WOYWW #274

 There must be more room on my desk, because when the ebosser once more failed to perform I got the Crossover out (shhh, it is hidden away in it's own purple carry bag on the floor usually and is my little secret). Well it cut using the Bigz XL die through the same card I tried on the ebosser, only it cut like butter perfectly first time which was a bit of a relief because I only tried it out on a few dies when I first got it and was worried I had wasted my money for nothing! Also I never have recieved my personalised plate for the machine, I must try and chase that up. So I ran a Tattered Lace die through 4 times with the metal shim under it and it almost cut all the way round, I think maybe 5 or 6 passes would have done it! The Tattered lace dies were a bargain on ebay, which again I thought were possibly a bad buy when I couldn't cut them with any of my die cutters, but I will persevere.

This was taken from the other end of the desk. You can see the house card in progress here, the finished card is shown in the previous post, and therefore you will realise that these photos were actually taken Tuesday. You can also see the Crossover's purple tote on the floor in this one (and a lot of other stuff).

Hey I am so early joining in the nosy round day of the week at The Stamping Ground - where the wonderful Julia started this trend of sharing our creative spaces messes weekly.

New home, might be a tad small.

 I noticed a moving van outside a week or so ago, and deduced we must have new neighbours - therefore I must make them a card! I have only just got round to this, and I spotted a challenge at Artful Times called Use a House Shape. I have the same TH die that Guest Designer Sam used, and I have Artful Dwellings, but what could I do for a new neighbours card?
Well the front is pretty CAS and was stamped with some Tanda rubber stamps by Sue Law, which are coloured with Promarkers. I managed to find some "road" ribbon too, and masked off the first half of the sentiment (ok I messed up the first time and ruined my panel, if you mask the stamp then ink it you really should check there isn't ink on the tape!), added some dots, mounted the panel on red card then a green 7"x5" card blank made from card in my stash - the only problem here was that this die was NBUS, so totally unknown as far as results went, the instructions said a card blank minimum 5"x5.5" and I think the 5.5" is needed for the height not the width of the house as a tiny part of the tabs on the roof were showing when closed!

 The die cut house, using a Sizzix Bigz XL die, was assembled and inserted according with the instructions, and the rest of the sentiment - masked off again, and dots added was die cut and added inside.

 Front of the little house popped up. Out of shot I had to weigh one side of the card down to keep it like this.

 A different angle, here you can see the little welcome mat I made, and more could have been added like flowers up the side of the house, a garden - I felt like I had gone back to my childhood! See the number 3 on the door? That was die cut and embossed with an embosslit alphabet die by Sizzix.

 Does doodling the roof tiles on count as tangling? I added a little brick detail with a Prismacolor pencil.

View from the back. I was quite pleased with the end result, the next one will be even better I feel.

I hope that a never before used die counts as new for Die Cut Diva's, I also used my new die cutter - first time trying a Bigz die on it, and the die cutter is the Cheery Lyn Crossover.

This card is popping into the following challenges (max 5):

Papertake weekly - anything goes (Tues)

Through the Craft Room Door - anything goes (Sept 8th)

Artful Times - use a house shape (Fri 12th Sept)

Technique Twist - outside your comfort zone - well it has taken me years to pluck up the courage to make a pop up card! (13th Sept)

Die Cut Diva's - use something new. (Sept)

Red Red Wine, Quirky style.

Monica and I came up with this challenge, based on the brand new images supplied by our sponsor - Crackerbox Palace.
 I thought I would make a bottle shaped card, so I printed two bottles side by side, flipping one of them so they matched. I coloured them with with Promarkers.
I wanted a real shine so I printed them again on acetate. I spent ages trying to colour the acetate with green alcohol ink, then with some of my ancient glass paints, and finally with Promarkers. I couldn't get a smooth all over colour effect so I gave up on that, and left it clear. I printed the bottles again on parchment to cut out the lables for the bottle which had the words and grapes image also from our sponsor. The acetate went on top of the coloured image and the parchment lable was cut out to go on top. I added some foil which was in the recycling and came from my favourite chocolate, so I have a nice chocolatey scented wine bottle haha. After sticking the foil to the front bottle I cut a tag and stamped it with a Debbi Moore stamp. I was trying to avoid the pink look, and in real life the bottle looks much darker, I think the acetate under the lights made it lighter!

 The card needed lining inside to hide the markers from the other side, so I printed the two bottles again on parchment, this time I added the two funny sentiments from our sponsor, including the funny tick list!

 The back of the bottle, and I used the wine glass here, the glossy accents I used (because I didn't have a printed acetate glass the right size) are not yet dry, so again I will take another photo and replace this one.

This is a photo taken against the black outside of the photo studio in an attempt to capture the colours better!

So the challenge - well we want anything wine related, or wine colours, should be easy enough! Hop on over to Quirky Crafts to see more examples and join in.

Also don't forget I have blog candy for you, extended to 30th September. See the post pinned to the top of my blog to enter.

I have entered the following challenges:
Tuesday Throwdown - anything goes

Cute card Thursday - anything goes
Divas by Design - Happy Birthday (Wed)
Graphit Markers - transparent effects (5th Sept)

WOYWW #273

Ermmm, Happy WOYWW - on Thursday! I sort of forgot yesterday, I was busy trying to make some cards that I planned to start for 3 days, then I couldn't find the stamp - can't think why lol.

Anyway this messy pile is the remains of a much higher pile I am gradually sorting, I did find that stamp (which I looked for in every Tuff Box, then in my unmounted red rubber in case I was wrong about it being wood mounted) under the huge pile of "stuff", and even better - I found my metal ruler that I have been looking for since last week! That is now in the carousel, and I can't believe how much better that thing is that the soft "Stuff Bucket", it holds so much and spins round so I am putting my scissors back after I use them, or my pokey tool and so I will always know where they are! Well until the novelty wears off anyway!

I found another pair of scissors today, so gradually the desk is getting tidier - I know you can't tell!

I am reuniting stamps with their sets ready to go away too, and freeing up acrylic blocks, even laminated a sheet for LOTV stamps, but I have a few more to go. I have sorted out a few more stamps to get rid of, only a few so far! By next week I might have started on my tags to label the stamp storage files, the tags are cut ready.

I think I have a few people to visit back from last week as well, so apologies if I haven't yet got to you.

If you want to join in this wonderful weekly snooping event hop on over to The Stamping Ground now!

Quirky's going postal!

 It's reminder time at Quirky Crafts, and the challenge is called Put a Stamp on it! Anything post related will do! I chose this image which is one of three images in the Mr Frosty set available from Stitchy Bear Digital stamps, our wonderful sponsors for this challenge.
I coloured the image with Promarkers and Permapaque gold pen, then die cut it with a Spellbinders die, and cut a mat in blue Papermania paper. I have added some gorgeous ribbon with snowy houses along the bottom and this is one of Crafty Ribbon's exclusive ribbons called Night  houses. The background paper is also Papermania, and it came in a colossal pack which means you get 10 of each design so there are plenty to decorate the inside too. The greeting is stamped with a Papermania clear stamp and heat embossed in clear powder. Finally I added a couple of little wooden snow people.

So hop on over and join in the fun at Quirky Crafts Challenge blog now.

I have posted this to the following:

Through the Craftroom Door - anything goes (25th Aug)
Papertake Weekly - to die for (Tues)

Art by Mi Ran - Anything goes (Fri)
Christmas Card Challenges - Photo inspiration - or not (Sat)
Crafty Ribbons - celebration with ribbons (Thurs)
Daring Card Makers - Parties and Festivals (Fri)
Crafting at the Weekend - anything goes (Aug)
Creative Fingers - #46 Anything goes (5th Sept)
Polka Doodles - get organised for Christmas (5th Sept)

Carousel - altered art.

I posted this photo of my partly painted Carousel ages ago, last year anyway. It is a Kaisercraft Carousel that came in white, or off white anyway. I thought it was just crying out for the big white spaces round the edge to be decorated, and I started it - but other stuff got in the way and it stayed on the floor under other stuff until yesterday. I had a kind of life changing moment, which is described in the previous post!

This is the carousel on my desk right now. I can't turn it due to the stashberg next to it, so the next task is to sort that out a little, and I have the pink "Stuff Bucket" which was in that spot before. I went through that and moved a lot of stash over to the carousel, and already I can find it better and organise it better. I found stuff I forgot I had and haven't seen for a long time as well as a couple of mystery objects!

I got my stencils out and "Air Brush" marker spritzer and my Promarkers and Graphit markers and got to work. The stencils are all Creative Expresions ones. I love poppies, and airbrushed them in two colours. I think I need to add a butterfly somewhere, a charm or a stamped one maybe.

This panel has birds on overhead wires and I overstamped with Visible Image feathers, birds and a saying, it is hard to read the saying which didn't work well but it says "free your imagination". You can see the spritzer in the organiser.

This was the first panel I did last year, I didn't have the spritzer then so I used Cut n Dry foam to dab it, then over stamped it with the cogs.

I love this stencilled effect, I used a Graphit turquoise marker to air brush this one. Needs something else.

 Raindrops, I will have to find an umbrella to add!

Finally part of a scene, just the houses.

Then I painted round the rims with some Plaid Folk Art Acrylic paint in burgandy, it doesn't go right the way inside the drawers. The rest of the paint is either by Indigo Blu or Paperartsy. I painted two coats of burgandy then this morning doodled on it with gold Permapaque pen, which was one of two pens I chose with a gorgeous Stampendous stamp as my prize from the Woodware challenge I won.

I think there is more to do to this, more to add to the stencilled panels, more doodling and those drawers look a bit bare now don't they? I am thinking of adding brass charms maybe to the panels.

I have entered the following challenges:

Anything but a card - #38 repeating patterns (Sun)

Allsorts - masking and stencilling #272 (Sat)

Pan Pastels - #20 bold and bright (14th Sept)

Through the Craft Room Door - Anything goes (Aug 25th)

Stamping Sensations - anything goes (Aug)

Visible Image - anything goes with a Visible Image stamp (Aug)

WOYWW #272

I haven't joined in with WOYWW for the longest time, I just didn't feel that I could carry on showing you my messy depressing desk that never seemed to change. I have continued to work in a small clear spot about 6"x6" while all around me chaos reigned.

I know this probably doesn't look like an improvement - but it is. First of all I there is my decorated carousel, I showed you the plain white carousel and started painting it - but then I didn't have time to finish it or maybe the room. It ended up on the floor as a trip hazard and the floor ended up with it's own 6"x6" spot in front of the desk one!

Well enough is enough, I have had loads of surplus stash I have been trying to sell for ages in various places. I sort of gave up on it. Then I realised that I just have to try and get rid of it at low low prices - it would be better to have a little for it and the space than to try and hold out for something more, even if that something more was way lower than I paid for it!

So tomorrow I am starting a facebook event and will post simultaneously on a page on my blog and I really hope to shift the tip of the stashberg! I would even consider swapping for something I wanted.Once that has shifted I can sort out some more stash to go, I might be able to let a whole heap more go to better homes as I haven't used a great deal of it. The problem is that I still keep buying more (I am trying to control myself, but it still happens) and winning - I recently won Gayle's fabby candy, Prima doll stamps and pink pearls, pink bits and pieces and my first ever Distress glitter - in pink! Thank you Gayle.

I am even giving some away in my blog candy post pinned to the top - go check it out!

The problem is that the stashberg and the new stash not yet safely stashed is causing a major block to my creativity. The shift in perspective came about after I watched a long video tour of Tassy's newly organised craft room. This was followed by my decision to let the tip of the stashberg float away - requiring some more photos. I wanted my metal ruler to show the size of things, couldn't find it so turned everything upside down on my desk to find it - still haven't yet! While shifting the stashberg around I happened to pick up the carousel and put it in a newly created space on the desk, thinking I could finish this off and get it full of stash on the desk.

Well I went to bed last night with all this going round in my head I guess, and - just couldn't sleep! So I got up again and started stencilling the carousel, and I have done loads but I think I will do more yet. I am going to post the detailed photos in the next post - only because I spotted one challenge I can enter with it.

So this is a bit rambling, and the corner of the desk indicates the tip that the rest looks like - but it has to get worse to get better - right?

Well if you want to go nosy at some other workspaces mosey on over to The Stamping Ground and maybe join in too!

Craft room clear out event on Facebook and Blogger on Thursday

I am so fed up with all the spare stash I no longer want, most of it unused, cluttering up the place. I am going to hold a craft room event sale on Facebook starting Thursday 21st, and sell it at knock down prices.

I have loads of stamps and much more. I have never done this before and don't know how it will go, so bear with me. I don't know if you need to be a facebook friend to attend either, I assume you do.

The event page is here.

If you don't do facebook I will also post each item on the event page, check the tab at the top. I will take the first comment from either blog or facebook going by the time it was posted.

Put a stamp on it - that is Quirky postal!

When I heard the theme I chose this gorgeous Digital Delights Snowy Postbox scene (which is perfect for Cindy's theme) and was provided by Stitchy Bear Digital stamps who are sponsoring our challenge this time. . I added a bit of colour to the very English postbox and scene with Promarkers then die cut it to fit inside the Spellbinders postage stamp die edging it with gold Krylon pen, and to make it more like a stamp I franked it with a Marianne stamp. Keep Calm ribbon is from Crafty Ribbons. The paper is Papermania Daisy and Dandelion Christmas paper.  I ran the die cut image through again with the rubber mat to enhance the embossing on it

Although I grew up with post boxes like this on every street they are now quite rare and the ones we have now are modern rectangles on a pole which don't take large items at all. I had to google it to get the colours just right, was the frame of the schedule a different colour? What about the letters and crown? I found lots had the insignia painted over in red, but some had gold. This letterbox must be particularly old because GR is King George, later ones had ER for Queen Elizabeth, the R is Regina of course.

I posted this card into the following challenges:

I love Promarkers - anything goes (19th Aug)

Delicious Doodles - anything goes with a Delicious Doodles image (ends 21st Aug)

Moving along with the times - vintage (27th Aug)

Winter Wonderland - anything Christmas goes (28th Aug)

Still using the postage stamp die, which I ran through with the rubber mat to enhance the embossing on it.  I used Dear Mr Claus with its  three cute penguins and an American style post box and the image is coloured with Promarkers, which is a Stitchy Bear stamp also provided by Stitchy who are sponsoring this challenge exclusively. This time I used the Singing Penguin ribbon exclusive to Crafty Ribbons. The paper is by Papermania.

So two more Christmas cards done, YAY!

I have posted this card in the following challenges:

ABC Christmas challenges - P for Penguin (Wed 20th Aug)

Graphits Markers challenge - Furry (23rd Aug)

Christmas Card Challenges - embossing (Sun 24th)

Crafty Little Fairies - cute and cuddly (Aug)

Winter Wonderland - anything Christmas goes (28th Aug winners 31st)

It's time to cook up a Quirky Reminder

This week I decided to make some cooking bookmarks, I often want to keep my place for several recipes I want to make.

This is The Cook from Robyn's Fetish,
I coloured her with Promarkers.

 I cut bookmarks from brown bazzill type cardstock, using a Sizzix Bigz Tim Holtz tag die, and I cut some freebie designer paper (designed by Mary Kilvert in 2012) to fit the tag.
I added cupcake ribbon and Everything Stops for Tea ribbon both exclusive to Crafty Ribbons along the bottom, and gingham ribbon (also from Crafty Ribbons) through the hole in the top. The backs are plain at present.

The first bookmark/tag features The Cook, one of the images generously supplied to the team by Robyn's Fetish. She is coloured with Promarkers and die cut with a Spellbinders die.

The second bookmark features Cookn Mouse.

This image is Cookn Mouse from
Robyn's Fetish, with cupcake and
gingham ribbon
from Crafty Ribbons.

This is My Little Cook from Robyn's
Fetish, and Macaroon and Gingham
ribbons from Crafty Ribbons.

This bookmark features Cake from Robyn's
Fetish, gingham, and Everything Stops for
Tea ribbon from Crafty Ribbons.

Apologies for any doubling up of descriptions - I just discovered the "Add a Caption" feature on pictures and wanted to try it out!

I have added a few buttons to the front of the book......

..... and finished the pages, blue and teal have red gingham paper strips top and bottom, and there are a few hearts from the scraps in places......

......pocket pages got a little love too......

 .....and orange pages got a strip of cupcake paper down the side, both sides. Papers are by Mary Kilvert (c) 2012, looking pretty now......

 ......but I ran out of cupcake paper, so used this afternoon tea strip on the last orange page, and a larger Cake image on two of the pocket pages.

My new cooking bookmarks fit neatly into one of the pockets in the recipe scrapbook.

I have entered the following challenges:

Papertake Weekly - anything goes (Tues)

What's Quirky Cooking? A recipe for disaster?

 It is my turn to set the Quirky Crafts challenge and I chose What's Quirky Cooking - with ribbon. We have two great sponsors, Robyn's Fetish and Crafty Ribbons. I made a scene with My Little Chef and Cookn'mouse kindly provided by Robyn's Fetish, coloured it with Promarkers and edged it with Turquoise Graphit. I used some clashing colours, inspired by another challenge at Polkadoodles, I would not normally put orange and pink together or pink and red and orange - and bright green. I decided only this morning that it would become a recipe scrapbook so I got the Bind it All out. I also used the Xyron 150 to run all the papers and image through before adhering them to the book covers.
The papers were all freebie ones with magazines.
I found all my gingham ribbons from Crafty Ribbons and tied them to the binding wires, I wanted them to match the paper and the mouse's dress.
My possible big mistake today was to seal the front of the cover with Krylon triple thick glaze (dries in minutes), because it totally changed the papers which all became transparent. I could see gingham through the white card of the image - that was cool - and cake through the gingham, but worst of all the pale turquoise of the double sided paper turned pink from the other side design!  I am hoping that when it has had time to totally dry it will revert to the colour in the last photo below - which is what it looked like before spraying!
I kept it outside in the summer breeze for a few minutes hoping it would dry out, I think it just picked up dust!
I remembered I had some knife and fork charms and added one of each to the bottom of the cover.

 Inside the scrapbook are lots of blank pages in orange, some in pale blue and 4 pocket pages in teal. I used the Bind it All to punch the other side of the pocket and threaded red gingham ribbon through and knotted it to secure the side. I used Cake From Robyn's Fetish, printed twice and coloured with Promarkers, to decorate the pocket.

This is the other "disaster" which is not too bad, I meant to have this page on the outside to match the front, but punched the holes the wrong side! This is what the paper on the front should look like too.

There is more decorating to do, I am adding strips of the gingham paper to the page edges, I ran all the paper and image through the Xyron 150 and I cut the gingham paper into strips so I have lots of ready made stickers to put on.

Hop on over to Quirky Crafts to see more great projects and join in the fun, you could win prizes!

This project has stirred its way into the following challenges:

Tuesday Throwdown - other than a card or tag

Divas by Design - anything goes (Wed)

I love Promarkers - #230 Ribbons (Wed)

Cute Card Thursday - Vintage

Allsorts Challenge #270 - Favourite things (ribbons and bright coloured Promarkers) (Sat)

Polkadoodles - clash of the colours (Aug 15th)

My Craft Spot - #147 bright summer colours (Mon)