Wish Pods!

...cor blimey! It has been a barren old month indeedily!   Mr Mojo decided he too wanted to go off on his holibobs and instead of just being normal and taking a week, oh no, he has to go and take nearly FIVE weeks!  I have been scratching around in the Room of Stash, looking to see if I can work without him but no, alas, I can't.  Imagine my enthusiam last night, well, actually, this morning at 1am, when I heard a great hammering and clattering in the Room of Stash... oh yesh, the old rapscallion decided to show his face.  So I have been up all night making sure that he is securely fastened to the floor in the Room of Stash, I used brads, screw eyes and jute to tie him down... hopefully it will keep him here a while! 

A few weeks ago I taught a class at Birds in the Barn in Essex and we were doing all things Fresco Painty and I needed to do a demo.. so I did a basic "painty ombre" background and then used a stencil with some Grungepaste, once dried, I used Cut & Dry foam to apply two colours of browny Fresco to ombre the seed pods too.  And that was about it... a bit of stamping in paint using Ellen's stamps and a bit of stamping with Archival using a script stamp and this demo piece went into my box of "stuff to finish sometime in the next 371 years!"   Well, after all the commotion of Mojo turning up last night, I hastened to the Room of Stash and grabbed the first thing I could see that needed finishing... and it was this.

I added some torn bits of Tissue Tape and then set about the embellishingments... starting with some Kaisercraft paper blooms which were very pretty but ever so slightly dull for what I wanted... I used Black Dylusions and a blue Cosmic Shimmer mist to bling them up... had another rummage and found some little card blossoms I made yonks ago and zapped those with the Cosmic Shimmer too.  Now the flowers were pretty but still not "big enough" so I added some flat Prima flowers behind them and blinged those up too.  OF course, I needed leaves so I nabbed some Artemio wooden leaves and coloured them with Peeled Paint Distress Paint, dried them and then added Forest Moss DI to two tone them.  I then popped some other embellibits on and slapped some Treasure Gold onto the pods and the card I had popped behind.  The word is made from Alphaparts which are stuck onto a little diddy bookplate.  I could've done a little panel of card to fit inside the bookplate but I wanted the stalks to show thru a bit so I just popped the letters onto the metal.

I shall away... I am on a roll at the mo and I don't want to turn me back on that old cad Mojo for too long in case he gets ideas and sneaks off again.  Oh I am happy to be finally back behind me desk and playing!  I HATE getting a crafters block!  Hope you all having a great week... Thanks for looking... 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 316 - Everyday I Write The Book

Goooodly Morning Stampers and a very happy Sunday to you all!  Thank you for all your fabby entries for last weeks challenge and it is lovely to see some new peeps joining in too.  This weeks challenge is a little different, something to get your creative juices flowing.  The theme is BOOKS.  You can interpret the challenge how you like: make a little mini book as I have done, cover an old book, use up book pages, alter a book.. 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 19th July 2014.

excuse colours - the photo's just will not do them justice!

 I am not going to waffle on for yonks about how I maded my entry this week because it is actually my class sample for the Birds in the Barn Craft Fest that I am teaching at today in Essex, so it wouldn't be fair on the ladies joining me to play to tell you all about how I did this.   I will, however, tell you about the goodies I used!

I know I mention her frequently on this 'ere blog but there be a goodly reason for that... firstly she is my BFF and secondly, she is my American sister (we discovered we have *too much* in common to NOT be related... IYKWIM)   Introducing (yes, again) the wonder that is Ellen Vargo... and her gorgeous stamps that are made by Paper Artsy.

Fans of Ellen will have already seen her venture into the world of video tut's... and please do CHECK OUT HER BLOG to see more hints, tips, tuts and general paintyness as she rocks her new stamps.  Along with Ellen's stamps, I used Fresco Paints... the colours are Vanilla, Paprika, Butternut, London Bus, Claret and Blood Orange with a smidge of Snowcap mixed into the Vanilla for stampings.

The rose is watercolour paper and I coloured this with Vanilla/Snowcap mix of paint and then overstamped with Claret/Blood Orange mix using Ellen's ickle dotty stamp... die cut using Tim's Tattered Florals and assembled as per the tutorial I did HERE (check it out, it is indepth :O)  

There also be a Grungepaper strap with a 7Gypsies buckle that I used Little Black Dress on to age it up... the colours on the GP are Mocha Mousse and Chocolate Pudding (seriously, those names are making me huuungry!)  and I just scuffed the edges of it to make it a little shabby.

Anyways... that's all from me for today.   Apologies for the dearth of projects over the last few weeks... I have been beavering away in the Room of Stash designing some new class projects and also - don't tell anyone will you - I have been faffing around in the garden too.  I know, I promised garden pics yonks ago... I promise again, they will be this week!   Thanks for looking, have a grand day!  TTFN

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 311 - You Gotta Friend

Goodly Morning stampers and a very happy sunny Sunday to you all!   Thank you for all the great entries into last weeks' challenge, it was grand to see so many different interpretations on the theme.  This week we are moving on to look at... FRIENDSHIP.   Interpret the challenge theme in your own way: you could be making something for a friend, include the word "friend", be inspired by a friend... it is entirely up to you.  The rules:  make a little something - it can be anything you fancy.  Add in the theme AND some stamping, pop back here and leave me a comment with a link to the place you are showing your entry.  If you haven't got a blog/web-photo-hosty site, you can join in via Facebook (tag my name on your upload) or by emailing me a small res. photo of your creation.  The challenge remains open until 21:00 Saturday 14th June 2014.

So!  A few weeks ago I received a fabulous parcel through a post.  You know my old mucker BFF Ellen over in America?  Well, she has only gone and designed some great stamps for Paper Artsy!  And now she has 6 stamp sets and, yep, I got the whole lot!  Not only are they very versatile, they are also so "her"... if you know what I means.   CLICK HERE to hop over to see Ellen and the artwork she has been creating using her new rubber-babies.     Armed with the new stamps, I set about making a really cool background for my tag.   Starting with a Distress Paint marble background using Tumbled Glass, Dusty Concord and Tattered Rose DP's, I had a lovely marbleage going on.  Then I used a couple of Tim's Layering Stencils and the corresponding DI's and added a bit of bubble-wrap and diamond patterns to the tag. 

The stamp sets of Ellen's I used for the backgrounds are EV05 and EV06 and for the leaves EV04. Using Archival Inks in similar colours to the painty backgrounds, I stamped out some bubblewraps and some little dotty images from EV05.  I coloured up a bit of cardstock to match the background and stamped the long criss-cross border from EV05, stamped it in Watering Can Archival and then tore it up so it has jaggerdy edges... once I had the background as I wanted it, I decided I best take a photo... and here it is:

INSERT PHOTO HERE

Errrrm... yeppo, stoopid-oopid strikes again! I forgot to get a photo of the tag before decoration... which is so annoying as it does look really great and my tendancy to over embellish everything strikes again, covering up all the lovely stamping!!!  YIKES!!!  If you look closely at the background you will be able to see the little stamped images... go on, look closely (teehee)   My embellishing... oh my embellishing... one of these days I will set meself a little challenge and make myself not use flowers, metal bits and bobs and make something totally flat... yeah, one of these days... in like a hundred years *Snort*  Anyways...  being as we are now in the Countdown to THE Birthday Week, I decided to add in my own little personal *date*... and realised (how many years have I known Ellen?) that her special numbers, i.e. 1036 Art, is actually an anagram (can you have an anagram of numbers????) of my birthday too!!! See!!!! It is kismet, or somefinks!   Oh, the sentiment is a Studio 490 stamp... nearly forgot to say!

Right, that is more than enough yakking for one day, well, on here anyways... my BFF Andrea is here for the weekend and I have paused briefly to yak to you here... and I shall now away to yak some more with her!   Thanks for looking, have a greeeeat day!  TTFN!

Hels x


PS.... GO PLATO @ Oulton Park... #BTCC :O))