I'm late I'm late for a very important date.....

I started this project ages awhile ago, and then life took over and I never managed to get it finished in time for its original purpose of entering it into the Craft Stamper Competition, but whilst attempting a tidy up in the craft room today I decided to finish it off so thought I would share it with you anyway. Hey whilst writing this I have realised the background is green, so I can enter it into Hels' Sunday Stamper Challenge, so all is not lost!

As you can see it is an altered book. I love to see books that are a bit worse for wear because they have been read, and re-read and well loved. I don't think this readers digest book had actually ever been read, but it now looks like it has!

I cut a hole in the pages to accommodate a 'house clock' and each chipboard tile has been coloured with distress inks, stamped and then triple embossed with clear UTEE. Its a busy book, with well thumbed pages, and I like to think as the title suggests it has been read 'Time and Time Again'

The cover is a bit rough and ready - I didn't want it to be perfect as it was supposed to be well handled and maybe even shoved in a bag everyday to be read on the train to work or as in my OH's case, shoved done the side of the loo - I never understand the attraction of reading on the toilet, think its a man thing!  - The cover is made from Grungepaper - grungepaper/board doesn't really care for heat embossing, but in this project that was perfect because it curled the edges somewhat - It does however like being stamped on - take a look at this gorgeous stamps I bought from The Artistic Stamper - great aren't they!! I didn't know quite what I would use them for when I bought them, but knew I had to have them .... hey presto they are just perfect for this project! They are quite detailed and I was really impressed how well they stamped onto GP.

Perhaps I better start on an entry for the CS now for 2011, then I may get it done in time!!

Oh just noticed my clock is a bit wonky in the photo - that will be because I havent fixed it in properly yet, it will be straight once i find my magnetic strip to keep it in place but easily removable for battery changes etc, so please pretend you didnt notice that LOL

Had the best weekend...

Nowt better for the soul than spending a few days with treasured friends.

Just back from our yearly camping trip with 'The Friday Friends' Five families who all met after the birth of our first babies and four of us had our second babies within 9 weeks of each other.

It is lovely to see all the kids together - 11 of them now, they only meet up in school holidays but when they do it's like they have never been apart, it's lovely to see. As for us adults.. we just drink and eat and laugh, it's a tonic being with these guys!!




Been having a little play in the last couple of days altering a notebook... I haved loved this colour combination of Red/yellow/orange, ever since Sian made me a BRAK using these colours a few years ago. I've had these face stamps for a while now but because they are square I've never been quite sure how to use them, so I had a play with them altogether on here. Quite pleased with the result, not sure the photo does it justice though... I should be more patient and wait until I have daylight to photograph my stuff!!

The seven weeks of school holidays have gone so very quickly and my little buddies will be back at school next week... I'm very sad, but then again I am quite excited about having a bit more craft time to myself!

But before then I have a school bag to alter for number one daughter who is off to high school, so I better get on.... the order of the day is Skeletons, but that may well change!!

Oh and have I mentioned it's only 25 sleeps till Ally Pally and 24 sleeps till I make my way to Kent to see my Number One bessie???

Finally Finished!!

Bittersweet moment, the AB I have been doing for an online Altered Book Course is finally finished.... well almost just a few tweaks here and there which may or may not happen.

I have really enjoyed the fact that doing a course does focus you and 'makes' you sit down and meet the 'deadlines' I have other projects half finished, which will get done one day but really I do work better to a deadline... usually someones birthday!

Anyway here it is... on the final pages we finished the niches that we cut at the very beginning. Now obviously when I cut the niches I knew what I was going to put in them as they are a very specific size and shape... well that was ages ago and now I have forgotten! But as the book has changed course many times then I;m sure that what ever it was wouldn't look right now anyway. The final page now signifies the end, and the words to Frankie's 'My Way' seem to me to be very apt! The Skeleton inside a Tic Tac box inside the biggest niche was not done by me but was sent to me by the very talented Trudy on the DC forum. Instead of sitting on my kitchen window sill it is now living in my book and will be admired and treasure now for many years, along with a few of my most favourite ATC's sent to me by other people which also reside here.

The Cover is decorated with my two most favourite mediums, polymer clay and metal, and as you can tell from the spine, my book has finally got a name 'Class 101' the name of yahoo group which runs alongside the AB Blog.

I'm a bit sad now it's all over.... now what to do??

Thank you to Elizabeth who ran the course, sure it has been a hard slog for her but it has been a very enjoyable few months for me!

One last thing..... it was said at the beginning of the course not to expect the book to close properly ever again.... well thats definately not going to happen with my book is it !

'Atishoo' Box and Out of my Box

This week on the AB book course I am doing was focussing on using magazine images, Well I have to be honest my heart sunk when I realised this , I just don't get them, no offence to anyone because people use them to great aplomb, but to me it still harks back to me cutting random pics out of my mums Woman's realm and sticking them in my scrapbook. I did consider for a nano-second of missing this weeks lesson, but that is not the point of doing a course AND my book is technique based so it must contain lots of different techniques. Well I tried, honest I did, but I still am not comfortable with it. But here is my page. The face made of many faces was done by using the packing tape transfer method.


The second part of the lesson was using frames, This was more 'me' I covered the page in PVA then placed some tissue over the top, which crinkled. Covered again with PVA, when dry I used alcohol inks (cos the PVA leaves a glossy surface the inks love it) The frame was made with twisted tissue paper. ..... So ok I am not happy with using mags but the leaves were cut out of a book.... mmmmm... bit contradictory of me I feel.....................

I have also had a bit of a play with some wooden blanks that we used at the last YCJ to alter. These will also be available soon to buy on our website http://www.yourcreativejourney.co.uk/ , so keep popping back to check, we have lots of different bits and pieces that will stimulate your creative juices!











I have used metal to cover these but being wooden and very well made almost any media can be used on them! Heidi has a very cool jewellry box on her blog!

Haven'y done any crafting this weekend as I just HAD to have a shopping trip with Mrs Bessie as I need a posh dress and Nicks and posh dresses are not usually seen together! So a trip to sunny kent was in order this weekend. As always I had the best weekend with the Sparkly pair, even though Mr s was forbidden from accompanying us on the shopping trip!
I have been given permission to use this photo cos even though he has his arm around another woman, the ring finger proves he is actually married LOL

Me and Mr Bessie





Mrs Bessie and Me......... all in a tree!

Bottle tops and more on my book! Oh and a question....

Well the British Summer has been and gone, back to socks and woollies and my snug craftroom, the nice thing about the British weather is that when it isn't good you have no guilty feelings about creating, so I have done a couple of things this week (well 2 and a half, but more about the half later!)

The very talented Tish challenged us on the DC forum to alter a bottle top... the beer kind! Mmmmm they were supposed to be charms, but since when have I done exactly as I was told and mine have turned into magnets! The nice thing about magnets on BT's is though that you don't have to glue them on as the magnet sticks to them as well, so it the recipient wants a charm they can remove the magnet and use that on something else. Having said this these magnets are so strong you have to prise them off !!

Oh look........... yet more clay! And a bit of grunge paper!

This week has been a free week on the Altered Book course I am doing, to allow people to catch up although you could do a spread if you wished to. I have done a two page spread using the clay leaves that I put through the pasta machine (post below) and inspired by Ingrid's button edges I have edged the pages as well with some grunge paper which extends further than the rest of the pages (as do the buttons) I really like this look, although it would counteract the effect if you did it on two many pages. A simple idea to edge you pages, but I wouldn't have thought of it so thanks Ingrid for your inspiration!

Not sure if you can see from the picture but I have found a few words on the pages and painted around them, making up my own 'quote' but this involved reading the book... mmmmm it's actually quite interesting, maybe I shouldn't have started altering it !!!

Now... My S.I.L. has come up with a brilliant fundraising idea for the Norfolk Deaf Association for whom she works, but it involves altering something................ can anyone can guess what it is?, I bet noone will ever ever guess.... Will post a piccy when it's complete , probably early next week!

Fingers have stopped drumming...

Cos I have done this weeks lesson for the AB course I am doing... well they will start drumming all over again cos next week is catch up week for those who are a little behind (I certainly have not got a little behind!!) so we are free to have a play at what ever we want to do.

This weeks lesson was hosted by a 'guest tutor' Ingred Dijkers of http://www.ingriddijkers.com/ and http://www.ingriddijkers.blogspot.com/ and was 'Edging your pages' in this instance using buttons.

I had problems doing exactly as she taught because a) I can't remove my pages from my book as she can her journal and she recommends 28 - 26 gauge wire, in silver that I wanted to use I had 24 (too thick) and 34 (too thin) so I did as best I could and

I like the results.

I finished off one page that I had painted but not done the actual spread. I had some fabric that I had already prepared to go through the printer (by using Freezer paper) so I printed off some images onto that and then just doodled, giving myself permission not to worry about my handwriting and doodling and just relax. It may look a bit messy but I am happy with it.... well it has got some of my favourite people on there and if I can't be relaxed with them around then when can I?

(oh if you are wondering, the Lilies bit at the bottom was the note that came with a bunch of flowers that I received from my best friend this week) xxx

Altered Book Course Week 8

Can't believe we are Week 8 already! Not sure how many weeks we have left but I am seriously running out of pages to alter! Really enjoying this course as I am really just playing. The whole Project is just for me, it's not a pressie, it's not for a workshop, it's not going for sale, it's not even going to be seen by anyone else (well apart from the odd blog follower!) so it's just for me to play with, experiment and generally just experiment and mess about! How liberating is that!

Anyway this week was ZIPS!

My pages have been painted, glimmered, scrawled on, stamped on, decopatched, doodled on and generally abused!
One problem though is that after finishing and unzipping.. one of the zips has decided it's a bit dodgy, so it must be zipped and unzipped with lots of TLC!

Well that's it for now, but one last thing before I go, do you know I really think that this Arty/crafty malarkey is really a live-saver... how many of us may crack up completely if we didn't have our playtime to lose ourselves in?..... which brings me to a small confession, I was going out for lunch today with a friend and was really looking forward to some time out and a girlie natter, unfortunately she had to cancel at the last minute..... (sad face) ...... so instead of eating I went to the cake shop... (nope not the cream variety- the decorating variety) and bought myself a mould instead

well perhaps two

or was it three ??

No I am sure it was only one!

Altered Dolls, Castles and Cake

Men kick friendship around like a football, but it doesn't seem to crack. Women treat it like glass and it goes to pieces.
- Anne Morrow Lindbergh

When Debs set out a challenge to Alter a Doll I have to say I didn't jump at the chance... OK I admit Dolls scare me a bit, especially the ones that actually look like proper babies... how freaky are they?? And I will be ever thankful that my daughter was never really into dolls, it was music to my ears when she made me promise never to buy her one of those Bratz things that all her friends were mad over, because 'Mummy they are so horrible' !

Women scare me nearly as much..... Gawd aren't women complicated! So this is the thinking behind this project. Women have so many other people in their lives , the family they care for and organise, friends, workmates, relations, other mums, enemies....... we all try to live up to other women standards, we diet for other women, dress for other women, try to out do and impress other women. We say one thing and mean another, we listen to one thing but hear another...... Men are so less complicated!

Anyway... back to the challenge and away from me trying to sound like I actually think about things!

As I had set the challenge of altering a picture frame at the same time Debs set this Doll watsit, I was going to combine the two....

Problem one: Can't find the Shadow Box Frame I know I have somewhere.

No Problem I will use a normal frame and turn it into a box frame using some foam board

Problem Two: Can't find the Foamboard.

So here is an Altered Book. The book itself has only had a Niche cut out of it and the cover has just been painted black. Nothing else added, decided to leave it plain and simple. The lady of no name came from the £1 shop... small foul Barbie type thing. Now I do have a terrible confession to make, you may think me evil, but boy it was fun.... her face was sliced off on readiness for a clay face to be stuck on it.

I am trying to be a bit brighter in my colour schemes, and the niche was originally painted bright pink.... obviously I am not destined to succeed cos as you can see it isn't so bright now!

On a lighter note, we as a family have had quite a crafty weekend.... here is Edwards Medieval castle..... He is Neil Buchanan's (Art Attack Fame) biggest fan and thinks he has the best job in the world! Amazing what you can do with a polystyrene cup, a few toilet rolls and some PVA and kitchen roll!

Georgina hasn't been idle either.... When you have the best Grandma she deserves a Birthday Cake!!

Playing catch up!

....with the online Altered Book course that I am doing. It had to go on the back burner while we got ready for YCJ and my daughters Birthday and the new business but I have almost caught up now. My Book doesn't really have a theme, it's supposed to be full of things that inspire me but really I am just playing with techniques etc.. thoroughly enjoying it because it is rather liberating just playing and not worrying about it being perfect, cos it's just for me and no-one else!

So this week I have been playing with Brusho paints, Mica Sprays/clingfilm, and a super technique that I had forgotten about until our tutor explained a fused cling film technique (which I haven't yet tried but I will one day!) anyway the page on the left here is called Plastic Fantastic Fabric great fun!

Still got to do some collage pages, collage isn't really my thing, so I have got to bite the bullet and just get down to it.

Although I was a bit behind I had to just jump straight to this weeks lesson of 'pockets' I have folded the page here and am using it to display some of my favourite ATC's I have been sent in the

past, and on the right I have torn the page to make a pocket and using it to store a card that was sent me and that I treasure.

I have also just posted off another project that I have been working on and I have to say I love and it was hard to part with... a new technique for me but it won't be the last time I do it. Can't show you though until the recipient has received it!

I can do Pretty...

But I am not comfortable doing it! I haven't made many cards for a while now, but have recently been asked to make some cards.. I should be brave enough to say no, but I'm not and then I get all stressed about it LOL. Well the brief was pink, girly and butterflies... yuk yuk yuk! Well it is a very simple card but ticks all the boxes and if you twisted my arm I would even say I quite like it! The butterflies are stamped with versamark and then brushed with Mica powders, they look effective in real life.

Back to the real Nicks now, I have been busy working on the project for YCJ and keeping up with the online Altered book course I am doing. Although I have done a couple of books in the past, this is completely different and really very interesting. Life is a bit hectic ATM and it's nice to have something that I have to do which enforces some 'me' time.

Progress so far.. the Niches in the book have been cut (using a technique which is so blooming obvious why didn't i think of it before?) and the inside cover and title page have been strengthened with the addition of paper.... but they aren't complete pages and won't end up like that eventually. As the cover to my book is cloth, i haven't had to prep that. I have some ideas on what I would like to do on the cover.. not sure if it will fit in with the course or not, we will see!

Must tell you what my fabulous mate has done... whilst on holiday she has 'found' a model of a hand which she has acquired for me to alter............ it's sad I get so excited about these things!

Altered Books and Busy Busy Busy

I have been busy honest even if I haven't been blogging, just had a weekend away at Bessie's (wasn't actually invited, I invited myself ...as you do!) but it was so good to see her and have a hug or two with Mr Bessie. There are new jobs on the horizon for my OH and I, Your Creative Journey is looming fast, my Son's headteacher seems to have volunteered me to make 50 tags to go with the flowers the kids are giving to their mums for mothers day and the blasted cats have just eaten the sausages i was defrosting for supper tonight. Apart from that life is pretty boring LOL

On the arty front, I am in the middle of preparing the stuff for YCJ, got some pretty cool projects on the go! Also halfway through a Altered book, but have come to a bit of a halt... Booker's block I think it's called!

I am also taking an online Altered Book course which started on Sunday, so I have prepped another book- first weeks lesson - and am really excited about this course. Will be totally different from the books I have done before, hope to learn alot under the expert tutelage of Elizabeth.

Here it is in it's 'just prepped' stage, some pages have been removed. I have never done this before, so it will be interesting to see what happens next!

My 7 year old son Edward rather loves Junk Modelling.... heaven forbid I throw anything away without asking him first, and if there is a world shortage of masking tape then he will be completely responsible. He made a model for his 'mate' John, when I went down to see them at the weekend, unfortunately he got rather attached to it and wouldn't let me take it and no amount of persuading would change his mind, so sorry John!! But John assures me he is happy with just a photo. I have to say it is rather smart so I can't blame him... Being an obnoxiously proud mum I am sharing it with you as well.

Right I can hear calls of 'Mum what is for tea?'

So shall I tell them I saved the sausage from the jaws of the cats or not???