Sunday Stamper: PS I love you.

Seasonal jollys dear fellow bloggers and I do hope you all had a good one! We all enjoyed ourselves here as our dearest daughters shared it with us and of course we had our grandson and son-in-law too, so much to eat and drink and share!

I also had an extra lovely gift in the post as  I was lucky enough to win this lovely book and tag from Hels and it came just before Christmas so I can have some projects planned for the New Year! Thank you so much Hels, I have made you a thank you card as my contribution for this weeks Sunday Stamper challenge, incorporating a heart and a sentiment that is really apt for you as the joy you give us with your blog really should come back to you in bucket loads dear friend!

 

I used my new Stampotique friend, Tangled, and layered him up with sticky fixers after colouring him in with distress markers, then added the sentiment with coffee archival, the thank you from layered letters and a wooden heart and a little red gingham bow. Thank you once again dear Hels, and PS I love you and your art!

I thought I would just add some photo's of the white grotto that I changed my dining area into. I made old fashioned paper garlands from copier paper and threw snowballs and snowflakes over them. Dear Hubby put round the lights and we also had a white tree. My dear grandson loved it! Also put away my blue and white china and got out the Christmas Tree set that I have been saving for about 20 years,-  no I'm not rich, they are all second quality that I find on Ebay and at outlet shops, but the girls and I love it coming out!

 

 

 

Only a few more days and it will all have to be packed away until next year, so must make the most of it.

May I wish all of you a very happy remainder of the holiday. Not quite the New Year yet! xx

A Christmas Bauble!

I had stopped putting my Tag Tuesday offerings on this blog, but this week Carolyn challenged us to decorate a Christmas Bauble, so in the spirit of the festive season I thought I would pop it on here too! My Christmas tree is mainly decorated with red and gold and so I made this to match.



I die cut three of Tims large bauble shapes from the protective layer from a box of chocolates that I was then FORCED to eat! (The chocolates I mean!) Then I cut a piece from red music paper and finally from red glitter but added the Joy shape first. They were duly adhered and a piece of red music paper in the reverse colouring put on the back. Tims' winter garland supplied the little holly leaves with red gems for berries. My dear friend Sally had given me a pile of lovely Marianne die cut fir tree branches and these are the last ones, I stamped them with a little music stamp I have with barn Door distress and finished it off with a little gold bow.

It has turned out surprisingly sturdy but light weight, I could imagine a little tree covered with these!

If you have not visited Tag Tuesday before I recommend you press here as everyone comes up with such a delightful variety to each weeks theme! Hope all is going well with your preparations! Hugs x

Sunday Stampers: Holly

I still haven't made all my Christmas cards! How shocking is that when I have lovely stamps and dies and papers! Here is one in which I incorporated Holly for Hels challenge at the Sunday Stamper for this week.

 

I took a plain white card and edged it with festive berries distress ink. Then I tore a piece of green Christmas paper and went round the edge with forest moss. The holly leaves are die cut with Tims' die and coloured and stamped with the same forest moss. The little tag was stamped with festive berries and attached to some burlap with a snowflake brad. The berries are some little gems and the two wooden snowflakes were inked and covered with rock candy distress glitter, I love that stuff as it has big and small particles of glitter and doesn't overbling the card. The small tinsel strand was attached to the bottom and there we are, another one made! I must away now and keep plodding on. What I want to know is where did my good intentions go? I was intending to  have Christmas all wrapped up by the end of November!! Never mind, I guess all this rushing round will make it feel very exciting, as long as I don't fall asleep during Christmas dinner. Hope you are all coping well with getting everything ready. X

Sunday Stamper: Noel

Oh my goodness Christmas is catching up with me. I haven't got all my presents, not wrapped a thing and haven't posted my cards let alone made them all! I'm sorry - this is a very simples tag before I rush off to work, and will be made into a card for a friend. 'Killing two with one...' so to speak, but I so wanted to do this challenge as I love the Noel die from Tim and treated myself to it last year.

 

 

My fav. technique of the moment, swirling a tag onto distress ink and the new metallic stains, this is pewter with forest moss and mowed lawn. Noel was cut from that lovely shiny mirror card, holly leaves from Tim's die and the 25 from some lovely paper I had in my stash. The background to the tag was a beautiful spray of holly stamp I have had a while in black archival. It is going on a plain card that I have stamped with the holly when I can find it under the pile of things to do! Hope you are all doing better than me with getting ready for Christmas! Love to you all, be back soon I hope! x

Tim's December Tags

This is lovely, I have been able to spend some time in the craftroom and finish Tim's Tags for December as well as make another Christmas card, and visit my Dad and do the shopping and put some washing on and fly round with the Dyson! Hows about that then! Productive or what?

Without further ado here are my two tags:



 

This month I had nearly all the right stash but had to use a wooden snowflake on the first one and on the second I stamped a journal ticket from my Wendy Vecchi set and used a spellbinder poinsettia die. Tim's tattered one is on my Christmas wish list, hope Santa is listening!

I enjoyed these tags so much I had a go at doing a card using elements of each:

 

I used the soldier blueprint stamp again (I love him) and layered him up as per Tim's instructions, then added some of my new pot of Rockcandy glitter to the two painted snowflakes and added a tattered red gingham bow to the ticket. Think I may go on a roll with these designs, just wish the metallic stains would show more when I photograph them. It's the light, very difficult to get it right at this time of year!

Sunday Stamper: Tags

What a lovely crisp morning this is! Just the weather to put on my walking boots and go out and admire the countryside. I thought I would celebrate the season by doing a 'tag with tags' for Hels challenge over at the Sunday Stamper.



I made the background to the large stamp with Forest Moss stain and Metallic Pewter stain by sloshing them on the craft mat and drying off in layers. The sheen from the metallic doesn't show up well in the photo. Then I stamped in Forest Moss the different fir tree stamps I have from Tim and then die cut the branches with a Marianne die and added the Tim fir cone die. The snowflakes were on a ribbon and I love the holographic shine to them. 'Winter Trees' was added at the bottom with crystal stickies to add to the winter sparkle.

The tag's tag's (!) were die cut from a sizzix die I have had from the start of my die cutting adventures, coloured in the same way as the large one and then a little piece of burlap added to each one. The holly, Ivy and mistletoe dies were from Marianne and Tim dies that I coloured in with Forest Moss distress marker and then made a little label and added snowflakes.

That was fun to make. I have also managed three Christmas cards which is not at all enough, so I will off to make a few more and have a show and tell later. I'm getting properly in the spirit of things now! Good excuse for a nice lot of bling. I love Hel's poinsettia she has made over on her blog, methinks I must get the melt pot out! Have a lovely day everyone. x

Sunday Stamper: All those Years Ago.

Wow what a week! Firstly my dearest number 2 daughter caught that very nasty gastric bug and my dearest grandson was very ill too. My son-in-law was in hospital having a painful operation on his nose and so I pitched in to do what I could. Then I caught it, then Hubby caught it and now dearest number 3 daughter is being gloriously sick. It's quite horrid but over with now and Ryder was laughing at me this afternoon. However the silver lining was I have won Hels give-away in the Sunday Stamper challenge and so have the glorious book to look forward to reading. Thank you so much Hels, you are a very talented star!

For the Sunday Stamper challenge this week in which Hels asking us for something vintage I have managed a tag.


The background was embossed with Tim's woodgrain folder and painted with picket fence distress paint which was sanded back when it had dried. I got this technique from the Funkie Junkie's twelve tags of Christmas. Absolutely wonderful tags she makes, my woodgrain does not look as good as hers, please check it out if you are one of the few who doesn't know about her! Next I embossed Tim's Christmas folder and cut out the Christmas Wishes which I coloured with mowed lawn and pine needle distress ink. Next came Tim's blueprint stamp of the soldier, (I had to have these!) which I coloured with my distress markers and fussy cut. Next was Tim's snowflake die (what would I do without his products) cut from some vintage coloured star paper and then spread photo distress stickles on top. I used walnut stain around the edge of the tag, threaded some old beads onto wires and used red and green sari ribbon and there you are, vintage enough I hope!
Well, I am off to try some soup, still don't feel like eating a proper meal. I do hope you are all well and dry. Looks like keeping warm will be our next challenge! x

Sunday Stamper: Faces.

Seeing Hel's challenge I went and rumaged amongst my stamps to get out my faces, but then I saw this Paperbag Studio's image and fell in love with her again as I hadn't used her for a long time. I just felt she went with my new Dylusion stamps of words for Christmas and had to use these ones!

She is placed on Bo Bunny paper that I overstamped in gold acrylic with a garden flourish of Tim's, then overlaid with a Prima pearl flourish and garnished with a burlap bow with co-ordinnating lace. The little lass was coloured with Distress pens and cut out to fit the circle. The background of the card was distressed with Wanut Stain.

 

I think I must find a little girl now to send this to as she makes up her mind how to be before Christmas, she'd better choose nice or Santa won't visit!

Hope I get some more crafting done this week, so see you soon! Keep dry. x

Sunday Stamper. Birds.

Just in the nick of time I finished a journal page from the Kate Crane workshop I attended recently. I had always wanted to put birds in it and then the bluebird of happiness came to mind. It's good to think that after troubled times you can look up and find a patch of blue sky and suddenly everything is not so grey. Here in my garden of bright Dylusion inks and butterflies and birds he comes flying in! I used an assortment of stamps and can't remember all of them, but the bluebird is one of Tim's and the bird tables I have had such a long time with no name of origin left.



 

 

Put your sunglasses on! I love the brightness of dylusion inks, great fun to use. Hope you all have a great weekend. Thanks for looking. x

Tags of 2012 November.

Gosh November half way through already! Not sure I will be able to get my head together to start Christmas but the Tim Holtz November tag was as brilliant as the man usually does and lets us celebrate the end of Autumn. As usual I didn't have all his lovely bits but really enjoyed how this one came out.



He has inspired us to use the batik look by resist embossing and then colouring the back before ironing away the embossing powder. I don't have his lovely stamp set so I used a part of a corn stalk stamp I have, it was not as big as Tim's but worked well. Then I used November from his Seasonal stickers down the side. I only have the winter die strip so used part of it with some punched leaves and an acorn. I found the piece of burlap in my stash and it is under there but a wee touch too small! When I had finished I realised my bits were not balanced so added the 3D corn stalks and liked  the effect. I am learning such a lot by doing the tags and I love this technique. To see Tim's challenge and his lovely tag go here and enjoy the master at work!

 

I'm still at sixes and sevens as they say but when I can I love to splash about with my inks and papers, it lifts the spirit. Thank you so much to  those lovely lovely people who left such comforting comments, you are all so kind. x

Thank you and Sunday Stamper: Blue

Firstly, THANKYOU for your lovely comments they meant a lot. Mum died peacefully this week. I am not feeling as I thought I would, I'm a bit lost and at times function normally and then get lost. My mum was ill for a long time so she is at  peace now.

I managed to concentrate for a few hours at a workshop the other week and wondered if my journal page would qualify for Hels' challenge for this week. As you can see I have used blue as an accent colour. Thank you Kate, I learnt a lot and to Wendy at the Stamp Attic for the lovely workshops she puts on.

 

Not my usual style but I have always admired the way Kate Crane produces such vibrant colour and I realise now that I must be patient and make it up in layers! The dolls body was the outlandish bit for me and the other journal tag could have been 'I don't have a thing to wear!' but it was lovely to play with all the stamps Kate bought for us to play with. I have made her shoes sparkly with a sakura pen but it doesn't show in the photo.

My mum would have laughed so at this, she always enjoyed drawing and looking at my offerings.

I think I must try and do some dreaded 'H' word things now as my home has been sadly neglected. Love to you all x

Difficult times.

Hello dear blogging pals. The reason for my absence from my favourite challenges like Sunday Stamper is because my dear Mum is losing her fight with cancer. I get an odd spell of crafting which is helping no end from the sadness, hope to post something soon. 

Do me a favour, tell everyone you care about what they mean to to you, life is so precious. x

Halloween Horror!

Hi everyone. I have now posted my card to dearest friend Sally, so I can blog it. A play with all things Halloween and Horrible!



 

 

Papers by the Apothecary Emporium collection by Echo Park. Skull and Bat stamp by Tim Holtz. Spiders from well known supermarket. Embossed web inked with Black Soot distress, bottle by idea-ology with Tim Holtz stamped label and sentiment from same stamp set double stamped with Black Soot and Ripe Persimmon Distress ink. Skull triple layered for dimension.

Spooky! Be back later this weekend, enjoy yourselves. x

Sunday Stamper: Metal Gods

I have been wanting to try a drink can metal snowflake for a while so when I saw Hel's challenge this week I thought I would have a go and start on my Christmas tags early.  



First of all I die cut a black tag and swished it in Brushed Pewter distress stain. Then I loaded it into a snowflake embossing folder after I had inked the inside with a silver Brilliance pad. I quite like the texture that this made the background. Then I took his quote and embossed in Pewter on black card, cut to shape and stuck it on top. The Snowflake was die cut using nestabilities snowflake out of a drinks can that cuts easily with my tonic scissors. I did the small one the same and then used alcohol ink in Slate and Cranberry just to take the glare of the aluminium away. The reverse side with the print on looked good too, I shall have to save that for another day!

Then I used different size red gems for accent and added one to the sentiment. A red ribbon at the top and there we go!  Great fun and the metal was free! Hope you are all having a great Sunday. I'm off to play again. x

Tim's Tag for October.

Here we go with another fab tag from the King of Craft, laden with Halloween spookiness! As usual I had to improvise a tadge but I loved doing the tissue paper background.



Can't seem to get his tissue paper anywhere so I stamped his script from his mini new stamp set over some packing tissue and crumpled as per his instructions. Then I inked and 'acryliced' over the top and stamped his cobweb on in archival black. I haven't got his lovely gothic Boo so used an old set of letters that were very red glittered so I toned down the red with black alcohol ink and black soot distress and cut around a flourish to make it look more gothic. I didn't have two 'o's' so I masacred an 8 instead! No die cut spider and so a freeky plastic one got the red and black glitter treatment. No calender stamp but used the arsenic label from his stamp set. Suitably eery I  hope! Off now to play again, see you all soon. x

Sunday Stamper: Snowflakes.

After my day playing with dark spooky Halloweenness it was lovely to see Hel's challenge on the Sunday Stamper this week which is Snowflakes! I have just blown my pocket money this month on Tim's new snowflake rosette dies, so I made a pile just using some cartridge paper. Then I cut a circle ring out of an old cereal box and glued them on.

 

I love the texture these snowflakes make and I'm sure that I shall be using them a lot this Christmas!

 

They didn't look cold enough just plain white and so I mixed up two mini misters with Shaded Lilac and Salty Ocean reinkers. water and some cosmic shimmer powder in pewter and lightly sprayed over the wreath. Then I put dabs of glue on the snowflakes and sprinkled silver and blue bedazzles over them. I think I may do another one and add holly leaves and berries for contrast. It is a lot easier making these with a hot glue gun although I burnt my fingers in the excitement of putting them together! I hope you all have a lovely Sunday, I have two of my girls and my grandson and lovely son-in-law coming to dinner, can't wait to see them all! x

Spooky House Mayhem!

Hello peeps, hope you are all having a lovely weekend. I did some of the dreaded H word this morning and so rewarded myself with some inky play this afternoon. I had this little wooden house that had been hanging around for a while so decided to turn it into a  Halloween Mansion.

 

 

It is not quite full up yet but I had used up all my appropriate stash so will have to wait until I see the last bits. I painted the house a mixture of green orange and black acrylic and then cut up some papers for the background and also made some with my Dylusion sprays. I used Tim Holtz mini stamps that I have recently brought  and some of his seasonal stickers. I filled some glass bottles with red ink and pearls, used his blueprint tomb stone stamp behind some railings cut using my Martha Stewart punch, a little wax owl I made at one of Hel Sheridans workshops at the Stamp Attic ages ago, cut out and glossy accented one of Tims blueprint bats and hung up a spooky hand and a skull. Isn't the spider on the roof yukky! Good job it's plastic! Then I dyed some muslin black and ripped it up for the sides. I am pleased with the light. I stamped Ti'ms Halloween spectators onto some acetate packing with black Stayzon, then used orange alcohol ink for the background and taped it around one of those battery night-lights. Tim taught us that trick when I went to a workshop a couple of years ago and made my first configuration box!

Have crafty fun everyone,  be back soon. x

Sunday Stamper: Happy Heart.

Here I am again folks with the last piece of my banner. Hels has invited us to do something that makes us happy. Well I have to say Autumn does that for me. I love the temperature 'cos I'm no good in the heat. I love the colours and the smell and how the trees turn into beautiful hues and stamping on scrunchy dried leaves and splashing in puddles and conkers and acorns and berries and hot soup and the smell of bonfires and I could go on and on. I decided to emboss my banner first with a leaf plate and then did it again and cut out some of the leaves for dimension. Then I put my hand to a few distress inks that are the right colour and splashed about with them!



I chose Dried Marigold, Ripe Persimmon. Rusty Hinge, Peeled Paint, Bundled Sage and Gathered Twigs. The sentiment is from elusive Images and the large leaf that has been  layered with sticky pads is from Tim's new blueprint set. I rubbed some viva gold paste here and there but it hasn't shown up in the photo.

Then I tried to photograph the whole banner, and what a job that was! In the end I laid it out on the carpet which has photographed very badly, but I hope you get the idea!

I love it when a project comes together! My next challenge is to climb over all the heaps stuff in the craftroom and find a space on the wall above the shelf to hang it. I shall photograph it when it is up but I guess that won't be today!

Hope you are all having a  lovely Sunday. x

 

My Little Man!

Just because I had to, here is a recent photo of my little grandson now aged 8 weeks and weighing nearly 13 and a half pounds! I absolutely love him to bits and am very proud of my dearest Jenni and Kevin and will be for ever grateful for him.



I'll be back shortly with my Sunday stamper Challenge and completed banner! x

Compendium of Curiosities 2 No 22.

Me again - getting to be a habit, but I have a lot going on in my world so crafting is an unwind! Wanted to have a go at Linda Leadbetters Compendium of Curiosities weekly challenge which can be found here and this week is about Tim's Rivetted Patchwork technique which he also used for this months tag.This week the challenge is being sponsored by The Funky Junkie who can be found here, so fingers crossed as there is a fandabolosy prize! I enjoyed doing Tim's tag so much I wanted to try for something different on this one. I have gone for a Halloween theme.

 

 

I made the background according to Tim's instructions in his book. Then out cut out the skull and bones from his Blueprint Stamps and coloured with various distress Markers. Then I used an old Top hat stamp and black embossed several and layered them up. I filled the eyes sockets in with red gems. Then I punched a tiny hole in his teeth to push a rose through which I coloured with Festive Berries distress re-inker as it is a glorious blood colour. Then from the same stamp set I cut out the large Tombstone and coloured with Pumice Stone distress marker and my watercolour brush. I had a lovely red cloisonne bead in the shape of a cross which I placed on top and punched out the railings from black card with my Martha Stewart punch. Finally the bat from the same blueprint set in the corner coloured with Black Soot distress pad and marker. I then dribbled some 'blood' from this mouth and added some red textured yarn at the top. Oooh didn't think I could be so blood-thirsty! Think I may have to try and do a Halloween card now! x

A plethora of clocks!

+Today over on Tag Tuesday the theme for the week is Clocks. I have been admiring the work of Anna Dabrowski who has a wonderful blog here and so I thought I would have a go at making an overloaded tag for the challenge.

I used Tim Holtz' enamelling technique for the base of the tag and then promptly covered it up with pieces of corrugated card, die cut clock pieces, doilies, and all my clock stamps. I used die cut cogs and minaturised some from shrink plastic. Then I hinged another piece for the bottom, gave it the same treatment and topped it with an idea-ology clock face. The  metal charm and word tab on the top went perfectly.

 

 

The scary bit came when I sprayed it with Dylusion brown ink and some made-up spray using various toned distress inks. Anna uses black ink on her pieces sometimes to great effect but I chickened out! I have a long way to go and a lot to practice but I did enjoy making this piece. Perhaps the next one I shall be able to use up someof my 'treasures' I have been keeping for a rainy day! What do you mean it's raining, surely not, this is England! Cheers peeps, keep warm and dry. Hugs x

 

Sunday Stampers: Masks.

I am nearly at the end of my banner of Sunday Stamper challenges. Just one more to go and then I shall have to figure out how to photograph it and then I shall have to figure out how to hang it in said craft room! It is quite difficult trying to get something balanced in the triangle shape, I much prefer to do tags, having said that this was a good challenge this week and I wasted a few pennants until I hit on this one. I used Dylusion inks in the background and then stamped Dina Wakley's lady stamp in black archival, then stamped her again on some spare card to cut out for the MASK. Then I was able to use one of Tim's mini grunge stamps in Pickled Raspberry distress around the right side and his sun rays in rusty hinge distress to her left over the mask without getting her all messed up!

 



The 'mirror frame' was from Tim's new mini stamp set and I used black embossing powder on it and coloured the center with silver acrylic dabber before adding her head. The words were from my stash, I mean a girl can't look beautiful all the time can she?  Then I realised that I had put always and almost  the wrong way round, but on reflection (get it?) perhaps that is a better saying! The roses were sprayed with Dylusion ink and the O is grunge board with silver dabber on. I wanted to use a figure towards the end of the banner to balance up with the start, hopefully it will all work out when I post it next week!

Sally and I do butterflies!

While I was in lovely Nantwich Sally and I made a pledge to resume sending a card to each other every month. We bought a lovely new butterfly die and decided we would have to use it on our next card. Here is the beauty Sally sent me:



 

She doesn't have a blog but I really feel she should do one and share her lovely creations, I hope you will all agree! Here is the one I have sent her:

 

 

And here is a side view of the stacked butterflies.

 

 

I used an asssortment of papers that were a freebie in a magazine and made the little flower on the side. I love the butterfly die from Marrianne Design and I'm sure I will find lots of uses for it. This was a layer of three with the addition of stickles on the last one for a bit of bling.

Two different cards from the same die, hope you have enjoyed! x

 

Stumped!

During my visit to Sally I paid a visit to the lovely church in Nantwich while Sal went to an important meeting nearby. I fell in love with the fabulous West Wall curtain and when I got talking to a lovely lady doing some beautiful flowers she told me the tale of the black knickers!

 



This fabulous couple are part of the rich stump work on the curtain and she told me that when the lady who created them found out that they would be place above eye level she put a pair of black knickers with a red lacy trim on the lady! Now I didn't peep, but what a delicious story! The curtain is full of wonderful characters and it inspired me to try my tag for the tag tuesday challenge in said stump work which I have not tried before. The theme this week is Owls, so here he is:

  

 

 

Having tried this I am more in awe of the fabulous work on the curtain. Owly was made out of pieces of Harris tweed and lots of buttons from my stash. The branch was tissue tape wrapped around wire with a distressed stained punched leaf and a glass pebble for the moon. I tried for a Barn Owl and so his heart shaped face was cut from muslin, frayed and stained around the edge with distress and a little felt beak. My stitching needs working on but fun to do. Have a good day everyone! x

Sunday Stamper: Tie a yellow ribbon.

I spent a wonderful few days with my dear friend Sally last week and she did me the power of good and spoilt me rotten!  We of course fitted in some crafting and she let me play with her new Tim Holtz stamps which I made into a card and it seemed appropriate for this weeks challenge.

 



 

Firstly I sprayed random squirts of a yellow cosmic shimmer spray, then stamped the Acorn stamp in brown Archival. I followed this by spraying some Autumnal shades of Mica on a sheet and stamping it again and then decoupaged the different pieces. The oak leaves from the same set were coloured with sprays and distress inks in various shades, cut out, crumpled for texture and then stuck down. Sally had a little oak leaf stamp which had the same treatment in a pile to the side for balance and then I cut out the word Oak from the first stamp and layered it in the top right. The yellow shades of sari ribbon tied onto the beads were also from Sally who has given me my first lesson in beading and I am now hooked! I made a random border with a gel pen and then used Walnut stain on the edges.

It was lovely to make a card which I haven't done for ages and these stamps are gorgous, I shall have to have them! Hope you are all enjoying some sun as we are here in Wiltshire. Thanks again Sally! x

Sunday Stamper: A Riot of Colour.

I have been grappling with blackberries for my Tag Tuesday challenge (please click on link to be transported to a haven of Autumn fruitfullness!) and having finished that then done the ironing (ugh!) I thought I would enjoy myself making another piece of my banner with a clashing fantabilosier of  Dylusion sprays for Hel's challenge for the Sunday stamper this week.

 

 

This piece of madness was fun to make for the first O in rOom, and I used purple and pink Dylusion sprays sloshed about on my craft sheet, dried and then picked up again until I got the layers right. Then I stamped a Paper Artsy Hot Pick of a Robotic Human, layered him again after colouring him in with pickled raspberry distress and of course put a little sparkling robin on his shoulder. What else could he be carrying but a green flying pig from Graphic 45 with some shrunk vibrant green cogs and the label in a book mark coloured and sanded with mowed grass distress. A piece of green ribbon and an audience of men in the 'upper circle' from the same Paper Artsy set and there you go, a bit of insanity from me! What fun just to make a riot, thanks Hels!

A sunday of the Compendium of Curiosities and patches!

Greetings one and all! What a lovely sunny Autumn day and the first day of a week off for me. I have been celebrating by arranging with my dearest friend Sally to go and visit her and by making a Tim tag for the Compendium of Curiosities hosted by the lovely Linda Ledbetter. I have always wanted to have a go and so here is my first attempt at Enamelled Stamping as instructed on page 44 in Tim's second book.

 

I enamelled as per Tim's instructions a Drapers receipt stamp I have and then used blue distress inks, methinks I should have made the background a tadge darker but the image really 'pops' doing this! Then I raided my stash for some sewing goodies and stuck them down parting with a precious pair of scissors Sally brought me last time I visited her. I shall really try and keep up with this challenge as you know me, I love anything Tim!
 

This afternoon I have been mainly making patches. I haven't made a quilt since the girls (now women) were little. I found a book of photographs of all my quilts and got the itch to see if I could still do it. This will be a scrap Log Cabin quilt, made in Autumn colours. I've got seven blocks made up so far. It was lovely to sit in the conservatory with the birds singing and the smell of new mown grass as Hubby played in the garden.
 

 

 

I will be spending the day with my dearest number 2 daughter Jenni tomorrow and my darling grandson Ryder. I can't wait! Hope you have all enjoyed the glorious sun today. Hope to post again asap! xx

Tim's September tag..

How does the guy do it? Another winner, I can see me using the technique for this one to make male cards and covers for books for Christmas. Like so many, I did not have all the bits and bobs but I loved the design so much I decided to try and mimic it as well as I could. I enjoyed making the embellishments but have to say that his idea-ology range is amazing and if I ever win the lottery I am having a Tim room full of all his products!

So here is goes:

 

The metal background is done very much as instructed by Tim on his blog here and great fun it was too! Then came 'oh my goodness I don't have that bit' phase, so  -

Typewriter stamp in my stash too big, so I shrank image on photocopier and adhered and inked on grungeboard. Real dictionary that is a spare kept to rip up fastened underneath. Phew, had the mini film strip, but not the right pen nib, this is an old one in my bits box. No mini gears but I had the large cog die so cut out some of shrink plastic and then dabbed with pewter acrylic when shrunk, quite pleased with them. No metal number, this is a grunge one silvered painted. The light bulb is a bit on the large size and comes from hubby's garage, (shhh, don't let on) but see what I mean? Tim's little ones would have been much more fitting! Then I took a piece of jewellery fragment, added a typed letter and acrylic dome and fastened to the black ribbon that doesn't show up in the photograph.

Thank you Tim. May I just say how I appreciate having a tag to do a month instead of one a day on the lead up to Christmas? Much better, as I can take a bit more time!

I feel crafty today, may be back later!!! x

Sunday Stamper. Tulips from Amsterdam.

Well, goodness gracious me! I'm  on fire! Not only my second post of the day but the Sunday Stamper in goodly time! Here is the 'R' from craft'R'oom for my banner. Decided that I would take Hels literally this week, and Tulips it is, and if not from Amsterdam well my old PSX stamp (1995 honest!) has got a windmill and a stream that could be a canal and fields of tulips! The tulip stamp was from an old un-named set I had lurking in the room of stash and I filled in the bottom of the field with some scenic stamps that I have never thrown out, so this is a real nostalgic piece for me, stamp wise! Also hubby and I visited Holland in 1972 and have never forgotten it, lovely country. Only problem I had was with the flatness as I live in Wiltshire near the Gloucestershire end and we have lovely hills, I know I've walked a fair few! The banner piece was coloured with distress inks and pens and I framed it with some musical tissue tape and that's about it really! Work again tomorrow, but I'll be back as soon as possible. x



August Tuesdays.

Where did the month go! Here we are in Autumn now, my most favourite time of the year. I have the afternoon off and the sun is shining! How lucky am I?  Here are my contributions for the Tag Tuesday blog challenge, put into my large sketch book as usual. 



Please do go to the blog to look at everyone's contributions. I loved the themes this time, the first was Casino Games and Bingo, the second was Films and Theatre, then came board games  where I used my Stampotique characters as the murder suspects and lastly it was All the fun of the Fair! I have not printed them all out this month as there were 7 pieces to the Cluedo one, but if you aren't a follower please use the link above and have a stroll through all the tags!

Off now to complete my new tag for tomorrow and to finish this weeks banner piece for the Sunday stamper. My goodness, a womans work is never done! X

Sunday Stamper: Green.

Sunday Stamper by the skin of my teeth as they say! In fact I finished this yesterday, loaded it up then realised I'd forgotten the 'T'. Thought I would challenge myself with this piece of my banner and only use the colour green, nearly got away with it, but had to give my Green lady red lips! A little while ago on Tag Tuesday we had to use green and so I did a Green man. So I thought as this is the first day of Autumn and leaves will soon be turned all shades and because if nothing else this wet summer has really made everywhere a beautiful lush green I would make a 'Green Lady' instead. Quite hard to only use one colour though isn't it? Not sure I've succeeded very well, but here she is.


I used dylusion sprays for the background and on some white card so that I could punch out the leaves. The rather splendid lady is from Dylusion's new stamps that I treated myself to and then I laid out every green colouring impliment I had plus some papers and went to town. I stamped some leaf shapes with green archival amongst the punched leaves and then free cut a large T - only 'room' left to make then I can hang it up! Hopefully I can play this weekend and post some more. Have a good one peeps! x