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

A couple of girly cards

Now, those of you who know me will know I am not a girly girl.  Yes I may wear a dress sometimes but usually teamed with crocs/wellies/trainers or at least one muddy knee!!  But I was determined to crack on with another donation so made some girly cards to sell in the office (I tend to make at least 3 of each design to sell for charity)-and it worked.  I have just made another £50 donation, this time to SENSE the deaf/blind charity-so a big thanks to everyone at work.



Even though it's not usually my thing I must admit I love this little fairy, she is TOO cute (thanks to Becky for lending me the stamp).

Anyway, just a quick post as its late and my bed is calling.....can you hear it?

Happy Crafting

Li'l pidge x

WOYWW

Hello WOYWWers!  I had a few problems leaving comments on some blogs last week as the comment form only seems to give google/aim...etc and doesn't default to the BLOGGER form or give you the option to include your URL, so sorry if you didn't get a returning comment from me..I did try!

So, this week on my desk....well I have just finished making a wedding card for the lad who works for me (you never know, he may read this so I wont post it until after his wedding in Oct) hence the spellbinders pearlescent waste (by waste, I mean more stash for my scrap box!).  Also, my collection of tomato paste tubes for metal embossing is coming along nicely...just need to make something with them all now!!



This is the birthday card for one of the Craft Coven members (Happy Birthday Tracey) you may have had a sneak of in a previous post. I made a book of spells card, embossing the front with a distressed mesh finish, adding some foiling, a witches potion embellishment, torn holographic paper then I made a creepy embellishment, a spells tag, flower and a TH pin.

 The central embellishment started out as a plastic white key hole plate!  White-honest!!  By the time I added thick black acrylic paint, metal rub on waxes and then some lovely thick matt medium gel it was totally grunged!  I then added a couple brown metal brads and stuck a wobbly eye in the middle staring out at you!!

So, please feel free to pop over to Julia's blog (blinkie over on the right) and have a nose around some other desks.

Happy Crafting

li'l pidge x

A couple of cards

Not much crafting this weekend as my brother is home from Ecuador for a few days before he heads back for another 12 months away (he works here: http://gviphoenix.blogspot.com/) I miss him terribly but its such a worthwhile cause.  I did manage to get some colouring done (promarkers and stamped images are a great thing to chuck in a bag and do some impromptu crafting!)

I love this little sock monkey stamp-so sweet. I matted and layered it, mounted it on a card and added a sentiment with some distressing around the edge.

This card I made a couple if weeks ago for a friend who is also a Terry Pratchett fan (as am I).  The blind rat stamp is from the Discworld shop in Dorset) and I used some TH papers which I distressed, inked through some sequin waste and added some ink splatters.

A stamped spider in the bottom left, four black card candy's and some raffia finished off the card.

Happy Crafting and good luck bro!

Li'l Pidge

WOYWW

After a few weeks absence I'm back!  Desk is still a tip, but look, a space!!!! The space is because I have just finished making a birthday card for one of the crafting coven (cant post it on here until after her birthday though) and I've not started the next project.

On the far right is an altered frame I made, adding lots of vintage buttons with my new glue gun, I've yet to make a sewing themed picture to put inside-that'll be ANOTHER project to add to my list (and I've still not started any of the dreaded C word makes).

If you have NO idea what I am wittering on about, check out Julia's blog over on the right-What's on your Work desk Wednesday....a legal nose around others spaces!!!

Happy crafting
Li'l pidge x

I have been very lax in blogging recently.  First I was on holiday (camping in a wet field in Devon so couldn't craft) then I was really excited to meet my new nephew, Ethan....all together...1,2,3....ahhhhh.....  isn't he lovely.  A big well done to his mum, Lucy and Dad, Scott.

After being on holiday we came back to find LOTS of our chilli peppers had ripened (we have so many unripe ones and it doesn't look like we are going to get anymore decent sun, so any top tips to ripen them please let me know!).  I was going to dry them but decided to pickle them (I love pickled chillies with cheese.....yum!).

 I haven't really made much as my mojo seems to have taken a late summer holiday, I tried making some bits but they were rubbish and things just don't seem to be flowing.

I finally made a couple of cards

I had already coloured the images so there isn't much to these cards that could go wrong...I just hope my mojo decides to make an appearance soon as a couple of cards in 3 weeks is not very good!

If you see a mojo, probably sipping scumpy in a sunny beer garden tell him to get his backside back here (weird, I always see my mojo as male, even though I am female........what does that say about me?!?!).

Li'l Pidge x

Why Bristol is great for Craft

Before I start the debate, here is one of the tags that I made from scraps.  The flower is made from scraps, the suede hanger is a scrap from making my necklaces the other week and even the dyed lace is  a scrappy left over piece.

I added some of the foiling around the edge (I am so loving the foiling at the moment).  But then I discovered a black box frame and the tag fits perfectly!  What a great way to display my tags (I thought I could change them regularly).

 I also found a folding ruler in the shame shop and broke it down into pieces (using TH scissors, I must admit I use these as proper tools and so far they have not failed me).  I then dyed the ruler (which was BRIGHT white) using alcohol inks and glued them around the frame.

 I am really please with the result and have bought a few more frames and am going to decorate them as I am planning to do a Christmas stall (somewhere....have no idea yet)

So, back to the title.  Why Bristol (UK) is the best place for craft?  Well, mainly because there are SO many free museums (the new M shed, art museum etc), add to this there is ALWAYS something going on for free (or very little money) and they nearly always have an arty slant to them.

Take this weekend for example, there was the Bristol Motorcycle event in town, lots of Harley's, vespa's etc-so many photo opportunities-free.

Then there was the See no Evil event in Nelson Street.  This was a free day long event, pop up shops, bars, road closed so astro turf, flower beds and deckchairs could be laid out.  Artists from all over the world have created some stunning art on the side of the dirty grey buildings.

 They even brought out a piano and decorated it with line art.

There were so many different styles...How can people say this is not art?

Another reason Bristol is cool for craft?  The old police station has been converted into artist studios.  I came across this guy doing resin work. He has managed to capture fag butts in a jar complete with smoke and added marbles, seed beads and glitter

Then outside the police station, they decorated the wall by blasting away the dirt creating patterns, but what caught my eye was this yarn bombing!!!

And last but by no means least...the gorilla trail.  60 full size gorilla's that have been decorated have been placed around the city until 7th September.  This is brilliant, it has brought people together, locals and tourists.  I talked to SO many people over the past couple of days hunting these beauties down...they just start conversations. (the people NOT the gorilla's!)...I know Bristol was previously voted the most smiley city but I think they may now win the most chatty!

The downside?  I now have hundreds of photo's to process at home!!!

Happy crafting

Li'l Pidge

WOYWW

Fingers crossed that this works this week...blogger has not been working too well recently-the server keeps rejecting my pictures!!!!  Sorry for those who couldnt see last weeks desk and tags. 

So, What's on My Workdesk this Wednesday?! My red box of scraps is on the right of the shot-yep, still ever expanding...but at our weekly Coven craft night I only took blank tags and scraps (and some inks and a few embellishments I keep in my crop bag) and managed to make 3 tags!!  Just from scraps, I was very impressesed (one of the tags, not quite finished is in the middle of the desk)

On the right (on top of my scrap box) is my homemade stamp-a-ma-jig (no way I was paying over a tenner for one)-not tried it out yet (the wooden T square and thick plastic sheet) but it cost me nothing!  Next to that is a striped pink paper bag-in here is half a meter of freezer paper.  I love the idea of printing onto cloth but a box of freezer paper is over a tenner and if it doesnt work on my printer then thats a tenner I could have spent on crafting goodies...so half a meter will be enough to have  a play and decided if I want to invest in a box-fingers crossed my new printer likes it!!

In the middle is my tattered floral leather and suede flower I am making and some lavendar.  I picked it from the garden and once its dried I separate it out in the takeaway container (which eventually gets put through colin!!).  This bunch produced a whole zip lock bag of flowers.  The idea is that Christmas pressies this year will be handmade, elderflower cordial (already made), greengage jam (already made...but need to stop eating it!!) and homegrown lavendar hearts! (and maybe some sloe gin later in the year).

On the far left bottom is a new glue gun and clamp set my dad bought me at the weekend.  I have been using his old (over 20 years old) glue gun, but its so stiff I find it difficult with my hands and then the rubber tip broke off so now I keep burning myself!  So time for a new one.  BUT, it takes 8mm glue sticks and I cant find any that size round here, if anyone has any ideas (the make is Arrow, I'm told a very good USA make) please let me know.

So, feel free to pop over to Julias blog (there is a link over on the right) nad have a nose around desks across the globe!

Happy crafting
Li'l Pidge x

WOYWW

Good morning fellow WOYWW's (or should that be WOYWWers?). Today is the day for a good ol' nose around some desks across the globe....some tidy (not like mine), some messy (like mine!!), but all very inspirational.

So this week I have finally gotten round to making some stamps from my TH dies. I cut them from craft foam (25p a sheet in a craft sale) sticking 2 layers together. So far I have cut the on the edge Houses and the sewing Mannequin, I have only tested them on a piece of scrap so far (that's on the right) but they seems to stamp ok....I cant wait to have a proper play.

Thanks to all the ideas for what to make with my ever expanding scrap box, this tag is made only using scraps (and small ones at that).

I used some TH papers (I cant bear to throw away the smallest scrap-not only because they are so lush but so darn expensive...but worth it as the quality is fab) the smallest scrap of music paper, old pink lace that I dyed with TH re-inker to grunge it up. I added some bronze foil around the edge (SUCH a bargain at a craft fair back in the Spring, £1 a roll of foil...I use it SO much but have hardly used even 1 foot off the roll so far! (and I didn't only buy 1 roll at the time!!))

I then die cut (yep, on Colin again) a flower from scraps adding a some old buttons... the suede lacing to hang the tag is even a scrap leftover from my necklace making session!

So, with the amount of scraps I have it looks like I have LOTS of tag's to make....and with the REALLY small pieces...perhaps I should start making inchies!?!

Please pop over to Julia's blog, there is a blinkie over on the right, and have a nose around some other creative spaces.

Happy Crafting

Li'l Pidge

I cannot believe where the time has gone....my niece is a teenager!!

This is the card I made for her, its A4 in size with a printed acetate overlay to create a mock magazine cover, I inked through sequin waste and added a rub on flourish over the photo

 I decorated it with tattered floral flowers cut from grunge covered with book pages and some on my acetate with alcohol inks and tissue paper (from my earlier tutorial) adding a flocked brad in the centre and a metal contact paper covered flower coloured with alcohol inks.

I added some stamping and job done!!

I was really please with the result-especially since teenagers are notoriously difficult to buy/make for!!!

Happy crafting

Li'l Pidge