Thursday 31 January 2019

Clean and Simple Masculine Birthday Card

I have been asked for masculine birthday cards a great deal recently.  Here is one which would be suitable.  It is a clean and simple design.  Unfortunately I didn't remember to take any step by step photos until near the end.

Wednesday 30 January 2019

WOYWW 504: Crafty Company

Welcome back for another instalment of What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday (WOYWW), care of the keeper of links Julia, over at The Stamping Ground.  I enjoyed a relaxing day's crafting yesterday as I posted off my latest samples first thing and can afford to take a short break from secret stuff.  For once I can share what I am working on: a tag for the latest Tag Tuesday challenge.
I was just getting started as Eva arrived to keep me company.  Pop back on Friday if you're interested in how it turned out.
I have been enjoying some of these grown up Ladybird Books recently.  Whenever I see one that I haven't got in Aldi, I snap it up.  Obviously I couldn't resist 'The Shed' and the others are an amusing read too.
On the other side of the desk, Eva was getting inky with some new PaperArtsy stamps.  Happy WOYWW everyone.  I will pop in and visit after work or tomorrow morning.  Short and sweet, just as Julia likes it.

Tuesday 29 January 2019

Gel Plate Washi Tape on a Grungy Journal Page

This was the last of my samples for the Leonie's Frameless Shapes stencil shows last Friday (8am and 4pm) on Hochanda.  It is the result of simply playing with texture and two of the stencils.  This time I didn't use my gel plate at all.

Monday 28 January 2019

Buff Titanium Gel Plate Lift Background With Doodles!


This piece was almost an afterthought when I made my samples for the Leonie's Frameless Shapes Stencil shows on Hochanda last Friday.  It started off as the result of lifting a print from my gel plate to clean off all the left over paint from the previous piece (see HERE).  I immediately saw flowers and used a pen to add doodles.

Saturday 26 January 2019

Friday 25 January 2019

Gel Plate Playtime with Leonie's Frameless Shape Stencils

When I get in from work this evening I will be excited to catch up with Leonie's shows on Hochanda today (8am and 4pm).  She is showcasing her new Frameless Shapes stencils in collaboration with Claritystamp.  They were such fun to play with, especially with a gel plate.  This is the first of my samples.

Thursday 24 January 2019

One Background, Two Journal Tags

I am slowly catching up with the last of the alphabet prompts on Mission Inspiration to finish my alphabet tag journal.  The last five prompts were released all at once as there is a new format to the mini missions for 2019.  Having now created V for Victory and W for Wish, I have nearly completed my first tag journal.

Wednesday 23 January 2019

WOYWW 503: It's Snow Joke

Well the weather is certainly not getting any better.  Friday's journey home from work saw large flakes of snow at school but by the time I got home it was more like sleet.  It made up for it later, but by morning we were clear again.  As I write this on Tuesday afternoon it is sleeting hard outside and Eva and I are glad to be warm and dry in the shed.  Happy WOYWW everyone.  Please visit other desks and/or join in with the desk sharing yourself via The Stamping Ground, where Julia plays hostess each week.
As you can see, I was working on the first of two tags that I will be sharing on my blog tomorrow.  I have been completing all the mini missions from Mission Inspiration on #8 manilla tags.  Mike Deakin recently released the last 5 alphabet prompts in one go, as the new format of mini mission for 2019 is based on song lyrics.  I was using the Union Jack stamp to represent 'Victory' (8/5/45).  I also managed to complete 'Wish', so I only have 'X-ray', 'You' and 'Zest' to go and my alphabet tag journal will be complete.
I had also started work on some secret stuff, but you will have to wait for the One Day Special on Hochanda on 3rd - 4th February to see more lol.  It was even all packed away before Eva arrived!
As you can see, Eva has caught the stamp organisation bug and was busy sorting all her mini word chain stamps, wee houses, shops, farm and village as well as her Alphabet stamps into boxes.  Unfortunately she discovered that she had lost the lower case 'r' from one of the sets, but a phone call to Clarity will soon sort that problem out. 
I'm not sure when I will get round to visit everyone as I have to go into work tomorrow morning as a one off to complete some learning walks.  I will try to get to everyone by the end of the weekend.  Happy WOYWW. 
NEWSFLASH Eva found the missing stamp as she was packing away.  Crisis averted!

Tuesday 22 January 2019

Birthday Card Using Matching Stencil and Stamps

I decided to use up one of my UFOs (unfinished objects) and created a birthday card with the background.  I worked with the 3 way overlay stamps which match the stencilled background: one of my favourite Claritystamp designs.

Monday 21 January 2019

Heat Embossing and Collage over Paper Towel Background

After the success of my last quick art journal page, I decided to have another play with my scraps and create another double page spread in my Moleskine journal.  It is the first journal that I bought and the last one that I actually started using, due to my nervousness and the fact it was expensive in comparison to all the rest.  These days I don't think about that, I just grab the nearest suitable journal and use it.  All stamps and stencils used are from Claritystamp.

Sunday 20 January 2019

January Landscape: An Art Journal Page

The prompt for the third week of every month over on Nina Ribena's Art Journal Prompts and More is 'Calendar Page'.  I found a poem by Sara Coleridge that could be used for my pages relating to this prompt each month, and will just have to see how I can get them to fit the overarching prompt for each month.  For January it is words, so I kept things simple and allowed the page to tell its own story.  As this is a landscape. I am also entering it into the Country View Challenges January challenge: Landscapes/Cityscapes. 

Saturday 19 January 2019

Playing with White Space: A Speedy Art Journal Page

I decided to play in my Moleskine art journal.  No prompt, no particular aim in mind other than thinking about white space as part of the page.  I have a tendency to cover the whole of a page when I art journal, but I know this is not needed every time.  I also wanted to use up some bits and make the page quickly.  This came together in 30 minutes.

Friday 18 January 2019

One tiny Stamp can Create A Whole Background

The current challenge over on Tag Tuesday is Mail, Postmarks or Postage Stamps.   I have a tiny postage stamp stamp by Claritystamp which I bought at a show quite a while back and decided to see if I could create a whole background using it.  As you can see, I was successful.  All stamps used are from Clarity.

Thursday 17 January 2019

Junk It Up: An Art Journal Page

The second week of each monthly prompt over on Nina Ribena's Art Journal Prompts and More is 'Junk It Up'.  As the main January prompt is words,  I decided to use magazine clippings that appealed to me over the top of some paper towel mop up sheets to create my page.

Wednesday 16 January 2019

WOYWW 502: Sorting Out My Stamps

Well that week flew by.  It didn't take long to get back into a routine now that school has started again.  Up early, get work done, early night, repeat.  I have been working on lots of projects this week, many of which I can't share yet.  I did get all the new boxes filled with my smallest stamps.  I focused on grouping similar stamps together, so one box now has all my Wee Africa stamps in it as well as the Safari Animals and larger African stamps.  Everything is labelled and ready to grab when needed for a class or a project in the shed.

It had the added benefit of freeing up some space in my large Clarity stamp folders, ready to be filled again no doubt lol.  No project today, because I am sharing with the gang over on The Stamping Ground who follow What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday (WOYWW).  You don't have to take part, but if you want to see what's happening on desks all over the world then it is a great place to be every Wednesday.
Eva popped over to craft yesterday and last Thursday.  As you can see, she brought everything but the kitchen sink with her once again and is also a fan of Claritystamp.  She was working on her first ever set of ATCs for a swap.  Have a great day everyone, I'll be over to visit as many desks as I can after work.

Tuesday 15 January 2019

Monday 14 January 2019

Using Random Sentences on a Tag as Inspiration

It was about time that I worked on a tag in 2019, so I had a look at the January challenge over on Tag It Tuesday.  There are always four prompts and at least two have to be used on the tag. This month the four prompts are 1: Scribble with coloured pencils; 2: Splatter ink or paint; 3: Use a random sentence and 4: Red.   For once, as you can see, I actually used all four.

Sunday 13 January 2019

Begin: Mood Board Art Journal Page

I tend to procrastinate a great deal.  Once I get started with a project I usually end up with something that I like;  it's the getting started that sometimes takes some time.  My word for 2019 is therefore 'begin'.  The January prompt for Nina Ribena's Art Journal Prompts and More is words and week 1 is Mood Board.  This is my page.

Saturday 12 January 2019

Doodle Flowers Cascading Card

I was asked to make a cascading card by a friend.  I haven't made one for ages but I am really pleased with the dramatic effect of the finished piece using Tina Cox's Doodle Flowers (designed for Claritystamp).

Friday 11 January 2019

Kind Heats are the Garden...

This is the last of the samples that I made for Barbara Gray's 2pm - 4pm Clarity shows on Hochanda last Sunday (6/1/19).  They will still be available on catch up if you wish to see them.  I loved working with the garden heart stamps and the new matching frameless stencil.  I hope that this project goes to show that you don't have to use the whole of a stencil or stamp set to achieve a pleasing result.

Thursday 10 January 2019

Still Looking Forward to Crafting Along With Barbara


Another item which will be used on 17th February (2pm - 4pm) on Hochanda, when you can craft along with Barbara Gray, is the Bird Heart Sprig stencil.  Barbara will be sharing four projects using the stamps, stencil, die and Groovi plate.  This is what I made with the stencil.  I look forward to making Barbara's project.

Wednesday 9 January 2019

WOYWW 501: Back to the Same Routine

Well it didn't take long to get back into a routine with the start of the new term.  Early to bed and early to rise.  Hope everyone is over the bugs that were going around over Christmas and the New Year.  Sharing my desk as usual on a Wednesday with the What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday (WOYWW) crew, hosted by Julia over on the Stamping Ground.  I have been taking part for only 3 of the nearly 10 years that this blog link up has been taking place, but have made a whole host of bloggy friends from all over the world by participating.  Anyone is welcome to join in!
I am trying to get a few more of my stamps organised into these cases.  I managed to get 10 of them at Maria Moorhouse's workshop on Saturday (another brilliant day).  They are particularly good for keeping small stamps safe as they are kept within the boxes once closed, even if they don't stay stuck to the case.  I am hoping to get all my Clarity mini word chains and original word chains sorted into groups so that they are easy to grab and take with me to workshops.
No Eva today as she is coming tomorrow to craft.  I received my new Clarity folders for the die, stamp and stencil clubs.  As I ordered early and paid for the whole year up front, I also received the bonus die, stamp and stencil.  I do love not knowing what exactly will be arriving each month and the project booklets which come with each item.  Have a great WOYWW everyone, I'll be round to visit after work later.

Tuesday 8 January 2019

Looking Forward to Crafting Along with Barbara


On February 17th there will be a two hour show on www.hochanda.com where you will be able to craft alongside Barbara Gray using these fabulous stamps.  I don't know what the project is that she will be making but I am looking forward to finding out.  This is the result of my first play with the Bird Heart Sprig 3 way overlay stamps.

Monday 7 January 2019

Garden Heart Tag


There were so many fabulous pieces of art work to be seen on Barbara Gray's shows yesterday afternoon.  I'd like to share one of mine which didn't make it to air, but I loved working with the stamps and stencils.

Sunday 6 January 2019

Complete Art Journal Flip Through

It seems fitting to share my complete art journal flip through for my 2018 journal today, as it is also the first prompt for 2019 over on Nina Ribena's Art Journal Prompts and More.  It is the second journal that I have competed following Nina's prompts.  In 2017 the prompts only related to art journaling and were different each week.  In 2018 the format changed, a monthly prompt followed by weekly challenges within.  There were projects other than art journal pages to complete, but as you will see,  i managed to adapt each one to fit an art journal page as this was my preferred format. 
January's prompt was words.
My word for 2018.


I also managed to include other leisure interests.  This page was later improved with autographs of the players.

I explored colour a great deal last year too.
February's prompt was Re use, Recycle, Re purpose.  I made a slight hole in my bit box lol.



March saw a celebration of the FB group reaching 5000 members with the prompt 'Friends'.  I often get my inspiration for a page by finding a quote that appeals to me and going from there.



There were five Sundays in April and therefore five pages for the 'Spring' prompt.  I tried out some new techniques, such as using Yupo paper and embossing powder over texture paste.  I even drew my own focal point.




In May the prompt was more challenging for me.  The monthly prompt was 'Trade-It' with a view to put together a series of swaps for another member of the group for those who wished to do so.  The weekly prompts were ATCoins, Postcards, ATCs and Inchies/Twinchies/Thrinchies (1" x 1" / 2" x 2" / 3" x 3").  I had to find a way to incorporate these onto art journal pages.



June's prompt was 'Repeat after Me'  with the weekly sub prompts being Circles, Mandalas, Abstract and Retiform.  I had never used the retiform technique before but enjoyed being stretched.



Retiform and some Shakespeare from As You Like It
July was another challenge as it involved altering dominoes, jigsaw puzzle pieces, playing cards and using word and number games.  It was another five week month so the last week was a free choice and I decided to base my page around one of my favourite board games: Trivial Pursuit.
I had some blank jigsaws.
Once again, quotes were often a useful starting point.
You have to look closely to see the Sudoku and logic puzzles under the grey background.

August's prompt was holidays and the first week's sub category, painting rocks, was once again a challenge to turn into a journal page.



For September the prompt was 'Art Journal Frenzy'.  The individual weeks were galaxy, anything goes, collage,  a colour combination outside my comfort zone and texture/white space.

A tribute to a lovely actress who died in September




For October the prompt was Inspired By.  Each week was given a theme and a series of artists to choose from to use as a muse.  Week 1 was shapes and I chose Orr Ambrose as my muse. 
Week 2 was portraits and I was inspired by Picasso.
Week 3 was flowers and I chose Yvonne Coomber from the list.
The final week was landscapes/seascapes and I was inspired by Osnat Tzadok.

The global prompt for November was Art Movements.  Week 1 was Pointillism.
Week 2 was anything goes and I chose Minimalism.
Week 3 was Fauvism (the last page that I actually completed).

Week 4 was Abstract.
The final prompt for the year 'Festive' was once again sub divided.  Week 1 was Christmas decorations.
Week 2 was festive backgrounds.
The remaining weeks were anything goes within the theme.
As week 4 was also the fourth Sunday in Advent,  I themed my page to the day.
It was another 5 Sunday month and I followed Nina with my last page by celebrating the new year.
Once again, I thoroughly enjoyed my weekly journaling and am looking forward to starting my journal for 2019.