Vintage Anyone?

Well, the last challenge over on Just For Fun certainly attracted a lot of entries but then we crafters do tend to have a way with "words" don't we.

This week the theme is Vintage.  Now I chose this theme because I love making things Vintage, anything I see others have made I "ooh" and "aah" over.  It all gets to me when I see the lace and pearls and the old sepia photos.  Sometimes I think I would have loved to live in the Edwardian Days when everything was so elegant.  I adore anything Art Nouveau  * "with its flowing organic forms which were reflected in the sinuous curves of the Edwardian lady".  Therefore I was surprised when I looked it up on Wikipedia to find that clothing pre 1920's was defined as "antique" and that "Vintage" was clothing from 1920 to 1980.  Still, I love the flapper styles too and maybe those dresses would have suited my figure as it is now (sadly).

Well, as per usual I was behind with everything to do with JFF and Zoe had to ring me to ask for some "blurb" re my chosen theme.  It was at the time that I was sitting, once again, at my desk and wondering what the heck to do for the challenge.  I ended up rushing a tin through and this is it

Not happy with it, it just kept evolving.  Fell in love with this paper from a pack the lovely Jude sent me so I covered a tin that had had mixed nuts and raisins in (eaten that afternoon) with it.  Next I put some braid around the top, then found the beading and added that.  It makes the perfect tin for my feathers which have been lying around gathering dust for far too long.

Well, that is it from me this week folks, not a happy bunny with my effort but my head is now coming round and I hope I can do a bit more justice to things in the future - watch out - vintage I like I will do!

* taken from a very interesting page on the internet "Fashion in the Edwardian Era".

WOYWW 117

It's WOYWW time again - thank goodness others think the week goes by too quickly - thought it was just me.  I've no sooner tidied my desk up than it comes around again and I am once more, not tidy. Well what is on my workdesk this miserable wet (chucking it down) Wednesday?

Actually I am quite tidy, because I have been doing very little.  Life has just taken over these past few days but I was busy on Saturday. This is what is on my desk at the moment:

A pizza box full of paper butterflies!

These are what we made at Victoria Stampers on Saturday afternoon. Well, what others made - I spent my time working with my Grand Calibur cutting out loads and loads of butterflies for people to take home and colour up ready to bring next month.  I haven't counted how many we made but I do know that Mo, who was not with us on Saturday had her family making some for us on Bank Holiday Monday and they have made 115.

Now to get my finger out and make some more for my effort.  I was hoping to see Chloe and get her to make some with me but her mummy has had an abscess and had to go into hospital to have it operated on - and now she has chickenpox!  (Mummy, not Chloe - yet!)

Here are some of them I photographed to put on the group in the Album for September.  You can see folded ones, origami ones, some made with sycamore leaves for the wings, and the ones in the bottom right hand corner were made by our oldest member, Joyce, who I am sure won't mind me telling you that she is 82 years old.

There is one above that is made with skeleton leaves and top centre you might glimpse some that are made with Prima flowers - both the brainchild of Alison along with the sycamore leaf ones..

Now why are we making so many butterflies?  We are sending them off to Houston, Texas for the Holocaust Museum Butterfly Project.  In an effort to memorialise the 1.5 million Jewish children who died during the Holocaust, the Museum is collecting 1.5 million handmade butterflies for a special exhibit in 2012.

The Butterfly
The last, the very last,
So richly, brightly, dazzlingly yellow.  
Perhaps if the sun's tears would sing
against a white stone ...
Such, such a yellow
Is carried lightly way up high
It went away I'm sure because it wished
to kiss the world goodbye.
For seven weeks I've lived in here,
Penned up inside this ghetto.
But I have found what I love here.
The dandelions call to me
And the white chestnut branches in the court.
Only I never saw another butterfly.
That butterfly was the last one.
Butterflies don't live in here,
in the ghetto.
            Pavel Friedmann 6.4.1942


Pavel Friedmann was born on 7 January 1921 in Prague and deported to Terezin on 26 April 1942.  He died in Auschwitz on 29 September 1944.


I hope this inspires some of  you to make some butterflies and send them off to Houston.  All the details are on the link above and when I collect the remaining ones which members have made at home at our next meeting I will let you know how many we are sending - remember we will have Mo's family's 115 as well by then.

I Really Am Hopeless

Done it again!  Made some cards and put them in the post without scanning them to show you on my blog.  Watercoloured three images, two have been sent out and the third is ready to go, sealed up in its envelope.  So that's yesterday afternoon and this morning with nothing to show you BUT ...

Got some lovely cards in the post from others so I would love to share them with you.

First I got one from Chris with a gorgeous photoart stamp on it

Then this one arrived from Mary, again with a beautiful photart stamp.  Now I know Mary has a blog but for the life in me I cannot find the name of it, searched high and low to no avail.

 And finally from Ann with this cute little girl in the rain - the raindrops are done in glitter and they look most effective.

Now who's a lucky person then?  Three beautiful cards to have on display, each very different but all equally beautiful.  Thanks ladies!

Must get on now, have one or two things to get ready for tomorrow. It is our Open Morning at Padgate Community Centre so if you fancy popping along to see what we do, taking part in a Make and Take or just having a coffee and a chat you will find a welcome there between 10 and 1 pm.  After that we are making butterflies for the Holocaust Project but more on that another day.

Just For Fun - Wired

Ages ago I got this circuit board, think it was from a computer, and thought it would come in useful for something "arty".  I loved how it had the drawings on the base of it, the gold and black lines, the little capacitors and the chips.

Then along came the JFF challenge - "Words".  I thought of all the lovely sayings I have, the funny ones, the meaningful ones and of all the cards I could possibly make using them - but nothing seemed to be right and then I saw this stamp.  Actually it is one of two, the other is a profile version and I knew this had to be used, but how?

Armed with my stamp and the circuit board I thought of the phrase "Wired for Sound" and so my rendition for this week was born.  First of all I covered a piece of mountboard with black acrylic paint, tore some "sound" bits from an encyclopedia and stuck them on (you can hardly see them).  Then I stamped the head in Black Archival Ink and put some clear embossing powder over the top, moved it around the circuit board until I decided on where to place it and stuck it on with some foam pads.

A quick line up of letters (Spellbinders) on a bit of black waste card and I had the words done with the number "4" in white to take the place of the word "for".  There are a couple of holes at the top which I have pushed through on the mountboard so it can have a hanger attached but at the moment it stands on a plate rack.

So there you have it - my entry for "Words" for Just for Fun - which is what I had making it - "fun".

Can't wait to see what you all produce with this challenge, am sure it will be a popular subject and I wonder how this month's Challenges will compare to last months which were very popular and produced some stunning pieces from you all.

WOYWW

First of all, Welcome to my new followers.  I will be having a give away shortly so stay with me, plus I hope to be blogging a bit more now that certain things are behind me.

Secondly, a HUGE HUGE Thank You to all of you who last week sent good wishes and/or included me in your prayers.  It is over and done with and apparently the procedure was successful and I now have a burn on my left rib cage where the paddle left its imprint.  Nothing bad, just a mark which is already fading but which itched like crazy the first few days.  Can't say my breathing has improved that much as yet although most people who speak to me on the phone say they notice a difference - still get breathless when I bend down or do any walking but maybe that will disappear shortly.

Right, now to my desk.  I had a card I made this morning but I gave it to my friend, who is off to America on Thursday, when she called - uh oh - I forgot to scan it.  So nothing to show you apart from my mess which is not much of one actually.

This is my desk area showing my absolutely shot at green self healing mat - I really must buy a new one.

The stamp and the photo image are for a card I am about to make and I think I will use some of my new papers which you can just see towards the top of the picture.  The little Japanese girl is actually material rather than paper and she is going to feature on an Asian card I want to make for someone.

This is my 12 x 12 box of Asian papers which I got out in readiness for the Japanese girl card.

I need to make a special "thank you" card too so I guess over the next couple of days I will be busy.  Did find a card on my desk which I made a while ago but why I have it out I will never know - must have been intended for someone, somewhere.

Unless it was for last week's JFF Challenge

Rightio, off for a snoop around now to see what delights people have got on their desks.  First  stop is The Stamping Ground, Julie is usually humorous in her write up and I need a smile at this unearthly hour of the morning.   Toodle Pip!

It's Growing in Colour

Last week, on Just for Fun, we had white, black, silver and now we can add one other colour.  I have chosen RED this week using one of my friend, Paul's, punched out roses.  Hopefully I am going to learn how to make these when we have our Open Morning at Vicky Stampers.  So, what did I do?

First of all I used a wooden tag and covered it with Fresco White then used some Polyfilla on the side to create some texture. Next a jigsaw piece was painted white, with the word "dream" sta.mped on in black and I added silver stitching around the edges.  Paul's red rose and a red ribbon almost completed the challenge which finally had a cameo embossed piece of paper added to it.

Can't wait to see what all the talented people out there do with this addition of colour.  This has been a superb month with some gorgeous entries each week showcasing the talent out there.  Thanks to everyone who has entered something over the past month, I have so enjoyed viewing your entries and your blogs.

Pop over to Just for Fun and see what everyone has been doing, tarry a while and think about joining in - it is just for fun!

WOYWW

Is anyone else having problems with photos taking forever to download?

I had to abandon loading photographs up yesterday as they would just not appear and when they did the button to upload them to the blog did not light up.  Anyway, here goes with this posting which I am doing the night before and scheduling - otherwise I will be sat at my computer for hours and 'miss the boat' as they say.

Well, last week whilst on holiday in Derbyshire, the day of the Tramway Museum, I got a phone call.  The hospital had had a cancellation so tomorrow (Thursday) I will be going in for my cardioversion.  Just hoping that it works and I can throw off my shackles and return once more to walking around without all the breathing problems I have at the moment.  Can I ask for a little prayer tonight for it to be successful please.  I'm a little scared if I am honest.

On to WOYWW now.  I have not been very productive, have three images watercoloured but not made into cards yet - these are for upcoming birthdays of friends and you might sneak a peek at them.

To the left is my matchbox.  Remember last week I showed you the tiny one I had sent to someone?  Well this is the one I received from AJ.  Here you can see all the goodies I got inside (major drool)

Here goes:  lace she painted herself, charms because they all relate to the sea and she lives on the UK's most remote inhabited island - Fair Isle and wait for it fibre and yarn she hand spins herself.  In fact, when I contacted her through a bit of detective work (there had been no addie in her box) this is what she told me "The wrapped fibre is fleece from my own Shetland sheep, blended with combed silk fibers then ran through my combing hackle, it's amazing stuff felted ! Very visually dimensional just through the play on light the sheen from the silk gives you."  I wish you could all see the sheen on it.  I have to think long and carefully how I am going to use this - Twiglet and Wispo are you listening?

As you can see, the matchbox itself is covered in Wizard of Oz paper and has The Scarecrow on top with yet more charms attached and there is a notebook as well.  Thanks AJ, I love my matchbox of your life.

Well, for those of you who read my holiday story yesterday here are some photos from Chatsworth.

The Hall itself

My favourite of all the bedrooms - just loved the colour of these drapes.

Had to show you this one, the big bed has another one attached at the bottom - is this for when she throws him out for snoring?

Ever wondered where they keep it in posh houses?  A thing 'a purpose!

I cannot begin to tell you how organised Chatsworth is for disabled people.  Because I was in a wheelchair it was like a military operation but without the militariness (is that a word?).  As they put me in the lift between floors they radioed to the floor I was going to and someone met me at the top to set me off on my way.  It was a pleasure to visit so a BIG THANK YOU to all the staff at Chatsworth and I encourage anyone who is disabled to visit there, you will be made to feel special.

Anyway, there is to be an exhibition in the grounds in September - of sculptures - here are some of them:

This lion looked as if it was made from tyres

This was my favourite, despite the fact that I couldn't get near to it (no access for a wheelchair at the moment) but it had literally just gone up.  Chas, bless him, went and took a photo for me - it is HUGE - and very Asian.  There was something being assembled further on, we could see a crane, and Chas found out that it is a sculpture by Damien Hurst.  Think I am going to have to go back to see all of these.

The last one I have for you is called Chloe, as some of you know my friend has a little girl (apple of my eye) whose name is Chloe so this ends my Chatsworth journey for today ... hope you enjoyed it.