January Calendar Page

I've been playing in my Journal lately, trying to catch up with each month.  Does this make sense?  Anyhow, I was really pleased with January's page as I was trying to capture the feel of summer.

I started by spritzing the whole double page with water, then the bottom third with Dylusions 'Lemon Zest', the middle third with 'Calypso Teal' and the upper third with 'London Bus', then smooshed it by rubbing the pages together.  Gee I know how I did this but I just don't seem to be able to put it into words very well!

I wasn't at all worried by the odd bit of white space as if I use my imagination, I can see clouds in the lovely blue sky.  The other white shapes you can see in the blue sky are from using 'White Linen' through a Tim Holtz' stencil 'splatters'.  This stencil was also used on the yellow area with a bit more 'Calypso Teal'.

The daily squares were punched with my SU 'postage stamp' punch through shimmer paper, and the lovely young lady is a Prima 'Doll' stamp which I also coloured with Dylusion Ink 'Cherry Pie'.  The colour variation in her skirt is because the water pen I was using had some leftover colour ink in it and as the bright cherry pie I was picking up on the brush only was used, it got replaced with whatever colour was in the brush.  Just as well I realised and was able to colour her skirt accordingly.

I also finished February's page but it looks rather "BLAH" and needs something more added to get it out of the doldrums.

But (pause for effect) ....... I managed to get a page done for March as well and was also rather happy with how it turned out too.  I can't believe I'm actually up to date, for once!  Come back tomorrow and I'll show you what I mean!

I would like to say "THANK YOU" to all my new followers and for those who leave lovely messages.  
 
Happy crafting!

Owl Tree

Hi, it's me back again to show what I've been playing with over the weekend.   I've been following a few challenges lately (as if you haven't already guessed), partly because they are fun to do and partly to get the creative juices flowing.  Sometimes you get stuck for ideas and the theme for a particular challenge might be just the incentive you need to get the old grey cells ticking over.

The theme running at Stampotique this week is "use acetate" and at Tagalong it is "lots of layers" so with this in mind I set to work.  The very first time I saw 'owl tree' I fell in love, but had no idea where to find it until I came across it again and there was a link to Stampotique.  So when I placed my first (and so far only, but not for long) order it was first on the list.

For this tag I started by punching two circles from paper, one left as is, while the other had a second chomp with the punch to create the crescent moon.  I then blended 'chipped sapphire' Distress Ink over the tag with the whole moon in place, and then swapped to the crescent moon going lightly over the whole bit again so you could still see the outline, then spritzed it with water for the mottled, aged look, mopping up with a tissue.  I next stamped 'owl tree' with 'jet black' Archival Ink ensuring a couple of branches were over the moon.

I cut the window frame (1cm)  from ivory cardstock and stuck a piece of acetate behind for the glass.  Window frames tend to have a bit more to them, so I cut a second frame (1/2 cm) and layered it over the first. Before I glued the frame in place, I added tiny spots of 'gold' Liquid Pearls for the owls' eyes putting it aside while it dried.   I found a piece of lace for the curtain with the remaining just the right amount to finish off the tag.

I'm entering this tag in this weeks Tagalong Challenge
and Stampotique Designers Challenge

My tree seems to be floating past the window, but on a moonlit night with a branch full of owls, what else would you expect???

Happy crafting!

Splitsville!

Anti Valentine's Day, hmmm ..... what does that bring to mind?  A broken heart perhaps?  As soon as I read what the theme was on Wicked Wednesday this week, black came to mind, with another colour added, otherwise it would be very black indeed!

I had two pink hearts on my table which I had been playing with a couple of weeks ago using a crackle medium and while I was happy with the overall result, they just didn't work with the tag I was making.

But today, the darker of the two tags was just what I needed for what I had in mind.  I started by blending 'black soot' Distress Ink over the top of the crackle to grunge it up a bit, making sure that the edges were now black as well.  Next I tore the heart in half and blackened the torn edges.  I found an extra red rose from a previous tag and edged the petals with black.

I blended 'black soot' over the entire ATC, spritzed some water on top and dried it off with a tissue.  I then stamped 'water droplets' by Designs by Ryn over the top using 'jet black' Archival Ink.  Across the bottom (although it's a bit hard to read) I stamped 'splitsville'.

I had cut a little frame for another challenge and thought it framed the broken heart and dead rose perfectly, and to attach it I stapled it in place.  Both halves of the heart were popped onto dimensionals to finish.

I'm quite happy with the end result which seemed to take no time at all to put together.   Now that's a rareity!!!

I'm entering this ATC in this weeks:

           Wicked Wednesday ATC challenge 'anti valentine's day
            Cure for the Monday Blues #5 'frame it'

Happy crafting!

Roses are Red

Poor Fofe!  His intentions were in the right place but I think he may just have missed the date in question - Valentine's Day.  Or maybe someone just gave roses to Fofe and he's not too sure what to do with them?  But does it really matter what the date is when we give flowers to the one we love?

I started this tag off by blending 'mustard seed', spiced marmalade' and 'fired brick' together and then went over the whole tag again with 'mustard seed' which gives a bit more warmth to it.  The next step was using my 'mini confetti' stencil with 'fired brick' on the top of the tag and 'spiced marmalade' on the lower part.  This is an interesting stencil as it has blobs as well as random hearts and it is easy to choose which part you want to use even though it is a 6 x 6 stencil (made by The Crafters Workshop).

Gosh, it's getting gloomy and it's barely 9am, I think it must be going to rain again!  We've been enjoying a weekend of showers which can only be good for the dust bowl that is my back yard!  (My apologies for anyone reading this from the UK where I know you've had more rain then you want or need.)

Anyhow, back to Fofe ....... I stamped him on white cardstock using 'jet black' Archival Ink and coloured him using Distress Markers.  His skin was coloured using a skin coloured pencil.  I then cut him out, clear embossed him and cut a tiny slit in his hand to poke the rose stems through.

Ah, the roses!  These started off white but since I didn't have any red ones, I sprayed them with Dylusions 'cherry pie'  and let them dry while I was making the tag.  Actually, the roses were the first thing I did before starting on the tag, which gave them plenty of drying time.

I then handwrote 'roses are red' and lightly coloured the words with the three Distress Ink colours, and cut them out.

A piece of tissue tape gives Fofe something to stand on and another piece on the top edge gives balance.  Fofe was popped onto dimensionals and the words glued into place.  The roses were then slipped through his hand.  I edged the tag with 'black soot' and finished (or so I thought) with spotty black ribbon.  As a last minute extra, I added some black splatters (SU French Foliage) stamping off first on scrap paper.

I'm entering this tag in this weeks challenge at Tagalong where the theme is "Roses are Red".


I'm off to the city today to meet my BFF for lunch.  It's not often either of us are in the city but she has an 11am exam and so we are meeting up afterwards and have decided to have lunch in the QVB (Queen Victoria Building).  This building was completely renovated some years ago now, having been left in disrepair, and is just beautiful with it's stain glass windows and arches of a bygone era.  They don't build them like this any more.  If ever you are in Sydney, it's worth having a walk through this beautiful shopping arcade and don't forget to have a look at the two clocks which hang from the ceiling - just magical!

the entrance

one of the two clocks

stain glass windowns

Anyhow, I must check the train timetable as I don't want to be late for lunch.

Happy crafting!

Pink Love

See, I said I'd be back soon .......

Two posts in one day is a bit of a rarity, but if I don't hurry I'll miss out on entering the Pink Love challenge at Tagalong this week, featuring the lovely 'Mela'.  She would have to be one of my favourite stamps in my Stampotique collection to date.  Hmmm, that reminds me - I think it must almost be time to order some more .......

I started this tag by scribbling 'spun sugar' Distress Stain over the entire tag, which really didn't do much and strangely looked a yellowish colour rather than pale pink (very odd).  While it was drying (and because I was a bit impatient and couldn't be bothered getting my heat gun out) I then blended 'picked raspberry' Distress Ink over the top which looked a bit blobby but I rather liked the effect and decided less was better.

I stamped 'Mela' from Stampotique directly onto the tag and then again onto another piece of card.  I coloured her dress and shoes by picking up ink from 'picked raspberry' with my water pen and added just a touch of colour to her cheeks, before fussy cuting her.

Next I stamped across the tag with Tim Holtz 'simple sayings' using the stamping off method to lighten the ink (picked raspberry).   I added a paper lace border to the bottom edge of the tag, then using a grey pencil added a shadow around her.  I then glued her directly over the first image.

I distressed around the edges of the tag, added a length of seam binding ribbon and thought I was done.  Hmmm ..... something more was needed and I found the perfect little heart in an old SU set 'short & sweet' so randomly stamped it (stamping it off each time) in the gaps between the words.  Ah, it just needed that little something extra!

I'm entering this tag in this weeks challenges :
      - Tagalong Challenge 'Pink Love'
      - Stampotique Designers Challenge 'Heart in your Art'

Happy crafting!


 

Loves me, loves me not

My apologies for not posting for over a week (feels much longer) but the last week or so has been somewhat busier then usual.   I've been working extra days while Alice has had a little break before she opens her second shop this coming Saturday in the beautiful coastal town of Port Macquarie.

On the Wicked Wednesday ATC challenge this week, the theme is Valentine's Day , so with this in mind, this is what I made using stamps from JOFY.

The birds were stamped using 'jet black' archival ink and coloured with watercolour pencils.  I know there is quite a lot of white background but I was happy with the finished ATC.

I'm entering this ATC in this weeks Wicked Wednesday challenge.

I'll be back soon.

Happy crafting!

Wings

Today's tag fits in very well with a couple of this weeks challenges.   The theme at Stampotique is 'Winged Things' and at Tagalong the theme is 'Your Favourite Technique'.   I decided I would use Hazel and her dog and give the dog wings - but then I thought "hmm ... sitting dog, wings?  Maybe not.  What else can I use?"  Some years ago at a craft show, I bought two little stamps, one a cat looking skywards and the other a flying pig.  The reason I bought both was because of a sample card displayed with the cat watching in disbelief as the pig flew overhead.  So, replace the idea of the dog with a pig and this is what I came up with -

For my 'favourite technique' , I blended 'peeled paint' and 'seedless preserves' Distress Ink together, followed by a quick spritz of water to add age spots and a spot of dribble.  Then using  Tim Holtz' 'burlap' stencil (my current favourite stencil), I then added more 'seedless preserves' over the top.

Next was my new stamp 'water droplets' from Designs by Ryn (I think this might be my new favourite stamp) stamped with 'jet black' Archival ink.  Hazel and the pigs were stamped on ivory cardstock, coloured with watercolour pencils and highlighted with 'majestic purple' Liquid Pearls.  'Pigs Might Fly' was stamped with alphabet stamps, all the images were fussy cut and popped onto dimensionals.  A length of ribbon was added to finish off.

I'm entering this tag in this weeks Stampotique Designers Challenge
                                                   Tagalong Challenge

Happy crafting!