Promise and Pink

I have today been able to sit and make a mess in the craftie space. I bought some cosmic shimmer powders and succeeded in making the office wall a lovely gold irridescent colour..I was actually trying to spray paper at the time but never mind! Some of it DID manage to stay on the paper and I have put it to dry. (Watch this space!)

Once I cleared up I decided to fiddle about with another fimo face (What else???!).

'In the Pink' is a pearly fimo face embedded in friendly plastic and mounted on Mulberry paper. Then put some tissue in a 'frame' shape and coloured with shimmer powder and acrylic paint.

'A Promise To Write' was another attempt with shrink plastic and some stamps. I liked this brown versamark ink and hope the purists amongst you will forgive me for the tiny tiny heart peel off on the vellum envelope!!!!

Rhapsody in Blue!

Here it is! The mammoth Jigsaw challenge set by Maureen!

Now called Rhapsody in Blue. (Well I think it's rhapsodic anyway!)

Have had some tantrums whilst trying to decide what to do but then calmed down when I'd finally settled on a theme! This is also my first play with 'friendly plastic' too! Have no idea what the FP shape is meant to depict, I just liked the effect. And of course, now I'm completely hooked on making Fimo faces so I had to add one onto this. Used a piece of silver wire to make the treble clef and am actually quite chuffed with myself now it's finished.

Another piece of altered art and thank you Maureen for making me try to expand my artistic horizons.

The last week has simply flown by. Been busy in the garden, playing (winning two, losing another), Mum had a hosiptal visit and in between has had some good days but some bad and my crafting inspiration appears to have deserted me. I have been desperate to do the jigsaw bit that Maureen sent me but so far all I have managed to do is Alcohol Ink the background! I am thinking about just using beads and metal but no doubt will change my mind!

I sat last night and made one ATC with an 'Ophelia' stamp, some skeleton leaves and white tulle. Nothing spectacular really, but at least it got me back into crafting mode! Off for a game this afternoon, then tonight it's back to looking at the jigsaw!!!

After having played about with Maureen's Time Man, I was sitting here looking at the "radioactive" Fimo and thought one of the clay molds looked like a 'moonie' face...so decided to have a go with the moveable arms and legs! Hence the birth of Moon Man. I embossed some thick silver paper to try and give a 'crater'effect for his body and mounted it on some blue holographic card covered with a piece of sparkly fibre. I attached the sparkly fibre using star shaped brads and then just added the words! I think he has a happy face and believe me when the lights are out you can see him from far away (just like the moon!)

Jig-Saw Surprise

The largest jigsaw piece in the world arrived this morning. It measures over 7" by 5"! I have never seen a piece this big! Sent to me by Maureen with a note saying 'something for me to alter'!!! Don't know where to start! But am looking forward to it.

Also in the envelope was the 'Time Man' pictured..isn't he just lovely? A RAK for me from Maureen and too nice to hide away in my album so he has to be hung on the wall where I can play with his arms and legs!

Have spent all day out in the garden enjoying the sunshine and weeding. Even Mum managed to come and sit outside for an hour, so it's been a good day.

Am now going to sit and stare at the jigsaw and hope inspiration comes soon.

After a visit to fellow crafter Mandy and having a good gossip about techniques, she gave me a beautiful piece of wire work which she had made. Sitting back at home admiring it, I thought I might try and play with wire! (Oh Comfort Zone, where art thou???!!!!) Anxious also to try out my new Sculpey art molds, I decided to combine the two! 'Prisoner of Love' is actually quite a pretty face and I have decided I like her! Whilst on the subject of molds, I bought some Fimo at a real knock down price of 39p per block- pink and white. After baking I was carrying my new little faces back upstairs to the craft room. No lights on, as I got halfway up the stairs all the little white faces began to glow like radioactive smileys!!!! Giggling, I put the light on and then realised that the pink clay had dried with a pearly finish on it. That will teach me to read the labels!

Have finally taken the plunge and altered a matchbox. Made the box from a Mirkwood template. The photo of the outside hasn't reproduced the colour of the background fibre very well nor the lovely colours in the large pastille but at least I have finally managed to make my first bit of altered stuff! Have not thought of a title for it yet...maybe 'Beachcomber' is apt? Am open to suggestions!

Had some fun with Shrink Plastic last night! I still panic when it starts to curl tho' imagining that the image will end up in a hard little roll in the corner of the baking tray! I lightly coloured the back of the image then mounted onto pink hand stitched paper. The backing of the ATC is that pink swirly card which I love. Printed the words using GCF and then sponged the colour over. Added some metallic dots and a silver heart held with some ribbon and a brad - I like the overall effect and feel I'm finally getting the hang of this!

The Discover Africa ATC was made using a block of wood slightly larger than a domino and covered with fur fabric. I used a small cup hook to hang the elephant from and then stamped the words onto a piece of leather (fabric sample!). Added some beads threaded onto wire and another charm threaded with fibres and the ATC is backed with brown mulberry paper. My photographic skills are not very good and the picture doesn't do it justice. I am quite pleased with this one.

The other ATC I have entitiled 'A Man's Difficult Decisions?' I really like this 'Man in Thought' stamp and wanted to illustrate a choice in a man's life! So...does he chose to spend his money by making a proposal of marriage to his lovely young lady, or buying a gold watch or spending his savings on a car? Difficult choices indeed!!

I am playing tomorrow so intend to have a craftie day today. I am desperate for some face moulds and spent half of yesterday trawling round shops in a vain attempt to purchase. As usual DC'ers have come to my rescue and passed on some websites! (Don't know why I bothered wasting time going out really!)

I stamped the image onto patterned vellum with a Stazon ink pad, then mounted the vellum onto dark grey card. It turned out darker and more severe than I expected (another lesson learnt!) so I decided to contine the 'grey' theme with the words, making the 'stick' shaped like a plant marker (I'm sure Cindy would have been better than me at this!). Finished it off with some funky fibres and a holo butterfly and petal shape in a vibrant colour to try and 'lift' it all.

Another mess made but another lesson learnt!

Ancestry v ATC's?

Two of my Ancestors!

This is my maternal Great Grandmother Ellen and my Dad. These pictures are two of my favourites.
Dad enlisted in the Navy as soon as he was old enough and served in WW2 during the battle of the Atlantic. Sadly he is now no longer with us and I have had no contact with him since my teens. So many questions now left unanswered!


Ellen lived to a ripe old age and although only a child when she died I remember her very well. She taught me to read!
She was a lady of tremendous spirit and as I have researched my roots, I have begun to understand why she was so feisty! Her mother was in service and bore 3 children out of wedlock. Ellen herself went into service at an early age. It is obvious from my research that Ellen hated injustice and was prepared to 'stand up and be counted' hence the theme of the ATC.
She did not marry until she was 28 and had 6 children. Ellen's soldier husband died prematurely in 1924 (she outlived him by almost 40 years!) and Ellen did battle with the Ministry of Defence for an increase to a meagre war pension to help support her family.
She worked in a 'ladies powder room' at a city centre railway station until she was 70 and then argued with her children who said it was about time she retired - in the end she conceded defeat! I think this must have been one of the very few times in her life when she didn't rebel!

Ancestry v ATC's? Can't choose between them!

Paris in the Springtime?

Can't believe how quickly the last few days have gone by. Wish I could say I have done something constructive but apart from 2 cards requested by a friend, haven't done anything craftie at all!

This collage ATC was made for a one to one swap on the DC site. I found the brooch in an old tin that must have belonged to one of my ancestors! Have lots of bits and bobs that I have kept and only now realise I must have been keeping all this 'junk' for a reason! I intend to try Altered Art (when I become a bit more confident), but I really liked this little gilt brooch of Paris - it conjured up an image of one of my ancestors wandering down the Champs-Elysees!!!! (They probably never left England but the image is a nice one!)

Dream a little dream................

Managed to survive Club Opening Day without getting wet! Was given the honour (?) of delivering the first jack and bowl. Needless to say the bowl was not one of the best I have ever delivered...more practice needed methinks!

But last night I sat in my little craftie space in the office and 'fiddled' about. I made a couple of Gothic Arches for a hosted swap and whilst I had the template I made a small 'Blue Gothic Book'. It gave me the opportunity to practice a bit more with rubber stamps and although the book is by no means perfect, I feel I have travelled a long way since making my first ATC!

I am still struggling with just letting my imagination go..... I may have travelled a long way since making the first one, but I still definitley have a long way to go until I reach the magical dream of an eclectic mix of colour and textures that I aspire to!

In the beginning.......

Having viewed other blogs with envy, I decided to try my own!

Am not sure if anyone else will be interested in my musings but lagging well behind my other half with regard to the inner workings of this amazing box known as the PC, thought I would try blogging. (Something he hasn't done in his impressive repertoire of PC related knowledge)

Having worked with computers for many years I have always felt at home using them. I am not however, in the least bit interested in HOW they work, just as long as they do! Don't think I could live wthout the old PC now... if I was unable to look at other peoples wonderful artistic creations I would be bereft! The 'box in the corner' has opened up a wonderful world to me and i have made many new 'on line' friends!

I have no pretensions about my own ability as far as crafting is concerned. I have aways considered myself as having an eye for colour but not a good enough eye to pursue a career in art or design. That doesn't stop me though from trying out new things. Greatly encouraged by crafters on the DC site, I have recently emerged out of my comfort zone of making basic Artist Trading Cards using printed images and card embllishments and tried experimenting with other mediums. I have not forsaken my card making entirely but actually now find it easier working on smaller pieces!

Of course, the outdoor bowling season is almost upon me... my Club opens tomorrow.. so a little less time to craft during the summer I fear!