WOYWW?

Did you miss me ? Busy Mummy Stuff, visits from friends abroad and a well deserved holiday on the coast meant I just couldn't find the time to join in WOYWW? for a while. I did try ... but at the magic moment of writing my post, it seemed that little Ruby's 'feed me' timer went off.

No finished creations to show today just evidence of being back in the realms of crafty antics. All my spare inky time goes into my DT work at the moment and Craft Stamper Magazine, so play-time is on a low simmer. Thankfully, WOYWW? isn't about the what but the why. So although I ain't got anyfink to show you, I still have a lot to share.

And here she is ... Ten weeks today, blooming, flourishing and a real little lady already. Here's a piccy of Ruby's first push-up. Yesterday she also discovered the art of foot-staring and squeals of joy ...
So, short and sweet today, but good to be back. Until the next time, Sarah.

Summertime and the living is ....well, wet.

Yes, indeed so. It's the notorious summer Bank Holiday Weekend over here and I've got a leaky roof! Life as normal for the Brit weather. Anyway, enough waffle as it's Monday and time for the new theme over at Simon Says Stamp & Show. If your day needs brightening up then it's the perfect theme for you as we're getting all inky with the Seasonal Summer Distress inks...

I was already planning on doing the faux batik technique on my tag but instead of stamping I thought it would be fun to see how it looked when using a stencil. So I prepared my patterned background by dabbing the Distress ink through my Dylusionals stencil taking care not to go too far over the edges so as to get clear shapes. Then I quickly covered these inky designs with clear embossing powder and heat set it.

I then applied Distress inks on top, trying to add as much contrast between the colours as possible. You do need to really blend the inks together to achieve a smooth effect which is best done with an ink blending tool and not a piece of sponge or foam. The underneath colours and designs are protected by the embossing powder.

Then onto a bit of housework! I covered the tag in greaseproof paper and ironed the tag to melt and absorb the clear powder. I was then able to go back in with a white pen to add details and interest. I could not have made a stitch-less tag so I added the outside lines...just for fun.

 l then created a flurry of Wendy Vecchi butterflies...a stamp I just cannot live without. I finished off with a few words from my ChitChat Stickers. I definitely felt better for a bit of crafty time with these bright inks...

 If you've got these summery inks - then hurry off and get thinking. Or...maybe you have some other crafty goodies of similar colours. After all it's all about INSPIRATION! Hop over to the design team blog and check out the really fabulous makes from everyone.
I must very quickly be awaying as I still have my hands VERY full here with a new baby girl in the house. I could sleep for a week, no make it a month, although my crafty brain is in sixth gear and storing up lots of ideas... So that's the story...
Take care and thanks for being here.
Sarah. 

*Ranger DYLUSIONS INK SPRAY SET OF 12 Dyan Reaveley	*Dyan Reaveley Stencil 9 X 12 DOTTED FLOWER Dylusions DYS34018	*Wendy Vecchi Rubber Stamp JUST FLY G2-1557 Studio 490 Stampers Anonymous	*Tim Holtz Idea-ology 1088 CHITCHAT STICKERS TH92998
*Tim Holtz SUMMER SEASONAL DISTRESS INK Pads 3 Pack Set Ranger	*Tim Holtz REFILL SET Distress Ink SUMMER EDITION Raspberry Lawn Ocean	*Uni-ball Signo Gel Pen WHITE Smooth Medium	*Ranger EMBOSSING POWDER CLEAR Translucent Rubber Stamp Ink

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Take a walk on the wild side...

Turn your back for just a blink of the eye and the week runs away yet again.  I can't believe it's the Monday moment yet again, but here we are. I'm back from a week on the South coast. Although the weather was a bit grey, away is away and a week doing nothing with a view of the sea is good enough for me.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch , as they say.... It's a new theme over at Simon Says Stamp & Show where you can go completely doo-lally! It's a no rules week, so let yourself go and just follow your creative whim of the day!

NO rules is a great theme, but then again you can also get stuck with all that freedom. Myself included, so I dived into my stamps and picked one of my all time favourites. The fantabulous retro lady from Tim's Pattern Pieces set. Although she is actually a model for a dress pattern...

I always think of a 1950's air hostess or glam diva from the TV show Mad men. l love the vintage mood of the 50's and always think the ladies looked so glamorous and stylish! But as it was no rules I decided to add a twist of colour and design to the table to bring this diva into the 21st century - and find a new way to stamp with an old favourite.

l stamped and embossed the sassy lady three times (using just part of the whole stamp) cut them out very closely and then gave them bright and funky suits using Dylusions Sprays which I painted on using a fine paintbrush. The faces were coloured with a tiny bit of Victorian Velvet Distress ink which I had really watered down, adding a second layer to add a little extra blush to the cheeks... the blond hair is done with a fine rinse of Mustard Seed!

I created three contrasting background circles using a circle punch and card stamped with Tim's Mixed Media. The card base is colured with a flick of Dylusions ink...just flick an inky paintbrush onto the card. Try not to get it up the wall as I did. I stamped a few strips of numbers using the Stuff to Say set and added the word 'Change' pinched from the larger sentiment in Pattern Pieces.

Layer it all up with mini foam squares, add a length of parcel string (a fave go to!) and then finish it all off with good old Chit Chat stickers! I love them... there's so many to choose from in the book. So there you go, a bit of funky Pop Art meets grunge. Well, something like that... NO rules!!! What more could you ask for? Time for you to jump in and get inky...

Do take a look at the other creations from my fabulous Design teamies and remember, there's the really great $50 prize up for grabs to spend at Simon Says Stamp! It's all sounding good to me! I hope you enjoy this splash of colour and have a great week too. Be seeing you all soon... Sarah.

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A bit of what you fancy...!

Well, that sounds like a good thing on a Monday morning. A bit of what you fancy! I just don't know where the week went to. One hundred nappies, seven sleepless nights and a few gold medals later and here we are again. It's time for the new challenge theme over at Simon Says Stamp & Show! We're indulging in our favourite techniques and so can you! So you just have to join in the fun this week. l found it hard to pin it down one fave so I created a tag where I could revel in the joys of Grungy blues, flowers and metal. Those three always make me happy.

I love Weathered Wood Distress Ink, so I created my background using Tim's rusted enamel technique which always produces a great effect. I also used a bit of Broken China too. Just make sure your ink pad is nice and juicy when inking up your tag before you scatter on the embossing powder so it can cling well to the ink. Also use ordinary embossing powder, not extra fine or thick for the best result and texture.

I edged my tag with Walnut Stain and also added stitching around the edges which I do a lot, I know, but I can't resist! My Grungepaper roses are created used the great die from Paper Artsy. I used three flowers for each rose. I cut them out, inked them up in Weathered Wood and then thought a few dots would give a bit of texture so I embossed them with this dotty folder. Then I lightly swiped the surface and edges with my blending tool which had a little Walnut Stain left on it.

I also cut three Grungepaper leaves which are similar to these dies. You can never have enough flower and leaf dies! Whilst the flowers were drying I went digging in my Idea-ology tray and found some ball chain, a number and my Chit Chat stickers and thought of the Three Little Wishes idea. The wishes was stamped with my ever faithful peg stamps. I bashed up the number a little and added drops of pool and Espresso Alcohol ink to give it that aged look.

l hand stitched the chain at the top and bottom to secure it to the tag and glued the roses on top with Glossy Accents to really cement it in place! I felt the tag was still a bit under-dressed so I added a bit more Idea-ology with a clip, swivel clasp and muse token to the side.

There was a lone die-cut butterfly on my desk from last weeks project so I thought I would give it a good home after a bit of ink and Rock Candy Crackle paint! Then, I knew I was done...

So there you go - a bit of this and that and all of it on a tag. I hope you feel inspired to get busy and crafty with your favourite goodies and techniques,.. and then show them off over at the Design Team Blog. We're on the look for the Top Three Artists and there is a fabulous $50 prize to be won. So come on - off you go!
THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO HAS BEEN CALLING BY! I am still very, very busy indeed as a new mum, so I'm not around so much at the moment. But I'm getting there slowly, Ruby is doing brilliantly and these fingers are itching to get going again... Until we meet again!
Sarah.

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