Artful Times - A Bit of Finnabair

Here we are with Challenge no 79 - a bit of Finnabair - we mean for you to look at her work and use some metal pieces, lace, flowers - whatever takes your fancy and see what you come up with.  Here's a link to her blog to get you started:

http://tworzysko.blogspot.co.uk

I just love her work and I so enjoy going to her workshops.  I think I have become a bit of a 'groupy' as I have been to several now and am hoping to go to another two this year.  Oh dear!  I have featured some of the things I have made in her workshops and there is a link on the right hand side of this page if you want to see some of the things I have done.

For this piece I was left entirely on my own - had one or two wobblers but eventually came up with this.  The photo is of my mum and my gran.

You don't have to have photographs in your work, it doesn't have to be a canvas or a book cover, you can just do a card.  I have made some cards and used some of her stamps in the process so I could easily have used those but thought I would attempt a canvas.

top left corner

and bottom right

Now should I put some stamping on or some lines, some torn strips of paper?  Oh dear, what shall I do?

Pop along to Wendy's blog and see what she has to show you and then please join in and make something for us to feast our eyes on and enjoy.

WOYWW 307

Well, you will not believe my desk as it is right now.  Mind you it wasn't like that a short while ago as I had got the most fabulous stamp sent to me by my friend in America.  It is a Stampin 'Up set and is called Lotus Blossom - the flower head being a three part stamping procedure.

Sadly, the same day it arrived I got an email telling me that a dear little old lady of whom I was very fond, in America, had passed that morning.  So the first card I made with the stamp was a condolence card for her son and his family.  Little Edie, as I called her, was not a well lady but she did make the effort to spend Christmas visiting the various family members so I got to see quite a bit of her when I was over there.  I had to smile because I had taken her some scented drawer liners as a gift and she refused to use them for that purpose.  She told me it was "too nice" and that she was going to "make cards with it".  Yes, she was a card maker.

At weekend I decided to try the stamp out again using different colours of my Brilliance inks.  I didn't have that many colours suitable for the flower heads so I went on to using my Chalks.

The Peach one on the left is with Peach Pastel (Chalk ink) and the other two are Sky Blue and Orchid (both Brilliance)

The lilac one below is done with Brilliance Lavender and the other is with Chalk Dark Peony.

There was just one snag - the Dark Peony one rather stained my stamp but it did give the best result. It took a lot of cleaning before I could use a Pastel Peach on it again.

So my desk!  Want a shock?  Want a surprise?  Well you can get both when you see it

and to prove it is all the way around the bit that does not have cupboards/drawers on it (permanent)
we have a view to the left.

Think I need to lie down now I have uploaded that.  But just before I do let me tell you something strange that happened to us on Saturday.

I had a bad back, a real bad back brought on by a mammoth spring cleaning on the Friday.  Chas offered to do the kitchen/diner for me so I let him.  Now he had done this the week before too. Imagine his shock when he moved a couple of boxes from the corner of the breakfast bar (which isn't used as one but I don't know what else to call it - it has cupboards suspended over it) and he found a ..(oh my gosh, I could not believe it and it made me feel all funny inside) ... dead blue tit.  How on earth it had got into the house I have not a clue.  Not had the windows open in the dining room, it must have been poorly and come in to die.  We have no dog or cat.  That is the only explanation I can come up with.  Poor wee thing - but what a good job he found it when he did.  Imagine the smell if we had not cleaned up for a few days.

Right, after that I think it is time to visit Julia and see what she and everyone else is up to.  See you later!

WOYWW 306

First of all apologies to art-a-day and scrappystickyinkymess for not posting on their blogs.  And to anyone with a Wordpress blog.  I faithfully write down my username and my password for these blogs but never can I get in.  I have always had endless problems with Wordpress so my apologies - will try to fix once more and then abandon all hope.

Apologies over - now to today's business.

This is a belated birthday card I made for Lynne H.  I had received a card from Helen the other week for my birthday and I just loved her background.  So I wrote to her and asked her how she had done it - this is my attempt at something similar.

I have just sent another two similar ones, and if you look on my desk you will see there is yet another background waiting to be used on yet another card.  I just have so many birthday cards to get ready that I am sure it will be used before long.

can you see it at the back?

On the left is my folder which contains my stencils and top of that is my newest stencil and my journal from the other week when I did a class with Dyan Reaveley.  I just cannot get enough of those backgrounds done for the journal - I love them.  Trouble is other things keep encroaching on my time.

Covered up is a DT piece for Artful Times, a challenge blog which I have been involved in the running of for quite some time now.  It was the birth-child of Sam, myself and Von and now I have Wendy helping me with it but we are closing it down shortly.  I have been trying to get the last few challenges done and scheduled for when I go away next week.  That and all the medical appointments in readiness for my short holiday means my journalling time is cut down.  Boo Hoo!

Anyway, you didn't come here to hear me whinge and moan - no, you came for scintillating conversation and motivation.  Sorry - maybe next week!  If you are still here I suppose you are itching to move on and see other blogs so I'll see you over at the stamping ground and we can journey together.  

Well, I will play catch up as I am out at the park with Chloe and her mummy - yes, we are feeding the ducks and swans (but not bread I hasten to add).  See you!

Saturday is Club Day

Maybe I should schedule this post and show you what I did at the Club on Saturday but knowing me I will forget all about it and - as usual - forget to show you anything until next Wednesday when it is WOYWW time.

For once I have remembered to take a photo of the tag I am taking along with me.  We decided to do a tag swap as atc's were not generating much interest amongst members.  I want all mine to be "portrait" style but some aren't so in that case I have to make an extra one for my collection.  I am hoping to make some kind of display stand to put them on (thinking like the one Anne did a long time ago).

Anyway, I digress and I woffle so without further ado here is my tag for "N" - Native American Indian (It started out life as I for Indian but then I thought that might not be so politically correct so have saved it for this month).  Hope you like it.

Distress ink background, no idea who manufactured the stamp as it is unmounted and I have no note about it, coloured in with Twinkling H2o's.

Here's hoping I remember to show you next months - now what will I do for "O"?

Artful Times Challenge - Tattered and/or Torn

Well, entries improved last week but I suspect a certain gentleman in America had something to do with that - it was for something in the style of Tim Holtz.

Sorry to disappoint you this time but the challenge is Tattered and/or Torn so you can do something Tattered or something Torn or both.  You can still do Tim Holtz style stamping, or use his stamps - you just have to distress it a bit with a little ripping.

For my first tag I painted it with my new Dylusion Paints (thanks Lorraine) and then stamped one of Dyan's figures and painted it with Twinkling H2o's and tore the cardstock around it.

For my second tag I used the same colour combo (hooked on these greens) but decided to do it somewhat different and this time used two tags.  I tore the centre out of one in a "V" shape and coloured it with the lightest colours and then coloured the bottom whole tag with the darker of the two greens.

I stamped Dina Wakeley's figure on the bottom tag and did some Dylusion stamping on the top one, a bit of white pen work on both and then I stuck them together with sticky foam pads.  You need to use your imagination a bit with this one as the photograph does not do it justice.

the red corners and the red dot above is the tablecloth showing through
Here is a side view to show the two layers

We would love you to join in with this challenge.

WOYWW 305

Last week I said I was making an Easter Card from the paper and lace off some flowers I had had bought for me.  Here is the result before I forget - not too exciting but I did make two of these Easter cards.

I covered a piece of card with the greenish paper and mounted that on the base and then I took a strip of dark green card, wrapped the lace around it and stuck that down.  Finally I stamped a couple of Mad March Hares (because of the high winds at the time)  and mounted them on the same dark green card.  A quick and easy card for the person who sent me the flowers - both an Easter and a Thank you card.

Yesterday saw me on my way to Harrogate with my friend Lorraine.  She had bought me these gorgeous roses last week for my birthday (belated)

along with some fabulous hand cream and some Easter candles.  But it did not stop there as she was full of the intention to buy me some new paints to set me off on yet another collection.  I had seen these paints demonstrated at CHA and they looked so creamy and just gorgeous so I could not wait to get my sticky little mitts on them.

I ended up buying myself some pots of paint and Lorraine bought me some so I now have eight of the colours of Dylusions Paints which I saw being demonstrated at CHA in January.  We played with them yesterday and they go on so creamily and dry so quickly - ideal for journalling which is what we were doing.  Now I want to carry on and do some more pages in my new little journal (Dyan style) and then I can sit on the plane when I go away and add to the pages with my white pens.

So here is a picture of my desk yesterday - I had started to clear out this big box of stuff before I left in the early hours of the morning so now my shopping is dumped on top and I need to sort out the little pile to the side so I can get playing with my paints.  Ooh, I could crush a grape.

What are you up to, most likely you have come here after visiting Julia, the Queen of Desks, so I guess I should pay you a visit quick sticks and see what you have been doing.  See you soon.

WOYWW 304

I thought if March came in like a Lion it went out like a Lamb!  Seems to me it has been a bit of a Lion the whole time, well it certainly is roaring at the moment.  Dreadful winds, rain coming down like stair rods, hail and snow.  And so bitterly cold at times.  Thanks to central heating!

Anyway, you came for my desk and here it is - it's Tuesday bedtime and won't change before tomorrow.  Don't forget to visit all the other desks after seeing what our Queen of Desks has on hers. Mind you, as it is April 1st tomorrow I am sure Julia will have something up her sleeve.  We could all be linking up at some ridiculous time or maybe she will leave Mr Linky out on purpose.  I am sure there will be lots of fun on lots of blogs to lead us astray.

My lovely friend in America wrote and asked if I could help her with one of the scenes on the Oil, Smudge video that is on the internet.  Well, so far, no luck.  Yes, I do realise what you do and I wrote and asked if I was going about it in the right way and Carol Foldvary Anderton wrote back and said I was.  Guess it just needs lots of practice.

So that is what is on my desk.  Another attempt but next one is going to be done on that yellow card on the left as Carol had done hers on that colour and I think I am being misled with the white card I am using.  Too many are in the bin.  Katy Koala has come for a nosey and poor Monkey is trying so hard to reach her but he won't come down in case he gets his robe dirty.

There's some green lace and paper back left - I took that from some flowers I got for my birthday and now I am going to make a Thank You card for the person who sent them to me - with the lace as a background.

As I said it has been bitterly cold but the central heating has been on all day again so I got changed out of my jeans and sweater and put my burgundy salwar kameez on.  The trousers are the salwar and the top is the kameez.  They are so easy to wear around the house and I love comfort.  My other one is navy blue and both have huge shawls to wear with them but I don't bother around the house.  

I just love wearing them and the embroidery is gorgeous, well I think so.  I picked them up in the Asian Bazaar in Nelson last year when I went with Jo.  They were not at all expensive, really surprised me, and there were some fabulous ones to choose from.  

Right, off to bed now to read my latest book.  I really am turning into a real bookworm since Chas bought me a Kindle.