A month of Tuesdays.

Happy bank holiday everyone, hope you are all having a fab time. I thought I would post my month of Tag Tuesday challenges for the month of May as I have now put them into my large sketch book that I am saving them in. I love taking part in the group and I am trying out different mixed media techniques as far as possible, although often stray back to my beloved stamps!

 

There are quite a mixture of different styles this month. The first one was 'Sewing' and so I had to use my Tim Holtz die cut didn't  I? I dressed it in pieces of material and tissue paper and white paper as if the dressmaker was in the process of cutting and fitting out a dress for herself.

The second one was labelled baking, and so I recycled an old card I had received that made me laugh, added a cotton hankie pinny and some epoxy wine bottles!

The third week was about gardening. Now my favourite garden (after my own of course) has to be Monet's garden at Giverney that I was lucky enough to visit about 20 years ago. I did three simple tags, one with a painting of his garden by the man himself, another with a photograph of Monet standing in his garden and the third of my younger and so much slimmer self standing on the same bridge. I copied them onto canvas paper and sewed them onto calico that I coloured with acrylic paints and then glued them onto recycled cardboard packing.

The fourth week was entitled 'Found Objects' and so I needle felted my impression of the sea in Cornwall with pieces of felt, chiffon, sari silk lace and roving and used a found shell and piece of bleached rope that I found on the shore at Hayle, just down the road from St Ives. This really was the colour of the sea when we were there, it was magic!

The last week was to incorporate bunting in some form, and still full of salty tang and seagull cry I used a lovely little stamp by Docrafts that I had recently brought. I watercoloured it and then painstakingly cut out little bits of streamer for the bunting - the first lot ended up on the floor and I had to recut before I quickly glued it down! Very fiddly, why do bits like that always end up on the floor where I can't find them until I have made another lot?

Thank you very much if you have managed to stay through this lot! Never sure whether to post the same thing on both blogs but thought I would continue with my months worth in one go on my own blog. Have a most splendid bank holiday whatever you are doing. I shall play again if the sun continues to play hide and seek. Hugs to all xx

Sunday Stamper 207: Words.

Hi everyone. I have managed to get the next part of my Sunday Stamper banner done in time this week! As I am up to the letter C for craftroom in the spelling of my blog name I thought I would use words that start with that letter for this week.

I have used the divine new spring distress colours for the background and then stamped the large C in seedless preserves before stamping and cutting it out of some patterned paper to create a shadow effect. Then I used all my C's and C words! I even found a little Cloud to add in. This is a very simple

piece of the banner but I love the colours. I did do last weeks challenge but too late to post, so here it is  as I am using the circle theme as the gap between Barbara's and Craftroom!

I used assorted acrylic dabbers over circled sequin waste to make the background. Then I used Claudine Hellmutt's 'Blooms' to make the large circles stamped with peacock feathers and seeldess preserve distress inks and then Wendy Veccis milk bottle stamp in fired brick distress in the centre. I scrunched them to give texture and then ended with some buttons to finish it off.

Not quite finished yet, here is something completely different! I have knitted myself a summer bag with some recycled sari silk ribbon.

It was fun to make and I am pleased that this is a complete recycled job as the lining is made from an old denim curtain, the strap and D rings were off a very cheap charity shop bag that had seen better days and the button was in my stash. The colours are very bright, and the denim lining is helping it to keep shape. Great fun to make, only took me a day start to finish. Well, enough of my rabbiting, I am off to sit in the garden with a cup of tea before the sky remembers there's a bank holiday coming and starts to cloud over. Have a lovely week, thanks for looking. x

Tims Tags of 2012: May.

I usually do Tim's tags by trying to copy them as far as my stash will allow, but Tracy Evans who has the most marvelous blog here always puts her own slant on things and has inspired me to try his tag for May with a different theme but using his main techniques.

I love the way he has taught us to use little paper flowers and give them the porcelain look, as I have only done this on large ones before. I reckon the little birdie had read a Homes and Gardens book and wanted to prettify her nest! So here we go, my take on Tim's May tag, details of which can be found here. So thanks for the inspiration Tim and Tracy, what a pair!

Sunday Stamper: Crowns and Queens.

This weeks challenge is a good excuse to start using my collection of Union Jack paper!

I thought I would use royal purple for the background of this weeks challenge so did wrinkle free distress with Milled Lavender, Shaded Lilac and Dusty Concord. The Union Jack is from the Portobello Road paper stack and then I used a tattered banner edged with Seedless Preserves and stamped with the sentiment from the Artistic Outpost London set in the middle.  I thought Karin from Stampotique would make a most marvelous Killer Queen? I dressed her in blue with matching shoes as the Queen always has lovely matching shoes. Then came the pearls, the crown and of course the handbag! Karin has a hankie and a spare pair of tights in hers. Someone has just given her a bunch of flowers and her lady-in-waiting has  disappeared so she has to hold them. The 'S at the botttom is for the end of my name on my banner set and I thought I would finish off the regal look with a gold tassel. Thanks Hels, love this weeks theme, I will off now to look at everyone's interpretations! xx

Ink Blender Happiness!

Hi everyone. Here is a little tale. When I did the Creative Chemistry Course I was smitten with the little green eyed god when Tim showed us his collection of ink blending tools, one for each colour. There is no way I can afford to buy that many, lovely as they are, so I set about trying to find a way to make one. On a trip with my hubby to a local bargain shop I found three childrens garden tools for 99p and dear hubby said he could saw off the handles, drill a hole, buy some wooden ply and make a near as dammit tool for me. Then I cut out some play foam, stuck it on and then added some velcro. I then coloured each label and added a typed label...voila!

The next best bit came when I arrived home from a trip with my youngest daughter to find he had made this splendid tower from ply, spring clips from Ebay and yes, each circle turns!!! There is enough for 48 tools, so three are vacant, waiting for the summer limited edition colours later this year. He is the best and it was a fabulous birthday pressie.

Incase you are wondering we reckon each blender cost under 50p to make, now that I could afford!

No I'm everso sorry girls, I can't lend him out, it's taken 45 years to train him up! Isn't he the bestest tho? I love him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday Stamper 204 Make my brown eyes blue.

Well I have been remiss, two Sunday Stampers out! Got caught in busy work and family affairs, so here I am back on track with my Sunday Stamper banner and the missing 'R' (see previous posts!)

It was my birthday yesterday and it's my no 3 daughters' birthday on Thursday and so the two of us are going to the seaside with our cameras next week to celebrate! I thought I would try and capture a little of the treat in store with this weeks challenge.

I used all the blue distress inks to ink the back of the banner and then stamped the sea-gulls and lighthouse using brown achival ink. I'm afraid I do not know who made the stamp as it was a used gift from a friend. The bottom of the banner has walnut stain, rusty hinge and spiced marmalade distress ink for the background and some seashore bleached wood and fishing lines attached with a small stapler. The R has been aged with raisin alcohol ink and attached with some more twine. The stamped shells come from Stampingtons' seashore elements set and I used distress markers in various browns directly onto the stamp. I love the way you can use the markers to blend on the back of the stamp, it looks far more subtle than colouring in the outline! So there we are, Barbara is now completed, 'S for next week, thought I'd better write it down incase I get out of sinc. again! Hope you are all enjoying the bank holiday. xx

Hi every peeps! So sorry been I've been remiss on my blog last week, and missed out on one of my fav. past times, that is doing the Sunday Stamper. Work has been hectic so I hope to do this weeks challenge by Friday. I thought I would just post my months worth of tags for http://tagtuesday.blogspot.co.uk/ as  stalwart followers of my batty blog will  know I am taking part and saving all the tags in my big sketch book. Can't believe it is May already!

The first weeks theme was Easter. so I chose to try and make a symbolic tag of the last supper. It turned out a trile on the large size. I used different pieces of toning paper and punched out a circle head for each of the apostles, then gave Jesus a golden halo. the bread and wine jug were drawn free hand and the little circles put in for the cups. The second week we looked at 'Spring cleaning.'  I drew a picture of mole from Wind in the Willows and coloured in with watercolours, edged the tag with punched leaves and twigs from the garden and then put the opening words of the book onto tattered banners.

The third week covered our favourite 'Spring Flowers', I chose Daffodils and stamped a mason jar onto acetate to hold them. The fourth week was the colour 'Purple', and  I used distress inks and one of my favourite Paper Bag Studio stamps with text from the Stampotique range.

Busy day tomorrow then I hope to be able to play and add another post. Hugs to you all. xx