Last Challenges of 2007

I am combining two challenges in one today. The reason being, I have been into work today & have only just got home & sorted from shopping etc.. & I went in against my bettter judgement as I spent the majority of yesterday in bed unwell. My friend Louise, wasn't well on Christmas Day while I was at her house & both her parnter & I started with it the day after Boxing day. Its just a bug thingy aching joints, & tiredness. So I haven't been in blog land or any land for that matter other than nod!

This is my last piece of art for 2007 & it is for my very final AJ, Deck of Me challenge card 52- Art & TMTA, Fireworks of colour. I have done two shots of it, one with flash & one without, so you can get an idea of the true colour. I used alcohol inks Red Pepper, Eggplant, Wild Plum & a few drops of Silver mixatives.

The word Happy represents how I feel right now when I think about art. The tree (Crafty Individuals) represents growth as I hope my creativity will grow more.

I have a few more things to share with you in the New Year but for now I wish you all a very Happy & Creative 2008!

Christmas 2000!

I am busy making two Christmas minibooks right now & have little to actually share. But, just before Christmas I wanted to do a page about this tree. I had it in 2000. I had no computer desk back then & there was room for this 7ft tree to stand. I found the photo whilst looking for something else completely as you do & just had to scrap it. My tree this year is just my twigs with fairy lights that I used in the other layout. I am glad I found this picture. I have so few photos of Christmas's past. Papers are figgy pudding, title, font Tim Burton. Elements, papermania.

Sometimes its great to create just for the sake of it & it has been along time since I scrapped. I have another layout to share about Snow but it is proving hard to photograph.

TMTA & Theme Thursday

I'm trying to play catch up as I have got behind with the two challenges, Think Monday Think ATC & Theme Thursday. TMTA was Under The Tree. I have stamped various parcels & coloured them before sticking a Victorian tree image over the top.

I have this paper I handmade several weeks ago from Alcohol inks & gold mixatives. I stamped papermania foam flourishes using brilliance moonlight white ink. I then stamped the foam B in Brilliance red gold. Rub ons are letters from WHSmith & the word nature from A set of spring sayings. The bird is an image from my ephemera collection. I think it will suit the Theme Thursday flourishes well.

Wednesday Stamper - Open Theme

I'm hoping everyone has had a wonderful Christmas & Boxing Day. I had lunch with my best friend from work, & her partner, yesterday & today, cooked myself a beef joint & all the trimmings. I have been crafting all day trying to complete a mazebook for someone else for a birthday on 2nd Jan. I have the TMTA to do & saw that this weeks' Wednesday Stamper was an open theme. So I will share this that I made earlier in the month.

Below are three pictures of a mazebook I made for my very dear friend, Joy for her Christmas gift. I wanted her to have something handcrafted & pretty. Something just for her. Normally people end up with practical presents or edible presents or smellies. So I made a minature stamping delight of Little girls & Butterflies.

For anyone who would like to see pictures of the full book, I have put a slide show over on my Gallery blog, the link is in the sidebar.

Santa came & brought me a Bind It All, which is not out of the box yet. I have to complete a few projects first before beginning something new!!

This post is edited as I forgot to list the materials I used!!

Covers are Dovecraft designer paper, main book made with one sheet of doublesided new papermania sheet, Lilac Dragonfly. Stamps, Crafty Individuals (naturally), One from Stampshappen & Design Objectives corner stamps. Also used some rose printed vellum for some of the quotes.

&

My Christmas Layout & AJ WK51

It's Christmas Eve & I have done all I am going to. I have tidied the flat, done some housework & even managed to find a bit of time to get my AJ card done, as it is the penultimate card. I have done 3 layouts but one is still without a title & one is far too glittery to get a decent picture of. Here in Scunthorpe today, it is very damp & grey. But, who cares because I have great food in my fridge & freezer & Santa is coming.

This layout is My Christmas, I got the idea from a layout I saw in the Docraft mag. I loved the simple formation & the small pictures of my Christmas decorations.

AJ wk 51, I see/hear this & I think of you. I selected this picture of my diary. My very dear friend, Joy bought me it as she knew I adored purple & it is so pretty & soft like velvet. I use it everyday, it is slim & stylish & everytime that I see it I am reminded of her.

Paper is offcuts from a minibook I made two years ago, doodlebug.

I have been asked to create a minibook for 2nd January & at first I had hesitated due to the timescale & my need to make something for myself. But I am not going to make anything too elaborate as it is for an 18 year old boy. I can't believe it is two years since I made one for his 16th, the other one I made that same year, using this paper, was for an 18th. I am making this book for her. So anything I do will be liked. Well I had best get off & start scanning in the photos.

Have a Wonderful Craft filled Christmas, everyone.

Two Cards

Here are two cards I made that I can now share as I know the recipients have got them. Top one is papers from a papermania pack. Angels is Figgy Pudding, BG.

Merry Christmas to all my blog friends & other readers. I was playing around with a new banner especially for Xmas but time ran away with me.

I have a few things to do & I intend to rest as the massage took it out of me yesterday. Due to being so ill lately I have a lot of toxins built up & it hurt, especially my feet!

Later today I will be doing some creative crafting for myself.

Lastly, Happy 2nd Wedding Anniversary to Anne & Carol. Seems like only yesterday I was there taking the photos.

DCM - I'm Free

Today is supposed to be the shortest day, but so far I have got done almost everything I had to & there must be something in the air. I have posted three times, with three seperate dares & all with a design each. I must be on a very large roll!! I didn't think I would get time to do this dare for DCM tonight as I am going out with my colleagues for a staff meal. But, I sat watching telly & saw the freebies packs looking at me & the rest is history!! Paper was free in SI, Shoes, bag spotty bits & frame, PI & the stickers were given to me by a friend, they are papermania.

All I have left to do is TGIF, & that requires some thought!! Right Im off to chill out as we don't meet until 8pm. I have finished work now until New Year's Eve, when we will only be open half day. Tomorow is already booked up with errands & a full body massage.

4x4 Friday - Santa

Having wasted my evening falling asleep on the sofa, I was up very early wanting to create art! I often stamp images at this time of the morning, or even print them off my downloaded sheets & put them into my ephemera box so that I have something on standby to make things. Today I made this for the 4x4 Friday theme Santa. I love this Crafty Individuals stamp & have not used it since I bought it.

I was also very fortunate that the camera got a good shot of it. I have found a spot on top of the fridge freezer in the kitchen that has great light as long as you don't use shiny things as I did in this mornings earlier post for the Theme Thursday challenge!! It is not quite 7am so to get a photo this clear is a miracle. But, I have so much to do today I didn't want to get caught up in it all & miss this fabulous themed challenge!

Theme Thursday- ATC with Wings

It was 8pm when I realised there was a challenge this week. I had been checking the Theme Thursday blog all day, so it was a struggle to try & get a photo this morning. It is a bit blurred & the flash has hit the flower brad a bit hard. The dragon fly was less shiny. Paper is from DCWV Once Upon a Time. Image is one of my favourites.

I am so glad it's my last day at work as I feel I have got so much to do & am tired. I fell asleep on the sofa last night instead of finishing my page layout & getting the tags ready for my Xmas minibook in a tin. Maybe that will get done on Sunday!!

Wednesday Stamper - Light

I have no stamps depicting light so instead,

I went for a Christmas theme & selected a

photograph of my fireplace, candlelit.

I had problems getting a shot as it is quite

dark here now, so excuse it being a bit blurred

but the flash makes the big rub on word

Christmas look silver.

The only stamps I

had were two types of holly.

Paper is DCWV Eastern Promise.

All lettering are rub ons from stationery

shops. Big red brad, papermania.

This piece is a skinny, I've never made one before.

Arty Girlz - Words

The final Arty Girlz challenge for 2007, is words.

I aren't certain if this fits, but I made it first thing this morning. I fell in love with this stamp from CI-062 quite a while ago & deicided to buy myself it for Xmas. It is full of wonderful words & the angel child looks afraid. I thought it would be perfect for New Year wishes at it contains the common words we all associate with the coming year & as she looks a bit frightened, it conveys to me hesitation as none of us are sure what the New Year will bring. Sorry about the picture but it has never got daylight here today!!

AJ WK50 & TMTA

Well as it is closer to Christmas now I thought I'd use an xmas feel to both today's challenges.

Art Journal week 50, Greatest gift. I decided that as I've done my best present on the suprise card weeks ago I would choose something less material. I decided that the greatest gift I have ever had is my creative hands! They are good all year round for things I cook, bake & make & at xmas they let me create beautiful things to keep & to give to be used all the next year. Sadly the pic isn't the best & the shot looks blurred. The snowflake is spotted. These are all scraps & bits of ribbon that others have given.

I used to be a cross stitch fan for years & do still make the odd item, but RSI caused me to give up.

I had this Santa half completed in my needlework box, so set to work & finished him for this weeks'

TMTA theme, Cross stitch.

I stamped the card with holly & ivy & smudged a faint bit of red to give the white cardstock some colour. Adding shiny red brads for berries in the two corners.

TGIF - Angels

I have been following the challenge blog Thank God its Friday for sometime but never found time to play along. However, this week it is angels & I have a great love & a few of these around at the moment. I'm certain both recipients are now in possession of these cards. The blue ones are a pocket card to house a giftcard, bookmark & cheque for my sister & hubby. The brown angels are for a blog friend. They are both made using up scraps & my favourite CI angels stamp.

4x4 Friday - Blue & Silver

Well I'm back from the hairdressers' & the light is still very poor so although the script in the background on this was stamped in silvery blue & embossed in silver pearl, it looks greyish in the photo. If I got it to shine, the angels, that are stamped in silver were not visible so I cut my losses with it & went with the grey looking script. The vellum is also script silver. Both stamps are from Crafty Individuals. This is my entry for the 4x4 friday challenge. I intend to use this on a 5x5in card front at some stage as my beauticians' Xmas card.Fair trade, she gives me a fabulous massage every 6 weeks, I give her angels!

DCM - Inside & Out

The DCM challenge this week is to decorate your card inside as well as outside. All my cards are decorated inside as a rule,(the odd Xmas card may well have slipped through my net in a bid to get them out on 1st of the month!) either with swirls, bits of paper left over from the front piece etc, but I never photograph them as it just seems daft, & wastes disc space. So last night I had to start from scratch with one, as today is my hair appointment & it dawned on me at 8pm that I hadn't got Craig a card made!!! Being a bloke I couldn't go for anything too girly so that ruled out all my angels & I went for a good old fashioned tree! I kept the inside simple & used one of my stamps for the greeting.

Outside

Inside
I had begun a card for this challenge on a totally different theme but as Craig needs his card today the Xmas won over!! The 4x4 Friday is complete also, but light is still too poor to get a decent photo as it is very shiny due to embossed silver writing.

Theme Thursday - Friends

Theme Thursday this week is to use an image of friends or the word friend(s)somewhere on your artwork.

I immediately thought of this stamp from CI-086 that I have coveted for some time & finally acquired!! I stamped the image first onto white paper & then again onto pale purple card. I cut out the first image & stuck it onto a 4x4 square of card covered with HOTP Amethyst pad paper. Then I cut out the angels again from the purple card & what the photo doesn't show is they are mounted on foam sticky fixers to give a 3D effect. The words are my own, they came to me as I looked at this stamp.

Wednesday Stamper - Umberella

A full day at work after 4 days off & Im totally pooped! So for this weeks' Wednesday Stamper challenge I made an ATC. I stamped my corner florals & added bits the other side then inked the rest of the card in shades of red. I got the image from my ephemera collection.

Now Im going to look round a few blogs & then put my feet up! Or perhaps I ought to get cracking on my Xmas book in a Tin & complete my Xmas starbook! Nah! mug of tea & feet up until Emmerdale.

DCMLE & Arty Girlz

Today's challenge on DCM is to make gift tags & Arty Girlz asks us to handcut something. So here are my handcut CI Angels on mini tags. The angels are stamped in Brilliance Rocket Red Gold & boy did I have fun trying to get a picture of these!! The tag tops are craft glitter sticks about 70p from Tesco. They are like tinsel but pipe cleaners so they twist together. Backgrounds are stamped in script & a snowflake free on the cover of this moths' Craft Stamper. Both overstamped in versamark sky blue with a snowflake.

I'm still not well & have been back to the doctors for yet another prescription. At least the chest infection has cleared, I just need to get my nose clear. I'm on a steroid nasal spray as nothing else appears to work. If I hang over one more bowl of steam I swear I'll fall in,I'm so tired. It is 10 weeks since this all began & the Pixie is determind to be rid of it for Xmas. Lets face it, I'm going to need a bank loan soon the cost of all this is phenomenal!!

Andrea tagged me today, 7 things about myself. Now I know I've done this several times before but I do think they are good as blog people never really know you do they! I won't be tagging anyone but if you read this & fancy a go, then go for it!

1) I only feel assertive when I wear my work suit.

2) I love my Slo Cooker & cooking for the freezer.

3) I never get done all the craft things I want to.

4) I'm learning how to say No, & making myself things.

5) If I could have anything right now, it would be a clear nose!

6) I think Kurt Cobain was the most beautiful creature ever born.

7) I love Home & Away & Neighbours.

AJ WK49 Time Flies & TMTA- Mosaic

Art Journal wk 49, time flies! Well this year has gone in a blur for me. I just don't know where it went but looking at my computer & seeing all the artwork in my photo folders, at least I know I spent the time wisely & creatively! The card is a scrap of DCWV Once upon a time paper. I tore a calendar page from an old diary, & glued it onto the page. I love time & images related to it, so this gave me the chance to lightly ink up two of my fav clock stamps & apply them to the card. I also use one of the time quotes from the stamp set. They are from The Artistic stamper I have a link in the sidebar. I used mini clocks that I printed on transparency for my CJ. These were left over & I attached them with brads.

For TMTA Mosaics, I decided to use my mini patterned squares stamp, CI-178. It is fab for cutting up & using small sections. I stamped them in Versamagic eggplant. Selected 6 & glued them to lilac shimmer card. I then glued this to white card & finally onto navy. I added this buterfly lady from my printed ephemera collection & coloured her in with inks.

Thankfully new ink cartridges arrived today & Im going to make sure I print off the stuff I know I'll need next time I'm out of ink!!

Saturday Stamper- New Beginnings

For this challenge, I decided to make a Christmas decoration based on the new beginning of the birth of the infant Jesus. I used cream cardstock, cut the tryptich shape & painted the outside with acrylic paint, Boldmere Gold Hue, The Works. I stamped my CI Angels onto cream card in gold ink & cut them out to use as a sort of closure. I printed the words from some wordings sheets I made last Xmas for cards.

Inside, I stamped in gold ink my CI Script stamp & heat embossed with gold powder. Once dry I used a sponge & ink the whole thing with the same gold acrylic. Then using Brilliance Coffee Bean, I stamped some scrolls, Design Objectives, two inside one on the front.

The Madonna & Child are not my prefered one to use but as my printer ink won't be here until middle of next week, I have no others to use. She is only glued in with repositionable stuff so I could replace her with something far better. The image comes from a book I bought back in 1994 Christmas Craft Sourcebook by Gail Lawther. It is full of line drawings to trace.

I'm pleased with the completed design & plan to use it every year to grace my shelves. The colour is so gloriously rich. Let's hope I find a more fitting Madonna for this piece.

Crafty Individuals stamps are my favourites.

4x4 Friday - Mona Lisa

This week's 4x4 Friday was to add Mona Lisa somewwhere on your artwork. I thought this would be tricky as I have no stamps of Mona or ink in the printer, but I did find this B&W pic amongst my ephemera collection. I am so glad I built this up, printing off images when I see them as now I have a few to play with until the new cartridges arrive. My background was made by randomly stamping, using archival black ink all over an A4 sheet of card with clock & key images. Once the ink was dry I applied acrylic paints in reds oranges & browns. I added touches of gold & left to dry completely. Once I'd stuck my Mona onto it, I added bits of eggplant chalk ink to give more depth to the colours.

I inked the edges with back & stamped a floral flourish in Brilliance coffee bean.

DCM - Candy Stripes

I love candy stripes & I immediately though of this paper when I read the DCM blog last night. I used it to cover a clipboard earlier i the year & had bits left over. I got the 3 papers in a pack from Poundland. Images are stamped from See D's clear sets, in red (they were my orignial idea for last Fridays 4x4) I colourwashed them with inks. Anitas sticky ribbon across joins. It was great to do an ordinary card & will probably used as an Anniversary card for a couple celebrating their 2nd on 23rd December.

Christmas Card I can Blog

This card was made for my dearest friend, Louise. She opened it today at worked so I can show it now. The photo doesn't do it justice, the papers are stunning. This is from the Christmas backgrounds pad.

Papers, stamped angels & the singing girl acetate in the window are all from Crafty Individuals. Links can be found on the similar card below, DCMLE Buttons & Bows. I can't get enough of these stamps. I had challenged myself to use the same stamp as many times as possible but in different ways & I never tire of seeing it or any of my CI stamps come to think of it.

Wednesday Stamper & Theme Thursday

Wednesday Stamper "Toys" & Theme Thursday "Playing Cards" I combined the two themes as yesterdays attempt at the WS went pear shaped. It hasn't gone all that well today either, so it was either this or not enter at all. I used a playing card coverd in gesso & ink to apply my vintage toys. The problem began when I tried to stamp my train & boat onto the card, the designs wouldn't show up so I did them onto card & glued them on. Not quite how I wanted it but you win some you lose some. I mounted it all onto a blank ATC.

DCMLE - Buttons & Bows

I'm a bit cross as I ended up late home from work & so it was even darker for trying to get decent photso of my latest pieces of artwork! This one is for the DCM challenge. Still the only thing I would say is the flower is not this crimson IRL! Paper & Transparency, Crafty Individuals. Stamp, Stamps Happen. Button, Eyelets & ribbon, Papemania. Tag, WHSmith. Flower, Scrapfairies.

The card lifts upwards & if you can see, it is scored along the top. The pic of it open was too dark to share.The transparency is glued behind a cut out window in the card front, so whe it is open you can see right through & it looks really pretty.

It is of course a non Xmas card, but I think you might get away with sending it last minute if you forgot someone.

Arty Girlz - Christmas

I have to admit my heart sank when I saw the title of the post on the Arty Girlz blog. I have all the Xmas cards I need & then I remembered I had cut out all the pages & bits for my Starbook xmas decoration. I make myself something every year when possible. Its a tradition I began in 1987. I was in hospital & to pass the time I made knitted finger puppets of Santa & Snowmen & then stitched them across the bottom & made tree ornaments from them instead. Another year, I knitted a snow scene complete with knitted log & bits. Anyhow, enough of my ramblings, this is the first page of my lilac & pink starbook decoration.

I wanted to keep it completely lilac & pink but have since realised this is not going to work. For a start I have no ink left in my printer so can't print photos or my vintage images I had bought & I certainly can't afford to have some printed for me. My poor family are going without proper gifts this year as it is!

All About Eve - Hindsight

Papers are from book of Retro Sarapapers. ABC, 123 & picture stamps are a set of Anitas alphabets. Rub ons by papermania for the small title letters. Main title stamped using See D's dotty alphabet.

TMTA - Alice in Wonderland

Blogger had problems last night & as I did my blog hopping I noticed everyones pictures were missing so I held off uploading in case it wouldn't let me!!

This weeks theme for TMTA is Alice in Wonderland. I had no Alice stamps for this although I have seen two sets & drooled over them. They are quite pricey for me right now so I made do, using my heart background stamp, by Anitas & placing part of my Queen Tag stamp by Hampton Arts behind it to represent the Queen of Hearts. Then I found a small image of Alice & punched some red hearts from card, I embossed the crown section of the Queen Tag & cut it out to finish the top. Background was stamped in Brilliance Rocket Red Gold. The Queen is stamped in Brilliance Coffee Bean. It has a gorgeous gold shimmer in the right light. I called this Through the Looking Glass as my Alice has a heart shaped mirror & she can see the Queen in it.

Art Journal Week 48- Ideas

Another fabulous prompt this week for the Deck of Me challenge. Ideas was the word & I had so many!! This card is designed using an idea I pinched from something else I made. My entry for the 4x4 Friday challenge! Only I took this one step further & made the circle a small journal spot. I could have added far more pages but didn't have a larger blue photo turn!

Papers are an offcut from DCWV, Once Upon a Time. Art, taken from chipboard pack to match Old World papers, also DCWV. Stamp, Stamps Happen which I have since discovered has a name...it was written on the side..dhur! #90289 Postcard Collage. Poto turn & brad, Queen & Co.

I took a photo of it open so you can see my journal spot in its full glory.

Ideas come to me in the strangest places & at the oddest times. Often they don't work out on paper, many get thrown into the bits box to have parts cut off & reused on other projects. Some even find themselves filed in the B one n...bin!! This card is even an idea that originally went wrong. I'd planned a lightbulb embossed in gold that lifted up with my journalling underneath, but I just couldn't draw one & my printer is out of ink!

Saturday Stamper - Xmas with a Twist.

The challenge for this week's Saturday Stamper, is to make an Xmas card, but without using the word Christmas or a traditional image.

As I have done all my Xmas cards this suited me perfectly as it will actually do for a birthday or Anniversary. Sadly it is pouring with rain here today & the light is appaling so the colours on this card aren't true on screen. It isn't quite so red!

I can't believe it is already December. I have spent so much of this year ill with one thing or another. I am determind to feel better before Xmas day. Today I am finishing off a few gifts for my friends & then I'm going to do a bit of cleaning before considering which decorations are going up this year! I'm hopefully going to get my starbook completed as it is for myself for a decoration. I have my "Xmas in a Box", decoration that I made last year & hope that over the next few weeks I'm going to be making crafty things just for me. Everything is usually for other people so it will be good to have something to keep. My Art Journal cards are fabulous, they will be completed very soon & I can look forward to what Em has planned for us in the New Year.

DCM- Birds / 4x4 Friday- Red

DCM this week is Birds. I wasn't too happy with this & wish I hadn't bothered with it. I will probably use it as a notecard. No paper would go with this bird as it is meant for a scrapbook page or a clock. However, I have made all my xmas cards, there are just a few I can't share as they are for family & friends that read my blog.

4x4 Friday this week is Red. So I used this stamp by Stamps Happen to stamp the main image in Brilliance rocket red Gold. Though the gold doesn't show up well on this picture, it is dark now. Then I stamped a circle section again in Tea Leaves, punched out the circle & foam mounted it. All that was left for me to do was cut the design to 4x4ins.