glassine paper with a heat gun to 'set' the image*. I then scrunched up the butterflies to make then crinkled and give them movement and then I gently added Distress Ink with my Blending Tool. The flower was inked the as before but I curled the petals round a paintbrush. I added a button for a centre.

To finish off my hanging I used the word 'Dream' from Wendy's Just Word set and stamped it in Coffee Archival Ink on glassine paper and put it behind an Ornate Plate. I then added two Charm Clips, long fasteners and a little chain.

I hope you like my homage to this incredibly fantastic background stamp! Thank you for visiting and for your comments - they really do make my day!

New Year - New Beginnings

2012-01-09T10:00:00.000Z

The new year brings a new challenge at Crafty Boots which for this fortnight is 'New Beginnings'. This is one of those titles that you think is really difficult but then when you start to gather your bits and pieces it sparks lots of ideas! I chose to honour a friend's resolution to lose weight by making a little hanging for inspiration!

The paper is Tim Holtz's Tissue Wrap with a Wendy Vecchi background stamp in Sepia Archival Ink. The dress form (Sewing Room die) was cut twice - the first was sanded and then inked with Vintage Photo Ink. The second dress form had the top and bottom removed and was covered with some tissue tape my sister bought me for Christmas (it came in a tin with 5 different rolls of tape - you'll be seeing a lot of these as they are gorgeous!) I liked the tape so much I added around the edge of the hanging and then aged it with a little Vintage Photo Distress Ink. The torso is sprayed with Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearl Mist. There is some tape measure ribbon (and a mini safety pin) around the waist and the large flower from Wendy's Funky Flower set as the wings behind the dress form.

I painted an ornate plate with gold paint dabber and almost immediately wiped it off so it just highlighted the details. The sentiment "Never forget the power of you" is from Wendy Vecchi (Art by Number stamp set) stamped with Sepia Archival Ink on brown card (that I crumpled) and then added glossy accents when it was in the plate. I added a swirl from Tim's Elegant Flourishes die which I lightly inked with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and sprayed with Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearl Mist. The hanging is finished off with two jump rings, washers and some of the lovely ribbon from Crafty Boots. Oh! I did sneak in a Dymo date at the top! I am really looking forward to seeing what you make for this challenge - and as always, thank you for your comments - they really make my day!

IACW - Sneak Peek

2012-01-08T00:00:00.000Z

It's my turn over at It's a Creative World - why not pop on over and see what I made and what my fellow DT have made recently! It's a real variety of crafty makes!

WOYWW 135

2012-01-04T06:00:00.000Z

I have been a good WOYWWer this week - normally I try to tidy up as I go along but then when Wednesday comes around I find all I can show you is, well, nothing really. So I am pleased to present to you a bit of a mess! So the big box holds most of my ribbons (the rest are on the wall - you can see them in the photo below) the tin on top is my 'Man Tin' which holds pliers etc. You can see my new Wendy Vecchi stamps just in front which I am pleased to say are getting a good workout!

So in this photo of the other end of my desk you can see my ribbons on the wall and my Vagabond but I mainly took this because some friends found it hilarious that I had unwittingly posted a photo of my desk before where the letters resting on my window amused them -so this is the wider shot! I really must decorate them and put them up!

Finally as I don't have anything to show you from what I've been making as it has been mainly DT projects I thought I show you the lights I liberated from the decorations box! It looks very cosy in here at night now! (I replaced the lights with the Christmas tree you can see so I complied fully with the 5th night rule!) Thank you, as always, to Julia for hosting WOYWW, do try visit everyone else's creative spaces - it's my first day back at work after the festive period so I'll try and get round as many as possible!

Flowers are miracles...

2012-01-03T12:52:00.002Z

The weather outside (to parody a festive tune) is frightful and to brighten my day I turned to this month's Creative Expressions DT stamp set which is the fabulous Sentimental Art by Wendy Vecchi. I wanted to make something with a hint of Spring and so used Wild Honey, Victorian Velvet and Stormy Sky Distress Inks on the large background stamp.

For the flower I used the stamp from the Well Worn Art set with Jet Black Archival Ink.

The ink bottle is from Destination Art (a real favourite of mine) and I stamped the bottle image twice in Archival ink as before. The first image was covered in Broken China Distress Ink and clear embossed twice to make it super shiny. I cut out the label from the second image and lightly covered it in Broken China, the edges were distressed and then edged in Vintage Photo Distress Ink (whilst I had it open I also edged the tag in Vintage Photo!)

The sentiment is from the DT set and I still had a little ink on the background stamp so I stamped a small piece of card, added the sentiment in Archival Ink and edged it as before. The brad holding the sentiment on was given a good hammering with my Idea-ology Hammer (I love using this!). I dyed a white ribbon with Wild Honey Distress Stain, added yellow twine and a couple of beads and my Spring-like tag is complete! I hope you find a little Spring in your day today, no matter how grey it is outside!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T00:00:00.000Z

Happy New Year!

Thank you for your friendship and support during 2011 which has meant such a lot. Sometimes, when you are crafting, you do it alone and you are never sure if it is any good, if people will like it, if it makes sense... and lots of other doubts! You have given me encouragement to continue in ways you will never know and I truly thank you for that.

I look forward to seeing what crafting challenges 2012 will bring us all!

The Last Post (of the year!)

2011-12-31T06:00:00.000Z

Happy New Year's Eve! Today is one of those funny days where you can regret those resolutions you made a year ago but never kept (probably being on top of the ironing for me!) or get your resolutions ready to promise for tomorrow. For me I'm not making any this year - mainly because I don't want to make one only to feel bad when I break it in February (!) but I'd love to know if you are making one!

I haven't had much time to get into the Studio but in a few snatched sessions I wanted to make something for the few challenges that are around. I feel like I haven't entered a challenge in ages and they are such fun to do! So I made this little hanging. For Grungy Monday Linda asked for Tim's Tissue Wrap and/or Tissue Tape (double tick!), Hels asked for anything we fancy for Sunday Stamper (tick!) and finally Simon Says Stamp and Show asked for a 12 Tags of Christmas inspired Tag - I know this isn't actually a tag but I'm hoping they'll be in the Christmas spirit and let me off (I used Tag 1 as my inspiration btw!) The stamps are all Wendy Vecchi designed and were given to me by Santa who has fabulous taste!

Have a wonderful New Year's Eve - we're spending it with friends and seeing if the children can stay awake until midnight - 5p says they won't!!!

Winter Wedding

2011-12-29T06:00:00.000Z

Well I am loving using this month's Creative Expressions DT stamp set - the fabulous Sentimental Art by Wendy Vecchi. I wondered if it could be used for a wedding card and this is what I made.

The background is the incredibly versatile fabric background stamp from the set - I used Old Paper Distress Ink which makes it look like really old lace in real life and added a little Vintage Photo Distress Ink to the edges. In my last DT post I said that these stamps compliment each other perfectly and they do!

The heart was stamped in clear ink and clear embossed and then inked with Old Paper Distress Stain. I scored the edges and then inked them with a little Vintage Photo as before. The sentiment was stamped in Vintage Photo I added a flourish, a few gems and an ivory ribbon.

WOYWW and Tag 1... finally!

2011-12-28T12:10:00.000Z

I have finally finished! Huge and heartfelt thanks to Bella for sending me some Tattered Pinecone diecuts all the way from South Africa and so I was able to finish Tim's first tag!

The wonderful thing about the 12 Tags of Christmas adventure is that you use the stash you have to complete them and so I have made my interpretation of Tim's tag - having said all that I did need to wait patiently for the postman to come!!!

So, despite the fact that I tidied my desk before Christmas this is what my work space looks like today! If ou peek on the left you can see my new Wendy Vecchi stamps and Clearly for Art sheets that Santa bought me (thank you Santa!) As always, thank you to Julia for hosting WOYWW and to you for stopping by!

Celebrations!

2011-12-26T10:00:00.000Z

Happy Boxing Day to you! I hope Father Christmas was kind and bought you just what you hoped for! I have scheduled this post but I have a sneaky feeling I have been very lucky on the craft front! If you have had your fill of Turkey and already reached the bottom of your chocolate box you might want to join in with this fortnight's Crafty Boots challenge! The theme is Celebrations and you can interpret that however you like! I asked the family for ideas for what I should make and they were pretty useless but they did suggest an 18th birthday card and I thought I'd show you a little trick!

The tag is made using the incredibly fabulous Crafty Boots Deluxe Crafters Card (I urge you to buy some, especially if you are a digi stamper or use CDs etc to print backing papers or decoupage images). I stamped the fabric background in Worn Lipstick Distress Ink using Wendy Vecchi's stamp from the Sentimental Art set and added a coordinating paper border. The swirls were cut from the coordinating paper using Tim Holtz's Elegant Flourish die and the flower was Tim's Tattered Pinecone die.

The trick I mentioned earlier is in the making of the 18. You can use regular tin foil or, as I did, sticky backed foil. The idea is to stick the numbers, or letters you need to a piece of card and then adhere the metal over the top. Burnish the metal to the card with a bone folder (I prefer to use a piece of grungeboard!) and then ink with Alcohol Inks. If you want to you can add a little 'regular' ink for definition - this can be incredibly effective so why not have a try?! Well I hope you like my take on the theme and I look forward to seeing what you make! Happy Boxing Day!

Happy Christmas!

2011-12-25T05:00:00.000Z

I would like to wish you, and yours, a very happy Christmas!

Creatively Wendy!

2011-12-19T11:36:00.000Z

When this month's stamp set for Creative Expressions was revealed I gave a whoop of joy! The sets have just been getting more and more exciting each month and this month is no exception! Regular readers will know I am a huge fan of the incredibly talented Ms Vecchi and this month's stamp set is the fabulous Sentimental Art set. If you don't know Wendy's stamps then you are in for a treat. They are fabulously designed and etched on red rubber and pre-mounted so they are ready to stamp! The stamps also coordinate beautifully with each other so if you have a few sets then you'll see the possibilities are endless!

I made a tag for my SIL's birthday. The tag was stamped with blue Distress Ink on the incredibly fabulous fabric background stamp. I added Vintage Photo Distress Ink to the edges of the tag just to give a little definition and to compliment the flower. For the flower I used Wendy's Funky Flower set on
Glassine paper and curled the paper slightly. The stalk and leaf are stamped on white card and coloured with Peeled Pain Distress Ink. The sentiment is stamped onto a Journalling Ticket which was scrumpled up and inked with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I also stamped the ticket stamp form the set twice in the background. A little coordinating ribbon finishes it off!

To show this in another colour-way Freya (11) made a tag for her best friend's birthday. She's a little bolder than me in the colour department! Having said that the purple and orange works really well together and the sentiment was stamped in Spiced Marmalade Distress Stain and it looks really fabulous stamped with the stain so I'll be experimenting with that next year!

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 132 (and Tag 8!)

2011-12-14T06:00:00.000Z

Oh, how I have loved my desk over the last few days! I feel like it has been my favourite place in the world (and knowing how I feel about a beach in the Maldives you should know how big a statement that was!) I have managed to do most of the 12 Tags of Christmas which has been such a lot of fun. Along the way I have seen incredible art - people with a really brilliant vision and a fabulous way of interpreting Tim's ideas to fit our own stash! So, boringly I am all tidy again! I wanted to be able to sit down and start a new project without all the mess of the 12 tags cluttering up my space!

So, by way of compensation I am showing you Tag 8 which I have made late (after school activities and Cubs etc got in the way that Thursday!). Hope it was worth the wait! I still have Tag 1 to complete (it's waiting for some Pine Cones which are winging their way from South Africa - thank you again in advance Bella!) if you peep in the photo of my desk it's sitting to the left!

As always it is only polite to thank your host - and Julia really is the hostess with the mostess - so thank you for being so gracious in allowing us to inhabit your blog space and share our creative messes - or in my case creative space to make a mess! Please pop on over to her blog and see what other people have been up to this week!

Tag 12!

2011-12-12T10:43:00.000Z

(If you are looking for today's Crafty Boots post - please click here or scroll down!)

Gosh! The first twelve days of December have flown by! I am really chuffed that I have managed to do 10 of the 12 tags - Tag 1 is nearly ready and Tag 8 isn't even started but that's not bad going! I loved doing today's - it was relatively simple but was very satisfying to make! Hope you like it! Thank you Tim for a fabulously crafty few days!

Crafty Boots Christmas Challenge

2011-12-12T10:00:00.000Z

It's nearly Christmas and this fortnight's challenge reflects just that! The challenge is to make something Christmas related and so I have made a gift box. I say made...

I was given this fabulous box by the wonderful Lori - if you are a Wendy Vecchi fan then you need to make friends with her as she runs the Everything Wendy Vecchi group!I hope you like what I did with it Lori!

I cut some of Tim Holtz's Christmas Kraft Resist paper and inked it with Barn Door Distress Stain. Then I attached it to the box and coloured the bottom of the box the same way.I stained some Tissue Tape with Peeled Paint Distress Stain which gives a subtle green effect.

I stamped and cut out two Santas and inked them with Distress Stains and added them to each side of the box and then added die cuts and more stamps to other sides of the box. The '25' was doubled embossed with clear embossing powder and the ticket behind was crumbled, inked and sprayed liberally with Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls Mist - my favourite! The holly has Rock Candy Stickles for a little vintage bling!

As always, everything was edged in Vintage Photo Distress Ink - I think, if you could see my fingers right now, you'd know just how often I use that ink! A little Stampin' Up twine, a bell and snowflake finished it off nicely.

Before I go I have the great pleasure of announcing the Crafty Boots Blog Hop winner from my blog! Crafty Boots' Stephanie-Emma put names in a metaphorical hat and chose Bev! Huge congratulations Bev - please email Crafty Boots with your details!

Thank you for popping by and I am looking forward to seeing what you make with a Christmassy theme!

Tag 11

2011-12-11T15:45:00.001Z

Well, Day 11 of Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas is here and I can't believe there's only one day to go. I have missed two days so I'll make sure I do those as soon as I can but I have loved my first year of playing along!

Again I didn't have the right stamps so I improvised! I loved the shrink plastic technique - such fun! Though in hindsight I might have placed the berries differently but I wanted to fill the gap between the holly and the branch... mmm... always room for improvement! Hope you have had a terrific Sunday - Monday tomorrow - how quickly it seems to come round!

Tag 10!

2011-12-10T15:33:00.001Z

Gosh! Tag 10 already! Tim's 12 tags of Christmas are flying by! I did most of this tag this morning before setting off for a final visit to Lin Brown's emporium for the last time - she closes her doors on Monday and retires from shopkeeping (is that the right expression?!) but we have become firm friends and I'll get to see her (and the lovely Karen and Linda) lots which means I didn't feel sad at all to say 'goodbye'.

So... back to the tag... I have just finished this one and I rather enjoyed it! Hope you are getting to play along too - it's much easier at a weekend! Much love and, as always, thank you for popping by!

ps - my blog still looks peculiar! Will have a play and see what's occurring! Any tips do let me know!

Tag 9!

2011-12-09T20:57:00.001Z

As predicted on Wednesday I didn't have time to try Tim Holtz's Tag # 8 (too many components to squeeze into the 20 minutes I had!) so, I will do that one over the weekend if family plans allow! However in between other jobs I have managed to finish Tag # 9! Yay me!

I'm off to have a quick look and see what everyone else has made - thank you for visiting - it means a lot and have a terrific weekend!

ps - My blog has suddenly started to look weird! If you know why please email me and put me out of my misery!

Tag 7 - Done!

2011-12-07T17:27:00.001Z

Well, it was much easier to make Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas at the weekend - this week I'm having to squeeze them in between family commitments - tonight is Tom's Carol Concert so this post has to be a quick one!

The Carol Concert was in my mind when I chose the stamp! I really enjoyed today's tag #7 (No. 7 already?!) - I love glassine paper and the branch looked really cool (before it was covered with holly!)

Hope to play along tomorrow but Thursday are our busiest night so it might have to wait until the weekend! Thank you, as always, for stopping by!

What's on Your Workdesk? Wednesday 131

2011-12-07T09:27:00.001Z

The wonderful Julia is hosting her 131st WOYWW and if you are nosey like me you'll want to see what creative spaces others craft in!

This is my desk after finishing my 6th Tag - lots of paint to put away! Still pretty tidy though! To my right is nothing but tidiness so no point in showing you that! Tee hee! Have just spotted myself in the the reflection in the window! The look of concentration is brilliant!

To my left is the discarded 5th Tag (details here!) which from this distance doesn't look like a disaster - maybe I'll rethink it... mmm...
Happy Wednesday y'all and a special thanks, as always, to Julia - loving the Christmassy feel to your blog!!!

Tag No 6

2011-12-06T17:35:00.001Z

I'm still trying to make all of Tim Holtz's daily 12 Tags of Christmas and today's tag was much more successful than yesterdays! Hurrah! Tim' s original can be viewed here. I was really pleased with the icicle section of the tag but I think this is a technique I'll be revisiting as it was very good fun and instant gratification!

Again, the light here is awful so I apologise for the quality of the photos As always thank you for stopping by and for your support - it means a lot!

Tag #5 - the one that got away!

2011-12-05T21:33:00.001Z

Urgh! It was a disaster! I'm a bit like a child, after 8pm I'm useless at anything requiring concentration but work, a trip to the Opticians (F doesn't need glasses much to her dismay), the Library and making tea got in the way of starting today's tag. The alcohol inks worked treat as always but I don't have the backward stamps, I can't subtly add glossy accents to the back of a clear tag, I don't have the garland die and the Stampin' Up punch I used looked awful... the moaning goes on...

So I decided to have a go at Tim's suggested second version and that's worked out a whole lot better. Thank you again for your support through these tags - your fabulous comments really cheered me up. To see what I tried to make please pop on over to Tim's blog to see Tag #5 in all its glory (and it really is gorgeous!)

ps - Sorry the pictures are a little dark - there's no natural sunlight at 9.30pm on a winter's night in Milton Keynes!

A Towering Christmas!

2011-12-05T09:38:00.000Z

Stamps are incredibly versatile and can be used in so many different ways - you know that, you're a crafter too! So for this week's Creative Expressions DT project I thought I might take the current DT stamp set (the fabulous Bon Voyage) and use them in a different way. Ange Lee gave me the idea and kindly said I could use her inspirational idea here - Ange, I thank you and hope I've done your incredible project justice!

Close up the red looks pinky - they are red I promise!

I cut out 7 red and 7 green triangles and stamped the Eiffel Tower stamp on each using Jet Black Archival Ink. I edged them all in Vintage Photo Distress Ink and then curled them round a very thick handled paintbrush. I then glued them together. I stamped out the fleur de lys stamp on both red and green card and cut them out. I very lightly misted some gold Cosmic Shimmer Mist over the top and adhered the ribbon and fleur de lys. I hope the pictures show how effective it looks and in festive colours it's a great Christmas ornament! Thank you for stopping by!

Tag-tastic Sunday!

2011-12-04T13:03:00.001Z

Today is Day 4 of Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas extravaganza! I really enjoyed making this one.

I really must give a huge thank you to everyone who stopped by yesterday - and a massive thank you to you for visiting today!!

Do pop over to Tim's blog to read his detailed instructions on how you could make this tag for yourself!

Tag No.3

2011-12-03T11:28:00.001Z

Well, I have been given a whole morning off and so I have pottered about in the Studio and made my version of Tim's third tag. It had to be my version as, unlike yesterday, I had very few things that Tim used!

I had fun making it though! For those who are following my Pinecone saga Santa is still considering how good I have been but the wonderful Bella has offered so send me one - and she lives miles away in South Africa! How amazing is our crafting community? Thank you Bella x

Hope you are having a fabulous Saturday - She Who Eats Art is keeping me company today!!!

Three reasons to celebrate!

2011-12-02T18:45:00.001Z

What an exciting post! Firstly, thank you and welcome to my new followers - I hope you find something you like here! Secondly this is my 100th post! Wow! How quickly has that happened?! There is some blog candy available on this post here! Thirdly the incredible Tim Holtz has begun his 5th annual 12 Tags of Christmas which is a high speed romp through amazing techniques and incredible end results. I am waiting for 'Santa' to tell me if I can finish the first tag (I need theTattered Pinecone die which is supposed to be in my stocking!) so I have completed all I can of Tag 1 and then finished Tag 2! Luckily we have lots of time to complete them all so please excuse that I am doing them all out of order! Tim always encourages us to use what we have so there is no pressure to slavishly buy every product!

I hope you like my version and I'm off to see if Santa's feeling kind - maybe a cup of tea might help his generosity! Have a wonderful weekend!

Seeing Stars!

2011-12-01T06:00:00.000Z

Today's offering is my entry to Simon Says Stamp and Show Some Stars and the Sunday Stamper whose theme is also stars. I really struggled with this, mainly because I kept changing my mind as I went but I thought I should be honest and show you what I came up with!

It's quite simple so I hope it cuts the mustard! I used two Art Parts with Wendy's star stamp in clear embossing ink and powder on the frame. I then covered both in Peeled Paint Distress Stain.

The row of stars has small stamped sentiments on it, stamped in Jet Black Archival Ink. There is some kraft paper at the back of the frame with more stars in clear embossing ink.

I stamped a little bottle onto Clearly for Art and added another star at the top. I had a little ticket to add and two hitch fasteners and two small swivel clasps.

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 130

2011-11-30T06:00:00.000Z

I decided to show you the result of making my latest challenge that you can see here. To my right I have the box I keep my Art Parts in on top of the now empty box of cleaned stamps I put them all away last Friday *polishes halo*! My desk has stamps from my last project glue, bits of grungepaper, pliers and a half finished Simon Says Stamp and Show project that I lost my way on...!

The other side shows my Wendy Vecchi stamps that I have been flicking through and choosing ones here and there! Wednesday this week finds me "babysitting" my two and two others as it is a day of Industrial Action by various Unions here in the UK and both of my children's schools have had to close for the day. I shall try and squeeze in as much crafting as I can but I am guessing there might not be much time! If you have some time on your hands, why not pop over to see other people's crafting space at Julia's Stamping Ground - thank you Julia for being our incredible WOYWW host again this week

A Simple Thank You

2011-11-29T19:19:00.001Z

The theme over at Everything Wendy Vecchi is Thanksgiving and Autumn. Being British we don't really celebrate Thanksgiving and so I interpreted it to mean being thankful. I am truly thankful to my crafting friends, those I know in person and those I know in cyber space. You have given me a way of expressing myself and support in ways I cannot express.

As well as these friends I have discovered the incredible style of Tim Holtz and through him the incredibly talented Wendy Vecchi. Wendy's art in particular has influenced me and I am incredibly thankful to have discovered her. My project is thank you to you all. I used Art Parts, Distress Stains, grungepaper and my trusty Dymo. There's a chain, two long fasteners (brads) and two charm clips. I used several of Wendy's stamp sets which mix and match beautifully.

I intend to revisit this project - it's probably a little too simple but I think I'll look at it for a few weeks first before deciding if it needs a little something else!

Bon Voyage!

2011-11-29T06:00:00.000Z

For this week's Creative Expressions DT project I have used JustRite Cling Bon Voyage Set again. I decided to made a tag and repeatedly stamped the word 'Paris' in Old Paper Distress Ink to make a background.

I stamped the word 'Bon Voyage' in Vintage Photo Distress Ink and then edged the tag in both colours, though a lighter touch on the darker brown. I stamped, in Jet Black Archival Ink, the Eiffel Tower on to the tag and the three 'postage' style stamps on cream card and cut them out and then edged them with Old Paper Distress Ink!

I used the black ink and stamped the long stamp on a piece of white cotton ribbon for decoration and added a little shrink plastic Eiffel Tower as an embellishment. Then I popped a checked ribbon on the top with a vintage style key finding. This will wing its way to a colleague at work who is off to Paris for an anniversary present - lucky lady! Thank you, as always for stopping by!

Anything Goes!

2011-11-28T10:00:00.000Z

The theme at CraftyBoots Challengesthis fortnight is ‘Anything Goes’. You can join in the challenge asnormal but there are 12 extra chances for you to win a prize by joining thefirst ever Crafty Boots blog hop!

If you arejoining in the hop you should have got here from Faye’s blog . If youhaven’t blog hopped before it is really simple, just start at the CraftyBoots Challenge blogand hop through the design team blogs in the order set out on that page. Each of the design team members has a word or two for you to collect which willreveal a message at the end. Once you have collected that message emailit to bloghop@craftyboots.co.uk to be entered intothe draw to win the prize of three digis of your choice from HopeJacare Doodles. You must also become a follower of all the design team’s blogs (andClaire’s) to be eligible to win the prizes.

For my Crafty Boots DT project this fortnight we were fortunate to be given a choice of some digi images. Now I don't want to you to think badly of me but I have never used a digi image before! It took some thinking about before I came up with my master plan! I chose to use the Heart Flourish and used a technique of transferring images that really appeals to my experimental side.

I spread Claudine Hellmuth's gesso on a piece of material and then placed a copy of the image straight onto the wet paint - better instructions can be found on Claudine Hellmuth's blog here! Please remember that the image will be reversed so if you have text on your image, or want it to be a particular way round you may need to alter the image on your computer first. When it was dry I wet the paper, gently rubbed away the paper and like magic it was on the material! I coloured it in using Cut and Dry Nibs in Peeled Paint, Fired Brick, Spun Sugar and Milled Lavender Distress Stain.

I had actually made two versions and used the one that had worked slightly better so I cut the large flowers out of the spare transferred image and used it as a mask and spritzed Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls mist over the top.

The image was then cut out and edged with a little Old Paper Distress Ink.

I adhered the image to some mountboard covered with vintage music paper and added a Wendy Vecchi sentiment to the bottom, some vintage lace, a wooden button and some ruler ribbon as a handle. My friend has been poorly and so I have given it to her as a 'get well' gift.

Don’t forgetthat myself and each of the design team members has a prize of candy up forgrabs, this will include a sample pack of the fantastic new Crafty Boots Deluxecard along with a few other goodies. Be sure to leave a comment on eachof our blogs and follow us to be in with a chance of winning our candy!
My wordfor the secret message is:

Yournext stop is Kerry’sblog. The deadlinefor both the Anything Goes challenge, and the blog hop (and candy) is Sunday 11^th December at 12 Noon (UK time).

IACW - Sneaky Peek!

2011-11-25T00:01:00.000Z

Today it's my turn to play host at It's a Creative World - if you are curious as to what I've made do hop on over and see it in all it's glory!

Bonjour!

2011-11-24T06:00:00.000Z

Bonjour! For this week's Creative Expressions DT project I had the good fortune to work with the rather wonderful JustRite Cling Bon Voyage Set. These are beautifully etched stamps which coordinate with Spellbinder dies.

I decided to make a card and stamped in Jet Black Archival Ink the Eiffel Tower and the three 'postage' style stamps on cream card and cut them out and then edged them with the obligatory Vintage Photo Distress Ink!

I added some black Baker's twine (I love this twine!) and placed them on a piece of vintage music score and added another layer of cream card below. I can see that this stamp set will be incredibly versatile and I'm looking forward to seeing what else I can make with it! Thank you, as always for stopping by!

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 129

2011-11-23T06:00:00.000Z

Wednesday already?! Gosh where is the week going? Well I am still being tidy but there is a bit more evidence this week of activity! Those who know me well will know that I tidied up properly after I took this photo! I have been finishing a few DT things so shouldn't really show those yet but there are the stamps from the new Creative Expressions DT set on the right just waiting to be cleaned! There are also a few robins and number stamps hanging around... mmm... wonder why?!

To my left is a new folder waiting to be covered to store my tags in - the one I made here is full to bursting! What else can you see? The drawers hold my inks (colour coded, naturally!) and the blue box above has my Distress Stains in it. Do you like the Hama teddy Freya made me years ago? For some reason he has a rosette in front of him... not really sure why!

I needed to confess that I have a plastic box full of cleaned stamps begging to be put back in their homes and so if I ever get 10 minutes I will sort them out... Well, if I don't get distracted!!! So that's my desk this week. as always our wonderful host Julia has a whole host of other creative spaces for WOYWW you can go and nosey round without having to go out into the cold and wet! I'm not very good at visiting other people but I will really try this week!

Christmas Wreath

2011-11-17T09:26:00.000Z

For this week's Creative Expressions DT piece I have made a Christmas Wreath. I stumbled upon this fantastic tutorial on the Creative Expressions website and couldn't resist having a go! I'll not repeat how to make it here (the tutorial is really very easy to follow) but don't be tempted to use less ribbon - you really do need all 3m! For this wreath I used one colour of ribbon. I added some swirls from the Stylish Christmas 1 set in coordinating Distress Ink (there are 36 colours to choose from so you'll easily find the right shade!) to some faintly patterned paper.

I then adhered my wreath with my normal glue and made a little banner using the same paper as the background and added a sentiment from the set and added Vintage Photo Distress Ink to the edges. The little balls on the end of the sentiment were stamped twice on the ends of the wreath's ribbon. This project was mounted on some card and will be a Christmas decoration in my home but would make a really special card for someone!

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 128

2011-11-16T06:30:00.000Z

Well, the answer is nothing! Look at me being so tidy! You can't see the box of cleaned stamps that need putting away but apart from that I've been keeping my new studio clean as a whistle! (Can you see She Who Eats Art under my desk?!) To the left of my desk is my experiment for a future Crafty Boots DT challenge - but I can't show you just yet!

So to show you something new I am sending my friend the lovely Kitty's daughter Emily a little something and so the lovely Kitty isn't left out I made her a quick tag to thank her for her wonderful company at the NEC recently. We always buy each other a little something when we go and she bought me this fab stamp (which I can see becoming a firm favourite) and we bought some masks so the tag is Peeled Paint and Seedless Preserves Distress Inks with a dotty mask at two corners sprayed with Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls. I must thank the wonderful Julia for hosting WOYWW and for those who want to know more do pop on over to her blog and see what other creative spaces are being shared! Thank you for stopping by!

In the nick of Time!

2011-11-14T21:02:00.000Z

Over at Everything Wendy Vecchi (the natural home for Vecchians everywhere!) has been running a challenge based on the theme 'time'. The challenge is up tomorrow and so I have squeaked under the wire and managed to enter this. It is an idea I have had since the challenge was set but didn't seem to find time to make it!

The tag is created using Vintage Photo, Black Soot, Seedless Preserves, Old Paper and Gathered Twigs Distress Inks and Antique Linen Distress Stain. The only other ink I used was Coffee Archival Ink for the sentiment. I used the Sewing Room and Weathered Clock dies and All About Art, Art By Hand, Funky Flower Art and Just Sew Artsy.

The ribbon was dyed with Seedless Preserves and there are two stapled 'stitches'. A little brad holds the hands on the dress form and that is that! I erally enjoyed making this, and hope you have enoyed seeing it, but I'll try and not be so close to the deadline next time! Gabrielle x

Fantasy Fortnight

2011-11-14T09:37:00.000Z

It's Monday and so it must be time for a new Crafty Boots challenge! This time the challenge is 'Fantasy' and the brief is anything from fairy stories to Father Christmas (Santa to some!) Well, in this house we know that Father Christmas is very real and not a fantasy figure but I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to use my wonderful Tim Holtz Mini Holidays set!

I cut out a tag from cream card and stamped the postcard stamp in Gathered Twigs Distress Ink. The background is the snowflake stamp repeated in Weathered Wood Distress Ink. Father Christmas is stamped in Jet Black Archival Ink and coloured using Cut and Dry

nibs and Distress Stains (Fired Brick, Peeled Paint, Tattered Rose). The other images are all stamped on cream card (except 'Believe' which is straight on the tag) and used either Gathered Twigs or Fired Brick Distress Ink. The edges of everything has Gathered Twigs added to them

before they were glued together. The ticket is a PaperArtsy stamp. I added some seasonal twine and that is that! I hope you enjoy my take on the theme and I am looking forward to seeing what you make! Have a wonderful week. Gabrielle x

Christmas is a work in progress...

2011-11-12T07:00:00.000Z

Today I am at the Christmas Present Fair at school! Can't believe how quickly it has come round - I have been frantically making tags (those gingerbread men look fabulous now!) and a few other bits and pieces. I am so pleased that the day has come - I have been so busy preparing (admittedly if I hadn't left it all to the last minute...!) that I haven't been able to take part in some of the challenges I would normally join in with - so am very excited that I'll have more time to 'play' next week!
The picture is of my Christmas tree I bought at the NEC on Sunday. I am so pleased with it - I covered it with some of Tim's Seasonal Kraft Paper and Peeled Paint Distress Stain. I haven't finished it yet but I liked the quadruple shadow in the photo and thought I'd share it with you! For the fair I am going to wrap a little tinsel or ribbon round it and hang a few charms off it - well... that's the plan at the moment! If you are in the area why not pop by and say hello? Have a wonderful weekend if I don't see you later! Gabrielle x

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 127

2011-11-09T06:33:00.000Z

Gosh! Wednesday already! The weekly What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday finds my desk covered with Gingerbread Men with Stickles buttons ready for the icing to be added and then more tags for the school fair on Saturday will be ready! Just a few more (well a little more than a few!) and I'll be ready too!

I've made lots of different tags all with backgrounds stamped with some of Tim's Mini Holidays sets (Set 1 and Set 2). I'll show them in all their glory another time! I must thank Julia, our gracious hostess, for hosting WOYWW yet again - I'm off for a nosey round some other people's desks now! Gabrielle x
ps did you notice one of the Gingerbread Men is a little anaemic? That's the original colour before I went to town with Vintage Photo Distress Stain - trouble is I'd added the Stickles buttons before I realised it looked 'uncooked'! I'll address that as soon as it's dry!

Christmas Robin

2011-11-08T13:05:00.000Z

This week, I decided to make a card that could be repeatedquite easily if you were the type of crafter that like to make lots of the samekind of card for Christmas. There are lots of ready-made card templates on themarket with pre-cut apertures and this would fit really well with one of those. Typically, I didn’t have any so I cutthe hole myself!

I used the flourish stamp from the rather fabulous Sam Poole designed Stylish Christmas 1 set inboth Fired Brick and Pine Needles Distress Ink. I like it when they cross over so it really becomes a 'background' so there's no need to be very tidy! Then I placed the robin stamp in the aperture where it would go when finished and then stamped the sentiment on the inside of the card (through the aperture) - this is the easiest way of ensuring the sentiment is where you want it to be.

I also stamped two of the circles at the end of the stamp on the inside of the card as a guide to where I'd need to write below when signing that card, that way my handwriting doesn't become an unintentional part of the design! The robin was stamped in Jet Black Archival Ink on heat resistant acetate and dried with my heat gun - don't be tempted to use Distress Ink on acetate - you'll end up with a really blobby finish that doesn't dry - can you tell I've made that mistake before?! I edged the card with Fired Brick (outside edges) and Pine Needles (inside edges) and placed the acetate to the reverse of the front of the card.I like the idea of the sentiment being on the inside of the card, yet visible on the outside, so I'm off to experiment a little more! Gabrielle x

IACW - Sneaky Peek!

2011-11-07T00:01:00.000Z

Hello! Today it's my first project for It's a Creative World and here is a sneaky peek! I was really chuffed to be invited to be part of the DT. It's a Creative World is a blog which aims to post something to inspire you to make something every weekday! The DT are an eclectic bunch with really diverse talents and so you'll see something new every day! Please do pop over and to the blog and see my mystery make in all it's glory! Gabrielle x

It's a wicked house!

2011-11-04T09:50:00.000Z

When I saw this week's challenge for Simon Says Stamp and Show there was only one type of house that came to mind. The one that flattened the Wicked Witch of the East in Oz. My beautiful daughter Freya's favourite film is the Wizard of Oz so I've seen it many, many times! When the film goes from black and white to full technicolour I am still amazed and so I wanted the house to look very colourful and the plant to look like it could have grown in Oz itself!

So the house, plant and scallop are Art Parts, the background is board with paper on the top. They are all inked with Distress Inks and Distress Stains with some covered in papers first. I used a few of Wendy's stamps, glossy accents and Xmas Red Stickles on the ruby red slippers (I know I can be a bit of a literary geek on occasion so I'd like you to applaud that I didn't make the shoes silver as it was originally written in the book!).

I added some watch parts to the flower and two wooden stars and I think that's it! I loved making this and I hope you like it too! Gabrielle x ps Freya and I attended one of the lovely Lin's classes on Saturday - if you'd like to see Freya in action you can here!

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 126

2011-11-02T12:32:00.001Z

Gosh! Wednesday already? Must be time for the weekly confession that is What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday! The lovely Julia is our hostess with the mostess as always and so why not pop over and see what creative things others are up to? I am in the middle of about 16 projects (!) but am slowly forming my ideas for this week's Simon Says Stamp and Show where the theme is houses! Just hope I get it done in time for the deadline! You might also be able to spy lots of reindeer in the background as I am still plugging away at the makes for the school craft fair! Anyway - that's me for this week! Thank you, as always for stopping by! Gabrielle x

Young at Heart

2011-10-31T10:00:00.000Z

Monday brings a new Crafty Boots challenge. This time it is Young at Heart and I have chosen to make something that reminded me of starting school.

I have a confession - I collect October Afternoon and Cosmo Cricket papers and don't use them. I keep them very carefully and look at them often but don't dare to take a pair of scissors anywhere near them! So, I thought I would be brave and use a piece from October

Afternoon's Report Card and attach a couple of Wild Cards and some alphabet stickers. I used two of Tim's dies - (Tag and Bookplates and Tiny Tabs and Tags) and a little Gathered Twigs Distress Ink at the edges. The ribbon and eyelets are from Stampin' Up. I hope you like my reminiscence of primary school days and you are brave and use something from your stash that you have been holding on to! Have a fabulous week. Gabrielle x

Christmas is coming...

2011-10-30T16:08:00.000Z

For my latest Creative Expressions DT project I have made a Christmas Tag using their Stylish 1 Christmas stamp set. As Christmas comes ever closer I know we will see lots of the traditional red and green combos but I just didn't feel ready for that today and so I have made mine using Weathered Wood and Old Paper Distress Inks.

The tag was a piece of white card stamped, using the fabulous swirly stamp in the set, in both colours with both inks. Then I stamped three baubles and clear embossed them and cut them out. The sentiment is again stamped onto a little white card and coloured with Old Paper Distress Ink.

The ribbon I inked with Faded Jeans Distress Ink (I love colouring my own ribbons) and I added a little pearl and crystal embellishment. I really enjoyed the challenge of using Christmas stamps but in non-Christmassy colours! Hope you have a great week - half term is over for me and so I'm back to work tomorrow! My lovely husband has just bought the ironing board in - so I think I should take the unsubtle hint!!! Gabrielle x

Feeling blue...

2011-10-26T08:58:00.000+01:00

The Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge this week is to use one colour and the DT ideas were just so fabulous that it was a little intimidating to pick a colour! Eventually I chose blue as I wanted to move away from brown for a change! I used one of the large pocket watch parts

inked with Tumbled Glass Distress Stain and for the dots on the art part I used Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink. Then I used a variety of stamps on grungepaper and used all six Distress Stains (Weathered Wood, Stormy Sky, Broken China,

Faded Jeans, Chipped Sapphire and Tumbled Glass) to ink them. Then I used Tumbled Glass on some Stampin' Up paper for the background and then I assembled it all. I added glossy accents to the butterflies and an antenna as I did here but I used a spare piece of the

inked paper highlighting the word 'flower'. I have loved making this - it was a real challenge just to use one colour!

For those WOYWW lovers - on my desk is... tags! and a few of them! All cut ready for the school craft fair, just waiting for a bit of ink! Thank you for stopping by my blog - if you have a bit of time do check out the SSSS DT makes and the other WOYWW posts.
Gabrielle x

Autumn

2011-10-25T17:30:00.000+01:00

I had an hour to myself in my shiny new studio and decided to just have a 'play' and see what took my fancy! I have long admired people's projects that focus on strong colours and thought that I would use purple (Seedless Preserves Distress Ink) and green (Peeled Paint Distress Stain) and see what happened. In the back of my mind were the challenges at Everything Wendy Vecchi (use two hearts) and Sunday Stamper (Autumnal colours). I decided to use a square Art Part frame and stamp a dotty stamp with clear ink and use clear embossing powder - btw all the stamps I used were from Wendy's gorgeous sets. Over the top of that I swiped the Seedless Preserves ink pad.

The background is some Graphic 45 paper covered with Shabby Shutters Distress Stain. I stamped out leaves in Jet Black Archival Ink and then inked them with the Peeled Paint stain. The heart was stamped in clear ink and then embossed as before, and then thoroughly covered with the Seedless Preserves pad (this was an inky fingers project!!!) The sentiment was stamped in Seedless Preserves on creamy card and then cut out and edged and the heart was stamped out and then roughly embossed.

The butterfly was inked with Peeled Paint stain and edged with Seedless Preserves and a memo pin as antenna with a stamped star in the 'eye' of the pin which was filled with glossy accents. The butterfly was then lightly covered with glossy accents so it stood out more from the heart. Well, I hope Everything Wendy Vecchi forgive me that this isn't actually a card (though it does have card on it!) and that Hels agrees that these are Autumnal colours - though I had such a lovely time making it I don't mind if I broke the rules!!! Gabrielle x

Christmas came early!

2011-10-24T21:29:00.003+01:00

I was so excited to see my latest set of Creative Expressions DT stamps arrive today! They are from the Stylish 1 Christmas designed by Sam Poole. When I saw them I knew I had to make a robin! I don't seem to have made cards recently and thought I should

put that right. The bird is stamped in Coffee Archival Ink and Fired Brick Distress Ink onto white card and a little Vintage Photo Distress Ink at the edges. The sentiment is stamped all over the card in Vintage Photo again and then with Fired Brick on white card and edged as before. I added two red brads to the largest dots either side of the sentiment and

some wonderful twine to the top of the card. I suspect that my thoughts will be turning to Christmas a lot over the next few weeks - I wonder if I'll actually make a start on the present shopping?! Probably not! Thank you for popping by and have a wonderful week! Gabrielle x

You're my type of friend

2011-10-23T09:02:00.000+01:00

For my Creative Expressions DT project this week I have made a little present for my wonderful friend 'the lovely Kitty'. The lovely Kitty is entrusting her daughter to me for half term so I thought I'd make her something to put in her crafty space. I took 2 pieces of

Tim's glassine paper, crumpled the first and glued it to a piece of mount board. With the second I stamped a typewriter from the wonderfully versatile Vintage Typewriter set and sentiment in Coffee Archival Ink and heated it to set the ink (the glassine paper will look like it is 'sweating' - that's absolutely fine! It'll go back to normal once you remove the heat). I stamped an alphabet onto more glassine paper and heated it. I then placed jump rings round the letters to spell 'friend' and put a small amount of glossy accents in the centre of each one to create a typewriter key. When dry I glued them to the typewriter. I added a few final elements including a stamped ribbon (another stamp from the Vintage Typewriter set); a shrink plastic typewriter and some twine. I hope the lovely Kitty likes this! Have a wonderful rest of the weekend! Gabrielle x

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 124

2011-10-19T06:49:00.001+01:00

Warning! This post is very photo heavy!

The base!

The outside!

I would like to thank the lovely Julia for hosting the weekly fascinating nosey round people's creative spaces and I am pleased to join in as my incredibly heavy hints are finally over! I am soooo excited that I have my own Studio, my own crafty space! I haven't really had my own space since Uni and as I showed you last week I have been squatting in a corner of David's study it is incredible to have so much space! So a corner of the garden has turned into a Studio and I am busy trying to decant the contents of the study into it! So this is what it looks like at the moment! There's still oodles of things to bring down but it is already very exciting and I've been able to start creating in here! Some of my creations have been put on the wall and it is incredible to see the things I have made around me - and a few things others have made and kindly given - such a creative space!

There's even a spot for She Who Eats Art!

On my desk is a lot of sticks (appropriated from a well known coffee shop!) and 60 skulls and crossbones ready to teach 60 children how to make a pirate ship! Thank you for stopping by and sharing my news! If you're local - you are so very welcome to pop by! Gabrielle x

10 minute stripes

2011-10-18T11:30:00.000+01:00

Two posts in one day! What a busy bee I am! Joyfully I had an hour to play in my beautiful new Studio last night (guided tours start tomorrow at 8am - form an orderly queue!) and so I thought I'd combine the fabulous Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge of stripes with this week's Grungy Monday challenge of 'Tim in 10' i.e. a Tim Holtz inspired card in just 10 minutes.

Now the key to this challenge was to think it all through in advance and to have everything to hand! I used one ink pad (Vintage Photo Distress Ink); two pieces of paper (Cosmo Cricket and a scrap bit of Slice paper); two dies (Tag and Sewing Room);

stamps (Haberdashery and Odds and Ends); piece of stripy sari ribbon and a strip of East of India Tape Measure paper chain. Oh! And a timekeeper - thank you Freya! I rarely send cards, as a folded piece of card but I do send tags as a card so I made a tag (cut

with my trusty Vagabond!) with the lovely Cosmo Cricket paper. I cut out the dress form using the reverse of the stripy paper and inked the edges and on the tag. I crumbled the paper chain and moulded it around the dress form like a ribbon and glued

them down. I stamped two cotton reels and a ticket, cut them out and inked the edges. I just about had time to glue everything together! I hadn't really realised how long things took to make and I was very grateful that I'd thought it through otherwise I think I might not have got much further than cutting out the tag! Looking forward to seeing how others have interpreted both challenges! Thank you for stopping by! Gabrielle x

Happy birthday Lucy!

2011-10-18T07:00:00.000+01:00

My lovely sister celebrated her birthday yesterday and I didn't really want to make her a card. She has been very supportive of my crafty journey despite having no desire to pick up a glue stick herself! So I made her a little hanging card. The frame is one of Wendy's Art Parts - part of the Bookplates set I won in a Twitter competition run by Simon Says Stamp.

I covered it in Peeled Paint Distress Stain, then Picket Fence, then Peeled Paint again and then a dusting of Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls Mist. The background is a piece of Stampin' Up paper from my odds box lightly inked with Shabby Shutters Distress Stain. The flowers are Wendy's stamps stamped in Jet Black Archival Ink on to Glassine Paper. As the petals were to curl I stamped the reverse with a dotty background stamp.

The stalk and leaves are more of Wendy's stamps. I had a good root through my button collection and found just the one and added a little Stampin' Up twine in the centre. I used a jump ring and one of Tim's Type Charm at the bottom and a swivel clasp with a pearl from an antique brooch at the top. Happy, happy birthday 'little' sister! Gabrielle x

Autumn's here!

2011-10-17T10:00:00.000+01:00

I've had such a busy few days - my new 'home' has arrived (much more of that on Wednesday!) and I have been so busy sorting it out but I did want to join in with my first Crafty Boots DT challenge. I was thrilled to be asked to join the incredibly talented team and despite having all my stash all over the place I was able to make simple autumnal tag. Before I go on I'd like to welcome all my new followers - I love reading your comments and they mean a lot - thank you.

I cut a tag from some old Fancy Pants paper and put a little Vintage Photo Distress Ink on the edges. I then stamped a Wendy Vecchi stamp at both ends in the same ink. I then covered a piece of white card in Antique Linen Distress Stain, stamped a ticket in Vintage Photo Distress Ink and added an eyelet and twine. I also covered a little of the card in Pumice Stone Distress Stain and then stamped a circular stamp in Peeled Paint Distress Ink (the stamps were from the sets: Ticket to Art, Mail Art, Art from the Heart).

The leaves were cut from Tim Holtz's Glassine paper, using my Tattered Leaves die and my trusty Vagabond. The I scrunched them up (so satisfying!) and then wiped Tim's new ink pads over the top to highlight the wrinkles (Ripe Persimmon, Gathered Twigs, Seedless Preserves). Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you have a fabulous week! Gabrielle x
ps - I'm also adding this to the Sunday Stamper challenge - the theme is leaves!

Inky orange

2011-10-13T08:00:00.000+01:00

The lovely Gillian chose this week's Sunday Stamper theme for Hels and to be honest I think it was so they could show us their incredible work from attending a Dina Wakley class at LB Crafts on Friday and make us jealous all over again! I was lucky enough to be able to join them, and a few other friends for dinner afterwards and saw their work first hand - it was incredible so I really encourage you to see their blogs where they show you just what they achieved in a day!

Anyway the theme this week is 'blue and orange' and I thought I'd see how Pan Pastels work on some of Wendy's Art Parts and also I wanted to make a little hanging for my craft space - more on that later in the week! So I covered an ATC with light blue, stamped the dotty

background stamp with clear ink and then lightly covered it with a dark shade of blue. I then blended orange round the edges which looks really cool in real life - honest! The flower is stamped with Ripe Persimmon Distress Ink on grungepaper and then with orange pastel over the

top. There is a sneaky stalk in green but I doubt anyone will notice! The ink bottle is grungepaper again, stamped in Faded Jeans Distress Ink with blue pastel over that. A chain to hang it with finishes it off! Gabrielle x

PS: It might be useful if I named the Pan Pastel colours I used!:
580.3 Turquoise Shade; 560.8 Phthalo Blue Tint; 280.5 Orange and 680.5 Bright Yellow Green

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 123

2011-10-12T10:25:00.000+01:00

Well, with my heavy hints that something exciting is happening this week I thought I'd start sharing my news by joining in with WOYWW and show you what space I craft in. Now I appreciate that we all make the best of the space we are given, in my case a small corner of the study (our spare room) that was a small corner and is now taking over the room much to my ever

tolerant husband's disgust! WOYWW is run by Julia Dunnit who presides over the most wonderful way to nosey round people's crafty areas without needing to leave the comfort of your own home! So. Here is where I craft. My horribly messy desk, the piles of boxes heaped up with goodies impossible to reach without serious excavation and stash

dumped wherever there's a space I doubt he'll notice! To be honest it's not normally this bad, things have been a little hectic this week, and I thought it against the spirit of WOYWW to tidy up 'specially!!! However next week I won't be in here any more.... but more of that another time! Tee hee! Gabrielle x

Love note

2011-10-11T12:58:00.002+01:00

I must have been feeling a little romantic when I made this! It might have something to do with what is being built in my garden - but more of that later in the week! So for my Creative Expressions DT project this week I have made a little hanging that is so easy you may wish to make if you've never been brave enough to try one yourself. I cut a piece of A4 mount board in quarters (though cardboard or whatever you have to hand would be ok to use too!) and then took one quarter and cut off about 4cm from the long end - it makes a square and a rectangle so you may want to adjust the dimensions to suit the materials you have to hand. I added Antique Linen and Old paper Distress Stains directly to the mount board and let them dry naturally - you could mist them with water for a more antique look.

Then I used the Vintage Typewriter set and Vintage Photo Distress Ink and repeatedly stamped the background of both pieces. I love this stamp - it is so versatile! Then I used the ink to cover the edges of the both mount boards - it also gives the

stamping a frame to sit in which gives it a balance. Then I stamped out two more sets of letters in Barn Door Distress Ink onto a white card. I cut out the letters and glued them to a small piece of white card covered in Antique Linen Distress Stain. I then put one of

Tim's Ornate Plates over the top and added a little glossy accents to make then shine - though it has also made the ink very bright! I then stamped out the lovely large typewriter, cut it out and glued it on the square card. I added a grungeboard heart that I had inked with Barn Door Distress Ink and covered lightly with glossy accents. As a finishing touch I added eyelets, jump rings and some red twine that I have fallen in love with! I hope you are having a great week! Gabrielle x

Shrine to Wendy

2011-10-05T22:04:00.000+01:00

I have had so much fun this week! Simon Says Stamp and Show want us to make our homage to Wendy, Everything Wendy Vecchi want a sewing theme and Hels and Sarah want to know how we find our crafting mojo. So what do I do when I have lost my mojo? I look through my stamps and see if something catches my eye. Since I invested in Wendy's stamps these are the ones I turn to and to be honest I haven't yet failed to find some kind of inspiration. If you haven't experimented with these stamps yet they are not only incredibly versatile but they stamp brilliantly every time. Sarah's theme this month is 'Under the Covers' and I took that to mean I could cover an art part - in this case an Artful Shrine. I used Tim's Kraft Resist paper and gave it a layer of Picket Fence Distress Stain and then some Pumice Stone.

Then I cut out a dress form and two spools from my Sewing Room die and my trusty Vagabond. I also cut a second 'body' from printable canvas. The dress form was covered in Seedless Preserve Distress Ink which is just lush, and a spray of Heirloom Gold

Perfect Pearls Mist and the canvas had a little Seedless Preserve and Vintage Photo Distress Ink at the edges. I added a Mini Pin, a pearl and crystal from an antique brooch and a stamped glassine flower as wings. The scissors and thimble are inked in Jet Black

Archival Ink onto Silver Dabber painted grungepaper. There is lots more I could add to how I made this, and much of it is self evident but I did dye the ribbon myself by misting a white cotton ribbon with water and then swiping the Seedless Preserves ink pad directly on to it. I then

scrunched it up and waited patiently, with my heat gun in my hand, for it to dry! The little vial has pins in it, and when I find the vial labels I bought I'll add a label to the bottle - if you know where I put them do let me know!!! I suspect the I will add to this as time goes on but

for now this is finished! I need to go and hide this away before my husband comes home as he's a button phobe - it's really a phobia and it's called Koumpounophobia though his isn't as bad as some people have! Thank you for stopping by. Gabrielle x