a little prima sneak of what’s due in store…

 

new trims

 

new pins

 

and papers..

 

The lurgy is starting to retreat now, and I’m hoping to get back to making a mess in the next few days.  Thank you to all those who sent me get well wishes. It’s much appreciated.

time out

Image by Karsten Schneider/Science Photo Library

We’ve been hit by the lurgy, so I’m doing my best to keep up with orders from the store and all the forums we sponsor.  Very sorry if I’ve been slow in getting back to you, hopefully normal service will resume shortly and I’ll get back to playing with inks and paints and all the things that make me happy.

playing with colour

This is a new double page in my large molekine note book.  I never used to like pink, but for some reason I love it in my journals.  It seems yellow has crept up on me as well.  So, I’ve spent half an hour today, playing with colour, a quick and simple page with lots of white space. Quite like it.

DIY Jenni Bowlin style

 

As a scrapper, one of my favourite alphabet sticker sheets are the 12x12 Jenni Bowlin ones.  I just love the style of the alphabet, so imagine how chuffed I was when I saw that there are stamps, in the same style! Yay!! Had to, I mean, just had to get them in for the shop.

 

At the same time as ordering the alphabet set, I had to get these Weekday stamps. So many “record your every waking moment” projects out there, you cannot tell me that these would not be well used and loved.  You can find both sets online in the store now in the Jenni Bowlin Stamps section.

 

Whilst on the subject of stamps – yes we will be getting the Whisker Monster stamps in from Stampotique.  Our order is already in we’re just waiting to find out when they will be shipping. We have restocks of your favourites and we’re adding some more designs to the range. 

 

Right then, it’s windy and that means we need a beach walk today. Post office first though for all those scrummy stash orders from you fabulous people!

works in progress

A couple of pages to share, they are both unfinished in that “it’s not done but I’m not sure I know what to do to finish it off" type not done. Although you’ll notice I have already journalled on the first page, so maybe it is done, or maybe I just don’t overly like it. I’ll look at them again soon and it will come to me.  In the meantime, here’s something to freak out the neatest amongst you….

ooooh, who works in a mess like this. ME!!  I do!!! Now do you see why I don’t do WOYWW! Hey-ho, feels quite good to have created though!

loving…..

 

More sneak from Prima, the new Nature Garden collection.  Genie Stones and Art Tiles. This also make me smile….

UKS Art Journey has begun

After huge interest on UKScrappers, UKS Art Journey was born, a series of weekly classes over the next six month to introduce you to the world of art journalling. There are lots of very talented teachers for the classes.  Each Monday will give you a heads up as to what you’ll need for the class on Wednesday.  Starting off with choosing a journal, or if you prefer, making your own.  Wednesday’s class is from the very talented Sarah Harris (AKA Flo), who will show you how to make your journals.
To celebrate we’re offering 10% off Moleskine Journals until midnight Friday, while stocks last.  If you’re making your own, check out our waxed thread, we have lots of colour available and it’s only 12p a meter.  If you’re only ordering waxed thread we will adjust the postage charges for you.
Happy Journalling!

CHA Winter 2012 - Prima Sneaks!

        

These make me smile!

ah….

Oh dear, a month since I posted. A month that has absolutely flown by.  Who said it could be January already…?  I don’t remember agreeing to that.  Not one spot of paint or ink to be seen either – that is not good.

Over Christmas we made a concerted effort to reorder the shop website and make thing easier to find. Some sections were just starting to take on a life of their own as we have expanded our product range so much since launching. It’s taken up a good chunk of Christmas and the New Year to get that done.  I’m waiting for bundles of re-stocks to come in and yet more extensions to the product ranges we have, especially all the new darkroom Door goodies we’ll be stocking.

I’ve signed up for a few classes and prompts this year as well to help get those creative juices flowing, and I will be taking part in producing classes for the UKScrappers Art Journey.  I have lots of things to prepare for that, and I have a Circle Journal which is now overdue! eek.  Luckily the kids go back to school tomorrow so it will give me some peace and quite to finally get on with stuff.  It’s hard to concentrate when you’re constantly hearing “Muuuuuuummmmm………”  My head sinks and I give up and go sort out whatever the current squabble is about and/or threaten to remove toys/x-box play time/remove chocolate privileges. One of them usually does the trick. You’d think I have teenagers, not kids in Infants!

I know it’s annoying to read posts that are apologising for not posting, which in a way this is, but I will be back to normal (I’m not going to try and define that, my head hurts already) soon. For now I must get on with it, so I’ll wish you a slightly belated Happy New Year and hope to bring you something more interesting next week.  In the meantime do stop by UKScrappers and check out all the new classes scheduled for 2012.  It will be a creative year indeedy!

If I lived nearer…

 

If you live near Bath, pop along to the The Holborne Museum to see Bruce Munro’s Field of Light exhibit.  It looks and sounds fabulous, sadly it’s a long way from here.

Field of Light consists of over 5,000 bulbs of light planted in the grounds of the Museum and flowing into the Garden Cafe. Acrylic stems are topped by frosted spheres which are threaded with fibre optic cables and lit by a colour projector. The result is quite magical, as both colour and light flow through the bulbs to create a uniquely captivating experience.

Yep, I wish I lived nearer.

Hip Hip Horray!

card from  Print for  Love of Wood on Folksy.

 

Last year I was whisked off to New York and taken to Tiffany's on 5th Avenue for the big 40. 5 days in what has to be my second favourite city.  My favourite being York.  Such different places but both make me smile. Luckily we live close to York and I have a full weekend spending time with my lovely husband and kids. My week started with a bouquet of flowers being delivered to me every day.  Then a weekend where I spent a Friday with just the two of us, lunch at my favourite restaurant in York with a spot of Christmas shopping along Stoneygate (home to Kath Kidston, the Teddy bear shop, The White Stuff and numerous other places pulling at your purse strings). Then it’s family time with a trip to the cinema to see Arthur Christmas (the kids haven’t stopped asking to go and see it since they saw the trailer for it) and dinner in the form a of Chinese meal.  And finally, a trip to Whitby to take in the sea air – the cold biting air I might add and , more food, fish & chips.  I loved every minute of it.

caught up in the hype…

Tim Holtz is fabulously creative and brings us humble folks in the crafting world, with the likes of Tonic, Ranger, Advantus & Stamper Anonymous, products that truly, I for one, would be lost with out.  I covert my scissors and oooh all those gorgeous distress products and idea-ology trinkets.  More recently I am in love with the District Market range…possibly because I’m a sucker for all things notebook and I was not disappointed when they turned up for the shop along with the burlap panels.

Now we’ve all see video footage of Tim at the shows with his trinket box full of idea-ology goodies and gone oooh with jealousy.  When I saw the new range of storage, and because I have access to these products because of the shop I ordered one, yep just one, of these Trinket cases.  It arrived this morning.

 

It’s my birthday next week,  but this was not a birthday present to myself. I genuinely wanted to know what they were like so I could decide if it was something I wanted to stock.

The trinket box was sent in the original box it was shipped in so when I realised I will admit to being a little excited and eager to open it, to take a peek at this prized possession.  What happened next surprised me.  You know when you get given a birthday present, and you know that your fabulous other half had provided someone with a list of idea’s at their request so they could get you something you really want, and you know each and every one of those idea’s was something you really wanted, then you open the present with them standing in front of you to find that they completely ignored the idea’s given to them but you still have to smile while you battle that sinking feeling.  That is how I felt this morning.

Now I knew it wasn’t going to be big, but I’m going to need a couple of these babies at least to house all my idea-ology bits and bobs. I ‘m also not enamoured with the quality of it either,  In the photo’s it looks quite good, nice solid handle, metal corners and latches, but the rest of it lets it down.  The faux leather trim, in my humble opinion it ain’t  all that when seen in real life.  the design frustrates me as the box opens out the opposite way to the way the trays open taking up, for me, much needed space on my desk to use it.  We don’t all have palatial studio’s to work in with huge expanses of worktop space.

 

The bottom tray is glued in place, as you would expect but, and yes I am being ultra picky now, the glue is all over the shop and not contained under the tray.  This isn’t ooze from using too much, this is brush strokes of glue. The tray are made from sturdy stuff, as is the box, but I am disappointed with the finish and with a retail price around the £30-£35 mark I’d expect something a little better, doubly so as it carries Tim’s name. This is of course just my opinion, and I dare say lots of you will be dismissive of it, and I’m probably missing a trick by making the decision not to stock them.  But there, you’ve now had my two-penn’orth, do with it as you will. I for one will continue to keep my trinkets in a RUB box with tray inserts.

and the winner is……

lemon said...

thanks for the great techniques uks lemon

Congratulations!  One set of Claudine Hellmuth Mini Studio Paints is yours!

 

 

 

 

did you blog hop here?

If you are participating in the UKS blog hop, you may have come here from 3 Jolly Scrappers .  Hope you enjoyed their project and didn’t forget to post a comment so that you can be in with a chance to win one of the prizes on offer.

First up, if you are new to my blog, a bit fat welcome to you! I’m Vicki, owner of a sprinkle of imagination where we have a passion for memories and getting messy! Which brings me nicely to our project - an accordion art journal, although, you could use it as a mini book rather than an art journal if you preferred.

To complete the project you’ll need:

a sheet of grungeboard (you know you have some, we all got it when it came out and then said – “now what?”)

a sheet of watercolour paper – I’ve used Windsor & Newton Bockingford 14x10 inch – 300gsm.  The size is the most important part, any watercolour paper will do, or you could substitute with a heavy weight cardstock. Check places like The Range or The Works.

Claudine Hellmuth Studio Paints

Brushes and plastic palette knife

Ranger Craft Mat

Liquitex Acrylic Inks

Jenni Bowlin Paint Dabbers

Liquitex Gel Medium & Gesso

Stencil of choice

Waxed Thread and a charm

Stampotique stamps

and lastly – an old gift card.

 

Start by applying a thin coat of gesso to both sides of your watercolour paper and grunge board.  Using an old gift card will help you get a thin coat. Let it dry on one side before you do the other.

Once the gesso is dry, apply some gel medium through a stencil with a palette knife (easier to get the gel out of the pot that way as well) in patches to create some texture for your backgrounds.  I used the Crafters Worskhop small circle grid, a big favourite of mine at the moment.  You’ll notice that the dots left on one side were a bit black as lazy me hadn’t cleaned off the black paint from the last time I used it.  Again, you’ll need to let it dry before you do the second side.

 While you’re waiting for everything to dry, select the colours you want to use to create your backgrounds. Add a little water to a small amount of paint and create a colour wash over both sides of the water colour paper and the grungeboard.  You’ll notice that the dry gel medium will create a resist.  If you want the resist to stand out more, then you can dab the still wet paint off, or if it’s started to dry, use a baby wipe or a slightly damp cloth to lift the excess paint off.  Keep applying the paint until you are happy with what you have.  Tip – use complimentary colours to avoid a muddy outcome. 

 

The next later on the page is created by drawing circles with the Liquitex Acrylic Inks, if you are worried about getting round circles then you can always use one of the basic circle stencils as a guide to help you.  Acrylic Inks come in dropper bottles so I just used the dropper to draw with.

 

This is the point where the size of the watercolour paper is perfect for working with the grundgeboard. Fold the watercolour paper in half – lengthways, and then cut it in half.

Next, score and fold each half at 3 1/4 inch intervals.  You’ll have a small excess at the end, cut this off ONE of the lengths. The stick the two pieces together with gel medium, using one of the short lengths to overlap them. This will then make one long accordion piece.

I’ve cut window in some of my pages, so if you want to do the same, this is the time to do it as it’s easier than when it’s stuck on to the cover.

The grungeboard is to form the cover for your book.  Lay it down lengthways and find the centre, then mark half and score across the short side a half an inch either side, giving you a one inch wide spine for your book.

Before you adhere your pages into your book, using a 1/16th inch punch, punch two holes in the back cover for the wax thread to go through and create your closure.

I’ve used a 1 meter length of red waxed thread, may seem a lot, but it will wrap around your journal three times to make an attractive closure.  Wiggle the thread until you are happy it’s in the right place, then stick the last page of the accordion to the back cover with gel medium and let it dry.  You can then wrap the thread and decide where to add a charm.  To do this create a lose knot and add a charm to a jumping, thread through the know and tighten.

You’re now ready to decorate the book, adding photo’s, or in my case stamped images and some doodling ready to add your journalling.

Hope you’ve enjoyed the project and feel inspired to have a go!  If you do, please leave us a link so we can come and see your version.

Now a chance to win prizes!

If you’re a member on UKScrappers, and leave a comment on each blog TODAY you’ll be entered for a chance to win a prize, remembering to include your UKS ID so we know who you are.

Anyone posting a comment here will also be entered in with a chance to win a set of Claudine Hellmuth Mini Studio Paints and a winner will be chosen at random on Wednesday.

 

Next to visit is A Trip Down Memory Lane. 

If you get lost along the way you can go back to UKS and find the full list of blogs taking part here

 

i’m saying nowt else…

It’s the UKScrappers Sponsors Blog Hop on the 1st November.  Come and hop with us, there will be prizes along the way.  Further details will be announced on UKScrappers on the 31st October.