Domino Book (and Is Anyone Else Having Problems with Blogspot?)

First of all, is anyone having problems with uploading comments on their Blog?  I received lots of comments yesterday and the day before which I clicked to Publish but they never appeared.  Clicked them several times and got the response but they still did not appear on my blog.  Apologies to anyone who has sent me a comment and does not find their original on the last two posts.  I have copied and pasted the comments myself.  Not a clue what is happening.

I joined a swap for a domino book on one of my Yahoo Groups and struggled.  With the virus I have had (for ages - will it ever go away?) I found it difficult to concentrate on anything.  In fact my lovely friend Leigh (on another Yahoo Group) has postponed the dates for me with another swap I was involved in because I could just not get my head around it.  Shame really because my partner was on target.  You will get to see this later as I will blog the stages in the swap (it is Artists in Synergy) which is ongoing for three stages.

Anyway, up to the wire for the Domino Book I just about made the deadline.  I decided to do "Alice in Wonderland".

This is the book closed

Back and Front covers

"Stamped Dominoes"

The book opened

Pages before sticking in

I first prepped my dominoes using Brilliance ink, coloured the images with Sharpies and then put Glossy Accents over the top to seal them and give a glossy finish.  Then I cut a long strip of scrapbook paper and measured out my pages, stamping and colouring in each image.

I put some ribbon across the inside of the back domino and stuck my page on, folded it up, accordion style, and stuck to the front domino. The back of the scrapbook paper was left as it was. 

Hope my partner likes it.

WOYWW 69

That time of the week again - the lovely Julia, over on The Stamping Ground, will be encouraging us all to show what is on our desks again.  Trouble is that mine is so small an area (why do I have so much stuff?) that it seems to be the same view each week.  Stood back a bit today though and got a bigger view.  All those containers stacked up contain my mounted stamps.  The brown ones hold some ribbons, lace, cord etc.

I've made another card for my friend using some Paperartsy stamps, those red, black and cream boxes are some of the ones I store some of my um's in and three of them belong to Paperartsy stamps.  If we go in closer I can show you one or two things:

This is my new Distress Ink Box (the proper silver one), courtesy of my friend Jayne, she is a love.  Behind it is my index system (that clear domed lid) where I write my supplies down in pencil on the cards and where I have put them.  Saves lots of time when I want something and don't want to go through all the drawers, boxes etc to find it - just because I cannot remember.  The clear flat box, straining itself, is where I store my new Distress Ink colours.  This is handy because I store the foam squares on the top and the whole thing fits just beneath the counter.  I looked for another one but never found  one the right depth.  Now, thanks to Jayne, I can stop looking.

To the right of this picture is my favourite alphabet set (Hero Arts) and then my heat gun stand.  This was made for me a few years ago by 'Ronnie' who has since passed away and although I have always loved it it now means so much more to me than a wooden stand.  In the window sill is my spinner (really a wine thing - courtesy of Jayne again), my tiny button container, my misters and my bird that still is not finished.  You can see I have put my box made on the Elements weekend in the sill as well.

Remember me saying, the other day, that I had let rip - well, it was to cover this mask.  Mo did a class at Victoria Stampers and I had this as an extra so finally got it finished - well almost.  Still got to decorate it but at least it is now covered in the papers.  Here's a closeup.  You can see the false eyelashes waiting to go on it but I also want some "bling" and haven't decided on a colour yet.  I never got to see the one Olive made at the Club but I do know she was going to put false eyelashes on it.  I believe it was fantastic!

 My last picture of my desk is actually to the right of it, on the wall. Jayne gave me some clear boxes which stack on top of one another - ideal for my flowers so a re-hash of the stamp room was called for which is why it looks quite tidy in the other photographs.

Well, that's it for today folks.  Now to go and snoop around to see what others have on their desks.  But ... before you go I will just show you the card I was making

Cuttlebug folder background, various Distress inks sponged on.  Tim Holtz die-cut cogs sponged with Brilliance Copper and then Distress Inks.  Alphabet, Hero Arts, black embossed letters, black and smudges around edges and stuck on in relief.  Main image embossed on textured cardstock to give a Grungey look, Glossy Accents on dial above head, car restamped and added and Grungeboard wing done in Crackle Paint and gone over with Brilliance Copper.  The whole thing is mounted on black, copper and then black main card.

I tried to keep within the rule of three's for once when making this card.

Carried Away with PDC

I had to do some Paperartsy cards and think I got rather carried away with the colours chosen by The Play Date Cafe this week as everything turned out with the colours lime green, silver and either navy blue or purple.

The words have Glossy Accents over them

This one is the Peeled Paint technique

Not very Lime Green though

I first did this with Julia Andress at CHA in January and it turned out much better than this one which I followed in Craft Stamper this month.  I guess it is the colours I used on this one.

Two ATC's

I even did my friend's Congratulations (on the new grandson) card in these colours.  I just had to use these "Sweetpea" images as I love them (manufacturer not known).  The 'peas' have Glossy Accents on them.

Using Distress inks for colour

Peeled Paint, Chipped Sapphire, Crushed Olive and Mustard Seed over the top were used with these Paperartsy stamps to make this card.  The flower heads were stamped twice and cut out just inside the black line and then curled and attached - Glossy Accents is in the centre and down the stem of the large flower.

Now which one will I upload for the Challenge?

Whilst I am here check out the blog candy at the top of the page - it is awesome!  Or follow this link.
http://scrapwithstacy.blogspot.com

New Set of Pots

Over on Lots to Do the Challenge this week is to 'Alter' something.  On Saturday my son gave me a container that had held a bottle of whisky he got bought last Christmas.  "Mum do you want this?" he asked.  I hesitated as I still had one he had given me the year before but pleased that he had saved it for me I took it.

Yesterday I decided to make a new container for my most used things that I like to keep at my right hand, usually in a couple of tubs, but so full that they it can be hard to find just what I want.  So I hit on the idea of cutting the container down.  Didn't take a photograph of it before I started altering it so balanced the three sections (cut with the bread knife LOL) on top of one another for this photograph.

Then I covered them with old wallpaper (vinyl kind for strength and durability)

Next I decorated them.  At first they were going to have pictures of Frida Kahlo on them but that meant stamping and I didn't know what to put with them to fill up.  So the idea went to French things - adverts, perfume bottles etc. Didn't have enough!  So I spied some wrapping paper with a nice finish and I began tearing.  Another day you will see I have been in a "ripping mood".

  Each one was decorated with the torn bits.

 All the way around each one

Until the whole thing was done, stuck together with red liner tape and now it holds my stuff.

Most used tools (need them handy)

Journal Painting Brushes

Journal Pens

So this can be my entry for the LTD Challenge just in case I do not get around to doing anything with stamping on it.  Not that you have to - just a pet thing of mine (like to include stamping).

I used the lid on the bottom of one of the cylinders (yes, they are cylinders, just the angle of the photographs), one already had a base and the other I cut a circle from Mountboard (thanks Cynthia and Sue), covered it with the same wallpaper slightly larger, cut the edges like you do for lining a cake tin and put it in.  Works just fine!

Play Date Cafe

Love the colours this week - in fact I just love that kitchen - not that I would like to wipe all that stainless steel down mind you.

Anyhow, I once had a card sent to me which was predominantly lime green with a kind of purpley cranberry colour for the stamping on it and I fell in love with the colour combination there and then.  No way could I get away with Cranberry looking like deep purple for this challenge and I didn't like my purple cardstock - just not right - so I ended up choosing navy blue.

My sole piece of "nice" looking navy had a hole punched in it so I decided to put a lime green piece behind and then I played about with the lime green and another small piece of the navy.  Next up was it to be silver or grey?  Found some grey sparkly paper and decided it would be easy to punch out with one of my MS punches - had to use my new one.  

Subject - quick decision based on size of stamps that were handy, butterflies.  A few die cuts and voila - here it is - my entry for The Play Date Cafe this week.

Now I am tired, been up since ages ago as still coughing and feeling grotty.  Might just have to go back to bed.  

Monochrome

The Challenge this week on Lots to Do is to make something that is monochrome.  Whilst we often think of monochrome as black and white it really means "one colour/tone" or as Wikipedia says

"Monochrome describes paintings, drawings, design, or photographs in one color or shades of one color.  A monochromatic object or image has colors in shades of limited colors or hues. Monochrome images in neutral colors are called grayscale orblack-and-white. "Monochromatic light" refers to light of a narrow frequency."


Here is my effort which is a pre stamped image that I found today in my stash when clearing some things up.  I used my Twinkling H2o's to colour the image in as I am still suffering with this virus and needed to do something that was relaxing.  The blues I have used are:  True Blue, Blue Flame, Bolivian Blue and Stargazer.

Whilst tidying up I also found this card which I must have made a while ago when I dabbled with Encaustic Art.  I think this also falls in the "Monochromatic" table too.

Running to the wire again with my entries - perhaps next week I can do something a bit earlier in the week - but hey, it's Altered Art - mmm... maybe and maybe not - probably the wire again.

WOYWW

What is my desk like at the moment?  Is this really what Julie at The Stamping Ground wants to see?  Well this is it - the aftermath of weekend.

I still have this flu-like thing hanging on and so I have done next to nothing.  Just more or less dumped my stuff and that is it.

You can see the tissue box hanging in there from whenever I entered that room - we have tissues all over the place at the moment.  Starting from bottom left there are piles of stamps I brought home to sort for Paddy from the weekend - lots of Paperartsy, some TH sentiments and a couple of Tanda ones.  There's also some die cut shapes I have to turn into cards from the weekend before.

Then we move to some cardstock I bought (Nitwit Essentials) and my TH film strip which I have been busting to get.  

 Lots of fabulous boxes which I can't wait to fill and my TH box (thank you so very very much Jayne - my dear friend Jayne gave me these) and on top my photo album from weekend, waiting to be completed.

My 'Time' Project (see posts below) is there and I think I will move some things from the window and put it in there so that the light will reflect through the perspex.

No crafting done this week, apart from the card I made in the middle of the night the other day, got a trip to the docs today so hopefully will get something to make me feel better and then I can get back into crafting.