Laura Rumble - Crafter

Well it's nearly the last day of the month and therefore the last day of my guest designer stint at Counterfeit Kit Challenge .  I have two layouts to share today and a little assessment of what is left.  There are ingredients for a further 3 layouts but I'm not sure I'll get them done on time. 'oh hi bike' See these papers?  They are why I'm scrambling at the end of the month.  I put them in my kit, I knew which photos I was going to use with them but I could not bring myself to cut them!  Daft I know, but I love them! Eventually I made the first cut - guess what?  Nothing happened.  The world did not coming crashing down.  Oxygen did not run out. 'And then she could ride a bike' I just love this layout!  It's one of my favourites.  Not really sure what to write about it, just that I love it!  (Boy! I know how to blog!!) This is a charm that I bought years ago.  I knew I'd use it one day :D ...

Lots of things have made me smile this week. Friends. Family. Birthday. Cake. Strawberries. ATC's. Flowers. I'm not going to bore you with all the photos but here are the best three from my birthday flowers... They know me so well!! Thanks for stopping by :)

So, if I've got this right this is the second to last in my mini canvas series.  (Links for the individual posts: love , smile , laugh , happy & wish ) This canvas measures 40mm by 62mm - dinky! I used some pieces of book page as a backing and about six shades of yellow acrylic paint!  The white is gesso, used to tone down the yellow to get it to fit with the series.  I added a few star shaped sequins and picked the word 'shine' as the message for this canvas. All there is to do now is type up the post for the last canvas and then I can share the finished series.  I love how it looks sitting on my shelf  :) Entering at The Playground because you leave such lovely comments and are a talented bunch :)

Happy Anniversary WOYWWers !  As it is the fifth anniversary I made 5 ATC's.  One for the person above me, one for the person below, one for Queen Dunnit and two others - I'd be delighted to swap with the first two who ask! (All gone now) There they all are, packaged up and ready to be sent... And there are the eclectic selection!  Basically I played and had fun, trying not to think too much (not really much of a problem for me!)   I would include a picture of my desk today but it's covered in vases of flowers as it was my birthday yesterday :) As always I'll endevour to return all comments, but if I don't get to you I still appreciate the comments you leave - you make me smile!

Hello! I have the next in my series of mini canvases to share with you today.  (You can check out the other canvases in the series here: smile , laugh , happy & wish . )  This canvas measures 74mm by 56mm. When I work with ribbon I save all the snippets I trim from the ends.  When I have enough of a mixture of textures, widths and sizes I stick them in a pot, mix them up and glue them to a canvas base.  It gives awesome texture to paint over, especially the velvet ribbons from Crafty Ribbons.  I glue on my trimmings randomly with matte medium.  In this case I didn't glue every piece entirely - I was enjoying the flicky-out-y pieces! I then coated the entire thing in gesso to give a good base for the ink to adhere to.  I used India Ink in three shades of red to saturate the ribbon covered canvas, working it in to every join and fold.  To match in with the other canvases in the series I toned down the over all effect by dry ...

Here is the fourth in my mini canvas series.  This one is 10 cm by 10 cm. I messed around with ink, acrylic paint and embossing powder and then layered up some bits of green paper, tissue and card. The word smile is on a piece of washi tape.  It's printed in white and just didn't work with the black lettering on the other canvases so I wrote over the word in a gelli glaze pen. You can see the others here: laugh , happy & wish.

This layout was an exercise in using up that scary paper that I put in my Counterfeit Kit for May. I used it to mat my photos.  On the larger mat I scribbled some words that the photos brought to mind.  I bordered all the mats with some scribbly lines in black. I broke open the second packet of alphas in my kit.  I don't expect to use these all up, but I'm going to try and make a good dent in them.  Also added all of the cut outs I included in the kit - they were hanging around on my desk when I was putting the kit together so rather than put them away I added them to the box - basically I'm a lazy tidier!  :D So there it is layout number ???  I'm not sure, I need to do a count up.  I still haven't started on the bicycle papers yet.  Too 'scared' to cut them up.  But when I get over that there is at least 2 more layouts worth left in my kit.  Not a bad tally for me in a month - very chuffed! Thanks for stopping by

Welcome to my little corner of the web where today I am a stop on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog Hop!  You should have arrived here from Lesley . I have very much enjoyed my month as Guest Designer.  I have a few layouts finished and scheduled and a few left to make.  This layout was inspired by the first challenge... Challenge #1 Weather Related :   Use a weather Icon (sun, cloud, raindrops...) on your project And this layout has words!  I know - I didn't know I could do words either!!  :D I put a few sets of part-used alphas in to my Hi May kit with the intention of using them ALL.  This title happened to have a few 'used' letters so I improvised - I cut a 'u' down to make an 'r', the 'd' is a 'p' and the 'b' is actually 'q'. They were black and kraft and really didn't match so I gave them a few coats of gesso and sprayed them with grey silver mist. I commissioned my Pet Crocheter to make me so...

Well, I lost my budgie this week and I've a had a few days in bed with a cold/flu - it's not been fun, I can tell you!  However, a few smiles will help me feel a little better and I think I'm capable of stringing a few words together now... In the sunny corner of the garden sits a little bunny - not so strange - except this one likes to sit on a chair!  Well, her humans do, so why shouldn't she?! She jumps up by herself and will happily sit there for hours! Don't you think every garden needs a bunny sitting on a chair?! Linking up at Friday Smiles.

Another layout using up my CK Hi May.  This one is titled 'She doesn't know how pretty she is' - She doesn't.  I love her so. This layout is made from the cut off strips that come on the bottom of 12x12 sheets.  My original cutting wasn't particularly accurate so I trimmed again with scissors.  (I'm sure I am the opposite of most people - better at straight lines with scissors than with a guillotine!!)  Anyway, this trimming produce a pile of super thin thread like pieces of paper which looked good lying on my cutting mat, so I bundled them up and stapled them on the layout! And here is the layout; Thanks for stopping by

Used more of that scrummy lace in this layout.  I included in my counterfeit kit with the intention of using as much as possible, only now I have realised that if I use it all I won't have any left... I also used up some alphas.  They were the wrong colour but that's easily sorted with a base coat of gesso and a few coats of acrylic paint in the desired shade.  Keeping with the theme of use it up I included all the numbers but highlighted the '3' as my title.  I scruffed them up a little with some sandpaper too... And I used the glitter hearts and brackets.  The photo is perfect to use with hearts.  I love this photo :) Thanks for stopping by!

Remember last year I was joining in with the A-Z challenge?  I really enjoyed altering the dictionary and loved the nature theme.  Well, I suddenly felt the urge to carry on the project, so I looked around and decided on owl and raven.  Owl is still a thought, but Raven is illustrated and ready to share... I've used: gesso, palette knife, HB, 2B, 4B, 6B pencils, magenta and steel grey coloured pencils, black fineliner, white posca paint pen and a fine paint brush (to smudge) I'd like to link this up with Quoth The Raven

Today I can share another layout I've put together with my Counterfeit Kit. I used some scary paper on this layout - you know a pattern that you love in the shop but get home and think 'but what am I going to do with it?' Used some paperclips also from my May kit. A bit of heat embossing on some journalling pointers and a recycled clothes tag.   Used some snippets and oodles of 3d pads to give lots of dimension. So here it is; I love the way the buttermilk background mellows out the scary paper! What do you think?

I don't think last weeks photo went down too well with all of the Friday Smilers.  Hopefully this one is more to everyone's liking... Probably the last tulip photo for the year... Linking up at Friday Smiles

Challenge time over at Crafty Ribbons ... This weeks theme - Anything Goes WITH Ribbon... This week I'm meeting up with a couple of friends to celebrate a double birthday.  Because we all have ME we have to plan things thoroughly.  In order to spend our actually birthdays (27th & 28th) with our families we must meet up the week before to allow recovery time - nothing worse than being too tired to move on our birthday!  Because there are three of us and only two of us are birthday girls I always feel a little sad for the one with no presents!  This year I got a little something for him too, and explained it on the tag... All of the ribbons I used are from packs but you can get them individually too.  The packs are the best way to buy if you want meter lengths to wrap presents... Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to link up anything you make this week that has ribbon on...

Ha! Remember last week when I said I was going to be tidy by next Wednesday ?  Didn't happen!! Some of it is a little tidier but the time I planned to use tidying the desk was spent sitting on the floor in the kitchen helping mum to get rid of flour weevils.  Quite a scary thought that they were brought in to the house from flour bought at the supermarket.   Anyhow, no weevils on the desk... A half started journal page.  Some wrapping paper torn up and gel mediumed down.  I'm thinking some gesso, circle mask, silver acrylic paint, teal ink.  We'll see how it goes. Also a pile of pencils waiting to draw an owl. Just cos. Thanks for stopping by, see you at your desk !

Time for a silly layout!  :) This layout is using my Counterfeit Kit - Hi May and documents my favourite meal. Now, don't go thinking I eat burgers all the time!  I don't.  They come only a few times a year, and I enjoy them sooo much! Washi tape, lace, date strip and staples.  When I had finished the layout I couldn't stop staring at the bright silver staples.  They were too distracting so I coloured them gold and they blended in much better. I made my kit heavy with paper-clips with the intention of using them on as many of the layouts as possible... The title is from the set of alphas that I couldn't use as they were.  I included them in the kit to force myself to use them.  I gave them a coat of gesso and then navy acrylic.  I also painted the rounded sided diamond wood shapes that in used in my counterfeiting and added them.  Kind of like restaurant rating stars, don't you think?! Here is the 'journalling'. ...