Patchwork Vincent

Ever in need of a creative play day..?

Well this journal page is just that.

Some of you may know I have a love for all that's Vincent.

Such a misunderstood and underestimated Artist,
if he had lived in this day there would have been a lot
more people to listen and guide him through his tormented journey.

*Here's my patchwork Vincent with a few close ups of the process..*

It all started like this on Wednesday, a found Art Journal
with another unfinished page.. Time to play!

The heat wave has been playing havoc with some of my art materials but these
neocolors II's can take it even though they look as if they have seen better days.

As do these very old neocolors which I inherited a few months back.

Just needed to scratch through the surface to find their colour... there it is..!

Not sure these Dina Wakley birds work as crows.

Knew I should have just hand drawn them.

 A little mix of modelling paste works a treat
for adding small amounts of colour and texture.

Strips of Van Gogh Washi and a found sticker or two adds interest

and is a reminder that I still have plenty of this Washi left to use... 

..if I can remember where I have tidied it...

My patchwork Vincent page is complete, or is it??

I think there's still plenty of space to sketch in more snippets
of those greats and I really do need to sort out those crows!



Thanks for stopping by..

Wishing you a Fantastic Friday
and a creative weekend.

Hugs Tracey xx

I'm linking up with PPF

and Art Journal Journey hosted by Chris

Butterfly and Blossom

Dear Creative Friends,

I'm sad to say this will be my final That's Crafty blog post.

With life's busy twists and turn's I need to take a step back and catch my breath.

So please pop on over HERE one more time for those how to do's..

Although I'm hanging up my That's Crafty DT Blog and Challenge Apron

I'll still be flying the That's Crafty Flag, sharing a creation every now and then.

Thank you as always for your sweet comments, emails and support

and a BIG Thank you to Laura for putting up with me!!

*I'll catch you all in bloggerland,

there's still plenty to see from me*

Hugs & Creative Wishes

Tracey xx

WOYWW #477

Happy WOYWW everyone..

It's time to share what's on our workspace and peep at everyone else's,

thanks to our host Julia over at the stamping ground..

Welcome to WOYWW #477

I'm looking a little tidier this week.. 

REALLY I hear you say, well if you saw the mayhem and sheer chaos from last week 

you will agree it is looking slightly tidier. Like waiting for a bus both indoor 

and outdoor storage units arrived together so the air was very blue 

whilst putting both together as it's been so darn hot!.

  3/4 of the chaos reorganised just a few books and bits and bobs to put away now.

I can see my table again YAY!!!

Found a super piece of cosmetic packaging my Daughter gave me months ago with 

Tattoo work on it, need to find a safe place for it but not too safe so I lose it hee hee!

It's hiding new stamps at the moment shhhh...

Here's what I will be up to today, set up outdoors with a morning spare 

before rush hour begins in the hope of finishing a long awaited journal page...

The Doll is currently caged until further instruction/alteration!

I'll be round to visit asap but please be patient as you know my laptop has seen 

better days and needs to stop, take a rest and reboot after it's visited a handful of pages.

Happy WOYWW Hugs

Tracey xx

It Flies.. Paperbabe Challenge #78

Happy Friday everyone

It's time for another Paperbabe Challenge with this fortnights theme being *It Flies*

Flutter on over HERE and see what it's all about...

there's a prize to be won for one lucky creative!!

Some of you may remember this little creation that I teased you with last challenge.

Well today I'll explain what it's all about with a handful of pictures and blogging words.

Onto calico fabric I painted and stamped the Paperbabe *Happy Soul* 

rubber stamp. Machine stitched around it's edge and attached an eyelet.

This is the front cover of my Shopper Notebook... aahhhh that's what it is!!
Read or scroll on to see what lies behind..

Stamping the background Butterfly onto fabric, I used some scraps of 

rice paper to stamp the Butterfly detail line up and paste on top of the fabric.

Card used to test out colours from the previous challenge is trimmed 

to fit the cover, stamped randomly with Paperbabe Stamps and edged in 

machine stitch. Machine stitch and beads embellish the fabric Butterfly.

Recycled junk mail envelopes create the note book pages.

with a little brayering to brighten those notebook pages..

Elastic cord sewn onto the back of the fabric panel holds the note book in place.. 

When running low those recycled pages can easily be replaced after all it's a 

resource we all have readily available.

My Shopper notebook is complete..

Secured onto the shopper bag an altered pen hangs along side too.

There's no excuse to forget your shopping list now..!!

Thank you for stopping by you really brighten my day.

Have a fabulous weekend what ever you are up too.

Creative wishes Tracey xx

I'm linking up with PPF

Creative Supplies:

Paperbabe Stamps - Pop Dots - Design a Tweed - Butterfly Pieridae

Little book of...

Hello everyone,

I'd like to share some Dinky Fun with you over on the That's Crafty Blog today.

Here's one little peep with much much more right over HERE

 

Thank you for popping on over and sharing part of your day.

Wishing you the very best of days.

Creative wishes

Tracey xx

Be the Smile.. It's a That's Crafty Challenge REMINDER..

Hello Creative Friends,

It's time to remind you of the Challenge going on over on the That's Crafty Blog..

*Close to Nature*

If you'd like to share your creative side with us we'd love to see you over THERE

Pop on over and read those entry rules there's prizes to be won.. !!

*Here's a little That's Crafty creation and how it came to be..*

Scraping paints onto a greyboard Tag I created a background

Stamping Lynne's sunflowers onto rice paper using versafine 

the images were gently torn around and pasted onto the tag 

with a watered down solution of multi purpose glue.

Painted with multi surface paints you see how the image 

continues along the edge of the tag...

A large flat back gemstone embellishes the middle sunflower with black and white 

pen bringing out parts of the image that may have been lost during painting.

Onto rice paper I stamped a sentiment from the same set and adhered it to the tag.

A ribbon bow attaches the tag to a card making it easier to be removed

if the recipient wishes to display it making an extra sweet little gift.

My *Be the Smile* Tag Card is complete.

Thank you for stopping by and please don't forget to check out what 

the super talented That's Crafty Team have created to inspire you.

Wishing the brightest of days

and Crafty Hugs

Tracey xx

Crafty Supplies:

That's Crafty: White/Greyboard Tag

That's Crafty Multi Surface Paints

That's Crafty Multi Purpose Glue

Rice Paper

Versafine 

Black-White pen

Large Flat Back Gem and Ribbon

WOYWW #476

Hello everyone

It's WOYWW476 and time to share what's on our work desk and visit others 

courtesy of our lovely host Julia over at the stamping ground.

*WARNING*

For those with OCD or just liking a place for everything you may need to look away.. 

I've made a bit of a mess this week... in the hope of tidying up some WIP's I decided in my 

wisdom if I piled them all onto the kitchen table I could sort them out one by one.

Yeah Yeah.. who was I trying to kid..?

Just like the magic porridge pot it's grown and grown.. It's only when I stopped that I 

realised how many things I have on the go.. Arggghhhhh as if life isn't busy enough.

I should never have started and most definitely never have stopped until i'd finished. 

I'm awaiting delivery of some indoor and outdoor storage to help house this mess.

Your eye's are not playing tricks on you, there is a Doll on the table.

She escaped from the Play house at the bottom of my garden on Sunday.

Maybe she was afraid of the Bee's that are nesting underneath it hee hee!!

My intention was to put her back where she fell out of but I think she'd make 

a great alternative Christmas Elf on a Shelf.. Sigh..! Another WIP..

Have a fabulous day WOYWWer's

i'll be round to visit asap.

Creative wishes

Tracey xx

The beginning and the end...

Hello Creative Friends

Today i'm sharing some That's Crafty Creativity 

over on the That's Crafty Blog.

Here's a sneaky peek with those How to do's..

OVER HERE...

Thank you for sharing your time.

Wishing you a wonderful day.

Creative Hugs

Tracey xx

WOYWW #475

Good Morning everyone.

I'm not quite sure where the last week has gone but it's time again to share 

what's on my work space. Many thanks to Julia over at the stamping ground 

for hosting WOYWW #475

Well there's not much Crafting been going on this week life's been so busy 

with hardly any time to get online.. a welcomed break with this dysfunctional laptop!!

...but today is partly free so i'm spending the morning having a little play time using
those products I won from Kezzy a few weeks back and hoping to catch up
with what's been going on in blog land..

There's something quite magical about eating breakfast outdoors 

watching the sunrise with the sound of the dawn chorus..

Dorthe kindly notified me of my win, here's the little gift I sent her to say

*Thank you* which I can now share with you as I know it has been received.

The posy was cut from one of my Lavender bushes which have thrived better than ever 

this year with the mixture of stormy weather and the last 4 weeks of Summer sunshine.

The Butterflies and Bee's are having the time of their lives dancing within it.

Have a great day everyone, I'll be round to visit asap.

Creative wishes

Tracey xx

Paperbabe Challenge #77 ~ Picture Inspiration

Hello Creative Friends

I hope you are all keeping well and looking forward to the weekend?

Today I'm here to announce a new Paperbabe blog challenge

using the picture below as your inspiration.

We'd love to see your take on the Picture Inspiration so

pop on over HERE and join in with the creativity.

Here's what I got up to and how it came to be..

Using a large canvas tote bag I masked around the edges and used paints suitable 

for fabric to create a background. Painting, spraying, dabbing and scraping through 

stencils from the Paperbabe range. I had so much fun creating it..

With the Peony and Buds stamped onto plain decoupage rice paper I applied directly 

onto the painted canvas using fabric decoupage glue, sealing it with another coat 

and then began to paint it using the colours from the picture prompt.

When finished I painted around the flower blending in colours to hide any of the rice paper still visible. When happy with the design I removed the masking tape.. 

I love how the paint has seeped just a little outside those lines.

With some machine stitching added around the edges of the print 

I ironed on the back to fix the paint making it suitable for washing. 

My Hand painted Canvas Tote Bag is complete.

...but what about those hanging words I hear you say..?

well I'm saving that tutorial for another day!! Hee hee..

Thank you for sharing your time today and popping in

it really makes my day.

Take good care everyone

Creative Hugs 

Tracey xx

I'm linking this to Paint Party Friday

Creative Supplies:

Paperbabe ~ 6" x 12" 7mm Stripes Stencil, 

Paperbabe ~ Checkerboard Stencils 

Paperbabe ~ Dots Stencils in all sizes. 

Paperbabe ~ Peony & Bud Stamp Set 

IndigoBlu Paints

Fabric Decoupage Glue

Decoupage Rice Paper

Fields of Gold

Hello Creative Friends,

It's Thursday and my turn to share some 

That's Crafty Creativity over on the That's Crafty blog 

Here's a sneaky peek with the full picture and how to do's over HERE..

Thank you for sharing your time and hope you can pop on over to take a look.

Wishing you the best of days.

Creative Wishes

Tracey xx

Close to Nature ~ That's Crafty Challenge

Hello Creative Friends..

It's time for a new theme over on the That's Crafty Challenge Blog

*Close to Nature*

If you would like to share your creative side with us we'd love to see you over HERE

There's prizes to be won so pop on over read those entry rules and check out 

what the talented That's Crafty Team have created to inspire you.

Here's my interpretation of the challenge..

Using the keyhole MDF book cover Surface I smeared on texture paste 

and used the back of a fork to make marks in the hope of simulating bark.

Leaves from the Butterflies and leaves set are stamped onto Kraft card and cut out. 

Using Flat Matte Sprays the leaves are painted with white also added to some of the areas.

This completely changes it's transparency creating more new shades.

With the Book Cover painted in multi surface paints, black is scraped around the 

edge of the key hole and heated with a heat tool till it bubbles to create a raised edge. 

Strips of dyed card help map out where the leaves will fall, all held down with gel medium.

Gel medium and twisted wire holds a variation of beads in place adding 

embellishment and breaking down the similarity of the leaves within the design.

The stencilled Rose used to test out texture and colour has been cut and applied to guide the eye to the key hole where you can just catch a peek at what lies behind the door.

The sentiment from Lynne's Wildflower stamps fits perfectly with this cover.

I'm building up a collection of pictures and boards that create 

intrigue through that keyhole before I string it all together.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett was one of my Favourite reads as a child.

I would have loved to discover a Secret Garden just like Mary Lennox did...

Tomorrow I will share what lies through that keyhole.

Look forward to seeing your take on 

*Close to Nature*.

Creative Wishes

Tracey xx

Crafty Supplies:

That's Crafty: Surfaces MDF Book ~ Keyhole Cover

That's Crafty: Texture Paste

That's Crafty: Gloss Gel Medium

That's Crafty Stamps: Doodled Butterflies & Leaves

That's Crafty Stamps: Lynne's Wildflowers Set 1

That's Crafty: Multi Surface Paints

That's Crafty: Flat Matte Sprays

That's Crafty: Roses Stencil

Wire and Beads

WOYWW 474

It's WOYWW 474 and time to share whats on our desks.

Over at the stamping ground our host Julia points us in the right direction 

so we can share ours and take a peek at many others.

 I have to put my hands up this week and say this space is sadly staged

due to on going computer issues and the fear I may not be able to post this at all.

So.. here's the contents of my latest purchases from the CCS at the NEC last Friday, 

this is the first time I have EVER attended a craft show with a Crafting budget. 

My gosh it was hard but I managed it.. YAY..!! All this for under £50 

with a couple of quid left over for the Laptop piggy bank fund.

I was so lucky to pick up a couple of the scrap bags of upholstery fabric from the Millshop. 

A bargain at £5 a pack and just the ticket to recover a seat pad in a well loved arm chair.

Sizzix Bigz dies, half price & half price again..

Frantage embossing powder 3 for £5 and more BEADS!!

Some of you have previously asked about my handmade jewellery.

This is a simple piece I made around 8 years ago and comes out every Summer, 

the wire links are all hand crafted and the gemstones are Impression Jasper. 

At the Craft Show I managed to spot some pre-drilled Impression Jasper pendants 

a bargain at £1.29 each, it was so nice to be able to hand pick the sizes and shapes.

I'm keeping these close to hand as I feel some new pendant ideas coming on!!

Thank you for you lovely comments and visits last week i'll be round to visit asap...

and to all my blog Buddies out there who celebrate independence day..

**HAPPY 4th of JULY**

Creative wishes

Tracey xx