My inky travels along life's rocky road

Sunday 29 May 2016

Dictionary Challenge - T



I'm quick out of the starting blocks for this fortnight's challenge on the Craft Barn blog where the letter is 'T'. I was having a bit of a tidy-up of my craft stuff (or 'junk' as the rest of my family refer to it) and came across some large sheets of coloured metallic card which were pre-cut into various shapes. It was supposed to be a mathematical aid for pupils but how or why I came to be in possession of it is a mystery. I spent a while popping all the shapes out and sorted them into small boxes making a mental note to myself to try and make use of them sometime. Today is that time!
Tessellate is a word that fascinates me as I went through school without ever having heard it and it was only when my sons were at school that I learnt what it meant. I used some chevron shapes and some triangles to fill my page but although brightly coloured they looked a bit flat so I decided to emboss the chevrons for added texture.
That's about it really. Have a good fortnight!

Friday 20 May 2016

Dictionary Challenge - A


A bit of an assemblage for this fortnight's Craft Barn dictionary challenge entry where the letter is 'A' with no twist (I'm pleased to say). I thought of various words but settled on 'Aspire'. I love this image from ISC and wanted to include it on one of the pages in this challenge. Her face has a quiet strength about it and there is a determination in her eyes. I stamped and masked the image. The background was made with scribbled Gelatos sprayed with water and blended with my fingers. I added some silver Gelato through a stencil and some random texture stamps. The background text (you could call it an affirmation) is from a Tim Holtz set and reads 'It's not who you are that holds you back it's who you think you are not'. The arrow was cut out, matted with a darker coloured paper and stamped with part of a text stamp with the help of a stamp positioner. I punched lots of butterflies from scraps of paper and stuck them with their wings raised for dimension.


 The main text 'this girl can' is from a campaign in the UK designed to encourage more girls (and women) to take part in physical activity. If you Google it you will get more information about this and be able to see the ad.
That's it for another fortnight. I will be popping over to your blogs when I can.
Edited to add: I felt I ought to explain my thinking behind the butterflies. My background in pink tones is meant to represent something girly, the butterflies (in her head) reinforce that but her steely gaze suggests that she is so much more than people's perception of her and she aspires to achieve more. Phew! Deep stuff but that's just my version, you could look at it and draw your own meaning... 

Friday 13 May 2016

UK Stampers ATC Swap - X for Xylophone



After the rather outlandish X word I chose for my first ATC, I decided to go for something more common. The computer image of a xylophone was cut out and mounted onto some music manuscript which I added some splodges to - I wanted to echo the bright colours of the blocks. The little banging sticks (the correct name for these eludes me) were made with 2 cocktail sticks (which I coloured with a Sharpie) and 2 beads.

Thursday 12 May 2016

UK Stampers ATC Swap - X for X-rated


The final word for this month's ATC swap on the UK Stampers forum is 'X-rated'. I used one of the new Crafty Individuals border stamps (CI 451). The image is also by Crafty Individuals (I think) from a very old booklet of miniatures that was free with a long defunct magazine. The text was strategically placed to cover up her bare bottom and I added a couple of glitter flowers.
I am also entering this into the Crafty Individuals bi-monthly challenge, the theme of which is 'Anything Goes'.

Wednesday 11 May 2016

UK Stampers ATC Swap - X for Xebec



This month we have reached the dreaded letter 'X' for the monthly Alphabet swap on the UK Stampers forum. I have tried to produce 3 different ATCs each month depicting 3 different words and it was definitely a challenge this time. A quick search through the appropriate section of the dictionary revealed 'Xebec' a (usually three-masted) ship used in the Mediterranean. So courtesy of Google I am able to show you a Xebec sailing on the sunny Mediterranean sea. The sea was created with tumbled glass, broken china, blueprint sketch, peacock feathers and stormy sky DIs.
I am also entering this into the two-weekly challenge on the Craft Barn blog.

Monday 9 May 2016

Dictionary Challenge - J



This fortnight's letter for the dictionary challenge on the Craft Barn blog is J with the added twist of a dragonfly. When I read this I confess I almost flung myself against the nearest brick wall. J is a tough enough letter without having to incorporate something as random as a dragonfly. A few days thought came up with nothing so I resorted to my dictionary. Flicking through the 'J' section I came across 'Joss Stick' and remembered this Stampington stamp called 'The Scented House'. The dragonfly is a traditional oriental motif so I felt it would tie in with the general theme.
Having stamped and heat embossed the main image I masked it off. I punched some small dragonflies and used them as masks before spraying the top half of the page with a maple Autumn Ink spray. Once the dragonflies were removed I painted the shapes with Twinkling H2Os in Oyster which gave them a slight sheen. I used a stencil on the bottom half of the page and brushed peeled paint DI through it. Then I outlined the stencil with a pencil for added definition. Some washi tape and a triple embossed chop mark (which reads prosperity) were added to the page. Just before finishing I remembered I had a dragonfly charm so added that to the page so that it swings freely.

Sunday 8 May 2016

UK Stampers Postcard Swap - May



This month the theme chosen by Jilly is Oriental (in fact as you will see in a later post this month, May is turning out to be heavily Oriental themed). I stamped the Non Sequitur flower seller image, heat embossed it and then used a stencil (called Moroccan but it looks like an Oriental screen to me) and cracked pistachio DI. I find this stencil has more impact if you outline it and although it looks fiddly it doesn't take very long. The flowers were coloured in with embossing pens and heat embossed and the rest of the image was watercoloured with DIs. I added a strip of patterned paper top and bottom (bought from the Japanese equivalent of a Poundstore called the 100 Yen shop a long time ago). The chop mark reads best of luck and the other text is from an Oxford Impressions set.

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