Peggy

At our little Tanda Forum meet recently my challenge to everyone is to make something from a wooden peg and stand. This is where you can see Sue's Peg it really is an amazing piece. Everyone has been asked to return the completed pegs to me and I will find/make or do a RAK in return.

Have a long way to go in my ambition to learn to crochet trying a few stitches today and found the ideal little dress had been conjured up quite by chance. Well never one to miss an opportunity, a few stitches later Peggy has a matching bonnet. OK so its pretty basic and in no way compares to Sue's but a bit of fun.

Lots to do - Mail art

Its been a lovely day today good drying weather! Forecast is for more tomorrow yipee a sunny Bank Holiday Monday! A good day for playing am now covered in ink having throughly enjoyed myself and covered this envelope.

Hilda is back from Belgium and brought back rather a lot of ciger boxes with her! Her theme this week at Lots to do is to decorate something to go in the post be it an envelope or a postcard. Love to decorate my envelopes but am usually in to much of a rush to do them, really enjoyed playing with this one.

Barn door, Victorian Velvet and Blending block shades of orange on mat with water envelope swished around in it. A post it note used to cover where the address would go rest of envelope stamped mostly with Stamp Bug but also some Paper Artsy mixed in leaving a little space for the stamp. postit removed, Scattered straw blended over that unstamped section of the envelope. More Victorian Velvet rubbed round the edges, Stormy Skies patted over all the gaps around the edges. So if this lands on your mat you'll know who it is from without opening it.

Sue's yeast tin

A couple of weeks ago when some of us from Tanda forum meet at Stamp Attic we all had lots of goodies for each other and a couple of challenges. Sue gave each of us an empty yeast pot to alter. Sue makes lots of wonderful things many are shared on her blog which is well worth a visit, Sue also makes her own bread hence the yeast pots for all of us!

This is what has happened to the yeast tin that Sue gave me to alter. Fibre wrapped round the barrel first layer close and tight, second chunky thread loosely in a spiral. Mother of pearl effect flower shaped buttons stitched on. Felt flowers cut in big shot (TH die) green large one stuck to lid pink ones held together with brad and then attached on top, More pink and green flowers stuck to the sides. And there it sat for days until the dragonfly flew up and onto the side. Dragonfly is a friendly plastic one left over from the canvas below.

Tanda, Allsorts and Alphabet challenges

Not sure about this one it was inspired by three challenges and that might have been two to many. So if your not keen and think you might be getting a card from me this year be a good time to say so.

Tanda Teaser Big cards, this is A5 and that is big for me more than enough blank space to do stuff with.

Allsorts Black, White and one other. The basis of this one other is Glimmer Mist 'Frozen Lake'. Working on the theory here that grey is a combination of black and white so its OK.

Alphabet Challenge E is for eyelets.

SCD - Crowned twinchie

The end of May and a bank holiday week-end looking out of the window seems like its going to be one of those bank holidays, we might be lucky it might blow through. It is also the last of the Twichie projects at Something completely different the theme this week is crowns, thanks Ang Completely Wowed by the DT this week go take a look and see what i mean.

Checked all my non Christmas stamps, not a crown to be seen anywhere! Have a lovely Halloween set from Basic Grey containing pretty delicate spiders webs, an ah ha moment a web crown. 2" square of black card, perfect medium and perfect pearls. A fairies face and corners from the web stamped in Brilliance Platinum, all over sprayed with silver spray and sparkle to fix the perfect pearls. A few self adhesive gems.

Hope the SCD guys like this improvision.

A little play with Tyvek

Had a little idea for making flowers with Tyvek pretty interesting stuff seems heat is about the only thing that distresses it. A while ago Sam showed us some fab work using it in layers and then blasting parts away with heat. Well that peeked my interest and the every generous Hilda sent me some to play with.

Came up with this idea but it was not until today that it got tried. Using a die cutter but not the TH die this time, cut out flowers in different sizes. Using distress inks (Barn Door, Crushed Olive and Rusty Hinge) on a mat spritzed with water, coloured flowers on both sides. Allowed to dry and the last damp bit blotted with kitchen paper. Craft Stamper cover stamps used with black and red Memento ink (any ink that works on non porus surface works) chose the flowers to layer up and shaped them. Tyvek takes shapes easily but if your are asking it to bend in opposite directions you tend to lose the first bend, it also curls over scissors like a dream. Poked holes in each flower and poked a cocktail stick through leaving some space between each flower, the stick was to hold them while heat was applied. Moved the heat gun almost as soon as curling started not sure how much to apply and did not want the flowers to disintegrate. When I was happy with the result removed the stick replacing it with a flower topped brad. Seems it is going to hold the eventual shape.

Tuesday Tagger - One for the Men

Thank you for all your Birthday Wishes last week, have you joined in the swap? Looking forward to seeing who I get to swap with.

This week at Tuesday Taggers we are looking for Tags, Cards, ATCs anything you want to give the man in your life, or one of them. Bee chose the theme this week its her OHs birthday and its always a good time to remember the chaps.

A while back Creative Cardmaking put some fab man themed papers in the magazine have chosen the beer label page for the background. One of the new TH dies is the hanging sign, Sam ran a couple for me on chipboard type card. Gave each a white gesso base and coloured them with various acrylic paints from green to gold to black. 2 parts held together with string. Man on a sofa stamped and coloured with Promarkers stuck on with Modge Podge.

We have a sponsor as well this week our good friends at Craft Barn are offering a voucher that will be awarded by random draw.

LTD Flourish/Swirl & Alphabet D is for

Hope you are all enjoying this wonderful weather its a good time not to be working! Went to see craft friends at the week-end played with a little of this and a little of that generally had a good out.

Today have completed a canvas for a couple of challenges Lots to do where Sam chose the theme of Flourishs and or Swirls. Not sure who set the theme for Alphabet Challenge but for the letter D they chose Dragonflies. Well those 2 work well together.

TH mask onto prepared white canvas a wash of lightened and watered down Aquamarine mask removed and quick sprays of Pearl and Iridescent gold GM. Lucy's dragonfly mould on loan after the week-end, 2 of the dragonflies made with clay and painted the 3rd made with Friendly Plastic thanks for the lesson at the week-end and the loan of the mould Lucy. Sunflower stamped onto white card coloured with Promarkers and decouparged onto canvas, clay flower from mould added in centre. Loosely crocheted a single chain for stem and grasses, TH swirl die used to cut felt and sticky back cork. Something was still missing so dots of Rainbow glaze in swirly pattens all over the place.

SCD - Paris

The celebrations continue at Something completely different who are looking for twinchies all May. The theme for this week is Paris, and a great guest designer in Sioux aka Artyjen who has donated this weeks prize.

Penny black stamps for La tour eiffel and the river Seine stamped and embossed in Silver. Dream a little Dream from CI corners from Clarity. All colours colour box chalks which watercolour dreamily.

LTD Jazz fbp swap

Another swap at Lots to do Forum being posted this time by Alison aka Mommabear. We are swapping 3 4"x4" fat book pages with the theme of Jazz.

Such a range of images that little word evokes, where to start? Just knew 'Man at Piano' from Stamps Happen Inc had to be one of the pages. Image stamped in black momento and coloured with a mixture of Nick Bentack and TH Distress inks. Promarkers to colour the man and his instrument. A little rub and buff in gold on the outer circle.

The word Jazz its self is so interesting. Letters cut with sizzix dies stock to TTS grey metal and embossed. Three pairs of eyes, stars and promarkers your in a dark smokey rooming breathing the music.

Saxaphone that and piano the sounds of the music. I do not have a saxaphone stamp so had to draw one, copied it ready to modge podge on to a prepared page. keyboard from a collage stamp stamped in black and twice again without reinking. Terra in graphite and silver scrapped on stamped into with the collage stamp, Cosmic shimmer in blue and green paint touched on. Saxaphone's coloured with Sakura pens and stuck on. Fibre laid on, its the smoke and sound again. Micro beads dropped on and finally a little gold leaf for those high notes. This page was inspired by Thomas Weisenberger a poster of his work has hung in my home for more than 20 years.

LTD Summer post card swap

I know it should be all serious job hunting round here but just for a couple of days well this week its sunny and well theres crafting to be done! Today has been about the Postcard swap I'm hosting at Lots to do forum the theme is Summer.

Bit of everything in these, mirror card, brayering with Big n Juicy, alcohol inks, stamping, embossing, 3d decouparge, watercolouring, masking, Rock candy crackle paint, Promarkers and so on.

Tuesday Tagger - BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

Its our Birthday week over at Tuesday Taggers and we are having a party to celebrate there is cake and presents for everyone who joins in. We have our talanted Teri's cake slice for you to save and use this week, and if you will a direct Tag swap. All we ask is that you make a Choccie and Cream Tag to celebrate with us.

Teri's Delicious Doodles printed onto coffee coloured card & again onto cream card, coloured with Pro Markers and diamension paint. Bow and balloons cutout from cream card, balloons given a coating of Glossy Accents. Birthday greeting stamped and embossed in white, card edged with gold pen. Chocolate coloured card corners punched with MS punch and lace stuck to sides, decorated card on top entire piece given a quick spray with gold spray and sparkle. A little pink sequin waste near the bottom hole punched top centre filled with cream and brown ribbon and fibers.

This week Alphabet Challenge say C is for Chocolate am entering this tag.

LTD Stamped Collage

The idea at Lots to do this week is to make a stamped collage. Good way to use some of my new stamps.

A5 card with the corners rounded, TH and Tattered Angle masks in place distress inks create a base. With tree mask still in place music score stamped over it. Bird box stamped and masked, nest stamped twice over tree mask and nest masked once. Bird stamped in tree and masked. More music and grid pattern stamped across page. Masked images Bird box, nest and bird given a colour wash piece sprayed with GM.

Tanda - Toddler Times

This is a proud moment this card features some of my designs! For the meet yesterday I designed some stamps and got Tanda to make them up in enough sets to share with Tanda Forum Friends yesterday. Carol, Donna, yours will be with you soon. Gotta say Andrew's stamp making service is excellent and the turnaround very quick.

Sue chose this weeks Tanda Teaser this little clock work solider seemed perfect for the challenge, which is Toddler Times.

Plain white card half covered with Papermaina 'For Him' pack. Toy stamped in Adirondack Pitch Black and clear embossed. Coloured with Whisper Pens and glossy accents for boots and cap, distress ink 'Stormy Sky' for the edges and also for the little cog stamp used as a boarder.

If you are interested Andrew will make a set up for you.

Meeting friends in Wantage

Yesterday Sue, Janet, Lucy and I all meet in Wantage, where the lovely Wendy owner of Stamp Attic treated us royaly by allowing us to use her workshop and making sure we were really comfortable, Wendy even treated us to Cake!










We responded warmly with a few purchases! Not just from Stamp Attic, Lucy and I visited a couple of charity shops while we were in town.









Gifts from Sue, we each received an empty yeast tin that we are to Alter! Sue also gave each of us a special edition set of her stamps made especially for us by Tanda. Plus look at all the yummy fibre ummmmm! and little UTEE charms she had made for us and buttons and beads and lots of other goodies all in the fabulous box she had made especially for each of us.












From Janet all the way for New Zealand a card that when Janet first blogged it blew me away. She also gave each of us one of the napkins with the shell design on it and fragments of shell her challenge to us is to make something using these. She had also brought for each of us a stamp depicting a bird or animal or plant from her home, mine is a Pukeko going to have to google that later. Janet had made a goodie bags as well and filled them with lots of other treats and goodies.





Lucy had a fabulous canvas for each of us. Mine shows the Alice moment when the Hatter stuffs the Dormouse into the teapot.
















Unfortunatly Donna lives a bit far away in America to join us for the afternoon. With us in sprit Donna had sent each of us beautiful tissue holders. So useful something of Donna we can all carry with us all the time.







The best of the day was spending time with good friends, Sue had her Copics with her for us to play with. We all had a great time thank you all for a great day out.

SCD - Twinchie with a Flower

This is the 1st Anniversary of Something Completely Different and they are celebrating all month with Twinchies the first format they set. There are prizes as well Tando board which is a great material to play with.

Got a bit carried away this week made 5 on theme Twinchies. Acrylic waste paper, cannot remember when the paint got on the paper but saved it anyway. Each of them also has a least one self adhesive gem. Other materials cork, die cut flowers, felt flowers, stamped flowers and an image embossed in a folder and then inked over.

Meeting friends tomorrow although one of our group is unable to attend bit far to come from Texas for a girls day out :) we have one or two little surprises to share am gong to add these to the pot!

Alphabet Challenge - B for Butterfly

Well its done and in the lap of the panel. Thanks for all your good wishes keeping my fingers crossed will know by the begining of the next week.

So to celebrate and unwind here is a little FBP. Alphabet Challenge are looking for butterflys this week. A lovely spring theme butterflys do make people smile.

Little 4x4 piece of thick card double coated with Gesso. Used Stamp bug 'complex creation' as background in shabby shutters and then sprayed with green GM. A Butterfly Kisses image coated with Glossy Accents, you can just make out the butterfly outline. Terra paste, touched with cosmic shimmer paint. Chipboard butterflies and a flower sprayed with various Golds and matallic GMs, the butterflies were overstamped with words from the Butterfly Kisses set. Felt flowers from Hobby Craft in the matching earthy tones finishing touches. Thats better.

Tanda Teaser - Wheels

Just squeezing in on this one, Wendy set this Tanda Teaser last Wednesday with the simple theme of wheels. We all need cards for the men in our lives from time to time, this theme lends itself to a masculine card.

You may know I've been preparing for an interview since last Friday, oh yes its important! Anyway interview tomorrow just going to dot the eyes in the morning so can take a little break and relax now.

Base card stamped in Ranger resist using the penny farthing, distress inks worked over the top, the stamped image shows very faintly from under the ink. Inks used Crushed Olive, Forest Moss and Rusty Hinge. Penny Farthing stamped again in Versamark Grey. Scallop circles cut with a nestie stamped with SU White. Topper also cut with a nestie and coloured with Crushed Olive and Rusty Hinge, Motor cycle stamped with Versamark Sepia. All stamps from Tanda Transport and Birthday verses plates.

Tuesday Tagger - Step out of your Comfort Zone

Well expect this has made you smile, its about as far from my comfort zone as you can get my feet do not touch the bottom and I cannot see land from here! Sally thought up this little beauty of a challenge for Tuesday Taggers really Sally just wants us to try something different, just stretch ourselves a little and try something we might not have done before.

Lets face it Cute is just not my thing all those lovely cards you all make with little girl images and flowers and layers simply do not know how you do it. Have not done much with digital stamps either, but then this week Rachel has her lovely stamps for sale Butterscotch here seemed idea for my card this week. Do go and check out Rachel's blog she is selling the stamps for charity and there is a fabulous draw for anyone who buys all three.

all the team are trying different things this week with some fabulous results please check them out and stretch yourselves a little as well, we are Tuesday Taggers

Lots to do - Friendship

Been a very busy week-end work related but have managed to get a little crafting fix!

The theme this week at Lots to do is Friendship. Hilda has come up with another great piece this week do go and check it out.

My little ATC is brayered with Mountain Meadow Big and Juicy. Friend stamp is from SU and the birds are CI, coloured with ProMarkers. Very quick and simple.

Rachel's stamps for AYME

Just wanted to tell you about some special Digi stamps that young Rachel has on offer. The stamps were designed especially for her by Lexi and she is using them to raise money for ME awareness week - Action for Young People with Me. There are 3 completely different images on offer at £1 each and a blog candy draw to enter if you buy all 3 so pop over to Rachel's blog now and check it out.

SCD - Twinchie with Butterfly

I have been so excited for a little while and not able to tell you but now the week is here! A couple of weeks back the lovely Gez invited me to be a guest designer on Something completely different for this the first of their Birthday month weeks. I am thrilled to have been asked this is one of my favourite weekly challenges have only missed a very few the DT are such an inspiring friendly group.

So for May SCD will be looking for Twinchies and for this week Gez has chosen butterflies. Please do go and take a look the DT are sure to inspire you. As a thank you this week there is a one off prize of a Tanda plate to the value of £9.95 + p&p. This is in addition to some fabulous prizes donated by Tando (Great board to play with) each week and a draw at the end of the month for every entry. All the lucky winners have to do is what they do anyway, craft and have fun.

My Twinchie. The butterfly is a Dreamweaver stencil with Diamension paste coloured with perfect pearls and glitter. A SU stamp used on buff card in black ink coloured with promarkers and a little more glitter. Very simple but will make a nice little topper.

Tuesday Tagger - Do it again

Back to work, well for a couple more weeks. Had great fun on Monday making this little piece. The theme at Tuesday Taggers this week is recycling. We all have a stash of bits and pieces we could not bring ourselves to throw away knowing they would come in useful one day. The team have produced some amazing pieces from their re-purposed things.

Had a wonderful time on Monday playing with my new TH dies cutting up various scraps. The butterfly and swirl papers were used for brayering either first swipes before using the brayer properly or cleaning up after. The backing for the wings are sweet wrappers. Little flowers left overs from an earlier experiment with spray starch I think. Main flowers cut from the kitchen paper used to mop up GMs and other spray paints. Everything held in place with glossy accents on a piece of cardboard saved from something and given a coating of white gesso. Rub on matallics on the edges to finish off.

Looking forward to seeing what you recycle.

Lyns inspiring site and give away.

For one week only Lyn is offering something amazing. If you have not seen her work before now is the time to visit her site and join up as a follower when you see her fabulous work you'll want to go back time and again.

LTD A face

When you set this weeks Lots to do theme Hilda you must have known what I would do. Was just thinking its about time another one of these popped up on here. She is called Rose.

Papar mache form from Hobbycraft base coat of white gesso and then acrylic paints. She has stayed like that for a while waiting to be completed. Rose image stamped onto tissue paper and cut out modge podged on. Red ink tappped through sequin waste, altered glue and lots of gems. While the modge podge was still wet a little white/clear glitter blown on giving a light dusting.

Oh the theme, its Face :)

If you call a cat an animal!

Personally I think its the butterfly on this card that is the animal! Entering this easel card to three challenges this week.
Alphabet Challenge it was to follow this when it first started that this blog came into being a year ago. Dropped out for the 2nd run am returning now for the 3rd. A is for Animal.

Allsorts started shortly after and its a challenge I frequently join in with. They are also looking for Animal images this week.

Tanda Love their stamps there is also a great little crafting community forum. This week Sue set the theme of Cats. Have used the same Tanda stamp as she did, but we have made two very different cards.

Card cut with nestie forming base easel card and platform, coloured with DI crushed olive and frayed burlap. Wall embossed on a fiskers embossing board and swiped a little with rusty hinge. Kitten stamped with frayed burlap and then coloured with rusty hinge and spice marmalade it was then stamped again and some features drawn over with a brown promarker, the eyes were then filled with a gold promarker. Thin bleach brushed on for highlights. Chip board butterfly coloured with GM many months ago, the dot is the centre of a chipboard flower coloured with crushed olive and the paw print stamed in frayed burlap. If that kitten is anything like my Minx she will catch that butterfly.

Oh Daring card makers are looking at easel cards this week, and Paula added a bravery twist to use shapes other than simple squares wonder if this counts.

Lots to do - Tag Swap

A week or so ago June published a sheet of spring ladies. Hope she will not mind that I tampered with them a little bit. 1st one on the left has been given a sunburst you might see the rays from the effect. The 2nd has been given an effect like oil on water which generated pretty pinks and greens the 3rd was printed just as June created her embellished with TH die cut swirls in scrap paper and felt.

The tags are for Hilda's swap on Lots to do forum They will be in the post to you Hilda on Monday.