Arty Girlz Challenge - Stamping

Boo Hoo! It's almost the end of our half-term holidays and I want it to go on and on - I absolutely love having the kids at home during the school holidays, though I must confess I've been driven insane on occasions this week. My two have spent most of the week in combat and I have been acting as referee trying to keep them apart!! That said, the nicer times have far outweighed those scrappy bits! At least it's going to be Easter soon and Thank God everywhere opens again!!!

Here is my offering for the Arty Girlz challenge which this week is stamping. I made (yet another!) tag using up the last of the Captain of my Ship script paper (boo hooo.... need more!!!!) and an image which I transferred from acetate onto fabric and I loved how it came out. The stamp I used is one of my most favourites of the moment - it's a whimsical frame by Andrea Victoria and I can't get enough of them!!! The ribbon is from the Basic Grey Infuse collection - Periphery (another load of stash I can't get enough of!!!).

Thanks for stopping by, I am really grateful! :o)

Another Challenge Card

I really enjoyed making this card because it feels like such a looooooooong time since I ever made a card without a purpose! The weekend challenge on our forum this week was to create something using embossing and eyelets and I came up with this card. Mainly because I had a huge de-junk in my craft room last weekend and I found this stamp again which I made last year using the imagepac kit, and I'd forgotten how much I love it. However, these stamps don't work too well with many inks - I like them best with versafine, but I couldn't find my black pad (oops! too much de-junking, methinks!! LOL!!) so I used a different ink but I had such trouble getting a crisp image. Eventually I gave up and used this one which was the best of a bad bunch!! LOL!! The red paper is Basic Grey from one of their stacks (can't remember which!) the embossing is actually a whimsical frame from Autumn Leaves stamps set (which I am adoring so much at the moment!!).

This has got me fired up now and I want to make more 'no purpose' cards, just like I did in the olden days, then I have a stash ready for those unplanned moments!!!

Thanks for looking in!

4 x 4 Friday - Houses!

Here's my 4 x 4 this week, the theme is Houses. I have been doing quite a few of these lately, but as they're not finished I haven't photographed them yet. I bought Angela Cartwright's "In This House" several months ago and was immediately inspired to get up and have a go. I do really like the one's that I've done already, so when this challenge came up I decided to 'trim' the corners off my 4 x 4 and make a miniature version - although I confess I'm not entirely sure about this one :o( Whenever I see this kind of collage work done by others, I always swoon and marvel at the simplicity of it, but whenever I try it, it just looks like a bunch of papers stuck down - I can't seem to make my collage 'flow', so if anyone can offer me a simple tutorial, I promise I'd be a most willing and grateful pupil!!! :o)

Thanks for popping in! :o)

Gothic Arch Challenge - Dogs

Awwww..... Dogs is this weeks Gothic Arch challenge - a subject dear to my heart, and I couldn't pass up an opportunity to introduce Fraser, 'my little man', joining in the Christmas spirit (not!!!) The boys dressed him up in this headgear and he's so good, he just put up with it and stood still long enough for me to get this pic of him! Ahhh, bless!!

You can't actually see the detail on this pic - my photography isn't up to much! I spritzed the background with Adirondak spritzers then gave it an all-over finish with Topaz glimmery mist spray. The text is stamped with Rusty Pickle stamps and the little stars are from a tapestry stamp set.

Thanks for looking in! ;o) xx

4 x 4 Friday - God of Rock!

I feel like a big kid playing with photo's of my idols but OMG it's fun!! LOL! :o) I wish I'd been as creative with the pics I used to pin on my bedroom wall as I have been with the Stevie Nicks and This one! The 4 x 4 Friday challenge this week was Open Theme so I chose God of Rock, and of course there could be no other than Robert Plant (you may argue that, but I stand firm!! LOL!). This is my own little tribute to the recent (albeit brief?????) re-formation of the surviving members of Led Zeppelin to play their own tribute gig in memory of Ahmet Ertegun, the founder of Atlantic Records who sadly passed away in 2006.

The papers, quote (how fitting!!) and bookplate were all from the Captain of my Ship kit which I acquired last week, and which I am absolutely loving like mad and dreading running out of! I probably shouldn't say this but I had a sneak peak at a couple of the new kits that are coming out at Bellaboo shortly and all I can say is "Groooooooaaaaannnn...... Swoooooooooonnnnnnn"!

Thanks for stopping by! xx

Captain of my Ship

WooHoo!!! I get more Crafting time!! I've finally got round to sorting out my hours at work and have made the decision to cut them down so that I can have some of my old life back again - i.e. the crafting part (and I suppose I should fit some domestics in as well!!! LOL!) so now I am looking forward to having some quality 'me' time again - bliss!

Tell you what else was bliss this week - being given this fantastically gorgeous kit by Liberty at Bellaboo to go and create with. Well, I've not been so excited about papers for such a long time - 4 weeks to be exact when I bought the Basic Grey Periphery 6 x 6 stack just before Christmas. I tell you, these kits are just heaven in a box!!! I curse January for leaving me so penniless after Christmas because being surrounded by all these kits and not being able to spend, spend, spend was a living nightmare!! However, Liberty (who, incidentally is a really lovely lady) packed me off home with this wonderful kit and I began playing with it the moment I got home.

So far I have produced this LO - the photo is one of all my men taken a few years ago but one which I always intended scrapping 'one day'. I used the Mayflower - Pricilla Mullins paper trimmed around the swirls and mounted onto plain black card and some of the labels that come with the kit. I also added a few dots and X's of my own with my white gloss pen.

Next I decided it was time my boy took a bit of responsibility for himself and stopped relying on me so much to remind him what stuff he needs to get ready for each day. With that in mind I created this little book for him using my Bind-it-all and the Mayflower - Myles Standish papers. All these papers from Rusty Pickle are d/s so it was really difficult to choose which side to use - what a dilemma!!

Then inside the book I created some monthly sheets on the computer so that he can fill them in to remind himself when he has to take things into school or cubs - he can also fill out the nights he does after-school clubs, etc. etc. I also made this little envelope to stick on the inside cover because he likes to store little pictures and stuff!
Now the only thing I need to do is remind him to fill it in!!! LOL!! :o) Maybe I should create a book for me too and fill in the days I need to remind him!! :o) I cannot wait now to use my new 'Me' time to go finish the other projects I've started with this kit!

Thanks for popping in!

Gothic Arch - Music & Lyrics

I absolutely loved this weeks Gothic Arch Challenge because it gave me a chance to play around with a Stevie Nicks pic and lyrics. Sad to report I'm actually a bit of a Mac groupie (almost to the point of obsession, but not quite...!) and when I lose my mojo I find that putting a CD or DVD on generally kickstarts me back into action again. Stevie Nicks has the most amazing voice and writes the most enchanting lyrics and her stage presence is hypnotic. I could have chosen just about any one of her songs, but Gold Dust Woman is one of my very favourites so I picked this as my inspiration for this arch. The background is painted gold and spritzed with antique gold and rose glimmer mists, but it doesn't really show in this light. The image is one of my favourites - I always think she looks like a deity, so I trimmed it and added my own 'jewels' and of course, she's sitting on a carpet of gold dust (yeah!! LOL!).

Thanks for looking in!