Sunday Stamper: week 300 Dream Lover.

I love Hels challenge  over on the Sunday Stamper but have been a bit remiss lately, leaving my offerings too late to post, but here is my card in time (just) for Hels 300th challenge! Well done Hels, you continue to be a wonderful inspiration to many.

 

For this card I kept to a purple/lilac tone of DI's on plain card using the spritz and flick method for the background and one of Tim's classic initial stamps that I still have wood mounted for the top and which I built up using sticky fixers. I layered with plain purple CS and then die cut a Sizzix thinlits by Susan Tierney-Cockburn, called The Magnolia, out of Buckram and dyed it with more DS. The little tag has a punched bottom and 'Dare to Dream' from Tims' little phrases set. The leaves are from his new greenery decorative strip. The flower was easy to put together and I do think it looks exactly like The President that climbs up my pergola which has a purple edged center. Well ok, perhaps I do need a tadge of artistic license or could it be practice, but it is nice to have another type of flower to make!

Hope you are all having a great week. Thanks for looking! x

Third post of the day and Bunny Brooches!!

My goodness am I having a lovely play day, so here is my third post (I know, it's a miracle). I have been watching a lovely Barbra Srteisand film, (I love that woman) and making some fat free Easter gifts while I enjoyed watching.



I have long admired the lovely felt hearts made by Beedeebabee and although these are nothing like her fabulous creations they are my first and were fun to make! 

 

Not as tasty as chocolate but kinder on the hips! Hope you are all enjoying your day.

Thanks for looking! x

A Vintage Journey: week 2.

Gosh look at this, second blog of the day! Here is my offering for the second week of A Vintage Journey a fabulous new challenge which features all that is the man Tim! This fortnight the challenge is to 'Say it with words' using anything you like in the style of Tim Holtz.

I'm in a roll again with tags, so this week I used a Prima tag mainly because I love the size which isn't quite as massive as a #12 manilla but a bit bigger than a #8!

 

 



I flicked and swished Frayed Burlap and Antique Linen DI on the background and then using the new Lattice stencil I went over it with more Frayed burlap. Next I inked the edges with Walnut Stain and then Black Soot to bring the tag in. I used my new Honeycomb Framelit over some patterned vellum and then cut out again with palin which CS. Taking some of the insets I used word rub-ons which fit perfectly and stained the edges with Ripe Persimmon and Black Soot, then inserted them into some of the spaces. Next I die cut (using my vagabond of course!) 'words' from word play and used Tims technique of shadowing each letter with plain black CS as he showed us once on a Christmas tag. The tattered floral was cut from various Tim papers and then I used my new Spring Greenery decorative strip which I coloured with Peeled Paint and Mowed Lawn DS. The butterflies are cut from book paper and the centers are ideology clock hands. Stained crinkle ribbon and a wooden button complete the Tim tag. Thank you to Country View Crafts who are giving a Ten pound voucher to one lucky participant!

I may wash my  inky fingers and have a little sewing spree now, who knows, I may get three posts on in one day! Thanks for looking. x

Tim's tags for March

I love Tim's tags this month with the shadow stamping technique. Makes me realise how much ink I must wipe off in the course of a crafting  session! To see how Tim has done it please click here and enjoy! I did not have the appropriate stamp set but loved the look, so have done my best with what I had in my stash.

 

I used antiuqe linen DI  on the background, a feather stamp I have had for ages and Tim's blueprint Easter set for the nest. The egg was a challenge, so I cut out an oval shape for a stencil and used weathered wood DI watered down on my craft sheet and then used a portion of his bitty grunge slodge stamp for the pattern on the egg. I did not have anything that I could use for the 'fig' words so I stamped a nature found tag on the side. I love the colours of his distress blues against the muted browns and was glad I could even colour the ribbon at the top with one paler than the other just by misting the ribbon with more water. Great tag Tim, thank you for the inspiration.

It is hailing fit to burst at the moment so I am going to enjoy a Sunday playing with the heating on!

Love to all, thanks for looking. x

Ice Ice Ice Nice Iceland!

Hi everyone, I know that my blog is usually the bits and pieces I enjoy making but I had to change course a trifle and write about our fabulous long weekend in Iceland. Magical that's all I can say, we went with number 1 and number 3 daughter (no.2 is a mum and expecting  our second grandchild.)  It was a present from Kate our eldest as while we were away we celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary. One of the best trips I have ever been on I think!

The first day we donned sea gear and went whale watching and saw hump-backed whales and one of the first minky whales of the Spring that had been spotted.

 



This was a view from the boat, doesn't do it justice.
Here are the four of us in our sea going outfits, it was hysterical trying to get into them!
Even my eyeballs felt as if they were freezing at one point.
 

 This is a pair of show-offs that swam alongside the boat for quite a while, beautiful creatures.

We swam in the Blue Lagoon, the girls went horse riding over lava fields and then we did the Golden Circle tour where we visited stunning waterfalls:
 

Hot spurting Geysers:

 

Then chased the Northern Lights, but unfortunately in four nights we didn't see them, still a good excuse to return again in the future!

 

At about minus five degrees it was so cold! Still we were well wrapped up and the full moon was stunning.

Here is a fabulous sign that we spotted in Reykjavik:

 

Don't you just think Tim should turn this into a stamp? Brilliant! I didn't leave hubby in there though, he's my bestest friend and I wanted him with me,

Thanks Jack for 45 years of being with me, I love you to bits.

 

I  shall be back crafting asap. See you soon! x

A Vintage Journey begins!

I have managed to wake the old mojo up by telling it about the super new challenge blog over at  A Vintage Journey which is to focus on the shabby vintage style, ideas, techniques and products of none other than Tim Holtz, so what better reason does a girl need to shake off the post Christmas doldrums and get crafting? The first challenge is to begin with 'Anything Tim' so here is my offering and of course it had to be a tag, because what else is so Tim like to start on?



I have used a super size manilla tag for the first time and have enjoyed the space to play on! I covered the surface with DI's, spritzing an swiping as Tim has taught us to do. Then I overstamped with Potting Soil archival ink with the apothercary script and ruler stamp and then the spider and web in the corner all from Tim's collections and then die cut on my Vagabond the Weathered Clock using some of Tim's papers. I attached the hands with a brad and coloured the center with alcohol ink and bashed it (technical term) with his texture hammer. Next I stamped The Chemist onto white card which I coloured with DM's and did the same to the bottles and potions stamp. These were then layered up with sticky fixers. The text is part of Good Thoughts stamp set which I cut up seperately. I used chit chat stickers across the apron, rub-on 'pointing hands' at the top and bottom and then corked vials coloured with alcohol ink adhered with glossy accents and a tiny label from the Mini  Halloween 3 set. A piece of 'Curiosity' tissue tape is at the bottom, with a matching Word Band distressed with DP and attached with the Tiny attacher. The edge of the tag was given the Paper Distresser treatment and then edged with Black Soot ink and everything was cut out with his Tonic scissors over my Ranger craft sheet and dried with my Ranger heat tool. Finally I used his Crinkle Ribbon, given the DS treatment and dried in a scrunch. The skeletal head comes from Mini Halloween 3 and was stamped onto Clearly for Art that had his Frosted film put over it and then cut out and heat shaped and attached to the ribbon with a mini Clip Board Clip.

I reckon this is 'Timmed' enough don't you? It makes me realise how much I rely on his products and how many I have already! Quite a lot of these I buy from Country View Crafts who offer a very fast and efficient service including free delivery and who I note are sponsering this challenge every week!

That's me done and dusted, I have enjoyed this, perhaps Mr Mojo will hang around, thanks for looking and for kind comments left. Have a happy week. x  

U.F.P's and the search for Mr Mojo!

I can't seem to get going properly and so have been absent on here for a while. I tried cleaning out the craftroom as several dear blog friends prescribed and it worked enough for me to get out and sort some UFP's that I hoped might clear the old brain cells and I thought I would share them here to show that I am not completely vanished off the planet!

Firstly, here is a crewel embroidery I keep picking up and down. It is to go with another one I finished in the nineties can you believe?



The next one is a log cabin quilt and although I have now got the backing I still have 6 more blocks to complete. It is made from Moda fabric and I love the colours. Goodness knows when I shall even begin quilting!

 

This is a warm little jacket for my darling Grandson, at this rate it will be finished in time for number 2 due in August!

 

I need to complete one more purple border for the lap blanket I have knitted ages ago! Come on Barb, get going!!

 

I did manage to make this for my youngest daughter who got engaged on Valentine day, I wanted to enter it for Hels Sunday Stamper several weeks ago, but couldn't complete in time.

 

I have fallen in love with a brown leather satchel handbag that was covered in butterflies, but at over £45 was a bit steep for me and so I am machine embroidering  a collection  and on the look out for a recycled school satchel and shall then worry about how to adhere them!

 

Lastly, here is a pattern I am longing to have sewn up with some lovely material I found on Ebay, but I have not got round to cutting it out yet.

 

Well, I hope I have shocked the old Mojo into action by showing you these and I hope very much that I haven't bored you! What am I like, hope I see you all very soon with something finished. Thanks for looking dear blog friends. xx