Forgotten Friday: Number 1

I'm tidying up my Craft Room at the moment, and as I was sorting through some old stamps, I thought that I should be using them, and some of my other stash, that has sat unused for ages. I decided that every Friday, I would post a piece of artwork using forgotten, or neglected stash. If anyone would like to join in with me, then that would be great. You can leave a link to your work in your comment, and I'll visit your blog. If we get enough people joining in, and someone tells me how, (I know, I'm an idiot!), I'll get Mr Linky. Next week, I'll be more organised, and post my artwork earlier on during the day, (I've had a busy day today), you don't want to know!

I found two stamps this week, the first one from Stampendous called 'Fresh Bloom' and the second one is from Hobby Art, and is a sonnet by Shakespeare 'Shall I compare Thee to a Summer's Day' I based my card on some samples created by Trish Latimer in June's Craft Stamper. They were so pretty, and rather than rush out and buy the same stamp that she used, I knew that I had something similar. I have also used some pretty coloured vellum, in this case orange, and added red Stazon to the reverse, to mimic my inking on normal card for the other two flowers. I intend to make a paler version, using creams and beiges, and want to use the Martha Stewart punch on that one, which is why it is in the photograph. Time permitting, I'll finish that one, and blog it over the weekend.

However, on to my finished card! I have used an Artylicious paper from the Echoes of  Italy pack mounted onto green Bazzil card. I stamped the sonnet onto plain white card with Stazon, and then coloured the card with Spiced Marmalade and Wild Honey Distress Inks. I stamped two flowers onto white card with Stazon as before, and coloured those with Spiced Marmalade, Barn Door, and Fired Brick DIs. I then made the last flower with vellum, as described earlier. I stuck my flowers on with silicone, after curling them slightly.

My next version will have a more romantic feel, possibly for a wedding, but this one speaks of the summer to me in these colours. Anyway, that's week one of using forgotten stash. Join in if you'd like to, and I'll pop over to your blog. Bye for now, Judith xx

A full set

I am now the proud owner of a full set of pages for my circle journal, mentioned in a previous post. I made it with my blog friends with who I run Craft Stamping Quartet and we made some of the pages when we went on holiday together at the beginning of June. I have yet to make my final pages for Lesley, and then I will be finished with my commitment to everyone else's journals.

We gave each other ideas about colours, and trends but we then had free rein to make what we liked for each other. We all had arch shaped journals, the same size for simplicity.

The first pages are from Jo. She has used beautiful Mariposa papers from DCWV in aubergine and peach shades. She has used gold embossing, and butterfly images. She has attached a gorgeous Vintaj butterfly on one page. She has made a little book on the other page, which is beautiful, and written me a message inside, tied with a gold ribbon. She has added some lovely sentiments.They are such pretty pages, thank you Jo.

My second pages are from Lesley. She has used some beautiful masking effects on her pages, with Glimmer mists.She has added some gorgeous flowers, purple on one side, and a cream lace one on the other. She has used some Paper Artsy stamps which I really like, and added some lovely sayings about friendship on both pages.She has added a Tim Holtz hanging sign with my name above stamped wildflowers, including poppies, my favourite flower. Thank you Lesley.


My third set of pages are from Elaine. She has used Basic Grey Wisteria paper, a range that I have on my wish list (along with the Mariposa pad!). She has incorporated my love of poppies with two lovely flowers stamped on Mulberry paper and layered up with beads in the centre. She has added some little Crafty Individuals Butterflies that she has stamped, and another CI image of a little girl that I love. She has picked up on my love of family by adding a picture of myself and Megan, (my daughter), pinched from my blog details, printed onto canvas, and mounted into a little frame, and the large word coloured with DIs.The little Vintaj fairy hits the spot with me too, (they listened, those girls!). Thank you Elaine.
Every time I look at the pages, I am reminded of my three lovely friends, their time and patience, and how lucky I am to know them. It also reminds me of our lovely holiday, and the good times that we had. This is truly a happy journal, and a treasured item indeed. Thanks for looking, and I know that they will appreciate any kind comments that you leave, Judith xx

ISC Birthday Card

Hi all, I loved the free stamp on the front of August Craft Stamper. I loved the samples on pages 6 and 7 even more, and really liked the look of the stamp sheets available from ISC. Their website is http://www.innovativestampcreations.com/ I had seen this company mentioned before, and really like their stamps. Anyway, I decided to make the following birthday card for my friend using some of their stamps.

I have used a sheet of Tim Holtz Vintage Shabby paper stack in a grey colour, which is great, because you can use whatever colour Distress Inks you like on it. I have used Tumbled Glass, Victorian Velvet, and Dusty Concord. I have made two flowers, stamping large and small flowers onto the same paper, and over stamping the dictionary definition stamp onto them. I have used the same colour DIs, and then scrunched them up, and put a large brad in the middle. I have used the lovely girl's face from the 'Friendship' plate, I love this stamp, it is so expressive. I have coloured it with Coloursoft pencils and Zest it. I have used a little bit of Bazzil, and a piece of cream lace and there you go! A card with my friend's favourite colours and techniques all rolled into one. I am sure that I will be using these stamps a lot more, as they are really lovely,; there are some more flowers, some butterflies, and a linen weave background. There are some beautiful sentiments, so I will be busy for a while. Watch this space! Thanks for looking, and any comments would really be appreciated, Judith xx

June Craft Stamper Project

Hello, just a quick post to let you know that I did get my flag book finished, and I have posted the complete results on our blog here I hope that you will go and have a look. It's so hot here today, and I suffer with the heat. It's been hard to get anything done, and I really need to tidy away the after effects of my crafting. I'm stocking up on more storage boxes in an attempt to restore order to my Craft Room which is so untidy. So, as the school year winds down, I'm gearing up to have a good sort out, and hopefully become more organised in my creative space. It's not looking good at the moment!

Anyway here are a few pictures to tempt you over to our sister blog. Thanks for looking, and any comments are really appreciated, Judith xx

Nearly there

Well, we are safely back from our Center Parcs break at the weekend. We had lovely weather, which is probably a first. I didn't even take a coat, another first! We love going to Center Parcs, at any of the locations, walking through the woods, and enjoying the atmosphere. This was the view from our patio doors, and we saw plenty of wildlife to go with the view. There were lots of squirrels and birds. We get lots of both at home, but they are very tame at Center Parcs, as they are so used to people.

We had a relaxing time, but we enjoyed lots of activities while we were there too. The others went out onto the Lake a couple of times in canoes, we played crazy golf, went bowling, ate far too much, and generally had a good time. On Saturday morning, Terry and I met my blog friend Lesley, as she lives nearby, and we had a coffee and a natter. She and I even managed to pop into a local Craft Shop and make some purchases!

Since I've been home, I've been trying to finish my project for our blog Craft Stamping Quartet I'm a bit late finishing mine this time, which is a first for me, and I don't like being late. I was a bit under the weather last month, and it set me back a bit, plus we had our Retreat, and it was invigilating time of year with school exams, so all in all, June just flew by. However, I'm almost done now, hopefully, I'll be finished tomorrow. I thought that I'd show you a couple of sneaky peeks on here today to whet your appetite. I've been a bit selective with the photos that I've chosen, so as not to give too much away. It's no secret that I've gone with flowers and butterflies, and I have gone more dimensional than Jo and Lesley, using decoupage, and layers on my tags to add interest. Hopefully there is a twist that you will enjoy when you see the completed project. Thanks for looking, and don't forget to pop over to our shared blog to see Jo and Lesley's completed flag books, Judith xx

I should be packing!

Just a quick post before I go away for a long weekend to Center Parks near Nottingham tomorrow. It's a bit like taking coals to Newcastle, as we have a Center Parcs right on our doorstep here at Elveden, about eight miles away. We often go there too.

I made a card with my card class this evening, using the new Birthday Belle stamp set from Elusive Images. It's a lovely set, really versatile. I've also made a handmade flower using my Blossom Nestabilities, and overstamped the flower with a Wendy Vecchi background stamp. I have used Stream Adirondack Ink for the Background, the flower, and the Girl's Dress, I love this colour!

  I'd also like to show you a picture of my youngest, Ryan. It was his Summer Ball last week. He doesn't get dressed up very often, so here he is looking smart. He's with a friend, he doesn't have a girlfriend at the moment. They all travelled on a bus to the venue and had a great time. They grow up so fast don't they?

Back soon, hopefully rested after my break, Judith xx

I've been busy!

Well, I've got a few more bits and pieces to show you, as promised from my last post. When we were away on our mini Retreat, Elaine showed us how to make leafy backgrounds, using leaves from her garden and Adirondack Inks. I love the effect that these create, and have been making some since I returned home. The bluey grey one is the one that I made with Elaine's instructions, and the green one is one I made at home. I decided to use the green background to make a couple of Father's Day card, one for my Dad, and one for my Father-in-Law.

I have kept the rest of the card quite plain, as I want to show off the lovely background. I have used an Elusive Images stamp and sentiment, which I have edged with Distress Inks and matted onto dark green card.

I finally finished my hanging that I made in the class we went to with Linda Elbourne while on our mini Retreat. She is such a lovely lady, and kept us supplied with cups of tea all day. The piece that we made is absolutely stunning, and I really enjoyed making it. There are so many different elements involved; stamping onto tissue paper, making UTEE shapes, grungepaper roses, using crackle accents, it is really lovely.

Last but not least, my hubby and I will have been together for 31 years tomorrow. We got together at the tender age of 15 (ahhhh!), we were in the same class at school, and have been together ever since. As it is also Father's Day, my card needed to be a little bit multi purpose. He really liked the card that I made for his brother with the metal panel a couple of weeks ago, so I decided to use some metal on his card too. I recently bought a couple of pieces of gorgeous turquoise coloured metal, so I ran a piece of that through my Big Shot with the harlequin TSS mould. Wow, that was so easy! The embossing is really crisp, once I'd worked out what plate configuration I needed, (I'll never remember for next time!) I added the hanging sign bracket, which I coloured with Weathered Wood, Pine Needles, and Black Soot, to create a verdigris feel. Then I attached a bit of chain and a couple of jump rings. With lots of silicone, I then added a clock face and a spinner, to look as if it was hanging from the chain. I have not added a sentiment, as the card will be for both occasions really, and my insert will be blank too. I love the colour of this metal, which I also added a little bit of black paint dabber to, taking the excess off with kitchen roll. Hopefully he will be pleased with the finished card. Thanks for looking, Judith xx

Time Flies

Well, after an extremely busy week, I'm here to report back on our mini Retreat near Bedford. I went with my fellow bloggers from http://craftstampingquartet.blogspot.com/ Elaine, Jo and Lesley. We hired two adjoining apartments on a farm near Bedford, and spent a few days together just chatting and crafting. The accomodation was excellent, as we had two large tables, which meant that we coukd split up and work on our circle journals, or leave one table cluttered with craft stuff, and eat on the other one! We also booked a day class at LB Crafts with Linda Elbourne, and had a fabulous time with her, and then browsed around the shop afterwards. We may have made one or two purchases as well! I have almost finished my project from the class, and will post a picture of that when I have, as it is gorgeous.

While we were on the Retreat, we taught each other a few bits and pieces, and tried to work on some projects as well as our journals. Some projects were finished, and some things have been saved for next time, too much chatting I think! I showed the girls how to attach beading to Stampboard with jump rings and headpins. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of their projects, but here is one of mine. I have used Tattered Rose, Milled Lavender and Dusty Concord DIs on the stampboard, and then used a Lavinia stamp with Imperial Purple Versafine Ink. I have then atached an assortment of toning beads, finishing off with a pretty toggle clasp at the back.

I managed to get two lots of circle journal pages finished, first Elaines, based on a Secret Garden theme, as she is a nature lover at heart. I used a gorgeous green paper from a K & Co pad as my base. I made a handmade flower with book pages, and stamped a door with a Crafty Individuals stamp, placing another CI image behind of ferns and flowers. I used  larger versions of the ferns and flowers to stamp around the edges of the pages from an Elusive Images set of stamps. I used the words Secret Garden from the new Paper Artsy Hot Picks Stamp set. I used various Tim Holtz ideology pieces to finish off my pages.Apologies about the background of my photo, we worked in a right mess while we were there!

For Jo's pages, I went for a Venetian theme; we both share a love of Venice, and Italy in general. I used some Darkroom Door stamps as the basis of my design, and wanted to include mosaics in my design. I painted some Terra onto the top half of one of my pages, and brushed wild honey over the top, to give a plaster effect to the page. Lesley very kindly donated the perfect colour mosaics for me. Again, I made some handmade flowers with Italian newspaper this time! I used one of Jo's own masks to make the background for the second page by inking through with Wild Honey DI. I made these pages with a migraine, and really struggled to pull them together, but page number two with the mask went better than page number one, and I think that it shows. I used the word for 'friend' in Italian, a little ticket, and a motivational Crafty Individuals stamp to finish everything off.
We had a lovely time together, and are already in agreement that we must go again. We think that we need a month next time to get everything done...I'll be back soon with more bits and pieces to show you, Judith xx

A card for my BIL

Well I'm another day closer to our mini Retreat, but I had to make a card for my Brother in law's birthday on Monday before I went away. He and my Husband run an Irrigation Company, and at this time of year, they are working their socks off, due to the weather. My poor Hubby will have to work over the weekend, but we're hoping to spend Sunday together, fingers crossed.

 Anyway, back to the card, I wanted to have an engineering theme on the card, so I used a TSS mould, and some silver metal, which I embossed, and then painted black. I rubbed the surplus paint off. I then cut out three cogs using the Tim Holtz Alteration Die from cardstock, which I sanded, and added two Ideology Game Spinners. I used a Craftwork Cards circle Sentiment for speed, as time is of the essence now! I have never used a TSS mould before, never been to a class, so for a first attempt, it went okay. Hopefully, he will like it anyway.

I'm also showing you a photo of Buzz my cat among the Bluebells in our garden a couple of weeks ago. We had lots this year, and most of them are past their best now. The Wisteria is out now, as well as Clematis and Lilac. I was a bit sad to see that the Chickens had trampled one of my lovely Alliums yesterday, they do a lot of good for the borders, but I'm not happy when they damage my delicate flowers.

I probably won't post again until we're back from our Retreat now, so enjoy the Bank holiday weekend everyone. Have a great half-term break if you are lucky enough not to work. I'll be back soon, Judith x

Looking forward to next week

Well, it's been a while again. Life will settle down soon, which will be nice for a change. I'm giving one of my jobs up, which I haven't been that happy doing. Also my Hubby and son who have both been dignosed with IBS seem to be settling down now. I just need to finish my current stint as an exam invigilator, and things will slow down a bit.
My blog friends, Elaine Jo, Lesley and I, are all going on a mini Retreat next week. We are hiring two cottages and spending a few days together just crafting and chatting. We don't see each other very often, as we live so far apart, so this will be a lovely treat for us. We have been planning our activities for weeks, and we only have until Tuesday now, and we will be meeting up. We are going to be making Circle Journals, and showing each other tips and tricks, and just having a really good crafting time. Me being the jewellery maker, I'm doing the beading class. Lesley is going to give us some tips for incorporating metal into our crafting and so on.

I've posted my May project on our other blog today here so take a look for the full details if you are interested. It wasn't an easy one this month, although it was meant to be!

Hopefully, we'll be back at the end of next week full of ideas, and lots of pictures. Judith x

Butterfly Birthday Card

Okay, I don't post for ages, then I post twice in one day! Here is the other card that I promised you that I couldn't post earlier. I've used an Artylicious background paper and Bazzil cardstock in a lovely grey. I used a Tim Holtz swirl which I placed underneath a fabric flower that I made from an old chiffon scarf in shades of beige and grey, in the centre of which I sewed a coin pearl. I tucked a Tim Holtz ticket underneath, after shading the edge with weathered wood DI. In the centre of my card, I placed an oval of watercolour paper, coloured with DIs and stamped with Elusive Images stamps in shades of greys and browns, over which I have placed a gorgeous butterfly cut from Glimmer Misted paper. The Butterfly is a Tim Holtz Die. I have made it look like it is flying towards the flower. I also made a boxelope to match.

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