Little Book of Insects

I decided to have a little play at book-binding this week as I wanted a notebook for sketching and jotting down ideas about moths and other insects.  I was quite pleased with how neat the binding was, as I am usually rather haphazard with where I make my holes, often piercing them too close together despite marking them out.

Whilst decorating the front of the book I forgot I'd used olive green thread for the binding and it doesn't really match the decoration, but I don't think it's too noticeable and perhaps I'm being a bit pernickety!

I am sharing this over at Julia's WOYWW and the 
Mini Album Makers Challenge.


Update: I was so pleased to make the Top 5 this month - thank you to the team from the Mini Album Makers Challenge.

Stamping and Smudging!

I like to have a good stash of cards to hand and so I've just made a batch for the coming months.  I used the same stamps but stamped firstly on one card and then directly on to a second, using Distress Ink but without re-inking the stamp.  I changed it around a bit so they each had some first and some second generation printing on them. I smudged the freshly stamped images with a clean blending tool and added some gold flakes to the edges of the darker one.   

Different stamps but the same technique as above with these next two cards, but I added some pearl drops to highlight some of the foliage. I usually add a sentiment or banner later when I know what I want the card for.

  

I'm linking up with Julia over What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday 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.

Insect Card Toppers and WOYWW

Very little has been happening on my desk lately as the Hubs has had a hip replacement operation during the last two weeks - he was walking around on day 2, walking up and down stairs on day 3 and he was home by day 4  - I was amazed at how quickly they chucked him out of hospital, but he's doing remarkably well despite my lack of nursing skills!

 Anyway, I managed to grab an hour up in my studio and made some card toppers on some old blank ATC cards. I decided to play with my new insect stamps that I purchased after seeing them on Shaz's desk back before Christmas.

I'm sharing with WOYWW 

July's Forgotten Stash

Looking through my stash this month to find something that's been unused and forgotten about, I came upon this large postcard tag stamp from Hero Arts.

 I love it but have never got round to using it, so I decided to have a play!  I like the proportions of it, it's a substantial size being 12cm x 9cm so would make a good front for a card.
This is definitely a keeper and I know I'll be using it again!

 I'm linking up with Julia who I'm delighted to say is back at the helm of WOYWW this week.