WOYWW 241

Can't believe it's Wednesday again and time for another WOYWW. Report to Julia for all the details (just in case you've been on a different planet and don't know what WOYWW is...)

Today I can show you the new things that I was waiting for last week - the jumbo Tim Holtz tattered floral die (the large flower is a whopping 5 inches across)
The bubbles stencil is by Finnabair (Anna Dabrowska) for Prima and I've been trying to get this for ages, the paints and other bits were in a sale...(i.e. had to be done)

The tag is where I was playing with the distress paints, and the die cut leaves are actually left over from my DT piece for Dragons Dream which will be up later on today.

I'm coming down with a cold so dozing myself with Manuka honey and hoping to get rid of it before it's really taken hold, I don't want to be ill!

Have a great WOYWW and I will try to visit you soon.

Q & L - a new challenge from the Craft Barn

Hi, thanks for stopping by.  Today saw the launch of the 2014 Craft Barn blog challenge.  This year, the challenge is Q and L - Quotes and Lyrics.

Each fortnight, you get a prompt of two words.  You can choose whatever kind of project you want, but you have to include either or both, of the words, and they have to be from a quote or a song lyric.  Today's prompts were "Smile" and "Up"

I "just happened" to see some half  price Moleskine notebooks in a bookshop yesterday which at about 9 x 11 inches, are a handy sort of size for a long-term project... there will be plenty of spare pages left at the end of the year too... so I popped back out and bought them today (luckily they were still there, as there was only one set)

So, I searched through some stamps and came across one on a Dyan Reaveley word set which included a "smile" quote.  I set to googling to see if I could find the source of this quote and eventually found it attributed to an Anthony J DAngelo..

I started by clear embossing some daisies (Jo Firth-Young for Paperartsy) as I had an idea I could use some kind of resist effect over the page.  However, the pages in the notebook are quite thin, so I decided to use my Portfolio Pastels again, (loved used them on my last post so much) - blending them with my finger.  This still looked quite scribbly.... but I persevered

 and when I heat set the page they seem ok (ish) now!  I stamped my quote and cut it into individual strips, and stuck it to the page.

The flowers seemed a bit non-descript from the clear embossing, till I remembered that in my Inktense pencils, was an outliner pencil, so I went round the petals with that...and I think they show up better now.

Thanks for looking, and thanks to the Craft Barn for what I think will be another tough but fun year of challenges!

Paperartsy - Portfolio Challenge - Helen Chilton

Today's guess on Paperartsy was the talented Helen Chilton, playing with Portfolio Pastels and a neat trick with baby wipes and stencils... check her post here 

I was inspired to have a go and this is the result... out of deference to Helen  I won't tell you what I did, you can read about it at Paperartsy.

This was a fun, quick (well it would have been if I had decided on my colours quicker!) project!  Check some more great projects at Paperartsy - I hope to have a go at another one this weekend.
Entering this at Paperartsy here

WOYWW? 240- craft club time!

Hello and welcome to another What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday? (except my workdesk is actually the table at the church hall where craft club is held once a month!  This month we were stamping so I was in my element, and had a couple of birthday cards to make (one of which I did, but can't fully blog because the recipient reads my blog!)

 this is my space on the table - ten minutes in! Spreading out and making a mess as usual...

 Sneak of the card I can't show in full!

When I got home and unpacked, I also opened the post - some of the new Tim Holtz leaves, die cut by my friend Sam, because my one is stuck in the post - what a great mate!!

I did managed a second card at craft club too, it's not finished yet, but I quite like it so far (except for the torn bit where I didn't de-stick the masking tape and it pulled the card with it) Embellishments are called for now!

Thanks as always to fellow desker, BJ for the lift home because, just for a change, it was raining at going home time!!

Next month we're doing messy play - sprays and journal type work, so will be making a special effort to go again!

Hope you have a great day/week and I'll catch as many of you as I can.

Time to use up the leftovers ...

... for a challenge set by Val at Snazzy's.... use up your leftovers!  Well, I'm doing ok on eating up the Christmas choccies and snacks, so it was time to turn my attention to my craft supplies!!

I have a whole stack of these Paperartsy postcards ...

 so took a couple and started adding layers of translucent Fresco paints - London Bus, Tango, Yellow Submarine, then watered down Antarctic which I dabbed off and splattered on, before adding further layers, sage, and finally watered down stone. I still wanted to see some of the printing underneath...

I then added some stamping  - Kaisercraft images and then cut the postcards into strips. (I've done this before, and really liked the effect)

in the journal, I painted the pages with Stone, and then stamped using watered down Squid Ink, the Paperartsy mini Brick Wall, and the Kaisercraft crackle, randomly.

then it was time to layer up the postcard strips....











and finally I cut the second postcard into two, trimming close the the stamped image and edging the card with Black Soot distress ink...

I've had the usual problems photographing this due to light, but hope you can make it out ok!

Dragons Dream - TIO - T and stencils

Hello and happy New Year to you all - good to have you on board with the DragonsDream team - our next theme is chosen by me, and I want you to use the letter T and to incorporate stencil(s) in your tag. .not forgetting one real stamp!

I was given a fabulous large tree stamp (Donna Downey for Prima) for Christmas that was just begging to be used! I forgot to take any pictures during the making of the tag, oops!

 I started by painting the tag with blue Fresco paint, I used Ice Blue. I stencilled Grunge Paste through the Art Is stencil, randomly and sponged some Beach Hut Fresco over the dried GP, and wiped some of the paint off, before sanding the GP back.

I painted the tree using Frescos and stamped it onto the tag, but it didn't come out very well, so overstamped using Gathered Twigs and Mowed Lawn distress inks which showed up a little more.







I used a second stencil, which is from the Crafters Workshop "well rounded" stencil, (it has several shapes on it ) in Chipped Sapphire



I outlined the leaves and trunk with my white Sharpie marker and added some green ribbons, and some little die cut birds (memory box) to the branches.




The text is one of Tims, stamped and cut from a scrap of white card and edged with Chipped Sapphire distress ink and 3d foam pads to add it to the tag.

I look forward to seeing your tags.

WOYWW 239 - Happy New Year!

I'm writing this on Tuesday evening as usual, this week it's New Year's Eve, so I'd like to wish you all a very Happy and Healthy, New Year. I hope 2014 brings you everything you hope for.  A big thank you and the happiest of greetings, goes to Julia for continuing to run this happy blog hop each Wednesday. Check the details at the Stamping Ground

I got home from Christmas at my brother's to find the ceiling still intact, thank goodness - thanks for all your positive thinking!!  I had hoped to have some new stash to show you today but it's still in transit to me, so you'll have to wait for that... so I share my Christmas crafty goodies from my brother and sister-in-law who is also a crafter so knows me well!

printed canvas, Prima stamps and some Kraft paper. I'm already having fun with the big tree (which is by Donna Downey for Prima).

 this is my craft space tonight (or yesterday by the time you get here) - new year goodies - in fact the shortbread is all gone now! The chocolates were another Christmas present. I've never been a big NYE party person so am staying home and will watch the fireworks on tv (in the dry, and warm, ha ha!) before going to bed.

Had to have a bit of a re-organisation after moving some stuff out of the living room over Christmas, in case the ceiling came down, some of it went back in a different place - not that you'll probably remember! Still not sure whether to leave what is elsewhere, elsewhere!!

Happy New Year to you, and I will try to get to your desks before I go back to work on Thursday!