A single flower

Oh, how I love Grunge Paste! For the current challenge at PaperArtsy we are invited to use it and really we needed no encouragement! I had a brand new tub to open and this was the perfect opportunity! I loved Wanda's hanging and wanted to create texture in the background of my journal page.

I added  Grunge Paste though a stencil and then added layers and layers of paint and some gold Treasure Gold to build up the depth and texture. I loved the quote and thought it seemed to go with my single tulip (book paper with Lin's stamp on the reverse and then cut out!). Such fun to make! Now I have a fresh tub of Grunge Paste open I suspect it won't stay full for long!

With love

For my latest post over at Country View Crafts Projects I used the truly lovely new Lin Brown stamps and paints. Please do pop over for more info!

Find your style

Are you finding that this year seems to be whizzing by?  I love being part of the DragonsDream Tag It On team but the fortnightly challenges do seem to come around very quickly! This fortnight it’s my lovely friend Julie Ann’s turn to choose the recipe and she chose... toffee and lace.

I had lots of ideas involving toffee wrappers but then realised I didn’t have any toffees to use the wrappers! Doh! So instead I combined toffee colours and my favourite Wendy Vecchi lace stamp. The other stamps are also by Ms Vecchi (ain’t she clever?!). The scissors and thimble were stamped onto metal tape and thoroughly dried with my heat gun before cutting out – I guess that means I have finally learned that I need to dry it otherwise I smudge the image!

Thank you, as always, for popping by. If you would like to play along, and we hope you will, please include a stamp and at least one stamped image in your final project.

Remember Su... Make ART everyday!

It is a new theme at the Make ART blog this month and it’s stencils. The idea of the challenge is to embrace all things Wendy Vecchi. I was more than fortunate to have won last month’s challenge and my prize was some Wendy Vecchi goodies (including, fortuitously, stencils!) Sunday was Mother’s Day here in the UK and I was given a small moleskin sketchbook (sort of police notebook style - what's that really called?!) which was crying out to be inked! 

I added paints to the background and then I employed some these stencils (and some trusty old faves!) I used paint and Distress Inks through the stencils to give a sense of layers. The stripes on the side were emphasised with white pen. 

I adore my phrenology head stamp (fondly known as Su) and thought she should probably wear a headpiece encouraging me to fill my new sketchbook and so the page was born! I covered some book paper and with a thin layer of white paint and the stamped Su on top - looks like her head is full of ideas!

I hope you like my new Su! And if you know the correct name for this type of notebook I'd be really grateful!

Deconstruction - sort of!

This fortnight’s theme at PaperArtsy is Deconstruction... It was all a bit of a disaster this time! I had the idea to make a caged skirt for a lady out of a cardboard box that some course materials came in. I used rusting powder like Alison used in her fabulous project which failed miserably for me (I find my results with this stuff really hit and miss – well, mainly miss!) so I started again and used Distress Embossing Powders which I equally struggle with but at least I got a result! I have now realised that I forgot to rip the top layer of the cardboard in my second version – it really didn't go well did it?! 

The moth and head were stamped on leftover scraps of Smoothy Paper – I really keep every scrap I have and then scrabble through the ‘bits box’ when occasions like this present themselves! The antennae for the moth was on offcut from some old wire I found. Makes me sound like a Womble doesn't it?!

The flower is a little leftover shrink plastic that I refused to throw away so was glad to repurpose! The leaves are from a Lin Brown stamp and left over from another project (you’ll see that in April!) and were stamped on painted old book paper. So I repurposed a few things, achieved what I set out to achieve but not quite how I thought it would look! Isn’t that so often the way?!

Believe

We are continuing to celebrate Country View Crafts Challenges Blogaversary this month with the theme ‘Anything Goes’. I chose to focus on my new favourite colour, Bougainvillea which featured in both projects this month!

I took a mdf board and covered it with Chalk paint and then added Bougainvillea with a hint of Carribean Sea. I then added some stencilled and stamped images in the background.

The truly wonderful Lynne Perrella hot air balloon was stamped on tissue paper and I painted the reverse. When dry, I then adhered it to cream card and cut it out (be warned: this took a-g-e-s!) 

I then added a few wire strings to attach the figure with the balloon and adhered it to the background. I also re-stamped the swirl on the balloon and the label on the figure on cream card and adhered them on the top of the image for a little depth.

Congratulations Country View Crafts Challenges once again on your Blogaversary and we can’t wait to see what you’ll make for our theme – don’t forget there’s a prize to be had!

Bad landing

For my latest project over at Country View Crafts Projects I have made a step by step journal page - hope you might pop over and see more!

Playtime!

I've had the opportunity to squeeze in a tiny "play" with my new stamps I bought at the Stamporama show in Stevenage - love the Lin Brown for PaperArtsy flower head as a skirt! Making people from a collection of stamps is one of my favourite things to do and so I had real fun making this! I'm also chuffed with my new Fresco paints! Blueberry is gorgeous!!!

Pisces

Deborah Wainwright has a new challenge based around the zodiac. This month is Pisces. As I said last month, I know very little about the zodiac so I'm learning as I go! Deborah kindly asked if I'd design something for the theme and this is what I came up with!

I covered a small mdf board with several layers of paint (Caribbean Sea, Bougainvillea and Chalk) and added some stencilling. I sanded the whole piece and added a little stamping in Gathered Twigs Distress Ink to the sides and the the edges of the board. Then I stamped the fish from a Lynne Perrella stamp on to some cream card and directly to the board. With the card I used the same colours I'd used on the board, watered down and painted but added a little Banana for contrast!

I added a die cut border and the brass plate and that was that! 

I have entered the challenge too (here) but I want to thank you Deborah very much for asking me to play along - I have really enjoyed being part of your challenge!

Number One

Gosh! Another fortnight has flown by and it's time for another theme at DragonsDream Tag It On. This time it's my turn to choose and I chose the colour white and a number. As always, please include at least one stamped image and a tag!

This is one of those tags that sort of didn't go to plan! I had made a whole background that just didn't work with the elements I wanted to use so I lightly painted over it in Chalk Fresco paint and sanded it down. Clearly my sanding block needs new sanding paper as it put some holes in my tag but I actually quite liked them! I added Gathered Twigs Distress Ink to the edges and a too liberal spray of white Perfect Pearls mist that I had to dab off in places. I did say that it didn't go to plan!

The background has some of the latest PaperArtsy releases on it and a little washi tape for my chap to stand on. Then all I needed to do was to stamp out my elements and assemble the tag. I always stamp these Stampotique figures twice, once on the tag and once on paper and I cut out the second image. As the figures have these wonderful wispy bits that I am really not going to able to cut out it means you preserve the image as well as manage the cutting! The quotation was one my daughter told me that Dr Seuss said and one I rather liked! 
Please do pop over and see what my wonderful team mates have made and I hope that you'll join in with us!

March

It's March so it must be time to play along with Kate Crane's Art Journal Calendar challenge for 2015! I have really enjoyed not only making the pages but recording what we've done each day in a few words. February could be summed up with the word 'ill' as we seem to have played relay with endless germs so I have high hopes for March heralding in Spring air and the end to our woes!

I wanted to create a fairground feel this time with lots of bright colours. The background was sanded after it was painted and then a spritz of Dylusions ink through a stencil. I added the stamped images which, if you're very eagle eyed, you might notice have moved on the final pages! When I put the journal spots on the pages they completely covered up the bubble stamps! So they needed to be redone! Hey, no one's perfect!

The journal spots are by Emma Godfrey for PaperArtsy. I love them! They seem to have tonnes of uses I have only just started to explore! Actually, there are lots of Emma's new stamps on this; and a couple of Sara's, Ellen's and Jo's..!

Thank you for popping by - it really is very much appreciated!

Exceed the limits

Congratulations Country View Crafts Challenges on your Blogaversary! And to celebrate this month the theme is ‘Anything Goes’. Now I quite like having a monthly theme. Well, I say I quite like it, I do occasionally grumble to myself when I see the title and wonder if I can make anything that would fit! Then, once I’ve had a think I realise I love the theme and don’t want it to end! So, I tell you all that so you know how hard I find ‘Anything Goes’! So this month I have chosenmy own theme and to focus on my new favourite colour, Bougainvillea - it will feature in both projects!

I covered a small mdf board with Chalk paint and then added Carribean Sea with a hint of Bougainvillea. I then added some stamped images in the background before adding washi tape for my chap to stand on. The chap was cut out and painted and I added the large brackets (I love these!) and the Dylusions quote which seemed so appropriate after the day at work I’d had!!!

We can’t wait to see what you’ll make for our theme – don’t forget there’s a prize to be had!