Getting out of the doldrums!

I received my monthly email newsletter from UK stampers - with a Vintage Challenge in it.  I took a look at the links and decided to have a go.   It's taken me a few days - and I think it's kicked me out of the doldrums and hopefully back into crafting.

 

There was a 'recipe' of things to use - some of which were a vintage image.  Which you can see above. I have enhanced it with inks, and sewn on an embroidered piece of lace embellished with sequins.

 

As cards seem to be my downfall, I decorated an old cardboard box and turned it into a jewellery box for a necklace a friend made for me.

  I covered it with really old vintage material which I enhanced in places with ink to give it depth and more colour.

 

Other elements I included from the 'required' list are a vintage shirt button in the top left hand corner, a scrap of frayed vintage ribbon which I have stamped, and I have edged around the box with vintage lace - I had just enough to go around it, and I 'curled' it over the lid to make a frame.

When I started out the old material and image looked flat and faded and, well ordinary, but with the addition of the inks I painted on here and there, it seemed to come to life, and I was rather pleased with the enhancements to the face, bonnet and ribbons, shawl, little flowers on her dress, and the addition of the pretty lace.

I added quite a bit of shading to the roses, and some of the leaves, and I found a little butterfly at the bottom which had faded so gave that some ink tinting with a combination of the rose colours.

Thank you so much for looking and leaving comments - I have been 'away' from blogging for so long, I thought you would have all forgotten me!

Butterfly Card

I had a go at making a butterfly card from a template featured on Cardmaking Paradise

 

I went down the stamping 'route' and embossing 'route', but couldn't get a result I was happy with, so decided on using a piece of Chinese silk that really shines in sunlight.

I coloured the two pieces of card with ink and added a quote

A blissful afternoon.

The quote of the day to day is:   Talent is a flame - Genius is a fire - well for months now I have been a damp squid as far as crafting is concerned.   Not a spark nor a flicker  - nothing.

Yesterday though I had a wonderful afternoon playing around with flowers in a little village hall about 16 miles from here - and what a joy, mixing with lovely ladies, having fun, and laughter too - and I get to bring home an arrangement I have made - and this is it.

 I love zingy lime green at the moment - the colour just makes me smile for some reason.

Just looking at it is cooling in all this hot weather - so here is my take on a cool dish for a hot day

 

Blue hydrangeas, lime achemilla mollis, icecream coloured roses

Poppy seed heads, lime green carnations, and stalks of lavender.

Topped off with a 'cool cap' of twisted wire.

Its a mound of foliage on a raised bowl - I'll try to add a side view - tomorrow.

Honey I'm home - with blog candy news

I bet you didn't even notice that I had 'gone' did you?

I am just checking all my emails - 126 in just 5 days!   89 of which were kinda 'junk'!

BUT some nice news to catch up on in my - inbox - one of which was to let me know that Moira - the owner of the Happy Daze shop, had moved her blog to here  and to celebrate is giving away a £30 voucher.   Yes - a whopping £30 to spend in her fabulous online shop.

Click on the link and join in!

It's that time of the month again.............

Oh how I have missed going to our monthly flower arranging get together.

It's such fun and well worth the journey.

Did you get to see Chelsea Flower Show last week?

I only watched it on TV and it was great.

This arrangement is a mix of English country garden foliage - hosta leaves and conifer.

With a touch of the hot colours of Gerbera, exotic Proteas which always look as though they are not of this world, and cooling carnations.

Framed with aspidistra leaves.

Not the best place to photograph it, right in front of a window, but my space is limited as we have some work going on indoors at the moment.

The colours in real life are much more vibrant and contrasting - it makes me smile just looking at it.

Grrr Blogger still misbehaving!

Well blogger is being a real pain.   It lets me type a message in the comments on blogs - then it throws me into the log in page - even though I am logged in - then when I got back I get the same message - seems to be stuck in a loop.

It will be nice when they fix it.

So I am visiting your blogs and will continue to do so - but for now you will not see my comments - all nice ones I can assure you!

Altered wooden cheese book

Well here I am  - back again - it's been a long time.

This is a wooden cheese box which I painted inside and out

with metallic blues,and pearls.

I used my favourite stamp - the mermaid goddess, and also used a stencil to make a seabed like pattern of seaweed

I managed to find some embroidered edging that reminded me of waves.  It is decorated with sew on little seed beads and 'pearls'.  I happend to find it in a little haberdashery shop which finished it off perfectly I thought.

The mermaid has been finished with a watery pearl wash then sealed to give it a lovely watery finish.

It's off in the post tomorrow for a swap.  My husband asked, 'Can't you keep it and send something else?'  Maybe I can make myself one - but two never turn out the same do they.  That is the joy of  crafting.