Those Crazy Birds!!!

...uh-oh!  It has happened!  Yes, I have succumbed to the lure of the Crazy Birds!   Last week I spent a couple of days at the NEC on the Craft Obsessions stand having a ball playing with all things Distress, Gelato's and Tim stamps and stencils.  Thank you to all who popped by to see me, it was lovely to put names to faces and to see your enthusiasm for all things inky and messy too.  Also a big thank you to Brenda and David for putting up with me too!   So.  These birds.  They have accessories!  So you can dress them up! All of a sudden I "got" them... I mean, come on, who wouldn't want to put bunny ears on a bird right?  Anyways, here are two of the samples I made during the show... First up is Mr Painter Bird and his mate who is looking rather jealous of Painter's rather splendid brush in his chops. This was dead easy to make... Spritz Distress Spray onto card, blow like billio *yes, I nearly hyperventilated* dry, spritz another colour, repeat with the blow like billio *stop for much needed oxygen hit* and then stamp, die cut and colour all the components.  The brush is just soooo cute isn't it?  Well, Brenda saw this sample and said... you could use the bristles to make a moustache!  Hey! What a grand idea!!! 

However, with this second card I got thoroughly carried away and instead of a moustache... he has... a flat top!!!  This little fella is all about the Gelato's.  The background is Gelato blending through a few stencils and he is painted in with them... check out his jazzy bow tie too... that's using the metallic Gelato's.

Right, that's me for today... I am about to set off to Preston for my class tomorrow at Inspirations... I am not looking forward to the M6..... hope it isn't toooooo busy!  Ha, who am I kidding!!!   Thanks for looking and have a great day!  TTFN

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 366 - Imagine

Goooodly Morning Stampers and a very happy  Sunday to you all!  Thanks for your entries into the last challenge... it was nice to see some new peeps entering too, so thank you!  This week is a nice easy theme... just use the word IMAGINE.   To join in with the challenge is simples: make a little something; a card, canvas, ATC, a piece of altered art... the choice.. it be yours! Add in some stamping and then hop back here, leave me a comment with a link to the place you are showing your entry and I can come see you.   If you haven't got a blog, you can join in via Facebook (just tag me name) or by emailing a small res.pic to me or by leaving me a link to your Pinterest or any other photo hosting site.  The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 21st November 2015.

My entry this week is a class sample from a few weeks ago.  As you all know, I loves Distress and especially Distress Paints... I love the freedom they give me to smoosh the colours around a project.  I used Mowed Lawn, Mermaid Lagoon, Broken China and Cracked Pistachio Distress Paints on this project... there's Ranger's Texture Paste on there too under the paints, smooshed on thru Tim's Flourish Layering Stencil... I used my magic little Stabilo All pencil to add shading around the stencilling to make it pop from the background a bit.

The decoration is made using Tim's Perspective butterfly, stamped three times, cut out so it is smaller with each layer and coloured with Cracked Pistachio, Twisted Citron and Spiced Marmalade.   I added buttons, pearls and little star gems which I coloured with Treasure Gold so they were metallic rather than just being any old colour.  I also used the Ornate Frame die, Tim's new Sprig punch (this is FAB) and Tim's Mixed Media diecuts on the canvas and the words is formed of letter from his Alphabet Thinlets dies.   Around the edge of the canvas I did my usual two tone look - I know, I do this all the time but I like the look of it!

That's all for today... I hope you have a cracking day whatever you have planned... thanks for looking and... TTFN

Hels x

Just Crazy 'Bout The Birds...

...I love this particular time of the year as it means it is the NEC Hobbycraft show and once again, I have the pleasure of demo-ing for the lovely Brenda and David from Craft Obsessions on their stand.  I have been shopping with Craft Obsessions since I first discovered, with huge thanks to my then new friend and now BFF Andrea, that there were such things as craft shops on yonder t'internet!!!  Fancy that!!!   This was in 2006 I hasten to add - I might be a bit of a div with all things teckernerolgicals but I certainly know how to add stuff to a basket ;O))    If you haven't visited Craft Obsessions before (where have you been!!!) HERE is the linky to the shop... just a little word of warning tho... there is a tonne of gorgeousness there and you will be tempted *don't say I didn't warn thee!*

Anyways, yesterday and tomorrow (7th November) I am demoing again for David and Brenda (stand E20) and have been playing with lots of lovely stuff... including all things Distress and... Gelato's.  Now I haven't used these before so I gave myself a good long sesh playing with them and coming up with different ways to use them and effects to achieve with them.  I admit when I first started playing I did think they were a bit, well, ummm odd... they look like a lipstick, feel like wax and yet will dilute with water!  Once I had got my bonce around that I was well away... and I loves them now!  I have even been mixing them with Distress, combining two completely different products together is fun!

Gelato's background and colouring for butterfly with Distress Ink edges

As well as the inky side of things, I have also been let loose with the Bird Crazy stamps, accessories and dies... oh ho ho!  I had said to Brenda that I wasn't going to use them... nope, not going to... didn't even really like them! Ummmm... I am the first to admit when I am wrong and yes, I was wrong!  THEY ARE SO CUTE!!!!  As are the little accessory stamps that have been designed to go with the birdys so you can... DRESS THEM UP!!!!   As soon as I saw the bunny ears and the specs I knew I was lost!  This card has been made with a mix of Distress and Gelato's and the left hand bird has been togged up to look a little bit like a 1970's tv detective *obviously I have seen said detective progs on UK Gold, faaar too young to remember them.... ahem*  And his compadre on the right is a bit of a divvy with his bunny ears and hanging around upside down... but he loves his little detective matie... we all have that one friend, right?  *mm, usually me*

So, if you are going to be at the NEC tomorrow (Saturday) please do pop by to the Craft Obsessions stand... it would be grand to see you there.   I shall away now... I have the Sunday Stamper post to schedule now... I am away off to South Shields really early on Sunday so I need to get organised (for once).    Have a goodly weekend peeps... thanks for looking... TTFN!

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 365 - Freedom

Goooodly Morning Stampers and a very happy  Sunday to you all!  Thanks for your entries into the last challenge... sorry I have been hit and miss with the posting of the challenge... I have decided that the Sunday Stamper will now be a fortnightly challenge, that gives me more time in between to visit you all and make the next theme!!!  To start the new regime, I have decided a lovely easy theme... and it is FREE.   To join in with the challenge is simples: make a little something; a card, canvas, ATC, a piece of altered art... the choice.. it be yours! Add in some stamping and then hop back here, leave me a comment with a link to the place you are showing your entry and I can come see you.   If you haven't got a blog, you can join in via Facebook (just tag me name) or by emailing a small res.pic to me or by leaving me a link to your Pinterest or any other photo hosting site.  The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 7th November 2015.

I have been playing with some new stamps... from Carabelle Studio... isn't this birdy just the most delish fella!!!  All the detailing on his feathers and the look on his face, it just appealed to me!  I made an inky background on the tag by blending Wild Honey, Rusty Hinge and Ground Espresso Distress Inks onto the tag and then lightly spritzing a patch of it with water.  I popped a stencil over the top of the tag and misted it with water, removing the stencil carefully, leaving the water to do its magic with the ink and leaving little bleached shapes behind... I love this technique.

I added some more stencilling using Tim's Blossom stencil and Ground Espresso ink across the top of the tag and then set about decorating it... Mr Birdy is stamped onto cream card, cut out and then coloured with Antique Linen and Ground Espresso ink and popped onto 3d foam to raise him up a bit.  The little flowers are Tim's Tiny Tattered Florals... how cute are these!!! Fiddly but soooo cute!!!  I added the word which is another of Tim's diecuts... and then edged around the tag with more Ground Espresso so I had a nice framed finish to it.

That's all for today... I am scheduling this post as I am away to sunny Sheffield first thing for a class... I will hopefully get time during the week to pop pics of the class on here.   Hope you having a great day and thanks for looking!  TTFN

Hels x

Feeling A Little Wilted... Violet!

... I dunno, I turn me back for five minutes and three weeks has whizzed past!  I have been busy playing with some of the new Distress Ink colours that have now arrived in the Room of Stash... I have been longing for a proper grey colour in the range for about 381 years and finally my wish is fulfilled with Hickory Smoke.  I know it has been out since June but I have only just managed to get me mitts on it!  Of course, it would be rude not to give Wilted Violet a new home too...

I made a nice inky background using both these colours in Distress Paints... I love the smooshyness of a Distress Paint and the fact that the colour co-ordinate perfectly with the inks is a bonus too.  Once the background was dry, I used two different Layering Stencils to add Hickory Smoke and Wilted Violet ink over the background for a little added interest.  How gorgeous is that stamp???  It is from Carabelle Studio and is my new fave so expect to see it on everything :O))  I stamped using Jet Black Archival and then stamped again onto cream card and cut out a few of the butterflies, coloured them and then added little twists of rusty wire for bodies.  The tag is not quite finished as it needs a tonne of embellies adding to it but you get the gist!

I will be back tomorrow with a new Sunday Stamper theme.... I have decided that my hit and miss approach to the Sunday Stamper needs to stop and I need to get back to being regular with it... so from tomorrow onwards, it will be a fortnightly challenge... that way I have no excuse to miss a week!  My Mojo is still lurking somewhere on the boundaries of my periferal vision... I am hoping that a good clean and tidy of the Room of Stash next week will prompt some inky action!  Watch this space!  Thanks for looking... hope you are having a grand weekend.  TTFN

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 364 - Forever Autumn

Goooodly Morning Stampers and a very happy Autumnal Sunday to you all!  Thanks for your entries into the last challenge... and apologies for missing a week... time got away with me last weekend and before I knew it it was yesterday!!!  This week the theme is... AUTUMN.   To join in with the challenge is simples: make a little something; a card, canvas, ATC, a piece of altered art... the choice.. it be yours! Add in the theme AND some stamping. Then hop back here, leave me a comment with a link to the place you are showing your entry and I can come see you.   If you haven't got a blog, you can join in via Facebook (just tag me name) or by emailing a small res.pic to me or by leaving me a link to your Pinterest or any other photo hosting site.  The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 10th October 2015.

My entry this week is a tag I made yesterday during my demo day at Daisy's Jewels in Coventry.  I had a lovely time - thank you to all the ladies who came along to see me getting my paws inky too.
 

The base of the tag has Fossilized Amber, Rusty Hinge and a smidge of Ground Espresso DI blended onto it.... I then did a bit of stencilling using Tim's Argyle stencil and Fossilized Amber and then popped Tim's Blossom stencil over the top and used Ground Espresso to add some more detail.  The decoration is teensy flowers made using the Teensy Tattered Florals dies... how cute are these!!!  I thought they would be a right faff to put together but Tim has cleverly added a quilling tool into the die pack so it was a doddle... and aren't they just so sweet!!!  But where is the stamping???  Aha!  See the top right and bottom left?  There is a grungy little detail there using a Carabelle stamp - I have just discovered this range of stamps (I know, I live under a rock...) and I have to say I am in lurves!! They are delish and on white rubber too....  I think I can see a new addiction appearing!

I shall away now... I am just heading off for a class back at Daisy's... all things Melt Pottery today!  I will be back either tomorrow or Tuesday with a little bit of news... a new arrival in the Sheridan family and I can't wait to share him with you!   On that bombshell I shall say... have a grand day... thanks for looking and... TTFN!

Hels x

Blink....

....and you miss it!!!   Miss what???  Time!!! That's what!!!  I cannot believe that I haven't blogged for over a month!!!  How very remiss!!!  Right, that is enough with the exclamation marks and time for me to offer sincere apologies for neglecting my poor old blog and you lovely dear readers.  I have a few reasons... firstly, as I mentioned a few weeks (ok, months) ago, my Alf hasn't been very well and whilst the medication he was taking was helping, the *whispers* v e t advised that surgery would be the best for him.  So, he went ahead and his left thyroid gland removed three weeks ago.  I am pleased to report that he seems to be back to normal - actually, the moment I opened his box after bringing home from his surgery, he was like "back to normal"... he is a little soldier bless him.  He is due blood tests next week to check thyroid levels and all being well, they will come back normal.

My other excuse... well, apart from still not being completely 100% in myself (I am kind of used to it now and am learning to cope and get on with things normally) my chuffing Mojo went and chuffed off... I know he has gone walkabout in the past... but never for this long!!!  I was looking back through my photo's on the laptop earlier and noted that it actually beetled off around April time!!!  Anyways, I have been staring whistfully into the Room of Stash every morning in the vain hope that the old git Mojo would have come home... but nope, no sign of him.  Until this morning!!!  Oh yesh, I awoke early and as I was passing by the Room of Stash I glanced in and spotted a nearly finished project that I taught at Crafty Corner at the beginning of July.  And just behind said project was the top of Mojo's ears poking out!  So, I grabbed him, chained him to my desk, whacked a couple of nails through his ears for goodly measure and set about finishing off a few projects!

I actually made a whole project too.. and guess what?  I just scheduled it as the Sunday Stamper for next week!  I did have a bit of fun.. ok, a lot of fun... making it!  In the meantime I am showing you my now finished project from my Around the Block class.  And funnily enough, I am back at Crafty Corner again tomorrow!  This piece is a 3 x 4 x 2 block of wood, painted, inked, stamped and generally altered.... I do love playing with blocks of wood you know... I want to do a whole set of wooden blocks in different shapes and sizes to make my own little street... see, Mojo is most deffo back in the Room of Stash!  HURRAH!  I was really worried, I will admit, that he had gone forever and I was going to be left just staring at ink and paper and stamps and wondering what happened!

Anyways, I shall away... tis nearly bedtime as I am up at stoopid o'clock for my trip up North... thanks for looking... hope you are all keeping well and having lots of inky fun!  TTFN

Hels x

Curiously Monoprint...

Gooooodly Morning to all you lovely Compendium-ers!  Today sees the start of the very last Compendium of Curiosities 3 Challenge *sad face*.  To see all the details on how to join in with the challenge, CLICK HERE.  Also, if you pop across to Linda's blog, you will see all gorgeous creations that my talented teamies on the Curiosity Crew have made... they never cease to amaze me with their inspirational ideas and art!   The challenge is sponsored by the Funkie Junkie Boutique this time... so you will have a chance of winning a very generous Gift Certificate to spend there.  Tim & Mario have, as ever, very kindly donated goodies for an extra prize... which will be awarded to the "Curiosity Crew's Choice"... so you have two chances of winning fabby prizes!  If you haven't got your Compendium book just yet, you can order a signed copy directly from the man himself... HERE.  And... Linda has also done a FAQ page for you.. HERE it is... all the info you will need is listed there.   This week we are turning to Page 48 of the book and trying out the Layering Stencils Monoprint technique.  As ever with the Compendium Challenge, neither I, nor the Curiosity Crew, will be posting the technique instructions and participants must not do so either. We all want to encourage people to buy Tim's awesome book; giving away the instructions wouldn’t be fair to him. Linda will have no choice but to un-link any entries that don’t follow this rule.  

I absolutely LOVE this technique and had much fun playing and using different colours.. so much so, I was in a quandry which tag to choose to show you!  I plumped for this one as it is lovely and bright and uses my fave stencil... the Flourish one.  As ever, it is a tag I am offering and yes, there be little snippets of my harlequin stamp on there... well, it is the last challenge of the book so I had to use it!

I chose Distress Inks and used Twisted Citron, Fossilized Amber, Picked Raspberry and Mermaid Lagoon for the technique.  I decided to keep the embellies simple... then got all over excited and started layering up paper flowers, colouring Idea-ology Foliage with Distress Paint and generally going for it instead of keeping it simple.  Well, I do find it really hard to leave the embellies off... and it is the last challenge so it would be rude not to... right?

I just want to say a mahooosive thank you to Linda for organising these fab challenges... and to my lovely teamies on the Curiosity Crew, it has been a magnificent 34 weeks working alongside them... and I am still so honoured to have been asked to take part in the challenges.  Also, thank you to each and everyone of you who has left me comments... and to everyone who has joined in with the challenges each time - it has been great to see all your fab interpretations of the techniques and themes.  Don't forget, you have two whole weeks to enter the challenge... and a bat at the chance of grabbing the Crew's Choice prize which is a mahooosive haul of stash donated personally by Tim & Mario... so if you are joining in, remember to comment on all the Crew's blogs and you will be in with a chance of winning that too *believe me, this is one gigantic pile of goodies*!  Thanks for looking, have an inky and inspirational day!  TTFN

Hels x

Curiously Altered...

Gooooodly Morning to all you lovely Compendium-ers!  Today sees the start of another brand new Compendium of Curiosities 3 Challenge.  To see all the details on how to join in with the challenge, CLICK HERE.  Also, if you pop across to Linda's blog, you will see all gorgeous creations that my talented teamies on the Curiosity Crew have made... they never cease to amaze me with their inspirational ideas and art!   The challenge is sponsored by the Inspiration Emporium this time... so you will have a chance of winning a very generous Gift Certificate to spend there.  Tim & Mario have, as ever, very kindly donated goodies for an extra prize... which will be awarded to the "Curiosity Crew's Choice"... so you have two chances of winning fabby prizes!  If you haven't got your Compendium book just yet, you can order a signed copy directly from the man himself... HERE.  And... Linda has also done a FAQ page for you.. HERE it is... all the info you will need is listed there.   This week we are turning to Page 45 of the book and trying out the Altered Surfaces technique.  As ever with the Compendium Challenge, neither I, nor the Curiosity Crew, will be posting the technique instructions and participants must not do so either. We all want to encourage people to buy Tim's awesome book; giving away the instructions wouldn’t be fair to him. Linda will have no choice but to un-link any entries that don’t follow this rule.  

I had much fun playing with this technique.  I made *another* tag for my collection.  This one started off with a piece of Tim's Correspondance papers laid over the tag and stuck down with Glue & Seal.  I wanted the paper to be more in the background so I knocked it back with a wash of Antique Linen Distress Paint, watered down and applied with Cut & Dry foam... this lets the pattern still show but not as brightly.  I edged the tag with Walnut Stain DI just to age it up a bit.  Of course, there has to be some stamping so I used my little harlequin stamp and Jet Black Archival ink.

I used Tim's Flourish Stencil and Wendy's Black Embossing Paste... then sprinkling Ranger's Queen's Gold embossing powder over the embossing paste.  Once the paste had dried, I heated up the embossing powders so they melted onto the textured surface.  I love this technique!  The heart is sticky back canvas stuck to Grungeboard, die cut using a Movers & Shapers heart, sprayed with Fired Brick Distress Spray Stain and then wrapped with a bit of rusty wire.  I added on my "altered surfaces" and a bit of flower trim and voila, finished!

Don't forget, you have two whole weeks to enter the challenge... and a bat at the chance of grabbing the Crew's Choice prize which is a mahooosive haul of stash donated personally by Tim & Mario... so if you are joining in, remember to comment on all the Crew's blogs and you will be in with a chance of winning that too *believe me, this is one gigantic pile of goodies*!  Thanks for looking, have an inky and inspirational day!  TTFN

Hels x

It's Been A Long Time!

...indeedily it has!   What with one thing and another, my poor old blog has been neglected but hopefully things are starting to gain some equilibrium now and I can start to get back to normal service.  Thank you for thinking of me and Grim and for you safe wishes for us.  We are safely back from holibobs - what an amazing adventure we had - and thankfully weren't caught up in the horror in Sousse.  It would be remiss of me not to mention that my heart goes out to all those who were involved in that mindless atrocity.

I have had a few things going on of late - personal stuff, health stuff... not only my health but also my AlfieCat who has become ill recently, that has been most worrying as you can imagine.  He is now on medication and, fingers crossed very tightly, seems to be responding to the treatment.  He needs to have more tests with the *whispers* V E T next week and all being well they will bring goodly news for us all.

With all that going on I haven't really had chance to catch up or to get into the Room of Stash.  The canvas I am showing you here is one I made in class at the end of May (yes, I am that far behind!) and also... is inspired by my canvas I did for Craft Stamper which hit the shelves last Friday.  It is so nice to be back in the magazine!  HERE's a linky to the Craft Stamper blog where you can find details of the new challenge and other fun stuff too.

I shall away now... my Room looks like Miss Haversham's dining room... knee deep in dust and cobwebs and looking ever so slightly neglected... I need to get tidied up and clean up and then I can get inky!  Thanks for looking.. have a grand evening.  TTFN

Hels x

Fly Free....

...I know, don't all pass out... I am blogging for the third time this week! Yikes!  Does this mean I am finally catching up on stuff I have been letting slip???  Hopefully!!!  Anyways... here is today's offering:  last month I did a demo weekend over at Daisy's Jewels in Coventry and was concentrating on all things Tim and Ranger.  I used a big Size 12 Ranger Manila tag for the base of my creation....

Using Distress Paints: Scattered Straw, Antique Linen and Frayed Burlap, mixed and marbled for the background coverage, I then used Tim's Blossom Layering Stencil and added Vintage Photo Distress Ink over the stencil and around the edges of the tag to add a bit of vintageness.

The rose is made from Tim's Jumbo Tattered Florals die... this is a big beauty.. around 5" in size... wow!  I added in a few leaves and some Winter Greens and then die cut the letters from Tim's new Alphabet Thinlets dies... A few bits of the new Mixed Media Thinlets in black card to add a bit of definition for the design and a few little butterflies from Tim's Watercolor stamp set, these were stamped onto card I coloured with Distress Paints and I added little twists of rusty wire for the bodies.  Voila, one finished jumbo tag!

I shall away now... I have a tonne of things to do before my weekend trip to... Scotland!  Oh yesh, my very first visit to teach in Bonnie Scotland at The Papeterie... I am really excited and so looking forward to visiting... I am rather keeping my fingers x'd that there will be a square sausage for breakfast one morning ;o))  *yes, always about the food!*     Thanks for looking.. have a great evening!  TTFN

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 357 - All Kinds of Everything

Goooodly Morning Stampers and a very happy Sunday to you all!  Many thanks for all your recent entries to the challenge and apologies for the blip last week... all is back to normal now tho!  The song title is a nod to last night's Eurovision.  The new theme this week is a nice easy one... FREE THEME.  You can make absolutely anything you fancy, no theme... just add a smidge of stamping!   To join in with the challenge is simples: make a little something, it can be anything you fancy.  Add in the theme AND some stamping *this is THE important bit guys, please remember your rubberstamps!*  and then hop back here, leave me a comment with a link to the place you are showing your entry and I can come see you.   If you haven't got a blog, you can join in via Facebook (just tag me name) or by emailing a small res.pic to me or by leaving me a link to your Pinterest or any other photo hosting site.  The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 30th May 2015.

So, as I mentioned yesterday, I have been a bit busy with my houseguest Ellen this last week and we have been spending most of the time yakking or visiting places... we spent a delightful long weekend in Yorkshire and I initiated Ellen into the "Proper Northern Fish n Chip club"... they went down a treat... twice!  Well, when in Yorkshire and all that!

My entry this week is a class sample I put together... it is a 5 x 7" wooden frame, altered with paint and Distress Ink... the insert is inked, stamped, stencilled and die cuts were added... and of course, Mr Butterfly had to make another appearance!  He is just so lovely to use I cannot seem to resist him!

I shall away now... tis time for me to take Ellen back to Heathrow so she can begin her journey back home - I can't believe how quickly the past ten days have gone... blink and you miss it kind of thing!   Thanks for looking... I will be around to visit all who entered into the last few challenges this coming week... have a goodly day!  TTFN

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 356 - Top Of The World

Goooodly Morning Stampers and a very happy Sunday to you all!  Thanks for your grand entries for the last challenge - it has been "one of those weeks" so I am planning massive catch up to visit you all tomorrow!  The new theme this week is... MAKE A TOPPER.  You can interpret the challenge how you like: be it a topper for a card (as I have done) a topper for an invitation, a batch of toppers... the choice, it be yours!   To join in with the challenge is simples: make a little something, it can be anything you fancy.  Add in the theme AND some stamping *this is THE important bit guys, please remember your rubberstamps!*  and then hop back here, leave me a comment with a link to the place you are showing your entry and I can come see you.   If you haven't got a blog, you can join in via Facebook (just tag me name) or by emailing a small res.pic to me or by leaving me a link to your Pinterest or any other photo hosting site.  The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 16th May 2015.

I have a tendancy to be a bit last minute (you don't say) when it comes to making cards for peeps... so I decided recently that I would make a few "toppers" to keep in a stash so when it came around to the time I needed to send a card, instead of toddling off to the local card shop, I would be able to put some together super speedily!  Good idea?  Most of the toppers I have made are an ATC size so they fit perfectly onto a 6" square card (my preferred card size) but you can make yours any size you want! My background is Distress Sprays... the ickle crazy birdy was coloured using the same Sprays and a waterbrush to pick up the colour... and the word is actually nicked from a big old sentiment of Tim's...

Today's is a super speedy post as I am just about to set off to Hull for a Dabble Day at Craftique... I love it this time of year when it is daylight when I set off on my adventures.... oh and also happening today is the BTCC at Thruxton (thanks Mr ITV4 for letting me record it!) so obviously I need to say.... GO PLATO!  Thanks for looking... have a great day whatever you are doing.... TTFN!

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 354 - You Got A Friend

Goooodly Morning Stampers and a very happy Sunday to you all!  Thanks for your fabulous framed entries for last weeks challenge.  The new theme this week is... FRIENDS.  You can interpret the challenge how you like: be it a creation you have made for a friend, add a photo of a friend or, like I have done, the word "friends"... the choice, it be yours!   To join in with the challenge is simples: make a little something, it can be anything you fancy.  Add in the theme AND some stamping *this is THE important bit guys, please remember your rubberstamps!*  and then hop back here, leave me a comment with a link to the place you are showing your entry and I can come see you.   If you haven't got a blog, you can join in via Facebook (just tag me name) or by emailing a small res.pic to me or by leaving me a link to your Pinterest or any other photo hosting site.  The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 25th April 2015.  

This weekend I am demo-ing at Daisy's Jewels and Crafts in Coventry along with the Pauline Wheeler and Johnathan Lockwood.... if you are around today, do pop in to see us - entry is free and I can guarantee you will learn tonnes of new stuff. *not to mention see all the gorgeous stashly goodies Wendy has in her shop!*  I am doing my thang with all things Ranger, Distress and Tim (it's a hard job right?)  And yesterday I made a fair few tags... being as I am slack and slatternly of persuasion, I hadn't made the Sunday Stamper so picked this tag as my entry.

Finally I have managed to get my very inky paws on the Bird Crazy stamp set by Tim.... hurrah! This is even better IRL!  And they are SO fun to use.  The background is Distress Spray Stains all smooshed and washy with a smidge of stencilling and, of course, the little sentiment to go with the birdies... another of Tim's from his Way With Words set.

I had better get a wiggle on, nearly time for me to attempt the "taming of the barnet" and the "resuscitation of the face" as it would appear that Mr Gorilla With The Extra Stength Hair Gel and Mr Troll With The Sink Plunger, who live under my bed and come out on special occasions to work their magic with my appearance, have... um... done just that overnight!  Wish me luck!  If you do pop into see us at Daisy's, I will be the one in the corner looking a little bit strange (ok, stranger than usual!)  I shall also be avidly avoiding Facebook, Twitter and all manner of social media today as... tis the BTCC from Donington and we are recording the whole programme (ITV4, thankyou!) to watch this evening... but it would be very remiss of me not to shout... GO PLATO!   Hope you have a great day and... thanks for looking!  TTFN

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 351 - Fly Me To The Moon

Goooodly Morning Stampers and a very happy Sunday to you all!  Thanks for your great floral creations entered into last weeks challenge.  The new theme this week is... THINGS THAT FLY.  You can interpret the challenge how you like: add a flying thing, add the word fly ... the choice, it be yours!   To join in with the challenge is simples: make a little something, it can be anything you fancy.  Add in the theme AND some stamping *this is THE important bit guys, please remember your rubberstamps!*  and then hop back here, leave me a comment with a link to the place you are showing your entry and I can come see you.   If you haven't got a blog, you can join in via Facebook (just tag me name) or by emailing a small res.pic to me or by leaving me a link to your Pinterest or any other photo hosting site.  The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 4th April 2015.  

I've been faffing about with the new Distress Ink colours recently - having just taken delivery of Mermaid Lagoon (oh!la!la!) - anyone else got theirs yet?  You won't be disappointed if you haven't yet!   Anyways, new colours means time to see what other colours they marry up with.  And Cracked Pistachio, the January colour, works beautifully with Frayed Burlap... which just so happens to be my "go to" colour.

The background was created by spritzing Cracked Pistachio and Frayed Burlap Spray Stains and adding water to get a nice washy effect.  Once dried, I used Tim's Flourish Layering Stencil *um, yep, a fave of mine!* and blended Frayed Burlap DI over the top, just in patches, so it gives a cohesive look across the background.  I will never sicken of that butterfly - Tim's new Perspective stamp set - but I wanted him a bit smaller so I just cut into his wings, added more of the same DI's and bobbed a resin rose into the middle for his body.  He is sitting on a few paper flowers and some die cut "greenery" which didn't look right in green card, it needed to be black to drag it all together.  Also attached to the base is Tim's Lattice Mixed Media die, cut twice, cut out of its background and glue on... of course, a little bit of harlequin stamping has to find its way on there doesn't it!  And finally, the word... cut from Tim's new Alpha Thinlets.

That is all from me for today... I am away to Hessle to teach a Distress It book... lots of lovely "different" distress techniques... so it is inky time!   Thanks for looking, have a great day!  TTFN

Hels x

Bitsies and Bobsies...

...I've been having a little play with a few "leftovers" that have been lurking on my desk and popped a quick tag together.  The base of the tag came from a demo thingy I did a few weeks ago - Ranger's gorgeous Texture Paste through Tim's Flourish Layering Stencil and then a liberal spritz of Abandoned Coral, Frayed Burlap and Antique Linen Distress Spray Stains.  I love how the Texture Paste just sucks that colour up.

I had a bit of a destructive session a few weeks ago - butchering old tags from a few years ago that were just sitting, unloved, in the garage.  I nicked all the embellies off them and binned the base tags... and blimey, I have a box full of embellies to re-use.  The Idea-ology Foliage came off a tag I made in 2010!  I remember I had painted the Foliage with Traditional Tan paint and then scraped off the edgey bits to reveal the metal.  It got a bit bent as I was ripping it off its original home, but hey, that adds to the distressed look! 

The butterfly had been stamped a few weeks ago and coloured with Abandoned Coral and Aged Mahogany Sprays... I wasn't happy with it at the time so I chucked it to one side... but for this tag, perfect match colour wise!  I added an Idea-ology Lock with a Resin Rose to the centre... popped him onto an Industrious Sticker frame (which I changed the colour of with a smidge of Treasure Gold and Alcohol Ink) and I die cut the word (Tim's new thinlets) and popped that on with another couple of Resin Roses and voila, a leftovers tag finished.

That's all from me for today - I will be back tomorrow with a new CC3 challenge entry... wait til you see what we're playing with this week!  Thanks for looking, have a goodly day!

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 350 - You Don't Bring Me Flowers

Goooodly Morning Stampers and a very happy Sunday to you all!  Thanks for your great birdy creations entered into last weeks challenge.  The new theme this week is... FLOWERS.  You can interpret the challenge how you like: make some paper flowers, stamp some flowers, use flowery papers ... the choice, it be yours!   To join in with the challenge is simples: make a little something, it can be anything you fancy.  Add in the theme AND some stamping *this is THE important bit guys, please remember your rubberstamps!*  and then hop back here, leave me a comment with a link to the place you are showing your entry and I can come see you.   If you haven't got a blog, you can join in via Facebook (just tag me name) or by emailing a small res.pic to me or by leaving me a link to your Pinterest or any other photo hosting site.  The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 28th March 2015.  

For my entry this week I have altered a cheapo frame I picked up in B&Q (for the princely sum of £1.78)  It is a 6" x 8" insidey bit (can't think of the proper name - brain fog!) and started off as plain pale wood.   I started by lightly slapping a layer of black paint onto the frame and then sanding back to reveal some of the wood beneath.  Then a good rub of Vintage Photo Distress Ink and voila, one antiquey aged looking frame.  The insert is a piece of cream card, inked with Mustard Seed, Abandoned Coral and Wild Honey Distress Inks and stencilled with the same colours using Tim's Flourish Layering Stencil.  I die cut a couple of the lattice shapes from Tim's Mixed Media Thinlets using black card and cut the out, popped them onto the base card and then inked right around the edge with Vintage Photo just to add a bit of a vintage look to it.

For the decorations, I set about making a nice Ornate Frame - I popped some Ranger Foil onto card, die cut with Tim's Ornate Frame and then scribbled into it with a pointy tool and scootched the inside with a texture wheel.  Next up a slap of black paint to aged it ... wiped off whilst still a bit damp to it revealed the foil underneath.  I then used Hazelnut Alcohol Ink to add a brown tone, once that was dry, I sanded it really lightly to reveal smidges of the metal below.  The stamped sentiment is one of my faves from The Wendy Vecchi (btw, it is NEARLY August, which means NEARLY time to go to her class in London!  I cannot WAIT!)  The flowers are from Tim's new Flower Garden Stamp set - which is what my Alfie bought me for Mother's Day, isn't he a little sausage? Bless him!  Clever kitty!  They were coloured with the same DI's and a waterbrush to achieve a washy effect.  The photo's are really saturated with colour for some reason (um, my rubbish photography skills probably!) but IRL they are much prettier.  Finally I made a Paula Bow and popped a resin rose in the middle to finish.

I haven't been too clever again this week... hence the lack of blogging. (not long to wait til my appointment with the consultant)  I do have a fair few tags I have made to show you so I really must pull my finger out and get them on here... in the meantime, I hope you have a great Sunday and.... Thanks for looking!  TTFN

Hels x