Was it really...

...that long ago???

Having watched "Sir Tim" (Tim Holtz) on QVC the other day reminded me of a fab altered item I did at Artbase...what I hadn't realized was that it was way back in August 2008 - just where has the time gone.

Well it seems like these are very popular again at the moment with examples on Tim's blog and on air during the QVC craft day so I thought I would dig mine out and share it with you all once again.

The base was a fairly cheap wooden mirror that was stained using a walnut colour paint dauber. Then a selection of chipboard squares & rectangles were painted with Ranger crackle paint (limited to three colours - green, brown, blue) and covered with matching distressing powder before inking them to give an aged look. A selection of clear squares & rectangles were stuck to patterned papers using glossy accents - then cut out. These were all then arranged and stuck to the mirror frame. An assortment of charms and other nic-nacs were fixed at random to finish it off.

I so love this mirror that it has hung in my hallway since the day that it was brought home............................

Stamping, Heat guns, Embossing...

...and toilet rolls.

As I have been working my way through stuff that I have made since Christmas I realised I hadn't posted anything about the fabby Artbase crop back in January.

Margaret came up with a LO idea that used stamping and resist techniques and this is what I finished up with...

This was actually very well timed as I was able to use a 12x12 clear frame and use it as a gift for DHs birthday.

It was great fun stamping and embossing chipboard die-cuts and then using liquid chalk pads to colour the background.

If you are wondering where the toilet rolls come into this...Margaret showed us how you can 'de-boss' into a wad of damp toilet roll (quite a few layers are required) with a stamp, dry it off and then highlight with inks/chalks. I used a script stamp, cut down the finished image and used it as an embelishment on the LO.

Oh and by the way...if you wanted to give this a try you don't have to worry about using up all your posh 'super soft' loo rolls - you will be pleased to note that the cheapy, 100 rolls for 99p (slight exaggeration **rollseye**) work perfectly well LOL.....................

Something new...

...well, to me anyway. Brayering!
I knew what a brayer was - one of those solid rubber roller thingies - but I had never used one. However, after seeing some examples of what could be done with them I signed up for a class...no "let's test the water" hour & half job...no!...full day of playtime LOL
Now, anyone who really knows me knows I don't do mucky - can't stand getting paint/ink on my fingers (I was always the child holding up their sticky hands to get them wiped with a flannel) I just don't like mucky fingers. So you may be asking why I would put myself in a position where I would get mucky - I wanted to learn something new!!!
With a bit of care, you can keep a lot of the ink off your fingers, but heyho, I had to give it a go. This is a bit like 'colouring in' in so far as you can play with different colour combos and I had a great time trying masking techniques (ain't post-it notes wonderful LOL) and different textures.

Using gloss card is my favourite and the brayering can give you fantastic backgrounds for stamping onto. You can also make your own coloured cardstock for die-cutting and embossing...so many uses. I think a brayer will be going on the shopping list (I can always get myself some gloves LOL)..............................

Playtime...

...more colouring in.
As promised...here are a few more images that I have coloured using my fab Copics & Promarkers.
I really enjoy sitting and colouring in - it is such a peaceful occupation (unless you pick up the wrong colour of course **rollseyes**). I just love sitting down with a batch of stamped images and trying different colour combinations.
Really must get round to stamping up another load of pics, especially as I have soooooooooooo many stamps to work my way through LOL
I find the Copics easier for general colouring and blending but the Promarkers great for more detailed stuff - personal choice I suppose but hey, itsn't that what crafting is all about............

Copics and...

...Promarkers.
As you can see, my photography skills haven't improved whilst my PC has been poorly and I've not been able to blog LOL but I thought I'd better make a start on showing you all what I've been doing recently.
I am now the proud owner of a complete set of Copics & Promarkers so I decided to take myself off to a couple of lessons to try and learn a few more techniques on how to use them.
The lovely Andy over at Pinnacle Crafts in the Barleylands Craft Village provided the venue and I attended a short weekday lesson and an all-day Saturday lesson.
Both classes were fab and Andy provided a lot of tips/suggestions for getting the most out of your pens...I've done loads of 'colouring-in' since and I will get around to taking some photos so that you can see what I've been playing with. In the meantime, the little golfer is an image I coloured at class and then turned into a card for DHs birthday (timing was perfect) and the little miss was a stamped image that I coloured at home and then turned into a retirement card for a colleague. Hope you like............................

The Brits...

...2010

Love him or hate him (I love him) you have to admit he is a showman and to me it was the best way to end the Brits - a medley of all those songs that have driven all up & down the country with me...what Robbie fan would have anything else playing in the car LOL

Congrats Rob on your well deserved Outstanding Contribution to Music award.................

Yipee...

...I'm back **happy dance**big grin**

It would seem that the problem was to do with the Anti-virus programme that DH installed - removed it, re-installed my trusty Kaspersky and here we are - up and running and able to access my blog...soooooooooo happy................