At The Hop!

Greetings!  Welcome to my blog and my leg of the Tattered Lace Blog Hop.  As you probably will have gathered by now, we are showcasing our favourite products from Tattered Lace and mine just happens to be.... the Screen Sensation!  I am so excited to be sharing this project I made using the new Screen Sensation tool... so I won't waffle on alarmingly, I will just dive right in and share photo's and wordage with you:

I had a 12" square canvas lurking in my Room of Stash that I wanted to make into some wall art.  Along came the Screen Sensation and this project popped into my head as soon as I saw the Butterflies screen.  I started by printing the Butterflies using a mixture of White and Harbour Blue ink onto Prepared for Print cardstock.  Once the butterflies had dried, I then used the Antique Script screen, printing in Black ink right over the top of the butterflies.  I love this overlaying technique!

I then used the same mix of inks I had used for the original print of the butterflies but added some Copper and Black inks in dots along to the top of the screen.  As the inks pull over the screen, they give the most amazing marbled effect... almost like a faux verdigris... lush!!

Once the butterflies had dried, I cut them all out and edged them with Rare Earth Pitch Black ink so the wings had definition and I also flipped them over and popped black into onto the backs of their wings.

I painted the edge of the canvas in black and smudged more of the Pitch Black ink around the edges of the canvas just to add a dusty effect... I wanted a more grungy look to the overall finish of the piece, by adding smudges of ink, this is the perfect way to achieve this effect.   I then glued each butterfly over its counterpart on the base print, adding a little black pearl to the body to finish.

By now you should have visited each leg of the hop... here's a list to make sure  you haven't missed anyone out - you will need to visit everyone as there will be questions and a prize of a £50 crafty voucher on the final leg.  You should have started HERE on the Tattered Lace Facebook Page, just click on each name and you will be whisked off to each leg of the hop: 

Lou Collins 
Gwen Fletcher
Debbie Bradley  
Corrine Robinson 

Thanks for taking part, your final hop leg can be found by clicking HERE.... good luck, thanks for looking and have fun!  
TTFN
Hels x

A Magical Day!

Helloooo!  Greetings! Did you feel the warmth in that sunshine on Wednesday?  I tell you what, I actually went and laid down in the garden and soaked up the rays... it was so good to feel the heat in my old bones again... it feels like it has been the longest winter ever *I think as I get older, I find I hate the cold more and more*    Anyways, speaking of sunshine and summer and all things warm... today I have a card to show you that I actually managed to demo on the tellybox shows on Tuesday.   Meet Audrey, one of the Art Nouveau Ladies, she is, IMO, the Goddess of Summer... or Aestas to give her her proper name.  And before you think "oh she's going all clever"  I'm not, I actually know about the Roman Gods/Goddesses of the seasons from my most very favourite and beloved book from when I was a kid... it's called the Winter of Enchantment by Victoria Walker and if you ever get chance to get a copy, do it!  It is the most charming book and I read it frequently still... anyways, in the book the main character has an adventure and meets the Four Seasons... and they are all called by their Roman names... so I am not clever really... just well read 😉

So, back to the card... I stamped Audrey in clear ink and then embossed with Glass embossing powder so I immediately created a resist on the stamping card.  Next, I smooshed Avocado and Khaki Rare Earth Blending Inks (herein known as BI's) onto my craft sheet and spritzed with water, smooshed the card through the inkiness and voila, lovely resist image!  I carefully dried the ink with a heat tool - carefully because we have embossing powders here and they love to re~melt and sink into the card... so gently does it.  I then picked up more of the inkiness and dried again, then used a Dusting Brush (be still my heart, I have found new love... Dusting Brushes... what did I do before I met these little fellas?) where was I... ah, yes, Dusting Brush with Khaki ink, blend around the edge of the card to give it a nice frame.  Next I used my waterbrush to remove some of the ink from the card, let it soak a little while and then blot with kitchen roll to remove the ink.  I added Lavendar Mist ink using a waterbrush to the flowers on Audrey's image and extra Avacado ink to highlight the image.

I made a dinky little envelope from vellum using the cool Tattered Lace Envelope templates... and made a little sentiment to pop inside the diddy envelope.  Finally, I used the Peony die set from the Fleurs range and made a rose... you know how I loves my roses... and the Peony die set is more than perfect... it has loads of different size dies so loads of different size roses can be made... hurrah!

Right, I shall away... I will be back tomorrow taking part in a very special blog hop (tis about 281 years since I last did a blog hop!) so please do pop back for a nosey as I know there be prizes!  Thanks for looking... have a grand day! TTFN

Hels x

P.S... Happy St Patrick's Day to all my lovely Irish followers x

Strike A Pose!

Goooodly afternoon!  Corrrr, I have been busy having fun with the brand new Rare Earth Strike A Pose stamps and I have a couple of cards to show you that I had made for the tellybox shows on Tuesday.

First up is Heidi - she's a gorgeous gal in her ballgown, awaiting the arrival of Prince Charming to swoosh her off for an amazing evening (yes, my vivid imagination is still here).   

I stamped Heidi onto stamping card in clear ink and embossed her with Soot Embossing Powder.  I then stamped her again twice, same method, onto vellum.. cutting out her dress so I could layer it up.  I used Rare Earth Kuretake Clean Colour pens to colour her and her dress in - the turquoise I used is from the High Fashion set (I think this is my fave colour at the mo)  I then used a waterbrush to get that lovely shaded washy effect... vellum always acts the goat when water is added to it, going all flippyfloppy and wrinkly but that actually helped as her dress is more contoured and looks more dimensional.

Whilst Heidi was off with her Prince Charming, Cindy and Elle got together for a night out on the tiles... actually Elle is here twice as I masked Cindy and stamped Elle twice onto the card so we have the three of them, all dressed up, ready for a boogie.   Again I used Kuretake Clean Colour pens to colour in the images and added a touch of sparkle with a Sakura Shimmer pen.

I have been a busy bee this past few weeks and I am currently working on the next lot of shows for the Screen Sensation and I CANNOT wait for you to see all the new screen designs that are being released... you are going to LOVE them! All I will say is that if you like animals and you like colouring in.... bingo!!!   That's all from me for today, must dash, I have left the Screen Sensation alone for 20 minutes and I think it is getting lonely ;O)   Thanks for looking, have a grand day!  TTFN

Hels x

A Kaliedoscope of Butterflies...

...did you know that a "kaliedoscope" is actually the collective noun for a group of butterflies?  I am a mine of useful information you know ;O))   Anyways.  I am back today with another project I have made using the Screen Sensation.  Actually, this is the very first thing I made and I am rather fond of it... I love the verdigris effect I achieved by simply mixing a few inks on the screen as the squeegee pulled them over.

This is a shadowbox that I had kicking around and decided to use my prints in it.  I printed the Bespattered screen onto cardstock using a mixture of Harbour Blue and White ink combined with a smidge of Copper ink.   Once dried, I then popped the Antique Script screen into the Screen Sensation and printed the script in black ink.  It makes for a pretty cool background, doesn't it?

I then printed the Kaliedoscope screen using the same verdigris colours... dotting the different colours along the top of the screen before printing means a more random print so the butterflies all look sooo pretty.

The butterflies were cut out, edged with black ink to make them pop.  I stamped a word and then assembled the whole thing together... oh and the shadowbox?  Coloured with the Black ink I used for the script print... it is such a lovely smooth ink and permanent once dried, it seemed fitting to use the inks for everything I did.

Please do excuse the naff photography... my break away from blogging did not, in any way, improve my photographic prowess! 

That's all from me for today... have a grand day and thanks for looking!  TTFN

Hels x

Just Bloom!

Ohlalaaaa!  I am in a tizzy of excitement at the moment, what with the new Screen Sensation and... I am going to be demo-ing the fabulous Rare Earth brand from Gwen Fletcher and Stephanie Weightman.  If you haven't seen Rare Earth before, I will tell you a bit about it: it is a collection of inks and stamps that simplify the myths of stamping and make it more accessible to both new crafters and us oldies who have been crafting for 271 years.  I am so honoured to be asked to guest present the Rare Earth brand on Create & Craft and my first show will be tomorrow, March 2nd, at 9am and then another show at 1pm. 

A new addition to the Rare Earth family is a set of brand new blending inks.  Now, blending inks... most of us have inks that we blend with so why are these different?  Well, firstly, these are totally permanent once stamped so they won't budge with water, on porous card, they air dry, on glossy surfaces, simply heat set.  However, they blend perfectly and as they are water based you can colour with them, use them to make inky backgrounds, which unlike an oil or solvent based ink, makes a very interesting combination.  Permanent but you can use them to watercolour?  VERY clever!  This is exactly the ink I have been waiting for for a yonk and a half!

Here's one of my demo's I have prepped... I have used a faboooolus mask and stamp set, some vellum and a couple of the new ink colours.  The main colour is called Avocado and it is my favourite (I know, I always have to have a favourite but I just love the tones in this beautiful green). 

I hope you can join me at 9am on Create & Craft - you can watch on Freeview channel 23, Sky 674 or Virgin 748 or online HERE.  If you do get a chance to watch, please do send me an email in and if you have any questions, that will be your chance to ask... plus, I will be giving this card away at the end of the show!   Thanks for looking... have a grand day!  TTFN

Hels x

P.S  Happy St David's Day to all my lovely Welsh friends!

Owl Be There For You....

Goooodly Morning!  I know, don't faint... tis I, the Waffler... the very naughty and most absent of Wafflers at that!  Apologies, hoooge apologies for being absent... yet again!  I know I promised that I would start to waffle more regularly but then "this" happened, then "that"happened, then it was Christmas, then it was January and of course, I had man flu (a most severe attack if ever there was one!) and finally, I am more or less back on an even keel so I decided that I would get my feather duster out, sweep away the cobwebs that had grown over my blog and start as I mean to go on... I am a-scheduling, I am!   So!  News!  You may have seen me pop up ont tellybox last week with a brand new and very innovative tool from the home of Tattered Lace, the Screen Sensation.  If you missed it, fear not, I shall be back on Create & Craft soon with more deliciousness using the Screen Sensation... but if you follow this link, you will be able to see more about this fabulous invention from Stephanie Weightman and her clever team on the Screen Sensation Facebook page.  Seriously, it is not often that a product comes along that gets me pant-wettingly excited... but this?  I love it MORE than I love my Melting Pot. Yup... THAT much!!!  Very, very, very lots!!!

So, imagine screen printing. At home. Messy? Cumbersome screen? Difficult to use?  NOPE! Not any more.  The Screen Sensation allows you to change the screens! Yes!!!!! Hurrah!!!  There are 19 different screens to chose from... at the moment... as there are new ones coming soon (teehee)  There are geometric patterns, designer style patterns which are perfect for printing onto fabric, nature, butterflies... and Wisdom the Owl.  I know I should not have a favourite but I do.  Although, that said, Kaliedoscope the Butterflies are also my favourite as are Silhouette Stems but we won't dwell on that right?

The top photo shows Wisdom printed with Raspberry and Peach Amber inks. Simple, pop the ink on, squeegee over, lift the lid, et-voila!  A perfect print!  I've printed Wisdom onto cardstock but this ink goes onto ANY surface, it's water based, drain safe, non toxic so cleaning the screen is a doddle, pop it into the sink, cold water to clean it and then let it air dry. Super simples!   Once I had printed Wisdom a few times with the Raspberry and Peach Amber, I decided to add a smidge of Blue ink.  The photo above is Wisdom after the first squeegee through with the blue.  This next photo is the second run through, you can see that each print is going to be totally unique and if you click on the photo's you will be able to see the marbling of the ink as it passed over the screen.  Did I tell you I LOVE THIS PRODUCT???  Hmmm, if there was a word bigger than LOVE... I would use it!!!  Ok... I am being clever... LOVE!!!

Anyways.  I am so very honoured to be able to demonstrate the Screen Sensation alongside the wonderfully clever and talented Sarah Payne, who will be demonstrating the way to use the screen on fabrics.  I have even got over my inherant fear of all things material and printed directly onto a calico apron.  Hey!  It was so easy I actually did think about getting yonder sewing machine out from under the eons of dust and setting it up.  Then I remembered I can't even thread the beast and that actually, I can use the Screen Sensation on any surface at all so I went and did some canvassy stuff instead.  I shall share some more photo's of my makes in a few days.... in the meantime... thanks for looking... sorry for being away for soooo long... I am back, I am promising I will be more regular with my wafflings and hey... it's good to be waffling again! 

TTFN

Hels x

Exciting News...

Really!??  I cannot believe that I haven't been and waffled at you for FOUR months!!!  YIKES!!!  I have no other excuse except for life got in the way!  Such a lot has happened this year and not all of it has been very good or very pleasant, in fact, most of it has been pretty chuffing awful and, as a result, Mr Mojo did a bunk (who can blame him with the face I have had on me tho lol)  However, things have started to settle, look up, get better and so on and I have some very goodly and exciting news that I have been all of a dither about...  a few weeks ago, the lovely folks at Tonic Studios asked me if I would like to join their presenting team!  They have some wonderful new stamp releases coming up over the next few months and asked if I would like to come on board and help with the samples and guest presenting the shows on Create & Craft.  What an amazing offer!  How could I refuse?  I am sure that all of you crafters out there know just how great Tonic products are... and I can confirm their stamps are just as fabulous as the rest of the goodies they bring to us.   I am doing my very first shows tomorrow, 1pm and 5pm on Create & Craft, bringing this little fella, Marmalade, to your screens along with his little pals and the various accessories they need to make their world complete.  *please excuse the poor photo quality, I used my phone, I am a rubbish photographer, the original is away at the studio's and this was the only piccie I could find!  Will try harder next time*

Marmalade is a rather cheeky looking bear who really enjoyed the Distress treatment I gave him.  I have coloured him with lots of different colours just to see what suits him, I have paper pieced him, embossed him and also tried the fab Nuvo alcohol markers on him too... as you know, I have always been an inky girl at heart, so this is Marmalade looking very bear-like with his little puppy pal, coloured with Peeled Paint and Forest Moss Distress Ink and a waterbrush.  The panel he is sitting on is a Tonic Essentials circle die set and the words are from the Miniature Moments die "best friends". 

I hope you can join me tomorrow at 1pm and 5pm... I am so excited, nervous, excited, nervous and even a bit more exciteder to be joining the wonderful folks at Tonic Studios, it is an honour to be asked to be a part of their talented team.  Did I say I was excited???    I will also be on again on Tuesday, bright at early at 8am, 4pm and 6pm with a launch of a brand new Nuvo product which has me literally popping with ... um... more excitement!   I shall away now, I need to lay down in a darkened room and do some breathing exercises to calm myself before I am overcome with a full on fit of the vapours!  Thanks for looking and have a grand weekend.

TTFN

Hels x

Carte Blanche for Blossoms & Bookpages!

Goodly afternoon!  Ooh I love it when a plan comes together!  It isn't often that I think of a project and actually make it so it looks like it did in my head.  This project started out in my head looking like... well, exactly like the finished article!  Unusual for me, I usually just slap stuff anywhere and faff around for hours trying to get things to look right.  Over on the Creative Carte Blanche blog, I chose the theme for July, Blossoms & Bookpages.  I chose the theme because I wanted to make this project... and being of slatternly persuasion, it is oft the case I will not end up making something because other things get in the way.  Perfect excuse to get my fingers inky and make something for the living room too.

I bought an old copy of Hans Christian Anderson's childrens stories a few months ago from a charity booksale... it cost me the princely sum of 50p.  One of the stories is Thumbelina.... I have a bit of an addition to fuchsias... well, actually, a lot of an addiction (I have 79 different varieties now *see, told ya, addicted*) and it just so happens there is a new fuchsia called Thumbelina.  I also have the Heartfelt Creations Fuchsia Dies... so... put them together and you get this project!

The shadowbox is from The Range and is 8" x 8", I smidged a wee bit of black paint onto the bare wood, sanded it back and then blended Ground Espresso DI over the surface to get this nice aged look. 

The fuchsias were made by sticking the bookpages onto card, die cutting the shapes and inking with Picked Raspberry and Wilted Violet DI's to get the colours and then assembling the blooms.  The stems of the flowers are thin strips of bookpage/cardstock inked with Peeled Paint and the branches were made (very fiddly-diddly) by twisting bookpages around wire then inking with the green ink plus a smidge of Frayed Burlap.  The base inside is more bookpages, collages, knocked back with Antique Linen and Bundled Sage Distress Paint, splattered with Peeled Paint and Bundled Sage Distress Spray and then gently inked with more Ground Espresso to bring the whole design together.

I decided against adding any embellies (I know, what???) and wordage as I want the blooms to really stand out, it is simple but so pretty I didn't want to take away any limelight from those fuchsias.  Anyways... that's it really... I spent ages making this... the blooms are pretty easy to put together but it was the placement of them and the wrapping of the wire and making sure that it looked exactly like it did in my head...  Thanks for looking, have a grand weekend!  TTFN

Hels x