Sunday Stamper - Week 305 - Wheels of Steel

Goooodly Morning Stampers and a very happy Sunday to you all!  Many thanks for all your grand entries to last weeks challenge.   This week the theme is.... WHEELS.   You can interpret this in loads of different ways: wheels on a stamp, a vehicle that has wheels, you could add wheels to a 3d piece,  you could add wheels to a little birdy (hey, I love doing that! Every birdy needs a set of wheels!)   To join in with the challenge is simples: make a little something, it can be anything you fancy.   Add in some stamping and then pop back here to leave me a comment with a link to the place you are showing your entry and I can come visiting.  If you haven't got a blog/photo-hosty-thingy, you can also join in via Facebook (just tag my name) or by sending me a small res. pic via email.  The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 3rd May 2014.

My entry this week is actually a birthday card I made for our mate Richard.   Now, Richard just happens to love trains (that's why he is our friend right? No, not just cos he is owned by Jerry the Springer ;o) and when Rachel from Darkroom Door sent me this deeeeelish Steam Locomotive stamp to play with, I knew immediately that it was going to be used for my card.  HERE are the deets of how to get the stamp.   I started out by stamping the image in Jet Black Archival onto cream card and set about colouring it by squidging Distress Inks onto my craft sheet and then using a waterbrush to pick up the colour - I could have used Distress Markers but... erm... remember I tidied up?  Well, yes, um, they are... somewhere safe!

I used some of Tim's Destination papers to create some layers for the background of the card and used Gathered Twigs DI to blend around the edges, Tim's Paper Distresser (well, not his actual one, I think he may miss that lol) so scruff up the edges of the papers and a few Remnant Rubs to add a bit of interest to the papers.   The clock is from Tim's Thrift Shop Ephemera pack (I LOVE those packs... full of special ickle bits and bobs!)   I knew that I wanted to add something else to the card... but what?  Aha!  The Hardware Findings Alterations die!  Oh yesh, cut two of the long strappy jobbies (ok, they have a name but I am having a moment, can't remember it) out of Grungepaper, coloured with Gathered Twigs DI and then scruffed up with Tim's Tonic Scratchery Scruffery tool (yes, that too has a special name but again, that moment is still happening lol)  And there you have it! 

Today I am filled with joyful anticipation!  I shall be planting more seeds in the greenhouse and potting on ones that have already come up!  I know, I know, getting excited about doing planty stuff in a greenhouse!  I surely know how to live life on the edge!!!   I will pop a few piccies of the greenhouse on this week and how the plants are coming along - I have longed for a greenhouse for an absolute yonk so finally, my fingers can become green!  And on that bombshell, I shall bid you all a very goodly day and say... Thanks for looking!!  TTFN

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 239 - Come Fly With Me

Gooooodly Morning Stampers and a very happy Sunday to you all.  Huge thanks for the gorgeous entries for last weeks challenge.  I will announce the winner of the tag in a mo... but first! This weeks challenge.  Well, I am about to spontaneously combust with excitement because this week is THE week that I fly to America to CHA and to meet up with Ellen and my Ranger Sisters.  I am feeling a bit of a giddy kipper now because I have realised it is THIS week!  So, with that in mind the challenge for this week is THINGS THAT FLY (see what I did there huh? you know, cos I will be flying THIS week *snort*) and all you need to do to join in is make something that includes stamping and the theme.  Once you have made your creation, pop back here with a link to the place you are showing it - if you haven't got a blog, worry not, you can also join in via any web-hosty photo-jobby and also by emailing me direct with a photo or via Facebook - simply leave me a Facebook message and I can come and visit you.  The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 12th January 2013.

Anyways, I have kept you in suspenders for long enough... the winner of the tag I made for last weeks challenge has been picked.  We had a total of 85 entries, so I fed that into Mr Random.org and he gave me this result:

Which tallies with the entry from KEZZY.  Big big thanks to everyone for joining in... and Kezzy, please can you email your addy to me so I can pop your tag into the post :O))

So, my entry this week.  Well, as you know, I have been fighting the Battle of the Doom of Trash since early Wednesday.  Yes, that's right... a whole FOUR days is what I have spent in my Room of Stash, bringing order and cleanliness back to my life.  You see, as well as my resolution to find the positive in all things and have a more positive outlook, I have also decided that it is high time to become a grown-up and get organised.  I have never really been one for orderly things... but when it comes to booking classes and demo days I needed to get my act together so I know what I am doing, where I am doing it and when I am doing it!  So, I have become a veritable paragon of virtue and have made myself a book for...erm.. bookings (fancy!) and also added pouches to it so I have an "at a glance" thing for each month too!  So as well as clearing out old crud and getting rid of 543 tonnes of cobwebs (yep, there were that many) I have brought some order to my life.  And I have to say, I feel rather good about it.

So good that being as the Room of Stash is now clear of trash, I decided to get out all my Studio 490 stamps (I am lucky to have very lots of them) and had a good old play with ink and Grungepaper, stamps and embellies.  The tag is a #10 size so it is a big 'un.  I started by colouring it with Antique Linen, Victorian Velvet and Frayed Burlap DI's, flicking with water to add some blotches and then edging with Walnut Stain.  The overstamped background is one of my favest 490 backgrounds and it was stamped with Rose Madder Archival Ink.  I then added the wordy strip in Jet Black Archival and sized up roughly where my floral embellie was going... and then stamped some flourishes in Coffee Archival so they look like they are appearing from behind the flower.

Speaking of the flower - four different flower stamps make up the main bit - Funky Flower Art has to be one of my most used sets - the half flowers are my fave, perfect for breaking up a design without overpowering it.  All the flowers and the leaves were stamped onto Grungepaper using Jet Black for the flowers and Olive Archival for the leaves.  A quick zap with a heat tool to dry off the ink and then I cut them out.  Next I overstamped the flowers and leaves with background stamps, both front and back, to add some more decoration.  I stamp the back so when the Grunge is curled up, you can see more pattern, no ugly plain bits.  The same applies for inking the Grunge... always do both sides - that way you don't get ugly grey bits and it also covers the cut edges too.   The butterflies were stamped onto Grungepaper and Grungeboard three times each.  I cut out the Grungepaper ones in full and just the top wings and body for the Grungeboard... then coloured them with DI and stuck them together.  The body bits are little resin buds which were white... so they got the Treasure Gold Brass treatment to colourize them.

I added some lace and Gem Clips to the middle of the tag and ribbon and Idea-ology to the top of the tag and made a sentiment using cream card and 490 wordage... how perfect is that sentiment eh?  I coloured the card as before and then just cut out a banner shape.  Oh and Sam Spidey came out for a play too... he has been ignored for far too long, I can't help but love him.  Finishing touches were a light scribble of 0.01 size black pen to add some faux stitching and a smidge of Treasure Gold right around the edges.. and that was it.  I had a lovely couple of hours playing and making this... and because I am so organised, I put everything away (it has a home now) before I did anything else!  I am not sure how long this organisational spree will last but, for now, I shall enjoy it!

So, there are a couple of piccies of the Room of Stash now it is nice and tidy... I haven't take photo's of the main bulk of the work, which was organising drawers and sorting more storage... basically cos whilst I know what is now in them and each has its own genre (for want of a better word) when I look inside them, they look...erm... a bit messy!  Well, crafty stash is never neat... is it?     Right, I shall away... have a lovely day and a fab week.  I am headed for bed now.  I haven't slept properly for three nights now... tis the excitement I am sure... Thanks for looking... TTFN

Hels x

L is For...

...Late!  On Sunday, after my last workshop of the day, I popped back to my demo desk and was greeted by some lovely ladies (sorry, I didn't get your names) and I was doing a super speedy demo with Distress Stains and the gorgeousness that is Studio 490.  Well, because I was so engrossed in what I was doing, the show actually closed!   Whooops!  And I didn't get a chance to finish my creation.  Anyways, I promised I would blog the finished piece, so here it is, better late than never right?

The base is the middle of a Rectangle Art Part, coloured with Crushed Olive Stain, dried, another coat of Crushed Olive for goodly measures and dried again.  A good tip to remember when you are colouring your Art Parts with wet stuff, dry it straight away.  It is, after all, a paper product, leave it to dry naturally and you will get little bubbles under the paper where it has separated the squished (sorry, compressed) layers.  Anyways, as well as inking the base, I also stamped it.  Firstly with that luuuuush honeycomb background from Art For You - I wanted a rough look so only inked patches of the stamp with Olive Archival Ink.  A quick zap with a heat tool to set the Archival and on to the next step, which was adding the floral border along the bottom edge.

This was simples to do: ink up the whole stamp with Olive Archival and then go in with a babywipe to remove the green from the flowers, then use the corner of a Vermillion pad and ink the flowers, stamp, voila, border!  I just so happen to lurve this stamp - I think it is probs one of my most used in my collection.  No self respecting Art Part would look complete without a bit of sanding and aging, which is what I did around the edges before drawing a rough couple of lines around to add some faux stitches.  The Wildflower Art Part was stamped with the co-ordinating stamp, coloured with DI/DS and popped onto the base with Cosmic Glue (THE best glue!)    Adding a word is always a good thing so I used the Funky Words Stencil for Art, using a Sharpie Paint Marker to draw through the letters.  Finally, three butterflies stamped onto Grungepaper with Jet Black Archival and then cut out, coloured with Fired Brick and popped onto the piece.  A smidge of rusty wire makes a hanger and ta-dah!  We are done.  See how simple the Art Parts are to use!  Seriously, I can't do difficult (ok, I can be difficult but that is a whole different thing lol) which is probably why I love my Art Parts so much, simply ink, colour, stamp, paint, paper cover etc and assemble!  

Anyways.  Let me tell you about my little jolly japestering that I did last night!  I got a packet of those Hallowe'eny plastic critters from the £1 shop last week.  In the packet were two big fat black spiders.  One of them went onto my Hallowe'en H earlier in the week so I was left with one big fat one.  So, whilst Grim was otherwise occupied (playing Angry Birds.... am sure he is addicted to that game lol) I crept into our bedroom and snuck said spider under the duvet on his side.   And waited.  And waited some more.... and tried my best to get him to go to bed... I was impatient you see... which is never a good thing when you have a jolly jape in-store.  When he finally won his tournament (seriously, I am singing the Angry Birds song in my head alllllllll day... and allllll night rofl) he went to bed... and.... pulled back the duvet... and... *there I am, poised to pee my pants* went "oh, a spider"  And that was it!  Pah!  I shall have to get up earlier if I want to fool him I reckon.  Well, unbeknownst to me, he has put said spider under my side of the duvet.  I went to get into bed and do admit to having a little jolt of "what the ????" when I pulled back the duvet.  Akkk, I am rubbish at practical jokes, methinks I need to go and buy one of those fake dog-poo's and see about putting that in his work boot.  (don't tell him though, that would ruin the surprise!)   Right, I shall away.  I had a lovely afternoon yesterday, we went shopping... and came home with a bag of cat lit (oh boy, we know how to live on the wild side!)  But.  We did see a rather splendid dining room table... so I think we may go back today and look at it again... you never know, I might come home with a tin of cat food today *stop me now, I can't cope with the excitement rofl*  Thanks for looking... TTFN!

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 227 - Metal Gods

Goooooodly Morning Stampers and a very happy Sunday to you all!  Many thanks for all the fabulous frosty entries to last weeks challenge.  This week I am embracing my inner rock chick in homage to one of my fave bands when I was a teenager (sorry Dad for all those "loud" nights with acres of scarves and gallons of eyeliner!) Judas Priest.  The theme this week is.... METAL.  Be it a smidge or a whole shed load of the stuff, all you need to do to join in is make a little something, it can be anything you fancy... add in the theme and some stamping and then pop back here with a link to the place you are showing your entry.  If you don't have a blog/Picassa/webbyphotojobby, you can join in via email or on Facebook.  The theme will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 20th October 2012.

On with my entry for this week.  The sharper eyed amongst you may have noticed this piece on show on Wednesdays show and at the Kettering show too.  I am chuffed with the way it turned out... I was going for the whole "butch metal meets girly butterflies" look.   I used that fab metal foil sheet that I had on the show on Wednesday, embossing with the Couture Creations Heavy Duty & Replacements folders.  Once embossed stuck the stamp to an Art Parts Rectangle Frame... using the Heavy Duty on the frame and the Replacements on the insidey bit.

I slathered (cool word huh?) Black paint right over the top of the metal, allowed it to dry off a bit and then removed some of it with a paper towel.  The paint sits inside all the ickle crevices to give an aged look.  To add a smidge of metal shading, I added dabs of Bronze paint randomly over the metal.  I then took a bit of sandpaper to add some distress to the metal and added smudges of black and bronze paint with my finger.

The butterflies are Studio 490 from the new Art For You set... stamped onto Grungepaper and coloured with Distress Ink.  The Art Part flower was stamped with the co-ordinating stamp from the Wildflower set, embossed with clear and then coloured with Distress Markers.  The LOVE is from the Love, Hearts, Stars Art Parts set, painted black, smudged with more metallic paint and then they were all glued with Cosmic Dries Clear glue.  The finishing touches are a few bits of Idea-ology and a couple of fancy corners.

I had a fab day at the Kettering show yesterday - thank you all who came to watch me demo and took part in my classes... I had a lovely time and it was so nice to meet both old friends and new.  I really must away now though, I am fair pooped and needs my beauty sleep... Thanks for looking... have a F A B Sunday and if you are popping to the Kettering show, please do stop by to see me and say hi!  (I will be the one with the mahooosive zit! lol)  TTFN!

Hels x

Watch The Birdy.... Plus **Candy Winner**

...I dunno about you but it is going faaaaar too quickly now-a-days... that old thing called Time.  Disappearing away in mercurial fashion.  I can't believe that it is October already.  Yesterday I spent some time playing with some new Tim Holtz Xmas goodies... and I was thinking "tis a bit early to be making Xmas tags....."  And then I thunked "actually, no, it isn't, it is October!"   Anyways... enough of the waffle about time passing too fast, on with the announcement!  Tis time to tell you who won my special candy giveaway from last week.  So, I had 68 lovely comments... thank you all btw.  I fed this number in Mr Random.org and he spat out #33 as the winner, which tallies with the comment left by RACHEL.  Please can you drop me a line with you addy and I will pop it into the post for you :O))

On with today's offering.  A few months ago I got all painty and altered this papier mache birdy.  I have altered a fair few birds over the years, from big 'uns to small... and this one was by far the most taxing because she has lots of nooks and crannies that need covering with paint... and in my infinite wisdom I decided to colour each level a different... errrrm... colour!

Good old Cut & Dry foam is a God-send for me - applying paint with it just gives a really smooth blended effect, better than I could achieve with a brush at any rate.  The paints are all Eco Green... I love the smooshiness of these paints and the colours are all gorgeous too.   I used Sand colour to do the pedestal and mixed some white with it to do the standy bit under the bird.  The bird herself was painted with Lake and Birch.  I did about three coats in all to get a nice smooth effect.   Decorating is always the fun part and I went a bit bonkers with the Studio 490 stashly bits.  I stamped the open floral pattern onto the bird using Aquamarine Archival and zapped it with a heat tool to set it.  The standy bit had a dotty stamp rolled around it in Black Archival to make that pop a bit more.

I then got inky with the embellies.  The flowers are stamped onto Grungepaper and coloured with Tumbled Glass and Bundled Sage DI's - colouring front and back so there are not nasty grey bits showing.  I then used a background stamp and Black Archival to add some stamped detailing on the flowers.  

Her wings are based on a couple of Art Part Leaves that I snipped into two, colouring with Peeled Paint Stain and overstamping with the dotty stamp to give it some cohesion.  Her head-dress is an Art Part Floral coloured with Bundled Sage Stain.  I added some Creative Expressions Dazzlers to the middles of the flowers - I wanted her to be a bit jazzy and these are fab because they sparkle nicely.

Of course, no self-respecting birdy would be complete without a pair of specs.. these were formed out of 26 gauge wire - and my thumb also took a hit - my hands are not as strong as they could be and I had a bit of a scrap with the curly bits of the specs... I wanted to get them even... erm.. nope, that didn't happen lol   Finishing touches are scraps of CE lace... I love this stuff and I know, I know, she looks like she belongs in a bordello but I rather like that sexy look to her.

Anyways... that's about it from me for today.  I hope you like her... she hasn't got a name just yet.  I can't decide, last time I made a bird I called her Fanny and we had much mirth and merriment making comments about my Fanny *HERE's that post*   Any ideas for a name will be gratefully received...   Right, I shall away!  Thanks for looking, have a F A B day!  TTFN

Hels x

Spook-tastic....

...I am so into Hallowe'en and love everything about it... the season for starters, I mean, who wouldn't love Autumn, the trees losing their leaves, those gorgeous morning mists, heavy dews holding onto spiders' webs so they look like filigree silver. Ahhhh, then there's my fave festival of the year - Hallowe'en.  I know some peeps cannot stand Hallowe'en... but last year it was made even more special because I went to stay with Ellen just before... and saw all the ameeezin' decorations that she and her neighbours do to their houses and gardens... wishing we could do something like that over here!  I can't believe it is nearly a whole year since we were last together *sob* how time flies... and how I wish I was getting ready to go back again now!  Not long to wait til January though... am counting the days!

Cat Collar Haute Couture by Hels lol

Anyways... waxing lyrical about all things Autumnal and spooky leads me nicely onto showing you my last demo-tag from Friday.... mixing Tarnished Brass Metallic Distress Stain with Rusty Hinge Stain... ooohla-chuffertty-chuffing-la.  Do I LOVE those new Metallics or what!!!  (erm... yep, I dooooo)   I did a splodge of Metallic Stain onto the craft sheet and added a splodge of Rusty Hinge... and then swiped the tag thru them both to mix them.  Drying with a heat tool is imperative otherwise you end up with a pulpy tag... not nice at all.  Oh and... the Metallic Stains give a really cool "fluffy" feeling... a bit of texture to the tag... but still stampable... cool huh?

The die cuts are Tim's Alterations... I haven't got the Scaredy Cat in the Bigz at home so it was nice to play with this one.... and adding the Branch Tree at a jaunty angle made them fit together.  I used a tree stamp from the Xmas Mini's Tim set.. and added a sentiment... et voila, une tag completed!  (did you see me being all bi-lingual then.... am practising for when I eventually go to France... )   Oh and afore I go... please do check out my giveaway... deets HERE... I will be drawing a winner on tomorrow's post so you still have 24 hours left to be in with a chance of winning it... if you want to that is lol   Tis funny really.  When I was driving trains, I always used to treat Autumn with a little bit of extra respect.  You know the whole "leaves on the line" joke.  Well, actually, it isn't really a joke, it is deadly serious....squished leaves on the railhead gives an almost teflon like coating.  And steel wheels on said teflon covered steel rails can be pretty hair-raising in the "slippy season" as us drivers like to call it.  Imagine trying to stop your car whilst driving on black ice with bald tyres and duff brakes... yep, that just about sums it up.  I think just about every driver will have a story to tell about what happened to them in the slippy season.... I have several... I shall save them for another day though lol 


Right, I shall loves ya and leaves ya... I am in the midst of sorting out my Room of Stash - putting stuff away, getting distracted with ink, putting stuff away, getting distracted with paint... you get the picture right?   Thanks for looking... have a wonderful day!  TTFN

Hels x

What To Do....

....mmmmm, you know when you get one of those quandries... want to make sure that everyone is happy but have not a clue how to do it?  Well, the other day I remarked that I am cheesed off with getting 271 nasty spam comments on my blog each day.  That is a bit of an exageration... I have been getting about 25+ each day and it is driving me nuuuuts because there are lovely blog followers out there who haven't got a Google account so need to have the Anon option to leave me some lurve.

Lurve the new Metallic Stains!

However. If I put the Anon option back on, I get spam again... which is what I tried last night - I have had 13 comments advising me that I can grow my willy big, telling me I can buy viagra or other medications online and I can even get some Laboutin shoes at a discounted price.  Anon spam comments make me CRABBY!  Very crabby at that too!   So. The only thing I can suggest is that if you are previously an Anon commenter, firstly, thank you got contuing to leave me lurves (you know who you are) and secondly, if you get yourself a Google account, you can leave me lurves and not have to have a blog - just a  Google account.  Hope that helps!  HERE is a linky to go straight to the "get Google account page"....

Mixing Pewter Stains with Broken China Stains

Moving on... there's only so much moaning I can put up with from myself of a Monday mornin'...  I have recovered from my lovely weekend in Preston - thank you to all the great ladies who joined me on Saturday to get inky and messy, it was lovely to see you all!  I spent yesterday stuck to the sofa... trying to calm this old back down but it is having none of it... so I fully intend to ignore it today and get my room straight (you wouldn't believe the chaos in here just from going away for a weekend!)  And... ssshhh, I just happen to have a couple of the new Tim Holtz Alterations dies to play with.. oh yesh, the Snowflakes and the Tattered Poinsettia... oooohlalalaaaaa, they are lush... Christmas here I come!   Thanks for looking... have a good day everyone.... TTFN!

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 225 - Happy Heart

Goooodly Morning Stampers and a very happy Sunday to you all.  Many thanks, as ever, for all your totes-amazeballs entries for last weeks challenge.  This week the Sunday Stamper theme is in memory of the man with the milk chocolate voice, Andy Williams, who passed away last week.  Happy Heart is my favourite song of his... so the theme this week is... WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY.  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 with a link to the place you are showing your entry.  If you don't have a blog/Picassa/Web-photo-hosty-jobby, you can join in via email or on Facebook.  The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 6th October 2012.

My entry this week has spooked me ever so slightly.  When I heard the news about Andy's passing, I knew right away what this weeks theme would be.  I just needed to make something.  Being as I was busy demo-ing on Friday, I picked one of the tags that I had made for my entry.  The colours make me happy - as do making those big blousey Tattered Florals roses.  Imagine my surprise when I was re-sizing the pics in PaintShopWotsit... and I saw the word William S!  In the little Ornate Frame.  That was a total freaky accident... but so meant to be!

Anyways... my demonstration for this tag was that you can grab any old Distress colours and they all go together beautifully.  The colours here are Picked Raspberry, Peacock Feathers and Seedless Preserves.  They were blended onto the tag and then flicked with water to add some splotchy bits.   I did some background stamping using Rose Madder Archival Ink and gave it all a zap with a heat tool.

I added more stamping using Jet Black for the butterflies and stamped them again onto card, which I then coloured with Peacock Feathers and a waterbrush to make the butterfly stand out.  I added some coloured and stamped card behind the Ornate Frame and popped the butterfly onto it to perch on it.  The rose was made using the largest flower on the Tattered Florals die, coloured using the Wrinkle Free Distress Technique and then overstamped with Plum Archival Ink.  The twigs are actually the Branch Tree die, cut with Grunge and then coloured with Gathered Twigs.

Anyways... that's all from me for today... thanks ever so much for all your lovely comments this week... as ever they are very muchly appreciated.  Have a great day!  TTFN

Hels x

BTW... just thought I would share... this is my 1450th post!!! That's a hoooge amount of waffling!! 

Love... and a Giveaway...

...today would have been my Grandma's 100th birthday - I so wish she was here to celebrate this milestone, although quite what she would have made of this crazy world we live in now I really don't know.  In honour of her 100th birthday I have decided to have a little giveaway.  This Studio 490 Art Part piece is made from a haul of new goodies that I was demoing at the weekend.  To join in with the giveaway all you need to do is leave me a comment here.  I will announce the winner, who will be chosen at random, next Wednesday, 3rd October 2012.

The base of the piece is two Art Part hearts, coloured with Distress Inks and Stains and then overstamped with a really cool honeycomb background stamp from Art For You... I love that background stamp loads... I can see me using it time and again.  I added some Stencils For Arts bits and bobs on the base and sanded the edges to make them a bit shabby.  The rose is stamped three times onto Grungepaper and then decoupaged, coloured with Fired Brick Distress Ink and assembled with a diddy resin flower for the centre.  The LOVE is from the Hearts Art Parts pack... coloured with Fired Brick Stain, dried, sanded to age and then popped onto the stalk of the Echinacea flower - I chopped the leaves off the bottom of this piece and used some of the offcuts to shore up the underneath of the LOVE... so it had something to sit on at the same depth as the stalk (if that makes sense lol)  The butterfly was stamped onto more Grungepaper and coloured with Wild Honey and Fired Brick DI and then shaped to sit a-flutter on the bottom of the heart.  I punched a couple of holes in the top of the heart and added some wire for a hanging.

Indulge me do please... a few words about my lovely Gran.  Everyone always says that they have the best Gran in the world... and mine really was.  She spoiled me with her time - we used to go for lovely walks along the river where she would point out wildflowers to me and taught me all about nature.  And the long walks along the Leeds-Liverpool Canal which was just by where she lived - we used to take a jam-jar and a little fishing net and bring home tadpoles.  We used to catch Sticklebacks and Minnows but she would never let me bring those home.   She used to take me out in the summer holidays on trips to Otley - and every single time, without fail, I would fall into the pond and get my pants wet.   We used to go for walks near Charlie Parker's farm - I remember one time she got caught short... and needed to do the necessary.  In a field of bulls. I never saw her move so quickly, haring across the field with a herd of bulls starting a stampede.  And once we were safely out of the way we couldn't stand up for laughing. Happy memories.

My Gran was quite a reserved woman, not one for public displays of affection... but I didn't need that because I knew that she loved me, the way she would spend so much time playing, teaching me, making cards (ok, covering her in glitter and Gloy glue), telling me stories of the olden-days when she was a yong girl growing up in Wales.  I remember coming home with my O'Level results - not doing as well as I should have.  Instead of berating me, she simply said "you can re-sit them".  

She was a very wise lady -  she had her own fair share of hardship during her life and I think that her aim for me was to give me as much knowledge as possible so my life was easier.  I am sure I am the woman I am now because of my formative years with my Grandma, I just wish that she was here to see how my life turned out.  I was 17 when she passed away, I was never going to be ready for that day and when it came it truly felt like a part of me died too. So. To my dear Grandma, Happy Birthday, where-ever you may be, I will always carry you within my heart and my memories.

That's all for now peeps... thanks for looking... TTFN

Hels x

Sponsoring....

...so a few months ago, Linda from Scrapology asked me if I would like to sponsor one of their monthly challenges. Me? Sponsor? Ooooh, I am very flattered so that will be a big fat yes then! Today is the day that the challenge has started and you can find all the deets HERE. The theme is VINTAGE and I have made this here tag as my entry... and you do need to hop over to see all the gorgeous creations that the team have made too. Oh and did I mention candy? Oh yesh, there's a little bit of candy from me; some Idea-ology Baubles, Corked Vials and Chain Tassels, as well as my tag I made for the challenge.





My tag was made using lots of Distress Inks/Stains and some Tim stamps and of course, some Alterations goodies and Idea-ology. The dressform was cut from canvas covered mountboard, coloured with Vintage Photo, as were the Grungepaper wings. I added some Trim that was coloured with Victorian Velvet Stain to add a little bit of frilliness to the bottom of the tag and dived into my button box to add some co-ordinating buttons to the tag.



I have one of "those" lists today... you know, those lists that are ever increasing and the clock is ticking a smidge too fast for my liking... so I had better get a wiggle on and get stuck into ticking off things on said list. Did I ever mention that I am ever so good at prevaricating? lol Thanks for looking! TTFN

Hels x

Curiously Repackaged...

...tis that time again already folks! Time for the one and only Compendium II challenge, hosted and devised by that marvellous lady Linda Ledbetter... HERE are all the deets on her blog on how to join in with the challenge. Tis all about Book II from the Duke of Distress, to see Tim's blog, click HERE. So, this week (which is the 8th week of the challenge already!) we are turning to page 62 and repurposing packaging.


Now, I don't know about you but I think that packaging is a right royal pain in the backside. I spend hours making trips right across the grounds to the recycle bin (ok, it's outside the back door but I am on a whinge so it sounds better lol) Why do companies seem to think that wrapping products in plastic is going to a)make is more saleable and b) make the consumer very happy when they have to use scissors, knives, nay and thrice, a chainsaw, to get through the iron tough plastic? Humph! Ah for the days when we wrapped everything in newspaper and wasted nowt. So, because I hate waste, I took to collecting all kinds of plastic packaging in order to use it on my arty stuff. Several years later and there are little areas of the Room of Stash that will forever be a resting place for boxes, cartons and tins... However, I am happy to report that I did use some proper packaging on this tag today! Yes, the acetate is from an Alterations die and I have embossed one bit and cut the other bits out and coloured with Alcohol Inks. I got chance to play with my Distress Markers too... oooooh, I loooove these loads, especially on the Ranger Specialty Paper cos it is the bees-knees for colouring onto. Anyways, all the colours/deets etc are HERE on the Stamp Attic blog in case you fancy a nosey :O))


You may have noticed that Mistress Huffy has come to stay today. Oh yesh, she has indeedily. Namely because I got out of bed at stooopid o'clock to get ready and go and see Oliver Cromwell. Well, not the actual real Oliver Cromwell, I am pretty sure that he isn't still about. No, I am talking about the female Oliver Cromwell... nope, not lost me marbles... I am on about the steam locomotive. Well, up we gets and off we go with Grim's lovely pal Richard (hi Richard, am seeing if you are reading lol) So, we gets to a vantage point and find out that the poor old Loco failed last night and the train is now being powered by 2 diesel loco's. Weeeeell, we says, a train is a train so we will wait being as we are here. Aha! Until we found out that it was 97 minutes late. So, we got back in the car, came alllll the way home (ok, so we were 5 mins from home but... am ranting tho remember? rofl)


Right, I shall away... I want to go and park my btm comfy so I can watch the Queen's procession and the RAF flypast (praying the clouds stay high) Oh and did anyone watch the Jubilee Concert last night? All I will say is... Tom Jones = stole the show! Paul McCartney = superstar (obvs) and Madness = were THE best!!! Elton...er, try autotune love.... hoohahhaaaaa, says me, who sings and makes peoples ears bleed! Thanks for looking.... TTFN!

Hels x

Off The Page...

...when is a page not a page? Aha, when it is turned into a little shelfy piece! I have another sample from Saturday's shows; using the same Art Part Book Pages as yesterdays post, just this time I have turned it on its side and added a little Scallop Trim to make a shelf for some goodies. The base of the Art Part was coloured with Black Soot DI and then sanded around the edges to make it a bit shabby... and then some Brushed Corduroy DI was blended over to add some aging.


The frame is the Rectangle Frame from the Sample Pack... coloured with Scattered Straw Stain and overstamped with Pale Ochre Archival... as was the inserty bit which is cardstock coloured with the same. The sentimet is from Love To Make Art and the flower is from Art Works. I used the co-ordinating Art Part bloom from Not Just Flowers for the base layer of the flower, colouring with Scattered Straw Stain, then stamping the same flower onto Grunge and colouring with Fired Brick DI... and finally a Clearly For Art flower to add some dimension. Check out the crochet style flower centre, that is one of the Embellish Your Art pieces... Ooooh, I LOVE those!!! The detailing is so fine and, I know I am repeating myself but... the quality is just brilliant.



I used a smidge of Vermillion Archival to colour the EYA piece to tone it into the design, it comes in a creamy colour so is perfect for altering using inks or sprays. The leaves are also from the Not Just Flowers set, coloured with Peeled Paint Stain and overstamped with that fabby swatch style background from Accents for Art. The ickle shelf is just asking to be filled up with trinkets so a few Lightbulbs and more EYA and that bottle and lily flower... aren't they just GORGOOOOOEOUS together!


Now, you know me, always one to waffle on about the weather... well, isn't it hot!!! The Room of Stash has been turned into a sauna thanks to the southfacing window and hot sunshine beaming in all day - don't get me wrong, I do love a nice sunny day... but I do love a nice cool Room of Stash... I have nabbed the tower fan and am currently sitting being wafted which is nice but it doesn't half blow the old papers and ribbons around. AlfieCat is not a lover of the heat, bless him... although I know some cats are; my old cat, Rosie, used to go and sit in the greenhouse and sweat gently in the boiling heat, she would be in there for hours and appear for her tea-teas all damp with bed-fur! Anyways... enough of me waffling about the weather, I am away to my bed now, our bedroom is nice and cool thanks to the best thing we ever purchased, namely an air-con unit that has more than paid for itself for the past 10 years. I hope, whatever you are up to, you are keeping nice and cool... Thanks for looking... have a lovely day! TTFN

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 205 - Killer Queen

Goooodly Morning Stampers and a very happy Sunday to you all. As ever, many many thanks for your wonderfully colourful entries for last weeks challenge - lovely to see a few new peeps' too. This week is an easy peasy theme. As the song title would suggest, this weeks theme is all about Queens & Crowns. 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 with the link to where you are showing your entry. If you don't have a blog/Flickr/Picassa etc, you can use Facebook or bob and email over to me with the piccie attached (please can you resize the pics before you send them though... I still have one from last week that is too big to download ;o)) The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 19th May 2012.


This week I fancied having a little play with my Studio 490 goodies... stamps and Art Parts go so well with Grunge and Distress. I started by colouring the base of the large oval frame with Black Soot Distress Stain. This covers so well and quickly and dries in the shake of a lambs tail too. I sanded the edges of the base and then smudged some Vintage Photo DI around it to age it. The frame itself was coloured with Scattered Straw Stain and then overstamped with Monarch Orange (oooh, Monarch, just realised the significance! No, actually, I used that colour on purpose... ahem)


The background for the centre was Antique Linen and Scattered Straw Stains smooshed onto my craft sheet and the card was dipped and dried to get a splotchy background. I used the same flowery background stamp and Pale Ochre Archival Ink to stamp to make a really pretty delicate base for the sentiment. That was stamped in Jet Black Archival and the card was coloured the same way as the base bit. I added some flowery stamping on the base card with Vermillion Archival to break up the background a bit.



The floral decoration is a combo of Art Parts and Grungepaper with a resin bloom for the centre. Queenie is stamped onto her co-ordinating Art Part and the crown was stamped with the Squolka-Dot background (one of my faves) I added the words to the crown and the frame... totally inspired by one of the pieces I made in those classes I was lucky enough to take with THE Wendy Vecchi last year.


The ickle shelf is a Scallop Border, coloured as the base of the frame, sanded, blended etc and then loaded up with bits and bobs. The little lamp is just soooo cute... that is an Art Part which has been coloured with Stains and overstamped with Archival and I added a Chain Tassel as a lightpull (another idea nicked from Wendy) There are a few crowns on the shelf, along with a couple of buttons, the Art Parts Scissors and some more resin blooms.


Right... I had better get myself to bed... another scheduled post because today I shall be at The Stamp Attic with my Alcohol Inks class.... am really looking forward to this one because I love Alcohol.... Inks! Whatever else did you think I meant? Thanks for looking... as ever, have a lovely day! TTFN

Hels x

Makes Me Happy...

...to get inky and messy!!! Which is exactly what I got up to yesterday afternoon... a couple of hours playtime in the Room of Stash faffing with Distress Ink and a whole host of delish Tim products. I decided to go for something completely different and alter a mirror... then I got distracted with a tag and... well, I made a tag lol The altered mirror is still unaltered and my desk is now overflowing with Art Parts and Studio 490 stamps. I did buy the mirror about 381 years ago and another couple of days laying bare won't hurt it lol


I started off by using Multi Medium to make a resist of my fave and probably most inked stamp which is the long script stamp from Letters to Santa... I can't help it, it gives a gorgeous image that isn't too in-your-face. I then grabbed some Distress Inks; Squeezed Lemonade, Spiced Marmalade, Fired Brick, Aged Mahog and Walnut Stain and blended them over the tag and then spritzed with water to distress the colours. I did a bit of background stamping using Jet Black Archival but then went and covered those up with the embellishments.


The flowers and leaves are Kraft Glassine cut with the Tattered Florals, M&S Branch and Tattered Leaves dies... the leaves were made by colouring the Glassine with Lettuce and Pesto and Gold Mixative Alcohol Ink and then crumpled up and Walnut Stain rubbed over the top. The flowers are slightly different... I used my finger to smudge some Bronze Perfect Pearls onto a couple of them, heated the Glassine which changes the surface so it grabs the PP's so they are stuck in there and won't make everything they come into contact with blingy. The Tattered Pinecone has been kicking about my "shelf-of-things-made-and-not-needed-so-put-on-the-shelf-of-things-to-use-sometime" That is made out of Grungepaper and some kind of brown DI. I added some Idea-ology and made a little banner from Film Strip and then popped one of those gorgeous File Tabs onto the edge of the tag... I LOVE those File Tabs!


I would love to say that this tag took a couple of minutes to make but... it didn't. Mainly because I am nursing a broken arm, broken hip, broken shoulder, broken wrist, broken knee, broken ankle, broken elbow, broken head and a broken nail. Well, I might be exagerrating a smidge or so but... one thing I do know is that I am in a g o n y! Oh ho, indeedily, skateboarder girl here (ok, skateboarder old bag) is suffering with aches and pains and bruises and stuff. The main hurty bit is the top of my right arm... that's the main part that landed first. I am going off for a rest now (am scheduling this post) cos I am away to Bedford to Stamp Addicts for a demo day today. If you are going, please do come and say hi! Right... I shall hobble away and get myself to my bed. Thanks for looking, as ever, have a lovely day. TTFN

Hels x