Summertime

I really, really, really fell in love with Jo Capper Sandon's Summertime work of art. I even bought the book that her image came from, stamps and other things whilst I was visiting Crafty Individuals site.

I tried to make a beach hut without success so decided to try something else.

I have had this old picture frame which I bought from a charity shop for £1 for ages. I nearly threw it out when I had my clear out a few weeks ago. It was rough wood.

So I painted it with Gesso, a couple of coats. Then when dry I painted it with PVA glue (cos I don't have any crackle paints and I wanted it to look really weathered and battered.) Then I painted on top of the glue with blue acrylic paint whilst it was still wet and left it overnight to dry.

Then roughed it up a bit with sandpaper.

Today I did the 'inside'. Ran some paper through the embossing machine, then coloured it with chalk ink.

Inked sheet of paper and used my mermaid stamp. Now comes the difficult bit (apart from the fact that I will have to take the frame apart again as the picture looks slightly more to the left in the photo - but it might be just the angle I took it at. It probably is cos it looked fine at the time)

Now this is where I need your help or suggestions. What do I do next? What is it that you clever people do to turn an OK but of work to something better.

Because I just don't have the imagination to add something to give it a bit of pazzazz!

Anything I put on the frame tends to take the eye away from the stamped image. So I have just been putting things on and taking them off - not stuck anything on yet.

I do have some 'leaf' which is pewter with watery colours - like those you see in a puddle after a rain storm - might try odd bits here and there along the grain.

(I will give this as a present, so the recipient can put in a photo taken by the seaside by the way)

I need all the inspiration I can get.............

Gozzie, a rare Rosecomb bantam hen of mine - and getting rather old - decided to watch me crafting perched outside on the window ledge and squashed right up against the pane so's she didn't fall off.


I do need all the help I can get, but it can be a bit off-putting, getting the beady eye treatment!

So I went outside and lifted her off - I couldn't concentrate!

Something different

I was up at dawn this morning - 4am - so half the day seemed to be over by 9am LOL so I trotted off in the rain to the end of my garden to play in my studio.

TAg - using Tim Holtz stamps from Happy Daze