Friday, July 27, 2012

trinchies? thrinchies? and abc . . .

Okay, let's go by the old school name--3x3 inch deco squares!  This is 
a set made for the Garden Party swap with the 
collage images from Altered Pages




 The backgrounds started out as serendipity, but then I got out the paint, 
and, well, you can't really see anything much of the ephemera any 
more . . . it happens, right?  And of course the bling NEVER
photographs well, but it's a nice touch in real life.

You may have seen the triptych--since these were all going to the same 
person, it seemed like fun, a little something different:
collage images from Altered Pages

And here is the ABC:
 A card, using an image from the Artistic Outpost Think and Wonder plate,
and type from the alphabet set from Blockheads .  We're having fun with lots
of Artistic Outpost stamps at Blockheads--you can click on the thumbnails
below to find more pieces using these great images.

A few challenges to round out the week--first for the trinchies:
Fab 'n' Funky Challenges--No Stamped Images
It's All About the Vintage--Anything Goes
And for the ABC card: 
Fashionable Stampers--Let's Get Messy and Inky 
Inspired By--photo inspiration

Have a great weekend, everyone!
:)

 


Thursday, July 26, 2012

another tiny tale

Well, not exactly a tale, but it is a tiny book--another in my series 
of little books, each about 2 1/2 by 2 1/3 inch square-ish, each 
containing a proverb or other words of wisdom.



All of the images and quotes are from the Rogue Redhead Designs
Relish Reading plate, including that wordy stamped background that
isn't the ephemera, except for the corner flourish brackets--

the brackets are from Getting Grizzly.  (ALL the sets are on sale
at Rogue Redhead Designs right now, just so you know.)


Have you entered the RRD Distressed Greens challenge yet?
Do you think this is green enough?  Hmmm . . . well, while
I'm at it, let's join up a few more places:

Shopping Our Stash--use something new (that dark green crayon around the edges)

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

What's on Your Workdesk? Wednesday #164

What's on my workdesk this Wednesday?  New rubber, some getting the cling
mount, some just getting admired and thought over--I went to a rubber stamp
show Saturday, and helped demo Flower Soft at the Our Daily Bread display, so
that was fun.  Came home with a stack of new goodies, plus a new, not-out-yet
plate arrived in the mail from Rogue Redhead Designs.  

Here's one set of the Unruly Paper Arts Garden Party trinchies/thrinchies that were
kind of on my desk last week, and since these were all going to the same person,
why not make them into a triptych?
(click pic to enlarge image)
So what's on YOUR workdesk this Wednesday?  If you want to play along, come
join in the fun at the lovely Julia's HERE.

Sunday, July 22, 2012

yes and no? maybe more like NO!!!!

Okay, yes, it's no secret--I REALLY like my Gelli Plate.  I wanted to do
gel plate printing, bought all the stuff to make my own plate, but procrastinated
so long that the Gelli  people took care of it for me and came out with one I
don't have to keep in the refrigerator, AND it won't get moldy, so YES, thank
you very much!

THIS I like:
 The lace was brayered over while it
was on the plate-- not only did it leave
great lacy marks on the papers, I now
have some "custom painted" lace that
goes with several of the papers  made
during that particular Gelli Plate session.

You can see bubble wrap spots where
paint was lifted off the plate before
printing, and the punchinella marks,
too.  (You can get punchinella free
from Blockheads with any purchase,
did you know that?  Just ask for it
when you order.)

So what will I stamp on this???
(You can see my very first go with my
Gelli Plate HERE.)

And now, for the "I'm not so sure" part:

It's an easel birthday card.  The flower colors match the bouquet that went along
with it, and I was aiming for bright and fun . . .
 . . . but I'm afraid I may have hit . . . well, somewhere south of bright and fun.

The birthday girl liked it, and that's what really matters, right? Used the
alphabet set and Honey Bees set.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

woyww #163 for reals--Two desks today . . .

Today, at least here, you get two workdesks for the price of one visit.

These are actually wooden tray tables, which I move around and work
at whenever I don't want to hibernate in my craft cave--the first is
somewhat tidy:
You can see the remains of a VERY clean and simple card, the backgrounds for
some Garden Party themed 3x3s made for a swap with the Unruly Paper Arts
yahoo group, and the beginnings of some experimentation with those
watercolor gelatos in cool and and warm colors.

Desk number 2 is questionable at best:
The supplies are perfectly fine, and the stamp sets are some I really like and
use quite frequently,  but my combination of all this, which you cannot see in the
pic, that, my friends, is the questionable part.  It's not quite finished yet.  I was
aiming for bright and fun, but may have hit just plain awful instead . . .

The stamp sets, in case you're interested:
Years Ago set
Honey Bees set
alphabet set

Here are the the sets of 3x3s that got traded out in the UPA swap I mentioned
earlier--can't show mine yet, sorry, but soon, okay?

from Shar of Ill Tempered Ink

from Michele of art from the well


There we go, that's your two What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday? desks for
the reduced price of one visit, plus the added bonus of some very pretty 3x3s.  I'll
show you mine next week . . .  please leave a comment, and I will be back with
you sometime this week to see what's on YOUR desk.

Friday, July 13, 2012

Summer by the Sea tags

My favorite part of the Summer by the Sea tag book is,
well, the tags . . . here are some pics of the tags pulled
from the book, showing some of their details:
all collage images from Altered Pages, the sea background graphic45
That crab and tiny seashell stamp--Rogue Redhead Designs

My favorite tag add-ons--lightbulb pins and railway tokens!
I like attaching several tags together, kind of like a mini book-
within-a-book.  I think adding the extra bits--real sea shells,
railway tokens, sequins waste, silky seam binding, etc.--gives
the whole thing an added tactile appeal, making the book
even more inviting to dig through, but maybe that's just me.
What makes an arty book inviting to you?

Okay, yes, it's Friday,but Brenda has invited us to join her at Tuesday Treasures.
Hey,  if I'm late to the party, you can be, too--see you there?

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

What's on your workdesk? Wednesday 163 (Summer by the Sea book)

You wanna know what's on my workdesk?  I'd show you, but I'm
gone all week during the day, helping make crafts at 
vacation Bible school . . . all kinds of goofy, fun things . . .
so my home desk is sadly neglected. 

BUT here is what WAS on my workdesk, and I couldn't show
you until now--that still counts, right?

I'm telling you, I REALLY liked this book from the start, it was 
so much fun to make (full up of tags and ephemera goodies), 
but now that it's a cover piece, I like it even more.  
Does that seem a little wrong to anybody else??

Hmmm . . .

Wonder what's on all the other workdesks out there?
You can take a peek at WOYWW and find out!
That's what I'm planning on doing when I get home, 
just hanging out with a giant glass of iced tea and
having a good, old fashioned blog snoop.
Maybe I'll see you there?
:)

Thursday, July 05, 2012

now, and then, and now . . .

This tiny 2 1/2 by 2 1/2-ish square book was created as the 
first in a series of small,simple, hand made books, each 
containing a classic proverb or saying.


The textured black cardstock cover contains repurposed
ephemera from Vintage Page Designs, the alphabet is 
vintage, and the images are from the Sewing and Notions 
sets, both available at Blockheads.
 
You may have noticed the Altered Arts Magazine link in
my sidebar.  I am very pleased to "officially" say thank
you for the opportunity to be a part of the Altered Arts
Design Team.  I've always been partial to Altered Arts
probably because they were the first publication I ever
submitted anything to, and they accepted it, plus my next
piece, too, and a few more after that . . .
 
Here is a pic of the pieces in my first official "publishing,"
back in 2009 :
Serendipity, images from Altered Pages
Available as a kit HERE.
Thank you again, Altered Arts, for the the then, and the now!

:)
P.S.--Brenda has some lovely things in her Tuesday Treasures,
so I joined in there!
 
 

Monday, July 02, 2012

hand stamped fabric cuff, quilted and beaded

Do you ever stamp on fabric?  I do, occasionally, using what used
to be Fabrico Inks--now you'll find them as VersaCraft. (VersaCraft)

hand stamped, quilted, beaded cuff
 The colors are lovely, and they stay true, even after many washings--
it just takes a little ironing to heat set the inks.


These stamps are from the Nature Medallions set.

 
The fabric was monoprinted with the VersaCraft Inks before stamping--you
can see some of the fabric pieces HERE.

Want to learn more about fabric stamping?  Check out this tutorial by Karen
McAlpine, HERE. Come link your own fabric stamping challenge, with the
chance to win $25 of Blockheads stamps, at the Blockheads Paper Arts blog
by July 21st.

:) Happy Monday, everyone!

Sunday, July 01, 2012

itty bitty hand bound beach book--She Sells Sea Shells . . .

It's July, and time for a new round of Reader's Art Quests at Unruly Paper Arts.
The theme this month is Catch the Wave, and the first RAQ--Beach!
This tiny book is only about 2 1/2 inches square--you can see the dime in
background, to give you an idea of its' size:

ephemera and graphic45

collage image--Altered Pages, vintage alphabet, seashell--Rogue Redhead Designs

collage image--Altered Pages, corner stamps--Rogue Redhead Designs
crab stamp--Rogue Redhead Designs
All the photo collage images are from Altered Pages, the alphabet set is vintage,
and the stamped images are all from Rogue Redhead Designs.

I hope this take on the classic seaside tongue twister inspires you to come
Catch the Wave at Unruly Paper Arts this month--there are several weeks
to join in the new Reader's Art Quests, and all types of paper arts are welcome,
so see you at the beach . . .