WOYWW ATC 7th Anniversary

Just to let all my fellow bloggers know that I aim to join in the ATC swap for the forthcoming 7th Anniversary of us WOYWW'ers on 25th May.

I shall, of course, send ATC #1 to the person next to me on the list with an asterisk by their name but will also make extras for anyone who would like one ... just please email or FB message me your postal address and I will be delighted to pop one in the post to you on, or as soon as I can after 25th May.

Happy Crafting fellow WOYWW'ers !!!

Control Alt Delete

Now that's odd ... was quite sure I'd blogged this already but whilst scrolling back through my posts looking for something else I realised this journal cover was missing.  Goodness knows where I did put it then!

Had been aching to do "something" with the huge ... HUGE ... box of computer parts hubby sent my way (he was not a computer engineer for nearly 40 years for nothing!) ... I am desperate to get them onto a canvas but just don't have the time at the moment to tackle that so decided to do a journal cover instead.

 I get to this stage and wonder what on earth I am doing ... before you paint it all back to one solid colour again ...

Then all the detail kinda disappears and it looks very solid and plain ...

But when you start to add colour all the details start to pop out again ...

And after endless spritzing and squirting with mica sprays it starts to come together ...

Got to admit I got a little carried away with splattering but it is such fun to do ... the wall behind me was equally splattered I'm afraid, er, as was much of the area around me !!!

I wanted the splatters to represent the electrical activity that would have taken place when the computer was, well, a computer, but I didn't manage to achieve the effect I wanted but can live with this as a first effort.

Just need to get into Art Journalling now!

Triptych Frame

Since putting this on Facebook I've had a few people messaging me asking how it was done so thought the easiest way was to blog it.  

No step by step photo's I'm afraid but it was fairly simple so this should give you some idea.

The triptych frame was supplied by Candy Box Crafts and what Roy Pakeman (the genius behind Candy Box Crafts) did with his frame was nothing short of AMAZING!!!!  

First stage was to decide on colours.

This is where it started to fall apart.

Determined to move away from my favourite and much used colour schemes I opted for black, red and ivory.

Base coat of black acrylic paint was applied and let to dry. 

Next came the crackle ... I LOVE LOVE LOVE crackle!  Use it whenever I can but this was a new product to me ... Cosmic Shimmer Clear Crackle.

You paint it on in the opposite direction to how you will apply your topcoat and then you let it dry completely.

Once dry you paint with your second colour choice using long strokes trying not to stop and start again.  

No chance!

Stopped and started many times but felt in the end it didn't really matter ... the crackle starts to appear almost immediately. The thicker the top coat of paint the larger the crackles ... so you can see I got a right old mixture by my very uneven topcoat.

I found that once you thought it was dry you could make it crackle further by using a heatgun.

This is where my colour scheme fell apart ... I applied RED gilding wax around the edges of my frame and the apertures but, to me, I see only pink.

Everyone assures me it is red but, nope, can only see pink.

I hate pink.

At this point I knew I would not finish my project during Pauline's Inky Workshop (that's Pauline Butcher by the way!!) as I had half an idea how I might tweak it to make it more acceptable.

One of the workshop techniques was to stamp and emboss onto acetate and colour in your design on the reverse using Promarkers and then to make the colour more intense you paint with white - also on the back.

Don't do colouring.

Hate colouring.

But was keen to learn the technique so went with the flow.

Still hate colouring and the only thing I love to do with acetate is to emboss it - but that's for another time!

My umbrella man is a Tim Holtz die and I embossed his umbrella and then squished just the brolly with Versamark and clear embossed it so it looks wet.

At least that was the plan!

Kinda worked.

Backgrounds were just the Tim Holtz brick wall stencil dabbed with Hickory Smoke Distress Ink using just a felt pad ... couldn't be bothered with the wooden handle thingy.

The red LOVE and LIVE and the Dancing in the Rain wording was Barn Door Distress Ink which I clear embossed.

Splodges were Black Soot Distress Ink applied in the same way as the brick wall - two different stencils but I can no longer recall the brand I'm afraid.

Last two photo's are upside down for some reason ... but you will get the idea.

To tweak the should-be-red-but-looks-pink-to-me edges I used one of my favourite techniques ... now THIS does make me tingle!

Painted on 3D Gloss Gel (but you can use any medium - I just happened to have that pot closest to me at the time) using a paintbrush.

You don't need much at all.

Heap your embossing powder (gold in this instance) onto a sheet of paper and, doing one edge at a time, paint with medium and then dip into the powder.

Tap off HARD as much as you can and then heat it ... almost overheat it so the gel starts to bubble and go crazy.

I love doing this ... er, did I say?

If you want a smoother finish then paint on the medium and dab in the powder and then let it dry before embossing.

I much prefer the lumpy, bumpy texture though so embossed it whilst the medium was still wet.

Cosmic shimmer glue was used to hold both the backgrounds in place as well as sticking the fronts and backs of the frame together ... held with pegs for a while just to be sure.

Oh yes, for a more distressed look (the frame, silly, not me!!!) as the topcoat of paint was drying I rubbed some off with my fingertips.  Thought I had overcooked it until Pauline wandered past and said it looked great.

If it is good enough for Pauline then it is good enough for me!!!

Panels are held together with crinkle ribbon that was splodged and splooshed through some Black Soot & Hickory Smoke Distress Ink that was dabbed on my craft mat and then spritzed with water.  

Squeezed out hard in kitchen paper and voila!

Hope this answers the questions you were asking but if not then give me a shout and I will explain further.

Happy Crafting!

WOYWW # 353

So what is on my workdesk this Wednesday ... nothing! Nuffin'! Nowt!

OK ... there is my Big Shot and as many scraps of white card needing using up that I could find as I need to cut out around 3,000 little cogs.

Cutting them out isn't the problem ... can cut 18 at a time as I have two sets of dies but then sitting with the pokey tool extracting them from the dies is a whole new ball game.

Takes bloomin' ages and the edges of the dies, being crinkly, make my fingers sore!

So, I do as many as I can until my fingertips lose all feeling and then take a break. 

Time is on my side with this little project so am not in a panic or rush to get them done ... rather stupidly thought Monday would be cogs day ... yeah, right.  Wednesday, Thursday and Friday look like being cogs days too.

So, you don't want to see a photo' of a Big Shot and a pile of card so, instead, will share a couple of cards I made over the weekend.

Not my normal or preferred style but am planning on having a little fundraising coffee morning later in the year, all in aid of Rethink and in memory of our nephew, and I need to make cards that will appeal to a wide range of all the lovely folk whom I hope will pop along.

These first two were my take on cards done a Clarity East Midlands workshop and which I didn't get round to doing in class.  Thanks to the wonderful Sally-Ann Moore and Kim Shaw for the designs for these.

Then, of course, once the shaving foam was out I got a bit carried away Making Backgrounds so did a few more cards for the coffee morning.

I shall attempt to get back to any visitors ... I have been having trouble with any comments I leave on many blogs "bouncing back" to me in an email as "undeliverable" and I have absolutely no idea how to sort that out so please do not think I am ignoring you ... I really will attempt to reciprocate your visit.

For those of you whom do not know about WOYWW then head over to our wonderful host, Julia at The Stamping Ground where all will become clear.

Happy WOYWW'ing!

All things Finnabair!

Had an amazing weekend taking all four of Finnabair's classes when she came to Coventry last weekend ... did two of her classes last year up in Harrogate and was desperate to do more so when I found out she was coming more local to me I had to bat the big brown eyes and persuade hubby to let me go!  So, Saturday 27th was my Christmas present and Sunday 28th was my birthday present and the shopping bill afterwards was my divorce settlement!!!

First project on the Saturday morning was "Frozen in Time" ... a gorgeous journal cover and I enjoyed doing it so much I have done two more this past week.  

I had a mini-meltdown when colouring this one ... chose my colours and thought I picked up the blue bottle, did my first squirt and OH NO!!!! I grabbed the pink bottle by mistake.

I do not do pink.

I hate pink.

But pink it had to be as there was no turning back!

Deep breath and continue.

Can kinda, sorta live with the end product ... it is growing on me.

But I still hate pink!

Some ladies left after the first workshop and new ones came for the afternoon session but I was well and truly settled for the weekend so I actually had it all together for once!

Next workshop was "Beauty and the Beads" ... I did this in Harrogate last June and was very pleased to get a second chance at it.  

Went into meltdown the moment I started and regretted my choice of stencil from the moment I put the paste on the canvas.  Sat with my palette knife in hand about a gnat's whisker from scraping it all off ... it had already started to dry so am sure I would have ended up with one heck of a mess so decided to just go with it.

The piece Finn worked on for her demo had two corner designs and as most of my work seems to follow that design I wanted to do something different.  My piece last year was a diagonal so I didn't want to do that so thinking cap on!  I had messed up the one edge of the canvas where I didn't take the stencil far enough so that became the bottom and I envisaged a sort of "WHOOSH" up the centre of the canvas.

This did not go AT ALL to plan and I faffed round for ages moving bits here and there and getting more and more disheartened.  Shouted HELP! to Finn who came to my rescue, made a suggestion which I very readily took on board and ended up with this.

Was not really pleased with it at all until I shared it on Facebook and words like "magic potions" and "spells" began to appear ... hadn't thought of that at all and I think it is now my favourite of all four pieces.

Back the next day to start all over again ... loving every minute and wanting it to never end!

First project Sunday morning was "Time Capsule" ... again a repeat of the one I did in Harrogate ... loved making it but my least favourite of all I think.  I am undecided whether to gesso over the roses and make them less intense ... am not being impulsive though and will decide at some point!

The three workshops so far had all been amazing ... I had really, really lovely ladies at my table and the group as a whole worked brilliantly with everyone patiently waiting their turn at the spritzing/inky tables that had been set up.  

Sunday afternoon it all changed and we were back to the grabbers and impatient ladies who simply have to go first.  I had my three carefully chosen colours lined up and was merrily spritzing away when one of the bottles disappeared and was now in the hands of a group of three.  Some colours look so similar in their bottles so I had no chance of finding those I was using again and messed this one up big time.  

Felt myself getting quite cross but just laughed inside and let them carry on ... and now blame them for the horrible colour choice on this one!

The numbers refer to my wedding anniversary and the word "journey" sure does sum up the past 37 years!

  The final piece was "Overemotional" (all Finn's workshops have names) and it is one I have wanted to do ever since discovering Finnabair ... this piece sums up her work for me and sure did call out to me.  

Hardest part of this (and one which stressed me out since I booked my place on the workshops last June) was using a photo' of myself.

Decided at the very last moment to go ahead and stick myself on there but was delighted I then got the opportunity to hide most of myself away ... see, I am not daft as I look!

This piece would have been individual to everyone there and mean different things to everyone ... I feel this one truly represents ME at this moment in time.

Overemotional.

Stupid little smirk.

A waterfall of tears

A little broken heart.

Torn and tatty to the extreme.

Engulfed by sadness.

BUT

Holding on and getting by and sometimes the stupid little smirk becomes a real smile of joy and happiness.

Totally LOVED making my tatty dress (got the Miss Haversham vibe going big time!) and made it as ragged as I could.

My heart and soul is in this canvas.

Was enjoying doing this piece so much and then Finn had to go and spoil it by saying the "P" word ..

PENCIL!!!!!

I don't do pencils.

I LOVE pencils to stroke and admire but not to use.

I HATE colouring-in.

I don't do pencils (did I say that already?)

I REALLY don't do pencils!

Sat there for ages with it in my hand.  Went to make the first mark and pulled back ... time and time and time again.

Put the pencil down figuring it did not need it.

Knew that if Finn said we needed a to use a pencil then we REALLY needed to use a pencil.

SO ... I just took a deep breath and went for it.

Finn was standing two feet away and heard that deep breath.

"Well done. I am proud of you"

ABSOLUTELY MADE MY WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!

Can't wait to do more classes ... will have to negotiate the Christmas/Birthday present deal again but can't think of better presents to get.  

Finn is the most amazing teacher ... funny and generous and so willing to share her talent and her encouragement makes you believe you can do anything.

Her motto is SPREAD YOUR WINGS ... and mine were spread open wide immersed in the wonderful world of Finnabair.

(just realised I have them in the wrong order!  Not to worry ... you will get the drift!)
xXx

For my Valentine

Ok, Ok I know there are two cards here and I do only have one Valentine but I got to messing around with stuff that crackles and, well, used the card for himself as a means to just let-go and have a play!  

Himself will either end up with two cards or I shall choose between them at the last minute ... think I know which one it will be but time will tell!

 Got to say I do love a bit of crackle!

This is the one himself will probably be getting ... was the one intended for him from the start.

 Close up of the crackles ... going to be using this a whole lot more from here on in!  

It is Art Basics Clear Crackle Glaze.

Have always used pots and pots of Ranger's Clear Rock Candy which gives delicate little crackles but after all these years figure it is time to move up into the world of LARGE crackles ... can't wait!!!!!

I use a lot of keys in my projects and had a delivery just as I started on these tags ... almost fell of my chair when I found the key below ... it was a sign!

So ...Happy Valentine's Day!

xXx LOVE xXx LOVE xXx LOVE xXx

WOYWW #347

Come on, dear readers, keep up! By now you should all know that WOYWW stands for What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday where, courtesy of the beautiful lady that is Julia over at The Stamping Ground, us Crafty Bloggers get to share out workdesks each week and get the chance to hop to other desks all over the world for a good old nosey!  

My workdesk today is somewhat bare as I have just cleared away a whole heap of pastes and gels and mediums and metal bits etc., and replaced it with the more minimal requirements needed to make a couple of cards.  Then, once these are done, out will come the Brushos so I can make more backgrounds for the rest of the cards I need to make for this year.  Once they are all done I can PLAY and craft for the sake of it!

So directly in front of me ... pretty much speaks for itself ... nothing at all exciting to explain here!

Then to my left ... after many years of complaining and moaning about my stamp storage I decided to Take Action and got this tower contraption ... it should stand 11 drawers high but that was no use to me so hubby took out his saw and I now have two small towers ... one with a wooden top to act as an extra table.  

The very tatty cardboard box with the posting hole is a box that came containing flowers and I knew exactly what it's new mission in life would be ... I now post all my card offcuts etc., for recycling ... it works for me & is always in use as yet another space to put stuff! In this case the stuff are my folders of stencils and in the mug are my Wink of Stella pens.  

So welcome to my little crafty-arty world!  

Happy WOYWW'ing to you!  

Wooden hearts & metal bits

Oh don't be silly ... how on earth can it possibly be two whole months since I last blogged!

Ahhh, I remember now ... Christmas kinda, sorta got in the way and then I went down with that dreaded cold bug than knocked me off my feet for three weeks! 

 Today was my second day out since Christmas and I am shattered!

Headed off with my friend to the Clarity workshop, run by the delightful Maria Simms in Shrewsbury which meant a very early start - alarm clock on any day of the week when hubby is retired is a shock, let alone at 6am on a Sunday!!!!!

I like to make sure people know how I feel about them so I braved the nerves and made Maria a gift ... adding wording that should leave her with no doubt how just amazeballs she is ... had a meltdown when I finished it as I was not entirely happy with it and all the self-doubt poked me in the eye but I decided to give it to her at the last minute and I was able to relax a little when she liked it!  

The colours do not show up on here ... it graduated from blues through a sage green back to blue and was very sparkly!  I am not a fan of glitter and sit for ages deciding whether to use it or not but I do think a little sprinkling is the finishing touch.

I have a couple more to finish this week but one was a commission for a friend and is now on it's way to Australia ... one of the hearts below is another commission and I am just awaiting the details to put on the message that will go on it and the other two hearts are to be finished once I have decided what to do with them!

This one has not photographed at all well ... it is black with purple tones added ... it is very much more bright and sparkly than it looks here ... very dramatic though!

SO that wasn't a bad week's work really considering how poorly I've been ... had to do-a-bit and then take-a-break and then do-a-bit more but it keeps me quiet!

WOYWW #342

No workdesk to share as I have cleared everything away in readiness for Christmas but do admit to having serious crafting-withdrawal symptoms!  

Can share, courtesy of the beautiful Julia at The Stamping Ground- host and creator of our special WOYWW times, my cards for this year and a couple of canvasses that were sent and opened early!!!!!

This was the one sent to family & close friends.

Card for our first Great-Nephew, the delightful Henry ... will be nine months old on Christmas Day!

  Card for my husband.

Our main cards for this year and the reason my husband had to Hoover me!  

The moon is mica powder which wafted everywhere and the *S*N*O*W* is Glamour Dust ... need I say more!?!?!?

Two canvasses ... the same, but different!  Photo' taken at the WOYWW Crop 2 BPD at the end of October.  Two of the bestest friends you could ever imagine and I LOVE what they share.

I am in awe of what they give to everyone else and am proud and honoured to call them my friends.

The lady in the photo' is the wonderful Sazz (Sally-Ann Moore) who runs the Clarity East Midlands crafting group in Nottingham.  On her recent wedding day and I was lucky enough to get her as my Secret Santa at the group meet earlier this month.  Alas, me being Santa was not a secret but nobody seemed to mind too much.

These two are now in Australia and were opened on arrival rather than being put under the tree for Christmas morning!!!!!  Very naughty!!!!!

The one above had very much more purple on it than shows here ... it was not nearly as black as it seems! 

One of the best wedding photo's I have ever seen!

Might have to get a little crafting in during the holidays but today need to concentrate on baking mince pies and starting the chocolate mousse - last few cards to hang and then Christmas movies, time to stop and catch my breath and, well, to just chill!

Thanks to each and every one of you for your kindness, support & friendship yet again this year and wishing you nothing but peace & joy, health & happiness and that you all have a

VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!