TIO#85 - Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Sea

I have had such a busy week that I  haven't posted anything on my blog since the last TIO challenge last week. Working, baby sitting, boring housey stuff, etc. etc.  I have nearly finished a card for a swap so will post that in a day or three, once I think it has arrived with the recipient. Other than that, I have a busy time ahead for the next few weeks so will do the best I can. I'm sure many of you are in the same boat, what with school holidays, annual holidays, etc.

TIO#85 - Of I Do Like To Be Beside The Sea

This week the theme over on Dragon's Dream  TIO challenge is set by Zoe, and she is asking us to come up with a tag to suit the theme "Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Sea". Well, I got all excited and pulled out some seaside moulds I bought not long ago and my air drying clay and set to work. I have been dying to use them.  As you can see from my tag, I made a selection of shells, a seahorse and a star fish.

Now I can hear you all thinking, this tag is under the sea rather than beside the sea. Quite right! It's just what I decided to do. I suppose you could be sitting by the seaside thinking of all the creatures beneath the surface of the ocean. So I decided to go with it. Hope I haven't confused you?

The stamps I have used are from Crafty Individuals and Artylicious by Chocolate Baroque. The sugar craft moulds used to make the seashells, etc. are from a local store. I used air drying clay which I left to set overnight, then coloured with a combination of acrylic paints and mica powders.

My fish have been coloured with H20's. I have shaded my tag with a selection of blue and green distress inks, and then I have sprayed lightly with Cosmic Shimmer Mists in Meadow Lush and Ocean Sunlight.  I added the bubbles with frosted lace stickles. The fish charm and strands are from my stash. The weeds have been stamped using distress inks and the sentiment with black archival.

Thanks for stopping by. I love to read your comments. Please pop over to the TIO challenge and take a look at all the entries by my very talented design team colleagues, and then give it a go. We are encouraged by the growing interest in the TIO challenge. We love to see your entries and try to comment on every single one.

Bye for now.
Wanda xx

TIO #84 - Let's Face It

TIO #84 - Let's Face It


The challenge this week on Dragon's Dream TIO challenge is set my me, and I am asking you to dream "Let's Face It" I am fascinated by faces. I think you can read so much of a person's character in their face, don't you? The number of entries over on the TIO challenge seems to be increasing week by week and we are so encouraged by this and very grateful for your support. We love popping over to your blogs to have a bit of a nosey!

So here is my entry to set the challenge off to a start:

Stamps used: Main image by Judikins, Dream word from the Art Nouveau plate by Creative Expressions, Visage word is part of a freebee with Craft Stamper from a plate by the Stamp Man.

The swirl is, of course, by TH. The face at the bottom is as a result of one of my new toys - a Karantha mould. I used UTEE, then brushed over it with old gold rub and buff. The cream lace, narrow ribbon and strands are from my stash.

DI's used: Spun Sugar, Tattered Rose and Vintage Photo.

Thanks for dropping by. I am so encouraged by your comments, and I love popping over to your blogs to check out your entries.

Bye for now.

Wanda xx

Thingamijig

Here is the Father's Day card I made for my son to give to his dad tomorrow. I think it will make him laugh. My son thinks it's cool! So there you have it, on good authority.

Lots of antique linen DI, black Eco paint, old gold rub and buff, typed sentiments and an Eco steampunk stamp plate and, of course, TH cogs, backed up by an embossing folder. Oh, and acetate on the dial. Oh, then I made another one just like it for my step-father. Not sure what he will make of it though.

Sorry it's short and sweet but I'm off to bed now.

Wanda xx

Thanks for dropping by.

TIO #83 - Numbers Game

TIO #83 - Numbers Game.

The weeks just seem to be flying past. This week the lovely and talented Helen sets the theme over on Dragon's Drream TIO challenge. I started out with something very predictable, then decided to do something completely different, which I eventually decided should be by sample for my design team entry. However, I thought I might just as well let you see the other two pieces here. I say two when in actual fact, they arre the same other than the change in colours.

So, without further ado, here is my design team entry, followed by the other two I had made first:

The first tag uses a lovely TH dress pattern embossing folder which was part of a parcel sent to me by my friend, and fellow design team member, Janet. It just had to have an airing! I stamped the inside of the folder with a texture stamp, which is part of a sewing set by Creative Expressions, using spiced marmalade DI. I then embossed so the raised areas are free of the stamping. I then wiped over the raised areas with the same inkpad, then around the edges of the piece with vintage photo DI. The dressmakers dummy is from the same stamp plate and the two numbers are from the games set by Creative Expressions. The numbers have been stamped in archival sepia, then I have added diamond glaze over the top. The half flower is from my stash, as are the lace and ribbon. The ribbon through the top of the tag I have stamped with a tape measure stamp from the sewing plate, then smooshed it in DI on my messy mat.

The second and third tags use the games stamp plate by Creative Expressions and are virtually the same apert from the colours of the DI's I have used. Don't ask me which colours I used as I can;t remember off-hand! Again, I have stamped the ribbons through the top of the tags, on one with symbols from the games plate, and the other with the tape measure from the sewing plate. Both tags had first been stamped with a hessian stamp from the sewing plate.

Do check out the fabulous entries by my fellow design team friends over on Dragon's Dream TIO challenge. And then let us see what you can create for this theme.

Thanks for dropping by. I love to read your comments. And please leave a link back to your blog so I come and have a nosey!

Wanda xx

Walk on the Wild Side!

I just had to show you some pictures I took this morning at the top of the field that forms part of my back garden. Some top soil was dumped there last year and, obviously, it contained a wealth of wild flower seeds. I had been destined to be strimmed but other more pressing tasks just got in the way, and thank goodness for that. I think it is just beautiful. And I so nearly missed it. Those poppies don't last for long. I was just coming out of my craft room and I looked up and there it was before me. Now I know I walk in and out of the craft room just about every day but I just haven't looked up - until today.

Isn't the pink mulit layered poppy lovely? So glad I didn't miss this spectacle,, right in my back garden.

Bye for now. Shopping calls.

Wanda xx

Winged Things

TIO Challenge #82 - Winged Things

The challenge this week over on the TIO blog is set by my team mate, Elizabeth, and the theme she has chosen is "Winged Things". I immediately remembered a flurry of butterflies stamp from Inkadinkado that I have been dying to christien, so out it came.

I painted my tag with black eco acrylic paint then stamped and embossed a swirl ising clear EP, around the left side and bottom of the tag. I then painted over the entire tag with lavender eco acrylic paint, the clear emobssing resisted this second coat of paint. This is actually a TH technique and t has also been featured in Technique Junkies some time ago. I then stamped the butterfly flurry and embossed with silver sparkle WOW EP. The letter "F" is from a chipboard set I have had for ages. It actually had a coloured coating but I over-painted it with black. Then that was dry I rubbed silver rub and buff all over it to give the effect of metal. The large butterfly has been cut using a marianne die from grunger paper which has been coloured with milled lavender DI, then icicle stickles has been rubbed all over, then black gems have been stuck down the body. The chain and clasp are TH and the little dragonfly is a recent purchase whilst at Port Sunlight last month.

I had such a lovely, messy time making this tag. If you haven't already done so, why don't you join us over on the TIO challenge and show us your interpretation of the theme "Winged Things".

Thanks for dropping by. Your comments are appreciated.

Wanda xx



Time Piece

TIO #81 - Time Piece

The challenge this week over on Dragon's Dream TIO challenge is Time Piece and the theme is set my our leader, Frankie. I immediately remembered a set of stamps I bought a long time ago from Graphicus (now Chocolate Baroque) and decided I wanted to fit a single rose with the sentiment from the same stamp sheet into my design.

I started by stamping a script all over the time embossing folder using vintage photo DI. Then I put the tag through my the cuttlebug so the script appears as if behind the embossed image (I'm really into this technique at the moment). I them lightly brushed over the raised design with an embossing pad then brushed copper mica pigment to catch only the embossed raised design. I lightly strayed cheap hari spray over to fix the mica. I attached a little clock face to the centre of the embossed clockface. Then I stamped out the single rose and coloured it in using inktense pencils and sansador. This I cut out and I stamped, coloured and cut out just the centre of the rose to 3D mount for added dimension. Finally, I stamped out the sentiment using vintage photo DI, cut it out, and went around the edges with the same DI pad. I stamped out the word "time" in black archival, coloured it lightly with the same inktense pencil as the rose and added glossy accents to it before adhering it over the same word in the sentiment.

As a final touch, I added the ribbon from my stash.

Please check out the fab entries by my fellow teamies on the TIO challenge blog, then let us see what you can create. We always love seeing your creations.

Bye for now. Thanks for stopping by. Your comments are always very welcome.

Wanda xx