Halloween panel and giveaway winner

Well this just seems to have been the busiest year ever and I don't physically have to go out to work anymore!!!!! But of course all the commitments I have for teaching and projects for manufacturers, magazines, shops and design teams really is a job in itself now and keeps me on my toes.

Talking of being busy we had a new baby grandson born to my daughter and her partner at the end of July, went away on holiday in August with my son and family, came home to a period of catch up for DT projects, taught at the fabulous 'In House Crafts' shop in Pembrokeshire towards the end of September and within 36 hours of getting home we were off again for nearly 3 weeks in California and literally 36 hours after our return last week I was teaching for Susan at Country View Crafts. I am so lucky and feel truly blessed to be able to do all of these things and have a wonderful hubby and family around me as well as lots of amazing friends and crafting buddies.

Anyway - I managed to squeeze a few supplies into my case coming home from the USA and of course added to them on my visit to Susan so I have been itching to get back to the work desk. I decided to delve into a little bit of Halloween fun and used one of the new Halloween Worn Wallpaper pieces from Tim Holtz and the packaging it came in to create a spooky panel.

I cut the packaging down to size and added some black distress paint and vintage photo distress oxide round the edging to continue what had already been printed on it.

Taking the worn wallpaper I altered it also with walnut stain and vintage photo oxides around the edges, blending, spritzing with water and dipping them into the watery colours on my mat. I then took carved pumpkin and spiced marmalade oxides and splattered using weatery mixes and also added some white acrylic ink to them to splatter with as well.

Next I gathered some collage layers, die-cuts and a framed portrait to start building my design.

When I got home last week so many of my flowers were still in bloom but starting to fade with the onset of autumn so I gathered some of them and some beautifully turned leaves and dried them in the microwave.

These salvias had been dried and sprayed with DecoArt matte acrylic spray but they were still very fragile. I ended up using DecoArt's decou-page glue to add them to the finished piece then painted some over the top of the flowers, covering it with wax paper and popping it under a heavy box for a few hours. This made them more durable.

Next- huge apologies for the lateness in choosing a winner for my giveaway which should have been chosen quite a few weeks ago - but all those life things above got in the way. I have now entered 15 comments into Random Org to generate a winner and we have  -

Congratulations to #13 who is Kate Yetter.

Kate wins the fossil stamps by Andy Skinner.

Woo hoo Kate, if you could send me your snail mail address I'll get them in the post to you. My email is on my side bar.

Thank you to everyone who entered I really appreciate your time in visiting my blog and leaving a comment.

That's my little bit of catch up and spooky art for today.

xxx

Tando - Anything Goes - Acrylic Pour - Give Away

For my 'Anything Goes' sample over at the Tando Creative blog I have used one of the pieces from my first ever experiments with the new DecoArt Pouring Medium.

There are some videos available to see on the DecoArt blogs here, here and here and of course google or search acrylic pours and/or look on youtube for ideas and help with techniques.

Process Steps

I chose my colours ....

.... and mixed them with the pouring medium. I then carefully tipped them into one cup to make a 'dirty pour'.

I tipped it upside down on the substrate.

This was the result. I decided it was rather sea like so that became my theme.

Next I stamped and masked the bottom of the tag using some Andy Skinner stamps  (Fossils) ...

... and added a little colour using the media fluids and a little tinting base.

I found a painty scrap of card and stamped the gorgeous octopus from France Papillon's Illusionary Artists Creepers and Crawlers set and added some white paint spots then gave it a wash of paynes grey.

It was here I decided to test out the clear modeling paste and the faux encaustic look and scraped some over the top of the tag and embedded the octopus into it. I also added some small flat backed glass cabochons. (sorry photos went missing).

I had used distress ink to edge the jelly fish and I love how it moves with the wet modeling paste to create a sort of shadow around the creature.

I added some remnant rubs and I carved the word 'sea' with a pencil then inked it with a black posca pen. I could have given this another coat of the modeling paste here but decided to leave it as it is. So with a painted vintage brad and some baker's twine it finally came together.

The creature looks suspended over the background which is precisely the look I wanted.

I'm really pleased with the look again of this acrylic pour and faux encaustic piece of art. 

What do you think?

Before I go ...............

Thanks to the lovely people at DecoArt I have a set of the fabulous Fossils stamps to give away.

Leave a comment below and you will be entered into the random org draw. The closing date is Saturday 1st September at midday BST and the winner will be announced on Monday 3rd September.

Good luck.

xxx

DecoArt DT project and GiveAway for February

Just popping by with a heads up that I have a new project over on the DecoArt Mixed Media Blog today and it's a little canvas board done in soft colours with rusty elements added to it. I go through all the process steps to achieve the  soft timeworn look. Here's a sneak peek. It would be lovely if you could pop over to see it in all it's finished glory and let me know what you think.

I also have another giveaway up for grabs - again these are double ups in my supplies and are brand new.  There are two different die packs here, one each for two different people. This will end on Tuesday 28th February and if you'd like to be entered in the draw please tell me below which one you'd like if you were to win in the comments section below..

The movers and shapers arches ..........

 ..... or the Moments - word die.

Good luck.

hugs Brenda xxx

Give-Away

Here's a little treat for today, another double up in my dies collection so I thought I'd give away this little Tim Holtz movers and shapers pack.

As you can see these are the mini mirror and wall clock repositionable dies (brand new and unused), so if you don't have them and would like to add them to your collection, leave your name below by the 31st January and I will do a draw using Random Org to see who the winner will be.

Happy Crafting.

hugs Brenda xxx

Halloween giveaway winner

THANK YOU to everyone who entered my Halloween giveaway, I really enjoyed popping over to your blogs and seeing all those spooky, eerie and atmospheric creations, I even found some new blogs to follow too - bonus.

So I have used random org to select the winner and the winning number is .....

.... and this lucky number belongs to Monika at Mistletoe Home Decoration.

Congratulations Monika please email me your address and I'll then get your goodies in the post as soon as possible. My email address is on my sidebar. Thank you for joining in and having fun with me.

I have spare Christmas goodies too and I can see me getting another giveaway going soon, so keep your eyes peeled over the next couple of weeks. I just need a window of time to get it organised.

But thank you all for your visits, the lovely comments and time you spend on your visits, I really appreciate each and every one.

Have a great end to the week and a fabulous weekend. I'm off to see some bands at Swanage Blues Festival.

hugs Brenda xxx

Halloween Give Away

I find myself with an extra set of brand new Cobweb Blueprint Framelits stamps and dies and am offering it as a give-away to one lucky person who links a Halloween project to my linky below. I will keep an eye open for any other die cuts or extra embellishments I might have to add to the parcel when I send it off.

So to be in with a chance to win this set please add a Halloween project below which can have been made and blogged anytime in September or up to 6th October this year and be one of my blog, Google+ or email followers. You can enter as many times as you want. I will choose the winner next week on the 6th October at midday (BST) so that I can get it in the post and give you a chance to use it before the spooky season finishes.

Good luck and I look forward to seeing your entries.

hugs Brenda xxx

An InLinkz Link-up

THANK YOU Give-Away

I feel so proud to have so many followers on my blog and apart from those of you who have my projects come up in your blog reader I know many of you also follow by email, so I thought I would have a random summer give-away - just a little something from me to say thank you for popping in, for taking time to stop and look at what I'm creating and for leaving your wonderful comments.

I have a Tim Holtz Shadowpress sentiments set and a Shadowpress Station and other little bits and pieces for one lucky winner (there might even be a few other bits and pieces make their way into the box). If you would like to be part of the draw please leave me a comment below and ensure you are a follower through google friends connect or google + (both on my side-bar) or an email follower and you might be the lucky winner of this prize which will be drawn in three weeks time on the 31st August. It would be lovely if you could add this give-away to your side bar and help me advertise this give-away on Face Book but it is not a requisite for being entered.

Thank you for being part of my creative journey and sharing the trials and tribulations as well as the successes of this amazing path.

"We are at our very best, and we are happiest, when we are fully engaged in work we enjoy on the journey toward the goal we've established for ourselves. It gives meaning to our time off and comfort to our sleep. It makes everything else in life so wonderful, so worthwhile." 

Earl Nightingale

hugs Brenda xxx

Followers Give-Away

I would like to say a huge thank you to all my Followers including new people who have jumped aboard lately. Like all bloggers I love recording my artistic makes here and sharing with anyone happy to pop by and take a look. I find it absolutely incredible that I have reached 700 blogger followers and there are 349 of you who follow by email, that really blows my mind. So to celebrate this achievement I am offering up this small gesture of thanks.

Each of these three give-aways contain the same components just different types. There is a scrapbook in a tin, a die, a canvas, a paper pack and a packet of gems in each and three people will be chosen for one each. I will send two to those who blog me a comment below and one to followers who follow me by email and send me an email to enter the giveaway. I will post worldwide.

I deeply appreciate you being part of my artistic journey and the time you take to follow my blog whether you are an actual commenter or a silent reader it is an honour to have you here.

This give-away will be open till midnight on the 13th July when I will count the numbers and use random org to choose the winners. Good luck with your entry and thank you for being here.

hugs Brenda xxx

Blogaversary and 1000th post Giveaway

I have a double celebration to share with you. The 29th January was my FIVE year blogaversary and yesterday saw me publish my 1000th post. I never ever dreamed I would get this far when I started in 2010 and when I look back at what I was making then I cringe. It's been a fantastic five years, I have learnt sooooo much and more or less found my niche in the crafting world, although I still love experimenting with new styles and products, I feel now that I am at home with my art and that's a lovely feeling.

I would like to say a big THANK YOU to all you lovely people who have been following me over the years both as Blogger and Google followers and those of you who follow by email too. I am very proud that my blogger stats show that I get 10,000+ page views a month, that just blows my mind to think that so many people visit to see what I am making and creating.

So if you would like to join my celebration and you are a *'follower'* please leave a comment below and I will use Random Org on the 24th February to choose the winner.

(A Follower is anyone who has subscribed to my blog through the Blogger Followers list, Google Followers and those who subscribe through the Follow by Email widget).

If you are unable to leave a comment on the blog as an email subscriber, please do email me and I will add you to the list.

Thank you again for being part of my life.

********

“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time”.

 ~Thomas Merton

*************

Always listen to the heART.

hugs Brenda xxx

Altered Book for Secret Santa and Giveaway news

We all agreed at AVJ that we would take part in a Secret Santa gift exchange and each of us had one person (drawn from a hat) that we would send a gift to. So if you have a cuppa in hand I will take you through the making of my pressie.

My Secret Santa project went to the lovely Anne at Redanne. She, like all of us at AVJ, loves to get into the vintage, grungy and distressed look that the amazing Tim Holtz creates.

I was delighted to make this and send it to her, however it didn’t end up as I imagined it would, in fact I named it Topsy in the end because the ideas grew and grew, as did the book. So here’s the story.

The concept began with the idea that I would alter one of Tim’s worn covers and add the plastic tag pages for Anne to keep next years Tim tags in …. but as I thought about it more I decided to use one of the old books I had in the cupboard instead.

I started with an old vintage book that didn’t have a publication date in it, but some research on the internet suggests it was probably published in the early 1900s.

I took out the inner section just leaving the cover and reinforced the spine with some builders drywall joint tape which is a very strong paper (forgot to take a photo here). My intention was to add some flaps on the inside covers for the bound pages to slip into. But I next wanted to add a page to go with each month of the year and tag pocket. So the pages were cut to size and punched with the ‘Bind It All’ ready to put together later.  Each page was sprayed both sides with tattered rose, antique linen distress stains plus several glimmer mists to get the distressed background but keeping the colours fairly light. 

I stamped and cut Tim’s calendar months and cut the pocket hinges edging them all with walnut stain, these were later attached to Tim’s tag pockets and put through the ‘Bind It All’ as well.

Next I gathered lots of die-cuts and collage pieces as I wanted to decorate each page and decided that each one would have a tag theme to correspond with the month and I chose one main colour for each one and wrote them down to refer to.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

So as you can imagine, by the time I put all my collage pages and the tag holder pages together they wouldn’t fit between the covers of the book the way I imagined. So I cut the covers off and put them through the ‘Bind It All’ but soon realised that even the largest O wire wasn’t big enough to bind it and believe me I tried lol. I knew that Anne was going to need space to add her Tim tag every month so even more room was needed. At this point I was very disappointed that it wasn’t working out and wondered what I could do to remedy the situation.  I remembered back to when I had bought scrapbook kits many, many moons ago and they had spacers which allowed the pages to go in the albums and not get crushed. So I sat and cut 12 spacers that had bee run through the ‘Bind It All’ and adhered them to each page. As you can imagine by now this book had grown enormously in depth and with the covers on was now over 2 inches deep. But I still had to get it bound. Eventually I solved the problem by googling how to bind single pages in a book and found this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q35JN8cSHs8

Eh voila, new learning for me and problem solved.

It took a while to get each page bound to the next page ….

… it’s a slip knot method that I had seen before but never tried ….

… and actually in the end I was rather pleased with the result.

Each page opened fully and there is now room for the additions Anne will hopefully make.

To finish off I also added a tag to suggest to Anne what she could use the book for.

This is soooo typical of me, start with one idea and then change things as I go along.

As for my Secret Santa gift I was very lucky to receive a sketch book / journal from the lovely Jools with the most amazing cover on it. I love these hard backed books with plain paper that you can keep to add journalling, ideas, snippets of work, photographs etc, so this one will come in very handy over the coming year. The textures are gorgeous and it’s kept to a monotone palette which looks stunning.

More photos and information can be found on Jools’ blog.

Before I finish today, I know I said we all agreed to take part in the Secret Santa but dear Terry was unable to commit to it. As a dear friend who I love to see when I go to California we always swap little gifts with each other at this time of year, so I decided to send her something as well. In my haste to get it in the post to the US I forgot to photograph it and this is all I took.

But Terry has received her gift and very kindly sent me some photos.

I won’t show them all now, I will point you over to Terry’s blog for today, but I will probably be using this technique and ideas in a workshop next year.

ONE MORE THING BEFORE YOU GO

We are having a Christmas Giveaway and Creative Guide hop over on ‘A Vintage Journey’ We would love you to come and join in the fun and there are some fabulous goodies to be given away.

I think all it needs is for me to say thanks for stopping by today, especially if you got here to the end of such a long post. Please pop over to see all the amazing projects my wonderful teamies have sent around the world and maybe get some ideas for your own hand made gifts, if not for this year then bookmark the pages or add them to Pinterest to come back to next year.

Have a wonderful Sunday.

hugs Brenda xxx