Free as a Bird

The Sunday Stamper theme for the 100th anniversary (congratulations!) is "Free as a Bird"

Even though things round here are nowhere near normal I had this thought pop in my brain and my brain would not let go till I'd made it!! LOL

In the past 9 days my DH has been in hospital he has flown away for 3 days and returned for 1 and a half days.........flown away again for 2 and a half days and returned for 2 days........does this mean he will fly away again for 2 days? It is very hard to tell......just got to keep on hoping for the best.

The background is frayed burlap and dried marigold swooshed around........the T!m scroll is wild honey and the tattoo type pattern is frayed jeans as a second stamping....Impress chocolate for the word fly.....hand wrote the word away and wished I had not bothered! My hand is a bit shaky (sleep deprivation I think!)....tattered round the edge and inked with tea dye.

Thanks for looking and happy stamping.

xoxo Sioux

Vintage

This month the theme over at The Artist Trading Club is "Vintage"

Some of you may think it odd that I have managed to play at all with what has been going on lately but to me this crafting/stamping lark is something I have to do.......I read Dyan Reaveley's blog and can heartily agree with the idea that art is both a creative outlet and a form of therapy.......although I have really still not started a written art journal I have slowly realised that almost every image led piece I make has a meaning and gives an outlet to emotions that could get the better of me!

To the casual onlooker it may just seen like a image perhaps matched with a sentiment that gives a pleasing end result.........whilst I do try to explain the idea behind it all if I can......sometimes it is not till much later that I realise what has happened almost unconsciously whilst creating!

Anyways..........I'm sure you have come here to see stuff not to hear my babble LOL....so here is the ATC........and for once...at least for now.....I don't think there is any hidden meaning at all!!

The image is of an ancestor......my great uncle Bill (never knew him as he was long gone before I was born to parents getting on in years!)........he lived through the Edwardian era and I wanted to try to convey that sort of feeling...you know all aspidistras/velvet drapes/gentleman's clubs.

............Just look at the waist height on those trousers....he could definately give Simon Cowell a run for his money there!!! HOL

The background is a digital image that I think was from Art-E-Zine many moons ago but I find the site so difficult to navigate that I can't find a link to it.......so sorry! I then added a touch of DI wild honey to the upper portion....followed by just a little stamping of the cog wheels (frayed burlap), stars (Impress chocolate) and watch hand (embossed with copper). The green stuff at the top is a sticky back baize that is used for putting on the bottom of stuff to prevent scratches but I've had it years and I think it was actually from my Dad's supply of stuff so heaven knows where it came from!

Thanks for looking and happy stamping!

xoxo Sioux

P.S. Thank you.....thank you for all your positive thoughts for Pip (my DH) and perhaps they may just be working......although the lows are very low at the moment and the highs are not that high at least it is a small step in the right direction.

Life Line

Just a quick post to say that I've been busy with hospital visits to DH again.....and no the blood tests were not the reason.......I had to call 999 on Saturday morning.......the A&E doctor told me to prepare myself for the worst......then after he got onto the ward where he had only left a fortnight ago everyone seemed more positive but DH became very somnolent and hardly responding (they thought he might have had a bleed on the brain but a CT scan later ruled that out) and on Monday I was called to the hospital to get the speech about calling relatives if they had long journeys to make and that if things deteriorated even more (coma) they had made the decision...because of his underlying medical problems......that no further invasive things would be done and no life support/resuscitation and how did I feel about it? Strangely that was an easy call as DH had always said.........even long before he became ill that he would not want it.

Today....this afternoon.....I arrived to find that he had come round...glass of milk in hand! He had a fairly normal conversation with me too!

The doctors came whilst I was there and I think they seemed as shocked as I was! The doc told my husband "You've been given a final life line my friend"......he also said that he was not out of the woods yet....but it is good news to finish with.

Perhaps I can get some sleep myself tonight :)

xoxo Sioux

"B" for SCD

This week has not been great for crafting...worrying about DH going to see consultant again....only just getting him to said appointment....he's gone a bit weak at the knees!.....now worrying about results of more blood tests taken 'cos if they contact us within a few days that's not good news either! Life can be a big worry if you let it get to you....I do try my best not to let it!

Only just in time then for the B theme at SCD!

If I was being ultra critical.....and I usually am of myself LOL....I'd do this again as the cranberry Adirondack letters sort of migrated from the outline....but on closer look I'm not that concerned as I notice the outline now looks sort of spiky and as bees have been known to sting perhaps it was serendipity intervening!......that's my theory....and I'm making it fit!!! HOL

Thanks for looking

Happy stamping

Hope not to be...ha ha groan...so late next week.

xoxo Sioux

Silver Lady

Hels Sunday Stamper this week has the theme Silver and whilst Hels was thinking of a Beatles song it made me think of Silver Lady by David Soul :)

I was lucky (or unlucky if you don't like him LOL) to see David Soul performing

.......OMG! I've just counted in my head and it's about 30 yrs ago!!!

.......at the most intimate performing space in Preston, Lancashire.......heck he wasn't really even on a stage unless you count a raised dais only about 6 inches tall a stage! It's something I will never forget and even though I have never bought a single (or indeed an LP/CD LOL!) record of his I was mad keen to see him through watching Starsky & Hutch....my friend and I had seats on the second row (I kid you not we were only about 9 feet away from him) and it was fabulous....there was only a pianist for accompaniment and it complimented the atmosphere and David's voice rang out............loved it!

Anyway....sorry but I was lost in a dream for a bit there! HOL

My tag has silver embossing on the T!m frame and the lady is from Home Impressions...the embossed sentiment reads "Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss......."

I decided to use some ColorBox pigments on the background for a change and just dragged the pad across the surface using Heliotrope...Apricot and Colonial Blue....as the base tag was a Kraft colour I tried to leave the ladies face as is.

The punch line of the sentiment is "......ends with a tear drop" hence the rain/teardrops at the top of the tag......pretty much how I ended up feeling about David Soul 'cos though I loved seeing David perform the later allegations of beating his wife left me cold.

Thanks for looking

xoxo Sioux
P.S. There is something not quite right with that woman's face...she looks like she has two black eyes to me!!! HOL

The Timekeeper - End Result!

Well I've finished it at long last!!!

I used whiteboard from PDA Card & Craft (ssbfl) for the base (you usually make boxes with it).

The back also has some stamped decoration/info on and each page will be similar but a bit different as it reflects what is on the front :).......so I'm leaving that as a surprise for whoever ends up owning one of the pages when the swap is done later in the year.

The grungy chunky book swap organised by Heather is to use T!m's inspirational style and products where possible.........well I don't have a great deal of his stamps so they will have to work hard for me on the rest of the pages and I'm going to have to mix in some other makes that give the same sort of feel using similar sorts of images i.e.

T!m Stamps = script stamp & tickets on the wording......skeleton and scroll edging

Cherry Pie = diamond background

Paperartsy = crown and numbers (numbers were free with Craft Stamper)

Craft Stamper freebie = watch face (I'm not too sure if this was Craft Stamper but it was definitely free so I'm presuming it was!) and the dots (these were cut up from the stamp that had a star in the middle and a border of dots if you remember that one when they were in red rubber)......couldn't see me using it as it was and have found it more usable since doing it!! I think it was a Banana Frog design but I could be wrong!

Home Impressions = tattoo style border

Crafty Individuals = ledger page

The hounds tooth on wording and the exclamation mark are my own.....the little watch dangling from his wrist was a white button that I covered in gold dabber and then swiped black Staz On to catch the high spots.......the crown was fashioned out of some tomato puree tube metal....I added some Anita's 3D dimensional stuff to the watch face and cut the wording by hand from chipboard.....yep I know ......bit of a long winded job but I'm pleased with the result even if I do say so myself!

.....and if I did have some dies and a die cutter I'm sure I would never have just the right size or style of alphabet anyway!!! LOL

.....the page size is 5"x5" and I have to be mindful to leave a little border down the edge where the pages will be bound together later by Heather.

Thanks for looking......only 8 more pages to go!

xoxo Sioux

WOYWW Timekeeper

I didn't intend to have the outer edges of my table out of focus but perhaps it's a good thing 'cos it's a right mess as they say! I know many of you who visit WOYWW want to see my mess but there is a limit as to how much mess I am willing to share! HOL

The page on the mat is a chunky book page that is not finished yet....nothing is stuck down and still needs something.....I've been trying to get this done since I was e-mailed the prompts for the swap by Heather on 6th March only a month to do one page then!!!....unfortunately I've got 8 more to do yet....I can't wait to start them but as you know other things have been more important! The prompt was The Timekeeper and I knew this was what I wanted to make as soon as I saw it....so Joanne if you are looking this peek is for you :)....anyone else in Heathers grungey chunky book page swap willing to share?

Thanks for looking

xoxo Sioux

Chantilly or Black?

Please click here for my candy! Closes midnight GMT Thurs April 8th.

Hels Sunday Stampers has the theme Lace this week

Think this ATC will go in my stash to make into a full card at some point.

The bit of lace at the top has some ribbon threaded through it so I used this to gather it up a little then inked it with a bit of DI black soot!

Again a Crafty Individuals stamp that was stamped in Impress chocolate onto a stippled background of DI's wild honey and rusty hinge...yummy!

I masked off the postage wording bit in the top corner and used a small greeting instead....stamped the rabbit bit onto a different coloured background and cut out and layered with silcone over the other bit of lace inked with DI's fired brick & black soot....fairly simple....I do normally like to stretch myself :).......but it's all I can muster at the minute! LOL

Thanks for looking

xoxo Sioux

SCD - Wienerwald

Please click here for my candy! Closes midnight GMT Thurs April 8th.

Use the letter W is the theme for this week at SCD

I could have just gone with W for wood but after watching the Easter concert from Vienna this morning a light bulb moment made me go for Wienerwald that's Vienna Woods in English.

I used a Crafty Individuals image on the ATC that only has three trees on it and no matter which way you look at it three trees does not a wood make! LOL

So tried inking just the trees and stamping some more using different colours to get a bit of depth...it's not quite the fabulous creation I envisaged but I think I managed to rescue it in the end!

Thanks for looking

Happy stamping

xoxo Sioux