Romance Anyone? - Challenge 74 Artful Times

"Love is in the air, 

Everywhere I look around, 

Love is in the air,

Every sight and every sound"

I think that must have been going through my head as I got ready for the 74th Challenge at Artful Times.  It is certainly what materialised in the afternoon that I was "humming and aahing" what to do.

Defeated by my first attempt at making a romantic card for a girl-friend I then thought I would make one for my other half.  Somehow I went in my head for black and red - was that more manly?  No. Well what was it then that was sending me down that road?  Still not a clue but this is what I ended up making ... a box for his pens and pencils on his desk at home.

Uncertain that my box maker would deal with something so long (it is just over 8.5" in length) I decided to map out what I thought was the shape I wanted for the base.  Well, I got that right and it fitted together perfectly despite the cardstock being quite strong (and stiff).

Not so easy with my first attempt at the sleeve to cover it.  Awkward to allow that tiny bit of a difference in the measurements but necessary to allow it to fit snug but yet be easily moved back and forth.  Eventually it was completed - now what to do for the decoration?

A bit of lace (cardstock) to cover the marks I had made when I went "off piste" with my bone folder on the board.  Oh Gosh!  This is looking 'tarty'!  Hearts?  do I have any small enough to go in the gap, and if so how do I fill the long central gap?

Two 'birds' later I cut out the word "love" with my favourite alphabet die (Memory Box from Oyster Stamps) then wondered if I could fit in the lyrics that kept going through my head.  In for a penny I decided to cut the rest of the letters out and there you have it.  Or rather there he has it.

Not entirely happy with my finished product but still with no other ideas coming up that has to be it. So if you wish to see something much better I suggest you pop along to Artful Times and see what else there is to show.  Something new on there as well as what Wendy has made but I am keeping 'zipped up' so as not to spoil it but it is worth popping along to see us.

Late Night Edition:

On looking for inspiration to paint/decorate this heart (first picture underneath) which I must have bought three or four years ago at Michaels I wandered on to Pinterest and quite liked the look of a box someone made.  However, I was "boxed out" so I made mine into a card instead (second picture underneath).  All made with Spellbinders dies - hope you like it.  It's a card where you put the die to the fold.

Think I will keep the box and just give him the card - it's a bit more masculine!

WOYWW 297

We creep ever closer to that 300 mark - 'we' being the faithful bloggers who like a nosey around one another's desks who report to our glorious creator, Julia, each Wednesday with a view of our desks.

Again not much to see on mine, well that is a fib but what I mean is I have not got any pretty crafting to show you - again!

This is it - complete with pretty pink mat

(courtesy of my friend Mary in America)

As you can see I am supposed to be making some flowers for a card for this weekend - I had better get a move on as I have other things to do and I need to finish the last episode of The 100 that I did not manage to watch last night before anything.  I have started colouring the flowers in purples and I somehow don't think I have made enough.  

To the right of my pink mat is a matchbox or two which houses Flat Susan.  Do you remember her? She has just arrived from visiting Kate in Spain and she needs a new suitcase to continue her travels with.  She is resting at the moment but should be off shortly.  I hope all the people who have said they would let her visit are still available, it's so long since they made the commitment..

Behind the Flat Susan stuff is a pretty striped box that held some gorgeous hand made soap from a friend in America.  (Mary's eldest daughter, Cindee, actually) and next to it is a box I used to transport even more handmade soaps home in.  Cindee's daughter in law makes these soaps and they are beautiful to look at and smell wonderful.  I don't want to use them!

Behind the soaps is my tub of Cola Bottles - I love these little guys and they are ideal to pop in your mouth when you want something to refresh you whilst crafting (or just passing by).

Well, that is it - my desk - maybe next week there will be something interesting on it - you just never know.  See you over at Julia's!

WOYWW 296

Well, to make up for last week's great long post I will try to keep this one short.  Plus I have still got jet lag.  Yes, I know, I should be over it by now but when I waken up (around 5 am) my head starts buzzing with all sorts of things - some good, some not so good.  So I have to get up to avoid it all. Then I am sound asleep early evening and napping on and off all day.

Anyway, last night I tried to keep awake (after my sleep) and had another go with the Oil Smudge technique I had done at CHA.  Did one completed card but never copied it for you to see - and it had a bird on - but I don't think I have got the hang of birds yet.  Why one of the cards below has strokes to the left and one to the right I haven't a clue?  I think one of them looks wrong.  Anyway, they now want words on them, maybe some trees and then making into cards - or dumping in the bin!

Turned my scrap paper over for you to see the wording on it - I think the Class Rules are brilliant and should be mounted in a few craft rooms - "rules of the craftroom" not "class".  *Who is Marah Johnson and where did I get this paper?

See you over at Julia's place?  I feel like a mooch around some desks.

* Looked her up she is at Huntington Beach and she has some pretty cool stuff on her FB page and her blog - wow, she is an artist!  I am impressed!

Artful Times Challenge 73 - MEN

Well, I am back over this side of the world but not really in the land of the living as I suffer badly from jet lag.  My waking hours seem to be around 2 am until 6 am and then the rest of the time I go in and out of sleep mode.  Very deep sleep mode too.

Thankfully, whilst I was in America my friend Mary made a card similar to this one for a workshop of hers and I took the opportunity to more or less copy it.  So here is my DT card for Men:

The whole card is using Distress Inks with the background having second generation stamping on it.  Then there is a small piece of hessian going across and a torn piece of card, stamped with two stamps (sorry, did not make a note of them but I think they were SU ones) on top which has been wrapped with string.  Finally there is a ship in an oval on the very top.

Guess this could be a Bon Voyage card also.

Now what will you do?  Hope you join us as entries have been low for a good few months now.

WOYWW 295 (long - sorry)

Well, here I am, back in the cold and missing Mary and the family - and the warmth!  Journey home took far too long, if only Dr Who was around and he could transport me between America and the UK in the blink of an eye.  Still, must not grumble about the weather as yet, look at what the east coast of America is experiencing - hope everyone is safe over there.

Am still suffering jet lag - usually takes me about three weeks to get over it - mind you, with the amount of unpacking and putting away I have who could blame this foggy brain from staying where it is?  Here is my mess - desk, sorry.

OK OK, you don't think this is a mess!  Right?  Well it is the tail end of my clearing up and I thought I would be gentle on your eyes and show you one or two things I made whilst at CHA.  Top left is a felt bag I decorated (stuck flowers on with glue - very difficult) in a Make and Take for a glue company.  Next to it is a Journal (workshop) we decorated with Tammy Tuttrow and next to that one done with Marje Kemper - again a workshop.  Both thoroughly enjoyed but I didn't learn anything. Then we come to the heart - my Andy Skinner workshop which I loved.  Learned lots about paint techniques (can I remember?) and got lots of free products as a bonus.  Missing is my Oil Smudge workshop but as I turned my results into cards and sent them off I cannot show you them now.  Later maybe.

The other things are all Make & Takes - first is a card made with Heartfelt Creations using their new dies, real pretty; then a bookmark made with Spellbinders; a scarf made with someone using faux Indian Block stamps and finally a box, still needs putting together, made to showcase the gel pens.

This is the desk/room as was on Tuesday morning (I am writing this ahead of time as jet lag will mean I sleep until Wednesday lunchtime from about 6 am having been awake most of the night)

NOTE:  I am awake and have been since 2 am - no sleep in me - so much for my thoughts above!

A mix of Christmas and CHA/America

You can just see my shopping bag - four panels painted by four Design Team members at Ranger - Dina Wakley, Dyan Reaveley, Wendy Vecchi and Tim Holtz on the chair back.

View Left

View Right - can't wait to do that clock

Inside the brown box are some paints courtesy of Andy Skinner's workshop and Decoart who were so generous to us all.

Below is a photo including some Christmas stuff left when we set off for America - still not unwrapped my book from Art from the Heart sale.  It is so prettily wrapped I am struggling with taking it apart.

And now for my freebies.  I didn't think I had got so many but when I unpacked there seems to be loads - mainly from Andy Skinner class as mentioned above - thanks a lot, can't wait to play with these paints, stencils and stamps.

and finally stuff bought

My lovely wonderful Chameleon pens, thank you Mary.  Tools, beads, stamps, Gelatos (dies and new case which I had put away when I did the photo) - thanks to the family and friends for the vouchers, I had such a wonderful spend.  

The rub ons (seem to be very much in vogue over there as they were used a lot in workshops), hessian, paper (as if I needed more), journal and alarm clock which I just had to buy were all purchases from Michaels, Joannes and Hobby Lobby.

Well, that is it.  Now to try to find room to put all of this extra stuff - what can I throw out to make room?  And I haven't shown you my early birthday present from himself yet?  It's a big box and needs careful storage, something I have longed for for such a long time.  Maybe next week I will show you.

In case you are wondering who I am talking to pop over to the stamping-ground and see what is going on in various corners of the world as crafters come together to share Wednesdays.  See you there later.

WOYWW 294

Gosh, six posts from now and we will hit 300!!  If you wonder who or what I am talking about visit the stamping-ground and find out about this lovely, wonderful group of friends who post each and most every Wednesday.

So what do we, wonderful members of this "club" do?  Why we show our desks, real or temporary and here is mine today - a temporary one as I am on holiday across The Pond.

I have a sample of Oil Smudge, a technique I learned at CHA, or rather the beginnings of one on my portion of the main desk at my friend's house.  Rather a last minute thing, I am going to try to show her how to do this wonderful technique which so intrigued me when I first saw it.  As you can see I have not progressed much since doing the class but I might, just might, have a play whilst on the plane going home.

There is also a sunflower image (to be precise two) on the right waiting for me to colour them in and make into cards.  Might end up going home naked!!  The card not me!

I realise I have not shown you the rest of the workroom so here it is

This is behind me

Down a bit

Carousels with 'for sale' stuff

Workshop stamps and stuff

Blue box has the Shimmer Sheetz stuff we have been working on and this shows that as how big the desk you still end up working on a small section.

shelves opposite where I am working

Prima dolls below - if you like you cannot go wrong here

That's all for now folks ...

But ... yesterday the 'girls' came to visit me, only thing is it looks as if they visited Chas who was quietly working on his laptop in a corner.

Night night (it's still Tuesday here and we are just back from a marvellous meal out with David and Kim and their lovely family - more on that and other things tomorrow).  See ya!

Artful Times Challenge - Time

Well I didn't do the first challenge of the year, left it all to poor Wendy (and she had the flu) but when I saw it I was already in America and short of cutting my friend's cards up I found it difficult to enter. Hoping I am forgiven I quickly dashed off this card for the current challenge and then promptly lost track of the days (again!) so although it is Friday here it is Saturday early doors at home.

Sorry - here is my card

Shock Horror I had to use my friend's rubber stamps to make this.  As I am living in a stamp shop that should be overwhelming but to be honest I didn't want to buy any more stamps for this theme as I have loads at home and it isn't a topic she is particularly endowed with in her personal stamps.  

So I took a slightly different stance with it and based it around a Tim Holtz sentiment saying that time is a companion going with us on a journey.  Of course I used my favourite Distress Inks and had a wonderful time.

Hope you find time to join us with this one - please. - see you at Artful Times?