At last...

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!

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

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...?

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!

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

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...

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

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

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

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

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...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!!

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!!

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!