Oxford Impressions - Dress Forms And Corsetry

'No. 2'

Whenever I look through my collection of buttons and other sewing treasures I find myself drifting back to times spent with Mum and both my Grandmothers as they stitched, knitted and created things for both the ordinary and extraordinary times in life.  Each of them talented, each of them passionate, each of them pursuing excellence in all that they made.  To my knowledge, I don't think any one of them had a mannequin to assist them whilst dressmaking, but I do wonder if they hoped for one. 

Perhaps those of us taking the undesirable role of  'mannequin' hoped all the more for one... oh, the irritation (and pain) of having to stand tall and remain still whilst the hem was being pinned...

'Rhinestones'

But oh the joy of being able to spin and twirl and twist around in a new outfit made the process all the more bearable!

'Paris'

Like my mother, my grandmothers or myself, you may not yet own a mannequin.  But you can dream and play with these gorgeous ones from Oxford Impressions latest plate 'Dress Forms and Corsetry'.

Dear Santa - Oxford Impressions

'Dear Santa'  All images from 'Sleigh Bells' rubber plate by Oxford Impressions.

Oh the excitement and anticipation, waiting for Santa to deliver his gift.

I don't think I ever wrote a letter to Santa when I was a child, but I can't help wondering what I might have hoped for?

This year Sean Alexander became one of Santa's little helpers.

 

It was amazing to watch him help Santa deliver gifts... he even put his own gift aside to continue handing out gifts 'til the job was done!

A gift for Grandpa!

Ho Ho Ho - Happy Christmas!!!



Joyeux Noel

'Joyeux Noel'

I don't know about you, but I'm still delighting in Christmas.  It is such a special time of the year as we celebrate and remember the birth of Jesus.  So it's been lovely to be able to put this card together today and reflect a little more about the true meaning of Christmas.  I've been pondering how extraordinary it must have been for those shepherds to see angels appear in the sky announcing the birth of this precious child.

"Glory to God in the highest,

 and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." 

Book of Luke

This sweet angel is from Oxford Impressions lastest Christmas rubber plate 'Sleigh Bells'.

Season of Delight

'Season of Delight'

I had a lovely time playing with Oxford Impressions new 'Sleigh Bells' plate today.  I've got grand plans to make some more tags and ATC's before Christmas, so I better get a move on!

Tim Holtz 4th Day of Christmas

Here's my first interpretation of this year's 12 Days of Christmas Tags by Tim Holtz for the 4th Day of Christmas.  I have not been able to find the time to make the tags for days 1-3 yet, but do hope to catch up when I can.  I really wanted to try the technique used to create the snowflake embellishment... which I did and the rest of the card just fell into place.  I'm planning to make miniture versions of Tim's tags as I didn't have any large tags at home.  I think it will be fun to display them together this Christmas - just hope I have more than one to display by Christmas!!!

The only 'Tim Holtz' product I had on hand was alcohol ink (and not the same colour), so I've adapted most of the tag as best I could, even down to creating my own 'wish ticket' with a scrap of paper and alphabet stamps.

I've really been enjoying visiting here and seeing how Shelley has been adapting things for her tags.  Thanks for the inspiration, Shelley!

7 Swans

'seven swans a-swimming' as seen in

Cardmaking, Stamping & Papercraft Vol 16 No8

I was delighted to be a part of the '12 Days of Christmas' special feature in CSP and loved putting this piece together with this gorgeous Oxford Impressions swan.  I love the way CSP have stylised my work here!

Vintage Postcards

'Vintage Postcards'

As seen in Cardmaking, Stamping & Papercraft Vol 16 No7

PBS - Hello

Here's a little 'hello' tag I've put together using Paperbag Studios 'Doodles and Daters ' rubber stamp sheet.  If you're anything like me, you've got a friend or two that you keep meaning to write to, to say 'hello'.  I'm thinking this tag should be going out to someone special in the mail this week, so I best make that happen!

Whale of a Time

Mummy and Sean

Ready for a great adventure! 

Trevlyn and I were going whale watching, but Sean was all set to go fishing!

Apparently he was going to catch a Pink Snapper.

We were thrilled to see whales leaping about and frolicking in the sea.

Aunty Susie and Sean

I got completely drenched, tried to protect my camera from the spray, but didn't want to miss the action!

WS - Steampunk

'Blue Print'

The theme at Wednesday Stamper is 'Steampunk', so I had to play along with my lovely Oxford Impressions Steampunk stamps.



Fanciful Things!

                   Cardmaking Stamping & Papercraft

Here's a couple of quirky ladies - created some time ago for CS&P for a feature called, 'Fanciful Things'.

It's holiday time for me and I'm hoping to make a few more 'fanciful things' over the next two weeks!

Wired!

Cardmaking Stamping & Papercraft Vol 16 No 1

I'm away from home, up in the 'big smoke', wishing I could be playing with paper and ink and gesso right now!  Instead I thought I'd post another CS&P stylised photo of a project I created using Paperbag Studios stamps, Basic Grey papers and WIRE!  I've twisted wire to create flowers, music notes and an '@' symbol. 

I'm heading home in an hour or so, with a four and a half hour journey ahead and I'm hoping for time to play with my new supplies when I get there!  There's new stamps and paper to play with - can't wait!



Feel Like A Cuppa?



HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY

Sean Alexander!

I'm looking forward to having a 'cuppa' with you very soon :)

XOXOX

Guess Who's Turning 3 Tomorrow!

Sean Alexander

I scarce can believe it! 

These pieces were published in Cardmaking, Stamping & Papercraft Vol 15, No 4 a while back.  I used some gorgeous October Afternoon papers and stamps to make these.  I love the way CS&P stylised the photo!

Sean has two pet rabbits - Peter and Flopsy.  I think this is a pic of Peter?

More pics of the birthday boy tomorrow - I'm far away from the birthday boy this weekend, but am looking forward to seeing him again soon.

SPA - Feelin' Blue

'Captured!'

Sunday Postcard Art's theme this week is 'Feelin Blue'.

This sea captain was looking a little 'blue' as I was putting this postcard together... he's longing for another oceanic journey, to travel to a distant world and make new discoveries! He's been 'captured' by the yearning to delve into the secrets of the deep.

All images are from Oxford Impressions 'The Deep' plate.

The Deep - Oxford Impressions

'Shells' ATC

This weeks theme at Wednesday Stampers Challenge is 'Shells'. I've used images from Oxford Impressions new plate 'The Deep'. There are two real shells included in this collage - one is so tiny. I'm often amazed at the intricacy of God's creation and I'm particularly spellbound by the most amazing use of patterning. The second shell has the sweetest zigzag patterning on it!

'The Deep'

This plate is choca-block full of lovely ocean themed stamps.

Nothing Like A Dream - OI

'Nothing Like A Dream'

Here's another Steampunk Works creation. I've had these copper wings in my stash for longer than I care to remember, so it's nice to make use of some of them.

There's 'nothing like a dream' to stretch your imagination to invent or create. I'm hoping for a creative weekend. How about you?

Future - Oxford Impressions

'Future'

I simply adore this new bird image from Oxford Impressions new 'Steampunk Works' plate. When I came across this red feather in my stash the other day I thought it would go perfectly with the bird image.

Stampotique - Not So Sweet Sixteen

'16'

Stampotique hosts design challenges twice a month and this is my first time participating in one. The theme 'Not So Sweet Sixteen', was indeed a challenge until I remembered the spider 'Mr Stripes' - it all looked a little too sweet 'til I added him to the mix.

I'm still having a ball with gesso and I've created this work on a piece of card literally ripped from the box on the way to the recycle bin this afternoon.

Happy Fathers Day

'Time'
Happy Fathers Day to my dear Dad. He is an absolute blessing to me in so many ways and I hope he has the loveliest of days today. He loves being 'Grandpa' to Sean and he's sure to have a delightful time with him today.


All images are from Oxford Impressions new rubber plate 'Steampunk Works'. This is such a fantastic plate to have to create masculine cards. As I've mentioned before, working with these images always bring back fond memories of my dear Poppa, tinkering and inventing away to his hearts delight.

Be Still - Destination Art

'Be Still'

Destination Art is hosting a twinchie swap this month and the theme is 'Bird Call'. I've used some Tim Holtz and Cavallini rubber to put this together, and totally loving the fact that my hands are covered in gesso!

WS - School Days

'Courage'
How courageous are you feeling today? Do you truly feel free to be yourself and to express yourself in artistic ways? I'm not sure that I always do. I believe it not only takes courage, but time to become who you really are... fear of failure or rejection can be a huge hurdle to overcome. I know my faith in God and the belief that He has a plan and a purpose that is unique for me (and each of our lives) allows me to draw strength and courage to continue to carry on in what is sometimes a rather crazy world.

Wednesday Stamper's theme this week is'School Days' and I immediately reached for Oxford Impression's plate of stamps 'School Days'. Aren't these two little school kids adorable? Just like the twenty I work with each school day :)

Tag Tuesday - Butterflies

'Dream Flight'
A great friend of mine is off to Europe next week with her husband and they will be travelling to Paris. I'm pretty sure it's her first time out of the country, so I'm hoping she has a 'dream flight' over and the most amazing holiday ever!


I'm a little green with envy, but so excited for her!

Tag Tuesday's challenge this theme is 'Butterflies' and Louise has made a gorgeous butterfly tag book. Check it out here. Stamp images are all by Tim Holtz and the gorgeous butterfly is ARTchix.

Emerging

'Emerging'
Spring is nearly here! The thought of the nearness of Spring, the promise of new emerging buds and blossoms, warmer skies and longer days has brought inspiration for this postcard. I'm loving these new Paperbag Studios stamps from the Doodles and Daters plate.

There's quite a bit of shimmery glimmer mist in the background and the clouds have been highlighted with a white gel pen. I had fun playing with wire, twigs and flowers to make these buds!

Stamping with soft muted ink colours has helped great further depth to the background. Can you see the tinsiest piece of fabric?

NEW Paperbag Studios Stamps

'Creative Souls'

Paperbag Studios have just released a new plate of stamps called 'Doodles and Daters'. I love each of the three houses on this plate and have created this postcard using them all! I used a number of ARTchix Studios 'creative souls' from their collage sheet 'Mini Chix'. I've been wondering what these ladies might get up to behind closed doors. Perhaps they dance, paint, act or design costumes. What do you get up to when no one's looking?

'Doodles and Daters' by Paperbag Studios

Can you see those gorgeous women who are already indoors? I wonder what creative treasures they're coming up with!

Wednesday Stamper's theme this week is 'stitched' which fits nicely with this postcard, with it's stitched (stamped) lawn!

The Explorer - Oxford Impressions

'The Explorer'

I'm having loads of fun playing with Oxford Impressions new plate 'Steampunk'! This fella is heading off on a long journey from Paris (postmark stamp is from 'April In Paris) to Italy, then to London and all the way over to New York. Think I might hitch a ride with him!

The Inventor - Oxford Impressions

'The Inventor'

The new Oxford Impressions unmounted plate 'Steampunk' arrived this week and I've been looking forward to working with it this weekend. I was pleased to see that the theme over at Wednesday Stamper is 'In The Sky', so I had double inspiration to complete my first piece with this fabulous range of stamps.


I've piled up a couple of smaller images on the top hat as well as adding a small 'screw' brad to add a touch of metal. As I was working away on this piece, I recalled fond memories of my dear Poppa, who loved to tinker and invent things in his workshed. I especially loved the 'under the house' work shed! Although I was a bit scared to go visit him there, as it was a bit dark and creepy, I now appreciate how he must have loved his little haven - a wonderful place to play and experiement and fix things. He collected bits and bobs in his little tabacco tins, some of which I still have and treasure. Perhaps I take after him a little as I love to collect things... you never know when you might need them!

'Steampunk'
The Steampunk unmounted plate is available now at Oxford Impressions.

WS - Wild Animals

'Adventure'

It's all about 'Wild Animals' over at Wednesday Stamper this week. I've finally inked up these great images from the Tim Holtz Collection 'Life Adventure'. There's also a small piece of film strip by Tim Holtz, word stamp by Making Memories and butterfly by Collections.

I have a friend who loves Africa and it's her birthday tomorrow, so this card is heading her way!