WOYWW - 13 February

Hello, WOYWW friends!  Today, on my workdesk, you can see some of the things that I am going to use in my next project - some stamps, some sticky notes that will be used to make masks, and some masking tape.  I still haven't put the funnel away - it's been a feature for some time now but comes in handy for holding rolls of sticky tape.  Not terribly inspiring, I'm afraid, but trust me, it will get better!

Now, if you've arrived here from anywhere other than Julia's blog, you might not know about WOYWW, which is when we go travelling around the crafty blogiverse taking a peep at what's on our workdesks at the time.  If all this is new to you, why not hop over there and find out what it's all about - and better yet, join in? 

Happy New Year!

Happy (Chinese) New Year, or should I say -

You pronounce it (I am told) in Cantonese as Kung Hey Fat Choy, and in Mandarin as Gong xi fa cai. Both sayings mean “Congratulations and Prosperity!” The year of the snake begins with the new moon on February 10 (if you would like to know more about the Chinese zodiac, there's some information here) so today I have decorated a little papier-mache box in oriental style.

I covered the lid with black Gilder's Paste (I could have painted it, but the Gilder's Paste was right there on my workdesk) and then gave it a couple of coats of gloss varnish/sealer (Spray & Shine, in this case, as it was what I had around.)   I masked off the bit of the base that was going to show and gave the bit that will be under the lid some Gilder's Paste as well - I wanted to cover up the brown papier-mache but I didn't want to make the lid too snug. 

I went digging in my stash of oriental papers and found a piece with Chinese calligraphy (from Crafhouse Press) that I liked.  I measured the depth of the base and cut some strips of the width I needed, making sure I got the red characters in the right place, and stuck them on. 

I remembered I had a stamp of a Chinese coin somewhere (of course it was in the very last tray at the bottom of the very last pile of trays, which I went hunting in after I'd gone through all of the storage drawers.  I was beginning to think I'd dreamed it!) I inked it up with some black Memento, then covered a scrap of black card with embossing ink, threw on the gold Debbi Moore Metal Magic embossing powder, heated, repeated, and then pressed the stamp into the still-hot Metal Magic.  Once the embossing was set, I removed the stamp and carefully cut the coin out (being very careful around the square hole in the centre).  Metal Magic stays flexible enough to allow you to cut or punch for about 20 minutes. And it does a very good job of faking a metal embellishment, don't you think?

Nearly done now - I stuck the Chinese knot (I wish I could say that I'd done the intricate knotting myself but that would be a lie!) at the top of the heart, folding the ends of the cord around to the inside and gluing very firmly.  The last job was to attach the "coin" by threading the loop of the knot in and out of the hole in the coin and securing with a bit of skewer coloured black . 

Hope you like it!  Thanks for stopping by - come back any time, you're very welcome!

(PS - I'm entering this in the Artful Times  blog challenge)

Feel the Love - 1

I admit it, I'm a big softy when it comes to Valentine's Day. Yes, even after years of marriage.   The second time around, too.  In my head I'm still 18 and as romatic as ever.  So I like to make a bit of an effort with The Love Of My Life's Valentine and as there are a number of Valentine/romance/hearts and flowers related challenges going on right now, well...

Having said I'm a big softy, I don't like giving TLOML something that is too sweety-sweety.  In the past I've done mini-albums, minimalist white-on-white, a CD slideshow - all sorts of things.  This year I've gone Steampunk (we both love the style - just as well really!)

I began with a papier-mache box (one of a nested set of three.  This is the middle-sized one) and covered it with aluminium insulating tape (I got some 50 mm wide from the DIY store, and I also got some 100 mm wide from Ebay).  I followed the technique demonstrated by Tim Holtz here. 

I die cut some gears (from the Chronology range by Docrafts) and the letters (Sizzix Bigz XL - Word Play) rubbed on Gilder's Paste in shades of gold, silver and bronze and antiqued them all with a very dilute wash of black acrylic paint.  When they were dry, I stuck them all to the lid of the box.

That's part one done and dusted - now I just have to make the card to go inside.  But before I go on to make the card, I'm going to enter this in the Anything But A Card blog challenge nd the Hostshot Craft Blog Challenge.

 

See you in Part 2!

Tim's 12 Tags - February

Hi everyone, and welcome to my blog!  Today's offering is my interpretation of Tim Holtz's tag for February.  Last year I failed dismally to keep up with the 12 Tags of 2012, and I'm not making any promises about this year either;  however, so far I've managed two out of two - so far, so good!

In January I kept pretty close to the original - I had most of the supplies on hand.  This month I didn't have most of the items Tim used - so I improvised.

If you've seen Tim's blog, you'll be only too well aware where I've deviated from the Master's creation.   About the only thing that's the same is the background colour.  But that's OK, Tim wants to inspire and teach us, not turn us into copycats!  I didn't have Tim's stamp so I used one I'd made with my Imagepac...the charm is a jewellery blank, the words were made on the Dymo and covered with a clear epoxy bubble, I didn't have seasonal Kraft Core'dinations paper so I die-cut and embossed some of the plain stuff...you get the picture.
 (I'm so glad that Core'dinations have brought out the Kraft Core papers in 6x4 pads - much easier to use, not to mention lower cost.  I'd hyperventilate at chopping up a 12 by 12 piece for a few small diecuts - don't know about you!)  Anyway, I'm pleased with the result, and very pleased to get it complete before Valentine's day!

WOYWW - February 6

It's Wednesday, and that means WOYWW.  (If you don't know what that is, you can find out more here.) Welcome to my blog, and here's my workspace this week -

Tim Holtz's tag for February features the Queen of Hearts.  Last month I kept pretty close to Tim's design;  this month I don't have most of Tim's supplies so I'm improvising.  Not very interesting at the moment I'm afraid, but I will post my completed tag so you can see how it turns out and with any luck that'll be prettier.

I'm very late in the day posting this so I must away now and see what everyone else is up to.  Thanks for stopping by - see you again sometime!

E is for...

Hi bloggers, and welcome to my little corner of the Blogiverse.  Today, gentle visitor, I am showing my entry into the Craft Barn Alphabet challenge (details here).  This fortnight's letter is E, and I've chosen "Egyptian" as the image for my ATC series.

This stamp (from Clarity) was one of the first I ever bought, after I saw the resist technique in Craft Stamper.  I stamped in Versamark ink onto glossy card, allowed it to dry a bit, then brayered over the ATC with Big & Juicy Soothing Sunset inks.  A quick polish with a paper towel and the job was done.  Easy!

Iron Maiden

Hello folks, and welcome to my blog.  This is my contribution to the Dragon's Dream TIO challenge Dress to Impress- the recipe being a dress or dressform, an embossed impression and some bling.

Sewing Room is one of my favourite Tim Holtz Alterations dies and I've used the dressform again and again.   And I'd just taken delivery of the new Embossabilities folder from Spellbinders and was itching to play with it, so I decided on a "steampunk" look for my dressform (surprise!) Once I'd embossed and coloured my tag with Distress Inks (Rusty Hinge, Tea Dye and Stormy Sky)  I cut the dressform in kraft card and another body piece from card I'd covered with aluminium insulation tape distressed as per Tim Holtz's tutorial and then added the AB crystals.

The last job was to stamp the words "Iron Maiden" using a set of alphabet stamps onto card coloured with Vintage Photo DI, and there we are! 

I hope you enjoyed your visit - you're welcome back at any time!