Using up the stash...part 2

Hello, if you are in the UK then I hope you enjoyed your extra hour crafting (or the extra duvet time)!

In an attempt to trying using up my stash I have been stamping on fabric (inspired by the card Karen sent me for the WOYWW anniversary PIF).  This is stamped with stayz-on and I have added a little yellow the bee with some permanent markers, I aged it with my distress inks and frayed the edges a little them spritzed the lot with my perfect pearls spray in heirloom gold.

I attached it to some torn patterned vellum and used brads to attach it to some pretty blossom paper.

I stamped these the same way (using my new Tim Holtz stamps-these are the first ones I have bought as they are usually SO expensive, but Craft Obsessions had a good deal on them so I couldn't resist!), after aging with DI I then dropped some reinker and blotted it , finishing with my perfect pearls spray again to bring it all together (I love the way the ink moves when you spray it).

 I mounted the whole lot onto some of Tim's papers (I do like his paper stacks) and added a vinyl butterfly onto some old plastic packaging waste and bent the wings up to add some dimension.

I still can't bring myself to think about Christmas....maybe my trip to the NEC show will spark me off (or make me SO fed up of looking at Christmas stash that I may loose the will and buy my Christmas pressies this year!!!).  If any of you are going tot he NEC, I hope you have a fab time, and dont forget I am still taking bets on how different my haul will look from the shopping list I have!!!!

A big welcome to Marjo my new follower who also takes part WOYWW-Hello!

Happy Crafting
Li'l Pidge x

WOYWW

My first WOYWW for a while (see previous post for the many excuses I came up with!!).  I have missed you guys and gals...the week just wasn't the same without the excuse to behave in the nosiest (is that even a word!!) manner and hop around desks across the globe.  If you are wondering what I am blathering about now, hop over to julia's desk (WOYWW blinkie on the right>).

So, on my desk this week is a new journal page.  Now this is a new thing for me, I have only completed 1 page before...but it seems like a good way to experiment so what that hell?

I have stuck a page from an up cycled book and gesso'd over it....its like watching paint dry!!But at least it gives me time to think about what to do to the page next.

Also on the desk are my new oil pastels (well, pre loved but new to me) and some fabric I have been stamping up and colouring.  I don't know about you, but I buy stash..sometimes it is too pretty to use and you just want to look at it and touch it (I know, it sounds perverse and a bit fetishistic-but I cant be the only one, surely?!), other times its SO useful you run out and wish you'd bought the entire stock...but often (though not as often as I used to, I think I am getting either more discerning or maybe just fussy!) the stash stays in the drawer...or sometimes even in the paper bag you brought it home in......sitting there.....unloved.....unwanted..... so you pass it onto a fellow crafter you may have a use for it....then bugger me......you find a project it would work perfectly on and I have to go out and buy it again!!!!!  But not this year....I have a list....(I know I had a list in March when I went....but having never been before I was unrealistic and hadn't realised all the lovely goodies I had problems sourcing in the past would all be under one roof!!).....and I  am running a book as to how many items over and above my list I will purchase......ladies and gentlemen...place your bets!

Happy crafting
Li'l pidge x

I'm back

I cannot believe its been almost a month since my last post...so much has happened: first we went on holiday to Porta Pollenca (Majorca), clear blue sky and sea....wonderful.  Then I was away with work and working, working, working......all work and no play makes me a very tired and cranky wife!!

So, I decided enough was enough and crack on with the crafting (what with the coven outing to the NEC craft show coming up I thought I'd best experiment with the goodies I bought last time in case I love them and need to buy some more!!) and try different things for me.

So, first up is an altered canvas.  I printed a photo I took of Exeter cathedral onto calico that I ironed onto freezer paper!  Now, I am LOVING this stuff.  Its from the states and is made to wrap food for the freezer, but you can iron fabric onto it and it become slightly adhesive and 'grabs' the fabric, then you simply feed it through the printer as though it was paper!!  Hey presto, printed fabric.  All that money I have spent on special fabrics and even thinking of buying digital grounding to 'key' fabric and all I ever needed was some freezer paper (if you have any other uses for this please let me know....I am a convert)!

Then I distressed it with some DI, I outlined some parts with a black micron pen and darkened some areas with oil pastels (these are new to me, thanks to Coven Jill for passing on some of her pre loved ones) then I used multi medium to glue it to the canvas.

I cut out the door (a horrible modern door with no entry signs on it,so not in keeping with the rest of the building) and used some old text and a picture of a knights visor, stamping over with DI.

 I then used some metal contact paper (metal sticky backed paper about 2" deep from the hardware store, I think its used for joining pipes) which I embossed by hand with a Ten Second Studio mould and coloured it with my new Snow Cap alcohol ink mixed with some other colours (see, I am trying to use SO much of my stash!) finishing it with a dyed style stone. 

Next (thanks to hubby for allowing me a WHOLE weekend to play...I am happy and VERY inky) I decided to get out the pelmet vilene I carted back from the NEC in March but still haven't used and made a postcard with it.  I dyed some plain fabric, sprinkling it with salt to remove some of the dye then stitched it to the vilene to make it nice and sturdy to do some free machine embroidery. I added sheer fabrics, stitching and burning back with the heat gun, added some foils, dyed scrim, wool and silk fibres. 

 I then made a wee fish by sandwiching some mini sequins between angelina fibres and ironing them to make fabric, then I encased it in dissolvable fabric, stitching the fish design then washing it to dissolve the fabric leaving the shimmering fish.

I made some wire spirals and added sequins to represent seaweed.  Finishing it off with a nice piece of clean calico for the back and stitching all around in metallic threads.

So, a couple of new things from me, a bit experimental (I think I will try the canvas again as I enjoyed making that) I just need to practise a bit more and think of ways of incorporating the techniques into cards and tags also (one question...when you have made all this stuff what do you do with it?  Its starting to fill up my craft room....and I need to space for more new stash!!).

Happy Crafting

Li'l Pidge x