12 Tags of Christmas 2008 - second instalment

Here are the next three Tags in the series .....I am totally obsessed with making these at the moment and when they are all done, I am going to put them into a 'Book About Christmas' for the Gorgeous One (aka Finley William) and his brothers and sisters - when they come ....
I'm not that happy about the canvas one (number 4). Rather than printing a photo onto the Sticky Back Canvas, I stamped onto it and the result is rather pale (either that or I need to buy a new ink pad - lol). The flower is on SBC flower backed with metal, which I saw demonstrated by Linda of LB Crafts last year and which is very 'en trende' at the moment. The numbers were cut from the Quickutz Tangerine alphabet and triple embossed.
The alochol ink painted one (no. 6) is definitely 'making do' - the robins are from a Creative Expressions plate (sorry everyone). I'm not sure about painting with the alcohol inks and I found it quite difficult to get it 'smooth'. I will have to do it again though because I now have a water brush full of blending solution and my dried up alcohol ink on a diddy palete in the corner - lol. I like the effect of the white acrylic paint on the underside of the acrylic but I think this needs some more practice - lol - but I did master splodging the paint around on the right side of the tag - lol.
The Snowman one is lovely. I have a pack of plain Grungeboard sheets and have made templates of him for the Christmas cards. I'm not sure that I got the consistency of the 'snow' right, because I was missing some of the ingredients - but it stuck and hasn't fallen off - yet!
I hope you like them. More to follow soon ....

No Peace for the Wicked ....

Despite having the cold from hell (and just to share - constantly runny nose, streaming eyes, tight head, sore throat etc. etc.) I had to go to Somerset on Thursday with my daughter and the Gorgeous One (they are hardy souls - lol) to see my mother. Despite having to go (which is another story) a small amount of medicinal alcohol with the family dinner, on Thursday night, marked something of an improvement - lol.

However, driving home along the A303 yesterday, my daughter suddenly turns round and says - "you haven't forgotten those three cards you were going to make for me for Sunday have you?" Wiltshire Police did not come out, they were too busy with another axe murderer - lol. So last night I started them and finished them this morning ....The background of the top one is done using the Jumbo Stippling Brush from my friend, Ed (see previous post) and Distress Inks. The letters are from the George and Basic Shapes Cartridge on the Cricut - just love the shadow feature. The soldier and the train are done with the Joys of the Season Cricut Cartridge and I think they are so cute. I got my Cricut machine last year and I just love it. (My daughter loved the third card - for a Ruby Wedding Anniversary - but I didn't, so I haven't posted it).

When I had finished the cards, I went off to do something else and when I came back upstairs, I just had to take a photo of the mess had made - lol ....and the floor ....
Off to tidy up now ....

Look What I Got ....

My friend Ed has very kindly given me this Award - which cheered me up no end because I am still suffering with this horrible cold .....Once again there are Rules and once again I am going to break them (and yes, I am sitting on the naughty step) but I am still feeling very, very contrary ... this Award is for everyone ....

While I'm talking about Ed, she has sent me two packages recently. The first one was this ...'This' is a very hard bristle brush and I felt really awful but I had to ring her up and ask her what it was for - lol. I felt even more awful when she told me that she had told me what it was for a couple of weeks back - lol. Anyways, after apologising profrusely, I used it for what it was meant to be used for - and it was brilliant - a jumbo stippling brush - love it.

Then today Ed sent me some more bells for my lamp post Christmas cards (see Tim's 2008 Christmas Tags - No. 1 - yes I am obsessed with them at the moment - but more of that later ...

So - who's been a lucky girl then ....

An Award ....

My SBS 19 sister, Juanita, has very kindly given me this Award .... she is so sweet for thinking of me ...

This time I am going to break the rules (I feel like that today - full of a horrible cold and everything that goes with it and feeling just - well, very contrary) and give the Award this time to everyone who visits my blog ....

Not Just Any Old Tags .....

Ever since I heard about Tim Holtz' 12 Tags of Christmas 2008, I was hooked. Then I found that there were 12 Tags of Christmas for 2007 - fatal. So with part Christmas presents from No. 1 son, part Christmas presents to myself and part what the heck spending, I now have all of the Christmas stamps, plus one or two (OK - maybe three of four) packets of goodies from the Idea-Ology range, all from Wendy at The Stamp Attic .....

The stamps are so lovely I just keep stroking them - as you do (a bit like we are with Anna Griffin papers). In fact, I love them so much that they and the Paper Artsy Egg and Nog plates have been given a Really Useful Box all of their own and not put in the bottom of the wardrobe in the spare room, along with the other Christmas craft stuff.
I decided that it didn't matter that it wasn't Christmas anymore - I would make them anyway - all 24 of them. There are some 'improvisations' but here are the first four ....(Thanks to my pal Ed for the bells on the first one ....)

More to follow soon ....

An Award ....

My blogging pal Alison has very kindly given me this award - isn't she the best ....
My five nominations are - Linda, Ed, Gail, Linda and Sandy .....

Thank God It's Friday ... Houses

This week's TGIF Challenge is Houses. My Street of Houses is made up from a One Four Zero stamp, coloured in with gel pens ....

My Time to Craft - Mice and Easy ...

Over at My Time to Craft, the challenge this week is all about Mice ....
This card uses the Jayne Nestorenko Cute Companions backgrounds and stamps .....

An Awfully Big Art Adventure - Give Me A Sign ....

This week's Challenge over at Rosie and Linda's Awfully Big Art Adventure is to make a sign of a challenge or goal or message for the year ahead - a bit like a New Year Resolution - but much shorter .... I don't make NYR's because they are doomed to fail and I, therefore, fail and I can't be doing with that. I like this idea of one word though.
The idea for my word - PATIENCE - started while I was doing something else. It went wrong and I didn't have the patience to start all over again. I have also been just a tad impatient over the last couple of days because of my poor little sick car; and there have been a couple of times at work where, perhaps, a little more patience would have been a good thing.
So here's my Sign, which I will hang in my craft room/office, over the computer ....The background is a mix of Frayed Burlap, Tea Dye and Vintage Photo Distress Inks all swiped, sooshed and sprayed, over the Tim Holtz Timeworks Mask. I just love the stamped image, which is salvaged from the failed piece (see above). It's Waiting For Mr Right from Lost Coast Designs and the four ladies are sitting there waiting so patiently .... The letters of the word are cut using the Abigail alphabet with the Quickutz Revolution and then scuffed up a bit with an emery board. I used bright colours for humour. The clock face is from the Artistic Stamper's Time and Keys Plate. The whole thing is mounted on a piece of card that I was messing around with walnut ink. All the edges have been tattered with a Paper Distresser.

Tag You're It ... Let's Go Stripey

The Tag You're It challenge this week is Stripes - so here is my Tag with striped papers and Princess Drama (from Stamps Happen) with striped legs and skirt. Hope it's OK ....

The Train vs The Car? - Part 2

Perhaps I tempted fate because after the last post because my poor little car has given up on me and doesn't work ....
Now this is partly my fault because I don't lavish the care and attention on it that one should but it is also down to a dodgy mechanic that said "Oh that's fine, we don't have to worry about that". Honestly, sometimes I completely forget I'm a lady - lol ....
Anyways, I managed to get home from work yesterday (Monday) , driving very sedately in case it died on me, but today I have had to rely on lifts and public transport. Getting to work was great - I had a lift in a nice comfortable car. Coming home wasn't so good ...
I had a 20 minute walk from the office to the station (and I had totally the wrong shoes on for walking in puddles - lol), a 10 to 12 mile journey by train, stopping at one stop and costing £3.40, then a wait in the rain and wind for my lift for the last six miles to home.
I have two more days of this - my car is booked in for Friday....
On balance, I think the car is much better for the everyday trips, such as to work and the like (see Gail's comments to my last post re travelling from Swindon to London) for both comfort, speed and cost - but for those days out - the train has to win.
Would everyone who reads this, please spare a thought for my little blue car - that it doesn't have to go to the big garage in the sky .......

The Train vs The Car?

I have spent from 10am this morning mucking about with the National Rail Travel website trying to get myself from down in Sussex up to Birmingham International for the big show in March for the cheapest way possible ...... what a palava.
When I went last March the fare was £54. In November, I went via an easier, more relaxing way but slightly more expensive route i.e. not through London for £80 - worth it for the seat but not for all the fuss and performance getting me to and from Guildford and avoiding their horrendous all day parking charges - and the fare anyway was a pressie from my son. The relaxing route has gone up to £90, which would eat into the spending money so I have spent the morning putting all sorts of variations into the site ....
20 minutes ago I finally managed to get it back down to £58, which is an early rush hour ticket and an off peak train from Euston to Birmingham. I won't say I have a seat on the way back because every time I have gone it's been standing room only - lol .... but I am nothing but tenacious - lol
The point of my moan being is that I could drive to the NEC but when you take into account the petrol, car parking when you get there and the M25 and M1/M6, the stress of it all, and the government urging us to leave the car at home, the train has got to win but why does everything have to be so difficult .....
I am considering inviting my crafting pals, Sue (the one who hasn't got a blog but should have) and Anita down here for Ally Pally in the autumn .....

Wednesday Stamper .... Gesso

This week's Wednesday Stamper challenge is Gesso ...

I have had this canvas for quite a while - but it was abandoned in a drawer because it was very, very, very green (I went a bit too overboard with the acrylic paint - lol). Originally, I applied a thick layer of gesso to the canvas and then painted over that with very, very, very green paint.
So - said canvas was retrieved from drawer. To take away the green, applied more gesso and when it was almost dry, smudged and smeared it with a baby wipe. The circle idea is from this month's Craft Stamper (just punch a line of circles in card and paint the gesso over, just like a stencil). The faint lines are done by applying gesso to the Scratches stamp by Tim Holtz (but you must clean if off right away).
The images are from Tuscan Rose and Tim Holtz and are all stamped on tissue paper and then applied to the canvas with PVA. A tiny orange rose (the only colour I had) has been added and the final step was to edge the canvas with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. Perhaps a coat of beeswax next - now that would be fun.
The canvas was green and is now much, much paler, so much so that he photo makes it look blue - but no matter. Hope you like it ....

Think Monday - Think ATC ... Lets Swing Lassos

This week's TMTA Challenge is about all things Cowboys and Indians, which is not a stamping subject of mine - but yee-ha - onwards and upwards .....The image is taken from Art-e-Zine (the real thing is a lot more sepia toned than the photo here), which has had the edges tattered up with a paper distresser; and the lasso is represented by the wrapped string, dyed with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink. Hope you like it ....

Saturday's Workout - Salted Backgrounds ....

The SaWo challenge this week is Salted Backgrounds. Visit SaWo for a link to Splitcoast Stampers for the technique.
It's so cold here that the words salted backgrounds made me immediately think of the seaside and the summer to come (hopefully - lol). The stamps are from a Rubbadubbaoo stamp set - Beside The Sea, on a Salted Background. Hope you like it ....

An Awfully Big Art Adventure ... Absolutely Charming ...

Linda and Rosie's Awfully Big Art Adventure for the first week of 2009 is Absolutely Charming and you're invited to make charms. Both Linda and Rosie have created some beautiful pieces and I thoughtI would have a go ....Top left is a 'bracelet' made from Style Stones, which have been inked with Distress Inks, stamped with the Stampendous Marble Texture Cube and embossed a number of times with Amazing Glaze. The Style Stones and the beads were threaded onto some elasticated thread. Top middle is a 'sandwich' of 1" x 3" Memory Glass ofTim Holtz images and bordered with copper tape. Under the 'bracelet' is another Memory Glass 'sandwich' made in the same way. Next to that is a Bottle Cap, which has been Alcohol Inked, with a Crafty Individuals image, and then glazed with Glossy Accents. Bottom left is a wooden letter inked with various bright colours of Stazon, stamped with the Marble Texture Cube, embossed a few times with ordinary clear embossing powder and edged with gold Krylon pen. Middle bottom is a domino, done in the same way as the wooden letter (I didn't realise you decorate the undotted side of the domino - lol). On the right, the letters of the word Love are Grungeboard, inked with Distress Inks, a touch (well more than a touch, actually, lol) of Icicle Stickles and linked together with jump rings through eyeletted holes.

None of them can hang - I can make the holes (I have a braddle) but I don't have the equipment to solder on the hooky and hangy bits. I can just see my son's face when I say I want to learn about soldering and the like - he'll put me in a home - lol !!!

My Time to Craft - Easy Elegance ....

The My Time to Craft Challenge for this week is Easy Elegance ......

I chose a beautiful stamp from Lost Coast Designs and simple black and white gloss card. Inspired, no doubt, by my new Blog background. I hope you like it - the background and the card .....

Thank God It's Friday Challenge .... Winter Time

The first TGIF Challenge of the year is Winter Time .....The skaters are a Personal Impressions stamp, the flower is from an Egg and Nog plate by Paper Artsy, and the Winter tag is one of the Seasonal Memories from Hero Arts, done on shrink plastic. Hope you like it ......

A Paper Artsy Alphabet .....

Way, way, way back my crafting friend Ed decided that we should get into the world of ATC's. Neither of us did small but we thought that as everyone else was doing it we would give it a go. There are now another three ladies in our little ATC swap group and we have made and swapped ATC's on a variety of themes. Back in August last year, one of the group decided that the next theme would be the Alphabet and today I did the last few. I was so chuffed that I had finished that I took a photo to share with you ......This was no mean feat because I made five of each ATC - one each for my pals and a set for me - making a staggering total of 135 ATC's. All the stamps used were from Paper Artsy. Here's what they are -

A - Alphabet, B - Bridge, C - Create, D - Doll, E - Evidence, F - Friends, G - Gentlemen, H - House, I - Inside, J - Journey, K - Kids, L - Love, M - More, N - Notes, O - Obscure, P - Puzzle, Q - Questions, R - Rows, S - Santa, T - Today, U - Uniform, V - View, W - Whatever, x - Xmas Wishes, Y - You and for Z - I couldn't find anything for that, so I used a 'forward thinking' quote - lol.
Here's my set on the 7 Gypsies ATC holder ....

Happy New Year .....

To everyone I have met through this Blogging Adventure and to those I have yet to meet -

HAPPY NEW YEAR