Welcome to my midweek post ....

Morning readers,

Here's hoping that your week is coming along brilliantly. I've had a busy couple of weeks so have been taking it relatively easy this week .... still making time to hit the ToC (Table of Craftiness) though, and I have an ATC to share with you this morning, I hope you like it as much as I do....... I am so loving this little cutie and she's the perfect size for an ATC too ......

My ATC

And a closer view of the image panel itself

Materials used:

• ATC blank
• Snippets of: Costco double side paper (patterned side) and white
• Paper Artsy (ZN28) image stamped using Memento tuxedo black. I stamped this a second time on to full coverage post it which I then cut out to use as a  mask
• With my mask in place I stencilled Memento London fog ink through first a Stamposaurus circles stencil and then a Memory Box grungey square stencil
• With the mask still in place I stamp the Precious Remembrance shop "splatter", "faux stitched border" and sentiment (from "Positive Thoughts") using Ranger Archival majestic violet and Memento tuxedo black inks
• After removing the mask I coloured the image using Faber Castell polychromos pencils blending, where necessary, with Sansodor
• Sakura gell roll glitter gel pen (black) used to trace over the sentiment and add sparkle

I'll be entering the above make for the following challenges:-

1. Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - challenge No. 87 - ANYTHING GOES
2. Avenue 613 - challenge No. 212 - ANYTHING GOES + optional twist of MAGIC/FANTASY
3. The Corrosive Challenge - challenge No. 8 - ANYTHING GOES
4. Stamps and Fun - challenge No. 329 - ANYTHING GOES

And now for a journal page. Regular readers will recall that some friends and I have challenged ourselves to do at least one journal page each week, using a one word prompt .. this week's word? BLOOM

My journal page

And a closer view, to show the detail AND the super twinkle of the glass bead glitter gel

Materials used:

• One page from my Crawford and Black journal (£1 from The Works - such great value that I persuaded two of my "journal buddy's" to invest too!)
• I brayered Fresco banana paint over my journal page, not bothering too much about getting TOTAL coverage and set aside to dry
• Next, I brayered fresco bora bora paint over the top, taking more care with coverage ... whilst it was still wet I knocked back the top layer by placing my Imagination Crafts stencil (MU-43) over the top and "stencilling" with a baby wipe, so the beauty of the banana layer shone through.
• Sheena Douglass circle image (a little sketchy grunge band) stamped using Ranger Archival cobalt blue ink and star image using Ranger Archival jet black ink
• Faber Castell glass bead glitter gel applied (with a palette knife) through the same stencil and over the top of my knocked back image and set aside to dry
• Anita's sentiment stamped using Ranger Archival jet black ink, I used the same ink through a TCW stencil (TCW267 stencil ledger) to add some "text" background and interest
• White Posca paint pen used to doodle detail
• Paper Artsy (JOFY09) sentiment stamped on both edges using Ranger Archival cobalt blue ink

I'll be entering the above make for the following challenges:-

1. DragonFly Journeys - challenge No. 124 - FLOWER POWER
2. WeLove2Create - challenge No. 11 - ANYTHING MIXED MEDIA GOES
3. More Mixed Media - August 5th challenge - ANYTHING MIXED MEDIA GOES + option of BRIGHTS ..... I think banana qualifies as BRIGHT, don't you?
4. Happy Little Stampers - August Mixed Media challenge - WORDS
5. Catch The Bug - August 12th challenge - ANYTHING BUT A CARD

I discovered I was a Design Team Favourite over at Happy Little Stampers for their July Mixed Media challenge - thanks so much peeps. My congratulations to the winner and other DT Faves too

 

Morning and welcome to another week.....

Morning readers,

Hope you all enjoyed a terrific weekend and that, if you got rain, you are keen gardeners! If you're not then - sorry! We got quite a lot of rain from Saturday afternoon through to around lunchtime on Sunday, some of it quite hard too! Suspect it put a dampener on the Balloon Fiesta so it's just as well we were up early enough on Saturday morning to get our balloon "fix" - pix posted on Saturday - see it here, if you are interested. It rained again last night, so hard we had to dash round the house pulling all the windows closed - arrggghhhh, it seems we're destined never to be happy about the weather we're getting!!!

It seemed like a good idea to stay in and craft especially as I had been in Cornwall and then Worcester (visiting friends on both occasions) so had been away from my ToC (that's Table of Craftiness) for what felt like AGES ...... some of you may be surprised to see a regular style ATC instead of my current obsession with ATCoins but hey .... time to move on before becoming a one trick pony!

My ATC

Materials used:

• ATC blank
• Snippets of card in light green and white
• On the white snippet I used a mini blender/foam pad to apply Memento Bahama blue ink over the card then placed a Stamposaurus "circles" stencil and applied the same ink (this time using a stencil brush) before replacing the stencil with a Memory Box "grungey squares" stencil and using the same ink/stencil brush method ..... I also applied the same ink through the Memory Box stencil to add a border to the light green base card
• Craft Emotions "Herbs branches" image (130501/1237) stamped using Memento tuxedo black ink
• Precious Remembrance Shop ("Positive Thoughts") sentiment stamped using Memento Paris dusk ink
• Before assembling I edged both the green card layer and the white image panel using the Bahama Blue ink, to define the edges

I'll be entering the above make for the following challenges:-

1. Pattie's Creations - challenge No. 149 - ANYTHING GOES
2. CardzTV - challenge No. 60 - ANYTHING GOES
3. QKR Stampede - challenge No. 38 - ANYTHING GOES
4. Catch The Bug - August 10th challenge - ANYTHING GOES
5. Take a Word Challenge - August 12th challenge - SILHOUETTE

And on to a card - doncha just love new stash? I met up with two pals on Friday (on reflection the M4/M5 on a Friday during summer break? NOT my best move but ... I'd far rather catch up with friends and get caught in traffic on the way home than not catch up with them). We visited the Crafters Companion store at the Evesham "Village" (previously known as the Country Park) .... I bought this little lot

Imagination Crafts stencils, two unmounted stamp sets from Sheena Douglas and
a set of backgrounds from Imagination Crafts

So, nothing for it but to break the seal on at least one item of stash .... I made this .... I'm pretty pleased with it, definitely a masculine feel to it - I can't help but be reminded of the album cover for Led Zep's first album!! Anyone else? AND I got to use two of my new stamps and one of my new stencils so ... calling that a result!

My card

And a closer view of the brown and grey stencilling

  

The front, back and inside of my card along with the front and back of my envelope

Materials used:

• Cream A2/C6, 250gsm, card and matching sized envelope
• Two pieces of cream 300gsm card cut to fit and one piece of Costco double sided card (patterned side up) cut to mat
• Imagination Crafts MA-46 stencil placed over the smaller cream panel and Memento London fog and rich cocoa inks stencilled through, using a stencil brush, I LIKE the colour gradation
• Sheena Douglass "Sketchy Jungle" images stamped using Versafine onyx black ink
• Creative Expressions "Urban Beats" sentiment stamped using Versafine onyx black ink
• I also used the stencil, images and inks to co-ordinate the insert, reverse and envelope

I'll be entering the above for the following challenges:

1. Stamps and Stencils - August 2nd challenge - INDUSTRIAL/GRUNGEY
2. Moving Along With The Times - challenge No. 77 - FOR THE BOYS
3. Southern Girls - August 9th challenge - STAMP YOUR MARK ON IT
4. Sasayaki - August 3rd challenge - MALE PROJECT
5. AllSorts Challenge - challenge No. 480 - BOYS TO MEN

And here's that album cover I was reminded of - sound ON and rock out!

Saturday post

Morning readers, 

This weekend sees a local balloon fiesta and I'm HOPING that the wind might bring all or some in our direction ... in which case, there are some pix below, sadly, they were some way to the west of us!

A little light crafting to share this morning .. been reading about smooshing as a technique and, since it's been a while, I thought I would revisit the technique ....

My Artist Trading Coin

Materials used:

• Snippets of card in white and black
• Distress Ink picked raspberry added to an acrylic block and sprayed with a small amount of water before smooshing on to my white card snippet
• Craft Emotions foliage from 130501 "herbs" stamped using Memento tuxedo black ink
• Plain and "faux stitched" circle dies
• Precious Remembrance Shop sentiment from "Positive Thoughts" stamped using Memento tuxedo black ink
• Sakura white gelly roll gel pen used to doodle the dotty border

I'll be entering the above make for the following challenges:-

1. Dragonfly Journeys - challenge No. 124 - FLOWER POWER
2. Fashionable Stamping - challenge No. 137 - USE THOSE INKS ANY WAY YOU WANT (Smooshing)
3. QKR Stampede - challenge No. 308 - ANYTHING GOES
4. CardzTV - challenge No. 60 - ANYTHING GOES
5. Crafting With An Attitude - challenge No. 42 - ANYTHING GOES

And, since I have Derwent Inktense blocks but don't use them anywhere near as often as I should, I found this video that I should like to share with you - it's by Kim Dellow - ENJOY

 

Great vapour trails from planes too!

Snow business? REALLY!!!

What? Friday? How ever did that happen!

Morning readers,

Still really enjoying Artist Trading Coins .... a pal was telling me about the use of acetate on a regular ATC and I wondered if I could incorporate it in to an Artist Trading Coin ... think it worked, don't you? It's for a swap which I hope will have been received by now so .... check it out below

My Artist Trading Coin

Materials used:

• Snippets of black and white card and acetate
• I die cut circles in black card 2½" and 2" and in acetate at 2¼"
• I die cut the Sizzix thinlet using black card before assembling my sandwich (black circle, acetate, thinlet, black circle
• I stamped and die cut the image before colouring using Pro Marker alcohol inks
• Gelly roll white gel pen used to doodle the dotty border

I'll be entering the above make for the following challenges:-

1. Pammie's Inky Pinkies - challenge No. 1831 - ANYTHING GOES
2. Stamps and Fun - challenge No. 329 - ANYTHING GOES
3. I Love Pro Markers - challenge No. 365 - ANYTHING GOES (mostly magenta though!)
4. Crafty Creations - challenge No. 372 - ANYTHING GOES
5. Crafting By Designs - August challenge - ANYTHING GOES

I also made a little ATCoin wallet to send it in .....

The front of my Artist Trading Coin wallet

The reverse of my Artist Trading Coin wallet

Materials used:

• Costco double sided paper - cut to 15cm x 8cm
• 2½cm circle punch
• Double sided tape
• STAMPS USED: Creative Expressions CEC851 "Inspring Edges" and CEC897 "Loopy textures and elements", Hero Arts "barcode", Dylusions "alphabet" and "ART" 
• INKS USED: Memento tuxedo black, London fog and Paris dusk
• Blue alcohol marker used to edged the finished project
• White gelly roll gel pen to accentuate the "alphabet" and "ART" images

Enjoyed a couple of days in Cornwall earlier this week, visiting friends celebrating anniversaries etc - got a couple of pix, if you've a moment to spare ......

The view from the patio of our "lodge"

Quaint shops in Bodmin

Bodmin

Me and my pal, Wynneth - loving the new "do"

Oh boy, DID IT RAIN!

Wednesday post - a brief one

Morning readers,

Just a quick flyby from me today - I'm away from my desk and visiting a pal so, I won't be entering any challenges with today's make (I don't suppose my husband will be doing it on my behalf ) and I've no idea how the Wi-Fi will be where I am!!!

I have a little project to share with you .... it's not that my mojo has gone missing but .. all I seem to want to make is Artist Trading Coins right now ... if I settle to make a card - just look what happens, this was MEANT to be a Christmas card! Not that I mind really, after all, he IS a rather fine fellow!

My Artist Trading Coin

Materials used:

• Snippets of card in red and white
• Plain and scallop edged circle dies
• Paper Artsy ZA17 image stamped using Memento tuxedo black ink
• Faber Castell polychromos pencils used to colour the image and background
• Stardust stickles to add a little sparkle
• Sakura gelly roll gel pen (white) used to doodle the dots around the scallop edge

Thanks for stopping by as I know you must be a regular as you WON'T have come via and challenge blogs - your visit is much appreciated.