WOYWW already?!

Are you sure?  Really?.......A bank holiday really throws me out.....I kept thinking it was a day earlier!!  On the plus side, its nearly the weekend again!  Bonus!

So on my desk this week are my Man Bites Dog cards...I really did pick the words randomly! Also a 2 page journal entry that is in early construction, its in my mop up journal so it takes a while to construct a page as I tend to use what I have left over on my mat.

The torn book pages came from a free book extract that I picked up (a mini version comprising of a chapter from a new book...the idea is to entice you to buy the full version, unlike us crafters who rip them up for assemblage!!).

Not sure what to do next on the page, I am sure inspiration will hit soon!
Top middle is a messy kitchen roll that I used to mop up my dylusion inks which I used on some tags that are just peaking out next to the kitchen roll, next to this is a jar filled with very hard liquorice, its to try and stop me snacking as one piece takes SO long so eat as its SO hard (gonna loose more teeth if I am not careful!) and on the left is an open pot of Claudine Hellmuth multi medium (I was introduced to this stuff at the Tim Holtz workshop I was lucky enough to attend last year and it sticks ANYTHING I have thrown at it, so I tend to use it for many things!!).

If you fancy joining us for a legal snoop around the desks of the globe, then Queen Julia can be found here 

Happy Crafting

Li'l Pidge 

Wet and windy....that'll be a Bank Holiday then

Hello peeps! I hope you all had a lovely weekend, as its a bank holiday weekend over here that means I have today off and have been painting (woo hoo) but NOT in the craft room (boo!).  Painting some new bits and bobs we have had fitted upstairs (loft hatch, that sort of thing)....its nice painting with my hubby.......but its not the same as being in the craft room!

One good things about a wet weekend is that I finally had a chance to download the photos off my camera.

This is a card I made for a friends birthday.  I stamped the bombshell  skull stamps (I love rockabilly music so their stamps are perfect all their deets are here) and coloured with pro markers, mounting it on pink then holographic card before finally mounting it on a pink base card with some pink ribbon to bring it all together.

Right, first coat should be dry by now........

Li'l Pidge

WOYWW

Happy WOYWW everyone! 

So, as you can see the slutty crafter has not returned!!! (YET).  My desk is still tidy, so I thought I would include at bit of the back of the desk that you don't usually see (as the mess is stacked too high!).

The storage caddy on the left is a green cabinet with 2 glass doors (filled with inks, stains and sprays) above this (just out of shot) are 2 drawers with more ink pads) and a shelf with my sticky stuff.  I got this at a 2nd hand market for a fiver-its really solid so I was quite chuffed with it.  

Next to it is a spinning remote control holder from a charity shop (on top of pound land drawers) my mica sprays, stickles and wooden stirrers all fit nicely in there.  Finally on the right it an old dried milk container covered in old scrap book papers that I keep my pens in (and hidden behind this is a brown Tikki plastic cup which holds my paintbrushes). 

See, not bad for me!

On the desk is a couple of tags I have coloured with TH wrinkle free distress, and I have scored (with an old card) some black dabber lines across (not sure what to do next with these.....they will probably still be there next week!

I also quite like my Man Bites Dog cards this week....they are very odd cards in this pack!

Anyway, if you would like to have a legal snoop around desks across the globe (oh how I wish I had a Tardis like Dr Who, who is filming in Bristol this week!) then pop over to the lovely Queen of WOYWW blog here 

Happy Crafting

Li'l Pidge x

Dying fabric with Distress Inks

 Evening all....we have just had the most awful storm!  It lashed it down for about 15 mins, complete with lightning.  The roads flooded almost instantly as the ground was already so wet!  Add to that the fact that Dr Who is filming their Christmas (oops...sorry the C word again!) episode in the centre of Bristol over the past couple of days and the fact that there was a security incident in the centre of the city today meant that it was GRIDLOCK!!!!

What fun.....so I have retreated to my craft haven (I can say haven as its still tidy!!) to chill (you have to admit crafting is SO very therapeutic....apart from when Mr Mojo decides to take a wander!).

I decided I didn't have a enough tags (gulp....please don't look behind me at the basket full of them!!) and made a tag out of pearlescent card, distressed it with DI and stamped the background with the same DI and inked through some sequin waste.

I added a leaf and some flowers with a tag and some vintage book pages (also stained with DI).

I then tried dying some satin ribbon with DI and water, and guess what...it worked!  I got lots of this ribbon, which was a neutral colour from the scrap store for next to nothing (I had a carrier bag full for a couple of quid, including leather scraps, boxes etc....so it really was a few pennies for several meters of this ribbon). 

When I dried it with the heat gun, I loved the fact that the satin shine was still there.  I think it complements the pearlescent card rather well (even if I do say so myself!!).  I attached it with some coloured mini staples I picked up in a discount shop (you know the ones, where things are 99p or £1) and mounted it on some TH Crowded Attic papers.

I love the fact that this uses almost free items (I need to go back to the scrap store to see if they have any more of this ribbon!!) to make something so dimensional with many layers-I had to buy nothing for this, it was all scraps I found hidden on my desk when I cleaned up last week! 

 I am entering this into the Simon Says Stamp and show challenge which this week is 'No Rules'.  I have not tried using just one colour before or dying with the DI, it was a 'what the hell' moment and I gave it a go.....and I think i will give it a go again!

You can find all the details for the challenge here, there are some lovely design team pieces which are totally inspiring.

Happy Crafting

Li'l Pidge x

 

See No Evil

Hello, I hope you have been having a wonderful weekend.  It has been dry here in the south of the UK (I know, a whole weekend dry!) so we headed into Bristol to the 2nd year of the Hear No Evil.  The deets are here. 

It is the largest permanent street art display, and this year they went BIG using entire tower blocks in some cases for one painting!  I took SO many photo, I won't bore you with them all, just a selected few (though this post is a little photo heavy).

 I love the fact that you can see the artist painting in a live environment, this is the artist sketchbook and you can see the painting in progress.

 There was fake grass and deck chairs all along the road, pop up bars and SO many sound systems playing music.

 

 Nice to see everyone was getting involved, kids, adults and even the police!

 

 It was so lovely to see art being taken to another level and it was all free, being enjoyed by all walks of life and ages.

  

You may not be  a fan of street art, but if you love art in general it is hard not to at least appreciate the skill and time that goes into making these pieces, especially the very large pieces.

The art stays there all year, on the buildings for everyone to enjoy.  If you are ever in Bristol, then I recommend a walk to Nelson Street, its less than 5 mins amble from the shopping centre and there is also a new 3 story (yep 3) craft shop between the shops and the street art!!!!  Genius!

Happy crafting and thanks for putting up with my indulgence

 li'l lidge x

A bit different and a sex pistol

I usually post photo's of my desk and the odd bit of craft.  I thought I would inject a bit of spice and variety and include some other shots for a change.

The first is of 2 HUGH blooms in my hanging basket.  I am really pleased with these, they were a small plug plant for £1.25 many months ago and after watering, repotting and feeding its now the most beautiful specimen-such a shame I threw the label out so I have no idea what the exact species is!
 

 The other side of the hanging basket has some lovely trailing petunia's, also a £1.25 plug plant.  The macro shot is hand held so not as sharp as it could be, but I do like the colour and back lighting.

These crocosmia 'lucifer' are in my back garden, I tried a low 'arty' shot, not sure if I like it or not, what do you think?

Now, if you are of a certain age you may recognise this one!  After all these years I finally got to see Public Image Ltd (PIL) in concert.  I was a fan before I met my hubby (and I have been with him 22 years!!) but never had the opportunity to see them.

For those that have no idea, the singer John Lydon used to be in the Sex Pistols.  PIL still have the punk sounds but with some reggae and dub thrown in-they were brilliant, I loved every minute.

After that diversion I thought I should end on a craft note!  Now I have a tidy desk I can actually craft again, this card is using one of the MANY tags I seem to have made over the past few months.  Is it me, or does making tags become addictive?  I seem to have SO many I thought mounting them on a card is at least one way to try and get the numbers down!!

I like the fact that it is a male card as these are notoriously difficult to make (mind you I would be well chuffed to get a card like this-even though I do say so myself, so maybe its not exclusively male!).  I used TH stamps and background paper, adding colour with distress inks.

I am chuffed it is nearly the weekend, after last week off work, this week seems like a VERY long one!

Happy Crafting
Li'l Pidge
 
 

WOYWW shocker

 After a couple of weeks away from WOYWW I am back.....with a shameful face!

Why?  Look.......

I know I am a slutty crafter....but really this mess is going too far....it has been like this for weeks now.  I remembered to pick some words from 'Man Bites Dog' cards (not nice ones this week!) but the mess means that I have been unable to craft for a few weeks now!

On the desk are some 3D butterfly stickers I bought for £1 and a wooden house that has 3 wee drawers...only £2 and I thought I could alter it (at the moment its burgundy and has cats on it)... that means it will sit in the box with all those other things I think I will alter.......never to see the light of day again!

BUT.....I decided to have a clean up!!!  I know....me of all people!  It must be hormones, a hot flush or too much cider.....something must be to blame for this unusual action!

So, if you don't have a heart condition feel free to scroll down and allow your eyes to feast on the delight that is my CLEAN desk!

........


........


are you ready?.....

 


Tad da!!!!!!

I scraped the dried paint off the desk, the glue and the multi medium (not an easy job that one!) cleaned it AND my craft mat and cutting mat!  I even cleared out (well sort of) my red box of scraps (some of the scraps had been in there for over 2 years...lets face it, they are NEVER going to be used)....now......I am off to craft and make it all messy again!

If you would like to nose around desks from all over the globe, then visit Julia's page here

Happy Crafting

Li'l Pidge x

366 Challenge

I am back from a wet camping trip to Devon.  Sun would have been better, but we had a lovely time sat with friends around the camp fire, with NO phone signal so we all chatted and played board games.....a lovely time.

I took my 366 challenge with me so I could fill it in (my memory isn't what it used to be....it's an age thing!).

This is my July pages all finished.

Already started, this is my August page.  I cannot believe we are half way through August already.....and more to the point I cannot believe I am still doing the 366 challenge....I never stick to challenges.....but this is so easy (a small journal each day) and it is lovely looking back over the months reminding myself what happened (see, it's a memory thing!)

The challenge is run by the very talented Kate Crane and all the deets can be found here

Right, I'm off to clean up the craft room!!  Yep, you heard me right.....its such a mess and has been for weeks.....its so messy there is NO room to craft!  If you are are WOYWWer then I plan on a before and after shot to show how slutty a crafter I really am!!!

Happy crafting

Li'l  pidge x