Where did that week go ..... ???!

Hi everyone,

Well it's Friday again, where has that week gone?  I had such good intentions at the beginning of the week, I was going to get so much done.  Everything was all laid out in the old craft room ready to go and where is it all now ......... still laid out in the old craft room!  Well, actually it's all piled up at the side of my desk.  Didn't manage to make a start on half of the stuff, no blog challenges done, no ATC's made for the monthly swap .... I'm rubbish!!!

I haven't spent all week doing nothing though, I have been working on some magazine stuff, I'll share that with you some other time, and of course I've been doing my DT projects.
Check out Baby Aloysius over on the new IndigoBlu DT Blog

And of course today is Friday, so that means it's my day over on the Creative Studios DT Blog.  I've gone all Halloween for this weeks project ........ Pop over to the blog and see this in more detail

I must say, I love Halloween (mwahhaha ........!!)  I've already got my pumpkin, I haven't carved it yet though.  I just need to get the sweet treats sorted for all the Trick or Treaters.  Can't do that too early though, my lot would eat them!

I thought I would enter this into October's challenge over at Country View Crafts (my favourite online craft store)  The theme is ....

Something Spooky

I think this qualifies, don't you.

One of the reasons things are running slow in the old craft room at the moment is this little guy .......

Here he is, having fun at the Wildlife Park at the weekend

And here he is on Monday evening, after his first 'big boy' haircut ......

Where have all those curls gone?!  But how grown up does he look?  I don't think he was too sure about it though.  He wasn't too keen on the idea of his hair being in the vacuum cleaner, he wanted it back on his head ....... bless him!

Oh well, I suppose coffee breaks over.  No rest for the wicked eh!

Thanks for popping by today.  Have a lovely weekend and I'll see you again soon.

Cheerio for now

Linda

xx

BOO!! It's tag time .....

Hi everyone,

Yes it's that time again - Tim's 12 Tags of 2012. And mine is actually finished.  I'm a little bit earlier than last month, not by much though.

I've been looking forward to this month's tag, I knew Tim would do something spooky and Halloween themed.

Here's Tim's inspiration .....

spooky!!!!! ......... and this is mine

I took the pictures outside and I don't think the colours have come across very well, they're a lot darker in real life.  I'm useless at photography!

This was so much fun to do, and some fasbulous techniques too.
I pretty much followed Tim's instructions to begin with.  Covered the tag with the Tissue Wrap, creasing it up as I stuck it down.  I then used orange and purple acrylic paints to add some base colour, blending with a damp baby wipe.
Next came the Distress Inks, Ripe Persimmon, and Seedless Preserves, with a little bit of Black Soot around the edges.
The spider's web is from the Indigo Blu set of stamps - Hocus Pocus.  I stamped randomly over the background with Black Archival ink and also stamped one web using flitter Glu and followed with Winter Dawn Gilding Flakes.

There's also a spot of Fran-tage on there too (oops!) couldn't resist

I didn't have the large 'Boo' Alterations die so mine is cut using 'Wordplay'.  I decided to use two zeros instead of the o's because they were bigger and filled the width of the tag.  And it meant that I had room to put the googly eyes !!??!!! (again, I couldn't resist)  The spider and the 31 come together in a Movers and Shapers set.  But the coolest thing about the die cuts is .......... the glitter. 
It's the new Distress Stickles dry glitter in the clear rock candy.  Yes, it was actually white when I started out.  But after following Tim's instructions, I made this fabulous sparkly black version.  It's so easy to do, just pour a little into a plastic pot, add a few drops of alcohol ink and stir,  however I did have an OMG! moment when it all went 'lumpy'.  But, it came good in the end ........

........   I'll definitely be using that technique again.

The die cuts were then painted with black acrylic paint, covered with glossy accents followed by the glitter.
While these were drying, I made the ticket.  As I didn't have the new Seasonal Chit Chat, I just wrote the work 'spooky' by hand.
Everything goes together so well for this tag.  I love the colours, the techniques are fab and I'm really pleased with my finished result.

I love Halloween, although over here in the Isle of Man, the Manx people celebrate Hop Tu Naa instead.

It's an ancient Celtic festival, celebrated on 31st October, which used to be the Celtic New Year's Eve.  It would mark the end of summer and the beginning of winter, and was traditionally a time to celebrate the safe gathering of the harvest and a sign that preparations had been made for the long winter ahead.

For the last 100 years or so, children have carried out the Hop Tu Naa ritual, not unlike Halloween these days, where they go from door to door, somtimes dressed in costume, looking for sweets.  Instead of pumpkins they carry hollowed out turnips lit by a candle or a torch, and they sing Hop Tu Naa songs about 'Jinny the Witch'.
If you want to know more here's some links for you
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hop-tu-Naa
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-15337057   (last years report from the BBC)http://www.isleofman.com/heritage/ePedia/Arts/Ceremonies/hop-tu-naa.aspx

We're actually going on a Ghost Tour on Halloween - whoooo ooooo!!  We're off to Castletown for the Castle Rushen Experience.  I can't wait.  I'll problably be scared to death but it'll be worth it I'm sure.

First though, I have to carve my pumpkins .........

....... here they are with my Timmie Tag  (the colours look a little darker on this shot!)  Then of course there's pumpkin pies to be made - yummee!!

Well, that's my tag done for another month.  What will be November's theme? ........ I'm going for Thanksgiving.

See you all again soon.  Thanks for popping by.

Linda

x

When the cats away ..........

Hello again everyone,

Things are still moving along in the old craft room.  I'm really enjoying myself this week, it's a mixture of doing things that have to be done, deadlines to meet and all that, and doing some stuff just for ME, because I can! 

Stephen's away in London for a couple of days.  He's on a business trip with his boss (alright for some!).
Christopher is working every night this week, so come 6 o'clock it's just me and my stash.  I can spend as much time as I like in my craft room, and not feel guilty about it - heaven!
Don't get me wrong, I do miss my other half when he's not here.  In fact, he'll probably read this on his iphone, if he has a minute.  He says he has to check my Blog as it's the only way he finds out what's going on. Hmm!  He does actually read it - usually when he comes in from work.  He's one of my followers too, bless him! (mwah! xx - just for you Stephen).

I'm still playing with my new Halloween stamps, I love em!  For those of you who don't do the whole spooky, Halloween thing I'll try and make this the last one, for a while!

It's the Witches Brew set from Chocolate Baroque and I think I've used all of the stamps on this card, except the words.
I love the spooky scenes you can create.  On this card I've just stamped the images onto white card, and then used some torn paper as a mask, along with some Distress Inks to do a spot of shading here and there to create the background, and to colour the sky.
I've then gone around the edges and stamped the spider's web in black, and sponged a little Black Soot DI over the top.   The scene has then been matted onto a piece of black card leaving quite a large border, about 1/2 an inch or there abouts.
I've then used one of my favourite products at the moment (I have so many I know), Flitter Glu and Flakes from Indigo Blu.
I've used the spider's web stamp again, this time with the Flitter Glu and I've stamped around  the edges of the black card, but also, stamped over the black web in places.  Then used Sheffield Steel flakes over the top.
To get the best results with the flakes, once you've stamped with the Flitter Glu cover the whole area with the flake.   Rub over with the palm of your hand to make sure all the glue is covered, then use your scoochy sponge to remove all the excess and bring out your image .......

The added extras are from the Penny Black 'T for Transparent' set - the pumpkin, and the bats.  The words are from an old Inkadinkadoo clear set - 'Cats and Bats'.

I thought I'd enter this in the latest Blog Challenge over at Ladybug Crafts.  It's Challenge number 2 and the theme is .....

Halloween and/or your favourite embellishment

I think this qualifies, don't you?

Ah well, back to the craft room.  I've done all my household stuff that needs doing.  

Today I'm working on my latest project for Sam over at Creative Studios.  You'll be able to see the finished results on the Blog on Friday.  I think I'm going for a frosty look ..... hmmmmm, we'll see.  

Thanks for popping by today, I really appreciate you all taking an interest.  I get a real fuzzy feeling when I see how many views I've had, and your lovely comments too - I love my Blog buddies! 

Bye for now

Linda

x

Mwahhaha ........ it's Twinchie Time!

Hello again everyone,
Middle of the week already, doesn't time fly when you're having fun.
I told you I would be spending most of my time in the old craft room this week and I wasn't wrong. It's great, things are actually being crossed of the 'To Do' list, which makes a change!

It's Twinchie time again and the new theme is ....... 

SPOOKY STUFF

If you haven't tried this Blog Challenge yet, you should give it a go, it's so much fun.

Twinchies are little 2inch x 2inch pieces of artwork.  Now you may think that's not a very big space to put anything on but, once you get started you'll be amazed at what you can do.

Why not pop over to the Show Us Your Twinchie Blog and have a look.  The Design Team had done another fabulous job with their Twinchies for the new challenge.

Here are mine ........

You can see I've been playing with my Chocolate Baroque stamps again, and my Dylusions inks, which I am loving by the way.  The colours are fabulous.
I've also used a couple of Penny Black clear stamps (for the Happy Haunting and the Bats).  And the spider is from an Indigo Blu set (Hocus Pocus). 
Definitely getting in the mood for Halloween - can't you tell!  The other half says it's the perfect night for me to go out!  Cheeky!!!

And on that note I'll say Cheerio for now.  I'm off to the old craft room to do my weekly project for Creative Studios. I'll be posting it on the blog on Friday so don't forget to pop over and take a look.

Enjoy your Wednesday
Bye for now

Linda

x

National Dictionary Day

Evening everyone,
Twice in one day - I told you I was busy.  It's only a quick one though.

For those who didn't know it's National Dictionary Day today (I didn't know until I read Eileen's FB post this morning) 
I believe it's in honour of a gentleman called Noah Webster, an American lexicographer who was born on this day in 1758,  who later published the first Amercian dictionary.  (If you're interested there's more details here)

Seeing as I'm a member of the Altered Art Dictionary group on Facebook, and it's absolutely ages since I've touched my dictionary, I thought it was a good idea to dust it off and do a few pages, in honour of Mr Webster.
In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, the AAD is a group on Facebook, started by the lovely Eileen Godwin.
All you need is a dictionary, some stamps, and something to colour with.  You just choose a word, highlight it and decorate the page - simple.  It can become quite addictive, I just haven't had time to do any recently.  Until today that is. 

This is what I came up with ..........

PUMPKIN

BROOMSTICK

WITCH

FOLIAGE

If you're on Facebook, why not come and join in, it's fun!

Enjoy the rest of your evening.  See you again tomorrow.

Thanks for looking.

Linda

x

So far, so good..........

Morning eveyone,
How are you all doing?  
Here's my card for this weeks Less Is More Blog Challenge.  Yes, I know I'm usually posting this on a Friday afternoon with only hours to go before the deadline, but things are going ok in the the old craft room (touch wood).  I'm actually getting somewhere I think.   I've been so busy that I've missed the last two LIM challenges so I was determined to do this one.

It's Week 89 and its ...........  ONE LAYER WEEK  with the theme

WINGS

The girls have started us off with a list of things that qualify ....... insects, birds, aeroplanes. You could also add butterflies, fairies, angels.
Seeing as we're well into October, and not long to go until the 31st, I've gone for BATS! (and there's an owl on there too, he also has wings).

I'm afraid I'm getting in the mood for Halloween - MwahHahahahaha .........  I love it!  Even though the kids are all grown up I still have to carve a scary face into a pumpkin (not very well I might add).   It also means that the first pumpkin pie of the year will be going in the oven soon - yummeee!!
We've always celebrated Halloween.   When the kids were young the house was always decorated inside and out, with pumpkins and spooky stuff.  Now I just do pumpkin lights and lots of candles.  I still buy a mountain of sweets too, for all the Trick or Treaters.  But, enough of that for now, here's my card .....

I've used one of my latest purchases, one of  Chocolate Baroque's brand new sets of Clear stamps Witches Brew  

As  much as I love Halloween, I don't send Halloween cards, but I had to have these stamps.

The scene I've used on my card is just one stamp from the set, apart from the bats.  They're from a Penny Black "T for Transparent" set called 'Spooky'. 

I stamped the scene first in Black Archival ink, then used masks to ink the circle behind.  The moon was also masked while I did the sky, using Scattered Straw, Stormy Sky and Dusty Concord Distress Inks.
I then removed both the circle mask and the one covering the moon, and replaced them with one that covered the whole scene, except the moon (I think that makes sense).  This part was then coloured using Scattered Straw DI.

The bats were added once all the inking had been done, along with the word 'Spooky' which is from the same Penny Black clear set.  To finish it off I added a touch of sparkle to the moon.

There looks to be a lot on there, but it was so simple to do. And,  there's still plenty of white space, a must if you want to be a LIMette.

There's quite a bit of Halloween about in the land of Blog.  I'll be back tomorrow with my latest Twinches, they're Spooky themed too.

Enjoy your day. 
Thanks for popping by.

Linda

x