Birds in a gilded cage!

 

Another couple of pages from my SPJ.

Images from Graphics 45 Steampunk Debutante collection.

Stamped images : Cavallini Birds and Nests rubber stamps

I've roughed up the pink pin since the photo, looks more vintage now. 

I've been very spare with the watch parts..cos unlike Sue Roddis I only have a few... insert cheeky grin.. :)

tc xx Sue xx

Steampunk Debutante update

Some quick photos to show you what I'm up to in my SPJ.. I love this theme... 

These three shots show the front and back of the journal. I didn't know how to fasten the lace at the back.  I didn't want to use any thing modern ( lol you know what I mean, Velcro or such like) I came up with using this dragon fly embellishment bought in Chester at the indoor market So now I just thread the lace through the wings. Don't know how long it will hold

Here's some pages in the journal. Some finished some not!

tc xx Sue xx

 My PC does need a new video card .. Joe has installed a temporary one that's not quite right  but at least I'm online! A big thank you to Joe ... you saved my life, well ££££ any way :))

Better late than never/ PDC colour challenge

In a rush this morning... or rather I should be but had a quick go at PDCC instead,. My friend will be rushing from the hospital and I'm not even dressed yet... therefore information... if I can remember  :)  to follow later today. 

I love the phrase  Autumn .... the year's last loveliest smile.

The colours have not scanned well in reality its much warmer.

 See you later

 Sue x

Later much later..

.Oh boy! I have major PC problems my desk top is capput! well we (royal we I have no idea Joe's the PC guy) think the graphics card has gone! Well I hope that's what it turns out to be.. Joe has has spare graphics card, he'll  try it  tomorrow. It's at his house in Wales and he's here with me in Crewe. Fingers crossed that it works in my PC.

Thank goodness for this lovely little note book other wise I would be in an Internet free zone :(
Two of the things I hate  are problems with my car and PC.. cos I don't  have enough knowledge to put them right!

Info about card

All images and sentiment from Elusive Images, Design a Tree and Natures Peace theme plates.

DI's aged mahogany, scattered straw, wild honey, antique linen and tea dye.

Kraft card

Lace etc from stash..

The leaves at the bottom were inked with two DI's to give the impression of changing colours.

Tc xx Sue xx

Keep your fingers crossed that I don't have to buy a new PC :))

Busy time

Gift for grandchildren who get dressed up and do the Halloween thing!

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No crafty projects to show you... Lots in me head, some of it not attainable! cos I can't, lol, nothing on paper:). but I have been busy with friends and family...LOVELY!

I've  been shopping with Desi for our friend Jeanie's 60th B/D prezzie, (correct spelling? I'm never sure) can't show you that, she might see it! We are pleased with what we bought even though its not what we had in mind. Bought a couple of  other bits and pieces ... a selection below.
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I renewed my membership with  the Graphicus Guild and this is my choice of free stamp sheet. I needed a script stamp and I thought the other images would work well for steam punk and male themes.

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 Here are some other  purchases.. 

a little gift for my sister Anne a talented, self taught artist, who through ill heath is at home most of the time.

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These are for me!! naughty! 

  I struggle with adequate  light in the MR.. I got this for £14.99 ... bargain!

 ***

 and I just love these rubber stamps that arrived with other exciting stuff this morning. First seen on some ones blog, sorry can't remember which one, you know what it's like when blog hopping! I  love the tin! as well as the stamps! I got them  of eBay for £6 .50 another bargain.. tee hee.They are  by Cavallini and sell on Amazon for about £22 can't remember the exact amount.  Cavallini do some gorgeous note books, post cards etc.

 

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Other exciting stuff?

 New camera.. very small easy to carry around... look out for more photos

Vodafone dongle,  for note book!  hooray!

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Picked up my daughter and son-in-law from Liverpool airport last night... not me favourite journey!  got to bed at 02.15. I've suggested they fly from Manchester or East Mids next time :)
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Finally but most definitely not least a gorgeous, precious gift to me from my daughter Leesia ..

whew! what a long post!

tc xx Sue xx

Long Leisurely Lunch!

 Echos of a more genteel time!

     

Had a bit of a play this afternoon, although earlier I'd sat in my garden with my coffee and book in glorious sunshine and was tempted to stay.. but I'm not good in the sun for too long.. any body would think we'd had loads of  gorgeous sun, Don't know about you but here in Crewe ... we've had a dreadful, dull wet July AND August! boo hoo.

 This image reminds me of being out with my friends in Chester, we have a very long leisurely lunch! with lots of wine.. red for me!.. we travel on the train so no probs. Mind you I  would   wear a hat, love em, but the others definitely wouldn't! lol

I like this image, its from Crafty Image Emporium CD I've been wanting to have a play for quite a while. this is an A6 size card and when I've got the hang of using Photo Shop :(  I'll have a go at enlarging the image.

Can't remember what I used to make the background with apart from Glimmer Mist..Auburn, one of my favourites.

Hat pin from ..Ribbon girl, 

Flower..  freebie from Craft Stamper

computer generated sentiment 

bits and pieces from stash.

tc xx Sue xx.

Another go at PDC challenge!!

I'm really not happy with yesterdays challenge entry at PDC.

So this morning I had a good rummage round to find the right colours  to use in my art journal!. I'd put away some little square ink pads, the ones I bought before I knew which inks to buy! You know the ones, from a well known craft store,  sold in a big round tub. Lo and behold the (practically) exact colours required

For some reason the tissue paper wouldn't fade at the edges perhaps its because I cut rather than tore it? Maybe the text should read, colour wheel! which one is this? lol.

I've not entered it into PDC I just wanted to see what I could do! I think it looks a bit busy, but reasonably happy with it.

00400 Sun  can't sleep!

Changed my mind I will enter it mainly cos I don't like other one! It irritates me! lol.

 Close ups... I've added black shading to the text as above since these photos. :)                              

 tc xx Sue xx

I forgot to say... I did it on the last page ..just in case I needed to remove it. lol x

Play Date Cafe Challenge or dedicated follower of fashion!!

Hi every one, what you all up to today. You can see what I've been doing but there is lots of other stuff I should be at... you know what I mean...HW!

This was fun but boy did I have trouble finding the right colours in my stash. How when I have a room full of stash I still haven't got the colours I need!!. therefore it took me some time to get this together. I didn't have the right colours to do ajournal page, which is where I've wanted to use this image for some time. Actually it's a combination of two stamps I bought from Sue Roddis when she had a "garage sale" before she left for that place I can't spell :).

The theme this week is:  colour, horribilis challenge!

I had trouble finding MUSTARD!

Materials.
Main image: Stamps Happen, Pink Poodle
Sentiment: Stamps Happen, Big Girl Panties 
Papers: Artylicious, Spirit of Christmas, dress and poodle. Diamond paper: Graphicus Guild pack
DCWV: Spotty and blue paper.
Derwent Intense water colours
Pro markers.

tc xx Sue xx

Inspired by Kath!

Hi folks, how yer doin? I needed a quick card this morning before I dash off  to pick up my daughter and son-in law to take them to Liverpool John Lennon airport for an unexpected trip to Spain!! now I've never driven to Liverpool before, I always go on the train!... watch this space:) plus on my way back I want to go to Ikea, Warrington another first .. weell from Liverpool!.... from Crewe? that's another story.

The inspiration for this card came from Kath at Kath's Blog http://kath-allthatglitter.blogspot.com/ actually it's practically a copy... thank you Kath :)

Bye for now.

 

This is also inspired by Kath,..

but spot the deliberate mistake... I got glue in between the ribbon so I had to sprinkle glitter on... happy accident? plus it's all out of line :(  boo hoo. lesson learnt do not craft in a rush... surrounded by crafty MESS!

tc xx Sue xx

For that 80yr old again.. he also loves nature

All rubber stamps from Elusive Images, distress inks, clear detail embossing powder and Versamark .

was that quick or was that quick!

Oops nearly forgot, inspiration  from Annette Lee in the bird category of the gallery on the Graphicus online shop.

Thank you Annette.

tc xx Sue xx

Meet Steampunk Debutante !

Morning all... it is still morning, just:) as promised here's the cover of my journal.

The book cover started life green. This is how it ended up once I'd finished spritzing, splashing, rubbing, swooshing and of course spraying!!! please don't ask me what I used cos I can't remember:) .

The spine of my old book, which originated from University College London...engineering! was quite ripped and torn with the possibility of splitting apart so I covered it with some Graphics 45 12x12 paper from the Steampunk Debutante Collection. ...hence  name of journal. (The other side of this paper is to die for...yummy!) I think it's self explanatory that I cut around the cogs and wrapped it around the back of the book thus thoroughly reinforcing the spine.

The label  from the same collection has been crackled with TH distress crackle.

The" fastener" is from an old curtain hook, the old lace from my stash..no idea how I'm going to fasten the lace at the back .. I want to be able to undo it easily...

I might keep the contents secret :) or I might..share:))

tc xx Sue B xx


ROFL... Just looked up Deutante in Collins dictionary!
A young uper-class woman formally presented at court... or
a young woman regarded as being upper-class, wealthy and frivolous!!...
mmm.... I qualify as frivolous but only when it comes to crafty stash!!  :))

80th Birthday for a young man who Cycles!

Hello every body, hope you've all enjoyed a good weekend. The weather here in Crewe, Cheshire has been great! for once.

Just a quick post.. feeling a bit tired so will do all the necessary tomorrow:)

Next day..still got a massive headache!! boo hoo :(

The card was made with DP and images from Peerless Designs vintage men's Collection CD. All distressed with a combination of Antique Linen (getting a bit dry that one ) and Tea Dye.

Hobby Art greeting

Dimension 4th used to stamp the age.

*****

Bottle top embellishment

New bottle tops from eBay...apparently used ones wont work

flattened in Cuttle Bug

Small amount of  Cosmic Shimmer Mica Pigment.. burnt marigold, a very tiny amount, added to the white plastic insert..

Glossy accents to fill top... not too much or it over spills and looks a mess...guess how I know ;)

 add a tiny drop of alcohol ink in this case Sunshine Yellow then add the charm very carefully, leave to dry.

I do believe there are some videos on utube that explain about bottle tops... apparently the white plastic insert can be removed. I've not had a look myself yet. I'm sure there will be lots of techniques available... perhaps I should go have a look :) 

*****

 

and here's a sneak peak  from the workshop I attended yesterday at The fabulous Cubby Hole with Sarah Anderson... Steam Punk Journal... made our own journal!.. we did! The batteries in my camera are dead! so more pictures and info tomorrow  :)

tc xx Sue B xx

Play Date cafe 2!

Thought I'd use PDC colours for this card which will be in Jeanie's box to take back to France.

It meets the requirements of weighing 20grs! actually so far it only weighs 12.7grs I have yet to add an insert and then there's the envelope so it should come in at the right weight. 

To be fare to Jeanie she has said they don't all have to weigh so little but I've found I'm on a mission! It's to do with the French postal system... I'm not quite sure how it works, something to do with not having to go to the Post office if it weighs 20grs or less .Jeanie lives in a very rural... lovely peaceful area of Northern France.

The card... after all that waffle:))  

The brown and green card have been printed from Pink Petticoats colour palette.http://www.pinkpetticoat.co.uk/  I find all the different colour choices extremely useful.
Colours ... Envy and Chocolate.
  The image is Dandelion from Lavinia stamps stamped with TH DI Frayed Burlap as is the stamp in the background on the brown card.
The little dragon fly is from Artemio stamped twice with different shade of green.
The bling and ribbon from my stash!

tc xx Sue xx

 I thought the original looked a bit stark so I swooshed some Adirondack Meadow  around the image .It isn't all that easy once elements are glued in place.   The image pops a bit now... esp in real life  the scanned image looks a bit pale :))

Play Date Cafe Challenge

I need to go shopping so will do the write up later.

Next Day
I found these colours difficult to work with! even though the combo is very earthy and natural with inspiration all around us!!
The only element stamped is the greeting!!
I have loads of 12x12 papers that I have never used!! no idea how I ended up with such a huge pile.. well some of it I remember buying ;) so all the papers are from this stash.
The pearls blinging up the flowers and the greeting are showing dark in actual fact they are cream.

Its all a bit too dark for me ... want to have another go! may be later.

Materials

Brown, cream card and flower... DCWV Latte Stack. (The flower was cut from the corner of the brown paper x2 )

Green flower paper... K&CO Speciality Paper

Greeting Stamp...  Anna Griffin

Pearls ..from stash

Distress Ink ... guess who? :)) Antique Linen.

 
tc xx Sue B xx

Slight variation

 

Slight variation on the previous post, same materials used although I forgot to say that I used Promarkers to shade the face.

  I like this saying and thought it made for a different type of insert to my usual. Perhaps I went a bit overboard with the butterfly, too late now :(

tc xx Sue B xx

Jo Capper- Sandon : Stamping with Flowers

Quick Card courtesy of Jo Capper-Sandon and Craft Stamper magazine.

I bought this stamp from my favourite craft place The Cubby Hole (much more than just a shop!)

I intended to use it to make a card for my friend, Desi to give to her niece. Then all of a sudden it was needed ASAP.. cos I got a bit mixed up with the dates.

So thank you to Jo and CSM.

I used Jo's layout with different DP etc.

 Materials

Paperbag Studios: laugh rubber stamp

Trimcraft: LLB Retro Rose stamp set.

Crafty Individuals: papers

DCWV: card stock.

Stickles: Cotton Candy

tc xx Sue B xx

Cards for Jeanie

 

Some quick makes for Jeanie to take back to France. All the cards must weigh under 20grms which includes insert and envelope. I managed to keep to this brief with all, except red leaves which weighs 23grm. It's the quality of the base card that increased its weight!

 The cards are simple and speak for themselves.

 I used backing paper from Essence of nature CD on Tall trees and red leaves.

Bird stamp and tall trees stamp from Elusive Images

Fisherman stamp from Papermania.

Didn't think I'd have time to enter PDC this week , I've been ill over the last few days but I think red leaves fits the bill so I'm entering it for the challenge. Phew! feel better all ready.
http://theplaydatecafe.blogspot.com/2010/08/play-date-cafe-challen 

tc xx Sue B xx

Pagan Wedding Card/ Essence of Nature CD

A young friend of mine asked me to make this card for friends of hers who are having a Pagan wedding ceremony.

 I used the Oak leaf heart rubber stamp from Elusive Images Harlequin Rose theme plate, DP from Essence of Nature Cd, the white card was  embossed with the Cuttlebug birds and branches folder. I embossed the hearts card and paper with Sparkle n Sprinkle antiquities EP.

Sounds like I just did it ."just like that"... well it took me forever I was trying too hard to make it Pagan, rustic, simple, nature, trees, etc etc... then I gave in and just went with the flow!!

Now I'm thinking... does it need some ribbon... I'm sure you'll advise me :)




tc
xx Sue B xx

A bit of fun

. For the Play Date Cafe Colour Splash Challenge... as the title says ... a bit of fun!

tc
xx Sue B xx

The kittens didn't like the plain black ribbon .. they luurve the spotty one :)

There are some stunning cards over on the PDC take a look and be inspired...  I'd love to leave a comment on all but just don't have the time...
http://theplaydatecafe.blogspot.com/2010/07/play-date-cafe-challen

Play date cafe .... Colour Splash

The challenge this week is a colour splash... the colour is green!..

 The dragon fly has two sets of wings the top one being stamped onto acetate, they flutter in the breeze :)  not visible with a scanned  image

 It does now I've taken a close up and personal photograph  this morning. (31.07.2010)

 I actually didn't find this  challenge all that easy.. boo hoo ..

The acetate wings have been sprayed with tattered Angels Glimmer Mist ...garden fairy..

The white card has been stamped using Versamark to give a water colour effect. the main image is stamped with white chalk ink, the card then edged with the same, mounted onto a larger piece of black card that has been trimmed with a Martha Stewart punch.  The flower head has been blinged with tiny green jewels:)

Stamps...... meadow flower from Elusive Images Wild Meadow theme plate  

Dragon fly ..Personal Impressions..... the first rubber stamp I ever bought! 

 

Mark Two...  I've added some card spritzed with garden Fairy Glimmer mist, I thought mark one looked dark and unfinished..

tc xx Sue B xx