Fabulous Fifty!

Thank you so much for all the good wishes for my birthday today. I have had a wonderful day so far, with my favourite person. I haven't got anything creative to show you from me, but something creative from Col! This is the starter he made for my lunch:!

 

 

Marinated anchovies with oven roasted vine tomatoes. It was delicious! For the main course he wanted to recreate a favourite dish of ours from Marks and Spencer, which is chicken with potatoes cooked with chilli and smoked paprika and tomatoes, with garlic mayonnaise. M and S eat your heart out!

There is ice cream in the freezer too, but I'm too full - maybe later!

Make Do and Mend Paper Artsy Tag

 

Petra was here yesterday and we had a lovely afternoon crafting together. She has kindly lent me all her Paper Artsy stamps over the last few weeks and I have so enjoyed using them! Thank you, Petra! Of course I had to have one last go! This time I have mainly used the sewing stamps which are gorgeous and stamp up so beautifully, rather than the Lynne Perella stamps I have mainly been using recently (although there are a couple on here!). I stamped up the background on the tag whilst Petra was here, then finished it off by colouring it with Fresco Finish paints and adding some pieces I stamped on plain card as white accents, and some pieces on crackly tissue paper. We did some experimenting to see if we could find a substitute for the crackly tissue paper but it wasn't very successful. I added the mannequin on top, on 3d foam pads, and blinged it up with a heart shaped gem earring - this is my 'Shiny' entry for Hels' Sunday Stampers Challenge this week! I am also entering it for the Paper Artsy challenge which is here. I am still really enjoying the wonderful weekly inspiration their guest artists have been bringing.

You might have noticed I am making more of an effort to enter challenges at the moment and also to try different styles/techniques. I am 50 on Sunday and it seems a good time to stretch myself and try new things. I also have a lot of anxiety at the moment about Mum, as many of you know, and am finding crafting very therapeutic as many of us have discovered. So do nag me please to keep joining in things as I can be very unmotivated at times. I had a lovely morning yesterday with Brenda, and an afternoon with Petra, and that certainly has helped my morale and my mojo greatly!

Birds of a Feather Tag

I made this tag over on the Happy Daze blog using the Birds of a Feather stamp set by the Artistic Outpost and some Cosmic Shimmer misters and a white gel pen. I used a grungeboard bracket for the branch the bird is sitting on and added some white die cut foliage and a ruffle made from Tim Holtz tissue tape.

I am entering this for the Country View Crafts Challenge. I am also entering it for the Artistic Outpost Referral Programme for March. You can buy their stamps from them if you are in the US, or from Happy Daze if you are in the UK.

Lynne Perella Paper Artsy Tag

This week Linda Cain is back at Paper Artsy! I am so pleased as it was Linda's shrine that so inspired me. This week I am joining in the challenge with a tag. I have used a selection of Paper Artsy stamps, mainly Lynne Perella ones, stamped onto crackly tissue and painted with Fresco Finish Paints. I love this woman image on the left; she makes me think of a French tapestry! I am entering the challenge which is here.

Somewhere to Hang Your Keys and Tell the Time

Over on the Happy Daze Blog I have decorated this little key holder. It is so unusual as it also incorporates a clock and is a gift I was absolutely thrilled to receive at Christmas from my dear friend, Jack. It is absolutely perfect for the Artistic Outpost Birds of a Feather stamps, and I have also used some of the Whimsical Melange set. I coloured the Robin using Distress Inks and then added glossy accents, and sat him on a branch which is a grungeboard bracket rusted up a bit with Vintage Photo embossing powder.

I am entering this into the Artistic Outpost referral programme for March which is Anything Goes. You can buy their stamps from them if you are in the US, or from Happy Daze if you are in the UK.

Canvas Board with Elizabeth Bennett Indigo Blu Stamp

I'm still in love with this gorgeous Elizabeth Bennett stamp by Indigo Blu which my kind friend Pauline bought for me. I was talking about her to my good friend, Carol, aka Ginger, and she said she was going to indulge too, and suggested we did a linked blog post! So here we go! Here's Carol's, don't know what she has made except it is bound to be sublime!

I have used a simple postcard sized canvas board with fresco finish paints and made the stamp the main focus. When I fancied the stamp I had in mind that it would go with the Jane Austen set from Artistic Outpost so I have used the quote bottom right, 'To sit in the shade .....'. I also used the background script stamp by Indigo Blu all around the image. It was a little strong so I used a baby wipe to knock it back. It gave a sort of gessoed effect which I really liked.

Thank you very much, Carol, for linking in to my post. Looking forward to seeing what you have made when this goes live!

Paper Artsy Green Shrine

Oooh, bit of a rush today as I wanted to make this for this week's Paper Artsy challenge. This week's guest has been Helen Chilton. Have I mentioned before that I have been following Helen since I first started stamping and she is a complete heroine of mine? Yes, I think I might have said it a few times! She made a lovely wooden shrine in greeny shades and I really enjoyed the last one I made, so I thought I would make another, using Lynne Perella stamps still kindly on loan from Petra (she is bound to come back and claim them soon, isn't she?!).

The images are on crackly tissue, the paint is fresco finish (is there any other?), and the flowers are PA metal sheets which I have popped onto grunge to enable me to curl the petals, then a harlequin embossing folder, then Little Black Dress, then Claret, then some Treasure Gold. I've been pondering for some time what to do as my entry for Tim's Tattered Florals Challenge and I thought I would enter this. I use this die more than any other, and I do love Bigz dies because they cut through metal and grunge so easily. I just used the smallest size this time. I finished off the flowers with some of the new Pearl Glue in the centre from Creative Expressions.

Not a very good photo so I might replace it if the light improves........

Elizabeth Bennett Folk Heart

My dear friend, Pauline, kindly bought me this exquisite Indigo Blu Elizabeth Bennett stamp at the Farnborough Make It show the other week as a 'thank you for driving' present. She is beautiful, isn't she? I also bought the folk heart shapes there, and the fresco paints and Cosmic Shimmer sprays I have used here, and the Kroma crackle you can just see beneath her image. I used some copper Inka Gold around the edge. I used Indigo Blu script background in patches all over the background.

I am entering this into the Indigo Blu challenge which is Blue. I am also entering it into the new Country View Crafts Challenge.

Ballooning Over Paris

I used the French Flight and Paris Exposition sets from Artistic Outpost for this card over on the Happy Daze blog. These are my 'go-to' sets for male birthdays.

I am entering this into the Artistic Outpost referral programme for March the theme of which is Anything Goes. You can get their stamps direct from them in the US, or from Happy Daze if you are in the UK. I am also entering this for Top Tip Tuesday, the theme of which is Up, Up and Away.

Paper Artsy Lynne Perella Canvas with 3 Mini Canvases

It's becoming a habit to join in the Paper Artsy challenge on their blog! This week they have Michelle Webb as their Guest Artist, doing stunning art journalling pieces. I have made this large square canvas today using three small canvases in the middle and Lynne Perella images. I applied Fresco Finish paints to the main canvas using my fingers in downward strokes to give a rough coverage, leaving the sides plain, and painting the images with the same colours. Finally I stamped on the background with white Snowflake to provide some highlight.

Paper Artsy Clown Heart with Fresco Finish Paints

I am still really finding the Paper Artsy blog is helping my mojo - isn't it amazing when that happens? Well done to Gillian and Leandra for co-ordinating all the wonderful content with the videos and guest artists. Suzanne Czosek has been making some glorious artwork this week. Have a look!

Yesterday I was at the Make It show at Farnborough and was delighted to pick up the latest Fresco Finish colours from the Ali Craft stand. I haven't used them today as I am still at the stroking the bottles stage, but I just thought I would mention it as I am so excited! I am stretching myself a little more in using the paints, as a result of all the instruction on the PA blog, mixing translucents with opaques to get different colours and effects.

For this make I have used the Clown from LPC003, and the background stamping is made up of text from LP014, and the leafy branch and circle with petals from Flora and Fauna 3; I outlined the petals with white gel pen. I have used a layer of crackle between the paint layers, and some Treasure Gold around the edge of the heart and the flowers. I also used the text stamp on the foliage and flowers, and the metallic glaze on the flowers which was a wonderful Linda Cain tip.

The bronze metal leaves are not really leaves at all. I buy some packs of metal embellishments in France and when you look at them you can see different shapes within them, and you can cut pieces out with scissors to go with your project.

I decided to have another go at entering the Paper Artsy challenge this week as my entry the other day was very much copying Linda Cain (although I have certainly learnt from her in what I have made today). I am also entering the new Countryview Crafts Challenge, the theme of which is Pick and Mix, and Creative Cuts and More at the Cheerful Stamp Pad which is Anything but a Card. I am also entering this into the Hotshot Crafts Challenge which is also Anything but a Card. I just discovered them for the first time at Farnborough on Friday as they sell Indigo Blu and Khromo crackle gel, and as they have an on-line shop with very good terms I will definitely be using them between shows.