WOYWW 322 - and Results of my Workshop

This was my desk on Saturday night after my workshop.  This is still my desk Wednesday morning as I am not there and did not put anything away (shame on me).  Been too busy.

Some of you asked for pictures from the workshop so here goes:

Bottles covered in clay

underneath - close up of pattern and an embellishment

Brooch/Pendant Heads with left over clay

Decorated Spoons

The morning was spent covering the bottles in clay and then using the left over clay to make embellishments for the bottles - any still left over clay was then used for making the heads using my moulds so they could be turned into brooches or pendants.

After lunch I had taken some old spoons and these were handed out and the group then proceeded to cover them with alcohol inks and fussy cut out some flowers and words I had taken with me on some sheets that I had stamped.  They had been asked to bring ribbon/wire etc and I took some beads to thread on the wire.

The last half hour of the meeting showed everyone having a go at the bleeding tissue technique.  For this I had gessoed some tiny canvasses (my treat - big spender, cost me all of £3) twice as the canvas seemed rather rough.  I had also cut out lots of different sized circles from all my tissue papers that would work to varying degrees.  They just produced the background for a canvas which they could then take home and stamp on or simply put something on top of.

Hope you enjoyed seeing the sort of thing we sometimes get up to at Victoria Stampers and now I think you need to go and see what Julia and the WOYWW'ers are up to today. I hope to join in soon.

A Bit of Alcohol for Christmas - Artful Times Challenge (Long Post - lots of samples)

Phew!  It was a rush to get these things done for the challenge this week, somehow my feet have been dragging (or should that be my hands?) and I have two poorly arms to boost.  The left one (thank goodness I am right handed) is really painful - I had the flu jab in my right arm and the pneumonia one in the left.  Whinge over!  Here's what I made for the ALCOHOL INK Challenge (yes, not Brandy/Whisky or Mother's Ruin ie Gin)

Here is my Alcohol Inking:

The bottom left is a piece of mirri card that has been covered in rust shades after embossing - the same has been done with the diecut clock.  Between them you see a Microscope Slide - how many of you remember the craze for doing those a few years ago?  There are another two at the bottom right.  Both of these were covered in AI's and then a circle stamped on them using Archival Ink.  This was then wiped off and it gets rid of the AI so you can then stamp something in the circle.  Those Hero Arts stamps work perfectly with Black Stazon.

You may wonder what on earth that green thing is - well it is AI's on clear plastic.  I have a little stand which I am going to make into a calendar next year so I can record just briefly, maybe one word, what I did that day.

The top line is just AI's on Glossy Card - it needs to be a slick surface.  Now for some makes:

This is the cuckoo clock cut on Mirri Card.  I love the metallic effect you get when you do this.

This colour combo gave me this

Which turned into a trifold card

I used a JustRite stamp set I bought from Oyster Stamps last summer.  I must say these do stamp out awfully well.

This colour combo produced a bookmark

This was my desk in preparation for the calendar I am making and that is the calendar base with a sheet of paper behind so you can see the colour - the other side had the blue tone in and came out more turquoise.

The slides and the colours I used

When you use AI's on your slides you can put a backing sheet behind them and depending on what colour of sheet you use it changes the colour of the slide - sometimes quite dramatically.  Why don't you try some?  Try cream, purple, gold, silver, light and dark blue etc.  It's fun to see them come alive.

As you can see I have just pounced my blending tool on the various things I have done but you can make a checkered pattern too by dragging your tool across the card one way and then at right angles again.  Here's a quick one I just did for you - you can spend more time and get your lines much better than I have.

You can also paint with your AI's.

The background for this atc was made by simply putting some Blending Fluid on the mat I was working on, to kind of start the cleaning up, and then the card dragged and swirled through the resulting colour.  I then stamped the fairy and painted with AI's some parts of his wings and the flowers.  You can see one of my Erte stamps waiting to be coloured also.  I bought this palette a while ago from Ali-Craft at one of the shows.  It has a lid and I just put a squirt of AI in the various sections and they dry, then when I want to use the colour I just add a little of the Blending Fluid and use a brush.

Some of the things I still have that I did quite some time ago but showing different mediums:

Remember my cut down milk carton (plastic)

and the metal flowers (as shown by Linda Brown)

Glass test tubes from a car boot sale

Shrink Plastic Jewellery

I would wear this jewellery as I still like it and find it wearable.  Just random cut shapes of clear SP coloured with AI's and then shrunk.  Gold Krylon around the edges finishes each 'shard' off.  In fact - I need to find some more Shrink Plastic, not used it in a long time.

If you have stayed through this mammoth post - Thank You!  You deserve a medal - but if you have I hope you will try some of the AI's on different "slick" surfaces and show us what you made.  Any queries just email me (see pretty child picture on right hand side, near the top, for email addie).

Bye for now!

Artful Times Challenge 25 - Alcohol Inks

As I have pointed out on the Artful Times Blog I seem to have had an obsession with 'techniques' these last two challenges.  First it was colour and now Alcohol Inks.  I am sure most of you will not need any introduction to those tiny bottles introduced by Tim Holtz

or to what you can use them on.  The above is a piece of Shrink Plastic which I coloured in with Alcohol Inks.  Here's a better view of her I just wanted to show you how tiny she is (above).

She was stamped with Stazon on transparent Shrink Plastic.  Hint:  if doing this colour from the back to stop your ink moving.

Love using AI's on boxes - love the colour on these - the flower is on White Shrink Plastic and the butterfly on Transluscent.  I used Pool, Clover and Aqua for these boxes.

Thought I would show you one way of using up small pieces.  Alcohol Inks for colour and stamping with black and gold (Brilliance is another good ink to use) and you can make jewellery as below.  The necklaces are designed to be worn together to give two strands.

This is a very loaded bracelet and a pair of ear-rings for which you might need asbestos fingers.

Sorry the photos are dark, we seem to have had such poor light that I couldn't get them any better.

Well, considering I was intending colouring a large box that held a gift for my birthday I think you could say I got carried away with my Shrink Plastic.  What will you make?  Pop over to Artful Times and join in the challenge and see what Von has for you - exciting stuff I can tell you.

Busy Weekend

Had a busy weekend working for Ali and Iain at Ali-Crafts but without having to travel to Lincoln as they travelled up north to Port Sunlight. Saturday saw me dem'ing for them at the show when it was Alcohol Inks all the way but with a bit of Distressing thrown in occasionally.

Here's a couple of my friends who came to see me although lots of friends called round at various times.  Carmel on the left and Lorraine on the right.

I had taken a few samples with me to show how you could ink up various things such as glass, plastic, metal, and the usual glossy card.

This is Ali, not sitting down but on her knees looking for something.

And here's Iain helping a lady find some papers

Graphic 45 - great selection here

A busy busy show as always but with a lull, which is not usual, at around 3.15 - did mean I could pack up at 3.30 though for a wander and spend.  Must say I only "gabbed" and didn't buy anything apart from buying from Ali because she has such fabulous stuff.  You really should pay a visit to her website.

Sunday saw us making our way back but this time to a Scout place where we were to do some workshops with Happy Stampers NW.  Ali had worked out that we were to do three workshops, Claire, Ali and I were to do them and Iain was running the shop and generally helping us with things we wanted.

That's Marie (forefront) and other ladies from my first group - she really went out of her way to look after me.  Always ready to make me a brew and even giving me a choccie biscuit for a sugar rush to help me along.  Everyone needs a friend like Marie.

For some reason my second group got more photographs taken and I am just sorry I did not know the names of any of them.

and three of them showing you one of the cards they made with me

For some reason I seemed to take photos of these ladies more than any others

This is my attempt at showing you a view across the room to group three (see what I meant above).

Helen and Sylvia (two friends from Katy's Corner) in my third workshop and below is Karen busy beavering away.

This is Ali teaching she'd moved to my second group here (you can see my lovely heat gun stand if you look carefully - glad to say it got back home safe and sound, made by someone special for me).

and this is Claire with the group that I had first

I was well tired when I got home, aching bones and all that so now have to sort my room out, empty my bags, and generally recover a bit more.  Did promise the ladies I would put photos of my other cards on my blog so they can see what the instructions I gave them lead to. Hope they bought the stamps from Ali Crafts, if not guess they can substitute them with some others.  

Will do that shortly, so watch this space.

Incidentally on the way home I took some snaps from the moving car of the flooded fields at Stanlow Oil Refinery.