Fun at Antonis Tzanidakis' mixed media workshop

2 weeks ago I travelled up to  Country View Crafts HQ to attend the Saturday workshop by Antonis Tzanidakis'

 For those of you who may not yet have heard of this incredibly talented man, he is a mixed media artist from Athens who travels the world to share his talents. For the first time I got to work with oil paints...incredibly messy but incredible fun! He really is a delightful person and like all Greeks has a very English sense of humour.

I attended both the morning and afternoon workshop. 

In the morning we made a 3D steampunk panel using some very cool techniques...I will obviously not share his teaching but these are a few of my work in progress photos. I started off with 2 completely bare boards and started to layer them up.

and this is my finished work.

with a close up

I would like to enter my mixed media wall hanging into the following challenges;

Mixed media world on Facebook May challenge
Emerald Creek Guy style
SanDee and Amelie's steampunk challenge May anything goes

In the afternoon we altered a book, mine was none less than Lady Chatterley's lover!!

 We altered a clay heart on the cover with lots of rusting techniques.

and this is my finished book; the cover...

and the inside.

I would like to enter my altered book into the following challenge
Mixed media Monthly challenge  Rust

It was a superb workshop, Susan of Country View Crafts was the perfect host. She offers lots of fab workshops..do check out the website here.

One last photo shows our group...lots of happy crafters here! Susan kindly allowed me to share this photo she took as we said our goodbyes.

Thanks for stopping by.

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x

Billy's box

Hello it's Billy here, Jane's cat.

Jane hasn't spotted me asleep on the table cover in the garden............

 I know how much everyone enjoys my occasional posts so as Jane had some samples on Visible Image Stamps' Create and Craft TV shows at the weekend she has allowed me to post today as some of her projects were cat themed.

Come on down to her garden studio.

She made a mixed media wall hanging using the awesome  Curious cat stamp set ,

 Create to escape quote

 , strobes stencil 

and mesh-ellaneous background stamps.

This mixed media wall hanging started life as a very brown, very ordinary tomatoes packaging box. .....little did I know what she had planned...it involved a lot of paint and ink and I nearly changed my white feet to multi coloured.

It was a bit too small for me...I prefer much bigger boxes....like this one

 This is my sleeping place, when I'm not on Jane's bed...I even have a blanket that she crocheted just for me.

So back to the tomato box.....

this is what Jane got up to. She blended some autumn inspired distress inks and added gold metallic ink through the strobes stencil.

Blended acryllic paints around the edges of the box

and  added some patterns using stamps from the Mesh-allaneus set.

She also stamped little paw prints around the edge.

She altered some coffee stirrers with acrylic paints to make fence posts

and made a really textured backing using corrugated card, inks, gesso, gold paint and crackle paint. 

Of course the nose was coloured pink...just like mine 😻 Do you think this look suits me?

So then it was time to put everything together and make her "Billy's Box".
Here it is complete with ribbon to hang....and me to swing from...

a side view

and some close ups...there's my friend Blackie who comes to visit me and walks along the trellis in the garden.

and one more view

Jane would like to enter this into the following challenges...goodness me my paws are getting tired from all this typing..

Simon Says stamp Wednesday anything goes

Rhedd's Creative spirit October

Pixie's Snippets playground week 305/6

Rubber Dance animals

A vintage journey crazy for autumn colour
Creative inspirations autumn/halloween

All the Visible Image links can be found here;

Visible Image group page on Facebook. Our friendly Group can be found here ...it would be lovely to see you there. You can add work to the "Show and Tell" album where one randomly chosen winner each month wins a £25 coupon to spend on the website.

The main Visible Image Facebook page is here; there are weekly stamp giveaways...open world wide!

And the shop web site is here; where all these gorgeous stamps and stencils can be purchased. 

You can also follow via:

 Pinterest

Twitter

 Instagram

That's me done then, I will no doubt be back soon as it's very nearly the time of the year when Jane starts bringing trees inside the house..something to do with the Man in the red suit I think. If you would like to see what happened last year take a look at this post from last December.  I'd better keep a look out. Mind you I think it's Halloween tomorrow night so I think some broomstick riding is more likely for me. 😺

Well actually, if I'm being honest I'm more likely to be snoozing here 

 Bye for now,

Billy (I'm the one with the pink nose) 

and Jane x

Abracadabra, my spell book comes alive.

Hello, today I am delighted to have been asked to guest design for Frilly and Funkie after winning their recent things with wings challenge with my pencil holder. The theme for this fortnight's challenge is "Stamps be gone" in other words projects with no stamping at all. Do pop over and join the fun, there is always gorgeous inspiration to be found.

I thought that "stamps be gone" sounded a bit like a spell, particularly now that we are heading towards October and Halloween. I have never been in to Halloween but I am sure that my nearly 2 year old granddaughter will be at some point so I decided that I would make a spell book for Daisy. I thought it could be something she could draw in, stick photos in or even use as a prop for a Halloween outfit when she is older. I remembered that I have had a set of eyes in my crafty stash for ages and also thought of the Disney film Hocus Pocus and an idea took shape. In the film the witches have a spell book with an eye. After looking at some pictures on line I decided that I needed to make my eye a little friendlier with more of the appearance of a tree elf than something evil. So here is what I came to life.........

I had such fun making this and took some photos as I went along.

My spell book started life as a plain black hard-backed book which I bought in Tiger for just £1.

I covered it with tissue wrap and added some stencilling using gold embossing paste. I then added using Fresco paint and metallic Distress paints. To blend the colours I used baby wipes, such fun messy play.

 I decided to make a socket for the eye using Fimo and as I rolled out a sausage shape I tried to think how I could write my words. I thought about cutting them but I am a bit limited with my left hand at the moment (that's a long story but I am 5 weeks through weeks being immobilized after fracturing my scaphoid bone in my wrist) so I can't cut or use my left thumb, however I can roll things with my fingers. As I rolled out the letters I thought they looked like little snakes so I fashioned them heads and tails as I made the letters to make SPELLS...here is the P taking shape.

I baked the fimo letters and eye socket and then added metallic paints.

I also added some archival ink through my TH shatter stencil to my covers.

 By now the texture was looking very skin like!

Next I wanted some cobwebs so I got out my Memory Box die and cut some in white card

 I then added archival ink and black embossing power, much more spooky.

I needed to tone down the "eye" from being too snake like so I coloured some snippets of papers in autumn shades

and die cut some leaves.

 and crackled them over night with crackle paste so that the eye was more like a leaf man.

 Hope you're still with me......................

I also added gold paint to some black stars which the lovely Wendy Vecchi gave us at the recent workshop in our goodie bag.

and I used my new Halloween remnant rubs....these are great fun.

OK now this is a witch's spell book so to make it come alive we need a witch's cat............................................................

OK well I had to make do with my Billy......

OK Billy you need to put on your spell cap and look scary....

hmmm not sure this is working as planned...............

 This is about as scary as Billy can get so it will have to do.....OK he's  ready to chant the spell.................

Abracadabra.....snakes and eyes

Make Jane's spell book come alive

3...

2............

1...............

Boo.....

Here it is , hope it didn't make you jump too much.

and some of the details in close up....sssss snakes and stars

 I've got my eye on you ..................

 I kept the back cover with free of embellies so that the book can be used and lays flat.

I have written in the front for Daisy and she can keep her halloween memorabilia in it. It may also be a fun talking point if she ever goes to a fancy dress party

 perhaps the first spell could be turning it black and white to blend into the night.....

Oh come on Billy I didn't mean for you to do it now....... I will have to find the restore spell.......................now where is it.....................

I hope I managed to raise a smile, thanks for visiting me today and seeing my work and my creative process madness.

I would like to enter my spell book into the following challenges;

Natalie and Amy Charming
Country view crafts Numbers I have used the number 31
Crafting Muskateers autumnal colours
Rhedd's Creative spirit anything altered art
Pixie's Snippets playground #193 I used lots of  snippets on my spell book, tissue wrap, card for the leaves and even left over snippets (if you can call them that!) of Fimo!
Our creative corner shades of autumn
Crafty Catz anything goes
Cute card Thursday numbers mine is the number 31
Creative Inspirations Vintage
That craft place anything goes mixed media
Crafting from the heart anything goes
Try it on Tuesday Try something new it's the first time I have tried using Fimo in my papercrafting and also this is the first eyeball I have used....LOL!

Back soon......... unless my spell book has other notions and turns me into a pumpkin! Thanks for visiting me and thanks to F&F for inviting me to guest design for them today.

Bye for now,

Jane (and Billy, the witch's cat ...purrrr) xx