Alpha/Dictionary Challenge 2016 : U

I chose Umbrella for the Craft Barn Alpha/Dictionary challenge this time for no reason other than I just love that Tim Holtz Umbrella Man image and wanted to use him. Here is my entry:

Stamps used:

Tim Holtz : Lif's Possibilities

Hunkydory : Brighten Your Day

Happy Days x

Alpha/Dictionary Challenge 2016 : V

Oh where did that fortnight go! Fortunately the clocks went back today so I got that extra hour to finish off my Craft Barn Alpha/Dictionary Challenge page for the letter V. Here it is;

I chose vacation for my "V"word and used my Travel Labels Tim Holtz stamp set adding a vintage suitcase image to complete the theme. All coloured with inktense pencils and watercoloured.

Enjoy the extra hour.

Alpha/Dictionary Challenge 2016 : E

The letter E for the Craft Barn Alpha/Dictionary challenge should have been easy as there are so many words to choose from but having too much choice can send you spinning around in circles not knowing what to choose. Anyway, I opted for "Experiment" so I could use my IndigoBlu Weird Science stamps from the chemistry set. I have done a similar project before but this time, I used test tubes.

An experiment : Procedure tried on the chance of success or to test hypothesis.

So, imagine the test tubes full of different coloured inks and the flowers drinking that ink, would the petals change colour? Mine do, but that is art, anything can happen.

Thanks for dropping by. 

Alpha/Dictionary Challenge 2016 : X

Well, this was a challenge as the letter X in my pocket Oxford dictionary only has 6 definitions and not only that, I also have the letter Y on the same page and we have not had that letter yet. So, I chose X as in Roman numerals and kept the design simple.

My entry for this fortnight's Craft Barn Alpha Dictionary Challenge :

I started by using a clock stencil from Indigo Blu and a fine black pen to get the layout positioned across the pages. I drew the outline numerals for 2016 and filled them in with a red inktense pencil and added water. The page needed something else so I stamped the flower to fill up the space and water coloured it with the same red inktense pencil.

Job done. I have resisted peeking to see what everyone else chose to do for this letter so I'm off to have a look now.

Thanks for dropping by and I really appreciate the comments you make on my work, thank you so much.

In the Kitchen

I saw the Craft Barn two weekly challenge theme whilst I was away visiting my Mum and had lots of ideas I wanted to try but having no supplies I had to wait until I returned. The theme is "All Around the House" so I decided on a kitchen themed card.

The background is stamped using a square cut off a kitchen sponge, a technique that gives you a lovely textured effect when used with paint. The background reminded me of kitchen tiles although the colours are deliberately random.

Paints used : 

Paperartsy Fresco Finish chalk paints - Granny Smith, Professor Plum and Captain Peacock.

Stamps by Marianne Designs

I would like to enter this in the Craft Barn challenge for this fortnight. I've not entered this challenge for a while, mainly due to lack of time but this challenge was just so inspiring and I really enjoyed it.

I'm off to take a look at what other people have done now and will be back soon.

Alpha/Dictionary Challenge 2016 : O

It was Sunday morning and I spotted the next letter for the Craft Barn Alpha/Dictionary challenge was the letter O. I really only had Sunday to complete my page as I will be away next weekend and I didn't want to miss the deadline for any of these challenges. Thumbing through the pages of the dictionary I came across ornithology, a perfect word to showcase some of my Tim Holtz stamps.

Stamps used :
Nature Walk CMS181 from Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Collection.
Coloured with inktense watercolour pencils and a bit of tumbled glass distress ink for the egg.

This is a simple and quick one but I do like those TH stamps so a great opportunity to use them.

A big thank you to all of you who comment on my pages, I really do appreciate it and it encourages me to carry on. I really am enjoying this project.

Playtime with Paperartsy

It rained yesterday but rain does not stop play does it. A great excuse to catch up on jobs around the house and take some time out to play in my craft room.

My new set of Lin Brown stamps arrived in the week. As soon as I saw this release I knew I could not resist so purchased ELB30.

They are on the Paperartsy blog here:

http://blog.paperartsy.co.uk/2016/08/new-pa-products-by-lin-brown.html

Inspired by Lin's example, I pretty much copied the style and design to get me into the mood. I wanted the panel to end up on a card so adapted it a bit and left some elements out as my panel was smaller than the grass stamp. It is big and begging to end up on a canvas.

This set is just delicious, apart from the grasses all the other little elements are so useful. I love that leaf in particular. 

I hate to waste paint so having used a bit of cut up kitchen sponge to apply the paint through my stencil, I pounced it all over a piece of white cardstock I had lying about on my desk and rubbed the excess paint through my stencil and got a pretty interesting background. The panel was small, approx. 6 x 4 inches so the same skeleton leaf and poem text fit but I needed a focal image.

I found the very first Lin Brown set I ever bought, the one with the lovely lino cut style flowers on it, and added that flower. I'm pleased with the result, here it is:

Materials used:

Paperartsy Stamp sets ELB30, ELB03

Ranger archival Ink : Jet Black, Cornflower Blue

Fresco Finish Chalk Paints : Lilac, Pansy, Sky Blue, Sage, Hey Pesto