Twelve Tags of 2013 - September

Finished at last ! this is my tag for Tim's Twelve Tags of 2013 Challenge. It's using some the new layering stencils which are great fun. I'm slowly collecting the set and hope to add one or two more since it's the end of the month! As usual, there are a few improvisations, but on the whole I've followed Tim's instructions which you can find here. There's still one more day left so if you haven't got started yet I suggest you get a wriggle on! I'm looking forward to seeing what Tim has in store for his October tag and maybe I'll get started on it a bit sooner than this month's.x

Is It Too Early for Halloween?......

Thank You !

 Before I start this ' catch up' post, I'd just like to say a big thank you to everyone that left such amazing comments on my eclectic Paperie Birthday Bash blog post. I know it was a blog hop but the thoughtful and inspiring comments were a joy to read. So thank you to my dear followers,
old and new, as well as those people just passing by. Your comments really do mean a lot !! x

Here's a project I was sharing over on The eclectic Paperie blog last week, It's a Halloween themed, mixed media canvas, using several of the new Tim Holtz dies. If you want to see the steps leading up to this piece you can hop over to the eP blog by following the link here. While I'm on the subject of Halloween, some time ago I showed  a sneaky peek of another Halloween style project, which was one of my design team pieces for eclectic Paperie, so I thought it was about time I did a full reveal of that too.

You can also find step by step details of how this was put together over on the eclectic Paperie blog here. I hope these two projects give you a little inspiration if you want to have a little Halloween fun. Many of the supplies I've used are available from Kim's lovely eclectic Paperie shop. So, now I'm off to have a go at my offering to Tim's September Twelve Tags challenge, better late than never eh ? x

eclectic Paperie (belated) Birthday Bash! - Give Thanks for of Inky Fingers !

Welcome to eclectic Paperie's Belated Birthday Bash!  Today we're celebrating the (belated) one year anniversary of the store's new ownership! It's been an amazing year, full of inspiring projects, wonderful classes, and many, many new products!!  eclectic Paperie wouldn't be where it is today without the ongoing support of our customers and as a BIG thank you you'll have an opportunity to lots of great prizes!  eclectic Paperie will be giving away the following prizes!  You have until midnight tomorrow (9/20) to comment.

A full set of Tim's NEW Distress Paints
6x6 Paper Pad Bundle
Dylusions Stencil Bundle

A set of NEW Wendy Vecchi Archival Inks

Crafter's Workshop Stencil Bundle

To be entered into the prize drawing, please be sure to comment on the eclectic Paperie blog and on each of the eTeam blogs.  Check out all of the thumbnail links below to view the rest of the eTeam projects!  Enjoy the hop!

I thought it would be a fitting way to celebrate Kim's auspicious birthday bash ( all be it belated !) by getting down and dirty with some serious gluing, sticking and inking !  After seeing the wonderful layouts the fabulous eTeam girls have been doing recently, I've been feeling a bit left out, so I decided to go for it. This is now my second ever layout and boy was it fun to do! I've taken inspiration from the amazing work of the fabulous Anna Dabrowski, otherwise known as Finnabair. I started with a 12x12 piece of chip board and coated it with Studio Gesso before using some of my favourite stencils with Embossing Paste. 

OK, guess who didn't wash her stencils when she last used them ! Fortunately it didn't matter as I knew I was going to paint and spray over the embossing. I then gathered together some bits and pieces, some lace, a piece of burlap, some corrugated card, a few resin flowers and plastic cogs and gave them all a coat of gesso. I tried a few potential layouts before adhering everything with Matte Medium and painting with Studio Gesso.

This next bit was a little scary. If you've not tried this before, you have to take a deep breath and get spraying and splattering. I used Dylusions Sprays, Distress Re-Inkers and Perfect Pearls Heirloom Gold Spray. I applied my heat gun to speed up the drying process between layers. Once I was satisfied with the overall appearance, I highlighted some of the raised areas with Treasure Gold Paste. Here's a close up.

I finished off by adding a photo of my very inky hands. I hope this will make Kim smile as I can honestly say she must take some of the responsibility!

Finally, I added my favourite  Donna Downey stamps which seem to be making a frequent appearance in my work. 

I do hope you've enjoyed your visit, I must say I'm looking forward to hopping around and seeing what the rest of the eTeam have been up to. Don't forget to visit each blog and let us know you've been by leaving a comment, remember there's a fabulous selection of goodies from Kim's lovely eclectic Paperie shop for one lucky person. I'd like to just say a very Happy eclectic Paperie  Birthday to Kim, who works extremely hard to keep the shop well stocked up with both new and all time favourite products. Happy Hopping ! x 

Dylusions Stencil 5x8" - Diamond of a Border	Dylusions Ink Spray - Cut Grass	Dylusions Ink Spray - Bubblegum Pink	Dylusions Ink Spray - Black Marble	Dylusions Ink Spray - London Blue
Ranger Distress Ink Reinker - Vintage Photo	Tim Holtz Distress Ink Reinker - Crushed Olive	Claudine Hellmuth Studio Gesso	Inksessentials - Mini Mister 3-Pack	TCW 6x6 Template - Tiny Circles
TCW 6x6 Template - Mini Art Is	Wendy Vecchi - Studio 490 - Embossing Paste - White	Unity Stamp Company - Art & Possibility (Donna Downey)

Paperhaus Fall Splendor and eclectic Paperie Blog !

Welcome to the Fall Splendor Blog Hop with PaperHaus! We are celebrating the release of the new FALL edition of PaperHaus Magazine but also celebrating the 1 year anniversary of PaperHaus Magazine! We are excited to be part of this amazing celebration! Click below to check out the latest edition of this amazing magazine!  The Fall Splendor event is filled with inspiration from PaperHaus and the eclectic Paperie team so make sure you click through each blog for inspiration! Enjoy the hop and remember that the Fall Splendor Blog Hop runs from September 1st to the 15th so plenty of time to be inspired!

I've chosen to make an Autunm tag, showcasing the wonderful colours which I think William Cullen Bryant was referring to when he wrote, 'Autumn, the year's last loveliest smile' . 

I started with a manilla size 8 tag, and swooshed it with some Mustard seed and Shabby Shutters Distress stain. I  cut out several leaves using  an Alterations Tattered Leaves die. I also ran a piece of stencil plastic through the die, and used it to create my leafy background. Whilst I had the die out, I cut some leaves from dense foam and made stamps with the shapes, I also cut a stencil using a piece of plastic packaging.

I used Peeled Paint, Spiced Marmalade, Scattered Straw, Aged Mahogany and Crushed Olive Distress inks and blended them through the stencil. I was very pleased with the results and almost stopped there! But of course I didn't as I'd got all the lovely leaves to work on. I blended the same variety of inks onto the leaves and then stamped over each one, with a crackle effect, background stamp.

I scrunched each one slightly before assembling the arrangement on my tag. I then adhered them with glossy accents. The flower is from a batch I made a while ago, using a Tattered Florals die. They are super easy and so much fun to make, I was quite addicted for a while there! I have a step by step tutorial here, if you fancy having a go.

 Some Crinkle Ribbon, paper lace a little metal corner complete the tag. If you look closely you may find one or two things I haven't mentioned!

 If you haven't visited the eclectic Paperie blog before coming here, hop on over  and you'll find some fabulous work by the other design team members with links to each of their blogs. Let us know what you think as you go along and don't forget to check out the new Fall edition of the Paperhaus magazine.It's jam packed with fabulous Fall inspiration ! x

Here are some of the products I've used, available from Kim's wonderful eclectic Paperie shop:

*Apologies: I'm very sorry, I had attributed the quote to John Donne and it should have been William Cullen Bryant!* 

Tim Holtz - Tarnished Brass Distress Paint	Tim Holtz - Idea-ology - Crinkle Ribbon 10 Yards	Distress Ink Pad - Wild Honey	Distress Ink Pad - Shabby Shutters
Distress Ink Pad - Scattered Straw	Distress Ink Pad - Peeled Paint	Distress Ink Pad - Mustard Seed	Distress Ink Pad - Dried Marigold
Distress Ink Pad - Crushed Olive	Distress Ink Pad - Aged Mahogany	Inkssentials Surfaces #8 Manila Tags	Inkssentials Foam Blending Tool

WOYWW # 223

Happy WOYWW everyone! That's Whats On Your Workdesk Wednesday for the uninitiated. If you have haven't joined in with this wonderful world wide desk hop, then pop over to Julia's Stamping Ground blog and see what it's all about. I've been MIA for a few weeks as the new school term has started and life has resumed it's busy pace after the long summer break. I have really missed not being involved, so here is my worktable with  just a few ( tee hee!) products and random bits of left overs. So have a poke around and if you've got time let me know what you think ! x

Home is Where the Mail HeART is!

Thought I'd just share my design team project for the eclectic Paperie's 'Get Altered' Challenge. Teresa is the the host for this months challenge and she's asking us to 'get altering our mail'! you can see her fabulous altered mail project, by following the link here. It's a brilliant piece of mixed media altering and should be enough to get your creative juices flowing. There are also other inspirational pieces by the DT members over on the eclectic Paperie blog. I've used some recycled packaging to make this house warming hanging. There are full details of how I put this together on the eP blog. So if you think you'd like to get altering some of your mail, hop over to the blog and you'll find full details of the challenge and how to post your project. The challenge runs until the 18th of September, so fish out that mail and get involved ! for one lucky winner, there's a $15 token for Kim's wonderful eclectic Paperie shop, where you'll find a host of products including loads of the new releases. Right, I now have a date with a jam pan and a load of home grown figs! x
Here's a list of some of the products I've used available from the eclectic Paperie shop

Distress Ink Pad - Black Soot	Claudine Hellmuth Studio Gesso	Claudine Hellmuth Studio-Multi-Medium Matte	Unity Stamp Co. - Heartfelt Warmth (Susan Weckesser)	Ranger Embossing Powder - Clear
Inkssentials Foam Blending Tool	TCW 6x6 Template - Tiny Circles