Thursday 29 May 2008

Catching up...




Am well ahead all of a sudden - have even got today's DAC uploaded!! Not feeling terribly inspired but still managed to throw together a couple of collages. Used the waterlily stamp again (can you tell I really like it?) this time on fabric and that worked quite well. I really wanted to try an image transfer over the top but didn't want to risk messing the whole thing up so bottled out. Lots of goodies arrived in the post today, embossing paste and stencils (messy!!), three new stamps, lots of Utee, some mountboard shapes (to go with the utee) and some nice art nouveau images. Off to have a play now!!

Wednesday 28 May 2008

Rain, Rain go away.




Well they say that into each life a little rain must fall but I'm sorry I've had enough of it!! Got soaked on Sunday and Monday, and the rain was so heavy and thundery last night I couldn't sleep. I was already feeling a little bit antsy due to problems on a garden site that I can't resolve (they are kind of out of my hands but doesn't stop me worrying), then I went to finish an ATC off last night and completely ruined it so was feeling pretty fed up. In the middle of the night gave up trying to sleep and came down and got the urge to finish this mailer which I started ages ago. It's not a very complicated one (you can only do so much heat embossing at 4 in the morning) but getting it done made me feel a bit better. Not a total waste of a day. I'm conscious I've been neglecting my blog a bit and it's nice to get messages from people so please please don't stop!! Sometimes I don't really get the chance to speak to many people in the day who aren't after something or bending my ear about rubbish - it's a relief to come on here late at night and see some cheery comments even if I don't feel like posting.

Friday 23 May 2008

Retirement Album


I was asked to make a retirement card for a retiring member of staff (actually that is a very inapt adjective to describe the individual concerned!) Obviously there are loads of people to sign and there's going to be a party etc etc so it needed to have a lot of space but I hate big cards - you can never seem to get a heavy enough card in the right size. So I decided to alter a boardbook to make a very personalised card/album. It has a sentiment at the front with six pages for messages, then a 4 page photo montage with a further 4 blank pages either for extra messages or photos from the retirement party. I have personalised the front with pieces of text and music score that I think he might appreciate if he notices and made lots of silly comments on the photos. The line drawing on the front is just from a photo and then triple embossed to make it into a glossy tile. I hope he likes it one is never really sure if people like the fuss. The photos were a real pain as some were very old but in the end I think it looks quite good.

Saturday 17 May 2008

The last garden?



For anyone who is interested this is the garden we have been making this week. The weather has been appalling, either scorching or pouring, neither the best to be planting but it is now (almost) complete. The water feature isn't running in the photos but is quite impressive. Carried in and planted all the plants myself (I have to admit the biggest one defeated me, couldn't even lift the pot) plus put down mulch all while trying nor to tread on newly laid lawn or sink into the quagmire that was the borders after torrential rain. Plus having to navigate the deck structure like a gazelle before the boards went down. Heavy, heavy clay and I'm really feeling it, I can barely type my hands are so stiff, and think I might be getting too old for this lark.

Friday 16 May 2008

Final set!!



The third set for my image transfer swap. These are both new ones - I have 'transferred' the image of the couple before and it always seems to work well. Got everything in the post so that is one thing crossed off my list thank goodnees.

Wednesday 14 May 2008

More image transfers...



Trying to get all these ready for this swap so they can be posted off - have two partners in the states and one in Germany. First ones arrived today so must go and get on the appropriate site and say thanks - gets so confusing doesn't it!! Anyhow these are the second set once again one is an 'old' one (Can you see the deliberate mistake with the clock image lol?) and the oriental lady is the latest. I put her on to black card with a quick wash of H20s and then overstamped with some oriental text and added an embellie. Simple but I think quite effective.

Monday 12 May 2008

Image Transfer Swap



I have joined an image transfer swap with an ATC group on flickr (http://www.flickr.com/groups/artisttradingcards/). I have to produce three sets of two and this will be the first set. One is one of the first transfers I ever did (History) and the second is one I finished today. I am very pleased with the way the cherish ATC has turned out. The background is simply some direct to paper inking, the image and the word 'cherish' are transfers and I have done a small amount of stamping over the top with a complementary image. I haven't had a chance to look properly at the people I am swapping with so I hope these will be good enough. Am definitely coming out of my comfort zone again!!

Sunday 11 May 2008

Nice save.....




You may remember a few days ago I posted an ATC that I didn't like - well finally finished altering it to something I'm halfway happy with although this time it is VERY GREEN lol - do let me know if you think its an improvement! Have been playing again with my image transfers, and the angel one was originally a complete disaster. The transfer didn't come out too well, I inked it a bit too heavily trying to give it some colour and in a final effort to make it look like an interesting background I sprayed gold webbing over it - didn't help a bit, went in all the wrong places -think I need a bit more practice with this product. So, I took another copy of the 'angel' image (thank goodness for digital collage)and put a small section on a raised tile(of course, as this wasn't a transferred image she is actually looking the other way but it all fitted together nicely so I don't think you would have noticed if I hadn't told you). I then added a bit of lettering and a gold krylon border. Voila!! Saved from the bin and now both of these are up for trade.

Thursday 8 May 2008

A long awaited mailer...



Have finally finished a slide mailer for my cyber friend Jackie - she has been most patient as the challenge was set ages ago with a theme of nature. The finished mailer ended up quite dark and sludgy which wasn't quite what I was trying to do when I started. I was determined to make the 'footprints' with an image transfer and after several unsuccessful attempts I managed it - but afterwards wished I had printed them out in brown rather than black as I think it would have looked more natural but we live and learn.

Wednesday 7 May 2008

Can this ATC be saved?


Nothing for a week and then two posts in one day!!Well one of the reasons for this is that my daughter absconded with my camera (yet again) and I have been unable to take any photos and there doesn't seem much point posting without photos. Still haven't got it back but found her camera (yes, a perfectly serviceable one) and so have been able to add a few things.

Anyhow, this ATC is a bit of a disaster. I'm not quite sure where it went wrong but something about the final colours really jar and I don't like it. The main image (which is a transfer using gesso) actually came out quite well and I am reluctant to discard it completely so I am going to have a little think and will post its reincarnated version in due course. I have to do a couple more image transfer ATCs as I am in a flickr/swapbot swap. I have 3, possibly 4 out of a required six so not too challenging but want to do something nice - in its present state this will not pass muster but we shall see....

Collage or decoupage? That is the question...



I find myself doing quite a bit of collage lately whether that is textural, 3D or flat paper - I call it all collage!! However when I am doing 'paper' collage like the ones above I like to go for a final finish that is 'flat' almost like decoupage. Aha, I can hear you say, how can it be flat if its decoupage? Well, long before I'd ever heard of 3D foam, I made a few things from papier mache and used a technique called decoupage to decorate it. In this technique the layered images are repeatedly coated with layers of varnish - or in my case diluted PVA - and even slightly sanded and then coated again. The final effect is that the image has 'sunk in' to the varnish - it is also pretty well protected!! I like to do this with my collage, although whether this then makes them decoupage is a mystery to me and likely to remain so, I guess its just terminology after all.

Saturday 3 May 2008

Resist embossing




Have really got hooked on this technique. All these ATCs have a resist emboss background and I think it is most effective. Made most of the backgrounds yesterday and spent this evening putting the ATCs together. They are all a bit sludgy but I like it - can't always be bright adn breezy!

Thursday 1 May 2008

Mad May


Mad May is upon us, the busiest month of the year in the gardening calendar and boy am I busy!! This is the month where having two jobs a home AND a life seems slightly insane. So I might not be around that much the next couple of weeks.

However, that won't stop me crafting!! Just might be too bug eyed to use the pc. Yesterday tried out another technique from my Bernie Berlin book - resist embossing. Really fast, and made some cool backgrounds. Not sure what I am going to use them all for - the backgrund for this ATC was made using that technique. Think I am going to send this in to a collage swap - I'm going to try and do one 3d, one textural and one well, just flat collage. Not sure this one is quite finished though. I wanted to add some 'bits' of pink ground glass that I bought about two weeks ago - but can I find it now? Have obviously put it somewhere safe.

Have also finished a stick doll - picture over on the right where I thought there would be more by now but have missed at least one of the doll swaps and others have got delayed. Right, off to start the day.

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday? #771

  Morning deskers, welcome to our weekly Wednesday Blog Hop - WOYWW. Here's the link to the one responsible, the lovely   Julia at Stamp...