In the red

Time, there are apparently 24 hours in a day and 7 days a week, so thats lots of hours, right? Lots of hours supposedly to do everything we need to do (work, sleep, eat) and want to do  (craft, relax, blog).  So why doesn't it seem it this last fortnight?  

The needs, mostly work, the stress around it and the sleep needed to recover from the stress and intense working have taken over leaving very little time for the wants that in truth actually help with coping with the needs - caught!  But yes before you all start tutting and shaking your heads, I know (and I am) I should be grateful that I have a job, and that it is a good job but sometimes it's hard work and I get annoyed with it.

I had intended to be determined this week and get my contribution to Hels Sunday Stamper Challenge in on time. But due to the above time was running out and I thought I'm gonna miss it again. But then I thought, you know what it doesn't matter, you have to work to deadlines at work, crafting is your hobby, your downtime, your creative release, the only decisions you have to make is where to place something.  

In my craftroom I am my own boss and I don't have to respond to others or lead / manage others - it's just me and sometimes the cats.

So here is my take on last weeks challenge which was red.

Got all my red Distress Stains and Inks out and the lovely vibrant London Bus Fresco Finish and set to work. 

Started with my usual 8x8 card.  On top of that I inked some patterened paper stamped with some text stamp (very hidden now but it is there) and sewed on the card after distressing the edges.  

Added some layers of spotty fabric which I'd purchased on Saturday after a quick jaunt out to Bramble Patch in Weedon with my Ma (3 errands in an hour that day: deliver a large lamp to my mums friend for painting in a barge style, buy jam jars for rhubarb chutney making and look at fabric to back her latest quilt. All three just off the A5 either at Weedon or 2 miles up the road - my kind of shopping!) 

A spare bit of the red card (I'd cut a 12x12 down to 8x8 and that leaves enough card to make tags) was painted in some Limelight Fresco Finish, some crackly glaze on top and then some London Bus. Rubbed it back quite hard to reveal some of the LimeLight and then stamped Photograph in Black Archival and some reverse text in Cherry Stazon. Some felt and red ric rac added on the bottom of that and one of my distressed photos that had  a swipe of worn lipstick over it was stapled on.

The flowers are of course Wendy Vecchi.  Some scrap red patterned paper was stamped with as many flowers as I coud get on it in Black Archival then some cherry spray ink and Pefrfect Pearls sprayed over. Cut them all out and added them on trying not to obscure the fabric or the photo!

Ok well it's a bank holiday in the UK today, it isn't raining at the moment but who knows whether the taps will turn on later.  

Today I have some lemon curd to make and need to do something with the rhubarb I cut yesterday and didn't use for the chutney, which is absolutely delish I have to tell you and it will be hard work waiting for a month for it to mature! 

hugs

jo

xx

Sunset

I think it's fair to say Waterloo Sunset (which I'm listening to on YouTube) is one of my ultimate faves - it would have to be in my top ten. So the Sunday Stamper challenge of sunsets was a goer because a) I lurvvve the song and b) it meant I'd have to use some different colours!

This week I have loved (there's a lot of love around this morning)  making tags inspired by my tweet meet pals, so thanks girls.

I started of with some colour washes in sunset orange, wild plum and lettuce, blotted them and then spritzed all over with lemon meringue and bronze glimmer mist. Stamped all over with a text stamp and old paper distress embossing powder. And then stamped the PaperArtsy birds in grasses ups the tag in mahogany and dusty concord.

I knew I wanted to use a bird sort of roosting at sunset as the focal point,so I painted a spare piece of card with some london night fresco paint, I used the large PaperArtsy bird die and then embossed in a swirly folder to give the pattern. Inked in black soot and dusty concordm, sanded a bit and then sprayed with some slate glimmer mist,  The art part was stained with bundled sage and then stamped in olive with a text stamp still stuck to a block on my desk!

The bottom third of the tag I knew needed some layers to anchor it with the heavy art part, so started with some tissue tap randomly stuck over spritzed with lemon meringue, next a scrap of linen with some mustard seed distress ink and finally some scraps of card that have been embossed using the the tin sewing line folders. The flower is a Wendy Vecchi and the take flight words are PaperArtsy. 

Sunsets are so beautiful, the intensity of colours streaking across the sky, the dark inkiness of shapes silhouetted against those colours is just well - inspiring! Hopefully my tag captures all that.

Well off to finish another tag so there will be another post today (nothing for a month and then I go mad) and more playing - I also have some house shapes that need decorating!

hugs

jo

xx

Show a tag!

As some of you know there was a crafting tweet meet this week in the Shires, myself, Gabrielle, Hels and Gillian descended on Lin and Karen (Karen  - you NEED to get a blog!) at LB Crafts to meet in person and spend our pocket money on new stash - namely distress stains!

It was such fun meeting everyone even if I was beginning to panic I wouldn't get there in time due to roadworks. I very nearly just left the car parked on the verge with the hazards on and run the last 500 yards to LB, but figured I didn't really want the girls having to phone for an ambulance as I collapsed in a heap gasping "give me picket fence stain now"!

I think we all agreed a great success and plan to do another one - SOON!!!!

Anyway given that I was able to ask calmly for a picket fence stain (along with a few others as well - of course) I thought I'd better use and try them out. So as I'm home alone this week (husband is still acting) I thought I'd do a tag and enter for the Simon Says challenge this week, show a tag - so I am!

Started off putting picket fence down and then going over with aged mahogany and pumice stain.  Flicked some water on to give it that water stained look. Like a lot.

Stamped some Wendy flowers in aged mahogany distress ink along the right hand edge and embossed with some vintage photo powder. On the other side I die cut a strip of paper with a Tim die inked with picket fence and vintage paper and stamped the ruler on top in black and attached with staples.

Inked some spare card with various distress inks and stains (there were rather a lot on my work desk so I was sort of randomly using all of them) and ran through the an embossing folder to get the numbers and then further inked and distressed. Layered that over a Tim label again distressed and inked to age. 

I was also "told" to buy some Wendy Vecchi art parts on Monday by the above mentioned tweeters so I wanted to use one of the flowers in the tag. PaperArtsy Toad Hall base, crackle  glaze and honeydew over the top and finally some antique photo lightly added to show up the cracks a bit more.  Used a hitch fastener for the centre and the stalk is a bit of florist wire wrapped in tissue tape.

So I'll add this post to the Simon Says blog and hey who knows - I might win!

Hugs

jo

xx