Feathers & Flutters...

Cor blimey and thrice!   I can't believe how quickly this year is whizzing past, June already!!   Which means it is time for me to show you my offering for this month's Creative Carte Blance blog theme of "Winged Things".   Now, it is no secret that I usually managed to bung a butterfly somewhere on my creations and I positively squealed with delight when I saw what Susan had picked for the theme this month!  Hurrah!  Any old excuse eh?   To see all the details on how to join CLICK HERE and you will be transported immediately on the back of a giant bumblebee to the Creative Carte Blanche blog.

I decided to try and bung as many winged things as possible onto my canvas... starting with birds.  I used the most delightful Birds of Paradise papers from ScrapBerry's as a base and being as I'd cut up a lot of them, I used the offcuts, layered them up and created a blocky collage.  Each piece of paper was edged with Ground Espresso Distress Ink to create a bit of a border on them so the layers stand out a bit.  The second bit of the winged theme is beeswax.  Well, it comes from bees... and they have wings :O)   A liberal slap of wax melted in my Melt Pot, all over the papers, adding extra depth in places for a more rustic effect and just set it aside to dry... no re-melting with a heat tool as this will make the wax soak through the paper and spoil the effect.

I made some paper roses using Tim's Tattered Florals die (wish I had a quid for every rose I've made... it must be in the thousands now, I am addicted lol)  These were then dipped into the melted wax in the Melt Pot and set aside to cool off.  The wax soaks into the papers a bit so it gives a slightly darker effect to the roses.  I did the same with Tim's Tattered Leaves, crinkling them up before dipping so they keep a bit of shape.  Tim's new Doily die?  You seen it? You got it? I LOVE it!!!  I have them both *greedy* and used just half of one of the cuts to dip through the wax... a waxy doily, how cool!

Of course, I needed a sentiment, so I stamped one of Tim's new wordy stamps, quickly painted beeswax over the top and then popped 3d foam onto the back of it.... the reason for the 3d foam is simples... you need to use hot glue to fasten anything to beeswax surfaces... hot glue would re-melt the wax on the stamped words making them look a bit ugly... the foam prevents re-meltage when the hot glue is applied and also lifts the little word block up and away from the surface of the canvas, making it stand out more.   I stamped a Darkroom Door butterfly, dipped that through the wax too and then popped him onto the canvas too.  A few more embellies to finish and there you go... lots of wings and things!

I shall away now... I am busy with the Ink Buds this weekend... and I also have news of more TV shows so watch this space for times and dates etc.   Thanks for looking, have a grand weekend!  TTFN

Hels x

A Carte Blanche Recipe!

Ooohlalaaaa.. I loves a recipe I do!!  This month on the Creative Carte Blanche blog, Candy has set us a delicious recipe to use lace, metal and corrugated paper together on our projects.  I had the best fun playing, getting covered in ink, paint, glue, texture paste and generally making a mess of my nice tidy desk!  To see more details and upload your own entry, please CLICK HERE for the main CCB page... and please do pop on over HERE to see what the rest of the girlies have been up to this month.

My creation is a 16" x 12" canvas oil board that I have had my eye on for a while now... just waiting for the project to arrive in my head... which it did, the other night, in the middle of the night!  I love it when I dream my projects!   Starting off with some lush papers from Ken Oliver, I cut into them *they didn't squeal... much* and layered them onto the canvas board.  (as usual I forgot to take step by step pics during the making of this... oopsies)   Once I had the papers layered on, I added my lacy bits... I have a massive bag full of vintage lace, so I used a few snippets of that, along with some lacy trims, overlapping them as I glued them down.  I grabbed a stencil and some Ranger Texture Paste and added dimension around the edges of the canvas board.

Whilst that was drying, I knocked back the papers with a smidge of cream paint and then die cut them using the Tattered Florals die and made three blousy roses.  I used corrugated craft card to die cut some Tattered Leaves and painted those with Forest Moss Distress Paint.   Once the paste was dry, I liberally pounced cream paint all over the canvas board and used a babywipe to remove some of the paint from the papers to reveal the patterns on them.  A quick zap with a heat tool and then I used the scraped paint technique to layer on some paint that I wanted to be perfectly co-ordinated with the colour palette... so I popped a puff of Orchid Color Burst powder into a dollop of cream paint, mixed them together and then scraped the paint over the canvas.  I wanted a slightly darker shade of paint, so I repeated the process of colouring the paint but added a bigger puff of powder.  I love that the Color Bursts are so vibrant and will mix so easily into any medium.  Once I had added a few smidges of black paint to bring the whole design together, I slapped a layer of Glue & Seal over the top of it all the seal it.  WOW!  That proved a big surprise because the Color Burst in the paint reactivated and really came to life... a happy accident indeedily.

I used a Stabilo All pencil to add shading around the papers and lace and then used a splatter brush to flick droplets of black and cream paint onto the canvas board.  The beauty of using the Glue & Seal means that if I goofed up this bit, I could just wipe it away (tis my safety net!)   Finally I got cracking with the embellishing.   Of course, I love to pile embellies on and Candy's recipe gave me the perfect excuse to raid my embellie boxes and go totally over the top!  Finishing touches were smidges of Treasure Gold on the stencilled areas and voila, a completed project that made me so happy to make!

Don't forget you have until the end of the month to play along with the Creative Carte Blanche recipe... hope to see your entry!   I shall away now... I have a messy desk that needs a lot of attention!   Thanks for looking.. TTFN

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 367 - Just An Old Fashioned Girl

Goooodly Afternoon Stampers and a very happy  Sunday to you all!  Thanks for your entries into the last challenge... I loved seeing all your gorgeous entries!  This week the theme is ... VINTAGE.   To join in with the challenge is simples: make a little something; a card, canvas, ATC, a piece of altered art... the choice.. it be yours! Add in some stamping and then hop back here, leave me a comment with a link to the place you are showing your entry and I can come see you.   If you haven't got a blog, you can join in via Facebook (just tag me name) or by emailing a small res.pic to me or by leaving me a link to your Pinterest or any other photo hosting site.  The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 5th December 2015.

 My entry is a whoppping mahooooosive canvas (12" x 16") I decorated... it was my class sample from my Melt Pot class yesterday for Ali-Craft in South Hykeham... we had a glorious day getting all hot with the Melting Pots... you all know how much I love anything with a smidge of beeswax slapped on it and this canvas sure is covered in it!

The papers are from Prima's Archivers collection - they are beautiful... the colours are right in my comfort zone... and I just edged them with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink to give them a bit of oomph.  The flowers are made from Tim's Tattered Florals die... they are my fave flowers to make - you'd never have guessed that right?  I just edged these with Aged Mahogany to give them a bit of a pinky tone and then dipped them right into beeswax to coat them... I did the same with the leaves which are Tim's Tattered Leaves... and then I added a butterfly - stamped onto the same card and also dipped into the wax and pearls added for his body.  The birdy is my Carabelle Studio FAVE bird stamp EVER *and I have a lot of birdy stamps!* ... he was stamped onto the same papers and cut out, inked and then glued down before I waxed so he looks part of the design.  The little embellies are moulds of UTEE poured from the Melt Pot and then generously coloured with Treasure Gold - I am loving the flower... the different metallic colours look so pretty IRL.

Thanks for looking and have a great rest-of-the-day... I am about to bung a leg of lamb into the oven (yes, the Domestic Goddess in me is alive and kicking today) and I shall be serving it with cauliflower cheese (nomnomnom), swede and carrot mash, roastie spuds and sweetheart cabbage.  A few Yorkshire Puds will also put in appearance along with my special mint gravy too... ohalalaaaa... and wait til I tell you what is for pud!!!  Mmmm, I am positively drooling and having to sit on my hands so I don't go and nibble at it already... my favest raspberry cheesecake and..... double cream!!!  I can hear my hips saying "please no" but today I shall be listening to my mouth which is saying "give me something tasty!"   Well, it is a well known fact that raspberry cheesecake and double cream is actually completely free of calories if eaten after lamb... they cancel each other out you see... *ahem*    Right, I shall love you and leave you and say.... TTFN!

Hels x

P.S.  Now... I have some verrrry exciting news to share but I will keep you in suspenders for a few more hours... check back tomorrow when I will be letting you know about a grand new adventure! 

Sunday Stamper - Week 366 - Imagine

Goooodly Morning Stampers and a very happy  Sunday to you all!  Thanks for your entries into the last challenge... it was nice to see some new peeps entering too, so thank you!  This week is a nice easy theme... just use the word IMAGINE.   To join in with the challenge is simples: make a little something; a card, canvas, ATC, a piece of altered art... the choice.. it be yours! Add in some stamping and then hop back here, leave me a comment with a link to the place you are showing your entry and I can come see you.   If you haven't got a blog, you can join in via Facebook (just tag me name) or by emailing a small res.pic to me or by leaving me a link to your Pinterest or any other photo hosting site.  The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 21st November 2015.

My entry this week is a class sample from a few weeks ago.  As you all know, I loves Distress and especially Distress Paints... I love the freedom they give me to smoosh the colours around a project.  I used Mowed Lawn, Mermaid Lagoon, Broken China and Cracked Pistachio Distress Paints on this project... there's Ranger's Texture Paste on there too under the paints, smooshed on thru Tim's Flourish Layering Stencil... I used my magic little Stabilo All pencil to add shading around the stencilling to make it pop from the background a bit.

The decoration is made using Tim's Perspective butterfly, stamped three times, cut out so it is smaller with each layer and coloured with Cracked Pistachio, Twisted Citron and Spiced Marmalade.   I added buttons, pearls and little star gems which I coloured with Treasure Gold so they were metallic rather than just being any old colour.  I also used the Ornate Frame die, Tim's new Sprig punch (this is FAB) and Tim's Mixed Media diecuts on the canvas and the words is formed of letter from his Alphabet Thinlets dies.   Around the edge of the canvas I did my usual two tone look - I know, I do this all the time but I like the look of it!

That's all for today... I hope you have a cracking day whatever you have planned... thanks for looking and... TTFN

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 362 - Mother Nature's Son

Goooodly Morning Stampers and a very happy Sunday to you all!  Thanks for your entries into last weeks birdy themed challenge - it is good to be back and thank you for your lovely comments too!  The song title and theme this time is all about... NATURE.   To join in with the challenge is simples: make a little something; a card, canvas, ATC, a piece of altered art, bring a bit of outdoors onto your artwork, use a nature themed stamp, use nature's colours... the choice.. it be yours! Add in the theme AND some stamping. Then hop back here, leave me a comment with a link to the place you are showing your entry and I can come see you.   If you haven't got a blog, you can join in via Facebook (just tag me name) or by emailing a small res.pic to me or by leaving me a link to your Pinterest or any other photo hosting site.  The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 19th September 2015.

My entry this week is a canvas I made as a "class sample" for a private class a few weeks ago.  It is an 8 x 8 canvas board and I used Pion Design papers - which I absolutely love, love, love because they have Lily of the Valley and birds printed onto them... and the colours worked perfectly with the colour palette I seem to prefer! Mmm. Blues.... again!!!  The stamps are by Darkroom Door... my very favourite butterfly set "Wings" and the sentiment is just about perfect I reckon.

I do love adding in bits of nature into my creations... the twigs are from a hebe that is getting a bit straggly and the feather is one I picked up on one of my wanderings... I am a bit of a womble so do tend to pick things up just in case they "come in" if you know what I mean!

Mr Mojo has been very ungallantry and has released himself from my desk (he must be Houdini) and has hidden himself away somewhere in the Room of Stash... I know he is here, just lurking slightly out of vision... you know when you see something out of the corner of your eye but when you turn to look there's nowt there?  Yep, that!!! But! What he doesn't know is that I have been drawing and sketching ideas for things to make so the very moment he pops his head back up, he is getting stapled back down onto that desk again!   I don't think I have ever had a dry spell such as this one... I guess outside influences and health issues do have a bearing on how juicy one's Mojo is... but enough is enough... I need to get back to making stuff regularly!!!  Perhaps having a room that resembles a landfill site isn't helping... I need to create order in the Room of Stash before I can actually relax and get creative... it is that mountain to climb first though.... not figuratively either... no!  The mountain of junk and general detritis that has built up over the months needs to be scaled and seriously, I fear for my safety!!!  I shall have to stop procrastinating and get active!  But maybe first a little cup of coffee..... ahem.... quite!!!

Anyways... whilst I go off and search through cupboards, shelves and several inches of dust, I shall leave you with my thanks for looking and reading and sticking with me whilst I seem to have dried up... and my greetings for a very goodly day!  TTFN!


Hels x

It's Been A Long Time!

...indeedily it has!   What with one thing and another, my poor old blog has been neglected but hopefully things are starting to gain some equilibrium now and I can start to get back to normal service.  Thank you for thinking of me and Grim and for you safe wishes for us.  We are safely back from holibobs - what an amazing adventure we had - and thankfully weren't caught up in the horror in Sousse.  It would be remiss of me not to mention that my heart goes out to all those who were involved in that mindless atrocity.

I have had a few things going on of late - personal stuff, health stuff... not only my health but also my AlfieCat who has become ill recently, that has been most worrying as you can imagine.  He is now on medication and, fingers crossed very tightly, seems to be responding to the treatment.  He needs to have more tests with the *whispers* V E T next week and all being well they will bring goodly news for us all.

With all that going on I haven't really had chance to catch up or to get into the Room of Stash.  The canvas I am showing you here is one I made in class at the end of May (yes, I am that far behind!) and also... is inspired by my canvas I did for Craft Stamper which hit the shelves last Friday.  It is so nice to be back in the magazine!  HERE's a linky to the Craft Stamper blog where you can find details of the new challenge and other fun stuff too.

I shall away now... my Room looks like Miss Haversham's dining room... knee deep in dust and cobwebs and looking ever so slightly neglected... I need to get tidied up and clean up and then I can get inky!  Thanks for looking.. have a grand evening.  TTFN

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 343 - Blackbird

Goooodly Morning Stampers and a very happy Sunday to you all!  Thanks for your fab winged entries to last weeks challenge.  The new theme this week is... BIRDS.  You can interpret the challenge how you like: be it a stamped bird, a die cut, a decoupaged birdy, a real one (!)... the choice, it be yours!   To join in with the challenge is simples: make a little something, it can be anything you fancy.  Add in the theme AND some stamping *this is THE important bit guys, please remember your rubberstamps!*  and then hop back here, leave me a comment with a link to the place you are showing your entry and I can come see you.   If you haven't got a blog, you can join in via Facebook (just tag me name) or by emailing a small res.pic to me.  The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 7th February 2015.

This week my entry is a large canvas I have altered.  I taught a couple of lovely ladies a Melt Art workshop during the week and because I have done so many beeswax things, I decided to do mine slightly differently... {theirs are the same, just beeswaxed :O)}   The papers I used to make a collage on the canvas are Tim's Wallflower collection - I am now needing Pad #5 - yes, I love these papers that much!  The soft and delicate colours and the beautiful natural designs are right up my street.   Around the edge of each bit of collaged paper is a smidge of Faded Jeans Distress Ink - this is to highlight the layers of paper and also, I hate to see cut edges so it blends them in nicely.

I snipped out the little blue tits from the paper design... these are layered onto the collage too.  Next up is a good slap of Glue & Seal... to um... glue and seal the papers!  They are now water-resistant which means that if I accidently slop something wet onto the canvas, it is protected.   The roses are made using my tutorial *points left* and I used more of the Wallflower papers to make these. The sentiment is one of Tim's stamps - stamped in Jet Black Archival so it is permanent ink.  The butterfly is a Darkroom Door stamp - isn't he just so perfect?   I added a few bits and bobs of embellies and a little wrap of twine so it looks like a bit of a birdy next and there we have it... done! 

I have a lovely lazy day planned today... a nice roast dinner and an afternoon with Grim... if the weather behaves we are hoping to get into the garden and start the tidy-up before I get cracking in the greenhouse again.  A few weeks ago someone asked how I make my Yorkshire Puds and if it was a secret recipe.  Well, I can't tell you the recipe exactly... but I can tell you how I make them:  I go to the freezer section of the supermarket and buy Aunt Bessie's Yorkshire Pudding Batters... and then pop them into my halogen oven and they are better than the sad efforts that I make from scratch... yes, I am a Yorkshire Lass and yes, I am useless at the puddings!  I have tried sooo many different ways, recipes etc but nope, they all turn out revolting.  I blame the oven (ahem)  On that bombshell I shall say... thanks for looking and have a goodly day!  TTFN

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 336 - Wings of a Dove

Goooodly Morning ...ahem... I mean Goodly EVENING (!) Stampers and big massive apologies for the late posting of this weeks challenge.  I have no excuse except this... I am a woman of certain years and my memory is like a sieve!  I completely forgot to make something for this weeks challenge!  I know!  How rude!  Anyways.... onwards!  Thank you all for your great Christmassy entries into last weeks challenge.  The theme this week is... WINGS.  You can interpret the challenge how you like: be it wings of a birdy, a butterfly, a bug or even an angel... the choice, it be yours!   To join in with the challenge is simples: make a little something, it can be anything you fancy.  Add in the theme AND some stamping *this is THE important bit guys, please remember your rubberstamps!*  and then hop back here, leave me a comment with a link to the place you are showing your entry and I can come see you.   If you haven't got a blog, you can join in via Facebook (just tag me name) or by emailing a small res.pic to me.  The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 13th December 2014.

Now, as I mentioned, Memory Like a Big Old Fat Swiss Cheese woman here forgot to make something... I have a few pics on me phone of stuff I have made recently but... I had a couple of lovely pics of some cools stuff I made *and gave away* a few weeks ago... and they were on the computer.  Which I decided to "clean" and um... deleted them. Permanently!  Ooops!    So, today I have been teaching a Melt Pot class over at Crafty Bunch in Telford and it was only as I was driving over there this morning that I remembered that I had forgotten.  Anyways... my entry this week is what we maded today!  Many thanks to Sue for hosting the class, (and having me back!) to all the lovely ladies who came along and made it such fun.... I shall forever have the image of a giraffe in a fridge :O)) and to Pauline for the scrumdiddlyumptious mincey pies... oh my, they were THE best... EVER!

This is a variation of my Waxing Lyrical sample that I did a few weeks ago, this one is a lot bigger and for some reason, the photo's are reaaaallly pink... I have tried to do the old thing with them in PhotoDodah but they still look pinker than a piglets nose.  It isn't this pink, it is more of a browny shady pinky colour.  The papers are Kaisercraft Key To My Heart... Tim's Tattered Floral for the rose and a Tim sentiment and Darkroom Door butterflies.

I shall away now... we are pigging out on curry tonight (strangely, this is practically the only food that isn't making me proper poorly sick!) and have the evening planned... XFactor (why, in the name of all things holy, do I watch that...every year!!!?) and the final of I'm A Celeb... upon which note I shall say *rather loudly* GO FOGGY!    Thanks for looking, have a great... um... evening!  TTFN

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 322 - Deeply Dippy

Goooodly Morning Stampers and a very happy Sunday to you all!  As ever, thank you all for your fabby entries to last weeks backgrounds challenge - it was great to see some new peeps entering too!   The theme this week is all about getting some dimension into your art... and it is DEPTH & 3D. *I have an earworm already, Right Said Fred have a LOT to answer for*  You can interpret the challenge how you like: make a really dimensional creation, add in dimension and depth and all things 3dness to your art, build up your layers...  the choice, it be yours!  To join in with the challenge is simples: make a little something, it can be anything you fancy.  Add in the theme AND some stamping *this is THE important bit guys, please remember your rubberstamps!*  and then hop back here, leave me a comment with a link to the place you are showing your entry and I can come see you.   If you haven't got a blog, you can join in via Facebook (just tag me name) or by emailing a small res.pic to me.  The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 30th August 2014.

So!   My entry this week is actually the sample I made in class yesterday at Daisy's Jewels & Crafts in Coventry.  We had a lovely day getting all painty and messy... and because this is a class sample, I won't go into to great a detail on how I made it.

I can tell you that I used Tim's Harlequin Border and some Martha Stewart punches to make some depth on my canvas... added in some 3d texture with a stencil and the paints I used were Adirondack Juniper (quite possibly my FAVE colour ever), Lake Mist and Espresso Dabbers.  I love Dabbers because of their chalky and creamy finish... very touchable.

The flowers are Ancient Copper and the embellies were treated to some Treasure Gold.  The stamping... the little diamonds are from Catslife Press (I love these stamps and have had them for about 217 years) and the sentiment is from The Artistic Stamper.

Today I am away back to Daisy's for an Exploding Box day... in complete contrast to yesterday, today will be clean (yeah, who am I kidding) and neat (like I said... kidding?)  Oh and a heads up... I will be popping a new date for visiting Daisy's onto Facebook and on here later on... more than likely be a weekend in October ... and... it will be... Melt Pot!  Hurrah!   I shall away now, sleeps to be had and all that.... Thanks for looking, have a great Sunday! TTFN


Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 317 - In Dreams

Goooodly Morning Stampers and a very happy Sunday to you all!  Thank you for all your fabby entries for last weeks challenge - it was grand to see so many different interpretations of the theme.  The theme this week is a nice easy one to get your chops around... and it is DREAMS.   You can interpret the challenge how you like: add the word to a project, include it in a sentiment on your project, make something that you have dreamed about or something that is your dream... the choice, it be yours!  To join in with the challenge is simples: make a little something, it can be anything you fancy.  Add in the theme AND some stamping *this is THE important bit guys, please remember your rubberstamps!*  and then pop back here, leave me a comment with a link to the place you are showing your entry and I can come see you.   If you haven't got a blog, you can join in via Facebook (just tag me name) or by emailing a small res.pic to me.  The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 26th July 2014.

As I mentioned on Friday, this last week has been one of those weeks... you know, when you get a few days set aside to play and then up creeps a lurgy and puts the kybosh on any ideas of getting inky.  Well, last Sunday I was teaching in Essex (last weeks Sunday Stamper was the project I was teaching) and I usually do a "class sample" as I am teaching, I find it easier to show and tell rather than just tell (believe me,  my ladies have the patience of saints trying to decipher what I am saying!) so my entry this week is my class sample.. which I came home and jazzed up a wee bit more - you know, cos I loves a good sesh embellishing stuff!  My word of 2014 is DREAM... and I haven't used it for a yonk and a half so here it is again today!

The base is a canvas board and it was painted with various Paper Artsy Fresco Paints - Mermaid, Bora Bora, South Pacific... and then I spied that one of the ladies was using a similar palette and she had Limelight on her desk... I loved what she was doing with it so I nicked the idea and added Limelight to my creation and wow, it really perked it up perfectly!     My stamping is using Ellen Vargo's gorgeous stamps (CLICK HERE TO SEE HER BLOG)- look closely *if you click on a photo it will pop up bigger!* and you will see lots of different images nestled on the board, all stamped with paint.. and then the very smidgiest of script stamping in Jet Black Archival just to tie the whole design together.   There be stencilling and Grungepasting (mixed with Limelight *this is my new FAVE colour!*) using JOFY and Lin Brown stencils.   I added shading to the stencilling using my Stabilo ALL pencil.

No self respecting canvas would be complete without a rose... and a tattered rose at that.  This one was made using watercolour paper painted with the same as the board, overstamped with Limelight and a text stamp and then, once formed, smidged with Jet Black Archival to give it a bit of definition.  The title banner is actually a metal tag that was painted with more Fresco's and I added the letters using Tim's Alphaparts.  A few bits of Idea-ology and some Distress Glittered bits that I had kicking around the Room of Stash finished off my canvas... aren't those colours just LUSH!!!

I am all excited today... I have a Sunday off... which means that for the first time in about 392 years, me and Ellen will be having a good old catch up on Skype!  I am *hoping* that we don't have the forecast storms cos that usually kicks out yonder t'internet and that wouldn't do at all!  Hope you all got a great day planned... keep cool... tis gonna be a hot one again by all account... phew!   Thanks for looking... TTFN

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 295 - And Your Bird Can Sing

Goodly Morning Stampers and a very happy Sunday to you all.  Many thanks for all your gorgeous diamond creations last week, it was great to see so many different interpretations of the theme.  The theme this week is rather poignant... more of that later... but first, the theme is... BIRDS.  To join in with the theme is simples: make a little something, it can be anything you like.  Add in the theme and some stamping and then pop back here, leave me a comment with a linky to the place you are showing your entry and then I can pop over to visit you. If you haven't got a blog, you can join in via Facebook, simply tag my name... or via emailing a small res pic to me.  The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 22nd February 2014.

As I mentioned, a poignant theme for me this week... in memory of my dear Aunty June who sadly passed away last week after a short illness.  I could have chosen so many different themes that remind me of her... but birds was the theme that stuck with me because I share her love of our feathered friends, especially owls.  When I was a kid I spent many a happy summer holiday staying with her, my uncle and cousins in "that London"... being a northerner in the south during those hazy summer days whetted my appetite for all things southern and I eventually ended up living in the south.  Aunty June always spoilt me, when I was little her birthday and Christmas pressies were always a little bit special, like a fancy pair of socks with golden threads woven into them, a beautiful red leather purse (which was sadly stolen) and in later years she bought me silver charms for my charm bracelet, all of them had a special meaning too; the Owl & The Pussycat because she used to say that poem to me when I was a kid.   She was a very special woman in my life and this piece of art is dedicated to my Aunty June... and the happy memories she left with me.

I won't go into too great a detail on how I created this canvas as it is my class sample from my workshop yesterday at Neil Burley's The Studio.  Big thanks to the lovely ladies who came along to play and get painty with us... and again to Neil for hosting the class.  I used a selection of Kaisercraft paints to create the background colours - Eggshell, Wisteria and Eggplant... aren't they gorgeous colours?  I don't know what is going on with me this year but I seem to have turned a little purple!  I had actually chosen to use soft mossy tones with smidges of mocha but changed my mind at the last minute!!! And then spent half an hour trying to dull down the purples until I was happy with the colours.  The sentiment is from The Artistic Stamper - available HERE... I love these lovely big wordy stamps - perfect for a mixed media project like this.

I must away now - I am up at stoopid o'clock today (scheduling this late last night... ) to travel to Birmingham for the Stitches Trade Show at the NEC.   I am demo-ing for Creative Expressions for the next three days so I might not be about much (social media might be a bit scarce too as the signal in the NEC is pants!) And as I hinted earlier in the week... I shall be demo-ing a brand new product from Creative Expressions... I am hoping to be able to make up a few samples whilst at the show so I will be able to blog as soon as possible to share all the goss on this fabby new ***** .... whoops, nearly let the cat out of the bag then!   As ever, thank you for looking... have a great day all.  TTFN

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 293 - Black & Gold

Goooodly Morning Stampers and a very happy Sunday to you all!  Many thanks for the lush orange entries for last weeks challenge :O)   The theme this week is a nice easy one to get the juices going... and as the title suggests it is... BLACK & GOLD.   To join in with the challenge is simples: make a little something - it can be anything you fancy.  Add in the theme and some stamping and then pop back here to leave me a comment along with a linky to the place you are showing your entry.  If you haven't got a blog, you can also join in via Facebook (tag my name on your upload) or by emailing a small resolution piccie of your creation to me.  The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 8th February 2014.

My entry this week is actually my class sample for one of the projects that I am teaching  to 19 lovely ladies this weekend on my Middlesbrough retreat.  I am confusing myself already because I am scheduling this post (remember last week that Lionel Laptop refused to let me get onto yonder t'internet? didn't want to take a chance on being late again this week!)  Anyways, I have actually just taught this class yesterday (which is actually tomorrow because it is Friday now and not Sunday... yikes, confoooosing meself!!!)

I won't go into to great a detail on how the canvas was altered as that won't be fair on the ladies who have come along to the class.  You will be able to see the mahooosive rose though... that big one there is the new Tattered Florals die (about 5" across) and the smaller ones that look teensy are actually the regular Tattered Florals... all made out of cardstock to formed into the roses.  I loves making these ones as they just look so big and blousy!

I shall away now... it is still Friday and I have to get all my stash loaded into Ferdy and then get myself ready for the drive 'Up North.  Have a great Sunday and rest of the week.  Thanks for looking... TTFN!

Hels x

Favourites...

... I know, we shouldn't have them should we... but hand on heart, who can honestly say that they don't have "favourites"?  Thing is, I have so many favourites that I just think that everything I do in this arty bubble I live in is my favourite!  Anyways... the point of this waffle is to show what I got up to on Monday.  I was invited to teach a private class for two lovely ladies, Claire and Jane, 'round at Claire's house.  Gulp. Me, crafting, in someone elses home?  I was a bit scared that I would end up flicking paint and ink all over the place so before I arrived, I gave myself a good talking to.. "Hels" I said, "You don't have to be a mucky pup you know... "  "Don't I?" I answered myself...  "No, indeedily, you can be the cleanest crafter in the world *said in my very best Jeremy Clarkson voice* if you really try"   So, armed with lots of delish stash to play with, I arrived at Claire's, all ready to show just how neat and clean I can be.

Actually, I did manage to keep things relatively clean... I only got stuff on me, thankfully not on Claire, Jane, the cats, the floor, the walls... which is unusual seeing as you can usually look at my clothes and see exactly what I have been using on any particular day.  We had a wonderfully fun crafty day... altering a canvas with Distress Paints, yep, favourites...   Wendy's Embossing Paste, oh be still my heart, always a favourite indeedily... And lots of paper flowers... aha, more favourites... and embellishments... yippy-yi-ay, favourites.. and... Treasure Gold.  What more can I say huh?  FAVOURITES!!

The colours of DP's I used are Iced Spruce (fave!) Aged Mahogany (always a fave) and Victorian Velvet (new fave!)  Lots of watery drippage and then the embellishing bit.  I used a Crafter's Workshop stencil for my Embossing Paste bit... and of course, adding smidges of Treasure Gold really highlights the peaks and textures.  A big massive thank you to Claire and Jane for making me so welcome, feeding me delish food (why does it always come back to food with me huh?) and making the day so enjoyable!

Right, I shall away... today I am mostly die-cutting for my Ali-Craft class on Friday... oh and I didn't mention... I have a new arrival in the Room of Stash. Oh yesh, Ernie the EBosser has come to live with me!  Tis my Xmas pressie from Grim, I am soooo lucky! I have had a little play already and I am in lurves, it is sooo easy to use!  I will, of course, still use Victor because I loves him too but it just makes kitting for classes so much easier now, I can have both machines going at the same time!  Multi-tasking die-cutting!   Thanks for looking, have a great day!  TTFN

Hels 

Sunday Stamper - Week 290 - On The Wings of Love

Goooodly Evening Stampers and a very happy Sunday to you all!   Huge thanks for all your entries for the last challenge...  this week there be a new theme... and that is... WINGS.  To join in with the challenge is simples: make a little something - it can be anything  you fancy.  Add in the theme and some stamping then pop back here to leave me a comment with a link to the place you are showing your entry.   If you haven't got a blog, you can also join in via email - just email a small res pic to me or via Facebook, simply tag my name and I can view your entry.  The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 18th January 2014.

Firstly, apologies for the late posting of this weeks challenge... this is because I am teaching away from home this weekend and couldn't get online this morning (thanks Mr BT for doing your engineering stuff lol)  So, better late than never, here is my entry for this weeks challenge.

I have been teaching at Pickwell Farm this weekend, I love teaching here, not only are the ladies who come along a lovely bunch, Carolyn and her family always make me very welcome... not to mention the ace shop, packed to the rafters with stashly delights... yep, tis a lovely place to be.  Anyways, this weekend has been all about the Melt Pot.. and I have made a canvas (actually I made two - I know, I never finish class samples and this time I managed to get two done.. get me!  A new year, a new me... pah lol )   My demo canvas is 8" x 6" in size and once I had painted it, I set about doing some beeswax collage.  Stamping onto tissue and then applying wax... and then.. I had a "lightbulb" moment!   So, I wanted to colour the beeswax.  How to do that?  Well, I have used Melt Inks before to do this, but they do bobble a bit in the wax, whilst they colour it, there's always a residue in the bottom of the mould.  So, I hit on the idea of using Mica Powders to colour it.. hey, it works!!! Yipyah and thrice, a new technique!  Check it out, how sweet is this flower!!!

I used a mix of Kaisercraft and Tim Holtz stamps... and yes, butterflies always seem to feature somewhere on a creation...plus faux porcelain flowers... and some Treasure Gold for goodly measures too...

I shall away now... I am staying in Southampton tonight as I am teaching a private class tomorrow and I needs food... so I am off to have a mooch about and see what I can find.  Thanks for looking, sorry again for the lateness of the post!  Thanks for looking, TTFN

Hels x

Sample Time...

... I really should stop saying that because now I am sitting here going "sample-time... dedededu de du"  you know, like Hammer Time but a bit more mental?   Sorry about that, I am in a state of excitement because tomorrow sees my first tellybox shows on 2014.  I am on at 12pm and 5pm on Create & Craft - all the deets on how to view are over there *points left* - with more Melt Pot Marvels shows.

This is a little 5" x 7" canvas I have put together as a sample.  The base has been painted using the scraped paint technique and then I did some stamping on tissue with a new gorgeous set of Heartfelt Creations stamps (yes, they are flowers, yes, I LOVES them!)  I have to add some Faux Porcelain in there... so that was taken care of using the same flowers I used for the background collage... they were stamped onto Teresa Collins/Creative Expressions papers... and I added a little Media Mixage Hatpin to jazz the whole thing up.

 I shall away now... I almost forgot to blog today - I did write a "to do" list but I have forgotten where I put it *see what I am up against here lol* so I have made another... and I just know there is something missing from it.  I can see that I am going to have to start writing two lists, one to lose and one to glue to my forehead lol  Thanks for looking, hope you can join me for the shows!  TTFN

Hels x