WOYWW #110 - Tidy?? + Peaking at my Project

Racing along again this week, I can hardly catch my breath ... time to do some I-Spy chez Julia here... I managed a few more assignations again last week, even if one or two were very late!!! But better late than never, and I am still finding it SO interesting...

So this is my space this week!! Those of you who know my desk well, will notice that I have had a considerable tidy up - YES ... THIS is what calls itself tidy in my book!!! I have taken away the notebook computer from the right hand corner and put my punches and other bits and bobs there... it is having problems with getting online, so I shall ditch it, once I am certain I have all the images etc. saved from it... This is the beginnings of my project Tim Holtz for TIO and the Stampman this week...

 I painted the last of my frames with a vintage lace, pva glue and london nights acrylic sandwich, then distressed with some Claudine Hellmuth trad tan (fairly new to me but I like it Hels!!!) - just LOVIN those fresco finish paints!!! You can see I get a really great crackle effect with them and the glue...

 I filled the inside of the frame with some paper from the TH crowded attic stack... all the haberdashery stuff, cos my theme is sewing this time... here I have cut some pieces from the TH die set, in chipboard, and the cutting mat is out to make some strips for inside the frame, to make it have some smaller sections... The rub 'n buff is out too, as I used it to distress some edges... the paper is painted in a thin layer of trad tan, and all the pieces are painted with it too, bceause it makes a great surface to stamp on...

I like this dress form and I stamped the TH flourish on it in dusty concord, after it was painted, then embossed with clear ep (borrring!!! yawn) ... the rosette is also from a TH die, but I cut it down so it was very small, and added one of his accoutrement buttons to the centre. I shall enter this into the Simon Says Stamp and Show some stitching challenge this week, and here is the very sewing on this lovely broidery anglais border, wrapped to make a skirt.

 I shall also enter this in the Grungy Monday challenge this week, where the brief is to use an orange peel /faux rust technique from TH... please go to my Project Tim Holtz post to see all of my piece, how I did it, and the addy for the TH technique...

Here is another ickle sneaky peak, showing my buttons and the words, cut round with my pinking shears, to keep in with the theme... some died seam tape, a pearl bauble and a pair of scissors round off the tag, which sits on the left hand side of the bigger frame...

Hope you enjoyed your visit this week, and that you will look in to my post here, to see the end product... also, pop over to my challenge blog and join in the TIO theme this week - Project Tim Holtz, as I already said!!! Meanwhile have a great week...
Love and light
Frankie
xx

DT Pieces for Stamp Addicts

Hi again ... here I am doing something I have NEVER done before!!! Never, ever... and what is that??? I am making Christmas cards!!!!!!! OUCH!!! In the post last weekend, came some pretty ickle new stamps from Stamp Addicts, and yes, they are for Christmas... So I have been making some cards as samples for the next show... That will be July 25th at 4pm.

 They have designed some new roundels and I used these to create baubles... the background is silver card, but it looks grey here. There are a lot of these ickle penguins, and I printed one inside an empty roundel, as well as doing the same thing with the star in another...

This one is made of several images, collaged on the scene. I created the background using two of the texture stamps - large and small dots...They are VERY useful... I stamped them in white acrylic paint and dried them, then smooched the whole thing in distress inks - when don't I??!! I tried for some fun pictures in this set of cards, and this is one of them - I just wonder where that ickle skiing guy is going to land!!???

So that's it for now... had some fun doing these and I have some more to show you later in the week... The stamps will not be available until the show later in the month... Off to get inky now, and finish my "Project Tim Holtz" for TIO on Wednesday and Stampman on Friday... it's a biggy again, with a tag attached... Hope you will come back soon to see the next installment and please leave a comment, as I love to know what you are thinking...
Love and light
Frankie
xx

Singing in the Rain??

I have managed a session with my inks today, and have made a piece for a couple of challenges - oh yes... bundled together again, but I am actually enjoying the discipline of taking the rules from different places and linking them into my piece.

 I went with my daughter to a meeting today, and it was pouring with rain, so my piece had to be the rain man... so I started with that and built from there... the words were also important, and they were on a new sheet of TH sayings.... I cut him out of a piece of kraft paper and inked him with blues distress inks...

 Here it is as a whole view. My challenges are going to be

Simon Says Stamp and Show - a flourish
Sunday Stampers - writing
Grungy Monday - resist technique by TH

 The piece is full of texture - mainly from the use of the white paint dabber on a dots stamp from TH. When dry, I sprayed with some home made spritzes, as demanded by the TH technique, then aged with vintage photo round the edges.

 This frilly edge is made with musical tissue tape, fastened to a thin stip of blue ribbon. The rosette also has music on it, cos the man is singing and dancing in the rain!!

 A TH flourish is stamped all round the edges and embossed with clear ep - what a surprise!! Below, you can see the dotty texture from the white paint resist... it is very pleasing as a background... very tactile... I also daubed some rub and buff in gold, round all the edges for a highlight.

So there we have it... the finished piece... I am quite pleased with it, and happy with the texture... and of course, I love this umbrella man, he is so versatile...
I will also add this to the following

Everybody-Art-Challenge - use shapes
Riley &Co - dies and punches

Thanks for coming over and having a look... Please leave a comment as I truly value your opinions...
Love and Light
Frankie
xx

WOYWW #109 - A Pressie from Neil + My TIO Tag

 Where are the wings??? For the year, that is, tee hee... I can't believe we are already into July and another WOYWW Wednesday!!! I am sure there is more than 1 in each week!!! And why are Wednesdays, so important??  2 main reasons really - TIO challenge and sharing desks and work with the world c/o the fabulous Julia at Stamping Ground...

Above you can see my alcohol inks out from last weeks' challenges at Stampman and Grungy Monday. You can also spy a new tool - a chobbler for rounding edges...

I have been sorting out my Tim Holtz pieces and adding to my stash, with more metal bits and some new stamps. These boxes are just a couple that I keep my things in..

And right here at the front, my Fresco paints... I love them. They have such a great finish. There is also one of my stains... don't have many of them, but I expect I will get a few more eventually... Now how lucky am I??? Just look here...

 You might remember there was a mix up on WOYWW anniversary swap week, and my partner did not make an actual thing... well, a couple of wonderful people made things for me, and one of them was the VERY talented Neil, who made me this lovely book, with this fabulous stamped cover...

The background is beautifully crackle stamped, and this TH birdie is so delicate. It is softly grunged round the edges and  I am lovin it!!

 I think this is wax, stamped into whilst hot...

And this is the inside of that tiny card, with such a lovely message... I have only just shown this because it came whilst I was in Venice, then the stuff with my mum made me forget to show it... so here it is now and thanks a whole bunch, Neil, I am so pleased and grateful for you sending it!!! - and finally...

Here is a tiny detail of my TIO tag for this week, available to view over at DragonsDreamTIO, or in much more detail on this blog, here. The theme this week is The Age of Chivalry, so if you want to join in, just pop over and have a look...

I hope you have a lovely week, and get to do what you want to do...

Love and Light
Frankie
xx

#109 TIO Tag - The Age of Chivalry

Well, here is another Wednesday, and here is another TIO challenge... I LOVE my teams' work and support, but they DO keep on challenging me these days!!! The Age of Chivalry is a wonderful theme, but I had very little to work with, so this is what I came up with...

 I thought of crowns and Fleur de Lys, chain mail and golden cord...

 I am loving to use metal decoration and, like last week,  again I used an on the edge die...one to echo the fleur de lys... see also the lions. These are from TH, stamped in red brick, and embossed in clear ep...as always!!

 Here is the full tag. I used red brick, spiced marmalade and scattered straw distress inks, smooched on the craft sheet and mixed. I stamped in archieval black and used clear ep. The large stamp and the crown are from a plate by Elusive Images. There is a crafty individuals script along the right side stamped in vintage photo... my layering again...

 The left side has the word "knight" in TH grunge board letters, coloured with fired brick and touched with gold pen...

I LOVE the texture of this middle section, with the diamonds, fleur de lys and lions. Actually I like the whole tag and it did not really take me too long today!!! Often I faff about, but it all came together well this time...

Off to do more inkyness now for Simon Says, Sunday Stamper and Grungy Monday... and anything else I can find... Thanks for coming over to look and to leave your great comments... I do appreciate you taking the time...
Love and Light
Frankie
xx

Artist!! - Taking on the Challenges

I have limited time at the moment as I have told you before, so I am rolling some challenges in together today... they fit perfectly anyway, so it's no hardship!! Normally, I am not chuffed when too many are rolled into one, but needs must, and I think I have kept them true to the individual premise -oooo, get her!!!

 So what are they I hear you cry??? as follows, I reply...

Stampman - alcohol inks + optional sketch (my DT piece)
Simon Says Stamp and Show - a word
Ink on my Fingers - words
Grungy Monday - alcohol inks
The Artistic Stamper - hot colours

So that's what I have done... words and alcohol inks in hot colours...

 I used shiny card, pool, rose and latte with my tool, and splodged, as you do!!!. Then I dropped some dots of each colour, after blending, and some blending solution to move the inks around... the rosettes are also dribbled with them, in two colours... they are made from TH kraft paper and the resist shows through really well as you can see below... Linda at Studio L3, showed us this link for inspiration... Tim himself, demoing...

 I stamped images from TH sheets, in archieval black and embossed in clear ep - well when DON'T I do that??? Then I began my layering which is my favourite to do... using a Craft Individuals word stamp in vintage photo, TH clocks in rusty hinge, pen nibs and diddy ickle clocks in black soot and so on.

 My word was ARTIST... a bit pretentious perhaps?? but I was feeling a bit arty at the time!! I printed it in the black, on a cut off piece from my original background make, then distressed it with a TH distresser tool. It seemed to cry out for a banner, and I DID get the idea from Hels Sheridan, I cannot tell a lie!!! So it was fixed upon the larger rosette, to tell it's message...

 I used a bit of metal too, cut in my Vagabond with a TH on the edge die, and decorated with a wheel from the starter, basic set. This fat bead is made from friendly plastic - I thought I might as well go for broke on all the media I was using!! tee hee...

 The whole thing is finished off with a bit of hardware, in the form of gears, cogs and spinner, all from TH of course!! The tag is very 3D, and very tactile, with all that thick ep and card rosettes - I still really love these, especially the smaller one with a die cut button from the TH sewing die...

So there it is, my 4 for the price of 1!!! - I am very stingey this week, but needs must. Hopefully the phone calls will diminish once mum settles a bit... at the moment she is so confused and fed up, she keeps blaming me then putting the phone down on me... that makes me so mad!!!

I was out getting some fish and chips last night, and she must have left a message, cos she was VERY cross because I was not in, and moaned because I was " not giving her any support whatsoever" and said that "the daughter does not love her mother".... ooooo she made me cross, but I shall just have to get used to it I suppose...

Anyway, less of that and more of a thanks to you who keep popping in to look at what I do. I am very grateful for your coming over and leaving me your wonderful comments... and just look to the right... as I write this I am not far at all, from my 25,000 visitors... come on!! put me over that magical number!!
Love and light
Frankie
xx

PS - hurrah we did it!!! we got over the 25,000 today, 1st July!!! Thanks people... xx

WOYWW #108 - Home Again, Home Again

Can it really be time for this I-spy playtime again?? Visit Julia to see what I mean... This time last week I was in Venice, but life is very different now!!! Mum has been in hospital and I have been up and down to Yorkshire trying to sort things out... quite distressing, and not enough time for much crafting!!!

 So I am trying to make some time for a bit at least, and here is an element from a tag for this week's TIO challenge, "by the seaside"... she is a lovely oriental lady with a lantern...

 I actually don't have any stamps to do with the seaside, so I took a different tack and decided to print out a Kodomo sea stamp several times and layer up... here I was practising the best way to tackle the layers.. in the final tag, I printed several times and cut out the waves...

So here is my desk this week as I was making the TIO tag. All the usual suspects are there... distress inks, tonic scissors, matt for a moon etc... so here is a little sneaky peak at what it looks like - please pop to my TIO blog for a full view, and to see the work of my talented team...

And finally, I would like to show you a couple of photos from Venice... arty ones and a fabulous steampunk piece... It was huge, and I LOVED it... I would have really wanted to bring it home for my wall, if I could have carried it!!! Sorry about the shiny strip, but the sun was bright and shining on the shop front opposite. There was no way I could get the image without the reflection!!!

 Many of the masks in Venice, were commonplace, but the ones in this shop were out of the ordinary...

 And what about this fabulous gown... it makes me wonder how on earth they got through doorways and went to the loo, etc!!! Where on earth could you tuck all that fabric out of the way!!!?? LOL...

So that's my space and interests for another week. I hope to get round to see many more of you this time, as I won't have dodgy wifi (I hope!!) so not missing that, but I AM missing all that sunshine... still, I did get a nice tan, especially as I sat near the Rialto and did some painting - yes I got out the watercolours and THOROUGHLY enjoyed 3 hours with toes in the canal (well not quite, but nearly!!) ... Freddie walked and explored and took video. I did not finish, but will show you when it's done!!

Thanks so much for visiting, reading and commenting - I LOVE to hear what you have to say, and value your opinions
Love and light
Frankie
xx

Stamp Addicts Cards and News

 Aww, isn't he a sweetie??. I LOVE elephants and this one is so nice to use. The sheet comes with a smaller version too and some sentiments... I just simply stamped him with a distress ink then pulled in the colour with a water brush... Nigel really seemed to like this card, on Sunday's show...

 This birdie stamp is quite large and very easy to use... you can cut the bird separately, and the flowers for decoupage, which is what I did here. I printed on to a glossy cardstock and embossed with clear ep.  The background paper is created by stamping one of the very useful circles stamps and smooching china blue distress ink over it.

The third card is from another cutie set of birds. I put several of the images together to make a scene. I think Nigel really liked this one on the show too, as he asked how it had been done... I printed in black archieval and used clear ep as always, but the images have large areas filled in, so the ep really stands out... Hope you like these cards, and if so, pop to Stamp Addicts to buy the rubber, or get them from Create and Craft.

Well, followers will know I have been to Venice, and I will share photos soon. However, my mum has broken her arm and has finished up in hospital!!! I rushed up there this weekend and tried to sort things out, but nothing happens on a ward on a weekend!!! She is often a bit confused, and is even more so when out of her normal surroundings... she was heartbraking and I am powerless to do more than have our views recorded in the notes... I hope I am getting somewhere today, by phone, because I  had to come home yesterday, obviously, as I have a my own house and life to run... So hopefully, I should have better news soon... meanwhile, much of my time is spent trying to keep abreast of things by phone, and being passed around!! Frustrating...
Thanks for looking
Love and light
Frankie
xx

WOYWW - With a Difference!!!

Hi all... a bit like our lovely Julia last week, there is absolutely NO desk, workspace or even floor to see this week chez moi!!! Because I am not all there!!! - opps let me re-phrase that, I mean to say I am from home... I am actually in VENICE!!!! Yes, you read it right, so no craftyness or inky fingers from me today, or all week until we are home again ...

I will share picture next week here but until then, the sun is blazing down in blue skies and I am having a wonderful time with the fragrant Freddie, for our 1st anniversary... If you want to see photos of our handfasting, pop down one post and see what we got up to last year... Have a great week
Love and light bright sunshine
Frankie
xx

One Year On + Almost 25,000 Visitations!!

It is our 1st anniversary today!!! This day last year, Freddie and I had our Handfasting Wedding in my wonderful garden... And where are we celebrating this great day?? Well in one of the world's most romantic cities.... Venice... I will share pictures when we come back, but meanwhile here is a link to our photos from last year..

I do hope this works as I am blogging with intermittent wifi on my iPad, lying in bed with a great cup of tea brought to me by the fragrant Freddie himself... And I am fast approaching 25,000 on my counter.... Wooo that's totally fab

Love and light bright sunshine
Frankie
xx
PS here is the album I made to keep the photos in... Thanks for looking