The Kathryn Wheel

Bunny girl!

2012-01-27T11:36:00.000Z

Sentiment stamp by Paper Artsy

Staples stamp by Tim Holtz

As you can see I added a bit more to the journal page using my quick funny-bunny-girl sketch. I quickly sketched her one day with a dip pen and a bottle of caligraphy ink, on a scrap of inky paper that was lying around on my desk. She started off looking like this:

Because I drew her on a coloured background I coloured her with Neocolor II water-soluble crayons which I then blended with a little gesso.

I added a sentiment stamp by Paper Artsy:

I stuck Bunny girl in my journal with a bit of washi tape - LOVE that stuff!

Thanks to everyone who has entered my little give-away so far. Don't forget it's not too late to enter, you have until Sunday .... Have a look here.

Right, I must stop messing about and go and DO something LOL! Byeeee

Stampotique Challenge time and works in progress...

2012-01-25T12:24:00.000Z

Dweeb by Daniel Torrente

Large bee by Jo Capper-Sandon

for Stampotique Originals

Yay! It's my turn to host the latest Stampotique Designers Challenge! Here are the details:

January seems to be a time when many of us decide to use what we already have so with that in mind I challenge you all to alter something! It can be anything from a matchbox to a coaster, an old CD to an empty cardboard box. Have a good hunt around, see what you can find and give it the Stampotique treatment!

As usual there is a $30 gift certificate for one lucky winner and we'd all like that wouldn't we?!

I had a lot of inky painty fun altering my matchbox as I watched it morph from this:

into a mini gallery, or a 'Rogues Gallery' as I like to think of it!

I filled the interior of the box with mini-portraits for my mini gallery, using some of my favourite Stampotique stamps.

All stamps by Stampotique

I have decided to give away my mini Rogues Gallery so if you would like to be the owner let me know by leaving a comment below and I'll pick a winner using Random.org on Sunday 29th January.

So, what else has been happening in thekathrynwheel studios? Hmmmm. I'm still feeling a bit January-ish if you know what I mean. I seem to have a lot of half-completed things lying around ..... nothing seems to get finished .....

Here is some of my work in progress. This is playing around with a pen and ink drawing on a scrap of inky paper. I want to draw more in my journal this year so I'm just experimenting with crayons and gesso here:

I have started doing a class with the wonderful Katie Kendrick and it is taking me well out of my comfort zone and I'm loving it! This is a kind-of warm up exercise, a non-dominant hand drawing coloured with gesso and crayons. It was supposed to be on paper out of the phone book but when I went to grab one of our many phone books I couldn't find them. I thought it was a bit strange until my husband told me that he had helpfully put them all in the bin during a rare tidying up session.

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Had to make do with a sheet of newspaper instead.

Here's my February calendar page started. It's not looking much like a calendar yet but at least I have started before the 31st January LOL!

Here's another page partially completed, using a lovely image by Nancy Baumiller of Crowabout Studion B:

And here is my new little studio friend, a pressie off my husband. Isn't it cuuute? (Won't be long till he has a few additional ink splats).

And finally, hop over to Art from the Heart to see the new Dylusions for Ranger. They are all previewed here and will be available in February YAY! SOme of the ink sprays will be available (in new funky packaging), there are new fab stamps, and stencils, yippee! Can't have enough stencils :-)

Byee for now, I'm going to see if I can actually get something finished today.

Busy busy busy ....

2012-01-17T11:41:00.001Z

Stamps by Dylusions

I may not have blogged for a few days but I have been very busy. Here you can see a pile of samples I have been preparing using Dylusions products from Art from the Heart, ready for the big CHA show later this month. Not that I'm going *sigh* .. I wish ......!! These will be travelling in Dyan's suitcase ready for the big launch of her signature range for Ranger. Woop woop!

Here's a couple of close-ups:

At the weekend I was busy doing a workshop on Distress Techniques using the fabulous Distress inks by Ranger and a combination of Tim Holtz stamps. (You can see details of all my classes here.)

Here's a couple of samples from the weekend:

Stamps by Tim Holtz

Byeee for now ....

Stampotique Designers Challenge time!

2012-01-11T11:04:00.000Z

Bold Birds by Maryse Carrier

Splatter Long by Jo Capper-Sandon

Welcome to the first Stampotique challenge of 2012, and this time Maria has set us a very appropriate challenge for the time of year. Here it is .....

This week Maria gave us the challenge to create a handy pocket calendar or purse (erm... that's a handbag to us UK girls!) calendar. The challenges are now STAMPOTIQUE ONLY . Join us for your chance to win a $30 gift certificate for Stampotique stamps.

So here's my pocket sized calendar, and LOOK! No colour, that's very unusual for me :-)

I went to this site to print out a free pocket sized calendar and then cut each month out seperately. I added these to small pieces of card and then bound it together with my bind-it-all.

To join in with this fun challenge have a look at the Stampotique Designers blog here for all the details and some inspirational ideas from the design team.

Byee for now ...

96 and still counting!

2012-01-10T11:39:00.001Z

Wow! I am overwhelmed by the response the calendar challenge this year. 96 entries so far and there are still more being added daily. Three times I have had to go back to the linky tools website and increase the numbers for the link! I wasn't expecting such a wonderful response ... thank you all so much for taking up this challenge and sharing your wonderful artwork. Good luck for keeping up for the rest of the year.

I think I have visited all of the calendars but there again there are a lot of entries this month and I am easily confused LOL! If you haven't had a visit please do let me know. And another thing .. if you haven't had any visits off anyone do check your link below ... not all of them are working!

The February edition of Craft Stamper (UK) is out in the shops now. Here's a couple of sneak peeks of a Monster Canvas I did this month, nicely titled Monsters Ink by the editor Katy (geddit?!):

I used one of the new stamps by Kira Nicolls for Stampotique in this article.

My children have finally gone back to school this week ... did the Christmas holidays seem long this year or is it just me?! Hoping to get back to some art work now :-)

Byeee for now.

2012 - Bring it on!

2012-01-01T08:44:00.000Z

Snowy Fran by Daniel Torrente for Stampotique Originals

Spring Sprung by Tim Holtz

How did it get to a new year already? Time seems to fly and somehow this challenge seems to make time go faster than ever, if that's possible. So here's my new page for January. I don't mind admitting that I hate January, it is such a bleak month. Here in the UK it hardly seems to get light, we're all a bit broke after Christmas and it still seems like a very long way to go till summer. So with that in mind I chose to use shades of grey for my January page.

A massive welcome to everyone who is going to participate in the 366 challenge for the coming year - delighted to have you all joining in. This is how it works ..... on the first day of the month I will post my completed page for the month and my page ready to go for the next month. At the bottom of that post there will be a linky tool for you to add your completed page (see below) and/or your page for the next month. The link will remain open all month to give you plenty of time so don't panic if you're not ready for the first day of every month. I would encourage you all to visit each other's blogs and leave encouraging comments! You won't be disappointed - there has been some absolutely fabulous art during this challenge. If you like you could also add your photo to the Flickr group here and don't forget you can always find the link to this in my sidebar.

So a big WELCOME to you all for the 2012 366 challenge. Bring it on! If you feel like you need a little help to get started on this, I did a tutorial a couple of months ago which you can see here.

All there is left for me to say, is a massive thank you to everyone who has visited over the last year, and to thank you all so much for your kind and thoughtful comments. I read and appreciate every one :-)

A very happy, creative and artful 2012 to you all.

Goodbye 2011

2011-12-31T11:13:00.000Z

So, it's time to bid farewell to 2011, and here you see all of my journal pages for the year. I have managed to keep on top of this for three years now and yes, I am proud of myself! When life inevitably gets in the way of art and things get a little bit hectic this is often the only art/journaling I will manage to do and for that alone I am thankful for my art calendar. I am so grateful that so many of you have played along with this challenge and if you have managed to keep on top of it for the full 365 then you need to give yourself a very large pat on the back ... well done to you, it is a huge achievement. I have thoroughly enjoyed visiting your blogs over the last year, and the different styles and ideas that you all have is wonderful to see. You can see many of the pages that so many of you have made in the FLICKR group here, and this group will remain open for the forthcoming year.

Don't forget to visit Jill's blog here, as Jill was my original inspiration for starting this challenge. Thanks Jill!

I know that some of you are saying a fond farewell to the challenge, but I also know that there are some newbies who are chomping at the bit to get started, so 2012 is both a fond farewell and a big hello :-)

So, have I managed to get my January page ready on time?? Of course I have! Me late? Never! LOL. Here's a sneak peek, but check back tomorrow for the new link for January.

If you live in the North of England then you may be interested to know that I am teaching a class on art calendar journaling at Art from the Heart in Harrogate where I will be talking through the process of creating a calendar page. See all the details here. Come and join us, it will be fun!

Just one thing I have been pondering on ... next year is a leap year (so don't forget your 29 days in the month for February). Does that mean we have to now call this the 366 challenge?

If you managed to get hold of this copy of Somerset Studio then you will have seen many of my art calendar pages published in an article all about journaling your year.

Don't forget to check back tomorrow and link up with your calendar page. Byee for now ...

A wish for the new year

2011-12-28T09:29:00.000Z

Karin by Daniel Torrente

Alphabitties (X used in the circles) by Jill Penney and Daniel Torrente

Crow Line by Janet Klein

All for Stampotique

I have finally emerged from a Christmas cocoon and had a little play in my art journal but OOh, it's hard to get going again isn't it?! It's the Stampotique Designers Challenge time again which is a great way to kick-start your creativity back into life. Our hostess for the last challenge of the year is Nellie and here is what she what she has challenged us with:

Almost 2012, a whole new year lies ahead of us. This time of the year we tend to look forward, what are

our dreams, wishes, hopes and things we want to achieve for the new year. What do we wish and hope for our dear ones. I challenge you to show us your dreams, wishes and hopes in a stamped project. It’s a Stampotique stamps only challenge so grab your stamps and stamp! As always you can win a $30 dollar gift certificate for your choice of free Stampotique stamps.

If you would like to join us in this challenge, or see what the other Stampotique designers have come up with, have a look at the Stampotique Designers Challenge blog here.

Now, talking of challenges and the year ahead, it's only 4 days till the new year and you know what that means ..... oh yes, it's the start of a new calendar challenge. I hope that many of you will join me on my continued art calendar journey .... this is how it works. Every month you prepare a page in your journal with a small square for each day. Every day you journal, stamp or draw the most interesting or important part of your day - it's a great way to journal every day. You can decorate your pages in any way you wish - stamping, collage, paints, inks, hand-drawn etc etc. If you want inspiration have a look at our Flickr group here, where you will see many different styles all in one place. On the 1st day of each month I will add a linky tool to my blog post and you can link directly to your blog post showing your completed calendar page and/or your page ready for the next month. Simples! If you want to join us you have four days to get your January page ready .... and don't worry I haven't started mine yet either!

Here's a few of my calendar pages from 2011:

I hope you all a had a fabulous Christmas full of fun, love and wonderful presents. Santa was very kind to me and brought me a SatNav - ha! - never will I get lost again! My husband also got me a T-shirt with this logo on the front:

Do you think he is trying to tell me something?!

Sorry I haven't been round to visit any blogs for a while ... December is just a little manic. Hope to visit you all soon. Byeee for now ....

I'm in!

2011-12-22T18:59:00.001Z

Woop woop! I'm so excited that I made it into the artist portfolio section of the latest Somerset Art Journaling magazine. Yayayayayay! For this article I was interviewed by the wonderful Rice Zachary Freeman. It is always an honour to be published by Stampington.

I haven't got my copy of the magazine yet so I don't know what else is in but I just know it will be fabulous! Until it arrives I am just going to have to wait impatiently for the postman..... If you are into mixed media art and/or art journaling but you haven't heard of this magazine, trust me, you NEED it LOL! If you live in the UK you can hold of this brilliant publication at Art from the heart, the Stamp Attic or Rainbow Silks.

Byeee for now, I must get back to wrapping the presents....

And the winner is .....

2011-12-20T18:05:00.000Z

Thanks so much to everyone who entered my celebratory give-away. I used random.org to select a winner and now I can tell you that the winner is no. 59:
Anne Marie
Who said:
I am new to your blog and I am very excited to participate in the 2012 calendar challenge. I actually found you through Dyan's blog. So love what both of you create! Congrats on so many followers!

Anne Marie

Yay! Congrats to you. Please e-mail me your postal address and the stamps will be on their way to you A.S.A.P. Bad luck if you weren't the winner this time but if you can't live without those stamps don't forget you can get them here.

Not much art been going on around here lately ... what can I say? It's December!! But here's a little door hanger I made for a young friend of mine:

Key Keeper by Kira Nichols for Stampotique

Background stamps by Tim Holtz

Inks by Dylusions

Have you noticed there a few changes to my blog? It's a work in progress ... all the extra pages are blank at the moment but watch this space. I didn't do it by myself of course, oh no! Some things are just way too technical for me so I ask an expert, and in this case I asked the wonderful Susie. I can't recommend Susie highly enough if you want any help redesigning your blog - take a look at her blog, and her Etsy.

That's it from me, byee for now ....

Shimmer and shine

2011-12-16T09:55:00.000Z

Whisker monster with sign by Stampotique

It's the Stampotique Designers' Challenge time and this time has Val has given us a festive, glittery challenge. Here's the challenge:

For our next challenge Val is here as our hostess. She is challenging us to break out our "Shimmer, Glimmer, Glitter and Glitz" using shimmery paper, glittery embellishments, glimmery paints/washes/spritz or any kind of glitzy bling in your creations....let your inspiration shine!

Well you know, I'm not really a glittery kind of gal, and I don't really do bling, but I kind of enjoyed it once I got started! I have even used some ... wait for it .... stickles LOL! I added a few glitter baubles over the monster's head, and then gave him a sign challenging you all to 'bring on the bling'.

If you fancy joining us with this fun challenge, have a look at the Stampotique Designers' blog here for all the details.

Byee for now ......

A give-away!

2011-12-13T07:00:00.001Z

Woo-Hoo! Over 800 blog followers feels like something of an achievement :-) As a way of saying thank you to all of my lovely blog followers I thought I should have another blog give-away ('cos we all like to win something, right?!) If you would like a chance of winning this very useful set of stamps by Dylusions all you have to do is leave me a comment on this post. Simples! This set, called Tallulah Tripp includes fabulous wings, leaves, corners as well as Tallulah herself. Great for journaling ;-)

This give-away will remain open for one week, so I will draw a winner using random.org on Tuesday 20 Dec at 6pm GMT. Feel free to advertise on your blogs. Good luck!

*EDIT: This competition is now closed*

Catching up ...

2011-12-12T15:15:00.001Z

Tetewea by Daniel Torrente

Paints, inks and background stamps by Dylusions

Just incase you thought I hadn't done by December calendar journal pages, here they are ....! Ooh, just in the nick of time I'd say, but you know, December always seems soooo busy.

Yesterday I taught a Calendar Journaling class at Art from the Heart to a really fab group, who were a lot of fun. Messy, but fun! Here they are hard at work getting their January pages ready:

We had lots of chat, laughter, tea, cake, and Michael Buble. Well, not in real life (more's the pity) but the sing-along-a-Christmas CD which was good enough.

Cat has done a fab write-up about the day, including wonderful photos on her blog, which you may like to have a look at here.

We had a short break in the afternoon to test my daughter's cake pops which she sent for everyone to try (or maybe to keep them quiet!). These taste as good as they look:

And here's the proof that everyone really enjoyed them:

Many of you have asked if the Calendar challenge will continue next year .... Of course it will! Some of you who started but stopped want to start again, some of you who started and want to keep going will keep going, and I think there are quite a few newbies who would like to join. Yay! Let's keep it going :-) Here's to a colourful 2012!

And don't forget - all of you 2011 calendar challengers - let's show ALL of our 2011 pages at the end of December in a big, giant, show-and-tell blog post. Let's be loud and proud of what we have achieved :-)

On Saturday it was preview day at Art from the heart, and all the up and coming classes were announced. It was a busy, busy day, and a lot of people turned up to get nice and inky at the packed taster classes. All of the new workshop details are being added here, but in the meantime here's a taster of some of the things I will be teaching ......... More details to follow ....

Now, just a couple of things before I go ... all of you art journalers out there may be interested in these that I spotted on Etsy the other day - vintage journaling packs full of bits and bobs and useful stuff for backgrounds and embellishments. Have a look here, you might be interested, just saying that's all :-)

And finally, come back tomorrow for a little give-away to celebrate 800 followers. Woop woop!

And the winners are ...

2011-12-04T21:37:00.001Z

Thank you all so much for entering my blog give-away to celebrate the launch of an exciting new Traplet magazine - Scrap 365(UK). I can now tell you that the winners are.....

Dawn - Girlunwinding
Valerie - Craftattack
Anne - Flutterbycrafter
Anesha - Crafting Queen
Nellie - the Dutch Stamp Tramp

Well done! And I very much hope you enjoy your new magazines. Please e-mail me your postal address details and I'll get them posted ASAP (my e mail address is on my sidebar). Some of you told me that you were having difficulty finding this new mag in the shops, but you may like to know that you can also download the digital version here.

Sorry if you didn't win my give-away this time, but keep an eye out on my blog because very soon I will be having another give-away to celebrate 800 followers....watch this space!

I'm in!

2011-12-03T17:32:00.002Z

Lookie what landed on my door mat today! The wonderful magazine, Stampers Sampler by Stampington, including an article written by me! Woot! Here's a little peek at my article:

As always, I am delighted to be published in such a fabulous magazine alongside some wonderful and inspirational artists. It really is an honour :-) My article is about mixed media techniques using rubber stamps, so I created various items using the same stamp - Mary by Stampotique showing some different ways of using the same stamp.

In the UK you can buy the magazine here.

Now, talking of magazines, the January edition of Craft Stamper is now in the shops, and if full of lovely stamping ideas. There's an article by me on Art Journaling your resolutions for the year ahead, only I prefer to think of them as goals - it's too easy to break resolutions!! Here's a couple of sneak peeks.

And still talking of magazines .... not long till the new Somerset Art Journaling is out. Oooh can't wait! Have a look at the preview here .... did you notice anything on the front cover?! Woot!

Don't forget, there is still time to enter the free Scrap 365 magazine give-away as I'll be drawing the winners on Sunday 4th December. Have a look here for a chance to win.

Bye for now. Have a wonderful weekend all!

November finished.

2011-12-01T07:20:00.000Z

Here's my November page all filled in and complete. Can you believe we are 11/12 completed already? Where did the year go? So, it's time to show your final month .... did you manage to keep up all year?

Here's an advance warning to get ready for the final part of the challenge - at the end of the month let's all show all of our pages from the last year :-)

I know some of you want to continue with your art calendars throughout 2012 so watch this space .........

I'll share my calendar for December soon (ie: when I have actually done it LOL!) but in the meantime here is the link for all the keenies who have got their calendar ready on time :-) Who's gonna be first?!

But just before I go, don't forget to sign up here for a chance to win a free Scrap 365 magazine - the give-away is open until Sunday 4th December.

Magazine give-away!

2011-11-30T10:33:00.002Z

Have you seen? There is an exciting new magazine on the market (UK) all about scrapping, yay! I think there is a real cross-over with scrapbooking and art journaling .... I think quite a lot of scrapbooking these days is looking quite painty and inky! If you would like to read more about this fab new mag click here for all the details, but if you want to be in with a chance to win a copy just leave me a comment on this post here because I have got FIVE to give away for freeeeeee! Woop woop! On Sunday 4th December at 6pm GMT I will select 5 winners using random.org and post the results here. Please feel free to take the scrap 365 blog button (above) and spread the word on your blogs :-) Many thanks to Traplet for providing the give-away mags.
* If you enter please make sure there is a link back to your e mail or your blog on your profile.
* I am happy to post worldwide

In the meantime, if you would like to order the magazine, you can get it from Traplet, or ring 01684 588599

Now, talking of magazines, I happened to notice that Katy Fox, the editor of Craft Stamper magazine (UK) has asked on the blog for future suggestions for Craft Stamper magazine. What would you like to see more or less of in the magazine? More wierdy stuff? More cute stuff? Art Journaling? Altered art? Card making? Techniques or projects? Now is your chance .... have a look at the blog post here and have your say!

I couldn't help but notice that I have now passed 800 followers on my blog. Woweee, what a milestone! Thank you to all of my followers :-) That means that there will be another celebratory give-away following very shortly .... they're like buses - you don't get one for ages then they all come along at once LOL. Watch out next week for my next give-away .......

And finally, the lovely Sue Simpson of Earth Tone Studios Blog has featured me on her blog this week. You might like to take a look here. Thanks Sue!

Byeeeee for now

This and that...

2011-11-28T14:25:00.000Z

Bard by Amy Wilson Wellenstein

Crow Line by Janet Klein

for Stampotique Originals

Text circles from Around the Edge and Basic Backgrounds by Dylusions

Inks and paints by Dylusions

I like to keep a cheap sketch book for mopping up spills of ink, or ink left over on a stencil - a tip I learned from the wonderful Dina Wakley, and you can probably see that this page began life as a spillage of ink! I added extra and colour to the background with Dylusions paints, and then added the very quirky 'Bard'. As he looks like he has his hands outstretched to catch something I added a few balls for him to catch (or drop!), and then added a slightly sinister row of crows, along with my words:

True, huh?

And here's a journal page in progress..... I forced myself to use purple 'cos I don't do purple! Not sure why .... I like it when I see what other people have done with the colour but I find it tricky. Now all I need to do is journal on this ....

Raindrop stamp by Claudine Hellmuth

Letter stamps by Hero Arts

Staple stamp by Tim Holtz

Basic Backgrounds stamps, paints and inks by Dylusions

Keep an eye on my blog over the next few days ..... I've got a couple of give-aways coming up..... one give-away because there is something exciting happening over at Traplet publications, and one because I can't help but notice that I am nearly, very nearly, at 800 followers. Just saying, that's all..........

Byeee for now.

Stampotique Designers Christmas Challenge

2011-11-23T10:49:00.001Z

Gog Lin by Jill Penney
French Text and Splatter Long by Jo Capper-Sandon
Splatter by Carol's Collection
all for Stampotique Originals

As I'm writing this blog post I realise that it is only 32 days till Christmas! Yikes! Where does time go? Vicky has challenged us all to make a non-traditional Christmas card this time; here's what she has to say about the challenge:

I'm challenging the team to make a non traditional Christmas card.

The main rule is

NO RED OR GREEN!

Pull out your Stampotique Stamps as this is a Stampotique only week!

Play along with this week's challenge for your chance to win a $30 Stampotique Gift Certificate, be sure to link in your entries by 5 p.m. EST on 12/13/11 by using the InLinkz on the
Stampotique Designer Challenge Blog

I don't think it will surprise you to know that I'm quite good at non-traditional cards, it's traditional I have a problem with LOL! I thought Gog Lin made a perfect Christmas elf so I stamped him a few times and coloured him with Distress inks. I also added a few co-ordinating splats to the inside of the card too:

This next card is very similar to one I have made before but I wanted to make the Christnmas version, because I just love Mink's sullen face and it goes perfectly with the sentiment!

Mink by Daniel Torrente

Sentiment by Carols Collection

Hearts cubed by Jo Capper-Sandon

for Stampotique Originals

This is a really fun challenge, so hope you'll join us :-)

Your art journal is your friend ...

2011-11-21T14:22:00.000Z

Doll by Rian Designs

Fish by Tumblefish Studio

Paints: Teal, Lime, Magenta; stamps and Ink sprays by Dylusions

I'm slowly getting my groove back after my recent illness ..... I can tell because for quite a while I didn't do anything in my art journal, in fact I couldn't even face looking at it. To art journal you have to actually think, and thinking was making my brain hurt. There is irony in this though isn't there? When I am busy at work I dream of having time off so I can play with my art things, but then when I had time off ill I couldn't even face it. In fact I'm not really sure what I did while I was off work ... I certainly don't have much to show for it!

Anyway, here is the latest page in my journal ..... The background before I added to it:

And then the background with a few images added:

I read this quote somewhere recently - I'm sorry I can't remember where - and this is what I need to remember 'your art journal is your friend'.

I'm always in love with circles, but at the moment I am especially in love with these circle stamps by Dylusions, and I love to scribble round them with an oil pastel:

Right, that's me done, I'm off. Have a good week everyone. Byeeeeeeeeeee

SDC time!

2011-11-16T08:40:00.000Z

Bat Boy by Daniel Torrente for Stampotique Originals

It's time to share my creation for the current challenge over on the Stampotique Designers Challenge blog. This time it was Lisa's turn to challenge us all and this is what she had to say:

Lisa here with this weeks Stampotique designers Challenge! I don't know about you, but I love to use sketches as a jumping point for my work, so for this weeks challenge, I'm providing you the following sketch.

Feel free to rotate it, change the focal image, but try to keep the sketch intact. For this weeks challenge you can use ANY Stamp companies images, but if you have Stampotique images, we'd love for you to use them. Play along with this weeks sketch challenge for your chance to win a $30 Stampotique Gift Certificate.

Oooh! I am completely out of my comfort zone using a sketch as a jumping point but I gave it my best shot, and that's one of the great things about participating in a challenge isn't it? It can force you right out of your comfort zone and get you to try something new :-) If you feel like playing along, have a look at the challenge blog here, where you link up with your creation.

Byeee for now...........

New kid on the block!

2011-11-15T10:12:00.000Z

Announcing new images and new artists are always exciting at Stampotique Originals and so we are thrilled to announce our newest artist, Kira Nichols. Kira has designed some very unique monsters and kitties for her first line of stamps and the design team has had the opportunity to play with the stamps before they are released to the public.

Want a chance to win some of Kira's new images? Hop along with our designers as well as our special guest, leaving comments along the way, for your chance to win some of Kira's new images. We will randomly draw a winner from one of the blogs and announce the winner with our next challenge.

Make sure to leave comments along the way and a randomly chosen commenter will win some of these new stamps.

From here you will want to visit Monique Verbeek

Below is a complete list in case you go off the beaten path and need some redirection.

Kate Crane <--- You are here!

Monique Verbeek

Joanne Wardle

Good luck everyone. Happy hopping!

Journal play

2011-11-07T20:45:00.000Z

Doll image by Rian Designs

Borders by Tumblefish Studio

Paints and inks by Dylusions

I haven't really journaled for quite a while. You know I haven't been so well and I just haven't felt like it... I almost got scared of doing it ... The irony is, that in these past few weeks I have had plenty to journal about, plenty to get off my chest, but no desire to do it.

So, this afternoon I decided to get the inks and paints out and get right back on the wagon, and it felt good. This is a messy, grungy, scrambled up page - I just let it all spill out! I may journal on it some more at some point, but for today I was just happy to spread a bit of colour.

Now, ain't this just the truth?!

I often work on single page spreads in my Journal as I love the way two very different pages look together side-by-side. For some inexplicable reason I often work on the right hand page first, and then go back and fill in the left side. Weird huh?

Byeeee for now, off to blog hop, I have some catching up to do..................

November ready!

2011-11-03T11:50:00.001Z

Inks, paints and stamps by Dylusions at Art from the Heart

Basic Backgrounds DS020

Dependable Dotty DSDS011

Pondering Petunia DSDS012

Further around the edge DS015

Birds on a wire DS014

Well, who would have thought it? I actually have my November pages ready and it's only 3rd November LOL! This month is a homage to all things Dylusional (which is just as well as there is a very exciting announcement over on Dyan's blog today but more about that in a moment ....) I had my camera at the ready when I created my pages for this month so here is a little step-by-step.

First of all I painted by background using Teal and White, using a large flat paintbrush, leaving broad brushstrokes. I left quite a lot of white areas:

Over the lighter areas I added some Mustard paint by scraping with a credit card:

Then I reached for the Basic Backgrounds stamps. I LOOOOOVE these stamps, they are soooo useful. I used the same shades of paint and randomly stamped the letters, numbers and lego dots all over the pages. It's ok to use paint on your stamps as long as you clean it off straight away, it's what baby wipes were invented for! The eagle-eyed amongst you may notice that I stamped some of my letters upside down ha! But, do you think I mind? No! I like them upside down :-)

Here's a closer look:

Then I added some spray inks and allowed them to dribble down the page, and also tipped the journal so that some dribbles went sideways. I used Sunshine ink spray, and then a mix of Teal with water, and added a little mica powder.

At this point I felt it still needed a little more so I added some scrapes of Lime paint with a credit card and a few touches and splats of black:

Here's another close-up:

I love the vine stamps from the Further Round the Edge set, so I stamped them around some of the edges of the journal and then painted the leaves in with Teal ink spray (just spray a little on your craft mat, add a touch of water and then pick up with a paintbrush):

At this point I like to see how it's going to look when I add the daily squares, so I rummaged through my paper collection and picked out some nice bright colours which I trimmed into squares of 1 1/2":

And finally I added a stamped image, using the body from Pondering Petunia and a head from the Dependable Dotty set. Of course she needed a bird on her head so I reached for the Birds on a Wire set, and then added a few extra birds around the page:

Phew! All ready to be filled in. Don't forget, if you want to link your calendar page so we can all take a lookie you can find the link here.

Now, back to that exciting announcement over at Art from the Heart ..... Dyan has had us all on tenterhooks for a while, hinting at a big announcement, well now the cat is out of the bag! Dyan will now be a Signature Designer at Ranger no less! WOOOOP WOOOOP! Well done Dyan! Have a look at Dyan's blog here for her announcement, and a look here for the official Ranger announcement. I love everything that Dyan does, and I also love everything Ranger so as far as I am concerned this is a match made in heaven :-)

Byeee for now ......

October Finished!

2011-11-01T19:16:00.002Z

Giant Shroom by Jo Capper Sandon

Corie by Janet Klein

for Stampotique

Well, it's that time again! How did we get to the end of October already? That means we are 10/12 completed of the 2011 calendar challenge. So, the big question is, who's still in?! I think some people that were in have dropped out along the way, but we have also collected a few newbies throughout the year.......... Well done if you are still hanging on in there and managing to keep up :-)

Here is my october page all filled in. If you double click (and I know some of you do LOL!) then you will see I have had a bit of a crap month, but the only way is up, so onward and upward. Sorry about the horrible shine on the photos ... daylight is disappearing rapidly here in the UK and it's difficult to get a good photo.

And here is the month before I filled it in. Don't forget to link up below with your calendar, but don't panic, there's no rush - the link will stay open all month. Looking forward to visiting you all and seeing what you have been up to.

I'm in!

2011-10-31T09:20:00.000Z

Woop woop! Lookie at this! I am immensely proud to tell you that I have an article in the latest edition of Somerset Studio. And not only that, I got a mention on the front cover!

I just can't tell you how happy I am to be in this wonderful magazine. The article is called 'Journal your year' and focuses on calendar journaling, so if you have been thinking about this but haven't quite got round to it, now is your chance to grab a copy and get ready for 2012! In the UK you can get hold of a copy of this fabulously inspirational magazine here, or here.

As you probably know I haven't been well recently and I'm still very much on the road to recovery. Illness takes its toll and your mojo takes a battering, so I really haven't done much art at all over the last few weeks. I want to but I can't muster up enough energy ...... I did however spend some time with the wonderful Dina Wakley and had a go at her whimsical birds. Fun!

This weekend saw some fine weather in the UK, so as a family we headed to the local coast for a stroll on the beach. The day was cool but sunny, the sun was low casting some great shadows (the clocks have just gone back one hour!) and the light on the water was wonderful.

There is an old iron pier. Fabulous!

And look what nestles at the far end of the beach. Yup, it's the steel works!

And we went home with a wet, sandy, tired, but very content pooch :-)

Byeeeee for now .....

Altered poison bottle!

2011-10-26T15:37:00.000+01:00

Tetewea by Daniel Torrente

Fly by Jo Capper-Sandon

Splatter by Carol's Collection

for Stampotique Originals

OOh! Maria has set us such a great and unusual challenge over on the Stampotique Designers blog. Here's what Maria has to say:

"I have a new fun and creative challenge for you all this week. Are you ready for Halloween? Well, guess what? My challenge for you today is an: Altered poison bottle. I have a passion for sweet/spooky bottles and I would love to see your creations using Stampotique stamps.

WARNING: Don't Drink, that's Poison! Happy Halloween Stampotique-creatures!

I must admit that at first I just didn't get this! I couldn't really work out what a poison bottle was, but then I realised. Doh! It's any bottle at all, and you alter it and make it into a poison bottle. My little bottle was one of those air freshener bottles - you know - they have liquid at the bottom and reeds that stick out of the top to make the room smell good. You could use any bottle ... milk bottle, perfume bottle .. erm ... wine bottle (you must have plenty of those haha!)

I coloured Tetewea with Distress Ink and then cut out and added to the bottle with gel medium. I dripped melted wax around the edge to give it an old/sinister feel, and wrapped with rusted wire and waxed thread. I made a tag using Jo Capper-Sandon's 'FLY' word and aged it with the splatter stamp. I added it with a pin which was originally holding the price tag to a top I bought recently! I filled the bottle with water, washing-up liquid and a touch of red food colouring. If anyone drinks this it might make them fly!

Hope you will join us on this fun and unusual challenge; the details are all here on the Stampotique Designers Challenge blog, and you will see some fab examples from the DT to give you some ideas. As it's the second challenge of the month it is Stampotique stamps only please, and as always there is a $30 gift certificate up for grabs for one lucky winner.

Byeeee for now ..........

Drawing in my journal ...

2011-10-17T21:45:00.000+01:00

Here's another one of my hand drawn girlies in my journal. I created the background with layers of paints, gesso and inks by Dylusions, and then added touches of oil pastel here and there.... The flowers are created with a Crafters Workshop Stencil. I drew the image and coloured her with Distress Ink.

In this page she is talking to the bird - 'sing me a song ... but sing it like you mean it'.

In other words 'if you don't mean it, don't say it'.

Or 'have a little more sincerity'.

Or 'don't talk cr*p'.

Winter is arriving fast here in the UK. It's getting colder and wetter, the nights are getting darker and the days are getting shorter :-(

Byeeeeeee for now

Tag time!

2011-10-12T10:43:00.002+01:00

Large Shroom and Splatter Long by Jo Capper-Sandon

Gog Lin by Jill Penney

Splatter by Carols Collection

for Stampotique originals

Inks by Dylusions

It's the Stampotique Designers Challenge time again! This week Nellie is our hostess and she has challenged us to work on a tag or to use a tag somewhere in our art. Here's what Nellie has to say:

I love to work on a tag. For me it feels like it somehow invites you to think and work in another way than when you’re making cards. So I challenge you to make a tag or some project in which you use a tag. Any size, any color as long as there’s at least one tag involved in your artwork.

To make my tag above I used some of the new Dylusion ink sprays in Bubblegum, Poppy and Sunshine - they are such a fabulous combination! To create a sense of foliage along the lower edge I used Splatter Long repeatedly and then I coloured two large Shrooms with Distress Inks. I thought it would be funny to have Gog Lin peeking out from underneath, and then I used a Shakespeare quote (Ooh! Get me!) which I changed slightly ... The original quote is from Macbeth .. just after 'double, double, toil and trouble', ... and originally said 'something wicked this way comes'.

As its the first challenge of the month you can use any stamps at all to create your tag. If you feel like joining in the fun, have a look at the Stampotique Designers Challenge blog.

I love working on tags and often use a left over bit of inked card to make a tag, which I then often turn into a little hanging. here's another one I made because I was on a roll ..... I used Mink because she looks like she is in a foul mood, and then used my computer to generate text for my favourite put-down :-)

The ink spray colours are Bubblegum and Poppy by Dylusions, and also I used the fabulously useful Basic Backgrounds stamps to add some pattern to the background.

Mink by Stampotique

Basic Backgrounds by Dylusions

Byeee for now ...

September at last!!

2011-10-07T11:32:00.000+01:00

Ink Sprays in Bubblegum, Sunshine and Poppy

Bits and Bats DS005, Basic Backgrounds DS020, Further round the edge DS015

All by Dylusions

Well, here it is at last ... my September calendar page. Didn't want you to think I was getting behind or anything like that. tut tut. As if. If you click for a closer look (and I know some of you double clickers do!) you will see I have had a fairly rubbish month, so the fact that my calendar is done at all is something of a miracle!

Thanks and well done to everyone who has already linked up with their calendar this month. Some of you are just soooo organised! I have been to visit most of you and as usual I'm staggered by the wonderful inspirational art that is going on. We're almost there (unless you are going to continue next year of course!). Don't forget, if you haven't yet linked up with your calendar you can do so here, but don't panic, the link will stay open all month.

So, back to my calendar ... I used some of the new Dylusions ink spray colours to create the background, they are gorgeous! I also used some of the new background stamps, and the new vine stamp to create a border along the lower edge. Have a closer look here:

And then, while I was messing about with inks in my craft room, I decided to ink up a tag (Jade and Sunshine) .............

Heart Shirt by Daniel Torrente

Crow Line by Janet Klein

Stella's Hat, and Splatter Long by Jo capper-Sandon

All by Stampotique

Before I go, I just wanted to say a big thank you for all your get well wishes :-)

And today, I'm going to leave you with this. The lovely Sunanda sent me these words following my last blog post, and I'm sure a lot of you out there will appreciate them too:

Happiness Unlimited

Happiness is a state of being created while working towards the goal,

not a feeling to be experienced after achieving the goal.

If we believe that happiness comes after achieving then we create

stress, anger and fear while achieving, and do not thus experience happiness.

Before I take responsibility for those around me,

I need to take responsibility of my own thinking and feelings.

When I am happy and take care of others, then they will be happy

Byee for now, I'm off to get inky.

Finally ... a little journaling ...

2011-10-05T11:51:00.000+01:00

Images by Tumblefish Studio and Crowabout Studio B at Deviant Scrap

Paints and inks by Dylusions

Finally, I have done a little journaling again. Once you fall off the art wagon it can be quite hard to get back on again, and I struggled with this page ... couldn't quite get things to work. The images are from a collaboration by Tumblefish Studio and Crowabout Studio B. What a fabulous collaboration! You can see them here. This inks and paints are, of course, by Dylusions at Art from the Heart.

I added the quote 'keep the faith' because I have made some fairly drastic decisions about my future recently, but I don't think making the decision is always the hard part. The hard part is to keep believing in yourself, and trusting that you have made the right decision. I know that you must follow your heart (because it knows where it's going) but we are only human and sometimes a few doubts creep in along the way .......

And here's another page I completed a while ago after overhearing something on my son's favourite TV programme - Total Fishing. Yes, it really is as dull as it sounds, unless you are a 9 year old boy. The two presenters were talking very seriously about fishing, while stood in thigh high water in their waders. One of them actually said 'To catch a fish, you have to be just a little bit smarter than a fish'. This struck me as deeply profound (and very funny), more so than it was intended I think! Of course, to win at anything you have have to be only one step ahead .....

Images by Crowabout Studio B

Thanks all for your get well wishes. I'm on the mend, slowly but surely ...... Byee for now

It's Calendar Time!

2011-09-30T19:23:00.000+01:00

OOh, it's that time of the month again! But I must confess I am cheating a little today and sharing with you a collage of some of my previous pages .... you will know from my previous post that I haven't been too well recently so I am running a little behind on my calendar. Tsk tsk! However, I know some of you will be chomping at the bit to get yours up and posted, so here's the link, and I'll be adding my pics soon :-)

Ha ha! Stampotique Challenge time

2011-09-28T12:37:00.002+01:00

Mink by Daniel Torrente

Daisy Daisy by Jo Capper-Sandon

Sentiment by Carol's Collection

All by Stampotique originals

Dylusions inks in Bubblegum and Sunshine

Well, its that time again, yes, time for another Stampotique Designers challenge, and this time we have been challenged by Vikki. Here's what Vikki has to say:

So here's the challenge: create a humorous Birthday Greeting! Something funny, sarcastic........perhaps an image that will evoke a giggle or a good belly laugh, which I particularly enjoy!

It just so happens to be Vikki's birthday today, so happy birthday Vikki!

I used two of the fab new colours by Dylusions (sunshine and Bubblegum) to create my background, and then stamped and coloured Mink with Distress inks. I chose Mink because she looks a bit fed up, like she doesn't WANT another birthday LOL! I added Daisy Daisy hanging upside down (this is such a useful filler stamp) and coloured with Sharpie poster paint pens:

I generated the text on my computer (as usual, having a dig at people's age as they get older!!) before adding my favourite funny sentiment from Carols Collection at Stampotique.

As its the second challenge of the month it's Stampotique stamps only please, and don't forget, as always there is a $30 gift certificate for one lucky person. Have a look at the Stampotique Designers Challenge blog here. Come and join the fun and join our challenge with something funny!

And just before I go .... just to let you know I haven't been 100% recently .. I'm off work and just taking it easy trying to get sorted. My mojo has gone AWOL and I have been a little absent in blogland. Normal service will be resumed shortly, but in the meantime I am off for a nap zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Bye for now ........

More Tiddly Inks!

2011-09-23T12:02:00.001+01:00

Images by Tiddly Inks

Paints and inks by Dylusions

The Tiddly peeps over at Tiddly Inks have got all enthusiastic about art journaling with Tiddly images since my last post (see here), so much so that they changed the challenge this month to a two week art journal special! Have a look at their challenge blog here. You will see that they have gone art journaling crazy (and I mean good kind of crazy!)

The art journaling challenge is still on-going so get your paints and inks out and join in!

Yesterday I had a good rummage through some of my digital images and came across these little beauties by Land of Nod Studios and decided to make another ATC.You can find the exact sheet I used on Flickr here.

Images by Land of Nod Studios

I decided to make this ATC into a miniature hanging by adding a couple of brads and some rusty wire. This one has already been traded, posted and is currently making its way across the Atlantic.......

Bye for now, have a great weekend wherever you are .................

Stampotique Designers Challenge Time!

2011-09-21T12:57:00.002+01:00

Sweetmoves by Daniel Torrente

Daisy Daisy, Crown, Hearts Cubed by Jo Capper-Sandon

'What? Never seen a Diva before?' (inside!) from Carol's Collection

It's the Stampotique Designers Challenge time again, and this time Kaz has challenged us all to use black, white and just a hint of colour. I don't mind telling you that this was one heck of a challenge for me! Just a HINT of colour? WHAAAAT?! As you know I usually work in multiple layers of colour so this challenge s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d me just a little bit!

I used Sweetmoves from the new September releases, because I just love her :-) For my hint of colour I chose to use the new Bubblegum ink spray by Dylusions, because that colour just pops!

As this is the first challenge of the month, you may use any stamps (although of course we do like to see you use Stampotique!), and there will be a $30 gift certificate for one lucky winner. If you'd like to join us in this challenge have a look here where you will see all the details, as well as some fab samples from the design team.

Now, just to answer a couple of questions I have had recently ....

Seems like some of you don't know what 'feely boppers' are haha! If you were around in the 1980s then this was essential headwear at discos LOL. They were attached to a headband and bopped around as you were dancing (it makes me cringe just thinking about it!) My feely-boppers (shown again here) have large bundles of tinsel - can you see?! Actually I pinched them off my daughter but it seems I wear them more than she does .....

Recently 'M' asked me this question:

m said...Hello from France! every time I visit your blog I wonder what you work on; the colours are so transparent. Is it watercolour paper or glossy paper?

Most often I work in a Moleskine sketchbook which is a matt, cream coloured paper, about 160 gsm. I think the transparency of the colours is more down to the paints that you use, and I've been using the gorgeously scrummy Dylusions from Art from the Heart, which are semi-transparent (great for layering) and come in a fab range of bright colours. Thanks for your question M.

And finally, I have had quite a few questions about whether I offer, or will be offering on-line classes. At the moment I don't have any plans to as my DVDs are currently available from Traplet, Art from the Heart, and The Stamp Attic. Can't say that I won't ever offer on-line classes, never say never, and all that....

Thanks for your questions, and if I don't get back to you, give me a nudge! I am often busy, and always forgetful :-) I can't always answer your questions directly as there isn't always a link back to you from your blog comment. If you like you can e-mail me, there is a direct link to my email in my side bar and also on my Google profile.

Bye for now................

And the winner is .....

2011-09-20T21:11:00.001+01:00

Many thanks to all of you who left a comment on my give-away post to celebrate 700 followers. I am delighted to have you all on this wonderful art journey alongside me :-)

I used random.org to select a winner, and the winner is ........

....wait for it .......

TA-DA!

Effie

The stamps will be on their way to you soon Effie, and I just know you are going to love them. Can't wait to see what you make with them.

By my reckoning, I am now 74 short of 800 followers, so watch this space...........!

An ATC and a bit of journal play ...

2011-09-19T13:17:00.000+01:00

Sweetmoves by Daniel Torrente

Splatter long and French Text by Jo Capper-Sandon

Sun Design by Maryse Carrier

Ink sprays: Poppy and Sunshine by Dylusions

I haven't made an ATC (artist trading card) for ages but it is actually where my journey into art really began. I started making and trading ATCs back in 2008 and then moved onto altered art and eventually art journaling. I still like making ATCs - the size of them (2.5 x 3.5") is still appealing to me, and it's quite a challenge to work on such a tiny scale. I created this background with two of the new ink spray colours by Dylusions - Poppy and Sunshine. These colours are gorgeous and work really well together.

'Sweetmoves' is from the new collection by Daniel Torrente for Stampotique, and is available in the UK here. She is quite a large stamp but I didn't let that put me off adding her to an ATC - as long as the main features are present I think you can afford to lose a limb or two on the ATC :-)

The words are from an English Folk song ...

Dance to your Daddy

My little Lassie

Dance to your Daddy

When the boat comes in ......

Here's a journal page I did a while ago in my small journal:

Images by Dyans Downloads (head) and Rian Designs (body)

Thank you all so much for your lovely comments and for entering my blog candy give-away. I will pick a winner on Tuesday evening at 5 pm (GMT) so it's not too late to enter ... have a look here.

Byeee for now .......

700 followers, a give away, classes and more!

2011-09-14T14:08:00.001+01:00

Well, who would have thought it? 700 followers woop woop! I am absolutely delighted that so many of you want to tune in and see what I have been up to. Not only that, this is my almost 300th post LOL! I tried to time it so it would be 700 followers and 300 posts, but I'm only on 299 haha! In honour of this occasion I wanted to offer a little give-away as my way of saying thanks for all your visits and lovely comments, I really do appreciate all of your feedback and comments.

For the give-away I chose one of my favourite Dylusions stamps from the new range to give away as I love this set, it is so useful. If you would like to be in with a chance to win this set of stamps just leave a comment on this post and I'll pick a winner using random.org on Tuesday 20th Sept at 5pm GMT. And that's all there is to it, no catches :-) Feel free to spread the word.

Here are some of the stamps from the set on a tag I made with a class at the 10th Birthday Party of Art from the Heart at the weekend.

Inks and paints by Dylusions

Now, talking of the celebrations at the weekend .... it was fab, and a very good time was had by all. I taught two full 'taster' classes. These classes are just an hour long, and it is a bit of a challenge for a class to complete something in just an hour. No time for idle chit-chat!

Here's another tag I made for the class:

Inks and paints by Dylusions

Here I am in action teaching, and yes I am wearing feely-boppers!!

(Thanks to Sue for the photo)

And here is the lovely Dyan in action teaching ... just look at the speed her hands are moving!

(Thanks to Sue for the photo)

I did a bit of demo-ing on the day too, and started this journal page which I later finished at home.

Do you recognise the words? They are from a song ... once sung by Nina Simone, but some of you may remember this as the theme music from the 'Film' series back in the 80s.

I part-made a tag at the weekend as part of a class, which I then decided to add to my journal page when I got home (you'll see those stamps again!)

And I used two of the new paints, lime and lagoon, from the Dylusions new releases for the background.

All of the new classes at Art from the Heart are now ready to view and book here. Here is a taster of the classes I will be teaching this autumn, click on the links for more info.

Wednesday 9th November - More Art Journal Inspirations

Sat 26th and Sun 27th November - A weekend of Art Journaling

Sunday 11th Dec - Calendar Journaling

Friday 7th Oct - Mini house journal in a tote bag

If you'd like to see more details about classes click here. Maybe I'll see you there!

Now, just before I go, if you haven't got my DVDs yet but are thinking about it, you may like to hop over to Carin's blog here, and read her review. Thanks Carin!

Bye for now.........

I'm going, are you?

2011-09-09T18:47:00.001+01:00

Don't forget, it's all happening at Art from the Heart starting tomorrow..... mini-classes, demos, previews of the autumn classes and ... wait for it .... the launch of the new Dylusions range! More fab colours of paints and inks, you want them, you know you do! All to celebrate 10 years of artylicious goodness, and the one and only creative whirlwind that is Dyan Reaveley :-)

See all the details here, and maybe I'll see you there?! I'll be the one with inky fingers, and paint in my hair ;-)

Tiddly Inks!

2011-09-07T07:26:00.000+01:00

Image: Always the flower girl by Tiddly Inks

Paints, inks and background stamps by Dylusions

I was delighted and honoured when Christy, the amazing Tiddly Inks designer, asked me to be a guest designer at Tiddly Inks this month. I am playing along with their challenge of Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall (although some of us in the UK might argue that summer never arrived in the first place this year LOL! We only have to mention the word 'barbeque' in our house and it clouds over!)

I searched for 'end of summer' quotes on the web and found these two, which I thought were perfect.

Especially this one LOL!

And as the challenge was about saying goodbye to summer I thought I should include some end-of-season flowers losing a few petals, so I hand drew a few circles and added petals with a Sharpie pen.

Of course, one of the great things about digi images is that they can be re-sized and printed out as large or small as you want, so I printed 'always the flower girl' out large so that she would fit comfortably on a page in my A4 (12 x 8") Moleskine journal. I coloured her with distress inks and then a touch of oil pastel but if I am being really honest, then I will admit to be a little challenged in 'colouring in'!

If you want to see some more Tiddly Inks images have a look here at the fabulous array of designs where you will find everything from cute to gothic to steampunk. And if you feel like playing along with the challenge have a look at the challenge blog here.

Thanks for asking me Tiddly peeps ;-)

A journal page and a thank you

2011-09-05T14:41:00.001+01:00

Image by Crowabout Studio B

Paints and inks by Dylusions

Rub-on by 7gypsies

Just a quickie journal page from my small art journal to share with you today....

And I wanted to say an enormous thank you to everyone who visited as part of the birthday celebration blog hop for Art from the Heart. It was wonderful to have so many visits and so many comments - thank you all very much :-) It's not too late to join the blog hop and there are prizes to be won so have a look at my post here, and Art from the Heart here.

Byee for now .....

Dylusions Blog Hop!

2011-09-03T09:59:00.001+01:00

Further round the edge DS015

Curious Corrin DS009

Write between the lines DS018

Basic backgrounds DS020

Bags of bunting DS017

Quintessential quotes DS013

Birds on a wire DS014

All stamps, paints and inks by Dylusions

Welcome to a very exciting blog hop in Celebration of 10 years of Art from the Heart!

There will be lots of exciting things happening at Art from the Heart next weekend where the big birthday bash is happening. If you want to know more then do click here.

In Celebration we are having 5 birthday blog hops. You should have reached my blog from Sam and you are on the Dylusions blog hop. Before you move on - you will need to collect a letter from me which is

This is part of an anagram of a Dylusions product.

Now you need to go to Dyan's blog here and once you get back to Dy's blog please email your answer to Ben.

Here are a few pics of my large A4 (12 x 8) journal page in progress. It started like this.... I painted the background with Dylusions, added a bit of texture with the basic backgrounds stamps, I stamped Corrin and coloured her with Distress inks, then stamped some vines. I coloured some of the vine leaves with Dylusions ink spray in Peridot.

I wanted some of the vine leaves a different colour, so I sprayed Lemon, Burnt Orange and Postbox Red onto a scrap of paper. I stamped the leaves onto this and then stamped some text over the top so that the leaves would pick up the text.

I'm going to journal on this page so I added some journaling lines from 'Write between the Lines'.

I decided the background needed a little more texture and colour so I added some numbers in Dylusions acrylic paint in white, and a few extra splats etc

I added some bunting along the top and added a number to each flag by stamping the numbers from 'Bags of bunting' and cutting them out:

I gave Corrin a scrap of vintage text as something to stand on:

And then I added a bird to her head LOL!

Huge congratulations to Dyan and the team, on 10 years of artylicious loveliness and inspiration at Art from the Heart :-)

Have fun blog hopping!

Calendar TIme!

2011-09-01T19:00:00.000+01:00

Heart Shirt and Clover By Stampotique

Birds on a Wire by Dylusions

Inks and paints by Dylusions

How did it get to the end of August already?! My August calendar is shown here as a work in progress ... September is ..... ahem...... on the way!

I love this combination of Clover's big head on Heart Shirt's body. And these fabulous birds are from the new range at Dylusions.

I know some of you are up-to-date and ready to go, and chomping at the the bit to link up to your new September pages so you will find the link below. Don't forget though, that the link will stay open all month and you can link up at any time. Well done if you are still in! We are now 8/12 completed woop woop!

Stampotique Blog Hop

2011-08-31T08:21:00.002+01:00

Lovely wings, and Mela by Daniel Torrente

Welcome to Wednesday!

Have you been chomping at the bit waiting for Stampotique Originals to release some more of your favorite stamps? Well, you have stopped in at the right place today! Stampotique are thrilled to announce their newest release. Yay!
There are new images from Jo Capper-Sandon, Maryse Carrier, Janet Klein and Daniel Torrente and Jill Penney. There's a great mix of Halloween images, nature images, some winter images and some cute kid images. There are even some ....wings!!
If you want to see some of these creepy, crawly, cute and furry friends then join the design team and our special guest for our new release blog hop today starting here. Make sure to leave a comments along the way and randomly chosen commented will win some of these new stamps.
If you arrived here from Kaz then you are in the right place. If not, you will want to go back and start the hop at the Stampotique Designer's Challenge. From here you will want to visit Kim. Below is a complete list in case you go off the beaten path and need some redirection.

You can check out the complete new range here.

This and that...

2011-08-28T17:08:00.000+01:00

Quote from Quintessential Quotes by Dylusions

Paints and inks by Dylusions

Large Bee Wings by Jo Capper-Sandon for Stampotique Originals

Sometimes, especially during the school holidays, there just aren't enough hours in the day for art journaling but I did manage to find a little time when I was on holiday recently.

I drew this figure onto paper (I have been wanting to draw more in my journal for ages but never quite got round to it) coloured her with Prismas, and then added her to my very grungy background. The wings are from Large Bee by Jo Capper-Sandon which were stamped onto acetate:

I absolutely LOVE this quote, and it came from one of the many new stamp ranges by Dylusions at Art from the Heart.

I created the grungy background in my large A4 (12 x 8) Moleskine by first collaging torn squares of text all over the page and covering with a layer of gel medium. I painted over this with Dylusions paints in blue, orange and white, and the paint settled into the gaps of the collaged background giving lots of texture. I then added a few squirts of ink and a few splatters:

I'm pleased with how this page turned out. Doing the collaged background was a bit time-consuming but I love the final effect and will definitely do this again.

Yesterday I taught a full and busy art journaling class at Art from the Heart to a group of entertaining, enthusiastic, like-minded arty ladies. It was Sheila aka Crafty She's birthday and here she is misbehaving:

She had a birthday balloon tied to her chair, had to wear a birthday girl badge all day, and then we all celebrated by eating cake :-) She left with very inky painty hands at the end of the day so she must have had a good time!

You can read more about the class and see some fab examples if you visit Anne's blog here, but be warned, Anne's pages are of an adult nature! Ha ha! Some of these naughty peeps are leading me astray ....

Here they all are hard at work. Don't you think they are a little .... er ... messy?!

But it was a very productive mess! Just look at the gorgeous, colourful, vibrant pages on display here:

Well done ladies, and thanks for your fabulous and entertaining company all day :-)

Stampotique Challenge time!

2011-08-24T07:00:00.002+01:00

French Text and Splatter Long by Jo Capper-Sandon

Minkygirl by Daniel Torrente

for Stampotique Originals

Ooh, it's my turn to host the Stampotique Designers challenge and I'm delighted about that! Here's my challenge:

I am always looking for ways to make art which is useful, something I can use in every day life so what better than a bookmark? You can never have enough of these ... I like to use them to mark pages in all of my favourite art publications! You can make any type of bookmark: A traditional straight bookmark, a corner bookmark, a swinging tag ... In any style: Vintage, funky, cute or weird. Anything goes! So go and dig out all for your favourite Stampotique stamps, it's time to get creative!

As it's the second challenge of the month it's Stampotique stamps only please, and as always there is a chance to win a $30 gift certificate for one lucky winner (and who wouldn't want that?!) Hop over to the Stampotique Designers Challenge blog here to post your creation. I look forward to seeing you there!

I chose to turn Minky Girl into a bookworm by drawing some reading specs onto her face (well, I need them, why shouldn't she?!) I made a background using distress inks and as this was a challenge linked to reading, I thought it only right to include some text so I used Jo's French text, along with a couple of long splatters. I then stitched the whole thing inside a pocket of heavy-weight acetate to protect it.

And here it is, nestling inside a book:

I do hope you will join us on this challenge! Bye for now........

Hello again.

2011-08-22T15:27:00.000+01:00

Image by Crowabout Studio B

Border by Tumblefish Studio

Paints and inks by Dylusions

I'm baaaaaack! Just had a wonderful two weeks away in sunny Cornwall, lazing about, canoeing, eating, drinking, fishing for crabs etc. I had no internet access and pretty much no phone signal either. Yikes! I had to go cold turkey for two whole weeks!

I took a small (-ish) bag of art supplies with me and managed a few pages in my journal. This one is in my large A4 Moleskine sketchbook. (Hey, does anyone know if Moleskine are still making these? They seem to have replaced it with a Folio sketchbook which has much thinner pages. Anyone know? I neeed one and I can't find one).

We got the got the car ferry a couple of times across the estuary and I managed to sneak the ticket onto my page:

I had fun getting inky with this next page. The page began with a mopped up ink spill but I loved the colours so I continued to work on it. These images are so fun to work with! I sprayed Dylusions inks onto paper and stamped Dotty onto it, and then added a bit of extra colour with pastels.

I LOVE the birds, especially the way that they face different directions so you can layer them all up.

All stamps, inks and paints by Dylusions

Stamps: Birds on a wire, Say what you mean, Basic Backgrounds, Further round the Edge, Dependable Dotty

I don't know if you can see but I stamped the wings onto acetate and then bent them so that they stick up as a 3-D feature:

Now, back to the holiday...... This is what we had at the bottom of our garden for the last two weeks:

Which meant we could do a lot of this:

You can see the house we stayed in the background here. It was a very old house next to an old water mill and had the most seriously wonky floors I have ever known. I felt like I was drunk before I had a drink!

We were delighted to find this little fella in the garden one day:

Of course we had to take our pampered pooch with us - she wouldn't want to miss out on this much fun would she?!

Whilst out and about I tried taking a few arty shots to practise my photography skills. I've still got a loooong way to go but I'm managing to shoot in manual so I'm doing ok so far I think!

Last Thursday we saw the Red Arrows performing at the Fowey Regatta. They were fantastic, it was completely exhilarating to see them perform at speeds of up to 700 miles an hour, and flying so low. We were deeply shocked to hear that on Saturday one of these jets crashed, killing the pilot. I just can't believe it, especially as I had just seen them two days before.

And finally, I leave you with this. Don't you just love it when you stumble across something random like this?! This was just taped to the window of a little newsagents shop in Fowey, Cornwall:

Thanks for all your blog comments while I was away :-) I'll be around to visit soon but in the meantime the washing machine has gone into overload as I try to catch up on two week's worth of sandy, salty laundry! Bye for now

It's Stampotique Designers Challenge time!

2011-08-10T07:00:00.001+01:00

Batboy by Daniel Torrente for Stampotique

Alphabitties by Jill Penney and Daniel Torrente for Stampotique

Hearts cubed by Jo Capper-Sandon

There's a new challenge today over on the Stampotique Designers Challenge blog. This time Val has challenged us to try altering a page in a book, any book, even a journal. OOh right up my street :-))

I chose to use the kind-of-ugly-but-gorgeous Batboy. Isn't he adorable? LOL! I coloured him with prismas and oil pastels.

I altered a page in my 1911 vintage time book. It's very fragile so I have to be very careful not to overdo it on the pages. I wanted to leave some of the old writing showing through:

You can link your altered creation here, and if you do you may be in with a chance to win a $30 gift certificate for Stampotique. As its the first challenge of the month you can use any stamps at all, although it's great if you do choose to Stampotique of course!

Bye for now.

Craft Stamper in the shops!

2011-08-07T10:39:00.009+01:00

The new issue of Craft Stamper is in the shops now (UK) and is choc full of lovely stampy goodness! This month I have a masterclass article on things do do with canvas (and by the way I got hold of my canvas in 'The works' for 1.99!) Here are a couple of sneak peeks....

Byee for now

Taking a break

2011-08-05T09:50:00.000+01:00

Paints and inks by Dylusions

Rub-on by 7gypsies

A couple of weeks ago I taught an art journaling class with a theme of repeating images. We created a background using finger painting *my fave* and then hand drew our houses onto old text before colouring them in with paints and pastels and adding them to our pages. We can all draw can't we? Drawing doesn't have to be 'perfect' (whatever that is!) and mine certainly isn't perfect LOL!

Occasionally I like to add a random rub-on to my pages, and I love these by 7gypsies:

Rub-on by 7 gypsies

Next we chose an image to represent ourself, so here I am as a crow. It's not the first time I have been referred to as an old crow ;-) We added hats to represent the different hats we wear in life. Here my hats are:

1 wife and mummy

2 teacher and instructor

3 general dogsbody and picker upper of things and stuff

Now, lookie what has landed at Art from the Heart this week.

OMG I am loving the new funky people and they are a fab size for art journaling. They are selling out fast already so you had better be quick!

I am going to take a little blogging break while my children are on holiday from school. I have scheduled a couple of posts to go live over the next couple of weeks but I am going to step away from the internet (it's gonna be hard LOL!) so I won't be around to reply to comments or e-mails. Missing you all already!

I am going to spend a bit of quality time with my children doing things like this:

And this:

Enjoy your summer wherever you are :-)

Bye for now.

July Finished!

2011-07-31T17:30:00.000+01:00

Wow, where did the month go?! Well, here's my July calendar all finished :-) I haven't quite got August ready but I know some of you will be super-organised and ready to share your August pages so the link is below all ready to go! Don't forget to link to your post and not to your blog in general so that if people drop by later in the month it will take them straight to the right post. If you don't have a blog, no worries, just upload to Flickr here and link to your flickr page.

We are now officially over half way. Yay! Only 5 months to go. So let's see, who's still in?

All sorts!

2011-07-28T08:40:00.000+01:00

Smile by Daniel Torrente for Stampotique

Carol's Flower large and small by Janet Klein for Stampotique

Inks and paints by Dylusions

It's the Stampotique Designers Challenge time again! This time Kaz has challenged us to create something using sizzling colours of red, yellow and orange. Here's what Kaz has to say:

"When I took this week for my challenge back in the winter, I thought it would be lovely and summery so I decided to set a colour challenge using the sizzling colours of red, yellow and orange. I should have known better really as I do, after all, live in England. It's been positively Autumnal this month. Rain, wind and grey skies. Yuk. So I'd like you to help us entice the sunshine back to help warm my cold toes!!"

Although I started out as a 'neat' cardmaker, I rarely make cards these days so I decided to challenge myself a bit further and make a card. I 'smooshed' red and yellow inks on a craft mat and dragged my card through. The colours mixed in places to give me the colour orange too.

All the details of the challenge can be found on the Stampotique Designers Challenge blog. As its the second challenge of the month, it's Stampotique only stamps, and don't forget there's a $30 gift certificate up for one lucky winner!

Yesterday I spent the day with the wonderful Kirsty Wiseman learning how to use my digital SLR camera. I have had my camera for ages but have only ever used it in auto mode *shame on me* but after spending a day with Kirsty I can now shoot IN MANUAL! Yay! I wasn't exactly a natural behind the lens (LOL!) but I'm getting better, and I'm going to practise loads this summer. Here's a few shots from the day.

An unusual view of a bench:

The gorgeous Kirsty, with the face of a 16 year old:

Kirsty took this one of me doing my best 'catalogue' pose:

Here's Kirsty again. Check out the railings!

I learned how to take a low down shot like this by balancing the camera on my foot:

Kirsty took me to some of the nicest places ... here we were standing on a motorway bridge!! Here I was learning how to do this:

And freeze frame like this:

Kirsty has the most adorable little sausage of a dog named Eddie. I tried to get a good shot of them together but you know what they say ... never work with animals! Here is Eddie mid-yawn:

But here he is looking gorgeous. Ahhhhhh!

I had such a great day and learned absolutely loads *thanks Kirsty*. If you want to get to grips with your SLR then I highly recommend it.

Now, talking of taking great photos ...... if you have a spare moment have a look at Cat's blog because she takes some amazing photos. I taught an art journaling class at Art from the Heart last weekend and we had a blast, but as usual I didn't get chance to take any photos. Cat took great photos of the day and blogged them here. She has a way of really capturing the essence of a day.

And finally, look what's happening in September. Woop woop!

This promises to be a great weekend with loads happening, you can read all about it here. There will be taster workshops from Dyan, Sandy Poppins, Susie Flintoff, Kirtsy Wiseman, and me! It's on the same weekend as the Great Northern Papercraft Extravaganza, and as Art From The Heart is literally just around the corner, if you are in the area you could do both things in one day!!

Right, that's me done. I really must go and get dressed, can't spend the whole day in PJs! Byeeee

I'm in!

2011-07-25T19:54:00.000+01:00

Wowee! I'm very pleased indeed to be included in the new autumn edition of Artful Blogging. It is always an honour to be included in a Stampington publication and although I haven't actually received my copy yet I just know that it will be a fab magazine jam-packed full of inspiring blogs and wonderful artists. Ooh I just can't wait to get my copy!

Many thanks for all your lovely comments recently and very sorry if I haven't got back to you yet. Life has been hectic towards the end of term and time is always so short. I'll do my best! But let me know what you think ... do you hope for a reply / return visit when you leave a comment on a blog? Really, I'm interested. Because if I could I would spend half of my day making art and the other half blog-hopping but unfortunately life isn't like that! I spend a lot of time feeling guilty about all of this so I'd be interested in your opinion.

Now a personal message to Rosie B who has been trying to contact me. Rosie I'm sorry but I haven't been able to answer your question as your blogger profile has not been made public so I have no way at all of getting back to you. In answer to your question, no, the DVD does not have subtitles but if you want to contact the publishers - Traplet - they may be able to help you more.

Byeee for now.

New journal page and a new studio woop woop!

2011-07-23T22:46:00.000+01:00

Borders and hand by Tumblefish Studio

Paints and inks by Dylusions

Butterfly - magazine image

SCHOOLS OUT FOR SUMMER! Yay! 6 whole weeks of not getting up early, wearing my PJs all day if I feel like it, and more importantly some time to make art. Here's a journal page I did in my A4 (12 x 8) journal. I think you can guess what it is about! I actually used a quote from our school summer show - a child-friendly version of The Tempest by Shakespeare. The line comes right at the end of the play when Prospero is asking to be set free from the island where he has been trapped for 12 years.

Here it is as a work in progress:

And here are a few close-ups of the detail. I hand-cut the circles from backing papers by Tumblefish Studio and scribbled round them a bit:

I built up the background layer by layer using paints and inks by Dylusions and a harlequin template by Crafters Workshop.

I wrote the quote with an old-fashioned dip pen. I love its unpredictability.

Now, with reference to a previous post about my new super-duper huge journal ... some of you asked me just how big it is. Well, it's this big!! This is HUGE for me - I started this art journey making tiny ATCs!

For the last few weeks we have been in chaos in our house as we moved my son into his new big bedroom (my old work room) and I moved into his old bedroom. It was complicated because we have an old house and it's NEVER just a lick of paint, it ALWAYS involves stripping about 100 years worth of wallpaper and replastering. Emptying the room that I had been creating in for the last 7 years was scary - my art stuff spread into 5 rooms and for the last few weeks I haven't been able to find a thing.

But now my son is sleeping peacefully in his colourful new bedroom, and finally I have a work space that I can call my own. It is small but beautiful and it is MINE ALL MINE hahaha!

Here, let me show you around. Here's the view from the landing. Do you like the eye chart? Isn't it totally fab?! (Ikea of course!) It lights up and everything!

My eclectic collection of pots for paintbrushes and pens:

A close-up of my work area. Doesn't it look ... er ... clean?! Don't worry, that won't last long.

Here's the new storage (ikea again!). Everything has its place, the trouble is I don't know my way round it yet .....

Here's my little friend Ratty. I love him for his lop-sided quirkiness. He's even got a tattoo.

I made this angel quite a while ago, but a couple of weeks ago I found this rusted bird-cage in a florists in town. I think it's really meant for a plant, or maybe a candle, but probably not a trapped angel. When I was a little girl I used to long for a fairy in a jar, not a stuffed one - a real one! I think this is the closest I'll get.

I love this lampshade (Ikea again!). I was shopping with my mum and she said that she though it was horrible but I think it's a bit funky and a bit unusual (and probably a real dust trap hmmm).

And finally just a couple more of my favourite things. I found this whimsical bird in a shop on Mull, Scotland. I desperately wanted him but I was worried that he wouldn't make it home with all his toes intact. But lots of bubble wrap and a bit of TLC and here he is in his new home, alongside a cute hand-made bear:

The question is .... how long till everything is splatted with ink?!

Byeee for now.

Stampotique Design Challenge Time!

2011-07-18T14:56:00.002+01:00

Gog Lin by Jill Penney

Carol's Flower by Janet Klein

Sentiment - Carol's Collection

all for Stampotique Originals

Paints and inks by Dylusions

Ooh I'm skidding in by the seat of my pants for this challenge - almost late but just in time. Phew! One of these days I'm going to be ready AHEAD of a deadline. Maybe :-)

The challenge this time has been set by the lovely Gez, who has challenged us with a fabulous theme of Flower Power. As it is the first challenge of the month you may use any stamps at all but there must be flowers somewhere on your creation. If you would like to join us this week for your chance to win a $30 gift certificate for Stampotique stamps (you want that, you know you do ...! ) please link in at the Stampotique Designers Challenge blog with a DIRECT link to your creation. You can also see lots of inspiration there from all the Stampotique Design Team members.

I chose to do my challenge page in my vintage Time Book journal, dating back to 1911. I have to be very careful with the pages as they are so fragile. I decided to turn Gog Lin into a fairy (of sorts) by giving him bee wings and hiding him amongst some flowers. The sentiment just seemed to fit perfectly!

Bye for now.......

Where've ya been?!

2011-07-15T15:15:00.000+01:00

Sorry about my absence, I've been busy busy busy. Too busy. Uncomfortably busy. *sigh* Why is the end of the summer term so manic? It is even worse than Christmas ..... parents, children and teachers are all exhausted. We need a break and we need it NOW!

I haven't had time to do any art for ages and that makes me twitchy. Today is my birthday and my lovely hubs gave me a super dooper HUGE sketchbook and said something along the lines of ... 'Ha! Fill that!' So I decided to kick start my mojo today by just playing with inks, paints, stencils and pastels. for no other purpose that just playing. And it was fun, and now I have filled in page 1 of my super-huge sketchbook :-)

Thanks to all of you who have continued to give me feedback for my DVDs. Thank you soooo much! You can now get hold of my DVDs in the UK at The Stamp Attic, and you can see what Wendy (of the Stamp Attic) had to say about them here.

Now, I don't want you to think I found filming these DVDs easy, noooooooooo it wasn't! I have been pestering the producer for some of the outtakes because they really make me laugh. Oh yes, I may look all relaxed and serene and in control on the DVDs, but just for you here is the reality. Enjoy!

The trouble with not blogging for a while is that I end up with a lot to say and a lot to share! I'm so excited at the prospect of new rubber by Dylusions at Art from the Heart. This little lot looks right up my alley! Here are a few sneeky peeks but head over to Dyan's blog for all the latest.

And finally ..... Look what's new this week:

Geri has set up this wonderful website where you can visit and see links to all sorts of arty blogs. It's a great way to link up with other like-minded arty-farties :-) If you want to go and have a look or even join, just click here. And well done to Geri (and her husband!) for setting it all up. It's a great idea.
OK, I'm off to enjoy the rest of my birthday (44 just incase you're wondering!). Tonight my son is having a ~~sleepover~~ stayawakeover for his birthday which is in a few days time. Not the best way to celebrate my own birthday, but I think if I try very hard I can probably leave them to it and drink a bottle of wine. They'll fall asleep eventually won't they? Won't they?!
Bye for now.

Officially half way!

2011-06-30T07:00:00.002+01:00

Smushallaum, Smushasha, Alphabitties by Daniel Torrente for Stampotique Originals

How did it get to the half way point of the year already?! If you're still up with the calendar challenge, well done, you are officially half way through! We are now 6/12 yay!

As you can see I decided to use ghoulish mermaids for my July pages as this is the month when I usually start thinking about going on holiday, which gets me thinking about the ocean, which in turn gets me thinking about mermaids.

I found this delightful quote about British summertime which I think is hilarious. Us Brits know all too well that summer could quite easily last for only one day in this country! I only have to say "come on, let's get the BBQ out' and it starts to cloud over .....

And just to prove I am actually filling my pages in each month, here is June (almost) complete:

If you haven't already got hold of a copy of my DVDs, here are a few of the comments I have had.... (I swear I'm not making these up! You can find all the comments here on the blog, or on my facebook page!)

I have your dvd's at last and was up till late watching them lastnight. Will be watching them again later today. Brilliant! I'm too far to make one of classes so your dvd's are a godsend! Thankyou and please don't stop at 2!!

I already have the DVD's and they are just FAB!!!!

I got these DVDs last week and they are AMAZING, you will love them....Well done Kate, I love ♥♥♥ them

Mine came yesterday and they're really great. Love them

..just wanted to say....DVD 's are FAB!!! On a downside, they did prevent me from ironing this morning...actually not sure if that IS a bad thing!!

If you would like a copy of my DVDs just have a look here.

Don't forget to link up here with your July calendar pages so we can all hop over to your blog and take a peek. The list remains open until 30th July so no need to rush!

How random is random?!

2011-06-27T21:32:00.001+01:00

Alphabitties by Daniel Torrente

Bold Birds by Maryse Carrier

for Stampotique

So, I am still pondering the question of how random is random, and are some randoms more random than others?! (See here) So while I was teaching a class at Sam Taylors at the weekend I decided to journal it!

Unfortunately I forgot to take my camera to the class so no photos, but you can read all about it here on Cat's blog and see some of her fabulous photos too. It was a great class again, lots of fun, and everyone was so willing to try new things :-))

Right, that's it, it was just a quickie from me this evening! But I leave you with a few photos I took yesterday in the glorious (but rare) English sunshine...

All together now, ahhhhhh:

And the winner is........

2011-06-24T19:34:00.000+01:00

Thanks to everyone who left a comment on my free give away and put my blog button on their blog. I'm very veeeeery grateful to you all :-)

I just used random.org to select a winner ..... have you ever been to that website? I've just got to share this with you ....

RANDOM.ORG offers true random numbers to anyone on the Internet. The randomness comes from atmospheric noise, which for many purposes is better than the pseudo-random number algorithms typically used in computer programs.

Jeeeez. Does anyone actually get that maths stuff??! I just thought random was random. I didn't realise that some randoms were better than others.

Anyway, enough waffle ... the winner is ..... TA-DA!

Carin of Created with Love blog

Well done Carin. Let me have your postal addy and the DVDs will be on their way to you ASAP.

Thanks again everyone :-)

Stampotique Design Challenge Blog Hop!

2011-06-22T13:06:00.006+01:00

Mary and Hare by Jill Penney and Daniel Torrente for Stampotique Originals

Join us for Stampotique's Magical Mystery Tour today. Why a Magical Mystery Tour? Comment on all the blogs and along the way we have 2 mystery prizes to give away.

If you have arrived here from Vicki at the Summerthyme Studio blog then you are in the right place, if not, you may want to begin at the Stampotique Designer's Challenge blog and begin your tour from there.

A few weeks ago, Valerie had us recycling and this week she has us cleaning house again!She's challenging us to dig in our stash to see how many scraps we can use up in our projects. Just about anything qualifies as a scrap - as long as you're utilizing a piece or part of something that you generated before but never used up... it counts! So what will it be? Bits of an old master board or freaky background? Leftover pieces of your favorite designer paper? Part of an old piece of grunge board? Fragments of a previously inked image? Or the remnants of some odd embellishment? Let's see just how creative you can be!

As you can see I made a tag using up some of my tiny scraps of paper (mostly Basic Gray) by overlapping them and stitching them onto a large manilla tag. I also 'save' tiny scraps of leftover sheet music and vintage text, so they made their way onto the tag too! I stamped Mary and Hare onto a leftover scrap of white paper and coloured them with my *new* prismas :-) I managed to find a random quote about a hare in an old and well-used quote book that I found in a second hand book shop.

As you make your way through the tour make sure you comment on each and every post. There will be 2 prize winners chosen randomly amongst the blogs. For some additional chances to win another prize join us with our "Scraps" Challenge using your Stampotique stamps for your chance at a $30 gift certificate for Stampotique stamps and at being our August Guest Designer, see our blog for additional information.

Our tour will end on June 28th and the winner of the 2 tour prizes will be announced on the blog on June 29th.

Now, jump on over to Joanne at Made by Joanne blog to see what kind of scraps she has used on our Magical Mystery Tour.

Don't forget, it's not too late to enter my free give away for a chance to win my Art Journaling DVDs. Look here for more info, you have until Friday to enter! *EDIT: This competition has now closed *