Jeudi Journal - Clocks

Wendy's choice this week was to do "Clocks" as the theme and use Pumice Stone and Evergreen Bough Distress Inks.  

I found this really hard which is surprising to me as I love anything to do with 'Time' normally but the restriction of using Dylusion figures through me completely out.  Also I found it hard working with these two colours and the introduction of Broken China didn't seem to do much against the Pumice Stone background.  Anyway, I used two of Andy Skinner's stencils pushing the colour Pumice Stone through on the already prepped background.  I used the Evergreen Bough around the edges and on the clocks down the side.  Stamping done in black (images meant to be like that and not mis-stamped) and just a couple of white dots.  Would have done more white had I found my Posca pen.  Lost!!  Big Sob!

That's all Folks!

WOYWW 461

Another week - another visit to Miss Julia, the amazing desker who has us all joining in with her each Wednesday for a bit of a natter and a viewing.  Come along, join in the fun, and in September why not join us for an actual meet up in Llandudno.  Pop along here and join in.

Well it is a bit late and I am tired so I guess it will be a quick one this week.  None of my usual woffllng but a couple of photos to see my new stamps.

This is my desk at midnight, well one minute past so in effect it really is Wednesday and this is what is on my desk:

I am busy making some ATC's for next week when I go to a show in Nijerk.  Last year I took some along and almost forgot this time so it has been a hasty set to to make a few.  Luckily I bought some new 'used' stamps on Saturday when I visited Art from the Heart to book a couple of workshops for the coming months.  Got one workshop with one of my favourite people, Dyan herself, she is great fun and there is always a good laugh in her workshops but she makes you work hard too.  The other is with sweet gentle Kate Crane so two different workshops and two different approaches.

They had a sale on but it was quite late when I got there so lots of stamps had gone (I met Angela who had a great big carrier bag full on her way out) but I did manage to get two of Dyan's stamp sets that I hadn't already got (I have so many it was hard to find any I didn't have) and I got some Stampotique ones and as you can can see above these have been put to great use already.

Here is my haul and my raffle prize for booking two workshops - wasn't I lucky to get a black square journal, especially as there were very few prizes left.  And signed by Dyan herself!  Whoo Hoo!

I couldn't use all of my stamps as some were topical (Christmas and Halloween) and some were too large for atc's but I have enjoyed using what I got plus one of Tracy Scott's for Stampotique.

Right, off to bed now, see you in the morning.

Jeudi Journal - It's Easter

Yes, we have gone past Palm Sunday and tomorrow it is Good Friday.  It seemed ages away just a week or so away but suddenly it is upon us.  Not doing anything, going anywhere,  Forecasted weather doesn't lend itself to any days out and the roads will be so busy.  Better curl up with a good book and a film eh?

Well, here is my blue and yellow page which turned out totally different to what was in my head.  I am finding it a bit more of a challenge to work in this square journal than in my big one.  

Wendy chose the colours and I decided to use my Distress Oxides - a good thing with this journal - the size for them is just perfect.  So here is Broken China, Salty Ocean, Squeezed Lemonade and Fossilized Amber.  Several layers, a bit of water spritzing and that's it.  My third colour is Green - or rather the blue and yellow made green so I left it at that.

Once again I chose to colour my birds in with Promarkers, not too happy when using them and want to blend one colour into the other, maybe I would be better off using my Watercolours.  Then again I could use my pencil crayons that are in my super duper new bright pink pencil case.  I really want to do more pencil work.

Right, off to see what Wendy has done this week.  Don't eat too many Easter Eggs and go light on the Hot Cross Buns!

WOYWW 460

Gosh, those numbers are creeping up - 460 weeks of doing WOYWW for Julia.  Bet she never thought all that time ago it would take off like it did.  But it did and is still going strong.  Can't wait for the next crop in Llandudno (check out the tab at the top of her page here).

Well, a mixed bag here in the north of England weather-wise.  One day sunny, one day dull and the forecast of snow now.  Perfect time for sitting in your craft room and getting something done.  Yes, but in my case it has been a "wardrobe sorting out session" which took days .. and was exhausting!  Not to worry, I have finally escaped into my craft room and despite it needing a spring clean itself I sat amidst all the mess and crafted.

As you can see from the photo above I am doing something with the 'Crazy Birds' again.  Just what will be revealed tomorrow.

Can you see my Lawn Fawn Stamp Shammy (cleaning Cloth) at the back (green with a splodge of black ink on it)?  Well, I think this is great for cleaning stamps.  Goodbye to my baby wipes.  In fact yesterday when I reached for one for something else I found they had dried up - to be fair the bottom of a sachet anyhow.  Well my question is, does anyone know how to Clean the shammy?  They say to keep on using it and it doesn't matter but it does rather annoy me to see such a wealth of black ink.  Maybe I am a bit over fussy and I should just use it all covered in ink anyhow.

Well, it's over to Julia now for a bit of blog hopping.  Want to join me?  Grab a cuppa and come here.

Toodle pip!

Jeudi Journal

On my own this week but I couldn't let the day go by without a journal page.  I think this should be renamed "15 Minute Journal" as that is about how long it took me.  Mind you the background was already done, the Dylusion figure stamped - I have several backgrounds in my book and it is about time I used them.  This one was a particular favourite and I thought I could use it if I did something to do with India.  Why did it say India to me?

I used some very old PaperArtsy stamps for the India pieces and intended to put an arch around the lady on page 2 but could I find them - and I had them yesterday!!  So as you see just a little bit of stamping direct to the page (took some drying as well, Memento and Archival on Acrylic Paint) and one of the Dylusion figures.

The elephant is a very old stamp from one time at CHA.  It is one of a series of Native Spirit stamps and the body is made up of different animal drawings and shapes.  Not sure you can get a closeup of it.

I really think the quality of the scans is poor, the photo I took of the two pages together is more true to the colours.  Hope you take my word for it.

Well, that is it for another week, will have a look through at some existing pages and maybe start one for next Thursday.  Now what should I do?

WOYWW 459

Another Wednesday crept up on me as usual - quicker than I thought possible.  It's the morning for visiting Julia and her band of merry men bloggers here.  Pop along and see what it's all about and join in, what's holding you back - you can meet up with lots of like minded bloggers at 'The Crop in Llandudno' in September too.  See details on Julia's blog.

So what is on my desk today?  Well, yesterday you would have seen a desk like this

At last I have made a start on stamping on my small Distress Book similar to one I made with Sandra Botham at Art from the Heart.  These are my new Jane Davenport stamps which I brought back with me from America.  (Helen just pointed out that these are Dina Wakeley stamps - my Jane ones are dotted about in here but not shown - doh!)

Do you remember the skull pencil case from the other week?  Well it now has my Dylusion pens in, my Lamy pens and on the underneath side some black and some white pens, all ready for my journalling.  It also had the small book on the photo above as it was part of my "going away" craft kit but I decided not to take it in the end and left it at home this time.  

I am determined to get this one finished this week so watch this space.

Today, however, my desk looks like this

I have been making a birthday card for a friend and you can just see a bit of it peeking out from under one of the sets of stamps from PaperArtsy.  I used stamps from these two sets you see but what I didn't do is take a photograph of the finished card.  Oops!  Something I often do.  I left this photo until the end in case she happens to see her card on Bloglovin' before she receives it.  No need now is there?

Had some good news, in fact a lovely surprise Monday night.  My friend Mary, in America who we stay with and who is in hospital with a broken wrist and hip and those horrible blisters that she has had since November, well, last night she Facetimed me for the second time in a week (first time it was 2 am here which is why I neglected to mention it at the time).  It was wonderful to see and hear her as it has been awful being so far away and not getting daily bulletins.  Apparently the doctor is well satisfied with her progress and there is talk that she might be able to go home in a week or two.  Several people have offered to have her stay with them but she wants to go to her own home.  Can't blame her as she has been away far too long now.  I think she will have to have a suit made from bubble wrap to keep her from harm should she fall again.  Or they put her in a bubble of her own.

Well, will keep it to that, just had to share the good news.  Now hop on over to Julia's blog and see what everyone is up to.  Toodle pip!

ps did you know I was addicted to a certain fruit tea from Spain?  I bought lots in Tenerife to get me through to the next time I visit Spain.  I sat outside the supermarket in the sun opening boxes and putting more teabags into each box until they were 'full to busting'.  How many do you think I brought?  Teabags that is?  I'll tell you next week.

Journal - Sihouettes

Wendy wanted to do Silhouettes again so I am looking forward to seeing what she has done, it must be something special with her wanting the subject so soon after the last one.

This was the last of my scheduled posts because of my 'birthday mini vacation' so by this time I was feeling a bit 'stale' as to what to do.  I began with a white page to conform to the colour scheme of 'black and white' but after sitting looking at it for some time I left it and did a page in black.  Inspiration had struck.

Despite doing the two cats last week all I could think of was the page below and so I chose two smaller cats, drew around two that were already cut out but on black card and used them as my images.  Hope this is ok Dyan and I am not contravening any copyright rules.

Then I drew a huge circle around a plate, cut a few red hearts (third colour), stuck everything down and wrote what was going through my head - a song giving my age away.  Here it is - my Silhouette.