Lovin ink ultimate candy time & craft retreat

How fab is this prize?
Head over to lovin ink shop
to read how it could be yours.

not only do you win what's in the picture you also

win 2 FREE PLACES to the Lovin ink

CRAFT RETREAT

on 25th - 27th March 2011 at Bolton Abbey, North Yorkshire,

The total prize is worth a whopping £330.00 (how amazing is that!)

You would be mad not to give it a go,

lovininkshop.blogspot.com

What are you waiting for get over there,

you never know It could be you!

(But I would rather it be meee..... hee hee hee! (lol)

must dash,

back soon Kat x.

ALWAYS DREAM BIG

Hi all,
I almost forgot to post my entry for
studio L3 COMPENDIUM of CURIOSITIES Challenge,
the technique this time is WEATHERED WOOD GRUNGE.
my head is on other things at the moment
(family commitments & house issues)
I will speak more on this at bottom of post
(Don't want to bore you with all that now).

I am also sneaking this one in last minute
for the month long challenge over at
the artistic stamper creative team blog
the theme this time is THINGS WITH WINGS,
this will be my 5 entry for me this month
because I seem to be addicted to all things wingee (is that a word?)
at the moment.

Here's my TAG,

Distress inks used,

vintage photo & walnut stain,

Stamps I used,

face (Wendy Vecchi)

butterfly wings & word dream (Creative Expressions)

Archival (jet black) ink for stamping images &

clear embossing powder.

I used scraps of card & patterned papers

(out of my ever growing scrap box on my desk)

The tag was cut from Tim's movers & shapers tag die,

(I love this die)

I used copper paint dabber, a cuttle bug embossing folder

& walnut stain distress ink for the technique,

& finally the glass looking flowers & leaves

are from a napkin ring (that I took apart)

 I brought lots of these as a job lot in a charity shop.

Hope you like it!

Now back to family life & house Issues,

I have had to have a new bay window (second time in 5 years)

as water comes in like a hose pipe when it rains & drips everywhere,

due to shoddy workmen ship & cowboy builders,

even though I payed top whack for the job to be done,

(the firm has disappeared.)

so I decided to have the whole house done at the same time

by one of the big firms that shouldn't disappear,

so you get 10 year guarantee etc

& never have a problem again,

lets just say things haven't gone a smoothly as I would have expected,

a two & a half day job has turned into four days,

I have damage to bedroom furniture & my new wooden flooring,

scratched & gouged work tops,

smashed lights, broken garden ornaments to name but a few,

the list is very long but you get the gist of it,

& I haven't even mentioned the state of the windows yet!

Lets just say, I have an inspector ringing me on Monday

to arrange to come round to have a look,

so it is now known as WINDOWS GATE,

the mess they left is unbelievable & I have to leave it all

until the man comes round.

So I thought OK I'll loose my self in my craft room,

No chance,

(my mojo has gone out of the window with the damage so to speak)

anyway I'm going to leave it there for now,

as writing about it, isn't taking my mind off it.

Thanks for listening,

it is much appreciated,

I problem sheared is a problem halved & all that.

Thanks for stopping by,

back soon

Kat x.

MEMORIES OF NANA

Hi all,
Here's my entry for
simon says stamp and show blog
the theme this week is
SHOW A CHILDHOOD MEMORY,

I am also entering this for the
ginger snap creations blog
GC88 Colour Challenge,
COFFEE & CREAM.

I am also entering this for the
Sunday Stampers over at ink on my fingers
the theme this week is
PUSH THE BUTTON

This little frame set is a dedication to my Nana,

I have such fond memories of her, she taught me how to

sew, knit, crochet embroider & use a sewing machine,

Nana passed away about 6 years ago now (aged 86)

I think of her whenever I do any of the things she taught me.

So It has been nice to sit & think of all the things we got up to

while making this today,

Not only was my Nana a grate inspiration to me while I was growing up,

she played a big part in making me the person I am today,

LOVE & MISS YOU ALWAYS NANA.

here are some close ups

Distress inks used,

brushed corduroy, aged mahogany, vintage photo.

Archival ink,

coffee & jet black.

Stamp set,

Creative Expressions, Vintage Sewing by Sam Poole

I used buttons from my stash & from a packet called

Sewing room JJ-596 by a company called Craftime.

I also used Tim's fab tissue tape.

All the bits are glued on with silicone glue.

Hope you like it.

well that's it from me,

I'm off to make my Cof C entry for this week now.

UP DATE, THIS PIECE WON A TOP 3 PLACE

OVER AT simon says stamp and show blog 

& A TOP PLACE FOR GC88 COFFEE & CREAM

OVER AT gingersnap creations blog

COOL HAY!

Thanks for stopping by,

Back soon,

Kat x.



SUNSHINE & BUTTERFLIES.....

.....What could be better?

Hi all,
I have this weeks Compendium of Curiosities
entry ready to show you,
It's week 28, COLOURFUL LAYERED FRAGMENTS
Head over HERE to check the challenge out.

Here's my effort,

This tag turned out nothing like I had it in my head,

but here it is none the less,

Distress inks I used are,

peeled paint, crushed olive, rusty hinge, wild honey,

dried marigold, brushed corduroy & walnut stain.

Stamps I used came from,

visual artistry, flight of fancy & french market,

& bitty grunge.

here's some shots on how I got such a

crisp looking background.

Draw round the tag,

Measure 1cm all the way round as shown,

then cut out with a craft knife,

Use a blending tool to apply distress inks as shown to the center,

then stamp the sunrays,

swap mask's & add the browns round the edge.

Here's a shot of the non coloured butterflies,

(I thought I would show you as I had it)

Here's a shot of the tag without the fragments.

I will say I had a bad time with the stamps slipping on the fragments at first

because I was trying to use a large stamp image on a small fragment

as soon as I abandoned that

& switched to the butterflies I had no further problems.

 

Slightly different angle,

(Bad for colour)

That's better, Hope you like it.

As it has wings I'm also entering

(for the forth time this month already)

this tag for the THINGS WITH WINGS challenge

over at the artistic stamper creative team blog 

check it out, you could win £15.00 worth of stamps.

Well that's me for today, I'm off to link this one up.

Thanks for stopping by,

Back soon,

Kat x.

GUARD YOUR HEART

Hi all,
Here's a fairly quick post today,
to show my entry for the
simon says stamp and show blog Challenge,
the theme this week is SHOW SOME POLKA DOTS.

this tag also fits the challenge over at
the stamp man challenges blog
the theme this time is # 14 DISTRESS

click the links to read all there details.

Here's my entry,
yes it's another tag
(note to self, must make more effort to make other things,
don't just reach for a tag to alter) lol.

there's quite a lot of elements to this tag,

so I'll start with the polka dot's,

the papers are Jenni Bowlin,

the background dots & the words are Wendy Vecchi's,

all other stamps are Tim Holtz,

the hearts are made from UTEE & cookie cutters,

the flower is made from lost & found paper stack & a punch,

 the photos behind Tims film strip are also from that paper stack,

the lock & keys are charms & the leaves are wooden embellishments,

the word ART is from a travel Scrabble set my sister was going to bin,

I used a Manila tag & fibers from my stash,

& the Distress Inks are

aged mahogany & brushed corduroy.

All the bit's & bobs on this tag are things I have made for other projects

that didn't quite work or didn't look quite right,

I have a box on my desk for said bits

& every so often (when it over flows) I try to make something from it,

I must say I am pleased with the way this tag turned out,

I get such a sence of acheivment from useing up all the bits(LOL)

& I find I use things that I would not have nesseseraly put together.

Hope you Like it,

UP DATE,

THIS TAG WON TOP 3 OVER AT

simon says stamp and show blog

& TOP 5 OVER AT

 the stamp man challenges blog 

HOW COOL IS THAT!



Thanks for stopping by,

Back soon,

Kat x.

CATCH UP TAGS

Hi all,
Today I would like to shear 3 tags I made
for the weeks I have missed for the
COMPENDIUM OF CURIOSITIES Challenge
over at studio L3,

I started to join in about halfway through & decided to make a tag every week,
I wanted to make the weeks I had missed so I have a full set,
after these 3 I only have 5 more before I'm all caught up (so that's not to bad)
I should be just about there by the time the challenge is over (lol)

Here they are,
tag no 1
Over at the artistic stamper creative team blog
the monthly theme this time is THINGS WITH WINGS
I have already entered 2 other pieces
but I am going to enter this one as well
as I can't resist I love things with wings (hope that's OK)

this tag is  for TINTED VISION FRAGMENTS week 7

I used alcohol ink,

oregano, hazelnut, pebble & denim,

Distress ink,

spun sugar, faded jean, brushed corduroy,

vintage photo & stormy sky.

The stamps are, Tim Holtz (wings)

& Wendy Vecchi (both phrases)

I also used,

a Cuttle bug embossing folder,

manila tag, paper scraps, a fragment & some fibers

The image is from a sheet that was in a bargain bin at a show

so not sure on manufacturer.

Tag number 2,

this tag is for CHIPPED ENAMEL Week 12,

Distress inks used are,

broken china, wild honey, pine needles,

tea dye & vintage photo.

Stamps are Tim Holtz (sun ray)

Wendy Vecchi (phrase)

Paper Artsy (twig/bird)

I also used,

a white tag, Tim Holts caged bird die,

fibers, Idea-ology swivel clasp,

metal charms & vintage photo distress embossing powder,

paper flowers from a bargain bin at the same show as above,

& the wooden bird came from the artistic stamper.

Tag number 3,

this tag is for WATER STAMPING Week 1,

Distress inks used,

vintage photo, faded jean, aged mahogany

& pine needles.

stamp for background is a Wendy Vecchi,

also used,

white tag, fibers, rub on (phrase)

wooden leaves & gold ribbon from my stash,

grunge paper & sunset mica spray to make the rose,

the beady bit is an earring I found in the street.

well that's it so far,

hope you like them,



Thanks for stopping by,

Back soon,

Kat x.

TIME DOES NOT CHANGE US....

....IT MERELY UNFOLDS US.

Hi to all, hope you are well & over all the festivities,

I'm a bit short on time this week
so I have made one thing for 3 challenges
they are :-

The Compendium of Curiosities Challenge
over at studio L3 it's week 27
& the technique is DISTRESS MISTING MASKS.

SHOW SOME MASKING over at
simon says stamp and show blog

& I'm entering for the first time, (a challenge blog I stumbled across)
called Try it on a Tuesday
this week you need make a TAG with a MALE theme,

& also for the first time I'm entering a challenge on the
stampotique designers challenge blog
a challenge entitled PUT ON YOUR BEST MASK!

Click on there links to read all the details.

Here's my entry,

I have used the packaging from Tim Holtz idea-ology

to make the bubbles & I filled them with old watch parts

(I thought It would be cool if you could see through them)

so I made a template to cut the holes in the tag

& then pushed the bubble packaging through,

filled them with the watch parts,

 then glued some acetate to the back to seal it all together,

I used Tim's time works mask,

brushed corduroy re inker & heirloom gold perfect pearls

for the background,

The clock stamps are from Paper Artsy

& stamped in coffee archival,

the phrase is also off the same set

& stamped in jet black archival,

This image was a freebie from tumble fish studio

a grate place for inspiration, & she sells fabulous collage sheets

(I have a huge wish list) lol

I am so pleased with the way this tag turned out,

I love that old man image I can see me using him often

(I have named him Horace)

Hope you like It.

off to link this post up all over blog land (lol)

Thanks for stopping by,

Back soon,

Kat x.

FLUTTERBY SHADOW BOX

Over at simon says stamp and show blog
the theme of the week is,
SHOW YOUR NEWEST STAMP
if you don't have one, you can use a stamp
you have had for yonks....buy never used.

click the link to head over there to check out all the details.

I am also entering this in the monthly challenge
over at the artistic stamper creative team blog
coz the theme is THINGS WITH WINGS.

This also fits the bill for Sunday Stampers Challenge
over at Ink on my fingers Hel's blog
this week its CHARMING.

I have made a shadow box for my entry.

I made a tag a few weeks ago & was quite proud of it,

so I decided to make a smiler piece for the wall.

here's a picture of said tag that the inspiration came from.

the stamps that I used to fit the challenge

(that I have had for a while & never used)

are the dotty strip, off the seriously art stamp plate,

& the flourish one off the botanical art stamp plate.

that are of course Wendy Vecchi's.

The distress ink's used are,

 bundled sage, tumbled glass,Forrest moss, peeled paint,

stormy sky, rusty hinge, spiced marmalade,

wild honey & brushed corduroy.

I used grunge paper for all the cut out pieces,

I used rock candy crackle paint on the jar to give it a sheen,
I also used a piece of ball chain & a small charm

to hang from it.

The flower & butterfly centers are from dangle earrings,

(got from a charity shop, 3 pairs for a pound [bargain ha!])

the sentiment piece was cut from the

classic ovals & scalloped ovals nest abilities,

Every thing has been stamped in

jet black or coffee archival ink.

The other stamps used are also Wendy Vecchi's

here's a picture of all of them.

I haven't altered the shadow box at all (coz I like it the way it is)

I just took out what was in it.

It was hard to photograph in the frame because of the reflection

so I took it out to get better shots of it,

& also show you the dimension.

Hope you like it!

That's it from me today,
off to link up,

Thanks for stopping by,

back soon

Kat x.



CAN RUSTY WINGS STILL FLY?

It's week 26 of the
Compendium of curiosities challenge,
over at studio L3.blogspot.com
click the link to head over there for all the details.

The technique for this week is
RUSTED GRUNGE,
& can be found on page 45 of Tim's book

I am also entering this for the challenge over at
the artistic stamper creativeteam blog
the theme this time is,
THINGS WITH WINGS

Here's my entry,

I have used weathered wood, bundled sage

& vintage photo distress inks,

I used heart wings, regal crest

& hardware findings alterations dies,

& lable six nestabilities,

I used patchwork texture fade,

(I'v had it for a while but this is the first time I have used it & I Loving it)

I also used a manila tag size 8x16 cm, grunge paper,

brushed corduroy distress embossing powder,

the sentiment is one of Wendy Vecchi's,

scraps of card, a gold metallic pen & silicone glue.

This tag was so fast to make, I kept looking at it,

thinking that was too easy, it practically made itself (lol)

I love that it has a masculine feel to it.

Hope you like it.

thanks for stopping by,
back soon,
Kat x.

BEST/FAVOURITE project for 2010

Over at the stamp man challenges blog
they have a special challenge up this time,

It's challenge #13
(you have to pick your best/favorite project you made in 2010)
there is also a blog hop with grate prizes,
click HERE to go check it out.

It was hard for me to pick just one project,
(because I like different ones for different reasons)
but I finally settled on this one.

It has lots of my favorite stamps on it,

I have used lots of different techniques in making it,

It has lots of lovely Idea-ology on it,

& I love the colours,

It was the first time I used one of these mirrors in my crafting,

I have gone on to use these mirrors a lot since, in different ways & styles

(they are so versatile & inexpensive, which is always a plus for me)

but although I like the others, this one remains my all time favorite.

So for me in reflection this has to be my winner,

hope you all at the stamp man agree.

UP DATE,
 THIS PIECE WON A PRIZE
OVER ON the stamp man challenges blog
thankyou so much for picking me,
I'm chuffed to bits.

Thanks for stopping by today,
Back soon,
Kat x.