And then there was colour…

Those of you who know me, know that I love colour!  I definitely love vintage colours the best and of course the Distress Ink colours are right up my alley.  I decided to experiment with some background colours on my cards… trying to get rid of the “blank canvas, can’t get started” thing!

Since I already knew that I loved Distress Ink I decided to push myself a little and work with some of my Distress PAINT… after all there’s no point having all this Distress goodness if I don’t actually use it is there??

I started in my comfort zone with the browns: Vintage Photo, Rusty Hinge and Frayed Burlap

Then I moved into the greens: Peeled Paint, Mowed Lawn and Forest Moss

Next up was the blues: Broken China, Salty Ocean & Chipped Sapphire

And then I finished off with the reds: Barn Door, Aged Mahogany and Fired Brick

Although paint isn’t my first love when it comes to colour, I’m kind of getting into the technique by this stage and I’m definitely happy with my little rainbow of cards:

But why stop there??  Next I decided to have a go with Distress STAIN!  I don’t have quite as many stains as I do paints but I still managed to work within the colour schemes I’d started with.

Here’s the browns: Vintage Photo, Rusty Hinge and Frayed Burlap (exactly the same ones I used with the Distress Paints but a totally different look!)

Then I did the greens: Pine Needles, Bundled Sage & Brushed Corduroy

Of course the blues were next: Stormy Sky, Faded Jeans and Tumbled Glass

And finally the reds: Barn Door and Victorian Velvet

Quite liking the whole Distress Stain thing… although the dictionary paper really soaks it up and I can’t get quite as many backgrounds done at once, like I can with the paint!

So by the time I’d finished playing around with colour I had a whole heap of backgrounds all ready to go…

…now I’ve just got to actually MAKE SOMETHING!

In the last 24 hours…

I have actually started a little creative project! 

Toby and I started off our Sunday with snuggles on the sofa.  Toby used to be allowed on the sofa all the time… I think he thought it was HIS sofa actually.  But now he’s only allowed up on the sofa on  rare occasions – and Sunday morning snuggles works well for both of us:

While we were all snuggled up a little idea kept popping back into my head… an idea that I’d seen online and thought ‘maybe’… so I got out a few minimal supplies and got started:

Basically I had an old dictionary, scissors, glue stick and a pack of regular playing cards (I actually bought the cards with this project in mind and then did nothing about getting started with it!)  I set about covering the faces of the cards with dictionary paper and it stuck surprisingly well with the glue stick:

After I stuck a few cards down I trimmed them up and then used one of those nail files from the $2 shop to go around the edges… super simple!

I did about 20 cards yesterday and then got busy with the washing and other household chores… it’s surprising how little time it takes to clean up after just myself!

By late afternoon, Toby was giving me the ‘sad puppy’ eyes and acting like a bit of a muppet and I knew he wanted to go for another run along the beach.  It was a great afternoon for the waves but unfortunately for Toby that meant there were lots of people at ‘HIS’ beach so he spent more time on his lead than he normally does.

Still, I managed to get some great photos on my phone… it takes pretty awesome photos actually and I find myself using my ‘real’ camera less and less:

Once we got past the surfers we had most of the beach to ourselves… and the sand down by the water was really spongy which Toby wasn’t too sure about.

The great thing with the beach is that each day smells completely different because the waves have washed the ‘old’ smells away. 

And of course you have to smell everything from all the different angles!

This log clearly had something really GOOD to smell on it!

I love the light and shadows you get in the late afternoon… it was absolutely stunning yesterday… and the action wasn’t all happening on the beach either… check out this:

See what I mean about my phone taking great photos! 

Toby and I both had a great nights sleep… that sea air is really fantastic!  This morning I got out the rest of the cards and had a great session and now they’re all covered… including the four jokers!

So now what???  Hmmm… well now I’m going to try and see if I can actually do something arty with them!  It’s time to get inky again!!

Retail therapy vs. Nature therapy

This morning I went to the Farmers Market to pick up some more fresh roses for the house… have I mentioned how much I love having fresh flowers in my home?  It’s definitely something that makes me feel good!

After the markets I caught up with my sister while she was having some ‘child free’ time and we had morning tea together.  Then we went to check out Briscoes… and surprise, surprise they had a sale on! 

I’ve been thinking this week about my bedroom and the fact that it’s looking a bit insipid (actually that’s a really accurate word for it)

insipid  in·sip·id

adjective

1.without distinctive, interesting, or stimulating qualities; vapid: an insipid personality.

2.without sufficient taste to be pleasing, as food or drink; bland: a rather insipid soup.

Here’s what I mean about it being insipid:

There definitely wasn’t much personality going on there… so today I had a look around Briscoes and happened to come across something that really isn’t my usual style but I like it a lot now that it’s on my bed.

I’m not usually one to like this style… but actually it’s got a nice feel to it.  It almost has a hotel look to it though so I still need to get a bit of colour and personality into it… but at least it’s not bland anymore! 

Now for the nature therapy… late this afternoon I took Toby to the beach for a good run around… and boy did he run around!!!  He ran up the beach and back down again… he ran in circles… he chased sea gulls… and he chased sticks (he didn’t actually do anything with them… he just chased them!) 

And what did I do while he was acting like a total muppet??? laughing myself silly at his antics and taking photos!

Here’s a couple of my favourites from this afternoon:

Just after this photo was taken Toby ran after the seagulls and got himself all wet… but he’s finally starting to be brave about going into the water now!

Love this one of him.. he looks so alert and happy!  We spent ages on the beach and really did get out lungs full of oxygen… and Toby sniffed EVERYTHING!! 

Then we headed home and I’ve had the best shower… you know how sometimes your shower just feels A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.!  Well tonight it really was that good… and ‘himself’ is completely flaked out on the floor beside me. 

So when it comes to retail therapy vs. nature therapy you really can’t compare them… my theory is that anything that makes you feel good has got to be a good thing.

Never let it be said…

… that I can’t take up a challenge!  Not long after I did my post this morning about the light bulb vases there was a comment from Esther… and she knew EXACTLY how to push my buttons and get me into gear!

Her comment may look innocent enough but when I read… Go on - give it a go and let us see what you can do with a less than $2 bulb… it was like she’d thrown down the gauntlet and I didn’t have much choice really.

Follow that up with Vicki saying… Just do it!!!  What’s a girl to do… so I got my backside into town and gathered up some supplies and here’s the results:

Not all light bulbs are created equal… and there’s so many choices out there!  I specifically wanted ‘screw in clear bulbs’ and it would seem that they’re not as easy to find as you might think… or as cheap!

Then it was home with my supplies including a new pair of needle nose pliers (because I have absolutely no idea where mine are… except that they’ll be ‘in a box’) and some safety glasses… see Dad… I do take care of myself!

My first effort was a complete flop… almost had all the insides out and then the bulb broke.

Second attempt… pretty much the same thing.  Actually I bought three light bulbs from this brand and all three broke so clearly not all light bulbs are created equal!

Frustration was starting to set in so I swapped to the pretty pink boxes and thought I’d give them a go and voila!

Toby still loves the camera!!  These little light bulbs are a really cute shape too!  Before long I really had the knack of it:

I found some old metal egg cups and some silver serviette rings that I don’t think I’ve ever used and they made pretty good bases for my new mini vases.

All up I think I kept my mess pretty well contained… don’t you?

Then I decided that I might just have one more experiment.  I went back to the supermarket and bought some screw in frosted bulbs with the idea that once I got the innards out of them I could use salty water (thank you Google) to get rid of the frosting.

It totally worked and I made three more mini vases.  So here’s my efforts for the day:

I actually really like these vases… they’re simple, pretty and they almost have a vintage feel to them.  And if I actually used screw in bulbs in my home they would be a great way to recycle the bulbs when they blew!

So now I’m wondering if Esther and Vicki will take up the challenge??  I’d love to see if the Wellington and Christchurch bulbs produce the same results as the Gisborne ones LOL 

Go on… I dare you!