My Wonderful Nan

Recently I've been sorting through lots of old photos of my Mums and came across this beautiful one of my Nan taken when she was 19 yrs old --- in 1903.

Violets were her favourite flower and as these are out in the garden at the moment I had to take this shot!

My husband scanned this original so as we can pass copies onto various family members and there was a spare one ----- so I felt it was only right and proper to make a small memoir.

Over on the PaperArtsy Blog the current theme is 'Niches" so the 2 went very nicely together. To find out more about the 'Niches' click on the link here.

I began by dismantling this small chocolate box which measures 3cm x 8cm. Here is a list of the paints, inks and stamps used in this project.

Fresco Chalk Acrylic paint in blush, lake wanaka, china, haystack, beach hut, inky pool and very berry.

Stamps from PaperArtsy ESN03 and HP1004, Clarity Word Chain No 5.

Ink brilliance crimson copper

Mica powder in antique red

Treasure gold in ruby and olive bronze

Grunge Paste

Crafty Individuals stencil

Blue watercress blaze embossing powder

The box was given various layers of paint and then I added the dictionary definition of niche to the upper part of the sleeve. The 2 sides of the sleeve had grunge paste added through the stencil and then once dry more paint was added.

I then stamped Inspire and heat embossed, added some stamping which was brushed with mica powder and then added touches of Treasure Gold to hi-light areas.

The inner part of the box was painted and then stamped with the text on the sides. The MDF heart was given 2 coats of blush paint, stamped, Nan added with peel-offs and the edges touched with Treasure Gold.

When I was growing up my Nan lived with us and many hours were spent on her lap watching her crochet, then when I was 5 yrs old she taught me to crochet and knit. The table cloth in the background of the picture was crocheted by my Nan and we used this on our wedding day underneath the wedding cake. The flower was a pattern I learned from the great lady all those years ago and I've never forgotten how to make them. 1884 being the year she was born.

I know niches usually have statues or such likes but this is my version.

The lovely Lucy - Annie,

at 19yrs old,

photographed by the Eastbourne Photographic Company on October 23rd 1903 !

The finished sides.

Lucy - Annie was a very special lady who inspires me each and every time I pick up a crochet hook. Sadly she died whilst I was carrying my daughter at the grand age of 96! so unfortunately  they never met, but now she too is a great master of the crochet hook.

Thank you as always for stopping by, I hope you have a good week, take care. Jane x

My Craft Art Journal

Good evening and welcome, tonight I would like to share with you the making of my first ever book/journal.

I was very lucky to be chosen as one of the members of Lucy Edmondson's team for PaperArtsy's #3UP, our colour brief was purple, yellow and a dash of blue ---- these perhaps would not be my first to go to set of colours but I like to try new combinations. I had decided to set myself the challenge of starting a new craft of 'bookbinding' and felt this was the opportune moment and as I didn't get around to making a piece for the ' Shiny Things' challenge a few weeks ago made this my theme to follow.

To begin with I painted a piece of A4 white card with Pansy and Plum Fresco Chalk Acrylic mixed with a splash of Dusty Concord Distress Ink. I then added touches of Zesty Zing, Pumpkin Soup, Inky Pool and China.

Then using stencil PS005 I sponged through dusty concord and then brushed over mica powder in perfect pearls and antique gold.

Next it was onto changing the colour of the book canvas and also adding a shimmer--- so I mixed Treasure Gold in Ruby and Sapphire on a tile with a palette knife and spread this onto the canvas, left this to soak in for about 10mins and then buffed up with a piece of kitchen poll and then an old, soft tea-towel.

As you can see there was a dramatic change in colour, but I was thrilled with how it blends in with the card for the cover.

Then it was on to making the signatures, each one was made from 4 pieces of A5-- one sheet of watercolour paper and 3 of 90gsm paper. These were folded in half to make 1 signature and there was a total of 4.

The holes were made with an awl and sewn together with waxed linen thread. The back/spine was given a coat of PVA glue and once dry the ribbon was attached with another coat of glue.

The backing boards and spine were cut to size and the book canvas was then attached with glue.

I then cut the painted card to size and attached to the boards. The inner lining paper was cut to size, the front page was stamped with the pen from LPC030 in watering can and then these and the signatures were glued in place. The book was then left under weighted books over night to dry.

This was a nerve racking time!

The next day I attached the book plate that I'd cut from blue and yellow leather using a Tim Holtz die, the letters ART were cut from card painted in plum and then triple embossed with clear embossing powder. The blue leather is very grainy and I have hi-lighted parts with sapphire treasure gold.

Well I know it has a few minor faults but I am thrilled with how its turned out. I'm now itching to make another and I think family and friends will be getting personalised books for presents this year. I have even persuaded Rob ( Hubby ) to make a book press!!

Thanks to all at PaperArtsy for the chance to take part in this series of #3UP I've really enjoyed the challenge.

Thanks also to my other team members, it's been lovely to have their support and to make new friends. If you have time do pop over to the PaperArtsy Blog and see the rest of the teams wonderful art work, click on the link here. 

Take care and have a good evening, bye for now Jane x

Using Stamps for Embroidery

I've had this set of Lavinia stamps for a few weeks and keep looking at them and thinking about using them as a base for embroidery --- had a look at Lavinia challenge blog for this month and the theme is 'Lemon and Lime' and I thought "not my usual choice of colours but hey why not"

I stamped the image onto calico that had been backed with some iron-on interfacing using a water based ink.

Following the design was actually easier than it first looked.

Once completed I cut around the image and frayed the edges slightly. I then decided to turn it into a tag.

For this I started with a Ranger large black tag and applied thin brush strokes of Fresco Chalk Acrylic in Guacamole, Chartreuse and Zesty Zing. Once dry I embossed the tag with Tim Holtz Notebook embossing folder and lightly sanded odd areas.

Then using white embossing powder and Lavinia's bubble stamps added random bubbles to the tag. The bubbles were then filled with Glossy Accents.

Next I stamped the smaller of the 2 flowers twice onto the tag in Pearlescent Olive ink and clear embossed. Then added a few toadstools using the same ink and powder. After heating the embossing the powder I applied some Treasure Gold in Olive Bronze.

Before attaching the embroidered flower I added touches of Inka Gold in Platinum to parts of the bubbles.

Although its hard to pick up in the photos there are lots of different textures to this tag which I really like.

I would like to enter this into Lavinia's Challenge titled 'Lemon and Lime'.

Thanks for looking today, if you like embroidering do have a look at your stash of stamps!!!

Have a good week, take care. Jane x