Play Day

Yesterday my friend Karen and I had a play day, using our Wizard and Cuttlebug Embossing Folders. I have recently joined the Wizard Yahoo group and over the last couple of days Jane had been talking about using acetate in the wizard and different methods of colouring it. Here are some of the effects I achieved.

The backs of the acetate were covered with glue, using The Essential Glue Pad by Tsukineko, and then , before colouring I added some bits of metallic leaf onto one. They were then coloured with mica powders. The blue one was highlighted on the front with Luminere gold. I scanned them with gold mirror card on the back, but different backings would give a myriad of effects.

Before colouring I added some glitz to each of the pieces. The green one was coloured using dye inks dotted into Kleer floor polish and the spread out using a paint brush.Once this was done a piece of crumpled tissue was added to the back, and covered with a thin layer of the floor polish. The orange one was done using alcohol inks direct onto the acetate, and then covered with crumpled tissue and floor polish.

These are simply alcohol inks with gold krylon added. They have been mounted on plain white card.

Row Houses

Trish Bee has a swap going for Row houses. We had to make 26 of them. I really don't know why, but I had a major problem with this one. It took me days to make the first 4, then I did nothing for a while, but eventually I started again, and finished the rest quite quickly. I hope they are what she is looking for! It did turn into fun, using up bits of background, cuttlebug embossing folders, stamps , images and bits and pieces I had stashed away. For some I added words.

Diamond Tip In Page

I had trouble coming up with an idea for this one. I couldn't get my head away from 'Diamonds are a girl's best friend' and Marilyn Monroe! This was to be about the shape, note the dazzlers. Eventually I came up with this.
The front was painted with a mixture of blue and green Stewart Gill paints and then embossed with a Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, using the Wizard. I put it through 4 times, it was easy to line the diamonds up. The image was mounted on gold card that I'd stamped and embossed and that was mounted on a torn piece of mulberry paper.
The back was painted with green metallic acrylic. washed over with a very watered down gesso mix, which I wiped off immediately. When it dried I stamped the diamonds and used a piece of metal mesh as a stencil. It was then washed over with the gesso mix , wiped off immediately.
I mounted the image onto blue foil and attached a couple of gems. Words were stamped using a Hampton Art alphabet.

ATC Swaps

The theme for Fiona's ATC swaps for June and July are Printed Page and Blues/Purples.

2 sets of 5 for each swap.

Deco Book

I've had a bit of a 'down' time as far as creating was concerned recently. Didn't seem to like anything I was producing, and that's if I could come up with an idea lol. But like everything it passes so here are a few bits I did manage. There's been a dearth of deco books in the last month, probably just as well! Here is the only one I've done:


Alcohol ink backgrounds on both pages, stamp on the blue was a borrowed one and not sure who makes it. The stamp on the mica is by Cory Celaya, available from After Midnight Art Stamps

It Girl for June

The 'It Girl' for June is Autumn and her theme is mermaids.

I made her a little notebook with my Bind it All. Here are the covers:

All the backgrounds are made with various Alcohol inks, Pinata, Zig (Kurecolor refills) and Adirondack. The mermaid moulding was received from Maggi in a little beauties swap. I recoloured it and mounted it onto a piece of metal tape, embossed and coloured with alcohol inks. I then sewed ( yes I did say sewed!) the shells on.

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The transparency for the inside front cover is from a Gustav Klimt print.

This was stamped with Versamark and embossed with detail silver. Stamp is by Personel Impressions. I added a row of pearls to finish it off.

I attached two small mermaids, stamped on a caught in crystal background to the back cover.

Cardiff Visit

On 11th June I met up with Adrienne, Barbara Hahn ( another CC Swaps member) and her friend also named Barbara. We met up in Cardiff, and Adrienne very kindly drove us around for the day.

Firstly we had a quick tour around the bay area of the City, but as parking is so difficult we didn't actually stay there. Adrienne then took us to Castell Coch, a Gothic fantasy created by William Burges for the 3rd Marquis of Bute. An absolutely amazing place. If you click on the link above you can get a 360degree tour.

Adrienne, Barbara and Barbara Hahn on the drawbridge at Castell Coch.

Barbara taking photographs of the amazing ceiling.

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A view of one of the turrets taken from Lady Margaret's balcony.

After lunch we set of to visit Llancaiach Fawr Manor, which was built in 1530. Your visit takes place in 1645, when Colonel Pritchard and his family are away. You are escorted around the Manor by various servants, who describe to you how life was in those days. They are in character and are hugely educating and entertaining. A wonderful place to visit. After a quick cuppa we headed of for a quick tour of the valleys and then back to Cardiff.

We parked up and strolled along in the park, past the Castle walls and ended up at a Chinese Buffet Restaurant , where we had an enjoyable meal and a glass of wine. Then it was time to head off home.

Thank you ladies for a wonderful day, full of history and laughs.