TIO Challenge and Simon Says Stamp and Show distressing

 We continue with our FABULOUS recipe challenges again this week, where it is Silvie's turn to tease and inspire us... her choice is "Don't Fear", with the ingredients, a scary image, a crowd of purple and texture - how zany and amazing is that!!??  I stamped on shiny cardstock for maximum depth of colour and texture from my clear ep.

 That yummy texture shows up here in the light from my window, and you can see that the two crows are raised off the tag.

 WOOO, I am LOVING this huge image.!! With my old blog layout, I did not have room for this, but now I can, I shall!!!! So this is the whole tag. My scary image is the crows, 'cos I think they are evil-looking, and how shocking that one should have the key to the door in his beak... what if he flies away with it???

And, of course, the crowd of purple is all done with the range of yummy distress inks we have now, from the new lilac to the new raspberry, through concorde and berries... ooo they are so scrumptious!!! The door and the key are from a set by Darkroom Door; the birds are from a set by Invoke Art; the moon came from a set by the Stampman, many moons ago (get it????!!! - ouch, no need to kick me SO hard!!) and the tree is a Judikins one from Stamp Addicts.

Well off to add it all to the challenge blog, where most of my team have already posted their fabulous inspirational pieces... do pop over and have a look, and do visit their blogs too, as they are all immensely talented!! Thanks for coming to look and for leaving your uplifting and supportive comments, they really do help me when I am feeling low, after yet another set of wet clothes for mum!!
Love and Light
Frankie
xx

WOYWW #154 - A Symphony of Flowers Recipe for TIO

Hello yet another quick-fire, lightening fast week has zipped past me!!! If I don't hold on to my hat, I might fall off the world, it's spinning me so much!!! Go to Julia's at the Stamping Ground if you want to snoop and oggle, like me!!! She has all the answers right there. Actually, she made my week, last week, with her lovely comment, so thanks, Julia, much appreciated!!

Well, I have had some bad and some worse news again this week!! (1)The big mare had an abscess and was hobbling - clearing up now though, thanks to the vet!!!..(2) The doctor says I will prolly need an op on my right knee later in the year cos I did for it on those two falls in Feb/Mar - oh goodie, as if we didn't have enough metal bits already!!! (3) a whole load of regular carers have vamooshed, so we are back to muddle again!! - yippee, you know you didn't have enough to worry about!!! (4) I need a new boiler cos my old, reliable, goodly working one has a screw loose - not the only one around here girlie!!!! - and they can't get parts...  only had it for 35 years!!! and (5) my paws are DREADFUL in this damp, changeable weather - quite a litany, so shut up now please and show 'em what you got!!!

Same old same old at the back of the desk...do you do that, I wonder?? Have a load of stuff out all the time in roughly the same spot!! Frankly, if I move stuff, I generally can't find it again, so it's safest on the desk!!! - well, that's YOUR excuse anyway, lazy girl!!

This week's recipe at TIO, is a symphony of flowers, so I did lots of metal and paper ones, with Timmie tape for the symphonic background.... the special ingredients had to be a pinch of greenery, buttons and a butterfly or two... so that's what I offer!!

I used Graphic 45 paper and metal flowers, some Timmie buttons and some metallic, square brads.

The stamp is from Wendie Rhodes, when she had her own range... this one is more unusual because the flowers are more spikey and stylised... colour bits courtesy of my distress markers, which show up better than I thought on this kraft card tag.

A different angle shows how dimentional and textured it all is...

Now, I can hear you shouting at the screen "where is your pinch of greenery??!!" Well.... I have taken licence with the flowers, so I decided to do so with the "greenery" and I used my new-to-me flourish die with black cardstock, to represent the greenery...

The metallic flower is curled with pliers.

Oh, and those butterflies?? Well they are from an  MS punch, but could not be colourful in this setting, so they are nade from black cardstock, like the flourishes.. The ribbon was dyed using frayed burlap and black soot. So that's this time's offering. I hope Helen feels it fits the bill. BTW, I did not get a place on the Artist Stamper Creative team... never mind, my heart will mend eventually!!! I will be along to see you soon.... Have a great week.

Love and light

Frankie

xx

I have looked around and decided I would like to enter this creation into a couple of other challenge.

Pretty Little Ribbon Shop - blossoms and butterflies

The Crafter's Cafe - handmade flowers and butterflies

Stamptacular Sunday Challenge - butterflies kisses

TIO #115 - Behind the Mask

 We have changed our format at DragonsDream TIO, for this next round. Usually, you just get a title, but now we are doing RECIPES = 3 ingredients you need to add to the mix, in addition to using at least one real stamp... I used a Paperartsy plate and some Tim Holtz images, to create my tag. I also used masks by That Special Touch, and some metalic Eco paint.

 I used this stamp because I thought her expression looked like a mask - nothing behind the eyes!! and this close up shows the metallic paint.

 I used pan Pastels for the background and through my masks, using versamark to make the pattern stand out... this close up shows how I masked the lady off in order to stamp the caligraphy over the whole background. I did not use a block to do this, but held the stamp in my hand in order to have some faded bits... I love how the pen nibs peep out from behind the ribbon...

 This picture shows the patterns caused when using the versamark through the mask, then adding more pastel colour... I am loving using these.

So this is the whole tag, showing the Tim ruffled ribbon at the bottom, also coloured with the Pan Pastels. The tie at the top is a bit of burlap.

If you would like to join in, please get inky and add your piece to the linky thing!!
Love and light
Frankie
xx

Simon Says and TIO # 96

 Wanda has chosen to challenge us to show some fashion at TIO this week, and Simon Says Stamp and Show some steampunk, so I just had to conflate the two... especially as I just had some new stamps from Wendie Rhodes at Kanban Crafts. So my tag is on the right, attached to a frame of the tray...

 Wendie's images are very steampunk fashionista... I just added some metal elements to dress them up a little, chains. a key, roses, necklace etc...

 I made a terrific pair of backgrounds, for the tray and for the tag, by stamping layers, as always and embossing in clear ep...

 I also made some more of my roses!! well Lynne's really but I have adopted them as my own!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE making them, and they look so good with these metal twists... I have been asked to show how I make these with my twisty thing, and I will, soon...

 Here they are close up and personal... don't you think they are yummyiness??? and they go so well with the TH gears...

 Here you can see the paper I  made  and the ickle pocket watch... . nice Martha Stewart flutterbies too... also, some more gears and cogs...

So here is my tag for TIO #96 as part of my project for Simon Says Stamp and Show some Steampunk... hope it goes down well in both challenges, and any others I might find where I can slot it in!!! Thanks for looking and commenting... I am thrilled by the reponses I am getting to my work these days...
Love and light
Frankie
xx

I also want to enter this piece into the following challenges
Fashionable Stamping Challenges - tag
Anything goes Challenge -

WOYWW - Travelling On... Simon Says!!!

Another day another dollar... oops wrong intro!!! But it IS yet another Wednesday in this fast retreating year!!! Soon be my birthday (the equinox, for goodness sake!!!) and sailing down the Nile!!!... but I digress - yes, it's that day when we all do lots of bunny hops to others' blogs, in order to snoop admire their tidy and creative desks, courtesy of the wonderful desk-headmistress, Julia...

So sit back and take a ride with me... bring a cuppa, cos I have gone to town this week!!!

 Desk with beginnings of the project on Sunday... beautiful sunshine ready for streaming through my window... we were at a jumping show, later, with the horse and she and Freddie did very well, whilst the rest of the family, and me, did really good at the picnic!!! tee hee...

 So, the larger of the pair of suitcases then, and generally inspired by my heroine, Laura Denison at Following the Paper Trail - actually, she designed a suitcase herself, and I have bought the pattern to make one ... it is bigger than this one, but the ideas are based on her's... I gessoed it inside and out, and gave it some texture... gosh did I get in a mess with the gesso AND paint!! Thank goodness for scrubbie!!!

 The texture shows up well on the lid...

 Next I painted it -yup!! you guessed, brown, cos all the old suitcases we ever owned at home were simply, always brown... now it's all that black fabric stuff and you can NEVER recognise your own case on that dratted carousel!!!

 Back to the plot... inspired by Laura again, I decided to make a mini album for the inside, from the TH Adage tickets leftover packaging!! Here is her You Tube link... great little video!!! the booklet uses envelopes, and mine are much smaller than hers...

So here is the inside of that ickle suitcase /valise... in the lid are pen bibs, tickets, a watch, a camera, a tag, a compass, a key and some scissors...

In the bottom is the mini book, all decorated up, with TH letters, coloured with distress inks...

Above are the two "pages" I have made so far... plenty of room for pictures and some journalling,with a pocket inside the envelope... great little project this one...

Here is a peek at the whole project... the suitcase with it's sewn leather taglet - not sure that's actually a word!!! with a TH ticket in there and a wanderer disc... actually it's grunge paper, but it does look real eh??!! The tag booklet is also backed with a leather-looking tag... below are all the other tags in the booklet/travel document...

So that's it for another week... I didn't win through at SSSS again, last week with my blingyfied piece, so let's hope I fare better this time, tee hee... At the end of the week, Travel will be the theme I have chosen at the Stampman, so this is a sneaky pre-view of my DT piece, and DragonsDream TIO's challenge is also Travel, cos I chose this week there too... I thought it was spooky that Linda and I had had the same thought...  well I MUSt go to bed now, cos I am getting less and less sleep!!!

Thanks SO much for coming, commenting, and looking and lasting this long, quite frankly!!! My tea has gone cold writing so I hope you kept sipping yours!!! tee hee

Love and light

Frankie

xx

I shall also enter this project into

Take a Word - old-fashioned

Incy Wincy Designs - anything but a card

Art Journey DT - anything but a card

TIO #91 - It's a Horse's Life (equestrian)

Another week and another challenge over on my DragonsDream Tag It On blog... This time it's Zoe's turn, and she has chosen to do "It's a DogsX Horse's Life!" .. tee hee... I have absolutely NO, nil, zilch, nada stamps with horses on, so I had to get crafty again - literally gang!!!! I had a thought of a journey in my head, the journey of the horse from ancient times to now... from cave horse drawings to my wonderful 11.3 hands pony Rosie Posie.... so that's what I attempted... life from then to now...

 So here they are... galloping over the cave walls, intent on getting ready to be useful and beautiful, strong and virile... happy to be our partners and friends and healers...

 This is the full view of my horsey tag, a cave wall, a sadle shape and an almost rosette, with dreams of cantering over fields and jumps, roads and grass... I printed the image from the internet, then added it to the coloured, gessoed tag... the spots are made from a stamp which is called field of sky, and just help to belnd the picture into the tag...

 I thought this was inspired and came out really well!!!! - a leather strap?? Well, yes of course, for helping to ride my horse, but in fact it is coloured grunge paper, with holes punched and eyeletted... I am right proud of myself with this... -oh calm down dear!!!! it's good but not THAT good!!!

 The sadle-shaped sentiment is stamped from an Elusive Images sheet, and exclaims the beginning of the life from cave to me, in the present day...

 As I neared finishing the piece, I realised that rosettes are a large part of our competing and the boys love the red ones best - because mostly, they are for 1st place!!!! So I had to have a rudamentory tag here in the picture, red but not red... so I cut one down and coloured it red but not red...

So there it is, my tag for a horse's life. I hope Zoe feels I have done her theme justice. Why not pop over and join in? It's a wonderful challenge and it's just for fun really. The only rule is that you have to use at least one real stamp... ENJOY!!
Love and light
Frankie
xx

TIO #89 - Pressing Matters

My tag for TIO this week, is very simple, for a change... Helen asked us to emboss this time, so I decided to do dry instead of my usual stamping or triple!!! I did minimal stamping, actually, just some circles to enhance the embossing... then I just found circular metalic stuff to echo those circles...

So this is how I am feeling these past few weeks, as if going in circles - mum is getting worse and rings me constantly, crying and shouting... she can't help it, but it's very distressing... need to begin to make some hard decisions next week. My, but crafting helps to take you out of yourself, eh??
Thanks for looking and leaving your comments
Love and light
Frankie
xx

TIO #80 - My Fishy Piece

 This is my dream for the TIO fishy tag this week, set by Janet... it is very simple, but really good fun...Had to be because my back is hurt from coughing!!! A back brace is not very condusive to crafting!!!

 I smooched the white tag through lines of different blue distress inks - just for a change!!! Then dried and dipped again till I was happy with the bubbly effect...  vintage photo smooched at the base, made the rocky bits. The plants were stamped in the same colours...

 The dragonfly is so beautiful, with a sparkly head. I sprinkled clear ep round all the edges of the tag.

 I wanted a word - lots of people say that to me frequently, tee hee!!! - but not heavy letters, as I wanted to keep that bubbly, dreamy effect so I placed the letters across the piece, then sprayed with blue haze perfect pearl mist - gotta love that stuff!! - the effect was just as I wanted, with a little help taking off some of the inks underneath the letters.

The fishies were stamped from a homemade stamp - from foam, backed with the redline tape, like I made the Tim Holtz die stamps a couple of weeks ago... It was fun making the ickle trio, that could be reversed in order to look different, like a shoal!! I finished off the piece with a fishy charm, aged with black and pool acrylic paint, rubbed off to leave bits in the indentations...

Well that's it for this one... hope you like it and have enjoyed your visit enough to leave me a comment or two. That would please me no end... Thanks for coming.
Love and Light
Frankie
xx