Sunday Stamper - Week 270 - Green Onions

Gooodly Morning Stampers and a very happy Sunday to you all.  Big big thanks for all the gorgeous entries for last weeks challenge... so many different takes on the theme, I love it!   This week is a nice and easy theme... and it is to use GREEN.  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 a link to the place you are showing your entry.  If you haven't got a blog/web-photo-hosty-thingy, worry not, you can also join in via Facebook (simply tag my name on your uploaded photo) or via email - just attach a small size pic so I can see your creation.  The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 18th August 2013.

This week has been a bit of one of those weeks for me and I wouldn't be honest if I didn't say that I have been pretty poorly.  Thankfully, I think I am on the way up again as last night I heard the most almighty crack, not to mention feeling it, in the old lumbar war wound.  Basically, I have a growth of bone over the area (a throw back from old surgery) and it has cracked... pinching the sciatic nerves and goodness knows what else too!  Well this almighty crack happened and all of a sudden the sciatica started to fade, it is still here but nowhere near as bad.... and the cramps that I have had for the past 6 days have also started to relax a bit too!  Hurrah and thrice! Could this mean that I am nearly back to normal?  Well, whatever normal is!!! Sure hope so!  During the past few weeks my old Mojo has taken a jaunt off to Mojoville for his summer holiday, leaving me with one of those aches... you know what I mean, you NEED to make something but everything you turn your hand to turns to cack?  Well, last night, following said loud crack (and believe me, it was loud, I saw birds in the trees taking flight lol) the old Mojo slid back home... he is being a bit shy and isn't hammering on the door of my brain but I can feel him lurking... so I grabbed the opportunity with both hands and got to work!

A couple of weeks ago I taught a fabby retreat weekend in Middlesbrough and, as usual, I have demo samples half finished... I never get the chance to finish my demo samples... ever!  Basically, I come home, bung said half done thing under the Desk of Detritus (the second desk in the Room of Stash has been so named and it is covered in and full up underneath of such an array of stuff....)   Anyways, being as I have been a lazy old slattern again and not even unpacked properly after the weekend, I spotted the half done canvas sitting on the Desk of Detritus and decided that it would be perfect for the Sunday Stamper this week.   At one point I was worried I wouldn't be able to do an entry myself... yikes!   The background colour was made using my Drippy Distress Paints technique.  BTW, if you have the latest Craft Stamper, I have done a Master Class on Distress Paints in it and the technique is featured!   Anyways... drippy paints all over the background, a spot of stencilling using one of my fave stencils, Foxgloves by That Special Touch and Grungepaste coloured with black paint for the texture.

The stamping is one of Finnabairs little clear stamps (love this dotty stamp) applied by stamping onto tissue and using Ranger Glue & Seal Matte to adhere the images to the canvas.  As ever, I did a two tone border, I know, I know, predictable but I do love the black and cream effect.  A lot of shading using a Stabilo All Pencil and some spritzing with Black Marble Dylusions completed the background.  Now for the time consuming bit... the embellies.  I always take a yonk and a half to get the embellies right and have issues with trying to stop... as you can tell, this one is loaded up big stylee!  I few colours of Treasure Gold to add some metallic highlights and the white flowers were spritzed with Cosmic Shimmer Misting Inks, Shimmer Sprays and Black Marble Dylusions.  Most of the embellies are from the Mechanical and Junk Yard collections from Prima.  Check out the little frame for the word (yes, I know, WISH again, well, it is my word of 2013) this was part of a lovely RAK I received this week from my friend Miriam.  It is patterned on one side and plain wood on the other... so I popped Treasure Gold onto it and altered it to look like metal!  Cool huh!  

Right, that is enough waffling from me for one day... I must just say a mahoosive big thank you to all who left me a comment wishing me well.  I truly appreciate you taking time out and it did cheer me up.  I shall be having a couple more "easy" days to make sure I am over the worst and then hopefully I will be back to fighting fit again (well, as fit as I will ever be rofl)   Thanks for looking, have a fabby Sunday!  TTFN

Hels x

It's A Wrap....

... oh ho ho, I do love a nice play on words you know... it appeals to my inner literature demon...  The "wrap" I am waffling on about is the Gallerie Wrap canvas kit that I have been playing with for this months Snazzy DT.  Here's a taster pic of the piece I made... and HERE is the link to the Snazzy blog so you can see the piece in full.  Whilst there, you will also love to see all the gorgeous creations that my talented teamies have been making this month too... seriously, Gillian had her swoonworthy canvas as a "blogworthy" mention from the one and only Duke of Distress, Tim... among Lesley's creations is a beautiful textured piece with a classy colour scheme, one of Nicky's creations made a total breathtaking WOW with colour (not to mention my fave 490 stamps) and Astrid made some seriously tactile mixed media lushness...   so, a word of warning... you may needs a cuppa and a packet of HobNobs with you when you visit :O)

In other news... Grim's toe is beginning to get back to normal, at one point last week it resembled a mouldy olive (I am sure he will lurve me for reporting that!) and he is back to work today (booohooo, it has been soooo nice having him to myself)  But!  I am awarding myself "a day off" today.  Apart from the usual pushing of the hoover about and catching up on the ironing, I know plenty of you will be saying "poor Hels... having ironing to do..." when in actual fact.... I love ironing!  I know, I am weird, I do love to have a big pile of crumpled clothes and spend a while pressing them and then they are all neat and smooth again... only to be creased and crumpled when they are rammed into my over-stuffed wardrobe that is full of... erm, ahem, ahhhh.... stash. It is getting bad you know, I now have about 10" of hanging space (for short things, the boxes at the bottom of wardrobe are now piling up) and I really need to sort it out... I shall do that... erm... another day though!  I am planning to have a day or two this week doing arty stuff in preparation for my next batch of classes so I needs a day off to get the old Mojo revved up and raring to go.  He has currentlly beggared off on his holidays so I am hoping to tempt him back to do some new stuff....   Anyways, I digress... going off at a tangent as usual.  What I was saying is today is a day off from worky stuff and you never know, after the ironing and the stuffing of clothes into the store cupboard that masquerades as a wardrobe, I may just sneak into the Room of Stash and do some inking, take old Mojo by surprise!   Right, I shall away... as ever, thanks for looking!  Have a goodly day!  TTFN

Hels x

Lucky, Lucky, Lucky....

...I should be so lucky... lalalalaaa... did you hear me signing?  No? Probably not a bad thing as I do tend to make peeps' ears bleed when I warm up the vocal chords.  Anyways. I am indeedily lucky because the delicious folks at Snazzy's have sent us teamies some new stuff to play with this month... and it is only the Sunrise, Sunset goodies from the one and only Ania Dabrowska for Prima.  Oh! My! Good! Lordy Lordy!  It is LUSH.  I have some exciting news too... this week, for one week only, there's a special challenge running over on the Snazzy's blog... HERE is the link to the post so you can nip over and visit. And, what is more... there is a prize! Oh yesh, a LUSH prize!!!   And... you can also see some of the projects that the teamies have made with said lush stash.  Here's my project in its entirety....

It started life as a canvas board in a frame, making it about 8" square.  True to form, I used the heavenly papers to create a paper blocked background... seriously, those papers, well, once I had wiped off the drool and stroked them for several days, I finally got brave and cut into them... worth it I think, be brave, cut into your papers, they love it!!!  (that's what I tell meself lol)

A very light wash of Trad Tan paint to blend all the papers together, then a coat of Glue & Seal and then once dried, I got cracking with the embellishments...

I used a charcoal pencil and Cut & Dry Nib to create the shading between the overlaps on this one, I wanted to do a more subtle shading than my normal Stabilo All Pencil.   The flowers are plain old white ones that had a generous squirt of Orange Sunset, Post Box Red and Black Dylusions and then some added bling with Ancient Copper Cosmic Shimmer sprays.

I broke up the background slightly by stamping my "new fave" stamp, which is the little dotty stamp, also from Ania's collection.  Stamping in Jet Black Archival and heat setting as we have the Glue & Seal layer making it a waterproof surface.  Once these had dried, I set about altering some of the wooden embellies that are also in the range.

The chequerboard (always going to be a winner with me... ) was painted black and the scallopy bit was coloured with Treasure Gold.  The metal embellies are Graphic 45 - the butterfly was overstamped with a script stamp, again using Jet Black Archival... and the flowers, I used a pair of pliers and changed the shape of the petals.

And there you have it... an altered canvas made into a special piece of wall art.  The collection that Anna has put together is second to none, I was lucky to see all the goodies at CHA and knew immediately I *needed* it all... the embellies are SO gorgeous, the metal in the flowers is sturdy but can be shaped and also, can be cut into too!    I shall away now, I have a busy day.  This Room of Trash is getting totes out of hand, I needs to get it organised and sorted because I have a project in my head I want to get made... and at the moment, every single flat surface is covered in boxes, stash, junk... and every chair has boxes stacked on it... nightmare! I thinks I may be some time lol   Thanks for looking... have a great day!  TTFN

Hels x

Feeling Tattered...

...yep, that be me...but more of that in a mo!  But ... that also be the canvas I have to show you today.  So, last month, the one and only Duke of Distress (aka Mr Tim Holtz) issued forth a challenge... he said "make something using the Tattered Florals die".   Well, never being one to shy away from a challenge I decided that because the Tattered Florals die is my most beloved and used die from the Alterations collection, I would, indeedily, join in.  After all, it is a challenge and Mario (Mr BTS) also had hinted there be prizes!  Well, I had this planned out and sketched three weeks ago.  I know!  Three whole weeks.. that is 21 days of having the sketch sitting there, waiting to be made into something real.   I knew I would be coming to this canvas in dribs and drabs because of work commitments.  What I didn't factor in was my stoopid war wound flaring up and rendering me unable to even sit and make a rose!   And.. the deadline for the challenge has been and gone... alas, I didn't get it finished in time but... I rather like it so thought I would share it anyways.  (plus, being as I have been crippled with agony for the past week or so, I ain't got 'owt else to show you lol)

So.  My usual paper blocking (addicted.... to see the original genius who invented this technique CLICK HERE... her name be Paula Cheney and I have a craft crush on her art and genius ideas)   Anyways, paper blocking with some Bazzill Aged papers and then a nice coat of Mushroom Eco Paint to blend the papers together.  The next coat is my "safety net" layer - using either Multi Medium or Glue & Seal not only gives the papers a coat of protection, it also means that if you goof up any spraying or stencilling you can wipe it off and not make the papers yukky.  I used my Stabilo All pencil to add black lines to emphasise the layers of paper and then gave the canvas a smidge of a spritz of Black Marble Dylusions spray.  And, because of the sealed layer, if you do goof this bit up, simply wipe it off with a babywipe and try again.  Good huh?

Next came the die-cutting... those Tattered Floral roses I make are my fave... I love the big and blousy nature of them (ahem, bit like me right?)  I made three big roses from the largest flower on the die and then 3 smaller roses using the smaller flower on the die.  If you have not made roses like this before or are struggling, there's a photo tut in my left hand side bar.   Now, you all know I am a disciple of the Goddess of Embellishing, the one and only Ania Dabrowska (HERE is her blog) and I just took delivery of lots of her new embellies (actually, ok, I got the whole lot - stamps, stencils, papers, the lot... well, I sent those pixie fitting shoes back... the refund was well spent lol)   So, I used one of the new stamps that is also part of my Snazzy DT pack this month (HERE are some of the gorgeous creations from the other teamies)  I stamped the dots in black Archival and then heat set it - we got that sealed layer remember... and Archival needs heat setting on anything that is shiny or waterproof.  Next I set about adding leaves, cut from the Tattered Leaves set and then came the fun bit... the embellishing!

Now, I make no secret of my "word of the year" which is WISH.  And because I plan to hang this canvas in the Room of Stash, I figured that this word would do very nicely, so I die cut the letters using Grungeboard and the Word Play Alterations die... then painted the letters black and gave them a good old coat of Glossy Accents - which fits in with the Sunday Stamper this week ... and there's candy for an entrant too... deets HERE if you fancy a chance at winning some nice stashly goodies.    I used Florentine and White Fire Treasure Gold to add blingy metallics to the embellishments... check out the butterfly - that is a Graphic 45 metal butterfly, stamped using another of Ania's stamps using Black Archival and the little nut in the middle is an Engraver (Prima) embellie and it says... ART! Pretty cool huh?  Anyways, once it was all assembled and dried, I bobbed two Screw Eyes into the back and added some wire so my canvas can hang nicely in the Room of Stash....   I just wish I had got it finished sooner but.... 

So.  This old war wound has been getting me down for a few weeks now and countless phone calls to get an appointment at the Dr's finally paid dividends today when I actually got in to see him.   Seems I am in the middle of a "crisis" at the moment... because it is a degenerative disease, it means that I poddle along coping with the pain levels for a while, then it gets worse, I feel more pain, I then get used to the worsening pain and so the cycle begins.  This time though... I swear, sitting, standing, laying down, walking... you name it, it has been a.g.o.n.y!   Well, the Doc has said that it is another "crisis" and he has given me some more meds to take with the cocktail of meds I already take.  I have taken two so far and within about an hour of the first one, I felt able to sit and finish the canvas!  Yay!  I admit, I do feel ever so slightly squiffy... which isn't going to help me when I need to drive but if I can get the pain back in its box, I will be able to work around that.   Anyways, enough of my wafflings on about negative stuff... and onto the positive... I am getting myself ready for the Four Day Deal starting on Monday (yep, 1st April, I am not even contemplating any April Fools' = I am fool enough lol)  If you haven't seen the sidebar, I am doing a special Melt Pot thingy on Create & Craft.    Should be good!   Right, I have kept you long enough with my ramblings, I shall away to get some more art made before the pills wear off!  Thanks for looking... have a great evening... TTFN

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 249 - Brown Eyed Girl

Goooodly Morning Stampers and a very happy Sunday to you all.  Big thanks for all your grand entries for last weeks challenge... on with this week which sees a nice and easy "colour" theme... to use... BROWN somewhere on your design.  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 and leave a comment with a link to the place you are showing  your entry.  If you haven't got a blog or web-photo-hosty thingy, you can also join in via email or on Facebook.  The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 23rd March 2013.

It is a little known fact about me... you know, that I loves brown (ok, everyone knows it is my comfort zone lol)  Anyways, when I got my Snazzy's DT pack last month I fair did a whoop-de-whoop because it was the Engraver collection from Prima... and lots of browns and neutrals in the colour palette.  I had hoped to be able to get this particular piece finished before today but alas, I ran out of time.  So, instead, I finished it off last night after my class and decided to use it for the Sunday Stamper.

You will see my fave paper blocking technique going on, this is a really cool way of using up all those ickle scraps of paper you have kicking about in your crafty stash.   The blocks were just glued onto the canvas with a bit of Cosmic Glue and layered as I went to add in some depth.

The stamping is a little bit frugal on this piece but it still qualifies because if you look closely you will be able to see some script on the metal Graphic 45 butterfly... I did that with Jet Black Archival and then heat set it... and also the little black dotty patches... that is a brand spanking new stamp from the genius that is Finnabair (HERE is her blog) and it just so happens that Snazzy's have some of her new Sunrise Sunset collection fresh in stock.. ooohlalalaa... don't tell anyone but... ahem... I have a little basket sitting there, FULL of the new goodies... and they will be coming home with me later today!  Teehee!  Well, it is compensation for my terrible disappointment with the gorgeous shoes that were made for pixie feet... I got the refund... so ... erm... I spending it on... stash!  Like I said before... stash doesn't have to fit rofl

Anyways... that is more than enough wafflingtons from me for one day... I shall away as I am up early again for my second class at Snazzy's... thank you to the lovely ladies who came along to get all hot and bothered in my Melt Art class today, was lovely to see you again/meet you!   Have a fabby weeks peeps.... Thanks for looking... TTFN!

Hels x

PS... don't forget my giveaways... scroll down for deets :O)