Dictionary Challenge - the final instalment

Having completed all 26 letters for the Craft Barn Dictionary Challenge it was time to bind my pages together into a book. Note to self : if you're planning to do this again make sure you punch the binding holes BEFORE sticking lumpy bits on! Of course it was the pesky dragonfly and the shells that caused the biggest problem LOL! They just wouldn't fit in my Bind-It-All, so with a sharp blade and a stout heart (forgive me I've been listening to Jane Austen over the holidays) I set to work. The next problem was that my 1" wires were just a tad too small. Luckily I had a strip of  1&1/4" but (insert suitable swear word here) I needed 14 loops and I only had 13!!!!!! Which is why you see the arrangement in the pic above (actually it worked out quite well).
I printed an index for the inside front:

Each page was mounted onto black card to tie it all together:

I've thoroughly enjoyed this challenge and am pleased to have completed it so thanks to everyone at the Craft Barn. I look forward to seeing what next year brings!

Dictionary Challenge - P

At long last we reach the final letter in our year-long challenge on the Craft Barn Blog and the letter is P. I decided to pick Peacock as I had an unused Cuttlebug die that I had bought a while ago. I wanted a paisley pattern in the background so clear embossed an old Funstamps paisley before applying shaded lilac, seedless preserves and dusty concord. I then used some tiny Studio G paisley stamps to fill in some gaps. The peacock was cut from watercolour paper, rubbed with Versamark ink and brushed with green and blue Perfect Pearls. A spritz of water set the powder and gave a mottled effect. the peacock was embellished with some gems and I added some coordinating washi tape.
Now all that remains is to bring my pages together and bind them into a book.
Edited to add: You can see the completed project here.

Dictionary Challenge - M

We have reached the penultimate letter in our year-long challenge on the Craft Barn blog and the letter is M (no prizes for guessing what the next letter will be). I initially thought of Mannequin but then thought that Model would be a better word. I used a couple of Dina Wakley stamps from the essential silhouettes set, paper piecing the dress on one of them with patterned paper. I stencilled a catwalk for the posing models and used another stencil with acrylic paint for the background. A Katzelkraft text stamp was added and a small circle stamp filled in some gaps. Not long to go until we reach the final post!

Dictionary Challenge - Y

Only a few more letters remaining in the dictionary challenge on the Craft Barn blog and this fortnight's letter is Y. My brain came up with very little so I resorted to my dictionary which had a very meagre Y section 2 pages of which had been used up with my previous attempt (Y for Year).  Thankfully I found Yashmak which made it possible to use this striking photo image stamp that I have. I bought it in a mixed bag of stamps and have no idea who made it but I love it.
I first thought I would make the background very colourful but I decided that a monochromatic page would allow the beautiful details of the stamp to come through. I brushed Archival teal onto the background and then used it with a Personal Impressions Zendoodles stamp (not my best stamping I know). The rose border is a lovely Sizzix die I just bought from a sale at Countryview Crafts. It arrived today and I just had to try it out. Some gold sequins completed the page.

Dictionary Challenge - I

Just a few more letters remaining in the Craft Barn dictionary challenge and this fortnight's letter is I. There was a lot of choice (you could say an incredible amount) and I was very indecisive but I finally opted for 'Instructions'. I recently read some quotations from an American poet called Mary Oliver and they struck a chord with me. I decided to use an excerpt from one of her poems called 'Sometimes'. I tried to create a page in the style of those inspirational quote posters you see on Pinterest.
First I printed off the quote. Then I dabbed twisted citron, wild honey and festive berries DIs onto an acrylic block, spritzed with water and gold shimmer spray and smooshed it onto the page. I reapplied the colours frequently making sure to clean the block each time so I didn't end up with a brown mess. The leaf sprig stamp by Open Studio (a prize from a Memory Box challenge) was double clear embossed with Stazon stone grey and embossing pens. I went over the writing with a Pigma micron pen (08) and added some Tim Holtz wildflower and Spellbinders corner diecuts.
That's all folks!

Dictionary Challenge - U

This is a very hard page to take a decent pic of due to all the metal foil I have used. This fortnight's letter for the Craft Barn challenge is U and I have chosen UFO as my word. I did consider underwater but at the moment that's a bit too close to home!
Whilst sorting through some stuff to be sent away for storage I found a foiling set. I remember we had taken an exchange student to Harrods many years ago and had seen this being demo'd in the toy department. It consists of sticky foam sheets with different images and you peel away sections and apply the foil. My husband bought me a set and although I had used a few bits most of it was untouched. Now there is nothing remotely arty about this page but I had great fun making it and at this time I am in need of a little fun. The background was made by brushing layers of Stazon midnight blue and then flicking watery white acrylic paint all over. I then stuck on some suitably foiled planets and the UFO complete with green alien. The spaceship is covered with 2 different holographic effect foils. I added some sequins and a few punched stars.

 

Thank you to everyone who posted kind comments on my current situation. Things are drying nicely (but still noisily) and we are making progress.

Dictionary Challenge - V

Before I show you my dictionary challenge page for this fortnight I have to tell you that I was supposed to be away for a few weeks and knew that I wouldn't be able to complete this challenge on time. I was away in India but a few days into my visit DS1 rang to say he had found a leak in the water tank in our loft. It seemed manageable at first but it soon became obvious that it had done more damage than initially thought and so we changed our flights and came home.
The water has travelled down 2 floors into our kitchen via a bedroom, the bathrooms and the staircase. Since our return we have been kept busy with loss adjusters, electricians and water damage specialists. Upto now they have all been wonderful and I have only praise for them.
Carpets have had to be thrown out, cupboards emptied and stuff sent into storage until we straighten ourselves out again. It could have been a lot worse - we can still live here for now although that may not be the case if the ceilings need to be brought down. For the moment we are living with the endless noise of industrial sized fans and dehumidifiers trying to dry the damaged areas. The mouldy smell has subsided but it will be a few weeks before the fans can be switched off.
I'm not really in the mood but I decided to make an effort to enter this fortnight's challenge because it felt good to do something that was 'normal' and not related to clearing/sorting the mess we find ourselves in.
So on to more pleasant things:

This fortnight's letter on the Craft Barn dictionary challenge is V. I've chosen a simple word 'Vehicle'. I used TH's old jalopy die with an Artemio stamp of London buses & taxis. The background is a SplodgeAway mask with peeled paint DI and some words from TH's traveller stencil. I thought the words were appropriate because the invention of vehicles gave people the ability to travel longer distances than their feet could carry them and opened up the world. I added sequins coloured with a Sharpie for no reason other than I fancied a little sparkle. That's it for this entry, I doubt I will be able to see all your entries but I will try.
Edited to add: This page was picked for a prize by the random generator.

Dictionary Challenge - E

Great excitement as this fortnight's letter for the Craft Barn challenge is 'E'. There are an enormous number of possible words to choose (too many to enumerate) and I couldn't really narrow it down to just one so there are extras on this page. I finally went for 'Entrance'. The door stamp is by Crafty Individuals and I embellished it with a wreath made from a green pipecleaner, some punched flowers and a tiny bow. The picket fence enclosure is a Sizzix die which I embossed with a woodgrain stamp. I also stamped a few evergreen trees.
So where is the all important definition??????

Enclosed behind the entrance door here:

Stamps by PaperArtsy and Darkroom Door.
Enjoy yourselves!

Dictionary Challenge - X

Well the letter we have all been dreading had to come up at some stage but that is not why I am sneaking such a late entry into the Craft Barn's Dictionary Challenge. For once I knew which word I wanted to do but I have had family staying with me and crafting has had to take a back seat. Regular readers will know that I am also taking part in an alphabet ATC challenge on the UK Stampers forum and had made 3 different 'X' ATCs for that recently. I had sort of figured out which 'X' word to use for the Craft Barn challenge at that point. My word is 'Xenophile' - the opposite of Xenophobe. I love finding out about different people, countries and cultures and so it seemed an apt word for me to use.
I started with some patterned paper from Papermania called 'All Aboard' but sadly it was not long enough to cover my page so I added a strip of another paper from the same range. The join was covered with some decorative tape with a travel theme and the quote 'we are on the way - life is like a journey waiting for us to find all the good things'. The main image is by Hampton Arts, stamped in Sepia, coloured with pencils and cut out. The landmarks were all stamped on tissue paper, cut out and stuck onto the background - this is a really good way to add stamped images if you are worried about ruining your page with a badly stamped image. Most of the images are by Katzelkraft with the Taj Mahal by Judikins and an unknown oriental image. I added some other small tickets/tags from the Papermania set and a Tim Holtz hotel stamp.

Dictionary Challenge - O

This fortnight's letter for the Dictionary Challenge on the Craft Barn blog is O. I had a lot of options for this week but the problem (obviously) was narrowing it down to just one. I finally opted for Ornate but with an Oriental twist and used some tiny strips of my precious washi paper. Some gold embossing and gems completed the page.
Stamps: Non Sequitur, Clearly Besotted, Simple Expressions.
Inks: Distress ripe persimmon, picked raspberry, peacock feathers, Archival teal.

Dictionary Challenge - H

This fortnight's letter for the Craft Barn dictionary challenge is H. It took me a while to decide on a word - sometimes I just know straight away what to pick and other times (like this) it takes a lot longer. There was no shortage of words beginning with H but I couldn't settle on one until I came to Handbag. 'A handbag?????' I hear you cry in your best Lady Bracknell voice. Here's what helped me decide:
Some time ago (several months into 2007 to be exact) I picked up a handbag themed desk calendar at the bargain price of 95p. It had an image of a different handbag for every day of the year and I have used several on birthday cards since then. The size of the images is perfect for the 13x18cm format I am using for this challenge and this Argentinian red alligator handbag with brass frame from the 60s looked just right for cutting out. In a nod to a current trend I decided to give it a pompom handbag charm which I made with embroidery silks in 3 toning colours (no I don't carry a handbag with a pompom on it!). The background was made with Brushos in yellow, lime green and olive green. I added some punched handbags along the bottom.

Dictionary Challenge - Z

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a woman in possession of a zip die must use it when the letter of the fortnight for the Craft Barn Dictionary Challenge is 'Z'. I also have a zebra stamp but I used that for the previous alphabet challenge so it was a no-brainer. The die in question is by Sizzix and I cut it twice to get the metallic effect of the teeth and pull. The die wasn't long enough so I had to do a bit of cobbling together (technical term). The background is Tim Holtz's knit stencil with ripe persimmon, dusty concord and cracked pistachio brushed through. The stencil wasn't wide enough so further cobbling together was required. I added some zigzag paper in the opening of the zip and the definition.
Aaagh!!! Just realised I've forgotten the pearl! Watch this space...
I totally forgot the twist which was to have a pearl on the page so here is version 2 with 3 pearl buttons on the top peeking out from under the zippered woolly.

Dictionary Challenge - C

This fortnight's letter for the Craft Barn dictionary challenge is C. I chose 'Create' and decided to use an unmounted stamp which depicts a detail from Michaelangelo's 'Creation of Adam'. I have been fortunate to see the original artwork in the Sistine Chapel and it is breathtaking. The background is made with Turquoise, Violet and Ultramarine Brushos. The main image is stamped with Versafine majestic blue. I added some washi tape and a small unmounted stamp.

Dictionary Challenge - N

I seem to have mislaid a week somewhere. Perhaps due to being laid low with flu I miscalculated how many days were left to complete this fortnight's challenge on the Craft Barn blog. The letter is 'N' and having recently completed my 'N' ATCs last month I was stuck for ideas. A search through the dictionary gave me 'Nosegay' and reminded me of a very old stamp I have by a company called JoRoCo. I initially had ideas of making my own nosegay with die cut flowers but I am still exhausted by the smallest activity and so a readymade bunch of blooms seemed perfect. The stamp is quite small which I felt was in keeping with the definition so I added some patterned paper, deckle edged frames and some embossing. this rose folder by Crafts Too has a slit in the top so you can emboss a long strip and the patterns match up so the join is seamless (why don't other companies think of these things?). The main image is stamped in grey and the stems etc were outlined and coloured with marker pens. I added Glossy Accents to the centres for added texture.
I am very sorry I haven't been able to visit you all this time but I will try and make amends.

Dictionary Challenge - W

This fortnight's letter for the Craft Barn challenge is W. Well now what's the word going to be I wonder? I went for 'wheel'. It's been a weird sort of week and I was in the mood to un wind and do a little colouring. This stamp by Heartfelt Creations was wonderful - it gave me a wheel, some wood and several wisps of grass (there may even be some worms or winged creatures in the grass).What would the weather be like in this scene? Windy I think...
Have a good fortnight!
Edited to add: Having just linked this on the Craft Barn blog I've realised that Karen had picked the same word. I must have seen it when I checked what the chosen letter was but it hadn't registered.

Dictionary Challenge - K

This fortnight's letter on the Craft Barn blog is 'K'. I've had these keyhole embellishments for years. I had used a couple of the keys but the other items had just sat unloved in a drawer. I wanted to create an arrangement rather like a collection of mismatched frames that were so popular in Victorian times (do you know what I mean?). The background was made by swiping Brilliance starlite black over an embossing folder and running it through my Cuttlebug. I then rubbed wild honey, picked raspberry and evergreen bough DI over the embossing.

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!

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... 

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.

Dictionary Challenge - S

This fortnight's letter for the Craft Barn dictionary challenge is S with the added twist that the page has to have a shell. I have to confess that I was not thrilled with the twist because of all the S words in the dictionary I really did not want to do a sun/sea/sand themed page. I debated making a background with some random shells stamped into it but then I thought of the word 'surf' and a very old Rusty Pickle stamp set that could do with some inking again. The background is a mix of Gelatos and DIs and I did some double and triple embossing to ensure the surfboards looked waxed to perfection. The 'surf' is a lot clearer IRL and was achieved with WOW white puff twinkle embossing powder. I had a pot of tiny shells from which I selected a few to scatter in the sand.
So that's it for this fortnight. If I had had more time I might have attempted something a bit more off beat but... onwards and upwards as they say.