Happy Mail

 I recently put together some happy mail in response to the suggestion of an ephemera swap on Instagram.  I am finding I spend much more time over there these days than on my blog! @sarahthemoodler if you're on IG, please come and say hello!

I made a little matchbox from some brusho inked paper and some of my new stamps - have you found MAKIstamps?  There's some great images, especially the fun little Brownies!

 I filled the matchbox with some tiny stickers (step by step over on the Lavinia Stamps website if you fancy making some!) and other bits and pieces.

I filled a glassine envelope with goodies too.  I stamped the fern with black Versafine ink which then wouldn't dry so I embossed it with gold embossing powder and loved the effect!  Inside the envelope are tags and stickers and papers.

I collaged the front of a second glassine envelope filled with papers.  The envelope is from some Paperchase wrapping paper I've had forever and just LoVe!

I added a little notecard which I made using some endpapers from a book and some stamping ...

Sarah was really happy with her happy mail ..

...and when mine arrived the next day I was thrilled too!  I'm not sure how an envelope full of papers can bring such joy!!!

So I journaled about it using some of the treasures:

I love the little collaged card Sarah made and included in my package.

I also used some in this week's Documented Life Project page :)

new Lavinia Stamps release

 I've been playing with the new release images from Lavinia Stamps.

I love, love, love the new background script, especially in combination with the new flower border.

I made some tags for some of my Easter gifts using both of these images.  I spritzed each tag with water then pressed my mini distress mustard seed inkpad over the wet area.  Once this was dry I added snippets of background script in ripe persimmon and used this same colour to add sections of the flower border.

A touch of washi tape and a blue heart cut from previously inked paper finished my tags.

I had a couple of letters to send out so I used the same stamps with a black Versafine inkpad - can you tell I love this combo?!!!

tags of truth

Sometimes, no matter how well you know a friend, it can be tricky to know what to give them as a birthday gift, especially when you are housebound with a nasty, nasty cough and can't nip out to the shops for a bit of a mooch!

I did find a small gift on Etsy but wanted to add to it.  Having rummaged around my friend's pinterest boards, and blog hopped from some of her links, I decided to make a gift inspired by Rebecca Sower's autumn inspiration board..... 

....and created a framed collection of tags that declare truth about my friend.

I started off thinking I'd make 4 or 5 tags but once I laid them out within the frame I realised I'd need lots!

I chose colours, fabrics and buttons that I was pretty sure she'd like and added words and truths from the Bible.  The music fabric was created by another talented mutual friend.

I stamped some words but added others after cutting them out of an old prayer book.  I can't bring myself to cut up a Bible (there are too many people in the world who can't afford them so it just seems wrong) but second hand bookshops often have cheap copies of the book of common prayer which contains great words, sometimes hymns, and usually some Psalms.

My friend loves to crochet and sew, and shares my love of buttons, so these all feature!

She's also a fan of hens teeth art (as am I!), which inspired the stitching on this button card.  I adore making tags and have a little box full of them; think I might make myself a little board to hang them on!  Tomorrow, though, I'm off to Harrogate ... to a workshop with Dina Wakley ..... so excited!! (and so glad I'm well enough!!!!)

2014: My Year with Stampotique

OK, where did that year go?  I can't believe I've been on the Stampotique Designer's Blog team for a whole year!!  I have absolutely loved it; such a wonderful, friendly group of people.

As it's Boxing Day here in the UK an appropriate final project for 2014 would have been an altered matchbox, but that only occurred to me as I wrote this post!

I decided to pick out some of my favourite projects from the year and was hoping to put them in a slideshow but couldn't work out how!  So you have a shorter collection of photos from over the last year.

I've never done one of those end of year looking back posts but looking back at these projects is making me consider doing one!

I've made tags, envelopes and journal pages and happily cut, stuck, stitched, sprayed, collaged, stamped, painted and doodled and had a wonderful time :)

I've also made some lovely friends and want to thank Carol, Jim and Kim for having me on team this year.

Thanks for sticking with me on this photo heavy post!  And thanks for supporting me through my Stampotique adventure :)

 Wishing you all the very best for 2015, Sarah xx

WOYWW 175: some inky tags and a bit of shopping

I've not been doing much moodling lately so I tiredly sprayed up some tags the other night.  They were a little dark so, after tidying my desk (!) I slapped some paint etc on them.

So my desk, unveiled today for Julia Dunnit's 175th 'What's on your Workdesk? Wednesday', is scattered with a few tags and my sketchbook [I'm trying my best to do some work for Jane Davies' Extreme Composition workshop].

I added some transparent fluid acrylic to this tag which really lifted it, before adding a black acrylic paint/india ink flower.

And to this one I painted and stamped some squares, added some strips of tissue tape and a 'Chloe Stem' that was lying around my table!

On another table in my house are some of my purchases from The Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair.    I'd love a few of these butterflies up my wall but only had the funds for the one.  Check out what Anna Collette Hunt did with thousands of these and other insects at Nottingham Castle here

Cheryl Ewing's piece was almost too nicely packaged to even open! [don't you just love brown paper packages tied up with string ?  ;)]

Inside, another piece for my hallway...

I mentioned Julia Jowett's wonderful work in my last post, and ended up spending more than I intended at her stand!  But it's just sooooooo gorgeous!!! (and I don't usually 'do' birds!!!)

(love the printing on the above felt, might need to try that at some point!)

A new bathroom is on the list of DIY jobs at the minute so when I saw 'Harriet' by Kate Lulham I knew she had to come home and live there!  She's so quirky she really makes me smile.

And finally, a fabulous felt 'stone' forming a fun pin cushion by the very talented Lindsey Tyson :)  Her nuno felting is to die for but these pebbles were more in my price range.

Thanks for looking!  I'm off to blog hop a few desks myself :)

just a little something

I really should keep a stack of postcard size cards to decorate and use for notes to put in envelopes with payment etc, but at least I always have tags to hand!  I made these two today with scraps of paper, a new stamp I picked up at Port Sunny, and some stitching ...

I'd just like to say a huge thankyou to everyone who came by my blog over the weekend for Operation Julie's Smile :)