ACP Week 8 part 2: Graffiti Jigsaw

Welcome to some more game piece fun!!
Today its jigsaws - great for using in.. erm.. well .. stuff! 
During the 'big studio clear out' I found a bag of blank jigsaws that I'd bought.. these ones are a bit tricky to stamp onto because of the cutting grooves.. so they've been in their bag for a while and I was seriously considering throwing them out but I had a light bulb moment - you know the type: the ones that come when you're least expecting them:  PAINT THE JIGSAW! no stamping required -
paint on them like you would do a journaling page... 
throw in a bit of stenciling...

I'm not throwing the rest away - I had fun making this - didn't take too long & I think they have lots of possibilities...

expect more stencilling on the next few...

Have a good day

ACP Week 8: Red + G = Game Pieces

Love a red & blue colour combo!! sky blue, denim blue, royal blue - not fussed - they all seem to work with red.

G = Game Pieces

I bought a complete vintage set on Ebay a few years ago.. it seems a shame for it to just sit unused on the desk so I used 2 of the boards as the covers of a simple journal/notebook - it took a lot for me to use these because they're are sooooo lovely..

The book has a loto board front & back, heavyweight cartridge paper pages (lovely for sketching, writing, painting and inking onto) and nice simple binding of book rings (another favourite). I like to use these as it makes adding & removing pages really simple (and you can tie pretting ribbons and embellishments onto them).

I'll be back tomorrow with another 'game piece' project (or maybe 2) and then I'm all caught up with the ACP and back on track. 

When I post on Tuesday/Wednesday it'll be the start of a new month/ new colour! ta da - and I'm being brave and using a colour that is not in my comfort zone - which will be a learning curve!

Hope you're all well, and are enjoying the sun (assuming you have sun!)

Take care

ACP Week 7 part 3: What no paper!?!

No not a single scrap - today's project is completely made of fabric (well it is fabric week!) making up for the minimal amount of fabric on yesterdays piece.. lol

I love to sew projects! There is something so traditional about it... I wanted to add more layers to this piece but couldn't find any more red fabric in the box under the desk... so I stopped.  Then I started another project and while looking for ribbon in a set of drawers I found red fabric - lots of it -spots, checked, plain!! how frustrating is that! lol
Nevermind, I'll save those fabrics for another day... another project...

I completely forgot to add this picture at the start of the week - flowers from my 'valentine' and love how they fit with my red black colour scheme.. gorgeous colour.

and the other good thing about these flowers is that they are 'cat proof'! Bertie chewed the end off a leaf and promptly spat it out (classy cat) and wandered off... yay...
shame can't be said about my beautiful Hibiscus which he chews on a daily basis... naughty puss

ACP Week 7 part 2: Circus time!!

I think this stamp has to be one of my favourites from the PaperArtsy Lynne Perrella stamps - love how she's wearing her hat an 'ooh la la' angle. lol

(the fabric part of this week is in the ribbon - in case you're wondering... lol minimal but its there!)
Papers are MyMindsEye - love this range - they've produced them in all range of colours and they've all been beautiful.

I went the the Birmingham trade show at the weekend, I was in two minds whether to go and I'm so glad I did!:
*  Gorgeous products on show as unusual - I had to be dragged - dragged i tell you - away from the Button Company stand... so.much.loveliness!! 
*  StampBox let me stroke/touch their paper samples (sometimes you have to see/touch paper stock)
*  I met some lovely people.. (which hopefully will lead to some interesting teaching opportunities)
*  I watched demonstrations
and generally had a very worthwhile trip!

Gotta go - things to do, classes to plan.....

ACP Week 7: Red + F = Fabric

I don't know what happened to last week and the ACP - everything else seemed to take over! but I'm going to try and get back on track this week - apart from going to London today its going to get my full undivided attention until I go back to SW on Friday (SW=shop work, I only work 2 days so back to crafting 'work' soon :o) )

Red is the main colour this month - I like how it can used in so many way - to portray love, anger and patriotism.
And if you're going to have a dress - there's nothing more show stopping than a red dress! OK, Marilyn Monroe & Jane Russell (here in a picture from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes) also have show stopping figures which help! lol  (but they are not the only ones - how about Jessica Rabbit, Betty Boop, & Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman - all have striking red dresses!)

 

Red & Black - always a striking combination:

F = Fabric

Today's project is some cute embellishments I made out of die cut felt - and I think I've covered how much I love felt! - its right up there with buttons, calico & Kraft card stock on the 'favourite items to work with' list.  I used to make and sell these on Etsy but I made these especially for the ACP - they'll turn up on something over the next few days I'm sure....

OK, got to love and leave you - off to London... (oh yes... going to London... by myself... it'll all be fine... I've packed the Epi-pen... no unexpected trips in an ambulance for me this time!)

Have a great day

WOYWW

I've been having a sort out of my workroom, and while the shelves look better & organised the same can't be said for my desk! lol  I took picture from several angles but it didn't look any better from any of them so here's the best (tidiest) angle:

 Two of my sketchbooks are on the desk because I was looking for something to inspire me for M's card and I haven't got around to put them away yet - and thats not because I'm a messy mare but because I've been working elsewhere! ;o)

And so you are not left with the impression that all is messy in Jo-land here's something pretty for you: a simple postcard I made using a new stencil I just bought - LOVE!!!
The postcard itself is one from a whole batch I made a while ago out of dressmaking patterns.. LOVE!!

If you'd like to know what all this WoYWW is all about head HERE to the blog of Julia 'Queen of Desks' where you'll find the details and lots of other desks to snoop around.. Enjoy!

Aaaanyhoo that's all for today - off to teach a class at Imagine That...

Take care

ACP Week 6, part 2: Ssshhh, don't show my Valentine...

This post was supposed to load up yesterday - last day of red & cream.. but hey ho - it didn't, so today's the day:

A card for my beloved (my 'good catch' - his words not mine, tho I obviously agree  lol) for Valentines day - but ssshhh lets keep it just between you and me that I've put a picture of his card on here before I give it to him (lol) but I think I'm safe to do so as he's really busy at work at the moment (too busy to be on the www looking at stuff...)(hopefully! lol)

I created a heart stencil using a nestabilities die and layered it up with some tiny sequin waste - or maybe its punchinella - not sure as it was given to me - I like it a lot though. 

I like creating my own stencils - cutting them from a drawing or using dies.

I hope you're all getting along ok in the snow - its certainly hanging around isn't it!

Take care

ACP Week 6: Red + H = Hearts!

OK, this week on the 'Alphabet Colour Project' I am bending the rules slightly - they're my rules and I'll bend them if I want to!... and I'm bending the rules for very good reasons: because February is Valentine's month and if I run to schedule 'H' (8th letter and week) would fall after Valentines day.. and so my lovely heart projects would be too late! So this week will be 'H' and I'll revert back to normal alphabet pattern.

This week I've teamed red with cream which is a lovely colour combination, a classic combo

H = Hearts

Three box canvases with a heart theme - I've accumulated quite a lot of vintage buttons and so its time to use them on projects.

Remember the bunting I made for a shop? ... here it is in situ - made in different, more striking colours. Reflections, daylight & indoor lights did not make it an easy thing to photograph - but you get the idea.. I was really pleased with how it turned out.. and so was the shop. :o)

Roll up, Roll up....

... there's a circus in town!  & the star attractions are PaperArtsy & Lynne Perrella!!

This is a piece I made with the PaperArtsy Lynne Perrella stamps, October Afternoon papers, Nestabilies dies, Tim Holtz dies and good old corrugated cardboard.
(& it took a lot of self-restraint not to stick a red clowns nose on one of the above stamped faces lol)

and there's a sideshow of 3 linked tags:

Right, I'm off to look at the pretty (but slightly inconvenient) snow... looking at it through the window obviously.... and get some work done- nice painty inky 'work'!

** Edit ** I just read a tweet that reminded me to do this:  The tags were influenced by what I learned at a class I took with Lynne Perrella at ArtsyCrafts - the stencilling behind the main images and the row of hats.. ...but its also a revisit to the stenciling I did for interiors - just on a much smaller scale! 
It all comes around again doesn't it.  :o)

have a good day - stay safe and warm!

ACP Week 5: Grey + E = Embellishments

Oops!  Here is last weeks project that I forgot to schedule in! (and to be honest life took over a little bit!)

E = Embellishment

Simple(ish) card - embellished with flower, die cuts & gems.... and the final colour I matched with grey this month is... grey! I like how shades of grey look together.

Normal posting of the ACP will resume this week...  :o)

Craft Barn Demo Day

I demo'd my little socks off on Saturday at the Craft Barn - lovely people stopped by to watch the demo's (7 demo's going in the shop), thanks to you all for coming out on a chilly day.  :o) 
I worked with PaperArtsy's FrescoFinish paints, and their fab.u.lous Lynne Perrella stamps (LOVE!!) - here are some of the samples I created:

Here are the Lynne Perrella designs for PaperArtsy - I really do like these... a lot...

Alphabet Colour Project Part 2: February's colour is...

RED..RED..RED..RED..RED..