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!!!

Arches Lace - SCD

Oh Dear SCD'ers!!!

If you are expecting some sweet.....vintage....loveliness lace concoction this week from me for the first week in the new month of arches I'm afraid you are going to be disappointed! LOL

My lovely teamie Dawn picked "lace" for her first chosen theme as an SCD DT member and I could not get the film title "Arsenic and Old Lace" out of my head
.......so I just had to do this so I could move on with my life!!! HOL

Hold on to your hats....

....especially if you are not a Hallowe'en fan!
I did try not to make it too spooky......

Googled image of a vintage arsenic label and printed off
.....stamped the T!m skeleton and masked to stamp the tombstone (my own)
......stamp...not tombstone you understand!! HOL
(It's actually a coffin lid but works just as well for the tombstone providing you mask the end!!)
....some DI's faded jeans/shabby shutters/dusty concord for the background
...greenery, grass and trees in a mixture of pine needles/shabby shutters/peeled paint and brushed corduroy
.....stapled the lace that I had previously distress inked (you might have caught a glimpse of it hanging in my cupboard to dry on WOYWW this week!) and coloured the staples black with a sharpie pen

Thanks for looking and happy stamping
Can't wait to see what you all make this week for SCD.....I'd get yourselves over to the rest of the team for a look 'cos you will get a loveliness fix there for sure :)
xoxo Sioux

WOYWW - I'm Floored!!

You know last week I shared the picture of my fabulously comfy bed?

...you know the one where my bedroom looked like a proper chill out zone?

Well......little did you know that just out of shot this little lot is on the floor next to my bed!!

It's sort of a work in progress re: the ongoing trying to tidy and organise my craft stuff so that I don't spend ages trying to find it.....it can be so frustrating!!

..a little swing to the left takes in the first bit of my craft cupboard

...stuff still not organised there then!!

...bit of lace aged with DI's hanging there to dry...using that on a little project soon ;)
Pay a visit to WOYWW with Julia to see other peoples much more organised spaces :)

Thanks for looking

xoxo Sioux

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

Of the Sea - SCD

Carol chose the prompt "Of the Sea" for our torso this week at Something Completely Different.
I have very little in the way of sea related stamps
...something I will have to try and rectify soon if possible :)
I ended up doing this.

I painted the background with Adirondack Dimensional acrylics (stream and pesto) watered down they still have a glimmery finish to them :)
....stamped the compass in Adirondack dye ink stream and the lovely CS freebie stamp from Crafty Individuals in lettuce
I spritzed some tissue paper with glimmer mists in patina and frozen lake and draped it across then added some diamond glitter glue and sprinkled some loose glitter over
...the metal twisty bit of the necklace is from a cava bottle fastening
.............(now there's a surprise!! LOL) with added seed beads at the top and an acrylic shell embellishment fastened with a bit of raffia.
Now don't forget that this is also a swap month.....one for one....so you don't have to have made a torso every week to take part :) Just e-mail Carol for the details and can't wait to see what goodies I receive :)
Thanks for looking and happy stamping.
xoxo Sioux

P.S. Also don't forget that the torso's should be ATC size.....if you like the rather rounded figure I've used you can download

a jpeg version here

and a png version here

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

WOYWW - Sweet Dreams Are Made of This

I'm sharing what I've been working on last weekend for WOYWW this week....should have been doing some craft work but I wanted to do this and there is nothing that interesting on my craft desk today!

Apart from having my hair cut......I spent nearly all day on Saturday in the new Dunelm Mill that has opened in Torquay!!

Whoops that shocked my credit card a bit!! LOL

A few months ago now my bedroom looked pretty boring

The Total Trainer in the corner is something I'm never going to use because of my dodgey back so that is going in the paper for sale real soon...it's in the dining room at the mo!

The television on the chest of drawers is the one I put the t.v. arm on the wall for and that chest of drawers is the one I'm using as an extra work surface in the dining room....yep my dining room is getting fuller by the minute! LOL

A few weeks ago I bought a new bed.....had to.....as the old Ikea one had become impossible for me to get a pain free nights sleep in....I had been sleeping on the sofa for some time but at least is was comfy! My new bed is sooooooo comfy I can get out of bed each day without looking and feeling like a 90 year old geriatric!!! HOL

So I decided I'd get some new curtains and a bit of bedding to really make my bedroom a comfy place I'd like to spend time in :)

The white linen I already had but was always saving it for best......why?!

It's a big improvement don't ya think?

A couple of new lamp shades.....two fancy pillow cases....some cushions.....new curtains and the throw....the old patchwork one is actually still there I've just turned it the wrong way round as it is a creamy colour on the reverse and it's lurking under the new throw as I could not afford to buy a new one of those as well!!
I am thinking that I might have to get a little chocolate coloured runner for the end of the bed to help to tie it all together a bit more.....what do you think?

xoxo Sioux

NEC Booked Up

I've finally made my mind up and now it is all booked!

I don't know why...but I'm finding it hard to summon up the courage (not sure that is quite the right word I'm after but you get my drift?) to book a hotel on my own!

So I've started slowly by booking a Travelodge room (mmmm...not quite your 3 star on the beach sort of place) so that I can go to the November NEC Hobbycraft Show.

I've never been to the show before so am looking forward to it lots...and as it seems a big show I thought I'd take the option of booking a two day ticket.....'cos knowing me I do like to dwell and mull over stuff on stands at shows :)
I thought that if I did not book something soon I would find it harder and harder to do so in the future......now I've actually pressed the buttons I can't wait!
Perhaps I'll see you there?
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

Man Hole Covers Valencian Style!

Bet the post title got you!!! LOL

But really this post IS about man hole covers!!!

Call me strange.....yep I know you already do :)....but I can't help searching for man hole covers to photograph when I go on holiday
.......you get a much better class of man hole abroad I find! HOL

The UK variety just don't do it for me!

So here is a selection of Valencian man hole covers

That last one is a favourite...it's one of the type that are at the side of the pavement (you can just see the faded yellow lines) where the rain water from the road drains down

......what do you think?

Go on....admit it.....they do have a certain charm!

I've got loads more too.........O.K. O.K.

.........perhaps you can have too much of a good thing....I'll save those for another time.

....Oh yes I will!! HOL

Thanks for looking

xoxo Sioux
P.S. I am sure someone will tell me there is a collective name for this but honest I am not such an anorak as to have ever bothered to look it up!!!
P.P.S. Pip used to despair of me taking photo's of these....he'd say "People will think you're odd"...then I'd say "And?!" HOL

Red & Black - SCD

Hope you are having fun with the torso theme!

This week at SCD we are asked to use the colours red and black by Gez.

Red and black always conjure up something oriental to me.......so here is my torso.

Swooshed some DI's spun sugar...pumice stone and aged mahogany to form the background
....stamped the Paperartsy oriental lady
(yeh believe it or not she is visible....just....in real life LOL!!)
in Adirondack cranberry and masked the image
.....stamped the small icons (Stamp Attack) around the edge and the word Japan (again Stamp Attack) firstly in catseye Chianti with some clear embossing over but it did not cover too well so overstamped in DI black soot!! The oriental motif forming a sort of necklace (Stamp Attack) was embossed with disco black and the squiggly bits in aged mahogany is an outline stamp of the Japanese Islands (Stamp Attack)
.....stamped the Paperartsy oriental writing in Stazon onto some gold wrapper from a Cava bottle.......I've got quite a little stash of this now!!! LOL Hick!!!...and stuck just a little for accent to the corner and top
.....drew a black line around the oriental lady to define her as she was blending into the background too much and covered with rock candy crackle
....then rubbed DI black soot in the cracks
....only some of the cracks were a bit big and more black soot than I wanted seeped through!!!!
Hope to see you playing along with the red and black theme this week :) 'Cos don't forget we are doing swopsies this month that Carol is very kindly co-ordinating for us
.....just e-mail her for the deets.
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.

WOYWW? Work in progress

I know we all say it and at the risk of sounding repetitive

.....how come it's Wednesday again already?!!!

Here is a different shot of my new work surface!

You know I've comendeered using the dining table again?.......this is a slight move to the right of that and now I'm also using the top of a chest of drawers that have found their way into the dining room as well......they used to be in the bedroom but since getting a new bed they just don't really fit in anymore! They are on castors so I could easily move them and as they already had drawers full of craft stuff it seemed to make sense :) I can so easily move them back to the bedroom for a short while if I want to have friends round for a meal :)

Another chunky book page is in progress on there.....I'll post my latest page tomorrow :)

See you then

xoxo Sioux
Don't forget to pop over to Julia to see what everyone else is up to!

Changes #1

I started thinking about how things have changed since DH passed away....I did not want to forget and then thought perhaps it might be useful interesting a good laugh for others but this seems to have turned into a bit of a rant. LOL

Me and DH loved our holidays.....when DH was well and working we were lucky enough to sometimes get two European holidays a year

......happy times :)

Now I find that being on my own is more restrictive to having a nice holiday than it ever was when DH became ill!!......Sure things had to be organised to take into account the lack of funds for starters and then of course to cater for DH's complex needs if we did go anywhere but all that is insignificant compared with being a single traveller....

I know I'm lucky to have a bunch of girlie friends to go an a long weekend foreign city break with each year if I want to/can afford it but sometime I just might want to do something different.

I want to see new places and perhaps have the odd beach holiday every now and then.

So after thinking about a number of issues I've been toying with the idea of getting a new tent.....I have a small two man tent that you can't stand up in that we used to use for the occasional weekend camping at a craft show years ago....but my back won't stand (ha ha) for that these days...so I want one that you can stand up in and is not too big and not too small....and easy for one pathetic female to be able to erect on her own!!! LOL

Am I asking too much? It seems I might be because they all recomend two people to erect it...is this just health and safety spiel or do you really, really need two people?

I'll have to try to get to the bottom of that one...here is the one I have my eye on

I had it in mind that this would answer my problems of taking a trip abroad and being charged the earth for a single supplement and then finding out that the extra you paid for that single supplement does not in fact entitle you to sole occupancy of a double room and in fact means that you have paid top whack for a box room....not that I've actually been anywhere myself to experience it but I've heard lots of tales and I don't relish the thought.....I want a room with a view with a balcony.....you're a long time dead and call me shallow but I've decided if I'm going to do these things I want what I want (at a reasonable cost) !!!!! So there LOL!!!

Actually I'm not wholly convinced I'd like being in an hotel on my own...oh heck there's no pleasing some people is there? LOL

It turns out that going on a tenting holiday abroad is going to be nearly as expensive as taking a conventional package because you are charged by the car of course on the ferry and again I'm going to have to pay a single suppliment in effect!!! I just can't win!

Oh well at least it would go some way to getting out and about around the UK as I think I might get myself a yearly sub to the National Trust and take myself off occasionally...although we are lucky around here as there are quite a few places in easy travelling distance for a day out :)

That's my rant over with for now

....I'll let you know what happens with the tent idea

xoxo Sioux

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

Anyone for Tapas?

The longer I food shop for one the more I hate it!! GGgrrrrr!

I am not really into cooking from scratch at the moment.....I can do it....but I can't get enthusiastic about it right now :( 

Ready made meals on the whole are not my cup of tea and in the main are just too much for one I find

.......although I can recommend the Taste the Difference Paella at Sainsbury's :) Yum!

A loaf of bread would last me about 3 weeks so I buy my favourite M&S loaf and freeze down the slices

I do make a scrummy red pepper pasta dish from scratch that is really easy as the only thing you cook is the pasta :) but I've had that twice a week for nearly 8 weeks now!!!

Today I fancied something really nice but what? So I took myself off to M&S....pity it is over the other side of the bay or else I would do a little shop every week...and there were deals on buy 3 for £5 from the deli range

...Yeh! Little tubs/packets that mean I can mix and match for the rest of the week :)

............So....do you fancy sharing my Tapas and pretending we are back in Valencia?

.....and yes that is Cava again...the rose sort.....:)

xoxo Sioux
P.S. See post below for Candy Winner #2

Memories - SCD

Well...how did you get on with the torso last week?
Did you  :)
or did you :( ?

This week it is still the torso shape and the prompt by my SCD teamie Laura is Memories.

I seem to get the Barbara Streisand song running through my brain whenever I hear the word Memories.....so here is my torso.

Background swooshed with DI's peeled paint/antique linen/pumice stone then stamped the  Paperartsy couple in archival black and the fringed material (again Paperartsy) with a combo of teal/celadon/chianti cats eye pigment ink...the word yearning is Distress embossed with antique linen and the word fragments embossed with Stamp n Stuff pewter

.........bit of frayed ribbon and a gorgeous little brad from Kaiser that has been waiting for just the right home.

Powerful stuff memories!!! Most of mine are of good times with Pip (perhaps that is what makes it so hard?)
....I can be getting along with life well and the next minute........boom!
.....the tiniest thing can set me off on a weepie!!!


I hope you are going to take the plunge and join in this week over at
Something Completely Different. :)

Thanks for looking and happy stamping!

xoxo Sioux

Mercado Central Valencia

One of the pleasures of travel is sampling local food and in the Mercado Central you can see the very best of Spanish food on display

.......oh how I wish there was anything half as good near here!!!

The building itself is spectacular and they say there are 1000 stalls inside...I'm not sure there are that many but there are a lot!! :)

(I've been to the other famous one in Barcelona and thought that was bigger but liked the Valencian one better)

The dome inside the market

The ceramic tiled wall outside

Hams on display

Pastries

Bocarones (whitebait...much larger than our English type...or sometimes known as white anchovy) we had these as a tapas dish one lunch time marinated in oil and vinegar....fabulous

Gorgeous little red peppers and fabulous loose salad leaves you can pick and mix...non of those nasty plastic bagged stuff here!

We went and had a coffee at a little cafe outside and these two guy/gals turned up on stilts...obviously part of the July feria entertainment

Thanks for joining me in the market today

Where to next time?

xoxo Sioux

Leaves - WOYWW

Another week another slight adjustment of stuff on my dining table for

.........WOYWW (don't forget to pop over for a nosey)!!

There are some leaves made from grungepaper waiting to be arranged on my third grungey book page......should be finished soon :)...and a couple of ATC backgrounds made from bits left over from the same project

.....I need to make sure I have a little stock of ATC's for my long trip up north in September as I know some of the attendees love to swap ;)

.....I have to admit that it is only recently I have been comfortable about letting go of my art work and doing swaps but I like the feeling :)

There is a stamp set from The Artistic Stamper (designed by Hels Sheridan) that I have left out 'cos I had an idea

.....and I need to leave it hanging around and in sight so that I don't forget the idea!!! LOL
....and I've just noticed some of that wrapper stuff you get on a cava bottle....Mmmm.

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

Beautiful Bridges

I mentioned the river Turia being diverted in my last post about Valencia and one of the results of that is that all the bridges that used to cross the river now of course cross the park and you actually get to walk under them

.....not something you can usually do with a river running through it!! LOL

Here is a taste of some of them

One of the modern bridges (Puente de las Flores or Bridge of Flowers)

One of the ancient bridges (Puente del Mar).......love that one lots :)))....it has a circular shallow pool underneath it...very moorish.

Another modern bridge (Puente de la Exposicion)

A statue on another ancient bridge (Puente del Real)

I'll be posting more Valencian pictures soon.
xoxo Sioux

SCD? - It's Blinging Official!!

A big hello from me fellow SCD'ers!

Yes! Today I have good news.....ring those bells
....'cos I'm now officially on the DT for Something Completely Different :)

How amazing.......how scary! LOL.......What a thrill to be asked :))))

When I saw this months format was "Torso's" I nearly wondered if I had made the right decision ......HOL
....but seriously it is not as daunting as you might think.....it's basically a different shape to stamp those lovely rubbery images onto
.....yeh we can do that!

So this weeks theme chosen by fellow DT Ang (Ooh! Get me!!!) is "A Bit of Bling" and here is my movie star torso....can't get more blingy than the stars of the silver screen can you?

I lightly coloured the background with DI spun sugar and brushed corduroy and stamped the Paperartsy movie star lady in brushed corduroy also -- then masked her and stamped the T!m ticket stamp......masked that then stamped the little stars (my own) in DI aged mahogany.......masked them then stamped the hounds tooth (my own) over the rest of it using a second stamping in brushed corduroy again.

Added black star gems to the red stars and a combo of gems around the big star...mainly because I did not have enough of any one colour! LOL
The little crown is Ten Seconds Studio metal in hot pink diamond....stamped and moulded.

....The wording is Paperartsy and is really good for filling in with dimensional Adirondack acrylics.

And that's not all folks!!!........I've also been creating digitally and have made a button for all you devotees of SCD to link to on your side bar
......I hope you like it :)

....so please grab the image and save to your computer

......then add the SCD url as a link when you upload the picture to your sidebar.
Thanks for looking and happy stamping!

Go on.......give a Torso a try....I'm glad I did :)

xoxo Sioux

P.S. Don't forget that the torso's should be ATC size as we are going to be swapping at the end of the month.....if you like the rather rounded figure I've used you can download
a jpeg version here
and a png version here

I have good news for a change!

Hi!

I have news that I am dying to share...but my lips are sealed! LOL

.........Well at least until tomorrow
.......so if you come back then I can let you know :)

Sorry to be a tease!

xoxo Sioux
P.S. If you come back on Saturday I'll have another little surprise waiting :)
P.P.S. Is it just me or was yesterday horrendous on the net I could not go forward for going backwards trying to comment on WOYWW?

WOYWW? An altered angle!

Well Julia is always saying that it does not have to be the desk you are working on it could just be the project...yes?

Well these two items have taken more than their fair share of my time in the past couple of days

I am hoping that sometime before I grow old with grey hair and no teeth that I can have more time to craft!!! 

I need to craft....I don't need to do DIY....the washing up...or the vacuuming....that last one really does my back in no end!!! LOL

Anyways enough of my whingeing as a little treat I took a picture of the dining table last night...yes I'm back to making a mess of that again!! But that can only be good...right?

There is a bit of a project near the wall that is for the chunky book swap

...yes I really am trying Heather! LOL

In the background just visible are three shadow boxes that were a bargain from Wilkinsons....I've only just discovered that shop and what a treasure trove of things you did not know you need!!! HOL They are awaiting altering but which day soon that is going to be is anybodies guess!!!!

xoxo Sioux

Disapointed? Moi!

I was going to post some more Valencian pics last night but my little DIY jobs got the better of me! Please tell me how drilling a total of 6 holes can take over 2 and a half hrs?!

Not only do I have to sort out my craft stuff more efficiently but it seems I've got to make a start on Pips vast supply of tools (he used to be a maintenance engineer) 'cos it took a while to find some stuff there too!!!

I gave up after at last fixing a new number to my entrance post and putting up a TV arm on my bedroom wall that now I have to buy a longer aeriel cable and power extension for as they no longer reach the sockets on the wall!!!!!!!.....I've still got to put up the smoke alarm tonight

...that shouldn't take long she says!!! Ha Ha

Anyways just to say that the mirror workshop obviously had enough initial enquiries as I got a call back from DBDS around 4:30 yesterday afternoon to confirm my payment so thanks to anyone who read the post yesterday and booked it too

.....I'm very grateful and I'll see you there :)

Disappointed? No not moi!!!

xoxo Sioux

My Oh My!

Oh my oh my!!! Two posts in one day!

But I am so excited!!!

I am making the long journey north not only to stay with my friends but to do the Lindsay Mason shrine and mirror workshops in Sept.....well actually I'm only booked for the shrine one in the afternoon at the moment as there needs to be a certain number of people for the mirror one to happen so if you are at all interested please book it then I won't be disappointed!!! LOL

Ring the Dawn Bibby Design Shop on 01254 356501.

Can you believe it but this will be the first ever workshops I've done....there just is nowhere around here that.......a) does stuff I want to do........b) does stuff I want to do on a weekend

I did a 20 min make and take at the Exeter show the other year but I don't think that really counts do you?

Can't wait....it would be nice to meet some of my blog pals if you are going....let me know and get booking that mirror workshop!!! LOL :)

xoxo Sioux

The Oranges of Valencia

Happy Monday!

The tag I posted yesterday was inspired by Valencia and her oranges!

Both the colour and the fruit!

These orange trees were in the Turia river gardens.....yep a garden in a river!! Or at least a former river....the Valencianos decided to re route the river Turia in the 50's (19) after another disastrous flood and turned it into a long winding gardens full of beautiful trees, plants, architecture and leisure areas.....it was an inspired thing to do and it is fabulous to walk through...even when it is 33 degrees and you are leaking quite a lot!!! HOl

The Oranges had all started to fall from the trees but not to worry as the great climate there means they get two crops a year

....and what we at first thought were lime trees were in fact orange trees that had shed all the fruit and these were the second crop of baby oranges waiting to ripen

...the colourful orange and yellow stick things are used in the "Battle of the Flowers" fiesta which we were lucky enough to be there for on the Sunday and are carried by the horsemen at the start of the procession (they are marigolds BTW)

We only managed a small section of the river gardens on the way to and from the City of Arts and Sciences (I'll show that another day) and some more of the gardens too.

Come back to share more of Valencia with me soon!

xoxo Sioux

Orange, Blue & Brown - SCD

Make a tag using the colours orange blue and brown is what is asked of us this week at SCD.

Now that gives a lot of freedom for expression and I can't believe it but those colours are soooooooooo saying Valencia it is unreal!!! LOL
I just could not wait to get started so here is my tag.

I stamped the Whiff of Joy tree in Archival sepia and masked it then spritzed the tag with some newly acquired Glimmer Mist (my first!) in patina with a touch of frozen lake
.....coloured the orange tree with DI's wild honey, shabby shutters, peeled paint, faded jeans, frayed burlap, walnut stain and brushed corduroy
....stamped the word viva in wild honey and the T!m swirls in rusty hinge
....added a second stamped streetlight (Cherry Pie) in frayed burlap
I am definitely going to have to make a scrapbook page to put this on :)
Thanks for looking and happy stamping
xoxo Sioux