AJ pages done and in progress

Aj page for Leanie  done - check!

I so anted to do a happy affirmation type page for her but I ended up feeling stressed bout the time so I made this.

However, it is at least happier looking than her first (abandoned) page which currently looks like this and will be recycled elsewhere!

Chunky ATC Time Again - Halloween!

Time for more chunky ATCs. I think I love making these, even though they normally sit naked and untouched for a week or three after I've got my swap details before I get around to actually covering them in goodies.

Anyway, the theme for this round of chunky swaps (the ghoulies) was all things spooky. I'm not going to say who these are for as they've only just been sent today, but here are my contributions.

First chunky - a gothic (hopefully) haunted house, spooky graveyard, flying bats. You can see in the second photo how boingy the bats are as thy were still moving when I took the picture. The house windows, skull and moon have all been painted with glow in the dark stuff so when you turn the lights out they should still have a spooky afterglow.

The second has witches over a bubbling caulron with an array of potion bottles and a broomstick (although only one - do they have to share I wonder?).

The reverse with a spooky tree, owl and pumpkins. On this one the cauldron contents, two of the potion bottles, moon, owl's eyes and pumpkins should glow in the dark too. France's blog is here

And last but by no means least, here is the surprise one I got from the lovely Frances, who made me this after I lusted after a similar one she made for the swap. A big thank you Frances - it's gorgeous and it was such a lovely surprise and so very thoughtful. Her blog is here where you can see lots more fabulous chunkies.

Well that's it for now, but I am working on more Halloween stuff at the moment. Thanks for looking.

Alice Themed Circle Journal

I've just started a new circle journal - Once Upon a Time - so I've chosen to base mine on the Alice stories by Lewis Carroll. Now, I've seen a couple of other people's starts and they are stunning and mine looks quite dull, but I struggled with the covers I wanted to do and instead went for something plainer that would at least protect all those lovely entries.

This is my cover to keep the page protectors from getting damaged. I want to stick the finished pages into a book but postage costs make it cheaper to send it out like this.

The inside of the cover, with the rules by Royal Command of course!

The sign in page - I decorated envelopes with little labels to look a bit like tea bags (well, if you squint and the light's bad!) and some characters and there are little tags inside for people to decorate.

I quite like the 3D look when you take the tea bags out.

And this is my first entry.

I'm really looking forward to getting this back - there is lots of superb talent in the CJ so it will look amazing I'm sure.

Octopode Freak Cards

These are for Sian's card swap and the theme was FREAKS with two optional themes of dark rich colours and grunge. For once, inspiration was immediately forthcoming and I dusted off a couple of my Octopode collage sheets (pre-coloured so that made it nice and easy), hand inked, stamped, stained and painted some backgrounds, then stuck on my freaks with an apt (but useless) sentiments. I know, when are you ever going to need a card with these sentiments? Still, they were fun to make and they fit the criteria of the swap so that's good enough for me.

Thanks for looking and have a good day!

Leanie's Collage Swap

First of all, a huge thank you to the lovely Leanie for organising this swap.  We all made little bits on a colour and theme (mine was marmalade and metal) and Leanie mixed them all up and sent them back. I mounted mine onto a canvas and used the space to put a photo of Isi. She would have loved it - it's so tactile. It has pride of place on the wall next to my craft table so I can admire it every time I do some work. Thanks to everyone who took part in the swap for all of the wonderful pieces. I hope my arrangement has done them justice.

Finally - Sian's Stampotique Frame

Of course, this is for a swap - it seems I don't do much crafting for any other reason!

This is for my friend, the lovely Sian. She hosted a swap to alter a frame based on one she's seen in a Craft Stamper article some time back. I think the example was part of a configurations box, but I went for a canvas frame. Her theme was Stampotique stamps, and she very kindly stamped some out for me as I didn't have any at the time (a sorry situation which I can happily say has now been remedied).

Now, Sian's a bit of a rock chick so I decided to go with a rockin' out sort of theme. I got a bit carried away and thought that it needed lights and sound too.  So, after a lot of faffing and a couple of ebay purchases it has it all now. You'll see what I mean.

I've already shown the back, which is the front of one frame. The recessed bit at the back of that holds the lighting. Then, there is another frame that sits on top to make the whole thing (the two are just held together with slim magnets but can be pulled apart easily) and this time I decorated the back.

See those things that look like guitar amps in the corners? They are the diddiest little ipod speakers and they just went perfectly. I found an old, sometimes iffy, ipod shuffle on ebay for eight quid all in (sorry I couldn't afford a fancier one Sian) and loaded it up with some of her current favourite music

And here's a short clip so you can see what I mean about the sound and lights. It sounds and looks rubbish because I am having technical probelms, but actually the little speakers sound okay and it looks way better in real life.

So there you go Sian - I hope you like it.

I am also entering this in the Simon Says Stamp Challenge Blog as I did use Sir Tim's tissue tape on the frame (although you may have to make the picture bigger to see it!).

Circle Journal - Lyrics

An older thing but something I didn't put up before. I have a fabby altered frame to share but my camera has gone walkies and I am so frustrated, so here is something in the meantime. It's my entry for the CJ I was in and the theme was song lyrics. Honestly, I did try and make it upbeat but I don't listen to much happy cheery music (never have).

It's a double page layout

Add caption

And the CJ owner asked for the lyrics to be included so they are behind the heart.

 And this is the tag behind the photo which explains why I chose the song.

And that's it until I can find my camera!

Have a good one!