Thursday 31 August 2017

Art Journal Prompts Week 35: Silhouette

As soon as I saw this prompt, I knew which quote I wanted to use; unfortunately it is now playing constantly in my head as an ear worm (sorry if it happens to you too)!  This page was created for week 35 of art journal prompts: Silhouette.

Wednesday 30 August 2017

WOYWW: Back to School

Short but bittersweet desk share today (visit our hostess Julia at the Stamping Ground for further links).  The first picture shows what I'd like to be playing with today; my bargain/clearance stash from Hobbycraft last Friday, with a roll of write on black tape from IKEA on Monday. 
The second picture shows what is actually on my desk today, as I have to do some work before I return to work next Monday.  It is the first time my hard drive has been out of my bag this holiday, but as you can see from the To Do List next to it, I have various items that need sorting before next week.
I did manage to visit Mrs D in hospital last week and took her a Get Well card.  She has had rather a game of musical wards (including one move in the middle of the night) since her arrival which is not helping her recovery.  It was great to meet her and Mr D, although I'd have preferred it not to be under those circumstances.  As my parents had a cabin cruiser when I was younger and our family spent most holidays and many weekends on the canals, Mr and Mrs D and I had a little more to talk about than crafting (although the subject did come up of course).  I hope that she is well enough to be discharged soon and that she is pain free and mobile. We have managed to hook up on Facebook at least, so we will be able to keep in touch.  Happy WOYWW everyone!

Monday 28 August 2017

Sunday 27 August 2017

Back To School Tag

The fortnightly prompt which came out on Tag Tuesday on my birthday had me reflecting.  Back to School has two meanings for me; the return to work after the summer break and thinking back to my own school days many years ago which were very happy.  I decided to go with nostalgia, as you can see from the tag...

Saturday 26 August 2017

Friday 25 August 2017

Mission Inspiration August 2017

I am, for once, completely up to date with the Mission Inspiration monthly art journaling challenges.  It seems fitting that I share this page today as it is the first anniversary of my first ever art journal page (MI August 2016), even though I actually completed it on my birthday on Tuesday.  As always I worked with the eight steps, three suggested colours and chose one of the five prompt words.

Thursday 24 August 2017

Get Well Wishes

I am late posting today, because I couldn't share this card until the recipient had seen it and also given me permission to share it.  I met one of my fellow deskers (WOYWW) for the first time today as she is in our local hospital, having had a fall at a nearby canal lock.  I only found out what had happened yesterday through another post on WOYWW, so made her a Get Well card which was delivered today.  A lovely, fellow crafter and although we had never met in person before, it was as if we had known each other for years.  

Wednesday 23 August 2017

WOYWW 429: Journaling in Company

I have had the most fabulous crafty week.  Second blogiversary, 400th blog post and on Monday I went up to Stockport to take part in one of the JJJAMA (Junk Journals Junkies and Mindful Art) art journaling get togethers.  It was great fun meeting up with some of the members of the group including Lou Withers and Paul Browning who organise the sessions.  Unfortunately I'll only be able to make sessions in the school holidays as I work on Mondays!  On my desk you can see the handmade cards that I received from my friends. My twin sister had the best birthday present as her husband was discharged from hospital last Friday after nearly 10 weeks.
Yesterday was my birthday and my crafty friend came over for a couple of hours to keep me company.  She travelled really light for a change, just bringing her parchment work with her; all embossed and ready for picot edging.
For desk sharing explanations, visit Julia over on The Stamping Ground, who hosts our weekly desk togethers!  
I'm keeping it short and sweet this week.   Felicia was the lucky winner of a tag from my blogiversary competition, so you'll need to let me know which tag you'd like and your address by emailing me on sarah (dot) trentham247 (at) gmail (dot) com. 
Some gelli printing in Stockport
Lou's amazing work with Ecoline ink pens ready for Hochanda.

Tuesday 22 August 2017

Birthday Winner!

Today is my birthday and I am sharing the card which I made for my twin sister.  I also have to announce the winner of my Blogiversary competition, who wins one of my tags from the post one week ago.

Monday 21 August 2017

Scrap Tag Take Two

I had such fun with the last tag that I created for the Use Your Scraps challenge with Tag Tuesday that I decided to make another before the fortnight was up.  Once again, the only item not to come out of my 'scrap box' was the base tag itself and the stickers.
I started as ever with a #8 manilla tag.  I glued the remaining section of my Moroccan inspired mop up sheet onto the tag using Pebeo matte gel, dried it and trimmed the excess (to see the original and the project that I used the rest of the sheet for see HERE).
I had a white card die cut using the Spellbinders Contemporary Diamonds die in my scrap die cut box and coloured it using Cosmic Shimmer Metallic Gilding Polish in Ocean Teal.
This was then glued at an angle across the tag with the squares lined up with the sides of the tag.
I also had one of the Butterflies by Tim Holtz, cut using his Bigz die out of white card, then embossed using the matching texture fades embossing folder.  This was coloured with Twisted Citron Distress Oxide, the embossing on the wings coloured and finger blended with Peacock Feathers distress crayon and the body with Picked Raspberry.  This  tied it in with some of the colours used on the mop up sheet.  The butterfly was glued on at an angle (behind the body only) and the wings elevated.
It only remained to add a couple of the Tim Holtz Clippings Stickers to finish the tag.

Sunday 20 August 2017

Europe: A Canvas

I have decided to push myself a little more on the mixed media front this year and am joining in with the International Tournament of Art & Craft 2017 organised by Aall-and-Create with challenges set from designers all round the world.  Challenge 1 is Europe and the list of prompts which could/should be included were: a face, papers, letters/numbers, blue, ribbon/twine/string or lace, textures, vintage and modern.

Saturday 19 August 2017

Art Journal Prompts: Moroccan Inspired

This was my second attempt at Week 33: Moroccan Inspired over on Art Journal Prompts.  I had started a project using fine liner pens through various Tim Holtz layering stencils, but the colours smudged and I really didn't like the effect.  The page that I eventually came up with wasn't the one I had planned the second time either, but it just goes to show that working on a mop up page is always the best choice!

Friday 18 August 2017

Frida Kahlo Inspired: Purple, Orange, Dark Pink

I confess that I had to google Frida Kahlo when the prompt for Junk Journals Junkies and Mindful Art Challenge 30 was announced.  The three colours allowed are Purple, Orange and Dark Pink.  I really can't paint faces, so I decided to work with a sugar skull representation of Frida.  My inspiration for the background came from a photograph by Nickolas Muray taken in 1938 (Frida Kahlo On White Bench).

Wednesday 16 August 2017

WOYWW 428: Milestone!

Hello fellow deskers and welcome; to know more and stalk check out other people's desks visit The Stamping Ground and our hostess Julia.  My second blogiversary was yesterday (see HERE) and I am running a competition to win one of the tags that you see on my desk.  You just have to comment on the anniversary post expressing an interest and I will announce a lucky winner chosen at random on my birthday next Tuesday.

As you will see by the shot of the other side of the desk, I have my crafty friend back to keep me company.  She has been making up for her absence by visiting me twice already in the last week and will be joining me again on Friday!  She has been working on some parchment flowers and getting to grips with the art of white work, although she coloured her own parchment using Pixie Powders.

Tuesday 15 August 2017

Second Blogiversary Competition

Today I celebrate the second anniversary of my blog.  It has been a steep learning curve, but I have enjoyed every minute of it.  I have made so many crafty friends, most of whom I've never met in person, through the online groups that I've joined via my crafting and have grown to over 200 followers.  Welcome and thank you to you all.  For this special occasion I have decided to run a competition.  The picture shows many of the tags that I have created over the last two years; they have all been shared on my blog during this time.  There have been others that were given to people that I admire such as Barbara Gray and Sheena Douglass and fellow deskers on WOYWW for the 8th anniversary.  I don't know how many people will be interested in winning one of the tags but if you would like to choose one to be sent to you, just comment on this blog post, expressing your interest and I will announce a winner picked at random on my own birthday this time next week.
Thank you again to everyone who has joined me at any time on my journey, especially Eva who often keeps me company in the shed and Barbara Gray whose own daily blog got me started in the first place.

Monday 14 August 2017

Ink Spray Tag Trees

This is the first of two milestone blog posts; today's post means that the total for 2017 equals the total number of posts in 2016 and 2015 added together.  As tomorrow is the second anniversary of my first blog post, I have certainly shared and created more this year!  Having worked on art journal pages for four days in a row, I went back to working on a smaller surface; a #8 manilla tag.  This was for the August challenge on Tag It Tuesday: use your spray inks.

Sunday 13 August 2017

Mission Inspiration: July 2017

I am still busy catching up with the monthly missions from Mission Inspiration.  This page was created in response to the July prompts (my 4th page in 4 days), so I have nearly caught up.  Once again, I happened to drop upon the perfect image in a Sunday supplement magazine which fitted the colour scheme and one of the word prompts.  As usual, there were 8 steps, 3 suggested colours and 5 prompt words.

Saturday 12 August 2017

Mission Inspiration June 2017

I am way, way behind with the Mission Inspiration prompts, although I have kept up to date with the mini missions.  I decided it was time I caught up a little, so here is the page created with the prompts for June 2017.

Wednesday 9 August 2017

WOYWW 427: Still on my Own.

Once again, dear deskers there is only my side of the desk on view;  I am crafting alone for the second week in a row.  However, I have had good news in that my crafty friend will be joining me in the shed for a day's crafting on Friday!
You can see an art journal page in progress on the desk which I will be sharing tomorrow if you're interested in the step by step.  I have started to burn a Yankee Candles votive to improve my relaxation as I craft and also have some tea lights ready to move onto when that is finished.  Olive and Thyme; very Mediterranean, unlike the weather outside.  
The jar of buttons was a gift from my twin sister.  Every time she runs a marathon (20 so far), she sews a button onto her snakes and ladders board which is on the back of her hoodie. She donated all the excess buttons to me for crafting which was really kind of her.  She is aiming to complete 100 eventually, although they have been a bit more on the back burner recently with my Brother in Law being ill.  My Hubby and I spent the weekend with her helping to get some things done around the house ready for BIL's home assessment visit today.  He is champing at the bit to get out of hospital, so I hope that the next time we see them he is back home.
A milestone is looming for my blog; next Tuesday will be its second birthday.  If I do manage to post something every day before then, I will have hit another milestone on Monday; 2017 posts so far = 2015 + 2016 combined.  I am determined to get there.
Now if you would like to see lots more interesting desks, visit The Stamping Ground, where our fabulous hostess Julia will be more than glad to explain all and show you the way.  Happy WOYWW everyone!

Tuesday 8 August 2017

Scrap Tag

I needed a quick piece of art to blog today and the challenge set by Tag Tuesday for the next fortnight (Use Your Scraps) was right up my street.  I never throw mop up sheets and interesting pieces of paper towel away.

Monday 7 August 2017

Happy 6th Birthday

I created this card for my Great Niece's 6th birthday.  She is a creative person like her Grandmother and Great Aunt and I always look forward to sending her some additions to her crafty stash at this time of year! 

Sunday 6 August 2017

Recovery Best Wishes

I wanted to make a card for my brother-in-law who was taken ill suddenly eight weeks ago.  He has made amazing progress since it happened and may well be allowed home soon.  It helps that my sister is a qualified nurse of 30 years.  I didn't feel that the sentiment 'Get Well Soon' was suitable under the circumstances, so decided on 'Hope you're up and around soon'.  As he has a sense of humour and was airlifted to hospital by the Scottish air ambulance service while he and my sister were on holiday in Skye, I thought I'd create a focal image which would be a play on the words of the sentiment.  The inside reads ... but not by air ambulance this time!

Saturday 5 August 2017

More of My Favourite Colour Combination

Having spent a couple of days art journaling, card making and creating my first ever ATCs, I decided to go back to a favourite of mine; tags.  I went for a more grungy version of my favourite colour combination for Tag Tuesday: pink, yellow and orange.

Friday 4 August 2017

My First Ever ATCs: A & Z

I can't believe I left it this long to create my first ever ATCs (Artist Trading Cards).  These 2.5" x 3.5" mini works of art were created for a swap hosted by Junk Journals Junkies and Mindful Art using the letters A and Z.  I immediately had an idea for the topic and a way to theme them across the three that I made.  I have used both the Wee Africa stamp sets as well as the silhouettes from the African set and the Zebras stamp and mask from the Giraffes, Lions & Zebras set by Claritystamp.  I have always enjoyed building up scenes and this was really fun to do on a small scale.  I am also entering these in the Emerald City Crafts Challenge #2: Anything Goes.

Wednesday 2 August 2017

WOYWW 426: All on my Lonesome!



After all the excitement of last week, it has been rather quiet in the shed this week.  I have been crafting alone, as my crafty friend is away at the moment.  To console myself I have done a little retail therapy, and my new set of Distress Oxides finally arrived yesterday.  I also treated myself to a couple of the new Tim Holtz Halloween thinlits dies that I thought might be used all year round.
My desk shot was taken yesterday as usual (alas only my side of the desk).  To see everyone else's desks don't forget to visit our hostess Julia at the Stamping Ground, where all the links can be found.  I was working on an art journal challenge that involved only using my fingers and a credit card to create the page.  In addition to the finished page I have two further background sheets from the palette and clean up sheet that I was using (on the left of the photo while in use).  To see the finished piece you can look HERE.  
I have managed to keep the orchid alive, in fact it has only lost two flowers since I had it.
I have also been very tidy this week and my new Distress Oxides have already been labelled and shelved with the previous set in my ink storage just behind where I sit.  I used my Dymo Letratag to create the labels, have attached blending foam to the bottom of each pad using the hook side of some hook and loop and swiped some of the colour across each label for additional ease of identification.


Finally, I bought a new sign for the cupboard doors; unfortunately although you can choose the name, the option craft 'shed' isn't available, however I still think it's very 'me'.

Tuesday 1 August 2017

Art Journal Prompts Week 31: Credit Card and Fingers Only

I love getting messy fingers and quite often use them to apply paint rather than a brush, so when I saw this week's prompt from Nina Ribena on art journal prompts I knew it would be fun.  My hands aren't completely clean yet, but I had a blast.
As the Chit Chat stickers state, I decided to stay simple, trust my crazy ideas, hold tight and pretend I had a plan, be courageous and go wherever my heart took me.  I therefore chose 5 colours of Dylusions paint (Black Marble, White Linen, Polished Jade, After Midnight and Crushed Grape), cut a piece of Mixed Media card (19.5cm x 18.5cm) to fit my 8"x8" kraft art journal, cut up an old library card, grabbed my old season ticket card and made a start.
Black Marble, After Midnight and Crushed Grape to start (in that order), added randomly in both directions and dried.
Polished Jade added with a narrower piece of card and White Linen lines using the sides of the card.
After Midnight scraped over with a very narrow piece of card and lines of Polished Jade.
Some larger areas of White Linen scraped on and overlaid in places with Polished Jade.  As you can see the White Linen became rather translucent as it dried.
Fingers used around the edges to add a White Linen border and some Black Marble lines.
I decided to go all around the edges again with a thicker layer of Reeves White Titanium paint as well as adding further white lines in the same paint.  I also turned the page 180 degrees before adding the Chit Chat stickers that I had chosen as they matched my thought process while completing this page.