'What you do speaks so loudly, I can't hear what you say.'
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Friday 1 July 2022

Wow! It's such a long time since I blogged, but I haven't stopped creating - not completely.

Sadly, my eldest son was found dead last year and, as you can imagine, I was devastated. It's amazing how grief dries up all your creativity. A lot of my creative friends have also passed away this last few months - some very, very close to me. I've missed them and I'm sure I will do in future. 

But the biggest tribute is to continue creating, don't you think?

I'm just going to post one or two of my bits and see if anyone looks these days - I've so lost touch with all the blogs, the challenges, etc. Emotions don't ask permission to mess with your life.

I really liked the larger flowers in Lou Withers' Studio Light Just Lou range, so I played with watercolouring them in different colourways. I did have a plan to use them as book covers - they're a lovely size for a nice big journal. (Yes, I'm still making lots of books, mainly with Studio Light dies!)


There's another design somewhere, but I obviously haven't scanned or photographed it - I thought I had. I'll also share the card I made for my best friend's birthday - one of the few I've made this year.
I used digistamps - unusual for me - and enjoyed this. Unfortunately, I've really struggled with colouring of any type of late. I watercoloured a canvas (preprinted) with my granddaughter (now 9) a few weeks ago. Loved it but could barely walk for a couple of days, which was a bit of a problem because I had their dog to walk and look after while they were in Spain for a family wedding. That was fun - I broke my heart when he finally went home, though it was tough when he first arrived. He's only a pup, really. I've never known a dog like him but he is a little love. I had to cover everything while he was here... 😊

Right, that's it for now - I have a Zoom call at 4pm, which I always look forward to.  Hope you're all really well and enjoying life. 

Back soon
Many Blessings
Cath
xxx

Monday 30 August 2021

That was originally Happy Sunday! Oops! I hope you're all well and enjoying the last little bits of Summer. It's been a lovely week here and I hope it has where you are.

I have a couple of cards for you to see. I actually added the Happy Birthday to this so I could enter it into the Birthday challenge, then didn't manage it, and that's probably over 2 weeks ago! It will come in handy. As you can see, the little masked minx on the left has been dying her bunny to match today's outfit - poor little bunny. I quite like this stencil. I think it's a Uniko stencil and I like it because it's irregular. I used Oxides for the ink sponging.


This one was made with Dark Room Door stamps but I really don't like the die cut words I added, so I think I'll have to try to take them off! If I'm honest, I thought it a bit boring before I added them but I have lots of word stamps I could have used! Must have been one of those senior moments - I'm having way too many of them these days 😖 I used the new Prize Ribbon and Kitsch Flamingo, with a touch of Salvaged Patina. 

This one I love but that's partly because I love the stamp - I love echinaceas and have a drawing I found a few weeks ago somewhere. I also have a recently acquired new one in a pot in my yard, which is coming into bloom right now. It's beautiful. This background was made with acrylic paints and was gorgeous until I started stamping... but I still like the result in a quirky kind of way. The colours I stamped with are a bit strong and I added too much text, I know. I just got carried away, lol.
I did say I'd add some Bible Journalling, so here are a couple of Genesis pages that almost everyone will recognise. Most people get the animal numbers wrong, though - there were 7 pairs of every 'clean' animal on that ark and 1 pair of every unclean animal, plus 7 pairs of birds... it is difficult to imagine how huge that ark was! I did get the animal stamps specifically for this and I love the way they turned out... 

I just love making rainbow backgrounds, so this one was a lot of fun to do. I was doing my best to get it as vivid as possible, so I used Inktense pencils, which worked beautifully. Love those alphabet stamps, too 😉
Linking to

Challenge Up Your Life, Circles

Creatalicious, Anything Goes

Try it on Tuesday, Summer Blooms

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge, Anything Goes


Thank you for calling in today

Back soon

Cath

xxx

Thursday 12 August 2021

I made this one as a birthday card for a friend. I hadn't used Salvaged Patina Oxide (nor have I used the most recent one yet!) until this last two weeks or so and it really is one of my favourite shades, so you'll no doubt see it more. It's such a soothing colour and it goes well with the lovely Darkroom Door thistle stamps. I used their long Birthday stamp in the background, too. Adding white highlights to the thistles makes all the difference.

I used it on this one, too. Just a play with some Paperartsy stamps.


And another over a stencilled background..

Then, some simple ink blending for a change...scan on the left, photo on the right. I really like the way this one turned out.

  

And for a bit of fun. Another stencilled and stamped background and one of those images that always makes me smile. 


Linking to 

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge, Occasions

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge, Heat Embossing

We Love Chocolate Baroque, Favourite Stamps

Retro Rubber, Anything Goes (Lady with broom stamp)

Challenge Up Your Life, Circles

Stamping Sensations, Any Celebration


Thank you for calling in today

Back soon

Cath

xxx

Wednesday 4 August 2021

Where did the year go? Just popping in to share some of my recent creations... no excuses for delaying - it's just been a time for doing other things. We just had a 5 and a half day conference' at my church (streamed live instead of the usual camping holiday) which was brilliant, but it was an all day thing. Even though I didn't get to the afternoon sessions, I was doing other things, so I've just been going straight to bed when I did get home. 

I'll check current challenges but I just want to share what's in my folder, so will try to do that this week. The cards I'm posting today feature my favourite colour combinations - definitely feel good colours for me. They also feature mostly florals. Isn't it strange how we go through phases of using different types of images? 

This is one of my favourite Paperartsy stamp sets. These stamps just go so well together and fit a variety of purposes. The Friends stamp is an old Hero Arts stamp I've well and truly had my money's worth from. I love it and use it over and over again.


The next two cards are cut from the same background piece I made with one of my favourite stencils and a Hero Arts background text I'd just unmounted and put on EZ mount.


This next one features Darkroom Door stamps, and is from the same background I used in the previous card..

This was a birthday card for a very special lady. A friend's mum was 80 a couple of weeks ago and I actually got to see her last month, too - which was lovely, though it made me miss my own mum, who's been in New Zealand for 13 years now. My mum wouldn't have appreciated this card, though. She's much more a floral, pastel and traditional die cut type of lady.


I have a few others  (not many unless I finish off the ones I've begun!) and some Bible Journalling to share but I'll come back with that.-

Linking to:

Addicted to Stamps and More, Make Your Mark

Retro Rubber, Anything Goes (Paperartsy stamps around 12 years old)

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge, Birthday challenge All and Create (second card)

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, Anything Goes

A Place to Start, Create in 'Your style' - any or all the above

Allsorts, Anything Goes (Optional roses)

We love Chocolate Baroque, Favourite stamps (Thanks, Brenda)

Challenge Up Your Life, Circles


Thank you for calling in today

Back soon

Cath

xxx

Tuesday 6 July 2021

 Hello friends. Almost back to normal now - whatever normality may mean to you 😊

I'm trying to reclaim some time for crafting, so this is what came out of my daily (well, almost) playtimes.

First of all, I'll show you Bees and Blooms, because the theme over on Make My Monday is Anything Airborne. Yes, it's another Janet Klein image - but I do love them. This is a photo, and it looks very washed out, so I'll also show you a scan, which is VERY different - and, as usual, it's half way between the two. It is very bright, but that's because I used Ripe Persimmon and Abandoned Coral, with a bit of Squeezed Lemonade, using one of my favourite all time stencils to add some interest This little one doesn't require much colouring but is fun to play with. The words are from a whole plate of Bee words which have come in handy since bee mania began. The white lines are added with a stencil (Uniko).

Scan

This was in my 'half done' basket, so I decided to finish it off because I do actually like it and I love tall cards. I was trying to use up my old Ecoline watercolour inks with a new (at the time) leafy stamp and an old leafy stencil. I have a real weakness for leaves and always have had. It was really tough to find a background colour to match, so I ended up going with white and the nearest shade I could find to the leaves - everything else changed the appearance way too much.

One of my most Janet Klein purchases next. I thought I'd use a cloud stencil for a change and keep it simple. I intended using rainbow shades, but ended up just using Blueprint Sketch. using just the ink I first had on the sponge. I quite like it, though because it's subtle, despite the deeper blue. I didn't use the potted plants that came with her, but chose flowers from other sets and a simple grassy stamp. I've been experimenting with different pencil blending methods, using a variety of pencils.

A gift from a friend, I stamped these flowers (Studio Light) onto a tag I'd used some of my favourite colours on. I'm really not happy with these flowers. I think I'll have to restamp on white and layer over the top. One of my favourite types of background on this tall (22cm) tag. I used the Uniko stencil on it, again - with Moonlight White Brilliance ink.

Linking to the following challenges

Make My Monday - Anything Airborne

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge, Fun and Quirky

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday, Anything Goes

Country View Crafts Challenge, Use a Stencil or Two

Everybody Art Challenge, Anything Goes

It's good to be stamping again 😉 

I''ll be back to share more in a day or so - too many to share at one time. I'll also do my best to visit some blogs this week, tennis allowing 😎 I love watching Wimbledon! 

Thank you for calling in today

See you soon!

Cath

xxx

Wednesday 16 June 2021

 A fun playtime today 😁

I couldn't resist this elephant stamp from Katzelcraft, and of course a couple of other small items somehow found their way into my shopping basket 😖 I just don't understand how that happens. Does it happen to you, too?

Anyway, I cheated because I made this background either just before or just after Christmas, when I tried out some watercolour paints on watercolour paper, trying to get a deeper result with them. They are plastered on, so far from a watercolour effect, but that was exactly what I was after at the time. I can't tell you how many images have been on this piece, waiting to be glue(d down, until I changed my mind - again! But I decided it would be a perfect place for Ms Picasso Elephant. I did also end up, somehow, with the Les Pabos sheet I used last week. I have no idea what Pabos are...I should ask my friend in France. She has grandchildren, so maybe she'll know. I just know they make me smile.)

So this is coloured with pencils - a variety of types, with some blending experiments, too. Some is finished off with Inktense pencils and acrylic paint pens because I wanted the vivid rainbow look on Ms Picasso's painting. I thought she'd enjoy a pedicure, so I painted her toe nails to match her beret, and added a few red jewel like dots - the dots were part of the image, so I just coloured them. I used some oddments for the background, which was stamped both in grey and in white - and an Aall and Create Circles background stamp.


Linking to


Word Art Wednesdays, Anything Goes

Creatalicious, Anything Goes/Water

Rainbow Card Challenge, Radically Rainbow


Thank you for calling in today 😊

Back soon

Cath
xxx

Saturday 12 June 2021

 Yay! I stamped...I've been colouring some images the last few days and today I just felt the urge to make something. So, knowing I have a few KCUK birthdays coming up, I made this. They're not colours I use often but I love them. It's Ripe Persimmon, Abandoned Coral and Toasted Marmalade. They work well together. I think they almost look like Pomegranate shades or Watermelon.


Linking to

Creative Fingers, Anything Goes

Mix it Up, Anything Goes + stamping

Crafting Happiness Challenge, Anything Goes + optional Summer

Thank you for calling in today

Back soon

Cath
xxx

Thursday 3 June 2021

Hello! Happy June!

I'm here to share the last book I stamped. I've made so little since then but I'm so yearning to get back in the creative space and play again, weather and 'sorting out' allowing 😊 Some of my shelves are looking quite bare, but that's deliberate and it makes me happy. I'll be starting to put some online this weekend, all being well.

This one is a bit of a strange shape - again - because I kept adding to it, as I so often do and got in a bit of a pickle with the closure, etc - but what's new?  It's Janet Klein themed again - these images are so much fun to play with and to colour, plus the pages are small enough to be relatively quick to decorate.

So here it is...






Only showing this one because you hadn't seen the inside cover.

I know it's upside down, but this is the cover I made in the end.

And this is how they look opened up - front and back.

  

Just looking at this makes me want to stamp again and play with some colour! It's so therapeutic, don't you think? 

Linking to

As You Like it - CAS or Full and Fancy and why?
I find it really hard to make CAS because I'm just too messy! Plus, I love the therapeutic effect of colour and colour and more colour!

Fab 'n' Funky - Go Girlie!


Crafty Gals Corner - For the Ladies

Crafters' Café - Anything Goes

Creative Moments - Anything Goes

I don't seem to be able to add links at the moment, so I'll be back in a little while when I've figured out what's wrong - unless it's just a blogger issue, in which case I'll have to try again later.

Thanks so much for calling in today 😉
Back soon
Cath
xxx

Friday 21 May 2021

 Thought I'd shock you and post next day 😍

I found my photos of the book I made for an old friend...a friend I really love and respect, to be honest.  Although more my mum's age than mine, her youngest son is the same age as my younger son and they were best friends at school, until we went to live in France, many, many years ago. She's now one of a group I belong to in the church I'm currently at, and always someone to turn to - a real spiritual Mum. Because of lockdowns, we obviously haven't been able to meet up for the last year, communicating via Whatsapp  instead. The first day we were able to meet up again - socially distanced, in our Community garden - was her birthday, so I was asked to make something for her. 

It was a disaster from beginning to end. I started by trying to make someone else's design - very NOT 'me'. Because of the mess I was in with medication problems I had, I tore it up and restarted it 3 times and was tearing my hair out by the time I finished it, crying every time I went into my craft room.. So, I decided against the die cut book and made a concertina. I still tore out pages and started over again a couple of times, but that was mainly because no matter how hard I tried, I ended up with marks on my white space every single time I touched the book. So by the time I gave it to her, some of these pages were missing - mainly tag pages - but  I'd added a couple, too. I did a LOT of die cutting, as you can see - plus all the pages and layers I threw away!

Front of folded book

Page 1


Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Book open on one side, with the die cut tags for the ladies to each write their birthday messages. I sponged and stencilled the backs, having glued two different sized tags back to back, and added ribbons/threads. Unusually, I used patterned papers to cover it.  Sorry, but you'll have to click to enlarge in order to see each page - though you've seen them all above, really.
So this is what probably put me off going into my craft room - along with the mess I created when I decided to clear a lot of the stash I no longer use, but taking up too much space. That's still in project, though I'm beginning to yearn to get back to creating again 😊
So, still one more 'Janet Klein' book to upload, then I'll have more or less cleared my folder for now.
This is definitely 'for the ladies' so I'm going to enter a few challenges, because that seems to be a common theme at the moment, for some reason. 

Challenges I'm linking to:-
As You Like It - Favourite Colouring Medium and Why
I used Prisma Pencils because I find I have way more control with them than with pens or paint and can vary the shades more by blending and/or shading.

Stinkin Inkers - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

Try it on Tuesday - Make it Feminine

Crafty Gals Corner - For the Ladies

Crafter's Café - Feminine - Girls or Ladies

That's all for now. Thank you so much for coming over today! 

Back soon

Blessings

Cath
xxx

Thursday 20 May 2021

Just been catching up on a friend's blog posts and thought I'd put some more up here. I've done so little since Christmas, other than a few important occasion things. Life has just been focused on other things. I'm also still 'sorting out' my room and getting ready to clear all the stuff. Some of it is photographed and ready to upload. I just brought in the dies so I can take photos, but not in this dark, dreary weather. I'll have to wait until it's sunny again.

So here are a few things I made earlier 😊

This is a card I made for my bestest friend - using the colours we both love to use.

This is the inside. I only added the purple card because I managed to get a tiny bit of ink on it - and then I didn't notice that the scanner had added its own little mark - duh! I really must clean that scanner bed again.

This is one I made simply because I was doing my best not to throw away the background. Why, I don't know. I do love this Katzelcraft seagull, though. I managed to stain him with a bit of blue ink when I left him on my work surface for a couple of days, but I thought it actually looked appropriate. Birds often get bits of 'stuff' on their feathers and it always tickles me 😁


A more recent creation - made early April.
I love these ladies and had a great time colouring them.
I made it for a birthday card, then decided on another one, so it may actually go out as a mingle this week.

This stamp I fell in love with because I'd been reading and reading and reading and so enjoying my books that it fitted my mood at the time. Since the medication affected me so badly, I've read very little - which is sad. My 'to read' pile is still growing as I add to the already big enough pile from when I stopped. I love books, so this actually upsets me if I think about it.


And just one more to get it out of the folder... made for a Coffee challenge, of course - very simply.


It doesn't look as if I have the last little book I made in my folder, though I do have one more to share. It must be on my phone, so I'll try to get round to uploading it to my laptop ASAP.
I'll just check current challenges to see if there's anything I can enter today...

Try it on Tuesday - Something Feminine 
(I hope the girlie card counts cos that's the mingle theme, too!)

Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday - Blooming Beautiful

Paper Funday - Anything Goes, Optional Flowers

Stamping Sensations - Beautiful Blooms


Creatalicious - For a Woman

Sweet Stampers - Bird, Butterfly or Animals


Thank you so much for calling in today - I have missed you all so much!

Back soon-ish

Blessings

Cath
xxx

Thursday 25 March 2021

Oops! I had a blip - and lost a week 😉 But I'm still determined to clean out my last year's folder, so here are some cards I made towards the end of last year. I've had this post waiting to upload for a week - so sorry. In between, it was my birthday and lots of other things have happened. I'm also working on a special project for a friend's 80th birthday, so it's been a little busy.

This was a Christmas card for someone special. I love Wonky Tonk images, but they're a little limiting. I was practising watercolour with these - lots of room for improvement, but I really enjoyed it and spent a while on them. I used irridescent inks on part of her hair and gel pen for her earrings. It's never easy to stamp words on watercolour paper, especially without a stamping platform. The stars are Jane Davenport and I used a deckle edged die. I cut off her hair... gosh, it's a long time since my own hair was that long! Long hair always looks so good on other people.

This is the same image, but with different words and for a January birthday.
Wonky Tonk 3 - I have another one I haven't yet scanned, and this one isn't quite finished, but I wanted to show it. It's a watercolour again, but I need to add some text to it and decide whether to use it for a card or a journal page...it was masked around the edges, so there's quite a deep border around it. I think this one is my favourite.


A Lavinia birthday card. Lavinia stamps are always fun to let your imagination go and be a little girl again 😊 I enjoy my playtimes with them. This is only a partial main image and it's 6x6 - well, the main card is.

I was repeating a design I made a couple of years ago when I made this - the first one seemed better, but the oxidisation from the inks just looks amazing on Kraft card, and the white embossing is striking amongst the shades of purple. Love these words.
Alcohol inks swiped on glossy, then an ink lift-off technique, using Blending fluid. Not a good example, really but that's mainly because I didn't choose the ideal stencil. I've found some more samples I did at the time and the stencilling shows up much more clearly, so I'm hoping to find a way to use those soon. Such a shame to waste them. I'll post another one below. I love this technique with the inks, though. Just a swipe with three colours on the felt gives you a lovely effect - very quick and easy - once you've found your AIs and got everything out all over the desk 😖 More of the same for the one on the right, but I think you can see the lift off technique through the stencil a little more clearly. I didn't find this technique easy...the blending fluid is really difficult to control. They were for a CAS challenge, hence lots of white space.

And a card I finally put together, after having half most of it made fo rmonths! Having periods of being unable to stamp plays havoc with your organisation 😁 Lots of stencilling and stamping on this one.


Linking to
Dragonfly Dreams, Anything Goes
Crafts Galore Encore, Anything Goes
Crafting Happiness, Outdoors or Anything Goes
Retro Rubber, Anything Goes (Butterfly OLD)
Try it on Tuesday, Use a Stencil or Two
Day of the Month Card Club, Learn About Butterflies Day
Allsorts, Anything Goes/Optional Monochromatic
Sweet Stamping, For a Special Woman

So lovely to have you visit me today - thank  you.
I'll be back soon.
Stay safe!
Cath(erine)
xxx