Saturday 28 April 2018

Thursday 26 April 2018

Steampunk Tag: The Second


Having made one steampunk tag for the current challenge over on Tag Tuesday: Steampunk/Mechanical,  I couldn't resist making another.  Even though I followed very similar steps to the first one that I made, they turned out completely differently.

Wednesday 25 April 2018

WOYWW 464: Crafting on my Lonesome!

Hi everyone and welcome to the weekly tour of my desk.  If you are the sort of person who likes seeing what goes on in other people's craft rooms, be sure to visit head desker Julia over on the Stamping Ground to feed your craving and find out more about WOYWW.
Not the world's most interesting desk to share today.  I will be popping over to my parents later today to drop off cards and presents for my brother in Canada, for them to take with them when they go.  I still had inserts to put in and was busy trimming them; the cards can't be shared for a while.  The tag was one I had just finished and shared on my blog (see HERE).  On the left you can see my new acquisition, 60 Van Gogh Oil Pastels by Royal Talens, which came with a free pad of pastel card.  I hadn't had time to play when I took the photo, but I'm hoping to have time by the weekend.
There won't be anything to show on the other side of the desk for a couple of weeks as Eva won't be joining me on a Tuesday again until she's finished her first stint of examining.  So that's it, short and sweet this week.  I am planning on making 9 ATCs for the upcoming anniversary and have already allocated 8 of them, so if there is anyone who would like the last swap, let me know in the comments.  So far Julia, Shaz (Silverwolf), Zsuzsa, Nikki (Graphix and Designs), Annie (Wipso), Cindy (Plant's List), LLJ and my PIF will be getting one!

Tuesday 24 April 2018

Steampunk Tag!

This tag was made for the Steampunk Challenge which runs for a fortnight over on Tag Tuesday.  I am proud to have won the last challenge (Black and white with a spot of colour) and love Steampunk, so I wanted to have a go at this challenge straight away.

Monday 23 April 2018

Sunday 22 April 2018

Gelli Plate Background Journal Page

This was my third and final sample for the Golden shows on Hochanda on Friday.  It was the result of experimentation with the Golden Hi Flow Acrylics on a large Gelli plate.

Saturday 21 April 2018

My First Attempt at an Eileen Hull Journal

I have had the Eileen Hull XL Journal die by Sizzix for a while and had cut two of the covers out of grunge paper ready for decorating.  These had sat for a few weeks waiting for me to get round to making up and decorating the journal, so I used the opportunity to finish it using my Golden Hi Flow Acrylics.  It is my first hand made journal, but I shall certainly be making more.

Friday 20 April 2018

A Print Effect Using Golden Acrylic Paint

This piece was created as a design team piece using Golden products.  I used Golden Hi Flow Acrylics with High Flow Medium both for painting and stamping.  They also take stamping with Archival ink really well.  Although I was only intending to experiment initially using cheap card (160gsm Bright White Card from Ryman),  I was so pleased with the final look of the piece that I added it to a canvas.  It looks as if it has been printed out on a colour laser printer.

Thursday 19 April 2018

Abstract Background to Journal Page

This journal page started with no particular aim in mind.  I took some pens, stencils and oil pastels to a JJAMMMA journal meet up together with my Strathmore Visual Journal and simply played around.  I didn't finish the page until the next day as there were several ways that I felt it could go.

Wednesday 18 April 2018

WOYWW 463: Road Trip!

Welcome to the weekly desk visit hosted by our great leader Julia over on the Stamping Ground.  Today she is sharing news of the impending ninth anniversary of this weekly blog link up.  My desk shots today weren't taken in the shed, as yesterday was the regular journal meet up at Stockport Hobbycraft of the JJAMMMA group (Junk Journals and Mindful Mixed Media Art).
My desk shows some of the items that I took with me to work in my Strathmore Visual Journal and the start of a background using my Ecoline pens.

On the other side of the desk, Eva had brought some colouring with her and had already taken advantage of some of the offers in store.
Kaz had brought some items for collaging in her journal.
Paul had brought some stamping and colouring and Lou was also working on water colouring.  I didn't take pictures of the other 'guests', but a good time was had by all.  Happy What's On Your Workdesk, Wednesday!

Tuesday 17 April 2018

An Intensely Colourful Background: Big Brush Markers + Oil Pastels

I needed a quick project for my blog post today and wanted to share how I can build up an intensely colourful background quickly using a mixture of Faber-Castell Big Brush Markers and Van Gogh Oil Pastels (by Royal Talens).  I worked on a #8 manilla tag.

Monday 16 April 2018

A Bit Box Collage Journal Page

This page was created for Explore Your Creativity Challenge 11 over on Junk Journals and Mindful Mixed Media Art (JJAMMMA).  The technique to be used was collage, using die cuts and cutting with a multicoloured colour theme.  I went into my bit box for off cuts, ready die cut items and bits of card that were big enough for die cutting and this is the result.

Saturday 14 April 2018

Colour Slider Magic Card: Black and White becomes Colour


I haven't made one of these cards for ages and I am grateful to Wendy Cranford and her YouTube video for a reminder of how to make one.  I adapted her measurements to fit the stamp that I wanted to use and ended up with an A5 card.

Friday 13 April 2018

Black and White with a Spot of Colour: A Tag

This tag was a quick project for the Tag Tuesday fortnightly challenge: Black,White with a Spot of Colour.  I enjoyed working with a restricted colour palette for a change.

Thursday 12 April 2018

I is for Imagination: I needed it for this challenge!

The prompt for the latest ATC swap over on Junk Journals and Mindful Mixed Media Art (JJAMMMA) is 'I'.  As I only ever use Clarity stamps for my ATC swaps and I don't have their Ice Skater stamps,  I had to dig deep to come up with ideas using the ones that I do have.  As you will see,  I managed it in the end.  All the stamping on the first two ATCs was done using Onyx Black Versafine ink and heat embossed in detail clear EP.

Wednesday 11 April 2018

WOYWW 462: Getting Back in the Swing of Work

Well that week certainly rolled round quickly!  I have been crafting alone this week as my usual visitor on the other side of the desk has been away.  I won't see her in the shed for a few weeks now, as exam season is in full swing and she will be busy travelling the country on her days off conducting A Level exams.  However, as she managed two sessions last week, I made sure to get a photo of her side of the desk to share this week.
I have been very good this week.  I was determined to get a little school work completed each day so that I can fit in crafting too and so far have kept to my timetable.  I also decided that it was time to tackle my exploding bag and box.  My desk holds the contents of my exploding bag (I had already tackled the box and managed to halve the contents).  I have a pack rat mentality and don't like to throw away 'potentially useful' pieces of card and paper.  As you can see, I also keep paper towel mop up sheets and pieces of deli paper and copy paper that have been used to clean off my craft mat, blending mat, brushes and brayers.  All the pieces of card have been trimmed or culled and now fit in the exploding box without it exploding.  The mop up sheets are in a neat pile ready to add to tags and journal pages as ready made backgrounds.  If you are a regular reader of my blog, you will know how often that I start a piece in that way.  As another bonus, all the small off cuts of decent white card have been trimmed to ATC size, so I have over 60 ATC blanks to hand.  As the 9th anniversary of WOYWW will be with us before we know it, I have at least made a start (not that I will be making 60 ATCs for that event)!
This was the other side of the desk last Wednesday.  Eva wanted to prove that she can craft neatly if she really tries lol.  She was painting some stamped images with her Cosmic Shimmer water colour paints and using her palette of mica paints made with Pixie Powders mixed with water. 
Please join Julia at the Stamping Ground to find out more about WOYWW and the crop where we will be meeting up in September.  Lots of other desks are available to see from all round the world!

Tuesday 10 April 2018

Crazy Cat Tag

This tag was created for the April challenge over on Mixed Media Art Journey.  Each month there are six random prompts which can be followed in any order to create a mixed media piece.  The first prompt this month was to create a tag, so I worked on one of the #8 manilla tags that I have in my stash.

Monday 9 April 2018

Watercolour Pens Plus Big Brush Markers: An Experiment

I like to use my Ecoline watercolour pens for colouring as they are so vibrant, but I also like to add shading with my Faber-Castell Big Brush Markers.  I have never used them on the same image before, as the Big Brush Markers need a non porous background to work on and sealing in watercolours with a gel medium has always resulted in a mess before now.  As you can see from my finished journal page, I have managed to solve the problem.  To see how, you will need to read on...
This page was created for the April monthly prompt for 2018 over on Nina Ribena's Art Journal Prompts and More.  The prompt is 'Spring' and it has barely stopped raining since the start of April.  Hopefully this page will change matters.

Sunday 8 April 2018

The Forty Minute Tag Challenge!

This tag was created in under forty minutes in response to a speed challenge set in a FB live session with Lou Withers of Junk Journals and Mindful Mixed Media Art (JJAMMMA).  We had to create a tag using the theme of Paris in a limited amount of time and upload an image to the FB page.

Saturday 7 April 2018

Opportunity: An Art Journal Page

This page was completed in response to the March prompts over on Mission Inspiration.  As the April prompts are published today, I just managed to finish it in time!  The suggested colours for this page were Terracotta, Cream and Navy Blue.

Friday 6 April 2018

A Big OOPS, but Saved in the End!

This tag was created for the April challenge on Tag It Tuesday.  This months prompts are: Use a stamp; Collage with napkins; Add stars; Use markers.  At least three of the prompts have to be used and for once I used all four; if you can count a paper towel mop up sheet as a napkin.  I made a horrendous mistake half way through the process, but I managed to save the tag rather than throw it away!

Thursday 5 April 2018

Family Celebration Cards


I had two family occasions that I needed cards for recently.  The first was my sister's 50th birthday (today) and the second was the birth of our second Great Niece on the 19th March.  The cards were made using similar methods, so I have decided to include them within one blog post; even though they look completely different.


Wednesday 4 April 2018

WOYWW 461: Enjoying a Break from Work

Hi everyone and welcome back for our regular sharing of the desk under the leadership of Julia at The Stamping Ground.  Once again I have two desks to share; my own and Eva's on the other side of the desk.  Eva asked me to thank everyone for the birthday wishes that she received from so many last week!
My side of the desk shows the card that I was in the middle of, using some of the stamps that I have had for ages and hadn't yet used!  I did get it finished later in the day and shared it on my blog post yesterday (see HERE).
The finished card.
On the other side of the desk, Eva was playing with stencils and Gelatos.  A riot of colour as always.
So there you are; short and sweet just like Julia likes it.  Be sure to pop over and visit other desks if you have the time!

Tuesday 3 April 2018

A Card for Coffee Lovers!



Having been working in my art journals for a few days, I decided to make a card for a change.  I have various coffee themed stamp sets which I hadn't yet used, so decided to work with those.  As you will see, I created a gatefold card.

Monday 2 April 2018

Sunday 1 April 2018

Pop Art Celebration!

This page was created for the Explore Your Creativity (challenge 10) over on the recently renamed Junk Journals and Mindful Mixed Media Art.  The group has just welcomed its 4000th member so I decided to use that in my piece.  The prompts were Pop Art; Marker pens; Red.  However I also feel that it meets the March prompt on Nina Ribena's Art Journal Prompts and More: Friendship.