When A Box Isn't A Box...

...don't worry, I haven't gone stark staring tonto... well, not quite.  No, I thought very carefully for about 30 seconds about todays post title... believe me, that is a long time (I usually just type whatever comes into my head!)  Anyways, the box isn't a box anymore because I have been doing a smidge of up-cycling.  I seem to get a lot of cardboard boxes passing through the Room of Stash (all for work, obvs... ahem) and I am forever flattening them and bunging them into the green bin... so I decided to utilise all this free cardboard and use it for a wall hanging piece.  I saw Leandra from Paper Artsy demo-ing using cardboard as a base and thought "what a brill idea" so thanks for the inspirations to Leandra.

I used a Stanley knife (yep, I am very careful with that baby, it is sharp!) and a metal rule and cut a piece of cardboard to measure about 4" by 8" and then peeled away some of the top layer of paper from the cardboard, revealing the corrugations.   Next up, adding some texture... so I used a Crafter's Workshop stencil and Grunge Paste, I spread on a layer with a palette knife, dried it off and then popped the stencil back into place and spread another layer on as I wanted quite a deep stencilled effect.

Next up was a good paint application.  I used Fresco Paints... starting with mixing Snowflake and Mermaid together... pouncing this all over the piece with Cut & Dry foam... and then adding in Mermaid around the edges... a smidge of South Pacific blended lightly over the raised bits and then a smudge of Mocha Mousse around the very edges.  Once dried, I popped a little bit of Little Black Dress around the edges to make a frame for the design.  I loves my Treasure Gold and used Pewter and White Fire, applying it very lightly over the raised bit and around the edges of the base.  My floral embellishment is just a bunch of paper flowers, some have had smidges of Treasure Gold applied and some left plain.  The sprigs are Prima (had these years and never dared to use them before... duh? Use them!!!)  Alpha Parts for my word of the year... and a clear butterfly to finish.    I am entering this piece into the Simon Says Stamp & Show challenge this week which is "Into the Woods"  *a musical I LOVE... I was introduced to this fabulousity by my friend Dan... if you haven't seen it... you needs to!*  Anyways... HERE is the link to the deets on the challenge... and my "into the woods" bits are the woody sprigs and the cardboard, which, after all, comes from wood originally!

Anyways... I have news of my little predator.  Oh yesh, he has been up to his tricks again.  And, it is all our fault, we laughed at him the other day when he was trying to stalk a pigeon that was having a little rest on our lawn.  Alf hasn't really "got it" when it comes to the stalking of birds... he wags his tail, chatters his chops and wiggles his bum too much, they see him coming, laugh at him and then fly off.  That is until he decided to change tactic... and went for a baby Collared Dove!  And... to make things worse, he brought it home for Mummy.  Why he does this while Grim is at work is beyond me.  I was actually having a chat with Grim on the phone when Alf arrived, baby dove in chops and proceeded to run into the living room and dumped said dove on the rug... which I have to admit is where all his toys are, you know, like catnip mice... and sticks with feathers on (I know, it is my fault... I have taught him how to catch a bird!)   Anyways, Baby Dove was still alive... so I went to grab Alf, who promptly dropped the dove, which then flew into the hall.  In the meantime, I am trying to talk to Grim, slipping along the carpet on my knees with a rather cheesed off cat in one hand and trying to talk to Grim with the phone in the other... well, it was going to end up messy so I and ended up dropping the phone, letting go of Alfonse and rushing off after the him as he was in hot pursuit of the poor birdy.   I managed to grab Alf again, and, to his disgust, shut him in the hall.  I figured the poor dove would be dead... but no, it was still alive... so I held it for a few minutes (ok, more like half an hour) while it (and I) calmed down... and then released it back into the Spinney and Alf was then on lock down. For a day!  I have since seen said baby bird sitting in a tree so I am rather chuffed that I managed to rescue it.  And Alf?  He decided to adopt his full name for the next day... Lord Alfonse of Sheridan - oh he ignored me, huffed at me and even took a gnash at my passing ankles!  He has forgiven me since.. he knows which side his bread is buttered... not to mention who gives him food and snuggles!    Right, I shall away... thanks for looking!  TTFN

Hels x

Simon Says....

...I have had a few free days this week - what with the old jet lag catch up and all that - and I was mooching around my fave blogs and happened across the challenge that is Simon Says Stamp & Show.  This week they are asking for you to "show what you are known for"   Erm... well, I sat and had a thunk, and thunked a bit more... and decided that I didn't know exactly what I was known for.  Until the lovely Tracy Evans left me a nice comment saying "one of your trademark flowers"  Aha! Light bulb moment.  Yes, it is true, I do like to pop a flower or two onto everything I make.  So then I had a mooch through my blog and spotted that I am rather addicted to all things Studio 490.  There it is!  Studio 490 stuff and a flower!  So I whipped off to the *very tidy* Room of Stash and had a little play:

I was playing, as you do, with stuff on my desk and wondered what Rock Candy Cracklepaint would look like if it was popped onto Embellish Your Art pieces.  So I had another play and posted a photo of the result on Facebook and then decided to make another couple of flowers like this, so I did step by step pics... and here they are!  Here's what you will need:

STEP 1
Colour the EYA piece with Distress Marker.

STEP 2
Heat set the Marker until dry.

STEP 3
Blob Rock Candy Cracklepaint onto the flower and set aside to dry.

And there they are... I don't know if this will work with any other kind of marker... the Rock Candy reacts with the water based Distress Markers so they bleed a bit... I guess permanent markers will stay put... worth a try though!

Anyways... as usual, I have decorated the tag with lots of stuff... so I took a photo of it before decorating.  The background was achieved by layered scraps of book page over the tag, spreading a smidge of Traditional Tan paint over the top and drying.  Next I used Broken China, Evergreen Bough and Peacock Feathers Stains and coloured over the top of the tag and dried it.  Next I used the new Stencils for Art Diamonds and sprayed the new Dirty Martini Dylusions spray over the top.  I dried this and then used another Stencil for Art - Spots and Stream Colorwash spray to add more decoration to the tag base.  Finally, I added smidges of Black Marble Dylusions spray and a Crafters Workshop stencil.

I used some of my favourite Studio 490 Embossing Paste - Black flavour and added some stenciled flowers to the tag base and set this aside to dry.  Whilst drying I stamped the Art Part Phrenology Head with the corresponding Stampers Anon stamp and then coloured with Antique Linen Stain, dried this and then blended smudges of Barn Door DI for the cheeks.  The eyes are Peeled Paint Marker with a couple of white dots.  The specs and lips are Embellish Your Art pieces.  The Top Hat and Flower are also EYA - I added a little feather behind to jazz the hat up a bit too.  The Butterfly also had a smidge of Distress Marker and Rock Candy added to it and then I popped it onto the head as a bow tie.

Finishing touches are the flower - of course, I had to add a flower!  I glued some dictionary page to Clearly For Art and stamped out some flowers and leaves, cut them out and then coloured with Distress Stains... the middle is another of the EYA Rock Candied flowers and some Wordplay die cut letters covered with Black Embossing Paste spell the word ART.

Right, I shall away... I have got a day of ink in the Room of Stash - Grim is away to Norwich to see Luton Town playing in the FA Cup.... finger's X'd they will win... although they are most deffo the underdog!   Thanks for looking... TTFN

Hels x

Simon Says....

...Show us your Hearts!  Indeedily, it has been too long since I last had chance to join in with my fave challenge from Simon Says Stamp & Show... HERE are all the deets for this weeks challenge.  I had planned to join in with the challenge on Monday then the week sped up and it is now Friday and I am just about ready!  As soon as I saw "hearts" was the theme I knew I would be using my fave new stencil... the Stencils For Art from the wonder that is Wendy Vecchi.. have you seen them yet?  They are all lush but I have to say, the heart is my totes-fave... it is the perfect shape and perfect size and just what I needed in my stash!

I was a-mooching around blogland and I spotted a gorgeous creation by Gillian and she too had used the heart stencil... HERE is her stunning arty piece... anyways, I was totes-inspired by her heart... and combining that with the inspiration that continues to flow from Wendy - HERE for her fab blog - and some happy post I received yesterday from Wendy herself... the new Studio 490 Embossing Paste.... oh my! It. Is. Amazebobs!  I decided to combine all of that and came up with my little entry for this week.

The base is a 4x6 canvas from PaperArtsy - I got it at the NEC and I wish, wish, wish I had got more because it is a cool size to work with and has deep edges too.  I also got some Bazzil papers from Craft Obsessions when I was at the NEC... so I cracked those open and did a bit of blocking over the canvas, including the sides.  This was then dulled down a bit with a wash of Traditional Tan paint (yep, still my fave) and once dry, I gave it a good coat of Glue & Seal.   Next came the Embossing Paste thru the heart stencil, I pretended I was icing a cake so I got some rippley bits (ahem, me? icing a cake?  bahahaaaa)   Once all that had dried, I used my Stabilo ALL pencil and added some edge definitions and smudged around the edges with Pitch Black Dabber to tie it all together.

Another lush product I picked up at the NEC is Treasure Gold wax... corrr, this stuff is FAAAAB!  I used it lots on this canvas, firstly applying it with my finger around the edges of the canvas and then over the heart to pick up the ripples.  As if that all wasn't fun enough I then got thoroughly over-excited with the embellishing.  What self-respecting heart could live without a bunch of flowers... so out came the paper ones, spritzed with Black Marble Dylusions (a la Finn) and then Cosmic Shimmer Red Firefly to add a smidge of colour.  One thing I LURVE about Cosmic Shimmers is that they are truly packed with tonnes of bling... so the gold in the spray is solid... love that!  I coloured up some resin things with more Treasure Gold (applying with a brush) and then added some more bits n bobs... and a Chit Chat Sticker for the word... and some Idea-ology... the Curio Knob on the top and check out the sidey bit... a little hidden heart which is a Studio 490 Embellish Your Art piece... oh and the Star is too (forgot about that!)   Anyways... that's about it... I loved every single minute of playing and making this canvas... it is going on my wall in the Room of Stash :O))

Right, I shall away... Grim is just home from work and we are away to watch I'm A Celebrity... I have avoided Facebook and Twitter allllll night in case I saw who went out... can't got to bed not knowing lol   Thanks for looking... have a fab day!  TTFN

Hels x  

Fragile...

...me? Fragile?  Nah... I am made of strong stuff apparently.  Thank you again for all your lovely messages and emails and comments... I am feeling a heap better than I did this time yesterday and I am thinking I am over the worst... phew!  Whatever that buggetty-bug was, I sure am glad it...erm... bugg-ed off!  Anyways... being as the sum total of arty things made this week is a big fat zero, I thought I would share another of my show samples with you.  This time I have used paint to colour the Art Parts... and it just goes to show how versatile they are!  Because they are, in effect, a paper product, they take inks, paints, sprays etc really well.  My chosen paints are Sand, Black and Bronze Eco-Paints... which I lurves because they are so creamy.  Ohhh and whilst I think on... Simon Says Stamp & Show have Inspired by Wendy Vecchi as their theme this week... so I shall be entering this into that challenge.  Do go and check out the blog, there's a F A B couple of tut's on there by Wendy herself... and a discount in the store too! CLICK HERE for all the deets.

I used Cut & Dry Foam to apply the paint... I have developed a cunning way of applying the paints so they blend nicely - otherwise I always seem to get a line between the two colours.  Use one piece of Cut & Dry (be generous, a scimpy square ain't gonna work) about 2" square *you will wash it out after use so it is reusable!* Blend the palest colour right over the piece (be it canvas, card, Art Part etc) and use a "pouncing" action, lightly tapping the paint onto the surface.  While this is still wet, pick up your darker colour on one half only of the foam.  Have the darker colour furthest from you (so it is outer on the foam) and pounce this onto the edges of your surface. This means when you pounce it onto the surface, the darker colour hits the edgey bits and where the lighter colour is still wet on the foam and surface, it will blend nicely.  Hope that helps :O))  Check out the buttons! They are the blue ones from the Embellish Your Art Antique Buttons pack... I painted them with the same Cut & Dry Foam and Bronze paint and then once dried, I rubbed a smidge of Archival Jet Black over the raised bits with my finger.  Cool huh?

Anyways... being as I have been on my death bed all week (1,2,3 awwww) I figured I deserved a little treat.  I have to say, Grim has been an amazing hubby this week *well, he is every week but you know what I mean*... he is good with cuddles and magic hugs and sympathy... and made me a lush dinner last night (he is such a good cook but won't admit it) and he bought me flowers and Strawberry Laces (which I have snarfed already, *the laces, not the flowers lol* I must be on the mend lol)  Anyways... I have been eyeing up a pair of shoepods for several weeks now... and last night they accidently fell into my basket and checked themselves out and are now on their way to live on my feet!  Thing is, I live in Birki's all Spring/Summer/Autumn because they really help my posture, which helps my back when I am standing up teaching or doing shows.  And being as it is now Winter and wet and chilly and yukky, I needed a proper pair of shoe Birki's... and being as I have the mental age of a toddler, I neeeeeeeded these sooooo much.   Aren't they just the cutest!!!!

Right, I shall away.. I have a date with my new book, tis called The Dark Heroine and is about... vampires! I know, more vampires, I am obsessed with them... not long til Breaking Dawn II now!!!  Oh and today I am going to venture out into the big wide world and take some stuff to the Post Office.  Our local one is situated in the Co-Op which is just undergoing a re-fit... which means it is closed... which means I have to drive into town to go to the nearest one.  Which means... yep, another foray into THAT car park, I shall have my wits about me this time though.  If you hear high pitched squealing you will know that it is me, doing the involuntary splits again!  Have a good day all... thanks for looking.... TTFN!

Hels x

Simon Says... A Tutorial

...as promised, I am back today with a link to the tutorial I have done for Simon Says Stamp & Show. All the deets are HERE. The challenge is open to all and... don't forget, there's candy to be had for one lucky entrant. I have to say again, thank you to the lovely peeps at Simon Says Stamp for allowing me to be a Guest Designer on their fab challenge blog... I am so chuffed... and ver, ver honoured.



Being as all the deets on how I altered the frame are already on the SSS&S blog, I thought I would just do a quicky on how I finished my frame. The frame is one of those RAM ones from IKEA, you know, the fabby wooden ones that are now discontinued *sad face time* Once I had covered my frame with the Tissue and Washi Tape collage, I moved onto decorating the insert. I cut a piece of card to fit inside and painted it with the same bit of Cut & Dry I had used to do the frame. I left this plain so the heart embellishment would pop more but I did add some darker colour paint where the point of the heart would be sitting so it adds shading to it.




I cut a heart out of thick card - I have made myself a little template so I can get a heart to be equal on both sides. This is simples, just draw half a heart on the edge of a piece of card and cut it out. Then when you come to make your heart, draw around the half, flip it over and draw around the other side, that way you get the same shape on both sides. I added strips of tape across the heart along with a border punched bit of card and then painted over the top with the same bit of Cut & Dry I used for the frame. I added some darker paint around the edges, blending it in so there was some more shading. Once this was dry I added a smidge of gold embossing powder around the edge to make it a bit fancier. I popped some Prima flowers onto the heart, along with some metal bits and bobs to jazz it up a bit and spritzed with Cosmic Shimmer spray to add some bling. I like to make things that have words on them (yep, as well as flowers lol) and Tim's Idea-ology Chit Chat stickers are perfect to add that little something that doesn't overload a design. I have stuck mine onto card, edged them with a black Paint Sharpie and then bobbed them onto 3d foam. I know I have said this very lots of time but... I am totes inspired by Finnabair - I don't think I have ever seen her make anything that I don't like - click her name to see her blog.




And there you have it. A simple collage technique that looks really pretty. And you don't just have to do this on an alterable piece, you can use it on cards, tags, ATC's - the list is endless :O) The majority of the goodies I used are available from Simon Says Stamp.

As ever, thanks for looking... I am still suffering today *grrrr* so I have planned myself a day in the Room of Stash *yayyy*... a good old play with ink and stuff always makes me feel better. Have a good day yourselves... TTFN

Hels x

Simon Says... Be My Guest!

...Excited? Me? Oh yesh, indeedily.... very excited! And why? Well, a few months ago May, who is the DT Leader over at Simon Says Stamp & Show asked me if I would like to be their first Guest Designer. Of course, I needed time to think about the invitation.... and about 0.01 seconds later, I emailed right back and said... yes please! I am very honoured to be asked to be a Guest over on my fave challenge blog. All the deets etc for this weeks challenge are HERE along with all the cool DT creations and info on how to join in.



The theme this week is Tape It Up. I toyed with several ideas on what to make, I started out with a tag but it just wasn't big enough for the technique I wanted to use... so I altered a frame instead. On Wednesday this week a tutorial I have done for my entry will be published over on Simon Says Stamp & Show so I won't go into tooooo much detail now on how I altered my frame... but I can say that all the tapes, paints (whooops, was I supposed to mention that I used paint? *teehee*) I used are available at Simon Says Stamp.



Oh and... when you enter the challenge there is a chance for you to win a voucher to spend at Simon Says for $50. I will pop a link on my post on Wednesday so you can nip over to see the tut then :O))



I have an update about that Old Cad Mojo. He slunk home sometime during the night on Saturday and I am pleased to report that he is back to normal (whatever that may be lol) I had a mahooosive crafty Skypey sesh with Ellen yesterday... and Grim went and caught me out big stylee. So. We had been Skyping for about 3 hours and we decided to have a little refreshment break. Then we were straight back into more Skypeyness, for about 3 more hours. Anways, I hears Grim say that he had just had an email from Virgin saying that we were nearing our limit for the downloady-do-dah-thingy-wotsits (my words, not his, I can't remember exactly what he said, you know, like the teckernical speak) So, I am sitting there at my desk, with Ellen perched on the other desk.. (tis ok, she was inside the laptop so she was quite safe) Where was I? Oh yes, justifying our Skypey-ness. "We have Skyped for longer before" says I. "Well, that's what is says.... " Says Grim. And then I hears a little snort. Oh yes, he was indeedily winding me up. Hoooharharharhaaa.... yes, funny... erm... well, a bit lol


Anyways, I shall away. Remember Jerry the Gorgeous Springer? Well, he is bringing his Mummy & Daddy to see us this afternoon and he has a very swishy tail... so I am going to move everything that is in tail-swishing distance. I can't wait to see him, he is so gorgeous, those big soft eyes... ah, tis lurve. Here's Jerry looking very intelligent, I think he was just contemplating 11 down of yesterdays Telegraph crossword lol


Oh and I am cooking too! I have been frantically searching cookery books and yonder t'internet - I stoopidly said "Homemade Crumble and custard for afters" The crumble isn't a problem, that's a doddle, oh no, it is the custard. I can't make custard! Last time I tried it had the consistancy of day old concrete only with more lumps. Maybe I should feign a migraine and get Grim to make it instead (either that or open a tin rofl) Anyways, I needs to get moving... custard making skills to research and all that... Thanks for looking, have a fab day. TTFN

Hels x

Simon Says.... No Rules!

...Tis a very long time since I had the chance to play along with one of my fave challenges - the Simon Says Stamp & Show challenge, all the deets are HERE for this weeks theme, along with all the totes-amazeballs arty stuff from the DT. So, no rules eh? Well, it just so happens that I took a few crafty minutes this morning to sit and play with a new arrival in the Room of Stash - the most gorgeous Holly Hocks stamp by Donna Downey for Unity Stamp Co. I have been lusting after this stamp for yonks and I spied it on that special auction site that always has goodies to be snaffled.



The stamp is a big 'un but... not too big, it fits perfectly onto my Size 8 tag and because the Hollyhock flowers are graduated they are smaller at the top, meaning it will fit on loads of stuff (I already have a little list of things to do with it :O)) I started off by using Mushroom Dabber thru a Crafters Workshop Chicken Wire stencil, just a couple of patches of it. Then once it was dried, I grabbed some Distress Stains: Barn Door, Scattered Straw and Dried Marigold, spritzing the tag completely with water and then pouncing the Stains onto the tag, where they meet the water, they bleed out. Once the tag was covered, I stood it up, let the Stains drip and then dried it.



Next came some more colouring - using a large floral stencil (think it is a CW one) and Forever Red Perfect Pearls Mist, spritzing right over the stencil and then drying off the spritzy bits. Once that was all neat and dried, I inked up the Holly Hocks stamp with Vermillion Archival ink and stamped to the left of the tag. A quick zap with a heat tool to set the Vermillion was the last thing for the background. To frame the whole tag, I lightly blended Black Soot DI around the edges, I think this just closes the design in.



I grabbed a bag of Prima flowers and rummaged to get a nice layered flower to pop onto the tag - using several different colours to make the layers. I then added some paper leaves, some wire twists and a couple of decorative pins to the flower and popped it onto a "banner" I made using Idea-ology Film Strip. Next came the word - an Adage Ticket, coloured with Fired Brick DI to make it match the rest of the design. I used an Ornate Frame for the ticket and then set about adding a few more bits and bobs for decoration. The ribbon at the top is recycled Sari Silk that my lovely friend Barbara gave me for my birthday ( LOVE THIS STUFF!!!) and added a Wire Pin, some pearls and a little File Tab to finish.



I have been in the wars again! I know! I can't go anywhere without sustaining some kind of injury. This time it was on Saturday when we spent a lovely day with Rich, Mary and Jerry the Springer (check out the pic below, isn't he just adorable!) Well, I managed to get right thru the day without hurting myself. And then the dusk came and with it the monster of all Mozzi's... which bit my ankle and made me feel as rough as a bear who's eaten a vindaloo! Goodness knows what it is in my blood that makes them like me so much... I have tried everything - I mean everything, to stop getting bitten... and nowt seems to work! The bite itself is a blister, size of a pea and as hard as a pea too. The swelling, right across my foot, up my leg and as itchy as... well, a very itchy thing! I hankered for a bit of sympathy yesterday so spent the day dragging my leg behind me *well, I have always been one for exaggerations lol* . It worked though... Grim cooked us a lovely BBQ (I keep away from BBQ's: too hot, too dangerous lol)


Right, I shall away... I have a Room of Stash that resembles a pit of dispair... I have been a very lazy slatternly lass this past few weeks and I have now run out of desk space, floor space, shelf space and chair space. Something drastic needs to be done... and soon! If I am not back in a few days you best send out a search party lol Thanks for looking... have a goodly day! TTFN

Hels x

Simon Says... Layers....

...tis a yonk and a half since I last had the chance to play at the Simon Says Stamp & Show challenge... CLICK HERE for all of this weeks deets.. and, as ever, there's a voucher to be won too (I am keeping it all X'd that I win it one day lol) Anyways... because I am still in the whole painty/canvassy mood, I decided to alter a 5 x 7 canvas (hey, these are well cheap - a pack of 4 from The Works!)




I started by covering the edges with Pitch Black Dabber, bringing it slightly onto the front so when the next step was done, it all blended nicely. The next step was to chop up some of my Little Black Dress Basic Grey papers - into blocks... yes, that blocking technique... again... I know, but I lurves it. Once they were all stuck down, I popped some of my favest paint in the world (ever), Claudine Hellmuth Traditional Tan, onto my craft sheet, misting lightly with a spritz of water and then swiping it on with a piece of Cut & Dry foam. This layer blends all the papers together really well... and the beauty is that you can use any paint or Gesso!



Next came a layer of Ranger Glue & Seal - to erm... seal the papers! Then came some stamping - an old Magenta stamp, haven't used this for yonks and I do love its simplicity. I used Jet Black Archival ink to stamp and then zapped it with the heat tool. I then used my Stabilo ALL pen, drawing around the blocks and then using a babywipe and my fingernail to blend the pencil lines in. I made a heart template, cut out the heart from some Kraft cardstock, blended the edges with Gathered Twigs DI and then added some ribbon and lace for the middle of it. See the ickle wooden buttons? How cute are they!!! They are more of the Crafty Emblies buttons, I am LOVING them! Finally, I added some wire and ribbon for the hanging bit and some Chit Chat Stickers for my words.


So there you have it. From start to finish this canvas took about 90mins! I had already sketched out the design and chosen papers etc.. but it just goes to show that I can achieve loads of layers with out overloading stuff... maybe I have turned a new leaf and am being minimalistic? Erm... maybe not lol Thanks for looking... enjoy the sunny weather! TTFN

Hels x

Simon Says... Wendy!

Ohhhlallaaa, I love a good challenge and when I spied that this weeks theme over at the Simon Says Stamp & Show challenge is to show all things Wendy Vecchi, I couldn't help but get that little fuzzy tingley feeling I get whenever I think about Studio 490, Art Parts, Distress and good old fashioned inky play... and seeing as I am on a roll with Mr Mojo (that sounds rude *snort*) I took a couple of hours out late last night and played... literally just opened up my little trunk of Art Parts, grabbed my stamps, chose a couple of Distress colours to use and played.




I have been asked a few times "how do you make the design with the Art Part shapes?" Well, it is an exact science and I spend hours.... .ahahaaaa... just kidding... in all seriousness, I just get some Art Parts out of their packets, find the "base" piece I want to work with - this time I used a large Filmstrip Frame for my base - and then get some Art Part components and move them around until I see something I like. So last night was no different... I knew I wanted a Steampunky theme (am all things steampunkery at the moment) and I also knew that the new Gears Art Parts needed an inking... and I went from there.


Apart from the chap and the car which have specific matching stamps used on them, the rest of the Art Parts have been inked with Distress Stains, dried, overstamped with a large splatty stamp and edged with Walnut Stain, then sanded lightly and finally I added a few smidges of Gold Dabber to them. The lamp post does have a specific stamp to go with it... however, that stamp has yet to come and stay with me so, I improvised. I used Black Soot Stain to colour the lamp post and then cut a small piece of card for the light bit, coloured with Mustard Seed and Wild Honey Stains... and then to add the "element" to the light, I used Black Soot Marker... and then coated the piece with Glossy Accents. Not quite as perfect as the stamp but I like it lol


Of course, it would have been daft of me not to get even inkier and not decorate the back of the piece too. I often colour the back of my pieces because it is going to be one of those creations that can be picked up and moved about... so I just coloured the whole lot with Wild Honey Stain, edged with Walnut Stain, stamped the splatty stamp with Sepia Archival, sanded lightly and then added a couple of Art Part flat platey pieces to which I added some stamping... A few bits and bobs of Idea-ology finished off the piece - the Faucet (tap) Knob was a bit too bright for the finished piece, so I just rubbed my Jet Black Archival pad over it, smudged the ink with my fingers and then heat dried it... sorted! If you fancy a little Easter treat, hop on over to The Stamp Attic where all the new Studio 490 goodies have arrived to join their older Studio 490 friends...



Right then... that's me for today... I have a yearning to make more Studio 490 arty pieces today... I have the new frames to play with... mmm, methinks I shall away to the Room of Stash to get inky! Thanks everyone for your lovely comments about AlfieCat btw, he wasn't sick again yesterday (phew) and has perked up again - he was a smidge quieter than normal yesterday but still managed the whole tin of tuna plus two sachets of his normal food (no, of course he isn't spoiled... much!) Have a lovely Good Friday... now, where did I put that Easter Egg??? TTFN

Hels x

Simon Says...

... Tag! This week the Simon Says Stamp & Show challenge is asking to see Tags... and being as that is all I usually make, I thought I would enter this latest creation. CLICK HERE for all the deets about the challenge... there's a prize to be won too... I think it is my turn this week though lol


I used Bundled Sage, Tumbled Glass and Pine Needles to colour the tag, flicked with water, dried, edged with Black Soot and then lightly stamped with Pine Needles to show a scratchy looking script... which was then spritzed with more water. I added some music paper in a band and then whizzed around the edges with my sewing machine (yes, look at those wavy lines, done on purpose of course... ahem)


I added some diecut Tattered Pinecones and ferny fronds, sanding the paper before assembling to make them look a bit shabbier. The banner is more of the music paper, cut with the Tattered Banner strip die and coloured with Black Soot. I then added lots of metal stuff - I love my Idea-ology... and added an Adage Ticket behind an Ornate Plate for the wordy bit.


A nice quick and simples tag to get the old Mojo buzzing again... I don't know about you but if I find the old Mojo is starting to pack his bags, I always go back to easy and fave stuff to get the creativity flowing again. I am sitting here in the Room of Stash, listening to the radio whilst doing arty stuff and waffling on here and they have just said that it is possibly going to snow over Easter... what??? Am sure my ears aren't deceiving me... am kinda hoping they are though cos I am lurving this sunshine and warmth... Right, enough waffling... thanks for looking... TTFN!

Hels x

A Grungy Kind of Love...

...The Grungy Monday Challenge, hosted by the luverly Linda Ledbetter, this week has the theme LOVE. If you haven't seen the challenge before, do head on over HERE... it is a brill challenge, focussing on techniques from Tim Holtz and... it gets better because this week Simon Says Stamp are sponsoring the challenge! Cool huh? Speaking of Simon Says Stamp.. this week on the Simon Says Stamp & Show challenge the theme is Anything Goes... so... I am entering this tag into that too :O))


The tag is a simple quicky one... I have had the new Mini Tattered Florals Movers & Shapers for a month now and apart from making one rose, I haven't done anything else with it... so I was itching to have a play... and being as the theme is love, I used some papers from the Shabby Vintage paper stack to cover the tag and to make the roses.




The tag paper is the grey one from the stack and I edged it with Aged Mahogany DI... and then sanded the edges... which is what I did with the roses too... forgot to say that lol I used some of the diamond patterned paper, cutting into it and then popping this across the bottom of the tag and then colouring some Trim with Victorian Velvet Stain and I added a few little brads to the middles of the flowers. I bobbed a piece of Film Strip under the roses to make a little banner... I like the extra texture that this adds to the tag.




Super speedy post from me today... I have some stuff to list on eBay and it isn't listing itself... thanks for looking... hope you having a grand day ... TTFN!

Hels x

Do You Want To Know A Secret?

...over on the Simon Says Stamp & Show blog this week the theme is to include a song title in the entry... all the deets are HERE. Aha, well, tis a simples on for me seeing as all my Sunday Stamper themes originate from song titles. And... Linda Ledbetter's lovely Grungy Monday challenge this week has the Cracklepaint Resist technique... the deets for which are HERE on Tim's YouTube channel and HERE for Linda's blog :O))



So, I made a tag... I know adventurous huh? Actually it is a bit more adventurous than normal for me because I managed to get the ickle sewing machine going again (after being banished to a shelf for the past few months because it made a weird noise and jammed.....) The song is "Do You Want To Know A Secret" by my favest band in the wholest widest worldest... The Beatles. The Cracklepaint of my choice was Milled Lavendar which is such a delicate colour... far to delicate for my big paws so I popped some Broken China, Dusty Concord and Seedless Preserves DI's over the top before stamping some nibs and a flourish over the top to make the resist.




I added a teensy tag to fit across the tag - making the "secret" bit... and stamped the word Dream in Jet Black Archival Ink. The little tag was coloured with the same DI's and overstamped with some Tim stamps and more black Archival and machine stitched onto the base tag. I made a little hole in the base tag and popped a Hitch Fastener through it and then used a mini paperclip to keep the tag-flap closed. I stamped another tidgy butterfly, coloured it and then stuck it on to be 3D'd.


The Ornate Plate also has some secret writing behind it... that is another Tim stamp, stamped in Coffee Archival and then the large butterfly (which was snipped from the Crowded Attic stack and coloured) was stuck over the top. I also added the swallow which was swiped with Picket Fence Cracklepaint and then squidged with Milled Lavendar Distress Stain.


I think that is it... this tag was actually born this morning at about 9.30am... and it has taken me ALL day to get it finished... you know when you have the idea there but nothing is making it right? Well, that is how today has been... I also have three other tags that have been Crackled... all in different colours... and all just sitting there looking dejected. I am going to go back to the desk of stash and try again... well, after I have got the tea on ... mmm, pork chops and roasties tonight... nomnomnnomnom... Right! Enough of my waffling already... Thanks for looking... TTFN!

Hels x

Bottling Up...

... Not, indeedily, what they do in a pub of a morning... no, this is what I have called this Art Part piece... which has lots of bottles on it (ok, so my blog title is still rather dubious... am trying.. really!) So. My piece... is going to be my entry into the Simon Says Stamp & Show challenge this week which is... "Anything but a Card" CLICK HERE for all the deets.



The piece is based on a large square Art Parts Frame, the base is covered with Crowded Attic paper which I gave the Wrinkle Free Distress technique and overstamped with the long border from Make Mine Mini Art using Cobalt Archival Ink. The bottles are Corked Vials that I wrapped snips of the paper around... and popped a Memo Pin into each. Notice the letters in the Memo Pins.. that is one of Wendy's FAB techniques... I mentioned it the other day and do head on over to her blog to see all her inspirational work... as well as the new stuff coming out at CHA in a couple of weeks time (ooooh, I cannot wait to get my mitts on it all!)



The flower is made from Art Parts and Grungepaper. The largest Floral was covered with Wild Honey Distress Stain and overstamped with Vermillion Archival Ink. The Leaves were coloured with Forest Moss DI - I purposefully didn't overstamp these with a pattern because I wanted to have flower pop more. The Rose in the middle is made from Grungepaper, coloured on both sides with Fired Brick DI and then overstamped with Gold Dabber.



See the Scallop Trim along the bottom? Well, that is actually two Trims together to make the shelf. The first one, which is underneath, was painted with Gold Dabber so the gold shows through the holes in the top one. The top one was coloured with Chipped Sapphire Distress Stain... and over stamped with Gold Dabber. Now, Art Parts are lush aren't they? But... if you make a bit of a boo-boo with the colour, there's not much you can do apart from paint it or cover it with paper. So... I always try the colour combo's out ... on the back! No one will see that unless you want them to... and then you can decide on the colours you want to work with.




Anyways... yesterday I posted some rather shocking pictures of the Room of Stash... and today I am going to go.... Ta Dahhhhh... oh yesh, I have finished it (well, apart from sorting out the shelf above my desk that is) It is tidy, clean and neat. I am not sure how long it will last but I have sat myself down and given myself a really good talking to and have extracted a promise that agrees to keep it neat AND tidy away after each crafty sesh.... Watch this space eh?


Right, time for me to get moving... am being lazy today and am still in my PJ's... best go and get dressed... Thanks for looking... TTFN!

Hels x