Arty Hearts - journal page

Playday yesterday so I took the opportunity of looking for challenges and plumped (I just love some words) for the latest Craft Barn Art Journal challenge which is hearts - and what you love/like.
Got our my ,very, new Portfolio oil pastels (the are water soluble - how do they do that?), a couple of old favourites from my stamp stash, few paints, stencils, krylon pen and a couple of sheets of paper to make my own heart and wing stencils.

This is the result.

This is only my third journal page and the composition is not quite there but I loved. loved doing it, and that's the whole point, isn't it?

Background sprayed with dilute Fresco Finish paints, then I added the oil pastels before zapping with the heat gun to embed them - I like the blended black round the edges.  Cut out a heart and sprayed through then added more deep red oil pastel which I blended with my fingers.  More spray through sequin waste, Krylon on the hearts, stamped and Bob's your uncle, and mucky (and very red)  are your fingers.  Just finished before the weekly Tesco trip and I'm sure the checkout woman thought I was a mass murderer, at least I didn't have glitter in my hair, that would have thrown her.

So that is my entry for my first journal challenge, and probably the nearest I will get to making a valentine card for Mr B this year - just going to show him the page and give him a kiss instead.

WOYWW 140

How many Wednesdays are there in a week?  Not enough if last week was anything to go by as it took me three days to get round everyone and I was only able to leave messages on about a third of the desks - just ran out of time. Still that is the global phenomena that is Julia's massive desk hop at The Stamping Ground.

After a shaky start my desk has been much more productive this week and is showing a bit of colour.

The Yahoo group I belong to has a monthly stamping challenge set by our blog Mum Cath of InkyFingers and this week it is to use an acrylic block as a stamp-pad.  She has some brilliant examples on her blog and shares a few of the ways you can use this technique with various media.

I used my Big and Juicy pads (still big but not as juicy now as when they were new) and brayered the ink on the block, spritzed with a little water and 'printed' the result on glossy card stock, stamped with Archival inks and added a few branches at the edges.

Pressed a little too hard on the fairy castle stamp so the image is not as clear as it should be.

Then I dug out my (very) old Marvy Le Plume markers.  Half forgotten I had these - I know, I have too much stuff if I can't remember what I have - thought they would have dried up after 5 years or more but they were fine, if a little 'gloopy'.  Scribbled yellow, orange and a little purple on a small acrylic block and printed three times before overstamping with flowers in Adirondack purple.

This is my favourite of the three cards - I do like a bit of dramatic colour and purple and yellow is just that.

The last card is also markers and matt card stock but a bigger block this time and another favourite stamp by Paperbag Studio.

I like the faded edge this technique gives, reminds me of faded old sepia photographs.

Also on my desk is a set of acrylic paints,  picked up on my supermarket shop (Tescos) last week - much more fun putting this in your trolley than cabbage, and I love cabbage.  Great to be back in the crafting mood as I spent all of last Friday and Saturday feeling sorry for myself having picked up a stinking cold on Wednesday, was cheered up no end at the weekend when I found I had won a lovely piece of art from Cindy of Plantslist, a gorgeous Asian slide-mailer to celebrate Chinese new year, can't wait to see it - thanks again Cindy.

Blast from the past

Having a head full of cotton wool, irritating cough and a general feeling of 'wrap me up and leave me alone for a week' (in other words a cold) I haven't done any crafting for ages and as I don't want to leave my blog for a full week without posting I have been browsing old files on my computer to see what I can post.  Came across a whole batch of ATCs  -  used to do lots of these but not so many these days.  Don't know why because they are small and (fairly) easy to do and it is lovely to get swaps - just one of those things I suppose.

Anyway here are a few from past swaps.

Did I say ATCs are quick to make?  Depends on your definition of quick - this one took a full day.  Would you believe there are about five different colours of ink on the background, masks, clear embossing - iron off, mica - not stamped very well when I look at it again.  Still like it but I find the 'sightless eyes' of these marble statues a bit spooky.

Another stamped ATC from the same sheet of stamps and another layered inked backgrounds.  Wings were german scrap coloured with alcohol inks.

A set of 'naughty' ladies.  The images, from the Artzine site, affixed to stamped and inked backgrounds.

This was a 'seasons' theme and again the images were free from the internet on inked backgrounds.

Looking at these again reminds me of how much fun I had making them - maybe I should do some more swaps?

Whats On Your Workspace Wednesday - 139

Afraid my table this week is a little bare. Was away for the weekend and find that journey down the M6 and M5 to Bristol increasingly hard to do, still it is worth it to see family, especially my youngest Granddaughter Kitty - she is growing up so quickly.
Even thought there is nothing creative on there at the moment I thought I would show you my favourite storage box.

It is a Really Useful Box with a pair of trays in it that are full (and I mean full) of all my little embellishments, charms, book rings and lots of bits and pieces all waiting for the right project.

Also on my desk is my journal as I finished a page on Friday.  Well I say 'finished' but I'm not fully happy with it, seems a bit too grungy for me - what do you think?

Am lucky enough to have been to Venice twice.  The first time we arrived by train and I couldn't believe the view from the station as it opens out directly on to the Grand Canal - what a station approach that is!  I bought some cheap acrylics for the background and used my Darkroom Door stamps adding watercolour to the images.  Think the reason I'm unsure about it are the 'floating' lampposts - look like spooky angels to me.

Finally a photo of Kitty

Worth the journey down the motorway don't you think?

This is a scheduled post as I'm off out tonight. Don't get out much (boo hoo) these days but I am going with a friend to see the Strictly Come Dancing Tour at the MEN so it will be a late night for me and a lie-in, and when I do get up I will settle down with a cup of tea and slice of toast to tour the other desks via Julia's fantastic desk-hopping site at Stamping Ground, and now she is doubly famous (having been featured in this month's Craft Stamper magazine) it will probably take me the rest of the day.

Revisiting Kitty's Room

Well not the room exactly (yet) but the sign I made for my Gdaughter's new room.

Got the door-sign out last night to pack it as we are off to see them all in Bristol tomorrow and the more I looked at it the more I disliked it.  It just wasn't right, too bright, too pink (and too green) and a bit garish - see here - well that's what I thought so this afternoon I started again.  I decided to cover it with paper instead of paint and got out my stash including some I bought last month and found that the reverse of one gorgeous paper was a spotty soft pink.  The papers are Kaisercraft 'Bonjour' collection and I got them for the beautiful birds, butterflies and roses on the fronts not looking much at the reverse so how lucky was that.

So out came the scissors for some home-made decoupage, a bit of distress ink for the edges and the grungeboard letters.  I didn't have a 'y' or an 's' left so had to 'make' my own cobbling together a 'v' and the tail of a 'j' and a reverse 'z' but I'm pretty pleased with the result.  This is much more 'me' and I'm sure it is much more Kitty's Mum as well.

How come some days I can sit at my table and produce absolute rubbish (if I'm lucky - sometimes I produce zilch) and others I can go in, not know where I'm heading and get it right?

Busy day as it was Sorrel's bath-day and she is definitely an earth dog (well she is a terrier) and hates water - you should see her delicately picking her way around puddles - so it has taken her all afternoon to get over the shock and now I'm going to ruin her day completely and take her for a walk - in the rain.

Keep your fingers crossed that it doesn't snow on Sunday when we are coming home - have told Mr B to pack a shovel, blankets and a hot water bottle just in case.  He thinks I'm joking - only in part.

What's on Your Workspace Wednesday - 138

Well, I know what's on my desk this week - a bit of a mess.

Have had the paints out again getting another of my journal pages ready and how much mess can a couple of bottles of acrylic make?  Don't answer that - I already know, a lot!

Also in this week's photo is yarn for a baby blanket I have just started knitting for a friend.  The pattern is an American one off the internet so I wanted to have a practice using some left-over purple and green wool, the cream yarn at the back is the 'proper' yarn and I started on it after taking the photo yesterday afternoon.

Here's a closer look at the background on my journal page - gesso, green and blue paints and a flourish stamp.  The piece on top is an ATC background made with acrylics and pearl dabber - nice texture.

Not been a very good week as I spent a good few hours searching for the Japanese silk fabric I got at Christmas.  I turned the room upside down, not too mention my ribbon box, stamp storage, craft tote (twice) and every drawer in the room. Very upset as I had convinced myself I had thrown the package out when I had the big 'tidy' after New Year - always knew tidying was a bad move and thought this was the proof.

Luck turned for the better when I had one last go at the ribbon box yesterday and found the package tucked away in the middle of some more fabrics- phew!!!  Still have to decide what I'm going to do with it but whatever it is it will have to be good after all that stress.

Didn't get round to everyone's desk over at The Stamping Ground last week but intend to do better this week and see what everyone else is up to.                                      

What On Your Workspace Wednesday - 137

Halfway through January now and the nights are getting a little lighter every day even if is is cold enough to freeze off the unmentionable parts off the proverbial brass monkeys but a few days of headaches (think it's my sinuses) have kept me away from my desk.  Still I managed to get in yesterday and this is it.

We missed going to see StepD and family at the New Year but are going at the end of the month so I'm making a door-hanging for Kitty (15 months), hence the profusion of pink.  The blanks are from Joanne Sheen's shop and I used Grungeboard letters and a few wooden bits to decorate. First painted with tester pots of emulsion from Wilkinson's but the finish wasn't right so that got painted over with Lumieres.  That was too shiny  so bought a can of acrylic primer from Halfords and zapped it with that before painting with a combination of Ranger Dabbers and Fresco Finish acrylics.  Must say the Fresco Finish was much easier to use. I need more colours.
 It isn't finished yet - want to shade the edges somehow and add some beads and ribbon but I like the fresh look of the green and pink.

Here is is before painting.

My desk also shows my journal and I managed to have play with a page for that at the weekend.  Not sure about the colours (or my handwriting) but at least I'm started and it can only get better, can't it?

The bird's nest is looking a bit unsafe perched so high in the tree - bad parents, and the colours are not very spring-like but that's what you get when you ink the page and then decide what you are doing on it.  It has shown me one thing - I need more spray inks, paints and stencils, oh, and a winning lottery ticket.

If you want to have a browse around more desks then hop over the Julia's at the Stamping Ground.