A few more cards and a new follower

The eagle eyed amongst you may have noticed that these cards are made from the images I had stamped on last weeks WOYWW-that means I finally finished something!! Usually the half finished images end up in my scraps box for AGES, but these images are so damn cute that I couldn't resist finishing them. As well as adding colour from my distressing inks (with my fast becoming favourite product, my ink dusters) I added some colour with pro markers and spritzed some mica to add a little sheen

Both backing papers were plain and stamped with another lavinia stamp, just to tie everything in together, how cute are they?! (this is about as cute as I like to get...!)

Also a big Hello to a new follow, Karen, a fellow WOYWW, hello and thanks for following.

So, as I am sat in the sun (hurrah!) in the back garden typing this up and the strain on the old eyes is a bit much (lets face it, a netbook isnt really made for using outside in the blazing sun!!) but too much time inside in the craft room when its this nice does feel as though I am missing out a little too much (if it stays this warm I may be tempted to do a little wet felting in the garden or maybe some cloth dying....also freaks the neighbours out seeing me hitting a ball of wool covered in soapy suds!!!).

Happy Crafting

Li'l pidge x

From a sunny WOYWW

Hurrah! WOYWW and its warm and sunny here in the UK! The warmest day of the year so far! So what's on my desk this week? Well, I have been playing with my new Lavina stamps and the ink dusters that I bought in the NEC, I have also been experimenting with solid blocks of colour (the card with the yellow block and black stamp) and trying out one layer cards (cheaper to post which sometimes needs to be a factor) Here is a close up, I love the row of fairy shops, I masked them to create a continuous row, not sure how to finish the cards off yet, but I will make sure I post the pictures.

Anyway, I recommend a trip over to Julia's WOYWW blog to have a look round some fellow crafters desks from all over the world!

Happy crafting

Li'l Pidge x

I knew it.....I knew the big shot would change my life!! Now I don't think this is an overstatement...I have tried embossing and cutting EVERYTHING, I have been through my recycling bin and fabric scrap box!! You have been warned, you visit the nest, expect to be frisked for goodies that can be put through the big shot. In fact, it's become a member of the family...so I have decided to name it...Bertha! Yep, big Bertha the big shot!!! So this weeks play... This is the card I made for my Mum's mothering Sunday card. The background papers are torn and distressed and I have added a small piece of vintage text that I gesso'd and distressed and then over stamped. The bird is cut out of dove grey glove leather over stamped. I then made 2 eggs out of air drying paper clay which I painted and glazed for a high gloss, then made a needle felted nest to home them in! As you'd expect I then assembled the whole lot with my glue gun. I use my glue gun so much its knackered! I 'borrowed' it from my dad and its over 20 years old and now the rubber tip has finally broken off so there is now an exposed metal point-which gets VERY HOT (I am speaking from experience here!!) so I think a trip to Axminster tools is overdue!

This card is an order from work for a male's 21st card. The brief was he was a member of the Real Ale Society and a fan of Radio 4 comedy, not an easy combination but I think it turned out ok.

The background paper is BRA (Bristol Real Ale) and embossed some acetate to represent the head on beer and a I added a customised train ticket from Bristol to Mornington Crescent!!

Like I said, I am falling in love with Bertha!!!!

Off to play some more.....

Li'l Pidge

WOYWW

Welcome to another WOYWW, I cannot believe its nearly April-where the hell is the year going? The lighter evenings are certainly a blessing though-its so nice to drive home in the light and soon it'll be light late enough to be crafting without the curtains shut! Yes, Spring is here and she is dancing her merry dance around the plants (and weeds)! And the drivel above is a good example of why I rarely drink coffee-a cup at work today instead of my usual calming ginger and turmeric tea (believe me it does taste better than it sounds) means my head is thumping and I am hyper!!!! So, whats on my work desk this Wednesday? Well, I missed last week as I was at the NEC (having such fun and now owning a die cutting machine) so thought I would play. I have bee gesso'ing some old book pages ready to use for various projects and on the far right my red scrap box is starting to become unwieldy again so I think I need to set myself another challenge to make a couple of cards just from the scraps. In the middle/back is my orange ribbon flower (NO idea what to put that on) that I made from wired ribbon that I curl round and shred one edge to produce a pretty frilly edging. On the right is my new wooden storage caddy that is a bit like a lazy Susan (I wonder why they named it that?) that I bought at a car boot sale for 50p and it fits all my new cosmic shimmer sprays perfectly (a bit more luck than judgement that one!)

To help me remember which dies and embossing folders I already have (I MAY have had to buy a few at the NEC once, or maybe even before, I bought the die cutting machine!) I thought I would make a tag book using them. The Tim Holtz embossing folder has been accented with sepia glossy accents to add some dimension and the cotton reel had thread wound round it

The swallow is cut from very thin metal and coloured with alcohol inks and the bumble bee is layered with card stock and vellum to help the wing flutter.

For a first attempt and a quick and easy way to remember which ones I already have I was quite impressed.

Any hoo-if you get a chance, pop over to Julia's WOYWW blog for a good old nose around some other desks...I know I am!

Happy crafting

Li'l Pidge x

A couple of cards

I have to come clean (not easy, when you have as much ink on your fingers as I tend to!) neither of these cards have been made this weekend (I have been busy playing with my new toys). This card I made last week for mother's day, I love the martha stewart punches, they just add a nice delicate touch (without the hassle factor). For added dimension I used some leaves, angelina fibres, flowers and some shimmery ribbon. This card was made for someone leaving at work who plays domino's. The domino was already coloured a tan colour so I used this as the basis for the rest of the card.

After a few days away I have LOTS of sorting out to do so no coven tonight (sorry girls).

Happy Crafting

Li'l Pidge x

Who says you loose an hour in bed?

Today the clocks went forward-the day you loose an hour sleep-not so in our nest! Stayed in bed an hour longer (hee hee I love trying to beat the system!!). After the last few days I am knackered. Fellow coven crafter, Jill and I went to the Birmingham NEC for 2 days of Stitching and Hobby craft...lots of talking, walking, gawping at lush fabric art, walking, shopping and some red wine! I have gotten into a bit of a habit when returning from a craft show-I dump all my stuff on the dining room table (its easier to take a photo for the blog-that's how I justify it!!) before sorting it all out, in a vain attempt to keep my teenie weenie craft room tidy(ish). AS you can see I finally got a die cutting machine (my birthday pressie from my hubby, even though it was over a month ago, I wanted to wait until any show offers and to actually try one out with leather and thicker products to check my arthritis in my hands didn't stop me from using it-and the fact its sat on my table tells you-YEP, it cut through all that stuff easily, and SO much cheaper than the vagabond-so more money to spend on dies etc!!!) I had a fab couple of days so now I am off to play.... Happy crafting Li'l Pidge x

Busy weekend

So, busy weekend down at the nest...in a vain attempt to reduce the amount of fabric stash I have (no matter how I try to hide it, my OH still manages to find it!!) I thought I'd better make something (especially since I have the NEC stitch show coming up!).

So I thought I'd make some stitched cupcake cards...

Aren't they sweet?

In a vain attempt to use up stuff (my scrap box on my desk is becoming unmanageable and looks like it may be sprouting off spring!!) I decided to use my new paperartsy stamps and dies (thanks Becks for letting me use your cutting machine) and some of the scraps...


I was surprised how easy they were to make, some distress ink, a nice flower and a Martha Stewart punch to add a bit of 'zing' to the scrap box and voila!

Happy days as my mojo is back...talking of which I need to pull my finger out and make some Mothering Sunday cards (for those in the UK, for my nan in New Zealand thankfully its later in the year).

Happy crafting

Li'l pidge x

WOYWW

After missing last weeks WOYWW (I need to stop working SO late so I have time to craft) I was determined to post today!

So, here is what is on my desk this week. These are the new stamps I bought at the Paperartsy event with 2 matching dies. Even though I don't have a die cutting machine one of the coven let me use their cuttlebug to cut out the dies, both out of paper but also out of some wonderfully thin glove leather, which I then over stamped with stayz on (the bottom middle bird). I think I am going to enjoy playing with these new toys!

This is what was on my WOYWW a few weeks ago, this was a blank I boight some time ago and decided to turn into an Emergency Craft Fund money box for fellow coven member, Becks, birthday.

I gesso'd the box, adding coloured acrylic then stamping on tissue papers, adhering with Modge Podge, adding a dimensional mushroom for additional texture. I distressed the entire box, adding crackle glaze and a couple of coats of varnish for durability.

I love these stamps from Lavina, my hubby bought me them for Christmas and I have been waiting for the perfect project to try them out on.

So, if you fancy having a nose around some other desks, check out Julia's blog, there is a link over on the right.

Enjoy

Li'l Pidge

WOYWW

So, finally I have some craft on my desk. After my spending spree and workshop with Tim Holtz and Lin and Leandra I thought I would use one of my new Ten Second Studio impression boards, but instead of using the black metal I bought, which is quite expensive so I plan to save it for a special project, I used a cleaned out tomato puree tube my mum saved me. I then painted it with black acrylic and sanded it back to expose the clock design.

I'm quite chuffed how it turned out.


If your havn;t checked out Julia's blog, Whats on your workdesk wednesday, there is a link on the right-I recommend a good old nose around, always something interesting going on.

Happy crafting
li'l pidge x

ooh, new stalkers

Ooh a good week so far, I'd like to say welcome to my new 3 stalkers (yes 3!), Becky (one of the crafting coven), Jayne and Sam - HELLO!

No crafting tonight as I have been sat here waiting since 18:00 for Comet to call and run through a service check on the netbook-no call, so I am off to bed soon so thought I'd do a quick blog update, and what a pleasant surprise to see you.

I hope you enjoy sharing my trials and tribulations, often crafty, but not always!

and as Kate Bush once said, "please be kind to my mistakes" ;-)

Happy Crafting
Li'l Pidge x