Aged Autumn Alphatag AGAIN!

My apologies to those of you who have already seen this & commented on it - I accidentally deleted my A Alphatag post whilst uploading B.

My aim with registering to participate in the Baroque Guild Alphatag Swap during this year is to consolidate the various stamping & colouring techniques that I have learnt & to use my large collection of Chocolate Baroque (formerly Elusive Images) stamps. The idea is to produce 2 or 3 tags each month progressing so that we have completed the alphabet by the end of the year. The one stipulation for each tag, apart from basing a theme of our choice on the specified letter of the alphabet, is mostly to use items produced by or available from Chocolate Baroque.

Often learning by trial & error I can take several days to finish a project - several weeks when I then delete my blog post! I had all but completed this tag when I burnt it trying to heat emboss the tag edges to fix my skeleton leaves in place. Using Glossy Accents was visible to the eye but smearing Stickles Glitter Glue over the leaves solved that & I trimmed the edges of the leaves to the edge of the tag using non-stick sharp scissors.

I often associate 'autumn of life' with ageing & so 'Aged Autumn' seemed to me a fitting title for my project as well as using the two aptly named Antique Linen & Vintage Photo Distress Inks.

front of tag 

close-up showing stamped & inked edges plus
punched leaf embellishment

angled view to show sparkle of glittered
leaves plus dimensional texture of
 heat embossed tree 

close-up showing detail of skeleton leaves &
pile of 'fallen' leaves at trunk's base 

back of tag

close-up showing tone on tone stamping & paper
pierced scallops of theme panel

Recipe

Stamps Chocolate Baroque UA5SP0252 Tall Trees & UDLSP0305 Nature's Peace.

Inks VersaMark watermark stamp pad with Stampendous Penny Copper Embossing Powder; Antique Linen, Vintage Photo & Wild Honey Distress Inks; Staedtler Triplus Fineliner.

Colouring Cinnamon Stickles Glitter Glue.

Cardstock An assortment of white & browns from stash.

Die Sizzix Movers & Shapers L Die - Tag & Bookplates.

Punches Woodware (scalloped squares & small leaves).

The skeleton leaves, gems & ribbon are from stash.

In my deleted post I'd mentioned that I am staying with Google's Blogger for my blogging platform as it proved the most versatile of those I tried. Also, the results of my Blog Following Preferences Poll (3 opting for Google Friend Connect, 13 Blogger's Follow Button & no one for Twitter, email or RSS) confirms my choice.

A Question of Blog Following

I am in the process of deciding which blogging platform to use & one of my main criteria is how easy it would be for people who wish to to follow my blog. I would very much value some feedback & to that end have placed a poll to the right in my sidebar.

I have been working on becoming familiar with two blogging platforms & need to choose which one to pursue as I want to be able to concentrate on colouring & getting my fingers inky.

Thank you for any help or comments you might wish to leave.


Edited 12 December
Having initially set the poll for a couple of days only from yesterday I realised the time span was too short so have reset it for a week leaving this post (I hope!!) as a "sticky" 11-18 December. 
This is proving very interesting indeed & moreover extremely helpful - THANK YOU.

Thank You & MCC Colouring 101

Just a few words to thank you for the comments & emails I have received since my last post. Migraine control is greatly improved & there is gradual daily progress.

I shall be concentrating on the coursework for the MCC (My Creative Classroom) Colouring 101 which Glenda is running again & I intend to build upon the work that I did the first time whilst using different images where possible. So, for the moment, my posts will revolve around that & my continuing discoveries. The latter arise when I least expect them to & understanding grows rather in the manner of peeling off the successive layers of an onion.

A Brief Note

Some of you know that I have chronic migraines so my head misbehaves quite often though with powerful medication I've got good control & the number of days with migraines down to single figures each month. During the last couple of weeks I've spent more time in bed than I like to as the migraines have been daily & sometimes not very responsive to medication. This is not anything to worry about as it does happen periodically & I have to restabilize through altering medication but I wanted to explain my lack of blogging & entering challenges. Disorientation through movement becomes a problem & sometimes it is just safer to plonk me in bed with the laptop or something that can be done with the minimum of movement.

I'm trying to keep up with the preparatory work for moving my blog & also working on making a ProMarker/Copics equivalent chart.

MCC Colouring 101 Wk 4 - Colour Theory, Scales & Negative Space

my sketch book pages

I've been trying to get my MCC Course Work finished before yesterday's deadline for viewing the video tutorials. There has been so much to take in that I'm going to re-take the course the next time it is offered but I wanted to go through all the material so I can allow it to settle in my thinking as there have been further surprising discoveries for me.

Digital Images of Scales (left) & Cobbles (right): Glenda Waterworth

Colouring: Scales - Derwent Inktense pencils; Cobbles - Derwent Coloursoft pencils

Week 4 centred around applying Colour Theory whilst introducing some interesting techniques; I loved the colouring on white in my previous post  & find I am viewing stamps with different eyes in terms of how to colour them. I have used complementary colours for the thistle & mermaid images & a combination of analogous & complementary colours for the dragon image & the treescape.

Digital Image: Glenda Waterworth

Colouring: Derwent Coloursoft pencils

Stamp: Elusive Images UA5SP0326 Underwater Kingdom

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Colouring: Copic Markers

The dragon is coloured using a combination of Derwent Coloursoft pencils, a burnishing pencil & Cotman pan watercolours on Cotman Cold Pressed/NOT Grain Fin 190 gsm watercolour paper. The various ways of using watercolouring media (inks, pencils, Aquatone sticks & pan watercolours) in combination with wax/oil based pencils has been an eye-opener for me & one I particularly enjoy. I have yet to explore using 300 gsm Hot Pressed watercolour paper but intend to do that when I re-take the course if not before.

Stamp: Chocolate Baroque UDLSP0182 Here Be Dragons

 Ink: VersaFine Onyx Black

When I came to the colouring negative space exercise I found I did not really have any stamps suitable - in fact I realise that I have avoided such images. A whole new world of images is opening up & I now have a few with which to experiment.  I was too heavy handed with my initial attempts but was able to solve that by erasing my pencil colouring then lightly reapplying the colour. It was during this process (combined with doing some technical pencil research regarding the various manufacturers via Peter Weatherill's Coloured Pencil Topics website) that I discovered that it is the wax content in the Coloursoft pencils that accounts for both the "bloom" when several layers are applied & the exceptionally friable lead. I shall be experimenting with the Faber Castell Polychromos oil-based pencils in due course.

Stamp: Chocolate Baroque UA4SP0290 Patchwork Butterfly

Inks: Chipped Sapphire, Stormy Sky & Weathered Wood Distress Inks

I'll finish with what arrived for me last Wednesday - it was our tenth Wedding Anniversary & Richard arranged for this to be delivered.

Blogger

A very quick post from me as a week seems to have vanished in the blink of an eye...............

I gather that many people are having problems with leaving comments .......... & I wondered why I wasn't really aware of it, the odd one has a hiccough but just reloading the page seems to solve it. So I pondered & can only think it is because I use Safari as my web browser. I have used this for the past year & love it. OK, it took a bit of getting used to but I was also switching from PC to MAC so there was a steep learning curve. Anything I can't view - it's only the occasional web site - I use Firefox.

You can find out more about Safari here.

An Award

I came across Sandra (who has given me the above award) through Chocolate Baroque, the stamp company run by Glenda Waterworth. 

As usual there are some criteria to be met - passing it on to 7 recently discovered blogs & telling 7 random things about myself. I'm going to suggest that you take the award if you are one of my followers & would like it plus wish to comply with the above conditions. As to 7 random things about me, here goes:

1. My favourite food is Marmite (a savoury yeast extract that can be spread on bread).

2. I "read" coloured pencil catalogues & product information.

3. I helped my husband restore an 1842 4-storey town house in Exeter.

4. I was given a MacBook Pro last autumn & much prefer the Mac Operating System to Microsoft.

5. I shall switch my blog to the Apple/Mac blogging platform once I have done sufficient preparatory work to be confident in doing so. 

6. I did not get on with the Cricut Machine & ended up selling it.

7. I don't work through manuals very easily - I have a knack of tangling the information up & having to be extricated from the ensuing mix-up/mess (usually by my husband).

Snailing Along Again

Apologies to everyone whose blogs I regularly visit leaving comments - there seems to be a major fault with the BT cables somewhere & having believed it sorted (we had brilliant connectivity for a couple of days) we are back to almost impossible speeds.

I've spent the morning on the phone to our ISP & eliminating any internal wiring or router faults (disconnecting all phones, testing the Primary BT socket, using a different router, using a new DSL filter........) so that a BT Senior Fault Engineer can be called out without a charge of at least £99.99 to us. I have to call back on Monday to receive a definitive time slot for the visit. In the meantime I shall endeavour to enter challenges & at least leave comments where I have Wordpress email subs although my email functions aren't great either. Plain text isn't too bad but anything with a photo/picture/link or suchlike is a problem.

The Pace of a Snail........

......is better than none.

It does rather look like I shan't be commenting too much over the next few days, but we at least have something so I can see posts in my Reader & am able to email comment where I have email subscriptions. Also I seem able to post - albeit slowly if there are links/photos involved.

We have been advised that whatever the problem is should be fixed within 48 hours from Noon today.

ProMarker Blending Pairs

There is a ProMarker Blending Pairs Competition being held by Letraset where it is possible to win all 3 of the new ProMarker Blending Sets.

I had intended to go through all the permutations of my two Rubber Stamping sets plus the Skin Tones but ran out of time before the deadline of noon tomorrow, but I have done these so far.....

A Bit of Housekeeping

Most importantly Ali (Sugar Bowl Challenge & Sugar Nellie Design Teams) has moved to here - she had the most dreadful time with Mr Blogger & took the only recourse she could.

Secondly Linda has given me the following award.

As is usual with awards there are certain conditions to accepting it. After a considerable amount of pondering (I had about 3 hours on the bus to Cardiff & back this morning so I used the time productively......) over the 8 items to tell you about myself this is what I've come up with. As I'm not one for going out & about much & my husband & I lead a fairly quiet life there's not much to tell in addition to last time I was given this award but here we are:

1. I don't watch TV.

2. I don't like travelling.

3. I am not a morning person.

4. I don't like having several projects on the go - I prefer to finish one & then start the next. 

5. I don't drive - as I have chronic migraines (about 7 in a good month, around 20 in a bad one) driving isn't terribly sensible.

6. I try to concentrate on what I am able to do rather than what I cannot.

7. The officiating Minister when I married my husband (10 years ago in June) was my mother, at my husband's request.

8. I'm not terribly good with computers - it takes me hours to do one blog posting.

Now I should pass this on to 8 others & inform them but I see that many of those I know have already received this so I am going to suggest that if you'd like it & haven't got it then please take it from me. 

TAGGED

Heather of Rica's Haven has kindly given me the following award:

I still cannot remember how it was that I came to follow Heather's blog but through her posts she has given, & continues to give me hours of fun & laughter mingled with encouragement. 

There are a couple of conditions for accepting the award (which I do):

You have been TAGGED and want to participate? 

Then create a post where you post the 'LOVE BLOG' image. 

You should also blog the persons link that gave you the award and inform her/him that you accept the award. 

You can then choose 3 - 5  favourite blogs which you also link in your post, then each blogger will inform you that they have been tagged.

The aim of this action is to bring unknown, good blogs to light so please do not blog fellow bloggers that already have 3,000 followers.

So, to choose 5 blogs. Presumably I should also choose 5 blogs who have not already received the award so here goes:

Deborah of Deborah's Gems

Linda of Linjan Creations
Lorraine of Lorraine's Creations

Paula of The Paper Spa: Relaxing With Paper
Louise of Louise's Scrapperie

Santa's Elves at the NEC

Santa sent his Elves with me when my decoupage crafting friend Julie (a Quilter - she's a whizz with any kind of sewing/needlework but Quilting is her speciality) & I went to the NEC last November. Santa was so delighted with what his Elves brought back for him to put down the chimney & Julie (without whose driving there would have been no trip) so amused at how I could get utterly absorbed in the Derwent stand & a box of pencils that this post came about, initially at Santa's request.

So, the full set of 120 Derwent Artists Pencils. These, as far as I understand, are the British equivalent of the USA Sanford Prismacolor Pencils. Both have wax as the binder & according to Gildow & Newton's "Colored Pencil Solution Book" the Derwents differ in that: they are of medium hardness rather than soft; the lead & pencil diameters are slightly larger (1mm max);  there is no blender pencil;  they are sold presharpened.  I sat last night happily making myself a colour chart.

(click on photos to enlarge)

Favourite 5 of 2010

I sat last night scrolling through my blog to pick 5 for Debby's Favourite Five of 2010; this is the selection I decided to sleep on & review this morning with some comments added.

Unconsciously I chose only one image that I had actually coloured. Not that I didn't colour - it's just that it seems they weren't amongst my favourites. Now psychologists would have a field day with this - but............ it does actually reflect where I'm at in crafting terms. It was February last year that I first discovered artistic/realistic colouring (light, shade etc.....). During the past year I have spent hours sitting colouring with different mediums (media?) but still do not have any theoretical understanding - so that is what I shall tackle this year. I already have some of Suzanne Dean's Classes that I am enrolled for on line & have collected sufficient Copics colours now to do that justice & give it the time due to it. I was given these for my birthday last August & had to put them on hold whilst we organized my computer & the MCC Stamping Techniques opportunity presented itself to be completed within a specific time frame. With the techniques classes completed & enough computer skills to get by I can now tackle this.

This was the first stamp that I won upon discovering blogland - fittingly it is a Sugar Nellie whose advert in the Feb 2010 Craft Stamper caught my eye & it was following that up that led to my discovering images, colouring...... The rest is history.

details HERE

The other company I learnt much from was Whiff of Joy. I was given this Melinda stamp & love using it. I spent hours colouring this image & I lost count of how many I ditched - this one included when it didn't fit my first colour scheme but I kept it as I thought the colouring was good enough to do something with. I later used it for this card which I ended up being particularly pleased with.

details HERE

This I think is my all time favourite card.  There's just something about Leanne Ellis' Alice in Wonderland image with the caterpillar body, Alice head & rabbit's Top Hat juxtaposed with the different white textures & various golds.

details HERE

With this one it is the stamped chandelier White Resist background that I was particularly pleased with.

details HERE

Another of Leanne Ellis' distinctive Sugar Nellie designs that took on a life of its own when I made this Tent Card with her - it's the way the pearls fitted into the scalloped edges of the design that delighted me. I also had to work quite hard at solving the problem of finding an ink that would cover the brayering of the Joseph's Coat Technique.

details HERE

My Christmas Musings

This Christmas being my first as a blogger I find myself thinking about the international dimension of blogging amongst Crafters - how we variously celebrate this essentially Christian festival with different images & traditions. Without realising it my choice of cards in the previous post also reflects the different iconography associated with this season - from the cute to the traditional, snowflakes & baubles to The Star of Wonder & Bethlehem

"........ which is called Bethlehem........ For unto you is borne this day, in the citie of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a signe unto you; yee shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the heavenly hoste praising God, and saying, glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good wil towards men."

(Holy Bible 1611 Authorized Version, Gospel According to Saint Luke - Chapter 2: verses 4 &11-14).

Christmas Eve was the day for gift giving in my Swedish family with the traditional Lutfisk (white fish)  & Rice Pudding Christmas lunch followed by unwrapping of gifts as soon as darkness fell. Here in the UK it is Christmas Day Morning for the parcel opening followed by the Christmas meal of Roast Turkey with trimmings & Christmas/Plum Pudding later in the day. 

And so, 

I wish you all a peaceful Christmas 

Thinking about crafting & blogging I am reminded how it began for me; the following is my entry into the Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 36 which is to post a particular favourite creation alongside the first/earliest one (of which there is a photograph).

I stumbled into crafting when my Mum bought me a paper embossing kit just before she died (Feb 2008). When she saw what I started to do with it she told me to go to a box & to have the contents - in it was some card, a small guillotine, craft mat, knife & a few other bits & pieces. She had some books & I looked but said I didn't think I'd be interested in stamping so would leave the stamping one - I managed to retrieve that stamping book before the house was cleared & now it is stamping that thrills me.

My very first experience of stamping an image was at a Sakura Pens Craft Workshop 28th March 2008 when I coloured the peel off dragonflies & stamped daffodils with an assortment of Sakura Pens to produce this

My favourite/latest is this Christmas card 

details HERE

Favourite 5 For Christmas 2010

To choose & post the favourite 5 of your own Christmas cards is what Debby of A Scrapjourney has set as a condition for entering her candy. I surprised myself when I looked back over what I've created this year as I really didn't think I'd made sufficient Christmas cards to make it worth picking out 5. Anyhow, these are my own picks:

details HERE

details HERE

details HERE

details HERE

details HERE

More Snow...

It had snowed again during the night & continues to do so. The view across the valley cleared as I stood with my camera & I caught this with a glorious sky.

Awarded......

But, excepting Deborah who is giving me the award, my recent discoveries in blogland are not individuals. So as to be able to thank Deborah I have adapted  the rules:

1. Thank and link back to the person giving the award.
2. Share 8 things about myself!
3. Forward the award to 8 crafters recently discovered.
4. Contact the 8 people involved and tell them about the award.

Things About Me

1. I'm less than 5ft tall.
2. I don't like chocolate.
3. A box of 72 Derwent coloured pencils were my prized possession as a teenager.
4. I trained in the Hotel & Catering Industry & have worked in the Accounts, Housekeeping, Kitchen, Restaurant, Reception & Reservations sectors in & around London.
5. I learnt to read & write when I started school at the age of 7.
6. I learnt English by reading Enid Blyton books.
7. I am looking forward to watching some Russell Crowe DVDs with my husband over Christmas.
8. Until a few years ago I celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve - the Swedish way opening presents when it became dark in the afternoon.

Recent Discoveries in Blogland

1. Deborah's Gems - Deborah & I were both My Creative Classroom students on  Glenda Waterworth's Rubber Stamping courses.
2. Waltzingmouse Makes Blog
3. Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge
4. Card Positioning Systems
5. Keep It Simple!
6. The Play Date Cafe
7. hAnglar & stAnglar
8. Penny Black

Icing On The Cake

I thought I'd take some photos this morning as we had our first snowfall yesterday. It is very pretty but not to be ventured out into - even the most agile of people can find themselves sitting down rather nastily as an icy patch catches you unawares.

view from our bedroom over Brecon town towards the next valley

some pretty berries outside our kitchen window

our woodland viewed from my craft room

.....and the birdbath which looks like an iced cake

WOYWW 67

First of all I have an apology to make to Kermit - I photographed him upside down last week, so here he is the right way up.

After 3 four hour round trips to Cardiff I finally have a functioning MacBook. So, here follows the saga of our buying the one MacBook with no Bluetooth that the Apple Store in Cardiff & their staff have ever encountered. We went to the Apple Store in Cardiff last Friday, happily came home, carried out all the installation updates & tried to connect mouse & keyboard. However, when my husband was unable to find the Bluetooth connection there was no alternative but to phone Apple the following morning, whereupon we were asked to bring it back.& leave the machine with the Apple technicians. A few hours after returning home to Brecon we were advised that something was so amiss with this particular machine that there was not even going to be any attempt made at rectifying it. I would be given a completely new machine & all the updates & setting up with mouse, keyboard & software would be carried out by the Apple technicians when we could next return to Cardiff. So, yesterday, after our third trip to Cardiff we came home with it all sorted. Everybody is trying to assure me that I do not have a propensity for attracting faulty computer machines, but my initial printer purchase for the Dell Microsoft system 18 months ago was also faulty.

Below is my workdesk. On the left the debris from Sunday's posting is still in the box for putting away & on the right on my glass mat is today's mail - a small Scor-Buddy so that I can follow the tutorials I see all over blogland & a paper piercing grid which I've wanted ever since I discovered the joys of paper piercing. So, this is my latest update for WOYWW.