Mercredi!

Bonjour enfants ... Qu'est que C'est?

Ha! You did n't know I could speak french ... now did ya? Well ... erm ... I can't :0) I am just trying out distraction techniques to prevent you looking at the picture of my desk! Pretty bad huh?

Moving swiftly on ...

 

This beer mat is made using peeled paint distress ink ... Wendy Vecchi stamps ... a Copper Krylon pen and some Idea-ology trinkets :0)

I keep getting asked about prepping the beer mats and What sort of beer mats they are? and What I do with them after I have up-cycled them? ... so ... I have taken a few pictures of me covering the beer mats and will hopefully pop back later and upload them.  

So much to do and so little time :0)

Don't forget to share what is on your work desk and link back here ... C'mon ... it can't be any worse than mine ... Can it?

Righty-ho then everyone ... I am off to get busy ... once I have cleared up some of this mess ... maybe ... I'll just grab a coffee first and ... erm ... read the paper ... and ...

Cooking Up A Card!

John would be proud of me if he was here right now ... I managed to follow a recipe :0)

Some of my friends out there know that I don't cook ... ever ... well I have about three times in the 10 years we have been together :0)

So today when I saw the recipe challenge on The Pink Elephant Blog ... I had a minor panic attack ... on closer inspection I saw that all I needed was a punch, some polka dots and a tag ... Now that is the sort of recipe I like!

Mabel Lucie Attwell provided the image ... with the help of The Artistic Stamper of course along with the larger flowers from The Flower Power range and the rest of the card is either Bazzill or distress inks or a small flower punch without a name ... the holes from a hole punch ... a tag and some spotty ribbon.

For those of you that wanted to know what I did with my art ... the answer is ... some of it is DT stuff and has to be submitted ... I make most of my own cards for friends, family etc., ... the rest of the cards I sell for charity ... I keep the odd few bits I make ... that I actually like and the rest just gets dumped in plastic containers that I go through from time to time and shudder ... wondering what on earth I was thinking when I made them!

I am keeping my beer mats though ... even the ones I don't like ... they will be a colour chart for my distress inks to use as a reference.

That's all folks! Thank you for popping by!

Milled Lavender?

Why the question mark I hear you ask ... you did n't? Well you were going to ... trust me :0)

The question mark is because the Milled Lavender is a bit too pastel for my tastes so I added a teensy weensy bit of Dusty Concord to liven it up a bit! I am still working through my beer mats with all of the Ranger Distress Inks and today I decided to work with a lighter shade.

This was in fact a blank white beer mat ... courtesy of my mate Dan which meant it needed no prepping whatsoever ... I just started blending and stamping! Sadly it just looked pale at the end of all that blending and stamping so I placed random patches of Dusty Concord on the Wendy Vecchi gingham stamp and whacked that on top! [That's a technical term!]

The flower is the Poinsettia from the Art of making it merry sheet ... just so you know ... Poinsettias are not just for Christmas.

Before you ask ... yes I did sew all those beads on by hand and yes they did take me flippin' ages ... I am not sure it turned out that well ... but after all that stitching I decided to blog it anyway :0)

Before I forget ... this is my entry for this weeks Sunday Stamper Challenge where the theme is friends.

Have a good week everybody!

New Stamps!

These new Artistic Stamper stamps take me right back to my childhood and a well-worn annual I used to own. They are the new Mabel Lucie Attwell range and I have had such a good time working with them. They were launched yesterday which is why my desk was shrouded in secrecy on Wednesday ... so now you know... the secret has been revealed! This cute little lady is called Rainy Day.

The stamps and loads of other yummy things are  available at Ally Pally this weekend ... I hate not going! I usually always go ... but this time I had just too much on and other plans ... I may go spend lots of dosh online ... just as a small consolation for myself you understand!

If anyone does go to Ally Pally please come and tell us what you saw and what you bought and if anyone else uses online retail therapy ... tell us all about that too.

Our friends in the US have a truck sale this weekend ... millions of Stampers Anonymous stamps being taken to a shop in St.Louis ... with Wendy Vecchi book signing ... I wanna be there too ...

And finally this is my card for the Allsorts Challenge this week where the theme is Autumn.

Simples!

Just a quick post from me today ... I have soooooo much to do and soooooo little time!

This time my beer mat [coaster] is coloured with Fired Brick distress ink and decorated using Wendy Vecchi stamps. The dymo words were made by me ... but they are of course the well known signature of the great lady herself and I really hope she does n't mind me borrowing them!

I had also added some Idea-ology bits and cannot take credit for the butterfly body ... that is another borrowed idea ... apart from the beads ... don't tell me ... that is the only bit you don't like :0)

I need to know if I am the only person in the entire universe that does this ... so just between you and me ... promise not to tell anyone else ... Do you sometimes forget how to spell really simple words? I put the black tape into the Dymo this morning and punched in M-A-K-E ... then I thought ... that does n't look right ... the more  I looked at it ... the more wrong it looked ... So I had to get Wendy's Make Art stamp out just to check ... Don't forget you promised not to tell! But has that ever happened to you??? Or is it just me???

Have a good weekend everyone!

Play Time!

I have had a bit of a play this morning with more Beer mats [coasters].

After making the mistake of calling Brushed Corduroy ... Dusty Concord ... on my last mat ... it only seemed right that my next spot of up-cycling was using Dusty Concord.

I am frequently asked which Beer mats I use ... to be honest ... it is any that I can lay my hands on ... but in this instance the said beer mat is in fact promoting Greene King IPA. Which for those of you outside the UK is a mucky brown English beer ... not my cup of tea ... but quite popular in these here parts!

I have also been asked whether I use Gesso to cover the mat ... I don't ... I just glue a bit of card on top ... then sand down the edges.

All of the background stamps and the butterfly are Wendy Vecchi. The Play ticket and beautiful frame are Idea-ology. The flowers are ISC stamped onto an old book page mounted on card. I am not sure where I got the card charm from ... if anyone knows ... perhaps you could say ... because I would quite like some more :0)

It's nice and sunny here ... what's the weather doing where you are?

This piece is my entry for The Theme Thursday challenge this week which is script/writing.

It's Wednesday!

And we all know that means it is time for WOYWW!

Apparently it is week 16 and I am an old lady ... but that is a whole nuther story!

I cannot show you what is on my desk today ... it is a matter of National Security ... I can't even risk showing you bits of my work desk ... in case a tiny piece of the secret is revealed ... it is for your own safety!

So I thought I would share with you further evidence of laminating and indeed my unmounted stamp collection ... Don't worry ... I have more this is just my A5 collection :0)

I also wanted to share my prized possession ... my blending tools ... I LOVE LOVE LOVE my carousel wotsit thingy ... I am embarrassed to say that I had three carousel wotsit thingies all seperate and taking up loads of room until I saw that you could stack them on Wendy Vecchi's blog! That will teach me for discarding the box with muchos excitement and not stopping to read any instructions.

Anyways ... I stacked them about a month ago now and I fell in love with them all over again.

I shall go make secret stuff now ... I may or may not be back later :0)

Anything But a Card!

I have joined in the Passion for Promarkers challenge again this week. The theme is Emerald + Marine - Anything but a card!

It did n't take me long to work out what I was going to do ... I have a whole pile of Tilda stamps just laying in a basket ... so I got to work on a much needed binder.

Making the covers did n't take long ... just a case of cutting two pieces of mount board and decorating them. The papers were just scraps I had laying about and the chip board letters are painted with Stream acrylic dabber and stamped with a Wendy Vecchi stamp. Talking of which ... she has featured my other binders on her blog today ... How cool :0)

But we all know what comes next ... yep ... the job I hate! Stamping and laminating!

I was tempted just to show you the covers and pretend I had done all the stamping and laminating ... but I kind of thought ... you would n't be that bothered and I would still have a toppling basket full of Tildas.

So ... I was good and finished the job!

Check out the distressed edges ... again ... this is hopefully just a phase ... distressing every edge in sight :0)

Paperback Writer!

Okay ... second card today ... Are you impressed? I think you will be when you know that this card is my entry to not one but two challenges! That is three challenges all in one day!

The first challenge is the Sunday Stampers ... the theme this week is Paperback writer. I have used a Creative imaginations paper that looks like a page from a dictionary ... a paper backed one of course.

Do you know I only know two words from that song and they are Paperback and writer and they are driving me mad! If you would like to add some more lyrics into your comments ... I will be eternally grateful :0)

The second challenge is a sketch from the Pink Elephant challenge blog. The sketch was provided by the very talented Robin and was fun to do.

The heart is another Wendy Vecchi stamp ... which I love and I have coloured it using worn lipstick and tattered rose distress inks.

Well that's about it then ... nothing more to add ... that's why I don't normally post more than once in any one day ... because I can't think of anything to say ...

Paperback writer! Aargh!

The C Word!

I know it seems like a long way off ... but I have never managed to make every Christmas card that I have sent.

Each year I start off with the best of intentions and each year I end up buying several packets of cards to send out, in addition to the few that I have made. 

Well ... You heard it here first ... this year I am going to make every single card!

So best I get started then seeings as my list runs into 100 plus cards!

To get the bauble rolling I have joined the Cupcake Craft Challenge this week where the theme is distressed.

I have stamped 4 Wendy Vecchi Christmas trees coloured them with Pine Needles distressed ink and layered the middle tree up. All the trees were stamped with Wendy's Christmas text and then mounted onto a background made up of the beautiful holiday pear collage stamp by Rubber Stampede. I distressed the edges and added some Vintage photo ink for the distressed look.

The paper used is from my favourite Christmas paper collection which is Cosmo Cricket's Be Good range.

If you are wondering what to get me this year Santa ... Don't worry I shall be posting my list very soon :0)

P.S I have been good ... well, sort of :0)

Aargh There Be a Sketch!

There is probably a law somewhere that says "Thou shalt not blog two pirate cards in one day". If there is I should imagine that somewhere in the small print it says "Unless one of them there pirate cards be for a sketch challenge". So you don't need to report me ... I am quite sure I am within the law!

I can hear you groan though ... and I am a bit sorry! It is just that I still had all the pirate doings on my desk when I decided to join in the Saturday Sketch Challenge this week. Plus the fact I had stamped enough of Edwin's skulls this morning to sink a small battle ship!

The pirate is a Sugar Nellie stamp and the skull does belong to Edwin and the papers are all Rusty Pickle. I have however used a different map stamp ... this time by Rubber Stampede and Edwin is coloured using Pro Markers.

I promise my next post will be pirateless :0)

Pirates Beware!

It has been one of those days today! You know ... one of those days! John and I were going to have our first lay-in in ages! I woke at 7.30 and snuggled down knowing I did n't need to get up for anything in particular. At 8am my sister rings up 'Are you up yet?' NO! So I tell her to call back at a more respectable time and lo and behold at exactly 8.15am the plasterer arrives ... you know the one ... due on Thursday evening ... No lay-in for us then!

This afternoon has been nice though ... I have been mooching around the local festival with the afore mentioned sister and picking up books and pictures and things that could do with an alter ... they will probably sit in the accumulating pile of stuff that all needs to be altered ... but you just never know when the mood will hit do you?

This card is mainly Rusty Pickle with a Sugar Nellie pirate and Edwin's skull ... In case you were wondering ... I can make other cards but I have kind of promised myself that I will use this set of papers up before I start on another one ... That will be a first!

Anyways I will leave you to enjoy your Saturdays in peace!

A Bit Of A Bind...er!

I spent the entire day yesterday planning craft projects in my head ... waltzing from one end of my craft room to the other ... full of ideas ... and not creating a thing ... not one single solitary thing!
Today I got up extra early and I just cannot craft quickly enough! Crazy huh?
This is another Wendy Vecchi binder ... but this time ... this one is for me :0)
I wanted it all brown ... Brushed Corduroy in fact and I have added some idea-ology embellishments including my favourite frames.
I know it does n't look anything like the one I was planning on Wednesday ... but that happens to me all the time ... I actually think that is why it takes me so long to create ... I get umpteen different things out of drawers and boxes and then finally decide on something totally ... different! It sure is a messy way to craft ... I can tell you!
All stamps used are Wendy Vecchi ... including the actual rose from the actual dimensional rose art set that I now actually own!
The flourishes or swirls or whatever you like to call them are Maya Road ... they come in a wicked tin which is also fab to alter! Not that I have actually altered one ... but the idea is in my head!
I am off now ... can't sit here chatting ... I have things to make :0)

Can I Have a P Bob?

Actually I don't ... Need a P! But I have always wanted to say that! And I did ... out loud as I typed it :0)

I actually need a 'T' or another 'D'!

It is WOYWW and I have finally made a start on my own Wendy Vecchi stamp binder covers ... and after picking the grunge font that I liked best and also fitted perfectly I then discovered that I have used the 'T' elsewhere! *Groan* Don't you just hate it when that happens?

As I said it is WOYWW an acronym for What's on your Work desk Wednesday ... you can see from mine that there are remnants of pirates and flowers and my non stick mat has seen better days and I actually do not tidy up too well between projects. It is not until you take a picture that you realise just how many inky finger marks are over everything either!

C'mon ... you know you want to share ... show us  what's on yours and place a link on Mrs Dunnit's blog so we can all have a nosey :0)

Moving on ... I have joined in the Passion for Pro Markers challenge this week! The theme is any colours and polka Dots. I have added a Wendy Vecchi Polka Dot butterfly coloured and stamped on grunge paper to this Tilda card.

Obviously the Tilda is coloured using Pro Markers ... the paper was a gift from Andrea ... after I had nagged her ... quite badly ... and the lace is a donation from my mate Hels ... who I did n't nag at all! The Happy Birthday is a text stamp from Penny Black ... and the charms came from ... I can't actually remember ... but you can get them from loads of places :0)

Have a good day people and don't forget to blog your WOYWW!

Permission To Come Aboard!

Doh! I'm a pirate ... I don't need permission!

Did ya see? Huh? Did ya? My last pirate card won a top five spot on the allsorts challenge blog ... How cool is that? I get to put one of their blinkie things in my side bar! Which I did within two seconds of finding out I could ... Shallow? Who me?

And ... and ... I won the August challenge on Paper Bag Studios blog with my CD book ... Cool huh? I did n't get a blinkie for that though ... I got a stash coupon ... which is also very cool! It seems rude to go back and ask for a blinkie as well ... but I am tempted :0)

Same product on this card as the last one ... if you want the details just click here!

I am just wondering whether to put the heating on or not ... flippin' cold here I can tell you! But putting the heating on is kind of like admitting you are ready for the winter ... and I am soooooo not ... I am still hoping for an Indian summer :0)

So who's watching Dirty Dancing tonight? I am ... I want to pay my respects to the wonderful Mr Swayze.

Well ... that's me ... all done ... Enjoy your evenings!

It Has Bean A While!

Honest! It has! My last Bean can was about 20 something posts back ... that is at least 3 weeks I reckon!

This particular bean tin has been decorated with Artistic Stamper Dots, Hounds tooth, Distressed, and gingham background... the flowers are from the Flower Power sheet and the whole design is grunge paper coloured with Brushed Corduroy Distress ink and embellished with, the man that could craft while stood on his head with his hands tied behind his back ... The Lord Tim's Idea-ology bits!

Why does she keep altering bean tins I hear you ask? ... Well ... they are very useful ... I keep finding stuff to put in them ... and they are very cheap ... is the answer to that one!

Usually I would use my Crop-A-Dile to join the paper around the tin but my mate Andrea came up with the very clever idea of using my Bind-it-all ... so I did ... and it worked ... and it is a lot quicker too!

It has bean lovely :0) Ketchup with you later :0)

Remember That Tag!

You know that tag! The one that Tim, the master of all things crafty and wonderful, did a tutorial on back in 2008. The one that I love making so very much but never manage to get it to turn out quite right! The one I made the other week and turned into a canvas because I did n't like it!

Yes ... That one!

Well I have had yet another go at it! This time I made several all at once ... picked the one I was most happy with and chopped off the top to make it into a card for Dan's birthday!

If you are still awake ... this is the card ... one tag  makes the main feature and I cut another one up to make the embellishments. I love making this tag! In fact ... I loved making this card!

I still have n't perfected the tag ... I intend to keep trying though.

We had a fab day ... Dan, Andrea, Hels, Tina and I went to Frankie and Benny's and just laughed and ate and laughed and sang Happy Birthday [Four times - don't ask!!!!] and ate yummy cake and laughed some more :0)

Enjoy your evenings - Whatever you are doing!

Cap'n Jack He Aint!

But the papers are! Oooh Aargh!

He is in fact a Sugar Nellie ... the only one I possess ... have had it yonks ... only got it out of the bag this morning ... and discovered that he came with an adoption certificate ... I may send him back ... he does n't say much!

This is my first ever entry for the allsorts challenge which I found today via Shaz's fabulous blog ... and thought I would give the theme of 'Something for the boys' a go!

The papers, the ribbon, the chipboard shape are all Rusty Pickle. The Jolly Roger is a clearly defined stamp from Printworks ... and I have stamped a Penny Black greeting over the top of it. The map is an oldie from Hero Arts!

Ahoy me hearties ... a big Thank you to everyone who joined the big Tilda debate ... I had a good chuckle over many of the answers and I really appreciated your honesty.

Shiver me timbers is that the time? ... I have treasure to find!

The Tilda Debate!

It is official ... Tilda is just like Marmite! You either Love her or you Hate her!

I know several of my regular blog visitors really don't like her ... my daughter included ... So What about you? Do you Love her? Do you Hate her? Go on ... Tell us!

I am not sure, the man that oozes inspiration in his sleep, Lord Tim thought about Tilda cards when he started his journey to discover grunge paper ... but I kinda like the grungy Tilda look ... so mixed them I have :0)

You all know I am incapable of crafting without a   Wendy Vecchi stamp at the moment so I have put a few on and the paper is Far East from DCWV.

I distressed the edges ... with my Heidi Swapp distresser ... you thought I would have a Tim one did n't you ... well it is a bit too technical to explain ... but basically the Heidi Swapp one is pink :0)

Finally everything is edged with Vintage Photo and the grunge paper is coloured with Dusty Concord. This card is my entry for the Bling challenge over on The Ginger Snaps Creations Blog ... if you have n't seen the challenges ... you should check them out ... they have some great DT inspiration going on!

That's all folks!

Brick Dust!

Yup! It is that time of the week again ... Wednesday ... and a certain group of people ... led by the very well written Mrs Dunnit will be sharing the contents of their desks with you. This practice is called WOYWW ... an acronym for What's On Your Work desk Wednesday!
There is brick dust on mine and sometimes a drill or a hammer. John has made one of his rare trips up to my craft room to put up some much needed shelves. I am happy about this fact ... truly I am!
But ... If he asks me one more time ... What is this for? Do you really need all that? ... I am going to kill him ... slowly with a bone folder and possibly a pokey tool ... mind you that would have to be submitted for evidence and I could n't manage without my pokey tool ... so a bone folder and a pair of deckle edged scissors then :0)
I am pleased now they are up ... his latest comment ... Can you get any more on them? ... Duh!!! Yeah!!!
Now for some actual crafting ...

It's Been a While!

It certainly has been a while since I made a card!

My handmade stock has gradually depleted and I have resorted to buying cards *shock Horror*. I say 'I' ... I mean John ... It would be really bad if I found time to go to the shop and buy one ... when I could probably make one in that time *LOL*

Yes I know I said no more blogging grunge roses but this is  n't just a grunge rose ... it is a grunge rose on a card :0)

This rose is made from the middle flower on the Artistic Stamper Flower Power sheet and the lace is from LB Crafts ... as are the little dragonfly beads from other posts that I could n't remember where I got them. You can thank Hels for the bit of info ... she is younger and has a better memory than me!

The chipboard flowers are also Artistic Stamper.

All other stamps are Wendy Vecchi and that is Walnut Stain distress ink ... this time on white card and edged with Gold Krylon pen.

Roast Beef is calling :0)

Wendy, Me and ... Wendy!

A couple of weeks ago I got an email from Wendy Gale ... the lady who owns the Stamp Attic, which specializes in stocking some of the more unusual stamps on the market.
Anyways, Wendy asked me if I could decorate a set of the Wendy Vecchi acrylic stamp binders for her shop Wendy Vecchi style.
You know what it's like ...  While doing a happy dance ... I thought about it carefully ... playing with grunge paper, Wendy Vecchi stamps and distress inks ... and two seconds later I said YES!
The binders arrived and I set to work ... I had so much fun! I started with a base of grunge paper which I was going to lay the wrong side of the binder ... but the textural finish you get was just too good to hide ... so I layered that on top and decorated it with lots of Wendy Vecchi's gorgeous flowers, Grunge board elements and Idea-ology bits and pieces.
So that was the reason for all my secrecy the other day ... I wanted Wendy Gale to see the design first ... and of course check that she liked it before I showed you all.
Luckily she did! We had a lovely chat on the phone earlier ... This virtual world is such a great place to make new friends in real life!
Did I mention the folders will be displayed in The Stamp Attic :0)
So for me this has been a great week ... Craft Stamper, The Stamp Attic and being added to Wendy Vecchi's blog list!
But most of all ... the lovely comments from all of you ... I don't want to do the mushy kind of 'I love you guys' thing ... but you do make crafting and blogging very special ... so Thank you all very much ... oh ... and ... erm ...
I Love You Guys!

Coaster-ing Along!

I was going to call this post "Beer Mat it again!" You know like been at it again ... only Beer Mat it again ... because it is a beer mat! Then I thought I may confuse a load of my blogger friends because overseas they don't call it a beer mat ... and it was probably only me that thought it was a clever play on words! Having said that ... now I have explained it ... I am thinking it was n't that clever after all and I should just shut up! And Coaster-ing along is just plain desperate!

Two words for this coaster ... Walnut stain ... who  would have thought it ... I have had walnut stain ever since I met the Lord T!m, back in the day, and if my memory serves me correctly ... I have only used it once or twice and that was just for edging things. But Look ... it is actually a really nice colour ... sort of warm and chocolatey.

All stamps used are Wendy Vecchi Studio 490 apart from the flower which is Artistic Stamper.

I plan to make one of these for every colour of distress inks and hang them all around me in my craft room ... that way I will never again forget what a lovely colour walnut stain is :0) Don't worry ... I won't expect you to look at them all!

I have just thought ... two more words ... Copper Krylon ... another under used and forgot about tool in my craft room.

Have a good weekend!

Hot Off The Press!

I am sooooooo excited! I have been published! In the October 09 edition of Craft Stamper! There is a whole page dedicated to ... get this ... Linda Elbourne ... Designer!

Woo Hoo! I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am! I can't show you what I made ... I think that may be illegal or something ... you will just have to buy the magazine and look :0)

Well worth it - some of the other articles this month are gob smackingly good!

I have also been busy making more grunge roses and I promise to stop blogging them ... erm ... after this lot!

It is just that I made these this morning and rather liked them. I have to send them off today ... so I took a picture and thought I would  share!

All stamps used are Wendy Vecchi, also grunge paper coloured with distress inks and distress stickles.

I will leave you in peace and try and make something that is n't ... erm ... a rose!