Water Colouring Experience (One Time Only!!!)

Went to a water colouring with distressed re-inkers workshop today at Norburn's, one of our local craft centres. After hearing reports from other people who went yesterday and the long list of 'things' we had to take, also seeing the image and the colours we were going to be using, I have to say that I really wasn't looking forward to it. But now having been and survived it wasn't even half as bad as I was expecting.

Our group, left to right, Kate, Polly, Maz (no blog yet, in the process of being sorted) & Sue, started off by making our card.


I just love Kate's expression on this one, I'm sure she will kill me for this, and I only met her today!!!!


Maz and Sue pondering on what to do next


Now just look at these colours, patterns, flowers etc. The green is ok but oh no, not pink and flowery, my worst nightmare!!!!!!! But I managed to contain myself and did a bit of matting and layering and inking the edges. Sue tied my bow as it's not the sort of thing I'm used to!!!!

We then swapped rooms with the group next door and moved on to the actual water colouring of the main image. I was rubbish at it and to tell you the truth didn't have a bloody clue what I was doing!! We had a practise one and a 'real' one, but I only managed to get up enough enthusiasm to do one, after being told my water brush was no good - lol!!! But Maz lent me a lovely pink paint brush to play with - photo to follow when I've pinched it off Sue!!!!

Anyway, when I got home I cut out my one and only coloured in image and placed it over the 'proper' one. I placed all the bits where I sort of thought I'd put them (nothing is glued down and probably never will be!!). We also got brads and charms and chain, but I think I'll use them on something else!!! I quite like her trousers though, but I think that's probably because they are green - lol

Although I thought it was a bit steep at £25 we did get these goodies in our packs, and the book of Basic Grey papers is lurvley. This little lot total about £12, so not too bad in the end.

Anyway I can now say that I've been, I've done it and we'll leave it at that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fridge Magnet Swap Using Stampbord

I made this a while ago but didn't do anything with it. Louise over on the UKStampers forum is hosting a magnetic stampbord swap. Basically you have to attach a magnet to the back of your stampbord piece, so mine is now getting posted off for the swap - Thanks Louise

Tag Swap

I'm hosting a tag swap on Lotstodo forum. It's an open theme, so anything goes!!! Left I've used distressed embossing powder, middle has been run through the cuttlebug and for the right one I've used the water droplets on distressed ink

Bling & Dazzle Atc's

This months UKStampers ATC theme is 'bling & dazzle'. You can be as tame or as radical as you wish. Mine are pretty tame. Top left is caught in crystal. Top right I used silver stickles to outline the number, crown and word and I added 4 gems to the bottom one!!!

Fraz in Bradley Woods

Just come back from a walk in the woods with Fraz. It was lovely and shaded in there

Fraz in the shade with his ball

It's been way too hot for Fraz today so he was seeking refuge in the corner under the garden furniture

As I moved a bit closer he thought he ought to protect his ball just in case I was going to take it

He then flopped back onto the grass but...............


He still had his beady eye on me and his ball!!!!

Butterfly Peg

I decided to something completely different with my second peg. When we went to AFTH last weekend I tret myself to 3 of the new AI's in the lights. I got willow, juniper and salmon. As I haven't used them yet I thought I ought to get them out. This is how I created the wings. I then stuck them to a piece of mountboard to strenghten them. I then printed the basic butterfly shape onto acetate, which is the shadowy sort of look you can see in the photo. I've scored it each side of the peg to make the wings stick up. I coloured the peg copper, added copper wire and beads, wobbly eyes, a gem for the nose and a bead for the mouth and a couple of pins for the antennae.

Week 22 - Lotstodo Challenge - Travel In Style

This is one of my scrapbook pages from our recent DIY holiday to Canada. We picked the truck up from the airport and did a bit of travelling around to different ski resorts. We've enver done it this way before but really enjoyed it. We saw more of the lovely country this way.

Mr Clothes Peg

I'm hosting a couple of altered wooden clothes peg swaps. Been playing and this is what I've come up with so far. He might alter or he might end up with a twin of a different colour!!!!

Houses Swap - Lotstodo

Andrea on the Lotstodo Forum is hosting a houses swap. Each had to relate to a certain theme, a man, a woman, a child and an animal

Another Yesterday's Makes

We made these little books yesterday too. Images, words, tissue paper, twill, ribbon were are attached using the hot melted bees wax.



This is a close up of one where the bees wax has been used



We made 8 in total, 4 with bees wax and 4 with stamped images from the new TH range available at Art from the Heart

I doodled around the black edges with a gold pen

Yesterday's Makes

This is a 4 x 4 canvas made at Art from the Heart on yesterdays workshop. The fab images are from Lisa's Altered Art and are available as digital downloads for $2.00 a sheet and can be used over and over. I ordered a couple of sheets last night and she gave me 2 free ones, so 4 sheets for $4.00, you can't go wrong.

I used the some of the altered words / sayings from another one of Lisa's altered sheets for the 4 sides

The canvas was firstly cover with the lightest of the 3 dabbers in the colour co-ordinating set, in my case green, no surprise there then!!! This just gave a light base coat. The second of the colours was just dabbed on and then rubbed in with a finger and the third and darkest colour was used to 'frame' the piece, ie each edge was swiped with the dark colour. The metled bees wax use used to attach the images and words, tissue and dress making paper to the canvas. It gives it a lovely smell and a great texture!!!

Art From The Heart Workshop - Bees Wax

We were all given a pack to 'play' with, well you can imagine my surprise when I got this image in my pack!!!!!


Left to right all working away - Chris, Sue, Bee, Lisa & Maz


The whole group


Chris & Me


The Grimsby Clan and Dy

We had a fab day. You can see our WIP on Dy's Blog. As mine's not finished yet, I'll blog it later when it is.

Lotstodo Week 21 - Cracked It

This is a card that I made a while ago now, but I just love the colour and the effect of those dragonflies

I've also been scrapping my recent holiday photo's. On this layout I used crackle paint to create some of the snowflakes

A Forky Thingy!!!!

I bent the prongs on a fork and came up with this. The arms and legs are from Artgirlz (thanks Sue for getting them for me), the flower stalks are strips of corrugated cardboard, the flower heads are from Hero Arts

Photo Frame

It will soon be Laurens birthday so I thought it would be nice to send her this framed photo of her and Fraz taken when they came down for their holiday in April. They did make another visit not so long ago, first May Bank Holiday, but the weather wasn't great and the camera never came out of my pocket!!! I hope she likes it.

The wooden frame was sanded down, given a coat of gesso, given a coat of aged mahogany crackle paint and sanded again to reveal some of the gesso layer

Scrap Book Slide Show

Canada 2009 Ski Trip

Finally got all my pages completed. They are only very basic, but that's the way I like 'em!!!!

Week 20 - Lotstodo Challenge - Working with Wood

I made this piece from all sorts of nik naks. I used mini wooden pegs, match sticks, coffee stirrers, tickets, string and eyelets. The image was stamped with versamark clear and then embossed with peeled paint distressed powder

Been Playing Again!!!

I've been playing courtesy of Lorraine at UkStampers. I wanted some 'Lutradur' but couldn't find any in small quantities, so she suggested that I try tumble dryer sheets instead, so I did. I bought the cheapest ones I could find, 94p from Asda.

I then used my new craft tool to burn shapes and patterns into it. Obviously this is just a practise piece to see what happened, how much pressure to apply etc. As you can see, some bits I managed to burn!!!

I then sprayed with sheet with watered down distressed re-inkers

I will get around to doing a proper one, one day!!!!

Lotstodo Week 19 Challenge - Stripes / Lines

Sue, this one is especially for you, pink and flowery!!!!! The canvas was coated in bees wax. The napkin was soaked in the melt pot directly in the melted beeswax, pulled out and laid on the canvas. I used my new tool with the small iron shaped extension to re-heat the wax to adhere it to the canvas, smoothed it out with the flat surface and added a piece of ribbon. It doesn't show up very well on the picture but there are lots of different shades of pink stripes behind the flower and on the right there are stripes too - you just have to look closely!!!!

Vintage Atc's

Every month I host an Atc swap on UKStampers. This month Sue chose the theme. Here are my vintage efforts

Week 18 - Lotstodo Challenge - Let's Face It

I used a piece of balsa wood to create this piece. Stamped my image in black stazon first, then burnt it out with my craft tool and burnt out the pattern around the edge