Paper Hydrangeas and WOYWW

These little Hydrangeas are sitting on my desk at the moment - I've had this die for quite a long time and never got round to using it so I decided it was about time to use it or lose it!   I die cut all the petals out, found a polystyrene ball in the depths of my studio and had a go.

The first attempt is the blue one and I think I was a bit mean with the petals, so it's a little 'gappy'.  However, being a perfectionist I had to make another one that I was happier with - hence the pink one!

 They were rather labour intensive but I enjoyed the experiencem although it may be a long while before I get the die out again!
 I shall attach each one to a small circle of card and make them into gift tags.

 I am linking up with Julia over at WOYWW this week.

Playing with Texture Paste

I've had a busy couple of weeks where I just haven't had the chance to do much arty crafty stuff, but I needed a couple of cards for this month, so that made me sit down and do something!
While having a clear out recently I discovered a few pots of texture paste that I have never used so I thought this would be a good opportunity to try them out - luckily they hadn't dried out. 

I'm linking up with Julia over at WOYWW this week.

Alcohol Inks and WOYWW

In my tidying and re-organising frenzy over the last few weeks I have been discovering stash that I had thought lost or had completely forgotten about. Having unexpectedly come across a packet of Yupo paper I remembered how enjoyable Alcohol Inks can be, so decided to have a little play with them. 

I know they are usually beautifully vibrant and rich in colour but I am still in a 'muted' frame of mind and enjoying late evenings in my garden - so my tags are along this theme.

I accidentally discovered that if I add blending solution to the stamped image and then rub it off gently I get a wonderfully faded image, so I was able to layer them and achieve more of a feel of insects at dusk.   

I'm linking up with Julia over at What's On Your Work Desk Wednesday this week.

More Studio Organizing

I have been doing some gentle sorting in my studio, continuing on from last week - just a little bit here and there in the hot weather - and believe it or not this cupboard has been completely sorted and is looking a whole lot tidier!  When I sit at my desk this is on the far side of the room to my left.   

In the cupboard are treasures such as old bones, dead insects, half a crab, surplus teacups and milk jugs, antique baby shoes and many other precious bits that can't possibly be thrown away.  To the right of the cupboard you can just see my Grandma's carpet beater and some sewing machine drawers stuffed behind a pile of old suitcases (I'm a sucker for a vintage suitcase!)

At right angles to the cupboard I have three small shelves with lots more little precious bits and pieces including my collection of old teacups and saucers.  The individual shelves are generally grouped in colour order and my justification for collecting more treasures is that I often use them in photography!

As you can see I have a strong hoarding instinct but it's coupled with a strong desire to live with no clutter - it's a constant battle!!

I'm linking up with Julia over at What's On Your Work Desk Wednesday.  Why not pop over there and have a nosey around other people's work spaces!

Studio De-Stash and WOYWW

Cooler weather - what a relief - and so much more energy to do things!  I have been having a clutter clear and reorganisation in my studio this week and although the changes aren't big, it feels nicer!

Only the most necessary yarns have been kept (!) and they fitted neatly into four large wicker baskets - at the start my plan was that they would all fit into one, but I think I was being unrealistically optimistic!

More organising on the other side of the room - my large trunk of fabric, sitting at the end of my desk, was sorted out but instead of reducing it I found that once all the fabric was out it wouldn't all fit back in - hence the basket on top is now stuffed with overflow bits and I managed to send one small bundle of fabric to charity!  

This really has to be the ideal lazy-persons desk, as all I have to do is swivel my chair around and everything is within easy reach! My desk is empty as usual, as I can't stand having anything on it, but the pile of A4 boxes in the pictures is where the clutter is kept. Each box is for a different project/subject and the pile is getting taller and wobblier.

I'm joining in with Julia over at What's On Your Work Desk Wednesday this week.

A Little Bit of Night Time Garden

In the sweltering temperatures we've been having lately I have found the best time to garden is in the late evening and into the night.  

 I am definitely more attracted to my garden at this time,  especially by the intensity of the blue plants in twilight that seem to glow, and the shapes and silhouettes of the flower beds with touches of moonlight glinting on them. 
 The tags and card topper were inspired by both my garden this week and the left over backgrounds I'm still ploughing my way through (as per my previous post here)!

I'm linking up with Julia over at WOYWW this week.

Leftovers and WOYWW

 I've been using up the leftover scraps of backgrounds from my last two projects (here and here) and decided to die cut and punch out butterflies from them to make up some cards that I need for the coming weeks. 

 The seed head in this one was pressed a couple of years ago and used in Gelli printing, that's why it's covered in black paint - I knew I'd use it one day!

This one will be attached to a card shortly but it's a little too 3D to be posted easily - why do I always forget that when I'm busy making!

I stained some ribbon and wrapped it around a wire circle for the base - I gave the art stones and butterfly bodies a teeny touch of Treasure Gold - you can just catch some of the shine in the pic below. 

This butterfly was added to an arch I had left over from my spring garden projects - the pale green crackle background just matched the wings but the other greens, the Prills and inky splats, are a little questionable!

I'm linking up with Julia over at WOYWW this week.

Beach Collages and WOYWW

 I really don't do the beach in summer, although I do spend many hours at our local beach out of season and love it.  Somehow the three little backgrounds I had left over from last weeks collages just screamed 'seaside' at me, helped along by me finding a piece of sea pottery with a pretty wave pattern on it! 
  

It also gave me the perfect opportunity to use more of my old clay pipe stems - they make a perfect breakwater!  The gold foil I used on all three is not showing up very well in the photos but in one of two of these detailed shots you can see the light glinting on the gold of the coral, the sea glass and the stamped seashell.

I'm linking up with Julia over at WOYWW this week.