Well reallly!! 2016...

.. 2016, has been an unforgiving year - but on Christmas Day it over-stepped the mark when it claimed George Michael for its list of celebrity passings in this year...

I was so shocked & saddened by this - George Michael has always been in the background of my life - he (as part of Wham!) was on the walls of my teenage bedroom, he's always been on my record player, or on tapes and cd's in my car... and summer has only officially arrived when 'club tropicana' is heard on the radio.. and the same for christmas - its not christmas until 'last christmas' has been heard.. but that tune has a different poignancy now...

x

Wishing you all a .....

Eat, drink, be merry... and enjoy!

Day 4 of a FABULOUS blog hop!...

I hope you've all enjoyed the last 3 nights of blog-hopping - its been really inspiring hasn't it!

Tonight's four blogs are listed below and they are fabulous so hop on over and enjoy - don't forget to leave a message!

Live from Dec. 24
Kay Carley
Emma Godfrey
Cindy Gilstrap
Karen Gaunt

We're halfway through the PaperArtsy / Stencil Girl blog hop and I'm sure you'll agree the projects so far have been fabulous and I'm sure those coming in the next 2 days will not disappoint either, and will be well worth a visit. 

Blog Hop Order:

Live from Dec. 21
Darcy Wilkinson
Kim Dellow
Mary C. Nasser
Gwen Lafleur

Live from Dec. 22
Jo Firth Young
Lauren Hatwell
Kristie Taylor
Tina Walker

Live from Dec. 23
Clare Lloyd
Lin Brown
Anna Friedan
Janet Joehlin

Live from Dec. 24
Kay Carley
Emma Godfrey
Cindy Gilstrap
Karen Gaunt

Head on over the blogs listed above (on/after the dates shown) for lots of inspiration and a chance to win a prize - remember to leave a comment.

Thanks for all the comments left on my blog - so glad you liked my project, and I hope its inspired you to get busy with the stencils, masks and paints!

x

A marvelous mash up of a blog hop!

PaperArtsy have teamed up with Stencil Girl Products to bring you a wonderful blog hop featuring work by their product designers and design team members. There are sixteen blogs to visit over the run of the hop, and chances to win prizes!

GIVEAWAY

One lucky winner will receive a $75 Gift Certificate to StencilGirl Products

AND a £50 Gift Certificate for PaperArtsy!!

Visit the fabulous designers from both teams and comment for your chance to win!

The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to WIN!
(One comment per blog please.)

You have until Friday, December 30th at 11:59PM Central Time to leave your comments.

Winner will be announced onStencilGirl's Facebook page and PaperArtsy's blog on Sunday, January 1.

Blog Hop Order:

Dec. 21
Darcy Wilkinson
Kim Dellow
Mary C. Nasser
Gwen Lafleur

Dec. 22
Jo Firth Young
Lauren Hatwell
Kristie Taylor
Tina Walker

Dec. 23
Clare Lloyd
Lin Brown
Anna Friesen
Janet Joehlin

Dec. 24
Kay Carley
Emma Godfrey
Cindy Gilstrap
Karen Gaunt

My plan was to create a masterboard with the intention of turning it into an upcycled book & journaling cards, or greeting cards, but when I finished the masterboard I could hardly bear to cut it up! :o)

But I did!  I made several cards and a canvas...

The largest panel (8.5x8.5in) was embellished and mounted onto a 12x12in box canvas.....

To create the masterboard I covered heavyweight cartridge paper with vintage music sheets. To soften the black print I white washed the entire sheet.
I chose masks rather than stencils so I intentionally chose statement colours to cover the background because I knew they would be visible through layers, so I chose Bougainvillea and Coral Fresco Finish paints ('go-to' colours!). I loaded up a Gelli plate and printed over the entire surface - these paints are semi-opaque and translucent which allows the papers to show through.  I wanted a bright base colour so pops of colour would pop through the mask's pattern.

Next I brayered on White Fire (pale gold) paint - I chose this because it is a) a gorgeous subtle gold & b) translucent and so allows the deep pink layer to show through.  The background's colour/finish is patchy which is what I wanted to achieve.

Next came the stencilling/masking - on the photo below the masks laid in position ready for a layer of Chalk paint to be applied.  The mask (deconstructed cluster of lilies mask s297, love collage mask L312) had to be painted and then repositioned elsewhere on the sheet...

The finished masterboard ready to be (eek!) cut up... and you can see all the lovely background colour coming through.

I made 3 cards from the masterboard, each featuring one of my stamps:

This card has mini JM54 stamped onto the solid flowers, the words are from Stencil Girl stencil S261

 I doodled onto the flowers on this card, the phrase is from JOFY09.

I never get bored of using this stamp from JOFY38, here I've teamed it with another phrase from stencil S261.

I'm so happy with the finished canvas - I sewed detail on with my sewing machine, and attached it the canvas with matte medium and hand stitching.  The gold flowers were created by stenciling embossing ink onto the design and embossing with WOW Metallic Brass Sparkle Embossing Glitter.

I don't often hang my own work in our house but this one is definitely going on the wall!


Enjoy the rest of the blog hop - don't for get to leave comments on each of the blogs for a chance to win.

6 days left!....

.... I don't mean to worry/panic any of you but there's only SIX shopping days left before christmas!

If you are still looking for the perfect gift for you or the arty/crafty person in your life then I have the a great suggestion for you... (and you don't even need to leave the house to buy it!).

Wanderlust 2017 would make a great gift for a paint/ink covered person in your life - a gift that will keep on giving all through the year - who wouldn't want a gift like that!!

It is an online mixed media workshop experience featuring 26 amazing tutors (including Alena Hennessy, Sandra Everstson, Mindy Lacefield, Dyan Reavely, Kate Crane & me!) and 50 inspirational video classes over the course of the year.

Until the 31 December 2016 there's is an early bird price of £79 which is well worth taking advantage of (will increase to £99 after this date).

Grab yourself a bargain that will be enjoyed all year long - you won't be disappointed

Click on the graphic below to purchase.

I look forward to seeing you there.

x

PS  Merry Christmas!!

Exciting news...

BLOG HOP...coming soon!

Something very exciting is coming this week that I'm thrilled to be part of:  a collaborative blog hop between

PaperArtsy and Stencil Girl Products

Just 3 sleeps to go and all will be revealed!

Visit the PaperArtsy blog each night and follow the links...and if that not exciting enough there's also....

Leave a comment on each blog while hopping and you'll go in the draw to win goodies! 

Leave comment's before... 

Friday, December 30th at 11:59PM USA Central Time

Winner will be announced on...

StencilGirl's Facebook page and PaperArtsy's blog on Sunday, January 1.

Details of the designers from both companies involved will be revealed on Wednesday Dec 21st

A Cover Up...

... This class at Birds in the Barn proved popular so another date was booked  - this coming Sunday (11th December) - there are a couple of spaces left.

If you fancy spending the day away from the christmas frenzy getting inky, stampy, painty up-cycling an old book into a journal/scrapbook then contact the shop to book your place.

Hope you can join us!

January Craft Stamper...

... is in the shops now - and I have a project in there :o)

I loved making this dimensional project featuring none other than Skid the Robot!  Here's a sneak peek but to see the whole project you'll need to buy the magazine....

its another great issue so you won't be disappointed and you get a free stamp!

Enjoy!

New Products!....

.... oh yes!...more new products - new JOFY products - and this time its stencils.  You can see a post detailing the new designs with samples HERE on the PaperArtsy blog...

Go take a look - I hope you like them as much as I do - they're going to be a lovely accompaniment to your JOFY stamps.

x

Workshop: A Cover Up....

.... at Birds in the Barn, Marks Tey on Saturday 26 November 2016.

Here's information for those of you booked on the workshop:

You will need to bring with you an old hardback book that will be up-cycled into the new journal/scrapbook/album - ideally the book should be around 5x7inches (13x18cm) with a 1in (2.5cm) spine.... older books work better for this project because of their construction.  (If you can't get one before Saturday we will have some spares for you to use.)

If you are planning to use this workshop to start an album with a particular theme or to store photos of a particular event then please bring some of the photos with you - FYI we are working to a 6x4in page size so bear that in mind if you are printing photos to use.

I'm excited about this workshop (can't wait to see what is created from old books!) and look forward to seeing you on Saturday.

x

PS This workshop sold out on the day it was released so Janet has added another date:
Sunday 11th December
if you missed out on the original date I hope you can join us on this one.

Craft Stamper December Issue...

... is in the shops NOW!

and I'm chuffed to say I have an article in this issue... I love a bit of upcycling and so was very happy to participate in this regular feature...

Lots of lovely festive articles and projects in this issue, go grab yourselves a copy!

xx

Its a Gelli print...

.... but not as we know it... well it is... sort of - these are pages in my journal that I've covered in the underpapers that are on my desk when Gelli printing.. rolling my brayers on it to remove paint, or make a gelli print to clean the plate... sometimes they're just too nice/interesting to throw away..

These first two are my 'favourites', I really like the print of the mask (stencilgirlproducts.com) I was using...

I haven't put them in a journal - I can't decide what to do with them... I don't want to 'spoil' them - which is ridiculous because they are junk papers! Meant to be spoiled!

These next two are the result of rolling my brayer on the underpaper to clean it...

I am kicking myself that I didn't take a photo of the underpapers glued onto the pages below before I stenciled the numbers on!  The background is lots of ghost/clean-up gelli prints.  I really like how the big numbers look so prominent against the background.... and everything looks more interesting with paint splats!

(The number stencil is Donna Downey, doily stencils is The Crafters Workshop, spots are bubble wrap)

Using the underpapers is a great way to add immediate interest to a journal spread.. and if its too bold, pale, or the wrong colour simply add another layer of interest - with stencils or stamping or a colour wash.

x

ALBOTAT: Punches and Dies..

Hi

I've been asked about the tags and tabs that I used throughout my use-it-or-lose-it (The Pile) book (that definitely needs a snappier title lol)... so here's the info..

I've had these punches for a while and sorry, but I'm not sure they're still available.. but other manufacturers have similar designs but as dies - try Spellbinders.

 Tag and Tie die, Tim Holtz range by Sizzix.

 Tiny Tabs and Tags, Tim Holtz range by Sizzix

I used this tab design a lot (there were a lot in The Pile, maybe the result of a mad punch out session lol)  Its by Stampin Up, & sadly its been discontinued.

So there you are - not all of the information about the tabs was useful (3 discontinued) but at least I addressed the question  :o)

There are so many dies on the market I'm sure you'll be able to find similar designs.

x

All scrapped out....

... the use-it-or-lose-it book I started in October (you can read about it here) is finished.... I did it - a page a day created with bits and pieces solely from the scrap pile! (patting self on back)

The book is not going to close and that makes me happy! I like that it doesn't close and bits and pieces hang out of the sides... books like this make me interested to see what is inside...

& speaking of whats inside here are the further 19+ pages I created during the month...

I like stenciling across the page, over both all the attached layers (scrap paper on left, printed paper on right) it blends everything together.

These are the masks and placement pieces used in a workshop on this day... background is created with black pen, Faber Castell Polychromos pencils and Stabillo CarbOthello pencils.

I don't often use photos of myself but this one on right is OK because I'm pretty much bleached out because of the instant camera print... (and I like my new shorter hair!)... this page is one of the main reasons the book isn't closing! The zipper flower in the middle that I made from a metal/cotton zipper is quite dimensional - I was tempted to remove it and replace with something flatter but the page wasn't as nice without it.... who says a book should close anyway! ;o)

My birthday - I see these numbers around a lot! Strange... nice coincidence... 'twenty-two, ten' gets called out a lot in our house lol

Day after my birthday - still 'celebrating'!! :o)

Taking three small die cuts and attaching them together so they are one big die cut.

This flower is created using a flower from JOFY37, and 5 leaves (JOFY12) stamped onto pink paper - love how stamping them onto a different coloured paper can change their purpose so easily.

Couldn't resist adding this to the book (to preserve it!) on top of waste gelli print paper and whats not to love about that bobble trim!!

I used loads of bits and pieces in this book - but obviously not enough as there was still loads left at the end of the month - most of which has been thrown in the bin....

I really enjoyed doing this and I hope its inspired you to make use of all those bits you're hoarding 'just in case'.


By the way...  Have I mentioned that I'm teaching online? I probably have because I'm very excited to be teaching on Wanderlust 2017 !  

This is a years worth of fabulous mixed-media and art journaling classes from myself and 25 other teachers.   You can book your seat at the amazingly low Early Bird price now to make sure that you are ready for a fun adventure and a huge learning experience in the next year. 

Click on the above Wanderlust image to go and book your place!
This is going to be a wonderful year of inspiration and learning.
I can’t wait to meet you all in the classroom!

x