First Christmas project of the season.

This is my first christmas project completed for this year. I've decided to enter it into two challenges this week, the first being Wednesday Stampers theme "3" and the second is Gothic Arches theme "Shrines". I intended to create a triptich shrine but I'm not too sure if this really counts as either?

Surprise surprise the collage elements are stitched with gold thread, (my sewing machine is really getting an airing at the moment!). The tags in the pockets are also collaged with papers and machine embroidery with stamped images in the background.

http://wednesdaystamper.wordpress.com/
http://gothicarches.blogspot.com/

Digi dabbling!!

Here's my latest bit of digi dabbling.

Altered book project.

I had a wonderful day yesterday of total indulgence attending a workshop in France given by the inspiring and extreemly talented Caroline Rondel http://grrlscrap.blogspot.com/ at Scrap a la fraise.

The workshop was an altered book project which I thoroughly enjoyed. As you can see, I'm still using the same fabric scraps and hints of the previous fabric projects are coming through but I learned something new and will definately be on the look out for old books to create more of this type of project.

Thanks to the Scrap a la fraise group and thanks to Caroline for a wonderful day.

More adventures with fabric!

Fired up with enthusiasm for creating fabric books, I decided to dig into my patchwork fabric hoard (and it truly is a hoard) to re-discover what treasures I hadn't looked at in years!! At last my fabric world and crafting world can become one and the moths can be driven out for good!

I only had half a sheet of inkjet fabric left so printing pictures was out of the question for now, so instead I printed some pictures onto inkjet transparency sheets and transfered them onto the calico fabric using gel medium. This doesn't give as clear a picture as the printer fabric but it does produce an aged, almost grungy look. I did go over the pictures with some coloured pencils to add in some more colour as they all had a faded pink look to them and in one or two cases weren't too clear. As well as the fabric, I've used some paper embellishments and some more printed transparencies for text and overlays. Some machine stitching and a few buttons and charms complete the project but as usual for me - less is more!

It's a fun project which I recommend anyone having a go at - Coleen, get that fabric out girl!! You really don't have to be an expert at sewing either as half the charm is the random machine stitching which I even did in black to make it stand out, something unheard of when I did patchwork and quilting!

So dig out that fabric and throw it together, you really can do it.

New fabric mini book.

On a recent trip to a fabric fair with my good friend Lena, we came across some inkjet fabric sheets. Until yesterday following a prompt from Lena (how about that printer fabric then?), I'd been reluctant to open the packet and do something with it as I was a little afraid of ruining the sheets until I was sure what I wanted to do with them.

I took the plunge and printed out some photo's from my Grandmothers collection, printing four photo's onto one sheet. I had this fabric book in mind and got very excited as the project developed so much so that I really didn't want to stop until it was finished!

The book is made from an offcut from a pair of linen curtains and I had a large stash of fabrics, lace and ribbons to embellish it with. I didn't know how to hold the pages together so in the end I decided on two safety pins.




The closure is made from an old watch strap and a shoe buckle.

Alot of the embellishments came from a tin of bits and bobs which belonged to my Grandmother like this suspender!

In the tin were lots of buttons including these gorgeous cream linen ones.

The offcuts of inkjet fabric were easy to stamp onto with Stazon before the backing paper was peeled off. Next time though I'd make the most of the computer and add words or phrases to the sheet in between the photos before printing out so as not to waste it.

Texture.

This week I'm proud to be a guest designer for Inchy by Inch. The theme I've chosen is "Texture".

I absolutely love to use texture in my work, whether it's fabric, embossing, dimensional embellishments or textured paint, I just love it.

I'd love to see what texture anyone else can give to their inchies so have a go and post a comment on the web site -
http://inchybyinch.blogspot.com/

Starry arch.

I'm patting myself on the back today for appearing on two samplers this week, one of them being Gothic Arches.

Their theme for this week is "Stars" and the first thought I had was for a little rhyme I used to say when I was little. Whenever I saw the first star at night, I said the rhyme to myself and truly believed it would bring me luck.

My arch background is sprayed with Glimmer mists which I'm just loving at the moment and the image is taken from a sheet which either came from a Dover Publications download or a Lisa Vollrath freebie, I can't recall which.

http://gothicarches.blogspot.com/

Trying out Zetty style.

I've admired the work of Teesha Moore for a long long time and I'm a great fan of the Zetty style. This style for me means a fun, colourful and relaxed way of working where you just let go and create art without too much thinking about it.

I absolutely love this free way of working but still find it hard to totally let go and as for doodling, I really struggle with that one. Teesha Moores paintings and journal pages are crammed full of images and words but even my random crazyness has to have some structure and for me even the white spaces heve to be left bare to balance all the other stuff. My good friend Lena and I often laugh about how different we are in our way of working - I'm "less is more" and she's "more is more"!

This journal page was created in the Zetty style for the Wednesday Stampers challenge this week. I've used watercolour paints, stamps by Paperartsy and Gel a Tins and black liner pen. I've included the signature black and white border which I use alot in my work.

http://wednesdaystamper.wordpress.com/

wintery inchy!

The Inchy by Inch challenge this week is "Winter white". Ok so I know it doesn't look very white but in actual fact my first inchy was all white but photographing it so you could see it was difficult. My second inchy, the one you see here, is not as blue as it appears here (you just have to trust me on that one!) but I did start with an icy blue background which I gessoed over and then stamped and embossed with some interference embossing powder. I glued on some foam snowflakes and added a bit of pearl glue here and there. So although not striktly white it is arctic iceberg colour I think!

If you like swapping inchies then go to Inchy by Inch where there's a sign up for a christmas inchy swap.

http://inchybyinch.blogspot.com/

Tickets to the Circus?

I've just spent 24 hours straight of crafting fun, playing with my Wiesbaden purchases and making Christmas cards. Great therapy after a trying week!

Gothic Arches challenge theme is "Tickets" and one of the things I bought last weekend is a stamp from Stempelwinkel with some circus tickets on it. Coincidence or what??!!

I decided to dress up my young lady with fabrics and ribbon so she wouldn't look out of place at the show. I really had alot of fun doing this arch and I hope that shows.

www.de-stempelwinkel.nl

http://gothicarches.blogspot.com/

This week has just been one of those weeks where you're just wanting it to all end and the weekend to begin! (and it's only wednesday!) School holidays always mean I'm busier than usual but this week has just been full of little emergencies!!

Thankfully, in a surprising change to my agenda, my great friend Lena came over yesterday afternoon to rescue me with a new project to get my teeth into for Christmas. She came up with the idea of altering domino's into these gorgeous little Christmas decorations. I just think they're so cute, so thank you Lena for keeping me sane!!

Also, Wednesday Stampers challenge this week is anything Asian and as I was in the altering mood I thought I'd have a go at altering a jig saw piece. I think it turned out rather well and might just add a brooch back to it after I've given it a layer of varnish.

http://wednesdaystamper.wordpress.com/

Remember Remember the 5th of November.

Remember, remember the fifth of November,

The gunpowder, treason and plot,

I know of no reason

why the gunpowder treason

should ever be forgot.

That's the beginning of a poem to commemorate the 5th November 1605 when a chap called Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London. He was discovered and arrested before he could do the deed and since then as a reminder of that treasonable offence againsed the crown, the English light bonfires, usually with a home made "Guy" on top and let off fireworks.

Of course now, with safety being of main concern, it's more likely you'll have to go to an organised firework display rather than hold a private party in the back garden.

My daughter and husband are in England at the moment visiting the Grandparents with a friend and my husband was eager to take them to a firework display seeing as they were there at the right time. It also occurred to us that my daughter would not know who Guy Fawkes was or what the whole 5th November thing was all about, so it's time for her to be educated in one of Englands little traditions.

My firework inchy is for this weeks Inchy by Inch challenge. It's part of a new year stamp which luckily happens to include some fireworks.

http://inchybyinch.blogspot.com/

Tempting stash!!

Yesterday was one of the best days of the year (if you don't include Christmas and my birthday), in fact it was like Christmas and my birthday all rolled into one!!

It was the annual pilgrimage to Wiesbaden craft fair in Germany. Well worth the 3 hour bus drive to get there. It's simply huge. It has something for everyone from patchwork and quilting to stamping and scrapbooking. There were a few bargains to be had too but underneath it all there was an air of uncertainty as to whether all of the stallholders would be there next year. There didn't seem to be any shortage of customers though so lets hope they can hold out for another year and ride out this crisis!

I was happy to see some new stands dispite the financial situation and I learned one or two new techniques - like what to do with my old painting overall and a heat tool! (more on that one at a later date after I've tested it).

One of the most exciting discoveries is a packet of "Grafix Rub-onz". It's a packet of 4 sheets of transfer paper which you can put into your printer, draw on or stamp onto and create your own rub ons. Neat or what. I'm very excited to try this out and I'll let you know how it works.

Of course a day off from domestic chores means I have to pay somewhere along the line and today, while my stash was sitting in my workshop crying "come play, come play", I had to finish the painting in my daughters bedroom so she could get it all back in order again.

So for now everything is still in it's wrappings until I really get some time to play.