More Great Fun making Stuff!!!

I have been creating another larger piece again this week, with a couple of challenges in mind... It is a wooden frame I have altered, painting and using papers, metal pieces stamping and a die cut rosette. Have been waiitng a while for the latter, so I was really glad when it came the other day... problem was, my lovely Vagabond had died and gone to vagabond heaven, so I had to wait to use the die...

Hurrah, it's replacement came on Wednesday afternoon, so I lost no time in unpacking it and adding the stickers etc... I bet I am the only person in England to have had TWO Vagabonds!!!! Twas just like the first time excitement.... tee hee!!! So what did I create, and for what?? Well here it is...

My first idea came from the newly created challenge by the lovely people at Crafty Individuals, where the theme of the month is simply square. I have used a fabulous stamp of buldings that I got from them some time ago... I stamped it on to a piece of their wonderful  paper, then again a portion of it on to a piece of stampboard. The small pictures are also from a Crafty Individuals' pad, stuck to more stampboard.

My second inspiration was from the theme at The Three Muses, which is keys. I LOVE the new papers from PaperArtsy called Thorndon Hall,  so I used the keys one as the background to my piece... slightly distressed by painting it with watered down eco acrylic to match the frame ...the rosette is made from the TH lost and found stash. My letters I left naked (oo er missus!!!) this time, just lovin the grunge paper texture for itself, for a change.

The close-up shows the rosette, which I decorated with a TH tiny door knob. Finally, the keys and locks were added and the piece was done. It is quite simple, but I really like it 'cos it's different from anything I have done before... I seem to have written that a lot recently!! I LOVE tags, as my followers know, but it is great to work in different shapes and sizes sometimes...so much more room to stuff stuff!!

Trouble is, where do you keep/display pieces like this folks??? Anyone else wondering this??? Anwsers (not on a postcard tee hee!!) welcome please. You ladies and gents with shops and stands have a ready-made outlet, but my craft room is already cluttered with my stash, hardly a place to put anything down, let alone display pieces  8"x8" etc... What do YOU do??

Well, thanks for looking today. As I write this, I am looking forward to my second real treat of the week - another workshop, this time with Liz Welch of Friendly Plastic fame!!! I am so excited about it, as I LURRVE FP but realise I need help to make my efforts smoother and more professional... who better to teach me then!!?? Watch this space for the results...

Love and light

Frankie

xx

Corr... a Fantastic Morning!!

I went on a fabulous morning course today... Drove for just short of 2 hours, to Lin Brown's shop in Olney to do a workshop with her... It started at 9.00am!! This was the (almost) finished product - very pale paint, so the photo was not too good when I got home.  I have wanted to do metal stuff and get some basic tools, so this was just up my street...

 Here are the hands of the lovely Lin, showing our group of six ladies how to begin the flower. The project originally had a coloured tree, but she gave us the option for a metal flower...

 She used the grunge flower dies from PaperArtsy to cut the shapes, then made the various marks on them. Below, she is finishing up the background metal, rubbing and embossing from a kabuki board.

 The green board has diamond shapes on it and it's the first one I fell in love with on Lin's blog on her sidebar... she develpoed a technique which she demos there, very professionally, but the US lady seems to find it all very funny!!!

 Below is the stash I came home with... some metal and tools of various types, and some other real goodies, like a birdcage!!!

 I have got quite a few really great things here, so I was delighted to look round the shop... it really truly IS an Aladin's cave and there is so much unusual, different stuff!!! Well worth a visit if you can...(or on line, of course!!!)

And finally, here is my finished piece... I made the flower when I got home and added the tree, which was supposed to be on there from the project description... The metal flower is actually stream and purple alcohol inks, but the colours are not showing up very well!!! Because my tree was SO neutral, and not coloured green etc...  I decided to add it too, as it is the colour of the metal...

I am so chuffed with the finished project, and having had a lesson in the metal work... it is easier than I thought and will be better when my hands have been injected next week!!!! Hopefully to be pain-free for a few months subsequently...

Thanks for looking and please do leave a comment
Love and Light
Frankie
xx

WOYWW #97 - Oh Dear!!!

Happy WOYWW again!! Gosh it do come round very quickly don't it!!!!! And oh dear.... my desk is so full and untidy again.... worse than ever, I think!! But it is still very busy and  creative, even if there is not even room to put down a postage stamp!!!.....  In order to see what I am creating, have a look at the post below this one.... here... which I have entered into several challenges... I had a go at some flowers made from parchment, and they came out really well. The Adirondak color washes took deeply and fully on that paper... They were overprinted with black archival ink and a flower stamp from Elusive Images...

Here are my perfect pearls... I love them as they make everything so glimmery without being brash... By the way, I have not shown mine here, but do buy a scrubbie if you don't have one already... they are fabulous and REALLY get you clean after all your inky sessions, I can't do without mine!!!

If you are wondering why I am shaming myself with my untidy, tarty desk, pop over to the lovely Julia's blog, at Stamping Ground, cos she started it!!!!

Thanks for coming over and looking and commenting, I hope
Love and light
Frankie
xx

Some Great Challenges...

 This week seems to have taken me some time to get going!!! There are some fabulous challenges out there so I have made this piece with some of them specifically in mind. So, the first one is with Hels at Ink on my Fingers Sunday Stamper #149 Blue. That set the idea for my colour, then I needed some other inspiration so next came Simon Says Stamp and Show, where they asked us to play with distressing!!! Never need any second asking for that!!! tee hee...

Finally, I went back over to Linda's blog Studio L3 for Grungy Monday where #3 of all things t!m, is to use specific product, this time being Adirondak Color Wash. I have had some bottles for quite a while and they work so well on fabric as well as paper etc... So it was denim and stream I pulled out to spray (not very well, but never mind, cos I decanted into a couple of mini misters!!!) on the parchment for the flowers, and the lace.

 Below, you can see the lace a little better and my other distressing feature - I have used sailboat and pool dabbers as the background colour then painted eco mulch over the top, diluted with a little white, and distressed with some black. Between these two layers goes a layer of pva glue... then the crackles just come and come and come... I oversprayed everything with heirloom gold and the blue perfect pearl sprays, so it all glimmers beautifully....

 Underneath the blue lace is a layer of TH ruffle ribbon, cut in half and distressed with vintage photo ink.. I love ths stuff because it is so versatile, and looks so gungy here, mounted up against the lace.

 I bought this scissors charm at the NEC, recently and just love how they look alongside the buttons, lace and beads. This is one of my fav postcard stamps, with the lovely vintage lady image, mounted here on a TH pin stuck into the lace...

 The side of the tag has a bow and bead fastened into the hole and I want to point out that I made the squarish looking bead at the top. It is made from UTEE with gold bits encapsulated inside... never been able to replicate this quite... note to self - must try again...

A final look at the whole tag, sorry about the photos as this darker coloured tag seemed to drink in the light then throw it back out when I popped them into the 'puter!!! Taking this look again, I realise I could try it as an entry for the layers challenge over at The Artistic Stamper

Thanks for looking and taking the time to leave a comment... I  love reading them all and following you back to your space to look at your work...
Love and light
Frankie
xx