Welcome Rex !!!

And then there were two!

Great-nephews that is.

Two weeks early but along came Rex - made a Welcome Baby card along the same lines as ones I have made before

If you don't like tag cards then you won't like this because it is definitely a tag overload!

The final little tag is left blank to write on

Take a trip

Saw a little travel journal made by Emma Williams on the Tim Holtz Addicts Facebook page and knew I had to do something along the same lines for my friend's daughter for whom travel is a passion.  

I didn't want a journal so did a small(ish) canvas instead & it was her Christmas present.

Huge thanks to Emma for helping me track down the paper pad!

Tim Holtz ideaology 12 x 12 Paper Stash - Correspondence

I added a few metal embellishments from my rummage box & framed it to make dusting easier!

Baubles & hanging decorations

So there I was all smug and gloating that all my Christmas presents were either bought and wrapped or made and wrapped ... but then someone commented on the little hanging decorations I had made and that they were "just cardboard things" and that was enough to send me off into a tizz.

The cardboard things actually took quite a while to make but that was ok because I had them done well ahead of time - way before most folk even begin to think about Christmas - and I planned on sitting back and enjoying the festive season in a more relaxed state than is my norm.

Yeah, right!

Now thinking the cardboard things were not good enough I decided to make some baubles - only 12 because that was all I had left from a couple of years ago and now had no time to order any more.

As it turns out thank goodness there were only 12.

But first the cardboard things ... all Tim Holtz and a mixture of several of his techniques ...  the main element being the "metallic" edge.  This was a technique showcased by Tami Bastiaans where you stamp in Versamark on Tim's metallic kraft card and then emboss in silver powder.  Then you smear black distress crayon all over and wipe it back to make it look aged and vintage.  Very messy - but we all know I love messy!

I used brown distress crayon on the gold coloured ones and gold embossing powder too.

The baubles were Powertex ... started off with ivory coloured which I was then painting with black gesso but it was taking forever so bought some black Powertex which saved hours!

I was actually happy with these until I decided they needed a bit of sparkle - but by now I was in full on tizz mode as they had taken so long to make and postage dates were looming.  Needless to say I added WAY  too much sparkle and ruined the layer upon layer of colours I had managed to achieve with spray inks and acrylic paint and wax.  

Should have left well alone.

I didn't get a photo of the jewelled coloured ones ... those with blues and purples - which is a shame as I did not sparkle those as much as the others and did look so much better for it.

Very, very nearly painted over the whole lot to start re-colouring but just had neither time nor heart to redo them so had to admit I'd stuffed up and let them go as they were.

This shows them before I wrecked them with the sparkles 

Did keep a note of colours used for these!

Bases were all clear acrylic baubles

Scraps of old t-shirt type material

Ivory & Black Powertex

Art Basics Heavy Body Gel

Art Basics Soft Gloss Gel

Various beads & metal embellishments

Crushed Ice Crystals

BLUE & PURPLE :

 Finnabair for Prima Marketing Art Ingredients Mica Powder -

all diluted in water (or gin ... I do prefer to dilute in gin!)

Purple / Deep Water / Frozen Lake / Bottle Green / Teal

Lilac Opal Magic / Green Opal Magic

Art Alchemy Metallique Acrylic Paint -

Crocus Fields / Deep Waters / Emerald Green / Ice Queen / White Pearl

Art Alchemy Opal Magic Wax -

Green Brocade / Turquoise Satin / Royal Robes

Art Alchemy Antique Brilliance Wax -

Mystic Turquoise 

Art Alchemy Metallique Wax -

Old Silver / Brushed Iron

RED :

Lindy's Starburst -

Cowabunga Copper / Autumn Maple Crimson / Cajun Carnelian Red

Bayou Boogie Gold

Moon Shadow Mist - Bucket O Blood Red

Art Ingredients Mica Powder - Gold (diluted)

Art Alchemy Metallique Acrylic Paint -

Red Wine / Steampunk Copper

GREEN :

Lindy's Starburst -

Bayou Boogie Gold / Gater Gumbo Olive

Art Ingredients Mica Powder  - Bottle Green (diluted)

Art Alchemy Metallique Acrylic Paint -

Dark Forest / Steampunk Copper

Cards Cards Cards

After the first six bleak months of 2018 when I was barely able to leave our bedroom and made nothing more than a handful of birthday cards I did not see myself being able to make any Christmas cards at all.

But, time went on and things improved and I decided I simply could not bring myself to buy cards from a shop (and there are some beauties out there!) so thought I'd make a few cards at a time and see how I got on.  Got on quite well, actually, and made around 150ish ... not quite as many as usual but better than I expected to do.

Tim Holtz came to play ... well, at least his products ... and I did a variation on my much preferred tag cards for the family and close friends.  

So, still a tag but opened to please those that do not think my tags to be "proper" cards

Afraid it didn't occur to me to list the products I used ... the *s*n*o*w* was Finnabair's modelling paste through Tim Holtz's *S*n*o*w*cap stencil and Falling Stars stencil and then sprinkled with Glamour Dust. I used his Home for the Holidays thinlits dies by Sizzix and his Stampers Anonymous Christmastime stamp which stamped in red and then clear embossed.  .

Loved the crispness of the red against the white so then made a batch of my more regular tag shaped cards to add to the pile of general Christmas cards.

For the next batch I did my much loved swishing and swooshing of distress ink - the fabulous oxides this time - Black Soot and Hickory Grey splodged on my craft mat and spritzed with water and  Tim's (we've met -  I had a hug so am on first name terms now!) manilla tags were dragged through and left to dry and then water droplets distressed them even more.

Same stencil as before and the sentiment this time was from the Festive Overlay stamp set.

The last batch were a date with the Big Shot die-cutting trees, deer and logs but these came together quite quickly once that task was done.

Swished and swooshed the background again ... normal distress this time and old paper and antique linen spring to mind ... maybe with a bit of bundled sage thrown in.   Stamp was Tim's Music & Advert stamped using Versafine Clair Pinecone - added a little red bow that was flat enough not to incur the higher postage rate.

Then two final cards for the Great-nephews ... first our darling Henry - the three and a half year old whirlwind that keeps us all on our toes.

I saw the *s*n*o*w*man stamp on a friend's post and she very kindly stamped some out for me as it is a stamp I am unlikely to use in the future.

It did mean doing the dreaded colouring-in but, hey, if you look closely I even did shading!!!!!  

And then came Rex ... two months old on Christmas Eve 

Winter Memories

During a bit of a lull with my arty mojo I decided to work through an online class & kit by the very talented Dorota Kotowicz and purchased her Winter Memories Album from Mixed Media Place - rolled up my sleeves and spent a happy few days working my way through it.

I think the intention is to add photographs to the "postcards" that you add to the pages but I didn't want to do this so went ahead and decorated each postcard more fully than in  Dorota's video.  I also added a few extra bits and pieces that don't come in the kit. 

WOYWW 500 = WOW!!!

A huge WOW indeed for the 500 edition of WOYWW'ing and the hugest of

CONGRATULATIONS 

to our esteemed and very much loved, adored, cherished and cared for leader Julia who sits at head desk at The Stamping Ground

I was determined to join in today ... well, yesterday for today is now tomorrow and I am a day late ... but my problem was, is, I have no desk to show.  

Well, I could show you the dining room table which is where I am right now.

Or my warmer months desk out in the conservatory but that is buried under most of the contents of the kitchen as it continues its refit.

But ... and this is a big but ... any desk I could show you will be void of anything even remotely crafty or arty for I am busy battling with myself about whether I carry on or totally give up ... am at the totally giving up stage and have been for several weeks now but am not acting in haste and either binning or giving all my stuff away but, hand on heart honest, I think my attempts at anything even remotely art based are behind me.

Reason is not lack of mojo but rather facing the fact that I will never be able to produce anything I am even slightly happy with and no matter what wonderfully lovely comments my work gets I always think people are just being kind and bolstering me along - unfair thoughts from me I am sure but changing your psyche is bloomin' difficult and I have yet to manage it even a little bit.

I have learned to never say never but my mind feels pretty much made up - acceptance of my limitations and all that jazz.

So, I am about to blog the latest (and maybe the last) stuff I have done and hope to maybe make the crop in June (but doing WHAT I have no idea ... I hear talk of tea and cake so shall make tea and serve cake!) and end this sorry little post by thanking Julia for brining some AMAZING friends into my life ... truly friends for life ... and for the inspiration she had 500 weeks ago in starting what has turned out to be the phenomenal WOYWW!!!!!