31 July 2010

Making your own embellishments

I have been continuing my experiments to make my own embellishments. The first one is just a combination of a paper heart, a dictionary heart, ink and and a skeleton feather held together with a brad. Now I need to create a romantic lo. The second one was more fun to make although I am not sure where I will use it but I think I can use the technique again. I have some pics to show how to make the glitter embellishment. I think this could be used as a brooch or in card-making.
1. Take the cardboard waste from a ribbon holder and fill 1/3 full with pva glue.
2. Sprinkle in Martha Stewart vintage glitter beads (or others) to make a pattern.
3. Continue to add layers of beads to make design,
4. Leave to dry for at least 24 hours and then peel off cardboard round edge leaving base as bottom of embellishment.
5. The finished piece is about 4 mm thick.

Digital to hybrid take 2


Continuing with my Oxford album and my experiments taking digital layouts to hybrid. I created the basic layout in iScrapbook and once I printed it out I set to work making it my own. I used the Stacy Marks "Courtship" papers from Two Peas in a Bucket as background and layering papers and the ticket embellishment. The first pic is the digital lo and the second shows the final lo. First I inked round the edges using black and red Stazon ink.

Yellow and red pastels were added to ink layers
Red and black ink added to edges and page
Crucial element - smudge with fingers
 Next I used pink elastic and ribbon to create a ruffle that I stapled on and then added some brads to. Finally I created a ribbon flower with a button at its centre.
ribbon and elastic to create a ruffle

Ribbon flower with button centre
Ribbon ruffle


24 July 2010

Hipstamatic pics and garden firsts

Here are the pics. I love the fact they are imperfect and unexpected. With these ones I used the "shake" function before each pic to make them even more random. It gives the pics a very surreal feel. The garden firsts are my first sunflowers out in the garden and my first bunch of sweet peas picked and grown in garden.

23 July 2010

Sunshine and hipstamatic

The sun has come out and I've been playing with my hipstamatic app. Was going to put pics up but you will need to wait as not mastered phone blogging pics.

20 July 2010

From digital to hybrid


I completed another page on my digital oxford album but had already decided that I wanted to make these hybrid pages as they can look a little flat when in an album.  The first pic shows the digital image which is based on a banana frog sketch by Audrey. Once I printed out the lo I then added chalk to edges of paper to give more dimension. Then I got out my water colour paints and washed over the journalling area with white and purple. I punched in 4 eyelets and then added more brush strokes of white and purple to the background. Now I feel as if it is more me.


From muddy slope to bright green teletubby land

The grass is down and the railway sleepers have been made into retaining walls and flower beds. It is becoming a garden now. Had been waiting till it stopped raining to take photos of grass but it ain't stopped for two weeks. It's also obvious I have forgotten my day job as I'm sure last post should have read "Sneaky Peek" - got my mountains and eye movements confused.

19 July 2010

Playing with paper and glittery bits

Once I had completed the circle journal I still wanted to play a little and the glitter and beads were just there. Here are a couple of my experiments - I'm still waiting for more to dry. I think I have been watching too many Donna Downey Inspiration Wednesday videos but they are good. I am planning to scrap a journal/album on the new garden so thought I would create some letters and flowers that I can cut out and stick on.
 
I made some more dresses which I thought I could use as toppers for cards or scrapping. Then I dug out the thicker glitter... and stuck it on butterflies and acetate. Hanging on the rail you can see the start of pages for T in the Park using a 12 x 12 album holder that takes six photos etc. I like using these as you can keep tickets and layouts and other bits and bobs and stick onto the plastic etc. This was an idea I got from Shimelle's last class - Something for almost nothing.

Sneaky peak at Mad Men Circle Journal

I am very proud of this little tag. There were blank dress cards to be decorated and when I read the instructions and explanations I just had to make one with a real lace petticoat. Then I spied the Martha Stewart glass beads which have been languishing on my shelves since I splurged on them months ago - they are pretty though.  I choose advertising as my theme as I love the style and graphics of the late 50's and early 60's, plus I have the added interest of mum as model then. I found the old advertisements and then used scrapping software to create a montage and fake red zigzag stitching. When I first printed it out it the colours were not bright enough so I printed an additional copy onto acetate and then sewed the two pieces together using blanked stitching.
 That was okay on the straight sections but I could not figure out how to make it go round a corner - I do like the mix of elements. I also created a tag for journaling that slots behind the acetate sections.  It did not print out that well so I distressed it using a wash of watercolour paints and then trimmed it with ribbons. The other page will have to wait until the journal returns to its owner.

18 July 2010

Leanne's Free Prints

I found this and many more on my trawl of the blogoshphere - so appropriate for the weather we have had for the last few weeks. There are some fab prints here created by Leanne

Mad Men Circle Journals

The latest circle journal has as its theme "Mad Men" style which is the late 1950's and early 1960's. I have been trawling through the internet looking for inspiration and have now created a background paper for my entry. I really don't need to look that far though as my mother was a model at this time and appeared in advertisements as the Persil mum (she was only 17 at the time!). It was in an advertisement called Woman Alone and you can watch it below - mum appears from 01:08 to 01:48

13 July 2010

T in the Park

To end our holidays we took the campervan and youngest daughter to T in the Park. Muddy, sunny, cold, tiring, exhilerating, fun, friends, laughs, music, thrills and spills. The man with tache took things to a whole new level.

On our travels

We have been away for a few weeks in the Highlands of Scotland with friends. It was very relaxing and peaceful as there was no technology or wireless etc - even the phone signal was poor. We found ways to amuse ourselves with the kayaks and an buoy washed up on the beach.
One evening out for a walk we came across this bike on the sand...