Monday, May 20, 2013

A little thinking and inking...

Hello Monday! Well, I'm feeling blue today but thankfully it's all inky so that's good. The new challenge theme over at Simon Says Stamp & Show is all about your favourite ink pad. Eeek! Now there's a tough one...
In all honesty I could say all of them, but after looking at my desk and recent dabblings I went for Salty Ocean Distress Ink. It just keeps on popping up on my desk so it got the popularity vote from me.  Sometimes I'm just want to be creative with some good 'old school stamping'... I started out my crafty journey many moons ago when I decided to create my own Christmas cards and I still love cardmaking today.
There's just something about seeing that crisp inky image on white paper that does it for me. As usual I played around with my stamp collection and composition to see what I could magic up. I really love one layer stamping and decided that would be the mood to linger in. I like to be consequent in style and stamping when creating pieces so I stayed with a range of Mr. Tim beauties.
To create the eye I carefully dabbed and wiped away the ink from the stamp with a dryish baby wipe until I had the eye shape I wanted. I practised on scrap paper a few times to get the right look.
I had so much fun that I couldn't resist trying out another one. I combined the Papillon background writing with the smaller butterflies from Attic Treasures which is a great set of stamps. Just the right size for so many projects...
So there you go... gentle waves of Salty Oven from me.

Have you worked out which ink pad is your best friend?

 Take a look at how the rest of the Design Team played around with the challenge here!  

Inspiration galore! We are on the hunt for our top three artists and there is this very generous $50 voucher to be won too. Do join in and share your inky antics with us.
Thanks for calling by. I'm off to attack my 'to do' list... See you all soon.
Sarah.

Posted by Sarah at Monday, May 20, 2013 7 comments Links to this post

Monday, May 13, 2013

O paper, thou art small and beautiful...

We may not have sunshine but we all have a little paper that's for sure. Crafters? A little paper? Now, there's an understatement if ever there was one. So the new challenge theme over at Simon Says Stamp & Show is right up everyone's street.
l love working in miniature and thought it would be great fun to have a go at one of those famous folding mini books. If you have no idea what I mean then check out this great You Tube tutorial  from Mr. Timotheus Holtz himself here!

l used a piece of 12 x12 from my Destinations Paper Stash. I love this collection, use it all the time and still seem to have lots of yummy pages left over. It's been a while since the old Steampunk fellows have gotten inky and just as long since I did something in my vintage shades...
I've decorated the back with some smaller pieces from the same paper stash. All the pages have been stamped with numbers throughout and I've also added a few typed quotes and images inside too.

I used Grungeboard for both the book-plate frame and the binding which gives the book a really nice sturdy feel - and it was also the perfect location for a Wordband!

There's more of less here too! Lots of mini tags that are tucked into the pockets of the book...
It's such a fun project to play with, adaptable to any style, colour of theme you like. I think they would make a great alternative to a greeting card too.
So there you go. Literally a bit of what you fancy! It's a really fabulous challenge theme. There's no excuse for not joining in this week. 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. Do join in and share a little paper creativity with us.
That's me all done again. Gotta run, got one very mobile baby on the loose...Thanks for the visit! Have an inspired week and I'll see you soon.
Sarah.

Posted by Sarah at Monday, May 13, 2013 24 comments Links to this post

Monday, May 6, 2013

Bags of Inspiration...

Well, hello my lovelies and Happy Bank Holiday to all the folk over here. Cor blimey, we have a sunny one!!! This week at Simon Says Stamp & Show it is all about inspiration. What grabs your attention, who does it for you in the arty world, how do you go to kick start your mojo? We would love to know...
Well, never say never. My inspiration this week was all down to hubby's ever increasing pile of used jeans. I love sewing and up-cycling so the two came together in my Tattered Florals tote bag. Last month Tim Holtz held a great challenge all about these lovely blooms on his blog, but I just didn't find the time to join in...
But all the fabulous ideas that people came up with were so inspiring I thought I would still go for a Tattered Floral tribute! I cut off the trouser legs, cut them open along the seam and then cut two panels from the widest part to create the bag. I dug out my fabric scraps and also used the swatches from American Crafts. I ironed BondaWeb to the revesre of my scraps and then cut a selection of flowers. Just be careful when removing the backing paper from the Bond-a-Web before ironing the flowers onto the bag and you also need a really hot iron to ensure they adhere properly.
I was thinking of adding lots of buttons and wording but I like the modern, clean look. Also I think it is more practical to have a flush front otherwise it might catch on everything. It needs to be pretty and usable!!!! I did need a little extra touch and I thought that a word band was the just the ticket. I coloured it with a little alcohol ink to get the right tone and sewed it on.

It's all pretty simple really, but great fun too. It's just a basic tote bag and I didn't line it either!

If you have never made one here are a few ideas...  

You can use all sorts of scrap fabrics. Curtains, pillow cases, tea towels... Just in time for summer to carry a few books and your sun tan cream to the beach!

"Inspired by..." is a really fabulous challenge theme and with so many wonderful artists out there, in all fields, the possibilities are endless....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. Do join in and share your inspiration with us.
That's me all done again. Thanks for popping by! Enjoy your day and I'll see you soon.
Sarah.

Posted by Sarah at Monday, May 06, 2013 13 comments Links to this post

Monday, April 29, 2013

Tickets, please!!!

There is still one phenomenon yet to be measured by science. That being the unknown depths of a woman's bag... With that in mind and the great new Passport theme over at  Simon says Stamp & Show, I decided to combine my love of sewing and crafting and came up with a bright and funky passport holder.
I started out with some medium weight artists canvas which you can get from a good fabric store. I cut two 6.5 by 12.5 inch pieces and then prepped them with a wash of gesso so I would have a base for the colour.
You do need a gesso base coat otherwise the paint will just sit on your fabric and not take. It's best to let it dry naturally as drying with a heat gun can cause shrinkage. Then I applied a watered down mix of Distress Paint to create the colour, using sweeping strokes and the widest brush from Claudine Helmuth's fabulous set. Keep the brush wet and keep the paint moving. Blend, blend, blend...!
When dry, I added some random zig-zag stitching to both pieces, then I stitched the pieces together (right sides together) around the edge, leaving a 3 inch gap for turning. Trim the seams and corners, turn right sides out and iron well. I then top stitched around the edges using red thread. My machine was having a wobbly day and so I went with the rustic look! Turn in two inches either end to the inside to create the inner flaps, press and then stitch twice around the whole piece again. Hey presto, a passport holder!
Then the fun part come when you can add whatever you want. I thought a few stamped dots broke up the background and then I went for these yummy Wendy flowers and leaves. They are stamped onto sticky back canvas with Archival Ink and then coloured with Distress Inks.

I finished off with a little chain stitching on my flower (taking care not to stitch through both layers which fiddly but doable!) Then lots of holiday inspired stamped words to add some flavour. At this point I accidentally dropped my holder onto an blue ink pad. Not funny. But with a bit of a scrub, some repainting and edging I kind of hid it. Phew!

Okay, so it's not Haute Couture, but it was fun and hopefully I will be able to find my passport in a flash on my next little gettaway!
Passports is a really fabulous challenge theme - full of inky potential... 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. Do join in and share your art with us.
That's me all done for today. Have a good week y'all!!!!
Sarah.

Posted by Sarah at Monday, April 29, 2013 15 comments Links to this post
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