Monday 28 February 2011

Hettie's House - Paperartsy Workshop

Evening there Friends.

Tonight is another Tahdahhhhh moment!  I thought I would show you the other piece of Art which I made on Friday.  What a busy bunch of people we all were!!  This is what I have named "Hettie's House" (as opposed to Hector's House for those of you who remember it - not me OBVIOUSLY!!!).


What amazed me with this project was that on our table we all had the same colours of colour washes, the same papers and white paint, yet every one of our Houses were different.  Some came out more orange, some more blue and others green.  It was very intense but FAB at the same time.


I do soooo love this stamp from a set that I very nearly bought it in the shop (brilliant shopping opportunity on Thursday afternoon - alot of baskets were being filled up!).  However, the set which I did buy had two other lovely texts which I liked as well as a FAB flower stamp (which incidentally I HAD to go and buy the die for the flower - not my fault Gov'nor!!!).    

Here you can see a little more of the orange paint.  I also like the way you can see a little more of the metal showing through which I love.


More green and blue on this side.  Love it.

And here are the two lovely ladies Leandra and Lin who are responsible for this fab event!  Oh!  and look who is having his photo taken with these ladies!!! Fergus!!!!  He seems to like having his picture taken with the FAB and FAMOUS!!!! LOL!!

Hats off to these two ladies and the wonderful team who organised this event.  They did a FAB job (sorry I can't stop saying "Fab" but it really was!).  It ran beautifully with great workshops, wonderful teachers, great shop, good venue, and I don't know if they were like swans (paddling like fury under the surface!) but on the surface it seemed to run pretty smoothly.  I also met some lovely crafting ladies and Sid!!!  I will never look at a Fish Finger in quite the same light again!!! LOL!!!!

My first Paperartsy event but certainly not my last.  My only wish was that I did not have a 3 1/2 hour drive!!

If any of you reading this have not been to a Paperartsy event, I highly recommend it if this event was anything to go by.

Til next time ladies!!

TTFN.

Hettie

Sunday 27 February 2011

TaDahhhhh!! Finished it!!!

Evening Peeps.  How are you all on this Sunday night? 

I have now come down to earth after having such an exciting end to my week.  I finished work at about 1 o'clock on Thursday and drove over to Newport Pagnell in readiness for my day of fun on Friday with Tim Holtz and Leandra and Lin of Paperartsy.  It was one FANDABBYDOZEY day!  It started with Tim Holtz at 8.15 and I am telling you the 1 o'clock finish came around all too quickly.  This is how my Configurations box was at 1 o'clock on Friday...


However, after a few hours playing this afternoon it now looks like this....



I keep going past it on the stairs where I have decided it is to live and I cannot stop looking at it...


I decided to make it for both my lovely Hubby (after all he did let me go) and myself.  Fortunately we both have the same initials...

We also have an interest in cars - the blue car signifies the blue FSO (I can hear you saying "What?" from here!) and the little cream car is a little Trabant which we both are lucky enough to own, me an Estate and Simon a Saloon!!! (Sorry, I just realised that it is the only "cube" which I have not photographed but it is at the top left of the box!)

I have included extra sewing bits as I am a sewer, beer caps from beer we have drunk on a few occasions(!), a bee hive as Hubby is a Bee Keeper, the pen nibs are real old ones that I found in a drawer in my place of work (shhhh), and the Dragon Fly on the bottle because I love them!


 I have to say that this was a fantastic day and Leandra and Lin and all their team must have worked so hard to make it all work and a huge THANK YOU  goes to them from me and Fergus!!

 Would you believe that Tim Holtz had his photo taken with both myself and Fergus?  Oh YES he DID....

I am laughing (hence my chins) because just as Cheryl was about to take the picture Tim pointed to Fergus and it made me laugh!!!  He was such a good sport to agree to having his picture taken with a Highland Cow that goes on holidays and has his photograph taken everywhere!!  LOL!!!  I did!!!

Tim Holtz also signed my Journal which I made to take with me and declared it "Cool"!!!!!  How pleased was I at that official statement from the man himself that my Journal was "Cool"?  I will now print out some of my pictures to put in the Journal and then I can finish it off.  I will post it up on Wednesday for you to see!

Well.  That is it for now.  I am going to go downstairs and reintroduce myself to my Hubby.  Perhaps I had better throw my hat in first!! LOL!!

I hope you have all had a very happy Crafting weekend! 

Thanks for looking and please do feel free to leave me a comment.  I really do love to hear from you lovely Crafting people.

TTFN

Hettie

Wednesday 23 February 2011

WOYWW #5

Good Grief!  I am up to the heady heights of no. 5 WOYWW!! 

Evening all.  I cannot believe that it is Wednesday once again.  Boy these weeks are flying past!! Wednesday means that us Bloggers take part in an official nosey round other peoples' desks to see what they are up to and how tidy some desks and how messey others are!!  Pop over to Julia Dunnit's Blog so see what I am on about.  Just click HERE and you will be magically transformed over there.


This is my desk as of about 2 minutes ago.  In the middle of a project and still tidy!!  Yikes!!

The project is a little journal that I decided I NEEDED ready for Timmy Day!  I came to this decision at 9.30pm yesterday - yes, last night.  I have had weeks to think about it but only thought about it last night.   I cannot believe that is only day after tomorrow and that I will be making my way up to the venue tomorrow.  Double Yikes!!

Here is a little close up of the cover...

I absolutely adore those butterfly stamps. The tag is part of the same range.  And they come in such cute tins!!!  Here is the back of the front cover...

All of the papers have come from the scrap box, the covers are bits left over from a layout I made recently.  The inside pages are (being) made from a book which I picked up in a local Charity shop for 50p, to which pages I have added a little Gesso so that it tones down the little flower pictures in order they can be written on, and the rest of the pages have been taken out of an old diary which was being used as a doorstop in the Archives of where I work!!  At least there are lines on those pages!!

Alot of us on the PaperArtsy workshops tomorrow and Friday are making little Inchies!  Here is mine.....

Here is the back of it.  We are supposed to write our names on them but as yet I cannot figure out how...!


I am not sure that it is anywhere near as good as some of the others I have seen but they say it is the thought that counts!!!  I have used an absolute plethora of goodies on there - too many to list (or remember!! ROFL!).  I am sooooooo excited about Friday.  All that inkiness and messiness to happen!!!

Thank you for visiting me.  Please leave me a comment.  I do love to read them.  I will try even harder to get around to looking at your desks this week - promise!  But it will most probably be Saturday night/Sunday!!!

Happy Crafting

Sam aka Hettie




Sunday 20 February 2011

Tim Holtz Day Tag

Hello again! 

It's been a bit of a busy weekend, one of those few where Hubby and I are together in the same place at the same time!  So yesterday we were busy on housey things and this morning I temporarily turned into a Housewife!Would you believe I actually introduced my Craft Room to the Dyson?   (Don't worry - things will resume back to normal - whatever "normal" is VERY soon!!!). 

I have only really had a few hours this afternoon to be "Craftey" and as I am well behind on my tags for Tim I thought I had better make at least three so that I can get anywhere near to the 12!  Haa Haa!  Fooled you!  I only managed to get one finished and here it is.

First I used the TH swirly mask (my fav mask!) and DI Dusty Concord, Peeled Paint and Antique Linen.  I then stamped the checkered stamp up the left and embossed it with clear embossing powder.  Then I swooshed some Jo Sonja's Opal paint in the centre to tone the colours down a little and then used my gold "fingerpaint" in the centre and around the edge. 

I then stamped my "Happy Stamping" stamp by Amazing Creations which was a bargain when I bought it some time ago.  The letters were cut out using my Quickutz Silhouette and I cut them three times and adhered the letters on top of one another to make them thicker.  The @ is one of Tim's grungeboard ones.  I then used DI to colour the letters and again used clear embossing powder to give them a little schparkle.  Using my mini set of letter stamps I stamped Paperartsy with Black Soot and edged with Dusty Concord.  Once I had adhered these with foam pads I then used a little Glossy Accents on them. 

My last task was to ink the edges with Black Soot and go around the edge with a black pen and "stitch" the tag, add the ribbons and little tag with the date on. 


Voila!!!  Another tag to decorate my cork covered beam down the length of my Craft Room. 

Thanks for looking and thanks for your comments.  I appreciate them all.

Sam aka Hettie


Friday 18 February 2011

Recycled Tag

Evening Peeps.

It is nice to see Friday this week, though it has only been a short "working week" but nice to get the wine opened!  It is banned during the week along with chocolate, crisps etc so Friday nights mark the start of the weekend for more reasons than you may realise.

I made a tag last weekend, but due to travels I did not get chance to put it on my bloggie so here it is for you to see. 
This tag came about as I was ironing last Friday evening.  The red fabric is a table cloth I made for a table that no longer exists and after having a bit of a clear out of my airing cupboard this and another table cloth were put on the side until I could think what to do with the fabric as I hate waste and knew these cloths could be reused. Also, on my craft room chair was a pair of black jeans that Hubby was throwing out and I just knew they would come in handy at some point. So an idea was born - make a "Recycled" tag. 

The tag was made from the back of an art pad as I needed a firm tag to be able to adhere the fabric and not sag.  The fabric was then adhered to the tag.  I adhered a piece of black jeans to a piece of scrap chipboard (from the back of the notepads in work!) and then run through the Big Shot with a "Vine" die, which was then adhered to the tag.

Then I cut out both fabrics with the Tattered Florals die and pinned them together with a TH brad.  However, this needed a little more "oomph" so I interspersed the layers with gold sheer ribbon.
The mini tag was originally on a reel of red paper string by East of India which I stamped with one of my fabourite Penny Black stamps, adhered a fabric flower which I had cut and also a glass heart bead.  I attached black lace at the bottom of the tag which was bought from Crafts U Love when they had an offer of buy two get one free on the lace, and the black was the freebie!

The fibres at the top were from Craft Obsessions which they put in their parcels when you place an order with them. The word "recycled" was stamped on a piece of scrap cardstock rescued from the waste bin!

The last step was to spray Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in gold over the whole tag!

So other than the gold sheer ribbon, the brad and the glass hearts it is a recycled tag.    

Thanks for looking and please do leave me a comment - I do so enjoy reading them!

Happy Crafting Weekend (if this rain keeps up then my plans for being outside tomorrow will be scuppered so it might just be a "crafting weekend")!!

Sam aka Hettie




Wednesday 16 February 2011

WOYWW #4

Hi there peeps. 

Sorry I am a bit late tonight and have not put anything on my Blog for a few days, but I have (honestly) been out of the country - Rome in fact!!  Hubby and I went for a little romantic weekend in Sunny - yes SUNNY Rome (until this morning that was and the heavens were really and truly open!!).  Here is a piccie to prove it....(the fact that we were in Rome that is, not that it was raining!!)....
This picture is quite literally taken straight off my camera so no tweeking has been done yet.  You can see that the weather is quite lovely.  T-shirt weather when you are in the sunshine but still a little teensy bit chilly when in the shade (or waiting for a bus!).
This is a picture showing something that I haven't seen for a while.  What? I hear you ask.  The large grey bit at the bottom of the picture is a shadow of the little bridge going over the river.  The two large poles are street lights.  The two smaller bumps (one in between the lights and the other to the right of the lights) are actually myself and Hubby.  It has been a while since either of us have seen our shadows! LOL!!!

Anyway, back to the topic of this posting.  WOYWW,  If you do not know what it is about yet, click HERE and you will be whisked to Julia (the Queen of WOYWW)'s site and see lots of likeminded crafters having a legitimate nosey at other peoples' desks as they stand on a Wednesday!!

I am afraid to say that after my desk being soooooooo tidy last week, this week it isn't.  I do have a valid excuse though in that I came home from the Scrapbus crop on Saturday night I had to drop my stuff and pack another bag to go to Rome!!  Honest Gov'ner!!! You can see I have given you proof!
I just have to show you my new love though - no I haven't picked an Italian man up - at the crop on Saturday, I was using some fab little wordie stamps which were ideal for the album I am making which you can see at the bottom of my desk (it is mine and 'Im Indoors' wedding!) and I found out they were bought in Hobbycraft.  So I just had to go over there and see for myself.  Sure enough they had some there.  I had said that I would not go to H until AFTER "THE EVENT" but I just NEEDED these stamps.  This was the first time I managed to come out of H without spending an extortionate amount of money.  £5.37 including mini eggs for my lovely Hubby.  Would you believe me if I told you they were only £2.99?  How cool are they?

Sorry guys, I have not swivelled thesecond picture round.  The set is by Making Memories and they are magnetic stamp sayings "express it".  I can spy an alcohol ink project coming up!  That tin is far too "silver".

Well.  Gotta fly.  Leroy Jethro Gibbs is on Channel 5!!!!   Gotta love that fella *swooning*!!!!!

Please leave a comment - I do love to read them all.

Hettie

Friday 11 February 2011

Love Birds - A Tag

Hello Peeps!

Thank Crunchie it is Friday!!  Off to a crop tomorrow with my sister and friends.  Looking forward to it no end.

I have had a few comments from people about my little tag that was on my desk on Wednesday so I decided I ought to show it to you properly.
Some of us on the Paperartsy Forum are making tags between now and the day when the Duke of Distress, Mr Timothy Holtz, comes over to teach us lucky people.  So as it is Valentine's Day on Monday I thought I would make a little "Love" themed one.
A close up so you can see a little of the detail.  I wanted the birdies to look like Blue Tits as we have alot of them who come and feed on our bird table and from the various hanging things that are outside of our bay window.  I spend many a happy hour watching them perform their aerobatics.  There are two in particular who actually come and peck at the window if their feeders are empty!!  Very cheeky but makes me smile!

You may  notice the Cupid at the top right hand side.  Done with a little double masking using the waste mask as Tim did showed on one of his Christmas tags with Santa and his sleigh!
I can't do a close up on one and not the other!! 

Alot of fiddling but I like it and hopefully you do to! 

I love to receive messages from you so please let me know what you think.  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

Happy Crafting in whatever form makes you smile.

Sam aka Hettie

Ingredients: Tim Holtz seasonal masks, swirl mask, grungepaper, philosophy tag, foliage, pin, adage ticket, Alterations dies - Bird, Tattered floral: DI - Barn door, Fired brick, Broken china, Black soot, Walnut stain, Mustard Seed, Rusty hinge; Crackle paint, Glimmer mist - Gold; Gold wax gilt; Stamps - Creative Images, Tim Holtz; lace; ribbon.

Thursday 10 February 2011

Love Blog Award!!!

I would just like to say a Huge Thank You to Karen at Stamprr this week.  She has given me a lovely award! My being given this award is a huge honour as my blog has only been running for a very short time.

There are a couple of conditions for the award

You have been TAGGED and want to participate?
Then create a post where you post the 'LOVE BLOG' image.
You should also blog the persons link that gave you the award and inform her/him that you accept the award.
You then choose 3 - 5 favourite blogs which you also link in your post, then inform each blogger that they have been tagged.

Dear bloggers:
The aim of this action is that we bring unknown, good blogs to light, so I would ask you not to blog fellow bloggers that already have 3,000 followers.  

It is hard to pick only five but these are who I will pass the award along to:
Hels
Nicola
Scrapbus
Papillon
Penny

These are all fabulous ladies and I hope anyone reading this will check out their blogs!

Thanks again Karen xx

Wednesday 9 February 2011

WOYWW #3

Hello Peeps

Hope you are all well this Wednesday.  At least it is not a Windy Wednesday!  Glad that the wind has now died down!

Well here we are again on a Wednesday night and what a busy week it has been!  I was driving home tonight with my brain in neutral (it is ok, my Clarissa is automatic so I don't need to worry about those gear things!) and I was thinking about what I had achieved since last Wednesday.  I have been a busy Bunny.  I finished all the pink bits on my quilt which I showed you last week.  I just need to keep moving the "flowers" around until I am happy with them.  I have made five layouts (three of which I did at Pennally but I still needed to finish fiddling with them, which like a good girl I have done), one I did last night and the other one you can see on yesterday's posting.  I have made 7 cards, 4 birthday, two anniversary and unfortunately a sympathy card for a family member on my Hubby's side.  I have also made a tag which I shall tell you about on my next post (hopefully later tonight!)

So, down to business, here is this week's desk!!!

How tidy is that?  Yes, I am hoping to collect my crafting halo later!!  I can even see the text and dandelion I cut out and put on the bottom part of my desk.  It is not very often I get to see that!!  Although, I can see I need to get the glass cleaner on there!!! LOL!!!
Its not the best picture but it is tricky taking a photo of a glass table in electric light but it should give you an idea.  It was cut out of vinyl on my Silhouette Craft Cutter.  In case you haven't noticed, I am quite fond of my little machine!! LOL!!

Well, that is enough of my drivvel.  Thanks for reading this far.  Now just click HERE to be whisked across to the Stamping Ground's bloggie and have a nosey at other crafters' bloggies!

Tuesday 8 February 2011

My Baby Boy! I am busy!!

Hello Peeps.  My Baby Boy is referring to my lovely King Charles Spaniel who came into our lives for but a short time a few years back. 

On Saturday I went to a FAB crop in Pontypridd with Penally along with my Buddy Mandy (click on the name and you will be whisked over to their bloggie).  I don't go to this crop very often but I always get a nice welcome when I make my way there and this week was no exception.  Gotta mention the chocolate fudge cake - lush!! 

Well, in betweeen the three - yes THREE layouts we did at class I did find a little time to start a lickle layout of my own as part of the 2Peas free classes that they are running at the moment.  (Click on the name and you will get to the education page.)   I love it when 2Peas run these classes as they really give your mojo a kick start!

Well, here is the layout which I started at Penally and finished on Sunday for you to look at. 
The background cardstock is Bazzill - bittersweet chocolate and all the patterned papers, badges and chipboard letters are American Crafts.  The hear at the top is from Making Memories.  The Completely Loved stamp is from Autumn leaves.  The border on the left side was cut on my Silhouette with cream card then coloured using Distress Inks and Perfect Pearls. The brown paw prints were stamped and embossed with clear embossing powder. 

I hope you like my layout.  Thank you for dropping by.  Do please leave me a comment.  It is always nice to hear from you lovely peeps!

Sam aka Hettie

Monday 7 February 2011

Is it too early......?

I have a nagging question for you lovely Craftey ladies out there....... is it too early to take the snowflakes down which I still have on my Craft Room windows?  My Hubby keeps telling me "No" but I cannot help thinking that all risk of snow falling should be behind us now.  I think Hubby keeps saying "No" as some sort of safety thing,  i.e. if I take them down it will snow for sure.  At this rate they will still be up there in June!! LOL!!!

I cut the snowflakes out using a few different designs on my Silhouette Craft Cutter using vinyl.  I had planned to peel them carefully off the windows and put them back onto the backing paper for use again next Christmas but they have now been on there since mid-~December so I am anticipating that they will rip when I attempt to take them off!!  I took the photo at night so that you could see the effect better. 

Do you know I was not allowed to put them on the bay window in our living room?  I will be clever next Christmas.  I will cut them all out when Hubby is out and adhere them when he is not looking!!  Haa Haa - I WILL get my way!!!  I did get away with putting a Nativity scene on the window when I took if off a candle so I now know they come off fairly easily!! 

 
These are some the candles I gave as presents last Christmas.  The Nativity scenes were cut using black vinyl on my Silhouette and I bought about 20 candles from the big Scandinavian shop beginning with "I" (not allowed to mention the name or else Hubby comes out with hives!!!) and then I spent a happy evening or two adhereing the vinyl cutouts to candles and wrapping them individually with cellophane and ribboning and tagging.  Handmade tags - of course!!  I think those who received them liked them.  Note to self - think of something to make this year - got to think ahead!!

Well, must dash.  Bed time calling!!  Please let me know what you think about taking the Snowflakes down.  TTFN.

Happy Crafting in whatever form lights your candle (no pun intended - honest!!)

Wednesday 2 February 2011

WOYWW No 2

Hello there.  Sorry for missing you all last week but unfortunately I was not a well bunny last week. 

Never mind.  I am here today.

I have switched desks this week (gone to the dark side I have LOL!) as I decided that one week out of every month in 2011 I would get my sewing machine out properly and do some Quilting or sewing of some sort, as in 2010 I did not get to do much at all.  My machine is never too far away as I sometimes like to use it on some of my layouts and also on paper bag albums (one coming on my blog soon!). 


 
I belong to a Quilting Group in Newport, South Wales and about three or four times a year we have a workshop by a known Quilter.  In September last year Jenny Lester came to give a workshop on One Block Wonder.  I really enjoyed it.  And so, instead of it taking a while for me to get a workshop project finished I am really keen to see this one finished.

My friend Stephanie and I happened to fall in love with the same Chinese type fabric (not my usual style of fabric at all!) and despite the fact that we did use the same fabrics, just by cutting the fabric from a different starting point and Steph being left handed cut from one end and I cut from the opposite end, our triangle pieces are very different.  We have also chosen to put them together in a different way.  Here is my top so far, but I am sure I will keep moving the pieces around for a while yet.

Having taken a photograph of it tonight, I feel the pieces need to be shuffled around a bit to make it flow better.  I also need to make a fair few of the pink pieces so that the gaps can be filled in.  I will check it through the camera again, and perhaps in daylight too. 

Well, please do not forget to go and have a wander around Julia's blog to see some other fantastic desks with work under way on there (click on her name to be whisked over there!)

Please leave me a comment, it is always nice to hear from fellow crafters.

Happy Crafting in whatever form you wish to do it. 

Sam

Tuesday 1 February 2011

Sunday Stampers Challenge - Sentimental Journey

Hello Fellow Crafters.  It is so nice of you to drop by.   I am sorry I have neglected you but it really could not be helped.  My MOJO was ill in bed and he took me with it!

Well hasn't this week come around quick?  I have today joined in with fellow Blogger Hels Sheridan. and her Sunday Stampers Challenge.  (Click on Hels' name to be whisked over there to see her blog.) Every Sunday she puts out fab challenges and you may remember last week I made my "B is for Believe" canvas.  This week, I hope Hels does not mind (she won't - she is very nice like that)but I have decided to show you a little something I made my lovely Hubby for Christmas which I had planned to show you at some time in the near future but it fits in  perfectlywith Hels' Challenge this week (I think so anyway!).

Sentimental Journey

The tin was an Altoids tin which was sent to me when I bought something else on e-Bay which I inked with alcohol inks and proceeded to decorate the top (and inside) with an array of papers, brads and any other trinkets which I thought would suit the recipient and convey my message to him. 
I inked the inside of the tin and after lining the inside of the tin both top and bottom with stamped card, I made small cards from pieces of mount board which I was about to throw away. (Perish the thought!)  I then had fun decorating these cards with appropriate images.




The board itself was glossy which did not take inking as normal card does so I had to wait for it to dry (no use using the hot air gun as it would scorch it very quickly).  The colours did not always turn out as they would normally so that each card has its own colour and character.  

The inside of the bottom of the tin conveys our passion for Prague and all things Czech.  I love these stamps from Darkroom Door as theyhave fantastic scenes of Prague.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed looking at my Hubby's "Happy Thoughts" Tin and hope Hels does not mind me putting in a project which I made a very short while ago to her Challenge.

One thing I have not mentioned is that around the top edge of the tin on the outside I have adhered copper tape (the sort you use on Memory Glass).  I am very much into copper in my crafting things at the moment and it also got me out of a spot as to how to get the ink right down into the groove.

Thank you for looking.  I hope I have given you some ideas and inspiration for a project of your own in the future.  If you want to know about anything in particular, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please don't forget to leave me a comment.  It is always a pleasure receiving your lovely comments.

Regards

Sam aka Hettie 

Ingredients:-
I have used such a plethora of items in this project I cannot hope to remember them all.  They include:- Papers - Cosmo Cricket, MME, Bazzill: Alcohol Inks - Cranberry, Copper,Espresso, Terracotta; DI - Brushed corduroy, Peeled paint, Mustard seed,Fired brick, Broken china, Forest moss, Wild honey; Stamps - Stampers anonomous, Hero Arts, Darkroom Door, Crafty Individuals, Penny Black, Docrafts, Cavallini, Stampin Up, Happy Daze; Stayzon - Black; Ranger - Glossy Accents; Gold pearls; ribbon, buttons and probably a whole lot more which I will probably remenber at stupid-o-clock-in-the-morning!!