WOYWW 776

 Welcome to Crafting With Jack and What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday, a day when we link up to Julia's Stamping Ground and have a look to see what everyone has been doing.

I have been busy printing out 110 pages from my inkjet printer and also a load from my laser printer.  Currently I pay for 100 pages a month and never really print half that amount.  So I decided I would definitely use this months quota and then reduce the number of pages to 50.  I created new ephemera. The flowers on the old text (from photographs I took at a pub) I really love and as for the horses which were a free set from Creative Fabrica, I love them most!

The black and white designs were laser printed so I can add paint to them.  I also wanted to do a black and white collage.  The print above is from an old book.

This design is a digital collage using scanned painted papers.

Finally a Christmas journal page using an image from Gecko Galz which I altered a little :)   I wanted to give him a softer look than the original.  My dear husband said he preferred the original:( The colour surrounding him was a very dark blue - no idea why it printed green !

It's havoc in my house at the moment as the house is having a makeover.  Everything has to be put away in boxes which are going in my craft room and my husbands work room which are not being done.

Bible group this morning so I will catch up later x

 

WOYWW 775

 Welcome to Crafting With Jack and What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday, a day when we link up to Julia's Stamping Ground and have a look to see what everyone has been doing.

It's Wednesday Yay! We are back home (for a while anyway!).  I have been continuing with using up my die cuts,  so far I have got 5 completed collages that you saw last week and 48 that need completing.  I took photographs of the collages as I had an idea of using them digitally.

This is Fantasy Dragon and Toadstools.  Fantasy Dragon is free this month at Gecko Galz.

This is Steampunk Butterfly another free image this month at Gecko Galz.  Both images are set against my collage backgrounds.

All my waiting to be completed collages.  

Today I spent most of the day sorting out the new equipment from EE and a few problems, renewing my driving license, and sorting out associated problems with a new Internet hub.

I can't believe how much rain and wind we have had the last fortnight.  Looking forward to seeing some sunny blogs!

WOYWW 774

 Welcome to Crafting With Jack and What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday, a day when we link up to Julia's Stamping Ground and have a look to see what everyone has been doing.

Last Wednesday we had a huge shock when Dolly was attacked on the morning walk. The path runs along a field and there are two dogs from the property that regularly run up to the fence and bark at passing dogs.  Dolly barked back, being a brave Chihuahua, and the dog put his head through and dragged her back.  A week later she is on her way to normal. Her back wound is getting better and she is playing with the others.  Thank you all for your kind wishes to her.

I took approximately half the backgrounds that I had been working on with me.   The first collages I did I limited myself to one folder, which has a lot old bits and pieces.   I bought several die cut books from the Works, which I wanted to use up.  They were intended to make a set of cards, I bought them to use the pieces for collage.  So using those and some 6 x 6 paper I have been creating backgrounds that only need focal points to finish them off - well that's the plan.

                                               The die cuts

There were 4 of each in the diecuts so there is bound to be some similarity.  Wishing you all a great week.

WOYWW 773

 Welcome to Crafting With Jack and What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday, a day when we link up to Julia's Stamping Ground and have a look to see what everyone has been doing.

As well as getting my crafty stuff ready for the caravan I have been doing some digital work, using bits and pieces of vintage digital ephemera.    The ladies were made from various sources.

I printed several pages and then this happened:

The ink had run out!  Pretty colour though!  I am concentrating on collage for the next couple of weeks.  All my backgrounds from last week are ready for the next layer.  I was going to bind them first, but it occurred to me that the pages would be easier to work on first.  I did one more piece of digital art:

Happy Easter x

WOYWW 772

Welcome to Crafting With Jack and What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday, a day when we link up to Julia's Stamping Ground and have a look to see what everyone has been doing.  Sadly Jack is no longer with us. At 17 and a half years he had had a long life.  He was gentle and friendly, loved by all who knew him.

Yesterday I was looking for advice on sealing card so it didn’t use up so much glue.  One of the suggestions was varnish, then I came upon an article about varnish and about how it didn’t keep very long.  So I decided to use it up!  I found 3.  Tiny bit left in one, an almost full tin and a full plastic container.  The plastic container had gone solid, but I used up the other two.

I was sanding down the backs of my 100 backgrounds as there was some bad rippling - a mistake using some rubbish paper as the first layer.  I wasn't doing too brilliantly as my strength is not good, my husband came in.  Went back out and came back with two electric sanders - too fierce! So off he went and came back with sandpaper and proceeded to do all of them!  The ripples were gone along with most of the surface!  

So I decided varnish the backs of those as well as the file folders which were absorbing all my glue..  I managed to do 12 file folders and 49 backgrounds before the tin ran out -  my husband kept saying keep going till the tin is finished 🙈🙈.  

Then shock! Horror!  The surfaces wouldn’t stick together.  Now (Google again!) it's either sandpaper them all or try a coat of gesso or buy a different glue!  So I added a coat of gesso to two of them to see if that works. The backs are looking so much better now I am not sure they need covering 🤣🤣🤣 or 😩😩😩.  Haven’t decided yet!

Yesterday morning I found another varnish - I was using modpodge at the time and it was awful for sticking to itself, but adding a layer of varnish solved the problem.

I have been doing then two at a time, clipping them back to back till the edges are not sticky and then putting them under my cast iron book stand.

So far I have 12 done.  When I have 25 I am making a book.

I have been trying my hand at 3d objects.

The drawing on the right was from the software I use.  Obviously I have more work to do.  It's all trial and error.  Photoshop has a 3d feature, but not Photoshop Elements, unless the latest one has it.

WOTWW 771

Welcome to Crafting With Jack and What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday, a day when we link up to Julia's Stamping Ground and have a look to see what everyone has been doing.

This is a digital collage created from stamped pieces over the original below.

I sorted through my scraps and made two collages, the top left is a single piece of paper, years old, stuck to an file folder. the bottom one was collaged and then covered with a piece of tissue wrapping paper.  I wasn't very happy with it and I noticed  several air pockets.  It wasn't quite dry and I added some Cosmic Shimmer metallic gilding polish, I didn't like that so added gesso and silver paint, stood thinking what next?  It wasn't dry enough for sandpaper and I remembered a stone I had found ages ago.  It is very rough, I don't know what kind of stone it is. I used the stone to distress the collage and then painted a layer of liquidtex.  Using a tape inner I drew circles with a sharpie.  Tried out a Uni Chalk pen, then toned it down with a paint pen from The Range.  The paint pen is a bit like gelatos, very soft and I left it to dry.  I thought I would add some stencilling later.

Yesterday afternoon I played with the collage on my laptop.

I am off to Bible group this morning so I will be around to catch up later.

WOYWW 770

Welcome to Crafting With Jack and What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday, a day when we link up to Julia's Stamping Ground and have a look to see what everyone has been doing.

I have been sorting and tidying in my craft room. A friend gave me a lovely bird shelf unit which meant reorganising so I could display it.

Once I had got so far with the sorting, I turned my attention to my stamps. I had a good clear out a while ago, but I still managed to get rid of quite a few.  I searched online for how to clean sticky stamps, which was just putting them into warm soapy water to soak for a few minutes, then rinsing them in water.  They did look and feel better afterwards.

I did some stamping (bottom left).  My intention is to start using the stamps - we will see how that goes!  Bible group this morning so I will catch up with everyone later.

 

WOYWW 769

 Welcome to Crafting With Jack and What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday, a day when we link up to Julia's Stamping Ground and have a look to see what everyone has been doing. 

I am continuing using up my 12 x 12 papers.

I have been making a stacked envelope journal.  I watched several tutorials which were all fairly similar in that it was about decorating the envelopes and making cards to go inside.  Then I saw one which said Stacked Envelope Journal.  

You simply choose envelopes of different sizes; ink them up; reinforce the flap fold with some tape; cover them back and front unless the envelope is particularly interesting.

The envelope flaps are stuck down and I covered them with brown tape as a second measure.

The middle is covered to hide the envelope flaps.

I made an extra piece behind the envelope layer which has a pocket

and a flap.  The inside front has a pocket too.

I hurt my back using the guillotine on the floor, so I have been having a change around to make more room on my desk.  I really wanted to be able to show you a tidy workroom, but alas not yet!

I cut my hair - my husband was not impressed, but I like it.  I was getting fed up with it so I gathered it at the base of my neck and cut it off!  It could have gone horribly wrong, but it didn't. xx

WOYWW 768

 Welcome to Crafting With Jack and What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday, a day when we link up to Julia's Stamping Ground and have a look to see what everyone has been doing. 

I  have been busy sorting out my ephemera folders.  I had a few packs of bird images from Hunkydory.  I decided cut them to a more usable size.  I had watched a couple of YouTube videos on making  ephemera, one of which was faux stamps.  I cut all the pictures down with thinning scissors and inked the edges.  Once they were done I went on to a pack of butterflies, a washi tape paper with plastic backs.  I did a few on book paper, then I used a sticky note pad.   I inked the edges of the sticky note pad and put the butterflies on top. I used glitter pens to add colour to some.  Then I went back to the birds and selected some paper to back them with, inked the edges.  Now I have a lovely pile ready to use.  I did intend to stamp some postmarks on them, but instead I had a long nap yesterday afternoon.

I finished my pages for Faith Inspirations, the pink isn't as vivid in real life.

Today I have Bible Group this morning so I shall be round to visit in the afternoon.

WOYWW 767

Welcome to Crafting With Jack and What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday, a day when we link up to Julia's Stamping Ground and have a look to see what everyone has been doing. 

When I saw the free image from Gecko Galz I thought it was very dramatic.  I envisaged the pair coming out of a forest - an older Little Red Riding Hood and her companion.  I found a free forest image on Raw Pixel and did some digital work popping them into place and began thinking of the story behind the image.  Turning it into a poster for a film or a book.  

This was a pile of books made with "Stack the Deck Binding"  Kelly was interested so here is a link to a tutorial.  It is a fairly easy method and ideal if you are intending to make pockets and waterfall embellishments and the like.  I was just thinking of using up a lot of card! 

It has taken me four days to get the books ready for use.  In each of these I used 12 x 12 papers to decorate the covers and certain inside pages where the paper /card was a bit thin.  I don't make Halloween cards, but I do like to make a Halloween journal. So that's one allocated. One or two are going to be for my digital art that I enjoy doing and the rest will be for collage that I also enjoy doing.

I dyed some card Monday using the ink taken from one of the distress daubers.  I did add water to make the colour lighter.

This is for the February Faith Inspirations challenge.   I have printed this out and will be adding to the page.  The theme is God guides our steps.

Happy Valentines Day xx  I will be round to see everybody after the Bible Group.  We are starting a Lent course.  My poor husband's knee is gout and he is on medication.   Still taking painkillers at night :(

WOYWW 766

 Welcome to Crafting With Jack and What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday, a day when we link up to Julia's Stamping Ground and have a look to see what everyone has been doing.

Still doing a lot of sorting in my craft room.  Monday I discovered a distress ink dauber had leaked (only a bit) I had taken the sponge top off as it had disintegrated.  I have another dauber which is a very dark brown so I removed the top of that and poured a little into a container, replaced the top!  The I poured what was left of the light lavender colour into the container too.  My idea was to make the brown lighter.  Using a sponge, I dyed all my old diecut frames, a little bit darker than I would have preferred, but still pleased. 

Tuesday, the first thing I wanted to do was put the container away - simple - afraid not.  The lids were kept in a jar on the top shelf, I couldn’t see them up there, so I started searching and sorting and tidying as I went.  Nearly an hour later I was getting rather tired and decided to have a proper look 0n the top shelf - which meant taking everything off my step stool with handle!  Found the jar after I had removed what was in front🙈🙈

Once the lid was safely on. I thought I would do some scanning of a book of ephemera  so I could print some off to get more use.  My son and family came round on Sunday and I had a tidy up, the usb I needed for the scanning was nowhere to be seen.  Sound familiar?  Another bout of searching eventually found it.   Unfortunately this tale of woe is not over!  My printer printed out some dull images.

I use my old printer for scanning as my present printer scans are very light (middle image).  I have done a problem search, so I shall try again later as I have Bible group this morning - I have a lot waiting to print out:

My patchwork collage scanned 

and added to

used here as a background

Gecko Galz Steampunk Challenge February

used for a background  again for this cute dog.