Otto & Adelaide!!

I've finished my two projects from the Lynne Perella/ArtsyCrafts weekend...

First up is Adelaide (the Adventurer)

 
When I was making this piece I had to make up a back story for her to make sense of what I was putting in the piece so that (for me) it all made sense.... So, here is Adelaide, an Edwardian, educated, Lady who has a taken a pile of the Family money and gone travelling.  On her travels she has become interested in nature and has a particular fascination for birds.  To give here a slightly sassy look I cut off her hat and repositioned it over one eye - gives her an air of mystery or a polite 'I might be a gentle woman but don't mess with me' look lol
I couldn't decide whether to put Adelaide behind glass or not - I like it being open because of all the elements but then Bertie (cat) took an interest in the bird on her hat and the other feathers and the decision was made - she's safely behind glass! lol
I really love how this piece turned out - it's so gentle and calm but still with a lot going on (all the layers), and it was a great image that Lynne Perrella gave us to work with.

.. and now for Otto!!  I love Otto! - He gets his name from the book cover page that I used on the background of his assemblage.

 
So Otto's back story is that he was once a famous concert clarinetist - he played all over the world, was famous and adored by fans.... but now his star has faded and he makes his living tutoring people to play the clarinet... (I gave him this story because I felt he has such a proud but slightly sad face - but he should be proud - passing on his gift of music to others.....)
(he's not behind glass due to the twigs sticking out over the frame but he is up on a high shelf where hopefully my furry fourlegged friend can't reach him... fingers crossed lol)

So that how things work in my head - paper people are given stories so I can create an assemblage for them out of this'n'that... lots of fun! (but maybe I overthink these things rofl)

Helloooooooooo... is there anyone there??? Helloooooooo???

Are you out there still?  If you are then thanks for popping by, sticking with me because its been a disgracefully long time since I last blogged - shameful!  Just over a month!! Shocking.  I've missed blogging- missed interacting with all you lovely peeps out there on the www - I shouldn't have stayed away so long!

But I'm back, quite a few things have happened and quite a few things had to be put on hold because I was not a 100% but I'm better now so here's a quick round up:
I've.. erm... welll I .... hmm its a bit hard to know where to srart so I'll ignore all the little things and move straight onto the big stuff:

ArtsyCrafts with Lynne Perrella!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
omg - how much of a great time did I have at Lynne Perrella's workshops?!?!?  Bloomin' marvelous!!
An 11 hour, 400 mile round trip to get there - & it was worth every single mile & moment!
I went for 2 of the 3 days - made 2 projects - which I'm still tweaking - yeah yeah yeah - I know, me tweaking a project, who'd have thought - but they'll be finished very soon and when they are I'll put up pictures - the PaperArtsy site and video has pics of them as works in progress - I'll leave you to guess which are mine...
Here is me with the FANTASTIC Lynne Perrella - she is a fabulous, funny, talented teacher - really generous with her ideas and time - brilliant.

She showed us how to get the most out of stencils & photocopies of vintage photos & illustrations, I barely touched a stamp during the whole weekend!  We collaged, stencilled, glued, repurposed & painted. 

A brilliant weekend.

This is Lynne P's demo desk on Saturday night when she was showing how to add colour to a picture (of Edgar Allen Poe) with a bespoke stencil - I love how she effortlessly adds colour to alter the tone of a picture.

It was a really fabulous weekend - I learnt lots of things that I'll use on future projects- but mainly I'll take away that you don't have to have all the latest this'n'that - rummage through drawers, repurpose things, paint things, & photocopies are versatile (I know that already but it was well worth revisiting) etc etc etc...

Finally 'Thank you' to my lovely hubby who bought me the weekend as a birthday present!

A this'n'that catch up.... Part 2

Here's another random selection of stuff that I meant to show you before now:

Ranger have brought out some more Distress Stains!! Squeeeeel! Love this product.
Thank you for the lovely messages I had about my article in this month's Craft Stamper - glad I inspired you.  I bought a few more of the Stains and played with the bleach on these too:

No great surprises in the remaining colour once bleached (eg walnut stain that has a great purple when bleached) but I do like the pale yellow thats left in the black soot - nice.

I bought Milled Lavender after I'd made these samples - it wasn't one of my favourite Distress Colours (not sure I even have it as an ink pad) (a bit of a 'non-colour) but the Stain is a really lovely soft pretty colour.  I'm converted.
Picket Fence!!! ooh thats a good one - its more opaque than the other stains - great for a white wash look over a surface.. very versatile.

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October ArtsyCrafts!!!

Oops  - can't believe I haven't blogged about this before now!! - well I might have mentioned that it was running but what I haven't mentioned is that its going to be another exciting event with another guest teacher!!!

In addition to the usual top classes by Leandra & Lin, Lynne Perella will teach 3 days of classes - a different one each day.

How fabulous is that!

Aaaaaand its very exciting for me because I'm not going to be working at the event* - I'm going to be taking 2 of the classes!!!!!!!  Beyond excited.
(* don't get me wrong I love working at these events)

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aaaand another exciting event - so much arty learning will be going into my head in October I may implode (but don't worry if I do it will be sparkly and there may be buttons..lol) - I was lucky to get a place on the Dina Wakley classes at LB Crafts!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Again, beyond excited! lol  I love Dina's artsy, splashy, colour rich, sprayiness (yes, I know that's not a word but I'm excited so forgive me! lol)

Dina Wakley. www.dinastamps.typepad.com

So many new exciting things to be learnt in October ( I love learning new things) I may have to lay in a darkened room for the whole of November! lol

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In my workroom there are lots of boxes with supplies in them, & it's sort of organised (& getting better, its an ongoing process) - I have several Moppe boxes (from Ikea - love these but apparently they don't make them anymore! The shock!) but these boxes aren't very interesting to look at - so I pulled out some of my current favourite scrapbook papers and covered the drawers in those!

I like looking at scrapbook papers!
I like storage.
Its a win win situation. I deliberately kept them simple and embellishment free so that if I get 'bored' of these papers I can easily change them.

Take care

Little book of things with wings.....

Another ArtsyCraft sample.. and the last... a little tag book (gotta love the tags!) ... measures 12x6cm.... using distress stains, Paperartsy stamps, Tim Holtz embellishments, Claudine Hellmuth canvas.....

The bindings on this book are Tim Holtz 'Hitch Fasteners' - cute little things! and great for binding a slim book.. & also on this book they work really well becuase they something to hold onto while you flick through!

I really enjoy making things like this - they're quick (-ish) and such a cute little size.. maybe I should work up to making bigger things which I do try to every-so-often but I'm much more comfortable making smaller things...

Page fronts:

Page backs:

The samples of work I've shown over the last week have been quite simple, 'quick & easy' - I do make more comples things - honest guv'

Have a great day

You can never have too many hearts....

When I get a product I like to try it out on & with anything I can get my hands on... The above are what I made before (and after) I went to ArtsyCrafts with one of the new PaperArtsy Heart dies - like this one a lot...
So these dies cut through:

Claudine Hellmuth sticky back canvas

Brooch I made with the stickyback canvas mounted onto Grungepaper for stability (might even've been grunge board?!?)

Grunge Paper

PaperArtsy's Metal Card

Metal Card embossed with a Tim Holtz embossing folder (its also been painted with acrylic paint, sprayed with Perfect pearls in several colours and sanded back)

Card stock (stamped with PaperArtsy images and coloured with distress inks)

Card stock (stamped with Fresco Finish paint & coloured with distress stains (Fresco Finish paints resist the stains! lush)

Shrink plastic x 2

Just wanted to show you how versatile these dies were (and no prizes for guessing which of the hearts were cut from shrink plastic! lol)

ooh - corrugate cardboard  - cuts through that too... how could I have forgotten to show that - I do love a bit of corrugated cardboard! lol

Tags... Part 3

Today's tag is decorated with the lovely new PaperArtsy OakLeaf dies - love how they've made them in 3 sizes!

Went a bit old school with this tag - scrunched up and distressed the tag - haven't done that for ages - I liked it! - Looks the tags been under a leaf pile for ages.. lol
The word 'nature' is printed with the PaperArtsy Words plate 2.
I've always wanted to use the plate to create words, and toyed with the idea of cutting the plate up to use as an alphabet, but I really like to use it as a background and so didn't want to cut it up. But, after seeing Joanne Wardle use it to create words it made up my mind - I bought another one and cut it up - really glad I did!! ("its only rubber - cut it up!" said the little voice in my head!!)
So now I have 2 - one for building words and 1 for creating backgrounds! Ta Daaa. Simples! lol
The leaves are sticky back canvas stamped with the co-ordinating images for the dies, and coloured with distress inks - very autumnal. Little leaf is attached with a Tim Holtz teeny tiny safety pin, the big leaf with a clip.  The tag is also stamped with a Tim Holtz image - from the new Papillon plate.

Tags.. Part 2

This tag, created again for demo'ing at the AC/TH event, is a bit of a sampler:
the tag has been partially embossed accented with Distress Inks & Lava Gold 'Goop' (love that stuff - so shiny!!) (& versatile) (and now comes in smaller pots - yay!)
painted & water splashed Distress Stains (top blue half)
Die cutting (the flourishes)
Tim Holtz tissue tape & Adage Ticket
and a distressed flower created with the spiral technique - I flatten/ distress these by hitting them with a small hammer... which is quite satisfying! lol

2 tags down, 2 tags to go... see you tomorrow.. same place same time.....

Tags... Part 1....

... well not technically Part 1 as I've put up a lot of tags during my time on this blog but its part 1 for this week - there are going to be 4 tags going up this week!!

This is one of the tags I made for demo'ing at the ArtsyCrafts/Tim Holtz event (& how freakin' good was that!!!)(the event not my tag & demo'ing lol)

The bird is the small bird die and co-ordinating stamp - one of the new PaperArtsy dies. I trimmed off its legs so it can sit on the branch*, which is actually the Tim Holtz tree die turned on its side (tilt your head to the left.. there you go.. now you can see it! lol)** and trimmed! (the other off-cuts made it on to a smaller tag that was a page in a mini book I created - more on that later in the week).  Background is painted in Distress Stains & inks. The bird is 3d mounted to give a bit of depth, branch is cut from Thorndon Hall with a bit of Distress Stickles added for texture...
All stamps are PaperArtsy.

The weather here in Essex today is glorious sunshine (but frosty! who'd've thought!) but not a cloud in the sky! Love that! Gives me such a positive feeling.... And its perfect for taking photos so thats what I'm going to do before I have to start working through my 'to do' list!
I hope its nice where you are!


* Don't worry no birds were harmed in the creation of this tag!
** It makes me chuckle to think that everyone reading this blog post will be tilting their heads to the left... thinking 'oh yes' and straightening up again..lol  ... its the little things that make me smile...

ArtsyCrafts October 2010

Now that the ArtsyCrafts weekends are over I can share pictures.  I really, really enjoy working at these events run by Leandra (PaperArtsy) & Lin (LB Crafts) - so many lovely ladies come and make so many lovely pieces of art! 2-3 (?) years down the line I enjoy them just as much now as I did the first time! (though I have learned to pace myself a little better - lol).
The Team (Leandra, Lin, Karen, Lynne, Linda and myself) all make versions of the projects in the different colourways so people can see samples, hopefully be inspired, and also so that we can give advice & answer questions that may arise...
Aaaaanyhoo enough waffle - here is my version of the main project in the Citrus Sorbet colourway...

Yellow!  Yes yellow!!  and I loved working with these colours - its was a challenge to start with because they're not colours that I find easy (or would not normally choose) to work with but now - now I am embracing yellow!!
But I did counterbalance the above by creating a different project in 'apple blossom' which is my favourite colour combination of pink & green... (back in my comfort zone)

There'll be more ArtsyCrafts events coming up in 2011 details will be on PaperArtsy & LBCrafts sites as and when.

Just when you thought ArtsyCraft Events couldn't get any better...

I love working at the ArtsyCrafts events with the uber talented Leandra (PaperArtsy) & Lin(LBCrafts) and their FABULOUS creative weekends... but now they've managed to outdo themselves... if you are drinking while reading this I suggest you put the drink down before you read on....(or spluttering or spillage may occur)

brace yourselves...

In February next year ....

wait for it...... drum roll please...

Tim Holtz will be coming to the UK and teaching classes at ArtsyCrafts! Oh YES!!

You heard correctly - Tim Holtz, the one and only is coming to town!

See - just when you thought AC weekends couldn't get better! There are obviously no ends to Leandra and Lin's talents!
I can't put these things better than Leandra so head on over to the PaperArtsy blog where you'll get all the fabulous details - DON'T miss out - its going to be sooooo good! 
I must be jetlagged because at the moment I can't explain in words how excited I am about this weekend - its going to be so good! SOOOOOOO EXCITING! (there, caps 'll do it everytime!) You'll just have to imagine me doing my happy dance in front of my computer with intervals of happy clapping!!! to a soundtrack of overexcited squealing!



Pace yourselves - go read all the details and get your payment details ready: tickets go on sale 8pm on Monday.

Good luck.  Hope to see you there.

WOYWW + a whole lot of other stuff....

its been a week since I last posted anything - that's neglectful of me isn't it!?  But its not as if I've been sat on my tush watching Jeremy Kyle and Loose Women - I've been busy behind the scenes....

This past weekend was spent helping out at the second Flights of Fancy ArtsyCrafts weekend - it was such a good weekend spent with 50+ painting, metalling, inking ladies creating some great projects... I went indoors at 7.00 friday night and didn't come back out into fresh air until 9.00 on sunday evening and i don't think I even noticed!  I was having too much fun (ahem.. working hard).  I love working at these events. There was lots (and lots) of paint, and just as much metal to be worked, sweets, prizes, lots and lots of die cutting and embossing - oh we worked those die cut machines- the Big Shots (mine is affectionately known as Bertha) and the Cuttlebugs... and Linda and I counted 50 kits out and back in, ....oh and I had a lift journey with a whole load of lively 70's-costume-clad party goers.. don't ask

Here are the uber talented Lin Brown and Leandra Franich:

How could you not be inspired when you look at these colours: 

Tables at work (or is it play?):

A couple of sneakypeeks of one of the projects:

And it was all going swimmingly until we got back to PaperArtsy HQ and I discovered I'd forgotten to pack my weekend bag in the car to come home! (in fairness there was a lot of stuff to pack in the cars, and I'd at least remembered to pack all my craft equipment (all the important stuff!)) Doh! How could I have forgotten the bag with my clothes etc in! When I hear of people doing the same thing I can never understand how they can forget something so fundamental!  Well quite easily apparently - I had to laugh really... 

I've since been reunited with said bag, thanks to Lin at LBCrafts (big thanks to her!) for organising TNT who brought it home on Tuesday:

I laughed a lot when I saw the size of the lorry it turned up in! The bag and contents are all safe and sound - even the banana and 4 apples that I had packed inside for snacks! roflol

Right, enough of this waffle - WOYWW:  here is my desk: ok, small confession - this is my desk on Tuesday but believe me it's not going to change much (at all) today! lol
I bought some new distress colours while I was at ArtsyCrafts, and so I'm in the process of making myself some colour charts inspired by the ones I made for the tables at AC(2nd photo).

I'm testing out the format in my sketchbook (I do that with most projects etc), and that cute little castle on the bottom left of the page is one of the new images by Banana Frog (called fairytale princess) .. and please note all that nice white space - thats the worktop! TaDaaaa!  yes we can actually see the worktop!

That's all folks - I'm determined to visit everyone this week.. so I'd better get to it! I have a feeling it could take a while! lol

Oh, one last thing - if you fancy coming to one of the ArtsyCrafts weekends (and why wouldn't you?!) details are on LBCrafts website and PaperArtsy's.

EDIT / ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS IN COMMENTS:
1: My overnight bag is actually not too big - shown here
2: The picture of cushions was a colour inspiration for the Banana Frog design team - you can see how they interpreted it here and here
3: The BigShot:  well, I'm a Cuttlebug fan really - I have been known to stroke my Bug while saying 'i love my cuttlebug'! lol Its a great little machine - portable, it suckers to the table so it doesn't wander off when you're turning the handle, and its very versatile...... BUT then I tried the BigShot!! its as good as the Bug but feels sturdier and smoother and because of the depth of the dies will go through a bigger variety of materials.. but the dies are expensive and gererally only come one to a die plate whereas the Cuttlebug dies often come in a pack that has a die and coordinating embossing folders.... no definitive answer I'm afraid - its all swings and roundabouts... it'll all come down to personal choice in the end..

Finished!!

ArtsyCrafts is taking place in Warrington this weekend - its a weekend of all the best bits (so many to choose from!).
I posted my arch to Leandra'n'Lin yesterday - I reeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaally hope it gets there! lol ... safely, in time, not bashed about! fingers crossed.
Here's a detail shot of my version of the Arch, its such a great project they designed - covers a whole range of techniques: metalwork, stamping, sewing (there's even a bit of cuttlebuging in there!)...   Love it!

I'll post bigger shots when the weekend workshops are over...

Metal, Rubber & Inks.... oh my!

ArtsyCrafts have some more great weekend 'retreats/workshops' planned this year.  There are a few places left on these creativity packed events.  Watch this for more details or visit the PaperArtsy site for a booking form and all the details of the events written down in case you weren't paying attention (shame on you) to Leandra's lovely video! lol

(photo: PaperArtsy)