Sewing Has Come To A Full Stop

Last night I was carrying on with my sewing, wanting to get my pages to a more completed stage when my machine jammed.  I thought it was an empty spool/bobbin but when I looked there was still a little on it and  it was something else.  The metal arm that goes up and down (don't believe it, now I cannot find my manual either so don't know the names of these things - update, found the manual - the cotton is jammed somewhere around the "thread take up lever") has some cotton well and truly jammed in it - there was a bit of wire came out when I was fiddling but I think that was from wired ribbon I was sewing close to, hope so and that it is not part of my machine.   Doh!

Today the shop is closed so cannot even get to there to see if Wendy can fix it for me and don't want to unscrew a panel at the back in case I invalidate the warranty.

So my book remains unfinished, but not to worry as I loved doing it and want to do more.  I am making more pages and then I can sew them back to back.  On my way back from the hospital I called at Abakahn to match some fabrics up that I had been using over the weekend - closed - and no opening times displayed.  I gave up!  Now I have decided it is NOT MY DAY so I am showing you Four of the pages I have done so far - will show you the others tomorrow - it may be that there will be more stitched on at a later date or it may just be more pages - I will blog them as I get on and blog the whole thing when (IF with the luck I am having) it is finished.

 

Image transfer (Church window)

  

Padded Heart

  

Painted Fabric (Lynn Perralla stamp)

(pinned and waiting to be sewn)

  

Soldered Fabric (sheer over image)

(pinned and waiting to be sewn)

Hope you enjoyed looking as much as I enjoyed making - it really has got my creative juices flowing - I just loved doing this and cannot wait for my sewing machine to get repaired and ready - in fact my mum's old Singer might just have to come out for a bit of straight stitching until this one is repaired.

Workshop Overload?

First of all I must say "Welcome to my Blog" to my newest followers.  So nice to see you here and I hope I am going to keep you happy with what is coming up in the next few posts - and afterwards.  Welcome!

Oh My Gosh!  I am tired!  I did the taster session on Thursday (well, did the morning and the afternoon one) as in my previous post, and then on Friday I went to the ArtsyCrafty one which started before 9 am and ended at 9 pm! Yes, a twelve hour workshop - but oh how I did enjoy it.  Not stressful, but not finished - how can I not finish in all that time?

This was a new medium for them to have a workshop in and it was quite a new medium to work with for me.  It was all about fabric and sewing; so my all singing, all dancing new machine went with me. Thank goodness I was sat with my friend Wendy and her friend (who is now my friend) Edwina - both of them having travelled up from Wales ...

Wendy

Edwina

... and just behind us was Freema (right), Lou (left) and a lovely lady called Angela (centre) - think we were the naughty corner but this time we were good because we all concentrated so much on what we were doing there was no time to get rowdy.  That's me in the mirror taking the photo - ooer!

Well, I must say that Leandra and Lin have the most wonderful and meticulously planned workshops I have ever been on.  Everything is there for you and it is all so organised that it is a pleasure to take part in them.  We were making a fabric book and every single page had a packet, clearly marked and cram full of whatever you might possibly need to decorate your own page.  Plus there were "stations" up and down the room with equipment on that you might need to use and extra fabrics, laces, ribbons etc etc.  So much work had gone into the planning of this - so sad that this is to be the very last ArtsyCrafty weekend.  Yes, you heard right, this was the last one - I will so miss them but hopefully the two of them will still have PlayDays together and they will pass things on via their blogs (see my right hand bar for the links).

Not only have the workshops I have attended been interesting, fun and been so worthwhile but they have also forged many friendships amongst the participants that it was a joy to see so many old friends once more.  I even got to meet Sally who I have been in touch with via email for quite a while but never actually met before.

Anyway - I will leave it there for now and get on with a bit more sewing on my fabric book and then show you what I actually did. Here is a quick peek at one of the samples.

and a view - down the room - see how much space we had only three to a table.

Back later with my pages -  hopefully.

Had a Ball Part 2

Have decided to show you the other two projects in this posting or it will go on a bit.  As I started with the last project I will continue working backwards and show you the second one first (hope you are following).

When I saw the three sets of little bottles on display I knew I liked them but to be honest I thought there was a strip of paper wrapped around each and then stamped on.  No!  It was the wonderful Fresco paint that was applied direct to the bottle and then stamped on.

The bottles were painted with three shades of the lilac (then I had to add a touch of blue - doh), then stamped on, rims painted and Grungeboard flowers put on the top.

Now you can see why I had to put a touch of blue on my bottles. These are to go in the guest bedroom at home which is why they were lilac - when I got them home they went perfectly with the colour scheme as the paper on the lower half of the room is a definite blue/violet.  Ever so pleased!

Now to the Biggie!  This was the main project and I loved it.  Getting the shading of the three colours proved a bit tricky at first and I began to regret having so much on my base but this is something I will definitely do again at home (in fact got the next one planned already) and because I will be working in my own time I can spend as long as it takes on it.  It will be something I can pick up and leave at various times.

I know there is room for improvement but I like it and it is handmade which means it does not have to be perfect in my book.

I picked out some details for you to look at

A bit of hardware and the inevitable "Time" element with me.  Why is it I love anything to do with "Time" and have to feature it whenever I can?  The cogs and the clock face are mounted on bits of Grungeboard to allow them to overlap and are quite dimensional when you see them.

The "man" is behind a faceted fragment and the little dangly bits contain tiny pictures which have been covered in Glossy Accents.

Finally this is the heart which showcases the Crackle Paint that PaperArtsy have on sale.  I put it on much thicker on the left side than the right so that I could have a variation in crackle and it worked.

Now to show you some of the samples done by Lin/Leandra and The Team - gorgeous and such fabulous colours of Fresco paint.

Now for a peak at some of the Plaster Pictures done by them

Hope you enjoyed this journey through the ArtsyCrafty weekend - sadly I cannot go to the next one as I am away on my Polymer Clay Weekend which has been booked and paid for for ages.  But if anyone reading this fancies seeing what they are doing in September details will soon be appearing on Lin's blog.

Did I have a Ball?

The resounding answer is YES!!!

Some of you may remember I have been to Lin and Leandra's latest ArtsyCrafty weekend where I did three fabulous projects.  These were using the new Fresco Paints by Paperartsy and I must admit, before I went I just thought they were "another acrylic" but honestly, they are different.  They are absolutely fabulous come in groups of three for each colour (light, medium and dark) - and at £3.95 a bottle well worth the money.  Incidently, there is also a Crackle which is the best one I have ever seen.  Seriously, you need to get the Crackle if nothing else!

Unfortunately due to my breathing problem I could not do the third project.  The Plaster dust just irritated my lungs and Leandra did the first bit, casting my elements, and Lin did the second which was my board background.

I decided to be good and move around the colours on offer so, as I had already done blue (first project), and lilac (second project), I went on the green table.  Think I got Freema's affliction (Artsycraft joke - she can sit on any colour of table and her work always turns out blue) - because mine turned out blue.  To be fair it was supposed to have some blue touches on it but there is not one bit.  So here it is - the third and final project which I enjoyed so much and would have loved to have done the plastering bit as it is my kind of thing.

It all started out with my mixing a colour for the cameo which was to be some kind of creamy type skin tone.  "Perfect" declared Lin and so this colour went all over only to find it dried with lilac undertones. That is why green was not used.  So at the end when all the blue shades had been used there was some lilac added as you can see here (although on my screen it looks quite pink - rest assured it is not - it's lilac).

Can you also see the touches of Gold Gloop?

This is the beautiful cameo

And here is the button and border

I am not going to bore you with everything I did, let you look at this project before moving on to the next so until tomorrow ....  (wonder if Chas fancies doing some plaster mixing?)  

My Sir Tim Box is Finished

Well, it has changed a little.  I've moved the birdcage (I want to know where I can get those - they are gorgeous) and put the little bird close to it.  I might make a little bird to sit inside the cage so at the moment it is not stuck in.

I had a bit of a tussle to get this car stuck in - it just refused to stop rolling its little wheels.

I just love that light!  That's what made me do my ooh's and aah's as soon as I walked in the room and saw it in Tims box.  Lynne (aka Cheryl Cole) assured me I was going to get one for mine (love Cheryl).  Oh the excitement!

I really liked the effect of these grungeboard letters on the tiles - they look just like printers blocks, and I was pleased that my bottle top was "Root Beer" because Chas enjoyed that when we were in America so I was sure he would like the link he had to my configuration box.

I used my piece of wire netting rolled up in this box along with one of the light bulbs I just had to buy.

Think this was the first box I worked on and I really enjoyed doing it. The little pearls did a bit of a roll about but I managed to get them in the bottles - it pretty much fell into place quite easily and stayed the same throughout.

As I said before, I just love this birdcage.  I have seen them somewhere on the internet but certainly not in the UK  and what a shame we have just got back from America.  Not to worry.  Loved the tiny cotton reel and coat hanger and was thrilled when the addition of the buttons I had at home looked ok.

This is the main box and I removed the birdcage and put the pearl in instead.  This was because I wanted to feature my badge which I had worn (thanks Mark) for the day - to me it was something that would remind everyone of where I had done this artwork.

The label is from one of Tim's dictionary pages and features the plant 'sarsaparilla' - I quite liked the idea of using that rather than the label which I wanted to use on another bottle.  Just realised that you can't see the chain with the letter "N" on - sorry.

Now, just to prove that the back is decorated as well, here it is - and what is that you spy?  Yes, I got it signed by Tim Holtz himself. Something to treasure.

Like Alice's White Rabbit ...

... "I am Late" ... but with my posting about my day at Artsy Crafty which included a whole workshop with the one and only Sir Tim Holtz!

Set off Wednesday afternoon via the train to meet my friend Lorraine at Manchester Piccadilly - saw Freema when I got off the Bolton train, which was crowded.  Despite having reserved seats Lorraine and I sat with Freema in another coach, got a taxi at Milton Keynes (rip off - always ring for one - don't get the guys sat outside - £4+ dearer) and made our way to the hotel.

A little later, Lorraine and I met up, as arranged, with Janet and Wendy for a delightful Chinese meal at The Magic Wok and an evening of girlie chat.  (No, didn't ditch Freema she elected to stay and eat at the hotel with her friend, Kay)  I did take my camera along but was so busy catching up with the chit chat and eating that I forgot all about it until the food was gone.  Anyway, back to the hotel and an early night.

Thursday dawned at last - breakfast, registration at 9.30 (ooh what a fab shop! need to spend some monies) and before long into our first session with Lin and Leandra.  Now you will know from past blogging I love the Artsy Crafty weekends.  We always do some fab things but I also like meeting up with the Ladies.

This was my "Make" this time

Exclude the bar at the back

Sorry about the bar at the back - nothing to do with what I made but so eager to get posting I just took it wherever I could.  Here's the sample with one door closed:

A slightly different colourway to mine.  The ladies had worked so hard to get us to do this three hour workshop into two hours (well ok, two and a half) so a lot of the prep was done for us - thanks Ladies - you know who you are (special mention to Karen, Queen of Kits).  It was great to play along with the Tissue Tape, a roll of which I had bought in America but not used.

All too soon the session was over and it was time for lunch - but wait ... Sir Tim was the next session - wonder what we are doing - will we be right in our assumptions?

Yes, it was a CONFIGURATION BOX!  Yeah, Hey!  We saw one or two people walking about clutching theirs as we eagerly awaited admission outside the door.  Yes, I am afraid Lorraine and I were early in the queue, but to be honest it was because where we had sat before in LL's class the lighting had been poor.  This time It "had to be right".  And who is this in the queue - it was Gayna, a friend from way way back who I rarely see - great to catch up and see photos of her ... four year old!  Enough of others ...

Well, here he is:

and that smile stayed all day!

You know, that guy never ceases to amaze me - he is so personable.  I remember last year being at the back of a huge huge queue at CHA waiting to get my greedy mitts on a free die he was giving away.  Even though the queue was massive, and he no doubt had to go and work on the Ranger stand, he stood and answered individual questions, had photographs taken and all the time he was patient with each and everyone of us.

Well, this time, busy as he was with the workshop, as groggy as his throat was getting (yes, he seemed to be starting with a cold - no wonder with his schedule in the UK), he still had time to smile, answer probably the same query over and over again, go and get something that someone wanted .... I could go on an on ... and pose for endless photos and sign endless items.  Nothing was too much trouble - and we had music - and chocolates!

Anyway, we each got a large configuration box - and a bag of goodies to put inside it - Big Screams!  I'll show you how far I am with my C Box later but here is what is left over from my baggie

Tons of Vintage Ephemera

Feet & Corners

But that was not all ... each of us got a little kit to use and keep (my Glossy Accents is missing from the photo)

Courtesy of Alain, from Ranger

Thanks Alain!

Just like the Artsy Crafty Staff had worked so hard putting kits together for us and doing some of the prep the peeps at Ranger had worked hard too.  All the papers we needed to fit into the different sized boxes had been cut and scored ready for us to just slot in.  Count my boxes and multiply by 200 and you have some idea of what was involved - remember to add more because there were spares for mistakes we might make.

Well we arranged, cut, swapped papers, glued, tissue taped and assembled and here is mine in it's still unfinished state.  Just three boxes to fill, corner pieces to attach and feet to put on (will no doubt post in all its glory when complete).

Oops, my car has fallen over my Charlotte Doll is missing and the darned photo is not focussed that well, but hey ho - wanted to get this blog up and running.

Time for another Tim photo?  Here he is with Alain and Mario:

And here is my favourite Essex Girl - Cheryl (aka Lynne) who always has a smile and a cheery word when we are on the Artsy Crafty weekends.  Sorry I did not get a photograph of Courteney, Leandra and Mark's delightful daughter, who sported the most terrific hair colour and style.

Now for some of the other contestants (sorry ... students)

And Tim had Prizes!

I didn't win (boo hoo)

All too soon it was time to go - where had four hours gone - I was sure I had only done about an hour!  So clutching my box, my bits and pieces all safely tucked away in my bag I made my way out.  But not before I had tripped, smacked and stood on Lorraine (my EX friend) who was now the proud owner of none other than Time Holtz's Pokey Tool.  I won't go into detail of how that happened but it is yet another example of a good company standing behind its products.

Down to the lounge where I met Anne who was on the Friday session, goodbyes said to Wendy and a sit down with a Diet Coke whilst we waited for our taxi to the station.  

Freema, Me, Anne, Lorraine and Janet

Two FAB workshops - a Great Day - Lots of Friendships renewed - Lots of Friendships made - and WHEN CAN WE DO IT AGAIN LIN/LEANDRA?

THANKS EVERYONE WHO WAS INVOLVED IN BRINGING THIS TO FRUITION - FABULOUS!

Just one more for all you Timmie fans - this time he is signing something (got my box signed and my pinny - whoo hoo!)

Why no photo of me with him - as usual - I do not like the one of me.  Look at last year's from CHA - the best one ever and that's not flattering me enough.