Sunday Stampers - Week 48 - Under The Moon of Love

Morning Stampers,

Thank you to all of you for joining in last week and the week before....once I have posted this weeks theme, I will set off on the Blog journey and visit you all to look at your fab entries.

This week the theme is Moon. The song title is an old fave of mine, yes, I guess I am showing my age, but when I was a girl, I loved Showaddywaddy :O)) I am wondering if those of you in Europe and the US will have heard of this song....if you haven't I am sure you will be able to find it on Google - it is very catchy and hopefully you will be humming it all day long :O))

The inspiration for the colours used in my entry has come from the most revolting bruise I have on my tummy, which was caused by the steering wheel airbag going off and whacking me - I know, how can anyone get inspiration from a bruise???? Well, the colours are just so amazing that I had to use them LOL

I have a little piccy of the bruise, it is only a small pic as I didn't want to put you all off your Sunday dinners but you will see what I mean about the colours. The bruise is very sore but it is getting better and is nothing compared to the leg bruises I have, and there is no way I would show you those! ;o))



I have made a tag using Distress Inks to get the colours I wanted, masking the moon stamps and the young couple stamp, colouring over the masks and then painting in colours onto the images. The moon stamps are from Stamp Francisco and the couple are by Paperbag Studio's.



The little hearts are by Invoke Arts and the background is a dotty stamp from The Artistic Stamper. The sentiment is also by Stamp Francisco and it is taken from my most favourite ever film which is an old black and white weepy starring Bette Davis and Claude Raines and is called Now, Voyager. If you have never seen it I urge you to find a couple of hours one afternoon, get a big box of choccies and a big box of tissues and watch it - it is a true love story!




The little stars were stamped and the coloured with silver Krylon pen, cut out and then stuck onto wire, so it looks like the couple are holding the stars like a bunch of balloons.




This week, I am dedicating the Sunday Stamper to my husband Grim who has been an absolute star this week following my accident - looking after me and dispensing cuddles and love which has made me feel a whole lot better.




Finally, if you would like to join in with the challenge this week, as ever, all you need to do is use something stampy in your creation, include the moon from the theme and then just leave me a message here and I will pop and see your creation. Again, apologies for not being up to visiting you all this week, I am on my way now to catch up!

Thanks for looking

Hels xx

Apologies to the Sunday Stampers

Hello,

I just wanted to make a quick apology post to the peeps who have been joinin in with the Sunday Stamper this week - unfortunately, I have been unable to visit all your Blogs and look at your artwork because I was involved in a car accident on Monday and have not been able to sit for long as my legs bore the brunt of the impact and my poor old back is playing up again :O((

I am recovering now though, so will be slowly getting around to visiting you all....I just didn't want you all to think that I was ignoring you by not visiting you.

Thanks again for joining in with the Sunday Stamper - I am hopeful that there will be a new challenge this Sunday but if I am unable to make my piece of art, I will set one anyway and hopefully be up to making something later on next week.

Much love

Hels x

All In A Good Cause

Hi there,

My friend Andrea has been on a mammoth weightloss regime for the past six months and has lost almost 5 stone :O)) Hasn't she done well eh? I am full of admiration for her as she has never waivered from her diet and the determination she has shown is quite remarkable.

Another thing that Andrea is doing, along with her daughter Sophie who is 16, is the Playtex Moonwalk in May this year. The Moonwalk is all about raising funds and awareness for Breast Cancer - which I think I can safely say, most of us have either had a close friend or relative or at least know someone who has suffered with this terrible disease. Andrea and Sophie are doing the walk in memory of their friend Marian who sadly lost her battle with breast cancer four years ago. Here is a link to Andrea's Blog where she tells us all about why she is doing this fundraising event. And, here is a photo of Andrea and Sophie, in their training gear, getting ready for the big event!


Andrea has set up a Just Giving page on her Blog, the link is here I will be adding this link to my sidebar so you can pop and see it and it would be fantastic if you could give a donation for this worthwhile cause.

Thanks for looking and I wish Andrea and Sophie every success and I cannot wait to see the photo's of them walking about London in their bra's :O))

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 47 - Oh Boy!

Hello Stampers,

First of all, apologies for not being able to get online to see all your creations this last week... I will come and visit you in the next couple of days though, and thank you all for your contributions.

A quick post today - the theme is Boys - I know we have had this one before but it is such a long time ago, I thought some of you may have forgotten LOL

This card was made for a friends birthday.




I used a Crafty Individuals stamps for the card - the Boy's Toys is a favourite of mine, that little fella looks so cute!

I used Shabby Shutters Distress Ink for the background, blending in some Vintage Photo Distress Inks and then once the image was stamped with VersaFine, I painted in his clothes, the train and then added a couple of the Tim Holtz Idea-ology cogs for the train wheel.



The glossy finish on the words is achieved by using a Sakura Glaze pen.

The flourish was stamped in Vintage Photo, embossed with Walnut Stain Distress Embossing powder and then rubbed to release the crystals to reveal the original colour beneath.




Finally, a couple of snaps to attach the image to some Bazzill cardstock and the card was done.

If you would like to join in with the challenge this week, all you need to do is make anything you like, so long as you incorporate a little bit of stamping into your design, leave a comment here for me and I will deffo get around to visitin you!

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 46 - Wishing (If I Had A Photograph of You)

Morning Stampers,

First of all, thank you to all of you who joined in with the Sunday Stamper last - yet again, some divine creations were made and I loved visiting you all to see what you made.




The theme I have chosen is Photograph - but if you would like to add the Wishing bit in too then that is fine :O)) I love this song by The Flock of Seagulls, takes me right back to school disco's and bad 80's haircuts LOL




So, simply incorporate a photo with your project this week - and remember, you don't have to use a real photo either, how about dusting off a photographic stamp you have got lurking in your stash, or downloading an image and printing that off and including it with your other stamping? The choice is yours and I hope that you have fun with your project. Once completed, please pop back and leave me a message with a link to the place you are showing your entry.




I have used a real photo for my project this week. Actually, this is a photo of me that was taken last year, on a train, on the way from Brugge to Brussels Midi station. We had had a couple of days in Brugge, gentle walks sight-seeing and rather less gentle stuffing of the face with chocolate....oh, the chocolate!!! I had the best time in Brugge and I think that the photo here actually reflects that - which is why I love it so much :O))




Anyways, I digress :O)) For my project, I took an 8" x 6" deep edged canvas and painted the back of it with Gesso - applying two coats to cover the surface completely. I then used Golden Texture Gel and popped this all over the surface and a little bit onto the edges too to blend them in. The beauty of using the Texture Gel is that it covers the join between the canvas and the wood and gives a nice medium to apply paint to.



Once this coat had dried I painted over the top with Cream acrylic paint - again, giving this two coats so it was covered completely. Once dried, I used a stipple brush and dragged a teensy bit of Ranger Black acrylic paint over the surface. This made the texture show up more as the black paint collected on the peaks of the Gel.



Next, I used a variety of my Stitchels stamps and the Avenue Collection by Crate Paper to make the embellishments. I stamped lots of images of flowers and butterflies and then cut them out, layered them and added gems and pearls for the centres.




I added a Twidley Bits chipboard corner, which I had prepped in the same way as the canvas, added Mini Mini Stitchels butterflies to it and then decorated with more pearls and gems.




Finally, to give a little extra bling, I made some little wirey beady pieces which I added to the frame, sticking them down under the flowers with silicone glue.


I have to admit something now....I started this frame two weeks ago but hadn't finished it - and then last week it took a different turn...and the reason was.....over on the Lots To Do Challenge Blog, the theme two weeks ago was Frames....then last week it was Stitches - see where this is going....so I am also entering this canvas for both of those challenges and being a total cheat LOL Well you can't blame a girl for trying ;O))


Thank you for looking and I hope that you enjoy the challenge this week.

Hels x

Objet D'Art - Altered Art - Flower Pot

Hi peeps,

I am honoured to say that I have been asked to be the Guest Designer for the Objet D'Art challenge this week.



Entitled "Potting Shed Productions", the challenge is to alter a flower pot, be it terracotta, plastic, pottery, cracked, broken, whole or just in need to a little attention.

I chose to alter a flower pot because it is something that most of us have kicking around either in the house, garden or shed and we all know how expensive some of the fancy pots can be!



I found this old pot in the back of the shed and after a little dusting down it was ready to alter. I started by priming the whole surface both inside and out, with Gesso. I needed two coats of Gesso as this pot already had a little design on it which needed to be concealed.



Once the Gesso was dry, I applied a thick layer of Ranger Acrylic paint, mixing Willow and Lettuce to get the right colour I needed. Once this was dry, I painted over the outer surface with PVA glue and then immediately applied a coat of Ranger Gold acrylic paint. This is the new to me technique that I am hooked on and it does work really well....in a warm room...and unfortunatly, the Room of Stash was a little bit cold today, so the crackling isn't as effective as I would have liked. I will put that one down to experience!




The pot had two panels inset where the original design was. On the front panel, I used a piece of Appletini Ten Seconds Studios metal and a couple of moulds to make a pattern. I aged the piece by sanding and then applying a thin coat of gold acrylic paint, buffing when this had dried off.




The back panel has been decorated by stamping a flower head onto the Appletini metal and embossing in gold. I attached the metal to some cardstock for ease of application to the pot - using silicone glue to stick the flowers on.





I used a gorgeous scroll stamp by The Artistic Stamper, stamping randomly, using Ranger Archival ink in black, along the top and bottom of the pot and embossing in clear to set the ink.




Finally, I used my Melt Pot and poured gold UTEE into a couple of little mould and pour moulds I had made using an old earring and a fancy button. I added the button UTEE embellies to the top of the pot and the leafy earring embellies enhanced the metal flowers.




Thank you to Jennie for inviting me to be a Guest Designer on the challenge, I am over the moon you asked me and as you know, I just love altering stuff :O))

Thanks for looking peeps and I hope that you find some time to join in with this challenge as it is fun and it will jazz up a tired looking pot, making a cheap and attractive addition to your home.

Hugs Hels x

Altered Art - Hanging With Friends

Hello,

I have made a hanging board ornament based on the theme of friendship. As I mentioned in an earlier post this week, I used a technique new to me to achieve the background of the piece.



I took a piece of mountboard and painted it with a mix of acrylic paints as I wanted a dusky pink and I haven't got the exact colour; I mixed Wild Plum, Cream and Mushroom colours and covered the entire surface with this. Once this was dried, I painted on PVA glue and immediately painted cream acrylic paint over the top of the wet PVA. This is the magic bit because as the PVA and the acrylic paint dries they separate and you end up with a fab crackley scratchy effect that reveals the original colour underneath.




I stamped over the top of the background using Penny Black stamps for the main image, the decorative border and the sentiment.



I used a few pieces of Grungeboard from the Nature collection and coloured them with Distress Inks and then covered with Distress Stickles. The word "friends" is also made up of Grungeboard and coloured in the same way. I added a black border to the whole piece, for which I used Black UTEE.



Finally, I added a little fancy beaded tape to the bottom of the piece, added ribbon and beads for the hanger and touched up the birds and the sentiment with Glossy Accents.

I am so loving this new technique - it really does work and I think the effect is really cool :O))

Thanks for looking - oh, and please pop back after 7pm if you can as I have a special blog post that will be posted then :O))

Hels x

The Snow Must Go On :O))

Morning!

Wow, we have had a massive snow fall during the night - I know it started about 1am as we were just off to bed...I couldn't sleep and eventually got up at 3am and it was still snowing....and it didn't let up until about 7am.



We never get a decent snowfall here so I am chuffty tuffty today cos I love the stuff :O)) I reckon we have had about 4" in total overnight.. this piccie sort of shows how deep it is



I have been outside with my camera and taken a few piccies of the garden - and I am even more chuffty tuffty cos I made a big batch of bird food; pieces of moistened bread, cooked potato, grated apple, sultana's, grated cheese and bran flakes....and....guess what!!! We have a Fieldfare eating it! I haven't seen one of these before and I am very honoured the little fella decided to come and visit my garden. When I took the photo I didn't realise he was being watched by a Blue Tit, only when I zoomed in on the piccie on the PC did I notice him.




You will also see that we have a different kind of visitor in the garden too LOL Yes, I know, how old am I? But I couldn't help it....his name is Arthur on account of him being little, so he is only....'half a' snowman LOL





No crafty stuff today, my back is agony now .... own fault but worth it :O)) Am off to rest up a bit and perhaps I will get a card made later on.

Thanks for looking and I hope you keeping safe and warm if you have snow at your house.

Hels x

Friendship ATC's

Evening Peeps,

I have taken part in an ATC swap where the theme was "friendship" and the rules were to add a 3D embellie and ribbon to the ATC.

I made three ATC's for my entries and have discovered a new technique which I used on two of them....oooooh, it is going to be a fave of mine, probably ancient and everyone already knows about it but I am really slow on the uptake sometimes LOL





ATC 1 was made using mountboard and Gesso and then Distress Inked, stamped using a Penny Black Brush Stroke flower and adding a 1" piece of Stampbord I had stamped and scratched. I used another PB stamp for the sentiment and added some ribbon thru an eyelet. I edged the whole ATC with white acrylic paint to tie it in with the scratches and the Gesso.




ATC 2 was made using a crackley technique I have discovered and stamping over the top with some stamps by ArtJourney. I added a couple of flowers made using the Claudine Hellmuth sticky canvas (yes, I am addicted to this fab product!!) and again, some ribbon thru an eyelet.




ATC 3 was made again using the same crackley technique and a couple of stamps from the Clearly Impressed range from Stampington. I added a PB sentiment and then again I used the Claudine Hellmuth (yes, totally nutty about this product) canvas and layered two flowers and added a little pearl to the middle of it. More ribbon thru an eyelet to finish.

Thanks for looking! I am working on a larger piece now using the same crackley technique so hopefully this will be finished in the next day or so, pain permitting.

Hels x

TMTA - Rock Star

Hey Peeps,

Over on the TMTA challenge blog, the theme this week is Rock Star - to show our fave star, band or anything related to hot music :O)

I made two ATC's today - the first one is a rock star diva and the second is my interpretation of rock music...sort of grungey and skulls etc

I used Distress Inks and masking techniques for the Diva ATC and PaperArtsy stamps. The words were created using a Dymo, then sanded and coloured using Krylon pen and mounted on 3D foam.








For the Rock Rules ATC I used Cracklepaint and clear embossing onto black mountboard and grunged it up a little using acrylic paint. The little charms are from Scrapz and I added a couple of gems for the eyes.






Another great challenge from TMTA, thanks!

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 45 - Brown Eyed Girl

Good Morning Stampers :O))

Thank you to those of you who joined in with the challenge last week, what a lot of lovely creations you all came up with :O))

This week the theme is Brown. The song title is one of my fave songs and 'cos I happen to have brown eyes, Grim says this is "my" song LOL Anyway, I hope you are singing this song all day long as it is a fab tune and it will beat those winter blues.




I have made a little hanging plaque for my entry. I used a piece of mountboard which I had pre-prepped with a few smudges and lines of Gesso, applied with an old credit card.




I then blended lots of Old Paper Distress Ink over the top and heat dried so the ink set on the Gesso. Over the top of this I applied Vintage Photo Distress Ink.... I looove this colour, really rich and lush colour :O))




I stamped an ornate corner using Walnut Stain and embossed with Distress Embossing Powder and then rubbed off the release crystals. The next bit of stamping was done using a spray floral stamp and then just to finish, I used a scratchy line stamp. All stamps used are by Stampers Anon from the Tim Holtz collection. I got my stamps from The Stamp Attic and from Cre8tive Online.




The wording is a rub on by My Minds Eye. I used some Glossy Accents over the top of the main word to make it pop.




The rest of the embellies are all made from the Grungeboard Nature pack. I applied Distress Inks to colour the Grungeboard and then used Distress Stickles over the top. All of the products I have used today, apart from the stamps, are available from The Artistic Stamper.




Finally, I added a piece of beaded ribbon to the bottom of the mountboard, attached a little mini coat hanger to the top and there you go - my brown creation for today's challenge.




As ever with the Sunday Stamper, all you need to do to join in is make a piece of artwork, doesn't matter what it be so long as there is some stamping included and you have the colour brown on there too. Once you have finished, please leave me a comment leading me to the place you are showing your work of art and I will be able to pop over and see what you have made.

Hope you like this challenge and you have a great day - I am off to make a nice roast dinner...mmmmmmmmmmmmmm :OD

Hugs Hels x