Jeudi Journal - Leak

My third choice was "Laugh Till You Leak It Just Makes it Funnier" so the obvious choice to me was to use the guys for this one.

Not wishing to make the page 'rude' I chose to change the head on one of the guys for the one where he was (ahem) perspiring!  I think he might actually be crying but using artistic licence I am saying he is leaking perspiration.  To have him on the page alone would have been a bit sparse so I included the other guy who has a silly smirk on his face anyway which adds to the quote.

I began my page with three shades of yellow Distress Inks - which doesn't really show - and then put a cracked border around the whole page using Spiced Marmalade.  Masking the border out a little I added the dropped hearts rubber stamp, I don't use this enough as it is a lovely stamp imo, and I picked bits out in orange with one of my Promarkers.  I didn't think it needed anymore colour as the guys were very colourfully clothed themselves and were the focal point afterall.

So that is my page for this week.  I do like these two guys and think I will have to use them a bit more in my journal, especially the one in the Magenta jacket, he is so cute!

WOYWW 529

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday is here again.  It comes around pretty quickly, too quick for anything wonderful to be on show on my desk at times.  Its good fun though as you get to look at what others are up to and to have a good old nosey around other peoples homes.  Pop in here and have a look at some of the other desks and then think about joining in yourself.

Today my desk is staged!  Only because it shows you the extent of the colouring and cutting out I have been doing over the past few months and I thought I would share it with you.  Now I need lots of backgrounds so that I can start to use them - not that I haven't been using them - my Thursday posts are all to do with Dylusion Journalling. 

You see the bag on the left?  Well I have just counted them (yes sad aren't I) and there are 88 images in that bag.  This is my "big bods" bag - ie the big body images, yes, I have them all categorised.  Almost all are coloured in but there are one or two left for me to colour when I do a page some day.  No, not counting the other bags, and no, not finished the cataloguing I started last week.    Not that many to do now but there are some.

So how are you all coping with the hot weather?  It's been hot up north but nothing like the weather you Southerners have had to cope with.  It's a bit hot at night and we have been doing all we can to cool the bedroom down before we had to go in it.  We ordered a portable air conditioning unit weeks ago but it hasn't arrived as yet - probably be here for next year.  ie miss all the weather this time round.

Was hoping to go to a class with Tracey Easson in Carnforth on Saturday.  Booked and paid up weeks ago when I thought I would be cured by now.  Had to realise I cannot make it so cancelled the class at weekend in the hopes someone else could take my place.  Ah well,  this is the second time I have had to cancel something so won't be booking anything again until I am right.  Not heard from the Spinal Clinic and losing heart - again!

That's it folks, let's see what next week brings.

Jeudi Journal - Rainbow

"I'm a Rainbow Sprinkle in a Vanilla World" was my next choice and I began reciting "Richard of York Gave Battle In Vain" as I lay down the colours of the rainbow, starting at the top with Worn Lipstick and going down until I had Wilted Violet.  (Yes, I know, *stay with me).  Next came a circle from a torn out page with a rough drawing of a copy of the world in brown fine marker pen and it was time for the figure.

At first it was to be a medium sized one in a standing position but she looked a little lost and so I decided to use one of the relaxing ones that was already coloured in.  Changed her shoe colour and then chose a head for her.  Eventually landed on a plain head with no hair so that I could put a bit of a flamboyant head dress on - leaves!  Was toying around with some roses on the leaves but they didn't really work so they became ear-rings.

A bit of sparkle added to strategic points with the aid of a bottle of Stickles and she was finished.  It was then I realised - * I had my page upside down!!  Too late to do anything about it, the figure was well and truly stuck.  Am sure I am not the first to do this and I won't be the last.

Now, does my next page go the same way up (as it is a facing page) or not?  Decisions, decisions!

Am linking this to Try it on Tuesday and their challenge "Colours of the Rainbow"

WOYWW 528 - (AGAIN)

Checked quite a few blogs and it seems as if Julia and I were out of sync last week hence the "AGAIN" in my blog title this week.  Hope I am now right.  WE are!

Went to see a Spinal Specialist last Friday and his diagnosis was that this continual pain I have suffered with for the past 7 months is due to a muscle.  Not much they can do quickly by the sounds of it but I am being referred to a team who specialise in  Pain Management and Spinal Physiotherapy.  Roll on.  The other physio did nothing so fingers crossed for this.

Enough of that - what's been happening?  Well, I went to my local club, Vicky Stampers, on Saturday for a couple of hours.  Didn't feel up to it but armed with hot water bottle and tablets I went along mainly to support my friend Lorraine who was taking the class.

It was "atc's with a twist" and the "twist" was that we were making atc's with acrylic blocks rather than the usual card.  As the acrylic is quite expensive we had some atc coins in our pack for us to do but most people only did the acrylic anyhow.  I managed one but came home and up to now have done another and made some coins.

The coins were easy for me to do as I made several, months ago, in readiness for swapping at the Dutch show, but we didn't make it because of my back, so now I have a few more to add to the collection for when we do go, hopefully next April.

The acrylic atc's I have made are quite simple but you have to work in layers.  You first of all stamp your image with Stazon and then paint it with acrylic paints.  This is painting 'from the back' and you need to keep holding it up to the light to make sure you have no "holes" showing through.  This took several layers of paint before the leaves n the bird one were done.  When you are happy with it you put a layer of double sided sticky tape on (in sheet form, no idea what to call it), carefully peel it off and then add either glitter or, as I have done, gilding flakes.  Lorraine actually put my flakes on for me as I could not get my tub of them open and so she used hers.  Then you rub off the surplus and you are finished.

Well, when I came to do the second one (mushrooms) at home I realised how lucky I had been with Lorraine doing my flakes before.  It was fine getting them on and rubbing them off but putting them back in the little tub was a nightmare.  I could not find my 'tray' to rub the excess flakes off so in my wisdom I used a piece of brown craft mat.  Static!!!  The flakes kept sticking and flying everywhere.  Then in my rush to get them in I caught the edge of the tub and they all spilt out.  They were everywhere ... and flying everywhere.  What a pickle.  Be warned flakes and craft mats do NOT go together!  

Poor Chas had to come in and help me clear up as, by this time, my back was hurting like crazy and silver flakes were everywhere.  I've gone off that idea and might use glitter for the next one even though I am not a bling/glitter person.  On the other hand I might just use a piece of fancy paper or card.

Well you came really to see my desk because I am showing it as a participant of WOYWW - want to know what I mean?  Click here and find out all about the best and longest  blog hop ever - so here it is.

Not at all interesting - some atc coins, a new stamp (Dylusion of course) an old envelope, a sheet of instructions and in the foreground the offending piece of craft mat still holding some silver flakes.  Not at all interesting ... BUT here is something that is.  Towards the end of last week look what dropped through my letterbox, a complete and delightful surprise, all the way from Oz:

So delighted to have one of Sandra de's watercolours and just look at the detail and the colour in the card.  I have long admired Sandra's work and am thrilled to now have these in my collection.

Better go now - this has turned out long but I was trying to share the "know how" with the acrylic in case you wanted to try.

Jeudi Journal - My Heart

"I followed My Heart, it Led Me to the Fridge" is the first of my choices.  I hope both of us found this comparatively easy to do.

I had a background already done in inks - suspect Distress Oxides in Peacock Feathers and Salty Ocean with maybe a touch of Broken China (because I always use it when using Blues) and I think the large circles are done with Stormy Sky.

Then it was a case of finding some food suitable for her fridge.  Not having 'foody' magazines I was not sure what I could find but then some flyers dropped in through the letterbox.  Cutting some out I soon had more than enough.  Next up was the figure, the head - difficult to fit one on as the body was so huge - ok - big glasses - just love them and especially with Pumpkin and Poppy eyeshadow to match the outfit.

A pair of small wings, a heart cut from red cardstock and some smaller ones with a punch leading to the fridge contents - would some white dots compliment it?  Well, they are on!

End of ...

WOYWW 528

It's Wednesday again (well it's actually Tuesday evening when I am typing this) and I am in a pickle.  I have somehow got my records in a muddle and today (Tuesday the 9th July) I have written down as the 10th.  This is important as I am writing a weight list out for my GP and have one day too many.  Checked and checked but cannot find where the extra day has come from.  Ah well, WOYWW is more important - want to see why?  Check it out here.

So here is my desk, much better than typed lists

As you can see I have been re-stamping my Dylusion figures bit by bit.  I first stamp them out on some cardstock, ready to cut out, and then do a copy on paper which will go into my file.  I just got the whole lot in a muddle (seems to be my middle name these days) and am determined to start all over again.  So above you can see some of my plates and to the right some cut out figures and one coloured in one.

This one shows the plates that have been stamped in my Paris chest (reserved for Dylusion stamps) with some others, that are not figures, on the left, but ones waiting to be stamped are on the right (red rubber showing).

So that is my job for the next few days.  I have to slowly but surely go through them all and get them stamped up.  Originally I would cram as many as I could on one sheet but this time I am keeping each sheet to one, or maybe two sets of stamps, with the name written on top so I know where they come from.

What's your week looking like?

Jeudi Journal - Expert Advice

Another Wendy selection this morning, the last in her block as my choices start next week.  In honour of it being her last for a while I decided to do a lime green background as it is one of her favourite colours - the other being teal.  Couldn't choose teal because that is a big favourite of mine too so in honour of Wendy we went lime green today.  I did have some Stormy Sky and Faded Jeans already on a page so went over it with Twisted Citron in Distress Inks.

I used the stencil with the Twisted Citron Distress Oxides on the left hand side and then gave it a blast of water droplets.  Next I went to the opposite side turning the stencil 45 degrees  and used Titan Buff paint followed by Forest Green to give a "Bounce" effect.  Not sure it worked with this particular stencil.

"Of Course I Talk to Myself I Need Expert Advice" are the words chosen and all I could think of using were two identical figures with a bit of chit chat between them.  So "Blah, Blah, Blah" came to mind - oh how I wish I could do decent lettering.  I would have used Dyan's letters again but this time the letters were too big to have floating between the two figures so I had to resort to a black pen and my own hand.  I chose the telephone figure and decided not to change it this time but to use Magenta for the telephone as a stark contrast to the Lime background.  The figure was dressed sombrely in brown.

Ah well, my choice next week - now what is it going to be? Only time will tell - you have just a week to wait.