A journal page? From me? No!!!

Happy Sunday morning everyone,

Crikey, 3 blog posts in less than 24 hours!  I shall have to mark this post as a reminder that I can do it.....once in a while, lol!

This is just a quick post as I wanted to document my very first journal pages other than a couple done in a workshop with Ania Dabrowska aka Finnabair (her blog link is in my sidebar).  A few weeks ago Sam, a very kind & generous crafting friend, sent me a lovely A6 size journal, the cover of which she had skillfully altered with mixed media.  If you go to her blog HERE you can see the collection of journals she did and mine is the orange one and it's gorgeous!

Now Sam and I have been united because out of our little group we were the only ones who don't 'do' journalling so initially the idea was to use it as a notebook but I knew what would happen if I kept it in my everyday handbag........ it would get ruined!  So, I decided I am going to use it to 'play' in on those times when I have no idea what to make but want to create something and late last night (& early this morning, lol) was just such a time.  I didn't take any progress pics as I was having too much relaxed fun.

Don't forget you can click on the pic for a bit closer look ...... I still miss the old blogger pics that you could click on to zoom right in :(!  I didn't give this much thought but just dragged bits out that I haven't used much or at all in the case of a Goosebumps texture spray and 2 of the stamps.  I started with sprinkling some Brusho crystals and getting a bit of drippage, then spritzed with the Goosebumps and dusted over with Old Paper DI. I followed that with Dusty Concord & Chipped Sapphire DIs through a stencil and finally the stamping using Archival for the quote and DIs for the butterflies & random script.  Oh yes a a spritz of gold glimmer mist.

In case you can't read  it the quote says

The stars exist that we might know

How high our dreams can soar

And specially for Sam it's a wood backed stamp (cos she loves them, lol)!  The mini script is a PaperArtsy one and the butterfly is Tim Holtz.

Hope I remember to do this more often as it was really relaxing to do because it didn't really matter what it turned out like.  I just wouldn't have show anyone if it looked a total mess, lol!

Have a lovely Sunday everyone & see you again soon.

Hugs

Lesley  Xx

And .......I have another entry for the Shiny Stuff PaperArtsy Challenge!

Wow, I'm back again with another project for the PaperArtsy Blog Challenge of Shiny Stuff but first I have given myself and a friend a laugh this evening.

I started this card last night hoping to get it in the post this morning for my friend's birthday on the 9th but I didn't get it finished in time and missed the post.  I sent her a message to apologise in advance because I wanted to blog it and link up to the PA challenge and the reply came back with ........her birthday is the 9th ......OF MARCH!!!  I actually did know that but somehow because I'm trying to get ahead with my cards this year I felt as though we were already in March.  My head does not belong to me at the moment, lol!  Anyway, that means I have plenty of time to make another one that she won't have seen.

I am loving the stamps that PaperArtsy have released this week and the first we got sight of were from the lovely and so talented Lin Brown and I just couldn't wait to get a couple of sets to be going on with until I go to Stamperama at Stevenage in a few weeks.  I took inspiration from Lin's metal work and made this card which really makes me smile so I hope whoever gets it smiles too.

I used various colours of metal sheets which I bought from PaperArtsy several years ago.  It was lovely to play with the tools again but I'm a bit out of practice, lol!  I actually stamped the birds onto card and cut them out and then stuck the slightly puffed metal pieces on top with heavy gel.  I filled the back with Grunge Paste to stop it getting squished.

 I created a couple of grassy mounds by painting a coffee filter with Fresco Finish paints and sticking them to top layer of white card.  I then attached the birds and stamped the grass and flowers with Archival inks. 

I added colouring with some Sharpie pens I bought a while ago & had never used.  I was pleased at how well they worked on top of the FF and realised that they wouldn't have worked on the bare coffee filter paper.....I tried it just to see and it feathered quite badly.

This last photo was taken with flash as it was dusk and quite dreary too.  All the stamps are from one of Lin's new sets except the grasses which are JoFY stamps and the Happy 'Bird'day which is from an old Chocolate Baroque set.

Well, I doubt very much I will manage another entry for this particular challenge but do drop by the PaperArtsy blog and look back over the week at the fantastic Designers and their teams.  The products are fab and the artwork is jaw dropplingly gorgeous! Tonight was the last lot and it's another blog post full of inspiration!

Hugs

Lesley  Xx

PaperArtsy Blog Challenge - Wow I managed more than one!

Hi to you all,

I hope you're having a lovely weekend wherever you are and whatever you're doing!  I've spent a lovely day in my craftroom .......except for freezing cold feet, lol!  I can make the conservatory warm but I can't block out the cold to my tootsies from the blooming ceramic tiled floor!

Anyway, I'm feeling a bit smug because I managed a 2nd project for the brilliant PaperArtsy Blog Challenge..... mind you we have had an extra week because Leandra and her designers have been showcasing PaperArtsy's new product releases all this week and Oh boy, is there some fantastic stuff to see! The new paints are such yummy colours and the stamps are just WOW!  The style of each of the designers is very different so there is something to appeal to everyone.  Unfortunately, I like nearly all of them and want them in my collection asap, lol!  The artwork by the DT is out of this world gorgeous and so inspirational so do hop over to look if you haven't already.

Anyway, on to my project.  I decided to have a go at altering a pencil tin I picked up in the charity shop (where else?) using Pam Thorburn's method HERE.  I won't give an explanation of the how to as I pretty much followed Pam's step by step.  I have to say though I didn't find it as easy as it sounded or rather I'm not too good at working with that foil tape, lol!  Not going over a curved edge or round curved corners would have been better and I did overwork it a bit both on the burnishing to show the textures and on the sanding back between paint layers but you live and learn and all told, I don't think it turned out too badly.  See what you think!

Below are the things I used to create the texture.

Covered with the foil tape & burnished.

Painted with Fresco Finish in Stone, Mushroom, London Night, Pansy & Autumn Fire. The 'Words' stamp is from one of Sara Neuman's sets.

Finished with Treasure Gold in Royal Amethyst, Limited Edition Lilac, White Fire & Copper.

Righty Ho! I'm off to link this to the challenge.  Thank you for dropping by and see you again soon.

Hugs
Lesley  Xx

Swapsies!

Morning All,

I rarely join swaps because I don't seem to manage to stay the course very often and hate letting people down but I decided to join in one this year with a group of friends.  The swap is for two ATCs and two Tags of any size.  The theme for our first swap was faces and these are what I came up with. 

First the ATCs

This one was lightly blended Distress Inks followed by stamping the image and then adding touches of extra DI's to enhance the colouring of the face.  I stamped the butterfly a second time, coloured it with DI's and triple embossed with clear EP before shaping the wings and attaching just by the body.

This one had Pan Pastels blended softly over the background then Versamark applied through a clouple of stencils and more PPs patted onto it.  I then stamped the image and removed some of the colour with an eraser to highlight the hair, eyes and teardrop.  I love the way the Versamark acted as a resist under the stamped image.

 

Now for the Tags

For the first one I cut the tag from some Prima packaging (always too lovely to throw away). Roughly painted with watered down Fresco Finish and randomly stamped clock hands.  I blended alcohol inks on acetate and when dry embossed in an embossing folder.  I inked the edges of a paper doily.  I painted a piece of card with Fresco Finish paints deliberately leaving it streaky then stamped the clock face and cut it out. Layered it with the doily ontop of the acetate and added metal embellishments & fibres.

My final tag was my favourite! I stamped the face with Black Archival ink and the flourishes with Aquamarine Archival.  Blended Distress Inks over the whole tag removing the colour from the eye with a water moistened brush. I applied Grunge Paste through my new gorgeous stencil and when the GP was dry I replaced the stencil and added Archival ink to colour (the Aquamarine). I added extra stencilling using Distress Ink and also DIs to add colour to the lips and eye. Finally I die cut and embossed the butterfly and added some Treasure Gold.

 

Here's hoping I manage to keep up with this swap.....it'll make a change if I do, lol!

See you again soon.

Hugs

Lesley  Xx