All Things Bright And...

... colourful! Another in the 5" square canvas series that I can't seem to stop making at the moment! This is the third in just over a week... but it is deffo the last one because I have exhausted this design enough! When I set about making the first one (which is HERE) I told you that I have always steered well clear of the 5" size canvas as it was a size that just didn't appeal to me. Then later last week I altered another one (which is HERE) using slightly different colours and adding a mountainous rosette embellishment... well, this one is still based on the same prinicipal... but is it bright... very bright!!! SO much for not liking this size lol



Normally my colour palette is more subdued... I do love using bright colours but I always tend to steer towards the browns and blues... and just recently I have been really into creams and browns... which are nice but it does make a refreshing change to use brights. Well, you can't get much brighter than these colours. I used a combination of Dylusions Sprays and Glimmer Mists to colour this canvas... I made it in the same way as the other two... using papers to cover the canvas... the paper is that really bright flowery sheet from the Lost & Found stack... painted over with Traditional Tan, spritzed with Burnt Orange and Pomegranite Dylusions ... then I added a smidge of Turquoise Glimmer Mists... but didn't shake the bottle so there isn't much glimmer.. I didn't want the background to be too blinging.




The Rosette... I am... ahem... a bit... oh ok, a very lot... addicted to the new Mini Rosette Alterations... added to the original Rosette it just looks fantastic... the little Maya Road Resin Bloom looks like it was made especially for the rosette tower. Now, I have been an admirer of Kate Cranes art for a looooong time... I love the way she makes everything look so bright and cheerful and the different elements she layers onto her pieces... well, I have spotted her using a lid to make painty circles... so I thought that I would give this a go... and I have to say, it rather suits this design... to see more of Kate's art, do click here to go to her blog... she is very, very talented....



As well as the lid stamping, I also flicked a loaded paintbrush at the canvas too ... and where the splats have landed on the coloured papers, they have collected a bit of the colour into them... so they look fabbily blended. There are more diecuts from Grungeboard and Grungepaper - all cut using those gorgeous Alterations from THE Duke of Distress...all were painted with the Trad Tan and then spritzed with more of the colours. The ickle bottle is one of the new Idea-ology Vials - I just wrapped a bit of beaded ribbon around it... and this had had the Glimmer Mist treatment too.



So, I have managed to get almost to the end of my wafflings and I haven't mentioned... you know what... and I really wasn't going to... nope, I wasn't, honest LOL. However, you were all so lovely with your comments on yesterday's post saying that you wanted to hear all about it, I think it would be plain rude of me not to mention my little trip to the US of A. Ooooh, I am still buzzing and still having those little flippyflop feelings in my tummy whenever I think of it... and my concentration levels have plummeted to an all time low... and I can only see that I will get worse the closer we get to the actual date for me to depart these fair shores.




So far I have confirmed my place at Ranger U and booked my hotel... that in itself was a bit panic stations for me... the lovely peeps at Ranger give a couple of hotel recommendations... so when I went online to reserve my room at the first one, it said that there was no room at the inn! So, I went to the second one and... same again!!! Eeeeek!!! What to do!!! I had started to have visions of me taking a tent with me and camping in the carpark at Ranger LOL Well, thankfully a lovely lady at Ranger emailed us all and gave us some other suggestions... so... I have reserved my room...phew! Anyways... enough waffling for one day... I have just looked out of the window and see the yukky weather so I am planning a cosy day indoors - a spot of inkyness is the order of the day methinks!! Right, time to get moving... thanks for looking.. have a grand day! TTFN

Hels x

Sunday Stampers - Week 128 - Walking In A Winter Wonderland

Goodly Morning Stampers and a very happy Sunday to y'all! Thank you for all the lovely Autumnal entries last week... and for your lovely comments about my meeces and pumpkins :O)) The theme for this week is... WINTER. Following on from a seasonal theme last week, the temperature has dropped a lot this weekend and it is fair nippy out there... in fact, I can quite confidently say, it is ... nesh! *Northern readers will so know what I mean LOL* As ever, to join in, all you need to do is make something including the theme and some rubber stamping, leave a comment for me here along with a linky to the place you are showing your entry and I can hop on over to see you. The challenge will be open until 21:00 Saturday November 13th '10.



So... for my entry I altered a wooden box, painting with two coats of Claudine's Blank Canvas white paint, then popping some Picket Fence Cracklepaint over in patches. Once this had dried, I used Perfect Pearls Mists - the blue one, can't remember the name though - and spritzed this over the crackley surface, heating as I went to get the mist to dry quickly. I used my finger to apply a bit of Silver Dabber over the top of all of this - just to highlight the crackles. I then added some Marshmallow Glimmer Mists to make it sparkle even more.




The inserts of card were stamped and resisted with some of Tim's snowflakes and then coloured with Distress Inks. I gave these a right generous splosh of Mists too... you can't see the sparkle on the pics but it is there :O)) I made a moon for the scene using my finger to make a circle of white paint and then using the lid of the Glimmer Mist to make a circle around the moon in Silver Dabber. I stamped some of Tim's trees - firstly in Brown and then in Midnight Blue StaZon... so they look like they have some perspective.




I went over the top and spent no less than two hours making some Fimo Snowmen and a... well, it is supposed to be a tree and if you squint a bit and cock your head on one side, it does kinda look like one! The snowmen were supposed to have top hats on - which turned into Stetsons... but I think they look a little bit cute anyway. The tree... well, that started off in a cone shape and I was trying to get it to be a bit branchy and it ended up as a spiral.




Finally, I added some Maya Road Snowflakes for embellishment and popped the word Winter onto the front... which I stuck on cock-eyed... that is going to be rectified later... and I am going to try and get better photo's in the daylight cos these are truly baaaad! I made this with Christmas in mind - because I will pop this onto the mantle as a Christmas decoration... once I have fiddled and refined it a little at least LOL Anyways... Thank you for looking... have a FAB Sunday... TTFN

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 113 - Love Of My Life...

...Morning Stampers! Many thanks to everyone who joined in with the challenge last week... loads of divine art has been made and I just love visiting you all to see your interpretations of the theme. Like last week's theme, the one with the twist, this week we have another twist on the song title theme... so *wonder how many times I can get the word theme into one sentence ROFL* the theme for this weeks challenge is... LOVE &/or LIFE... or both if you feel like it :O)) Now, have you heard of this song??? It is another one of my faves... oh I know, I have so many faves don't I??? Fickle creature that I am... I have been humming this one all day... it's an album track off A Night At The Opera by Queen and seeing as we haven't had a Queen song for yonks, I thought it was high time we remembered the amazing voice of the one and only Mr Freddie Mercury!




For my entry, I decided to use the Compendium of Curiosities theme this week on most of the bits on my art... *if you haven't heard of the CofC challenge if you hop over to Linda's blog, it tells you all about it there* The frame that I used as a base is actually half a box that I just took the hinges and clasp off... perfect size etc for a shadow box. I painted the whole lot with Traditional Tan paint *as if I would ever use anything else!* and then used some Terra in patches - this also covered up the holes left by the hinges etc. I heat dried the Terra to make it go warty... I love this texture! I then slapped a load of Rock Candy Cracklepaint onto it, let it dry and then coloured it with Brushed Corduroy DI and then went over with Walnut Gold Glimmer Mist which I dried as I spritzed.




The mini canvases and mini frame were covered with different papers, using Claudine's Multi Medium as an adhesive. I coloured these with DI's and then a few had some stamping on... note that this piece has got stamping on it... just not that much LOL




I added a load of bits and bobs to the canvases and frame; from the Idea-ology range, my box of junky bits and best of all... the Letterpress letters that spell LIFE - I have been hoarding these for a while now and they are too nice to have tucked away, they needed using :O)) On top of the F there is a little doggy from Monopoly... I salvaged this from a really old boardgame that was going in to the tip... I have some other of the little metal charms... they are so cute! The little birdy cage has a weensy birdy hanging in it... this is actually a pendant from Avon... I saw it in the catalogue and had to have one to use on an arty thing... the chain is really long too so that is double useful!




So... to join in with the challenge all you need to do is make a piece of art... card, ATC, Tag, tis up to you... include the theme and some stamping... then leave me a comment here with a link to the place you are showing your art and I can hop on over to visit you! The challenge will stay open until 21:00 Saturday July 31st '10. Thanks for looking and I hope you have a fab Sunday... I think that if it is a nice day Grim has decided that he going to try and sort out the garden... mmm, I will be tea making and standing about looking...erm... very useful ROFL TTFN

Hels x

On The Bottle...

...not me, I hasten to add... I never touch a drop! However, Mrs Vecchi made a piece of art the other day and I totally loved the bottle that she had done... so me being a right old copycat went and... erm... tried to copy.. I say tried cos I know I really haven't got it 100%... but the photo's don't do the bottle justice actually - but it is chucking it down here and the sky is as black as your hat so I had to use a flash for the pics...



So, it is a 490 inspired 4" square canvas... painted with good old Traditional Tan, then Rock Candy Crackle in a patch ... then once this was dried, I used Glimmer Mists to make some colour on the base. I added some stamping to the canvas, instead of using an acrylic block, I used my inky paws...that means you can manipulate the stamp into the crevices of the canvas and get a better impression...




The bottle was stamped onto mountboard and cut out, coloured with Tumbled Glass DI then covered with a really thick layer of Rock Candy Crackle... this dried and I added some more over the top so the crackles are really deep. I then spritzed some Marshmallow Glimmer Mist over the top, this is a white opaque colour which emphasized the crackles... I then used some Inka Gold to rub into the crackles to make them pop a bit more.




The flowers and leaves and stamped onto Grungepaper and then inked with DI's... I used one of those ickle Memo Pins, popped a pearl into it and covered it with Glossy Accents... just to make a little embellie to match in with the rest of the piece. There you have it! Today is my last day for tippytoes-ing around...Grim has his last night shift tonight, which means that Alfie can go back to being a snoozy cat instead of my Guard Cat. Honestly, he has been a little darling this week and never left my side the whole time! It is as if he knows...either that or he really is super intelligent and has been reading my blog... erm... I think the latter actually ROFLMAO Thanks for looking... have a goodly day... TTFN

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 110 - Rhinestone Cowboy

Mornings to all you dedicated Stampers out there who are braving the heat of your craft rooms in the name of art :O)) THANK YOU to everyone who joined in with the challenge last week... a lot of delish pieces of art on show around the globe! This week you may have guessed that I have chosen a really easy theme... yes, the theme is... RHINESTONES... or you can use GEMS if you find yourself a bit low on the old Swarovski Crystals LOL To join in, all you need to do is make a piece of art; you can make absolutely anything... include the theme and some stamping and then once you have blogged, leave a comment here for me along with a link to the place you are showing your creation, then I can hop on over for a look-see... as the Meerkats like to say... simples!





For my entry I have been pulling my hair out... you know when you have an idea of how you want something to look... and then it goes totally wrong??? Well, this was me last night... I started off with a plain old 8" square canvas which I painted with .. none other than Claudine Hellmuth's Traditional Tan paint.. I added patches of Old Paper Cracklepaint... which, BTW, had gone totally thick and gloopy so I added some water and it works just fine again! I used some Glimmer Mists to make a colour for the background and instantly hated it! So, I wiped them all off and started again, painting over the mess with more Trad Tan, this time watered down a bit... then used a paler Glimmer Mist for the background. I am still not 100% happy with it.. but toning down the colour and adding papers have helped me like it a teensy bit LOL




I used some Tim Holtz Collection stamps - scrolls and bitty dots - to make a background, added some papers from the Lost & Found stack and then set about altering three mini canvases which were to be the focal points of the piece.




Mmmm, hot weather and Multi Medium... do not mix... the Medium was drying so quickly, one of the canvases ended up all bubbled and yukky, so I tried my best of disguise it with some Distress Inks and made a Memory Frame "house" using an Idea-ology corner, then added some more Idea-ology for the dangly bits.




The little frame with the heart is actually a mini canvas that I gutted and flipped over, covered with old paper and then added some more Cracklepaint to... I used more Idea-ology corners on this and made some wings using a Tim Alterations Die... the little red heart is made of Beeswax that had some red To Dye For... erm... dye squirted into... then that was poured into a mould. Cos it is so hot in here, the wax wouldn't set, so I ended up with fingernail marks in the heart... to remedy this, I bashed it with my Texture Hammer and then added some bronzey coloured wax over the top. The little crown is just pushed into the wax - told you it was hot!!!




The rhinestones...well, gems really, were added to a couple of scrolls I cut using paper covered Grungepaper... they were cut with the new Scrolls Alterations die.. loving that soooo much... and popped on with a dab of Glossy Accents. All of the stashy bits I used on this piece are available from The Artistic Stamper. I hope you like the new theme... and... Happy Independance Day to all my American pals... hope y'all is sure havin' a darn good weekend *did you like my American accent then???* The theme will be open 'til 21:00 Saturday July 10th and is open for anyone to join in. Thanks for looking... have a wonderful week everyone... I am off to my nice cool air conditioned bedroom now :O)) TTFN

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 109 - Pearl's A Singer...

...Morning Stampers... many thanks for all your lovely entries for last weeks challenge...and it was also fab to see a few new faces too :O)) This week the theme is PEARLS. As usual with the Sunday Stamper, all you need to do to join in is use some stamping and the theme of the week on your piece of art... once you have blogged it, pop back here and leave me a comment with a link to the place you are showing your art and then I can hop on over to see you. The challenge will stay open til 21:00 Saturday July 3rd (July already!!!)




I was a bit stuck for inspiration when I sat down to make my entry, think my Mojo has melted in all this heat LOL So, as usual, when stuck for inspiration, I turn to my favest stamps - Studio 490 by Wendy Vecchi. **see the frame is on music score...well, how clever is me??? The songsheet is actually the score to Sing Little Birdie...by Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson - a Eurovision entry from 1959! So, I incorporated even more pearls in mine :O))**




I made a shadow box using a collage of card, coloured with Distress Inks and then stamped with Studio 490 stamps. The frame - well, as usual, it was coloured with Traditional Tan paint, I added Old Paper Cracklepaint in patches, once it was dry, which was about 5 mins in this sauna that is my Room of Stash... I spread Walnut Stain DI over it all with a blending tool. I then used a heat gun and spritzed Glimmer Mists all over it to make a patchy, aged look. Finally, I used some golden wax and rubbed this into the crackles. My pearls are in the centre of the flowers and also surrounding the gorgeous stamp of the eyes... I love that stamp... oh and all of Wendy's stamps are available from The Stamp Attic.




The Idea-ology bracket is one of my favest things about this piece... I coloured with Trad Tan paint again, sanded it and then spritzed with GM's again... heating as I sprayed to get the blotchy look... I love it! I added some Grungepaper flowers and a few other bits and bobs of Idea-ology to decorate it a bit :O))




Thanks for looking... I am off to lounge about on the sofa this afternoon and take control of the TV remote and probably watch a re-run of Poldark or something.... mmmwwwahahahahaha... as if that is gonna happen... I can't help myself and I apologise in advance to anyone who don't like the footy and to my lovely German friends... but... COME ON ENGLAND!!!! I predict... a 1-1 draw, extra time 2-2, then penalties..England winning 8-7 ... whatcha reckon??? Wishful thinking???LOL Enjoy your day whatever you are doing! TTFN

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 105 - Wings Of A Dove

...Morning Stampers and many thanks for all the fabby entries to last weeks challenge, it was great to see some new peeps joining in too :O)) This week the new theme is... WINGS. It can be any kind of wing...birds, butterflies, bees, bugs, angels... To join in with the challenge is easy; simply make a piece of art, blog it, leave a comment here with a link to the place you are showing your art, I can then come and have a nosey at your lovely creation...simples :O)) The challenge will remain open until 22:00 Saturday 5th June (arghhhh ... June already... we all know what that means...*gulp* only a few days til the big FOUR-OHHHH!!)




For my entry this week I spent a lot of time faffing with Grungepaper and Grungeboard, making lots of little embellies for my altered piece. I used only Studio 490 stamps by the very talented and incredibly arty Mrs Wendy Vecchi. I just love her stamps, they are sooo versatile, I may have mentioned a couple of times before my addiction to them LOL If you haven't used them before, check out her blog *click on her name above* and see the amazing unique art she makes... so inspirationals!





I started off with a wooden house shape to alter - painting it the usual way... Trad Tan.. and then a good thick coat of Rock Candy Cracklepaint. This was set aside to dry and then I got cracking on making the centre bit. I wanted a layered look, so used Nesties and my Bug and cut a few shapes, coloured them with Distress Inks - this week I used Crushed Olive, Forest Moss, Rusty Hinge and Wild Honey... for a change ROFL




I made some backgrounds on the layers using more 490 images - some stamped into water first for a bleached out look too. Once layered, I added some Idea-ology, those ickle teensy brads are so sweet, you know, I have never noticed, they have little marks in them, like a screw would have! Cuteness!




The Grungeboard and Grungepaper was stamped several times with the Butterfly and the Mini Butterfly and then coloured with same DI's. I stamped some leaves and flowers and then added on some little beads that were part of a goody bag that Annette sent to me to play with... thanks hun, those Amber beads... perfect colours for this project!




The large butterflies have two layers and then some more Idea-ology added on - Foliage leaves and Trinket Pins for the body and some extra wingy things...all held together with a brad - and this time I was truly careful and didn't poke the pokey tool thru my hand ROFL Finally, little birdy (which is Maya Road) was added on, I used a Mini 490 stamp for the wing.. so cute! Oh, and as usual, the colouring on the wooden frame is done with Glimmer Mists, spritzed and dried immediately with a heatgun so they dry nicely and don't go muddy. Please feel free to join in and also, if you would like, grab the logo for your sidebar *points upwards*. Thanks for looking - have a FAB week... TTFN

Hels x

**PS - Soz for the rubbish pics, I couldn't get the proper look of this piece cos it was too dark so I needed a flash... will try to get more pics later on - if the light is right :O))**

Altering It...

... Aha! How come I am here and not laying, supine on the sofa, groaning for sympathy after my ordeal yesterday??? Well... truth is, it is actually Thursday and I am scheduling this post to coincide with my latest Tutorial for Gingersnap Creations.. which is all about my favest subject... noooo, not that... Altered ART!!!

I did a couple of pieces for my Tutorial, showing how to make something ancient and a bit shabby into something pretty - this spoon infact:




And then I made a Trinket Box which started life as a plain box from QD stores. Now, answering Q's from several of you lovely peeps... QD is a shop that sells just about everything from crockery to garden supplies, sweeties to home furnishing... and it is really cheap too.. which is fab for me cos I love their wooden stuff to alter... This box is for the latest lot of Idea-ology that has come out, my old Idea-ology box hasn't got enough compartments!




All the details on how to make these pieces can be found on the GINGERSNAPS blog... please pop by and tell me what you think... in the meantime.. have a fab day... I am hoping that I will be ok for making the Sunday Stamper tomorrow! TTFN

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 103 - Red Light Spells Danger... PLUS Candy Winner!

Morning Stampers... and a very big THANK YOU for all your entries last week - it was great to see so much fabby art :O)) This week the new theme is RED. To join in is simples *those MeerKats again peeps* ... Just make a piece of art that incorporates the theme and some stamping... once you have blogged, leave me a comment here with a link to the place you are showing your art and I can come and visit you :O)) Last week I was offering some Candy as a thank you for all your loyalty during my move. The winner has been chosen by using the very techernical way of writing all the names down *peeps who joined in got in there twice* onto paper, folding them up and popping them into a bowl (I don't possess a hat!) The name that was first out was... *dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dahhhhhhh*

Liverpool Lou - Congrats hun, thank you for joining in and please can you email me with your snail mail addy :O))






Now, plenty of you will know that I have just moved house... ergo, I have a new Room of Stash... and plenty of you will know that I am *very grudgingly* sliding towards 40 - in fact it is exactly 4 weeks til the big day and 'cos of the new room and the lack of things on the walls, I decided to make something to commemorate the milestone in my life, at the same time as using all my fave things and little bits of junk I have been hoarding for yonks.



Remember a couple of weeks ago I was almost weeing myself with excitement cos I found a QD store here? Well, I made a visit to said QD and bought this AMAZING 12" square shadowbox frame - and it costed the princely sum of £5.99! Cheap or WHAT!! It would have been very rude of me not to buy one... and you know how much I loooove making Shadow Boxes.




I used a piece of 12" square white cardstock, chopped up randomly and then coloured with Distress Inks; Old Paper, Fired Brick, Brushed Corduroy and Walnut Stain. I then used only Tim Holtz Collection stamps for the er... stamping... it was nice to go back to the original ones he first brought out instead of just using new ones or mini ones. And, cos this is a 12" piece, I could use some old faves on it too.




The frame was painted with Trad Tan (I know, am now on 16th pot ROFL) and then I applied a generous coat of Rock Candy Crackle... Once this was dry, I spritzed on a combo of Glimmer Mists; Peppermint Stick, Chocolate, Starfish & Walnut Gold and using the heatgun *everyone .. you HAVE TO read Lin's post HERE about heat guns!!!* to dry the mists as they hit the Crackles... this makes them soak into the crackles, which looks fab. As I said, I have been hoarding pieces for yonks and a few years ago won on eBay, a bag of junk that had been dug up by some bloke with a metal detector... well, in this bag was a British Rail button and an old ASLEF badge - goodness knows how old these are but how utterly perfect to add to a piece of art that is especially for me :O)) *for those who didn't know .. I used to be a Train Driver*




Anyways, that is enough of my waffling for one day - please feel free to join in and grab the logo for your sidebar too - the challenge will be open until 22:00 Saturday 22nd May. Have a fab week everyone :O)) TTFN

Hels x

My Heart Belongs to U{TEE}...

...Cor blimey, I feel like I have been away for a year...not just a day...sorry I didn't get on yesterday and come and visit... the packing has started in earnest now and I thought that it was bad last week..ha! This week is even worse!!! I mean, exactly how much junk can one couple accumulate over a few years??? We sorted out the garden stuff yesterday - and... I got sunburnt... on my shoulders... just shows I am a fair English rose LOL




A little frame I altered the other night was sitting there ready to be blogged yesterday and I just didn't get chance...so here it is today. It one of the teensy ickle ones like the one I did the other week. I painted it with ... wait for it... Traditional Tan paint and then spritzed with Walnut Gold Glimmer Mist...stamped a mini script image... and then whacked some Rock Candy crackle over it.




The bit in the middle is a mini stamp from Mr T'Holtz... which says Paris, which is in France... so how fab I could use the Fleur De Lys from the new Idea-ology charms... but it needed something to sit on ... so I made a little heart mould - using Mold & Pour - and then made some red UTEE using a base of clear UTEE and normal red embossing powder... poured it in, resisted the temptation to stick my finger in it to see if it was set (!) and then added some gold Krylon just to finish it off.




I am off now... to growl at some more boxes...I haven't started the Room of Stash yet... but I have thought about it...so that will have to do for now LOL Anyone going to Ally Pally this weekend? I will be on The Artistic Stamper stand (#49) helping Jennie out and hopefully getting some demo-ing in too :O)) Would be lovely to see you so if you do pop by, please say hi!
Right, gotta dash... that request I put in for the Packing Fairy to come and help fell on deaf ears... TTFN

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 97 - And Your Bird Can Sing

Morning Stampers :O) Huge thanks to everyone who joined in with last weeks challenge...it was great to see so many different interpretations of "time". This week the new theme is BIRDS. I know, I know, we have had this one before...but I have had this song in my head for ages...for those who haven't heard it before, it is another Beatles track, this time from Revolver...one of my favest albums (well they all are really but this one extra special) and also...it gave me the perfect excuse to use a little fella that flew into my shopping bag the other day when I was visiting Jennie (don't worry, I didn't rob it from the shop LOL) He has a little brother too...no doubt he will appear here soon aswell.




Right, on with the challenge...to join in, all you need to do is make a piece of art, leave me a comment here with a link to the place you are showing your entry and include some stamping and the theme on your artwork. I can then hop on over and have a nosey at your lovely creations. The challenge will stay open until 23:00 next Saturday April 3rd '10 (hey..who fast forwarded March????) Also, did you see the little logo I made for the Sunday Stamper *points to the left* yep, I made that...am starting to finally get the hang of this computering lark ROFL....please feel free to copy it for your blog if you like it :O))




For my entry I made a deep shadow box which has been lurking in my stash for ages...first of all sanding it all over, then giving it a generous layer of Traditional Tan paint (mmm, what else would I use LOL) Once this had dried, I then slapped a layer of Rock Candy Cracklepaint over the surface of the frame and inside the box sides too...this was then set aside to dry - it usually takes a good hour as I like to give the Crackle a thicker in patches look.




Whilst this was drying, I made a little collage piece to go in the middle of the box. This was made using plain white card, coloured with Antique Linen and then alternate pieces coloured with either Wild Honey, Rusty Hinge or Barn Door Distress Inks...all of which were edged with Brushed Corduroy to finish each piece off.




The stamping is all Tim Holtz collection stamps...some of the new Mini stamps are on there...as well as old faithfuls and all of the stamping was done with Timber Brown StaZon. I added some of the new Idea-ology Locks & Keys to the frame, along with some Idea-ology Snaps, a Book Plate with an Adage Ticket inside it, a couple of Idea-ology Corners...and then finally, the most divine birdy cage which I have been saving for a special project. The little hummingbird is made from soft polystyrene and he has gossamer like wings...which...ooooops, I frazzled with the heat gun when I was fiddling about trying to get the glue to dry him onto the frame! All of the inks, stamps, Idea-ology etc I used are available from The Artistic Stamper.




I have to apologise for the rubbish photo's...I really should get my Sunday Stamper entry finished in daylight and try to get a decent set of pics...but, I always leave it to Saturday afternoon and evening LOL I am going to try and get better pics in the morning...ooooh, which reminds me...Grim is wandering about the house doing things with clocks...so I think it is the old Spring Forward job tonight....which mean...an hour less in bed *sad face* ... I had better get a move and get me some beauty sleep ;O)) Thanks for looking...here's to a great arty, crafty and inky week...looking forward to seeing your interpretations of the theme :O))

Hels x

Allsorts of Vintage...

...Over on the Allsorts Challenge there is a new theme - to ALTER something (yipppeeeee) and on the Lots To Do Challenge there is a new theme...which is VINTAGE....so I combined the two and altered a teensy frame...which really is teensy...about 1" x 2" in size...




I started off by painting the frame with my old fave Traditional Tan (Claudine Hellmuth's range) and then once this had dried, I spritzed it with Walnut Gold Glimmer Mists, heating as I spritzed, so I got a more dappled look. I used a rub on of a vintage lady to go in the middle and inked this with a bit of Brushed Corduroy DI to blend it in.




I then made the smallest rose in the world...cor, this was fiddly but it is worth the fiddling to make such a cute little embellishment. The stamp I used for the rose is on the Flower Power plate from The Artistic Stamper. I used some of the brilliant new Tim Holtz papers to stamp onto...these have got to be a brand new fave!!! I also used an Artistic Stamper script background...stamped with Timber Brown StaZon directly onto the frame ... which I think adds that something extra...and finally I stuck on a few pearls from my junk jewellry box.



Thanks for looking...don't forget, there is a brand new Sunday Stamper theme tomorrow...I am off to make it now LOL

Hels x

In Disguise....

...Over on the Stampotique Designers Challenge blog there is a new challenge...and the theme is Easter...and it has to include Stampotique only stamps and I haven't got a single bunny or egg...so I improvised;




Check out Kitty...he isn't really a kitty ... he is the Easter Bunny in disguise... how can you tell? Cos his ears wouldn't fit in the kitty costume ROFL




Twinkie and Kitty were coloured using Distress Inks and a waterbrush and cut out and popped onto the card using silicone glue...and then...ta dah! I drew some bunny ears and coloured them and cut them out and popped them behind kitty's head.




Finally, I printed off a little saying and then coloured the card with Distress Inks and Glimmer Mists and made some ickle Easter eggs....thanks for looking...have a good evening...a quickie post from me today cos I have tonnes of stuff to do...as usual!!

Hels x