Merry Christmas

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

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!

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....

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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!

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

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

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!

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

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..

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

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....

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...

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!

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

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!

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

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

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.

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

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...

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

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.

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

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

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.