Wherever you go...

Oh my...it's the 8th already and I'd hoped to have posted by now.... so my first piece for this month Art Journal Journey is just a simple digital page. The fun theme this month is 'Polka-Dots, Stripes, Plaids or Patterns'  aka 'PSPP' and is hosted by the lovely Erika of BIOARTGal

  My head has been a bit all over the place for the last couple of weeks nothing serious - and hopefully a good thing. I've been wanting to move home, away from here for a while and now hubby is on board with this idea too we are investigating the where to etc etc... having lived here for over 20 years its a big thing to think about....

I did start a page on the 1st and then I saw that the previous collaged/painted double pages in my journal of the Blackbird from August was going to stick together* if I flattened the book in my book press - so it needed a coating of candle (does everyone do this I wonder or have other methods? - I rub the side of a candle over finished pages to try to stop that* happening) .... but then I couldn't find the candles...anyhow... I've since found a candle, flattened and gessoed  the page eventually after finding my old Gesso dried up... and for now I'm having a mental block....arghhh....  :)

 

I needed to make a card...  and because I now keep rough stamped copies of previous cards on paper that I can put in my stamping platform it makes it easier to reproduce again if need be.. this is so useful when having a mental block..

and the Altenew 'watercolour doodles' are fairly quick with the layering system and adds colour quickly and this design is a loose design with the colours going over the lines to give an arty hand coloured look.

Thanks for stopping by...

hope your weekend is going well...

will catch up with you soon.

Gill x

Forever Autumn for AJJ and some cards

Hello
Happy Saturday everyone..
Hope you're having a lovely weekend. I've had a break from the de-cluttering today and had some time in my craft room and managed to make a page for Valeries lovely theme at AJJ Indian Summer - Golden October - Autumn and made a few cards.
For my page I used a mix of stamps including one large foam stamp and a stencil.

I wanted to play again with the lovely Donna aka Inky Quirky Designs 'Beki' stamps that arrived a couple of days ago but was also wanting to make a few more Christmas cards. So I found a suitable message stamp and Santa with sleigh stamp from my stash and mixed them with the set and made a couple of Christmas cards and one other with just the stamps from the set. I stamped with versafine ink and did some paper piecing - a great way to use up odd scraps of paper.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by

Hope you have a lovely weekend.

Gill x



Out of a Hat Creations #65 Transport challenge

This is for a fabulous challenge over at Out of a Hat Creations about Transport - I needed to make some male cards, so this was a great excuse to play with this theme.

On a white tent style card used spiced marmalade and walnut stain distress stains and green intense pencil around edge.  Then layered a smaller piece of blue card.

Stamped onto to some patterned paper off-cuts I found.

Used Indigoblu 'Grand Tour 1' stamps coloured with Inktense pencils.

I printed and cut out some Dieselpunk cars (like the one on my blog heading) that I had designed and made myself digitally using Serif Craft Artist software.

Added some faux stitching with  black pilot pen.

Car is just a simple decoupage - only two layers.

Used Quickie glue pen and silver foil to highlight tyres and various parts of car and also on stamped image of car and girl on bike.

Cog die cuts on silver card are made by X-cut.

Thanks for stopping by and looking - Gill x

WOYWW #211

Hi everyone and welcome…
it’s Wednesday once again (don't they come round quickly) which means thanks to the lovely Julia at THE STAMPING GROUND we go blog hopping around the world to see what you have on your desk.
To join in the WOYWW fun aka 'Whats on your work-desk Wednesday' check out the info over at Julia’s place.

So whats on my desk today? it's fairly tidy as just finished making a wedding card and also a birthday card for an eleven year old boy. Males are always hard to think of ideas for and for an eleven year old even more so - ahhh panic!
I wasn't happy with the one I'd previously made with a design of London, woke up early thinking about it so got up (at 5.30am yawn) to make another.
Desk also shows what I did with some excess rubber.

Printed out letters with black lines around edges onto card, which I made using Craft Artist software. Then stamped over top of each letter using black archival ink and sport theme mini stamps by Hero Arts and coloured with Inktense pencils.

Used See D's birthday stamp for a border and added some random splodges of Inktense pencils paint also.

cut off some excess rubber from a stamp and wondered if I could use it for anything.

So on two pieces I punched random holes and on the other I painted some structure gel.

Quite like the effects it produced when stamped, the picture not showing the one with the structure gel very well as it was more delicate. Going to have a play with some fun foam next.

OK that's my lot for now. Will try to visit as many desks as possible next.

Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day... Gill x





Some Bunny Loves You

Well I am ashamed to say that I hadn't heard of Tando Creative  until recently - what?...I know, it's awful to think that all this time I have been missing out on these fabulous products.
I was very lucky to win some Tando mini chipboard pieces from a challenge over at Out of a Hat Creations -  thank you to both for these.

So here at long last is my first project, a wooden box, using just a few  'Tando minis -Rabbits' and a butterfly from 'Tando minis - Butterflies'

I primed the wooden box with gesso first, then painted it with a 'Soft Green' all purpose acrylic paint from Do Crafts.

Then punched out a frame on white funfoam using a Spellbinders die for outside and a Marianne die for inside. Inked the frame using lettuce and aqua alcohol inks.

Used the Marianne die on card too to stamp the words using Dovecraft alphabet stamps and inked it with shabby shutters and tumbled glass distress stains. 

Stamps used were from 2 sets by Elusive Images called 'Autumn hedgerow' and 'Nature table' and stamped with Stazon.



Flowers coloured with coloured pencils then glitter glue added over top.

Butterfly and Rabbits coloured with distress stains and alcohol inks and glazed with Glossy accents. I used a piece of wire saved from a bottle of wine ( which was covered with it) and made it into an antennae for the butterfly.

Glittered small bits of flowers too.

Used Glossy accents over the recess where the words are.

Once again, many thanks again to Tando Creative and Out of a Hat Creations for the lovely prize, they were a real pleasure to use

and such good quality x

Thanks for stopping by....happy crafting xxx



WOYWW #202

Hi and welcome - unless you are here via the  Stamping-ground blog you may not know that WOYWW is  ‘What’s On Work desk Wednesday’ and involves lots of blog hopping fun by lovely folk from all around the world. All this is thanks to the lovely Julia over at Stamping Ground, so for more info and to join in the fun do check them out.

So whats on my desk?

 There's a small journal where I'm just finishing off some doodling.

Had a sort out recently and found some forgotten things to play with like the fancy free stencil from a magazine, an iridescent medium (now used on my MOO-mania number entry) and some Fimo glaze - no Fimo but sure it'll be handy.

Two new stamps not tried out on the left - one is that lovely 'IndigoBlu' blazing poppies that I've seen on  lovely inspiring projects on so many of your blogs. 

 

this is my other usual little space on top of the cupboard. In front is the card that's going to be for my Great Niece who is soon to be 2. The lovely card and ATC at the back along with the goodies on the right was a lovely gift/prize from The House of Bears - thank you again.

Ted at back (he's a bit shy sometimes) with the lovely card from The House of Bears

and a fabulous wooden file folder crying out to be decorated soon. They were so pleased with their prize they wanted a picture for their album.

This is the card Ted instructed me to make for Podgy and The House of Bears

Lots of other fun this week playing with a  lovely new digi-kit from Algera Designs called 'Romantique'.

I added a free Tube lady to layout and applied some effects in the software to change to this greeny tone.



That's my lot for now - Thank you for you visit, will try to get to as many desk as I can soon... have a lovely day... Gill x

WOYWW #199

Well it’s Wednesday so that can only mean one thing …it’s WOYWW time! Yipee!

Welcome and Happy WOYWW to you… no I’m not going nuts..mmm actually that’s probably debatable LOL. If you don’t know WOYWW = 'Whats On Your Work-desk Wednesday' = lots of blog hopping fun by folk from all around the world.  All this fabulous fun is wonderfully organised by the lovely Julia over at Stamping Ground so for more info and to join in, do check them out.

so... what's on my desk?

So on my main desk I have a couple of finished cards(including the ‘wishing you well’ started last week, made with the stamped bits I sorted out a few weeks ago. The fairy one is almost finished.
I used my Martha Stewart punches on some patterned paper for the borders and found matching colours in my promarkers to colour the images, and added a little peach colour glitter glue on fairy and flowers. The stamped butterflies lying to the side of the card, I added antennae to and a bit of metallic wax over top – but I can’t decide if they would work on the card – have laid them on it in other photo below

..... so what do you think, add them or leave them off ?





On my cupboard top that I craft on, is a project being worked on for the alcohol challenge over at ‘Artful Times’ blog. I inked the back of one of the printable acetate sheets I designed a few weeks back. There's some grungy flowers drying on the left, (painted over them with copper acrylic paint) they still need working on and will be added to frame with some other bits…more on that another time.

So that’s it for now – I’ll be off trying to visit as many of your blogs as possible now.

Thanks for stopping by and any comments left are much appreciated.

Have a good day……. Gill x



Easter Bunnies

Hi there, good evening, hope you have had a good day. We've had a mixture of snow and sunshine all day, still bitterly cold - the way the weather is going am wondering if we will have a white Easter too. 

Yesterday I had some Easter pieces on my desk that I was working on, and here are a few cards now finished.

Stamps are 'Some bunny loves you' (Candyfloss and Marshmallow) by DoCrafts. I cheated and used 'rub on' words instead of stamping them.


I found a sugar paper (thinks that's what you call it) flower that I'd made some time ago, so then painted it with some twinkling H20s and added some glitter glue in centre. I'm trying to use up loads of things that have been hanging a round for ages, so also found the green swirly die bits which fitted in fairly nicely too.

Sent a couple of Easter cards a few weeks ago, put them in the same envelope when sending birthday cards, to save a bit on the postage.
Trying to cut down on the number of Easter cards this year, other wise I'll end up making the same amount as Christmas cards and never getting anything else done LOL

WOYWW #197

Pinch me – am I dreaming or has Wednesday come around already.... Welcome and Happy WOYWW to you.  

Whats WOYWW? It means...‘Whats On Your Workspace Wednesday’ and this is where we all have a nose at each others workspaces and have a lot of blog hopping fun. This is organised by the lovely Julia over at  Stamping Ground     blog and definitely worth checking for info and to join in the fun. 

So whats on my desk?

 

 

On my desk at present are some Easter bits for a few simple cards. Used the Spellbinders dies in two different sizes, stamped on to watercolour paper and used watercolour pencils and some pink and yellow glitter glue. Just going to add a small peel off greeting.
Stamps are 'Some bunny loves you' (Candyfloss and Marshmallow) by DoCrafts.


 

 

Cabinet top/workspace 2 looks pretty much the same at back as last week.
Got some new storage boxes from The Range and the one with Green lid has all my small boxes of alphabet stamps in. To the right of that are two small stacks of clear Knorr & Bisto stock pot containers that I have been saving to mix paint, glue etc in.
I like to save things to re-cycle; the clear plastic jar with blue lid (with beads in) had peanut butter in and the oval shape container with dark blue lid that I have decorated with inks had 'Andrews' in it.

 



 

 

 

At the front are some stamped images that I have had for ages and its time to either use them or bin them... but me thinks will use them though as need to make some cards.
 
Right, I'm off now to start visiting as many places as I can and see what you have been up to and have on your desk.
Thanks for taking the time to stop by and for any comments left...
Have a good day and Happy Crafting... Gill x



 



Spots and stripes/Circles and straight line challenge

Artful Times challenge #24

This is a note pad and pen I made for Neet and Von’s great challenge over at Artful Times Challenge Blog

First I found some off cuts of striped (K&co/Tim Coffey) and circle papers and then thought about making the notepad. For the cover of the notepad I recycled one of the many cardboard envelopes I have that DVDs are delivered in.

Then as it started to develop decided didn’t want to use the large circles on paper so chose the bubbles/circles stamps to replace that instead.



Pen was plain white to start with. Masked off the ends to avoid the silver pieces.

Used a piece of foam and also a paint brush to put the alcohol ink on the surface. Then used small bubble stamps with archival ink.

Stamps used: large bubbles?(not sure of name) by Anita’s, Words by Andy Skinner, Diver and seaweed from an old foam stamp set - not sure who made by but maybe by Rubber Stampede or All Night Media. Also used Black archival ink, wine&roses and cedar wood H20s, white soufflé pen, few promarkers and on the pen I used lettuce, wild plum, sunset orange and latte alcohol inks.



Cuckoo clocks go Steampunk

Challenge #1

This is a piece I made for the fabulous new Steampunk challenges over at SanDee and Amelie's

   Steampunk (and Dieselpunk) is one of my favourite themes, so wishing them much success in their new adventure. I'm really looking forward to seeing what everyone creates.

Cut out main shape using X-cut 'rectangle parenthesis 2 nesting dies' on pale yellow card and also (not shown) a larger black piece to back it on. 

I used X-cut tri-boss Chronology clocks folder for body of the Cuckoo clock and main featured clock dial.

For the clock body I used a pale yellow textured card and painted a light wash of brown, blue and black Aquamarker pens that I rubbed over a piece of plastic and watered down. I then put the damp card with a piece of tissue over top in folder as this seemed to make an even better impression.

 I cut this out of the card ran through the embossing folder and then I used some chalks and metallic rub-ons over top of the embossed images using red, black and gold.

Cut out shape for part of the roof in pale yellow card and again used watercolour on top of that.

Used Papermania: Urban stamps - 'Bird print' over this and then put through paper ribbler. Also then cut out a larger piece of same shape on black card to back this on.

Cut a piece of K and Company paper from 'Lifes journey' for main background, put it through paper ribbler to give it the wavy texture. Highlighted certain parts using white souffle pen and red rub on wax and gold acrylic paint.

Added more rub on wax and gold acrylic paint and a little white souffle pen to highlight certain parts.

Cut out pendulums using some Spellbinders swirly dies. Stamped on them using music stamp from Urban bird print set, added some gold paint.

Used X-cut Chronology cogs dies and then added red rub on and gold paint. A few brads for centres.

Also stamped the bird from same set of stamps.

Using various mini alphabet stamps, stamped out quote.. then assembled the whole thing.