Take a Tag!

Hello!

What a rotten few days we have had weather wise! Started doing the garden ready for the school holidays, but no.. rain stops weeding.. I object to gardening at the best of times.. no way am I drowning while doing it!

So.. I went through my cupboard, and I found the beautiful kit I got from Duck Pond Crafts... it really is stunning, and I decided I really needed to do something with it, but what?

Tags seem to be huge at the moment.... in all the magazines, all the groups.. tags everywhere... so I decided to .. Take a Tag.... but do what exactly? Well.. combine it with my favourite crafty pastime of the moment, and make a book....

Are you sitting comfy? We shall begin! :-)

Take three A3 sheets of cardstock.... the fat Ginger Tom doing his Olympic Gold Star Ignoring Me Technique because he knows he shouldn't be there, is totally optional!

Take the Bloom Kit from the Fabulous Duck Pond Crafts.....

OK.. Roughly position the tags on a sheet of A3, and decide how big you want each "pocket" to be.... then score a lip at one end, so you can stick this sheet to the next...

Then decide how deep you want each pocket to be.. I have given mine fairly deep pockets.. and score... do this on all three sheets...

Then you need to fold them all so they are concertinaed (is that spelt right?? Blogger spell check says it is.. I am not sure myself!!) and fit neatly together. Folding back the thin lip you first scored so it is out of the equation, fold each sheet in half, then the edges to the middle to make four panels in each sheet of card,

Then open and fold up the Pockets you scored, and using a bone folder and some hefty pressure (LOL) crease everything into place!

Now... Quick Heads-Up at this point.. it pays to think ahead instead of making it all up on the spot.. having creased it all.. I realized I folded the wrong way.. so quick unfold, and re-crease! Durrrr! When it is all folded, you want the first pocket to be inside the "book" not as the cover! Oh well! (the third sheet I then decided to cut down so I had ten pockets (as I had 10 tags) but that is up to you how many pockets you want!)

Now to make the cover.. This is done using very technical and exact measuring.. so pay close attention! LOL
Lay a sheet of card on your mat, portrait, and position one of your folded pockets on the bottom corner (either will do)Landscape. Score a line a little bit bigger than the pocket is so it will cover it nicely.... Remember what size you scored at! Now the technical bit! Hold all the pockets together, and stand up just above the score line.. give them a bit of space to fit easily, and score another line... then score again using the measurements of the first score (you know what I mean!) Turn the card and score it so it is just bigger again that the pocket, and cut and crease....

OK.. Now we have everything folded the right way.. onto the fun bit... Getting Inky! Put a sheet at a time somewhere getting messy doesn't matter.. I have a Spray Box.. and get inking and spraying and all that other messy fun stuff! Then leave somewhere safe to dry.. which in my house means somewhere the Fat Ginger Tom can't reach! Ink and spray the covers too!

Once they are all dry.. (I inked up a couple of tags while I was getting messy!)

it is time to decorate... taking the (I may have said this before) Fabulous Bloom Kit... which has soooo much in it.. look!!!!... And play.

Obviously this is very much up to personal taste.. but here is my cover..

...and assemble...... Now another Heads Up Here.... if you want a ribbon tie on your book... NOW is the time to add it.. DO NOT stick the front cover down then remember the ribbon, cos you need to rip it off really quick to get the ribbon on it before it all sticks together forever!!!! I have only stuck the front cover so far, as I might want to use brads etc to decorate the pages, and it will be easier if I can still get to the backs of the pages to do this! See.. sometimes I DO think ahead!!!!

(yes.. this was the point I realized I had forgotten the ribbon tie and panic set in!!)

I have quickly tied it together to give the look of being finished.. and I have also started playing with a couple of tags... I will let you know how I get on with them..

So.. thats it! If you stuck with me all the way to here.. Thank You and Gold Star! If you liked what you saw.. leave me a message.. makes me feel like I have friends! :-) If you love the look of the kit as much as I do.. pop over to Duck Pond and grab one.. they are soooooooo fantastic... and if you decide this looks fun and you want to make a tag book.. please let me know.. I would love to see it!

Right.. off to do battle with my slightly broken and temperamental kettle.. cos I need a coffee after that huge blog post... Happy Crafting, stay inky, have a good day and see you soon

Hugs xxxxxx

Long time no blog!

Good Morning Bloggers... How long since I last posted??

Been laid low with a rotten bout of Shingles.. seriously been yukky.. felt soooooo ill.. No likies, no likies at all.. but I think I am on the road to recovery.. and having found my blog dashboard in the New Updates (why????) I have a few piccies to show you.. OK.. a fair few.. you might want to grab a coffee if you plan to stay to the bitter end! :-)

Been playing with my Art Journal.. and new ideas and things.. here are some of the results....

First off, Mermaids taken and adapted from the Fabulous Suzi Blu book....

A Doodle Face.. with everything I needed to get off my chest written first then Gesso-ed over while still wet

My New Rules!

A couple of Plays with Encaustic.. forgotten how much fun it is!!

Happy Face... adapted from Doodles Unleashed

Playing with Paper Dolly's.. taken from ideas in College Couture

A few Flower Fairies.. my style! ;-)

And my latest page.. even scribbled all over.. Christina A is still soooo beautiful.. I could hate her you know if I wasn't such a Nice Person!!!

Right.. thats it from me.. got some more ink and stuff to do while I finish getting better from this yukky nasty illness..... catch ya laters! xxxxx

Journal update!

Morning!!!  Just a quick blog to show you that I actually finished one of the unfinished pages of my last blog....    And here it is

Right.. now you all have to go and sit down and recover... cos that is it!  End of Blog Post.. Only one picture.. Gasp Shock Horror!  I must be ill! :-)

Toodles!!! xxxxx

Wonderful Weekend!

Hello and Good Monday Morning!

Was away for the weekend at a luvverly friends, and we Played!!!!!! (as well as chatted, and giggled and chatted, and giggled.. you get the picture!)

And we Journalled!!!!

I had a new book which I started, and I got inky and messy AND I art-ed direct to page.. I was soooooo Brave! :-)

And here it is so far..........

Inside page....  Dylusion Stamps and inky mess through stencils!  Coloured/painted with Inktense pencils

 Flower (no...really!!!!!) Chalk mists and a HUGE stamp (the stamp is chalk misted too)

To be finished... Dylusion Stamps and Acrylic Paint

More chalk mists (I do like them!!!) A stencil and dimensional paint , the adorable Willow (I think!!) and stamps and fat pens

Guess what sprays????  Leaf stencil and Paper Artsy stamps... needs to be finished

 H20's this time.... and a stencil.... needs to be considered and then when I have thought of something.. finished!

Bit pleased with myself!  I neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed those chalk sprays though!!!!!!!


Hugs all
xxxxxx

What a load of .......

Orchids!!!!

Morning Blogland Luvverlies!   I "ran away" this weekend.. with a wonderful friend, to stay with a very dear friend, and on Saturday we invaded RHS Wisley with even more fabulous friends!  It was a brilliant day... Wisley is so fantastic.. if you have never been.. you must!  We go there every few months for a meet up, and I have to say, this time, Wisley was truly beautiful.. the colours were stunning.. piccies to follow!  We were so lucky with the weather too.... rained all last week, raining as I type.. but Glorious Sun Shine on Saturday... How frightfully Civilized! :-)

Anyway.. we were a group..  10 of us in total.. and it was lovely to catch up.. we walked and talked.. talked and walked, sat and had coffee and talked, walked and talked some more.. my back HATES me today, but it was sooooo worth it!

Very informative day too... (hence the Blog Title!). a friend and I discovered a VITAL piece of information that had been kept from us for waaaaayyyyy too many years.....  WHY had we not known this before??  Oh the opportunities missed by us not knowing!  We were almost crying with laughter (yes.. I admit.. neither of us has Maturity as our middle name.. nor do we want any of it!!)  But, Oh, the hysteria in the Glass House.... we were getting some odd looks .. but we were too busy laughing and holding each other up to care!!!  We also proceeded to giggle our way around the rest of Wisley while I was mentally composing suitable Blog Posts!

What was this piece of Vital Information we had been so sadly ignorant of?

I will show you (yes I HAD to take a picture cos it made us laugh so much... and No.. Maturity is not an issue in my life as previously stated!!!!)

OK.. so we both regressed into spotty pre-teen school boys laughing at the dirty joke.. but we did it soooo well!   And there were Orchids everywhere...  so the hilarity of the whole moment.. lasted!

I can appreciate that those who of a Horticultural mind will have known this, (I know Pretty Red Flower, Pretty Yellow Flower, Pretty Pink Flower etc, Rose, Daffodil, Tulip, Daisy and Sunflower.. all gets a bit foggy after that!!) and those whose humour does not reside in the gutter may not find it as funny as we did...  But it made our day!

So... trying to redeem myself here from my filthy sense of humour, and make myself look adult and all that.. here are some pretty pictures.... of flowers,  scenes, ducks, and yes.. Testicles!!!!! ( Hah!  I said Testicles on my blog!!!!! )
  Enjoy! xxxxx

The rockery!

I love this plant.. think it is amazing!

Such stunning colours!

Was totally taken by the faces in these....  Love them!

The "Caterpillar Cactus"!

Yes.. this one makes me and my friend giggle too!!!!

I think these are incredible.. they look like little nurseries for Fairy Babies!

The Road to being An Artist!

Hello!

You remember that book I bought... well....  It has changed somewhat!  It has had several covers painted on, and taken off, and it has now had all of its pages removed and put back.. well some of them! LOL  Poor Book.. still I think it was a journey worth taking.. and I am THRILLED with the results.... and with how much I have come on with this Art Stuff!  I am now Proud to stand up and Shout.. I AM An Artist!


OK..Lots of Pictures... Sorry!  One base painted front page

Decorated "randomly"  I like doing this bit sooooo much!

Add a face....

 Ewww.. Not Pretty... Face base coated and ready to... ermmm... :-)

 Hmmm... Hiccup number 1.... She "peeled"

Right.. I did try to fix the problem.. but it wasn't having any of it.... so .. Base Coat Take two!

And a new spritzy inky cover

Draw and colour Girlie off the page, so she doesn't Peel again

 And stick down.....    And play.............

And Hate Her!!!!

Then, My beloved and Trusty Amazon delivered a Birthday Pressie to me... Doodles Unleashed, Oh WOW.. what a book....  With this and the scrummy book my friend got me.... I am having soooo much Face Fun!  Anyhows...  I hated the cover soooo much... off it came... yes again!

So .. Backtrack...  Blank Page.. I cheated this time and stuck a sheet of good quality paper to the cover.. I don't think it would have taken much more abuse!!!! .. Then spritzy Inky stuff.. blah blah blah.....

This one.. I LOVE!!!!!!!

 Decided at this point.. once I had painted etc the inside pages.. it would be all fat and wouldn't shut.. so pulled all the pages out, sorted them, and put some of them back together with the Bind It All and then stuck it back in the book

 And finally (Phew says you.. end of the pictures!!)  The Back Cover....

This is to be my Book Of Faces....  if you survived all the above... check back.. I might have some more pages to show you... when I have done them!

Happy Doodling! xxxxx