Peel Offs

Sometimes the humble Peel Off gets bad press from Rubber Stampers - well, today I am uploading a card I have made with ..... drum roll ..... peel offs.

If you click on it and look at it in detail you will see that the edges of the Parchment have been pricked out and the mask shape, not the moon, is pricked out also.  Think I will change the background colour as it hardly shows up on here and might look better with another colour behind, although I did try several before I settled on cream.This is for a Parchment Craft friend of mine.

Just done one card with some stamping - actually it is a stamped image I found in a box which had been done previously.  Thought it about time I used it.  Just to give it a but more interest I put Stickles on the little round bits of the flower head.  (Not a clue what to call them).

Well, that's all for the moment as I have been busy getting things ready for my workshop tomorrow.  Only some quick Make and Take sessions so will upload them next time.

Am going watching TV now as all I can hear are rockets and bangers going off and I am worrying about the cats next door as I am sure they are outside and will be frightened.

WOYWW 73 and Turning Word Verification Off

Last week I was asked by a couple of people how to take word verification off.  I wrote to them individually.  This week I decided to put the instructions on for anyone else who might want to do it.  


IT IS UP TO YOU TO MAKE YOUR OWN DECISION AS TO WHETHER IT IS FOR YOU OR NOT.  


There are two different schools of thought on this out there and if you see Ciara's comment on this post you might want to keep it on - if you are considering it please read what she has to say on the matter.  (Rooted, Permission to Mother are two blogs I read who are for it being turned off) 


If you want to do it here is how I did it:


Go to Design
then Settings
then Comments (blue tab underneath)
Scroll down - 3rd from bottom it says Show Word Verification
Click No (to turn it off)
Then go to orange button at the bottom and Save Settings

Now to my desk!  Decided to take a different view in my craft room this week.

As I am sat at my desk, which you usually see, this is the wall area to the right of me.  It is full of those little cubby holes from Ikea, each filled with different things.  In the top left corner you can just see the end of my "tick" which holds my craft dvd's and videos.  Can you see my Cinch?  Well to the right of that are some of my purchases from weekend - some Inka Gold pots and some Crafty Notions sprays.  Still got to find somewhere to keep them as the drawer with the others in is full.  

Behind my Cinch are some of my books - dare not tell you how many craft books I have - I am a craft book aholic and above them in a cubby hole are my Adirondack Color Washes, Liquid Pearls, some large ink pads, Reinkers and envelopes.  To the left of the picture the cubby holes hold micro slides and holders, Cinch binders, A6 cardstock and oversized stamps.  

This is the view below

Don't even go there with asking me what is in these drawers.  Let's just leave it that they are full of craft stuff - and the cupboard?  Bit of a jumble.  Or should that be jungle!  By the way - the two bins - one for recycling paper and cardstock and one for general rubbish.

Why am I showing you this - because the lovely Julia, over on The Stamping Ground, has got us all going.  We show our desks each week and visit others - surprising what you see.

Anyhow, Tuesday night I was busy finishing off my "Book of Wisdom" from the weekend.  If you read Monday's post you will know that I left part of it at the hotel so Leandra kindly sent me the bits I needed and I have now completed it.  Didn't get chance to download it yesterday as I had to finish my German homework off and get it sent in - class on Thursday morning.  Oh heck!  Two weeks off and I have forgotten it all.

This is it closed.  Sorry for the standard of the photograph but I did do it several times - think it was the light bouncing from the metal (even though the flash was off).

Now to show you the inside.

The papers we used are all the new Paperartsy ones - Leandra told us all the requirements they had made of the manufacturer - they wanted this paper to be special and it certainly is with all its properties.  If this looks a bit misty I must point out that I gessoed over it and then smooshed it with paint and glazes - yes, it stands a lot of crafty messing about with.  Here's a closeup of the owl

The paper in the background is actually a map and I have included a special bit of the map.  The metal flowers I slit on the edges of the petals so that I could give them some shape - doesn't really show up in the photograph but it does in real life.

Well, that's it for now - off for a snoop at some desks.  Sorry if I did not make it to yours last week - I gave up somewhere in the nineties because the weekend got in the way.  Thanks to all who left comments on my desk - I really love reading them all.

ArtsyCrafts Weekend

Well, my long awaited weekend is over - in Warrington.  Had the usual super time with Leandra and Lin along with the added bonus of Lynne H being there as well.  Great tuition as usual, wonderful help with all that we were doing - cannot begin to tell you how organised but relaxed these weekends are.  You really should get yourselves booked on one - but not until I have secured my place!  One word of warning though - all the snacks they provide are too yummy to resist - and the food in the hotel is super too.

I must mention the two Marks, who are there to support their spouses, run the shop, help with the hot gluing and take photographs.  Can't leave the guys out!

This photograph shows the room, early on the Sunday morning when there were not many about (which is why it looks so empty)

Long shot of the room showing the tables - you can see we all have lots of room to work on.

The right side of the room - this is the shop which is at one end

The other side

It is funny but each table is colour themed and although there are four or five of you working on one colour each project turns out quite different to that of its neighbour.  To begin with on Saturday morning we each sat on a table of our choice and made a book. Didn't get mine completed and to my shock horror on returning home found I had left part of it there.  Must have been on the table at the side of where I was sat and I never went to that area again.  Bah humbug!  Not to worry, contacted Leandra and she is sending me the bits so I can redo that section and complete my work.  Told you, nothing is too much trouble for these girls!

The afternoon found us making a Shadow Box.  This did not set out the same colourway as my final project but they do have similarities.

This is a very dimensional piece, building up layer upon layer and I just love those curtains at the top.  Could not begin to tell you what/which paints etc I used as we had so many to choose from.  The materials they provide for each piece is unbelievable.  Inks, sprays, different types of paint, the list just goes on and on.

The final project on Sunday was a Flower Frame.  I loved how we completed the background for this project.  Got a bit carried away and ended up with five layers.

Creating that background was F-U-N!  We experimented with colour to our hearts content, putting this on, changing it a little with the addition of that and then some more.  Could have sat there all day just playing.  

Loved the stamping we did which you can see in the top right corner and part way down on the left, especially when we highlighted the flowers.  I could not believe how that technique lifted the stamping.  Then there was the addition of embossing powder which again lifted the whole thing.

Next we were given lots of flower die cuts in various mediums, we cut some metal ones ourselves and then began constructing them.  This was great and has spurred me on to make lots of these flowers to decorate my body form (this will be a future posting) which is  a project that has been in construction for far too long.

Anyhow, I digress - here are two of my flowers

Loved the way Leandra showed us how to bend the metal for this effect - and was rather surprised when I got home to find that three of my flowers all had the metal bent in that way.  Wonder why?  I really thought I had done at least one slightly different.  Ah well!

This one is mainly tissue and it just ended up that way but I liked it so much I had to include it on my frame.  Did a couple of metal leaves and placed it at the top left of my frame.

You may notice there are one or two butterflies on the finished project, these have been added since I got home along with some curls of wire.  

Anyway, it was a super weekend, a great crowd - some I knew, some I didn't, and all I can say is "roll on the next one" and THANKS to the ArtsyCrafts team (including those who did not attend but who have worked so tirelessly to help get kits and boxes ready for us all).

Thanks Girls!

Yet Another

I know, I am not here.  I am in Warrington on my ArtsyCrafty weekend but thought I would schedule a post for today just to keep my followers on their toes.  Hopefully, tomorrow I will not be too tired to post at least a picture of what I made on the weekend so watch out folks!  Just realised we have an extra hour in bed so unless Lin and Leandra take advantage of that and have us start earlier I will not be tired because I will have had that extra bit of shut-eye.

This is a card I made for a dear old lady in America who has been in hospital.  We get on so well when I am over there and share lots of chat and giggles so it seemed appropriate to use the words that went with this floral swirl.

It didn't read right with just "share laughter" and "special friend" on so I had to computer generate some more words so that it read better.  What a surprise when I found my smallest oval Nestability fit over comfortably.  You cannot tell from the scan but there are glitter centres on the flowers to match with the purple cardstock.

By now it should be winging its way across The Pond.

More Quick Cards

Following on from yesterday's posting here are two more quick cards I have done that are long overdue.

This is for two little sisters.  Think I am obsessed with the word "couple".  It is one of my attempts at using my Promarkers.  Still have not got the hang of using fancy papers like everyone else does with these images.  Maybe I need to buy a Magnolia magazine.

Was going to make an Autumn card for another friend with a flurry of leaves when I came across this image.  I have had this ages (read years) and do like it, but rarely use it.  I stamped the image in Versamark and then put silver, gold and copper embossing powder on to give the three tone effect.  Didn't get much gold on!

Now to get on and get my bags packed as I am going to the Artsy Crafty weekend in Warrington.  Promises to be as good as the other two I have done and I am so excited, despite the snivels.  Just hope I can keep up with the fast pace with having this cold.

Before I go I must mention this fab Alice in Wonderland Blog I have just found.  See the link in my sidebar.  If you are an Alice fan you will miss out if you don't go over.  It is so colourful and some great stuff on there too.

A Couple of Quick Cards

I just do not believe it - think I am starting with a cold.  Seems no time since I was getting over that illness I had.  Ah well, time for crafting and not going out today - keep warm and have lots of drinks.

Here are a couple of quick cards I did yesterday when I was feeling under the weather.

Really did not know what kind of image to use for the couple who this card is for.  Used one of my Paperartsy plates to make this one (what's new?) and hope they like it.  Kept to black and white but just added a touch of colour with the starfish stamped with Brilliance Aurora.

This one is for a friend who lived in the UK but has now moved to sunnier climes.  Thought it might remind her of "good old blighty" when she sees the hydrangea.

Will now get on and do some more that I need to get done (like months ago).  Hopefully another two tomorrow.

WOYWW and LTD

My eyes are tired but I could not sleep so I got up and finished off a card that I was needing to get in the post.  Then I remembered it was Wednesday so I had to hurry and get some photographs taken for Julia at The Stamping Ground and all of her followers.  I notice this week Julia has a pile on her desk and has even gone over to her dining room table.  Pop over and see her desk and look at some of the links to others.

Sorry I did not get around to everyone last week but I do hope I at the very least managed to go to those who had commented on my blog.  I hope I was successful in switching word verification off from my blog as I realise it does hold up the commenting process.  Susie Jefferson says it makes no difference whether you have it on or not and I believe in Susie as she is a whizz at computers.  Anyway, I digress - here is my desk taken just a few minutes ago:

As you can see there are piles of papers underneath my ATG gun, still the aftermath of my FP weekend (see post below) on the left hand side, and I have let you peek underneath my desk.  Hang on, I'll take a closeup of that area

Some wallpaper to the left, my Wizard, some more papers in a case, another case with some of my instructions for various projects inside it, a concertina file (more instructions for projects) and my atc folder with some more papers on top.  This little lot needs tidying up!

This is a closeup of my papers

Anyway, the reason for my mess of papers on my desk (would you believe it, that is just one drawer of papers - there's another drawer and a big box in a cupboard - memo to self  "must use my papers more and not keep buying them ") is that I was making a card for the LTD challenge as well as for posting off.  I ended up choosing plain paper so did a bit of stamping on the main cardstock.  This is it - finished!

Well, that's it folks (as Bugs Bunny would say) I really must get those papers put away as I have lots of things to do and we have to go out later.  Think I could do with a sleep now.