Summer Solstice

Happy Summer, are you making the most of these lovely long days we have at this time of year?  Or perhaps you are from the southern hemisphere and will be looking forward to lengthening days.   Which ever we are at one of the years notable turning points an occasion I always like to mark.

Today was the first day of the Lincolnshire Show it is a great day out.  This year one of the many interesting things to see was this little chap.

He is so small at first Jill and I thought he was an ornament, it was a pleasure to just stroke his chest.   He is a year old and his flying training is being undertaken indoors, being so small he would be easily lost to his owners/trainers and he would be a tempting morsel to a sparrow hawk.

I've also been busy with new jewellery to be added to the site when the shop sale is over, here is a little preview of some Mexican Black Opals.

Of course there has been a craft project in the works as well and I'm ready to share it with you now.

For this little vanity case I thought I'd use cooking foil and do a little basic embossing.   Flowers leaves and swirls were die cut and stuck to the bare top.  Foil cut to cover the top and sides with enough to tuck inside the lid.   The foil is secured with discreetly placed double sided tape.   The shapes below the foil were then carefully rubbed and their outlines marked out.   When the embossing was completed the rest of the case was painted with chalk paint, crackle medium and then another cost of contrasting chalk paint with has cracked delightfully.

Time for Alcohol inks in shades of green, orange and yellow.  Tissue tape stuck round the edge and texture pastes spread over some areas.   Butterflies, 5 of them, were stamped coloured and fussy cut and glued on.   I wasn't sure if this had worked as intended, but coming in today from my lovely day the finished case looked fantastic.  So I got out a camera and decided to share it with you now.

Love to share my makes with different challenges and this is no exception.  The challenges that were in my mind are:

Eclectic Ellapu - A long standing monthly challenge with the ever popular Anything Goes theme.

Double D - OK this is the first week of the fortnight challenge so not in my mind when doing the project but with a theme of Butterflies how could I not enter it!

Love to Create - A monthly challenge whose regular theme is Anything Mixed Media Goes.  My favourite sort of challenge as they encourage you to experiment and explore while expressing yourself.

The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge -  Yea another monthly challenge I cannot always manage a theme but this one "Wrap it up" married my desire to use cooking foil to wrap this case.  Sadly this is also their last challenge.

Time to start winding this day down now, got a couple of hours work in the morning and then We'll see how the creative spirit moves me.

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It's a Hen Nite

Heard from a friend today, she has spent 2 months travelling round Europe in a camper van.   They had a great time but the weather there was not as good as we have been enjoy apparently.   Nice to know that sometimes this is the best place to be.

Which has nothing to do with this postcard.

Two Saturday challenges inspired this.   Allsorts  weekly challenge with the theme of Ladies Night Out.   the other challenge is Less is More week one of their two week challenge theme Friendship.

As soon as I saw these two challenges I knew what to do.   The Penny Black chicks series is a firm favourite.  There are 3 stamps in the set and recently the third joined my collection but has yet to be inked.  

Post card cut to size and the image stamped with Archival Ink.   Masking tape place above the image so that yellow DI could be dusted over the image with it going every where.   A simple black line is drawn under the image.   My trusty old Whisper Pens coloured the girls in, well it's a post card and you do not really want bleed through from alcohol pens do you.

I can imagine someone sending a card like this to her girlfriends inviting them to her Hen Nite.

My brave Harley

While I was working on the project I'll show you in a moment I got a big surprise!  Glancing up and at the garden I noticed one of the neighbourhood nuisance cats.  Normally Harley my tuxedo marked boy would run and hide from this one.  But no there was Harley and he seemed to have the upper paw.   With no idea where this was going I grabbed my iPad and turned the camera on.

Sorry about the picture quality, iPad not really good a zoom.   Moments after the 2nd picture was taken there was a short scuffle (out of shot) and the intruder slunk off.   So Harley soft lad is not so soft after all!  He has however told me this morning that a little tray is still a necessary facility.

Proud of the little chap never seen him anything other than scared, remember earlier this year when my son came to stay, Harley ran out of the house into the next doors garden and then for 2 days could not get back until I dug a hole under the fence for him to use.   So pleased he now seems to be getting a little more confident.

On to the project which I finished this morning.   It is a book cover, specifically the book I used for the ink soaked cord technique a couple of weeks ago.

A few years ago (lets face it most of my stash waiting to be worked on is a few years old now.)  One of the big name artist supplies came out with a range of sketch books with blank canvas covers.   I've used an artist quality acrylic paint for the base cover and on the die cut hanging board.   Other black acrylic painted the hanger arm, this was touched with gold alchemy wax.   The hanging board had first been embossed with a sun burst style embossing folder and when the yellow was dry it was sprayed with red paint.   The checker board effect strip is a place mat cut down.   The letters are die cut, two old paint brushed cut down.  Glues used are both PVA and a gel medium.   Everything left over night to dry and settle.  This morning the 3 sponges of distress ink poured on and a few dots of other spray paint dotted about.

This was fun.  Hoping some of these people think so as well:

A Gem of a Challenge - There is a new theme at this fortnightly challenge, Use more Yellow than any other colour.

Creative Artiste Mixed Media Challenge - This is a monthly challenge that is always Anything Mixed Media Goes.

Altered Eclectics - This is one of the original Anything Altered/Mixed Media but no paper crafts. 

More Mixed Media Challenge - It does what it says in the name!  Anything Mixed Media Goes with an optional twist.  This time the twist is Purple, my purple this time is de-constructed.

Unfortunately the challenge that inspired this book cover, Stamps and Stencils, require either stamping or stencilling or both.   Unusual for me but this has neither.

One tag leads to another and another ....

As mentioned last post Tags are a terrific way to try out different ideas.  They are also a smashing format to work with but if you like them who needs an excuse?

This tag is a direct response to The Artistic Stamper challenge of Blue this month.   It occurred to me that a single statement stamp on white card with shades of blue DI surrounding it would look good.   The stamp, a poppy image from Hobby Art, embossed with some very old Blue Glass ep.   Different shades of blue were dusted over the edges.   When it was done it occurred to me that colouring just the petals Red would make the blues more alive.   It just so happens that Red White and Blue are the colours of the Union Jack symbolising the United Kingdom that I hope will continue as a united group of nations for a long time to come.

I'm also sharing this tag with:

Shopping our Stash - Our favourite things.   Blue Glass ep it was one of the earliest coloured powders and is both a glorious shade of blue and gives a lovely glossy finish.   The Hobby Art poppy stamp I love Poppies and this much loved stamp is a beautiful image.   Tags just because and blending with DI inks the effects and results are always fabulous.

Retro Rubber - Their Anything Goes theme for the first 2 weeks of the month.   The rule here is that your stamp must be over a year old.   I know I got this stamp before moving from Hampshire and guess it must be about 10 years old.  Gotta love wood mounted red rubber look after it and it will last and last giving beautiful impressions each and every time.

Do-Al (l) Creative - This is a Germany based monthly challenge.   Being very aware of the impending Football World Cup, they invites us to use our national colours.

Liking the result so much I did it again with a different stamp and three different shades of blue DI.   Love this but think the Poppies are the better result.

Did someone say Make a Tag?

Not something I need to be told twice!   Tags are a great format they are a good size to try new ideas on and easy to store, we all have a tag book or two don't we?

White card stock and the trusty TH Tag die.   Blank stamped, not sure who makes this stamp it is one I've had for many years.   Then DI inks dusted over, aiming for Ultramarine, Turquoise, and Sand Stone.   Colour laid down water sprayed over the tag and blotted with paper towel.   The stamped image was then watercolored with Metallic paints more or less keeping them in the same colour families.

The tag needed just a little something to give it a lift.   An older Hobby Art butterfly stamped onto a scrap of card and coloured with Cosmic Shimmer paint.   The butterfly has been fussy cut out complete with antenna it is attached to the tag just at the body so the wings are raised.

It is such a shame you cannot see the shimmers in the photograph.

It will not surprise you that it was Rubber Dance's June challenge that inspired this tag.

Also sharing this with

Love to Create - Always Anything Mixed Media Goes, a fun monthly challenge

and

Love to Craft - and their Anything Goes June Challenge.

Another week has begun hope you have fun with it.

Black and Blue, with notes of White and Green

Casting around as I often do in the alterable things was a box from The MDF Man.   Yesterday I knew exactly what to do with it.

Painted it all over with Black Gesso.   The lid was then painted over again with green chalk paint.  Not the greatest success but it gave me a base to work on.   The two doves stencil is from Imagination crafts and it is their structural paste that was embossed through it.   While the paste was drying a good dig around in various boxes un-earthed some Tando Chipboard elements and some metal ones.    With these stuck in place Blue chalk paint applied taking care not to paint the embossed doves or the leaves that frame them.   Green chalk paint coloured the leaves making the white doves stand out.   Imagination Crafts alchemy wax in bronze touched around the rim.

The sides have been embossed with more stencils and paste.   Chalk paint in blue used on the base and inside the box.  More wax rubbed around the base edge.  Finally the box was sprayed with varnish to seal it all and hopefully help it survive regular use.  I'm thrilled to bit with how this worked out.

I'm bringing this to the attention of:

A Bit More Time To Craft - This fortnightly challenge is always Anything Goes.

Crafts Galore Encore Challenge - This is a monthly challenge and that much loved theme of Anything Goes.

A Vintage Journey - Another monthly challenge, this month their theme is Stencils.  I'd describe my style here as a little bit vintage, a little bit shabby chic.

Creative Artiste Mixed Media Challenge - Here is yet another monthly challenge whose theme is always Anything Mixed Media Goes.

A Inky Mess - This challenge runs from the 25th of each month, a nice opportunity for people who like to have lots of Anything Mixed Media Goes type challenges to enter.

This box will be something to keep some of my personal jewellery makes in.

September's calendar page

My arm is still tender, I've taken to wearing an elastic stocking on my arm to give it a little support.   It's taking it's own sweet time to recover.   I did try some chainmaille the other day but this arm still resists the small movements.

So turned my attention back to next years calendar.  September has had me stumped for a while but as soon as I rediscovered the stamp it all came together.   September the long school holiday is over and the youngsters have all gone back to school or moved onto Uni.   Holiday prices fall making this a perfect time for those of us who don't have to worry about such things as children's school.

If sunny day on the beach or beside the pool are you thing there is still lots of sun to be found.   If it is an exciting nightlife you seek you'll find that is definitely on offer as well.

Using a piece of glossy card stock it was coloured using brayer and big and juicy ink pads.   They may not be available anymore but my collection of these ink pads remains in good working order.   Once the beach and nightlife themes were in place the stamp was inked and placed.  Glossy card stock is harder to stamp as the surface is slippy making the images smudge.   So to get a good impression was very pleasing.   The sentiment "get away from it all" over written with white pen to make it clear.    The flourishes were added just for fun, I like them.  Marked in white Brilliance ink through a die cut negative and cotton wool.   The white pen was touched around the edges through the "stencil".

So that is September 2019 sorted out.  So I'm sharing this with;

Aud Sentiments - second week of this fortnights challenge, Summer + a Sentiment.

Crafty Sentiments - Summer.  Some would say today the 1st June is the first day of summer but I'm an old fashioned pagan.  Summer starts on the 20th June and Autumn starts on the 20/21 September making September part of Summer.  Not a stretch the Solstice is much more meaningful than some man made date!

Country View Challenges - 1st of the month so a new challenge this time it is.  The Written Word (add text in some form)  Hand over writing the sentiment and separately stamping September.

Well it is 17:00, the heat is going out of the day, the green stuff cutting thing is not to heavy so think t is time to cut the grass.  Enjoy your evenings, and summer holidays.