Sunday 31 January 2010

Playing and scrapping

I have been playing with alcohol inks again, I inked a 4 inch tin ready for a mini album. I used some metallics this time and they have worked well, a bit of silver and more gold. Once the album is done I will take some pics.

 

I also finished a LO of our youngest grandson but I forgot to take a picture of it so it will have to wait for another day as I need a nap right now after a rather filling Sunday lunch.

Friday 29 January 2010

Scrap and Snow

We had a heavy snow shower about half an hour ago, it hasn’t settled but the sky is looking as if we will get more and, with the strong wind, everything is drying out so any more might give us a covering. Now why did I mention that – well I was just scrapping the photos I took of the last 2 lots of snow.

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The light level was low so the flash was needed and has reflected badly on the left LO. I used Coredinations and the frames on the RHS are scored on the reverse then sanded. I random stamped the snowflakes, some in white chalk ink and some with Versamark then dusted silver Perfect Pearls on top. The letters are the ones I left drying yesterday.

 

I also finished this one of Gary, Image1

he is so cheeky sometimes and the photo really catches that.

 

I have on of Connor to do, that is the next one on the list.

Thursday 28 January 2010

Inspiration day

It has been one of those days when I have had work and grandson sitting so no time for crafting proper but I got lots done yesterday.

 

I have been surfing for inspiration and think I have found a few ideas that I can lift for cards but right now no scrapping ideas. I think maybe I am leaning more towards cards again which is why the scrapping things are just not doing it for me at the moment. it will sort itself out I know that. It could also be the fact that I haven’t that much to scrap at the moment.

 

More tomorrow…

Wednesday 27 January 2010

Flowers finished

Yes they are done, at least the first batch. I had so much fun making them I may well do some more. I also got most of a double LO done of the snow. That is the drying thing tonight, I put stickles onto some letters for the very original title of SNOW! Pic to follow when it is all assembled. Here are the flowers 20100127_3

Tuesday 26 January 2010

What fun I have had

I have made 5 more flowers, cut and dipped some leaves as well and now everything is drying. They just need assembling in a day or two.

 

Remember those 3 mini albums I made, well the first one is now full of pictures of the garden in the snow. I have had to crop the photos right down to fit so will have to remember that when I take more later in the year for the other 2.

 

Finally I have made a birthday card which I can’t show you yet as it is for someone who comes here sometimes. I will post it when I can, if I remember that is.

 

I now have 2 craft shows recording to watch later, one with the wonderful Sheena Davis – looking forward to seeing that.

Monday – so busy

Had a really busy day in the office and also needed to get the weekly shop done, by the end of all that I was really tired and didn’t really feel like anything but a relax in front of the TV.

 

I did get some Mould N Pour ordered though, sharing it with DH as he wants to be able to make some spare parts for his models.

Sunday 24 January 2010

Flowers

It took a while to get the flowers cut, for some reason my Robo software won’t work so I can’t use GSD files and try as I may I can’t get them to convert so I had to rethink. Eventually I used a ding bat, not sure why I didn’t do that to start with.

 

I have made the first 3 and they are drying, Glossy Accents takes so long to go off!

 So how did I make them20100124_1 For each flower I cut 3 - 6 petal flowers, all the same size. for the first one I snipped between 2 petals, just to the middle, then overlapped the ones either side of the snip and glued them with a little Glossy Accents. The second one I cut one petal right out then overlapped and stuck like before, the third one I cut 2 petals out then overlapped and stuck. I gently curled the petals over scissors then put a thin wire through the middle of the largest. Each piece was dipped in UTEE then left to set before assembling with Glossy Accents and poking into the florist’s foam to dry.

 

I have some more cut and plan to do some more after that to make a table centrepiece.

Saturday 23 January 2010

Florists wire.

Why is it so difficult to find right know I have no idea. I wanted to get some to form stems on the faux porcelain flowers I want to make. Went to our local garden centre to get some along with some oasis to use while making and for the end result. I found the oasis, with help, but they had no wire at all. There is a craft shop on the same site and they only had stuff that was too light. I ended up in the model shop where they had some, quite expensive but at least I have it now and can get on tomorrow.

 

I have been designing some cutting files for the Robo, flowers with 6 petals to use for the faux porcelain and some nice swirls so I have some ready for other projects. I have a snowflake half done for the snowy LOs I want to do as well. That should get finished after supper.

Blogging find

Friday got away in a blur of a little 2 year old but I had planned to post this as I found it before he got up.

 

Checking through the blogs I subscribe to (there are too many to list!) I got to Tim Holtz’s latest post and I can’t wait for these to get here. I love the idea of having all the matching pieces in one pad and I can already see me using the first one on the post.

Thursday 21 January 2010

Oh dear!

Another day with no crafting so far. We have had our 2 grandsons here, one of them stopping overnight so there will be little time, or energy, left. I have a couple of craft shows recorded and may get to watch them, or part of them later.

 

Funny how I feel when I don’t get to create or plan to. I definitely feel different. Note to self to do something tomorrow.

Wednesday 20 January 2010

Valentines Card

I had a play with some bits today and also made a Valentines card for my lovely husband. I have been meaning to make an easel card for a while and worked out the best way to do it. I cut a piece of red Bazzill to 6 x 12 inches, scored it at 6 and 3 inches and folded them both in. I then cut 3 hearts using my Craft Robo, 2 gold miri and one red. Glued the 2 gold ones together so the back looked nice, then offset the red one on top which I had decorated with stamped hearts and some odd peel offs I had. A little sentiment on an off cut of the same red and mounted on an offcut of the gold. A nice inserts – keeping the words to myself – and it is done. I have custom made a matching envelope as well. Image1 I rubbed a silver charm with clear embossing ink and then covered it with gold powder and heated it, stuck it down to hold the fold up when the card is open.

Tuesday 19 January 2010

Not good!

There are very few days when I do nothing towards my crafting at all but I think this is going to be one. I feel very odd, it is hard for me to even put one foot in front of the other. I so hope I am not going down with something nasty. A good nights sleep is probably the answer.

 

On the plus side my black utee arrived today so I will be able to play when I fell more like it.

Monday 18 January 2010

Booked another workshop

Following on from the UTEE day on Saturday I have booked another day,this time with alcohol inks on 13 February. I just can’t think what we can do that will fill a whole day so it will be interesting to see what techniques there will be. I am sure it will be another really good day as Jenny will be taking it again and she was great.

 

With a busy day at work I haven’t had time for anything else today and I am having a relaxing evening.

Sunday 17 January 2010

52 in 10

I have combined the second prompt from 52 in 10 with a sketch challenge from http://www.pickleberrypapercrafts.co.uk/. I was chatting yesterday and said I have this pile of pink cardstock that I never use so I took the opportunity to use some of that as well. I have also used the faux porcelain flower we made yesterday, I love that and intend to make some more in various sizes.

 

aimsWhat is it with cameras and the web, the colours all tone on the actual page but the flower looks totally different here. Oh well c’est la vie!

 

I also took a photo of the pieces I made yesterday, and a couple I have done today, they are not stuck to the canvas yet as I want to put something behind them and probably rearrange them.

uteeMy favourites are the three down the left and the middle one. Such a shame the textures don’t show up so well.

Saturday 16 January 2010

UTEE heaven

What a great day I have had playing with UTEE and learning so many things to do with it. Things that look like amber, sparkle and bling and faux porcelain flowers. I am too tired to take pics tonight but will do so tomorrow and I am hoping to improve on some of the things I have made.

 

What is even better is that our teacher – Jenny – is going to do alcohol inks for the next class.

 

Off to relax, I haven’t had so much fun for ages and it has tired me out.

Friday 15 January 2010

Drama day

Yes all sorts of dramas here today, it has been a bit like Piccadilly Circus, every time I decided to go up to the attic the door bell rang and it was someone who needed to talk for at least 1/2 an hour. Then the phone would go and so on. I was intending to do some stamping and get ready for the UTEE workshop tomorrow but I got neither of those done. I only need to grab my apron for tomorrow so I can do that later, or in the morning.

 

Now I have an hour of soap and then a recorded stamping program from a couple of day ago that I can watch while I wait for DH to come home. Hopefully there will ne some ideas in that. I also have a magazine to browse so it isn’t all lost.

Thursday 14 January 2010

I haven’t had time today…

for anything but to try and fix all our email accounts. It has taken ages to try and find out what our provider has changed, I did it in the end then got emails that we anything up to 2 years old – seriously weird!

 

So I have had my supper and I am going to try and do some sketches for cards I need to make. Oh and I have a craft show recorded, I can watch that at the same time for inspiration maybe.

 

Oh yes the snow is finally going away, nasty slushy stuff in the road now.

Wednesday 13 January 2010

Yet more snow..

Yeas it snowed for about 5 hours today but it was thawing at the same time so, believe it or not, we have less than we started the day with.

 

After a mornings work I spent a few hours experimenting with my new Hero Arts stamps, getting there now as well. I might get a complete project done soon but I am having great fun playing.

 

I did take a pic of my front page of 52 in 10, I am pleased with the result too.

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The journaling is so much more than I have ever done before, all due to the classes I have taken part in over the last few months so I need to thank Jessica Sprague and Shimelle for the inspiration and the confidence to put the words on paper.

 

OK enough gushing, I am off to have a cuppa and a read.

Tuesday 12 January 2010

Watching and reading

I have been searching out You Tube videos on alcohol inks this afternoon. I found a couple I hadn’t seen before so more playing soon. Also my monthly mag arrived and I will be sitting down with that later and also doing some digi work towards the books for the boys. That is all there is for today as I have household chores that really need doing.

Monday 11 January 2010

Monday blues

I don’t often suffer from them but I really have them today. I went up to the attic (my craft space) and sat down to try out the Hero Arts technique with the idea of making a couple of stock cards for future use. I managed the technique, and it was really easy in the end, then sat and stared out of the window for 10 minutes, It was then I decided I was just not in the mood so I tidied up and left it behind.

 

I have spent ages looking for an album 8 1/2 x 11, noting that I like there either. So I have been checking out all the blogs on my subscriptions and have a few more ideas for another time.

Hero Arts came up trumps

Have you had a look at the 2010 catalogue, it is available online. I spent ages looking then just had to order the printed version so I could make notes and work out how things were done. There was one particular card that caught my eye and I couldn’t work out how it was done. I found an email address and sent off a question on Friday or Saturday. I got 2 replies yesterday and now I have what I need to give it a go.

 

I also completed the first page of 52 in 10. I decided on 8 1/2 x 11 as I have enough page protectors. All I need to do now is to find either an album or make one. I will have a chat to Kate on Saturday to see what is available.

Saturday 9 January 2010

New blog

 

at the ‘Craft barn, with a £10 voucher for 3 lucky winners to win!

new blog logo

Decision made

I have finished covering the mini albums and I am pleased with the result. I was so undecided as to what to use them for though. I really want to record the current extreme weather we are having but I knew the colours were wrong for that, trust me to decorate before I decide. I had also decided that I wanted to record the progress of the garden then it all came together. One for winter with photos of the plants and general views as it is right now, with all the snow. The next one will be for the early flowers. Not just the spring but some of the early summer stuff like apple blossom, then the third for the later flowers and fruit ready to harvest. Yes I think it will work. Here are the covered albums and the first one with ribbons added, the others will have them done as the photos go in, so they follow the general theme.

 

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Friday 8 January 2010

Some progress made

With D off early I decided to get moving on my mini albums. I assembled the stand and made a start on the books. With no jump rings in sight, and no chance of getting out because of the weather, I decided to  use just one bit of Bind It All wire in each hole. I will tie ribbons on them later. So now I have 2 of the little albums painted and covered and the third is painted an drying. Once that is OK I will assemble the third and then think about embellishing Oh and I need to decide what photos to use.

 

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Thursday 7 January 2010

Work in progress

I bought a little kit from QVC a couple of weeks ago, 2 mini albums and a stand to display them on. I made a start on the stand today, covered the sides and painted the edges so now it is drying. Hopefully I will be able to get more done tomorrow as I will be home on my own. DH is off to work at the Boat Show, weather permitting.

 

Pics to follow when I have something to show.

Wednesday 6 January 2010

Another birthday card

In between trying to keep the house warm and snuggling up in front of the TV I managed to spend some time in my room today.

 

February, March and April are filled with birthdays in our family so I am getting the cards done bit by bit and made this for our soon to be 2 year old grandson.

 

Image1 Looking at that I should have taken the photo a bit less square on to show the folds but I think you get the idea.

Tuesday 5 January 2010

Weather woes

It is so cold here that I can’t work in the scrap room so I have been trying to find some stamps and finally found them so they are on order now.

 

Don’t worry I won’t be putting any pictures of them on here!

Monday 4 January 2010

Success at last

After waiting for hours to get all those downloads, and I have no idea why they were so slow, I have spent quite a while this afternoon unzipping and sorting all the freebies out. They are simply gorgeous and I can’t wait to use them. Now I have a 174 page magazine to go through for some inspiration.

Sunday 3 January 2010

Downloading

I decided to subscribe to a digital magazine earlier today. The downloads, and there were a lot of them, started at 1pm, it is now 5.15 and it is still going. The download speed is fine, just that there is so much to get. I hope it is worth it!

 

I will be spending the evening unzipping and sorting the papers and embellishments that come with it, then maybe I will get to read the mag as well.

Saturday 2 January 2010

More white space

I think I am finally getting this, and getting it to work.

 

I am still scrapping photos from our trip to Southern Florida last year. We were luck enough to spot a bittern near lake Okeechobee, and got the photo. I have scrapped lots of bird pics (we love wildlife of all sorts) but this one deserved a page to itself. I took a bit of inspiration from my blog header.

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Shame about the flash in the middle but it is so dismal here it kicked in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then I made a card to pop into my new book, well I did the topper. The cardstock is  light blue and I used a peel off on some hanji paper I have had for ages. Image1

Friday 1 January 2010

Drooling

That’s what I have been doing. I got a copy of the Hero Arts catalogue in the post yesterday and I have been through it 3 times this afternoon, now I have a shopping list of stamps I want. there are some gorgeous new ones and some lovely ideas as well. I have quite a collection of stamps and would like to catalogue them in some way so I could make better use of them. I see another project coming on there.

 

I want to thank everyone that visits my blog, it hasn’t been very interesting recently, with missing batteries and no camera to hand when I need it. Hopefully I can change that.

2010 is here..

HappyNewYear1

 

I hope it brings everything you want.