Vintage Mill

While we hunkered down during the hurricane at the weekend, I tried a new Technique Junkies technique called Vintage Art. It was inspired by old pencil and ink artwork. The technique involves sponging the background in various shades of yellow and brown, then highlighting with white pencil.


I thought this Artistic Outpost image from their plate called Old Grist Mill would work well with this vintage looking technique. The paper in the background is from an old dictionary page showing the definition for 'mill'.

I have exciting news to share at the weekend plus some more cards to share later in the week, so I hope you can stop by again soon!

Ali

Weekend Inspiration - more storage ideas

Happy weekend everyone! We're waiting for hurricane Irene to hit us here on the East Coast. Lots of rain so far, no wind yet, but we're bracing ourselves! We've put away everything in the yard and are sitting it out at home. So while I'm stuck inside, I thought I'd share some more imaginative storage ideas I found this week.

Amy Powers created this adorable suitcase to house her craft supplies - isn't it just to die for! She shows how she made it step-by-step on her blog.



And another adorable suitcase was spotted over at Grey Likes Wedding. Now, I just need to find a cute vintage suitcase to repurpose!


This next item made me squeal - how much fun is it to store supplies in a brush like this? Better than cleaning with it!

Source: Fitzsu

And here's another one that left me speechless - why not put your pencils in a vintage cheese grater?

Source: Rae Rae Sisters

The glitter season will be upon us soon! Arlette at Polka Dot Pineapple stores hers in salt and pepper shakers - how clever and pretty is that?

Here's a way to use those cute ice cube trays that the kids make us buy at the store, then it's impossible to the ice cubes out of them. Instead of letting them gather dust in the cupboard, you could use them store little doodads on your desk. I bet your kids would love to use them too!

Source: Better Homes & Gardens

This last piece of inspiration isn't exactly a storage item, but it sure is pretty! Tina from Sweet Floweret decided to pretty up the trash cans in her home with this fun trash bag holder. She has a tutorial on her blog if you want to create some too.

Thanks for stopping by - have a wonderful weekend. Stay warm and dry if you're in the path of the hurricane!

Ali

Beach Babes

It's time for a little Rogue Redhead action because now my studio is semi-operational again, I was finally able to mount their new set, Beach Babes. The images in this set are beautiful and as always they stamp really nicely. You can still purchase it at the special price of $17.60 by visiting their store and while you're there, check out the other fabulous plates!

I made a trio of cards using a TJ technique called Scene Silhouettes (August/September 09 newsletter):

The cards themselves are very clean and simple. I felt like the images were so stunning alone that I didn't need to add any embellishments. The backgrounds are sponged and the images colored with Prisma pencils.

I can't wait to play with this set some more - stay tuned for more Beach Babes....

Have a fun day,

Ali

Colorful Silhouettes

I tried a new technique called Colorful Silhouettes and I LOVE it! It's from the Technique Junkies most current newsletter. The basic technique is as follows:

1. Cover c/stock with several colors of ink.
2. Stamp a background and heat emboss with white e/p.
3. Stamp a silhouette image and heat emboss with black e/p.

It's a bit fiddly, but so worth the results.

The first card is for today's Gingersnaps Color Challenge, which I hosted. The colors to use are red, blue and yellow - the three primary colors. Check it out if you have a chance plus the rest of the Design Team's awesome work.

I'm also entering this card into a sketch challenge - Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch. She always has great layouts. The main image in this card is from the SU set Just Believe and the background stamp is the retired French Script.

My second card was also made using this technique and I'm entering it into the Stamping 411 sketch challenge. Again, I love their sketches, but remember it's an SU only site!



The main image in this card is from SU's Inspired by Nature, the background is the retired French Script and the image is from Trendy Trees.

Hope you're having a fantastic week!

Ali

Weekend Inspiration - Clever Storage

I've been looking at a lot of different craft spaces to get ideas for my new studio. Thank you to those of you sent me links to various sites - they were fab! On my internet travels I've come across some really fun, innovative storage solutions and I thought I'd share some with you today.

Here's my #1 favorite - using colorful colanders to store your bits and bobs. I bet you could spray paint some plain ones instead of paying a premium for colored ones.

Source: Ellesstudio

Jenny Harris uses this mug rack to store scissors and a cup cake holder for embellishments. I love it!

Source: Allsorts

This next idea is genius - Maureen Wong stores her Copic markers in plastic cups and a wine rack - seriously!

Source: My CASE Studies

Here's another real favorite of mine because it's from a flea market. Who would think to use a bird cage to store crafting supplies?

Source: Better Homes & Gardens

Soup cans and a cookie sheet were used to make this funky storage unit. I'd better start drinking more soup!

Source: HGTV

I hope you enjoyed this bit of weekend inspiration. Now to get organizing!

Paint Chip Hanging

You can tell that I'm behind with my blogging because here's a project that I made months ago and it was published in the Spring issue of Stampers' Sampler catch up issue.

It's a set of paint chips/samples from Farrow & Ball that I've altered. Most of the images are from the now closed Cornish Heritage Farms and the words are from Stamp Camp, I believe.

I can't get a decent picture of the whole thing - the light is really poor today, but it's on page 83 if you have a copy and want to take a look.

I did manage to get a few close up shots:




Thanks for stopping by!

Ali

First Card from New Studio

I finally made a card today in my new studio. It still looks like a bomb site, so no pictures yet....but I did manage to clear a small space to make a thank you card for my buddy Sharon. She has the patience of saint putting up with me while I took a 6 month+ sabbatical from Gingersnaps.


I unearthed the current Technique Junkies newsletter and tried a technique called Back-to-Back. It involves stamping 3 different background stamps in various shades of ink. I used a background from Rogue Redhead's Relish Reading, a script from Hero Arts and finally a postmark stamped several times because I couldn't find quite the right large stamp for the final layer. The sentiment is from Stampin' Up!


My daughter and I are going on another field trip to Ikea tomorrow to get some final bits and pieces for my studio. Here's a sneak peek of how it's coming along:


Have a wonderful day!

Ali

Studio Madness

I've decided to move my studio to another room in the house - my daughter and I are switching rooms. We're at the stage where we looking at each other asking "what were we thinking?". But we know it's going to be worth it, we just need to live in chaos a little longer.

Here's a picture of about half of the contents of my studio on our sunroom. The other half is in our dining room - you can imagine how delightful our home looks right now :(


On a cheerier note - check out these awesome new stamps from Rogue Redhead - Beach Babes. I have them sitting amidst the chaos waiting to be mounted and inked - I can't wait.


As I redesign my studio, does anyone care to share some links to pictures of their studio or ones you may have come across on the web? Please leave any links in the comments - thanks!

Ali

Sympathy Quilt Card

Unfortunately I have a sympathy card to share today - I made it for a friend who lost their father-in-law.


The "Quilt Card" technique is one I used to do a lot and I wrote a tutorial on my old blog. Here's a link to it if you'd like to know who to make it.

Quilt Card Tutorial

It's an awesome way to use up patterned paper scraps. For this card I used a Basic Grey 6x6 pad that I've had kicking around for years.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend,

Ali

Steam Punk Journal

I have finally returned from my travels in England - yes, I've been away a long time! My daughter and I had a great time visiting with family and friends - I'll share some pictures in a few days. We're just getting our bags unpacked and all the laundry done - ahhh!

Here's a journal that I made a LONG time ago for Gingersnaps, but didn't have time to share before I left. I had visions of blogging on the road, but my laptop and internet provider were not cooperating :)


I hand bound the journal using my Bind-it-All machine. It measures 8" x 8" and is filled with sketch paper. The front is a page from an Atlas index layered with a piece of patterned paper. The tags are from last month's sponsor Dezinaworld Collage. The embellishments are bits and pieces from my stash - a rusty star and key plus a metal heart.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you're having a happy summer,

Ali