CCC 30 - painty altered metal

We only have a few more techniques to go in the Compendium of Curiosities Challenges, hosted by the lovely Linda but she's promised us something to take it's place - but it's a secret still!

So for this week, we are on page 48, altered metal with paint.  I loved this one - though my paint dabbers are so gungey they all need copious amounts of water adding and much digging around in the caps to get the paint flowing again - that's a job for another day.

Anyhow, enough waffling.  I went back to tags for today, and "did" the technique on an ornate plate and some idea-ology foliage (with a maya road blossom thrown in too) 

The tag is coloured with pine needles DI, & spritzed with a home-made reinker/perfect pearl spray; the stylised label (grungepaper) is painted with silver paint dabber and stamped with a Wendy Vecchi script stamp.

Stamped the "dance" part of the Tim stamp on a scrap of a tag to fit the ornate plate, and the whole thing on the tag.

Colours on the foliage pieces are copper, lemonade and clover, and juniper on the ornate plate.

Gloria from the yahoo group All Things Tim is sponsoring this week, so I am linking this there too.

SDC 23 - Turquoise and Orange

 The latest Stampotique Designers Challenge is to use orange and turquoise - and Stampotique stamps. I still don't have many, so keep missing this challenge and the colours are not my normal ones but had a bit of time spare this afternoon.

Used colourwash sprays in sunset orange and sailboat blue on a piece of scrap paper and dried them, then stamped Glimmering Hope and stuck her on the background.  Coloured her skirt with an orange watercolour pencil and gave her hair bow some blue gel pen.

I still don't have any Stampotique text stamps so used my dymo printer. Had a spare piece of a blue page from the vintage shabby paperstack to layer it on to the card.

This is why I had time spare - dinner was a slow cooking beef casserole! (And there is plenty left for tomorrow's meal when I get in from work!)

Sentimental Sunday!

Yay - the new tv is installed and working - thanks to my bro'.... cheers Rich!  Sadly it didn't help Andy Murray win the Australian Open, but I am sure it's not MY fault! (sorry to disappoint, Sherry, but I didn't reorganise when putting the c**p stash back!) - I wanted to craft!

Hels' Sunday Stamper today is "sentiments" and I needed to make a birthday card for my best friend which I hope she won't see till it arrives, so...inspired totally by a card Hels has blogged herself today but with a different stamp! (this is by magenta, and I love it!)  

I used crushed olive and tumbled glass DI's and the watermark technique, and some heirloom gold perfect pearl spray on top. Decided it needed something else after I fixed the HB so peeled off the sticky tabs, moved it and added some toning prima flowers (the cream one toned after I coloured it with crushed olive, lol!

I was also lucky enough to be given another award

 - from the hugely talented Neet - aka Hickydorums, who is currently at CHA and I am SO jealous!! I have to pass it on to 7 more people but I really hope she - and you - won't be offended if I award it to you all, instead, as I find it so hard to limit my choices, especially as I was lucky enough to get another award recently too, which I did pass on!

I really do appreciate this, Neet.

Oh, and if you read yesterday's post - I am polishing off the chocs nicely!

Apples and?

Well, I bought a TV (from the supermarket!) Restricted by price, size (not much space round here, lol!) and weight - as you may know I don't have a car, so it had to be carriable!

So first thing this morning I went to buy it - was home by 9am with it - but then being a bit of a useless girl, couldn't work out how to put it together (well, the stand) never mind which lead goes where.... so my brother is coming tomorrow morning to do it for me!! It was hard enough getting the blooming box open!

When I thought I was going to be able to sort it out myself, I cleared much of my stash from in front of the old tv, so as to get it out of the room - so the place is now a mess (more than before, then) and consequently I haven't had the energy or inspiration to make anything today!

I did this the other day though, with a piece of maya road chip (bet you were wondering where the apples were going to come in!) when I was intending to do something completely different. Strange how that happens! I used eco green paint for the base, my fave script stamp and the solid flower is WendyVecchi. I highlighted it with a white pen. Butterflies are Wendy's on grungepaper and sprayed with sunset orange colourwash.




This afternoon, I was moving some paperbacks from a pile in the bedroom that has been threatening to fall over for some time, to the minute space left on the dining room (I use the term loosely) table when I looked out of the window to see a fire engine - and a fireman coming up my path - they were on a smoke alarm installation exercise so now I have a fitted free one!

Finally, I am torn - torn between saving the last few of these scrummy chocs I got for Christmas or scoffing them so I can use the FAB box - it is a great depth and crying out to be altered!!  (Not sure how yet, but it is a great shadow box sort of usefulness!)
I have been having some problems placing the pics in this post so I apologise now if there are huges gaps between the text when it posts.... good old blogger!

Play Date Cafe - 66 - colour splash

As soon as I saw this week's Play Date Cafe challenge was a colour splash (one of my favourite themes) I knew I HAD to make time to enter this week - it has been too long since I managed.

This was the amazing inspiration:

I LOVE lilac and purple....

I cut a piece from the Paddington 7 Gypsies pad I recently got, as they are all black/white or white/black designs, fixed it to a card.

Cut the Tim Holtz stylised canvas label that I sprayed purple last week and didn't know what to do with it - it's kind of wristwatch shaped, don't you think (well, before I cut it, it was...)

Stuck half to the top and half to the bottom, stamped a clock (Paperartsy) cut that in half and stuck it to the canvas (killing time, get it?!)

Ok, it's just me then.... 

WOYWW - 26th Feb

Not much room for anything on my workspace today - for the very good (strike that  - for the very annoying) reason that my TV has finally given up the ghost and won't work at all  - so have to watch the portable tv from the bedroom on my computer footstool!


So now as well as needing (definately not just wanting) to save money for all the new stash that is being launched at the American CHA trade show later this week - I now have to find some money to buy a new TV!  Where are those winning lottery numbers when you need them!


So as there is nothing to see on my craftspace today, here is another shot of the boxes of unmounted stamps  (Paperartsy in the box on the left, apart from the Paperbag studios set at the back, and assorted ones in the box on the right)
The green object in front of the drawer unit is a storage box I got recently for a few quid and need to assemble soon.

If you have landed here, one of the few people on the planet that don't know why I am showing you piles of stash in a very untidy living room, check out Julia's place (The Stamping Ground) for about 150 other desks.... Have a great day!
(Edit) reading some of your comments early on, I may have given the impression I am going to CHA - I wish - it's trade only - but my wish list for when the new ranges are released is mega long.....

Compendium - 29 - weathered wood grunge

Well. I am sure this would be easier if I had the woodgrain texture fade, but so be it! We are up to challenge 29 and page 50.  Check the rest out here - and thanks again to the sponsors (Simon Says Stamp)  for another great prize.

 I used aqua dabber for the base colour on the grunge and walnut stain DI after.

Used one of my last square tags, tumbled glass DI with some drops of water thrown at it and dried, and bundled sage for the background stamp (Wendy Vecchi).  The owl is from Simply Stamps,  and I stamped him twice on a piece of patterned paper left from yesterday.  (roughed up the edges with my paper distresser to try and get some texture to the 'feathers')

Mounted it on a 6x6 inch card - this will probably be mynephew's birthday card for the beginning of Feb.

Push the Button!

This week's Sunday Stamper challenge song from Hels is "push the button" and the challenge to use buttons, and I have made a card which will be turned into a birthday card soon!

I used some leftover paper from one of the paper stacks, which I tinted with wild honey ink (I am becoming addicted to this colour again - before Lori points it out, lol!) because I wanted to use this flower - from Petaloo, which I sprayed with butterscotch adirondack spray (and a tiny bit of sunset orange on the tips) and then kiwi perfect pearls spray (so yummm!) I stamped the flower with my favourite ever script stamp (from a stamp in the hand) and added a button.  The paper wasn't the right size to cover the paper, so some stategically placed ribbon hides the join.... A couple of toning buttons and a Tim Holtz sentiment finishs the card.

Playing - WIP

I was sitting watching TV tonight waiting for the dinner to cook, when a thought struck me that my new labels die (I have had it a week and NEEDED to use it!) may work with sticky back canvas.... which I know takes sprays beautifully....  So -

I was amazed at how well the die cut the canvas... this is coloured with wild honey before spritzing with the perfect pearls sunflower sparkle. You can't see the colour of the spray, particularly but I love the shimmer - though that doesn't really show in the scan.... Overstamped it with the small rockstar heart in walnut stain.     Just need to find something to fit it to now! (hence the WIP part of the title!)

 And I couldn't leave the second label plain - so this is the adirondack purple twighlight spray, with heirloom gold perfect pearl. I love this purple....

And because the craft sheet had some excess spray round the labels, I mopped it up on a tag.  I love how it drips if you stand the tag up whilst the spray is still wet (I shook it actually to help it along - great fun!)

I was going to do an underwater type scene but couldn't find any fish stamps (I know I have some somewhere....)  Maybe when I have some blue/green sprays!!
The butterflies are polymer unmounted stamps by Impression Obsession and I don't think I've ever used them before!!  The swirly stamp is from a Wendy Vecchi set. Just a bit of fun to use up some spray on the craftsheet, but I quite like how it turned out!

Why, what's on YOUR workdesk?

Hello again, one and all. Got round lots more of you last week - and had lots of fun doing so. Join in the fun here, where Julia will lead you in a merry dance around the globe snooping at people's workspaces. Such variety!

This time, I have my work, workdesk to show you too - still in a bit of a mess, but we're getting there - at least the phones work now and the printer has been moved from the old office!

This is my desk (you can tell by the Liverpool related screen saver!)

"view" from my desk down the office... we've not quite finished unpacking! (this was last week...)

 Craftwise, at home, there is more stash - the second delivery I was waiting for last time! Some Perfect Pearl sprays - oh, BOY do I love these - such shimmer, yum yum. Do I need the other colours?  Oh, yes, I do...
Some paper - this is by 7 Gypsies, it's called Paddington and they are all black and white designs, and I can't wait to use them (yes, that's right I've had them since Friday and not used them yet) and the Tim Holtz labels die, which I am really looking forward to using.

Also been doing some re-cyling from the office - a frame from a certificate no longer required - that will be useful! and the cardboard that wrapped round a set of tumblers - surely I can use that for something....

Got this pack of 4 5x7 canvases for £2.99 which I thought was a bargain - and a dictionary for £1.99 to use for ripping apart!

Think that's buys enough for one week - but got a very long list of things to look out for at Stevenage in a couple of weeks, (6th Feb)! Will try and not get anything else before then (may be difficult though)

Thanks for coming by, I'll catch up with you later (got an appraisal at work so better not be caught blog hopping this week!)

Compendium - week 28 - colourful layered fragments

Ok, as promised, I'm back!!  The Compendium Challenge mistress, Linda sent us to page 57 this time.

But, boy, did I have a deal of trouble with this one!! Lack of supplies, ink not drying....   Let me show you my "cheat" then I'll explain...

First off, I did try to use a fragment, honest!! But could I get the ink to dry?  No, I could NOT.  No matter what ink I used.  And Tim is right, fragments melt if you heat them too much..... just sayin'!

So I resorted to a piece of memory glass instead, which still smudged a bit but at least I could heat it more to dry the ink....

Didn't have the "tools" you need for the technique so (thanks, Alison, for the tip) used a cotton bud to help me.... alcohol inks used are stream and wild plum (wanted to use lighter ones but they didn't show up (told you I'd had problems...)

The stamp is by Stampington and one of my fave favest. The tag inks are broken china and spun sugar.

Oh well, if you don't try, you don't learn. Not sure I'll try this again unless I get some of the "tools"!!

But thanks Linda, as ever!!

Golden Globes? Oscars? No, Blog Awards

A while back now, my great blog buddy Lori pointed me in the direction of Vicki's new blog - A Little Inkling - it is fabulous - and she has kindly bestowed not one, but TWO awards on my little blog!

Thanks, Vicki!  Now, I have been prattling on for over 400 posts now (missed the milestone a few days ago!) so I am sure there isn't much you don't know about me, but I have to find 8 new things to tell you - so here goes....
1. I buy as many books as I do rubber stamps.
2. I need a bigger house (see one above!)
3. My favourite colour is RED (Liverpool red!) though I rarely wear it.
4. Since I left school I have only had 2 jobs, the first one lasting 23 years (I left school in 1979.... yes, I am that old!)
5. I am useless at all things DIY and when my ex husband moved out had never changed a lightbulb...
6. My favourite food (if you don't count sweets - candy for the transatlantic readers!) is pasta.
7. I don't have any will power..... Oh, wait a sec, you DO know that one, you've seen the stash piles each WOYWW...
8. I can't count!

Now I have to pass this on to 4 other bloggers.  Well this is the really hard part - there are so many of you that I treasure, most of whom regularly receive these awards, but here goes again:
Your art is incredible, all of you:
1. Linda Ledbetter - (Studio L3)  Thank you for the Tim Holtz Compendium of Curiosities challenge! A girl after my own heart.
2. Sherry Goodloe (Got Art?) - I wish I could get to one of your jewellery workshops!
3. Sioux  (Artyjen) - This goes for Sherry too, your courage in overcoming adversity, and making me laugh.
4. Sarah Anderson (The Art of Moodling) A stunning artist!

Now, I have got a Compendium challenge to do, so I have to go - but I may be back, in true "Arnie" style!

It's all gone Dotty.... Simon Says!

This week's Simon Says "show us some polka dots" . 

I used a piece of Maya Road Chip which I gesso'd and then inked with crushed olive and forest moss ink and some cardboard "retro daisies" from Craftwork Cards which I used wild honey and rusty hinge inks.  The dots are pine tree green (memories) and brown stazon respectively.

The mini hearts from WendyVecchi from one of my new sets that came last week - sooo cute!! I just stamped as many as would fit in some scraps of grungepaper that was handy and inked them with rusty hinge ink. Stapled them in threes with Tim's tiny attacher before gluing them to the base with matte medium - the single heart hides the staple nicely!

Found some scraps of paper from the lost and found stack left over from something or other and cut some out for the centres of the daisies. Spritzed them with sunflower sparkle perfect pearl mist (which takes the ink off....maybe it wasn't fully dry...)

Stamped the sentiment (also Wendy V) on a torn scrap of paper and coloured it with bundled sage, touched some of the edge with walnut stain. Added the philosophy tag using the chain that came with the chip pieces. (and which I amazingly managed to fasten!

I tried to get some closeups but they were all out of focus, sorry!

How Does It Feel?

Hels' song for inspiration on today's Sunday Stampers - Slade's How Does it Feel? is one I didn't remember, even when I googled it and found a video of them singing it on You Tube. Oh well, must have passed me by!

Anyhow, she says we can either go with texture - for "feeling" or the "feelings" themselves. I have been fannying around most of the day with these - in between watching my beloved Liverpool at last not LOSE a game, (we drew) and my brother coming to help me unblock my kitchen sink (you don't want to know.... but YUCK!!) Thanks for your help, Rich!

In the end I made 2 tags - because I was having such fun. I was playing with my new perfect pearl sprays again and some of the adirondack ones that I got ages (well it was before Christmas, that seems ages ago, at least one credit card payment ago, rofl!)  So these were my bases

Adriondack butterscotch and PP sunflower sparkle on the square one, sailboat blue and sunflower sparkle on the other.

I have been meaning to make one of these gorgeous metal flowers since Lin posted the techniques months ago - finally got round to it!  She has links in her blog side bar to the posts. If you haven't seen them - or seen them recently - check them out! I have used stream and red pepper alcohol inks.

The "stuff" behind the "collage" scrap is left from a bunch of flowers - years ago - that I knew would be useful one day. Got loads of it still left.

All stamps are Paperartsy again, as are the dies for the flower.

I only started this one because after I coloured the metal flower above, I decided it didn't really go with this tag, so I made another one, this time using the tattered florals die, and although I did use the stream AI again, I used sunset orange for the bigger flower, (and some sunflower spartkle spray afterwards too).  The flash has prevented the colour from showing up very well. It looks very coppery (like the reverse of my metal!)

Stamps are Paperartsy again. I used some black enamel accents in the smaller flower at the top (to hide the staple I attached it to the tag with) - it's still wet so I'd better lay the tag down again, oops! (luckily it hasn't dripped....)   I snipped the petals to change the look of them a bit.   Used some terra paste too at the top behind the sentiment, covered it with some more sunflower sparkle! (can you tell I like this one?)

and some more of the fibres.  Ah, I see I haven't hidden these staples - I meant to look for something to stick in the middle!







I ordered my ticket for the Ally Pally show yesterday - I know it's not till April, but I like to be organised! (I know I'll be going to Stevenage at the beginning of February but I don't tend to buy a ticket in advance for that, the saving isn't so great.... ) You should SEE the length of the list of things I "must" get at one or other of the shows - and that is before the CHA newbies are released - the wish list from Tim and Wendy's advance peaks is already so long!  Hey ho, I could always buy an extra lottery ticket....!

More new toys!!

My latest purchases arrived today, so I had to play, didn't I?

Got some Perfect Pearl sprays - OH MY GOSH!!! some paper (yes, I know...) and the Alterations labels die cut. So far, only played with the sprays. (I was reading Lin's blog yesterday and she'd been doing sprays too, but I only have 3 colours!!)   I just did a little tag (for a change....)

The shimmer makes it very hard to photograph...  I think I used Kiwi (I didn't look at which one I sprayed - just went for it) but the I don't think it's Sunflower Sparkle and it's certainly not Heirloom Gold! straight to the tag, then a bit of butterscotch ink (think my pad needs reinking) and dusty concord DI and the Adirondack Purple Twilight spray in the bottom corner.(under the metal....!|)  I sprayed the bottom of the tag with water before the purple spray, I thought it may stop it "blobbing" as much as I normally get, and it seemed to.

This is a scanned version, the colours show up better  but the sizing has gone a bit weird!
All stamps are Paperartsy.

Tag it On - Face the Music

This is a challenge I haven't taken part in for ages - set by Frankie at Dragonsdream.  This week we are challenged to use a face, and some music.

Frankie's tag is fantastic and she used tissue tape which unfortunately stuck so firmly in my head that I had to, too! (although not in the same way!)

The music stamp is by Prima, the others are Wendy Vecchi, the sentiment is from one of the new sets I just got. Distress inks are scattered straw, pumice stone and the usual black, with some worn lipstick, barn door and tumbled glass for the face.

WOYWW - 12th January

Welcome to another WOYWW (what's on your Workdesk Wednesday).  First, let me start by saying sorry that time ran away with me last week, so I didn't get to visit that many of you last week.  I will try better!  I also forgot to take the camera to work so still no pics of the new office workspace! (but hopefully the heating will be working by the morning - i..e today!)

I've been on a bit of a creative surge recently, and have been bashing out work regularly - long may it continue!

At the weekend I "accidentally" found myself buying some new stash - well, I had some money for Christmas from Mum, so that had to be spent, didn't it..... the fact that I spent more than I received is not to be mentioned.   So far, the new stamp sets have arrived and they are sitting on my workspace... well, they were before I ripped them open and used some of them on my Tag Tuesday tag (see Tuesday's post)

Here they are in their lusciousness! (and I saved money, because Jennie (The Artistic Stamper) has them reduced this week)  I thought I'd better get some because the new release is being previewed byWendy Vecchi prior to the CHA show in the States later this month, and I already want all the ones she's shown us!! 

Thanks for dropping by, see you soon - and I will try to get to more of you this week.  Maybe next week,the rest of the new stash will have arrived and I can show you that too!

Tag Tuesday - fabric

Louise has asked us to use fabric on today's tag for the Tag Tuesday challenge.  I missed the last one - don't know where the week went! so it was nice to play again today.  (and on the day of the challenge, too...)

I had some new stamps come in the post today, so that was a good excuse!

All stamps are by Wendy V.  Come back tomorrow to see what I got!

The fabric is a small piece of muslin type material (I am so not a seamstress!) on which I stamped one of the new stamps in sepia archival ink.  Not done much stamping on fabric, so didn't know if it would work ok, but it seems fine.  Folded the piece into a sort of shawl shape, fastened with a tiny attacher and stuck with glossy accents to the tag. (really don't know how I'd exist without this!)

Bring Out Your Masks!

Managed to combine two challenges today - Simon Says show us "masking" and Linda's Compendium challenge 27 - already! - has us working on page 60 of Tim's book (you need to check the book out for the details)  Both challenges have a great prize on offer for one lucky crafter.

 I have had a small frame with canvas insert for a while, and hadn't know what to do with it.
I didn't mean to use the same mask that Tim has in his book sample, but I don't have that many!

I used honey amber glimmer mist and craftynotions black star copper but I do find this splodges a bit, though it has dried ok.  I used the Tim small stamp of the mask image in the middle and then another of the masks from the timeworks mask sheet with wild honey distress ink.  I used the same ink over the frame, sanding it lightly first to give the ink a bit of a key.   I wanted to put something else in the corners of the frame, but couldn't find anything in my stash (need to go shopping...?!)  It's not steampunky enough!

The sentiment is from Wendy V.

Diamonds are Forever

Being Sunday, there is a new SundayStamper challenge - with a theme of Diamonds - in whatever form we like.

So, I found some diamond patterned paper from my shabby vintage stack - I can't seem to stop using this stack now! and made a card using some grungepaper flowers. I covered it with a thin layer of gesso to lighten the colour of the paper a little.

 All stamps are by Wendy Vecchi and inks are distress inks in crushed olive, roken china & faded jeans.
This flower reminds of "Little Weed" from the Flowerpot Men - even though she was a yellow sunflower - which is really showing my age!!

Turned the flash off for this close up, it's made the base flower look quite orange, but it IS crushed olive!
I always seem to stamp this "imagine" crooked, no matter how straight the stamp looks on the block, lol!
Used some scraps of grungepaper to layer up and add dimension to the blue flower.

It's All About the Art - Parts!

I have been playing today with some Art Parts (getting some practice in for a forthcoming challenge on the EVW (Everything Wendy Vecchi) yahoo group I belong to) today - I bought some a while ago and had some left in the pack.

 I used the rectangle frame and loosely based it on a project in Wendy's book 3.

 The stamps are all by Wendy Vecchi and I used some idea-ology bits and bobs too.

 The background paper on the base of the art part is from the shabby vintage paper stack but doesn't really show up in the pics, but it's a pale blue colour which I co-ordinated over the tissue tape covering the frame.


I did have some trouble with the flash on the camera tonight.