Happy new year

Jasmin and Max/Birthday card

Only one year after I posted the last creation I finally made something. Not too complicated, as Eddie kept calling to me from his playpen "Mama, mama".
As it was Jo's birthday, I thought she might find it amusing if I pair her very own Jasmin girl with a partner. I drew him quickly with a Gelcolor black pen. The padded flowers come from a Mother's day kit I found reduced to 25p in Sainsburys, and thought they might come useful. Brads are from the Papermania V&A Hanoverian collection.

I am still alive...

But crafting is impossible right now, so my blog hasn't been updated for many months.
But I have a perfect excuse - my baby Eddie who is turning 3 months today. Between him and Sasha who also needs all my love and attention, I just don't have a spare minute to touch my beautiful papers and stamps.

She sells seashells...

For some reason this seashell stamp from Anita's reminded me of some exotic headdress, and that's exactly what I did with it. It is a (very distant) homage to Mersad Berber whom I admire immensely (I guess I need to win a lottery to be able to afford one of his works,lol). I am sure Monsieur Berber wouldn't recognise it as a homage, but then he spends days on each work, and I had about 20 minutes, what with Sasha demanding to change his DVDs and me getting more and more uncomfortable sitting at the table, that's the best I could do.
It is a birthday card for a friend who is an inspiration in every sense of this word.
Don't know if it counts as a girlie card for the Stampotique challenge, but when I was a kid, I always drew ladies in medieval dresses.

Stitch in time/Caardvarks Lace challenge

This is a birthday card for a lovely forum friend, who is talented in anything she puts her mind to: papercrafts, knitting, sewing.
Stamps: Sugar Nellie (main image) and Tim Holtz (background stamp). I stitched the thread on the stamped image plus lace, and attached all the tiny buttons.

Thumbelina/Spring Has Sprung at Stampotique

Too dark today to take a better picture, perhaps tomorrow will be brighter and sunnier. Here's my lil Thumbelina sleeping in her cradle among tulips.
The tulips as well as all the papers, flowers and ribbons are from Papermania range.
(I don't have any Stampotique stamps) The little snuggly girl is my own drawing.

Plant Kindness/Simon Says Girlie Challenge

I wanted to thank a friend for a fab gift I got in the mail last week, which left me all warm and fuzzy and emotional.
For the flower girl I used the free stamp that came with the previous issue of Craft Stamper, imo the most beautiful stamp they produced (unlike the little horror that comes with the current issue, tut tut, it's so poorly drawn, even my 8-year-old niece can do much better) as well as one of Prima flowers. Petals are TT stamps.

La cage aux folles/Caardvarks Photo Inspiration challenge

Caardvarks is running another Photo inspiration challenge, with cages and birds.
So here is my birdie in a golden cage. The main stamped image is by Kodomo.
The big button on the side is a fab bargain from the charity shop, I found these three huge buttons for 25p altogether, and they are perfect for stamping or altering.

Stop adding your junk links to my card, you know who I mean

This is a birthday card for a forum friend. Almost all the papers are taken from the big book of wallpaper samples that I picked up from the outside of the home interior design shop, a great freebie album with luxurious papers. Then there the ribbon with patterned leaves, which I think came from a box of Belgian chocolates. A tiny egg is printed on a curtain sample, another freebie from the interior design shop. And the twigs are the remains of some boxed Prima flowers. Gosh and golly, I should really pat myself on the head for being a recycling pro, lol.

Autism Mothers - The Final Cut

Standing together, we will win.

Blue Willow/Photo Inspiration Challenge

Basic Grey Challenges blog is running a Photo Inspiration challenge. As the photo reminded me of dainty porcelain sets and 5 o'clock tea, I thought my new Kodomo Blue Willow stamps would fit perfectly. Papers used: Basic Grey and Papermania, plus the old samples of wallpaper (I love its crackle effect, it makes my Blue Willow porcelain look more antique). Buttons are also Basic Grey, with Blue Willow designs stamped on them to look like porcelain plates. Plus I've added the remains of the antique ribbon.

Carol's birthday card

Now that the card has finally arrived to Carol, I might blog it. I used yet another vintage image.

Dance with me (birthday card for Deb)

I found this lovely vintage photo on ebay and just had to buy it. Stamp used is Tim Holtz frame. A few sparkles are added, golden mesh ribbon and lace to the skirts, plus an earring turned into a charm, and hey presto, a birthday card is done. :)

Павел Бабаков Выйду на улицу

Dance to keep warm! :)

Snowman and his family

Christmas quickies

As if I didn't know what date Christmas is, it approached surprisingly fast, and so I had to produce a batch of very quick cards. Even those felt like a conveyor belt.
Here are my quickies made with Stampington (Night town) and Tanda Stamps (tree/Christmas plate) stamps.
As I was also tempted to buy some new Snowman papers for Sasha's buddies' cards (and in the end they all got Mr Men & Little Miss cards), I felt that poor Snowman feels lonely and needs a loving family, so I added a wife and two kids next to him.

Birthday card

I just fell in love with this chubby face (and hope it wasn't too cold in the studio, lol). Makes me wonder what happened to this child, what was his/her life.
Each photo tells a story, but some of them are stories lost in time.
BTW, I've been recycling again: this printed butterfly with beads was a part of textile tag from a River Island blouse (or was it trousers? not sure. But I knew I'd use it one day.)

Glitzy Something challenge/Flowergirl purse

Stamp Something is running a Glitzy challenge. As any girl, I love a bit of sparkle, lol.
I did a similar purse some time in June but this time I changed the colours and added blitzy-glitzy sparkle bits to flowers. I painted stamped images with acrylic paints. The purse itself was a Boots freebie.

Dance the night away/Animal Antics

Blog-jumping, I found a blog called Simon Says Stamp Challenge Blog, and as this week's challenge is Animal Antics, I thought my dancing cats would do just fine.
It is a birthday card for a fun-loving girl.
The cats come from Simply Cards magazine, they printed two pages of cats for anyone to copy, trace etc, and they remind me of cats my little brother likes to draw (though his are more quirky). I photocopied them on thick paper and coloured with watercolours. The lovely button is from Snowman series, and so is the background paper.
"Happiness is" stamp is Paper Artsy.

Discovering oneself/Out of the Hat Scrapping challenge

July challenge from Out of the Hat was to:
1. Use haberdashery on your page (flower buttons here)
2. Monochromatic type layout (sort of, I think I slightly digressed from monochromatic, lol)
3. Use felt on your layout (flowers again).
You can open the gate to read: What is a pure undiluted pleasure? Riding a horse.
Sasha is ecstatic in a company of horses and ponies. If he could talk, he would speak in verse at such moments. He is discovering the world, discovering himself.

Dream (Wednesday Stamper)

A girl is daydreaming on a swing. I used my niece's photo for the sketch, so it is not a portrait, just a girl... I used to do just that, daydreaming on a swing or in a hammock, for hours, "doing nothing in particular and thinking of nothing in particular".
Stamps used: Technique Tuesday/Sweet dreams & Little Yellow Bicycle/Nature.

Josephine the Pirate (PaperPlay fashion challenge)

I know, I know, I lost the plot, lol. I was playing with Josephine (from Innovative Stamp Creations plate), dressing her up as a pirate this time. I always wanted to have a tricorne hat, but alas, never had a chance to wear one. So this is my fashion statement for PaperPlay fashion challenge.
A very dated fashion, you can say. To make this hat a bit more girlie I added some sparkle and fluffy feathers. While I was buying these bits today in a little sewing shop, I saw these pearls on a wire, not sure what they were meant to be but I just had to have them. :)
Just realised that Mixed Media Monday is running a Play challenge this week, since I had fun playing, dressing up Josephine, I'll "do a Joanne" (who's the queen of combined challenges :), and add this to MMM challenge as well.

Pink, brown and flowers/Forever Friends challenge

Two of Sasha's classmates have birthdays in July. This card is for a girl whom Sasha allows to take him by hand and drag around the playground. He is usually very sensitive about his private space, so I am happy to see him playing with other kids.

Snow Queen

OK,I am growing senile. I looked up the name of this chipboard before taking photos, but now totally forgot what it is. Perhaps gingko biloba is in order, or some decent sleep, lol
Anyway, here is my Snow Queen, i.e. Josephine (Innovative Stamp creations/Friendship plate) in a winter outfit.
P.S. Stamp Something is running a Christmas in July challenge.

Tower Block Musical

A new piece from Antnhec to enjoy.

When I see an elephant fly

I was singing this to myself when I sketched a little elephant stamp for Craft Stamper.
You can see it in the latest issue of CS. Sadly it wasn't a winner. Oh well, you can't will them all, can you?
I dedicate it to Sasha who loves elephants in all sizes and shapes. We have a whole library on elephants: all Elmer the patchwork elephant books, many versions of Dumbo, photo books etc, as well as a procession of elephant figurines. :)

Charmed

I loved the little wise owl from the last issue of Craft Stamper and thought she was begging to be turned into a charm. :) Here she is, stamped and baked in FIMO, coloured with Stazon and acrylics. The dangling thing is a Sainsbury's earring (yet another one, I've been tempted to buy another pair for crafting).

And the winner is...

drumroll please... Kaz!
Thanks to Sasha who wasn't sure why I asked him to pick just one piece of paper from his hat.
Many thanks to all participants!

Spirit (Stamp something challenge)

Stamp Something is running a colour challenge this week. They want you to "just add" some colour! Please create a project using only black, white, and ONE colour!!!
I have chosen brown and its shades.
I have found this lovely photo in an antique shop when we recently went to Lechlade to look for an antique desk for my husband. This young girl looks very spirited and feisty. There is no name on it, but I called her Mabel. :)
For the challenge card I used 3 different stamps: two from Tim Holtz collection (for the background in black and brown) and a little Spirit stamp (company??). I also dipped a piece of lace in coffee to make it look older than it is. Brads are BG Archaic. The little charm is actually an earring from Sainsbury's. As a magpie I was attracted to its shiny stone, even if I don't wear earrings, but I knew they'd come useful one day. :)

Girlie giveaway-II (c/d 25/06)

For no other reason but the sunny day and me enjoying my new hair colour which I would call Venetian red. With hair "ablaze" as if painted by Titian, I'm ready for any impossible mission! :)
Isn't it funny how a hair colour can boost your mood?! Now that I'm in my early 40s, I am confident about the way I look. It doesn't mean I don't want longer legs and Daniel Craig following me with admiring eyes, but then who wouldn't? :)
So, here's what you can get: Riche Creme Elixir de Beaute/Beauty elixir with 30 precious oils, Maybelline pure blush mineral in topaz rose, Basic Grey Aura acrylic stamps, one Inka scroll (unmounted), Lindt Excellence Chilli (dark and smooth and with a hidden fire) and five cheerful flower buttons.
Anyone can enter, you don't have to post a link on your blog or be my follower, just wish me a good day.
I will enter all names in the draw on the 25th of June.
Good luck!

Daydreamer purse

I had this little cosmetics purse for a while, it was a Boots no.7 freebie, and I knew that I'd do something with it eventually. Now it's a birthday gift, not sure yet what will go inside. I'd like to sneak in some choocies but I know she's trying to be on a diet, so I don't want to sabotage that.
The girl and butterflies are stamped with Stazon and painted with acrylics. This is the stamp which I call Jo's stamp (Innovative Stamp Creations/Friendship). :)
I'm submitting it to the Caardvarks 3-D challenge, as they said it could be "altered anything", so I guess it certainly comes under this category of "Altered anything", lol.

P.S. The stamp is by Innovative Stamp Creations (Thanks, Jo!)
And what's the next best thing after chocolate? A chocolate facial mask. :) So this one goes in among other goodies for a birthday girl.

Van Gogh contest

When I read about the Van Gogh contest on Starving artistamps blog, I looked at my stamp collection and thought who could benefit from an Impressionist setting? So here is Sasha running along the sparkling sea. I used watercolour and acrylic over the stamped image, and added Archaic designer brads, which remind me of pieces of polished glass you find on the beach.

Simple Thank you!

Love new Regency papers from Papermania, so delicate. The little bird is stamped and painted with watercolour.

A Way of Describing Autism

A poetic way of describing autism.

Constant heart: the story of my great grandparents, Alexandra and Timofei

Today I will tell you the story of Alexandra and Timofei, my great grandparents. For the LO I have chosen an old wedding photo (a photocopy) taken in Kursk, Russia in 1917. The red angel is taken from Marc Chagall's "Wedding", one of my most favourite paintings.
Red crowns are references to the Russian church wedding ceremony, when crowns are held above the heads of the wedded couple.
There is a pocket behind the panel with the photo, and it reads like this:
"Kursk, 1917. They called each other Shurochka and Timosha. Soon the Revolution will shatter their fragile world, and the lightening of the Red Terror will devastate millions of lives. They were in love, and they married. During the terrible waves of repressions and executions of 1937 Timofei was arrested and taken away in the black car. He was forced out of the car and shot dead for being rude to the KGB officer. Nobody bothered to tell Alexandra. She thought he was exiled to GULAG.
As many GULAG convicts had no right of correspondence, the absence of letters meant nothing. And there was always hope that one day your true love would be back... You counted days, years and hoped... You never gave up, a constant heart.
When Stalin died in 1953, and those who survived the camps returned home, Timofei's friends told Alexandra about his death.
Can you imagine waiting for more than 16 years to find out that your husband has been dead all this time?!
She never remarried."

Materials used: Stampington newsletter lace download on Basic Grey Boxer paper, antique ribbon, an old pearly buckle (got it for 5p at a charity shop!) and other bits and bobs.

Aquarium

You are not allowed to use a camera with a flash in London Aquarium, so as not to ruin the fishes' eyes. When I saw Sasha moving along the big window, mesmerised by the sharks and rays, I took a photo, and I like the effect of a dark silhouette on the blue background.
Text on the shark says: "My boy is lost in this enchanted world. Past flickering fishes, his soul is pulled into the silent world of the underwater, where you don't need to talk."
A bit of recycling here: a net from washing tablets, lol, and the jellyfish is made of my old bra (lacy part). Did I just say that?!

P.S. As I've just found that WS theme this week is Under the Sea, and I did use two stamps of seashells, I am adding my entry to the weekly challenge.

My chocolate loves me...

as in "I love my chocolate, my chocolate loves me", lol.
Here is a birthday gift for a friend, who also recently got engaged, hence all the kissing couples.
Stamp on the top: The Stampsmith (From Russia with love plate).
Images are from Curious by Design. Papers: Daisy D's and Basic Grey.

Born Free ATC in Craft Stamper

Sewing, sewing, sewn

When I saw a feature in Craft Stamper about stamping and embroidering stamped images, I thought: I can do it. Off I went to the little sewing shop in town, chose a shiny blue silk thread and started on my project. I should have known better, it took me ages to finish a simple teddy bear. :)

And the winner is....

drumroll please... Riane (Kernowcards) from the Netherlands. I used the randomiser, and Riane's a winner. Congratulations!
Thank you, everyone, for participating and making it so enjoyable for me. I wish I could give a gift to each and every one of you!

St Basil's card

Do you remember as a kid colouring in pictures with so much zeal that even your tongue was sticking out from diligence. Well, I guess I was like that colouring in this Elusive Images stamped picture.:)Took me a bit longer than I expected. I'll try to do a better picture tomorrow, as there is no daylight anymore. I used watercolours and golden acrylics. Added a photo taken in the daylight, but then the gold is not so obvious, so left the previous shot with the flas as well.
I made this card as a Thank you card for someone who's very interested in Russia and its history, but thought it was appropriate to enter in a Charmed Crafts/Crafty Goings On blog colouring in competition to win a fab set of copics.
My forum friend Lynn was looking for a Russian Church stamp for me, and found this one only to discover that it was discontinued. So, Lynn, bless her, has contacted the stamping company and they made this stamp specially for me. I am so touched. I think it is a superb stamp.

A little giveaway

Just because... not for any particular reason, maybe because the sun is shining and the birds are singing in the garden, and I am feeling fine cause I slept through the night without being interrupted 20,000 times, lol
Here's what you can get: Riche Creme Beauty elixir with 30 precious oils (I love it! you need just a tiny bit, it absorbs beautifully, and you feel like Cleopatra after her milk bath), No 7 cleansing body polish (25 ml), No 7 stay perfect clear nail colour, 3 stamps from PA Mini, Bootiful stampz and Inka (sorry, no idea about their names), and CHOCOLATE, how can one live without chocolate: one G&B organic milk choccie and one Lindt excellence chilli choccie.
Anyone can enter, even if you don't live in the UK, I'll be happy to post anywhere.
I will choose a winner using randomiser on the 8th of April at 5pm UK time.
Good luck!
P.S. just wanted to add that by being interrupted in the night I don't mean I am married to a sex maniac, but only that my little guy rarely sleeps through the night.:)

Think, think, think...

Stamps used: Paperbag studios and TT

Princess cupcakes

What's the occasion? Just trying Dr Oetker edible paints. Must say, they are not as easy as my usual 3-d paints, and certainly the colour choices are very limited.
But Sasha was looking with great interest at my "painting".

Happy birthday, Sasha!

I can't believe you are seven today. My precious boy.

Winged Pierrot

Goodness gracious, I did a thing with wings, lol.
Basic Grey challenges site is running a challenge "All Round".
Materials used: Basic Grey Archaic paper and flourish stamp, acetate, brads, eyelets.
It was very tricky to take a photo, so I'm putting up two images to give a better idea what it looks like.