Lockdown # 3 - Giveaway projects

 Well, another lockdown can only mean one thing (it means a lot actually but am referring to my little corner of the world) ... another set of giveaways

All these giveaways were very much made possible by Henry's Hat ... Henry being our Great-nephew whom, at nearly six years old, has plenty of other things to do I am sure but, like the superstar he is, he picks me a winner each week

Trying to make the draw as fair as possible I send him only the numbers of participants each week and he picks one of those numbers from one of his many hats and then I check my list of names to see who has won - a system that seems to work really well ... Henry has his own fan club !

#1 LITTLE BLUEBIRD

Oh how I loved making these - so much, in fact, I made two 

you can't tell from the photos but the top one is just decorated on one side and I kept this one for myself but the bottom one was decorated both sides 

 #2 LOVIN' SPOONFUL

This was based very much on an in-person workshop I did way back with Finnabair and a on-line video she did for her Patreon group so not an original idea of my own

These are also pretty much the colours she used for her Christmas Magic Patreon piece but a huge challenge for me as I really do hate pink but have to say I could live with this if there are no names in Henry's Hat for this one

(edited - there were!) 

 

#3 MAKE A NOTE OF IT

 

Who doesn't need a notebook?  

 

 

 

#4 ALTER THE ORDINARY

 

The ordinary being what is now a part of pretty much everyone's daily life - a computer .. bits of it anyway

I am fully expecting thise one to be a step too far and will send folk running for the hills but not everyone likes pretty-pretty and flowers so will have to wait and see

 

 

 #5  INDUSTRIAL BEAUTIES

A tin heart that I decorated both sides so it could be hung up

Quite grungy & industrial with dragonflies & butterflies

#6 STEAMPUNK ROCKERS OF THE HORSEY KIND

Two were on offer this week & I had serious doubts about these as I did not think they would be very popular - ended up with more numbers in Henry's Hat that any of the other giveaways

Shows what I know

Based on a project from Finnabair

These took forever to make as most of the embellishments were made with moulds and resin

Ten "keys" were needed for each horse and with only one key on each mould that meant 20 pours!

 

 

#7 OLD RUSTY TIN BOX

The joke being it was neither old nor rusty or tin

 

#8 BJORN & BO - FREE TO A GOOD GNOME

(Bjorn is the big one!)

Two Powertex gnomes made after an on-line workshop with Annette Smyth (creativeadventurer.co.uk)

 

#9 ROLL WITH IT

A remake of a rolling pin I did for myself but which many people seemed to like so I did another - slightly smaller this time though to make it more display-friendly

#10 LITTLE PLAQUES OF POSITIVITY

I wished everyone who put their names in Henry's Hat each week could win, but most weeks there could only be one number picked

So this week I did five little plaques giving five people the chance to win

 

 

#11 BLISSFUL BUTTERFLIES

or, as they were originally called ... Can't Think Of A Title

(because I couldn't!)

Then a dear friend came up with Blissful Butterflies & I was very happy to go with it

Another remake of projects I have done in the past but loved doing so was able to have two winners 

#12 TIME SPENT TOGETHER

 

And so the end of another lockdown & this one was to represent the time we have spent together with our little weekly dips into Henry's Hat

The draw for this one will take place almost a year to the daythat Henry first picked us a winner - a whole year!  I can scarcely believe it - a year for all of us of uncertaintity & sadness, being scared and overwhelmed - but also of friendship and thankfulness 

And I am truly thankful for all of you who played along, keeping me going each week and givieng me an excuse to keep busy doing what I love to do

Better times ahead my dearest friends ... there has, now, to be better times ahead

 

 

 

LockDown #2 - Giveaway projects

 With the second lockdown happening leading up to Christmas I figured we all might need a little distraction from the doom and gloom and utter overwhelmingness (if that is even a word!) of it all and, selfishly, to give me something with which to occupy my mind

I always have plenty to do but nothing I HAVE to do but having announced it on FB I knew I'd not want to let anyone down so the second round of giveaways kept me motivated and really helped me through those weeks

I only did five this time :-

REINDEER *S*N*O*W*FLAKES

                                                                PRODUCTS USED : 

MDF Snowflake / Deer & Word

Scrapinec Decorative Chipboards:

Spring Prodigy / Wreath Set GST-165 / Mon Merry Cheri Wreath GST-262

FINNABAIR (Prima Marketing) 

Art Basics : Heavy Gesso White / 3D Gloss Gel/ Modelling Paste

Art Extravagance : Texture Paste - White Crackle 

Glitter Set - Caribbean / Ebony & Ivory

Art Alchemy : Metallique Acrylic Paint - White Pearl

Sparks Acrylic Paint - Magical Pond

Metallique Wax - Mint Sparkle / Blue Lagoon / Heather Hills

Art Ingredients - Mica Powder : Lilac Opal Magic / Green Opal Magic

Snowflake from Finnabair's Mechanicals range

Tim Holtz Stencil - Flourish THS032

Lindy's Stamp Gang Starburst Spray : Sassy Sapphire / 

Frosted Forget-me-Nots / French Lilac Violet

Seth Apter (Aladine) Izink Dye Spray ; Antique Pearl / Blue Moon

LIGHTBULB BAUBLE

PRODUCTS USED :

Black Powertex Universal Medium

Powertex Colortrix : Terragreen / Red / Clear Gold / Gold

Powertex Easy Varnish

Finnabair Art Ingredients Glass Glitter - Gold Rush

Finnabair Art Extravagance Glitter Set - Ebony & Ivory

Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium

Anna Marie Art Designs Crushed ice Crystals

 

HEART OF CHRISTMAS

 

 

 

 OOOooops!!!! No idea what products I used as I forgot to make a list

Finnabair's Heavy Black Gesso for sure and all the metal flowers and leaves are from her mechanicals range - as is the heart locket and it would all have been adhered with heavy body gel from Finn's Art Basics range

The little fir cones are from Tim Holtz's Ideaology range

 

CHRISTMAS BOX

A little book in a wooden box ... pages of the book are in the wrong order & with this new blogger thingy I just can't work out how to move them - but you will get the idea

 

OOOOPS! AGAIN!

I either forgot to write down the products used or I have lost the list - either quite a likely scenario

Apart from four or five pages that have Tim Holtz Ephemera the rest are are all stamped with images from my collection - glittered and embossed and inked and grunged.

The wreath on the front cover is from Tim's Ideaolody range and the stencil is one of his too

 

SILENT NIGHT MUSIC BOX

Ok ... it was really hard to give this one away as it has such a very personal attachment to it.  I have told this story before - when I made nephew number one (Richard) a musical violin that played Silent Night shortly after daddy died. 

Singing Silent Night was daddy's party piece but not sung in a beautiful choral fashion but quirky and funny and would always make us laugh as he would clasp his hand to his mouth when he got to the word "virgin"- just daddy being daft but I now can't hear that carol without tears forming

I had one little musical movement left from when I did the violin (never buy just one of anything and now wish I had bought more because they seem to be no longer available) so as the "Christmas in a Tin" idea took shape I just knew what I wanted to do

 

PRODUCTS USED:

Finnabair (Prima Marketing)

Art Basics Heavy Gesso - Black / 3D Gloss Gel / Heavy Body Gel

Art Ingredients Mica Powders - Bottle Green / Frozen Lake / Teal / Purple /  Lilac Opal Magic / Green Opal Magic 

Art Alchemy Acrylic Paint Metallique - White Pearl / Silver Spoon / 

Art Extravagance Glitter Set - Ebony & Ivory

Finnabair Moon & Stars Mould

Snowflakes from Finnabair's Mechanicals range

Lindy's Stamp Gang Starburst Spray :

Afternoon Delight Denim / Frolic in the Forest Black

Hobbilicious Quirky Cottages

Tim Holtz : Woodland Trees / Reindeer / Word token

Distress Spray Stain - Bundled Sage

Tim Holtz Stars Stencil - THS115

Resin

The startof 2021 has brought us another much needed lockdown so Giveaways number 3 are currently in progress but I will blog those once they are all, er, given away!

 

*S*N*O*W*flake Blocks

 Didn't make as many Christmas presents as I normally do as my little LockDown #2 Giveaway project took up a fair bit of time

which is just fine and kept me busy and my mind occupied during what is such an overwhelming period in all our lives ... will blog the Story of the Giveaways separately

Soooooo, as I love working on wood I had hubby in the garage cutting me many little blocks ready for me to decorate - loved doing these but they have photographed dreadfully and look quite, quite awful in the photos

but you will get the idea

 

PRODUCTS USED:

Finnabair (Prima Marketing) :

Art Basics -  Heavy Gesso White / Light Paste / 3D Gloss Gel / Heavy Body Gel

Art Ingredients Mica Powder - Lilac Opal Magic / Green Opal Magic

Art Alchemy Metallique Wax - Mint Sparkle / Blue Lagoon / Heather Hills / Electric Violet / Old Denim / Old Silver 

Large snowflakes from Finnabair's Mechanicals range

Small snowflakes from Tim Holtz Ideaology range

Stencil from Clarity Stamp

Lindy's Stamp Gang Starburst Spray - Frozen Jack Frost / Frosted Forget-me-nots / French Lilac Violet

Tartan Pinecones

Tartan pinecones ... or another way of putting it ... our Christmas cards this year

Oh, except they are now last years as I have not blogged in so long I missed the boat

but, hey-ho, not the biggest disaster in the world for we are al surely living through that right now

Went for monochromatic tartan backgrounds simply stamped and embossed in white and then started cranking the handle of the Big Shot cutting out more composite parts of the pinecone die than I care to count

Was going to say hundreds and hundreds but having just done a quick sum in my head it is over a thousand ... 

seemed like a good idea at the time - you know, when you make just ONE card as a test to see if you like it, quite forgetting to then multiply it by the actual number of cards you will need

nothing ever changes though and I have no doubts I will be writing the exact same words next year

 

  Was happy with the overall effect so stuck with it for family and close friends but made them into traditional cards ... you know, ones that open rather than being a tag 

Still get grief from some for "only" making tags but if you get a card from me it is most likely it will always be a tag so just go with it ok for I am not about to change what is my"thing" ... blame Tim Holtz whose tags called to me many years ago and continue to do so

Products used :

Tim Holtz (Ranger) Distress Spary Stain

Vintage Photo / Gathered Twigs / Walnut Stain / Antique Linen / Hickory Smoke / Peeled Paint / Bundled Sage / Shabby Shutters

Tim Holtz (Ranger) Distress Oxide Spray

Brushed Corduroy / Vintage Photo / Ground Espresso / Hickory Smoke

Tim Holtz (Sizzix) Colorize Thinlets Die Set :Festive Trims 664733 

Tim Holtz (Stampers Anonymous) Stamp Set :  Christmastime CMS352

Versamark Pad

White Embossing Powder

Sakura Quickie Glue Pen

DecoArt Glamour Dust - Crystal

 

Then came the cards for the littlies ... our five wonderful great nephews and niece

Didn't make a note of the stuff I used but all pretty basic stuff I had on hand

 

This year saw the first little girl born in the family for 36 years!!!

 So that was them ... seems a long time ago now ... teach me to be tardy with my blogging

Note to self for 2021 - blog more regularly!  (Yeah, right!)

 

WOYWW 600

 Huge CONGRATULATIONS to the superstar that is our much loved Julia on her 600th Workdesk Wednesday over at The Stamping Ground

In the colder months my workdesk is a ever expanding corner of the dining room table - not ideal but it works for me - especially this year when there have been no family meals

So this is my desk right now - utter chaos from yesterday when I had a meltdown over everything I still have to do ... just please forgive the mess

Making boxes for some little *s*n*o*w*flake wooden blocks that will be given as gifts

Decided I wanted a little string bow as decoration on them so out came the old boingy tool thingy - noisy but does the job

The magnifying illuminating lamp is there as I tackle some little cross stitch tree decorations that one of the nephews & his wife ask for each year - you can just see a round white paint palette on the left (behind the chair) which is full of seed beads ready for me to get back to once this current frenzy is over

First Christmas card arrived yesterday - on the far left

Think the rest is all pretty straightforward 

 
Happy 600th WOYWW & huge thanks to Julia for the ability to join I as, when & if we are able & for the friendships, love & support that you make possible

IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER - Altered Book

Had been wanting to do another altered book for a while but was waiting for inspiration to strike

Strike it did but, despite having done two in-person classes with Finnabair and then a couple more books, this didn't turn out quite as hoped

But, having said that, I can live with it and have ended up quite pleased with it

As always, the photo's do not show it very well - it does actually look a little bit better in real life ... honest!

 I chose one of my favourite carols and am currently obsessed with these Quirky Houses so was happy to have an excuse to use them on another project

It is actually more blue than it appears here and the inside is very much more sparkly - the trees and the snowdrift realy do glisten

 Had the book stashed away in my cupboard for a couple of years now but absolutely could not believe my eyes when I saw the title ...

 

 

Just what are the chances of that?

Prior to March it would have had no significance at all 

I even put it back in the cupboard not feeling able to use it but told Anna (Finnabair) about it and we decided I should use it and obliterate it and hope it turns the tide in what we are all facing right now

Got to admit to enjoying obliterating that title!

PRODUCTS USED

FINNABAIR (Prima Marketing)

Art Basics Heavy Gesso - Black

Art Basics 3D Gloss Gel

Moon & Stars Mould

Art Alchemy Opal Magic Wax - Turquoise Satin / Green Brocade

Art Alchemy Brilliance Wax - Amethyst Magic

Art Alchemy Metallique Wax - Old Silver

Art Alchemy Metallique Paint - White Pearl 

Art Ingredients Mica Powder - Pale Silver / Green Opal Magic

Frozen Lake / Purple

Mechanicals - Wings

LINDY'S STAMPGANG STARBURST SPRAY

Frolic in the forest black / Voodoo Violet Blue

HOBBILICIOUS

Quirky Houses Clock Tower

TIM HOLTZ (IDEA-OLOGY)

Woodlands Tree Lot / Baroque Frames 

Festive Adornments TH93990

Floral Adornments TH93789

Midnight Magic

 Came across these little houses whilst browsing for something or other and loved the piece that had been done to show what could be done with them and it sparked the idea for this

The clouds around the moon are actually quite sparkly

but, as we all know, sparkles are hard to capture in a photo'

Quite enjoyed doing this one despite having blue fingers for days afterwards!

PRODUCTS USED

Gerstaecker 30cm (12") round canvas board

Gerstaecker 20cm (8") round canvas board

Hobbilicious Quirky Houses

Tm Holtz (Stampers Anonymous) Stencil

THS131 (Stars)

Finnabair (Prima Marketing) :

Art Basics - Heavy Gesso Black / 3D Gloss Gel / Heavy Body Gel / Soft Gloss Gel

Art Alchemy - Metallique Wax : Mint Sparkle / Sweet Rose / Blue Lagoon

Art Alchemy Impasto Paint : Cobalt

Art Alchemy Acrylic Paint - Metallique Silver Spoon / White Pearl

Art Alchemy Metallique Wax - Old Silver / White Gold

Art Ingredients - Art Sugar : White

Moons & Stars Mould

Lindy's Stamp Gang Starburst Spray :

Afternoon Delight Denim / Frolic in the Forest Black / Prima Donna Purple

Various metal bits from Finnabair & Tim Holtz collections