WOYWW - Art!!! Something crafty to Look At - About Time!!!

Hi Everyone... back again at the end of a week that flew at the speed if light, or so it seems!!! No sooner have I paddled mum to the loo than it's time to GO again!!!! Tee hee!!!!

Seriously folks, it IS that time of the week when we bare all for art's sake and show our desks/workspaces/rooms/etc for the rest of the crafty world to peruse!! All that courtesy of the arch-desk-keeper Julia at Stamping Ground, and I finally have stuff to show and share that is arty and extremely untidy, but very welcome in my eyes!!!!! I have my crafty'oom AND a piece of work to show you - a tag for TIO and SSSS some elements of time.... HURRAH!!!

 Well here it is then.... it all it's "glory" !!!!some new papers from Kanban, a new toy - the circle pro, my box of masks, new scor tape and stamps and all my usual chaos!! Just finished my TIO time tag...

This view is just inside the door, to the right of the desk, and looking to the cluttered floor!!! Drawers pulled out and used as a shelf for some stamps... how slutty is that?? All those bits of paper on the floor, and such clutter!!

and this is from the door to the left - the box about to fall off the shelf is my kit from Laura Denison... It's SO yummy, can't wait to start,  but time is VERY short just now, as mum is keeping me on my toes!!!

So this is what I made today - first piece for a while...

 The TIO challenge is to make a tag with the theme of the film Time Changer - which is Victoriana/Steampunky/Hugoesque (Jude Law's new film) ... my ickle clock is flying away!!!

 The concept here was time changing/travel so the lady is morphing into the top hat man!!! all helped by the cogs and wheels and the time pieces...

 This is a view of the whole tag, set out on a fave sheet of paper from DCWV Tattered Time. It's a huge clock and cogs... I LOVE it!!

 This clock is from a Kanban set, modified by taking the central piece out and distressing it then raising it above the rays and adding a central shiny brad...

 Those of you who follow me or visit often will know I LOVE texture and this tag is just full of it... I used some clear ep on many of my images, and some of the cogs are beautifully textured...

So there we have it again - full frontal... I had a great time making this and hope you like it too... why not find a little bit of time to do non- Crimble stuff and join us at TIO!!?? Please leave a comment, I am craving some crafty chat just about now!!!
Love and light
Frankie
xx

WOYWW - Follow-up from Last Week!!

Hi everyone, followers and WOYWWiggers!!! It's THAT time of the week again when the crafty bloggers of the world unite to bare all... steady!!!  only in their crafty spaces/rooms/floors/desks/suites etc... all courtesy of the lovely Julia, desky-in-chief at Stamping Ground... and where has the time fled to this week, again... ???

I am fast running out of time to get mum's room ready... however, we are doing ok and are nearly there!! Here's my workspace this week, then... mum's room

 This corner is opposite the door into the room, and this lovely new screen will make personal stuff a bit more private for mum. It is very pretty and it's something I have thought of buying for my conservatory for a long while...

 This is the far corner of the room, with the new chest of drawers and mum's tele on top.  I think we shall move the drill etc before she gets into bed, LOL!!!

And here is the far corner at the other side of the window, with her easy chair from home... we went up there Sunday and it was VERY odd, to say the least...ah well!!!  I think we shall have to move the drill boxes when she wants to sit down... ok, it's wearing thin eh!!??

But I am still reeling a little from the burning of the horse box yesterday... if you are interested in the latest tale of woe, see the post below, or click here... sad. sad day, and the boys are still really upset. Jay made a list of all that was lost and took it into school to discuss with his teacher - victim support rang us today, we were referred from the police - perhaps it would do the boys good to have a chat to someone neutral about their loss...

Anyway, I have to go today, and pay for the van windscreen to be mended from Sunday's trip, as we had a stone chip it and they are making me cough up £145!!! It has made it a VERY expensive trip to get mum's stuff!!!! Oh well, bring on the next bad thing...

Please send calming, healing vibes for shattered nerves and hacking cough!! I know everything will be ok, but it's getting very difficult to trust and keep the faith... there is a purpose but I can't see it just now!!!
Love and light
Frankie
xx
PS - I WILL do crafting soon, I promise, meanwhile don't stop coming to visit, please. xx

Just When...

Just when you think things can't get much worse... they get worse!!!! I must have inadvertantly killed loads of robins this year for all the disasters that have occurred!!!

So what is it this time I hear you shout... come on tell us - well, early hours of  yesterday (Sunday/Monday) morning, our farmer called us to say the horse box, our old but much loved lorry, was ablaze!!! We dragged on clothes and drove up to the farm to find the lorry completely burnt out and steaming gently. The firemen were just finishing dowsing it down. It had taken 3 tenders of water to put it out, and there had been more than 1000 degrees of heat at the fire's height!!! There was NOTHING left in there... not even the steering wheel!! The partitions were warped and twisted... and no sign of ANYTHING that had been inside...

There had been some pieces of show equipment in there, obviously. The season was not finished when we came home from Egypt, but we had to stop and not do the last two shows because of my and Miranda's broken bones!!! Well, things can be replaced, but we cannot replace the rosettes that Freddie, Miranda and the boys worked SO hard to earn

For example, this was our BESTIST day, with a haul of 4 firsts!! That was a SUPER day, and at the edge of the photo you can see just a fraction of the others we won this season... we can never replace them... and how did all this happen you may be asking??? The fire chief said it was arson!!!so someone cut the door to break in and set it aflame, for some reason... The boys were devastated, and so were we adults. Mindless violence and vandalism...

So now the fight starts with the insurance company, to recoup some of the things lost and get enough back towards another lorry, cos we are not giving up!!!!!!! Burnt lorry and my mum will NOT get in the way of us having great family times with the horses we love...

Please send some positive healing and protective vibes to help us have nothing more horrid happening, cos I am rapidly going under!!! Have got a chest infection just now and started taking the happy pills yeserday, to try and get my act together!!!

Love and light

Frankie

xx

Finally, Fragrant Freddie's Fab Birthday!!

Hi all... as promised, finally that birthday card for the fragrant Freddie's birthday. I have never done a double tri-shutter before and it was so interesting...

I am posting this as I NEED a break from the brick walls at the end of each phone call I have made this morning!!! Not least of which to a van hire company, who seem to have no humanity at all!!! They want the van back by 8.30 on Monday morning, or else they will charge for another whole day... even when I said that Freddie has to be in work before they open at 8 and I have to take the boys to school at the same time that they need the keys!!! Total intransigence - oh well... I am trusting the Dao and just going with it, and something will turn up...

So that card... get a cuppa and sit a while as there are quite a few photos... well there was a lot to decorate... hurrah!!

 Tim Holtz and Kanban... + some bundled twigs to distress... I made it 8x8, which is a size I love to work with...

 This is the first layer, just inside the left front, with letters from DCWV Tattered Time stack - I LOVE that paper!!! I have a kit, from the wonderful Laura Denison, I am about to start on, which uses that stack... amazing!!

 This is inside right, with his age and homage to our fabulous balloon ride in Egypt - onwards and upwards!!! Of course, I made this when I thought things were going up!!! Nothing feels up just now, but I know it will again soon...

 The papers at the back and beind the wooden "love you" letters, are stamped by my own fair hand with a variety of stamps and techniques... fun to do.

 This is as full on open as I managed to photograph... it's a great fold this one... I shall try it again.

 Here is a close up of that stamped paper... with the ghost of a lady, lurking!!! Freddie only noticed her 3 days later!!! She is from a cube by Stamp Addicts and I have used her a lot lately - she reminds me of the cogged-haired lady in the Graphic 45 Steampunk Debutante stack...

 This is the intriguing back view of the folds, with one of the dangly watches showing...

 The previous 2 photos are of the back of the card.... I made a pocket and put a journaling ticket in it with my message to Freddie...

So there we are, full circle. He LOVED it and was mystified how it was made... I made him an oriental "thank you" card but forgot to take a picture!!! Still, he will bring it home and I will show it you then. His workmates were also astounded as to how it was made and I may get some commissions in the new year, as so many of them were impressed, not only with this one, but with the decoupaged oriental one too...

Well, dear friends and followers, hope you are not too bored, and thanks so much for coming over for a peep. Thanks also for all the wonderful words of compassion and support you have all left, to help me get through this difficult time, preparing for my mum to arrive next week. I am by turns angry, anxious and upset with all the stuff to do, and all the obstacles people want to put in the way, but I expect I shall cope in the end!!! Thank goodness, too, for the fragrant Freddie - he is just a total good egg!!
Love and light
Frankie
xx

WOYWW - Cheating Again!!!

Well, that week went by  like the clappers which means I only have another and two days before mum is whisked off in a puff of smoke and lands here in her new home!!! HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For those who are in the dark, please see my previous post. Yep, mum is coming to live with us... eeekkk, frightening...!!! So what do I have for your delectation this week, chez Julia at Stamping Ground...?? well it's this...

 And the cupboard was bare!!! We have stored the stuff in the boxes and the men are coming on Wednesday dinner time to take the furniture etc off to storage. The top, middle cupboard is a booze cupboard, with a dropleaf door... the booze is now relegated to the garage!!! Gulp!!

Standing in the doorway, this is the view into the room, with yet another empty cupboard... to your right, but out of shot, is the previous cupboard...  So this is my workspace this week, getting the room cleared and making room for new stuff, coming on Thursday... Those eagle eyed amongst you will spot my Misty "Fluffy" cat - the grey one of the kittens I thought would die cos of his poorly back legs... just look at him!!! Big fluffy lump!!! He thinks he is staying in here, but I am about to disabuse him!!!

Well that is it for today. Not much crafting done, I'm afraid, but I WILL get to it soon, when I have done a few more phone calls, filled in more forms and sorted more stuff!!!... please keep sending those great vibes to keep me going, I can feel them and really appreciate it...
Love and Light
Frankie
xx

A New Direction

Hi All... thanks for popping over. I won't keep you long, but just want to share with you some news.... Many of you will know that I have had issues with the care of my mum recently, and went up to sort things out last week... well, she can no longer live at home because she is too confused, so I decided to have her live here with Freddie and myself...

It's such a big step, and is quite frightening, however I can't face putting her in a home, and must try to care for her here. I am trying to get some help with that, as I am not brilliant myself, and all that begins on 2nd December!! I love her dearly, but she should not be in this position, and I managed to get her present doctor to agree that fitting a pacemaker to a lady in her condition was unwise!! I shall be following that up in the weeks to come!!

Meanwhile, I am sure I will get into a reasonable routine so that I can craft as much as I can... we are busy stripping my dining room and putting furniture into store, and getting new stuff for her. I am hoping she will be comfortable, but will not linger too long, because her life now has little of the quality one would wish for her.

So that's my news, dear readers and followers. I would love you to send us some positive vibes to start us down this path, and shortly I will share with you that card I made for the fragrant Freddie's birthday...
Love and Light
Frankie
xx

WOYWW - Oh Dear... Oh Dear

Do you remember the yellow pages ad when the girl followed the lad into his grotty flat, and said the imortal line "you don't want to see what they have done with your bathroom!!!"  ?? He was, of course, simply untidy.... well you don't want to see what they did in my craft room!!! It's been done over I think -

 OMG!!! What a dreadful slutty crafter I am... sorry you had to see this... and all courtesy of the wonderful Julia at Stamping Ground... I am truly ashamed, but it is really never far from being like this, actually!!!! I have been doing birthday cards, one for Matthew for Monday, and this one for Tim, my son, for Tuesday... so that's my sort of excuse!!! Lots of opportunity for spying though... wonder what will take your fancy?? will it be the chompers, or the TH florals. the glass mat or what??

Here is the card up closer. It is an ordinary easel card. You can just notice my punches station at top right, and lots of other stuff. I WILL get straight, I do promise, but just now life is too busy!!! As you read this on Wednesday morning (perhaps!!) I will be on my way to see my mum and have a VERY important meeting about her future... REALLY scary. Daughter is going with me, as I am bound to get upset and she can keep me straight!!! They will tell me she has to go into a home - why did they fit a pace maker for her just to sit and be demented?? Unfair... and very upsetting...

Ah well... I shall show you the Fragrant Freddie's card later in the week, and I am also late again with my TIO tag... it's Oriental this week, so I shall want to do it, but I just can't craft quickly enough at the moment!!! I am healing quite well, and Miranda is now weight bearing, so things are looking up a bit, but not for my poor old mum... please think about us!!!
Love and Light
Frankie
xx
PS just found out I was chosen at Simon Says Stamp and Show, again last week!!! Yippee, it is great news on a dismal day... I am totally chuffed!!
F xx

A Tag for TIO

Well, better late than never, is all I can say... but I have managed a tag for DragonsDream Tag It On this week, even though it should have been done by Wednesday last!!! I have been so busy and so Seasonal Ajustment Disorderly!!! as well as still not having much thumb use... and Freddie's card finally got finished and he loved it... so I shall show you that another day.

 So, the theme is romance because the film title is "Letters To Juliet"... lots of scope there for people to go to town on all aspects of the theme... My DreamTeam did a splendid job, all round, and I love what they have made. I really wanted to join in, so kept to the romantic face images and the letters/postal idea... the TH nibs are always a winner!!

 I used the bricks folder with brown coredinations and sanded back for texture. I cut a hole in the bricks and stuck in it a ickle postcard stamped piece... it's just SO dinky!!

 Time is involved quite heavily in the story, so a TH clock sets the scene, trimmed with a ickle flower, aww!!
Below is the whole thing...

 I used my new postage stamp punch to make the shape with the enigmatic lady on... most of the stamps used are by Artemio, but that one is on a cube from StampAddicts... it is an oldie but a goodie, and so useful...

I am loving the colours, which are mainly the new twigs - I LOVE LOVE LOVE it as a colour - and milled lavender, which is echoed in the ribbon through the top.. I stamped in sepia and black archival, and the background to my tag is from the Tattered Time stack by DCWV, which is my new FAVE, being clocks, and a bit steampunk and definitely from the decade I was born!!!!. My Laura Denison kit using that paper, has not come yet, but I will give you a stash haul when it arrives!!

So, off to bed now as I still have to go take the boys to school in the morning, but they are both back living at home now, so that lets me off a couple of hooks!!!... Thanks for coming over, hope you enjoyed my newest tag... and thanks for your lovely comments, which I crave, quite frankly, tee hee!!!
Love and light
Frankie
xx

I shall also enter this for the following challenge(s)
Simon Says Stamp and Show - women only
Fashionable Stamping Challenge - Times Gone By
Rileyand Co - an oldie but a goodie (an old stamp)
Its All About the Vintage - dreams, brown, cream, pink

WOYWW - Crafty Work... Hurrah!!

Finally managing to do a little bit more with my wrist... still not up to full on regular stuff, but happy to be making again... just wish I had the time!!! STILL looking after the grandsons and feeding 5 each night... my day finishes at 3.10pm so I can pick them up from school - normally I am just in full swing making mode at that time!!! Anyhoo, time to share the altered piece I started at the weekend, in a class with the lovely Linda Elbourne!!! Been trying to get to meet her for ages...

Well, the class was really interesting and VERY challenging - not because of the art and craft, but because we had to deface a book!!! I have NEVER done that before, but am getting into the swing of it... It started out a most LURID lime green, under it's dust jacket, when I paid £1.50 at the charity shop... it's not a very interesting book, so I sort feel justfied in altering and up-cycling it... Not yet finished but here is what it looks like now -

 I painted it in London Nights paint from PaperArtsy, then distressed it with vintage lace paint, vintage photo distress ink and some of the wonderful Inca Gold in bronze, put on with my fingers... I stamped with a script stamp, off the block, so I could get only partial prints...

 Here you can see the steampunk charm I was given. I cut out the large clock to go round it and then made a rosette when I got home, to mount it on... The lovely Linda cut minute pieces of foam for me to make the TH clock stand off the page - patience of Job that girl!!! Anyway, it worked...

 We stuck many many many pages down, and I have begun painting one lot here. I am going to make some Laura Denison pockets for some tags on the first 5 sets of pages, and then...

 We cut an aperture from the middle!!! This really WAS difficult to start, hurting the book so badly!! but I shall LURVE it when it's finished... I shall put time type stuff in my little niche... well they can't touch you for it!!! Tee hee

 And here are my signature roses!!! Made from grunge paper as ever... they look really grungy and vintage IRL... The rest are die cut and painted with distress inks...

I am loving this project and look forward to finishing it... but crafting is only bit at a time at the mo, and I am madly working on a masterpiece for the fragrant Freddie's birthday Thursday!!! Show you that after the event!!! Can't get back to DT stuff yet a while... then there's crimble cards to do/finish etc... it's all go!!!

Well, I hope you have enjoyed your little sojourn... if you don't know about WOYWW, pop over to the Stamping Ground and see our lovely Julia, whose wondrous idea this spying sharing all is!!!Thanks for the visit and I hope to see you chez vous very soon
Love and Light
Frankie
xx
I shall enter this into the following challenge(s)
Simon Says Stamp and Show - some up/re-cycling

Back in the Crafty'oom again

Yey!!! I have managed to get back to do some stuff this week, in my crafty'oom, and have done a tag for DragonsDream Tag It On... it's STEAMPUNK, so on trend just now, so why not have a go at getting inky and sticky... I might find a ickle prize if we get enough entries!!...deets over there...

Anyhoo... I really enjoyed myself, using some of my new stash... I have spent WAY too much recently, but I don't care, cos I am worth it... so get a cuppa and have a look at the photos...

 This first pic shows one of my new stamps from sets by Creative Impressions... great steam engine (NOT "train", cos this is only the locomotive... my dad drove them for YEARS and he hated it when peeps called the engine the train... so back to the plot!!) I used my fab distress inks - mainly pumice stone, black soot and a smidgin of vintage photo...

 Wonderful Wendy Vecchi art parts watch here, left completely untouched, as the colour is just right for my scheme. Inside is a cog from a set from C&C and the lock is from Sir Tim, of course.

 Here is the whole tag, in all it's glory... I am LOVIN the colour, which is not really much colour, but so subtley yumminess...

 A detail shot here of the TH bulbs and a Vintaj dragonfly... the bronzy cogs are from a strip of the Kanban sticky vellum - is it vellacitate?? - from their steampunk set... I love it and wil use it more and more, now I have tried it... but perhaps I will cut into it a bit more, cos the straight line does show up a bit!!

 New clock hands here and one of my new, ickle metal butterflies, and a TH clock from his paper stash... all so grungy and attic-looking. Hope it fits with the emporium, Wanda??!!

 The three fellas are from a set by TH, obviously, it's a well known image now, and I love how they just fit at the end of a tag, as if by magic???!! ... I did have a go with a couple of my Pan Pastels that I bought when I went to do a session with Lin, at LB Crafts, last week.. It is a wonderfully soft grey colour and I pressed through a new floral stencil, as you can spy by the long key...

 And this shot??? Well, it's NOT my tag extended, it is a wonderful page from the DCWV Tattered Time stack... I LOVE it... it's a fantastic set of images. I am expecting a kit - my first - from the incomparable Laura Denison, of  The Paper Trail. It's a mini book full of space for tags, journalling and piccies, using this fabulous paper, and I will have some to use and some to stroke!!!! Tee hee... So I will be making that when it comes. I am also about to start the Vintage Suitcase I had the pattern for, some time ago, to store a mini of piccies of Egypt I want to make... So much to do, so little time!!! But lots to keep me going, and getting back into gear.

So there we are, finally some craft to share with you!! been a long time eh.?? Not yet ready to take up my DT duties yet, because there are many things I can't do well at the mo, but I am keen to get on with making stuff. So please leave me a comment and I look forward to visiting you too...
Love and Light
Frankie
xx
I have had a scout round and would like to add my tag to the following challenges:-
Divas by Design - Use Metal
Ruby's Rainbow - Use Metal
PanPastelUK Challenge blog - Distress it
Take a Word - Time