Using scraps

I've had the glue stick & scraps box on my desk this week so as to do some catching up on the journal pages....

These are from art prompts galore 

39. red/orange //scavenger List: 2 fall colours / leaves / wavy lines / a childrens book illustration / text in a foreign language / 3 circles cut from paper / security envelope pattern / white paint / black ink / paint splatters (colour of your choice)

I went essentially with the red/orange idea for this one and everything came from scraps!

40. Whimsy// Scavenger:orange, something that says "fall" or "spring" if that applies-something on your wish list-something that starts with an N- 3-5 circles-a phrase or quote, ransom letter style-something white-an image from a magazine-a piece of authentic ephemera -2 stamped images

Another ORANGE page!

41. Scraps // SCAVENGER:coffee or tea stained paper / a label / stamp with white paint or gesso/ add 3 die cut shapes/ use a wax crayon/ washi tape/ some paper pieces cut with irregular scissors/ 2 stickers/ something metal/ lace 

All scraps from our recent trip to Maine including the show we went to see at the Ogunquit Playhouse.

42. Starts with A // Scavenger pick 10 items from your stash this week and add them to your scavenger hunt journal. 

All scraps... Catalogue cover, stickers, stamped images from envelopes & a diecut flower that's been wrapped with metallic thread.

I also got a couple done for journal 52

Autumn / Fall (include the word)

 Distress inks in mustard seed, fossilised amber, spiced marmalade, carved pumpkin, candied Apple, rusty hinge, barn door, fired brick, aged mahogany, shabby shutters, peeled paint, forest moss, won't age photo were used with Rubber Tapestry leaf stamps to create the background. I used a mix of alcohol inks on acetate which I then diecut & embossed using TH layered leaves. I diecut some letters from a scrap of textured wallpaper and added 2 portions of real leaves that I picked up whilst in Maine.

Then I decided to do the "free for all" using more seasonal scraps....

TH stencils/ wilted violet DI, a tyvek strip that was an admission bracelet,diecut spider, bats, ghost, skull, some "talking skulls" that came from who knows whe or when - I think they are from a rubber stamp catalogue, and in the centre a clothing tag from a T-shirt bought in Walmart a few years ago!

Week 40 & 42 remain to be done as do the past 5 DLP !

Thanks for looking and I'll be back soon :-)

Say cheese

Yes, I do realise it's a strange title but DLP want us to use cheesecloth & the prompt is "say cheese".

So here is today's little adventure...

Blended DI in mowed lawn / pine needles / evergreen bough / peacock feathers / salty ocean.

Some  swirly stencilling in salty ocean & cells in a mix of gesso/white acrylic.

Then I applied a strip of gauze bandage that has been coloured with Deka silk paints in shades of blue & green (this was done ages ago so cannot remember colour details)

I've stamped say cheese please as the young lady is looking rather po-faced! She is a stamp that I won for a comment on a Facebook post last year, I've coloured her using promarkers in shades of green & blue. Her wings have a glittery lindys stampgang wash

I'm really glad I got this done this afternoon as, later when I took the dog out, I had a fall which resulted in me landing on my hip & elbow. Needless to say I am now feeling rather sore & stiff :-(

Journal pages

Journal 52: Windows.....

I had quite a few ideas for this one but, somehow, lacked the enthusiasm to draw the palace of Versailles and the idea of scantily dressed ladies in the windows of Amsterdam seemed a little risqué!

We went out for the evening after the theme was released to "Beer @ the Barn" beer/cider/gin event locally. No, I didn't have too much, rather, it sent my brain off in another direction & I found. Yes elf humming "how much is that doggie in the window?" Lightbulb moment! And it led to this page where I have used Paper Artsy, Inkadinkadoo & free stamps to create my windows & contents.

The background is distress paints, Sizzix pediment die cuts, pencil grouting & washi tape. The cats & dogs are coloured with Derwent water soluble pencils & the window frames were done with Promarkers.

And over at DLP 2015 it's all change with a new month where the theme is layers you will love,

The challenge is when not to stop & the prompt: don't stop til you get enough.

So for this one it's a layer of gesso, some texture paste on the left hand side of the left hand page...

Distress stain & paint across both pages & then add distress ink over the paste to darken a little 

( Victorian velvet stain & ink, worn lipstick, picked raspberry).

Barn door ink over Mini chicken wire stencil.

Several rows of little hearts stamped & embossed then outlined with Derwent sketching dark wash 

Lips stamped in barn door.

A couple of strips of packing tape transfers.

Spotty hearts stamped in dark red & clear embossed when filled with dark wash.

Some gilding wax applied over the texture paste: dark red & copper.

Paper Artsy mosaic heart coloured with Promarkers applied in a strip & outlined.

Heart flowers stamped in grey & filled with signo white.

Stamped xxxxx & hearts/ovals in dark grey and f in black + dots in b/w.

Tim Holtz love definition stamp

2 gold heart die cuts framing chit chat stickers.

And as that has taken all afternoon I am now calling it done!

Tim's April tag

For the first time this year I am able to join in with Tim's monthly tag challenge....

Here is the masters tag 

So now let me say that, as is so often the case, I had hardly any of the requirements! In particular the gorgeous trellis die.....but as ever, I managed to improvise (but not necessarily like) and create something with what I had. Tim must make an awful lot of pine ones and roses to get his looking so good! 

Here is mine....

I must practice making those flowers, I really like them but mine are c..p!

Tim's remnants

I still had some papers & stamping left over after making my June tag for the Tim Holtz challenge so here is a card a made with the leftovers 

I used the same stamps, the only difference here is that the dragonfly has been coloured in blues & mauves, the ribbon has been pulled through a double hole at the top of the tag and the whole thing has been mounted onto a white card.

Moo mania challenge:HOME

Welcome to my new followers, I hope you enjoy the creations that appear on here :-)

I had so much fun making MOOs  the other day that when I saw the latest one I decided that I needed to join in again! 

Here are some of the photos of my "concertina"ed village!

This is it all folded up...

The reverse side has some strips of our "local" Michelin map (France)

 

The whole thing seen from the front...

And details of the panels...

1&2

3&4

5&6...

& finally 7

The houses are all Paper Artsy stamps, they were stamped & clear embossed, coloured with Promarkers, the cloud was a freebie stamp & the tyre tread (road) was too.. The little birds have been added with a Pitt pen, the sky has been coloured using several distress inks (tumbled glass, broken china & stormy skies)

After this little adventure...I decided I just had to make 1 more....

Promarkers for colouring the grass, sky & base/pole and some paper piecing for the bird & birdhouse.

What fun I had making these :-)

Because I could!

It poured with rain yesterday so I decided to have a play with some of my goodies :-)

I coloured a tag that I had embossed using the french script folder using salty ocean then added walnut ink to the raised parts & edges.

On a separate piece of turquoise paper I stamped the tim Holtz butterflies & moths in walnut ink & clear embossed, then overstamped with the french script in salty ocean.

Having mounted this piece onto the tag, I wrapped the whole thing with some  brown & turquoise machine embroidery threads. I then added sequins, a butterfly & ribbon rosette from my new stash and added threads as a tie at the top as well as adding some gathered lace along the bottom.

And then I decided to use the other French folder Eiffel tower....

Again, I embossed a tag, added some colour, mowed lawn, squeezed lemonade & broken china.

I embossed a piece of dark gray card for the Eiffel tower, cut it out & mounted on some foam pads onto the tag. Did the same with a piece of gold card for the fleur de lys and mounted with. Ore foam pads. The words are stamped onto some card coloured with Mowed Lawn & stamped with archivall black. (clear choice stamps)

I finished off with some yellow ribbon tied with green embroidery floss.

These are not my usual colours at all but felt I wanted to try something different...because I could :-)

Hope you like them.

1 year already

I wish the sun was shining - it's been a year since I started blogging & the sun has not even had the decency to show up to help celebrate :-(

So here is a little "post" that I made using a Darkroom Door freebie stamp, some distress inks, promarkers & Chocolate Baroque crackle stamp...

Tim's May tag

Sorry it's been quiet on here recently! My excuse? Why, I have been away again...a trip to the west country, Devon to be precise.

And so it is a new month & a new tag from Tim. As is so often the case, I had hardly any of the necessary ingredients so I have been up to my usual improvising tricks.

My tag has no rub-ons, instead I stamped in archival and then used an embossing ink pen to go over/around the images & added clear embossing powder. This was to try and give me the "white edge" look. Amazingly enough the pen still worked despite having sat unloved for about 4 years!

I have swiped the card though Distress inks (weathered wood, salty ocean, broken china, fired brick,peeled paint) the edge has then been further coloured with a little more Peeled Paint.
I then did some more stamping in Archival black: TH Top Hats, crown, flourish & words are from the "love" definition. The black stars are from a set of Hero Arts tiny stars, the graph & the cog are from Paper Artsy Hot Picks Xtra 01, the butterfly image is a Clear Choice Stamps mini set- the diamond pattern is from Stampers Anonymous & the G,2,13 & May are random stamps from my stash. I have used a film strip stamp from Hobbycraft to make the film strip on the left hand side.

The ribbon has been coloured with the leftover inks, the round tag at the side has got Chit-Chat stickers added & slightly coloured with antique linen DI, I have added a word band to finish it off.


I then decided to have a go at using some rub-ons that have been lurking in a drawer for quite a few years, I think I bought them the first or second year that we started going over to the USA to visit the grandchildren - Emily has just celebrated her 10th birthday and we first saw her aged 6 months!!!

So I have used the same colours and most of the same stamps plus I have used some rub-ons: braces, pen, spectacles & half a briefcase (it was quite large) the metal edged circular tag has been coloured with alcohol inks & the Chit Chat lightly coloured with Weathered Wood DI.
This is going to find its way onto a birthday card shortly!

I am posting the backgrounds that I made before I started over stamping as well as the finished items.

Hope you like the results.

Late february tag time

I eventually resorted to cheating so as to have this tag finished in time! Yes, I know... Not in the spirit of things but I desperately needed it to put on the front of an anniversary card!!!!

37 years tomorrow & still counting- where have all the years gone since Bill & I got married in Abu Dhabi?

So, to cut to the chase, I've coloured my tag with Festive Berries DI & then spritzed with paper, heat tool dried it....so far so good, I then used some Whispers for DoCrafts stamps (love set) which I stamped (using ColorQ in Merlot) in 2 bands across the tag & clear embossed.

I really could not find anything amongst my stamps (WHAT! I hear you all cry) so I decided to give the Tim Holtz stamp picture a try - I printed it off 3 times as I was happy enough with the size - I'm no computer whizz & could hardly ask Bill to do anything with it.....
So I coloured the base layer with Festive Berries, cut the playing out for the next layer, this got a quick brush with Frayed Burlap around the edges & I coloured the hearts with a Whispers strokes pen. The next layer, the queens, I have coloured with a mix of Promarkers & DI.

I had some Butchers twine in red/white which I toned down using Frayed Burlap, I also coloured a small piece of card at the same time, I cut an arrow out of it (freehand) & added a fine line to define it.
Whilst on a trip to Stirling last year I found a couple of packs of TH frosted mosaic tiles in a bargain bin....I finally got round to using one :-). I used some Chit Chat on the back, used Glossy Accents to glue down a piece of Festive Berries paper behind the whole tile.

Along the top I have added a strip of ribbon (stash) and some heart buttons that have their shanks removed.

I just need to mount this onto a card and I am all set for tomorrow's celebration. Hopefully I will not wake feeling like this queen because....oh no! She is upside down! TOO LATE TO CHANGE HER NOW :-(

A late March tag!

I was never going to manage to do this tag in time for Tim's challenge but I did want to make the set again this year, so having done April & January....it was time to make February & March.

Well February still has me stumped but I'll get there eventually; March was a challenge as I have none of the ingredients but there is always scope when you use your imagination!

I don't do cute as a rule but as the only Easter items/stamps I have are on the cute side here is what I came up with....

Some free NitWit checkered papered for the background, a Nestie (labels18) coloured with Antique Linen DI - I stamped around the edges in Peeled Paint DI using a couple of flourish stamps ( Stampology & Designer Flourishes). The rabbit has been stamped & embossed, then coloured with Promarkers, I did 2 layers to get a dimensional effect ( the stamp is from the "Floral Flourish" freebie pack of issue 9 Creative Stamping).

I snipped into several strips of handmade green paper to create the grass & snuck a strip of Easter eggs/ butterflies that came off a card that I received a few years ago! The March stamp is part of a set of date stamps that I bought in the USA. Some eyelash yarn was all I needed to finish this off.

Definitely not my usual style!!!!
So as I seemed to be on a roll....I made a couple more- again with NitWit stamps this time, the pink one is coloured with Promarkers & then placed behind a Nestie with a window cut in it, a short length of ribbon that was just crying to be used (only just long enough!) that I have tied around the image, another short length used to make a loop at the top of the tag.

I coloured some recycled take-away foil dish that has been run through the ribbler several times in various directions & have then punched flower shapes from. These have been attached to the tag using brads over the top of a band of the eyelash yarn which here is the grass.

Then, for a final effort, more NitWit paper & stamp. Still using Promarkers for the colouring & the same Nestie with a window, I attached the frame to the tag with brads after fastening a length of organza ribbon around it. A topper that came with the papers running along the bottom & a carrot topper at the top as a "ribbon".

I shall use these last 2 as toppers for cards to the grandchildren next year :-)

Bet you are all surprised that I can do "cute"!!!

Heading out

A couple of cards here that are heading over to France this week, paper artsy stamps & distress inks with random papers from my stash.