Don't Miss...

... Where In The World Is Your Vagabond! HERE is the link to the Sizzix Blog where the lovely, not to mention uber talented Tammy Tutterow is running a promo asking where is your Vagabond... so... here's Victor II, happily half way through cutting the Word Play Alterations die, alongside the up-cycled CD rack (very 1990's Ikea, sorry folks, not got around the altering it yet) which is full of my Alterations dies and Texture Fades... ooh, and a-top of the Alterations Rack is a gorgeous piece of art by the one and only Ellen Vargo - don't worry, I didn't snaffle this one home with me under my jumper, she maded it specially for me :O))



Anyways... don't miss the promo! Go now... there are limited stocks the prize which is a set of limited edition stickers and some of those new Gauge Key jobbies.... I needs some of those! Oooh and I nearly forgot to say where in the world Victor is... well, he is on his cutting station, in the Room of Stash, Chez Sheridan, Northamptonshire, UK :O))

TTFN!

Hels x

Grungy... Scraping In Under The Wire...

... cos I am sooo late with this weeks Grungy Monday challenge entry... mainly because I have been swanning about (pardon the pun) on a river... anyways... without further ado... deets for the fab Grungy Monday challenge can be found HERE on my lovely Ranger Sister, Linda Ledbetter's blog. The challenge this week is inspired by the technique from The Duke of Distress - all the deets are HERE on his blog.



So... when this was a challenge on the Compendium...erm... challenge (ahem) I had "issues" with it. I don't know why but I just cannot seem to get the top coat of ink to look right... so, this time I used Scattered Straw on the base and then Vintage Photo on the top... and I still didn't like it so I bunged some Black Soot on and that calmed it down a bit.




And... feeling rather adventurous, I also did the same tech on the Old Jalopy - which was cut using Victor II *which is a complete darling and I love him more than I loved the original Victor** out of mountboard. The base is Pumice Stone and the top is Black Soot... and the extra 3d-y bits are Black Soot which was then clear embossed.



So... I don't normally do an extra post on a Sunday but today is special because I really wanted to have another go at this tech and had I left it til the morning it would have been too late - a new challenge will be posted tomorrow and I am so getting straight onto it! Anyways... enough waffling from me (again) for a day... have a goodly evening... we are going to watch the final of The Apprentice... my ££ is on either **Tom, Jim or Helen... or Susan ROFL **nowt like sitting on the fence lol** TTFN!

Hels x

**ooooeeeee, well that result was a turn up for the books!!!!**

Feeling Bookish...

...another fabby challenge in BlogWorld is the Simon Says Stamp & Show challenge - which this week is asking to see a FLOURISH. So... I have had this idea bouncing about in my bonce for a while now, ever since seeing the versatile Art Parts book covers and the Idea-ology Ring Binder's and also bemoaning the fact that whilst I lurve to make a nice tag or two, I have nowhere to actually put them... so... book covers, ring binders... a Tag Book! Huzzah!!


The book covers are covered with Crowded Attic paper which had a bit of Trad Tan streaked onto it... then Broken China and Faded Jeans Distress Stains smooshed all over the top. I added in some flourishy stamping using black Archival ink and then faffed for a bit with some Sticky Back Canvas which had the same treatment as the paper.


Now, I am not very dextrous so I always have a right fiddle getting the book covers assembled but it is worth it because they do look rather grand when they are put together. Because Victor has arrived in the Room of Stash, I got chopping with some Alterations. The Sewing Room has got to be the one that I fall back on all the time... well, not literally fall because that wouldn't do the die any good and certainly wouldn't help me but you know what I mean lol The Flourish is cut from Grungepaper and the Movers & Shapers Mini Flourish. I pounced Gold Dabber onto the flourish and then added Queen's Gold Embossing Powder (IMO the best gold powder!) and heated it up... it then melts with the bubbles of the Dabber and gives a mottled bumpy effect.


The title is on a Movers & Shapers Label and made from Ransom Alphaparts... need more of these now... I lurve them! I sanded the little letters, popped a bit of Trad Tan over the top using my finger and then smacked my Vintage Photo Blending Tool onto them to colour them lightly. Inside the book is a tag I made several yonks ago... I used the ickle round file tabs from the Tags & Tabs Alterations, hole punched them, coloured with Vintage Photo and then glued them to the back of the tag. I reckon I will be able to get at least 10 tags into this book... I can see me making more of these - they are fun to do and apart from my sausage fingers making hard work of the assembling - relatively easy too :O))



So... THANK YOU for all the lovely helpful comments yesterday about my beasty bite situation. They are deffo midges because I have seen them... I managed to splat one with my book last night... beastly little critter!! AlfieCat hasn't got a flea - he was "done" last week but I honestly cannot remember a time when he ever did get a flea. Oh and the mattress... 2 years old and vacced regularly so not bed bugs... akkkk, I hate the thought of those let alone getting scoffed by one!!! I love Marmite... so I had a little fingertip of it last night before bed... and.. I didn't get gnashed... so, could be that this works!! Anyways... thank you all again... at least now I don't have to roll around on the carpet and scratch up against the door frame lol Right... time for inkyness again... thanks for looking ... TTFN!

Hels x

Victor Est Morte!!!

...alas and alack... nay and thrice... indeedily I am beyond gutted today... I had planned to blog a tag I was making last night but... I went to cut Brolly Man using Victor Vagabond... and nothing happened... I lined up the gubbins, pressed the button... nothing... not a single peep did he issue forth. So, I checked the plug, moved it to another socket... tried again and it made a little strangle wheeeezey noise... and nothing else.


So, I tried the button to move it in the opposite direction... still nothing - apart from another strangled little wheeeezy noise... and then came the weird smell... like Scalextric cars that are over heating... you know, that mechanical metally burny smell. So, I have deduced that Victor is indeed dead, dead as a doornail... and I am GUTTED!!! I never realised just how much I loved him til he became no more. I mean, it isn't as if I have over-used him... and I used him yesterday morning to cut a dress form and he was fine... so what happened in those 12 hours is a mystery. I am probably going to have to go through the palaver of sending it back to Sizzix and having to wait for them to let me know what is wrong with him... and be without a Vagabond for goodness knows how long and of course, it is Saturday and there's no one there today... booohoooooooo And... above all else I was lucky enough to get a special UK sticker for him when I went on the Artsy Crafts day with the Duke of Distress.. and of course it is stuck to the side of him (Victor, not Tim rofl)... so, I am going to try and get that off... using a heat gun to gently heat the sticker glue cos that is what my lovely Grim told me to do and he is clever. Right... I am going to go and organise the funeral... I will have a couple of extra mourners today because Andrea and Dan have made mercy dashes to comfort me ROFL TTFN!

Hels x

Grungy...

...Monday!!! Oh yes indeedily, there is a brand new challenge in Blogland and hurrah and thrice for lovely Linda Ledbetter for devising this challenge to take up where the Compendium Challenges ended. This new challenge is based on the products and techniques of the one and only Duke of Distress... yes, a challenge focusing purely on the works of Tim Holtz... well how could I not join in!!! The challenge this week is based on THIS TAG... and here is my take on it... *I actually started this tag on Tuesday morning but...erm... got a bit distracted with that news lol... ah, cannot go a single day without mentioning that news rofl*




I cheated... big stylee.. because I asked Victor Vagabond to cut me a nice piece of Grungeboard into a butterfly shape... see how clever he is...he even cut some fancy paper to go underneath it... and then he went and made me a bacon buttie... *I made the last bit up... but just think, that would be well coolio wouldn't it!!* The base of the tag has the Flourish Mask on it... which, alas, has had to go to the big Mask Heaven in the sky... because... Mrs Thicko here decided to dry the base before removing said mask... and it ...erm... shrivelled right up... oooopsie-daisies...



Now, the letters... humph, I have the stamp that Tim used... but... it isn't actually in the Room of Stash at the moment... it has had to go on a little jolly jaunt that I can't tell you about yet but all will be revealed in...erm.. about a months time ;o)) Anyways... I have got some of Tim's Chronicles Alpha Stamps which are positively ancient but still work fine... so I improvised... used these, cut them out and then added dots and swirly bits to the background.



I also want to tell you about Kat... she is the Guest Designer over on the Artistic Stamper Creative Team blog this month and her first contribution is blogged today... and... OMG... it is totally stunning... all the deets are HERE if you fancy seeing something utterly gorgeous! Right... I have a day to myself cos Grim is working til late... what to do first... make the bacon buttie that I now need because I mentioned it a few minutes ago and now I am craving one... or... make another tag??? Ahhh, decisions, decisions.... thanks for looking... have a lovely day... TTFN

Hels x

Sunday Stampers - Week 147 - Not Fade Away...

...Goodly Afternoon Stampers... erm... firstly, thank you for all the lovely entries last week... and secondly... apologies for posting the new challenge so late. The reasons are... last night the t'internet decided to go off... so I couldn't get online at my usual time... and I was fully intending to post first thing this morning... but... alas... Lionel Laptop is in a very grave situation and he is clinging onto life with his tiny little keys... dunno what it wrong with it... my tech guy is trying to fix it at the moment (that be Grim, of course, the font of all knowledge when it comes to anything computery or teckernicals... thank heavens for him!)



Anyways... the new theme today is ... to use... TEXTURE FADES/EMBOSSING FOLDERS/DRY EMBOSSING on your entry... along with a bit of stamping thrown in for goodly measures. To join in, as usual, leave a comment for me here along with a link to the place that you are showing your entry. The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 2nd April 2011. This weeks theme has been chosen by Ellen ... I am now recruiting for peeps to give me ideas for themes for the Sunday Stamper... so if you have a good idea and would like to choose a theme for us... please do email me... but wait til Grim has fixed the laptop rofl The only "rule" for the theme is that the theme has to somehow link to a song title... and that can be any song title at all :O))



For my entry this week I have embossed some cardstock that I had inked and sprayed... using Distress Stains and Ranger Colorwash Sprays, I created an inky background and then ran the cardstock through Victor and the sunray Texture Fade. I sanded the cardstock and then stuck it to the frame using Multi Medium



The little frame was attached with jump rings and those little hooky screwy things... being covered with more of the coloured cardstock and having a big layered Rosette in the middle... the card to make the Rosette was more of the inky sprayed stuff... stamped with a script stamp - but that doesn't show up too well on the pics. Oh and underneath the little hanging is a piece of card that I painted, inked, sprayed, splatted and then stamped... again, it doesn't show up too well on the pics.



Right... I had better go... my handsome tech guy is waiting to get back to sorting out the probs with Lionel... it is serious folks... which isn't a good sign - there is something wrong with Outlook... and that means that I can't get my emails... which is annoying...so, if you have emailed me and I haven't replied, it isn't cos I am rude... nope, it is because my stoopid computer is having surgery! Thanks for looking... TTFN

Hels x

Whole Lotta...

...Rosettes! Yesterday was a goodly day indeed because the new Alterations Mini Rosettes Die arrived in the Room of Stash... I have been patiently waiting for this forever... and it is here!!! Victor made light work of making the rosettes... and wow, I luuurve them! So, I was just faffing really, using Victor (who, btw, is the Vagabond that lives with me now) and cutting various of the Alterations dies... and I decided to do another canvas... similar to the Sunday Stamper canvas I made... deets are HERE if you would like to see it :O))



The canvas is that 5" square size again... you know, the one I haven't ever liked and now...erm... it seems to be my favourite! Well, I covered said canvas with papers from the Lost & Found stack... the page that is all bright blues and flowery... I have never used this page so I decided to chop into it... made the rosettes from it and then used it to cover the canvas. But first, I painted it with Traditional Tan paint (what else would I use) and then I used a combination of Cyan Dylusions and Butterscotch and Espresso Colorwash Sprays. And... combined it gave me this bluey green colour which I was rather taken with. (edit..for some reason I started to talk like I was in a Jane Austen period drama then LOL)




So... the base for the front of the canvas has some stamping on it... I used just water to stamp a script background... this lifted the sprays off and made the paint show through a bit...cool! I also used Coffee Archival to stamp a flourish. I then set about altering the colour of the Grunge that I had cut... the Gadget Gears and Hardware Findings are cut with Grungepaper and the Hanging Sign & Flourishes are cut with embossed Grungeboard... oh and check out the little zig-zaggy thingy at the bottom of the canvas... that is the new Pinking/Scallops On The Edge... that was cut from plain Grungeboard. All of these bits were painted with Trad Tan and then spritzed... I used Worn Leather to colour the hinge and the gears... and the largest of the gears is sitting underneath the rosette...



Which leads me nicely onto the rosette... each layer was spritzed with the Cyan and Butterscotch and then I dabbed Trad Tan over the top of them to make them pop a little. The centre of the rosette is a Maya Road Resin Bloom... which was also coloured using a dirty bit of babywipe... gotta love those cleaning up babywipes that are soaking with the sprays... they also coloured the trim at the bottom of the canvas and the word... which, BTW, I have just realised... is the theme for the Simon Says Stamp & Show challenge this week... and I know I have already entered... am wondering if I can enter again... shall I try and see what happens??? Do you double dare me LOL



Anyways... as usual... I have waffled on alarmingly and you have probably nodded off by now... You know how I have "favourites" and, well, most things are my favourites ... well, this new Mini Rosette die is my absolute fave ever.... I can see I am going to get heaps of use out of it... and the fact that I have been trying to make a layered rosette ever since I got the big one and keep bodging it just means that I can do it now without snipping and then whinging that I can't get it to work... oh and I got the new dies and the ...ahem... new Idea-ology from The Artistic Stamper... just saying ;O)) Right, time for bed.. again.. it seems it is always time for bed when I am blogging... that makes me sound like a right lazy old moo... am not... really... honestly... well, ok, sometimes lol Thanks for looking... TTFN

Hels x

Simon Says... Stars...

...the Simon Says Stamp & Show Challenge this week is Stars... and I have been busy and made a tag and a half. I say a half because that realllllly annoyinggggg thing happened whilst making the first version... yep, I dropped an Archival inkpad straight onto the tag... needless to say, the swearbox ihas just enjoyed being fed lol



So, I have made this tag from scratch... cutting the tag and the paper cover using the Alterations Tag Die... and...Victor (I promise I am not going to be annoying and mention the Vagabond in every post... ) I pasted the paper (Crowded Attic) over the top of the card tag using my last few drops of Multi Medium (sob, need more!) and then used a babywipe to smudge some cream paint to dull the text on the paper. I then splodged some Walnut Stain Distress Stains onto the craft sheet and smudged the tag through it... The stars are Tim stamps... and Idea-ology hanging from the Charm Clip (that I broke my nail on trying to prize it open... I am thinking, I should have left this tag alone after the first mishap LOL)




The butterfly is another stamp from the new Papillon set by the one and only Duke of Distress... coloured with a waterbrush and Distress Inks.. and then spritzed with Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls mists - this makes it shimmer, like a real butterfly. The frame is cut using the Tag die again and Ten Seconds Studios metal (Bronzed God - my absolute fave!) Oh and I used Stains to change the colour of the seam binding and trim.




So, here is the bodged tag... I wouldn't mind but I had faffed for half an hour with it... and yep, I tried to get rid of the ink but... it is stuck fast... sometimes things just ain't resurrectable (is that a word???)





I am happy today because the sun is streaming in thru the window of the Room of Stash (hey, it is sunny outside too LOL) and it has put a ... spring (geddit) in my step! Right, time to get cracking on the Sunday Stamper for tomorrow... if you like a challenge pop by to see what I am up to :O)) TTFN

Hels x

Chop Chop...

...actually it is more like Cut Cut... but more of that in a mo! Have you tried the new Distress Stains? I have a few colours and I lurve them and now need them all (well, a full set is always the best to work with isn't it? lol) So... I have seen loads of delish things being made with the new Papillon set of stamps from the one and only Duke of Distress... and I am a lucky, lucky lass... Grim got me a set!!




So, with said new stamps in my inky mitts, I hastened to the Room of Stash for a little play... I had this idea that I wanted to do a tag using a clear resist for the text and then having the butterflies over the top. Well, I inked with clear, embossed with clear, heated it all up, let it cool down and set... made sure that all the bits were embossed... and then I slapped a load of Distress Stains over the top, spritzed them with water, dabbed the excess fluid off and dried gently with a heat gun - so as not to disturb the resist... as I was drying I spotted the Stains were being odd... you know, not doing what I expected... they actually started to move into the lines of embossing... I was miffed because I didn't want that look at all... nope, not one ickle bit. Here is said tag:




And a close up:




Well, never being one to allow a little mishap to stop me, I started over... and yes, it worked fine this time.. because I did it a little differently... I just slapped the Stains on and didn't add water misting... this time it worked a treat, how I wanted it to... but now, looking back I can see that I misjudged the messy one - cos I actually really like how it turned out. I am going to faff with it in a bit and make it into a fancier tag... that'll learn me to judge in haste!!




Anyways, that there pic above is the piccie of the finished tag II - I used Clearly For Art to make the butterflies raised... and used the Stains to colour the Trims and the seam binding ribbon. So... yesterday was a trial indeedily. You know I was waffling on about IT arriving... well, I checked the tracker at about 9.30am and it said... for delivery Friday!!! Eeek, they changed the day!!! Well, after sulking, slamming doors and generally being a petulant child, I decided that waiting until today would just have to be accepted... anyways... guess what?? IT arrived!!! Late yesterday afternoon!!! After spending several hours staring out of the window, willing a UPS van to turn into the Close, I decided to just give up and walk away. So, diversion tactics, I went for a mooch onto the drive to look at the bulbs that are coming up... then I heard an enginey noise, looked up and sure enough, UPS is driving down the Close.. I nearly hyperventilated on the spot!!! So, the van is outside the house, and the driver is on his phone... for FIVE minutes!!! I was standing at the door hopping from foot to foot and the driver was oblivious to the mad loony looking woman - either that or he knew what was in the box... and was making me suffer rofl So, it is here, it has had a naming ceremony, it has been stickered up too.. I used that sticker that Tim gave to me when we did the class...well, he didn't actually physically give me the sticker (everyone got one) but that sounds good lol So... may I introduce... Victor!




Isn't he handsome!!! He has a new home on the "cutting station" ... ok, on the cabinet but... oooh, I lurve him... and he is soooo quiet, and cuts perfectly, I have been cutting with all my Alterations - I have to admit the first time I used it I was a bit tentative... I am not known for being light of touch and I had visions of busting it the first time I tried to cut something... but it worked a treat! I want to say... publicly... THANK YOU to my Grim... I love my new toy!!! Right, time to get back to the cutting... thanks for looking... TTFN

Hels x