Sunday 27 November 2011

Advent Sunday - eeek!!!!!!

Just a quicky to show I haven't forgotten crafting and blogland, just been uber uber busy at work and home which has meant I haven't been able to make time for crafting - bad girl I know!

So Radio 4 announced this morning that it was the first Advent Sunday, so that means only 4 weekends till Christmas Day, good job today is dedicated to Christmas card making!

Tim Holtz Christmas ATC stamps embossed in copper. With Aged Mahogany and Brushed Corduroy Distress inks to colour the ATC

Tim Holtz snowflakes stamped in Hazelnut on brown card with a light spray of aged brass Glimmer mist and aged photo round the edges.
Textiles: off cuts of linen and white cotton with a range of Stef Francis (finally putting to use, purchased ages ago) threads and fibres.

Right off to make more!

hugs

jo
xx

Sunday 6 November 2011

Movember - doing it for the boys

I made this for my husband to celebrate him taking part in Movember, the annual  moustache growing charity event to raise awareness of men's health.

I'll be honest I am not fond of 'taches and really don't like his when he grows one for plays (particularly hated the Baldrick full face long straggly beard and tache for BlackAdder one year), but in the name of charity, to raise awareness of men's health especially prostrate and testicular cancer and even more importantly get men openly talking about their health and health related problems then I'm willing to suffer.

If you want to see how he's doing growing his tache or indeed donate to this excellent cause check him out here

I've wanted to use the long stemmed flower on PaperArtsy Hot Picks HP1109EZ for a while, so as this plate also had a mustachioed man on it as well, choice of stamps made!

Also I'm really enjoying working in an 8"x8" format, it's a bit like art journalling for me without the actually journalling (I possible do that on her as in the blog rather than in a book!!!!)

On a piece of green co-ordinations card I added some Toad Hall Fresco Finish paint just to give some depth, I then embossed the flower repeatedly over the card in Old Paper Distress Embossing Powder.  

Um didn't quite work as I'd liked, threw it in the bin and started again, that was worse.

Retrieved original from the bin and attacked it with a sanding block to see if I could get rid of the Distress Powder and then LOL (get me using techno slang) I liked what I'd created, sort of  relief faded look (don't tell me this is how I'm supposed to use Distress Embossing Powder).  Stamped the houses from Hot Picks HP110EZ along the bottom in Timber Brown Stazon. Edged in Crushed Olive and Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

Next the tag, I used Mushroom Fresco paint over the whole tag, then with the new Cinnamon Fresco  paint I stenciled carefully over the top. 

Over the top of all of this I stamped the Butte miners stamp in mushroom ink - it's very subtle. Went round the edge with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  Added the purple velvet ric rac and the buttons - love the red one on top just adds a pop of colour!

Monsieur Tache was stamped in Timber Brown Stazon on a scrap of white card that was painted in Haystack Fresco paint.  Around the edge of each piece I stamped the edge of the Cherry toothpaste stamp in timber Brown Stazon.  Distressed the edges with the tonic tool and inked the edges in Vintage Photo Distress Ink. 

The Movember tag was a spare piece of white card painted in Toad Hall fresco.  

The edges sandpapered to reveal some white and then a large M stamped in Cherry Red Stazon (to pick up the red button) and the little ovember in timber Brown Stazon. The tache was painted in Black Soot Distress Stain and some Rock Candy Crackle paint over the top to give a little gloss.

Ok that's all for now, just to say I do have a load of stash from yesterday's HobbyCraft show at the NEC, but my photo twitter app is playing up so can't tweet (sorry Gabrielle) but the haul does include a lot of new Fresco paints and a set of new Winter Distress Inks that I spied on the ATC stand - they were just sitting there as if to say has anybody seen me yet - do you know how SPECIAL I am??????

hugs
jo
xx