Mini Spell Book

With Halloween speedily approaching I wanted to make a mini book of spells to wear around my wrist

I coloured a piece of leather with alcohol ink and made a cover which measures 2.5 x 1.5 inches

The pages are signatures bound together and attached to covers by the end papers

The pages have spells and pictures for Halloween

Soul Sisters

An acrylic painting on canvas - one that I painted a while ago - but re-worked to add more light and depth

Desert Island Discs Circle Journal

I have signed up for a circle journal with the title of Desert Island Discs and wanted to make a lightweight journal  I made a piece of fabric paper with text and tissue and gave it a spine of leather which I altered with alcohol inks and secured with eyelets I added fabric images to suit my theme and gave it all a coating of acrylic wax for protection  The inside is lined with hand dyed cotton with signatures of watercolour paper 

Hopefully in 10 months time I will have a work of mixed art to treasure

Polymer clay buttons

I was playing with polymer clay - fimo - yesterday making some buttons for a swap  I made a silicone mold from buttons I had and also cut some freehand   I was looking for the right sized cutter for the round ones and found a candle snuffer just the right size then stamped with a text stamp  Some of the buttons have a little  mica powder brushed on before baking

Haunted Treasure Chest

Preparing for Halloween this wooden box has been given a grungy paint treatment with added chains and charms and metal feet 

Products are from Calico Crafts

Amy's picture

I used a photo of my daughter Amy on a mixed media background presented in a frame that I painted silver to co-ordinate  I started this on a class with Anna Dabrovska (beautiful soul) in Ireland 

Decorated Page

Last weekend I enjoyed a great weekend in Ireland taking a workshop with the lovely Anna Dabrowska and this is one of the pieces I completed  It's a mixed media collage using inks papers and grungy bits

Travel Fabric Book

A few pages from my recent fabric book  I've used a mixture of fabric and paper to make a travel book adding lace and embellishments to decorate the pages

Most of the materials used are from Calico Crafts - you can see the details Here

Timeworn Home

I've used this wooden shaped house to try out various paint techniques I learnt from Andy Skinner's paint technique course http://andyskinnerorg.blogspot.co.uk/  (check out his blog)
The roof has a copper patina and peeled paint
The rusty sign holds a chipped paint sign  The background is textured with paste and paint with lots of chipped and crackled paint on the frame

ABC Primer

ABC primer papers from Graphic 45are perfect for recording a childs progress through school.............or as I have used it to show the final stages of my daughter's education when she graduated as a Doctor of Philosophy

I used a cheap ring binder cut down to 8x9 and covered it with 12x12 papers adding various trinkets to the spine and an image from the papers printed twill tape scrabble lettersand mini pull handle on the cover

The inside pages are 7x8" and have various pockets and pull-outs for photos and journalling

this page shows a fold out section which includes pockets for tabs and keepsakes

the final page has an expandable pocket to hold a mini pamphlet book which holds more photos ( the proud mum takes many photos)  I used an image from a 12x12 sheet for the cover of the mini book

the ABC Primer pages can be bought from Calico Crafts here

Shabby Chic tray

This tray is the middle sized of a set of three trays from Calico Crafts

I wanted a romantic summer theme and started by painting the tray in pink acrylic paint

When this was dry I dabbed petrolium jelly in places I wanted to look worn then painted two coats of cream acrylic I rubbed the tray with a cloth when it was dry to reveal the pink undercoat giving me the shabby look I wanted

The base of the tray is covered with letters paper, tea-stained doilies, pictures,  rub-ons sentiment and german scrap roses, stuck down with mod podge   Then everything is painted with outdoor mod podge to give it protection   Supplies from Calico crafts

Felted Picture

A felted bird eating a berry!  My friend Lorraine showed me a book 'Felt & Stitch' by Moy Mackay and  this picture is copied from that book I started off wet felting the background then needle-felted the details finishing off with machine and hand stitching  It's almost 3d so wont go in a glass frame so I am not sure whether to mount it on a wooden frame or make it into a cushion

Arty beach bag

I needed a large bag to keep sandwiches and drinks cool and leave room for a towel book etc with pockets for keys sunglasses etc

 

so made this bright striped bag with insulated lining

but on the reverse side I included fabric arty embellishments so I now have a duel purpose bag for shopping or the beach (if summer appears) large enough for everything I need

French Travel Journal

This is the journal I made from the 7 gypsies journal covers  The covers are fabulous and didn't need much adding and I made some signatures in black card for the inside  I used the fabulous lace trimming between the cover and the fly sheet and decorated the pages ready to add photos and journalling  The products used are from Calico Crafts Here

Meandering fabric book

I enjoyed a day with Lin and Leandra from Paperartsy making this fabric book  There are a mixture of techniques including fabric transfers and removing organza with a soldering iron - a great experience 

Curiosity book/box

This chipboard box designed as a book leant itself well to the graphic 45 Olde Curiosity Shoppe papers and stamps  I started by painting both inside and out in black acrylic paint then used the back cover of the 12x12 album with its small diamonds for the cover    The keyhole cover is die cut from grungeboard painted black and stressed before attaching with brads  I used various papers and embellishments from the Curiosity shoppe range to decorate the box  stamping with the bottles and labels stamps for the bottles  and labels on the inside which I coloured and embossed before adding them with foam to raise them slightly  The eye attached to the spine is cut from the papers and stuck to a Tim Holtz fragment with glossy accents

Supplies from   Calico Crafts

Olde Curiosity Shoppe Album

This weekend a group of friends got together at mine to make this album using The Olde Curiosity Shoppe papers from Graphic 45  I had everything prepared for them to assemble the pages and decorate to their own taste  It was a gorgeous day so we were able to have lunch in the garden and when they left there were just finishing off bits to do  I used my book to hold some of the many photos taken at 'The making of Harry Potter' at the Warner Bros. studio tour (which is absolutely fabulous)  Linda showed me her fabulous finished book today and I am looking forward to seeing the others  The papers were from Calico Crafts Here