Well that didn't go so well and now its November

Its not that INKtober  escaped me, I was busily creating away throughout the month, it was that various elements of technology got suddenly rather stroppy and refused to play nice...with me and with each other and I was unable to load anything.  I have finally figured out  and resolved the problem (I hope) and normal cheery service should now be resumed.


There seems little point in flooding this post (or the next few) with all the INKtober projects  so I will just start over...Its November and here in London we have been enjoying  some pretty impressive and rather wet fog. So to counteract the wintery gloominess, here is a Happy Hello from me today.

I love the Tim Holtz bird crazy set - those birds are so cute and now I have the dies, I am going to use them loads more - cutting them by hand was driving me crazy, especially trying to get round all the fiddly bits. This was  coloured using promarkers. The little bow was made using the TH bow punch and everything else (base card, embossing folder, sentiment, ribbon and dahlia embellishment) is  from Stampin' Up!

That's it from me for today...until next time, take care
C xx

Inktober the 8th

A little simple floral inkyness today with cream stamped card matted onto on gold matted onto a kraft card base.

I deliberately stamped off the page on this one. I then stamped the larger flower, then the leaves and then stamped a second flower on a scrap piece of cream card and cut it out. (I do have the punch for this flower, but it wasn't to hand and the scissors were right there... and since it was just the one it was easy enough to do)  A foam pad to pop it up and it was placed over the original image. A small white perfect accent in the centre of the flower finished it off.

And that is today's quick and simple offering. I'll be back tomorrow with something different...and I am still trying to steer clear of Christmas cards,...at least until the clocks go back.

Until tomorrow, take care.
Cxx

Inktober the 7th

A whole week of Inktober has passed already and wow that just  flew by...

Anyhow a really quick and simple card from me today using the layered letters stamp set from Stampin' Up! It is a photopolymer set that comes with two base stamps (rectangle and oval) and a full set of letters and symbols to stamp over the top. Its really quick and easy to use and the possibilities are endless.

I teamed the set with another to complete the sentiment and add a little extra interest and Ib finished it with a little bow of tied lace trim.

Haven't yet decided what I will make tomorrow, but it is INKtober and so it will involve ink for sure.

Until next time, take care

Cxx

Inktober day 6

More stencil work included today...I cheated a little and started this one yesterday because the metallic texture paste  needed a long time to dry.  I used the metallic texture paste through a butterfly storm mask (sourced from my dear friend the fabulous Dee Catron at  Um Wow Studios).

I left it to dry overnight and today I went back with sponges and ink to create a blended sky (using  blues, yellow and  pinks) to which I added a die cut and punched layered butterfly and a stamped sentiment. I really like how this one came out. Playing around  with ink just for fun is so therapeutic
Until tomorrow
Cxx

Inktober day 5...

Okay so its day six already but life got in the way of the uploading yesterday and so I am a day late with this one... which has been patiently sitting on my work desk waiting to have its picture taken ...

For this one I decided to play with some stencils and I used a small portion of a larger mask from a set by Stamping Up! I  taped it to my project and sponged four shades of ink through the holes in the stencil.

I ink-edged the panel, matted it onto contrasting blackberry base card and added a punched butterfly and a little bling to finish

Today's make (day 6) is drying as I type and will be uploaded later

Until then, take care
Cxx

INKTOBER Day 4

Day four and this is quite literally a thumbnail photograph...because I made the card in  landscape and had to hold it  down to take the photo.

I decided  after playing  spot the ink yesterday, that today's make should be quite heavily "inkfluenced" and so I went for a  super inky background technique with a bright bold sentiment stamped over.

I love this sentiment... wise words indeed.

Until tomorrow
Cxx

INKTOBER Day 3

Okay so its day three of INKtober... and I woke up with the most  horrendous headache that  has stayed with me all day long... None of the usual headache banishing tricks has worked and I am really hoping it will be as sick of me as I am of it and will disappear soon...

Pain makes me ever so slightly (okay really very)   antisocial and so sloping off to the craftroom seemed like a good idea. A little distraction crafting never did anyone any harm...


The ink is not quite so obvious on this card, but there are actually three different kinds of ink on here...

Can you see them?...
Until tomorrow

Cxx

INKTOBER ...day 2

For day two of INKtober I have made this quick and simple card.

I die cut the butterfly in plain white card and adhered it to the white card base using Tombow glue.

Then I squished my ink pad to get some ink on the lid and used the blender pen to add colours through the die cut butterfly.

A few gems and stamped sentiments was all that was needed to finish it.

Day three tomorrow and maybe I will do something other than a card...

Watch this space ;)

Cxx

INKtober

All around the world artists are taking part in the INKtober Initiative and creating an ink drawing every day for the whole month of October. I cannot draw for toffee, but I do use (a lot of) ink and so have decided instead to try to produce one new inky project every day for the month of INKtober.

And here is the first... with ink being used at just about every step of the way...

Ink applied to the embossing folder with a brayer before running it through the machine, inks applied  with a sponge, inks stamped onto the main panel and added with a blender brush, inks stamped and heat embossed for the sentiment ...

This is day one...another thirty to go..

C

Jump cut....

I am not going to bore you with details (excuses, reasons etc) why I have not posted for so long, instead I am going to jump cut to today and get on with the business in hand.

I have just returned (got back 13 days ago) from a fabulous trip to the USA where I enjoyed some rest and relaxation, met up with some great crafting pals and did a little light shopping in the craft stores and the outlet fashion malls.

I could easily fill this post with pictures and lists of all the fabulous stuff I picked up but instead I think I would like to focus on one or two things and then maybe show the rest as I start to use it... so you can see what I bought and what I made with that product or item.


Now having said that, I have not  yet started to make anything at all with the things I brought back, but I am itching to share these fabulous goodies with you...so I am going to go ahead and do just that...and will have to come back later and share some projects I make with this gorgeous haul of goodies from Um Wow Studio. 

This is not my first lot of Um Wow goodies, but I love them so much I find myself being slightly stingy with how and when I use them...so I figured if I get some more I won't feel so bad  when I use them... and lets face it, they are too fabulous to just sit on my desk...
                                                         
I have been "slightly wiped" since we got back (and it did not help that the clocks went forward that very weekend) .. and we had a wonderful family wedding 7 days after we landed so I am not yet fully back into the swing of things...but I did get a couple of cards done and out this week... And this new home card  is the first of them.
Sadly the photo (which had  to be snapped really quickly because the deadline for completion of the card changed and I lost four days that I thought I had) does not show all the depth of colour and all the texture on this card - it really is one of those cards that cries out to be touched - but it was delivered to the new deadline and the recipient was thrilled so that is what really matters.

The weekend sprawls ahead filled with options and possibilities. Will I go to Ally Pally and mooch around the craft show or will I start organising the new stuff and putting it away, will I get all arty and inky ...or will I laze about and procrastinate?   Who knows, if I'm really good I could do all of the above

 Happy Friday"

Excuses, excuses... and I even forgot to publish this blog post from the start of the year - hopeless!

Don't you just hate it when people don't update their blogs for ages and then suddenly pop up full of apologies or excuses with  promises of regular posts and exciting new things to come?

I do...

 But as much as I hate it in others, sadly I still find myself in that group of neglectful bloggers. I am of course sorry I have neglected my blog, I even have some pretty neat excuses too... but they, along with promises, mean very little if I don't follow through and take action.

So as I move through 2015 I have decided that things must change.

I have plans for this year ...starting with a total overhaul of my craft room. At the moment it is a complete tip and looks like a tornado chased a hurricane through there five minutes before an earthquake.


It always make me smile when people say their craft room is mess and they must tidy it and then  a couple of hours later they post again with a picture of a room so tidy it hurts.

I am a realist and I know my craft room tidy is going to take a lot longer than few hours... it will take more than a few days...it might take a few weeks...but I am determined to tame some of the chaos and so I have enlisted help for the task. A little shame, along with the promise of some new and focussed storage, is a great motivator and so here is a carefully angled photo - a glimpse into my very messy work room.

Once I have 'sorted' the craft room, I have great plans....

 Last year I vowed to learn something new and I went on a few workshops to try things that were new to me. I had such fun and so I am determined to carry that through to this year as well and  I have started researching suitable workshops and retreats for 2015.

I also want to try to complete at least one project each month. That is my aim and I would like each project to be different from the one that went before...it is still a bit vague but the good intentions are there.

And finally ... since crafting can be a rather solitary pastime, I am determined to spend some time crafting with others... and have already arranged a stamping session here at my house for later this month. (because I know myself well enough to know that if I don't organise it straight away then life will get in the way of my plans and it won't happen!)

All of that will keep me busy so there will definitely not be daily blog posts, but I plan to schedule in weekly posts for now...to keep me honest.

That is me and my early plans for 2015. I'd love to know what are you planning for 2015?

Cxx