A few offerings…

 

First a 4 x 4 made from the test piece for my Timmy Tags this month. Nearly threw it in the bin and then decided I could do something with it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two ATCs made when playing with a couple of digital images. The mermaid was a download from A Day For Daisies. and the lovely lady is from Simply B. Beautiful selections on both sites.

 

What’s on Your Workdesk? Wednesday # 219

I have an itch that needs to be scratched. For a couple of weeks I have had a yearning to try my hand at a hand made book. Even though I have other things I should be doing (Including a belated 60th birthday card for someone I have worked side by side with for the last two years – there’s that memory thing again). Which is why you can see on my desk this week some ‘signatures’ I have cut and prepped ready to make. I’m not sure where it’s going, but it may well end up as this month’s giveaway as I don’t have anything else ready (grin).  The question is should I decorate the pages going inside(will take longer) or leave them blank. Decisions, decisions…….

Also on my desk you can see I’ve had my brayer out, but that’s all a bit secret squirrel. A couple of card ideas waiting for me to decide exactly what’s happening with them (like Julia they may just keep moving around for a couple of weeks or longer) and a pot full of soaking paintbrushes. Am I the only one who treats their brushes badly? I really, really, really intend to clean them up straight away (or at least before I go to bed) but every morning I come in and find yet another one I’ve covered in some kind of medium that is now stiff as a board. So I am trying to rescue these with a good long soak. Might work.

Creepy House activities are now in full swing – the children even seem to be reading some books!! I’m averaging 5 story time sessions a week and 25 – 30 children per craft activity . Last Saturday at work we started concertina books (not my finest hour lol) and today we did masks courtesy of Activity Village (without whose wonderful resources  I would certainly have had a nervous breakdown by now). Spiders on Thursday with the under 4s, bunting coming up on Saturday (simples) but we’re playing board games and Top Trumps as well, not entirely sure how that will go. Pop Up books next Tuesday are a slight worry at the moment as I have nothing prepped at all …..and,…….well I really can’t think further ahead than that.

Oh yeah, forgot to say hi, it’s Wednesday again – as if you didn’t know -  and we’re snooping. Just in case, all the info about WOYWW can be found here. Do go over and say ‘hi’ to Julia – she’d love to hear from you. Leave me a message if you have time and I’ll get back to you but no pressure, we all have a life.

HAPPY WOYWW!!

Birthday!!

A simple little card for a friend. The birthday stamp is from Anna Marie Designs.

And an ATC/BRAK sent with it. Still giving those JOFY stamps a work out!!

(I noticed the ink smudge after I’d taken the photo – sorted before it was sent!)

 

What’s On Your Workdesk? Wednesday - #218

It’s Wednesday again. I am between projects at the moment – for which read there is so much crap out I really can’t start anything new until I put something away. But rather than show you a photo of this mess I thought I would share something that caught my eye when wakefulness lured me into my craft room just before dawn.

Before the eyes focussed, for a moment I honestly thought a slug had crawled onto my abandoned coffee cup. Then I realised that this is how I lose stamps. At some stage my cup has become temporary storage for a cling stamp. Several days ago judging by when I was working with it (and the state of the coffee cup, sorry about that LOL).

I do not recall doing this (I don’t recall doing quite a few things these days, it is a slight worry).

So whether this is the kind of crafty housekeeping that makes you cringe self righteously or smile in sympathy it’s one of the many things you can find at WOYWW. All the details can be found at Stamping Ground. And yes Julia, I look forward to your treatise on the nature of ‘it’ and why ‘it’ has a need to be rushing around all over the place quite so quickly.

Today I shall be at work, so visiting desks late. At work I will be prepping masks for an activity next week. Even though yesterday I was prepping pop-up books because I thought that was the activity for next week. Interestingly the children who turned up for the activity yesterday thought they were making the masks. Mainly because that is what I had written on the programme. All but two were too polite to query why they were making cone witches when they had come to make masks. I obviously changed the order of events in my head but neglected to change the advertising. Well that’s my story. So much for being super organised. Still I think they had fun.

And I now know that masks are a popular choice judging by the 34 children that arrived.I had prepped for 12. (No child went home witchless).

I told you I keep forgetting things. What day is it again?

Tags of 2013 - AUGUST

Yep, don’t faint. Thought I’d have a go at these early in the month for once.

Tim’s tags are here. This month’s technique challenge is essentially masking and stamping (with a little twist using distress ink pens or in my case watercolour pens) and Tim chose a travel theme for his tags. Whilst the technique is one I am familiar with I had a bit of trouble finding stamps that were large enough and ‘strong’ enough to be the main focal point (There’s an excuse to go shopping if ever I heard one).

 

First off I thought I’d have a go using my Mme Berthe stamp with a selection of Paris stamps – but would she stamp clearly? Oh no. This is the third and fourth go – in the end I had to paper piece her on to the tag to get her to show up at all. I used the same archival ink pad for the arc de triomphe and that stamped just fine. Go figure. I decided she’s really a bit too sketchy for this technique and I’m not entirely happy with all the elements in this collage so not the best result.

 

Then I tried this bottle just to have a practice as by now I was beginning to think I had forgotten how to do this properly!! Turned out quite well but I’m not really sure what it's all about, just used random stamps. Mind you by this stage it was nearly driving me to drink.

Finally I thought I’d have ago with some paper artsy stamps that I have used before for this technique, and I’m quite pleased with this one - except I stamped ‘journey’ crooked and then when I was adding ink to make the main images ‘pop’ a bit more it all got rather too grungy for my taste. With hindsight, what I should have done was a bigger collage and then cut out the tag, I can’t seem to get the layout right at this size.

Flickr Tags: Tim Holtz,Tags of 2013

So that’s the best I can muster - I give up!! And if you’re keeping track, wobbly stamping notwithstanding, this will be the one going into the January giveaway as it is the closest to the technique. Have a good Tuesday!!

We have a winner!!!

The winner of the July ‘bunting’ is Sally who I don’t think has had the uncertain pleasure of receiving anything from me before!! I know you are in France at the moment having a wonderful time but I have left a message for you hun, no worries send me your addy when you get back.

And here’s the ‘fancy’ card I had to make yesterday. Not as fancy as I expected it to be as I decided I had to just get on and do it, the poor girl is leaving on Saturday and nobody has signed the card yet!!

Brief:-  designer handbags, fast cars and bling. I did it white (nice centura pearl card, no rubbish!) because someone told me white handbags are no longer ‘naff’. But what do I know?

I did make a nice box though (well, I put together a pre-cut one – so glad I discovered these they are so worth the money!!). So, that’s me up to date, not that that’ll last. Grin. Happy Crafting.

Technorati Tags: Handbag card,Giveaway

JULY TAGS – JUST IN….

I swear I get later and later each month!! Still here they are….

Simple techniques this month so these were quite quick to do (apart from the hour I spent searching convinced I had a plate of cartouche stamps – I don’t). The only snag was when I went to my rock candy crackle product it was more rock than candy. So I had to improvise with other products, one of which didn’t work so well as it seemed to just sink in to the grungeboard, but I think it was the crackle accents that worked OK and the effect on the grungeboard is rather attractive if subtle. I couldn’t really CASE Tim’s tag as I don’t have the bits so they ended up quite different but I like the way these turned out – they certainly feel more me than Mr H but thank you Tim I would not have thought of doing this. Right, one more challenge to finish by the end of today…… and a fancy card to make….. LOL good job I perform better under pressure.