Sunday Stamper - Week 358 - Breaking the Law

Goooodly Morning Stampers and a very happy Sunday to you all!  Big thanks to you all for joining in with the challenge last week and it was lovely to see so many new peeps taking part too!   The song title this week suggests some kind of naughtiness... and you'd be right for thinking that.. oh yes, with a break from tradition... the Sunday Stamper's theme is...  NO STAMPING!.  You can make absolutely anything you fancy, no stamping at all. *oft easier said than done!*    To join in with the challenge is simples: make a little something, it can be anything you fancy.  Add in the theme AND leave out the stamping!!!  And then hop back here, leave me a comment with a link to the place you are showing your entry and I can come see you.   If you haven't got a blog, you can join in via Facebook (just tag me name) or by emailing a small res.pic to me or by leaving me a link to your Pinterest or any other photo hosting site.  The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 6th June 2015.

So, why no stamping???  Well, I made something a few weeks ago and I love it... and it hasn't a single smidge of stamping on it... and being as I have been a wee bit busy with stuff and what-not this past week, I haven't had a chance to actually make something for today!  Aha, I thinks... let's live on the edge and forget the stamping and go for it with this creation.  I won't go into great detail how I made my entry as it is a class sample and it wouldn't be fair on the lovely lasses who joined me a few weeks ago to make this... but I can tell you there is a truck load of PaperArtsy Fresco Paint, Washi Tape, Tissue Tape and Cosmic Shimmered Flowers to see...

Oh and don't look too closely at the photo's... they are reallllly bad and will make you go boggle eyed... I had just eaten a packet of Pickled Onion Space Raiders and think I had a smidge of grease on the camera jobby on me phone!  Ooopsies!!!

I am being all organised today and scheduling this post (tis Friday, not Sunday, at the moment anyway but by the time you read this, it will indeedily be Sunday - unless I goof up and press the wrong button and you don't get to see this until.......   *uh oh, confooosing meself now*)  You get the idea right?   Anyways, whatever you are up to today, I hope you have a very goodly one... thanks for looking and have a great week!  TTFN

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 357 - All Kinds of Everything

Goooodly Morning Stampers and a very happy Sunday to you all!  Many thanks for all your recent entries to the challenge and apologies for the blip last week... all is back to normal now tho!  The song title is a nod to last night's Eurovision.  The new theme this week is a nice easy one... FREE THEME.  You can make absolutely anything you fancy, no theme... just add a smidge of stamping!   To join in with the challenge is simples: make a little something, it can be anything you fancy.  Add in the theme AND some stamping *this is THE important bit guys, please remember your rubberstamps!*  and then hop back here, leave me a comment with a link to the place you are showing your entry and I can come see you.   If you haven't got a blog, you can join in via Facebook (just tag me name) or by emailing a small res.pic to me or by leaving me a link to your Pinterest or any other photo hosting site.  The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 30th May 2015.

So, as I mentioned yesterday, I have been a bit busy with my houseguest Ellen this last week and we have been spending most of the time yakking or visiting places... we spent a delightful long weekend in Yorkshire and I initiated Ellen into the "Proper Northern Fish n Chip club"... they went down a treat... twice!  Well, when in Yorkshire and all that!

My entry this week is a class sample I put together... it is a 5 x 7" wooden frame, altered with paint and Distress Ink... the insert is inked, stamped, stencilled and die cuts were added... and of course, Mr Butterfly had to make another appearance!  He is just so lovely to use I cannot seem to resist him!

I shall away now... tis time for me to take Ellen back to Heathrow so she can begin her journey back home - I can't believe how quickly the past ten days have gone... blink and you miss it kind of thing!   Thanks for looking... I will be around to visit all who entered into the last few challenges this coming week... have a goodly day!  TTFN

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 350 - You Don't Bring Me Flowers

Goooodly Morning Stampers and a very happy Sunday to you all!  Thanks for your great birdy creations entered into last weeks challenge.  The new theme this week is... FLOWERS.  You can interpret the challenge how you like: make some paper flowers, stamp some flowers, use flowery papers ... the choice, it be yours!   To join in with the challenge is simples: make a little something, it can be anything you fancy.  Add in the theme AND some stamping *this is THE important bit guys, please remember your rubberstamps!*  and then hop back here, leave me a comment with a link to the place you are showing your entry and I can come see you.   If you haven't got a blog, you can join in via Facebook (just tag me name) or by emailing a small res.pic to me or by leaving me a link to your Pinterest or any other photo hosting site.  The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 28th March 2015.  

For my entry this week I have altered a cheapo frame I picked up in B&Q (for the princely sum of £1.78)  It is a 6" x 8" insidey bit (can't think of the proper name - brain fog!) and started off as plain pale wood.   I started by lightly slapping a layer of black paint onto the frame and then sanding back to reveal some of the wood beneath.  Then a good rub of Vintage Photo Distress Ink and voila, one antiquey aged looking frame.  The insert is a piece of cream card, inked with Mustard Seed, Abandoned Coral and Wild Honey Distress Inks and stencilled with the same colours using Tim's Flourish Layering Stencil.  I die cut a couple of the lattice shapes from Tim's Mixed Media Thinlets using black card and cut the out, popped them onto the base card and then inked right around the edge with Vintage Photo just to add a bit of a vintage look to it.

For the decorations, I set about making a nice Ornate Frame - I popped some Ranger Foil onto card, die cut with Tim's Ornate Frame and then scribbled into it with a pointy tool and scootched the inside with a texture wheel.  Next up a slap of black paint to aged it ... wiped off whilst still a bit damp to it revealed the foil underneath.  I then used Hazelnut Alcohol Ink to add a brown tone, once that was dry, I sanded it really lightly to reveal smidges of the metal below.  The stamped sentiment is one of my faves from The Wendy Vecchi (btw, it is NEARLY August, which means NEARLY time to go to her class in London!  I cannot WAIT!)  The flowers are from Tim's new Flower Garden Stamp set - which is what my Alfie bought me for Mother's Day, isn't he a little sausage? Bless him!  Clever kitty!  They were coloured with the same DI's and a waterbrush to achieve a washy effect.  The photo's are really saturated with colour for some reason (um, my rubbish photography skills probably!) but IRL they are much prettier.  Finally I made a Paula Bow and popped a resin rose in the middle to finish.

I haven't been too clever again this week... hence the lack of blogging. (not long to wait til my appointment with the consultant)  I do have a fair few tags I have made to show you so I really must pull my finger out and get them on here... in the meantime, I hope you have a great Sunday and.... Thanks for looking!  TTFN

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 310 - Girl Talk

Goooodly Morning Stampers and a very happy sunny Sunday to you all!   Thank you for all the great altered entries for last weeks challenge - it was great to see so many new-to-altering-addicts joining in :O)   This week the new theme is... GIRLS.  A nice pretty and feminine challenge for you... interpret as  you wish, your creation could feature a girl, be about a girl, be girly, covered in flowers.. you know what I means.   To join in is simples; Make a little something - it can be anything you fancy.  Add in the theme AND some stamping (even it is only a bit, get those stamps out!)   Please let me know you have joined in by popping back to this post and leaving me a comment with a linky to the place you are showing your entry.  If you haven't got a blog/web-photo-hosty site, you can also join in via Facebook (just tag my name) or by sending me a small res. piccie by email.  The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 7th June 2014. *hurrah, June! Birthday month! Cake!*

Apologies for being late on parade today!  Normally I am quite organised and have my entry all ready and scheduled to publish at midnight.  Well, yesterday was one of those strange days that very rarely occur.  Oh yesh, it was a FREE day!  Unfortunately, due to a water leak, the opening of Cups & Crafts in Devizes was postponed late on Friday evening.  This meant that I had a day that I hadn't "accounted" for.  I should have been a good gal and got some more samples for the tellybox shows on Tuesday made... well, that was sort of my intention.   Well, it was until I trotted off down the garden and popped my head into the greenhouse and saw that I had very lots of plants that all needed attention.  So, I said to meself that I would spend the morning in the garden... and then do some sampling in the afternoon, taking time to do the Sunday Stamper and schedule it and all that.   Yep, all the best intentions... until I glanced at the clock and saw it was 7pm!  The whole day!  In the garden!  Naughty!  But very nice :O)  I will pop a few pics on later this week of how it is coming along now.

So, back to the reason for the post, here's my entry!  I started this little wooden frame a few weeks ago and once I had covered it with Tim's Tissue Tape and added colour using Broken China and Antique Linen Distress Paints - applying with my finger and smudging the paints over so the tape shows through in patches - I ground to a halt!  I loved the frame but just didn't get what I was then supposed to do with it.  And then I spotted Tim's Found Relative Cards and aha! An idea was born!  The Found Relative was a little too narrow to fill the frame so I popped a bit of vintage lace (my beloved vintage lace that is used very sparingly as I haven't got much lol) along the side.  A project wouldn't be a project without lots of flowers and embellies, so I coloured up some paper flowers with Black Marble Dylusions and Egyptian Blue Cosmic Shimmer sprays.  I then realised there wasn't a single smidge of stamping on the project!  Whooopsie-daisy!  I find that a perfect stamp to add a little extra interest is Tim's Flourish, I just used a smidge of Jet Black Archival and added in a bit of stamping to the edges of the frame.  I then stamped the word Dream *Tim's Stuff To Say set* and added it to an Ornate Frame.

Next came the best bit (IMO)  Embellishmenting!!  I make no secret of the fact that I think the more embellies the better and this frame is the perfect size to add lots of little bits and bobs: metal leaves, cogs, Idea-ology, paperclay birdy (treated to Treasure Gold) and jazzy buttons from Jones' (also TG treated) and then a few pearls to finish it off nicely.  Oh and I forgot to say!!!  I used a Milled Lavendar Distress Marker to add a little blush of colour to the black and white photo... I was tempted to go a little darker with the tint but I didn't want to goof it up so I played it safe - you can add it but you can't take it away and all that :O)

I better get a wigglebottom on  now... whilst the sun is cracking the flagstones out there and there be temptation to get my hands mucky, I have samples to get finished and some demo's to prep for the tellybox shows... plus,  my poor old war wound is well and truly aggravated after yesterdays exertions so it is probably for the best that I am inside behaving meself.  Have a grand day!  Thanks for looking... TTFN

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 279 - Hazy Shade of Winter

Goooodly Morning Stampers and a very happy Sunday to you all.  Big thanks for all your very special entries last week :O)  Just seeing you join in with my challenge makes me smile BIG!  This week the weather has turned hasn't it?  I for one am happy as I loves Autumn and Winter!  So, a seasonal theme this week, which is... WINTER.  To join in 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 thing, worry not!  You can also join in via Facebook (simply tag my name on your upload) or via email, attaching a small size piccie for me. (my email is over there *points left* where my profile pic is)  The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 26th October 2013.

So, my entry this week is another festive creation.  I have an old bag full of photo frames that are unloved and ripe for altering.  Every year I like to make a Christmas frame for the house decorations... so being as I have been addictively playing with the gorgeous Christmas Post Papers from Craftwork Cards, I figured this little frame would be perfect!  Now, normally I would change the appearance of the frame... and I do this last so it matches perfectly with the things I have used.  However, whilst sizing up and working out placements for the embellies, I popped the frame around the creation and saw that actually, leave it alone!  It is perfect the way it is!  So I left it!  And, yipyah and thrice!  I remembered to get a pic of the "before" although I needn't have because.. erm.. it is the same lol

The paper base has an added strip across that was torn and then distressed with Walnut Stain... and I added some smidges of flourish stamping using my fave new inkpad... the Watering Can from Ranger's Archival range by Wendy Vecchi... LOVE these colours! MUCH!!!   I stamped the sentiment, which is a mini Tim Holtz one, onto more paper, distressed the edges and then popped this onto some Kraft Distress Core-dinations.

I used the same cardstock and cut some Tattered Pinecones and Holly Branch shapes from the Tim range of Alterations for Sizzix.... made them all sanded and shabby and then glued them into place, adding a gorgeous fabric poinsettia, some pins and a few pearls.  The snowflakes were actually snipped into to make them go further, well, there's little point hiding half an embellishment underneath right?

Woe is me today! I have a sore throat and snuffly schnozzle!  It started last night and also, I keep going dizzy... yep, a proper dizzy blonde, I thinks I may have picked up a bug so today I shall mostly be taking it easy.. I haven't got time to get sick!  Hope you all have a fabby Sunday!  Thanks for looking... TTFN!

Hels x

Beauty & The Butterflies

...I keep on saying it... I do!  You know I am on the Darkroom Door Design Team for 2013?  Well, it is THE best DT... I got a selection of the latest release stamps and I have been having a right old ball playing with them!  Today's offering is an altered frame which I have used the new Beauty Quote stamp and a new Eclectic Butterfly stamp (he is ginormous and GORGEOUS!)  To see the new releases and all the other delish stamps click HERE for the Darkroom Door website and also, HERE is the blog where you can see more arty stuff from my talented teamies.

This old frame started life as a greeny coloured plastic moulded jobby.  And, as ever, I forgot to get a pic before I altered it!  Whoops!   I removed the glass  and then cut a piece of patterned paper (the new Finnabair papers from Prima) to fit inside the frame.  Layering stencils and Distress Inks over the paper to add a little specialness was a starting point.  I didn't want the background too fussy so this is an ideal way of bringing in a bit of design without overpowering stuff.  I added some Crackle background around the edges using Watering Can Archival Ink, stamping just using my hand to hold the stamp so I didn't overdo it and stamp too much into the centre of the paper.

I stamped the Quote onto more of the paper and edged it with Aged Mahogany and Gathered Twigs DI's and then popped it onto black card to make it pop more.   The Butterfly is the big guy in the centre... he was stamped onto cream card, along with more butterflies from the Wings collection and then I used Rusty Hinge, Wild Honey and Aged Mahogany to colour the butterflies.  As ever, I coloured the underside of the wings with Gathered Twigs DI, this just finishes the butterflies nicely and because you can see the underside of the wings, there are no "white" surprises when you look at it from a different aspect.   The frame was coloured with Ruby, Copper and Spanish Topaz Treasure Golds, layering the colours on and building up the finish.  I also added a little brass butterfly to the centre of the big guy for a bit of extra decoration.

Right, I shall away... I have a "to-do" list longer than my left leg to get ticked off today... no rest for the wicked right?   Thanks for looking... have a grand day!  TTFN

Hels x

Love Bird...

... cor blinking blimey and thrice!!!  Not only did my Mojo come home, he decided to stay! Which is just as well because today starts my week of DT projects for Snazzy's.  Last month I was on the cusp of losing my Mojo and didn't manage to do a particularly good job of my DT thing... which I hate because I do need to be able to do me best... IYKWIM.  Anyways... Mojo is home, he is still locked in the Really Useful Box, I am taking noooo chances on him beggaring off again but... my cunning plan for keeping the Room of Stash tidy and therefore, in turn, Mr Mojo happy, seems to be working.  For, you see, I have turned over a new leaf... well, for the time being... I have given myself a good old talking to and now, unless it is a matter of life and death, I am not allowed to remove my personage from the Room of Stash until I have tidied up after a crafty sesh.  If I am half way through a project then it is ok to leave it be... but I am not allowed to go to bed with mess everywhere!  

Well, it appears to have worked because yesterday I got all inky and messy with the gorgeous DT kit we have had to play with this month.  The new 7Dots Studio 9th Wave Collection from Finnabair (these papers are deeelish) and a set of Hero Arts stamps and stencil to match.  Ohhhlallaaaa... I was all excited when I found an old photo frame lurking around the other day so I decided to alter this for my DT project.  CLICK HERE to see the thingywotsit in full with all the pics/deets etc.  As I said yesterday, thank you all for hanging on in there and keeping on visiting even though the "out to lunch" sign was hanging on the door... I do appreciate you all!  I shall away now, I am getting a little misty!  Thanks for looking, have a goodly day!  TTFN

Hels x

An Attitude of Gratitude...

... a few months ago Bernice told me all about a blog that she was setting up, called An Attitude of Gratitude... and told me all about it, how art would be mixed with things that we are thankful for, with different quotations and themes for each day. In essence, a journal blog of gratitude... with a challenge for everyone to join in. So, would I like to be involved?  YOU BET!   Today, 26th November, is my day for my theme, which is Dreams.  Bernice asked a few questions about what I dream about... about what dreams I have had... have they been realised and what dreams I have for the future... to see what I said HERE is the blog that Bernice has set up... oh and she also has a Facebook Group too! Deets of that are at the bottom of the blog page.

Armed with a wonderful quote from Walt Disney, I set about making a little something for the challenge.  There was also the remit of making my own washi tape.  BUT.  I am a donut, as you all know, and I forgot to add in the washi tape that I had lovingly forgotten to make! Doh!  Anyways, Bernice has forgiven me for being said donut... bless her!   My entry is an altered photo frame that I covered with some gorgeous Kaisercraft papers and decorated.  Why did I chose to alter something?  Well, out of all the things that I do, altering stuff is by far my favourite. I love to take something old and plain and jazz it up, adding a touch of shabbiness to make it look like it isn't newly made.  Simple sanding of papers works so easily, a smidge of my favourite inks, Distress, add a subtle little something to tie the whole design together.

So my washi-tape-less creation was suitably altered with papers and ink and stuff and then I set about decorating it... with another thing that makes me smile biggly.. which is making a big old blousey rose using the Tattered Florals die and more of the Kaiser papers. A few bits of metal to finish off the design and of course, butterflies, I do love my butterflies!

Right, I shall away... I slept like a log last night (literally) and I have seized up, the perils of sleeping for too long, I am like an old lady this morning!  I had a FAB weekend up in Rochdale with the lovely ladies of the Jollie Stampers Craft Group... we had two full days of getting painty, inky, sticky, chocolatey... and lots of other things that end in "ey" lol   Again, a big, big thank you to the ladies for asking me to come and teach... and to Joan who organised the whole weekend and for being a great hostess and feeding me scrummy food!  I have all my boxes to drag in from Ferdy... and then drag upstairs and then unpack... worst bit is the putting away, same as when you come back from the supermarket and have to unpack... yak, no like that bit lol   Thanks for looking... have a great day!  TTFN

Hels x

Simon Says... A Tutorial

...as promised, I am back today with a link to the tutorial I have done for Simon Says Stamp & Show. All the deets are HERE. The challenge is open to all and... don't forget, there's candy to be had for one lucky entrant. I have to say again, thank you to the lovely peeps at Simon Says Stamp for allowing me to be a Guest Designer on their fab challenge blog... I am so chuffed... and ver, ver honoured.



Being as all the deets on how I altered the frame are already on the SSS&S blog, I thought I would just do a quicky on how I finished my frame. The frame is one of those RAM ones from IKEA, you know, the fabby wooden ones that are now discontinued *sad face time* Once I had covered my frame with the Tissue and Washi Tape collage, I moved onto decorating the insert. I cut a piece of card to fit inside and painted it with the same bit of Cut & Dry I had used to do the frame. I left this plain so the heart embellishment would pop more but I did add some darker colour paint where the point of the heart would be sitting so it adds shading to it.




I cut a heart out of thick card - I have made myself a little template so I can get a heart to be equal on both sides. This is simples, just draw half a heart on the edge of a piece of card and cut it out. Then when you come to make your heart, draw around the half, flip it over and draw around the other side, that way you get the same shape on both sides. I added strips of tape across the heart along with a border punched bit of card and then painted over the top with the same bit of Cut & Dry I used for the frame. I added some darker paint around the edges, blending it in so there was some more shading. Once this was dry I added a smidge of gold embossing powder around the edge to make it a bit fancier. I popped some Prima flowers onto the heart, along with some metal bits and bobs to jazz it up a bit and spritzed with Cosmic Shimmer spray to add some bling. I like to make things that have words on them (yep, as well as flowers lol) and Tim's Idea-ology Chit Chat stickers are perfect to add that little something that doesn't overload a design. I have stuck mine onto card, edged them with a black Paint Sharpie and then bobbed them onto 3d foam. I know I have said this very lots of time but... I am totes inspired by Finnabair - I don't think I have ever seen her make anything that I don't like - click her name to see her blog.




And there you have it. A simple collage technique that looks really pretty. And you don't just have to do this on an alterable piece, you can use it on cards, tags, ATC's - the list is endless :O) The majority of the goodies I used are available from Simon Says Stamp.

As ever, thanks for looking... I am still suffering today *grrrr* so I have planned myself a day in the Room of Stash *yayyy*... a good old play with ink and stuff always makes me feel better. Have a good day yourselves... TTFN

Hels x

Simon Says... Be My Guest!

...Excited? Me? Oh yesh, indeedily.... very excited! And why? Well, a few months ago May, who is the DT Leader over at Simon Says Stamp & Show asked me if I would like to be their first Guest Designer. Of course, I needed time to think about the invitation.... and about 0.01 seconds later, I emailed right back and said... yes please! I am very honoured to be asked to be a Guest over on my fave challenge blog. All the deets etc for this weeks challenge are HERE along with all the cool DT creations and info on how to join in.



The theme this week is Tape It Up. I toyed with several ideas on what to make, I started out with a tag but it just wasn't big enough for the technique I wanted to use... so I altered a frame instead. On Wednesday this week a tutorial I have done for my entry will be published over on Simon Says Stamp & Show so I won't go into tooooo much detail now on how I altered my frame... but I can say that all the tapes, paints (whooops, was I supposed to mention that I used paint? *teehee*) I used are available at Simon Says Stamp.



Oh and... when you enter the challenge there is a chance for you to win a voucher to spend at Simon Says for $50. I will pop a link on my post on Wednesday so you can nip over to see the tut then :O))



I have an update about that Old Cad Mojo. He slunk home sometime during the night on Saturday and I am pleased to report that he is back to normal (whatever that may be lol) I had a mahooosive crafty Skypey sesh with Ellen yesterday... and Grim went and caught me out big stylee. So. We had been Skyping for about 3 hours and we decided to have a little refreshment break. Then we were straight back into more Skypeyness, for about 3 more hours. Anways, I hears Grim say that he had just had an email from Virgin saying that we were nearing our limit for the downloady-do-dah-thingy-wotsits (my words, not his, I can't remember exactly what he said, you know, like the teckernical speak) So, I am sitting there at my desk, with Ellen perched on the other desk.. (tis ok, she was inside the laptop so she was quite safe) Where was I? Oh yes, justifying our Skypey-ness. "We have Skyped for longer before" says I. "Well, that's what is says.... " Says Grim. And then I hears a little snort. Oh yes, he was indeedily winding me up. Hoooharharharhaaa.... yes, funny... erm... well, a bit lol


Anyways, I shall away. Remember Jerry the Gorgeous Springer? Well, he is bringing his Mummy & Daddy to see us this afternoon and he has a very swishy tail... so I am going to move everything that is in tail-swishing distance. I can't wait to see him, he is so gorgeous, those big soft eyes... ah, tis lurve. Here's Jerry looking very intelligent, I think he was just contemplating 11 down of yesterdays Telegraph crossword lol


Oh and I am cooking too! I have been frantically searching cookery books and yonder t'internet - I stoopidly said "Homemade Crumble and custard for afters" The crumble isn't a problem, that's a doddle, oh no, it is the custard. I can't make custard! Last time I tried it had the consistancy of day old concrete only with more lumps. Maybe I should feign a migraine and get Grim to make it instead (either that or open a tin rofl) Anyways, I needs to get moving... custard making skills to research and all that... Thanks for looking, have a fab day. TTFN

Hels x

Recipe: One Frame, One Technique, Two Friends...

...just add a few giggles and snorts and you are on your way! What am I on about? Well, it was time for me and Ellen to get our heads together and Skype out a new recipe challenge. So, our Skype sesh on Sunday was scheduled and we had got our art books out and were all set for a crafty afternoon when I got a dose of the "feels like poo and needs to sleep". So, our Skype sesh was cut short (sad face) but we did agree to carry on and make the recipe with our agreed ingredients and today is the day we are blogging. To see Ellen's creation, CLICK HERE, you will be whisked off on the back a giant blending tool to her blog.



Anyways. The recipe. A very short list of stuff:

Wooden photo frame
Metal Foil Patchwork technique
Distress with Paint
Embellishments of choice
The same photo of us
Texture Fades


Aha. Ahem. Erm... well... I kind of forgot the Texture Fades step... whooooops! Instead I just slapped a load of metal foil over the frame, overlapping where the bits met and then used my Ten Second Studio tools to add little rivets and detailing. I then slapped a load of Pitch Black Dabber all over it and wiped off the excess with a paper towel. The embellies are flowers (did you expect 'owt else though?) And... I used our fave colour scheme... believe it or not, both of us LOVE black and white with a dash of lime green (you should see the curtains Ellen has in her studio... I have curtain envy!) I also added a couple of those deeellish Prima embellies - they are little flat backed lightbulbs with the filaments showing and... bestest bit... words on them. The top one is a diddy one and is says US which could mean us as in the two of us or... US as in United States, which is where we were when this pic was taken. It was right after I finished Ranger U last year, we were in Applebee's, drinking cocktails and swapping stories with the other girlies I shared my Ranger experience with. Oh and the bulb at the bottom... well it says FRIENDS... which is what we are!


Believe it or not, this is the easiest recipe we have done I reckon, and yet it took me yonks because I wanted it to be perfect for our special photo. Anyways... I shall away... please do pop over to see Ellen... I can't wait to see her finished frame so I am off to camp out outside her blog and see if she will let me in early lol Thanks for looking... TTFN!

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 214 - Bits & Pieces

Gooooodly Morning Stampers and a very happy Sunday to you all. Hoooge thanks for all your fab entires for last weeks dreamy challenge. This week the challenge is... EMBELLISHMENTS! To join in is simples: make a little something - it can be anything you fancy. Add in some stamping and the theme and then hop back here to leave a comment with a link to the place you are showing your entry. If you haven't got a blog you can enter by using any photo hosting site or on Facebook or by bobbing me an email with a photo of your entry. The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 21st July 2012.



My entry this week very very nearly caught me out. Oh yes, the inventor of the Sunday Stamper only went and made something with...erm... no stamping on it! Hahaaaa, I know!!! I was just about to start with the embellies when I realised... so, I grabbed a random number stamp and popped that on using Coffee Archival. I know, you have to squint to be able to see it properly but tis there... top right and bottom left corners 'O)


Anyways. This old frame was one I picked up from a car boot sale about 386 years ago and it has been sitting on the teetering tottering pile of alterables, gathering dust etc. But, yesterday, I gave it a new lease of life. It began as a plain pine coloured wood, so I smooshed Pitch Black Dabber all over it using Cut & Dry foam and then once it had dried, I gave it a good old sand back to patches of wood. Then I blended Gathered Twigs DI over it and yes, I love the patina'd look it gives. The middle is another one of my "layer up die-cuts and paint over" efforts. This time painting over with Eco Paints; Clam Shell, Slate, Rose and Pomegranate, all blended with Cut & Dry and then once that had all dried, I used my trusty Stabilo ALL pencil to add shading.


I was having a natter on the phone to Ellen yesterday afternoon and she said those immortal words... "I challenge thee..... " Uh oh, I thinks.... Then she said... " make sure you have some drippage on your creation" So... ner ner ner (said in my most mature and adult voice... ahem) I DID indeedily remember to add drippage. This came in the form of some scrummy Cosmic Vintage Mists in the Raspberry colour. In the bottle it looks like "YAHHH PINK" but actually it is a most beautiful dusky colour ( I am in LURVE with pink remember) I added some bits and pieces to the design, including paper flowers, some Embellish Your Art, Idea-ology, some DewDropz and some positively ancient metal jobbies that I got from Ally Pally the first time I went there, which is knocking on 92 years ago now... and I quite clearly remember Andrea saying "look, they are reduced, get them, you will need them!" and me thinking "OMG, they are reduced, I NEEEED them" and then promptly putting them in a drawer and... *hangs head* never using them... til now... yeah! They were a bargain lol


Right, tis enough of my waffles for one day... I am going to admit, this week is going to be mega busy. I have loads of samples to make ready for the upcoming Spellbinders POW shows next week and classes at The Stamp Attic on the weekend... so... I might be a bit slow in visitations... but I promise, I will come and see you all... as soon as I can! Thanks for looking... have a good one... I have heard a whisper that it is going to be dry and sunny today... mmm, I shall reserve judgement til I open the curtains in the morning (I am writing this just after midnight, just to confuse myself lol) TTFN

Hels x

**ps, just looking at the pics on here, it looks like it is lurid pink, it isn't, it is more dusty and subtle... really, it is... honest... lol**

Favourite Things...

...I have been having a few conversations over the past few weeks about "styles"... you know... like "what is YOUR style?" Or, "that is just YOUR style" Well, I asked myself "what actually IS my style?" I have come to conclusion that I haven't really got one... I am more of a "habit" kind of person. I do like to have my little routines, I have habits but more than anything, I have favourites. I am talking about my whole life here too, not just the arty crafty stuff. I have favourite people, favourite foods, favourite socks, favourite songs... the usual, you know, most of us can admit that we all have favourites. I tend to go through "phases" of doing stuff... I will make tags for a few months, then do cards, then ATC's, altered art... you know what I mean? Well, I admit... I am a bit bored with just doing tags all the time... plus, I have so many here that I am running out of room... so I need to do some more 3d things for myself....


In my arty crafty stuff, my favourites are, above all else, flowers. I have been told a few times that I rarely make something without bunging a flower on it. Well, that is totes-true! Because I LOVE flowers. I love to make something and add a little floral embellishment... be is a big old blousy rose or a little resin bloom, I am not fussy... so long as it is flower. Another favourite thing is the good old fashioned heart. They work their way into my stuff quite regularly too... usually a die cut or on the end of a pin... or a stamp. This one today is a hand drawn and cut out one. And of course, another favourite, albeit a new one, is that paper blocking technique... along with the layering stuff onto card or canvas and then painting over the top.



So, I thinks to meself the other night, I will combine all my favourites and have a play. Which is exactly what I did. I started out by cutting up some snips of BG Capella paper (6 x 6 pad, perfect size) and then popped them onto one of those cheapy IKEA frames that are now discontinued... how rude!!! Fancy discontinuing them!!! I was gutted to go alllllll the way to IKEA just for more frames to find they had NONE. I was right about to throw myself on the floor and have a paddy.... thank goodness I realised that I am in my 40's and throwing myself on the floor would make me look like a nutter lol Anyways... where was I? Ah yesh, the frames. Well, I happened to rummage and find a pack of them in the teeting tower of alterable stuff. So, the papers were blocked onto the frame and then swished over with a babywipe dipped into Traditional Tan paint (THE best paint, see another fave!) Once dried, it had a good coat of Ranger Glue & Seal to... yep, you guessed... seal it!



Next came the heart. I drew half a heart, cut it out and then used it as a template. I am cack at drawing symmetrical things... so the half template works perfectly. That was on plain old cardstock. I then layered up some die cut bits and bobs and some masking tape (which is now hidden lol) and then used Cut & Dry to add Juniper and Cloudy Blue Dabbers to the heart. I then blended some Espresso Dabber mixed with Trad Tan paint to add some browny shading to the top and edges of the heart. Of course, the Stabilo All pencil made an appearance and that did the shading for me on the heart and on the frame too. I cut some card to fit behind the heart and made the edges lighter, lightly tracing where the heart would be and making this a bit darker so it looked like a shadow. Finally, my favourite bit, the flowers... Prima's and paper roses... coloured with a few drops of Bundled Sage reinker in a Mini Mister of water. The addition of stamping onto Masking Tape and a smidge of gold embossing to finish it off.


And there you have it... a few of my favourite things. I am really enjoying doing more 3d arty stuff at the moment - I am not saying I shalln't be doing tags, cos you know me, a creature of habit and all that... Anyways, I have taken up enough of your time for one day, so I shall loves ya and leaves and say thanks for looking... ooh and a new Sunday Stamper theme tomorrow too! TTFN

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 184 - The Christmas Song

Goodly Morning Stampers and a very happy Sunday to you all!! Many thanks for the fab entries to last weeks challenge. This week, being as it is only two weeks to the big day, the theme is... CHRISTMAS. You can make anything you like as your entry, just add in the theme and some stamping and then hop back here to leave me a comment, along with a link to the place you are showing your entry, then I can pop over to see you. The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 17th December 2011. This is one of my all time fave Christmas songs... HERE is a link to hear in on YouTube.


So... who stole last week huh? One minute I was on top of the 12 Tags and now I am lagging behind with nearly 8 (well, by morning it will be 8) to make! However, I have been nosying at them every day and have used some of the techniques that Tim has shown to make my entry for this weeks theme.




The frame is a cheapy Ikea one, painted with a mix of Espresso and Pitch Black Dabber, sanded back so some wood shows, painted with a generous layer of Rock Candy Cracklepaint and then once this had dried, I slapped some Frayed Burlap Stains over the crackles so they soak right in... and because I wanted a really shabby look, I picked at some of the crackles so they fell off... leaving rough patches. The centre is a piece of card, inked and Stained and overstamped with that gorgeous crackle stamp... I used Tim's Ghost Stamping technique of rolling the inked crackle stamp over the cardstock... it doesn't have a beginning or end this way and I really enjoyed trying this technique out. The sentiment was stamped and embossed onto cream card which I then coloured with more Frayed Burlap DI and edged with Vintage Photo DI.


The Holly Leaves... ooohalallaaaa, I loved this technique loads... covering Glassine with Alcohol Inks and Mixatives and then scrunching up... and I also used the red berries idea, popping Baubles into a baggy and adding Red Pepper Alcohol Ink. The Pine Cones... well, they aren't getting any better with practice but one of them is a double one... that was more luck that good paper twirling methinks though. Finally, I had a play at painting a Christmas Idea-ology Charm... using Bottle and Cranberry Dabber with a smidge of Gold and then embossed with clear powder... it gives a fab enamelled look! I have thoroughly enjoyed making this little frame... all thanks to Tim for his inspirations... to see the 12 Tags and all the techniques there... CLICK HERE and you will be whizzed off on the back of Santa's sleigh to see them.



Well, I think I am over the worst of the bug... thankfully! Thanks all for your well wishes... I really never ever want to get a bug like that ever again! Because I am so far behind with my 12 Tags, I think a day in the Room of Stash is in order, catching up and getting inky... whatcha fink? Sound like a plan? What have you got planned for today? And... don't forget, if you do enter the 12 Tags, you can also enter it here seeing as the theme is the same! Right... time for bed... thanks for looking... TTFN!

Hels x

A New Month... A New Challenge...

...Cor blimey and thrice alive already! Who did it... go on, own up... it wasn't you was it... fast forwarded November and made it December already!! I say it every month but... time seems to be going a whole lot faster than it used to and I know you are going to say it is an "age" thing... but it can't be because I am only 24 *see Hels' nose grown very long* Anyways... enough waffling about time and all that... because... being as it is the first of the month, it means it is time to announce a fresh new challenge over on The Artistic Stamper Creative Team blog. This month we are focussing on all thing Christmas... a doddle of a challenge at this time of year yah? All the deets on how to join in are HERE and, as ever, there's a prize up for grabs for one lucky entrant.




So... another ickle snippet of info... during December for every order placed at The Artistic Stamper you will receive a little pressie... which is THESE fab stamps. I have used them on my entry for this months challenge... and here's how I made it: The frame is one of those really expensive (ahem) ones that come in a three pack from the Swedish Furniture Shop. Painted with Pitch Black Dabber and then sanded back in patches to show the wood again... which was then blended over with Gathered Twigs DI. (I know, I shouldn't have favourites but I can't help it... Gathered Twigs is my all time FAVE brown from the Distress Range... poor old Vintage Photo has been cast aside and can be heard, sobbing quietly to itself)



The insert for the frame is manila cardstock... I stamped the icicles using Snow Cap Dabber, rubbed Weathered Wood Stain all over the card, sploshed some water onto it and held the card up while I dried it so the water went into rivulets (cool word!) Then, I used Faded Jeans Stains to add some ink to the snowflake background, spritzed Forever Blue Perfect Pearls Mists onto my craft sheet, dipped the stamp into this and then stamped onto the card... ooolalala... I love the splashy look of the snowflakes. Then... I used Biscoti Perfect Pearls Mists, spritzed right along the top of the card and held it up again... more rivulets which I dried with the heat tool... and here's the pic before I added decoration to it.




I used lots of Alterations dies to make the embellies... starting with the Vintage Noel... which I cut from manila card, I pounced a Silver Dabber over the word and then used Silver UTEE to emboss it. I used a Jet Black StaZon and a bit of Cut & Dry foam to apply a smidge of black around the edges, just to age it and make it more of a pewter colour. The Tattered Pine Cones had lots of Picket Fence Stickles slapped onto them and the leaves had Rock Candy Stickles spread onto them. Finally, I added the little leaping reindeer, he is an Idea-ology charm, he was coloured with Caramel Alcohol Ink and popped into a Memo Pin... now, it could just be me but... I think that with his little loop on his back, he looks like a carousel pony... mmmm, just me then? lol




SO!!! Tis December 1st... and... that means... 12 Tag of Christmas time again. If you haven't heard about this amazing event, HERE are all the deets on Tim Holtz's blog... I wonder what amazingness he will dream up this year? Whatever it is, I am sure that everyone will be whipped up into a frenzy! Right, time for me to go and camp outside Tim's blog and wait for that first tag to make its debut... I heard a few whispers that it could be either 7am or 8am UK time... ohlalalaaaa, I better get a few zeds in before then then... (then then??? What an amazing command of the English language I have.....) Thanks for looking... have a great day! TTFN

Hels x