Alice

I took part in an 'Alice' swap run by Louise of Zuzu's Petals and as my swap partner has received it I can now share my effort.

It is on a large chipboard tag, painted with blue, green and gold acrylics, decorated with torn book pages and with Alice stamps by Stamp Attack. The watch at the top is an actual watch base filled with a stamped piece of card and crackle glaze.  Not sure where're the teacup stamp came from but I do know it has come in very useful at times.

WOYWW 244

Wednesday again and here I am, my mojo is well and truly back after it's long rest, lets hope it continues.
So today I'm playing with Julia and friends, sharing desks, mucky, tidy, inspirational and amusing - pay your money and take your choice.

Make yourself a cuppa, settle down, leave the ironing and cleaning and start the big desk hop here at Stamping Ground but not before you have had a little peep at my desk this morning.

It was our monthly craft group meet up over at Vicky Stampers, Warrington on Saturday, a group of friends who meet up, share crafting time and good companionship on the first Saturday of each month.  This month our group did a fab mini book project led by the lovely Carol of Stamp Attack. It is only 1.5 inch by 2 inch and the covers are heaped with embossing powder before stamping.  Mini stamped pages finish of this fab project, all bound along the spine with beads and wire.  If you want a closer look there is a bigger photo in my previous post.  Carol also brought me some of her stencils, which I'm itching to use, especially the parrot one which I think (not sure about this) was designed by the lovely Jo of Jozart.  Next month we start a monthly tag swop so the red tag on my desk will be used as a template

Top of the desk is the finished journal page - I showed the blank background last week and blogged a closer look at the completed page a couple of days ago, just scroll down if you want to see it. The only other thing on my desk this week is a two year old Craft Stamper magazine as I want to try some different techniques and take part in a few more challenges, got to keep that mojo on it's toes.

Thanks for taking the time to look and for your kind and generous comments each week. Happy Wednesday.

Edit.

Oops. Thought I had blogged the mini book but I hadn't so here is a close up of it.

Journal page

If you saw my desk on WOYWW you may have seen a blank new journal page. Playtime today and I finished it.

Never know where I'm going when I get out the paints so always a nice surprise when it turns out OK. Mind you this is the second attempt, the first ended up being wiped off. 

Have just changed the photo on this as I didnt like the one I took with my phone.  Just getting used to using the Blogger app and I think I prefer my old style camera for detailed photos.

Thanks Hazel for reminding me about The Craft-Room Challenge site.  Haven't done a challenge for ages (only started blogging again two weeks ago) and this page fits in with the latest 'Age of Aquarius' so I'm entering it.

What's on your Workdesk Wednesday 243

Well, I'm keeping up with my aim of blogging and crafting/playing more so here I am for the second week running, joining in again with Miss Dunnit's big blog hop.  If you want to join in, or see more messy and creative desks then click on the link.

This is my desk on a dull, damp Tuesday afternoon after a little retail therapy at Hobbycraft.  Not my favourite place for craft supplies but I ran out of gesso the other day and had to make an emergency purchase.  Of course a few other things sort of fell in my basket on the way round but they don't count because they were 'staples' - DST, a huge bottle of Matt medium, a tube of blue acrylic paint and a packet of bronze coloured chain, all of which are on my desk, somewhere.

Also there, my storage tin for all my markers, and a 'few' of my stamps including some of my Paperartsy Lynne Perella, and Indigo Blu that I want to use on that lovely blank, for now, journal page.  The item in the bubble wrap is an Alice chipboard tag for a swap I'm doing for Louise Crosby's Facebook group, all finished and ready to go but I can't share that until it has arrived.

Finally a question for all you Stampers who love to make your own backgrounds.  What card do you use?  I love to use Distress Inks and spritz or drop water on it but the card I have been using lately doesn't react well to getting wet. Not sure if it's the weight or the quality of the card but the water breaks through the surface and I get ugly 'dimples' and spots so any suggestions gratefully received.

Gosh, that was a long post for a Wednesday, hope Miss Dunnit doesn't give me detention, I have a lot of crafting to do today.

Acrylic resist

Over on the Katy's Corner Yahoo group we have a monthly challenge and this month it is pink, and/or dry embossing.  Now pink isn't one of my favourite colours and I'm never very successful with embossing folders, and to top it all I'm only just getting back into crafting but I wanted a go out came the Picked Raspberry Distress inks.

In the end I made three cards using DIs and acrylic paints.here is the third in the batch.

 

Background was stamped in white acrylic with a poppy stamp I have had in my stash for years.  The acrylic acts as a resist to the Distress inks swiped over.  I love my Distress inks, they are my standby and I always find myself reaching for them because they create such fab backgrounds and you can pick up the colour with a water brush and colour, as if did with the main image.

Test upload

Big thanks to Neet of Hickeydorums for telling me of the Blogger app.  Now means I can upload photos to my blog from my iPad or phone which will be a lot easier than waiting an hour (well that's what it feels like) for my steam powered computer to fire up.

So this is a test post to see if I can do it.

Here's a photo of my little dog after our walk on Tuesday morning.  Fine when we set out and then it rained halfway through the woods.  

 She doesn't like getting wet, not surprised if she looks like this.

And this is a couple of weeks ago, in better weather when she decided to try tree climbing.  She loves chasing squirrels so obviously thought if you can't beat them, join them.

What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday 242

Well I think it's number 242, bit behind the times with blogging. Bit? More like four months but am slowly getting back into it, and stamping which I've also been 'off'.

Is it winter? Could be.  I like huddling down in front of the TV, or my iPad after me and Sorrel have finished our mornings walk, then lunch, then a bit, only a bit, of cleaning of shopping and it's almost tea time, and it's dark so my body thinks it's time for a nap ha ha, if only.

Before I get carried away in my new found enthusiasm I better share my desk this morning.

Main problem has been lack of enthusiasm and total disorganisation of my craft stuff so that when I went in to do something I couldn't find the right stamp, or ink pad and lost heart. So what to do?  Re-organise.   Bought a cheap laminator from Aldi (just love that shop) some pouches and made some stamp mounts to fit in my Really Useful boxes that house my multitude of stamps so now i can find them more easily.  Feeling like a new (stamping) woman this week and I have made four cards so patting myself on the back, not an easy task, I'm blogging a couple of them on my desk above.

Two cards, one stamp - Darkroom Door - watercolour pencils on the 'vintage' postcard which was swiped over with Distress inks to knock back the colour and various water markers on the other.  I like the vintage one best.

Sorry for being so long-winded Julia. It I have four months to make up on, promise to keep it brief in future.  Meanwhile I'm off to do a bit of blog hopping starting over at Julia's