A Kevin Spacey Sort of Day!

Strange title huh?!

Let me explain...

...one of my all time favourite films is American Beauty...to me it's a perfect sort of film.

...Do you recall the end scene where Lester (Kevin Spacey) ends up seeing that his life is not all bad after all? (Even if he does get shot in the head!)

Yep.....everything about ArtsyCrafts was perfect...it's what I term a Kevin Spacey sort of day!

The drive up was surreal....no jams....no accidents....blue skies...sunshine.....a perfect drive :)

If my memory serves me right I saw a plastic bag blowing in the wind...

...you'll just have to watch the movie for that bit!!! HOL

After checking into my Travelodge the onward drive to Newport Pagnell to meet up with folks who had been on the Thursday course...like Carol and Hels and Joanne and Dan and Sid and I've forgotten some other names already!!!...lovely to meet you all....and Alison who was on the Friday along with Laura and Sue.

Sorry forgot to take pictures!!!

Next day bright and early......another sleepless night....my goodness it's been worse than waiting for Christmas when you are 5 these past couple of weeks!

First class up was Lin and Leandra and time to get the pinnies out

...Sue had a fab version.....it says one more job to do then it's gin and tonic time!...sounds like a plan to me ;)

I only had the idea to stamp something on mine and Laura's apron pockets 10 mins before I set off the day before......and spooky or what?...T!m's February month stamp starts on the right day of the month for this year!!!

Laura was wondering how much more spookiness we could take LOL!

...bag of stuff all prepped for us and ready to go

Lin and Leandra start the class and hey....say hello to Sunshine Girl Nicola who was on our table but I did not realise it was her till nearly the end of the class!!!

I loved the new chalky paint we used from Paperartsy...unfortunately there was none left by the time I went to the shop at the end of the day :(

However I was really pleased with the way my project turned out.....you may have seen other examples that have a roof....I sort of like mine better without and I'm itching to paint over the sentiment and put a different one on!.....sorry Lin and Leandra!! ;)

Break for buffet lunch.....quick trip to reception to see if my room is available....yes...I'm in luck so get my key/card and my luggage from the car and quickly hang up a couple of things.

Back to the gang and we have to wait a little while 'cos T!m and the rest have not had their lunch yet....another coffee for us....and then we start to que for T!m!

We had goodies galore to create with and tons of stuff to put in the configuration box (sorry I swore I took a picture of the table but obviously not!)....this is mine with hardly anything stuck down as I had ideas that I wanted to add to when I got home.

T!m, Leandra, Lin and the gang at the end of the class.

Thank you for all the hard work in organising this for us.

...sorry for the bad photo's but when you are only 5 ft and half an inch it's really difficult not to get other people in the shots too!
We were lucky to be the last group and watched T!m being presented with the inchie book....he seemed genuinely touched....ah bless!

T!m was so sweet and posed for photo's with all who asked (no not me! LOL)...I asked him to sign my apron...which he did...no problem....and a ready smile for everyone.
Then we met up in the bar with Thelma and a lovely Irish lady who for the life of me her name escapes me!! Far too many wines I think ;)

Yes it was definitely a Kevin Spacey sort of day!

Lester Burnam - "I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me, but it's hard to stay mad when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much. My heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst. And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it. And then it flows through me like rain. And I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life. You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. But don't worry, you will someday."

Someday I wish for all of you to experience a class with T!m Holtz....I consider myself one lucky girl to have done so......I'm still emotional about the whole thing.

...Thanks again T!m for taking the time to teach this class...

....whoa! There goes another plastic bag! ;)

xoxo Sioux

I had the time of my life!

A favourite song of mine played to us whilst we were creating at T!m's configuration class.

Ooooh! It made me tingle ;)

We certainly do owe it all to T!m :)

Thanks for enabling me to have the time of my life!
xoxo Sioux

WOYWW - I'm ready to go!

Tomorrow I'll be starting up the car and beginning the trip of a lifetime to......

.....Newport Pagnell of all places!!! LOL

Not that there is anything wrong with Newport Pagnell for those of you who live there....and seeing as I once lived there myself when I was very young I think I can aim a good hearted joke at it ;) .....if you are interested my mum and dad ran The Black Horse Cafe for a while....a combined truck stop/coffee bar and restaurant for the race goers on the way to Towcester race course amongst other people...

......I'm going to see if I can find where it was (can't imagine for one minute it is still standing!).

Anyway.....I digress......of course Newport Pagnell is the centre of the entire universe this Thursday and Friday 'cos it's "Artsy Crafts" with T!m Holtz as the special guest sharing his talents.....hope some of it rubs off! LOL

I have an awful feeling the day will flash by and I won't remember a thing!!! There will be so much packed into the day I imagine and there is also the class with Leandra and Lin to fit in and absorb! Will my brain take the strain I wonder?

Right it's WOYWW so after that little lot I'll show you what is on my work desk...YES...It's true I don't have any shelving stories this week....what a relief I hear you all cry!

Head off to Julia and see what wondrous things are on the many desks around the world.

So this is what is on my space.....

....still not got very far into week 2 of Art, Heart and Healing (ssbfl)...

....it's about creating whimsy characters and I've only got as far as doing these two to make the second 2 page spread in the board book art journal! I'm glad it's an online course that I can dip into at my own pace.....I'd have given up going to a night class by now....my desire to create has been missing a bit just lately....let's hope "Artsy Crafts" can reignite it! HOL

I'll be meeting up with some very special bloggers...some of you I already know and some of you I have yet to meet. Wow! I can't believe it's about to happen.

This is the inchie I made for the collective book....it took me longer to make this than it does a full blown card! HOL

CU there if you are going and if not I'll try and remember to take some photo's for the blog....but knowing what happened the last time I went on a class (my first) it hardly entered my head as it was so busy, busy creating wise!

Thanks for looking

xoxo a very hyperventilating Sioux

P.S. I don't much like having my photo taken...that's why I have a digital avatar...but if you are interested my photo is here...just in case I frighten the life out of you by greeting you like a long lost friend 'cos I recognise you from your photo on your blog!!! HOL

Artist in a bottle for The Artistic Stamper

I'm sharing an ATC today over on the The Artistic Stamper Creative Team Blog

Curious? Then just hop on over to The Creative Team Blog for all the details.

Thanks for looking and happy stamping
xoxo Sioux

Shelves, shelves, shelves!!

I had this all set to post for last weeks WOYWW but my time was occupied with trying to sort out unexpected jobs like blocked drains and the like!!!

All I seem to do recently is mess about with shelves!

For more work desk fun and possibly other shelves hop over to Julia at WOYWW for more ;)

I spent the best part of 6 hrs on Saturday 5th Feb installing new shelving in what was the airing cupboard in my bedroom.

I bought the MDF and had it cut to size at B and Q about 4/5 weeks ago now but only just got round to the job!

(It's still a work in progress on the stamp/general craft wardrobe section! Perhaps next week? I'd really like to have it finished before I travel to the T!m workshop in 8 days time.....eeek!)

If you remember three weeks ago I showed the ladders that have been a permanent fixture propped up against the wall in the bedroom.....

part of the reason for re-hashing the cupboard was to accommodate these and hide them away behind closed doors ;)

If I had actually thought about the fact the ladders would need more room to get in and out than I allowed for it would have been a lot easier.

...but I didn't....so the upshot was I had quite a lot of extra sawing to do!!

Thank heavens for electric saws..........and also thank heavens for that special someone who is watching over me 'cos on the very last cut on the very last piece I let the saw shoot off the end and it clattered against the wall (I was using the outside patio wall top as a workhorse/bench!) and the blade bent!
No damage to the wall or me.....but so lucky I had done all the sawing I needed to do :)

...must remember to buy a replacement next time I'm passing the store.

Even with an electric saw and electric screwdriver attachment my shoulder and finger joints are still paying the price today!

So what do you think? I'm really pleased with the way they turned out...nothing fancy but they do the job.
...the upright makes a handy place for the ladders and some of the stuff I put back on the new shelves won't be staying as they will be moved to the shed when that has a sort out.
.....but that is a whole new organising task that I can't do till the better weather arrives!!!

.........perhaps I've gone over the top with this though...?

...colour co-ordinated brads to keep the elastic in place that stops the ironing board from rattling about on its holder too much!!! HOL

Thanks for looking

xoxo Sioux

Funny old week!

It's been a bit of a funny old week!

If it could happen it has happened and I confess it got a bit too much one day and tears of frustration broke out!

a) If you read my post on Monday you will know there was a problem with the drains....I have to tell you I did indeed need the man with the equipment!! £96.00 lighter in my pocket too!

b) The fingers on my right hand seem to have galloping arthritis.......they keep locking and it's a bit painful to force them to unlock!

c) My toilet flush push gave way and I can't see anyway to fix it! I'm pouring water from a large pan down the thing for now and I had to turn off the in line stopcock thingy 'cos it won't stop filling!

d) A package arrived and the kind delivery man left it in my greenhouse...unfortunately he also managed to dislodge the door making one of the wheel things break and I came home at lunch to find the door had fallen off....luckily the glass had not broken and I did manage to get it back up in a fashion.

...to be fair it had been a bit tricky to open for a while so I can't blame him totally!! LOL

(Good job it's not freezing weather or everything would be dead by now)

On the plus side..

...I like to try find a positive for every negative keeps me a bit sane!

a) It was a girlie night out last night and we had a fab time.

b) I'm losing weight still....at around a pound a week (I'm very happy with that!).

c) It's only 12 more sleeps till T!m!
d) The door wheel things for the greenhouse arrived Friday and I've spent 2 hours today just getting the old screw out 'cos it was rusted in.
...lots of dremelling (is that a word?!) and sawing of metal.
..fitting the new wheel (that bit was easy!)...and hanging the door back on....(that was not so easy!)...and now my shoulder is aching like mad!!
...I was going to fit both wheels but I lost the will to live after the first one and the other wheel was not damaged so I did not think it worth the effort LOL.
Still....it is a positive 'cos now the door is fixed :)

So now I've decided to !*$$ the DIY jobs for the rest of this weekend and play with stamps :)

Here's one I made this afternoon.

Thanks for looking

xoxo Sioux

Inks - Versamagic oasis green, mango madness, aloe vera. ColorBox apricot, canary, seaglass.
Distress old paper for the aging
Stamps Papertrey Ink - Signiature Series Dress Form sentiment, Embellishments scrolls, Green Thumb flower heads stems and leaves.

Kiss, Kiss, Kiss for The Artistic Stamper

I'm sharing a card today over on the The Artistic Stamper Creative Team Blog

Curious? Then just hop on over to The Creative Team Blog for all the details.

Thanks for looking and happy stamping
xoxo Sioux

PTI - Make it Monday

I stumbled on the Papertrey Ink blog site when it first started and I've been hooked every month since...watching all the goodies on their release and wishing I could have some!

I also like visiting Dawn Mcvey and love the designs she comes up with and when I saw this little set on it's release in November I had to have it ;)

I've resisted temptation for 4 years...give me a break...it was my Christmas present to myself!

(and seeing as it was going to cost me some ridiculous amount for the postage I thought I might as well get a few more sets whilst I was at it HOL)

As part of the celebrations for the 4th birthday they are starting a Make it Monday Series....which basically is a challenge where you can use your Papertrey goodies. The first one is today and there is a fabulous mega prize up for grabs if you join in....so here I am.

Not much chance of a Brit being picked I think but what the heck I had fun playing with this tonight.

I started about 20 minutes after I got home...

...had to put caustic soda down the drain outside first looks like there is a bit of a problem hope I don't need the man with the equipment!!!......mmmm then again... ;)

...and all of sudden it was 7.30 and my peppermint tea I brewed when I got in was cold and no food on the table!!! LOL

Inks - VersaMagic pumpkin spice and cloud white, Archival sepia and black

Stamps - Signature Series Dressform, Delightful Dahlia, Mega Mixed Messages, Mat Stack 1 Collection, Green Thumb, Autumn Abundance, Honey Bees and Embellishments.

Oooh I do love dress forms :)

Thanks for looking

xoxo Sioux

Board Book Journal

I've been busy again with more DIY yesterday and my shoulder and fingers are saying enough!! But more on that another time ;)

Can I share my first board book journal page with you? It's part of the Art, Heart and Healing course kindly offered for free by the fabulous Tam over at Willowing.

I can't recommend the course enough and have learnt so much already...

...and I'm only on part 1 of week 2! :)

I consider myself very lucky as I had an idyllic childhood in the main so the healing bit did not really come in to it on this piece although it was lovely to connect with the positive thoughts that popped into my brain.

The Susie Wong is yet another a.k.a. monicker!!!

My Dad used to call me that (in part because it included a shortened version of my given name Susan) and it used to wind my Mum up LOL.

"She's not called Susie!" she would say in indignation "it's Susan!"

The fact that Susie Wong is the name of a lady of the night from the book and film did not seem to come into it!!! LOL

 (and no that does not mean she was a vampire all you Twilight fans!!)

The other significant word is "Unique"...one day when I was asking the embarassing questions little people do...like....when can I have a little sister? Or......why was I an only child?

My Dad told me "You are not an only child....you are Unique".

What a fabulous thing to say!

I've pretty much tried to live up to the word ever since!!! HOL
Thanks for looking

xoxo Sioux

The Old Days for The Artistic Stamper

I'm sharing a postcard today over on the The Artistic Stamper Creative Team Blog

There is also a free digital background for you to download ;) have fun.

Curious? Then just hop on over to The Creative Team Blog for all the details.

Thanks for looking and happy stamping
xoxo Sioux

Groundhog Day!

It's Groundhog Day today in more ways than one!

Firstly of course it's the real groundhog....a.k.a. Punxsutawney Phil who saw no shadow today so predicts that it will be an early Spring.......hooray for that! :)

(My Pip loved groundhog day...one year he had me sending postcards wishing friends a happy groundhog day from Punxsutawney Phil...it had them all wondering!! Happy days ;)

It almost passed me by this year!

The other groundhog day like thing is my next art journal class with Tam for Art, Heart and Healing.

I managed to find a board book in the charity shop on Saturday and am about half way through the decoration of the first double page spread.

I wanted to share that....much as I love all things T!m.......the sort of white acrylic you use really does matter for this!!!

I mentioned that the Adirondack dabber just sort of sank into the colours on my first journal page.....so I made the decision to take myself off to Trago Mills on Sunday (a large out of town privately owned multi store) to get some daler-rowney titanium white acrylic....and very glad I did 'cos it was the last day of 15% off offer....result!...and having now compared the two I am forced to the conclusion that there is some sort of additive in the Adirondack that makes it able to flow through the sponge dabber but unable to do what the proper acrylic paint does!!!

If you want to do the blending technique that Tam shows in the lesson then I'm afraid paint dabber just won't do.

This is the page so far and it has taken me this long since Sunday because I have had to redo the transfer images 4 times for the large one and 2 times on the small one!!!

The inkjet transparency transfer on the large image just was not working

(yes it's me folks......crumbs is it that time already....years ago! HOL)

a...the first time it did transfer to the surface but was very bitty and part of the gesso background peeled off with it!!!

b...I did the gesso again and repeated....it was even worse than before

c...decided to peel off the glossy upper layer of the board book......reapplied the gesso!....re did the transfer........still hopeless......I'm beginning to wonder if there is something in the Claudine Helmuth Studio matte medium that reacts different for this technique.

d...decided to go my own way and printed off the picture on plain paper....tore round the edges and stuck it onto the surface with the matte medium.....result

...even if the inks did merge a bit I like it!!!

The smaller one was done in a similar way to transferring onto sticky back canvas only on the gesso page.....it was totally my fault and not the products as I just rubbed too hard/added too much water and the image came off!!!

Thanks for looking Happy Groundhog Day!

xoxo Sioux

WOYWW - Mini Tour

Thought you might like a more in depth tour of my little craft cupboard this week and when you have finished here take yourself over to Julia at mission control to see more facinating spaces :) I had to take a few different shots as it's difficult to see it all on one photo as the space is limited.

So this is the full cupboard on one wall of my bedroom...there are two full sliding doors which obviously means that I can only work in one half at any one time.

...I can reach over to a certain degree for the odd thing but after that it's slide the doors over!

This side is the inking/stamping area...

...I really had to make the decision to dedicate it to this space as I have had too many near misses with the ink pads falling on my beige carpet in the dining room! Lucky for me someone up there was watching and they all fell butter side up if you get my drift!! LOL

My DIY skills came into play again when I hit on the idea of putting these metal clips under the existing shelving my DH made for me...

...all my ink pads are here and my gel pens and markers...and on top are my mini misters and spray inks......and now I have a tidy place for my ink brushes...

...the darkly inky one at the end is the first one I bought about 3 years ago...just a cheapo shaving brush from a pound shop and I had been cursing not buying a couple more ever since!! Then I went to the NEC last November and YES! I saw this set of "Ink Dusters" from the Inkylicious stand on special offer....well you've just got to!

The cupboard wall on the left has some narrow shelving...

...it houses stuff like Distress Ink refills, various re-inkers, Alcohol inks, Adirondack acrylics, Stickles and glitters.

I've tidied the cork board and on display at the minute are a colour wheel chart, some keys to remind me to think about using them LOL, an antique metal book mark/paper clip that has the most gorgeous sort of green man image,

(I love green men....did I hear someone say beam me up?!!! HOL)

and of course my T!m photo with my ticket attached for the big event in only 22 days time...eeek!

Well this is getting to be a bit long winded so I'll wrap it up there and show you the other side next week! :)

Thanks for looking and don't forget to wizz over to WOYWW to see a whole load more.

xoxo Sioux

The Artistic Stamper February Challenge

January came and went but not to worry because that means there is a new monthly challenge at The Artistic Stamper
"Love"

Well really.......could it be anything else?! :)

Here is my love thing.......if you'll pardon the expression! LOL

The thought of going to Paris this year sent me all Ooh la la!

I went for the postcard format (6x4 inches) and stamped the naked lady from the nudes 063 plate and heat embossed with Ranger copper EP.

...I'm sorry but.....no matter how I tried...

....I just could not capture on film the gorgeousness of the finish this gives ;(

Spritzed a bit of Distress antique linen and dried marigold on the lady to add a bit of colour to her naked flesh.

.....ooh er!

...added Distress Ink faded jeans around the edges at the bottom and spiced marmalade at the top

...(where it overlapped in the middle I got a subtle green colour....lovely ;)

...masked the lady and carried on with the rest of the stamping.

....ruler stamped in Archival coffee...post card stamped in Archival crimson...and the word "original" in Staz On black 'cos I wanted it to be partly on the embossing.

(I removed the mask for that bit) ;)

....those three stamps are all from the Ephemera 1 #048 plate.

...stamped the ticket from The Open Road 1 #047 plate in Distress Ink faded jeans at the bottom.

..you may have to click on the image to enlarge to see this a bit better!

....inked the dots background with a mixture of Distress Ink bundled sage and spice marmalade.

..liked that ;)

.....used Distress Ink aged mahogany to colourise some spare bits of card.

...stamped the T!m love stamp in Versafine onyx black tattering the edges and distressing with the aged mahogany and made some word fragments layered onto black card.

You really must pop over to see all the "Love" that has been created by the rest of the team ;)

So don't forget.............the monthly challenge is "Love"

The rules are simple... all you need to do is make a piece of art, be it a card, ATC, wall art, altered art, post card ;)... just remember that it must include some rubber stamping and the theme... and... if you use Artistic Stamper stamps on your entry you will be entered into the draw twice! The prize is £15 worth of stamps from the Artistic Stamper shop... along with the KlingOn to mount them onto.

I hope you get chance to play at the challenge... it is open until February 28th and the winner will be chosen by Random.org shortly after :)

Thanks for looking and happy stamping

xoxo Sioux