INKY FINGERS

Had a quick play with this image because I came across it (yes, I’d forgotten I had it but I wish I could find the ones I was looking for!).  I knew it would fit the theme at Weekend ATCs, which is the Sea, so I spent some time colouring with Copics and Promarkers.  More bleeding Copics…

Been a good girl this afternoon and have finished off the third recipe card I’d half decided not to bother with, but at least they’re now done and all the recipe cards I’ve received are punched and ready to go into their owners’ books.  We’re just waiting for one more set, which is taking a round the world trip from Germany, I think.  I still need to do a Contributors page before I can send them off. 

It’s very simply stamped ;)  This is the back, stamped with Brilliance Gold.

Here’s the front, coloured with Glimmer Mists and Starburst Stains dabbers – both painted on with a brush – then stamped with second generation images, using Adirondack Twilight Purple and Slate.

Mine look so simple compared to others, but at least I’ve done them and I am putting the books together :D

Okay, here’s my desk – and this is about as good as it gets when I’ve signed up for lots of swaps…  You can see lots of other desks on Julia’s blog.

Well, I gave in, lol.  I was so determined I would get the things I’m committed to do out of the way before I started to play but I just had to have a little play – and intend having a couple more, as soon as I can, lol.

So here’s my entry for this week’s Lots to Do Challenge, where the theme for this week is People and Places.

I found my yummy Claudine Helmuth stamps, so I’ve almost finished another card, too.  I keep forgetting about these, lol.  The base for the image is Caught in Crystal, but unfortunately, you can’t see the yummy crystallisation you get the more you heat it – it really is so pretty and glistens.  I stamped the image again on white and layered the CIC over the top, to define the images, then stamped again and cut out ‘La Cathédrale’ which I attached separately with toning brads.  Yellow’s not a colour I often use on its own but I quite like this effect for a change.

I have a few things ‘on’ at the moment so before I do any challenges (which I’m aching to do, lol) I decided to get those other things out of the way first.  This is the first – my second recipe page for a KCUK swap.  I was only supposed to do one recipe so this was a bit of a wild card because some of the others are late in arriving and I thought I’d surprise those taking part in the swap.  I have another one coloured and cut, too but not sure I’ll get around to stamping it, so may leave it out.   It was a bit of a disaster because one of the Glimmer Mists I was using to paint the pages fell over (of its own accord, of course ;)) so I mopped it up with all the recipe cards.  Looked REALLY good BUT it was gold and some of it obscured the text – not good if you want to read it, he, he:)

Then, since it was a Thai recipe, I hunted for Thai stamps, only to find that I’ve given away the only ones I had which would have been suitable, so I had to go with Plan B and think outside the box.  No decoration on the front – it’s bright enough, lol – but it’s taken me AGES to do the back because I stamped the image with Versamark first, added Moon Dust in several colours (to show the straw and the drops of perspiration - not mine, the perspiration of the chicken on the left) then stamped it again on white card, cutting it out then colouring with Copics. I WAS going to colour the book but after all those hours and becoming totally disenchanted with bleeding Copics and severed limbs which came off when applying the Glue Stick.  (I mean bleeding Copics in the literal sense, of course – see the chicken on the book cover, to see what I mean and this is one of the simpler ones, which didn't bleed as much.  Those who know me well know I really wouldn’t use a word like that – probably one stronger, I have to admit!)  I’ve decided that the only really good thing about Glue sticks is that you can move the image around to get it in perfect position before it dries – other than that, I really don’t like 'em very much at all, other than for covering book covers! I won't have my usual 'Glue stick' rant here - I'll save it for another time, but I really would only ever recommend TOMBOW glue sticks for craft work.  All the others dry up, clog up and leave horrible lumps!   It gets on your fingers, then transfers to the images and then there are the bits all over the pages – yuk - and I applied the glue on an old Yellow Pages, best use for it cos you can turn the page after each application and have a clean surface to work on!  I was SO glad to get back to my ATG gun when I attached the recipes to the backs!  I have to say that I did lots of giggling when colouring with the Copics cos the expressions on the faces of the two outside chickens really tickles me, they look terrified!  So here we have yet ANOTHER chicken recipe.

Over at Crafty Cardmakers, the challenge for this week fortnight is a photo challenge and here it is.

The text (US Artquest) was stamped on glossy card with Versamark ink to get a resist effect, then heat set, followed by sponging Adirondack Meadow and Pool inks all over, then stamping the text randomly over the top with each colour.  The flourish and flowers are part of the stamp, so the little girl was stamped in Permanent ink, then again on white matte card, cut out, coloured with Promarkers and the two inks, then glued over the top of the stamped image.  The flowers were coloured with Gel pens and embossed, the wings glitter glazed.  The words (Paper Inspirations) were stamped on white card, cut out, layered onto black card, then attached randomly, with heart brads and gems to complete the theme.

Please visit Crafty Cardmakers Challenge Blog to see what the rest of the fab DT have made for the challenge.
The sponsor for this challenge is Joanna Sheen, who is offering a £10 voucher to the winner.  There’s some great stuff at Joanna’s, including EZ mount and Promarkers at a good price with FREE P&P!!  

CHALLENGE RULES

Please leave a link to your actual card in Froggie.

If you don't have a blog, please email entries in.
You can combine your challenge with however many you like using any technique or style. Any papercrafted item accepted (scrapbook LO's, ATC's etc) You can also enter up to 3 times per challenge, its all about encouraging crafting after all!   You must also mention Crafty Cardmakers Challenge, with a link back, in your blog entry in order to be considered for the prize.  Best of luck with your challenge!

I forgot to post this so will do it now.  I have another two recipes in progress, which I’ll finish off if I get time before all the other recipes are in but we’re already late, so I may not get the time.  I need to be putting the books together!
I enjoyed doing this, although I’ve done something similar before.  Nice recipe, too :D  Couldn’t get the depth of colour, no matter how hard I tried – there’s a lot more pale green on the background than you can see.  Hey ho – will have to work on this colour matching!

Well, if I didn’t know any better, I’d suspect that my friend, Jo and I had been colluding – but we didn’t and my desk’s much messier than hers – and the worst thing is I’ve been working on the dining room table this afternoon cos of the mess!!  In all honesty, I’d just piled some stuff on the desk as I’d finished with it, so it’s waiting to be put away.  Anyway,  here’s my WOYWW entry.

I’m working on other things today, but I wanted to get these things uploaded while I remember ;)
The first one is an ATC which uses the watercolour technique on the Art Cards Challenge Blog, touching the edges of a stamped image (using water based inks) with a paintbrush.  It also fits the Fun with ATCs floral Challenge for today.  It was a good excuse to try out the Freebie stamp with this month's Craft Stamper - I really like it but then I like a lot of Innovative Stamp Creations stamps!  I've used Wild Honey and Walnut Stain Distress inks on it - both to stamp and to colour.  The 'splodgy' bit is one of my favourite filler stamps which I've had for years and years and years - about 8 - but you can't see how lovely it is on this.  It's like a star burst - really pretty.

The theme at Weekend ATC Challenge is “alles was fliegt aber kein Vogel ist”, which means (loosely translated and no, I don’t speak German) ‘Anything which flies but isn’t a bird’.  Hels’ challenge for Sunday Stamper is ‘Rhinestones’, so this covers both – I hope.

The background is glossy card, coloured with Brilliance reinkers and water, which is overstamped with Adirondack Stonewash and Twilight Purple, which rarely stamps crisply on glossy card, which is why it looks a little smudged – it isn’t – honestly, lol.  Dragonfly coloured with Tombow Pens, then glitter glazed and there are three tiny gems on there…

The theme for One Powerful Hour this week is ‘Blue and white with a touch of red’ so here’s my very simple offering.  Just came back to this and noticed how bright it looked, so I adjusted it slightly.  I'm having terrible problems with the colour on this flipping scanner.  Must try to get it sorted soon.  Oh and what looks to be a crease on the card - or a blemish - isn't actually there, so there must be something on my scanner bed.  Drat, will have to do some of the H word now and clean it!!

I was lucky enough to happen upon a fab Music Mag from 1897 at a Car boot sale, just outside York when I was there at the weekend, so I thought I’d scan some of the pages and share them with you.

PLEASE NOTE!!  THESE ARE FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY – NOT FOR COMMERCIAL USE!

They’re pretty large files, so I’ll add a couple at a time.  Here are the first couple, the front and back covers.  Just click to enlarge for better resolution.  I haven’t tried cleaning them up at all because I thought you may like them as they are – naturally distressed.  Now that’s what I call torn pages, lol.  Aren’t they cool?

Theme Thursday this week have a Torn Paper challenge and the challenge at Lots to Do is Architecture, so I combined the two to get this.

After sticking some torn book pages to the background, I used Ecoline inks and played with spraying some watered down gesso, as per this technique, highlighted by Hermine one day last week.