Beautiful Heart...

...another sample from last Sunday's shows... this time an MDF heart.  I loves working with MDF, it is forgiving, sturdy to play with and also... such a lovely surface to make stuff on!  These hearts are part of a 6 pack and I just used my Crop-A-Dile to punch holes into the top to make the hangy bit.

Covered with more of the Teresa Collins papers (mmm, I keep banging on about these but I can't help it, I LOVE them!!!)   I wanted to make a nice background over the papers so picked pretty plainish ones, added some Frayed Burlap DI around the edges and then a smidge of Walnut Stain to darken it and then sanded to reveal the white core and making it look nice and shabby.  I used Black Archival ink to stamp the Eco image of the flowery leafy stamp up from the bottom and down from the top of the heart, zapping with a heat tool just to make sure the ink was set.  Stencilling with Distress Inks to add more interest and then the Small Polka Mask with Gold Pearl Texture Paste spread through to add the...erm... texture!!

The decorations are made from the smallest bloom of the Flora Grande Heartfelt Creations stamps - they are a bit of a fiddle to make as they are small but they are quite sweet... I made three, added in some leaves (Eco stamps) stamped in Wendy's Fern Green Archival Ink and then stamped a couple of moths (also Eco stamps) and popped those onto the heart with some embellies to decorate... and there you have it!

Today I am going to be pacing about, waiting for the phone to ring.. biting nails and pulling my hair out because... Ferdy is having major surgery today!!!  Oh yesh, he has reached the grand old age of 34,000 miles (wow! how many!!!) and is having his Cam Belt and Water Pump changed.  I hate leaving him at the garage, I know he needs it doing and I stupidly gave him a "human" name so I have gotten this strange attachment to him but...  all the same, I shall worry (yes, I am bonkers lol)  And, in true typical stylee, yesterday when I set off from home to drop him off at the garage, he failed to start!  Yep, first time ever, he coughed a bit, spluttered a bit and then the Engine Management light flashed a few times... huh?  Finally he got going (after a lot of revving and praying from moi and the light went out so I am hoping it was just a hiccup!   Anyways, to prove that I am not as bonkers as everyone thinks, I related this to the chap at the garage... you wanna know what he said???   These were his exact words... "well, he knew you were taking him to see me!"  See, not just me that thinks cars are either male or female!  At least he will get cleaned though... he is absolutely minging filthy dirty (thanks to all the rain/salt/mud on the roads and my inherent slatternly nature) and the nice garage chap will give him a spruce up *just hope they don't attempt to clean inside, it is a bit skip-like in there you know... well, it is my travelling "office" lol*   I shall away now... this post is being scheduled as I have my lovely Dad visiting us and knowing how we have a tendency to yak late into the night, I figured I would schedule something just in case I get sidetracked lol   Anyways...  have a goodly day and thanks for looking!  TTFN

Hels x

Sample Time!!!

...uh-oh... again, here I sit, waggling around on the chair singing "sample time" to the tune of Hammer Time.... I do it every time!  Now I have an earworm for the rest of the day.  Mind you, it is better than the song I woke up with that was embedded in my bonce, that was "Never Do A Tango With An Eskimo!"   Seriously, I worry for myself, my sanity and my dreams if that is the calibre of song I wake up with!!! EEEEK!!!     Anyways, today I am showing one of the samples I have made for Sunday's tellybox shows.  Now, as ever, all the channel deets/times and how to view are over there *points left* and I hope you can join me for a 2 hour 3d craft-fest at midday on the Tool Shed and again at 5pm for an hour of more 3d-ness.  This fella is SO cute!  I have had my beady eyes on him in the catalogue ever since I first started demo-ing the Pronty MDF and I am well chuffed that I have finally managed to catch him and put him into the tv shows.  He is THE perfect size, not too big, not too small... just right.

As ever, my fave techniques seem to come out all over my samples and being as I have the gorgeous Teresa Collins paper pad on the show (you know I loves that right?  what, you hadn't guessed?  teehee)  I decided that all those ickle bits and bobs of paper I have saved up because they are just too special to bung them in the bin needed using so I adapted the paperblocking technique... and guess what?  I found ANOTHER use for the Creative Expressions Clear Texture Paste!!!!   OH YESH!!!  You know I have used it to stamp with for a cool resist, use it on its own for fab textures, through a stencil, coloured with mica/paint/dye inks... as a collage medium to apply tissue... and... finally... as a SEALER!!! Oh yesh, my little old "wonder if..." nodule in my brain said that to me the other night... so I thought I would give it a try... and there ya go, PERFECT!!!

The flowers are more stunners from Heartfelt Creations and I coloured up some of the TC papers using Peacock Feathers DI.  Normally this kind of colour has me lifting my skirts and running for hills, scary bright colour that it is... but, as ever, it is Distress so it just doesn't frighten me 'cos it blends so beautifully and still has that muted tone that I loves so muchly.  You will also spy some Embellish Your Art and some Creative Expressions embellies... oohlalalaaaa, wait til you see what else I have on the shows too!!! *ya wanna hint?  Ok, remember the "owl clock" from last year? He might just have swooped back into stock ;o))*  Whilst I am a-waffle, check out what the uber talented Sue Wilson has been up to.  Oh yesh, our Sue has her very own die line for Creative Expressions that have literally just been released... she is a awesome designer, one day I hope to be able to create a card as good as hers are (think I will be waiting very long times for that though, I just don't have the co-ordination to make them so perfect lol)  Wanna see what I am going on about... CHECK HERE for Sue's blog and her special news!

I shall away now, today I am mostly up to my eyes in sample making for Sunday (erm yes, last minute Annie as ever, I blame the *bug* I had at the beginning of the week, fair did for me for three whole days!)   I shall sign off by saying... as ever... thanks for looking, have a fab day and I hope that the storms don't cause you any nasty damage!  TTFN

Hels x

What Is Normal???

...indeedily!  Today is the day that I shall be on yonder tellybox doing a couple of Creative Expressions Stamping shows.  Times are 11am and 7pm and all the deets on how to view the channel are over there *left hand sideybar*   So, what is normal?  Well, normal for me is a little bit dull, a little bit monochrome, a little bit brown with a little bit of blue thrown in for goodly measures.  I guess you are going to be a little bit surprised to see this creation from my own fair hand....

Customary to the trend I seem to have set meself for 2014 is the use of purple.  And pink!  I know, whatever next... glitter?  YOU BET!  Well, it is Distress Glitter after all so don't worry, I haven't completely gone over to the "sparkly side" ... just a wee bit.  This was created using a That Special Touch stencil - Fuchsia - love this one because I love fuchsia's and now I have my greenhouse, I am planning on have very lots of them so I can keep them over winter.  Also appearing on this card are some Heartfelt Creations stamps (yip, loves these too!) and Distress Glitters in Seedless Preserves, Picked Raspberry, Spiced Marmalade and Peeled Paint. I will be demo-ing the technique I used to get the multi coloured image so I hope you can tune in to see it.

I really must get a wiggle on... tis nearly midnight and I have to be up early to get to the studio's and as usual, my nails needs attentions and I really should be getting myself some sleeps!  Have a great day and hope you can join me on the shows.. don't forget to email in if you can as there will be giveaways!   Thanks for looking... TTFN

Hels x

Dandelion Butterflies

...cor blimey, I don't know about you but this year is whipping past super fast already!  Tomorrow I shall be on Create & Craft again with two stamping shows - times are 11am and 7pm and the deets on how to view are over there *points left*   I have been busily beavering away in the Room of Stash making some samples for the shows.

Today sees my fave of the bunch so far... this one I have called Dandelion Butterflies.  I love the word dandelion - and I loves dandelion & burdock too... Morrie's do a lovely diet version of it too.  anyways, enough of the waffles... this card has been made using the Dandelion stencil from That Special Touch... and some Texture Paste... and a bit of Distress Ink and a brace of 490 butterflies... and... something else!

Can you guess what it is yet???  Something very unusual for me you know... but I am on the turn!  Oh yesh!  Glitter!  Distress Glitter in fact.  Mind you, I did have a wee mishap yesterday afternoon... when my clumsy elbow knocked the Seedless Preserves pot off my desk... and onto the carpet below.   A few curses and bleepy words followed... because I had left the lid off!  Yikes, the Room of Stash actually got a vacuum!  Well, it has to happen every so often right?   I shall away... more samples to make and demo's to prep... hope you having a great day!  Thanks for looking, TTFN

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 261 - Purple Haze

Goooodly Morning Stampers and a very happy Sunday to you all.  Many many thanks for the fabby entries for last weeks challenge and hello to the new folks joining in!  This week the theme is a nice easy one, I bet you have guessed it already haven't you?  Yes, the theme this week is... PURPLE.  To join in with the challenge is simples: make a little something, it can be anything you fancy.  Add in the theme and some stamping and then pop back here with a link to the place you are showing it.  Don't have a blog? No probs, you can also join in via email/Facebook.  The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 15th June 2013.

My entry this week is a 5 x 7" canvas that I used the Scraped Paint technique to apply the base colours of paint to... the colours I used are Lake Mist, Cool Peri and Aqua Dabbers.  I added a border of Pitch Black around the edges to frame the canvas and then set about decorating it.  Starting with spreading Royal Gold Texture Paste through the cute Daisy Stencil from That Special Touch and once this had dried, I began to make up the background.

More Texure Paste, this time the Clear flavour, which, when you add water to it, make a fab collage gel... so I did some script stamping (Studio 490) onto a single ply of tissue and then used the watered down Texture Paste to apply the script to the canvas.  How fab is that Texture Paste eh?  Multi Purpose I say!  I made a floral embellishment using Studio 490 stamps, see the little black spiky flower?  That was stamped using the Royal Gold Texture Paste!!!  Just spread a little, thinly, onto your craft sheet and stamp it as you would with paint!! Coolio!!!  The sentiment is also a 490 one, love those words!  Finishing touches are a smudge or two of Gilding Wax, the Embellish Your Art butterfly (cute!) and the Embellish Your Art Large Star Knob a-top of the canvas.

So, there you have it.  I have been uber organised this week and I am actually sitting here on Wednesday typing up this post... scheduling it... and hoping it publishes on time!  I am away this weekend teaching at Birds in the Barn, Essex... hence the scheduling.... I am positively angelic in my orderliness... not sure how long it will last as I am usual a last minute Annie lol   Right, I shall away... have a great day!  Thanks for looking, TTFN

Hels x

Rustic...

...that's the thing with using cardboard... I think it makes arty stuff look rustic... which is a look I lurves, which is why, ahem, I seems to be using very lots of cardboard at the moment!   Anyways... todays post is showing a relatively quicky card... but deffo one of my faves from the samples I made for last Mondays shows.... and here it is...

Starting with an offcut of corrugated cardboard and tearing the bits away from the edges... and then spreading Soft White Texture Paste through a stencil.  Once the stencilled bit is dry, a quick pounce of Aqua Dabber on Cut & Dry foam... and then an edgey bit of Mushroom Dabber on the same bit of Cut & Dry so the colours blend nicely together.  Pouncing the paint means that it leaves a little bit of extra texture, which then looks fabby for the next step, which is to add some Gilding Wax to the cardboard base and over the top of the textured bits.   Using the same bit of Cut & Dry foam, I coloured a piece of cardstock, zapped it with a heat tool and then stamped the sentiment (Funky Flower Art - Studio 490) and remember, if you are using Archival Ink like I did, you needs to give that a zap with a heat tool too as the surface is a little shiny and Archival needs to be heat set.  I love the torn edge look, so that is what I did to the sentiment mat, which, I think, ties in with torn edges on the cardboard.  A simple matting onto black card and the addition of a couple of Embellish Your Art Roses, also gilded with the wax and voila, a quick and simple card.

As ever, thank you for looking... and don't forget to scroll down and check out the giveaway that I have running at the moment... which is simples to join in with too... all the deets are on the post below.   Right, time for me to get a wiggle on... have a great day!  TTFN

Hels x

It's Giveaway Time... Again...+ A Winner!!!

... cor blinking blimey and thrice!  WOW!  Thank you all for your fabby comments on yesterdays giveaway post.   I used Random.org to pick a winner for me... and the number chosen was #62 which tallies with the comment left by Attic Crafter.  Please can you email me your mailing address and I will pop your prize into the post.  So... another giveaway today... this one is going to run until Sunday night... and here's how to be in with a chance of winning todays prize:  Leave a comment between now and 23:59 GMT on Sunday 9th June 2013 and your name will be entered into the draw.  The winner will be chosen at random and announced on Monday 10th June post here.   And here's what you can win: my demo sample plus a pot of Royal Gold and a pot of Soft White Cosmic Shimmer Texture Paste.  If you want to copy the photo and pop it into your bloggy sidebar, you can let your friends know about the giveaway too :O))

Oh and here's the screen snip for todays winner.....

And more info on the demo sample that I am giving away:  this piece started out as a piece of cardstock (from the fabby Neutral Cardstock pack) which I spread with Soft White Texture Paste.  I then spritzed one of my all time fave Studio 490 stamps, the florally border from the It's More Flower Art, with a light mist of water.... this was then stamped into the paste at the top edge... I then turned the card and repeated so there's stamping top and bottom of the card.

Next I dried the Texture Paste.  Tip for drying it - wait until there is a bit of a crust on the paste and then gently heat it with a heat tool... if you overcook it, it will bobble up, depends on the look you are after because I rather like that look too.  Remember to turn the card over and heat from behind too... and the best tip for drying?  Hold the card (careful of the hot-hot heat from the heat tool on your fingers)  If you dry something when it is flat on your craft sheet, the heat tool does a really good job of heating underneath the piece you are drying... that makes it take a lot longer... so, dry in mid-air!  Once dried, I bobbed a nice layer of Aqua Dabber over the top and then gave that a zap with the heat tool.  Then I blended Broken China DI over the top, did the old "spritz and flick" with water and then used Patina Gilding Wax to add some sparkle over the top.  To make the impression pop a little more, I then used some Cut & Dry to apply smudges of Pitch Black Dabber... and then added a smidge more Patina over the top.   The flower is a collection of stamped flowers from the Studio 490 sets I had on the shows... and I used some fabby Embellish Your Art to decorate the flower centre and of course, my fave ickle crow... he is just so cute!

So there you have it.  If you would like to own this piece, plus the two pots of Texture Paste, just leave me a comment here before 23:59 Sunday 9th June and you will be entered into the draw.    I have a busy day planned... lots of crafty stuff to do and then I needs to get all packed up and ready for my class at Birds in the Barn, Essex this weekend... which reminds me, there are a couple of spaces on tomorrows class if you fancy a day playing with all things painty and stampy.   I shall away now... thanks for looking.... TTFN!


Hels x

Giveaway Day!

... oh yesh indeedily, today is giveaway day!   I am giving away this demo sample from Monday's shows... to be in with a chance of winning it, simply leave me comment before 23.59 today, 5th June and I will pick a winner and announce the name on tomorrows blog post.  

This was my first demo on Monday and I have had so much feedback about this one... and it seems you are all turning into Wombles just like me and nabbing all the cardboard before it goes into the bin... well, cardboard is fab to work with .... and... it is freeeeee... always a goodly thing!  The base is painted using Cut & Dry foam and Cool Peri and Eggplant Dabbers, there is a smidge of Texture Paste through my fave Foxgloves stencil and then a whole lot of Gilding Wax to jazz it up.   My fave embellies are the Studio 490 Embellish Your Art range... and these flowers are amongst my fave of those.  I only just noticed that the Small Star Knob on the left isn't in the right place... so they are a bit wonky there... whooops!   Anyways.. .if you would like to own this piece of artwork, just leave me a comment!

I am not stopping... I have just spent the last two hours faffing about cleaning!  I know!  I must be sickening for something!  And now it is time to get messy again in the Room of Stash as I have a few projects that need to be done... and being as the sunshine has deserted us, now is the time to stay indoors and play.  Thanks for looking... have a great day!  TTFN

Hels x

Sneaky Peekingtons....

...tis that time again.. oh yesh, it is showtime!  Today is the day I get to finally show you all what I have been waffling on about for the past week!  The show times on Create & Craft are at 11am and 4pm.  The details on how to watch the shows are over in my sidebar... and don't forget, if you aren't in the UK, you can view online... deets for that also in the sidebar :O)   On with a few sneaky peekingtons for you....

I have had a blast making these samples... I literally sat there and let the ideas flow.  The brand new product that I have been hinting at is a super new addition to the Creative Expressions Cosmic Shimmer family... oh yesh indeedily...  It is... Texture Paste! 

Like I said, the ideas have been flowing and the only thing that has stopped me carrying on making more and more samples is the fact that as I type this, it is nearly 10pm on Sunday and I still have the "Battle of the Fingernail" to attempt!  Also on the shows are some deeelish Studio 490 goodies... as well as the usual Distressy stuff that I usually have on...

I have also been hinting that the Texture Paste can be used for other techniques too... I will be demoing as many as possible during the shows... and then I will also tell you all about it in more detail this week, here on the blog.

Right, I shall away... nails to clean (yikes... they are gross!) and then I needs to see off this zit that has decided to grow on my chin... why oh why do I always go to spottington the day before a telly show?   Thanks for looking... TTFN

Hels x