Out of Action

Hi, just a quick post to let you all know that I will be out of action for a while having spent the last 3 days in hospital.  I slipped on the ice on Monday morning and now have a shattered right ankle which is held in place with a couple of screws and a plaster cast.  I am non weight bearing for 6 weeks, so laid up on the sofa.  I then have to go back for the learn to walk process, physio etc.


We were supposed to be skiing in 8 weeks time, but that has had to be cancelled as I am unable to fly!!!


I wish you all a merry christmas and all the very best for the new year.


Have fun - Sam xxx

An iron and some wax

I decided to have a play today with some wax and my travel iron been as I've just bought a book called Encaustic Art: How to paint with wax by Michael Bossom.  This technique is called geometric abstract lines, drawing lines using the baseplate of the iron.

This one is monochrome where I was just practising the four basic techniques, but I like how it came out.

Then I got brave and decided to have a go at a bit of a landscape.

Then I decided to introduce a few more colours.

And then I did another one.

Bead and Fabric Bracelets

I've been having a play with making bracelets from fabric and using wire and beads to decorate them.  Here are my first attempts, a bit messy, but then I love the randomness of it.

Day 9, Tag #9

Hmmmm....tag 9, not overly impressed with this one either, but .... I loved Ted's attempt, so decided to go along those lines instead.  And OMG, how much bling.  For those that don't know, I don't do bling, but this tag was just crying out for it.  

12 Days of T!m Tags

Well I have to admit that this year I'm a tad disappointed with the 12 days tags.  I only got inspired on day 7, but don't have any of that stamp set.  Then day 8 came along and 'wow', that got my creative juices following.  So here is my effort and as you can see, I decided not to go along with the Christmas theme.  I really enjoyed making it though.  

Birthday Card

It's my OH's birthday today so I made him this card.  He has an orange sports car, so I thought my new T!m stamp was very fitting!!!!

Just Glue Some Gears On It

I just had to share this with you which Clare found earlier

Beaded Jewellery

Still on the jewellery theme I decided to have a play with some of my beads. Lottie has been making jewellery too, and she has been lucky enough to take some lessons.  She has created some wonderful pieces.

I basically just strung my lovely green beads in with different shades of wooden beads and I was quite pleased with how it came out.  I didn't do anything fancy with it, simply because I don't know how to!!

Steampunk Jewellery

I have just taken delivery of this lush magazine which landed on my doormat this morning.  It's fab and full of techniques and inspirational jewellery ideas.  It's from the massive and fantastic Stampington & Co range, so you have to order it in from the USA.

Anyway, back to the steampunk pieces.  These were inspired by my mate, Nicky, who sells the ones she makes as they are absolutely stunning.  She incorporates lots of different materials in her pendants. If you are interested, visit her blog and click on the email me logo down the right to ask her what she has as each pendant is unique.

I also came across someone else who had played around with the same idea, as she had  entered her make into a Simon Says challenge.  See it here.

So here is what I was playing around with using the TH ornate plates as the base for the pieces.

This one uses all TH pieces

This one is TH, except the cog which is 7Gypsys.

This one is a mix of all sorts.

TH and 7Gypsys pieces.

A mix of all sorts.

This one doesn't use the ornate plate for the base.  The clock pieces are TH and the cog 7Gypsys.  The face is made from clay and coloured with silver acrylic paint.

Felt & Fabrics

I made this using some of the things I bought from Harrogate this year and some that I bought last year.  I used all sorts of fibres and materials including silk rods, scrim, hessian, felt, mulberry bark, throwsters waste and silk cocoons, as well as buttons, sequins, hat pins, beads and mount board. 


I arranged my layout onto the hessian and machine sewed the pieces in place.  The sequins and buttons were hand sewn afterwards and the beads added to the pins.


I wanted to use some bright colours for a change, I think I managed it!!!!

A Few Twinches

The background for these were created with lots of mediums, eco-line inks, gesso and acrylic paint.  Top one is crackled with rock candy, middle left has dimensional pearls around the hair, bottom left has black enamel accents over the body of the bee and the butterfly has glossy accents over the wings.  They are all 2" squares aka a twinchie.

Knit & Stitch Show

I treat myself to a day off and a trip to Harrogate today.  I went to the knit and stitch show where I picked up these goodies above.  There were more paper craft stands there this year.  I have been after that TH car stamp in wood for absolutely ages so I was well impressed.

This is one of the creations on the Stef Francis stand using the silk rods.

So is this one.

These two were stunning in real life and again on the Stef Francis stand where I got most of my fabric stuff from.

A Few Tags

I made these tags in the same way I made the Atcs in the previous post.

But I decided not to punch a hole in the top and add any fibres.

A Few Atc's

I was playing around with my distress inks and stippling them onto the background using shaving foam brushes!!!  Stamped some images, added embellishments and words and on the top left and bottom middle used some dimensional pearls over the hat and around the sun.  Was just having a random play really!!!!

Wooden Shrine

I think I picked up this wooden shrine at the Yours Sincerely show at Lincoln.  I've had it primed for a while but couldn't decide what to do with it.  So yesterday I decided to give it a coat of green patina eco-friendly paint.  I smeared various greens and browns over the front when dry.  I sanded off 4 x 1" pieces of stampbord, edged them in green, stamped them in brown and added them to the outside wings.

Decorated the background using various stamps, splatters, and bottle tops in different paints and inks. Stamped a few of the images onto tissue paper and used watered down pva to glue them on.  The middle image is stamped onto a piece of card and coloured with distress inks.  The word is cut from a Sizzix die.

This is it stood up in the garden in the sun!!!

Wooden Tags

My mate Maz kindly gave me a couple of wooden tags to play with.  I don't usually use blue but I decided to use my denim and sail boat blue acrylic dabber couple with blueberry eco friendly paint.  I touched up with a bit of white for some contrast.    I wanted to try something different so I stamped the flowers with iced spruce distress ink and covered with bronze perfect pearls.  The butterfly is stamped in russet and pewter lumiere paint and the grass in olive green, they came out pretty well.

 

I initially painted the background black and then decided to add some metallics, gold, silver, pewter and brass.  I painted the clock face and hands with copper.  Added a charm, copper shavings and wire coils.

Steampunk Treasure Box

I made this fab treasure box from scratch thanks to Jean.  It was actually quite easy to do in the end but I did have the advantage of a great set of instructions and a video demo.  Once constructed I used graphic 45 steampunk paper to cover.  I added loads of steampunkery embellishments, spinners, chain, watch parts, a lock  and a safety pin charm.  The trim is one of the new TH lace dies coloured with vintage photo distress stain.

The top has a piece of TH glassine paper which has been run through the clockworks cuttlebug embossing folder.  The edges were sealed with TH sticky tissue tape.  I coloured the silver metal corner piece with old brass lumiere paint.  The bottom left piece is from a clay mould and was coloured with metallic perfect pearls, the middle piece is a bronze coloured clock charm and the bottom cog is from a 7 gypsies set.  And lastly, the handle is a mini light bulb!!!!

I'm really pleased with the way it came out, and most astonished that the lid fitted the box.  That must be down to Jean and the precise measurements - thanks Jean

Clay Doll

The body, legs, head and hat are all made from silver clay.  I stamped into the body and the legs and gave them a hint of black acrylic to hi-light the raised areas.  The face is a piece of stampbord coloured with iced spruce distress ink.  The wings are TH chipboard pieces run through the script embossing folder and painted with pewter lumiere metallic with black hi-lights.  I used safety pins for the arms and a mini watch embellishment for a heart!!  I doubled up a piece of wire to secure the head to the body, so I unintentionally gave her a neck - lol.  

Steampunk Dragonfly

Decided to have a play with clay and made this dragonfly from black and brown clay and a load of watch parts and a few beads.  Was quite pleased with how the body turned out as it's the first time I've tried this technique.  

I think you can see the body a bit better on this one.  It's like a rippled effect.

And some more!!!

I used another inkadinkado snowman stamp for these two cards.  I glossy accented his hat and scarf and the bird.  The holly branch is from the TH die with the lamp-post and the white trim is from the TH lace die.

I think I'm going to give this one to Martin as it's my favourite.  The blue section on the left has been run through a snowflake cuttlebug embossing folder and sanded back.  I used a punch along the top piece of card and stamped it with one of the stamps I got from The Dome.  I also found some clear mica flakes so decided to add them under the base of the snowman.  I used iced spruce to add subtle colour to the card.

Yikes, some Christmas cards!!!

I think this one will be for mum and dad seen as it's in the traditional red and green colours.  Background is layered papers.  I coloured the TH lace die with walnut stain stain.  The image background was created with my Lily inks, the inkadinkado snowman stamped in gathered twig distress ink and outlined with glossy accents.

I used a dark green card for this one and stamped random snowflakes in picket fence distress stain.  Used a MS punch for the sprigs / branches and coloured them with bundled sage distress stain.  The 25 and December are outlined in glossy accents and the saying is stamped in faded jeans distress stain and over written in white gel pen.

Comfort Doll

This is a Barb doll, otherwise known as a comfort doll.  Mine is a lot smaller than Barb's as it's only my first one and I had to do the needle felting by hand and Barb has a fancy embellisher to do it for her.  I think the face may be a little bit too big, but I didn't have any smaller face molds for the clay.  I used black, but coated it with a layer of micaceous iron oxide before baking in order to take the perfect pearls.  I used silk rods, merino wool tops, silk waste and bamboo wool to needle felt into the piece of felt.  I then cut out a random shape.  Using my sewing machine I attached another piece of felt to the back leaving an opening to put stuffing in.  Once stuffed, I sewed the hole up.  I glued the bamboo hair to the clay head and then glued the head to the body.

Christmas Tags

I do love this new iced spruce colour.  I was slightly concerned that it would be too much like the weathered wood, but the snowflakes in the background are stamped in that.  I went to Maz's yesterday to drop her set off and she'd taken delivery of some of the new T!m dies, so she kindly cut me some.  Here I have used the lamp post, holly and berries and the vintage lace.

This is the new holly branch die, coupled with the on the edge twigs die.  The seasons greeting is an older one from a T!m stamp set.  It was stamped in the gathered twigs autumn distress ink and covered with gold perfect pearls.

I added rocky candy stickles to the holly leaves.

Again I used the lamp post and holly, the twig from the holly branch die and a different one of the vintage laces.  The stamp is one I picked up in my collection from the Dome.

Look what I've got!!!!

Look what arrived in the post this morning thanks to my friend Lily.  Yes, the new WINTER collection of distress ink pads.  They really are lush and the iced spruce is really nice, it's like a cracked ice effect.


Going to make these into christmas tags, but just wanted to share before I covered up the colours!!!

A Few More Needed Cards

An anniversary card for my sister using my Lily inks and the new purple coloured DI.  

Birthday card for my dad using bundled sage distress stains.

And finally a birthday card for my niece using alcohol inks and bundled sage distress stain.