ATC's from Ossie!

That would be from Oswaldtwistle and not from the dark man of rock Ossie Osborne!! HOL

...although who knows?...maybe he makes ATC's in his spare time!! Even more HOL

Anyway...I have been very remiss in not posting a picture of these fabulicious ATC's that I swapped at the workshop held by Lindsay Mason at The Dawn Bibby Design Studio.

Brown Beauty - She
Friendship - Joanne
The Giggles - Heather
Friends - Gez
Nature - Chris

Here is a picture of 5 happy people at the workshop who spookily also happened to have taken part in Heathers Chunky Grungy book swap :)

Joanne - Sioux (possibly the first and last time you will see my photo here!) - She - Gez - Heather

And here is Lindsay of course who is displaying the smaller of the matchbox shrines she made....which I have still not managed to find time to complete as yet!
..Hangs head in shame! :(

Lindsay was also in the grungy book swap but could not be in the group photo as she was the one taking the picture with my camera! Thanks Lindsay :) Thanks for a great class too...I learnt a lot and have now got a new very, very, very favourite technique of image transfer onto sticky back canvas :) :)

It was truly a day to remember for so many reasons...a lot of which I cannot put into words but here goes :)

....meeting lovely people who I have connected with through the power of the net for the first time

...Amazing!

....taking my first workshop...well two actually as there was a morning session making a mirror and the afternoon one making matchbox shrines

...Amazing!

...receiving my first Chunky Book

...Amazing!

...my first time eating lunch in a motor home - thanks for the hospitality Joanne ;)

...Amazing!

...time flying by faster than a speeding bullet

...Amazing!

...being absolutely pooped out for 2 days afterwards

...Amazing!

Sharing a crafting morning shopping, having coffee and cake - and realising time had flown by yet again

...Amazing!

Thanks for a wonderful time...it's been a bleak period recently for me

...some days it still is...suddenly togetherness vanished after 33 years of marriage!

...but it was refreshing to feel normal again....although some of you might question that looking at my photo!!! HOL

xoxo Sioux

Heavy Metal - 9th (and final) Chunky Book Page!

I never thought I'd see the day!!! LOL :)

Here is the 9th and final page for the swap organised by Heather.

Although I have been very concerned about finishing the pages on time I have enjoyed making them....I just wish life had not thrown what it did at me then I could have started earlier and I might have enjoyed it even more.

...I used some of the metal tape that I made the mirror with on my 5th page to cover a chipboard square frame (I have very little left of that tape and I'm hoping it is easy to find in the DIY 'cos Pip gave it to me and there is every chance it's some sort of specialist tape they don't stock!) Alcohol inked it up with sunset orange/stonewashed and salmon

...The faux tortoiseshell stuff on the corners you may have caught a glimpse of on the suitcase from my page 8
...this is black shiny tape from the DIY not quite sure what you really use it for but if you alcohol ink it with raisin/espresso and terracotta then go over again with copper mixative with a couple of drops of blending solution you get this effect
...stamped the T!m pens onto Ten Seconds Studio metal, cut out and glued to the frame
...stamped the T!m sentiment in Adirondack stream and the umbrella man in Archival black (just could not miss him out in the T!m inspired chunky book)
..adding a little T!m flourish in Adirondack wild plum
...corners stamped with a Paperartsy dotty stamp in pumice stone
So there we have it....je suis fini!!
The pages will be in the post on Monday and off to Heather who is binding them for everyone and I can't wait to see the finished book and share all the pages that everyone else has made :)

Thanks for looking and sharing all the chunky book pages
xoxo Sioux
P.S. My big task now is to make some ATC's for when I travel up north soon....I have absolutely none that I can swap at the moment!!!

Vintage Journeys - 8th Chunky Book Page

Page 8 is here at last!

I'm in love with that suitcase I made from scratch! :)
..could it be that Vagabond I'm waiting for? LOL

....Stamped the T!m Paris map in DI tea dye (second stamping) and coloured parts of the map that looked like woods with green DI tones and the river with faded jeans and background in general with pumice stone
...stamped the T!m car onto grungeboard in Archival coffee adding a touch of aged mahogany and wild honey for colour and cut out
...stamped sentiment "live the life" in walnut stain
...stamped word fragments "no journey" in Archival crimson onto some cava wrapper and stuck to some grungepaper that had already had a T!m script stamp on it
...added a piece of K and Co ruler paper that had previously been stuck to some thick cardboard down the side and added the screw brads....only now I see that these will no doubt be in the way again of the binding so will not be covering up the prongs on the back so they can be easily taken out again....so sorry Heather!!

Only one more page to go :) I'll have to fit that in over the evenings this week...along with mowing the lawn front and back whilst it is dry...putting sealant on a leaky gutter...trying to tidy away some of the devastation that has occurred in the making of the chunky pages etc..etc!!!

Thanks for looking and happy stamping

xoxo Sioux

With a Little Flourish - 7th Chunky Book Page

Here 'tis....my 7th page!
Only just this minute finished but could not wait to take a photo and share with you.

The inspiration sort of seeped into being.......nothing was shouting at me as usual and then I saw......OMG!! The dress forms...Lost Coast...(Karen at Scrapz once again sent them asap :))

...then I was browsing this week.....as you do.....and saw some of the new Graphic 45 paper at Art from the Heart and loved the image of the dressform on the papers and knew I wanted to re-create that idea...I just love those Steampunk Debutante Collection papers but honestly I don't know when I would ever be likely to use them up....got so much paper already!!! Ooooh! I'm very tempted by these though LOL :)

Anyways I started by swooshing DI's for the background.....it came out much brighter than I thought it would but liked it non the less LOL......aged mahogany/faded jeans/wild honey then stamped the T!m flourish in walnut stain
....stamped the T!m chandelier and embossed with disco black

...stamped the dress form onto different designer papers (all K and Co) and layered them up....using a piece of grungeboard as the base
.......I'd love a dress like this.......reminds me of that gorgeous red dress that Bette Davis wears in the film Jezebel only my dress isn't red.....but you get my drift?

...there are two different images of dress forms and I used the base stand from the other to attach to this one and embossed with distress brushed corduroy

...stamped the dragonfly wings (a freebie stamp) on acetate and glittered up on the reverse

...once again I used the die cut already in my T!m flourish die to trace around and cut out then inked with tea dye and hand wrote some of the words from "I could have danced all night"

.....still waiting ever so ever so patiently to get that Vagabond and then I can use the dies I've already bought!!! HOL
Thanks for looking and happy stamping
xoxo Sioux

7 down and 2 to go!!!!!! The Bank Holiday might just save me yet LOL

Take Flight - 6th Chunky Book Page

Hi! Here is the 6th page for the chunky book page swap organised by Heather.

My brain said "Fly me to the Moon" and then I got another angle going through my brain about Dr Dolittle (the Rex Harrison film version) and how he rode the Giant Lunar Moth.........

Well I could not replicate the Dr Dolittle part so I decided Alice could be holding on for dear life instead!! LOL

The background was a googled image of an old book stuck to the base then well inked with embossing ink straight from the pad and Distress embossed with antique linen

......I stamped a T!m script stamp in crimson Archival onto grungepaper and overstamped the butterflies/moths! (Home Impressions) in black/sepia and coffee Archival
.......cut out and tattered around the edges a bit then decided they needed a bit of something else and added some distress stickles rock candy

.......Alice (Cherry Pie) coloured with DI's faded jeans/scattered straw/wild honey/aged mahogany/tattered rose and cut out
.........T!m pin holds the word fragment "fly" (Papermania) and black wire wrapped round a cocktail stick to make the feelers
......now whisper this bit! The letters for the word moon are...wait for it....peel off stickers!!
.....and you know what I don't care!
.......I liked them as they have a rough texture like the distress emboss powder!

.....that's 6 down and 3 to go........oooh can I make it?

As the whole underlying theme of this swap was to be inspired by all things T!m...I'm entering this in the Simon Says Stamp and Show this week

Thanks for looking and happy stamping

xoxo Sioux

I Dreamed A Dream - 5th Chunky Book Page

This is the end result for the page on my work surface the other day.
You know when you wake up sometimes and you can't quite hold on to the dream you've had and you're really miffed because you just know it was a humdinger?
Oh!.....Perhaps it's just me then? HOL
Anyway that was the thinking behind the prompt from Heather for this page.

I used Alcohol Inks in raisin, terracotta, espresso and copper  for the background

...stamped the T!m frame onto grungeboard and Distress Embossed in vintage photo with a bit of DI scattered straw to colour it........then cut it out
.......stuck some metal tape (used for heat ducting...you could use Ten Seconds Studio metal) to a piece of card and tried to get the feel of an old mirror by using alcohol inks (espresso with just a hint of raisin) around the edge where the silvering sometimes comes away
...if I do say so myself I like that a lot!! LOL
.........stamped the sentiment (my own) once in coffee Archival and once again on top in black Archival to try and get that double vision thing you get on a mirror if you do write on it!!
.....then stuck this behind the frame
.....stamped the T!m numbers round the edges (it's the bottom part of the pens on the Mona Lisa set) in black Archival
......stamped the elephant in coffee Archival for a subtle dreamy image :)
....the other part of the sentiment is stamped onto the middle section of the T!m die cut plaque and cut down for the fragments
.......added an idea-ology clock face and some photo turns as hands (I've left them a little loose and then you can still turn them if you like).

That's 5 down and 4 to go!

I think I just might have a chance of finishing them all in time! :)

Thanks for looking and happy stamping
xoxo Sioux

Ghost in the Machine - 4th grungy book page!

I read somewhere once (I'm almost sure it was in a Robert Goddard novel) that in the early days of photography people had the notion that there really were ghosts in the camera!

So that was my thought process in achieving this page and I apologise right now to those who do not like clowns....me?......I don't mind them

....but I can see how this little lot could seriously freak you out! LOL

....did I ever tell you we lived for a time at a circus winter quarters in Newport Pagnell when I was little? My mum and dad ran a transport cafe there for the owners of the circus.

Just thought I'd throw that in!!! LOL

I swooshed DI's pumice stone and scattered straw onto the background

....stamped the T!m clowns in Archival coffee and masked them

....stamped the small grungy alphabet (my own) in Archival black

.....printed off an image of a camera lens front and cut out

.....stamped the T!m eye onto white card, coloured the iris blue and stuck this behind the lens

......filled with sepia Glossy Accents and left the eyeball uncovered

.....stamped the T!m ticket onto some inky DI background and tattered up a bit

....the word spooky is a Paperartsy alphabet filled in with Adirondack Dimensional acrylic wild plum and a metal book corner was added at the bottom

Thanks for looking and happy stamping

xoxo Sioux

P.S. That makes 4 down and 5 to go.....best get cracking then!!!!
P.P.S. Just noticed that the S on the banner and part of the ticket will probably get in the way of the binding!! Hey ho...Heather will just have to chop through it I suppose...sorry Heather.

It's Only Words - 3rd chunky book page

Here's my third page for Heathers chunky book swap.

I glued some old book pages to the base and then pulled some of the top layer off (like T!m did on one of his Xmas tags last year) and distressed with DI rusty hinge
...then stamped the T!m pen nibs down the sides
.....stamped a number of leaves from a Royal and Langnickel set onto inked grungepaper in DI's rusty hinge, peeled paint and shabby shutters and a few onto book paper that were then embossed with verdigris powder.
The plaque is of course T!m....and no I have not got the die machine yet but I have bought the die!!! Wrong way round I know LOL.....as luck would have it (or do they all come with a cut sample in the pack?) there was a die cut in the package so I just traced around and cut it out the old fashioned way after printing the sentiment onto Kraft cardstock then stuck it to some grunge board for stability.
...it will be so much simpler when I get my hands on that Vagabond! :)))
The fab sentiment is by Alexander Pope who I would very much like to have on my guest list at one of those imaginary alive or dead dinner parties.
That's 3 down and 6 to go.....
Thanks for looking and happy stamping
xoxo Sioux

Page Two Grungy Book

I've managed to complete number two of 9 pages...only 7 more to go before 7th September

.......wish me luck :) LOL

Spritzed background and inked barbed wire through a T!m mask (the negative bit)

Wings are grunge board gesso'ed and stamped with the T!m Mona Lisa

.........large heart Anna Griffin scroll and gold embossed

.......small heart Distress crackle and glimmered with gold and grunged a bit more with black soot worked into the cracks

.......wooden plaque stamped with a Crafty Individuals sentiment
Just seen the Compedium of Curiosities week 9 challenge is Distress Crackle so off to link it there :)

Thanks for looking and happy stamping

xoxo Sioux

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