Powered By The Light

My entry into the Craft Stamper Challenge... the link to Craft Stamper is just over on the left.

I have only entered two challenges before, both for the talented Hels Sheridan’s Sunday Stamper. Those challenges are based on a name being randomly drawn, not on the design you have entered but the Craft Stamper challenge is all about the design. This will be the first time I have entered a challenge like this and it was really hard not to ‘over think’ the whole project! I don’t expect to win and I am entering as more of a challenge to myself really. I’ve done it to see if I could finish a piece of work to an absolute deadline without totally obsessing about it and giving up half way through because in my head it just wasn’t going to be good enough - so I just went for it.

The remit was altered bottles/vials and of course stamping.

So this project evolved from the thought “I am powered by the light” – as we all are. We cannot live without it, be it natural or artificial.

I started with a white canvas which I turned over so it became a frame and painted the inside edge with a mix of blue, green and yellow acrylic paint.

I then created some light bulb patterned paper digitally and lined the inside of the canvas and the frame edges.

I used some bubble wrap to stamp patterns over the light bulb paper and then used the free bottle stamp from the May issue of Craft Stamper to stamp around the edge and the inside. I also stamped this image several times on card, embossed with white and crystal embossing powders and cut them out.

I mixed some acrylic paint with texture paste and spread this into two of the corners – I don’t have a spatula, spready thing so I use an old plastic membership card, it does the job just as well! Lace was added top and bottom then I added gilding wax to the ridges of the texture paste. 

I resized and printed out an image of a light bulb and stamped a decorative face onto it and embossed this with black embossing powder. (I found this stamp in a charity shop so I don’t know where it is from) I white gessoed the background and edges to tone it down a bit.

I printed the light bulb pattern onto tissue paper and applied this to the inside of two of the little box lids and also to the outside of three of the vials. I stamped the bottles onto tissue paper and applied these to the inside of the two more of the box lids. I fixed the tiny vial into the round box lid with some patterned tissue behind it.

 I stamped the pattern around the edge of the light bulb and randomly over the canvas using the hair part of the face stamp. 

I then arranged the box lids on top of the face and embellished the canvas with paper flowers, leather leaves, brads, hinges, bead filled bottle caps, split rings, corners and gems. I also used gilding wax on all the edges of the canvas and on the embellishments and the stamped bottle cutouts.

If you look closely, the vial with the lace around it contains a teenie tiny light bulb!

Finally finishing off with the wording “I am powered by the light”

By the way, this is also the first time I have actually written down how I have created a project so my apologies if I have not explained this very well!

  

Forgetfulness - A sign of genious?

Forgetful – adjective: apt to forget, absent minded – in other words…the mind is absent!

At least I feel like mine is. I cannot seem to retain things in my brain that I am supposed to remember. Especially things that I am supposed to actually do.

Walking into another room in the house to do something or get something and promptly forgetting it as soon as I’ve walked through the door is a regular occurrence. I end up just standing in the doorway for ages, trying to prompt myself to remember what it was. Inevitably, it doesn't come to me, I have a swear, then leave the room. 

Is it age? I am on the wrong side of middle age after all so maybe that’s it. Or is just part of our genetics, because I know I’m not the only one who has this problem and not all of these people I know are ‘mature’.

This lack of ability to remember things has resulted in my becoming an endless list maker. I have not gotten to the stage of making lists to remember I’ve made a list but I don’t think that’s far off.  Piles of paper scraps litter the house. Lists for shopping, lists for house chores, lists with meal plans for the week, lists of projects and orders to do and to finish, lists of where I am supposed to be that week - the list is endless...(sorry couldn’t resist that one)

Tired of having to gather up all these bits of paper every so often to get them in the recycling, I tried to compile my lists on the computer, all typed in with headings and columns and everything – that didn’t work – I forgot to look at them!

The latest canvas project I’ve just finished has reminded me of how bad I am. I really did mean to take photographs of this work as it progressed from start to finish but before I had even finished that first coat of paint, I had forgotten what I had reminded myself to do. There’s no hope for me is there?

I have now resorted to sticking a piece of paper on the shelf edge above where I work, which says… “Rememeber to take the photos you forgetful old bat”

I just need to remember to look at it!

Vintage Nirvana

Newark Auto Jumble  -  the title leads you to believe that it’s a jumble sale of vehicle related stuff and indeed it is – but it is also the home of all manner of treasures and finds that belong to yesteryear.

Amongst all the exhausts, engines, nuts, bolts, and tyres there are quite a few hidden gems if you look close enough.

As you can see from my pics, you can find anything here from old computers to cash registers as well as the odd eccentric!

You usually have to elbow some flat capped old boy out the way first mind, they like to hover and lean over the stalls poking everything with their walking sticks whilst muttering “aye lad, I had mesen one a those when I were a lad, tha knows”

Now, an auto jumble is not usually up there on my want to do list on a Sunday but the o.h asked me to go with him – and yes, I know the reason why – a second pair of hands comes in very handy to carry your spoils whilst you’re busy perusing what other stuff you can’t possible live without.

Anyway, I didn’t mind too much, there was plenty for me to look at by way of all the lovely cars that were lined up.

I love old cars, so much individuality and character. They put our modern day boxes on wheels to shame. When I was about 4 or 5 years old, we had a Hillman Imp, I don’t know how a family of 4 managed to squeeze into that little toy car! Then later, when I was about 7 or 8, my father bought a Rover 3.5, oh we thought we were sooo the bees knees riding about in that!

Me and the o.h would love to own a classic car but with the mileage he has to do for work, alas, it is not practical.

We may have to wait until he retires but we will own one eventually – we’ve just got to choose which one. There’s so many I love, we may just have to pick a name out of the hat!