Monday, April 8, 2013

Just Fly!

Well, at last the Spring sun-rays have arrived! About time too. A little warmth always brings a smile to many a face. Here in hilly Shropshire it has been a White Christmas all over again and in lots of villages they are still defrosting...
So when I read we had a "Fly" theme at Simon Says Stamp & Show I felt bright colours and flutterbys were definitely called for. l am also on a mission to dig into my "Crafty stuff I might use some day" box! Maybe like me you buy, collect and hoard all sorts of bits and bobs!.
Things like canvasses, boards, boxes, frames, tins, etc., etc. You name it, we'll buy it!  But then you forget to use them and it all piles up. Well, time to get tough, inky and busy I say.
l took three mini canvasses and decided to create a bright and cheery trio of colour. I seem to really be into my pinks, greens , yellow and blues at the moment but it also a good excuse to use the Summer Distress Inks all year round!
My boards are covered with layers of scrap Tissue Tape, gesso, paint, Dylusion Inks and stencils with a bit of stamping for good measure. Just a bit in black Archival ink for contrast. Just like I like to do in my Art Journal (well, when I have time... which is never at the mo!!!)
 They turned out quite busy and bright so I needed something bold but simple to balance it all out. I am totally in love with my Worn Text Alphabet stamps as I am mad about adding words to nearly everything I make.
l faffed around stamping the Wendy Vecchi butterfly onto all sorts of papers and couldn't decide which one worked best for ages... Eventually I went for dictionary pages stuck to card , coloured with Distress Inks. Just a hint of small text worked best.
Then I thought it still seemed a little busy and in need of some contrasting lines. My trusty roll of brown parcel string is a cheap and cheerful crafty live saver! It breaks up the background and adds a little more depth...

Fly is a fabulous crafty challenge theme and I'm sure you will all be able to come up with something. Come on, which crafter hasn't got a butterfly in their collection? There are of course lots of other interpretations to be found. Check out the really wonderful ideas from the rest of the Design Team here! We are on the hunt for our top three artists and there is this very generous $50 voucher to be won too. Reason enough to get inky!

Righteo, time to flit away and hide from the housework... Thanks for all the visits and lovely comments each week. Really. Thank you!
Until soon,
Sarah. 

Posted by Sarah at Monday, April 08, 2013 18 comments

Monday, April 1, 2013

Silly Stuff...

Tis the day of pranks, fooling round and general silly stuff. It's also time for a brand new challenge theme over at Simon Says Stamp & Show where we are throwing out the rule book and just having a fun time... They say laughter is the best medicine and that is certainly the case in my book. For the last few weeks we have all been very ill my house. Hubby came down with a bad viral infection and kindly passed it on to both myself and baby Ruby.
 Sigh. Talk about a crash course in domestic reality... Ugh. A poorly baby is bad enough but when you all go down with a bug, it ain't much fun at all. No sir. Indeed not. I had totally refined the art of coughing by practising every night until I was a prof. On the worst night, I was still awake at 4am spluttering and just gave up on getting any sleep. I decided I would rather sit in my craft room than in a dark bedroom listening to the other two snoring.
So all dosed up and bleary-eyed I ventured into my inky zone. As ill as I was I just could not sit there empty handed. I wondered if I could manage some OCD cutting out and decided to attempt to bring a 'tashy' idea to life. My Ringmaster stamps were still in their packaging in need of some serious ink...
 After cutting and inking up three of the above hairy fellows I decided to set them off the edge by folding back the front of the card. I thought this would be a rather silly but funny way to create a party invitation and that is where the slightly daft wording comes in. I used 'mustache' from the stamp and Chit Chat words on the front and  finished off the sentence by stamping Worn Text along the inside edge.

It's my take on 'Silly meets Clean and Simple meets Vintage" and seeing as it is a No Rules week. Well, I think I can make it up as I go along... And as it was 6am in the morning, my sanity had left the building. I'm glad to say we are all, at long last, on the mend. Hooray and Amen.

For lots more freestyle fun and fabulous art do take a look at all the really wonderful creations from the Design Team here!
We can't wait to see what inky fun you will all get up to this week!!! We'll be choosing our Top Three Artists and there is also this great $50 shopping voucher to be won.
Thanks for calling by. Stay happy and healthy.
See you soon... Sarah.

Posted by Sarah at Monday, April 01, 2013 18 comments

Monday, March 25, 2013

Quote, quote, quote...

Good morning to you all. Be it sunny or snowy where you are I hope you are well. I'm in the house again as it is a new challenge them over at Simon Says Stamp & Show! This week we want to hear all about it! It's all about the quotes this time.
I was asked to create a piece for a friend's 40th wedding anniversary and so my piece is all about love, years of togetherness and memories. It's a very photo heavy post so hang in there...
 I've had this printers tray in my craft room for years and had forgotten about it. When I found it I knew it was just what I needed to kick start my mojo! I started by cutting and stitching paper to fit each box which took me ages!
An old rusty key, some antique crochet lace, one word and buttons...
A put a Muse token inside a bottle top with skeleton leaves.
 The picture of romance. Don't you think! With a little Wendy Vecchi fern stamping and bits and bobs.
Embossed stick back canvas hearts, extracts from bigger stamps and an old pen nib...
A small grunge rose, Worn Text stamping and a 'hearty' quote...

 This is the famous quote by Elizabeth Barrett Browning that first sprung to mind and so I started with this box first actually. 
I have used just a snippet but I do think it is a such beautiful poem... More Wendy stamps lie undderneath; wrought iron and the words are typed on my own typewriter. I can't live without it.
 Three hanging glass fragments, coloured with Alcohol Ink and over stamped. They look a bit wonky but they do hang straight. They moved when I moved the tray! The letters are the initials of the couple I have created it for.
More lace, buttons, tickets and a mini flower... with a few butterflies above for good measure.
It's a 40th wedding anniversary but we had agreed on no bright ruby red colours. Phew! Can't imagine this all in red! I covered the Idea-ology numbers in lots of paint and added some Distress Ink.
In an old old dictionary I still had this page with a definition of beloved. Thankfully, as most of my love words and pages have already been torn out and used.
An element of time seemed fitting. How do you measure always??? In some boxes I added one or two Chit Chat words to give things more meaning.
More lace, dried flowers and a Word Band with yet more quotability!
This butterfly was in my box of metal goodies, bought many moons ago, somewhere! At last she has a home.
 It took me quite a while to create (due to mummy duty) but dabbling with a couple of boxes each day was a lot of fun. I hope you have enjoyed a little romance and vintage art!
For more quotes and fabulous art do take a look at all the really wonderful creations from the Design Team here!
We can't wait to see what you will come up with this week. Quote away! We'll be choosing our Top Three Artists and there is also this great $50 shopping voucher to be won.
Thanks for calling by.
See you soon... Sarah.


Posted by Sarah at Monday, March 25, 2013 30 comments
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