WOYWW #146 and 2 WEEKS OF CREATIVE HAPPINESS

My work space is overflowing this morning because I am in the middle of gathering the supplies for today's lesson with Tim. This is day 3 of 2 weeks crafting fun, well that's the week days not the weekend, that's another story. I had thought I would be able to pop around to yours courtesy of our creative genius Julia, but I may be very late. Will you wait please?
So, here is the latest picture:

I haven't watched the videos yet so I'm not too sure how today's samples have been made, I just searched out some stamps and my alcohol inks in readiness. Need some texture fades I think.
I don't have any of Tim's background stamps because I already have a good supply of them from the Artistic Stamper. They will do the trick. Right, I must get cracking because I have to keep up with these daily lessons or I will never make it to the workshops with Hels at the weekend. Can't wait for those either because some of the 'old gang' from Lindsay's workshops will be there on Sunday. Watch out Hels, I did warn you!!!!

FOR THE SAKE OF JOURNALING

I got inky and had a ball.
After watching a demo by Dyan Reaveley, the mistress of art journaling, I decided to have a go at a double spread.

I missed out using distress stains first (only because I had forgotten that bit from the demo!!) and started by water misting the pages. Adirondak colour wash sprays came next and when dry, I added gesso through the gorgeous butterfly stencil. That took a bit of drying but once it was, I sprayed some blue colour wash over it, allowing it to run down the page.

Next, I searched out some stamps and a coffee Archival pad which I used without a stamp block over bits of the pages.

Becoming more interesting now.

More searching for stamps and I found these leaves from the Artistic Stamper. I inked them up with black Archival this time and stamped them along the top of the pages.

The circles at the bottom are some Claudine Hellmuth stamps and the saying is one of Tim's. I used distress ink to colour in the leaves and some white paint dabber to fill in a few of the circles. Lastly, I cut out a bird from one of Dyan's downloadables and hey presto! job's a gud 'un.

This was such fun that I started another..................

Not sure where this one is going as yet, but I'll keep popping back to it through the day.

101st WOYWW

I am having to schedule this post as I'm writing it quickly on Tuesday night - last night as you read it.
My desk only has 2 items on it but both are craft ones. The first is the set of stamps I won in the Artistic Stamper draw the other week, Botanical Plate 3. Let me tell you, these stamps are really lovely and wonderful quality which I love about the company. The other item is the latest supplement from Cardcraft Plus in Preston. I have been on their mail list for ages, but as the store is only about 13 miles away, it's a regular stop off for me.

Well, at long last the rendering is finished. The change in the weather put the lads back a couple of days but they battled on and it's done. Today sees the big clear up outside and putting the water barrels and outside cupboards back in place. However, it also means another pile of washing which I hope to peg out instead of having to use the dryer all day.
Talking of pegs, it was 'peg leg's' 70th birthday yesterday plus our 22nd wedding anniversary. With the work outside still in progress, we only managed to pop to a local pub for a carvery at tea time. We hope to go out tomorrow though and make up for lost time.

Here is a picture of his birthday cake and cake pops made by our Susanna. Now there's clever for you.
I may not get round every one's desk again this week, but I will try. In the meantime, if you pop over to Julia's blog, you will see some extremely interesting desks and projects in the making.

A NEW ATC CHALLENGE BLOG

Thank you to Gez for finding this new ATC challenge blog and sharing it with us. I love ATCs having been introduced to them by Leonie Pujol many years ago now. Through her and the cards, I have made the most wonderful crafty friends all over the country, and am now an avid crafter of other paper projects. My life changed from that magical day.
The new blog, ATC Challenges, starts with - Anything Goes. They will run this first challenge for 3 weeks then expect to announce new ones each fortnight. Yippeeee!
I made this card a few weeks ago.

The background is mopped up distress inks and re-inkers from my craft sheet, spritzed with copper perfect pearls. The rose is made from the medium flower stamp from the Artistic Stamper range - Flower Power - cut from the Tim Holtz lost and found stash. The black flower is a die cut from Tim's tattered florals embossed with hologram powder and the Artistic Stamper's mini chicken wire  stamp. The branches are made with a Martha Stewart punch.
The black lace covers the holes where I threaded wire through the card to make the bead loops - they took me an age to make!. Finally, the words are torn pieces of Tim's tissue tape.
I hope to join in these challenges over the coming months and am intrigued to think what the subjects might be.

A 'BLOOMIN' WOYWW

Oh dear! sorry about the title of this post, but I couldn't think of anything better just now. It just goes with all the flowers I'm in the middle of making.

These are all the parts, neatly laid out ready for assembly. I used the medium flower stamp from the Artistic Stamper and Tim's lost and found papers. I even managed to stamp a few small flowers and punch some leaves from the scraps.

Next comes the fiddly bit. That will happen as time permits I'm afraid. My neck gets too painful if I stay in one position for too long.
I wondered whether some of you were interested in how 'peg leg' is getting on with his guitars. Both are finished and look amazing. He has tidied his shed and made it really comfortable in there so he can sit quietly and practice. Here is a sneak peek.

He pinched the rug from under the dining table, bought a little stool, plugged a heater in - again - and has made himself at home. When he gets a bit more practice under his belt, I'll try and upload a little video.

May be some time away though because he is supposed to be going in hospital for his hernias operation on the 26th - that's if the letter ever arrives!!!!!

Anyway, if you pop over to Julia's blog, you will understand why I've shown work spaces at mine today, and be able to nosey around dozens more all around the globe.

Going 'gadding' today as it's raining like mad and need a bit of fun. See you next week.

AND THE WINNER IS...............

ME.

I just won a set of the new flower stamps from the Artistic Stamper. Yippeeee.
Jennie is so excited to have reached 700 followers, that she is offering another blog candy - see the right side bar for details.
This one runs 'til 21 April and only requires you to leave a comment on her blog and be a follower. The candy is
3 new background stamps
the tag in  the picture
 3 random colours of Tim Holtz distress stains

I reckon that's a good prize and well worth the 'no effort' required to have a go. I have.

INSPIRED BY GENIOUS

I mentioned yesterday, that I had made a tag inspired by Hels, it's this one.

I wanted a kick start to make something really nice and the tag that Hels had made did just that.
She was using new papers and stamps which obviously weren't tucked away in my work room, but it gave me the opportunity to use some lovely bits I already have - that's the name of the game anyway isn't it?
I covered a tag with paper from Tim's shabby vintage stash, gave it a watered down coat of traditional tan Studio paint and dried it. I smooshed some distress stains onto my craft sheet, sprayed them with water and pressed the tag into them. What an amazing effect this is. I even made another tag with the left over ink and that is just as lovely. I then used the sequin waste and dotty stamps from the Artistic Stamper, plus sable brown Stazon ink, to stamp over the top which I quickly wiped over with a baby wipe - after I had spent 20mins looking for the wipes - so much for the big clean up in January!!

How can you lose such a big box? It was actually staring me in the face in the cupboard above my head!
I then used black Archival to stamp Tim's swirl and the long words from his Stuff to Say stamps on the tag and then made a little matt with the saying on to sit over the top. I scribbled zig zags all around the tag and set it to one side whilst I made all the other bits.
Using Tim's flower ribbon and distress stains, I made the bit for the bottom of the tag and then ran the stains over 2 pieces of straight ribbon for the top. I then cut out about 7 flowers from Tim's tattered florals spikey flowers using his shabby vintage paper again, spritzed them with heirloom gold and edged them with walnut stain DI. The first flower is from my stash and is black card stamped with the sequin waste stamp. I rolled and bent the petals and held them together with a long fastener through one of Leonie's little wooden flowers.

Out came the box with my silicone glue to stick the flower down and all the bead pins etc. I fiddled with a couple of beads and made the 2 dangly ones at the top which are fastened on with one of Tim's mini safety pins.

I really enjoyed making this tag because I learnt some new techniques and the final result is lovely. I'm not taking credit for it because that belongs to Hels for sharing how she made her tag in the first place.
Got another to have a go at today so see you later - if I can concentrate on it instead of trying to work out the answers to Lindsay's quiz!!!!!!

I'VE STAYED UP 'TIL MIDNIGHT FOR THIS WOYWW

I think the clock thing this week has muddled my sleep pattern completely. I just can't seem to get the timing right at all. Actually, I am a night owl and have never really done the morning thing, so I suppose the BST excuse is a feeble one.
I had a bit of a craft day yesterday, spurred on by a tag that Hels had blogged. Didn't have the new 'goodies' that she had used on her fabulous creation, but I have some lovely Artistic Stamper stamps and, of course, rather a lot of Tim goodies, so my little piece was made up of those. I lurve it.

I have now laid out my next project which I hope to make today or tomorrow. So this is what my little workspace looks like right now.

Haha! some of the bits don't belong, ie the terra paints, but the rest does.
It's due to rain today so 'peg leg' and I are probably going out. He has been so busy checking over and re-newing bits on the motorhome ready for it's MOT. Some of the work involved getting under the van which is not a nice task. He looked so tired when he came in at tea time. A bit of good news though, he has a provisional date for his operation - 26 April. No letter yet but at least they have been 'jarred' into action - thanks to my phone call last Friday!!!
Ok crafters, I am going to bed now so that I can - hopefully - get up in time to link this post to our amazing leader of the Wednesday crafting phenomenon, what's on your worksdesk Wednesday. If you haven't joined in yet, have a look now at what you have been missing.

A GLORIOUS SPRING DAY WOYWW

This is my most favourite season. To see flowers, trees, shrubs 'springing' into life, plus of course, adorable lambs, just cannot be beaten. We have been away for a few days to the other side of the country, so have been lucky to see all this happening from west to east and then east to west. Fantastic.
This little chappie gave us a bit of a smile as he went on his way across the lawn of the Caravan Club CL we were staying on.

Can you make him out because the 'zoomed' in image will not load.
Anyway, we are home again  now and I guess it's back to crafting. I did manage to make 6 paper flowers whilst away......

but that was all. Both 'peg leg' and I caught up on some rest and spent most of the time watching the unfolding drama in the middle east and Japan on tv.
My little work area is therefore much as I left it.

An ATC layout - in progress - plus, some of the contents of a parcel which was in the greenhouse when we got back.

ie. some Studio paint, 3 pots of Terra, a knurling tool, a set of Artistic Stamper stamps and Corked Vials from Tim's Idea-ology range.
However, the worse bit of coming home is the fact that one of my settees is cluttered - with these......

As you can see, there are 2 now! both made by 'peg leg' from nothing to working guitars. He is currently practising hard and learning how to play again. I've had a sneak listen and he is getting better - don't tell him I said that though - but has a way to go yet. Still no hospital date so he may just become professional once more before his op. Here is a sneaky peek of him when he WAS professional - some 50+ yrs ago.

Well, it's only a little pic so maybe I will only be in a 'little' bit of trouble for showing it.
I'm off to have a look at what our leader Julia is up to now and hope to get round more spaces than I managed last week.

SPRING INTO ACTION

When we were preparing our configuration box at Tim's workshop, he asked us to remove 3 of the inside boxes. This was to create a large compartment in the middle. We could keep the ones we took out for further projects. I decided to use one of them to make an entry for the Artistic Stamper Design Team Challenge this month which is SPRING.

Before I stuck the papers down I stamped the inside one with peeled paint DI and Tim's Spring Sprung flourish stamp and the outside paper with the Artistic Stamper's stamp, mini chicken wire using bundled sage DI. All the edges are covered with tissue tape.
I then began to stick mini Prima flowers in various parts both inside and outside.

I used  multi matt medium for this as it's quick and efficient. The little chicken is wearing an Easter bonnet stuck using some very sticky double-sided tape, but again, she is stuck with matt medium.
I struggled a bit with the little rabbit peg and bunch of flowers and in the end I used double-sided tape for that too.

The flowers on the top of the box, plus the 'spring' wires, are glued on with silicone. This gave a bit of height as well as something in which to stick the wire.

Finally, I worked out where to place the silver beads (taken from a really cheapo necklace I found in a really cheapo shop) and glued those with matt medium.

What a fun little project.

A VERY LATE WOYWW TODAY

Just was so tired yesterday after struggling with Tim's tag #7 and then putting the Xmas tree up. In fact, I have only been up half an hour. That's really bad because we have to go miles away today for 'peg leg's appointment with the specialist about his hernias. Will have to get a crack on.
Wondered whether you might like to see the progress made with the guitar this week.

It's had umpteen coats of Rolls Royce car paint and then umpteen coats of lacquer. 'Peg leg' is just waiting for the neck to arrive - hopefully today before we have to go out - so he can finish it off. Those of you familiar with guitars will recognise it as a Fender Stratocaster. I 'll show you it finished next week - hopefully.
Well, my desk this morning is cluttered with some of the items  needed for today's tag.

I don't have all the products but am fortunate enough to have recently bought the mask form the Artistic Stamper. Some foresight that! I hope to find some time to do more blog hopping than I managed last week - after getting round everyone the week before too - as it's thanks to our WOYWW leader Julia, that we can do all this snooping. Also, I hope you are not snowed in and keeping warm. As usual, the North West has no snow, just freezing temperatures, which incidentally, all melted yesterday!
See you next week. x

SPOOKY

Please see my previous post for a daylight picture of the frame I made for the SCD and Artistic Stamper Creative Team challenge. I thought that today I would enter it into the Sunday Stamper challenge also, except I took a photo last night - in the dark!!!

This scared the life out of me. I had put the frame on the shelf over the tv so the only light was from that and the ambient light behind it.
The skull in the middle was stamped with orange paint dabber but it looks luminous. How amazing that it showed up like this.
Not to mention that the skeleton had fallen off previously despite being stuck on with glossy accents. Anyway, it now has a large sticky zot keeping it in place.
I'm going to move it today, I don't want to be frightened again tonight. That Wagner on X-Factor scares me enough without a picture doing the same.

I had better put the daylight photo on so Hels can see it properly.

I had forgotten to mention yesterday that the flowers were also stamped with an Artistic Stamper rubber stamp, sequin waste, using orange Brilliance on the large flowers and distress embossing ink and disco black embossing powder on the smaller ones. I had also die cut some black actual sequin waste using Tim's tattered floral die, which formed the first layer on the left hand flower.






Now, if you want to hear a real life, genuine spooky story, pop over to Lindsay's blog. But beware, you will be frightened.......................Boo!

GIVE ME CREATIVE THOUGHTS

Blogger is playing up this morning so not sure when this post will appear.

I have just received the instructions for the Grungey Book Challenge being run by She. We each have to make 12 pages by March 15th - crumbs!!! All I need now is a plethora of crafty ideas in  order to achieve this.

Thank goodness I finished my ATC swap for Heather's challenge this month.

I'm currently trying to complete a piece for the Artistic Stamper Challenge blog - layers, and the SCD challenge, orange and black, which I really must do today. I haven't even started the dreaded Xmas cards, then I have a few birthdays, oh and not to forget, Tim's 12 tags of Christmas. Busy time coming up me thinks.

In the meantime, 'peg leg' took his hospital letter to the doctors yesterday and was given the option to have surgery on his knee first or to have his double hernia operated on !!!!!!!!! Where did that come from ???? He also has high blood pressure mainly caused by the pills he has been on since June. I knew those things were only short time, now look what's happened. Anyway, on advice, the knee will be done first. I wonder what his aka will be then. Any suggestions????

HATS OFF TO WARRIOR WOMEN

Check out the previous post for details of the 'Warrior Women'.

My hat certainly comes off to everyone, everywhere who has been or will be affected by breast cancer.
The Artistic Stamper blog has all the details for this support theme.

PINK RIBBON WARRIOR WOMEN

Please find some time today to pop over to the Artistic Stamper blog where details are announced of a very special blog hop.
October is always Breast Cancer month. The whole world unites by sponsoring events to raise awareness and money for research in order to finally rid us all of this awful disease. Jennie, at the Artistic Stamper, has started off the 'Warrior Women' blog hop in honour of her friend Sherry Goodloe who is recovering, very well, from her spat with breast cancer.
Some delicious candy is on offer too - £15 worth of stamps from Jennie - simply for leaving a comment by midnight on 30th October, plus more candy from Eclectic Paperie if you make your own piece and load it to flickr by 30th October.
Many of us have been either touched or affected by this demon, so come on crafters, let's lend our support.

AUTUMNAL LAYERS

I know a lot of people absolutely love the Autumn. The colours are simply amazing I do agree, but for me it's the end of so much. The summer - ok, I know we don't usually have one of those LOL - the beautiful flowers and their scent, birds singing and rushing about trying to bring up their young, holidays where there is some sun, being able to sit outside and to have the door open, long daylight hours - have I convinced you yet??

Anyway, there are a couple of challenges I thought I might just have a go at:

Something Completely Different - Oct. theme - anything with Colour
Week 1 - Outside colours - brown, orange etc.
and
Artistic Stamper Challenge - Oct. theme - Layers

I thought I would make a tag for a change and this one came directly from Sir Tim himself. After last year's 12 tags of Christmas, Tim had a few bundles of 20 tags for sale. As you can imagine, I was in there straight away and the handsome Mario sent me a pack.
I distressed the tag with a mixture of distress inks, then used one of the leaves I had just cut with my new tattered leaves die to act as a mask while I did a bit more inking and then a bit of spritzing with gold perfect pearls and water.
I covered pieces of grungepaper with some dictionary text and die cut some tattered flowers and tattered leaves. I also cut some from the retro grunge paper stack. Once dry I distressed some of them with fired brick and dried marigold inks and assembled the flowers together with a tiny Prima flower and one cut from inked mulberry paper with a tiny brad. They are all glued down with glossy accents. I then put a little bit of tea dye distress stickles on the leaves. The top 2 leaves are also Prima with a little butterfly charm on top.
I then stuck some more dictionary paper on a piece of thin card incorporating the word Autumn, and distressed it before punching out with a Martha Stewart oak leaf punch. I then added this to a memo pin, stuck it in the flower and hey presto - job done.

SUNSHINE and HARD WORK

This glorious weather has meant a catch up on the outside jobs. Most of my container trees have suffered this year and were so pot-bound too, that they were only destined for the tip! So for the last 4 days I have been hacking trees, fighting root-bound plants, moving great big heavy pots around and re-potting where needed. All that in between going out for new plants and re-painting my greenhouse. Phew!!

Anyway, I managed to make a couple of ATCs the first of which I am going to enter in the Totally Papercrafts Challenge #32 which is - Charming.

I used Victorian velvet and broken china distress inks for the background, spritzed with a perfect pearl concoction and over stamped with Tim's flourish stamp, again in Victorian velvet. The words are one of the Artistic Stamper stamps. I used a Sizzix die to cut flowers from material, net and Tim's vintage shabby paper stack. The little centre is a tiny piece of baby wipe coloured with a big and juicy ink pad and twisted into a mini rose. The ribbon is plain white but coloured by pulling it over the broken china DI. The little bird charm satisfies this challenge and finishes off the card.

I'll be back later with photos of the others and my fabulous seaside swaps from Heather.

WHAT A WEEK

I'm glad last week has gone and can only hope that this week is a better one.

Yesterday was awful. Both 'peg leg' and I had some sort of bug which knocked us for six. I managed to get up but not 'til nearly the afternoon, whilst 'peg leg' didn't see the light of day. We both feel a bit better today but have only just got up now.

My car gave up the ghost last Wednesday. Turns out the battery had had enough so we had to buy a new one. Then on Thursday I broke a tooth! Fortunately my dentist saw me that afternoon and put a temporary filling on it. I have to go back for a more permanent one. Trouble is, the broken tooth is right next to a wobbly one. He reckons that it could last 5 years but then I will have to have a bridge causing loss of the one he is going to fill. Better start saving 'cos that will be another £500 I bet. My chin is still not right, but at least the swelling has gone and it's not so red and sore. I'm rubbing vaseline into the skin to put the moisture back and it's working fine. Hooray!

So all plans last  week went right out of the window and this week sees more appointments, like 'peg legs' MRI scan. Let's hope they get their records right this time.

All I managed yesterday was cutting out some pre-stamped flowers ready to faux enamel. I used the flower power set from the Artistic Stamper. I love these simple little images.

Looks like I stamped several on my worksheet also!

On a special note. We got an early call from my son this morning to tell us that today is a very big

RED LETTER 

day.

For those of you who know me, today is the day my 2 special grandchildren become 'officially' part of our family.

Now that's a good start to the week if there ever was one.

BOG CANDY GIVEAWAY

Check out the Artisitic Stamper Creative Team Blog for news of a fabulous candy giveaway.

The giveaway ends 6pm GMT on Thursday 26th August.

I'm in!

TIM INSPIRED

I had a go at this faux enameling thingy yesterday, but it was really hard to cover that big flower I made. Some woyww'ers were interested to see the result so I'll leave that one for next Wednesday. Don't get excited.

In the meantime, I've been making some ATCs as my stock pile has diminished. I tried to use some of the bits lying around on my work desk, but only managed to incorporate 3 little bits. Anyway, here goes.

For this one I used Tim's 'scallop' die and cut both patterns in mount board before juggling them together to make an ATC sized card. I had already distressed the edge of the bottom layer with wild honey before doing this. The top layer was distressed with scattered straw and mustard seed with a touch of milled lavender over a mini scroll mask. I have a stamp which reads ' bloom where you're planted' so I masked off all the words leaving the 'bloom' bit which I stamped in black archival. The little barbed-wire type stamp down the side is an oblong border stamp which I used with pumice stone DI. The flower is cut from vellum and the little flower in the middle is a successful faux enamelled one from yesterday. The titchy button finishes it off.

For this card I distressed the base with all the orange inks before overstamping with a Wendy Vecchi background stamp that miraculously came in the post from Simon Says Stamp in the USA!  I used barn door for this. The ziz zag is a Tim stamp and the word is from a stamp I've ages. I used black archival to stamp these. The flower is cut from grungepaper using Tim's tattered florals die. I inked this with rusty hinge and walnut stain overstamped in black archival and one of Tim's acrylic script stamps. The sprocket, spinner and brad are all Tim's. The leaves are cut from grungepaper, inked with peeled paint and then covered in distress stickles in the same colour. They were cut with his regal crest die.

I can't take full credit for this one because I've based it on a sample on the Wendy Vecchi stamps I received. Obviously it's not exactly the same but I've tweeked it to make an ATC. I used wild honey and dried marigold as the base, leaving a lighter patch in the middle. I then overstamped with the gorgeous chequered stamp using black archival. Then I went round the edges with a permanent marker pen. I inked over a piece of scrap card with barn door DI and overstamped it with bits of stems from Tim's spring sprung stamps using pumice stone DI. That is then stuck under a piece of Tim's film strip. The bits of calendar were coloured with tumbled glass and cut to shape. The leaves are made from some lovely green pearlised card using a Martha Stewart frond punch, the little flowers are Prima overstamped in wild honey with a background stamp from the Artistic Stamper range and finished off with tiny sticky gems. The butterfly is a pre-cut grunge one again stamped with the pre mentioned stamp inked with tumbled glass.

Phew! I think  I need a lie down now. Hope Blogger doesn't swallow this post like it swallowed my last 2 posts on Lindsay's Rant blog.