Christmas Harmony

Well it's the last two words for The Craft Barn's Quotes and Lyrics Challenge and we have a choice of HARMONY and/or FAITH.  I've chosen to do Harmony and used a quote from Zooey Deschanel - not profound, but allows me to make my postcard Christmassy!

The background is a mix of Mowed Lawn and Bundled Sage Distress Stains, edged with Gold Acrylic paint and stamped with the Deck the Halls stamps from Oak House Studio.  The holly leaves are also Oak House Studio stamps, embossed with gold, painted with Emerald Acrylic Ink and hung in a bough.  I've just added some gems for holly berries and the quote printed out as usual.

My next job is to create an album for them all but before I do that I thought I'd take a photo so you can see all 25 together.

It's been a great year -  fun creating my postcards and inspiring to visit everyone else's blogs and read other quotes and lyrics.  If you've visited my blog during the year  thank you so much. If you've left a comment then an even bigger THANK YOU.   I'm looking forward to seeing what The Craft Barn have planned for us in 2015.

Merry Christmas to one and all!!

Artistic Ventures

Here's my next postcard for The Craft Barn's Quotes and Lyrics Challenge where the words this fortnight are HEART and/or RISK.   After a day or two of looking I found this quote by Matt Smith which I thought was so true but have struggled to create something to illustrate it.

In the end I've delved through my half made box of 'artistic ventures' and chose this piece.  I've used a set of Firework stamps from Oak House Studio, inked in various pigment inks and clear embossed.  It's then coloured with Chipped Sapphire Distress Stain to make the fireworks pop and finished with the printed quote.

I can't believe we have only one more pair of words to do but I'm looking forward to what the Craft Barn's Challenge will be next year.   Many thanks for looking and for all your lovely comments.

Circle of Friendship

Here's my 23rd postcard for The Craft Barn's Quotes and Lyrics Challenge where the words are JOURNEY and/or FRIENDSHIP.   Lots of quotes this time but I decided to go for this one by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin - a 'well-known' French Philosopher.

I know World is mentioned in the quote but I've done so many blue/green ones I wanted to go for a  different colour scheme.  I've chosen Valentine, Pumpkin Orange, Golden Yellow and Lemon Yellow Pigment Inks and a selection of round palette stamps from the  Journalling Circles and Circles and Flowers sets from Oak House Studio.  I've just randomly Kiss Stamped the circles and inks to create the background and added the typed quote to finish. 

I can't believe we're on the 23rd challenge already which means we only have 3 more to do - I must start thinking about making an album for them.   Meantime, thanks for looking and for your lovely comments on my Bombers' Moon postcard last time.

Elaine xx 

Bombers' Moon

Well another 2 weeks has gone by and the new words on The Craft Barn Quotes and Lyrics Challenge are SENSATION and/or MOON.  Lots of good sensation quotes but no images popped into my head so I've chosen Moon and these lyrics from Bombers' Moon by Mike Harding.

For those that don't know Mike Harding aka The Rochdale Cowboy is a folk singer, writer, comedian etc who had TV series in the late 1970s.  His father was a Navigator in the RAF and was killed in WWII.  I thought the words were very poignant as we  are so close to Remembrance Day.

I've used the Poppy stamp from Chocolate Baroque's  Flora and Fauna set, inked with Onyx Black Versafine, clear embossed and then coloured with markers.  I've then masked the flowers with a circle to create the moon and blended over with Faded Jeans and Chipped Sapphire Distress Inks.  The lyrics were just printed off the computer.

Thanks for looking and for your comments.  I'll leave you with a photo I took of the poppies at the Tower of London - this was late September, all the grass has now been covered with the 888,000+ poppies and the last one will be planted on the 11/11.

Nowhere Man, Please Listen

Another fortnight and another set of words for The Craft Barn's Quotes and Lyrics Challenge - this time HUG and/or NOWHERE.   There are many good quotes for both words but no image popped into my head and then I thought of Nowhere Man by The Beatles.

Having visited Wikipedia I see Nowhere Man was written 49years ago this week and was The Beatles first song not about love, but written by John Lennon with a more philosophical bent.   Tricky to depict a Nowhere Man so I went for a 1960s kaleidoscope of colour - a never ending wheel to nowhere etc etc.  The background is a mix of all the bright Distress Inks I own, blended and spritzed with water etc.  I've then used my Studio Calico Circle Graph Stencil - inked through with Versamark, clear embossed and then inked over with Faded Jeans Distress.

I love it - not sure it has anything to do with The Beatles and the swinging 60s but I think it's bright and cheerful!!   Thanks for visiting and for all your comments on my last entry - very much appreciated!!

PS. Having linked this up I saw Helen's page using the same lyrics and thought mine was definitely missing a man. I rummaged and found my man stamp (freebie from Craft Stamper) so I've added my Nowhere man too!

A Gift to be Simple

This is the 20th set of words for The Craft Barn's Quotes and Lyrics Challenge - DESTINY and/or GIFT.  For my postcard this time I decided to go for this hymn as it was the first song that popped into my head.  I've recently been re-watching Alias Smith and Jones on TV and this is one of the songs Pete Duel sings in that.   

I've just used 3 lines on my postcard but there are a couple more verses below - I was thinking of doing the valley of love and delight or friends but decided to go for the easy option and just do a set of gifts.  The stamps are the Christmas Parcel set by Oak House Studio coloured with markers and the background is a mix of  Distress Stains.

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

'Tis the gift to have friends and a true friend to be,
'Tis the gift to think of others not to only think of "me",
And when we hear what others really think and really feel,
Then we'll all live together with a love that is real.

I've managed to catch up with week 17 too where the choice of words was PEACEFUL and/or GRACE - I chose this quote by Maximillian Degenerez  and used various inks and stains to create a peaceful riverside setting ......well that's what it's supposed to be!!

Thanks for popping by and leaving comments - they are always appreciated!

  

The Inventors

At last a wet morning when I can't go out or garden so I've actually got my inks out and created something!!  This is my 19th postcard for the Craft Barn's Quotes and Lyrics Challenge where the words are PATIENCE and/or BETTER.

This quote by Herman Melville appealed to me - I don't look what others have made or the words they've used till after I've finished mine.  So my choice is original (well in my head anyway)!   I had a rummage through my stamps and decided to use Tim Holtz's Steampunk set with the 3 men as Inventors.   The background is sprayed with Oak House Studio's Citrus Orange Ink in a Bottle and the stamping is Fired Brick and Pumpkin Pie Pigment Inks with the Inventors in Onyx Black Versafine.

Well that's one piece done - now I have week 17 and 18 to catch up with and about 5 weeks of journal pages to do.  Not sure what colour my fingers will be by the end of the day!!   Thanks for popping by and for any comments you leave - they're very much appreciated.

Family like an Orange

Here's my 16th postcard for The Craft Barn's Quotes and Lyrics Challenge where the words this fortnight are FAMILY and/or THING.   Quite a lot to choose from but again I went with the first quote that made me smile and popped an image into my head. 

I've sprayed my postcard with Citrus Orange, Citrus Lime and Golden Oak Inks in a Bottle and just mopped up a little extra green too.  The orange I made using a large solid Journalling Circle (from Oak House Studio) inked with orange and clear embossed. Don't you just love that orange peel effect from the embossing powder!  To finish I've added a few more circles and the quote from Letty Cottin Pogrebin - no, I've never heard of her either but it's a good quote.

Thanks for visiting and please feel free to leave a comment - they are always very much appreciated.

Monet meets Picasso

Here's my next postcard for The Craft Barn's Quotes and Lyrics Challenge where the words to use are MIND and/or IGNORANCE.   Again I've gone with the first quote that popped an image into my head........maybe it's weird but that's obviously how my mind works!!

For the background I've used a combination of Square Palette Stamps (Oak House Studio) with bright inks to create the Picasso style background and just used a black Sharpie to frame them.  The Monet piece is from a Crafty Individuals book of images - I thought it looked like an impressionist painting.  And to finish the words are from a quote by Robert Brault - I'm not sure my dreams are like this but at least they'd be colourful!!

Anyway thanks for looking and for your lovely comments.  I'm off to see what everyone else has chosen to do!

The Craft Barn's Quotes and Lyrics

Well I've finally had some time to get crafting and have done this fortnight's challenge as well as two postcards that I had missed.  For full details of the challenge go to The Craft Barn's blog.

I'll start with the current week 14 where the words to use are IMAGINATION and/or LOGIC.  I decided to make it easy for myself and use my Tim Holtz stamp with Imagination in it.  The background was an inky blue piece of scrap card -  I over stamped and  clear embossed with the Splat stamp  and then blended on Faded Jeans Distress.   I carried on the Milky Way type feel of this with some stars, rays and more splats - all stamps from Tim Holtz's Bitty Grunge set. 

In week 13 the words were PATH and/or HORIZON and I've chosen this Irish Blessing.  I've used Oak House Studio products for this one - Bobby's Grey Ink in a Bottle sprayed through a brick wall mask to create a path and stamps from the Sketchy Flowers set.  I've used the solid flower stamp inked in various colours for the background then created a bunch of flowers with the outline stamps and the leaves.  I've cut some green card for the grass and added some Bazzill Edges for the frame.

The other week I missed was week 11 where we had a choice between MOUNTAIN and/or MISTAKE.   I really struggled to find an interesting quote that I could depict so in the end I went with this quote from John Muir.   I've blended with Distress inks to create a very rough mountain scene (Broken China, Faded Jeans, Weathered Wood, Bundled Sage & Mowed Lawn) and then stamped Tim Holtz's Fir Trees with Pine Needles Distress for my forest. 

An eclectic mix I think you will agree but I'm so pleased I'm now up-to-date.   Thanks so much for coming to visit and for any comments you leave - they are always very much appreciated!

Proud England

At last I've found some time to play so here is my postcard for The Craft Barn's Quotes and Lyrics Challenge where the words are PROUD and/or VINTAGE.

Lots of quotes and lyrics to choose from but I decided to go for the first song that popped into my head - Proud by Heather Small. I know the words are what have you done today to make you feel proud, but I've just gone for feeling proud about England ......and no, I don't mean football, it's more the English heritage, English rose etc.

The background is a swooshy mix of  Festive Berries and Barn Door  Distress Inks overstamped in Fired Brick with the Castle Icon stamps from Hero Arts.   The Union Jack and Rose stamps are both from Oak House Studio. The Union Jack is inked with Barn Door and the Rose is gold embossed and coloured with markers. It's just finished with Tim Holtz's Lion Rampant.

I've still got the last fortnight's postcard to catch up on but hopefully I'll get it done along with some Journal52 Challenge pages too.   Thanks for popping by and leaving comments - they are always much appreciated.

March to Music

Sorry for the lack of blogging but I've been invigilating in the exams at the local school and inspiration deserted me.  However I have managed to do my 10th postcard for The Craft Barn's Quotes and Lyrics Challenge - this time the words are PASSION and/or MUSIC.

To be honest nothing I read popped an image into my head until I saw this one by Thomas Carlyle which made me think of Scottish marching bands etc.  Unfortunately I don't have a Scottish piper or drummer stamp so used the Toy Soldiers Blueprint stamp from Tim Holtz. The background is a swooshy mix of Tumbled Glass and Salty Ocean Distress overstamped with Tim Holtz's Music stamp and the World Map from Darkroom Door.  

I got all my postcards out to see what colour scheme to use and here they all are together.......an eclectic mix!!   Think I need to use reds and oranges next time!!

Many thanks for looking and any comments you leave - they are very much appreciated!

Jalopy Racing

It's the 9th week on The Craft Barn's Quotes and Lyric Challenge and the words are UNIQUE or FAME.

Plenty of meaningful quotes and lyrics but no images popped into my head until I found this quote from Murray Walker - definitely one to make you smile.  

The background is a swooshy mix of Mowed Lawn, Bundled Sage and Shabby Shutters and I've just torn some black card for the track.  The jalopies are Tim Holtz stamps - the two unique ones stamped with Vermillion Archival and in third place Managanese Blue Archival.  The checkered flag is an Oak House Studio border stamp and it's just finished with the typed quote. 

For those of you who don't know who Murray Walker is well he commented on motor racing for years and said what he saw - check out this link for more funny quotes.  I remember him commentating on rally cross and saying 'and he can see the winning line' but then a huge clod of mud hit the lead car's windscreen and he went spinning off into oblivion!!  Those were the days.....

Thanks for looking - I'm off to see what everyone else has been making.  I think craft is going to have to take a back seat for a few weeks as it's now my busy season.  I invigilate in exams in the local school - I have 30 in the next 5 weeks - and watching students doing exams in not inspirational!!

Knowledge is Key

Here's my next postcard for The Craft Barn's Quotes and Lyrics Challenge where this time the words to use are KNOWLEDGE and/or HURT.

Lots of songs to choose from but in the end I've chosen this quote by Bertrand Russell. My mind is full of useless information but I do enjoy quizzes so that makes me happy!!

The background is a mix of Shaded Lilac and Dusty Concord Distress spritzed with water and I've used various stamps from PSX, Tim Holtz, Hero Arts etc to represent typical subjects you get quizzed about - art. geography, history, nature, words, numbers, music etc.  

Thanks for popping by and for any comments you leave,  I'm off to see what others have chosen to do!!

Changes

This fortnight the theme at The Craft Barn's Quotes and Lyrics Challenge is to use CHANGE and/or TRUTH.   Well as I soon as I saw that I had to do Changes by David Bowie.....and I now know the correct words.  I always thought it was strange changes but obviously not!!

Anyway the background is a swooshy mix of Salty Ocean, Broken China, Walnut Stain and Vintage Photo Distress Inks.  I've used the rusty enamel technique on the clock, added a charm and typed the words on the computer.  Simples....

Self-propelled Flowers!

Well another fortnight has gone by and it's time for the next words at The Craft Barn's Quotes and Lyrics Challenge - they are TRAVEL and/or FLOWER.

As ever I've searched the net for something profound or rather some image to pop into my head and in the end decided to do this FLOWER quote by Robert A.  Heinlein. The Sunflower and Butterfly stamps are from Oak House Studio and everything has been coloured using Barn Door and Spiced Marmalade Distress Inks.  The frame is some Bazzill Just the Edges I found in my stash and the quote is printed off the computer.

Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment - it is much appreciated!

Art Quote

Here's my 5th postcard for The Craft Barn's Quotes and Lyrics challenge where this week the words are ROAD and/or ART.    Quite a lot of choices this week - Road lyrics and Art quotes - but I thought I'd use my Tim Holtz stamp with the famous Scott Adam's quote.

The background is sprayed with Ink in a Bottle - Spode Blue, Jubilee Blue and Pearl Silver which makes it difficult to photo but looks very shiny in real life!   I've stamped the quote with Onyx Black Versafine so it sits on the mica and just filled in the word Art with red sharpie.  I've blended Faded Jeans Distress ink through 2 stencils - Tim Holtz's Splatter to represent mistakes and Lin Brown's Paperartsy PS002 for art to keep!!

Hope you like and thanks for looking. 

Love on the Farm

Here's my postcard for The Craft Barn Quotes and Lyrics Challenge where the words are Marriage and/or Age.   Well I've been searching for quotes and lyrics but nothing inspired me till I found these lyrics on marriage from 'Love on a Farmboy's Wages' by XTC (early 1980s). 

I'm not sure I've quite captured the scene but it's supposed to be an idyllic country setting with a colourful sunrise and a cornfield - done with Distress Inks.  I've stamped and embossed Tim Holtz's Sunrays using Sunflower Brilliance and lots of vegetation from Chocolate Baroque and Crafty Individuals stamped with Thyme and Pearlescent Ivy Brilliance. 

If I have time, I may have another go at this to see if I can improve the perspectives.  Meantime, I'm off to see what everyone else has created.  Thanks for looking and for your comments - they are very much appreciated!!

Miss Elaine

Here's my third postcard for The Craft Barn's Quotes and Lyrics Challenge where the words are STRONG and/or MISS.    I've spent 2 days searching for something profound to depict but have drawn a blank so I've chosen to do the lyrics of the song MISS ELAINE by Run D.M.C. which is about a school teacher.

The background is a mix of Barn Door and Festive Berries Distress Inks overstamped with the numbers from Tim Holtz's Fairytale Frenzy set.  I've written physics formulas on some chalkboard and framed this with a wood stamp distressed with Vintage Photo.  I've just printed the words on the computer. 

Never heard of this song?  Neither had I and having listened to it (Hip-Hop/Rap)  and read the lyrics, I don't want to again.  But my name is Elaine and my friend's husband calls me Miss Elaineous (in a friendly way) and it made me laugh. 

Having looked on Amazon for the date (2011)  there seem to be other songs too - Miss Elaine by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion which sounds just as awful, Miss Elaine E.S. Jones by Engelbert Humperdinck and I Miss you Elaine by Say it Messages.  The only one I like is by the Electric Light Orchestra but that is Dear Elaine!!
 
As I said last week, this challenge is going to be educational but sometimes not in a good way.  So much for producing a book of lovely quotes!!   Anyway thanks for looking and for your lovely comments!

Quotes & Lyrics - Silence

Here's my postcard for The Craft Barn's Quotes and Lyrics challenge which is to use Silence and/or Dazzle.   Various songs came to mind but I couldn't decide how to depict them so I went off searching for quotes and found this one about oaks and acorns. 

The background is a mix of Distress Inks - Shabby Shutters, Mowed Lawn and Pine Needles - and the Oak Tree is an Oak House Studio stamp inked with Olympia Green Versafine and clear embossed.  The small oak leaves and gold acorn (I was thinking Silence is Golden here) are by PSX - they've been stamped and embossed and then distressed with a little Barn Door and Spiced Marmalade. 

The quote was on an internet quote site and  its by Thomas Carlyle, the Scottish Philosopher - I thought it was about how beautiful nature can be.  However when I looked for the rest of the poem/prose I found it was made up from an 8 line paragraph in his book about The French Revolution and the oak hasn't just blown down in the wind, no, the woodman came with his axe!!   So someone has actually paraphrased what Carlyle said and made it a quote......so I hope I'm still allowed to use it.

Well last years challenge was educational and I think this years will be too.  Its great to read all the interesting quotes; not so much fun knowing some of the 'old' songs!!