Music in Frisco

Another journal page today. This was inspired by a challenge I saw on Inkurable Stampers and fit in nicely because I have been haunted by Scott McKenzie's "San Francisco - Be sure to Wear Some Flowers in your Hair".

I have always loved that song and can remember in the 60's wearing long cotton skirts, tiny cheesecloth tops (and occasionally a flower in my hair) whilst pushing my son around in his pram. The pictures that must conjure up for my current friends who did not know me back then. Whenever I am down just hearing that song lifts me up again.

Today I painted my page with pale blue, touches of pink and pale green acrylic paint. Then I used a mask of some flowers (actually a paper runner bought in Germany by a friend of mine) on various parts of the page sponging Brilliance Twilight Ink over the top. I was really pleased with the result - very subtle. Then I printed the words of the song out on a piece of Cuttlewaxed cardstock - Broken China Distress Ink - and stamped some music on the bottom. The stamp in the top left hand corner saying "Music is Love" is stamped with Stazon Fuchsia Pink and the music down the right hand side is stamped with Teal Blue.

The various die-cuts are from a friend of mine who wanted to show me one of her favourite cartridges (must get that). The flowers, leaves and swirly heart are coloured with various Dabbers. The print of Jimmy Hendrix and the butterflies are from my stash.

Not too sure about my attempts at writing, I really must get a book to show me different styles, but I tried my best today. Hope it qualifies and you like it.

Guess what is playing on Spotify whilst I am writing this? My inspiration for this page.

Journalling Before Dawn

Was up early this morning as my hip was bothering me so I took myself off into my craft room and carried on with my journal page which had been waiting to be finished for a couple of weeks. The chessmen and the wording from Paperartsy were the only things on the page - "daring ideas are like Chessmen moved forward. They may be beaten but they might start a winning game"

I added an opening door and some "eye" stamps but when I came to do some writing I smudged the top left eye. Drat! Not to be deterred I made a tag to fit over and luckily managed to get the eye aligned. When you open the door you see this image:

My writing on the tag says "When you are scared turn to your Art and lose yourself in a world of Creation. Unlock the door, look inside your mind and you will find a safer place to take refuge in. If only for a brief period of time you will be at Peace with your innermost thoughts and a new vision will appear as if by Magic. Let Art take Over".

Maybe that will explain some of the images I have used.

Incidentally, when I showed Chas my page he read the bottom as "the eyes see T" and didn't understand it. Sorry if that is how you see it as well - the "T" belongs to the word "ART".

Lots to Do Challenge

This is a chipboard tag which I am entering for the Lots to Do challenge this week. I made my own paper for the background which I stuck over the chipboard. It was just simple copy paper which I scrunched and then opened and swiped over with a Jade Brilliance Ink pad. I then dried it quickly with my heat gun and scrunched it again, opened out and swiped with my Gold Encore Pad this time. Again opening up and drying - but this time I actually ironed it.

Mona is an image stamped on copy paper and embossed - she is from one of Tim Holtz' atc stamps. Similarly the Bingo background is from one of his stamps. I used an actual Metro ticket from Paris which I changed the colour of because I did not like the deep lilac on this tag and finally put some Glossy Accents over the numbers at the top. Oh, and I added a letter "M" for "Mona" which is from a Spellbinders die.

The other side of the tag was covered with the same home-made paper and then I stamped Frida on some scrapbook paper and tore the words but cut her out. The background stamps are by Penny Bearcroft for The Stamp Bug (lovely stamps)

Now this tag will sit inside this little tag house which I bought ages ago and did nothing with until today. I haven't known what to do with it but when I saw the challenge for using paper of some description a light bulb came on. I covered the house with Basic Grey paper and coloured the door and windows with Broken China Distress Ink. Similarly the heart shape was coloured with Worn Lipstick but the door knob was punched from one of the squares out of the window and coloured with my Copper Krylon pen.

I stamped a couple of vases of flowers (Hero Arts) on some plain white cardstock and then cut out some acetate and put these behind the window shapes. I had to have "glass " in my windows. Finally I stamped some flowers around the walls of my little house. Again Hero Arts stamps.

I think this will qualify for the Lots to Do challenge as I have used paper for my pieces. I so love their challenges and look forward to them each week. I am hoping there will be more of their challenges where I can make a tag and then this will be my "Lots to Do Challenge House" - full of tags.

Tri Shutters Again

Yesterday I made two more of those TriFold or TriShutter cards (seen them named as both in places). Wanted to save yesterday as a "Tribute" day so didn't upload them. The first one is for a friend from way way back who emailed me to say her husband is very ill so I thought I would send them a card to let them know I was thinking about them. (I did email back and rang them)

This one is using plain card which has gone through the Cuttlebug with the folders. I got the idea from somewhere but cannot remember where.

This second one was one I started ages ago and never got around to putting images on. I do like these Llewellyn Bowen stamps and thought this an ideal opportunity to use them.

Just a little bit of "Paris" on them with the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe featuring.

The Lots to Do Challenge this week is to use paper "any kind of paper, newspaper, plain paper, patterned, textured, made by yourself, a page out of a magazine, the tv guide, anything you like. You can use it in any way you wish, just be creative and have fun" so I have a couple of ideas running around in my head - off to try them out - I do love their challenges.

Tribute

Last Monday a very talented, and very dear lady who was a member of a card making group I am on passed away after a short illness. This was the last birthday card she sent to me, which was in March.

She was an extremely talented card maker and will be sadly missed by many, including her on-line friends.

Cath, our listmom, posted her birthday card on her blog as a tribute and I asked if she would mind if I did the same thing. Today Suse was laid to rest.

This is a tribute to you Suse.

Home from Home

This is the cover of a new journal which I am going to do when we go to see a friend in America. I thought it would be nice to journal what we do whilst we are staying with her and then present it to her at the end of our trip.

When we go to stay with Mary it is like going from home to home, hence the title. The little houses/buildings are from a Paperartsy stamp which I just love. You may recognise these buildings from a previous page I did on a journalling workshop.

I stamped them on some cardstock which was coloured with various Stewart Gill True Colours and then cut them out. The front row are stuck onto some chipboard to make them stand out from the others.

Today I searched and searched for my chipboard letters as I wanted to enter this on the Gingersnap Creations blog which stated that you could use chipboard for your main focus, an element or the base of your submission. Twice I went through all my boxes in my craft room but still could not find them. And I thought I was organised!! Not to be deterred I painted some chipboard with True Colours and then put the lettering on top. The word "from" is made up from epoxy stickers.

I am sure I will have fun working in this journal and I hope Mary likes it when it is completed and left with her.

Lots to Do Challenge

This week the Lots to Do challenge was a free week to do whatever you liked.

I have been wanting to do a jigsaw book (love jigsaw shapes in my stamping) since I received one from a friend so here was the perfect opportunity. I have a dear friend with a birthday coming up very soon so this is her birthday card - hope she likes it.

The whole thing is held together with those ring things (don't know what they are called) and I tied some ribbon on them.

This is the front cover and it has a piece of real jigsaw which I covered in utee and then wrapped wire and beads around.

To begin with I had some large jigsaw pieces so I chose one that had a flat base rather than the piece that slots into it. As it was going to be a birthday card I thought it should stand up. Then I cut my pages by drawing round it on cardstock and then on scrapbook paper. Long task which could have been made much simpler had my head been in gear.

Each page of the book is one piece of cardstock with a piece of scrapbook paper on either side. Hope the glue holds out!
Some of the images I stamped directly onto the page, others I stamped onto cardstock and cut out glueing them down later.

At first I was going to leave them simply stamped but with the lips painted in red - then I started with my Twinkling H2O's and that was it, they got coloured in a bit more.

I tried to do some background stamping that was a different topic on each page,

and I tried to incorporate some suitable wording on a couple of them.

I love the flourishes on this one - they are the Llewellyn Bowen stamps I bought a while ago and hadn't used - will use these flourishes more now.

Quite a few of my ladies are from Non Sequitur
as are some of the background stamps.

This is the last page in the book. I have not shown the back cover as it has a personal message on for my friend.
Hope she likes it - and you do too.