Swarovski bracelets

I have to say, I have another addiction forming....  Swarovski crystal kits... oh dear...






It all started fairly innocently with a simple magatama bead bracelet kit















...and before I knew it I was trying a ring kit














then I tried a Catherine Wheel necklace, this time with some right angle threading
















Then a flat rope bracelet using the Swarovski crystals, and another, this time with some amazing Jet AB magatama...






HELP!!!!!


I'm not sure that vodka is any less dangerous...


With thanks to Shiney Rocks - they are WAY too local....!!

Q&L - Knowledge - Two Roads by Chris Rea

This fortnight's challenge from the Craft Barn was Knowledge and/or Hurt.  Took me a bit of a while to find a song from someone I have seen live, that I wanted to do... then I came across Two Roads by Chris Rea, and I have no idea why I didn't think of it straight away!  This was on the 'On the Beach' album (yes vinyl...) and I saw Chris live probably 5 times during 86/87.  I even got his signature on one of my programmes... Oh yes, I started my stalking career many years ago!

So, Two Roads, and the lyric goes like this:

Ain't it funny how you never can tell? 

It always seems to hit you when it's going so well

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

Now it's lawyers at midnight and the learning begins

 

I put my old favourite Centura Pearl through the big shot in an embossing folder, then used Distress ink across it, to highlight the texture. There are several layers of stamping across the top of the texture, to add a bit more depth. 

 

I took a couple of book pages (knowledge, after all, comes in books!), and used some watered down acrylic, before I stamped the lyric on the pages.

 

I gave the page an 'edge' with my Pitt pens, just to finish it off.

 

Hope you like!

 

Resources

Substrate: Centura Pearl
 

Paint and Ink

Distress ink: Worn Lipstick, Stormy Sky, Evergreen Bough, Iced Spruce
Archival Ink: Cornflower Blue, Cobalt, Venetian Orange, Tree Branch
PaperArtsy: South Pacific, Snowflake

Stamps
Katzelkraft: Woodgrain
Hero Arts: Music Background CG479, Printer's type lower case LL762
Artemio: Roman capital peg stamps


Bling and Other Stuff
Sue Wilson A4 embossing folder
Faber Castell Pitt Pens: various
 

Random Birthday Card

These days, I hardly ever make cards, there's always other things to do.  However, when it is a special birthday, for a special person, I do want to make the effort.  A certain someone is 60 this week - which just feels wrong on so many levels - I am clearly closing in on the same age too (a few years to go, but even so...).




I knew it couldn't be uber-blingy, and I knew it had to go through the post.  I wanted to make reference to the passing of the years...and all this led to a Kraft base card, with a little dry embossing and some mega flake.









I am a great believer that the birthday starts with the envelope, so that has a little stamping too, on the back, an aide memoire for how to open an envelope, and on the front, just a little advertisement that there's a birthday coming up.

Hope you like!  (Actually, hope he likes too!)


Resources

Substrate
American Crafts Kraft Card

Paint and ink
Distress Ink: Stormy sky, Tumbled glass, Walnut stain, Tea dye
Archival Ink: Potting soil, Manganese blue

Stamps
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Collection: Mini Blueprints CMS 154
IndigoBlu: Wild Meadow WM1, Happy Birthday HB
VildaStamps: Time Flies V474

Bling and other stuff
Mega flake: Gin and Tonic
Flitter Glue
Triboss embossing folder: watches
Sakura Gelly roll pen: clear star

May - Kathryn Wheel Calendar Challenge

In an effort NOT to be late for the Kathryn Wheel challenge for May, here we go!!

 This one really is bling city...  The month and year are die cut, and then glued on.  Then, I started off with a wash of purple and then overpainted with some Byzantium (full of mica) and a bit of Alchemy (iridescent loveliness...).  When dry, I stamped some dots, some scripts and the ticket label outlines.

I die cut the tickets, distressing the edges of the weekdays, and stamping the weekends with the same ticket label as in the background, adding the numbers in blingy Brilliance ink.  The final touch was to add a group photo (happy boating men!) from Deviant Scrap (thanks for the link, Kate!!)

All glued down with redline tape!

Hope you like!

Resources

Paint and ink
Rico: purple
Stewart Gill Byzantium: Cerisanctum
Stewart Gill Alchemy: White Mist
Brilliance: Pearlescent Lavender, Galaxy Gold
Distress Ink: Seedless Preserves
Archival Ink: Deep Purple, Hydrangea

Stamps
Wendy Vecchi Studio 490: All About Art LCS011
Stampers Anonymous: Apothecary CMS138
ClarityStamp: Numbers set

Dies
Sizzix Alterations strip die: Ticket strip 656620, Inside Out 657827

Bling and other stuff
Cosmic shimmer dries clear

April - Kathryn Wheel Calendar challenge

Over half way through April, and I finally do my Calendar page!  Busy month...  Anyway, here are my pages.

 

I started by painting the pages with fairly runny gesso, and then brushing through with two shades of green, with added iridescent shimmer (not enough, methinks).

While the paint was still wet, I used a plastic tube to make circles/bubbles, some right through to the white, and some through as far as the lime green.

I cut the card for the pockets, and while still flat, stamped the decoration in archival ink.  I used red line tape to stick them down.  I used the same card to cut the daily ribbons from, and numbered them for April, adding SAT and SUN (so I could work out which go in which pocket).

I doodled (yes freehand DOODLED!) April, with a little very basic zentangle - it's not really my thing. And then, out with the various white pens to add a little perspective to some of the bubbles.

Hope you like!








Resources

Paint and Ink
PaperArtsy: Limelight
DecoArt Traditions: Phthalo Green-Blue
Windsor & Newton: Iridescent white
Pebeo Studio White Gesso
Archival Ink: Jet Black, Dandelion, Sap Green

Stamps
Prima: Stationer's Desk, Finnabair dots

Bling and other stuff
Faber Castell Pitt pens - Various
Pilot super colour pen - White
Sakura gelly roll - Starlight

Q&L- Change - New England

The challenge from the Craft Barn crew this time was Truth and/or Change. I opted for change, as this songs takes me back to my school days.  Actually, it can't, as it was only released in 1983 (or 1984 if you go for the Kirsty McColl version) - I must have been imaging it my school days.  I was long gone by 1983! My song is 'New England' by Billy Bragg.

I don't want to change the world,

I'm not looking for New England,

I'm just looking for another girl

I love the end where he sings: 

Is it wrong to wish on space hardware, I wish, I wish, I wish you'd care

so I added that last line into the page.

  My school days were spent in Somerset.  With 20/20 hindsight, it was always sunny, the land was always lush, flowers bloomed permanently, never a care in the world.  I guess that may be why I keep returning to fairly verdant landscapes.  And watercolours.  May have to do some proper watercolour classes, before long, I guess. 

 

For this one, I used (for the first time) my inktense blocks, finely grated onto damp watercolour paper.  I used a very wet brush to create my fields and sky, and dabbed some of this off to create depth, and added more, by stamping hedgerow type foliage when it was dry, at the front, in archival ink.

 

I also stamped some butterflies, again because of the change reference, but also because I remember our garden being full of butterflies.

 

I am still struggling with white.  This time I opted for some liquitex acrylic ink, with a fine paintbrush.  It's still not as white as I would like, but at least it is there.  The others just soaked into the watercolour paper.  I did most of my colouring in with Pitt pens (india ink) - I like that you can see the archival through it, and it was still the colour on top of the inktense.

 

So thanks, Billy, for taking me back to an unreal world - I am happy with the memories that are created, so I don't want to change the world I have created in my head!

And....still managing to only use songs from people I have seen live!

 

Hope you like

 

 

Reosurces

 

Substrate Windsor and Newton Cotman Watercolour Paper

 

 

Paint and Ink

Derwent Inktense: various colours

Archival Inks: Fern Green, Sap Green, Jet Black, Hydrangea, Deep Purple, Leaf Green, Dandelion

Faber Pitt Pens

Liquitex Acrylic Ink: Titanium White

 

Stamps

PaperArtsy: HP1203EZ Botanical, HP1009 Happiness, HP1010 Poetry, HP1005 Take Flight

Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Spring Sprung CMS084

Stampin' Up: Broadsheet Alphabet

 

Bling and other stuff

Sakura Gelly roll pen