WOYWW 95

I cannot believe it is Wednesday again and I have done so little crafting.  Thanks to all of you who popped by last week and thanks to those who left me a comment - I love comments.  Not a clue what I have been doing with my time but I know it is not crafting.  Look at my workdesk!

To the left you can see the beads that I blogged last week - there is another set in the oven though.  Then there is a Bandana Technique which I did with Robin Beam years ago at CHA (taken out to show someone) and the beginning of a 50th Wedding Anniversary card for a friend (late!).

Here is the Bandana Technique Tag in closeup

In the front of my desk you can see some calendar pages.  This was a gift to me from my friend Cathy in America.  It's out because I am going to bind the pages together.  If you enlarge the page you will see my sorry excuse for a Tim Holtz ruler - most of the grid has come off - going to have to buy another one.

Anyway, TC as I affectionately call her, had this calendar made for me by her friend Susie Reneau.  This is the 32nd Calendar Susie has produced and she has had over 60 one-woman shows and many joint showings.  She has produced more than 250 post card designs, lots of wedding invitations .... a few book illustrations and record covers and over 800 silk-screen prints.  You can Google her and find out lots more about her life as an artist.

I thought I would share the first three months with you - must fill them in

Little pockets with tag in

These cards were in the envelope at the top of the page - it's all the little touches that make this so special.

I'll try to remember to upload a month at a time (before I write on it) so you can see what it looks like.

That's all for this week folks.  If you want to see more desks, some clutter, some tidiness and get some downright good tips why not pop over to Ms Dunnit's blog and follow the links there for a "reet good ole snoop".  See you next week - once more at the Stamping Ground.

A Walk and a Card

On Tuesday of this last week it was so beautiful that we decided to go for a walk around the Lake in a local park - well it is a short ride away.  What a lovely day it was - and what a lot we saw.  Sadly didn't take the camera but on Thursday we went for a walk just down the road from us.  Only lived here 12 years and never explored this walk before.

Again it was a beautiful day, like the end of May rather than March.  I really enjoyed the quiet stroll along the river bank, nice and flat so good for me to do.  Then I spied some bullrushes - BIG ONES.  Not sure what the "fluff" is all about, no doubt someone will tell me - is it what they shed, is it what they pick up from the wind, or does it mean they are going, going, gone!

These were a bit further along on the other side of the riverbank.

Not sure what these were - maybe celandines?

But these are pussy willow (I think)

Anyhow - today I finished off a card I have been making these past few days.  My lovely friend Dot sent me a card for my birthday (yes, I know, I have not uploaded them yet) and I wanted to copy the way it was so sent off for the template and here is mine (Dot's will be coming to a screen near you soon)

I don't do cute!

Just For Fun

This week Zoe was asking for you to use your stamps in a different way.  What a puzzler!  I have never ever stamped direct with bleach before, have stamped and then used bleach to take out the colour in some parts but never made a stamp pad with bleach.  In for a penny and all that ...

I was a bit wary of using a "good" or should I say "favourite" stamp so I chose this birdcage one.  It is red rubber, I guess polymer would not do for this technique, so it was a question of getting a stamp pad made with bleach instead of ink.  I first of all folded some kitchen roll up to make a kind of pad - put it on a plate and poured some bleach on it.  Then I carefully picked it up and turned it over so that the whole thing became saturated but not too wet.  (I only had thick bleach, suppose the thin stuff would work as well and would pour better onto the wad of paper.)

I then used a nylon paintbrush which is what I use when bleaching areas out and tried it on the corner of a couple of pieces of cardstock.  Mmm..... bleaches ok so let's go for it.

The first one turned out like this:

ok but not that brilliant

the second one was similar
Both in the bin!

Didn't want to use black but ...

Yes!

Now to wash my stamp quickly

Then a piece of cardstock I had left over from some Distressing caught my eye - would that work?  A dab with the paintbrush and yes, it worked.

Another stamp.  It had been fine with the other, perhaps one of my butterfly stamps as I have lots.  By this time I was in the mood for experimenting and I overstamped the bleached images with Adirondack Bottle.

A bit more experimentation, whilst the Bottle ink was on the stamp I tapped it in the bleach and it gave me the second butterfly top left - not sure about this - might need a bit more playing around with.  BTW it is pretty INSTANT on the Distress Inked background.

Did another, just using bleach and turned two of my pieces into cards - hope you like and you give this a try - very cost effective.  DO WASH YOUR STAMP ASAP WHEN YOU HAVE USED IT.  I am not going to be afraid of using any of my stamps to do this technique now. Thanks JFF for encouraging me to do it.

Have you something you haven't done before?  Join us at Just for Fun this week.  Look forward to seeing you there.

WOYWW 94

Can't believe it is a week since I posted my workdesk.  Doesn't time fly when you are enjoying yourself?

Sorry I did not get around to posting about weekend but the truth is I started with hayfever on the way up to Harrogate on the Saturday and have been streaming ever since.  Not felt like doing much at all since I got back as it always strikes me with flu-like symptoms.  Meant to take some photographs, especially of my mate Barbara who is a whizz with the MS punches and works so hard.  Yet she is always bright and cheerful with a lovely manner with the customers - a real treasure - and with me!

Anyway, the show was good, I had sold all 30 Grand Calibur machines by 2.20 on the Saturday and that included the one I had put away for myself.  I didn't have to let it go but I did and the lady who took it was actually celebrating her 50th the next day so I wrote "Happy Birthday" on her box next to where my name was.

Next day was Cuttlebug, version 2 day and before long we had sold out of those too.  I just plodded on cutting away and hoping I was selling dies.  Actually Oyster Stamps had such great deals on that I am sure the stuff would have flown off the shelves anyway.  Now I am waiting for my Grand Calibur (yes, I succumbed - payment in kind) to arrive by courier and then I can get cutting some big big shapes out.

I love doing handmade books so that is my main reason for purchasing this machine.  Bought four dies as well (could not miss out on the offer they had) and last night I began cutting the largest shape in two of them out, along with a couple of other dies I have had for a while.

I then stamped the images (new stamps from Lily of the Valley) and one from Aunty Mary for my birthday.

Now I just have to colour them

Hopefully I will get them started later today but no promises.  Now to find out what others have been doing and what state they are showing their desks in.  

What am I talking about?  Well thanks to Ms Dunnit over on The Stamping Ground the world has gone crazy and people show their work areas in various states of busy-ness.  Pop over to see what I am on about - but get a cuppa before you do as you will be there ages - nearly 180 desks to view last week!

More Clay and Away Today

Before I forget - I have been meaning to put this at the top of my blog for ages and every time I blog I forget.

Jude has some fabulous blog candy on offer - I have had it in my sidebar for some time now but have kept forgetting to mention it on here.  Here is another picture:

A bit scrummy what!

You have until the end of March to join in

Now, if you can stay on this page rather than rushing off to Jude's I will show you some of the pendants I did yesterday with the Mokume Gane.

Think the purple velvet has changed the colour of these in the photograph.  Most are going to be pendants but there are a couple of pairs of ear-rings in there.  The ones in the last vertical row did not have a layer of Mokume Gane put over them but were left in the raw state.  The backs of all the pendants are similar to this last row.

Didn't realise the hole for my jump ring looks skewiff, won't show when it is put in and added to a chain or whatever it ends up on.  Can you see how the translucent has gone milky in parts and clear in others?

A couple of other shapes

Now I have to sand them to give them a shine but this is going to be a problem as I have been diagnosed with COPD and most of you will realise that this is a breathing problem.  Not sure what I am going to do as yet as I obviously do not want the dust, especially from gold leaf, to go on my chest.  I might have to get Chas to give them a light sanding (ooer, can I trust him?) and then use a glaze over the top.    Anyway, I know I showed you yesterday but here are some views of the unbaked clay which I used to cover these.

Interesting?

Hopefully will blog tomorrow and might even have some pictures from Harrogate to show you.

Polymer Clay

Well, today I have been playing creating with clay again.  Have you seen the advert in my sidebar for Elements II?   Once again I am doing the polymer clay element and this time Paddy came up with the idea of my doing Mokume Gane (pronounced mah-ku-may gone-ay) - sorry I don't know where the accents are on this keyboard - should be an acute accent over both "e's" at the end of each word.

It is often translated as "wood grain metal" and the technique dates back to the 17th century when it was discovered by Denbei Shoami, a sword maker.  Look it up in Google and you will see some fabulous jewellery using precious metals.  Expensive - you have been warned!

It is a good technique for beginners in polymer clay to experiment with and there are various methods of achieving a pleasing effect.  Paddy wants me to do the "indented" method and to use "translucent" clay and "gold leaf".  These first pieces use seven different colours of Pardo PC including black and translucent (the reason being that we can bake it in a domestic oven as it does not contain phthlates):

I was a bit bothered about giving too much away but saw, on Paddy's blog, that she had taken photos of her work and included much more than I was going to so now here is the same amount as she has shown.  Can't get into trouble can I?  You will see I have made some beads inside metal caps, done some round ones, some heart shaped buttons, a tiny pendant and a square piece which I am not going to tell you what it is for.  Likewise the cone shape?  What on earth can it be?  All will be revealed at some other time.

Then I wanted to make some more, try for a different look, and so I used some of my own Fimo clay in different colours - six this time but again including black and translucent.  This time I was a bit more discerning about where I cut my slices and what bits I used.

The gold leaf has shown up more this time and the translucent clay has gone clear in some places.  This time four rectangles (bet you can guess now what they are for), no bell caps on beads just round ones, but tiny buttons, and again, that mysterious cone.

 

this is it raw

Now baked

(as a ceramicist I still want to say "fired")

You can see how the gold leaf has shown through the translucent clay in parts but remained milky in others.  Now I am waiting for some more to come out of the oven as I made quite a bit with my own clay and have cut out some pendants.  Perhaps I will show you these tomorrow - well, schedule these tonight as I will be at Harrogate tomorrow (Hello Lisa and Sue (thanks for becoming a follower Sue) - and friends from Vicky Stampers who I know are coming).

Hope you liked my little showing of polymer clay.  Have I time to make up some more - no - must get ready for Harrogate as it is an early get up in the morning.

Just for Fun - New Format to You

For my piece on this Challenge I have used an Origami Book as taught to me by Caz at Vicky Stampers at the beginning of the month. When I first saw the photographs of what we were going to make I thought I had already done this but when I saw it in the flesh it was something quite different.

This is the whole book opened out.  I chose different scrapbook papers (8 x 8) for each of my pages and then, because it was not double sided I coloured the white side with Victorian Velvet Distress ink.

I used Cranberry Adirondack Ink to stamp my images.  If you look at the two outer triangles they are part of the pages and I just used a selection of small Asian stamps I had to create interest on these sections.

The tags are slotted in behind the two triangles (shown as solid colour which is actually the colour of the paper used) and again are stamped with Cranberry on Victorian Velvet tags.

These are the tags in a bit more detail.  of course, yours truly does not listen and I ended up with more pages than I was supposed to have and so I had to make some more tags when I got home.

A dozen tags - phew!

Hope you like my offering for this week's challenge - it was a format new to me and I am hoping to do another one - this time in black and white - the book is made - just need to get my tags done.  Sorry I am not giving instructions on how to make but it is Caz's book and not mine - maybe she will put them on her blog - shall I ask her?

Some great techniques this last week, girls you really pulled out the stops and I now have a list of things I want to try out - thanks so much for joining us and thanks for the great ideas.

Why don't you pop over to Just for Fun and join in the Challenge. There are some great themes coming up and I promise to visit each and every one of you who enters (and not always at the last minute, honest).