Playing around with my melt pot

After reading Lisa's blog http://lafemmepapier.blogspot.com/ I decided to have a play with some utee today. I cut some squares out of thick cardboard, inked and stamped on them. I inked them up again using clear ink then put utee on them whilst they were in the melt pot. After the utee had levelled I took them out and put them in the freezer for 10 mins then cracked them..you have to be careful you dont crack them too much or the cardboard splits!!! Ink the cracks up with brown ink. I might add further embellishments to these but I think they look really good so why not have a go..love to see your results

Strange Legs ATC (crazy amigo challenge legs)

Made a quick surreal ATC using images from my newspaper and some painted papers then brightened the colours digitally using Picasa . I found a little photo of a man measuring the length of a mini skirt in the 1960s and the background is made up of various pics of legs

Altered guitar, laying lino and a couple of ATC books with keys (awfully big art adventure keys).

my sons are learning to play guitar so we wanted to make it easier for them..My husband chopped up a guitar and voila my sons are now finding it easier to play the electric guitar without the curves in the way!! Now what can I make with those chopped up guitar curves..watch this space.

Today after our morning bike ride I made a couple of little ATC books. One contains a variety of painted papers whilst the other contains fabric scraps for making ATCs. I have added little keys to each of the books.(they are made using old bike inner tubes cut up with my cuttlebug). Over at Awfully Big Art Adventure the challenge is keys..

I was very pleased today as my first attempt at putting down bathroom lino was a great success with no gaps showing anywhere ..it now looks really lovely with a nice blue mosaic silvery pattern and I am so pleased as I was totally fed up with the bathroom floor looking a mess so decided to lay the lino myself!

and now for something completely different....

I have just discovered a great card site based in the US http://papercraftsconnection.com/. So have designed this card for their clean and graphic challenge. I do like to challenge myself sometimes to do something that is completely different to what I normally do. As regular readers know I usually layer and grunge everything to within an inch of its life so this card is completely different with its clean and curved lines. I like it though as its nice and modern. I have added a black heart that was cuttlebugged out of an inner tube so at least it has something altered on it!! ha ha!! I havent really got any cards so think I will make some over the winter time so I have a nice collection to give out for birthdays, thank you occasions etc. What have you done lately that is completely different to your normal style..I would love to know so please tell!!

little CD book for UK Stampers CD swap

Over at UK Stampers we are having an altered CD swap. Everyone had to alter one CD somehow..cant wait to see what everyone else has done. I have cut the CD in half (soak it in boiling water then it cuts easily) and then covered it in various papers, stamped images and an inner tube cuttlebugged swirl!. The inside pages are based on some card templates that my friend Linda let me have (check out her blog as she has loads of good ideas http://lindamollyellen.blogspot.com/). I have covered them with some daisy d vintage nursery papers and there are also various papers including joss papers inside cut in a semi circle shape.

If you want to join UK Stampers just click on the badge to the right and that will take you to the site...we have loads of really good swaps and great chat..come and join us you dont have to live in the UK to join us.

Just come across this excellent quote whilst surfing the Net
Silence is the safest response for all the contradiction that arises from impertinence, vulgarity, or envy. ~
Johann Georg von Zimmermann

Grunge Art Girl Card Keeper created by hand texture)

I am part of the creative troupe over at C&T publishers and they sent me this blank card keeper box to alter for them. It contains 10 envelopes and is a nice little box to keep your cards in. I decided I wanted to do a pink grunge instead of the usual dark brown grunge I usually do! I covered the lot with painted papers, flowers, lace, burnt lutradur, mesh and stamped images from crafty individuals and finally wax....so lots and lots of texture

Inside is a card made using papers, paint, lace, material and a stampington flower image

This is what the original looks like..it has lots of creative potential..you could cover it with scrapbook papers, paint it or even cover it with fabric. To have a look at the C&T shop just click the bird badge to the right with "I love fiber art" and this will take you to the shop.

The challenge over at Created by Hand is Texture so I think this fits the bill nicely!

Owls, earrings and little ATC sized books...

Went for a great Sunday morning bike ride with my sons this morning and we saw a lovely handcarved owl in the woods.



I decided to make a little ATC notebook with all the papers I tend to hoard. The black decoration is made with my bikes old inner tube cut out with my cuttlebug...so always look for the arty potential in everything as sometimes you will be surprised!!


Made some nice little delicate earrings too..have added a pair in my Etsy shop..so quite a productive day.....

Dans ma maison "une plume" or feather

This little house features various stamped images. When I was making it I was thinking of my son who always says he is bored despite a house full of toys! Transform your boredom and do something arty!

Colour everywhere

The post brought this lovely pack of colourful scraps and a lovely ATC from my friend Leah in Texas..so a big thankyou Leah. Check out her blog as she makes the most amazing colourful quilts http://www.colorfulartgirl.blogspot.com/. I think they would make a great scrappy quilt as I have some batik type fabric somewhere so that can be a future quilt project. Dont you just love these violas what a gorgeous colour..I am about to put them in a hanging basket as I want to do some gardening this afternoon.

UKS "E for Embroidery" tag

Made a quick tag using all sorts of material and an image of a family printed on canvas. Have added some vintage embroidery ribbon which my mum got off an Indian doctor ..it once was part of a sari. I have added some pink chain stitch around the image..I love chain and blanket stitches in embroidery

some altered stamp blocks added to my Etsy shop

Have made some more collaged art blocks and have added them to my Etsy Store...so feel free to check them out as they are only £5 or $8 each plus packing...not bad for a little piece of art for your room or as a present for a friend They would make an ideal paperweight with two different collages to look at!! I have added beads to these for a bit of glamour and the textural wax finish makes them lovely to hold.

Altered Stamp Blocks

My friend Linda was throwing out a load of stamp blocks after she peeled the stamps off all of them. I said you cant throw them out and rescued them from the bin. I have painted them and covered them with stamped images and papers then put wax all over them. So something out of nothing! Hope she likes them when we are all having our Arty Thursdays at her house. The only problem is that you cant just do one as they are very addictive so think I will carry on and make some more tomorrow!

Blog candy at The Artistic Stamper

Be sure to check this link as The Artistic Stamer is having a giveaway as it is here blog anniversary.
http://theartisticstamper.blogspot.com/2009/09/blogoversary-candy.html

Dans ma maison "une fenetre" or window

Made a little house using all kinds of stamped images for this challenge..this is part of a little book I made. I love the surreal writing on the stamped window "you are not here".

catching up with scrapbooks...

I have been finishing my many half done scrapbooks over the last couple of days. I have done 12x12, 8x8, 6x6 layouts in the past but now I love mini book journal type of scrapbooks. I find that the larger scrapbooks are just too big to store and little scrapbooks are easy to hold. My kids love looking through them all and laughing at photos of them as babies which was not too long ago. The photo shows 2 scrapbooks I have finished today...a 7 gypsies journal which I have covered in lots of papers and little tags and a smaller one made out of beer mats or coasters.

This photo shows the little scrapbook I made out of beer mats or coasters as they are called in the US ..just covered in papers with little photos added. I like using little photos as you get 2 on a 6x4 photo so saves money too!


Here is layout from the 7 gypsies scrapbook of me and my mum eating fine chocolates on Mothers Day last year! I love the little quote sticker which reads "Dont ever save anything for a special occasion, being alive is a special occasion"..so all the reason to eat chocolates then...

Altered letter holder etc etc etc

I bought a stationery set that was a horrible pink polka dot pattern but made out of really good sturdy cardboard so I have been altering it. I love the finished result as it is very me. I have used basic grey paper to cover the set. The flower used to be bright yellow but I used permanent felt pens to colour it and added a button...really like the result. I have used textured chipboard using my cuttlebug for the letters and swirl. So the next time you are in the shops try and look past the horrible pattern and think how you could alter it using your fav papers.

art quilt coming along quite nicely....

This is my idea of craft heaven watching craft dvds while working on my art quilt. I have been using various scraps of fabric given to me and arranging them around the centre haphazardly. I understand that in the old days in the US they used to make quilts out of any scrap of material they could find so that is what I am doing. Its a long way off from being finished as I want it to cover my sofa and I am designing it as I go along...

Altered clipboard (wed stamper open theme)

I needed a clipboard to help me remember swaps, challenges etc and found this one for 99p! I have covered it with some basic grey papers, grungeboard swirls and hidden some stamped images amongst the foilage and peeking over the clip bit. On top of the swirl to the left is a little fairy charm. The stamped quote reads Art washes away the dust of everyday life..by Picasso. To see the clipboard in detail just click on the photo.

Spooky Tag (UKS, Tag Tuesday & crazy amigo challenges)

Combined several challenges on this giant tag. It features one of my fav lost coast stamp images, fibres, grungeboard arrow and basic grey papers. So we have S for Spooky for UKS challenge, hats for crazy amigo challenge and finally one word for tag tuesday challenge! Click on pic to see the detail

Think outside the matchbox (UKS altered packaging)

Over at UKS they are having an upcycled packaging swap..so I made this little altered matchbox for it. It has a little accordian fold booklet in it and features some fav images from paper artsy stamps..odd things on my mind, strange reality, art, etc....I have finished it off with some seed beads and diamond glaze which made it quite tricky to photo.

Morning Time (Mixed Media Monday time challenges)

This little time book is made from a tag off my childrens lunch box and some flowers. It has the title "Take a little time for yourself" and has stamped images related to this be it coffee time, time to appreciate nature, quality time spent at home or time to play before night time represented by the owl. My fav time is time alone in the morning with my cup of coffee looking at the birds in the garden Click on the picture to see the smaller tags better

Altered Cigar Box

I have spent most of the day clearing out my craft conservatory. I am very pleased with it now as its all nice and tidy and I can actually find where things are! I found this cigar box which my friend Linda gave me and have altered it with various images and papers. I used some grungeboard shapes on it as well. It holds all those little tiny stamps from Craft Stamper magazine and some inchie type stamps. Very pleased with the result. I love the little stamped sign 25 joyitas and the little fancy clasp at the front.

Soul Mate art quilt square (Wed Stamper red & turquoise)

I decided to get back into doing something with fabric today. I used some red and turquoise stamped material along with other fabrics and a stamped main image on this piece. I have added various shades of turquoise buttons with red thread. I have stamped some twill tape with the word soul mate and some numbers.

I have sewn all 9 little art quilts together as this will form the centre of my larger art quilt...now to decide what fabric goes around it!

Celebrating the kids have gone back!! (UKS c for child)

The challenge this week over at UKS is C for Child. I used some school uniform tags and covered them with stamped papers etc. A lot of mums in the UK are celebrating today as the kids have gone back to school..we all love our kids dearly but it is so nice to have a moments peace at last!!

Bad girls dreaming of good (Art Pieces "dream")

Wanted to use some new stamps I have got featuring B movie posters of Teenage Bad Girls, Gun Girls, The Hands of Orlac! They are dreaming of being good to impress the guy in the corner ha ha!! This is a little cinema house ATC for the Art Pieces "dream" challenge..check it out.