Blue...inspired by the art of Pam Carriker

one thing I am not confidant with is painting faces...I can sketch them ok but when it comes to actually using paint...scary! I was inspired by the art of Pam Carriker to just give it a go...if it turned out badly then I didn't have to tell anybody...I started with a reversed canvas and roughly coated with gesso before painting with black acrylic...so far so good...

I played with tones and shading, defining areas and adding the look of dimension...



she was coming together nicely...I used Helmar Tacky Glue to add my signiture swirls...




every motion of my brushes changed her...she was working with me...




I gave her just the one eye to see...it represents imperfection as beauty...after all who can really say what is beautiful...love is blind right?



I played with a floral stencil for both imagery and texture...



wow what a co-inky-dink that she has green eyes and a beauty spot...just like me...yup I had to throw myself in there as a symbol of imperfection...



I am so pleased with how well the faux lace turned out...



amazing how much the colour changes depending on the lighting




I got a bit carried away...or dedicated to her eye makeup...



The Words Or Whatever chipboard circle was exactly what was needed to finish the canvas...

depending where you stand to look at this, she can appear to be looking at the bird or straight ahead oh her...as if she is looking for something in the distance...

so here she is...Blue...not a mood but a feeling for colour.
The quote around the frame says "Look ahead to where your past has brought you"

Wedding Wishes Jar & Pedestal



Simone from Fred The Needle likes to challenge me as an artist but I have to admit to scratching my head for a few days when she handed me an empty spaghetti sauce jar and a porcelain pedestal. Ballerina Barbie sacrificed her legs for the good of art



Spring Time in Paris ~ Flooded Canvas heading to CHA 2012

Tracey from Lindy's Stamp Gang offered all of us on the Design Team, a chance to have our art shown off at CHA 2012, our given theme was spring Time in Paris, so of course I had to have the Eiffel Tower and do a Flooded Canvas... 

What is spring without butterflies?

I added in some of my ever popular Circle Blooms to finish off my piece

A very Helmar Christmas ~ Design Team Blog Hop

Helmar Holiday Hop - 2011

It’s that time of year where we all start thinking of the holidays so what better way to get your Holiday spirit than a great Helmar Holiday Hop? Filled with so much Holiday cheer and some amazing projects featuring all the different Helmar Adhesives.

Hello everyone and welcome to my stop on the Helmar Holiday Hop. If you have been following along, you should have hopped here from Jennifer Evan’s blog. If not, you just have to stop at the Helmar Blog and start from the beginning. There are goodies along the way and we don’t want you to miss a thing.



I purchased some glass baubles from a craft store, plastic would work just as well





choose a couple of vibrant paints and pour in to the bauble...I am using metalic colours and have allowed one colour to flow before adding the next one




once you have coated the inside of the bauble you can pour out the excess to use in another or store in an air tight container for another project





the bauble to the left used alcohol ink inside instead of acrylic paint, once it was completely dried I squeezed in a fair amount of Helmar Premium Craft Glue, and a mix of fine glitter and chunky glitter/sequins. While the glue inside is still workable, put your thumb over the opening and shake to distribute the contents. As the glue thickens and dries you can continue to roll the bauble to move the glitter inside 




I used the opening of the glitter pot to hold the first bauble as I dotted the surface with small blobs of Helmar Liquid Scrap Dots




I loved the faux ice look when I allowed the glue to trail down a little




faux ice





I covered all but a small section with the Scrap Dots...you can see in here...how cool is that?!?




it needed some sparkle, so I used glitter and my craft glue to coat the inside of the bauble




once it was dry I smeared a little gilding paste over the soft spikes to show their detail




this bauble was filled with alchohol ink, german glass glitter, sequins and Premium Craft Glue before being shaken and rolled...it reminds me of a planet



I hope you have enjoyed what I have created here and perhaps you will have a play and create your own unique and fun Christmas ornaments to adorn your tree

Make sure you leave a comment at every stop because the elves of Helmar will be giving away prizes to some lucky Helmar fans. Now hop on over to Beck Beattie’s blog to see another amazing Helmar Holiday project. The Holiday Hop will be open for comments until 11:59P.S.T December 4th , so take a look and enjoy a little holiday spirit from all of us on the Helmar Team. Thanks again for stopping by today and Happy Holidays.

improving thanks to the generosity of a friend

brass faux clocks



Add caption




additional faux rusted chipboard cogs, brass stampings and acetate birds



I know how very lucky I am to have some people in my life, take for instance Rae Cooper...owner of Scrap Matrix. I had begun work on the hat a few months ago before the disruption of moving house and Rae had seen the pics I had posted on Facebook, she asked if she could send some things for the hat...I received more than I had expected and the pieces were all so interesting and ideal for the project which is now complete and perfect thanks to a lady who has never met me but just wanted to do something nice. I hope to one day meet her and say thanks in person...and hand the hat over to her as a gift of friendship.

a funny thing happened on the way to the show...

Scrapware Poinsettia - liquid gold leaf



the nearly complete steampunk hat



Scrapware make n take



faux rusting





Team Scrapware...Penrith Papercrafts Festival 2011


no this isn't an old post, no it isn't my evil twin or crazy half sister in the group photo...the photos are all from November 2011...the weekend just past. I know that some people are scratching their heads, some are sitting there with their jaws locked open...others are wondering what the frickin chicken I'm talking about...soooo to save all the BS, gossip and rumours allow me to set things straight.
Yes I have just worked for Scrapware at the Penrith Papercrafts Festival, yes I did quit Scrapware amid a cloud of shite (thanks mostly to interfering gronks) a while back, yes I do still work for Words Or Whatever and yes those who needed to know do, and did know all that was going on.
I am 40 years old, I do what I want to do and I have nobody to fear or need to answer to but myself. I know there are people out there who don't like me but I don't care because I like me...I like that even though people treat me like dirt I get up and keep on going, I am a good person who at the end of the day can say I forgive but I don't forget and I help those who I know will appreciate it.

Early last week my friend Trizzy asked me if I would help to set up a booth at the show, I said yes.
By the end of the night I was set to do the full three show days as the make and take teacher for Scrapware, I even designed the project that I wanted to do.
I had a wonderful time and it was brilliant to catch up with students and friends...some of whom were a bit confused about where I was. I explained that life is too short to hold grudges and in this industry we all need to work as a happy family. Of course not every family member wants that and it's always funny watching them walk by, avoiding eye contact but obviously in need of some love from their disowned sibling ;)