A Little Bit Of Gesso & Ink

Making background papers is always fun - and useful too - so I put together a little video tutorial to share with you on these. They're very quick and easy to do, require only a few ingredients and will give you some lovely results!

I have been having some time off from creating to nurse my poorly dog who's got pneumonia but he is, thankfully, on the mend now so I thought I'd ease myself back into things with a little play time. Hope you enjoy watching.

A Cheapskate Idea

I love buying new craft supplies as much as, no probably more than, the next woman but some of the stuff I'd like is a bit spendy and I'm always on the lookout for cheap DIY versions of it. Soooo.. I thought I'd share this little tip with you in case it's of use.

I've recently been playing with Distress Inks a lot and I like the kind of watercolour effect you get when you dab the pads straight onto a non-stick craft sheet and then pick the ink up with your paper.

I'd rather not spend £10 on one though so the other day I came up with this quick alternative. All you need is a piece of mat board or cardboard, some freezer paper and sellotape. You can make it whatever size is most useful for you, just wrap the freezer paper (shiny side up) over the board and stick down at the back. 

Notice how neatly I folded and stuck! OK, it won't last as long as an actual craft sheet but it's practically free and you can just replace the freezer paper as needed. I've been using mine for a few days now and it's bearing up well. Just wipe with kitchen towel when you're done and it's ready to go again!

And here's some I made earlier!

More Journalling Fun

Another journal spread using some of my favourite colours and techniques but combined in ways I haven't necessarily done before. It's very freeing just to play with materials and see what happens without there needing to be 'art' at the end of it!

Papery Goodness

I don't think I've shared this with you before but when I was a very small child I used to eat paper. Printed paper was the tastiest as I recall, and I remember being told off on numerous occasions when my mother would find me behind the sofa nibbling on pieces of newsprint and even, now and again, strips torn from my storybooks.

Thankfully I outgrew this habit but I still love paper, printed or otherwise. These days I prefer to paint on it or make books and tags from it. It still provides the same sense of satisfaction as having a mouth full of wood pulp although I think it's probably better for me.

This fine stag in my shop here

Designs On You

I've never really taken to origami but something I do enjoy is what you might loosely describe as paper engineering. Back when I worked in bookselling I was usually the one to fathom out how the often frankly baffling publishers' display bins went together.

I love figuring out how boxes, envelopes, folders etc can be constructed and I recently designed these little envelopes which are the perfect size for ACEOs or ATCs, or indeed anything else that's small and in need of a little protection.

This particular batch are all made from commercial papers, with a little bit of Laura Ashley wallpaper for good measure, and are available here

Paper Play

More playing with materials today. I had these lonely pots of glass bead medium and modelling paste sitting on my shelf - bought ages ago because it seemed like a good idea - and I thought it was about time I used them.

So here's some Khadi (Indian cotton rag) paper which I painted and applied the medium to before gilding with a gold Markal stick and Treasure wax. The top two pieces are modelling paste, the other two have the glass bead medium.

And while I was at it I made a bunch of wrapping paper sheets. These are simply brown parcel paper repeatedly crumpled, painted and waxed. Used to be a favourite thing of mine to do so a little revisiting seemed in order.

Click on the pictures for more detailed views.

Beady Beady

Here's what I did today. These are, believe it or not, paper beads, rolled by hand and then embellished with lots of different things - thread, glitter, embossing powder and so on.

Loads of fun to make even if I have no idea what I'm going to do with them!

More Tags and Tagged!

Here's another bunch of tags with a few library pockets for good measure. I realised the other day that I have far too many stamps, but I can't resist buying them when I see something unusual or quirky. My current favourites are from Ink and the Dog and Teesha Moore.

I also have a real weakness for numbers and fonts, especially vintage ones, and I've collected a few old sets which have seen better days and now have a lovely grungy appearance when they're used. Aaahhh... bliss.

These tags for sale here

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The wonderful Bee has tagged me! Here's the deal: each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves. Those tagged need to write in their blogs 7 things that are a habit, unusual or that no-one else knows, as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag seven others and list their names on your blog. You have to leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and to read your blog. Ok, so here goes:

1. I didn't learn to ride a bike until I was 22.
2. I am scared of aquariums. No, not the little fish tanks you have in your living room, I mean the huge public ones which are dark and slightly sinister.
3. My super-power of choice would be flying. Wheeeee.
4. I always cry at sad movies.
5. When I was small I used to tear pages out of books and eat them.
6. I have always wanted to live in a lighthouse.
7. I am fascinated by kaleidoscopes and would love to have one made especially for me.

My tagees are:

Lolly Linda Kari Denise Amy Thea

Tagged

One of the things I really enjoy doing is making tags for altered art and scrapbooking etc. I've lost count of how many I've done over the years but whenever I get chance I make a few more and put them in my tag box. When they start overflowing the box I usually pick out a few which make a good set and this is the latest collection.

Several of them are stamped with Zettiology designs which I love for their detail and quirkiness, and I also 'age' some of the tags with tea and walnut dye and finish off others with pretty ribbon or fibres.

For sale on Ebay here