Once In A Blue Moon....

...or...whenever there are five Wednesdays in a month...

The Gingersnap Creations team set a challenge every Wednesday, but when there are five in the month they set a Once In A Blue Moon challenge...which is extra special :O)) The theme for today's challenge is to incorporate a couple of the previous challenges and make a piece of art: There is a massive list to choose from....oh, what to pick!!! I decided on the Chipboard challenge and the Tan, Teal and Blue colour challenge and created a hanging piece....surprise, surprise, more hanging art...I will have to get Grim to make me a big shelf to hang all these creations from soon...they are taking over LOL

I used a large piece of Maya Road chip from a book, painted it all over with Traditional Tan and then once this was dry, splodged some Rock Candy Cracklepaint over the middle. Once the crackles appeared, I heat set them so they were finer and then used Jazz Blue Glimmer Mist to colourise the piece.




I cut loads of Studio 490 flowers from Grungepaper and coloured some with Trad Tan paint, applying with a babywipe so it was nice and smooth, some were coloured with Faded Jeans Distress Ink and the others with more Glimmer Mist. Once they were dry, I stamped lots of backgrounds onto them and then added a tan button to the middle.




The sentiment is on another Maya Road chip shape, the middle is Trad Tan again and the surround is Faded Jeans. Guess where the sentiment came from??? What? You don't know? It is another of Wendy Vecchi's Studio 490 stamps *ROFL*




The hangy bits are Idea-ology clippy things which I can't remember the name of...and I added a little Philosophy tag using a jump ring. The beaded fringing at the bottom started life being clear beads, so I sprayed them with the Jazz Blue and just dried them off to match.

Thanks for looking....two posts in one day!!!

Hels x

{A True Friend}

...why the { } in the title????? Aha, that is 'cos I have altered another bracket shaped piece of Grungeboard...clever huh? No? Oh well, never mind... LOL

This time the colours are specific - Orange, black and one other colour...which fits in with the Lots To Do Challenge...and also, being as I have continued with the Friend theme, this can be another Sunday Stamper entry.




I used Distress Inks; Black Soot & Spiced Marmalade, blending onto the Grungeboard with Cut n Dry foam and then stamping over with Wendy Vecchi Studio 490 stamps. I added some Rock Candy Cracklepaint to the piece and then inked and stamped a Maya Road frame. The sentiment is a Tim Holtz stamp, one of my faves...I used some cardstock which had been spirtzed with Tiger Lily GlimmerMists to stamp this sentiment onto... then I used a combo of Grungeboard and Grungepaper to make the floral embellies. My "other colour" comes in here...I used Peeled Paint for the foliage.




Finally, to tie in with a challenge set by Linda, I added some faux stitching using a Sakura White Pen, added a couple of little charms from an old bracelet and used some Rock Candy Stickles to emphasise the crackles.

Thanks for looking, hope you have a great day and don't forget...if you join in with the Sunday Stamper this week, you will be in with a chance of winning a Mabel Lucie Attwell stamp.

Hels x

In The Frame....

....well, sort of...actually, I just altered another one of those cheapy piccie frames :O))




The frame was sanded, I applied Trad Tan and Landscape Green Claudine Hellmuth acrylic paints using a babywipe to get a smooth streaky effect. I used Glimmer Mists to make it sparkle and then painted the whole surface with Rock Candy Cracklepaint. When this had dried I saw the error of my ways...the Glimmer Mists had kind of melted off into pools of colour....yikes, it looked a mess, so I got another babywipe and went over the top of the whole lot with Traditional Tan....and it worked! The green shows thru a bit but best of all , the Rock Candy really loves paint over the top and it emphasised the crackles :O))



The art inside is made up from various shapes cut from Nesties and the Slice, inked with Distress Inks and then stamped with Wendy Vecchi Studio 490 stamps....mmm....**scratches head** have I mentioned before that I looooove those stamps????LOL




I made some Grungepaper embellies for the frame, using Distress Inks to colour and more Studio 490 stamps, along with a couple of the Flower Power flowers from The Artistic Stamper.




Once assembled, I added some little brown pearls from my finds tin and a few pieces of Idea-ology to finish off.

Thanks for looking...have a great week!

Hels x

Sunday Stampers - Week 72 - You Got A Friend

Morning Stampers!

What a wonderful array of delish art was made for last weeks challenge...thank you all for joining in :O))

This week the theme is one we are revisiting...Friends...I know we have had this one before, but it is such a lovely theme :O)) And, I am sure that you won't mind a duplicate! As ever, if you would like to join in, all you need to do is make a piece of art, using some stamping and incorporating the theme, then if you leave me a comment here and a link, I can hop over to see your lovely creation. The theme stays open for the whole week too :O))




For my entry, I have another piece made for The Artistic Stamper using the gorgeous new Mabel Lucie Attwell stamps. I altered a cheapy photoframe by applying Claudine Hellmuth Studio acrylic paint to the frame using a babywipe to get a mottled effect. I used Traditional Tan (mmm, for a change) and Painterly Pink which is a beautiful shade. Once this was dried, I coated the surface with Rock Candy Cracklepaint which is my new fave product...and then once this was dried I used Rock Candy Distress Stickles, which is my new fave product too LOL




The artwork in the frame is a Mabel Lucie Attwell image, stamped with StaZon and then watercoloured in. I made some Grungepaper flowers for the frame, applying thin layers of the same paint, using the babywipe again...this gives the Grungepaper a bit more movement than a painted on layer (if you know what I mean). The flowers are from the Flower Power set by The Artistic Stamper.




As an extra little thank you for all of you who join in with the challenge, I will be putting all entrants names into a hat and then next Sunday, I will pick one at random and send you a Mabel Lucie Attwell stamp.

Thanks for looking...I am off to Ally Pally again today to do another Demo :O)) Hope to see you there...Stand 49 :O))

Hels x

Blackbird Singing In The Dead Of Night.....

...take these Grungepaper wings and learn to fly.....I think the Beatles version is heaps better LOL....and what am I waffling on about this time eh? Well, it just so happens that The Artistic Stamper has some fab little birdies just ripe for altering...and here is a blackbird that I have done just that with.




Following on from my first attempt, which was totally inspired by Wendy Vecchi, I have altered another and it looks like they could be brothers LOL




As I said, this started life as a blackbird, he was on a string, which was the first thing to go! After spending about two minutes sanding the bird, I got bored, painted the whole lot with Trad Tan paint, then once this had dried I painted a thick layer of Faded Jeans Cracklepaint over the top...and yes, the same thing happened as before, all the crackles started to fall off to reveal my badly sanded birdy. So, remedying this by painted a watered down Trad Tan layer, I then rubbed some golden wax into the crackles to highlight them.




Next came the adornments...made from Grungepaper, stamped with a combo of Studio 490 & Artistic Stamper images. I added some metal bits and bobs and then made a hanger for him by twisting florists wire with beads and then....the legs....cos he is a hangy bird, he was legless....*hic* LOL



To make the legs I got a long piece of florists wire and twisted it about to make three toes (I know, I boobed, I should have made four, forgetting the back one for balance!!) and then twisted it back on itself to make a leg. Repeating this, I made the other leg, fastened them together and then they were popped into the body.




I made a pair of specs for him using wire and added a pointy hat by piling up some metal bits that I have no idea what they should be used for ...but they sure made a cool hat!



Thanks for looking...don't forget, if you are going to Ally Pally today or tomorrow, please pop by and see me...I will be on The Artistic Stamper stand and also I have a 20 mins sit down Demo at 13.30....it would be lovely to meet you.

Hels x

Presenting.....Mabel Lucie Attwell

Today is a very exciting day indeed! The Artistic Stamper has just launched a brand new range of stamps featuring those ever so cute images by Mabel Lucie Attwell. For those too young to remember, Mabel was an incredibly talented artist who illustrated many magazines and childrens books in the early decades of the 20th Century. If you would like to know more about here, here is a link to Wikipedia. I have been sooo excited about these new stamps and have had to keep Mum for far too long...but, I have had the honour and pleasure of being able to create some artwork using them, ready for the launch.




The piece I am blogging here actually is the art that I clipped the "sneak peek" from - and it is her right shoe. Thank you to all of you who joined in guessing...the winner who guessed this correctly is.....Veronica. Congratulations and please can you email your addy to me and I will pop your stamp into the post for you.





Over the coming days, I will be blogging more pieces I have made using the new stamps...they are available to buy HERE and also, The Artistic Stamper has a stand at Ally Pally, so it would be lovely to see you if you are going to be there :O))

Thanks for looking...have a lovely day

Hels x

Altering Chips

What a day! The t'internet has been kaput all morning and I was getting all huffy puffy with it...finally, and most thankfully, it is back...but I am not sure how long for...so I am making posts for the next three days, just in case...so if I disappear and don't visit you, I'm not ignoring you...honest :O)




Here is the first and second page of my latest inky project. I am altering a Maya Road chipboard book using Distress Inks and various stamps, including, just for a change (!) Wendy Vecchi's addictive Studio 490 stamps and The Artistic Stamper's equally addictive houndstooth stamp.




I also have used some mini scrolls and a mini birdy, which are also Maya Road - as is the bracket frame too. I made some florally embellies using Grungepaper and Distress Inks and then popped a little pearl from a broken necklace into the centres.

Thanks for looking...wish me luck with the t'internet peeps :O))

Hels x

Sssssh, Here Is A Sneaky Peek......

Ssssh, don't tell anyone but...you can be in with a chance of winning one of the brand new stamps that are being released by The Artistic Stamper on Friday this week...

All you have to do is try and identify what this is....and then leave me a comment. The peeps who answer correctly will be put into a hat (not literally cos that would be a bit silly) and then one of the names will be drawn at random and announced here on Friday morning....




Oh, and .... even better...if you hop over to Jennie's Blog, you can be in with a second chance of winning another stamp cos Jennie is doing sneaky peeks too!

All I will say is that this piccie is from the main image and has been coloured in...makes it a little easier to guess I think...ah, am so helpful LOL And, these new stamps really are fab! Am so excited!!!

Thanks for looking

Hels x

Gonna Make You a Star!

....well, I always wanted to be famous and have a dressing room with stars on the door...so what better excuse to make a door hanger for my Room of Stash than the brand new Challenge over on Gingersnap Creations :O)) Tis the nearest I will ever get to having stars on the door anyway LOL




The theme is...Stars...and I made this door hanger from a couple of pieces of chipboard I stuck together, covered with Jenni Bowlin papers and then using my Slice, I cut the letters and the stars out. These were coloured with Dusty Concord and Walnut Stain ink and then glammed up with Distress Rock Candy Stickles and Frosted Lace Stickles.




The mini stars on the piece are from the smallest punch in the world...and are so fiddly too but I kinda like the ickleness of them!




If you fancy a challenge today, hop on over to the Gingersnaps and you will see lots of amazing artwork too!

Thanks for looking

Hels x

The Mistake is Always the Last Thing I Do!!!!

.....Grrrrr...that is me growling....grrrr...because, I made a tag....what? Me? Make a tag? Positively unheard of dahrling! However, I made this tag.....got right to the very end....and dropped not only a black inkpad onto it, also the sticky end of a bottle of Glossy Accents....




But, here it is in all it's gunk covered glory cos I am out of anything else to show you because I have been working on some brand new stamps from The Artistic Stamper...which are out on Friday...and it is very exciting....there is a sneaky peek on Jennie's Blog ... along with a chance to win one of the new stamps too....




I used Milled Lavendar and Dusty Concord Distress Inks, my most treasured Studio 490 stamps...and my all time fave Houndstooth Background stamp...some Grungepaper, a Maya Road brackety shapey thingy (technical term) and I jazzed it up with some Frosted Lace Stickles and a bit of Idea-ology.




Thanks for looking....oh, and ... Wendy Vecchi has featured a couple of my recent tags on her Blog...how cool? And I am sooo honoured that she did that...after all, I have been completely inspired by her :O)) So thank you Wendy!

Hels x

Nice n Easy Does It....

.....well, this tag was a simple one to make - but I kinda like that (for a change) it isn't overdone :O))




After using Old Paper, Fired Brick and Walnut Stain Distress Inks to colour the tag, I used the "watercolour" technique to stamp the Wendy Vecchi Studio 490 image, inking the stamp with Distress Inks and then spritzing with water, stamping and then repeating to get a faded image too.




The little butterfly is made from Grungepaper and has some mini ballchain for a body.

Thanks for looking...have a great day!

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 71 - Paperback Writer

Morning Stampers!

Thank you for joining in with the challenge last week :O)) Continuing on with Beatles songtitles, this week we have a brand new theme...which is Books or Pages. To join in with the challenge, all you need to do is make a piece of art, include the theme and some stamping and then leave me a comment with a link to the place you are showing your creation so I can hop over to admire :O)) You could make a book, use a page from a book or do what I have done...and made my own "page".

For my entry, I have made....another tag *LOL*

I blended a combo of Old Paper, Brushed Corduroy and Walnut Stain Distress Inks onto the tag surface and then spritzed with Walnut Gold Glimmer Mist.




I used my fave Wendy Vecchi Studio 490 stamps to create a background and then cut a bracket shape using a Nestie. I used a square hole punch *does that make sense?* to make a page that looks like it is torn from a notebook, coloured this to match the tag and stamped the Rules to Live By quote.




I added some lace and ribbon and a Grungepaper flower to the tag for decoration and added a couple of Idea-ology bits to the ribbon in the top.




Thanks for looking and I hope you all have a great day and make lots of art....hoping you like the theme too!

Hels x

What? Another Tag? :O))

Hey Peeps

Another day, another tag, same old inks, same old stamps...well, not so old cos I have used the new Wendy Vecchi Studio 490 mini's for this tag.




The inks are Shabby Shutters, Brushed Corduroy and Walnut Stain, spritzed with water and Antique Brass Glimmer Mists and then stamped over with background stamps from the Wendy Vecchi range.



The little birdy and the frame are Maya Road shapes, inked and then stamped with the Houndstooth and the Gingham backgrounds from The Artistic Stamper. I made the flowers from Grungepaper and then used some 'junk shop find' pearls for the centres and the birdies eye.




That's all for now...I am all of a dither...I just watched Strictly Come Dancing...looks like it is gonna be a good series...did anyone see Ricky Whittle shimmy??? .. think I need a lay down now ROFL

Hels x


PS - I am entering this tag for the Lots To Do Challenge this week which is ... TAGS!!

Two Little Birdy's, Three Windows ... & A Butterfly ...

....what a really rubbish title for this post but I can't seem to think up a proper name for this piece I have altered...actually, it has got two birds, three windows and a butterfly...so the trades descriptions isn't so bad....**waffle, waffle**

This started life as a plain wooden frame with a glass insert...bought a few weeks back from LB Crafts ... and finally made into something arty! As usual, I forgot to take a piccie of the before but I know you will have an idea what I started out as :O))




I used a mix Fired Brick and Old Paper Cracklepaint, spread roughly and overlapping each other to get a worn effect. Once this was dry, I used Walnut Gold and Antique Gold Glimmer Mists, spritzed and dried in layers to get a weathered look. Once the surfaces were cooled, I used some fabby golden wax and rubbed this into the crackles with my newly prepped finger (the nail broke off on a suitcase so it is "blunt" now LOL)




I decided against using the glass as I wanted layered inserts for each window, which I created with cardstock, some pieces cut using a Nestie and the Slice and then coloured them all with Distress Inks and then used Wendy Vecchi's Studio 490 stamps for the images.



The ickle birdies are Maya Road shapes...Cracklepainted and Glimmer Misted and a little flower image for the wings. The Butterfly is pure copycat on my part ... but I am sure you will forgive cos I copied the one and only Wendy Vecchi and used Idea-ology leaves to make a focal point for the wings...what a BRILL idea...thank you to Wendy for yet again inspiring me! The flowers, wings and butterfly are all made using Grungepaper. I added an old brown pearl to the centre of the main flower...this is another one of those junk shop finds that I keep hoarding!




I added a few Idea-ology bits n bobs and a Vial to the finished frame to add a little extra dimension and then splodged a bit of Fired Brick Distress Stickles to some of the images. Finally, I took some incredibly bad photo's of the frame...one day I will put aside crafting and take a course in photography...the thing is...I could do that, but think of the ££ I could spend on stamps and stash if I carried on with the naff photy's!!!




Thanks for looking...I almost forgot to say...all of the inks, Maya Road, Idea-ology, Grungepaper, Stickles and Vial are available from The Artistic Stamper.

It Takes Allsorts!

Hey Peeps

There is a great sketch challenge over on Allsorts - I found this from Linda's blog...so thank you to Linda cos I looooved making this card...it is sometimes so much easier with a sketch as a guide.

Here is the sketch - oh, and you had to use only two colours with it too....so guess what? I used....brown and blue!



My card was made using a bit of DCWV cardstock and then some plain white card which I inked up using Weathered Wood, Faded Jeans and Brushed Corduroy Distress Inks.




I cut the circle using a Nestie and the tab for the sentiment using the Slice. All of the stamping is from ... yeah, I am getting boring...Wendy Vecchi's Studio 490 images!




Thanks for looking....and thanks for a great sketch too!

Hels x

A Little Bit of Black n A Little Bit of White...

Hey Peeps,

There is a brand new challenge over on the Ginger Snap Creations blog today....and it is a colour theme....Black, White & Silver. My fave colour combo's! So, armed with the fave colours it only seemed right that I used my fave ingredients too; Wendy Vecchi stamps, mini canvases and Grungepaper.




Along with some paint, some Gesso, some Maya Road stash and a few metal bits, I made this hanging piece.




The base is a piece of foamboard, cut, primed with Gesso, painted white, additional bits of Black Soot Cracklepaint on the corners and once this lot dried, I sprayed it very lightly with Krylon Webbing Spray to incorporate some silver into the mix.



The mini canvases were all pre-primed, so all I needed to do was give them a quick coat of white paint and then make some tissue paper jackets for them...stamping with StaZon onto tissue paper and then using Claudine Hellmuth Multi Medium to make it stick. This is a cool way of "stamping" onto canvas because you get the whole stampy image and no grainy bits from the canvas itself.




The flowers were made by stamping large Studio 490 stamps onto thin card and then cutting out and curling the petals. The centres of the flowers were stamped, cut out, popped onto a dob of silicone glue and then I added Stickles for a bit of bling.





The sentiments on the middle canvases are on Maya Road shapes, which I painted white, edged with black and then stamped straight onto. The little birdy is also Maya Road and was painted with Black Soot Cracklepaint too.





Finally, I used a fab little hanger that Linda gave to me, altering the colour slightly with silver Krylon and I made a Grungepaper rose for the middle of it; The Grunge rose was a bit of a puzzle, because I wanted black, white and silver...so, I coloured the Grunge with Black Soot Distress Ink, dried with a heat gun, then put white paint onto the Houndstooth background stamp and popped this onto the Grunge..and it kinda worked! I added some silver paint to the petals to jazz them up a bit.







Thanks for looking, if you fancy joinin in with this fab challenge, if you click HERE, you can go and see the blog and see all the other fab things on there too!

Hels x