Ne,er cast a clout till May is out

Well May is not quite out but I have finished my June page for the Art Calendar (Kate's 365 day challenge). I spent most of yesterday doing this page, much better than sitting stuck in traffic jams on a Bank holiday, much more enjoyable. I chose bright colours hoping that June will be bright and sunny, well you can hope. I took the idea of tags from "Sandy Poppins" thank you Sandra. I made the tags using my Cricut which doesn't get enough use. The flower, fairy, sentiments and sun are all from Stampotique Originals. All the other embellishments are from AFTH, DYAN'S downloads which are very useful.

WOYWW

What's on your work desk this Wednesday, if you want to know what this is all about pop over to Julia's blog "The Stamping Ground" and take a look. I'm up early today as I am waiting for the plummber to arrive, we are having a new bathroom and DH is off to France today leaving me with all the organisation and mess, typical. Well back to my desk 3 photo's today and lots of activity going on there as I am in the middle of 3 projects. I am making the covers for my Doodle Book, this is a workshop at the lovely Dyan's in Harrogate AFTH and I am using her downloads. I am finishing an ATC which is for a friend and must give it to her tonight. The box of wire is there as i have been making wire spring stems for the little flowers (Stampotique),the ATC is called Spring Flowers see the connection. I have been using my CB to make the large flower background. I have a pad of Basic Gray papers there which I am using for another ATC to give to another friend this evening. This is all part of a swap we organised between us. I have also done a bit of swinging around my room to give you an overall effect of what it is like. The sewing machine is always out as I like to sew round my ATC's and quite often my cards. You can also see loads of mags on the window sill all my Somerset Studios, Art Journaling, Stampers Sampler, Cloth Paper Scissors and last of all my Craft Stamper. I have quite a few more stashed away somewhere. I have a small easel on my window sill with a card (I bought it) showing a pic of a Pug, I love Pugs and am desperate for one but if I buy another dog DH will leave home, oh!that might not be a bad idea must think about that one. Enjoy looking this week I will be around you all later must go and take my 2 dogs for a walk now, see you.

It's a man thing

It's my son's birthday on Saturday so I made him this card which I am also going to enter in Hels challenge this week. The challenge is to use torn paper which I have plenty of on this card. I used white card, coloured with Stormy Sky DI. The papers are all Tim's from Vintage Shabby and I have either distressed or torn the edges and then inked with Stormy sky. I have added a few of Tims Idea-ology embellishments. I hope my son likes it as he sometimes thinks the stuff I do is weird.

STAMPOTIQUE DESIGNERS CHALLENGE

It's time for another STAMPOTIQUE DESIGNERS CHALLENGE which I think ends tomorrow so I've only just made it. The challenge is to use a template and I have used a Gothic Arch template which was a freebee from BELINDA SCHNEIDER. I drew round the template on Grey board cut it out, gessoed it and then coloured with a mixture of Barn Door, Fired Brick and Aged Mahogany DIs. Using a Stampotique and Archival black I stamped the faces to represent the people. I then stamped the "Queen" image on to white card with black Archival, rubbed Barn Door over it and used Glossy Accents on her wings, she is fixed on to the background using 3D foam pads. The wording I printed on the PC brushed over with Barn Door and edged with a black pen. To finish I edged the arch with gold Krylon pen and glued a German Scrap gold crown on to her head.

A birthday stocking filler

I made this small wall hanging for a friend's birthday as part of her present. It is a Maya Road chipboard piece which I gessoed and then coloured with the Barn Door DI.I used a Wendy Vechi background stamp over the whole piece. I covered a sheet of old book page with the same DI and stamped a Wendy V flower all over, cut them out and used some of Tim's Idea-ology for the centres (got the idea from Linda E). The butterflies are another Wendy V stamp which I did on to grunge paper and put some stickles up the centre of each one. I flicked a piece of cut and dry foam, using the red DI, over the DREAM ticket and filled it in with glossy accents. All the embellishments are from Tim's Idea-ology range. The wire I wrapped here and there around a cocktail stick and threaded through the holes to hang it. I am going to enter this in HELS's challenge which is RED this week.

WOYWW

It's that time of the week again, they don't half creep round quickly. This is when we show what is on our work desk and having a nosey around everyone elses desk/craft rooms. This is early for me I'm usually last minute or don't make it at all. I was working late last night in my craft room and just abandoned everything and this is how I found it this morning. There are all sorts on there, Circle journals one waiting to be finished and posted to the next person and one waiting to be started. There are a couple of wall hangings (red & blue)made from Maya Road chipboard they are for friends and the red one I am going to enter in Hels Sheridan's challenge this week. There is a packet of Jo Capper-Sandon's new stamps which I got from Happy Daze and can't wait to use. Oh and there is a little purple teddy, a grandma ted actually made by Wispo this is another little pressie for a friend. Hope you enjoy looking. I don't think I will get round everyone today as I have now to wash my car, go shopping and tonight I am out for a curry with friends. See you all later.

FUN WITH ATC'S Challenge 9

Over on Fun with ATC'S they are holding a challenge related to Europe so I am entering this one on Paris. All the images and background stamps are from Elusive Images. I have used a masking technique to stamp the word background on to the harlequin base, you may not be able to see it as I have used pale cream colours. The Eiffel Tower and the compass I painted with watercolour crayons and used 3d foam pads to attach. I stamped the word Travel and used a piece of brown organza ribbon as decoration.

A day at AFTH

I went to Art From The Heart today, it was our monthly art journal day and it was a fab day, we laughed from start to finish we did some journalling inbetween. Dyan set us a challenge as she usually does and today's was to make a border around the page using either cut outs from magazines or Dyan's downloads.I chose to use the downloads and did a double page spread in my Moleskine and as you can see I used a Stampotique on the page. When I finished this I started another page using cut outs from mags but I have yet to finish this one.

Another ATC swap

Here are 2 ATC's I made last night for a swap. The theme is to use green and white and the title is "Bird Song".On the first one I tore the Bird definition page out of a dictionary,outlined the word Bird and coloured the whole with DI Bundled Sage. The check bird is from "Paper Girl-the girls paperie"I stamped it in Adirondack olive and the wings are German scrap from Artchix. The second one I used the same colours but glued a piece of music sheet and sprayed with Crafty Notions gold. The bird a 7 Gypsies stamp, I stamped on to white card using olive DI gave him an eye using a VIVA brown. The cage is from the new Paper Artsy stamps (from the Craft Den)I stamped on to acetate using black Stazon, fixed in place with a gold brad. The sentiment on the first atc is from the same Paper Artsy set and the second sentiment I printed on the computer. Everything is edged with DI shabby shutters.

Another Birthday

I made this card for a colleague who is mad about gardening. The A5 card I coloured with a DI "Crushed Olive", distressed the edges of two pieces of Graphic 45 paper and edged with Peeled Paint.The 2 labels layered on top of one another are Nestabilities Labels one. The image is a Terri Sproul from Stampotique Originals which I coloured with my Copic Markers (from the Craft Den). The sentiment is another Terri Sproul I stamped on to cream card and edged with DI Peeled Paint and layered on to a piece of Graphic 45 which I punched using one of my MS punches. The flower is a Prima. I placed a layer of brown mesh (from Craft Den) across the whole of the card and under the labels together with a punched yellow card for a ribbon effect. I must find a way of condensing these descriptive posts, I seem to go on and on.

WOYWW 49

I have been missing from WOYWW for the past 3 weeks for various reasons and nearly missed it again today but here you are, all those peeps who like to have a look. I have been out since 7.30am today, had another lovely day at AFTH doodling. I didn't get home until going on for 5pm, took the dogs out,cooked dinner, ate it, stacked dish washer and here I am with everything just dumped on my desk. There are things I bought at AFTH, they are chipboard shapes which I will use in my art journals. They are from an Australian company called Buzz and Bloom, they are waiting for the price tags removing before DH sees how much I spend. I do this every time I buy some stash does anyone else do this? There is a green card I am making for a friends birthday, she is a keen gardener so that's why it is green. You can see my doodling pieces done today and the black album is another Art Journal which I am using for Zentangles, it has black pages and I am using a white pen for the patterns.

THE MAD HATTER'S TEA PARTY

I had a lovely day today, went to AFTH, say no more. Dyan had organised the weekend with all her entourage in order to raise money for "The Young Carers" Charity and it was just perfect. I went with a new blog friend Anne (L'pool Lou), she lives about 10mins from me, my 12yr old grand-daughter Isabel came too with her friend Lucy. The girls bought tickets for the Tombola, Isabel won 3 prizes and Lucy won one, we joined the mini workshops and made a couple of tags each, these are mine above. We had cups of tea/coffee and lovely cup cakes. Dyan was selling a lot of her art work and so the girls bought a few items while I bought a wonderful "7Gypsies Vintage Receipt Holder" which can be hung on the wall full of my tags or ATC's, when I have got it organised I will take a photo to show you all. Of course I bought a couple more Stampotique Originals I think I might have them all now.

Sunday Stamper Challenge 101

I have just realised that the 21st Birthday card in my previous post fits Hels challenge over on Sunday Stampers, So now my brain is functioning I have just entered it and hopefully I am in time. Must dash now to get ready for the party, I need time these days to get glammed up.
Thank you all who left very kind comments re my card.

A 21st Birthday

I am going to a 21st Birthday Party this evening, the nursery nurse in Reception class where I teach is 21 this weekend so I have made her this card. I have a present for her and one of Wispo's little Birthday Bears plus poem. The card I made by colouring the white background with Victorian Velvet and Spun Sugar DI's. The papers I have used are all from Tim's new range "Vintage Shabby" I have grunged the edges and inked them with Victorian Velvet. The key, ball chain and number are all from Tim's Idea-ology range. The flower and lace can be bought at the Craft Den and the door image is one of Stampotique Originals. I am going to decorate the inside with Tim's Vintage Shabby papers, I hope she likes it.
By the way I have lost the ability to colour highlight my posts don't know where the icon has gone to, if anyone knows how to remedy this could they let me know please.

The Peeling Paint Technique

Another set of 5 ATC's for a swap at the "Artist Trading Club". This merry month of May the theme is a background challenge,"The Peeling Paint Technique". This can be found in Claudine Hellmuth's book "Collage Discovery Workshop". Basically, paint a layer of whatever colour, leave to dry, spread some Vaseline here and there, using another colour paint over the top of the whole area, dry and rub off the paint where the Vaseline is and there you have it peeled paint. So now I have to decide which one of my 5 am I going to keep,do I keep the one I least like or the one I like best, dilema, dilema.

MAY ART CALENDAR

Inspite of being rushed off my feet recently I am on time with my May Art Calendar pages. Each month I have used different colours and this time I coloured the 2 pages with two different pink dabbers and then added lots of different colours here and there. The 2 stamped images are from the new Paper Artsy stamps and the saying is a 7Gypsies. I cut the May and 2010 on the Cricut, I punched the flower shapes from Tim's new papers "Vintage Shabby" and punched small circles for the dates.I have drawn round the "flowers" with a black pen to make them pop and I used a white pen around the black letters. Quite a few birthdays this month so an expensive month.

APRIL FINISHED

Well that's another month gone, they seem to fly by. Here are my finished April pages for the Art Calendar challenge. You will notice as time as gone on I have done less and less in the way of doodling or decorating my pages because I seem to have been in a constant rush recently and not had the time to spend on it and now the month has gone I am less inclined to go back to it. You may also notice that the black Dymo labels have lost their writing I don't know why this has happened, it did say "Rain Drops Keep Falling On My Head" which was a song sung by Sacha Distel.