Favourite projects of 2017

Well, here we are, at the end of another year, and as I've done for the last few, a shortish roundup of my favourite projects of the year.

This is just a couple of cards made using the Tim Holtz Mixed Media dies, backed onto a coloured or patterned paper. Found this was a great way to use up some of the mountain of backgrounds made using things like alcohol inks/blended sheets/Brushos.















Also great for  patterned papers that I probably would not use on their own, maybe too busy, or the design too large.

 On to one of my favourite stamp companies, Honey Doo, who have lots of lovely images, mainly, but not entirely, florals.

I stamped the image on white cardstock, then stamped again in co-ordinating vellum, and cut out the flowers. Added a few gems/pearls for a little bling.

Completely outside my comfort zone with this, I decided to try a bit of  Mixed Media to alter the cover of a Birthday Book.

This one was a 7" square canvas, made for my Son Ant for his birthday. I think I added some drips to it, but forgot to take a final photo.

One of my absolutely favourite stamp companies, Stampscapes. I have about another 10 or so to mount- it's amazing what you can achieve without the Internet for a few days!

This had to be my most loved technique of the year.

Julie Rose, (Amber Rose Crafts), a DT member for Sweet Poppy Stencils,did a post about using Heat Transfer foil with Stencil Paste & a Laminator, and I was hooked.
 You can buy (expensive) machines to do this with, but a cheap laminator works just as well.

Most of these still need to be made into cards, and are currently in my UFO box.







Final part of my post, is two fabulous workshop days I had this year.
Just as we were boarding the plane to go on holiday this year, Art From The Heart announced a weekend of Tim Holtz workshops!
 I knew I had absolutely no chance of booking from Kos, so was not a happy bunny. Then I had a brainwave. My lovely friend Debbie Rock-(Tattered Rocks)- is a huge fan of Tim, and I hoped she would want to book too. Could she book me a ticket as well? After a bit of a nightmare for her- AFTH had a huge server collapse issue with so many people trying to book- she amazingly got us both booked on.

Doug had to strongarm Debbie into this photo- she's a bit camera shy, but we both knew she'd regret it forever if she didn't have a pic with the man himself.














Both Tim & Mario were lovely, friendly & down to earth.

He even signed all my Distress books at the end! Debbie & I had a blast, although at this point I was actually coming down with Sepsis- I had no idea!







  My second workshop was a local one, at Amelias Creative Crafts, in Studley. This one was with the lovely Eileen Godwin, a lady I've wanted to meet for years, in fact as long as I've been blogging. She was one of the very first visitors to my blog, and to get encouragement from a complete stranger was amazing.

Eileen is as lovely and friendly as she looks in this pic! She is such a talented crafter- she's on the DT's for Lavinia Stamps, Sweet Poppy, Visible Image & Designs by Ryn.

The lady on the left in the blue apron is Julie Rose, the one with the laminator technique, so was great to meet her too. And do you remember the Glitter Girls, with the embossing boards? That's Kathy standing next to me. I understand they sold the company, and she now crafts for fun.

Two of the projects made with Eileen.













With Tim we made a series of tags using various products and techniques.

Versafine Clair- A New Inkpad in Town.

So, I'd seen these on Lavinia stamps website- I've not seen them anywhere else yet, and I do know that we in the UK have them before they've been released in the USA, which is a novelty. A discussion about them there a couple of weeks ago prompted me to get some, to see how different they were to our well known and much loved Versafine pads, as people were wondering if this means the original will be retired.

 These were the three I chose, called Nocturne, which is Black, Fallen Leaves, which looked like a Dark Brown, but more on that later, and Twilight, which was a Dark Blue.
  The pads are slightly smaller, and with a completely removable lid, not the hinged type.










 The full range is 24 colours, which is a lot more than are currently available in the original range.




To return quickly to the lid, it fits over the pad, leaving a gap between the top & bottom of the pad, which I do think means extra care will need to be taken to ensure they are closed properly, as you won't be able to tell just by looking at it.


Looking at the info on the back of the pad, it reads exactly the same on both.

" Pigment ink for Fine details"

 'Longest lasting Pigment inkpad available.Perfect for using watercolours to colour stamped images'.

From that, it sounds as if there is no difference in the inks. One lady on SCS who phoned the manufacturer to ask about the difference was told the new one has a slightly longer drying time, but I didn't see any noticeable difference myself, but obviously cardstock can play a huge part in that aspect.


I used 2 Lavinia Stamps to test, the Witch for a solid image, and the window for one with some detail. I also reinked my Onyx Black to give a fairer comparison against a new inkpad.

Comparing the Onyx Black and the Nocturne, I felt the new one was slightly thicker, and gave a really good coverage of the stamp. On this try out, I'd actually say the new one is slightly better, and although it seemed thicker, still gave a good result on the detail stamp too. But it definitely seems blacker, especially on the solid image.



















Next onto the Fallen Leaves, which on the pad cover looks distinctly like a dark Brown.







 But, as you can see, it doesn't look Dark Brown when stamped. It just looks like another Black to me. The image quality is just as good, it's just not the colour I expected from the lid.


 Last one I chose was Twilight, a Dark Blue.
 It is a dark Blue, and very similar to the lid colour.







 When I opened it, the pad actually looked Purple,  but that vanished on inking the stamp. Again, a good solid image, and all the detail of  the window was picked up too.









 The new & old pads side by side. You don't get the little fabric cover with the new ones. The pad itself seems to be the same construction as the original, nice and firm.

I found no difference in the ability to heat emboss with it, it works just as well as the original Onyx Black.

 Summing up, my personal opinion is that these are just as good at least, and maybe slightly better than the originals. Just be wary of the lid colours- that brown needs some improvement in the lid colour, it's very misleading. And with plenty of new colours, I can see these becoming as firm a favourite as the originals.

WOYWW #447- The Nearly New Year Edition.

A little bit early, but wishing each and every one a Very Happy,Healthy and Peaceful New year.
 Probably like most, there hasn't really been any crafting going on, so just a couple of pictures of Christmas pressies  for this weeks meet up at The Stamping Ground, where Julia is no doubt attempting to keep us in some sort of order!


First, say hello to Batcat! One of a whole range of plush toys, all with a bit of a dark theme.

A couple of colouring books from Beloved Hubby, full of lovely images.

And a set of four cards to colour in too,all art work from Anne Stokes.

Followed by a very interesting looking bottle of gin!







And finally, as the January sales are upon us.................

WOYWW #446- The almost Christmas Edition!

Indeed, a huge Merry Christmas to all my WOYWW buddies, wishing everyone a Happy and Peaceful Christmas. Last but one link up of this year, over at Julias Grotto, The Stamping Ground. 
MIA last week, for which I will mainly blame Beloved Hubby having Monday off!  Made me think Tuesday was Monday, and so on. He had yesterday off too, so I've been reminding myself all day that it is Tuesday, not Monday.
 Not a huge amount on the desk, to be honest. A few purchases, the Pram stamp I bought- and ended up using- from Stamps by Chloe, as the Clarity set only turned up last weekend.

The TH stamp set was from Country View Crafts, and in her Advent sale.


I did make another purchase from Clarity- that 'Groovi Grip'. I saw it mentioned on Barbara's blog- you  attach it to the back of a ruler, and when you press down, it stops the ruler sliding. It's transparent when you peel the backing off. Thought it was worth a try out, as slipping rulers really annoy me.
 Two A4 size sheets for £4.16. I often prefer to trim my cardstock & borders after stamping, rather than cut to size first, and depending on what size of border I want, usually prefer a ruler & scalpel.
These stencils came with the original Baby stamp order, I thought the Bell & Bauble would look good with Christmas scenes in. The Holly one was a special being added to orders in the Gray Friday sale, I expect it will get a general release next year.

And finally, the completed Baby card, I'll do a post with it over Christmas.

So, I'm done.Only a couple of presents left to buy, and all the cards are posted.
Which reminds me, a huge thank you to everyone who has sent us a card, we really appreciate them.
 Doug breaks up on Friday until the 2nd of Jan, and being on earlies this week, means he finishes at 10.40.
 Have the rest of a lovely week,and I'll see you next week for the Nearly New Year Edition. 🎄🎄🎅🎅🎄🎄

And finally......

WOYWW #444

Plan A this week is to write out all my Christmas Cards, and get those posted that need to be. Australia's last posting day is Saturday, so I have a deadline! 
There has been some crafting, but I'll show that at the end, can't have the pic showing up in my Facebook link. So this is my computer desk, tucked into the corner of my craft room.
Lots of crystals, and crystal figures. My Punk Hedgehog, courtesy of LLJ, and behind that a Raven on a skull, on some Edgar Allen Poe books.
An empty Bitter Lemon bottle ties for first choice with Coke, lol- and just behind the keyboard is a stamp I've been waiting to get since I saw it on Helens blog, Stamping by H. It's called Catacombs, by Carabelle Studios. Helen must have bought the only one in the UK, as I couldn't find anywhere that had it in stock. I did look at Carabelles own site, but the postage from France was the same as the cost of the stamp, so I waited till someone emailed me that they were in stock.

Over on my crafting desk is some storage boxes for WOW! embossing powders, I bought some from the NEC, but needed a few more so I can store various colours together.

My box of Christmas cards for writing out. Most of these were made last year, as I had a bit of a Christmas Card frenzy, so haven't actually made many this year. I'll need to restock next year, I think. I have so many Christmas stamps, stencils and dies that have never yet seen daylight!

This is what Ive been working on this week- a card for a work colleague leaving to have a baby boy.


 I need a focal image, and ordered a suitable stamp set- I only have a couple of Baby stamps- both BABY in blocks- and wanted a pram image. 




 
I ordered a nice set from Clarity when they  had their sale a couple of weeks ago, but I'm still waiting for it, I've just emailed to find out if it's been posted yet.
 Had plenty of time when I ordered it, but it's getting a bit urgent now. I've also had a search, and ordered a second Pram stamp from Cards by Chloe, just in case.
This is the set I ordered.
 So that's my contribution to this weeks WOYWW over at The Stamping Ground. 






   And finally..........................





P.S.
If anyone receives odd emails from me, or has in the last few days, probably mainly about ATC's, please accept my apologies, and ignore them.
I updated my Gmail account a few days ago, and for some weird reason it has now been sending out randomly old emails, from months ago. 
 Dougs going to have a look and see what it's playing at, probably tomorrow, as he has a day off.

WOYWW #443

So here we are, at the last post before December-just- and is it me, or has this year suddenly flown in the last couple of months? I mean, the whole year has gone quite quickly, but these last few months it's been sort of blink and you missed it.
 Leaving our links over at Julias again, The Stamping Ground- I reckon there should be mince pies too soon, *wink, wink*.
Still not a lot of crafting being done, I have had some more practice time with the baubles, and I seemed to get a better result by outlining first, letting that set, then brushing on the ink. I think the nib of the pen was clogging on the ink. Might try doing the inking, then outlining a few hours later, see if that helps.


Tried  on the kraft card first- I've never really got into the whole kraft thing, the colour is just a bit to 'meh' for me, and although it inks nicely, the contrast just doesn't work for me.

Returned to black, and I'm much happier with the result, still not perfect, but much better.



I also decided to sort my UFO boxes- yes, I've now upgraded to Boxes 2.0-and I really need to get a grip and finish them all off, or get them made up, which is all a lot of them need.



 Exhibit A- and those piles all have 6-10 card fronts in them. At least. The one top right has closer to twenty.

 Masterboards bottom right, a couple of random card fronts above them, two Sweet Poppy Stencil fronts, done if I remember rightly with Imagination Starlights paints- a couple of stamped & heat embossed snowglobes, and the start of some sponged snowy scenes.

A random selection of stencilled backgrounds- all stencils are 7x7 from Clarity.

Another Sweet Poppy stencil, the cat on a wall, all done with stencil paste & glitter to get different coloured cats. I also varied the glitter on the walls on some, and two have been finished off with some foliage & tree stamping. Oh, and a masked off moon & sponged sky.

Doesn't look quite so bad when you hide them in plastic wallets!

There are also canvas UFO's- all are done with Sweet Poppy stencils & paste, a few have glitter flakes. Some backgrounds were swiped on with a baby wipe, some are Bleeding Art Tissue.  Bottom right with the Cat is Brushos straight onto the canvas.

Top right here is Bleeding Art Tissue, bottom right & centre are Brushos- centre one straight onto canvas, right hand one is a dried baby wipe from cleaning up.

Top left I have plans involving Bees- I have a Honeycomb stencil or three,😁, and the background is DI reinkers in Wild Honey & Carved Pumpkin, wiped on with a baby wipe. Bottom square has had ink brushed through a Clarity stencil, I think it needs more, and I think the other two are just random DI reinkers wiped on again with a baby wipe.

I actually found three finished cards- well, apart from the insert- these were done with the Laminator/Foil method, and a Sweet Poppy stencil.

These are again all done with a stencil- Top two are Dreamweaver ones- stencil paste and a Laminator & foil, matted onto silver glitter card, and blue. These came out fine.
 I was really disappointed  with the bottom two though. I was very happy when I foiled them, as they came out a treat- I loved the mulicoloured ribbons and baubles on the left one, and pleased I managed to get the green foil on the holly, and some assorted coloured foil on the baubles.
 I matted them onto Green glitter card, and that's when it went horribly wrong.

I always, always use Pinflair Glue Gel when matting onto glitter card- if it's not a smooth type- so that it grabs. This green glitter card has leached colour into the glue, and then through the cardstock. So, lesson here is that not all glitter card is created equal! I think that green will be consigned to die cutting trees or suchlike, where I can use DST/ sticky tabs. That may also be solution for this- foam tape on the back, then a little Silicone glue on the tape to stick it to the glitter, and the tape should- hopefully- provide a barrier.
 My problem is I love trying out new products/techniques, and get easily distracted by a new one.  So, no more experimenting till I finish these off!
 UTI seems to be clearing, now I've picked up a cough/cold, which seems to be resolving itself into a chest infection, so I'm back on Antibiotics, and extra use of the inhaler! My poor immune system just needs to catch a break so it can build itself up again after all the battering it's taken in recent weeks.  Running up to Christmas we have a few things going on- Wednesday (tonight) we are off  to Birmingham to see Stone Sour, then Friday night it's our works Christmas meal. Monday I have another works meal, for Long Service achievements, as I've been there for 15 years this year. Then next week we have a Marilyn Manson concert, and the week after, 5 Finger Death Punch, so it's all go, lol.
And now, it's time for And Finally.....