Alice

Had to do another Gingersnap Challenge - this time "Growth".  I couldn't get my head to go away from Alice in Wonderland and her "growth" - maybe it is something to do with the lovely bag a friend bought me for my birthday with a picture of Johnny Depp (sorry, The Mad Hatter) on the front of it.

I used one of the concertina cards I got at the NEC show but the cardstock is a bit thin to use when spraying with inks so it has had to sit under a weight to make it completely flattened.  Sprayed it with Adirondack Inks - Lettuce and Butterscotch as I wanted a garden set of colours.  Then I used my Non Sequitur and Stamp Attack stamps for the images.

At first I stamped directly onto the card but decided that the colours did not show up enough so I re-stamped the Alice images on plain cs and after colouring them in with my Twinkling H2o's cut them out and stuck them down.

Hope this works for "Growth".

Card Opened

Tried to keep the images in order so this one shows Alice about to drink from the bottle marked "Drink Me".

This is to show "Growth" and the start of Alice beginning to grow with her neck elongating at this stage.

Here's a BIG Alice, checked in my Lewis Carroll book and this is the image of her when she had taken the drink.  I tried to show this with a small picture of the Mad Hatter which she is looking at as he runs off.  That bit is out of context but it is one of the smallest images I have and the words fit in with him.

Stepping Back in Time

Wednesday we went to Southport, I had forgotten I had taken these photographs but simply had to upload them as they are a "Step Back in Time" - well some of them.

It was a lovely sunny day and we went for a walk along the Pier.    I always think it is nice when you look across the boating lake towards the funfair - just love the bridge..

As we walked along we saw a skateboard park with some young people showing off their talents.  You can just about see one young man in action as he makes his leap in the centre of the photograph.

We walked to the very end of the Pier and because it was quite a cool breeze when you got so far out we went into the Amusement Arcade to get warm.  What a surprise we got.  A blast from the past.

You had to use Old Pennies

Remember this?  Steering the ball?

I just had to have a go at these

And what about these

What the Butler Saw

Chas changed some money and he had a great time playing the slots - didn't win a thing but what the heck - it was fun.

On our way back we saw something else very reminiscent of childhood.  Now you might not agree with donkey rides but it completed my trip down Memory Lane.

A lovely sunny day, a lovely day out at the seaside - and think of the health benefits of the sea air.

Hope I am in Time

Phew!  Back from Ormskirk, tired but still going.  Before I left I so wanted to enter the Gingersnap Challenge - Copper, Ginger or Rust as I love those colours.    Made a card, messed about with it but didn't like it - should I really post it on here?

Anyway, got up early this morning as I couldn't sleep and made another one.  Not for the purists amongst us as there is only one word stamped on it but I did give in and use my favourite piece of Rust cardstock for this one.  Had a terrible time with my MS punch which would not work on the cs so I had to change it and use another one.  Used my Spellbinder's dies for the oval shape and the tag at the bottom and my NEW Embosslit "Beautiful Wings" for the tiny butterflies.  Love those teeny weeny ones!  Anyway, here it is and it is being entered in the Gingersnap Challenge.

Just No Time

Haven't had much time this last week or so to do any crafting at all.  Missing doing my Blog Challenges, in fact missing doing all the things I so enjoy.  Will be away for three days now so tonight I hastily made some quick cards - not a lot to them but here they are

This one is for Aunty who is not well and went into a Nursing Home last Friday.  Inside it says "You Need a Hug!"  Hope it cheers her up a bit.

This is for a friend who needs to know I am thinking of her as she has just lost a good friend of hers and I know just how upset she is.

This is for another friend who has had an accident and has to undergo surgery this coming weekend.  The ones below are RAK's for friends.

This friend is in to Theatre and that kind of thing.

Still got some more to do - pity really that this week's Challenge on Lots to Do wasn't Black and White - trust me - that was last week's Challenge.

It's an Illusion

Made another card for my workshop on Saturday, this time using an image from Leandra's new plate.  It's another fancy fold type card, the same as one I did in America but if you look at it it seems to have a curve on both sides.  It has not!

It's actually the fold that is turned back that gives it that illusion.

Anyway, I stamped the birdcage (Paperartsy) in black and embossed with clear ep and then cut it out carefully with scissors.  The other two images are also Paperartsy - the flower from Flora and Fauna 6 and the words from Clocks 4.

The inks I have used to colour the cardstock are Distress ones, the new colours - Rusty Hinge (I am hooked) and Tumbled Glass.  I so want to play with lots of Paperartsy stamps and the new Distress colours but I have more than enough in my workshop to keep them going all day.  Just wish the colours would show up as they do IRL - guess you will just have to try this combo.

By the way, I have just put The Stampman blog logo on my page - well worth going and making an entry - about to do it myself.

A Last Minute Challenge

Do not feel like I can let Ready Steady Stamp challenges down so I was delighted when I realised the card I had made for my friend Lynn comprised of most of the things included in their recipe for this challenge.

I did, however, feel a bit of a cheat because the background paper I had used contained the colours cream, brown and had leaves on it.

I was lucky in that I had already added a piece of green ribbon and the words, mounted on foam dots, on cream cardstock so all there was to do was put some numbers on which I did using Morning Rose Adirondack Ink to colour them.

All ingredients accounted for except the corrugated card but then it didn't matter as long as you had used three things.

However, thinking about it I felt a bit of a cheapskate so I made her a mail slider as well which does cover all the ingredients.

Painted all over with cream acrylic paint, with a corrugated card oval with two coats of Morning Rose on it and then another plain one with one coat on plus the lace effect (MS Punch) down the side took care of two of the colours.  The brown butterfly took care of another.

More Morning Rose coloured cardstock for the flowers, green for the leaves, brown along the edges and on the words.  There, I feel better about this challenge now.

Origami Tag Book

Today I am doing a workshop teaching the Origami Tag Book which was first taught to me by Lenna of Lenna Lines.  Lenna is a lovely friend in America (we've never actually met) and is quick to mention that it was Chris Pedden who designed this tag book.  It did appear in a magazine over in America but as far as I know it has not been featured in one over here in the UK.

A few years ago Jane Pinder wanted to feature it in Craft Stamper but the photographer never managed to get a decent photograph and so it eventually found it's way back to me.  I have taught it several times at workshops in the north of England but it is a while ago so now it is having another airing over Liverpool way.

This is one, showing the tags hidden inside the structure and this one has a dangly ribbon coming down the centre.  The images on this one are embossed in gold.

Not easy to photograph but I hope this gives you a little peek at the pictures inside.

This is another one showing the tags hanging down.  On this one I stamped the images inside and coloured them with Twinkling H2o's.  I cannot remember how I lined the cranes up on the top - must have been in the mood that day.

Now you can see why it didn't get featured in the magazine - I have opened one of the pages out to show you the stamping.

This was the first one I ever did.  I followed the instructions to the letter and tied an overhand knot at the top with the yarn.  It does give a nice effect as the tags then hang at different heights.

This shows the books closed - as you can see I have left two of them with the tags hanging outside (only because that is how I want them for display at the workshop).  The cream one - gold cover - has the tags tucked up inside just as you would do when giving it to someone.

And lastly - a view of the top of two of them.  Hence me calling them Japanese Tea Houses and, being a fan of all things Asian, carrying the theme throughout with my stamping.

I promised Lenna I would never reproduce her notes and so I make my own up (totally different to Lenna's) but I am going to ask her permission to post them on this blog - if she agrees I might even do a video!!!