Spring has sprung

What a mixed week it's been, weather fabulous so lots of work to do in the garden, yet another winter cold though just to remind me that it's not quite over, and an internet breakdown resulting in 2 days without connection! I felt like my right arm had been severed that's how bad it got! I took it out in the garden on the bushes with a pair of cutters (poor things). Anyway thanks to my good friend Lena for coming to my rescue yet again with her internet connection, I'm able to upload my Wednesday Stampers challenge for this week which is spring.

The bird is a new Tim Holtz stamp which I'm certain will be featuring in alot of my future art projects.

Have a good weekend.

journal pages

Two journal pages finished recently for Scrap a la Fraise and The life path challenge.

Fabric book workshop

This is a little teaser of a class I'll be teaching in France on saturday. The project is a fabric book made with calico as a base but papers and others elements added. It should be alot of fun and after the class I'll be able to show you the whole project.

Lots of cutting, sticking and sewing.

I spent a crafty weekend of cutting, sticking and stitching stuff together and one of the things I completed was this small wall hanging. It features a beautiful photograph which was offered by Gothic Arches to use as part of this weeks challenge. I decided to do something totally different and printed it out onto ink jet acetate and using gel medium transfered it onto fabric. I put it together with some pieces of fabric and book page, made a flower with a strip of cotton fabric and an overlay which I bought at the Dortmund craft fair on friday. Lots of sewing with the machine and some lace and voilà.

Creative Inspirations challenge 30

The theme this time on Creative Inspirations challenge blog is to create 'Anything but a card'. This has been set by Tracy and the web site has some fabulous creations made by the other DT members. You have until 7th April to enter the challenge and be in with a chance of a prize, so plenty of time to think of something creative.

This little book is just 4x4 inches and the signatures have been sewn together at the spine.

Digital layout

Today it's raining so I'm stuck inside.....playing.....Not so bad then!

New art journal page.

Well, I'm still completing pages in my altered book/art journal. I'm still using the silhouettes too and started cutting out images from old fashion magazines to use. I now have a plastic tub full of them in all poses and shapes.

Happy Mothers Day.

This is for my Mum and all those other mums celebrating Mothers Day tomorrow.

Ooodles of flower doodles.

Two Mothers Day cards for two mothers. I've only just realised it's Mothers Day in the UK so I had to whip up a couple of cards pronto. Such is life as an expat, you can tend to overlook dates like this especially as it's a totally different date here in Lux.

Anyway, this week on Wednesday Stampers the theme is Doodling. I'm not really much of a doodler, I find it difficult to totally let go as it's too uncontrolled for me. I've therefore decided to go with a doodling type stamp instead and one of my favourites is this set of flower doodles from Inkadinkado.

Flower garden journal page.

This is a journal page for the Scrap a la Fraise on-line altered book workshop. This is the 5th prompt to take an image and use it in different ways on the page, so I've stamped, embossed, used chipboard, die cuts, a sticker and a transfer.

Creative Inspirations challenge 29

This card is my DT entry for this weeks challenge at Creative Inspirations challenge blog where the challenge is to create a male card.

The challenge has been set by DT member Cheryl and a prize to the winner of the challenge has been generously given by Sam at Jasmines Cards & Crafts which you can check out here www.jasmines-cards.co.uk

So to be in with a fabulous prize go over to Creative Inspirations challenge blog and enter. If you don't enter you can't win can you!

Bathing beauty.

Well, despite the fact that it did snow again yesterday, it does look like spring is right around the corner. The sun is shining and the sky is blue - it's really really cold but gorgeous. Yesterday I even managed to get out and do some gardening at last - woo hoo!

With this change in the weather my mood is lifting from dark and foggy to clear and ideas are starting to flow.

The challenge for the week on Gothic Arches is "Bathing Beauties". I created the background for this arch by painting with pale blue acrylic paint onto brown cardstock after first rubbing in places with a wax candle. When dry I lightly sanded to create a weathered look. I used purple Versafine to stamp over before adding the image.

New DT position

I was happy and excited last week to be approached by Jeans Art Dolls a group of people dedicated to rubber stamping and scrapping, to become a member of their design team. I was happy to accept and have jumped right in to setting challenges and submitting artwork.

One of the other DT members, Vicki, has set a challenge to alter something so I entered this canvas based on a design from the Craft Stamper magazine.

Bird tags

I decorated these three tags with old book pages my latest favourite, free backing paper.

To be honest I don't know why I collect so many gorgeous sheets of paper when I always come back to the same type of backing paper and when I do use patterned paper it's in tiny off cut pieces. I think I'm just too tight to cut into a nice piece of 12x12 and when I do I have to eek out the last tiny tiny piece until it's absolutely impossible to use any more! Anyway, my recycling centre keeps me supplied with more than enough free papers the older and tattier the better!

I've entered these tags for this weeks Wednesday Stampers challenge which is fantasy creatures. I love these little bird stamps from Gel-a-tins, I think they're so cute.

Journal page.

This is the latest page of my altered book/journal for Coleens "Life path challenge" on Vintage Terrace 2

Scrappy Accents DT layout.

This my DT layout for this months Scrappy Accents challenge. Theresa has provided a fabulous sketch to follow which you can interpret as a card or layout as you wish.

Wild and stormy Xynthia.

Ooof what a wild and stormy weekend that was as Xynthia blew over us on her way East. Living in a country covered with forest it's going to be dangerous during a storm with trees coming down everywhere. Due to the dangerous conditions all the roads out of our village were closed (one still is while they make the trees safe) making it impossible to go anywhere. Two of my girls were out somewhere else and I can tell you, that's not a nice feeling!! We did come out of it unscathed thank goodness, but our neighbours lost a huge tree which came down right across their lawn. I was due to go to a fabric fair and was just gutted not to be able to go.

Anyway, blue sky and sunshine today so you wouldn't know anything at all had happened until you see the debris lying across the fields and on the roads.

The only up-side to being stuck in all weekend is that I was able to at last finish my christmas mini book. Made from two paper compost bags sewn together, I gessoed and painted the pages with acrylic paints then collaged and sewed on papers and elements with the photo's. It seemed to fit being grungy seeing as it was made from compost bags! I still have to make some pages to fit inside the pockets but it's still only March - aaahhh!!!!