The Last Post...

Hi Folks,

Just to let you know that I have decided to stop blogging my crafty antics and focus on some other priorities in my life...my niece is certainly one of the things i've decided to focus on as much as i can...isn't she adorable!

So all that remains is for me to say so long, farewell and thankyou to each and every one of you who looked, who commented and gave me crafty feedback and fun along the way...its been a blast :0)

Spring has sprung...journal page

Spring may have sprung...but what happened to the Summer..?  Huh?  Did i blink and miss it!!! 

Personally, spring is my favourite time of year, i love that its bright and everything is bursting into life...its the most affirming time of year for me...everywhere you look there is something to make to me feel hopeful and happy.  I love that my garden fills with birds and leaves start bursting out...not to mention the huge clematis flowers that are the first thing to bloom in our yard, so it seemed a fitting thing to document in my journal.

I'm still working on trying every style and medium going in my journalling to see what suits me best, but this combination of Neocolour II's and lots of doodling is certainly my favourite at the moment.  Of course it would have all worked better if i'd used the right kind of paper so it didn't warp with all the water i added...but i don't really mind that in my journal...i'm just playing...there is no need for perfection here...that only makes me nervous!  And speaking of perfection...i really need to work on drawing birds!! lol

Family Fun...a LO for Bubbly Funk

I've got a quick and easy summer LO over on the Bubbly Scrumptious blog today...click here to see all the details 

50 points to anyone who can spot me in the LO...I am in one of the photos...can you find me??? :0)

Jubilant at the Jubilee...

We don't let a bit of torrential rain and freezing weather spoil our days...so here is Granny and two of my Aunts sporting the Jubilee headgear I made them and enjoying the Great British outdoors!! lol  Pretty game to sit there for hours at 93, huh?? *Go Granny*

Actually, I think they came for the quiche and the pavlova as much as the Queen... ;0)

Hats off for the Queen!

It seemed it was about time I did a little crafting in honour of the Queen and her upcoming Diamond Jubilee...so I've created some headgear for a few of my relative that will be joining us over the long weekend.

First up, a red, white and blue headband:

 Secondly, with more of the red, white and blue flowers...a hat band for...well for a hat, clearly! ;0)

And finally, because every family has someone who thinks she's Queen bee...a tiara!! 

An unseasonal LO...Christmas at Berko!!

Hi everyone...its beautifully sunny here and so hot you could fry eggs on the pavement...so i thought i'd scrap a very unseasonal photo and immerse myself in cooler times. ;0)

I only allowed myself to use papers and cardstock from my scraps pile...and i even created the background pp with a scrap, some Versamark ink, a few mica powders and my hand carved damask stamp...did you spot it?
{To see the LO more clearly just click on it and it will pop up big enough for you to see all the details :0) }

The embellishments all came from the tray on my desk where I keep leftovers from other projects.  The paper flowers are both dipped into UTEE after being coated in Brilliance ink, and the wire flower is held in place by a cute brad that was also in my tray.

I stamped the journalling block using an ancient stamp and rounded the corners to match the tag i've used (upside down) on the top left.

Its another case of, not feeling great so throw it all at the page and see what happens...but i'm quite liking how it came out! :0)  And how can you fail to love the cheeky look on my BIL's face!!

I do hope you are managing to keep cool...and not get burned...but taking the opportunity to have an ice~cream or two!

Stamp Carving 101...faux woodcut stamps

Hello again...I'm back with some more of Julie Fei~Fan Balzer's Stamp Carving 101 course...this lesson was  all about recreating the look of woodcut stamps with carvable rubber.  Basically its easy, simply don't remove all the excess and try to keep what you leave as random looking as possible.  Here is my design:

I drew 5 simple flowers in a row, and because my design was so simple...I left alot of the background to create a fairly heavy woodcut pattern and balance this out.  It is quite possible to go back though and remove more and more rubber to create a more subtle look if you prefer that.

Simply stamped in black on cream cardstock is my favourite way to show this design off:

But you can change the look dramatically by using different inks...here i've used rainbow pads, and for the bottom right I stamped in Versamark and used chalks to colour it:

So what is stopping you..?  If you still haven't had a go...go on...its easy!