Hen Art??

OK OK so I may be getting a bit obsessed by my Chickens - so much so that I have made a canvas to mark their new found freedom, it didn't quite start out that way though!

Lynn from The Altered Element sent me some Crafty Notion Spraypaques this month along with some Puff Paint, I have already used some of the paint on the Cup/Saucer below, but this time used them along with the Puff paint on this canvas

The Puff Paint is great fun to use, you smear it on - well I do - sure the more refined amongst you may use a spatula or something, but whilst I have fingers I can think of no better tool to use (at least I dont lose them!) - and then dry it with your heatgun and it expands into.... - well a puffy shape - cool eh?

I then sprayed/painted mine with the Spraypaque and cosmic shimmers along with acrylic paint. You can also stitch into it, I haven't tried that yet but intend to on a future project.

Hels Sunday Stamper Challenge this week was 'Wings' and as I haven't played along with Hels for a few weeks I thought it was a good starting point for my project - you see I like Angels (hold that thought) and I am reading 'Who's your Dada' by Linda and Opie O'Brien - which is the book for my personal monthly challenge for June (for future reference hold the thought that I don't like dolls ) but I do like Gargoyles and Angels - so this was supposed to be a Gargoyle Angel.

I had this wooden Gothic Arch - which goes well with Gargoyles -

I didn't have any Grungeboard wings left so I cut my own Angel Wings out freehand

Assembled Head/Arch/Keys for legs (I like that bit LOL) and then wings............... ummmmm the wings looked more Birdie than Angelie.. so The Chicken Theme came about and I made a metal chicken's head, in true Upcycling I used an empty tomato puree tube purely because it is such a lovely colour!

OK OK so my thought processes do take a few twist and turns along the way but that's OK, projects may not turn out as I initially imagined them, but that means they don't turn out 'wrong' !

So that's my project for this weekend!

Hope it made you smile just a little bit, my chooks make me smile and I hope they are enjoying their new found freedom, but whilst we are on the subject just take a look at the picture below and see the conditions they were living in, I hope it makes people think twice before buying eggs from Battery Hens!

Sunday Stamper, Squares and Journals....

This weeks challenge over on Hels Blog is 'Squares' - I have just bought myself a sewing machine and I have a stock of fabric paper which I made a while ago, one of which has you've guessed it Squares on it....

I was being  a very good girl and tidying my desk before I started another project and I came across this months Craft Stamper, which has a project in it for making a Journal by Kate Crane, so my effort for this weeks challenge has been heavily inspired by this.

As you can see I have managed to get my machine working and have done quite alot of stitching on this the cover to my Journal. I wanted to stitch metal and was pleased to find out it's very easy! Lots of ideas have been whirring round my head with metal and fabric.

The front and back covers will be joined together with LARGE Book Rings, but I couldn't get them in the scanner. I'm hoping for fill it this year with lots of different pages. When I am feeling creative but don't know what to do I can make a page!

Don't take too much notice of the 'Do Not Look Inside' message, I may share a few pages with you as and when I do them.. but maybe not everything!

Thanks Hels for making me think again on a Sunday!

Not a Domino in sight (or Triomino!)

I am known for changing my mind, and I know only this morning I was planning to alter some Triomino pieces for an Altered Game Piece swap... but that was because

a) we weren't allowed to alter domino's - why? cos that's what Trish the Host said, and if you host a swap then you make the rules

b) because I couldn't find the Da Vinci games pieces that I really wanted to use.
but then, I found the Da Vinci bits I really wanted to use

Da Vinci Game pieces? Ever heard of them? Nope didn't think you had! A few years ago during the height of The Dan Brown 'Da Vinci Code' mania, I found a game of the same name in a bargain bucket and purchased it as a stocking filler for D.H.  Well we soon found out why it was it the bargain bucket, it's probably the most boring game in the whole wide gaming world and actually 'bargain' could be stretching a point, unless of course they fall into the hands of someone who rather likes altering things and sees them as (potentially) very cute little 'shrines'

As always I had - not a clue - what I was going to do with them when I managed to grab a bit of me time tonight, but I came across these three lovely - albeit bloomin miserable looking - ladies who fitted beautifully inside the pieces.

I randomly tore a page out of an old book I use for text pages and challenged my self to find some apt text to make a mini collage inside each one. Each one as had a few layers of UTEE which gives the glassy look

All three ladies are I am sure unrecognised Angels, even if they do look like three miserable old buggers, so they all have stamped and embossed wings.

Off to have a think about another challenge - take a look over at Gingersnap Creations - Metallics... yum!

Thanks for stopping by and leaving comments, I really do appreciate it xxx

oh..... can you tell....

I have been playing today?

my poor hands.... they have never ever stood a chance, all my life I have mistreated them..

Florist... hands constantly wet and cold

Dental Nurse... hands constantly washed

Mother...hands constantly washed

Wannabee Artist.... hands covered in ink before washing

BUT I have enjoyed today being covered in paint and ink

I Know I am boring you to tears now....

But I am excited... getting a bit ahead of myself with the course so I will make a few more pages but stop adding colour to my pages and work along with the syllabus!! but I can't help it cos I am a bit obsessed!

Here are a few before and afters

(L) Alcohol inks/silver pen  (R) Lumiere Paints (had these ages but rarely use them! Why not?? They are luscious!)

(L) was sprayed with ink whilst wet, dried nicely- just added Cosmic Shimmers, highlighted creases with gold ink, sprinkled with embossing powder

(R) added green paint to the PVA.. not very exciting - Painted with Glass paints, lovely translucent finish

(L) Brusho Paints - yum! (R) Walnut Inks - not the proper stuff but 'tints' looks nice and grungy!

OK OK I promise to stop now (for a bit)

Poor in pocket...

but rich in friends..... had just the best weekend with Mr and Mrs Bessie, some of you may have read about the Bessie's but don't know who they are... well I just had to share this lovely picture of them

that's them, bless their old hearts!

Ally Pally was as good as usual, met up with some friends and spent far too much, esp at LBcrafts and The Artistic Stamper.... yummy paints and yummy stamps and yummy goodies that one just had to have! Can't wait to have a play with them............ and my friend Debs gave me the most awesome thing to alter that she picked up from a car boot sale for me, so I have no excuse to get out my new paints!

Now AP is over, I can post a few things that I made and gave to some special people at AP... two very late birthday presents!

A pressie for Dee62 who had a 'significant' birthday last month

An altered Tuna Tin... grungeboard. For a smaller friend who we tease that she must live under a toadstool, who's birthday was in July!

No prizes for guessing who this is for, not a Birthday pressie, just a pressie for her new purple bedroom!

I was very chuffed with the 'Best Mate' bit, do you recognise it? I managed to take a mould of a 'Love Heart' sweet (which I have to admit I loved as a child and still love them, they are my guilty pleasure!) - anyway I took a mould and then made a polymer clay embellishment from it. Obviously you can't make and sell them, but great fun for personal projects.

Oh well back to real life again now... off to pack tomorrows lunches, check school uniforms, polish shoes etc etc

'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!