Journal Journeys Challenge #04

This is my journal page for Journal Journeys Challenge # 04.  Dawn gave us the prompt of  Nature & Autumn.  I chose to just do Autumn but I suppose the leaves constitute the 'nature' part of it ;)

I started on a blank page of my Moleskine Journal.  I didn't gesso it before hand but now think I should have as the back of one of the pages is soooo covered in Glimmer Mist and krylon pen!

Anyhoo I decide to use some leaves out of my garden as 'masks- and spray Glimmer Mists through them.  However I chose a piece of conifer which was far too dense (bit like me for choosing it!) and the mask just turned out like a big un-painted blob. 

So to try and save it I just sprayed Glimmer Mist in every autumnal colour I had all over both pages.  They were looking a complete mess, so I decided just to use the rest of leaves as 'stamps' and basically plonked them in to DI's and used my hand the press them onto the pages.  The veins showed up brilliantly.  So I tried stamping the back of leaf.  It worked just as well and I loved the page as it had sooo much texture.  Of course I forgot to take a photo (again!)

I used the Sir Tim of Holtz Tattered Leaves die to cut leaves from book pages, scrunched them up, opened them out and sprayed them with more Glimmer Mist.  Once I dried them they started to look more like Autumn leaves.  I stuck them randomly around the edges of the pages and wanted to write 'Autumn natures last and lovliest smile' in the centre.  But....I spelled lovliest wrong.  Typical.  (note to self - *always* write any words you want to use out in rought first!)  At first I used a black Sharpie to write, but it didn't show up very well and I'd already corrected my spelling mistake so there were 2 lovliest's.  When I decided to use a gold Krylon Pen and realised I could've changed the spelling mistake without anyone knowing.  So 2 lovliest it is!

I'm really happy with the pages and I'm gonna try and do the background again and take a photo this time ;)

Carrie's Frame

It was Carrie's birthday earlier in May - the big 4-0!!  I wanted to get or make her something special so in January I spotted this frame in a Charity shop window.  The guy in the shop knows me now and when I asked to look at it he automatically showed me the back first!

The first thing I did when I got home, after taking this photo of course, was the take it to pieces and rip the leaves and glittered apple out of it and bin the them.  I couldn't get the glass out as it had been glued to the front frame.  Thank goodness the inside with the recesses came off cleanly!


I didn't need to prepare the surface apart from cleaning as the inside had been painted with some sort of matte paint.  As far as I could see the frame had already been altered into the state I bought it in as the painiting was not factory done. 

I painted the inside of the frame and recess with Viva Precious Metal Paint in Blackberry and then dry brushed the same make of paint in Mother of Pearl over it.  both of thses paints are very high in mica content so shimmer beautifully.  I painted the outside of the frame with Precious Metal in Silver to tie both parts together as the mother of pearl paint has a slightly silver tone to it.  Of course I forgot to photograph them at this stage, but you'll be able to see what I mean on the finished frame.

Next I made some flowers using a tissue drinks coaster and some pages from a book.  I cut both of them with a Nestie circle die.  Especially for S and J at the hospital here are the photos :)

These are the cut circles which have been scrunched up and sort of flattened back out.

The same circles which I have sprayed with Glimmer Mists in Key Lime Pie and Lemon Zest.

And again once they have been dried with a heat tool and ready to shape into a flower around a bead.   Lynn R-H taught me the technique at a workshop.  You start with a bead and a little glue and mold the paper around the bead.  Keep doing this with tissue, paper and glue until you have a flower of the size you want.

  
 And this is a close up of the finished flower.  I made the beads for both of the flowers during a workshop that Carrie, Jo and I attended and had a great time!

I chose bobbins to into the recess as Carries loves sewing.  My Mam wrapped the thread round 2 of the bobbins and I painted the 3rd and put a vintage cigar bad round it with a picture of a german castle on it.  Carrie also loves Germany.

This flower was made in the same way but sprayed with Jazz Blue and Fully Purple Glimmer Mists.

My Mam helped again by filling the miniature bottles with lavender grown in my garden and tied ribbon round the tops to finish them off.  The ribbon is from the loops you get on clothes to keep them on the hanger.  I cut them off and use them for projects!

Carrie love the outdoors and I thought the Lavender would be perfect here.

Placing the bobbins and bottles was difficult as I was shaking while doing it.  Thank goodness the Glossy Accents has a little time before it dries lol!!!

For the middle, I made a torso from pearl UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Powder) using a mold Jo has. It has a front and back to the mold but I just used the front.

The 'pedestal' that the torso is to stand on is a piece of dense foam from the bottom of TH Embossing Folder packaging.  I've been keeping it but didn't know why til now ;)

I painted the pedestal the same colour as the recess and stuck the whole angel together using silicone.









Then it was just a case of cleaning the glass up, bearing in mind I couldn't get it our of the frame.  There was gold paint on it from the last time it had been painted and somehow I'd managed to get the Blackberry colour on the inside of glass right in the middle.  So once I got that off and gave it a good dust, I could put it all together.

Here is the finished frame and it is totally personal to Carrie!

Workshop and sheer exhaustion!!

Jo Na I attended a brilliant workshop at Graphicus in Barnard Castle, run by the wonderful Lesley Wharton and was called 'Fabulous Finds and Curios'.  It was all about using items you have in your home or office to make fabulous crafty things out of.

First of all we started to make flowers out of tissue drinks coasters.  We crumpled them up to release each individual layer and spritzed them with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist.  I think I used some sort of lime and a yellow.  We also had to cut around the inner circle of the coaster and do exactly the same thing with scrunching and spritzing to make the smaller flower.  We then punched out 2 scalloped circles and 2 smaller plain circles from dictionary pages.  These were also spritzed in the same colours.  We dried all of the pieces with a heat tool before scrunching the dictionary pages to match the coasters.

Once put together with the help of a small circle of cardboard behind the flower, we added buttons for centres (or a scrabble piece, an idea I unashamedly nicked from Jo!)  and 'floofed' them to make them stand up.  Once we'd done this we made a gift bag from a plain white A4 envelope and attached the flowers to it, adding stems from paper printed onto self adhesive labels.  Any decoration can be added when the bag is flat.  As with all crafting, you're only limited by your imagination!!

Then we each picked 3 (empty) loo roll holders out of a bag which Lesley had the staff at Graphicus collecting for weeks.  We flattened them and Lesley put them under house bricks to make sure they were completely flat.  Once they were, we covered them with paper, put holes in them for book rings to hold them together and voila a mini tag book!  We used a cheap elastic hair band to hold the book closed and it looks FAB!!!

Our final task for the day was after lunch and was an absolute killer for me.  Lesley had to help me as I was s-o-o-o e-x-h-a-u-s-t-e-d.  It was all about making another mini tag book from a DL envelope.  Luckily Lesley gave us full instructions and did all of the folding and cutting for me.  I just had the job of gluing down which I had to get Jo to help me with, but the result is stunning!!

Luckily Carrie had very kindly given us a lift through to the workshop, so I didn't have to drive.  I was so exhausted when I got in I had something to eat then went to bed and slept from about 8pm.  I had treatment the next day at the hospital and I came home straight afterwards rather than shop in Newcastle.

Although the workshops kill me, fatigue-wise, I won't stop going to them.  At least when I feel dreadful for a few days afterwards I know that I've achieved something that I am proud of.

A big thanks to Lesley for a FAB workshop as well as to all the girls who attended.  I think its safe to say we all had a great time!!!