........the other hoots!

You know sometimes when you see something and some quote/joke/saying comes to mind? Well that happened when I saw this Sizzix embossing folder at the weekend! This owl just looks so cross or as if he is in pain that this joke came to mind!

 So, he was made into this journal page! A bit of fun to make you smile!

Sizzix embossing folder available from THE STAMP ATTIC.........it comes as one of a pair, the other has bats on it.

Think Mary Shelley, H. G. Wells, Jules Verne.........

telling stories featuring technology that didn't exist at the tme, but might someday.

STEAMPUNK...........an aesthetic movement based around the science fiction of a future that never happened.

I LOVED working on these journal pages.........not sure if it's very clear, there is a drawing of a train engine in the background. Over the top is a dressform from CHARACTER CONSTRUCTIONS and die cut wings from SIZZIX, leaves from STUDIO 490 (Wendy Vechi), clocks from PAPERARTSY.

All stamps etc available from THE STAMP ATTIC.

There's a common or garden bird

Alter It Monthly challenge says that September is RUST.........oh good say I as I LOVE rusty stuff, from the bits of rusty metal you pick up in the street (to the great embarrasment of sisters and husbands) to the pieces you can buy ready rusted, to the found objects that have rusted over time! This piece contains examples of all these things.

If you look closely you might just see that this very rusted bottle top once had Grolsch written on it! It is held in place with a rusty nail I found in the shed! More rusty nails are hammered into the top and sides of the canvas.
The arch across the top of the canvas is an old metal protractor I came across somewhere and the metal bird is a bought piece.

Rusty screws make great bird legs!

Normal service is resumed

no more naked men and blood.......well not for a while anyway!
I realised the other day that most of my recent blog posts have featured journal pages so I think it's time for something else.
So here is my mixed media steampunk book/necklace/thingy!

I started this piece about two weeks ago intending to make a pendant to enter into the Oh Alice! challenge where the theme was bling but I never got it finished in time! The pendant is now hanging in the aperture cut into the book cover

if you look closely I think (well hope) that you can see that there is a pic of Alice in there, it's on clear shrink plastic cut to fit the metal pendant/locket.............this was so hard to get a decent picture of!

it is suspended in the space by the metal prong thing sticking out the back of the cog, couldn't get it off so thought better make use of it then!

made use of those clock parts I acquired recently!

Oh yes, like the folded page bit at the bottom? I do, in fact I can't stop making them! It is an old book cut in half as in the number of pages and then in half as in height wise, this gives you 4 bits of book. You then fold each page in half and you get this fan effect, this is two pieces stuck back to back so each original book will make two pieces like this......sorry that was kinda hard to explain, I hope you got it!!
I spotted a challenge site I had not seen before over on Hels blog this morning, its called VANILLA SUGAR and the theme just happens to be CLOCKS!!! So I am going to enter this!

NUDITY AND BLOOD WARNING!

Ha, that made you look, or not, in which case you won't be here!
For those of you that dared to look...........a little eye candy!!!

This is the cover of the latest issue of Rolling Stone mag (can see this being used on a journal page some time soon) and it's prompted me to make a confession........I read vampire stories!! I was introduced to Twilight via Tim Holtz blog (something else to blame him for!!) and I've read all the books and seen all the films so far.
Then I was introduced to the Trueblood TV series by Michael deMeng, he talked about it on his blog and it made me curious so I went searching.  I discovered the stories were taken from a series of books by Charlaine Harris and I've read all those too, all 7 of them....... I stand corrected here apparently there are 10, I must have lost count.....thanks Lisa, though I only bought one, the rest I borrowed from my sister!
So before you think I am completely nuts I do read other more "proper" stuff too, including the fab Stieg Larson Millenium series (Girl with a dragon tatoo etc) and recent find Jo Nesbo (thanks Zoe for that one), the vampire stuff fills in between the more serious stuff!
 Trueblood is very tongue in cheek......or should that be fang in cheek......I mean the main character is called Sookie for goodness sake and at one point there is a goblin called Mr Hob, although if you've not watched it and are tempted to it can be pretty gory and graphic at times.

MEET PISTACHIO

and his friends Yellow Ring, Washer Upper and Alchemist!

Last week Sarah from Art of Moodling and I went to the craft centre in Ruthin, north Wales. There were various exhibitions on display but my favourite was these little recycled metal creatures by LUCY CASSON. So much character and humour in such small pieces, they made me smile :)

Just look at this little guys sewing machine with its plug hanging down.

Balanced on a ruler with a fingerprint decoration.

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And stood on a cotton reel.

I bought the brochure for the exhibition and was inspired to make a journal page spread. I scanned and printed some of the images from the brochure.

On the left is PISTACHIO (he is green in real life, I printed in black and white), then there is YELLOW RING, WASHER UPPER and ALCHEMIST.

Aren't they fun!!! Spotted what I used as the border around the page and to write the wording on? Yes, crossword puzzle. I saw it used on EFFIES blog to great effect a while back and stored the idea away for future use.

See that mottled white effect? I put some gesso in a spray bottle, watered it down a bit and sprayed it over the painted background, it settled into this pattern that I kinda like! Will do that again.

THE THINGS YOU LEARN

from a play day................did you know that the Crooked Man nursery rhyme has a basis in history? No, neither did I till I looked it up yesterday!
Yesterday my good friend TRACY and I decided to have a play day inspired by this blog NORAHS and this blog SOMETHING SUBLIME, while we were playing it occured to me that the houses reminded me of the crooked man nursery rhyme but neither of us could remember it exactly so I looked it up.
Go HERE to see the history behind it.

This is hard to tell but this is a double page spread in my Moleskine journal (one of my fav journals), painted black and then all the images glued in place. The houses are all made using parts from the three houses on the new PAPERBAG STUDIOS stamp plate called DOODLES AND DATERS.

Remember the peeking Stampotique girls from a couple posts back? I really liked the way they looked so used the idea again here.

When Tracy left last night these pages were almost done and I had another spread in a smaller journal (with brown pages, from Paperchase) part done, I sat and finished them both in front of the TV!

Same sort of idea except this time I used the complete houses instead of parts of them like in the first one

The Paperbag Studio new stamp plate will be available from THE STAMP ATTIC this next week.
Now I have to tell you the risks I took to take the photos for this post! I like to take my pics outside as the light is generally better than in the house, so there I was this morning in me dressing gown and a pair of flips flops in the garden in a very blustery wind risking exposing meself to the neighbours any minute, conjures a picture I know.........SORRY! Seconds after I came back inside the heavens opend an it POURED with rain! As I say the risks you run!!

Prepare to be jealous.............

if you like STEAMPUNK that is!!!! Today I was out shopping with my sister and another friend and look what I got!

We were wandering around and came across this small shop that was advertising watch and clock repairs, I thought to myself "I wonder?" so in I went and asked if he ever had any parts left over that he could not use, he said he did but that they were in the cellar and he did not have time just then to sort any out but if I wanted to I could go down there and get some myself!!! IF I WANTED? LOL I was down there in a shot and this is what I got FOR NOTHING, FREE, GRATIS!!
My sister says I am terrible but I say if you don't ask you don't get!!

Then we found a shop selling vintage stuff and I got this CUTE little jug! How sweet is that?

That's what I call a good day shopping!

OK, now some art stuff! You may remember a post a while back featuring my fennel plant, well it was suggested that I use some of the pics in some art work so I have done just that.

Not only used a pic of the fennel.......printed onto ordinary printer paper.........but some ACTUAL fennel.

A while ago I saw a post by LYNN on HER CREATIVE SPIRIT showing how she makes bookmarks with pressed flowers and tissue, I really liked the idea and stored it away for future use.
I have long used tissue paper and Diamond Glaze to apply stamped images to awkward shaped surfaces and wondered if I could adapt Lynns idea to attach some dry fennel to my page? After a  little experimenting I found it worked quite well.
Basically the idea is....apply some Diamond Glaze over the surface where you want the dry fennel (or whatever other dry stuff you want to use), add the dry plant, lay the tissue over the top and add more DG. Use a brush to spread the DG, the tissue will start to become see-through. I then use wet fingers to press the tissue into place around the plant material, taking care as the tissue gets quite fragile. Set aside to dry, add colour wash.

NOT SO SWEET 16

It's time for the STAMPOTIQUE DESIGNERS CHALLENGE. This time we are challenging you with the theme of "NOT SO SWEET 16".
Here is my piece of inspiration!

Stamps used are:
Perl 6071
Topknot 6080
Karin 6108
Jeepers 6082
Clover 6086
Available here in the UK from THE STAMP ATTIC

I AM NOT THERE

A couple of weeks ago I went to the Imperial War Museum North on Salford Quays, if you have not been I recommend that you go, it is a great museum, very cleverly laid out. In fact the actual building the museum is housed in is a statement about war, it is made of three shards, each shard being a piece of an imagined globe shattered by conflict.
This journal page spread is inspired by this visit and this postcard and set of paper strips that I bought while there, the strips are used as a border around the page.

  I was a little unsure about blogging this piece as it uses a poem that is often used at funerals and I did not want to upset anyone who might think it a little in-appropriate, but I decided to go ahead as it is my interpretation of how the museum made me feel. After all war is a very sad thing.

I had always thought that this was a first World War poem but it turns out it isn't, in fact its origin is not really known. I found several versions of where it is thought to come from.......one that it was found on a soldier killed in Northern Ireland and read by his father at his funeral, another that it was written by a woman called Mary Frye in 1932 and yet another that says it is a Hopi Indian prayer. Whatever it is it gives me gooosebumps when I read it.

Now for another flower from my garden

See that little flower bud?

 Well it opened into this tiny little water lily! And I mean tiny, it is about an inch across and grows in a wooden barrel in my back garden!


I am entering this into the SUNDAY STAMPER challenge this week which is FLOWERS.