Clarity Challenge CLOCKS

Ok I thought I had this one sussed as soon as I saw the theme for the May Clarity Challenge only to then go into complete meltdown as I realised I was on the wrong track with my thoughts. I had confused CLOCKS with TIME ... duh!!!!!

A quick stress to the wonderful MaggieC (Silvercrafter) and she said to go with it and just get my piece done and enter ... so I have.

This is such a personal piece for me to make ... a real representation of my horrible journey through grief after losing mommy - it is an expansion on an earlier piece I did so even if I have missed the brief for this month's challenge it was one of those projects I just felt compelled to do.

 

The first panel pretty much speaks for itself ... the cogs and gears seemed to place themselves and kinda represent the tears that have flowed.  The numbers represent the date and time I lost her but they are jumbled up as I did not want an "in your face" reminder.  The little fob watch is stopped five minutes before she died .. oh, if only!

 

The second panel shows another very favourite verse that I have always loved and seemed to fit very well inbetween the other two verses.  The broken watch parts, I hope, represent the infinity and eternity mentioned in the verse.

The third panel represents the start of things getting better for me.
Our favourite TV show is "Criminal Minds" and they always say a quote at the beginning and end of each episode. I had tingles when I heard this one and kept playing it back over and over and eventually Googled it.  This quote changed my life and speaks for itself.

It most certainly was "MY MOMENT OF CLARITY" and from there on in I knew everything would, eventually, be ok.

WOYWW 310

Absolutely nothing on my desk today other than my wee little tote and it's larger partner on wheels - both stuffed full (MaggieC ... my dear friend Silvercrafter would be proud of me!!!!) and all ready to head to the crop on Saturday!!!!!

We head off in the morning in our caravan to form part of the working party setting up for the National Land Rover Rally over the Bank Holiday weekend so will only be coming to Burbage for the one day - BUT it means I will have loads of crafting stuff with me to play with whilst hubby is off erecting marquees and hammering in signs and everything else that having around 400 caravans on site entails!

So here is my rather bleak desk this bright and sunny WOYWW morning ... head over to our esteemed leaders blog at The Stamping Ground if you want a better explanation of WOYWW than I could give and maybe hop around a blog or two as us crafters all share our desks today.

In the photo' above there is also some last minute bits and bobs I found and which need to be added to the other bits and bobs I am taking for my project on Saturday.  The little pot contains PVA but that will be for use whilst away.  

In the background there are 53 birthday cards waiting to be written and their envelopes ready printed with names and addresses - another job for ATN (After The National)!

There is also a heap of stuff to bring for Saturday ... right by the door and "Not To Be Forgotten"!  If we do forget it then we are coming back for it!

There is a little space there I know but I haven't quite finished packing it yet ... going to take some of my wooden hearts to work on whilst away ... oh yes, acrylic paint and verse/sentiment stamps - must remember to throw those in too!

So for some of you ... SEE YOU ON SATURDAY!!!!!!

Happy WOYWW everyone!  xXx

Happy Birthday Clarity Crafters Nottingham!

Having PROMISED to NEVER EVER EVER (get my drift?!?!?) attend another workshop of ANY kind EVER again I was encouraged to go along with my dear friend Margaret (Silvercrafter) to a Clarity workshop and whilst I was not there from the start I now go along as often as I can and was delighted to find that 1st Birthday celebrations were upon us!  Delight was soon followed by disappointment when I found that celebrations clashed with throwing daddy on a helicopter as a birthday gift to him ... BUT we had a wonderful day yesterday and took him out to lunch afterwards so all worked out just the way they should.

Anyway, am rambling ... I do ramble I'm afraid.  

Even though I couldn't be at the workshop yesterday I made Birthday Celebration Tags for everyone and a canvas each for the lovely, lovely Sazz and equally lovely, lovely Kimmie.

LOVED making these tags ... back to my much preferred default colours and having recently discovered spray inks (all Sazz's fault!!!!) I went to town with them and these are my first efforts using spray inks ... quite a few now seem to have found their way into my cupboard ... er, so have Brushos (all Margaret's fault!!!!!) but that is a ramble for another time.

Get through tubs and tubs of the stuff but this was my first time embossing onto Grunge Paste ... LOVED IT!!!!!

Tried to pick words that sum up Clarity Crafters Nottingham for me ... 

Creativity

Inspiration

Hugs

Laughter

Support

Friendship

All equally important but the hugs, laughter and support are what have come to mean the most!

And simply have to mention dearest daddy ... this is one my favourite photo's of him from yesterday ... Top Gun Daddy waiting for his flight!

WOYWW 308

Missed the last couple of WOYWW's so determined to get here today ...can ALMOST see the wood for the trees with the "must do" crafting and I got up early to finish the last batch of my ladies cards ... I made all my male, anniversary, memory cards for the whole of the year back in January but only got as far as the end of May with all my lovely lady friends ... so this last batch of 53 will take me to the end of the year.  

Just some rather large inked, spritzed and crackle glazed butterflies to attach and I have them done - a good way for me to work with so many cards I like to make each year and it will be a HUGE relief having them ready and waiting to send off when the time arrives!  I can't believe how fast May has come upon us this year ... did we have Jan, Feb, March & April then?

From big large massive butterflies to ones that are much smaller ... a sneaky peep at my ATC's for the WOYWW crop that seems to be hurtling towards us now ... not far off but I still have SO much to do in preparation ... at least my ATC's are done and bagged and in their little box ready to pack into my craft tote!  
I kinda, sorta hoped these little butterflies would look like leather - they kinda, sorta do but not nearly as much as I'd hoped ... but, hey-ho, no time to change them and start over again.  

Am not dreadfully pleased with the ATC's but they have been made and will be swapped with love and people can always chuck them away!!!

I hope to make keepsake tags again this year and have an idea forming in my head AT LAST and hope to get on them once those large butterflies are attached to their base cards.  Time will tell if my idea with work out!!!

So where was I ... oh yes, up early to Do Sticking ... Happy WOYWW'ing fellow deskers!

LUCY GREENHILL IS AMAZING!

Ok, ok, we all know Doing Technology is not my strong point.  

So why, oh why, did I try and do a new banner for my blog?

The lovely Shaz (Silverwolf) very kindly sent me a link on how to do it.

I managed to get my head around that bit but not the actual designing of it.

Silly Debbie.

My wonderful niece-in-law - the very talented photographer 
 LUCY GREENHILL
came to my rescue (she did my old banner too!) and worked her magic and I have a super new banner across the top of my blog.

THANK YOU SO MUCH LUCY

xXx

For Henry

Ooooh got lots of lovely cuddles with Henry this morning ... simply adore the little guy and what a blessing he is to our family!

Figured a little chap would not appreciate fairies so dragged myself away from my wooden hearts and grunge paste to make a canvas for him instead.

Wish I'd made the "bubbles" into balloons instead and gone with airplanes instead of farm animals ... I mean, DUH!!! just how many farm animals do you see flying amongst the clouds.  Great Auntie Debbie sure did have a senior moment here!

Branching out

Nope ... not a tree in sight!  The branching out refers to me pushing myself totally out of my comfort zone and using different colours!  

Have blogged many times about stuff done using my much loved browns & blues ... but they are not everyone's cup of tea so I figured I needed to broaden my horizons and experiment!

Still deciding if they work or not ... they are quite bright (for me!) and, of course, in real life they don't look anything like they do on the screen - arty nephew saw them in the flesh today and he liked the colours so I shall continue to experiment !!!!

A reminder of my preferred colours though ... just to give me the tingle I lacked with the blues & purples!

Welcome Henry

Our first Great Nephew ... the gorgeous bundle that is Henry ... arrived and so I made two of these - one for his parents and one for my Lil' Sis' whom, somehow, is now a Grandmother!!!!!  Still can't quite get my head around that one!

So, first things first ... here is darling little Henry ... too cute for words!

And I made the concertina cards I like to make for new babies ... knew all along what sort of card I would be making but had to wait to find out if it needed to be pink or blue!

Welcome darling Henry ... what joy you have brought to the family and huge

CONGRATULATIONS

Charlie & Hollie  

xXx

Clarity Challenge - Wee Folk

Whether or not I actually enter this month's challenge at CLARITY is yet to be decided but figured I'd blog my effort anyway as I did always intend my dear little blog to be a sort of diary or record of what I actually get up to during the week!

The theme this time round was simply "Wee Folk" and at first I instantly dismissed it as I couldn't think of a single idea.  Then, and I am sure you all know how it is, I had a teeny WEE spark (see what I did there!?!?!?!) of an idea and this is how it turned out ... nothing at all like I had hoped but am chasing my tail at the moment with oh so much to do and oh so little time in which to do it all.  But, hey, I Made The Effort and Had A Go!

All made using only Clarity stamps or stencils  ... the tree was made by using half of the Bird Tree stencil and then flipping it over and using the same half again as I only wanted the branches and not the half of the tree that is in full leaf. Oh and I masked off the birds too as I did not want them for this project.

The backgrounds were made using the process that I really love, love, love to do ... splodge your Distress Inks onto your craftmat and then spritz with water and swish and swoosh away with your card ... makes me tingle every time!

The spring blossom was a bit of a headache as my first plans did not show up enough and I was starting to get frustrated as I didn't think I had a suitable Clarity product I could use ... rummaging and rummaging through my stamps and stencils I came across the foliage stamp that accompanied the Boy & Birds stamp.  It still wasn't working so I just took my scissors and chopped a bit off and used just that ... can easily position it back in place should I ever need the stamp as a whole anytime.  But EEK!!!!!! I chopped up my stamp!!!!!

Stamped in Versamark and heat embossed using pink to give the effect of blossom.

The summer & autumn panels made using the same way ... again, had no little tiny leaf stamps I could use so squinted hard at all those I do and using just the trefoil leaf from Leafy Swirl did the trick.  

Had already splodged and splooshed the colours so just stamped onto the back of these and then spent a happy few moments minutes hours cutting the WEE (did it again!!!!!) little things out!

The winter panel was just Glamour Dust applied with a glue pen ... it really sparkles but doesn't show up at all here unfortunately.

SO the journey follows the seasons and goes from childhood through to needing a rest on a bench and the sentiment seemed to echo the Wee Folk stamps as a collection.

Out of my depth

Well, was sure out of my depth with this one and it took me three attempts to get anything I was even remotely happy with ... think it was the pink and pretty demographic that threw me!  

I don't do pink and pretty!

But FINALLY managed to come up with one of my wooden hearts - this time for a new little baby girl.

Managed to get a little grunge paste on there and then used the Wee Fairies from Claritystamp to hold the bubbles that contained the birth details ... like I said, totally out of my comfort zone but can live with it.

I think.

WOYWW #303

HUGE APOLOGIES TO MY WOYWW VISITORS FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS AS I'VE NOT BEEN ABLE TO LEAVE COMMENTS ON YOUR OWN BLOGS BUT I HAVE VISITED AND SEEN YOUR WONDERFUL WORKSPACES!

I always aim only to take part in WOYWW each week if I have time to blog-hop myself and at least visit all the workdesks of bloggers kind enough to visit me and leave a comment and for this reason I have not WOYWW'ed for a couple of weeks but love TRYING to join in so here I am with a weekly view of my workdesk and the promise to Do Better in replying to comments!!!

Thanks, as always, to our wonderful leader Julia over at The Stamping Ground for giving us this weekly opportunity of hopping around the world visiting fellow crafters creative spaces.

My desk is a huge shambles of "stuff" but, hey-ho, it works for me!

Biggest news to record is I made it to the Hobbycrafts show at the NEC!!!  Those of you who know me will totally understand what a big deal that was - I was persuaded by my dear friend Shaz (Silverwolf) to go and met her and my other dear friend Maggie (Silvercrafter) there.  We met at the FABULOUS Claritystamp stand ... the best stand there in my opinion ... and then split up to wander around at our own pace and to visit the stands that interested us most.  I got loads of lovely new stencils and other bits and bobs all vital to allow my creative juices to flow ... at least that's what I told hubby when he realised how much I had spent.  Ooops!

If it is at all possible I will get around as many blogs as I can - although I am battling a rotten sore throat and cough and sniffles and feel quite sorry for myself at the moment so it may take me a while to get round you all. 

Happy WOYWW'ing everyone! 

Time ... if only ...

Been working on a canvas all afternoon ... kinda, sorta knew where I wanted it to go and kinda, sorta got there but it is not quite as I had hoped.  

After seeing a canvas my friend did she very kindly lent me her clock stencil ... wasn't too sure at that point quite what I'd do with it but then inspiration struck and so out came the inkpads and now my fingers very much match the canvas but hey, all good fun!

Nothing dreadfully challenging about any of the techniques so won't bore you with a rundown of how I did this or that and I used so many Distress Inks I can't now recall which they were ... certainly my current favourite Evergreen Bough along with Iced Spruce and Gathered Twigs ... but there are also a couple more thrown in there too.  

My new favourite stuff to use is Grunge Paste so that is what got squidged through that wonderful clock stencil and I used one of my own Tim Holtz layering stencils for the background.  Raided hubby's washers box for the only rusty washers he had ... a most disappointing collection I have to say considering he has hundreds of the things and they have remained unused for the last 40 years or so ... oh yes, and how come the moment I start rooting through them to find any I might want to use he hovers behind me making sure I don't take the VERY ONE that he might use one day!  

Oh, I've not yet said, have I?  The canvas is for my mommy and the numbers are the date and time I lost her ... didn't want them as a date and time though - that would be far too painful a reminder ... so applied them quite randomly. I always intended to apply numbers and was just going to use any old numbers but then at the last moment I knew what I wanted to do.

Also intended to use a different quote ... one that was a bit of a turning point for me but will save that for another time (no pun intended!) - this quote seemed more appropriate for this canvas.

Bit drained and emotional now but "ok" ... I can do something like this nowadays, had a bit of a weep as I showed it to hubby and explained about the numbers but am now able to put it aside and move on.

And I am about to move on to Fairies!  Can't go wrong with fairies and back to my favourite wooden hearts!

Love and miss you so very much mommy.

WOYWW ... HAPPY 300 !!!!!!

SO 300 Wednesdays ago the incredible Julia over at The Stamping Ground launched the WOYWW concept ...WOYWW = What's on your workdesk Wednesday ... giving us bloggers the chance to hop all around the world sharing our creative workspaces.  That is the essence of it - the reality is true and strong friendships have been formed, support given, laughter and tears shared ... and then there is the crafting on top of all that.  We get a tiny glimpse into each others lives and we are able to share the good times, struggle together through the bad and enjoy our love of anything and everything crafty.

You were inspired Julia and I, along with everyone else I am sure, thank you from the bottom of my heart!

I wasn't going to blog or WOYWW today but then remembered this special anniversary and so wanted to be a part of it ... I will be crafting today just as soon as I can get round to it so my desk is non-existent at the moment but I did leave out a few things ready

The cardboard box arrived yesterday and contains some new canvasses, three pots of Grunge Paste and a gorgeous stamp - all from Clarity ... not quite sure what I will do with the stamp but once I figure it out you will be the first to know.

You can just see the corner of two cowboy hats - a red one and a brown one ... call came from nephew and his girlfriend (grown up, I hasten to add!) ... "auntieeeeee - we need a Jessie & Woody (from Toy Story) costumes.

Done and dusted so they will be heading over to them as they need them for Saturday.

Back left corner is some cross-stitching that I must get done ... really I must.

Hopefully my workdesk will soon be a hive of creative activity but for now HAPPY 300th WOYWW!!!!!

Clarity Challenge ... January

Came as one heck of a surprise to find myself the winner of the "Things with Wings" challenge at Clarity Stamps for January ... especially as I had no intention of EVER entering a challenge ... that will teach me, huh?!?!?!  

As well as a lovely voucher to spend at Clarity I got to be "Guest Designer" for a forthcoming challenge and after having a mini-breakdown when I misunderstood what the theme would be I was told what the theme actually was and, well, "Anything But A Card" just set my juices flowing!  

Here is my offering ... I never make a note of what colours I use or how I actually do anything but this time I Kept Notes as I went along ... and then couldn't understand any of them when I came to write them up.

Hopefully there is enough info here for anyone interested but do, of course, leave a comment if you want anything explaining any further.

SO to begin with I did my favourite technique … ok, one of my favourite techniques as I have a few! … splodge some Distress Inks on one of those brown flexible crafty mat thingies and squirt with water and then just swish and swoosh my card through the colours!  Never quite know what I am going to end up with but am rarely disappointed and love, love, love the fact you never get the same effect twice. In this instance I used Walnut Stain, Brushed Corduroy, Stormy Sky, Chipped Sapphire, Weathered Wood, Evergreen Bough & Iced Spruce … yeah, I know, probably way too many but I just love it when you swish and swoosh and get just a hint of a random colour appearing.

I use cheap PVA glue from the DIY store to stick the background to the heart and then trim to size when dry … same for the back! Edges were inked with Chipped Sapphire and Walnut Stain.

Next came another favourite product … Grunge Paste … spread through the Clarity heart stencil that I randomly placed here and there on the heart  - let it dry and then put the stencil back in place and randomly coloured it with the same colours as the background applied with both Clarity stencil brushes and blending tools then I just rubbed gilding wax in Autumn Bronze and Ultramarine to highlight the paste even more.  I am not a glittery, sparkly, shiny crafter and my PASSION is grunge but this time the gilding wax worked!

Another thing I love to do is emboss acetate … save all the packaging that arrives and then tear it into shape and emboss it … this time I wanted it less shiny so painted the back of it with Raw Umber acrylic paint and then wiped most of it off again … you use almost a whole roll of kitchen paper but, hey, needs must! 

Finally the sentiment was stamped with Versafine Black onto white card that had been stuck to a piece of Grungeboard and then heat embossed – tore the edge and then inked up using Antique Linen, Walnut Stain and Gathered Twigs and the two little hearts are Grungeboard which were coloured with Walnut Stain & Gathered Twigs and then partially embossed … everyone says they look just like tooled leather which is kinda, sorta the effect I was hoping for.  Garden string was wrapped around the top right hand side of the heart and there you have it!

WOYWW #299

What is there to show you on this WOYWWednesday?!?!?  Usual chaotic mess but me having a ball doing the splodgy-on-the-craft-sheet thing and then swishing and swooshing with your card and making backgrounds ... did a fair bit of swishing and swooshing  because I got carried away but have plans for all those that worked ... not that they can't work, you understand - no skill involved in swishing and swooshing and you just either go with what you've got or bin it!  Not often I bin a background made like this because even if the whole sheet is a disaster you can easily crop a part of it to use.

Not a lot to see really .. just got from my craft cupboard out in Antarctica the conservatory what I needed to try and give myself as much working space as possible.  Didn't work ... never have enough space!

Colours never show up well on the screen but they are my favourite default colours ... do occasionally experiment with others but these are what rock my boat. It is not very often AT ALL you will hear me say this but I was kinda, sorta pleased with these!

Did mention I got carried away and splodged and splooshed some random colours for some tag cards ... not my preferred colours but am trying to appeal to those who do not like getting down and dirty and grungy like me ... kinda, sorta know where I am headed with them and they should look very different sometime soon!

So that is the weekly glimpse into my world ... all thanks to the special lady whom is Julia over at The Stamping Ground