Torn in so many crafty directions!!

With a table at a school fair tomorrow I should be all organised by now...but that is just not me, is it!

I have been so busy enjoying colouring in, especially as I have been SOOOOO naughty and treated myself to "a few" new stamps! LOL BUT I have reluctantly abandoned them to make a few last minute bits of jewellery, and to work on display stuff!!!

Here are a few pics of some of my latest, albeit, unfinished creations!!!!

A bit of a mish mash all ready and waiting.....

Some old stamps from my collection....

...and some new!

I have some digi Saturated Canary images store on my Desktop and external drive which are inaccessible at the moment so I bought a few physical rubber stamps instead!!!

I also bought "Snow Bird" by Stampendous, which was more of a Winter's image with berries on....until I snipped them off in an attempt to alter it into a likkle blue tit...quite pleased with my first attempt!!!

And last but not least......look what arrived in the post this week...cannot wait to try these out, so quirky and a bit different from my usual cute images!

(Still after the dog set too but I will wait to see how I get on with these first!)

Right, best get on, enough waffle for now!

Adele

xXx

Leather chockers/lariats and earrings

Loving working with this flat leather cord! Initially I bought some flat faux leather in some lovely colours but unfortunately I tested it out before I made anything with it and it snapped quite easily-such a shame as I was really looking forward to using the array of colours!

Anyway, just have to make do with the dark brown and black real leather for now. This first set can be either a double wrap bracelet or a single chocker.

The next set is so simple but is one of my favourites for some reason. The chocker/lariat has an adustable/slider bead to help make the necklace adaptable....and I just love the earrings!

Oh well a few more things to add to my collection.

Adele

Leather jewellery set

I am starting to panic a bit now as I feel I have hardly anything to put on my table at the school fair on Saturday!!!!EEK.

I am trying to tell myself it doesn't matter and that I m there to support the school in their fundraising but I know I lack so much confidence I am going to hate standing there expecting people to be interested in my "wares!"

Over the weekend I decided to do a bit of knitting, just a couple of tiny pairs of baby booties  but I really struggled and found myself in so much pain, I think knitting session are going to have to be very short and sweet from now on.

This morning I decided to put my card making to one side and concentrate on a bit more jewellery. (Mainly because I wanted to fill up the back of my revamped suitcase with earrings! LOL)

I ended up making this little leather set; bracelet, chocker/lariat and matching earrings.

Got enough brown leather cord to make another set so I am working on that next!

I feel I am running out of time this week already as I have a few appointments to fit in and I also need to make enough cakes to feed 50 people - hungry Girl Guides and their guests!!!!

Best crack on then

Adele

xXx

Suitcase revamp and jewellery display

A while back I shared some details of some old baggage that I acquired for under £5 each. I haven't done much with them since I last blogged about them but today, one case took another step closer to completion.

Here is the first case as it was when I bought it, after a few coats of paint, some decoupage with ripped up old paperbacks and some PVA it got put to one side but today Chris cut some battening and with a bit of no-nails and some lace I transformed the lid of the case into an earring display case.

I still need to work on using the base of the case for displaying some of my bracelets, I think I am going to need to delve into my fabric stash and create padded rolls to separate the bracelets and to secure them to stop them moving around too much.

I am loving the way it has turned out but once again, I am running out of time to do the things I planned to do! That's life!

Adele

xXx

So it's just me, the dog and my copics!

Saturday afternoon, Chris has just left to take Amelia to her drama and dance club, Jack has agreed to go with them as he reckons we have no decent food in the house.....how to make a 17 year old boy go shopping....refuse to buy chocolate, ice cream, biscuits, cakes.....easy! LOL

Once again, I am sat here colouring...might even venture up into my craft room and work on the 12" square space I have cleared from y worktop!!!

I did manage to complete another few cards yesterday, so I will at least have a few to put on my table at the school fair next week!!! EEK

The first 2 I am showing are something a bit different, I thought they would be quite quick and easy to make but I still enjoyed adding a bit of detail in the inking and embossing. Not really my comfort zone but thought I needed some variety in my stock box.

The 3rd card is much more "my thing" and I loved colouring this little bear. Kept the card quite simple and just finished it off with a little dangly charm.

Once again I am trying to take motivation and inspiration from a bit of blog hopping:

Colour Crazy Craft Challenge - #26 Anything goes

One Cray Stamper - July Anything Goes

A Perfect Time to Craft - July

Right, best get up in that craft room before the boys get back with cake to distract me!

Adele

xXx

Whoop, whoop...I actually made a card!

Only a little one but it's complete, not just a coloured image sitting in a box!

Quite pleased with it but I am really struggling with my longer finger nails!! LOL (As you may notice with my typing!)

I had this really wide ribbon sitting on the top of my ribbon stash and I decided to try it out as the colour went so well with one of the colours on the card base and the little t-shirt. I ended up doubling it over and stapling it onto the circular layer before I stuck the image on using 3D pads.

Quite simple but it's the first card I have made in a very long time.

If I hurry I might even get to make another before the "boys" get home!

This card meet the challenges:

Colour Crazy Challenge - Anything Goes

Crafting with Friends - Anything Goes #46

One Crazy Stamper - July- Anything Goes

Bye for now

Adele

Addiction to Copics and Colouring continues

I am still loving the relaxation of jut sitting and colouring and I have ventured back up into my craft room this morning to try to find a few different stamps to add some variety to my collection of partially made up cards. I found a few of my Crafty Individual stamps, a Messy Rabbit, A Fox...or maybe it's a cat...from the Little Cotton Rabbit collection.....to name but a few.

After Amelia went to school I put the kettle on and stamped a handful of them to add to my ever growing collection of images to colour. It looks like a glorious day so I might even take my stash out into the garden. 

Here are a  few examples of what I have been up to.....basically...not a lot!

Bye for now.

Adele

xXx

My Copic Addiction....

....is still going strong. As much as I have loved colouring my Gorjuss images I thought I needed a bit of a change and I have dug deep into my (accessible) stamp collection. Feeling quite disappointed as so many images I have used in the past are all store on my old desktop PC which has been pack away in the loft, I grabbed a few handfuls, got stamping and set to attempting to bring them to life a bit with some colour.

I must say, although I am not sure of the finished image, I have love colouring in these bears, it was a nice change to try to create a fluffy, more textured look as opposed to a smooth transition from one shade to another. So much quicker too! LOL

I am not going to be able to avoid it for much longer! I am going to HAVE to face the cutter in my craft room and actually make up some of these cards but for the time being I am just enjoying the relaxation of my child-like colouring.

Adele

xXx

Falling in Love again...what am I to do......

After a break from crafting for some time, that's it, I am hooked again. I have fallen in love with my Copics all over again! So much that I have been naughty and ordered a few more which arrived this morning. I ordered 4 refills, which could be considered quite boring as they were mainly basic, neutral, but obviously well used colours. Just so my order wasn't completely "boring" I decided to throw in a few new colours too! Now I have always been a Copic Ciao Gal in the past, building a kit was so costly...but instead I treated myself to a few Sketch markers....and I just LOVE the look of them amongst the other pens. I can see a bit of an addiction coming on! LOL

I have been busy colouring though, that's if you can actually be "busy colouring" as it feels like such an indulgent, childlike activity. Let's call it pain management therapy instead then!!!

Soon I am going to have to face the chaos of my craft room and actually make some of these up, sitting and colouring is the "easy" part isn't it!

Bye for now.

Adele

xXx

Copics, Gorjuss and Anna Griffin.....

...and I am really enjoying my little revisit to paper crafting!!!

Still mucking about with Copic colours as it has been SOOO long since I have used them!

I had previously coloured the little cat in shades of grey using C1, C3 and C5 but as I had used these in the dress, tights and boots I wan't some sort of contrast. I used YR20, E33 and E33 in an attempt to give the llittle kitty a pale ginger coat....not sure it worked!

I do struggle with pinks, I don't feel I have the right combination of colours to give a really good effect but overall I am quite pleased with my attempt considering I only used 2 different tones to blend the dress. I used RV34 and R20....with a tiny stroke of the colourless marker.

My craft room is still in chaos and I am unable to work up there really so I am working off of a lap tray under my daylight lamp. Not ideal but at least I have started crafting again! My aim is to make up a few images and colour match them to a main background card or patterned paper....THEN, once (or IF) I get back into my craft room I can make up the cards with greetings and embellishments.

WELL, that's the plan! LOL

Sorry for the lighting!

Adele

xXx

A Spot of Craft Therapy with my Copics

Decided to have a very lazy morning as I am at the hospital again this afternoon for my second session of Pain Management.

I am still dithering over which colour Copics I NEED to add to my collection! A few of my basic colours are running dry and seeing as I have to order a few refills....well, it would be ridiculous not to add a few new colours into my basket at the same time!

I really need to get up into my craft room and start getting myself organised but the days are just not long enough!

Little steps.....pacing is the name of the game.

Colouring with Copics

I's been such a long time but I have dusted off my Copic markers and attempted a little bit of colouring therapy. I feels like I am a complete beginner again, my good old faithful Impress ink pads had dried up so I had to research online to find alternative inks to use. Luckily I found that an unopened Memento ink pad was ideal for the job.

I stamped up several images and set to work on them, one after the other, just colouring in the skintones. When my first batch was complete I decided to start again on the same batch but this time just working on hair colours.

I used Pinterest for references but got frustrated that a lot of the colours used I had not got in my Copic collection. SO....I thought I'd start making a very rough guide for my own use.

My first few images all use copics E33, E35 and E57. Quite happy with the way 2 of them came out but I need to look more at the shading and highlighting before I attempt the 3rd image again. lol

Purple hearts - wrap bracelet and earrings

I have had a couple of days of doing nothing, well nothing I can actually look back on and feel that I have actually achieved something. Today was going the same way so I decided to finish off the wrap bracelet that had been left two thirds of the way through.

I must admit I do prefer the way the leather wrap bracelets "sit" and hold their shape more but I know not everyone likes leather so I am making some on a waxed cotton base.

Another few little items to add to my "stock!"

Bye for now.

Adele

xXx