Tuesday 30 June 2009

JUNE GIVEAWAY WINNERS...

just a quick post to let you know what's what.

Firstly the tall house goes to number 16 - Georgina!! Oh well hun here's another bit of tat to remind you of me lol.

The small house with the yellow bird goes to number 9 - Dee!! Hope you like it!!

While it's lovely to make new friends from all over blogland, it's also great to be sending something to two talented ladies with whom I have swapped several times.

Thanks everyone for taking part, there will be a new giveaway uploaded sometime around the 10th of July. Hope to see you there.

Cindy x

Sunday 28 June 2009

What a palaver....

Challenge at Tuesday Taggers was 'Stamp it', so I thought I would try out some fancy stamping.... well pride goes before a fall they say. I made up a tag (it doesn't have to be a tag by the way, I'm just liking tags at the mo) and covered it with old book papers and gesso, inked up lightly and then used three stamps with clear embossing powder to create a resist. After inking it up a bit more I ironed off the embossing powder, repeating the process several times to remove every last bit to give a good surface for stamping. The tag looked great at this stage and I then took four stamps and stamped them onto the tag using masks to give a layered effect. But it didn't work very well, the impressions weren't clear (remainders of embossing powder resisting the ink I expect)and there wasn't enough contrast between anything meaning that none of the images popped. So I stamped two of the images again onto card and collaged them, and added a few extra swirls on the borders.



Using inks and pens I tried to deepen the colours, distressed it a bit, but the whole thing didn't come together until I stuck two bits of ochre coloured string and a bit of old dried grass on it. Finally it was halfway decent!! I think it might also be a bit hot for stamping, the ink is drying on the stamp before you can get it down. That's my excuse anyway and I'm sticking to it hee hee.

Still missing my mojo....sigh.

LAST CHANCE TO ENTER THE JUNE GIVE AWAY........ ENDS 30TH JUNE.......

Wednesday 24 June 2009

Just keeping my hand in....

Finding I don't have much mojo this week - don't know where the days are going but am spending some time in the garden. Still here are two ATCs for challenges this week, trying to force myself to do something crafty - well I have been making a lot of cards so that's probably why not much else is getting done.



This first one is for the Monthly Challenge on an Altered Art Group on Flickr. The theme is 'holiday' and there are very few entries this month.... guess everyone's away lol.

The second one here is a background challenge from ACF which I haven't managed to take part in for a few weeks. This week we had to use a really interesting background - they always are - and when I was flicking through my collage images this one seemed right - but it didn't seem to need to anything more. I also had the word 'pulse' going through my head so I wrote that on (perhaps I need to get my blood pressure checked). It really isn't very complicated but I like it. Shame it wasn't actually my background, I feel a bit of a fraud.



Back soon, got a few other bits in the pipeline but other things seem to be taking precedence this week.

Wednesday 17 June 2009

JUNE GIVEAWAY - RECYCLED HOUSES...


Hi all, oh it's been a long time..... back from my hols last Sunday suitably refreshed (nice pool eh?) and ready (or so I thought) to finish and upload this month's giveaway.... but got sidetracked with a couple of nice days in the garden and also couldn't remember what it was that I was making before I went away ..... and then my IT set-up went a little haywire - hence everything has panned out a little differently to my original intentions!! So apologies for the delay in uploading, it's just been one of those weeks!!



Still recycling, this time I wanted to try out yet another project from Craft Stamper magazine (well there is no point buying these mags if I'm never going to do any of it). This one was using an empty pringles tube - no hardship there lol - and I ended up making two items, using the projects as a guide (Feb 09 issue - p 73).



I am fascinated by assemblage, in particular paper assemblage, and so tried a 3D effect in the larger piece which stands about 20 cms high to the top of the flag. There are three little sayings on this piece (you may have to search for the third one!!). I tried to do something a bit different with it but guess I was influenced by the style of the original project - it was what caught my eye after all. I particularly like using old book pages - I do of course, have a regular supply!! - and have got rather stuck on this as a base material lately. Word to the wise, do prep the inside of the tube if you try this one out, it doesn't like sticky stuff!!



What I really wanted to try out though was the little bird house - I love houses and birds and was just itching to try that one out with my crazy bird stamp - the googly eyes are my own addition. This is only about 11 cms high and I have put a cord through the top so that it can be hung - providing of course the roof stays stuck on!! I sound obsessed, but would hate to send out shoddy work so do try my best to make things secure but when you are doing something new you just never really know....



Anyhoo, if you have space for one of these little houses and want to be included in the June draw, then you need to leave a comment on this post. And yes, as I ended up with two houses, there will be TWO 'winners' this month (or if only one person leaves a comment, they'll get two prizes lol). As I am so late uploading, this one had better run right to the end of the month, so the draw will be made after 8.00 pm on Tuesday 30th June, which, incidentally, is my 19th wedding anniversary..... so I may not post the winner until the following day....

Wednesday 3 June 2009

Recycled artwork......

Do you ever look at old artwork and think..... well what was I thinking?
Last year I made this ATC as part of my Daily Art Challenge. The finished ATC was pretty awful (WHAT posessed me with those pink hearts?) and unsurprisingly no one has asked for a trade and it has sat in my folder reproachfully ever since.



However the main element of it was a fairly good image transfer, and there were some other redeeming features.... so I chopped it all up and made some new ones.



Here are a couple of others that have been 'recycled'.



ANOTHER RECYCLING PROJECT.....

Another lift from Craft Stamper Magazine, this time using the insides of kitchen rolls (or in my case toilet rolls lol)

This was sent as a gift for friend's birthday - I hope she won't be offended when she realises what it's made of!!



It has three pockets each with a tag insert, and I have written some amusing (I hope) birthday funnies on the back.




JUNE GIVEAWAY UPDATE

I am shortly off to Lanzarote for a week's break with a girlfriend - a whole week of no kids, no housework and someone else doing the cooking - so don't know if I shall post again before I go. What I have decided is not to rush to finish the June giveaway (I've been in the garden all week working on my tan the weather has been so glorious) and I will upload it after I get back from my holiday. This one is a little different, so don't forget to check back later his month. Ciao!!

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