PDCC 53 - Burgundy

I haven't been able to do a Play Date challenge for a while, but Sarah's inspiring photo of this glorious acquilegia spurred me on.

I made two Christmas cards, using one of my favourite Christmas stamps, this Magenta poinsettia panel. I stamped it 3 times and embossed it with clear powder, and used the 3rd image to cut out the flowers to mount on the other 2 cards.

I used a purpley-burgundy gel pen (which looked more of a burgundy colour on the pen lid than the ink comes out!) to colour the flowers and 3d foam to mount the larger flowers, and a glue pen to stick the smaller ones stright to the card.



WOYWW 73 - Christmas??

Yikes, only 2 months to Christmas!! Need to crack on with my cards now, so on my mat on the floor today, is a card - clean and simple, black and white - and a tag that I may put on a card too.

The tag's covered with eco green paint left over from my Sunday Stamper entry earlier this week, (didn't want to waste it, lol) and the reindeer is by Tim Holtz, the greeting by Wendy Vecchi..  The stamp I used on the black and white card, is a Penny Black one called "snowy park" and it's really pretty. I bought it at the Worthing stamp show in May I believe and have been dying to use it!

Looking around the room, I was rummaging in my Christmas drawers (some of them) looking for some stamps - they live behind the green drawer unit in the first picture so it takes a bit of shuffling to get at them! Still, since my small reorganisation after the phone fixing week from earlier this month, they're easier to get to (I used to have to lean over the top of one of the wooden drawer units that used to stand where the cardboard ones now live, and bearing in mind that in front of the cardboard drawers my distress inks and melt pot live, that was not easy!)

I am off now to our host Julia's at the Stamping Ground to spend an evening chasing round the desks and cupboards of the crafting stratosphere to see what you've all been up to - I will leave comments where I can, blogger and time permitting!  Have a great Wednesday. All being well, this post will schedule early and I'll link it up when I get to work.

CCC 19 - extreme masking

Linda has set this week's Compendium challenge from page 61 (you can get your copy from the Man Himself here) and as usual I am not to spill the beans on how I did it.

Suffice to say, I made my own mask with the tattered leaves die, used distress inks in wild honey, crushed olive, rusty hinge and walnut stain. Stamps are by Wendy Vecchi.

I edged the top and bottom of the base card with some tissue tape which I blended with wild honey and added one of the fab Prima leaves I bought from my SIL last week., for some texture.

I know it's not a Christmas card but I gave myself a challenge off Christmas!

Green Onions for Sunday lunch?

Hels' has set a challenge this week for Sunday Stampers to use green - fortunately, not onions! So taking my pledge to try wherever possible to use challenges for Christmas cards, here is my green card!

I took a circle chip which I painted with a mixture of zucchini and green patina paint (from eco green), a piece of a torn book page distress inked in green. I mounted it on a 6x6 card covered with some paper (Craftwork cards 2010 Christmas range) which just happens to be green and purple; used Tim's pine needles stamp in the corners in forest moss DI. (not sure why I didn't reach for the pine needles ink...) The larger Tim reindeer stamp was stamped on cartridge paper in black and spritzed with a tea dye/gold perfect pearl reinker (as was the Christmas ticket stamp, also by Tim). Some green fibres and ribbon finished it off.

For a change, it is so bright and sunny in here I had trouble photographing this card!!

As you can see from the shadows of the fibres!

Have a great Sunday.

Simon Says - anything but a card

When I got back from my visit to Mum's earlier this week, the first thing I had to do was catch up on the new challenges! Simon Says Stamp and Show - anything but a card.  I wasn't sure what to do for this, because I am meant to be only doing Christmas cards now.....

So it took until tonight before I decided what to do.

I took the smaller of the two little suitcases that have been waiting attention for some time and went to work with some Rusty Hinge and Walnut Stain distress inks, some pearly reinker spray and some bits and pieces!

I 'm not sure if it needs something else, but I don't know what - I don't seem to have any inspiration the last couple of days! I had trouble taking decent pictures of it too, not to mention persuading blogger to upload more than one at a time without closing the post each time..... grrrr!

The Artistic Stamper theme this month is layers, so I'm entering it for that too.



All Things Crafty

Today I have been shopping (yeh, there's a surprise!) But this time it was at my SIL's craft cabin in her backgarden (above)

Really, I was going for lunch, but she had a sale on - she runs a mail order business (but I'm local and family so get to pick stuff off the shelves, lol!) http://www.allthingscrafty.co.uk/ (see side bar - I've finally managed to get a copy of her banner logo to put up) and at the moment she has a sale, like I said.... so the opportunity was too good to miss.

Lynne wouldn't let me take a pic of her climbing up to the top shelf!

and here is what I came away with - just a bit!! (if blogger will let me upload more than one photo it would be nice...)  Hurrah, made it!   She has lots of Prima products lots of which are in the sale and I got some chip shapes too, frames and leaves and rectangles. Just love those bright Prima oak leaves! Not sure when I'll get to play with any of this, now that I'm supposed to be in Christmas card mode...

Speaking of which,  I've been good - I did make a start on my Christmas cards yesterday - had a bit of a production line going with this fabby Tim ATC sized stamp

Some of which I've made into finished cards (apart from the inside greeting - need to move some boxes to get to my message stamps!) I don't normally do multiples of cards, I like to make each one different, but these are very subtly different if you look closely!

Today, before I went to Lynne's I started some more, with some fab Inkadinkado snowflake stamps and a multi coloured purple ink pad. Just need to add the Timmy reindeer and some finishing touches!

Oops, my knees got in the way!

Sadly I have to go back to work tomorrow - it seemed like a good idea at the time, to have Friday at work and then another weekend off, but now it's here I'd rather be home!! I was also hoping to go to Kew on Saturday morning to see how the autumn colour is progressing, but rain is forecast... watch this space as they say.

It's taken me an hour to upload these few pics so I'm signing off here.

A LIVE WOYWW post!

Not scheduled, but live!  Although I could be tucked up in bed still, I decided to do a live broadcast today!
Thanks for all your comments last week.  It still looks fairly tidy here, mainly because I was away between Friday and yesterday.

When I got home from Mum's, there was nice post on the mat for me - a nice fat jiffy bag! and what did we have inside it?

Sadly the Tim cobweb mask was out of stock, but the rest - yum! I love those papers - great little pack of orangey-red-brown papers. Can't wait to play.

And this IS a truly live shot as the one I took yesterday, I realised I had left my address (so carefully covered up on the envelope) gazing out from the invoice - you can't be too careful, so I re-did it now.

I was going to upload another shot of part of my overflow storage but can't get it to work - I didn't think it was the time blogger announced their 2 hour downtime yet, but who knows! I may try later. So in the meantime, I am off back to bed with my cup of tea and I'll catch up with you all later. I have had to put the heating on for the first time - Mum had hers on and now it seems COLD here today!!
 Oh, haven't given you the link to where all this madness stems - go see Julia, here!

Honey, I'm Home! and a couple of challenges

Boy, only been away since Friday but I have missed you all! Nothing wrong with going away, especially to see my Mum, but I did miss my blog and all of yours too!!

I got home around lunchtime, had some chores (washing, shopping) to do but spent some time catching up on what you've all been doing whilst I've been gone.

Had some nice post (check back for that tomorrow!) and managed to fire off a tag for a couple of challenges.

First up, Tag Tuesday is to use black and orange. Haven't really got anything halloweeny, which was my first thought for the colours, so had to think again.  The Compendium challenge - week 18 - half way already! is dabber resist from page 37. 

Can't tell you about the compendium technique but you probably know it anyhow. I had real trouble - wanted to use a different stamp - the other side of this shows the disaster I had - presumably not enough dabber (oops, nearly gave it away) as just ended with mud.

Used the same stamp in black and another Tim one for the sentiment. I always this that this flourishy stamp looks like Cinderella's carriage when it's the right way up, or is that just me? It's upside down, here! The resist also shows up much better in the photo than on the tag (that may be the poor lighting in here!)
Anyhow, it's lovely to be home, will be back tomorrow for WOYWW, as I have another couple of days off work yet, (meant to be starting my Christmas cards!)

Curiously charming - CCC 17

We're at week 17 from the compendium challenges set by Linda, this week she sends us to page 64, to play with fragment charms.

I didn't have as much time as I wanted to get this finished, what with getting ready to go to stay with Mum tomorrow, for a few days for her birthday. I decorated the charms when the challenge was announced and then didn't know what to use them on!

So it ended up a quick tag with a stamp I've not used before (from the Artistic Stamper). barn door and wild honey DI's, a Wendy sentiment and some tissue tape finish this very jumbled piece - sorry! I will try and do better next week.

I am going to be computer-less and out of touch with the blog - any blog - until Tuesday - I shall be suffering withdrawal symptons and can't wait to get back to see what you all have been up to, see you then!

WOYWW 71 - a Simon Says Challenge entry.

Hi all. Well, got the phone fixed, so I am in contact with the world again. (ok, so I had my mobile (cell if you prefer) but I am not a big user of it.) Anyhow I managed to get an appointment for Saturday afternoon, so I didn't have to take any time off work which is always good.

It also gave me Saturday morning to do the weekend shopping chores and - erm - move some of the stash that lives in the way of the phone socket.  You may have seen in the post from the time, the stuff I had to move - most of it went to the bathroom!

And the living room window cill

Just so the engineer could get here :
(You didn't know I had carpet did you!)

then it all had to go back. I ended up moving some of the stuff around a little so the drawers of inkpads are at the other end nearest the TV now instead of towards the doorway, but that's all. (the shock of vacuuming was too much, I couldn't reorganise the stash as well!!)

But the piles do look a bit neater for now (and the dust has gone off the Melt pot so may get to use that soon!)

This is meant to be a chair for sitting on! The box contains all sorts of "stuff" some of which you've seen before but has become a bit of a pre-altering dumping ground!!

So, what IS actually on my desk this Wednesday?  Well, my nephew Robert is going to be 21 next week, so I have made his card (yes, I know how early am I?!) But I will be away as I am going to stay with my mum for a few days at the weekend - it is her birthday on Saturday - so I had to get this done early

Rob is autistic, he has Aspergers syndrome, and shares a house with other boys (or maybe boys and girls) under supervision. My sister, his mum would be so proud of him.

And because I have used (although not much, admittedly) metal - this is my Simon Says "metal" challenge from yesterday's post.

I may not be back in time from Mum's to join in next week, although I hope to.

In the meantime, if you need to  check out what I have been showing you all these weird pictures of boxes and patches of carpet for, hop over to Julia's for all the info.

Have a great Wednesday

Simon Says - Show us Metal

Another great theme this week, and one which I hope (once again) to have time to do something a bit more - well metallic!  However, time is short, I am away for a few days from the end of the week, so it may not happen.  Check out the other great entries at the Simon Says Stamp and Show blog here
In the meantime, this is a 21st birthday card for my nephew Robert.
Used the Umbrella Man, some Tim paper and TSS metal/mould for the 21 and a type charm to personalise the card. The metal is just the aluminium back of some copper, coloured with the steel blue inka gold paint. Yum!

Sunday Stampers - Imagine

Hels has chosen "imagine" as her theme today, on what would have been John Lennon's 70th birthday. Doesn't seem right, does it - the Beatles are eternally young in my mind (like me too, maybe!!)

Anyhow, I have made my Mum a birthday card to go with her canvas yesterday.

Didn't take any "during" shots whilst I was doing this - but I used an 8x8 inch card base, stamped the Tim flourish and Wendy new script background  in the corners (chipped sapphire and broken china) - deliberately keeping the script slightly loose by not using an acrylic mount (which was a great tip from Lin at Ally Pally!)

The background card is a piece from Tim's Vintage Shabby stack and I used Tim's alphabet mask for the "mum" and stormy sky DI.

I've used a Maya Road frame which I coloured chipped sapphire and covered with rock candy paint, over a scrap that I stamped Imagine (wendy v) on, embossing it for some shine. Filled the centre with stickles glitter, I used waterfall. Should have stuck the d/sided tape to the back first, because the glitter isn't dry yet... and I used alternating black/clear rainbow drops to fill the holes in the frame.

The flower is made from the tattered florals die and some pieces I already had cut out in various shades of blue. I can post this today as Mum has never used a computer and won't be seeing this, either before or after her birthday next Saturday.

SSSS - Numbers (2)

Had a play this evening, for another (better, I hope!) entry for the Simon Says Numbers challenge.

I bought some canvasses when I was at Ally Pally last month, this one is a flat one about 5 3/4 square.

I coloured it with the tumbled glass DI and a touch of chipped sapphire round the edges, and some steel blue inka gold paint smudged on the corners, applied with a wet finger.   I stamped the Tim numbers, large and small and the small heart in the middle which I coloured with twinkling H20's.

Added a couple of butterflies and flowers from Wendy's new stamp sets and "with love" on a piece of scrap metal.  This is the first real attempt I've had at a canvas, I was impressed at how easy it was to play with!

I am giving this to my Mum for her 87th birthday next weekend!

Yay, phone fixed

Now I have to put all this

.. back! As you can see there are piles of boxes and stash hoards all over the flat... I wonder, can I be bothered to sort it out whilst I return it to the living room....

This was where the guy had to get to that caused all that upheaval!!








.... the answer to the question above, is of course NO, just maybe it's in tidier piles!!!  I did at least get some of the computer wires etc slightly untangled trying to find which one led to the phone socket....

And at least the engineer came early (ish) in the time slot they gave me (12 - 4, but I was just happy it was a Saturday so I didn't have to take time off work) he was here at 1, so now when I've recovered from all the moving of stuff and (shock, horror, hoovering!) I may be able to get inky. (though I need a rest first, and finish the Saturday paper, which normally I read in the morning, but had to clear up....)
I think I deserve chocolate, or biscuits, or both!

Simon Says - show us your Numbers

Hope to do something else yet for the Simon Says "numbers" challenge, but to be going on with, here is a Christmas card!  Check out the other entries here, where there is another great prize up for grabs.

Stamped some Tim snowflakes on a card and accented with some glitter.

Stamped the Santa, Christmas Carols and Christmas ticket, on card scrap and cut out.

As I say, I hope to do something that uses more numbers than this, before the challenge closes.


I have posted some more photos from Kew, on my other blog - click the link in my side bar if you'd like to see them.

WOYWW 70

Hi, welcome to another Wednesday chez Julia's, for noseying round the desks and cupboards (and floors!) of the crafting world. Stop over here to find the link. Thanks to everyone who came by and left a comment last week.

There's not a lot happening here this week, I haven't really done much crafting at all lately.  I did get my new texture fade Halloween Night & Poisin set, which I've had a bit of fun with.

Just need to find something to use it on now!  It's embossed on a piece of grey textured card, though I used the smoother of the sides. I swooshed some colour over the top with the blending tool, to catch the raised areas, used black soot and rusty hinge.  I then used black enamel accents on the animals and to highlight bits of the spider web.

I've ordered some little bits and pieces of idea-ology which may arrive tomorrow (well, today, really as you're reading this on Wednesday) (I have things sent to work, so I don't have to trek to the sorting office to pick them up after not being in for the postman!) but you'll have to wait for next week to see them.
I also need to have a really good tidy up because I am going to have to get Virgin Media in to fix my phone - the phone is ok, but the line is dead - and yes, I've paid the bill!!  But before I organise that, I need to make a whole lot of space for the engineer...... that could take some time, folks!  Worse thing, is I don't know how long it's been bust as I haven't tried to use the phone for a while.

Anyhow, you don't need to hear my grumbles, I'll let you get on - have a great Wednesday hop!

Sunday Stamper - Puppet on a String

Another Sunday, another Sunday Stamper challenge - based on Puppet on a String - which is to use string in your project somewhere.
Some time ago I decided that from now on all the challenges I enter will be Christmas cards in the making so I can get ahead - oh well, that worked then!

I tied some string round the tag in a criss-cross pattern and sprayed it with the craftynotions Black Star Copper spray and dried it before removing the string.

I took my brand new (arrived on Friday) Halloween texture fade embossed it on a plain piece of cardstock, then inked the skeleton and web in black soot, the 31 in rusty hinge before cutting out and adding to the tag, did the same for the cat but added some black gel pen to make him a bit shiny. Tied some raffia like string through the tag.