A warm welcome to all my visitors,

Thank you for taking the time to come and look at my blog, I really do appreciate it. I would love you to leave me a comment, even if it’s just to say Hi. It means I can come visit you!

All my designs are original, so copyrighted to me. If I have been inspired by someone elses work, I have named them in the post, and where able, I have provided a link.

Please feel free to use my designs for inspiration, I just ask you to credit me, and provide a link back to my blog.

Thanks, Shaz XX

Wednesday 2 November 2011

WOYWW #126

Hi all, first off I must apologise for Blogger last week, I know a number of people struggled to post comments, and I had a bit of trouble with one or two blogs- you'd really think they'd have it fixed by now! Well, todays the day we  unveil our desks to the world, courtesy of the incomparable Julia Dunnit, at The Stamping Ground.  I spent quite a few hours playing with tags & masks- the posts below are about how I made my own masks with my Silhouette & Transparency film, as well as  tag or two. Mainly though, I played with my Tim stamps, and I will show you those tags in a moment. However, this is Workdesk Wednesday, so here are two pictures- Before I stared playing, and then what it looked like when it came to clear up time!

I managed to get from this:



to this, with absolutely no help whatsoever- all my own mess work! :)







 I started  off with a bunch of tags I had sponged in the past.....


Made myself a Post-it note mask of the man with the umbrella....





 On this one I added some sponging through sequin waste, a couple of odd ampersand  & dot stamps and just the man with umbrella & phrase.   I kept this one quite simple too, back to the sequin waste, but this time I just inked up one word at a time on the phrase, and moved them around the image.





Here things were coming together nicely...... as you can see I work on top of an A4 pad of plain paper- the sort you can get for a couple of quid from The Works- I can test out the colours, make sure my image is inked, or stamp off first, and sometimes you end up with something you can cut up and use as a background piece! Double Bonus!!!










With this one I overstamped the tag with the clock face in Distress Faded Denim, then stamped the man with umbrella over them. I picked the words We Must Dream The Impossible out of the long phrase- To be all that is possible we must attempt the impossible,To be all that we can be we must dream of being more.  I did this by masking with a post-it note, and colouring the individual words with a marker.









   I added some clock hands, cut from a dingbat font with the Silhouette, then embossed with black detail embossing powder, and a small pocket watch that was clear embossed. I don't think they are truly finished yet, but I have really enjoyed doing these- maybe the next project is going to be a tag book of some sort to keep them in.


                                  Here they all are, along with the Halloween tag posted below.

Last thing to show you, is a product that is totally indispensable, and absolutely fantastic at what it does.The aerosol in the middle is the first one I bought, and I was running out. I don't really like aerosols, not only on the environmental level, but the propellants in them always make me sneeze! But I was looking for some more, and found its available in a liquid form, and also now in a gel. Beloved husband wanted the gel, as its useful for awkward places, or somewhere upright, where a liquid would run. Even he was impressed with this stuff when he tried it, and it takes a lot to impress him with a product. It just dissolves the sticky stuff left behind when you peel off labels, or those sticky tabs you hang air freshners with for instance- you can literally just wipe it off with a piece of kitchen roll. Has a nice citrus smell to it as well. I found it in Lakeland, and they have it online too, as does Amazon.
    Finally, a question that I hope someone can help me with. I remember a while ago, seeing a small wooden box with compartments in, for holding t-bags. Typically, I now can't remember where I saw it. My Beloved Husband really likes fruit teas (ick), and has them at work during the day. But he only takes in one box at a time, as they take up too much space in his toolbox-(I have the coffee in mine:) ). I thought about getting one of these boxes that he could keep a small assortment of teas in, and altering it as a Christmas present. So if anyone has seen them, or knows where I could get such a thing, I would be eternally grateful to you.
 I am considering going to the NEC this weekend for the Hobbycrafts show, as I haven't been for a couple of years now, and its nice to just look around and see whats new, and what people are doing. So I may have a (few) absolutely had-to-have impulse buys to show you next week, lol.
 
Oh, oh oh, I almost forgot about this: a couple of weeks ago, I emailed Kevin Nakagawa, (the guy who designed/developed the Stampscapes line of stamps), with the link to my page showing how I built up my scenes, to see what he thought.  This man is so talented, if you get a chance, go to his website & look at some of his work in the galleries. It will truly blow you away.  Anyway, I was stunned to get an e-mail back, saying he had linked my tutorial page to his Lessons page on the website! I was/am amazed/delighted/gobsmacked/honoured- his, and the other artists lessons on there are amazing, I can't believe he thought mine good enough to include. If I never achieve anything else, this is truly a high point for me.
Hope everyone has a great day, I shall as always post this before work, and start visiting when I get home.

15 comments:

Debbie Rock said...

LOVE your tags Shaz ... see, you did NEED the umbrella man stamps!!!!
SO sorry not to have replied before now to your very kind comments about my melting pot embellishments ... I WILL post how I did them but just need to find more time ... have been rushed off my feet and starting to feel very stressed about all I have to do for Christmas. xXx

Shaz in Oz.CalligraphyCards said...

Hi there Shaz - yes Kevin is an amazing crafty fellow, quite equal to Tim in my books -all the good work on the site is his or stamps designed by him and the reason there are surfing ones is cos he is a keen surfer. I have had several emails from him over the time, and once did big order with friends he sent all these great ideas cards for each of us - no order for ages still on my ban and staying that way so can save a wee bit. There is a link somewhere on the Stampscapes site to my blog post on Stampscapes and have about 6 to 8 people a week on the stats so it is really great! and dear friend you deserve any accolade for your wonderful work HUGE congrats!... and this is another fantastic post with your Tim man and love the tags colours you have sponged with - great work. Happy WOYWW and make sure your put your name on my candy post please as you have been a faithful friend and Encourager of my blog over my first year of blogging - it is my blogaversary! Shaz in oz.x

MaggieC (Silvercrafter) said...

Love those tags, Shaz, and well done on your latest success. It is well deserved.

Samantha said...

gorgeous tags but just looking at that mess gave me hives lol

Angie said...

Those cards are ....amazing ...so vibrant ...love the colours and designs. Thanks for the tip about sticky stuff remover ....must keep my eyes peeled.

Lunch Lady Jan said...

Wow, way to go with getting your stuff linked up to Kevin's website - congrats!! I love your tags with the sponged backgrounds, especially the Halloween special :)
Thanks for your great comments on my blog! :) xx

fairyrocks said...

Beautiful work. I was excited to see how you used your tidy desk to create. Wonderful work.
Keep smiling and creating

Debbie Rock said...

Morning Shaz ... oh it was a great day when I discovered those Really Useful boxes - don't know how I ever managed without them. I try SO hard to keep myself contained to the one cupboard ... initially when we built the conservatory (we call it The Hut!) the second cupboard was for hubby but it soon became clear I needed them both. The other cupboard is mainly for my sewing BUT I just had to have somewhere to put my Xyron machine and my new Vagabond now, didn't I!

Ann B said...

Your tags are beautiful, colours so rich and stamped perfectly. I have one of the tea-bag boxes you were asking about but I got mine from a shop in Cheshire (near Frodsham). If I find out their stockist I will let you know.

okienurse said...

Got to say the desk transformation reminds me of myself when I get in a work mode. Hope you have a great week. Thanks for sharing. Vickie #68

Mrs A. said...

Love your umbrella man tags and especially like your halloween one too. congratulations on being featured. Just off to find Kevin's web page and have a good nosey around. Hugs Mrs A. 113.

Anonymous said...

My first comment..is wow, you clean your desk? lol Mine seems to stay in an eternal mess! Second, your tags are fabulous! Third, congrats on being linked up to Kevin's website, that's exicitng!! And last, thanks ever so much for visiting my blog too!

l00pyscraftcreations said...

Oh dear I am very late getting here!!
BUT very well done on getting linked, wow!!
As to the tea box, sorry hun, no idea,

Julia Dunnit said...

Oooh,you've been linked by someone really famous - well done yoU! Loving the tags and the methods. Am late enough to have seen your NEC haul - a year's worth, I presume?!!

Cheryl said...

Beautiful tags! TFS!

An End of an era

An end of an era

I write this with a broken heart, that only time can heal My beautiful, wonderful wifelet Shaz (Silverwolf) passed away peacefully in the ea...