Lucky Me!!!

Look what I got from my mate Chris.  Isn't it beautiful.

And look what was inside when I pulled the drawer out.

The contents in more detail.

How did all these goodies fit in this wonderful box drawer.


Thank you so much Chris, it really made my day.  Fantastic colour of course and I love those butterfly images, and of course all the wonderful embellies will be used or treasured!!!

Artful Times - Challenge 1

To get the Artful Times new challenge blog off to a flying start we decided to go with a free for all theme but whatever you chose it must be created on a tag. I used various mediums to create the background, dylusion sprays, glimmer mist and distress stains.  I stamped the grunge alphabet over the tag and hi-lited some of the letters with a white pen.  I cut the umbrella man from chipboard and painted him with black acrylic.  I used honeycomb paper to make the top of his umbrella more prominent.  I stamped one of T!m's mini quotes onto a nesties panel and inked the edges in black soot distress ink.  I coloured a piece of material with distress stain to make my own ribbon.

A closer look at the honeycomb paper.

Hop over to the blog to see what everyone else has created and if you feel inspired, why not join in.

Butterfly Tag

I am entering this tag into this weeks pan pastels challenge.  Their theme is bright colours with spring being in the air.  I used the bandana technique which you can find here, but instead of using inks I used pan pastels.  I used orange, yellow, violet, turquoise and green.  I decided to go with a butterfly theme as I though it was spring / garden related.  I outlined all the black stamped images with a white pen.  I dyed the ribbon with distress stains and attached it with a bright blue safety pin.  I added a metal butterfly charm over the large butterfly middle left.

About Time ...

... A new challenge blog has been formed by myself, Neet and Von.
Go check us out, we'd love to have you come and play.
Please help us spread the word by taking our logo and putting it in your sidebar with a link back to the blog, http://artfultimes.blogspot.co.uk
The first challenge goes 'live' on Friday 30 March at 6 pm, but in the meantime, hop over and have a nosey around at the info on the pages and become a follower so as not to miss out.

Birthday Card

It's my football mad, Man United supporters nephews 16th birthday at the end of this month. Hence the above card. The images have been stamped and the footballer cut out and coloured in. The top two pieces have been made with shrink plastic using the same stamps. The chipboard numbers and letters were cut from T!m's new wordplay alphabet die and painted with pitch black acrylic dabber.

Vintage Jigsaw Puzzle Piece

I made this for a one to one swap with Burn, through the PaperPlay forum.  They are large chipboard jigsaw shaped pieces approx 5" x 7".  Burn decided on a vintage theme.

Firstly I gesso'd the background then applied a few colours of pan pastel, added a napkin using mod podge and when dry stamped script over it. I found a lovely image and arranged hessian, jute scrim, fibres and lace.  I cut a flower from T!m's tattered floral dies in a cream fabric and added a vintage button, skeleton leaf and gem pearls. A strip of fabric was coloured with distressed stain and heated slightly so it singed, I tied it in a bow and attached a mini pin and a word charm faith.  I added beads to a long pin and placed it in the hessian, a cluster gem and a key.  The top looked a little bare, so I coloured a grungeboard flourish and added some small pearl gems.

The PanPastel challenge blog theme this week is 'add a flower', so I am entering my jigsaw piece. 

Pan Pastel Tag

The background is....guess what....pan pastels!!  The tree image is stencilled through with burnt sienna pan pastel.  The stampotique image was stamped on a piece of white card and coloured with water colour paints, cut out and stuck on the tag.  The hessian was added along the bottom and the words have been outlined with a white pen.

Ankle Update

I just thought I'd give you a quick update as to how my ankle is doing.  I've been hobbling around on one crutch for the last couple of weeks and have been going to physio a couple of times a week since I got my second plaster off.  I now go to an ankle group one day a week.  I went to the day clinic on Wednesday to have my metalwork out.  I had to wait 48 hours before the bandages could come off.  Above is a photo after they'd come off. I'm back at physio on Tuesday again and in 14 days time I have to go back and have the stitches removed.

Blending the colours

This tag was run through the big shot using T!m's bricked texture fade.  I then blended four colours of pan pastels.  I started with the yellow, then applied the orange, applied a bit of the orange extra dark and finally around the edges burnt sienna extra dark.

The background was created using the permanent red extra dark pan pastels and custard dylusions ink spray.  I then applied the violet pan pastel through a tando creative cogs stencil.

Again I ran this tag through the big shot using the cuttlebug stylized flowers embossing folder.  I then applied the pan pastels, firstly turquiose, then violet and around the edges with ultramarine blue extra dark.

Pan Pastels

Okay, so I caved in and bought some more.  Just posting a photo to prove that I didn't get any more green ones!!  Beware - they are extremely addictive and blend together so nicely.  The only thing I'm not keen on is the fact you have to spray a fixative on because they are chalks, but I can live with it.


I now have 16, but unfortunately there are 80 colours in the range!!!!

Mothers Day Card

I made this for my mum for mothers day.  The poppy is a napkin which has been mod podged over a piece of script paper.  The sides were edged with antique linen distress stain.  The butterfly was cut from a posh envelope and glued down the middle so the wings are free.  The writing is computer generated.  

PanPastel UK are asking for girly/mothers day for this weeks challenge so I am entering my mums card.

5 Today

My little boy is 5 today.  Unfortunately due to the gloomy weather and my ankle, I had to take a photo of him inside.  He'd just had a play with his grandad and his ball when I took this photo.

More ATC's and PanPastels

I got a bee in my bonnet late last night and just had to get my panpastels out again and do some stamping.  I didn't get too adventurous and just stuck to atc's.

This time I used a piece of cut n dry foam to apply them and this seemed to work well and gave good coverage.

The butterfly and queenie image were coloured in with adirondack pens.  I was limited as I only have 6 colours, but I don't have any other colouring pens and won't be getting any either!!! Colouring is not my thing!!

A white pen was used on the giggle and the postcard ones.

The background for the head and crowns was swiped over with the faded jeans distress ink pad.

This time I stamped all the black images with archival ink.  On the last couple of sets I posted I used stazon. I don't think there is much in it regarding which is the best to use.

More Atc's

Again I used my pan pastels on a couple of the backgrounds, the other two I made from starters which I received when I took part in an atc starter swap.  

**Edited** PanPastel UK challenge blog are asking for stamping this week and been as I've used pan pastels on the backgrounds and stamped on them all, I thought I would enter this set of ATC's.  Okay, so I was going to play but it apparently closed at noon today, so I missed it, never mind there is always next week!!!

Pan Pastels

I thought I'd just show my starter set of pan pastels which I got earlier this week.  I decided on the extra dark (warm) set along with the single light grey (top right).  The sponges were freebies included with the starter kit.  They all stack up and screw into each other, so the bottom of one becomes the top of the other and there is one lid for the stack.  The singles come with a lid of their own!!!

I played around with some of them to create some backgrounds, some of which I used on the previous atc's post.  The tag and top two green atc's already had acrylic paint and sprays on them, the other three atc's and postcard are from white cardstock.  I have some foam make up pads on the way from a friend who kindly said she would pick some up for me, so when I get them I will be able to apply more cover as the free sponges are quite small and I also found them quite hard.

Atc's - PaperPlay Swap

I made these atc's today for a swap we are having over at 'PaperPlay'.  Alison chose the theme of 'wings'. If you'd like to join in the swap, come on over and register on the new forum.

I used my new set of pan pastels to create the backgrounds then added various other mediums.  I did a bit of stamping and added images and charms etc.  I outlined some of the stamping using a white pen, distressed the edges with a paper trimmer and inked them with walnut stain distress ink.

New Craft Forum - PaperPlay

I've set up a new craft forum called 'PaperPlay'. I'd love to see you over there to join in with daily chat, challenges and swaps.  It would be great to share what you think of any new craft products and any craft books or magazine you've bought/read recently.  If you think they are worth it and what you've used your new products on.


I'm intending it to be a fun place to hang out, chat and get some swaps going.


Please feel free to come on over and join in the fun.  Hop over to the link below to register.


http://paperplay.freeforums.org

Click on the register button, complete your details and await your activation email.  If you let me know you have registered I can process your account much quicker as I will already know who you are!!  You can email me on sam21@ntlworld.com to let me know.  Also if you have a friend who would like to join to, recommend them and then again I will activate their account asap.  I want to keep the forum as safe as possible by knowing who members are before they join.


Any questions, please leave a comment or come on over and join in and leave your questions in the forum for others to see and answer (if applicable).


Thanks for your support.


Sam xxx