I've Been Stampbording...

...sounds like I have been doing some kind of physical activity doesn't it? Don't worry, I haven't ... but I did get myself a rather late night the other night because I got all involved with playing with Stampbord. If you remember, the main piece on the Sunday Stamper is made from Stampbord ... and I reminded myself how much I lurve to play with this stuff... and yes, it is a bit scary stamping right onto such a large piece... so I was ultra careful...



Anyways... my favest three (only three!) Santa stamps from the Duke of Distress are these ones... all the Stampbord pieces were blended with Old Paper DI... and heat dried... and then stamp with Jet Black Archival... and heat dried.... and then coloured with Distress Inks and Cut & Dry Nibs... and then heat dried... you get the picture I am sure... dry each layer before moving on to the next.




So... I kept the first two pieces pretty straight... and then got bold and did a stampy collage on the third piece. The circle measures about 31/2 inches across the middle and the oblongs (oblongs?how old am I? three?) are 5 x 31/2 inches... so big old pieces to goof up if I went wrong (am so brave lol) All of the Santa's have had the scratchy tool treatment to their hair and beards... and I am rather chuffty tuffty with them... now all I need to do is figure out what to do with these pieces!



Anyways... I am being a right old grump today! I went out at stoopid o'clock this morning and spent all morning either standing in queues, looking for parking spaces, listening to children whinging or slobbing their feet along in wellies (isn't that one of the most annoying noises ever!!!) and watching a very irate old man have a fit of apoplexy right in front of me... he was really shouting at the poor man in the shop and the poor man was apologising and all that but the old fella was really going for it... I was just waiting for him to throw himself on the floor and have a paddy! And all of this because... it is Christmas... for... two days! I know, mental behaviour or what! Right, I must away, I have shopping to unpack and presents to wrap... and only a few more days left to get that turkey rofl... Thanks for looking... TTFN!

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 185 - I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus... **PLUS CANDY**

Goodly Morning Stampers and a very happy frosty Sunday to you all. Many thanks for all the heavenly Christmassy entries last week, I am in a fair festive mood after seeing them all. This week I have some candy to giveaway... well, it is Christmas so it is my thank you to everyone who has participated with the Sunday Stamper this year. The theme, if you haven't already guessed, is SANTA CLAUS. To join in with the challenge all you need to do is make something - it can be anything you fancy - add in the theme and some stamping and then hop 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/flickr/photobucket etc you can email me a photo of your entry. To be in with a chance of winning the candy is simples... leave me a comment here and pop a pic & link in your sidebar back to this post ... and if you join in as well, your name will be entered twice. The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Friday 23rd December. It is closing early this week because next weeks challenge will be a Sunday Stamper on a Saturday... I thought that we would all be a bit busy peeling sprouts next Sunday so there's an extra day to join in :O))


Right... on with my entry. Each year since 2007 I have made an 8" x 8" piece of wall art. I actually hadn't twigged that I was doing this until a few days ago when I was putting up my decorations and opened up one of the boxes and there sat all these pieces... and all of them are red! I reckon something subliminal has been going on there. Anyways... I decided to make another piece for the collection... I am going to see how long I can keep this up... by the time I am 60 I will have... erm... very lots of 8" pieces of wall art!


So... my shadow box was painted with Fired Brick Cracklepaint... and once this was dry I gave it a rub over with some Gathered Twigs Distress Inks. Then I squirted a very fine coat of Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls Mists to add some Christmas sparkle. The insert is a piece of white card, painted with Glue & Seal and then I popped some Tim Tissue over it, coloured it with Picket Fence, Antique Linen and Frayed Burlap Distress Stains, edged with Vintage Photo and then glued into place with Glossy Accents... and then I realised it is slightly on the wonk... ooooopsie~daisies... don't tell anyone and I might get away with it lol


The focal point of the piece is a lovely big square of Stampbord. I loooove this stuff and am very tight using it... I am always filled with dread that I will get all cack~handed and fudge the stamping... so, I was uber careful and made sure that I was steady when I stamped Santa. I like to use Distress Inks to colour the Stampbord... and stamp with Archival Ink. The trick is to remember to dry everything thoroughly with a heat tool as you build the layers. I used Antique Linen, Peeled Paint, Fired Brick, Vintage Photo and Tattered Rose to colour Santa, getting into the fiddly bits with Cut & Dry Nibs. Finally, I used a scratcher tool to add texture to his hair and beard.



The embellishments are diecuts using Holly Branch and Tattered Banners Alterations Dies, Bazzill, Grungepaper and music score paper. The Grunge was coloured with Distress Inks and the Pine Cones were assembled and then edged with Vintage Photo. The little Reindeer is sitting in a Memo Pin... and ssshhh, don't tell anyone but... behind all of the holly bits, I used a piece of foam to build them up so they sit nicely over the edge of the box... I just covered it with more music score paper :O)) I want/need some of those mercury glass baubles... but... seeing as I haven't got any I tried to make my own versions using large Baubles and Silver Alcohol Ink Mixatives... mmm, not 100% that it works... but they are a pretty colour at least lol




And... here's a piccie of the Candy... included is; Walnut Stain Distress Ink, Forever Green & Forever Red Perfect Pearls Mists, Maya Road Chip Books, Wooden Word "Friends", Alterable plastic stars, Christmas charms and some 7Gypsies Journalling cards.



Right... I think that is it... blimey, that is one biiig explanation... hope you haven't nodded off! I had better go, I need to get to bed... another late night! Did you watch the Strictly final? I thought that Jason's show-dance was the best of the three and Harry was a very deserving winner... bless Chelsee though, she has a natural talent there... I should be a judge lol Thanks for looking... have a fabby week! TTFN

Hels x

Merlot & Old Lace....

...I know, it is supposed to be Arsenic and Old Lace...you know, that film that was made in 1944 starring Cary Grant....*ah, I sound so knowledgeable...the beauty of Google ROFL* Anyway...today is the start of a brand new Gingersnap Challenge and the theme is Lace & Fibres...hop on over to their blog...there is a bit of candy from our sponsors this month, The Artistic Stamper. For my piece I used some brand new 1920's ladies...along with a lady from the original 20's plate from The Artistic Stamper. I love the fact that the heads fitted onto a 2" square piece of Stampbord...so I did four different ones, inking the Stampbord with Chalk Ink...the Merlot part of the title is cos I used Merlot coloured ink...not cos I drink it ROFL... and then scratching at the Stampbord to emphasise the design.




The board background is an offcut of mountboard which I painted with *please don't yawn* Traditional Tan paint...then once this was dry I attempted to dab the Merlot ink around the edge...and...AlfieCat jumped onto the desk...made me leap out of my skin and blob... the inky sponge went splat onto the bit I didn't want inked... Never being one to be put off by a big fat cat landing on my stash, I decided to blend the Merlot ink over the mountboard...and then used some more Trad Tan paint top stamp the fabby sequin waste stamp, which breaks up the background a bit :O))




The last bit of the piece was the addition of lace...which I love....and fibres, which I cannot stand using...but I challenged myself that there would be some on the piece, so they made the hangy bit LOL I added some co-ordinating ribbon over the top of the lace just to break it up a bit...and then popped all the bits onto the board and added some beaded fringing to the bottom of it to finish.




That's all for now.. I will be back later with my workdesk mess...ha, so much for my put stuff away promise...it is a piggysty in my room of stash again ... I have got to take Ferdy in to get the heater and the brakes sorted...am hoping that it won't be a long do as I don't like Ferdy not being there on my drive LOL *for peeps who don't know, not only do I name my laptops I also name my cars* Don't forget to pop over to the Gingersnap Blog....there are some gorgeous bits of art on there too :O))

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 88 - Hip To Be Square

Morning Stampers ... have you noticed I am not in my usual place??? Do I look different? Aha, that is cos today I am having to post from....THE BIG COMPUTER! My laptop has passed away (or at least, it will have once I have removed my boot from it...why are computers so annoying, you just get used to it, it understands you, you understand it... and then it goes and plays silly beggars and annoys you so much that you inflict harm on it....ROFL) so Grim has allowed me onto his pride and joy purely to post the new challenge...he just knows how rubbish I am with computers and how I break things, unwittingly of course, but clumsy is, afterall, my middlename ROFL First of all...THANK YOU for all your lovely entries last week... it was lovely to see so many new faces joining in too. I used Random.Org to pick out a winner...basically, using the usual formula, every entry assigned a number in order with date/time posted and then picked out this way...the lucky number was 7. Without further ado, I am pleased to annouce the winner of the "Sponsors" candy from The Artistic Stamper is....

Clarky J - congrats and please email your addy etc to me and I will pop your candy into the post.




Moving on...the new theme this week is....hips....ahahaha, got you going there... really it is SQUARES... and I used some 2" squares of Stampbord to make a little hangy piece. The base is an 8" square canvas oil board which I first painted with ... Traditional Tan (why use anything other when this is THE perfect paint!!!) and then layered some stamped tissue over it using Beeswax to fix it down...the stamping was done with StaZon and are Crafty Individuals stamps and an Artistic Stamper script stamp.





Now, once this was done it was way too in my face, not subtle at all (and, afterall, subtle is my middle name...along with clumsy LOL) so I layered another sheet of plain tissue over the top, using more Beeswax over the top...and then watered down some of the Trad Tan and blended this over the top using Cut & Dry foam. I used some little sprinkles of gold embossing powder to jazz up the edges and randomly over the bumpy bits just to add a bit of emphasis and to close the piece in I dragged a black StaZon around the edges too.




The tiles are all inked with a combo of Adirondack Foam Pigments and Chalk Inks and Colorbox Pigments. I have found that these pigments seem to work the best on Stampbord...basically, just heat set between colourings and stamping...and then I used a scratchy tool to scrape away bits of the images to add some highlights.




Each tile was then UTEE'd with three layers altogether so you get a really cool ceramic look..which doesn't really show up on the photo's too well. I edged all the tiles with gold Krylon to make them nice and neat and then to blend them more into the background I swiped a StaZon around the edges, just roughly, which toned them down a bit.




The stamping was all done with black StaZon and are a bit eclectic this week... no real theme, just some random images that are some of my faves and are from *in no particular order* Crafty Individuals, PaperBag Studio's, Stamp Francisco, Prima, Stampers Anon and The Stamp Bug... I have to admit, this piece is totally unlike the idea I had in my head...so that project, hopefully, will be made today...and will be the One World One Heart giveaway tomorrow :O)) If you are wondering what I am waffling on about, there is a link in my sidebar for you to click on and get transported to the place that is setting it all up...several friends joined in with it last year and loved it...so I thought I would give it a go this year!




Anyway...back to the hangy piece...I added some eyelets and rusty wire for the hangy bit and added a little bead that I nabbed from an old bracelet and a Philiosophy Tag which I dabbed with gold paint and wiped off so the gold stayed in the indentations. Finally, I added some micro beads randomly round the edges, again, they don't show up too well on the pics and some more of the heavenly golden pearls that I am fast running out of now!



To join in with the challenge, all you need to do is make a piece of art, be it a card, ATC, altered, tis up to you, incorporate the theme and some stamping and then pop back and leave me a comment on this post with a link to the place you are showing your piece... then I can hop over and visit you :O)) The challenge will remain open until 23:00 on Saturday 30th January...so you have all week to play!

Thanks for looking and I hope that you all have a great week!

Hels x

Heat It Up...

...The weather? Yes please!!! More snow here today so I reckon it is a good excuse for staying indoors and getting crafty....my Mojo has come home!! Actually, I found it lurking under a pile of Christmas papers...thanks for everyone's lovely comments on my last post though...bless you all...and some made me LOL too :O)) Enough about Mojo...it is time to tell you about the new Gingersnap Creations challenge which starts today; sponsored by Serendipity Stamps means that there is some Blog Candy up for grabs too...and the challenge is... Embossing...**BTW, please pop by on Sunday, I am doing another tutorial for the Gingersnaps all about this** However...best laid plans and all that... I ended up using white embossing powder and some Adirondack pigment inks...and unfortunately, no matter how I try to take a pic of this card, it just doesn't want to look like it is in the real...click on the pic to make it bigger if you fancy a proper gander at it though :O))




Anyways, just very quickly...I embossed the image on white card, using clear Gloss Boss ink and white powder, heat setting and then using Cut & Dry foam to blend Juniper and Eggplant inks over the top. I repeated the same method for the sentiment *which actually says Magic Happens* and also for the flutterbys. I also added a square of Stampbord...inking and stamping and then scratching at it and then roughly UTEEing around the edges to make them blend in with the rest of the card.




Thanks for looking...oh and guess what???? It is 7 years ago today since I started crafting! All those years, where have they got to? I had a hoot yesterday, I found some cards I made when I first started crafting...oh dear...they were awful and I thought, at the time, that they were fab...it is good to see how much I have learned over the years, the inspirations I have met along the way...but, most importantly...the friends I have made because of this strange addiction...thank you :O))

Hels x

Sunday Stampers - Week 85 - I've Just Seen a Face....Plus Candy Winner

Hello Stampers ... Happy New Year to you all...may 2010 bring you lots of health and happiness... not to mention very inky fingers too :O)) A HUGE thank you to everyone who joined in with the challenge last time... it was great to see so many lovely pieces of art and to have so many comments too :O)) I used a very special mathematical solution to be able to chose a winner of the Mega Candy...basically, every comment that was left over the three posts I made, I assigned a number to, then if you joined in with the challenge, you got an extra number...makes sense huh? I used the Random.Org generator to chose the number *one day I will learn how to get the picture from there, to here, so you can see the result!!!* ...which turned out to be #42....so....drumroll.....the winner is:

Laura from As Happy As....congrats hun, please can you email me your addy details and I will pop the candy into the post for you. I got over 50 comments in total so I am adding some more bits and bobs to the stash too :O))

On with the new challenge...I had a little think over the holidays (don't panic, I was sitting down so didn't exert myself!) about the way the Sunday Stampers format is...with the song title for the theme etc...and decided that I like it that way...and it keeps me on my music quiz toes trying to think of new titles all the time LOL So, the theme this week is going to be Faces. It is easy to join in, all you need to do is make a piece of art, include some stamping on it and let me know about it with a comment here. Simple! Just like me ROFL Include a face in your art...this opens up huge possibilities and means that you can make just about anything really...and yes, I do love to see cute cards too...



I got a lovely blank mirror for Christmas and today I got all inky with Chalk Inks and Stampbord, making little tiles to fit around the edge of the mirror and scratching away some of the image to highlight the designs. I prepped the wooden frame with ... no prizes for guessing.... Claudine Hellmuth's Traditional Tan paint (what did I do before this product!!!)





And...to make the whole thing look a bit fancier, I used a gold Krylon pen around the edges...however, my photography!!!!!!! Yes, I know, I say it every week *yawns* but I really am rubbish with a camera ... so imagine how much trouble I had taking a picture of a mirror, when I didn't want my goofy reflection in it...in the end, I was lying on the kitchen floor, with the frame in front of me, trying to make the flash thingy work without it drowning out the colours...ah well, I promise, I will try to learn how to take photo's this year...cos it is becoming a bit of a joke LOL




Anyway, back to the project....All the stamped images are from PaperBag Studio's...I loooove their stamps and have been neglecting them lately so it was nice to have a play with them. I used a black StaZon for stamping...I find this to be the best permanent ink to stamp onto Stampbord with...it kinda soaks in without it ruining the image or the colour underneath...and the scratching...well, that is another lesson I need to learn, I went a bit bonkers with the only tile I hadn't used a face on...trying to make it pop...and ended up with it looking a bit manky, but ... I did use that sentiment for a reason...we all have "ugly days" right? Only me then? Well, I thought, I could be having one of my "ugly days" and look in the mirror and see the reflection...and then read the sentiment and remind myself that underneath all the flesh and spots, I reckon I am a stunner **for new readers, please, laugh...for peeps who know me...yes, you already are rocking aren't you?** And...this little tile here...well, the sentiment is just perfect...cos ... I will look in the mirror....read the sentiment...and remember, it is MADE for me LOL




I think that is enough waffle for one post...Just one more thing to say ... THANK YOU to everyone who joined in with the Sunday Stamper in the last year...it is incredible but the challenge has been running for nearly 2 years now...in the next few weeks there will be another Blog Candy for the anniversary...so, again, thank you all...it is so good to share my art and visit so many talented crafters....right, I am off before I get all soppy and sentimental.....

Hugs Hels x

Hey Baby...What's Occuring?

...Is anyone else completely mad about Gavin & Stacey? I have actually started to talk with a Welsh accent...and say things like "tidy" and "what's occuring" and "owh, Grim"...Honestly, anyone would think I really was Welsh...well, actually, here is a little known fact... I am actually quarter Welsh, my dear Gran was from Wales...so that filters down doesn't it? And...another quarter of me is Irish...and ... the rest I will save for another day...don't want you falling asleep on me now!




So, the 'Hey Baby'...is a 3" Stampbord circle that I inked, stamped with a Crafty Individuals stamp called Snow Baby and then scratched at it...UTEE'd it and added some little gold specks of embossing powder in..and edged with Gold Krylon...so these colours are perfect as another entry for the Play Date Cafe's challenge this week. I used some Rusty Tin wire (which is lush..there I go again with Gavin and Stacey speak) which was a pressie from my mate Dan. I added a couple of snowflake charms which started out as silver and they have had the Gold Krylon treatment too!




The 'What's Occuring' part of the title is actually for WOYWW...which this week sees my desk looking even more messier than usual...now I have joined in once you can't stop me clicking away with the camera...showing off the messy nature that is Hels! There are some bits on my desk which will be transformed into something else later on...hopefully being able to finish it and blog later today...it is sooo cold in my Room of Stash tho..my fingers have iced up...I am going to be very bad and use an electric heater to try and warm it up in there...the radiator has been turned off because I have a stonking great unit infront of it...nowhere else to put it and it is full of stash I don't want ruining with heat.




So, that is my ramble for this morning...by jove it was FREEZING at 7am...minus 3 according to Ferdy's thermostat...and it seems we have freezing fog decending now too! TTFN....

Hels x

Birdies & Flowers - An Altered Canvas

Hey Peeps

Back to my "normal" kinda crafting today and a little mini canvas that I altered for my friend's birthday.




I used a 4" x 3" canvas, coating the surface with Gesso to prime and then used Chalk Inks - Blue Lagoon and Chestnut - to colour the canvas. I inked up some 1" Stampbord tiles using the same colours and then stamped some of the fabby inchie stamps from Inkadinkado then just scratched the Stampbord to highlight some of the stamped areas.




I used some more Inkadinkado clear stamps to decorate the canvas surface, stamping using Timber Brown StaZon.




The little bit of beady fringe was added once the piece was assembled and I used Glossy Accents to stick this to the back of the canvas...tis the bestest glue for me!!




Thanks for looking and hope you have a great day....we have 30 odd degrees forecast...far too hot for me so I will probably be found in the shade, near a fan and with a large icey cold drink to keep cool me!

Hels x

Challenge Mojo ... An Altered Canvas

Evening Peeps,

So, where has it got to then? I have searched high and low, in all my cupboards, drawers and even in those dusty old corners that time forgot (or more like, what my hoover forgot!!!) What am I looking for? My Mojo!!! It has gone AWOL!!! Actually, I know exactly where the blighter is, it is on holiday, probably in the Caribbean, sipping cocktails with its best Mojo friend who belongs to Linda....actually, check that, it is probably quaffing "Mojito's" ... *groan* LOL

Anyways, Linda and I were chatting on't phone earlier and reminding each other about the last time this happened, about a year ago - anyways, Linda came over to my house armed with only Canvas, Chalk Inks, Stampbord and a few stamps. So we decided that as this had worked before, we were going to do the same again :O))

Here is the Challenge Canvas I have made:




It is an 8" x 6" canvas, a size new to me (ooooerrrr) and I have used a selection of Stampbord shapes and sizes.




I used Mint Green and Warm Violet Chalk Ink by Colorbox and coloured the whole surface of the canvas and the Stampbord.

I used Penny Black Brush Strokes stamps which I bought from Craft4Creation, a fab online shop that has literally hundreds and hundreds of Penny Black stamps....well worth a visit :O)) and stamped the images in Black StaZon.




I used a scratchy tool to do the scratchyness, emphasizing the brush strokes and then covered all the Stampbord pieces with two layers of clear UTEE which is from The Artistic Stamper.




To tie the canvas in with the stylee of the Stampbord, which I had edged with a metal file, I used a blending tool and foam and white acrylic paint and made streaks around the edges of the canvas. Suffice to say, this is the only streaking I am ever likely to do LOL




Anyways, this is the end product - I am fairly pleased with it but wish I had been a bit more adventurous with the colour as I always seem to go for these combinations. Perhaps now my Mojo is returning from its sojourn, I will be able to crack on and get more inky and messy again.




Please pop over to Linda's place to have a look at what she made, I haven't seen it yet, but I just know that it will be perfect.

Thanks for looking

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 44 - Blue Eyes

Morning Stampers,

Thank you to all of you who joined in with the last Sunday Stamper challenge - it was great to see so many lovely works of art :O))




This week the theme is Blue. As always, all you need to do to be able to join in with the challenge is to make something that features the colour blue and also incorporates stamping in some form or other. Once you have made your entry, please pop a post here and add a link to the place you are showing your creation and I will be able to hop over and see what you made.



I have made a canvas for my entry this week - how unusual that I am making a canvas :LOL



My canvas is 8" square and I coloured it using Colorbox Chalk Inks, Sky Blue and Prussian blue with a little Dark Blue around the edges.



I used some larger pieces of Stampbord for the decorating, colouring these in the same way. I used Penny Black Brush Strokes stamping, inking with Midnight Blue StaZon.



Once the stamping was complete, I scratched the images to get back to the while Stampbord colour and then I used a metal file to scuff up the edges.



The Stampbord then had one coat of UTEE applied, I only used the one coat this time as I wanted a bobbly effect on the pieces as the stamps are so lovely and kinda scruffy too - in a good way I mean though :O))




I also used some Claudine Hellmuth Sticky Back Canvas to make some delightful little flower embellies,colouring and stamping as above and then adding the canvas to some metal, cutting out and then shaping to make them 3D. I stuck them to the finished piece using silicone glue. As you can probably tell, I am loving this new sticky canvas ... I seem to be using it on almost everything I make at the moment LOL




That's all from me - have a wonderful Sunday and I am looking forward to seeing your creations.

Hels x

Altered Canvas - Visions of Nature

Morning Peeps,

Eeeeew, yukky horrid weather out there this morning so I am staying indoors and I am going to have a little play in my room of stash....I have an altered art project to be getting on with and I think a few mins playing with inks might be fun :O))

Last weekend I was lucky enough to spend a few days respite being looked after by my bessie mate Andrea. She is such a great friend and I wanted to say that here...she will probably phone me up and tell me off for saying that to everyone, but it is true!!



Anyways, whilst staying with Andrea, and being looked after and treated like a Queen, we had a little play with our stash. We both altered a canvas and used stampbord and inks and stamps and this is what I came up with.




As usual for me, (yawn, I am getting boring) I used a canvas, covered it with chalk inks - the colours on the piccies are as near as I could get them but it is a little more purple in the centre - then I used 9 pieces of 2" square stampbord, which I inked, stamped with StaZon and then scratched with a scratchy tool....there is a novelty! And then I used UTEE and embossed them to make them look like tiles.



I also used some Claudine Helmuth Sticky Back canvas to make a couple of pretty flowers to add to the canvas.




I used the same chalk inks to colour the canvas first, then stamped the flowers with StaZon and then used a fine tip paint brush to add a little bit of white paint to them to co-ordinate them in with the scratchy stampbord.

I edged the canvas with a little diamond border but because of my wobbly arms and hands, the border just isn't straight at all....eeek, it looks a bit messy but it is done with StaZon so no going back!


That is it really....whooops, nearly forgot to credit the stamps I used - Prima clear stamps and Penny Black were the main ones and one by Stampers Anon I think, it was a borrowed one so not 100% sure I am right on that one!! LOL I hope you all have a lovely day and your weather is better than mine!

Hugs Hels x