Think Pink - Simon Says Stamp Guest Designer

Hello all - I'm thrilled to be back in the Designer Spotlight over on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge for October, and we're starting the month with Think Pink.

It's always a huge honour to be invited to be part of the fun over on Simon Says Stamp (though I probably need to look at my calendar more carefully next time before saying yes... it's a busy month ahead!).

As always, you'll find oodles of inspiration from the amazing Design Team over on the Monday Challenge blog, and there's the usual generous prize on offer from Simon Says Stamp. 

This week's theme of Think Pink is in honour of Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Pink used to be a rare colour here at Words and Pictures, but lately it's been getting more common.  It started with a lot of wintry sunrises and sunsets in my work last winter, but lately it's definitely happening because of some of the floral stamps I've created for PaperArtsy in recent months.  So when I was asked to "Think Pink", my thoughts went immediately to my PaperArtsy EAB49 Coneflowers.  

I thought they'd look great with Tim Holtz's lovely daisy from the French Garden set, so I stamped lots of blooms in Olive Archival Ink onto some watercolour paper.

I used a combination of PaperArtsy Mattints and Dylusions sprays to tint my flowers.  Dylusions are the featured product this week.  I don't have many of the sprays - as you'll know, I have tended to prefer my colour palettes muted rather than in the vivid, vibrant Dylusions tones - but I have a few browns and greens and blues in most mediums (to try out), and Dylusions are no exception.

I put dots of Mattint and tiny spritzes of the sprays onto my craft mat to use as a palette, and layered them together to create fabulous variations and depth of colour.  As you can see from the photos, I used Mattints in Glow, Ladybug Squeezed and The Pink, and Dylusions Chopped Pesto, Dirty Martini and Melted Chocolate.  A touch of PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic in Snowflake allowed me to create more opaque layers and pastels.  Any white acrylic will do for that.  I'm very happy with how they turned out... the Dylusions might be coming out more often from now on!  

I altered a cheap and simple wooden frame with a coat of white chalk paint and some Distress Opaque Crackle Paste.

And for my background, I used one of the wood effect Tim Holtz 3D Texture Fades.  I think this particular one has been discontinued now, but there are plenty of others to choose from, including the amazing new large size versions.

Once the crackle had done its thing, I grunged it up with some Pumice Stone Distress Crayon and Pumice Stone Distress Spray Stain, brushed on to highlight those fabulous cracks and crevices.

I chose one of the fabulous Idea-ology Photobooth snapshots to go at the heart of my garden of dancing flowers.  I love the energy and joy emanating from this woman.

And then it was simply a question of arranging the flowers around the edge of the frame and gluing them into position.

A few of my much-loved Curator Snippets labels add extra detailing, and it wouldn't be a Words and Pictures project without some words.

These are from the Coneflowers plate - the large word is one of three, especially selected by me to suit the mood of the stamp set, and the phrase is a poetry fragment from a poem by Lope de Vega.

If that isn't enough to inspire you to Think Pink this week, then do head over to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge for lots more glorious pink creativity from the Design Team there.

The team will be selecting projects to spotlight at the end of the week, and one lucky randomly-drawn winner will be going on a shopping spree at Simon Says Stamp.  

So dig out all your pink materials and have a play.  If I can go pink, you definitely can!!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and happy crafting all!

Pink is the colour of strength, a colour of conviction, a colour of decision making.
Angad Bedi

In a world that often lacks compassion, pink stands as a reminder to be kind.
Matthew Green

Grey and Green

Hello all!  I'm so sorry not to have been around.  I've been swallowed whole by the Royal Shakespeare Company again... I'm over in the UK for three months of work with them, and as a result there's been almost no crafting and almost no social media time.  I am, of course, travelling with some craft supplies (couple of snaps of my travelling craft stash at the end) but there really hasn't been much chance to use them!

One good thing about being here at this time of year is that it meant I could get my hands on the new Tim Holtz Idea-ology goodies much more quickly than I can when I'm tucked away in my little village in the Czech Republic.  So last Sunday I seized the chance to do a bit of quick collaging over some Lost Shadow ink splotch tags made last month (yes, I got my hands on the new Distress colour too!), and here they are...

When I do get some crafting time, I'm mostly working on top secret stuff behind the scenes (watch this space) but it was lovely to just play for half an hour.

Here are the tag backgrounds before the layering.  I played with all the Distress greys - so that was Hickory Smoke, Pumice Stone (both as inks) and the new Lost Shadow in ink and oxide formulations.  

The Mosaic stencil looks like cobblestones to me, so that seemed perfect for the grey tones.  And I used one of the text stamps from my own PaperArtsy Botanicals sets for some detail stamping.

I've always been a huge fan of the Photobooth snapshots in the Idea-ology line, so these new slightly larger Photomatic snapshots were a must-have.  

And these Quote Chip Labels are really great as another way to add words to my pictures.  The collection contains words in rectangles and ovals (some of those coming soon).

There are some lovely new ephemera pieces but I started out gently by just pulling out some of the leafy stems from the pack to keep these tags looking organic and natural.

And of course I couldn't resist adding some of my favourite tiny Snippets labels (an essential part of the travelling stash).

Here, as promised, are a couple of photos of my temporary crafting arrangements.  We were rehearsing in London for six weeks, so this is my set-up from that period.  

Not all of this was in my suitcase... I have a couple of boxes of supplies stored in Cestina's little bolthole where I was staying (just outside London).

And this is my wonderful riverside view at my digs in Stratford upon Avon where I am now (two weeks down, four weeks to go). 

So all this did come in a suitcase, and my new purchases are going to have to be crammed in too for the journey back.  I also brought some of the few tags I have managed to squeeze in time for.  I'll try to share a few more of those here soon.

Much bigger windows, and I'll confess it's easy to get distracted by the beauty right in front of me.  I feel very lucky, even though I hardly get to spend any time here - we're working long theatre hours, six days a week.

So that's a little catch-up from me.  I hope you're all doing well.  In all honesty, I'm not likely to manage much more blogging before I'm back in the Czech Republic (flying home on Easter Saturday).

However, there is some very exciting news to share in a couple of weeks' time, so I'll definitely be here for that!  Happy crafting, all.

I read; I travel; I become.

Derek Walcott

Everything I was I carry with me; everything I will be lies waiting on the road ahead.

Ma Jian

It can hardly be a coincidence that no language on earth has ever produced the expression, 'As pretty as an airport'.

From The Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul by Douglas Adams

It's the Final Countdown

Hello all and a slightly belated happy New Year!  (Anyone singing along after that post title is revealing their age!)  Just squeaking in under the promised wire (to share the rest of the Advent Countdown tags before the end of the 12 Days of Christmas - 6th January)... here are the remaining December tags, with a shot of the whole collection at the end.

Here's a sneak peek of the final arrival...

The last of the juniper berry backgrounds (using my PaperArtsy EAB28 Juniper Edition) were the last of the red and green collection... 

And then it really became all about the winter delights of Uncharted Mariner Distress Ink as a colour.  Obsessive, me?  Really?!  And texture too, of course... 

These two don't actually belong together as a pair, but they got made and posted at the same time.  Each of them does have a partner in the collection - you'll see them united at the end of the post.

Some more juniper berries to finish things off... and we all know who appears at the end of the Advent Countdown!

The making and posting wasn't quite daily, but when you work with pairs, trios and groups, you end up with enough to cover the full 25 day Advent Countdown even if you're not making something every single day!

Some of these pairs and trios were made together.  Some collections came about from a bunch of backgrounds all made at the same time, but then each individual tag was finished off separately - but usually done to "match" whatever had gone before.  Batch making does save thinking time!

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I know for lots of you Christmas is a dim and distant memory now, but I'm enjoying the final days of peace and quiet by the tree before it comes down.  

Chaos is about to kick in, as I'm heading to the UK for three months of work with the Royal Shakespeare Company again.  I'll be packing a travelling stash, of course, but I don't know how much time or energy I'll have for creating.  Working on a show is always pretty demanding, and I'm going to miss the Czech countryside very much (and my mother too!)... but digging deep into Shakespeare again is going to be a really stimulating and satisfying way to start the year.  

I hope that 2023 is offering you the right balance of peace and excitement, and I wish you all the very best year possible.

Celebrate endings, for they precede new beginnings.

Jonathan Lockwood Huie

And now we welcome the New Year... full of things that have never been.

Rainer Maria Rilke