Tuesday 31 January 2017

Eclectic Ellapu's first challenge for 2017: Anything Goes

Well, I am going to show you what I did for my first Project for both Eclectic Ellapu  for 2017 and for my on-line Uni course - Ageing and Creativity. I may add that I scored pretty well for this but I am still woefully aware of how bad it looks. The first challenge is Anything Goes!

As I write this blog the day outside is a glorious summer's day - much like the day this shot was taken. It amazes me how the hills in the distance have already lost their green bloom and dried off. This is the Derwent River, at a local suburb across the river from me called Sandy Bay. It is a popular swimming place for teenagers.

One of the beauties of living on an island is that no matter which direction you go, you'll eventually stumble upon one of our stunning pieces of coastline or waterways. From the wilds of our south coast to the towering cliffs of the Tasman Peninsula; from incredible white sand beaches on our East Coast or this special spot on the River Derwent in Sandy Bay, just a stones throw from Hobart's CBD.

Image: instagram.com/ringhole
#discovertasmania #seeaustralia

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The Derwent River is running water......

For my Project for Uni I chose to work with the theme 'Running Water' and I elected to make a set of child's wooden blocks and add images to the six faces of the blocks. Theoretically they make a type of jigsaw puzzle for the player when all jumbled.

Hubby made me up the blocks with what he call's "sh*t pine" and I painted nine of them with white gesso and then sanded them back to make them look a bit battered. Then I added my images to each face - one at a time.

This first one is stamped using a variety of stamps and coloured with Copic pens. It was then given a wash of clear Modge Podge for protection. 


The one below was a collage. It was created on the desk first on some card, using die cuts and a kit, plus one stamp. It was then cut into 9 equal pieces (ruled up on the back) and each one was Modge Podged onto the face of a block, with another coat over the top to protect them. You will notice they are slightly smaller than the blocks - deliberately. 


This next one is an image printed of my ink-jet printer, torn into nine pieces and layered onto the blocks again with the Podge. You can see the creases in some places and some colour was leached as well but it was a good quick layer. 


This one is just stencils and ink - I used the end grain for this and it shows through - perhaps I should have used this side for one of the paper pieces. 


This one is an attempt at being a bit arty! Images printed off my ink-jet printer, cut into strips, added to card with double sided tape and sprayed with a fixative. In laying them on, I chose to make it a slightly disorienting piece and to have differing lengths as well. I have a feeling that in this photo they are not necessarily in the right place either........


The one below is the one that gave me the most grief and took the longest. It was an attempt to transfer an ink-jet image directly to the wood using a gel medium. It is the ancient Japanese tsunami  painting and once printed I had to  use the Gel Medium on the front of the image and blocks and then quickly lay the piece of paper face down onto the wood. Leave it to dry, and then carefully using a damp cloth, wipe off the paper and try not to wipe off the image. It is sealed with a fixative spray. 
Again, one block is not placed properly I think........it also seems to have lost a lot of colour. 
If anyone knows how to avoid that, please let me know. Perhaps it was my choice of image....


Anyway - that is my toy blocks. 

You can make whatever takes your fancy for this challenge and you have a month to enter. 




Saturday 28 January 2017

Crafting with Dragonflies are first cab off the rank!

Over at Crafting with Dragonflies, Hilde has asked us to make a Valentines Day card ready for the beginning of February. I had just purchased a new magazine with a new freebie - including an embossing folder and some cute stamps. So off I went!


Before showing the results, I want to show you another gorgeous photo of my lovely state:

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A tranquil summer scene from Europe, perhaps? Not quite! This is the Callington Mill and its spectacular gardens in the Tasmanian Midlands town of Oatlands. Built in 1837 by John Vincent, a free settler from Cornwall and one of Oatlands' publicans, it's one of many remarkable sandstone buildings in the town. Oatlands is one of Tasmania's oldest settlements and with more than 150 sandstone buildings it has the largest collection of any town in Australia.com. Its intact Georgian townscape, mostly convict-built in the early 1800s, offers a complete representation of the architecture, urban design and the cultural heritage of early European settlement in Australia.



A wonderful place to visit. 

On to my card

I had made a heart and wet embossed it with some UTEE and sparkly glitter, then covered it with a clear embossing powder and while still hot, stamped into it with another small heart stamp. 


Love the sparkle. 
i wanted to use this, so I added it to my bits and pieces. The panda's are stamped and coloured, and then fussy-cut. The embossed heart was then replaced back into the Big Shot and a heart cut from it's centre to show the white card beneath.


The sentiment is stamped and added as shown


I got a bit carried away colouring my panda's in different colours as they are supposed to be a boy and a girl - should have made them the same. 


I could have turned this into a shaker card, but wanted my sparkly heart to shine, so left it 

Please put your Valentine's Day card into the first challenge for 2017 over at 


Now, just a quick explanation on the fact that I have not been on the web blogging for quite a while - as mentioned in the last post for 2016, husband went into hospital over Christmas with a very bad case of cellulitis in his lower left leg, and once he was allowed out of hospital we have been constantly trecking between medial appointments to have this dressed, go to other appointments and such, as I had to be the chauffeur. I lost my ability to think let alone create! Then I had to also complete my Uni Projects - last one has been done although I still have an essay to write by the end of next week. I am now not so sleep deprived or stressed, husband is recovering and my creating space has been given a good clean!



Thursday 26 January 2017

Happy Australia Day to all


It is a lovely 23 degrees, and apart for a nasty Nor Westerly, its been a lovely day here in sunny Tasmania

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY TO EVERYONE 

I hope you are all enjoying peace and quiet, crafting time and family time.

It had been a while since I posted - tell you about it later. Just know that I am back and that Unstampabelles will be resuming also on the first Monday of February.

Until then, happy crafting!