Roll up roll up!

Happy new year everyone! I know have been away for a while but I have had to change job etc and just not had time to blog. Hopefully things will change this year as I'm looking to set up a business in my crafts and still continue coming up with photographic projects. But at the moment working at Starbucks is just way too much fun. Anyways I was asked by lily of the octopodes factory to come up with a design with her new circus images.

I'm not a big fan of clowns but these are so cute! As usual I wanted to do something different to just a tag or a card so I designed a little circus train with the main focal point being the clown digi.

I made the paper myself using a red promarker then using brushed corduary and vintage photo stains. The extra circus themed images I got from pinterest on a selection of Victorian circus themed cut out toys for children.

At first I was not sure of the combination of the Victorian images and the octopode image but they work really well together. If you would like to purchase these images then please visit the octopode factory shop were all the digits are a very reasonable price.

Autumn & TOFF Fortnightly Challenge- Witches

Happy autumn everyone! I just love autumn it is my favourite time of year.The lovely crisp chill air in the mornings, the sun bursting through the autumn trees and warm nights coshying up on the sofa under a blanket with a hot chocolate. Yum!

Photo Credit: http://katieormsby.tumblr.com/post/62834906116

Photo Credit: http://dearfriendblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Screen-shot-2012-10-17-at-7.58.28-PM.png

This week over at The Octopode Friday Challenge this weeks theme is Witches. I love Halloween and October so I was excited about this challenge. For this challenge I used the Gloomsville Witch digi to create my inspiration for the theme. I decided to do something a little different from a tag or a card or even a tea cup (see previous posts) and decided to paint a plate!

To paint the design onto the plate I printed the image to the size I wanted and traced over it with carbon paper underneath to transfer it onto the plate. It is amazing what you can do with even digital stamps. And it was just as simple as painting it in afterwards. 

It looked a little plain so I decided to add something round the edge along with a couple of cobwebs. After all it isn't Halloween without cobwebs! After it was heated it came out looking amazing!

There is plenty of other witchy inspirations from the rest of the design team so go check it out and enter your witchy creation whether it be a card or a tag or even a cauldron! (You never know) and you could be in with a chance of winning 3 digis of your choice from The Octopode shop.

The Pen is Mightier. (Octopode Friday Challenge)

I must admit I was a little unsure what to do for this challenge and the final outcome does look a little rushed. I think if I thought about it more it could have been better. What I did for this challenge was obviously Alice In Wonderland. So here is the final outcome.

The background text is from 'The Looking Glass' (a book from the alice in wonderland series). If I had more time I would have probably added a couple more pages and made them a little bit more decorative. Here is the links to all the digis I used
                              Alice Elements

How does your garden grow

Retro Alice

The theme doesn't have to be Alice in Wonderland you could use her Rapunzel digi or maybe even Captain Jackl Sparrow to represent the book Treasure Island. Just be inspired by poetry, literature and books. Enter your literature themed project on 'The Friday Challenge' and you could win three free digis of your choice!

Friday Challenge- Gothic

I am so excited about this challenge as I love anything gothic and Halloween and I just knew the perfect thing to do for it and with the help of Lilys new digis Goomsville.

The tombstone I actually brought last year for a Halloween Party, it only cost me £1 from Asda. What I decided to do was just give it a little bit of extra wow with the help of fake moss, lilys digis and some copper paint. and it looks completely different to what it looked like before! I wish I took a before picture now but it was pretty plain. Simple but instantly looks great! By the way the background paper I have used is a graphic 45 and I just can not bring myself to cut the lovely 12x12 sheet does anyone else have this situation with some of the papers they really like?

I also did a Pumpkin themed tag as well. Just a little bit of extra inspiration. The wings was a stamp from craft stamper magazine a while back. I did stamp them in black but they were just not noticeable so I decided to go over them in a white gel pen and it actually looks much better.

To enter the Challenge just create a gothic themed card, tag or even a tombstone! Also there is 15% off all Halloween images from the etsy shop with instant downloads! So you have no excuse to not enter this amazing challenge! The winner will receive 3 FREE digis of there choice! Also go check out the rest of the lovely DT Members inspiration. 

Summer Show 2013

WOW! It is weird to think that it was over a year ago that I did my Summer Show and finished my degree at Hereford College of Arts in Photography. It is just weird to think how much I have done in a year since completing my degree. I have been off photographing vintage events and have even started up my own pop up studio which is going slowly but hopefully will pick up soon.

Anyways what I am going to talk about is this years summer show from the graduates of the college and again what an amazing show. Here is just a few snaps of peoples work ranging from Foundation degree in art to University degrees. Some of the stuff was just amazing and I was really intrigued into how people did the work particularly in contemporary applied arts and jewelry.

I'll have to try and find the other pictures I have seem to have lost them woops =(

Slugs and Snails and puppy dog tails- Toff Challenge

This fortnights challenege over at The Octopode Factory this week is 'Slugs, snails and puppy dog tail' (boys theme) I instantly thought of using one of the avengers digis Captain America (as he is my boyfriend, Georges fav character)

I created a tag with a very patriotic theme to it so would be great for American Independence day if I live in America that is. I created the background using distress stains Broken China and Pickled Raspberry and brushed on some white paint. I then got some star paper (sorry can't remember the brand) and added a little bit more of an edge at the bottom. I got the 12x12 seasonal Tim Holtz pad and cut out some of the little words from the 2x2 sqaures 'Blue Patriot'

I hope you like the tag and should go check out all the other inspirations from the other DT Members someone else decided to use the avengers as well! So get enter your boy themed card and you could win 3 free digis of your choice over at The Octopode Factory shop!

Friday Octopode challenge- Flowers

This weeks theme of at TOFF is flowers. I must admit I have been getting a little bored of just making cards and tags so I decided to do something a little more different. I decided on making myself a permanent bunch of flowers for my home.

I used the digi 'How does your garden grow' for this challenge and just printed out the variety of flowers on a mixture of different 6x6 papers I have. It was a little tricky at first but I soon got the hang of what I needed to do with the printer settings (along with help from the boyfriend.)

I then collaged the flowers and made them more 3d by using foam pads. After this I then got my white and green straws to use for the stalks. I fished out a masons jar filled it with blue tissue paper at the bottom to look like water.

To finish it off I just added a little 3d butterfly I had lying around for ages! It has definitely started to make it feel like spring in the home.

Now the explaining is over all you have to do to enter is visit The Octopode Friday Challenge blog by this link and enter your own themed card, tag or something a little out of the box with the theme of flowers. If you use Lilys designs you get entered twice! The winner chosen by Lily will then get a choice of 3 free digis!

Have fun with this challenge and Spring will soon be on the way!

The Octopode Friday Challenge

Once I found out what the challenge them was I was just thinking this is something I am going to look forward to doing as I just love Alice in Wonderland and in particular the Mad Hatter. Instead of making a normal card I thought I would try something i haven't done before and because I have so many teacups lying around the house not being used and instantly knew what I was going to do. 

I went to florist shop in the market to pick up some lichen (that looks a bit like moss) along with a few extras like the 'green grass' stuff which I had to cut down to fit into the cup along with the big mushrooms I used. The little mushrooms I got off some mini pegs that I have had for some time and never used. 

The dormouse is just adorable and I love his cuteness. The bunting had to be the trickiest bit. Having to cut out each triangle individually and then sticking it on to the purple twine it was a little fiddly. 

As well as this being part of the design team work for The Octopode Factory I will also be entering this into The Altered Alice challenge. I've never entered any challenges apart from the octopode factory in the past so fingers cross they will like my work 

I am very please with this cup and will be on display for forever along with my other Alice in Wonderland items. Please go check put all the other amazing design teams work over at  The Octopode Factory There is some amazing inspiration. TOFF does not require an Octopode Factory image, however if you do use one (and lily has lots of Alice images!) you will be entered in twice for the challenge prize of 3 Octopode digital images. 

Alice in Wondeland Atc

I decided to join a swap through ukscrappers with the theme of Alice in Wonderland and obviously I couldn't resist. So here is my design for the group I am in

Hope people like them.

Fathers day and summer show

Since friday everything has been happening. Saturday I went to work sunday it was fathers day and my parents and grandparents came and visited the summer show currently on. I had made my day a lovely mustache themed fathers day card along with a gardening kit I brought for him.





I just love the card! I also made the boyfriends dad a fathers day card as well which his dad liked which was good and I have been told I am a keeper =D


As well as Fathers Day, monday was the morning breakfast event which sadly I was a little disappointed by. My mum made me 24 cupcakes in which in the three hours of the event I only handed out 5. I was really disappointed by this as it was such a good idea.


And with so many cupcakes left I decided to hand them out to staff as thank you for helping me out through university and getting to final stage of the show. Even after handing some out to staff I still had about fifteen left which George then gave to the principal to give out at the fellows event lunch which again they went down well.


Because of the fellows event and the fact me and George was invidualting we got to see John Bulmer who is a well know documentary photographer and it was lovely to hear his opinions about my work and what he though of it. Another good thing was I had a business card taken which is a bonus!

I have so much fun doing the summer show and it was lovely to see what other people from other courses have been doing. I have a few images here just to show you some of the great talent.













I am in love with the apron and hope I can make myself something similar

As well as all this excitement there is yet more good news. Me and George today have put a deposit down on a flat it will take a couple of weeks for references to go through but I am so excited I can not wait. But more news on that tomorrow.

Sorry guys for such long gaps between me posting because I will have free time during the week from July I shall have more craft and photography based posts along with my day life and hopefully the blog will get out of the ground along with my online folksy shop which is currently closed as I am working on some new items.