Mini Book Pixie

Another Birthday for January...

2012-01-30T12:09:00.002Z

but this one was for Penny from 3 weeks ago. Given her love of all things Alice, I decided another card featuring him was required. (I made one last year using a postcard that I happened to pick up in my local HMV store)

This card was made with a distress inked background, which was first stamped & masked. I stamped the guitar & rockstar images (Inkadinkado, kindly given to me by Chrysalis friend Galina) I then maksed them both & overstamped with the Happy definition plate by Hero Arts.

I coloured the background with Scattered Straw, Rusty Hinge and then over coloured all the edges deeply in each corner with Seedless Preserves all TH Ranger Distress Inks. The Image was printed & mounted at an angle to look like a poster.

It's Raining Birthdays!!!

2012-01-27T20:34:00.004Z

Today, it is the turn of another of my SSG forum friends' birthdays, Rachel (aka Taniwha). I made the same card as our mutual friend Pauline but with a bolder palette. Papers are all offcuts from Sassafrass Lass. Rachel is currently back home in New Zealand and I can't believe I posted this card to her on Monday & it arrived today or yesterday as it will be over there now!

I added texture to the front panel with Secret Garden Papermania embossing folder.

Huge shout out to Pauline, the birthday girl in the previous post because she got a really special birthday present of a new job :0) She can kiss goodbye to 70 mile round trips each day soon!!

Happy Birthday, Pauline!

2012-01-25T20:11:00.003Z

Today it is my SSG Forum friend, Pauline's birthday!

Card was made based on a gorgeous idea by Jo Kill in a cardmaking magazine. Papers is Birdsong. Ledger paper is BG Basics.

Creating for the Sake of it

2012-01-24T20:16:00.003Z

between two pieces of art I can't share yet and loving every minute of the creative process!!!

This piece was created using Parenthesis dies, free stamps from a magazine, a leaf die and patterened paper called Bird Song. I LOVE it!!!

A Birthday & A Thank You

2012-01-14T10:37:00.003Z

First up I have a birthday card to show you which I made for Carol, my Chrysalis forum buddy.

First week of the year and Im already feeling fresh & ready so it was reflected in the colour scheme of this card. Papers are BG Sultry. I used Xcut shape cutters & Papermania Urban stamps teamed with zesty bright colours and naturally a clock image along with my favourite best friend the Secret Garden embossing folder to give a girly edge. Clcok is Heidi Swapp black embossed over the stamped image which was stamped in Bundled Sage distress ink.

Next is a Thank You card for my sister for all the lovely presents she gave me for Christmas.

This was made with the same girly theme but Stormy Sky distress ink for the big label. My sister is very fond of wildlife & feeds the birds so I thought this blue tit image perfect.
Other news, I am going back to France with my sister this year :0) :0)
Back to La Marchaderie, St Mathieu for a whole week in September! :0)

Happy Birthday, Colette!

2012-01-06T07:07:00.003Z

Today is my friend, Colette's birthday. I have made this panel card for her in delicate shades. The photograph makes the card look more purple than it is IRL.

I white embossed the butterflies (Websters Pages) the inked with Spun Sugar & Dusty Concord Distress Inks. I cut part of the front from a square card, embossed the vine swirl down one side & Swiss Dot embossed the overall piece before punching the Papermania Butterfly border.

Happy New Year & Happy Birthday!

2012-01-01T13:46:00.003Z

First things first, today is my Brother in Law, Martin's birthday! I was poorly, but determind the card would go in the post and I forgot to take a photo of it (oops!) Happy Birthday, Bro!!!xxxx

Hope you like the beer from High House Farm Brewery!

To my blog friends new and old, Happy Creative 2012. May we all find the time in our hectic lives to steal some precious "me" time & create something beautiful. Even if it is just to give to someone else.

This photo was taken by my sister while I was in France in September. It was the highlight of 2011! Fitting picture for toasting my BIL & for New Year, I thought!!

I had not been abroad since I was 5 years old nor had I ever flown, we went by Hovercraft back then. Pretty soon (March) I will be 45 so I'm glad I finally made it back there. It changed me greatly. I came back far more relaxed and very creative. Massive thanks go to our dear Dad for funding more than half the trip & to my darling sister, Tracy for helping me make the brave step.

A Christmas Birthday

2011-12-30T18:25:00.002Z

On Christmas Day it was my SSG forum friend, Anne's birthday. This is the card I made for her. I wanted something simple against all the colour in her room from the Christmas cards and decorations.

2011-12-24T10:27:00.002Z

I have been frantically creating last minute things for people and completely fogot to blog the card below, which I made for Karin back in November.

Hoping you all have peace & happiness over the Christmas holiday & you all get something nice from Santa to play with in 2012!

Penny's ATC Swap

2011-12-05T19:30:00.000Z

If you can remember this post about the Swap hosted by Penny, well we all received our completed books this week and now it is time to share. Go here for a tutorial on how Penny made the book. I am so pleased with my finished collection.

Don't they look fabulous!

Happy Birthday, Audrey!

2011-12-03T14:01:00.004Z

I made this for Audrey. She has not been around on the Chrysalis forum for a while, but I had to make this for her, after the success with Katie's card, which was really girly & pretty.

I used Papermania Exquisite Collection papers and matching patterened vellum for the background of this card. I like this set because they are really feminine & romantic & match perfectly. I ran the script vellum through the Big Shot with the Papermania Secret Garden Embossing folder. The image was a blog freebie and I can not remember who it came from but the name Nancy rings a few bells! I cut some wired Xmas ribbon (£ shop) in half & glued top & bottom to the image & then onto the WHSmith cream luggage tag. I punched a scalloped oval of white card & inked over a piece of waste wired ribbon using Victorian Velvet Distress ink to give a trellis look for my floral arrangement & greeting. Flowers are Prima. Foliage - Marianne Designs die. Stickles - Frosted Lace, was applied to flower centres & leaves as it is a Christmassy birthday. I attached the tag to the background using a Karen Fosters Jewelled Brad then glued the whole piece to a square card blank and inked the edges with Victorian Velvet DI. Greeting is also Papermania stamp.

More "Movember" News

2011-11-30T20:03:00.003Z

The charity (see my side bar entitled Movember) grew from strength to strength in our office this month. The boys grew the moustaches and instead of them raising sponsor money, the ladies in each department took it in turns to bake or buy cakes & pastry goods. The staff upstairs held a raffle & a name card. I'm not sure on the total raised but I'm certain we did reach £200!!!

This week was the turn of PIU, my department (Personal Insurance Unit). I did 30 homemade sausage rolls and was very proud of my efforts. Here are two photos. Can you tell I'm proud! ;0) Katie made a chocolate cake and lots of lovely butterfly buns. Andy (one of the tash growers) even made some chocolate buns which were tasty!!

I really enjoyed baking them, but the eating was far more enjoyable lol!!!

Happy Birthday, Katie!

2011-11-24T07:30:00.001Z

Today, it is my friend (and work colleague's) birthday. She loves butterflies & birds, so I tried to combine both as girly and pretty as possible!

Materials Used;

Large scalloped card blank

Websters Pages Postcards from Paris Paper
TH Birdcage die cut (using Big Shot)

Bird & Butterfly stamps, Urban Papermania.

Flat Backed Pearls, Prima Marketing

Small Rose & Pink Vellum, Papermania

frosted lace Stickles (on petals of rose)

Large Pink Brad, Basic Grey

Birthday Greeting, Stampin' Up

scrap acetate from office

I layered up 3 butterflies using silicone glue & added the final vellum one for movement.

Carrie's Birthday Card

2011-11-20T09:56:00.004Z

I made this card for Carrie, back in October, for her birthday.

I had forgotten that I had not shared it!

The background is a photograph I had taken while visiting the beautiful French market town of Piegut-Pluviers. I had never seen so many huge Hydrangea blooms & just had to lean over the wall to take a picture. I printed this picture onto a piece of canvas. The butterflies are stamped onto a scrap piece of the canvas & inked with Chipped Sapphire & Seedless Preserves (limited edition fall 2011) distress inks. The butterfly stamp is on the Friendship plate by ISC. I added silicone glue behind the wings so they would look as if they were in flight. It has become a favourite technique of mine lately as I love using butterflies in my work.

Carrie is very much into tactile pieces, which is why I used the canvas.

Thinking of You (both)

2011-11-11T20:03:00.003Z

My sister, Tracy was involved in a car accident on Monday evening so I needed to make a quick card to let her know I was thinking about her & her poor baby car. My regular readers will remember the car got hit back in July while parked outside my flat when she came to visit. The driver was both drunk and uninsured & the car had to have £2,500 worth of repairs done on it.

This time it has been hit in the rear from a motorist whilst Tracy was at the wheel. She is hurt (whiplash) but thankfully not seriously injured and the other driver is okay too. The car will need a new back end again, that is two in 3 months.

It is Tracy's pride & joy so you can imagine how gutted she is. But metal can easily mend.

I made two cards because I smudged this first one but then I wasn't at all happy with the background of the second so decided to go with my original choice. My background is made simply by scribbling soft pastels & blending lightly with gesso. Image is Sent With Love -Gorjuss. Butterfly, bird & grasses, Papermania. Word stamps also Papermania.

It was luck I made the two cards because when I saw my friend Kate who I travel on the train with, she was sad because her pet cat had passed away. So this card fitted just right for her. I was just a little too heavy handed with the gesso towards the centre and it dried all wrong , but she loved it. Her mother was a fabulous artist using soft pastels a lot in her work so she appreciated the fact I had used them on her card.

I brought home the rest of the birthday cards I made to sell at work so that I could take the Christmas cards in their place and Claire, another train friend bought 9 of the 11 left so I was well chuffed. It was good to see them finally go!!

Christmas Cards to Share

2011-11-08T18:28:00.002Z

These cards went on sale at work on 1st November. I'm hoping they sell well. I made 10 or 12 of each design (there are 9 other designs) making a total of 76 cards. I made them all during the month of October to get them out of the way. I'm hoping to get my special cards done next.

Funky Star made with patterned papers.

Large Swirl (the scalloped circle was cut, stamped & inked by me before placing on the cards)

The stars were cut from fine corrugated card. Swirl is TH die.

Gold Star. I made the stars in the same way as the scalloped circles.

I cut the "noel" using a die.

Ribbon bow & Baubles. The baubles were circles of white card stamped, embossed & coloured with distress ink. The tops have eyelets.

MOVEMBER - Moustache Month.....

2011-11-01T08:00:00.001Z

Ladies (and Gentlemen) please take a moment to read the details below.

MEN'S HEALTH

I am helping my male colleagues to raise money for awareness of Prostrate and Testicular Cancer.

Please take a moment to sponsor my team. Any donation is gratefully received no matter how small. You can also gift aid your dontation.

It is going to be an interesting month, watching these blokes try to grow a moustache to be proud of!! But, it is all in a very god cause. We ladies are helping raise funds by making cupcakes, etc... right through the month. A link is in my sidebar.

You can find my page here.

It is all too easy to overlook these two deadly cancers so I urge you all to get your man to check himself carefully in the bath or shower, just as we do and seek medical advise if there are any concerns. They will not consider you a time waster.

It might be nothing but it is always better to know one way or the other as early as possible.

A Commission

2011-10-27T19:30:00.005+01:00

I was asked by Kate, a friend who I travel daily with on the train, if I could make a card for her daughter Sammy who loved all things theatrical. I was a little stumped until she went on to tell me that Sammy & her friend once starred as Laurel & Hardy. Rummaging through my files of purchased images, I came upon these and made a card out of them.

The background is a sheet of newspaper (the daily Metro free on the train), I chose the theatre page. Glued it to the card with matt gel medium then colour washed it first with Cadmium Yellow Deep Acrylic paint. Once dry I glazed a wash of Red Ochre Acrylic paint over the top. The I simply glued all the images with matt gel medium.

Happy Anniversary

2011-10-23T11:39:00.003+01:00

to my sister, Tracy and brother in law, Martin.

By the time this card was finished, the light had gone & the next two days that followed were black and full of rain. I didn't think I would ever get a photo of the card before it had to be posted off. What you will not be able to see is that the 3 butterflies are glued on with silicone so their wings are raised in flight. This had to be taken under artificial lights & I'm lucky the colour came out right!!

I used Heidi Swapp heart stamp & Webster's Pages Butterflies. Masked them, then using Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint, Tumbled Glass, Broken China, Victorian Velvet & Fired Brick distress inks I watercoloured over the music stamped background. I used Smokey Grey Versafine for the music. I then stamped & cut out the butterflies again, inked them & glued them on.

ATC Swap

2011-10-17T19:15:00.004+01:00

I have agreed to take part in an ATC swap with Penny. Mine have been made & posted off to America. I know they have reached their destination safely and while I can't share them with you yet, I can show you the card I made to send them with.

I made this card using Faded Jeans, Aged Mahogany, Antique Linen & Vintage Photo Distress Inks. I stamped with Paperbag Studios Silences stamp & my other images were from the TH sets Fairytale Frenzy and Visual Artistry.I used my favourite lemon juice & bleach techniques then in some of the bleached areas I gently inked over in Victorian Velvet, Wild Honey & Tumbled Glass Distress Inks.

Forum Birthday

2011-10-11T06:40:00.002+01:00

Over on the private forum for the SSG's, it is time for another birthday. It only seems five minutes since I last posted about her birthday, but it Ang's birthday again. Where has the year gone!! I kept the card simple black & white. Threaded black ribbon through the punched holes. Bird stamp from a set by Dovecraft. Greeting from a set by Papermania.

On The Craft Table

2011-10-09T14:24:00.003+01:00

I have been working away since Wednesday on Christmas cards. I can't share the completed ones with you as they are designs that will be sent to my craft forum friends and family and as these people read my blog I don't want them getting a sneak preview!!

However, I have decided to make a selection to sell at work and below is a picture of my craft table. I have spent two full hours just creating all these elements to go on the cards. It might be next weekend before they are ready to be shown.

The large blank stars at the top of the picture are a suprise for a few friends.

The small stars & circles have all been die cut. I have stamped them with script & music stamps & inked with the two distress inks. The coloured swirls have been die cut from patterned paper.

I'm just taking a break with a well earned mug of tea, then its back to punching out the tiny circles for another set of cards for some other friends!!

Hope you are all having a productive weekend.

Autumn Has Arrived!

2011-10-08T18:37:00.002+01:00

What an awful day it has been today! I don't think it has really been light, it has rained all day. So I quickly got done all the chores I needed to do & after putting fresh clean bedding on and putting up all the winter curtains, I settled down to make some more Christmas Cards :0)

I started on Wednesday and so far I have 25 made!

Now it is getting dark and I have lit all my candles.

Today is Carrie's birthday, but I am not able to share her card with you just yet.

I hope she is having a wonderful day, followed by another one tomorrow because as we all know,

it is the weekend, Whoop!!!

I hope everyone is having a warm weekend, whatever you are up to!!

A Commissioned Card

2011-10-06T20:00:00.003+01:00

I was asked by a colleague at work to make a wedding card for his neighbours. He chose this design from some of my past creations. I first made this card on 7th September 2006 and I made it again in September 2011. But, me being me, I vamped it up a bit :0)

I honestly have to say I prefer this version far more than the original

Calendar Pages

2011-10-04T18:53:00.003+01:00

Last year I made a perpetual calendar for my desk at the office. I realised this morning that I only ever blogged the pictures up to July/August and then promptly forgot about the last four months. So here are my pages for September and October. I love looking at this every day on my desk, it reminds me of who I am when I'm bogged down under paperwork.

Papers are Studio Calico and Bo Bunny.

Stamps are Paperbag Studios and Crafty Individuals.

Thank You Card

2011-10-01T17:40:00.005+01:00

This card has been made to send to the lovely people my sister Tracy & I rented the Gite from during our stay in France. They were wonderful hosts & I hope to see them again one day soon.
I copied this design from the top of my layout further down the blog.
Materials Used;
Prima Documentary Stamp
Scrap of Basic Grey Basics Paper
Scrap of old book paper
Martha Stewart Edger Punch - Doily Lace
White card
Spun Sugar Distress Ink
Antique Linen Distress Ink
Big Shot with Swiss Dot Embossing Folder
Birds on Wire Stamp - CI287
Papermania white flowers overstamped with script
Papermania silver half crystal
Tim Holtz- Visual Artistry (birds in top corner)

Just a note.. stamp Papermania

All paper scraps were hand stitched together with white thread

Happy Birthday, Marion

2011-09-29T07:00:00.003+01:00

I made this card for my friend Marion. She is also my ex colleague as we worked together for almost 14 years at an Insurance Brokers which was quite a small family firm.

The paper is from Basic Grey, Basics white pack which I oversprayed with Glimmer Mist Coffee Shop and my own mix of Mustard Seed distress re-inker & Perfect Pearls Gold. Stamps are Paperbag Studio (I masked the two girls before spraying) the small bees are Jo Capper-Sandon for Stampotique. Friends quote is Innovative Stamp Creations.

Some Photos of My Holiday in France

2011-09-26T19:31:00.005+01:00

This is the Gite we rented for the week in a small hamlet called La Marchaderie, Saint Mathieu.

This is the breathtakingly beautiful Brantome Abbey
The equally beautiful Chateau Montbrun (my favourite photo)

This was a statue in a memorial garden in Nontron.

I really wish I could work out how to put the correct French symbols on the photos!!!

I took lots of pictures but these are some of my absolute favourites and there was I thinking my camera wasn't really up to the trip!!
It was such a beautiful holiday!!

Queen Bee

2011-09-24T12:34:00.005+01:00

For several years now, I have been going for full body massages every month at my favourite Beautician Hayley. Well, this week the salon re opened as Queen Bee. Hayley has now extended the salon to include a hairdressing section and her new business partner is a lifelong friend, Jenny. All the pink is gone and a new colour and name regins. As today is my first appointment as a Queen Bee client, I made the card below to wish the ladies success with the new joint venture.

The front of card is made with my Score Pal. Stamps used are Tim Holtz (Mini Crown) PaperBag Studios (Large Crown) Honeycomb (is actually chicken wire from Poultry Pantry set by TweetyJill)

Bee by my friend Jo Capper-Sandon.

The back of the card is a Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen Venaissance design.
I hope the ladies like the card, it is close in colour to the new appointment cards.

Finally... a Layout!!!

2011-09-18T15:28:00.003+01:00

It's only been a year & 7 months since I last created a layout, but I have finally found the mojo. Mind you, France was so beautiful, I took 350 photos of buildings, flowers, doors, trees and monuments in the hope that I would have at least 200 good photos at the end. I fell in love with a 3 storey apartment in a town called Brantome over the border from us in Perigord Vert, Dordogne.

I could really imagine myself living there and so it was the obvious first photo to try & scrap.

Here is a close up of the top left corner embellishment which I sewed by hand and the journalling section with pretty pebble (Prima)

This is the completed page, I printed the photo twice and turned the second version into a blue tint. I made all the backing papers myself using white card, distress inks & texture folders in my big shot.
Materials;
Alcohol inks: Denim/ Stream/ Cloudy Blue (inked strips)
Distress inks: Chipped Sapphire/ Faded Jeans/ Tumbled Glass
Texture Folders: Swiss Dots/ TH Wood Grain
Border Punches: Fiskars/ Martha Stewart
Stamps: Stampers Anonymous/ Crafty Individuals
Rub On: (live/love/laugh) Fancy Pants
Flower: Prima (Old Studio Calico Kit)
Title: stickers from stash - forgotten make.

Unfortunately, I am unable to work out how to type with the correct characters on the french words!

Just Playing

2011-09-17T16:43:00.004+01:00

with inks and stamps today. It really is the best way to relax and find new ways to use the products you have in your stash. I have mixed distress re-inkers with perfect pearls, scrapbook paper and some stamps to create something a bit different from the usual stuff I tend to make. I do tend to make things and then forget to try out other stuff!!

I first stamped the Sun & Moon (Paperartsy) onto the Basic Grey Basics paper - Ballot. Then I mixed up my two mini mists. The first one is Broken China re-inker with Interference Blue Perfect Pearls. The second is just Shabby Shutters re-inker & water. I masked the main image & spritzed over the two inks allowing them to mix a tiny bit. I then dried them with the heat gun. I ironed the piece on the reverse to flatten so that I could add a few background stamps (Paperbag Studios script & buttons from Delight Plate). I then stamped 4 stars (Studio Calico) onto the Ballot paper & using Chipped Sapphire & Forest Moss I coloured them. I attached them to the main piece using blue staples & then glued it to the front of a card blank.

Unfortunately the camera batteries are all flat so I had to take the photo with my mobile phone. I'm not certain it does the true colours justice and you can't really see the glorious shimmer of the blue.

Final Minibook Pages

2011-09-12T10:00:00.000+01:00

page 20

page 25
inside back cover

back cover

I am home from France today and will be spending time catching up with forum friends and uploading photos from my camera. Catch you soon :0)

Back Home

2011-09-11T18:55:00.003+01:00

I am now back home from my holiday in France. We visited the Limousin region & rented a Gite in a small hamlet called La Marchaderie, just outside of a place called St Mathieu, which is right on the Dordogne border. We flew from Newcastle airport on Saturday 3rd September to Limoges and returned on Saturday 10th. I came back from Newcastle this afternoon. I have tons to do & am back at work on Tuesday!!! We had an amazing time the temperature was around 25c everyday rising to 27c. I had to wear quite a lot of sunblock with having very fair skin but it was heaven. I will have photos to show but I have over 350 to edit first!!!!! It was my first ever flight as we went by hovercraft when I was 5 years old. I have not been out of the country since so it has been a real treat for me. I have seen some outstanding countryside and amazing chateaus. The whole place was laid back and relaxed, I have never slept so well.

More Minibook Pages

2011-09-10T15:30:00.000+01:00

page 11

pages 13 & 14
page 15

This format did prove a bit hard to do so the book I am making for 2010 - 2011 is in a smaller more graphic style.

Minibook of Books 2009-2010

2011-09-08T20:30:00.000+01:00

I started reading a lot when I began commuting to work and came up withe idea of a minibook of books. Firstly so I could record what I read & how many but secondly so I could make something!! This book begins December 2009 and ends December 2010. (I am now making another for Dec 2010 - Dec 2011, but they are mostly read at home)

Front Cover - using distress inks

inside front cover and first page
page 6

I have tried to match my papers & stamped images to the covers of the books where ever possible. I will blog some more pages soon. (These blog posts are all scheduled posts because as you read this I am in France :0) on holiday)

"Sacre Coeur" Grunge

2011-09-06T18:00:00.001+01:00

I made this one using the other half of the same background in the post below. I added the same numbers as I did below but added a bridge piece & The Sacre Coeur, both from my Paris Postcards set. I partucularly love how the "burnt" lemon juice adds great texture to this piece.

"Family" Grunge

2011-09-04T15:30:00.001+01:00

Here is another grungy background I made using the wrinkle free distress ink technique. I wanted it grungy & black with bleach & lemon juice but then I softened it up by using part of one of my favourite Paperbag Studios stamps. The other stamps are from my Tim Holtz set.

BookMark

2011-09-02T08:00:00.002+01:00

Here is a bookmark I made for my sister to take to France with us. I used off cuts from a background I made & added a touch of blecahing & lemon Juice. She fell in love with my quotes tag book so though this would suit her down to the ground.

"Dream"

2011-08-31T19:03:00.004+01:00

Here is a piece of art I created on Monday. I started out with a background made blending Faded Jeans, Dusty Concorde, Spiced Marmalade and Peeled Paint distress inks. Then I inked around the edges in Antique Linen. I stamped my main image, Botanical Script (Tin Can Mail Collection by Inkadinkado) in Archival Black ink then bleached out some of the colour from the leaves and Hydrangea blossoms & the butterfly.

Once dry I stamped in my words DREAM and BELIEVE both by Crafty Individuals. The corner butterfly image is from the minature people & places book 1 which I transfered onto the design using clear sellotape to make the design more translucent. I added the border stamp detail along with a butterfly & circle design saying what a wonderful word (all 3 by Crafty Individuals)
As a final touch I painted in some of the blossoms using Artists Acrylic Ultramarine Blue paint and I added Artists Acrylic Gold paint to the leaves and also lightly dry-brushed the same gold over the word BELIEVE to highlight it.

At first I though this design looked rather "messy" but the more I see it the more I love it. No idea at this stage what I will do with it, but I think it would look great as a focal image on an altered notebook! Preferably a blank Kraft one :0)

The Final Inspirational Tag

2011-08-29T12:19:00.003+01:00

This one was made using Basic Grey Basics White paper in a spot design & I've inked over Pumice Stone & Bundled Sage distress ink. The girl is my favourite CI image (& reminds me of myself as a small child)so naturally I felt she should feature with this quote along with a butterfly from my Cavallini & Co. set.

And of course, I thought this Tim Holtz quote stamp, the most perfect quote of all with which to end the book. I added bits of the swirl floral from the set to add detail top & bottom.
I plan to join them all together & take a final picture of them all bound.
I had great fun with this & hope to make another soon.

Another Tag

2011-08-26T21:05:00.003+01:00

This next tag was made using shades of green then after splashing water on I mopped up the excess with kitchen towel. The small leaf stamp is another free CS design.

The reverse of the above tag was run through my Big Shot using the brick wall TH texture folder. I then ran some black archival ink over the design along with Fired Brick distress ink. I cut the bird & cage from Basic Grey basic white paper & inked it with Weathered Wood distress ink.

At last...

2011-08-24T19:59:00.005+01:00

another tag from my inspirational quote tag book. However I uploaded them the right way round but then the bottom pic disappeared & I have had to upload again!!!!

This is the reverse of the tag below, I used the same colours but instead of Scattered Straw, I used Mustard Seed. I also used the lemon juice technique to age the design as my first attempt was using a brown mist & a brown ink pad & both looked over the top.

The design I thought, was very apt for the quote. I used Fired Brick & Spiced Marmalade for the background blending a touch of Scattered Straw near the middle.

Stamps used are Paperbag Studio & a free CS stamp.
It is so good to be able to print again!!

Get Well, Katie!

2011-08-23T20:30:00.003+01:00

My friend and colleague, Katie has just been in hospital to have her tonsils out. She is in a lot of pain and so I sent her a handmade piece of love to cheer her up.

Wrinkle free distress background using Faded Jeans/Wild Honey/Aged Mahogany. Stamps TH Fairytale Frenzy & Urban Tapestry. I also added patches of heated lemon juice for that gorgeous aged look and took areas of colour out with bleach as in the designs in the posts below.

Using up Scraps

2011-08-22T20:01:00.004+01:00

I decided to make a test piece for the card I made Penny, in the post below. Afterwards I wasn't really sure what to do with it as it only measured 5x3ins.

Then I came upon this idea
Here's a close up because try as I might, I could not get a photo of it actually hanging!
I'm now working on the rest of my tag book of quotes

What is it they say...?

2011-08-20T14:04:00.003+01:00

ideas (& men) are like buses, nothing for hours, then two come at once lol....

Well I had to get my act together to make a few get well cards, the first is below the second is half created on my table. The two cards below this are versions I decided weren't quite right..

The first card is a get well message for my forum friend, Penny. It is made using the wrinkle distress background technique with a few spritzes of perfect pearls for some shimmer. Followed by overstamping in Archival black ink using TH Urban Tapestry. Finally having decided to go back to basics where ever possible, I gave the "lemon juice & bleaching" techniques another whirl. Its funny how you forget how to do things until something jogs your memory such as the lastest issue of Craft Stamper jogged mine. I used to love bleach, but simply forgot to use it as new products came on the market & just had to be played with.

These other two cards were made using Adirondack dye pads but although I like them both, neither seemed quite suitable for what I wanted to "say" IYKWIM.
Oh, I just have to tell you before I go, I finally got sorted with a new printer yesterday!!! It is the same make as the last one but just a different model & only requires two ink cartridges which are recycleable (added bonus as I donate all mine to the RSPB) Having done a quick calculation, my old printer was nearly 5 years old, cost just £44 and was used practically every day, so I think I had my money's worth. Nothing is made to last endlessly these days.

Nothing I've Made to Show!

2011-08-14T14:54:00.004+01:00

Since my printer broke down, I have nothing creative to show! I didn't realise how much I used it for general photo prints & generating text. I have looked around & while a replacement is relatively cheap, the number of cartridges they require are vast. As I found out last time, the two I used to need were over £50 every 3 months, a printer in line with the one I currently have requires 5 cartridges!!!!! I broke out in a sweat just thinking of the cost to fill it.

So, until I return from my holiday in France, I will not be looking to obtain another just yet.

Here instead are photos of the gorgeous Butterfly Clock I purchased in Warkworth, Northumberland back in Easter, when I stayed with my sister.

Face

Left Side

Right Side

Back

Top

My sister came to stay with me two weeks ago. We have a lovely day with our dad, then later that evening an uninsured, drunk driver hit her Audi while it was parked outside my flat. He was arrrested straight away & the only way she could get home was on the back of a recovery truck! We had got together to plan our forthcoming trip to France.

As the company I work for insures her, we got the ball rolling straight away, but the car still has not been repaired. He should appear in court next week, but it won't pay for her damage.

It makes me utterly sick!!!! As an insurer, I see this everyday & these people just seem to keep on getting away with it while the rest of the country has to pay the increased cost.

Happy Birthday, Tracy

2011-07-07T06:03:00.003+01:00

It was my sister's birthday on Tuesday & try as I might I could not get this picture to upload. Today I have finally managed. It was a difficult card to photograph too as the weather has been extremely bright & the card kept in pale shades.

I cut a section off the front of a square card & ran it through my Big Shot with a floral border embossing folder. Then I stamped the free stamp from Craft Stamper magazine in the top corner. In the bottom corner I stamped "Sister" (Papermania) and butterflies (Cavallini & Co.) The main image is of course my absolute favourite Crafty Individuals stamp, which I stamped onto some inked card which actually has Perfect Pearls shimmer but the camera couldn't pick it up.

A Birthday & A Card I forgot...

2011-07-02T08:00:00.000+01:00

The first card is for my friend Kate's birthday.

I wanted a simple design so used my Scor-pal to make a double lined square before stamping this months free cover stamp from Craft Stamper. For a vibrant splash I coloured the image with wax crayons. The greeting was stamped from a small set I have.

This second card is one I made for forum friend, Joanne back in March & thought I had blogged but realised I hadn't! Oops! I had based it on her February 2011 Craft Stamper article "Clean Collage". Using a Crafty Individuals stamp for my main image.

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T11:43:00.003+01:00

Even if it is grey & wet, it's still Father's day and I'm sure Dad's all over the country are happy regardless. I know my dad is doing precious little today and it isn't raining where he is.

The stamp is from the John Byars Nostalgia Classic Cars set produced by Papermania which I coloured in quite simply using some cheap pencil crayons.

Crazy few weeks

2011-06-09T19:54:00.003+01:00

Yes, I have been very busy this last few weeks. My sister Tracy and husband Martin moved home again on 1st June 2011 (no photo of the new house yet)So Bank Holiday weekend saw me tearing back up to Newcastle to help pack up their stuff. We fitted in a bit of sightseeing as well, and emptied a few bottles of wine & champagne ;0)

I arrived in Newcastle train station at 9.45am on the Friday morning & first stop was Tynemouth. The weather kept fine & we did a walk around the castle.

I took lots of photos and this one sums the place up perfectly, it is the actual mouth of the Tyne. The sea was wild and as it crashed against the walls it boomed like an enormous canon roar! I never managed to capture it though, it looks so tranquil!!!!

After a cappuccino in a gorgeous little coffee shop, we headed further up the coast to Whitley Bay where the weather turned wet, and as the tide was in we were unable to walk to the very magnificent St Mary's Lighthouse. After this we headed further up North to Morpeth where my sister was living at that point.

Now for a bit of craft. Here is a birthday card made for my dear friend Joy, who had a birthday on Wednesday.

And finally (for now) the new Home card I made for my sister. I was fortunate enough to visit the shop RE in Corbridge while over that way (my sister used to live there, gorgeous place)

The shop sold Cavallini Rubber stamp sets & I treated myself to the Butterflies.

Sadly my batteries died in the camera and no more photos were taken after my first day. I was quite annoyed too as they were my hybrio ones & only a few weeks old. They must have been in the shop long before I bought them & flattened quickly.

The card was made by dragging some paint across the card, then overstamping with script, postal marks & the butterfly stamps. Simple but perfect.

Happy Birthday, Nic

2011-05-06T20:48:00.003+01:00

Today is the birthday of one of my Scrap Shoppin' Girls team mate.

Have a fantastic day, Nic.

I just couldn't resist using this stamp that matches my Gorjuss Organiser. I stamped in black & then stamped the same image onto craft paper. I hand cut the paper dolls & book & glued them on.

The stamp is called "I Found my Family in a Book".

Crafty Individuals - May Challenge

2011-05-02T12:30:00.003+01:00

This 2nd challenge on the Crafty Individuals blog is Free As A Bird.

Here is my entry which was made using CI209 and CI287. The background was made with Tumbled Glass & Broken China distress inks then once the images were stamped I dry brushed gesso over them to soften. The bird panels were cut down & mounted on top.

The card was given to Jo for her birthday.

Already A Week...

2011-05-01T19:20:00.003+01:00

Since I was up in Newton - Underwood, Morpeth, near Newcastle visiting my sister, Tracy. We spend the Saturday shopping in Newcastle & Morpeth. Sunday, we went to the places in the photos below.

Alnmouth Beach

We found a sheltered corner from the wind as it was quite wild.

The we went over to Warkworth Castle.

After talking this photo we went into a chocolate shop & I had the most amazing French Patisserie, Almond Croissant & hot chocolate made from pure chocolate & hot milk.
Feeling full & a tad naughty, we went into a gorgeous shop called The Greenhouse. It sold so many things I wish it had been better light inside so I could have got a photo. Trouble was everything was touching & stacked on top of other things & you walked with arms tucked in barely daring to breathe. A lot of the items could quite easily have been made by an altered artist & I left with quite a few ideas, & of course not wanting to be rude I made a purchase!!

I bought a gorgeous square clock for my living room fireplace. It has a butterfly collage on each side & the top. I am trying to get a good photo of it but as we have had quite a lot of sunshine (& freezing cold wind) I am having trouble with the timing as Im getting shadows & the flash keeps coming on!!!

Latest Inspirational Tags

2011-04-22T09:59:00.002+01:00

This first tag is the reverse of the Butterflies tag a few posts below.

I made the background using Tumbled Glass and Broken China Distress Inks. I inked the very edges with Bundled Sage DI, then over sprayed the whole piece with Broken China re-inker mixed with Perfect Pearl, perfect pearls. The whole piece has a gorgeous shimmery quality that I doubt the camera really picked up. I then ran it through my texture embossing folder. Sometimes simple is really the best!!

The second tag is the reverse of the floral tag below.

This was made simply by applying Spun Sugar DI mainly to the centre of the tag & building darker layers of colour outwards towards the edges, using Worn Lipstick & Fired Brick. I then spritzed it with water & quickly mopped up the excess with kitchen towel to give the mottled look. I stamped the Heidi Swapp Heart in Fired Brick DI for impact & I particularly love how the open pattern shows through in paler pink.

I especially love this quote!!!

Well, I hope you have all begun your Easter Weekend on a good note. I am home today, but travel first thing tomorrow to Morpeth, outside Newcastle to stay with my big sister, Tracy.
I will look forward to a break, but its back to work Tuesday for 3 days and then a long weekend at home to do some creating.

My printer is still not sorted out and I seriously think i might have to look at purchasing another :((( Expense I could do without, but I have been a week without the printer and it is hindering my creative process!!

More Inspirational Tags

2011-04-16T08:30:00.003+01:00

This first one is the reverse of tag number one with the trees (post further down the blog). This is not really a quote it is a definition of the Law of Attraction.

The background is created using Shabby Shutters & Crushed Olive Distress Inks.

The stamp is Heidi Swapp, I first stamped in Crushed Olive then overstamped in Rangers Black Archival slightly to the side to give a shadowed appearance.

This second tag is the reverse of the second tag, with the TH cracked Embossing. This has been created using Spun Sugar & Milled Lavendar Distress Inks. The image is Elusive Designs & was stamped in Dusty Concorde then dusted with Inteference Violet Perfect Pearls.

I think this is the most important thing to remember. Life is now, not one of us can go back & change what has been, but tell me, do you really want to? After all, you are the person you are today because of what you have done, good or bad. I have screwed up in the past, done things I'm ashamed of, but I can tell you this for free, I'm very proud of who I am now, because I have worked damn hard to get from there to here.

Disaster has kind of struck, my printer is saying no I'm not certain if it is broken beyond repair or whether it can be sorted but right now it is the very last thing I need. I can see the need for a new one on the horizon but I love this one sooooo much, how rude!!!

Inspirational Tags, Part Two

2011-04-10T12:31:00.003+01:00

Here are tags Three and Four. To prevent bulk I have decided to create 8 tags & then add quotes to the reverse of them all to make a total of 16 quotes.

Tag Three is made with Tumbled Glass & China Blue distress inks with a touch of Dusty Concorde.

I then overstamped with TH Splatter Butterfly.

I picked up ink on a cotton bud to colour them in.

Tag Four is made with Victorian Velvet, Spun Sugar & Fired Brick distress inks.

The image is another TH from the Fairytale Frenzy set.

Inspirational Quotes, Tag Book

2011-04-08T06:33:00.003+01:00

Here are the first two tags in my book. I've uploaded them the wrong way round the second one is actually going to be the first in the book!

The tags are chipboard covered in thin white card. Once they are all complete, they will be punched & attached together I'm thinking a ball chain rather than book ring for the closure.

Tag 2, is inked in 3 shades of distress inks; Victorian Velvet, Spun Sugar & Worn lipstick.

I used the Cracked TH embossing folder. I think I inked the edges with Weathered Wood to give a bit of depth to the pinks.

Tag 1 is inked in 4 shades of distress inks; Broken China, Dusty Concorde, Tumbled Glass & a touch of weathered Wood. It is also gessoed to give a faded look to the trees in the background. My main tree CI209 is then stamped in Rangers Black Archival ink.

I will share some more in a few days time. I'm hoping to create at least 12 of these tags for all the really important quotes I have.

Crafty Indivduals No.1 Challenge

2011-04-05T06:26:00.002+01:00

The very first Crafty Individuals Challenge is "Simply Square". Having been a huge fan of these stamps, & own half the shop I was thrilled to see a challenge go up :0)

I coveted these trees for ages but as my creativity took a serious nosedive in September, I decided to wait until I felt up to cracking open the inks again. I bought these a couple of weeks ago & thought they would be perfect for this challenge.

I created my square on gloss cardstock using 4 shades of my favourite Adirondack Dye inks; Stonewashed, Denim, Lettuce & Pesto. I blended these to create a third green shade & then stamped my trees in black Rangers Archival Ink.

A Touch of Red

2011-04-03T15:03:00.004+01:00

I like to make tags for bookmarks. Especially thin tags such as this one below as they are perfect for reference books where you want to mark several places without the book getting bulked out. Whilst surfing some blogs late last night i came upon this challenge blog Less is More & the challenge was Touch of Red. So I thought my Gorjuss girl would fit the bill.

I was very lucky to be bought a fabulous Gorjuss Organiser by my work secret santa & I fell in love! I decided to purchase a few gorjuss girls to stamp inside it & this one called Foxy, really jumped out. This image is very similar to one in the book. My favourite in the book is Ruby, & I have a mug with her on, heading my way in the post, for my morning tea :0)

Back to the tag! It is created on white thin card which is 140gsm. This card while being thin, is still sturdy enough to stamp on & colour using distress inks. For this design I have simply stamped her in Black Rangers Archival ink & the touches of red are dark red wax crayon (I tidied up my craft stuff over the winter months & can not locate my pencil crayons!!)

In the winter months I just can not craft. The artificial light is poor & I fail to match shades of colour. I grew tired of throwing poor quality work away, wasting precious materials, so decided to put everything away until the lighter days got here. In the meantime, I have done a lot of reading & self discovery. But, I will be back soon. I am currently working on a mini tag book of inspirational quotes to keep me positive minded. I have not done too well with positive thoughts over the gloom of the snow & dark winter days.

It's My Birthday Today!!

2011-03-19T14:57:00.003Z

and I got some gorgeous cards & gifts from my scrapping/alterd art friends. Thank you, all.

Here are the latest cards that I have made for various friends.

Val - My SSG Teamie!!

Background made using Adirondack Dye Inks on Gloss card. Stamp - Cherry Pie

Galina

Adirondack inks again - stamp Paperbag Studios (Scanned image rather rubbish!)

Chris
Adirondack inks again - you can tell I adore using these baby's can't you!!!!! Stamp - Tim Holtz

I hope to share some more art with you soon.

Dad's Birthday - Yesterday!!

2011-03-10T19:24:00.004Z

but my internet would not play so I didn't get to upload this card I made for him!! He loved it though, so I'm pleased.

I stamped the greeting ( Stampin' Up) & bird (Stampers Anonymous) onto some of my home made coffee stained card then ran it through my Big Shot using my Textured Fades Woodgrain folder. Simple but very effective!

Two pieces of Art

2011-02-26T09:24:00.003Z

These are two pieces I made after treating myself to some new stamps. I love the black & white version with the gesso background but then felt it needed colour. So instead of messing this up I made a second one.

The colour version includes perfect pearls on the red section but unfortunately I had a slight accident & spilt water on it!!! So it has kind of lost the desired effect!

Still they are just test pieces really.

I made them & adhered them to piece of chipboard for strength. The plan is to turn them into wall hangings. Or they may just sit for a month on the shelf, knowing me!!!

Late Card

2011-02-12T16:04:00.003Z

This is the card I made for Rachel (SSG) I took a picture & it isn't too good but it came out far better than I expected it to! I based it on a design by Rachel Jackson in the February issue of Craft Stamper. I loved the white space of the design.

As it uses only small pieces of art it is simple & quick to produce. I used a texture fade by Tim Holtz to create a small square of Woodgrain & the stamp is Innovative Stamp Creations. All the other bits were from my stash. I love Rachel's work.

Another Birthday Card

2011-02-05T19:37:00.004Z

I apologise first for my terrible lack of blogging. I had great plans to do more but before I knew it January had come & gone!!!! I did make some art last week but not had a chance to take a decent photo of it.

This is a card made for a friend of mine, Pauline (SSG) who had a birthday at the end of Jan. I did make another for someone else, Rach (SSG) but just could not get a decent picture.

The background is made using Adirondack Dye inks which were on my craft mat & I just swooshed them onto glossy paper. I then stamped my all time favourite image. I never tire of this one!!

Cards

2011-01-22T18:01:00.002Z

Here are a few designs I made for birthdays at the beginning of this year.

Trees - Martin my brother in law - birthday 1st January

Faces - Carol - Chrysalis forum birthday

Alice Cooper/spin n splash - Penny - Chrysalis forum birthday

The trees & faces are Paperbag Studio stamps. The Alice Cooper heart was cut from a postcard.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T14:15:00.001Z

I wish all my blog friends A Very Merry Christmas.

Thank you all for reading my ramblings and viewing my artwork over the past year.

Thank you for sharing all of yours with me.

I look forward to getting back to crafting in the New Year and Hopefully be a better blogger too!

Love Paula x

Snow Week

2010-12-02T08:51:00.004Z

Snow has gripped the nation for the second time this year!!! I had hoped it wouldn't snow until 2011 after the pain of January, but as you all know by now, the more you want something to "not" happen the more likely it will! Our office was closed yesterday & will remain closed today.

However, I have not managed to get in since Monday due to cancelled trains & bus companies not being prepared to travel to Scunthorpe to take us into Grimsby.

I took this photo about half an hour ago, it is my landlord furiously digging a space in the snow so he can park the company van! (I live above his printing workshop & had a ring side seat lol)

Hope you are all dry, warm & enjoying the day. Sometimes you just have to give in & make the best of a bad situation!!

Happy Birthday, Katie!

2010-11-24T21:09:00.003Z

Today is my friend (& colleague) Katie's birthday. Here is just a sweet 'n' simple card I made for her. Tomorrow I am having a day off work to go with her to Meadowhall shopping. I'm hoping to find a new suit jacket!

I have been missing from blog land of late as I have been taking a break from crafting. I have been extremely tired and was not very well so in the evenings & at weekends I have been resting & snuggling under a fleece blanket to read or watch movies.

I have successfully tracked down, bought & installed 1GB of new memory into my home PC so it is now running at 1.5GB & seems so fast now it doesn't seem 5 years ago that I got it. With well over three quarters of its hard drive still empty I figure I have a fair few years more life from it :0)

Happy Anniversary....

2010-10-23T09:00:00.000+01:00

to my sister Tracy & brother in Law Martin.

Having seen the Jennifer McGuire Holiday Thinking Inking on 2peas & seeing the lovely examples of the block background technique on Godelieve's blog I decided to have a go. Unfortunately it went wrong afterwards & to rescue the card from ending its life in the bin, I had to cut the coloured piece with all my stamping & mount it to the front of another card!
Happy Anniversary to you both.

More Cards to Sell

2010-10-21T21:06:00.002+01:00

Since I took a batch of 25 cards into work to sell, I have sold 9 of them. I decided to create a few more to replace the sold ones at it is easier to do it regularly rather than wait until they are all gone. I did make 3 but due to poor light never got a photo of number 3. Better luck at the weekend!

A Chrysalis Forum Birthday

2010-10-18T17:49:00.002+01:00

We had a forum birthday a few weeks ago, but couldn't do the birthday game straight away. (We try to guess who made each card) The game is finally over today, so I can blog the card I made for the birthday girl, Carrie.

My card was made using some textured leather look cream cardstock folded. I then covered it with a piece of gorgeous soft brown handmade paper which encased rose petals. The next layer was just some torn mulberry paper in a softer brown. My image (Loast Coast) was stamped onto my homemade coffee stained paper in Archival Sepia ink. I added metallic eyelets to 3 corners. The strip of ribbon is some Anitas new Christmas range of sticky ribbon, which I actually attached some gold beads using silicone glue, nut not clear in the photo. The white paper flower was gently overstamped with a Stampers Anonymous image & then coloured using Antique Linen Distress ink. The flower centre is a broken ear ring someone gave to me.

I loved browns & creams & really wanted to create something in these colours. My only wish is that I had stamped my focal image in Smokey Grey Versafine to tone the colour down a bit & added some specks of melted gold embossing powder. Or even better, if I owned some Distress Embossing powder in Antique Linen I could have mixed the two together!

Almost Complete

2010-10-17T17:55:00.003+01:00

I have been out and about visiting friends this weekend. I haven't had much time to create but I do have another project on my table that is almost finished. This minibook "The Best of Me" was started November 2008, using an add on called "Lost Valley", which formed part of a Studio Calico kit "Fountain Square". Again, I am ashamed to admit it was left unloved & unfinished on the shelf.

It is a collection of my favourite photos taken of me by two professional photograhers. It is almost done, just waiting for good light for photos. Hope to share the rest later in the week.

Capturing Time Final Pages

2010-10-13T19:00:00.000+01:00

Here are the final 4 pages!

Page 49 Try

I love to try my hand at new things so I picked a photo of my most recent acrylic canvas.

Page 50 Home

I love to get home every day, but nothing beats a Friday nights, curtains drawn, candles lit.

Page 51 Drama
I adore Mystery drama such as Inspector Morse, and I love a good costume drama. The very newest of them being Downton Abbey.

Page 52 Remember

I made the final page based on remembering why I began this project. The background behind the acrylic Heidi Swapp clock is made with Adirondack inks Caramel, Butterscotch & Raisin. The picture is of a card I made a forum friend, Jo, back in April. I thought it quite fitting as I love the image & imagine that at any moment the butterfly will float off on shimmering wings.

Well it feels fantastic to have completed this minibook.All 52 pages look amazing together!

Capturing Time Project Part 1

2010-10-12T19:30:00.001+01:00

Blogger would not let me upload all 6 pictures at once!! So I will upload in several parts.

Here is the finished Capturing Time project that I began in 2008. See the post below for links to the very first pages done.

Page 47 Time for Winter

The photo was taken by me using my mobile phone when we had thick snow at the begining of this year. It is our largest local church.

Page 48 Time to IndulgeI believe everyone should have a small indulgence and mine is a full body massage every 6 weeks at Hayley's beauty spa. The picture doesn't show the room clearly.

Happy Birthday, Ange!

2010-10-11T19:33:00.002+01:00

One of my scrap friends (SSG teamie) had a birthday today and here is the card I sent her.

The main card was overstamped with french script. I then coloured a square with distress inks, Victoria Velvet, Shabby Shutters & Brushed Corduroy. Images are Innovative Stamp Creations. Butterfly was stamped in newspaper coloured with peeled paint.

I am going to be all technical now & schedule a blog post for tomorrow as I have finally completed a minibook I begun in 2008 Capturing Time. I embarked on what set out to be a 52 week project but life got in the way and after page 46, Ronda didn't do anymore prompts. I often look at it sat on my shelf beside the sofa & at the weekend I decided to finish it. I came up with 6 final pages & tomorrow I will share the photos.

The Finished Piece!

2010-10-09T10:50:00.002+01:00

Remember this piece that I showed you a few posts down, well I have finally completed it!!

I selected a bird stamp by Crafty Individuals & used a freebie image I got from my blog friend, Rein.

I think the image is just perfect & I am so happy it is finished after being sat for a year unloved.

Acrylic Collage Canvas - Family

2010-10-02T19:05:00.003+01:00

I made a collage on canvas around two years ago for a forum swap, but it was using distress inks.

This is my very first acrylic paint collage. My chosen design, family, was based on my main image, it is my Father & Grandfather. I also wanted to use earthy colours as my Grandfather was a farmer. I read books by Ann Baldwin & Claudine Hellmuth on glazing paints for backgrounds & decided this was for me. My support being a canvas board 5x7".

I began by selecting my background images & stamping these onto tissue. These were then "glued" to the canvas using Matte Golden Regular Gel Medium. I then tore two strips of patterned paper in designs I thought worked well with the colours I had in mind. I then began my glazing thinning the acrylic paint slightly with water just to get the right consistency. I used an overall colour of Cadmium Yellow Deep, as my first layer. I didn't want to cover the background completely as I felt the stamps were important to the piece. My Grandfather always wore a waistcoat & in the pocket he always had a pocket watch. The receipt type stamp is probably similar to the receipts my Grandfather received for buying goods for the farm.

Once I was happy with my layers of paint, I "glued" on my two pieces of text, both of which are open to interpretation. I thought "Life is a stage" quite apt because everyone has several stages in their lives. The single word "Life" supports the main image showing them both living their Life at that moment the camera captured them. Finally I added my main image & then cut my Father seperate from a second image & added him over the top of the original which gives a very nice 3D look ( which you probably can't pick up in the picture) but it represents him as the main part of this piece. Finally I took the Burnt Umber & applied in areas using my fingers to edge the piece & add shadow & depth around the base & side of the image.

Stamps; Prima/ Stampers Anonymous/ Artistic Stamper

Papers; 7Gypsies

Paint; Cadmium Yellow Deep/ Yellow Ochre/Burnt Sienna/ Red Ochre/Burnt Umber
Image; my own photo printed onto ordinary copy paper.

I am happy with how this first attempt turned out and am burning with ideas for a second!

A Card & some Work in Progress

2010-09-26T17:00:00.004+01:00

First up I have a very quick card for a friend who's birthday is on Tuesday. She doesn't have access to a computer so I know she won't be reading this. I simply stuck down the spotted paper & stamped text over the top before adding ribbon, flower (which is a two part felt one & doesn't show up!) plus a greeting, stamped on a scrap piece of kraft card.

This next piece is something I begun a year ago & then put it away as it wasn't "speaking to me". There are 3 pics of its progess. I am nearly done with it. Just need a final focal image & it can be mounted. I begun with masking tape, stamped images & skeleton leaves.

Next I added a coat of pva glue watered down. I then added alcohol inks in stream & meadow. Once dried it was then painted in places with my fingers using Rangers paint dabbers in shell pink & white. I also added silver embossing around all the edges.

Finally I glued on some real pressed flowers. All it needs is a couple of bits to finish it. Im thinking a focal image of a bird as this is very much a nature themed piece.

You know how it is though. You start a piece & you love it so much the last thing you wish to do is ruin it. I know I will eventually get this done & by blogging today, it might just spur me on to complete it sooner rather than later!!

I had a few days off work, am not well so decided a bit of rest wouldn't hurt. My blood pressure is a tad high & I keep feeling really nauseaous & dizzy. So, I had a follow up appointment booked to see the nurse on Friday, & decided Thursday as well would make a nice long weekend. I have spent my time re doing craft things I have begun & admitting defeat with other pieces & throwing them away. I got the urge to begin again almost straight away & it is going very well. Hope to show you the finished article next weekend, perhaps along with the one above!!
Craft really is the best medicine.

A bit more creativity!

2010-09-05T18:47:00.003+01:00

I've had a wonderful day of completing things. First up is my late tag for Karin, on the Chrysalis forum. I hosted this tag swap, early in the year & I think we all have one left to make before the challenge is over. It has been fun & we have done it at a steady pace that fits in with everyones life style & busy crafting timetable.

Karin's theme is sea/nature. I used a free CS stamp & a plate from the Stampers Guild.

The small ticket is from a Paperartsy plate. Rub ons spell the word "sea" on it. The background is high gloss card coloured with blue alcohol inks. I added white embossing around the edges & on the small aquamarine pearls to give a look of sea foam. The same design is on the reverse.

Next up are two more cards made using Joanne's idea from this month's Craft Stamper. Again I have adapted the designs & colours. I also use an embossing border for the inside edge of the cards. On this first one, I scored a border around the front panel. This one Im going to try & sell. It's only one altered art type & only the teeniest handmade background, no one will ever notice!!!

This next one, is for Trudie, my sister's friend, who had an asthma attack last week & was taken into hospital. I didn't stamp the image too darkly as I felt it would spoil the soft coloured background.

The colours I used for these two;

Birthday Card:- Antique Linen, Milled Lavender, Broken China & a tiny bit of Dusty Concorde on the edges.

Get Well Card:- Antique Linen, Tattered Rose & Worn Lipstick.

Other Items.
Stamps:-Papermania- Henbury Lane & Gel-A-Tins - Big & Wild Things.
Greetings Stamps- Stampin' Up.
Embossing Borders- Cuttlebug-With Love Set.

Another selection of cards

2010-08-30T17:24:00.004+01:00

that I will be taking to sell at work. I am only showing new ones, not reproductions of ones made before (with the exception of the last post where I showed a revamped one because it has been my most popular ever design)

This is another one which I couldn't get to sit with the top four!! The paper wasn't big enough unless I squashed them up. Can't afford any casualties at this late stage!!

Finally I got chance to play for the sheer sake of it. Something I have little time to do. Now I mentioned in my last post I had a tag that was outstanding, that has now been done & will eventually be posted to Karin in the next week. Sadly no decent photo to share with you yet.

My Chrysalis forum friend, Joanne, has got an article in the new Craft Stamper magazine (October 2010) As a subscriber, I already have my new issue hot off the press.

I love the designs she made & decided as I had time to play, I would make them for myself, but using a different colour palette. I selected, Antique Linen, Shabby Shutters & Peeled Paint Distress Inks for an earthy feel.

What you might not be able to see on here (though clicking on the photo might take you in closer) is that while the background & the black silhouettes were wet (CI-226) I carefully dusted on some Perfect Gold Perfect Pearls. The effect is very pretty. They look less black on the coloured part, almost bronze, but the black on the white remains mainly black with just flecks of the gold. I am very chuffed with the completed pieces.
By backing the designs in shades of green cardstock from the earth collection Co-ordinates, it finshed them off nicely with a touch of black card to make the white stand out.

It's been quite a while..

2010-08-23T19:54:00.003+01:00

since my last blog post & to be honest I hadn't realised! Is it me or does time seem to be flying by? Work is extremely busy, added to the fact people are taking holidays & we are all covering each other's client's. I have little or no energy when I get home. I have been creating more of my minibook of books, but that is not ready to share yet. I have a tag outstanding (which is very late) but it just isn't coming together as well as I planned it in my head.

I am also making a lot of cards here & there as the girls at work requested I put some in the office. Below is a photo of a small selection. So far I have 20, completed ones & 4 in varying stages of completion. It is quite hard making for people who will buy to give to friends & relatives. Their tastes are not necessarily mine & many of my beloved distress backgrounds are not suitable. I have also duplicated some of the cards you might have seen on this blog in the last year as they proved popular. I have changed the images & colours slightly as I don't like to make any two the same.

You might have spotted the card in the bottom left corner. This has proved to be the most loved from the last year. I have recreated it several times & to make it slightly different I have added different strips of paper. I also decorate the inside of each of my cards, so that does take a litle extra time. Most of the time i use a piece of the paper carried over to the inside with a decorative edge. Other times I stamp images or corner bits.

Also it is time to show two more pages of my desk calendar. I love to see it all day while working, it adds a bit of glamour to an otherwise boring desk. Let's face it there is nothing exciting about Insurance Policy booklets!! Although I do have a bendy padded flower, that smiles all day!

That is all for now. I must do some blog hopping soon, I try to do a bit each evening but my internet is slow & Im waiting on delivery of a new router. Take care , have a great BH weekend next week if you live here in the UK with me, otherwise, just have a great time.

Two Cards

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The first card is for Galina, who welcomed her new baby son into her beautiful family on 25th July. The picture quality isn't very good as I had to use my mobile phone. I seriously think the camera batteries have given up on me. I bought the stamp especially!

This card is for my sister Tracy & hubby, Martin to say welcome to your new home.

I just had to use my favourite October Afternoon paper for this with my Catslife Press definition stamp; Home. Also a Maya Road chipboard house.

The Good News....

2010-07-26T17:17:00.002+01:00

last week, my sister finally found somewhere new to live! They move in on Friday. I adored the farmhouse they rented, but this place looks pretty awesome to me too!! This began life as a barn!

I have to tell you, I'm envious of the space, as like the old place, it is miles from anywhere & those windows look devine!!

Now for some sad news, the SBK Club has ended, the ladies have shut down the shop & the DT is no more. It was a hard decision for them to make and I wish both Erika and Szilvia the very best of luck for the future. Erika recently had a new baby, making that two small children to look after while studying hard for a PhD. I admire her very much!

I ejoyed working with them both and I'm sure we will meet up in blogland again at some point.

Just Typical...

2010-07-12T20:41:00.003+01:00

I spent two whole days surrounded by paper & pretty things & couldn't make anything to save my life! Then today, I found out the card I promised I would make my colleague Katie for her best friend's birthday was needed for tomorrow & I had only made a start on it! I got the 22nd July in my mind & I have no idea why. To make it worse I didn't like the way it was going & so I had two hours this evening to pull something out of the bag. I think I might get by with this creation. I left myself barely enough time to get a photo of it & realise I haven't had a cup of tea since I walked in the door, wet through I might add, at 6.45pm. I did dive straight inot a hot bath & eat, always a good idea to eat first ;0)

This card is made using leftover pieces of paper from Basic Grey Blush & a tiny bit of Sultry thrown in. One of my fav Paperbag Studio stamps came to my rescue (yet again) along with a piece of lace that, despite cutting lots off, never seems to shrink in length. The shimmery butterfly is leftover from the tag I made Audrey.

Happy Birthday, Tracy!

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Happy Birthday to my sister, Tracy. I know she has just had a weekend in Scotland, but is home has has opened this so I am safe to blog it.

The background is made with acrylic paints, overstamped with my favourite Paperbag Studios Stamp, Being There. The flower is the free stamp from the very latest edition of Craft Stamper. I coloured it with chalk inks & added a polka dot brad. The strip of green card I added inside was just so the pretty edge could be displayed better. (Martha Stewart punch)

Tag for Audrey

2010-07-04T15:29:00.003+01:00

Here is another tag for the swap I am hosting on our Chrysalis forum. It is for Audrey & her theme is Butterflies. I had three attempts at this before I finally got the colours & design right.

I used a page from an old book which I covered in gesso and inked with Versamagic chalk ink, wheat. I then stamped on a seperate piece of card the Lilac image (papermania, wood mounted stamp) in Versamagic Chalk inks, Eggplant,Malted Mauve,Perfect Plumeria,Tea Leaves & Hint of Pesto.

As Audrey is a fan of neutral colours I tried to keep the colour minimal. I added torn scrapbook papers & lace & covered a chipboard butterfly with paper. I used a Martha Stewart punch to give the edging a bit of decoration.

If you haven't seen the latest SBK Club kit, check out my last post & follow the link. I can promise that there are some more lovely kits coming up.

Watch out for tomorrow as I will be blogging a card for my sister's birthday. Better not put it on today before she has opened it!

SBK Club Kit Reveal!

2010-06-26T07:55:00.005+01:00

The Celebration Kit is on sale now over at SBK Club! I enjoyed every moment of this vibrant kit. As it was full of such fun colours & rub ons, the only things I added to the kit were acrylic paints in periwinkle & lilac, my trusted corner rounder for some scalloping of circles & borders and my papermania diamond border punch. Finally I added some Heidi Swapp lettering for the title in my first page. I made a card with the left overs.

With this kit you’ll receive:
2 textured Bazzill cardstock (vanilla and pink)
1 Striped patterned paper by Junkitz - Salsa Chunky Stripe
2 double sided patterned papers by Fancy Pants - Party & Confetti
1 sheet full of rubons (Fancy Pants Celebrate line)
half sheet of Celebrate die cuts
1 pack of colourful buttons (Yabo)
6 paper flowers by SBK

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T17:19:00.003+01:00

I spent the weekend at my Dad's. He was in hospital over night for an op middle of last week so after work on Friday I went straight over to see him. He said he was fine but I thought I'd check for myself! He is actually very well and we spend a few days together.

Meanwhile my sister is busy trying to find a new home as they were recently given two months to vacate the gorgeous farmhouse that they live in. This is the problem faced by us tenants, you can never truly call your home, yours! She has had a few properties to see this weekend & finger's cross they look hopeful. They have the chickens & cats so they can't just move into the middle of town!!

I'm very tired and ready for a break, we are quite busy at work,so I haven't done much creating recently, but plenty of reading. I thought I might have some design team work to show you, but there is a delay with the kits.

Sneak Peeks

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of the next kit from SBK Club. This was fun to work with & the colours are so vibrant. It felt like summer as I created! Keep a look out over the weekend for the full reveal.

Well there are no doubt a few World Cup Widows among us, so it is good we have a fabulous hobby. I fortunately live alone so can please myself over what I watch on the television. But for those who can't this is the perfect time to create, or like me read. I'm still doing well with my reading & the minibook of books is coming on nicely. I should have photos to share later in the year.

Happy Birthday, Joy.

2010-06-09T19:43:00.002+01:00

Yesterday, was the birthday of my friend Joy. We have known each other since 1985 and when I was thinking what to make for her I knew these papers were just perfect.

They are Ella Blue by G.C.D studios & every single sheet is totally yummy. I teamed them with this image from paperbag studios, it is rapidly becoming one of my favourite rubber stamps, along with the flower stamp that was free with Craft Stamper a while ago.

May/June Calendar Pages

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These are two pages of the calendar I made for work. They were all made at the same time & based on the same simple design for speed. It really brightens up my desk.

I have sneak peeks ready to show of the next DT kit, but am not allowed to share until the right time. I have been crafting away at the weekends, working on my minibook of books and I also plan to complete the Capturing Time book that I began alongside my blog friend Rhonda. It was meant to be a 52 week project but we stopped at page 46. http://minibookpixie.blogspot.com/2009/01/time-minibook-part-2.html I hate unfinished things, so plan to complete it. However, work is hectic & by the time I get home, I have little desire to create. My team leader left last week & we had a "do" for him after work on Friday. It is going to feel very strange without him in the coming weeks!

Just to tease you...

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I have, here by my side, not one, not two even, but ...

FOUR amazing DT kits from SBK Club all ready & waiting for me to break open and create!!

They are stunning, each & every one.

Watch out for sneak peeks coming soon.

More Art to share

2010-05-17T20:18:00.003+01:00

I am around, just far too tired at the moment to be honest. The colder days have had me crawling under the duvet with my books once tea is done & dusted. I have made some art & as you might guess, the stupid camera batteries were flat. I finally got them charged up to take a picture of the latest piece.

This first tag is part of the tag book swap that I am hosting on our Chrysalis forum. I tried to show a photo of it a week ago but the stupid blogger wouldn't upload it! This is Carol's tag.

Her theme is words & quotes.

This card is for a scrapbooking teamie who had a birthday earlier this month.

This next tag is for Chris. Her theme is Children/Childhood.

This final piece is a tag for Jo, her theme is words/quotes.

SBK Club Kit, A Beautiful Day.

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You can find the kit on the SBK Club site.
The April kit contains:
2 sheets of Magenta double sided patterned paper
2 sheets of Bazzill cardstock
4 chipboard shapes (varies)
6 Webster's Pages journalling cards (varies)
2 ribbons (min. 30 cm each)
3 buttons (colour varies)

Here is a page I made using the chipboard shapes to spray ink over to create silhouettes.

This gift box was created from a single sheet of paper & a sheet of bazzill card. I made a tag from the off cuts & threaded through the blue ribbon before attaching to the box.

I Find Myself Very Honoured

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to have my blog included on here. It was a total suprise and blew me away.

Many Thanks go to Nancy Ward of PaperFriendly.

Some Art

2010-05-01T17:52:00.002+01:00

First off two cards. The first is a Laura Ashley creation to say Thank You to my sister, Tracy & BIL Martin for my Xmas gifts, which we finally got to exchange. Image is PaperArtsy. Flower -CS free stamp.

This second card is also PaperArtsy images. This time the card is for Jo's birthday two weeks ago.

Blogger however refused to upload my tag for Carol so I will have to try again another day!!!

I have been MIA for a while, life is too hectic & all I have been creating other than these bits are things I can't share. I did get my passport last month so can start preparing for my holiday.

Sneak Peeks & Calendar Pages

2010-04-05T16:59:00.003+01:00

Firstly I have to say sorry, but as well as comment moderation I have also had to put word verification back on my blog.

Some selfish people out there think it is fine to link from sexual related sites.

I for one will not tolerate it!

Next are two Sneaks for the forthcoming kit from SBK Club.

Keep an eye out for this kit is is very pretty.

Finally, I can show you the first 4 pages of my calendar. Unfortunately it did not photograph well & it is now in use on my desk at the office.

HAPPY EASTER

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A card for Marion, an old workmate from the last job I had. Paper is BG Kioshi. A birthday gift :0)

I just added the blossom rub on & the paper flowers with some jewels to give them some sparkle.

Now for my favourite card, my sister, Tracy's Easter card. I bought these stamps specially for it! The floral strip along the bottom is Kioshi Paper Ribbon. The floral brad is from a spring set I picked up a year ago that matched this beautiful paper. I chose the cardstock because it reminded me of birds eggs.

Paperfellows Storytelling Game

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Check this out over at SBK Club. You could win this fabulous prize.

Some Art to Share

2010-03-27T08:45:00.002Z

Hello people, sorry I have been absent a while, life gets in the way as you know. I spent over two hours going round other people's blogs, missing a show I had planned to watch in the process, only to discover people don't read blogs anymore, or at least they don't appear to read mine, so I felt like I had wasted my precious hours! Not something I intend to repeat.

First up is a birthday card for Joanne on our Chrysalis forum. It was Joanne's birthday the day after mine so we had two birthday games in one weekend. I used some gorgeous My Minds Eye paper, Life Stories Antique Flowers. I thought it went well with this stamped paperbag studio's image. The charm is actually a bit of broken bracelet passed to me by my mate Jade, who has her Grandma busy squirrelling these kind of things away for me. The ribbon is from one of Jade's garments & it finished the piece off. I used antique eyelets to match the colours in the card.

This piece is part of the Tag Swap that I am hosting on Chrysalis. The tag is for Carrie and made from fabric backed with felt. I printed the fabric paper with digital scrap paper from Digichick. I stamped my images using Adirondack Dye ink pads & stitched beads to the flowers by hand before fixing to the fabric with spraymount. I printed the girl onto fabric paper & glued her in place. I tried an image transfer but it was rather too bulky. I printed my quote out on vellum.