Grungy canvas gardens

After the 3UP fun, this week, the new Paperartsy Guest Designers - well the first one - start their term in office. The first designer is the lovely, talented Sue Carrington and she has made a beautiful canvas, do check it out if you haven't seen it

This is my 'inspired by', version.

 I used  a 5x7 canvas frame, and more or less followed the same method as Sue did, with different stencils and stamps along the way, apart from the tulip as my main image. I die cut the tulip from some black card painted with blood orange fresco paint, and then over-stamping with the tulip stamp. The leave is cut from card treated in the same way, painted with tinned peas. (this isn't a die)

I haven't photographed the sides, but I can report that it was very fiddly getting the grunge paste through the wall stencil!!!

The paints I used were Nougat, Brown Shed, Irish Cream, Stone  and then Bora Bora /Stone for my bumping. (as far as I can remember... I did this yesterday before craft club!)

The stencilling of the leafy vine was Hyde Park.

Tim's Tag - May

I think this is the first tag I've been able to join in with - due to some hurried purchasing of the remnants rub ons - boy are they COOL!!   Tim's gorgeous tag is here 

Here is my version

 I remember something similar from my childhood - oh wonderful fun!!

 Used distress stains crushed olive, spiced marmalade and scattered straw, and broken china and mustard seed inks round the edges.

 Added random Tim stamps

I don't have the enamel button that Tim used, so I coloured a fragment with pewter distress stain and added some alcohol inks.

The rest of the tag is done as in Tim's directions.

I had loads of fun doing this, thanks Tim!!

WOYWW? the one where she goes to craft club...

Hello again... welcome to another Wednesday globe-trotting snooping (no other word for it!) round the assorted desks and crafty workspaces of the world... all links available here at Julia's

Well yesterday was the monthly craft club meeting... but before I went there was some crafty shopping to unpack...

and yes, the tell-tale sign of a red Royal Mail "your parcel needs a signature" card for something else (oops!)

the cream blob at the front is some of Tim Holtz's crinkly ribbon (the stuff you can colour, scrunch and heat dry to make it - erm crinkle, amazingly!) and a couple of packs of his rub-ons... need to have a go at his May tag!!

I also had time to start work on a canvas inspired by a piece for Paperartsy by Sue Carrington who is the first of the next batch of guest designers..

Obviously I haven't got far yet...



So, that's my own "desk"... what about craft club...


well it was finish off the mosaics and then on to more decopatch as we all had such fun with it last time...

 Fellow WOYWW BJ busy decopatching her initials

My MDF pen pot.

and my "desk" back at home again, with grouted mosaic tile (can't wipe it off yet obviously the grout hasn't set), my pot, and some extras - some rolls of mesh stuff (my SIL was having a clearout for club proceeds!  and some flowers (my raffle prize)

Next month it's "knit and knatter" oops "knit and natter"! or BJ is going to teach us to crochet...

thanks for stopping by... see you at a desk near you, soon!

Don't Eat the Daisies...

I saw a link on twitter to the Crafters Workshop blog with some stencil ideas. (thanks Steven!) Now, I didn't use any of the techniques or even Crafters Workshop stencils, but it did spark my imagination.

Several months ago I bought a couple of Prima stencils (Donna Downey line) and this one I haven't used before...

I took my moleskin journal and some distress inks - squeezed lemonade, picked raspberry, shaded lilac and mowed lawn and applied them with my blending tool through the stencil.

 then I added this leaf (Dylusions) in black archival ink

 and coloured it with watercolour pencil, taking care not to disturb the distress ink too much!

Stamped "don't eat the daisies" (Jo Firth-Young for Paperartsy) up the page

and on the other page, too, stamps also by Jo FY.

I thought it needed something else, but something subtle, so took a couple more of Jo's stamps and using a grey ink, added them to the pages too. Hope you can see them!!

Hope you're enjoying your Bank Holiday Sunday, if you have one, and if you're able to!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

I had been slowly painting a double icon today before I saw the fabulous one on the Paperartsy blog as part of the final #3up tweet challenge.

I've finished it now... and wish to enter it into the Country View Crafts challenge "how does your garden grow"

outside -
stamps are all by Jo Firth-Young for Paperartsy. Paints are Paperartsy Frescos

inside

I used grey to stamp the criss cross randomly over the sky in the background

I can't get a decent photo tonight though, so may try again tomorrow!

Tag it On - Brown, Vellum and Hand(s)

The lovely Silvia's turn to set the recipe this fortnight for the DragonsDream Tag It On challenge  - and she would like you to use brown, vellum and hand(s).

I decided to combine the hands with the vellum and traced round a hand template that I have had for (I daren't think how many years...) and cut out two hands.I used a stencil that I bought at the Ally Pally stamp show in April (Apple Blossom by Imagination Crafts) and Chocolate Pudding Fresco paint, to great a delicate pattern on the hands - a pair of gloves, if you will.

For the background on the tag, I used Fresco paints in French Roast and added Brown Shed, Nougat and Irish Cream, wiping back with a baby wipe and kitchen towel and adding colours until I was happy with the colour.

The stamps are also by Paperartsy, I used Mini 26 which is a gothic script, (brown archival) and the criss cross hatching from JoFY12 (black).  Edged the tag with Spanish Topaz Treasure Gold.

 Fixed the hands to each other and the tag with double sided tag.

and used some idea-ology and brown ribbons to finish.

Make sure you come and see what my other DT members have done this fortnight, and we hope to see you join in.

WOYWW 204

Welcome back to another desk hop hosted by the lovely Julia at The Stamping Ground - time to share your best - or worst - views of your crafty spaces.

I have had to re-organise my Paperartsy stamps AGAIN!! into a bigger box - but I did managed to get two on a BOGOF (buy one get one free in case you're not sure) deal on Saturday... Trouble is, being bigger, it means the stamps in front of this stick out more and I need to find somewhere else to put them...

nice and neat in the box - room for a few more and room to rummage for the set I want!

nestling against the cardboard drawers of ink pads that I rarely use now - the stamps in front (Tim Holtz and Wendy Vecchi) are the ones that are sticking out into the room/exit of the room.... hmmmm

(I nearly tripped over taking my dinner tray out to the kitchen on Tuesday night - could have been messy!! something needs to be done!)

this is the size of the box - 12 inches wide by a bit longer - 2 for £6.99 (in WH Smith if anyone wants to see if their store has them!)

any the obligatory desk (which is why you're here!) - well, space on the floor obviously, as I don't as we know, have a desk... journal page mid-paint, new heat gun that arrived to replace the one that blew on me earlier this month in April (nearly gave myself away there, writing this on Tuesday, posting in May.... eeek May already?!!

Anyhow I've taken enough of your time, I'll let you on your way...thanks for dropping by.


p.s. this is the finished page!