Baskets 3 & 4 and revamped 1 !

Yellow roses and mini sunflowers

I decided to make the most of the last of the warm weather and finish my baskets today.  There was an incentive as I had bought all my plants yesterday!  

So spent this morning and early afternoon finishing off the painting and then set to to repair the greenhouse  (just in case we get the snow they keep threatening - and my newly purchase plants are in the greenhouse for protection!).   I had a broken pane of glass in the roof window, and another pane with a corner missing.   We have a lovely glazing company in town, so nipped down there with the window and the necessary measurements for the two pieces of glass - ooo panic - they were out of greenhouse glass.   Fortunately I had a couple of spare pieces at home, albeit the wrong size - so it was a quick trip back home, a quick sluice of the panes of glass to get rid of the mud and muck where they had been stored behind the shed, and back to the glaziers!  - and the cost, including fitting the pane of glass in the window which was quite difficult - nothing as it was my glass -just a contribution in the charity tin!  Heck you don't often get service like that!

I was going to paint this basket the same as the second one, but wanted to try something a bit different - so this one is yellow roses and sort of mini sunflower type flowers - I am sure they have a proper name (or at least a latin one, but I am useless at flower names!)

For those of you into Paint Fusion - the little "roses" at the top were painted using 3 dots of white, 2 of yellow and 1 of orange, before I swirled them together.  I really liked the effect of using 3 colours.

wall basket/trough

I then progressed to the wall basket/trough, that I had prepared earlier in the week with black paint.  I went back to the pink roses and white daisies for this - really like the combination.

two more views of the trough

and finally I went back to my first basket, which I thought was a bit plain with just the Ivy, so as it will be hanging in the vicinity of the trough on my front porch, I decided to revamp it with some additional flowers.  I wasn't sure how the white daisies would work overpainting them over the ivy - so I opted for pink roses and blue cornflowers  (ok blue daisies!) to compliment the trough.

revamped ivy basket

another view

Thanks for dropping by and looking, hope you approve of my makeover of my tatty green baskets and trough.  Can't wait to fill them now!

Hanging Basket - :Part 2

Roses and Daisies

Painted the second one today - again freehand.  Think I prefer this to the first one.  Now the big decision - do I paint the other one for the back garden the same to match or different?



Hanging Basket Part 1

I am in the middle of an ongoing project:

First Basket

I had some old tatty green hanging baskets, that had really seen better days.  As you can see from the pictures below I painted them black.  I used Black Magic some paint I got from Ideal World, which Sheena mentioned in one of her programmes last year.   I have already painted our old swing, the metalwork on a bench and the imitiation pump on our water feature, which were all metal.  

At the end of the summer I did start to put a coat of the paint on one of the hanging baskets when the flowers had finished just to see how it took.  It did say on the tin that you could paint plastic as well as metal.   So this week I started to revamp three baskets (and the chains - which were a tad rusty and now are as good as new too!)

Having given them a couple of days to thoroughly dry and harden off (they only take about 30 mins to dry in reality), I set to and paint fusioned them with my acrylic paints.  I was going to map out the pattern with my PF stamps, but with the uneven surface this wasn't so easy - so I ended up painting them freehand.  Not as good as some Ivy I have done in the past - I am obviously out of practise from last year!

I then added some imitation (barge painting style)  roses around the base with a trail of leaves, and some turquoise dots between the two.

This basket will hang in the porch, and as I have a trough that hangs on the wall, it looks as though that will be next item to be given "the black treatment" ready for painting to match the basket.

Not sure what I am going to do on the other two baskets which hang on back wall of the house.  As it is obviously going to be another freehand job - may well go for roses and daisies.

The old green baskets with their coat of black magic (above and below)

Glass of red?

I've used an image from Inklined "The Next Big Thing" again for this card, coloured with Promarkers. I also drew a Zentangled M and tried to keep it masculine looking as the recipient is a man, again coloured with promakers.  Cardstock is some from my stash ( I think from the Papermill originally), a bit of green petersham ribbon from my ribbon box, and the silver matting paper was from a pack I bought at Ally Pally a couple of years ago.

I couldn't decide which of the two images I coloured to use, so the other one with green grapes and cheese went on the back of the card!

Mags

Mother's Day Card and Pressies!

Just had to share this pysychedilic card from my daughter for Mother's Day.   She loves Zentangles as much as me, and she is really good at them.  She drew a similar, but different one for her MIL.  The old sakura moonlight pens are getting an airing too!

And these were my pressies - so sorry there will be no escape from more tangles from me!

and this says it all:

and a beautiful orchid from my son - I adore orchids!

A card for Jacque

A card for my best pal Sassie, using my new Wishing on a Star cd1 - Daytime.  I don't have this shaped nestie so the image was cut out by hand!  Image has been sparkled.  I also created a little Zentangled initial for her, on a faux quilted background, drawn with a micron pen, and then coloured with sakura metallics, and some little sead beads added to the centres of the little blue flowers, to reflect her love of beadcraft, and her current quilting project, and a blue theme to the card as that is a favourite colour.

Thanks for looking, and Happy Mother's Day to all Mums.

Mags

90th Birthday

Made this card today for Iris, one of my mum's younger cousins, for her 90th Birthday next week.  Large A4 Card again.  She is almost blind, so wanted something with loads of texture and touchy- feely theme, and wanted to make it fairly large for her.  (As she lives at St Dunstan's - the pressure was on to get it right as it will be seen by the staff there!)

Backing paper and flowers from various Docrafts goody bags.  The 90 was cut out with a template from pink glitter card, which I also used for the matting of the main image.  Glitter card was from my stash (think it was C&C card from Wilkinsons).  Main image from "The Next Big Thing" cd, coloured with promarkers.  Purple imitation ribbon cut from Papermania pearlescent card with a tonic punch.  Finally a chiffon ribbon added (Joanna Sheen) to which I added a couple of peel-offs and a little head pin with beads on it, peel-off letters spelling Iris on the image, and some card candi for the centres of the flowers. 

I know she won't be able to see it, but hope she will be able to feel the different elements, if somebody describes them to her.

As she is one of my favourite "aunts" (yes I know she is really a cousin), but she was Auntie to me as a child, as we spent many happy times with her and her family on their farm, days out on the beach, and family holidays, and although I don't normally send her a present for her birthday, I am thinking of making a necklace, something simple on a cord that she can just slip over her head.

Before me she was the family historian, and she was a fount of information as she kept in touch with all the aunts, uncles and cousins in my mum's line.   I just wish she and mum hadn't gone blind before I needed them to recognise faces in photos for me.

Mags

Attempting a ZenDangle

The other day I mentioned that I had seen a U-tube video on ZenDangles - Well - having looked at Joane's pages of things to try, I have had a play last night at making a frame with a Dangle in the middle of it - not sure that I like it as much as ordinary zentangles.  Think I need a bit more practise.   I can see where I need to improve it - I should have done the sprigs of leaves on the outside of the larger square, which would have then left a clear frame for the Dangle.  Still it was quite relaxing and at least the sakura metallics got an airing alongside some promarkers.  It reminds me of a patchwork square!

I have named it "Love ZenDangle" as if you look carefull, the word love is spelled out at the end of the longest dangles.

I was going to attempt another one tonight, but was a bit shattered after a second day in in the garden.  Yesterday I was good and cleared up all the clippings etc from my energetic wielding of loppers, shears and secateurs over the weekend, which resulted in two trips to the tip!   This afternoon I continued the good work and dug over 30 feet of flower bed - and bearing in mind this bed is about 5ft deep at its widest - was quite chuffed with my result.   The ground is just perfect for digging at the moment, so am concentrating on getting that done so I can get back to crafting without feeling guilty!

There is also a bit of an incentive with the gardening, as my hubby decided to take up an offer of some perenial plants - £100 worth for £9.99 - not sure how many plants are coming, but I think it is a heck of a lot - goodness knows where they are all going to go! 

Mags

Flower Tangle

I subscribe to a zentangle blog and this week there was a link to a U-tube video about Zenspirational Dangles done by Joanne Spink - which I have yet to try.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFz0k2M39No

However, at the end of the video there were some further links to Joanne's work.  One was a downloadable set of letters/initials, and the other were some inspirational ideas for flowers.

This is my first attempt at a flower - probably the first flower I have ever drawn in my life that looks like a flower!  I roughed out the outline in pencil first, then went over it properly with my micron pen.  The flower was then coloured with promarkers, and a bit of distressing added from a big and juicy pad.  (yes ok - need more practise at distressing!).  Am a bit chuffed with the flower, as I can't freehand draw for toffee  -  even my husband said he recognised what it was supposed to be!

I am going to have to have a look to see if I have any suitable stamps that I can adapt!

This picture shows two of Joanne's "how to bit" from her pdf - the first one is the basic outline for the flower, and the second one she coloured using a computer.  The one on the right is of course my effort.

So the next step is to do a few variations, and try the ZenDangles!

Thanks for dropping by.

Mags

Blue Baby Topper ....

... the one I didn't use!  -   plus another piccie of my gorgeous new granddaughter! (just had to share it!)

Mags

New Baby Cards

Bet you had already guessed what the title of today's blog was going to be! :)

A4 Baby Card

Finished size of this pearlescent card is A4 - wow never made one this big before.  Image was from Inklined The Next Big One, coloured with promarkers, and then distressed with pink and  matted and layered onto purple and pink pearlescent card.  Pink chiffon ribbon and multi bow (made without a Bowdabra!), to which was added a darker pink metalic ribbon brooch that I had made earlier.  Finished off with some ribbon teddies and bows from my stash.

These next two close ups were taken outside - so they appear "bluer" than they really were.  (why does that always happen?).  The picture above has true colours! 



Close up of topper




close up of ribbon bow and metallic ribbon brooch


I also  made a couple of 6" square cards for the new baby's sisters.  I think the images are from LOTV - I have had them in my stash for a while - all I can remember is that I bought them at Ally Pally. Mounted on a square doily bought from Ribbonbox whilst at Farnborough, which I edged with pink.  Personalised and a ribbon and gem added.   (I saw pre-made ribbon bows with gems at Farnborough - and thought I can make them cheaper - so I copied the idea!)

The inserts were personalised for them and said: 

How Lovely (name) !

So pleased to learn you have a

New Baby Sister - Tabitha Ann

Mags

(tomorrow I will try and remember to photograph the "blue" topper that I prepared and didn't use! and I won't be hanging on to it , just in case as my DIL, who has had a rough time with this birth, said I can forget about getting a grandson!)

I am a Nanny again!

couple of minutes old!

Introducing my fourth granddaughter Tabitha Ann born 4 March at 19.59 weighing 9lb 9oz



couple of hours old.

Mags



MCS meets Zentangle

Mens cards are so difficult aren't they!   I wanted a motorbike theme, but also fancied encorporting a bit of Zentangle!   I used an image from MCS Men-Y-Happy returns cd , which I saved as a pdf, then imported it into Publisher and created a frame for it.  Printed if off and then played - doodling some tangling!   It took most of the afternoon yesterday, but it kept me out of mischief!

Because the image itself is quite plain and dark, and although it looked good in Black and White, I decided to use my promarkers and colour it.  I am really pleased with the result.  Topper was then mounted on silver mirri onto cream cardstock, and a peel-off from my stash added.

Thanks for looking.

Mags 

Beaded Butterfly/Dragonfly



beaded butterfly brooch



This is my first attempt at a beaded butterfly brooch (or is it a dragonfly!)   Inspired by Sarah Millsop's demo.   I don't know if I have done it right, but this is my interpretation.!  There is a "how to" on Beader's Companion Blog - but although I did look at it a couple of days ago, it wasn't to hand when I made the brooch! 

I also remade the brooch I made the other week.  I managed to get some sieved brooch backs whilst at Farnbrough, so the original got a make over.  I actually preferred the first one, but it was a tad difficult to undo and do up the clasp, thus the remake.   It does look nice on my navy jacket though!

beaded brooch.

Mags

New Home

Another simple card (you know I only do simple) to welcome my new tenants to their new home.  The image is from Inklined "The Next Big Thing".  I created a border in Publisher, and then matted it onto some cream cardstock, which was edged with a purple metallic promarker.  I have also added a little flowersoft to the image (I always forget I have loads of this).  I also personalised the insert.

Mags