FRAME A WEEK CHALLENGE

I was rootling about in a cupboard and found a box full of unused frames of all shapes and sizes - what a travesty! They are all in need of urgent filling and so, I've decided to set myself a challenge. I'm going to aim to fill one frame per week and now that I've said it out loud on my blog (even if I am talking almost to myself!), I will have to do it. I'm half way through the first one (which has taken me longer than a week already and has seen one attempt hit the bottom of the bin!) so I'll be posting that as soon as its completed. After which, one a week will appear. Bang goes any hope of my even making a dent in the EEC Ironing Mountain which seems to have taken over my bedroom! (Doesn't matter, I won't be in there will I? I'll be in my craft room!).

THELMA & LOUISE

This atc is one which arose from a challenge that I decided to set for myself. Being a very 'natural' tones fanatic, I felt I needed to work with a bit more colour. Altho the colours haven't reproduced very well in the photo, they are actually very vibrant and vivid with acid green tones. I picked three stamps with my eyes shut (!) and was amazed at how well they worked together. The right hand image is of a car, the girls were from a fashion plate and the typewritten text is an old favourite of mine. I made the atc into a focal image for a calendar I'm still in the process of making.... bout two years after I started it.
I tend to have a collection of 'favourite' stamps which I use over and over again and then, I have those which I like, but never seem to do anything successful with! So, to try to force myself into at least playing with them, rather than avoiding using them, I occasionally do the whole random choice thing. Sometimes it works, sometimes it all just ends up in the bin.

THE BATHROOM COLLECTION

I'm gonna get so much stick for having photographed my bathroom shelf - mainly from my daughter I suspect! But, I couldn't help myself. I just love this little group of items gathered
over the past few years - all of them rescued from obscurity and given a good home, I like to
think. The bottle contains Lavender which was growing in my garden until two friends of mine (male, I hasten to add) decided to wrestle rather over enthusiastically at a bbq and wiped out the bush in it's entirety! However, I managed to harvest the last of it and bottled it for posterity until I decide on what to do with it. Sad loss but great bbq all the same.

ACCORDION BOOK

I made this accordion book for my friend Espe who is, herself, a small thing of beauty! I made it for her to thank her for all her tireless help teaching my son Spanish as part of his home education. I'm certain it's the favourite part of his week! Possibly mine too! Ha ha. She is a lovely, gentle soul who has coaxed him to take his Spanish lessons seriously. I'm always amazed how much he's learnt.

It is made from decorating lining paper and painted with the ends of some emulsion I had knocking around in the shed. I then embossed and stamped the images which I decorated it with. I loved doing this and went through a phase of making loads. We also had a masterclass in our ATC group where everyone made one. They are such fun to make. The hardest part was definitely painting the lining paper! At one point I had strips and strips of painted lining paper hanging from my washing line. Fortunately my lovely neighbour Jo is an artist herself and has not yet had me committed!

JARMANS GARDEN

This is the beach house of the deceased film director Derek Jarman. I'd heard about his sculpture garden and eventually got there on one of our many trips to Rye - just about my favourite spot in the country. The garden is only tiny - small but perfectly formed. All the sculptures were created by Jarman from findings on the beach - driftwood, stones, rope etc. I love the notion of artistically recycling!
The house itself is a wooden structure and is covered in words made out of wooden letters - like braille for the sighted. Very fascinating to look at and, of course, to touch. I love this particular place because it is so bleak there - and always, seemingly, the weather is wild and windy and the sky is huge. I will definitely make the return journey.
The more I look at these old scrapbook pages the more I realise how much I loved both doing and having them. Photographs of our memories deserve better than to be stuck in a drawer out of sight. I can see more scrapbooking on the horizon....

HEY KITTY KITTY

I made this concertina book for my son for his Birthday some years ago around the time we got our two kittens. He has a passion for animals and I have a passion for folding bits of paper - a perfect combo! I had to borrow all the beautiful cat stamps from Sue (told you she's a cat lover!) as I didn't have a single one to my name. It worked out really well and the delightful bit was that it was so much easier to do than it appeared.
Our 'real' cats are brothers called Red & Blue (they were once called Jed & Flint but soon became known by the colour of their collars - and it just stuck!). They're about 3yrs old now and just lovely in every way. They've adopted my friend and neighbour Jo and I'm sure they think of her as 'other mummy'. She most certainly feeds them more delicacies than I do!

BUTTERFLY

I offer this butterfly up as evidence that I can do pretty!
Butterfly was the theme for a recent ATC challenge and I must say that it is probably my favourite theme ever. Loved the atcs the group produced - all very different to one another but made a lovely group as a whole.
I used Glimmer Mists to create the background. I sprayed the mists onto a piece of glossy tissue in an old photo album - it was already naturally beautifully creased, and I put a piece of plain white card under the tissue and simply closed the book. Left it for a short while and then - voila! I was really surprised and delighted with the result.
Found a great quote about butterflies - 'The butterfly is a flying flower, The flower a tethered butterfly' (Lebrun).

Mannequin

I can sense a Mannequin theme developing! This was the birthday card which I made this week for my dear friend Sue who's age shall remain unmentioned. Inspiration came from recent edition of the Craft Stamper magazine. A rare departure for me to follow instructions but I liked this so much I just had to!
The image was stamped in Distress Inks and the background piece used up the residue! A great technique which I thought was very effective. Again, I particularly liked the randomness of the outcome.
Next year Sue and I will have known each other for 40 years which seems quite unbelievable to me. Sue is my cat loving friend who introduced me to the whole notion of rubber stamping - for which I'm eternally grateful - and, she's also my phone-a-friend when it comes to the Sunday morning crossword ritual. She's a whole lot more besides the things mentioned but she'll never forgive me if I gush! So all I will say, is HAPPIEST OF BIRTHDAYS SUE! x

Nirvana

Stumbled over this mailbox in the middle of fields when on holiday in Rye with my fiancee Mal and son Rowan. Loved this little bit of battered, rustic charm and, particularly liked the fact that it was for a house named 'Nirvana'. I could really see why! The setting was rural and remote and in my favourite part of the country. Wherever these homesteaders had originated from they obviously appreciated their good fortune. Shame about the pylons tho!

Sibling Rivalry ....

I took this picture of my kids having a quiet cuddle when we went on a narrow boat trip along the Thames to celebrate my parents anniversary. It was a really relaxing and enjoyable day and I took a lot of photographs of scenery and the interior of the boat but of them all this was the one which really summed up the day best for me. Hannah & Rowan thank you for the photo opportunity but I really can't say which one of you has the nicest top of your head! x

Leaving Home

I made this canvas for my lovely daughter Hannah when she moved out of home into her first flat and it hangs in pride of place in her living room - much to my delight. I used acrylic paints for the background and applied them with an old credit card. I loved the randomness of this approach - not really knowing what will emerege and not stopping til I'm happy with what does! I love the lady with wings stamped image - she gets overused if I'm honest. The other elements were bits and pieces I'd got hanging around in my collection of images and the locket and cross were Hannah's when she was small. The chains had broken but I couldn't bear to get rid of these items and so I felt it fitting they should go with her when she spread her tiny wings and flew away ......!

My Own Mona Lisa

This was a battered old frame found at a boot sale. I felt it needed filling with something sombre and so after colouring my own background paper with distress inks and stamping a background in Versafine Smokey Grey (my all time fave ink) I added the main stamped image of the woman and from there, it took on a life of its own. If I liked my own handwriting I'd add some text on the right hand side. Maybe one day, but I'd have to practise. I have a book where I've written all my favourite quotes and they're just waiting in readiness to be utilised! She blends beautifully against my bedroom wall. The search for similar frames is on!