Z is for ... Zingaro

How quickly these fortnights come round!

It's time for another entry for The Craft Barn's Dictionary Challenge. The latest challenge letter is Z, with no twist. Another easy choice for me as there were very few words to choose from. If you remember I am using an old French-English dictionary so I have gone for the romantic sounding Zingaro meaning Gypsy.

Another outing for the sweet Molly Blooms gypsy stamp (MB-0226I), but rather than colouring her with my usual Copics I have stamped her on watercolour paper and coloured her with Caran D'ache Neocolor IIs, in an attempt to try and get a more vintage feel to a not very vintage image.

I have kept to my usual colour palette and re-introduced some washi tape to ground the image, a smattering of Lavinia Stamps toadstools adds to the gypsy feel.

Thank you for looking.

K is for ..... Kyrielle

Hello again - it's time for another submission for The Craft Barn's Dictionary Challenge.

This week's challenge letter is K and there is no twist this time around. Once again it has taken me forever to decide what I was going to do for these pages, but eventually I chose my K word which is Kyrielle meaning litany or long list of words.

I decided to tackle the layout by producing a list of words which reflect the pages I have already submitted for the challenge. I then faffed about (a lot) with how I was going to arrange my list on the page. This is the end result...

and some detail shots...

This page is a little different from the others I have made but still fits in with the overall look of my altered dictionary, using the same colour palette and main design principles. I'm quite pleased with how it evolved as I really had no master plan when I started out.

I just LOVE that alphabet washi tape!

See you again soon

M is for ... Magasin

Hello again!

I'm taking part in the Dictionary Challenge over at The Craft Barn you can find details here if you want to play along. This weeks challenge is letter M but only words from Ma to Me - a cunning twist to stop people cheating! I'm using an old French-English dictionary - so my word for this week is Magasin which means shop.

Here are my pages... (remember you can click on the photos to look at them in more detail)

and here are some detail shots...

As soon as I decided on using the word Magasin I knew I wanted to use the fabulous Graphic 45 Olde Curiosity Shoppe papers and then find some stamps or images to provide additional curious "stock" for my gorgeous fantasy shop.  I had a really fun time going through my stash to find interesting stamps and rub-ons for embellishments and, of course, what would an old curiosity shop be without a  genuine flying pig?

You can just about see the acetate flying mechanism, top right in this shot...

If you look really closely at these two pictures (above and below) you can just about see the large clock face stamped on the background. It is coming from behind the left hand edge of the portrait of the Bee Lady and curving round over the fish. (I wanted to have lots of layers of interest on the page, but as this layout is in a book which needs to be close-able, I can't build up too much dimension) 

I love the dresser crammed with curios in the Graphic 45 paper and have added

• a penny farthing
• a fish
• a toy boat
• an hour glass
• a weather vane

can you spot them?

At the bottom of the next shot you can just see the alphabet washi tape I have used to "ground" the images

Hidden behind the peacock feather is a birdcage, a bicycle and a compass (you can see these better if you click on the first photo to enlarge it).

Supplies

Patterned paper

Graphic 45 Olde Curiosity Shoppe 6x6 stack

Inks

Distress Inks - Antique Linen (background inking applied with inking tool and clock face stamped behind dresser), Gathered Twigs (toy boat, hour glass, fish, compass and bicycle) Shabby Shutters (colouring on toy boat) Stormy Skies and Weathered Wood (colouring on fish)

Tsukineko Versafine - Onyx Black (bird cages, chandelier, tiny frame, pointing finger)

Stamps

Tiny frame - Studio G
Pointing finger, owl cage and chandelier - Pink Paislee - Phantom
Large clock face - Kanban
Compass - Prima #555023
Bicycle - Royal and Langnickel - Journey stamps
Standing birdcage - cArt-us - Birds with cage
Hour glass, fish and toy boat - A la Maison - Billy Bosun's 13 Stamps and Stationery of the Deep Blue Sea

Rub-ons

Bee Lady's bee - 7 Gypsies - Rubbings - Element Fragments
Weather Vane - Royal and Langnickel - Home Collage

Other

Penny Farthing, Peacock feather, washi tape - from stash
PinFlair silicone glue

Top Tip

Rub-ons and flimsy dictionary paper are not best friends! - The dresser is strategically placed over an "oops" where the adhesive on the rub-on has lifted the surface off the paper - you have been warned! ;0)

I REALLY REALLY REALLY enjoyed doing these pages (can you tell?) I hope you like them too.

Oh and regular visitors please note the complete absence of my tiny Harlequin stamp (I had a bit of a twitch but I stayed strong!!!)

TTFN

H is for Homme

Hello friends...


I mentioned in my last post that I was planning on joining in with the Alpha/Dictionary Challenge over at The Craft Barn (details here). The idea behind the challenge is to alter a dictionary, in whatever style you prefer, but following the fortnightly prompts from The Craft Barn DT.

I am already three letters behind and will have to play catch up at some point! The current prompt is the letter H and as the dictionary I am using is my old French - English dictionary from my A Level days my H is for Homme - which fits in very nicely with the Sunday Stampers Challenge #245 which is "Man of the World" - lucky eh?

So here is my  first finished altered dictionary page...

I began by using a  tiny frame stamp to highlight my word (as per the challenge remit) then used an ink blending tool to apply a light coat of Antique Linen DI over both pages (leaving the definition un-inked).

  

Next I built up layers of subtle colour and interest in the background using stamped images in Scattered Straw and Tea Dye DIs and Jet Black Ranger Archival. The rather dapper gentleman is stamped directly on to the page using Jet Black Archival - I love the look of stamping faces on text paper (you might remember my mixed media angel here).

Despite the background stamping the page still looked a bit flat and uninspiring but the problem with altering a book - unless you gut some of the pages, is that you can't go for  full on chunky embellies and texture as it will be impossible to close the book or work on future pages very easily. So - I had to find something with as little dimension as possible to add interest. A quick sortie round the boxes, drawers and cubbies in my craft room produced some washi tape and American Crafts embellishments that started me off in the right direction...

The details

Stamps

Background - IndigoBlu - Crackle Glaze Background; Crafty Individuals (freebies) - Crown and flourish; Tiny harlequin stamp - unknown

Tiny frame - Studio G
Dapper Chap - Inkylicious - Mr Blaketon
Pointing left finger - Pink Paislee - Phantom
Pointing right finger. clock and pen - Pink Paislee - Daily Junque

Inks

Distress Inks: Antique Linen, Scattered Straw, Tea Dye
Ranger Archival: Jet Black

Other

Washi Tape - Cavallini and Co - Numbers
Leather Fleur de Lys - American Crafts - Townhouse
Red embroidery floss - Anchor
Postage stamp

This was a fun project, challenging in both finding a french word to fit in with the prompt and in keeping the page flat, but I really enjoyed it - ready for the next one now...

Thanks for stopping by

WOYWW 194 and finished Art Journal Page

Hello happy blog hoppers and a warm welcome to you and also to my new followers. Thank you for visiting and for your lovely comments.

If you're visiting for the first time and are wondering what WOYWW is all about visit Julia's blog to find out more and join in the fun - try it - you'll be hooked!

This week I am big on multi tasking as I am working on three projects at once - my Art Journal page which you could see the makings of in my WOYWW 192 post, my Art Journaling class homework task (a spring themed page - hmmm - needs more work) and my submission for Sunday Stampers (of course) which I am also going to submit for the Craft Barn's Alpha / Dictionary Challenge - yet another challenge I am late starting!!!

Anyway - here's my desk - and I admit I did have a quick tidy up for two reasons

1. It was awash with scrap paper I had been using to protect everything from the over spray from my Dylusions inks
2. I had lost my tiny harlequin stamp UH OH - and as you'll know if you've been following my blog recently - I don't seem to be able to complete a project without using it!

And this is my "pens n tools" end of the desk

I remembered to do some close-ups this week. Here's my Dictionary Challenge/Sunday Stampers piece in progress...

And here is my finished journal page...

Credits for the digital collage elements are as follows:

Sun, border and birds - Nancy Baumiller (Crowabout StudioB) Love the World: Sun, Border3, Bird2
Girl - Nancy Baumiller (Crowabout StudioB) Joyous Journey: Woman Dancing all from Deviant Scrap.com

Leaf stamps are Dyan Reaveley Further Around the Edge, Inks are Dylusions spray inks

Song Lyrics are Green Garden by Laura Mvula - the deep green and blue colours in the background made me think of the serenity of a shady garden and the lyrics seemed to fit with the solace I find in my own garden.

Got to dash now - will post my link and then blog hop later... see you soon and thanks for dropping by.