T is for... Tarabiscoter

Of course it is!

Good morning and welcome to this fortnight's entry to The Craft Barn's Dictionary Challenge. I am using an old French-English dictionary and although there are pages and pages of  T words, my shortlist was very short indeed. I had a final choice of three words, tournesol (sunflower), tissuterie (ribbon weaving), or my final choice tarabiscoter meaning to overdecorate, to over-elaborate. (Actually I could have gone with tampon meaning rubber stamp, but thought it might be misinterpreted!)

So, having chosen tarabiscoter (once again because I like to choose something a bit different if I can and I like the sound of the word) I have gone all out for overdecorating my page - whilst still producing something that is

1. reasonably pleasant to look at 
2. flat enough to let me close the book!

Here it is...

Some detail shots...

Thought you might like to know how overdecorated this page is, so here are the layers that went to make up the page:

1. Layer of Antique Linen DI - as per all my pages
2. Frayed Burlap DI pressed through That Special Touch - Ivy Background
3. Gathered Twigs DI Harlequin stamp
4. Walnut Stain DI  CArt Us - Birds on Branch stamp
5. Frayed Burlap DI  Craft Stamper freebie - Tempus fugit text stamp
6. Gold embossed Artemio Flourish stamp - I'd forgotten how much fun heat embossing is!
7. Rayher decoupage motif, embellished with Cinnamon Stickles
8. Papermania adhesive star gems
9. Eyelet with gem embellished tassel
10. Lace bow with 2 heart stick pins
11. Crafty Individuals birdcage charm
12. Red pheasant feathers

I'm quite pleased with how this page has evolved, I've managed to stay true to my vintage colour palette with the odd red highlight and it certainly has a vintage feel to it!

I haven't tried closing the book - but I think it might be a bit tricky!

Oh yes - for those who are regular visitors, it saddens me to report that Youyou "Escape" is listing heavily to starboard with all hands lost :0(

Thanks for taking the time to visit.

WOYWW #217

Hello!!! I'm back...

I've been AWOL from WOYWW, and blogland in general, because the Moonshine Mob were taking their show on the road and wandering the highways and I mean HIGHways of the bEEEEautiful Swiss Alps. (pics later if you're interested).

Needless to say there has been zero crafting going on here at Moonshine Manor, until today that is. Mr M, having driven 2000+ miles in the last 12 days, has returned to work (poor chap) and I am now kicking back with Moonshine's Major and Minor to enjoy the rest of the long summer break. (I'm in denial about AS results and UCAS applications - just for this week).

So, and the whole reason you're visiting, (and if not you need to head on over to Julia's patch here to find out about the fun you're missing out on) what is on my workdesk this wet Wednesday morn?..

I'm working on my latest entry for The Craft Barn's Dictionary Challenge (what - again? you say) , the deadline for which is this Sunday, so I'd better get my skates on. At this stage I am layering up my background - I say layering, but they are flat layers - otherwise I can't shut the book!

Also on my desk you can see my trusty sewing machine - I'd like to say that I've been doing some fabulous art with stitched details a la Marit over at Marit's Paper World, but sadly it is there for a far more prosaic reason - hemming two pairs of trousers. Maybe if I leave it out all summer it will inspire me to have a go?

If you look closely you can see a tin of Caran D'ache Neocolor IIs, which I picked up in a supermarket in Gstaad (daaarling!) for the amazing sum of 11GBP (my pound sign key doesn't work - well it does but it makes a # not a pound sign - must Google a fix). Caran D'Ache is a Swiss company so I was delighted to pick these up for such a good price.

There is also a pile of receipts, tickets and other ephemera waiting for me to do a mini book of our trip (don't hold your breath - I still haven't started the one from our Paris strip in 2007!)

Bottom left is my box of embossing powders - I need a bigger box, as the pots you can see out of the box don't fit in the box and have to be taken off  the box when I want to open the box.

The big lilac thingy on the right is the folder I store my masks and stencils in. Don't think there's anything else noteworthy enough to tell you about.

Anyhoo Julia likes us to keep things brief and this kind of isn't so I'll stop waffling now and let you get on with your Wednesday. Unless of course you'd like to see some holiday pics - only a few - I promise!


The view from our chalet

Sunset viewed from the balcony

A genuine Alpine meadow (and not the best one we saw either!) - we were amazed by the sheer variety of flowers we saw on The Alps, flowers which we buy from garden centres just growing there on the sides of the mountain - STUNNING!

Our chalet

The Grand St Bernard Pass

A bone fido (tee hee - brings to mind a Victoria Wood sketch) St Bernard on the Grand St Bernard Pass

Lake Geneva - on a very hot day

Very clear, very cold water, but the younger Moonshine's braved it for a swim.

Inside our chalet

The MASTER bedroom - HUUUUGE!

Such a fabulous holiday, despite the two days drive there and back (driving back through France the outside temperature went up to 37 degrees C (98.6F) - THANK HEAVENS for air-conditioned cars!. The Alps are so beautiful in the summer - I would really recommend them as a holiday destination, but some of those mountain roads are not for the faint hearted - it never ceases to amaze me how much faith highways authorities put in the crash resistance properties of orange string!

Thanks for visiting enjoy your day.


P.S.  Got my pound sign back in Word but not in Blogger - hmmm...

Y is for... Youyou (what else?)

OK, so it's time to post my latest entry for The Craft Barn's Dictionary Challenge, and this fortnight's challenge letter is the letter Y - with the twist (gee thanks!) that we had to use the colour Yellow - you see what they did there, don't you?

Letter Y, fine - it had to come sooner or later, didn't it? But what a STINKER. By now you will probably know that I am using an old (1979) French-English Dictionary, so my chosen words are all French. I've got to say, this is the first time I was tempted to cheat and go for a word from the English-French end of the dictionary! I had a total of 18 words to choose from, which when narrowed down to those which were

1. NOT the same word as the English equivalent
2. NOT a town
3. Something I had actually heard of and so had a chance of depicting

I was left with 2 words, yeux (eyes) and youyou. Throw in the yellow twist and short of trying to make some jaundiced eyes in to a reasonable page I was really only left with the wonderful sounding youyou.

The OTHER problem I had with this page is that there are so few Y and Z words in the dictionary that I can't give each letter its own page as I have with the letters completed so far, so I only had a space roughly 2.5w x 3h inches to play with...NIGHTMARE!

"So what is a youyou?" I here you cry, it is (of course) a... dinghy. I am sure that TECHNICALLY it is a rubber dinghy, which, whilst it would have worked brilliantly with the yellow twist, I couldn't for the life of me work out how I was going to make. I have opted instead for a sailing dinghy, cunningly contrived in origami, with a yellow sail and jaunty blue flag. I hope you like it - 'cos it was a right fiddle to make!

The definition - just to prove I'm not making it up!

Some close ups...

I name this ship...

So there you have it, a teeny tiny youyou - I tell you what - if nothing else, this challenge has been an education!

Thanks for visiting, please let me know you came and I'll try and reciprocate.

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WOYWW #214

Good morning and welcome to a scorching Wednesday Workdesk Wander.

I am pleased to say that for the first time, in what seems like forever, we are actually having a summer here in the UK. But as ever we are never satisfied and, frankly, it is just a tad TOO HOT! 

Anyhoo, I'm in a rush today as today is Activities Day at school and we have early starts for Moonshine Major on a 6 mile yomp across the beautiful Cannock Chase, dressed as a Mexican Bandito and Alton Towers theme park for Moonshine Minor.

So without further ado here is what's on my workdesk today...

I'm working on The Craft Barn's Dictionary Challenge today and expect to post the finished page later.

On my desk you can also see these cute little journaling stickers from Clintons Cards, at a pound a pack I couldn't resist (since my laprop was resurrected I seem to have lost my pound sign), they have a great range of dinky journaling bits which are worth checking out if you're in to SMASH style products.

And finally, had to show you my beautiful ATC from Peggy Appleseeds in the Phillipines. Isn't it gorgeous? I'm so pleased Peggy agreed to swap with me. Thanks Peggy!

That's all folks. Have a great day.

Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of 2013 - July

Hello there and thank you for visiting.

I've been working hard in my craft room lately and am trying to keep up to date with the various challenges and projects I've got on the go at the moment. So I'm pleased to reveal my interpretation of Tim's July tag (which you can see here).

Tim's Tag is 4th of July themed, although he has dedicated it to the brave firefighters tragically killed in Prescott, Arizona this week.

As a Brit I don't have any stash relating to the 4th of July or Americana in general so I have designed my tag to have a summertime feel. As the tag evolved it also came to reflect the fragility of life and of  the debt of gratitude we owe to those who put their lives on the line for us every day.

As usual I didn't have all of Tim's supply list so had to do some creative thinking. The butterfly (Tim's Fanciful Flight) die was chosen as it was the closest thing I had to the cut out style of the Old Glory flag. I used Distress Stains in Scattered Straw, Wild Honey, Bundled Sage and Pine Needles and a little splash of Tea Dye for the background and edged the tag in Tea Dye and Gathered Twigs DI.

I used DS in Bundled Sage and Pine Needles on the butterfly, but I don't think I put my Crackle Glaze on thickly enough to get the full crackle effect. I smooshed Tea Dye DI over the top to distress and then rubbed some Inka Gold over to get a metallic sheen (I hadn't used any metallic DS as Tim had).

My background stamps are PaperArtsy HP1006, I used the flourish and the music and Japanese script sections of the "Sanctuary" stamp. The text stamp "Les Papillons" is by Cavallini.

I used a TH Trinket Pin in place of the Wire Pin and Muse Token which Tim used. (The word seemed appropriate somehow).

The label stamp is Papermania Hampstead and the sentiment is part of a Hero Arts Favorite Journal stamp.

I faffed about for ages with the hardware (as I hadn't got a Stencil Clip - which wouldn't have been relevant to my design anyway) but in the end I decided to go for a simple TH Foliage flower to balance the piece.

Whilst I've stuck to the general design of Tim's Tag I've given it a very different feel and I'm looking forward to seeing all the other interpretations of this tag.

Hope to catch up with you soon. Thank you for taking the time to visit.

WOYWW #213

Good morning and welcome to another wonderful Wednesday wander around the workdesks of the world! (Wondering what I'm warbling about? Find out here).

This week I am working on my July Tag for Mr. Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of 2013 and I'm waiting for inspiration to strike for a birthday card (oh my goodness ANOTHER card for a non card maker to make!) for my lovely neighbour who has a special birthday on 5th July (I'm cutting this one fine, I know).

So this is what my workdesk looks like today...

Once again I have very few of Tim's ingredients (being a Brit I don't have any 4th July-abelia) but as you can see the tag background is almost finished and has gone reasonably well. I still haven't decided what colours I'm using for my die cut butterfly (It is the closest thing I can find to correspond to the cut out design of Tim's Old Glory die).

Oh yes - lesson learned today - DON'T use greyboard (I haven't got Grungeboard) in Tim's Fanciful Flight die or you end up with this mess and a job for the pokey tool...

I ended up using cereal box board, but I'm yet to discover how that stands up to the Crackle Glaze/Distress Stain technique - I'll let you know.

Have a happy Wednesday and I hope to catch up with you later.

UPDATE: July Tim Tag now finished - you can see it here.

BTW - the cereal board was OK with the Crackle Glaze and DS combo - but I didn't put the CG on thick enough.

B is for .... Bimbelot

Hello again!

It is time for another submission for The Craft Barn's Altered Dictionary Challenge.

This week's chalenge is the letter B with no twist. I was spoiled for choice for words this time around, even though I am using a French-English dictionary. I finally decided to go with bimbelot meaning knick-knack. Why? Because it is such a lovely word - in both languages - and you can't beat a bit of crafty knick-knackery now can you?

So here is my offering...

The table is a digi download from Free Vintage Digital Stamps (click here to go there), which I coloured with Copics. The knick-knacks are as follows:

Lamp and bird cage - Papermania Signature Vinyls Vintage Decor 1 and 2
Cameo - Pink Paislee Phantom stamps coloured with Copics
Vase - Plastic tube with mulberry paper roses
Bird - bead from Spellbound beads (here)

I'm quite pleased with how these pages turned out, especially with the 3D look of the piece, that table looks as though it is popping out of the page.

Thanks for looking, please leave a comment so that I know you came.