Simon Says Stamp and Show .... a word

My choice of word for this week's Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge is Spring. It had to be - as the sun is shining and the first daffs are out, and leaves are sprouting on the shrubs and hedges. Mother Nature is warning us not to get too carried away as it's not as warm outdoors as the bright sunshine would have you believe when you're looking out the window.

For this challenge my first thought was to get out my Elusive Images daffodil stamps, and I just had to have a serious play with my new Distress Stains. I'd read that they give you more control of the colour, but I have to say that I wasn't sure what they would do that re-inker and a paintbrush can already do. However, at the Stitch and Craft show at Olympia on Saturday I saw the new Stains at a very good price (£3.99), and of course I just had to try them out as Distress Inks are my absolute favourite of all the colour mediums I use (and I have quite a few !) On first playing with them on scrap paper I did find that they seemed to be rather uncontrollable, and that the colour came out a bit too quickly. This time I was a bit more tentative with the ink flow, and really enjoyed using them, and am looking forward to experimenting further.

I stamped the tag with the daffie stamp in Versamark and embossed with clear detail powder. Then I rubbed on the stain in Antique Linen, Broken China and Peeled Paint, spritzed with water and dried with the heat gun. I'd covered the daffs with Antique Linen and they looked quite pale, so I squirted some Daffodil Glimmer Mist on them. I added some more Peeled Paint on top of the stalks. My 'ribbon' is some white cotton tape coloured with Mustard Seed re-inker, smudged with Antique Linen Stain and stamped with Black Archival.

So I have to say, I loved playing with the Stains, and am off try try to see what other tricks they can do. Perhaps some interesting splosh effects !

WOYWW 93

Yesterday was MOT and service day for the old jalopy, so, afraid that I wouldn't hear from upstairs the phone ringing with the dreaded call about how many arms and legs it was going to cost, I decamped to the kitchen to have a very enjoyable craft day putting together a new circle journal ready for this week's Stamp Club meeting.

When I got up this morning this was the sight that greeted me on the kitchen table. Quite a jumble of stuff. Part of the circle journal is lying on the box just to the left.

A closer look. I've used my favourite Graphic 45 papers for most of it. I've done both covers, inside covers, the first page and last page, and some tags for contributors to sign. This is page 1. The cover is on a nearby shelf waiting for the Crackle Accents to dry. I've done some of the stamping and embellishing, but there's still quite a bit to do. Will post more later. It's called 'Inspiration' and I will be asking contributors to use their favourite materials and just go where their inspiration takes them and include at least one quote which is inspirational for them. I'm using my favourite papers, inks, paints, stamps and embellishments with a steampunky sort of a feel .

And of course there's the overspill on the floor.

And yes, jalopy did cost me an arm and a leg. I think we will have to part company before the next MOT !

For the keys to the doors of more craftrooms than you could shake a stick at, call round at Julia's Stamping Ground blog.

CCC 35 - Design Details

Well, here we are at week 35 of the Compendium of Curiosities challenges, and we've done all 35 of the techniques. So I decided that this piece has to be a little bit celebratory. Therefore, out comes the bunting and the gooey cakes. The star is for Linda of Studio L3 who has organised this genius challenge. The star is also for all the people who have joined in and shown us such a wealth of inspiring creativity, for the people who have donated the prizes, and of course, the compendium creator, Tim. And the heart to say how much I've loved these challenges, and seeing what others have done.

Materials used: TSS silver metal passed through the Big Shot in a TH embossing folder, and dabbed with Antique White and Dusky Pink Kaisercolour paint; TH paper; and Molly Bloom stamps from a new magazine called Simply Homemade.

Thanks so much Linda for all the fun you've given us. Can't wait to find out what is in store for us next week !

CCC 34 - Dimensional Collage Fragments

I've been wondering what they did with January and February as these two months seem to have whizzed past in the blink of an eye. Ditto the thirty four Compendium of Curiosities Challenges set by Linda at her Studio L3 blog. This week we are working from page 63 of said book. Only one more technique for us to try. Thank you, Linda, for keeping us inking and cutting and painting and sticking, and to all the participants for letting us see such wonderful examples of the techniques. It has been such fun. I'm so pleased to have done all thirty four and am ready for number thirty five.

This time I've had DIs, clear embossing powder and old French dictionary pages out again for my background, and used Wendy Vecchi stamps. The collage bits from a Tim paper stack.

EDOW (Easily Distracted on Wednesdays) ... or any other day

In a previous post I mentioned having done a 'Serendipity' evening at our local stamp club. That was when we used lots of our scraps of card and paper to make a kind of masterboard which we then went on to stamp and embellish to use on cards, ATCs and other projects. Most of us in fact spent most of the evening just doing the masterboard bit. So I brought home several sheets to play with. However, I've only just got around to trying to use them, and on my desk today are two pieces I've cut with a jigsaw die ready to use on cards. To the left is another piece I've already started to cut to make ATCs. In the middle is a little heap of stamps I've been using recently. If you are reading this post, chances are you got here via Julia's Stamping Ground blog where you will get directions to visit other Wednesday workdesks.

I would have posted this earlier, but succumbed to yet another distraction. As I was loading my photo, She-who-must-be-obeyed started miauling loudly and insistently. She wanted to get into the shower room (one of the few rooms in the house that she hasn't managed to open the door to herself). I always leave a bowl of water in there for her. She likes to drink in different places around the house. Dripping taps are especially attractive, and I always leave the loo cover closed - just in case. Anyway, here she is asking , no demanding that the door be opened.

As I took the photo I noticed that the lovely sunshine outside was casting a pretty shadow of the climbing rose just outside on to the shower room door, and the next time I looked I saw that Daisby was bird-watching from the window !

What distracted me from using my Serendipity masterboard was the need to make some ATCs and to use my new Oxford Impressions stamp set.

And then Tim Holtz came on telly last week and distracted me from the new stamp set, and made me get out my bright coloured alcohol inks and embossing folders to play with.

And I had quite a few sessions with these. Stamps: Tim Holtz, Lily of the Valley, Dyan Reaveley, Sheena Douglass, Crafty Individuals and Crafty Secrets.

And of course now all of this is distracting me from what I really should be doing on this lovely sunny afternooon - a spot of gardening in the company of the snowdrops, crocuses and irises that are now hinting that Spring may be around the corner.

CCC 33 - Altered Metal Alcohol Inks

This is week 33 of the Compendium of Curiosities Challenge organised by Linda of Studio L3. It's Altered Metal Alcohol Inks as shown on page 56 of the book. As frequently happens, I found myself getting a bit carried away in my use of the required materials - in this case, alcohol inks. I had been watching Tim on TV on Tuesday, and loved the bright colours of the AIs he had chosen. And of course, he was also working with embossing folders on the Vagabond. So my background is white glossy card coloured with Red Pepper, Sailboat Blue, Sunset Orange, Clover and Gold Mixative and passed through the Big Shot with the Gem Flourish embossing folder. The embossing is highlighted with Inka Gold. The metal strip is from a Tim embossing folder and I've used the same AIs. The die-cut ticket, the metal flower and the grungeboard D are coloured with Red Pepper. The D is coated with Glossy Accents. Stamps are Oxford Impressions and Lily of the Valley.

I had planned to do more in the same vein - some ATCs, and to make a start on a new circle journal, but have lost all concentration. The troubles in Libya are disturbing: to see so much violence reported in the news; so many people living in fear. Then the earthquake in New Zealand. For the past ten years or so I have exchanged family history information with a third cousin once removed in NZ. We got to know one another, not in person, but via email, through our research. As soon as I learned where the earthquake had struck, I feared for her safety and had to email to make sure that all was well. Thankfully she and her family are safe and well, but their house is destroyed and they have lost everything. I can't begin to imagine the trauma people are suffering - those directly caught up in the disaster, those waiting for news of loved ones, and those whose homes are rubble. As always happens there are those who step up to the mark to help and care for those who are suffering. I just give thanks for these people and for all the things I normally take for granted.

CCC 32 - Inking and Stamping Masks and a Little Bit of This and That

I seem to have neglected the blog a bit this past week. Not that I haven't been busy with inks and paints. It's just that I don't seem to have had time to post anything. Last weekend I went to a couple of water colour workshops which were great fun. Of course we used DIs - pads and reinkers - as our water colours. Since then I've made lots of pieces which I've made into cards. This one uses resist/batik and tonal washes in Broken China.

Another memorable event since my last post was a trip to London to attend the Service of Thanksgiving for the life of Dame Joan Sutherland at Westminster Abbey. Some of the most moving moments were when recordings of Dame Joan singing 'Let the Bright Seraphim' and 'Casta Diva' were played in the Abbey.

After the service was over we took some time to walk around the Abbey as it had been some years since we had last visited. Here staff are tidying up the altar area and preparing to snuff out the candles.

The Great West Door where everyone entered and left the Abbey.

This week was also our local Stamp Club where the theme was Serendipity - using up all our little scraps, so a lot of work went into that - which I will post when I have more finished pieces.

And last, but certainly not least, this week is the Compendium Challenge. Linda at Studio L3 set us page 59 - inking and stamping masks. For the technique see Tim's book, and for lots of lovely examples call in at Linda's. Here I used Bundled Sage, Stormy Skies, Forest Moss and Walnut Stain, and stamps by Tim and The Artistic Stamper.