Compendium Week 11

If you're looking for a challenge that will introduce you to new techniques or get you practising some you may know already, then have a look at Linda's Studio L3 blog for details of her weekly Compendium of Curiosities Challenges taken from Tim Holtz' book. This one's called Blended Batik, and is a technique I have tried a couple of times before.

I enjoy researching family history, and using my paints and inks to produce something related to this. One of my second cousins has a beautiful photo of our great grandmother, Janet. It is on glass and in a gilt metal frame. I didn't make a very good job of photographing it, but the real thing is very beautiful, and I treasure this copy. Janet was the eleventh of twelve children and was born and brought up by the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond.

So on to my piece. The inks are Scattered Straw and Forest Moss, the stamps Darkroom Door, Studio 490 and Elusive Images, and embellishments a Tim swirly and Prima flowers.

Three Muses and Stamping Club

The theme of the current challenge at the Three Muses blog is Wheels. I enjoy the freedom of cycling through the woods around here, so that decided my choice of type of wheels. There are a few whitish flecks in the background of my "Wheels" though not as many as I had intended. Our project at this week's get-together of our local stamping club was to use glue on card, let it dry, and then colour with Distress Inks, and the glue would create a resist effect. The colours here are Wild Honey, Spiced Marmalade, Vintage Photo and Black Soot. Stamps are Rubbadubbadoo and Paper Artsy.

These are some I did at the club evening where the glue is more in evidence. First one using Wild Honey, Vintage Photo and Black Soot inks, and Paper Artsy and Artemio stamps.

Then Victorian Velvet and Antique Linen inks, and Paper Artsy and Artemio stamps again.
Crushed Olive, Forest Moss, Mustard Seed and Black Soot with Viva and Paper Artsy stamps.

Stormy Sky, Peeled Paint and Black Soot with Crafty Individuals stamps.

Tag Tuesday

The challenge at Louise's Kardkrazy was to produce a tag on any material other than card. For mine I chose grungeboard, and used acrylic paints, clear embossing powder, Archival and Stazon inks, and stamps by Elusive Images, Stampotique and Artemio.

Compendium Challenge Week 10 - Distress Stickles

I have to admit I am a bit of a Stickles fiend, and a little smidge of it does frequently find its way on to my projects. This week Linda at Studio L3 has set us the task of using Distress Stickles on a project, and I am more than happy to oblige.

I've used Rock Candy, Mustard Seed, Antique Linen and Frayed Burlap and have used papers from Tim Holtz' Retro Grunge stack. Stamps are by Stamp Attack, Stampotique, and Invoke.

Things with Wings

Here is a card for the new Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge using a variety of distress inks.

Compendium of Curiosities Challenge 9 - Distress Crackle

This week it's taken me longer than usual to do my piece for the fabby challenge at Linda's Studio L3 - reason being I've been trying to revive my dried up crackle paints. The Rock Candy one was fine but the others were in various stages of desiccation. Two were so bad that when I opened the bottle the little brush broke off. Anyway, after much stirring in of water with a little metal cocktail stick thingy over a few days, we were back in business except for one that doesn't seem to crackle any more.

The background is the floral paper from the Lost & Found stack covered in Rock Candy crackle. I've used Tattered Rose, Peeled Paint and Picket Fence crackle on the embellishments, and Victorian Velvet and Forest Moss Distress Inks. I've edged the piece with Lava Green Inka Gold. As for the technique, you'll find that on page 42 of the Compendium.

Another photo to show the Rock Candy and Peeled Paint crackle a little more clearly ..........

To give a bit of variation from the crackle effect I coloured the swirly piece with a gorgeous Daler Rowney soft pastel that caught my eye at the weekend (and I just had to have). Spraying the fixative a bit unevenly has given it a distressed effect.

Thanks, Linda, for organising this fun challenge.

WOYWW 62

If I show you a pic of my crafting space this week, it will just be more of the same, and I say that with the emphasis on 'more.' I haven't done much putting away so there are several layers of stamps, inks, fabric, and card. Oh, OK, you may as well have a little look.

The other space I am about to focus on is an outdoor one. I have quite a number of sheds. This one is supposed to have non-garden stuff in it, but to my shame has become a repository for ... well, you name it, it's probably lurking in there. Some day soon it's to have a complete makeover. Outside and in.

You see what I mean.

For all the details on the Snoopfest we call WOYWW, call in at Julia's Stamping Ground blog.

Sunday Stampers 115

Yep, it is Tuesday, but I am still catching up. For quite a few weeks I've intended to do Hels' Sunday Stamper Challenge, but kept running out of time. Now music is one of the essentials in my life, and I do enjoy getting inky in the name of music, so how could I not this week, given that we can still play up until Saturday. Hels has produced a stunner to get the ball rolling.

My tag is made of grungeboard. I recently did the Shabby Chic technique from Tim's Compendium, and had a couple of extra pieces of g. board all painted up ready to roll. This one was painted with raw umber and and I shabbied it up (or should that be 'down') with antique cream acrylic and a few touches of Frayed Burlap DI. The flower was also cut from g. board (supplies recently replenished) with an Alterations die, stamped with the Crafty Inds. music stamp, as is the background of the tag, and coloured with Frayed Burlap, as is the Prima flower which I've also painted with Frayed Burplap Stickles. Couldn't resist a couple of smidges of that lovely tape with the musical notes on it.

I do love g. board. Have seen people turn up their noses at the smell, but I think a good sniff is part of the process of working with it. Nice leathery smell, but it does wear off with time.

May do a bit more with this. Maybe distress the edges. I consider myself now in training for a card and a tag for a music loving friend who has a big birthday coming up.

WOYWW 61

Just sneaked in to grab a shot of my workspace for Julia's Stamping Ground weekly Extravaganza of Snooping, when I disturbed little hooligan in butter-wouldn't-melt snooze mode, so had to snap her too.

On to the desk. Well, it still has the remnants of the materials used in my Compendium Challenge buried under the stuff I used to produce the thank-you card which I made from my attempt at a masterboard. On my lovely WOYWW easel at the back of the table is something that didn't work out to my satisfaction, but I've left it there because I want to have another go. Last week some of you asked about the turquoise blobs on my desk. This blob is an empty Gaviscon container, and because they have secure attached lids, they are excellent as water containers to use when painting. In fact not just excellent, but essential when you have a little hooligan contantly clambering over your work space, or launching herself on to it from a great height.

Compendium Challenge Week 8

I'm finding that each week I really look forward to finding out which challenge Linda at Studio L3 has set us from Tim Holtz' Compendium of Curiosities, and to having a go at the new challenge, and seeing what all the others have created. This week it's page 39 - Inking Grunge.

Some time ago I made a watch strap from Grungeboard. Sheila Douglass did it on TV, and attributed the original idea to Tim Holtz. I used paint and stamping to decorate that strap, but it's a little bit worn now, so I decided it was time to make a new one, and that Inking Grunge was to be the way to decorate it.

I chose Broken China because quite a lot of my summer clothes seem to be in shades of turquoise; and I used Vintage Photo on the edges. The watch is just a cheapie from the supermarket.