Monochrome

This week


This weeks Mamma challenge was 'Black and White'. For some inexplicable reason I found this challenge difficult. I had lots of ideas but nothing came together properly.

I wanted to do a plain stark composition but after a total disaster with a gouache and ink drawing (twice!!- my drawing is dreadful), I gave up that particular idea..... so it was (sigh) back to the Fimo faces!
This ATC is so similar to an altered CD I did some time ago but was the best I could come up with. This morning I now have loads of monochrome ideas whizzing round in my head but these will have to be put on the back burner.

The background paper is cut from a card sent to me by Renee in the USA last week. She must have had a premonition about this weeks challenge cos it fitted the theme perfectly.
I was happy that on this fimo face I managed to do her heart shaped beauty spot perfectly, less happy that once again I smudged her eyeliner!

Stone

Lots to Do this week has set a challenge of Stone. This is a paper collage with a 'stone' head. The head was one of a large matchbox full of similar heads sent to me by Maureen.

I used a stone 'gothic arch' background, coloured the windows with watercolour paint and a stone headless winged angel whose wings were accented with fine glitter. The words are a quote attributed to Pablo Picasso.

I have to go out today but am hoping I can check all the other challenge sites and get on with doing some tonight! I was out all day yesterday so am getting withdrawal symptoms again!

Embossing

Over on Lots to Do Challenge the theme this week is embossing. Those of you who knew me in my former life on the DC site will have seen this card that I made for Mum's birthday before.

This was a large project for me as I'm still very much a learner with regard to parchment, but I felt it was my best embossing effort to date on parchment paper so decided to submit it! (Even though i took the picture of it before the glue had dried!)

Vintage Tags

Maggies challenge this week was the theme of Vintage Tags. Time has been at a bit of a premium so although I love vintage, I had to make these in a hurry. Suppose it's a bit early for a remembrance one, but then really rememberance should be done all year round not just on one day. The ATC sized tag is a vintage paper collage , with a skeleton leaf, a photo of a soldier and a made vellum envelope. The poem 'Flanders Fields' always brings tears to my eyes, and after making the vellum envelope I popped in a copy of it. The paper poppy is secured with a black brad.

The other tag is again a paper collage, added a few bits of lace,ribbon and a little crocheted flower secured with a pearl brad. Isn't her hat very grand?!!!

J'adore Haute Couture...........

but can't afford it!!!!

This weeks challenge over on Gothic Arches was 'Haute Couture'.

I really struggled with this theme for some unknown reason...considering I LOVE clothes, especially handbags and shoes as everyone who knows me will testify!

I eventually sponged a background then used black indian ink before adding the image, lace, sequins, feathers and words to make a mixed media collage.

Windows and Squish a Boob!!!!

The Creative Wednesday challenge this week was 'Windows'.

I have done a 4 x 4 piece. The background was done using Mica pigments in Golden Pear and Violet Frost with a blend of a pale pink ink sponged background. The lady image and the words were printed on acetate to allow the shimmer powders to show through, the flower swirls stamped and the sleeping mask and beads are suspended from the top of the window.

As I have used 3d pads to mount the frame the sleeping mask turns round! I added the lace, fibres and gems in an attempt to give the piece even more depth.

For those of you that have followed my blog this year you will know that the Breast Cancer Campaign is close to my heart.

This little 'Squish a Boob, Save a Life' penguin is a real cutie and as October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, please pick him up, pass him on and pop him onto your own blogs!

D.D.G!

So there I was this morning looking out on a rather grey day when the postman arrived. I opened this jiffy envie and suddenly the sun came out! Inside was this exquisite little work of art from Jan.

Isn't this just gobsmackingly beautiful? The little bird is on a scrabble tile..... and the colours are awesome! Once again the pic does not do this justice!! So thank you again Jan, there was no need to send it to me but am really glad that you did!!

Oh and for those of you who are wondering what D.D.G stands for in the title it means -

DROP DEAD GORGEOUS!!!!!!

New stamps!

Haven't done a lot of one to one swapping recently, but made this for a trade.Well I had to play with my new stamps didn't I??? I think this is a really pretty face! I am still trying different methods of using stamp ink for backgrounds and this one was just three different ink pads swirled on with a piece of felt. I love this irridescent vellum which I used to cover the bottom stamped image - trouble is I haven't got very much of it left in this pearl type colour, so will now have to try things with the other colours! Some of the other stamps I bought are too big for ATC's so will have to try 4 x 4's or maybe another wall hanging next!

Turquoise Dreams

This is my submission to the theme of 'Turquoise' on Gothic Arches this week.

A Leap and Time!

These two ATC's are for a swap on the DC Forum. The theme was altered playing cards. It has been quite a while since I took part in a swap on this forum but the subject appealed to me! Both are basic paper collages, the playing card corners have been coloured by using alco ink on the 'Jack' one and Distress Inks on the Queen. The Queen image made me smile cos it doesn't matter how early I get up, I'm always rushing about at the last minute before I go out!

St Joan and Embossing Powder

Have called this ATC 'Look to the Light'. This stamp is one of my new stash. Once I'd stamped the image the thought of Joan of Arc came into my head... maybe it's because the face is looking upward and I seem to remember an old drawing of the Maid of Orleans at the stake looking toward the heavens. Anyway, I decided to try and follow the theme using the stamp as the base. I added some meshy fabric frayed at the edges to try and give a sense of imprisonment and collaged the shield and sword. I recently bought some 'Enchanted Gold' embossing powder and had been disappointed with it as I felt it didn't give enough depth, I thought though that it might be delicate enough for rays of light. I first used white embossing powder and ran the brush through it before heating to give the 'rays' effect then once heated added the gold one over. I allowed the gold one to scatter a bit onto the face. Finally I added the cross charm.

I am pleased with this project but don't think this pic does it justice. I feel that I am learning new things all the time - just wish my photography skills were improving too!

Halloween

There was an 'open' theme on Gothic Arches this week so I took the opportunity to post a 'fun' arch! The background of this arch is fabric - it looks like a sparkly spiders web- which I spotted in the window of a small haberdashery shop in the nearest town to me - I have another Arch almost completed (not a halloween theme!) and really should get round to finishing it! I've got loads of ideas for gothic arches as i really like the shape and size, trouble is I never have enough time to make any of my ideas come to fruition!

I've also had a bit of a spend on some stamps this week, so have been too busy stamping the images in different colours seeing what they look like instead of actually doing any proper crafting!

Have been out in the garden today. Needed to take advantage of the beautiful weather! So have done a bit of tidying, pruning etc at the lawn and borders nearest the house. The large middle lawn is suffering from the wet weather, moss appearing and the shrubs on the left are desperate for a hair cut! So maybe I will manage to do another border tomorrow as the forecast is good. I made this ATC last night - inked and stamped background, paper collage and an embossed border - am going to have a crafty messy evening tonight as I have a new stamp!

Nature and Nakedness!

Maggies Challenge this week was 'phone books'. I remembered seeing a dress shop called Fine Feathers in the local yellow pages so this image seemed to fit! I have bought a lot of stamps on line recently, some have arrived and some not. The other ATC is one of a pile that arrived yesterday! I love this image, her face is so serene. I inked the background and after stamping the image sponged over it lightly with white ink. The skeleton leaves and lace I added afterwards and does anyone else have trouble with 'rub ons'? I never seem to manage to get ALL the transfer off onto the project!

Circle of Life

Have wanted to do this circular book for a while. This being my first attempt, it isn't perfect - it's not entirely symmetrical when it's closed. But I know where I went wrong, so maybe if I do another, I will manage to get everything lined up perfectly. It looks fine when it's opened out fully! You do each segment separately, then stick it all together so when it opens out it makes a perfect circle.I chose the 'Circle of Life' theme as it combined my crafting with one of my other passions - Ancestry! I did each segment as a generation, starting with the children, then the young gentlemen looking forward to their travels and young lady who is in love for the first time and finishing with Grandma and Grandpa who have a treasure chest of memories of their lives together. I'm enough of a romantic to think that perfect families really DO exist (if only in my imagination!)

I have started a couple of projects this week, in anticipation of my bowling season finishing on Sunday!

Guilty copycat and Second hand Rose!

Am feeling really guilty! It's been a lovely afternoon here, sun shining and I have been very naughty! Instead of doing some work in the garden and taking advantage of the weather, I have sat here and turned the tidy(ish) craft space into a tip! I have been envious for a long time of Jans beautiful wall hangings and although I am not a 'fabric' person and am rubbish with a needle (unless it's x stitch!), I was desperate to try and do something similar. ( Note for Jan....Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery ...honest!!)
Connie had sent me a card some time ago which had this beautiful image printed on acetate so I decided to try and recycle it.
Using a 4"x4" chipboard mount I covered in a musical score paper, I then tipped out the contents of the lace/ribbon box and found some scraps at the bottom! I used two eyelets so the fibre hanger could be threaded through and knotted at the front. The cut up tag is from a 'Tag Art' collage book which I had forgotten I had - (I think I might have bought it when I thought I might try scrapbooking!! Needless to say, this is the first time I've used it!)
Cannot remember where the 'ribbon rose' came from but it was definitely cut off something! And the shaker style heart came from our village craft shop and was left over from a few wedding cards I made as an order! I have called her second Hand Rose as it sounds so much nicer than recycled Rhona! Although this is nowhere near Jan's standards I'm quite pleased with it for a first attempt.... it wasn't made for anyone or with anything in mind, so I shall just keep it for a little while before I decide what to do with it! Just wish I was a better photograher, this is another one that looks better if you enlarge it!

Final Amount

After all the excitement of last weekend, I have finally calmed down! Today was the final Breast Cancer fundraiser. Once again the weather was kind and our total on the day was £334. The final total is now a huge £1,762! Have been completely overwhelmed by everyone's generosity and although it's been hard work, it's been worth every penny! I shall be sendingoff the cheque at the weekend and this will be one cheque I won't mind writing!

So, my season is almost over, just Club Finals Day left on 21st September then the bowls are being put away for the winter!

Maybe then I will be able to get some time to craft!

This ATC I made last night. Am really getting into collage, so hopefully over the winter months I can get back into creating.

Although the season has been a good one, I have missed sitting here crafting.

Haven't had any time to do any crafting apart from one ATC for Maggies challenge.I am suffering severe withdrawal sypmtoms, particularly as Maureen has sent me some beautiful plaster cast faces which desperately need to be worked with! It has been a mad 10 days - held another 'Pink Day' last Sunday at one of the Clubs. The event raised over £800 so am well happy! Actually I'm completely gobsmacked at the amount we have to date..over £1,300 with one event left. There's some fab pics on the County website (some men look good in pink!!) Follow the link on the right ( County Bowling Site - ) if you want to have a peep! It's shown under the heading 'Team 5'

And yesterday was the biggest day in the ladies County team's history! The rain never stopped and I knew when I arrived at the green it was obvious (even with our artificial surface) that we weren't going to be able to play. Cue worried faces as we knew that if Cumbria managed to play at Yorkshire and win, all our efforts this season would have been for nothing- there would be no time to re arrange this final game of the season and it would just be marked as 'abandoned'. The Durham team arrived and all we could do was sit and wait. The news came through that the green at Yorkshire was playable so that game got underway. I paced round, with my phone in my hand waiting for the result, a few more grey hairs appearing. Once the result came in, I managed to get all my team together outside away from the opposition to tell them their fate! They went barmy when they heard that Cumbria had only managed 2 and a half points from the maximum 11! So we had won by 4 and a half points with a game in hand - Drinks all round and a happy team, husbands, supporters everyone!! The rain didn't spoil the party!!! Oh and my team presented me with a beautiful engraved crystal vase - had to get the hankies out!

Can't believe it has been over a week since I last posted on here. I wish I could say I have been crafting but normal life took over this week! I took advantage of a free morning to do my two pieces for Maggies challenge. It was a luxury to be able to make two as normally I only have time for one. The theme this week was Maps. Treasure Island seemed appropriate and as I'm fascinated by our social history since beginning to trace my ancestry, I remembered seeing a map showing how much of London the Great Fire had destroyed! So with the 'fire' map duly printed off, I took an extract from Samuel Pepys diary and printed it onto vellum and then stuck it under a book cover image. I don't normally do ATC's in 'landscape' but the map dictated the orientation. There was so much I wanted to include on this one but was bothered it would become overloaded so in the end just left it as it was. I made the other one by dowloading the Map image then adding an digital 'antiqued' overlay. The background was done with distress ink and then the paper skull and metal embellishments added. I was an avid reader when I was a child hence the 'Alice' extract last week and now 'Long John' this week!

Poor Jack!

This week's challenge set by Maggie was 'Playing Cards'.
So here is the Queen of Hearts surrounded by miniature Heart playing cards ordering the head off the Knave of Clubs for no reason other than he is not a 'heart'!

I have Maureen and Wendy to thank for their tips on triple embossing. My attempts up to now had not been the best but this one finally turned out OK.