The Artsiders

Feeling the Love (for once)

2012-02-14T16:46:00.003Z

Really, it's all a bit coincidental, but as these things seem to go, I have a scrapbook layout to share, which is fitting for the date I'm posting it on. In normal respects, neither Nick or I bother with St. Valentine's day. In fact, tonight's special dinner for two will be cold chicken leftovers from yesterday's (delayed) roast and brocoli. Which doesn't mean the day isn't special or involves the giving of cards etc. Oh no!

That's because it is also my parent's wedding anniversary. Note to any young lovers reading this, 14th February is the worst day to choose to get married on. Your anniversary for evermore will be at the same time that flowers and gifts etc will cost an arm and leg and restaurants will serve up below par, set menus, to cater for the mass influx of diners. Oh yes, & when your children hit their teens, they will be mortified to have to go out to dinner with their parents on that night ( I speak from bitter experience).

Anyhoo...here's the layout

As it happens, our own anniversary falls on 4th February. This time around, we have knocked up 14 years together and I'm not sure either of us can quite believe it. Partly because it seems like yesterday but also because neither of us saw in our futures the kind of long term, stable relationship that we have found with each other.

The reason for producing a scrapbook layout however has come from a variety of inspirations. The photo has come from the fact that I'm in the middle of taking an online photography course with Kirsty Wiseman and for once I managed to cajole Nick into standing still for an aperture assignment.

The itch to make a layout instead of a card or tag, came from visiting a newly discovered blog by the uber talented Frank Garcia, Haus of W. His vintage chic style is absolutely stunning and flawless. He is one very creative individual. I've not yet managed to translate my style fully into scrapbooking yet, but hopefully, I can learn a lot from Frank.

Finally, the sketch has come from another guy who crafts and creates scrapbooks and whose blog, Scrapiverse, is a new discovery for me. He's one witty blogger and has the craft shopping bug bad haha.

After years of CAS designs and digital based scrapbooks, I've returned here, to more of a mixed media affair. There's patterned paper, lace, chipboard, paint, crackle, burlap, wool, seam binding, grungeboard and even Sinamay (a material used in millinery). All the flowers are handmade but not specifically for this project. I have a box of them which I keep handy for just such a creative occasion.

So I hope you all enjoy this romantic day and receive bunches of perfumed flowers and boxes of select confectionary delights. And I trust you'll be sampling something better than me for dinner this evening (well, maybe we'll eat it by candlelight to compensate haha) Pxx

The Occasional Embellishment

2012-02-10T09:59:00.000Z

Now and then I do actually purchase the occasional embellishment. That includes flowers. Yes, I love to make my own creations but that doesn't mean I'm not tempted to add shop bought ones to. So given the diverse mood I was in, I went ahead and pieced together a tag, decorated with a selection of my aforementioned stash.

There's a Prima flower (naturally) and a selection of roses sold by Wild Orchid crafts. The frame is made using Spellbinders Label 3. And the image was a freebie downloaded from Antique Images. To all this I included, seam binding, pearls, buttons, beading and a lattice ribbon which probably has a fancy name but of which I'm not aware, which I dabbed with white acrylic paint. Oh yes & a couple of felt leaves, cut from a decorative trim found in a haberdashery store.

It hardly seems necessary to mention the decoratively, painted background of the tag, since I have all but covered it. So another time, maybe.

Hope everyone's gearing up for a relaxing and creative weekend. Me, I'm hoping to find the time to open up my sketchbook and fill another page with drawings and scribbles.

Paul xx

Having a Dabble with a Gypsy Chick

2012-02-02T11:54:00.000Z

Just a little over a week ago, I came home to find an exciting brown package had arrived for me, all the way from America. I knew it was coming and also who it was from and the contents within. Inside my head I could hear the joyous, child like excitement, telling me to rip it open. But I paused, took a breath and a couple of minutes to grab a photo of it first. Then I carefully slipped a craft knife through the clear tape and gently removed the wrapping.

Inside, this wonderful book/DVD combo awaited me.

It's a new publication (Amazon link here) from my wonderful & talented friend, Jodie Lee Patterson aka The Gypsy Chick.

Inside are 135 pattern designs and 40 textures with which to blend with them. And I have to say, I've had great fun tinkering around and creating my own papers. I have sat engrossed at my computer, into the night, photoshopping my heart out, until my eyes have grown too heavy and my brain has finally had enough and demanded sleep.

So here's a batch of three paper designs I started out with. I went with a grey palette plus a touch of blue.

And then, after I had ensured a photo was snapped, I began to convert them into a shabby vintage card.

Before gathering together the scraps that were left over and turning them into a tag.

And there you have it. My first dabble with Jodie Lee's printable papers. Such an easy way to produce instant designs in the style and colouring of my choosing. I always love it when a design idea I hold in my head is close to the resulting project I finally see in front of me.

And if you like Jodie's vintage style, check out her blog and you'll see that she has just released two new design collections with Prima. Such a perfect collaboration. I cannot wait for them to hit our UK shops.

Right, that's all for now. After taking more time out to craft than I really ought, I'd better slip back onto the computer and do something which more closely resembles work lol.

Have a wonderful, creative day peeps. Pxx

A Tag, A Toothbrush & A Recycled Book

2012-02-01T07:00:00.000Z

As you can see, I've still been idly playing at making tags. There's no stopping me when I'm on a roll you know. Actually, it's more honest to say that I've been busy focusing on other stuff recently and that crafty play time has been limited. So it was that one evening I sat and made flowers. Another evening, I inked up a craft sheet with pumice stone Distress Ink & swiped an old toothbrush through it before slapping down tags to get different textural effects.

And then on the last evening, I took the tag and flowers and assembled them together along with other goodies I have lying around. And, after purchasing a second hand book 'Ceramics for the Collector", found word art has now made an appearance. It's been a good while since I have given myself over to serendipitous art. But I have to admit I do have a soft spot for its creative nature.

Maybe that's because art has been worming its way back into my life with my recent attendance at a weekly painting class. But before you get carried away thinking I'm learning how to recreate the Mona Lisa, I must confess it's a "Painting for Dummies" kind of class. However, I'm loving it. It feels like a relaxed, easy way of getting back into pencils and paint. I need gentle. I'm not so good at the "jump in at the deep end and learn how to swim" school of thinking. Especially with art. I'm as intimidated by a crisp, clean, blank sheet of paper as anyone.

Right, I'm off to go and crack open my Moleskine book and battle with the blank pages :)

Have a wonderful & creative day

Paul x

You can't go wrong with groups of three

2012-01-27T07:00:00.000Z

The third and final tag for this week, using my favourite new handmade flower. In fact, I liked it so much, I ended up making three.

The largest flower, the top one, was created by loosely following a tutorial. I tweaked the demoed design a little but for the next ones, I wanted to try and add some extra oomph. Back in my craft room, I put in my own twist to give them more texture. What's more, the flowers can be made with nothing more than a sheet of card plus, optionally, some ink for the edges. Yes I used a punch to create the centres but a button would be equally as good.

The tag is decorated with a dry-brush coat of acrylic paints. I also applied crackle paint to an oval chipboard frame. I stamped 'Le Jardin' and placed it behind. I glued on a wafting, feathery, feather and added something which is new for me as an art material. Gauze. Yup, the stuff you'll find lurking in a first aid kit. It's perfect for giving an ethereal shabby look. It's wispy nature, perfectly complements the feather.

Finally I applied paint to a metal corner embellishment and adhered the flowers. I tied the tag with an off-cut of lace and wool.

It's pale, it's a neutral palette and I'm loving the results. I still have plenty more ideas that I wish to follow, but for now my sketching time has been neglected. I must go and put some focused hours into doodling and drawing in my pad.

Have a wonderful, creative day my friends
Paul x

Fringe Flowers and Misty Backgrounds

2012-01-25T07:00:00.000Z

Here I am, back with another flower and tag. There's even been a spot more stamping. Suddenly there's this impulsive urge to start inking up my collection of rubber stamps.

The flower began life as two punched out, 50mm dia. circles. I chomped around the edges with deckle-edged scissors, trimming more from one of them to create a smaller shape. I inked around the edges and carefully cut the thin petals with scissors. Using the back of a paintbrush, I gave the flower some shape and then with a dollop of glue in the centre, I added seed beads.

The frame is a stamped image onto card, cut out with scissors. I frayed the inside edges before sprinkling on a layer of clear embossing powder. To finish, I daubed on some white acrylic paint to soften the colour.

The background, I painted in grey acrylic before spritzing with a white mister and allowing to dry. A variety of trims were adhered to the bottom and I stamped the bird cage onto pale card before arranging it behind the frame. To finish, I tied a thin length of netting through the top of the tag.

Two tags down, one to go.

Have a wonderful, creative day
Paul x

Textures, Flowers & Butterflies

2012-01-23T07:00:00.000Z

I can't begin to tell you the boost to my creative mojo that producing tags has given me recently. It's as if I've managed to drip a little oil onto an untapped, rusty part of me and suddenly there's a rush of ideas streaming out.

After the confidence lift with my previous tag (and thank you everyone who was kind enough to leave a comment. I truly feel heartened), I set about making a few more which I'll blog over the course of the week.

The first (as with all the others) began with the handmade flower first. I've come across some more techniques and wanted to try them out with my own twist. This one is based on Prima's Fiesta blooms.

Colour wise, I wanted to produce another pale, neutral tag but rather than an allover scheme, I had in mind to accent it with a strong hit of colour. Hence I dug out a sheet of pink card to make the flower.

The background for the tag comes from a covering of texture paste using a bog standard paint brush. The butterflies were stamped onto light cream card and trimmed out with scissors. The leaves were handcut from cream card and run through a crinkler.

I'll be back throughout the week with another couple of handmade flowers and tags.

Have a wonderful, creative day
Paul x

Pale Tags & Twine Flowers

2012-01-20T11:44:00.001Z

I've definitely found myself in the mood for producing tags recently. Their creation just feels more like play. Something to easily try out tips and techniques. In my head run all these ideas of colour schemes, materials and embellishments. And although I'm working towards it, I haven't quite gotten used to using an art journal for them. My Moleskine holds notes, thoughts & rough doodles & sketches but I haven't reached the step of making an actual 'page'. So, in the meantime, tags fill that gap.

I'm drawn to a paler palette at the moment, especially the inclusion of white. And it goes so well with natural materials. Like here, I've used linen, twine & a wooden decoration. Plus I've incorporated something called 'paper string' to tie onto the tag.

The flower was made with a circular flower loom tool, which I bought last year, tried out once, filed away and promptly forgot about. However, it came to mind the other day, so I blew the dust of it and made a twine accessory. To finish it off, I lightly daubed white paint onto it with my finger and added a grey button to the centre.

The background texture was an experiment to see the effect of adding white paint using a dry brush technique, i.e. loading up a brush with paint, wiping the excess off onto a palette, before lightly dragging over the manilla tag.

And the great thing about this tag, is that it's looking more like the visual image I hold in my head. Therefore I might try playing around with making a few more. There are a handful of alternative combinations I'm already itching to try out. And you never know, some colour may even find itself included at some point.

Have a wonderfully creative weekend
Paul x

If I use it, I'll have space for more

2012-01-17T11:54:00.000Z

As I look around my craft room, I can see I have just too much stuff. The trouble is, CHA is around the corner and my favourite manufacturers are showing sneak previews of their new products. I just know, my finger is going to hit the "buy now" button once these wonderful papers, stamps and dies hit the stores. Perhaps this explains why I'm putting a heap of stash on to my cards recently. It helps justify my addiction lol.

So for this week's Mojo Monday challenge, I've used numerous dies, punches, papers, stamps, inks and embellishment, all on one little A6 card. As you can see, I've managed to include mulberry roses, pearl bling, seam binding, and a journal card. If it's shabby, it's on there. I've scratched & scraped edges, wet them, & squidged them. The only technique missing is a spot of sewing. I'd pulled so much stuff out onto my desk, there wasn't any room to move my sewing machine.

However, my desk is now clean (I can make a right old mess when I'm in a creative mode, I just don't like it staying that way - it has to be cleared up before I tackle something new). And now there's a minuscule dent in my horde. But is it enough to tell myself it's now okay to add to it again? Maybe after a couple more cards are finished.

So are you tempted by the new releases coming to the stores soon. Or are you all being sensibly restrained. Am I the only one with the willpower of a gnat? lol. Have a good week everyone.

Pxx

Casually Spontaneous Tag

2012-01-12T10:40:00.000Z

I've been so busy over the last week or so, which is brilliant and not a complaint, but it has meant that I've completely lost all track of time. I'm so focused on design work and slotting in time to exercise plus draw everyday, that I've not set a few moments aside to craft and play. Well that was soon remedied last night by an unscheduled couple of hours just sitting and playing around with my stash.

I'd already switched off my computer and wasn't willing to switch it back on in order to find a challenge to join along with. So I spied a bundle of tags sitting on a shelf and grabbed one to smoosh paint around on. I then stamped on some swirls and sprayed a white mist solution on top. Not that you can see any of its wonderful effect, as I've embellished over the majority of it lol.

The rest really had no fixed plan to it. I just reached into random boxes and pulled bits and bobs out and arranged it all until I had something I was happy with. The button (I am prepared to admit) was one I found in the streets one day. I don't own many large buttons so I thought I'd rescue it. However it was plastic and the colour, dark navy. I craftily converted it into a shabbier affair by brushing over a coat of gesso and, once dry, a layer of Ranger's white crackle paint. Once set, I daubed over victorian velvet and tea dye distress inks.

And I have to say, it felt incredibly relaxing to just sit and be casually spontaneous. Just to fritter away time, without having a purpose. Not sure I could motivate myself to do that often. But it's refreshing every once in a while.

Hope you all find time this weekend to relax and be free-spirited in your own crafty spaces. Pxx

Getting Back on the Horse

2012-01-05T12:25:00.002Z

It's been a few weeks now since I actually made a card. Or anything for that matter of fact. I came to the decision that I would relax and take a creative break over the holidays. However, I did spend the time reading through my library of arty, crafty books and magazines. And I made a good start on tidying my crafting area. Which means I've refuelled my mojo and now the itch to make something is harder to ignore.

So to keep my first card of the year simple, I opted to use a sketch from Mojo Monday & colours from the Play Date Cafe Challenge.

Not quite as shabby as I'd prefer but it's a good start. Once I'm in the swing of things again, I'll be bringing out the sewing machine and cutting up strips of lace. But for now, I've kept this fairly clean and simple.

The flower is another handmade one, where I took a thin strip of fabric, folded it in half along the length before make even snips into the folded edge. I rolled the strip into a coil, applied glue and it was good to go.

Hope everyone out there is easing into their own wonderful creative stride this week too.

Paul x

One little Word 2012

2012-01-02T15:12:00.001Z

If you regularly visit blogs which devote themselves to the craft of scrapbooking, you will probably have seen the idea of One Little Word. It was started a few years ago by Ali Edwards and the idea is to choose a word which will denote the year to come.

For 2011, I picked "experience" and the New52 project which I followed throughout the twelve months definitely highlighted it's pursuit for me.

This time around, I wanted to continue having a year of new experiences but I wanted to turn up the dial. I think, this time last year, when I began New52, I had hoped it would stretch me into seeking out untried experiences which I'd not done before because of fear or anxiety. However, it soon morphed into a record purely of new experiences. Which was fine. It did, at least, meet it's remit.

So to push me on, with a little retuning, I have decided my word for 2012 will be "Dare". I wanted a single, snappy word which meant "leaving one's comfort zone". "Adventure" seemed too restrictive, "Bravery" & "Courage" were too laughable. I'm not planning on becoming the next Andy McNab. I did like the word "pluck" though. But in the end, "Dare" seemed to sum up my hopes for the coming months more accurately.

Dares, for me, don't have to be major undertakings. For instance, the first day of 2012 saw me standing sideways, in unflattering clothes, asking my OH to take a photo of me and my expanded waistline. Not only that, I have shared that picture with several others. It wasn't to the same degree as throwing oneself out of a plane with nothing but a parachute to stop you plummeting to the earth but nevertheless, my pulse quickened, my palms were sweating and I definitely felt out of my comfort zone.

And to acknowledge to myself and make a commitment to my chosen word, I created the above digital layout which I can print out and pin to the cork-board in my craft room, as a reminder to leave my comfort zone as often as possible.

Come tomorrow, the holidays will be over and life will begin to take on a normal routine. My blog will also revert to norm too. I'll pick up my papers, scissors, glue and paints and share my creations online. However, now and again, I'll hopefully include a post which also updates on my forays into experiencing dares.

And here's wishing all my readers, a wonderful New Year too, full of wonder and fulfilment.

Paul x

New52 - The Finale

2011-12-28T15:59:00.000Z

Hello there and welcome to what is probably going to be my last post of 2011. So it is fitting that it is about the final layouts for this year's New52 project (If you wish to see the preceding entries, you can find them in this post).

I have to say, it's been a fascinating exercise, recording my new experiences, even the small ones, every week and yes, I too have noticed that there are a fair number of food-related entries. But in my defence, some include fruit!!!

There are entries I would have loved to included, had they happened, including a walking tour with Lip Service, which I missed due to my poorly back and the making of a perfect Macaron (yes there's been a few attempts but none that I have had the nerve to share publicly).

And I have enjoyed noting to myself, each and every week, the experiences which are new and worthy of inclusion. I thought initially that this project would push me to try out stuff I hadn't done before but actually, it has ended up showing me that I'm constantly doing something that's new. Only that this year, I'm more conscious of it.

I don't want it to end here either. It's a habit I've grown fond of. In some form or other, so I'm going to continue with New52 into 2012. Whether I keep to the same format, or tweak it in some way or even up the ante, I'm not sure yet. I still have a few days to mull it over.

Well, that's it for this year folks. Christmas has been and gone and back here, Nick & I are enjoying the peace and quiet. We're sitting back, patting our expanded tums, taking time to daydream and making plans for the next twelve months. So to you, my readers, may I take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy and creativity-packed New Year. Pxx

xxxX Merry Christmas Xxxxx

2011-12-22T10:00:00.000Z

Just a quick post to wish all my followers a very Merry Christmas. Thank you ever so much for popping in this year and taking time out from your busy lives to read my blatherings and peruse the photos. You're all fabulous!!!!

I shall be taking a short online break for the festive season. Partly, because I shall be relaxing and slothing in front of the TV rather than sitting in my craft room and partly (albeit optimistically) I'm planning to use the time to have a clear out and tidy up of my messy, creative room. If all goes to plan, then sometime in the New Year, I'd like to paint the walls and spruce it up.

I shall be back when the New Year kicks in, the health regime has begun (again!) and I play around with new crafty projects. And I'll also post my final NEW52 layouts. Only two more to do, as I type. I'll be looking for something to replace it in 2012 as well as deciding on my new word for the year.

Enjoy the season folks and I hope Santa has deemed you to have been a good enough girl or boy this year and leaves something crafty under your tree. Pxxxxxx

Dashing One Out with Mojo

2011-12-15T12:08:00.003Z

Like a lot of people, I imagine, I find myself almost neglecting my blog in this busy season. Whether I like it or not, there is much to organise. Cards, presents, food, parties, finishing deadlines of projects etc. I know that some of you out there are efficient and productive and can keep many more plates spinning at any given time. Me, I'm happiest when concentrating on one whirling dish at a time.

So this morning, I've neglected my work (that'll be done this afternoon and evening instead) & set about writing out cards and labelling up envelopes before taking time out to knock up a quick project for the Mojo Monday challenge.

The flower, I handmade at a recent craft group. As per usual, I didn't produce much at the end of the day but at least I had this to show for it. I basically cut a thin strip of canvas then roughly cut out a scalloped edge. I placed a running stitch along the straight edge, pulled the thread tight and shaped into a spiral to give this shabby-styled embellishment.

Right, well I'd better go and grab some lunch before I need to hunker down in front of my computer and do some work. Snow is forecast for later, so you'll find me hibernating under the duvet this weekend. Stay warm & safe my friends. Pxx

Eight days in for Day One

2011-12-08T14:58:00.002Z

It's been a busy, busy month so far but isn't it always that way at this time of year? My craft table is gathering dust from lack of use. It's part in fact to having other projects on the go but also some of the blame has to be put on Kindle again. This is my first Winter where I own one and I have to say that recently, in the hours of the evening, when I would normally pick up paper and glue, I'm reaching for an ebook instead.

However, as at the time of writing, Tim Holtz 12 Tags of Christmas has reached day eight and in an attempt to make the smallest effort to join in, I've decided to have a go at the very first project.

Now I've only loosely used the design to inspire my own creation. I've used it more as a CASE study, which mentally gave me a greater sense of freedom in its interpretation.

For instance I don't have a pine cone die and even if I did, I wasn't keen on using them (I saw some wonderful ideas for creating cones without the die but still decided it wasn't for me). I preferred, I'm sure to no ones surprise, to make flowers instead. The technique is very similar, as in I used a spiral floral die from Spellbinders which had the essence of the shape. I like the idea of snow on the flowers but instead of white dabbers & glitter, I used puffy paint. The leaves and border in the background were also lined with it. Instead of glitter, I daubed Ranger's liquid pearls, Opal white, over the snow, to hint at a glistening effect.

I also wanted something more subtle on the text. Instead of full-on glitter, I covered my chipboard letters in a crystal embossing powder. So there,s a definite shimmer when the light hits the letters. I replaced 'Noel' with 'SSshh!' because I wanted to create a winter tag rather than a festive one.

I kept the blue painted and white embossing powdered background and I added pearls & vintage trim to the top, so I did keep just enough the same, so as to be recognisable as the first TH tag 2011.

So there you have it. If I manage nothing else, I can at least say I got as far as day one. I'm certainly impressed by the blogs I visit where all eight tags have been made. I'm in awe of the speed and quality of them.

Maybe it's a winter thing. If there existed a 12 tags of Spring, I'd have the daylight and the oomph to zip through them. Dark, blustery, cold evenings have me hibernating away, under the duvet until the daffodils begin to poke up in the garden.

Not long till the weekend folks. Stay safe, if you're affected by the strong winds we're experiencing in the UK. Pxx

Sweet Treats for Party Girls

2011-12-03T13:00:00.001Z

All being well, I have timed this post to go up whilst I'm at Victoria Stampers' Christmas party in Padgate. We are going to be catered for but I wanted to bring along a little present for all the ladies. Last year, I spent many late hours in the kitchen making "Hot Chocolate on a Stick" gifts. This time around, I've joined the year's latest foodie craze and made Cake Pops.

For those not in the know, Cake pops are small balls of cake plonked atop a lollipop stick. If you want to find out more, check out Bakerella's Blog.

For the ones I made, it couldn't be any easier. I bought a pre-made chocolate sponge cake which had incorporated into it, a buttercream filling. I broke the cake up into a bowl, added some vanilla essence and squished it up until I had a chocolate dough ball. I broke off small chunks and rolled them into small ball shapes using the palms of my hands. I then chilled them in the fridge.

It was then just a case of melting two pots of white chocolate, one of which I had added the tiniest drop of red food colouring and strawberry flavouring. I attached sticks to the cake balls, dunked them in the pink chocolate & let them set. Finally, I dunked them into melted white chocolate then a bowl of pink sugar sprinkles. Now how easy is that?

Best of all, they're too small to make a significant dent in anyone's calorie watching regime. Then again, who watches them at this time of year anyway? Isn't that what January's for?

Enjoy your weekend :) Pxx

I'm in the Mood

2011-11-30T09:00:00.003Z

Maybe it's because the crafting world is gearing up for the much anticipated 12 Tags of Christmas from Tim Holtz that it has seeped into my consciousness this week. Slowly, ever so subtly, I became aware that I was in the mood for and had an irresistible urge to indeed create a tag.

No challenge to enter, no purpose to fulfil, no agenda in the background, I just wanted to have a muck about. The great fun with tags, like ATCs, is that they are a great way to experiment with techniques and ideas.

I come across lots of wonderful, creative projects when I'm surfing through blogland and Pinterest and it's deeply satisfying to spend an evening trying them out. For instance I saw a card where a chipboard frame had been wrapped in seam binding. So on it's gone. And I saw someone demoing a ruffled ribbon technique. So out came the seam binding again. Paper feathers I've made before, but I thought I'd miniaturise them for this tag and finally, I've added a snow flower from my previous post. And of course, I wanted to try them all out in pale, shabby colours.

Having gotten this creative itch out of my system (for now), I can begin to sit back, have a snooze and await, with the rest of the creative world, for tomorrow's first tempting tag from Tim.

Have a fun day. Pxx

Snow Flowers

2011-11-26T13:09:00.003Z

I tried these flowers out again from this tutorial. I laid the puffy paint on a lot thicker than in the steps shown and it gives the flowers the look of having been covered in heavy snow. They'll be perfect for any upcoming wintry projects or even to decorate the packaging on Christmas gifts, as an alternative to a bow. Px

Leaving Rude Comments

2011-11-26T09:55:00.003Z

Just a quickie to highlight something I have gathered is doing the rounds. I popped onto my friend Jo's blog only to read that she had been left a comment the other day, criticising her choice of colours in a craft she posted. Then reading down to the list of comments left in response, it seems that she is not alone.

And I too received a similar comment. In my previous post about my concertina book/box, it was suggested I needed to add some colour to it. Like everyone else, I just deleted it. I shrugged it off. Each to their own taste even if I didn't agree with them.

However, having seen now that mine is not an isolated case and that lots of people had a personal comment within the last few days, I'm doing the same as Jo & highlighting it. If one of my readers, who has a blog, has received a similar comment, I'm guessing it is some kind of spam. Delete it & think no more of it. Carry on crafting and making your beautiful works of art :) Pxx

Concertina Box (or is it a book?)

2011-11-22T09:46:00.004Z

Remember I said there was an unfinished project from Sunday. Well here it is, done and dusted. In truth, all I managed to do on the day was create the structure. I left the decoration part until I was back home safely, ensconced in my craft room, surrounded by all my bits and bobs.

I first saw the concertina box/book idea at a stall at the Ally Pally Craft show this year. I asked the lady who was demoing, how she put it together and she said that it was easy to find on the internet. Well, it wasn't. I hadn't a clue which words to throw at google. And those I chose, didn't throw up the project I was after.

However, I persisted with ever more inventive search words and finally found this tutorial here.

I made this particular box with no specific purpose in mind, except to try it out and see how simple it was to assemble. I loved making altered books a few years ago, with niches inside but it takes a lot of work and bucket loads of sharp blades to cut them out. This seemed like a great way to achieve the same effect with less effort. And having now trialed it, I can confirm that yes it is indeed easy to make.

And now that I've acquainted myself with the technique, I can see myself making it in larger sizes in the future. And maybe, it'll be created the other way around, as in, I'll have the idea first, then I'll put it together.

A Weekend of Flowers, Texts & Cheese

2011-11-21T14:10:00.002Z

As I think you may have gathered by now, I began my weekend last Friday with a trip to Manchester's Christmas markets and it certainly didn't disappoint. We ignored anything to do with the festive season and concentrated purely on food. All our favourites were back, so we were able to buy a black ham, Mozart chocolates, brandy snaps, nougat and a bounty of french cheeses. However, as an extra surprise, new to us this year, is a stall selling mini Gaperon's. And what is Gaperon? It's french, it's cheese, it's dome shaped, it's made with garlic and it's wickedly moreish. I was put onto it by Inky Fingers herself, fellow francophile, Cath. Even in France it isn't easy to come by. So I was quite the happy chap to have found it.

Saturday, I had planned to spend the day crafting at our local crop & I even had my plastic crate packed to the brim and ready to go. However, on waking up to a sunny day, I was itching instead to make the most of the outdoors (apologies ladies if you're reading :) ). At this time of year, you have to make the most of it, as we may never see the sun again until Spring next year. So we took ourselves out into the countryside for an autumn stroll.

The plus side was that I had a date with another group of crafty friends, in Padgate, on Sunday and I didn't even have to think about packing as I still had my full crate sitting there on the table top. I spent the morning on a project which isn't finished yet but if I can find time this week, I'll finish and blog on here. What I do have to show though are these homemade flowers. The ones on the left are a fringe technique using cotton fabric. The ones on the right are from paper, die cut, flower shapes with a dab of puffy paint on the edges (I found a tutorial here).

I left early so that Nick & I could get one more dose of exercise in for the weekend but it wasn't early enough to make the most of the daylight. For the first time in a long while, we strolled through woodlands and by the side of the river, in the dark. We could just about make out the paths to walk on. It's certainly very atmospheric, as everything is still and quiet. It was two very weird and interesting hours.

Finally, I wanted to share a text I received at the weekend from my younger brother, who as I type, is in Vietnam, helping out the with the Red Cross. As you can see, for those who don't know already, I own a brick for a phone. It's hardly ever switched on and I'm terrible at being contacted through it. But with my sibling off in foreign lands, it is useful to switch on every now and again, to check for messages. As you can see, he has the same adventurous spirit towards food that I have. Only difference, is that he's stayed slim over the years.

Well that's my weekend. Not a lot of time spent creating. More talking, walking and eating. Hope you all had an interesting few days too. I'm guessing for those of you over the pond, there's been a heap of preparation for the upcoming Thanksgiving Day.

Enjoy your week. Paul xx

One Half Trade Card Tuesday

2011-11-18T08:38:00.006Z

Truly I am hopeless. One simple instruction..., no scrap that, that's not where the problem lies. There were two simple instructions and really my poor brain can only cope with one.

The challenge asked us to create a card using this week's free image for Jodie Lee's Trade Card Tuesday challenge AND make it a Christmas theme.

Well at least I made a card with the cherubic fairy. I could have just made a random Christmas card instead. If I do something half right, at least I choose the wiser half.

That aside, I did manage to include Jodie's French Market digital papers. The sentiment is one I created and printed out. The lace bow was my first attempt at this tutorial and though it turned out okay, I think, with a little practise, it could improve. And yes, this time, some stitching made it's way onto there too.

The design is from the Deconstructed Sketch challenge, hence the need to incorporate such a big bow.

Right, well I'm off to have a warming bowl of porridge before descending on Manchester and it's markets. I hadn't planned on writing a post this morning but with limited daylight, the best time to take a photo is just as the sun rises and before it casts too harsh a shadow. Really, there's a 5 minute slot where it's perfect.

And finally, speaking of light. I bought a Daylight Bulb from Amazon which arrived & I fitted yesterday. The difference is amazing. My craft room is a joy to play in, once the sun goes down. It is wonderfully bright and playing around with coloured stash is much easier. Too often, I've made something under tungsten, only to wake up, view it in natural daylight & go yuck! Honestly, it's such a simple solution, I wonder why I didn't think of it before. :) Px

Clearing Time in my Calendar

2011-11-17T12:11:00.002Z

It's been a wonderful, productive week, filled with the delightful joy that I feel when placing ticks against items on my 'To Do' list. I've even managed to exercise every day and make healthy, nutritional meals every night. It's Stepford Wives & Invasion of the Body Snatchers all rolled into one. It won't last but whilst I'm in the flow, I'm not complaining.

However, I haven't found much time to make something that I can show on my space on the web. I've dabbled with smooshing paint around paper, doodling and mixing colours but nothing that I could call a "finished" project. Also, I've just discovered that a pulp fiction author from the 1980s, whose books I read avidly as a teenager, has had them all converted to Kindle. This has meant that my evenings are currently filled with nostalgic lo-brow fiction. Think I'm joking? Well I'm presently half way through a novel on giant killer crabs, the size of cattle, rampaging through Wales. I have no standards!

So this morning, in an effort to take time out to play, I have sneaked an hour out to produce a quick card for the Mojo Monday challenge. Hence why there's no time consuming techniques such as stitching on this design. I just reached for my go-tos of Prima paper, flowers, lace and die cut labels.

Tomorrow, I shall reward myself for all those late nights working (which aren't easy for a lark such as myself) and days spent tearing through my lists with a trip to Manchester's Christmas markets. Not because I'm feeling festive, far from it, but because there are some wonderful food related (surprise, surprise) stalls there. I'll be buying up the smoked hams, french cheeses, brandy snap biscuits and warming myself with a hot chocolate or two. Bliss!

Hope you all have a fun and creative weekend. Pxx

Vintage Banners Freebie

2011-11-10T21:30:00.000Z

I can announce this earlier than I anticipated :D Yes, as I was hinting at in my previous posting, if you head over to Facebook and "like" Gypsy Chicks (Jodie Lee), she has another generous digital freebie. A set of printable, Parisian-themed banners.

I was asked if I would like a preview set and agreed without hesitation, . Well you would, wouldn't you. I was like a puppy chasing it's tail in excitement. No sooner had I received my copy, than it was sent to the printer. Okay, okay, after a few hours had passed and I'd calmed down, I also started playing around with the scale and printed them out again.

From the original printout, I made this Christmas cone tree decoration. You can't see it in the photo but this is a triple sided design, each with a different banner to it.

The card from my last post incorporated a set which I shrank down in order to use for this smaller scaled project.

So if you love the vintage style and you're a fan of banners, head on over to Jodie's. She'll be chuffed to pieces if you use them in your crafty projects. :) Px

Bigging it Up for Jodie

2011-11-10T18:00:00.003Z

I have the wonderful honour of having made a brand new friend recently. Especially as she's a talented designer I've admired from afar for quite a while now. I've loved her work and have even bought her products without even knowing she was behind them. I am referring to the delightful vintage styled creations of the Gypsy Chick herself, Jodie Lee.

I once read that Mark Gatiss, upon meeting his hero, Rufus Wainwright, found it was all he could do to stop himself from touching the singer's nose. I feel the exact same way about Jodie (she doesn't know this yet lol).

I first knew of Jodie's work from buying her digital designs through Jessica Sprague's website. Then she wrote a comment on my blog having seen that I had incorporated one of her rubber stamp designs in one of my cards. I didn't know it at the time, but she is the talent behind Pink Paislee's Butterfly Garden Collection (a huge fave of mine. I've used the stamps but cannot, will not, cut into my lovely 12x12 papers).

Anyhoo, for reasons I'll explain tomorrow, I made a card using some of my Jodie Lee stash. The background paper with the rose design is actually a freebie which

you can download from her blog. The rest was from my digital collection.

The buttons are a technique I found online for transforming plain types into shabby chic, using liquid pearl paint, distress crackle and then distress ink.

Finally, the inspiration for the card's design came from this week's CASE study challenge.

Okay, off to write the post for tomorrow. Can't say much now but (hint, hint) there may be another link to a freebie, so stay tuned.

Shabby Chic Binder

2011-11-04T11:24:00.002Z

Shock horror! I'm not posting a handmade card today :) Instead I've been painting, inking and glueing onto an ordinary ring binder.

Now that I have sampled the delights of acrylic paint, I'm like an addict going back for more. The creative Jekyll & Hyde sides of me have undergone a change again. I've drunk the potion and unleashed the artier nature in me lol. And it's been further enticed by a spur of the moment visit to the NEC Craft show yesterday, where I popped by Paperartsy's stand to watch Leandra work wonders with paints and inks.

So once I returned home, I settled into my craft room and covered a ring binder in gesso. Once dried, I then added paint, chopped up some patterned paper to size, from Basic Grey's Periphery range, wrinkled the edges and glued to the front, side and back. On the inside, I went neater with an untampered layer of Anna Griffin paper.

That just left the fun part. Decorating the front with an assortment of accessories and embellishments. Yes, as you can see, flowers, lace, butterflies, buttons, filigree corners and pearls have all made it onto the assemblage. My current "go tos". However, I've also added leaves but this time, cut from linen, which is new for me. As are the paper feathers (I found a tutorial here and just knew I had to have a go).

Finally, I'm going to enter this into The Thrifty Thursday challenge on the Inspired by Charm blog (it began last week and there are some beautiful entries. Can't wait to see what people have submitted this time around). Enjoy your weekend everyone. Pxx

Up Late & Feeling Shabby

2011-11-01T11:35:00.005Z

I've been in a shabby mood of late and wanting to make something, anything just for the sake of it.

The first card uses an old sketch from Mojo Monday back from October 2010. I'd already handmade the flower using a die cut shape of a leaf and wanted a design which could incorporate it. The hand stitching seemed like a good idea at the time but took about an hour to accomplish (I am only too painfully aware that some of you crafters out there could sew it in a matter of minutes lol). I did however, play with acrylic paints for the first time in a long while and boy did it feel good. The blue, the purple and the white that you see, are all painted.

The second card, "Always", is a CASEd design but I cannot track down the original's blog whereabouts. So if you have seen a similar design elsewhere on the web, that's why (& I'd love to have the link). I loved the colours in the original and wanted to play around with the combination of light grey, white and cream.

Right now, I'm in the middle of decorating a binder. I've dug out the paints again but I'm umming and ahhing where to go with it next. Hopefully by tonight, when I'll next have the time to go into my craft room, the muse will have struck.

I trust everyone has had a fun halloween and if anyone feels they have too much chocolate in the house, let me know and I'll gladly take it off your hands lol. Pxx

Hurrah For Boredom

2011-10-30T11:33:00.002Z

Thank you to everyone who left a kind comment regards the last post :) I'm pleased to say that life has returned to being boring. However, the fallout of the mini dramas is that Nick has downed more wine & I've eaten more cakes, over the last week, than is probably good for us. So tomorrow marks the start of (yet another) health kick to compensate lol.

So unusually for a Sunday (and partly because of the extra hour the clocks going back has allowed), I'm playing in my craft room. And though it's last minute, I cobbled together a card for the Mojo Monday challenge. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if I'm the very last entry.

I've gone ahead and used my Isabelle papers again, which meant low-effort on co-ordinating colours. The heart embellishments are inspired by (i.e. copied from) an idea in Lisa Pace's book Delight in the Details.

Well it's bright & sunny here, so an invigorating walk is probably called for this afternoon before settling down to watch one of the many horror films I have stacked up. To all my american readers, have a wonderful Halloween night tomorrow. Pxx

Taking Time Out To CASE

2011-10-27T14:26:00.002+01:00

It's been a weird few days. Full of challenges and I don't mean the type I can craft to. I even had an unexpected if unwelcome entry for my New52 project (yes, I'm still doing it behind the scenes and will share at the end of the year). I took delivery in the morning of a heavy new boiler which the courier refused to bring up the steps and indoors. So it sat round the side of our house and right under my nose (literally, I was upstairs in a front facing room) within an hour at most, it was stolen. Talk about stomachs churning and jaws dropping like lead to the floor.

I know they say bad luck happens in threes but we're up to about six and counting. Thankfully not all as bad as being the victims of opportunist criminals. We do now, however, have a new boiler installed in time for winter and the company agreed to supply a second one without charge. Everything all comes out in the wash but it'll be nice to have a boring day.

So last night I went ahead and CASE'd a card which I drooled over recently on a newly discovered blog. The talented lady who made the card is Anne Kristine Holt and you can find both her beautiful blog & the project I used as inspiration here.

I kept most of the elements the same, using stash that was similar in nature. I've also chopped and changed a few pieces to suit as well. It made a change from making something for a challenge. However, there are some brilliant ones out there this week and limited time means I'm going to have to choose. Let's hope it's a quiet weekend and I can put aside more time to play in my craft room.

Hope everyone else is well and finding the time to unwind and create. Not long now until the working week is over. And this weekend (in the UK) we can indulge in an extra hour in bed on Sunday.

Pxx

Channelling Kelly Hoppen

2011-10-24T09:50:00.003+01:00

Thanks to my newly acquired Isabelle stack from First Edition Paper, I am channelling my inner Kelly Hoppen. If you are not aware of this talented woman, she's a renowned interior designer who has a signature style consisting of a neutral palette. And there is one colour in particular, that I have used on this card, which is synonymous with KH. Taupe.

Yup. KH is the queen of Taupe, in all its many shades. Ahhhh, give me a neutral palette to play with any day of the week. And I've chosen to accent with the collection's pale blue-green papers.

It's not quite as shabby this time around but some of my usual elements are there. Buttons, flower, pearls & seam binding. The design has come from this week's Deconstructed Sketch. I've had to modify the placing of the ovals though. If I hadn't, I would have hidden the stamped chandelier image.

Hope everyone has had a fun, creative & relaxing weekend. Pxx

Not Quite There Yet

2011-10-21T10:57:00.004+01:00

First of all, thank you to everyone who wished me well with my back. It's a lot better today. Though I'm not quite ready to do back flips yet. All in good time :)

Secondly, I have tried to take a better photo of the above card but I've given up. If I keep at it, then an expensive camera may find itself being flung right across the room. I've got a feeling I'm not quite in the "zone" this morning.

Anyhoo, this is my entry for the Mojo Monday Challenge. As you can see, I'm still playing around with pale, vintage colours, seeing what works and what doesn't. I have it envisioned in my head, to have a pale grey or cream background with perfectly accented colour on the embellishments. I haven't yet produced the design I see with my mind's eye but I'll keep plugging away until the magic happens.

Right, well I've just been bellowed at, to let me know that I have a brew waiting for me downstairs, so I'll go have a quick break before I settle in and do something that vaguely resembles work :) Px

Just in the Nick of Time

2011-10-19T14:28:00.003+01:00

The sketch I used for this card was from a challenge set last Thursday on the Deconstructed blog & the deadline is only a few hours away. Fortunately I can still just scrape my entry in at the last minute.

The reason for my tardiness is my old foe, the back problem. I couldn't move over the weekend and missed out on some wonderful outings which had been planned for months in advance. One-off, never to be repeated events. However, mustn't grumble, there are people with far worse problems than me in the world. And the good news is that I seem to be on the mend. However, it's only been in the last 24 hours that I've been able to sit in my craft room. My stash has been in serious danger of gathering a thin layer of dust.

So glad to be back to sticking stuff on stuff!

As for the card itself, well there's nothing majorly new going on there. All the usual suspects can be found. Lace, pearls, patterned paper, filigree corners (however this time around, it's been coated with light blue acrylic paint). The flower is made from mulberry paper & is probably the quickest embellishment in the history of card making. I was going to add an accent colour but somehow I became sidetracked when piecing the project together and it was forgotten. It'll have to be included next time now.

Right, I'm off to heat up my purple bean bag sausage pillow thing in the microwave. It fits perfectly in the crook of my lower back and offers a relief that unfortunately not even chocolate can give lol. Px

One Challenge to the Tune of Another

2011-10-14T10:04:00.003+01:00

I was a bit sneaky yesterday. I joined in an online crop hosted by Kirsty. She supplied a sketch and set about making her layout, for us to see via the magic of web camming and chat. The idea was that though she couldn't see us, we would all be joining in too. And I was. In a way. But I was making a card instead. Oh yes, and I wasn't using the sketch. In fact, I was trying to catch up with producing something for Mojo Monday's challenge and using theirs instead.

Actually, it's not as easy as it sounds, trying to chat online and make a card. I had to keep stopping so that I could tap away at the keyboard and join in the conversation. However, I did manage to juggle the two disciplines and by the time the online crop had finished, I had a completed card on my desk. Never mind that now my craft room looked as if there'd been a small explosion in a paper manufacturing factory.

So this morning, I set about clearing everything away and battling with taking a photo of my evening's work using what passes for daylight on this grey and drab day.

And there you have it. Now I have to steal myself to dig out my walking boots, as we have a friend staying the weekend and he's rather keen on going for a hike today. Well, at least the forecast isn't for rain.

Happy crafting everyone Pxx

Inspired By Acorns

2011-10-10T16:05:00.003+01:00

Okay, so this post is a bit different. I've veered away from my usual crafts, to indulge in a spot of home decor. The idea to paint acorns isn't mine. It comes from a website of a lovely chap called Michael Wurm and his wonderful blog, Inspired by Charm. In particular, this post here.

If I lived closer to his wonderful shop and bed & breakfast, I'd be broke (& he would be able to retire) as I'd buy everything. I'd also be the size of a house as he cooks such mouthwatering recipes. I defy you to look through his blog without drooling.

What's more, if you click and join his facebook page, you will enjoy a daily inspirational quote. He collects and shares them and boy are they quality.

Anyhoo, he's been trying out something new everyday in October and posting them onto his blog. And to illustrate his intention, he used a photograph of bright red acorns. He had so many requests, that he shared how he did it.

I loved the idea and wanted to have a go at something similar. Not in red, but in cream and white. So I gathered up a selection of acorns and laid them out on my craft table. But instead of using spray paint, I opted for acrylic paints and a brush. I coloured the cups in a buff paint and gave the acorns two coats of titanium white. It takes me back to a time in college when we bought a selection of fruit including apples, grapes and bananas & spray painted them white. We made a monochromatic still life from them and drew, photographed & painted the arrangement. I'm sure it was to teach us about light and shade.

So now I have a variety of these acorns scattered over one of my fireplaces, poking out from behind the ornaments and candle holders & I can truly say I've been inspired and charmed :) Px

Becoming Deconstructed

2011-10-08T16:24:00.003+01:00

Ah, when I see the word 'decontructed', it takes me back to the days when I used to read philosophy. My old grey cells cannot recall very much but I do associate the thoughts of Jaques Derrida with the term deconstructionism. The lofty idea was about taking apart all the meanings and associations we bring to words, in order to understand them more precisely (to anyone reading this who studied Derrida, I know, I know, this is a very simplistic interpretation :) ).

Anyhoo, rambling thoughts aside, I came across this word because I discovered another challenge blog, The Deconstructed Sketch (thanks Andrea). I rather liked it's quirkiness too. You don't often see a triangular element slap bang in the centre of a card design. I haven't a clue whose papers I've used etc. All my papers are in a jumble in my storage box. I just picked out the ones I liked, which I figured would go well together. And as for the flowers, you can slap my wrist as there's a bought one on here. The main cream flower is from Prima. The small, felt, rolled rose, however, is handmade by my own fair hands lol. I think my mojo is gradually returning :)

A CASE for the Mojoless & a dangerous discovery

2011-10-07T10:40:00.003+01:00

You may not believe it, looking at the above card but I've been feeling the absence of my creative mojo over the last few days. Everytime I sit in my craft room, a sudden sense of overwhelm happens and creatively it sends me brain into shutdown. It isn't the first time I've felt like this either. With me, it's feast or famine. I either have heaps of inspiration or nothing. And apparently this is not unique to me. More on that in a minute.

Before I run away with myself, I'll explain the card. Having lost my motivation, I headed over to the CASE study challenge. All I had to do was copy someone else's card. I even picked out papers from one paper pad collection. No thought required. However, even when CASEing the card, I have found that my finished result looks quite different and to has my own take on it.

Now, I know that life has a beautiful way of pointing you in the right direction and that coincidences can suddenly appear. And just as I was in a creative ebb, a book came my way which explained it. It's called The Artist Unique by Carmen Torbus (Amazon link here). There's a passage in it which refers to the Seasons of Your Creativity. "There will be times when we're on fire with inspiration and making lots of art. And there will be other times when we're moving more slowly, feeling less inspired and not creating much." It goes on to say "I realised that these down periods are just part of a cycle, just like seasons".

Apparently it's okay to have these creative winters. It's a time to go out and refill the creative well. It was reassuring to read someone else recount exactly what happens to me. And all of a sudden, I relaxed. This week, is my lull. My winter. I've accepted it. Once I let it happen, inspiration will strike and I'll be churning stuff out again lol.

So what's the dangerous discovery as mentioned in the title? I have a Kindle. I love it!!! In seconds, I can see a book I want & be reading it. Until yesterday, I believed that because the Kindle was greyscale, that buying digital versions of art books was out of the question. I needed to see the colour pages. And what I've learnt is that now I can. On my Mac. There's a free app which means you can read Kindle books on a computer. And the digital versions of the arty books I love, are in colour. That's how I bought the above mentioned tome. And there's a whole heap of them I can buy and read at anytime, if I so choose. The temptation to just go crazy, is sooooo strong. My finger keeps twitching on the Buy button. I have very little self control and the ease of the One Click isn't helping lol.

So if you see in the news that Amazon's profits have recently soared, you'll know why.

Enjoy your weekends everyone. Crafting or not, go with the flow & relax :) Px

An Altered Box in Vintage White

2011-10-02T22:09:00.005+01:00

Well! What a fantastic day Saturday was. For a start, the weather was gorgeous. Lunchtime, I was sat outdoors almost burning in the October sun. When do you ever need sun cream in October? Anyways, as I write, the weather, though warm, is returning to normal. I'll be in a thermal vest by the end of the week.

The second reason the day was special was because I spent it with a wonderful group of local crafters. The day was organised by my amazing friend, Neet. She brought along a plain wooden box for each of us, complete with inspiration as to how to decorate it. The delight in this group is that when given the same project to play with, the results are stunningly individual and different. No two look the same. Mine, you can see above but to see what I mean about the variety, check out Neet's blog post here to see how others interpreted the workshop.

I'm on a vintage white vibe at the moment. It's still new to me and I'm enjoying the learning process of what works and what doesn't. So I tried it out on my piece. I began by painting the whole box in a cream acrylic paint and letting it dry (the sunny day was a boon for this and fortunately each layer dried quickly). The next coat was a crackle solution. Finally, when this had air dried, I slapped white acrylic paint over it. Though you can't see it well in the photos, there's a lovely subtle distressed look to the box.

That took up a good chunk of the morning but it was the afternoon was the fun part. Creating handmade flowers in cotton and linen, and decorating sewing reels in canvas and book text strips. Then there were the goodies that the group shared around. I was very lucky to be sat next to Jo, who proffered up such beauties as the cufflinks, a mini bottle of beads and, my favourite, a lavender bag.

I also sat close by to Donna, who had brought her art journals with her and which I was privileged enough to browse through. Such freedom of expression. Such colour. Such talent. Plus I saw how wonderful a soft backed moleskine journal is for allowing the pages to include chunky elements. I'm tempted to start up art journals again. Watch this space as they say.

If there's a downside to the weekend (apart from a dodgy back) it's the unpacking and the mess that I've created in my art room. There's not an inch of clear space. Every time I move around in it, I trip over something. Methinks a clear-out is due in the next few days.

Enjoy your week everyone! Pxx

Warm Weather Suits my Mojo

2011-09-29T08:57:00.003+01:00

The UK has been enjoying some unusually warm weather and it seems to have done my mojo some good as last night I actually made time for crafting.

The design is loosely (& I mean loosely) based on this week's Mojo Monday challenge. It started off with all the correct elements but then I added all sorts of bits and bobs to the card, so that now you can hardly see the particulars of the sketch.

The papers are all from Prima's Romantique range, which I bought at Ally Pally. The terracotta coloured paper was a little too saturated for my liking, so I gave it a whitewash with the picket fence distress stain. I love the way it mutes and softens.

The edge was scraped over with a knife before dabbing with tea stain distress ink. The flower was made using a length of ruffled trim, glued into a coil. The leaves were cut from another decorative strip of trim I have in my stash. The swirls were die cut out of a scrap of paper which I had been playing around with using crackle solution. And of course, I had to add lace, pearls and some stitching in there.

Hoping for another warm, sunny day, so I'd better crack on in order that I can sneak out this afternoon and enjoy. Px

Ally Pally & the V&A

2011-09-26T18:26:00.004+01:00

Over the weekend, I was lucky enough to spend the day in London. I saved a fortune by travelling on a Saturday, when there are cheaper train tickets and by doing it all in a day, & so not requiring any accommodation. I left Stockport at 7am and found myself in the capital at 9am. A spot of breakfast, a ride on the underground and by 9.30am, I was in the queue for the craft show at the Ally Pally.

I was positive I'd bought more stash and sure enough, after taking the below photo, I recalled the flowers, punches and papers which I filed away on my return. However, you can see some wooden reels, giant bottle caps, chalky paints, distress stickles, distress paint & pearl paint from ranger (on offer so I bought a few) and some resin embellishments from Prima.

Come midday, I left the show & trotted off to my favourite place in London, the V&A Museum. Firstly, to see the Design Week exhibits, including this timber wave structure at it's entrance (photo courtesy of their website, not one I took). My first port of call, once through the doors however was to find a spot to sit in their garden, in the sun, enjoying an iced tea, a chicken roll & a slice of cake.

After a relaxing half hour, it was off around the Museum, sketchbook in hand, delighting in the exhibits. Highlights included the winning entries for an annual bookbinding competition. As someone who has made their own books and gone on a course on how to bind, I was fascinated to see the talented creations.

However, as a huge fan of the wondrous Annie Lennox, I just had to visit the House of Annie Lennox on the second floor. It's a bit tricky to find, hidden away in the maze of the building's top floors, but I eventually stumbled upon it. It was lovely o see the exhibits on display but I wish there'd been more to it.

Sadly, time started to run out & I headed back to Euston Station. I left the sun & returned, two hours later, to rain.

Later on, sitting downstairs, with a book, relaxing, it felt surreal being back in my house when I'd been travelling on London's underground trains only a few hours before. I tell you, it's a brilliant way to spend a day.

Chatsworth Sculpture Trail

2011-09-26T17:50:00.005+01:00

How lucky am I that last Friday we had some surprisingly and very welcome good weather in the North West of the UK. The sun was out, there was blue sky and fluffy white clouds. It was perfect for visiting the sculpture exhibition Beyond Limits at Chatsworth House gardens. If you are a local follower, I highly recommend a visit but make sure it's soon as it only runs until 30th October 2011. It'll certainly nurture your creative well.

Some exhibits, like the above turbine, are permanent. The current owners seem to be avid fans of sculptural art and have commissioned several new pieces which you'll see all year round.

Magritte is on at Liverpool Tate for a few more weeks. I'm hoping to visit before it ends but in the meantime, I was happy to find his playful sculpture here.

Another permanent art piece from willow. There are three of these bulbous shapes on display near the kitchen garden.

Here I am taking a photo in a rotating mirrored sculpture.

The traditional and the contemporary meet as this brightly coloured, plastic-styled flower sits staring out at the bottom of the cascades.

There are two must sees, in my opinion. This is the first. A beautiful, if fearsome, lion created from recycled tyres. It's breathtaking.

Round the corner is a light hearted piece. A pair of giant upturned naked feet.

Another permanent display are a series of bronze busts depicting the previous Duchess's family tree & the link to the royal family. They were amazingly detailed. There are busts of Winston Churchill, Prince Charles, The Queen (above) & Lucien Freud among the more recognisable faces.

And so to Damien Hirst's contribution. A piece entitled Legend. There are two statues, both on plinths. One is a unicorn, the other a winged horse. These are my other recommended must sees.

And finally, this, ahem, suggestive red flower. Wherever you see an orchid depicted in art, you just know it will be alluding to femininity.

There are 25 sculptures in all and at the entrance you are given a map of the route you can take, in order to see all of them. I understand from the weathermen that we are going to have a spell of sunny weather over the next few days and I can't think of a better way for you to spend the weekend. Oh yes, & like us, you can round off your visit by relaxing outside in the cafe with an ice cream.

My First (proper) CASE Study

2011-09-23T09:43:00.002+01:00

I mentioned in yesterday's post that I've finally found out what CASE is short for. I knew roughly what it entailed but call me a pedant, I didn't want to "have a go" until I knew exactly. So now that I do, I thought I'd give this week's CASE Challenge Blog a try.

Each time around, a card is chosen to be used as the inspiration. This week, it's from a delightful card created by Julie Lacey. Being that it was my first attempt, I decided that I would copy almost everything on the card, except for the colours, since I wanted to try another pale, monochromatic card.

Hope I've managed to capture the spirit of the challenge with my project. Now that'll be it until next week. I'm hurriedly writing this whilst Nick is getting ready. Thankfully, he takes a while in the morning to come to. So I shan't be stepping into my craft room to play until Monday rolls around. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend & if you're off to the Ally Pally show, I may even bump into you. Pxx

Monochromatic, Shabby & Chic

2011-09-22T10:33:00.003+01:00

What I tend to forget, when promising to upload onto my blog, is that once I'm well again, I have all those jobs to catch up on first which were neglected. Including the removal of cobwebs from the downstairs ceiling, which I'd been told were still there despite being pointed out to me the week before. Not that I minded this drunken grumble from my other half. If that's all there is to complain about, life can't be bad lol.

However, Wednesday evening was approaching and I still hadn't picked up a craft knife, ink pad or patterned paper. Deadlines for challenges were being missed as my craft desk remained clean and tidy. So I turned away from the TV and headed up to my craft room to begin playing. Mojo Monday has returned after a short break and the Shabby Tea Room had a wonderful challenge to go monochromatic.

I can't help but notice that my finished piece looks, well, not too dissimilar to the entry created by my favourite card maker, Andrea Ewan. It's not intentional but I'll cover myself here and say I CASE'd Andrea's beautiful project (and yes, finally I have discovered what CASE stands for - copy & share everything). In my defence, if subconsciously I'm copying someone, I'm happy it's from someone as talented as Andrea. Seriously, you should follow her blog. Not only does she produce the highest quality crafts but she does so at a prodigious rate. She puts most people, including myself, to shame. Plus she's a wife, mother and holds down a job. I, on the other hand, can't even manage to remove a spider's home within seven days lol.

Anyhoo, I used mostly My Minds Eye Lost & Found papers, distressing the edges and whizzing everything through a sewing machine. The flower is a bought creation from Prima (I know, shocking) and the butterfly was created with a Spellbinder's die cut paper shape, coated in Ranger's white distress crackle paint.

Hope you're all doing well out there & finding time to indulge in your creative cravings. I'm hoping to sneak some more time in my craft room before the weekend, crossing fingers. Pxx

Out Of Sorts

2011-09-19T10:52:00.002+01:00

It's been a bit quiet on here due mostly to a bout of man-flu and feeling under the weather in recovering. I'm afraid I'm very typical of my gender and act as if I'm at death's door at the merest hint of a bug. However, I've woken up today feeling 90% there and itching to get on. There are lots of crafty challenges out in the blogging world and I fancy having a go at a few which hopefully means that this blog won't be as bare this week.

So to start the ball rolling, here's the beginning of a mini book I'm in the throes of. I've gessoed the pages, cut out and adhered the papers and decorated the front. Now all I need to do is fill it up with photos and journalling.

Before I do that, however, I need to find a spare afternoon and that's not going to be anytime soon. This coming weekend, for example, I'm hoping to head off to either Liverpool or Chatsworth (depending on weather) & then on Saturday I'm having a day in London (Ally Pally Craft Show, V&A for Annie Lennox) and then (cross fingers) I'm off to a farmers' market and vintage market on the Sunday.

The following weekends seem just as busy. I'm not complaining but it does tend to eat into my craft time lol. However, the one thing I do ensure I make plenty of time for is a pot of tea and I think it has brewed long enough. I'm off to enjoy. Pxx

Time To Play at The Cafe

2011-09-08T12:08:00.002+01:00

Busy, busy, busy week with non-craft related, work styled schedules and deadlines. However, I have managed to fit in one card so that I don't lose my mojo. I am in awe of bloggers who can post three, four times a week, some of them daily. I'd need a PA before I could manage that.

Anyway, no sketch this week, so I hoofed it, design-wise. I did join in a colour challenge care of The Play Date Cafe. Dark Blue & Turquoise snuggle up together on the colour wheel like buxom buddies and are joined by a fudgey neutral who can be paired off with almost anyone and look handsome.

You can't see it in the card, but I used distress crackle paint on the chipboard frame which offers up a wonderfully subtle texture. The main focal flower is made using one of Spellbinders newest dies, Spiral Blossom One. And the papers are from My Mind's Eye, Lost & Found range. The smaller flowers are rolled up roses made from a scalloped circle punch out.

Right, back to work, I've put it off long enough. See if I can get my head around creating a Damask design on Illustrator without developing a headache or throwing the computer out of the window lol. Px

A Perfect Day

2011-09-02T15:01:00.002+01:00

I'm not much of a one for celebrating my birthday but I've mellowed with age over recent years. Normally I arrange to be away but commitments meant I had to think differently this time around.

So it was that I awoke to surprisingly warm and sunny weather and decided to have a day off (a perk of the self employed). Whilst others might make the most of bright days, I took off into town to buy a low budget horror film and breakfast. On my return, I closed the curtains, put on the DVD and munched on walnut whips.

One quick change later, I was on the train by midday and heading off to the city. I nipped into an art store for acrylic paints and mooched around bookstores, the market and Afflecks. Come around three o'clock, I met up with Nick outside the Hilton hotel, Manchester's version of a skyscraper. 23 floors up, we had booked ourselves in for an afternoon tea. It was a perfect day for views and we had a stunning panorama to enjoy. The tea itself was phenomenal. Both of us came away fit to bursting. And as a treat, there's an oval panel of perspex you can stand on and see clearly below to street level, with cars passing by underfoot. Not for those who suffer vertigo.

Back home, I opened my cards and presents. I am very lucky and spoilt to receive so many beautiful handcrafted cards. It really makes the day feel very special. Thank you to everyone that reads this, who sent me a card, online message or phone text. It truly humbled me all day.

The present which bowled me over was a special edition book from those heavenly producers of Macarons, Laduree. Regular readers of this blog will know of my addiction to these exquisite delicacies. And they don't let up on the quality when it comes to recipe books. It's packaged in a sturdy box, which you open to find a delicate tissue wrapping. Unfold this and there's a velvet covered hardback. Remove this and the pages crackle as they separate with the previously undisturbed gold painted edges. No photo could do it justice. It's opulent and majestic and I just love it. Oh and the recipes. Yes, there's macarons but it's also packed with how to create their other patisseries, including one for Pain Perdu. The photos in the book are also stunning. It's just perfection from cover to cover. I shall handle it only with white gloves and store it in a glass case lol.

The perfect day was completed, when we relaxed in front of the TV, helping ourselves to a light supper of smoked salmon, wedges of lemon and a dollop of soured cream, made up into canapes. My waistline, arteries and heart won't thank me I know and it'll be cabbage soup from now on until Christmas. :) but it's only once a year haha.

This Week I Learnt I'm Sapphire

2011-09-01T11:48:00.003+01:00

I'm not very up to speed when it comes to Birthstones. I have my date of birth committed to memory (it's fairly easy though) but I think I'm doing well if I remember how old I am. I'm a Virgo and I'm an Earth sign. And for those who know about such things, I'm apparently very typical. However, I didn't know until taking this week's Shabby Tea Room challenge, that I'm also a Sapphire.

The idea is to use your birthstone as inspiration in your creative project. So I looked to see which of my papers contained blue and luckily a recent purchase of Authentique's Journey collection fit the bill perfectly. Especially as one of the designs resembled precious stones.

The design of the card comes yet again from the wonderful weekly sketch challenge offered up by Mojo Monday. And of course, as has been of habit recently, the shabby chic flower embellishment is handmade (I love making these in pale cream colours).

With Love Card

2011-08-27T13:31:00.003+01:00

Another two challenges make up this card. An old favourite, Play Date Cafe came up with a trio of soft pastel shades and a new one, the Friday Mash Up, provided a sketch along with the inspiration to include embossing.

Plus I've included another handmade flower using tulle, lace, bead string and a button. I know I always say this but it was really easy to make. Especially with a glue gun. I just spiralled lace around a circle of card which I had punched out, attached some tulle to the back and added embellishments to the front with a button. It's the kind of task one can set about whilst watching TV. Perfect for a lazy sunday afternoon too. Px

Cupcake Reward

2011-08-26T16:09:00.002+01:00

It's not often that I wake up and discover I have a trumpet I can blow but today is one of those exceptions. The card which I uploaded in this post for last week's Friday Mash Up challenge, was selected as this week's Rock Star.

Now I don't need much of an excuse but given that the theme of the challenge for which I was awarded, involved cupcakes, I decided I would reward myself with one. Unfortunately there aren't any local bakeries which sell fancy cakes where I live. So I popped into a well known baking retailer who seem to have a branch on every street and opted for their shocking pink and white confection. It may not look it from the photo because I've tweaked it to look vintage style (I may not have instagram but I do know my way around photoshop) but it positively glows in the dark. Gotta love when carbs meet E numbers.

So thank you everyone at Friday Mash Up. I look forward to playing along again with this week's new challenge. xx

It's Your Day with Handmade Flowers

2011-08-24T08:13:00.000+01:00

A combination of two challenges again. The design comes from this week's Card Patterns sketch. The inspiration has come from The Shabby Tea Room which was to use the colours pink, peach, green and neutrals as well as to incorporate handmade flowers.

The papers I used are from Prima's Botanical collection and My Mind's Eye Blush. The felt leaves are cut from a decorative trim I bought from a local haberdashery. The lace frill is from a pack by Kaisercraft, which I coloured using Ranger's Tattered Rose Distress Ink.

The two smaller roses were made using a quilled flower technique. There are numerous youtube videos out there showing how to make these (here's one example). I made mine using a scrap of white cross stitch fabric which was dabbed with a foam sponge that had been loaded up with tattered rose ink.

The main flower is loosely based on a tutorial by The Funkie Junkie. For mine, I used linen and netting. I cut three linen and two netting shapes from the medium flower on the Tim Holtz Tattered Flowers die and one small flower in linen. I scrunched them up as per the tutorial, then I stacked them with linen on the bottom, followed by netting, linen, netting, linen. I finished off with the small linen flower. I held them together between thumb and finger and used needle and thread to sew on a button and through all the layers. The result, a tattered, shabby chic flower, in minutes.

A Little Sweet Surprise

2011-08-23T11:55:00.003+01:00

There are so many inspiring challenges out there. I wish I had the time to play along with all of them. However, I don't, so I have to throw a coin in the air to choose. This card has been made using Mojo Monday for the sketch & Friday Mash Up for the inspiration. This week, Buttons and/or Cupcakes.

It gave me the opportunity to use my cupcake stamps from Papertrey Ink as well as a new 6x6 paper pad of vintage styled papers. I have fallen back in love again with My Mind's Eye, thanks to their Lost & Found 2 range. And I believe I'm not the only one as they are very popular. I've bought four of the new collection pads (well, I couldn't decide) and the one I've used here is Blush.

Hope you are enjoying a creative day and finding a little time to make and play. I've got some gooey chocolate cookies to go make. I'm just waiting for the oven to heat up to temperature. In the meantime, here's some I made at the weekend. Px

Taking Two Challenges, New To Me

2011-08-18T08:36:00.002+01:00

When it comes to crafting, I seem to make a lot more cards these days. I've discovered that it's a perfect way to unwind at night. I can completely submerse myself in it, knowing that there is nothing else I should be doing (housework, work, socialising etc. has all been done during the daytime).

So it was that I sat in my craft room and made a card with a handmade flower, using inspiration from two challenges which I haven't played before. The design comes from Card Patterns Sketch & the colours and prompts (this week, Wings & Bling) comes from The Friday Mash Up.

What's more, there wasn't an explosion of debris left behind on my desk once I made it. Ordinarily, there isn't space on my table top after I've made something but this time, I kept the clutter to a minimum. It's a one-off believe me. When I next have the urge to be creative, I can guarantee there'll be mess. Px

Supplies:

Patterned Paper: Journey (Authentique)

Cardstock: Purple, Smoky Pink

Dies: Butterflies Two (Spellbinders)

Punch: Birch Leaf Punch (McGill), Dotted Scallop Edger (EK Tools)

Other: Lace, Filigree Corner (Funkie Junkie), Button, Fabric strip, Pearls (Prima)

Pearls & Filigree

2011-08-16T14:49:00.004+01:00

After a couple of weeks spent on upcycling projects, I'm back to playing about with cards. To ease myself back into the swing of it, I opted for my two "go to" challenges of the moment, Mojo Monday & Shabby Tea Room.

I managed to fit in just about every shabby technique under the sun except for including lace. There's hand stitching, torn edges, embossing, pearls and a filigree corner (which I fell in love with when I saw one on Funkie Junkie's blog, so I quickly snaffled up a couple of packs from her Etsy store. They arrived within a week of ordering, not bad from across the pond).

The quote is one I saw on Pinterest & is from Dr Seuss. It seems an appropriate "Artsiders" sentiment :).

Supplies:

Patterned Paper: Laced Grace (Glitz), La Creme (DCWV))

Ink: Old Paper Distress Ink (Ranger/Tim Holtz)

Dies: Labels Four, Circles, Fleur de Lis Motifs

Other: Filigree Corner (Funkie Junkie), Pearls, Brads, Organza Ribbon, Embossing plate (Cottage floral - Craft Concepts).

Shabby Chic Box for Stash Storage

2011-08-13T15:12:00.007+01:00

Last year, my wonderful friend Jo (who is a talented whiz at inky, creative, & beautiful crafting - just check out her blog here and see her lovely creations), handed over a surprise present for me. She'd already gessoed it, ready for me to put to good use. Well, as is not unusual (ooh is that a litotes? A grammatical style as favoured by our ex prime minister John Major?), it has sat on a shelf in my craft room since then, gathering dust, awaiting some attention. So finally this week, I've gotten around to decorating it.

You can see from the photo above, the holes in the roof where once there used to be string threaded through, before I took a pair of scissors to it. The roof is detachable and therefore makes an ideal box for storing stash.

Well, the first step, after removing the string,was to detach the bottom tray. I then papered over the whole box. I turned the tray upside down, papered over that too and then reattached it to the box. I threw a variety of embellishments at it, including wooden floral pieces (another gift from Jo) and handmade burlap spiral flowers. The result is this...

It's now sitting on my shelf, crammed full of the fabric flowers I've been messing around with making whilst sat in front of the TV in the evenings, catching up on films. One day, I'll have a big spring clean of my craft room, smarten it up and then perhaps I'll take a photo, complete with the box in situ. It feels more like a job to do over Winter though, when I hibernate and rarely leave the house lol. It often takes a back seat during the Summer months when I prefer to go gadding about outdoors as often as I can. In fact, when I've finished up here, I'm off for a short stroll by the river, for some fresh air and exercise. Hope everyone out there in blog world is also having a relaxing, creative weekend. Px

Posting a Card before Cobwebs Appear

2011-08-10T15:57:00.006+01:00

Crikey, like many a person, I'm wondering where the time goes. I haven't sat down and crafted in my little room, at home, for what seems like an age. There are lots of interesting challenges out there but their deadlines fly by and I miss them. And if I'm not careful, by neglecting my space on the web, I'll log on to find cobwebs on here soon.

So without further ado, I spent the time when I should have been visiting the city centre (it's been rain-checked) to make a card for a couple of challenges. They'll be of no surprise to you when I say that this has been made from a combination of Mojo Monday & Shabby Tea Room.

Hope everyone else has a better handle on their time at the moment. Now if only my fellow creative bloggers wouldn't produce such beautiful work on a regular basis, I wouldn't spend so much time logged on & looking at their websites in awe. Then maybe I'd free up some actual 'making' time :) Pxx

Supplies:

Patterned Paper: Botanical (Prima), Susan Winget (K&Company),

Ink: Night Sky & Aloe Vera (VersaMagic)

Punches: Apron Lace (Fiskars), Chain Punch (EK Success)

Stamps: Tea for Two (Papertrey Ink)

Dies: Double End Tags, Fleur de Lis Accents (Spellbinders)

Other: Ribbon, Twine, Pins, Pearl Dots, Ribbon Slide, Flower Pearl

Vintage Altered Art & Terrible Wordplay

2011-08-02T14:27:00.004+01:00

Remember these white boxes from a few posts back? Well, slowly but surely, they've been coming together and have now been transformed into these:

Not bad for a charity shop find. And you know what else? Upcycling, I've realised, is one of my favourite ways to craft and I don't do it nearly often enough.

I began by coating the bare wood of the boxes with gesso before painting over, with my chosen colours, in acrylic paint. I then watered down more gesso and whitewashed over the paint to give it that aged style.

The next part was the creative, fun stage; adding the decoration and embellishment. It's at this point, I can really lose track of time as I pull out my hoard of stash and start arranging it. I don't have a plan, beforehand, I just go with the moment and start adding what I think will be the focal pieces. Then I build around them. This is where serendipity wades in. For instance, I had the oval frame placed on the smaller box and was trying to come up with a small word I could spell out within, using chipboard letters. Influenced by the image of the lady in the hat on the patterned paper, the word style came to mind. It fit perfectly.

Then, in a flash, the expression, Style over Substance popped into my head. Then it occurred to me - layer the embellishments so that the smaller box can be rested on top of the larger one. Use lettering to spell out the word Substance on the bigger box and I can literally place Style over Substance. I know, it's awful wordplay isn't it? But once the fuse was lit, I ran with it. It wasn't something I planned at the beginning. It's that beautiful moment when your creative muse gently guides you.

The flowers are all handmade. The ones decorating Style were done using Tim Holtz's Tattered Flowers die. The large one on Substance was created using a white ribbon which I dyed pink and then spiralled around a punched out 2" diameter circle, coated in tape adhesive. The peach flowers are from a batch of Prima ready-made.

The papers I used to decorate the boxes are from GCD Antiquities collection.

Hope you like the results :) I'm now just waiting on Nick to return home from work and the pair of us are going to tackle a recipe which has so far challenged us, in it's making. We've had four attempts to date, so cross fingers for endeavour five. I'm not going to say what it is yet because the moment we have success, I'll blog it. It's also going to be one of my New52s. Speaking of which, I've booked a New52 experience for my upcoming birthday in a few weeks. It's something food related (as always) and I'm really looking forward to it.

Hope everyone else is finding time to indulge in their creative, crafty passions. Pxx

A Romantic Vintage Cafe

2011-07-30T18:01:00.003+01:00

Over at The Play Date Cafe this week, we are treated to a trio of perfect vintage hues. With dusty shades of red, pink and yellow-gold, it's also my favourite scheme, the ever harmonious analogous selection.

And without a sketch to play with, I rediscovered the fun that can be had from pulling together a card from scratch. I wanted to incorporate one of my newly purchased doilies from Poppyscabin, so the rest of the design stemmed from around it. I inked the edges to give it an aged appeal and reduce the harshness of it's whiteness. However, I think next time I may ink over the whole thing, so it becomes more "aged" in look and less "stained".

I also thought I'd try to include a list of the materials I use in my projects, at the bottom of my posts. I personally find it very useful when other kind souls take the time on their blogs to do so (like the uber talented Andrea Ewan - if you have never seen her blog or her creations - pop over there now without delay and just bathe in her beautiful creations) . Especially when they use a patterned paper which has me drooling and saying "I must have!" I know I've tried doing this before and given up because I so often use scraps of which I haven't a clue of whose it is, or what collection it belongs to etc. However I shall do my best.

Patterned Paper: Signature Life (My Mind’s Eye); Baby Pink Gingham (Pebbles inc); Once upon a Springtime (Graphic45)

Cardstock: Cream

Ink: Old Paper Distress Ink (Ranger/Tim Holtz)

Dies: Scalloped Circles, Fleur de Lis Motifs, Lacey Circles, Buckles, Circles (Spellbinders)

Other: Doily (Poppy’s Cabin); Pink Lace, Flowers (Bead Shop); Pearls (Prima); Cottage Floral Embossing Folder (Craft Concepts); Sentiment (own design); Ribbon

Is there such a thing as a pink butterfly?

2011-07-28T17:15:00.003+01:00

It's just occurred to me whilst uploading the photo of this project, that there probably aren't any pink butterflies in the world, except on my card. Let's just call it artistic license.

This is my entry for two crafty challenges which perfectly compliment each other. The inspiring sketch provided by Mojo Monday and the colour combination and style from the Shabby Tea Room (this week:- yellow, pink, green & a neutral).

It's just a quickie craft, whilst I wait for the paint on my altered wooden boxes to dry. Thankfully, cards don't take long to make, or else this blog would be very quiet. However, I'm enjoying the mix of working on a project which needs several days to complete, as well as taking time out to play on something which only requires a short burst of time.

Charity Shop Find - The Before

2011-07-25T08:14:00.002+01:00

Thought I'd show you a project I'm in the middle of at the moment. I've had the urge to alter something for a while now and sitting in my craft room have been two wooden boxes I found in a local charity shop which I picked up for next to nothing.

The first step (and the dullest) is the prep work. In this case, that means adding a priming coat of white gesso. Now it has dried, the more creative (and therefore enjoyable) process can begin, of decorating them. The smaller box has been painted already but I've yet to tackle the larger one. Hopefully, within the coming week, I'll have found the time to finish them and I'll take the "After" photo.

Till then, I hope everyone has a a creative, playful week. Pxx

Charmed I'm Sure

2011-07-20T14:07:00.002+01:00

Over at the Shabby Tea Room, the challenge is to use a charm in a creative project, as well as taking inspiration from a photo of a bracelet. Well, my attempt was to outline an oval chipboard piece with buttons. Not sure I would have done this without the inspiration. Plus I saw my friend Julie use twine in her card on her blog and thought I'd have a go at stitching with it myself. Again, it didn't quite go as planned so I'm in two minds about it. However, I did learn from both. Firstly, buttons don't always add to a design, they need to be used carefully in order to successfully be incorporated. Secondly, when stitching with twine, I need to go in more from the edge.

Anyhoo, I also used the sketch from Mojo Monday (who are celebrating their 200th design) to make a birthday card and added a couple of charms tied in with the bow, as per the requirements for the challenges.

The papers I used are from Graphic 45, the flower is cut out from Hero Arts stamped images and the rest of the materials are from scraps in my files.

I've not opened it yet but I have a parcel just arrived and sitting on my desk, containing crafty goodies within. Hopefully, you'll see them used in the next upcoming posts. Until then , happy crafting. Pxx

The Return of New52

2011-07-16T10:11:00.002+01:00

As you can see from the above layouts, I haven't given up on the New52 project but it has had a bit of a revamp. I still intend to seek out and then log 52 new experiences this year. It was just proving to be awkward trying to do it on a weekly basis in the way I was originally following it. Some weeks there'd be nothing to report, for others, more than one. I even found myself putting visits off until the following week so that it would fit in. Plus, when on holiday or visiting new places, I'd be having lots of New52 experiences in one go.

So I decided, I preferred to log them in a list format instead, without the limitations of doing one a week. As long as I get to the end of the year, with 52 logged entries, I'll be happy.

It's taken a bit of time, cutting and pasting it all digitally into this new format but it's worth it. Plus I needed to redo the text for some of the entries.

So now I can relax and continue adding to the project as and when something occurs. It's been great fun so far and I do find myself purposefully going out of the way to find somewhere or do something I otherwise wouldn't. For instance, it's easy for me to go to London and be in a rut, just knocking around my favourite haunts each time and miss out on discovering new places, exhibitions and cafes. I would normally stick to what I know and already enjoy. Now, on each jaunt down there, I like to include somewhere I've not tried before.

Right, whether this rain lets up or not, I'm off into Manchester with Nick. You never know, I may discover my next New52 entry whilst I'm there. Pxx

Such Fun

2011-07-15T15:13:00.003+01:00

As Miranda's mother would say in the award winning sitcom "Such Fun". Which delightfully sums up the hour I have spent getting my shabby chic on. I grabbed my pinks, reds and neutrals from my stash, for the Shabby Tea Room challenge. I popped the album Rituals by White Lies onto my itunes player - the indie in me has never disappeared - and pieced together this feminine birthday card. And yes, I've even managed to ink the edge of the backing layer with subtlety. Took a little practice, but I'm finally seeing the results I was after. Just the merest hint of ageing. If only I could achieve the same result with what I see staring back at me each morning, in the mirror.

After a glut of birthdays and celebrations recently, I've finally come to a quiet weekend with very little planned. Good job too, as heavy rain is forecast. It'll be nice to potter around the house, catching up on all those little jobs which haven't been crossed off our to do lists lately. So whatever you're planning this weekend, I hope it goes with a bang. :) Enjoy. Pxx

Latest London Layout

2011-07-13T21:35:00.003+01:00

I'm definitely feeling refreshed after a superb few days back down in London. And what's more, I managed to fit in a few new experiences too. Now I know I haven't been posting about the New52 project but rest assured I haven't forgotten about it. I'm still keeping a record of each new experience. It's just that I've changed it's format and I still need to work on it. When it's done, I'll resume with adding the pages to my blog.

Back to the last weekend, we began when we arrived on the Friday, by visiting the Out of This World exhibition at the British Library. Not everyone's cup of tea, I appreciate, and yes, there was a high percentage of beardy-weirdies there but just as I've been a horror fiction fan since a wee boy, so Nick has had a geeky love for Sci-fi novels. Though I'm not an ardent fan, it was still interesting. Did you know for instance that Bovril get's it's name from a classic sci-fi book? The Coming Race by Edward Lytton, talks of an energy giving potion called 'Vril'. The Bo part refers to the bovine ingredients, so became, Bo-Vril.

The following day, Saturday, we behaved like tourists and hot-footed all round the city. First stop was the London Monument. I hadn't realised you could walk up inside it to the top. There are 311 steps to climb but that's nothing compared to Notre Dame or Arc de Triumph, which I've already done. Excellent views of the Gherkin, Tower Bridge, The Shard, St Paul's, Tower of London & other famous landmarks and a snip at only £3 per person. Believe me, in London, that's cheap.

We tried to go to the Lloyds Bank open day but the queues were too long. So we headed to Borough Market for foodie treats before taking the tube to a cafe opposite the British Museum. The others went to the Cartoon Museum but I'd seen it before and the sun was out, so I sat outside the BM, reading my Kindle (have I said how wonderful they are???). It was bliss.

To end the day, we all descended on the Marylebone district to seek out Daunts bookshop. It wasn't so much for the books but to enjoy the beautiful Edwardian architecture and rich wooden interior.

A perfect day out. On Sunday we put our feet up and enjoyed the warm weather. Then it was a home-cooked roast for lunch, whilst watching the UK leg of the Grand Prix on the box before heading back to Euston & catching the train home again. We couldn't have asked for a better time. Now I'm back, I'm already planning another visit. So much more that I want to see and do.

As for the layout above, it's mostly printed out and pieced together. The only crafty part is that I used Basic Grey Boxer paper for the background.

Now All I Need is for Someone to Tie the Knot

2011-07-13T21:30:00.000+01:00

I love to be set a taxing, creative-muscle stretching, challenge and this week, over at Our Creative Corner, I certainly found it. It's a White Party, set by Kristen, has invited this week's players to come up with something using only white products.

The best way around this, for me, was to look for a couple of different tones of white, as in a pure white and an off-white, so that I could add some contrast between the elements. Other than that, it forces you to add more texture and dimension to help differentiate each layer. As for the design, I used this week's Mojo Monday sketch.

I began with an embossing plate for the background and added a decorative punched edge at the bottom. I hid the join with lace and a white velvet ribbon. I don't have any white flowers so created my own using a punch. Same for the leaves.

I stamped a flowery image onto off-white card and heat-embosssed it with white powder. I cut out with an oval nestie and matted onto a scalloped edge. Finally, I used a Martha Stewart punch to cut out two butterfly shapes, stuck one over the other, bent up the wings and added pearls. That just left the tricky part of taking a photograph for the blog.

Now all I need is for someone I know to get married, in order that that I can send them this card. Trouble is, most of my friends already are and those that aren't, well, I don't see wedding bells in the near future for them either. Maybe it's a sign of my age. I used to go to at least three weddings a year. However that particular well has been dry for a long while now. So come on my single friends, pull your fingers out - I have a card going to waste here lol!!!!

For The Love of Cake

2011-07-11T21:07:00.003+01:00

In the last fortnight, I've been lucky enough to visit London, not once but twice. There's so much in this city I love to see and do that when I'm there, I certainly give my oyster card a pounding (for anyone not in the know, it's a credit card for travelling on the tube and buses).

First time around, I was there to celebrate Nick's 50th with his family. In other words, I scarpered off except for the night of the party. The highlight of the trip was visiting the Cox Cookies and Cake shop. It's buried away in the naughtier district of London, where you can enjoy Thai massage and adult entertainment. Far from shying away from their location's reputation, they play up to it with a cheeky display of cakes and a kinky leather apron for the staff uniform. It's all done very tongue in cheek and I loved it.

If you find yourself in the vicinity, you must pop in. It's a little disconcerting at first. It's more like a night club than a cake shop. The interior is painted all out in black and there's very little illumination. But once you seek out the counter and drool over the cakes, you are instantly put at ease by the extremely friendly and helpful staff.

For the Birthday boy, I couldn't resist buying one of the more irreverent cakes. As for my choice, I was bewitched by the glitter and pink of the strawberry offering.

They were placed in a beautiful, sturdy box, complete with carry handle, ideal for transporting back in safety. They were delightfully sinful but don't get carried away, they won't replace my love for Macarons. In fact, after visiting CC&C, I hopped on over to Harrods, to their Laduree section to buy a selection for the upcoming party. If you have the chance, you must indulge in the Granny Smith Apple flavour. Your taste buds will love you forever.

Well, that's one of the weekend's highlights scrapped and in the album. I'll hopefully make time later on in the week to assemble another page on our latest trip.

Sneaking Another One In

2011-07-08T08:55:00.002+01:00

What can I say? I felt like doing something crafty in my spare time yesterday evening. I'd had enough of watching TV & I wasn't quite in the mood for settling down with my book. I had a creative itch and decided to have a scratch.

So I logged onto the Play Date Cafe Challenge for a beautifully wistful choice of soft pastel hues and set about cutting, pasting and inking.

The challenging part in making this card was in attempting to add a soft enough colour to the seam binding. The only yellow ink I had was the Mustard Seed Distress Pad, which was unfortunately too vibrant. I had to dab a little onto my craft sheet, add plenty of water and coat the ribbon. It was still too strong, so I rinsed it further in clean water until most of the ink had seeped out, leaving a muted tint which matched this week's challenge.

Right, off to pack a rucsac for the weekend and sit down to some breakfast (or brunch, if it gets any later). See y'all soon. Pxx

Inescapable

2011-07-06T14:19:00.004+01:00

It's a colour scheme which is hard to escape from - red, white and blue. It's the colours in the flags of both the UK & USA flags and symbolises patriotism for both cultures. We've seen quite a bit of it earlier this year, with the royal wedding back in April and now our American friends have been crafting away with this trio of hues for their Independence Day celebrations (and I hope that my US readers had a really good time on Monday :) )

So having logged onto Mojo Monday for a sketch and the Shabby Tea Room for inspiration, I dug around my stash, within these colours, keeping to hues which suggested a vintage style. I even played around with inking edges. Only a little bit mind. Nothing which would come as too big of a shock to my system. Need to practice a little more. I was aiming for a subtle aged and worn effect, rather than distressed and it's a fine line. It doesn't need much before one tips over into the other.

In other news, the bed has arrived! I can look forward to back -pain free nights of blissful sleep at last. Well I can for a couple of nights that is, before I head off to London again for the weekend. Visiting a friend in Staines this time (it's only a 40 minute train journey from the capital, so I still see it as visiting the city). Crossing fingers that the weather is dry. Don't mind if there's no sun, so long as it doesn't rain. Hoping everyone has a good weekend too, whatever your plans. Pxx

Minimalism is but a Memory

2011-06-30T21:03:00.002+01:00

Hmm. Is there an anglicised expression for the act of exploring somewhere different with your crafting style? I know that it's commonly referred to as going on a "creative journey" by our American chums and has for a long time been regurgitated over here too. Trouble is, it's a little over-used now and has become cliched. To all intents and purposes, it does describe perfectly my latest forays into crafting. It's just that it sounds trite. I never really take "journeys" either. With me, it's normally, "just popping out somewhere". Not exactly punchy though is it? To say I'm on a "creative popping out somewhere". It also has a camp whiffery of a 'Carry On' line to it.

Anyhoo, that's all a meandering ramble, which should perhaps have stayed in my head and not dribbled out into blogland. How I should have started this post is by saying that though minimalism is my go to, in art and design, I'm presently loving the whole vintage style. I'm trying to resist but the tug towards shabby chic is becoming stronger. In creating the above card, I felt I could have easily pulled something together in a CAS way but I wanted to try my hand at multi-layering and over-accessorising.

It's all been aided by taking up the twin challenges of this week's Mojo Monday sketch & the Shabby Tea Room theme. This time around, we have been asked to think of our favourite craft supplies and incorporate them into our project. Not easy, as I'm disgracefully fickle. Whatever is my newest purchase is also, usually my favourite. Which, at this moment in time, means my Pink Paislee, Butterfly Garden stamps. (No Michele, I couldn't resist - I went straight home and bought them lol - I blame you of course. I have zero willpower!).

Flowers, ribbon, buttons, pearls, stamps, nesties, lace, baker's twine, flourishes and lace. All this and patterned paper too. They're all my favourite supplies. Minimalism just wouldn't work this time around. Instead I tried a different discipline of using everything whilst still attempting to maintain balance and unity. And you know what? I loved it! I loved the whole playful process. Even the frustration and furrowed brow it caused.

Whoo. It's been text heavy tonight. That's what happens when I don't get enough sleep. I start to need the skills of an editor. So before I go on for too much longer, I shall bid you goodnight and go and snuggle up with a chamomile tea and book. Px

Crafting? - Who's got the Time ????

2011-06-23T14:24:00.005+01:00

Here's my entry for Mojo Monday & Shabby Tea Room. As I think I may have already mused once before on my blog, it still amazes me that the simpler the final card appears, the bigger the mess, that's left in it's wake, on my desk.

When I look at the resulting card as it is, photographed and imported into this post, it seems like a couple of dies, a stamped image and a dab of glue is all that is required, in it's creation. My desk however, suggests that it involved my whole stash collection and every single crafting tool I possess. Maybe there's an art and finesse to making cards which everyone else has kept to themselves and not told me about lol.

Well it's a quick (ish) card as I've been a busy guy all this week and will be all this weekend. The reason is that my other half has reached a "significant" age this week - a birthday with a zero at the end. And in so being, one day of celebration is just not enough. So I've barely had the time to sit quietly by myself. And not much chance from tomorrow either as we're heading off to London, where we will be partying with family and friends. My eyelids are only just staying open, thanks to the matchsticks I've propped under them. It'll be just my luck to find myself falling asleep on the train journey down - being tutted at furiously, as the sound of my snoring fills the quiet-zone carriage lol.

Enjoy your weekend folks. Pxx

A Rose by Any Other Name

2011-06-18T16:34:00.002+01:00

Today, or rather, this afternoon, there is a wonderful sigh of relief being breathed in our household. We've been having quite a saga with bad mattresses leading to poorly backs and nights with less than perfect hours given over to blissful sleep. We've hunted high and low for a replacement and come away disappointed. However, today, we walked into a local shop we hadn't even thought about before and were so impressed by the service and sales, we not only have come away having bought a new mattress but a whole new bed too. It'll take a couple of weeks to be made to order and delivered but finally, we can look forward to a pain-free slumber.

All that's by the by and nothing to do with the card I've made, suffice to say that this has been the first opportunity I've had to actually photograph and blog the above submission to not just one but two challenges.

The first is Mojo Monday, who's sketch I used and the second is the Shabby Tearoom whose colours and theme I followed i.e. pinks and greens teamed with flowers.

It feels like the two challenges have delightfully complemented each other this week. Plus, after a brief break from crafting, it was great fun to spend a couple of hours stamping, punching and sewing again. As usual, the majority of the time was spent on making the flowers - all that shaping and gluing. Time-wise the rest was pretty straight forward. I could have used bought flowers I know but I didn't have anything in quite the right colour, so gave in and made my own from some perfectly pink card in my stash.

Well thank you, my dear readers, for once again popping by. Hope you've had a lovely day wherever you are. For now, I'm going to settle in front of the TV and indulge in some guilt-free sloth for an hour (or possibly two) :) xx

A Quick Play

2011-06-13T10:33:00.002+01:00

I came home to discover a gorgeous selection of colours to play with at the Play Date Cafe challenge this week. Romantic, wistful hues of pink and cream accented with a berry blue.

Actually, there are a number of birthdays coming up in the next few weeks, so I'd better get my skates on and make them too (and with some of them being crafty followers, i won't be able to post them on here lol). I'll just add it to my long list of to dos.

I'm also getting an itch to make an altered book again. When I came home a few days ago, amongst the post waiting to be opened was the latest Craft Stamper magazine. And for the first time, it gave itself over to a theme, which in this issue was around turning books into art. Ideas are now swirling around in my little brain and I'm eager to find a suitable hardback to start playing with. But I'd better make some cards first.

Have a good week everyone. P xx

There's A Reason it'd Been Quiet on Here

2011-06-11T22:04:00.000+01:00

Yes, it's been quiet on here for a couple of weeks and with good reason. I've been enjoying a holiday in France, staying in one of the best gites we've ever hired, in a small town just east of Le Mans. For two weeks I haven't touched any patterned paper or rubber stamps.

This is the circular gite we stayed in, atop a hill blanketed in beautiful lavender.

and this is the panoramic view which greeted us every morning. We could wake up and drink in this scenery all day.

whilst at dusk, we could sit and watch the deer arrive to eat in the garden.

A trip to Blois involved seeing the museum of magic, where outside, a gigantic, six-headed, mechanical dragon emerges.

After seeing a live magic act in French, we went around the museum which included an array of optical illusions such as this vertigo-inducing mirrored display. On the top floor, we had to walk around with mirrored glasses hanging off our noses, forcing you to see only what was on the ceiling. A very weird sensation.
A local town held a fete decorated with an Alice in Wonderland theme. Here I am, poking my head through one of the giant playing cards. Naturally, I chose the Queen of Hearts.

These are the steps up the inside of round tower to a viewpoint in the middle of a local forest
and here we are at the top of the viewpoint.

We saw plenty of beautiful churches and took hundreds of photos of them. Difficult to choose just one to pop on here, but this was one of the more flamboyantly designed fronts.

So there you have it. There's been plenty of sun and cake and as you can see from the photos, I've put on a lardy amount of weight with all the gorgeous pastries we've bought and indulged in.

Now I'm back home and it's time to blow the dust off my craft room and once the post-holiday laundry has been done, I can begin to play. I hope everyone has been enjoying themselves in the last fortnight. I am looking forward to catching up on visiting your blogs and seeing what inspirational creations have been posted. Enjoy your weekend :) Pxx

Flowery Play

2011-05-23T14:49:00.002+01:00

It's been a busy old week and really, I've had nothing new creatively to blog. In my spare crafting time, I've been decorating more coke bottles, soup pots and catfood boxes, to store my stash in (see previous post). So there's been no point showing more of the same.

Anyhow, I've also been trying out various paper flower tutorials which I've had stored in my Evernote program. Some of them work, others not so. However, this is a perfectly decent vintage effect flower made using the Tim Holtz, Tattered Flower die. You can find the tutorial here. (And Carmel, if you're reading this, this was the flower technique I was referring to when we spoke).

These are also going to be my entry for the Play Date Cafe Challenge. Instead of producing a finished project, I thought I'd just make a flower in each of the three colours; blue, yellow and brown. A beautiful, aged scheme selected from a lovely antiqued photograph.

I shall store them away safely, ready to be used in the future. So don't be surprised if they turn up again someday :)

For now though, have a good week everyone. Pxx

Recycled Storage + The calling of Wabi Sabi

2011-05-16T10:52:00.002+01:00

I've forsaken online craft challenges this past week for the first time in a long while. I've freed myself temporarily to just craft solely for myself. The reason being is that I want to improve/modify how I store my crafting bits and bobs. At the moment, they are all sorted by colour into CD storage boxes. Which is all well and dandy but the trouble is, once the lid goes on, I forget the contents within.

I also didn't want to go out and spend a small fortune on more storage solutions. Instead I decided to go with the "make do and mend" zeitgeist. I have an abundance of stash and I live in a household that's hot on recycling. Surely, I mused, I could decorate the many containers which already pass through my dainty hands.

For starters, I have a guilty pleasure in drinking diet coke, though I do try to guzzle no more than one small bottle a week, as a treat. But it does mean, I have a growing collection in the plastics bin. The same goes for soup pots. I know I should make my own batches of soup but some days, it's so much easier to buy ready-made.

Therefore, this weekend, I grabbed a stanley knife and carefully cut through the tops of my plastic coke bottles, using an indented line in the bottle's shape as a guide. I then cut a 5cm x 23cm strip of paper and glued it around the top with pva. I punched out a decorative border strip. Folder it in half and bent it around the top of the bottle. To tidy up the inside, I cut another strip of paper, slightly thinner at 4cms wide and glued that to the inside of the bottle. The longest part, time wise, was in making three co-ordinating flowers per bottle. Once made, I glued them on and attached a length of seam binding by tying into a rough bow.

I've made four so far and I'll probably need to make a few more. For now, these make great containers for my vast horde of buttons.

The soup pots were much simpler. I removed an outer label, stuck it on a plain piece of paper and cut around the shape to make a template. I used the template to create another which was thinner. I used this to cut out patterned paper which I glued around the outside of the pot. I created a label on the computer, printed/punched it out and stuck it on. The only area to think about was how to cover the lumpy top part of the pots. My first attempt was to cut them off with a knife. The result was too jagged. I then thought about fabric or ribbon but then, as I was rummaging, I came across this wonderful blue elastic lace. Very simply, I cut a 30cm length and sewed the two ends together, so it looked like a garter. This, I then snapped snugly around the top. Again, I've still to make a few more when I have the time.

Finally, in this longer-than-average post, I must tell you about a page that caught my eye in a recently purchased book, French Home by Josephine Ryan. If you click on the link for the book in Amazon and go the the 'Look Inside' option, you can see the page for yourself. It's ostensibly a short passage about how to create the French look for your home. But it caused a lightbulb to go off in my brain and I had a creative "eureka" moment. I've heard of Wabi Sabi before but maybe it hasn't ever been the time for me to truly hear it's message.

It's only now, as I've been toying with vintage design and skirting along the edges of shabby chic style, that I am ready to truly embrace the philosophy of perfect imperfection. The mere thought of it just gives me goose bumps. I'm loving the inspiring direction of combining the old with the new. I'm seeing it everywhere in all forms of art and design recently. Even in the retail industry. And I want to join in and immerse myself with those who can nonchalantly create confidently and with soul.

So how will this new 'eyes wide open' approach manifest itself? I'm not sure. Only time will tell. But I've already found myself wandering around vintage shops and buying bric-a-brac. I've picked up some beautiful, imperfect bottles (some with the cork stoppers missing) which now share shelf space alongside my contemporary ornaments. The old and new, the perfect and imperfect. It'll be interesting to look back, say in six months time and see if this random passage in a book on interiors that I chanced to stumble upon, has seeped into my consciousness and had an effect.

Have a good week everyone. Paul xx

Play Date Cafe 80

2011-05-08T12:23:00.003+01:00

Haven't had a lot of time to craft this week but I have squeezed in a little time to make a card for this week's Play Date Cafe challenge.

A warm choice of red and orange, appropriate with the spell of good weather we've been enjoying in the UK until recently. However, that's not a grumble. We needed rain and for once I'm glad to see it.

Okay, short and sweet for now. Will hopefully find more time to craft next week. Hope everyone's finding time to relax this Sunday. Px

April's New52

2011-05-01T11:20:00.003+01:00

Another month has passed and it's time to print out my monthly layout for the New52 challenge.

Well April is traditionally known for it's showers but we've had anything but. It's been back to back sunshine. Much as I love it, it would be nice if there had been a couple of days of rain for moderation. The ground is worryingly dry.

This was noticeable especially so, when we visited the Ness Botanic Gardens. A harsh winter and little rain has meant there were quite a number of dead or dying plants and trees. Thankfully, the place is large enough for plenty of lush greenery to remain. And on a warm day, when the sun is out, this is a very pleasant way to spend the day. Lots of colour and scent from the many varied flowers which were showing off their blooms, with several large ponds to meander around. Plenty of visitors made the most of the good weather too, bringing picnics along for the day. It all set the scene for a serene & tranquil atmosphere.

However, I'm racing ahead of myself. The beginning of the month saw us heading off to an Anish Kapur exhibition at Manchester's City Art Gallery. On the same day, we toddled along to the tallest structure in the city, the Hilton Hotel. We strided along the red carpet towards the lift which has only one button - floor 23. It's here that one can enjoy the views from the Cloud 23 Bar. If we'd have been more organised, we could have had high tea there. Maybe next time.

The following week saw us taking the scenic journey through the Peak District to check out Scarthin Books in Matlock. I love nothing more than to peruse book shops, especially second hand ones and this was a real treat. Three floors packed to the rafters with books and that wonderful musty library smell.

The third week was Easter and we had my Sister in law up for half of it. Plus I also put my back out again. So there wasn't a lot new going on. However, I was determined to have a small outing and just ten minutes drive away, I knew there was a stall selling Macarons, at The English Rose Bakery. That was the New52 experience. But the market itself was a delightful find. We spent a fortune there. And to our greatest delight, Goose eggs were on sale. They are a favourite for both of us and make the creamiest scrambled eggs which melt in the mouth when teamed with smoked salmon. They are so hard to come by though. Much rarer than Macarons. Which were okay by the way but not a patch on our normal preferred brand. They were tasty enough as a treat but lacked the intense explosion of perfume in the mouth that we're used to.

And though I was mostly housebound, an additional New52 experience was the arrival of my Kindle. Everyone I spoke to who owned one, recommended them highly. And yes, I confess, that ever since I removed it from its packaging, I've had my nose buried in it. I'm reading like it's going out of fashion. At every opportunity bar having a bath.

And there you have it. It's the first day of May as I type this. The sun is still shining bright outside my office window and it's a bank holiday weekend. I think a spot of gardening is called for and I can plan the next few weeks (though I know of one experience already pre-booked for later in the month). Have fun all! Px

Tree Craft

2011-05-01T11:02:00.002+01:00

Over at Scrapbooking by Men, there's a quickie challenge based around using trees as the main inspiration. Well I do happen to have a couple of stamps which fit the bill so I dug one of them out for this card.

I inked and heat set the tree with a maroon glitter embossing powder before cutting it out with a nesties label die and hand sewing around the edge. I added the paper rose (surely everyone knows how to make these little devils these days - so no explanation required lol) and leaves which I cut out with scissors and ran through a crinkling tool. Then it was a quick, flamboyant dab of glitter on the rose and voila, all was done.

My Take on Mojo Monday Challenge 188

2011-04-30T09:39:00.005+01:00

There was a choice this week on Mojo Monday to create something round or square. I opted for the more conventional of the two.

I've kept very much to how the sketch is laid out except for the oval shaped focal point. The oval seemed more appropriate for the cameo silhouette shape (a Marianne Design die).

The ribbon is my seam binding again. This time I spritzed it with a cosmic shimmer mist. Because the saturation of the purple was so strong, I only used a little of it as an accent. I balanced it out with a triadic colour combination adding green and yellow-orange to the design.

The flowers are all handmade from my never diminishing scraps of paper collection. I tried something new with the spiral rose this time around though. I saw how on Shari Caroll's blog that the edges of hers were curled back. So after spiralling my paper, I unfurled it and used a toothpick to curl back the upper edges. I then re-curled the spiral back into the rose shape. I think it gives it a more realistic appearance. The two smaller flowers are disgracefully simple to make. They start out as four punched out 1" circles which are stapled together in the centre and then scrunched up around each other. A little glitz Stickle to the tips and they're done.

Hope you're enjoying the good weather this bank holiday. We're hopefully off to relax with a jaunt around a Botanical garden which neither of us has visited before, south of the Wirral. A reward for all the hard work we've done in our own garden yesterday.

I Was Wrong

2011-04-29T14:14:00.003+01:00

Well my prediction for the Play Date Cafe was wrong lol. They didn't opt for a red, white and blue combo. In fact, none of the colour inspiration sites I visited this week used those three colours. Teaches me to try and be clever haha.

So instead, we were given an inspired choice which incorporated the vivid contrast of red and green balanced out with a cool neutral grey.

It's a bit of a hotchpotch of techniques and materials layered together. I dyed a strip of Rayon ribbon, then spiralled it around a punched out circle of card. To this I added bakers twine, a button and a pearl. I then took a needle and thread to a strip of lace to create a background layer for the ribbon flower. I threaded two pins with beads and stuck those through before attaching the whole thing to a circular nestie diecut.

I embossed a piece of grey card and border punched the green paper before adding it to the sides. Finally I adhered an Anna Griffin sentiment and a grungeboard heart coated in Stickles.

Hope the wedding has made you feel all loved up today. Whatever your plans, have fun. Px

Do Not Adjust Your Screen

2011-04-24T14:03:00.003+01:00

Yes, I know, it's not the usual scrapbook layout you're used to seeing from me is it? But it's for a reason. There's a new blog on the block called Scrapbooking By Men and it's for the challenge they have set. To create a vintage-styled craft project. And judging by the high quality of examples presented by the Design Team, I had to try and up my game substantially.

I've seen and admired plenty of vintage-styled layouts recently and I've been playing around with vintage cards, so I thought I'd have a go at translating it to scrapbooking. Flowers dominate this style and so there are plenty of them here as you can see. No your eyes are not deceiving you. And except for the orange prima flower, all the blooms I've made from scratch. Mostly from patterned paper and punches, but with one in fabric and one from lace trim. Normally, there isn't a single embellishment to be seen on my layouts. Think I've made up for it here though.

Also this Easter holiday, I've had my head buried into a trio of books all about a crime writer and his pet cat, Norton. From the covers, you'd expect these to be cutesy but they're not. They are funny, honest and totally absorbing. Like millions before me, I have fallen for Norton. The third book was a difficult read, not only because I did so through sodden eyes for most of it but because it deals with loss. And it wasn't because it was mawkishly sentimental. It purposely is full of humour as the tale unfolds in solid plain facts and takes you on its inevitable journey.

It's been a long time since any book has so affected me and these three have had me feeling every emotion possible. After book two, I was tempted to go and live in France for a year. After book one, I was even tempted to go find a Scottish Fold to bring home as a companion for our feline friend. So now, for the rest of the day, I plan to dream of foreign lands, sunny beaches and lifelong adventures. Have a good Easter everyone. Px

What Happens When I Don't Plan Ahead

2011-04-22T08:44:00.005+01:00

Here's my entry for this week's Play Date Cafe challenge. The pastel blue and pink teamed with red, would instantly make you think of the designer Cath Kidston, which is why it wouldn't surprise you to discover that she is indeed the inspiration behind these colours.

Now I'm not sure how well I've done with this card. It kind of threw me a bit. Normally I work from a sketch, either one I've scribbled down or someone else's design. At the very least, I place everything on a card to see if I like it before sticking it finally in place.

I didn't do either this time around and soon felt out of my creative comfort zone. Nothing seemed to flow. There were gaps where I didn't want gaps. The focal point seemed all wrong. There was too much ice diamond. Frankly, I was at hair-ripping point. So I just kept adding more "stuff". Eventually it seemed to come together but you can tell I was having a wobble as I resorted to distressing and inking the edges.

Anyhoo, the only notes of interest are that I tried using Ice Diamonds for the first time on the spiral flowers. Having never used them before, I over egged the pudding a bit. Next time, I'll aim for the less is more approach. Also, the lacy flower is made from a generous gift from my lovely friend Anne at Vicky Stampers. She had her box of lace full of pretty trims that she had made and when I drooled over them, she kindly gifted me some. I was in craft heaven that day. The pink colour was perfect for this challenge, so I added glue to a punched out circle and spiralled the lace around it before finishing it off with a button.

Okay. I'm going to make a little predication about next week's Play Date Cafe. I'm sensing an excited buzz regards the upcoming Royal wedding, especially from the US members. So I'm thinking, as the challenge is set the day before that there'll be a Red, White & Blue vibe. I'm not privy to the colours in advance, so I'm as much in the dark as everyone else. I could be wrong. But I thought I'd stick my neck out if only to be shown up next week haha. (If I'm right, watch out Mystic Meg) Px

More New Ribbon to Play With

2011-04-21T12:06:00.003+01:00

This is my entry for the latest creative challenge at Mojo Monday. Another card, another week and another new ribbon to play with. Last week it was mesh ribbon. This week it's the embellishment which appears to be doing the rounds amongst crafters, especially those in the USA. It's Rayon Seam Binding.

Given that it isn't easy to come by in the UK, I bought 100 yards of it from Amazon.com. Should take me a while to get through it. There's a video on youtube showing how to crinkle and colour it. I think I rushed my first attempt so it's not as perfect as it could be but it's still usable.

And, bearing in mind what I said last week, I've made a concerted effort to include stamping in this week's card. The background is stamped with a variety of swirl flourishes, the main image is a stamped chandelier and even the tiny tag is stamped with the sentiment, a bird and flowers.

Not a lot to show for three hours effort

2011-04-16T18:10:00.003+01:00

Hello all who are kind enough to pass by this way. I'm hurriedly putting this post together whilst I run a bath in the background (which gives me approx. 15 mins before it'll start to overflow), to ensure I enter this card into the latest Monday Mojo challenge on time.

I have spent a delightful day, relaxing at a local crop and, for a change, actually spending the time crafting. I had taken along the sketch for the challenge and in a mere three hours, I managed to make this card. It's a good job I don't mass produce these things lol. Mind, in that time, I did hand sew around the edge of the patterned paper as well as cut out and sew together the fabric flower. The only thing I did on my return home was to print out the Birthday sentiment and attach.

It's been a gorgeous start of the weekend, weather wise too, sun and blue sky, if not always warm. Plus, due to a significant birthday of one of the girls later in the month, cake has been involved in the day's activities. Pink, glittery confection I may add too. So all in all, though I wasn't very productive (and to be honest, who ever is when they go out cropping or crafting), I had a lot of fun.

Hope you are all enjoying yourselves too, wherever you may be. Pxx

Playing with A New Ribbon

2011-04-15T08:42:00.002+01:00

It's Play Date Cafe Challenge time again. This week's colours are soothing and calm in mood. White, caramel & green. Two neutrals accented with green, a colour linked closely to creativity and tranquility.

And continuing with my latest interest in the modern vintage style, I cobbled together a Birthday card. The decorative border is a Martha Stewart punch, the ornate dies are Spellbinders and the papers are from my scraps folders and I think they're K&Co. The sentiment is my own design on the computer and printed out. Hmm I'm beginning to realise that I haven't used a lot of stamping in my creative projects recently. That's very neglectful! I must make a mental note to dig out the rubber and ink for next time.

Mind you, I'll forgive myself for not using stamps this time, as instead I got to play with a material which is new to me. It's from The Ribbon Box called Mesh Ribbon and I picked it up at a recent craft event at the NEC. I was a little tentative about using it and making a wasteful hash but in fact it's incredibly easy to fashion into a rather neat bow. And after this first attempt, I'm definitely hooked. You can pull, twist and shape it to your will and it holds its shape beautifully. I'll certainly be adding more to my stash.

In other news, I'm feeling a tremor of excitement as I've just booked train tickets to London for a weekend in May. So having lapped up the culture of the North recently, I can now go on the internet and turn my attention to the South. Plus, there's always a trip to the V&A. I hardly ever go to London without dropping in for an hour or two to marvel at the exhibits. Also, it's a great place to sit and relax with a sketchbook. Right, off to do some surfing.

Haunting Statues

2011-04-11T09:11:00.000+01:00

Yesterday, Nick & I spent a pleasant day wondering around Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Though the car park was full and we were guided to an overspill area, the whole place was still delightfully calm and tranquil. We had expected it to be swamped with people but it was far from it. Even when packed, there's so much space for everyone to spread out. It's just one of those areas that you can relax and unwind in. It's also set within in beautiful green countryside. On a sunny day, it's perfect bliss.

The reason for going this time, was for the opening of a new exhibition by the artist Jaume Plensa. Never heard of him? I thought I hadn't either. I was wrong. If you live in the North West of the UK, like me, you probably do know of at least one piece of art he's created...Dream in St Helens.

Now I know I always say this but if you get a chance to see it, you must! You will not be disappointed. Last week, I said Anish Kapoor at the Manchester Art Gallery was the best art I've seen this year. Well, seven days later, it's been topped by this. There are four pieces displayed in the Underground building which are stunning. Again, it's interactive and involves you more than just visually. Even if you have no knowledge or appreciation of art, you will come away having sensed something. It's spiritual and quite haunting.

And if you walk around the top perimeter, there are two giant wire heads where the female head especially creates an optical illusion of following you around, no matter where you stand.

The return drive was exceptionally good too. There was hardly any traffic as we drove through the snaking road of the Woodhead Pass, deep in the beauty of the Peak District. With a Charles Paris mystery play on the radio, I was in seventh heaven.

Hope everyone else had a good weekend :)

Before The Garden Beckons

2011-04-10T09:53:00.002+01:00

I'm up bright and early this morning. Probably because it's glorious weather outside. It may be a bit chill but boy is the light bright. Who wants to sleep???

So before it warms up and I go outdoors to potter around in the garden, I'm spending the time wisely writing up my blog post now.

It's another card, surprise, surprise and it's my take on this week's Play Date Cafe challenge. It's a gorgeous analogous combo of green and blue. However, I've tweaked it a tad and not followed it to the hue. The blues were a smidgen too bright for the yesteryear feel that I'm recently playing around with. But I did use two shades of it. So it's a creative tweak.

One of the joys of playing around with the vintage look, is that I can incorporate more materials into the design. So as well as patterned paper, I've included a fabric mat layer plus flower, a button, chipboard, lace, ruffled ribbon, chipboard, corrugated card, UTEE, punched shapes and eyelets. The sentiment & pattern were both generated on Adobe Illustrator and printed out. It's so rewarding to play with a style that allows me to build up multiple layers in it's construction.

Okay, just a little time for scrapping a quick layout, then it's out into the garden with the Sunday Papers. Don't you just love weekends :)

Sunny Days & Dodgy Backs

2011-04-09T09:18:00.002+01:00

Just as the sun comes out in the UK, I go and put my back out by sleeping on a rubbish mattress and find myself housebound. Now, after a week of hobbling around like an old man, I'm mobile again. Well, it'd be nice to go cycling in this uplifting weather but that's not possible. However, we did go out in the countryside yesterday and today we're planning for another trip out where it's nothing but green hills and wild spring flowers. Oh yes and let's not forget the abundance of cute lambs adorning the fields.

Not being able to sit still for too long without my back seizing up, has meant that I haven't sat in my craft room in the evenings. So last night, when I felt wide awake, I made a card for this week's Mojo Monday challenge.

The papers are a mix of Basic Grey, K&Co & LLB. The die cuts are Spellbinders and the punches for the butterfly & flowers are Martha Stewart. The bow was great fun to shape and make. My wonderfully creative friend Olive sent me a generous batch of Simanay offcuts to play with (quite appropriate as it was Ladies Day at Aintree Racecourse yesterday, where plenty of the hats and fascinators worn, would have been produced from this quirky material). It bends, folds, punches out and cuts really well. It's brilliant stuff and I want to play around with it lots more and experiment when I next have the time.

Right, I'd better stop gabbling as I need to get ready. Should I don shorts today? Is the world ready to see my lily-white, short, fat, hairy legs? Probably not lol. Anyhoo, whatever you are doing this weekend, have fun.

Interacting with Sculptures

2011-04-04T14:12:00.003+01:00

If you're reading my blog and you're local to Manchester City centre, I can highly recommend you taking a trip to the Manchester Art Gallery. It's free (though the gallery does ask for generous patrons to leave a small donation) and well worth popping along to at any time. However, now is an especially good time to pop your nose around the corner to see the exhibition by the sculptural artist, Anish Kapoor.

This is what we did last Friday on April Fool's day. I'd already seen his work in the Tate London, in the giant turbine hall, when he filled it with a large red canvas stretched into the shape of a trumpet. So I knew I was going to be treated and I wasn't wrong. It's not art purely for looking at. It interacts with you. It plays with your eyes. Large bumps in the wall, disappear in front of your eyes. You speak in hushed tones to your companion and realise you're speaking like a dalek. You look at a velvet gap and for all you know, you could be staring into infinite space. It's wonderfully surreal. And best of all, you can start your day with a tea and a delightfully sinful cake from their cafe. They've revamped it and the soft, laid back chairs are a delight to sink into.

So yes, I decided to scrap it. There were too many photos I wanted to use for this to be included in my New52 layouts. The memory deserved a double paged spread all to itself. That way I could sneak more pictures in. They're all gleaned from the internet as photography is not permitted. But if you're a whizz with a search engine, it's not too difficult to find something that suits the purpose.

It's another clean and simple design. I haven't yet managed to jazz it up with embellishments etc. Maybe next time.

Play Date Cafe 75

2011-04-01T17:26:00.003+01:00

Three delicious vintage colours this week at Play Date Cafe challenge blog. Muted shades of Blue & Pink combined with Silver grey.

Papers were all from my scrap files so I haven't a clue who they are by. The die shape is another newbie from Spellbinders. Part of their Fleur de Lis range. The sentiment is one I created on the computer & printed out. Then I added flowers, pearls and new for me, pearl head pins. There's a bit of hand sewing thrown in there too. It would be quicker to sew by machine but I was just too lazy to set the thing up. Madness I know. The five minutes it would take could save me about half an hour of stitching time.

I'm increasingly finding myself drawn to the vintage style. Not sure how successful I am at putting the look together yet but it's fun to try. I think I need to practise more, see what works and what doesn't. Again, it feels good to be stretching my creative muscles. You can tell Spring is here, I have the urge to play!

New52 March 2011

2011-04-01T09:05:00.000+01:00

Another month has flown by which means one more page to add to my New52 scrapbook.

Paris was heavenly and a delightful way to start the month. We were lucky to have enjoyed blue skies & bright sunshine whilst there. We definitely have emerged from our wintry hibernation. One highlight of the trip was to see the lipstick covered Epstein sculpture where Oscar Wilde is laid to rest.

The following week, we caught up with friends at a new restaurant (well new as in under new management but I made sure to order something new too, so it could still count). I notice that the second entry in February's New52 is a restaurant too. And there was I thinking I didn't eat out often!

The third experience was a trip under the city of Manchester, on a guided tour of it's tunnels. We were advised to bring torches and sensible footwear. That's because apart from the entrance, it's all pitch black, damp and muddy. I booked this back in December, just before Christmas. The tours were sold out and this was the earliest available.

Finally, , I found myself spending the evening with Nick down at the Accident & Emergency. In hindsight, it all seems daft, over what turned out to be nothing more than a bruise. But at the time, when you see blood collecting around a swollen foot and turning it black, it can send the brain reeling. So for reassurance we sought a medical expert's opinion. And on the plus side, I had the free time to read a short novel from start to almost the end (I was one chapter shy when they called Nick's name).

So there you go. Another memorable month. Right, I'm off to the City again today to visit a French Market and perhaps indulge in something new for the week. In fact, there might be more than one if the weather brightens up as it is forecasted to do.

Getting a Mojo Fix

2011-03-30T14:33:00.003+01:00

Recently, in my busy schedule, I have found myself only making and posting a single crafty item a week (normally a card) and it's almost always for a colour challenge.

Trouble is, I've not been playing and challenging myself with this wonderfully diverse aspect of design. It's been months since I've sat down and had to pull colours out for myself and I'm missing it. So, for a change, I thought I'd have a go at a sketch challenge. And here is the result. A card for this week's Monday Mojo.

I knew that no matter what else went onto the card, it had to include an element from my newest Spellbinders set Fancy Tags Two. It's by far, my all time favourite die set. There are three tag shapes in the pack and I love all of them. So beautiful in their ornate decoration.

Ahhhh, feels good to have flexed that creative muscle again. I now feel an urge to draw or sketch something. It seems that whichever creative area of my life is sensing a current drought, it sends me an itch and tells me to scratch it. And I've never been one to ignore a nagging sensation in my craw.

Whipping out a Quickie

2011-03-27T12:52:00.002+01:00

I haven't spent a lot of time in my craft room this week. Not that you'd guess from the state of it. My desk certainly had the "exploded bomb" look. I say "had" as I have gone round and done a quick clear up before embarking on this card for this week's Play Date Cafe challenge.

It was a beautifully elegant selection of blue, purple and white this week. They are commonly associated with regal or mystical themes, especially if combined with an accent of gold. And I have to admit I have a soft spot for blues and purples.

It's another minimal, graphic-styled card and I've used my new Fleur de Lis dies from Spellbinders. The sentiment is one I generated on the computer. I tried adding extra embellishments but it generally took away from the design rather than added to it, so I gave up and left it as is. Clean and simple.

Dusty, Powdery & Vintage

2011-03-20T11:05:00.003Z

This week's Play Date Cafe Challenge has three wonderful vintage hues to play with. They are muted, dusty, powdery shades of red, red-violet & yellow-orange. They are toned down to almost becoming neutrals and therefore happily work in any combination.

It's been a busy old week, with bits of crafting thrown into the mix but until now, nothing to show and blog about. I did a demo at Craft Range on Wednesday evening, showing how to easily make paper flowers and decorate accordion books with them. And Saturday, I spent a few hours at a craft show in Harrogate. It's the busiest I've ever known it and getting around was a battle. However, I still managed to pick up a few crafty treats for myself. And a big thank you to Alison for the lift from the station. An unexpected and delightful surprise.

Today I'm off on a New52 experience in Manchester. I'm not going to say what it is just yet. You'll have to wait until the end of the month when I upload March's layout. Plus, now that the sun's gone in, we'll be strolling around the muddy countryside for a few hours.

Found Some Time to Play

2011-03-12T10:35:00.003Z

It's been a busy ol' week, post holiday. But I've managed to squeeze an hour to myself to play with paper. And where better to play than with the Play Date Cafe.

I've been a bit remiss and not played along for a couple of weeks. So I thought I'd better head on over there and see what colours are on offer this week. Well it looks like a split complementary scheme which always delivers a punchy combination. Dark blue with its split complimentary of red (the pink) & orange.

I spent most of the time making the paper flowers and leaves for this card before placing them on a simple background with shaped punched corners, leaving lots of white space. I've left the sentiment out as it can be stamped on later or left out, depending on who it will be sent to and for what occasion.

Right, I'd better head off and plough through my 'to do' list (yes I'm a big list maker - I even make lists of lists). But it's not all work, I'm off to dinner at a new restaurant with friends tonight and at some point I need to think about my New52. Actually, thinking about it, the two could be combined! Wahay! That's settled that. I can put a line through that one. So what's next on my list.....?

Back Home from Paris

2011-03-08T10:38:00.004Z

What a fantastic time Nick & I had last week. Gorgeous, sunny weather, blue skies and the whole of Paris to explore. There were some items on our list of 'To Dos' that we didn't but we kept our plans flexible and squeezed as much as we could out of our time there. Oh yes & it also took only five minutes on arrival before the first guy tried to scam us with the "look I just found this ring" con. We just laughed and walked on.

Highlights included the Notre Dame towers, Oscar Wilde's grave, The Musee D'Orsay and a quaint olde worlde cafe in the Marais shopping district. Good job I don't live there mind, as the patisseries, of which there are a great many, are extremely tempting. So difficult to resist the mouth-watering window displays. We indulged in sweet, sugary cakes every day for breakfast, for lunch, after dinner and whenever sitting down for a breather in a cafe. I'd be the size of a house within a month. We don't have a photo of it but I dragged Nick into a very classy place in an upmarket district and saw a whole glaced fruit pineapple. An extraordinary thing to behold. It was deliciously tempting, glossy and oozing with syrup but it was also the type of shop where they didn't display prices (as in, if you have to ask, then you definitely can't afford it).

Same as last year, we walked our poor tired feet into exhaustion. Thankfully, this time I remembered to bring a peppermint spray, to soothe our trampled tootsies and keep us going for longer. Though sad when it was all over, the hot, soothing bath that awaited once we were home, was bliss.

And yes, I came home, once more, with a box of Macarons. Well, you didn't expect me to go all the way there and return empty handed now did you :) Flavours this time included carrot & orange, salted caramel, quince & rose and olive oil & mandarin. Yumsk!

New52 February 2011

2011-03-01T09:00:00.000Z

Another month gone by in the blink of an eye, which means a new layout to document my year of New 52 experiences.

The main new activity was to take a four-part evening class at a local workshop, Beetlefelt. How this place hasn't hit my radar before I do not know. The whole ambience is abound with creativity. I learnt plenty of new, inspiring techniques but the main thing is that it has encouraged me to blow the dust off my sewing machine and start putting it to good crafty use.

Next up was dining out at a new, very fancy restaurant, Damson for our anniversary (There are so many dates we could pick but 4th of Feb is the one Nick & I favour the most). Luxury and gourmet just ooze out of it's pores here. The service is impeccable, the food is divine and the ambience is perfect. It's not a cheap do, but it's perfect when you want to treat yourself to a special night out.

The dentist is a far less exciting prospect but nevertheless it was new. Well, not going to the dentist but going to a new practise. Dentists and I are never going to be the best of buddies and I often feel growing anxiety in the days before an appointment. I was even more fretful this time around as it was someone new to me. It takes a handful of visits before I start to trust and begin to relax. Certainly never upon sitting in a black leather chair for the first time. However, it all went well and best of all no injections were required.

Finally, I went for a stroll with Nick around Sale Water Park. It's only down the road from us but we've never donned our walking boots and wandered around it. I have to say, it isn't a big deal. Yes it was new but it was of little interest. We'll certainly not be rushing back for a future visit. So I've added in a little extra New52. At the last Beetlefelt class, Carol, the tutor, showed me how to make fabric flowers. The first one I created was appalling as I pawed at the fabric trying to manipulate the petals into shape. However, when I tried again, I finally grasped the knack of it. Not as difficult as I had at first perceived. Okay, I stabbed myself with a needle plenty of times but that's par for the course. What's a little blood soaking into your flowers when they look so fancy.

And that, my dear readers, was February. March starts with a bang instead of a whimper as by the time this post hits your screens, I shall be in Paris having plenty of New52 experiences. The difficulty, I hope, will be in having to pick only one.

Spring Is In The Air

2011-02-25T19:09:00.003Z

With crocuses popping their tiny heads out of the ground to join the snowdrops and the wild garlic displaying their new leaves, it feels like Spring is ever closer and we're saying goodbye to Winter.

The Play Date Cafe peeps obviously think so too with a zesty and youthful colour combo this week. A luminescent blue & orange are joined by lime green. It's a very bright selection to work with. It's almost a double complimentary scheme but it's missing violet to ping against the green.

The central paper rose is an old favourite that has been around for months but I still love it. This one has been created with card which was first embossed with a cuttlebug folder. The rest is just pieces of chopped up papers in my scraps folder.

I've kept it symmetrical in design. I don't know why, but I tend to veer towards the safety of symmetry. The same goes with art. When I wander around a gallery, my eyes fall instantly on a piece that has strong symmetry. I'm the same when flicking through magazines (There's a poster which has me down to a tee which states..."I don't read the words, I'm too busy looking at the pictures" lol), I go straight for an image with symmetry. It's just so restful for the eye.

Not sure if I'll be posting next week as I'm a very lucky guy who is going to be travelling to Paris again for a few days. We went last year too but you just can't see everything in the space of a few days. There are just so many wonderful galleries to visit and not enough hours. Plus you need to factor in a few non-gallery related trips which preferably don't involve a lot of standing or walking. Believe me, the most essential clothing to wear in Paris is a good pair of comfortable shoes. Oh yes & I gather that it'll be Paris Fashion Week whilst we're there. Better dust off the Gaultier suit then lol.

Pay It Forward

2011-02-19T17:12:00.002Z

Last week, I wrote a post regarding a set of hanky holders as part of the Pay It Forward project. Well eight lovely people left a comment on here and two who couldn't, left a comment on my Facebook account. I know the challenge is to send gifts to five people but I'm feeling in a generous mood. Every one of the ten people will receive one. I've already made five so I will make another five over the next couple of weeks in my spare time. Bear with me and I will make sure they're all done and sent off to you. Px

Soft & Shabby

2011-02-12T12:57:00.002Z

This week's colours over at Play Date Cafe are very soft and romantic. Pale pink & coffee. And, for a change, the card seems to have turned out in a shabby chic style. Well, I suppose the colours do rather lend themselves to it. Yes it's the same daisy punch for the flowers but this time I decided to ink around the edges of the petals to add a little more realism and visual texture.

Keep A Spare Packet of Hankies in Your Bag with Style

2011-02-12T09:08:00.003Z

Something you never knew you needed. A stylish holder for your paper hankies. Your ipod has it's cute, sequinned pouch. Your make up is stashed into in a charming purse but your hankies just sit there in plain plastic wrapping, shaming you! If only there was something to smarten them up with.

Well to five lucky readers of my blog, that problem is solved. You will finally be able to store a spare set of hankies in this chic little holder.

If you are a crafty blog hopper or facebooker, you may have already come across the Pay It Forward posts that have been popping up. The idea is that you send a handmade gift to five people who leave comments and it has to be during 2011. They in turn must also pay it forward and make a handmade craft to five people and so it goes on.

Well dear readers, I left a comment on such a post and was lucky enough to be one of the five recipients and therefore in turn, I shall do the same. However, I'm going to do it slightly differently (no surprise there, those who know me can attest that I'm not good at following the rules). For starters, I've already made my handmade gifts prior to posting (if you've seen the Pay It Forward post somewhere else, you'll know that the poster promises to make a gift sometime during 2011 but you don't know what and you don't know when). Also, I'm not going to offer this to the first five people who comment and I'm not going to request you pay it forward in order to receive it.

So, over the next seven days, if I have five people comment to this post, then each will receive one of these exclusive limited edition hanky holders (only five in the world, very rare). Less than five, then each person will receive one and the rest will be given away as birthday/xmas gifts to family and friends (& I'll find a clean cloth to wipe the egg from my face). More than five comments and I'll use a randomiser tool to select the recipients. I'll send them anywhere in the world,not just to people living in the UK.

So tune in next Saturday (19th February) and I'll either be letting you know who I'll be needing an address from or going through my diary to see who has a birthday coming up!!!