LIFE IS A FOUNTAIN

I'm so excited

2012-01-11T10:09:00.000-08:00

Isn't This Fun?

2012-01-11T10:04:00.001-08:00

Alice scares the neighbours

2012-01-11T10:02:00.001-08:00

PSE fiddling

2012-01-10T08:43:00.000-08:00

I have been trying to find some address labels with an Alice touch, to no avail, and then somebody sensibly pointed out that I could probably make my own.... So I did. And here it is. I use Photoshop Elements, as I find it much more user friendly than the whole PS package - OMG - All those toolbars!!! Anyway, I just made a gradient background, a couple of text layers and of course a pic of Alice. Simples. The blending, er. . . . . . . . . .thingy was Linear Light, and then I did some scrubbing out of lines with a grunge brush - so many free brushes out there, it's hard to choose between them!

one of my faves...

2012-01-09T10:26:00.000-08:00

Alice and me onstage

2012-01-08T11:43:00.000-08:00

My thirty seconds of fame! Throwing out the balloons at Colston Hall, Bristol. . . . . . . . .IT'S PARTY TIME!!!!

and another one

2012-01-06T10:50:00.000-08:00

Love the front doors to his house.....

Great videos number six hundred and seventy three

2012-01-06T10:31:00.000-08:00

Love this video - weather according to Alice

The aftermath

2012-01-03T12:23:00.001-08:00

Well, I got home after Ally Pally and thought - 'That's it then'. But it wasn't, I then got an email about the upcoming 'Never Mind The Buzzcocks' which Alice was due to host IN ABOUT 2 DAYS, saying that they were looking for avid fans to be in the audience.....say no more, I emailed, texted and called everybody I could think of, and managed to snag a place in the audience!!

I waited outside the TV centre in Wood Lane for a while, and then met up with some other fans inc Steven Crayn, who had just hotfooted it back from the Glasgow Halloween gig in time for the show........we got taken in before the usual crowd, spent a while in the bar, and then we were led thru the bowels of the BBC (hi Andy!) to reserved seats near the front of the Buzzcocks studio. Phil Jupitus and Noel Fielding came on and did a sort of warm up and then - loud bang, lots of smoke and Alice appeared to host the show! It was 2 hours of filming fun for us, including snakes and lookalikes and Alice's usual brilliant sense of humour. They wouldn't let us take any photos, which was a shame, and I was really hoping we'd get to meet up with him afterwards but it wasn't to be - I think if we'd just called out to him, he would've come over.......but we didn't...........next time, huh. But it was still a great night and and added bonus for me to round off a great couple of Alice weeks.

Hallowe'en at Alexandra Palace

2011-12-30T08:54:00.000-08:00

It's a coupla months since this fabulous concert, but I still think about it practically everyday, it was so good. It was on telly again last night, but as I don't have Sky, I can only watch it on You Tube. I am SO hoping that it gets released on DVD soon........

I can still remember how to use the London Underground fortunately - and I am comfortable on it..... (metaphorically speaking, those lovely blue check seats always feel like sandpaper on yer bum - not the greatest now are they LT?). Unlike driving in London which freaks me out beyond all proportion, in spite of the years spent driving up, down, in and around the capital when I had my silly stocktaking job.......(I spent many more hours driving than I ever did counting the sweeties).
So, I made it back to the hotel fairly early, and enjoyed some wine in the bar. On my own, sadly, It would've been nice to be able to chat with other Sick Things at this point, but hey ho, never mind, I will be spending the day with them tomorrow.

After months of worrying about driving to Ally Pally, it was actually a doddle, and also easy to park quite close. That's about it for plus points, there are so many other things wrong with the place, I am really hoping he doesn't go there next year....

I met up with some friends at about 10.30am - there were about 20 people there - and we watched the staff put up the ghouls outside the door, as they looked on bemused, wondering why the hell we were there so early. They clearly don't understand about Alice fans and the devotion he inspires........!
Not many people were dressed up , me included, although I had my costume in the car ready for later. And it wasn't too cold to start with but after several hours, I was glad to go into the cafe next door to warm up a bit. At about................ oh, I dunno , some time later, loads of us were in the loo, changing and slapping on the makeup, and people were taking pictures of us lined up in front of the mirror transforming into ghouls for the night! I would love to see some of those photos but haven't tracked any down yet...............

Confusingly, there were two entrances, one for ticket holders, and one for those who still had to pick up their tickets, (ie me and friend Sarah, and several others) and this is where it began to go pear shaped - the box office were insisting that they would open at the same time as the main doors, which meant that the ones who had to pick up tickets would have to wait to get them, and miss the mad dash to get to the barrier. I cannot tell you HOW important it is to be right at the front when you're as short as I am, and having waited outside ALL DAY just for the privilege, I do NOT want to have to wait in a second queue while everybody else runs past.......grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Anyway to cut a long story short, Si Halley of Sick Things fame, luckily Knows The Right People, and got Andy Micheal, and Alice's tour manager Toby to talk to the management and let a bunch of us in early to get our tickets. So far so good, and all would've been well, if only Sarah and I hadn't got separated from the others by a git of a doorman who insisted we go somewhere else.........all very confusing at this point, and the upshot was, we ended up in the second row............now, I know this might sound like a good place to be, but it's Not Good Enough for me - so I lost it, had an inner tantrum, stamped my feet a lot and was so CROSS, I actually considered going home!! Fortunately, Sarah, who is much more sensible than I am, pointed out that we were there, so we might as well enjoy it. And Si, who was in front of me, let me take loads of pics over his shoulder.

So, here we are at last. My feet were already killing me, and the night hadn't even started!!! We first had to suffer the 'Freak Show' which mainly consisted of scantily clad girls writhing about waving things on fire (yawn) and then the New York Dolls (ok, but I saw them the other night already, double yawn) before the familiar curtain was put up and the stage was set for Alice. At this point, I'd like to mention the Sky camera, on a sort of track inbetween us and the stage. Absolutely bloody huge thing that kept getting in the way.....

Anyway having waited for 12 hours and seen this show 3 times already, by the time Vincent Price started with the voice over, I was already in a state of high excitement and had major goosebumps......and there was The Master , fireworks and all, belting out Black Widow from the top of his tower. Many hits followed and I sang along to most of them - I think this is one of the bits I enjoy most about his concerts. It's so loud, there's absolutely no chance I can hear myself sing, so it's quite safe to yell out all the words at the top of my voice.

I'm still learning the words to Brutal Planet, Hey Stoopid and Clones, (think I saw Karen Hunter being a clone here!) but I think I did pretty well cosidering how crap my memory is. I can't believe how quickly the time went, suddenly he was doing Schools Out and friend Janice was on stage throwing out the balloons - just as Mr Sky cameraman decided to stop in front of me, huh, hence the not very good pics. She did well considering that the stage was about half a mile away, but some of the balloons fell a bit short, so Alice didn't get them with the sword, which meant I managed to procure one complete, oh YEAH!!and bring it home (thanks Si!). I had a little trouble getting it in the car, and even more getting it through the front door - but it now resides in pride of place in my sanctuary. It's a lot smaller than it used to be, but still has the fake blood on it :)

After he'd done Elected, he introduced Arthur Brown who came on with a flaming headress (which he had trouble getting off)...and sang Fire, with Alice on backing vocals. He danced around like a loony, in spite of the fact he must be about 100, and at one point, approched Alice and was repelled by a makeshift cross, made out of Alice's mic and a cane.

The only way I'm ever going to get hold of a cane is if he hands it to me personally. He has done this in the past, but you'd have to be pretty lucky - I live in hope! A fabulous night and I'm still having tour withdrawal - hoping to start a bit earlier this year, he's already announced a couple of dates, one of which is near Brum (Hurray!!) although it is a festival (Yuck), but hopefully I can get a day ticket ( Hurray!!) and meet up with some friends (double hurray!!!) Roll on summer.

Birmingham and beyond

2011-11-07T03:22:00.000-08:00

Ethyl don't have much to say........ Feed My FrankenAlice.................... It's Party Time!

Wicked Young (ish) Man
So, amidst crappy weather, fellow last-year-comp-winner-and-VIP Carol and I set off for Brum. Bit later than my usual, but I would never've made her wait outside in the rain all day................and anyway, there wasn't really all that many people there, (apart from some lovely people who I am getting to know - they are always there at the front of the queue!) so we were only about 5 rows back. Trouble with that of course, is the four rows of taller people in front of us - oh to be 5 ft 10". We had to sit, well, stand through the New York Dolls, a motley ensemble of elderly rockers with pot bellies, they weren't bad, but my feet were beginning to hurt by this time......Once Alice comes on, I do tend to forget about that kind of thing...

At last, we heard Vincent Price raving about his favourite arachnid and Alice launched into Black Widow from the top of his tower. The next hour and a half passed by in a flash - except for some dickheads who insisted on jumping up and down and in the process landing on us, well mainly Carol, before elbowing their way to the front where, I'm pleased to say, my new friends w ere having none of it and refused to let them in. Defo seats for us next time, Carol!

My camera wasn't working either, so no pics tonight.....all of these gorgeous photos were taken by the lovely Bill Crowe, who has possibly the best collection of Alice pics ANYWHERE, and has kindly allowed me to use his. Click on his name to visit and marvel.

B$B - I got one!!.......................................................................................... Dali gets to hug Alice............................... He's (still) Eighteen :)

And then, suddenly it was Friday. No concert
tonight, but Alice was giving a talk about his favourite horror movies at the British Film Institute on the South Bank, and I managed to get a ticket for a bargain £13. I decided to stay over, as I would be going to AllyPally on Sat, so I stayed at a small hotel that was local to where I grew up in Eastcote....oh the memories! I couldn't resist driving past my old house , I was hoping to catch a glimpse of my ex bedroom.....it was so covered in Alice pics while I was there, I used to put the light on at night and leave the curtains open, just so that nobody was in any doubt where my loyalties lay! Boring old grey curtains now though, I bet it's a junk room, after all it was about the size of a shoebox.

The room at the BFI was really a cinema, but there was a little platform in front of the curtain, where Alice chatted to....er, some film guy, and introduced clips from some of his favourite movies - including Whatever Happened To Baby Jane with Bette Davis, whose make up (along with Anita Pallenberg's in Barbarella) inspired him. Apparently, when he and the band lived in Greenwich Village, she lived next door and was far scarier than they ever were.......

Alice as Freddy Kreugers Dad

Oh, the luxury of not having to queue for 10 hours! And a comfy seat!! We even got given free packs of Alice Face Paint! If only I had remembered to bring the posh camera, with proper lens, t'would've been perfect.

It was really nice to hear Alice chatting away - he can talk for England when he gets going, and I heard a few new stories - as well as some of the oft repeated ones.....He talked about Mae West coming on to him (as well as everybody else)on the film set of Sextette - apart from the fact she was 86, he wasn't sure she was a woman.....

He may have mentioned something about trick or treating with his kids, and when they'd got their sweets, he'd just stand still and stare at the person handing them out, until they were really uncomfortable - then he'd whip off his mask and go 'Surprise!'

Or I may have just read that somewhere. Wish he would come to my door.

Afterwards I went back to Waterloo Station to catch my train, and it was so busy, I just sat and soaked up the atmosphere for a while. It was great, but after about 20 mins I felt enough was enough and got on the tube. I would hate to live here again - apart from being incredibly noisy, you can't see any stars................ so glad I moved out to t'country. Although I still miss the pizza delivery.

Next stop Ally Pally

V.I.P. part 2

2011-11-03T09:51:00.001-07:00

So, after the show, we had to wait by the backstage door and then we all trooped downstairs to the canteen. There was only 9 of us, so I was hopeful that we'd get a longish time with Alice.................Andy and Toby kept us amused with tales of the venue history and how it was once used to sell slaves at auction......there was apparently an underground passage leading to the hall from the docks so that the slaves could get there unobserved by Joe Public.............

Karen Ann Hunter (she is so lovely) gave out the bags with T shirts and set lists etc and, thenAlice appeared with KC (his PA) and sat at the adjacent table. 'I know you all personally he said - I think we'd all done VIP at least once before.
We all went over and sat with him in turn while he signed all our stuff, and KC took all the pictures. Alice was in great form and spoke to all of us, joking and laughing and being his usual charming self!

When my turn came I took over a huge pile of stuff for him to sign and gave KC my camera. Alice signed all my ancient LP covers, after asking me my name. When I said 'Penny', he said 'ah, Penelope.......and kept repeating it 'Penelope, Penelope, Penelope - only British girls can be called Penelope, it's the perfect British name' - and one I have always detested up til now, but I may have to change my mind because the way he said it made me weak at the knees...............why why WHY didn't I record it?
He was very interested in my scrapbook, picked it up and said ' What is this we have here?' and looked at every page!!! KC said 'Thank you., it's very kind of you to give it to us' so I almost handed it over there and then.........And then they offered me a job on their team........................................ oh wait , hang on........... no, that last part was just my daydream.............sigh......

Anyway, I managed to not to give it to him, by hauling out the pic I'd drawn and said 'well, actually, I did this for you', At this point Alice grabbed it and said 'This is how I see me now'!!!!!! He said it made him look like a movie star, and that Sheryl had fallen in love with his eyes, (haven't we all!) but just had to put up with the rest of him...........

He signed my captured dollar bill, CD, Yearbook (from the boxset), my jacket and of course, my scrapbook. He opened it and said ' you have pictures I don't have!! This must've taken you ages, all of 2-3 hours!! And as he looked through it, he read out several bits - 'All American college boy behind the transvestite juvenile delinquent alter-ego' ..........'Well, thanks very much, Nick Kent' and then said, 'Did you know my first album review of Pretties For You said it was a tragic waste of plastic'.....

He stopped on a page of Glen Buxton pictures and remenisced ' Ah GB! Glen Buxton.... , he was my best friend you know, and we were drinking buddies'.......and I said 'it's a shame he didn't give it up when you did'........
I asked him whether we would ever get to see him play in the UK with Mike, Neal and Dennis, but something sidetracked him so I never got an answer to that....
Then I got him to sign my jacket - he put 'Alice Cooper was here' I am so proud of it, that I have worn it everywhere since....
He told us that he and Bob had a lot of fun making W2MN, he was very 'happy with it' and would be doing I Am Made Of You on his next show - (think he meant next tour)

I love this picture - at this point he was stroking my hair and saying, 'There there, the men in white coats will be along to get you soon...'

All in all we had about an hour with him, which flew by of course, and I am now saving madly for VIP next year. It seems to more you see of him, the more you want.......What a lovely lovely guy he is, - Love Him To Death..
Next stop - Birmingham, the BFI, Ally Pally and Never Mind The Buzzcocks.....

The V.I.P. Experience part 1

2011-10-27T04:09:00.000-07:00

WOW, what a fab night I had seeing Alice at Bristol. Wasn't sure whether they would let the vips in early or not, so I got there about midday just in case. The queue was inside for once and on a carpet, so much more comfortable than the usual, and we didn't get wet!! I met Sarah Stacey, another Sarah (thanks for the wine!)and Jo, as well as all the usual suspects, I don't even know half their names but they're always there, right at the front.....

We had to keep asking for our tickets and passes, and eventaully got them about half past 4 (I think..... I 'd completely lost track of time by then) and stapled to my letter was a note saying that I should go to the backstage entrance at the end of Wicked Young Man, during Killer, and I would be met and allowed onstage. Nervous? You betcha. I was sure I would fall over.

Anyway we did get let in 5 minutes early so we picked a spot to the right of the stage and then waited some more, listened to the support band (The Treatment) who were ok, but a bit too loud even for me (note to self, earplugs tonight)and then Vincent Price did his bit and Alice was there at the top of the tower. Big cheesy grins all round, and then we all started singing and shouting and jumping up and down like little kids - SO much fun!

I managed to catch a dollar bill during BDB and another one off the floor later - no guitar picks today, although I had a bit of a tussle with the girl next to me over one......ah well I thought, you can have it, I get to meet him later. No canes thrown our way either sadly.

What a great show, he was really on form and when it got to WYM, I couldn't wait any more so I left my front row spot and waited anxiously by the backstage door. Karen Ann Hunter, lovely wife of Steve, came out to get me, and took me backstage - I got to see Killer, I Love The Dead and most of Schools Out from the side of the stage. Saw all my new mates in the front row and we were waving to each other like idiots!!

Also caught a view of the Guillotine in action, if only it had been on my side I might've been able to see how he does it. Then it was my turn, KC handed me 2 balloons and told me to follow him across to the other side of the stage and chuck 'em into the audience. On the way Tommy came up to me, and made one of his mad faces, so I bashed him on the head with one. Am happy to report that I didn't fall over!! KC let me throw 2 more balloons out then I had to go back. Except that I wasn't about to battle my way through a jostling crowd of mainly much taller people, so I only saw Elected from the back........and then we went down into what Toby called The Dungeon' to meet him. But more of that later.............

PS. Thanks to Jo for some of these great pics xx

PPS. Off to Brum now for tonights show, so part 2 coming later. Watch this space!!

Ok I finished it....

2011-10-23T08:36:00.000-07:00

And I may give it to him. Or not. It's funny, every time I draw something, one minute I'm really pleased with it, and the next I think it's awful. Sometimes I really love drawing, but sometimes I find it really stressful, lol. Specially when you're using charcoal/pastels, they're so bloody messy and you can't really rub it out if it goes wrong. I think that's why I took to collaging ripped up bits of paper and slapping on random inks- it's not possible to make a mistake....if you don't like a bit of it you just cover it up!

Then I had a rummage through a really old portfolio I dragged out of the loft the other day.....and found these.


George Michael, in his Wham days I think

I feel sure this is Katherine Hepburn


Mel Gibson but his hair went wrong

Dave Gilmour. The paper I drew it on is black, but I have no idea how to photograph it properly because I am crap at that sort of thing. I'm sure somebody out there will be able to tell me how to do it

What shall I do?

2011-10-20T09:02:00.001-07:00

With less than a week to go til my much anticipated Meet and Greet with Alice, I'm still trying to decide what I should give to him. All of the ATC's have been put in a little book, so that's one possibility...........except that I like it quite a lot atm.............And then there's this picture I've been drawing. It isn't finished yet, but I really don 't know whether it's any good or not. Shall I finish it and give it to him? Or is it not really good enough - I can't decide what to do. Any comments good or bad would be much appreciated.
The nearer the day gets, the more nervous I get - but I am SO looking forward to it!!

Some more Alice ATC's.....

2011-10-07T08:26:00.001-07:00

.....that I made to go in a little book, that I am considering giving to Alice when I meet him in 3 weeks. Not sure whether he'd be interested! Also I am working on something else which would be a much better gift, (assuming that I can part with it of course) But, such are my powers of procrastination, that it is entirely probable that I won't finish it. Still, it'll be on here eventually. Don't hold your breath.

I love the little skeleton hand charm - been trying to get some of these for ages, and then I found these on ebay, along with some skulls (cute) and spiders (not realistic thankfully)

Gorgeous Alice during his 'Hair Metal' stage (read 'Hair Backcombing' Stage)

I love this pic. I had it on my bedroom wall when I was 14. I used to spend hours getting lost in his eyes. . . . .

My Next Book

2011-09-18T07:43:00.000-07:00

My Alice Art Journals/Scrapbooks are expanding rapidly, I now have at least four and they are growing daily with no sign of letting up yet. This is the latest cover, lots of different bits and pieces ended up on here......the spine was a bit dodgy, cos I chopped off the cover at one point to join it to another book - I have since separated them again, (it was much too heavy to take for him to sign!) Having selected the right pix (2 of which were taken by me, preen preen) I did a rough layout and photographed it, because I knew I'd forget what it looked like.

Then I got lost in bits of paper, foil, lace etc etc and spent a happy hour cutting, tearing and sticking.

The spine was still a mess - I restuck it all with felt and masses of glue, and then ironed on some webby stuff called Fuse Ex (from Art Van Go) which covers a multitude of sins. Still needed something for the edge though, so after much rummaging I found a strip of bracelet-type leather and fixed a piece of black lace to it by binding with silver wire. Along the way I found and added a few silver embellishments including a spider, and then with yet more masses of glue attached it. Hope it all sticks together long enough for my next visit to see Alice!!

As usual, clicking on the pics gives you a much sharper view, thanks for stopping by.

Hanging About

2011-09-13T11:20:00.000-07:00

The September challenge over on Crafty Individuals is Hanging About - so I made these ATC's (I am really into ATC's atm!) and joined them together to make a hanging. Usual old flowers with wire/layering etc, and the backgrounds are made using Alky inks. Please click on the pics for a better view.

Play Date Cafe

2011-09-09T11:49:00.001-07:00

This is my entry for Play Date Cafe this week - some of my favourite colours............and of course Alice has made an appearance, (as usual) can't keep him away...

ATC's

2011-09-07T06:33:00.000-07:00

I half made these Alice atc's before I went into hospital, and then finished them off during the 12 interminable days I was stuck in there. I know atc's are made to swap and all that, but I don't think many people would want these, so I stuck 'em all in one of my many Alice books. As usual, clicking on the pic gives you a better view.

If anybody would like to make me an Alice one to swap however, I am keen to participate...
Grrrr, they won't go where I want.......WHY IS BLOGGER SO DIFFICULT?

Crazy Amigos

2011-09-01T01:15:00.000-07:00

Over on Crazy Amigos this week , the challenge is School. Couldn't let an opportunity like that pass, so I distressed a tag with the usual inks and dug out a couple of scornful Alice pics. All the words were printed on my computer and added to the tag, along with a few bits and pieces that were on my desk. 'No more Pencils etc was printed on to shrink plastic and attached via jump rings. The words on the reverse refer to one of the Facebook groups I belong to 'Alice Cooper Army' Hope they like it

Stampotique challenge

2011-08-29T01:26:00.000-07:00

At last! I manage to enter a challenge!

Having been lent about 20 books for reading as I recover from a major op, I decided I needed a bookmark or 2 and that's exactly what the challenge is over at Stampotique Designers Challenge .
After much dithering about what shape to do, I decided on no particular shape at all. Didn't think about the colours either, so of course it ended up being my fave orange and blue. I sprayed the background (both sides) with various colourwashes, added Mort and a butterfly, and some Utee around the outside. Oh and a few words and a ribbon. And a bit of scribble. A complete mess. Perfect!

Please click on the pictures for a better view - thx for looking.

Another journal

2011-08-27T21:41:00.000-07:00

As my current journal type scrapbook has ended up being rather large, I realise it's too big to take anywhere, so I made a smaller one to take to Dublin and London. I painted and distressed all the pages first and then bound it, gathered up my trusty pens and set off. The photos I put in afterward (obviously, doh)and I've been adding assorted scribble and bits of paper ever since. No such thing as a finished journal, right?

I love this pic - I had it on my bedroom wall waaaaaay back in 1972. In fact I like all the really old pics - most of which I've only been able to find cos of t'internet - if only I'd had that when I was 14.

Didn't take these unfortunately, but they are so good I had to include them.

Damon was hanging around after the London gig, so I got him to sign my book. Steve Hunter and Chuck were also there, dunno why I didn't get them to sign it too.......next time. Hope there is a next time - PLEEEZ Alice, play some more small clubs

Now this is one of my faves, bit blurry I know but it's all mine.......

Mine also.

The Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.
Stage booty

100 Club

If you click on the photos you get a sharper image - no idea why.

Alice at the 100 club

2011-06-28T23:48:00.001-07:00

Where does the time go? Way back in June, I was lucky enough to snag a ticket to see Alice at the 100 club...and what a night!
No props, (except Dali the snake), not a lot of make up, no Ethyl (and Sheryl apparently didn't feel like playing the part, so we had to use our imagination!)

He made a big point of being Vincent rather than Alice, and chatted to us inbetween songs....he said "I can talk to you tonight, cos I haven't got the full make up on - Alice wouldn't talk to you - he doesn't even talk to me!"

I decided it would be a good idea to drive all the way up to London and park in a nearby NCP - this would avoid the late night tube tango, and also the possibility of missing the last train. So I borrowed a Tom Tom, (thanks Graham xx), printed off loads of maps and set off about 1 pm. Trouble with the TT was, I never figured out how to use it before I went......

Nightmare journey. I got stuck in 2 major traffic jams before I even hit Uxbridge, and eventually ended up on the Westway for a third. Trouble was, it's a long time since I drove in London - I wasn't even sure I was on the Westway, and began to get paranoid about being on the wrong road, driving around in London for weeks and never getting out, and - HORROR OF HORRORS- MISSING the show. And my right arm got sunburnt on account of it being the hottest day of the year so far. By the time I got into the car park I was a nervous wreck.
But I made it. NEVER gonna drive in London again, though. Well, that's what I thought at the time, but now I have a ticket to see Alice at Ally Pally in October.

There was about 10 people outside the 100 Club when I got there at about 4 , Janice, of course and a few others I've seen round and about. And a guy called Steve whose boots and red top hat I covet. They wouldn't let us in til 7, and then we had to wait half an hour in the foyer, and, after the mad dash to be at the front, another hour til the show started. I didn't quite make it to the front, but was in the second line and anyway, the place is so tiny, even the back is near the front, and I luckily picked a spot right in front of Alice - about 4 ft away in fact.

An AMAZING show. Never been so HOT in my life ..., but it was so worth it, had the best night of my life!! The only thing that slightly spoiled it was some blonde person who insisted on treading on me at one point and couldn't seem to accept the either the fact that A) I was in front of her, and B) I couldn't've moved anyway - we were packed in like sardines along the front of the stage.....

The set list was taped on the floor....and there were a few dollar bills in a bucket so I was hopeful of getting one.

Unfortunately I missed the throw out of billion dollar bills, but - YAY- I managed to get one off the stage afterwards..........didn't catch the cane either (as he threw it out, he said "who hasn't got one of these yet?) (Well, me actually........)
And then there was the surprise guest. We were kind of expecting Slash to turn up, but.....it was Johnny Depp! Alice introduced him as John D from Kentucky and I don't think anybody really knew it was him at first, cos he had shades and a flat cap on, but as soon as we realised who it was, everybody went nuts. He played on Schools Out and 18, but looked at the floor most of the time. Still I got a few piccies.
20 pints of sweat later and the space I was in got smaller and smaller.......... the trouble with being only 5'2" is that pretty much everybody is taller than me. Anyway, I held my own and managed to take lots of pictures. I've seen many a dvd on You tube since, but only managed to spot my camera being waved aloft :)) Although I swear I can see my hand in one of the clips on the new video for 'Bite Your Face Off'.......

After Alice finished I hung around near the bar and talked to Bill Crowe - -who I first saw at the Halloween gig last year but never managed to speak to, in spite of the fact that he was dressed in Alice gear and looked almost as good as The Master - and Damon Johnson, Steve and Karen Hunter, and generally soaked up the atmosphere (whilst drinking 10 pints of water)....... at last I decided it was time to go. Managed to find the car ok, but then I got completely lost trying to get out of London. You would never guess I spent the first 30 years of my life living here.
What a brilliant night, I don't think I've ever been to a gig like it. I really hope he does this kind of gig again, I absolutely LOVED it - what would I give to see the original band in a place like this???

Alice in Dublin

2011-06-18T09:37:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a whirlwind the Dublin concert was! I left home at about 4am to get to Bristol Airport....got there in the end in spite of getting lost in Bristol centre - WHY is it that the airport signs run out just as you are getting into the stupid one way system???? So, five times round Cabot Circus, and then - HURRAH, I am somehow on the right road and make it to the airport in time for my flight. I was prepared for the security thing this time, with tiny bottles of everything in my plastic bag, no luggage to check in and my carefully measured 'hand' luggage. It's actually a pretty pink wheeled case with lovely flowers on it -ewwwwww..................... I really must do something about that....black spray paint mebbe.

So, Dublin airport is ok, I found my bus stop without too much trouble, and managed to get off at the right stop. I'd picked the nearest hotel, and it is REALLY near, I can sit in the bar and look at the poor wet people queueing outside entrance 3.

I went down and had a chat with them, it seems that, as I have a ticket for entrance 1, there's not a lot of point waiting here. So I decided to go into town and see if I could spot The Master out shopping.......

Sadly the nearest I got was a shop where he went " last time he was here", never mind, next door was a tattoo and piercing place, so after a 3 seconds deliberation I went in and got my 6th ear piercing. It's still hurting 10 days later, I am such a wimp.

On arrival back at the queue I met some other mad people who love Alice/Def Leppard/Thin Lizzy, and spent 4 hours chatting to them and getting wet, and hoping we'd get in before the other queue at entrance 3. I took my latest scrapbook/journal with me (pics coming soon)and whiled away the time by doodling and getting other people to write in it.......

EVENTUALLY, after being penned in with barriers, and moved several times, we were allowed in - we were all ready to race to front at this point, but NO, THAT'S NOT ALLOWED, - health and safety, y'know. So we walked VERY quickly and I managed to secure 12 inches of barrier all to myself. Boy, was I ecstatic or what!!!

Thin Lizzy were on first - I was thinking, most of them are dead, so who is gonna show up? Well, there was Scott Gorham of course, along with a few other guys, sorry I don't know who they were, but they were very good, did all the hits, inc a great rendition of Whisky in the Jar. On my side of the stage was a guy called Marco Mendoza - dunno where he came from, but he was kinda creepy - trousers are a little too tight I think.....

And then - after about 30 mins of stage rebuilding for Alice, (and being at the front, I could see behind the obligatory curtain as they dragged on lots of rubbish piles and creepy wall hangings - suddenly (after the intro by Vincent Price) the Master Himself appeared at the top of the tower (used in TOD) and he did an awesome rendition of Black Widow including fireworks - and I sang along to it all, together with two considerably younger girls standing behind me... How do they know all the words? They're barely older than my daughter.....

An AMAZING concert followed - band were really tight especially with the new song, I'll Bite Your Face off, - and I shouted and yelled and sang along with everyone else............Damon was on my side of the stage, (hadn't realised how good he looks close up).....
Alice came over to our side several times, always looking to intimidate the crowd - but we all know you're a sweetie, Alice, in spite of the menacing looks:)).

Sadly I wasn't in the right place to get some $ bills, but Damon threw out a lot of guitar picks, one of which landed in my hair, so I didn't come home completely empty handed.

It was a shorter set than usual, he was on for about an hour I think, but he did Black Widow, Brutal Planet, Clones, 18, Billion Dollar Babies, Is It My Body with snake, No More Mister Nice Guy, I'll Bite Your Face Off with jacket with 'new song' on the back and the name of it on his shirt once the jacket had gone,

Feed My Frankenstein with a giant Frankensteins monster....

Clones was one of the highlights of the set even though I don't know it very well - Damon and Chuck were moving like robots -other stuff included Poison, Wicked Young Man (the photographer got spiked) Cold Ethyl, Killer/ Love The Dead, (Guillotine came out here), School's Out with Another Brick In The Wall, lots of balloons/confetti/silver streamers (several of which I got tangled up in on my way out) and then Alice wearing a tall black sparkling top hat doing the encore of Elected, and waving Irish flag. Songs that got cut included Halo Of Flies - shame I was looking forward to that, and Be My Lover........ ah well maybe next time.

And then - Def Leppard. Well, I'd been up since 4am, walked about 10 miles in Entirely Unsuitable shoes, had my ear stabbed, waited in the rain for 4 hours and jumped up and down for the next 3....so I made a Really Bad Decision, and decided to cut and run........When I'd fought my way out, I crawled across the courtyard to my hotel and fell into bed. After 45 minutes of hyper active tossing and turning, I thought 'this is a waste of time', so I got up and went down to the bar. Armed with wine, I went out on to the balcony where I listened to Def Leppard screaming their heads off across the way, and I was really regretting I'd not stayed. But sometimes you make the wrong decisions for all the right reasons........

So then I sat in the bar for a while, and listened to people phoning their friends and telling them how Alice blew DL off the stage......and finally got to bed about 2 am. The longest day EVAR........

The following day consisted of Facebooking it from the hotel lobby and fish nibbling my feet, before eventually getting the bus back to the airport - lost my ticket and had to buy another one, gah - NOT running for seats on the plane (still managed to get an emergency exit!) - and coming home.

I'm pleased to report that getting home through Bristol is a lot easier than finding the airport. And that I now (nearly) have one precious ticket to see Alice at The 100 Club on Sunday 26th June:. ¸.•*´`*•.¸omg`*•.¸¸.•*´.Taking a better camera to that one, I think.

Also got my tickets for the Night Of Fear in October at Bristol and London. At last, some reason to look forward to autumn.

A Portrait

2011-03-29T09:42:00.001-07:00

My good friend Maria turned 40 at the weekend, and we had an AMAZING party to celebrate - I haven't had any wine since, lol - anyway, we all clubbed together and bought her an extremely expensive but gorgeous Orla Kiely wallet, which she was ecstatic about. But I decided I ought to celibrate the occasion by drawing a portrait of her beautiful daughter Hanna and this is the result. I agonised over it for quite a while, but eventually managed to finish it, and I think she liked it:))

While I was rummaging about in the undergrowth that is my craft room, i found this one I did when I was in my Kevin Costner phase (Dances With Wolves - god I love that film!)

They are both done in pastels with the odd bit of pencil, and although I like the one of Kev, I think I overworked it, so I tried to be a bit 'looser' when I did Hanna - still need to practise at that, tho.

Am still looking for the perfect picture of Alice to do......

A challenge

2011-02-11T05:46:00.000-08:00

Haven't done one of these for a while, so I thought it was about time. And over on Stampotique, the challenge is Love, so I felt that this fits in perfectly with my ongoing Alice obssession. I would've like to've used Spider girl but I don't have it yet :(, but this little guy sums up my mood perfectly. It's all done in the same style as my scrapbook, (inky background, lots of torn paper, scribble and some carefully placed (NOT) images, and uses some of my fave gorgeous pics of Alice when he was twenty something.......sigh.

Perhaps I should enter it in the Altered Alice Challenge, although I don't think this is quite the Alice they have in mind....

Edit : I've decided (with a bit of help from the comments! ) to enter this in The Altered Alice challenge. It's about changing form in some way, and I think this is certainly a change from the usual Alice...

Oh No!!!!!

2011-02-07T08:50:00.001-08:00

Terrible news - my scrapbook is full up. Not exactly finished, there's still a lot of scribbling to be done, but all the pages are covered in pics and ink and stuff, and the front cover is done.....what on earth am I going to do now? (in between washing/housework/cooking/ shopping/going to work/ironing ......) (Actually that last one is a LIE, I never do ironing if it can possibly be avoided, lol)
Well, obviously, I went straight out and bought another book and I will probably stick the covers together somehow to make one huge mega scrapbook. If this carries on, eventually it will be as wide as my hymnbook.....but I am having such fun doing it, there's no way I'm ready to stop now. And anyway, he'll be touring again soon(ish) so there'll be lots more photos to put in. Especially if I get my way and go to at least three concerts. .....(haven't told hubby that one yet, I think he might come to one with me, but will prob'ly think I'm bats cos I want to go again and again, lol.) I need to be nearer the front this time - that probably means standing in a queue for several hours, but it'll be worth it as I need to catch some freebie dollar bills and 'Dirty Diamonds' when he throws 'em out. I believe he even gives out some of his other props sometimes, like the canes he's always twirling, but I'll settle for a Billion Dollar Note - lets face it, no Alice scrapbook would be complete without one.

Some early group pictures - I think the one of the left was when they were still the Spiders or maybe it was the Nazz, and it was before they got into make up and girls clothes.... (anything to shock people.)

These are great pictures of Alice with snake (Kachina? Or maybe it was Eva Marie Snake...or Yvonne.....or Julius Squeezer..?) anyway, they were taken by David Bailey in about 1971. Alice lost a few snakes while on tour - Kachina disappeared one night and they had to leave without her. Eventually they got a call from one Charlie White, country singer, who found a snake in his hotel room, hiding in the bed springs. Nice.

The pythons had to be fed several rats before they went on stage so they would be sleepy and not strangle Alice during the show.

These pages have some of my all time favourite Alice pics - I had a few of these on my bedroom wall and spent entire evenings just staring at them. Obviously I couldn't've got a lot of homework in those days.

Thought I'd better put some photos of my hymbook in - dunno whether it'll last another 30 years, so I wanted to have a record of it. Also on these pages are a couple of pics of yours truly, in my favourite dressing up outfit. I actually used to go out looking like this quite a lot, on the Tube up to Harrow tech for the Friday night gigs. It helped that I was thin enough to wear a leotard! These were taken in my friends bedroom where I had to change , because I don't think my mother would've let me out of the house looking like Alice., she never could understand my obsession, bless her.

Tribute page to some of the 32 albums Alice has released over the years. I had a big problem with this page in that when I'd finished it, I realised that it was upside down - oh well, never mind, I never really liked perfection anyway.

Still deliberating on whether to take the ten year old to a concert or not. I can just imagine being in the middle of Billion Dollar Babies or Schools Out (heaven forbid!)when she decides A) it's too loud, B) she can't see and can I lift her up (whose gonna lift me up?) Or C) she wants the loo/a drink/food, and I have no way of explaining to her that, while she normally comes first in pretty much everything, I'm afraid that Alice is more important right now, so she'll have to find some one else amongst the heaving crowd of scarily made up weirdos to take her (what a terrible mother I am)....................... no, it's no good, she'll have to wait a few more years. Although he has just celebrated his 63rd birthday, I hope for her sake he's not planning to retire soon........ I think we're safe for a while - he's always said he won't give up whilst Mick Jagger is still touring., so I won't panic til Mick hangs up his mike.

This is the front cover. I love this pic of the group - I think it came on the front of the music score for Schools Out, and although I bought it, I've never been able to play a note. I just had to have ANYTHING with Alice on it in those days. And I always wanted a T shirt with Bitch Bitch Bitch on it......never did get one :))

I have millions of old press cutting in the hymnbook, but they're kind of difficult to read, so I was very happy to find these copies online - it's nice to be able to read them again.

I could go on and on, but if you've made it this far, you deserve a medal. Thanks for looking xx

More of Alice

2011-01-17T06:11:00.001-08:00

Been playing with my Alice scrapbook over the past few days - have to say I can thoroughly recommend this particular kind of mid life crisis, specially if you're completely p*ssed off with laundry, cleaning, Mondays, dishwasher emptying, bedroom clearing, etc etc. All you have to do is think of something you were obsessed with when you were a teenager, and then search the internet for all that info you couldn't get way back then. Simples!!

Anyway, I digress. My lovely husband has spent hours at the laser printer, making copies of lots of beeeeyootiful pics for me to play with, and here are some of them in the book. Still got a lot of scribbling and painting to do, but it's sort of coming together.

These are all early Alice pics, from when he was about 23/24 - I had several of these stuck on my bedroom wall (and ceiling - it was a small room) and I thought he was absolutely GORGEOUS.....(actually, I still do, in spite of the fact that he's now 62, and a wee bit crinkly, lol)

***********************

This lot are all from the Halloween concert - I simply cannot wait to go and see him again this year, it was so good. Hope I can get nearer the front this time.
My ten year old daughter actually wants to come with me, haven't quite decided on that one yet, I fear she may get trodden on.

Although I will do my best to avoid her..... (JUST KIDDING SARAH, LOVE YOU LOTSxxx)

Calendar Challenge

2011-01-04T09:12:00.000-08:00

In a moment of madness the other night, I decided to join the Calendar Challenge over on The Kathryn Wheel - It's a brilliant idea and a great way of recording random trivia over the year. Yes, I know it's Jan 5th already, but better late than never.
It really needs to be done in an A4 book, so you can get a month over a double page spread, but as my New Years rez no. 1 is to Use All The Stuff I Have Bought Over The Years And Stuffed Into A Drawer, I decided to dig out an A5 spiral bound book with black pages that I got a while ago, for........er, something or other.

I took the spiral binder off first, so that the pages don't contaminate each other - heaven forbid I should make a mess, LOL. - when I've done them all, I can stick it back together again.
Being black, it's turning into a bit more of a challenge than I first thought, but thankfully my paint dabbers haven't quite dried up yet, so that's what I used for my first month. Hopefully I'll come up with lots of other ways to make it all show up. Either that or I'll just give up, like I did with my New Year Diet.....
Defeatist talk I know, BUT...... so far, it's a lot more fun that depriving yourself of the last 5 choccies in the Quality Street tin, etc etc.
Because they're only A5 , January actually ended up being 4 pages, 5 if you count the title. My little squares for each day had to be cut slightly smaller so's they would all just about fit- let's hope nothing much happens on the 16th Jan.
Right, now I'd better get on and write something for the first five days.....I'm not much good at remembering what I did yesterday, never mind last week, but I'm sure I'll think of something:)

Long time no see

2010-12-21T07:25:00.001-08:00

Well, no blogging anyway.

This is almost entirely owing to the fact that I am still in my AliceCooper, 1972 fixated time warp (which I have to say I am enjoying immensely!)
Anyway, I managed to combine art with obsession, and have started a new journal/altered/replacement hymn-book. A while ago I went to a fabulous class at LB Crafts, where we did some journal background pages in an A4 book, so I though I would put these to good use.

This Top Ten double page spread was actually created out of ten pages - each one was torn down its length and painted and then stuck to the one beneath - each one being slightly bigger than the last. The torn edges were rubbed with gold paint, and the numbers one to ten added at the top (well, right hand side in this pic).
I decided to list my top ten Alice tracks - I'm loving rediscovering the old songs of my mispent and distant youth. The kids are getting fed up with me dancing round the kitchen singing, (or rather yelling) 'I'm Eighteen, EIGHTEEN and I LIKE IT' at the top of my voice. But it helps with the ironing.

This one has some of the pictures we took on the night of the concert, plus my ticket and VIP pass. Hey look! It's us with the man himself -all these years I waited to get my pic taken with him and then I look like an escapee from the Womens Institute AGM. (Carol, of course, looks great, but then she has Proper Hair)

I found a multitude of old pictures online - what fun I had searching t'internet for old pics, (saddo that I am, lol), and so much easier and cheaper than buying all those crappy 70's fan mags - some of these are in the original hymnbook but there's plenty more that I'd never seen before - this page is a collection of images of the original Alice Cooper Group, including the gorgeous, but sadly deceased Glen Buxton. They haven't done much as a group since Billion Dollar Babies, and Muscle of Love but did get together the other night in Phoenix for Alice's annual Christmas show. I said to John on Sat morning, I like to go to Phoenix tonight is that ok? He said, you'll be lucky if you can get out of the village , the car is buried under 2 foot of snow....

I drew a number of Alice pics over the years , but seem to have lost most of them - still have this one, but it is slightly faded. Time to get the pastels out again, I think.
More coming soon (ish.)Don't hold your breath, though:)

My first altered book

2010-11-10T08:05:00.000-08:00

Since Hallowe'en, I have been immersing myself in all things Alice Cooper - looking at old drawings I did when I was 14, showing the kids vinyl (can we get a turntable, mum?), telling them how we swapped pictures at school, and also watching every Youtube video from the seventies I can find - this includes finally catching up with many events I read about but never saw, not having the internet in 1972, such as the The Chicken Incident, (contrary to rumour he didn't bite its head off and he really did think it would fly when he threw it back in to the audience), and Alice getting hanged onstage (Mum refused point blank to let me go to that concert, I cried for hours.)

Never did finish this pic - I was too afraid of getting the faces wrong and spoiling it, which is a joke really, when you look at all the stains on it, lol...

When I first saw an altered book about 6 years ago , I thought 'Aha, been there, done that' - because all those pictures of Alice I collected at school were stuck into my school hymnbook (to relieve the boredom of morning assembly). Then there was the Music Press - Melody Maker, NME, Sounds and Record Mirror (I think there was another one but it's name escapes me) Nearly every week during 1972 -1976 ish there was a review either of a concert Alice did, or a new album like Billion Dollar Babies, (I still have the banknote), and Schools Out (mine still has the paper knickers and is now signed *huge cheesy grin*,). And I cut out each and every review and stuck them into my hymnbook.

After not very long obviously, it became rather large and unwieldy, so I had to aquire another one for School Assembly purposes(I am really sorry to the poor first-year girl whose book I, er, borrowed, hope you didn't get into too much trouble).

Half a mile of sellotape and a few years later, I had a book about 10 times fatter than it was designed to be, and it had to have it's own special box for transportation .......and I took it everywhere with me, parties, friends houses, and later on the pub. I think I was always hoping that I'd bump into him one day and be able to show it to him. The fact that he was Amercian and hardly likely to turn up in the Swan at Ruislip didn't seem to matter somehow.

Now, if only I could've found the wretched thing before Hallowe'en, I could've taken it with me and presented Alice with proof of my utter devotion for all those teenage years. But no, it got 'put away' somewhere during various house movings , and I couldn't find it in time, grrrrrrr.
EVENTUALLY I discovered it hidden in the loft, and it was with great excitement that I dragged it out from behind the box of 20 year old bank statements (WTF am I keeping them for?).

I opened the lid - and there it was in all its yellowed and faded glory. I eased it out of the box, and it promptly fell apart - selloptape does not last 35+ years. However, after some quick repairs and another mile of sellotape it can now stand up to gentle exercise, so I've been reading some of the reviews (including the spoof "Alice Cooper accidentally killed on stage when guillotine trick went wrong'), and looking at all the pictures (or what's left of them anyway) - and it is delightfully transporting me back to my little bedroom, where the walls and ceiling were completely plastered with pictures, photos, and anything else to do with Alice Cooper. Sigh.....I don't know why I wallow in nostalgia so much, but it makes me feel so...................well, tbh I'm not sure what it makes me feel, but I like it anyway :)))).............younger I suppose,lol.

So I think it's time I made another Alice book to celebrate actually meeting the guy at last - and this time it will be a lot more colourful and will possibly include the odd stamp.

Talking of Seventies videos this is a cracker....

Here's hoping that I will get to meet him again before we both drop dead - I think I'll need a suitcase next time to carry all the things I want him to sign.....

I MET ALICE!!!!

2010-11-01T09:50:00.001-07:00

I was trundling through my inbox last Wed, and I came across an email that said 'You're A Winner! The Meet Alice Cooper Competition' Oh yeah, I thought, how much money do they want for that?
And then I got another one...followed by a third, and then a phone call, all confirming that I'd won two tickets to the Hallowe'en gig at the Roundhouse, and I could pick up my tickets at the box office - TOGETHER WITH (and this is the important bit) invites to the after show party if I would like to meet him afterward!!!!!! Would I? OH. MY.GOD. I AM NOT WORTHY!!

When I'd picked my jaw off the floor, I immediately called my mate Carol and we dithered about several different ways of getting there, finally deciding on driving the whole way and hoping we could park somewhere without getting the car towed away. Which was something both of us worried about the whole journey, like a couple of elderly spinsters on an outing to the seaside.........
Needn't have worried, Camden High St. still has free parking on Sundays - amazingly - and the market was still in full swing when we got there. Not having been to London much since moving away about 22 years ago, we'd both forgotten how lively and colourful it was, so there was much gawping at the market stalls, most of which seemed to be selling the same kind of stuff you could get in Kensington Market 35 years ago.....Vinyl records, second hand army clothes, a million different types of foreign food..........We found ourselves a hippy caff and had a very attractive dinner consisting of many lentils and every type of bean on the planet.

Being Hallowe'en, it was a great night to be out people watching, so we did that for a bit and then went in to get a good spot. As we are both the wrong side of 5'5', we couldn't see a lot from the back, (must take my crate next time) so we got as near to the front as we could. Unfortunately this meant a bank of speakers was in the way of some of the theatricals, but, hey ho, the sound was AWESOME.

Now, I've been a fan of Alice's since 1972 when I bought my very first LP, School's Out, but I have to say, I haven't listened to it too much in the last 30 years, so I was very surprised to find I could still remember ALL the words to Billion Dollar Babies, and many other obscure album tracks that I couldn't even remember the names of. Good to know there's still some life in the old memory yet. Although, I guess it's not that hard to remember the words to 'I Love The Dead' now is it? LOL.

We weren't quite near enough to get any of the fake necklaces or billion dollar bills he was throwing out (shame), but then that meant we also weren't near enough to get splattered with fake blood every time he got killed - and there was a lot of that flying around.

By the time the set had finished, we were both slightly deaf - but in a good way. And being vertically challenged does have it's advantages, it's much easier to weave your way through large crowds quickly, which is obviously very important when you need to go and hob nob with Celebrities. Had to wait about an hour, but then he suddenly appeared in the room, and signed autographs, posed for pics etc.

I decided that I would take my aforementioned LP cover with me for him to sign (I took out the record first and was surprised at how, er, vintage it looked- like a piece of old bakelite), and when I told him that it was the first one I'd ever bought, he said something amazingly cool, witty and charming, like 'uh huh'.

I still love you Alice, and thank you for taking me back to my 14 year old self xx
ps, please send me a billion dollar note, I neeeeeed one to complete my scrapbook..........

Altered Element DT part 2

2010-09-07T01:21:00.000-07:00

And while I'm at it, I made this a while ago from a piece of Tyvek that was in my surfaces pack. I coloured the Tyvek with Adirondack colourwash, stamped it and then stitched it to the paper. The beads were also made with Tyvek, I sprayed the colour on first then rolled it round some paper and heated it - gotta be careful with the heat gun here, if you overdo it, the Tyvek completely disappears! Finished them off with some wire and seed beads, attached the piece to some twigs with garden string and hung the beads off the ends, and Voila again!

Altered Element DT

2010-09-07T01:07:00.000-07:00

I've been getting behind with my DT work for the Altered Element (again!), and have resolved to catch up........Anyway, a while ago, Lynne sent me this lovely wooden house to decorate and I've been looking at it blankly for ages - Then I had a eureka moment one day when the words 'beach hut' popped into my mind. I covered it in gesso and sponged on some Distress ink (Stormy Sky), there followed another blank session until I discovered an old book called Along The Sea Shore. So I ripped out a page and added some more ink and a few shell stamps, tore it up into pieces and stuck them on with pva. A few shells and a bit of siname(?) later, and Voila! Oh, and I pinched the life belt from an old dust gatherer/ornament I found lurking at the back of a cupboard. All I need now is a seagull to live in it......

TMTA

2010-09-06T05:05:00.000-07:00

Long time since I've done the TMTA challenge but I love the famous people idea. I made this one a while ago, but it's one I'll never swap. The pic was aged with Distress ink and gold ep, and the dangly charm was made by printing the pic on to some shrink plastic I got from pc world.

Tag Swap

2010-08-26T06:28:00.000-07:00

Yet another tag for the forum swap - this one is for Jo. I tried not to overdo it too much, but I'm not very good at minimalism - I even ended up doing both sides :)) Hope you like it Jo.

Tag Swap

2010-07-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

I've been taking part in a tag swap on a forum, and I got w-a-a-a-a-y behind, so, in an effort to catch up, I did 2 today, one for Joanne, and one for Paula. Well, actually I'd already done Joanne's but lost it on my desk- amazing what you can find when you have a clear out.
Joanne's theme was Children, and Paula's was Time and Place. Still got a couple more to do, so don't hold your breath, girls :)) These photos look really naff, but if you click on them you get a better view. I have no idea why that is, if anybody knows, please do tell.

More Altered Elements

2010-07-03T03:36:00.000-07:00

I'm still enjoying playing the 'surfaces' pack from Altered Elements - we received lots of different bits and pieces and I decorated a mirror with some of them. It's one of those cheapy wooden ones from Ikea, so I painted it with gesso first, and let that dry. The previous month's pack contained a stencil, which I loved, so I sponged through it with Victorian Velvet Distress ink, and then clear embossed it. Sponging Dusty Concord over the top gives a lovely soft image.

Some other bits I got included glass tiles, some of which I covered with Cosmic Shimmer Utee and alcohol ink , others I ironed on Fantasy Film, and then stuck bits of wire on the back.
Then there was the chipboard squares, these were silver embossed and then I added a tiny piece of Fantasy Film to each whilst heating. The small canvases were inked and embossed, and stamped into, and the butterflies were stamped onto metal, cut out and alcohol inked.
The eagle eyed among you will also notice Stampbord, which was inked stamped and embossed around its edges., and the flowers, which were a whole project in themselves.

They're made from yet more Fantasy film, (which I spent about a week playing with!), finally deciding to iron between two sheets of non stick craft sheet. This makes it go very thin, a bit holey, and a wonderful colour! I then die cut it with my new Tattered Florals die from you know who, and layered them up to make yummy shimmery flowers.
Still got the tyvek, shrink plastic, and calico, not to mention the rusting powder (already spent a week on that one.) More coming soon!

A fab journalling day.....

2010-06-26T10:50:00.000-07:00

.....was had at The Stamp Attic today with Sarah Anderson, Journalling 3, in which we made little books to put inside our journal, and decorated envelopes, and generally had a fantastic messy time!
First we made a 'short pants' book (geddit?) from a page which was sprayed with Colorwashes using masks and stencils, into which we put even smaller books, and then we decorated envelopes to put them in. We also had a go at different styles of writing, and then made tags using yet more colorwashes and paint dabbers.

We decided to write lists on the tags, so we each thought of a title (Fave film, thing that most annoys you, most overrated celebrity - anything you like, really) and all ten of us in the class wrote on each others lists.

Finally, I liked my scrap paper so much, I decided to keep it, so that I can cut it up to make more tags.....

Altered Element Upcycle

2010-06-16T11:18:00.000-07:00

This months upcycle challenge was a silver metal frame. I covered it with alcohol inks to start with, using wild plum and eggplant. I was also sent a set of butterfly stamps, which I used on shrink plastic - I stamped it on with Versafine ink and then added a couple of layers of clear embossing powder (Versafine doesn't dry on sp, so you need some kind of protective coating, but I like it cos it's so good for detailed images) While they were cooling I bent them slightly to look like they were in flight. These were then stuck on to the frame.

I curled some black craft wire to make antennae and stuck these on the back of the butterflies, which were then added to the frame. The picture is a watercoloured background with a butterfly stamped and silver embossed; then I stamped a butterfly on a piece of card and watercoloured it. I added antennae as before and then positioned it over the the embossed image for a 3d effect. I think it needs something else, but I'm not sure what yet, watch this space!!
All items available from The Altered Element, where there is a World Cup promotion at the moment - You get 10% off your shopping total for the duration of each of England's scheduled matches

Altered Element Upcycle Challenge

2010-06-04T09:54:00.000-07:00

Last months Upcycle challenge was a small wooden box, I think it had chocolates in it once, as a couple of labels were still attached. First of all I painted it with Decoupaint Antik (Oak), and when that was dry, I sponged areas with Decoupaint Patina (Russet). Whilst the paint was still wet, I sprinkled on Rusting powder and then sprayed it with water. Took a while to work...(dum de dum de dum......) but made a nice texture. At that point, I decided there wasn't quite enough colour on it, so I sprayed it with Cosmic Shimmer Mist, (Rich Gold).
Then I randomly sprayed the box with glue and added some Metal Flake. Some of it stuck but a few bits ended up on the floor (they are not alone!)

The hinge was made from Grungeboard, which was inked and then embossed with UTEE- only one layer, so it was still flexible - and then I drilled a few holes for the handle and the fastening. I made both of these from pieces of suede thread with beads. The finishing touches on the lid were made from Prima flowers, layered with Lammeta and a brad (which I bashed with a hammer and dripped alcohol ink on), a few glass tiles, also dripped with alcohol ink, and one of the original stickers. Sometime, I mean to do the inside as well.........
All paints, sprays and embellishments used are available from The Altered Element.

Holiday Journal

2010-06-02T06:11:00.000-07:00

I managed to complete a few pages of this at last - I printed off some photos and added a bit more scribbling.Still got some pages to fill, but it's more or less there...

The first few pages I did at the airport and on the plane. I'm not great at flying, but it has to be done if you want to go anywhere, so I endure it as best I can. I tried to use my gold pen, but as soon as I took the top off, it went 'spleurgh' and made a pretty pattern on my page.

When I was ill and stuck in bed, I had this dream of sitting outside a lovely apartment in the warm with a nice cold glass of wine....
so that's the first thing I did when I got there.

I love eating out in Fuerteventura - you have to search to find proper Spanish food, but I was delighted to find that all the usual restaurant are now offering tapas - I guess they've realised not everybody wants chips with everything. So I started a list of everything I ate. I did accidentally end up with some chips one night but, hey ho, into every life, a few chips must fall. T'would've been rude not to eat them.

I haven't been there for a few years now, but it still feels like coming home when I arrive. And this one one of the nicest apartments I've stayed in.

I discovered a few things about myself, so I wrote a list of them as well, whilst sitting in my favourite bar with my new fave drink, a Mojito. I don't think it was a proper one, I swear there was no tequila in it, but there was certainly a lot of fruit. You'll notice I'm not the greatest poet in the world.

I only really noticed this bar because somebody had made cute collaged boxes for the cactus plants - good to see papercraft is alive and well in Spain!

One of the things I love about Fuerteventura is the amazing amounts of bougainvillea growing everywhere. I have one indoors at home, grown from a cutting I took on my honeymoon, but I have to keep it cut back as there isn't much room for it. What I need is a conservatory and then it can grow up the wall.....well, in summer anyway. It'll throw a fit and shed all it's leaves in winter but never mind.

All of the usual 'attractions' were not yet open for the season, including the Haunted House - we took the girls in one year and had to come out after 5 mins cos they were scared... Nice door, though.

Another journal

2010-05-04T04:09:00.000-07:00

I'm jetting off to Fuerteventura next Saturday for a week of R & R, (volcano permitting) so I made a special journal just for the trip.

I painted lots of pages in pastel colours and used one of Tim's new dies to decorate a few edges. A few pages were embossed with Cuttlebug folders and I added a few borders, but it's mostly blank, ready for lots of scribbling and stuff-sticking. All the coffee shops in Corralejo are bars as well, so I can see my doodling becoming more erratic, as I try to get round them all....

The pages are all cut from watercolour paper and I've left a few blank for my feeble efforts at painting. My suitcase will be full of artystuff and books to read, good job it's warm I won't need too many clothes!

I sort of made the cover, but I'll probably add stuff to it later, depends what interesting things I find. Note that it includes some of my wobbly stitching - more practice needed, I think.........

I'll blog some of it when I get back.

Roll on May 8th!!

A birthday card

2010-05-03T02:27:00.000-07:00

This one was for Jo's birthday, which was a couple of weeks ago now - and talking of Jo, have you seen her FAB new stamps? Although they are for Stampotique, they are available in the UK, go to Jo's blog for all the details and some beautiful samples.

My cards are getting more and more like journal pages than cards - I love the random way they seem to come together without much input from me! I've also entered it in the Stampotique designers challenge (although I think I'm a bit late...better late than never I say.)

Another Tag

2010-04-05T14:00:00.000-07:00

This one is for Carrie - I had planned to do more stitching on it, as that's her 'thing' (check out her amazing blog here) but as I can't sew straight, I think there's enough, lol. I drew on the letters and then cut round them with a knife, then mounted the tag on some patterned card. The colour was applied with Distress inks, and then I added some stamping using clear ep and transfer foil - you have to be quick to slap the foil on whilst the ep is still melted, and it's a bit hot, but I love the effect. A few pieces of paper and metal and a bit of scribble nearly finished it off, and then I remembered the stitching - so I made a small atc and sewed it on (badly!) Hope you like it, Carrie xx

Altered Element Upcycle

2010-03-27T03:09:00.000-07:00

Part of being on the Design Team for the Altered Element is that we get to 'upcycle' some random charity shop items, and I received some building blocks. The letters didn't spell anything interesting, so I decided to cover them completely - I started with about 3 coats of gesso, and then added some crackle paint to two of them. Have to say, this didn't actually work too well - you have to put so much on to make it crackle that it just dried into horrible drips. So I scraped them off and started adding layers of UTEE - lots of different colours, once you have melted the first layer, you can just carry on sprinkling more on top. Eventually, it got so thick I decided to stamp into it, which added yet more texture. Can't have too much texture!

I painted the other blocks with Lumiere Crimson and Metallic Rust, and when dry, added a few sprinkles of UTEE. I still had some of the lovely papers Lynne sent me, so I cut scraps of them, distressed them with inks,and glued them on too.The blocks were further embellished by adding red and gold Lametta, some embroidered braiding, and, for a final touch, some sticky gems.

Some of the crackle paint still shows through
all the layers of UTEE.

Stash Shot

2010-03-26T07:11:00.000-07:00

Well, I had a fabulous day at the NEC yesterday with friends Carol and Catherine. I really wasn't going to buy much, but ended up with all this lovely stuff...

Good job Shaun was handy to help hold it all up:)

The Altered Element

2010-03-24T04:23:00.000-07:00

This is my first piece as a member of The Altered Element DT. I used 2" chipboard squares which were covered with gorgeous papers from Catherine Moore, sprayed with Cosmic Glimmer mists, and then embellished with metal, stickers, embossing powder, jewels,, and anything else I could lay my hands on. I joined the squares together with jump rings, as it was going to be a sort of hanging - needless to say, it wouldn't hang properly, so I'll probably mount it on some card later on. Other stuff I used includes: Collage paper flowers, German Scrap, Artchix stickers, micro beads, lametta, charms and beads.

This is my favourite square. After covering with paper I sprayed with Cosmic Shimmer Mists Rich Gold and Bronze Blush (yum), and then added a cut out piece of copper mesh. Copper, black and gold ep was sprinkled over the mesh and heated. The flower bead was added with strong glue, and then I edged the tile with more gold ep.

These two tiles make uses of a swirly stamp I love but have no idea where it came from. The top tile was covered in mulberry paper, stamped and gold embossed.. On the bottom tile, I piled lots of gold and copper ep on a corner, melted it by holding the gun about 30cms away and slowly moving it closer. As soon as the powder was all melted I stamped the swirl into it, and then left it til it was cold. Also on this tile are the gorgeous sprays, an Artchix Royal Post sticker, and an edging of gold ep. Click on the pictures for a closer view, any questions, please feel free to email me.

Tag for Chris

2010-03-23T03:54:00.000-07:00

This is the next tag in our forum tag book collaboration, and it's for Chris. Her chosen theme is children - I don't have many child images, but these from Time To Stamp fit the bill perfectly. I wanted the images to be soft and floaty so I stamped them over alcohol inked backgrounds in black and sepia inks. Can't resist a bit of doodling either :)).

Another birthday

2010-03-23T03:43:00.000-07:00

Another birthday, it's Joanne's, this time, and this is a digital background I made a little while ago, and wanted to use again. I love digital artwork, I need to get on and do some more, I think.

Galina's birthday

2010-03-14T03:48:00.000-07:00

Made this fairly simple card for forum friend Galina. We always try to disguise our cards, so nobidy can guess whose they are! These stamps are called simply 'Borders' and were designed for The Stamp Bug. I cut out the papers, stamped on each piece and then drew a border to link all the pieces together.

The Altered Element

2010-03-09T05:38:00.000-08:00

I'm very excited to announce that I have been accepted for the Design Team at The Altered Element. They sell an unbelievable variety of very interesting looking stuff and I am looking forward to working with Lynne, and the rest of the team. Go to the online shop here, and the blog here.
*jumps up and down like a five year old*

Stampotique challenge no.2

2010-02-26T05:23:00.000-08:00

This week at Stampotique, there's a colour challenge - rose, lemon, mossy green, with optional blue. Has to be Stampotique stamps only this time, so I've used the other face from my collection of 2 (!) to make this tag. Nothing difficult here, I sponged the colours on the background first, printed off the words, and stamped the face both on the tag, and on a separate card, which was then cut out and layered over some raffia. Now I gotta go out and buy some more of the stamps!

Birthday Card.....

2010-02-25T00:38:00.000-08:00

for Chris - it was her birthday last week and I made this card for her, in a journal stylee. Love this Stampotique face! I found a random piece of netting to stick under the flower to give it added interest.

Tag Swap - A New Leaf

2010-02-22T01:52:00.001-08:00

Another tag for a forum collaboration, and this time it's for Karin, whose theme is nature/the sea. This was a big shipping tag that I cut into a leaf shape, and collaged lots of green papers onto. I added some gold ep, a flower, afew stampy bits and some of my usual scribbling. Oh, and a few gems and beads. Hope you like it Karin :) I've also entered it into this weeks Allsorts Challenge.

Stampotique challenge

2010-02-15T04:26:00.000-08:00

Stampotique have set up a new challenge here. I don't think you have to use their stamps all the time , but I've recently aquired this one, and been dying to use it - I can really identify with the hair at the moment, lol.....and the eyes.....

The theme is 'Love', and the colour (and a few other things!) are inspired by my friend Carol - she doesn't normally do pink, but has gone for it in a big way with this challenge :)

More Journal Pages

2010-02-10T01:45:00.000-08:00

I'm still enjoying the journal thing, but seem to be getting more and more random. But then, that's the point, isn't it? :) I've been putting in some more old bits of work - leaves room on the wall for some new stuff.

Love the idea of going to a coffee shop and doodling, so I'm making it my mission to go to all of the coffee shops in Cirencester. And there's millions of them! I love sitting in a corner and watching people trying to watch me out of the corner of my eye. Nobody's come up to me yet and said 'what are you doing you batty woman?'

For no apparent reason, These red pages are my favourites at the moment.

Butterflies

2010-01-24T04:17:00.001-08:00

We're making another forum collaboration - this one is for Audrey, whose theme is 'Butterflies' (you'd never guess!!). I tried to apply my 'Journal' approach to it - ie, not to think about it too much and I'm very happy with the result. Hope you like it, Audrey:)

More fun with Sue

2010-01-18T07:05:00.001-08:00

Front cover

Carol and I went to The Stamp Attic yesterday for another class with Sue Roddis. This time we did Faux Metal (or Forks Metal as we kept calling it, lol).

We covered card with foil, ran it through a Cuttlebug to emboss or deboss, and then added black paint .....which was then wiped off. Next came the Stazon inks, applied with fingers - I'm still trying to get that off!!

All the extra bits were made by colouring blobs on to a piece of shiny card in a Playgroup kind of way, and then stamping and cutting out the images. Finally, the pages were joined with ribbon to form a small book.

Much mess was made, and great fun was had....Thanks a million Sue, will miss you when you go to Khazakstan (OMG!!)

couple of pages close up

Inside

The finished book.

More Journalling

2010-01-14T09:12:00.000-08:00

Wow, I can't stop cutting and sticking and scribbling, I'm loving the journalling thing! It's so different from the usual stuff I do,.......although I showed it to my husband and asked him for his honest opinion, and he said 'it looks good, but it's the same as everything else,' lol...... Well, it was very different to do, kinda messy and I realise it won't be everybody's cup of tea but I'm finding it very liberating, and a lot of fun!

Today John took me out for a belated birthday lunch, and I took the book with me. Whilst he was getting his hair cut, I sat in a coffee shop and did some more scribbling a la Teesha Moore, and the waitress thought it was 'neat' :o)))

Here's a couple more pages I did yesterday and today - I'm not sure whether they are finished or not, I might add more later.

And here's a couple I've started on but not done much yet - just the painting layer and some borders. (Although I have added a bit of watercolour painting to the one on the right.) I have a ridiculous amount of beautiful scrapbooking papers ,and they are perfect for the borders.

This one used mostly bits of magazine - it reminds me of my school books, I used to spend ages cutting stuff out and sticking it on the covers, wish I'd kept some of them now....

It's a very messy thing to do (that's what makes it such fun!!)- just look at the state of my desk...and I've added this pic to WOYWW (Whats On Your Workdesk Wednesday) over on the Stamping Ground go take a look. (Yes, yes, I know it's Thursday)

I've been adding some of my atc's that I want to keep - I might also put in some of the previous stuff that's covering the walls of my craft room - I need the space to put up some new stuff anyway. This one is middle daughter Amy, using a stamp I designed for The Stamp Bug.

Card for Carol

2010-01-09T08:28:00.000-08:00

It was Carol's birthday recently and here's the card I made for her. Our birthdays are practically in the same week, and we usually go out to celebrate but the weather has kept me up in the hills and her down town for the last 2 weeks - never mind, I just booked a class for us with Sue Roddis at The Stamp Attic next weekend as our birthday treat.
Inside the card it says, 'Go away, I've had enough birthdays', which is certainly true for me. Although, on the other hand, I really want to have at least 50 more......

Still love these Stampotique designs - hopefully I may be able to buy some after the workshop as I know Wendy stocks them......

Journal Page

2010-01-08T07:59:00.000-08:00

When I first got ill, I decided to start a journal. Needless to say, I wrote it for 3 days and then gave it up, story of my life really. ANYWAY........... the other day I dug out the book, and disassembled all the pages, so that I could paint them.

This was largely inspired by Teesha Moore, who does this really random thing with collage, she makes a book, paints it all and then sticks stuff in it, I think she calls it Zettiology, or something like that........ Obviously there's, MUCH more to her art, and I suggest you check out her wonderful blog here.

Love a bit of scribble.

There followed a messy few days when I painted, sprayed and coloured all me pages, both sides, which led to much splodginess and running of colour, and many beautiful colour schemes previously unknown to ...well...me.

Having re-assembled the book, I then approached it in a kind of Pennified Teesha Moore-ish way - what I love about her work is the way she doesn't think about it too much - I always seem to study my bits of art to the Nth degree, and it ends up being either A) contrived, or B) something I'm completely sick of looking at. Her approach certainly seems to be more fun, so I though I'd give it a go. I put this together in about 20 mins with absolutely no preconceived ideas about it, and none of that 'shall I do this or that? put this here/there/somewhere' faffing lark.

And it was a lot of fun. I may write stuff in it later. Or maybe not. Can't thank you enough Teesha xxx

Been meaning to use this for ages

ps. As it consisted mainly of what was lying around on my desk, I entered it in this weeks Mixed Media Monday Challenge, which was 'Leftovers'.

A Christmas card

2009-12-22T04:00:00.001-08:00

This is a card I made for friend Carol - I call it Reindeer With Attitude - please click on the pic for a closer look. I'm still using bits of old books, but this time I coloured them before sticking them on the card. The reindeer is an old Quickutz die - I still love it! Most of the rest of the stuff is what was lying around on my desk, lol. I particularly liked the way the organza ribbon melted when I blasted it with the heat gun.

A Winters Day

2009-12-16T02:13:00.001-08:00

Still playing with the torn book pages, these are my entries for
The Artists Trading Club. This is run by Chriss Rollins, and she asked me if I would like to take part in this challenge, which was set by Sue Roddis.

I cut the coloured snowflakes out of ordinary white paper, and sprayed them with Glimmer Mist, before adding a die cut metal snowflake on top. The words were printed via pc, and
also sprayed with the same Glimmer Mists. This is a really crap pic, but they've gone now! :)

ATC's

2009-12-12T06:03:00.001-08:00

I liked that ripped up book pages technique of Sue Roddis's so much I made a few ATC's using it. Same kind of thing, tearing the pages, adding Distress ink and water. I painted the key with copper crackle paint and it actually worked for once! (I've always had trouble with it in the past......)

A Class with Sue Roddis

2009-12-07T07:30:00.001-08:00

I thoroughly enjoyed making this at the weekend - it was at a class run by Sue Roddis at The Stamp Attic. Called Up My Street, we made three chipboard house shapes which we covered with ripped up book pages. There followed a happy afternoon splatting them with Distress Inks and spraying with water and getting in a complete mess - what fun!! The houses were then joined together and a kind of fence added on the back.

I think I started off with some kind of colour scheme, which then got lost, because the wonderful thing about Distress inks is that they all go together anyhow. I added a few bits of metal, and a feather - loving the Stampotique stamps, they're completely barking mad......

Some of the stamps got scribbled on along the way....

An award

2009-11-14T03:14:00.000-08:00

I received this award from Alison, and I'm supposed to share 5 facts about myself, but I feel I've bored everybody enough with facts about me lately, so I just want to say thanks to her and everybody else who has taken the time and trouble to leave comments and send me beautiful cards. XXX

I'm so excited!

2009-11-12T02:08:00.000-08:00

I actually managed to finish something at last! This is dedicated to my dear friend Carol, because she is always there for me, and I rely on her more than she'll ever know. She's always making beautiful stuff, and she'll notice lots of her ideas incorporated here, things I've been meaning to do for AGES!
I've also entered it in this weeks Lots To Do challenge, which is Distress.

Collaborative Project

2009-10-12T09:47:00.000-07:00

These are tiles I made for Karin - we've been doing this collaborative thing for a while now, but Karin was the last to get hers. She chose vibrant blues and greens as her colour choice - looking forward to seeing them all put together Karin!

Card for Cathy

2009-07-31T10:09:00.000-07:00

Just made this for my niece's birthday next week, using some of my new Beauty plate of stamps. I clear embossed the image so I could watercolour it, and then did a bit more on the cardstock.
I feel a watercolouring phase coming on!

TGIF

2009-07-27T13:13:00.000-07:00

I was just twiddling about with bits and pieces on my desk and came up with this, for no apparent reason. It fits in well with the TGIF challenge this week ' Words'. I just got this Believe stamp so this is it's first outing.

Collaborative Project part 5

2009-07-17T01:08:00.000-07:00

Dunno what happened to part 4, I guess I forgot to photograph it! Anyway, these are for Suse, who is poorly at the moment, along with a card I made to match (sort of) - hope you're feeling ok, Suse.

Egyptian images aren't particularly fashionable right now, but I still have lots of bits and pieces lying around, so I thought I'd use them as they fit the colour scheme of brown cream and black beautifully. The pyramid and the plaque shapes are made with Artmoulds, and the spirally pattern is from a mould I made using a stamp and FP.

The card uses a digital collage image mounted on a collaged background., but I'm only allowed to post a sneak peak as it will (hopefully!)be in September's Craft Stamper, along with some more digital stuff.

New stamp plates

2009-07-10T11:15:00.000-07:00

At last, the new stamp plates I designed - and re designed over and over - are done and available from The Stamp Bug. There's a Paris plate, an alphabet, and a random image plate called 'Beauty', which I really like. The alphabet plate is part of the new subscription gift for the SSPG.
Hope to have some work done with these up soon....but don't hold your breath, work and children seems to be taking up all my time atm....and here come the summer holidays, oh joy...

Stamp Bug Open Weekend

2009-05-19T04:49:00.000-07:00

I spent the weekend demo-ing at The Stamp Bug - good to see some old friends again! We did a little make and take with Canvas Cloth - it's a double sided canvas, which you can ink/paint/stamp on. cut/run through a die cutter - pretty much anything you could do with card basically. It has a white side and a buff side, you can use either depending on the sort of colours you want to end up with.
Here's a couple of bits and pieces I made with it.

You can run this stuff through your inkjet printer with AMAZING results...This was part of a piece I printed on, then cut out and added shrink plastic, micro beads, shells and wire.

And this is just layers of card, paper and canvas with lots of paint and ep.

Collaborative Project, Part 3

2009-05-16T09:59:00.000-07:00

.

These are twinchies I made for Deb - she opted for sea colours, but I added a teeny bit of purple in the background which was a digital composition. The shell images were stamped on to acetate and then cut out and glued on with Glossy Accents, then I added silicone glue and some bits and pieces - micro beads, Rox and Dew Drops. I sprayed it with Patina Glimmer Mist and finished off the edges with silver embossing powder.

Birthday card

2009-04-28T03:18:00.000-07:00

Here's another random shaped card made especially for my daughter Amy's 12th birthday - the beach sandals are shrink plastic, made using a stamp from Artifacts with added beads, and the metal frame is coloured with Alcohol inks.

I've also entered it for this weeks Mixed Media Monday - the theme is On The Beach.

Birthday card

2009-04-23T10:21:00.001-07:00

This is a card I made for forum friend Jo's birthday - I love making completely random shaped cards.- I just attack them with scissors till I arrive at something I like. The daisy is FP in an Artmould, and I added gold leaf, wire, rub ons, and a couple of charms.

Collaborative Project 2

2009-04-21T05:30:00.000-07:00

These were made as part of a collaborative project for a forum challenge - this is the second month the challenge has been running. It's Joanne's turn this time, and she chose a colour scheme of cream and sepia with black. I sort of made these up as I went along, with layers of paint, EP, rub-ons and, to finish, three daisies made from FP in an Artmould. Photos are a bit dark, but you get the idea.

Secret Garden

2009-04-07T02:49:00.000-07:00

This is my entry for The Secret Garden, over on TGIF, where forum friend Jo is host for the week - it's mostly digital...well, ok, ALL digital, and I thoroughly enjoyed making it!

ARTspecially

2009-04-01T03:25:00.000-07:00

I'm off to ARTspecially in Amsterdam this weekend with Carol - we swapped lots of atc's last year when we went to Mekka, so we've both been beavering away making more for this one. Some of mine are my digital collages which I've shrunk and added bits to.

Created by Hand

2009-03-17T10:58:00.001-07:00

I made this for the Created By Hand challenge this week - it's a digital collage, (of course!) - I was going to print it off and add some bits and pieces, but I kinda like it the way it is -hope it still counts!

Collaborative Project

2009-03-16T07:45:00.000-07:00

This is part of a collaborative project on our forum - 8 of us each make 3 tiles in a colour scheme picked by one of the participants who then gets to keep them all. Over the coming months , we all get to pick our colours and we each get a set of 24 2"x2" tiles to join together or whatever. These are for Chris, who chose my fave colours, and they are all tiny digital collages, (my new FAVE technique!) which I printed, edged with ink and gold EP, then mounted on Stampbord, which has had the edges inked and scratched. I added some flowers and Dew Drops, and I'm very pleased with them - hope you are too Chris!

Digital Collage

2009-03-09T02:37:00.000-07:00

Been playing around with Photoshop Elements and done a couple of courses - I LOVE blending photos! Here's a few I made and then turned into atc's.
The last one is a pic I took in New Zealand of Mt Ngauruhoe, which was used as Mt Doom in the Lord Of the Rings film trilogy -such a beautiful place.

Art Specially

2009-03-08T15:04:00.000-07:00

Following on from the last post, I made a few more ATc's to trade at the show. I really enjoyed making these, haven't done any for AGES.

MMM - The Written Word

2009-03-08T14:52:00.001-07:00

I have to make lots of atcs, because Carol and I are going to Art Specially at the beginning of April - hoping to do lots of swaps! This one fits the Mixed Media Monday Challenge, The Written Word, as I used one of my favourite images (designed, or should I say scribbled by moi!) and known as Penny's text, from Artifacts. I stamped the writing using a paint dabber, and added some flowers and swirly rub ons.

SSPGuild

2009-01-19T10:02:00.000-08:00

Here's a sneak peak of a clock I made for the next SSPG magazine, Guilded. I used some random pieces of chipboard, a lot of paint, some Grungeboard and a clock kit - and it actually works! Next mag goes live Feb 1st.

More Paper Artsy stuff

2009-01-12T03:20:00.000-08:00

Some more things I did for the PA DT - The first one is a little chipboard book, done with paint, ink and some copper coloured metal. I've also entered this in the Lots To Do Challenge, which has a theme of Keys.

The others are two tiny little canvases - the first one is about 2" square - again made with paint and ink, shrink plastic and wire.

Design Team work

2009-01-02T08:13:00.000-08:00

This is just a couple of the pieces I did for the Paper Artsy Design Team - it was a bit of a slog, but I found the more I did, the more ideas I got, (and the more fun it was!) It's for an A1 board to be used at a Trade Show, and my colour theme was blue and orange. Guess I'll never see the stuff again, but at least I've got pics......

This is a small canvas, about 5 x 7 inches, and I used some of the techniques learned at LB Crafts the other week, plus a few of my own..

This one is my third attampt at a 12 x 12 scrapbooking layout - the first two ended up in the bin, but I'm quite pleased with this one, even though I had to fiddle about a lot on Photoshop with all my photos...

There's loads of other stuff which I'll post in due course.

New SSPG projects

2008-12-21T01:25:00.000-08:00

These have been out for a while now, so I can blog them at last. I made them using
Tims technique of swiping ink on a baking sheet and spraying it with water, and the stamps are Artifacts Alpine Flowers. For detailed instructions, go to the SSPG Website

Dream Canvas

2008-11-29T03:14:00.001-08:00

Made this 14 x 10 canvas at a brilliant class yesterday, at Lin B's shop LB Crafts. We got extremely messy with paper, paint, wood filler, more paint, wax, metal, and yet more paint and had a lot of fun!

The 'DREAM' letters were cut from doubled up card stock, gold embossed and waxed.

'BELIEVE' tags were covered in adhesive metal, and then we added paint, alcohol inks and got messier and messier!
When I got it home, I added a 'Craft Room' sign, a tag that was lying around, and a little 'Keep Out' tag - not that anyone will take any notice, I'm sure.
All in all, my idea of heaven, and I can't wait to go to the next one.

SSPG

2008-11-16T07:57:00.000-08:00

Here's a coupleof things I've made for the next SSPG online magazine out Dec 1st- you're only allowed a sneak peek til it's published so watch this space for more later.

Tag

2008-11-11T07:14:00.000-08:00

This is a tag I found on the last T shirt I bought from Tesco - I altered it using all the bits and pieces lying about on my desk - it wasn't made for any challenges, or magazines or DT projects, or for anybody else, and I'm loving the fact that I don't have to write it up!

I've been tagged

2008-11-09T13:31:00.000-08:00

By Carol........and I'm supposed to tell 6 random things about myself.

1.My name was Fiona for about 3 days, and then my mum changed her mind.
2.I'm sure I was a Native American in a past life.
3.When I was at college, I won a nationwide competition for the best Student Window Display.
4. My favourite place in the world is Cotillo Beach in Fuerteventura.
5. I don't like chocolate cake. Really.
6. I always wanted to be a drummer in a rock band....preferably Pink Floyd.

There are lots of other rules which I can't be bothered with, so, everybody in my sidebar, consider yourself tagged. - you are all brilliant.

Mixed Media Monday

2008-11-04T12:23:00.001-08:00

Over at MMM, this week's challenge is set by my blog buddy Deb - it's Autumn Colours, which I think is one of my favourite colour schemes. I made this a little while ago but never blogged it and it fits so here it is! The verse is pretty much unreadable (love this font, though) but it's part of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, a poem my Mum loved, and she was always reciting bits to me....

Awake! for Morning in the Bowl of Night
Has flung the Stone that puts the Stars to Flight:
And Lo! the Hunter of the East has caught
The Sultán's Turret in a Noose of Light.
Dreaming when Dawn's Left Hand was in the Sky
I heard a Voice within the Tavern cry,
" Awake, my Little ones, and fill the Cup"
Before Life's Liquor in its Cup be dry."

Craft Stamper

2008-11-04T10:57:00.000-08:00

Glad to say that I'm back in the mag from the Jan issue - and I've tackled a bit of scrapbooking. I'm only allowed to blog a sneak peek atm, so here's a couple of shots of the front and back covers..And there's a new Craft Stamper blog - go take a look...

Collage Workshop

2008-09-22T08:47:00.000-07:00

I ran a collage workshop at The Stamp Bug today, and we made a hanging thingy. Thanks to Helen and Pippa, who came along and seemed to enjoy themselves. I've done the collage workshop before but I made some new things for this one - it's difficult to get excited about making something you've done 50 times already!

We made a collage sheet by gluing lots of scraps on to a piece of plain paper, and then punched the flowers out of it - you can then use them on card/tags/whatever. These also use paint dabbers, which I can't seem to stop using atm.... The photo was cut from a collage image page, but it would be cool to use a photo of your nearest and dearest. I'm really pleased with the way these turned out.

The tag uses a piece of mica - this stuff has been around for ages, but I love the way you can peel it apart and sandwich stuff inside it. It's easy to emboss on, too.

Dragonfly Tag

2008-09-19T09:39:00.001-07:00

Here's something else I found today that I thought deserved some blogtime. This is a tag I made using some of my stamp designs, Dragonfly Dreams from Artifacts - (part of the subscription gift if you join the SSP Guild.)

I used Distress inks, gold EP, and a sizzix die cut swirl. I think the tag was a sizzix die, too

Distress techniques

2008-09-19T09:39:00.000-07:00

I made these 2 tags for a workshop I did last year, Distress Techniques, one of my favourites, and they were made using distress inks and water sprays, amongst other things. I spotted them lying about at work, and thought I should blog them. I love these pictures - they are my grandparents (on the left) and my Mum(on the right) Shame I managed to tear a bit of her head off, sorry Mum!
It's 15 years since she died, but I still miss her. I never met her parents but she idolised them and told me lots about them.

I've also entered them in the Saturdays Workshop Challenge - just about made it!

Stempelmekka

2008-09-16T02:27:00.000-07:00

Had an absolutely fantastic time at Stempelmekka with my mate Carol in Germany this weekend - lots and lots of artsy stamps and stuff, not a peel off in sight!! And we met up with many online friends, and made some new ones. Overspent wildly but then I have been saving for a couple of years.......
Traded lots of Atc's - here are the ones I came home with....(plus one I made last night, just to fill in the gap!)