They weren't like this...

....when I were a kiddie... Domino's that is... they were ivory/white and chunky, or black and plastic-y... never saw one with flowers, a bee and a ladybird before...

Another swap achieved for UKScrappers, an altered domino. It was a direct 1-2-1 swap and I was allocated Gail, who wanted vintage or nature, so I went with nature.

The flowers are made using the Martha Stewart clay and molds, to begin with I made plain white flowers and painted them purple using PaperArtsy's Fresco Finish chalk acrylic paint in amethyst, which is a dark purple... then I re-read what Gail had said about colours and she is not a fan of purple... so those flowers have gone into the odds'n'sods box for use on something else.

The yellow flowers I made using the white clay and a little of the yellow mixed in to make my own colour, damn but I love these molds as once you have worked out how much clay to put in and squidged it in all the way round, out pops the most perfectly formed flower - so cute!

Once the clay had dried I lightly went over the surface with Spiced Marmalade distress ink, just to give it a bit of contrast colour. There are 2 leaves, one on each of the short ends, but they haven't come out so well.

The domino was coloured using Meadow alcohol ink and some little metal vine-y bits were glued to the long edges. When everything was glued on and dried I gave it several coats of Spray and Shine varnish to try and give some protection to the clay flowers.

The domino was destined to become a bag charm, so needed a "thingy" on the back (which was kindly sent to me by Karen/Kitty Crafts) as I hadn't got a clue what she meant. So the thingy was duly glued on with glossy accents after the back of the domino had been inked with black alcohol ink to disguise the spots.

The little metal bee was a proverbial PITA, it got glued on with glossy accents twice before it decided to stay put, I just hope he survives with Gail longer than he did with me!

The domino has now been received by Gail and she likes it so that's a result. I have yet to receive the domino which has been made for me, I asked for "Butterflies/nature or steampunk - or a mix of all three if my partner is feeling brave enough! Bonus points if they include the colour purple"... looking forward to seeing what I get!

It's beginning to look a lot like... Christmas?

...and we're only just into March... still it's taken me this long to complete the five Christmas-themed layouts from the Total Papercrafts Christmas papers kit, using Jackie da Silva's layout suggestions, but I'm happy with them so that's all that counts.

The papers are Teresa Collins "Santa's List" and are scrummy - first saw them at the ATDML Autumn retreat and wasn't too sure about them... now I have used them I've changed my mind and I like them a lot! The kit had so much in it that I'm sure there's enough to do another one or two, mebbe some ATC's - or I could have a go at making some of my own Project Life cards (might stop me buying them lol....)

 My fella (face blurred by request, he wasn't looking his best!) and my ol' cat Sophie asleep by the tree - the smaller pic has Sophie trying to get under the tree bless her!

 

 

My Christmas tree lights and the crocheted angel made by my friend Ania from Poland

 

My brother and his partner with their Christmas mugs

 

 

Me and my Dad, sadly the last Christmas before he died.

 



 

The tree outside my kitchen window in the snow - shame it's not there now but it did have a lovely shape to it - unfortunately it got rather old and shaky after the autumn storms so the people opposite had it chopped down.

 

And just to change the mood, my final layout is made using Graphic 45 Steampunk Debutante papers, the pic is of me at the lavender fields behind Heacham in Norfolk... printed in sepia tones as I thought it went better with the papers like this... Kit was another Total Papercrafts one but again the layout design is based on one that Jackie da Silva designed - I just went a little mad in cutting out flowers and butterflies!

 

 

More scraproom/studio pics...

Well my craft room/studio/lounge. call it what you will, is certainly coming along... I've already posted some pics on Facebook but I know I have friends and family who are not on FB so thought I'd better include them here!

 

Shelving on the right-hand side was completed first, the lower shelves are custom-cut to fit the gap between the doorframe and the wall, just that bit too thin for an Expedit, so I have my own version... The top shelves are IKEA 'Billy' bookshelves, the middle one has been slimmed down to fit so the shelves look uniform next to the desk.

 

The left-hand end now complete too, two more Billy bookcases that have been altered to fit the remaining gap but not to obscure the window too much, and also accommodate my printer. The white drawer set is staying... for now...

 

...but I now have a customised filing cabinet, the top drawer of which now takes 12x12 handing files. Initially I bought a pack of five 12x12 files but that cost me nearly £9 - so instead I made 17 of my own from some old foolscap and A4 hanging files and a roll of parcel tape - they'll do the trick nicely!

 

 

And to round things off for now, this rather spiffy washi-tape holder was made for me by my best mates Debbie's Dad - from offcuts and bits of 1/4" dowel - and my entire collection of washi-tape fits perfectly - all 92 reels of it...

 

Does this mean that I now can't buy any more washi-tape because it won't fit in the rack?

 

Does it heck... he made me two... :-) Thanks Dave xx

Tags ahoy...

No point in having a lovely re-organised scrapping area (pics to come later) if I'm not going to do anything with it eh... so I've joined in again with the UKScrappers monthly tag swaps. Due to the host being super-busy I volunteered to take over hosting on the basis that it gives me even more incentive to get my tags made - altho it does give me a couple of days extra to finish them as I don't have to post them!

With the deadline for receipt being tomorrow (24th Feb) thought I'd better post pics of mine to show I've actually gotten off my derriere and done them - they have basically been finished for a few days but just hadn't got around to photographing them until this morning!

January's one is "Winter" - evergreen bough and weathered wood distress inks on the background, a PSX fir cone stamp coloured with Marvy brushmarkers in pine green and brown and then "huffed" on to moisten the ink, then the words stamped in Archival Coffee ink. A little fir tree brad to finish and a twist of white ribbon thru the hole and we're done.

I did discover to my horror tho that the Marvy brushmarkers, which granted I have had for years, had all-but dried out, so getting them to colour consistently onto the stamp 4 times was a bit of a mare... I've thrown them all away now as they are no use to man nor beast. But, as I said, I've had them for years!

February's tag is "Love" and is very simple... a background of tattered rose distress ink, then barn door applied thru a Dylusions leaf stencil, which in my mind look like hearts... I outlined each leaf/heart with a thin journaling pen and added a touch of white as a highlight. The stamped sentiment comes on one of the "Get Stamping" magazine stamp sheets (this months I think!) and I've also stamped bits of the Kaisercraft crackle background in tattered rose too. A heart-shaped brad to finish and a partial border of black/white checkers - I love this on a tag but didn't want to totally over-power the design.

I've received 2 sets of tags and waiting on the final set now, then I can swap them around and send them home. Just 4 of us playing for the first 2 months, a good introduction to running a proper UKS swap and I hope not my last!

Craftroom re-modelling continues...

You may recall from my previous post that I had to clear my craft desk so that my friend Tim could re-site it at a better height - and intended doing it whilst I was away so that I "didn't get under his feet"...

Well, I arrived back in Southend on Thursday evening, after a knackering coach trip and then driving back round the M25 after dropping my sister home - staggered up my stairs with my bags and stopped dead... for at the top of the stairs was the bottom half of the Ikea Billy bookcase...

I thought Tim's plan was just to get the desk to the correct height, but no... he went all out and totally replaced the desk so that it is a huge 'L' shape running under the window and under the bookcase - which is going to be re-sited a little higher up the wall to give me clear working space underneath it!

The bookshelf is currently sitting on the desk but once it is moved (and probably shortened a bit more) there will be a massive desk area for me to spread out on - heaven!

Under the desk on the left he has built a little cubby which as well as providing support for the desk top, will house a built-in purpose cupboard for my scrapbooking papers/cardstock - we're in discussion as to how exactly this will work but he has a "cunning plan" so I'm leaving him to it... I did suggest however that the bottom half of the bookcase could well slide under the desk flat against the wall and provide more storage space for my Really Useful Boxes (that seem to be multiplying at an alarming rate)... there will still be more than enough legroom under the desk so no worries there.

Not sure yet whether the black drawer unit is staying or being replaced - but right now it's happy there. The other two white units are being replaced at some stage too.

He has made a great start but is not finished by a long shot - but life (and weather) gets in the way - we've had seriously bad flooding in Southend today and roads have been closed, so he took the opportunity to work on something else, but will be back in due course to carry on the re-model.

And I can't wait to get crafting on it!

Scotland ahoy! (heavy on the pics tho...)

I've just got back from my break in Scotland with my sister - we went on a Lochs and Glens coach trip and stayed at the Inversnaid Hotel on the bonnie bonnie banks of Loch Lomond - and very bonnie they are too! The main reason for the trip was to visit the Edinburgh Royal Military Tattoo which we have both wanted to do for ages - and boy it is so worth it if you get the chance to go... I love the sound of the pipes and drums, and watching the precision marching and inter-weaving and entwining they do - absolutely stunning.

As well as Scottish and English bands they have bands from abroad - this year there were bands from North Korea, Mongolia, Mexico and New Zealand - the latter keeping everybody well entertained with their singing, dancing "Gangnam Style" (yes - honestly!) and finishing off with the Haka...

The Imps junior motorcycle display team were also there, whizzing around the auditorium and doing fast crossover passes - whilst riding their bikes standing facing backwards - heart in mouth time but their timing was perfect. So too was the marching from the girls from New Zealand - they also did a routine which included perfect crossovers whilst marching backwards!

As well as the tattoo, we visited Stirling and the Wallace Monument, the Glengoyne Distillery and Callendar, as well as driving through some stunning scenery over The Dukes Pass. We also had a short cruise on Loch Lomond itself which was very informative, all about Rob Roy and the Duke of Montrose. All in all a very busy and packed 3 days, with a day each side for the journey up.

It was a nice break and very good value for money, its now the third time I've been away with Lochs and Glens and certainly intend going again - but next time I'll be a devil and go for longer - 3 days just isn't long enough to get over the 12-hour or more journey on the coach up there (especially when the selfish cow in the seat in front of you fully reclines her seat into my knees without warning and gives me zero legroom for the whole holiday grrr)

So - pictures...

To get you in the mood, here's the piper at Gretna Green



Inversnaid Hotel

 



 

The Arklet Falls - right next to the hotel

 

 



Reflections of me and my sister in the waterfall!

 



The Scot Monument, Edinburgh

 

Greyfriars Bobby and his pub



 

Massed bands at the Edinburgh Royal Military Tattoo

 

Me and my sister at the Wallace Monument, Stirling

 

 

The Glengoyne Distillery

 

Reflections on one of the many lochs we passed

 

Lily pads on Loch Achray

 

The Haggis Farm on Loch Lomond

 

Oh ok, so the last picture isn't really a haggis farm - but that's how the tour guides describe it... it's actually the hydro-electric power station feeding from Loch Sloy way up at the top of the mountain - but according to the tour guide it's the haggis factory... Haggis's - or more properly Haggi - are a wild 3-legged creature that roams the mountainsides of Scotland, feeding on the heather, and they are chased and caught and sent to the building at the top of the pipes which is the slaughter-house... they are then prepared and rolled down the pipes (which gives the haggis the traditional round shape) and then arrive at the bottom building which is the packing station... where they are packed and sent to Tesco's...

 

Believe that and you'll believe anything... :-)

Slightly less over-whelmed...

I've now made serious inroads into tidying and boxing up my craft stuff ahead of the first stage in re-modelling my lounge into a lounge-cum-craft studio - still have a ways to go but thought I'd share what I have done so far.

ALL the carrier bags that were under the table and around the chair have been emptied and the contents found proper homes for - now I can get under the desk and start to pull out the tools and odds and sods that have migrated under there. The sewing machine (which is a 1952-ish handcranked jobbie) is going to a friend from Benfleet Scrappers, so that'll release some more space.

I've made a good start at clearing the desk itself, some things have been put away where they should have been put away well before now *looks all sheepish and hangs head guiltily* but other things have had to go into storage boxes for now, until I can find proper homes for them. I've also earmarked a lot of stuff to either sell, move on, recycle or (shock horror) purely throw away as it's no use to man nor beast - or even other crafters! I know that "One mans trash is another mans treasure" - but seriously peeps... there is a limit here, and some things have just reached it!

To help with storage I've bought some rather lovely sturdy but collapsible storage boxes from The Works - they were a fiver each but well worth it as they look lovely - I've got 2 of each design, London and Paris, as well as a 5th one which has the London Underground map printed on it. They are a good size, they take a 12x12 ziplock baggie laying down nicely, so all the baggies of half-finished and "yet-to-start" layout projects I've had laying around can go in one, all the kits bought from Total Papercrafts etc can go in another etc... As you can see this is definitely a work in progress, piles of stuff moved away from the craft desk just so's I can get near it to clear it, but it will all sort itself out eventually.

The plan is for these nice storage boxes to go under the shelf that the DVD/video player is on - currently under there are several carrier bags containing holiday ephemera - y'know, all the "crap" you bring back from your holidays that you want to use in scrapbook albums for that holiday: brochures, ticket stubs, newspapers, postcards etc... they are all piled up and sliding around looking messy. So if I put the bags into a couple of these smart storage boxes instead it'll look much neater. And with a luggage label tied to the handle of each one (thanks for that great idea Toni!) I can easily locate which box has got what in it.

But that is phase 2 - or even possibly phase 3 - clearing the top of the craft desk so that it can be removed and re-sited takes priority, and I only have a few days left to do this.

So I'd better hop to it!