Being True!

This last week's lesson in the Life Book 2014 e-course was by Kelly Hoernig and she encouraged us to make a collage that incorporated at least three of our favourite things and was "true" to us.  

I haven't been making collages much at all over the last few years but I really enjoyed getting back into it and you can see my collage above.  I have so many favourite things - my stamps, keys, lovely colours, text and typography, butterflies, printed tissue papers and then I love paint splatters and dribbles and and ...you get the picture!

This e-course has really motivated me and I am enjoying it all immensely, including the semi-peripheral activity of buying new art supplies and tools!

Mixed Media Monday - Autumn Colours

The theme this week at Mixed Media Monday is "Autumn Colours" so I am posting a rather autumnal card I made a while back for Stamping & Papercraft. It is based on those wonderful Chalk Inks which I just love using as they stamp (and layer) so well! Makes for lovely detailed backgrounds.

Today was a good mail day too as I received my copy of the new Stampington publication "Where Women Create" - I just love seeing other people's creative spaces!! Very inspiring.

Mixed Media Monday - What I Love to Do!

This week's challenge at Mixed Media Monday is to show "what we love to do". This was such a good topic as there are so many things I love to do in my mixed media pieces. But, if I have to pick one, it would have to be incorporating napkins (serviettes) as either a background, a focal image or even just as a detail element. I search for and buy napkins like other women buy clothes! And as a result I have a lovely collection to choose from (napkins, not clothes!).

This card uses a small bamboo patterned napkin as a background. I love crumpling them before gluing them down to get the extra texture which is then highlighted with ink, paint or Rub' n Buff. On this card the leaves are accentuated with a gold Krylon pen and the Buddha image , which is from Oxford Impressions, is stamped on gold paper. I have also coloured a frame from a cheap set of nestling frames using the gold Krylon pen.

If anyone else really loves napkins and uses them in their art, leave a comment or email as I love connecting with other napkin users!!

Wednesday Stamper - Eyelets

Just a quick little post tonight - I have been busy working on various projects so haven't had time to blog :((

But the current theme over at Wednesday Stamper is eyelets (at least until tomorrow when the new challenge will be posted) so I thought I could manage that! These are both pieces I have made for various challenges in Stamping & Papercraft magazine. I love the Tin Can Mail tag image on the first one (which has just one large eyelet in the tag!). The circle of bugs is a Stamps Happen stamp.


I have had great mail this week already - Quilting Arts arrived yesterday and today, the new Oxford Impressions "The Family Man" plate arrived! Can't wait to get it cut up and ready to stamp.

Gosh - It is Thursday Night Already!!

Nothing much to report - I have been very busy (in the rest of my life) and, very inconveniently, I have done something to my back so I am feeling very uncomfortable and restricted movement-wise.


I have started experimenting with my postcard for January for the Calendar Girls exchange - this is where I am up to at the moment - it is a stamped sunflower on mulberry paper (coloured with Adirondack Color Washes and Tombow ink-pens). The two pictures show it before and after stitching. If you want to see the original picture that is the inspiration for January's interpretation, have a look here.

The background is a cheap but textured water colour paper that has been coloured with multiple sprayings of the color washes, water and Moon Shadow Mist (Medieval Gold) and stamped with a favourite script image. I've fused some batting to it, added some free motioning stitching on the flower and some decorative stitching as a border as there was too much open space around the focal image. The stamped image really needed to be larger but this was an experiment. I will finish it off with some beading and finishing off the edges but it will be interesting to see whether my final January postcard bears any resemblance to this one!

Gothic Arch - Winter

I seem to have trouble getting my Gothic Arches done before the very last day of each theme - I started it late last night but got too tired to finish it. The theme this week is "Winter" and of course it is the middle of summer here and where I live, summers are VERY hot so it was quite nice to think cold and frosty. I have never experienced snow but I love the idea (at least in romantic dreamy terms - not sure I would handle the inconvenience and resulting slush very well!).

I have used a nice very softly coloured and patterned white, lime and blue scrapbook paper as my background and then stamped all over it with text, postmark and snowflake images from the Winter Snow Oxford Impressions stamp plate. I've used beautiful (at least to me they are!) lime and blue chalk inks for the stamping. The very "rugged up" little boy and girl are from the same stamp plate. The black strip is the trimming off a piece of cardstock that I am recycling - the binder holes are an interesting pattern. I also added some leftover white snowflake eyelets that I had bought ages ago for a specific project.

Because I used semi gloss paper for the photograph stamps, my scanner did horrible things to the image so I have photographed it. I find it much harder to get accurate colour using my camera but this is pretty close to the real thing.

Think Monday - Think ATC - Alice in Wonderland

Another quick little post to show the ATC I finished last night for the Think Monday - Think ATC theme of "Alice in Wonderland".

The stamps are all from the Whimsy plate by Non Sequitur, colouring by Tombow pens, and an ancient piece of background paper from when I first started stamping! The plastic flower sequin isn't the right embellishment but that top left corner needed something and this was all I could come up with. Maybe I should have left that decision until morning when I might have had a better idea!

Planning for lots of creative stuff this weekend - in between domestic responsibilities of course - so I expect I will be posting again later today.

Gothic Arch - Friends (& New Stamps!)

I am only just going to make the deadline for this week's Gothic Arch theme of "friends". It was a relaxing way to start my creative day - nice decorative paper, some stamping (favourite text and swirl stamps using ink and that wonderfully rich coloured Neopaque Turquoise paint) and a black and white decoupage image that I have coloured with diluted Antique Linen Distress Ink. It was a bit fiddly to cut out though - I really like straightforward images without those little gap bits!

On Friday I received the new Oxford Impressions stamp plate - Winter Snow (pictured above and with uncut rubber below). As with all of Suzanne's plates, this one is wonderful - full of interesting images with a great mix of large and small, photo images and text with a nice sprinkling of versatile detail stamps. While it is a Christmas themed plate there are heaps of images that I can see I will be using all year round. I've cut them out this morning and I am hoping to get some time to use them this afternoon. Audrey Hernandez who is also on the OI Design Team received hers a bit sooner than me so if you want to look at some beautiful pieces she has made with these stamps, check out her blog. Her blog is always beautiful and well worth regular visits!

Think Monday - Think ATC - Houses

Here's my Friday night effort for the current theme of "Houses" for Think Monday - Think ATC. Great theme - it has given me an opportunity to use one of my chipboard houses from Julie van Oosten's "Collections". Actually I have just realized that the "cherish" strip, typewriter number and also the tiny writing image that is stamped on the house are also from Collections.

I love mini black ric rac (is that spelt right??) and I am running out of it. This sort of shopping has to be done online (or at least it does where I live) so why don't I write down where I buy it so that the next time I need it, I can easily order it???? I don't understand why such easy organizational things are such a problem for me in my away-from-work life!

I have a very full weekend ahead but I am hopeful that I will get a couple of decent chunks of creative time as I have so many things I either want to work on or need to work on!

Think Monday - Think ATC - Hollywood

I had a bit of trouble with this theme but I didn't want to skip it so I have made my very simple ATC using a movie star photo stamp and a text stamp from a Stampsmith plate. It is mounted on a green "Wizz Bang" paint chip - love this colour but can't imagine having the guts to paint a wall with it!! Or perhaps I can't imagine living with that wall day in day out!! I'll settle for my neutral walls and green couches..

NB - Sorry about the horrible rainbow effect on the scan - why does that happen??? Because of the semi-gloss card, maybe?

I'm off on a work trip to a community out of Meekatharra tomorrow morning but it is a relatively quick trip (only 14 or so hours driving there and back for a 4 hour meeting) so I will be back Tuesday afternoon. Hope it isn't too hot - I like warm but not hot, so of course I live where it is incredibly hot.

A New Blog & Some Great Mail!

My very very talented friend Sue Smith (who lives wayyyyyyyy toooooo far from me) has finally given in and started a blog!! Sue has a really special touch - her paper arts creations are regularly in Stamping & Papercraft and she is also getting published (more and more!) in Stampington's Stamper's Sampler. Did I mention she is also a gorgeous person and I am so lucky to be her friend! Keep an eye on this blog - you'll love it!

Today I also received these two lovely fibre ATCs from Nadia Bekker in the Netherlands - Nadia doesn't have a blog but she found me via the net and we agreed to trade ATCs. Hers have arrived very fast and I haven't even finished mine! Blame the jigsaw pieces which I am still working on!! I haven't finished them either so I can't show them yet but I am "getting there"! Instead I am posting a scan of a spread I did for a lovely white on white deco a while back. Looking at this makes me realize how much I like "simple"!

Inching Artists - Eye Spy

I had trouble with the theme at Inching Artists this week - "Eye Spy". But I was determined to participate before the theme changes tomorrow so decided to stop obsessing about doing something interesting and just get on with doing something! Originally I was going to do the keyhole thing but couldn't find a stamp (or image) small enough to fit on the one inch square. Then I was going to do a set of four different eyes but I smudged most of the others. You know what it is like when you decide to just casually wipe a spot and then you realise you have just transferred the entire image onto your finger! What is even worse is doing it repeatedly...

The image is one of four eyes on the Postmodern Design cube and it is stamped in black on dark blue cardstock that has been coloured with Moon Glow's Starburst Stain in Tibetan Poppy Teal - a beautiful colour, if very smudgeable!

Think Monday - Think ATC - Friends

The current theme at Think Monday - Think ATC is "Friends". This very simple ATC uses a great little image from the Oxford Impressions Playful plate. It also makes use of some decorative edge scissors that rarely see the light of day.

Think Monday - Think ATC - Mask

I am not one of those people that like masks and I find a lot of them quite scary really (must indicate something deep and meaningful on a psychological level or something!!) but I didn't participate in last week's Think Monday Think ATC theme (which was pirates) so I didn't want to miss two in a row.

I made this ATC tonight while I was at Annie's having our Wednesday night creative get-together. I have used an Acey Deucy image that I really like but which I hardly ever use. It is stamped on a background collage paper that I made from a zillion (slight exaggeration) tiny pieces of papers in the cream and white colour theme. I liked it so much I photocopied it so I could get maximum use from all that effort! It makes a nice subtle background I think.

Circle Journal Pages

Tonight I finished my pages for Tricia Scott's Circle Journal - I posted my first page for this book back on the 15th of September but as I post to Jo and as she is on holidays at the moment I had some extra time to play with this beautiful book, so I did four pages instead of the required two.

The first scan is the back of the first page - this one has really changed along the way with various layers ripped off and new ones substituted when I decided I didn't like my first attempts! In case it isn't obvious I should point out that Tricia decided not to create a circle shaped book but to require the use of circles on our pages. This page has a lot of circles, spots and dots in the background, plus the buttons! The vintage nude is printed on fabric - one that I had left over from another project from some time ago. I have used fusible webbing to adhere her to the paper layer.

My next page was based on my favourite background of Adirondack Color Washes sprayed on with additional water and Moon Shadow Mist in gold. It is a relatively easy and quick but pretty background. I have used some circle stamps and more dots on the background as well as some stencilling. I used some of my various circle punches (of course, it is important to have a selection of sizes for exactly these moments!!) to punch circles from a circled themed scrapbook paper and vintage photo reproductions. I used my sewing machine to stitch around the outer circles in gold thread (with my lovely new and efficient sewing machine!). I also got to use my newest punch - the cute little ribbon buckle.

My last page was an experiment as I haven't printed on fabric since I bought my new printer a couple of months back. I love this vintage baby photo and I am also going to use it on a series of baby themed fabric postcards that I am due to start soon. I really need to spend some time learning how to maximise use of each fabric sheet but at the moment I begrudge that sort of time on the computer. I am using Printed Treasures sheets which are lovely but way too expensive here in Kalgoorlie. This page is my attempt at being a little less rigid than normal with torn fabric, uneven edges etc!! Tricia loves green, red and brown so I was trying to use these colours. So now this one can be posted and I can start on Patti Gramza's gorgeous little octagon deco.

Think Monday - Think ATC - Music (plus bits!)

Once again I am just going to scrape in before the theme changes tomorrow! The current theme is "Music" and my ATC shows two lovers dancing to their own music (or at least in my mind that was this sexy looking pirate and his lady are doing!). The stamp is by Acey Deucy - its a favourite of mine but I don't use it a lot for some reason.

My sister Marrijane has now received her belated birthday gift so I can post a photo of it - it is a Maya Road Vintage Purse Album but I used the pages as affirmation cards. I had a lot of fun with this but it was a lot fiddlier (I doubt that is a real word) and more time consuming than I anticipated. I did lots of background stamping on the pages but the gessoed / colour washed surface just absorbed the inks so a lot of the backgrounds are very subtle. I used some really pretty scrapbook papers for the covers and backs of the pages.


Today I have been playing with my embellisher machine making some postcards for exchanges - I am experimenting with all sorts of fabrics and fibres to see how they react - my favourite so far is layered panne velvet. I'll post some pictures as soon as they are finished. The photo below is of red felt with layers of hot pink and blue organza plus red and black netting - I just love the way the fabrics mesh! I think I will be on an "abstract" bender for a while. I'm still sewing on beads so it may be a day or two before they are all finished especially as tomorrow I have to be at the airport by 7:10am for a day trip to Perth for meetings. Those sorts of days are draining so I need to get to bed tonight at a reasonable hour.

Final thing - there is a new art challenge site starting up today - of course I have to join this as well - have a look if you haven't already - Gothic Arch Challenge!

Think Monday - Think ATC - Holiday

Seeing I was the last entry for last week's Think Monday - Think ATC Challenge I thought I would make a super effort and make my ATC for the latest theme on the Monday!

The theme is holiday and in answer to the prompt "What are your thoughts upon hearing ‘holiday’?" my initial response is always to think about all the car travel involved over the last 14 years since we have lived here in Kalgoorlie.

Family holidays always mean at least a day, if not a day and a half, of driving to get to either Perth or Margaret River. While Josh and Zach have always been great travellers and able to entertain themselves during long drives, when they were young it was of course inevitable that "Are we there yet?" would get asked at some point on the drive! So my ATC relives those moments.

The main stamp used is by Tin Can Mail and I have only used a portion of it as it is a large stamp. The transparency section is by Design Originals. Other things used are a texture stamp, sequin waste as a stencil, walnut ink, scrapbook paper and my favourite Moon Glow Mist in Gossamer Gold.

Wednesday Stamper - Hats

This week's Wednesday Stamper theme is hats. This is my submission, created last night in between trips to the soccer field to drop off and pick up Zach.

I love this "Paper Artsy" stamp and thought it would be nice to do a more masculine style for a change. I do have a lot of trouble with this stamp though in terms of getting good ink coverage on the solid parts but this was my third go so I "settled" for a less than perfect image! I also used a great stamp by "andstamps" (Australian Nadine Andersen's great range) for the border.

Just for a change (I'm kidding of course) I used some Adirondack Color Wash (this time it was the Denim one) as well as walnut ink to add a bit more colour to the background paper.

I have also finally finished my 63+ Blue Fabric inchies so I just have to work out a way of nicely packaging each set and filling a goodie bag and they can go in the mail. I will even be mailing them with some time to spare! I will post a photo before they are mailed as they look good en masse. I really enjoyed these so I hope there is interest in another round, hopefully green.

Now I am off to hang another load of washing on the line and then I am going to do some fusing experiments.

A Small Quilted Wall Hanging Finally Finished!

This is my piece for Fiona in response to a small group challenge to incorporate paint, metal and fabric in an item for an allocated partner. I am running late with mine but this is the link back to the beautiful piece Jo made for me.

My quilt is based on a stamped image from the Oxford Impressions Bird's Nest plate on beautiful smooth Fabriano printmaking paper. For some reason (no doubt the photographer!) the photo is a bit blurry. Anyway I coloured it with Adirondak Color Washes and then sprayed it with my favourite Gossamer Gold Moon Shadow Mist. This piece is stitched to three layers - a piece of Lutrador that I painted with green acrylics and Glazing Medium, a piece of music themed fabric and then a piece of felt.

The lutrador has been melted around the edges with a wood burning tool which I also used to make all the little holes to get a polka dot effect. Lots of little yellow seed beads were stitched on to anchor the frame part of the Lutrador and then the quilt was free motioned stitched with gold thread. It then was beaded with little brown seed beads.

The key and other metal piece were glued/stitched on. I bound the quilt with tarnished copper mesh tissue which was lovely and easy to sew through and the backing is the same music themed fabric as the front. The hanger is tarnished copper wire with a few sweet little rusted diamond shapes (that I have been saving for years for a special project!).

I'm quite happy with it although I would do a few things differently if I did it again - such as use a more rigid backing given the type of hanger I wanted to use. It wouldn't have mattered if it was hung on a rod/sleeve arrangement but I wanted to use the wire and I think small quilts look better with hangers a lot of the time.

Wednesday Stamper - Eggs

I have been stamping a lot recently with the latest Oxford Impressions plate (The Bird's Nest) and had a whole pile of bits and pieces left over so I have used them to create a wall hanging collage called "New Beginnings" for this week's Wednesday Stamper theme of Eggs. All of the colour is via Adirondak Color Washes in Bottle Green and Butterscotch (which I need to buy bulk I think, it is such a versatile colour!) with a bit of walnut ink and a lot of water. The collage is made up of several layers - a tag, heavily textured watercolour paper and heavily scrunched (and then ironed) photocopy paper all stitched to a backing layer of lutrador for strength.

And as an addendum to this morning's post, Natalie has asked about the background technique: Paint a piece of heavily textured watercolour paper (the cheap stuff!) with two shades of blue acrylic paint. Mist the paper so that it is wet enough to manipulate the edges. Lightly tear strips from the top layer to create white streaks through the shades of blue. Apply light washes of blue paint to parts of the background to tone down the white and to add variation.