WOYWW 378 -playtime in the journal

Wednesday again... it was a Bank Holiday in the UK on Monday which always throws me.. and it's the last day of the month - who said that this year could travel so fast?  Not that I am complaining this week as it's one day nearer the Paperartsy/Seth Apter workshop on Saturday - to say I am excited is a severe understatement..    But, you're here for desks, and Julia's desk hopping extravaganza

anyhow, the floor today shows signs of journal play, as the blog title suggests..

Using the new stamps that I had to hide from you in the Stamperama show haul last week - they're now 'official' - oh you probably want to see the stamp sets too...and maybe a close up of the journal?
hang on folks...

 Lin Brown's latest designs for Paperartsy. just love them!

close up of the journal page... got some really good crackle on this!











Now, in the top "desk" photo, you may be wondering why there are two meat bashers and a rolling pin....just to save questions, you understand...

Well, they're for stands for my next Powertex makes (when I get round to them) -will need to find something to glue them onto to make them more stable, and I can't start till I find some old tshirt material that I can use to soak in the Powertex...(need to raid the wardrobe)  but it's a start!

Peter and Grace's Wedding - the memories

Today is the anniversary of the day my sister, Peter's Mum, died.  19 long years ago - although they have passed in a flash...

So much has happened of course, including, on 13th August, a couple of weeks ago, a very happy day spent at her middle son's wedding.  You've seen the hundreds of photos I took, here now, are a few I have - shock horror - had printed - and scrapped and journalled!

 I found some pretty Prima pages that toned with nicely with the bridesmaids dresses

 I kept the pages simple, with just some Prima flowers to augment the paper

 In the journal, I painted the page with Vanilla Fresco, then went over with Cheesecake and stencilled some hearts in White Fire Fresco, and stamped some JoFY flowers, painting them Peacoat and Blue Glass, to match the groom's colours

 the menu, invitation

 layering them so everything can open and still be seen..

just loved this photo of the little pageboys squinting in the sun, it's my favourite photo of the day I think.

 two handsome boys!

 my brother, sister in law and I in the photobooth.. click to enlarge and catch our expressions!

so, once again, many congratulations to the happy couple (and their daughter Maisie) - doing this today has given me happy memories on what is normally a sad day.  Love you!!

Seth inspired play before the workshop

This time next week I will have been to the Paperartsy Seth Apter workshop in Brentwood.  Can't wait!!  So I have had a little play with some of Seth's products - stamps and stencils, not the dies yet - to get me in the mood.

I started with a journal page and some leftover Fresco paints as my starting point

colours were Bubblegum, Tango and Bougainvillea, and a bit of gesso to knock it back a bit.

 I used some of the new JoFY minis in the background with toning archival inks (vibrant fuschia, monarch orange, cactus flower) and then some of Seth's stamps from his Paperartsy release (fab, fab fab!) in the same, and watering can and black (text)

 I edged the page with Little Black Dress Fresco as I felt it needed some more black (the only black is from the text,
I used the little dotty pattern from Lin Brown's new set in the middle of the circles.

and some white splatters.












Next up, is a canvas, 9x12   I decided just to use shades of turquoise-greeny colours.

 I applied a layer of heavy gesso to the canvas with a palette knife, more or less smoothing it out but leaving some texture.
Whilst it was not quite dry, I added a few drips of Beach Hut Fresco and brayered it out into the gesso.  Did the same with Mermaid..

Once dry, added a light brushing of normal gesso,

 before going in with stencils - all by Seth for Stencil Girl... I used Beach Hut and South Pacific, and kept going and going..
using just the same colours makes it full but not too busy.

I decided not to add any die cuts, mainly because I was on a roll on the canvas and didn't want to switch to making backgrounds on card to cut, (next time!)  but I think it would be improved with some more layers of texture....

 I added some bright green stamping - vivid chartreuse - and the bubble wrap stamp on Seth's set.

Used Pea Coat with the starred circle, for a bit of a darker colour, and then South Pacific all round the edge to frame it...

 and finally, decided it needed some black, so got one of the stencils out again.

really happy with this - although who knows, I may yet add some more layers with some die cuts and more paint another day... for now, it's done!

Thanks for looking. Can't wait for the workshop next Saturday!

WOYWW 377

Here we are again...ready for another Wednesday desk share... Julia is our kind host here
You find me, post Stevenage stamp show (Stamperama) -  surrounded by new stash once more.  what can I say..
first, here's the stuff I was waiting for last week..

 two sets of stamps for Paperartsy designed by Seth Apter and 3 spellbinder dies also from Seth's range. .  they are teetering on top of the bundle of stuff from Sunday...

 together with some copies of my photos that I ordered from the wedding, ready to scrap (or something!)  but that's a bit mean, you can't really see what's there..



so I'm also including the pictures from my show write up - some of you have seen these already -

 err... yes, I did go a bit mad!  (there are two extra sets of Paperartsy stamps hiding, that we were asked not to show until their official launch next weekend!)

and there's more!!


I am hoping to find time to play with some of this lot at the weekend - it is a bank holiday here in England, so I have got an extra day to play!

I think I'd better go on a bit of a stash ban for a while now.... at least for a week or two (going to the Paperartsy organised Seth Apter workshop on 3rd September... and then it's soon Ally Pally time....)

Stamperama show in Stevenage - today

Don't talk to me about replacement bus services on Sundays when Network Rail work on the lines... the journey home was a doddle,the one to London a complete nightmare... however I made it in time for the show and met up with a group of PAtwits...

Oh, and a little shopping may have been done....

 of course the first stop is Paperartsy.. Lin and Emma were demoing and Lauren running make and takes.

the stand was looking fab as usual (lots of new stamps!)

 popped off to That's Crafty to see Alison (Craftytrog) and

 Helen demoing - Alison with Deco Art and Helen with Pebeo iridescent paints ...oh my!

 lunchtime Twit meet - me, Linda (so nice to finally get to meet Linda after years of blogging/tweeting), Alison and Jo

 Lin, Miriam and Caz

 Jo Linda and Alison again

 Julie Ann, her friend who's name I didn't catch, sorry!  and Lucy (sorry, caught you mid chewing Lucy!)

 hmm  bit of an odd face I'm pulling too!

 back to Paperartsy where Miriam was Periscoping...

 back at That's Crafty, some of Alison's fab backgrounds

and demonstrating the Deco Art Tinting Base

 back to Paperarsty (we did look round the rest of the show, honest!)  Emma is hard at work stencilling with archival inks and loving her purple circles!

 Caz was there too, looking fab in purple (hair too)

 more scoping..

 saying farewells...

 Julie Hickey popped by to see Linda's new stamps (shhh!)

 shopping.. sorry about the shadow... can't show you Lin's new stamps, till they're official!!  so they're hiding ad the back... lots of stencils and Emma's news stamps released yesterday...







and yes, I got the iridescent paints...(show offer price, would have been silly not to!)


some dinky stencils, acrylic tags and atcs, Carabelle stamp, a lovely tree (lost coast design) and some cute birds (Katzelcraft)

now just need time to play!